How time flies when you are having the time of your life! Two weeks today I leave Australia for Asia and while I'm super exicted to see Scotty and visit all the other places on our trip..Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos etc I'm having such a great time here I dont want to leave, despite the fact its eating my money up like nothing else!
day im feeling ok, still not 100%, leaving Rainbow beach in about 45mins, Con is joining us today for a few weeks, heading to 1770 where we are staying in a gorgeous hostel/hotel called Southern Cross and then sailing on Whitsundays this weekend
1770..was amazing..well Southern Cross where we stayed was anyway..it was like being in the middle of an Australian Jungle staying in shacks..Con and I got a double and it was worthy of a 4 star resort..nice!
We didnt do too much, well Linds and Nici went surfing but still on the mend from being sick I didnt want to wear myself our before Whitsundays, so I went to the beach with Con, played some ping pong, some pool, went for walks and fed the dog my BBQ dinner!
We went out thursday night to the local pub and had drink vouchers which as starving backpackers we gladly accepted and had a great time, watching Con showing all the locals how to play real music and Lindsay even got up and played some shaking things or another!
We had an overnight bus to Airlie Beach which as always was uncomfortable and when we finally got here, I had to shave in public toilets because we had no hostel to check into, it was 6.30am and we were sailing that day! Finally met Mikey, Linds friend from home, who turned out to be a 19year nutter who we now love and have adopted on the trip...wandered around the town which is beautiful, kinda reminds me of Byron Bay and after a beer run made it to check in for the boat..what a beast it was compared to the others..we had a great boat called the altanis Clipper and after setting sail and getting talks from the crew who were beyond cool and friendly, we sat on deck, drinking beer and talking and spotting dolphins and whales in the waters beside us..as you do!
dinner was a home comfort of fish and mash pototoes..really good!...and beer of course..after dinner we sat again on deck and drank our merry hearts to the nights content...funniest part of the night was Lindsay on the floor rolling around trying to get signal!
Warmest room ever..what a horrible sleep...but fear not because the meds were working their magic and I was feeling better and better as the time went on..we spent the next morning on Whitehaven beach, splashing and swimming in the surf, lying on the sillicon sand, and then went for a walk to the look out point before we headed back to the boat for a lunch of salads, pastas and all that jazz!
afternoon we sun bathed, read, and listened to music, had a few more beers in the sweltering heat..think it was about maybe..27degrees? maybe hotter and then in the afternoon nici, lindsay, mikey and I went snorkelling, this place, Hooks point? or something wasnt as good as Fiji, but us well travelled women knew better..getting back on the boat, I could hardly wait to get off the thing again via the water slide..splash! did that a couple of times before i needed to get the salt water outta my hair..we lounged around some more on deck, played some checkers and ate muchines, and then it was dinner time, spag bol and garlic bread and salads..the crew are a lively bunch and happily played drinking games until the wee hours, but with limited beer left and not wanting to listen to the shite music they were playing on the top deck, lindsay, nici, Con and I stayed below deck blaring our music out of the speaker and generally haveing a laugh..stayed up late watching the stars before calling it a night
this morning went snorkelling again after breakfast, which was amazing today, infact better than fiji..brought an underwater camera but will have to upload them later..running outta steam here..now we are back on dry land after a morning of soaking up the sun..i need a shower and food before our big night out with the crew and the people off the ship..so ahoy my maties!
keep on rockin
C
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Noosa Heads, Rainbow Beach, Frazer Island and heading to 1770
so let me start my blog by stating i am offically sick :(
however all my limbs are intact, i can still walk and talk and a positive attitude will make it go away :)
i had to go to the doc's this morning, i dont feel sick except from my shoulders up..have a nasty glandular infection that the doc thinks could be early stages of glandular fever, but cant get blood tests at teh moment because im on the move but b/c my other glands arent swollen or causing any problems he thinks i might be ok and the antibotics im on will keep everything as it should be..fingers crossed.
anyway now thats all sorted for now..Noosa was great, didnt do too much, slept alot, being sick explains why i was tired, played alots of pingpong..ate food, walked into the town, went to the beach etc..
we left Noosa and travelled by Greyhound, our home on wheels to Rainbow Beach, we got a great dorm with some great people, Nici Z, Tim, Becky and Lizzy and of course Nici W, Lindsay and I were there..thats a given..
after packing our small backpacks for Frazer, we had our "chat" with the people from Frazer about the trip..my lord can that guy Merv talk, ha I've got nothing on him..after that we went to the shops to get some munchies as they werent provided..and then there was the beer list...
10 in our group, included all the above people, Arnold a 34year old Frenchie, and a crazy German couple, she needs to work on her voice projections! Either that or the woman had her period, she went from hot to cold in seconds, and frankly scared me a little and she was TINY!!
After a $5.00 BBQ at the hostel and a shower we all had an early night and woke around 6am to finish packing, dressing and getting our pancake breakfast..we had to check out and start loading up the van with all the stuff provided..water coolers, tents, sleeping bags, table, gas cooker, fruit, bread, wraps, oils, tea etc..you get the idea..out of the 10 of us we had 5 drivers, nici w and I were not driving because well we cant..yet...
we had another 2 1/2 hr debriefing while packing up the jeep, then we had to do a jeep inspection, a debrief on the island and what to do if faced by a pack of Dingoes..they are native to this island and roam freely..not tame, wild animals, not petting or feeding..no baby eating etc..
