My First Aussie Bus Journey and a Little Mischief!

....Well, its about time isn't it? So far I've flown my merry little way around this crazy country and not acted that much like the scruffy backpacker i am at the mo, so I think a trip on the infamous Aussie Greyhound buses is well overdue! Having said my goodbyes to Ben and Jem I set off for Airlie Beach, where I was meeting Huggs and Walshy, a nice 11 hour bus journey was ahead of me.. it passed quick enough and i arrived in Airlie Beach early evening.

Now, before i go on, i have to just mention that for the past few months Huggs has been drumming it into to me at every possible opportunity that i'm not to be late getting to Airlie as we're on a tight schedule and it will all be thrown out of sync if I'm late (anyone would think that timekeeping wasn't my forte!! ;0) I have naturally been assuring them for months that I will obviously be on time...!

Now, given their insistence on this and their huge lack of faith in me, it would've been rude of me not to play a little trick on them! So, when Walshy called me a few hours before i was due to meet them, I told him that there'd been a problem with my bus and it was delayed, i was having to wait til the evening and wouldn't be getting there until sometime the next morning, by which time it may be too late to do the planned sailing trip... they handled it well and didn't get annoyed or anything but as I thought (and as confirmed later) they spent the next few hours cursing me and my inability to be on time... so, you can imagine the immense pleasure i had making them eat their words and apologise profusely when they walked into our dorm to find me relaxing on my bed and discovered i had infact been a whole day early... yes, it's true, for all you sceptics out there - although I've no doubt that both boys will deny it outright!! - still, it amused me a lot.. small things eh!?! But me being early is quite an achievement so i thought it worthy of a blog entry!! xxx

Falling in Love....

...no, not with a man!!! Sorry to disappoint all you gossips reading this!! Before I start writing this, just so you know... I've been a muppet and left one of my picture CD's in Magnetic island.. the one in question is the one with all the pic's on for this entry and the next entry so for now, it's all just writing I'm afraid but as soon as it's safely back in my hands I'll add the pics on here - I know that's all you lot really look at on here! ;0) Just skipping back a little from the last entry, if you haven't already figured it out, I'm talking about the Whitsundays! From the minute I dumped my bags at the hostel and ventured outside to take in the breathtaking view, I knew I loved this place! Backpackers by the Bay - in my opinion one of the nicest hostels in Airlie Beach - is set on a hill overlooking the sea, the garden slopes down towards the sea and as I stood there with the sun warming my skin and the colour of the clear blue sky reflected on the water, I had one of those defining moments... oh my god, I'm actually here, in Australia, travelling! I made it! Anyway, enough of that.. I just relaxed at the hostel that evening. I sat and chatted with a girl in my dorm who's also off to South America in a few months... is nice to meet someone that is, esp another female, as the usual response i get from people when i tell them I'm off there is 'are you mad!' Anyway, I digress, as Huggs and Walsh weren't arriving til the following afternoon so I decided I'd go exploring in the morning and exhausted from my stupidly long bus journey, found myself falling asleep come 10pm. The next day I wandered into town to familiarize myself with the place... Airlie Beach is really just a little seaside resort but the vibe is really chilled and relaxed and I immediately felt completely at home there. Following the previous few weeks of fantastic but tiring adventures in Cairns and the Red Centre, to be relaxing in Airlie was a very welcome feeling! After lunch I headed back to the hostel to make sure i was ready and waiting for the boys arrival - aside from the amusement of their arrival, i have to just say, it was fab to see them and have them with me... I've been looking forward to seeing them for ages so for them to be here was wicked! We didn't waste any time in planning our trips and after catching up - and gladly recieving all the lovely pressie's they'd bought out with them from my family (from Christmas - thanks guys) we went and booked our trips, a one day boat trip and a seaplane trip! We then headed to the lagoon for a swim and sunbathe - the lagoon in Airlie is lush, a big freshwater well, lagoon, obviously, overlooking the bay, free to use as you can't swim in the sea thanks to box jellyfish and sharks! After soaking up some sun we headed off for food and a few drinks before heading back to bed fairly early so we were bright eyed for our trip the next day. The following morning we made our way down to the meeting point for the trip and got ourselves kitted out with our 'sexy' stinger suits!!! hmmm.. lovely! We'd chosen a tour called 'Ocean Rafting' - can't remember the official name for this type of boat but it was one of the speed boat kind of things that skim over the water. There was about 12 of us on the trip and we spend the day scotting round the islands and stopping to snorkel - the snorkeling was simply amazing, the water was so clear and the colours of the fish and the coral just unbelievable. The highlight of the day for me was getting to Hill Inlet and Whitehaven beach - now, this may sound a little silly and soppy but am going to tell you anyway, while i was saving for this trip I had a photo on my computer screen as my desktop image of Whitehaven beach taken from the lookout at Hill Inlet and sent to me by Walshy when he'd visited a few years back - it was an image that I'd look at every day and when i was finding it tough to remember why i was working all the hours possible and saving as much as i could, I'd look at it and think, 'it'll be worth it, I'll get there!' So... to be there and be able to take my own photo of it (obviously the one shown here) was most definitely one of the moments on this trip that I'll never forget, it was breathtaking and I'll admit I was a tad overwhelmed. Having Huggs and Walsh with me was awesome too, to share it with such good friends from home who know how important this trip is to me and how much its taken me to make it there just made it even better. Being there also reminded me that it's not just the money I saved that has enabled me to get here... I couldn't have done it without the support of my friends and family and all of you that have been part of this with me, both before I left and those I met over the last 5 months... you're all fab! Thank you! Oh, before i forget too... the other highlight of the day.. Dolhpins.. they swam alongside the boat for a while, it was amazing! Following our day at sea, we headed into town again for some food and a few drinks...thanks to all that sea air, we were all pretty lame and ended up heading home to bed fairly early.. plus we had another early start the next day, this time for the seaplane trip! (or as Luke likes to call it, 'a flying boat'!!!!) bless! We made our way to the airport and got ourselves checked in for our little flight - I've never been on a light aircraft before so was pretty excited. There was 5 of us on the trip and the other 2 passengers we were stopping to pick up from Hayman Island - the most exclusive of the Whitsundays where both Brad and Jen and David and Victoria have holidayed in the past and also where you'll pay about $14 just for a beer!!! We were obviously hoping for some form of celebrity to join us on our trip.. as if!! Clearly they'd charter their own private aircraft! Turned out to be a mother and daughter (the boys were very happy, the daughter was young and attractive!!) and we spent the next few hours cruising over the islands then landing on Whitehaven beach where we were given a lovely lunch and bottle of champagne to share whilst soaking up the sun, swimming (in our sexy suits again) and exfoliating with the silicone sands. Talking of which, i just have to tell you, the sands on whitehaven are so pure that you can exfoliate your skin, clean all your silver jewelry and it never gets hot from the sun. It's wicked, my skin felt so soft afterwards.. esp having done the same on the boat trip the previous day! Once we'd polished off the champers, baked in the sun and generally whiled away a few hours we hoped back on the plane to set off home. I got to sit up the front next to the pilot this time which was amazing... we'd be lucky and had perfect weather the whole time so you can imagine the colours of the sea, the reef and the islands from up there. The afternoon was spent down in town, doing some emailing and chilling out by the lagoon. The boys were leaving the following day so that evening we went for some drinks at Beaches to round off the trip. Walshy was a lightweight and piked out early but Huggs and I soldiered on without him and stumbled our way home giggling about I don't even remember what now! Have a feeling we stopped for a cheeky McDonalds on the way home too... bad I know but actually my first lapse into fast food since i started my trip, not bad eh! I had one more day in Airlie before flying down to Melbourne, where the boys were spending the last week of there holiday. I spent my last day doing much the same as the previous afternoon, lazing at the lagoon, meandering around the surf shops and generally taking it easy - tough life eh! I have to admit, I wasn't keen to leave the Whitsundays, the place has made its mark on me... I love it there and have been raving about it to everyone since! Would recommend to all!! xxx

