Travels of the Manmonkey

Alice Sprung

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 05:29:00 +0000

As previously mentioned, we had a couple of days to kill in Alice Springs before we headed down on the first leg of the trip to Adelaide. Now, to me the name Alice Springs makes me think of a lush desert oasis plopped right in the middle of the Red Centre… I was wrong… like the rest of the area it was hot and dusty… oh well! I guess it being so close to the geographical centre of Australia should have been a bit of a giveaway! After an evening of settling in to the YHA and partaking in a few drinks at a bed-bug ridden hostel we managed to escape, nice work Amy, we turned in for a well earned lie in!

Now, for the past 6 days or so we’d been living off cereal and sandwiches, so as you can imagine we were ready for some decent tucker and a good coffee! So in that spirit we decided to spend the day not as backpackers, but as flashpackers! So the next morning we sat ourselves down for breakfast at the best looking eatery we could find, and indulged in Eggs Benedict with smoked Salmon, fresh orange juice and one of the most gratefully received cappuccinos I’ve had in a long time! We relaxed chatted and gossiped for a good couple of hours before having a wander around the bustling (!!) centre of Alice Springs. We trawled every Didgeridoo shop we could find in the hope that Kat could find… the one… we failed. We browsed in a place that was not for browsing (You had to be there!), and I spent money I couldn’t really afford on a hat I’m not likely to wear again until I’m next in a desert… or perhaps on a ranch! It was an enjoyable stroll none the less, and along the way we got to learn a bit about the Opal industry that this part of Australia is so well known for.

4 of us had decided that we had to find a way of seeing the landscape around Alice Springs at its best, so naturally the sensible answer was to go on an hour long tour on the back of an animal that actually looks a bit out of place here, but is the best mode of desert transport… a Camel! So we spent the last hour of sunlight being carried across desert and scrub by our lumbering beast, it offered some pretty stunning views as the sun descended over the horizon (Pictures to be uploaded one day!). It was then time to slope back to the hostel to tidy ourselves up for one last knees up as sadly we were not all on the same tours out of Alice, and not all of us would venture on to Day 9 of the Adventure Tours Bus. We had a great meal out, and then went for a boogie that sadly ended prematurely, and without the tune that had become a bit of an anthem.

After getting up early to say goodbye to those that were leaving us… and after our rapid return to our beds after we’d said goodbye… we had a quiet day, with another wander around Alice and a conversation that led me to ask the rather poignant question… what about Kat though? (Again… you had to be there!). We caught up on a bit of laundry and checked our emails, before turning in for an early start. I don’t think Alice is somewhere that’ll stick in my mind, just the people I was with. It’s a bit of a ghost town that is really only a gateway to the Red Centre and the attractions, both natural and manmade, that you find there.

Well, I think that’s it for now… more catching-up will appear very soon, and you never know this might be up to date by the time I come home!!!

On the road again...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 06:15:00 +0000

Right… I suppose it’s time to face the music and update this thing! Well, seeing as about 3 months has passed without me finishing writing about what I was doing… I’m almost inclined to miss it out all together, but I won’t, one thing I will do to make the whole experience nicer for us all, is skim over the 3 day journey from Darwin to Alice Springs. To give you an overview, we drove around 1,500Km in 3 days, through what was mainly desert! We had a couple of stops on the way down with our driver Spud, the first of which was Katherine Gorge.

Now, I’ll get this out of the way… we didn’t do much once we got to Katherine, now it’s no that it wasn’t beautiful, because some of the views were spectacular, and it wasn’t that there wasn’t anything to do, there was a ferry ride we could have jumped on to check out one the main gorge from the water, it was just so hot! We felt almost obliged, despite the heat, to have a go at a bit of a walk, there were plenty on offer from half an hour to four hours (And even longer treks designed for masochists!). Now, before setting out we thought a couple of hours would be just fine, so we purchased a couple of icy cold bottles of water from the obligatory gift shop, strapped on our walking boots and hit the trail. Oh my word, within 10 minutes, I for one, was ready to turn back! However, seeing as by that point the only landmark we’d seen was the porta-cabin toilet we pressed on. To get to the first stop, the main look-out took us around 30 minutes… and by the time we got there we were all red-faced dripping with sweat, and fast running out of water! We stayed for 5 minutes, and then with a unanimous decision headed straight back for home! Now the view was nice, not mind-blowing but nice, and maybe had we carried on the views might have got better, but we weren’t going to find out! Ice cream was calling, and its shout was louder than a view of some trees! So with new inspiration we headed back double-time to relax in the shade with an Icy Pole or two! We got back exhausted, but not with the feeling of missing out, had budget been no issue a helicopter ride would have given us the opportunity to see all of the gorges (Of which there are 7) and had the eater levels not been quite as high we could have done a Jet boat trip, but with these options taken away from us we'd made the best of it, without leaving ourselves de-hydrated wrecks!

The second visit along the trip was a stop off at the Devils Marbles, large chunks of granite weathered down into giant marble like objects clad in the iron filled dust that covers this part of Australia, appropriately called The Red Centre. Formed over 1.7 million years by the erosion of the soft sandstone above, and eventually by the wind and rain sculpting them ever so slowly into something you'd (Despite the name!) never win in the playground. Plenty of fun was had clambering over these slightly odd objects that look as though they've been dumped by a spaceship, with many a photo opportunity to be had, we spent a good hour looking around before jumping on the minibus to hit the road again!

We also had a stop at the Daily Waters pub, which for me was certainly a highlight... for no other reason than partaking in a nice frost bottle of Cooper's Sparkling Ale... nice!

The rest of the time was spent bonding with everyone on the bus, learning our likes, dislikes learning about our families and friends, favourite food, drink, colour, what we did back home... seriously, when you're stuck on a bus for as long as we were with little to see other than kilometre after kilometre of outback, you get plenty of time just to chat, with the occasional yell of ROADTRAIN!!!!! Whenever we saw one of these mechanical desert snakes approaching! So, by the time we got to Alice Springs, a little group of us had bonded quite nicely, which was particularly good as we had 3 days to relax before starting on the next leg of the journey!

"Alice Springs and beyond" will be featuring on a blog near you soon (ish!)

Take care Y'all

Kakadu-du-du!

