Fraser Island

  To get to Rainbow Beach (the base before Fraser island) we had to endure a 14 hour bus journey...this again is another thing I will never be doing again in my life if I can possibly help it!

After arriving at Rainbow we had a pep talk before going onto Fraser the following day. During this pep talk we were told that by going in the sea we will die, if you see a dingo; cover your nipples!

 The following morning we packed our food, bags and tents into our cars. Off we went to the world’s biggest sand island. We pitched up at our camp...when I say camp, imagine the area behind a sand dune, nothing but sand. No toilet. No shower. No civilisation. Shit.

 That afternoon after setting up the tents, we went to Lake Wabbi, a 20 minute walk to a secluded lake next to a huge sand hill. We swam, rolled down the hill, relaxed and laughed. The last laugh. Upon going back to camp and cooking in near darkness we realised that this wasn’t going to be all fun and games. We went to bed (if you can call it that) whereupon we realised hiring sleeping bags was a good idea. Laying on them was the only slight bit of comfort we had for 2 nights. Everything was covered in sand. After a restless night’s sleep we got up for breakfast, there were flies everywhere. It was not pleasant.

 On this second day, we went to Eli Creek, Champagne falls and Indian Head. We were told that Indian head we would see sharks, dolphins, dugongs, sea turtles, fish and rays. We saw a turtles head. I got to drive that day which was scary for everyone else, but pretty cool for me.

 Once again we cooked in darkness, but we had egg fried rice (my ingenious idea!) which made it slightly better. Once again we had an uncomfortable and restless night’s sleep, so we were very happy to be leaving the island.

 However upon waking we found 2 cars had dead batteries. After our guide made countless trips back and forth for jump leads, we managed to get going. We went to lake Mckenzie, which was beautiful, however as it’s the most famous lake on the island it was very busy. When we reached the lake, one of the guys turned a car off, resulting in a flat battery again! So we got it going again (eventually) and off we went. After about half an hour one of the cars clutch went and we had to leave the car alone on the beach. Another 20 minutes and our tyre blew. Whilst waiting for it to be changed we were circled by a hungry looking dingo. After jumping up and making it crap itself we were on the (sand) road again. Until the lead car ran out of petrol.

 We arrived back at the hostel 4 hours late and full of sand. Seeing all the sights that i know most people will never get to see was amazing, however camping sucks. And camping in sand sucks even more. If you thought I was a diva before, never take me camping, I will show you diva!

Love me
xx

Whitsunday

After being terrorised by a possum for 5 nights we were more than happy to pack our bags, hop on the ferry and get off this god forsaken island! So off we went to Airlie Beach ready for our Whitsunday sailing adventure.

 Airlie was the civilisation we’d been looking for over the last few weeks. We were told it was either a 40minute walk to the supermarket for food, or to pay extortionate prices at the local store. Which meant we treated the days we were there like a full blown holiday, eating out every night, drinking, shopping and generally just lazing around. 

 After 4 nights in Airlie we hopped aboard our boat; Powerplay. We were ready for sun, sea, sand and sights. After getting on the boat we sunbathed most of the day whilst sailing to our first destination. There was diving (‘Ooh diving!’) and snorkelling involved before dinner. After a few hours here we moved on to our night time destination, after looking around frantically for dolphins (none L) we settled down for the night.

 The next morning we moved on to see the famous Whitehaven Beach. The photos don’t do it justice (which is why I haven’t included any!) We stood up on the look out point, where we saw sharks, stingrays and lots of sand. The sand on Whitehaven is 98% silica, which is supposedly good. NASA used the sand here for their Hubble telescope. It’s also very white. 

 After chasing stingrays, being chased by James, swimming in my rather fetching stinger suit and sunbathing; I came up with our groups theme song (see below):

 I’m rubbing my feet in the sand
 I would do it with my hands
 But the waters deep, And the waters dark
 And somewhere out there, There might be a shark
 So I’m rubbing my feet in the sand!

 Back onto the boat we went, where we sailed around some more, ate some more and went snorkelling some more. This next destination was where I tried my hand a paddle boarding; not only did I love it, but I was bloody good at it! The captain said he’d never seen anyone take to it so easily before (think I just found my new profession!). After this we settled in for the night. Me and Maxine kept our fingers crossed for dolphins, whilst Sarah and James went diving (‘Ooh diving! I like diving I do.’) in the dark...crazy people! However once again we were lied too and no dolphins appeared.

 A life at sea is not for me. Not only did I spend the entirety of the boat necking sea sickness tablets (thank god they worked!) I did not appreciate the shower. It was an extendable tap. In the toilet. To use it, you had to sit on the toilet. And you got 1 minute to shower. I hate the sea.

