Beautiful Borneo!

Hello again!

I can't believe that it has nearly been a week since I left Borneo and I am still yet to blog about it! Time is going even faster now that I am nearing the end.  I am still in Singapore at the moment after delaying my flight to Thailand until tomorrow (Tuesday).

Borneo was wonderful and I am so pleased that I decided to join Julie on the last leg of her trip, we had a brilliant time and just when I think that things cant get more beautiful or amazing, they do! We squished a lot in to our ten days and I was shattered by the end, but it was completely worth it, although we hardly touched the surface of the amazing state of Sabah, which is in the Malaysian part of Borneo.

It was the first country that I have been to on this trip where there was a language barrier.  However, this was not so much of a hindrance and it certainly makes life more interesting! The people on the whole were generally very friendly and we only had one occasion when we were surrounded by touts (it was like being a celebrity) which was when buying our long haul bus ticket, although as soon as we had bought, we were old news!

The flight from Singapore to Kota Kinabulu (the capital) was just two hours and we arrived in time for lunch.  It was all very straightforward and the luxury of not having to cook and lunch costing just a pound, was very much a novelty.   We then spent the rest of our first day wondering around, looking at the markets and then discovering that great chain and wondering, if there is anyone in th

e world it hasnt made it to....

On our second day we visited Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park, a group of 5 islands, situated just 15 minutes by speed boat from KK.  Just when you think the beaches cant get any better and this is what you find.....it was beautiful! We spent our day on two islands,

 the first was called Mandurah and was the only island in the National 

Park where you can stay.  The second island we hopped to, is called Manutik and this is the one in the picture.  It was a very relaxed day, we snorkled and enjoyed the sunshine and could see the afternoon storm brewing in KK from our remote island! How wonderful! The boat rid

es were really fun too, speed boats shotting everywhere! That evening we went to the night market.  We had wondered around on our first evening but had already eaten.  It is meant to be one of the best night markets in South East Asia and we were both completly blown away! It is mainly fish and vegtables for sale, i have never seen anything like it, it was massive and despite the amount of raw meat there were no flys and it did not smell, incrediable when you consider it was not below probably 25 even at night! A sign of pure freshness i reckon.  We ate at a typical philipino BBQ with all the locals, its just plastic bowls and no cutterly!  But it has 

to be some of the best fish i have ever eaten! Normally I would have been a bit apprehensive eating at this kind of thing, but it was an incrediable experience and great food! We were the only westerners in sight, we later found the rest of the tourists not even 150m down the road eating at the local Irish pub!  What an experience they missed, the bbqs made it roasting hot but it was soo much fun!

Day 3 - we got the bus to Sandakan, 6 hours east of KK.  For an asian bus it was pretty comfy and even had air con, i certainly wasnt going to complain for the 6 pounds it cost me!  Although this is a prime example of the language barrier, when the bus stops for a break, you never know how long it is going to stop for, it could be 5 minutes or 55! Patience really is a virtue when it comes to travelling Asia.  Sandakan was ok, there is not a lot in the actual town but we were using it as a base to explore the local wildlife.  It does however have an interesting history, which i will share with you now.  Sandakan was the site of a Japenese Prisoner of War camp during WWII.  In September 1944 there were 1800 Australian troops and 600 British.  More Australians died here than during the building of the Burma railway.  Early in the war conditions were bearable, but as the allies progressed, rations were cut, prisoners weakened and disease spread.  It was decided to move the prisoners inland, 250km through the jungle to Ranau.  On 28 January 1945 470 prisoners set off, 313 made it to Ranau.  On the second march 570 started and only 118 made it.  Conditions were horific, not boots, rations less than miminal and many fell by the wayside; the Japenese disposing of those who could not walk.  Once in Ranau the prisoners were put to work carrying 20kg sacks of rice to Paginatan 40km away.  Disease and starvation took a horendous toll and by the end of July 1945 there were no prisoners left in Ranau.  The only survivors from the 2400 at Sandakan were 6 Australian escapees.  

There is a memorial park at Sandakan but unfortunatly we ran out of time to visit as the next few days were monkey mania.  Our first day of monkey business was at the lesser well known attraction of the Probiscus Monkey Sanctuary.  This type of 

monkey can only be found in Borneo, a pretty incrediable thought really.  They are funny looking things but we had a really great day!  We decided to stay for both the morning and afternoon feeding, and were the only ones to do so! We thought we would be hanging around for ages in between but had lunch and was shown around the new lodges that they are building and then were treated to a lunchtime feeding, with just one other couple, the monkeys were so close and it felt like we were even more in the jungle! It was a boiling day and we were both shattered by the end! That day proved that hanging around and

 having a little patience was worth it!

Our other day of monkey business was at the much more famous Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation centre.  Where as the day before there had been a maximum of 15 people at one feeding, here there were hundreds! But we were prepared and had our spot on the fence 40 minutes prior to the first feeding! Where as the probiscus literally came crashing through the trees, the orangutans were much more graceful and were swinging along the ropes.  They cannot say how many will turn up for feeding, as these orangutans have been released into the semi-wild, they say between 0-11.  On our first feeding we had 7, which was pretty good!  You dont get too close, but that is for the orangutans benefit as at the centre they are trying to keep it as realistic to the wild as possible.  The fact that people couldnt follow the basic instruction of 'silence please' was slightly frustrating, and some orangutans definitly didnt approach as it was too noisey which was such a shame.  Between feedings we hung around in the cafe and caught up with our diaries and watched a DVD on the work at Sepilok.  The afternoon came around really quickly and we were like the cats with the cream as we made our way to the second feeding as a female orangutan was hanging in the tree right next to the broad walk.  It was amazing! We were so close and and was fun to watch her just playing in the tree! I didnt really mind about the second feeding after that, i had my photos and such a special experience.  Only 3 turned up to the second feeding, there were lots of other pesky monkeys around and it was over pretty quickly, or so we thought....all the orangutans went out of sight and then one decided to come and have another look.  After about 15 minutes of playing in the tree of front of us and hanging around....this is what happened.....

How cool is this!! It came right onto the barrier and nearly stole a women's camera case, which the women would have deserved as she had her camera lense right in the orangutan's face.  An extra special moment though!

Our last main adventure of the trip was a 2 night jungle experience on the River Kinabatangan.  It was a great couple of days, which involved lots of river cruises, early morning (6am!) and late afternoon and a night walk through the jungle and a longer 3 hour walk on Easter Sunday!  It was lots of fun, even with the Glastonbury style mud! Leech socks and all we had a really ace time! The walk through the jungle was pretty amazing, thankfully although we did get leeches on us we were observant enough for them not to get to the blood sucking stage! phew!  On our river cruise we saw a crocodile, which was pretty cool apart the size of the boat we were in (it was one moment when i wanted to erase all of my interesting crocodile facts from my mind!) lots of probiscus monkeys, birds and an orangutan in its nest! yes trust me, they do sleep in nests which they build in 5-20 minutes, pretty impressive!  Unfortunatly our quest for elephants failed due to being stuck in a torrential down pour! Just when i have never seen rain so hard, it gets harder!  It was so hard it hurt, you couldnt look up it was so heavy.  It has to be one of the funniest afternoons of my whole trip, but i think you had to be there!  We certainly couldnt have been any wetter!