after what seemed like 10+ hrs we were finally on the road on route for our barge that brought us to the island, which for those who dont know, its the worlds largest sand island..and unfortunately due to giant killer jelly fish and riptides you cant swim in the ocean :(
after a 10min barge crossing we made it onto dry,sandy land and proceeded what was to be about a 2hr drive up the beach on route to Lake McKenzie..we found the spot, stopped and had a picnic lunch of strange meat, vegetable sandwichs, followed by a piece of fruit each..how very school lunch box...peeing in one of the only toilets we saw for two days, we trasped our way through dense forest to lake McKenzie..beautiful land, with white sandy beaches and forest surrounding it...Nici Z made a beeline for the water running and throwing herself in..inspired I did the same and thankfully I did because the water was fucking FREEZING! remember its spring in Australia at teh moment, and yes its super duper warm like 25-26 degrees at the moment but the waters havent quite warmed up
other joined in and we played with Wilson, our beach ball in the water..until a tide took it out far into the lake, I swam after it, but theres this HUGE MASSIVE black patch of water that stretches across the lake and quite frankly it scared the shite outta me..i kept thinking a giant squid was going to jump to the surface and eat me, but obviously this didnt happen and arnold saved the day..woo!
we packed up and sped our way to our campsite for the night, we have to travel between high and low tides and had less than an hour to get to the campsite before we were swept out to sea..it was quite the adventure.. (insert Immigration Song- by Led Zeppellin here)
finding a spot, we all helped out in taking down the equipment, set up tents, gas cookers etc and proceeded to start cooking our steak dinner in next to no light, the only light was from the car and the full moon..meaning cooking steak wasnt as ABC as it normally is..we followed with dessert of Lemingtons from Nici Z and Tim and drank merrily an ate "cookies" and had a great time talking shite, listening to music and being tourists...
we finished the first day with a walk down to the ship wreck on the island which I can tell you now is VERY spooky after a few beers etc...and with a full moon it certainly looked the part...not much sleep was had that night, mainly because that was the start of me getting sick
we woke and had breakfast of eggs and toast, packed up and made our way to the very end of the island to Champagne Lakes, which we couldnt find, it was a swelter of a day and after giving up looking, we decided to drive back to Eli Creek and go for a swim there...and we made it in record time DESPITE, suffering from a punctured tire...my first ever..THANKS NICI Z for the experience :)
Eli Creek was this cool creek as you;d expect that if you have some sort of floatation device you can float from the start of the creek to the ocean..but I'd heard stories about people floating down the water, mouths open and spiders dropping into them..so I wore Tims hat and put a towel over my head..safety first!
we raced against time again to buy ice, find a toilet and get to camp before the tide came in, and in record time had dinner of asian stirfry and cake for desert..happy birthday becky! we sat around telling ghost stories and playing drinking games minus the drinks...due to needing to pee alot and having to pee in the bush, with dingoes wandering around not to mention spiders
unfortunately at this time my glands were getting worse and i headed to bed..a few mins after which a spider came running across the tarp we'd been sitting on, glad I went to bed early
next morning after a toast and cereal breakfast we ignored the low/high tide warning adn drove to find Lake Wably..or whatever its called...it was a scorcher of a day and we needed to jump into some cold water..and wadda know..the 1.8km walk turned into 2.4km walk over SAND DUNES and a forest, I've never seen soo much sand in my life..ok, you know in Waynes world II when they were on the sand dunes with the naked indian during the dream sequence? well think of those sand dunes, but minus the naked indian..the heat was unbearable cant imagine what it would have been like during Oz summer time
we eventually found the lake, on route sand got into my camera and its broken, less than 4 months old, let's not talk about it im very pissed of...it was another beautiful lake and holy fuck it was freezing cold and deep..after a refreshing swim and finding our way back..eventually we got back in the jeep and made our way to the barge, on the way we stopped to watch some dolphins casually swimming nearby...got back had to clean the jeep out, then check back into the hostel, do laundry etc..but because i was sick, Linds and Nici kindly took care of all that bless them, everyone was very good taking care of me...great new friends were made...
today im feeling ok, still not 100%, leaving Rainbow beach in about 45mins, Con is joining us today for a few weeks, heading to 1770 where we are staying in a gorgeous hostel/hotel called Southern Cross and then sailing on Whitsundays this weekend...
until then, keep on rokin'
C
however all my limbs are intact, i can still walk and talk and a positive attitude will make it go away :)
i had to go to the doc's this morning, i dont feel sick except from my shoulders up..have a nasty glandular infection that the doc thinks could be early stages of glandular fever, but cant get blood tests at teh moment because im on the move but b/c my other glands arent swollen or causing any problems he thinks i might be ok and the antibotics im on will keep everything as it should be..fingers crossed.
anyway now thats all sorted for now..Noosa was great, didnt do too much, slept alot, being sick explains why i was tired, played alots of pingpong..ate food, walked into the town, went to the beach etc..
we left Noosa and travelled by Greyhound, our home on wheels to Rainbow Beach, we got a great dorm with some great people, Nici Z, Tim, Becky and Lizzy and of course Nici W, Lindsay and I were there..thats a given..
after packing our small backpacks for Frazer, we had our "chat" with the people from Frazer about the trip..my lord can that guy Merv talk, ha I've got nothing on him..after that we went to the shops to get some munchies as they werent provided..and then there was the beer list...
10 in our group, included all the above people, Arnold a 34year old Frenchie, and a crazy German couple, she needs to work on her voice projections! Either that or the woman had her period, she went from hot to cold in seconds, and frankly scared me a little and she was TINY!!
After a $5.00 BBQ at the hostel and a shower we all had an early night and woke around 6am to finish packing, dressing and getting our pancake breakfast..we had to check out and start loading up the van with all the stuff provided..water coolers, tents, sleeping bags, table, gas cooker, fruit, bread, wraps, oils, tea etc..you get the idea..out of the 10 of us we had 5 drivers, nici w and I were not driving because well we cant..yet...
we had another 2 1/2 hr debriefing while packing up the jeep, then we had to do a jeep inspection, a debrief on the island and what to do if faced by a pack of Dingoes..they are native to this island and roam freely..not tame, wild animals, not petting or feeding..no baby eating etc..
