Down under
16 Apr 2006
You know you've been travelling for a while when the aeroplane meal arrives and you swing your legs and jump in your chair like a small child at Christmas!! Good meal - thanks Air Asia! Arrived in Singapore and my guesthouse is great and feels a bit like student life again...there's free breakfast but you have to pick up a saucepan to make it...its been ages since I cooked and I think I prefer the taste when someone does the work for you!! Went around town for the day with a few peeps I met - really nice city. Alot of people I meet here are heading from OZ up into Asia...i seem to be the oracle of info for them and quite jealous that they have such a great journey ahead of them...rough bus journeys but great views en route, thousands of butterflies and dragonflies, interesting and friendly locals, beautiful island beaches, great temples, jungle treks etc etc....i'm sad to be leaving!!
For those of you who didnt know....my parents were in Kuala Lumpur when I was in Singapore, so I jumped on a bus and visited them for a couple of days. I strolled into the excessively posh hotel with a great big grin, the bathroom is marble and big enough to swing a tiger, I soaked in the pool and jaccuzi til my fingers were like prunes and waited for my parents....really fantastic to see them again :-) I joined the 'wives group' with my mum while my dad was working during the day and we visited KL - ate in the revolving restraunt at the top of the telecommunication tower, went to the new aquarium and ate LOTS of great food!! Sad to say goodbye for the 2nd time! :-(
Back in Singapore and the dorm was robbed...7 of us had stuff stolen...they would have had to lean over my sleeping body to get to my bag by my bed, and they put everything back as it was afterwards!! Probably an inside job but weird that none of us woke to see what was happening - maybe we were gassed!?! Lost a wack of money and my camera with all my recent pictures on which is the worst thing - gutted. Spent the day with a grumpy look on my face and filed a police report, boo-hoo.
Rough few nights sleep following the incident as I believed everyone was trying to rob me! Anyway, last day in Singapore I went to Sentosa island to the south, bit Butlins like; with trams, cable cars and man-made beaches; I watched monkeys playing basketball and Mackaws doing puzzles...I ended up in the orchid gardens and saw wild monkeys so that made it worth the trip!
Caught my flight to Darwin, OZ where the immigration was particularly stringent: they searched everything I owned - item by item! I was 'read my rights' 3 times for honey sweets, multi-vitamins and a cocunut shell bracelet I bought in Cambodia....hearing the sentence from 'The Bill' really sends shivers! They tested the items and realised I wasnt a criminal - phew.
Great to be in OZ...its quite home from home really, except its hot, the fellas wear shorts with socks and boots, and the stars are upside down. Enjoying the luxuries of dairy products again, especially a cheese & vegemite bun (vegemite was invented in Melbourne). Did you know, Darwin is the most lightening prone city in the world with 80 thunder days a year! Most incredible lightening displays :-)
I took my hangover on a trip to Litchfield National Park, which was beautiful. We hiked, I saw a rock wallaby and a water monitor lizard and we spent the afternoon soaking in the enormous waterfalls - the currents were so strong you had to swim as fast as a possum up a gum tree and one waterfall had lots of pools with bubbling water like spas :-) I ate a Green Tree Ant and it tasted like citrus.
Also went to Kakadu National Park for a 3 day camping and hiking trip. Really great group and a beautiful park...its absolutely enormous...we walked, soaked in waterfalls, I held a young croc, we looked at rock art, and saw soooo much wildlife, its bursting with life...insects, snakes, cockatoos, frill neck lizards, wallaroos, eagles, kites, cookaburas etc etc. Kangaroo for dinner each evening. We went on a boat trip and saw a 5m salt water croc, which we fed Roo on a stick :-)
OZ is relatively expensive so trying to figure out a way to travel around such a huge country - its bigger than Europe and can take a week to get between cities! Drinking more than is healthy but the people are great and loving it here!