We had one day back in KK before flying back to Singapore.  Unfortunatly the weather didn't hold for a beach day so we opted for shopping instead and then our final night was spent back at the BBQ!  

We crammed a lot in to our 10 days, but it was amazing and i will definitey be going back! There is still so much to see and the diving there is meant to be amazing!

Im home in 2 weeks today....doesnt feel quite real yet!!!!

7 months of travelling......

After an amazing week in Borneo its wierd to think that this picture was at the very start of my trip, in Fiji, where Jen and I first met Julie.



Julie and I are now both older, travelled and just a tad browner....this is what 7 months of travelling does to you! Enjoying our fish bbq in the hub of Kota Kinabulu!



As both our trips are coming to an end, we both agree that the hardest thing about travelling will be coming home..............

Happy Easter from Borneo!

WOW, i cant believe its Easter already and im in Borneo! This time last year i was just returning from America and now i am sat in this crazy internet cafe, paying 20p for one hour!!!

This country is amazing and although we have only been here 5 days its been incrediable! We saw the oragutans today, which was a once in a life time experience. Off trekking in the jungle this weekend, complete with leech socks.....i will update you when i get back to Singapore on Wednesday.

But for now, Happy Easter and enjoy your chocolate! I am jealous because they certainly dont do chocolate flaboured rice here!!!

Singapore!

Well I did it, I actually left Australia, not without my first major hiccup of my trip! Missing my flight from Perth!!! Who knew you could fly at 1am to Singapore and not a very sociable 1pm like i thought! Never mind, I was very lucky and got on the next flight with no extra cost and so only ended up waiting 6 hours instead of maybe days!

So I arrived late on Thursday and have just spent the past couple of days combining sightseeing with meeting friends and family.  Its been really nice.  There isnt that much to see in Singapore, they just love to eat and shop here! I have ventured down Orchard Road, which is the main shopping district and its just mall after mall after mall! Its crazy! They are massive and you can go in one and come out of another the other side of the road! But they are air conditioned so they are a nice escape from the humidity, im kind of use to the heat and humidity after the northern parts of Australia, but it doesnt make it any nicer!

I met up with friends on Friday evening and then yesterday met up with Julie, who Jen and I met in Fiji.  It was Julie's birthday yesterday and so we took the boat along the river which was good and we got some great views! Clark Quay where we got the boat from was really cool, quite modern, lots of bars and different coloured buildings.  Im staying with my aunt and uncle and on the way back home got caught in a massive thunderstorm! Boy when it rains here it really does rain! And so i sort shelter in Starbucks! My first since San Fransico, all those many moons ago and it was good! Its funny here, although its really different to home its very similar in that there is a M&S and Dororthy Perkins and Warehouse etc, which you dont get in Australia, so that has all been a bizzare!  I have also ventured each day through the Botanic Gardens, which are really beautiful and we had breakfast there yesterday morning.

Then last night Julie and I went for dinner in Chinatown.  Its a really cool area and lanterns hang from the buildings which as it got darker was really pretty.  We ate there and then headed to Raffles for the obligatory Singapore Sling! It tasted good and just had to be done really!  From there we headed to a bar called New Asia which is on the 71st floor of a hotel opposite Raffles.  It was amazing! You could see the whole of Singapore and on into Malaysia, although dark by this time it was a great view and so very high! You got one drink included in your ticket so we had champagne and admired the view, it was awesome!  It was a really great evening and we ended up at Clark Quay with some live music.

So today im just chilling in the luxury of a home!  I did plan to spend the day by the pool but it has been raining pretty impressively for the past few hours!  Julie and I are off to Borneo tomorrow for 10 days and im really looking forward to it.  Its not somewhere i imagined going on this trip but it should be a great experience and i am looking forward to something a little less western.  I am then back in Singapore for the night before I fly to Thailand.

A lot of people either love it or hate it here.  I like it, i certainly wouldn't say that i hate it! There is not much to see, but i am pleased i have stopped off here.  I get the impression that there is a lot of wealth here, most people have a Gucci bag under their arm! One day one day........!  Its different from any city in Australia. There are millions of more people to start with! I think in one hour i saw more people and certainly cars than i did my whole time in WA!  Its also exceptionally clean.  The MRT (underground) is spotless there is not one piece of rubbish, you could probably eat off the floor, i have never seen anything like it, certainly very different to the London Underground, although you are advised to 'Mind the Gap', which made me smile!

Next stop Borneo.....!!!

Day 200 & Australian Highlights!

Well what a conicidence that my last day in Australia would be my 200th of travelling! I would like to say it was planned, but it really wasnt! Just lucky! The sun has shone and I am now ready to expereince the next chapter in my journey.

Its been ages, well 5 months, since i last left a country, and i have done too much for a top 5 experiences, so it will have to be a top 10 instead, as follows:-

1. Uluru
2. New Years Eve Fireworks, Sydney
3. Monkey Mia (dolphin feeding) Shark Bay World Heritage Area
4. Fraser Island
5. Litchfield National Park/Jumping Crocodiles! Northern Territory
6. Cape Range National Park/Ningaloo Reef (Exmouth/Coral Bay WA)
7. Kakadu National Park - Northern Territory
8. Philip Island, (Penguins!!) Victoria
9. Madama Butterfly at the Sydney Opera House
10. Indigenous Art buying! QLD

Hands down Uluru has been my most memorable experience since being in Australia, although it was the near begining of my time here it is an experience that has been with me ever since and one that i will look back on with amazing memories.

So thats that, Australia has been amazing and i have loved every moment. So all that is left for me to say is, I will see you all next month!!!!!!!!

Albany and the Start of Winter???

Well, its official, the clocks went back this morning so i suppose winter has arrived!! And with the temperatures set not to drop below 28 degrees this week, i like winter here!!

As im not prone to 'doing' winter these days its probably a good thing that i only have 4 days left in Australia, oh my god, 4 days!!! After 5 months i cant believe that when i get on the plane i will be actually leaving Australia, its taking some time getting used to! I am however very excited about the next couple of weeks, which will see me visit Singapore, Borneo and Thailand which will be a great way to end my trip.

This week, flying solo again, i headed down to Albany, about 500km or so south of Perth for the week. I got the coach, my first coach trip since the east coast and with no one to talk to, the six hours dragged a little, thank god for i-pods!! I am really pleased i went down there, it was very beautiful and reminded me a lot of New Zealand, the town is situated on the coast inbetween rolling hills and the temperature is a bit cooler as well! Although 21 degrees wasnt as cold as i expected it to be, although it was the first time i used a duvet in about 3 months, hehe!!

I didnt really get up to much, just went on lots of walks and enjoyed the spectactular scenery. On Thursday i hired a bike and cycled along the coast which was lots of fun and hard work too, did i mention it was hilly!! Although it was a beautiful day and every now and then i stopped at the next deserted beach to sit and read my book! Life is hard! I also had a very bizzare experience, i was just getting to cycle bike and looked up and a kangaroo was hopping straight for me! You might think, awww how cute, i can assure they are not! They are pretty massive animals and very powerful, they could knock you flying in a second! I could see visions of bikes going flying and arms being broken, so decided to stand very still as it bounced past at an incrediable speed, the power vibrating through the ground! It was at this moment, i decided that i really have had an incrediable time here and it is time to move on.....one more step along the world i go!!

