Waitomo caves, Glow worms, Tongariro National park, Whakapapa ski hill

Posted on March 20, 2014

March 18

We got an early start and got to see a gorgeous sunrise over the ocean. Bonus! Simon dropped 5 of us off at the Waitomo caves where we ttought we were going tubing. Hmm. After changing into swim wear we donned 5mm wetsuits with extra protection on the butt and knees, gum boots (rubber boots) and a wetsuit jacket.
Walking to the entrance worked up a sweat and a look at the ladder freaked me out. Caleb (our trusty guide) assured me I would fit. I had to hug the ladder going down so my bum would fit. Once inside we gathered for stories and had to “elect” a leader. Lucky me. Yeah, the claustrophobic leading others through a cave. Good thing it wasn’t for too long. For the next 4 hours we climbed over and under rocks, through crevices and holes, swam through freezing cold water thath filled our boots. The water warms up in your boots but they’re so heavy!! I had to stop frequently and empty them as my legs were getting sore. The glow worms dotted the ceilings like stars or Christmas lights. We turned our head lamps off and they even provided a bit of illumination and reflected in the water. Beautiful, tiny blue lights with strings hanging down were everywhere. At one point we got to float on a tube and look at the ceiling and just sing …. very relaxing. Then back into the climbing and into the “hard rock cafe” where Josh and Caleb pulled out a thermos with a warm, sweet drink and a piece of chocolate for everyone. Nice!
More climbing through a narrow corridor over sharp rocks. I braced myself against the walls and placed my feet very carefully, not wanting to twist or break an ankle. When we finally reached the end I was so relieved as my muscles were just DONE. I could barely move my legs and my arms were sore. Once exiting the cave I tried emptying my boots by the dripping from the wetsuit just filled them up again. We had walk up, up UP another hill. Why is going home always up hill???
We quickly showered the mud off and got on the bus to go back to the shop where we got together and purchased a usb stick of photos since were weren’t allowed to take a camera.
Next stop was a Maori village in Rotorua where part of it was our chief (Ryan) greeting their chief (Shilo) and singing each other a song. We did a great rendition of Bob Marley’s 3 Little birds. Fun, and very appropriate 🙂 Rotorua is full of hot springs. Hot water bubbles up out of the water everywhere. You have to be careful as it’s often 100 C and will burn you.
We checked into our hostel and were treated to a hangi dinner which was steamed cabbage, chicken, potatoes, pumpkin, sweet potato, stuffing and fried bread. It was a LOT of food but we were hungry.
I intended on going in the hot spring but at 8:30 it just seemed like too much effort to put on a suit and walk over there. Another early start tomorrow.

March 19

The further south we go the more daylight hours we get. Driving through Rotorua the landscape was dotted with geysers everywhere, spewing hot water. The golf course had plumes of steam coming out of the ground in random places
We dropped off the bunch going white water rafting, then some doing the Tongariro crossing and Gilles tried to go for a flight but they weren’t going. So Simon drove us up past the village of Whakapapa (pronounced Fuckapapa) to the ski mountain where we took a chair lift up Sue and Gilles looked at the mountain we wanted to climb and decided against it. I pulled my usual “act now, think later” and took off with Simon. It was a hard climb up rocks and gravel and I felt the altitude. Why is it that every trip I feel the need to experience altitude? Simon talked about a couple who were 55 and 65 who did the Tongariro crossing one day (19.4 km) and got up at 5:30 am to do the Taranaki trail.
The cloud started to creep in and I told Simon to go ahead, don’t wait for me. Get to top before the cloud but no, he waited, helped me up a couple of times and even ended up carrying my camera bag. The views from the top were well worth it. We saw the top of Mount Doom in the distance when the clouds parted briefly and witnessed lots of craggy, stark landscapes. I didn’t take enough photos in the 10 minutes we had before the cloud moved in as I was too busy admiring and in awe of the scenery. Bummer 😦
After checking into the hotel / hostel which, by the way was Skotel Alpine Resort (hehe) we walked to the village for some lunch. I was suddenly starving and feeling weak so was NOT impressed to find the cafe suddenly closed. We tried the other one but $16 for a blt was a bit too much so we walked back to see if Simon would let us into the breakfast chilly bin. Following the smell of burnt toast we found him in the kitchen making his own lunch so we dug in. I had a boiled egg and baked bean toasted sandwich. It was delicious but probably more so because I would have eaten practically anything by that point. Including the apple and coffee, it was a $20 meal. Yes!
Although Simon’s offer to let us clean the bus sounded pretty awesome we opted to go for another hike instead. The Taranaki waterfalll hike was about 6 or 7 km and took us over grassland, through jungle, forest and along a river for a while. There were lovely views of the surrounding mountains and several waterfalls. We stopped a few times for goofy photos and several different views of Mt Doom (Ngaurhoe) and were back in just under 2 hours.
Dinner was a buffet put on by the hotel and was wonderful especially since we got dessert 🙂

Along the hike in the Taranaki trail

Another water fall on the Taranaki trail

Mount Doom or by it’s proper name Ngaurhoe

This would be me jumping OVER Mount Doom. Bet they didn’t do THAT in Lord of the Rings 🙂

The view from the chair lift going up the ski hill in Tongariro National park

Picking my way carefully up Whakapapa mountain

That’s the tip of Mount Doom but I am NOT letting go of this rock!

Look! No hands and I’m on TOP of a mountain above the clouds. Woohoo!

Simon may run up but I’m a chicken

The other side of the mountain… in the clouds

The view from the top. There’s the cafe down there a little to the left of centre. That’s a bank of clouds way off in the distance

Sue and Gilles and Mount Doom on their right

Yet another view of Mount Doom (Ngaurhoe)

9aqm Tumus 18th march 2014 Josh Caleb (#) 004_pe

We’re a little scared

The top of the totem in the Maori village in Rotorua

Our chief greeting the Maori chief in the traditional Maori way

The stained glass in the Anglican church in the Maori village. Love it!