Happy Easter everyone! Love Fi xxxxxxxxxx
The Red Centre - Cairns
29 April 2006
Hey folks,
From Darwin I went on a 20 hour bus journey down to Alice Springs - this country is massive - did I mention it’s larger than Europe?! The weather is great here; a lot less humid than Darwin and the evenings are a little cooler. You can see why this area is called the 'red centre' as its more desert like with browning trees and red soil - still with the intermittent termite mound (if you want to eat termites, they taste of pepper by the way). Loads of aboriginal people here and unfortunately a lot of them live on the street and drink as they can’t find jobs in competition with whites.
Using the notice board dating service in the hostel (where people put adverts up for a lift/or wanting a lift etc) I had a blind date and met 2 frenchies who have a car, and later we met a couple from Hong Kong to fill the car. I bought a tent and we head off towards Uluru (Ayers Rock - the world's biggest monolith) and the Olgas (Kata-Tjuta). This national park was handed back to the aboriginal owners in 1985 so the traditional names of Uluru - Kata-Tjuta are preferred. Due to a slow start we only made it one hour out of Alice Springs on a road with no turnings before the sun went down and we pulled off the road and made camp (sounds a little dodgy!?). The Frenchies had stolen half of their hostel's kitchen so we had a very civilised dinner cooked on the bonfire. It was so quiet you'd be able to hear a lizard fart, except for the occasional road train zipping past. I wasn't totally prepared for camping out there: with my single layer tent and my summer sleeping bag...the temps can drop 20 degrees between day and night so I had to dress like an Eskimo even to get a wink of sleep! But it was reassuring to know that if I slept badly, I only had to wait for a couple of hours after sunrise before you would be sweating again! When people told me I needed a head fly net for this area, I thought they were joking - but jebus - you always have at least 30 flies on you and they immediately zoom for your nose or ears - sooo damn annoying!
Drove down to Uluru and did the 9.4km walk around its base (which gives you an indication of how big it is). I had a thought that here I am on the other side of the world, walking around Uluru, with randoms I jumped in a car with 2 days ago: makes me smile :-) Really amazing single rock with gorges and bulges, a bright orange sandstone colour, made even more striking by the brilliant blue cloudless sky behind, and as the sun went down it changed to deep red. We camped out again and the sky was so clear, the stars were amazing...great end to a great day.
We went over to Kata-Tjuta and did another long walk there...quite similar to Uluru, but lots of separate rocks - nicer in some ways. We also visited Kings Canyon and the West MacDonnell Ranges...more red sandstone rocks and cliffs with occasional cycads, ghost gums and lots of lizards! Only 2 of us could drive, so we shared the driving - quite strange to get used to such a big car and an automatic, but the roads are so straight you can’t go wrong! The road to the MacDonnell Ranges was basically a dirt track for 100kms and the car parts along the side of the road were a grave reminder of previous drivers' misfortunes. I'm glad it wasn’t my car, but amazingly we arrived in one piece (except the windscreen mirror was shaken right off and cracked the windscreen).
Glad to be back in Alice Springs - the group was great (esp. the HK couple - you'd think English was their first language!) but we were pleased to say goodbye to the Frenchies...they were not at all decisive or pro-active so we wasted a lot of time doing nothing...also one of them had a cigarette in the petrol station and didn't realise it was dangerous, which I thought really summed them up! The Chinese couple and myself went out for a slap up meal and cold beer (we survived off rice and veg or sandwiches for 6 days!), and then crashed into our comfortable and warm beds - good to be back in civilisation - even for a country bumpkin like myself!
I head out to Cairns on the bus, the trip spanning over 3 days! :-( The grass was short and the land flat, with things becoming increasingly green as we drove into a different time zone. We stopped for a day break in a mining town, which felt small, but in fact (and I quote) Mount Isa is one of the largest cities in the world, covering an area the size of Switzerland and with a main street 180km long! Loads of birds of prey in amongst the active copper smelting towers and they have a 'Miners Monthly' magazine, which make me chuckle. Had a good day, but met my next bus and they hadn’t transferred my rucksack so it was on its way back to Alice! The driver seemed more worried than I was, but maybe that was because I told him I knew Ju-Jitsu!!? Travelling for a long time and then not having my bag in Cairns for 24 hours was a bit annoying, but such is life.
