Straddy Island I

Friday 9th February

Getting away from Brissy and the monotony of the East Coast backpacking trail to hit Stradbrook Island for some diving and relaxation. An hours train journey costing under $5, and ferry (YHA discount) for $12 took me to this lovely quaint place. The hostel was very clean, a million miles from the City Backpackers in Brisbane. Armed with a map, Tevas, swimming gear and a towel I headed forth for an afternoon stroll of about 8km up and down and round and round breathtaking beach scenary and gorge walks. What an amazing afternoon. The hostel is definately a “home away from home” with a delightful monging area with soft sofas. As its not backpackers hell there are not many people here so its really friendly in a “not in your face” way. There is a dive centre on site so I have booked a dive for Sunday – Hurrah!

Noosa Heads and Roast Dinner

Wednesday 7th February

Ding ding, another ding ding, ring, ring ding ding. Alarms went off left right and centre from 5am onwards. I need not have bothered setting mine thats for sure. Phoned the hostel up at a pit stop and got a bed for the night. Hostels release beds after people have checked out otherwise they save them as people usually stay longer than they first anticipate. The hostel is lovely. It’s a Heritage Trust building right opposite the but station (but tucked away up a drive way). A domesticated morning took me through the delights of the washer and washing line as I was down to my last pair of pants (that’s trousers not pants or thongs or briefs) and everything was covered in sand. Lovely. I realised how scancy some of my things have got, so treated myself to a pair of half price shorts. Bargain. Noosa is lovely, the Australian Riviera, very pretty with bouteques clothes shops, pristine clean, a bit like walking down Kings Road in Chelsea but smaller and by the sea side by the sea, without grumpy english serving. Very quaint. The beach also very clean, lots of surfing lessons going on. Didn’t really appeal to me – bit too much of a money spinning backpacker thing for me. If I could use it elsewhere fair enough but doubt I would. Going to stick to the diving. Right at the head of Noosa sits a gorgeous National Park with a number of differnt walking tracks. I took a round loop from an easy graded hour (3km) round to a more moderate 4km track through the bushland. A good 7km I returned to base. A most enjoable walk though I didnt spot any Koalas which was a shame. Back at the hostel I bumped into the Canadian woman who I’d met at Magnetic Island. She was telling me how she had to fly from Airlie Beach (Whitsundays) to Brisbane due to the weather being so evil. The cyclone is still present up north. I was very very lucky to get out when I did. 5 minutes later I met the three lovely girls who had been in the other van at Frazer Island. The hostel is so nice, so nice infact that they invite everyone for a free drink and a welcome talk. It’s like being in a hotel. Warm and friendly and so quaint. We all decided to treat ourselves to the hostels $10.90 roast (roast you say in Australia??). Well after 3 days of camping food why not. And it was a roast and a half, very enjoyable, savouring every mouthfull and for just over £4 who can complain. I have found that hostels in general do very good food and this one was no exception. We were all sat outside on the balcony soaking in the atmosphere of this delightful place. This is what a hostel should be about. A younger dutch girl commented how there were older people in the hostel. It was very much like that a really good bunch of people of all ages. If I had longer I would have thought of staying another night but I knew that Noosa would eventually wear thin on me for its pretentiousness although very nice gets a bit tiresome after a while. I am in my first ever 12 dorm room, but I am plesently surprised. I was packing my bags whilst a Japenese guy was playing Mozart on the grand Piano in the room. Such an Idelic setting.

A night at the Museum of Belgrave

Friday 5th January 2007

Still monging in Monbulk, Melbourne. Although I am not sat around watching DVD’s or anything, I am being constructive doing dometicated things like cleaning my friends’ house, washing, ironing, putting the rubbish out, and cooking what they call dinner (tea to me)including a delicious pudding (aren’t I clever?)all to my favourite music (Athlete, The Feeling and Snow Patrol) Although the fruit and vegetables are very expensive over here they are very yummy as they are all local, and twice if not three times as big as home. I can not get enough of the local Strawberries. A perfect friday evening after my cooking afternoon we went to the cinema to see “A night at the Museum” – hillariously funny film staring Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, and the totally brilliant Ricky Gervais.