after what seemed like 10+ hrs we were finally on the road on route for our barge that brought us to the island, which for those who dont know, its the worlds largest sand island..and unfortunately due to giant killer jelly fish and riptides you cant swim in the ocean :(
after a 10min barge crossing we made it onto dry,sandy land and proceeded what was to be about a 2hr drive up the beach on route to Lake McKenzie..we found the spot, stopped and had a picnic lunch of strange meat, vegetable sandwichs, followed by a piece of fruit each..how very school lunch box...peeing in one of the only toilets we saw for two days, we trasped our way through dense forest to lake McKenzie..beautiful land, with white sandy beaches and forest surrounding it...Nici Z made a beeline for the water running and throwing herself in..inspired I did the same and thankfully I did because the water was fucking FREEZING! remember its spring in Australia at teh moment, and yes its super duper warm like 25-26 degrees at the moment but the waters havent quite warmed up
other joined in and we played with Wilson, our beach ball in the water..until a tide took it out far into the lake, I swam after it, but theres this HUGE MASSIVE black patch of water that stretches across the lake and quite frankly it scared the shite outta me..i kept thinking a giant squid was going to jump to the surface and eat me, but obviously this didnt happen and arnold saved the day..woo!
we packed up and sped our way to our campsite for the night, we have to travel between high and low tides and had less than an hour to get to the campsite before we were swept out to sea..it was quite the adventure.. (insert Immigration Song- by Led Zeppellin here)
finding a spot, we all helped out in taking down the equipment, set up tents, gas cookers etc and proceeded to start cooking our steak dinner in next to no light, the only light was from the car and the full moon..meaning cooking steak wasnt as ABC as it normally is..we followed with dessert of Lemingtons from Nici Z and Tim and drank merrily an ate "cookies" and had a great time talking shite, listening to music and being tourists...
we finished the first day with a walk down to the ship wreck on the island which I can tell you now is VERY spooky after a few beers etc...and with a full moon it certainly looked the part...not much sleep was had that night, mainly because that was the start of me getting sick
we woke and had breakfast of eggs and toast, packed up and made our way to the very end of the island to Champagne Lakes, which we couldnt find, it was a swelter of a day and after giving up looking, we decided to drive back to Eli Creek and go for a swim there...and we made it in record time DESPITE, suffering from a punctured tire...my first ever..THANKS NICI Z for the experience :)
Eli Creek was this cool creek as you;d expect that if you have some sort of floatation device you can float from the start of the creek to the ocean..but I'd heard stories about people floating down the water, mouths open and spiders dropping into them..so I wore Tims hat and put a towel over my head..safety first!
we raced against time again to buy ice, find a toilet and get to camp before the tide came in, and in record time had dinner of asian stirfry and cake for desert..happy birthday becky! we sat around telling ghost stories and playing drinking games minus the drinks...due to needing to pee alot and having to pee in the bush, with dingoes wandering around not to mention spiders
unfortunately at this time my glands were getting worse and i headed to bed..a few mins after which a spider came running across the tarp we'd been sitting on, glad I went to bed early
next morning after a toast and cereal breakfast we ignored the low/high tide warning adn drove to find Lake Wably..or whatever its called...it was a scorcher of a day and we needed to jump into some cold water..and wadda know..the 1.8km walk turned into 2.4km walk over SAND DUNES and a forest, I've never seen soo much sand in my life..ok, you know in Waynes world II when they were on the sand dunes with the naked indian during the dream sequence? well think of those sand dunes, but minus the naked indian..the heat was unbearable cant imagine what it would have been like during Oz summer time
we eventually found the lake, on route sand got into my camera and its broken, less than 4 months old, let's not talk about it im very pissed of...it was another beautiful lake and holy fuck it was freezing cold and deep..after a refreshing swim and finding our way back..eventually we got back in the jeep and made our way to the barge, on the way we stopped to watch some dolphins casually swimming nearby...got back had to clean the jeep out, then check back into the hostel, do laundry etc..but because i was sick, Linds and Nici kindly took care of all that bless them, everyone was very good taking care of me...great new friends were made...
today im feeling ok, still not 100%, leaving Rainbow beach in about 45mins, Con is joining us today for a few weeks, heading to 1770 where we are staying in a gorgeous hostel/hotel called Southern Cross and then sailing on Whitsundays this weekend...
until then, keep on rokin'
C
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Nimbin, losing my mind, surfers paradise, brisbane and Noosa
Saturday came Nimbin day, a day I was looking forward too and dreading at the same time..Nici, Lindsey, Con and I jumped upon the original hippie tour bus that was Jim's Nimbin Tour and what a "trip" it was...holy lord...it was like going back in time...Jethro Tull, Pink Flyod...not to mention the hippies, the druggies, the bright colours, the cookies with the smarites...I've already said too much, but lord anyone whose been there will know what I'm talking about..Tim Tams, Nachos, Pizza and Con saved me..I feel alseep the second we got back for 2hrs solid and woke up the Con playing the drums with my head...
Sunday was more recovery from Nimbin lounging around Byron, soaking up the good weather and eating, and the rest of the week panned out like that...Lindsey, Nic and I had dressed up and gotten ready for Ladies night, but Cheeky Monkey was being refurbished..the blind cheek of them..pun intended
it was with sad and heavy hearts we left on Thursday driving up through torrential rain to "Surfers Paradise" which was NOT what I expected..think Costa De Sol or the Algarve...not very Aussie at all...high rise building, beaches, McDonalds and Hungry Jacks aka Burger King, lots of drunk tourists, I wanted to be back in Byron :(
We solidered on and got caught in torrential downpours buying dinner...it was followed by an early night and the next day the weather still wasnt great so it was laundry and wandering around the shops with no money..shoplifting is NOT A FUN GAME KIDS no matter how bored you get!!
Saturday we had an action packed day thanks to Cliff? at the hostel who signed us up for the Hostel pub crawl that evening- more to come on that later- and we went to Wet n Wild..no queues at this time of the year and we'd done about 15 of the 17 rides in 2hrs, after lunch we got lazy, lay in the sun and made our way back to the hostel, via a pub garden while Cliff went for a swim..an afternoon siesta made us all very sleepy but because we'd already paid for our night out we had to drag our asses outta bed and i consumed what was a questionable "salamai" sandwich for dinner and some of nici's noodles..ii miss REAL food..
the night started with goon punch, which we didnt pay for...hehehe...and then onto a bus full of drunken boys..ratio 80% guys to girls, we were given glow sticks and cowboy hats and thats when i got scared..WHAT KIND OF MUSIC WOULD THEY PLAY!??!?