I am enjoying this time to myself, the hostel is packed out every night and there is always somebody to talk to, if you want, but its nice just having some time to myself. It has been a very luxurious morning as everybody in my room has checked out and so i have the room to myself until 1pm! I decided it was a good opportunity to sort out my stuff and the pile for the post office is getting higher and higher!!

Yesterday, after wondering around town in the morning i decided it was probably hot enough to brave the beach, a mere 28!! And within the hour i was catching the last few summer rays! Perth is great like that, it can cater for a number of moods! This afternoon i am off out to check out the art gallery and hopefully catch the Grand Prix too!

Hope you are all having a gd weekend! xxx

Happy Mother's Day!

Just a quick shout out to all those mums out there! New mums, expectant mums, mums who have been around for years....where would we be in this world without our mums?!!

Mine is the BEST and I love her very much!

xxx

Perth!

Where has this past month gone? I cant believe I have now been in Perth over a week, i have a week and a half left in Australia and Kirsty leaves tomorrow :-( Crazy!!

Another interesting Western Australia (WA) fact for you; WA has a population of 2 million, and Singapore 4 million, but Singapore can fit into WA, 4,000 times!!!! This is a massive state! Perth is said to be the most isolated city in the world, for its size!

I had heard so much about Perth before i arrived, all great things! And its been a really good week, but i think its safe to say now that im a Sydney girl at heart! Perth is very laid back and chilled and small really, the sun shines most days and its all very nice, but im not sure there is much happening for a 20 something!!

Saying that, we have done lots since we arrived, and its the longest I have stayed in one place since Darwin. We arrived and i just crashed out last weekend. There was no accomodation left for the weekend where we were staying and so decided to go to Freemantle for the weekend. Its really nice there, we went back for the day yesterday, and did a cruise down the Swan River rather than getting the train and I appreciated it a lot more as i was a lot more with it! I think Freeo also felt very European to us last week, which took some time to get used to after 2 weeks of the outback! They have a great market there though and stocked up on some lush fruit both weekends! Im really going to miss the fruit here! Its amazing, im not a fruit person at all at home, but here i dont go a day without eating at least 3 pieces!! Yesterday we also treated ourselves to lunch out, being Kirsty's last weekend and we went to Wagamamas!!! it was SOO good, I have never been to wags before, and sat outside with the indian ocean in the background!! Yaki Soba is still number 40 and it went down a treat! We had a lovely day yesterday and after chilling around Freeo, came back and then took a picnic up to Kings Park and watched the sun set over the skyline, with a bottle of wine. It was really nice and the park was full!! Lots of weddings and school proms and lots of people just enjoying the evening sunshine!

What else have we been up to this week? We had hoped to do a tour to Margaret River although there was no avalibility this week, so instead we opted for a wine tour around Swan Valley and what a great day we had! 5 wineries, a brewery and a chocolate factory later, we were more than giddy!!! We also thought it would be a good idea to buy a bottle of port!! So thats going back with Kirsty tomorrow and will be cracked open when I go up to Liverpool to visit her when im home!! The port is so good though, and Jen and I had really loved it on our Barossa Valley tour in Adelaide, so maybe its not just a drunken thing ;-)

On Friday we went on a day trip to the Pinnacles, a national park a couple of hours north of Perth (we had driven past it on our way down but didnt have the time to stop) with 1,000s of limestone formations. It was a really eiery experience as black clouds loomed, but a really cool sight to see! Unfortunatly, this tour was a bit disappointing. It was the worse I have been on since I have been away, which was a shame as Jen used the same company when she was here and had a great time. It just shows you what a difference a good guide makes. Never mind, you cant win them all and one out of all the day trips I have been on isnt bad at all, its just a shame it was my last one.

So thats been it really, we have enjoyed the sunshine in the parks and did a walk around the city and been mesmorised by shops and skylines and people, which we havent seen for ages!! Its been a great week as usual!

Tomorrow I am getting the bus down to Albany for the week. Six hours south, its going to be a bit fresh down there (21/22degrees!!) but is meant to have a beautiful rugged coastline and i really want to see some of the south west before i leave. Then I have 5 days back in Perth before i fly to Singapore. I cant believe it! Its top 10 time again, i have done too much to have a top 5 like New Zealand! So i need to get my thinking cap on and go back to last year and my time in Melbourne to start with! It seems like yesterday!

xxx

West is Best Part III - The Final Chapter!

Our last few days of our roadtrip were spent hopping from one place to another, getting closer and closer to Perth.

Day 11- We left Denham and drove back through the spectacular shark bay to the highway, in the comfort an air conditioned, fly free zone! Today was one of the hardest drives, it was 5 hours to Kalbarri, but today more than others the road seemed never ending and the sign posts were few and far between, it was a long morning. but completly worth the wait! We headed to Kalbarri National straight away, as we drove past it on the way in and thought, why not!! 28km off the highway, an unsealed road, is always a bit of fun and tests the driving! The park stretches for 1,000 sq/km and it comprised of the most spectacular gorges and rock formations that I have seen since Kings Canyon on our Uluru tour!! We stopped off at a number of different look outs and short walks. It was SO SO hot and the flys were horrific, but we stuck it out and was so pleased we did! There was a fine art, to taking pictures that day, i can assure you, to make sure there were no flys or flying hands in the way!!

When we got to the hostel and checked in, we were told it was a mild day of 39 degrees, but that it would have been 12 degrees hotter, at least, in the national park!!! crazy!! I knew it was hot, but blimey!!! By the end of the day, i was completly drained and exhausted! Kalbarri is a small seaside town where a lot of people from Perth go on their holidays. The national park is their main attraction and we only had one night here. To recover, we spent the next morning on the beach and then in the afternoon headed along the costal road to Geraldton, Capital of the mid west and civilisation!!! This was the only part of our journey that we could see the Indian Ocean from the road and made a refreshing change!

Arriving in Geraldton was like arriving in central London, after 2 weeks of nothing. They drove in lanes and everything there, which was all thoroughly confusing!! We saw our first McDonalds in 2 weeks, so knew then that we were back in the 'real' world!! Going from all the small villages that we visited to a town with a population of 19,000 it was a real shock! We arrived late afternoon on Day 12 and then had a whole day here last Wednesday, which we used to acclimtise and do some odd jobs, such as washing! We also visited the Museum of Western Australia, which was really interesting and gave an insight into the local indiginous history. It also had a temporary exhibition on HMAS Sydney, a Australian naval war ship that disappeared off the west coast in 1941 with 645 men on board. After a skirmish with a german ship, it was never found, until March 2008. It was a really interesting exhibition, and to think that it has only just been found, the history is still waiting to be written.

