Hannah and I met up with Tanya in Kuala Lumpur and scampered up a soggy Malaysia. The highlight was undoubtedly an incident after our boat trip in the northern islands. We hopped back onto dry land to discover a stall selling decorative plates, which we weren't at all interested until we realised that the plates had our faces on!! Those sneaky Malaysians had secretly photographed us and scurried back to print our faces onto fancy china!
Bizarre logic seems to follow with boats as on the choppy ferry over to Thailand, the crew deemed it fit to play 'Titanic' for our entertainment...Otherwise though, the Thai Islands were paradise and we spent our time diving with Reef Sharks, Full Moon partying and munching dragonfruit.
We popped into Burma to renew our visas before heading up to Bangkok. Sensory overload and clinging on to tuk-tuks for dear life makes it an exciting city full of spices, markets and temples. A night train later (that wasn't nearly as much like the Hogwarts Express as you're imagining) and we reached Northern Thailand.
In Chiang Mai we spent a day learning to be Elephant Mahouts - training, bathing and riding our new friends. We hand made Spring Rolls in our Thai Cookery class, and then went on a three day jungle trek, staying with local hill tribes and learning the invaluable skill of bamboo rafting.
Next up was Laos which brought tubing in rubber rings through the mountains, catching a fire festival and witnessing the 5am monk pilgrimage. Every now and again we got the most epic thunderstorms that make you think that somewhere a Disney Villain is very angry.
33 hours on a bus, 1 breakdown, 8 confused men around a tyre, the loading of many many doors & bananas, and we are in wonderful Vietnam! Keeping preserved snakes in their vodka to prove the spirit's strength is just a wisp of their genius. But making us divide everything by 34,000 to figure out how much it costs is not.
Monday, 12 November 2012
Tuesday, 18 September 2012
Outbackers - The Kartoffelauflauf Chronicles
We have returned to civilisation after nearly 4 months working in a Wilderness Sanctuary in the Flinders Mountain Ranges of the South Australian Outback. It has been unforgettable.
Arkaroola has been ten times any other experience I've had. Living and working amongst gorges, waterholes and mountains of red rock alongside some real Aussie characters.We were barmaids, waitresses, receptionists, housekeepers and, as some bright spark soon decided that my culinary skills were WASTED front of house, they made me a chef! The best bit was baking pies, cakes and crumbles for 100 guests. The worst bit was that I didn't get a chef hat.
We hopped on to the 4x4 Ridge Top Tours, helicopter flights, hiked through the ridges and watched the transit of Venus across the sun in the Astronomy Tower. The stars arrived in their thousands at night, and the crescent moon would always shine at the bottom like a Cheshire Cat grin.
To keep us entertained we celebrated the odd Aussie tradition of 'Christmas In July' to give the festivities their wintery feel, dragging the tree and decorations out of their hibernation in the back of dusty cupboards. We ended the day with a full Christmas dinner - candles, mulled wine, brandy cream and all. It was also noticed how tragic it was that our hoovers Hetty and Henry had to work in separate department METRES away from each other and so the only obvious solution was to arrange their Outback Wedding, complete with a photoshoot of their courting in Arkaroola :)
Kangaroos and wallabies bounded about the sanctuary, emus sprinted aimlessly, eagles soared above and soon Agnes and Helga the wombats came to visit. I spent my birthday opening presents on the top of a mountain, and received such wonderful handmade and recycled gifts from my co-Outbackers. It was so nice to work closely with an older generation - the maintenance guys, pilots and tour drivers became real friends and it was sad to finally say goodbye to our adopted uncles.
It has been disappointing returning to skyscrapers and concrete after adjusting to the company of lizards, eucalyptus and orange rock. Onwards to Malaysian jungles...
Arkaroola has been ten times any other experience I've had. Living and working amongst gorges, waterholes and mountains of red rock alongside some real Aussie characters.We were barmaids, waitresses, receptionists, housekeepers and, as some bright spark soon decided that my culinary skills were WASTED front of house, they made me a chef! The best bit was baking pies, cakes and crumbles for 100 guests. The worst bit was that I didn't get a chef hat.
We hopped on to the 4x4 Ridge Top Tours, helicopter flights, hiked through the ridges and watched the transit of Venus across the sun in the Astronomy Tower. The stars arrived in their thousands at night, and the crescent moon would always shine at the bottom like a Cheshire Cat grin.