Squeezing down the ladder into the Waitomo cave

More squeezing

Raglan! Learning to surf, kayaking and a sunset cruise

Posted on March 17, 2014

March 16

The rain followed us. The first stop was at Charlie and Jan’s farm. Charlie 2 is a retired research scientist and Jan’s the farmer. Charlie 2 showed us his “projects” like improving fish farming and explained some of his ideas in making farming more environmentally friendly. We were introduced to many of their creatures which Jan admitted are more pets than farm animals. We were treated to morning tea while it rained. The rain kept us from visiting Charlie’s cows which he found very disappointing as he was really looking forward to seeing their reaction to “visitors”. I could seriously spend some time with him. Charlie was very entertaining and a font of interesting knowledge.
Next stop was the bridal veil falls for which the rain thankfully stopped. 265 steps down and back up again was worth it as the falls are beautiful as is the trail to get there.
Raglan was the stop for lunch where some of us enjoyed some Mexican food from a truck. Very tasty. We got to top that off with a visit to another fancy bathroom. This one talked to you and even played music while I peed.
Our accommodation was a holiday house owned by Charlie 1. It’s positively luxurious after living in hostels for quite a while AND free wifi. I tried to skype home but the connection was too slow so went for a “walk”. No one else was keen so it was just Ryan, Melanie and I. This “walk” ended up being a pretty intense hike over and under trees, roots, up and down hills but “only” 6 km. We should have known it was more than just a walk when we had to write our names on a chalk board so they knew who was in the bush. Just us. We got back just in time to get showered and ready for our sunset boat cruise. We earned our fish and chips dinner which was either sand shark or snapper. Either way, it was good.
Not much of a sunset but a nice cruise anyway. No one wanted to go to the pub after. They’d all bought drinks anyway and we were all for relaxing and enjoying easy access to the washer and dryer, hot tub and nice lounge.

March 17

Happy Saint Paddy’s day! Simon spent the day in a croc / dragon costume onesie thing because it’s green.
After breakfast we headed up theI hill for warm up exercises. I thought the walk WAS the warm up but apparently not. After 20 minutes or so of stretching and balancing exercises we headed up a another m hill for instruction on how to surf. Sounds simple enough. Now to add water and waves. Hmmm

At the Manu bay(Ngarangurai) we donned wetsuits. Isn’t that difficult enough? Nope. More instruction followed with practice standing on the board then we carried the boards further down the beach. I tied my strap on and headed in. By the time I was up to my knees I thought the wave return current was going to drag me out but kept on trucking. After being knocked down by a couple of the massive waves I tried and this humdinger just picked me up and THREW me on the beach where I rolled around under my board and came up coughing up sea water and covered in black sand …. everywhere. One of the instructors ran over to see if I was okay. I had to laugh so he went out with me to try again. He got me started and I tried standing but …. nope. He said the surf was really intense today. Nice. I was happy to have a good excuse for being really bad at surfing. A few more times I tried just riding the waves into the beach. That’s enough for me.
After getting the wetsuit off I tried rinsing ME off. I’ll be finding sand in crevices for a while, I think.

We had lunch in town followed by kayaking in the harbour at Raglan. It was really nice but after a couple of hours I was thoroughly TIRED. Back at the house, Sue and I jumped into the hot tub for a “massage” before starting our laundry. The surfing instructors cooked us a nice dinner of barbecued lamb chops, sausage and chicken along with salads from Charlie 1’s garden. Nice!

Bridal Veil Falls

Parrot at Charlie and Jan’s farm

Stormy sea. Not a good day for kayaking 😦

Group kayak photo op

Raglan harbour

Limestone formations in the Raglan harbour

Interesting lighting on the shoreline on the harbour cruise

One of the trees we had to climb over or under on the “nice walk” in the bush

I’m getting tired and they’re way ahead. Hmm. Just take a photo 🙂

The view from the front of my kayak 🙂

Sue and Simon and Ryan in Raglan Harbour

Raglan Harbour

Yes, I took photos of seagulls. Really

Auckland, The Bay Islands and Paihia

Posted on March 15, 2014

Tuesday, March 11

After a leisurely start we caught the bus for the airport. Good thing we allowed an extra hour. First they couldn’t find my reservation. I’d booked it with American Advantage points and eventually it showed up. Then they couldn’t find the second flight of Sue’s itinerary. Once that was located we were asked for proof of onward travel. Sue hadn’t booked anything yet and they wouldn’t let her on the plane without it so got on my laptop, purchased internet time and quickly booked a flight to Fiji, waited for the confirmation, then emailed it to the Qantas supervisor. Later, while waiting at the gate, the lady who checked us in found us, handed Sue a copy of her Fiji ticket and wished us well. Very nice!
The landing in Brisbane was a little hairy. It looked like we would land in the ocean, then approaching the runway, the wings wobbled back and forth before we touched down….HARD. The guy next to me even said that was one of the hardest landings he’d experienced too.
The flight to Auckland was uneventful. I had to check yes to carrying food as I still had a couple of peanut butter sandwiches (they FED us on the plane!) AND we’d been in the rain forest. First they were going to make us dig out our hiking shoes till we assured them that we hadn’t WORN them, just the sandals on our feet.
The shuttle dropped us off nice and close to the hostel and we checked in around 1 am NZ time, 10 pm for us. We paid for an 8 bed dorm but got upgraded to a private room for the same price. Nice!

Wednesday, March 12

We moved our stuff to the room booked by G Adventures. Helena (Denmark) and Melanie (Germany) were already there and the 4 bed dorm was VERY tight so good thing we’re all getting up in the morning together.
Sue and I set out to explore the city. I checked out the YHA to see if I’ll stay there when I come back. Auckland appears to be the “Toronto” of New Zealand. People rushing everywhere and every language under the sun being spoken. 4.5 million people live in NZ with 1.5 million of them in Auckland.
We looked at things to do in the city and took a ferry to Devonport where we climbed Mount Victoria.
Back in the city, I found some great free wifi at Burger King and updated the blog before heading back to the hostel for the group meeting.

View of Auckland fro Mt Victoria

Another view of Auckland

In Devonport

Thursday March 12

Only 11 in our group and Simon, our CEO buys yogurt for breakfast. Yay! We had lots of room to spread out on the bus and by 8 am headed north to the bay islands.
The views along the winding roads were beautiful and lined with sheep and dairy farms and lots of logging areas that had been clear cut and replanted. We passed a few logging trucks filled with massive logs and stopped at a park with a huge kauri tree.
We passed through several small towns with Maori names and stopped at a bird sanctuary in Whangeri.(pronounced Fungari) Robert showed us a crested penguin that had been found way out of it’s natural area and will be flown south in the next couple of days. He also introduced us to Sparky, the one legged kiwi who even allowed us to touch him.
Our destination for the night was Paihia Bay where we boarded the boat “The Rock”. Rowan took us out to a calm bay where we did some fishing for snapper. I caught the first fish and after that just seemed to feed the fish the squid on my hook. None of the snapper we caught were big enough to keep so it was fortunate we weren’t counting on them for dinner. The crew entertained us by giving us rope puzzles to solve and then fed us a delicious barbecue dinner. Yep, there was a barbecue on the boat.
Once it got good and dark we went out on kayaks to check out the phosphorescent algae. Pretty cool! Some jumped in for a swim after. The warm felt really warm but I didn’t relish being cold after. Wimp.
We sat around the fire (yes, a wood stove type thing on a boat!) and roasted marshmallows and then went to bed upstairs on our tiny bunks, 6 of in the room with 3 men and 3 women. Logistics were fun 🙂