Back to the Beaches... Cairns & Cape Tribulation!

OK, so I've just discovered I've lost my diary - am gutted! - and seeing as I'm writing this a tad behind schedule I was kind of relying on that to remind me of all the things I've done and the comedy little things that happened (for my sake really so i don't forget) anyway, I'll do my best to remember but you'll prob all just be relieved to realise that this will mean my entries are shorter and you might actually want to read some of it!!

Anyway, after our 3 days in the desert and heat of Ayers Rock, Ben, Jemma and I flew off to Cairns for a few days. I had to be in Airlie Beach to meet my lovely boys, Huggs and Walshy on Feb 14th so I only had a few days to spend in Cairns. We flew in without having a hostel booked and picked one from the board at the airport.. Asylum!! Not entirely sure what we were thinking picking a hostel with such a name but off we went. I'll be honest.. there are a lot of good things about said hostel, lots of freebies etc but in truth, the place is grim and i was really glad to only be staying a couple of days (aside from it meaning i was parting with Ben and Jem that is). A little anecdote about the flight.. the crew turned out to be the same one as on our flight from Perth to Alice Springs.. when Jemma was poorly.. she obviously made quite an impression as they all remembered her and gave her a goodie bag full of airline minatures guaranteed to make her poorly again!!

Anyway, we arrived in the evening and took advantage of the free 'meal' - and i use the word meal loosely! - at a bar in town, vouchers given by the hostel, travellers special... IE; not that nutritious or tasty but hey it filled a hole! We had a few drinks after and some silly dancing then braved sleeping in the Asylum!! Our first day in Cairns was really just spent exploring and wandering round the town, Cairns is ok but I don't think it's one of my favourite places, really i was there to see the Great Barrier Reef and Cape Tribulation. We discovered that Claire and Rob, another couple that had trekked with us in Thailand were also in Cairns so we also went to visit them at their hostel (which was far nicer than ours!), was lovely to catch up with them having not seen them since I left Chaing Mai in November. That night was spent having a BBQ at the hostel and eating gorgeous ice-cream and milkshakes if i remember correctly!