Looking into doing a sky-dive in the next week with a girl I met, so you'll have to wait for my next email to find out if I: a) survive, b) broke anything, and c) whether I got my luggage back!!
Take it easy peeps, love Fi xx
P.S. I've just finished an EXCELLENT book about the life of Ned Kelly, beautifully written, so read it! Peter Carey, The True History of the Kelly Gang.
Cairns
12 May 2006
Hey guys, next instalment!...
My luggage wasn’t on the bus...it was 400 odd kms away - muppets...so I had to wait til the other end of the day to get it back - I was getting quite anxious!! Wasted time in between watching the sky fill with thousands of fruit bats (the first big bats I’ve seen - 2 ft wingspan) they flew slowly so you could get a really great view of them :-)
The weather is lush - the wet season has just finished, so it’s becoming increasingly hot :-) Enjoying Cairns immensely - there's no beach but a large lagoon on the esplanade where everyone chills out and bands play there all day. Having some very long and fun nights out - meeting loads of different people in clubs that close at 5am and where everyone dances on the tables!! Met a guy who works for the Environmental Protection Agency and we went on a day trip up to Port Douglas...he had a bit of work to do, but not much as its bank holiday, so we took the scenic route and swam in a river gorge - good day and nice to chat with someone about environmental stuff!!
I also went on a road trip with guys from the navy that I met here (I went on their ship and practiced my gun noises standing behind the gun - much to everyone's amusement!). We went off for the day and visited the tablelands, south of Cairns...lots of beautiful rolling hills and waterfalls...although there's still a lot of damage here from the last cyclone, so a lot of places were closed or inaccessible.
Considering my string of bad luck recently (and getting attacked by a bird - which I’ll leave for another story!), I was brave and jumped out of a plane!!!! We went to 10,000 ft in a tiny little green plane; I was right by the door, which was scary enough going up as you could see everything below you! I didn’t have any time to think how scared I was once the door was open because I was trying to put my feet on the edge, and then I was thrown out!!! The freefall was 30 seconds, passing though a cloud which made my skin sting from the water droplets, then out the other side...such an overwhelming intense feeling of falling...I was screaming and shouting (and swearing), then the shute went up and suddenly everything went quiet and we slowly soared down...I pulled on the ropes to make us spin in a tight circle, which also made you feel crazy...beautiful view. When we landed, everyone's feelings had turned from nervous tearful moments to running around the field jumping on each other screaming!! 2 people's birthdays so we drank champagne and buzzed around for a few hours...amazing...I could talk about this forever, so I’ll move on!! Went out for a drink...and home at 4.30am again...I blame it on the free champagne they gave out in the bar for ladies night ;-)
2 hours sleep and an early morning to go scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef...life is tough sometimes! Back with my ol friends from Darwin (they're great) and we had a wicked day...very posh boat with a buffet, wine and biscuits and cheese :-) beautiful coral and fish, and so close to the surface. Unfortunately the weather could have been a little better as the sea was a tad rough (esp. with my hangover and swallowing the occasional mouthful of salt water - yuck!). No turtles to be seen, which is one of the things that I haven’t seen diving yet - but we saw a huge Napoleon Mauri Wrasse, which was being fed from the boat and would beach up on the back - beautiful and about 2.5 metres long! I threw my snorkel and fins on (I’ve never moved so quickly) and jumped overboard to have a good look at it :-)
Went out on the sauce again and met up with the guys who live in cairns - a lot easier to rendezvous now that I have a mobile phone and had a great night out...brilliant bunch and becoming quite attached to them! Spent the weekend with these guys just hanging out and getting to grips with the rules of AFL - they love it here! Australia is such a sporty country - Cricket, AFL and rugby. They were passing on so much info about OZ, its history and traditions etc, it was great!!
