Sweet az bro.
I'm now in New Zealand..Auckland to be precise...
We made a poor decision to not sleep before our flight out of Sydney, which meant we only managed about an hours sleep on the plane, at 9am. Got to Nomads hostel quite easily, nice place...7 floors, sauna, massive kitchen, roof terrace and a decent bar. Obviously went straight to bed when we arrived, and slept through til the following morning. Pottered around most of the day, sorting things out like bus tickets and the like...then hit the town. Not a bad nightlife here to be fair, already beats most of Australia...The first bar we went into had a private function at the back, so we went in anyway (being absolute bad asses) and the place was full of leather-clad lunatics, listening to heavy metal. They didn't mind us being there, one even made a little remark that they were celebrating the royal wedding so we were more than welcome. Talking of which, thank god that's all over...They go on about it just as much as in England...its so boring, the hostel bar had it on the big screen - I nearly fell asleep.
Anyway, after the bad ass T-Bird party, we hit another place, which turned out to be a Dub-step club. Now, someone please tell me the appeal of Dub-step...I know its fashionable to like it nowadays, and perhaps I'm just not cool enough to like it...but its poor. Really poor.
So we moved onto a place called Cassette 9, which was playing more alternative music, and had a really good crowd. Threw some moves about and of course plenty of bant (banter)...Then finished the night with a triple cheeseburger from burger king..get in. On the way home, a steaming Chris Pearson starting brenting (doing the Brent dance from The Office) to every taxi we saw...they weren't as amused as I was.
Today was a bit of a write off, but went shopping to get some warmer clothes, as its pretty chilly out here (you'll be glad to know, its hotter in England).
Off to Bay of Islands the day after tomorrow, apparently dolphins, kayaking and other such activities are there so should be splendid.
I am in an Internet cafe a the moment, which doubles up as a Japanese Karaoke place. I can hear the worst singing Ive ever heard going on in the background. They are now killing Grease - Summer Lovin'
Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend
Jay
P.S Tragic news, Betty is no longer with us, she was left on a train from Auckland airport. She will be sorely missed, may she rest in peace.
Saturday 30 April 2011
Monday 25 April 2011
Sydney again
Hey,
So we had to depart from the lovely Helen...it was emotional. In fact it was hilarious...we pulled up to the garage to drop it off, the guy who ran the place came out to inspect the van...he was stood at the side, looking at the scratch and smashed window as I got out..He said "So the windows smashed?" I explained the whole robbery, and that the company shouldve informed him...they hadn't. Then he said, "And whats that?!" pointing at the massive scratch covering two panels...I said "Ah that's just a scratch"
"Just a scratch?! Its FUCKED!" He did not look happy, not one bit. It was pretty awkward now, especially when he walked round the other side of the van and saw the other smashed window. He was gradually getting more annoyed...Then he entered the van, after a minute or so he said "You know you are supposed to clean it." "Yeh we gave it a once over, washed up an' that" I replied... Then he started looking through all the plates and cutlery...All of them them still had bits of noodles and other ming on them, he just looked at them obviously disgusted. It was hard not to laugh, I had to turn round and walk a few yards away before I pissed myself. "you washed all this up right?" he said, while holding a broken cup covered in bean juice. I didn't know what to say, so I plumped for "We bought a sieve...you can have that." He ignored me. Then he opened up the fridge to find it was still full, then opened the gas cooker cover to find loads of noodles, beans, rice and other stuff stuck to it. He looked like he'd given up.
So anyway, we did over a 1000 dollars worth of damage to Helen, so that's the bond gone.
So after a couple more days of chilling in Cairns, we had our last night out. Went to the Woolshed, and did the usual stuff such as dancing with the ants, tapping people's shoulders and turning round...you know, the norm.
Had about 3 hours sleep then got up for our flight back to Sydney. I couldn't sleep on the plane which was nice. After an hour or so train journey to UWS (University of Western Australia...Where we stayed before in Sydney) we decided we should get our food shopping done. So we lugged all our bags to the supermarket, got a load of food and then lugged that all back...we had forgotten how far the walk was...It was far.
Anyway, one of the girls who was there at the house got her ps3 out with fifa. We couldn't believe our luck. So most of the time, that's what we've been doing, playing fifa or ping-pong and watching a load of films. One of which is a newish film called Chain Letter...Ive never seen a worse film in all my life...absolutely terrible.
We decided we had to go to Bondi, seeing as we're in Sydney. It took about 2/3 hours to get there, including two train journeys and a connection via bus. It's overrated...sorry to say that, but it is. When we got off the bus, Chris and I both said "This is just like Blackpool or Brighton" ... Obviously the beach is sand, and the sea is clearer...but other than that, its not that great. I prefer Hunstanton.
