The March Oz Archive
We proudly present to you - the Mar Oz Archive. Here you can find all updates made from Austrailia in the month of March 2002...
~ 05/03/2002 - Julia~
~ 06/03/2002 - Bhav ~
~ 09/03/2002 - stu ~
~ 18/03/2002 - Julia ~
~ 18/03/2002 - Bhav ~
~ 18/03/2002 - Stu ~
~ 28/03/2002 - Stu ~
January Archive February Archive Murray Walker April Archive May/June Archive
Julia...
Hello strangers, yep it's me!!!
Sorry for the lack of emails over the last two weeks, but what a nightmare we've had!!!
We headed off from Esperance last Sunday and were hoping to make it to Adelaide, across the Nullabor in about 4/5 days. Great, until we got to Norseman and tried to pull away to find that the clutch had given in. You'd think that a 1977 van would have a relatively simple clutch system, but oh no!!!! It had to be some kind of hydraulic thing that the van didn't have in stock....aaaaaahhhhh!!! Therefore we were stranded in Norseman, which whilst having an Olympic size swimming pool, had nothing else going on. Suffice to say, we did a lot of swimming!! That was Sunday and without going into too much detail (cos I'll just want to scream again), we finally managed to get away from Norseman on Friday 1st March (Marie's b'day, a memorable one for the wrong reasons, including Bhav's appalling taste in jukebox music and funky dance moves when he thought no one was watching!!).
We had met up with a guy called Simon in Norsemad whose Motorbike had given up the ghost on his way down from Perth....the hostel we stayed at seemed to be the breakdown hostel, all the guests comments related to how they had broken down!! Anyway, Simon needed to get to Adelaide, so when we set off on Friday, we took him with us. The next few days were all about making as many kilometres across the Nullabor as possible. We stayed in some very remote and quiet roadhouses - not much to say there really. I drove the famous "90 mile straight" across the Nullabor, and it really was just straight road.....no hills, no scenery, just straight road!!!
On reaching Ceduna, we'd all had enough of driving so decided to make Monday a mega driving day. Up at 7am the next day (!!!), we set off for Adelaide and made the 785km there in 12 hours. We were all pretty pleased to see civilisation and city lights when we arrived after being couped up in the van that long!! We headed straight for McDonalds, enough said!!!! Although we stayed in a caravan site last night, we got up this morning to explore the city and book into a backpacker hostel. The one we are staying in is quite big and not too far from the town centre. We are off out tonight to celebrate Marie's b'day properley.....the bars here look pretty good.
Our first impressions of Adelaide are that it is a lot bigger than Perth, and not so new. There are (girlie comment coming up) FAB shops and I have already spied a Kookai and French Connection!!! Tomorrow I am off on a tour of the city by tram and we are also hoping to visit Glenelg beach which looks nice.
So, finally we have made it (bless the van!), and this is the next stop in our adventure. Hope everyone is well and I will write again soon.
take care JULIAxx
Bhav...
Hello Guys......
Well we have reached Adelaide... At Last. The last time I wrote was from Albany. It was a cool place... We saw some amazing Cliff views with Big Splashy Waves pounding the sides of the cliff. After that we moved on the Esperance. Again a pretty cool place but to be honest all I done was got really pissed with Chaney and spent the whole night concentrating on not chundering in the Van ( So Far in 4 months... Just the one chunder, and the was because of the old Lager Threshold then, not excessive booze).
Moved onto Norseman - the tip of the Nullanorg for long drive over desertville to get to Adeliade... but alas, The Van conked out again (some kind of clutch fault - we were stuck there for a week... Basically this place has a swimming pool... and thats it). Anyways, we made the best of the days we were there. stayed in a guest house run by Alan and Eileen.... and met some cool travellers on their stopovers (most people spend a night in Norseman to refuel).