The bus brought us to our first bar, called well i cant recall, we got free entry and a free drink and lindsey made friends with a guy from Toronto, nici and I befriend two young scraps all the way rfom CASTLEBAR MAYO!!
Next we were dragged for a group photo in the middle of the street full of drunken tourists, hen and stag nights...i needed to wash my hands after all those hi-fives...and after that to a club that reminded me of bozos..shit music and sticky carpets! oh and strobe lights, arent those out of fashion?
we consumed free pizza and vokdas and bought a couple more, before moving on to the 3rd bar of the night, mind you it was only about 11.45 at this stage, we started out at 8.30...the 3rd place shooters, was free as was the other places and again another free drink...thing were ok here, until some guy thought it was funny to grope you while you walked past to go to the bathroom..ASSHOLE!
nici, linsdey and I decided to call it a night around 1.15am and got into a cab and away from this hell...i must be getting old, but i wasnt in the mood to get groped and annoyed by drunk people...
the next day we ate some well needed breakfast and headed to the beach to meet our new Mayo friends, Kevin and brian...BUNDY BURGER!
us ladies high tailed it back to the hostel for some grub and I had an early night..what the hell is wrong with me? I blame Con, even though he's not here..nici and I left the next day for Brisbane and had to say goodbye to Linds for now ;)
Brisbane is a cool city..all the music is happening at weekends and later in the month so i was quiet disappointed..but we had a very early start the next day so after wandering the city and eating SUPER cheap mexican food for dinner had another early night..nici watched Bones with me for the first time ;)
We went to Oz zoo, the one owned by Steve Irwin, his presence there is still huge and you hear and see him everywhere which is a nice tribute to a man that built it up to what we see today..there's not alot of animals..mostly Australian, but they have elephants, camels and tigers...raawwrr and we got to see a croc show
today we spent the day, posting stuff home, running/waddling for a bus, nearly missed it, THANKS VERY MUCH BRISBANE TRAIN SERVICES...GRRR...and arrived in the stunningly beautiful and super posh Noosa Heads, where we are staying for a few days..lindsey gets here tomorrow and Con and Bobo are on the road Tuesday to catch up..hope to get some surfing tomorrow as it didnt happen today
and now ya'll are up to date on my travels..just need to sort out photos..im getting there!
keep on rokin'
C
Sunday was more recovery from Nimbin lounging around Byron, soaking up the good weather and eating, and the rest of the week panned out like that...Lindsey, Nic and I had dressed up and gotten ready for Ladies night, but Cheeky Monkey was being refurbished..the blind cheek of them..pun intended
it was with sad and heavy hearts we left on Thursday driving up through torrential rain to "Surfers Paradise" which was NOT what I expected..think Costa De Sol or the Algarve...not very Aussie at all...high rise building, beaches, McDonalds and Hungry Jacks aka Burger King, lots of drunk tourists, I wanted to be back in Byron :(
We solidered on and got caught in torrential downpours buying dinner...it was followed by an early night and the next day the weather still wasnt great so it was laundry and wandering around the shops with no money..shoplifting is NOT A FUN GAME KIDS no matter how bored you get!!
Saturday we had an action packed day thanks to Cliff? at the hostel who signed us up for the Hostel pub crawl that evening- more to come on that later- and we went to Wet n Wild..no queues at this time of the year and we'd done about 15 of the 17 rides in 2hrs, after lunch we got lazy, lay in the sun and made our way back to the hostel, via a pub garden while Cliff went for a swim..an afternoon siesta made us all very sleepy but because we'd already paid for our night out we had to drag our asses outta bed and i consumed what was a questionable "salamai" sandwich for dinner and some of nici's noodles..ii miss REAL food..
the night started with goon punch, which we didnt pay for...hehehe...and then onto a bus full of drunken boys..ratio 80% guys to girls, we were given glow sticks and cowboy hats and thats when i got scared..WHAT KIND OF MUSIC WOULD THEY PLAY!??!?
The bus brought us to our first bar, called well i cant recall, we got free entry and a free drink and lindsey made friends with a guy from Toronto, nici and I befriend two young scraps all the way rfom CASTLEBAR MAYO!!
Next we were dragged for a group photo in the middle of the street full of drunken tourists, hen and stag nights...i needed to wash my hands after all those hi-fives...and after that to a club that reminded me of bozos..shit music and sticky carpets! oh and strobe lights, arent those out of fashion?
we consumed free pizza and vokdas and bought a couple more, before moving on to the 3rd bar of the night, mind you it was only about 11.45 at this stage, we started out at 8.30...the 3rd place shooters, was free as was the other places and again another free drink...thing were ok here, until some guy thought it was funny to grope you while you walked past to go to the bathroom..ASSHOLE!
nici, linsdey and I decided to call it a night around 1.15am and got into a cab and away from this hell...i must be getting old, but i wasnt in the mood to get groped and annoyed by drunk people...
the next day we ate some well needed breakfast and headed to the beach to meet our new Mayo friends, Kevin and brian...BUNDY BURGER!
us ladies high tailed it back to the hostel for some grub and I had an early night..what the hell is wrong with me? I blame Con, even though he's not here..nici and I left the next day for Brisbane and had to say goodbye to Linds for now ;)
Brisbane is a cool city..all the music is happening at weekends and later in the month so i was quiet disappointed..but we had a very early start the next day so after wandering the city and eating SUPER cheap mexican food for dinner had another early night..nici watched Bones with me for the first time ;)
We went to Oz zoo, the one owned by Steve Irwin, his presence there is still huge and you hear and see him everywhere which is a nice tribute to a man that built it up to what we see today..there's not alot of animals..mostly Australian, but they have elephants, camels and tigers...raawwrr and we got to see a croc show
today we spent the day, posting stuff home, running/waddling for a bus, nearly missed it, THANKS VERY MUCH BRISBANE TRAIN SERVICES...GRRR...and arrived in the stunningly beautiful and super posh Noosa Heads, where we are staying for a few days..lindsey gets here tomorrow and Con and Bobo are on the road Tuesday to catch up..hope to get some surfing tomorrow as it didnt happen today
and now ya'll are up to date on my travels..just need to sort out photos..im getting there!
keep on rokin'
C
coffs harbour and byron bay..its a hard life
we had a great last night in Sydney...free drinks reception in a new bar, compliments of PWC....woot!
