Spice's Adventure

After the Rock tour, I board my bus in Alice destined for Darwin. For the first time, backpackers don't outnumber locals - it seems the entire Aboriginal population of Alice is heading north for Christmas - I have suddenly become an ethnic minority!

Given that I'm tired from the 3 days of treks and camping, and I have two seats to myself, I figure I will sleep for most of the night and then admire the scenery for the daylight hours. There are after all, plenty of them, I am on the bus for a total of 22 hours!

What I haven't factored in is the fact that the bus acts as a postal service to all of the stations (farms) and isloated townships between Alice and Darwin. As most of these are not signnposted and the road has no lighting, sudden slamming on of brakes is common throughout the evening and night. Any chance of sleeping is out the window as no sooner have I managed to doze off, the bus screeches to a halt and the driver gets out to deliver a bag of post and pick up the bag waiting. This pattern is repeated throughout the night!

Sometime after 1am we arrive in Tennant Creek. Now I have no idea what the place is like in daylight hours, but at night it is pretty grim, and scary, and sadly for me, this is the location of a two hgour "comfort break" where we swap drivers, refuel and liaise with other buses on the Cairns-Darwin route to exchange post and freight. For some reason this involves all passengers having to dismebark, so there I am sitting on a petrol forecourt wondering how to fill two hours, while drunk locals pull in mid-joyride to fill up with gas.

By now all the other white faces have left the bus and headed off to hostels in town (god help them!) so I begin to feel a little uncomfortable with all the stares and the endless stream of drunk locals passing through. It's with great relief that we reboard the bus at 3.15am. I think I manage a few hours of sleep here and there, before finally arriving in Katherine for our lunchbreak. Katherine is without doubt the most disappointing place I visited in Australia, but more of that later. Right now, I just concentrate on buying a drink and hiding from the midday sun. Then with a heavy heart it's back aboard the bus for the final leg of the journey.

As we eventually roll into Darwin at 5.30pm, I can't help but be excited by the metropolis around me! Trust me, when you've spent time in Alice and visiting every random place along the way to Darwin, anything would be exciting!

I check into my hostel, have a much needed shower and head out to have a brief look around, find the hotel I am staying at the next night, and end up at the war memorial at sunset. I then head back to the hostel and fall into bed.

Sadly the bunk above me is occupied by a long-term resident who decides to come back after her bar shift drunk and noisely gets ready to go back out. This is then repeated a few hours later (i think about 1am) when she is accompanied by 2 friends who all come into the room to seemly help her get ready, but really are just there to annoy me! She then disappears for the rest of the night and by the time I check out the next morning, having managed about 5 hours sleep in total, she is still awol.

It was with great relief that I checked out of the Melaleuca on Mitchell hostel and headed to the marina to check into the apartment/hotel we had booked for Christmas. Yes, that's right, I finally had travelling buddies!! Lydia was ditching Denmark for a month driving down the west coast of Australia, and Andrew was leaving Melbourne for 10 days to join us on our roadtrip until Broome.

It was finally time to say goodbye to Cairns and fly off to the Northern Territory to go on my Rock Tour from Alice Springs.

I'd planned to fly in Monday and go on tour Tuesday but through various booking mix-ups I ended up being asked to delay my tour until the following day and give up my original place to somebody else. Being the lovely girl that I am, I agreed to do it, although in the process missed out on my tour dinner and drinks on the last day.

So I spent a day in Alice picking up last minute bits and pieces, ie a wide brimmed hat, and some insect repellent, which incidentally, does NOT work on flies...

So early on the 16th, Maria (a Polish girl from my hostel) and I were picked up by Jason our guide and headed off to pick everybody else up. Our group was a really good mix of people, though mainly german speaking people, from Germany and Switzerland, and Dutch people. It was the first trip I've been on where I felt like the minority as only Jason and I were native english speakers, but everyone would translate or speak in English when i was around, so it was no problem. Plus one of the swiss guys looked a little like orlando bloom which made everything ok!

The first day involved a lot of driving, to the point at which I was beginning to lose all hope of ever getting off the tour bus again and feeling decidedly queasy. But eventually we arrived at our first stop, Kings Canyon and our first hike of the trip - a 3 hour hike up to the top of the Canyon (via Heart Attack Hill - the tour guide's name for it)

I honestly thought I would have a heart attack - it was about 39C which apparently is not bad (Jason has done the walk in 50C before) but it was more humid that normal, and a few of us were suffering. The first section was literally loose rock steps straight up!

The heat took away most of the enjoyment of the walk, as everytime we stopped to admire a view or learn something interesting, it was all I could do to drink some water and get my breath back. So I didn't take as many pics as I would normally, and I certainly didn't enjoy it!

Finally we made it to the top of the Canyon to begin the rim walk:

I guess the view from the top was worth it!

You can't tell from the photos, but it was blisteringly hot, so everytime we stopped we all fought for the small pieces of shade under prickly trees. I usually missed out, being one of the slower ones arriving at each stop. We did thankfully pause here for a while where we were shaded by the rocks behind us, to contemplate the next step, a steep descent down, followed by a climb up the stairs on the opposite canyon wall - not a fun task!

And there was of course, always the risk of rock falls...

I didn't eat my packed lunch until we were back on the bus as I didn't have time between gulps or air and water to swallow anything. And by then the cheese had melted to a mayonnaise consistency. yum...

On the way down, one of the Dutch family started to suffer from heat exhaustion and she ended up being taken to the local clinic and being put on a IV drip for 3 hours. I was so relieved it hadn't been me, and made sure I had a rehydration sachet drink when I was offered it!! It meant a serious delay to us getting to camp that night, but we had the chance to use the pool near the clinic for free, so it wasn't all bad - a lovely treat after a hot and sweaty walk!

