After experiencing a couple of nights out in both the city and the valley, I felt I'd seen all I could see of Brisbane.
Coincidentally enough, my parents arrived in Brisbane 2 days after us, and were staying with my brother, who works and lives here. I went to see some sights with my parents, such as the koala sanctuary, and well....thats it. All there is to do is go shopping in Queen st mall, or go drinking...
Contrary to this, we decided to stay here for a month or so, and get jobs. This also suited me as Anne-Marie decided to come over to Australia and come travelling with us, and this would mean we would be in Brisbane when she arrived here so I could pick her up at the airport.
I applied for some jobs, as did the others, but Dave was the only person to get a job. He went out for one day...and then didn't go back! Haha.
While here I also bought a bicycle. I did some cycling at home and craved a bike so had it in my mind I wanted one. I went looking around town and bought a Giant Rock in a Giant store for 450AUD, but then had to buy a helmet, lights and lock, which put the price up to 600AUD. Hmmm, not a very wise decision, considering we were getting low on cash!
The plan was to lock it up outside the van at night, and then put it in the back while we were driving, which actually worked out fine. Funnily enough, it was the same bike as I had back home, except a newer model. I liked it. I also went for a few cycles on it around Brisbane. Firstly, I had to cycle it home, which was fun, especially considering I didn't actually know the way so kinda had to wing it. I then went on a few cycles around the caravan park and surrounding areas. I got adventourous one day and went a way I'd never been before....big mistake!! I got lost and was cycling around for a long time before I found a postman who gave me directions! I arrived home covered in sweat, probably after losing around a kilo. That place is full of hills!
I had a bit of fun anyway in Brisbane. The casino was cool, the Brisbane lookout was cool, and the bars were cool. My brother also brought me to a few restaurants around so I'd say I seen enough of Brisbane.....for now!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Christys Birthday - Fri, 22nd Aug 08
Yesterday was Christys 24th birthday. Christy is one of the people I'm travelling with.
The day started off the same as usual. Crawling out of bed, bit of breakfast, and planning for the day. My parents wanted to meet up for dinner before they flew home to Ireland so I had to get that out of the way first, before any beer related activities could commence!
We went to Breakfast Creek hotel for a nice steak dinner at about 7pm, then I headed off into town to meet the rest of them, while accidentally forgetting to say goodbye to my parents!! What a cabbage! I jsut jumped into the front seat of the taxi and went. It wasnt until a few minutes into the taxi journey that I realised I won't see them again for 10 months!! Oops! :(
Anyway, the festivities started in Mick O'Malleys Irish pub, in Queen St Mall. We had a few there, watched a live band, then headed onto our next port of call......Showgirls Strip Club!
It was only around the corner from O'Malleys so we walked up the mall towards it. Christy went off to buy cigarettes, so while we were waiting, I got talking to the girl on the door. I was wearing my black bomber jacket so while I was standing at the door talking, it looked like I was working security. Wish I got a photo of that now....
Anyway, we told her it was Christys birthday and she informed us that we can get him a private lapdance from any of the girls, or, as se recommended, we could get him a stage show, which basically entailsW dragging him up on stage in front of the whole club, and getting a lapdance lasting 4 songs! We talked about it and decided we'd get him the lapdance anyway, since its his birthday and all.
So, we went inside, paid the 15 dollars, and had a few beers. I went up to the supervisor lady and asked her about the previously mentioned "services", and she told me more about the stage show, so in the end I opted for that......best 100 dollars spent EVER!!! :D
Christy is a timid enough bloke so the girls were worried he wouldn't go up on stage, but when the time came, we all pushed him up. The "show" started with her taking off his top, and sitting him on a chair on the revolving podium. She began teasing him, as strippers are known to do, and got fully naked pretty fast! The look on his face was priceless. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us take any photos! Bummer! But the show went on. She eventually got him down to his boxers and had hom on the floor, on the chair, up against one of the poles!! It was hilarious! She then got a scissors and sneakily cut off his boxers! The poor chap was completely starkers in front of a club of maybe 60 dirty pervy men! Lets just say it'll be a birthday he'll never forget!! haha, oh and afterwards, she brought him backstage to get dressed in the ladies dressing room, where he was telling us all the girls were just walking around completely starkers too. Brillaint!! haha.
So, as we were leaving, I was stopped as I still had half a bottle of beer left, which I wasn't allowed take outside. I got talking to the American girl on the desk and the security guy, who I lied to and said I'd done security work in Dublin, and who said to come back on Tuesday and he'll see about getting me a job working security there!! Haha brilliant!! Watch this space....
Oh and the rest of the night was pretty tame in comparison. Just so ya know, we didn't actually spend the whole night in the stripclub, we actually went clubbing afterwards, though it wasn't great. I'm yet to find a niteclub here that I like.
The day started off the same as usual. Crawling out of bed, bit of breakfast, and planning for the day. My parents wanted to meet up for dinner before they flew home to Ireland so I had to get that out of the way first, before any beer related activities could commence!
We went to Breakfast Creek hotel for a nice steak dinner at about 7pm, then I headed off into town to meet the rest of them, while accidentally forgetting to say goodbye to my parents!! What a cabbage! I jsut jumped into the front seat of the taxi and went. It wasnt until a few minutes into the taxi journey that I realised I won't see them again for 10 months!! Oops! :(
Anyway, the festivities started in Mick O'Malleys Irish pub, in Queen St Mall. We had a few there, watched a live band, then headed onto our next port of call......Showgirls Strip Club!
It was only around the corner from O'Malleys so we walked up the mall towards it. Christy went off to buy cigarettes, so while we were waiting, I got talking to the girl on the door. I was wearing my black bomber jacket so while I was standing at the door talking, it looked like I was working security. Wish I got a photo of that now....
Anyway, we told her it was Christys birthday and she informed us that we can get him a private lapdance from any of the girls, or, as se recommended, we could get him a stage show, which basically entailsW dragging him up on stage in front of the whole club, and getting a lapdance lasting 4 songs! We talked about it and decided we'd get him the lapdance anyway, since its his birthday and all.