So, that's Aus pretty much done, we're having a party tomorrow night with all the people here (apparently its a birthday party for Craig and I...my birthday is in a month, Craigs is even further away....but nevermind). Then on Thursday morning we are off to Aukland NZ for the third and final part of the Super Adventure.
Thanks for reading, see you in NZ
Jay
So we had to depart from the lovely Helen...it was emotional. In fact it was hilarious...we pulled up to the garage to drop it off, the guy who ran the place came out to inspect the van...he was stood at the side, looking at the scratch and smashed window as I got out..He said "So the windows smashed?" I explained the whole robbery, and that the company shouldve informed him...they hadn't. Then he said, "And whats that?!" pointing at the massive scratch covering two panels...I said "Ah that's just a scratch"
"Just a scratch?! Its FUCKED!" He did not look happy, not one bit. It was pretty awkward now, especially when he walked round the other side of the van and saw the other smashed window. He was gradually getting more annoyed...Then he entered the van, after a minute or so he said "You know you are supposed to clean it." "Yeh we gave it a once over, washed up an' that" I replied... Then he started looking through all the plates and cutlery...All of them them still had bits of noodles and other ming on them, he just looked at them obviously disgusted. It was hard not to laugh, I had to turn round and walk a few yards away before I pissed myself. "you washed all this up right?" he said, while holding a broken cup covered in bean juice. I didn't know what to say, so I plumped for "We bought a sieve...you can have that." He ignored me. Then he opened up the fridge to find it was still full, then opened the gas cooker cover to find loads of noodles, beans, rice and other stuff stuck to it. He looked like he'd given up.
So anyway, we did over a 1000 dollars worth of damage to Helen, so that's the bond gone.
So after a couple more days of chilling in Cairns, we had our last night out. Went to the Woolshed, and did the usual stuff such as dancing with the ants, tapping people's shoulders and turning round...you know, the norm.
Had about 3 hours sleep then got up for our flight back to Sydney. I couldn't sleep on the plane which was nice. After an hour or so train journey to UWS (University of Western Australia...Where we stayed before in Sydney) we decided we should get our food shopping done. So we lugged all our bags to the supermarket, got a load of food and then lugged that all back...we had forgotten how far the walk was...It was far.
Anyway, one of the girls who was there at the house got her ps3 out with fifa. We couldn't believe our luck. So most of the time, that's what we've been doing, playing fifa or ping-pong and watching a load of films. One of which is a newish film called Chain Letter...Ive never seen a worse film in all my life...absolutely terrible.
We decided we had to go to Bondi, seeing as we're in Sydney. It took about 2/3 hours to get there, including two train journeys and a connection via bus. It's overrated...sorry to say that, but it is. When we got off the bus, Chris and I both said "This is just like Blackpool or Brighton" ... Obviously the beach is sand, and the sea is clearer...but other than that, its not that great. I prefer Hunstanton.
So, that's Aus pretty much done, we're having a party tomorrow night with all the people here (apparently its a birthday party for Craig and I...my birthday is in a month, Craigs is even further away....but nevermind). Then on Thursday morning we are off to Aukland NZ for the third and final part of the Super Adventure.
Thanks for reading, see you in NZ
Jay
Saturday 16 April 2011
Soz about the Reef
Shortly after my last blog, as in within ten minutes, we had booked 3 dives on the reef going from Port Douglas (north of cairns). All we had to do was transfer the money over from our cancelled Whitsundays trip...which also meant we saved about 50 dollars. The dives were booked for two days later, so we had a day to chill out. Went out that night to the Woolshed, another trashy bar/club...but it was ok, good banter with the dutchies and their friends. At one point, we were dancing on the tables (ironically, obviously) and this old guy who was hammered was dancing next to us. Within 6 seconds, the guy had absolutely stacked it off the back of the table onto a load of chairs. He saved his pint. Then sat doing the drunken man head-nod-to-music move. What a tit.
Chris and Craig decided to go to the croc park the following day, but I didn't fancy it too much, so I stayed in Cairns with the Dutch girls for the day and had a lovely little lunch and coffee. Then drove up to pick them off and head up to Port Douglas. P.Doug (as i call it) is a lovely little place with a few shops and cafes, with a couple of big marinas. We parked Helen up beside the marina which serves as a good view when you wake up dripping with sweat. Didn't do much as we were all pretty knackered, and we had to be on-board the boat at 8.15am.
So the next morning, we awoke and boarded the lovely Quicksilver Silver-Swift boat. Besides children, we were the youngest on the boat...It was mainly full of rich families, but that was nice to have a bit of luxury for once. They served an awesome breakfast, all inclusive, and an even better lunch later on.