Stretch was the one guy who I will always remember... a 60 Year old Aussie who is as close to a real Crocodile Dundee as you will ever meet. He is an Opal Miner who can tell you everything you want to know about guns and has lived most his life in The Outback battling the wildlife... but a man who couldn't kill a Kangeroo cos they're too cute. Also met Ethan the Isreali.... who kept my mate laughing into the night with his Dreamcast Character impressions. Then there was Simon, the 16 year old Aussie who tried to travel across the Nullaborg on a 50cc Motercycle... the fool... He made it about 5km's before he hit a rock and was stuck, also, in Norseman. (we have since given him a lift across the Nullaborg.... and he is with us in Adelaide. Other Honourable mentions go to Laura, the drink fuelled, crazed Wozzie who ensured Chaney and I didn't get to bed until 5am; by basically emptying every corner of Norseman of Booze and making sure it had dripped down our necks...... Crazzzzzzzy!
Norseman also provided the backdrop for me to follow Spurs in the Cup Final. The less said about that the better. I have never been a bitter man, but I was raising a toast to Andy Cole's red card last weekend.
Anyways across the Nullaborg we celebrated Marie's Birthday. Not a lot to do in the Desert. However, we still had a cool night. Driving along we actually saw a load of LIVE Kangeroo's which was excellent. They even have signs for those and Camels as well.
We are in Adelaide now. Last night we had a proper City Party for Marie's birthday... There is the Adelaide Fringe and Art Festival going on so we managed to sit in the park and watch some of the acts there.... There was this cool Charlie Chaplin guy who was doing some kind of abracadabra with his hats which had me in awe!
All in all a pretty evetful time. We will be in Adelaide for a few more days and then Alice Springs.... and Ayres Rock.... You can't climb up the thing any more. The Aborginal people are not too happy with that... (not that there was a hope in hell I would have climbed it anyways - so it will be a balloon ride for me!)
And one bit of advice..... Never buys an APS Camera..... YOU WILL BE ROBBED BLIND WHEN YOU TRY AND DEVELOP YOUR PICTURES.
Take Care All.....
Love
Bhav
P.S - If anyone see's Andy Cole could they give up him a kick courtesy of me.... Thanks....
Any takers? Remember, you heard it here first.
Stu...
Hello Readers
I have read through the others updates and they pretty much tell the story and there is little I can add. I would like to note that Bhav and I did have a good night out on the beers in Bunbury (I think that was it). We met up with Lisa - a friend we made in Perth and got suitable toasted in the hotel where she worked. A lady called Chris made that night even more memorable - unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. . .
A big hello if you are reading this Lisa!!!
Other than that every base has been covered and therefore I am going to rant at you lot instead.
There is a travelling few points that need to be made RIGHT NOW (before I forget), if anyone reading this plans to travel around Oz and the world in the future - this should help. I'll link this to the travel tips section at some point...
PART 1 - NEVER NEVER LAND
1. Never, simply never trust anyone waring a batman shirt.
2. Never, in any situation, trust anyone that is selling you something - especially when that something comes with wheels, pedals and loud lump of moving metal.
3. Never leave anything of value unattended and in view of anyone ever, even for a second. Even when staying in a convent.
4. Never try and make peace with a drunk ozzy, it's like trying to get Bhav to support Arsenal.
5. Never tell a women that she can down a shot of tequella faster than it takes to pour one.
6. Never drink to the point where you have to be sick in a caravan park. It'll save you a lot of ego points.
7. Never sleep next to Marie after the skippy snap has taken place (when she's wasted). You'll wake up looking like a negative shot of a panda.
8. Never eat food that smells bad - delicacy my arse.
9. Never listen to anything I say before I have eaten in the morning - you'll just get upset.
10. NEVER - bloody well EVER, buy a warrantee with a vehicle in Oz. Always join the RAC instead. If by some unfortunate mistake you end up with one, make sure you ring up the free call number every day from every phone booth you see and leave the phone off the hook.
PART 2 - DO DO DO WOP
1. DO - check a hostel out before just sighing in.
2. DO - talk to everyone possible.
3. DO - take photos of everyone you befriend and write down their names!!!
4. DO - keep in touch with friends old and new.
5. DO - Insist that England can kick the Ozies (and anyone elses) arse at any sport anytime, anywhere - no matter what statistics they through at you simply say, 'that was then and this is now'. (lie)
6. DO offer everyone half the asking price when buying anything. (Even for a tin of beans in the supermarkets).
7. DO - Always comment on how easy the Ozzies have it. For example. Cheap booze, loads of space, no traffic, cheap cars and petrol (big one that).