Our last day i drove 590km from Geraldton to Perth, capital of WA. We left early and made good time, although the last 100km were a struggle! And the last 20km seemed to take hours! We dropped the car off at the airport, thinking that would be easier, although it has to be the most unsigned airport in the world!! We only saw a sign with 3km to go, which is just ridiculous! Although on the way in we did drive though Guildford (which made Kirsty happy!) and past Heath Ledger's school, which was worth the slight detour! We got the shuttle into town from the airport, the joys of public transport!! It took for ever and was so unorganised!

So thats it, the greatest road trip ever! Completly worth every km and every kangaroo that got in our way!!

West is Best part II - Shark Bay World Heritage Area!

Hello again from an overcast and drizzly Perth!

So on Day 8 of our adventure we arrived in Denham Australia's most westerly town. Which is pretty cool as i have also been to Australia's most easterly point of the mainland (slightly different i know, but cool all the same!)

We turned off the North West Costal Highway into Shark Bay World Heritage Area. I have now been to 6 out of the 16 world heritage sights in Australia and this one was definitly up there with Uluru National Park for sure. The drive off the highway to Denham was the most scenic drive of our whole adventure.

We stopped off at many significant sights along the way, all which contribue to the area's distinction. But my, were they fly ridden! At one point it was SOOO bad, it was like stepping into a fly farm, which was a shame as we were at Shell Beach and this is where we had planned to sit and have our lunch, no chance!! Despite the flys it was still pretty impressive and we just grim and beared it for as long as humanly possible, the shells go 10meters deep in places!

Another stop was Hamelin Pool, which is a marine reserve containing the world's best known colony of Stromatolites. now i dont really understand this, but the book says, they are the oldest form of life on earth! Hamelin Pool is the first living example found in the world and is estimated to be 3,000 years old!!! Stromatolites are brown rock like formations which are made up of modest microbes almost identical to organisms that existed 19 million years ago!!!! All pretty cool anyway and worth the fly ridden stop :-)

So by the time we arrived at Denham, we were both pretty traumatised. All the hostels along the coast were really quiet and we were blessed with another room to ourselves and kitchen and bathroom too, as the hostel was made up of lots of appartments, luxury! So we just made the most of it, wandered along Denham's one street with the Emu's and that was about it!!

Day 9 - was Christmas Day take two, for sure! It was all about the dolphins at Monkey Mia and was such a special day. It was like going to bed on Christmas Eve, i was just soo excited at the thought of seeing dolphins and we were up at 6am to make sure we did!!

The wild dolphins of monkey mia have been coming to the shores of Shark Bay for 30 years, a lady thought it would be a good idea to train them to come into the shore by feeding them and they have done ever since. When the road was sealed and more and more people found out about it, a more controlled enviroment was set up. The dolphins are still completly wild, and dont necessarily come to the shore everyday, you are just unlucky if they dont! Thankfully by the time we arrived at 7.30am they were already there and the first feed was under way. They are fed up to 3 times in one morning a third of their daily intake, so that in the afternoon they still have to go off and hunt. 6 adult females are fed. When we first arrived it was a bit of a circus, with about 150 people in the water, but after the first feed they soon disappeared and we were front row!!

It was just an amazing experience, being in the water, fairly shallow and the dolphins just swimming past you, and out in the distance as you stood there and watched, it was very special. The second feed happened fairly quickly as the dolphins hung around and people are just randomly picked to feed them!! It was like Shrek, pick me pick me and yes, they did!!!! Hooray!! Now it was even more like Christmas!! it was sooo cool, over in a moment but i got to feed a wild dolphin! And then i got picked out again, haha!!! It must have been my lucky day, so Kirsty got to as well! Talk about the cat who had the cream!! We watched the third feeding, sitting on the beach with an overwhelming sense of satisfaction, and then we saw a turtle too! Not bad as by now it was only 9.30am!!! We chilled out on the beach for the rest of the morning and by lunch time it was like your own personal oven, so we headed back to find out on the radio it was 39degrees! We went out in the evening and had a drink to celebrate, Saturday night out in Denham, not quite as happening as the Borderline!!

Day 10 - A chilled out Sunday morning on the beach, although fairly windswept by the end, i dont know the things you do for the cause!!! We escaped the afternoon sun with a visit to the World Heritage Discovery Centre where we learned about all we had seen and experienced over the past couple of days. It was a really modern exhibition but very informative with some stunning photography. In the evening we went back to Monkey Mia, about 28km east and had some fun on the beach with the flys and sunset before we went on an aboriginal dreaming evening. It was SO amazing! An aboriginal guide, led us out into the bush a bit and we sat around the camp fire, learning about the aboriginal people of the area and the stories they are told from childhood about how the land was formed. In that part of Shark Bay it is known as Malgana Country, although there are about 16 different tribes in the area, all with thier own language (not english!). It was a really great evening, a lovely experience as the stars came out and the guy played the didigerdoo and we ate fish that had been caught that day and cooked on the fire in front of us.

The drive back was a bit exciting, the Australian bush comes alive at night and we saw snakes, rabbits (ok, not so Australian) and loads of Kangaroos on the road, it was all very eventful in the pitch black, i had to drive so slow and be on true kangaroo alert! I think at one point kirsty made me jump more than the kangaroo on the road next to us!!!

So that was our weekend in Shark Bay, amazing! just when we thought our trip couldnt get any better, it just did!! I nearly have as many dolphin pictures as i do crocodiles, which is alot!!

I will leave the final part of our trip for another post! xx

West is Best Part I!!!

Hello from Perth!!

Well i dont know where to start!! Kirsty and I have just had the most amazing two weeks travelling down the west coast of Australia. 3692km, Australia's biggest state, equivalent to the size of India!!!!

We left Broome, after I had a great week there, the weather was lovely, although very hunid, the hostel was great and I just chilled and made the most of the pool. So we left Broome in a shiny white car and headed to Port Headland on our first day of the ultimate road trip! We knew we would see nothing that day and we didnt! 600km of nothing, apart from 2 roadhouses (basic service stations). It was GREAT!! We plugged in the i-pod and put the world to right and i just drove and drove and drove! And by now was pleased that the car was an automatic! A new experience for me, but one i came to love! So we arrived in Port Headland, after 7 hours of driving and shattered. This was only just a stop over, there is nothing there really - although it is Australia's biggest export of Iron Ore. There are not even any hostels so we had the luxury of a hotel, the first for me since New Year! And it was lovely, but very wierd. I am now very much at home on the top bunk and people coming in and out of the room all night, so i did find it all a bit strange and very quiet!!!! But it was a much needed rest stop.

Day 2 - was intended as a short drive day, to counter act the day before. Just 3 and a bit hours to Karratha in the Pilbera Region. So we just poodled along really as the clouds got blacker and blacker. We were aware that a cyclone was forming off the pilbera coast, but it was still not known where it was going to hit. By the time we got to Karratha it turned out it was coming straight for us!!!! Typical!!! At this point i thought me and the coasts of this country and just not meant to be! The hostel owners at Karratha advised us to keep going to Exmouth, as if we didnt we would likley be stuck for at least 4 days, but Exmouth was 6 hours away and by now it was 1.45pm and Kirsty does not drive!! I was SOO tierd, but really didnt want to experience what Jen and I went through at Airlie Beach. So we went for. 2 cans of red bull, a bag of mini eggs (lovely proper tasting UK ones!!), one very long playlist and 6 hours later we made it to Exmouth!! I couldn't believe how far i had driven over 2 days, i think about 1,600km, which is just crazy and i would love to know how far that was in miles and from London to where?!!!