So, we went inside, paid the 15 dollars, and had a few beers. I went up to the supervisor lady and asked her about the previously mentioned "services", and she told me more about the stage show, so in the end I opted for that......best 100 dollars spent EVER!!! :D
Christy is a timid enough bloke so the girls were worried he wouldn't go up on stage, but when the time came, we all pushed him up. The "show" started with her taking off his top, and sitting him on a chair on the revolving podium. She began teasing him, as strippers are known to do, and got fully naked pretty fast! The look on his face was priceless. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us take any photos! Bummer! But the show went on. She eventually got him down to his boxers and had hom on the floor, on the chair, up against one of the poles!! It was hilarious! She then got a scissors and sneakily cut off his boxers! The poor chap was completely starkers in front of a club of maybe 60 dirty pervy men! Lets just say it'll be a birthday he'll never forget!! haha, oh and afterwards, she brought him backstage to get dressed in the ladies dressing room, where he was telling us all the girls were just walking around completely starkers too. Brillaint!! haha.
So, as we were leaving, I was stopped as I still had half a bottle of beer left, which I wasn't allowed take outside. I got talking to the American girl on the desk and the security guy, who I lied to and said I'd done security work in Dublin, and who said to come back on Tuesday and he'll see about getting me a job working security there!! Haha brilliant!! Watch this space....
Oh and the rest of the night was pretty tame in comparison. Just so ya know, we didn't actually spend the whole night in the stripclub, we actually went clubbing afterwards, though it wasn't great. I'm yet to find a niteclub here that I like.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Arrive: Brisbane
So we arrived in Brisbane. My first impression is that its very eh....city like! There's not many parks or beaches or anything stereotypically Australian, or even consistent with what we've seen so far on the east coast. It'll be interesting to see how things go here....
We drove around for a bit, following Dave and getting lost as usual, until we found a petrol station with a guy who gave us directions to a caravan park. A place called Newmarket Gardens. We headed straight there so we could get settled and then go exploring!!
The price was decent enough, and it had wireless so that suited me perfect! We settled in and headed down around town. Now, according to my brother, there are 2 main parts to Brisbane. The City itself, and the Valley. The Valley seems to be where all the messyness goes on. All the main night spots are there, where as the sort of grown up clubs are in the city!
Other than that, theres the Brisbane Lookout, the river tour on the boat, and I think thats it. I know there's a few other places of interest, but none that suited six travelling, beer hungry Irish tourists!! We had found a nice Irish bar called Mick O'Mallets in Queen St Mall. This was to be our first port of call on the majority of our nights out in Briss-vegas!
We drove around for a bit, following Dave and getting lost as usual, until we found a petrol station with a guy who gave us directions to a caravan park. A place called Newmarket Gardens. We headed straight there so we could get settled and then go exploring!!
The price was decent enough, and it had wireless so that suited me perfect! We settled in and headed down around town. Now, according to my brother, there are 2 main parts to Brisbane. The City itself, and the Valley. The Valley seems to be where all the messyness goes on. All the main night spots are there, where as the sort of grown up clubs are in the city!
Other than that, theres the Brisbane Lookout, the river tour on the boat, and I think thats it. I know there's a few other places of interest, but none that suited six travelling, beer hungry Irish tourists!! We had found a nice Irish bar called Mick O'Mallets in Queen St Mall. This was to be our first port of call on the majority of our nights out in Briss-vegas!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
More driving
So, we left Hervey Bay and Fraser Island behind, and continued our long journey south, and embarked on what would be our longest session of driving since we got the vans.
We drove through Proserpine and Mackay before it started to get dark, so we decided to stop off at the next place we came too. This seemed like a bad idea when we turned up at a place called Marlborough. This was basically a small little "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" town, as I called it, whos population doubled when we strolled into town. In order to actually get to the place, we had to drive down a pitch black dirt track, passed signs of "bridge out - detour this way" signs and also a random set of trains tracks (which Christy decided to feckin stop the van slap bang in the middle of!!). These things combined with the fact that all 3 of us had gotten separated had started to send a chill through each of our spines. Imagine it, lost in the middle of an isolated town, that we haven't told anyone we were going to, since we didn't actually know the name of it until the following day when we were leaving, and also that we hadn't a clue of its geographical location, other than its in Queensland somewhere between Hervey Bay and Brisbane!
We broke through into the town from the detour along the backroads and felt like all 35 of the local eyeballs were staring at us. 3 camper vans emblazened with all sorts of funky lookin graffitti tend to stand out in tiny little towns. Basically, the "town" is literally one street, maybe 100 metres long. It had a pub and a few houses. That was it. We asked a local if there was a caravan park, not expecting much luck, and were told we can park up behind the pub. We had a look but it was too tight a space for 3 vans to fit so we drive up around the corner and asked in the petrol station and out of pure dumb luck, there was a really good caravan park literally right across the road...the road being the Bruce/Pacific Highway that we've been driving along all day! What we thought was a totally solated backward town, was in fact just off the bruce highway and surrounded by a pretty densely populated area! I we had've taken the next exit off the highway, we would have ended up where we were now!
We stayed there in the caravan park the night for roughly 9 dollars each, and headed off the next morning. I picked up the new Offspring album in that garage. Wasn't great...:p
So off we went again. Rockhampton, Bundaberg, stopping in Maryborough to pick up some tourist information brochures, and found out that Australia Zoo was just a few hours down the road, as was a big fish world amusement park. Myself, Christy, Dave and Nikki went to Waterworld, while Donna and Ciara went to Australia zoo. On the way down, we stopped off at a Toys R Us and picked up the biggest super soaker they sold, as back in Maryborough, Dave and Nikki had bought small little water guns in a newsagent to destroy us with water. This resulted in a full length water war (which stretched from Maryborough to Brisbane!) which actually started when I flung the contents of a 2 litre bottle of water out the campervan window at the girls, followed shortly by the bottle itself! When we purchased the super soaker, we did it as stealthily as possibe. We picked up a bit of speed and made some distance between us and "Pacman" (corresponding to the design on the side of Dae & Nikkis van). Just enough distance, in fact, for us to go into the nearest toy shop and buy a super soaker!!
