I arrived into Johannesburg first and after a few hours in the airport flew to Cape Town to spend a coupld of days relaxing and getting myself ready for my overland tour. The weather was awful the first day I was there so I decided shopping was on the cards so I got all the bits and bobs I needed for my trip.
The second day the weather was beautiful so I headed up to Table Mountain and caught the Cable Car up to the top of the mountain. Amazing views from up there and seeing the clouds and how the light plays on them was gorgeous, I was up there about an hour pottering around having a look and enjoying the sunshine.
The rest of the day was dedicated to washing and repacking before my pre-departure meeting for the overland trip. Met a few of the people I was going to be travelling with and they seemd like an alright bunch but its always hard to judge straight away and in such a short period of time. Anyway our guide is called Kath and is an Aussie, Alouis is our driver and is 6ft 7in and built like a brick shit house ( a teddy bear underneath it but scary when its called for) and Duncan is our cook and hes 5ft nothing and a fab cook they are both Kenyan.
Our Truck sits 30 people there were 26 of us leaving Cape Town so its pretty full. All the food, bags, tents and cooking equipment goes on the bottome of the truck and then we sit up the top bit and we have a buzzer that links us to the cab where Alouis and Duncan sit.
The group bonded really quickly pretty much over the first lunch we had in the freezing cold at the side of the road 30 minutes out of Cape Town. Kath and Olivia and mislaid their passports which meant we left cape town just over 2 hours later than we were meant to. Day one we headed up from Cape town to the citrus fruit and wine growing areas in the west and we stayed at Spakry's place the first night. We had a tent putting up lesson from Alouis and then we got to it, needless to say we have got much quicker at it since then. I'm sharing a tent with Olivia and Aussie who is studying in New York at the moment and who is lovely.
That first night we had a wine tasting up at the bar infront of a roaring fire - I have come to realise that whilst Africa may be warm during the day its bloody freezing at night my summer ,PJs and sleeping bag did not cut it the first night. After the wine tasting we had a fab chicken stew followed by apple crumble cooked by Sparky which was sooooooo good, all washed down with a few glasses of Shiraz.
6am start the following day and I don't think I have ever been that cold in my life. We have to have our tents down and bags by the truck before we are allowed breakfast and then we have to wash our hands with soap, savlon and then rinse before we are allowed near the food, the same process happens with our plates at the end of the meal and we have to flap them dry ... we look ridiculous but it is funny.
We then headed up to the Oranje River and our next camp site on the South African/Namibian border. On the way we stopped at a place called Sprinkbok where everyone made a beeline for a shop called PEP to buy termals, blankets, pillows and anything else to keep us warm and make sleeping in the ten more comfortable. Once at camp we pitched our tents looking out over the river which was magic and after we had done our duties we pulled up a chair and sank and few beer as the sunset. Lamb chops, mash and veg for dinner we were in heaven. Was in bed asleep by 10pm exhausted.
the following day there was an opportunity to canoe on the Oranje River but I decided to save my money for the safaris further up so the rest of us sat in the sun and read or caught up on our journals. After lunch we headed out for the border, I can say I was a little nervous as I wasn't sure what to expect but we sailed through with both sides with relative ease.
Once in Namibia the landscape changed dramatically and became very barren and arid but in the same breath strangely beautiful. Our first camp site was at a place called Canon Road House wehre we pitched our tents quickly before heading to Fish River Canyon (second largest Canyone in the world) for sunset. Dinner was spag bol and so good I tell you Duncan is a mean cook. We then hit the bar which was so posh and up market considering we were in the middle of knowhere we are all a bit thrown when we walked through the door. Fun night with a few capers in the form of people climbing out of bathroom windows to avoid having to pay bar bills having opened the box in the picture of the naked man or woman in the bathroom which rang a bell in the bar and meant you had to buy shots for everyone at the bar.
Another early start in the morning but so lovely to watch the sun come up over breakfast. Today we headed for Sesrium in the Namib desert, seeing Ostrich, Springbok, Gemsbok (Oryx) and Kudu along the way. Once at camp we pitched our tents and headed out to do a desert walk and finally to climb dune 45 to watch sunset.
Back at camp and Duncan had cooked us a Kudu stew with the most amazing red lentils I have ever had in my life. I then headed off for a shower to shouts of watch out for the jackals and me going ha ha very funny ... apparently as I entered the shower block a jackal walked right behind me. Later sat in the tent with jsut the lfy screen down a jackal walked right past outside.
We had a lie in the following day as the accelerator on the truck was broken and Alouis had to get it fixed so we spent the morning sitting in the sun reading and chatting. At midday Alouis was back with a door hinge temproarily holding the accelerator pedal in place.
We were now headed for Swakpmund which had turned into the holy grail for Olivia and I as we kept saying when we get to Swakpmund we're going to ..... We stopped at a place called Solitaire to grab pies for lunch which were really good before hitting the never ending stragith grey road to our destiny.
Swakpund has lived up to everything we wanted. Warm showers, comfy beds, shops, and a good nights sleep. We went clubbing the first night here and then last night watched the footie.
Back on the road on Monday for another 5 days in Namibia including a visit to a Cheetah park where we can get up close to them before we cross over into Botswana and we do a 2night 3 day trip on canoes into the Okavanga Delta which I am really looking forward to.
Sunday 13 June 2010
Anguilla and China
I left Australia on the 2nd April and after a stop in LA, an overnight in New York and cab ride in St Maarten and a ferry ride I arrived in Anguilla on 3rd April.
Jusy and Tony picked me up and as soon as we were back at the house we hada dip in their new pool which is gorgeous. Nick and Louise arrived the following day and ended up staying 3 weeks instead of 2 thanks to the Icelandic ash cloud, well definitely worse places to be trapped.
We spent our time kicking back either on the beach or by the pool, reading, playing cards, trivial pursuits, talking, eating and drinking. On 10th April it was Judy's 60th and we had a party for about 40 round the swimming pool which was good fun and Judy put on an amazing spread of food as always.
We went over to St Maarten for the day in the second week and had a pootle round the market in Marigot (french side) and then over to Phillipsburg on the Dutch side of the island, before heading back to Marigot and Tropicana a fab french restaurant where we ate like kings and managed to polish off a bottle of banana rum between us. Certianly made the ferry ride home interesting and the subsequent game of Trivial Pursuits.
Week 3 I sarted diving which were amazing its like spring underwater at that time of year so there were baby everythings down there it was fab, the viz was the best I've seen it, we sawm sharks, turtles, sting rays, moray eels, 12 cray fish in one cave, a lobster the size of an adult pig (it made me jump it was so big), spanish mackerel, peacock flounders, barracuda, remora and most magical of all we heard humpback whales singing underwater. Managed to do my deepest dive to date at 39m and my longest dive of 1hr 30mins, Rob has started to call me cashew lung.
