FREEDOM.
Exams are all over :D.
I think they went kinda okay, except from lack of time in the 1st one. So...No more study in Australia -I have actually finished my exchange year. Crazy times hey (hey is Australian, thought I'd better use the colloquialisms while I'm still here p.s. G'day mate).
I had a super fun night out on saturday at a rooftop party, then dancing in the city with the faves Sayo and Katia. I am going to be so sad to say goodbye to everyone. I only have 5 more days here. 5 that's hardly any! I wish I had sorted out some travel plans for the end of semester, but money is a pretty big issue. I can't wait to be rich.
Today I went to Movieworld and saw the most amazing stunt show. It was advertised as Monster Trucks but really the most amazing part were the freestyle motorcross riders. I was genuinely scared for their lives. They were not only flying through the air but doing crazy stunts, flipping and even letting go of their bikes! It was so impressive, and much scarier than going on the rides.
I'm even going to upload a video...as soon as I can figure out how (but that isn't now).
xxx
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Showing posts with label out. Show all posts
Showing posts with label out. Show all posts
Monday, 27 June 2011
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Birthday and Camping
So I am now 21 and a proper adult (sort of).
I had such a lovely birthday. Me and Ryan want out to an amazing indian restaurant in West End the night before. It was so delicious. And so exciting to be in a proper restaurant, it's been so long! So that was a nice pre-birthday evening. Then on my birthday I woke up to cards and presents. I had a little cake and some champagne with gold in it from my parents, some lovely jewels from Tess, a bumble bee toothbrush holder from Ryan's parents and a volcano making kit, Mr Topsy Turvey book and AMAZING SWAROVSKI JEWELLERY from Ryan. He bought me an earings and necklace set with little pink gems inside hearts. I love them! :D.
For lunch me and Ryan went to Nando's before meeting Hwaran and Sayo at the modern art museum (GOMA). We made a birthday cake out of lego, played in a room full of balloons and went down the slide. I really think that everyone should get the chance to play in a room full of balloons on their birthday, if not every day. I think life would be better with a balloon room.
Anyways, after GOMA we went to Max Brenner's an amazing chocolate shop in South Bank where we met Lizzie. We had to cue for half an hour but it was so deelicious! I had a banana chocolate milkshake and it was so good. Hwaran and Sayo even got chocolate pizza which they gave me a slice of. It had chocolate sauce with marshmellow, white chocolate and crunchy yummy things as topping. It was so sickly! I couldn't even manage to finish my 1 slice. I don't know how Hwaran and Sayo managed to eat the rest of the pizza! We then headed back, I skyped my family again as now it was my Dad's birthday as well (yes, we have the same birthday). Then people started to arrive for predrinks. We all got a little squiffy before heading out to the valley. We went to a club called The Met where me, Sayo and Katia managed to cue jump and get in for free because it was my birthday. Unfortunately not everyone could get in due to flipflops/ID that wasn't accepted. It was a good night though, Sayo and Katia introduced me to Tequila Sunrise which was so good and so unexpected as I never thought I liked tequila. We ended up staying out all night until the first train in the morning and got home around 4.30am.
It was a wonderful 21st. So far I like being 21, and am not at all keen on getting any older than this!
So, last weekend I went camping to Girraween National Park with QUEST. It was so much fun. The park is inland, up in the mountains and was stunning. It's in the granite belt and there are absolutely huge rocks everywhere. When we arrived we had a talk from a park ranger, set up our tents and then headed out for a wander. We went to granite arch where 1 huge rock is balanced upon 2 other huge rocks and then were heading back when for some reason we decided to go up the pyramid. The path went up 100s of steps before finishing where the huge rock ascent started. We had to scramble up a ridiculously steep rock to get to the top of it. I was literally going up on all fours it was so steep. The view was pretty amazing though and I was glad I made the effort to get right to the top. I was so scared to go back down though. I hadn't expected to be going on such a trek so only had daps on with next to no grip. Going down was scary! I did make it though :)
That evening we ate BBQ chicken, roasted marshmellows and drank a lot of goon. Everyone was so friendly and it didn't matter at all that I hadn't known anyone going. That is one of the things I love about QUEST. Everyone is an international student and wanting to make friends. So everyone talks to each other and it doesn't matter if you don't know anyone already.
The next day we went on a huge hike. First we went to the sphinx and the turtle. Rocks that supposedly look like their namesakes but I couldn't see it at all. Then we went to Castle Rock on the way back. The view was so amazing from up their. You could even see the sphinx and turtle where we had been earlier. They actually looked a lot further than I thought. It's so crazy that most of these walks are even allowed though. You literally are on a stupidly steep rock with no barrier and a sheer drop off the edge. In the UK I think they would definitely have something to say about it. Health and Safety and all that. I guess Aussies are credited enough to be trusted not to fall off a rock though.
The evening brought more goon and barbequed food. Somehow I managed to lose my bowl and cutlery although managed to find the cutlery in the grass in the morning! There is supposed to be a bird that steals blue things so I think perhaps that he may have made off with my bowl. We had to pack up our tents in the morning and head back to civilisation. We stopped for a walk in the rainforest en route. We somehow managed to pick a one way walk though and ended up walking a couple of k back along the highway. We must have been so funny to see, we even ran part of the way. Anyone passing would have just seen a huge line of people jogging along the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere. Rather amusing I imagine.
I was pretty sad to head back, especially as I had an assignment due monday that I had hardly started. That at least is handed in now, and I have no more classes until the 3rd May. Camping was so good, if a little cold at night. The first night I hardly slept at all because I couldn't warm up. It was nice to have a warm shower and a cosy bed when I got home.
