I signed up on 12/15/98 09:39:38.
Don't forget to come back and see how things are going.......
Im departing on Tuesday the 2nd of February at 8:50AM. Cork - London - Singapore - Bali - Sydney
SINGAPORE
oh my god... WERE HERE!!!!....im in bleedin' Singapore and its damn hot hot hot
its shit humid.....@30Celcius
found this lovely Internet Cafe 10 mins from where we're staying at the Singapore YMCA!! no its not like what you're thinking its decent
we even have a swimming pool on the roof....its costing us about 12 pounds a night to stay there...very reasonable.
everything is in english so getting around is fine. Chiara and Mary are having an awful time because they're white, blonde women....everyone stares at them forever....
when we landed on Wed morning it was 8:30 and 28 degrees on the ground....we nearly died when we got out of the airport. moved into the hostel, went for a swim in the ROOFTOP POOL!, then went to eat in a thai restaurant....Jesus the taste, it was gas....they even have fish head soup here - having that tonight??? HELP
went on a boat trip yesterday out to KUSU island and got roasted... all palm trees and sandy beaches its pure paradise...
went for a drink after dinner yesterday to a nice bar by the street and then when that closed at 11 went onto Kink bar.... scary experience.... time has fucked us up totally, this place is 8 hours ahead of home...
this whole city is so clean, you can get arrested for littering, spitting, POSSESION OF CHEWING GUM!, feeding birds?? basically if you dropped food on the street, you could pick it up and finish eating it.
went to this hotel called 'Raffles' its a really upmarket hotel,
we went into the bar there and had to have a few 'Singapore Slings' - famous cocktail. that was about all we could afford there.
tomorrow going to Bali, will write again when i get the chance...
ol.
BALI
howdy from BALI....got here on Sunday night at 12 midnight after a rough flight with Quantas...our last night in Singapore was the best, had dinner in the tallest restaurant in the city - amazing view, and then onto a street similar to Temple Bar, saw a few fellas out of their trees trying to beat each other up, id say they were about 12 they were fucked..... the airport in Denpasar, Bali was funny, no sooner had we gotten our bags when 4/5 porters approached wanting to take them out for us...they walked with us for about 30 seconds and then asked for money....thats seriously the story here...its really a third world country. the taxi to the hotel in KUTA costed 1 pound for about 4 miles...the hotel was a dump, we couldnt wait to get out, we couldnt even wash there. we thought we'd have to sleep with our eyes open - the flies and bugs are all over the place. we ran out the next morning and found the Hard Rock Hotel on Kuta beach - fantastic.
We've managed to get a room for all of us for 20 pounds a night. i think we'll be staying here for the week. the pool is huge, and today we had kyak (probably spelt wrong) races today in it. the Irish VS the Aussies. Accomodation, food, clothes, watches, arty things are all dirt cheap but you have to bargain for everything - scary at first, but enjoyable once you get into it.
Got a taxi to NusaDua today - 2 pounds (its about 10/12 miles) much quieter than Kuta, lovely beaches and hotels though
the action is definately in Kuta!!! every one wants to sell you Marijuana....
one of the barmaids in Hard Rock took us out with her last night to a club called 'GADO GADO'. We're sure she took a fancy to Mary and Chiara, a few theatricals there, but we had a good laugh...
hope to go to Mt Batur(volcano) tomorrow after a lounge on the beach.
keep watching for further updates,,,
ol.
well its thursday the 11th and back in business again, after a day of recovery from the burning on Tuesday. We put off the trip to Mt. Batur until today, and spent the whole day on Kuta Beach. We got boogie boards for 2 hours and took on the Indian Ocean. When we eventually got back to our rooms we then noticed how bad it was... think PINK!!! Spent the whole day indoors yesterday. Last night we went to Bali Aussie Restaurant and then onto The Bounty - bar and club in the shape of a boat - It was happy hour when we got there 1 pound for a cocktail the size of a goldfish bowl! Today we went got a taxi for 7 hours to drive us around the island. We went to Ubud in the centre of the island and then through all these rice fields
- thats what people earn their living on here in the countryside. Then onto Batur where there's the Volcano and Lake. There are a load of people living right there at the foot of the volcano, looking up at it steaming!! Everytime we got out of the taxi we were mobbed by children trying to sell us pencils and postcards. On the way back there was all these women with baskets of fruit on their heads.
They pose for a picture, but then ask you for money!!
The taxi cost us 4 pounds each - it was 3 really but he was a nice guy...
Tonight we went to Bali Asi restaurant. You can get a 3/4 course meal out here for 2 pounds, beat that Bankcentre restaurant!
There is so much stuff to buy here. You could furnish your whole house for about 100 pounds, the trouble is sending it home. We enquired today and its about 30 pounds to send home a weight of a bag of sugar!!
goto go, more later.
ollie, or as im called here oleber!
Arrive in Sydney
...GOD STRIKE ME!!!!! we're finally in Sydney.. its now the 19th and its still hot, but not as bad as Bali. 28-29. Our last night in Kuta was definately the best, and this is the truth - we went to this nite-club called "Double 6" and inside was a fashion show and also a 25 metre pool where people were doing bungy jumps off of!???!?!?! Yes its true. Before you go in you're outside on the street and then you pay to go thro' a small door then you're outside again - all the nite-clubs are open air.....
The day of departure was gas - picture 'home alone' only we didnt forget anything...the flight was at 11:25am and we left the hotel at about 11. the lady at the quantas desk wouldnt let us thro' at the start, but after a few seconds of panic, she contacted the captain and he allowed us on.. then we found out we had to pay 5 pounds to leave the place ! running to the ATM...and the whole way to the plane, and had no trouble with customs and immigration - apparently they can be nasty when leaving Bali?
arrived in Sydney Sunday night at 8:15. met Frances, Niall and John at the airport, back to the flat, dumped the bags and off to the "cock and bull" pub in Bondi Junction, then onto "Cheers" in town....up the next morning... a bit late. and off to Circular Quay - opera house and harbour
....got a boat around the place..cool! you can get a ticket that will take you on all the trains/buses/boats around Sydney for less than 10 pounds a week!.went to the BomBora Bar on Bondi beach that night. the next day we took off house hunting. Thats been our last few days mainly...house hunting by day and on the raz after dark....a lot of the places we looked at are around Bondi Beach....
What a weekend!! its now Monday the 22nd, and Friday night we ventured into the famous Oxford Street - first of all to 'Durty Nellys' where I met a former sorry ...FORMER AIB employee Eamonn, I cant remember his last name. Hes out here since October and doing well for himself. Then Frances and Niall decided we had to see the even more famous 'Albury Hotel' - drag show heaven.....jeez where was my video camera when I needed it most.. One of the gals was at least 6 and a half feet tall, and built like Arnold Schwarzenegger.. 'Hilary' was his/her name..her nickname was 'The Terminator!' i wonder why??? Ill never think of Mariah Carey in the same light again! it was a different experience to say the least! Off to Bondi Beach Saturday for another roasting -
the beach is so clean compared to the beaches in Bali and the waves are great - have to get a surfing course, John says they're not too expensive. that night we ventured into town again, this time to 'Forbes'- loud disco/video pub.
yesterday we did the tourist thing, got the 'monorail'(train that goes around the citycentre in 10 mins and its about 15 feet above the street) to Darling Harbour...
where we went to the Sydney Aquarium - great big fuck off Sharks everywhere...it was cool.
then today went to sort out our accomodation status. hopefully we'll be signing a lease tomorrow for a 3 bedroom in Double Bay - in between Bondi and the citycentre. Get this, we've booked a 6 seater camper van to drive to Melbourne on the 4th of March for the Australian Grand Prix....i knew that license would come in handy...its costing us about 60 pounds for the use of it for 5 days!!!! travelling and accom all taken care of! We also called into the Qantas office where if we join a travellers club for $60 we can get a one way trip to either Melbourne/Adelaide/Brisbane worth $250 - all that for travelling with Qantas to on our way out here!