To keep us entertained we celebrated the odd Aussie tradition of 'Christmas In July' to give the festivities their wintery feel, dragging the tree and decorations out of their hibernation in the back of dusty cupboards. We ended the day with a full Christmas dinner - candles, mulled wine, brandy cream and all. It was also noticed how tragic it was that our hoovers Hetty and Henry had to work in separate department METRES away from each other and so the only obvious solution was to arrange their Outback Wedding, complete with a photoshoot of their courting in Arkaroola :)
Kangaroos and wallabies bounded about the sanctuary, emus sprinted aimlessly, eagles soared above and soon Agnes and Helga the wombats came to visit. I spent my birthday opening presents on the top of a mountain, and received such wonderful handmade and recycled gifts from my co-Outbackers. It was so nice to work closely with an older generation - the maintenance guys, pilots and tour drivers became real friends and it was sad to finally say goodbye to our adopted uncles.
It has been disappointing returning to skyscrapers and concrete after adjusting to the company of lizards, eucalyptus and orange rock. Onwards to Malaysian jungles...
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Lagoon-a-Matata
Travelling from Sydney to Cairns up east coast Australia hitting the famous hippy Byron Bay where we did yoga on the beach at sunrise and I tried my hand at surfing, proudly succeeding at standing up on a wave like a pro!
We had an eventful time on the world's largest sand island, Fraser Island, bombing around the beaches in 4x4's and running from wild dingo's. On our first night a few car malfunctions meant a late return to the campsite and we ended up fighting against the wind and the rain, darkness setting in, Led Zepplin blaring and our best drivers stepping up to the challenge as we struggled in convoy to get through the incoming tide to the safety of the toasty campfire!
The beachtown of 1770, named after it's founding year, brought more surfing and a day of zipping around on scooters, looking the part adorned in biker leathers and a long forgotten favourite - transfer tattoos! It was also here that we stepped aboard a tiny tin plane and were flown to a desert island to fend for ourselves for the night! Bruce The Pilot thought it was hilarious to dip and tip the plane the whole way and after this horrific ordeal expected my vote for him as Town Mayor. Not this year Brucey....
Further north and we were sailing the beautiful Whitsunday Islands, visiting the pristine Whitehaven Beach and swimming with sea turtles.
My fingers are scrambling over the keyboard because all I want to do is write about The Great Barrier Reef! After my pool and classroom dive training we were soon out on the reef, living aboard 'Scubapro' for three days. Scuba diving would be amazing even if there was just sand down there. You feel like a gravity-free, underwater-breathing superhero on expeditions into the deep. Navigating dive co-ordinates, checking depth and oxygen levels and more importantly, perfecting the slow motion back flip. So add to that sharks, sting rays, clown fish, eels and HUGE turtles and I can't think of anything better.
I am now a PADI Certified diver and can heartily say it is the best thing I have done in our 6 months away :)
We had an eventful time on the world's largest sand island, Fraser Island, bombing around the beaches in 4x4's and running from wild dingo's. On our first night a few car malfunctions meant a late return to the campsite and we ended up fighting against the wind and the rain, darkness setting in, Led Zepplin blaring and our best drivers stepping up to the challenge as we struggled in convoy to get through the incoming tide to the safety of the toasty campfire!
The beachtown of 1770, named after it's founding year, brought more surfing and a day of zipping around on scooters, looking the part adorned in biker leathers and a long forgotten favourite - transfer tattoos! It was also here that we stepped aboard a tiny tin plane and were flown to a desert island to fend for ourselves for the night! Bruce The Pilot thought it was hilarious to dip and tip the plane the whole way and after this horrific ordeal expected my vote for him as Town Mayor. Not this year Brucey....
Further north and we were sailing the beautiful Whitsunday Islands, visiting the pristine Whitehaven Beach and swimming with sea turtles.
My fingers are scrambling over the keyboard because all I want to do is write about The Great Barrier Reef! After my pool and classroom dive training we were soon out on the reef, living aboard 'Scubapro' for three days. Scuba diving would be amazing even if there was just sand down there. You feel like a gravity-free, underwater-breathing superhero on expeditions into the deep. Navigating dive co-ordinates, checking depth and oxygen levels and more importantly, perfecting the slow motion back flip. So add to that sharks, sting rays, clown fish, eels and HUGE turtles and I can't think of anything better.
