My last post was when i was headed to brisbane where i spent a couple days. Didn't do much. Mostly walked around the city, which i enjoyed, it was a great size and feel. I think if i had to live in one of the "big" cities i might choose brisbane. The evening of the second day i did a brewery tour at the XXXX (four x) brewery, which was fun and came with plenty of free tastings. later that evening i hit the town with the guys in my room, a couple of irish guys i could hardly understand. but the town was pretty dead so we headed back pretty early, they took the train and i walked which was a little scary but i actually got back just as fast.
My next stop was in Byron Bay, another place i want to return to and spend a little more time, its exactly what you would think of a surfer's town. another one main road towns, but they have done a good job keeping out the big businesses really only a big woolworths grocery store, no McDonalds, no mall or big department stores. and at night the few pubs and bars that were there had great energy, too bad it was raining and i didn't feel like getting soaked and spending money on drinks i couldn't afford at this point. The second day in town the weather was a little questionable to I decided last minute to take a tour of a nearby town called Nimbin... kind of the Amsterdam of australia. Where a certain herbal refreshments are illegal but laws aren't enforced. The bus ride was great! it was a bus from the 70s but a modern sound system blasting a great soundtrack to the adventures we were having. Most of us on the bus bought some baked goods but were a little disappointed, but we all had a fun time checking out the crazy museum and funky shops in town. the bus also took us to visit a hippie guy out in the middle of the woods, guess it was all farm land that he returned to jungle and the guy was crazy and funny. next the bus took us through world heritage forests to minyon falls. we also stopped at a few pubs and roadhouses along the way. in all it was a great day and had lots of fun. too bad i didn't get anyones email addresses they were a fun group.
when i returned to my hostel i found my stuff missing from my room and all the beds taken by other people! but luckily i was moved to a private room since a family had reserved the entire room for themselves and i was accidentally put in there too. so my that night i had a room all to myself, always a bonus in a hostel. even though this was probably one of the nicest hostels i stayed in, i think it was almost brand new.
from byron i headed back to sydney for my final stop on my trip!
after over 13 hours on the bus i arrived in sydney, quickly found my hostel and was checked in by midnight... a long day and i was ready for bed... too bad my bed was in probably the grosses room i've had yet... it smelled bad (think moldy gym socks and wet dog) and i'm pretty sure there was blood stains on my pillow, and the floor was covered in clothes and junk! i managed to fall asleep before they came back to i got woken up by the drunken laughter of 2 irish guys and a irish girl... never got their names. then they preceded to whisper loudly for the next hour, at one point the guy got in bed with the girl in the bed below me (hooray for top bunks o_O) he was begging for a some loving and luckily she was like not with these others in the room... BUT after i finally fell back asleep i was awaken by a violent shacking bed as they finished the final thrusts of passion.... eeeew gross... it was done and over before i could say anything and i was just waiting for one of them to say something to me but they never did. but on the up side in the morning i checked with the front desk to see if my case of wine from sevenhill showed up and it did!!! that made up for anything disturbing that may have happened. and even more exciting was i went on a mission to find a platypus before i left the country... and i did!!!! i went to the sydney aquarium where last time i was in town was unsuccessful in spotting any platypus, but this time spotted 3 separate ones!!! even though it was in a cage i didn't care! my "last night" in town i went out with a group from the hostel to the side bar (which i had a fun time at last time i was in town) ended up hanging out with a couple guys from holland all night and did a good job spending the rest of the cash i had before my flight in the morning.
so in the morning i grabbed my heavy box of wine, big backpack and little backpack and made my way to the lobby to wait for the shuttle to the airport... saw one of the dutch guys and when i went to say hello nothing came out! i completely lost my voice... i dont think i've ever lost my voice like this. when the bus arrived i juggled my gear out to the bus and after a short ride to the airport i began my search for the correct check in line... what luck a big united airways sign... and what better luck a big sign saying "san francisco flight cancelled" umm thats my flight! after waiting in line for like an hour i finally got to talk to a counter person and they were going to put me up in a nice hotel for a couple nights while waiting for the next flight! sweet! 2 more days in sydney! too bad i had no voice, was starting to feel pretty sick and the weather was rainy... but hey at least it was a free fancy hotel room! my own bathroom, big fluffy bed with clean sheets and 4 pillows, a big tv and an amazing view! and $15 a day for meals and drinks at the hotels bar. after i got all checked in, took a nap, i decided i had just enough time to get down to bondi beach and watch the sunset. which ended up being a little more tricky then expected... trains and buses and walking aimlessly... but i got there just in time and it was beautiful! the next day was kind of a waste, i was planning on going to the blue mountains (on most peoples don't miss list, which i did) but since it was rainy i decided it was better to explore china town and watch "transformers" that just came out... but as soon as i prebought my ticket for a later show the skys cleared enough that i regretted it... and for $18 or whatever i paid i wasn't about to just forget it and buy another bus ticket up to the mountains for +$20... i guess i have something to look forward to next time i'm in sydney. but the movie was awesome so i can't complain too much other than i could have seen the movie back home and the blue mountains are only in australia. still not feeling well i didn't do much at night, had a couple beers and fish and chips at the hotel, there was a guy playing keyboard in the bar but it was a little too weird for me so i headed back to my room and watch tv and took it easy.
next morning made my second attempt to leave the country. and was successful! all flights went smoothly except for my cough was keeping me awake so i was up nearly the entire time... i think it was nearly 24 hours of travel. Customs was fun! was worried they were going to charge me a ton for the 14 bottles of wine i brought with me but i think the guy i had was confused or something because i wasn't charged anything extra! there was a sign right there saying something like 1.5 L duty free... well i had over 10 L and still no duty! score!
Well i'm home now, still feel a little sick and my voice is finally almost back... still have a bit of a cough though. feel a little (ok alot!!) overwhelmed by what I NEED to get done in the next 6 weeks (or so) before i have to move to california and start work with pat at Jordan Winery. I have all my photos to sort through, i really want to send an email to ever person i met and make sure i keep in touch (thinking if i make an effort now, in a year or 2 when i finally can go visit they will remember me, its easy to forget or drift apart and most of the people i met i genuinely became friends with and do want to see again, its jsut a bonus if i can use that friendship to couch surf across europe :)) and theres the house... which is more of a psychological block than anything... just thinking about everything i still need to do brings on a anxiety attack and shuts me down... i need help! (in every way:-/)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Fraser island fourwheeling!!
