I'll try and make it a short one.

Thursday - (28th September)
===========================

Didn't do much today. The weather was cr*p, so taking photos was out of the question.

Instead, I did some boring stuff (laundry, e-mails, etc), and spent several hours hanging out in a couple of local cafe's.

Friday - (29th September)
=========================

Woo hoo. It's sunny !

Decide it's too good an opportunity to waste, so head of into the city to try and amuse myself for the day.

I pick up some food, and a coffee, and wander down the banks of the Avon, to the Botanical Gardens.

There are lots of people messing about in boats, including a few punters. All very civilised.

I find a nice spot to camp out and have a picnic.

In the afternoon, I just wander back through the gardens to Cathedral Square, and watch a few guys duking it out on the giant chess board. I'm too chicken to play myself, though.

Spend most of the evening playing a card game called 'Uno' with a few of the guys from the hostel.

Saturday - (30th September)
===========================

Up at the seriously hideous time of 3am, to go to the airport.

My plane leaves at 6am, and should arrive at 7:30am (we cross 2 time zones on the way, so it's a 3 and a half hour flight).

Get chatting to a rather nice girl called Milou on the plane. Actually we just kind of smile at each other on the plane, but get a conversation going while we're waiting at customs...

Anyhow, we seem to get along, so we decide to try and get her a room in the same hostel as me.

When we get to the place I booked a room, we discover that I've booked my room for the 1st of November. Doh !

After a quick ring round, we find a room somewhere else.

Spend the rest of the day hanging out with Milou around the Rocks area of Sydney, which was nice.

Milou seems pretty cool, although slightly obsessed with brown jewelery.

She also doesn't seem to mind hanging out with someone 15 years older than she is. Bonus.

Sunday - (01st October)
=======================

The weather is even better today than yesterday, so we decide to go to the beach. Manly beach.

What we don't realise is that every other person within 22 miles of Sydney is also going to Manly today.

When we get to Manly (via a very crowded ferry), it turns out that there is a jazz festival on, plus it's a big holiday weekend.

We manage to find 5 square metres for ourselves on the beach, and just chill for a while.

Milou is waiting for a call from her cousin, who lives in Sydney. We don't know it yet, but she actually lives in Manly, about 5 minutes from the beach.

When she get's the call, Larissa (the aforementioned cousin) says she'll some to meet us.

Larissa seems pretty nice, when she turns up. She only stays for a short time, but arranges to take us out for a few beers later.

After a very chilled out afternoon, involving sunbathing, eating, drinking, and, of course, shopping for jewelery, we go round to Larissa's place.

A few beers later, we head off to town to try and find some where that's both cool, but will also let me in. A tricky proposition, even when I do have some decent clothes.

Currently I own one pair of jeans (badly ripped), and one pair of 'slacks'. I'd be lucky to get into McDonalds.

It takes 3 attempts, but I finally get into some place called 'Yu'.

Several gins, and some superb dance moves later, we all bugger off for a well earned kebab, and a kip !

Monday - (02nd October)
=======================

The lovely Milou and myself head off to Darling Harbour this morning. Apparently there's some kind of Latin music festival on.

The weather is really great again (sunny, hot) so we just hang out and enjoy it.

We manage to find the only Dutch eatery in Sydney to have lunch in. They're looking for new employees, and Milou is looking for a daytime job ... this may be a marriage made in heaven.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend Dutch food to my friends. Not unless they like fried mayonnaise, anyway.

The Latin festival isn't really exciting. A few minutes of latino music is quite enough to satisfy us.

Milou needs to be back at the hostel for 4ish, to try and persuade them to give her a job.

For 3 hours work, 4 nights a week, you can get a free room. That sounds like a good deal to me.

In the morning, I'm off (on my own - very sadly) on a day trip to the Blue Mountains. I'm getting picked up at 7:30am, so it's a boringly early night for me.

Just a few episodes of the Simpsons, a fiddle with my laptop, and it's up the wooden hill to beddy land...

Well, that's all folks.

I'll be back home on the 5th October.

My housemates think I'll be back on the 6th, so that'll be a lovely surprise for them...

Last words ... remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Bit of a geek filled morning, this morning...

My camera is full (no mean feat, when your memory card is 2Gb), so I copy all the files to disk, and clear it out.

It's only the 2nd time I've had to do it. If all my stuff gets nicked, at least I'll still have my pictures

Spend the rest of the morning (2+ hours) uploading piccies, and my blog. The internet is soooo sloooow here.

After all this hard work <cough>, I treat myself to a slap up lunch - Tulsi's $7 lunchtime curry special. It's actually rather nice (Aloo Gobi + rice + nan).

In the afternoon I brave the miserable weather and take the cable car up to the botanical gardens. It would be very lovely on a sunny day, but it's very windy, cloudy, and cold. I wimp out after about an hour of wandering round, and head back down for a nice hot coffee.

When you see the pictures of the cable car, remember how I suffered for my art !

In the evening I get to indulge one of my fave hobbies - World domination - as a couple of the guys are playing Risk.

Monday - (25th September)
=========================

Today I'm on a Lord of The Rings (LOTR from now on) tour, that takes you to various LOTR related sites around Wellington.

There are 8 of us on the tour, plus our guide, Nathan.

Nathan tells us that he was an extra in the movies, and played one of the elves at Helms Deep (in the second film).

He is unable to prove this claim with photographic evidence, so I am a teensy bit sceptical.

Still, he is pretty knowledgeable about the movies, and very enthusiastic about them.

We have a kind of 'nerd rating' given to us, that represents how anal we are about the films. You'll be pleased to hear that I was only 3rd. First and second were both girls.

On the other hand, I'm the only one who has read the book 10 times....

First up we visit Mt.Victoria, right in the heart of Wellington. A few of the 'leaving the shire' scenes in film 1 were shot here. I've tried to get the same angle/shot so you can see it in the pictures.

Afterwards, we go for a drive down the coast towards an area known as Miramar. On the way, we stop to look at the boat used in King Kong. I hated King Kong. Just thought I'd mention it.

Miramar is where Peter Jackson (PJ henceforth) lives, and we drive by his house (it's right on the coast), and past many of the houses the cast stayed in while they were filming here. The girls all sigh as we pass Orlando Blooms house.

The top 2 nerds both think that Orlando was cool in the movie. I think he was made far too 'cool' compared to the books, where he's more of tree hugger.

After venting my Orlando spleen, I feel much better. Thanks for listening.

In Miramar, we stop for brunch at a really nice place called 'The Chocolate Fish Cafe'. It's very popular with actors who are working at the (very nearby) studios. All the chairs are hand painted, and the walls have lots of 'shiny things' stuck to them. Nice.

After our refreshments, we tootle up the road to take a look at WETA Workshop (the creature/costume/SFX shop). It appears, mainly, to be a bunch of old warehouses.

From Miramar, we head out of Wellington, to the site where they built the Helms Deep, and Minas Tirith sets.

This is the most unlikely location - a working quarry. PJ paid the quarry operators to move location for a year, while they were filming.

You can still see where the sets went, though. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of the set shots, so you'll have to take my word for it.

Our next stop is Rivendell, which was filmed in a really nice location called Kaitoko Park.

The set was made to fit in-between the trees on site, in-order to nake it feel very natural.

Our guide completes the atmosphere by giving us his Legolas impression.

The final place we visit is the Gardens of Isengard (used in film 1), which are in a local park.

We get another fine scene recreation here, with Nathan taking the part of Saruman, and one of the guys taking on Gandalf. It's like being there.

Back at the hostel, it's another chilled out evening. One of the girls puts on Chocolat (the movie), which I've never seen. Surprisingly, I thought it was pretty good.

Tuesday - (26th September)
==========================

It's goodbye to Wellington, as I'm off to the South Island today.

This means taking a car ferry to Picton, which takes about 3-4 hours.

After some brekky (another visit to Mojo), I drive over to the ferry terminal (it's right in the centre of Wellington) and check in my car.

The ferry doesn't leave for another hour, so I wander back into town, just for something to do.

We actually leave later than we should, but I'm in no rush, and I'm not bothered.

The bestway to describe the weather is 'ominous'.

There are lots of low lying clouds around, all of them are grey. Here and there, you can see small chinks of light grey cloud.

20 minutes into the trip, it starts raining, so it's off below decks to get some lunch.

We arrive at about 5pm, after a pretty smooth (but wet) crossing, where I head off to Kaikoura, about 2 hours away.

After a pretty uneventful drive, I get to Kaikoura at about 7:30, and go and grab some dinner (seafood chowder - yummy).

Wednesday - (27th September)
============================

I'm off (hopefully) dolphin watching today.

The weather looks good, with blue sky and sunshine. First time I've seen a blue sky for about 5 days !

Kaikoura has a lovely backdrop, with snowy mountains off in the distance. All very photogenic.

The dolphin tour starts at 8:30am, but spectators (like me) just sit around for 30 mins while the swimmers (NOT like me) get their wetsuits organised.

We actually leave at 9ish, on 3 separate boats (it's a popular tour).

20 minutes later we see the dolphins. There are actually loads of them (about 100), and they are jumping about (some are doing somersaults!).

It's definitely the coolest thing, ever.

The swimmers get in the water as the dolphins go past, and try and 'entertain' them (by diving down, making squeaky noises, telling whale jokes, etc).

Eventually the dolphins all swim off, so the swimmers come back on board, and the boat moves to get in front of them again.

As the boat moves through the water, a few dolphins come and swim in the bow wave, which is great. You can really see how quick and agile they are.

We get back to shore at about noon, and everyone seems pretty happy.

I'm just hoping one or two pictures come out OK.

I have my lunch (BLT butties) in my car, and get gradually surrounded by seagulls. If feels like a scene from 'The Birds'.

The drive to Christchurch (my final destination) takes about 2 hours.

As I have some spare time, I stop off in a place called Lyttelton, which is supposed to have some nice views. I couldn't find them, though.

Get to my hostel at 5ish. It looks very nice, with the rooms organised in a quadrangle around a nice little garden. The rooms have underfloor heating, and it all seems rather Roman.

After a quick dip in the tepidarium, I head into the town centre

I walk down the banks of the Avon, grab a few piccies, and get some sushi for dinner.

Wellington to Christchurch (via Middle Earth) remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Bye bye Auckland, hello Open Road.

That's the plan, anyhow.

It all starts reasonably well, as my car hasn't been stolen, vandalised, or clamped. Bonus.

After a quick brekky, and a stop to buy some sushi for lunch, I'm off. Well, as far as the petrol station, that is.

$40 (that's about 14 quid for half a tank), and 30 minutes later, I'm leaving Auckland on New Zealands main road - "Route 1".

It looks like the A34 ... there's none of that '2 lane' nonsense here ...

At least there isn't much traffic to get in the way. Most of the traffic that there is seem to be either campervans, or the ubiquitous ute (with the same exhaust/alloy wheel options you get in outback Oz).

The countryside is cross between the highlands of Scotland, the Lake District and Ireland (green, hilly, rural).

Haven't seen the preponderance of sheep I expected, though... Maybe they keep them in their houses ? Perhaps what the Aussies say is true, and the sheep really ARE in charge ? Perhaps the sheep are wearing camouflage ? Perhaps I'm rambling ?

I stop for lunch at a small place called Sullivans Bay, where I eat my sushi, and it starts to rain.

The rest of the afternoon is spent driving to a town called Paihia, which is the main town in the Bay of Islands area.

You can tell it's a big town, because it's got more than one street ...

Don't really do much in the evening, apart from having a quick wander down to the beach, and watching a video with some of the girls who are staying here.

Watching a video, in this case, means 'Shakespeare in Love'. Great.

The hostel is pretty nice, though. With a good kitchen/TV area, and smart/clean bathrooms attached to each of the bedrooms.

Monday - (18th September)
=========================

I'm going for the cultural approach this morning, by paying a visit to Waitangi. This is place where the country of New Zealand (as we know it) was born, when the British Crown and the Mauri tribes signed the 'Treaty of Waitangi'.

Compared to Australia, the Mauri people got a much better deal than the Aborigines.

Waitangi is only a 2km walk from Paihia. I was tempted to go in the car, but I guess the exercise will do me good.

The centre at Waitangi is actually rather interesting, and also very nicely looked after.

My local 'guide' explains the circumstances that led to the treaty, and we visit the spot where the document was signed.

There's also an awesome Mauri war canoe to see (it's 37m long and can seat 160 people).

I'll put up a picture, Mike, so you can get 'canoe envy'.