Wednesdays we went to Ferry Boat for Wings night and Sundays was Uncle Ernies followed by dancing at Gwen's which was good fun and I ended up with a regular dance partner in the form of Michael. My last night in Anguilla Judy and Tony took me to Sand Bar in Sandy Ground as a treat for my birthday where we had some of the most amazing tapas food I have ever had.
Before Iknew it my 4.5 weeks in Anguilla were up and it was time to head to China. First stop was an overnighter in Miami that was after I spent 2 hours in immigration thanks to my lost passport in Samoa, apparently this is going to happen everytime I go to the states ... ntoe to self no more trips to the states. I then flew to LA the following day and then to Melbourne. However our flight was delayed 5 hours in Melbourne due to a problem with the plane which then meant we had to make an unscheduled stop in Sydney because the crew had been in the air too long so all in all it took me 57 hours to get from Anguilla to Melbourne. Once there I learnt that my bag was still in LA and would not be arriving until the following day.
So I had a couple of night with my lovely friend Carly who I used to work with at the Guardian and who is now working in Melbourne for Disney. So lovely to catch up with her and have a few nice meals out, the weather in Melbourne was very autumnal which was nice. Next stop was Singapore for 2 nights and there I met up with an old School friend Sarah who I hadn't seen for years. We had alovely afternoon catching up over lunch and a bottle of iwne and then I managed to convince her to come and have a Singapore Sling with me at the Raffles Hotel which was sadly quite disappointing as cocktails go but at least I have done it and now can hang my Raffles Hotel picture in my flat justified.
Next I was headed via Guangzhou to Guilin in China where I was picked up by Dad and Fang at the airport. I was already starting to realise that I was going to struggle in China as no one really speaks any English and all packaging and signs tend to be in Chinese. Trying to be a firm toothbrush turned into a mission for the 3 weeks I was there and I never succeeded not to mention the fact that when I tried to get tablets for chronic indegestion I ended up with Ketamin but becasue it was all in Chinese I didn't realise until I'd already taken 2 tablets ... well it sorted the pain in my hip out ;-)
So yes I managed to pull something in my hip the night I arrived and spent most of my time in China hobbling, I then developed a rash on my neck and then this really bad indegestion all of which was followed by me taking to my bed for the last few days I was in China feeling sick, achey and tired.
Dad was also not well whilst I was there his leg and foot are still playing up badly which unfortunately put paid to our planned trip to Beijing and to see the terracotta warriors. But we did manage an overnight trip to Yanshou about an hour and half away and very quaint. Although a little tacky touristy I actually really liked it. We were meant to see a light show on the lake but unfortunately due to heavy rain it was cancelled. Instead the day we did the 4 hours Lijian River trip from Guilin to Yangshou we also booked to see the show that night, it was really lovely and my camera just could not do it justice.
The weather was also pretty awful whilst I was in Guilin it rained all bar 4 or 5 days and one of those days I was sick in bed.
We had some good meals out though, Fang taught me how to make dumplings (watch this space London crew dinner party fodder), I learnt a little bit of Chinese in particular how to say NO, I saw some very very funny things and learnt that I never ever want to have to drive in China (rule one of driving in China is there are no rules).
On one of the sunny days we drove up into the mountains and went to see the Dragon Back Mountains and padi fields which were great and I got a flavour of what rural China is like.
Fang also took me to various parks and I got to have a look insdie a buddhist temple, see pandas and some lovely if slightly luridly lit caves. We also did a night cruise on the lakes which are also luridly lit.
Then again in a flash my 3 weeks were up and it was tim to head for Africa.
Jusy and Tony picked me up and as soon as we were back at the house we hada dip in their new pool which is gorgeous. Nick and Louise arrived the following day and ended up staying 3 weeks instead of 2 thanks to the Icelandic ash cloud, well definitely worse places to be trapped.
We spent our time kicking back either on the beach or by the pool, reading, playing cards, trivial pursuits, talking, eating and drinking. On 10th April it was Judy's 60th and we had a party for about 40 round the swimming pool which was good fun and Judy put on an amazing spread of food as always.
We went over to St Maarten for the day in the second week and had a pootle round the market in Marigot (french side) and then over to Phillipsburg on the Dutch side of the island, before heading back to Marigot and Tropicana a fab french restaurant where we ate like kings and managed to polish off a bottle of banana rum between us. Certianly made the ferry ride home interesting and the subsequent game of Trivial Pursuits.
Week 3 I sarted diving which were amazing its like spring underwater at that time of year so there were baby everythings down there it was fab, the viz was the best I've seen it, we sawm sharks, turtles, sting rays, moray eels, 12 cray fish in one cave, a lobster the size of an adult pig (it made me jump it was so big), spanish mackerel, peacock flounders, barracuda, remora and most magical of all we heard humpback whales singing underwater. Managed to do my deepest dive to date at 39m and my longest dive of 1hr 30mins, Rob has started to call me cashew lung.
Wednesdays we went to Ferry Boat for Wings night and Sundays was Uncle Ernies followed by dancing at Gwen's which was good fun and I ended up with a regular dance partner in the form of Michael. My last night in Anguilla Judy and Tony took me to Sand Bar in Sandy Ground as a treat for my birthday where we had some of the most amazing tapas food I have ever had.
Before Iknew it my 4.5 weeks in Anguilla were up and it was time to head to China. First stop was an overnighter in Miami that was after I spent 2 hours in immigration thanks to my lost passport in Samoa, apparently this is going to happen everytime I go to the states ... ntoe to self no more trips to the states. I then flew to LA the following day and then to Melbourne. However our flight was delayed 5 hours in Melbourne due to a problem with the plane which then meant we had to make an unscheduled stop in Sydney because the crew had been in the air too long so all in all it took me 57 hours to get from Anguilla to Melbourne. Once there I learnt that my bag was still in LA and would not be arriving until the following day.
So I had a couple of night with my lovely friend Carly who I used to work with at the Guardian and who is now working in Melbourne for Disney. So lovely to catch up with her and have a few nice meals out, the weather in Melbourne was very autumnal which was nice. Next stop was Singapore for 2 nights and there I met up with an old School friend Sarah who I hadn't seen for years. We had alovely afternoon catching up over lunch and a bottle of iwne and then I managed to convince her to come and have a Singapore Sling with me at the Raffles Hotel which was sadly quite disappointing as cocktails go but at least I have done it and now can hang my Raffles Hotel picture in my flat justified.