I'm currently cruising down the east coast in the greyhound bus on the last leg of my trip, less then a week left. I can't wait to get home yet know I will be missing Australia as soon as I leave. Just said my goodbyes to my group I travelled around Fraser island with, what an adventure!!! I'm glad I had no expectations because some of my group was expecting the best part of Australia on this tiny island... Although it wasn't the best, it has to be on the don't miss list! Very unique, the whole island is a sand dune (saying I have sand everywhere would be an understatement, just praying my camera wasn't contaminated), its sand yet covered in thick jungle. The tour was a self guided trip, so basically 11 random strangers were given the keys to a jacked up toyota land cruiser, a map and camping equipment and set free to fend for ourselves! A totally different experience then a tour bus... Can't say which way I enjoy more but for a short trip like this it's the way to go. All but three English birds in our group totally clicked and we had so much fun. We had to take a ferry to the island and as soon as we got there we had to shift into 4wd and couldn't take it off till back on the mainland! All the roads were soft sand, surprisingly only getting bogged down a few times, and the best part was during low tide we could travel along the east coast beaches. Not much wildlife besides the dingos which we saw a couple of (including one while we were partying on the beach that came close to check us out), there were migrating whales off in the distance jumping out of the water which was totally amazing but could only get a couple fuzzy pictures, and also quite a few crazy birds. Also just after we finished lunch the last day a goanna came to visit, A big green spotted lizard, very cool. There was a very spectacular tranquile lake, lake mckenzie, think of a blue lagoon paradise surrounded by white sand beaches and gum trees.
My group was zach (N or S Carolina), ben(uk), kori(BC), nicky(uk), maryan(Germany), scott(uk) and his girlfriend from Spain who's name is slipping my mind, sorry. Oh and the English girls hanna, hanna and P.
-- Post From My iPhone
My group was zach (N or S Carolina), ben(uk), kori(BC), nicky(uk), maryan(Germany), scott(uk) and his girlfriend from Spain who's name is slipping my mind, sorry. Oh and the English girls hanna, hanna and P.
-- Post From My iPhone
Whitsundays sailing
I think I'm starting to get tired of travelling or I've been spoiled by having such amazing tours before but I was a little disappointed by my sailing trip.
The crew was questionable, boat well worn and weather cold and windy. Food wasn't very good, mostly prepared salads from grocery store. Most of us got bed bug bites. But besides that it was a blast! Made some great friends with the others, snorkelling was fun, nothing like diving but saw great corels, beautiful fish and others saw a shark but I missed it, and although the times we did put up the sails we almost tipped over from the gusts, that's what made it fun. If the weather would have been nice it would have been so relaxing just to lay out on the deck resting, taking the time to take in the clear blue water and pure white beaches. We made a stop on whitehaven beach which was not only beautiful but fasinating, the sand is nearly 100% silica, it made it super white, very soft, extra squeeky to walk on and always cool to the touch.
-- Post From My iPhone
The crew was questionable, boat well worn and weather cold and windy. Food wasn't very good, mostly prepared salads from grocery store. Most of us got bed bug bites. But besides that it was a blast! Made some great friends with the others, snorkelling was fun, nothing like diving but saw great corels, beautiful fish and others saw a shark but I missed it, and although the times we did put up the sails we almost tipped over from the gusts, that's what made it fun. If the weather would have been nice it would have been so relaxing just to lay out on the deck resting, taking the time to take in the clear blue water and pure white beaches. We made a stop on whitehaven beach which was not only beautiful but fasinating, the sand is nearly 100% silica, it made it super white, very soft, extra squeeky to walk on and always cool to the touch.
-- Post From My iPhone
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Airlie beach romance
Isn't it great how spending time with someone special makes only a couple days feel like a week?! Well after my long bus ride from cairns, through sugar cane fields, banana plantations and various tropical scenery, I arrived in airlie beach! Greeted by Tine in the lobby! Checked in, freshened up and headed out for a couple beers, trying Tine's fav Pure Blonde. Ended up having a couple at a little pub that had great female soloist playing covers of classic rock songs. And that's were the romance began haha... It was a long day for me and was fairly tired so wasn't up for a big night out drinking and headed back to the hostel before too late. I went in for a good night kiss, and to my surprise I got a kiss back.
Oh I really like this girl but have to play it cool and not get attached, I mean she's from Denmark. I had the best time I've had in a really long time with her. We basically spent every moment together for the next 36 hours, looking back now all I can do is smile. It's sad but so happy at the same time. I travel halfway round the world and connected with someone like this and even though I don't know where to go from here, I'm not sad she's gone but happy to have shared the time that we did. But I do keep on struggling with a thought (and sorry this might get mushy), I am trying to figure out what I did so right to get such an amazing person like her (who I feel is out of my league) to look at me like she does, someone that makes me smile deep down, someone I want to know everything about but find myself not saying a word and enjoying the comfort of the silence... and what can I do back home so I can meet someone else to feel that exact same way again... But there's the struggle... I already met someone with all those attributes and feelings for... Tine :-/
But that's life, what will happen, will happen. I don't exactly believe in fate but I feel blessed our paths did cross. And hope to spend more time together soon.
We spent the next day either laying at the lagoon, walking along the ocean, spliting a pizza and watermelon, or through the town, then a night in watching a movie and being close. In the morning I prepared for my trip, another nutella breakfast, shopping then leaving Tine sunbathing by the lagoon to catch my sail boat.
Like I said it was sad to go but so happy for the company and time spent.
-- Post From My iPhone
Oh I really like this girl but have to play it cool and not get attached, I mean she's from Denmark. I had the best time I've had in a really long time with her. We basically spent every moment together for the next 36 hours, looking back now all I can do is smile. It's sad but so happy at the same time. I travel halfway round the world and connected with someone like this and even though I don't know where to go from here, I'm not sad she's gone but happy to have shared the time that we did. But I do keep on struggling with a thought (and sorry this might get mushy), I am trying to figure out what I did so right to get such an amazing person like her (who I feel is out of my league) to look at me like she does, someone that makes me smile deep down, someone I want to know everything about but find myself not saying a word and enjoying the comfort of the silence... and what can I do back home so I can meet someone else to feel that exact same way again... But there's the struggle... I already met someone with all those attributes and feelings for... Tine :-/
But that's life, what will happen, will happen. I don't exactly believe in fate but I feel blessed our paths did cross. And hope to spend more time together soon.
We spent the next day either laying at the lagoon, walking along the ocean, spliting a pizza and watermelon, or through the town, then a night in watching a movie and being close. In the morning I prepared for my trip, another nutella breakfast, shopping then leaving Tine sunbathing by the lagoon to catch my sail boat.
Like I said it was sad to go but so happy for the company and time spent.