Needless to say we made the most of the free champagne..and despite this nici and I were sensible enough to go home via a fast food place, and crawl to our respective sleeping places by 10am and its a good thing we did.
the next day was an early start, with our alarms going off around 5.30...we had to leave Jo's at 6.00am to get the bus from central station at 7.00am and as always we had a nutty bus driver...looks like the teacher with the lisp from Clueless the movie...anyway that day was a 9hr 45min drive to Coffs Harbour...the bus journey was bliss..we stopped of at the Rock for some grub and I spent the journey with teh sun shining in on me as I listened to my mp3 player for 9hrs solid and read a full book, ate chocolate and drank red bull...i know...i know..hard going eh?
we got picked up by our next hostel the Aussitel in Coffs Harbour and Ian the manager picked us up and showed us around..its quite a nice little town, population 70,000 but we saw around 30 people in total..we chilled out the first night and caught up on the badly needed sleep after travelling all day..
friday we rented bikes and cycled around the marina, walked up Mutton Bay Island and even saw a whale just off the coast of the island which was cool..afterwards we cycled and proceeded to get lost on route to the big banana..and when we finally got there, soaked to the bone after being caught in hailstones, thunder and rain, everything was closed due to the weather and then i saw the biggest spider in the toilet...well, to say we were pissed off is an understatement...i wanted to go on the Tobaggon!! raging!
we cycled in total for 5hrs, my ass hurt alot, i found us a shortcut home by total fluke..and when we got back to the hostel, we made hot chocolate, sat beside the open fire, in our pjs' and read books, it was glorious after a hard days sightseeing, but it didnt stay this way too long....Daniel, a marine scientist and his friends Sean and other Dan and Tom, wanted to go out and invited us..nici was wrecked and no mood to go out, but of course, nothing more i like to do than go out and meet the locals...after a few beers indoors and some pool, we made our way along with our roommate Theresa to a place called Plantation...I will never diss bozos again..what a hole! As for the rest of the night, what happened in Coffs Harbour, stays in Coffs Harbour, but a great night was had by all
Sean and Dan brought me to watch them surf the next morning and sitting on a beach in the sun helped my fuzzy head..we had a great lunch in a local place in town and then it was time for nici and i to get the bus to Byron...after saying goodbye to our new found friends..we had a short 4hr journey with the CRANKIEST bus driver ever..what an ass...he didnt turn on the lights until about 30mins to Byron so everyone had to sit in the dark..
we got to the hostel around 9pm and everyone was drunk and singing beside the pool, with the one man band..nici and I had no plans to play catch up, but when in Rome..we drank $2.00 Red Stripe beer, changed our clothes and headed into town for some good music, which wasnt to be found, let me tell you...despite our protests we werent going to go there, we headed to cheeky monkeys and made new friends...thats all I'm saying for now..
the rest of the week consisted off, dinner with our new friend Con, hanging out with our awesome roomie, Lyndsay, and our sufing lessons, not as easy as it looks, but by day two we were catching some great waves..its now thursday and the weekend is upon is..we've plans to go to Nimbin Saturday and to make the last of our 4days here...there's even talk of staying till thursday so we can travel with Lyndsay to Surfers Paradise...
life is good..
C
Needless to say we made the most of the free champagne..and despite this nici and I were sensible enough to go home via a fast food place, and crawl to our respective sleeping places by 10am and its a good thing we did.
the next day was an early start, with our alarms going off around 5.30...we had to leave Jo's at 6.00am to get the bus from central station at 7.00am and as always we had a nutty bus driver...looks like the teacher with the lisp from Clueless the movie...anyway that day was a 9hr 45min drive to Coffs Harbour...the bus journey was bliss..we stopped of at the Rock for some grub and I spent the journey with teh sun shining in on me as I listened to my mp3 player for 9hrs solid and read a full book, ate chocolate and drank red bull...i know...i know..hard going eh?
we got picked up by our next hostel the Aussitel in Coffs Harbour and Ian the manager picked us up and showed us around..its quite a nice little town, population 70,000 but we saw around 30 people in total..we chilled out the first night and caught up on the badly needed sleep after travelling all day..
friday we rented bikes and cycled around the marina, walked up Mutton Bay Island and even saw a whale just off the coast of the island which was cool..afterwards we cycled and proceeded to get lost on route to the big banana..and when we finally got there, soaked to the bone after being caught in hailstones, thunder and rain, everything was closed due to the weather and then i saw the biggest spider in the toilet...well, to say we were pissed off is an understatement...i wanted to go on the Tobaggon!! raging!
we cycled in total for 5hrs, my ass hurt alot, i found us a shortcut home by total fluke..and when we got back to the hostel, we made hot chocolate, sat beside the open fire, in our pjs' and read books, it was glorious after a hard days sightseeing, but it didnt stay this way too long....Daniel, a marine scientist and his friends Sean and other Dan and Tom, wanted to go out and invited us..nici was wrecked and no mood to go out, but of course, nothing more i like to do than go out and meet the locals...after a few beers indoors and some pool, we made our way along with our roommate Theresa to a place called Plantation...I will never diss bozos again..what a hole! As for the rest of the night, what happened in Coffs Harbour, stays in Coffs Harbour, but a great night was had by all
Sean and Dan brought me to watch them surf the next morning and sitting on a beach in the sun helped my fuzzy head..we had a great lunch in a local place in town and then it was time for nici and i to get the bus to Byron...after saying goodbye to our new found friends..we had a short 4hr journey with the CRANKIEST bus driver ever..what an ass...he didnt turn on the lights until about 30mins to Byron so everyone had to sit in the dark..