Next I was headed via Guangzhou to Guilin in China where I was picked up by Dad and Fang at the airport. I was already starting to realise that I was going to struggle in China as no one really speaks any English and all packaging and signs tend to be in Chinese. Trying to be a firm toothbrush turned into a mission for the 3 weeks I was there and I never succeeded not to mention the fact that when I tried to get tablets for chronic indegestion I ended up with Ketamin but becasue it was all in Chinese I didn't realise until I'd already taken 2 tablets ... well it sorted the pain in my hip out ;-)
So yes I managed to pull something in my hip the night I arrived and spent most of my time in China hobbling, I then developed a rash on my neck and then this really bad indegestion all of which was followed by me taking to my bed for the last few days I was in China feeling sick, achey and tired.
Dad was also not well whilst I was there his leg and foot are still playing up badly which unfortunately put paid to our planned trip to Beijing and to see the terracotta warriors. But we did manage an overnight trip to Yanshou about an hour and half away and very quaint. Although a little tacky touristy I actually really liked it. We were meant to see a light show on the lake but unfortunately due to heavy rain it was cancelled. Instead the day we did the 4 hours Lijian River trip from Guilin to Yangshou we also booked to see the show that night, it was really lovely and my camera just could not do it justice.
The weather was also pretty awful whilst I was in Guilin it rained all bar 4 or 5 days and one of those days I was sick in bed.
We had some good meals out though, Fang taught me how to make dumplings (watch this space London crew dinner party fodder), I learnt a little bit of Chinese in particular how to say NO, I saw some very very funny things and learnt that I never ever want to have to drive in China (rule one of driving in China is there are no rules).
On one of the sunny days we drove up into the mountains and went to see the Dragon Back Mountains and padi fields which were great and I got a flavour of what rural China is like.
Fang also took me to various parks and I got to have a look insdie a buddhist temple, see pandas and some lovely if slightly luridly lit caves. We also did a night cruise on the lakes which are also luridly lit.
Then again in a flash my 3 weeks were up and it was tim to head for Africa.
Alice Springs, Uluru and the Great Ocean Road
So after Lulu left I flew from Cairns to Melbourne for 2 nights the idea being to start the process for my Chinese visa but to cut a long story short they wanted the receipt for my Aussie Visa which I didn't have with me and there wasn't engouh time to get it before they closed so I had to give up on that idea as on the Tuesday I was flying out to Alice Springs to do a 3 day 2 night tour of the outback and Ayers Rock.
The flight up to Alice Springs was good and took a couple of hours and we flew over landscape that would not have looked out of place on Mars - huge rock formations that looked like the spines of giant monsters. Eventually we landed in Alice Springs which was much greener that I tought it would be and also alot bigger. After waiting for our bags for nearly 40 minutes and watching giant beetles running across the carpet in the arrivals hall we piled into the van to take us to the backpackers and I met Janita and Jayshree and Anna and her mother who were all doing the tour of the outback with me.
Once at the hsotel we couldn't get into the rooms straight away so I dumped my bags and headed into town to have a look round and get some food, water and a hat with a fly net round it as I had heard that the flies in the outback are really bad (that was an understatement). It was here that I had my first real interactions with the Aborginal people and I have to say I did feel quite intimidated as they shout at each other quite aggressively and hang around in groups all over the town. So my trip was quick and then I headed back to the hostel and sat by the pool and read for the rest of the afternoon before dinner, shower and an early night as it was a 5am start in the morning.
Wilbo our guide picked us up at 6am and we headed off into the outback our first main stop being Kings Canyon. We stopped at a few road houses along the way to use toilets and this is where we got our first taste of the flies, my god are they persistant and they just want to get in your ears, eyes and up your nose and you end up doing this rather manic dance as you try to swat them off you, its no wonder people go mad out there.
We had a packed lunch on the bus before we tackled what is reassuringly called Heart Attack Hill at Kings canyon and I'll never forget Jayshrees words of optimism at the bottom "It doesn't look that bad", my god it was a killer and I'm so glad that it was a cloudy day I drank a litre of water just getting up that hill and I thought my legs were going to give out by the time we got to the top. Once up there thought the views were amazing and we spend 2 hours walking aorudn the top of the Canyon and Wilbo told us about the history of the place, the flora and fauna it was fascinating and incredibly beautiful. At one point we went odwn to a place called the Garden of Eden where there I a pool of water that some people went swimming in, I just dangled my feet in as it was freezing.
Once back down we headed out to our first camp site near Mount Connor, first of all thought we had to stop and collect fire wood from beside the road ... reassured by Wilbo telling us to watch the splinters because they're poisonous! After that we stopped at the Mount Connor look out to watch the sun set before hitting the last bottle shop before we got back to Alice Springs. We were quite refrained really the other tour bus travelling along with us bought 900 beers, there were 21 of them on the bus!!
So our first night we slept in swags under the stars, dinner was cooked partly on the fire and partly on a gas stove and was so yummy and Wilbo showed us how to make a traditional bread. It was unfortunately during the cooking of the dinner that we had our first casualty of the trip and Javier (Happy Havy) threw some wood onto the fire and a load of embers jumped out on to his feet burning the tops of both his feet really really badly, thank goodness we had Anna who was a nurse on board.
Sleep was a little disturbed as I kept waking up and remembering I was sleeping under the stars and just couldn't stop staring at them I've never seen so many stars. Anyway we were up and about at 5am and left camp at 6am as the sun was rising to head for Yulara to sign in to our new camp site and then head into the National Park and walk up to the Olgas. It was then that the trip felt like it was turnign into a disaster movie as firstly nicole trapped her little toe and the one next to it in the hinge of the bus door, the bus had a blow out and just as we got that fixed Marcus started violently throwing up.
We eventually made it to the Olgas and left Marcus in the shade with water and food and we headed off on our walk. I think it lasted about an hour and a half and was amazing, the way the rocks have formed is just outstanding and there is a really spritiual feeling about them its like you can feel the history all around you and the ghosts of those who were the originals owners of the area. Little is known of the histroy of the Olgas as it is kept sacred by the Aboriginals but it is known it was an area of punishment and initiation. Breathtaking!!
It was also here that I saw my first wild Kangaroo, it was stood pretty much right beside me and I didn't notice it until someone pointed it out and I just couldn't get my camera out quick enough but I did get some shots of it as it hopped off, amazing creatures.
After that we headed back to camp for lunch and a swim in the pool, unfortunately about 50 Aussie school kids had the same idea so it was a little packed in the pool but nice to cool down. We then headed out to Ayers Rock where we had a look round the culutral centre and learnt about the Dreamings, the history of Ayres Rock and about the conservation of the area. There is also a book in the centre filled with letters from people who have either climbed the rock or have taken a piece of the rock away with them apologising because awful things have happened to them after that. None of our group climbed the rock out of respect for the Aboriginals not to mention that it looked like a killer climb quite literally as there are no hand rails and its pretty steep.