Weekend to Canberra and Melbourne
Sunday, March 14th. As you've seen from the top of the page, a few more cities have been added to the list, yes we've been on the move again. Got our 6.5*4.5 metre campervan on Thursday the 4th and headed down the Princes Highway towards Canberra. I got the first shift for driving, so it was a bit of a laugh trying to get this 'bus' out of the city in one piece. We headed down the coast towards Woollongong! (yes thats a real place) and trough this tiny windey mountain pass to get to the Hume Highway that would lead us to the capital. After about 2.5 hours we stopped off at this pub that could only be found in something like 'Mad Max' no jokes...we had to sit near the windows to watch that no-one would take off with the van. When we reached Canberra 309kms later, it was so small and quiet that we went from one end of it to another in about 5 mins and didnt even know... theres nothing really to see here only the Government house - thats pretty impressive. We stopped and ate in O'Reillys pub in the centre. We we're told there by a Cork barmaid no less that the action is in the suburbs. We decided to continue our driving after an hour or so. Adrian took the next shift which took us back onto the Hume Highway and down to Albury..where Sean took over. We drove until about 2a.m. and stopped in a truck lay-by.
Grand Prix
We started off again with about 50 miles to go and arrived in Melbourne @ 11am. As we approached Albert Park - the venue for the Grand Prix, we could hear the cars in their practice sessions - it was mad.
The panic was on to get a parking space and see what was going on in the grounds. Luckily enough about 5-10 mins from the track we found a carpark by St.Kilda beach, got a ticket for the day for $4 and off we headed in the direction of the action. The sound was amazing as we approached, I thought I'd heard and seen it all at the Rally of the Lakes in Killarney but HELLO!! this was F1, a little different. We walked around a lot on the first 2 days to hopefully find the best viewing spot for Sunday. We picked a hilly place in between corner 9 and 10, about half way around the track, it would be an ideal place to see someone spin off the track, but only for Coulthard slipping into the gravel there during the qualifying session it was all very clean. After the practice sessions we decided to see a bit of Melbourne. The Crown Casino in the city centre is amazing - the real (Las Vegas) thing. No windows - no clocks, you dont know if its day or night in there. We then got something to eat there and off for the Rialto Towers - Melbournes tallest building. We went up to the observatory where you could see for 60kms, - all the city, football stadium, the Grand Prix track, Australian Tennis Open Grounds. That night we ate in Bar Greco on FitzRoy St. - very busy 'temple bar' style street, and only 5 mins walk to where we parked.
Sunday came and it was mad, over 150,000 people on the last day. It was brilliant seeing Irvine win, and we couldnt believe the Irish following that was at it. Afterwards we all marched onto the track for the necessary celebrations despite the English Anthem being played out!?!
Spot the Paddies: (from left) Frances, Chiara, John, ME, Suzie, Sean, Mary, Adrian and Aidan
We left Melbourne about 2 hours later, passing places like Wangaratta, Yarrawonga, Wagga Wagga. Even spotted a dead Kanga on the hard shoulder of the Highway. We got back to Sydney again for 2pm on Monday afternoon.
There was a major panic on for job searching that night so off into George St. to the Happy Hour Internet Shop, and onto JobNet.
Its a great place to find agencies and jobs around the city, the response was great, as soon as Tuesday morning. To cut a long story short I got a 6 month contract with SUN MicroSystems in North Sydney. I cross the harbour bridge every morning and evening...
The pay is quite good out here too, and the tax rates are very low for non-residents about 25%.
I start on Wednesday.
Today, we had the St. Patricks Day Parade (only 4 days early, theres no day off work here for the 17th) it wasnt as big as we thought it would be, but the crowds turned out alright, not as big as Mardi Gras though. JEEZ, on the 27th of February, the biggest, in your face, slap me around march went on through Sydney's city centre. All the Gays and Lesbians were out in full force. Basically it was the end to a month long festival that is on here every year. The outfits were outrageous, for those that were wearing any clothes!...it was a laugh, but I couldnt see it being repeated down High St. Rathmore..hee hee
Howdy? todays the 31st of March...the easter weekend is being planned...The P.O.A. so far is that we're (11 of us now) all going to hire cars and drive up the coast thro Port Stephens and onto Coffs Harbour. We've got hostels booked along the way so it should make a good weekend of travelling. Things have quietened down a bit since work started...its hard to maintain that tan now, that most of the day is spent indoors. Last weekend, Mary, Chiara and myself headed off to see the BEEGEES play at STADIUM AUSTRALIA - the new Olympic Stadium. Its pretty impressive, as is the rest of the Olympic Park.
The concert was brilliant....'hah hah hah hah...staying alive...staying ali..'.sorry i cant help it.
About 2 weeks ago, there was this event on at the Opera House called 'Surfing the house'. It was a fundraiser for Sydneys LifeGuards Organisation, we got to see a load of the Home & Away stars there as they were doing interviews and fashion shows to raise money...later at about 10 they showed this surfers movie on a big screen on the steps of the Opera House. the atmosphere was pretty cool....loads of surf dudes screaming....woaaaawwhhhhh!!!!
Drive to Port Stephens
Easters been and gone, what a weekend! Left work on Thursday evening and met the others to collect the cars from the Delta rental shop. The others took off ahead Frances driving one and Sean the other and I went back to Double Bay to collect Mary and Chiara in our luxury Toyota Seca. We got to leave Double Bay at about 7pm, thro Kings Cross,out under the harbour via the tunnel and onto the North Shore on Motorway 1 heading for Newcastle. Traffic wasnt as bad as we thought it would be for a bank holiday weekend, but the weather was crap, it rained the whole way.
Our first stop was in Port Stephens, about 250kms North of Sydney on the coast. It took a while to find the cabins in Anna Bay that we had booked in to stay the night. It was about 10-10:30 when we got there. All in one piece only that some guy ran into the back of Frances' car at a round-about on the way out of Sydney....there was a small dent on the bumper. The next day we drove to Nelsons Bay, still part of Port Stephens and got some breakfast. This place was full of fishermen and their boats, the smell was lovely!?!??(&^% We found an activity centre with rock-climbing and toboganning, we jumped on the tobogans, it was gas. Sean Furlong, of course trying to be brave, polaxing himself a few times around some of the sharp bends. You could get upto about 40-50mph or so they told us.
Coffs Harbour
After about an hour and a half we were on the road again...Kempsey was the next scheduled stop, about half ways to Coffs Harbour. It started raining again. We stopped there and had dinner in Lou's Cafe. They were delighted with us, the boss even came out for a chat, sure of course they were, there was 11 of us after all. After another hour or so, we arrived in Coffs Harbour for our 2nd night. Here we stayed at Aussitel Backpackers. The treatment we got was unbelieveable, they were so nice. We got a few drinks there and sat around for the night.
The next day, since it was still raining, we organised a few water activities. We got booked in for Jet-Skiing and Para-sailing for $89. Sean, John, Colette, Mary and myself also signed up for a surfing class...so off in the mini bus to Park beach where it was all happening. The Jet-Skis were mad! The power to go fast was unreal. Its hard at first because you have to go out against the waves coming in but then its BYE BYE see ya later! We got to stay out for about 20 mins.
The water was much warmer up here than in Sydney, and the instructor was telling me that there usually aren't any sharks around. He said that out of the years he has been surfing hes been chased out of the water by a shark only 3 times.....ONLY 3 TIMES!!!! HELLO, 3 times too much i think! Then we headed to the other end of the beach for the surf lessons. We even got into the tight topped wet gear..kinky! Catching a wave and getting to stand up was much easier than I thought it would be. Once you get the right instructions on what to do its much easier.
It was now 5:30 and time to head over to the Marina to get the Para-sailing...it was getting a bit dark, because of all the rainy cloud cover. We got out on the boat and he took us to a little floating stand out in the middle of the harbour. This was where you get strapped up. There was serious strapping going on here, you could not budge. They tie you onto the boat rope which is tied to the stand we were on, then to the parachute that is lying down behind you. The instructors lift up the parachute and the boat powers up. You can feel the pull and then they release the boat rope from the stand, and its off you go...Its a really cool feeling as you're rising up, you get to go about 100 metres up.
That night the appetites were huge, so the hostel had a barbecue laid on for everyone and afterwards we took the bus into town to the Saloon Bar and niteclub. We had to be up for 7am the next morning to go White Water Rafting.