Day 3 - Sunny Exmouth! And boy was I pleased to see the sunshine when i woke up on Sunday morning and a lovely 35degrees! Exmouth - a former US naval communications base, small town which you could drive through without even noticing, population about 2,500km. But home to some of the most spectacular beaches i have ever seen! We had 3 nights here in total and it was stunning. Our first full day we stayed close to town, you still had to drive to the beach, but it was only a few km and i could cope with that! We went up to the lighthouse as well and got fantastic views of the coast line and the outback in the distance, it was stunning! An afternoon on the beach was very much needed, although when the temperature started to push 40, it was like walking on coals!

Day 4 - our last day in Exmouth and we spent it exlporing the amazing Cape Range National Park. You know its not a bad monday, when you hire your snorkel gear, throw it in the boot and then off you go for the day! And thats exactly what we did! The park was on the western side of the cape (if you look at a map) and as we drove in a kangaroo jumped out in front of the car and emus were wondering down the road (and around the town too!!) We got the ticket and thought that there was no way that the beaches could look as good as that, but oh my god they did!! It was the most amazing day ever!! I had a great time snorkelling at Turquoise Bay (very aptly named) the reef was amazing, and i will come onto that in a bit. We beach hopped for the day, and saw hardly anyone! It was just lovely and we were both completly blown away!

Day 5 - We left Exmouth and headed 155km south to Coral Bay. One of the great things about hiring the car was that we could stop for photos whenever we wanted and go wherever. On the way to Coral Bay we took a detour to Charles Knife Canyon and it was completly spectacular! This was real Australia and just completly amazing! The canyon was great and you got great views of the sea in the background.

Coral Bay - is just that, a bay!!! Population 50!!!!!! No running water as such, everything, including the showers were salt water!! One shop, petrol station, a few tourist offices and thats about it really. The bay was beautiful and we had 2 nights here. Its not a recognised town, hence the very basic facilites and it is very much just bare essentials. It was here that we were first introduced to our friends that would then be with us for the rest of our trip....the flys! Dear god, they were everywhere!! Buzzing around, up your nose, in your ears, it was horrible! Thankfully i still had my fly net that i bought for Uluru. I never thought i would wear it EVER in public, but i was never so grateful for it! You look like an idiot fly swatting with your hands, so i figured you might as well look like an idiot with a fly net on and conserve some energy in the heat. From here on in we never had a day below 35 degrees!! I have never got through so much insect repellent and sun tan cream in two weeks!!!

Between Exmouth and Coral Bay, all along the coast is the Ningaloo Marine Park. 250km long and only one of two reefs to be on the west side of a country in the world. Most people say that it is better than the Great Barrier Reef. Ningaloo is a fringe reef, so it is much more accesible and at most points is only 100m off shore. It is home to 500 species of fish and 220 species of hard coral. It is also home to the whale shark, the largest fish in the world, it can weigh up to 21 tonnes and 18m long!!! I explored the reef by snorkelling at Exmouth and Coral Bay and then both Kirsty and I went on a glass bottom boat and it was completly amazing!! I have never seen a reef like it. I didnt go to the Great Barrier Reef, but Kirsty did on her last trip and she said that Ningaloo was miles better! We didnt see any whale sharks, as it was out of season, but the coral was just amazing, it was great to see it from the glass bottom boat and then just jump in and have a snorkel too!

Day 7 - after a morning on the beach we headed back into civilisation (well as much as you can on the west coast!!) and headed 260km to Carnarvon. Here was literally just an over night stop, to break the journey, gather supplies at the supermarket and put my photos onto CD- by now i had taken 246!!! Opps!! We stayed in a caravan this night and it was SO much fun and such good value! It was all very grown up with the car and everything and by now i felt like i was truly on holiday!

Next stop and week 2- Shark Bay World Heritage Area. I will let you digest all this first though and blog again early next week with part II as we are off to Freemantle for the weekend to keep working on this tan, which has now suddenly appeared from nowhere, hooray!!!

Hope all is rockin with you guys!! xxx

West is Best...in photos!

Exmouth - Cape Range National Park

Somewhere on the highway!!!!

Broome Time!

Hello from Western Australia!!!

I made it to my final main land state and it feels good! And also very hot, it is by far the hottest place i have been in oz so far, 36 yesterday, now that is India revisited, sweating and all!

Completly love Broome, have very easily slipped into 'Broome Time' chilled and enjoying the sun and pool at the hostel. The town is very laid back and quite at the moment, as the wet season comes to an end, but it is still beautiful. The colours here are so vivid and if you get the opportunity you should definitly google earth this place! The sea is blue, the sand white and the red dirt that is everywhere makes you feel somwhere completly different!

80% of the world's pearls come from Broome. It has a rich pearl history and you can still see the pearl luggers out on the horizon. And if you wondering, of course i invested!!! Who wouldnt!? i have never seen pearls like it, shop after shop, thats all there really is to shop for here, lol!

So after nearly a week of going solo (which i soon settled into and have probably spoken to people who i wouldnt necessarily have done - inc. two lovely girls in my room for Tawain) Kirst arrived this afternoon and it has been so good to see her! It has also been good to have a great conversation and not in pigeon enlgish, hehe!! She has bought some homely comforts which have gone down very well! i am just about to tuck into only my second bar of galaxy since i have been away, its going to be good! something i have learnt from this trip, never take a good piece of chocolate for granted!

So what is the plan? Well we have decided to go on the ultimate road trip and drive down the west coast to perth, all 2,500km!! In two weeks! I am SO excited, its going to be amazing and will be great to have the luxury of a car and go where we want when we want! It turns out that it is cheaper than using the public transport and we will be able to see so much more! The internet is very expensive, so probably wont have time to blog now until we reach Perth two weeks on Friday.

Just a quick hello, to say all is well! Will update you when i can! xxx

The Top End!

Hello from Darwin!

I love this place, its great!! So completly different to what i expected and so its been a really great week!

Darwin - loads of history and although all relativly young, all completly fascinating. Did you know as i sit here now, i am closer to Singapore than i am Canberra and closer to Jakarta than i am Sydney!! Thats slightly crazy, but kinda cool as well and is just one example of how huge this country is!! Darwin is really isolated from the rest of oz, once you leave town there is not a lot around, katherine and Alice Springs are probably the nearest towns and the later is 1,400 km away! So i was really surprised when i discovered that it is full of young people, a great nightlife and modern buildings.

One of the reasons for the modern buildings is because of the threat of cyclones here. There is no high rise buildings, because everything is built so that it is as protected as much as it can be against a cyclone. Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Day 1974 was Australia's worst natural disaster and literally blew Darwin to the ground. There was nothing left, everybody was evacuated and many did not return. So really, where i sit now is only 30 years old. Whether the bush fires in victoria will now be seen as Australia's worst natural disaster, im unsure, but the pictures that i have seen of the effects of Cyclone Tracy, it is pretty remarkable how built up Darwin now is.