Luckily the next day was our final day. Up we got bright and early; me and Sarah decided to take an early morning snorkel. I didn’t get to see a turtle (the one thing I’m desperate to see!!), however I did get to see lots of stripy fish, bright fish, little fish, shiny fish, big fish and pretty coral. After this we finally made our way back to land!! Hooray!

 I’m never living at sea again!

Love me
xx

Possumgate

So on Magnetic Island we swapped from a room with no air-con, to a teepee with nothing!
It was raised about a foot off the floor with a zipper entrance. The teepee was admittedly quite cosy, however it was stifling hot and got dirty pretty quick seeing as the lead up to the door was sand and dirt.
Me and Maxine got settled in and that night took an early one. However at about midnight I was woken up by Maxine shouting "What the hell?! Get out!" This quite rightly woke me up panicking. However what came next I was not expecting. "There was a freaking possum eating my crackers!" Yes this did raise an eyebrow or 2!
About an hour later I was still awake and we'd put a torch by the entrance to deter him, however I still saw his little paws and head pop up in a comedy routine!
That night we heard him many more times and even caught him looking through our window!
For 5 nights we we're terrorised by a possum! Deffo not the best few nights sleep I've ever had!
One night after dinner we went back to the teepee, shone the light through the window and there the little git was sitting in the middle of the floor sniffing sun cream!
Needless to say I was relived when we left Magnetic Island!
Love me
xx

Magnetic Island

<p>Originally the plan was to stay at Scotty's at Mission Beach until Christmas and work on the banana farm; however we decided this plan sucked and decided to move on....we changed our mind Friday afternoon and caught a bus less than 24 hours later!
So off to Magnetic Island we went. Because we had some time to use up before we went on the Whitsundays, we stayed at Magnetic for just over a week....this is too long!!
For the first 3 nights we we're in a dorm room, which was stifling hot and the air-con was broken. Great. But we stuck the 3 nights out before swapping to teepees. We chose teepees because they are cheaper and only 2 people can go in them so it's more private as well.
One of the days we decided to do the Forts Walk. As Magnetic Island.used to be a base for the military, the Island was basically a giant forth and you can walk around the ruined buildings. On this walk you're meant to see wild koalas; just our luck the little buggers we're hiding! The walk itself was beautiful, just a little got and sweaty!
The day before we left we decided to hire a car which turned into a day of finding all the little shops on the island! However late afternoon we each went and bought an apple so we could feed the rock wallabies. You're not encouraged to feed them however everyone does. It was so cute watching them take the apple out of your hand and munch on it! Of course somebody had to be the odd one out and brought a carrot for them to chew on! Good job they liked it.
After this we had a high speed chase around the island to find the lookout for the sunset. We drove down hundreds (maybe exxagerating there!) of tiny dirt tracks looking for the right one, we reveresed, turned left, right, u-turned, almost killed a cyclist....just the norm! And we had to watch out for the TREE'S! Eventually we found it and it was amazing to watch the sun set over the top of far off mountains.We sat on the beach, took photos and just took it all in.
The best bit about that day was the amazing lasagne I had for dinner.. Not as good as Mum's but it was close! We went to this tiny little Italian place, where we sat, ate, drank goon and laughed. Perfect little 'family' night out.
What was not so good was 'possumgate'....
Love me
xx