I am now a PADI Certified diver and can heartily say it is the best thing I have done in our 6 months away :)
Thursday, 22 March 2012
South Island Explorers
We started South Island with a full day hike up the Franz Joseph Glacier all geared up for the snowy ascent. There were icy caves in that unreal vivid blue, snow cut steps, and narrow crevices to squeeeeeze through. I got so carried away I gouged my metal spiked boot into my leg! We also had the chance to kayak on the glassy lake beneath the mountain range, paddling around in the solitude of a creek and trying some of the edible plants (they tasted like plants).
We'd have made Neil Buchanan proud getting cutting and sticking to make costumes for a Bin Liner Party, spent many an hour on the summits of mountains we'd conquered and found some solid contenders for the 'That's The Best Beach I've EVER Seen' trophy. We went on a boat trip around the beautiful Milford Sound Fjords which was as New Zealandy as you can get, and finally reached the Emerald City - Queenstown.
It is hands down the most supercalifragilistic place in the world and the moment I arrived I was panic stricken at the thought of leaving. We played frisbee golf by the glistening lake and trekked up the mountains beneath the gondolas before tucking into fit-for-a-giant 'Fergburgers'. We decked ourselves out in green alongside the rest of a very enthusiastic Queenstown to celebrate St Patrick's Day, and full to the brim with the magic of the place I decided I could fly...well Skydive! I jumped out of a plane at 12,000ft with a pretty fluffy stomach and a terrified grin on my face, and even landed gracefully on my feet at the bottom!
Because we'd been having way too much fun in New Zealand we decided to do a hike up a vertical incline in the blazing sun for 7 hours the day before leaving. It was a horrific and epic quest with lots of 'go-on-without-me's and 'we'll-never-make-it's. I live to tell the tale.
The thesaurus in my brain is constantly trying to find the words to do justice to New Zealand and always seems to come up short. It is the bees knees :)
We'd have made Neil Buchanan proud getting cutting and sticking to make costumes for a Bin Liner Party, spent many an hour on the summits of mountains we'd conquered and found some solid contenders for the 'That's The Best Beach I've EVER Seen' trophy. We went on a boat trip around the beautiful Milford Sound Fjords which was as New Zealandy as you can get, and finally reached the Emerald City - Queenstown.
It is hands down the most supercalifragilistic place in the world and the moment I arrived I was panic stricken at the thought of leaving. We played frisbee golf by the glistening lake and trekked up the mountains beneath the gondolas before tucking into fit-for-a-giant 'Fergburgers'. We decked ourselves out in green alongside the rest of a very enthusiastic Queenstown to celebrate St Patrick's Day, and full to the brim with the magic of the place I decided I could fly...well Skydive! I jumped out of a plane at 12,000ft with a pretty fluffy stomach and a terrified grin on my face, and even landed gracefully on my feet at the bottom!
Because we'd been having way too much fun in New Zealand we decided to do a hike up a vertical incline in the blazing sun for 7 hours the day before leaving. It was a horrific and epic quest with lots of 'go-on-without-me's and 'we'll-never-make-it's. I live to tell the tale.
The thesaurus in my brain is constantly trying to find the words to do justice to New Zealand and always seems to come up short. It is the bees knees :)
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
North Island Wanderers
The stunning ferry ride to the North Island brought an array of unbelievable characters from a Nepalese speaking Aussie wearing a sari, a chuckling Indian man woken by her thrusting her blood pressure reader on his wrist, a maternal Scottish lady and our wide eyed Spanish friend teaching me German hip-hop. Life went up a gear when we reached the Bay of Islands and were lucky enough to experience swimming with a pod of wild dolphins! We sailed around the islands and on finding our playful friends, we snorkelled and flippered up and jumped in. They weaved beneath our feet, sliced the surface and squeaked happily when we dove down making bubbles. It was surreal day, continued by finding a huge film crew in the tiny seaside town on our return and a giant sting ray cruising along the shoreline.
In the past weeks we have found the magical land of Hobbiton (a French guy nearby ecstatic at the sight of 'Golooom'!), been glow worm hunting in Waitomo Caves and explored the harbour capital city of Wellington - by the favourite city of our travels to date. We have come across the absolute best beach I have been to in my life and dug holes in the sand at low tide to create our own individual spa pool from the thermal springs underneath. Luckily for us low tide was at midnight so we got to do this under an incredibly starry sky. Yesterday I went White Water Rafting in a deep valley bouncing off rocks and careering through rapids, holding on to my paddle for life!