Now it is midsemester so I am mostly doing nothing, but trying to get at least a little work done. It is a nice change from these last few weeks which have been crazily busy!
I tried to put some photos in but it didn't seem to like it. There's plenty on fb though if you did want a peek.
Hope you are all well,
love Claire xxx
I had such a lovely birthday. Me and Ryan want out to an amazing indian restaurant in West End the night before. It was so delicious. And so exciting to be in a proper restaurant, it's been so long! So that was a nice pre-birthday evening. Then on my birthday I woke up to cards and presents. I had a little cake and some champagne with gold in it from my parents, some lovely jewels from Tess, a bumble bee toothbrush holder from Ryan's parents and a volcano making kit, Mr Topsy Turvey book and AMAZING SWAROVSKI JEWELLERY from Ryan. He bought me an earings and necklace set with little pink gems inside hearts. I love them! :D.
For lunch me and Ryan went to Nando's before meeting Hwaran and Sayo at the modern art museum (GOMA). We made a birthday cake out of lego, played in a room full of balloons and went down the slide. I really think that everyone should get the chance to play in a room full of balloons on their birthday, if not every day. I think life would be better with a balloon room.
Anyways, after GOMA we went to Max Brenner's an amazing chocolate shop in South Bank where we met Lizzie. We had to cue for half an hour but it was so deelicious! I had a banana chocolate milkshake and it was so good. Hwaran and Sayo even got chocolate pizza which they gave me a slice of. It had chocolate sauce with marshmellow, white chocolate and crunchy yummy things as topping. It was so sickly! I couldn't even manage to finish my 1 slice. I don't know how Hwaran and Sayo managed to eat the rest of the pizza! We then headed back, I skyped my family again as now it was my Dad's birthday as well (yes, we have the same birthday). Then people started to arrive for predrinks. We all got a little squiffy before heading out to the valley. We went to a club called The Met where me, Sayo and Katia managed to cue jump and get in for free because it was my birthday. Unfortunately not everyone could get in due to flipflops/ID that wasn't accepted. It was a good night though, Sayo and Katia introduced me to Tequila Sunrise which was so good and so unexpected as I never thought I liked tequila. We ended up staying out all night until the first train in the morning and got home around 4.30am.
It was a wonderful 21st. So far I like being 21, and am not at all keen on getting any older than this!
So, last weekend I went camping to Girraween National Park with QUEST. It was so much fun. The park is inland, up in the mountains and was stunning. It's in the granite belt and there are absolutely huge rocks everywhere. When we arrived we had a talk from a park ranger, set up our tents and then headed out for a wander. We went to granite arch where 1 huge rock is balanced upon 2 other huge rocks and then were heading back when for some reason we decided to go up the pyramid. The path went up 100s of steps before finishing where the huge rock ascent started. We had to scramble up a ridiculously steep rock to get to the top of it. I was literally going up on all fours it was so steep. The view was pretty amazing though and I was glad I made the effort to get right to the top. I was so scared to go back down though. I hadn't expected to be going on such a trek so only had daps on with next to no grip. Going down was scary! I did make it though :)
That evening we ate BBQ chicken, roasted marshmellows and drank a lot of goon. Everyone was so friendly and it didn't matter at all that I hadn't known anyone going. That is one of the things I love about QUEST. Everyone is an international student and wanting to make friends. So everyone talks to each other and it doesn't matter if you don't know anyone already.
The next day we went on a huge hike. First we went to the sphinx and the turtle. Rocks that supposedly look like their namesakes but I couldn't see it at all. Then we went to Castle Rock on the way back. The view was so amazing from up their. You could even see the sphinx and turtle where we had been earlier. They actually looked a lot further than I thought. It's so crazy that most of these walks are even allowed though. You literally are on a stupidly steep rock with no barrier and a sheer drop off the edge. In the UK I think they would definitely have something to say about it. Health and Safety and all that. I guess Aussies are credited enough to be trusted not to fall off a rock though.
The evening brought more goon and barbequed food. Somehow I managed to lose my bowl and cutlery although managed to find the cutlery in the grass in the morning! There is supposed to be a bird that steals blue things so I think perhaps that he may have made off with my bowl. We had to pack up our tents in the morning and head back to civilisation. We stopped for a walk in the rainforest en route. We somehow managed to pick a one way walk though and ended up walking a couple of k back along the highway. We must have been so funny to see, we even ran part of the way. Anyone passing would have just seen a huge line of people jogging along the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere. Rather amusing I imagine.
I was pretty sad to head back, especially as I had an assignment due monday that I had hardly started. That at least is handed in now, and I have no more classes until the 3rd May. Camping was so good, if a little cold at night. The first night I hardly slept at all because I couldn't warm up. It was nice to have a warm shower and a cosy bed when I got home.
Now it is midsemester so I am mostly doing nothing, but trying to get at least a little work done. It is a nice change from these last few weeks which have been crazily busy!
I tried to put some photos in but it didn't seem to like it. There's plenty on fb though if you did want a peek.
Hope you are all well,
love Claire xxx
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
When Jamie came to stay.
Week 4 at uni already and yet there is still so much to update you on. After New Zealand me and Ryan spent a few days unsuccessfully house hunting. On the first day there were 2 pretty nice places we would go for and decided to go with the cheaper one, only to find out the next day that the landlord didn’t want a couple living there. And by this time the other one had already been taken. So it turns out that we’re now living in my old house as Aymeric was moving out so it was just easier and more convenient for us to move in. And with the floods and so many students looking for houses it was so difficult to find anywhere. We stayed downstairs until Aymeric left but I didn’t really spend much time here as JAMIE arrived and we were busy having adventures.