So we returned to the van after the purchase, just as they pulled up beside us. I had to stash the gun up my jumper. We then headed on down the road again with them still unaware of our purchase. During our many pitstops/pullovers, Dave pulled up beside us to talk through our windows. This was when they found out about our new weapon in the form of litres of high pressure water in their respective eyes!! The look on their soaking wet faces was worth the 50 dollars I spent on the gun, but it also stepped up the stakes a bit. Water bombs were bought, and mid-motorway high-speed water fights ensued. Yes it ws dangerous, but hell it was fun! And sure isnt that the impotant thing!!
At the next garage stop, me and Christy cornered Dave in the toilets when he went in to use the facilities. Lucky for him, hes a lot quicker on his feet than he looks! When we got back to the van, we saw Nikki messing with it. As it turned out, she had placed some form of cream, like suncream or some woman sustance, in the handle of the van. Luckily I noticed this as Christy was about to open the van.
We drove on again passed Rainbow Beach, Gympie, and Noosa heads, before we drive past Australia Zoo just before Beerwah. The girls had gone into there, but it was late by the time we got there so we headed on to the waterworld, which was open later, and was jsut a better option at that time of the afternoon.
We drove back up towards the zoo afterwards, where we met the girls again and parked about a kilometre down from Australia zoo. This was so we could get an early start and a full day in the zoo, which inceidentally was really cool. It had some huge crocs, and all sorts of weird creatures, including the super smelly koalas, and giant turtles. cassowaries, snakes, alligators, elephants, tigers, and pretty much everything else ya'd expect! I'd recommend it to anyone in the area. The croc shows are pretty cool too!
While we were in the zoo, the girls drove on, as they'd been there yesterday, and we followed them down at about 4pm. They had gotten to a place called Redcliffe. Last stop before Brisbane.
We found a nice little car park beside the surf club to park for the night. The gates were locked at 11pm, and didnt open til 7am, but that was fine by us, since we were staying the night, and wouldnt even be awake by 6am when they re-opened. We could see Brisbane across the water. One more night and we'd have some form of relative stability, accomodation-wise.
We drove through Proserpine and Mackay before it started to get dark, so we decided to stop off at the next place we came too. This seemed like a bad idea when we turned up at a place called Marlborough. This was basically a small little "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" town, as I called it, whos population doubled when we strolled into town. In order to actually get to the place, we had to drive down a pitch black dirt track, passed signs of "bridge out - detour this way" signs and also a random set of trains tracks (which Christy decided to feckin stop the van slap bang in the middle of!!). These things combined with the fact that all 3 of us had gotten separated had started to send a chill through each of our spines. Imagine it, lost in the middle of an isolated town, that we haven't told anyone we were going to, since we didn't actually know the name of it until the following day when we were leaving, and also that we hadn't a clue of its geographical location, other than its in Queensland somewhere between Hervey Bay and Brisbane!
We broke through into the town from the detour along the backroads and felt like all 35 of the local eyeballs were staring at us. 3 camper vans emblazened with all sorts of funky lookin graffitti tend to stand out in tiny little towns. Basically, the "town" is literally one street, maybe 100 metres long. It had a pub and a few houses. That was it. We asked a local if there was a caravan park, not expecting much luck, and were told we can park up behind the pub. We had a look but it was too tight a space for 3 vans to fit so we drive up around the corner and asked in the petrol station and out of pure dumb luck, there was a really good caravan park literally right across the road...the road being the Bruce/Pacific Highway that we've been driving along all day! What we thought was a totally solated backward town, was in fact just off the bruce highway and surrounded by a pretty densely populated area! I we had've taken the next exit off the highway, we would have ended up where we were now!
We stayed there in the caravan park the night for roughly 9 dollars each, and headed off the next morning. I picked up the new Offspring album in that garage. Wasn't great...:p
So off we went again. Rockhampton, Bundaberg, stopping in Maryborough to pick up some tourist information brochures, and found out that Australia Zoo was just a few hours down the road, as was a big fish world amusement park. Myself, Christy, Dave and Nikki went to Waterworld, while Donna and Ciara went to Australia zoo. On the way down, we stopped off at a Toys R Us and picked up the biggest super soaker they sold, as back in Maryborough, Dave and Nikki had bought small little water guns in a newsagent to destroy us with water. This resulted in a full length water war (which stretched from Maryborough to Brisbane!) which actually started when I flung the contents of a 2 litre bottle of water out the campervan window at the girls, followed shortly by the bottle itself! When we purchased the super soaker, we did it as stealthily as possibe. We picked up a bit of speed and made some distance between us and "Pacman" (corresponding to the design on the side of Dae & Nikkis van). Just enough distance, in fact, for us to go into the nearest toy shop and buy a super soaker!!
So we returned to the van after the purchase, just as they pulled up beside us. I had to stash the gun up my jumper. We then headed on down the road again with them still unaware of our purchase. During our many pitstops/pullovers, Dave pulled up beside us to talk through our windows. This was when they found out about our new weapon in the form of litres of high pressure water in their respective eyes!! The look on their soaking wet faces was worth the 50 dollars I spent on the gun, but it also stepped up the stakes a bit. Water bombs were bought, and mid-motorway high-speed water fights ensued. Yes it ws dangerous, but hell it was fun! And sure isnt that the impotant thing!!
At the next garage stop, me and Christy cornered Dave in the toilets when he went in to use the facilities. Lucky for him, hes a lot quicker on his feet than he looks! When we got back to the van, we saw Nikki messing with it. As it turned out, she had placed some form of cream, like suncream or some woman sustance, in the handle of the van. Luckily I noticed this as Christy was about to open the van.
We drove on again passed Rainbow Beach, Gympie, and Noosa heads, before we drive past Australia Zoo just before Beerwah. The girls had gone into there, but it was late by the time we got there so we headed on to the waterworld, which was open later, and was jsut a better option at that time of the afternoon.
