The latest update is that i'm going to be a bit more selective with what i write on here coz i seriously can't be on this thing all day and althought there are lots of exciting things happening i'm sure they aren't that exciting to you!!
So i arrived in Sydney well and was picked up by Huw from the airport. I was a very lucky girl and had roast lamb which Huw and Sarah had cooked for everyone, it was amazing! All of the house had a pretty big weekend so they all went to bed early so i watched some telly and got some much needed rest!!
Monday 19th May - didn't really do much, i walked into the town after being given directions from Sarah and visited the famous Queen Victoria Shopping centre (well it would be rude not to!!) Sydney is a very cool city, not as busy as london but with a good array of shops and not at all backward! Brilliant! I was staying in an area called Pyrmount which is just over from Darling Harbour so i had a walk around and found the tourist information etc. Picked up a map and some decent tour information to enable me to plan what i was going to do now and also when i coem back.
Didn't do much on Tursday other than visit China town where old ladies stand on the side of the road and yell at you to try and make you come into thier restuarant for dinner!! Felt just like i was back in Thailand, very strange!
On Thursday 22nd i walked to Circular Quay which s the main traing station and ferry port in Syney and i grabbed some lunch while i listened to a street busker playing the digeridoo - only in Oz!! I then went on a ferry ride all around Port Stephen, which is bascially all of Sydney harbour and was named that by the first Captain who visited. It was a bit of a cold day to be out on a boat and i soon wished that i had brought another layer but we got free tea so i was warmed for sections of the journey- i think they were a bit scared about the crazy English woman who kept asking for more tea while trying not to shiver!! Again there were some amazing houses on the river, just like Perth and also some beautiful beaches. It was very cool to see them from the water. After my boat ride i decided i wanted to go to the aquarium - continuing the water theme!! It was a very cool one, they have a massive enclosure just for seals which is so sweet and also one with Sharks, Manta Rays and Turtles in, you walk through a series of tunnels and they fly over your head. I can quite safely say that i was probably more scared of the HUGE manta rays than soem of the sharks. Not saying that i would want to take on a shark but the mantat ray scared the hell out of me as it swam past!
On Saturday i got a train and a bus to Bondi Beach which was very cool, there were so many surfers in the water it was crazy. Although the sun was out it was unfortunately cold beacuse of the sea breeze so i did venture in for a paddle but no further, otherwise i think i would have come out like an ice block! While i was out one of the people i met from Ko Samui, Paul (who i met on the kayaking tour with his girlfriend Natty) texted me to say he was in Sydney and if i was there we could meet up. It was really cool to see him and catch up on what he and Natty were doing, was a shame she couldn't be there really. He met me at Bondi and we had a walk along the beach. We also grabbed a McDonalds and ate that while watching the surfers and the people walking along the beach, it was nice when you were out of the breeze and the sun was shining. I was going to do the clifftop walk from Bondi to Coogee but seeing as i was really quite cold i thought i would grab a bus when Paul said he would drive me which was a hell of a lot cheaper than catching a bus!! So we drove along the coast road - very similar to if i had walked it!!! Coogee was lovely, a bit quiter than Bondi but at least as lovely, non one out in the water but the waves were massive - i suppose that was probably just because Bindi is just around the corner!!
That evening i went out with Dan and his mates, crazily enough one of the guys he plays football with lives in Farnborough and i used to sit next to him in Business Studies, small world!! We were off to a retro party so i had popped to the cheapy chop and grabbed a top and gone to the reduced section to get some bright beads and earrings - very classy! It was a good night, mostly dancing the night away and the rest of the time queuing for drinks!! The next day i must admit i felt a little worse for wear!! I now remember really clearly why i don't even have too much to drink! Even the memory is painful!
On Monday 26th May i caught a flight to Cairns from Sydney - had to be up stupidly early to get there in time, not good!! The flight went without a hitch though and i landed in Cairns at 10.15. Luckily the night before Huw had given me a hand to book my accomodation, at the same place him and Sarah had stayed at when they went, Caravella's backpackers. I grabbed a taxi from the rank and was on my way! Well when i chacked in and got my key to my all girl dorm i must admit that i was a bit apprehensive, so far i had stayed in mostly nice, clean places and i was concerned! Turns out i had good right to be... i walked into a room that stank of wet feet and mouldy unwashed clothes. There were clothes all over the floor, the sheets on all the beds were crumpled in a heap in the middle of each bed and the whole place looked like a bomb had hit it, not nice!! As i checked in the lady said there were clean sheets at the front desk if i needed them - well i was going to need them! I just dumped my bag and got out of there as fast as i could, not knowing what to do. As i was on my way out i met the first of my new Roomates, Misty a bouncing Canadian who apologised profusely for the state of the room. I should think so too!!! I still wanted to leav and went for a wander around Cairns, unfortunately the weather was crap and it was chukcing it down with rain which i was not impressed with, so not only did i have to sleep in a sh*t hole but i couldn't escape into the sun either. I mnaaged to find a little place where i got a hot chocolate and a bite to eat and i wandered around for as long as i could then went back to my room. It was good because they had actually changed the sheets and i'm guessing Misty had cleared up a bit coz you could actually see the floor!! My two other room mates were asleep in thier beds and i woke them up - shame!! They were Camilla and Daniella who immediately tried to explain how they had a load of guys back the night before and one of them had cut thier legs so thats why there was blood and mess everywhere - i hadn't even noticed the blood! Nasty!! At this point i'm still trying to work out how the hell i am going to get through this hostel thing -how do people do it???!