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 05:17:00 +0000

Right, firstly, I haven't dropped off the face of the planet, I've just been busy! And rest assured I'm not still in Darwin, in fact I'm already all the way back to Sydney where things started three months ago, so as you can imagine there is quite a lot to catch up on... so let's begin!

Now, some might think that travelling round the Northern Territory during the Wet Season, albeit the very end of the wet season wasn't such a great idea. Now in one way they might be right, and in other ways rather wrong! On the one hand, we couldn't take the road straight into Kakadu national park from Darwin (Which should take about 2.5 hours) due to flooding, instead we had to drive around the park south to the Kakadu Highway, adding about 3 hours onto the first drive, however this was nicely broken up by a "Jumping Crocodile" river cruise, which was rather good fun! The 15 people on the tour bus jumped off our lovely sir conditioned 4x4 and onto boat with suspiciously large amounts of meat on board (Not just the tourists!). So off we set for a hour cruising on a Salt Water croc infested river... it wasn't long till we found our first, and one of the crew started teasing the 4 meter croc! Now the aim of this was to get the crocs to show just how far they could jump out of the water when suitably motivated, and jump he did! A good 50% of his body leapt out of the water snapping at the fresh meat (Once again... not the tourists!). It was quite spectacular, and was just about the biggest croc we saw during the hour, but we saw plenty, and naturally there were plenty of opportunities to get photos, and to get to know the people on the tour (All thoroughly lovely people I'm pleased to report!). Once we'd had our hour and it was time to put foot on terra firma once more, we had the opportunity to handle a Python, so as the opportunity was there I had another reptile draped around my neck, considerably more lively than the one I handled on Magnetic Island, and a lot more active! Then it was the start of another big drive into Kakadu itself. After about 4 hours or so on the road, with the necessary breaks for buying snacks and the
like, we finally got into Kakadu itself, and stopped off at a lovely waterfall for a dip in some rather refreshingly cold water. We all swam around grinning like idiots enjoying a break from being on the road, and finding semi submerged rocks to sit on! After 30 minutes or so it was time to push on for another hour or so to the camp site where we'd be spending the night.

Along the way we were given a visual feast of scrub land dotted with deep green trees, and wetlands smothered under the rainfall of the last few months. It was quite a spectacle, and well worth attempting to fight the sleepiness that had started to creep in by mid-afternoon!

The camp itself was quite fancy, permanent tents that slept 6, and a kitchen/eating area that was also a mossie proof tent... not too shabby, one of the luxuries of travelling in the wet season up north (No swag camping allowed!). The evening was spent enjoying a drink or three... or seven, getting to know everyone on the tour that little better. We all introduced ourselves (Although by that time it was almost unnecessary!) and then spent time chatting about the usual, where are you going, where have you been, how long... so on and so on! Before we knew it, it was 1 in the morning, and with another early start ahead of us (5:30!), it was well and truly time to turn in for the night!

After a pretty decent night's sleep, and a bleary eyed breakfast of toast and tea it was time to hit the road again, ready for another hot and humid walk. Not, on getting put of the beautifully air conditioned bus we were hit with a wall of humidity, now the walk was only going to be at most an hour, but 15 minutes in we were really feeling the heat, and with walking boots and thick walking socks on my feet felt like they'd spent a good few minutes in the microwave! After a hot and stick 45 minutes we heard the not so distant sound of water, with our spirits lifted and a new spring in our step we jogged down dusty paths and clambered over boulders for just a few more minutes and there it was, a stunning waterfall with a lovely big water hole beneath for us to take a well earned swim in! After a lot of relaxing and a fair few photos being taken, it was time to hit the trail again! Now ahead of us was a walk back along pretty much the same trail that we walked down on, before veering off near the end towards another waterfall. Now the last waterfall was beautiful, a high churning tirade 30-40 meters or so high... this next one had quite a lot to live up to...and live up to it it did! It was s multi tiered fall, we could see two tiers although we were assured it was five in total. Each tier was relatively small, no more than 10 meters high, perfect for swimming under to get a
aquatic shoulder massage! As lovely as this was, a few of us couldn't help but wonder if the next step up, set back about 20 meters back from the top of the bottom fall was any better... our guide Bullfrog assured up it was, so a few of us made the effort to scramble up the rock to one side of the fall to make up our own minds. What we found was not only a fall that you could climb, and sit behind, but also a lovely view over most of the trees, out onto the area we had been walking, well worth the short climb up we thought!

After another half an hour or so lounging around under the falls and in the water, munching on an apple or two, it was time to push on for another hour or so in the truck to fin a nice spot for lunch. After salad wraps with a cold Sausage or two, we spent another couple of hours on the road, making our way up to an Aboriginal rock art site, where we spent an hour or so wandering around seeing a number of art sites, being told the stories behind what we were seeing. Now as the afternoon was drawing on the weather had begun to close in, and by the time we were wandering round the skies had decided to open. This didn’t deter us intrepid travellers from walking up to a lookout at the end of the rock art trail to see a view of Arnheimland... well... that was the idea anyway, but by the time we got to the top, we were all soaked to the bone, and visibility had been reduced to all of about 20 meters or so. Instead of a beautiful vista, what we got was a sheet of grey... you might think that travelling round the Northern Territory during the Wet Season wasn't such a great idea ;-) Well this didn't dampen our spirits, and on the way back to the shelter of truck you could see six or seven of us line dancing, and belting out a rendition of "Singing in the Rain"!

Then we had just a short drive we were at another camp site for another night in a swanky permanent tent, an intimate 2 person affair this time, well, 2 people and a load of mosquitoes! Thankfully the ever resourceful Amy got a mossie coil going do dispatch of the unwelcome guests! After another long day we were all suitably tuckered out, and we were all in our sleeping bags nice and early. Once again, we had another long drive, this time to get out of Kakadu, and drive west towards Litchfield NP, for another set of waterfalls! Naturally we all took the opportunity to catch up on some more sleep! It's surprising just how easy it is getting to sleep in the back of a 4x4 going over bumpy washed out roads! The waterfalls were once again beautiful, although I think the second was preferred by most people, mainly due to the fish in the first that thought they'd find out what tourists taste of (Lets hope they don't send the culinary review to the crocs)! Thankfully I managed to get away wound free, although I think I was just about the only one!