After all this cultural stuff, my brain needs a rest, so I take the walk to Hararu falls (10km round trip).

While the falls are nice, they aren't worth a 10km walk...

When I get back to Waitangi my feet are, to be blunt, f***ed. The 2km walk back to the hostel is the longest 20 minutes ever.

In the evening, it's a case of chilling in the TV room again. This evenings chick flick is 'What Women Want'. At least it's better than the Shakespeare one.

I do finally get to choose a film (Men in Black 2), but that's only after all the girls have gone to bed.

Tuesday - (19th September)
==========================

No walking today, which is just as well, as my feet would probably fall right off.

I'm booked on a boat trip around the Bay of Islands in the morning.

Yesterday the boats ran across Killer Whales, and there's supposed to be a 90% chance of seeing dolphins normally.

Still haven't seen any dolphins up close yet, so I really hope there are some around.

The boat trip is pretty nice (the weather is sunny for one thing), but there are NO seabound mammals to see, whatsoever. Bum.

Probably the best part of the trip is where our boat 'sails' (even though it doesn't have sails) through the 'Hole in the Rock'.

For those who don't know the 'Hole in the Rock' is, in fact, a big hole in a rock. Imaginative name, huh ?

The boat drops us off at Russell at lunchtime. Russell is a small town, across the water from Paihia.

It used to be called 'The Hellhole of the Pacific'. Now it's more of a place for old Kiwi's to come and die (think Eastbourne).

After some food and a quick wander round, I head back to Paihia on the passenger ferry.

Most of the afternoon is spent doing my laundry (how dull), and the evening in the TV room.

Wednesday - (20th September)
============================

Lots of driving to do today...

First off, I drive North to Cape Reinga, the most Northern point in N.Z.

This is a really great road, very windy, with virtually no traffic, with the final 20Km being just a gravel track.

The gravel section is pretty slippy, and I have visions of my car plunging off a cliff into the sea, in the same kind of style as a cheap TV movie (including the obligatory explosion)...

Along the way, I make a quick stop on 90 mile beach (why not 145 kilometer beach, I hear you ask). Various bus trips take you for a drive along the beach, but I can't do this in my hire car, so I have to make do with a quick walk on the sand.

The Cape itself is very windy, and the weather is best described as 'threatening'. If you've ever seen the film 'The Fog', you'll know what I mean.

At least the lighthouse makes for some interesting pictures.

I go for a quick walk down to the beach, below the cape. It's not really sun-bathing weather though.

I now decide that I can make it to Auckland (or nearby) by the end of the day.

This means a long drive (in the end it takes about 6 hours), but it will 'gain' me one day to spend somewhere else... The drive

Finally (at about 7pm), I get to Auckland.

At least the hostel is really nice, and quite homely (including a log fire in the TV room). I'm too tired to do anything other than watch the movie of the evening (some Arnie movie called 'End of Days') and chill out.

Thursday - (21st September)
===========================

Today is a Lord of the Rings day, as I'm off to see the Hobbiton set at a place called Matamata.

It's on some private farmland about 3 hours drive South of Auckland.

The drive is rather boring for the first 2 hours, but gets more interesting when I get off the main road.

Matamata itself is pretty unremarkable.

I have an hour to kill before the next tour, so I grab some lunch (fish and chips - wrapped in real newspaper), and grab a couple of piccies.

Finally our tour bus turns up. It's called Frodo. How sweet.

It takes about 10 minutes to drive out to the farm. The views here are pretty stunning, with uninterrupted countryside all around.

There are lots of sheep as well. It's just after lambing season, so most of the ewes have babies trailing after them. Mmmm, roast lamb ....

This place is the only one with some of the original set remaining (bad weather prevented them destroying it immediately), and so is a very popular tour.

I took quite a few pictures, so I guess you can judge how good it looks yourselves ...

After the tour, I drive South to a place called Taupo (which was the site of a huge volcanic eruption about 1500 years ago - so huge it ejected 800 cubic Km of ash into the air).

Lake Taupo is now in the place where the centre of the crater would be.

I arrive in Taupo at 7pm (ish), and go shopping for some dinner, then 'retire' for the evening, to watch 'The Empire Strikes Back'. It's not the same without a big TV, though

Friday - (22nd September)
=========================

The general plan for the day is to drive South, into Tongariro National Park, see the mountains (including Mt.Doom from LOTR), and stay somewhere round the area.

It starts out OK, as the weather in Taupo is really nice.

I decide to do a couple of things locally, before heading out.

First off, I visit 'The Craters of the Moon', which is a thermally active area (bubbling mud, steaming water, etc). It's quite interesting, but not as good as some of the places I saw in Iceland (a long time ago, on a holiday far away).

Just a short (10 minute) hop away are the Huka falls.

While not very tall, the sheer volume of water coming through them is impressive.

Further downstream are the Aritata rapids. 3 times per day, the hydro-electric power station upstream releases a surge of water into these rapids (purely for tourism purposes). This creates a really great spectacle. It also lets you ride a 'jet boat' up the rapids.

This is too cool to resist, so I cough up my (roughly) ?5 for a go.

The jet boat ride is definitely one of the best things I've done. As the boat gets upto about 80km/h, some of the rapids cause you to take off. Once you've take off, obviously, you have to 'land' again. Invariably, this involves a big splash, and a new wet patch.

35 minutes, and many wet patches, later I get off the boat with a big smile on my face.

I paid the extra ?0 to get the pictures, so make sure you look at 'em !

After my Taupo adventures, I make my (rather soggy) way towards Tongariro Park.

Unfortunately, the weather hasn't heard about my plan for the day. It's very cloudy, raining, and windy in the mountains.

I make an attempt to get up one of the peaks (by driving up one of the passes, to the ski lift area), but it's so cloudy I can hardly see the end of my nose.

Driving up here is pretty hair-raising (see one of the pictures, for an example).

After hanging around for an hour, hoping the weather will break, I decide to give up.

The weather is supposed to be the same on the following day, so there's no point staying in the area, and I make the decision to head South again, to try and get as close to Wellington as possible.

In the end I stay in a small place called 'Sansom', about 150Km North of Wellington.

The motel is really cheap (about 22 quid) and pretty decent.

Saturday - (23rd September)
===========================

It's only a 2 hour drive to Wellington this morning, and I arrive at my hostel at about 11am.

The hostel seems like a really nice, friendly place. Quite a few of the people staying have been here for 2 or 3 months !

I'm only here for 3 nights, though (I have a schedule to keep!).

Wellington has a bit of a San Fransisco feel about it - it's very windy, rather hilly, and lots of the houses look similar.

One of it's claims to fame, is that it has more coffee shops (per capita) than anywhere else (even New York).

The best one (supposedly) is called Mojo, and is only about 5 minutes walk away.

Seems like a natural place to start my afternoon ...

The coffee was very nice (they roast their own beans, apparently), and the chocolate brownie was fantastic.

I spend the next hour wandering around the quay side area, before heading to Te Papa (the Museum of New Zealand).

Entry to the museum is free (donations welcome) but it actually has lots of really excellent exhibits.

I nabbed a few photos of my favourites from floor 4 (I only did one of the 3 floors today).

After a couple of hours in the museum, I go for a wander around Wellington, grab some food (Lebanese today), and head back to the hostel.

Auckland - Cape Reinga - Wellington remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Arrive in New Zealand at a really stupid time - 1am.

Can't check into my hostel, and can't catch a bus to the city until 6am, so I have to hang around for 5 hours.

When I finally get to my hostel at 8am, I just crash out for a few hours.

In the afternoon, I get the ferry to Rangitoto Island, which is a dormant volcano.

Auckland is surrounded by about 50 volcano cones, and Rangitoto is the most recent (600 years old).

The ferry ride is fun in itself, and takes about 30 minutes. It's sunny, but still pretty cold and windy on the top deck...

There's not much on the island (no one lives there), no shops, no toilets, not even a bin !

It's 3 hours until the return ferry arrives, so I decide to take the 1 hour walk to the summit of the volcano.

The walk doesn't actually take an hour (more like 45 minutes), but gets quite steep at the top. It's well worth it for the view, though.

When I get back to the city (after the walk down, and ferry ride back), have a quick wander around Aucklands shopping centre.

After splashing out on a new zoom lens, it's off to a nice Belgian Bar, where they sell huge plates of grilled mussells with the obligatory fries and mayonnaise. The mussells are great, and so it the mayo !

After my feed, it's back to the hostel to crash out.

Friday - (15th September)
=========================

More ferry action today, as I pop over to Devonport, which is on a peninsula north of the main city.

The dominating feature of Devonport are the 2 volcanic cones - Mt.Victoria and North Head.

I wander up Mt.Victoria to take in the views and get some pictures.

There's not much else to see around Devonport (although it does seem to have lots of secondhand book shops, which I make a purchase in), so I get the ferry back to the city.

In Auckland, I visit the Sky Tower, which is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. The view from the top is pretty cool, and they have the glass floor panels (just like the C.N.Tower in Toronto) which are very wierd to stand on.

Every 10 minutes or so, a paying nutcase sails past the windows, as they take the 'Sky Jump'. This is a 'controlled descent' down a couple of wires outside the building. As 328ft < 14,000ft, I feel no obligation to try it !

Pop into the local Irish bar, for a lovely pint of Kilkenny, and wander back to the hostel to read my new book for a while.

Saturday - (16th September)
===========================

Quite an early wake up this morning, as my room mate is up at 6:30am, so he can get some bus, to some place.

I do manage to get back to sleep for a while, but eventually the Saturday morning traffic gets me to take some positive action (having a shower in this case).

After a nice brekky (porridge with plums, cream and brown sugar), I go for a walk to Albert Park to grab a few piccies.

Then it's off to pick up my car, which I have for the next 13 days.

It takes quite a while to get my car, because it needs a wash when I go to pick it up.

While the guy is washing my car, 4 (very cute) Argentinian air hostesses arrive to pick up another car, and I have to wait for them (who would YOU serve first?).

Wonder if all Argentine girls are so nice ? Must go and find out, one day !

When I do, finally, get my car I just go for a drive along the coast to the West of Auckland.

Driving here isn't a problem, except for the facts that -

a) no roads have numbers, except for about 5 major roads.
b) the roads that DO have numbers don't seem to be signposted
c) in fact, nothing is sign posted

I have a road atlas, but it's bl**dy hard work finding your way about in the suburbs.

I drive back to Auckland before it gets dark (I know I'd get lost), and make a visit to Mt.Eden, which is the tallest of the volcanic peaks around Auckland.

The view is pretty cool from the top, but it starts to get windy, and begins to rain, just before sunset, so I head back to my hostel.

Auckland remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Should anyone want to get in touch rather urgently, it's -

+64 (0) 2102427560

So, from the U.K. it will probably be 00642102427560.

Please remember the 11 hour time difference !

New Zealand, new number remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Went to the piccies last night to see the premiere of an Australian film called 'Last Train to Freo'.

It was a pretty good film - very intense, as it's set entirely inside one carriage on a late night train, with only 5 actors.

The director and the lead actor came along, and answered peoples questions about the film afterwards.

All very cool.

If it gets a release in the UK, I may have to force people to come and watch it with me ...

Tuesday starts quite well, with some sunshine ! Woo hoo !

I was beginning to feel like I was back at home already...

I grab my camera and go for a wander around the South Bank of the river, where there are some nice parks, galleries, cafes, etc.

I also go for a ferry ride down the river.

That takes most of the day, so when I get back to the hostel I just chill out by watching some Red Dwarf, and by reading my book.

Wednesday - (12th September)
============================

My last day in Brisbane. My flight is at 7:30pm, so I have some time to wander around.

Don't really do much in particular though, apart from updating this blog, uploading a few piccies, and sending a few e-mails.

Tomorrow I'll be in Auckland, which should be very different.

Brisbane remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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All the other guys go horseriding after breakfast, to 'round up' some goats.

I don't.

Partly, this is because I don't really like horses. Or goats. Or the rain.

Mainly, though, it's because I can't be a*sed.

Apparently the goats know the score and round themselves up. The horses also know the score, and just walk along ignoring any user instruction.

The main man, Andy, doesn't actually ride a horse. He rides a dirt-bike. I think he had the most fun.

After all this, we (including me this time) do a few cowboy-stylee events.

First off, we have to lasso a goat. I'm actually not bad at this, and get mine in 5 seconds (3rd place!). Once again Caroline is the best, and she gets hers in about 2 seconds. Hiro gets second place.

