After the Whitsundays I left Airlie Beach pretty quickly on the Greyhound to head up to Townsville. Not so much to see Townsville, but to go to Magnetic Island. At the time though I figured, why not check out Townsville at the same time? Because there's not much worth checking out, that's why.
The people made a great impression on me (a fellow backpacker that had been living there for awhile helped me out with directions as soon as I pulled out my map), but the town did not. Admittedly, I had a particularly unfortunate experience. I went to check into my hostel at the very reasonable hour (especially by backpacker standards) of 8:30. The front desk had been closed since 7. I had to call someone to get a code to get my key out of a lock box. The only pay phone was broken. Luckily, it was nice backpackers to the rescue again and someone let me borrow their mobile. I finally got checked into my room, only to find that it smelled like old cheese. Lovely.
So, I thought, what better way to make up for a little bad luck than with a good dinner and maybe a splurge on a nice glass of red wine? Well, there would have to be somewhere open to eat at for that to be a solution. The only place that seemed to still have their kitchen open was a restaurant that wouldn't let me in with my flip-flops. I finally settled for street pizza (a ridiculous $4 compared to the $2 at home!) followed by my much craved glass of wine at a bar. I went to bed feeling a bit better and looking forward to checking out the next morning.
Unfortunately, the next morning came a little sooner than planned. I was awoken early by what may have been stomach flu, but I'm guessing was food poisoning from my lovely street pizza experience. As soon as reception was open and I could drag myself out of bed, I moved into a private room and spent the day being ill. Boo. There's nothing quite as lonely as being really sick with absolutely no one to help you out. But I survived. By the evening I was well enough to make a trip to the grocery store for some popsicles and I was almost back to normal by the following morning. All ready to head over to Magnetic Island!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
My Whitsunday Sailing Adventure
The biggest thing to do in Australia seems to be sailing around the Whitsunday Islands, so I jumped on board (pardon the pun). The Whitsundays actually have a different collective name which I can't remember (but everyone just calls them the Whitsundays anyway so I don't feel that bad about it) with the largest of the islands being Whitsunday Island discovered by Captain Cook on Whitsunday, hence the name.
Due to lack of space on board, we were only allowed to bring on a small beach bag worth of stuff. So I got all my stuff rearranged, stored my excess with the hostel and trucked over to the sailing point. After an hour of waiting around we were told that the ship's captain had received some terrible news, couldn't work that day and they couldn't find a replacement. A disappointment to say the least. Luckily, I have the benefit of being quite flexible in my schedule and just signed up to go on the rescheduled sailing the next day.
In the time that we were waiting, I got to know one of the other girls that I'd be sailing with (a tiny Irish girl named Natalie) and we made plans to go out for a drink that night. So at least it wasn't a wasted evening.
Sailing adventure, take two, started the next day and went much better. We actually got to board the ship (the SV Whitehaven)! And with no other mishaps, we set sail soon afterwards.
As far as I was concerned, the day was a success as soon as we saw dolphins! And lots of them - 4 different pods of 3-6 dolphins each. It was tough to get a good shot of them, but I managed one:
We also had our first snorkel stop that day which was really neat. Loads of amazing fish and neat coral. Unfortunately, my waterproof camera isn't so good and knowing how much battery it has left so I didn't get any underwater shots on this trip. But I will when I hit the Great Barrier Reef! That night we stayed in a bay in Hook Island just North of Whitsunday Island where we enjoyed a couple free beers as compensation for the inconvenience of rescheduling. Not quite adequate compensation I'd say, but it was something I suppose.
The next day started early: 6:30am. Not my best hour. Not much choice in getting up though as my bunk, along with an unlucky few others, was located in the galley. The noise of breakfast prep couldn't be ignored. We started out by heading down to Whitsunday Island to go to the famous Whitehaven beach - beautiful white sands against turquoise water.
En route to the beach from our mooring spot, we had a quick bush walk and talk and learned some interesting things. Including the fact that green ants were eaten by the Aborigines as a source of vitamin C. The ants' green bums taste like lime - I confirmed this with a quick lick.