8. DO - Always say you are from London.
9. DO - Try everything possible that will not end up killing you.
10. DO - Go on about football being football and not soccer. Be sure to point out that in 'Football', there is only the need for two goal posts at each end.
That's the end of my list for now. If you follow the guidelines above - nothing can go wrong (yea right).
luv to everyone, stu
NOTES :
Mr and soon to be MRS Coker - all the best, sorry I can't be there.
John F - congrats on your new house
Tori and Garth - congrats on your new house
Mum - HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!
Chris - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Neil - HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRUV!!!
PS. We changed our flights today - we now leave Oz on the first of July to go to NZ.
Julia...
Dear all - how is everyone?? I have just deleted half of the message I was about to send round - how annoying is that??!!!! Here goes again........
We have now arrived in Alice Springs...the last week has flown by as we have done so much!! We left Adelaide and spent a few days driving....not much to report on that except one incident which we will never forget!! We stopped off for the night at a place called Woomera (you may have heard of it on the news as there are refugees being held in a detention centre and they are sewing their lips up on a hunger strike)......and on getting out of the van, we found out why the place is so quiet. It is truly MOSQUITO CITY......they were worse than the flys (which nobody ever warns you about in Australia) and that is saying something. Stuart's back was covered in them, Bhav had bites head to toe, but Marie and I only sustained about 15 bites each.....must be something about the boy's blood!!! Suffice to say, we left pretty sharpish in the morning!!!!!
Anyway, we arrived at Ayers Rock resort on Wednesday and could see the rock from our caravan park. It is truly stunning - a lot of people say it's just a rock, but the sheer size and colour of it are just amazing. We went to see the sun set over it that night and whilst it didn't change colours as some people say it does, it was still a pretty good site.
The next day we went in a helicopter ride over both Ayers Rock and The Olgas - these are about 36 various sized domes/heads that are about 60km away from Ayers Rock. They are not as well known as A/R, but equally as impressive. The heli ride was great and the views were again, amazing. In the afternoon we walked around the base of the rock - all 9.4km of it!! However, that was an easy 2 hour walk compared to the walks to come over the next few days!!!! We saw the sunset over the rock again on our walk round the base, which again was pretty cool.
The next morning we got up at 6am to go and see the sun rise over the rock.....for me that was better than the sunset. Can't wait to see the photos as it was brilliant. After that we headed over to the Olgas and started on the Valley of the Winds walk........a 8km round trip. Oh my life, they never tell you how tough that walk is!! It was steep, rough, up and down and generally pretty difficult!! At one point we had to climb up a rock that didn't appear to have any footholes.....thing was, on the way back, you had to climb (or scramble/fall in my case!!) back down it!!! The view at the top of this part was amazing...well worth the climb. Marie and Bhav turned back at this point, but Stuart and I (fools!) carried on. I have to day though, once we had climbed down from the lookout, apart from the hundreds of rocks/stones and lots of steps, it was a bit easier than the first part!!! Still, 8km of rough terrain was something we were not expecting!!!
That night we drove to a roadhouse we had passed on the way to Ayers Rock called Curtin Springs. There, we went on a camel ride through parts of the desert (with bones of dead animals everywhere!!) and stopped to watch the sunset over Mt Conner......the camels were great and Stuart and I were on one called Lazy Daisy - she kept sitting down which is pretty scary when you are a passenger!!!!
The next day we headed off for Kings Canyon.....we waited till the sun was a bit less harsh and then we started off on the walk - another 6km....and this time a steep 100m climb of steps to get to the top. Needless to say, we had plenty of stops!! However, again the view was most definitely worth it....the drop to the bottom of the canyon was a long way down, but the scenery was amazing. Stuart and Marie stopped for a swim in the Rock Pool, and we eventually made it down to the bottom (again, steep climbs and rocks everywhere - how old people do it, I don't know!) just before sunset.
And here we are in ALice Springs.....the past three days have been brilliant and the sites we have seen were well worth the effort and the drive. Ayers Rock is one of the things people associate most with Australia and it's easy to see why - all three (A/Rock, The Olgas, Kings Canyon) are breathtaking and it's amazing to think they are natural and not man made.