To be honest, the goats are only 2 metres away, and not very lively.

After getting our goat, we have a go a clay pidgeon shooting. I'm joint 4th with 2 out of 5. Three of the guys manage to get 3 out of 5.

After 5 shots I was definitely getting my eye in (I hit my last 2) and I reckon I might have won if it had been out of 10 ...

I like shooting stuff far more than lassooing it.

After lunch (steak, naturally) we head off to Hervey Bay.

Caroline and Lisa don't come with us though, they have decided to stay on the ranch for a couple of weeks. They have to work, but will get free accommodation and food. Caroline is a natural, but I wonder how Lisa will cope ?

We get to Hervey Bay at about 6:30pm, and all meet for dinner/drinks in a local Irish bar.

Get to bed at midnight(ish).

Thursday - (7th September)
==========================

Off to Fraser Island this morning, for a 2 day tour.

Fraser Island is the biggest sand island in the world (so they tell me). It's been formed over hundreds of thousands of years, from sand carried from the Sydney area.

Originally there were just 3 rocky outcrops in the sea, until sand began to be deposited around them.

Eventually this became the island as it is now.

Once plants started to grow, they created (poor) soil, allowing other plants to move in.

Now the island is covered with trees, and shrubs.

We take a ferry across to Kingfisher Bay on the island, at 8:30am, and meet our guide for the 2 day tour. He's called Chris, and is a former snake catcher (all the guys think this is pretty cool, of course).

Our group is quite small at 14 people (groups can get upto 30 people). They are -

Me, Amber, Hiro, Dave, Jeff, Sabina and Karen
Anthony (a guy from Nottingham)
A Korean couple (names unknown)
Romina (a girl from Rome, who lives in Sydney)
3 Dutch girls (Caroline, Nynka, and Marija, all from Utrecht)

We all get straight into our big 4wd bus (it's the size of a small house) and head off over the island.

The road out of Kingfisher Bay (which is a holiday resort) starts as tarmac, and soon becomes a sand hill called 'The Roallercoaster'.

You can see how it get's it's name. It's a steep, undulating track, that bounces you around like a ride at Alton Towers. At least you don't have to queue for 2 hours to get on it.

The roads on the island are all sand, and some of them are very tricky. Our drive takes us over some very rough terrain, and some deep, soft sand (easy to get stuck in).

We eventually arrive at our destination, a small 'perch lake'. These are lakes above sea level, formed when vegetation creates a waterproof layer over the sand, in a small depression.

The lake is quite small, but very secluded and peaceful. The sand around the edge is very fine and white, but that soon gives way to grasses, and then the trees.

One interesting plant found here is the sundew plant. These have sticky leaves that catch insects on them. Once they're stuck, the plant secretes an enzyme to digest them. Nice.

While I'm walking round the lake, I chat to Anthony, and the Dutch girls, who all seem pretty nice.

In fact, one of them (Caroline) reminds me of Immy. Unfortunately, I haven't got a good picture of her to show you.

The second part of our morning is spent on a short rainforest walk. Chris tells us that he'll buy a beer if anyone gets a photo of the resident kingfisher. No-one does, but we all look very hard. I wonder if he made it up ?

Afterwards, we tootle (in the rough terrain sense ofthe word) to another, bigger, perch lake called McKenzie Lake.

Here we have lunch, interrupted only by Doug the monitor lizard, who tries to steal our rubbish. Chris is quick off the mark, and manages to catch him in the act.

McKenzie Lake has a proper beach, so it's quite busy. There are lots of people swimming and sunbathing, and lots of kids screaming. I liked the other lake better

We drive back to our lodges (in Kingfisher Bay) with the usual amount of bouncing around. For some reason it seems to have a very soporific effect on me, and I can hardly keep my eyes open.

After dinner (at the marvellous 'Dingo Bar'), it's karaoke time (oh dear!).

Hiro is very funny. Dave and Jeff are pretty good (although Jeff over reaches himself a little). Amber is not quite so good.

Of course, I don't take part. I've done my karaoke for the year (see Alice Springs bus trip).

Spend quite a lot of time chatting to Romina, who gives me the name of the restaurant she works at, in Sydney.

By the end of the evening the name has slipped out of my mind (helped by that thin layer of beer on my brain).

As Romina won't be on our bus tomorrow, I will never know how good her coffee is

A few of the guys go to bed, but the hardcore join Chris for a midnight 'safari'. This mainly involves waving torches drunkenly at trees, tripping over dead wood, and getting lost. Animals seen on safari : 1 spider.

Friday - (8th September)
========================

Back in the bus again this morning, for a drive to the Eastern side of the island.

One stretch of road we pass through is called 'Snake Alley' (because it catches the sun early in the morning).

Chris spots a carpet python sunning himself by the roadside. After a few photos, the python has enough and slides into the trees. I did get a picture, but not a good one (there were about 8 other people vying for the best spot).

When we (after about an hour) get to the East Beach, it's a big change of scenery. Gone are the narrow sandy tracks, replaced by wide, empty beach, that's 75 miles long (honest).

While it looks nice and peaceful, anyone going for a swim is likely to get taken by a riptide, then eaten by a big shark.

Needless to say, we don't go swimming.

Driving up the beach here is really cool. There are few people/cars around, so we get upto 80km/h.

Eventually we do hit traffic, just as we pass one of the resorts on the island.

It seems like part of the Paris-Dakar rally, as we weave around and overtake various other drivers. Cool.

We soon reach the wreck of the Maheno, which was washed ashore in the 1930's. It makes for a good photo opportunity, as the waves are still breaking over part of the superstructure.

Just before lunch, we get to Indian Head. This is one of the only rocky areas on the island, and is one of the 'seeds' that started the build up of sand, way back in the past.

The view from the top is great, and we see turtles, sharks, whales, dolphins, and masses of spawning Taylor Fish. Personally, I could have sat there all day, but we only get about an hour to marvel before we have to go.

We stop again, just up the coast from Indian Head, at the Champagne Rock Pools. These are rather dull compared to the earlier view. The tide is so low that the rock pools are all but empty.

After an hour or so, we go back to the bus, grab some lunch, and head back down the beach.

Our last stop is at Eli Creek. Here we bump into Eric. Eric is an Eel, and lives under a bridge. With a bit of coaxing, Chris get's him to come out for a quick photo shoot.

Back at the bus, Hiro spots some guys having a few beers, wearing Elvis gear. It's too much to resist, so he goes over for some impromptu fancy dress action. Elvis rivs.

After a breakneck, rally style, drive back to the Bay, it's time to say goodbye to some of the group. Some of us are getting the 5pm ferry back to the mainland (myself included), and some are staying for a free dinner and catching the 8pm ferry.

Jeff, Dave, Sabina and Karen are the other folks catching the 5pm boat.

We get back to the hostel just after 6pm, where Sabina's mum is wating to pick her and Karen up (Sabina's mum lives in Brisbane).

After a few more goodbyes, Jeff, Dave and myself console ourselves with some beer, wine and takeaway.

Saturday - (9th September)
==========================

Wow. The bus is really full this morning.

Apparently the previous days bus was cancelled (don't know why). Pina and Natalie were supposed to have been on that bus, so I expected to see them on this one instead. Unfortunately they don't show up, so I guess they made other arrangements. I wouldn't have minded their company for another day

Not much of interest on todays schedule.

First stop is a place called Rainbow Beach. We amuse ourselves (for 5 minutes) learing to throw the boomerang, have a wander down to the beach for 15 minutes, and, er, visit the loo.

In the afternoon, we stop at Noosa. This seems like a nice place, although quite touristy. It's also very busy (because it's a Saturday). Anyhow, I wander down to the beach for a while, for a read. At the top of the beach someone is getting married. Seems like a rather busy place to do it, but the setting is pretty cool.

Our final stop is just outside Brisbane. The Glasshouse Mountains are old volcanic plugs, still standing after the rest of the volcano eroded away. They make some very interesting silhouetes, but we're here at the wrong time of day to get a really good piccy.

It's quite a walk up to the lookout point, and Hiro seems determined to get there first. He does, but no-one else seems that bothered.

Finally we arrive in Brisbane. Arrange to meet up later for beers. In fact, only me, Jeff, Dave, Amber, and Tanya (the driver) turn up.

Tanya, Jeff and Dave leave pretty early, leaving just me and Amber. Amber isn't drinking.

We pop into an Irish bar (definitely NOT because they're showing the Everton/Liverpool game).

It's farewell to the last of my Cairns-Brisbane group, as I take my leave from Amber, at about 2am. She's chatting to one of the other guys from the bus, who finally turned up, so she's in safe(ish) hands !

Monday - (10th September)
=========================

First day in Brisbane.

Weather is rubbish (rain and more rain).

Do nothing apart from shopping, reading, watch Star Wars, and sleeping.

Tuesday - (11th September)
==========================

Still raining.

Do lots of washing.

Write up my blog.

May go to the pictures later.

Exiting, huh ?

Cairns to Brisbane (part 3) remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Some of the pictures I've added are from Fraser Island, which I haven't gotten around to writing about yet...

Friday - (1st September)
========================

Our hostel has a really great setting, so when I get up at 7ish, I grab a cuppa and go and sit overlooking the beach. Seems like a pretty good way to wake up to me.

In the morning Mel takes us for a walk to some local Forts, built by the US in WWII. Apparently, Magnetic Island was on the flight path Japanese bombers used to take to get to Brisbane and Sydney.

In one of the old ammo dumps, there are some bent wing bats living. It's pretty cool to see them fluttering around in the dark. I'm not sure all the girls agree with me on this point, though.

After the walk, we go back to the mainland on the ferry, and get back on our bus for the journey to Aerlie Beach.

We're going to be Sailing for 3 days when we reach Aerlie, but as we travel South, the weather gets worse. By the time we arrive, it's windy and raining.

I'm staying in the same hostel as Amber and Hiro, and we all end up in the same room. Our roomies are 5 girls, 4 are from from England, one is from Germany, and all seem to be up for a few beers. Winner !

The girl from Germany is called Jasmine, and seems pretty cool (she also has a seriously good figure - but that sort of thing doesn't sway my opinion...).

Jasmine, plus me and Amber go down to the bar to meet our bus mates for a few beers. Eventually the other girls from our room get down to the bar, but we don't really see too much of them during the evening.

After a trip to the Irish bar next door (including a live band playing Bon Jovi stuff) we all wander home (in a less than straight line) at 2am ish.

Saturday - (2nd September)
==========================

Have to get up at 7ish, and pack 3 days worth of stuff in one bag, leaving the rest in my main bag.

As we're going to be on a boat for 3 days, I'm leaving my laptop and camera behind (sob).

Before we go, I grab Jasmines number, so we can go for more beer when we get back in 3 days time.

Our boat is called 'Freight Train', and was the winner of the Sydney-Hobart race in 1983. That's right, the boat is about 25 years old.

We get on board at about 9:30ish (after a 20 minute delay, waiting for some hungover Germans to turn up).

There are 14 passengers on the trip, and 3 crew.

The passengers consist of 11 blokes, and 3 girls.

5 of the Guys are German, the others are Me/Dave/Jeff/Hiro, plus a Spanish guy called Fernando.

The girls are Laurene (very pretty French girl), Amber, and a Spanish lady called Malla (who's married to Fernando).

I think Laurene and Amber may get plenty of attention !

The crew are Elena (German girl who does the cooking and helps sail the boat), Shane (Diving Instructor, but also helps sail the boat), and Tristan (the skipper).

We set sail (actually we set motor) at about 10ish, and it looks pretty windy on the open sea ...

As soon as we get out of the harbour, the crew put up the sails, and we're sailing for real.

This seems to involve sitting on a 45 degree angle, dangling your legs over the side, getting salt water in your face.

Surprisingly, I quite like it.

According to Tristan, we get upto about 12 knots. It doesn't sound so quick, but it certainly feels it.

Luckily for me, I'm also sat next to Laurene. She's pretty chatty, and is nice to talk to, as well as look at !

The islands we're sailing to are called the Whitsundays (that's the day they were discovered by Cpt. Cook).

Our first stop is in a calm piece of water called Cooks Passage.

Unfortunately, the bilge pump isn't working properly, and there's water below decks. My bag get's a bit damp, and so do some peoples bunks. Glad I didn't bring my laptop now.

In the afternoon we stop at a little bay to go Snorkeling. We should be going diving as well, but it's raining and we don't get the chance.