We drove back up towards the zoo afterwards, where we met the girls again and parked about a kilometre down from Australia zoo. This was so we could get an early start and a full day in the zoo, which inceidentally was really cool. It had some huge crocs, and all sorts of weird creatures, including the super smelly koalas, and giant turtles. cassowaries, snakes, alligators, elephants, tigers, and pretty much everything else ya'd expect! I'd recommend it to anyone in the area. The croc shows are pretty cool too!
While we were in the zoo, the girls drove on, as they'd been there yesterday, and we followed them down at about 4pm. They had gotten to a place called Redcliffe. Last stop before Brisbane.
We found a nice little car park beside the surf club to park for the night. The gates were locked at 11pm, and didnt open til 7am, but that was fine by us, since we were staying the night, and wouldnt even be awake by 6am when they re-opened. We could see Brisbane across the water. One more night and we'd have some form of relative stability, accomodation-wise.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Fraser Island and Hervey Bay
We got here in the late afternoon and immediately got lost! Haha, it seems a daily occurance that anywhere we drive to we get separated from each other and spend about an hour texting and ringing to try find out where the hell we are!
Luckily, along our aimless driving trying to find the others, we found a nice little caravan park close enough to the water. It had nice facilities and they gave us a nice little corner to ourselves for our camper vans.
Back inside in the bar/restaurant, we ran into a dublin couple who we'd bumped into back in Airlie Beach. They were travelling down the east coast by bus, and had a 14 hour bus journey to get here. It only took us a few hours!! Apparently the bus goes all over the place! Remind me never to get a bus over here!! Thats as long as our flight from Thailand to Australia!!
Luckily, the lady at reception was able to hook us up with a deal to go to Fraser Island. We'd be picked up in the morning in a big 4-wheel drive heavy duty bus that would drive us to the boat, and would also act as out transport on the island too. The bus driver was pretty eccentric. I suppose thats part of the job description, as he was also there to entertain 50 or so people on his bus!
We got over to the island anyway, and the bus drive off the boat directly onto the beach, and off into the jungle! The early part of the tour was the driver telling us all about the local plants and trees etc etc...which was quite boring. The only entertaing part was the numerous mounds and hills which sent the bus almost airborne. We got flung out of our seats and if it weren't for the seat belts, we would hve all been splattered on the floor! I was loving it! It was like a rollercoaster!
We finally got through to the middle, where there was a lake, slap bang in the middle of the mountain side on the island. He explained it was there because the rain water gets stuck and doesnt go through the sand, or something like that. We went off looking for snakes while the girls stayed to clean their jewellery and exfoliate in the sand, which incidentally was the same sand from the Whitsundays (99.98% silica). Needless to say, we didn't see any snakes! :(
We left the lake and went to the backpackers resort in the centre of the island where we got fed. It was a nice little place, powered entirely by solar power. As its a national park, they cant really be building powerlines etc on the island, so solar power is their only option. The toilets were "natural toilets" too, as there wasnt really a sewer system on the island. Nasty business, but ya'd get used to it easily enough.
After we had our grub, we went on again in our big bus, this time to 74-mile beach. This was the main attraction of the island. The beach was actually only 54 miles long apparently (what a ripoff!), but it had a shipwreck and they ran a service where you could get in a small plane and fly the island for 70 dollars. The girls went for it but we stayed in the bus.
The beach was nice. The shipwreck was cool, and we also saw some clearwater river that you could walk up, with little or no chance of a crocodile biting your ass off!! It was fun.
After seeing the rest of the landmarks on the beach, it was back to the backpackers resort to clean the bus, then off we went again into the depths of the jungle. We stopped off for tea/coffee and muffins in amongst the trees where our bus driver partook in a Q&A session with us. After a few minutes we boarded the bus and headed back to the beach to await the boat. All in all, we enjoyed the island. Nice scenery. Nice tour. Its some thing I'd do again anyway.
On the way back, we saw dolphins doing tricks in the wild, which had everyone on the boat interested. They were jumping out of the water and doing back flips and stuff. Definately one of the highlights of Fraser Island.
Anyway, we got back to the caravan park and checked out the following morning. It was gonna be a long drive to Brisbane, so we left early and got back on Bruce.....more driving ensues.
Luckily, along our aimless driving trying to find the others, we found a nice little caravan park close enough to the water. It had nice facilities and they gave us a nice little corner to ourselves for our camper vans.
Back inside in the bar/restaurant, we ran into a dublin couple who we'd bumped into back in Airlie Beach. They were travelling down the east coast by bus, and had a 14 hour bus journey to get here. It only took us a few hours!! Apparently the bus goes all over the place! Remind me never to get a bus over here!! Thats as long as our flight from Thailand to Australia!!
Luckily, the lady at reception was able to hook us up with a deal to go to Fraser Island. We'd be picked up in the morning in a big 4-wheel drive heavy duty bus that would drive us to the boat, and would also act as out transport on the island too. The bus driver was pretty eccentric. I suppose thats part of the job description, as he was also there to entertain 50 or so people on his bus!
We got over to the island anyway, and the bus drive off the boat directly onto the beach, and off into the jungle! The early part of the tour was the driver telling us all about the local plants and trees etc etc...which was quite boring. The only entertaing part was the numerous mounds and hills which sent the bus almost airborne. We got flung out of our seats and if it weren't for the seat belts, we would hve all been splattered on the floor! I was loving it! It was like a rollercoaster!
We finally got through to the middle, where there was a lake, slap bang in the middle of the mountain side on the island. He explained it was there because the rain water gets stuck and doesnt go through the sand, or something like that. We went off looking for snakes while the girls stayed to clean their jewellery and exfoliate in the sand, which incidentally was the same sand from the Whitsundays (99.98% silica). Needless to say, we didn't see any snakes! :(
We left the lake and went to the backpackers resort in the centre of the island where we got fed. It was a nice little place, powered entirely by solar power. As its a national park, they cant really be building powerlines etc on the island, so solar power is their only option. The toilets were "natural toilets" too, as there wasnt really a sewer system on the island. Nasty business, but ya'd get used to it easily enough.