As the day was closing in, it was time to head back to Darwin to get off the bus and say farewell to those people not continuing down to Alice Springs. Now of course the only way we could do that was by spending the evening in one of the pubs in town, The Vic, a bit of food, a few drinks and some silly games! Games included Knights, Knaves and Mounts, The Box Game, Drinking Contests, Making Paper Planes and playing the Didgeridoo (Well part of an old vacuum). We had
mixed success with the competitions, although I did win the Didge playing, although in all fairness it was only due to my supporting team making more noise than anyone else! After a bit of dancing to finish of the night it really was time to say goodbye to a couple of people we all would have liked to be staying with us for the rest of the journey, cheers Susan and Mr. T, it was a lot of fun! With that done it was time for us to turn in for the night, getting ready for an early start, and the big 3 day drive down to Alice Springs.

Now I think that's quite enough story telling for the time being, watch out for the thrilling tale of a Km drive through nowhere, coming to a Blog near you soon!

Much love to all that deserve it!

From QLD to NT

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 03:54:00 +0000

So with a week in Cairns under my belt, it was time to look at what was outstanding on the "Must do" list of Northern Queensland. I'd done the Bungee, explored Cape Tribulation via the Daintree Rain forest and enjoyed a brief trip through Port Douglas. I'd spent time lounging in the hostel pool and the public Lagoon, and spent rainy afternoons in the shopping centre, and watching an awful film at the Cinema (If you get the chance to see The Good Shepherd... don't!). the only thing left was to go and visit the only living thing that you can see from space (And the thing that kills the surf on the top half of the coast!)... The Great Barrier Reef. So on Monday morning, bright and early I jumped on the shuttle bus from my new, out in the middle of nowhere hostel (Well, I had a couple of free nights to use up!), to be on the deck of the twin hulled Ocean Spirit by 8:00, to head to the rather exclusive Michaelmas Cay.

Michaelmas Cay is one of the most important reserves for marine bird life on the Great Barrier Reef, and is surrounded by a 7Km stretch of the reef itself. There are only 3 tour boats that are licensed to stop there, so even at it's busiest there is still plenty of space for everyone to snorkel (Only 50 people at a time are allowed onto the Island itself). And after 2.5 hours under engine power we arrived, and with clear blue skies and the sun shining, it was perfect snorkeling weather... so snorkel we did! After donning stinger suits to help prevent Jellyfish stings, and slipping on the rather cumbersome flippers, mask and snorkel, it was time to once again enter another world!

The corals themselves were just about the same as I'd already seen around the Whitsunday islands, but nothing could prepare me for the massive array of tropical fish and other aquatic life under the shimmering ocean surface. The stretch of reef around Michaelmas Cay is home to 1000 different species of fish, and other weird and wonderful life forms such as Sea Slugs and Giant Clams. As you can imagine, upon plunging into the tropical waters I was faces with a rainbow's worth of colourful fish, some plain, some intricately patterned but all fascinating, ranging from less than an inch long, to over 2 feet! In a way I wish I knew more about exactly what it was I was looking at, but in no way did that detract from the visual spectacle on offer!

The two stints of snorkeling were broken up with a tour on a glass bottom boat, where we got to see some of the reef a little further out from the island itself, during which we saw a massive Manta that was around 1.5 metres in diameter, impressive stuff! We were also served with a delicious buffet meal including an array of cold meats and fresh, in the shell prawns... yummy! With all the fun of the day over with, we headed back for Cairns under sail power, driven by winds of up to 25knots. This was accompanied with live music and a chilled glass of Aussie Sparkling Wine, all in all a very civilised was to spend a day at the reef (Especially as we paid $70 less than everyone else, I love free upgrades!). The evening was spent in the rather less civilised surroundings of The Woolshed, a backpacker bar that had become a bit of a regular place for us to spend our evenings!

My last morning was spent checking out of my hostel and getting back into the Cairns CBD, booking accomidation for the next couple of nights in Darwin, and organisig transport to and from the Airport. This was rewarded by spending my last afternoon with friends, havinf a fun time swimming and relaxing in the Lagoon, and sharing some food and Ice Cream before saying goodbye for one last time, well 4 or 5 times actually!

So with a safe flight to Darwin under my belt I leave the East Coast behind. I've had a lot of fun over the last few weeks traveling up the coast, have met some really fantastic people, and made some great friends. These are not just people I want have met traveling, but people that I want to continue to have in my life in some way or another, all of which I'd like to see again, whether it's in England... or when they next visit the Land Down Under!

Well, tomorrow I start my journey around the Northern Territory, the Red Center, South Australia, and then Victoria ending in Melbourne... once I've had my fill of Australia's second city, I'll be back in Sydney to face reality! It's going to be a very busy 3 weeks or so!

Much love to everyone.

Trials and Tribulations

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 01:37:00 +0000

So upon arriving in Cairns I met up with a lovely chap called Matt that I've not seen for a little while, we shared a drink or two to catch up on what we'd both been up to and then Matt mentioned he might be doing a Bungee jump... and after turning to my chum Ed and grinning, we'd agreed to join. Now it's very easy to say yes to something like that from the comfort of a bench in a bar with a cold beer in front of you... which is why on Monday morning we weren't quite so sure it was a good idea... turns out no-one was sure it was a good idea. Now the Bungee site is about a 20 minute drive out of town, and the oly way the company will come ond pick you up is if someone has paid to do the jump in advance... turns out that person was me, and then inspired by my actions 2 others agreed and did the same so we could take a few spectators along! So with our money handed over all that was left was to wait for about an hour to be picked up.... a surprisingly long hour! Once in the minibus disclamer sheets were handed round, basically signing away any right to take legal action against the organisers in case something was to go... ahem.... wrong, they really know how to install a sense of confidence don't they?! Upon arriving we suddenly realised that 50 meters isn't so high up after-all, once again... very easy to think that whilst your feet are placed firmly on the ground! So we were all revved up to go, only to be told it would be another half hour or so as the crew were on their lunch break, awesome, more waiting! As the minutes ticked by, we all started to go a bit quieter as we had time to lok up at the platform, which startet to look higher and higher as time ticked on! Finally the time had come, and we started the long walk up the staircase to one side of the tower to the jump platform. I can safely say that the higher we got, the more it was sinking in exactly what we were about to do, and the crazier it seemed! Once at the top I had a few minutes to contimplate whether I actually wanted to do this, that question popped into my head again as the towel was being wrapped round my ankles (They assured me it was a NASA certified towel!), and then again as I had to hop towards the edge... and looked over, and the countdown begins...