March 13

It was chilly but most of us went snorkeling anyway right after breakfast. Our reward was lots of pretty blue fish, some rock cod and even two eagle rays. I continued till I had goose bumps on my goose bumps. Rowan moved the boat closer to Motorua island (in Maori means island number 2) where we hiked to the top and then around to the other side and were rewarded with fantastic views of the bay of islands.
After lunch Conrad gathered us to talk about urchins. He cracked them open and some of us tried the roe. That was …. salty and kind of fishy, not terribly unpleasant but not something I’d like to eat often. Apparently it’s a delicacy worth lots of money. Hmm. Okay. Next we tried “kinna shots”. He cracked open the urchin, then, with a knife, scrambled the innards and we drank it. Disgusting! It’s supposed to be good for you. Yuck.
We’d been very lucky with the weather considering there was a cyclone approaching. Luci was supposed to hit late afternoon. After disembarking, the crew of the Rock quickly set off to park the boat in safe harbour for the storm.
After checking into the hostel, it started to spit and get windy so all the things we’d hoped to do were pretty much cancelled. We went for a drive instead and checked out a waterfall, the Waitanga treaty centre and back to the hostel for a nice, long HOT shower and some time to just chill before dinner.
Dinner was barbecue again. They like to eat meat here too 🙂

Down the hatch….EWWW

Cheers

THIS is a kina shot

Giving the spikey urchin a kiss?

The roe from the urchin is a delicacy.

That’s The “ROCK” out there

We love G Adventures

Simon, our CEO

Our group

That’s the boat “The Rock” out there

Sue kissing her snapper good bye. He’s not big enough

Yes, I AM fishing

Giving my little snapper a kiss good bye

Sparky, the one legged kiwi bird

Hello??

Yellow crested penguin, way off course

This isn’t even that large for a kauri tree

March 15

Plans all got changed with the onslaught of Lusi. She wreaked havoc everywhere. The tide went up over the road and left stuff everywhere.
Some of us went to the Maori cultural centre where we got lots of information on the history of New Zealand and enjoyed a presentation by some Maori people. Ryan was elected our chief and participated in the traditional greeting. The rest of us just enjoyed the show, a little scary at times but very entertaining.
We picked the others up from the hostel and drove around Paihia to see the damage. Then into another town with a funny bathroom for lunch.
The next stop was at the Whangarei waterfall where only 4 of us braved the elements and got soaked in spite of a rain poncho and a nice man handing out umbrellas. We saw several others on the trail so we weren’t the only nuts.
Back in Auckland, I checked out another hostel for my return trip here and went to Burger King for internet. Then off to join the others for Thai food 🙂

Worlds longest canoe. The Maori war canoe. Queen Elizabeth got a ride as did Princess Diana

Hanging with the Maori

funky bathroom

Viewing a water fall in the pouring rain…fun

The street littered with ocean debris

That’s one angry sea

Cape Tribulation, Rain forest, Northern Queensland

Posted on March 12, 2014

March 9

Our guide for today was EARLY. Jim found us having our coffee so we quickly checked out of the hostel and loaded our bags in the trailer.
We headed north along the ocean while Jim talked about the history of Northern Queensland and how Cape Tribulation was named after James Cook getting stuck on the reef and all his tribulations after that.
A cruise up the Daintry River was nice but we only spotted 2 crocodiles. Darwin spoiled us for croc hunting 🙂
The hike through the rain forest was beautiful with Jim pointing out native species, talking about the wild life including tree kangaroos and casuaries.
Sue and I got dropped off at the Fern Tree lodge where the fellow checking us in gave us a run down of all the things to do in the area. We quickly made up our beds and put stuff away, made ourselves a bun with boiled egg and humus (really good!), checked out the wifi and then headed out for a walk about.
The walk through this part of the rain forest was really nice as we were quiet and listened to the sounds of the bush while watchful for casuaries. We emerged onto Myall beach. It was beautifully calm and inviting and it was SO hot but the threat of the deadly box jelly fish along with the odd croc was enough to keep us out. It was kind of eerie. No birds or people. I kept thinking Jurassic park and a dinosaur was going to jump out of the bush at any time.
We stopped in at a shop to see if we could go out to the reef in the morning as it looks MUCH nicer for snorkeling here and the reef is only a 30 minute boat ride away, not the 1.5 hour ride from Cairns. Nobody’s going out. Apparently there are 2 converging cyclones on the way.
3 hours later we were back in our room for a cool down before heading out again to have pizza for dinner. The Daintry pizza had artichokes, tomatoes, goat cheese….lots of stuff and was really good. The walk back along the beach was nice but then we had to go through the bush to get to the road. It was getting dark and I was a little freaked out as I’m far too aware of nocturnal creatures that live there. We made plenty of noise and got through with only a toad sighting. No dinosaurs 🙂

View of the Cape Tribulation

Mossman gorge

March 10, Monday

We woke up to pouring rain so just enjoyed the morning having multiple coffees, skyping with family, updating the blog and editing photos. It’s a beautiful place to be stuck in the rain with an abundance of greenery, birds and a couple of puppies to amuse us.
The bus picked us up early afternoon and the first stop was an shop where they did home made ice cream. There were a ridiculous number of flavours to choose from and Sue settled on ginger and I had pistachio.
We rode over winding roads through rainforest higher and higher and stopped at a lookout for a view that stretched for miles. Mossman gorge was the next stop where some went swimming but Sue and I explored the bush, checking all the smaller trees for river dragons and looking for casuaries that were probably there laughing at us as we walked right by them without seeing them.
On the way back to Cairns we followed the ocean and enjoyed great views and then passed through Port Douglas. It’s a pretty town with great access to the reef. I wish I had more time in this area. Joe gave us a bit of history on the town and the reason Spain is one of the only European countries whose residents can’t get a working visa in Australia. Curious? Google it 🙂
Back in Cairns for the night we both said we could have spent more time here. There’s lots to see in the area and better weather on the reef would be nice. Oh well. Off to New Zealand tomorrow.

Golden orb spider. Nice!

Hello little crab 🙂

Now THIS is how you camp in Australia

River dragon

basket fern way up in a tree

All the different roots in the rain forest

Rattan. Really. THat’s where it comes from.