White Water Rafting
The heads were rough the following morning, some more than others....miss Keohane???!!?? The Rafting gang picked us up from the hostel and drove us to sign up and collect our life jackets at base camp. There we met up with about 30 others who were also going that day, so the 3 buses took off with the rafts tied on 6 high on behind. We were going to Dorrigo National Park. The river was called the Nymboida and it ran right through the rain forest. The roads got really bad as we approached. After 3 hours in the bus we finally got there. After the necessary pep talks we divided up into 2 boats with our instructors(yes more instructors) and hopped in.
It was excellent. You dont do this if you've got a fear of falling into cold water. I only did so about 5 times. It was so funny. As you're going down a rapid the raft does a 360 and you're out. After one rapid so much water had come in that we all had to stand on one side to overturn the raft and empty it, so everyone was in the water that time. As the other rafts passed, vicious fights would start trying to get as many from the other raft into the water. I was caught by a guy from another raft and fell back. John who was in my boat caught my feet, the other fella was still trying to pull me out, i was hanging there like a crossbridge between the 2 boats. When we got to the end of the journey, 3 hours and 9kms later we all changed and had another barbie. All back into the bus and back for Coffs Harbour. That was one Easter Sunday that won't ever be forgotten.
Up again at 7 the next morning to hit the road back to Sydney. On the way back we stopped off at a Koala Breeding and Wildlife Centre near Port Macquarie. This had every typical Aussie animal, we were able to walk around inside with the Kangaroos.
You walk up to them and they put their paws out....The koalas were all asleep except for 2 that were stuffing their faces with leaves.
Theyre cool. After about an hour there, we were back on the road...the traffic got worse and worse on the way back at one stage it took us 1hour to do 15kms. We thought for a while that we wouldnt make it back to the car shop in time, but we held out and eventually made it with 10 mins to spare! The km clock on the car read 1,230...
The next long weekend is around Anzac Day in about 2/3 weeks.
Hail Storm
HOGAN'S GHOST!!! We were lucky to come away with our lives!
Last Wednesday night a huge hail storm hit Sydney, some say the worst ever. I was in town at the time and hail was falling the size of golf balls, breaking car windows and setting off alarms.
That wasnt so bad until I got home to find 6 of our windows in the flat smashed. Parts of Sydney were declared to be in a state of emergency as hail fell the size of tennis balls and bigger through ceilings...causing flooding and power loss. The funny thing is that there was no warning... the weather forecasters didnt even see it coming?!
Shooting at Botany
Well, Strike Me Round Ailsa! Last Saturday! We (Sean, Mary, Chiara, Adrian, John, Niall, Frances, Johns parents and myself) all went out to Botany where they have this shooting range. You have to be a non-resident of Australia to do this...All hand guns are banned in Australia after what happened in Tasmania a few years ago...but we got to use some. This is a real professional setup. We had to go for a class first where the instructors told us what we would be doing, they showed us the proper way to hold the guns and how never to point them at anything 'THAT YOU DO NOT WISH TO KILL OR DESTROY!' They then gave us our headphones and goggles and led us into the gallery. We got to use 7 guns in total 9mm semi automatic pistols, revolvers, and finished off with a bleedin' shotgun. It was a bit daunting at first but once you got used to it, there was no stopping us. It was all very well organised, you wouldnt be allowed hold the gun without the instructor standing right behind you. Afterwards one of the instructors brought out his pet SNAKE! - it was a carpet python. Frances was interested enough to let it wrap itself around her until it decided to piss and shit on her!!!
The weather is really changeable here at the moment. On Monday the 26th April, our day off work due to the ANZAC celebrations we headed down to Bronte Beach, much quieter and cleaner than Bondi. It was a glorious day, the sun shone the whole time, then on Tuesday the hail was back again. Luckily it was not as bad as the last storm.
Blue Mountains
11th of May. We travelled out to the famous Blue Mountains last weekend. We hired another car, booked the YHA in Katoomba and headed off on Saturday morning out the Great Western Highway. Katoomba is in the heart of the Blue Mountains and about 100 odd kms outside Sydney. We reached Katoomba, checked into the hostel went for some lunch and headed off in search of the 3 sisters....
We found them out by the Scenic Railway and Cablecars. We did the tourist thing and caught both rides. The railway has the steepest rail incline in the world and is pretty cool, when you dont know what to expect. The cable cars take you out about 250metres above the valley floor below.
Katoomba is a fairly backward town, probably a bit of in-breeding going on here, by the looks of it. That night we went to the Carrington Hotel for dinner and then into the bar and niteclub.
Got to bed at about 4am and had to be up again to go absailing at 9:30. The heads werent the best Sunday morning, but we still made it to the absailing class. It cost us $45 for half a day out.
They took us up to do 2 different drops. The first one was for pure practise, then the 2nd was a bit scarier. The drop was about 60 ft. It might not sound that much, but when you're hanging back at a 90 degree angle to the vertical rock its a different story.
When we finished there at about 1 they took us back to town where we got our directions to go horse-riding. This place was in the MegaLong Valley, and its a family run setup called Packsaddlers, out in the middle of nowhere. Basically we had to drive for about half an hour into the mountains and then take an 8km dirt track down to the farm.
The people were unbelieveably nice and after a quick brief we were off trotting and cantering away. 2 of the kids came out with us and they took us up through a trail in the bush - (pure Country Practice land here) and out to a cliff edge giving amazing panoramic views. !?!
The horse-riders: (from left) Sean, Mary, Adrian, Chiara, ME, and the 2 kids that brought us out
We took a different route back and even spotted some wild Kangaroos. The 2 hour trek cost $35 each. It was excellent but were all feeling the pain today. We left there at about 5.30, it was dark before 6 and headed straight back to Sydney.
Plans are in action for the next long weekend which is the 2nd weekend in June. Queensland is on the cards....
Trip to Magnetic Island, Queensland
Well its now the 22nd of June....god the time is flying.. next week we'll be gone from the oul Irish shores 5 months!
Sinead has arrived, she got here on Thursday the 3rd and to celebrate Queen Lizzies birthday on the weekend of the 12th and 13th we headed for the sun, since it is now full blown winter down here in Sydney. We took the Thursday and Friday off and with Monday being a bank holiday it was going to be a nice long weekend. We got to the airport at about 5am on the Thursday morning!!! ahem and got on the plane only to be told to get off again as there were technical difficulties. Eventually we took off an hour and a half later, missing our connecting flight in Brisbane. We got there and were directed to another flight. We were glad to finally see Townsville, 3 hours late of our scheduled landing time.
Since it was a small airport there, we walked off the plane onto the tarmac outside. The heat was only to be compared to Bali....heaven again!! 'God can we still be really in Australia??'...I can hear everyone say. Got the bags and off in a taxi bus to the ferry terminal in Townsville to get on the boat for Magnetic Island! When we arrived at Picnic Bay on the Island about 20 minutes later, we got on another bus which took us to where we planned on staying....didnt like the look of it, so we walked back down the road to the livelier looking spot where we booked in for the first night....Coconuts on Magnetic Beach - Nelly Bay. We got our bed sheets and off to the little cabins, with beds for 8 people but enough room really for 4. We didnt do much that evening as it was almost dark at that time, had some dinner, a few drinks and played a few games of pool outside just by the beach, summertime music playing and everyone in a good mood.
Got up early next morning and hired out Mokes - little mini jeeps that everyone hires out to go around the island. We went around by Alma Bay, Arcadia, Arthur Bay (where we found 2 not too very shy nudists showing off all to the world) MARY - put da camera away! We had hired some snorkelling gear earlier on in the day and got to try it out. Its a pretty cool experience, not at all as you would expect. Saw some coral, not as amazing as on the outer Great Barrier Reef (going there in July).
We then drove out to the furthest beach called Horse-shoe bay. We found a wildlife park with all the typical aussie animals..
That night we drove back out to Horseshoe Bay for dinner....and back to Picnic Bay afterwards to check out the niteife??????(&^%
Rumours was the niteclub!!! hello like, picture the dannymann, mix in a little hi-land, throw in 50 bearded men and 20 'bearded' women!! all wearing the summer collection from 1982 and you've got it! it was funny.