-- Post From My iPhone
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Great Barrier Reef S.C.U.B.A. Adventure
Wow the past 5 days have been nothing short of magical! Haha
First I had 2 days of classroom work and pool training. My group started out with 5 people but one guy failed the medical physical because he had low lung volume or something and another girl couldn't get up the courage to drop to the bottom of the pool (15ft) and breathe from the scuba tank. So my class ended up being 3 strong! Derryn, my 1st scuba partner, who is a young pilot with Qantas on a forced week vacation do to cut backs. And the lovely Carolina, my 2nd dive partner after derryns wife met us on day2 on the boat. 18 or 19 y/o german just starting her 9 month or so travelling and working around Australia. And there was our instructor Morgan and an assistant Ryan, who were very fun and because of the small group we got great training from them, skill tests like mask removal and replacement, regulator mouthpiece removal and recovery, out of air buddy breathing, BCD (vest,hoses,tank) removal and replacement... all things that could accidently happen underwater 50ft down so must be confident can be fixed safely because going straight to the surface could give you the "bends" or kill you. We finished our skill tests underwater so fast we had plenty of extra air to play/practice at the end of the day.
The third day we headed out to sea! Boarded the Sunkist which was the companies day trip boat and transfered us to the Kangaroo Explorer! The livesboard vessel I lived on for 3 days! Although it wasn't in the best shape, the food and equipment not state of the art... I honestly couldn't imagine having a better experience!!! The weather was perfect, visability in the water was unbelievable! Seriously amazing and unforgettable!
After we checked into our rooms, had a quick bite to eat, we had a pre-dive brief for the 1st of 4 required dives we needed to make to become open water certified, given info like what skills we were going to be testing and a map of the reef. Before putting on all the equipment we were tested on snorkelling skills only wearing our wetsuits, fins and masks... Giving us our first glimps of the reef! Oh and the water was so warm, at least 26C on ever dive. This site was West Timor (I'm hoping I can find all our sites on google earth when I get back, I think I heard we were like 50 kms off shore so there's nice point of reference when we moved to boat.) we hopped back on the boat, geared up, buddy checks, then jumped back in for a 30 minute dive down to 12 meters. A little exploring but basically we were just tested on skills, we actually got all of them in this first dive so the remaining dives became guided fun dives (need to be with instructor till certified, always with a buddy). Found out I am a heavier breather than everyone else I always was running low before anyone else... Required by law to return with 50 bar remaining, which rarely happened for me. After the boat moved to a new site we all prepared for the next dive, another brief then suited up! This site was called club 10, this dive also was to 12 m for about 25 minutes. But this time is was all exploring! The colors were so vivid, the blue of the water was unreal and the coral, plants and fish had incredible colors! Highlights included a black lion fish, quite a few "nemo" clown fish hiding in aenonome (sp?), a blue spotted stingray and a couple huge triggerfish... Plus tons more but too many to know names. That ended day1 on the boat and the best intro to the GBR I could have asked for.
Next day we were awoken @ 5:30 and briefed and in water before sunrise so we could watch it just before decent... One of those bucketlist worthy experiences!!! And we had the camera guy following us around all morning so we did fun things like a james bond entry into the water... A front flip in off the back of the boat, surprised none of us lost a mask or something. This dive site was at three sisters @ Milne reef. It was a 18meter dive for 27 minutes making a few laps around the 3rd sister. Highlights were seeing my 1st green sea turtle (nearly pet it but swam away), literally millions of fish all shapes and sizes!!, my fav was a little bed of aenonome with about 3 different types if clown fish (nemos). After breakfast and a rest we jumped back in this time being video taped the whole time underwater. Did a couple funny things for the camera like we could take off our mask and put on sunglasses or take out our reg and pretend to drink a beer, the assistant Ryan wore extra weights and tried to walk along the ground. And since this dive completed our course requirments we all were also presented with our certification cards underwater for the camera! Highlights were my 1st white tip reef shark! Over a meter in length, parrot fish munching on the coral, more stingrays, a purple flat worm the guide picked up and dropped so we could see it swim which was very interesting and cool, they tried to get a puffer fish to blow up but didn't and i even played with a nemo fish till it bit my finger! Caught on tape! This dive was down to 15 meters for 35 minutes, the last 5min I actually was breathing off the guides tank because I got down to 25 bar (50 minimum by law, oops, but my buddy derryn did too).
At this point we were certified which meant we could go dive just with a buddy... Which meant I lost my buddy derryn for his wife but I got Caroline for my replacement... I think we both got an upgrade ;-) at least better looking haha did I mention Carolina was smoking hot haha after lunch and a brief we jumped back in, still at the three sisters site, not exactly sure where we went, was planning on the 1st sister but think it might have been the 2nd... But we had fun getting lost, following other groups and were very excited then when we did head back we found a mooring line, to bad it was the front of the boat which meant I was way confused, but hey we found our way back to the boat on our 1st dive together and alone. My 6th dive might have been my most interesting and gave me the most anxiety... My first night dive! The full moon didn't offer much help 10 meters down so all we had to rely on were our flashlights. It where up being great, maybe the most interesting, as you shined your light over the coral you could see all the eyes of little critters, mostly shrimp like things, I found a puffer fish, saw lots of blue spotted stingrays, the red bass were using our lights to help spot little fish to catch, best if all we saw a shark (scary eye reflections) and a turtle that I caught up to and pet. After a shower and a couple beers I couldn't be bothered with the fun up on the moon deck, playing cards and more drinking, looked at the stars fir a while and promptly went to bed. Up again @5:30 for the sunrise out on the water... Just me and Carolina... Couldn't have been more romantic.... Too bad she had no interest in me :-/ but it didn't matter cause it was so freaking beautiful! One of a few reasons to get up that early and put on a cold damp wetsuit and jump in the ocean (which was actually warmer than the air temp) at the three sisters still, same dive as previous morning at 3rd sister, this time as we decentrd Carolina pointed out a sleeping shark just below us on the ground, was itwaiting fir breakfast?!?!!! Haha I found the perfect angle which had the sunrise colors shining down through about a million fish overhead.... Hard to describe how awesome of a sight! Dive 8 Carolina and I attempted to not get lost with success and I think I'd have to say it was my favorite dive!!! Saw a couple turtles (maybe same one circling back round) but we both gave it a big back rub that they love they close their eyes and stop swimming away, followed one turtle around for a few minutes as our personal guide, played with Christmas tree worms which look like a multi color christmas tree sticking out of a hole in the coral and if u reach for it they retract and hide in their little hole, and I'm pretty sure we saw at least 2 if not 3 different white tip sharks! The biggest of them was our closest encounter, as we turned a corner of reef it was just there eye level with us, I swear Carolina tried to jump back behind me but I was there ready to punch it right in the face if it touched my girl! Haha and during our safety stop (@5m for 3min) I played with more nemos trying to get them to bite my finger:-) so awesome! Only part that was bad was the tiny jelly fish that were stinging me on my legs and hands. Our last dive (my #9) was at a site called manyaray bay, with hope of seeing a manta ray! They can be huge! But no one saw any. I guided Carolina and I around fir the most part with the other dives so I told her I was going to follow this time, it was a fairly shallow site so lots of light and all the colors popped (deeper the reds and oranges don't make it so everything looks a little blue monotone)saw a couple big bright blue starfish, huge giant clams (2-3ft) with bright colored lips, and played with more nemos, Christmas tree worms and the clams. Best part was since it was mostly a shallow dive my air lasted much longer, we actually stopped early because we were getting tired.