Craig and I did 3 certified dives, as we got our licence in Koh Tao, Chris did 2 intro dives. It was incredible. Just completely insane to be honest, the sheer volume of life down there is hard to take in. Fish of all colours and sizes, giant clams, Barracudas, Manta-Ray, and even a shark. Apparently it was really special to see a Manta-Ray on that dive so I guess we were lucky there. The giant clam was definitely a highlight..it doesn't sound like it...but these huge things that have been there for god knows how long, sit there open mouthed, and if you put your hand in the opening and touch the sides, it snaps shut. By giant, I mean giant, like bigger than me. I wont go on about it too long, but its just impeccable.
Had a couple of beers by the marina when we disembarked then hit the hay.
The following morning we headed further north to Cape Tribulation, which is a huge national park made of rain forest. We did a couple of boardwalks through the rain forest, one of which was a bored-walk (as i called it) as it was all to do with mangroves zzzzzz. Then we visited a swimming whole, which is basically on a meander of a stream, and has little rope swings into the water...It was amazing there, couldve stayed all day at this spot. As always, some pics will be appearing on facebook soon.
Got back to Cairns last night, and I headed out to meet the Dutchies, as it was their last night before going down south. I met Sandy outside, and the rest came out and chatted for a bit...We decided to go inside, but Sandy hadn't been given a stamp, so she told the bouncer and he said that was no problem, just go in whenever. So we popped in, all of her friends got let straight through, but she was stopped. So it was just me and her stood there with a different huge bouncer which I think was the boss... he had a shite goatee beard. He said "You have to pay, you don't have a stamp" , she explained the situation as best she could, considering her English isn't perfect. Still he said "No you have to pay, I don't give stamps out" This was obviously a lie, so I said that her friends had just got in with stamps, and that Sandy wasn't given one when she left earlier. It still didn't get into his thick skull. Sandy gave up and said, "Ok Im not sure he understands me, but I'll pay" and got her money out. So then this beardy twat bouncer says "no, step outside, go party somewhere else, I wont be talked to like that" he got up and started walking her out, so I said "Woooah, what you doing there? you've obviously misunderstood something, we are going to pay to get in"
He replied with "You can go too" he pushed me out and added "Fuck off". Nice guy. I said "Alllllriiight big dog" and we left.
Her friends came back out, and we went and had some goon back at their hostel, then onto a little bar that had a live band on. These guys were Rasta dudes with a couple guitars, and they sang the classic hits such as 'Lean on me', and 'I can see clearly now the rain has gone'. To be fair, they were really good...one of their aunties was there dancing. She was a right hoochy-mama, whistling and shouting and grinding her booty etc. so funny. By the way, I hope the word Hoochy-mama isnt offensive...I don't think it is...and it wasn't meant to be.
Plan for today = pool and sunbathing.
Catch you soon,
Jay
p.s For some reason, this blog has had views in Chili, Canada, USA, Germany and Malaysia...Which is really strange, but awesome at the the same time...Hope you're enjoying it.
Chris and Craig decided to go to the croc park the following day, but I didn't fancy it too much, so I stayed in Cairns with the Dutch girls for the day and had a lovely little lunch and coffee. Then drove up to pick them off and head up to Port Douglas. P.Doug (as i call it) is a lovely little place with a few shops and cafes, with a couple of big marinas. We parked Helen up beside the marina which serves as a good view when you wake up dripping with sweat. Didn't do much as we were all pretty knackered, and we had to be on-board the boat at 8.15am.
So the next morning, we awoke and boarded the lovely Quicksilver Silver-Swift boat. Besides children, we were the youngest on the boat...It was mainly full of rich families, but that was nice to have a bit of luxury for once. They served an awesome breakfast, all inclusive, and an even better lunch later on.
Craig and I did 3 certified dives, as we got our licence in Koh Tao, Chris did 2 intro dives. It was incredible. Just completely insane to be honest, the sheer volume of life down there is hard to take in. Fish of all colours and sizes, giant clams, Barracudas, Manta-Ray, and even a shark. Apparently it was really special to see a Manta-Ray on that dive so I guess we were lucky there. The giant clam was definitely a highlight..it doesn't sound like it...but these huge things that have been there for god knows how long, sit there open mouthed, and if you put your hand in the opening and touch the sides, it snaps shut. By giant, I mean giant, like bigger than me. I wont go on about it too long, but its just impeccable.
Had a couple of beers by the marina when we disembarked then hit the hay.
The following morning we headed further north to Cape Tribulation, which is a huge national park made of rain forest. We did a couple of boardwalks through the rain forest, one of which was a bored-walk (as i called it) as it was all to do with mangroves zzzzzz. Then we visited a swimming whole, which is basically on a meander of a stream, and has little rope swings into the water...It was amazing there, couldve stayed all day at this spot. As always, some pics will be appearing on facebook soon.