Another major impact on life in the top end, was World War II. Two weeks after Pearl Harbour, the Japeneese bombed Darwin with twice as many bombs, it just so happens that the anniversary of the attack was yesterday and so there was a service at the cenotaph. Darwin again was destroyed, and i think it is maybe these two major events that contribute to the positive vibe here. It makes Cairns look like a wet drip!!

So its been a great week, and its gone really quickly. It started off with my aunt visiting me for the weekend which was great! We had lots of fun, including hireing a car! First time of driving in 5 months, just like riding a bike! Was a really good way to see the suburbs, as its all a bit spread out. I also drove along the Stuart Highway, the road that goes all the way to Adelaide pretty much, so that was kinda cool as we started at the bottom of that road for our tour up to Uluru.

We have done 2 day trips this week. One to Litchfield National Park and on to Kakadu. Litchfiled was really great, we went on a jumping crocodile cruise, where they bait the crocs out of the water, so that they jump for you. Its quite controversial up here, especially between states and its actually the only place in the world that you can see it! Then the afternoon was spent, admiring waterfalls and swimming in the rock pools which was loads of fun! Jen and I realised on that trip how much we take for granted these days, it was awesome, but my aunt, Debra, just loved it!

Kakadu National Park http://www.kakadu.com.au/ is Australia's largest at 22,000 sq/km. We were never going to see it in a day, and didnt really have the time or money to do a 3 day trip. Plus camping in the wet season, didnt really appeal either! It was a long day, but we still had a fantastic time. We saw some amazing rock art which has been there for 1,000s of years and went on a cruise along the Yellow Waters. We saw a croc there 2 which is always cool, and we had glorious weather which was great as the day before it had rained all day! There was so much water around, it really is wet here at this time of year, we did a cruise where people normally walk on a broadwalk during the dry season, now thats a lot of water!

Its really hot and humid here, so yesterday i decided that the hair had to go! It was an unecessary heat trap and so the bob look is back and i think it looks nice! I dont know, Jen leaves me for 5 minutes and thats what i end up doing!! although today has been a lot cooler with less hair, so thats got to be a good sign, its probably the first time i have worn it down in 5 weeks, lol!

I love the Northern Territory, it has to be my favourite state so far, and only one more to go, Western Australia, and i think WA will be its only contender. Its all very chilled out here, although Broome is meant to be even more relaxed, which hopefully means im in for a good weekend.

Jen left yesterday and after 5 months together, it was really sad to see her go and very wierd when she was not there this morning when i woke up. But im sure that i will just get used to some time by myself and then Kirsty arrvies on Weds! I cant wait to see her and journey down the west coast together.

So yet another time zone tomorrow, i will only then be 9 hours ahead and it is only 6 weeks until i fly to Singapore. Its completly crazy!

Have a gd weekend whatever you are up to, i think i might top up the tan, although i think 37degrees may be too hot for sunbathing!!!!

The East Coast Finale!

Hello from a lovley and sunny Cairns!

Well this week hasnt been quite as i had originally planned, but nevertheless its been great. Im so pleased that we took the decision to fly, the road only opened yesterday and i cant imagine to begin the back log of people at both ends of the road who couldnt afford to fly. It is also a much needed relief here as well, although the rain hasnt been as bad as around the Townsville area there has been no way to get supplies to the supermarkets, so there has been no fresh food all week and the shelves are getting barer by the day. So im pleased to be fly to Darwin tonight, although im sure things will get back to normal here now the road is open.

Cairns is ok, its not the greatest place i have been so far but has actually been a good base for things to see and do and we have been staying in the most lovely hostel which always makes things a bit easier. http://www.dreamtimetravel.com.au/index.html

Although this one maybe too homely, if thats possible and some mornings i have woken and thought i was at home (the bed is that comfy!). The staff have been really friendly here and the whole place just has a very chilled vibe, with a great kitchen (such a rarity on the east coast) and a great lounge area and room. I like hostel life, although you never seem to get a good room and a good lounge, its always one or the other, but this place has both, bonus!

So putting aside a couple of days of r and r we went up to Cape Tribulation for the weekend (as you do!) and it was brilliant! The rainforest was full of life during this 'wet' season and we did some great walks. Cape Trib is home to the oldest rainforest in the world and is wher the Great Barrier Reef starts. Interesting fact, its called Cape Tribulation as good old Captain Cook came into trouble here, when his boat ran aground, so the bays along this coast are named, sorrow, doubtfull, tribulation...i think we get his thinking! I had my first 'accident' of the trip, i fell over crossing a creek, the road was flooded and we werent sure how to do it without getting wet. It turns out i needn't have worried, i got soaked as i slipped on some moss and gained some pretty impressive war wounds too, (like dad said...no need for a tattoo now ;-) ) but fear not im ok and at least there was no wildlife lurking....

We also went on a croccodile cruise along the Daintree River. Our first experience of crocs here and they are pretty massive and powerful animals. Unfortunatly our trip was overshadowed as on our way up crossing the river (just by ferry) a little boy had been taken by a croccodile just 30 minutes before we got there. Apparently this is a very uncommon experience, the little boys parents run one of the croccodile cruises and he was on the edge of the river (tide was really high that morning) with his brother and dog. sadly the dog went into the river and the little boy followed and into the mouth of the croc. It was pretty stomach churning, the helicopter was hovering as we got there and all the rescue workers. Sadly he hasnt been found. That made our cruise on Monday slightly upsetting, but the guide spoke a lot of sense, it was a tragic accident, but they are wild animals and the crocs dont diffientiate between kangaroos, frogs or humans.

Anyway, we still had a great trip and im really pleased that at least we got up there, it hardly rained and we got back to Cairns without any roads being closed due to flooding, bonus!

Yesterday we also went out for the day as it was Jen's birthday. We went to a small village set in the hills of the rainforest, 25km out of Cairns, called Kurunda. It was a really good afternoon out, it was a gloriously sunny day and very hot. We had a lovely lunch and just browsed the shops. Both Jen and I have been looking out for some idigineous art ever since we went to Uluru and hoped that over the next week at Darwin and for me in Broome we would find some really authentic and not just for the tourism market. We went into a really nice gallery at Kurunda yesterday, the paintings were very beautiful but very overpriced, you were looking at $800 plus. We just kept wondering and then came accross a local artist with a very small gallery. We got chatting to the guy, who was very passionate about the stories the paintings tell (i find that really interesting) and poor guy i think between us we ended up buying about half of his collection!!! They are beautiful and i am so pleased with the pieces i got. What was $500 down the road, i got for $0, which is just crazy. It has never been about the money, but it just shows what sort of cut these places. It was very special, we got them signed (and Jen got happy birthday on hers which is really cool!) and we now know that this old chap will benefit from his profits, which is great!

So it was such a great day, indigineous art in one hand and mango smoothie in the other, it was a moment when i thought life cant get much better than this! I was like the cat that had the cream! We then went out for dinner last night, which is just always such a treat and then went to a couple of bars although Cairns was very quite.