Sky Dive

When I first came to Australia there were 5 things that I wanted to do:
  Bungee Jump
  Zorbing
  Sky Diving
  Cage Of Death (crocodiles and NO!         I will not get eaten Sarah!)
  Cage Diving with Sharks
By week 6 I had managed to cross off a second one; sky diving.
Originally we we're meant to do it on the Tuesday. Up we got to a miserable looking sky. We went out, only to be told by the sky diving bloke that it was being put off. Chances were we might do it later on but it didn't look good. So we did the only sensible thing we could...go back to bed!
Around 3 hours later we had a rap at the door and one of the lads told us that it was back on and the bus would be here in 10 minutes ...crap! After scrambling around to get ready and not having enough time for the loo onto the bus we got.
We got to the centre, filled out the forms watched the DVD and it was time for the first group to go up in the air. Me, Maxine, Sarah and James decided to put on a film whilst we waited for them. And Wait we did! We waited and waited and waited, until eventually, 5 hours after being picked up, we were told it wasn't to be. The wind was too high. So back to the hostel we went with a fresh date for Friday. So 2 more days to be terrified! (luckily I did white water rafting the next day -see previous posts - to take my mind off it).
On Friday we arose to clear blue skies....no getting out of it this time! When we arrived at the sky diving place we were told that the 6 of us were being split into 2 groups: Sarah, James and Jake first, then me, Maxine and Scott. We watched the first group go and then did what we do best...waited! After around half an hour we were told we could go watch them land on the beach. We were greeted by 3 extremely smiley people who told us it was the best experience.
So back we went to meet our instructors and be strapped up. I don't remember my instructors name but I do remember he was ugly! He was bald, had a missing front tooth, was quite possibly cross-eyed and altogether had nothing going for him. Onto the minivan we went to go find the plane that would take us up. Amongst this he filmed me for my video, quite possibly the cheesiest thing you will ever watch (cheesier than Grease mixed with Dirty Dancing and a splash of Hairspray)
Onto the plane we got and up we went. After sitting for what felt like an hour as the plane rose the shutter went up and the first person left the plane. It's bizarre to watch a person fall put of a plane; blink and they're gone! Now my instructor didn't tell me when we were in the lineup of crazy people jumping out of the plane, so I didn't have time to scream when he pushed me forwards off the bench and onto the floor. I was sat in the doorway of the plane and couldn't even think of being scared ...until he pushed us out. Then I felt scared! It is not normal for a human to fall out of a plane and just fall through the sky! We had a 10000ft free-fall which lasted a minute. It felt a lot longer than that, but by the end of it all I could think of was 'crap! He's not going to pull the cord!'
He eventually did pull the cord and it was amazing to be floating above the Great Barrier Reef watching the world around me. It was so surreal to be floating in the air with the sea under my feet. After floating for a while the sand started to come nearer and nearer and eventually it was time to land. The landing was a disaster for my poor leggings who I had to say goodbye to (good job I was wearing a dress or everyone would have had a nice view of my underwear!) and I was covered in sand by the time I stood up! But what an experience.
There are no words to truly describe it. It was amazing and most likely a once in a lifetime experience!
Love me
xx

From Cairns to Mission Beach and a Very Wet Scarlett

We had been in Cairns for a long time...too long perhaps. I preferred Cairns to Sydney, however it still lacked something. So me, Maxine a Jen headed off to Mission Beach where Jake, James and Sarah were to join us a few days later.
 When we arrived at Mission Beach, a very busy and harassed looking lady told the 3 of us that we'd be doing her a huge favour, if we were to stay in a private 3 person room at no extra cost...SWEET!! We were really spoilt over the 9 nights we were there. A double bed which me and Maxine shared, with Jen above us, a TV, fridge, kettle and en-suite....remind me again why we left?!?!
 Scotty's (the hostel) was lovely. The staff were friendly, it was clean, the pool was amazing, the kitchen was big enough and clean, the other backpackers were friendly and all in all we had a great time there. Which is why we had originally decided to stay there and get some work banana picking. However after realising that we may be sat around waiting up to 3 weeks for a week or two's work, we decided it wasn't worth it and moved on.
 But before that...White Water Rafting!
 WWR was such a good day out! A group of us from Scotty's (about 10 of us) all headed on the bus for Tulley to begin our fun filled day! Me, Sarah, James and Jake were in a boat with 2 Swedish guys and our guide Macca. I can't even describe the day we had except for amazing! It was so much fun :D
 Went down some rapids, swam, floated through some rapids, jumped off a huge rock, saw some more rapids. Jumping off that rock was almost as nerve wracking as the bungee jump!
 Organising 6 people to row together is no easy feat...and I just wanted to go fast! After we stopped for lunch I was sat at the back of the boat and amazingly Macca let me steer the boat down the rapids...FOOL! Haha, in all honesty I did a pretty good job of it. I took us down the rapids and no-one got hurt! After this we capsized the boat (there were hands, heads, feet and oars everywhere!) then I took up front seat. All was going fine until we hit a rock as we went down a rapid...what happened next is hilarious for everyone bar me. I bounced up, hit the boat with my bum, bounced back up and landed in the water. The only one to fall out of the boat. When I emerged from the water I was still clinging onto the rope with my hand, I wasn't leaving that boat!!
 We then tried body surfing. Basically the water flows down the rapid and it swirls around and gets pushed back up, so you jump into the swirling water and twist around there being pushed too and fro without moving down the river. The problem was getting out. Everyone before me seemed to just magically pull out and float down the river, I however was stuck swirling and realised quite quickly that my shorts and bikini bottoms were by my knees! Luckily the guy pulled me out and I grabbed my bottoms before anyone realised!!
 There was then more rapid weaving and swimming for the rest of the day. It was amazing, but knackering! We all definitely slept well that night!
Love me
xx

Diving the Great Barrier Reef.

So one of the top things to do when travelling Australia is to see the Great Barrier Reef. So I duly bought a one day diving trip to do just that.

 The day consisted of a boat ride to the Reef, one intro dive, snorkeling and food. I however saw none of the food or boat ride as my head was stuck into a bag chucking my guts up.