5... what am I doing.
4... I can't do this.
3... it's only $100 wasted.
2... right I'm outta here...
1... No I'm not, I'm so jumping.
GO!... **** it!

I'm so pleased I jumped, the freefall was awesome, scary, thrilling, seeing the ground approaching fast, feeling the cord take the strain, and seeing the world disapear again as I spring back into the air being tossed around like a ragdoll! Naturally as I was hanging there waiting for the Dinghy to paddle out to come fetch me I had a massive grin on my face. Any regrests? Sure, I didn't go up for another jump... still, it was only 50 meters, there are bigger jumps out there for me to challenge myself with!

After that I needed to do something a bit more low key, so for the next day 8 of us hired a people carrier, and went up the coast to Cape Tribulation, and the Daintree rainforest. We got up noce and early to make the most of the day, and after stopping off for a bit of brekkie made ourway up to Daintree, where we stopped off for a nice stroll in the rainforest towards Mossman Gorge. Naturally the forest was a humid mass of trees, weird and wonderful plant life, and as many bugs as you could want to see. How the humidity might have been a bit of an irritation, were it not for taking a swim in the fast flowing waters of the river running through the gorge. I went in for a bit of a paddle, and jus as my feet started to go numb I knew I had to take a dip, I think it was just about the most refreshing sensation I've felt in a long time, icy cold water running past you as you hold onto a rock to avoid being washed away! After hopping out of the water after 15 minutes or so, we moved a litle further north to take in a river tour where we saw wild saltwater Crocs, treesnakes and tree frogs, we also had the rare oppertunity of seeing a Crocodile nest being guarded by the expectant Mum, who didn't look too happy to see us, so naturally we made a hasty retreat before heading back to the shore. Again more driving north to Cape Tribulation itself, where we wandered down to the beach for a bit of a walk, and a head to head race between Lucy and myself (Well I needed my adrenaline rush for the day!), I'll be a gent and not publish the outcome... ;-) As it was getting dark it was time to head back to Cairns via Port Douglas, for a couple of quiet drinks and an early-ish night!

We've had a couple of lazy days since, although I hope to make a trip to the Reef before I fly to Darwin on Tuesday for the next leg of my travels... the long slog back to Sydney!

Much Love to everyone.

3... 2... 1...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 06:45:00 +0000

BUNGEE!!!

Ahoy!

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 06:55:00 +0000

Hello again, well I'm moving up the coast fast so I had better give you all another update! First up, sailing... well I say sailing, but for that you need wind, what we had was a slight breeze! That small fact aside it was a lot of fun! The boat I was on was a Maxi class racing boat called Condor, in its day it was quite the champion, winning most of the races in the Maxi class, including the Sydney to Hobart 3 times! Now I'm not sure what I was expecting, but let's say the sleeping arrangements were, erm, snug at best! And due to a lack of air con and a lot of sunny weather, below deck things were rather hot and stuffy, by the second night I'd learnt my lesson... sleep on deck! All the air conditioning you need, and what better way to be woken up than by the sun creeping over the horizon, awesome! The 3 days on the boat were spent mainly sunning ourselves on the deck (There's not much to do on a racing boat with no wind!), reading, and naturally as soon as was socially acceptable, enjoying a drink or two. However these stints of inactivity were nicely broken up by a stop off at the stunning Whitehaven beach, which was stunning, white sand so fine you can polish your jewelery with, and so pure that it doesn't need refining to be made into glass! We also had a couple of opertunities to snorkle over the reefs that grow round some of the 74 islands that make up The Whitsundays. Having never snorkled before this was a pretty amazing experience, a window into an utterly alien landscape filled with some really weird stuff! Good pratice for snorkling over the Great Barrier Reef, which is something I hope to do over the next few days or so. We had a really nice gorup on the boat, a good mix of guys, girls and nationalities that made the lack of wind not so much of a problem! Upon returning to Airlie Beach I had a chilled evening with a few friends, in preparation for my last early bus on the East Coast... next stop Townsville!

Now, Townsville is really just a gateway to get to Magnetic Island, just about the last place going north that you can see Koalas in the wild. Now there isn't a whole lot to do on Magnetic Island other than relax, which is no bad thing! A bit of a bonus was that myself and a friend were looking through their jukebox casully and were asked to do a bit of manual labour, lugging 20 or so beer kegs into the Hostel's cellar, in exchange for free drinks at the bar and a cooked breakfast the next day... nice, and well worth half an hour of our time! I did at last get to see a wild Koala though, a few of us went down to a local animal sanctury to see (and handle!) some of the local wildlife, incluing Crocs, Lizards and snakes, and on the way out did a little bush walk and saw a lone, motionless Koala! I don't think it was stuffed! The bar at the Hostel was just about the only nightlife on the island, but a fun time was had, and once again I found myself dancing on tabletops with a little cheer squad... I'm a shy retiring one... honest! In all fairness it was at the request of the barman, and in exchance for a couple of shots of Tequila... good deal if you ask me!

Now if all that relaxing wasn't enough, the next stop up the coast, Mission Beach, was yet another relaxathon! The weather was awful, so we just spent our time round the rather lovely Hostel, which was just a big house converted for backpackers. Really nothing to report from there, we sat around chatting, playing pool, making cups of tea, relaxing in the pool, and watching the occasional movie... and in my case bouncing around due to a build up of energy with no real release! That'll be something I plan to fix now I'm back in civilisation, Cairns! With any luck I'll manage to find an outlet for some of this energy before I jump in a car with a trio of girls that I'm going to Cape Tribulation and Port Douglas with... otherwise I'll drive them mad!

Well, take care everyone, hopefully I'll have something exciting to report in the next day or so!

Moving on up (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 02:43:00 +0000

Phew, finally in an air conditioned internet cafe! So where was I... oh yes, Fraser Island.