So today we are just getting a few odd jobs done and then we fly to Darwin this evening. After months together, Jen starts to make her journey home next Thursday. I will really miss her, i have never spent this amount of time with one single person and its been great. But its also really exciting as i then fly to Broome at the top of west coast where i am meeting up with a great uni friend, Kirsty and we are going down the west coast together, which im really excited about. This is where the real adventure starts, no one tends to travel the west and so its going to be great to do something a bit off the beaten track. It probably means there wont be as many blog updates, as i expect the internet to be expensive, but i will check in when i can.

So thats it really, I hope all is well with you and the weather (rain, snow, cold) is not causing too much chaos!

Have a good weekend, lots of love, E xxxxx

Day 150!

Hello from Cairns!

I realise that i havent blogged about life in a drier (yay!) Cairns just yet, and today my internet time is coming to an end, but be assured its on my list of things to do!

But i just wanted to document that today i have been travelling for 150 days, which equates to 5 months on Saturday!! Thats pretty hardcore i reckon, but is slightly worrying that i only have 3 months left and there is still so much to see! Well you cant do it all first time around, can you!!

One Big Adventure!

Well im still sat here in Airlie Beach!

And its just a quick post to bring you all up to date, as our plans for the east coast change everyday. Thankfully the rain has now stopped, although there are still showers around. Cyclone Ellie did her damage further north around Townsville and Mission Beach (where we should be right now!)

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24993854-952,00.html

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news.html

The highway is still shut and with more rain fall predicted there is just no way that we will be making it up to Cairns by bus in the next week to get our flight to Darwin on 12 Feb. So, we have had to cut our loses and have decided to fly out of here tomorrow (thurs) to Cairns. We are missing out on a few east coast highlights, but its not worth worrying about as we wouldnt be able to enjoy them at the moment and would just be worrying all the time about how we are going to get out of the next place! All part of the adventure, but i do need to be on that plane next week, weather permitting!

it is going to be a bit of an indian jones style get away with bus, boat to Hamilton Island, fly out of here on a very small quantas link plane and on to Cairns. although we will now have a week there, i hope there is more to do than there is here in Airlie, although i cant believe how quickly time has gone really. Hopefully we will still get up to Cape Tribulation as planned, although there is still rumour that the cyclone is reforming at sea, the met are now saying this is unlikley, so fingers crossed!

Its been a frustrating week, people here havent been very helpful basicaly saying its our fault we chose to come here in wet season, however it is thier worst flooding in 30 years and no one can help that! Yesterday, after our bus was cancelled we moved hostels (just made a quick dash because everybody on the bus didnt have a bed!) and stumbled accross a really great hostel, which even has an oven, which although a common sight in New Zealand hasnt been here. It is so lovely and clean i took my thongs (flip flops!) off for the first time last nite in nearly 2 weeks and boy did it feel good! We had a mamouth lay in as well, the bed is lush and there is a pillow!! :-) So im feeling re charged, slightly more chilled and will be a lot happier when we make it to Cairns tomorrow.

So thats the update really, i will let you know how i get on!

Highs & Lows

Well what a week! And today its not the typical hello from a very suuny airlie beach but a hello from a very wet and soggy Ellen!

Last week started out great and we had a fantastic trip to Fraser Island, I had so much fun, it was such a beautiful place with beautiful weather and great people and we had loads of fun on a self drive 4WD around the island for a couple of nites. We camped on the beach (very basic!!) but was great and didnt get attacked by a dingo which is always a bonus! Although im still not sure what i would have done if i had been caught squatting by a dingo....answers on a postcard!!!

Unfortunatly this weekend hasnt gone to plane and our trip to the Whitsundays was cut short because of Cyclone Ellie that is hitting the Townsville and Cairns area at the moment, we are a few hours south but getting the tail ends although it feels like some one has turned the tap on and it aint going anywhere! so no, fear not we are not caught up in the searing heat or bush fires, we are in a very very wet Queensland and just will be lucky to get out of Airlie tomorrow as planned! It sounds like the main roads a bit further north are the problem and although we still have to get up to Cairns to fly out, we are pretty flexible over the next week as to how and when we get there! But when they say wet season it really is wet! Oh well, I havent even seen rain like this at Glasto!

So the boat trip wasnt what i quite had in mind, the first afternoon everybody felt pretty rough but did manage to get out for a snorkel and thats still pretty cool to say i snorkled on the great barrier reef i suppose !! :-) The crew were really good and the food great (although Jen suffered more than i did!) Yesterday after a snorkel in the morning we were called back in and so have just spent today getting wetter and wetter moving from hostel to hostel and trying to stake a claim for some compensation (which were kind of succesful in), checking weather and buses!

It is the first major thing not to go quite to plan on my trip (the photos look more like Milford Sound in NZ than teh postcards that are for sale here at the Whitsundays!) but hey ho, its just another thing to add on my list for next time :-) and its all part of the adventure!!

Spirits are low today but im sure they will pick up again soon, i cant wait to get over to the west coast now! I think the east will need a re run at some point, anybody up for that?!! ;-)

Hope your not all too cold, it sounds like everybody has bad weather at the moment! Wrap up warm and i will don the waterproof!

xxx

Sydney - Brisbane!

Hello from a very sunny and HOT Brisbane!

Well what a week it has been, i cant believe we are here already and that we only left Sydney 10 days ago! So we are now in Queensland, that means only one more state (western australia) and i have seen them all, how cool is that!

So travelling up the east coast is really fun! Its really busy, all the buses are full and you have to be really organised keeping on top of the game, but thankfully im quite good at that!! So, we left Sydney and took a short bus ride (2.5hrs ish) to Newcastle. We stayed in a really lovely hostel there (you can always rely on a good YHA!!) it was right on the beach, so we spent our one day there exploring in the morning and recovering on the beach in the afternoon!

From there we went to Coffs Harbour, it was a long day getting there, probably about 7 hours on the bus, but no air conditioning meant it was quite hot at times! I think any ice creams i had last week were sweated off on bus journeys, hehe!! Coffs was cool, a bit spread out though which made it difficult to explore, although theres not a lot to really see there, we walked along the harbour and the beach, although it was too windy to lay on the beach that day and not be covered in sand, any more than usual! We had two days here, which was probably just right. Although we are doing the east coast quite quickly (because my friend Jen who i am travelling with is going back to the UK) i still feel like we have had the right amount of time in each place, which is great! The highlight of Coffs is the Big Banana! Yes Banana! Coffs main export is bananas and to celebrate this, they have this big plastic banana on the highway! Yes, i know it all sounds very cheesy, but according to the banana goodie shop (dont worry i didnt indulge!!) over a million photos are taken off this banana a year! Theres a small theme park type thing there, but that was too energetic for us, so it was a banana smoothie and banana split (to share) and it was awesome!! So that was Coffs, all about the banana!

From there we have had this weekend just gone in Byron Bay. It has been my favourite place so far, but unfortunatly it rained all weekend and was cold too (22/23!!). It was a shame, because the beaches there are beautiful and the hostel had a really ncie pool as well. We had too console ourselves on Saturday night with a box of wine and dominos and it did do the trick, although im sure i have that seasonal defective disorder, two days without the sun and it was just so sad! It was a great place there though, also a couple of km walk away from the most easterly point of main land Australia, so we walked up there on Sunday afternoon, which was pleasant. I liked it here because it had a great hippy/surfer vibe. It is still clased as quite an 'alternative' place and i liked all the independent shops here.