Thankfully the woman was ok (i have forgotton her name since it was so long since I did the tour now!) and was released after 3 hours so we headed off to make camp in the dark. Dinner wasn't ready until about 10 but it was worth the wait and we ate round the camp fire, with a beer in hand. bliss! Before curling up in our swags for the night.

Unfortunately at 1am we were woken up by rain (yes, apparently it does rain down there, after all!) so all dove for cover to a sheltered bit of concrete. Sadly it wasn't really big enough for all of us, and Maria, Jason and I were last there, so we were dripped on all night. But that's all part of the fun, right?

And it did provide a beautiful sunset and rainbow for us to get up to - a treat at whatever early hour it was!

After a tiring night, it was up and off to our second hike, the Valley of the Winds, through the Olgas (Kata Tjuta). The Olgas are a collection of 36 rock domes which are stunning, and dare i say it, more impressive than Uluru. The weather was so much better than the previous day - it was still really hot, but much less humid, and cloudier so we didn't feel like we were being cooked. The walk is closed if it's predicted to be over 36C so we were lucky it had cooled off sufficiently as I'd have hated to miss out on this.

Some of the bits of walk were a bit strenuous, but much easier on the whole than Kings Canyon.

This bit was a challenge:

The final slog to the halfway point:

Rewarded with a stunning view:

There was an option at the halfway point to return the way we'd come (the option our guide Jason went for) or to carry on the loop, the longer route. After being reassured it was downhill the rest of the way, i figured I'd opt for that. The descent begins:

It turned out jason lied!! no wonder he went the other way... But it was still an enjoyable walk, and gave me the chance to chat to some different people in our group.

Then it was onto our second campsite, at the Ayers Rock resort, for lunch and a swim, then back onto the bus to visit the Cultural Centre.

Final stop for the day, Uluru (Ayers Rock) to do part of the Base walk. Unfortunately flies ruined the enjoyment once more!

But it was our first chance to see the big rock up close, and of course make the decision about whether or not we'd climb the Rock the next day. (no one did - i doubt anyone would once they'd been to the Cultural Centre and understood what the rock means to the aboriginal people, and heard about the various political issues)

The route up onto Ayers Rock:

As it turned out the climb was closed the next day due to high winds.

We then drove to the sunset car park for dinner, and of course sunset! Sadly due to the clouds, it was fairly unimpressive in terms of the Rock changing colour - it literally went from orange to black. And i was expecting the sun to set behind or just to one side of the rock, not in a completely different direction! But it was a good sunset all the same.

The second night it was swags under the stars again, although some people opted to sleep in the empty laundry room at the camp to shelter from potential rain - i just pulled the swag over my head and hoped for the best!

3rd day and we were up early for sunrise and breakfast at Uluru

and then it was time for the base walk (excluding the bit we did the day before) Sadly Jason opted out of joining us and went for a nap in the bus, so we were left to self-navigate (easy enough), but it also meant we didn't get any more background info on the art etc. I did listen in to other tour guides every now and then though so I'd know what I was looking at! The rock gets pretty samey samey after a while, but there are lots of caves, rockfalls, and wildlife.

Wild dingo:

Bear rock:

And that was that for the tour. It was just a quick lunch break on the way home and my first sighting of a Road Train:

and then back to Alice Springs.

For me that meant a shower, repacking my bag, eating and then off to catch the greyhound bus. Upsettingly while waiting for my bus I saw lots of my tour group meeting up for the post-tour dinner and drinks, which were likely to be big considering it was jason's last tour before Christmas. None of that fun for me, it was time for my 22hr bus journey to Darwin...

Having to stretch my braincells quite a bit to remember this far back now, but went on a fabulous day tour in Cairns, which everyone should go on if you have time. It's called Uncle Brian's Atherton Tablelands tour - and is the most fun day trip ever! It's kind of silly but you get into the spirit of it, and just laugh all day. Our guide - Cousin Rohan was fabulous.

I went with a girl from my second hostel in Cairns, Bex, and it was a day of waterfalls, lakes, beautiful scenery, food, fun and singing. Oh and cows giving birth while you're having lunch, if you're really lucky!! Here's a few pics:

First stop - Devil's Pools:

Second stop - Josephine Falls:

Rock Slide where I managed to slip over and fall down feet first on my front clutching onto my sunglasses hoping I wouldn't lose them, or my life, in the white water! Watching a child manage to do the slide perfectly soon after made me try again. Thankfully 2nd and 3rd attempts were much better!

Third stop - Millaa Millaa Falls (also known as the waterfall in Peter Andre's Mysterious Girl video!) The water was absolutely freezing but our guide made us refer to it as refreshing and invigorating instead, an approach I have since adopted for all open water swimming, and in fact some unheated pools in Oz.

We all tried to recreate the scenes from the Timotee shampoo ads. I had so much water up my nose by this 10th attempt...

Fourth stop - lake Eacham where we saw saw-edged turtles and did more swimming. Followed by hot chocolate. Yum

Gus the Bus - what a legend!

Final stop - platypus spotting in a secret location. After about 40mins of standing in silence staring at the murky water, success at last!!

On another point, the Northern Greenhouse in Cairns is the best hostel in Australia! Free breakfast every day, free pancakes on saturday and free bbq on sunday, and also free bus trips to some random places on outskirts of the city, including this Crystal Cascades trip:

Again, freezing cold water!

Sorry I've been a little slow at updating this, but I'm making the most of a rainy day today...

After a week in Cairns, I had had enough of the city and was craving some rainforest action, so I booked an overnight tour of Cape Tribulation, a couple of hours north of the city, with a couple of nights in Port Douglas on the way back (about an hour north of Cairns)

So it was an early pick up by the Jungle Tours bus and we headed north up the Captain Cook Highway (what else would it be named?!) in the capable hands of our guide Fraser. First stop was the Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary outside Port Douglas. The highlight of which was being able to feed the kangaroos and wallabies. You had to buy a bag of food and being on a strict budget I opted against it but a woman offered me a handful of her kid's food and took my photo feeding too (i love australians!)