Baby croc hiding on the shore

Looks SO inviting but box jelly fish and crocs are a little too much incentive to stay out

Great Barrier Reef from Cairns

Posted on March 10, 2014

March 8

Breakfast consisted of black coffee, a handful of almonds and a spoon full of peanut butter. The hostel offered free pancakes starting at 7:30 so I managed to grab one on the way out the door.
We boarded the boat with Reef Divers along with hundreds of other people (so it seemed) an filled out endless paperwork so I could dive and Sue could snorkel. I had to answer “yes” to the question if you were on any medication and had been sick in the last month. I wish I’d lied. They had to call the dive doctor with any “yes” answer. After sitting in the dive briefing, Neil came, took me aside and told me the doc said I can’t dive. WHAT??! Apparently with the meds I’m on he can’t allow it. PENICILLIN??? Seriously? Oh I SO wanted to scream and argue but knew it was pointless. Some doc I’d never even spoken to had just decreed it and there was nothing I could do. So I snorkeled. It was okay but the waves were vicious and the swimming really hard even with fins. I KNEW under the water it would be peaceful and calm but I wasn’t allowed. GRRRRR
I was the last one in the boat again and had a heck of a time getting back on in the pounding surf. Lunch was really nice and then we moved to the next spot. Same fish types, same coral with a lot of dead stuff and back in the boat. No turtles, giant clams or sharks. All in all, a rather disappointing day.
The ride back was pretty intense with the boat often under water and people puking all over the place. The whole thing was very touristy with much emphasis placed on trying to get newbies diving and selling photos of people under water. None of the divers seemed very excited by what they’d seen either so I guess I didn’t miss much. They asked for reviews on trip advisor. Mine would be mediocre. We were spoiled in the Whitsundays.
Back in Cairns we headed for Backpackers World Travel to get my money back for the diving and confirm our rainforest trip. She was very sympathetic and promised it would be credited to my Master card. I figured I’d have to argue so was pleasantly surprised. Mind you, I’ll be sure when I see the credit on my card. We took advantage of the free wifi and then walked back to the hostel for a shower.
Next we headed out again for some groceries and dinner. The $13 dinner deal of the night before was good so we went back. I had fish and Sue had ribs AND I drank my beer properly 🙂

Photographed ONLY after I found out it’s not dangerous 🙂

Airlie Beach, Whitsundays, Great Barrier Reef

Posted on March 8, 2014

Sunday, March 2
Apparently one young woman in our dorm felt that if she had to be up early, everyone did so she turned on the florescent lights before 7 am. Nice. Good thing she’s not the norm. Most people are much more considerate.
Sue and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of yogurt and granola. We’d both been missing it so picked some up at the grocery store last night. We were too tired to cook dinner so finally tried barrimundi. The fish and chips place even grilled it and we had salad instead of chips. Nice!
Rainbow Beach is pretty small and it took us all of maybe an hour to check it before I sat down to use the wifi “borrowed” from a travel agency and Sue went off to find a computer. Turns out if you pay $2 for a membership at Peter pan, you can use their internet free. Unlimited.
We caught the Greyhound at 3:30 and got off at Hervey Bay. Nothing’s open on Sunday so we hung out with Gosha at McDonalds because…..they have free wifi 🙂 It’s slow, but does the job. We ate hummus and crackers and ignored the signs that say you can’t do that and for desert got an ice cream cone. I ordered 2 cones and she said “60 cents” I asked “WITH ice cream?” Yep. I found something cheap in Australia!
Then came the night bus. 12 hours to Airlie Beach. One might even get some sleep if the driver wasn’t required to stop every 4 hours. Oh well. We’ll catch up.

Monday.

I’ve tried everything a pharmacist could give me plus my own remedies and was still not well so Sue convinced me to see a doctor. Easier said than done. The first clinic was booked till next week. Docs on holidays and all that. Second clinic was the same. Nobody had ideas on what to do about it. Seriously? Finally I asked if there was anyone who would just write me a scrip for an antibiotic that would kill the infection I know is afflicting me. No, you have to see a doctor. I find it amusing that I’d have easier access to medical care in Central or South America, and even Cuba. Finally she agreed to “squeeze me in”. It didn’t take a full 10 minutes to do a test and conclude that yes, I had an infection and I got a scrip. They would contact me with the results. Or not. I don’t have a phone. Lol
After collecting our luggage and checking into our room we set off for a walk. There’s not much to see so we came back for our suits and went for a swim in the lagoon. You can’t swim in the ocean here or the jellyfish may kill you. That’s incentive to stay out.
The hostel offered pizza for $5 so we thought, why not and joined in and had a nice visit with Mieke from Belgium. We all ate far too much pizza and have some left over for lunch tomorrow.

Tuesday, March 4
I took no photos yesterday. None. It’s the first day since leaving home that not one photo was taken. After a lazy day we met the crew, Dave and Brittany and set sail on the Blizzard. Dave warned us it was windy (30 knots with gusts) and what a ride! Sue and I were prepared and already wearing swimsuits. Others were apparently not aware they’d get wet which we certainly did. Often the boat was tipped on her side and our legs dangled in midair. Fun!
We got to our destination just as it was getting dark and were served hot snacks. Dinner was delicious too. After spending time getting to know the other 8 guests we tucked into our TINY cabins for the night.

March 5
Nobody got much sleep as the wind howled in gusts all night and rocked the little boat. Oh well. After a 6:30 am breakfast we set sail again. This one was much calmer. We landed on Whitsunday island and hiked up to the view point, then down to the beach where we lounged for a few hours. Sue and I hiked back up later to get a photo of high tide as well.
Back at the boat we got to try the stand up paddle board and search for turtles. Johnny mastered it. I mastered the sit down paddle board and then had a nice swim.
After lunch we sailed again and went to a snorkelling spot. The coral there was quite damaged but there was still an abundance of fish. Everyone else was back in the boat and it was just Jan and I so we opted to swim back on our own. That’s when we encountered the bat fish. Jan got it to nibble his toes. They didn’t like mine 🙂

March 6
I slept like a baby in a rocking cradle. After breakfast we set sail for Langford reef where we walked the sand spit and then went snorkeling, always watchful for turtles. After about 1.5 hours I felt the need to dry off a bit. Silly as I was wearing a sting suit and since it’s so hard to get on and off and had no intention of removing it yet, so after a 10 minute break, was back in the water. I tried the the hand jet thing, kicked it in to third gear and buzzed all over the place. I felt like James Bond. Lots of fun 🙂
Jan shouted TURTLE and I was back in the mask and snorkel. It ended up being just the two of us. Others were watching from the dingy. Dave brought everyone else back to the boat and told us we could have 20 minutes more. Nice!
I hosed myself down, peeled off the sting suit and thoroughly enjoyed the wraps prepared by Brittany. The sail back to Airlie was exciting but we’re getting used to it. Dave says he rarely does more than 10 knots in this boat but we’d hit that several times over the last 3 days. Fun!!
We checked into the hostel where there was a message waiting from the doc. After doing a load of laundry, hanging it on the line I walked over to find out what was up. Apparently I’m on wrong drug so she wrote me another scrip. For someone who never takes pills I’m carrying a lot.
Supper was a local noodle shop. Different and pretty tasty. For dessert we went to McD’s for our 30 cent ice cream and went for a walk. We heard so someone holler across the street and there was Chris (from our Outback tour) waiting for pizza. After chatting with him a bit, and laughing at his antics,we headed back and repacked our suitcases. Again. Clean clothes. Yay!
I’m tanned darker than I’ve been in years yet still I managed to burn today. I got my neck, ears and the white lines on my feet burnt. Oh well. Even those who use sunscreen miss patches.