We had a fairly short drive from Noosa to get to Hervey Bay, the main access point to Fraser Island, it only took 4 hours or so. In the evening we grabbed some food at the obligatory Irish Pub, and then went to just about the single worst club I've ever experienced, this place had a capacity of about 200... there were less than 20 people there! Our driver joined up for the fun as he's a regular there, he assured us that that was as busy as it gets! Still we had a bit of a boogie and then high tailed it out of there as we had a 6:00 start the next day to get to the 4x4 hire place. After a bit of food shopping and a few formalities, 10 of us were bundled into a Toyota 4x4 and set off to get the ferry across to the quite frankly awesome Fraser Island.

Upon arriving we started driving straight across the bumpy sand track that forms the island's roads to our first stop. Now I'd bee told great things about this place from one of it's biggest fans, so I was expecting good things, and that's what I got by the bucketload! Our first stop was Lake Wabby, we hopped out of the 4x4 and started a walk down a long and winding path down towards the lake, at then e4nd of the path we weren't faced with glistening water, but by a mountain of glistening sand. Hot and sweaty we slowly made out way up the slope, I was a little ahead of everyone which I'm rather greatful for now, as upon reaching the crest of this massive sand blow, the stunning Lake Wabby was revealed in all it's glory. I'd like to say that I stood there and took in the view few a few minutes... forget that... I ran down the slope the other side and got straight into the refreshing deep blue/green water, how wonderfully refreshing, a great reward for the walk up! With plenty to see before getting to the camp site at 4:30, and a fair bit of driving ahead we only stayed for about a hour, but it was long enough to know I loved Fraser! The next stop was Eli Creek, a wonderful creek that you can relax in as it gently pushes you back towards the beach.

Now I could go on describing the places we saw, the Champagne Pools, Lake Makenzie and many other great spots on the island, but I'm not sure words would do then justice. Hopefully once I'm back in Sydney with my laptop I'll be able to sort out my pictures and get them online, but I don't think anything can explain how special the place is, you just need to go there! We camped for 2 nights and were on the Island for 3 days, and rather unsurprisingly I bumped into Michelle again whilst there! It was odd to be completely out of contact with the outside world, no reception on the mobile, no pay-phones, and no radio. We become so used to be able to be in contact at the drop of a hat, it makes me wonder how many ancient forms of communication have been lost through time.

Upon arriving back in Hervey Bay, we were all so tired, we just grabbed some food and then hit the hay, we were all in bed by 9:30... what party animals! I also had the excuse of yet another early bus, 7:00 in the morning, that would be taking me to a Cattle station in Kroombit for the afternoon, and an overnight stay! For the first time our bus headed not straight up the coast, but inland through Sugar Cane plantations and old Gold mining towns, and to the isolated but charming Kroombit Cattle Station... and once again... no mobile, no payphones, no internet, I love it!

Now I'll start by saying the hours that made up the afternoon and evening are some of the most fun I've had in years, and make me pretty sure I was a cowboy in a former life! The first thing we got up to was jumping on the back of a horse, and herding up a load of goats spread across the massice cattle station. Now this was a lot of fun, I loved being on horse back, more than I imagined I would, and had no problem yelling and whooping at the stubborn goats to drive them into their pens! we were a nice small group of 6, but still we rounded up the tricky billy goats and nanny goats in pretty quick time, giving us the chance to go on a nice little trek through some of the rockier terrain surrounding us. In all we were with the horses for a good couple of hours, and it's certainly something I'd like to have a go at again!

Next up was a goat rodeo! Well, just a couple of team events, first we had to get in the pen with all the goats we'd just rounded up, catch ourselves a nanny, milk it, and then drink the milk. It was a fun little team event, although it was a little worrying having the head of a very lively goat clamped between my thighs! The second event was a "branding" exercise, with a fake brand naturally! we had to catch and brand yet another lively wee critter! With some effort we succeeded in our task with the best time! Good stuff. Now next up was clay pigeon shooting, we only got 5 clays each, and our driver bet us a beer that no-one would be able to beat him, he shot first and hit only one of the clays, so as you can imagine we were all up for at least getting 2 clean hits... not that any of us had ever even held a shotgun before! Still I waited in line watching the other newbies having a go, it swung between great success of hitting 2 clays, and what I was expecting, hitting none at all! Finally it was my time, do I stepped up to the shooting position, and after a quick bit of guidance popped on the ear defenders ready to take my first shot... "Pull" as the bright orange clay was flung into the air I tracked it and pulled the trigger... poof it turned into dust... beginners luck I was sure. After a cheer from the guys behind me and a quick reload I was ready to go again... "Pull" once again I got a hit... and again... and again... and again! 5 out of 5, I came away beaming... and a little worried that I'd performed quite so well! Maybe I missed my calling in life!

After all that was over and we'd taken a little drive, we all relaxed with roast beef from the station, a few beers and an evening of whip cracking, bull riding, and game playing with the staff. A lot of fun was has and we were all a little sad to say goodbye to this fantastic place as we boarded the bus to Airlie Beach.

And Airlie Beach is where I am now, having a quiet couple of days before I set sail round the Whitsunday Islands on a Maxi class, race winning Yacht. Should be a lot of fun, but until Saturday which is when I set sail, I have some washing to catch up on, so I should go!

Much love to you all, take care, and I hope all is well wherever you are.

Moving on up (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 02:16:00 +0000

Hello! Phew it's been a while so there is rather a lot to report! Right, Brisbane first...

Now,, I was told by the bus driver on the way up to Brisbane that as a rule backpackers didn't like the place, I was sure I'd be the exception... I wasn't! The drive into the city was actually quite nice, the tree lined river snaking through the city was rather lovely, punctuated by a bridge designed by the chap that was responsible for the harbour bridge in Sydney. The city sadly however lacked atmostphere, not helped by the fact that round every corner was another set of roadworks! The city is so far spread out it took me a good 30 minutes to walk from my hostel into town where I was meeting some friends! We had a great evening catching up and dancing the night away, and I got to see everyone from the first bus that I made a good friendship with which was really good.