After this we headed to the Ayres Rock look out for a beer as the sunset and to see the changing colours of the Rock as the sunsets. We also had dinner here which would have been nice had there not been so many damn flies. Back at camp we showered, charged cameras and then sat round the fire and had a sing song with another group it was a nice evening.
5am start again the following day and we went to watch the sunrise at Uluru which was brilliant and we had breakfast there as well before hitting the road for the longe and arduous journey back to Alice Springs. We did stop on the way for a bit of Camel riding fun where we got to race camels, Marcus and I were up against Eva and Javier and we reckon we won!!
All the way back we were singing and dancing on the bus and coming into Alice Springs everyone was on their feet for the black Eyed Peas - Tonights Gonna Be a Good Night which we had butchered and instead of singing ooooooooh ooooh after I goota feeling we were singing Uluruuuuuuuuuuuuu and this was before alcohol was added.
Once back we showered, changed and headed into town for a slap up meal of kangaroo steak and copious amounts of wine, beer and funny looking shots. It was a great night and it was sad to be saying good bye to people we had got on so well as a group.
The following day there were actually 7 of us on the flight back to Melbourne so the beers were cracked at the ariport and we managed to drink them dry on the flight quite literally, all good fun and a trip that was well worth it the outback is just an amazing place so harsh but has some of tyhe prettiest flowers and plants I have sen anywhere, has incredible amounts of wild life and the landscape is like nothing I have ever seen before.
So my last few days in Melbourne I finally got my visa for China, I restocked on essentials, met up with the girls fro mthe Uluru trip for a bit of a session in St Kilda which was fun and managed to rub shoulders with Michael Schumacher whilst I was there.
On my second to last day I did a day trip on the Great Ocean Road which Lulu had told me was fab so I thought I'd give it a go. The weather wasn't brilliant to start with and our guide was a bit strange (lucky me got to sit in the front next to him) but by the time the afternoon arrived the sun had come out and we got to see the Twelve Apostel and London Bridge in their full glory. Again we saw koalas in the wild, walked round a really pretty rainforest, had lunch in Apollo Bay which I'm sure is beautiful in the sunshine, and walked around and down a gorge whose name escapes me but was really lovely. Another trip that was well worth it.
The flight up to Alice Springs was good and took a couple of hours and we flew over landscape that would not have looked out of place on Mars - huge rock formations that looked like the spines of giant monsters. Eventually we landed in Alice Springs which was much greener that I tought it would be and also alot bigger. After waiting for our bags for nearly 40 minutes and watching giant beetles running across the carpet in the arrivals hall we piled into the van to take us to the backpackers and I met Janita and Jayshree and Anna and her mother who were all doing the tour of the outback with me.
Once at the hsotel we couldn't get into the rooms straight away so I dumped my bags and headed into town to have a look round and get some food, water and a hat with a fly net round it as I had heard that the flies in the outback are really bad (that was an understatement). It was here that I had my first real interactions with the Aborginal people and I have to say I did feel quite intimidated as they shout at each other quite aggressively and hang around in groups all over the town. So my trip was quick and then I headed back to the hostel and sat by the pool and read for the rest of the afternoon before dinner, shower and an early night as it was a 5am start in the morning.
Wilbo our guide picked us up at 6am and we headed off into the outback our first main stop being Kings Canyon. We stopped at a few road houses along the way to use toilets and this is where we got our first taste of the flies, my god are they persistant and they just want to get in your ears, eyes and up your nose and you end up doing this rather manic dance as you try to swat them off you, its no wonder people go mad out there.
We had a packed lunch on the bus before we tackled what is reassuringly called Heart Attack Hill at Kings canyon and I'll never forget Jayshrees words of optimism at the bottom "It doesn't look that bad", my god it was a killer and I'm so glad that it was a cloudy day I drank a litre of water just getting up that hill and I thought my legs were going to give out by the time we got to the top. Once up there thought the views were amazing and we spend 2 hours walking aorudn the top of the Canyon and Wilbo told us about the history of the place, the flora and fauna it was fascinating and incredibly beautiful. At one point we went odwn to a place called the Garden of Eden where there I a pool of water that some people went swimming in, I just dangled my feet in as it was freezing.
Once back down we headed out to our first camp site near Mount Connor, first of all thought we had to stop and collect fire wood from beside the road ... reassured by Wilbo telling us to watch the splinters because they're poisonous! After that we stopped at the Mount Connor look out to watch the sun set before hitting the last bottle shop before we got back to Alice Springs. We were quite refrained really the other tour bus travelling along with us bought 900 beers, there were 21 of them on the bus!!
So our first night we slept in swags under the stars, dinner was cooked partly on the fire and partly on a gas stove and was so yummy and Wilbo showed us how to make a traditional bread. It was unfortunately during the cooking of the dinner that we had our first casualty of the trip and Javier (Happy Havy) threw some wood onto the fire and a load of embers jumped out on to his feet burning the tops of both his feet really really badly, thank goodness we had Anna who was a nurse on board.
Sleep was a little disturbed as I kept waking up and remembering I was sleeping under the stars and just couldn't stop staring at them I've never seen so many stars. Anyway we were up and about at 5am and left camp at 6am as the sun was rising to head for Yulara to sign in to our new camp site and then head into the National Park and walk up to the Olgas. It was then that the trip felt like it was turnign into a disaster movie as firstly nicole trapped her little toe and the one next to it in the hinge of the bus door, the bus had a blow out and just as we got that fixed Marcus started violently throwing up.
We eventually made it to the Olgas and left Marcus in the shade with water and food and we headed off on our walk. I think it lasted about an hour and a half and was amazing, the way the rocks have formed is just outstanding and there is a really spritiual feeling about them its like you can feel the history all around you and the ghosts of those who were the originals owners of the area. Little is known of the histroy of the Olgas as it is kept sacred by the Aboriginals but it is known it was an area of punishment and initiation. Breathtaking!!
It was also here that I saw my first wild Kangaroo, it was stood pretty much right beside me and I didn't notice it until someone pointed it out and I just couldn't get my camera out quick enough but I did get some shots of it as it hopped off, amazing creatures.
After that we headed back to camp for lunch and a swim in the pool, unfortunately about 50 Aussie school kids had the same idea so it was a little packed in the pool but nice to cool down. We then headed out to Ayers Rock where we had a look round the culutral centre and learnt about the Dreamings, the history of Ayres Rock and about the conservation of the area. There is also a book in the centre filled with letters from people who have either climbed the rock or have taken a piece of the rock away with them apologising because awful things have happened to them after that. None of our group climbed the rock out of respect for the Aboriginals not to mention that it looked like a killer climb quite literally as there are no hand rails and its pretty steep.