The next day was another early rising, and off to Horseshoe Bay again this time to go sailing for the day. Tony picked us up and off to the SunCat, which would take us around parts of the island, stopping off in secluded beaches. We all took turns jumping off the boat into the blue waters..it was gas, Chiara had to be called in at one stage to save Sean from drowning!!!
We had some lunch, and off again with the wind taking us.
Our last morning on Magnetic Island started dull, but by 10 am it was back to full on sun! we hired out some kayaks, jetskis (Sean nearly killing Sinead!)
That evening we had to head back to Townsville and stay the night there as our flight in the morning was due to depart at 0610 hours, we booked into the Globetrotters Hostel for $16..dumped the bags and off for dinner. We found this outdoor place on the riverside, big enough to hold over 200 people.....we got steaks there that we could still be making salad sandwiches today with....700gms of meat on a plate! between us all we bearly ate half of what we got. Up in the morning for the flight back to reality again....things went a bit smoother this time, and got back on time....back...but cold...its averaging at about 15C here at the moment. Some days are really good, but others freezing!
Sunday we went to see the musical 'Chicago' which is currently showing in the Capitol Theatre in the city. It was very good. We're off to Romeo and Juliet in the Opera House next week. And Sinead and myself went to see Manchester United beat the Australian Socceroos 2-0 at the Olympic Stadium. Attendance was 80,000.
Off to Cairns, Queensland
Nessa arrived into Sydney on Sunday morning the 25th July at 6:30AM.
We didnt actually travel up to Cairns until the following Tuesday morning.
We got to Cairns at about 1 in the afternoon and were taken by coach to the Holiday Inn on the famous Cairns Promenade (no hostels on this trip Im telling you!!)
Checked in the bags and went to see what this grungy town had to offer. We walked along the Promenade down to the Pier where hundreds of boats are harboured. You can find out all about the Great Barrier Reef Cruises/Island Day Trips/Sky Diving/Water Sports and other activities from the little information offices that can be found all over the place. That evening we went for a drink outside the Irish bar on the Pier and watched the sun set over Cairns. We had dinner and a beer in a really nice Bar/Restaurant called Rattle 'n' Hum right in the middle of the promenade.
That day we planned for the next day to go out to Green Island but getting up the next day finding the weather not too very pleasing we decided to go to Wild World, a wildlife park 10-15 kms north of Cairns. Ness held one of the heavy Koalas and have her picture taken with him. We fed the Kangaroos (a bit friendlier here than on Magnetic Island), saw this guy hold up the world most poisonous land snake right in front of us. We got to hold a baby crocadile which was about 2 foot long and amazingly very soft to touch. The daddy and mammy croc feeding was on at 3oclock. The guy stood there right in front of them feeding them chicken heads! The crocs lie there with their mouths open and when something lands on their tongue their jaws close with the force of 2 tonnes!!!
We got the bus to Palm Cove about 5 minutes away. Posh hotels all running along the length of the beach. Next morning bright and early we went down to the Pier and got on the Big Cat which takes you out the the beautiful Green Island.
This is a tiny island about 27kms off the coast from Cairns......On the way out, you get all the fact on the island and what activies you can do there. We each got snokelling gear for the day, and tickets for the glass bottom boat. The beaches were nice but small, and the water colour amazing - every blue/green imaginable.
Went out in the semi-submersible boat. You walk down into the boat to a glass section that is underneath the surface of the water. The boat goes out to some of the coral patches and where we got our first glimpses of the fantastic fish that live out here. Blue, Red, Orange, Yellow, Silver, Black, White, you name it, theres on here of every colour. There are over 1,500 species of fish living around the Great Barrier Reef. The captain threw food overboard and suddenly the boat was surrounded by hundreds of fish. It was amazing to see. We had a barbeque lunch on the boat which was included in the $50 price to get out there.
Afterwards we just lay on the beach and caught a few rays. Heaven!
That evening after a choppy trip back to Cairns, I picked up our car and we took off up the coast along the ocean road past Palm Cove, Ellis Beach, Oak Beach to Port Douglas. It was after 6 by now and dark, but we could see the full moons glow along the water. The road greeting you is pretty impressive lined with Palm trees, and 5 star resorts. The main street for restaurants and bars in Port Douglas is definately Macrossan Street. It runs from 4 mile beach on one side to the marina on the other side. We checked into a lovely group of self contained apartments called 'Martinique on Macrossan' just 20-30 metres from the beach.
We walked down Macrossan and went for dinner in one of the outdoor restaurants. The next day, we drove back down the coast to the beaches we had passed the night before. Most of them were deserted, surprisingly enough because it was a glorious day.
4WD RainForest Safari to Cape Tribulation
The next day we had a 4WD Safari trip organised with Gary's Safari, which collected us at about 8:30 am from outside the apartments...We drove up to the Daintree National Park through this small aboriginal settlement to the Mossman Gorge - Amazing river flowing through the rainforest. The water is crystal clear and runs over huge boulders into 20ft deep swimming holes. We crossed the 'crocadile infested' Daintree River on the ferry and started the trek upwards through the rainforest stopping here and there to see the tropic plantlife. It funnily enough rained most of the drive, which made it better I think. We got up to the Alexandra Lookout where you can see right down to the sandy beaches below. We continued on further past 'Olivers Creek' no less and then to Cape Tribulation.
This is where the Rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef, and amazing. It is so peaceful up here.
We had the local tea brew here before we set off again. We stopped off for lunch in this small restaurant in the middle of nowhere for some Barramundi fish - Queenslands best catch. It was really good.
Afterwards the clouds broke and the sun came out, and we started our journey up to the beautiful Dinosaur Falls, a small waterfall in the middle of the forest. The guide told us that if there was anywhere that we wanted to go for a refreshing swim that this was the place to do it, as he took my video off me and showed us where to jump off. The hole was about 12feet deep but seeing the setting, we decided to do it. I think the shock of jumping in knocked any feeling of how cold the water was out of me. Nessa jumped in after me and we swam over right underneath the waterfall. It was amazing. We were told that Brooke Shiels and Andre Agassi came here a while back and apparently payed the guide to leave them there alone for a few hours??!!*&^$$#%@&
No such luck here. Anyway it was fantastic and having dried off, we took off again, for our boat trip down a small crocadile inhabited river. We got into this small electric boat about 3 metres long by 1 metre wide and went in search down the swampy river. Of course we didnt get to see any, but heard a nasty story about the last person that got too close to one down there.
That evening we got back to Port Douglas at about 6pm. It had been a brilliant day.
Scuba Dive on the Great Barrier Reef
The next morning, it was up bright and early again. We were picked up by Poseidon Dive Tours and taken down to the marina for our day out on the Great Barrier Reef diving.
We took off in the direction of Agincourt Reef, our first stop. Sally was our instructor and she spent about an hour telling us what we need to do to do our dive successfully. We broke into teams of 4 and started to put our gear on. Picture the wet suits, snorkels, goggles, oxygen tanks....the works! We got the whole lot on, checked our gas levels and one by one were pushed overboard. Its a really wierd feeling at start having to breath totally through your mouth with your nose blocked up. We had to stay by the surface first to do our equalisation exercises, practice clearing our goggles and swapping the mouth pieces.... One by one everyone moved down the anchor chain to the bottom and then we got the signal to follow the instructor.
Its really cool, and you don't even have to be able to swim. The water is so clear. The fish and coral are amazing and of every colour, and the fish swim right up beside you.
We got to go down about 15-20 metres! Poor Nessa found the whole breathing thing a bit too wierd, and opted out. We then travelled onto the next reef and went down again. Afterwards we had lunch and chilled out before going to the next and final reef of the day - Opal Reef. Before we left, we spotted a whale, that came right up beside the boat. We finally got back to Port Douglas around 5, and got back into the car and headed back down to Cairns for our last full day that we spent by the hotel pool.....
Convertible and drive to SummerBay
Got back down to chilly Sydney again on Tuesday the 3rd. Thursday morning bright and early, got up and looked out the window. It was a glorious day so we headed into Kings Cross to the WOW~!! HELLO~!! SportsCar World - yes! where you can hire any convertible you like.... It was something that I had wanted to do for so long and this was my chance. I got the new model Mazda MX5 and Ness got in popped on the sunglasses and off we took with the roof back over the Harbour Bridge en route to Sydneys Northern Beaches. We drove up past North Sydney, St. Leonards, and Chatswood and onto the Pittwater Road that runs along the coast. We passed some beautiful beaches like Dee Why, Long Reef, Collaroy, Mona Vale, Avalon (home of Baywatch Down Under), Whale and finally up on the windy hilly road to the Home and Away famous Palm Beach.