He arrived in the middle of the night, around 1.30am. It was so good to see him, and oddly didn’t seem at all weird for him to be here. It was just as normal as hanging out at home. He even brought me a penguin! We slept until morning and then headed into the city where we stumbled upon Australia’s Next Top Model auditions. Jamie was very excited to be in Australia and for it to be sunny and warm! We couldn’t stay in town too long as we were flying to Airlie Beach that afternoon. We landed in the tiniest airport I had ever been too. The luggage was brought out on a trailer in the car park and the departure lounge was just a waiting room with a telly. We got the bus to Airlie beach and saw Jamie’s first wallaby en route! It was strange to be going along the Bruce highway as I’d only been there a couple of months before but in completely different circumstances –not living in a van this time! We arrived at our hostel and headed out for some dinner. Jamie even bought us strawberry daiquiris to celebrate! It was delicious. We bought some goon on our way back to the hostel and had a fun first night in Airlie beach drinking and dancing. The next day we had to check in to our boat trip in the morning and check our luggage into storage at Peterpans. We had a bit of a wander around as well and the amazing chips for lunch. We then headed to the quay to board the New Horizon, although we got completely soaked on the way with an extremely heavy shower. There is never drizzle here, when it rains it pours –even if the sky has been clear just before!
We waited at the quay for a bit until Scott from New Horizon came to show us to the boat. We climbed on board, dropped our stuff off on the table and then set sail. The boat was actually pretty small to have so many people on it. The bedrooms were below deck and dorm style –it was a bit different to the dive boat I stayed on! It was so lovely to just sit with your legs hanging over the side as we sailed across the ocean. Everyone there was seemed to be a backpacker or on holiday so everyone was really young and friendly. We met some really nice welsh girls from Swansea and an Irish girl who we had a very funny night running around the boat with. The next day we were woken up really early at about 6am by the anchor being pulled up and then had to get up at 7am for breakfast. We headed to Whitehaven beach early taking a little boat across from where we were anchored. It was the kind of boat that you sit on the side of and as I was sat quite near the front my dress got completely soaked as a wave came over! The beach was amazing though –we had a little walk to it from where we dropped off and when we arrived you could just see amazingly white sand and blue sea. We sunbathed for a while and then donned our stinger suits to go swimming. I thought it would be a good idea to sit on Jamie’s shoulders when he suggested it but then found myself being dunked in the water! The sand at Whitehaven beach is supposed to be the finest in the world with 98% silica so it’s supposed to be good to exfoliate with so we had a go. You’re also supposed to be able to clean your teeth with it (but I didn’t fancy that) and clean jewellery. We had another bit of a sunbathe before heading up to the viewing point to take some pictures. Unfortunately I’d managed to get sand in my camera, even though I never took it out of my bag, so I don’t actually have any pictures from this trip. It was very beautiful though.
From Whitehaven beach we went to a fringing reef off one of the islands where we went diving. There was only 1 other certified diver so me and her went first with Scott as a guide whilst everyone else did introductory dives. It was really, really good! There seemed to be so many more fishes here than I saw in Cairns. I saw clownfish, parrotfish, leopard fish, an absolutely huge angel fish as well as lots of other little ones. It was a really good dive –I saw so much. We then snorkelled to the shore from where we finished up (we left our gear on the boat). The water was shallow so you could even see pretty well whilst snorkelling, and you could hear the fish as they were munching on the coral. It was very strange; I wondered what it was at first. Jamie did his first ever dive here as well and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don’t really think anyone can not like diving, at least in Australia. I’m not sure how keen I would be to dive at home. The rest of the afternoon was spent sunbathing while everyone was doing their intro dives (they could only go 4 at a time). But the beach we were on was very uncomfortable as it was just made up of coral.
When we got back on the boat we travelled on to where we would stop for the night and had dinner. The food was surprisingly good on the boat, we had fish one night and spaghetti bolognaise the other. The night was spent having a few drinks, and hanging out on the boat. The next morning we were woken up early again and then were taken to another bay to go snorkelling or diving. I couldn’t afford another dive (not that I could afford the first) but Jamie went again. I just snorkelled instead. There were strange organisms in the water that looked like jelly fish but didn’t sting. I’m not sure what they were but there were so many you couldn’t avoid touching them. They felt very odd and got in the way of everything. Luckily they were only near to the shore and disappeared once you got out a bit further. Anyway this day was the day we met Elvis. A huge, tame fish. You could even stroke him! He felt really, really smooth it was a bit strange. It was pretty cool to stroke a fish though. After some more snorkelling we headed back to the boat which we jumped off into the sea. That was fun! Jamie even took a video.
We then had some hot dogs before sailing back to Airlie Beach. It was a very rocky journey with water coming over the side of the boat. We started off sat at the front of the boat and got absolutely soaked (although so was everyone at the sides). It was hard to even stand up. We started playing a game with Gem and Aine where you had to stand up without touching anything for as long as possible. It was very funny. The rocky journey went on for so long though and I started to feel sick. I went back to the front of the boat to sit with the wind in my face and that made me feel a lot better though. Strangely I was the only person on deck at that point –I think you’re supposed to avoid the front of the boat when it’s rocky but it definitely helped me. By this time we were nearly back anyway so it was all alright.
