Our days spent in Sydney could not have been better planned! The morning we arrived at wake-up, our hostel there, the dark clouds loomed. What better to do on a dark day than the aquarium, apparently Australias number 1 tourist attraction. Well i'm not sure about that but it was damn cool, you literally walk under tunnels with sharks flying above your head. Sharks the size of me! Sting rays too-and all those other fish things! The powerhouse museum is pretty cool too-it has a mixture of all things, including Australian history and culture. My favourite part has to be the ecological section-which of course they would have, being as green as they are, and I even found out my carbon footprint is 5 acres! (Ruthies was 8-haha!) That evening we visited the spanish quarter-and what better to do there then enjoy some tapas-mmm.
We had read somewhere along our travels of tropfest, the largest short film festival in the world, held in Sydney and coincidently the next day! The sun shon brightly and 30,000 people came, picnics in tow, to watch the films, listen to the bands and generally soak up the atmosphere and amazing weather. Australians seem well practiced at picnics too-with picnic apparatus like you've never seen! The atmosphere was simply incredible!
Of course no trip to Sydney would be complete without a trip to the opera house and bridge. Another gloriously sunny day we headed out to get some of our obligatory pictures. The opera house is quite something! The bridge was a sight too, we contemplated walking across it but decided to be content with just imagining the walk. Instead we walked over to the rocks, an old-london style area with little ally ways and streets, and of course shops! Oh and a guylian chocolate cafe!!! To complete our tourist filled day we spend sunset up the sydney tour, their equivalent to the empire state building, and viewed the city in its entirity. Its amazing how 80% of Australias whole population lives on only 1% of its land!
Next thing on our list was Bondi Beach-the world famous, and clearly no secret. Again blessed with brilliant sunshine we relaxed and enjoyed the beach, although not the ocean seeing as over 150 people were stung by blue bottom jellyfish that day! Later in the day we walked to coogee beach, an hour and a half coastal walk which took us to another, and Australia seems to be full of them, cute beach town. That evening we checked out some of sydney's best nightlife, followed by a five star kebab (from which our mouths are still burnt!)!!
Our final full day in Australia, tear, and we did what we do best, shopped-funnily enough on 'oxford street'-although more notting hill then oxford street we walked and shopped until we were finally defeated (and suprisingly bag free)! Our last evening we went to, as we had enjoyed it in Melbourne so much, the moonlight cinema for another great picnic event! This time we saw breakfast at tiffanys and delighted in our hired bean bag beds!!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Noosa to Byron Bay
Noosa is a very cute small beach town, full of nice shops, very nice resteraunts and a few fun places to drink and dance! So that we did, we shopped, we went to the beach, we ate we drank and we danced! But be warned-no flip flops in the club-that caused me a very steep walk back to the hostel and back again (although they did give me money off entry for my valiant effort!)
Two days later we boarded another greyhound bound for Byron Bay! We stopped at Brisbane, only to change buses, although it didnt look like a particularly exciting city (apologies to anyone who lives there or is in any way emotionally attached to the place). Byron however is amazing! We knew instantly we woul dlove it, full of great shops and cafes and very alternative...shoes are not compulsory and neither is a hair brush. We stayed at a hostel called arts factory, originally famous for being a hot spot for travelling musicians. Rooms ranged from normal to buses to teepees and the place was covered in muriels and laden with hammocks. You could stay in arts factory for a week and not leave the vicinity and be quite content. In the morning Iguanas the size of my cat (whos name is treacle btw) would roam freely in the gardens and people would wear off their goon hangovers in the hammoks under the sun. Of course we wandered the shops, as we do, and made time to read on the beach-you can never visit enough beaches.
No visit to Byron Bay is complete, according to our good friend Liz, without a trip to Nimbin. Nimbin as about as alternative as it comes, which I guess is the inspiration behind Jim's tour being called- jims alternative tours. So having been picked up by jim himself we were taken to Nimbin to experience such a lifestyle. The afternoon was spent speeding through rainforests and listening to great music! We loved Jim.
We spent a few more days enjoying the relaxation haven of Arts Factory and Byron, along with goon and what appeared to be a travelling band as people wold constantly whip out guitars and trumpets and serenade us. Chilled out to the point of being horizontal it was soon time to face reality as it was time to head south to the big bad world of Sydney.