The following day we'd decided to hire a car and take a little road trip to Cape Tribulation for a couple of days, the idea being we'd do a Reef trip from there then head back to Cairns in time for me to leave to meet the boys. We got ourselves possibly the smallest car on earth (not intentionally!) and as I was the only one over 25 I was designated driver... i didn't mind, I've missed driving so was quite looking forward to it. We set off early and spent the day making our way up there stopping off at various gorgeous beaches along the way.. they're beautiful beaches, the only downfall being that you can't swim at any of them thanks to Box jellyfish and Crocs!! Jem and I did manage to crack open a coconut between us though.. yes, the one she's holding in the pic - unfortunately, after all our effort, it wasn't edible!!

We did get to swim in the end however, at Mossman Gorge, inland lake in the rainforest, the water was freezing but it was awesome, Ben swam off and ended up getting stranded way up stream but he made it back in the end! We also went for a little walk in the rainforest here which was amazing.. after this we headed for Cape Trib and our plan was to kip in the car to save some money - we figured we'd be up early for the reef trip anyway... what we didn't figure on however was the reef trips from the cape being so expensive and our car being so small, oh, and the unbelievable heat!

Anyway, we decided we'd wait and do a reef trip from Cairns so instead we booked ourselves on the night-time rainforest walk..... OH MY GOD... What was I thinking!??!! Now, most of you will understand what an achievment this was for me given my ridiculous fear of spiders... I think i must've taken leave of my senses when I signed up for this one but anyway, along with another couple we set of with our mad guide equipped with nothing but a torch a torch into the dark forest... in order to actively LOOK for Spiders - why, why would anyone do that???!!! (and in Flipflops too.. I forgot my trainers!!) As you can see from the pic's we were (perhaps unfortunately) successful in finding those spiders.. this particular little gem is a huntsman eating a cockroach... hmm... nice!! It's actually disturbing me that I'm even putting a picture of this on here so you can imagine what i was like at the time!! I had however drummed into our guide exactly how scared i was so I think he knew better than to play any tricks, thankgod! In fairness though, now that it's over and I survived I have to admit it was actually really cool - was scared senseless at the time but am really glad i did it, would have been a shame to miss it, the rainforest is really impressive and the wildlife that lives there is amazing.. we saw various other things too, lizards, frogs etc ... no snakes this time although they are lurking in there somewhere!

After we'd made it out of the forest alive we attempted the whole kipping in the car thing... we lasted about an hour then gave in and checked ourselves into PK's hostel - who's car park we were parked up in. It was sooo nice to be in a bed, in an air conditioned room!! The next morning we went for brekkie then went for a drive to see the view of the beaches, it really is stunning up there. Afterwards we went for a little walk to a waterhole for a swim, it was dead clear fresh water and you could feel the little fish nipping at you. After drying off we set off back for Cairns. I'd decided to head off to Airlie early the next morning which meant I didn't get to do the reef trip but I wanted to get there and play a little trick on the boys!!

Our last evening in Cairns was spent just having something to eat and gossiping. It was strange leaving Ben and Jemma, seemed I'd been with them for ages.. Ironically, I'm going to shut up now as I have a bus to catch in an hour to Surfers Paradise where I'm visiting Ben and Jemma for a few days! This'll be the first time I've seen them since I left Cairns.. so am looking forward to it (although am not happy that Kate left me a few hours ago, I miss her already!!) Anyway, that's enough for now.. I'm getting there on the updates thing!! xxx

Surviving in the Desert.. Swags, Spiders and Stupidly hot Sun!!

I left Perth the following morning with Ben and Jemma, can't remember if I mentioned before that we'd planned to go to Ayers Rock together... or randomly were planning on going at exactly the same time so decided to do so together, anyway, they picked me up at 10ish (some friends of theirs were kindly driving us to the airport) and off we set. They were both a tad hungover from a heavy night with mates in a hot tub.. so backpackeresque eh!!.. so the journey was quite eventful, although not overly enjoyable for poor Jemma, who gave the air hostesses a few keepsakes throughout the journey.. of the 'in a paper bag' kind! Bless her!

Anyway, we arrived at Alice Springs and nearly fainted from the heat immediately.. I cannot get over how hot it is there- and I love the heat! The hostel, Annie's Place, that we were booked into laid on a transfer for us and we were very very grateful to be checked in and able to laze in our air conditioned room! Jem had a lie-down and Ben and I ventured into town in search of some food for dinner... we were sweating buckets before we'd even made it out of the hostel! We managed to get ourselves a litttle lost but made it to the supermarket eventually. Alice Springs is a strange town... i can't really put my finger on why though, maybe if I'd spent longer there I'd have a different opinion but all i really saw was lots of Aboriginals wandering the streets, excessive heat and not an awful lot going on! The highlight of our little trip to town though was stopping at an art gallery on our way back, just to buy a couple of postcards to send home.. instead, we stumbled across a Joey care centre just as they were feeding the Joeys.. as you can see from the picture, i got to hold an adorable little Joey, he'd been hit by a car and they were nursing him back to health, he was so cute!