In Rotorua we were accepted into a traditional Maori tribe and welcomed into their village where we could learn how they made clothes, prepared weapons, performed the Haka and cooked in the heat of the volcanic ground. After feasting ourselves silly (I've never heard backpackers so silent as they are around free food!) we were taken home by an eccentric bus driver with a bizzare comedy routine of teaching us the Maori greeting 'Kia Ora' at high speed in 63 languages, flitting effortlessly between different accents and dialects. We were dropped home only after he'd driven us round a roundabout 16 times singing 'Here we go round the Mulberry bush...'!
The best thing I have done since being away was the Tongariro Crossing, waking up at 5am to do a 12 mile hike through volcanic craters and feeling like we were in a fantasy land trekking through marshes and mountains. There were emerald coloured lakes, turqoise sky and the ominous black rock of Mount Doom looming above us.
South Island starts tomorrow....
In the past weeks we have found the magical land of Hobbiton (a French guy nearby ecstatic at the sight of 'Golooom'!), been glow worm hunting in Waitomo Caves and explored the harbour capital city of Wellington - by the favourite city of our travels to date. We have come across the absolute best beach I have been to in my life and dug holes in the sand at low tide to create our own individual spa pool from the thermal springs underneath. Luckily for us low tide was at midnight so we got to do this under an incredibly starry sky. Yesterday I went White Water Rafting in a deep valley bouncing off rocks and careering through rapids, holding on to my paddle for life!
In Rotorua we were accepted into a traditional Maori tribe and welcomed into their village where we could learn how they made clothes, prepared weapons, performed the Haka and cooked in the heat of the volcanic ground. After feasting ourselves silly (I've never heard backpackers so silent as they are around free food!) we were taken home by an eccentric bus driver with a bizzare comedy routine of teaching us the Maori greeting 'Kia Ora' at high speed in 63 languages, flitting effortlessly between different accents and dialects. We were dropped home only after he'd driven us round a roundabout 16 times singing 'Here we go round the Mulberry bush...'!
The best thing I have done since being away was the Tongariro Crossing, waking up at 5am to do a 12 mile hike through volcanic craters and feeling like we were in a fantasy land trekking through marshes and mountains. There were emerald coloured lakes, turqoise sky and the ominous black rock of Mount Doom looming above us.
South Island starts tomorrow....
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Road Tripping
We picked up our little silver car, Ariel, and hit the open road to Melbourne. If there was a competition to spot iconic Aussie wildlife we'd have won it, coming across wild Wombats, Koala's and getting close enough to a Wallaby to see that she had a Joey in her pouch! Perhaps not on the official checklist, we were lucky enough to watch the nightly arrival of the tiny 'Little Penguin' on Phillip Island. The 30cm tall birds appear in their hundreds at nightfall to waddle up to their nests on the coast.
The Great Ocean Road made us feel we were in a fancy car advert, whizzing along the winding roads of the cliff face, right alongside the most pristine coastline. In Melbourne we found a festival by the sea with live music and a World Volleyball Tournament. They have a wicked free program where a local Melburnian takes you round their city, and we were blessed with Peter, and enthusiastic computer programmer who took us to all the best places and totally made our day.
Now we have touched down in New Zealand where I have fulfilled my main dream in coming to the islands. 11th February 2012 was the first and probably last time in my life that I saw a WHALE! A great big Sperm Whale on the waters of Kaikoura, spurting out water and returning to the depths flinging his tail high in the air. Plus on the way back to shore a pod of dolphins joined us, leaping playfully alongside the boat!
I realised just how far away from home I am when I looked up at the sky on a clear night and had to double take when I saw that Orion's Belt was upside down over here.
The Great Ocean Road made us feel we were in a fancy car advert, whizzing along the winding roads of the cliff face, right alongside the most pristine coastline. In Melbourne we found a festival by the sea with live music and a World Volleyball Tournament. They have a wicked free program where a local Melburnian takes you round their city, and we were blessed with Peter, and enthusiastic computer programmer who took us to all the best places and totally made our day.
Now we have touched down in New Zealand where I have fulfilled my main dream in coming to the islands. 11th February 2012 was the first and probably last time in my life that I saw a WHALE! A great big Sperm Whale on the waters of Kaikoura, spurting out water and returning to the depths flinging his tail high in the air. Plus on the way back to shore a pod of dolphins joined us, leaping playfully alongside the boat!
I realised just how far away from home I am when I looked up at the sky on a clear night and had to double take when I saw that Orion's Belt was upside down over here.