Another pretty fish 🙂

Funny clams. I loved watching them 🙂

White haven beach at high tide

Whitehaven beach at low tide

March 7; Tried to leave the dorm as quietly as possible, had some yogurt and granola in the kitchen and waited for the rain to slow down before walking to the bus stop. Thus began our all day bus ride. There’s supposed to be wifi on the bus but no one had any luck connecting. Oh well. The scenery was nice. Farmland changed to sugar cane crops with the odd break for bananas. We passed through a jungle area too. I could edit some photos and read a book. Good day to relax 🙂
The stop at Townsville resulted in a bus change as there was something broken somewhere so we had to unload all the luggage, wait about a half hour and load it all again. No wifi on this one and one ofvthe last guys to load had a BAD odour problem. He stunk up the whole bus. Many had various articles of clothing over their noses. Some one tried perfume. Then it smelled like b.o..AND perfume. Yuck. We all turned up the air which helped a bit.
We arrived in Cairns over an hour late and were supposed to stop at the travel agent and confirm the reef trip but they were closed. All this reconfirming things is annoying. We were supposed to do it for the Fraser trip but forgot and that was fine. I asked at a dive shop and the guy told me where to get the boat and that we shouldn’t need to reconfirm if we have a voucher.
The check in at the hostel took forever. Apparently Sue’s name was spelled wrong and she was French. Sheesh. We dragged our bags up to the second floor to find a young man there. Pretty sure we booked a female dorm we trudged back to reception where I asked to see our voucher. I pointed out FEMALE dorm. SIGH. More punching buttons on the computer. I again told Sue that our pencil and paper works MUCH better than computers. I could have checked in a whole family, rented them a boat and sold them fishing licences in the time it took them to check 2 women into a room. The young man offered to carry my bag upstairs and I told him to never mind, but take Sue’s. It has wheels and is heavier. We ended up having a 6 person dorm to ourselves. Nice!
Next we went in search of supper and found a place with a $13 special that included a drink. I guzzled my beer while waiting for food. Sue reminded me it was BEER, not water. Lol
After walking the trek to the pier to make sure we knew how to get there and how long it would take we headed for bed. Thus ended the second day since the trip started that I took NO photos 🙂

Dave, our skipper

Sue, loving the speedy, adventurous sailing!

Gold Coast, Noosa, Fraser Island and Rainbow Beach

Posted on March 2, 2014

Feb 27
Yesterday ended up being a lazy day as Sue was tired and I was dealing with a u.t.i. Turns out that’s a common traveller’s problem as the pharmacists I spoke with were very helpful. After a nice stop at the Royal National park we headed for the airport again. Tiger Air has a bad reputation but so far, we’ve had good luck with them. The transit to the hostel from the airport in Gold Coast ended up costing more than the flight. Go figure. We arrived at the hostel to find 2 girls who had taken up every inch of space in the very nice room. It was one of the nicest rooms we’d come across but they were such slobs you wouldn’t know it. They were very nice, just incredibly messy. After all the hostels this was a first so we’re doing pretty well. They went out and we went in search of breakfast food. The fridge in the room meant we got to have yogurt. Yay 🙂 The time here at Surfers paradise was an hour behind so a 10 pm bedtime was very reasonable.
After a great night’s sleep we packed up again and headed for the bus stop, in search of coffee. Turns out Subway has decent coffee for a reasonable price. We’ve eaten lots of subs on this trip as it’s pretty much the cheapest decent food there is and now coffee too! Yup, I”m easily pleased.

We’ve learned more Aussie speak and how to pronounce the names of towns. Melbourne is “Melburn”, Cairns is “Caans” and Brisbane is “Brisbin”

A pleasant bus ride ended in Noosa where the Halse hostel had a van waiting for us driven by a pleasant, shoeless young man with a German accent. He introduced us to the highlights as in, the cheapest grocery store, which way to the beach and what the hostel has to offer. I love this town already. 🙂 After making our beds and settling in, Sue and I quickly donned swim suits and headed out for a nice walk in the National park, nothing terribly strenuous but it didn’t take long to work up a sweat. Next was the beach…or beaches. They go on forever. The sand is super soft and I soon realized the squeaky sound I heard was my FEET in the sand. Weird, but pleasant. The water was gorgeous! Clear, clean and just barely cool enough to be refreshing.
After heading back for a shower we went in search of fish for dinner. I’m not sure how but we ended up at a Mexican place and both devoured our food. I guess we were hungry.

Feb 28
Good thing we gained that hour as we had to meet the bus / truck at 6:15 am. The first stop was at Tin Can bay where we could pay $5 to feed the dolphins. It was kind of lame. The dolphins come into the cove as they know there’s food there but you get pushed through like as assembly line. Feed the dolphin the token fish and move on, no time even for a photo. We were supposed to have time after but by then the dolphins left when they realized there’s no more food. Oh well.

After a brief stop in Rainbow beach to get an apple turnover and a coffee, drop our luggage off at our next hostel we headed for the ferry through forest, farmland, and lots of pretty scenery. Fraser Island is a massive sand island and a Unesco world heritage sight. Stu drove the 4WD on the beach around driftwood and through rivers. We stopped for a hike in the bush to a lookout point where we could see for miles. Next stop was at Eli creek where we floated in the wonderfully, clean, refreshing water downstream and had lunch. After that we headed to Indian head, a climb up to view beaches from North to South and we could see shadows of sharks herding fish to eat. Next was a stop at the shipwreck, Mahano where I snapped a LOT of photos. We ended the day at Happy Valley, our accommodation for the night. Sue and I headed out for more beach walking where we saw a blue bottle jellyfish. Monique can attest to the fact that their stings really hurt. I also managed to get a photo of a fish eagle with a puffer fish. Dinner was steak and salad for me. I asked for extra salad and no chips. There were no chips but I think they just spread the salad around more. It’s hard to eat right here.
March 1; Today’s start was leisurely as we had to wait for the tide to wane before driving on the beach (the Fraser highway) anyway. We “drove” through the centre of the island. I use the term “drove” loosely as there was more bouncing than driving. It’s amazing how many different kinds of vegetation there are on a sand island. We stopped for a walk through a rain forest. An incredibly clean, clear creek ran through it and all you could here were cicadas and birds.
After tea and more bouncing we headed to Lake Mackenzie with Stu entertaining us with more stories and information about the island. The sand is silica and as soft as powder. It made a great exfoliating scrub. The lake is pure rain fed and slightly acidic with a hint of tea tree oil from the melaluca plants surrounding it. Delightfully refreshing
A kookabura watched as we ate lunch, hoping we’d leave him some (NOT!)u but we were too hungry for any leftovers.
The way back was even bouncier and definitely required seat belts until we hit the Fraser highway, back on the ferry and then onto another beach. Stu drove for a bit, finished the story about James and Eliza Fraser and stopped at Rainbow beach. From there, Sue, Gosha and I walked the hour or so town where we checked into our hostel. We went in search of food and free wifi. The fun never ends when you’re frugal 🙂

Having a facial in Lake Mackenzie.