Time for a fact or 2 I think...did you know, that on the Australian coat of arms, the Emu and the Kangaroo were selected as symbols to represent the country's progress because they always move forward and never backwards! Also, when European explorers first saw Kangaroos, they asked an aborigine what they were called and he replied "kangaroo" meaning "I don’t understand" your question - the explorers thought this was its name and that’s how the kangaroo got its name :-)
Went out for the Sunday sesh - big night out here - 2 for 1 drinks in the pubs from 5-7pm...funny because most people there have to work the next day!! Met a load of very drunken aussies and made the mistake of drinking with them - they can really pack it away! Went out to a few pubs and clubs with this group...got in free everywhere because we were with a 6'8" dude who the bouncers cowered behind!!
Said my goodbyes :-( and left Cairns (done pretty much everything there is to do here)...and head off with the Pom couple and Dutch couple down the coast towards Whitsunday Islands, and Fraser Island for adventures for the next couple of weeks.... Sweet as :-)
Whitsunday & Frazer Islands, down to Byron Bay
28 May 2006
From Airlie Beach (where we spent the night) we hopped on an awesome sailing boat and went on our 3 day trip around the Whitsunday Islands. We chose the boat because it drops you off on an island both nights (Ann, Dutchie, gets sea sick)...little did we know that it is THE party boat!! People drank continuously since 8am, doing drinking challenges using a snorkel with a funnel stuck on the end! Beautiful islands and so luxurious to sail :-) Apart from the excellent snorkelling we did with some more incredible coral and fish, the highlight was Whitehaven Beach, which was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. The sand is white from fine quartz which squeaks under foot, sand bars and turquoise waters flowing up against the islands and inlets...incredible. The only down side is there are stinging (and some deadly) jellyfish in the waters at this time of year (same all up the east coast until the water cools slightly), so we had to wear stinger suits - all in one leotards - which ruined the whole picture of frolicking across this idyllic beach!! Great trip and a great bunch of people. Deadly night out to celebrate returning to dry land.
There's a different breed of traveller on the east coast here...more younger groups on holiday for just a few weeks and drinking their way up the coast - girls with suitcases and a matching belt per outfit and boyz with footie shirts on - very different to the northerly or central areas.
Bussed it down to 1770 (used to be called 'Round Hill' - its name was changed in 1975 to '1770' - the date that Captain Cook first set foot on Queensland soil). Really nice town, very spaced out, and finally you can swim in the sea here because it’s safe - so the first of the surfers are showing up. I met some peeps and we went on a 'Scooter-Roo' trip (not quite Hell's Angels, but close!!) and as the name suggests, we drove around on scooters for a couple of hours site seeing and looking out for Kangaroos...great fun...my first time riding a bike and I loved it!! Only 24 hours in 1770, then down to Hervey Bay where we left for our Frazer Island trip (Frazer is the biggest sand island in the world - fact).
9 people in each 4x4 - and they were pink, which we loved (well the girls at least!). We bought food for our 3 day trip, which consisted of lots of meat as per the boyz requests! We had a mental time...driving along the beach was so much fun, which I got to do a lot because only 3 of us could drive - even more fun when you came across a creek that entered the sea and a few of them had quite a big drop in - much to my surprise (and enjoyment!). All the tracks are off road and it was good fun cranking the truck into low gear and slamming your foot to the floor to drive up very steep, bumpy hills, and through pots holes and deep water - I loved it! My favourite parts of the island were the fresh water lakes that were surrounded by fine white sand and had crystal clear water - they looked like beautiful beaches, also there is a ship wreck on the east shore, which you can get right up close to and it’s eroded in such a picturesque way, its incredible! The island really is one big sand dune, with a rainforest area in the centre - perfect! You can't swim in the sea here as there are seriously strong currents and tiger sharks, grrrr (OZ has pretty deadly waters!!?). All in all it was a fab trip, although our second night camping was a nightmare as it tipped down with rain, so we ate sandwiches for dinner in the back of the 4wd and our tents leaked all night like Chinese water torture dripping on your head....made people a little cranky for our last day!! I think finding out in the morning that our battery was flat on the 4wd didn't help either, but our hero; the heavy metal fisherman pulled us out and helped us jump start. Plenty of Dingoes, especially the moment our steaks hit the BBQ!!
