23/2/07

It feels like ages since I've updated you all on what I'm doing but that's because I've just spent the last two weeks out in the middle of the Australian bush.

From Singapore I flew into Darwin and almost immediately began my trip. Darwin is much smaller than I expected it to be and the weather was so hot and humid so I wasn't too disappointed to leave straight away. From there the tour took me through Kakadu, Lichfield and Katherine National Parks where we did lots of walking through the bush and swimming in various billabongs and water holes, most of which had some pretty stunning water falls due to the large amount of rain they get during the wet season. The water was a welcome break from the heat (up to 40oC) and the flies. The scenery was a lot greener than I expected it to be and the colours were so vivid.

Camping out in the bush was pretty cool - although the tents provided proved to be far to hot and stuffy to get a decent nights sleep. After the first couple of nights I decided that the best option was to do as the Aussies do and sleep under the stars in traditional swag bags - bivi bag and mattress all rolled into one. It was so much fun and definitely a lot more comfortable than the tents. The sky was so clear at night and the stars were so much brighter than in most places. The distant thunder and lightning storms also provided some spectacular nightime views.

Once we got towards the centre the landscape changed from the green tropical woodland and forests to the red rocks and sand of the desert. The temperature also went up by another five degrees and although the flies multiplied by a factor of ten. We may have all looked stupid under the fly nets but they definitely worked!

The highlight of the trip was definitely Uluru, both at sunset and sunrise (we were up between 4:30 and 5:30 every morning). The colour of the rock seemed to change every few minutes through a whole range of shades from red to orange to brown. We also trekked through parts of the Olgas and King's Canyon, both of which were equally as spectacular.

The group I was in changed half way through the trip and I met some really nice people, particularly Tony from France, Caroline from Switzerland and Joseph and Sarah from Australia. In fact, for the last part of the trip I was the only Brit which suited me fine as most of the other British backpackers I've met have been really young and not really interested in anything other than getting pissed.

I now have a couple of days to kill in Alice Springs before flying to Cairns to start the next adventure. Can't wait!

2/3/07

Time seems to be moving so fast - it's March already and I've just realised I'm fast approaching the half-way point of my trip.

I had a really nice birthday (thanks to all who sent me birthday wishes!) - I spent it in the rainforest at Cape Tribulation. 'Cape Trib' is reagrded as a pretty special place here in Oz as it's the only place where the rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef. I took a three day trip and spent most of it just wandering through beautiful primary forest, mangrove habitat and of course on the beach. I also went on a night walk and it was really nice to see some of the nocturnal animals that you usually don't see. No snakes unfortunately but loads of huge spiders and other insects. Unfortunately no cassowaries either - although they're endangered there are quite a few up there.

The only problem was the weather - you'd expect it to be wet in the rainforest but the cyclone that is brewing off the East coast right now made it really wet and windy so I couldn't get out on the water to explore the reef (only from a kayak though as the shallows are full of deadly box jellyfish at this time of year). Being tropical it's still pretty warm though and the humidity can get a bit much at times. All in all, it was a really nice place to be.

7/3/07

Yesterday I returned from one of the best trips I've done on my travels so far. I decided to take a two-day liveaboard dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef but instead of taking one of the more popular large catamaran trips I opted for a smaller yacht which gave me the option of doing some sailing as well. I was told there was a maximum limit of 12 people, plus crew, but when I arrived there were only eight of us and that included a couple with two small children. It was really nice to have loads of space on the boat and everyone there was really nice.

When we set sail out of Cairns the weather was perfect and before long we had the sail up and were cruising to the reef which is around 40km from Cairns. Once there we visited several different dive and snorkel sites and I spent pretty much the whole time in the water. I did four dives over the two days, including another night dive, and the rest of the time was spent snorkelling. I feel so at home under the water - it's a different world down there. The reef was beautiful and, although the coral wasn't quite as colourful as I'd expected it was full of so many different kinds of fish. We didn't see any sharks but on our final dive we got to swim along with a large hawksbill turtle before exploring the underwater canyons and swim-throughs. Another one of the highlights was snorkelling at sunrise with the whole reef to myself - a great way to start the day.

On the way home I got to try my hand at yachting. Although I'd helped with raising and lowering sails I was really surprised when the skipper asked me to take the wheel on the way back to Cairns I think he meant for five minutes but I got a sailing lesson that lasted an hour and a half. In fact, after a while he got bored, said I was doing fine and wandered off with my camera to take some photos. I loved it - I'll definitely sail again when I get to the Whitsundays. Yet another expensive hobby that I've got hooked on!

21/3/07

Sorry it's been so long since I last updated my blog but I just can't seem to find enough time in my hectic schedule. I've done so much since the last update I've almost forgotten where I've been and what I've done. After leaving Cairns I headed south on the Oz Experience bus to a place called Magnetic Island, just off the mainland. More about that later. First, the Oz Experience bus is a hop-on, hop-off bus for backpackers and is notorious for being a party bus (the travel agent missed that one out). Everyone I spoke to in Asia and in Central Australia warned me that it's full of kids who have just deferred university and spent their hard-earned student loan on enough alcohol to last from Cairns to Sydney. I thought I'd be the oldest on the bus but imagine my surprise when I turned up for the first leg of the journey to find two old dears (70 and 71) on the front seat, although I think they soon realised that they'd made the wrong choice for transport. They nearly had a heart attack when our driver slammed on the brakes, shouted 'Oh my f*****g God' over the PA system and pulled over at the side of the road to watch a wild cassowary (one of only 1000 left) feed by the side of the road. If that wasn't enough we saw another one about 15 mins later.