This is a really upper market part of Sydney, and a bit like Dalkey/Killiney in Dublin. On one side of Barrenjoey Head is Palm Beach, and on the other is the Palm Beach Golf course and Pittwater Marina. You would hardly know it is where Home And Away is made except that the 'Summerbay Kiosk and Surf Club' is right there in the middle of the beach. Palm Beach is a really quiet village, with only a few shops and 1 cafe. They dont boast the fact that Australias most famous tv show is made here...We walked along the beach down to the rocks, and got all the photos of course....
Well I�m back I�m back, its the 11th of October and the time is rolling by.. Its still only Spring here but it really feels like summer. Yesterday it got up to 33C, Bondi beach was overcrowded....Since my last update I�ve changed jobs....I now have a contract with AMP working at Centrepoint in the city centre. It just for a few weeks before I head on the big journey back home... The plan at the moment is to depart Sydney on the 19th of November with Tahiti the first stop, then onto Santiago, Chile, followed by Lima in Peru where we hope to visit the ancient civilisation of the Incas in the Andes. This is followed by a few days in each of LA, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Miami, and finally New York on the week before Christmas and back to Cork via London on the 21st of December.???? Fingers crossed...
Weekend to Snowy Mountains
Well the trip to Perisher was excellent. I picked up the Ford Falcon from the rental shop on Friday and picked up John, Jonas and Sinead and we headed off down the road to Canberra again. We were staying in Jindabyne which is a small town a few miles from the Snowy Mountains. The drive down took about 7 hours altogether, it nearly took 2 to get out of Sydney alone. We got down at about 10:30 and went and organised our gear for the 2 days. You don�t have to own anything yourself to go skiing, we hired out everything from the skis to the jackets. We rose bright and early the next morning and drove to the ski-tube. This is a train that takes you from the base of the mountain up to the resort. Its really funny as you get on the train with hundreds of others all in the gear and there�s no snow outside, then after about 15 mins you get out at the destination and people are skiing past you as you exit the station. We were at the Blue Cow Resort. We got some brekkie and headed off to our class. After about 2 hours with the instructor we were off on our own, me being over ambitious heading off down the �Pleasant Valley� slope in one straight run rather than the correct way of traversing your way down. I hadn�t perfected my "snow-plough" yet and couldn�t stop. I managed to dodge a few people but there was this huge snowless rock in front that wasn�t moving left or right, and neither was I. All I could do was to throw myself down. When I stopped rolling, I found both skis and spikes scattered to the four winds. It was funny, and I definitely learned my lesson for the day. That night all 10 of us headed out for dinner and enjoyed the drunken states of Chiara and Dominic back at the cabin.
The next day we got another lesson and some practice with turning and stopping.
By the end of the day we were confident in taking on the New Zealand slopes. We finished our day and started on our drive back home.
Trip to New Zealand
Sinead, Sean, Chiara, John, and myself were the Irish representatives on our trip to New Zealand while Dominic, Michael, Biaggio and Roberto together made up the Aussie contingent. Up again at all hours on the 2nd of September and off to International Departures of Sydney Airport for our 4 hour flight to Christchurch. We were glad to be travelling with Air New Zealand, a welcome break from Qantas. Walking out of the airport in Christchurch on the south island was like coming out of Cork Airport. It was cool, and green. The air seemed much fresher than that of Australia, even during winter there. We got picked up by a small coach who drove us to Maui rentals where we picked up our minibus that was going to take us to Queenstown. We got all the paperwork sorted and we were off. Mr. Furlong took the first shift, and I sat up front as navigator. The drive would take us about 6-7 hours, and we traveled through places like Ashburton, Timaru, Twisel. The road ran most of the way along a train line. Endless straight roads on a flat plain with the snow topped mountains on our right. I took a shift driving this mean machine (which at times had a mind of its own) for about 2 hours and then Michael(thenkumayte) took us the rest of the way. It was well dark by the time we arrived in Queenstown. We checked into the Quality Resort Hotel and went straight to bed in preparation for what would be a hectic week.
Looking out the balcony of the room the next morning was amazing. The hotel room overlooked Lake Wakatipu and the town which is surrounded by rocky mountains, some snow covered others wooded. We were heading for �The Remarkables� today, one of New Zealand�s most famous ski resorts. The road we took which we had no insurance cover on was a complete death trap, a dirt track that winds up along the side of the mountain. We got up to the cabin and had breakfast while the chairlifts started up for the day. We got all the gear on again and after a few slips and falls we were in business. The Perisher beginners were staying mostly on the green slopes, but towards the end of the day we had tried out a blue or 2.
That night we ventured into town to check out this happening towns night life. We were advised to give �Pog Mahones� a go and ended up staying for the night. It was a really traditional looking pub and had great music.
The next day we traveled to another skiing location called �Coronet Peak�. With the slopes being steeper, things were a little more difficult. Also it was coming to the end of the snow season, a lot of snow had melted and there were some icy patches, but it didn�t hold us back. After another full day down and a few more bruises later we headed into town again. There are some really nice bars but few restaurants here.
The next day we had planned to take a day out and see what else this place had to offer. It must be one of the best places in the world for outdoor/extreme activities. Here you can do anything from White-water rafting, Bungy jumping, jet boating, quad-biking, horse-riding...the list goes on. Since some of us had done the white-water rafting we took different deals. I decided against the bungy jump, but it didn�t stop Sean/Chiara/John from jumping 134 metres off a cablecar in the middle of a canyon. We all got in the famous Shotover Jet, which speeds down the really narrow Shotover river.
The driver lets you think that he�s about to crash into the rocks when he pulls back out again just in time. He also does some 360 moves.
Bungy jump over Queenstown
That night we took the Gondola up from Queenstown to a cabin up the side of the mountain where we had dinner booked. This is also the site for the famous �Ledge� night bungy overlooking the town 400 metres below. The others having done the other bungy earlier on in the day got a discount to do this one and decided to fit it in before �dinner�? After some fierce peer pressure I gave in and decided to do it as well. It was pretty scary watching the guy wrap a towel around your ankles and tie a strap around once and tie a knot in it. I was thinking �Ok have faith in these TOTAL STRANGERS???....hundreds have done this before.... ill be fine....� With tiny steps I made my way out to the edge and they dropped the bungy rope below me. You can feel it tug. They told me to wave to the camera as they started the countdown.......�5�.....hold on a minute ...�4�......let me get myself together here.....�3�.......what???? im not doing this.....�2�....ok i am doing this and i have to go on the countdown or ill never do it......�1�........help?!??? �GO!�
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
It is an amazing experience and was well glad when the elastic pulled me back up after the first drop..........after this you can actually enjoy the second drop as you reach for the ground below. Amazing.
The weather was bad on the slopes the next day and meant we had to make other arrangements. We went and organised the quad-biking for later on in the day, but first we made a return trip up the gondola to do the �Luge� - small carts, a but like tobogganing, but you�re on a proper tar track. We got some lunch afterwards and headed down to go quad-biking. We were driven out on this farm where we got fitted up. It looked like it was going to rain so we had to cover up well. We went around a field a few times to get used to the gears...speed ...etc before heading up the mountain track. It was brilliant even though we got drenched and covered in shit...Were we glad to see our showers that evening???
That evening we headed to �the edge� nightclub in the town after a few games of �hey Gary?� (New Zealand drinking game) The nightclub is pretty basic, but we still had a laugh. The music was definitely to write home about....�come on Oileen.... oh i swear...� and �...welllll I wood wolk fiove hundrod mioles...and I wood wold wolk fiove hundrod moire�...
Our last day before departing was for horse-riding.... Off again into the middle of nowhere and got decked out. It was mad. The instructor was off his head allowing us to gallop away on these really narrow dirt paths that had a pretty steep drop off the side. We were all in shock after. We even got to go in the Shotover river with them without getting wet. It was excellent. That night we made a return trip to �the edge� for our farewell. We left for Christchurch at about 9am the next morning for our return flight to Sydney.