Back to Hervey Bay for one more night before heading down to Noosa...beautiful place that seems very up market; islands in the creeks heading out to sea, very nice houses with boat jetties, pelicans perching on the yachts and a great beach...I could stay here for ages, except there isn't much to do in the evenings except detox and catch up on sleep (not a bad thing!). I went with my group to the Australia Zoo (unfortunately Steve Irvin didn't make an appearance - Crikey), the zoo was great - lots of shows and animals to touch (Kangaroos are well soft!). This is where I parted with the group I've been travelling with - they don't have long left so they're travelling quickly and I still have eons so I’m slowing the pace down. I hung out in Noosa for a few days with some people who are my new group - walked the national park, sunbathed, then off to Brisbane (the third largest city in OZ)...
Brisbane is a really nice city and good to have more to do - we had a much needed night out clubbing, pubbing and ended up in a casino, which was fun! Beautiful weather - a little cooler each evening now but perfect blue skies and lush sunshine during the day: starting to exchange some of my smaller items of clothes for warmer jumpers! Off to Surfers Paradise for a bit of beach action and a massive pub club crawl with 8 other hostels...lots of free drinks and club entries....and most importantly - a free flashing drinking glass! Started out on a bus with people packed in singing people smashing rhythmically on the windows - pretty crazy! Great night (what I can remember) but I think me trying to climb the pole on the dance floor in a fireman fashion, wearing a skirt, and ending up more like Bridget Jones wasn't exactly my strongest moment!!
Byron Bay onwards in the next email. Take care all of you and keep the emails coming you lazy beggers!! Love Fi xxxxxxx
Byron - Sydney and starting to freeze!!
10 June 2006
In Byron - lush sunny weather here during the day but considerably colder at nights now. We're staying in an 'alternative' hostel with tee-pee and tent like huts to sleep in - all the fun of camping but still in a nice comfy bed :-) lots of hippies making didgeridoos and wearing clothes that are too large, but a really friendly place. Got up early for sunrise on the lighthouse point - the most eastern point in OZ and watched dolphins feed along the coast. Spent the day on the beach bronzing (i.e. watching the surfers) and then the arvo in the pub drinking beer and eating potato wedges - tough times! Ended up out til late, dancing on more tables.
We went for a trip to Nimbin, which is an 'alternative' town and the driver was a hippie and briefed us about the place. Dope is illegal everywhere but the pigs (sorry, shouldn't say that now that my bro is one! hehe), the coppers turn a blind eye here, so if there's one undercover, someone will shout 'taxi'! Very funny place. We ate cookies. Also visited a waterfall and a guy's house who owns an amazing garden - the whole bus load of us giggled our way through the day! Had a relaxing last day in Byron eating posh ice cream and watching whales from the beach :-) (the first whale I’ve seen in the wild, so very excited!).
Next we were in Newcastle for a couple of days. We decided to go on a 'sophisticated' day tour to the Hunter Valley wine region. They're officially in a drought now so the ground is dry and brown with ranch style places with horses and cattle. We should have realised that it would be an 'aussie' style tour and it would actually be a piss up!! We went to 6 different wine cellars and tried all the wines from Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot to the desert wines and of course ports too (mum and dad you would have loved it, and Janine you would have cried at how nice the white port was!!). We were drunk by 11 and were definitely pleased to eat some top notch cheese and fudge too. Totally fab day! Met a St Bernard dog called Jo who starred in the last blockbuster of Peter Pan! Spent our second day in Newcastle wandering around the city - quite a nice place but lots of industrial influence and lots of chavs too!!