You wouldn't mess with this guy would you?!

A tree kangaroo - strange but true

Wallaby and joey

I was also excited to see a Kookaburra having sung about them endlessly at Brownies...

Next it was on to Mossman Gorge for a rainforest walk and a swim. Given that most of the coastline and rivers up here are crocodile infested, you have to make the most of the spots that are safe. It was a great little place, although the current was pretty strong so you had to be careful. Only a couple of days before the water had been too high and rough to swim in so we were lucky there hadn't been rain in a couple of days.

Then it was onto the Daintree River Cruise Teashop for a delicious lunch (yummy chicken wings and salad), a cup of local tea and a dry out in the sun, before some attempts at Didgeridoo playing. Then we boarded our river boat for an hour's cruise down the Daintree River spotting crocodiles. We managed to find 3 which was apparently pretty lucky for the current weather/temperature, as well as a white-lipped green tree frog and a green tree snake. The Australians like to call things as they see them, so the names are crazily obvious (why not?!)

First crocodile spot


White-lipped green tree frog

Second crocodile spot

The next stop was the Alexandra Lookout, an amazing view over the coastline, out to various islands, including Lowe Island where Steve Irwin sadly died, and Snapper Island, which is shaped like a crocodile.

Before we knew it, it was onto Cape Tribulation and we were being dropped off at our hostels. Not that they are really hostels there, they are more like resorts. i stayed at the Ferntree Resort which was lovely and shared a 5-bed chalet. I spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool and then given the lack of many shops in Cape Trib, I ate at the resort restaurant which was yum, and reasonably priced. It was actually a bit chilly come night time so i pulled a jumper on for the first time in months, and whipped out my ever-handy torch to find my way to the restaurant building given the general lack of lights in the resort grounds.

The next day I headed off to check out the rainforest boardwalk which leads down to Myall Beach and then onto the Cape Tribulation lookout and beach which was well worth the hot walk up the road.

This is a bird's nest believe it or not. And a small bird at that - the orange-footed scrub fowl (about the size of a chicken)

Ouch!

Crab in the mangroves

Nowhere is safe

The beach seems to be croc free...

View from Cape Trib Lookout

Cape Tribulation Beach

Then it was back to my hostel for an afternoon swimming in the pool...

Lace Monitor at the hostel pool

...before being picked up by Jungle Tours to be taken home. I'd requested a drop off in Port Douglas and the bus conveniently dropped me off right at the door to my hostel for the next couple of nights, the Parrotfish Lodge.

The guy working at reception/behind the bar David was great, although managed to overcharge me, but he was great about it when i realised. The hostel was really good, with spacious 8-bed en-suite rooms with more bathrooms at the end of the corridor. The kitchen's a bit small, but not bad, and there's a great pool, huge tv area and a lovely resident dog!

The first night I headed out for dinner as I didn't have any food with me. Went for a yummy but cheap thai green curry at Mango Jam - highly recommend the place, and the portions are huge.

Port Douglas is a fabulous place, with a beautiful beach (stinger net for swimming in summer), one main road of cafes, shops and restaurants, and not much else! Accommodation in hostels is the same as Cairns but eating out, groceries, tours etc are a lot more. On Sunday there is a market down by the marina, with crafts, jewellery, food etc on sale. I was so relaxed and chilled out there, I decided to extend my stay to 4 nights, rather than 2, and just spent my days relaxing by the pool or hiding under a palm tree on the beach.

Down by Port Douglas Marina:

Port Douglas Beach:

My own personal beach umbrella:

I finally caught a crab in action removing a sand ball from it's hole (same sand balls as Mission Beach):

There is also a beautiful church right down by the sea which has the most amazing views out of a large window at the front. I'd be going to mass every week if I lived in Port Douglas!

Eventually I realised I would have to head back to Cairns so that I could do a reef trip etc so I said a very sad goodbye to Port Douglas and picked up a shuttle bus back to the city.

So since leaving the horrendous Airlie Beach hostel, I spent three nights on Magnetic Island. There's not that much to do there except watersports and walks, so I spent most of the time lazing around the various bays and beaches on the island and doing some of the walking tracks.

Sunset on Day 1 at Horseshoe Bay:

Day 2: Horseshoe Bay:

Day 3: I took the island's bus to visit some of the various bays, but this was my favourite (Alma Bay):

The tree I sheltered under during the midday sun:

Alma Bay lifeguard - this was by far the best beach and cove and you could swim in the sea without a stinger netted area or stinger suit. The water was beautifully clear and full of fish!

This evil big scary crow lurked over me for about 30mins threatening to poo in my face...

My hostel was amazing - Bungalow Bay YHA if you're heading that way! It's a collection of wooden cabins in a bush setting and it's just very chilled out and relaxing.

There is a bar/restaurant but it shuts at 10pm so you're not kept awake by rowdy partygoers (how old am i?!) which was bliss after Airlie. Having said that, the wildlife makes sure you don't sleep right through the night! The hostel is attached to a wildlife sanctuary where you can go on tours, hold koalas etc or even have a champagne breakfast. But in a money saving bid, i decided not to bother (although am regretting it, as still haven't seen a wild koala 8 months into my trip!)
Lorikeets:

Lorikeets and a curlew:


Lorikeet feeding time:

After a lovely three days on Magnetic Island, I headed north. As the fruit picking in Tully fell through due to the hostel being full and therefore there being no chance of being put on the work list i headed for Cairns, figuring it was the next best bet for finding work. I nearly ended up heading back to Tully after an email from the hostel today asking me to call them, but apparently now they're saying i have to commit to at least a month before a farm will consider me. Not much use when i only have 3 weeks before my flight to Alice Springs...