We are staying in Alice Springs for a few days before we head off towards Cairns and the East Coast....I am going on a balloon ride tomorrow morning (4.45am start - are they (or me!!) mad??!!!) and also to watch an Aboriginal dance/didgeridoo show.....should be good, and I'll give you all an update soon.
Well, if I don't get a chance to write before we get to Cairns, hope everyone is well and great to hear from you, so keep the emails coming.
love, JULIAxx
Dear all,
Sorry for the lack of email in the last week... but we have pretty much been in Outback land. We're now in Alice Springs.... Right Slap bang wallop in the Center of Oz.
We left Adelaide last Sunday. I personally didn't find Adelaide too great, just felt like another city... but the feel of it was a lot differant to Perth which is pretty modern vibrant place... Adelaide just feels a bit old... (without having the history and coolness of London).
So on Sunday we began the long journey to the Red Center... Some might say the Crossroad of our Travels... Ayres Rock (Uluru if you are an Aborigine). First stop on the way was Woomera (some of you may of heard of it as it is famous for its Detention Center where Australia was embroiled in a lot of controvesy regarding its treatment of Immigrants in these Camps). While I can't comment on that... I will say that Woomera should be made more accountable for the treatment of its Bugs towards me and my fellow travel Buds. We got there and were basically Bitten alive by the Mozzies. It was a struggle to phone home for Mothers day... and at times it felt like we were on a miniture Starship Troopers Set.
On from Woomera to Coober Pedy.... An Opal Mining Town where a lot of the settlements are underground because of the heat. We stayed in Radekas Backpackers.... 32 steps further down under for our room. I also made a point of watching Crocdile Dundee there to get a feel for Northern Terrotory.... Superb! "Thats not a Knife....... This is a Knife!"
On the third day we bascially made it within 200ks of Ayres Rock. (Erldunda). Started on Early in the morning the following day and checked into Ayers Rock Resort. We chilled out (not very apt description for the outback) and then made the short drive to the Sunset viewing point fo Ayres Rock. I found it an awesome sight.... It just this massive Rock with just desert around it. As the Sun starts to set... The shade of the colours on the rock are meant to change. Too be honest I didn't really see this but am reliable imformed by two Coach Drivers we met (Frosty (another cool Aussie Name) and Colin) that our pictures will blow our mind.
Anyway, the next day was the big one. We actually went up to Ayers Rock. I had made the decision not to attempt to climb the rock. For two reasons....
1. Its a bloody steep climb... people have been killed trying to climb it
(through Heat stress, Heart Attacks etc) and after my treakking experiences
felt that my body was not in the shape required to take that on.
2. I had found out that the Aborginal people request that nobody should climb
the rock as to them it is a Sacred sight. In the Cultural Center there were
letters from people who have climbed the rock or taken bits of it away that
have had such bad luck after it that they have sent the rocks that they had
taken back.
So Me, Stu, Jules and Marie decided to do it in style and take a Helicopter ride over the Rock. What an experience.... If you can do it... try and have at the least one helicopter ride in your life... Just an amazing exhirirating experience... Over one of the Wonders of the World....!
In the afternoon we drove to the rock and walked around it. Jules and Marie were intending to climb it... but in the end decided against it... So we set off and the long voyage round the base of it. Not much to report to be honest other then it was a 9km round walk and I was bloody glad when it was over.
The following day we rose early to view the sunrise over Ayres Rock ( I don't think I properly appreciated it 6am is not the best time of day for me). In the afternoon we drove to the Olgas (Katu Tajitu (Aboriginal)). A similar set of formations to Ayres Rock but loads of them. We done the Valley of the Winds Walk where you walk in between the Rocks. A much more interesting walk then the walk around Ayres Rock... buts it so hard to do it any justice in words. Anyways Me and Marie Managed 5km before heading back (total 14km in in 2 days) while Julia and Stuart mangaged the full 8km walk.
In evening we headed away from Ayres Rock to stay at a Cattle Station overlooking Mount Conner. The worst Camp Site we have stayed in but one with the most charecter. We embarked on a Camel Trek that evening. Aorund the Cattle Station over some sand dunes for view of the outback at Sunset.