 I shall put it into perspective for you; Sarah, Jake and James went on a 3 day diving course. During this time Sarah and James felt queasy and Jake was sick twice. I was on a boat from 8 until 4.30...and managed to throw up no fewer than 8 times.

Class.

However I did manage to do my dive. I can successfully say I have dove on the Great Barrier Reef. I cannot say I particularly enjoyed it or would even want to do it again, but it’s another thing crossed off the list.

 I think Maxine had the right idea in staying on solid ground. I have never been so happy to see a harbour in all of my life!

 And before you ask; yes I did take sea-sickness tablets and yes I did see them all of 30 seconds later when they returned with avengance!

Love Me

xx

Bungee Jump!!!

So the 5th of November may be the day guyfawkes tried to blow up parliament, but it now also the day I decided to stupidly do a bungee jump!

 Everyone had been asking me for days "are you nervous?" "are you scared?!" And my answer was always "nah, course not!"

 And on the day itself I was fine. I got up, dressed, and waited for the bus. The bus came, I got on and was driven to the site. I looked up at the 50meter jump and even then decided it wasn't that high. Then came the climbing of the stairs...

 With every step my confidence fell just a little. Step by step my nerves kicked in.

However even upon reaching the top I wasn't that scared. Then the bungee man called my name. I sat upon a wooden block with my harness on, ankles by the edge being wrapped in a towel and then bound with straps. I was finally clipped onto the bungee and I was bricking it! if you watch my video, you can see the sheer terror in my face. I stood by the edge and looked down, big mistake!! I really did not want to do this now!! However after a false start and being told to go a lot by the bungee men, I finally jumped. And by jumped I mean crouch down to jump then deciding my legs couldn't do it and just falling forwards.

 The first few seconds are truly terrifying. Obviously the first part of the jump doesn't have any bungee pressure on it, so it really felt like I was just going to free-fall to my death! however then the bungee kicks in and you get so close to the water it felt like I was going to fall in! then up I went again, my head was every which way it could possibly be. I didn't know what was sky or water, all I knew was this was amazing! Terrifying but amazing!!

 I was still shaking when the woman pulled me onto the boat to go to shore.

 After this I have decided I would like to do another one...just not right at this moment!!

Love me
xx

Cape Tribulation

So we finally got rid of Sarah!!!! You know I don't mean it...most of the time!

 Due to their scuba diving course, our little group had to go their separate ways for a few days. Sarah, James and jake headed off for a 5 day PADI course, whilst myself, Maxine and Jen head up to Cape Tribulation. It was a 2 day, 1 night trip. 

 On the first day, we headed up the same pathway we had done when we rented the car for the day.nhiwever this time we stopped off and got to hold a koala calle Cody! He was adorable, I would gladly just stand there and hug him all day!!

 We took a boat ride to spot some crocodiles (nowhere near as good as the Everglades, but it was nice enough), took a walk though the rainforest, looked out at sea, then arrived at our hostel for the night.

 PK's village was lush. It was part hostel, part holiday camp. 

 So we settled in for the evening. First port of call...beer!! We got some beer, some snacks and headed over to the beach. We couldn't watch the sunset, but we did watch all the stars come out. After a lot of laughs we decided to head back. Doing this in pitch black through a stretch of rainforest is no fun whatsoever! We used phones as flashlights and practically ran the whole way back. Only to discover when we got back that it wasn't even 8o'clock.

 This turned out to be an extremely good thing, as it meant we got to meet Angus. Angus was quite...eccentric shall we say? He had obviously spent way to much time taking drugs, eating pineapples and playing the ukulele. He spent the evening serenading us with songs of guacamole on his ukulele! I laughed so much that night! The night ended with me and Angus engaged (you can meet Hume soon mum and dad!) for 2 reasons...1) to get a green card and 2) to piss Maxine off!! 

 The next day me and Jen went off to do the jungle surfing. I thought when I booked it up that it would be like Go Ape, however it wasn't. It was nice, but it was definitely money not well spent! 

 After returning we all went for lunch at the cafe over the road, I had a lush BLT, best meal for ages!!!

 After chilling on the beach we had to return home. It was one of those places we could have stayed for a few days and wouldn't have minded that there was nothing to do. If we'd have known what it was like, we'd probably have just rented the car for another day and booked in at the hostel ourselves and just done it all DIY. 

It was nice enough and an amazing way to relax.

 Night in Cape Tribulation was probably one of the best I've had yet in Australia.

Love me

xx

Cairns and a Terrifying Day Out!