Afterwards, we sail further round the islands to our evening stop, at Whitehaven beach.

It's still windy,and the boat is moving around alot. Laurene seems a bit seasick, but everyone else is OK.

After dinner (eaten indoors) we play a few drinking games. The best is one called 'Beer Goggles'. I'll demonstrate it in Chorlton when I get home, assuming I can get a few willing victims, er, volunteers.

The game is VERY funny, especially as Hiro doesn't really get the rules, and keeps f*in it up ! He also keeps getting victimised by Amber, who's completely merciless.

It's pretty wierd getting to sleep on the boat. There isn't much space, and we are all sharing the same 'room' (the bunks are along the hull of the boat).

Also the toilet is REALLY tiny (about 10 inches across - which is way smaller than my ass), and smells pretty unpleasant.

Sunday - (3rd September)
========================

This morning we get to spend a few hours on Whitehaven beach. It's noted as one of the prettiest beaches in Australia, with pure white sand, clear sea, and great views.

Unfortunately it's a bit overcast, so it won't look as good as those postcard pictures.

Still, there is an interesting brooding quality to some of the clouds. Makes me feel homesick.

The beach really is lovelly though.

In the shallow water (less than knee deep) you can see stingrays (this was before Steve Irwin was killed by one, btw), and sand sharks. You can usually walk to within a metre ofthem before they swim away.

After about an hour of scaring fish, I find a nice spot,and read my book for a couple of hours.

All very relaxing.

As pretty much all the boat trips call here, it's no surpise to bump into Karen and Sabina (who are on a more luxurious boat).

Luckily for us, we had gotten to the beach before any other boat, so there were no tourists in Laurene's piccies.

When we get back, we find out that our diving instructor has got a back problem, and will be leaving the boat at lunchtime.

Fortunately, we will still get a chance to dive, with an instructor from one of the companies other boats.

Our next stop is at Luncheon Bay, where we meet up with one of the companyies other boats.

Our new, temporary, dive instructor is called Karl. His middle names are 'Franz Ferdinand'. That's true, that is.

We get a really good 40 minute dive. Get to see a really big Moray Eel, and loads fish. There's much more life here that on the reef I say in Cairns. The visibility wasn't as good, but overall it was the best dive I've had for seeing wildlife.

Later on in the afternoon we stop over at Manta Bay. There is a 'tame' Mauri Wrasse here called Elvis. He's about 4 feet long, and about a foot wide.

Tristan gets in the water and feeds him bread. Elvis will come close enought to let you touch, if you have the food.

Lots of the other guys get in and feed the fish, but I'm just happy to watch, as I've already had my one shower allowed per day.

In the evening we stop at another nearby bay. There are some resident sea eagles here, who come out to the boat. Tristan throws chicken pieces into the water, and the eagles swoop down and grab them from right in front of us.

It's very nice to see them so closely, but I don't really like to see them being fed chicken. I'm sure they wouldn't normally have it in their diet.

We get to eat our dinner on deck, as the weather has really improved. The sea is calm and even Laurene isn't feeling the effects.

Spend most of the rest of the evening chatting to Laurene, and go to bed about 10ish.

Monday - (4th September)
========================

Last day of our boat trip today.

I'm up at 7am, before anyone else today.

It's very nice sat on deck with only a few birds for company. There seem to be a few small ones that fly out from the shore to perch on the boat. Don't know why they do, perhaps it's to look for food, or a nesting site.

If anyone does know, please tell me !

Once everyone else is up, we get some breakfast, and make a short hop to Langford Island.

It's a very small island, with a long sandbar attached to it. The sandbar has built up behind the reef that lies just off the island.

We spend a couple of hours here (reading and sleeping in my case). Some of the guys see a manta ray in the sea, but I missed it.

After lunch, we head back to Aerlie.

On the way back, we (I'm not actively involved in this process, btw) try to catch and pass Sabina/Karens boat (which is called 'Waltzing Mathilda'). We do manage to pass them, but then we have to stop for a briefing from Tristan about packing our stuff, etc.

A table has been booked for us to meet and have dinner/drinks later on.

I arrange to meet Laurene earlier (because I need to get piccies from her camera).

Back at the hostel, all the boring stuff gets done (washing clothes, showering, writing some blog entries).

I also manage to get hold of Jasmine, to see if she's around for beers later (she is, of course - Germans seem to like beer).

I meet Laurene at 7ish, and sort out her piccies (she won't let me have the bikini shots, damn it!).

We decide to go and get something to eat somewhere else (because the food at Beaches, where we are all meeting, is not so great).

This all sounds great, but it doesn't quite work out, because when we go downstairs we get pressured into eating with everyone else. Not only do I NOT get to have dinner with Laurene, but the food is also rubbish, God damn it, foiled again !!!

Anyhow, still have a good night. Jasmine comes over for a few beers as well, so I'm a happy man

Tuesday - (5th September)
=========================

Today is the next leg of our bus journey to Brisbane. We get a different tour guide, and probably some new passengers.

The schedule for the day is pretty dull, though.

It's about an 8 hour drive to Kroombit Cattle Station, where we will spend the night, so there's not much time to stop and see other things along the way.

We have the usual suspects on the bus (does this make me Kaiser Sose?), plus 4 extras. They are -

2 girls, Pina and Natalie (from, you guessed it, Germany)
2 more girls, Lisa and Caroline (from London)

Natalie seems pretty friendly, Pina a bit more quiet. Lisa and Caroline are at the back of the bus, so I can't get at 'em !! They're so lucky.

The only thing we do on the way to the cattle station is really random - lawn bowls...

Me and Amber take on our 2 new German friends, and lose 6-1. Did I say friends ? Now it's war !

The rest of the drive is very uneventful, apart from a serious rainstorm that appears just before we get to the cattle station.

This means that it's like Glastonbury when we get there, with mud everywhere.

Still, we get a decent feed (roast beef, of course), and then get to have a go at whip cracking, and the mechanical bull.

I'm pretty rubbish at both (the whip was boring - I gave up after 5 mins). I manage to stay on the bull for about 5 seconds. That's 4 more than I expected. When I get thrown off, I have to check to see if all of my fingers are still attached ...

Most people get thrown after 3-5 seconds, but Jeff gets 12s, and Caroline wins easily with 18s. She looks like a natural.

It's all a good laugh, and a few are game for a second go. Caroline is still the best, managing to get a very respectable 23s.

After that it's off to bed, in a small, damp hut, with a sore finger and a 55 year old Japanese man for company. My life could be so much better...

Cairns to Brisbane (part 2) remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Day 1 of diving course starts with something that makes me smile.

I wait outside the hostel to get picked up at 8:30. The bus arrives at 8:40ish, and then proceeds to drive round the corner (literally) to drop us of at the Pro-Dive school. Doh!

Our group seem like a nice bunch. They are, in no particular order -

Jonny (from Belfast)
Caroline (from London)
Tony (from London)
Nicholas (from Denmark)
Antonia (from Germany)
Melanie (from Germany)
Anna (from Sweden)
Paul (from Ireland)
Laura (from Ireland)

Everyone looks fitter than me. Oh dear.

Our instructor is a Kiwi, who used to play rugby before taking up diving. His name is Oscar, and he's a pretty big fella. I don't think anyone will be arguaing with him !

Our 'secondary' instructor is called Tanya. She's an Aussie, who seems to be a bit of a joker (in the nicest possible way).

Day 1 starts with lots of theory about air pressure at depth, how not to die if you run out of air, etc.

In the afternoon we have to learn some stuff about our equipment, and get wetsuits of the right size. I don't look too good in my wetsuit...

The other thing we have to do is swim 200 metres (something I haven't done for at least 20 years) and tread water for 10 minutes. I manage the 200 metres but fail miserably at the treading water (3 minutes is pretty bad).

After this, we learn how to set up our stuff (putting on all the hoses, inflating the buoyancy device, checking air pressure guages).

Finally we get to try it all on, and have a go at breathing with our heads underwater. This is actually OK.

Most of the rest of the afternoon is spent in the pool.
There are lots of boring lessons, like swapping your regulator (mouthpiece) underwater, etc.

Before I go home, I try the 10 minute treading water thing again, this time successfully. If I couldn't do it, I wouldn't have been allowed to dive, so I'm pretty relieved.

Nothing much doing in the evening, just went for fish and chips.

Saturday - (26th August)
========================

Similar sort of day to Friday.

We get to dive down to 4 metres in the pool, and practice our other skills (buoyancy control, safety stuff, etc).

In the afternoon, we go back into theory mode, and take our written exam. It's seriously easy, and nearly everyone gets 98%.

It's quite a tiring day, and in the evening I just make some tea, read and pack for the next day.

Sunday - (27th August)
=====================

Exciting day, today, as we get to go out on the reef to finish our certification.

We all meet at 6:15am, sort out our equipment, and head off to the boat. There are about 30 passengers.

Some are doing more advanced diving certifications, some are just doing recreational dives, and some just snorkelling. It's mainly Europeans (Germans,Swiss,English and Irish), but there are a couple of others.

I'm sharing a cabin with Jonny, who is my diving 'buddy' (you always dive with a buddy, for safety reasons).

It's a 3 hour trip out to the reef, so we all settle down for breakfast and a good chat.

Toni (Antonia) is very funny, although slightly manic ! I don't think she puts her brain in gear half the time - she's bound to be the butt of most of our jokes ...

I'm pretty nervous about my first 'real' dive, in the sea. I'm not the only one though, as a few of the others are just as worried. How come this makes me nervous, but jumping out of a plane doesn't ? Answers on a postcard please...

My nerves are misplaced, as our first dive is really cool. There are no skills to practice, so we just swim around looking at the reef for 35 mins, or so.

There are loads of fish, but I'm pretty busy getting used to the feeling and don't really notice as much as I should !

Afterwards we just relax on the boat, and I have a really nice chat with Tanya, who's typically aussie (i.e. likes taking the p*ss)...

In the afternoon we have another dive where we go through our skills for real. That's not so much fun, but everyone manages OK. It's pretty nasty when you have to fill your mask with seawater, and blow it out, as it all gets in your nose.

I can promise you that spending 30 minutes with salty nostrils is no party !!

In the evening we all chill out with a few beers, play cards, etc.

Monday - (28th August)
======================

Sleeping on a boat is pretty cool. The motion sends you off very quickly.

Waking up on a boat is not so cool, especially at 6am.

We have 2 more technical dives to do today. After that, I will be a certified diver, woo hoo !

Our first dive takes us down to 18m, and we see some turtles and loads of fish.

After a decent brekky (bacon and eggs), we go for our second dive of the day.

All the most complicated skills are tested in this dive, but no-one has any real problems.

By the time we're back on the boat we are fully qualified !

I'm now considered safe and sensible enough to dive on my own. Mmmmm.

In the afternoon we're let off the leash (as it were). Me and Jonny get to go off and go and do our free dive, with no guide. We saw quite a lot of stuff, but Jonny runs low on air after only 25 minutes, and we have to go back to the boat.

I took an underwater camera with me, but all the pictures were rubbish. I don't have enough control, yet, to get close enough to the fish.

In the evening, we split the group up. Some people are going to do the next level of certiciation. I decide not to do it (so I can do some free dives, instead of 2 more technical ones).

The advanced guys do a technical night dive, while the rest of us do a guided night dive. Some people saw lots of stuff, but I didn't see anything (I was at the back of a line of 15 divers...).

Tuesday - (29th August)
=======================

Really early start this morning (5:30am) for my first free dive of the day.

This time I'm paired up with Toni, who is definitely as mad as a hatter. Hope she's sensible under the water.

We actually have a really good dive, and see some Turtles up close, and a big giant clam, as well as areas of reef teeming with really colourful fish.

I'm also getting the hang of my buoyancy control, so I can get much closer to stuff safely.

When we come up, we're both pretty chuffed (although I don't think Toni knows that word) about it.

The advanced guys are all jealous. They dived down to 30m to fulfil their 'deep dive' skill, but didn't see much.

Later in the morning, I pair back up with Jonny to help him with his underwater photography diving. The photo instructor (Arek) gives us an early briefing, so that we can get into the water before enyone else (so we can get clear water for pictures).

We go more slowly for photography, and see some smaller fish close up, including a Puffer Fish, and a big Bump Head Parrot fish.

In the afternoon, we go back to shore, after agreeing to meet later for drinks.

Get pretty p*ssed in the evening, and have a real good laugh with Tanya. Discover we have a shared love of Long Island Iced Tea !