Two days later we boarded another greyhound bound for Byron Bay! We stopped at Brisbane, only to change buses, although it didnt look like a particularly exciting city (apologies to anyone who lives there or is in any way emotionally attached to the place). Byron however is amazing! We knew instantly we woul dlove it, full of great shops and cafes and very alternative...shoes are not compulsory and neither is a hair brush. We stayed at a hostel called arts factory, originally famous for being a hot spot for travelling musicians. Rooms ranged from normal to buses to teepees and the place was covered in muriels and laden with hammocks. You could stay in arts factory for a week and not leave the vicinity and be quite content. In the morning Iguanas the size of my cat (whos name is treacle btw) would roam freely in the gardens and people would wear off their goon hangovers in the hammoks under the sun. Of course we wandered the shops, as we do, and made time to read on the beach-you can never visit enough beaches.
No visit to Byron Bay is complete, according to our good friend Liz, without a trip to Nimbin. Nimbin as about as alternative as it comes, which I guess is the inspiration behind Jim's tour being called- jims alternative tours. So having been picked up by jim himself we were taken to Nimbin to experience such a lifestyle. The afternoon was spent speeding through rainforests and listening to great music! We loved Jim.
We spent a few more days enjoying the relaxation haven of Arts Factory and Byron, along with goon and what appeared to be a travelling band as people wold constantly whip out guitars and trumpets and serenade us. Chilled out to the point of being horizontal it was soon time to face reality as it was time to head south to the big bad world of Sydney.
Hervey Bay/Rainbow Beach and Fraser Island
Hervey bay is a delightful little beach town where it seems the primary purpose of visits are to take trips to fraser Island. We were here, however, just to relax, which we did. Our hostel, woolshed backpackers, was made up of little wood cabins nestled among greenery. The beach itself was beautiful, and empty-always a bonus. We walked and rested and enjoyed the sunshine, as well as being amazed by the outdoor purpose built gym equipment along the cycle/jogging path. I made many attempts to pretend I was going to go for a run an enjoy this novely but never quite made it!!
Following our short stay in Hervey Bay we travelled a few hours south to Rainbow Beach. Here our purpose was indeed to visit fraser Island! Our trip was organised through our hostel, pippies, where we met our group and had a briefing on very importand information such as how to not smash up there car and what to do upon dingo encouter! Fraser Island is apparently the largest sand Island in the world. Somehow a whole lot of sand gathered there and now vegetation grows on it. It is full of rainforests and freshwater lagoons, and apparently things that can kill you! Firstly there are the deadly dingos, which look a little larger than dogs and have a fox-like tail. But they are not so friendly, if you are lucky enough to survive a dingo encounter there are a few other things to be wary of. The ocean for example, with its strong rip tides and carpets of blue bottom jellyfish, not to mention the sharks that live in there. Back on land, where you think you are safe (providing there are no dingos nearby) one must be wary of spiders and snakes too! Australia is a dangerous place!
Still the 11 of us were acquainted with our vehicle and off we set, soon we were gliding along a beach on the way to lake mackenzie, a stunning freshwater lagoon! A bumpy sand ride later and we were in our first campsite-central station-where we set up a 'barbie' and enjoyed the wonders of goon (wine in a bag-mmmm!)...The next morning took us to a ship-wreck (who knows what ship or what happened to it but it was pretty cool) then to indian head, a big cliff where you can see the sharks swimming below, I stood back and took pictures instead! That evening our second campsite brought us to Daniel the aboriginal, who tought us the didgerydoo and gave us a great insight into the traditional way of live in Australia. Women are infact not allowed to play the didgerydoo and must ask permission to touch or talk about one. The aboriginals are traditionally friends with the islanders, including the fijians, and it did not suprise us then to hear how they used to make spears to kill people-the punishment for women who touch the didgerydoo in fact! (whether they ate them too is a mystery-we didnt fancy asking!) Our time soon came to leave fraser, which was sad as our group had all got on so well! Yet homeward bound was not so smooth sailing for while singing along to our music in the car it suddenly appeared we had indeed stopped moving. So we clambered out of the car to pull some sand out from under the tyres. Still the car would not move. We tried again. The rain came. The tide was coming in. Soon all of us were on hands and knees digging for our lives before the tide soon came in and washed the car away and we were all eaten alive by sharks! Thankfully a few kind passers by stopped and were able to tow us out and put our car back into 4 wheel drive (it had slipped to 2), and we were on our way home!
Following our short stay in Hervey Bay we travelled a few hours south to Rainbow Beach. Here our purpose was indeed to visit fraser Island! Our trip was organised through our hostel, pippies, where we met our group and had a briefing on very importand information such as how to not smash up there car and what to do upon dingo encouter! Fraser Island is apparently the largest sand Island in the world. Somehow a whole lot of sand gathered there and now vegetation grows on it. It is full of rainforests and freshwater lagoons, and apparently things that can kill you! Firstly there are the deadly dingos, which look a little larger than dogs and have a fox-like tail. But they are not so friendly, if you are lucky enough to survive a dingo encounter there are a few other things to be wary of. The ocean for example, with its strong rip tides and carpets of blue bottom jellyfish, not to mention the sharks that live in there. Back on land, where you think you are safe (providing there are no dingos nearby) one must be wary of spiders and snakes too! Australia is a dangerous place!