So that was it, my trip to and living on the great barrier reef for 3 days. Again I can't imagine it being anymore amazing, the conditions were perfect!
Last night everyone that left the boat headed down to the woolshed in cairns for a bit of free beer and pizza, goldfish racing and dancing on the tables!!!! I left about midnight since I'm currently on a 11 hr greyhound bus ride that left 9am to airlie beach where im going to meet up with Tine again, hopefully dinner and a nice walk down the beach then its off on my next adventure aboard the Habibi sail boat for 3 days!
-- Post From My iPhone
First I had 2 days of classroom work and pool training. My group started out with 5 people but one guy failed the medical physical because he had low lung volume or something and another girl couldn't get up the courage to drop to the bottom of the pool (15ft) and breathe from the scuba tank. So my class ended up being 3 strong! Derryn, my 1st scuba partner, who is a young pilot with Qantas on a forced week vacation do to cut backs. And the lovely Carolina, my 2nd dive partner after derryns wife met us on day2 on the boat. 18 or 19 y/o german just starting her 9 month or so travelling and working around Australia. And there was our instructor Morgan and an assistant Ryan, who were very fun and because of the small group we got great training from them, skill tests like mask removal and replacement, regulator mouthpiece removal and recovery, out of air buddy breathing, BCD (vest,hoses,tank) removal and replacement... all things that could accidently happen underwater 50ft down so must be confident can be fixed safely because going straight to the surface could give you the "bends" or kill you. We finished our skill tests underwater so fast we had plenty of extra air to play/practice at the end of the day.
The third day we headed out to sea! Boarded the Sunkist which was the companies day trip boat and transfered us to the Kangaroo Explorer! The livesboard vessel I lived on for 3 days! Although it wasn't in the best shape, the food and equipment not state of the art... I honestly couldn't imagine having a better experience!!! The weather was perfect, visability in the water was unbelievable! Seriously amazing and unforgettable!
After we checked into our rooms, had a quick bite to eat, we had a pre-dive brief for the 1st of 4 required dives we needed to make to become open water certified, given info like what skills we were going to be testing and a map of the reef. Before putting on all the equipment we were tested on snorkelling skills only wearing our wetsuits, fins and masks... Giving us our first glimps of the reef! Oh and the water was so warm, at least 26C on ever dive. This site was West Timor (I'm hoping I can find all our sites on google earth when I get back, I think I heard we were like 50 kms off shore so there's nice point of reference when we moved to boat.) we hopped back on the boat, geared up, buddy checks, then jumped back in for a 30 minute dive down to 12 meters. A little exploring but basically we were just tested on skills, we actually got all of them in this first dive so the remaining dives became guided fun dives (need to be with instructor till certified, always with a buddy). Found out I am a heavier breather than everyone else I always was running low before anyone else... Required by law to return with 50 bar remaining, which rarely happened for me. After the boat moved to a new site we all prepared for the next dive, another brief then suited up! This site was called club 10, this dive also was to 12 m for about 25 minutes. But this time is was all exploring! The colors were so vivid, the blue of the water was unreal and the coral, plants and fish had incredible colors! Highlights included a black lion fish, quite a few "nemo" clown fish hiding in aenonome (sp?), a blue spotted stingray and a couple huge triggerfish... Plus tons more but too many to know names. That ended day1 on the boat and the best intro to the GBR I could have asked for.
Next day we were awoken @ 5:30 and briefed and in water before sunrise so we could watch it just before decent... One of those bucketlist worthy experiences!!! And we had the camera guy following us around all morning so we did fun things like a james bond entry into the water... A front flip in off the back of the boat, surprised none of us lost a mask or something. This dive site was at three sisters @ Milne reef. It was a 18meter dive for 27 minutes making a few laps around the 3rd sister. Highlights were seeing my 1st green sea turtle (nearly pet it but swam away), literally millions of fish all shapes and sizes!!, my fav was a little bed of aenonome with about 3 different types if clown fish (nemos). After breakfast and a rest we jumped back in this time being video taped the whole time underwater. Did a couple funny things for the camera like we could take off our mask and put on sunglasses or take out our reg and pretend to drink a beer, the assistant Ryan wore extra weights and tried to walk along the ground. And since this dive completed our course requirments we all were also presented with our certification cards underwater for the camera! Highlights were my 1st white tip reef shark! Over a meter in length, parrot fish munching on the coral, more stingrays, a purple flat worm the guide picked up and dropped so we could see it swim which was very interesting and cool, they tried to get a puffer fish to blow up but didn't and i even played with a nemo fish till it bit my finger! Caught on tape! This dive was down to 15 meters for 35 minutes, the last 5min I actually was breathing off the guides tank because I got down to 25 bar (50 minimum by law, oops, but my buddy derryn did too).