Get to bed at about 2am - I think.

Wednesday - (30th August)
=========================

Today I'm starting my tour to Brisbane.

The bus picks me up at 8am.

There are only 7 of us on the bus (plus a guide) -

Sabina (my Swiss friend)
Karen (Sabina's friend, who's come out to meet her)
Jeff + Dave (2 guys from Chicago)
Amber (a girl from London)
Hiro (a guy from Japan, who's much older than even me)

Jeff,Dave, Karen and Sabina have been on the same diving trip for the last few days, and all seem to get along as a nice foursome.

Fortunately, Amber is pretty chatty, and I spend most of the morning talking to her.

We start our drive South, to Brisbane, by going North, into the Atherton table lands.

Our first port of call is a lake in an old crater. It's not really that interesting, but there are some little turtles in there. The distinguishing feature of these turtles is that they can breathe through their ass, when they need to. I still haven't thought of a scenario when I'd consider breathing though mine...

Afterwards, we stop off at Milla Milla falls. They're pretty small, but very pretty. Apparently they've been used in various videos, and adverts (think Timotae).

In the afternoon we go to a Croc farm, to see feeding time. One of these beasts is about 5m long, and seriously huge.

When you seem them go for their food, you realise how fast they can move - pretty scary.

At night, we stay in Mission Beach (where my skydiving took place).

We all go for a meal and a few beers in the local bar/restaurant. This soon turns into a 'scavenger hunt' game, with free beer going to the winning team.

We win, by getting our girls to pole dance, showing a 'mangina' (I'm not explaining if you don't understand), and so on. Fortunately there are no pictures of these activites.

Thursday - (31st August)
========================

Nothing much to report this morning. We're just travelling through sugar cane fields, and tropical rainforests.

In the afternoon we arrive at Townsville, to catch the ferry to Magnetic Island.

It only takes about 30 minutes before we get there.

We stay at a really nice hostel called Base.

In the afternoon, we go kayaking on the sea, and hang out on the beach.

In the evening we move to the bar, and catch a great sunset. Jeff and Dave made the group a big vat of pasta, which was a pretty good thing to eat overlooking the sea.

Cairns to Brisbane (part 1) remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I've finished my diving certification - successfully, I'm sure you're pleased to hear.

I'll update the blog properly later on (been to busy to write anything).

In the meantime, I've uploaded a few piccies. Please note that I didn't take ANY of these. Some were taken by my diving 'buddy' Jonny during our dives. Some were taken by other divers on the boat, and some by the photo instructor Arek.

There's even a picture of me in a wetsuit ... that's gotta be worth a look !

Diving remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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You should be able to download it from -

mysharefile.com

or at -

SaveFile.com

The file is 25Mb in size, and you may need to install the XVid video codec to watch it (try without first).

You can pick that up from -

XviD-1.1.0-30122005.exe

Hope it works !

Skydiving Video remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Sunday (20th)

Bit of a lazy day really,as planned. Had a bit of a wander around, looking for a free WiFi hotspot, but couldn't find one. Cairns is such a techno-desert...

The weather was rather cloudy, but still in the mid 20's.

Sarah rang me in the afternoon, and we arranged to go for some food and a beer in the evening.

Ended up at a place called Rhino bar, which was (I thought) a bit of a dump. Sarah got a free meal, but I paid the extra $5 to get something 'nicer'. It was nicer, but that's not saying too much...

We also had a serious hassle getting a bottle of wine. I'm not going to bore anyone with the details, but it took us 10 minutes at the bar to get the wine we wanted.

Definitely a place to avoid!

Anyhow, Sarah was in a good mood (she always seems to to be) and kept me entertained for the evening. It started raining, so we stayed in the same place, drinking on the balcony 'till 11ish.

I'd had e-mails from James and Sabina, suggesting they would be around Carins the next day, so we arranged to go out when they turned up.

Friend Count : 1

Monday (21st)

Started my day by shopping for a few essentials (a new bag to hold my sleeping bag, some shorts I can swim in, a new book to read).

Had a nice surprise, when Freddy rang me. She was also in Cairns (popular place), so we decided to meet up for a coffee/beer, etc.

I asked if she'd had a good time on the rest of her tour to Darwin (I'd left that tour at Alice). She said the first half was good, but that she hadn't enjoyed the second half so much. "Too much time with the same people", was her reasoning.

It was great to see Freddy, and we had a nice afternoon. Arranged to meet her in the evening, along with Sarah.

Met up with my lovely German friends at 8ish, and wandered into Cairns to find somewhere to eat. James rang me, and arranged to meet up with us, as well. Sadly, no Sabina

Had a nice Italian (meal) and went for a couple of beers with the guys.

Friend Count : 3 (seasonal high)

Tuesday (22nd)

Decided what to do with myself after Brisbane. Instead of going to Perth + the West coast, I've decided to do a quick (two week) dash to New Zealand.

The first thing I do is exchange my Australia only guide book for a combines Oz/NZ book. I figure I need to do a quick read-up before I book any flights, etc.

Got my second nice surprise in 2 days, when I check my e-mails. Sabina has finally got back to Cairns, and is at a loose(ish) end.

As soon as I walk out the internet cafe, I hear someone calling my name ('Richard', for those who've forgotten). When I turn round, I see that it's Michael, from the Melbourne->Alice tour. We have a quick chat, and he say's he'll give me a ring later. It's a small world, we backpackers inhabit.

Sabina and I meet up at the Lagoon (it's a man made beach, on the Esplanade), and spend a couple of hours chatting/sunbathing. Afterwards, we do some shopping, get our hair cut, etc, etc.

Discover that we may be on the same tour from Cairns to Brisbane, on the 30th. Unless there are 2 tours on he same date, it seems pretty likely. I consider this to be very good news (so 3 nice surprises in 2 days).

As we are both getting a bit peckish, we decide to go for dinner. We end up at a really quiet place called "The Yacht Club", which (I think) really is the clubhouse for the local yacht club. The view over the marina is really nice (especially when the sun sets), the food is great and Sabina is lovely company.

After dinner, I help Sabina sort out her trip to Asia (by making a few phone calls for her). She's decided to spend some extra time travelling, and is going to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam - all very adventurous.

Somehow, I can't imagine her in a 9-5 kind of existence...

After lots of messing around, we finally get her trip arranged, and Sabina get's the shuttle bus back to her hostel.

We should both be around on the 29th, so we're going to go for a drink then.

Friend Count : 2 (1.5 + 0.5 - you do the maths)

Wednesday (23rd)

Skydiving day.

I'm even slightly excited (very unusual).

One of the guys in my room snored like a dying whale during the night, so I'm also pretty knackered.

While I'm waiting for the bus to pick me up (at 7am), I bump into Josep, another Alice springs tour veteran. He's actually staying in my hostel. He's going on a 2 day trip, but should be back on the 24th for a few beers.

The skydiving takes place at Mission Beach, about 2 hours drive south of Cairns.

There are 8 of us on the bus, 3 Koreans, 4 Brits, and a Belgian.

Seem like nice people to jump out of a plane with.

When we get to the beach, we're joined by some other jumpers who are staying locally (about 6 of them).

The beach itself is lovely. Quiet and sandy, with a gentle inward curve. This is where we will land.

We are split into groups of 5. I'm in the first group to jump, along with the 3 other Brits, and the Belgian girl.

I'm much happier to be in the first group. Once we're down, we can just laze on the beach while the other guys do their jumps.

Most of us decide to get a DVD of the jump. The guy you're attached to uses a handheld camera to video everything (the terror, the fear, etc).

The 5 of us a driven to a small airstrip, just a few miles away. I'm still not really nervous (although I feel I should be).

We get some training from the pro's about the jump procedure (cross your arms, head back, jump, arch, keep your head back). 'Jump' is such a small word...

The airplane looks like the one from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (the one that crashes at the start). I can believe it was used in the 1930's too.

In the plane, we all sit in our pairs, facing the (open) door that we will have to jump through. My pro (Dave) tells me that we will kneel on the edge, and just 'fall out'. I like it - a nice simple plan.

Take off is pretty cool (small airplanes always seem faster than the big ones) and we begin our climb to 14,000ft.

The scenery is fabulous, seen from the plane. There are no clouds today, and visibility is fantastic.

When we reach 4000 feet, it seems really high. This is where the 'chute will be deployed (fingers crossed), and your freefall will end. That means 14,000 to 4,000 feet takes just 60 seconds...

At 10,000 feet it's much colder, and the plane turns onto the final jump heading. Just 5 minutes to go, and I'm still not nervous (honest). The pro guys keep up a banter, which is probably to relax the passengers.

At 12,000 feet we all have to get to our knees, and order ourselves for the the jump. I'll be 3rd.

14,000 feet. The first to go is an English girl. She IS nervous, but you don't really have much choice when you're kneeling at the front of the queue ! With a big 'whoosh', and a blast of cold air, she's out the door and we all shuffle forward.

There isn't really time to think, or worry, as the next guy goes with another 'whoosh'.

Now I'm kneeling at the edge of the door, looking down at the sea 3 miles below me. What a cool view.

"Arms crossed, head back" come the instructions. I drag my view away from the sea, and then we're tumbling out the door.

It's a bit disorientating (I didn't know we'd start with a roll), but we flatten out after just a second.

First thing you notice is the noise. It's basically the same noise as putting your head out of the car window, but much louder.

It's also cold (I'm wearing a T-Shirt, and jeans), and the air 'tastes' slightly ozone like.

Despite what I'm told, I look down, and around. It's more difficult to breath when you do, so I put my head back like I'm supposed to.

It doesn't feel like your travelling at 125mph. There's no reference point to give you a sense of speed, and at terminal velocity you're no longer accelerating. It is a serious buss though.

After what feels like much less than 60 seconds, I'm told to cross my arms again, ready for the 'chute to open.

When this happens, you REALLY feel it (especially in the straps under your groin - ouch), as you decellerate to only 12mph in a couple of seconds.

The wind noise disappears, leaving you in almost silence, and you get your first chance to speak ! I can't remember what I said, but it was probably some random whooping.

The drift to the ground would be very relaxing, if my whole (considerable) weight wasn't resting on my testicles... Good job I don't want to have children.

The view is great from 4,000ft, and you can spend more time admiring it, than in freefall.

Landing 5 minutes later is very smooth, I just pull up my legs when told, and put them down again, when told. And that's it - I'm down.

There's lots of 'Wow', 'F**king awesome', 'Woo hoo' kind of shouting going on. Most of it from me.

5 minutes later on, we're all sat on the beach chatting about the experience. Feels a bit wierd to be doing something so normal. I think it'll take a while for my senses to adjust to normality again!

We spend the afternoon watching the other guys do their jumps, and head back to Cairns, arriving at 6pm.

All in all, a seriously great experience.

Friend Count : -2 (I lost 2 close friends as the parachute opened)

Thursday (24th)

Spent today booking stuff for my little 'sidestep' to NZ.

Booked flights (Brisbane to Auckland on 13th Sept, Christchurch to Sydney on 30th Sept), and accomodation for Brisbane and Auckland.

Still need to book a car for 14 days (I'm going to drive myself around this time), which looks like it'll cost about £300. I might splash out on a nicer car - one place has the new MX-5 for rent ...

Felt lucky, so popped into the Casino to put $300 (about £120) on red. I won

Spend the rest of the day in the sun, deciding what to do in NZ, and writing this lot.

Friend Count : 1 (30, Red)

Cairns (part 1) remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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After the hassle of finding a room in Darwin, at least I managed to get free internet access, a decent shower, and a good nights sleep. That's assuming you consider getting up at 6am good, I suppose.

Got picked up at 6:30am, outside my Motel.

The first thing I noticed was that the kangaroo obsessed spanish family were on this trip as well.

As we picked up the other passengers, the next thing I noticed was the other passengers - they were nearly all Aussies, and all over 50.

I thought we might be calling at the crematorium to drop a couple of them off, along the way...

Our guide was called Andrew. He seemed a stoic chap, especially compared to Jess from the previous tour.

Driving through Darwin, it seems almost Carribean (the climate, the palm trees, the wooden houses). We finally drove out of Darwin when the last Chelsea Pensioner was picked up, and hit the Stuart Highway, and headed towards the Litchfield National Park.

Our first port of call was Florence Falls and Buley Rockholes (both virtually in the same place).

Florence Falls was pretty nice, but nothing spectacular. Had a bit of a swim in the pool at the base of the falls, but it was too busy to be relaxing.