Our transport

A dingo casing us to see if we leave any scraps.

One of the many beaches on Fraser Island

Another beach on Fraser

A crab in the barnacles on the Mahela shipwreck

The shipwreck

Yep

Blue bottle jelly fish. Apparently it has a nasty sting

Fish eagle with a parrot fish

One of the tamer tracks through the interior. It’s hard to get a photo when you’re bouncing

Lake MacKenzie

Kookaburra watching for scraps while we eat lunch

Sydney. Beaches, city lights, mountains and beyond

Posted on February 26, 2014

Feb 22

Previous post: Darwin, Kakadu and Litchfield National parks. Waterfalls and rainforest.

A 4.5 hour flight that leaves at 1 am means very little sleep but we planned it that way to make time spent travelling more efficient. I used our early arrival time by finishing a blog post with Sidney airport’s free wifi.

Monique picked us up and showed us a few highlights in the city along the way to her and Mark’s apartment. We chatted for a bit and headed out for the Blue Mountains. After a stop at Monique’s favourite cafe for chai tea, a few stops at look out points where we oohed and awed over the beauty of the area we hiked down to a water fall. Next stop was the “Three Sisters” where we waited for the sunset. By this time we were all starving so stopped for fish and chips that we devoured in the car until we reached our final destination, a cottage at Merroo, a Christian retreat centre in an incredibly beautiful area.

Wentworth falls

Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains

Feb 23

I slept till 7:30 am. Nice! It was a relaxing day. Sue and I did went out exploring and just spent a couple hours walking, enjoying nature and the sounds of the birds in the beauty of the Blue Mountains. At the cottage we had lunch, chatted and headed back to Sidney.
Monday, Feb 24
The kookaburra woke me up early and after a skype call home, breakfast, yummy coffee and consulting on the what the next few days would include we headed out.

Another view of Wentworth falls

Went worth falls

Just a pretty bird

Princess parrot?

The three sisters

Feb 24

After seriously enjoying Monique’s home made granola with Greek yogurt she dropped us off at Coogee and Sue and I walked the ocean path to Bondi beach. Gorgeous views are everywhere along Sydney’s coast line! At Bondi we found a back packer travel agent. Athena was excellent and spent a couple of hours booking everything we need for the next 2 weeks of travel. We went off and had dinner and when we came back she had hostel vouchers, bus tickets, tour vouchers, reef dive and sailing trips all booked. Nice! Tailor made, self guided tour, here we come!

Bondi beach

The ocean walk from Coogee to Bondi is beautiful!

Feb 25

We bought a full day public transit pass and took the train to the city where we walked across the Sydney bridge. It’s huge and offers great views of massive harbour. You can climb to the top of the bridge for $200 but the bridge itself was fine by me.
At Circular Quay we caught the ferry to Manly. Through the town and on the other side is the open ocean and more beaches which, I think, are the nicest ones I’d seen in Sydney. There’s a big open beach for surfers, Shelly beach for snorkeling annd a marine park and a really nice nature trail.
After lunch we headed back to Sydney and took another ferry to Darling Harbour which was another happening place. A gelato helped cool us off as we walked in the 30 degree afternoon sun. e
We met up with friends Sue had met in China and Michelle, whom I’d met in Peru and had a really nice dinner together at Pancakes on the Rocks. By the time we got back on the train is was after 11pm and we were exhausted. Mark was sweet enough to pick us up at the train station and save us that last 10 minute walk. I told Monique she should keep him. 🙂

Darling Harbour. You can visit this ship and even sail on it …. for a price

Valentines day boats?

Sydney bridge, a train going over it, bikers, bridge climbers and the opera house behind

In front of the opera house and a couple of ferries at Circular Quay

I liked this plaque at Manly Beach

Manly beach, my favourite I think 🙂

The opera house

View from the Sydney bridge

View of the bridge

Water lizard at Manly

Manly

Water lizard at Manly

Feb 26

After a relaxing morning, Monique took us to the national park for a quick walk before dropping us off at the airport and going to work. It’s only 10 minutes from her home and what a delightful place! There’s lots of wildlife so we just wandered about and took photos before heading out, hugged Monique good bye and hung around at the airport for a bit.

Coot in the National park

Kookaburras in a row

Lace monitor being watched

Darwin, Kakadu and Litchfield National parks. Waterfalls and rainforest.

Posted on February 24, 2014

Feb 20

I awoke to jungle sounds and sunshine! We’re incredibly lucky as this has a been their rainiest wet season in a long time. Everything is flooded and you can’t swim the usual places as crocs have moved in. It’s obvious why we’re in a 4WD bus that’s really high as we travel down flooded roads deep into Kakadu National park.

Our first hike was a short one up a rock to a lookout with a fantastic view of Kakadu. 9 am and a bathing suit top and shorts is still too many clothes. On the way to the next one we sopped to see if Heath could find a particular grasshopper. Lucky again as he found one and it was a beauty! Further into the park and down roads you’d definitely need the 4wd drive as there were rivers running across we came to the next hike. 3Km in was a beautiful waterfall which. Heat assured us had no crocs despite earlier warning signs. We had a great time playing in the water and taking silly photos. Some opted to keep going higher but i was happy playing in the water. ,Sue, Mollie, Zoe and I enjoyed the place till they got back and walked back to the bus where lunch was wraps and leftovers from last night’s barbecue. Heath found another nest of the green bum ants and crushed them up in some leaves. We all got to smell it and Zoe inhaled it as it helps clear your sinuses. She said it really worked.

Back in the bus and a brief stop for fuel which meant … ice cream! I’d already lost my maxi bon virginity, an absolutely awesome Aussie treat and today I got a Golden gay something or other which was almost as wonderful.

Our accommodation this night was another one of those box things which is very comfy…. as long as the AC continues to work. First priority was silly photos on a broken jeep and a man offered to take some for us. Heath came by and told the random man to get in and we took more. Everyone needs an authentic Aussie in a photo or two..

After more pool antics during which we watch storm clouds brew in, I headed for a shower. It felt so nice to be clean! Then came the rain.

Sebastian asked to use my computer as he had an issue with his flight. After some research he realized he had the date wrong and was flying TONIGHT, not tomorrow! Uh oh. He tried to change it to no avail and went to get his bag and figure out how to get to Darwin. The lock on his room door jammed, That took several guys several tools to figure out and finally Sebastian climbed through the window and opened it from the inside. He and Heath scrambled to find him a ride. No one was going to Darwin so he had to call a taxi, very expensive but no other options. Then the taxi driver called that the storm had raised the flood level and he couldn’t get through. So, he ended up paying a fisherman staying here to take him across the river in his 4WD to meet the taxi. Apparently yesterday the road was closed to trucks weighing more than 4.5 kg so that limited his options as well as there aren’t any truckers to hitch a ride wit. Hopefully he caught his flight. Now THAT is a travel story!