Got back to Cairns last night, and I headed out to meet the Dutchies, as it was their last night before going down south. I met Sandy outside, and the rest came out and chatted for a bit...We decided to go inside, but Sandy hadn't been given a stamp, so she told the bouncer and he said that was no problem, just go in whenever. So we popped in, all of her friends got let straight through, but she was stopped. So it was just me and her stood there with a different huge bouncer which I think was the boss... he had a shite goatee beard. He said "You have to pay, you don't have a stamp" , she explained the situation as best she could, considering her English isn't perfect. Still he said "No you have to pay, I don't give stamps out" This was obviously a lie, so I said that her friends had just got in with stamps, and that Sandy wasn't given one when she left earlier. It still didn't get into his thick skull. Sandy gave up and said, "Ok Im not sure he understands me, but I'll pay" and got her money out. So then this beardy twat bouncer says "no, step outside, go party somewhere else, I wont be talked to like that" he got up and started walking her out, so I said "Woooah, what you doing there? you've obviously misunderstood something, we are going to pay to get in"
He replied with "You can go too" he pushed me out and added "Fuck off". Nice guy. I said "Alllllriiight big dog" and we left.
Her friends came back out, and we went and had some goon back at their hostel, then onto a little bar that had a live band on. These guys were Rasta dudes with a couple guitars, and they sang the classic hits such as 'Lean on me', and 'I can see clearly now the rain has gone'. To be fair, they were really good...one of their aunties was there dancing. She was a right hoochy-mama, whistling and shouting and grinding her booty etc. so funny. By the way, I hope the word Hoochy-mama isnt offensive...I don't think it is...and it wasn't meant to be.
Plan for today = pool and sunbathing.
Catch you soon,
Jay
p.s For some reason, this blog has had views in Chili, Canada, USA, Germany and Malaysia...Which is really strange, but awesome at the the same time...Hope you're enjoying it.
Tuesday 12 April 2011
Unlawful Entry
Hey,
So we left the awesome Magnetic Island, and on the ferry back Craig gets signal for the first time and receives a voicemail. The voicemail said something along the lines of: "This is Travel Wheels, the police have been in touch, someone has broken into your van." Awesome.
So we hurried back to Helen, all of us realising that our passports were inside the van...as we approached her, i saw something laying down at the back of the van...my jeans. I dont know why.
They'd smashed the rear left window and got inside, threw a load of cushions about, ripped a mozzy net with a fork, then left...without taking the passports. I have no idea why they went in...perhaps they just really fancied a pillow fight.
So we had to do the old police station visit and file a report and what not. Very boring. Travel Wheels said we should go to a certain place to get it fixed...This was on a Saturday and it was closed til Monday. Great. So we spent two days doing nothing, just waiting for Monday morning to get the thing fixed...all the while dodging broken glass from inside the van. So Monday morning arrived, and as did we at the repair shop. "We dont have that particular window, so we'll put some plastic over it" .. That was worth two days wait.
We also had a massive scare in Townsville...we lost Betty. She was left under the van, and we drove off. I drove back when we realised but she was nowhere to be seen. Later that day, we went back again for a BBQ and I spotted her being played with by a family, so I wondered over and they kicked it to me before I even got near. Thank God we got her back.
So we drove to Cairns, stopping at Mission beach for a couple hours for a kick about and some sun bathing.
Arrived at sunny Cairns yesterday and had a free meal at Gilligans, which was part of our booking Fraser and Whitsundays. It was roast chicken legs, served with 16 peas and 4 little potato croquet things. Id describe it as a year 6 meal. We went to a BBQ and had snags for dessert.
One of the other windows in the van randomly smashed itself last night, so now theres even more glass to sleep on. Helen is falling apart, poor old girl. Not long til we give her back now, one week to be precise. Not sure how I feel about that, I mean I know I'll miss her, but even 10 bed dorms sound appealing at the moment...especially when I woke up sweating like a beast this morning, and barely being able to breathe. I looked fit.
Right, thats about it I think, hitting the pool a bit later then sorting out what we're doing up here, as there's too much to do and not enough time or money to do it all. Obviously going to do a reef dive, but will try to fit something awesome in to go with it.
Cheers,
Jay
So we left the awesome Magnetic Island, and on the ferry back Craig gets signal for the first time and receives a voicemail. The voicemail said something along the lines of: "This is Travel Wheels, the police have been in touch, someone has broken into your van." Awesome.
So we hurried back to Helen, all of us realising that our passports were inside the van...as we approached her, i saw something laying down at the back of the van...my jeans. I dont know why.
They'd smashed the rear left window and got inside, threw a load of cushions about, ripped a mozzy net with a fork, then left...without taking the passports. I have no idea why they went in...perhaps they just really fancied a pillow fight.