So heading north, I stopped for a night in Mission Beach on the way. Picked a bad hostel as it was very cramped and very cliquey so not good for making friends, plus someone stole my cheese - how rude! But the beach itself is gorgeous:

although it has very bizarre sand patterns caused by some sort of crabs:

And here's a crab responsible for it:

Unfortunately as it's stinger season, there's only a small section of the beach you can swim from where the stinger net is, but the beach is big enough and quiet enough to find your own space. I managed to sit in the skydive dropzone!

I only had a couple of hours there on my first day, and then the next morning, before taking the bus up to Cairns. Annoyingly the bus was an hour late due to a late driver which was frustrating, particularly as it meant the courtesy bus from my Cairns hostel wasn't there to meet me. But thankfully a quick call to them and they came to pick me up, which is pretty good service i think!

I have booked into the same hostel as Bex and Mike, but while they enjoy the best room in the place apparently (it helps to know a member of staff!), I am in a 4-bed dorm with 2 German girls and an (Irish?) girl who works in the hostel. Not really had the chance to get to know anybody much, so am feeling a bit lonely at the moment after months with Katherine and Marty. The hostel isn't really geared up for people who don't want to go out at night and party, or stay in playing drinking games, so the evenings are a bit dull for an old fogie like me, but I have finally found a reasonable secondhand book shop so treated myself to a book which i can then exchange along the way somewhere (if i can find room in my rucksack - i had to ditch 2 books, jeans and a t-shirt at katherine's for lack of space!)

Acquainted myself with the city and spent some time down at the lagoon - really not sure Australian coastal life is all it claims to be - why you would live on the coast if you can't swim in the ocean half the year or the cities only have fake beaches! Bring me the East Yorkshire coast any day!!

Also applied for a few jobs here and looked into some trips to Cape Tribulation and snorkelling to the Great Barrier Reef. Want to see what happens with work before i book anything, but don't want to miss out!

Done a couple of much-needed loads of laundry from Whitsundays and left it to dry hanging around my bunk! (love that washing line - saves me $3 every time!). Also stocked myself up with some groceries for the next week - there's only so many beans on toast you can have before it gets tiring...

Went out with a group from the hostel on Saturday, including bex and Mike which was fun, but since i don't have drinks expenses in my daily budget, it'll probably be my only Cairns night out.

x x

Once the wedding excitement had died down, it was time to pack up and set sail for the Whitsundays - woohoooo! Being home alone while I was trying to zip my rucksack closed, I was so relieved to see Marty's friend Mike arrive to pick something up, just in time for him to sit on my backpack while I worked the zip. There was no chance I'd have managed on my own...

Then it was off to Brisbane airport for our flight to Proserpine. Sadly our planned airport farewell to Neale (him to Melbourne, us to Whitsundays) failed to materialise as we were late getting to the airport - an extra bummer for me as I was relying on Neale to take my wedding dress to Melbourne for me to pick up in January! (ended up posting it home!) A short flight later, then a minibus transfer to Abel Point Marina and it was time to start pretending we knew what we were doing on a boat.

We picked up snorkelling gear and very fetching stinger suits and headed off to our boat - Pyscho Puss. Not sure what the rationale behind the name was, but we grew to love the thing. As we'd arrived too late for our briefing, we spent the first night in the marina settling in. katherine and Marty had first pick of the rooms, picking the best double with ensuite, although the ensuite and boat in general were not Marty-sized... Bex and Mike took the other double (a tight squeeze!) leaving Louise (Katherine's best mate) and I to share the other room - a combination of double bed and single cocoon space. Given the lack of storage space on board, I spent the 5 nights sharing my bed with my backpack, cosy!

The next morning we were up early to set sail under the guidance of our sail guide Tony. He showed us the ropes (literally) and attempted to teach us to sail, but I don't think any of us realised he'd only show us things once, and to whoever was around at the time, so if you were the only person who was there, you had sole resp[onsbility for remembering what went where and what happened when. A responsibility I failed in a number of times...
Tony really should have know better, having witnessed Mike (through no real fault of his) get the anchor winch control cable caught in the winch and shred it to pieces within seconds of us leaving the marina. Oops!

After a few hours in our company, Tony decided we were competent enough to sail on our own, so Mike and Bex took him to shore in our dinghy - Mad Kitty (what else?!) for him to get a lift home, while we set off for our night's anchorage in Cid Harbour.

Katherine and Lou plot the afternoon's course:

Murky weather in Cid Harbour - our first successful anchorage:

Day 3 we head for Whitehaven Beach - the best one in the Whitsundays. Unfortunately the weather wasn't playing nice and the day was pretty wet!

But we still managed to make the most of the beach and squeezed ourselves into our stinger suits for the first time and took Mad Kitty to shore to frolic on the beach and I tried out my waterproof camera (photos to follow) But Katherine and Marty took some snaps:

Next morning I got up early to see sunrise, unfortunately didn't know how to open the main door to the boat and didn't want to wake anybody up, so had to take my photos through the window!

Day 4 we headed from Whitehaven to Nara Inlet

Farwell Whitehaven:

Blue sky slowly appears:

I pose as Captain Kate:

Sunset in Nara Inlet:

Day 5: We have a leisurely morning in Nara Inlet with lots of swimming from the boat, only to discover later that the area is a spawning ground for sharks. We also spy a few jellyfish. hmmmm, maybe not such a good idea...

And it's back to Cid Harbour for our final night and a leisurely afternoon:

In certain places there were lots and lots of turtles but the perfect photo was proving elusive until this sizeable chap swam right by the back of our boat...

Other boats mooring in Cid Harbour:

Seaplane rescue - we still don't know what the medical emergency was, but hope it wasn't a jellyfish! Although we all survived...

Local wildlife:

Beautiful dusk and sunset:

After a yummy barbeque and a few rounds of Articulate (very funny), it was time for our final bedtime...