Anyway a bit later on, after we had all had a bit of a sleep - the joy of travelling!! We went to a place called the Woolshed for dinner, i keep wanting to call it the Woolpack which is a bit stupid but hey!! We get a free voucher from the hostel for a meal and you can pay more if you want to upgrade to a slighty better meal. I had roast beef with vegatables and chips which was nice for only 2 dollars!! After dinner we went back to the room and the girls got ready to go out, even after my sleep i was not in the mood to go out so i watched a movie on my Ipod and gave approving noises at appropriate moments about dresses etc! Later that evening, while i was asleep i was woken up by a lot of noise and without going into too much detail was not impressed to hear male voices in the room!!! Needless to say i woke up quite quickly and sorted out that particular problem! How bloody rude, disgusting and horrible! Do they have no self respect! I was branded as being old and boring and told i should get over it, when i pointed out that they should go into a mixed dorm if thats the way they want to play it then they shut up! Good thing too, no one deprives S-J or her sleep and gets away with it!
The next morning i was up and out by 9.30 and went for a wander around town again, i found a woolworths which is a big supermarket over here and brought some supplies of water and snacks. When i got back the girls were up and were very apologetic - we made up!! We all went anhd sat by the pool as the sun was out and i tried to get my tan back!! That evening Misty and I (she didn't bring a guy back!!) went to get dinner together and went to a mexican restaurant for Fajitas - yum! That evening i decided to go out and we got ready and went to the Woolshed where it was $12 to get in and then 5 drinks free, which so doesn't work because clearly you are playing $12 for 5 drinks they aren't free but whatever i suppose to the young people of today that is clever advertising!! The Woolshed is an interesting place when your not getting dinner there and by interesting i mean a lot of drunken people falling over each other and trying to get to the bar, this place is worst than most! I stayed for as long as possible, dancing with the girls on the dance floor, i was there for 3 hours which i think is quite a good effort! I don't think it went down well when i told the girls i was leaving but i didn't really give a toss i was doen with this scene a long time ago! God i am old!! Ahhhhh!
On Thursday 29th May i had booked a trip to go diving on the great barrier Reef with a company called Quicksilver. They picked me up at 6.45!! Early or what! Anyway we got a coach to Port Douglas which is a really nice part of Oz, a very pretty town. Looked much nicer than Cairns!! We were on a very nice boat called the Silver Swift and after free tea, coffee and biscuits we were on our way! We got to our first dive site and i must admit i was really quite nervous, having not done a dive without James before i was worried i would bottle it but the first dive went without a hitch and the reef was amnazing. The fish were really big and the colours of the reef were so amazing, it just goes on for miles and miles. We then went to our second dive site and i saw a white tipped reef shark!! Ahhhh! To be honest seeing my first shark was all a bit of an anti-climax as it was quite small and not really very scary but i saw one all the same and it was good! After lunch we had our final dive which was classed as a dift dive where basically you let the current take you along, it was amazing there was a sheer drop off below us and we were just moving along with the fish, i saw the largest shoals of fish all doing the same thing as us, i felt like i was in finding Nemo!!! Unfortunately on the way home the sea was really rough and i got sea sick again!! I thyink i should have taken a few tablets before i got on the boat!! Better be ok for the Whitsunday's otherwise it will be awful! Lukcily i got back without actually throwing up but i think i must have looked very green as the crew put on plastic gloves and got soem bags ready!! Now that would have been embarrassing!
This morning Friday 30th May i got picked up at 6.45 again but this time to leave Cairns and get on the OzExperience Bus which is going to take me down the coast. So far it has been good i have met a good bunch of people. On the way to Mission Beqach which is where i am at the moment, we stopped at a crcoldile farm and we got to hold snakes - yup i held a snake and it was actually really cool! Ok it wasn't massive but it wasn't a baby either, they also had a baby crocodile (with a taped mouth!!) Some cockateels and various other lizards which we all got to hold - very cool. They took us around the farm and showed us soem of the Crocodiles, soem of them were massive!!! HUGE! Very scary, especially to see them opening thier jaws to get soem chicken! I would not be comfortable going near that!
I am now at Mission Beach as a place called Scotty's as i got dropped off a familiar face came around the corner to help us with our bags, it was Bristol Tom who James and I met on Ko Tao when we went diving!! It was an emotional reunion, ha ha!! Was seriously nice to see him and the other Tom too! What a surprise! They are working here to get soem money before they move onto the next step.
Five girls got off the OzE bus and so we were all put in a room together, i have met a nice couple of girls and we are pretty much all doing the smae route which is good. I'm off White Water Rafting tomorrow morning at 8.00 which should be good - exciting and scary all at the same time!! So i will sign off for now, hope everyone is good xx
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