Buley Rockholes is a series of small pools, linked by waterfalls. It's also quite pretty, but far too busy.

We stopped for lunch at about 1pm. The food was very simple (hotdog sausages, bread rolls, tomato slices), but tasted OK. Things always taste better outside, even the flies.

At this point, I'm not impressed with my tour. I suppose it does give me a chance to talk to a few genuine Aussies. Probably about the war.

Forour afternoon entertainment, we are off to the Mary River, for a wildlife cruise. We should get to see a few crocs, and lots of birdlife. Perhaps there's a glimmer of hope ?

On the way, we pass through an area of bush that really is on fire. Apparently, this is a managed fire, started by the rangers or the aboriginies. They do this to clear the grass, and scrub, before the lightning storms begin in October. The tree canopies don't get affected by this burning, as they're still too green to catch light.

The cruise down the river is actually pretty cool. We get to see lots of crocs (freshwater, and saltwater). The freshwater ones are relatively small (4") and timid. The salties get upto 15", and are pretty dangerous. The biggest one we see is about 10" long.

We camp in pre-erected 2 man hut/tents. I'm sharing with a guy called Mike. He isn't ginger, but he is 70. He also snores. There's also a loud generator on the campsite. Needless to say, I get zero sleep.

Before bed, I have a drink with Tony and Lucy, who are an English couple living in Melbourne. They're only in their mid 40's - this is the hip and trendy gang of our tour...

Kangaroo update : no sightings all day.

Tuesday (15th) -

Up at 5:30am.

Andrew goes up a notch in my estimation, as he cooks bacon, sausages eggs, and toast on the BBQ.

I try to get some sleep on the bus, but I keep imagining the sound of Mikes snoring.

It's quite a long drive to our next stop, which is right in the most North Eastern corner of the Kakadu National Park.

The place is called Ubirr, and has some extensive (and well preserved) aboriginal rock paintings.

They mainly show the animals they hunt in the region (especially barramundi, which are fish), but they also show white men, buffalo, spirits, and ancestors.

There's also a really good lookout point at Ubirr, which we climb up to. The views over the floodplains are really good, and you can see smoke from various bushfires in the distance.

After lunch at new campsite near Yellow Water, we switch to a 4WD truck, and head to Barramundi Gorge (Maguk is it's aboriginal name).

There's a pretty rough track leading to the gorge, followed by a scramble over rocks to get to the waterfall/pool at it's head.

Once you get there, it's a really nice spot. There's virtually no-one else around, because it's difficult to get to, the pool is nice, and deep enough to dive into from the edge.

I'm getting the impression that there are lots of waterfalls/pools/swimming on this tour ! I really should buy some swimming gear - at the minute I'm just using a pair of boxers ...

We get back to our camp in time to catch the sunset over Yellow Water, which is very colourful. Completely unexpectedly, I bump into Sarah, who was on the trip from Melbourne to Adelaide. She's on a different tour, but they all visit the same sites... We catch up, I complain about the oldies in my group, she loves her group. Bitch. We compare dates, and figure we should be able to meet up in Cairns for a beer, in a few days.

After dinner, went for a couple of G&T's with Tony/Lucy/Mike and a guy called Kim.
Some random, drunk, aborigine called Aggie sits herself down with us, totally uninvited.

I ignore her. Kim spends the next hour failing miserably in his attempt to not talk to her.

In the end, she realises no-one will buy her any alcohol, and goes away.

Have to share tent/hut with Tony/Lucy/Mike this evening. Gin does the trick, and I fall asleep before any snoring can get started.

Kangaroo update : there was a small rock wallaby at Ubirr, but the Spanish guys missed it. Shame.

Wednesday (16th) -

Back in the 4WD this morning, and off to Twin Falls and Jim-Jim falls.

There are some seriously rough tracks here, and a 1 metre deep creek to cross.

To get to the base of Twin Falls, you have to take a short boat ride through a gorge, and then clamber over a rocky path. It's worth it though, because the falls are really nice. You can't swim in the pool, because of the (slight) risk of crocs, but it's very peaceful here.

Jim-Jim is about a 30 minute drive from Twin Falls, along more rough tracks. Although the actual falls are dry at this time of year, the gorge leading up to them is very nice. The water is clear, and there are lots of fish. You still can't swim because of the croc risk, though.

Back at camp, we have lunch, switch back to the normal 2WD bus, and head off for Gunlom Falls, to catch sunset.

On the way we stop at the biggest termite mound I've ever seen. It's got to be 4m high, at least.

Gunlom Falls are quite picturesque at the bottom. There's a nice pool, that you can swim in, and a (gravelly) beach.

The best views, though, are from the top. It's quite a steep rocky path (with a few climbing bits) to get there, but it's worth it. There are a couple of pools at the top, and not many people (3 others made the effort). You can walk right to the edge, and look down to the pool 80m below. Sunset at the top was pretty nice, too.

Camping was in swags, outdoors, this evening. Best nights sleep on the trip.

Kangaroo update : not a one.

Thurs (17th) -

Sleeping bag was suspiciously damp when I woke up.

Fortunately, it wasn't me (or a dingo mistaking me for a tree). It was just some early morning dew, whew.

We headed off to Katherine after breakfast.

Our first stop was to collect some firewood, for the evenings campfire. During the process I was brutally savaged by a dead tree. God damn trees have got it in for me, <mutters>.

We made a quick stop in Katherine to see the hot springs. They were lukewarm at best.

It's a pretty hot day today (35c), so when we got to Katherine Gorge, I chose the sensible option. A 7km walk, with no shade, to get to the lookout point over the gorge.

This was seriously sweaty work ! I must've gone through 2 litres of sweat in 2 hours. The view from the top was pretty good though.

The Spanish guys did the walk (probably hoping to see mountain kangaroos), as well as Bill (a 59 year old Kiwi from Brisbane).

Once you get to the top, you can also go down to a rock pool for a swim. I got about halfway, and decided to give up. If I went for a swim, I'd only have to climb back up, and then walk down from the lookout again. I'm sure I'd be just as sweaty by the end.

Instead, I walked back down to the visitor centre, and had a dip in the river, near where we would get picked up. How sensible.

Back at camp, we got a tent each - pure luxury !

A local digeridoo maker (an Aussie guy) came to the camp, and played some music. We also got to have a go ourselves. I sounded rather like a flatulent elephant who'd taken up suicide bombing.

Kangaroo update : no mountain kangaroos seen - they're quite shy you know.

Friday (18th) -

Our last moring on the tour. I won't say 'hooray', I've enjoyed most of it so far, and the crinklies are decent company. Kim, in particular, is very funny.

First off, we visit the digeridoo shop run by our friend from the night before.

His mate Eddie (an aborigine guy) is in the shop, painting a digeridoo. He also does paintings on canvas that are sold in the shop.

A few people buy things, but I'm cynical (what, me?) and think it's all a big tourist scam.

Our last stop is Edith Falls. These are pretty underwhelming, IMHO. I just spend the hour reading.

After lunch, it's the 4 hour drive back to Darwin. The only thing keeping me sane at this point are the Killers and Lush on my MP3 player. Bibble.

This time in Darwin, I've pre-booked a hostel! It seems pretty nice, but is quite noisy (there's a bar downstairs).

I manage to get my smelly clothes washed in time to go for dinner with some of the guys.

Kangaroo update : there was some on the menu in the restaurant.

Sat (19th) -

Up at 4am, to go to the airport
Arrive Cairns 10am.

I'm staying in the YHA Central, which is really nice. I have to wait until 12 to check in, but I use the time to upload a few piccies onto the internet. I'll do the rest tommorrow.

I've decided to plan ahead a couple of weeks, so I book a few bits and bobs -

- Skydiving on the 23rd Aug (about £120 to jump from 14,000 feet - gives you 60 seconds free fall)
- 5 Day diving lessons/reef diving
- 11 day trip from Cairns to Brisbane (starts on 30th)

That should keep me occupied for a while !

I think James should be in Cairns on the 21st, and Sabina on the 21st/22nd, so might have someone to play with in a couple of days.

In the evening, I go to the pub to watch Liverpool vs Sheffield Utd with my room mate, Chris. He's a Scot, and likes beer and rugby above all other things.

I'm now going to do nothing for 2 days. Fab.

Darwin - Kakadu - Cairns remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Bit depressed that Sabina and Sarah aren't on the next leg of our tour, but at least James and Elrik can keep my spirits up !

We had to get up early again (5:45am) to meet our tour bus.

Tour bus turned up late (about 45 minutes late, in fact). That extra 45 minutes might not sound like much, but I really would have prefered to spend it in bed...

This part of the tour was completely full (24 people).

I'm writing this on day 2 of this leg, so I'll give the names of the people I've been hanging out with so far -

- Jess (our new guide/driver)
- Michael,James,Elrik and Linda from the first leg.
- Barbara (beautiful French girl)
- Carol (Barbara's mate - really nice too)
- Franno (German girl, whose got a really cool, surreal sense of humour)
- Freddy (who's another German girl with no luggage)
- Doreen (guess what - she's German too)
- Joseph ("he's from Barcelona")

There are lots more girls on this trip than men. Terrible.

There was another delay while 2 stray passengers had to be picked up. Got to see more of Adelaide, If you want to find a positive side...

We drove to some small town for a stopover. Got some breakfast, and went through introductions.

This involved standing at the front of the (moving) bus trying to be funny/informative/stationary. I'm not convinced I pulled it off, to be honest.

Jess's brother is called Murray, and as we drove through a place called Murraytown, we stopped of to make a silly video for him. This involved me auctioning the local church for $100 to one of the other tourees. I was fabulous.

Eventually, we stopped at an aboriginal art site, which was, frankly, dull. It did let us get out of the bus for half an hour, though.

I spent most of the first day sat on the bus chatting to Carol and Barbara. They're both just qualified teachers in Paris. Chatted about travelling, French bread, and Australian mayo among other things.

We saw lots of kangaroos outside the bus. Some people insisted on stopping to photograph every flaming one. Perhaps they don't know how many kangaroos there are in Australia. They soon will.

In the evening, we stopped at a 'town' called Parachilna - population 3. One of these is a mad old woman. The other 2 run the bar and the accommodation.

Got a few beers, played some poker, and chatted with Franno and Freddy. Franno is a very funny girl. She's been working in Australia, and is travelling around for a few weeks now. She does have a rather violent streak though - I think this is just for fun, but I can't be sure yet.

Freddy has only been in Australia a few days, but her luggage has gone missing at Adelaide airport. She's on a tour for 6 days in the outback with 1 pair of knickers. That's gotta be hell for most girls !

I offered to lend her my underwear, but I don't think she really thought I was being serious ... can't think why ...

Parachilna is a bit of a dump. It's got a railway line, some rusting water towers, an abandoned train, and a few portacabins for accommodation. Despite all this, the pub is really nice, and the accomodation was really good - clean and warm.

We had a BBQ, cooked mainly by Jess, or driver. We got Emu burgers (really), Camel sausages, and Kangaroo steak, plus lots of salad stuff. All very nice.

Tuesday -

Bit of a lie in this morning. 7:30am !!

Took a few early morning photos of Parachilna.
We drove into the Flinders Range this morning, over the bumpiest road in the world. I think my kidneys may have merged with my liver.

Saw more kangaroos. The Spanish guys are STILL getting excited about it. GET OVER IT !!

We stopped off for a quick look at an abandoned copper mine. The area is really remote. When the mine was open, it used to take the miners several hours on horseback to get to the nearest bar. Sounds like hell !

Just before lunch, we got to the entrance of Wilpena Pound. It's an enclosed valley, with peaks all around, and a couple of passes to get in/out. There's a really cool topographical model of the area at one of the lookout points - I'm sure saying this makes me look like a nerd!

Went for a 5km walk to a lookout point, at Wilpena Pound. The view wasn't the best, but the walk was very nice. Had a good chat with Carol, Barbara, Elrik and Linda. Everyone else saw lizards and echidna's, but I missed them all. Instead, I took lots of pictures of trees.

We stayed in a little area called Rawnsley Park. The sunset view from the top of the hill near our bunkhouse was really nice. Well worth the 10 minute climb.

Doreen, James, Joseph, Franno, Freddy and myself all sat up there in the peace and quiet for an hour or so, watching the sunset with a few beers. Got a nice picture of a tree.

Had a nice dinner with the group, and then wrote this nonsense !!

Everyone was pretty tired, so after a few hands of Poker most people went to bed, including me.