My last post ended with me flying to Cairns. Now this sounds incredibly brave and exciting, until you find out there was about 20 of us from OzIntro all on the same flight going to the same place!!
After sleeping most of the way (something I am getting incredibly good at!) we landed in Cairns, where we were picked up and whisked away to Nomads hostel. The minute we walked into this place I knew we weren't going to want to leave (due to a screw up with there not being enough beds we we're split back into groups A and B. Group B went straight to Calypso, whereas group A were booked into Nomads for 3 nights before changing to Calypso). The minute you walked in you could feel the chilled atmosphere. There we're huge sofas, a large clean pool and most importantly a bar! 

 So we enjoyed the chilled atmosphere of nomads for a few days, had a BBQ at the esplanade (due to crocs you can't swim in the sea), went to a free workout, read a lot and just treated it like a holiday.

 The holiday continued after checking into Calypso. Not a lot was done at all! Lazy Scarlett.

 Then the whirlwind that is Sarah and Maxine arrived...and we all still did nothing! being in cairns has literally been like being on a holiday, but one with not a lot to do and a pool you wouldn't dip your big toe into let alone swim in!

 We did however decide to rent a car out. 4 girls, one 4x4 and an open road. Up the coast we headed to Port Douglas. First stop was at the crystal cascades, had in not been overcast this would have been stunning! Yet we all went for a paddle and decided there probably weren't any crocs in there so it was safe. After the cascades we went to Yorkeys Knob (the name being the only reason we went!), palm cove then headed into Port Douglas.

 We sat on 4 mile beach with a picnic and had a lovely chilled afternoon.

 After this we went to Karunda beach. The first thing we did was have a 20minute struggle putting the windows back on the car! Then we had a pre-sunset stroll along the beach, where we came to a little river mouth. Being the curious people we are, we took a stroll over. Only for some guy to come over and tell us that a month ago a dog had been killed by a crocodile here, and 2 crocs had been pulled out only weeks before. Needless to say we quickly left! 

 All in all it was a lovely day, and Sarah only almost killed us once! When the sign says KEEP LEFT babe, please don't go to the right!
.
 So yeah that's cairns summed up. It's a nice place and if you had a job and routine it would become a very safe, happy, inviting place to live. As it is we can't wait to move on!

Love me
xx

Busting Out Of Syndey

 When I first decided to start my journey in Sydney, I imagined that it was going to be like New York. Not the same, but similar. Now the first time I flew into New York, I fell in love and never wanted to leave, Sydney....made me want to cry. All the freaking time! I don’t know why, it’s just not my place to be.

 So I was quite relieved booking a flight up to Cairns (my plans changed so many times within 3 days it was ridiculous...I got on my own nerves let alone everyone else’s around me!). I was flying on the Tuesday; however I still had Saturday, Sunday and Monday to go.

 So on the Saturday I headed down to the OzIntro office after a nice lay in (lazy cow!) and decided to split with some hard earned dollah. Now I’ve worked pretty hard over the last however many months to afford this trip so I was quite pleased to be spending it on exciting trips that I can’t wait to do!

For the next few foreseeable months I have:
 Cape Tribulation
 Bungee Jump
 1 Day Diving on the Great Barrier Reef
 Skydive
 White water rafting
 Magnetic Island
 Whitsundays
 Fraser Island
 Australia Zoo (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
 And probably some other things I can’t remember off the top of my head. I also put down a deposit for ThaiIntro!

 After leaving my bank balance rather depleted it was time to grab some fancy dress for that evenings Party Bus events. When I say grab, I mean give someone else money to go shopping for me! In the end all the girls from our group went as Hula girls, very exciting, very imaginative, but most importantly; very cheap!

 The party bus itself, I wasn’t enamoured with. Yeah it was a good night, yeah I laughed a lot, yeah I got free drinks...But I’ve had better nights in Bedford town, yet another reason not to love Sydney! So at about 2am I got home, had a shower and changed into my adorable Dalmatian pyjamas....big mistake!! Off goes the freaking fire alarm at 2.30am and everyone is evacuated outside...I was freezing!

 So I sat my barley clad backside on the sidewalk and proceeded to sit there for well over an hour before the firemen decided to bother turning up (good job there wasn’t an actual fire!)

 At this point, I was tired, frustrated and just wanted to go to sleep. It had not been the best week to start my Australian adventure; shitty, noisy, rampant roommates, bruised ribs from surfing, getting told I was going to die, actually feeling like I was going to die in King’s Cross and now this.

 So Sunday I woke up afresh and decided to have a chilled day. I packed, I walked and then in the evening...I ate! We went to a revolving tower overlooking all of Sydney. It was amazing!! Unfortunately I am picky with my food (so glad they had rice though!!!), but I did try kangaroo, crocodile and emu. However like Red Hot back at home, this place was more obsessed with quantity, so quality fell out of the window. I shall be trying all these delicacies again, however cooked a lot better! I did, however manage to eat my bodyweight in cheese, I have never been so happy to see brie, cheddar and crackers all in one place!!