We had another amazing snorkel that afternoon. The guides threw some fish food in the water and they went crazy. We were completely surrounded by fish. We had a bit of an unexpected adventure during afternoon tea. With much of the Whitsunday Islands and surrounding reef being protected natural park, you have to be very careful about how you treat the area and what you leave behind. While we were all enjoying our coffee, one of the milk caps blew off boat into the water. The worst possible thing - plastic. So we got to spend a good 10 minutes driving the boat in small circles trying to catch the milk cap with the fire buckets. Eventually it was retrieved and we were on our way. The turtles thank us for that one. :) That night we stopped in another bay for dinner, beers and bedtime.
Another early morning got us home by about 11am. We actually sailed part of the way home (usually we just used the motor as the trip is a bit rushed), which successfully made everyone a little queasy. I, for one, was quite pleased when we switched back to the noisy motor. Overall, it was a great trip. Could have had slightly better weather and slightly less obnoxious crew, but you can't win 'em all.
Due to lack of space on board, we were only allowed to bring on a small beach bag worth of stuff. So I got all my stuff rearranged, stored my excess with the hostel and trucked over to the sailing point. After an hour of waiting around we were told that the ship's captain had received some terrible news, couldn't work that day and they couldn't find a replacement. A disappointment to say the least. Luckily, I have the benefit of being quite flexible in my schedule and just signed up to go on the rescheduled sailing the next day.
In the time that we were waiting, I got to know one of the other girls that I'd be sailing with (a tiny Irish girl named Natalie) and we made plans to go out for a drink that night. So at least it wasn't a wasted evening.
Sailing adventure, take two, started the next day and went much better. We actually got to board the ship (the SV Whitehaven)! And with no other mishaps, we set sail soon afterwards.
As far as I was concerned, the day was a success as soon as we saw dolphins! And lots of them - 4 different pods of 3-6 dolphins each. It was tough to get a good shot of them, but I managed one:
We also had our first snorkel stop that day which was really neat. Loads of amazing fish and neat coral. Unfortunately, my waterproof camera isn't so good and knowing how much battery it has left so I didn't get any underwater shots on this trip. But I will when I hit the Great Barrier Reef! That night we stayed in a bay in Hook Island just North of Whitsunday Island where we enjoyed a couple free beers as compensation for the inconvenience of rescheduling. Not quite adequate compensation I'd say, but it was something I suppose.
The next day started early: 6:30am. Not my best hour. Not much choice in getting up though as my bunk, along with an unlucky few others, was located in the galley. The noise of breakfast prep couldn't be ignored. We started out by heading down to Whitsunday Island to go to the famous Whitehaven beach - beautiful white sands against turquoise water.
En route to the beach from our mooring spot, we had a quick bush walk and talk and learned some interesting things. Including the fact that green ants were eaten by the Aborigines as a source of vitamin C. The ants' green bums taste like lime - I confirmed this with a quick lick.
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| Green ants! Yum! |
Another early morning got us home by about 11am. We actually sailed part of the way home (usually we just used the motor as the trip is a bit rushed), which successfully made everyone a little queasy. I, for one, was quite pleased when we switched back to the noisy motor. Overall, it was a great trip. Could have had slightly better weather and slightly less obnoxious crew, but you can't win 'em all.
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| My fellow boaters on our return to Airlie Beach |
Surf Photos!
Admittedly, these are from my second day, so I'm looking my best here (which still isn't awesome). I learned that the easiest way to speak surf lingo is to just shorten the word and add "y" to the end:
- wetsuit = wetty
- rash guard = rashy
- leg rope = leggy
You get the idea. Now you can speak like a surfer too!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Airlie Beach
So the next stop was Airlie Beach. Buuuuuut, I got to have a really lovely stop over in Brisbane for a few hours to visit Jon and Kieran - friends from back in Vancouver for those that don't know. They're living in Brissy for a couple years while Kieran goes to law school. So fun! Anyway, it was a quick stop but I got to see their apartment and enjoy a few beers on a patio with them before jumping back on the bus for the dreaded EIGHTEEN hour Greyhound ride. I've gotten pretty used to riding the bus again, but eighteen hours is just too long! Enough griping though. Obviously I survived.