Day 6 and it was time to head back to the marina and put our seafaring days behind us

Psycho Puss in all her glory...

There was just time for lunch together before everyone headed their own separate ways - me onto a horrendous hostel night's sleep in Airlie Beach...

x

After my last couple of days in Brisbane, it was finally time for the wedding of the year! After spending the morning at home watching the hair and make up ladies do their magic on the bride and bridesmaids, Bex and Mike (who were also over from England, Bex is an ex-quitter) and I headed off to the pub to leave them to it. We met up with Neale (another ex-quitter, now melbourne based) for a couple of drinks and a big catch up about the last two years which was lovely. Then we all headed off to the wedding at the golf course in an area of Brisbane called St Lucia.

Everything went very well, with Katherine and Marty looking beautiful, and Bex and I doing a wonderful (even if i do say so!) reading. (A Dedication To My Wife by T.S. Eliot, if you're interested. i did the first 2 verses)

The wedding was very laid back which was great and just as Katherine and Marty wanted. There were only a few seats for the ceremony, for close family and readers, and everyone else was standing around to watch. Then while the couple had their photographs taken, it was canape and drinks time for the rest of us. I had a chance to catch up with some of Katherine's friends I had met at the hen's party, and meet some new ones which was great - particularly as they live in Adelaide, so I'm hoping they'll give me the inside info when I'm down there in Janaury.

Had a lovely meal and great speeches (i shed a tear or two!) then onto dancing. Think i was too busy working the room (mum you'd have been impressed) and catching up with Neale to do any dancing at all! Or to take many photographs (boo hiss) Before we knew it, it was time to leave, but Neale and I decided to head into the city for another couple of drinks and ended up back in the pub we'd been in the afternoon, which this time has a live band in.

The next day we all headed off to New Farm park for a barbeque and a lazy day discussing the wedding gossip.

Haven't had the chance yet to write my blog for the fabulous Katherine/Marty Brisbane wedding and the Whitsundays. But I promise to fill you all in on my fabulous adventures and photographs really soon. I'd do it now, but the internet is v expensive here.

Am currently on Magnetic Island just off the coast from Townsville in Queensland. I'm staying in a great YHA hostel set in the bush and it's a 5min walk down to a beautiful bay. Bliss...

Trying to sort out work either fruit picking in Tully or up in Cairns so am not sure where I'm heading next, yikes! But will update you all properly when I get there...

x x

After a super early start, I met my tour group at Brisbane bus station for my 2-day trip to Fraser Island. Seemed like a good mix of people of all ages and nationalities. Everyone went to sleep for the 3 hour journey to Rainbow Beach, waking briefly for a couple of coffee stops. Then it was onto the ferry in our big super truck:

Had a quick stop at a small lake, then went to the island hostel to dump our bags - i had crammed my things into my tiny 20litre rucksack only to discover everyone else had packed MASSIVE bags, and i mean MASSIVE. After being propositioned by a Dutch man Chris, he and I and a couple from California (Jennifer and Tim) joined up to take a quad room.

Then it was onto the rainforest in the middle of the island for a couple of walks and lunch:

Last stop for the day, Lake Birrabeen, which was crystal clear water and comfortably warm once you got used to it. By that I mean, once our tour guide Bruce had splashed it all over me...

After my swim Bruce made me get back into the water for a pic in my fetching towel:

Once the sun started to drop, we headed back to the resort for dinner, and birthday cake for one of the german girl's birthdays. Managed about 4 hours sleep before Chris and Tim got up to see sunrise and then it was time for an early breakfast.

It was an early start on day two so that we could make it up to Indian Head, an hour up the coast. But before we'd even make it onto the track, we found a female dingo:

First stop for the day, a freshwater creek - Eli Creek, which was a perfect stop for an early morning swim.

Me in the creek

Wading upstream

Bruce encouraged me to float back downstream and since nearly everyone else was wimping out of it, I felt I should give it a go, to cheer him up!

The Mexican guys in our tour discovered a game of frisbee in the creek had an unexpected end result...

Our tour guide Bruce then decided we'd all like to hold the snake

My turn:

Inside the Bushwacker bus:

Next we hurtled up to near the top of the island, Indian Head. Bruce took us up the rocks to the headland. What I didn't realise was that the big smooth rocks soon turned to rocky sharp pebbles and then hot hot sand - having left my flip flops down at the bus, this was a big mistake. I half ran/half hobbled to the top of the rocks and we sat and wildlife spotted for an hour. Pure bliss

Giant Turtles:

Dolphins:

Shark:

The Bushwacker bus crew:

After hobbling most of the way down the rocks, Alan from San Francisco (in the white t-shirt in the photo) came to rescue me with my flip flops!

Next stop, the Maheno Shipwreck. There's not that much of it left but it's worth a few pics:

Final stop before heading back to the mainland was Lake Wabby. Unfortunately by this point it was midday, so roasting hot and the sand was so deep on the path to the lake, it kept overflowing my flipflops and scalding my feet even more! After a 45 minute walk on hot hot hot sand we arrived at the beautiful Lake Wabby which is bordered on one side by the hugest sand dune ever! Having taken 20minutes longer than normal to reach the lake, after a couple of photos and a 5 minute swim it was time to head back to the bus for lunch. Boo hiss! It was beautiful, but not worth the 90min round trip!

After a picnic lunch, we packed up the van and headed home for Brisbane. So relieved when I finally made it back to Katherine's house.

After a shower it became apparent why my feet had been hurting so much. Check out the size of that blister...

Well I am heading to Fraser Island for a 2-day trip tomorrow and then it'll be wedding preparation when I return, so thought I'd better make the most of my remaining time left in Brisbane by doing some sights I haven't done yet.

Caught a couple of buses up to Mt Coot-tha a big old hill to the west of the city centre. Unfortunately we had the oldest bus in the Brisbane fleet apparently so an alarm went off every time anybody used the back door exit on a hill. Interesting journey... But I was rewarded with an amazing view over the whole of the city and the Brisbane river.