 After Sunday was over I had a wasted day on Monday. It was rainy and I couldn’t be bothered to get up to much, so I didn’t. That’s Monday over and done with.

 Tuesday I had to do an RSA (regulation on the selling of alcohol) which will allow me to work in a bar. Cutting a long story short, we were told we had enough time to do the course and everything that went with it before our flight. We did the course, ran to the post office (only found out we had to go to the post office once we were in the classroom) to get our certificates turned into valid cards. And were told because we were 2 minutes after 4.30pm they wouldn’t do it for us. So now I have to go back to Sydney before January 20^th if I want to get this card and not waste my money...bugger!

 Then we flew to cairns....and there I leave it for another blog post! Stay tuned guys!!

Love me
xx

Our ventures into King's Cross...

So after being told the numerous ways we could die on Friday we went home, had a shower and headed into the 'backpackers party paradise' of Kings Cross.
What an experience! I would have felt safer in the mountains at midnight. So off we popped to the subway to navigate the tickets machines, good job the girls behind knew how they worked!! That experience in itself was fine, 5 girls walking through the underground, laughing and smiling....not knowing want lay ahead for the next few hours of the evening.
As soon as we got off the train we had about half a dozen people try and get us into their clubs with offers of 'cheap drinks'. Ladies and gentlemen, there is no such thing as cheap drinks in Sydney!
We eventually went to a place called Tunnel. This club was basically a back alley shed. It was tucked away off the side of the street like a garage tucked in between two buildings and pushed back about 20 foot. None the less, inside we went. My feet were stuck to the floor within 2 seconds. However a 5 dollar vodka and OJ did turn out to be the cheapest drink of the night. We stayed in there for a while until we got a text from the rest of the group telling us to come to a bar called Trademark. And thus came the 9 dollar vodka and OJ's. Now as any of you know, I like to have a drink or two...or three...or more! However here I just cannot afford to drink the amount I do at home, I also cannot deal with heat hangovers!!
So we went into Trademark for all of...ooh 10 minutes. Before we we're on the street. Just the first of many times that night.
So to cut a long story short we went into one club for 10 mins. Then out. Then in. Then out.
Then everyone jumped in a taxi and 6 of us were left to find our way back. Now being cheapskates we refused to get a taxi. Which meant mummy Scarlett had to come to the rescue.
On the way we talked to policemen,.got asked to go watch a strip show, passed many priorities, passed a guy in the brightest tye-dye top ever (turns out he was a drug dealer...charmed!) and chatted to 2 guys from Manley Beach. And after an hours walking we found home! Only to get in and find out everyone else had pissed off out again!! Not amused.
Not amused! However at this point we we're very tired and decided to just call it a night and go to bed.
We had another night of partying to.come...
But for now I'm off
Love me
xx

You Will Die If You Read This Blog!!

Snakes will kill you.

Spiders will kill you.

The sun will kill you.

The sea will kill you.

Too little water will kill you.

Too much water will kill you.

This is what we heard all day up in the Blue Mountains. Our guide was called Smokey, and he was a typical crocodile Dundee!! When we first got on the bus he started top tell us about the history of Australia, whilst this was interesting, the more interesting stories came later in the day. A typical story went along the lines of this:

 Back when I was a young boy, I was being a bit stupid and thought it would be a good idea to start poking a snake with a stick. Turns out this wasn’t such a clever idea! The snake was pissed off with this idiot poking him, so he bit me. I staggered back to my truck and had to drive over 200km to the nearest hospital. I had about 20 accidents along the way, fought off a killer raccoon, shot a crocodile in the face and helped a kangaroo give birth on the way to the hospital. I was in hospital for about 6 weeks and died several times. However I am now immune to snakes!! Snakes will not kill me, however if you get bit by a snake, you will die. You have no hope.

 And this was the general basis of all stories told during the day.

 The Blue Mountains themselves were absolutely amazing. The first place we went had a lookout which meant you could see the view for miles and miles. The haze above the trees was blue, hence the name blue mountains. It has something to do with the eucalyptus sap reacting with the air. We walked to a waterfall which was beautiful; however it was almost 500 steps down, which meant 500 steps up. That was hard work!! I have never been so scared of stairs after that!  

  Back onto the air conditioned bus for some lunch...mmmm food! We had make your own rolls, salad and pasta in a park. It was lovely but seemed weird that just out of these beautiful mountains was a normal place with people going about their daily lives. After this back into the bus we went to our next destination. This time it was a more gently stroll down-hill and a cable cart up hill.

 The whole day was lovely. I just can’t understand why I’m so tired all the time! First thing when I got on the bus I slept for 45 mins, then another half hour kip. And almost an hour on the way home. Even today I got up at midday-ish, have done nothing and cannot stop yawning! Crazy.