When it was time to go I definitely didn’t feel ready for it to be over –I could have done with a few more days on the boat. It all went so quickly. That night we all met up for an afterparty. Everyone looked so nice and showered compared to the boat! We were only allowed a 1min shower a day on there! It was a good night ending in me and Jamie discovering delicious chips and wedges. Then the next day we were flying back. We spent the day hanging out at the lagoon and in the park before heading back in the evening. Bit of a disaster when we got back though. Ryan had got completely lost coming to get us and the trains had already stopped. We waited for him for over an hour and he had been driving for nearly 3 hours! He had ended up going in completely the opposite direction. So he was a little grumpy when we finally made it.
From Brisbane we headed to the Gold Coast for a surfing lesson! Ryan came with us this time as well. It was a lot of fun and I even managed to stand up a few times. I wasn’t the natural I had hoped I would be though. Definitely spent a lot more time in the water than on top of it. After surfing we headed back to our hostel and had a little wander round the town before me and Ryan went to play crazy golf whilst Jamie skyped his parents. That night me and Jamie headed out initially with the hostel but then ended up sat by the beach for a while whilst Jamie told me all about the oldies. We headed back to the club and broke out some new dance moves i.e.) the scuba, the guns and the shopping trolley. We went home via a 24h restaurant with delicious nachos.
The next day me and Ryan woke up early so headed into town to get some breakfast and a packed lunch before Jamie was up. We then spent the day at SeaWorld. It was amazing! They had the best dolphin show. I’d never seen one before and I loved it! Their jumps were amazing, they were throwing their trainers up in the air and even letting them ride them surf style! I think my mouth was pretty much open throughout. We also saw a really good sea lion detective show. The animals there were amazing. Me and Jamie also went on the rollercoasters but the dolphins were definitely the highlight. There was a big indoor penguin enclosure there as well. It was really funny as some of the penguins would try and jump out of the water but end up falling in. I could have spent ages watching them but eventually we had to go home.
The next day was spent doing nothing much in Brisbane before getting our flight to Sydney in the afternoon. Foolishly we had not booked a hostel and as it was a Saturday night there were absolutely no vacancies. We asked in so, so many hostels and Ryan was phoning them up for us as well. We even ended up asking in a motel and a travel inn but even they didn’t have any vacancies. We thought we were going to have to sleep in a park! Thankfully Ryan was able to get in to contact with Shell and she let us stay at hers for the night. It was so kind of her as it was already fairly late by this point; she literally saved us from sleeping rough and even gave us ice lollies. Ryan had told me about her love for ‘lollies’ (sweets) so in the morning me and Jamie went to a supermarket and bought bags and bags of sweets for her to say thank you. I can’t believe how lucky we were and will not be arriving in a city without having accommodation booked again! At least we’ve learnt!
We spent the day exploring and sightseeing. We went down to the markets at the rocks- I wanted to buy loads of gifts for everyone here but I wouldn’t have had space in my hand luggage as it was nearly too heavy already. We then went to the opera house and did some viewing. In the evening we went for a few drinks in a bar. A live band started to play so we went up to see them and were treated to some very amusing dancers. There was what looked like a very drunk office worker breaking out his moves while his embarrassed girlfriend tried to calm him down. It was very funny to watch. There was also a crazy old lady who took a liking to Jamie.
The next day we took the Manly ferry to Manly beach. It was a lot nicer than Bondi beach! It felt like a cute little seaside town. We thought it was a bit chilli to swim so sat by the beach, browsed the shops and ate some chips before heading back. We went for a wander in the evening but had an early night ready for Jamie’s birthday the next day.
JAMIE’S BIRTHDAY. We got up and took the ferry to Taronga zoo where we entered via the skyrail. A cable car that goes right above the zoo-we went right over the elephant enclosure! We then went to see the koalas –which Jamie had never seen before. We saw loads of animals giraffes, tigers, seals, penguins, lions......so many! We watched a seal show which was really good and we went to the elephant talk and watched the elephants getting trained. My favourite bit was when the elephants were playing football and then the smallest baby elephant stole the ball and sat on it. It was so funny and cute! It was also cool to see all the adult elephants rushing over to the babies when they started trumpeting (for what seemed like no reason). The baby elephants were amazingly cute; I wish I could have one! There were 3 babies there; the youngest was only born in November! After we had been all around the zoo and Jamie had stroked a wallaby we got the ferry back to the harbour. Now I had secretly planned a jet boat trip for Jamie from me and Mel so I had to keep distracting and delaying him until it was time to go. It was quite funny and he didn’t seem to realise I was up to anything. The jet boat was so much fun! We were doing slides and spins and speeding along bouncing off the waves. We even did some sightseeing and saw the house of the man who owns all the Westfield shopping centres in Darling harbour (I’m not sure if we have those at home but they are everywhere here so he must be uber rich). We were already rather damp when the driver suggested showing us what the boat was famous for. It turns out it was a completely drenching tidal wave that came right over and on to us when we braked suddenly. Everyone got absolutely soaked and I sort of wished I didn’t know what the boat was famous for. It was really good though and I wanted to go again straight away.
From here we headed back to the hostel to dry off before dinner. We went to dinner at a pub buffet which was rather yummy. After we finished I surprised Jamie yet again with some cupcakes I had sneakily taken there earlier. I wasn’t actually allowed to light the candles because they would set the fire alarms off though. We did it outside the hostel instead though and sang happy birthday. We then headed out with people from the hostel. It was ladies night so most of the guys were wearing dresses –disappointingly we hadn’t realised before so Jamie didn’t get to dress up. It was a good night and we got extra free drinks because it was Jamie’s birthday.
