We ended up doing a lot of cool stuff at Kroombit Cattle Station, much to my surprise.
The place is so remote and away from civilisation I felt disconnected from the real world pretty soon after we got there. But it was a good experience.
The first thing I did was shoot clay pigeons with a shotgun. I got 3 out of 5...woot! The gun really does jolt back into your shoulder with a lot of force.
Next up...we did actually have to catch goats! Basically in a team of 3, one person would catch it with a rope (lasso), the 2nd would lift it by its legs and put it on the ground (!) and the 3rd, me, would brand it. Don't worry..it was a cold (fake) brand, otherwise I never would have done it! James decided to bodyslam the poor goat!
After that, we learnt to crack a whip. Much harder than it looks. I firmly believe the whips were right-handed and thus I was unfairly disadvantaged ;)
Lastly, the mechanical bull...jeez this was painful! I got to 2 or 3 bucks lol. Some good pics/video of it. My girlfriend says she doesn't want kids...she no longer has the option anyway heh (i love you nush xxxxxxxx)
The beds were suprisingly the most comfortable i've had on this trip so far. The wake up call was done by way of a rifle! Luckily I was already out of the room by the time this happened.
Arrived in Airlie Beach yesterday. James and I sail tomorrow afternoon for 2 days. Really looking forward to it. Very few people have ever heard of our boat, so if it's a tin can and we sink, it's been fun writing this blog!
Saturday 31 May 2008
Wednesday 28 May 2008
Fraser Island
It really is a stunning place. We set off on our self-drive trip on Monday morning after watching some health, safety and regulations videos (some were ridiculous, e.g. "If the waste bin is full, use the next one"). As soon as we got onto the island and started driving, the relentless bouncing of the 4wd (4x4 jeep) was a sign of things to come.
The beach was amazing, the sand was so fine. But it was really strange seeing no one in the sea at all. It's for a few valid reasons though: tiger sharks and stingers. We saw the latter whilst at the top of Indian Head on Day 2. Unfortunately no sharks or turtles were spotted, but plenty of dingoes, especially after we set up camp on Day 2.
On Day 1 we saw the beautiful Lake McKenzie first. Afterwards we made our way to the campsite. In the evening we started a fire and played the inevitable drinking games. I Never revealed a lot of (disgusting) stories lol. No noise after 9pm at the campsite so we moved down to the beach but it was freezing! The next morning the park ranger woke us all up. He was impresssed by our tidiness (who'd have thought!) but some campers nearby had complained about the noise at around midnight. I was already asleep by 10.30 because I was too cold down by the beach lol. We apologised and escaped with a "stern warning".
Day 2 we went to the Champagne Pools (after an extremely long walk!). Afterwards we had to wait at one end of the beach for a few hours to wait for the tide to go down. We found our campsite...which, this time, wasn't an actual campsite but a designated area on the beach for camping. In other words, roughing it. No toilets, showers or lights. We used the light from the car to ensure we could still entertain ourselves. There was a big storm that night and both James and I were quietly concerned about our tent blowing away (probably unaware that we were actually in it lol). In my head I'd planned how I'd try to push the pegs back in whilst battling the winds and heavy rain. Luckily when we woke up the next morning ours was the only tent to have resisted any leaking.
On Day 3, the final day, we didn't bother going to Lake Wabby and proceeded back to Lake McKenzie. We didn't make it in the end as Neasa hurt her back as we flew over a huge bump in the road. Her boyfriend was driving lol.
Once we got back to the hostel, I finally had a shower and tried to mend my foot after cutting it on a stone on Day 2. Hopefully it hasn't got infected :S
Anyway tomorrow James and I move on to Kroombit Cattle Station. Rumours suggest one of the activities is catching a goat...
The beach was amazing, the sand was so fine. But it was really strange seeing no one in the sea at all. It's for a few valid reasons though: tiger sharks and stingers. We saw the latter whilst at the top of Indian Head on Day 2. Unfortunately no sharks or turtles were spotted, but plenty of dingoes, especially after we set up camp on Day 2.
On Day 1 we saw the beautiful Lake McKenzie first. Afterwards we made our way to the campsite. In the evening we started a fire and played the inevitable drinking games. I Never revealed a lot of (disgusting) stories lol. No noise after 9pm at the campsite so we moved down to the beach but it was freezing! The next morning the park ranger woke us all up. He was impresssed by our tidiness (who'd have thought!) but some campers nearby had complained about the noise at around midnight. I was already asleep by 10.30 because I was too cold down by the beach lol. We apologised and escaped with a "stern warning".