From there I walked downhill (a lot further than I thought!) to the city's second Botanic Gardens. There is another one down near the city centre, but it wasn't suitable for expansion and prone to flooding, so they opened a second one outside the city centre. The site is massive and I probably only covered about a third of it in the time I was there - it was very hot, and my camera died, so I called it a day earlier than planned. I loved the Japanese garden area and spent a while on the bench with my book, spying on dragonflies...

Had bad news on my tax return today. Seems backpackers don't qualify for a tax rebate after all (unless you have a dodgy tax agent) so not only did I not receive the £350 i had budgetted for, I owe them £28! I just can't catch a break! Sunita, that request for a money wire might be coming soon...

Have fiddled with my itinerary to fit in the fruit picking I mentioned though. Ceryse - I hope I become a banana packing legend like you!

Going to Qantas when I get back from Fraser to see if I can fiddle with my flights to give me more banana time, but we'll see.

Been travelling 7 months on Wednesday...

x x

Just letting you all know I am alive.

Queensland Rail don't seem to have rung me yet for any casual admin work so that was a waste of time, and the 40 or so jobs i have applied for have not resulted in anything either. Can't even get work at the greengrocers in Bulimba which is depressing! So am just filling time again, until the wedding and Whitsundays.

Trying to find fruit picking work further north but even that is a hassle. They make you pay for 2 weeks accommodation up front and $150 bond but with no guarantee of work. i could at a real push squeeze in 2 weeks but i wouldn't choose to stay in that location if there's no work. so it's a tough call.

Fraser Island next week for a couple of days. I just can't decide which tour to go with so it's not booked yet, but that's something to look forward to, as i've cancelled my other daytrip plans for financial reasons. And then the wedding on 7th. woohooo!

miss you all x

Can't believe I have been travelling for 6 months already. Well, not really travelling, so much as being unemployed on foreign soil!

No job news I'm afraid, but life in sunny Brisbane is going well. Spending my days job hunting and planning the rest of my travels, including the ultimate West Australia road trip. Lyd and i have sorted out our car, booked our 3-day trek in Kakadu National Park and chosen the hostel for Christmas. Everything's coming together nicely!

Next daytrip is to Mt Coot-tha for views of Brisbane and a stroll round the Botanic Gardens, and I'm going to head to Fraser Island for a couple of days.

Went on a bus adventure yesterday in search of an outfit for Katherine's wedding (4 weeks tomorrow!) and bought the second dress i tried on! Just the shoes to go... And hopefully the outfit will come in handy for all of the weddings i have lined up next year, with the latest addition being Sue and John - Congrats!!!!

Big congratulations also going out to the Wheelers on their baby news. or should that be babies news??

After 3 engagments and 3 pregnancies, I await news of the next engagement. Who's it going to be?

So for the last 10 days I have settled into the all too familiar routine of job hunting and acquainting myself with my new neighbourhood.

I can't really work Brisbane out, it doesn't really have a specific character that I can describe. It's really just a city on a river, but with none of the beautiful buildings of London, or the riverside views. The north side of the river is just one monstrous concrete road, with all the shops and offices behind that:

But thankfully the south side is nicer with parklands and a fake beach!

(Peace Pagoda)

Bulimba, which is a suburb to the north east of the city centre, is lovely. There is one main road, Oxford Street which is full of cafes, restaurants, delis, bakeries, shops etc which is very nice, and Katherine and Marty's house is just off there, so everything is very handy.

Not many shops seem to be hiring, but I have applied for work where I can and am filling in lots of online applications for other things. I had an interview yesterday and have subsequently been added to the Queensland Rail casual admin pool but there isn't going to work until at least 12th which is annoying. But it's a start!

As for tourist activities, Katherine and her friend Liesl took me to Sounds of Spring festival on Saturday which was a 1-day music festival at the Brisbane Showgrounds, and featured lots of Australian bands. i didn't know any of them, but really enjoyed it all the same. The weather was scorching but we didn't go until mid afternoon so thankfully some of the heat had gone off by that point.

The dust storm which had blown over on Tuesday...

...returned again during Saturday early evening which made it a bit unpleasant to be out in a field! The main stage was cancelled in the end due to health and safety, but the smaller stages inside tents carried on:

After my interview yesterday I went for a visit to the Queensland Museum, which is like a natural history museum, plus state cultural information and exhibits, and then onto the State Art Gallery. Both worth a quick visit, and they're free which is even better!

I also had a stroll along South Bank (see the photos at top of this blog entry) as it was a beautiful sunny day, although my shot of me and the river makes it look grey and gloomy!

One nice building I did find in the city was the Treasury building which they've now made into a casino!

Other than that, it's all pretty modern buildings.

Quiet weekend planned. Just a meal out tonight for Katherine's birthday.

x x

As the East Coast is much more popular than Canberra (where isn't?!) there was quite a queue for my nightbus to Coffs Harbour, but thankfully we all had double seats to ourselves so we could snuggle up for the trip ahead. I read magazines until midnight in the hope of tiring myself out sufficiently but i still had trouble getting much sleep (especially with all the "comfort breaks" we kept taking) but it wasn't as bad as i thought and there was an amazing sunset view from the coach in the morning.

Thankfully there was a bus pick up from my hostel otherwise i would've cried as i was sooooo tired and it was so far to my hostel. Coffs is a really weird place in terms of layout. It's officially a city, but it has the amenities of a medium uk town and everything is spread out far and wide. So it's impossible to find a hostel which is near the town centre, the bus station and the beach. So i plumped for one nearest the beach and shops, about 1.5km in each direction and with a free shuttle bus. Sadly it wasn't anywhere near the Big Banana, (my first "Big" thing) so the best I could do is a photo of the banana as i left town 2 days later...