Camels.... I love them
Yep I have decided that Camel are my new Fave animal. They really share my preferred outlook on life. They're lazy. Pretty much sit there and don't do a lot. And they Like to eat... Me and Marie were seated on Appollo D9 and Stu and Julia on Lazy Daisy. I made a bit of an arse of myself getting on Appollo, I manged to get cramp and had to jump off much to the amusement of all all the other on the trek (In my defence - 14km in 2 days... its to be expected). Anyways it was a fantastic ride although Murphy... the Camel behind being riden by a Dutch Couple, Dennis and Liz had its eye on my Water all the way, until by the end I decided to give in and let him drink it. he did.... and then dripped slimy Camel Slime all over my bottoms..... Nice! We spent the evening in Outback bar with our Camel Guide Mark.... An excellant guy who kept us entertained with his bush stories and Camel Stories. He also concerned me with his Snake stories and how on the Cattle station they keep Snake thumpers in 5 differant places. Anyways I made sure I went nowhere alone after that! But Mark really loves his camels and they love him and that was nice to see...
Saturday.... Kings Canyon. Another Looooooong Walk ... 6km (20 km in 3 days). For me the toughest walk of the three days.... A long walk up. A walk round the Canyon and then down again. I truely was bushed after that... but it was so worth it, the views were awesome and hopefully we'll get some pictures up on the website soon.
And at last Alice Springs.... In time for St Patricks day. We went out to English Bar and all drunk enough Guiness to win me a free Hat! Stu then went home (Can't hack the Pace.....!) and I was left with Jules and Mrr to carry on the drinking. We managed finally to fight an Irish Bar.... Met some cool people and moved on to a nightclub. On the way we were stopped by the police.... think me and the girls were stumbling a bit. Marie tried to get us lift down to the club with an impressive Cleavalage Display but the Old Bill wern't having any of it....
The rest of the night is a bit of blur.... but its been a fantastic week.
We're off to Cairns next should take us about a week to get there... so I'll speak to you all Soon.
Messages.....
Lakis & Kirsty - Whens the big day guys......
John & Chris - You back from Spring Break yet... what was it like
Benoit - Christa asked me to add you to the list so here it is!
Jason - Where are you mate... Modem still buggered?
John F - What the Hell has happened to Tottenham?
Mick - Keep it Shut.....
Everyone else..... Good night.... Miss you loads......
Love
Bhav
So.... we left Adelaide and started to make our way up to Ayres rock / Alice Springs way. The van has been sounding good as of late and even starting more or less first time every time (wot a Murray).
The first stop was a small town / village called Woomera. This was just a night stopover, interestingly it also housed the camps holding the 'boat people', which have been in the news so much recently. I will never forget this place though for one reason - Mozzies.
Incredible - I went to take a picture of the sunset as soon as we stopped (see top picture), unfortunately I was topless (being around 35 degrees at a guess). After about 20 seconds I was covered in 'em, no joke. My back was ended up looking like a minefield that had a herd of cattle wonder across it. My feet and legs looked like they had aged about 250 years and good god everywhere itched. We all got it that night - it was mothers day as well so Julia and Bhav used the outside phone (nutters). Sorry Mum - but you had to wait until the safety of morning for your call (evening in the UK). When you swat these little gits you don't just get a load of mozzie guts to clear up (big buggers out here), but a nice pool of blood goes with them. Of course you can only ever hit the ones that are drunk on blood - they are slowed down quite considerably after a good meal.
I do remember running to the toilet waving around an inflatable broom, Bhav close behind me let out one of his legendary 'Oh my God!!!', lines when a flash of lightning lit up the sky. I noticed a couple watching on from the luxury of their hotel room, I could not imagine what they thought we were up to. Of course then there was the quickest couple of pisses ever achieved with the least amount of willy exposure involved.
It's a difficult compromise - what would you do, cover yourself up all night with and try and sleep in the incredible heat; or except that you will be bitten and sleep without a sleeping bag to protect you? I chose to cover up - but once asleep there I can't stop myself wriggling free from the sweat bag and giving the wildlife a free dinner.