Day 2 we went to the Champagne Pools (after an extremely long walk!). Afterwards we had to wait at one end of the beach for a few hours to wait for the tide to go down. We found our campsite...which, this time, wasn't an actual campsite but a designated area on the beach for camping. In other words, roughing it. No toilets, showers or lights. We used the light from the car to ensure we could still entertain ourselves. There was a big storm that night and both James and I were quietly concerned about our tent blowing away (probably unaware that we were actually in it lol). In my head I'd planned how I'd try to push the pegs back in whilst battling the winds and heavy rain. Luckily when we woke up the next morning ours was the only tent to have resisted any leaking.
On Day 3, the final day, we didn't bother going to Lake Wabby and proceeded back to Lake McKenzie. We didn't make it in the end as Neasa hurt her back as we flew over a huge bump in the road. Her boyfriend was driving lol.
Once we got back to the hostel, I finally had a shower and tried to mend my foot after cutting it on a stone on Day 2. Hopefully it hasn't got infected :S
Anyway tomorrow James and I move on to Kroombit Cattle Station. Rumours suggest one of the activities is catching a goat...
Sunday 25 May 2008
Dead people or people walking dead...
...that sums up the population of Hervey Bay lol. There really is very little going on here. It's so strange how such a popular route to Fraser Island could be so under-developed. Ah well, we'll be leaving for Fraser Island for 2 nights early tomorrow morning. Apparently the nights are really cold so we're all trying to prepare for that, as well as the hot daytime on the beautiful sandy island (the largest sand island in the world apparently).
We stopped over at Rainbow Beach on the way here...an even more dull location. The 3 hostels in the whole area are all next to each other. There were very few shops and there was zero justification for "Rainbow" beach...different shades of yellow sand is not a rainbow!
Anyway...trying to kill some time here before the 3pm meeting about Fraser. Will update here when I'm back!
We stopped over at Rainbow Beach on the way here...an even more dull location. The 3 hostels in the whole area are all next to each other. There were very few shops and there was zero justification for "Rainbow" beach...different shades of yellow sand is not a rainbow!
Anyway...trying to kill some time here before the 3pm meeting about Fraser. Will update here when I'm back!
Friday 23 May 2008
Noosa
So it's our last night in Noosa. A very chilled out place and a big change from the past two (Brisbane and Surfers which were full of skyscrapers).
Didn't actually do that much here - but that's probably the reason why people like it so much. The beach is really nice, and today we (james and i) went kayaking. God that was exhausting. My arms will be too painful to use tomorrow lol. Our guide claimed he once hit a shark with a paddle whilst it was sleeping...
We went to Noosa National Park afterwards. A really good walk and we saw dolphins in the sea and a koala at the top of a tree!
Anyway just trying to pack now. Onto Hervey Bay tomorrow...and Fraser Island from there on Monday!
Didn't actually do that much here - but that's probably the reason why people like it so much. The beach is really nice, and today we (james and i) went kayaking. God that was exhausting. My arms will be too painful to use tomorrow lol. Our guide claimed he once hit a shark with a paddle whilst it was sleeping...
We went to Noosa National Park afterwards. A really good walk and we saw dolphins in the sea and a koala at the top of a tree!
Anyway just trying to pack now. Onto Hervey Bay tomorrow...and Fraser Island from there on Monday!
Wednesday 21 May 2008
Cleeeeean
Arrived in Brisbane last night. Had a fantastic dinner, an amazing night's sleep and an incredible shower (saying that though, any normal shower would be awesome after hostel showers lol).
Tried to go to the boomerang place today to paint our own boomerangs but the guy was off sick! Luckily I'll be back here after cairns so I'll try again then. The rest of the day we spent walking around the main shopping area where I bought factor 30 sun screen (factor 15 is pretty much ineffective here!). James bought a new camera...i tried to force a sony one onto him but the samsung was ideal for what he wanted, plus they threw in the memory stick for $10!