The next day we had to get up fairly early to catch our flight back to Brisbane. I was quite sad that this was the end of my travels now. Although now it seems like ages ago! I miss travelling loads and keep on wishing that I would be sleeping in a van instead of in a house. Even last night when I was cycling back from dance there were loads of bugs under the lights on the bridge and even that made me want to go travelling again, although I hated that part of it!
We spent a last few days relaxing after all our activities in the last few weeks. We went into town one day and Jamie got to experience the wonderful pancake house. Most delicious. And then Jamie had to go home, although we were both hopeful that he might miss his flight. As he left I was sad that he was going and also jealous that he got to go back to the UK. Although I’m sure he was jealous of me staying in Australia too. It made me quite homesick to see him go. But that will be me in 3 and a half months. Time seems to be flying by now; I just do not know what happens to it! Already it is week 4 of uni, yet we only just started. In a month it’ll be mid-semester and then after that just over another month until exams. What is going on?
I think this post is long enough by now but I will update you on what I’ve been doing more recently soon. Although that will surely not be as long as I really haven’t been up to much at all.
Miss you xxxxxxxxxxx
He arrived in the middle of the night, around 1.30am. It was so good to see him, and oddly didn’t seem at all weird for him to be here. It was just as normal as hanging out at home. He even brought me a penguin! We slept until morning and then headed into the city where we stumbled upon Australia’s Next Top Model auditions. Jamie was very excited to be in Australia and for it to be sunny and warm! We couldn’t stay in town too long as we were flying to Airlie Beach that afternoon. We landed in the tiniest airport I had ever been too. The luggage was brought out on a trailer in the car park and the departure lounge was just a waiting room with a telly. We got the bus to Airlie beach and saw Jamie’s first wallaby en route! It was strange to be going along the Bruce highway as I’d only been there a couple of months before but in completely different circumstances –not living in a van this time! We arrived at our hostel and headed out for some dinner. Jamie even bought us strawberry daiquiris to celebrate! It was delicious. We bought some goon on our way back to the hostel and had a fun first night in Airlie beach drinking and dancing. The next day we had to check in to our boat trip in the morning and check our luggage into storage at Peterpans. We had a bit of a wander around as well and the amazing chips for lunch. We then headed to the quay to board the New Horizon, although we got completely soaked on the way with an extremely heavy shower. There is never drizzle here, when it rains it pours –even if the sky has been clear just before!
We waited at the quay for a bit until Scott from New Horizon came to show us to the boat. We climbed on board, dropped our stuff off on the table and then set sail. The boat was actually pretty small to have so many people on it. The bedrooms were below deck and dorm style –it was a bit different to the dive boat I stayed on! It was so lovely to just sit with your legs hanging over the side as we sailed across the ocean. Everyone there was seemed to be a backpacker or on holiday so everyone was really young and friendly. We met some really nice welsh girls from Swansea and an Irish girl who we had a very funny night running around the boat with. The next day we were woken up really early at about 6am by the anchor being pulled up and then had to get up at 7am for breakfast. We headed to Whitehaven beach early taking a little boat across from where we were anchored. It was the kind of boat that you sit on the side of and as I was sat quite near the front my dress got completely soaked as a wave came over! The beach was amazing though –we had a little walk to it from where we dropped off and when we arrived you could just see amazingly white sand and blue sea. We sunbathed for a while and then donned our stinger suits to go swimming. I thought it would be a good idea to sit on Jamie’s shoulders when he suggested it but then found myself being dunked in the water! The sand at Whitehaven beach is supposed to be the finest in the world with 98% silica so it’s supposed to be good to exfoliate with so we had a go. You’re also supposed to be able to clean your teeth with it (but I didn’t fancy that) and clean jewellery. We had another bit of a sunbathe before heading up to the viewing point to take some pictures. Unfortunately I’d managed to get sand in my camera, even though I never took it out of my bag, so I don’t actually have any pictures from this trip. It was very beautiful though.
From Whitehaven beach we went to a fringing reef off one of the islands where we went diving. There was only 1 other certified diver so me and her went first with Scott as a guide whilst everyone else did introductory dives. It was really, really good! There seemed to be so many more fishes here than I saw in Cairns. I saw clownfish, parrotfish, leopard fish, an absolutely huge angel fish as well as lots of other little ones. It was a really good dive –I saw so much. We then snorkelled to the shore from where we finished up (we left our gear on the boat). The water was shallow so you could even see pretty well whilst snorkelling, and you could hear the fish as they were munching on the coral. It was very strange; I wondered what it was at first. Jamie did his first ever dive here as well and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don’t really think anyone can not like diving, at least in Australia. I’m not sure how keen I would be to dive at home. The rest of the afternoon was spent sunbathing while everyone was doing their intro dives (they could only go 4 at a time). But the beach we were on was very uncomfortable as it was just made up of coral.
When we got back on the boat we travelled on to where we would stop for the night and had dinner. The food was surprisingly good on the boat, we had fish one night and spaghetti bolognaise the other. The night was spent having a few drinks, and hanging out on the boat. The next morning we were woken up early again and then were taken to another bay to go snorkelling or diving. I couldn’t afford another dive (not that I could afford the first) but Jamie went again. I just snorkelled instead. There were strange organisms in the water that looked like jelly fish but didn’t sting. I’m not sure what they were but there were so many you couldn’t avoid touching them. They felt very odd and got in the way of everything. Luckily they were only near to the shore and disappeared once you got out a bit further. Anyway this day was the day we met Elvis. A huge, tame fish. You could even stroke him! He felt really, really smooth it was a bit strange. It was pretty cool to stroke a fish though. After some more snorkelling we headed back to the boat which we jumped off into the sea. That was fun! Jamie even took a video.