So we had to do the old police station visit and file a report and what not. Very boring. Travel Wheels said we should go to a certain place to get it fixed...This was on a Saturday and it was closed til Monday. Great. So we spent two days doing nothing, just waiting for Monday morning to get the thing fixed...all the while dodging broken glass from inside the van. So Monday morning arrived, and as did we at the repair shop. "We dont have that particular window, so we'll put some plastic over it" .. That was worth two days wait.
We also had a massive scare in Townsville...we lost Betty. She was left under the van, and we drove off. I drove back when we realised but she was nowhere to be seen. Later that day, we went back again for a BBQ and I spotted her being played with by a family, so I wondered over and they kicked it to me before I even got near. Thank God we got her back.
So we drove to Cairns, stopping at Mission beach for a couple hours for a kick about and some sun bathing.
Arrived at sunny Cairns yesterday and had a free meal at Gilligans, which was part of our booking Fraser and Whitsundays. It was roast chicken legs, served with 16 peas and 4 little potato croquet things. Id describe it as a year 6 meal. We went to a BBQ and had snags for dessert.
One of the other windows in the van randomly smashed itself last night, so now theres even more glass to sleep on. Helen is falling apart, poor old girl. Not long til we give her back now, one week to be precise. Not sure how I feel about that, I mean I know I'll miss her, but even 10 bed dorms sound appealing at the moment...especially when I woke up sweating like a beast this morning, and barely being able to breathe. I looked fit.
Right, thats about it I think, hitting the pool a bit later then sorting out what we're doing up here, as there's too much to do and not enough time or money to do it all. Obviously going to do a reef dive, but will try to fit something awesome in to go with it.
Cheers,
Jay
Friday 8 April 2011
Whitsunday, bloody sunday.
OK, so our trip to the Whitsundays got cancelled. The weather was disgusting so we got a full refund and decided to cheer ourselves up with a night out at Airlie beach. Luckily we bumped into a few guys who were with us on Fraser Island so it was a good laugh.
Left Airlie the next day with sore heads, but arrived in a sunny Townsville which cheered us up...Townsville is pretty sweet...loads of parks with BBQs etc, plus its has the ferry that crosses to magnetic island.
We spent the day laying in the sun, eating sausages off the barbie...it actually felt like we were in Australia for the first time in a little while. I decided to go for a little walk along the beach front...some blokes in orange jackets were stood pointing sticks at something...Ive seen weirder things, so i carried on..until one of them said; "careful mate, theres a snake there"...and sure enough, there was. But not just any old snake...it was a brown snake.
This is what Wikipedia says about the brown snake...
The Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis), often referred to as the Common Brown Snake, is an elapid snake native to Australia. This species is considered to be the second most venomous land snake in the world based on LD50 values in mice.[1]
Brilliant.
Luckily, the snake didnt seem too fussed by our presence, and wriggled away. The guys in orange were trying to catch it though, as it couldve gone and killed someone if it fancied it. They didnt manage it.
I went back to tell Craig about it, and within minutes, some massive lizard thing strolled past. Mental.
So a bit later, we had another BBQ (shock, sausages.) and had some goon with 3 dutch girls who were camping next to us. Decided to go out...guess what..the nightlife was awful. plenty of bars, but all of them had about 3 people in... and they were staff. Ended up in an Irish bar, which I consider my worst nightmare. They had Karaoke...even worse. Had a Guinness though, which made a change from boxed wine, and had a "craic". Some guy went up to Chris, as we sat at the table, and groped him. Really strange bloke. Chris' face was hilarious, he just said "ive just been raped...ive actually just been raped by some bloke." in his Sheffield accent. It was funny for us.
Packed our bags in the morning and got the ferry to Magnetic Island, or Maggie as its known. The weather is awesome, and we are staying in a really nice little 3 bed bungalow. There are Wallabies hopping about the place as well which is decent.
Yesterday, we walked to a place called Arthur bay, one of many bays around the island...this one was completely deserted though so we spent a couple hours chilling in the sun and climbing the rocks. Got back to the hostel, and that evening we took part in the coconut bowling competition, where you bowl a coconut into some pins..believe it or not. If you got a strike, you won a jug of beer...I got a strike.
Today, we went to a waterfall for a little swim then did the Forts walk, where we saw some old guns, some spectacular views and a couple of Koalas up trees. Good stuff.
Its ladies night tonight at the hostel...so I imagine it will be full of meat.
Thats all for now, Ive deliberately kept it shorter, as the last blog was ridiculous..
Hope everyone is happy and well
Jay x
Sunday 3 April 2011
Fraser and more...
Hey guys,
And happy Mothers day,
So its been ages since the last blog, and a lots been happening...this is going to be a big one (thats what she said...yes, 'thats what she said' jokes have made it into the banter)
The last time, I was writing from Byron Bay and we were heading to Nimbin...