Anyway so had another great dinner tonight! Going to watch state of origin match (QLD vs NSW in rugby league...1 of 3 games they play each year). And then...get up at 4.30 for champions league live! Man Utd vs Chelsea...even though im a gooner i'm supporting man u for this match. Chelsea are scum!! heh
Bus leaves at 6.30am for noosa...james and me will be exhausted! Some bushwalking to do before we get there too. So...exhausted and bitten by mosquitos. I can't wait!
Tried to go to the boomerang place today to paint our own boomerangs but the guy was off sick! Luckily I'll be back here after cairns so I'll try again then. The rest of the day we spent walking around the main shopping area where I bought factor 30 sun screen (factor 15 is pretty much ineffective here!). James bought a new camera...i tried to force a sony one onto him but the samsung was ideal for what he wanted, plus they threw in the memory stick for $10!
Anyway so had another great dinner tonight! Going to watch state of origin match (QLD vs NSW in rugby league...1 of 3 games they play each year). And then...get up at 4.30 for champions league live! Man Utd vs Chelsea...even though im a gooner i'm supporting man u for this match. Chelsea are scum!! heh
Bus leaves at 6.30am for noosa...james and me will be exhausted! Some bushwalking to do before we get there too. So...exhausted and bitten by mosquitos. I can't wait!
Tuesday 20 May 2008
Surfers Paradise
Leaving surfers paradise today. Spent the last two days at Movie World and Wet 'n' Wild water park...both were fantastic! Some great rides...and I went on the biggest rollercoaster i've ever been on lol. I feel I have to tackle my fear of rollercoasters if i want to do a skydive!
Going to head to the beach here before heading to Brisbane!
Going to head to the beach here before heading to Brisbane!
Saturday 17 May 2008
Knock-a-Door-Gnome
So Thursday night...we went for a cheap meal at Cheeky Monkeys (the club across the road). Came back to the hostel pretty sharpish because we had some tomfoolery to attend to. We decided to knock on the apartment the rest of the Oz bus group was staying in and pose as gnomes. James posed as wheelbarrow gnome, a couple were fishers, one was reading and one digging. I was camerman gnome (yes i invented that one). The reaction was priceless (video was go on facebook when i can get it up). It was fantastic...we thought they would just close the door. But no..."guys you're really freaking me out" says jenny. 4 people came out to check out the gnoming. Then we just got up and walked away. Excellent.
Friday we went bodyboarding...really good fun. Probably better than surfing for us cos we'd just lie on the boards and be lazy (cos we suck). The evening was a huge piss up (for everyone else at least...they were all gooning, i had some alcopops and watched the merriness lol). Simon decided to wear a dress on the goon run, and on the way back we encountered crazy Kev from surf camp..shocker. This guy is mental. He turned up in our apartment later..told us about "piss your pants polly" and decided to get his penis out when i was trying to take a picture. what a nob lol.
Cheeky monkeys later...really good music but we were pretty exhausted by 12.30ish.
Checked out of Byron Bay today, walked all the way to the lighthouse before leaving for Surfers Paradise. James and myself can understand why a lot of people aren't impressed with this place. There are a shitload of sky scrapers (commercialised is the term used by everyone). Apparently the beach looks great until you're in the shadow of the skyscrapers...which will be all along the beach by the looks of it. We've bought a pass to go to Warner Bros Movie World tomorrow, and then we'll be going to Wet 'n' Wild water park on Monday with the others from byron. Looking forward to getting to brisbane where we'll be staying with my uncle and hopefully watching the champions league final...at 4am!!
Friday we went bodyboarding...really good fun. Probably better than surfing for us cos we'd just lie on the boards and be lazy (cos we suck). The evening was a huge piss up (for everyone else at least...they were all gooning, i had some alcopops and watched the merriness lol). Simon decided to wear a dress on the goon run, and on the way back we encountered crazy Kev from surf camp..shocker. This guy is mental. He turned up in our apartment later..told us about "piss your pants polly" and decided to get his penis out when i was trying to take a picture. what a nob lol.
Cheeky monkeys later...really good music but we were pretty exhausted by 12.30ish.
Checked out of Byron Bay today, walked all the way to the lighthouse before leaving for Surfers Paradise. James and myself can understand why a lot of people aren't impressed with this place. There are a shitload of sky scrapers (commercialised is the term used by everyone). Apparently the beach looks great until you're in the shadow of the skyscrapers...which will be all along the beach by the looks of it. We've bought a pass to go to Warner Bros Movie World tomorrow, and then we'll be going to Wet 'n' Wild water park on Monday with the others from byron. Looking forward to getting to brisbane where we'll be staying with my uncle and hopefully watching the champions league final...at 4am!!