At this point we were certified which meant we could go dive just with a buddy... Which meant I lost my buddy derryn for his wife but I got Caroline for my replacement... I think we both got an upgrade ;-) at least better looking haha did I mention Carolina was smoking hot haha after lunch and a brief we jumped back in, still at the three sisters site, not exactly sure where we went, was planning on the 1st sister but think it might have been the 2nd... But we had fun getting lost, following other groups and were very excited then when we did head back we found a mooring line, to bad it was the front of the boat which meant I was way confused, but hey we found our way back to the boat on our 1st dive together and alone. My 6th dive might have been my most interesting and gave me the most anxiety... My first night dive! The full moon didn't offer much help 10 meters down so all we had to rely on were our flashlights. It where up being great, maybe the most interesting, as you shined your light over the coral you could see all the eyes of little critters, mostly shrimp like things, I found a puffer fish, saw lots of blue spotted stingrays, the red bass were using our lights to help spot little fish to catch, best if all we saw a shark (scary eye reflections) and a turtle that I caught up to and pet. After a shower and a couple beers I couldn't be bothered with the fun up on the moon deck, playing cards and more drinking, looked at the stars fir a while and promptly went to bed. Up again @5:30 for the sunrise out on the water... Just me and Carolina... Couldn't have been more romantic.... Too bad she had no interest in me :-/ but it didn't matter cause it was so freaking beautiful! One of a few reasons to get up that early and put on a cold damp wetsuit and jump in the ocean (which was actually warmer than the air temp) at the three sisters still, same dive as previous morning at 3rd sister, this time as we decentrd Carolina pointed out a sleeping shark just below us on the ground, was itwaiting fir breakfast?!?!!! Haha I found the perfect angle which had the sunrise colors shining down through about a million fish overhead.... Hard to describe how awesome of a sight! Dive 8 Carolina and I attempted to not get lost with success and I think I'd have to say it was my favorite dive!!! Saw a couple turtles (maybe same one circling back round) but we both gave it a big back rub that they love they close their eyes and stop swimming away, followed one turtle around for a few minutes as our personal guide, played with Christmas tree worms which look like a multi color christmas tree sticking out of a hole in the coral and if u reach for it they retract and hide in their little hole, and I'm pretty sure we saw at least 2 if not 3 different white tip sharks! The biggest of them was our closest encounter, as we turned a corner of reef it was just there eye level with us, I swear Carolina tried to jump back behind me but I was there ready to punch it right in the face if it touched my girl! Haha and during our safety stop (@5m for 3min) I played with more nemos trying to get them to bite my finger:-) so awesome! Only part that was bad was the tiny jelly fish that were stinging me on my legs and hands. Our last dive (my #9) was at a site called manyaray bay, with hope of seeing a manta ray! They can be huge! But no one saw any. I guided Carolina and I around fir the most part with the other dives so I told her I was going to follow this time, it was a fairly shallow site so lots of light and all the colors popped (deeper the reds and oranges don't make it so everything looks a little blue monotone)saw a couple big bright blue starfish, huge giant clams (2-3ft) with bright colored lips, and played with more nemos, Christmas tree worms and the clams. Best part was since it was mostly a shallow dive my air lasted much longer, we actually stopped early because we were getting tired.
So that was it, my trip to and living on the great barrier reef for 3 days. Again I can't imagine it being anymore amazing, the conditions were perfect!
Last night everyone that left the boat headed down to the woolshed in cairns for a bit of free beer and pizza, goldfish racing and dancing on the tables!!!! I left about midnight since I'm currently on a 11 hr greyhound bus ride that left 9am to airlie beach where im going to meet up with Tine again, hopefully dinner and a nice walk down the beach then its off on my next adventure aboard the Habibi sail boat for 3 days!
-- Post From My iPhone
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
My 2day cape tribulation & Daintree jungle adventure
The first stop we were making was in port Douglas and was so happy to hear we would have time to get a coffee or breakfast because they meant I would have enough time to meet up with Tine (perhaps one last time) and I did. Had coffees with her and her cousin, too short tho :-( funny thing was as we were walking back to the bus the were talking about where they might get breakfast, and we past a place with a sign for pancakes, tine's favorite, I laughed... Later found out she did go there.
After a beautiful drive along the coast and through sugar cane fields through to the rainforest we stopped in mossman gorge for a short walk. Wow this is true jungle, thick and dense. Then headed deeper in, catching a ferry to cross another croc infested river, stopping for lunch where I walked down to the beach to enjoy mine. Then I was dropped of at my hostel, this could be a full day trip or 2 days, I'll be getting picked up same time tomorrow. My place was only a short walk from the actual cape tribulation that this area gets it's name from. Spent all of the afternoon roaming the beach and checking out a few hidden spots, it's beautiful here... Paradise! The hostel was crazy, I took a short nap but it was already starting to get noisy by 5 so I headed in to the bar to see what was happening. Crazyness was happening! Had a drunken fun night if drinking games and nearly getting kicked out... But when your in a group of 25 and all buying lots of drinks I think your untouchable! Started out with simple kings card game but turned to much louder hand clapping, tabletop pounding games. Something called f#%-ya... It was not east drunk. Later they started to play the questions game, but it turned into stripping questions... I kindly disappeared and played pool but could see most if the girls stopped at their bikinis/underwear but a couple guys went all the way, quickly asked to put it back on or leave by the bar staff tho.
In the morning I checked out of my room and headed off to explore the beach south of the hostel and go on an interpretive jungle walk. Kept myself busy till I needed to meet the bus at 12:50. Was walking up to the pickup point @ 12:45 just in time to see my his drive away!!!! I about pissed myself! The rest of my trip is back to back so I can't get stuck in the jungle 5 hours from cell reception! But luckily after about 15mins he came back after he dropped off a few other people. From there we drove a little and went for a walk on the marrdja botanical boardwalk... Bit of the same as I saw earlier, mangroves, ferns, vines you could swing on like Tarzan and weird wildlife, 2 new ones though, a jungle dragon and an archer fish. Another quick stop at the Alexander lookout to see the mouth of the Daintree river then back to where the ferry crossing was fir a awesome river cruise! Huge croc nsmed scar face was incharge if this area and we found him, all 15 feet! Also saw a few snakes and interesting birds and other small crocs chilling on shore. Then back on the road back to cairns. I decent tour but lacked the fun and friendship I was spoiled with on my long tours.
Hung out at my cool hostel, watched then play coconut bowling and I had the BBQ ribs for dinner and a couple beers. Turned in early and prepared for my scuba adventure that starts in the morning.
-- Post From My iPhone
After a beautiful drive along the coast and through sugar cane fields through to the rainforest we stopped in mossman gorge for a short walk. Wow this is true jungle, thick and dense. Then headed deeper in, catching a ferry to cross another croc infested river, stopping for lunch where I walked down to the beach to enjoy mine. Then I was dropped of at my hostel, this could be a full day trip or 2 days, I'll be getting picked up same time tomorrow. My place was only a short walk from the actual cape tribulation that this area gets it's name from. Spent all of the afternoon roaming the beach and checking out a few hidden spots, it's beautiful here... Paradise! The hostel was crazy, I took a short nap but it was already starting to get noisy by 5 so I headed in to the bar to see what was happening. Crazyness was happening! Had a drunken fun night if drinking games and nearly getting kicked out... But when your in a group of 25 and all buying lots of drinks I think your untouchable! Started out with simple kings card game but turned to much louder hand clapping, tabletop pounding games. Something called f#%-ya... It was not east drunk. Later they started to play the questions game, but it turned into stripping questions... I kindly disappeared and played pool but could see most if the girls stopped at their bikinis/underwear but a couple guys went all the way, quickly asked to put it back on or leave by the bar staff tho.