Still the 11 of us were acquainted with our vehicle and off we set, soon we were gliding along a beach on the way to lake mackenzie, a stunning freshwater lagoon! A bumpy sand ride later and we were in our first campsite-central station-where we set up a 'barbie' and enjoyed the wonders of goon (wine in a bag-mmmm!)...The next morning took us to a ship-wreck (who knows what ship or what happened to it but it was pretty cool) then to indian head, a big cliff where you can see the sharks swimming below, I stood back and took pictures instead! That evening our second campsite brought us to Daniel the aboriginal, who tought us the didgerydoo and gave us a great insight into the traditional way of live in Australia. Women are infact not allowed to play the didgerydoo and must ask permission to touch or talk about one. The aboriginals are traditionally friends with the islanders, including the fijians, and it did not suprise us then to hear how they used to make spears to kill people-the punishment for women who touch the didgerydoo in fact! (whether they ate them too is a mystery-we didnt fancy asking!) Our time soon came to leave fraser, which was sad as our group had all got on so well! Yet homeward bound was not so smooth sailing for while singing along to our music in the car it suddenly appeared we had indeed stopped moving. So we clambered out of the car to pull some sand out from under the tyres. Still the car would not move. We tried again. The rain came. The tide was coming in. Soon all of us were on hands and knees digging for our lives before the tide soon came in and washed the car away and we were all eaten alive by sharks! Thankfully a few kind passers by stopped and were able to tow us out and put our car back into 4 wheel drive (it had slipped to 2), and we were on our way home!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Finding Nemo...Cairns to Hervey Bay
Our journey to the North has been somewhat eventful so far! Upon leaving Melbourne we were kindly informed there was a cyclone just leaving and in fact it appears it is the wetseason in the North! So it was raining, hot, but raining nevertheless... Still Ruthie and I, determined to see what has been deemed as the largest living entity, visible from space, one of the great wonders of the world, went on our great barrier reef tour -"passions of paradise". Fish not really being my thing I was understandably sceptical, especially given the rain. Yet I have to describe it as nothing short of AMAZING, the boat was so nice and as soon as we left cairns the sun came out and we were able to lie on the sun deck, we were given a great lunch with salads! Of course this is not what makes the reef amazing, although it helps, but I was finally persuaded by one of the guides to give snorkelling a go (I had already done the glass bottom boat tour)-and he would take a ring out and tour me round the reef. My stomach in my feet I finally agreed and Ruthie and i jumped in, grabbed onto the ring and he toured us round.yes I, fish-phobe that I am- went snorkelling with all the fish-it really was incredible, the reef was one of the most amazing things ive ever seen. The fish were gorgeous, and we did find Nemo (aka clown fish) as well as dori and many other famous characters. I would say it was comparable to safari in that you think youve seen fish until you go to the great barrier reef and realise you havent! The coral was amazing too-all different colours and sizes/shapes-a whole different landscape underwater.
So that was the good news. The bad news is that the greyhound bus had stopped running south because the cyclone flooded the roads to airlie beach. Not knowing when they would open up again and pretty much stranded we decided the only thing to do wasto buy a flight otherwise we would miss our sailing trip! So we flew south in search of the sun, and yet landed in but more storms, from bush fires down south we seemed plagued by cyclones up North! When the words thunderstorms, cyclones and monsoons were mentioned we feared perhaps a sailing trip wasn't the best plan and in fear of being stranded yet again we got our bags together and got on the next available bus to the sunshine...
So here we are, in Hervey Bay, the sun is shining and it is beautiful out. We have been lying and reading and eating and drinking. There is no rain, there are no monsoons, all is right with the world!
So that was the good news. The bad news is that the greyhound bus had stopped running south because the cyclone flooded the roads to airlie beach. Not knowing when they would open up again and pretty much stranded we decided the only thing to do wasto buy a flight otherwise we would miss our sailing trip! So we flew south in search of the sun, and yet landed in but more storms, from bush fires down south we seemed plagued by cyclones up North! When the words thunderstorms, cyclones and monsoons were mentioned we feared perhaps a sailing trip wasn't the best plan and in fear of being stranded yet again we got our bags together and got on the next available bus to the sunshine...
So here we are, in Hervey Bay, the sun is shining and it is beautiful out. We have been lying and reading and eating and drinking. There is no rain, there are no monsoons, all is right with the world!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Melbourne, I live here.