Finally, we arrive in Sydney, which is looking beautiful in autumn colours, although we didn't get off to a good start! We arrived in the Kings Cross area with adult shops, shows and prostitutes everywhere at midday!! Our hostel is great but the TV broke and so did the hot water so we had cold showers 2 mornings :-( We were rained heavily upon on our first few days’ sight seeing, which didn't make for good Kodak moments. Tuesday was the coldest June day in Sydney for 12 years - where's my luck!!? Although spent a very worthwhile 20 bucks in the Sydney Aquarium which was amazing. Recovered (and dried off) by going crab racing in a bar - so amusing especially because they were hermit crabs and not the fastest! My crab decided to jump on the others backs, which wasn't exactly a winning move! Great night out and felt the pain the following day...getting rained on again but the weather cleared long enough for us to go up Sydney Tower with amazing views at dusk and also went on a simulator that bashed you around while 'flying' around OZ! The tower has a 162,000-litre water tank on the top to stabilize it! I met up with my friend who lives in Sydney that Jemma and I met in Thailand - we ate Pad Thai and reminisced about fine days on Koh Phi Phi!! Also met up with Vicky's friend from home who's working in Sydney - we went to her house and she fed us an amazing curry then apple pie and custard - lush!!
Off to the Blue Mountains for a couple of days and went on an awesome (but highly exhausting) walk down the cliff, through the rainforest in the valley, then up hill and up 722 sheer cliff steps to the top again (yes we counted!). Totally knackered but worthwhile to see the '3 sisters' at sunset and incredible views over the mountain ranges.
Back to Sydney and spent the day going around Bondi and Coogee beaches before getting into preparation mode for the world cup Saturday night out...its gonna be massive as loads of people have timed getting to Sydney for the games! My celebrations shall be in the next instalment...go England! :-P
Love to you all, Fi xxxxxxxxxxx
Sydney to Melbourne; where I shall remain for a few weeks!!
23 June 2006
Go England!! What a rubbish first match against Paraguay (from what I can remember!). Awesome night out though: about 50 of us from the hostel went out with our faces painted, it was really great. Next to no sleep that night and spent the following day site seeing - we went over to Manly beach on the ferry which was really nice although there were some really strong winds which made the beach a little chilled!! Horrendous overnight bus journey down to Melbourne that night - the bus driver seriously thought we were perishable and made the coach arctic!! An hours sleep on and off with terrible neck pains trying to curl up on the seats then we arrived in Melbourne. In the afternoon we went to Melbourne vs Collingwood AFL (aussie rules) game in the MCG arena, which has a capacity of 100,000 and was nearly full. We had incredible seats as the only ones left when we booked were premier, so what a great view. So much fun and very different atmosphere to UK games - less group singing and less foul language!! Back, curry, then out to the 'Neighbours' (the aussie TV series) night where we had some awesome photos taken with Connor, Lyn Scully and Paul Robinson!!! I was so star struck and it was such a hilarious night...we came 3rd in the quiz which was a bonus. Back to the hostel and watched the Australia vs Japan game and the streets were filled with car horns and screams at the successful result. Such a long few days and absolutely shattered........bed for 12 hours!!!
We wandered around Melbourne for the day and somehow ended up in the Parliament building and sitting in on a debate about state bills, expenditure and budgets...quite surreal and not sure we fitted in! We borrowed my friend Emma's car (I travelled through Vietnam with Emma) and went for a road trip. We drove along the Great Ocean Road which was an incredible drive through swinging roads heading along the coast with the occasional viewpoint and arches and stacks formed out of the orange sandstone. Of course the 12 Apostles were beautiful especially when we arrived at sunset. The next day we head up into the Grampians which was also amazing. There was a bushfire recently so all the trees were black but encased in some sort of creeper, giving each tree a bright green haze around its trunks and branches. Really incredible sight. It was an amazing couple of days and such enjoyable driving! Back to Melbourne for the night then down to Phillip Island (we stopped of at Ramsay Street along the way, which was quite funny to see the houses from the TV programme - although I think it was more Vicky's thing than mine!). Phillip Island was great; we all lined up along the beach and watched the Little Penguins (the smallest Penguins in the world) come surfing out of the waves and head up past us to the burrows where we could also go and watch them around their homes :-) they were so sweet and diddy! But we laughed so hard when a wave would come in and wash them off their tiny feet like a stack of skittles!! Another great day. Wonderful to get away from cities for a few days on the open road to see what's in between!! We had a lot of fun!