After this we headed to the Ayres Rock look out for a beer as the sunset and to see the changing colours of the Rock as the sunsets. We also had dinner here which would have been nice had there not been so many damn flies. Back at camp we showered, charged cameras and then sat round the fire and had a sing song with another group it was a nice evening.
5am start again the following day and we went to watch the sunrise at Uluru which was brilliant and we had breakfast there as well before hitting the road for the longe and arduous journey back to Alice Springs. We did stop on the way for a bit of Camel riding fun where we got to race camels, Marcus and I were up against Eva and Javier and we reckon we won!!
All the way back we were singing and dancing on the bus and coming into Alice Springs everyone was on their feet for the black Eyed Peas - Tonights Gonna Be a Good Night which we had butchered and instead of singing ooooooooh ooooh after I goota feeling we were singing Uluruuuuuuuuuuuuu and this was before alcohol was added.
Once back we showered, changed and headed into town for a slap up meal of kangaroo steak and copious amounts of wine, beer and funny looking shots. It was a great night and it was sad to be saying good bye to people we had got on so well as a group.
The following day there were actually 7 of us on the flight back to Melbourne so the beers were cracked at the ariport and we managed to drink them dry on the flight quite literally, all good fun and a trip that was well worth it the outback is just an amazing place so harsh but has some of tyhe prettiest flowers and plants I have sen anywhere, has incredible amounts of wild life and the landscape is like nothing I have ever seen before.
So my last few days in Melbourne I finally got my visa for China, I restocked on essentials, met up with the girls fro mthe Uluru trip for a bit of a session in St Kilda which was fun and managed to rub shoulders with Michael Schumacher whilst I was there.
On my second to last day I did a day trip on the Great Ocean Road which Lulu had told me was fab so I thought I'd give it a go. The weather wasn't brilliant to start with and our guide was a bit strange (lucky me got to sit in the front next to him) but by the time the afternoon arrived the sun had come out and we got to see the Twelve Apostel and London Bridge in their full glory. Again we saw koalas in the wild, walked round a really pretty rainforest, had lunch in Apollo Bay which I'm sure is beautiful in the sunshine, and walked around and down a gorge whose name escapes me but was really lovely. Another trip that was well worth it.
Lulu and Helen's East Coast Adventure
I think it is fair to say that Lulu and I were remarkably restrained at Brisbane airport considering how over excited we both were to be seeing each other, certainly no one would have got a word in edge ways for the next 5 hours and that didn't even include an update on the soaps ;-) The wine was opened on our return to the appartment and we finally managed to stop talking enough for us both to fall asleep about 4am.
The following day (Sunday) the sun was out, a rare occurence I was finding out, and we had arranged to meet up with the lovely Em who Lulu and I met in London years ago and now lives in Brisbane. We went to a fab restaurant on the river called the Jade Buddah and after Lulu had done her usual trick of sweet talking the guy incharge we went from there being no room for us to having a booth table for the rest of the afternoon ... gotta love her.
I tried my first Moreton Bay Bug which was nice but I think badly cooked . After way to much wine we headed upstairs to the cocktail lounge and where they had a chocolate fountain on the bar which was free and a very extensive cocktail list ... it was messy and not very pretty the following day.
Monday morning and luckily Lulu's work commitments didn't start until Tuesday so we had a quiet day. Lu brought me up to speed on all the soaps at home which took a good few hours, we made a semi plan for our road trip and eventually had dinner and watched a movie.
The rest of the week in Brisbane Lu was at work and I was suffering from a bit of travel fatigue so I kicked back and spent my time finally completing my insurance claim and getting that posted off to the UK, sorting out some stuff other adminy bits and swimming in the hotel pool. Weather was pretty awful all week so didn't really entice me to get out and about. Brisbane is a nice city though from the bits I saw, like all Aussie cities it has a nice mix of old and new, its on the water and the shopping center is quite compact. On our last night in Brisbane (Thursday) we met up with Em and another girl Lu used to know, Rachel, and went for a Vietnamese meal which unfortunately wasn't great but we had a good time anyway.
Friday arrived and it was time to hit the road. After a quick lunch we picked up our hire car (Toyota Corolla) from Thrifty who we lovingly named Henri. We just about managed to squeeze our luggage into the boot and headed out ... just as the heavens opened!
We were headed to Maroochydore via Mooloolaba and a couple or hours and a few pit stops later we arrived. Mooloolaba looked like it was nice and had it not been throwing it down we would have probably stopped but we decided to head on to the hostel after a quick drive through. Our hearts and spirits sunk a little further on arriving at the Cottontree Backpackers (recommended by Lonely Planet, should have known not to trust them). It was very small, cramped, hot and not very clean. We had a nice meal out at the Blue Bar between Maroochydore and Mooloolaba and tried to pick up our spirits.
Saturday morning and with a new lease of life we set off for Hervey Bay which is the nearest mainland town to Fraser Island where we hoped to do a tour. We checked into the Next Backpackers which was like positive heaven compared with the night before and had the added bonus of an in house bar!! After freshening up we had a chat with Mark on the tour desk about Fraser trips and what the weather was doing and over night we decided to have a down day in Hervey Bay on Sunday and head out to Fraser Island on Monday and do our own trip rather than a tour.
The rest of Sunday we uploaded photos and then prepared for our trip to Fraser i.e. buying food and wine and packing smaller packs. We went to the cinema in the evening to see Valentines Day which was good, what was not so good was that we had forgotten that the kitchen at the hostel closed at 9pm so when we emerged at 8.50pm from the cinema we realized our carefully planned pasta dinner was not happening so we hit the Noodle Bar and got some take out.
5.30am the alarm went off on Monday (8th March) morning and sleepily we made our way down to the Aussie Tracks office where we had to watch a video about driving safely on Fraser Island as its all off road driving and there have been some bad accidents over there. Eventually we had been fully briefed, we had our maps and our high tide times so we knew when we couldn't drive on the beach and we had our esky (cool box or chilly bin) filled so we headed off in our very beat up Suzuki Jimni. Once we picked up some ice from the petrol station we headed off to catch the ferry.
It was very very grey day an on the ferry on the way over it started to rain quite heavily, I was starting to lose heart. We arrived on to Fraser about 9am and after driving down the one bit of 'tarmac' road which was so full of pot holes it was barely recognizable as a road. Then we were onto the sand roads and in 4whd for the rest of the time we were there.