We arrived late into Melbourne and got a cab straight to our hostel-BASE st Kilda, a very large red building right in the centre of a very, very cool town! St Kilda is on the coast of Melbourne and is an AMAZING PLACE! It is buzzing with quirky shops and cafes/bars all out on the street. Everything is outside! The fashion is somewhere between urban outfitters and the OC, but you could pretty much wear anythign and feel cool in this town. The food is very LA but with British terminology and in fact the culture is altogether a curious miz of British and American, it is the perfect place for our duo-today we saw a target next to a safeway! The shops sell English things but the salespeople actually help you! Ruthie and I have the perfect hair for this place too-brushing is not required and straightening even less so, so we have gone au natural and are donning great beach heads. As Ruthie said we could live here in a 'hot' second-literally, I will come back to the heat!
Our first day was spent checking out the local scene, I was pleasantly suprised when ordering an iced coffee to find not ice but ice cream-two of my favourite things in one! And who doesnt love a bit of ice cream at 9am...especially when it is 45 degrees outside. Another trait we began to notice was the automatic water delivered to your table in wine bottles-just one of Australias many ways of being green. We were intrigued by the childrens books we say with the enticing titles of 'turn off the lights' and 'don't waste water' etc...The shower has an egg timer to ensure we take less than 4 minutes worth of water and the loos, this one is great, have a dual flushing system so you don't use more water than is required for your flushing needs.
Back to the heat, its seems we arrived into the hottest heat wave since 1908, and Australia is not a cold place. The was like nothing else. Imagine walking through an oven, too hot to sit or touch anything and when a breeze hits you it feels like a hairdryer in your face. We were sweating even in air conditioning, I felt sweat in places I didn't know could sweat. It was hot! However we did not let this get the better of us and have enjoyed dining and, well dining! Next to our hostel is an amazing retro/vintage style cafe with great food, this morning I had poached eggs with sweet potato and rocket hash browns..mmmm....
Some other great things we have done include a visit to the Botanical Gardens to see twiglight on a big screen outside, at twiglight, with a big picnic and lots of wine! We ventured to the open to watch some tennis, thankfully it was cooler that day, and followed that by a drink by the river. Yesterday we bought tickets to another twighlight event, this time at the zoo. After seeing the animals, including some fast and scary looking kangaroos who seem to roam free and who people actually seem to want to pet (not me-they are big, and hop fast!)-we set up another wine fuelled picnic. So pleased to see our good friend Fiona from camp we danced, ate, sang and drank listening to a motown and blues band sing and play some great music. By the end of the night the grass was full of people of all ages dancing on the grass, think American Bandstand in the Zoo!
And so sadly our time in Melbourne has come to an end and we are preparing again to embark on the next part of our trip, flying up to Cairns this evening.
Our first day was spent checking out the local scene, I was pleasantly suprised when ordering an iced coffee to find not ice but ice cream-two of my favourite things in one! And who doesnt love a bit of ice cream at 9am...especially when it is 45 degrees outside. Another trait we began to notice was the automatic water delivered to your table in wine bottles-just one of Australias many ways of being green. We were intrigued by the childrens books we say with the enticing titles of 'turn off the lights' and 'don't waste water' etc...The shower has an egg timer to ensure we take less than 4 minutes worth of water and the loos, this one is great, have a dual flushing system so you don't use more water than is required for your flushing needs.
Back to the heat, its seems we arrived into the hottest heat wave since 1908, and Australia is not a cold place. The was like nothing else. Imagine walking through an oven, too hot to sit or touch anything and when a breeze hits you it feels like a hairdryer in your face. We were sweating even in air conditioning, I felt sweat in places I didn't know could sweat. It was hot! However we did not let this get the better of us and have enjoyed dining and, well dining! Next to our hostel is an amazing retro/vintage style cafe with great food, this morning I had poached eggs with sweet potato and rocket hash browns..mmmm....
Some other great things we have done include a visit to the Botanical Gardens to see twiglight on a big screen outside, at twiglight, with a big picnic and lots of wine! We ventured to the open to watch some tennis, thankfully it was cooler that day, and followed that by a drink by the river. Yesterday we bought tickets to another twighlight event, this time at the zoo. After seeing the animals, including some fast and scary looking kangaroos who seem to roam free and who people actually seem to want to pet (not me-they are big, and hop fast!)-we set up another wine fuelled picnic. So pleased to see our good friend Fiona from camp we danced, ate, sang and drank listening to a motown and blues band sing and play some great music. By the end of the night the grass was full of people of all ages dancing on the grass, think American Bandstand in the Zoo!
And so sadly our time in Melbourne has come to an end and we are preparing again to embark on the next part of our trip, flying up to Cairns this evening.
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