Nimbin, as described in lonely planet, is the result of an experimental festival in the 70's. By the looks of it, none of the people who live there left after the festival. This place is basically amsterdam but in the jungle. Everyone sits around smoking weed in cafe's, well half...the other half are selling the weed on the street - among other things such as mushies and acid. Within a minute of leaving the van, we were asked by several people if we wanted any drugs. Its actually quite a cool little place, with loads of cafes with good coffee and a load of herbal health places. We visited the museum which was an awesome little walk-through-time-line. It looked amazing and kooky, but it was really just going on about legalising hemp. After a lazy afternoon we headed back to Helen for some dinner...while were eating, a guy pulled up and told us the way to a place up the mountain that's really good to go and watch the sunset (and smoke a spliff, which he so nicely added on at the end.) So we drove up the mountain, and the few was incredible. You could see for miles, all jungle with only a couple of little buildings here and there. We wouldve stayed the night if it wasnt for the amount of insects buzzing around. Chris is the complete opposite of Bear Grylls...he hates any insects or any form of wildlife really. This is great for me as its an easy wind up.
Left Nimbin the following day to head for Tweed Heads, sunshine coast.
Tom, a friend of my Dads lives near Tweed heads and he kindly offered for us to shower and eat at his house. We met him by the beach and followed him to Hope Island. Our van wouldnt fit in the garage so they put up beds in their children's play room for us to sleep. They were such a nice family; Tom, his wife Sarah and their three youngsters...They also had relatives there, which meant that there were a total of 7 adults and 5 children staying in the same place.
They took us over the road to a place called boardwalk, which is a lovely bar right on the marina. A few beers and a pizza later, we went back to play cards and a few more Tooheys (beer). This was all well and good, til the morning when we were woken by 5 kids screaming, with the adults trying to get them ready for school. It was mental. But obviously we didnt mind, as they were putting us up...but it did make me think twice about having kids.
Hit Surfers Paradise for the day, it was only 33 degrees. Surfers doesnt deserve too much written about it to be honest...not much to do during the day, and at night its meant to be trashy. The beach was awesome though.
Had a more relaxed evening back at Hope Island; After a swim we raided the kids board games and found the most amazing game that I played all the time when I was young...Frustration. I used to cry my eyes out playing this game back at home, I was young though...like 19. I actually won the game, to my surprise, as I was sure Id be reduced to tears. Sarah cooked us up a lovely meal, adults only and we had an earlier night after a few card games.
Mooloolaba was the next stop (and I didnt make that place up, its actually real.) Quite a cool little place, with beaches and rivers to chill out on. We had a voucher for a free paddle-board lesson so we did that down the river for an hour or so. This is kind of like surfing, only on a bigger board and you have an oar to paddle with. The guy was obviously bored so he decided he'd make it his mission to ensure we all fell off into the river. Mission accomplished.
Last stop before Fraser Island was Noosa Heads; a popular beach town. We stayed in a backpacker carpark, but for a few dollars each they let us use the facilities. As it was a Friday, and as one the more popular bars in Noosa was three yards away, we thought we'd have a few. Noosa has the weirdest nightlife ever. It felt like we were in a school disco, surrounded by knob-heads. So we moved on...This place was worse...so bad we took to playing dance-floor golf to keep occupied. Got back feeling a little annoyed at how terrible a night it was. The next day was roasting so we hit the beach. Found a lovely little cove off the main beach called "Little Cove" believe it or not. There was a wedding going on, which had a live band playing Jack Johnson...I was loving it more than the groom. Played football with Betty (our ball) and what not til the sun came down. Had an early night, ready for the Drive to Rainbow beach; the starting point for Fraser Island.
We had a free nights stay at Dingoes backpackers, before the 3 day trip to Fraser Island. This is how the trip works: You are briefed in a big group, and split into smaller groups of around 8 people. You are given a 4WD, camping equipment, food etc for the three days. The following day, you load up the van with everything and set off to the barge for the crossing to Fraser Island. Fraser is a massive sand Island with beautiful lakes, worth a google.
Out group consisted of three Germans, two of which were guys, an English couple and the three of us. The Germans were very reserved and efficient...they didnt say much the night before we left so we talked with the English couple. Guess where they come from...Royston. Really nice couple, full of banter. We had to get up at 6.45 to start setting the car up...when we got to the 4WD, the Germans already had their towels down on the best seats.
After all the hassle of getting everything into Gertrude (the name for our 4WD) we set off to the barge.
The three days on Fraser Island were immense...We visited awesome lakes and view points each day before setting up camp and cooking our delicious meals (Im not being sarcastic either, steak the first night, and chicked stir-fry the second)...Of course, after the meal, the inevitable happened. Out came the goon (boxed wine). We linked ipods to the vans speakers, and lit by reverse lights, we had a little party with all the other groups. After a while, we noticed that a lot of people had gone to bed, one girl had been sick and put to bed, some were monged out in the vans...It was ten to ten.