Anyway, despite the early morning pick-up, reception wasn't open until 8am so i had to sit around until then before i could check in, and then because the staff were new, they couldn't find my internet booking. But they gave me keys to my dorm anyway so I could have a shower etc. I was in a 6-bed dorm but there was only 1 other girl there and we didn't really 'bond'!

After a shower i headed out with my map to walk up Muttonbird Island. Turned out to be a little steeper than I imagined so flip flops weren't the best choice of footwear, but it was a good workout. The views were amazing once I was up at the high point:

View of Coffs Harbour and Marina

When I walked down the otherside there was no one else around which made it even more enjoyable and there were even dolphins frolicking out to sea!

Trust me there's a dolphin there...

I did try my best to photograph one of the resident muttonbirds but I only saw one and by the time my camera had zoomed in on it, it flew off. So all I have is photos of the nest holes - the island is literally covered in them (hence the name!)

Spot the muttonbird nests

Then it was a quick stop for water and an apple and onto the Coffs Creek Walk. Having read about it in the guidebook i imagined a lovely path along the side of a winding creek. I didn't imagine a walk along the edge of a suburban housing estate and then an hour of path through thick bush with no other human in sight, and a weird mangrove area to one side, that looked like it might have crocodiles lurking in it...

Finally I saw some water (i think the problem was i didn't factor in the creek being tidal and that I was walking during low tide) so I knew I was nearly there, but it wasn't really the scenic route i imagined, and it was also ROASTING HOT.

Anywho, moan over! It was very good exercise, and the sun was shining and there were some nice parts.

By the time I arrived at the Botanic Gardens, I was a little over it, and the cafe was closed! So I had a wander round to find a koala, which my guidebook said you'd be guaranteed to see. But alas i couldn't see any despite craning my neck to search ever tree!

The second day I investigated the "city centre" and then went to the beach, although it wasn't the best plan as the weather was soooooooo windy i was frequently covered in sand - i am still finding it in my bag and sunglasses case.

Next morning it was up and off early to catch the 6.10am bus to Byron Bay via numerous towns along the way, oh and most excitingly, a rest stop at Ballina, home of the "Big Prawn" although I was slightly disappointed...

Arriving into Byron at 12, there was no sign of the shuttle bus from my hostel, despite every other hostel in town having a rep there. So armed with my map and weighed down by my super heavy rucksack i headed for my hostel - Arts Factory Lodge. Having not seen the cut through path over the railway line, i walked 10mins out of my way to go round and over the road crossing and by the time I arrived I was wishing I'd picked any other hostel in Byron and thought I was going to die from heat exhaustion. And then the shuttle bus pulled up with people from the bus after mine. So i could've waited at the bus station for 5 mins and saved myself the gruelling walk in the midday heat! Oh well...

Thankfully the hostel was fabulous. It's set in a bushland setting, complete with gross bush turkeys and lizards, and i heard rumours of HUGE spiders, though thankfully i didn't see the latter. It's all wooden buildings, and various teepees and tents - all very hippy-esque. While waiting to be checked in, I had a drink from the cafe and listened to the group having bongo lessons in the garden (i kid you not!)

I picked my bunk in my 6-bed dorm, had a shower and headed off into town for a late lunch and then a stroll down by the beach and then to the supermarket to stock up on food for the next couple of days. A girl in my room (whose name has completely slipped my mind) invited me out for a drink with her and some girls she'd met on her bus into Byron so I went over to Buddha Bar (opposite the hostel) for some happy hour beers. Actually just one beer for me. Then we both had an early night as we'd both come in on early morning buses and she was heading off the next day to go and work on a farm for a while.

On thursday I set off for Cape Byron Lighthouse via a circular route, which passes lots of beautiful beaches - Byron's aptly named Main Beach is probably it's longest, but definitely not it's nicest and it's also so busy that you're better off picking another one along the Bay. Anyway, the walk took me through woodland sections to the most easternly point of the Australian mainland:

where some men rebuilding the path pointed out migrating whales. i'm a little too embarrassed to post the photo of the whale splash as it's so blurry and just looks like a wave... And there was also a pod of dolphins frolicking in the waves closer to shore. Unfortunately I also couldn't get a good shot of them either!

Then it was onwards and upwards to the lighthouse which is very pretty (as they go) and obviously has amazing views of the whole of the Bay

Then it was back down to the town - i chose the less scenic road route back as it was slightly more shaded in places. By this point it was scorching and a lovely couple stopped and offered me a ride back to town which I wish I'd accepted as i was starting to wilt. One thing I loved about Byron is that they painted a lot of the telegraph poles with different nautical themes, or flora and fauna.

I booked a snorkelling trip for the next day with a girl from my room, Bethany, but unfortunately it was cancelled due to strong currents, so I went to the beach instead. Eager to avoid Main Beach as it's just so busy I headed for Wategos Beach which is further towards the lighthouse at the south end of the Bay. it was bliss. There were only about 10 other people on the beach and I had a fabulous day listening to my ipod, reading a book and paddling in the sea. I was too scared to swim properly as the water was so cold, but I went in up to my stomach!

Friday night when I returned I met two new girls in my room (Jenny and Ariel) and went over to Buddha Bar for happy hour. Within a couple of hours, the girls had persuaded me to stay another couple of days and go on a day trip to Nimbin on the Sunday...

So i scrapped my plans to go to Surfers Paradise, and delayed my arrival into Brisbane by a day too, so that I could have two more nights in Byron. Bliss!

Sunday - Jenny, Beth, and I joined the Grasshopper tour to Nimbin. It's a weird little town an hour or so out of Byron Bay that is full of hippies and where you can easily buy marijuana should you want to. It's not legal there, and dealers still have to be secretive about it, but it's the easiest place to buy it - if you know the right alleyway! Mum - don't worry I didn't partake! Our tour group was really fun though. After Nimbin we stopped at a pub for a barbeque lunch and then went off to a weterfall/swimming hole.