Anyways I’ve got a bag to pack...again!

Love me

xx

Oz Intro Week Begins...

So I've now been away from home a week today (or tonight depending on where in the world you're reading this). Yes I'm missing everyone already, yes I'm already sick of cooking for myself (love you mum!) and yes it's scary having to plan everything by myself (thank you dad!).

 However, ignoring all of that, on Monday morning I started my Oz Intro week. And my week since has gone a little like this:

Monday
Monday we got picked up by our guide/tour person/thingy-majiggy and got on a minibus to Sydney Harbour. After not being blown away by it the other day I wasn't expecting too much from this first day. We pulled up the other side of the Harbour and took a walk through the Botanical Gardens. Now fair enough, the gardens were pretty.....however I've seen nice places on my holidays! It wasn't a take your breath away place, it was more like a walk through the Forest Centre, but with more colourful plants and a path. We were walking past the Opera House to go on a speed boat type thing round the harbour. Now seeing as our guide is so lovely, he made sure I went at the front of the boat....where I got completely drenched!! But going round on this boat through the harbour was the first time I started to feel like I was actually in Australia. Whizzing through the water with the bridge one side and the Opera House the other was amazing. I didn't stop laughing the whole time!! Good job it was a hot day so I dried off quickly. After this we were free to do what we wanted. So back to the hostel we went to shower and sleep! After 3 nights of the worst room-mates ever I was so happy to be in a room where everyone was respectful and didn't want to scream at 4am!

Tuesday
Tuesday was the slow day of the week. The morning was spent doing all the necessary jobs; bank and medical card. So at least I have money now!! Then we went to the aquarium...it was alright, but a fish in a tank is a fish in a tank at the end of the day! Still, there was some cool things to do. I got to stroke a starfish, oh yeah! Get me!! After this we went for a night out. Which meant some paracetamol were needed first thing Wednesday morning!!

Wednesday.
Tuesday night I went and had a good time, but didn't drink too much because Wednesday was all about surfing! This was soooo much fun!! The instructors were typical surfer dudes (think Crush the turtle from Finding Nemo). We arrived at a secluded almost private beach and promptly got into our rather attractive wetsuits. So after a brief lesson and chat off we headed into the water. This is where things went a bit wrong! It seemed to take 1 step forward and 3 back to get to a decent surfing point, I was exhausted by the end of the lesson! However after quite a few falls into the water (and a lot of swallowed sea water) I managed to stand up!! Admittedly I fell off after a few seconds, but a stand is a stand. Then cam the miracle....I managed to stand up and ride a wave right back to the shore!! I felt amazing! Then we broke for lunch (the most important part of the day). After lunch I headed back into the water to try and stand up again. However after about 30mins of unsuccessful surfing, the board went nose first into the water, flipping me off into the water and jerking my back...not good. So that was the end of my surf experience. However I'm planning on doing a surf camp later in my trip. By the time we got back to the hostel we were all knackered. I skyped for a bit, cooked dinner, then fell asleep in my clothes!

Thursday
For some reason, even after a full nights sleep, I was knackered all day today. We went to Bondi for the first time. Before I came away, quite a few people said Bondi wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and I promptly ignored them. However after going there today I can see what they mean. It's a tiny stretch of sand in a horse-shoe shape. It's so small it would take all of 10 minutes to walk it. After an hour or so of sunbathing we got up and went on a coastal walk towards Coogee beach. The walk was lovely looking out over the sea. There was random artwork just casually chilling on the side of the cliffs....whatever floats your boat! The area was nice, but the whole place looked like a more sunnier version of Bournemouth! When we reached Coogee we had my first Oz BBQ!! It was lush! Sat on a park table overlooking an alcove of sea and sand. Then it was time to relax some more, look like you're playing volleyball (this involves standing about and running away from the ball) and just generally chat and chill. There wasn't enough room for all of us back on the buses so I had to wait for one of them to come back. I never thought I would have to deal with being cold in Australia, but what do you know?!?!?! Then me and another gal in my week have been sat here deciding what our game plan is for next week. So far we're going to Darwin for 6 weeks to work, then heading to Cairns for Xmas. Then after New Year we have all the time in the world to travel down the East coast. So Saturday we're going to book all our flights, hostels and trips.

 Here we go guys!!!

Miss y'all
Love me
xx

Not Blown Away...

Had a few more hours sleep, so am feeling a bit better about being here today. Went out with a few people from my group today, we decided to go to see the Opera House.....and I was sooooo not impressed! I think I was expecting something amazing and all I could think was "It's tiny!" Was not was I was expecting at all.