After we had our grub, we went on again in our big bus, this time to 74-mile beach. This was the main attraction of the island. The beach was actually only 54 miles long apparently (what a ripoff!), but it had a shipwreck and they ran a service where you could get in a small plane and fly the island for 70 dollars. The girls went for it but we stayed in the bus.
The beach was nice. The shipwreck was cool, and we also saw some clearwater river that you could walk up, with little or no chance of a crocodile biting your ass off!! It was fun.
After seeing the rest of the landmarks on the beach, it was back to the backpackers resort to clean the bus, then off we went again into the depths of the jungle. We stopped off for tea/coffee and muffins in amongst the trees where our bus driver partook in a Q&A session with us. After a few minutes we boarded the bus and headed back to the beach to await the boat. All in all, we enjoyed the island. Nice scenery. Nice tour. Its some thing I'd do again anyway.
On the way back, we saw dolphins doing tricks in the wild, which had everyone on the boat interested. They were jumping out of the water and doing back flips and stuff. Definately one of the highlights of Fraser Island.
Anyway, we got back to the caravan park and checked out the following morning. It was gonna be a long drive to Brisbane, so we left early and got back on Bruce.....more driving ensues.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
The Whitsundays and Airlie Beach
A few hundred miles south of Cairns is a nice little seaside resort of Airlie Beach. Its basically one street with a load of shops, travel agents, and a few pubs/clubs.
The main purpose of this place, from a backpackers point of view is The Whitsundays. These are a group of islands that are supposed to have one of the nicest views on the east coast....so says their local tourist bureau!!
Our first job here was to scope out the trips and deals the local offices were offering. We looked up and down and eventually found one we wanted. There was an option for an overnight or 2/3 day trip, but on the advice of a friend who had done that before, we opted for the same day round trip.
We went out early in the morning and had the option for some scuba diving/snorkelling with the barrier reef fishes. We then drove around to another island and went up a trail. This trail led to a viewing spot of the whole of Whitehaven Beach (the main beach on the main island, ie the main tourist attraction). This was the view we were told about. I was actually impressed. The view was really nice. I'm not really into this sort of stuff, but honestly it was actually a really nice view, and well worth the trek through the island. We got our photos taken by the guide, and took a few of our own, and headed back down the trail. We got back on the boat and headed around the island and on to Whitehaven Beach.
Apparently the sand on this beach is made from 99.8% silica from a crack in the water or something. The guide was telling us about tectonic plates under the water that rub together and thats where the sand comes from. She also said you can exfoliate and clean your jewellery with the sand.....hmmm, ye, where's the bar??
We stayed on the beach for an hour or so and then headed back. We saw some turtles too, which was very cool. I'd never seen any before so it was an experience.
We stayed in Airlie Beach another day or 2 and then decided to leave. I actually liked it here. Definately one of my favourite places of the holiday so far. Hopefully I can return here again, maybe with Anne-Marie once we get settled with jobs and, more importantly, cash!!
So anyway, off we went, further south, joining up with our companion Bruce (the highway) down to our next stop, Hervey Bay. Home of Fraser Island!
The main purpose of this place, from a backpackers point of view is The Whitsundays. These are a group of islands that are supposed to have one of the nicest views on the east coast....so says their local tourist bureau!!
Our first job here was to scope out the trips and deals the local offices were offering. We looked up and down and eventually found one we wanted. There was an option for an overnight or 2/3 day trip, but on the advice of a friend who had done that before, we opted for the same day round trip.
We went out early in the morning and had the option for some scuba diving/snorkelling with the barrier reef fishes. We then drove around to another island and went up a trail. This trail led to a viewing spot of the whole of Whitehaven Beach (the main beach on the main island, ie the main tourist attraction). This was the view we were told about. I was actually impressed. The view was really nice. I'm not really into this sort of stuff, but honestly it was actually a really nice view, and well worth the trek through the island. We got our photos taken by the guide, and took a few of our own, and headed back down the trail. We got back on the boat and headed around the island and on to Whitehaven Beach.
Apparently the sand on this beach is made from 99.8% silica from a crack in the water or something. The guide was telling us about tectonic plates under the water that rub together and thats where the sand comes from. She also said you can exfoliate and clean your jewellery with the sand.....hmmm, ye, where's the bar??
We stayed on the beach for an hour or so and then headed back. We saw some turtles too, which was very cool. I'd never seen any before so it was an experience.
We stayed in Airlie Beach another day or 2 and then decided to leave. I actually liked it here. Definately one of my favourite places of the holiday so far. Hopefully I can return here again, maybe with Anne-Marie once we get settled with jobs and, more importantly, cash!!
So anyway, off we went, further south, joining up with our companion Bruce (the highway) down to our next stop, Hervey Bay. Home of Fraser Island!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Goodbye Cairns!!
So today we said goodbye to Cairns, our first port of call here in Australia.
We had plenty of fun, I met family I hadn't seen in a few years, and met more family who I hadn't seen in 15/20 years!!!
We seen the pubs, clubs, restaurants, beaches, backpacker spots, did a skydive, got some photos, memories and pretty much did everything we could. We even secured our beds for the next 2 months in the form of our Wicked camper vans! What more could ya want? Maybe Alf from Home and Away being your personal tour guide......we can all dream!! haha
So off south we went in our camper vans. Next stop along the Bruce Highway: Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays...
We had plenty of fun, I met family I hadn't seen in a few years, and met more family who I hadn't seen in 15/20 years!!!
We seen the pubs, clubs, restaurants, beaches, backpacker spots, did a skydive, got some photos, memories and pretty much did everything we could. We even secured our beds for the next 2 months in the form of our Wicked camper vans! What more could ya want? Maybe Alf from Home and Away being your personal tour guide......we can all dream!! haha
So off south we went in our camper vans. Next stop along the Bruce Highway: Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays...
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Back to Cairns - The Asylum
After we had travelled the north, around Port Douglas and its surrounding areas, we headed back down south, to our ultimate destination of Sydney.