Wednesday -

Up early again (6:30ish) for a longish drive to Coober Pedy.

On the way we had a karaoke competition. Me and James represented the UK and were crap. It was a bit like the Eurovision in many ways, with the UK coming last, but not really wanting to take part anyway.

The South Korean team won, in fine style with a rather squeaky rendition of "I will survive" (in Korean). Comic genius.

We also stopped at a dry salt lake, where Jess made us lick salt of the floor, before drinking tequila. All in all, just the start to the day I like.

Not much to say about Coober Pedy really. It's an opal mining town, where most of the homes are built into the hills. This means they are cool during the day and warm at night.

We got to stay in an underground hostel, which was pretty unusual.

We also went on a tour of an underground house, and learned about opal mining (dull).

Went for a few beers and a pizza with the whole group. I had a special pizza with no cheese. It was manky.

Thursday -

Another big drive today, up to the area where Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) are.

On the way we collected some firewood, for the nights camp fire.

These are both sacred spots to the aboriginies, Kata Tjuta even more than Uluru.

We got to Kata Tjuta in time for an easy, 1 hour walk. Kata Tjuta is a series of 36 sandstone domes that were pushed up during some big tectonic shift, hundreds of millions of years ago. The surrounding area is all flat, because it used to be the ocean floor, and that's why it stands out in the landscape.

After our walk, we went to a viewing spot to see sunset over both Kata Tjuta and Uluru. Jess supplied a couple of bottles of fizz for us to drink, which got the mood right.

Some poor guy got roped into taking a group photo for us. There were about 20 cameras, and everyone wanted a picture. He did get some of our champers for his trouble, though.

Our camp was nearby, and this evening we slept out, under the stars, around the campfire.

We did the whole marshmallow toasting thing, which is quite tricky to get right. Quite a few people ended up with some ash on a stick. Doreen cooked mine, and made a good job of it.

You use something called a 'swag', which is a mattress, with a cover. You put your sleeping bag inside it, and bingo - it keeps you warm.

That's the theory, anyway.

In practice, it nearly works! You're quite warm when you go to bed, because you're near to the fire. When you wake up at 4:30am, it's much colder, the fire has gone out, and your face has frozen solid. It's the first time I've ever been pleased to be getting up at 5am.

Friday -

After our early start (5am), we went to see sunrise near Uluru.

It did look pretty cool, but not as good as I might have hoped.

The sun hits the rock at about 7:15, and you can see it gradually get redder, starting at the top,and spreading to the bottom.

By 7:30 it's all done, and we went off to either climb the rock, or walk around the base.

I (and most of the others) opted for the base walk. It takes about 2 hours, and is about 7km long. You're strongly discouraged from doing the climb, mainly because the aboriginies don't like it, but also on safety grounds.

Uluru definitely looks better from further away. Up close, there are a few interesting features, but the aboriginies prefer you not to photograph many of them (they are sacred sites).

The guys who climbed to the top said it wasn't as difficult as it looked, as long as you don't look down to your left or right ! The climb itself goes up a ridge, and there is a handrail along most of it. There seems to be a steady stream of people doing it, regardless of the locals wishes.

After our walk, we went to another spot to take some piccies of Uluru from a different direction, where it looks more rugged.

Then we set off for Kings Canyon, which was a few hours drive North.

On the way, we stopped for firewood (more camping tonight), and also to search for wichetty grubs.

Jess showed us the type of tree they are found in (a wichetty bush), and how they eat the roots from the inside out. Unfortunately, despite digging up half the desert, we didn't find any.

When we stopped later on in they day, we met another tour, who HAD found some. I got a photo, but they wouldn't trade a grub for some beer, so I didn't get to eat one. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

Our campsite was pretty cool. It was very near Kings Canyon, but about 1km from the nearest main road. We had to drive down a small dirt track to get to it. There were still some luxuries (toilets/showers) though.

We cooked on the fire this evening. Mainly veggie and meat stews, but also some bread called damper bread. This was really nice (it had beer in it to help it rise) fresh from the fire.

Saturday -

The last day of the tour. I've really been enjoying it, so that was a sad realisation.

We drive the short distance to Kings Canyon. The walk here takes you up one end of the canyon, along the edge, and back down the other end.

The first climb is pretty steep (it's called 'Heart Attack Hill' ... ), but only takes 20 minutes. After that, the walking is pretty easy, and the view is good.

The walk took about 3 hours in total. I spent most of the time chatting to Freddy and Franno, and taking piccies.

Apparently the final scenes in the film 'Priscilla- Queen of the Desert' were filmed here. I haven't seen it, so I didn't really care. Maybe someone reading this will ?
Decided, with Freddy, to go for the helicopter flight over the Canyon. Jess dropped us off, while the other guys were making lunch.

The flight was pretty cool, but quite short (8 minutes - but it only cost £30). It looked very spectacular, but I don't think it translates in my pictures as well.

When we got back to the bus, everyone was finishing lunch, so we crammed our food down while the others washed up. It was worth the money, just to get out of the chores !

Our final stop was a 'bonus',just because we had a little extra time spare.

We went to see Dinky, the singing dingo.

Dinky stands on a piano, and 'sings' (howls) when someone 'plays' (hits the high notes). It was pretty funny, but I can't see Broadway calling just yet ....

We all got dropped of in Alice Springs at the end of the tour. Most of us were staying in the same hostel, which is also a nightclub.

Jess booked us a table, and we got some food, and got drunk ! Most people came along for the food, but only the real hardcore stayed for the nightclub. As usual, it was the Brits (me and James) and the Germans (Doreen, Franno, Freddy) plus Joseph.

I had a good time, dancing to lots of cheesy sh*te, and bumbled off to bed at about 3am, drunk bSut happy.

Sunday -

Not a good day, today.

Got up at 8ish, with a hangover. My room was pretty cr*ppy, and smells of cigarettes. One of the other guys must have been smoking.

In daylight, Alice Springs looks pretty rotten (it didn't look that hot at night, either).

Grabbed the bus to the airport, and got my plane to Darwin.

It's pretty hot here (30C+), and feels almost Carribean on the drive from the airport.

There appear to be virtually no rooms in Darwin, so I'm forced to spend £60 to stay in a motel, further out than I hoped.

I was planning to get a couple of days 'rest' before another tour, but I can't get a room, so decide to get a tour tomorrow morning. This tour takes 5 days, and covers the main areas around Darwin (Kakadu Park, Litchfield, Katherine Gorge and the Mary River).

I've got a nights accomodation when the tour ends, and I just need to either book a flight to Perth or Cairns (still haven't decided yet).

Other than this, I have washing to do, and blogs to update, and that's about it !

Adelaide to Darwin remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Had to get up at some awful time this morning to go on my tour to Alice Springs. By awful, I mean 5:30am.

The bus was supposed to be at the hostel at 6:30am but turned up at 6:45am, by which time I was freezing....

There were 9 people on our tour, which meant plenty of space on the bus (a double seat each, no less!).

The suspects, in no particular order are -

Andy (the Driver)
Sabina (from Switzerland)
Elrik and Linda (from Holland)
James (from Worksop, in Notts)
Sarah (from Germany)
Ashley (from Ireland)
Michael (from Germany)
Kako (from Japan)

First off, we drove to Torquay (About 2 hour) for breakfast (which, was fine, but nothing to shout about).

The first 2 days of the tour are along the 'Great Ocean Road', which is supposed to be one of the most picturesque routes to drive in the world.

The first place we stopped was 'Bells Beach', which hosts the world surf championships sometimes. The waves might be great, but it's definitely NOT a beautiful beach. On the other hand, it does have a spectacular toilet block. Didn't do any surfing, didn't use the toilet...

After that, we got to the Ocen Road 'proper', and stopped to look at the (really) crappy sign that show's you where it starts. It looks rather like it's been made by some 1 handed 8 year olds, using only telegraph poles.

The next bit of road was pretty spectacular. Got a picture of a rainbow that I really liked ... I guess you can judge for yourselves...

We stopped at a small campsite where they have some wild (not angry, just free-range) koalas. They don't really do much other than eat or sleep, but I suppose they do look cute...

After a long stretch, we visited a rainforest reserve, where youget to walk on these metal platforms, 30 metres up in the trees. Got some photos of some, er, trees. Oh, and some moss.

The coolest thing was a part of the platform that sticks out, unsupported, from the rest. You can stand at the end of this platform, and rock it from side to side. Some people got scared, but I thought it was very funny...

Finaly, we went to the (pretty spectacular) 12 apostles. These are actually 13 (?) rock stacks, just off the coast. Normally, at sunset, these look spectacular. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy to get anyreally great shots. I got a couple of half-decent ones though.

We stayed overnight in a really nice little hostel, near the apostles. Another group (of 19) was also staying, and we all went to the pub to take part in a quiz. I won (mainly on my knowledge of the planets and StarWars), and got some free beer for my trouble.

Friday -

We all had an early(ish) breakfast, and left to go to Loch Ard Gorge, just 20 minutes down the ocean road.

It's the site of a shipwreck, the ship being the Loch Ard.

Only 2 people survived, and when you see the rough sea at the entrance to the gorge, you wonder how they made it ashore alive.

The next port of call was a rock formation called London Bridge. It used to be a double arch, but one spectacularly collapsed, stranding 2 tourists on the wrong side. When they were rescued, it turned out they were a boss/secretary having an affair. Needless to say, the news coverage alerted his wife, and it all ended in tears.

After the drama of London Bridge, we made our way to the Bay of Islands. Funnily enough, this is a bay, right, containing some islands. Crazy.

This was the last part of the ocean road, and we headed inland to the Grampians. They are are range of mountains (little ones, anyway) covered in Eucalyptus, and other native trees. A huge amount of the Grampians was burned in a forest fire in January, so lots of the trees look dead, but have started to sprout new leaves.

We did a couple of walks up to some viewing points, and a waterfall (the Mackenzie falls), which, to be honest, knackered me out !

Hope the pictures are worth it !

Ended the day in a cool lodge, basically in the middle of nowhere. You can see the stars really well, and I'll try and get some pictures of them later tonight.

Saturday -

Didn't get any star piccies, 'coz we stayed up playing poker/drinking last night. Oops.

We had to leave at 9am in the morning, which meant (in theory) a lie in, but I got up early to try and get some sunrise pictures. I didn't really get anything too good, though

After breakfast, we went to our last real stop on the tour - Hollow Mountain.

We did a walk/climb up the 300 metres of rocky paths, to get to the top. I found it pretty tough (being an unhealthy blob), but at least I made it to the top. We had a lovely 30 minutes at the top, telling a few jokes and taking in the view.

My photo's don't do the view justice, but I'll remember it (partly because of the stiff legs I have today!).

After we got back down, we had a 5 hour drive to Adelaide. Had a bit of a sing-along on the bus ... there was some good music, some bad music, and some Rolf Harris.

5 of us decided to share a room for the night in Adelaide (Michael, Me, James, Sarah and Sabina), and all went to the pub for a few beers with Andy (the driver), plus Kako and Ashley.

Andy, Michael, and Sabine wimped out (OK, Sabine was Ill, and Andy had to work the next day) at about 10pm. The rest of us went to a really cool little pub/bar with a couple of unsigned bands playing. The music was pretty good, really, especially the second group. Unfortunately I have no idea what either band were called. If they do make it big, I'll never know ...

Got in about 1am (ish), after a short detour. Sarah decided there was a McDonalds just up the road from the hostel.

It was a bank.

Oh, how we laughed.

I think we had the noisiest room in Adelaide. There was some kind of fight outside at about 4am, involving lots of shouting and sounding of car horns. This lasted for about an hour. Everyone said Adelaide was so quiet - they obviously didn't stay here !

Sunday -

Sabine and Sarah were leaving today, so they had to get up and check out at 10am.

I got up as well, and the 3 of us went for a wander around Adelaide, and chilled out over coffee.

Sarah is extremely funny (despite the handicap of being German), and always has something to say.

Sabine is really lovely, I don't think our paths will cross during the rest of my 3 months here, but hopefully I can persuade her to invite me to Switzerland, or come to Manchester

Saw Sabine off at 1pm, and Sarah at 4pm.

I'm writing this at 5pm, so the rest of today is in the future tense - hope that makes sense !

Myself, James and Michael, plus Elrik and Linda are all doing the second part of the tour (Adelaide to Alice Springs). We have to set off at 6:30am tomorrow (Monday) morning, so tonight will be a quiet one.