In the morning I checked out of my room and headed off to explore the beach south of the hostel and go on an interpretive jungle walk. Kept myself busy till I needed to meet the bus at 12:50. Was walking up to the pickup point @ 12:45 just in time to see my his drive away!!!! I about pissed myself! The rest of my trip is back to back so I can't get stuck in the jungle 5 hours from cell reception! But luckily after about 15mins he came back after he dropped off a few other people. From there we drove a little and went for a walk on the marrdja botanical boardwalk... Bit of the same as I saw earlier, mangroves, ferns, vines you could swing on like Tarzan and weird wildlife, 2 new ones though, a jungle dragon and an archer fish. Another quick stop at the Alexander lookout to see the mouth of the Daintree river then back to where the ferry crossing was fir a awesome river cruise! Huge croc nsmed scar face was incharge if this area and we found him, all 15 feet! Also saw a few snakes and interesting birds and other small crocs chilling on shore. Then back on the road back to cairns. I decent tour but lacked the fun and friendship I was spoiled with on my long tours.
Hung out at my cool hostel, watched then play coconut bowling and I had the BBQ ribs for dinner and a couple beers. Turned in early and prepared for my scuba adventure that starts in the morning.
-- Post From My iPhone
5/30-31 Darwin sweats and cairns showers
What a pleasant surprise! Tine and I ended up both at the same hostel and randomly have the same flight to cairns the next day!
Once again I did the same thing I always seem to do on my free days... Sleep off a hangover, laundry, call mom and wander the town aimlessly. At least this time I had someone to meet back up with later. Darwin was discustingly hot and humid, the kind of day as soon as you get out of the shower and dry off you feel like you need another shower... So tine and I hung out pool side most of the afternoon, she was looking smoking in her bikini trying to bronze up her pale Danish skin while I was chasing the shade to I didn't burn haha. Later the 2 of us headed for the wharf to get some fresh seafood for dinner. It was fun to finally get lost with someone else! It's the best! We had a great night, dare I say romantic, we sat on the wharf's edge and there were lights shining into the water so you could see fish when a fry or something "accidently" fell in, huge fish and later dolphins were playing there too. We split our meals she had a great platter of fish and chips and I had the mix basket of calimari, shrimp, fish and crab... All over a couple beers. Took our time walking back (getting only a little lost) and even stopped for icecreams. Meant to be to bed early since our flight was at 5am pickup at 3 but we were having too much fun.
Didn't even feel like I fell asleep, should have just stayed up all night having fun and not paid for a room. The flight went well, we were able to change seats and sit next to each other.., not that it mattered though we both slept the whole flight haha. But that's where our paths parted, I was staying in cairns but she was headed north to port Douglas to meet up with her cousin at a resort. It was fun to travel with tine, she's very positive, a great smile, very interesting and smart, I can't wait to visit her in Copenhagen.
Cairns didn't have the best weather, assuming it was only cloudy I went fir a walk to downtown about 2kms from my hostel... But halfway there it started to pour rain! Grrr... Here I am in paradice on a water front board walk running for cover! Darn tropics! :-) didn't do much the rest of the day, chilled out, played on the Internet and caught up on sleep and prepared for my jungle adventure!
-- Post From My iPhone
Once again I did the same thing I always seem to do on my free days... Sleep off a hangover, laundry, call mom and wander the town aimlessly. At least this time I had someone to meet back up with later. Darwin was discustingly hot and humid, the kind of day as soon as you get out of the shower and dry off you feel like you need another shower... So tine and I hung out pool side most of the afternoon, she was looking smoking in her bikini trying to bronze up her pale Danish skin while I was chasing the shade to I didn't burn haha. Later the 2 of us headed for the wharf to get some fresh seafood for dinner. It was fun to finally get lost with someone else! It's the best! We had a great night, dare I say romantic, we sat on the wharf's edge and there were lights shining into the water so you could see fish when a fry or something "accidently" fell in, huge fish and later dolphins were playing there too. We split our meals she had a great platter of fish and chips and I had the mix basket of calimari, shrimp, fish and crab... All over a couple beers. Took our time walking back (getting only a little lost) and even stopped for icecreams. Meant to be to bed early since our flight was at 5am pickup at 3 but we were having too much fun.
Didn't even feel like I fell asleep, should have just stayed up all night having fun and not paid for a room. The flight went well, we were able to change seats and sit next to each other.., not that it mattered though we both slept the whole flight haha. But that's where our paths parted, I was staying in cairns but she was headed north to port Douglas to meet up with her cousin at a resort. It was fun to travel with tine, she's very positive, a great smile, very interesting and smart, I can't wait to visit her in Copenhagen.
Cairns didn't have the best weather, assuming it was only cloudy I went fir a walk to downtown about 2kms from my hostel... But halfway there it started to pour rain! Grrr... Here I am in paradice on a water front board walk running for cover! Darn tropics! :-) didn't do much the rest of the day, chilled out, played on the Internet and caught up on sleep and prepared for my jungle adventure!
-- Post From My iPhone
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
The rest of my outback safari!
I hate to do it but since I was having so much fun and didn't keep up on daily blog entries I gotta do one massive one. But I do have to say I'm having one of those "best time if my life" moments! Seeing incredible things and meeting amazing people. Seem to always feel a little heartbroken at the end of each tour. It's a little too much actually, I'm trying to remember back through all the different tour groups I had and I'm a little fuzzy on names and places I went to! But I'm sure once I slow down, have a chance to go through my pics (thousands of them!) and catch up on facebook it will all sort out. Anyways it's so much at once!
End day 6
I last left you just as I pulled on to alice springs, the end of my tour with the drive Kiwi (who now despise, but I won't go into that, but u can guess why). The whole tour group went out for dinner at a great western theme saloon pub called Bojangles, I had a lamb shank, almost got a camel meat pie. Since we all had the next couple days free and had been travelling hard it turned into a long night of drinking and dancing!! I left at the first chance I saw someone leaving since I was exhausted! Sandra, Anne maria, kiwi and I walk... Skipped and piggyback rode our way back to the hostel. K&S sprinted away at the last moment and disappeared :-/ ... Guess you could say she got away
Day 7&8
Free days in alice springs. Did the usually on my free days slept off a hang over, laundry and roam the town aimlessly! Basically took it as easy as possible and rested. One of the nights we went to a little hippy pub/hostel called annie's and I feel like really got to know Anne maria (german), anna and emeile (both swedish). It was magic pitchers of beer that night, never seemed to run out but nine of us were buying.