we got to the hostel around 9pm and everyone was drunk and singing beside the pool, with the one man band..nici and I had no plans to play catch up, but when in Rome..we drank $2.00 Red Stripe beer, changed our clothes and headed into town for some good music, which wasnt to be found, let me tell you...despite our protests we werent going to go there, we headed to cheeky monkeys and made new friends...thats all I'm saying for now..
the rest of the week consisted off, dinner with our new friend Con, hanging out with our awesome roomie, Lyndsay, and our sufing lessons, not as easy as it looks, but by day two we were catching some great waves..its now thursday and the weekend is upon is..we've plans to go to Nimbin Saturday and to make the last of our 4days here...there's even talk of staying till thursday so we can travel with Lyndsay to Surfers Paradise...
life is good..
C
the next step, sydney to...
well boys and girls...im assuming you are all sitting waiting by the edge of your seats to hear the next installement of this blog...well here it is..in all its glory..although i have next to nothing exciting to report..its been a fairly quiet few days..which were badly needed!
after catching up on some sleep friday, my plans for friday night, were squashed and recycled into me eating spagetti hoops on toast while surfing the world wide web...delightful evening i must say..i was still delirious from the previous two nights and still wired for that matter took me ages to sleep
saturday was a good day..jo and i met with nici and simon in Palm Beach AKA SUMMER BAY! Yes thats right kids where the fantastic H&A outdoor scenes are filmed..we ran on the beach, took some photos at the surf club, had a delightful lunch, followed by dessert, i opted out of lunch thank god, otherwise i would have been in a food coma...
saturday night nici and simon had to babysit..so jo and i took our time, drank some wine and proceeded to paint the town red..but unfortunately jo wasnt feeling well, so after two hours of being a trooper in a very loud rock club we made our way home..
sunday with no sign of life from the above, i got up early and headed to the rocks..which is a very famous part of sydney..google it..im not explaining this in my blog..i spent a few hours wandering around the markets, under the harbour bridge and generally getting lost on my own, before i found a quiet patch of grass to call my own and proceeded to watch the world go by while writing postcards..
simon and nici made it in around 3pm and invited me to lunch with some of simons old college friends, orla and claire, who were delightful and brought us to some very fancy posh sailing club, don'tcha know nicole kidman lives right next door, i saw her house and no i didnt take a photo..
next we went to kings cross to meet another friend of Simons, Rob, who was delightful and gave us some advice about travelling up the coast including stories about drop bears?! i still think he was lying
i left nici and Si, to enjoy their last few hours together and i made my way back to Chatswood and found a tiny little Chinese restaurant where i ate some good food, drank some yummy chinese tea and generally made a huge mess with my chopsticks and because i was on my own i couldnt blame someone else at the table...dammit!
monday was a sad sad sad day in sydney..simon had to bid us fair well, as well he had to go home..back to work, back to the grey rainy skies of dublin...HURRY BACK SIMON, we have a karaoke competition to do!! I went out via the ferry to Manly and met the guys and brought nici back to Jo's where we spent the day looking at stuff in shops we couldnt afford..and then i made dinner for the ladies and we drank wine..
today has soo far being fairly busy, we've been researching and booking our next part of the trip!
so listen up kids..here's the plan
we leave sydney on thursday to go to Coffs Bay and we stay there for 2nights, theres a banana plantation there where you can go tabgoon riding, it looks savage..the only thing im afraid of is all the spiders i might see..fingers crossed and hopefully we'll get to do some canoeing there too
we leave Coffs Bay on Saturday afternoon for Byron Bay and after that? the East Coast is our Oyster...so yeah let us know what we should see/do in Coffs Bay/ bRYon Bay
nici and i are off to Bondi Beach today adn then tonight meeting some people for a few beers...its a hard life. i swear!
keep on rockin
C
after catching up on some sleep friday, my plans for friday night, were squashed and recycled into me eating spagetti hoops on toast while surfing the world wide web...delightful evening i must say..i was still delirious from the previous two nights and still wired for that matter took me ages to sleep
saturday was a good day..jo and i met with nici and simon in Palm Beach AKA SUMMER BAY! Yes thats right kids where the fantastic H&A outdoor scenes are filmed..we ran on the beach, took some photos at the surf club, had a delightful lunch, followed by dessert, i opted out of lunch thank god, otherwise i would have been in a food coma...
saturday night nici and simon had to babysit..so jo and i took our time, drank some wine and proceeded to paint the town red..but unfortunately jo wasnt feeling well, so after two hours of being a trooper in a very loud rock club we made our way home..
sunday with no sign of life from the above, i got up early and headed to the rocks..which is a very famous part of sydney..google it..im not explaining this in my blog..i spent a few hours wandering around the markets, under the harbour bridge and generally getting lost on my own, before i found a quiet patch of grass to call my own and proceeded to watch the world go by while writing postcards..
simon and nici made it in around 3pm and invited me to lunch with some of simons old college friends, orla and claire, who were delightful and brought us to some very fancy posh sailing club, don'tcha know nicole kidman lives right next door, i saw her house and no i didnt take a photo..
next we went to kings cross to meet another friend of Simons, Rob, who was delightful and gave us some advice about travelling up the coast including stories about drop bears?! i still think he was lying
i left nici and Si, to enjoy their last few hours together and i made my way back to Chatswood and found a tiny little Chinese restaurant where i ate some good food, drank some yummy chinese tea and generally made a huge mess with my chopsticks and because i was on my own i couldnt blame someone else at the table...dammit!