We got back to Cairns again after a few hours driving and set about getting somewhere to stay for the night. We found a place around the corner from our first hostel called The Asylum. We realised how aptly named it was after a few minutes talking to the staff. The place was run quite well, but the staff were obviously all crazy!! Haha, they were really nice and are obviously well up for a good time but the only way to describe them is CRAZY!! They obviously enjoy their job and have a good time. Another thing about the people over herein Oz, they're really nice and friendly, and eveyone seems genuinely happy. I'm impressed!
The reason we had come back to stay in Cairns, was my brother. He left Ireland last February, and was going to be in Cairns that day, so we came back so I could meet up with him, and my parents. We had a look around that day, went for a bit of shopping, had a pint of two, then said our goodbyes in the shopping centre, and set off once again on our trip.
My parents were in Oz for a month in total, so I would see my parents and brother again in Brisbane....
We got back to Cairns again after a few hours driving and set about getting somewhere to stay for the night. We found a place around the corner from our first hostel called The Asylum. We realised how aptly named it was after a few minutes talking to the staff. The place was run quite well, but the staff were obviously all crazy!! Haha, they were really nice and are obviously well up for a good time but the only way to describe them is CRAZY!! They obviously enjoy their job and have a good time. Another thing about the people over herein Oz, they're really nice and friendly, and eveyone seems genuinely happy. I'm impressed!
The reason we had come back to stay in Cairns, was my brother. He left Ireland last February, and was going to be in Cairns that day, so we came back so I could meet up with him, and my parents. We had a look around that day, went for a bit of shopping, had a pint of two, then said our goodbyes in the shopping centre, and set off once again on our trip.
My parents were in Oz for a month in total, so I would see my parents and brother again in Brisbane....
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Port Douglas - The camper van journey begins
So, we've done our skydive, saw Cairns, attended our first Ozzie BBQ and had our introduction to Australian life, now its time to break loose, and see what we can find on the road!!
On our last day in Cairns, we picekd up our Wicked Campers from the depot. We got a taxi from town out there, bags in tow, just like back in Thailand. Only this time was our last, because once we pick up our mobile abodes, we can throw our bags in there, and never have to worry about lugging them around....until October 4th anyway.
So, we arrived at the Wicked depot, and saw nearly 100 very cool looking vans, complete with individual, unique body paint. There was a queue. We had seen lots of these Wicked Campers around Cairns so knew they were popular. We waited nearly an hour until finally we were given our vans. Myself and Christy were given "Old Man River", named after an Australian Singer, the 2 girls were given "Pinky & The Brain", and Dave and Nikki got "Pacman". Our first impressions were good. They weren't the most luxurious of vehicles, but our excitement made us overlook that fact, and we weren't long in jumping in and setting off on our way.
The vans are actually quite nice. They have a kitchen, complete with oven and fridge, and theres also wardrobes, living room, a nice sofa and a double bed. Hmmm, sounds good on paper, but I'll elaborate. The van consists of a worktop counter (the "kitchen") in the back, with gas stove (the "oven") and cooler box (the "fridge"). Then in the middle is where it gets really interesting!! It has wooden compartments in the bottom (the "wardrobe") and a middle section that folds out to form a table (the "living room"). Either side of the table, there are cushions (the "sofa") for sitting at the table. At night, the table comes down and the flat cushions go over the wardrobes and forms a soft-ish base for lying on (the "double bed"). Still though, its adequate for what we need!!
So anyway, we stocked up on supplies, said our goodbyes to Cairns, and headed north to Port douglas.
We took the Bruce Highway north, for a few hours. Its a straight road so nothing major to write home about here. There was some decent scenery, but I didn't get to see any crocodiles in any of the creeks, or kangaroos leaping through fields!! Boring!
Port Douglas seemed like a nice place. We drive into the town and there was nice restaurants, and a few bars lining the streets. I got the impression that this area was more affluent than Cairns, evident by the abundance of yachts, and yacht club, and basically a lot of sailing/yacht ownership related shops and restauraunts.
We found a car park next to the yacht club to park. We decided to stay there for the night, after we had a quick look around the town. There wasn't really much for backpackers there. Just expensive restaurants and expensive shops! We settled for a crate of Carlton Cold beer and dinner back at the van. I think I had noodles that night. Very posh!!
We were getting a lot of attention from people, curious as to where we got the vans, and who painted them etc. We had to tell a lot of people our story, ie Irish, and travelling for the year around Oz. Despite the locals friendliness, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were an unwelcome eyesore, on the pristine face that is their affluent town. After all, if you spent a lot of money buying a nice house in a nice area, you don't want some smelly backpackers coming in and messing the place up! I was half expecting some of the locals to tell us this, or even for the police to come along and ask us to move on.....but neither happened. Maybe I'm just being self-conscious on my first day as an itinerant!
Anyway, we slept there the night, with no problems and travelled further north the next day.
On our last day in Cairns, we picekd up our Wicked Campers from the depot. We got a taxi from town out there, bags in tow, just like back in Thailand. Only this time was our last, because once we pick up our mobile abodes, we can throw our bags in there, and never have to worry about lugging them around....until October 4th anyway.
So, we arrived at the Wicked depot, and saw nearly 100 very cool looking vans, complete with individual, unique body paint. There was a queue. We had seen lots of these Wicked Campers around Cairns so knew they were popular. We waited nearly an hour until finally we were given our vans. Myself and Christy were given "Old Man River", named after an Australian Singer, the 2 girls were given "Pinky & The Brain", and Dave and Nikki got "Pacman". Our first impressions were good. They weren't the most luxurious of vehicles, but our excitement made us overlook that fact, and we weren't long in jumping in and setting off on our way.
The vans are actually quite nice. They have a kitchen, complete with oven and fridge, and theres also wardrobes, living room, a nice sofa and a double bed. Hmmm, sounds good on paper, but I'll elaborate. The van consists of a worktop counter (the "kitchen") in the back, with gas stove (the "oven") and cooler box (the "fridge"). Then in the middle is where it gets really interesting!! It has wooden compartments in the bottom (the "wardrobe") and a middle section that folds out to form a table (the "living room"). Either side of the table, there are cushions (the "sofa") for sitting at the table. At night, the table comes down and the flat cushions go over the wardrobes and forms a soft-ish base for lying on (the "double bed"). Still though, its adequate for what we need!!