SKY-DIVE
Its hard to imagine doing anything scarier than the bungy jump....but no fear.....The following weekend we were booked in to travel out to Picton (about 2 hours outside Sydney) to Sydney�s Sky-Diving Centre!!!
Niall, Frances, Chiara, Eileen, Sinead, myself and a few others headed off on the train for Cambelltown on the Sunday morning. The company picked us up from the train and drove us to the site. We booked in and were told that we would have to wait 2-3 hours before being called. It was a glorious day, so we didn�t mind laying out and we were able to watch other people go before us..The excitement was building.....
After about 2.5 hours we heard the voices over the loud speaker...... the panic kicked in....We got fitted out in the �boiler suits� and harnesses and got introduced to the guy that was going to be tied to our backs as we jumped out of a plane 4kms from the ground. Next we met the cameraman that would jump with us. We all broke up and had an individual talk with the instructor. He went through the whole routine about what we had to do and when...Then we heard the plane pull up outside...We jumped aboard....I was sent in first, which meant I was out last! We got strapped in and took off. The journey up took 20 minutes which felt like 20 years. We were climbing all the time. The light overhead flashed a few times. Only 2 minutes to go. Then seemingly almost straight away, it flashed again....Everyone was up and clipped in...Before I even noticed Sinead was gone out the back....then Mary,....Chiara......and then it was my turn. You walk to the back of the plane. The instructor tells you to sit down and let your legs go back between his....then you�re just hanging there looking out and down.....waiting for him to go.....waiting....1....2....3...................................... I now know what an out of body experience is. You cant roar or scream, its difficult enough to get your breath.....you spin a few times and finally see the ground below. Then you see the cameraman coming at you.....
After about 30 seconds and 3kms of a freefall the instructor taps your shoulders to prepare you for the shute release. Its amazing as you look down and watch the ground slowly approach ....The whole drop takes about 4 minutes, a bit crazy but well worth it.
Everyone was on a total high for the rest of the day - the ultimate rush.
Well its only a few days to go before the trip to Ayers Rock.....We�re leaving on Wednesday the 13th October and flying into Alice Springs....more about that after.......
Safari to Uluru - Ayers Rock
Strewth, we�re just back having survived the best trip yet by far! Yes! We finally got to the Red Centre of Australia. Jonas and I flew out of Sydney Wednesday the 13th at 8:40am en route to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. After a bit of a bumpy ride we landed with red ground all around. Thunder storms were forecasted, but all we could see were a few patchy clouds. It was about 27C. We got on a bus to the town centre to check into the Melenkas Hostel where we were going to meet the 3 travelling women...Sinead, Mary and Chiara on their way from Cairns. They weren�t arriving for a few hours so we decided to do a half day tour of the area surrounding Alice Springs. We got a 4 hour trip for $35 which took us out of the town first of all to John Flynn�s Gravesite - he is the man that started the whole �flying doctors� thing in Australia. We drove along the highway passing roads on our left going to Darwin about 1500kms away and on the right going to Adelaide again about 1500kms down the road. With the McDonell Mountain Ranges beside us we drove to Stanley Chasm. This was amazing. Basically its part of the mountain range that split down the middle thousands of years ago and now you can walk through it. All of a sudden there was a crack of thunder and it started lashing down. We took shelter by on side of the chasm and watched the rock change colour as the rain hit it. When it cleared up we got back to the bus and we drove onto Simpson�s Gap. This was similar to Stanley Chasm but much wider and with easier accessibility. We walked on a wide sandy path up there and noticed a sign beside us saying �No Swimming�. We were actually walking on the �river� bed which hadn�t seen a flow for most of the year. The saying around Alice Springs is that you�re not a local in �the Alice� unless you�ve seen the rivers flow 3 times. On our way back we stopped off in a few other places and went to the top of Anzac Hill which has a war memorial on top. From here you can see right down into Alice Springs and the whole surrounding area. The population of the town is 27,000 and we were told that its the third worst place in the world for crime, after Johannesburg and Washington DC. 5,000 of the residents are Americans who all work in this top secret �satellite tracking� base about 32kms outside the town. No unauthorised people are allowed out there and no one really knows what goes on there. People say its a similar site to that of �Area 51� in America????
Anyway, we got back to the hostel around 6 and met up with the girls who had arrived with their �fake� tans (sorry Sinead). We had dinner in this really country style bar/restaurant called �BoJangles� only 250 metres from the hostel. The bar man convinced us to try the Northern Territory beer which only came in these 2 litre bottles and told us that if we managed to beat the table record of 7 bottles then we�d get one free. We took him on. The band started up, and called on all the nations present to sing a song from their country. It was like the Eurovision...France was called up, Switzerland, Scotland, England, Germany. The singer said �I guess we cant avoid it anymore� as he called us up. Mary and Chiara gave a great rendition of �The Wild Rover� (again?) ...only joking girls, ye were super???
But it didn�t stop there, the band started the �Fields of Athenry� and others....by now the stage was full. It was gas. But it sure wasn�t gas when we had to get up for our 3 day safari at 6:20am the next morning. We checked out of the hostel and into the tour bus with Jason as our guide. We headed off down the Lasseter Highway for Uluru - Ayers Rock. Soon after leaving everyone got to introduce themselves. There were 18 of us altogether, the 5 Irish, 2 Welsh, 2 English, 2 Swedish, 2 Swiss, 1 Austrian, 2 Canadians and 2 Japanese. What a mix?
We drove to this camel farm just off the highway where we had a quick dash around the yard on one for $4, and afterwards went inside for breakfast. We drove on and stopped by the highway to go into the bush on both sides of the road to collect fire wood for our campsite fire that night. We were soon off again for our first trek of the day - Kings Canyon.
It was getting pretty hot now and we were warned that we wouldn�t be allowed on the walk unless we brought a 1.5 litre bottle of water each. The walk was about 4 hours long and by the time we were � of the way, our �cold� water wasn�t so cold anymore. It was disgusting but we were all well glad to have it. The guide Jason was really good, pointing out all the different places of interest and any plants/lizards that we passed on route to the top. The view was breath-taking once we finally made it up. The cameras were out. We walked around the top and down through �the Garden of Eden� to a water hole at a hollow of the canyon. We walked and walked, it was melting and the flies were everywhere. When we finally made it back down, it was about 5:45pm and the thermometer at the bottom read 34C!
Having done this we drove on about 15kms to get to our camping site for the night. We just caught the sunset when we got there. The lads started up the fire while the girls got the food prepared. The camping site was pretty basic and looked like something out of MASH. After dinner, Jason told us all about the area, and about what we would be doing for the next 2 days. He told us the whole history of Ayers Rock, and how the Aborigines plead with you not to climb it, as it is sacred to their way of life. We each got out our swag bags out and checked for bugs and snakes??!!! soon we were all lying on the ground looking up at the stars. Its so peaceful and amazing the amount of shooting stars you see out here.
We were woken at 5am next morning to head off again for the day. After a small breakfast we packed up and we were on our way. It was about another 150kms to Ayers Rock and we passed places like Curtin Springs and Mt. Conner.
Then we could see it in the distance - �Uluru�, it was funny because we were still about 50-60kms away. We drove first to �The Olgas� - about 50kms away from Ayers Rock.
This is a similar formation to Ayers Rock, but bigger.
Millions of years ago, it was one rock but split into loads of pieces and over time due to erosion has become what looks like separate huge rocks in the ground.
Our walk was even sweatier than the days before and the flies more annoying. We decided to take the long one which took about 3 hours and takes you in and around the formations. It was fantastic and again all made the most of the photo opportunities.
Then it was back to the bus and off for the Local Cultural Centre, which is well worth the visit to see how the Aborigines live and survived over time. After an hour or so there, we finally made it to the base of �the rock�. It was much bigger than we all thought. Our first stop was by the campsite where �the dingo took the Chamberlain baby� years ago - The movie �Cry in the Dark� with Meryl Streep and Sam Neill was made about it here, and the guide showed us where the baby�s clothes were found months later......
We walked a bit of the way round and saw many of the important parts of the rock, each one having a fascinating story told about it by the Aborigines. We got into the bus and took a drive around all 9.6kms. Its huge. We saw where the sun first hits it in the morning and we were going to get our place among the crowds for the famous sunset.