We then had some hot dogs before sailing back to Airlie Beach. It was a very rocky journey with water coming over the side of the boat. We started off sat at the front of the boat and got absolutely soaked (although so was everyone at the sides). It was hard to even stand up. We started playing a game with Gem and Aine where you had to stand up without touching anything for as long as possible. It was very funny. The rocky journey went on for so long though and I started to feel sick. I went back to the front of the boat to sit with the wind in my face and that made me feel a lot better though. Strangely I was the only person on deck at that point –I think you’re supposed to avoid the front of the boat when it’s rocky but it definitely helped me. By this time we were nearly back anyway so it was all alright.
When it was time to go I definitely didn’t feel ready for it to be over –I could have done with a few more days on the boat. It all went so quickly. That night we all met up for an afterparty. Everyone looked so nice and showered compared to the boat! We were only allowed a 1min shower a day on there! It was a good night ending in me and Jamie discovering delicious chips and wedges. Then the next day we were flying back. We spent the day hanging out at the lagoon and in the park before heading back in the evening. Bit of a disaster when we got back though. Ryan had got completely lost coming to get us and the trains had already stopped. We waited for him for over an hour and he had been driving for nearly 3 hours! He had ended up going in completely the opposite direction. So he was a little grumpy when we finally made it.
From Brisbane we headed to the Gold Coast for a surfing lesson! Ryan came with us this time as well. It was a lot of fun and I even managed to stand up a few times. I wasn’t the natural I had hoped I would be though. Definitely spent a lot more time in the water than on top of it. After surfing we headed back to our hostel and had a little wander round the town before me and Ryan went to play crazy golf whilst Jamie skyped his parents. That night me and Jamie headed out initially with the hostel but then ended up sat by the beach for a while whilst Jamie told me all about the oldies. We headed back to the club and broke out some new dance moves i.e.) the scuba, the guns and the shopping trolley. We went home via a 24h restaurant with delicious nachos.
The next day me and Ryan woke up early so headed into town to get some breakfast and a packed lunch before Jamie was up. We then spent the day at SeaWorld. It was amazing! They had the best dolphin show. I’d never seen one before and I loved it! Their jumps were amazing, they were throwing their trainers up in the air and even letting them ride them surf style! I think my mouth was pretty much open throughout. We also saw a really good sea lion detective show. The animals there were amazing. Me and Jamie also went on the rollercoasters but the dolphins were definitely the highlight. There was a big indoor penguin enclosure there as well. It was really funny as some of the penguins would try and jump out of the water but end up falling in. I could have spent ages watching them but eventually we had to go home.
The next day was spent doing nothing much in Brisbane before getting our flight to Sydney in the afternoon. Foolishly we had not booked a hostel and as it was a Saturday night there were absolutely no vacancies. We asked in so, so many hostels and Ryan was phoning them up for us as well. We even ended up asking in a motel and a travel inn but even they didn’t have any vacancies. We thought we were going to have to sleep in a park! Thankfully Ryan was able to get in to contact with Shell and she let us stay at hers for the night. It was so kind of her as it was already fairly late by this point; she literally saved us from sleeping rough and even gave us ice lollies. Ryan had told me about her love for ‘lollies’ (sweets) so in the morning me and Jamie went to a supermarket and bought bags and bags of sweets for her to say thank you. I can’t believe how lucky we were and will not be arriving in a city without having accommodation booked again! At least we’ve learnt!
We spent the day exploring and sightseeing. We went down to the markets at the rocks- I wanted to buy loads of gifts for everyone here but I wouldn’t have had space in my hand luggage as it was nearly too heavy already. We then went to the opera house and did some viewing. In the evening we went for a few drinks in a bar. A live band started to play so we went up to see them and were treated to some very amusing dancers. There was what looked like a very drunk office worker breaking out his moves while his embarrassed girlfriend tried to calm him down. It was very funny to watch. There was also a crazy old lady who took a liking to Jamie.
The next day we took the Manly ferry to Manly beach. It was a lot nicer than Bondi beach! It felt like a cute little seaside town. We thought it was a bit chilli to swim so sat by the beach, browsed the shops and ate some chips before heading back. We went for a wander in the evening but had an early night ready for Jamie’s birthday the next day.
JAMIE’S BIRTHDAY. We got up and took the ferry to Taronga zoo where we entered via the skyrail. A cable car that goes right above the zoo-we went right over the elephant enclosure! We then went to see the koalas –which Jamie had never seen before. We saw loads of animals giraffes, tigers, seals, penguins, lions......so many! We watched a seal show which was really good and we went to the elephant talk and watched the elephants getting trained. My favourite bit was when the elephants were playing football and then the smallest baby elephant stole the ball and sat on it. It was so funny and cute! It was also cool to see all the adult elephants rushing over to the babies when they started trumpeting (for what seemed like no reason). The baby elephants were amazingly cute; I wish I could have one! There were 3 babies there; the youngest was only born in November! After we had been all around the zoo and Jamie had stroked a wallaby we got the ferry back to the harbour. Now I had secretly planned a jet boat trip for Jamie from me and Mel so I had to keep distracting and delaying him until it was time to go. It was quite funny and he didn’t seem to realise I was up to anything. The jet boat was so much fun! We were doing slides and spins and speeding along bouncing off the waves. We even did some sightseeing and saw the house of the man who owns all the Westfield shopping centres in Darling harbour (I’m not sure if we have those at home but they are everywhere here so he must be uber rich). We were already rather damp when the driver suggested showing us what the boat was famous for. It turns out it was a completely drenching tidal wave that came right over and on to us when we braked suddenly. Everyone got absolutely soaked and I sort of wished I didn’t know what the boat was famous for. It was really good though and I wanted to go again straight away.