So anyway, we stocked up on supplies, said our goodbyes to Cairns, and headed north to Port douglas.
We took the Bruce Highway north, for a few hours. Its a straight road so nothing major to write home about here. There was some decent scenery, but I didn't get to see any crocodiles in any of the creeks, or kangaroos leaping through fields!! Boring!
Port Douglas seemed like a nice place. We drive into the town and there was nice restaurants, and a few bars lining the streets. I got the impression that this area was more affluent than Cairns, evident by the abundance of yachts, and yacht club, and basically a lot of sailing/yacht ownership related shops and restauraunts.
We found a car park next to the yacht club to park. We decided to stay there for the night, after we had a quick look around the town. There wasn't really much for backpackers there. Just expensive restaurants and expensive shops! We settled for a crate of Carlton Cold beer and dinner back at the van. I think I had noodles that night. Very posh!!
We were getting a lot of attention from people, curious as to where we got the vans, and who painted them etc. We had to tell a lot of people our story, ie Irish, and travelling for the year around Oz. Despite the locals friendliness, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were an unwelcome eyesore, on the pristine face that is their affluent town. After all, if you spent a lot of money buying a nice house in a nice area, you don't want some smelly backpackers coming in and messing the place up! I was half expecting some of the locals to tell us this, or even for the police to come along and ask us to move on.....but neither happened. Maybe I'm just being self-conscious on my first day as an itinerant!
Anyway, we slept there the night, with no problems and travelled further north the next day.
Friday, August 1, 2008
The skydive
While staying in Gilligans, we decided to book a skydive....why? Haha, why indeed!!
We opted for the 14000ft dive, which is the highest you can jump from in Australia, apparently.
The jump itself cost 245dollars, and you could get the DVD for an extra 99dollars, which brought the total up to 344dollars. Pricey, but we'll see if its worth it!!
The morning of the dive, we got picked up around 8am and driven about an hour south of Cairns to a small airstrip. We drive through miles of sugar cane and some decent enough scenery to get there. There wasn't much conversation in the van on the way out, I assume due to nerves, and maybe a bit of tiredness from the lack of a lie in since Bangkok!
We arrived out there around 10am I think, and went into a little house they had beside the airstrip. There we got kitted out in our skydiving outfits and got strapped up.
The nerves were starting to kick in at this stage! None of us had ever jumped out of a plane before so didn't know what to expect. We were all paired up and told who we'd be jumping with. They came over to us and start filming the intro to the DVD, which was basically me standing there saying hello and talking about the skydive. Afterwards, we walked over to the plane in all our gear and decided what the jump order would be, ie who's going first!! Dave volunteered to go first, followed by Nikki, and then I was last. I had to get into the plane first. It was a tight squeeze. It was about 1 metre x 2 metres, with 8 people in it!!
The plane start moving, and the nerves got worse!! I kept thinking will I be able to go ahead with this, or will I freeze and look like a great big gooseberry in front of everyone! The Plane took off.
We began climbing and circling the drop zone...basically, a field adjacent to the airstrip. After 4000ft, one of the guys just jumped out. From what I gather, he was in training and doing jumps to get his dive hours up to become an instructor. When he jumped, it seemed totally natural and easy. He just jumped out and let gravity does the rest of the work! Easy!! Eh, or maybe not...
We kept climbing and climbing. Higher and higher. The instructor kept saying 5 minutes....then 3 minutes, 2 minutes, and then 1 minute to jump!! Squeaky bum time!!
After 15 minutes or so, we reached the drop zone. The door opened again. I looked out the window....it was high!! Dave was first to stop out, and then in a second, he was gone!! Nikki looked so scared, it was funny! She was up next. In a split second, she was gone too. I was next!! Holy crap!! The nerves hit me!! I moved out to the side of the plane and made the first mistake....I LOOKED DOWN!!! Sitting on the edge of that plane was so scary, but such a buzz!! If there was any time I would bottle it, it would be now!! I had to jump! I wanted to jump, but it felt so unnatural!! I couldnt bring myself to jump out of a plane!! It was crazy!! After a few seconds of my mind racing, I went for it!! I leant forward and just went for it!! I jumped right out of that plane, it was amazing!!! We went from 0-320kph in 3 seconds flat!! I couldn't breathe! I couldn't hear! The noise of the air whizing past my ears was deafening! The instructor had told us if we find it hard to breathe, its because our lungs are already full of air, and to shout or scream to clear the air out!! I let out an almighty "woooooooh!" and was back in the game! This was brilliant!! 14000ft and falling. I could see everything!! Then I couldn't breathe again!! Haha, with another yell, I was good to go again!! We kept falling and falling! It was such a rush! Like the feeling you get going over a bump in a car, except all the time!!! The freefall was 60 seconds long, but seemed much longer! The instructor kept telling me to wave to the camera!! At 320kph, its not as easy as it sounds!!
After the 60 seconds, the chute opened. With a bit of a jerk, we slowed down and began to float down, nice and peacefully....well, relatively speaking!! We were still going fast enough....well, I suppose any speed is fast when you're falling out of the sky! But once the chute opened, it went dead quiet. The instructor start chatting away to me. He was showing me the reef, the mountains, basically everything! Suddenly, I felt something open on my straps!! Then a second one went!! I "calmly enquired" what it was that opened. He told me not to worry, and that he opened them. They were just extra straps ya need for the freefall, to make sure you're attached properly when the chute opens!! Phew!! Haha.
We kept on our 6 minute descent anyway, and soon we were able to make out peoples faces. I even saw an eagle flying below us. It was great.
It was now that the instructor told me to get into my landing position. From what I've seen on TV, people land on their feet, with a bit of a run or whatever. In tandem however, you land on your ass! Yes, you land on your ass! The reasoning behind this was basically that if I land on my feet, and he comes in behind me, basically he'll snap my legs! Right so, I'll land on me ass!!