monday was a sad sad sad day in sydney..simon had to bid us fair well, as well he had to go home..back to work, back to the grey rainy skies of dublin...HURRY BACK SIMON, we have a karaoke competition to do!! I went out via the ferry to Manly and met the guys and brought nici back to Jo's where we spent the day looking at stuff in shops we couldnt afford..and then i made dinner for the ladies and we drank wine..
today has soo far being fairly busy, we've been researching and booking our next part of the trip!
so listen up kids..here's the plan
we leave sydney on thursday to go to Coffs Bay and we stay there for 2nights, theres a banana plantation there where you can go tabgoon riding, it looks savage..the only thing im afraid of is all the spiders i might see..fingers crossed and hopefully we'll get to do some canoeing there too
we leave Coffs Bay on Saturday afternoon for Byron Bay and after that? the East Coast is our Oyster...so yeah let us know what we should see/do in Coffs Bay/ bRYon Bay
nici and i are off to Bondi Beach today adn then tonight meeting some people for a few beers...its a hard life. i swear!
keep on rockin
C
Sydney is just to cool for school, weirdest night ever!
ok..yesterday, well i had another very weird and awesome experience to add to the stories from this trip..i swear to god i couldnt make up half of the stuff that happens to me
where to begin...im not going to go into too much detail and people might wonder why i update this so much and spend so much time online, bla bla..
well consider this
1) im unemployed...i have free net at jo's...do the math
2) i want to some day write my memraws (you get the idea) this is just a guide line so i can remember all the stuff that happens
3) i miss my friends, and this way we keep up to date so theres not a huge back log to talk about in december
anyway back to yesterday..the sydney opera house and harbour bridge..wow..what a beautiful sight, its simply stunning..i really really felt like i was in sydney after seeing them..i even got a bit teary eyed..or maybe it was the wind...its such a sight, its exactly like you see in the movies and on tv..i really got goose bumps after seeing that...i met with nici and simon and we ate some really good lunch..salmon..now being a back packer, its important to take a vitamin and or eat some fish at least once a week
i promise i will start today.
so we go wander around, take lots of touristy photos..the usual..and go for a guided tour of the opera house..all i can say is John Cusack..simon and nici will know what im talking about..the building is amazing, one could also say its class..simon was drooling over the architecture, i wanted to see the backstage areas but that tour wasnt available in the afternoon...hotdogs!
after we wandered around some more, getting a tad lost, taking in all the sights of downtown, georges st, martin place etc...sydney is an amazing city..if you've been here, you'd understand..ive only been here 48hrs and i love it
its currently sunny, not too hot, not too cold, a nice gentle breeze..you swear i was reading the weather on rte, but its perfect weather for sightseeing and being a tourist.
i had plans to meet with kommie, aka dimitry at kings cross to see a band he really like, after getting lost in the station nici, simon, kommie and i went for some well needed pub grub..now kings cross in sydney is quite like KC in london, dirty and seedy, lots of strip clubs, shooting etc..my kinda town..nic and Si called it a night and kommie and I wandered down the street to the venue, which was this tiny basement with a great underground, new york vibe, my kinda venue
just as i was walking in the door, i notice someone from the night before...and low and behold it was Dylan from the night before...we couldnt believe it, very random...we'd planned to meet saturday but had no idea we were going to the gig..extra bonus
kommie was right about the band, they are awesome, check out their myspace and make up your own mind..
myspace/onlytheseaslugs
myspace/therocketsmiths
so we stayed for one more drink and then made our way to another bar for a night cap..you'll never guess who was in there? the other guy from the night before?
theres soo much more to this story, but i cant print it due to age restrictions on my profile..the night just got more random and weirder...let me know if you want to know more...
so ive had 2hrs sleep and nothing to eat in 15hrs..its time for some toast!
keep on rokin
C
where to begin...im not going to go into too much detail and people might wonder why i update this so much and spend so much time online, bla bla..
well consider this
1) im unemployed...i have free net at jo's...do the math
2) i want to some day write my memraws (you get the idea) this is just a guide line so i can remember all the stuff that happens
3) i miss my friends, and this way we keep up to date so theres not a huge back log to talk about in december
anyway back to yesterday..the sydney opera house and harbour bridge..wow..what a beautiful sight, its simply stunning..i really really felt like i was in sydney after seeing them..i even got a bit teary eyed..or maybe it was the wind...its such a sight, its exactly like you see in the movies and on tv..i really got goose bumps after seeing that...i met with nici and simon and we ate some really good lunch..salmon..now being a back packer, its important to take a vitamin and or eat some fish at least once a week
i promise i will start today.
so we go wander around, take lots of touristy photos..the usual..and go for a guided tour of the opera house..all i can say is John Cusack..simon and nici will know what im talking about..the building is amazing, one could also say its class..simon was drooling over the architecture, i wanted to see the backstage areas but that tour wasnt available in the afternoon...hotdogs!
after we wandered around some more, getting a tad lost, taking in all the sights of downtown, georges st, martin place etc...sydney is an amazing city..if you've been here, you'd understand..ive only been here 48hrs and i love it
its currently sunny, not too hot, not too cold, a nice gentle breeze..you swear i was reading the weather on rte, but its perfect weather for sightseeing and being a tourist.
i had plans to meet with kommie, aka dimitry at kings cross to see a band he really like, after getting lost in the station nici, simon, kommie and i went for some well needed pub grub..now kings cross in sydney is quite like KC in london, dirty and seedy, lots of strip clubs, shooting etc..my kinda town..nic and Si called it a night and kommie and I wandered down the street to the venue, which was this tiny basement with a great underground, new york vibe, my kinda venue
just as i was walking in the door, i notice someone from the night before...and low and behold it was Dylan from the night before...we couldnt believe it, very random...we'd planned to meet saturday but had no idea we were going to the gig..extra bonus
kommie was right about the band, they are awesome, check out their myspace and make up your own mind..
myspace/onlytheseaslugs
myspace/therocketsmiths
so we stayed for one more drink and then made our way to another bar for a night cap..you'll never guess who was in there? the other guy from the night before?
theres soo much more to this story, but i cant print it due to age restrictions on my profile..the night just got more random and weirder...let me know if you want to know more...