Vicky and I have been crashing at a few friends’ houses in Melbourne which has been really great to get away from those damn hostels (much appreciated guys!). We stayed with Vicky's friend from home; Simon, and also Mike who I met in Bangkok, and then I moved in with Emma. At Mike's house we drank copious amounts of wine then head out to the England vs Australia Rugby Union match in the Telstra dome - another really excellent game to watch (although England lost and we were surrounded by so many aussies!!). Then sadly, Vicky left me to go over to NZ...quite weird to be parted from her after travelling together for the last month and living in each others pockets!! Anyway, Ryan and Emma found me a job to keep me in Melbourne...total rubbish, but I’ll be raking in the cash so that's good! Not exactly the 'wetland conservation' position I was looking for (believe me I’ve been looking) but its getting people to sign over to green electricity - instead of using coal, it uses sugar cane so its totally green and cheaper for the customer as its government subsidised. It’s still got 'green' in the title so that's still my line of work right!!!!??? :-( Anyway I’m going to stick with it for a few weeks to save up for my skiing trip in NZ :-) We're going on a road trip next week which will be a laugh as they're a young bunch of guys and I’ll get to see around the state with my hotel and transport paid for me!! Anyway earning between $800 and $1200 initially, I can’t complain!? I've joined a gym and go every day (at the moment), seeing as I’m settling into Melbourne...good way to balance out the intake of beer!!
I've been watching all the Australia and England footie matches although the only problem with watching them in OZ, is that the games are on at 11pm, 2am and 5am...so it’s such a mission to get involved!! This morning at 5am we got up and went over to Federation Square where there were a predicted 20,000 fans watching the massive outdoor screen - a seriously lively atmosphere despite the early hours, also quite a few people crawling out from the clubs to watch too! Great fun :-) Aussies are crazy about sports, especially in Melbourne!
Anyway peeps, I hope you're all well. Loads of love, Fi xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Melbourne and work :-(
9 July 2006
Well guys,
Not too much to add really from the last email...I’ve been working loads and 6 days a week so it hasn't left much time to do much else!! Work has been quite a laugh as the boys are really funny and enthusiastic. They play songs like 'The Eye of the Tiger' really loudly in the bus on the way out to turf to get us all psyched for a day of sales!! (Gets pretty annoying after the 10th time you've listened to it and it’s their mobile ring tone too! Anyway I started knocking doors and it was harder than it looked. I was on a quick learning curve to be more pushy and assuming the sale, but its not really in my nature, so it took me a little while to catch on. Also I struggle having to bullshit (excuse my French) my way into their houses to get the signature. Anyway I managed to be get a few sales a day which is good, despite my sever boredom on the long days walking around places where people told you to 'f' off!
Our one day off a week and Ryan, Emma and I go on road trips out of the city down along the coast to make the most out of our days of freedom...great to get away and enjoy some heavenly fish and chips by the sea while sipping on some rosé :-) Loving Melbourne and being in a routine for the past few weeks...its a great city to get to know and nice to keep my feet on the ground in one place for a while!
The following week we went away with work on our road trip out to rural country Victoria...crickey we met some weirdos! It was a good week although much harder work than we had expected. I soon became token 'mum' for the week and made everyone breakfast and dinner when we returned from work. It was quite stressful as everyone was so hungry not getting back til 9pm and our cabins were not exactly kitted out for cooking for 8 people! We ate well, especially considering they usually eat pizzas all week! Anyway, it was announced on the way back at the end of the week that I would make a good wife...not sure if that's a compliment!!? Great group but sales isn't quite my bag so I’m just deciding whether to do one more week with them or head down to Tasmania....time will tell...
Anyway peeps, not the most entertaining email as my life has consisted of going to work and the gym...good for me and my ever increasingly full wallet, but no stories of adventure!
Hope you're all well!?
Love Fi xxxxxxxxxx
Tasmania, Cairns and Sydney (again)
13 August 2006
Hey to you all!
I was talked into doing another week doing the door-to-door work...I had to stay til Saturday as there was a free bar Saturday night!! I spent the next few days enjoying being unemployed again...