The next day was spent wandering round the city, going up to the viewing tower in the town hall, which might have once been a great lookout onto the city, sadly as the city has grown upwards the view has been obscured by high rises leaving me rather underwhelmed! I also had a long wander around the botanic gardens which were lovely, and then chacked out the4 Brisbane Museum, which once again was rather lacklustre! Thankfully day 2 was spent with my Kayaking Byron Buddy who became my Hiking Brissie Buddy (I'll just call her Michelle from now on!). We went on a 4 hour walk round Mount Coo-tha which did offer some pretty great views of Brisbane and the river, and a sadly very dry set of Waterfalls!

An early night was to be had as another early start was in store the next day. What took me by surprise as I drifted off to sleep was that I realised I was missing Sydney, odd sensation to have after only spending 3 weeks there... of course that was all blown straight out of the water as I arrived in my next destination, Noosa.

There aren't many places that have made such an instant impact on me as Noosa, within 10 minutes of arriving I alreadly loved the place! You may ask why, and to be honest I'm not 100% sure, I think it was a mixture of the wonderful beach, the great mational park, the the local planning restriction that won't allow any buildings taller than the highest tree on their plot of land. The place had a really great atmosphere, chilled cafe culture with just enough nightlife to keep you ticking over! This was all topped off by the fact the hostel I was staying in was absolutely fantastic, a lovely wooden collonial building that had a very chilled and friendly atmosphere.

Once again I met up with a group of people I had already met on the way to Byron Bay, including a lovely couple called Ed and Fiona, who rather coincidentally are from Crowborough! We had a great evening just relaxing and having a few drinks from the hostel Bar.

The next morning I went out to grab some food for the next couple of days, and then returned to the Hostel to reward my efforts with a big chunk of watermellon. So I'm sitting enjoying the sweet yummy melon, chatting with a couple of girls from the UK when I get a tap on the shoulder, I turn round and who should it be but Michelle again! It's funny how you're constantly seeing people around that you've met further down the coast! After a very quick catch up with her Ed, Fiona and I found a Kayak hire place and went out for a relaxing couple of hours paddling up the river round which Nossa is built. That was folowed by an afternoon of Pool with Michelle, and another evening of drinking and debate with pretty much everyone I'd met up the coast so far which was great fun! Discussions went from politics to euthinasia via Israel and Iraq, all good meaty topics for a warm evening in late summer!

The next morning was spent walking round the national park with Michelle before she got on her coach up the coast, and after spending the afternoon gently toasting myself on the beach we went out dancing in celebration of one of the Hostel barman's birthday! Saydly having a fun packed few days with friends meant that all too quickly it was time to leave Noosa, 3 days really wasn't enough, but I had already booked my travel to Hervey Bay, and a tour of the next must-see place up the coast, the magnificent Fraser Island.

Well I'm gonna sign off for now, I need a feed and I'm sitting in an internet cafe with no air-con! Check back very soon to hear about what else I've been up to between Noosa and Airlie Beach.

Much love to you all!

Bye-bye Byron Bay...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 01:11:00 +0000

As today is my last day in Byron, I thought I'd update everyone on my last couple of days here.

Wednesday was another relaxing day on the beach, and when 5 O'Clock rolled around it was time to start a Bush tucker walk around the grounds of the Hostel I'm currently in. Really good fun, only lasted for an hour or so, but an enthusiastic guide used the time well , and I now reckon I'm prepared to go live in the bush and live of the land... well, maybe not but it was very educational none the less!

Yesterday I think was the highlight of my time so far here, at 8:00 I was waiting for a minibus, and by 8:30 I was in an Ocean Kayak paddling out to a spot in the Pacific ocean to look for some Dolphins. It was quite a buzz to be way out at at sea, only to realise the massive swell that's coming your way is about to break and you've got to paddle through it, truly awesome stuff! We were out for a good 2 and a half hours and at one point it looked like we were going to have a Dolphin free day, but then about 20 meters ahead of us a baby popped up to say hello! It was only there for a minute or two but it was worth the hard paddle out!

Once we'd paddled back and enjoyed a few Tim-Tams with a nice cuppa, I went back to the hostel to clean up, then one of the girls from the morning's fun joined me on a long but worthwhile walk up to the Byron lighthouse that offered up amazing views across this rather beautiful bit of the world. Lots of photos were taken of course, and a new frend made into the bargain!

Well, that's it for now, it's time to get ready to jump on the bus and head up the coast!
Much Love, Adrian.

Notes from sunny Byron Bay

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 02:35:00 +0000

Hello again! It's been a little while so I though I should post a little update! As you can tell from the title I'm now in Byron Bay, one of the essential Backpacker stops on the way up the east coast.

The last few days in Sydney were pretty chilled out affairs, mainly filled with me making plans for my trip, spending the odd hour here and there checking out the beach, and disappointingly watching DVDs on the one or two rain filled days we had! Evening were spent chilling out with a cold beer or four at a beach side BBQ, playing Boggle and Scattegories, watching “So you think you can dance” and keeping a little human being entertained whilst her Parents and her Aunt played with flat-packed furniture! All good fun!

I also checked out the aquarium at Manly... Oceanworld... which was erm, I think cheesy would be the best way to describe it. In fact the most interesting exhibit had nothing to do with marine life at all, a display of Australia's deadliest spiders. Thought I should check those out for when I inevitably come across them in the outback! For all of $7 there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours in overcast Manly, but I'm not entirely sure it's something I'd recommend to a friend!

Something I would recommend however is the rather beautiful walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee, an hour or so strolling down a magnificent ocean side walkway following round lots of beautiful little coves and beaches, all being used by sun worshipers and sports fanatics alike. Best saved for a sunny day, which thankfully it was!

Then early on Thursday morning, after a move from my Hostel in Manly to the YHA in Sydney city centre, I hopped on a bus to start the first leg of my travels up the East coast. First order of the day was everyone on the bus getting to know a little bit about each other which kept us entertained for some little while, especially upon finding out the another couple on the same bus as me were from… Crowborough! Small world! After 10 hours or so, broken up with periods of sleep, chatting and stopping for food, drinks and a stretch of the legs, we finally got to “Surf Camp” (Actually a small holiday village in the small town of Arrawarra). So after a quick change into swimmers, it was down to the beach to hop on a surf board and make fools of ourselves! I’m pleased to say I spent far more time standing up that I ever imagined I would, and despite the heavens opening had a fantastic time. There is something rather exhilarating about fighting your way through breaking waves on your way out, but it’s not nearly as fun or rewarding as standing up and letting the waves carry you back to shore again! I can definitely see the appeal, and I may have to have another go when I get back to Sydney. Think I need a little more practice till I hit the waves in Hawaii!!