That evening we just cooked some food and chilled out in the room, all just a bit exhausted from the journey. We were meant to be going on our 3 day tour to Uluru the following morning but the hostel had put it back a day so we we had Sunday to chill and explore Alice Springs a bit more, which was basically what we did... woke up late, leisurely got up, headed out for lunch, came back and just chilled out some more... seriously, trying to do anything more energetic in that heat is pointless... I'd die!! ;0) That evening also saw us just chilling out, getting our stuff sorted and heading to bed early in preparation for our stupidly early 5am start for our Uluru tour....

Still technically asleep - you all know what i'm like in the mornings! - I somehow managed to make it out of bed and downstairs on time (yes, that's right I said on time!! It's true, I promise!) and we all stumbled onto the awaiting bus and claimed our seats for the next 3 days! There was about 21 of us on the trip.. and it was a bit of an eclectic mix... we had Koreans, Germans, English and err.. can't remember the rest... except for the rather cute Aussie Tour Guide that is (I know, I know... such a cliché!) anyway... after an hour or so of everyone sleeping on the bus, Luke (that's the cute guide btw) woke us up and made us do things.. namely draw on the windows - apparently so we'd get to know each other better but really i think it was just cos it amused him! I can't take credit for the picture shown.. that was Jemma's effort! Along the way.. we stopped at a camel farm and saw, well, some camels obviously.. and a dingo... then Uluru airport to pick up our last group member before heading off to Ayers Rock!

Now, i wasn't really sure what to expect from Ayers Rock... I'd heard mixed things about it.. some said it was amazing and unmissable, others said ít's just a rock.. what's all the fuss about?' So, I didn't really know what I'd think but i have to admit I'm with the former opinion... I thought it was awesome... ok, so really it is just a big rock but it's one of the world's natural wonders and it's pretty damn impressive if you ask me! It's believed that the part of it that can be seen above ground is only one eigth of it's actual size!! We reached the rock about lunchtime and after eating and checking out the visitor's centre, we made it to the rock itself and set out on the Base Walk... I think it's safe to say, that's the toughest thing I've ever attempted to do in my life! Some of you may call me a wimp but I will admit that i didn't quite finish the walk... ok, so it's a flat walk around the rock but in fairness it was 3pm, intense 40+ degree heat, no shade, no breeze and no respite from the sun whatsoever.. oh and there was about 6 of us that didn't finish it so i didn't feel quite so silly! Seriously though - I do wish I'd been able to but I felt so sick and had made sure I'd drunk plenty of water so knew it wasn't dehydration too. Picture shown is of us at the waterhole where we finally gave up on completing it!

Anyway, after the aborted walk, we headed off to the 'Sunset' spot... to, quite clearly for those who aren't keeping up, see the sun set over the rock! I was really quite excited, although I'm not sure the sentiment was shared by others, as it had been slowly starting to thunder as we got closer to sundown.. I'd been really hoping we'd have a bit of an electrical storm while i was there as thought it would look amazing to see that over the rock - I wasn't disappointed! The pic's don't really do it justice but am quite chuffed to have managed to catch some lightening shots (although, truth be told, the smaller one can't be attributed to me, it's one of the guys from the group that got that one.. i just thought i'd pinch it to show you all on here - the other one is mine though i promise!) Given the nature of the weather that night i have to admit i didn't really take much notice of the sunset itself! We had dinner that night during sunset, then after the show, set off for our campsite.. all a little apprehensive about spending the night in a Swag under the stars with lots of scary Australian Spiders all around us.

As it was, the storm grew stronger and the rain got heavier, we managed to get a camp fire going before the heavens opened and some of the swags got laid out but then loads of people decided that cos of the rain they were going to kip on the bus (highly uncomfortable option... if you'd seen the bus you'd understand!) I will admit, for a while there I too was tempted to seek the safe, dry haven of the bus, away from all those scary spiders but I caught myself just in time and realised I, along with you lot at home I can imagine, would be very disappointed in myself if I wimped out. So, I took a deep breath, checked my swag about 6 million times for spiders and climbed on in - very quickly so nothing to could sneak in there with me! I fell asleep with rain on my face while watching the lightening show... despite the threat of spiders it was amazing! - even if i was damp and cold in the morning (by which i mean 4am when we were woken so we were up in time for sunrise!)

Now, being in the desert, the toilet facilities aren't exactly what you'd call 'luxury' - our designated toilet was basically the ground behind the bus... it's safe to say Jem and I became very close friends on this tour, we were always too scared to pee on our own!! No glamour here in the desert boys and girls!!

Day 2 of the tour started with breakfast while watching the sunrise over the rock... this was wicked, although I have to admit couldn't beat the sunset and storm the night before. Once day had dawned we set off for the rock to see if we'd be able to climb it! I was in 2 minds as to whether to or not as there are so many notices from the aboriginals asking you not to.. we had a word with the tour guide and were told that contrary to people widely thinking this is due to religious and sacred reasons, it's mostly because the powers that be don't really want a death on their hands so try to deter people from climbing it! I decided that if the walk was open then i'd give it a go... it's a bit of a once in a lifetime thing and i didn't want to miss out!