so ive had 2hrs sleep and nothing to eat in 15hrs..its time for some toast!
keep on rokin
C
Sydney..Jo knows how to party!
so i sit here in jo's apartment in north sydney..its beautiful..she has landed nicely on her feet, with a great job, great friends and a great apartment..respect to the jo!
we, as in nici and i took a 12hr over night bus journey to sydney on tuesday night leaving at 8pm and arriving at 8.00am wednesday morning...i was awake the whole journey, i nearly went demented!
i sat for 12hrs eating those sour snake sweets, reading and listening to my mp3 player...played a little wilco, a little sterophonics, a little nouvelle v, a little tool, a little magic numbers etc etc you get the idea..and what a whirlwind of thoughts ran through my head as i sat on that bus looking out the window at the changing landscape and sky colours from night, to sunrise all the way through to the day...getting a bit deep here so i'll move on
arrived and had some breakfast while we waited for simon to meet us, the bold boy just cant get enough of the biscuit and decided to stay an extra week..huzzah!
i eventually found my way to jo's and slept for most of the day..i eventually pulled myself of the couch and showered in possibly the greatest shower in the world..amazing...when you are a backpacker and stay in very random and different places every night you really appreciate the small things in live and boy that shower was heaven..next thing i know Jo's in the door...aww to be reunited with old friends what a great feeling
we went and hung out in newtown for the night, oh jesus my head is killing me..what a crazy night..we went out nice and early for a grown up dinner of Thai fun..twas yummy..and some wine and sure we were chatting so much and had so much to chat about we decided to move on to another bar...and then another bar for cocktails and then to another bar..
now we should have known at this 3rd bar we'd made a mistake because they were playing shit crappy european dance pop music, but its huge and we thought there might be better music on the next level..we couldnt have been more wrong if we tried
we walked in on lesbian night, butch, pretty, tall, small, fat, skinny, lady lovers of the world..i swear the place was crammed packed full of lesbian action, and jo and i are straight as two bean poles side by side...we high tailed it out of there very fast..i was scared going to the toilet shall we say and there was reason to be..
moving swiftly on we went to find a rock bar and on route, we saw Trivium..aka metal rock band playing in a venue and jo was like, lets sneak in, so we did, we just walked by security as if we were suppossed to be there and got to see the last song of the night..it was very funny and random i have to say
we moved to the bar next door, and got talking to ben, dylan and claudia, the bar staff of the place..dylan and claudia werent working so we had a few drinks with them, and when we decided to move on, dylan shared a taxi and instead of going home like he should have done as he's working this morning (with probably a very sore head) we went to one last bar and stayed there until the weee hours..the place was full of students, an one american guy playing songs on an acoustic, he played well and even played some tool for jo and i...we befriended a guy called bede, who turned out to be a bit of a nutter if his texts are anything to go by and we left and made plans to hang out with dylan at the weekend
so ive been on the couch all morning, nursing a sore head, drinking plenty of water..willing my hangover away..poor jo getting up for work, i love being a backpacker!
nici and simon are FINALLY up and at em, so best go and get dressed and explore the city by day and not by night and bar..
keep on rockin'
C
we, as in nici and i took a 12hr over night bus journey to sydney on tuesday night leaving at 8pm and arriving at 8.00am wednesday morning...i was awake the whole journey, i nearly went demented!
i sat for 12hrs eating those sour snake sweets, reading and listening to my mp3 player...played a little wilco, a little sterophonics, a little nouvelle v, a little tool, a little magic numbers etc etc you get the idea..and what a whirlwind of thoughts ran through my head as i sat on that bus looking out the window at the changing landscape and sky colours from night, to sunrise all the way through to the day...getting a bit deep here so i'll move on
arrived and had some breakfast while we waited for simon to meet us, the bold boy just cant get enough of the biscuit and decided to stay an extra week..huzzah!
i eventually found my way to jo's and slept for most of the day..i eventually pulled myself of the couch and showered in possibly the greatest shower in the world..amazing...when you are a backpacker and stay in very random and different places every night you really appreciate the small things in live and boy that shower was heaven..next thing i know Jo's in the door...aww to be reunited with old friends what a great feeling
we went and hung out in newtown for the night, oh jesus my head is killing me..what a crazy night..we went out nice and early for a grown up dinner of Thai fun..twas yummy..and some wine and sure we were chatting so much and had so much to chat about we decided to move on to another bar...and then another bar for cocktails and then to another bar..
now we should have known at this 3rd bar we'd made a mistake because they were playing shit crappy european dance pop music, but its huge and we thought there might be better music on the next level..we couldnt have been more wrong if we tried
we walked in on lesbian night, butch, pretty, tall, small, fat, skinny, lady lovers of the world..i swear the place was crammed packed full of lesbian action, and jo and i are straight as two bean poles side by side...we high tailed it out of there very fast..i was scared going to the toilet shall we say and there was reason to be..
moving swiftly on we went to find a rock bar and on route, we saw Trivium..aka metal rock band playing in a venue and jo was like, lets sneak in, so we did, we just walked by security as if we were suppossed to be there and got to see the last song of the night..it was very funny and random i have to say
we moved to the bar next door, and got talking to ben, dylan and claudia, the bar staff of the place..dylan and claudia werent working so we had a few drinks with them, and when we decided to move on, dylan shared a taxi and instead of going home like he should have done as he's working this morning (with probably a very sore head) we went to one last bar and stayed there until the weee hours..the place was full of students, an one american guy playing songs on an acoustic, he played well and even played some tool for jo and i...we befriended a guy called bede, who turned out to be a bit of a nutter if his texts are anything to go by and we left and made plans to hang out with dylan at the weekend
so ive been on the couch all morning, nursing a sore head, drinking plenty of water..willing my hangover away..poor jo getting up for work, i love being a backpacker!
nici and simon are FINALLY up and at em, so best go and get dressed and explore the city by day and not by night and bar..
keep on rockin'
C
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