We did one last lap of the landing area and picked our landing spot. Lower and lower, almost there, I lifted up my legs, and we landed gently on the grass. I was down!! And still in 1 piece too!! What a rush!! Well worth the 300 dollars!
Next up was Donna and Ciara. We watched them dive from the field. Everything was going fine until Ciaras parachute opened. It was tangled!!! They went into a spin and lost control! After a few seconds, they ditched the chute and went onto the backup chute. Luckily, it opened! Thank god! She didn't even notice until the instructor pointed at the chute floating off in the distance and told her what had happened!! Brown trouser time!
Anyway, everyone landed safely, we had a great time, and we headed back to Cairns, once we got out of our straps etc.
Later that day, we collected the DVDs and sat in Gilligans, huddled around Daves DVD player, watching the DVDs and laughing at how scared we all looked!! Good times!! :D
See the video of my skydive here.
We opted for the 14000ft dive, which is the highest you can jump from in Australia, apparently.
The jump itself cost 245dollars, and you could get the DVD for an extra 99dollars, which brought the total up to 344dollars. Pricey, but we'll see if its worth it!!
The morning of the dive, we got picked up around 8am and driven about an hour south of Cairns to a small airstrip. We drive through miles of sugar cane and some decent enough scenery to get there. There wasn't much conversation in the van on the way out, I assume due to nerves, and maybe a bit of tiredness from the lack of a lie in since Bangkok!
We arrived out there around 10am I think, and went into a little house they had beside the airstrip. There we got kitted out in our skydiving outfits and got strapped up.
The nerves were starting to kick in at this stage! None of us had ever jumped out of a plane before so didn't know what to expect. We were all paired up and told who we'd be jumping with. They came over to us and start filming the intro to the DVD, which was basically me standing there saying hello and talking about the skydive. Afterwards, we walked over to the plane in all our gear and decided what the jump order would be, ie who's going first!! Dave volunteered to go first, followed by Nikki, and then I was last. I had to get into the plane first. It was a tight squeeze. It was about 1 metre x 2 metres, with 8 people in it!!
The plane start moving, and the nerves got worse!! I kept thinking will I be able to go ahead with this, or will I freeze and look like a great big gooseberry in front of everyone! The Plane took off.
We began climbing and circling the drop zone...basically, a field adjacent to the airstrip. After 4000ft, one of the guys just jumped out. From what I gather, he was in training and doing jumps to get his dive hours up to become an instructor. When he jumped, it seemed totally natural and easy. He just jumped out and let gravity does the rest of the work! Easy!! Eh, or maybe not...
We kept climbing and climbing. Higher and higher. The instructor kept saying 5 minutes....then 3 minutes, 2 minutes, and then 1 minute to jump!! Squeaky bum time!!
After 15 minutes or so, we reached the drop zone. The door opened again. I looked out the window....it was high!! Dave was first to stop out, and then in a second, he was gone!! Nikki looked so scared, it was funny! She was up next. In a split second, she was gone too. I was next!! Holy crap!! The nerves hit me!! I moved out to the side of the plane and made the first mistake....I LOOKED DOWN!!! Sitting on the edge of that plane was so scary, but such a buzz!! If there was any time I would bottle it, it would be now!! I had to jump! I wanted to jump, but it felt so unnatural!! I couldnt bring myself to jump out of a plane!! It was crazy!! After a few seconds of my mind racing, I went for it!! I leant forward and just went for it!! I jumped right out of that plane, it was amazing!!! We went from 0-320kph in 3 seconds flat!! I couldn't breathe! I couldn't hear! The noise of the air whizing past my ears was deafening! The instructor had told us if we find it hard to breathe, its because our lungs are already full of air, and to shout or scream to clear the air out!! I let out an almighty "woooooooh!" and was back in the game! This was brilliant!! 14000ft and falling. I could see everything!! Then I couldn't breathe again!! Haha, with another yell, I was good to go again!! We kept falling and falling! It was such a rush! Like the feeling you get going over a bump in a car, except all the time!!! The freefall was 60 seconds long, but seemed much longer! The instructor kept telling me to wave to the camera!! At 320kph, its not as easy as it sounds!!
After the 60 seconds, the chute opened. With a bit of a jerk, we slowed down and began to float down, nice and peacefully....well, relatively speaking!! We were still going fast enough....well, I suppose any speed is fast when you're falling out of the sky! But once the chute opened, it went dead quiet. The instructor start chatting away to me. He was showing me the reef, the mountains, basically everything! Suddenly, I felt something open on my straps!! Then a second one went!! I "calmly enquired" what it was that opened. He told me not to worry, and that he opened them. They were just extra straps ya need for the freefall, to make sure you're attached properly when the chute opens!! Phew!! Haha.
We kept on our 6 minute descent anyway, and soon we were able to make out peoples faces. I even saw an eagle flying below us. It was great.
It was now that the instructor told me to get into my landing position. From what I've seen on TV, people land on their feet, with a bit of a run or whatever. In tandem however, you land on your ass! Yes, you land on your ass! The reasoning behind this was basically that if I land on my feet, and he comes in behind me, basically he'll snap my legs! Right so, I'll land on me ass!!
We did one last lap of the landing area and picked our landing spot. Lower and lower, almost there, I lifted up my legs, and we landed gently on the grass. I was down!! And still in 1 piece too!! What a rush!! Well worth the 300 dollars!
Next up was Donna and Ciara. We watched them dive from the field. Everything was going fine until Ciaras parachute opened. It was tangled!!! They went into a spin and lost control! After a few seconds, they ditched the chute and went onto the backup chute. Luckily, it opened! Thank god! She didn't even notice until the instructor pointed at the chute floating off in the distance and told her what had happened!! Brown trouser time!
Anyway, everyone landed safely, we had a great time, and we headed back to Cairns, once we got out of our straps etc.
Later that day, we collected the DVDs and sat in Gilligans, huddled around Daves DVD player, watching the DVDs and laughing at how scared we all looked!! Good times!! :D
See the video of my skydive here.
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