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