After some good tucker and a few well earned beers on the beach it was time to turn in before another few hours on the bus the next morning! Upon arriving in Byron and getting some food down us, it was straight to the Beach… and what a beach! Long sprawling almost-white sand, with nothing but a wrecked boat and the Pacific to spoil the view! Needles to say we’ve spent a fair while there over the last few days, don’t worry, most of me is still yet to tan! We did take time out yesterday to take in “Jim’s Alternative Tour” which was pretty cool, a tour to Australia’s cannabis capital Nimbin, carefully set to a 70’s stoner rock soundtrack… with at least 4 Pink Floyd tracks, great fun! The tour also stopped by and area of land owned by a full time Hippy from New York, who bought 50 acres of land, and has hand planted it over the last 3 decades with over 5000 varieties of trees and plant life, quite an awesome achievement, and an absolute lunatic, but very entertaining!

Well, that just about brings me up to date I think. Hoping everyone at home is well and looking after yourselves.

Take care, and look out for another update soon!

Adrian

The plan...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 01:29:00 +0000

Right, thought it was about time I let you all know what I'm planing for the next few weeks (Months!). On Thursday (Feb 15th), I shall be hopping on a bus that'll take me from Sydney to the sprawling beach, and bars, of Byron Bay. On the way I'll be stopping off at Surf Camp for a day to stand on a bit of plastic floating on some water... which I'll no doubt promptly fall off of again, but hey at least I'll have given it a try! Oh and I'll be sure to wear armbands to keep me afloat when I do... I'm fairly sure I've seen Laird Hamilton wearing armbands!

Once I've had my fill of Byron I'll be heading up to Brisbane to sample Australia's 3rd biggest city, and I'll no doubt check out Australia Zoo whilst I'm there, I understand a Taxidermist has stuffed Steve Irvine in a Croc wrestling post for tourists to have a photo opportunity with, so I'll be sure to get a snap of me with the Croc hunter (Just for you Fi!). I'll then be moving up the coast via Fraser Island and the Whitsundays to check out the Great Barrier Reef, and finances pending, do a SCUBA course so I can check out that most alien of landscapes, the ocean, first hand. Once I've completed my East Coast run up to Cairns, I intent to fly across to Darwin and tour right down the middle to the continent to See what Australia is really about. Kakadu national park, Ularu, Alice Springs, Coober Pedy, Adelaide and Melbourne will all be on the trail with a few other places in between!

I think once that's all done it might be time to actually face the reality of needing to earn some cash, still hopefully there will be plenty of time left to check out Tasmania and a bit of Western Australia once the funds have built up a bit again! Until then with any luck there'll be plenty of stuff to do around wherever I end up settling... just hope it's cheap!

Take care everyone.

Me.

I think it's finally happened!

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 03:43:00 +0000

Yesterday afternoon whilst I was wandering along the beach front returning to the spot we'd been soaking up the rays for an hour or so, Ham and Cheese toastie in one hand and a cup of mint tea in the other, I had what can only be described as a "moment"! The reality of where I was hit me for the very first time, and it was a good feeling... really good. I had a little buzz shoot through me, and just had this incredible feeling of excitement, I hope I have a few more of those over the next year!

And we're off...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 05:40:00 +0000

Phew... I've only been here a week and a half and It's already been fairly eventful, some of which I'll go into here... some of which I won't :-\ Well, firstly the journey here... tiring but hitch free! After a rather sleepy goodbye to Mum and Dad, I jumped in a taxi and was sped swiftly to Terminal 3 at Heathrow to board a flight to Hong Kong. Traffic was pretty heavy on the way to the airport (So I hear... I was fast asleep!) but I was there in plenty of time to check in, and spend some time in Departures mulling over what I was leaving behind, and where I was going. Reality still hadn't really set in, and it felt rather odd to be waiting in that clinical retail pasture known as Duty Free! Despite the tiredness I fought through, and thankfully managed not to doze off on those comfy Heathrow benches (Ha!) and boarded the first plane in a state of what can only be described as autopilot. The flight was good, only about half full so I had a seat and a half to relax into, and finally get a little sleep. Thankfully the in-flight entertainment was little to write home about, so there were no distraction from the snoozy task in hand. After a rather broken session of dozing, and with about an hour till landing in Hong Kong, I was gazing out at the sun rising over the solid blanket of cloud beneath us. I'd like to say that with such a tranquil scene in front of me I had some sort of revelations, or perfect moment, I didn't, but what I did have, was a stupid grin on my face! The grin slowly melted as we made our final approach into Hong Kong, I was looking forward to seeing a sprawling cityscape as we came into land... what I got what a yellow smog that made it almost impossible to see the wing-tip, let alone anything further... oh well, at least I knew that I had a beautiful continent waiting for me at the end of the next flight. Speaking of the next flight, that also ran to time, and despite my resolve to stay awake and beat the jet lad upon arriving in Oz, the in-flight entertainment sent me once again into the land of nod! I woke up with about 3 hours to go until landing, and although reality was still far from setting in, my heart rate slowly but surely went from relaxed to racing as I got closer and closer to Sydney, and everything the next year is going to offer! It was a weary, but excited Adrian that was dumbstruck on the way to Manly where I'd be staying first. It isn't often that an image that you've seen a thousand times, on TV, postcard, Holiday brochures and more, can send a tingle down your spine and a tear to your eye, but being driven to a roundabout by the harbour giving me my first full view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House managed it. There is nothing that can prepare you for seeing places in the flesh; photos are great, but not a patch on the real thing!

My first night of sleeping wasn't too bad, but I was awake at 7.30 in the morning and ready to jump out of bed and start seeing a bit of the Land of Upside Down! I was treated to a blind-folded (Well... sort of!) reveal of Manly beach which, despite being under a rather grey sky that started to rain just after the big reveal, was utterly beautiful. A golden arc of sand with the Pacific Ocean lapping at its shores... let's just say the grin was back! After a lovely breakfast at a cafe with a fantastic beach view, it was time to have a look at the city itself.