Our next stop on Monday could not have been more different. Surfers Paradise and into Queensland. It was like going from Austin to Florida. High rise buildings, chain stores, theme parks and sunshine!!! We only had a night here, as its only really good for nightlife and then recovering the next day on the beach, which is exactly what we did!!

So no wonder, when we arrived in Brisbane last night at about 7pm i was shattered!! Its ok here, it doesnt have the greatest reputation around oz and i havent seen anything yet to change that. I prefer Adelaide i think, for cities on a smaller scale. We have just two days here, before we head to Noosa on the sunshine coast for a couple of nights and then on Sunday afternoon we arrive in Hervey Bay to enable us to depart to Fraser Island on Monday (australia day!!). Im really excited about Fraser Island, everyone you meet says it is a highlight and we are doing a 3 day/2 night self drive adventure! There will be 10 of us in our group and you are given a briefing the afternoon before and maps etc and then just go off and explore! It should be really good, and will be great to drive again, just got my fingers crossed i dont get us stuck in the sand!

Then its the Whitsundays after, it really is all go but its exciting, the fast pace is good, lets just hope we can keep it up! I'll let you know.....!!!!

Sydney!

Monday morning, and as i admire the sydney skyline from the window with the sun shining, i know now why i love this city!

We leave this afternoon to head up the east coast by bus over the next month. Im excited to be moving on, we havent travelled like we are going to these next few weeks since New Zealand, seeing everything but not staying in one place for more than a couple of days. But im really sad to leave too. I have had a great weekend.

This week, has been busy visitng old haunts, for me the beginning of the week was spent on the beach, Bondi and then Manly, making the most of the gorgeous weather, and then on Weds we went on a trip to the Blue Mountains. Only an hours drive out of the city and it was spectacular, like going from London to home really, but this was definitly not Essex! A great place to escape the city and loads of walks too, you could easily spend long weekends there just chilling out!

On Friday before Nicky went home we went to see Madama Butterfly at the Sydney Opera House. It was wonderful. The performance, the venue, everything about it i just loved. It was a lot smaller inside than i expected and people dont lie when they say it truly is the best place for interval drinks in the world, stunning.

On Saturday we checked out the Sydney Festival. For the opening night they close down the city and bands play in the streets. It was completly rammed, too busy for the Cat Empire, but we did catch Santagold and then decided to cut our loses and see the fireworks from the balcony instead!! Sunday's have to be my favourite days here, because even though everyone has gotten up adn gone to work this morning there never is that Sunday feeling of dome and gloom! We went to Bondi (got to love it!) yesterday afternoon, caught some rays and then had a couple of glasses of wine and food with Becs and her friends. Its been great! Last Sunday i went with Becs to the Moonlight Cinema and saw Rock n Rolla. I really enjoyed the film, but the whole atmosphere was just lovely, very chilled, picnic, bean bags and film under the stars, are you getting an idea of why i love it here!??

Another reason is that the beaches are just so close, and there are so many to choose from!! I love Manly and the ferry ride is always fun, its great to watch the surfers there and has a good holiday feel to it. Bondi i just think is brilliant! and then Coogee i would probably go to for some more chilled out vibes!

The city is all so close together, but the suburbs are clearly defined. I love the Rocks, very historical, up by the bridge and has loads of quaint pubs and is good for a sunday walk, followed by a trip to the opera bar (last sunday!!) I also really like Paddington. Becs and I went there on Saturday afternoon for a browse around the shops and markets, some cool side streets there and always good for a wonder!

Everytime i have walked past the opera house over the bridge, i have had to pinch myself! This is one place where i have never taken the views for granted! And although I will be sad to go, we have been here a month now, its great to know the city will always be here and i can always come back! So, bring on the east coast!!!!

Sydney in Pictures!

New Years Day on Bondi!

Opera House for Madama Butterfly (brilliant!!)

Introducing Scouting for Girls to the world!!

Boxing Day!

Christmas BBQ on the beach!!

Happy New Year from Sydney!

Happy New Year!!

Well, I cant believe it has been soo long since i have lost blogged, where have these past couple of weeks gone! I cant believe that i have been in Sydney for nearly a month either, i love it here though, its amazing!!!

We have had a great time and done so much, im not even sure where to start! The week before Christmas we spent on the beach at Manly. Its a great surfing town which you can reach by ferry in 30 mins from Sydney. You also get a great view of the harbour from the ferry. It also helped that summer is now definitly here and we could chill on the beach most days. After our Uluru tour it was a welcomed chilled out week, topped off with an essential trip to the hairdressers!! I think the hairdresser was quite disgusted at the mop that was my hair and i couldnt quite believe it when she asked 'and how do you stylye your hair!!!"

Christmas week we were back in the city and staying in the main backpacker area just by china town. In line with a traditional Eley Christmas Eve we went to the cinema and saw Four Holidays and then went out for a couple of drinks before i headed to Midnight Mass.

Christmas day we spent on Coogee beach, and it was fabulous! Although it was overcast in the morning it was still warm and by early afternoon we were frying, fantastic! The beach was rammed and there was a great atmosphere! Everybody sported something festive and we took a picnic and had a bbq on the beach, christmas crackers and all!! We like to think our mothers would be proud of our feast that day and we even topped that on New Years Eve which we did not think was possible, lol!! Christmas on the beach was everything i had always imagined it would be! Just completly chilled and moving at my own pace! It has to be the first Christmas that i didnt watch one thing on tv and spent the majority of it outside, i think we finally dragged ourselves off the beach at abou 7pm, fantastic!

After Christmas we had the luxury of a hotel for the week over New Years. It was great to stay on a different side of the city and the location turned out really well, even though we booked it with no idea of Sydney! It was also a great location for me as my cousin lives just around the corner from the hotel and so we had the luxury of using her oven to cook our NYE feast, thanks Becs!!! We stayed at Rushcutters Bay this week and decided to stake out a spot and watch the fireworks from this side of town and i am so pleased we did! It was a military organisation that required a lot planning (i loved it!!) but boy it was worth every second! Nicky got THE spot at 9.30am whilst me and jen sorted out the picnic and then joined her later in the morning and we sat there all day and waited. It was roasting!!! And too hot to do anything apart from lay!! But that was fine and when the sun finally went down early in the evening we enjoyed our feast and mini bar, there was a fantastic sunset over the city and then the fireworks started! They have a set here at 9pm for the familys and then the midnight ones as well! The theme this year was Creation and it was just spectacular! We were also really lucky (although it was planned!) that we were right in front of a firework barge as well, so you really did not know where to look at times! It was just a great evening, the atmosphere was fab and i cant imagine a nye anywhere else now!!!

There is loads more to update you on, but i think i will do that in a seperate blog, so its not information overload! We leave Sydney on Monday, but this weekend the Sydney festival starts and so we are staying with Becs for the weekend. There is no time for new years blues in this city, the part is just getting started!!!