This happened both nights, and when you wake up in a tent next to two blokes, sweating with the worst hangover ever...you dont feel so hot. Especially as there are no showers for three days, and no sinks to clean teeth in. But everyone was in good spirits throughout which made not-showering more bearable. The Germans came out of their shell more and more throughout the three days, and we ended up having a great laugh with them. In the end, we were sure our group was the best one.
Returning to Rainbow beach was a mixture of sadness from leaving the island, and excitement over having a hot shower. It was the best shower ive had. That night we had a party with our favourite people from the trip, obviously all the guys in Gertrude, plus a few from the other groups. So much banter flying about, especially to a guy on the trip who looked like Justin Bieber. He was from Holland or something and did not like being called Beebs, but he looked about 12 so we werent scared or anything. Actually, at one point on the island, during a goon session, he came into the van. All of us immediately started singing "BABY BABY BABY, OOOOOH" in ernest. He left.
Enough about Fraser, you get the jist, it was awesome.
The next big trip after Fraser is Whitsunday Islands which are situated just off Airlie Beach. Its a long drive so we stopped over in Rockhampton. There are loads of live music venues so we headed out for the night. Started off so well: a guy befriended us and bought us drinks, the band were good, managed to get free entry to a club by charming the girl on the door, then walked in past the bouncers to another club by showing our arms, as if we had stamps. Couldnt believe our luck. But it ran out, the clubs were awful again. Full of knob-heads, and the worst music imagineable. All the guys hated us, especially when we were chatting to girls. Theyd keep coming over and tapping the girls shoulder til they got their attention....like little kids. We got fed up and left, walked over a kilometre just to get a big mac meal. We got their and only the drive-thru was open...so we pretended to be in a car. I was the driver, Craig in the passenger seat and Chris in the back...we slowly pulled up the the speaker thing, making car noises...I wound down my window and tried to order. They ignored us...which is rude considering the effort we went to. Luckily a car pulled up behind us so we jumped in and ordered with them.
So that was Rockhampton.
We are now at Airlie beach, and its pissing down. Fingers crossed the weather picks up for a 2 day 2 night sailing trip around the Whitsundays tomorrow.
Ill blog again with how the trip went.
Cheers,
Jay x
And happy Mothers day,
So its been ages since the last blog, and a lots been happening...this is going to be a big one (thats what she said...yes, 'thats what she said' jokes have made it into the banter)
The last time, I was writing from Byron Bay and we were heading to Nimbin...
Nimbin, as described in lonely planet, is the result of an experimental festival in the 70's. By the looks of it, none of the people who live there left after the festival. This place is basically amsterdam but in the jungle. Everyone sits around smoking weed in cafe's, well half...the other half are selling the weed on the street - among other things such as mushies and acid. Within a minute of leaving the van, we were asked by several people if we wanted any drugs. Its actually quite a cool little place, with loads of cafes with good coffee and a load of herbal health places. We visited the museum which was an awesome little walk-through-time-line. It looked amazing and kooky, but it was really just going on about legalising hemp. After a lazy afternoon we headed back to Helen for some dinner...while were eating, a guy pulled up and told us the way to a place up the mountain that's really good to go and watch the sunset (and smoke a spliff, which he so nicely added on at the end.) So we drove up the mountain, and the few was incredible. You could see for miles, all jungle with only a couple of little buildings here and there. We wouldve stayed the night if it wasnt for the amount of insects buzzing around. Chris is the complete opposite of Bear Grylls...he hates any insects or any form of wildlife really. This is great for me as its an easy wind up.
Left Nimbin the following day to head for Tweed Heads, sunshine coast.
Tom, a friend of my Dads lives near Tweed heads and he kindly offered for us to shower and eat at his house. We met him by the beach and followed him to Hope Island. Our van wouldnt fit in the garage so they put up beds in their children's play room for us to sleep. They were such a nice family; Tom, his wife Sarah and their three youngsters...They also had relatives there, which meant that there were a total of 7 adults and 5 children staying in the same place.
They took us over the road to a place called boardwalk, which is a lovely bar right on the marina. A few beers and a pizza later, we went back to play cards and a few more Tooheys (beer). This was all well and good, til the morning when we were woken by 5 kids screaming, with the adults trying to get them ready for school. It was mental. But obviously we didnt mind, as they were putting us up...but it did make me think twice about having kids.
Hit Surfers Paradise for the day, it was only 33 degrees. Surfers doesnt deserve too much written about it to be honest...not much to do during the day, and at night its meant to be trashy. The beach was awesome though.
Had a more relaxed evening back at Hope Island; After a swim we raided the kids board games and found the most amazing game that I played all the time when I was young...Frustration. I used to cry my eyes out playing this game back at home, I was young though...like 19. I actually won the game, to my surprise, as I was sure Id be reduced to tears. Sarah cooked us up a lovely meal, adults only and we had an earlier night after a few card games.