Now the journey into the city in itself was a joy, when jumping on a ferry that takes a relaxing 30 minutes to take you into the City is considered commuting, you know you're somewhere pretty special! The ferry journey was great if a little chilly, and as it turns the corner on the last leg of its journey, that spectacular vision of the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the city skyline rising majestically above it comes into sight... dare I say this reveal was just as good, if not better than the night before! The afternoon was spent strolling round the city, sorting out an Oz SIM card for my mobile phone, and more importantly the essential Sunnies!

Have to say it's difficult to gauge the CBD on a single trip, in the same way I don't think the Centre of London really gives up its charms until you spend some time socialising and absorbing the vibe, I didn't get in instant "feel" of the mainly business focused part of Sydney, but I was taken to Darling Harbour, which was about the most relaxing "city centre" coffee I've indulged in for quite some time! I'm sure having access to the waterfront in your lunchbreak must be such a relief on those stressful days in the office! Jetlag started to kick in quickly and it was time to return to Manly for a chilled evening with a drink and some take-away!

The Jet lag continued for another day or so, slowly easing up, and letting a little bit of reality set in, I stress a little bit, as I'm still finding my feet even now! The next couple of days allowed for time relaxing in the beach, watching a ferry race on Australia day, and wandering through the Botanic gardens on the south shore of the harbour. Sadly one of the highlights of Australia day for me had nothing to do with the land down under, but a little car from Italy! As part of the celebrations they had dedicated some of the area of closed off roads to classic car clubs, and buried amongst them, found just by chance, was a collection of beautiful Fiat 500s, I swear if the wind had changed the grin would have been permanent!

Saturday was filled with more fun at the beach (I'm actually starting to get some colour... no not sunburn red!), and then a trip to the Sydney Opera house to see "Kaidan - A Japanese Ghost Story". This was a fantastic mixture of Dance and Taiko drumming, telling a ghost story based on Japanese Haiku, truly fantastic stuff, and on the off chance hat it tours I would recommend you go see it!

The next few days were a little more low-key, with lots of beach and cafe related goodness, and a couple of films (Wedding Crashers and Deja-Vu - Reviews to follow!!). Tuesday however was a lot of fun, around 5 hours of wandering around Taronga Zoo, getting my first exposure to Antipodean wildlife such a Kangaroos, Koalas, platypuses and much more beside. Its been a long time since I've enjoyed going to the zoo quite so much... mainly due to the presence of a little bundle of 19 month old joy that was just as entertaining as the animals!

And that just leaves today! This-morning I went into the City to do a few touristy bits like wandering through The Rocks, and area around the Harbour Bridge where Europeans first settled, and having a wander up to the Sydney Observatory for some more fantastic views of the Harbour... and a little education!

Phew... other than a bit of planning for the travelling I intend to do over the next couple of months that's about it! Not bad for my first few days... I just hoped the rest of my year is going to be just as packed!

Much love to everyone, and If you've got this far and haven’t fallen asleep... well done, and thank-you!

Adrian

Very quickly...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 23:48:00 +0000

Just got to Hong Kong airport... within 10 minutes I already had a Venti Cappuccino from Starbucks, and within 15 had already checked my emails.... guess that's progress for you!

It's the final countdown...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 00:21:00 +0000

So then, in less than 12 hours I'll be stepping onto a plane to the other side of the world. Now, just about now I thought I'd really be panicking, after all this is just about the biggest thing I've ever done, but you know what... I'm not. That's not to say that I don't have any reservation about going, just the "right" reservation, the people I'm going to miss. That's only natural, I'll miss my family and friends massively, but the fact that this is just about my only reservation at this late stage proves (to me at least) that this adventure is happening at just the right time. As one of the great philosophers of our time said, "Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it". Recent events have reminded me that none of us truly know what is in store for us in life, but it's there for the taking, and if you're in the fortunate position that you can indulge yourself once in a while, you'd be crazy not to.

I’m pleased to say I’ve managed to catch up with a lot of my pals over the last few weeks, it’s incredible, there are people you can be out of contact with for years at a time, and yet when you get back in touch it’s like you only saw them a couple of weeks ago. It’s for those sorts of people that I’m truly grateful, and am so very lucky to have in my life. For those that I’ve not had a chance to see or speak to, rest assured that this trip has come upon me much faster than I realised it would, and hope that the occasional email will keep things going until I’m back… and if not… well I think a trip to visit me in Oz is in order!

Well, I need to finish fitting 12 months worth of clothes into a rucksack… and pack away the electronic goodies that will keep me entertained on the those rainy days, (Special thanks to Mr. Lee and Mr. Vong for a helping hand on this!) so for now I’ll bid you all farewell.

By the way, if anyone wants to receive a postcard in the next 12 months, make sure you email me your full address!

Now sing with me… I recall Central Park in fall…

Late night thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Adrian) — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 02:13:00 +0000

Right, so last night I had a great New Year's Eve, dancing for goodness know how many hours in great company in a venue with a really positive buzz about it. Great fun, although it led to only getting 3 hours sleep... so why is it that I was still awake at 1.30 tonight! Grr. Well I've taken the only sensible course of action... get up, make a steaming pan full of Thai style soup, and put my first entry into my new Blog!

I dare say the fact I seem unable to sleep might have something to do with the fact that in a few short hours I'll be starting my final week at Visiontext, marking the run in to some very big changes, challenges and opportunities... me running off to Australia for... well... we'll see how long! It'll be odd next Monday, not having to get up to work, not having to hop on public transport of some sort and spend an hour or so in each direction filling the time... listening to music, reading, dozing... or just staring put the window! But most of all it will be odd not going into an environment that I'm utterly secure in, surrounded with friends, and all the warm toasty apathy that sort of environment incubates. On one hand I'm going to miss some of that security, and of course I'm going to miss the people, but I can't wait to shed the apathy and throw myself into this new adventure with a willingness to embrace all the opportunities that come my way!

This week's going to be hectic, probably a little emotional, but I also suspect a lot of fun... bring it on!