Our first stop was a place called Central Station in the middle of the rainforest which was little more than a few information boards, camp site, 5 long drop toilets and a lot of mosquitoes! Back in Jimmy the Jeep and we headed south to check out some lakes that Lu didn't see last time she was here and because of tide times we were limited on beach driving time.
The lakes were ok but what made us most happy was when at 11am the sun came out and stayed out for the rest of the time we were on Fraser Island. We headed straight for the beach and a lunch stop to soak up some rays but the flies were a little unbearable so we headed in land to make our way to Lake Mackensie. Long bumpy drive but eventually we arrived and it was mind blowing like a caribbean beach and sea surrounded by rainforest. We dived striaght in the water which is fresh not salty, it was so nice I never wanted to get out but eventually we did as we had to get to where we were staying before the sun set to avoid the dingos. The tide was out by now so we powered up the beach and were there in no time at all. We cracked open the wine, flipped a couple of burgers on the barbie and were tucked up in our beds by 9pm when all the power went off.
The following day we were up really early (6.30am) and after a quick brekkie and shower we headed up the beach stopping at Eli Creek first. There was no one else there and we walked down the creek in the water which was lovely way to start the day. Next stop was the wreck of the Maheno which is on the beach and again we were pretty much the only people there which afforded us some great photos. It was at this point we discovered what the popping sound was that we could hear as we were driving up the beach - jelly fish, little blue ones popping away as we drove over then ti was like giant bubble wrap.
Next stop was India Head and finally the Champagne Pools which is the highest point we could drive to in our vehicle. These are rock pools right on the beach and when the sea comes in the water frothing over the top of them makes them look like champagne glasses. We had a littel swim in them and dried off in the sun before heading back down the beach and attempting to get to Lake Mackensie again before we left via Lake Wabby. Wem anaged to get to lake Wabby but it clouded over and rained and we were running out of time to catch our ferry so we decided to have lunch by the side of the road and hea for the ferry which turned out to be a wise move.
Back in Hervey Bay we had a night at the Next Backpackers again before heading for Agnes Water the following day. We drove leisurely up to Agnes Water stopping for a drink on the way and when we arrived it was just about lunch time so we just popped down to the beach which looked lovely and this is when I discovered that I had left my camera battery and charger in Hervey Bay, AGHhhhhh!!! I gave them a ring to see if they could send it up to Airlie Beach in time for our Whitsundays trip but they couldn't guarantee it and I got nervous that it was going to get lost so I decided I was going to drive back and get it and Lu really really kindly offered to keep me company. 6 hours round trip later and we arrived back into Agnes Water minus a bit of our sense of humour and checked into our hostel for the night where we had a beer and went to bed. All in all a bit of a disaster on my part.
Another day and we were back to rubbish weather for the drive to Airlie beach which was going to take us about 8 hours so we set off at 6.30am. We arrived in Airlie Beach late afternoon and the sun was back out so we check into the hostel and with the Whitsundays trip people before showering and heading out for a few bevvies and something to eat.
Loaded up with Goon (for those of you that don't know what this is its very nasty, very cheap wine in a box) and enough clothes to last us a few days we caught our catamoran for our 2 night 3 day trip in the whitsundays, there were about 20 American college students on our boat (18 to 20 in age) me and Lu and 2 other british girls about the same age. The crew were all British and great fun so we had a really good time despite the students. I got to do 4 dives on the barrier reef which were ok but the viz was really poor so I didn't get to see it at its most beautiful but we did see a couple of black tipped reef sharks, crayfish, napoleon wrasse, moray eels, clown fish, star fish and so on. The weather was a bit unpredictable and we did find out on day 2 that a cyclone was on its way which was already creating strong winds and making sailing interesting to say the least. By the time we got to Whithaven Beach on day 2 the weather was just awful and we were pumpled with rain and sand bit like dermobrasion but not as pleasant. So no stunning photos of the beach unfortunately.
Day 3 and after a final dive we headed back to Airlie Beach where we arrived just before lunch and Lu and I headed straight off as we wanted to get to Magentic Island that night so we had a 4 hour drive u pto Townsville to catch the ferry. It was about an hour after we set off that we had one of the more hysterical moments on the trip. We had both dropped into hunger silence in the car, we decided we were so hungry that McDonalds was looking appetising but could we find a sign for one, normally there are hundreds. Eventually we saw one in a town called Bowen so we turned off but could we find the McDonalds, no. Evntually I asked a gentleman that looked like he might frequent McDonalds but this toothless wonder couldn't help so we had to ask at the Thirsty Camel bottle shop. Once we had our Big Macs in had we ate in silence, god did it taste good and I never thought I would say that.
The weather had improved as we approached Townsville and even more as we headed for Maggie Island. Once there we caught the bus to Horseshoe Bay where we were staying which took about 20 minutes. It was just as we were nearing the YHA that I spotted wallabies and managed to embarrass Lulu for the first time ever by shouting 'Mate look, wallabies' ... the whole bus turned to look at me and Lulu had her head in her hands.
Once checked in to our very cute bungalow we walked dow nto the bay to check out the sea and bay area and we decided to sit and have a beer in the sun ... really lovely relaxed feeling about Magnetic Island it was so nice. As it was Mothers Day Lu and I decided to have a nice meal at the restaurant at the hostel which has a really good reputation and to treat ourselves to a bottle of bubbles. Was a lovely way to remember our Mums and one we're sure they would've approved of.
The following day we did the Bushman tour round the centre at the hostel which is where we got to feed a red tailed black cockatoo with sunflower seeds from our mouths, stroke a wombat called Womablina (Lulu held her for a photo later), handle lizards, crocodiles and snakes and I finally got to hold a Koala, Barney, who wasn't quite as cuddly as I thought he would be in fact I was pretty much told if I tried to do anything other than hold him very still he would bite me and apparently the fact that he grabbed my boob whilst I was holding him did not mean I could bite him. It was areally good 2 hours and our guide was brilliant, really knowledgeable and had such a good rapour with the animals it was lovely.
We had lunch at a place called Noodies in Horseshoe bay before lying on the beach for a few hours and then moving to the pool at the hostel. Mid afternoon we got an opportunity to feed some parrakeets which were beautifully coloured but very noisey and viscious we were left with scratches all over our hands and arms - glad I had my shots. We had dinner at a place called Barefoot Food Wine and Art which was very poor for the price unfortunately. Our last day on Maggie Island I was quite sad as we had had such a lovely time and was so great to see so much wildlife just wandering around - Lulu went to the toilet at 1am to find a Wallaby stood by the toilets, there were wild Koalas in the trees, lizards, frogs, moths, butterflies, birds and so on - we wished we had booked for longer it was so nice to kick back and relax.