Mooloolaba was the next stop (and I didnt make that place up, its actually real.) Quite a cool little place, with beaches and rivers to chill out on. We had a voucher for a free paddle-board lesson so we did that down the river for an hour or so. This is kind of like surfing, only on a bigger board and you have an oar to paddle with. The guy was obviously bored so he decided he'd make it his mission to ensure we all fell off into the river. Mission accomplished.
Last stop before Fraser Island was Noosa Heads; a popular beach town. We stayed in a backpacker carpark, but for a few dollars each they let us use the facilities. As it was a Friday, and as one the more popular bars in Noosa was three yards away, we thought we'd have a few. Noosa has the weirdest nightlife ever. It felt like we were in a school disco, surrounded by knob-heads. So we moved on...This place was worse...so bad we took to playing dance-floor golf to keep occupied. Got back feeling a little annoyed at how terrible a night it was. The next day was roasting so we hit the beach. Found a lovely little cove off the main beach called "Little Cove" believe it or not. There was a wedding going on, which had a live band playing Jack Johnson...I was loving it more than the groom. Played football with Betty (our ball) and what not til the sun came down. Had an early night, ready for the Drive to Rainbow beach; the starting point for Fraser Island.
We had a free nights stay at Dingoes backpackers, before the 3 day trip to Fraser Island. This is how the trip works: You are briefed in a big group, and split into smaller groups of around 8 people. You are given a 4WD, camping equipment, food etc for the three days. The following day, you load up the van with everything and set off to the barge for the crossing to Fraser Island. Fraser is a massive sand Island with beautiful lakes, worth a google.
Out group consisted of three Germans, two of which were guys, an English couple and the three of us. The Germans were very reserved and efficient...they didnt say much the night before we left so we talked with the English couple. Guess where they come from...Royston. Really nice couple, full of banter. We had to get up at 6.45 to start setting the car up...when we got to the 4WD, the Germans already had their towels down on the best seats.
After all the hassle of getting everything into Gertrude (the name for our 4WD) we set off to the barge.
The three days on Fraser Island were immense...We visited awesome lakes and view points each day before setting up camp and cooking our delicious meals (Im not being sarcastic either, steak the first night, and chicked stir-fry the second)...Of course, after the meal, the inevitable happened. Out came the goon (boxed wine). We linked ipods to the vans speakers, and lit by reverse lights, we had a little party with all the other groups. After a while, we noticed that a lot of people had gone to bed, one girl had been sick and put to bed, some were monged out in the vans...It was ten to ten.
This happened both nights, and when you wake up in a tent next to two blokes, sweating with the worst hangover ever...you dont feel so hot. Especially as there are no showers for three days, and no sinks to clean teeth in. But everyone was in good spirits throughout which made not-showering more bearable. The Germans came out of their shell more and more throughout the three days, and we ended up having a great laugh with them. In the end, we were sure our group was the best one.
Returning to Rainbow beach was a mixture of sadness from leaving the island, and excitement over having a hot shower. It was the best shower ive had. That night we had a party with our favourite people from the trip, obviously all the guys in Gertrude, plus a few from the other groups. So much banter flying about, especially to a guy on the trip who looked like Justin Bieber. He was from Holland or something and did not like being called Beebs, but he looked about 12 so we werent scared or anything. Actually, at one point on the island, during a goon session, he came into the van. All of us immediately started singing "BABY BABY BABY, OOOOOH" in ernest. He left.
Enough about Fraser, you get the jist, it was awesome.
The next big trip after Fraser is Whitsunday Islands which are situated just off Airlie Beach. Its a long drive so we stopped over in Rockhampton. There are loads of live music venues so we headed out for the night. Started off so well: a guy befriended us and bought us drinks, the band were good, managed to get free entry to a club by charming the girl on the door, then walked in past the bouncers to another club by showing our arms, as if we had stamps. Couldnt believe our luck. But it ran out, the clubs were awful again. Full of knob-heads, and the worst music imagineable. All the guys hated us, especially when we were chatting to girls. Theyd keep coming over and tapping the girls shoulder til they got their attention....like little kids. We got fed up and left, walked over a kilometre just to get a big mac meal. We got their and only the drive-thru was open...so we pretended to be in a car. I was the driver, Craig in the passenger seat and Chris in the back...we slowly pulled up the the speaker thing, making car noises...I wound down my window and tried to order. They ignored us...which is rude considering the effort we went to. Luckily a car pulled up behind us so we jumped in and ordered with them.
So that was Rockhampton.
We are now at Airlie beach, and its pissing down. Fingers crossed the weather picks up for a 2 day 2 night sailing trip around the Whitsundays tomorrow.
Ill blog again with how the trip went.
Cheers,
Jay x
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