Our truck weighs 4.5 kg ….empty. So, we may have to walk behind it.

Heath made us a great green curry stir fry for dinner (with our help of course) we sat around chatting for a bit in various languages (mostly German) and went to bed. I climbed on it the top bunk and my bum just about went through the slats. Sue thought it would be funny if I got stuck. Nice. 😛

I’ve learned to say “you’re an idiot” in Chinese and “butterfly” in German. Yay me 🙂

Bored of group photos, we decided frolicking was in order.

Termites building nests on top of these pants 🙂

Cute little lizard

Typical sign

Most of the roads are closed and many of those open require 4wd

We had no idea who he was but he decorates the jeep well.[/caption]

View of Kakadu

Feb 21

On the road by 7 am having had breakfast and everything, we headed for Litchfield National Park and the termite mounds. There are several different kinds, all of which are very strange and fascinating. Next was a stop at a waterfall which was toi flooded to swim in. The next waterfall was beautiful and a 2 km hike in. Although it too was flooded we swam anyway and had such fun trying to swim the current and taking silly photos. The hike out was really nice with a stop to visit some flying foxes. I only had my waterproof camera so couldn’t get a decent photo. Most of the bridges had been swept away and the path flooded in many areas. Heath had never seen it so bad.
Back at the bus we set up lunch, well, the other’s did. I grabbed my good camera to go and take some fun shots of the waterfall. Then came back for a gourmet sandwich.
Back on the bus we headed for the last waterfall of the day which was spectacular.
Heath left us in Darwin by 5 pm and, after sorting our bags for a flight, trying to get some internet time at McDonald’s we joined the others for our “last supper”. After sad good byes Lena, Sue, Yvonne and I got in a taxi and headed for the airport. I’m going to miss this bunch. We had SUCH fun together!

Yes, we are very strong and doing a good job of holding up that rock

Holding onto a boulder so we don’t float away

Jess likes to photo bomb water fall pictures. Why not?

Before going for a swim, goofy pictures on a rusty jeep are a must

Alice Springs, Ghan train, Katherine, Darwin and Kakadu National Park

Posted on February 24, 2014

Feb 17

It’s a chillax day. Sue, Mollie and I combined our laundry so we could efficiently do a light and dark load and then hung it up to dry. It is awesome to have a bag of full of clean clothes instead of having to pick your cleanest dirty shirt.

The hostel room had coffee and we scarfed a bowl of cereal with milk from the trailer so saved a few bucks on breakfast. Free wifi meant I could skype home and got to talk to Stephanie, Mike and Jackson while Chloe just stared at me like she wondered what I was doing in the computer.

Dingo gave us a ride into Alice Springs to check out the town, hit the ATM and pick up snacks for the train. We ended up at an ice cream shop that had pistachio ice cream so I HAD to have one. Call it lunch.

The train station had free wifi as well so finished a blog entry. I’ve already taken almost a thousand photos and it’s really hard to choose favourites to put on the blog.

The Ghan train was quite comfy with nice reclining seats but no foot rests so, again, my feet puffed up. The AC was cranked so we had to bundle up and I woke up a few times cold anyway even with, in my sleep sheet and a scarf, I was chilled. Silly when it’s so hot outside.

At 9 am we stopped in Katherine and were transferred by bus to the gorge where we hoped to swim. Nope. The river had flooded so the crocs could get past the fence so it was too dangerous. So, we went on a hike. It was only 3 or 4 km altogether but HOT and very humid. We’re now in the tropics.

Back at the cultural centre some of us went to the bathroom and soaked our heads under the cold water tap…VERY refreshing.

In 2006 there was a cyclone that caused such flooding that when the water receded there were 3 crocs in Woolworths, one of which was over 3 metres long. They were in some homes as well.

After dinner at a bar, Sebastian and I snuck out early as neither of us is a fan of the noise and mayhem. I tried purchasing wifi but after an hour of farting around and it didn’t work I got my money back and went to bed.

Feb. 19

We were up and ready by 6 am as requested and got more and more grumpy when the tour guide didn’t show. Finally he arrived shortly after 7 am to a group, most of whom had been partying too late and the rest of us needing coffee. Apparently there was a miscommunication. Pick up is at 7 in the rainy season.
Heath redeemed himself with a fantastic day. First was a cruise with “Spectacular River Cruises” on the Adelaide River which is infested with HUGE salt water crocs. We were again incredibly lucky to see “Michael Jackson”, a 5 metre croc with a white face, a smaller croc and Hannibal, a 7 metre croc that is estimated to weigh close to a ton. Scary beasts! Crystal would coax them with raw buffalo meat and they had to jump 4 times to get it. The idea is to make them work for it so they go away just as hungry as they came and have to forage for their own food.
We drove further into Kakadu National park, got our passes and went for a walk where Heath texplained the rock paintings and aboriginal culture. I tried the Kakadu plum. Apparently they make quinine from it but it was just really bitter and numbed my tongue. Heath found some ants that when you annoy them their bums get really green. As instructed, I picked it up by the head and licked it’s bum. It tasted really lemony! The day had started out with pouring rain but dried nicely for us.
We stopped at a resort pool and went for a VERY refreshing dip before getting to camp where dinner prep started. Heath barbecued beef sausage, steak, kangaroo and crocodile…way too much meat but VERY tasty
After sitting around the fire and trying to play the didgereedo which is much harder than it looks, we went for a night walk. We saw a few toads, spiders, lizards a LOT of stars and then got totally freaked out by crocodile eyes on the flooded road. Well, I was freaked. Heath was quite calm.
Too many bugs in the wet season for swags so we slept in tent structures. There’s no power or running water so it’s still camping 🙂

Michael Jackson 🙂

Hannibal

Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory

Cane toad…serious pest

Heath barbecuing beef sausage, steak, kangaroo and crocodile

Sun licking an ant’s bum

Me and the carpet python

King’s Creek, King’s Canyon, a salt lake and dinner on an open fire

Posted on February 23, 2014

The previous post can be found here: https://whereisgrandma.com/2014/02/21/yulara-uluru-ayers-rock/

Feb 15

I slept like a baby and didn’t wake until after 6:30 am. I’m a new woman. We took our time getting ready to go ‘so I took a leisurely shower and managed to get my feet clean. That ended up being a waste of time as our first stop was climbing up a sand dune (red sand of course) and onto a salt lake (mud). To take more silly photos. Yup, I was filthy from the knees down.

Dingo said we had to stop and get campfire wood so I assumed a roadside stand selling boxes or bundles of wood. Silly me. No, it means stop the bus on the side of the road and everyone find deadwood. He was very specific about what he wanted too. I took video as it was pretty funny.