Anyway - after an itchy and uncomfortable night we carried on up north to Coober Pedy, Opal capital of Australia. We spent the night in a dorm that was about 20 meters underground and therefore nice and cool as well as mostly bug free. The girls and I toured round the opal stores and mines - some great looking stones (expensive too) and artifacts. Most of the buildings were buried into rock or had stairs leading underground, I especially liked the underground bar and pokies (fruit machines). Of course Julia was wide eyed and credit hungry after walking around so many jewelry stores - at one point I thought she was going to propose just to get at a particularly large rock.
Next stop was a junction called Erldunda before heading to Ayres rock - there was just camped down for the night again. I had a good chat with a couple that we kept passing on the road. Later the girl ran over to our van asking us all sorts of questions about spiders. I think a red back had crawled over her foot (nasty).
The next three days we walked well over 20 kms around Uluru (Ayres rock) Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) and Kings Canyon. We also flew over Uluru and Kata Tjuta in a helicopter but did not climb up it (Aborigines take offence to it and it's a bloody steep climb).
The scenery was breath taking - I mostly enjoyed the kings canyon, Marie and I managed to take a dip in a rock pool (which is pretty special in the middle of a dessert). On the last stretch around the canyon, and after about 20 minutes of Bhav explaining how much he wanted a snickers, the poor man collapsed through sheer.... laziness. He wasn't moving for anything, he was even considering starting his own corner shop there until I pointed out the Dingo droppings a few meters away. - With a Bruce Lee style jump up he was up and off down that path quicker than a ozzy can order a pint. I don't enjoy taking the micky out of B (blatant lie) but it has to be said that there is a genuine fear there. I remember on the walk around Ayres rock he used me as a human shield when a lizard run out in front of us (as long as me arm it was). Then of course he was on edge for the next few kms until he had other things to worry about. I swear - you walk anywhere with this guy and he'll always talk about how far has gone and how long it is until the end. It doesn’t matter if it's Ayres rock or the BP garage at the end of the road.
We also took a Camel ride to watch the sunset behind Mount Conner. Our guide was called Mark, or Camel man as the press liked to call him. He had trekked from the west coast all the way to the east on his camel called Red making it just in time for new years eve 2000! Julia and I were riding on Lazy Daisy, an ex racing camel - but as the name suggests, we had a quiet and enjoyable ride. If anyone reading this thinks of camels as loud, grubby spitting horses with a couple of humps - you could not be more wrong. Each has a personality of there own, don't spit and are really friendly. There was a baby one called humpfree (no humps yet) that was so cool I wanted to take him with us.
Curtain Springs (where Mount Conner is) is a fascinating place - totally red sand dessert with no water sources other than one underground well. The cattle grazing all walked to this well to drink every evening to herding them was easy, simply shut the gate and they would all eventually collect together in the pen. However the dessert was covered in bones of the cows that did not quite make it - there is a very isolated feel to the place.
The wildlife included eagles, dingos, snakes of all kinds as well as millions and millions of beetles. The showers were just covered in 'em - but then again camping there was free. It's hard to explain just how many bugs there are in the northern territory. If you leave a light on outside at night for more than a minute the bulb would be half covered within 2 minutes and about 20 to 30 other bugs would be flying round and round it. Insect repellents simply do not work here...
As for the flys - it's the one reason so far that would prevent me wanting to live over here. Billions appon billions of the bastards. Sorry - but they are. Even Julia has been known to scream out profanities at the buzzing, crawling sickening pests. As far as I can tell this is the life of a fly.
hour 1 - Get born in dead animal as a maggot (nice).
hour 2 - Grow wings (ok).
hour 3 - Eat some shit (great).
hour 4 - Find the nearest human to follow (typical).
hours 5 - 24 (or until killed by a copy of the local paper) Select three of four spots on the face of the human, and continue to land there only moving a split second before a flailing hand squishes you.
hour 25 - dead, but not before making sure you have produced another 2 hundred flies as well as called over some of your mates to take over annoying the human.
I swear - I have a new found respect for spiders, they are doing the human race a great service. I have seen calm people explode in a frenzy of arm waving and cursing, I have seen hard outback goers reduced to tears mutterings of the word, 'why'?... and it's true, Austrailia is massive with loads of wildlife - yet flies choose to land on you or me. Hates them I does...