From here we headed back to the hostel to dry off before dinner. We went to dinner at a pub buffet which was rather yummy. After we finished I surprised Jamie yet again with some cupcakes I had sneakily taken there earlier. I wasn’t actually allowed to light the candles because they would set the fire alarms off though. We did it outside the hostel instead though and sang happy birthday. We then headed out with people from the hostel. It was ladies night so most of the guys were wearing dresses –disappointingly we hadn’t realised before so Jamie didn’t get to dress up. It was a good night and we got extra free drinks because it was Jamie’s birthday.
The next day we had to get up fairly early to catch our flight back to Brisbane. I was quite sad that this was the end of my travels now. Although now it seems like ages ago! I miss travelling loads and keep on wishing that I would be sleeping in a van instead of in a house. Even last night when I was cycling back from dance there were loads of bugs under the lights on the bridge and even that made me want to go travelling again, although I hated that part of it!
We spent a last few days relaxing after all our activities in the last few weeks. We went into town one day and Jamie got to experience the wonderful pancake house. Most delicious. And then Jamie had to go home, although we were both hopeful that he might miss his flight. As he left I was sad that he was going and also jealous that he got to go back to the UK. Although I’m sure he was jealous of me staying in Australia too. It made me quite homesick to see him go. But that will be me in 3 and a half months. Time seems to be flying by now; I just do not know what happens to it! Already it is week 4 of uni, yet we only just started. In a month it’ll be mid-semester and then after that just over another month until exams. What is going on?
I think this post is long enough by now but I will update you on what I’ve been doing more recently soon. Although that will surely not be as long as I really haven’t been up to much at all.
Miss you xxxxxxxxxxx
Monday, 6 September 2010
Byron Bay
So last weekend I went to Byron Bay with QUEST (exchange students society). So far it's my fave place in Australia -had such a good weekend there! Unfortunately my camera was being ridiculous so I don't actually have any pics though.
The journey there was pretty weird. Our driver seemed to have no idea what he was doing. First he forgot his log book -whatever that is -so we had to wait around for like an hour before we could even leave and then he got us lost and going round in circles! On the way we stopped off at Mount Warning, for a trek in the jungle. But we didn't have time to go all the way up so it did seem a little pointless. Saw a HUGE snake though, literally a few metres long. It was a tree python hanging down in one of the trees right by the path. A couple of people tried to touch it and it got a wee bit annoyed and they screamed. We also stopped off at Nimbin which is a hippy drugs town. I didn't like it there though, it was just a bit wierd and old looking.
So we finally arrived at our hostel after getting lost a couple more times. We were in an 8 bed room with a few people we knew and their friends. It was such a nice hostel -really clean and modern and big, there's even a hot tub. I think it was called Nomads -in case anyone finds themselves in Byron Bay. We then had a BBQ on the hostel terrace and I've realised that I may actually like steak! So we went out that night, started at a bar that the hostel had given us wristbands bands for but left pretty quickly and ended up in a place called Cheeky Monkeys. I was a big fan of cheeky monkeys. The dance floor was actually tables during the evening, then at
night everyone just climbs up on them to dance! And they were playing some incredibly cheesie music -I think 5ive was the highlight!
The next day was spent chilling on the beach and eating the best burrito you could imagine - Best burritos in Swindon has nothing on it! Also spent some time in the hostel hot tub and then headed back to the beach to watch the sunset by a hippy drum circle! That night everyone was heading out for a meal at the other hostel where the rest of our group was staying. It was in an actually brewery where they only sell their own beer. Took so long for some of our table to get served though, it was pretty ridiculous! Met some very nice people that night, then heading on out from the meal to Cheeky monkeys once again. That night there was a male stripping competition, it was pretty weird, especially when a drunk girl jumped up on the stage and pulled her dress off. Good night though, had some yummy alcohol slushies. At the end of the night me and Louisa embarked on the longest search for pizza. I thought it would be a good idea to ask someone so asked a guy on a bench where I could get pizza. He didn't know. Then as we were going past him he asked Louisa if she knew where he could get pizza. Very funny! He was very nice though and then insisted on proving that he was from Chile by showing us his id before he wandered off beachwards. We eventually found pizza and it was delicious!
Next day we decided we'd better go to the lighthouse at Cape Byron. It's the most Easterly point of mainland Australia. Had to go up so, so many steps to get there though. That wasn't lovely. The view was though. We even think we saw some whale splashes!!
Up by the lighthouse.
I really, really loved it there and the 2 days we spent there was not enough at all. It's so chilled there and so much prettier than the Gold Coast or Brisbane! I will definately be going back. Hopefully this month, while it's still whale season, as I want to go on a kayak tour to see whales and BABY DOLPHINS!