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Oz Day is Red, Mountains are Blue...
Australia Day kicked off watching the boat race with vessels of all shapes and sizes adorned in patriotic flags, chugging and sailing through the harbour. The day was then spent with live music, buzzing crowds, the return of the childhood wonder of TRANSFERS and an incredible fireworks display accompanied by fountains, fire and lasers. The best bit was a a police re-enactment of a high speed boat chase with helicopters, police dogs, speed boats and scuba divers to save the day!
Today we have returned from the Blue Mountains where we have been intrepid explorers trekking through the rainforest. I don't know what I expected but it certainly wasn't the babbling brooks at our feet and huge orange rocks carving the sky above us. Bright green vegetation and waterfalls filled the landscape as we clambered on to rocks and up logged stairways for hours trying not to get too snap-happy, as every corner you turned could be another picture postcard view!
With kooky staff, a reading room by the fire, shelves of books and friendly dorm mates, it occurred to me that we were not staying in a hostel but, in fact, at HOGWARTS!
Today we have returned from the Blue Mountains where we have been intrepid explorers trekking through the rainforest. I don't know what I expected but it certainly wasn't the babbling brooks at our feet and huge orange rocks carving the sky above us. Bright green vegetation and waterfalls filled the landscape as we clambered on to rocks and up logged stairways for hours trying not to get too snap-happy, as every corner you turned could be another picture postcard view!
With kooky staff, a reading room by the fire, shelves of books and friendly dorm mates, it occurred to me that we were not staying in a hostel but, in fact, at HOGWARTS!
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Snow Spray and Sunshine
We have had a wonderful Aussie Christmas! Up early on the roof terrace to open parcels from home and then aprons on for baking shortbread and chocolate cake for our hosts. We were invited to a friend's family home for Christmas Day as they invite all the backpackers over every year so that they can be with a family of sorts in absence of their own. Turkey was on the barbie, the bath was full of beers and an Australian flag waved proudly on the roof. The day was completed by Skyping home to a screen of six squeezed in, grinning faces- aprons on, pets held up to say 'hello', and a rendition of 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas' from my wonderful family.
On New Year's Eve we headed down to friend's house by the harbour and joined a buzzing crowd down by the water's edge. The sun set over the Harbour Bridge as a plane was writing in the sky and the city lit up, reflecting colours across the water as night fell. As for the fireworks, I had an immovable stupid grin on my face for the entire dazzling 12 minutes along with the other 1.5 million people along the harbour. The absolute highlight was when fountains of light erupted from the rooves of the skyscrapers in the city shooting straight upwards like bursts of glittering water.
One gloriously sunny day brought an adventure to a packed Manly Beach via ferry, and another, a kids style birthday BBQ - party hats, bouncy castle and all. I must mention here our delight in discovering the Aussie delicacy that is Fairy Bread. Bread. Butter. Hundreds and Thousands. Why someone hadn't thought of it before I have no idea.
Last night was spent celebrating the opening night of Sydney Festival with thousands of others in the city centre. Roads were closed, flags were flying, there were musicians in the bus stops and people dancing in the street. A big, red double-decker bus pumped out feel-good music all night and the evening was topped off by an incredible aerial piece of street theatre. Magic.
On New Year's Eve we headed down to friend's house by the harbour and joined a buzzing crowd down by the water's edge. The sun set over the Harbour Bridge as a plane was writing in the sky and the city lit up, reflecting colours across the water as night fell. As for the fireworks, I had an immovable stupid grin on my face for the entire dazzling 12 minutes along with the other 1.5 million people along the harbour. The absolute highlight was when fountains of light erupted from the rooves of the skyscrapers in the city shooting straight upwards like bursts of glittering water.
One gloriously sunny day brought an adventure to a packed Manly Beach via ferry, and another, a kids style birthday BBQ - party hats, bouncy castle and all. I must mention here our delight in discovering the Aussie delicacy that is Fairy Bread. Bread. Butter. Hundreds and Thousands. Why someone hadn't thought of it before I have no idea.
Last night was spent celebrating the opening night of Sydney Festival with thousands of others in the city centre. Roads were closed, flags were flying, there were musicians in the bus stops and people dancing in the street. A big, red double-decker bus pumped out feel-good music all night and the evening was topped off by an incredible aerial piece of street theatre. Magic.
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Opera House
Christmas!
My Fish!
The famous 'Tiger Pie'