But next stop was Mission Beach so we caught the afternoon ferry and picked Henri up at the port and heade north. The weather got worse and worse as we headed up the coast and by the time we got to Mission Beach it was throwing it down so we headed straight out for a Thai meal at a place that was recommended called Nana Thais and was really really good before showering and hitting the hay.
Suddenly we were down to the last few days of our adventure and we were headed for 3 days of luxury at the Shantara Resort in Port Douglas with our verandah deck straight int othe pool. We made a short stop in Cairns to do some shopping and get some lunch, didn't like Cairns much it was a bit too touristy and reminded me a bit of Blackpool. Port Douglas however was lovely.
As soon as we checked in we were straight in the pool and lying in the sun which had come back out, it was heaven. We had dinner at a cool little place that evening just outside of PD called The Beach Shack. The waitress was really lovely and so good at her job and the food was mind blowing we left stuffed to the gunnels.
The next few days we just chilled by the pool had lunch and dinner out and our last night together we ate at a lovely place called On the Inlet where the fish was superb and we had the most amazing Baramundi dish I've ever had, my mouth is watering just thinking about it now. We wandered bac kto the hotel slightly tiddle singing' Thank you for being my friend' from the Golden Girls.
Lulu left just before lunch the following day but not before I had shed a bucket of tears, it had been so nice to have someone to share the trip with that knew me. So I stayed on one more night at the hotel catching a few more rays and repacking for the next part of my Aussie Adventure.
The following day (Sunday) the sun was out, a rare occurence I was finding out, and we had arranged to meet up with the lovely Em who Lulu and I met in London years ago and now lives in Brisbane. We went to a fab restaurant on the river called the Jade Buddah and after Lulu had done her usual trick of sweet talking the guy incharge we went from there being no room for us to having a booth table for the rest of the afternoon ... gotta love her.
I tried my first Moreton Bay Bug which was nice but I think badly cooked . After way to much wine we headed upstairs to the cocktail lounge and where they had a chocolate fountain on the bar which was free and a very extensive cocktail list ... it was messy and not very pretty the following day.
Monday morning and luckily Lulu's work commitments didn't start until Tuesday so we had a quiet day. Lu brought me up to speed on all the soaps at home which took a good few hours, we made a semi plan for our road trip and eventually had dinner and watched a movie.
The rest of the week in Brisbane Lu was at work and I was suffering from a bit of travel fatigue so I kicked back and spent my time finally completing my insurance claim and getting that posted off to the UK, sorting out some stuff other adminy bits and swimming in the hotel pool. Weather was pretty awful all week so didn't really entice me to get out and about. Brisbane is a nice city though from the bits I saw, like all Aussie cities it has a nice mix of old and new, its on the water and the shopping center is quite compact. On our last night in Brisbane (Thursday) we met up with Em and another girl Lu used to know, Rachel, and went for a Vietnamese meal which unfortunately wasn't great but we had a good time anyway.
Friday arrived and it was time to hit the road. After a quick lunch we picked up our hire car (Toyota Corolla) from Thrifty who we lovingly named Henri. We just about managed to squeeze our luggage into the boot and headed out ... just as the heavens opened!
We were headed to Maroochydore via Mooloolaba and a couple or hours and a few pit stops later we arrived. Mooloolaba looked like it was nice and had it not been throwing it down we would have probably stopped but we decided to head on to the hostel after a quick drive through. Our hearts and spirits sunk a little further on arriving at the Cottontree Backpackers (recommended by Lonely Planet, should have known not to trust them). It was very small, cramped, hot and not very clean. We had a nice meal out at the Blue Bar between Maroochydore and Mooloolaba and tried to pick up our spirits.
Saturday morning and with a new lease of life we set off for Hervey Bay which is the nearest mainland town to Fraser Island where we hoped to do a tour. We checked into the Next Backpackers which was like positive heaven compared with the night before and had the added bonus of an in house bar!! After freshening up we had a chat with Mark on the tour desk about Fraser trips and what the weather was doing and over night we decided to have a down day in Hervey Bay on Sunday and head out to Fraser Island on Monday and do our own trip rather than a tour.
The rest of Sunday we uploaded photos and then prepared for our trip to Fraser i.e. buying food and wine and packing smaller packs. We went to the cinema in the evening to see Valentines Day which was good, what was not so good was that we had forgotten that the kitchen at the hostel closed at 9pm so when we emerged at 8.50pm from the cinema we realized our carefully planned pasta dinner was not happening so we hit the Noodle Bar and got some take out.
5.30am the alarm went off on Monday (8th March) morning and sleepily we made our way down to the Aussie Tracks office where we had to watch a video about driving safely on Fraser Island as its all off road driving and there have been some bad accidents over there. Eventually we had been fully briefed, we had our maps and our high tide times so we knew when we couldn't drive on the beach and we had our esky (cool box or chilly bin) filled so we headed off in our very beat up Suzuki Jimni. Once we picked up some ice from the petrol station we headed off to catch the ferry.
It was very very grey day an on the ferry on the way over it started to rain quite heavily, I was starting to lose heart. We arrived on to Fraser about 9am and after driving down the one bit of 'tarmac' road which was so full of pot holes it was barely recognizable as a road. Then we were onto the sand roads and in 4whd for the rest of the time we were there.
Our first stop was a place called Central Station in the middle of the rainforest which was little more than a few information boards, camp site, 5 long drop toilets and a lot of mosquitoes! Back in Jimmy the Jeep and we headed south to check out some lakes that Lu didn't see last time she was here and because of tide times we were limited on beach driving time.
The lakes were ok but what made us most happy was when at 11am the sun came out and stayed out for the rest of the time we were on Fraser Island. We headed straight for the beach and a lunch stop to soak up some rays but the flies were a little unbearable so we headed in land to make our way to Lake Mackensie. Long bumpy drive but eventually we arrived and it was mind blowing like a caribbean beach and sea surrounded by rainforest. We dived striaght in the water which is fresh not salty, it was so nice I never wanted to get out but eventually we did as we had to get to where we were staying before the sun set to avoid the dingos. The tide was out by now so we powered up the beach and were there in no time at all. We cracked open the wine, flipped a couple of burgers on the barbie and were tucked up in our beds by 9pm when all the power went off.
The following day we were up really early (6.30am) and after a quick brekkie and shower we headed up the beach stopping at Eli Creek first. There was no one else there and we walked down the creek in the water which was lovely way to start the day. Next stop was the wreck of the Maheno which is on the beach and again we were pretty much the only people there which afforded us some great photos. It was at this point we discovered what the popping sound was that we could hear as we were driving up the beach - jelly fish, little blue ones popping away as we drove over then ti was like giant bubble wrap.