And the ride did provide for one interesting stop. One of our meal stops was fairly late at night and it was quite dark out. Sitting outside waiting to reboard the bus, I could see something flying between the trees but couldn't quite tell what it was. At first, I thought they were crows, and quite large crows at that, even though that would have been really weird for them to be flying about at night. They turned out to be bats. GIANT bats! As I found out just a couple days ago on a wildlife walk, these are Australia's version of fruit bats. They can grow to have a wingspan of something like 6 feet. Good thing I didn't have any fruit on me.
I was quite happy to arrive in Airlie Beach to a beautiful day (luckily a few days after the dreaded 100% humidity day), tropical blue waters and the prospect of a shower. I ended up sharing my room with some really great fellow Canadians: Danielle, Steph and Jason. Before Steph and Jason arrived, Danielle and I dominated the hostel trivia night with a whopping 18/20! Okay, the guys we were paired up with got one or two of those, but us girls were the real reason that we won our bottle of champagne. The quiz master was particularly impressed that we knew how many squares there are on a Scrabble board (225).
The next day I spent checking out Airlie with the rest of team Canada. There's not much to see in Airlie Beach. There isn't even much of a beach. This is pretty much one street of town with some resorts that acts as a launching pad for sailing the Whitsunday Islands. We went swimming at the "lagoon" (an irregularly shaped pool with palm trees around it) and did a little shopping and got ice cream. At least there's a pretty view:
The highlight of the day was definitely the didgeridoo lesson! It was really quick (about 20 minutes) and mostly just a gimmick to try to get you to spend $300+ buying one (but it's a really good deal because they'll pay the shipping!), but super fun. I even managed to make a legitimate sounding didgeridoo noise! We left feeling a bit gross though because the mouthpiece of a didgeridoo is just a bunch of wax molded over the end of the wood which ends up all around your mouth. Wax mouth is not very pleasant.
Danielle, Steph and I attempted to dominate trivia again that night, but quickly learned that we weren't as smart as we thought we were. Oh well. Who needs to be smart when you're going to sail the Whitsunday Islands the next day?! (Okay, that doesn't make any sense, but I've got nothing better.)
Since the Whitsundays were such an adventure, they get their own post. Onward!
And the ride did provide for one interesting stop. One of our meal stops was fairly late at night and it was quite dark out. Sitting outside waiting to reboard the bus, I could see something flying between the trees but couldn't quite tell what it was. At first, I thought they were crows, and quite large crows at that, even though that would have been really weird for them to be flying about at night. They turned out to be bats. GIANT bats! As I found out just a couple days ago on a wildlife walk, these are Australia's version of fruit bats. They can grow to have a wingspan of something like 6 feet. Good thing I didn't have any fruit on me.
I was quite happy to arrive in Airlie Beach to a beautiful day (luckily a few days after the dreaded 100% humidity day), tropical blue waters and the prospect of a shower. I ended up sharing my room with some really great fellow Canadians: Danielle, Steph and Jason. Before Steph and Jason arrived, Danielle and I dominated the hostel trivia night with a whopping 18/20! Okay, the guys we were paired up with got one or two of those, but us girls were the real reason that we won our bottle of champagne. The quiz master was particularly impressed that we knew how many squares there are on a Scrabble board (225).
The next day I spent checking out Airlie with the rest of team Canada. There's not much to see in Airlie Beach. There isn't even much of a beach. This is pretty much one street of town with some resorts that acts as a launching pad for sailing the Whitsunday Islands. We went swimming at the "lagoon" (an irregularly shaped pool with palm trees around it) and did a little shopping and got ice cream. At least there's a pretty view:
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| Enjoying the "lagoon" |
The highlight of the day was definitely the didgeridoo lesson! It was really quick (about 20 minutes) and mostly just a gimmick to try to get you to spend $300+ buying one (but it's a really good deal because they'll pay the shipping!), but super fun. I even managed to make a legitimate sounding didgeridoo noise! We left feeling a bit gross though because the mouthpiece of a didgeridoo is just a bunch of wax molded over the end of the wood which ends up all around your mouth. Wax mouth is not very pleasant.