Day 9
New tour! Alice to darwin, new guides (Scottie and michelle) and a couple new faces a few austrians that kept to themselves (besides to complain) and amy from perth funny (but loud). Next couple days we covered so many miles it was sickening! Didn't matter when we saw amazing things we just wanted to be done for the day! Our 1st stop that day was as we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn (u know that latitude line on the globe? Basically we were entering the tropics!) Stopped at an old (out of use) telegraph station, interesting history there about aboriginals attacking the operaters. Stopped at a funky town Wycliffe Well, sort of the roswell of OZ, "secret" airforce base nearby, lots of alien yard art and paintings and roadhouse filled with clippings and fuzzy pics of UFOs. I loved it! ;-) next stop was a highlight!, Devils marbles, huge sphereical rock formation in the middle of nowhere, hiked around and on them, super strange. Lots more driving, stopped for firewood, saw huge spider and arrived in tennet creek at our camp late... Had lots of alcohol related rules since the owners of the cattle ranch we were staying at hated us backpackers ruining the peace out there. But fireside that night I finally got to learn how to play a didgerido!! And I was able to play, voted the best that night!
Day10
Up before the sun again for another day of driving! But the sunrise thatmorning made it worth it. A few roadhouse stops aka pee and coffee while they refueled the bus. Funny side note: not allowed on the bus during refueling! The roadhouse in dunmarra had reptiles for us to hold, black headed python and big monitor lizard. 1st major stop was at Daly Water, at it's very famous roadhouse. Even got a special tour guide, 9 year old bailey. Kept us entertained while he showed us around the old postoffice, school, store, jail (all one building). Then we all chilled out at the pub which was filled with things stapled to the walls by travellers...currency, ID cards, badges, patches, heaps of underwear. I left a US dollar bill. More driving, stopped at one roadhouse with cages of exotic birds and even a croc in a cage next to the swimming pool(not sure I would swim if given the chance). Lunch was late @3 again, had the chance but didnt float down a creek heated by hot springs (too hot and smelt like eggs) End of the day was in Kathrine. Before heading to the camp site we spent time at an aboriginal culture center. Taught to do paintings, I did a cool kangaroo. Pet an emu. And in the dark we saw a few animals, cane toads and a huge green tree frog which sandra tried kissing to see if it became a prince. Night came to a close fireside, drinking and playing didgeridos.
Day 11
I was peer pressured into taking a helicopter tour of Katherine gorge since 2 people were require and Anne maria really wanted to go... It was a fun experience but not really worth the money. Later met up with the rest of the group for a boring hike with a huge reward! Swimming up to and under a waterfall! It was amazing! The best was to float facing up about 10 yards from the fall... Water was falling over 100feet. A little driving to another falls but no swimming, but had lunch. A few short stops here and there till a cool purple sunet before arriving in Darwin. Met up with most of the group for pizza and beers... As usual sandra, Anne maria and I ended up passing a bottle of wine around chatting till bed time.
Day 12
Start of the 4wd kakadu tour! New guide Deblin. New group, out with the rude Austrian in with a german couple, a german filmmaker and Tine (pronounced Tina) and a new bus! This thing is heavy duty, look like more if a dump truck than a tour bus.
1st stop was at some giant termite mounds, huge! Over 15 foot tall, made by bugs small as ants! Too cool. Even saw weird ones made my magnetic termites, flat, looked like tombstones. Spent most of the morning playing in the water, first a rocky waterhole/slide then again swimming around waterfalls. This waterfall was much larger and powerful, but I had to swim through it! Haha which wasn't easy, the closer I got the more mist was blinding me and making it hard to breathe then just as I finally got to ur the water starts to push down on you... Extreme! But i made it! Rested afterwards with my bikini babes. I think it was called Florence falls. Just as we were finishing out hotdogs over campfire lunch a big water moniter lizard came out of nowhere to check us out, very unusal looking. The ride was starting to get rough, but that's what we wanted! Over bug rocks, through river crossings and around billabongs. Learned about the 2 seasons here...the wet and the dry... Basically alot of the land we are visiting is underwater 1/2 the year. And to help prevent big bush fires they do control burns, which just started... Cooling seeing all the fire but very smokey... But did make for a better sunset, very red! But before that we went on a river cruise before dusk looking for crocs! And did we see them! Both freshwater (nice) and salties (bad,aggressive). That night the mozzies were aweful and attacked everyone... Still covered! And there were a few geckos on our tent walls, sandra tried to grab one but it lost it's tail (which is a normal defence) but we told her she killed it!
Day 13
More rough riding. Tried sleeping on the bus but impossible. Saw some wild horses (not sure I mentioned the wild camels we saw near Uluru) more river crossing and 4wd through twisting sandy roads, very fun. Stopped to hike to twin falls, which required a short ferry ride through more croc infested water, which we actually saw one and when we returned they caught it because it was a bad saltie. The falls was massive and we all rested and hung out enjoying the surroundings for a while before heading back. Next we headed to jim jim falls another waterfall to swim up to. Only this time it was twice as tall and twice as far to get to... Not to mention I was freaking myself out about halfway there thinking just below me in the black cold deep water a croc (like all the signs at the beginning of the hike mentioned) was hiding waiting to pull me under! The hike there and back was extreme, basically walking in giant boulders, one slip and you could really hurt yourself. Camp at Jabiru was a welcome site, very exhausts after the days activites... Again sat up late drinking with my girls.
Day 14
Our last day :-(((
Slept in ha ha just after sunset we broke camp and headed out. Checked out the east alligator river, no crocs. Then went on a walking tour of Ubirr, a aboriginal rock art site. Amazing stuff! Some ancient some modern (less the 50 years). Ended up top a great lookout and took the opportunity to get group shots. Had so much fun. Sad because we all knew it would be goodbye soon. Lunch near a beautiful billabong then back on the road headed back to Darwin!
That night we went out in style. It was me and my ladies! Sandra, Anne maria, anna, emeile, and Tine (and the goofy Italian vinchenzo sp?) we decided to find a place serving crocodile! And we all agreed it tasted like chicken. Haha sandra and I also split a dozen oysters. Afterwords we headed to a nightclub for a bit more drinking and dancing. Turned into a crazy night! Sandra and I even ended up partners on stage for a game...later ended up on the table dancing. Later still had to take the girls to be picked up by a taxi headed fir the airport and say my final goodbyes.., lots of kisses for tommy but still was very sad.
-- Post From My iPhone
End day 6
I last left you just as I pulled on to alice springs, the end of my tour with the drive Kiwi (who now despise, but I won't go into that, but u can guess why). The whole tour group went out for dinner at a great western theme saloon pub called Bojangles, I had a lamb shank, almost got a camel meat pie. Since we all had the next couple days free and had been travelling hard it turned into a long night of drinking and dancing!! I left at the first chance I saw someone leaving since I was exhausted! Sandra, Anne maria, kiwi and I walk... Skipped and piggyback rode our way back to the hostel. K&S sprinted away at the last moment and disappeared :-/ ... Guess you could say she got away
Day 7&8
Free days in alice springs. Did the usually on my free days slept off a hang over, laundry and roam the town aimlessly! Basically took it as easy as possible and rested. One of the nights we went to a little hippy pub/hostel called annie's and I feel like really got to know Anne maria (german), anna and emeile (both swedish). It was magic pitchers of beer that night, never seemed to run out but nine of us were buying.