Probably I'll hang out in the hostel. May sneak a quick beer in later, just to help me sleep, OK !

Ocean Road to Adelaide remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Didn't really do a great deal on Monday. Got up late, went for a late lunch/dinner in a place in the Italian area of Melbourne (Lygon Street).

I sent a load of stuff home via sea mail (which takes upto 3 months), so if it turns up Dad/Les, just keep hold of it for time being. Ta.

It was a really busy little coffee shop/eatery (there was a queue for tables by the time I left), selling seriously wicked chocolate mousse and great (decaf) latte's.

In the evening, I went on a 'live' tour of Melbourne Gaol, which is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the City.

A group of you walk onto the floor of the cell block, in total darkness, appart from one candle in the middle of the floor.

Then, some guy dressed in prison clothes from the 1800's come out of a cell and takes you round the prison, with only the candle for light.

There are lots of interesting facts (21 people used to share a cell 12" by 18" during the gold rush), and a few chilling tales.

Finally, he talks you through the execution process, at the exact spot where 400 previous occupants of the prison were hung (including Ned Kelly) before a public audience.

Apparently, after a hanging, they used to decapitate the bodies and take 'deathmasks' of the deceased (god knows why). Anyway, some of these deathmasks are on display in the cells.

Tuesday -

Did some shopping today to prepare for my trip into the outback (insect repellant, sunblock, etc). Also bought a new bag, so I can scuttle the Titanic luggage I set out with.

Went out for a few beers with Steph and an interesting chap from New Zealand, who told us some good stuff about Thailand and Burma.

No 21st birthday party going on this time....

Wednesday -

Went on the free tour around the Victoria Parliament building (Melbourne is the capital of the state of Victoria, for those who don't know).

It was quite interesting, especially for a freebie !

We got to sit in the MP's chairs, and even the Speakers chair. Ahh, the power...

After that, I came to the pub to use the free internet access (which I discovered yesterday).

It's $4/hour for internet access at the hostel.

It's $5 for a schooner of nice Lager in the pub.

If use the internet for 2 hours, and drink 2 schooners, I'm only $2 worse off than using the hostel internet connection ... no brainer really.

I need to get an early night tonight, my tour picks up at 6:30am tommorrow. It lasts 10 days, and involves camping (outdoors, with NO tents). I may not survive. Should the worst happen, James, you can have my TV and the car.

The first couple of days of the tour are along the Victoria coastline, so my mobile may still work. After that, I expect it will be pretty sporadic. Anyhow, I'll update the blog when I can.

Melbourne (part 2) remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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You have to pay for internet access here, and I'm tight.

Here's about 4 days worth of nonsense ...

Thurs -

Didn't really do much today, just ambled around the Queen Victoria Market for a couple of hours.

They sell lots of really great fresh fish/meat/veg/fruit here, so I bought some prawns, some fresh pasta, some tomatoes, etc and did my first bit of 'home cooking'.

I prefer the eating-out option to be honest - less washing up, and pretty much as cheap over here.

Went for a few drinks with a nice Canadian girl called Claudie (that's a guess at the spelling - she pronounced it Klody, but she had a strong French accent).

Anyhow, she was going to be leaving for Darwin the following morning, so I got her number and said I'd give her a call when I got there.

Went to a free comedy night at a local venue, with a couple of the other folks from the hostel. There were about 6 acts on, but the funniest was actually the compere. Still, you can't beat it on value for money terms !

Fri -

Booked myself on a small group tour going from Melbourne to Alice Springs. That leaves on Thursday, so I have to entertain myself here for a couple more days than I expected.

I'll update my blog just before I go, because I'm not sure I'll be able to for the 10 days when I'm on the tour.

You probably won't be able to reach my mobile during the second half of the tour, either.

The tour itself sounds pretty decent. We do the Great Ocean Road (between Melbourne and Adelaide), then up towards Alice, via a few points of interest (Coober Pedy - a mining community where everyone lives underground, the actual centre of Australia, Uluru, and the Olgas).

I've also managed to pick up a free sleeping bag from someone who's just on their way home. Apparently I'll need it during this tour. Oh dear. Anyone know how to use a sleeping bag ?

Something else I've decided to do is to 'rationalise' my luggage.

I'm sending various bits and bobs home via 'slow mail', which will take about 3 months ! It'll get home after I do, probably.

I think I'm going to dump my Death Star sized suitcase, and get something smaller (a hatchback, perhaps).

Maybe I'll be able to sell the suitcase as a small fishing vessel. It's certainly big enough!

Sat -

Got a free ticket to the Aussie Rules Football game at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) today, through the hostel.

Went with about 25 other folks from the hostel.

It was a good game (local team St Kilda beat no-hopers Richmond 174-71), and the MCG is a pretty nice stadium.

Afterwards, went for a few beers with one of the girls who was out for the footy. A nice lass from Preston called Steph. She's working in Melbourne for the YHA, so she gets a free room at the hostel.

We ended up (accidentaly) crashing someones 21st birthday party in a local pub.

I'm sure there were no 'private party' signs on the door when we went in, but after about an hour, the place was full of people in suits, plus us 2 in jeans.

I think we really twigged when they started handing round the nibbles, sometime later.

No-one seemed to mind too much (I don't think), and we kept getting served, so we just played dumb, and got drunk !

Sun -

Went on a trip to Philip Island to see the 'Penguin Run'.

Every night, 'Little Penguins' (they are only about 10 inches tall) congregate in the surf, and then cross the beach en-masse to reach their burrows in the hills behind.

This all happens just after sunset, so you have to get there about 5:45pm, and wait about 15 mins for the action.

The penguins gather into groups of about 10, and then have a go at crossing the beach. Sometimes they make it, sometimes one chickens out, and they all scurry back into the sea.

Unfortunately, you can't take photos (it's dark, and any flashes would scare the penguins), so you'll have to rely on my description.

Before that, we went to a nature reserve to see wombats (including Molly, who farts when stroked ... bit like me really), koalas and kangaroos.

They're all rescued animals, and are pretty tame (you can hand feed the 'roos).

Good day, overall.

4 Days in Melbourne remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Here's what I've been upto in the last couple of days...

Tuesday -

Checked out of my hostel, but they let me leave my stuff there during the day.

My train to Melbourne didnt't leave until 8:30pm, so I had some time to kill.

Decided to go to Bondi beach, and do the walk down to Coogee (it was recommended by the girl who was working on the hostel desk).

Very nice beach at Bondi (as you might expect), but it was also really quiet (even though it was a nice day).

The walk to Coogee was pretty, running along some cliffs, and through a few other bays with nice beaches.

Sat around for acouple of hours on the beach with a (decaf)coffee or two, and wandered back to the hostel to get my stuff.

Train left on time, journey was 11 hours, but didn't get much sleep, and arrived this morning at 8am pretty kn*ckered...

Wednesday -

I'm in a proper YHA hostel, which is a bit too big to be really friendly. Most of the people here are 15 year olds, or 50 year olds. Maybe the crowd will improve during the next few days.

Anyhow, I have managed to get a free ticket to the Aussie rules footy at the Telstra Dome on Saturday, through the hostel. No idea what the rules are, who's playing who, or if it's a big game. Doesn't really matter if it's free, does it ?

Oh yeah, also went up the Rialto Observation Deck, which gives you a good view of the Melbourne skyline. It's definitely less impressive than Sydney from a distance. However, once you get to street level, there are more nice old buildings, and it doesn't feel so 'built-up' as Sydney.

Off to Melbourne remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Got in at 5am this morning.

That sounds good, but I'm a mere amateur compared to Eve and Gavin, who got back at about 11am !! Heroic stuff...

Took advantage of Phil and Martins whale watching voucher today.

Fortunately it was nice and sunny.

Unfortunately I had virtually no sleep, and a hangover.

Eve decided to come along, which turned out to be a bad idea, as she got pretty seasick.

I had a great time, however. The sea air sorted out my hangover, and we got to see some humpback whales really close up.

They didn't really do anything exiting, just a bit of swimming, diving and blowing spouts.

Monday -

Didn't do much today, just booked my train to Melbourne (tommorrow night) and a few days in a hostel there. Decided to do the other things around Sydney when I come back here at the end of September. Hopefully the weather will be more enticing then.

I think the drinking/jetlag is catching up with me, 'coz I'm really knackered today.

Actually looking forward to spending 11 hours on a train, doing nothing but reading and sleeping!

Rich.

Getting the Hump remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Here we go then ...

Thursday night -

Went out on Thur with Reinder (no, not Rudolf, my dutch room mate) and Eva (nice German girl from the hostel).

Our local bar is open until 4am on Thur-Sat, so got rather drunk and rolled in at about 2ish.

Friday -

Hangover. Check.
Raining. Check.

Ho hum, another rainy day. Decided to brave it anyway, and went for a walk around the botanical gardens, and through to the Opera House.

The Opera House is pretty specatucular close-up, I'll upload a couple of photos when I get more time to do it...

Met up with Phil and Martin for a few beers later on in a really nice pub (athough they call them a 'hotel' here) called 'The Orient'.

Said 'cheerio' to the 2 guys, as it was their last night in Sydney. Can't say I envy the 25 hour flight they have in store ...

Phil's got a picture of this lovely moment, so maybe he'll e-mail me a copy so I can post it here...

Anyhow, after all this, came back to Kings Cross, and had a beer or 2 with Gavin, one of the lads from the hostel.

Saturday -

Hangover. Nope.
Raining. Nope.

Yes, you're reading that correctly - NO BL**DY RAIN ! Hurrah.

Celebrated by oversleeping and getting up at 2pm. Damn.

Had nice day though. Got the ferry to Manly, which takes about 30 mins. Gives you a great view of the bridge/Opera House on the way, and lets you see some of the pretty rugged cliffs around the coast here.

Manly was really nice, the beach is totally spotless, although people with food tend to get terrorised by the VERY forward seaguls.

Spend a couple of hours reading / drinking coffee on the beach.

All in all, very relaxing.

Got a few piccies, but I haven't go time to upload them now.

Just got back to the hostel about 1 hour ago, and am off for a few beers (again ... hmmm I detect a pattern) with Eva again.

That should keep you whingers (<cough>Imy) quiet for a bit !

Rich.

Catching up ... remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Can't even report having good food, 'coz I made myself sarnies for lunch and tea!

Might go to the local bar with a couple of the randoms floating around in the hostel common room tonight...

At least I managed to get my power issues sorted out, and now have a working camera - what a productive day !

Busy doing nothing ... remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Still, it's dry in the bars (in one sense of the word) !

Met up with Phil yesterday, had a few beers in Kings Cross (that's the are next to where I'm staying), and went for a great Chinese.

Sydney has a cool China town - way bigger than Manchester has, and it's pretty lively, even on a wet Tuesday night ...

Ate roast suckling pig (Chinese style) - now that's decadence for ya !

Today (Wed) we were supposed to go on a Whale Watching trip, but it was too windy for the boats to go out. Instead, we ended up going to the aquarium.

It's actually a really great aquarium, with loads of big tanks set up like parts of the Barrier Reef.

Plus there are big sharks - swimming just an inch over your head in one place ... cooool.

After that, went for a meal at one of Sydneys most well know fish restaurant (so well known, that I've forgotten what it's called !). Had some really nice John Dory.

Was completely outclassed on the eating front, both yesterday and today, by Phil. Makes me feel thin...

Still no piccys - I haven't gotten round to getting a plug adapter yet, so my batteries are flat. I'm gonna sort that out tommorrow.

Laters dudes.

P.S. got a mobile today as well - number on the contact page.

Just like Manchester ... remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Finally feel clean, after a much needed shower, and am off out to face the rain. Yep, it's p*ssing it down here !

Also, as the digital camera I ordered last week was only delivered to work today, I haven't got a simple way to take quick snaps - you'll have to use your imaginations for the moment.

Flight were all fine, the quick summary might go -

2 hours of airport lounge boredom,
7 hours with good legroom sat next to pleasantly dull guy,
2 more hours of lounging,
followed by a final 13 hours of zero legroom

Had to be wheeled off the plane ...

Still, at least no DVT, no shoe bombers, and no Lost style island landings

I'll jot some more notes tomorrow, when I've actually DONE something !

Touchdown ... remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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phone : 0161 660 8549
(leave me a voice message and i'll get it as an e-mail)

mobile : +44 (0)404 963 268

Remember the time difference if you ring my mobile !!

Contact Details remains copyright of the author richardn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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