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| Jason, Me, Danielle and Steph rockin' our didges |
Danielle, Steph and I attempted to dominate trivia again that night, but quickly learned that we weren't as smart as we thought we were. Oh well. Who needs to be smart when you're going to sail the Whitsunday Islands the next day?! (Okay, that doesn't make any sense, but I've got nothing better.)
Since the Whitsundays were such an adventure, they get their own post. Onward!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Surfer's Paradise
Surfer's was a bit of a bust again due to rain. Not much to do here but shop or go to fancy clubs (which I definitely don't have the clothes for) when it's raining. I spent a lot of time reading and did do a bit of shopping as I was starting to get pretty tired of my tiny wardrobe. Luckily there were loads of cheap shops, so I was able to pick up a couple of new shirts without breaking the bank.
I spent just a couple of days in Surfer's before deciding that I should hightail it out of this land of crap weather and get up North where it would be warm and sunny. Of course, the morning that I was checking out it was lovely and sunny, so I deked down to the beach for a couple of hours before I had to go.
Next up, Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays!
I spent just a couple of days in Surfer's before deciding that I should hightail it out of this land of crap weather and get up North where it would be warm and sunny. Of course, the morning that I was checking out it was lovely and sunny, so I deked down to the beach for a couple of hours before I had to go.
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| View of Surfer's Paradise from Main Beach (just North of the city) |
Byron
Having never heard the word "shire" used outside the context of Bilbo's homeland, I was quite tickled to see that the town everyone calls Byron Bay is actually called Shire of Byron. Everyone I have ever talked to about Australia has absolutely raved about Byron Bay. Unfortunately, my visit was a bit of a let down as it was raining most of the time. And not even just normal rain, but torrential downpour, you get soaked just crossing the street kind of rain. Despite that, there were definitely a few big trip highlights on this stop.
First off, I got to stay in a teepee. Okay, well, not quite a teepee. It was more like a small circus tent with bunk beds in it:
This was at the Arts Factory Lodge, recommended to me by my lovely cousin Katie. It was a great place to stay, particularly on the rainy days because they actually had a movie theatre which I did check out one night to see Salt (enjoyed it, but was annoyed by the ending). This is also where I met Cockatoo Paul:
Cockatoo Paul is the one on the left. With the cockatoo (Mr. Pickles) in his lap. He's a totally weird, over the top outback kind of guy that runs the social events at the hostel. I have no idea who the guy on the right is. He was just there. Anyway, Paul took us on a bush tucker walk around the hostel grounds and showed us what we could eat in the bush, how to find water, what plants are useful for other things, etc. He even showed us how to make rope out of the inner fibres of some plant that I don't remember. It was turned into a bracelet for me, which I don't have a very good picture of. Hopefully it's still in tact when I get home.
That night there was a talent show at the hostel. There seems to be a disproportionate number of backpackers that know how to play the guitar and sing well. I am not one of them. The talent show was a highlight though mostly because that is where I met Emma:
Emma and I were pretty much inseparable for the next day and a half before she had to head home to Brisbane. We took the opportunity presented by the torrential rains to do a little shopping around Byron and try on anything we fancied and then followed it up by losing fairly badly at trivia back at the hostel that night. It was sad to part ways and I'm very excited to be seeing her again in Brisbane when I head back down there.
Next big highlight - surf lessons! Unfortunately, I can't post pictures at the moment as they're on a CD which I can't put in these computers. I'll post them as soon as I can! I took two surf lessons over two days. It was super fun despite the fact that I was dreadful. Though I did get standing up a few times my first day and a bunch more my second day. Since I hadn't spent much time in the ocean before coming to Australia, I was quite surprised at just how strong the currents and waves are. It was a struggle just to wade out far enough to try to surf. Then I'd fall off and have to do it all again. But totally worth it! I am glad that I didn't opt for a third day of lessons though. I don't think my little spaghetti arms would have survived it.
While trivia night was a bust in terms of our intelligence, I did win a tour to a town called Nimbin in a draw. As it turns out, Nimbin is a small little hippy town with nothing going for it but easily accessible pot. Given that that wasn't really my thing, this little day trip was a waste of time even being free. We spent at least half of the 8 hours on a bus and the BBQ lunch was nothing special. But you live, you learn, right? At least I don't have to wonder if I missed out on anything by not going.