New Years Eve

Sunday 31st December 2006

The alarm clock went off at 4.30am this morning all in the name witnessing sunrise over Ulura. The massive monstrosety of sandstone sat peacefully amongst flat landscape, its red colour derived from weathering of the rock changing slowly as the sun rose for the very last time in 2006. Its a popular trip and we weren’t the only nutters who had got up in the middle of the night for this spectacular “free” show, even coach tours were there to experience this natural phenomenon. I had never seen so many vehicles in convoy at 5am in the morning just to see sunrise. It was so worth it though. Of course after the sun had risen for the final time in 2006 I had to have a cup of tea. Of course I had brought my tea bag, flask and milk with me so we sat in the car having our gormet breakfast of yoghurt , muslei and tea. However we were not the only ones doing this, and at least i wasn’t drinking tea whilst watching the sun rise like some people were. We’d decided not to climb the rock by respecting the Tjukurpa and Anangu wishes, instead started our 6km base walk right around the rock – Ulura base walk. Although it was flat, it was hard going at times as the heat was quite intense and it was only 10am by the time we had done one lap, we weren’t about to do another lap even if we had wanted to. The “rock climb” had been closed indicating it was over 38 degrees as well. Often on the walk there are sacred sites and photography and entry to these areas is forbidden. After a cup of tea (and coffee) and a really fascinating video of the journey from Ayres Rock to Ulura at the “cultural centre” a few km from ayres rock we happily made our way back to the “resort”. A quick supermarket mash up lunch was on the menu before our hellichopper ride that we decided to splurge out on as our new year treat. This was a magnificent 30 minute ride over both the Olgas and Ulura, an amazing experience and it goes to show how vast and barren this part of the country really is. I must say that I have never taken a Helicopter ride on New Years Eve, neither can I say that I have ever done 50 lengths of an outdoor swimming pool in 40 plus degrees on New Years Eve, well not until today that is. How did you spend your New Years Eve afternoon? My friend owns her own travel agency in Monbulk near to Melbourne so she is often keen to try out some of the ‘tour’ type things. So we were down to do this “sound of silence” dinner thing out in the desert, which had already been pre-booked. A great way to spend New Years Eve. There were 5 coaches going out to 5 different locations in the desert where a three course meal was served after the final sun of 2006 had gone to bed. Unfortantly it was cloudy so the sunset was not as stunning as the other night.Some kind of champagne was served or orange jucie for me, the kids and the pregnant woman. Around the tables came a ‘bloke’ playing the digeridoo, very good but something authentic missing from this particular experience. The girl introducing the ‘experience’ sounded like she had a digeridoo up her backside, especially when she was attempting to show us the stars which were either being shy tonight or had decided to go partying for the new year. I think it was the latter. The buffet ‘dinner’ had choices of crocodile, kangaroo, beef and fish, I stayed clear of the meat albait one small cube of crocodile due to my insides having felt like they have doubled in size. The salads were very nice though so I stocked up on those. A couple of hours later though I wish I hadn’t as I was spending the turn of the new year having just recovered from a long time in the bathroom. My insides were telling me that they were tired of travelling and must rest. I was looking forward to tomorrow. Despite my blockages (just what you want to know isn’t it?) to spend New Year at Uluru was a fantastic experience. Although the “Sounds of Silence” was a little to cheesy for my liking (either that or I just didn’t really get it) the overall feelings of the Australian Outback were really quite mindblowing and a most amazing way to wave goodbye to 2006 and cheer on 2007.

Canyons, kings and kangaroos

Saturday 30th December 2006

An early start today to do the walk around King’s Canyon. We began the walk at 7am, first a steep accent up 100 metres to the “rim” of the canyon, the reward was sensational – a stunning 6km walk through amazing landscape, stunning rock formations, sheer cliffs. Our journey then required a four hour drive to Ulura (until 1985 it was known at Ayres Rock when the government gave it back to the aborigionas). Our good deed for the day was to help a french guy help an aborigional who’s family car had run out of petrol some 40km down the road,so with aborigony and petrol canistar in the car (and of course contact details from the french guy who had helped get to the service stop) we set off, limited conversation in the car of course, as aborigionals speak very little english, an adventure and a half I must say. Plenty of wasaroo’s (was a ‘roo) or deadies on the road but we didn’t come across any live ones thank goodness as they can do tremendous damage to vehicles and I have heard that Skippy doesn’t have insurance either. Ulura resort is just that, a complex with a number of hotels, what they call a “shopping centre” which is a square with mostly touristy shops around, and a small supermarket, and a very expensive petrol station all very complexy spick and span with only red sand in sight. All very nice at first glance. A trip to Kata Tjuta otherwise known as the Olgas – 36 steep-sided domes was on the cards for late afternoon after refuelling on tea. The Olgas are a masterpiece of bouldering rocks some 40km from the resort, a magnificent site. One of the walks was closed due to the heat but the shorter walk was still open, so we opted to do a walk called “Walpa Gorge” with waterbottles in hand any necessity out here in such a heat. We’d timed it so that we could see sunset over the Olgas, however what we thought was the end of sunset happened to be an amazing array of colours lightening up the sky as we drove back to the resort, we werent patient enough, I must remember that for tomorrow’s sunrise at 5.50am. Still a fanscinating sight that will always stick in my mind