Our destination was King’s Creek. After unpacking some went for a swim and some of us helped with dinner prep. My job was to make dough for bread which was just self rising flour and water. Weird. I’ve never made break like that. A few of us walked to the shop to get online. It was painfully slow so we got the basics done and went to watch the sunset. Andy, Chris and Dingo being the exhibitionists they are insisted it was best viewed naked. So, many of the sunset photos include bare butts. Silly boys.

Dinner was cooked over the fire and what a dinner! We had chili, rice, potatoes, yams, onions & carrots as well as a kangaroo tail and damper bread laced with Dingo’s secret ingredient….chocolate.

Cooking dinner on the fire

Gathering fire wood

Running away from the dingo on the salt flat

The crew who gathered firewood

Just a few steps….

Just a little bridge

I don’t want to get too close!

There goes Mollie!

Nice guy Chris

Inside King’s Canyon

The garden of Eden

Are there pigmy koalas in that ghost gum tree?

I dunno…think we can fix that tire?

Hkiing in King’s Canyon

Ummm I thought that was supposed to say Welcome to Alice Springs?

Rain on ULURU?! Ayer’s Rock in the RAIN?! How lucky am I?

Posted on February 21, 2014

Feb 13, 2014

Yulara

Previous post: The painted hills, worst of the outback and Coober Pedy

Playing silly games to alleviate boredom on the road. You get points when a bug hits your target.

I don’t know what day it is. We had a long drive ahead of us so up super early and on the road by 4 am. Well. 4:04 am. Not bad really.

Dingo drove while the bus slept. Well, some did Jess and I kept Dingo amused chatting and playing silly games. We stopped for a sunrise, breakfast on the road and Mount Connor (otherwise known as Fooluru). The vegetation again changed along the way, becoming greener and more treed with an odd looking tree called desert oak.

After checking into the campground we went for a swim, caroused for a bit and then headed off to the rock. I thought of bringing my poncho on the walk but it never rains on Uluru so left it in the bus. We set off on the 7 km walk, enjoying the view when I noted the top of the rock was steaming. Isn’t that cool? Uh oh. Then the rain came. I tried to protect my camera but was wearing a bathing suit top which isn’t much protection. What a sight!!! Rain on Uluru is SO rare and here we were … RIGHT THERE!! It poured for about 10 minutes and waterfalls appeared EVERYWHERE. Then, as quickly as it started, it stopped and the waterfalls dried up. We were soaked but oh so excited.

Back at the bus Dingo asked “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LUCKY YOU ARE???!” He’s been here many times and has never seen that.

My camera is still taking photos but the menu is doing funny things and the down button the dial doesn’t work at all. I”m hoping the electronics dry out and it’s fine.

Next we headed out to the vantage point to watch the sunset. It wasn’t very colourful but we got lots of silly photos, had some crackers and dip and carried on back to the campsite where we started dinner. Dingo barbecued chicken, pork and kangaroo steak. I was exhausted but determined to get on the internet even though was 9 pm by the time we ate and have another early morning tomorrow.

Feb 14. Apparently it’s Friday. A skype call home meant I hit the sack late and was beyond exhausted so sleep didn’t come easily. Then someone decided to open their zippers and have a chat in Chinese in the middle of the night and someone else’s alarm went off at 3 am. I finally gave up at 4 am and did internet stuff. You can sleep when you’re dead, right?

After watching the sun come up over Uluru, we headed to Kata Tjura for today’s hike which was quite a bit more strenuous than yesterdays. Again I challenged my fear of heights. Yay. The views were gorgeous though with unheard of greenery for this part of the country. Again, we’re incredibly lucky! Dingo told us more Aboriginal stories and history of Australia. He keeps it even more interesting by throwing in the odd story of his own, which are …. highly unlikely 😀

Back at the camp for lunch most opted for a rest rather than a swim. I thought of going swimming but decided instead to catch up on internet stuff. After all, I paid for it. Better use it 🙂

On the bus and back to the Rock. Uluru (Aboriginal name) is the biggest monolith in the world and is even more impressive now that I understand what that means. For the 10 years leading up to 2010 the area endured a serious drought and there was very little vegetation that survived. Over the last 3 years it’s been better but still gets very little rain. It might happen 5 or 6 times a year and yet today again we happened to be there when it poured. EVERY one we met was excited about it. Dingo took us to a few different sites and told us aboriginal stories about each. He’s a great story teller with a passion for preserving native culture. He explained the significance of the rock to the aboriginals and why climbing the rock is offensive to their culture. The hike at Kata Tjura is more impressive but the history and significance of Uluru is fascinating.

Again we travelled to the sunset viewing area and set up a table with cheese, crackers, dip and ….champagne. As the sun went down the colours got brighter and brighter till we were blessed with one that would rival sunsets we have at home on Rice Lake. The full moon, glowing Uluru and sunset was AMAZING and again we were blessed.

We packed everything up and got back on the bus where Dingo carried it on with “appropriate” music played really loud, lights flashing and about as much dancing as you can do from a bus seat. Once in the campground he drove the bus round the traffic circle till we were dizzy. He parked the bus, jumped from his seat and did a strip dance up and down the bus to “I’m too Sexy”. Again, so much laughter that I hurt and I know I wasn’t the only one.

Next thing you know he’s back in the driver’s seat with his serious face talking about what’s happening tomorrow. Zoe hollered that she had a hard time taking him seriously after that “display”. Yup. I don’t know how he does it. He seems to have endless energy, creativity and knows how to have fun.

Sue and I dragged our swags way back into the field as it doesn’t look like rain and put in the ear plugs. I NEED some sleep.

Here comes the rain

Kata Tjura

RAIN! Water falls on Uluru.

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Where in the world is Jodi?

Adventure travel for the young at heart. I haven't been everywhere but it's on my list!

Author Archives: Jodi

Waitomo caves, Glow worms, Tongariro National park, Whakapapa ski hill

Raglan! Learning to surf, kayaking and a sunset cruise

Auckland, The Bay Islands and Paihia

Cape Tribulation, Rain forest, Northern Queensland

Great Barrier Reef from Cairns

Airlie Beach, Whitsundays, Great Barrier Reef

Gold Coast, Noosa, Fraser Island and Rainbow Beach

Sydney. Beaches, city lights, mountains and beyond

Darwin, Kakadu and Litchfield National parks. Waterfalls and rainforest.

Alice Springs, Ghan train, Katherine, Darwin and Kakadu National Park

King’s Creek, King’s Canyon, a salt lake and dinner on an open fire

Rain on ULURU?! Ayer’s Rock in the RAIN?! How lucky am I?

Back at the bus Dingo asked “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LUCKY YOU ARE???!” He’s been here many times and has never seen that.

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Back at the bus Dingo asked “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LUCKY YOU ARE???!” He’s been here many times and has never seen that.

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