Thursday 15 May 2008
Oz Experience
Started the Oz Experience bus on tuesday, and the first stop was surf camp (mojosurf). The first night...was insane!
The weird manager kept insisting we were going to play some "games". He'd also told us that if we were going to shag, we do it in the showers, and that if we didnt use a condom, we should pull out : That was a fairly shocking intro...i think everyone cringed lol.
But anyway...the games. Yikes. There was lap dancing, singles pulling for as long as possible, guys wearing nappies with ice down them, everyone stripping down (some to no boxers, but not me!) and tieing clothes together to create the longest clothing line! Probably the most penis I've seen in one place. Tits magee meant james's chest was pretty sore after i insisted i grabbed his "tits" hehehee
The next morning, with a lot of people very hung over, we did some surfing. The boards were much bigger than last week, so it was easier and I managed to stand 3 or 4 times...obviously falling off about 2 seconds later! But good fun. We moved on to Byron Bay later (arriving yesterday) where we've just chilled, catching up on a lot of lost sleep. Trying to book the oz bus for the journey ahead, as well as Fraser Island and Whitsundays. We'll all be staggering our stays in each place, so many more people to meet!
Missing & Loving my girlfriend...xxxxxxxxx
The weird manager kept insisting we were going to play some "games". He'd also told us that if we were going to shag, we do it in the showers, and that if we didnt use a condom, we should pull out : That was a fairly shocking intro...i think everyone cringed lol.
But anyway...the games. Yikes. There was lap dancing, singles pulling for as long as possible, guys wearing nappies with ice down them, everyone stripping down (some to no boxers, but not me!) and tieing clothes together to create the longest clothing line! Probably the most penis I've seen in one place. Tits magee meant james's chest was pretty sore after i insisted i grabbed his "tits" hehehee
The next morning, with a lot of people very hung over, we did some surfing. The boards were much bigger than last week, so it was easier and I managed to stand 3 or 4 times...obviously falling off about 2 seconds later! But good fun. We moved on to Byron Bay later (arriving yesterday) where we've just chilled, catching up on a lot of lost sleep. Trying to book the oz bus for the journey ahead, as well as Fraser Island and Whitsundays. We'll all be staggering our stays in each place, so many more people to meet!
Missing & Loving my girlfriend...xxxxxxxxx
Sunday 11 May 2008
Week 1
The bbq at coogee beach was great...first time i had vege sausages and they were pretty tasty! We went for a long walk to bondi beach afterwards, whilst taking many, many pictures of the coast along the way. I'm sure i wont remember which beaches they're from lol. We didn't spend long at bondi because it was a pretty cold day. The sand at both beaches was amazing though.
The on Thursday it was surfing! A lot of fun at Palm Beach (Home & Away land). Exhausting admittedly. And was a bit achey the day after. God I'm such a woman. More surfing ahead though, as the first day on the Oz Experience bus is Surf Camp.
Saturday was the zoo and pub crawl. The elephants were fantastic! One sprayed the zoo worker with water lol. Everything else was pretty standard really. Good fun though - we lost each other randomly lol. Pub crawl was madness - 50 ppl on a bus singing and shouting. And that was before any drink! I hate beer (i think i said that before). I also hate wine but i drank 1 glass at the 2nd place...the guys were not impressed! Some random man tried to lick me whilst everyone else laughed lol..there's evidence in photo form too! Drank a lot of shots...agreed with g and James that we'd buy a round of shots at each bar. Throat is in pain!! There was a guy who apparently earns $4000 a week who bought a lot of drinks...I managed to score a southern comfort n lemonade lol.
The cruise today was rubbish. Elvis impersonations and other such crap. Just relaxing now. Laundry tomorrow then oz bus on tuesday!
The on Thursday it was surfing! A lot of fun at Palm Beach (Home & Away land). Exhausting admittedly. And was a bit achey the day after. God I'm such a woman. More surfing ahead though, as the first day on the Oz Experience bus is Surf Camp.