Before we arrived at Magnetic Island we visited a Crocodile Farm. If I didn't know better I'd say that Steve Irwin was still alive as the keepers proceeded to feed very large and very hungry crocs by hand. For those thinking that that may not have been entirely safe the guys did use some protection in the form of a plastic lawn rake. It was the craziest thing I've seen in a long time.

Magnetic Island was beautiful. Although we did manage to do some kayaking it was a shame we couldn't swim as it's still stinger season here in Queensland. We also went of a great bush walk that took us to the highest point on the island for some great views.

From Magnetic Island it was onto Airlie Beach, 'The gateway to the Whitsundays'. I booked a sailing trip on a yacht named 'Spank Me' after I was reliably informed that it wasn't a swingers boat as the name suggested but in fact a thoroughbred racing yacht that once won the Sydney to Hobart race. It was such a good trip. Although I didn't get to do any proper sailing I did get to help raise sails and stuff. I also got to do some more diving on the barrier reef and thankfully the visibility had improved from my last trip. I finally got to see sharks - lots of them! It was so good. The weather was great until the last day when it took a turn for the worse, but sailing back to the mainland in the driving rain with one side of the boat in the water was an experience I'll never forget. We also got to visit the beautiful Whitehaven beach and it was like nowhere I've been before. Pure white sand that is so fine you can polish jewellery with it and crystal clear blue sea.

After Airlie and the Whitsundays I got a different taste of Aussie life at a working cattle station where I got to try clay pigeon shooting (one out of five aint bad for a first-timer), the bucking bronco (pretty poor at only 5 seconds) and goat branding (although for those animal lovers out there we didn't actually brand the goats).

The self guided 4WD trip over to Fraser Island was fantastic. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and is famous for it's large dingo population. It's such a beautiful place with woodland, sand dunes, freshwater lakes and of course the beach. The group of 10 of us were let loose with a Toyota Landcruiser and got to explore the island for three days, driving on the beach and on rough tracks through the forest. Camping on the beach was brilliant, although when we got up to the lookout at Indian Head and saw just how many sharks and Manta Rays were in the water we understood why they said not to swim.

2/4/07

After a very brief stop in Rainbow Beach I arrived in Noosa for four days of rest and relaxation after a fairly hectic journey through Queensland. Noosa is a beautiful place where the rich and famous holiday. There's also loads to do as it's surrounded by national parks, both on land and along the coastal waters.

Feeling very rested and relaxed, my next stop was Brisbane. It was really strange being back in a city again after so long but Brisbane is a really cool place to be - very modern and chilled out. The riverside area and particularly the South Bank reminds me a bit of London, although on a much smaller scale and with better weather.

After only a couple of days it was time to move on again, this time to Byron Bay, which is another really cool place in the same mould as Noosa. Crocodile Dundee himself owns the main pub and hotel. I've also heard Elle MacPherson and her sister Mimi both have houses here so I'm hoping I might bump into them on the beach........

5/4/07

Byron Bay was a really nice place to spend a few days, even though I didn't manage to meet and famous model types. It would have been great to stay for a few more days as this weekend it's the home of one of the major jazz and blues festivals with some major bands playing. Unfortunately it was sold out and there was no accommodation to be found anywhere in Byron.

One of the highlights was a short trip up to the lighthouse to view the sunrise which was absolutely stunning, despite (or maybe because of) the wet and cloudy weather. If I look a little tired in the picture it's because I hadn't been to bed after a particularly heavy night down at the local night spot, Cheeky Monkeys!

After leaving Byron Bay we had a short journey to Surf Camp, which was little more than a few static caravans behind a beautiful deserted beach. The surf lesson was great, although it was more like a brief demonstration of the technique whilst on the beach followed by three hours practice in the water. I seemed to get the hang of it pretty quickly and, although the waves were pretty small, I think I did pretty well. It was soooo much fun I didn't want to get out of the water.

I'm now in Sydney after eight hours on the bus today. The drive in over the Harbour Bridge was worth it though - spectacular views of the harbour, Circular Quay and the Opera House. That's where I'm headed tomorrow, although it seems like most of the city shuts down for Easter.

8/4/07

It's amazing how first impressions can change. My first impression of Sydney was that it was huge. After spending a couple of days here I've realised that it's not huge in the sense that London or New York are huge and it was probably the fact that I haven't spent much time in cities over the last couple of months. Although the suburbs spread for tens of miles either side the CBD is actually a manageable size and is easily walked in a few hours. The only problem has been the weather which has been extremely wet. I took a walk over the bridge and around the opera house yesterday and was soaked by the end of it. Today is nicer so I'll hopefully get to see some views of the harbour.

11/4/07

I've just returned from a couple of days in the Blue Mountains, about 100km west of Sydney. I thought I'd made a mistake when I arrived as the weather was cold, misty and wet but the following day the sun came out and the views over the canyon were spectacular. The Blue Mountains are so called as the oil from the eucalyptus trees that cover much of the area forms a blue haze above. You can really smell it too as you walk through the forest. The walks were really nice, both in the forest at the base of the canyon and along the cliffs that overlook it.

18/4/07

My final few days in Sydney were great but time passed far too quickly. I took a harbour boat cruise, climbed the Harbour Bridge pylon to get some great views of the city, went for lunch at the Sydney Cruising Yacht Club with Kristen, my dive partner from Thailand and to the beach with Simon who I know from Buisiness School. It was great to catch up with people who I know from home or have met during my trip. It made me feel at home and Sydney is definitely a place I could live.