Day 9
New tour! Alice to darwin, new guides (Scottie and michelle) and a couple new faces a few austrians that kept to themselves (besides to complain) and amy from perth funny (but loud). Next couple days we covered so many miles it was sickening! Didn't matter when we saw amazing things we just wanted to be done for the day! Our 1st stop that day was as we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn (u know that latitude line on the globe? Basically we were entering the tropics!) Stopped at an old (out of use) telegraph station, interesting history there about aboriginals attacking the operaters. Stopped at a funky town Wycliffe Well, sort of the roswell of OZ, "secret" airforce base nearby, lots of alien yard art and paintings and roadhouse filled with clippings and fuzzy pics of UFOs. I loved it! ;-) next stop was a highlight!, Devils marbles, huge sphereical rock formation in the middle of nowhere, hiked around and on them, super strange. Lots more driving, stopped for firewood, saw huge spider and arrived in tennet creek at our camp late... Had lots of alcohol related rules since the owners of the cattle ranch we were staying at hated us backpackers ruining the peace out there. But fireside that night I finally got to learn how to play a didgerido!! And I was able to play, voted the best that night!
Day10
Up before the sun again for another day of driving! But the sunrise thatmorning made it worth it. A few roadhouse stops aka pee and coffee while they refueled the bus. Funny side note: not allowed on the bus during refueling! The roadhouse in dunmarra had reptiles for us to hold, black headed python and big monitor lizard. 1st major stop was at Daly Water, at it's very famous roadhouse. Even got a special tour guide, 9 year old bailey. Kept us entertained while he showed us around the old postoffice, school, store, jail (all one building). Then we all chilled out at the pub which was filled with things stapled to the walls by travellers...currency, ID cards, badges, patches, heaps of underwear. I left a US dollar bill. More driving, stopped at one roadhouse with cages of exotic birds and even a croc in a cage next to the swimming pool(not sure I would swim if given the chance). Lunch was late @3 again, had the chance but didnt float down a creek heated by hot springs (too hot and smelt like eggs) End of the day was in Kathrine. Before heading to the camp site we spent time at an aboriginal culture center. Taught to do paintings, I did a cool kangaroo. Pet an emu. And in the dark we saw a few animals, cane toads and a huge green tree frog which sandra tried kissing to see if it became a prince. Night came to a close fireside, drinking and playing didgeridos.
Day 11
I was peer pressured into taking a helicopter tour of Katherine gorge since 2 people were require and Anne maria really wanted to go... It was a fun experience but not really worth the money. Later met up with the rest of the group for a boring hike with a huge reward! Swimming up to and under a waterfall! It was amazing! The best was to float facing up about 10 yards from the fall... Water was falling over 100feet. A little driving to another falls but no swimming, but had lunch. A few short stops here and there till a cool purple sunet before arriving in Darwin. Met up with most of the group for pizza and beers... As usual sandra, Anne maria and I ended up passing a bottle of wine around chatting till bed time.
Day 12
Start of the 4wd kakadu tour! New guide Deblin. New group, out with the rude Austrian in with a german couple, a german filmmaker and Tine (pronounced Tina) and a new bus! This thing is heavy duty, look like more if a dump truck than a tour bus.
1st stop was at some giant termite mounds, huge! Over 15 foot tall, made by bugs small as ants! Too cool. Even saw weird ones made my magnetic termites, flat, looked like tombstones. Spent most of the morning playing in the water, first a rocky waterhole/slide then again swimming around waterfalls. This waterfall was much larger and powerful, but I had to swim through it! Haha which wasn't easy, the closer I got the more mist was blinding me and making it hard to breathe then just as I finally got to ur the water starts to push down on you... Extreme! But i made it! Rested afterwards with my bikini babes. I think it was called Florence falls. Just as we were finishing out hotdogs over campfire lunch a big water moniter lizard came out of nowhere to check us out, very unusal looking. The ride was starting to get rough, but that's what we wanted! Over bug rocks, through river crossings and around billabongs. Learned about the 2 seasons here...the wet and the dry... Basically alot of the land we are visiting is underwater 1/2 the year. And to help prevent big bush fires they do control burns, which just started... Cooling seeing all the fire but very smokey... But did make for a better sunset, very red! But before that we went on a river cruise before dusk looking for crocs! And did we see them! Both freshwater (nice) and salties (bad,aggressive). That night the mozzies were aweful and attacked everyone... Still covered! And there were a few geckos on our tent walls, sandra tried to grab one but it lost it's tail (which is a normal defence) but we told her she killed it!
Day 13
More rough riding. Tried sleeping on the bus but impossible. Saw some wild horses (not sure I mentioned the wild camels we saw near Uluru) more river crossing and 4wd through twisting sandy roads, very fun. Stopped to hike to twin falls, which required a short ferry ride through more croc infested water, which we actually saw one and when we returned they caught it because it was a bad saltie. The falls was massive and we all rested and hung out enjoying the surroundings for a while before heading back. Next we headed to jim jim falls another waterfall to swim up to. Only this time it was twice as tall and twice as far to get to... Not to mention I was freaking myself out about halfway there thinking just below me in the black cold deep water a croc (like all the signs at the beginning of the hike mentioned) was hiding waiting to pull me under! The hike there and back was extreme, basically walking in giant boulders, one slip and you could really hurt yourself. Camp at Jabiru was a welcome site, very exhausts after the days activites... Again sat up late drinking with my girls.
Day 14
Our last day :-(((
Slept in ha ha just after sunset we broke camp and headed out. Checked out the east alligator river, no crocs. Then went on a walking tour of Ubirr, a aboriginal rock art site. Amazing stuff! Some ancient some modern (less the 50 years). Ended up top a great lookout and took the opportunity to get group shots. Had so much fun. Sad because we all knew it would be goodbye soon. Lunch near a beautiful billabong then back on the road headed back to Darwin!
That night we went out in style. It was me and my ladies! Sandra, Anne maria, anna, emeile, and Tine (and the goofy Italian vinchenzo sp?) we decided to find a place serving crocodile! And we all agreed it tasted like chicken. Haha sandra and I also split a dozen oysters. Afterwords we headed to a nightclub for a bit more drinking and dancing. Turned into a crazy night! Sandra and I even ended up partners on stage for a game...later ended up on the table dancing. Later still had to take the girls to be picked up by a taxi headed fir the airport and say my final goodbyes.., lots of kisses for tommy but still was very sad.
-- Post From My iPhone
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