Turned out the walk was open, so at 8am off we set up what looked like an impossibly steep ascent! The first bit's kind of scary as there's no railing to hold on to but once you've made it past that bit, even though it gets steeper there's a safety rail to hang on to. It takes about an hour to walk to the top and it's actually only about 350m high but because it's so steep, and even at that time of the morning it's about 30 degrees, it's bl**dy hard!

I will admit to stopping for several rests.. when i made it half way up, I stopped and called Mum and Map... Luke (cute tour guide) had mentioned the signal was good up there so to take our phones as it was pretty cool to call home from up there) ... I was knackered and figured I'd made a decent effort and i could go down again pleased with myself. Mum agreed and said I should just go back if i wanted to.. Map on the other hand put me firmly in my place.. I believe his words were 'Get off your arse and get to the top girl, you'll never do this again and you'll be gutted if you give up now! Get going and text me when you make it!' He was of course right (although don't get used to hearing that Maplet!!) so after the stern pep talk from my little brother, I dragged myself up and set off for the top! I did make and would most definitely have been disappointed in myself if I'd given up! The picture shown is me at the top with the Olga's in the background!

I figured I had to call someone from the top and as I'd already called Mum and Map (and sent the requested text on completion of my task!) I decided to make 2 calls, the first to Mat went unanswered thanks to him being a lightweight and being asleep in bed with his phone on silent - it was only 10.30pm UK time! Useless - I obviously left a voicemail telling him so! Then I called my Sister and Kev... this was slightly more successful, and comical... bearing in mind i was knackered, out of breath and it was pretty windy up at that height, my sister answered and I said 'hello, it's me!' - as you do... but got no response, then Kev came on the line and said hello so I repeated my greeting and got a 'who is it?' in return... i explained myself thinking 'what are these two up to!?' then he laughed and said he'd pass me back to Lotte... i then heard a sheepish sister saying 'oops, sorry, i thought you were a heavy breather!!!' Charming!!! ;0)

After we'd all managed the climb and made it back to the bus, we headed off for the Ogla's, another rock formation not too far away. This was just a short stop really, we had a little walk in there (easy stuff compared to the climb I'd just survived!) then stopped at a waterhole where Luke regaled us with tales of the rock, the olga's and the aboriginal people. Then it was back on board the bus for the journey to Kings Canyon... this took a fair few hours but we did manage a little stop for showers and to stock up on some drinks for the evening..bliss! When we reached the area, Luke had decided he wanted to go in search of a new place to camp for the night so we headed off in the bus, trailor on the back, to scour the desert... i think it was really just an excuse for Luke to amuse himself by throwing us around the back of the bus while he did the boy thing and drove offroad!! Child!! ;0)

We did find a site without too much trouble though and myself and one of the other girls took it upon ourselves to seek out a suitable spot to designate as the 'loo' ... Luke's choice was rubbish as the ground was covered in spiky things... alright for you boys but girls you can imagine our pain!!!! With our 'toilet' duties completed, we all set up our swags, made a fire and got started on dinner - it was a clear night this time and the next couple of hours was spent chilling out under the amazing sky, the stars were just unbelievable and having the very important debate about which super power we'd have if we were a super hero (name and outfit design were obviously discussed too.. as i'm sure you'll all agree, I'm making good use of my time away discussing such important issues!!;0) For those of you as childish as me who are dying to know... i chose Invisibility.. my outfit kicks a*se but i don't have a name yet.. entries on the back of a postcard please!! Oh, and just to amuse us all.. we can now refer to Tour Guide Luke as the mighty... wait for it.... Glimmerman!!! Sorry Luke, couldn't resist including that little gem!!

The following morning we had another early start when Jem, Ben and I found ourselves in stitches at the choice of song used by Glimmerman as our alarm call.. East 17 no less!! And yes, we did have a little comedy dance and sing-a-long.. you can imagine what it would've looked like should anyone have been watching a group of random tourists bopping away to East 17 at 5am in the middle of the desert!!!

Anyway, by 8am we had got oursevles, or Luke had got us to, Kings Canyon and ready to do the rim walk -there was an easy option or the proper rim walk.. given it was already about 25 degrees i was so tempted to take the easy option.. but again caught myself in time and set off on the proper rim walk... 2 minutes later I was regretting my decision! Not really.. the first bit was tough as it was a steep climb but it was well worth it, the views were unbelievable and we stopped at a waterhole for a swim too which was lush. The walk took a few hours and after that we headed off lunch all very grateful for a bit of a long drive so we could catch a few hours kip!


After lunch we headed back in the direction of Alice Spring, with a little stop at a Camel Farm on the way...comedy! We all had a ride on the camels..as you can see from the pic's I looked highly amusing..was fun, though I'm not sure I could've stayed on for long.. they're not the comfiest of animals but then they probably don't appreciate us sitting on them either so fair play!