We got there, took the Champagne and crackers out!?, and we headed off up the path to the best viewing spot.
The cameras were definitely on overtime here, with the colour of the rock changing every few minutes as the sun went down. It was fantastic.
After 6:47pm passed, we all got back to our new campsite at the Ayers Rock Resort and cooked up the barbecue. Everyone sat around again and talked for a while before getting ready for bed as we had to be up for 4am next morning for �the climb!�.
We woke again looking up at the stars, and struggled to get up. Having ate the cereal we drove down the road towards the climb. It was still dark, but you could see the outline of the rock in the distance. The anticipation was unreal. What a sight.
When we got there it was really windy and Jason told us we may not be able to climb. We drove to the side of the rock to where the walkers got out to go watch the sunrise on the far side. We got to the base of the climb, and luckily we were given the go ahead by the park rangers to climb. There are 3 reasons that determine if you get to climb Ayers Rock or not: 1 Heat, 2. Rain and 3. Wind.
We got to the top of Chcken (shit) rock and to the start of the 45 degree ascent. There is a chain running up for about 300 metres and it gets steeper as you go up. About 5 mins up the wind gusts up and we see a guys baseball hat fall down the side of the rock. 60 people have died while on the rock over the years, many of the deaths are due to people chasing stuff that has blown away from them!! We got to the top of the chain, and looked back. We still had so much further to go but it was still amazing from here. In the distance you can only see flat desert ground except for �the Olgas�. The shadow from the rock as the sun rises stretches most of the way there. After a quick rest, we�re off again to the summit following the �road paint markings�. We can�t believe that we were allowed go up as the wind was very strong. About 300 metres more and the angle levels out and it turns into a walk more than a climb, going up and down along the little dips and hills that make up the surface of the rock. We can see the end in sight and cant believe it when we get there. All 1.6kms of it in about an hour. The view as well as the wind is breath-taking up here. By now its only 6:30ish and there�s a crowd of 30 people at the top. Everyone is congratulating everyone else. Then after a while we began the descent back down passing 60-70 year olds and one woman with a baby on her back!????!
The relief to get back down is great, and we celebrate again at the bottom. Jason takes us around the base for another walk the other way this time and shows us some of the artwork drawn hundreds of years ago in the caves around the rock. We pass some parts where you cant photograph as they were sacred meeting places where ceremonies were held. After an hour or so, we packed up and were back on the road to Alice Springs again....Looking back now the whole experience seems like it was a dream. 10 out of 10.
That night we all met up with the others on the tour for Pizza in Melenkas and ended up back at BoJangles again.
Everyone was wrecked yet on a high after the trip.
We flew out of the Alice at 12:20am next day and were back to Sydney at 4.
Tahitian Paradise?
HOLA! from Cuzco in Peru!
Well we have finally made it here after leaving Australia on the 19th of November. After a short stopover in Auckland we were off to Tahiti with Qantas. After crossing the International Date Line, we landed into Faaa airport to be greeted by the typically Tahitian flowergirls and a 4 piece trrrrropical sounding band! We found a hostel?? near the airport. It was called "Chez Sorenson". It was 12 midnight and we hadnt organised any place to stay so we were happy to kip anywhere...and anywhere we did. It was more like a family home than a hostel. This was pretty basic and had no hot water. We paid $AUS40 for the night!!! That is cheap enough for Tahiti. Its out about 6kms from the capital Papeete and "Le Truck" can take you in and out every few minutes, so we decided to book in for the other nights also. Our first day, we took the truck into the town centre. It is a port town and cruise ships dock right there by the side of the street. We walked around the markets where they sell the traditional flowerclad outfits. We decided to see a bit of the island, so we took the truck again out and down the west side of the island passing places like Punnuaia, Paea and Papara. We stopped off in Papara and walked along the black sand and rock beach. The water is all kinds of blue and totally different to that off the Great Barrier Reef. Later that evening we had dinner in one of the bar/restaurants off the main promenade - Boulevard Pomare and we sampled the local tahitian beer - Hinano. It cost us about $aus6 per bottle and was the cheapest as 3/4 of a pint of Guinness would cost about $20!!!! Our next day we went to the Mueseum of Tahiti in Punnuaia. You cant get around here without the lonely planet because there are no signposts for anything. We spent most of our time guessing where to get off the bus. On our last day there we got after spending a few hours lounging around the amazing pool of the Tahiti Outrigger Hotel we took a catamaran to Moorea - Tahiti nearest island. The view as you get off is spectactular, we were looking out for James Bond the whole time. The hills run right down to the water and are covered in palm trees. On our way back to get the boat a thunder storm started and we were about 10 mins walk away from the dock. We were lucky enough to have a guy pick us up. That evening we went back to the hostel to collect our bags before flying out. We were offered some salad and was told there was raw tuna in it!??! and the father of the family was looking at me to eat it......i had to ....i can still feel it going down....it actually tasted fine but the thought made me want to hurl!
Anyway we said goodbye and were off in our Lan Chile flight for Santiago, Chile. Tahiti and Moorea were fantastic but you have to visit the islands there to get the whole experience.
Chile Times
Bienvenidos a Lan Chiiiileeeeeee�. We had an unexpected stopoff on this trip at Easter Island. This is an island about 3,000kms off the coast of Chile in the south pacific. We landed into Santiago at 7 in the evening of the 22nd. We were met at the airport and taken to the Majestic Hotel on St Santo Domnigo. We attempted to find a restaurant mentioned in the lonely planet but were unsuccessful as it got dark fast and we didnt want to be hanging around the city streets looking lost. We had dinner in the hotel. The next morning we took a city tour. The old parts of Santiago are beautiful with the old buildings, palaces and parks. The whole place is full of the police and army on the streets. The main street in the city - the alameda which is actually called Bernardo O"Higgins! runs right through the city from west to east. On the west of the city is the coast and to the east are the snow capped Andes. Its amazing, you are walking down through the city centre and you can see the mountains right there. The street got the name because of the son of an Irish man and a Chilean woman helped Chile gain their freedom against Peru and Bolivia. We got to see the changing of the guards at the Presidential Offices Palace in the centre of the old city and we visited some museums. Some of the artefacts dated back 2 or 3 thousand years!!! The next day we got a tour to the west coast. We stopped off in a small cafe by the roadside to sample the traditional "chica" drink. It is warm let me say that. It wouldnt take long to get drunk on it and it tastes like a cross between wine and brandy. We passed through the vineyards and orchards of Casablanca wines and onto the city of Valparaiso and the beaches of Vi�a Del Mar. The guide told us that on average Chile has 10 earthquake tremors a day. We didnt experience any...The views as you drive into the Vi�a area are amazing. You think that its a fake background. The streets are so small and crowded. The beaches are amazing and the rate and power that the waves crash in make it impossible for anyone to swim safely. There are huge black and white rocks all along the coast and we spotted some seals and pelicans. Afterwards we had lunch in a seafood restuarant right on the harbourside overlooking the boats....The markets are full of all things that you want to buy but you know you cant fit in the bags! We had our siesta on the way back - slept most of the way.
Our last day in Santiago was to ourselves. We went to the one of the Plazas and lay out in the sun in one of the parks.
Peru
Our next flight was also with Lan Chile and much better than the previous two. We landed into Lima at about 11pm on the 25th and taken to the Riviera Hotel in the city. We had all the next day to ourselves exploring the city. Lima is much more like the south america that we were expecting as opposed to what we saw in Chile. There is definately more poverty here and the view from the 12th floor of the hotel looks like the place has just been hit by a few skud missiles. We headed up to see the Plaza of San Martin and onto the Plaza De Armas where again we saw the changing of the guards. It it a must when here. The cathedrals are huge and fountains are amazing, and its wierd seeing them when you just walk off a real dirty street. They almost seem out of place.