Saturday was the zoo and pub crawl. The elephants were fantastic! One sprayed the zoo worker with water lol. Everything else was pretty standard really. Good fun though - we lost each other randomly lol. Pub crawl was madness - 50 ppl on a bus singing and shouting. And that was before any drink! I hate beer (i think i said that before). I also hate wine but i drank 1 glass at the 2nd place...the guys were not impressed! Some random man tried to lick me whilst everyone else laughed lol..there's evidence in photo form too! Drank a lot of shots...agreed with g and James that we'd buy a round of shots at each bar. Throat is in pain!! There was a guy who apparently earns $4000 a week who bought a lot of drinks...I managed to score a southern comfort n lemonade lol.
The cruise today was rubbish. Elvis impersonations and other such crap. Just relaxing now. Laundry tomorrow then oz bus on tuesday!
Wednesday 7 May 2008
Sydney thus far
(Thank you to someone called 'the gf' for telling me to update my blog lol :P)
Arrived in Sydney on Monday, with no flight issues except that the 6 of us weren't sitting together. I hate people who insist on pushing back their seat...it's the first thing they do. Seriously, there was no need. And it's even more of a pain in the arse when you're trying to eat.
The meal after the stop over in Bangkok was great...it was Thai!
Monday was pretty much a chill out day. Had a walk around the area...really beautiful city, especially Darling Harbour. Hostel (Wake up!) is very good (reflected in the price of course).
Tuesday turned out to be quite busy - buffet lunch in Sydney Centrepoint Tower was very good...the restaurant rotates once every 70mins and the view was fantastic! This was followed by a meet up for drinks at 6. We went to a club for a couple more free drinks. The music was so cheesy. I mean S Club 7 cheesy! Shocking. Tara won the dance competition pretending to be brazilian :S there was a complete nob from luxembourg who decided to undo his jeans, show off his boxers, realise everyone was disgusted and do them up again. Music wasn't too bad after all...james, g and myself spent a fair while on the stage showing off our moves :P Wet t-shirt competition before we left was...interesting (read: slutty) at first. We left soon after.
Today: reptile park for pictures with koalas and kangaroos!! Also got pics of plenty more animals and a GIGANTIC python. Afterwards we went to 3 wine tasting places. I hate wine. It was just too much wine and I really can't drink anymore alcohol today.
We were coming back to the hostel through the mountains for a scenic route. However...towards the top there was a HUGE boulder in the middle of the road. I mean HUUUGE...a whole tree had been torn down with it. So we had to back track and go back a different way..resulting in a 2.5hr journey to the hostel. Chilling out for the rest of the night. Tomorrow it's the beach BBQ, and the first chance to get wet!!
Arrived in Sydney on Monday, with no flight issues except that the 6 of us weren't sitting together. I hate people who insist on pushing back their seat...it's the first thing they do. Seriously, there was no need. And it's even more of a pain in the arse when you're trying to eat.
The meal after the stop over in Bangkok was great...it was Thai!
Monday was pretty much a chill out day. Had a walk around the area...really beautiful city, especially Darling Harbour. Hostel (Wake up!) is very good (reflected in the price of course).
Tuesday turned out to be quite busy - buffet lunch in Sydney Centrepoint Tower was very good...the restaurant rotates once every 70mins and the view was fantastic! This was followed by a meet up for drinks at 6. We went to a club for a couple more free drinks. The music was so cheesy. I mean S Club 7 cheesy! Shocking. Tara won the dance competition pretending to be brazilian :S there was a complete nob from luxembourg who decided to undo his jeans, show off his boxers, realise everyone was disgusted and do them up again. Music wasn't too bad after all...james, g and myself spent a fair while on the stage showing off our moves :P Wet t-shirt competition before we left was...interesting (read: slutty) at first. We left soon after.
Today: reptile park for pictures with koalas and kangaroos!! Also got pics of plenty more animals and a GIGANTIC python. Afterwards we went to 3 wine tasting places. I hate wine. It was just too much wine and I really can't drink anymore alcohol today.
We were coming back to the hostel through the mountains for a scenic route. However...towards the top there was a HUGE boulder in the middle of the road. I mean HUUUGE...a whole tree had been torn down with it. So we had to back track and go back a different way..resulting in a 2.5hr journey to the hostel. Chilling out for the rest of the night. Tomorrow it's the beach BBQ, and the first chance to get wet!!
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