Once we'd all had our turn it was back on the bus for the last leg of the journey back to Alice Springs... we arrived back about 5ish and were all looking forward to the air-conditioning of the dorms at Annie's Place not to mention the showers!! We all arranged to meet in the bar at 8ish for the traditional post tour piss up and despite the fact that we had a flight to Cairns to catch the following morning I managed to enter into the spirit of the occasion and the evening ended up involving practical jokes, people being thrown in the pool, piggy backs and early morning trips to the bakery!! Fun and Games! It's safe to say I was feeling a little delicate the next day! Was all good though, the tour was hard work but wicked and I'm so glad i did it.. would recommend to all!

Sorry it's been so long since i posted anything on here, I don't know where the time goes.. can't believe I've been away nearly 5 months now! I hope everyone's well and not too bored of my ramblings - although in fairness, if you are... stop reading you fools!! xxx

Australia Day, Rottnest, Reunions and Fun & Games in Perth!

After rising at stupid o'clock to get to the airport for a 6am flight and saying my goodbyes to Mat's lovely Mum , Gwen (who, as you know, has been a total star - thanks again Gwen, you're a gem and I will miss you lots) I found myself back on board good old Virgin Blue, this time with a nice row of seats all to myself and a decent jumper to keep me warm, en-route to Perth. Once again, i was spoilt and found myself being picked up from the airport on arrival by Harvey and Vikki, bless them! First stop was back to Harvey's brother's house for a rest and to catch up... so serveal hours, gossip, cups or tea, sleep and cuddles with the gorgeous one week old baby girl Harvey's brother and his wife have just added to the family fold, we were finally ready to venture out of the house and see a little of Perth.... those of you who know Harvey & Vikki won't be surprised to learn that we only made it as far as the pub!! ;0) The Stanford Arms, Harvey's old local, to be exact - well, it'd be rude not to really! The rest of the day was passed having a few drinks then heading back for some food and a chill out.. we were all pretty lethargic that day, can you tell!

Now, again, i hadn't intended on imposing on Harvey's family's hospitality and i had infact booked myself into a hostel for that night but somehow, Aussie hospitality being what it is, i found myself staying over with them for the night. Was a lovely relaxing evening watching the tennis (and a bit of Sex & the City.. always good!) and was fab to see Harvey and Vikki again... also a little strange too though, to be with them without Mat, I'm used to it being the 4 of us!

Anyway, the following day we took Harvey's little niece swimming, which was so adorably cute (and I think Vikki was quite overawed at the sight of her man being so good with his niece in the pool - a sign of things to come eh Vik??! ;0) After that, and Vik and I both having a rather painful bikini wax.. the things we girls have to go through eh, we headed to the shops for a bit of a browse and for Vikki to find something for Harvey's bday pressie (which was the next day!) then i finally got back to reality and checked myself into a hostel, Scarborough Backpackers, a great little hostel just a few minutes from the beach. i found myself in a mixed dorm for the first time and it turned out to be me and several men.. ooer! Was a cool little place though, with a pool and everyone there was really friendly. The following day was Harvey's birthday and Australia Day so nothing was planned for that evening in preparation for afull on 'sesh' the next day, so all i did that evening was catch up on a few phone calls home (the most amusing of which involved me calling my Gran, who when she realised it was me, said 'ooh, are you home already?' when i explained i was calling from Australia, she, in amazement said 'oh, isn't that wonderful , you sound so close!' Bless her heart, it was lovely to talk to her and everyone else!

So, Australia day (and Harvey's bday.. haven't forgotten you don't worry!) dawned and we headed to Harvey's best mate's (Ant) flat for a BBQ (yep, another proper Aussie barbie... told you i was being spoilt!) Ant's flat is gorgeous and in a complex with sea views and it's own mini beach.... Vikki and I were perfectly comfortable there, funnily enough! After getting ourselves settled and cracking open the drinks, the BBQ got underway (and yes, I got the p*ss ripped again... the old veggie thing rearing its head.. the fish i had was actually done in the oven in the end cos I'd been unprepared and forgotten all the shops would be closed on Oz day.. oops! Still, I enjoyed my fish so there!! ;0)

After a leisurely afternoon, eating, drinking and sunning ourselves at Ant's, we headed out to 'The Lucky Shag' pub on the Quay where Ant had got us all tickets for the veranda bit at the back, on the river, where we could enjoy several more drinks, daft dancing and the infamous Perth Sky Show after nightfall (the pic on the right is the view of said pub from the botanical gardens). By the time that came around we were all a bit worse for wear so there aren't any pic's of the fireworks i'm afraid but hey, take it from me, they were good! As we'd been 'on the lash' all day, we actually ended up getting home pretty early, courtesy of Harvey's brother (thanks for picking us up Kade) andI can assure you I fell into bed that night and slept soundly.. not an easy task in a dorm i can tell you! Was a really good day though and I think i found myself in a pretty good spot with some pretty good friends to celebrate Australia Day!

The next day... having slept long enough to feel vaguely human again, was spent just chilling out, by the pool, on the beach, looking round the shops, generally nothing too strenuous.. then in the evening i went over to Kade and Jo's for a girlie night in with Vikki while Harvey and his brother went off to a Cricket dinner for the evening. Vik and I hired 2 DVD's out and although we put one on, i don't think we made it past listening to the first 5 minutes... gossiping was far more fun.. and we were still gassing when the boys got home... oops! All good fun though!