Now we have made it to Alice Springs, first impressions are good - lots of stuff to do. I think Julia is taking a balloon ride tomorrow, I'm saving my pennies though to learn to scuba dive on the barrier reef. Last night was St Patricks day, we all went out and had many a pint of Guinness. I left about 11:00 after only getting a few hours sleep the night before. After dozing off in the cab, I was delivered back to the van and passed out in front of the Grand Prix. About 3 hours later the others rolled in in a right old state. I'm sure you will get the full picture off of them soon - but I'm sure something interesting happened because they were all having some big heated debate about something. Marie simply was not making any sense and could not remember a thing this morning - but at least she did not beat me up in her sleep this time.
Right - off 4 a dip in the pool me thinks. Take care my friends, luv your neighbour, eat your peas and make sure you turn the iron off before you leave the house.
Stu
Stu...
Hello my faithful readers. By now you should all know that our van is no more and we can no longer move around as freely as we did. To see what we want now is also going to cost us a lot more because we’ll have to go on tours rather than just going off our own backs. This also means that we will probably have to start working a little earlier when we get to Sydney or Melbourne?
On the bright side ?we’ll probably get to see a lot more people and have a lot more comfortable nights in air-conditioned dorms. We’ll also get to eat out a lot more rather than eating pasta with tinned veg all the time!! I am now choosing to look on it as a new travelling experience that is beginning and ignoring the fact that I (and the others) would much rather be on a flight back to Perth so we can find the guys that sold us the van and “Correct?them.
Let me tell you now about the fun we’ve all had ignoring the last few set backs?.
In Alice Springs we took a trip out to the West McDonnell’s National Park ?some beautiful landscapes and a good deal of flies to kill. Marie and I went for a dip one of the countries deepest water holes ?really cold water filling up a hole in a boiling hot dessert. There is some huge birds out there including black swans and Eagles. You have to be careful where you step though because some of the lizards around there pack quite a nasty nip :
After a few walks and some more fly swatting we headed back to the camp site and said our goodbyes to Dennis and Liz who we had met up with in Curtain Springs a while back. I told Dennis about how I managed to stop the exhaust sharking with the clever use of guitar strings and he remarked, “I’m sure she’ll do you proud from now on?(or something like that), and then gave Lizzy a kiss (our van Liz, not Liz his other half). Of course this turned out to be the kiss of death and when we catch up with them again in Sydney I’m going to ask him to kiss our friend Chris Steel a big smacker on the lips.
Hmmmm, it would appear that Julia is getting some practise in ?keep up the good work and you’ll be a Poison Ivy in no time?
You all know what happens next ?if not check out the Murray Walker section (and not the small print). Ignoring all that pain and heartache, we have now made it to Cairns. We’re in a good hostel and get free meals and internet access every day. On Wednesday we headed out to Green Island that is sitting happily in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef.
I was really looking forward to doing a scuba diving course on the reef, something I had thought about even before buying our round the world ticket ?unfortunately, as I have used my asthma puffer in the last 5 years I was not allowed to go anywhere near an oxygen tank and was instead handed a rubber pipe and water tight seventies shades. At least it saved me some money and as you can see from the above picture (which I took on the boat crossing) there was other dangers inherit with scuba diving as well.
On the island we all waddled around the reef, carefully avoiding the stingrays and jellyfish. It was great fun, but I much preferred Corral Bay ?the reef there was much more colourful and there was no sea weed (which is everywhere on green island). Marie and I actually watched a woman spotting a sting ray (which quite obviously pack a good sting) pick up her children and chased after it. Her kids where screaming for mercy but there was no stopping her ?I’m just glad stingrays seem quite a friendly bunch?
We also visited a croc farm on the island ?there we managed to get a glimpse of the worlds largest croc (in captivity). As you can see, not even Mik Dundeet would wan’a mess with this scary fella?
These guys have no table manners what so ever?
Anyhow ?I’ll leave you lot to get back to work and stop wasting company time reading this drivel. After watching the England game tonight, Julia and I are heading out to the rainforests for some trekking (it’s gunna get sweaty)?
Laters people, stay well and happy - stu
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