On the Road to Nowhere

Friday 29th December 2006 An early start to drive the monstrosoty of a stretch of road or two from Alice Springs to Kings Canyon some 400km or so. our car was an automatic so requires a little less thinking, this is only a good thing for the english who can not get to grips with the australian rules of roundabouts – don’t signal when going straight ahead on a roundabout and give way to the right. I seem to also like to indicate with my windscreen wipers. Fantastic! Some 400km or so, some 6 plus hours later on the road to nowhere or what could have easily been nowhere (although the terrain was amazing and it’s a really stunning drive to witness this vast landscape), we rolled up almost melted (a/c saved the day) and flopped out at our next “resort” – Kings Canyon. Not alot here apart from a canyon and a resort, I seem to have lost the King but definatelty looking forward to seeing the Canyon tomorrow. Accomodation was very much similar to the last place, small swimming pool which didn’t really tempt me, small shop which we had to try out – how much was that milk in the window and a small petrol station, how much was that petrol that we had to put in the car? Probably best if you don’t ask. But sometimes a girl needs her tea and sometimes a car needs its petrol. Its fantastic being in such a remote place, one road in one road out, they’re not different roads though, nothing here but the landscape, its just a great feeling, even the really hot dry air makes it feel so Australian. I had always wanted to come to this area of the world and now I am finally here, it feels real, it feels how it should be, it feels great.

A rocky day

Thursday 28th December 2006

An early start this morning to view rocks, waterholes gulleys and glens including stop offs to Standley Chasm, Ellery creek Big Hole, Serpentine Gorge, Ochre Pits and one named after me (and glen who ever he may be). The highlight of the day was stopping off at a waterhole where i was able to put my swimming into practice as I splashed around this gigantic lake – safe and recommended for swimming, absolute bliss in this heat. We also met some dingos on the way, an added bonus. The awesome proportion and isolaton of this land puts it all into perspective, hard to believe some 1000’s of years ago it was all under water. A “rocky” day if ever there was one. A most enjoyable rocky day.

Alice – who the **** is alice?

Wednesday 27th December 2006

A wake up call today at 5.00am to enable us to take the treck to Alice Springs. We almost had to treck by foot after the antics that were about to experience at Melbourne airport. Arriving at the airport there were queues as far as the eye could see. At first we thought it was just the holiday rush getting away but we were to soon find out that the luggage belts had stopped working so check-in had come to a hault. Chaos arose around the airport as people got frustrated and angry about the wait. Mr Happy, Mr Calm and Little miss Destress meandered their way around the airport to help calm down the passengers. We got through to our plane on time, unlike some who rushed on quite a while later. However we were not expecting a further 1 3/4 hour delay whilst sat on the airplane waiting for the 700 or so bags to join us. Whilst the chaos no doubt continued inside the terminal. Eventually the plane left the ground to the sound of clapping, we disapeared into the clouds and popped out somewhere in mid Australia. Panaromic views of desert stretched limitlessly away. Such a vast country that is only realised when such a journey is taken. Tree lines cut effortlessly through the dry land resembling rivers meandering around. Alice springs was our home for two nights, a “resort” complex, with a nice big room, swimming pool (which in the end I didn’t have time to try out) and wireless (which in the end I didnt have time to try out either) but that was because we had lots of things to cover in the next couple of days. This is the outback remember – distances are frightening! A trip to the flying doctor was on the agenda this had nothing to do with my excessive intake of tablets to get my insides moving but more an educational experience to fully understand the significance of this service for Australia’s outback. We also visited Telegraph Pole and managed a walk around the area as it was apparently very very cold for this time of year (but well into the 30’s). I look forward to seeing what very very hot is later. With the rest of the afternoon spare we visited “desert park” a plant and animal park in the middle of the sea, I forgot sorry we are in the middle of the desert so I had to put my mask and snorkle away. That’s for later. The park was interesting mix of animals and plants, including a noctural dome where native animals such as geckos could be viewed (no Kiwi’s thats for later too). Signposted well throughout it was a good introduction to the area. A trip to the local supermarket to pick up some food for tea (we were not paying resort prices for tea) also introduced me to my first sighting of aborigines, which I had never seen before. Not being a mixed cultural place they definately stood out with their dark skin, white hair and even whiter than white teeth, even Daz Automatic can’t get things that white. I have now been away from home for 6 weeks, shared the first snowy christmas in Melbourne with locals, an honor! climbed mountains, walked gorges, tramped along great walls, eaten dumplings for breakfast, avoided savouring dog, snake or turtle, and am currently pill popping everything off the pharmacy shelf to bring my bodily functions back to normality. The up’s and downs of travelling. I am glad to say that the up’s definately tip the scales in the right direction.