I stayed over there that night and headed back to the hostel the following day, only briefly though, before heading back over to Ant's to take advantage of the private littel beach there... a few hours of sunbathing later (Harvey had been off doing at open house to sell his flat) i left them too it for the afternoon and headed off to meet Tracey (a friend of Jules & Oli's, who's from Perth) she bacame my tour guide for the afternoon and we had a fab time, driving around, showing me the sights - Freemantle, the gorgeous Botanical Gardens - and oh, surprise, surprise, gossiping too (anyone spotting a pattern here!!) Was a fun afternoon and fab to see Tracey, who I'd not seen since that fabulous Croughton-Clement wedding nearly 2 years ago now (oh my god, has it really been that long or have i got my dates wrong?!) As you can see from the pic... Perth's a tad windy.. not just sometimes but all the time... I'l be honest.. it drove me mad!! Although i do love Perth, is a cool city, not that i'd seen that much of it until today!I'm a rubbish tourist aren't i!!

Next up.. Rottnest Island... Harvey and Vikki had booked this for us when they found out i was coming to Perth so i was in their hands.. so, 9ish on Sunday morning we headed off to the marina to get the boat over to the island.. it's only a short trip, about 40 minutes, although did leave me feeling a little seasick (i don't think i've done badly on that front so far though to be fair!) Rottnest is just a small island and very quiet, designed for relaxation and chill out time. There's one pub on the island and not a lot else to do, but that's the beauty of it. We had 2 nights and 3 days to spend there and were staying in the old Army Barracks that have been converted into dorms for budget backpackers like moi! We arrived there early afternoon and as our dorm was ready for us to check in to, naturally headed straight to the pub... after a few hours chilling out, cooking some food and Harvey watching the cricket we headed off on the walk to our end of the island.. once we found our home for the next 2 days, Harvey flaked out on the bed and Vikki and I headed off to explore.. we went of a lovely long beach walk and as you can see it was still ridiculously windy!!

After we'd exhausted ourselves walking (ok, and talking too!) we headed back and woke Harvey up (you old man you! ;0) then went over to the communal kitchen to cook up a bit of a feast for tea... tuna pasta bake (and yes, Nat.. this time, with the tuna!! -don't ask everyone else!) yum.. can't go wrong! Then we headed back into the resort centre (ie - the pub) and settled in for a few bevvies.. we were joined by 2 Aussie guys that Harvey had met earlier, Brad and Dec (or Bona and Hellfish as they appear to like to be called.. hmm?!) The evening was passed with chat and drinks.. not a bad combo, then we all headed back to barracks and despite Harvey's attempts at keeping us awake with his 'comedy' routine, we all slept soundly!

The next day, Harvey got up and headed to the shops to get us food for brekkie and also hire a bike.. our plan for the day, as its really the only plan you can have when on Rottnest, was to hire bikes and cycle round the island, taking in a few beaches along the way... now, for some reason, Vikki and I decided to complicate things a little... by hiring a tandem bike..... all i can say is Comedy.. it's a miracle we didn't fall off! (and to be fair, i'm just quite glad to have made it through a whole 24 hours on a bike -motor or otherwise- without falling off and injuring myself, Pha-gnan stylee! Anyway, just to amuse you, a little piccie of us looking glam withour lovely bike.. Mum you'll be pleased to note, we're both being safe and wearing our hats - although everyone else will just be pleased to see us looking like total fools in them!!

After our day riding round the island we, in short, made it back to the room, cooked some food, ate and flaked out... all this fresh air and healthiness.. can't be good for you!! hee hee! The folowing day (Tuesday) we were booked to get the 10am ferry or something like that but as it was such a nice day we decided to change our booking and get the 4pm one back to Perth and just enjoy the day chilling out there. We set ourselves up on a picnic table by the shops and beach and spent the entire day, reading, sunbathing and eating.. was heaven! Brad and Dec cycled past us several times in search of some good surf and well, as they kept returning, clearly didn't find any! Was a lovely relaxing few days all in all.

On arrival back into Perth, I headed back to hostel and arranged to meet the others later, it was one of Harvey's friends girlfriends' leaving do's as she was flying back to the UK the next morning so we all went for a Thai meal at a lush restaurant by the beach.. Harvey and Vikki left early to go stay with his Mum but I was entrusted into Harvey's mates care and headed off to Cottersloe ro continue the evening.. we all went to a bar/club there, aptly named the Cottersloe and thanks to Ant's 'connections (Mates) skipped the queue and headed straight to the bar! As it was a school night for the likes of these Perth bods, we didn't stay too late and i was safely seen back to the hostel at a semi-respectable hour - Harvey, your mates looked after me well!

The following day was spent spent chilling out by the pool... in the afternoon Brad and Dec (from Rottnest) arrived, having stayed on the island an extra day and we all settled ourselves by the pool where I even managed to get treated to a really rather good back massage from Brad - a chiropracter by profession so you can imagine the skill! - i was quite happy perched there in the sun, being massaged and then advised on what needed doing to my back and neck (as well as him doing something to it.. sorry Brad, can't remember what you did but was all good!) i have to say, I'm still amazed at what i learnt and how it could all be fixed... I'll definitely be seeing one of your lot when i get home! And if anyone's over Sydney way and needs their back looking at... i know just the man!!