Off to Van Dieman's land (Tasmania) for the week. My cheap flight took me to Launceston where I spent the day in awe walking around beautiful 'Cataract Gorge' - the sky was so clear and blue; the hills were reflected perfectly in the water. I met a girl who was 'Made in Taiwan' - yes I said that to her, and no it wasn't the first time she'd heard that joke!
I next found myself in Hobart (Australia's second oldest capital city), nice place with oldish buildings and a great market that apparently is quite famous in Tas. A brief visit up to Mt Wellington with an incredible panoramic view of Hobart and the hills and valleys around the coast - beautiful and enjoyed putting my footprints in the snow!
My next stop was in Port Arthur, which is a historic site that used to be a prison for convicts from OZ and Britain in the 19th century. Wonderful area (despite the harsh history). I was the only person in the creepy hostel at the top of the hill, with ghost tours going on outside the window at night; the place had dusty old book cases and a piano in the corner that was perfect for a Stephen King movie. It was a dead zone, literally, with no phone signal and no one around this time of year. Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well, especially when someone was rooting around the house til 2.30am, and I didn't want to ask whether it was the hostel owner...or not...!!?? I've never been happier to wake up at 5.45am to catch a bus out!! On the bus we briefly saw an Echidna (quite rare) and ran over one of the many wallabies, so much road kill in Tas!
My bus journey took me to Bicheno on the east coast. I met a German, now OZ resident and we went down into Freycinet National Park and climbed the mountain for what would have been one of the most picturesque lookouts over Wineglass bay - except the weather was appalling so we saw...clouds, we were soaked but remained high spirited. The following day couldn't have been more different with totally clear blue skies and nicely warm...I walked the coast and admired the fairy/little penguin and wallaby footprints along the sandy beach. You can instantly tell where the penguins are nesting, by the smell!!
Its true about the 'backpacker stone' - I was told that travellers to OZ put on a stone in weight. I'm not terribly pleased to a part of this little delight but judging by my inability to say no to a fresh cake from a bakery oven, its no wonder really....or maybe I shouldn't hang around bakeries each morning!?!
Off to Cradle Mountain where I went on a walk through an enchanted forest with fungi and lichens dripping from the trees and wet wallabies everywhere that were very unbothered by my presence as I stuck my camera in their faces. Back to Devonport where I caught the 'Spirit of Tasmania' ferry back to Melbourne, which was like being on a roller coaster for 11 hours!!
Haven’t had too many country facts to give you recently so here's a great fact I found on a beer mat - who says drinking beer isn't educational!!?...
In old England, ale was ordered in pubs by pints and quarts. When the customers became unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their pints and quarts and settle down. This began the phrase, 'mind your P's and Q's'.
Sad to leave Melbourne and my buddy Emma but loving happy hour with Virgin Blue! Off to Cairns to warm up - it was 22 degrees when I got off the plane in the middle of the night - heaven and its mid-winter here! Long lazy days reading books and basking in the sun. Staying with my Aussie friend who I met last time I was here, which was really great. Good funny night out over the weekend with the lads and spent the following day watching them bet on the horses in a very nice beach side bar. I went on a tour up to Cape Tribulation - the oldest tropical rainforest in the world with 12 out of the world's 19 families of primitive flowering plants. The cruise down the Daintree river was incredible with so much wildlife to see - pythons and green tree snakes looped around trees, a kingfisher, blossom bat, crocs of all sizes, kites, just to name a few. We walked through the TRF under the cover of the canopy as the sky let out a little rain (considering the whole of OZ is in drought and has serious water issues, this place is less than thirsty with an average of 3.5 metres of rain per annum). We ate tropical fruits including a strange 'chocolate mud fruit' and drank wine. It was a great day. Sad to leave Cairns, I guess that's the only down side of travelling - having to move from places you love and say farewells to good people - but always onwards to another great location so mustn’t grumble!
Back to Sydney and met up with the Nick's from home who some of you will know!! Great to see them. Curby's birthday the first night, so that was celebrated in a few of Sydney's drinking holes! Here for a week before I leave for New Zealand, so I will email again from my new location!
Love from Fi xxxxx