Next stop was India Head and finally the Champagne Pools which is the highest point we could drive to in our vehicle. These are rock pools right on the beach and when the sea comes in the water frothing over the top of them makes them look like champagne glasses. We had a littel swim in them and dried off in the sun before heading back down the beach and attempting to get to Lake Mackensie again before we left via Lake Wabby. Wem anaged to get to lake Wabby but it clouded over and rained and we were running out of time to catch our ferry so we decided to have lunch by the side of the road and hea for the ferry which turned out to be a wise move.
Back in Hervey Bay we had a night at the Next Backpackers again before heading for Agnes Water the following day. We drove leisurely up to Agnes Water stopping for a drink on the way and when we arrived it was just about lunch time so we just popped down to the beach which looked lovely and this is when I discovered that I had left my camera battery and charger in Hervey Bay, AGHhhhhh!!! I gave them a ring to see if they could send it up to Airlie Beach in time for our Whitsundays trip but they couldn't guarantee it and I got nervous that it was going to get lost so I decided I was going to drive back and get it and Lu really really kindly offered to keep me company. 6 hours round trip later and we arrived back into Agnes Water minus a bit of our sense of humour and checked into our hostel for the night where we had a beer and went to bed. All in all a bit of a disaster on my part.
Another day and we were back to rubbish weather for the drive to Airlie beach which was going to take us about 8 hours so we set off at 6.30am. We arrived in Airlie Beach late afternoon and the sun was back out so we check into the hostel and with the Whitsundays trip people before showering and heading out for a few bevvies and something to eat.
Loaded up with Goon (for those of you that don't know what this is its very nasty, very cheap wine in a box) and enough clothes to last us a few days we caught our catamoran for our 2 night 3 day trip in the whitsundays, there were about 20 American college students on our boat (18 to 20 in age) me and Lu and 2 other british girls about the same age. The crew were all British and great fun so we had a really good time despite the students. I got to do 4 dives on the barrier reef which were ok but the viz was really poor so I didn't get to see it at its most beautiful but we did see a couple of black tipped reef sharks, crayfish, napoleon wrasse, moray eels, clown fish, star fish and so on. The weather was a bit unpredictable and we did find out on day 2 that a cyclone was on its way which was already creating strong winds and making sailing interesting to say the least. By the time we got to Whithaven Beach on day 2 the weather was just awful and we were pumpled with rain and sand bit like dermobrasion but not as pleasant. So no stunning photos of the beach unfortunately.
Day 3 and after a final dive we headed back to Airlie Beach where we arrived just before lunch and Lu and I headed straight off as we wanted to get to Magentic Island that night so we had a 4 hour drive u pto Townsville to catch the ferry. It was about an hour after we set off that we had one of the more hysterical moments on the trip. We had both dropped into hunger silence in the car, we decided we were so hungry that McDonalds was looking appetising but could we find a sign for one, normally there are hundreds. Eventually we saw one in a town called Bowen so we turned off but could we find the McDonalds, no. Evntually I asked a gentleman that looked like he might frequent McDonalds but this toothless wonder couldn't help so we had to ask at the Thirsty Camel bottle shop. Once we had our Big Macs in had we ate in silence, god did it taste good and I never thought I would say that.
The weather had improved as we approached Townsville and even more as we headed for Maggie Island. Once there we caught the bus to Horseshoe Bay where we were staying which took about 20 minutes. It was just as we were nearing the YHA that I spotted wallabies and managed to embarrass Lulu for the first time ever by shouting 'Mate look, wallabies' ... the whole bus turned to look at me and Lulu had her head in her hands.
Once checked in to our very cute bungalow we walked dow nto the bay to check out the sea and bay area and we decided to sit and have a beer in the sun ... really lovely relaxed feeling about Magnetic Island it was so nice. As it was Mothers Day Lu and I decided to have a nice meal at the restaurant at the hostel which has a really good reputation and to treat ourselves to a bottle of bubbles. Was a lovely way to remember our Mums and one we're sure they would've approved of.
The following day we did the Bushman tour round the centre at the hostel which is where we got to feed a red tailed black cockatoo with sunflower seeds from our mouths, stroke a wombat called Womablina (Lulu held her for a photo later), handle lizards, crocodiles and snakes and I finally got to hold a Koala, Barney, who wasn't quite as cuddly as I thought he would be in fact I was pretty much told if I tried to do anything other than hold him very still he would bite me and apparently the fact that he grabbed my boob whilst I was holding him did not mean I could bite him. It was areally good 2 hours and our guide was brilliant, really knowledgeable and had such a good rapour with the animals it was lovely.
We had lunch at a place called Noodies in Horseshoe bay before lying on the beach for a few hours and then moving to the pool at the hostel. Mid afternoon we got an opportunity to feed some parrakeets which were beautifully coloured but very noisey and viscious we were left with scratches all over our hands and arms - glad I had my shots. We had dinner at a place called Barefoot Food Wine and Art which was very poor for the price unfortunately. Our last day on Maggie Island I was quite sad as we had had such a lovely time and was so great to see so much wildlife just wandering around - Lulu went to the toilet at 1am to find a Wallaby stood by the toilets, there were wild Koalas in the trees, lizards, frogs, moths, butterflies, birds and so on - we wished we had booked for longer it was so nice to kick back and relax.
But next stop was Mission Beach so we caught the afternoon ferry and picked Henri up at the port and heade north. The weather got worse and worse as we headed up the coast and by the time we got to Mission Beach it was throwing it down so we headed straight out for a Thai meal at a place that was recommended called Nana Thais and was really really good before showering and hitting the hay.
Suddenly we were down to the last few days of our adventure and we were headed for 3 days of luxury at the Shantara Resort in Port Douglas with our verandah deck straight int othe pool. We made a short stop in Cairns to do some shopping and get some lunch, didn't like Cairns much it was a bit too touristy and reminded me a bit of Blackpool. Port Douglas however was lovely.
As soon as we checked in we were straight in the pool and lying in the sun which had come back out, it was heaven. We had dinner at a cool little place that evening just outside of PD called The Beach Shack. The waitress was really lovely and so good at her job and the food was mind blowing we left stuffed to the gunnels.
The next few days we just chilled by the pool had lunch and dinner out and our last night together we ate at a lovely place called On the Inlet where the fish was superb and we had the most amazing Baramundi dish I've ever had, my mouth is watering just thinking about it now. We wandered bac kto the hotel slightly tiddle singing' Thank you for being my friend' from the Golden Girls.
Lulu left just before lunch the following day but not before I had shed a bucket of tears, it had been so nice to have someone to share the trip with that knew me. So I stayed on one more night at the hotel catching a few more rays and repacking for the next part of my Aussie Adventure.
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