Anyway, after Vikki and Harvey had headed off for tea with his Mum, Brad, Dec and I were considering what to do for food and then came an invite to a BBQ.. some friends of Brad and Dec's who lived nearby has just got back from a road trip and were having a Barbie.. they invited me along too and well, who am i to turn down an aussie bbq.. so off we went! The guys having the BBQ were lovely and welcomed me well... again my veggieness was a source of amusement but hey, i'm used to it now!! The evening progressed into darts and table tennis tournaments (and yes, i did get beaten, obviously! Andy and Luke.. stop laughing!!) then i headed home and left the boys too it! My reason for this was because I was meant to meet up with Ben and Jemma, a couple that trekked with me in Thailand who I'd just discovered were in Perth too, that didn't happen in the end but I was quite glad i left when i did, being hungover from the night before anyway... getting in at 6am the following morning as Dec did prob wouldn't have made for a decent recovery from the hangover!! Brad on the other hand eventually turned up at about 11am... heavy night Brad??! Suffering after passing out on their sofa! oops!

The next day, Thursday, was also spent by the pool - and ended up turning into a bit of a reunion.. for me anyway... first of all, Luke (the L in ALF if you remember?) landed in Perth that morning.. he was staying in the city but ended up venturing out to Perth to catch up.. then Ben and Jemma also turned up.. so, there's me, sat round the pool ,all these friends turning up at once and me thinking hey, how popular do i feel!! was great!! ;0)

Was fab to see them all and we spent the next few hours catching up in the sun round the pool, Ben and Jemma were highly amused to hear of my spontaneity in flying down to see Mat (they were on the same trek i was on with Mat) and Luke had to fend of the 'oh, so you're the one that was driving the motorbike in Pha-gnan' comments!!

Come 5ish, we decided we were both hungry and thirsty...so, after much deliberation we opted for food first, then pub... at least, Brad, Dec, Luke and I did, the others went straight to the pub... after filling our bellies (I even cooked for Luke.. not sure what came over me - don't think he knew what was going on either!) we joined the others at the pub and the night turned into a very drunken affair... we had to talk our way in to start with as we were only wearing flipflops and they don't like that in the evening.. Luke and I managed to charm our way in though and it all got messy from there on in... Luke was apparently only staying for one... several hours, silly dancing and shots of B52's, rum and various other dubious drinks later (not to mention forgotten keys too Vik!), we all stumbled back to the hostel where we sneaked Luke into the spare bunk in our dorms... umm!

...there's more to tell but am sick of being on this computer so will add pic's and finish this off next time... i need to eat! love you all lots, me xxxxx


Hey Guys... I'm back to finish the Perth story... it's nearly over don't fret!... once we'd all dragged ourselves hungover selves out of bed and felt vaguely human again, the 4 of us headed into the city... Luke just wanted to have a shower and change whereas Brad and Dec were ditching the backpacker lifestyle in favour of a nice plush hotel for a couple of nights while Brad attended his reason for being in Perth.. a Chiropracters conference obviously! So, off we went and when all travelling and checking in and showering was done we headed out for something to eat... although this wasn't just any old meal... since i met Luke he's been obsessed by a place called Fast Eddie's... a restaurant he ate at in Perth when he was the tender age of 14 and has been hankering after ever since - this was seriously THE most exciting part of coming back to Australia for him.. bless! ;0) Anyway, from the smile on Luke's face a couple of hours later, it seems it lived up to long held expectations so after satisfying that childhood dream for him, oh and me spilling yet another drink (and i'd been so good lately too!) we ventured out to explore the city!

I have to say, as I was leaving Perth the following day, i'm glad i made the effort to come into the city today... i'll admit i've been a bit lazy while i've been here, just spending my time catching up with Harvey and Vikki and chilling out in Scarborough... the days just fly by! So, it was good to see the city.. Perth is a nice place, really relaxed and friendly... It is I believe one of the most isolated cities in the world, with a extensive drive (or flight in my case) required in order to get to any other decent sized town or city, so i guess you either love that or hate it but i thought it was a pretty cool place... to be fair, i've been spoilt here too though, having friends here for me already!

Anyway, I digress, the rest of the afternoon was spent wandering round and up into the botanical gardens and sitting overlooking the city, admiring the view and doing handstands - as you do... come evening, the boys were trying to lead me astray, by which i mean into the nearest pub, but I was disciplined and headed back to catch up with Harvey and Vikki before leaving the next morning... Harvey, Vikki and I, hungover from the night before, opted for a quiet coffee, ice-cream and chat rather than anything too heavy and afterwards i was very sad to have said goodbye to them... I've loved being in Perth with you guys, thank you for making my stay so much fun and I look forward to catching up with you again when i get home... enjoy London and look after Mat for me, i don't like you all being there without me... but hey, at least it's hot and sunny here, think I'll cope! ;0) xxx