 We went shopping to grab some food to cook (don't worry I won't be touching anything! My contribution will be washing up!! Haha), let me tell you something...shopping should not be that difficult!!! Spent about 45 minutes deciding what to have between 4 of us, it was like the blonde leading the blonde! All turned out good in the end.

 Not much else to report really at the moment. Hopefully the week will pick up as I start my Oz Intro tomorrw morning, so will have lots of things to do and see :D

But for now, love you all and miss you all loads!!!!

Love me
xxx

Sydney

So I have arrived! And it's bloody raining!! Not just raining but pouring, like soak through all your layers rain!
Anyways aside from that all is ok. I'm still pretty teary, but hopefully that will pass over the next few days.
So when I got to Sydney airport I thought I was gonna be sent back to the UK straight away :( basically the woman who stamped my passport was meant to give me a ticket, Burr she didn't this led to me being taken down to the end of a very large hall, there was no-one else around and I'm sure the only reason the lady let me through was because she could see I was about to burst into tears asst any second. So I have my bags, I've been let through customs....and there is no-one to pick me up!! After 3 or 4 calls I finally got through top someone, basically they thought my flight got in at 6.40, when it actually came in at 6.10.
Well I'm all safely in the hostel now, still keep wanting to cry (baby!) And am about to go newer a girl in my group. I have my itinerary (Yes Dad, an actual list!) for the next week, and am excited to start now. Just need to shake this bleeding jet lag.
Miss you all!!
Love me
xx

Halfway There....

I am currently writing this sat in Singapore airport. I have already sat through a 13 hour flight and have a further 7 hours to go....who's dumb-ass idea was it to travel all the way to Sydney?! Muppet!
So yesterday was full of tears :'(  it was hard saying goodbye to the family. We're a real small, close knit group. We holiday together, see.edu other a few times a week, constantly text and call and are always hugging.
Taking this journey was partly because I couldn't think of anything else to do and partly about standing.on my own two feet. I just didn't realise how hard it was going to be doing things by myself, without my Mum, dad, brother or grandparents by my side (all this and I'm not even there yet!) I already had a mini panic attack when I queued up at the wrong gate! Most people go to uni a few hour away, or move out a few minutes down the road. I decide to go to the other side of the world....what a goon!
Oh, and I'm sure it will amuse you all to know that the toilet I used in Singapore was actually a hole in the floor. A freaking hole in the floor! Dear lord!
Oh well, onwards and upwards with the adventure....after all it's only a plane ride home, right?
Love me
xx

Tomorrow The Adventure Begins

The bag is packed. After 7 looong hours everything has been rolled, folded, placed, squashed and forced into my bag. I have enough clothes to wear for a month sunlight having to wash them, a pair of shoes for everyday of the week and insight makeup and toiletries for a small store. It's fair to say that I am not you typical backpacker. I'm more of a glampacker!
Most of the goodbyes have been said. Some of them I remember, some I can't (too many cocktails)! The first lot of goodbyes were done during a drunken stupor, in which I ran out rather quickly, cried a lot, and proceeded into town. Rather quickly followed by going home and falling into bed. Good job I'd finished work at this point, or they may have forced me to leave!
Then came saying goodbye to friends and family during the week. I surprised myself, there were no tears involved (I started to tear up on Sunday but we'll keep that between us!)
 Now all that's left is close family and the dogs tomorrow :'(
I'm currently sitting on the floor, with Harvey laying on his back, between my legs, wrapped in a blanket, Jax beside me snuggled up, watching a film with the family. Bliss! Perfect last night
Love Me
xx

Packing The Bag

So yesterday afternoon I started to do the one job I've been dreading the most....packing the bag!
Over the past year I've been.collecting bits and bobs here and there to take with me. A torch, travel plugs, towel, etc. So those bits were already together and in my flight bag ready to be sorted. The big problem...clothes!
Now for those of you that know me,you know I don't pack light! Even a one night stopover usually results in 2 stuffed weekender bags.
So Grandma came over at the ready to help me decide what to pack and to filter out the things that I don't need (such as 9 pairs of shorts!).
So I started with tops, I pulled one out my wardrobe and another and another and another, until I could no longer physically hold any more coat-hangers in my hand. Then came dresses, skirts, shorts, trousers, shoes, pyjamas, underwear and bikinis (don't even start me on accessories!) So I put all my other pieces in my bag (medical bag, towel, other boys and bobs that I will probably never use) and laid my clothes on top. And weighed it.
Now considering we still had the coat-hangers on, I was actually under! Can you believe it, my case was underweight!
After jumping around with glee at this, we got down to business. Take off the coat-hangers and take out the clothes I do not need. I now have a pile.of appropriate clothes on my.chair and a bag full of other random bits.
Now it's just my makeup to sort out...uh-oh!
Love Me
xx