This week hasn't been so fun as I worked most of this weekend and have had an exam today so had to revise for that. Saturday night was riverfire though. It was really cool. It's a big firework display on the river. It started off with fighter jets with huge flame tails flying along the river. They were amazing! The ball of fire looked like the sun was out at night! The fireworks were really good, they had them coming off the river and all the skyscrapers as well! The bridge was made into a sort of waterfall of sparks as well and there was fire on the river. It was all so pretty! It marks the begining of the Brisbane festival. Most things that are on seem pretty expensive though, but at least riverfire was free :).
This week I've got a fieldtrip to Lamington National Park and then a QUEST trip to the Gold Coast Hinterland -so I should have more to tell you about soon.
Lots of love
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Orientation and Sightseeing
I've been pretty busy the last few days. We've been having orientation week which involves going to lots of meetings and basically hearing the same stuff over and over again but also getting free food which is nice and meeting people. I've joined a club called QUEST which is for international students and they organise trips for you, so that will hopefully be alot of fun!
We went out on Tuesday night to a bar called Down under. It was a very good night! I kept on bumping into people who I'd met earlier in the day at orientation as well which was cool as I wasn't expecting to know anyone in Australia. Drinks are quite expensive here, beer seems to be the cheapest when you're out or "goon" which is boxes of wine for pre-drinks. So it seems I'm gonna be drinking alot of those while I'm here as I definately cannot afford spirits. It's going to be very different from back home! Luckily I don't seem to get a hangover from these drinks at all though, so I'm hoping that will carry on! Bad times though I have 8am lectures every day except fridays when I have the day off. No going out in the week for me I guess. I'm very pleased about having fridays off though as hopefully I might be able to go away for the weekend sometimes :D
Yesterday me and Ryan did some sightseeing. We went to the botanical gardens at mt coot-tha. They were very pretty and so different from anything at home. Absolutley huge as well, we were there for hours!
The lagoon.
Me in a big plant
Me trying to take a photo of us at the lookout.
You could see the whole city from the lookout. I hadn't even realised we were so high until we got there. Until that point you're pretty much surrounded by trees so can't see out.
Totem poles by the lake. I'm not really sure what the story behind these is but in my head they were carved by the aboriginal people.
After we'd looked all round the gardens we thought we'd head for the summit of mount coo-tha and there was an arrow on our map of the gardens that pointed towards it so we decided to walk that way. It was AWFUL! We walked for so long up the steepest hills along the grassy verges in the middle and at the side of what was quite a busy road. It felt like at least an hour or maybe 2!
It was probably actually only like 40mins but it was horrible! Saw this on the way which was something of an ominous sign.....
We stopped for a little rest in a field and then Ryan got stung by a horrible insect/plant. It was a long, long walk with no bus stops and I definately do not reccomend it! But at least I have some slight sense of achievement from doing it. The view was worth it though, amazing. And then we got nachos.
Me being exhausted.
The CBD from mt coot-tha.
Viewing.
We saw kookaburras for the first time while we were there! They seem naughty though one of them swooped down and stole chips from a lady's plate whilst she was eating them! Also, the other day I saw a pelican! I had no idea they even had them here. It was amazing!
There are so many huge birds here, they are so different from home! I've seen so many odd looking things. Havn't seen a parrot yet though. Anyway I think I might head down to South Bank today, we went there the other day and it is lovely.
Lots of love
Claire xxxxxxxxxxx
We went out on Tuesday night to a bar called Down under. It was a very good night! I kept on bumping into people who I'd met earlier in the day at orientation as well which was cool as I wasn't expecting to know anyone in Australia. Drinks are quite expensive here, beer seems to be the cheapest when you're out or "goon" which is boxes of wine for pre-drinks. So it seems I'm gonna be drinking alot of those while I'm here as I definately cannot afford spirits. It's going to be very different from back home! Luckily I don't seem to get a hangover from these drinks at all though, so I'm hoping that will carry on! Bad times though I have 8am lectures every day except fridays when I have the day off. No going out in the week for me I guess. I'm very pleased about having fridays off though as hopefully I might be able to go away for the weekend sometimes :D
Yesterday me and Ryan did some sightseeing. We went to the botanical gardens at mt coot-tha. They were very pretty and so different from anything at home. Absolutley huge as well, we were there for hours!
The lagoon.
Me in a big plant
Me trying to take a photo of us at the lookout.
You could see the whole city from the lookout. I hadn't even realised we were so high until we got there. Until that point you're pretty much surrounded by trees so can't see out.
Totem poles by the lake. I'm not really sure what the story behind these is but in my head they were carved by the aboriginal people.
After we'd looked all round the gardens we thought we'd head for the summit of mount coo-tha and there was an arrow on our map of the gardens that pointed towards it so we decided to walk that way. It was AWFUL! We walked for so long up the steepest hills along the grassy verges in the middle and at the side of what was quite a busy road. It felt like at least an hour or maybe 2!
It was probably actually only like 40mins but it was horrible! Saw this on the way which was something of an ominous sign.....
We stopped for a little rest in a field and then Ryan got stung by a horrible insect/plant. It was a long, long walk with no bus stops and I definately do not reccomend it! But at least I have some slight sense of achievement from doing it. The view was worth it though, amazing. And then we got nachos.
Me being exhausted.
The CBD from mt coot-tha.
Viewing.We saw kookaburras for the first time while we were there! They seem naughty though one of them swooped down and stole chips from a lady's plate whilst she was eating them! Also, the other day I saw a pelican! I had no idea they even had them here. It was amazing!
There are so many huge birds here, they are so different from home! I've seen so many odd looking things. Havn't seen a parrot yet though. Anyway I think I might head down to South Bank today, we went there the other day and it is lovely.
Lots of love
Claire xxxxxxxxxxx
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