The day was made complete by a double movie marathon at the Buddha Bar when we got back, first The Hangover which is hysterical, and then Dirty Dancing in memory of Mr Swayze! Great way to finish my time in Byron Bay.

Monday, it was up and off into town to catch my bus at midday to Brisbane. Then once I arrived, I had the chance to try out virtually every form of transport - a taxi to katherine's office (my friend from Quit who's putting me up for 2 months!), a bus from there to the city ferry stop at Teneriffe, then the ferry across to Bulimba, the suburb of Brisbane I am staying in until November.

A quick shower and an unpack and then I was out to meet up with my brother and his girlfriend who were in town for 1 night before flying to Adelaide. I had an interesting journey home afterwards though - katherine had given me bus numbers between the city and Bulimba. Unfortunately the one I had taken into the city doesn't run back from the city after 6pm so i had to take the other one, and made the mistake of not asking the bus driver where it stopped. I managed to reach the terminating point before I realised I was a little lost! Thankfully the bus driver was a star, and pointed out where we were on a map, explained which stop I needed, and gave me lots of travelling advice for other parts of Australia. Lovely chap!

Sorry for the late writing of this entry, i've just been a little busy!

So somehow i had reached my last week in Sydney and my brother Chris descended on me with his girlfriend Anna in tow. They arrived early Tuesday morning so I left them to sleep for the morning and then took them on a whistlestop tour of the city in the afternoon - basically the Botanic Gardens, Opera House and Harbour Bridge. We also nipped into the Art gallery of New South Wales to escape the rain, but 5mins later it was glorious sunshine and we sat in the sun outside the Opera House with a beer. Then it was back up to Kings Cross where we went for a drink and some dinner while my housemates interviewed to replace me. Early bed for all that night - although as it turned out that was to be a recurring theme for the week!

Wednesday we went our own separate ways. I headed north out of the city to Palm Beach aka Home and Away's Summer Bay via bus. Chris and Anna hired a car and went to the Blue Mountains. My day was fabulous, though sadly they weren't filming any outdoors scenes for the show, so no celeb spotting. But the beach is gorgeous and I went to the surf club for an ice lolly! I resisted buying myself a Summer Bay hat though...

Meanwhile Chris and Anna had a cold cold day in the Mountains. As neither of them came particularly prepared for anything other than sunshine, it was too cold for them to do a bush walk, but I think they had a good day anyway.

Thursday we took the hire car to Hunter Valley for some wine tasting. We set off early to maximise the time available as the car had to be back by 6pm. Having been recommended the scenic route rather than the boring 2hour freeway, we went cross country. What a mistake...
It started off as a picturesque drive,

and we even had the chance at Wisemans Ferry to go on a little car ferry over the Hawkesbury River

View from the ferry!

But by this point we'd already been driving well over 2 hours and seemed nowhere near the vineyards! After leaving the ferry we found ourselves in a gap between 2 maps so took a turn in the vague direction we were heading, hoping it would lead us there. Only to discover it was a gravel road and a long one at that. Not good in a brand new hire car not allowed to go on unsealed roads... But it was scenic and it was interesting to see the fire service out doing controlled burning.

So after another 2 hours of gravel roads at about 20km/hr and then finally some non-gravel roads to finish, we arrived in Hunter Valley after more than 5 hours of driving. Unfortunately by this time we only had 90mins before we had to leave again to ensure the car was back on time. So we did a whistlestop tour of 2 wineries and had lunch at a brewery (yummy ginger beer) before setting off back for Sydney!!

It is a beautiful area but unfortunately we just didn't have the time to stop and enjoy it. But Chris did buy a couple of bottles of wine and thankfully we made it back to the car hire place with 10mins to spare...

Friday we headed for Bondi Beach. With a bottle of Hunter Valley wine, some beef burgers, homemade chicken and veggie skewers, and a salad, we cooked ourselves up a yummy beach barbeque, with the help of some tinfoil from a neighbouring barbequer. Yum. Love the public barbeques, though can't quite see them taking off on the east yorkshire coast...

Having been scorching earlier, it suddenly got a bit chilly around 4 so we headed for home and then later that night we met up with my flatmate Kate and her friend Ang for a yummy thai dinner at Opium Den in Potts Point. Definitely recommend it - tasty and not expensive at all. So much food in one day...

Saturday I went off to the internet cafe to catch up on emails and look into accommodation for my week of travelling up to Brisbane, while Chris and Anna planned to go to the Australia Museum. Sadly for them, they didn't leave the flat until 12 by which point it was time for us to head to Manly, so no museum. So down to Circular Quay we went and caught the ferry over to Manly in the hope of bumping into a friend of Chris's. As he'd not made a plan with her, it was a vague hope we'd randomly see her on the beach, which we didn't! But we had a good lunch (don't worry mum it was a salad!) and a stroll along the beach and the obligatory shop for postcards.

Oh I also bought some super cute little presents for the new arrival, James William Woodman. Congrats Rachel and Paul. Hoorah!

Then back to Sydney to get changed and head off to the ANZ Stadium (previously the Olympic Stadium) for a NRL match - Bulldogs v Knights. Relatively good game, but considering it was the first round of the Finals, it wasn't a particularly close game. We left before the end because the Bulldogs were comfortable winners.

Straight to bed when we got home as Chris and Anna had to leave at 6.30 Sunday morning and I had a day of packing to be done. Had a great week with them.

Sunday I packed up my room and squeezed as much as possible into my rucksack. My small daypack and handbag were both bulging too, so some things had to be thrown out, including my "normal" towel, so I am back to the joy of travel towels...

A quick tour of the neighbourhood and some last pics.

A final dinner with my housemates and then I caught the 10pm bus to Coffs Harbour. Farewell Sydney!