Archaelogical Capital of the World
Well this morning the 27th of November we flew out of Lima into Cuzco for our 4 days of Inca exploration. Cuzco is about 3,500 metres above sea level and at first you dont feel it, but after an hour or so, the nausea kicks in. When we got to our hotel the PLAZA!! we were offered the famous Coca Tea. Oh JEEZ!=()&/%$# it was torture, but they say its the best medicine to deal with the altitude. After forcing it down and taking a recommended rest in the room, we were picked up for our Cuzco Ruins, Temples, and Cathedrals tour. This place is unbelieveable. You have to see the streets. They are mostly one way and only barely fit one car. The women all walk around with their children on their backs in little sacks. It reminded me a bit of Bali because the children come running up to you to buy postcards and sweets.
The smell of Llamas is everywhere and the arts and crafts are everywhere. Again the buildings are amazing. We spent the whole day with our mouths opened to the ground. Some of the old ruins are fantastic and unbelieveably constructed. Earthquakes have destroyed a lot of buildings here, but the Inca constructions always survived...Its pretty cool. Tomorrow we are going to the Pisac markets and onto Ollantaytambo and then the day after down to Machu Picchu.....
Will write afterwards.......
Well hello from San Francisco....We've made it out of South America in one piece anyway....what a trip. Our bus collected us at about 10 in the morning and we headed for the Pisac Markets. The scenery on the way was amazing and most of the time you can see the snow capped Andes in the distance. All along the way, there are women on the sides of the road working away on their crafts. Parts of this place are so run down. The Pisac Markets were unbelieveable. Hundreds of small stalls selling everything. You can get anything from clothes and crafts to food here. The temptation to buy is scary. Then onto Ollantaytambo.
This is the last Inca settlement before Machu Picchu and it lays right at the gateway to the Amazon Jungle. What a sight. From the distance it looks like a whole pile of steps up the side of the mountain. When we had climbed half way up the guide explained what the surrounding areas were. He pointed to where the Andes meets the Amazon and mentioned that the famous head-shrinker tribe(cannibals) live in there!!!! Everyone reaction was the same.....uncomfortable. The view from the top of the ruin is amazing.
The local people are descendants of the Inca tribe - they have survived and lived here since. The next day is the day we've been waiting for. We had to get up at 4:15am to get the 3 hour train to Machu Picchu!!! We arrived at the station to see this train with each carriage having its own engine...which took a while to start up and sounds like a truck... Its so cool as you leave the station and zig-zag your way up out of Cuzco going forwards and up backwards up the hill. The trip was unreal again with the landscape looking like a drawing most of the time.
Surprise, Surprise! we broke down about an hour into the journey, and were delayed about 3/4 of an hour. The roof of the carriage had glass panels, so it was good to see everything as we passed. When we got the the village at the bottom of Machu Picchu, it was raining lightly and visibility was poor. We all fought to get on the bus which takes you up to the ancient ruins. We were finally on our way, again winding back and forth up the steep hill. The drop off the side of the road was far from a joke, but of course we had full confidence in our driver!/?(*&% When we got out we walked to the entrance and still the mist and fog hid the view from us. It was eerie. The guide led us along the trail into the city. Wow! Words can't explain this view. The constructions are totally beyond comprehension. There is a lot of grass, but the stone buildings are unbelieveable. The guide explained the whole controversy around Machu Picchus discovery and how Hiram Bingham claims to have found it back in the early 1900's. He then took us around the main parts. Living quarters, farming quarters, places where they held sacrifices. They even had an arena where they held ceremonies and put on shows. It is thought that about 500 people lived there hiding from the Spanish when they invaded. It is totally amazing. The mist and fog begin to rise and slowly the view becomes clearer. We walk up one side to get the traditional view as seen in all the books and postcards. It was a very memorable day. After 2/3 hours up there we returned back down to meet the others and head back on the train to Cusco........
We flew out of Cusco the next morning back to Lima. Our flight to Los Angeles wasnt until that night so we had the day to ourselves. We met this woman at the airport that was kind of a guide, suggesting hotels and places to go. We decided to check out the Miraflores part of Lima. We got a taxi and booked our stuff into a hotel out there for the day. This was a much more attractive part of Lima to what we had been exposed to up to now. We went to this nice cafe/restaurant that had an american breakfast advertised and english speakers!! ha ha yeah right. It took about 20 minutes to order a bloody tea. 'no entiendo, no entiendo!!!' jeez! Anyway after that effort, we walked around this shopping district which was surprisingly modern. They even had a Hard Rock there, where we ended up that evening. It was a beautiful day and we just enjoyed the sunshine. We returned back to the hotel and got what was supposed to be a taxi back to the airport. We were lucky that the car made it in one piece. All we could do was laugh, as there wasn't much point in crying. We got our flight and were on our way to (english speaking) North America........I got on the plane and slept 7 out of the 8 hours it took us to get to LA. It was great.
Arrive in L.A. - Universal Studios
We arrived into LAX on the 1st of December. It was a beautiful morning. When we finally got through the queues at immigration we called up Banana Bungalows in Hollywood. They had a shuttle bus service running from the airport right to their door. We got in and took off down the highway with the city of Los Angeles to our right. Hollywood is on the exact opposite side of the city and we totally bypassed the downtown LA to get there. Banana Bungalows is a hostel in the Hollywood Hills, just down the road from Universal Studios and the Hollywood Bowl. We checked into our room and prepared for the day. We decided to head to Universal Studios for the day. We got a taxi there and were in the park in no time. .
This was a perfect day to be there - there weren't any queues!!!!! It was great. No waiting around. We went to the usual Back to the Future and ET rides. T2 in 3D was excellent, and the backlot tour was pretty good too. We passed some sets from old movies like Psycho, The Flintstones, Jurassic Park, Jaws and saw how they create flood and earthquake scenes. The Backdraft show was probably the best, where they recreate a warehouse fire. Excellent! After the park closes we walked through the universal village. The atmosphere is buzzing with all the Christmas decorations now up and restaraunts and shops packed.
We got back to the hostel and got ready for the night out. We were headed for Sunset Boulevard......
We visited some bar I think it was called the "Cat and Fiddle" not a hugely exciting place but good for a few beers.
The next day we got booked onto one of the city tours that Banana Bungalows run. This was a great way to see the highlights of LA, Hollywood and the beaches. Firstly we visited the L. Ron Hubbard Museum (Church of Scientology) It wasn't hugely exciting.
We headed off then down Melrose for Beverly Hills, passing places like the famous Beverly Hills Hotel and right across the street the park where George Michael was caught with his pants down in the jacks!! After this we were taken to Rodeo Drive. Jeez, lock up all Credit cards and wallets! This place is unreal, every top designer in the world has a corner here. You can smell the money when you walk down this street. We went down to the end where you can see the Pretty Woman famous Beverly Wilshire Hotel. We had to give a run in to see if it is that good inside. It was 'pretty' nice alright. Then we started the tour of the Beverly Hills Mansions.... We passed the homes of Leonardo di Caprio, Wesley Snipes, Tom Cruise, Barbara Streisland, Ronald Reagan... loads and ended up at the Playboy Mansion! ha ha as if we were getting in. Right next door is Aaron Spelling of Dynasty/90210/TJ Hooker. Huge executive of all those shows... This place totally took the biscuit. What you could see of it was unreal. We thought we were outside the main gate which we soon found out was the hired help's entrance.... After this we headed out to the beaches where we walked along Venice Beach. .
Even though it was December, it was quite busy with the typical rollerbladers whizzing past. We went down to Muscle Beach and the basketball court used in "White Men can't jump". I actually expected the beaches to look a bit better than they did..
We had some food at one of the restaurants along the Promenade before heading off for downtown L.A.
The driver took us through some of the neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the ganglands. Here its all about marking your territory with your gangs name and each member has a nickname. There was graffiti everywhere.... We drove back into the city passing the City Hall and the world famous Shrine Auditorium (Home of the Oscars). It was now evening as we drove up to the Hollywood Hills enroute to the sign. You can only go so far as too many people were going up there, so the road is blocked off. We got to a good spot to take a few pics which was right beside the former home of Madonna no less. There is a great view down into the valley from there and its quite calm there too. Lots of walkers and joggers up there.
Coming soon.....NEW YEARS EVE 1999 IN TIMES SQUARE, NEW YORK CITY!
Coming soon also.....olinoz 2000!!!!
Including Thailand, Australia, Mexico and North America....
under construction
.....to be continued.....
.......keep watching for further updates.......
E-mail me at [email protected]
in the meantime.
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