Nimbin was the last of my Byron Bay adventures before I moved on Surfer's Paradise. Coming up next!
First off, I got to stay in a teepee. Okay, well, not quite a teepee. It was more like a small circus tent with bunk beds in it:
This was at the Arts Factory Lodge, recommended to me by my lovely cousin Katie. It was a great place to stay, particularly on the rainy days because they actually had a movie theatre which I did check out one night to see Salt (enjoyed it, but was annoyed by the ending). This is also where I met Cockatoo Paul:
Cockatoo Paul is the one on the left. With the cockatoo (Mr. Pickles) in his lap. He's a totally weird, over the top outback kind of guy that runs the social events at the hostel. I have no idea who the guy on the right is. He was just there. Anyway, Paul took us on a bush tucker walk around the hostel grounds and showed us what we could eat in the bush, how to find water, what plants are useful for other things, etc. He even showed us how to make rope out of the inner fibres of some plant that I don't remember. It was turned into a bracelet for me, which I don't have a very good picture of. Hopefully it's still in tact when I get home.
That night there was a talent show at the hostel. There seems to be a disproportionate number of backpackers that know how to play the guitar and sing well. I am not one of them. The talent show was a highlight though mostly because that is where I met Emma:
Emma and I were pretty much inseparable for the next day and a half before she had to head home to Brisbane. We took the opportunity presented by the torrential rains to do a little shopping around Byron and try on anything we fancied and then followed it up by losing fairly badly at trivia back at the hostel that night. It was sad to part ways and I'm very excited to be seeing her again in Brisbane when I head back down there.
Next big highlight - surf lessons! Unfortunately, I can't post pictures at the moment as they're on a CD which I can't put in these computers. I'll post them as soon as I can! I took two surf lessons over two days. It was super fun despite the fact that I was dreadful. Though I did get standing up a few times my first day and a bunch more my second day. Since I hadn't spent much time in the ocean before coming to Australia, I was quite surprised at just how strong the currents and waves are. It was a struggle just to wade out far enough to try to surf. Then I'd fall off and have to do it all again. But totally worth it! I am glad that I didn't opt for a third day of lessons though. I don't think my little spaghetti arms would have survived it.
While trivia night was a bust in terms of our intelligence, I did win a tour to a town called Nimbin in a draw. As it turns out, Nimbin is a small little hippy town with nothing going for it but easily accessible pot. Given that that wasn't really my thing, this little day trip was a waste of time even being free. We spent at least half of the 8 hours on a bus and the BBQ lunch was nothing special. But you live, you learn, right? At least I don't have to wonder if I missed out on anything by not going.
Nimbin was the last of my Byron Bay adventures before I moved on Surfer's Paradise. Coming up next!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Newcastle
Being a very sprawling city, Newcastle is much bigger than it seemed. I stayed at a hostel just a minute's walk off the beach and that area in general was pretty sparse and lowkey - not much to do besides sit on the beach which was okay with me after lots of city life.
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| My hostel - Newcastle YHA. It used to be a residence for the doctors and nurses that worked at the local hospital. |
The first day I wandered up "Bather's Way" which is just a walk along the beach and out to the lighthouse. A lot of the beach was pretty empty and I just enjoyed the solitude and read my book for ages.
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| View from Nobby's Point (by the lighthouse) back towards Newcastle Beach |
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| View from my tranquil reading spot on Nobby Beach |
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| Jenni, Terry, Elyse and me after I won! Yay! I wish I had 1.5 million in real life though... |
We picked up Terry in the kitchen that night while making dinner. Later that night he taught me to play a (very short and very easy) song on the ukelele.
My last day in Newcastle obviously included more beach, but also going out to the Blackbutt Reserve wildlife exhibit. It was mostly birds, but they did have a few koalas as well - my first baby koala spotting of the trip!
That night I hopped on the bus for a ten hour trip up to Byron Bay, which leads me to my next post!
Sydney: Part 2
Eek, I've fallen cities behind! But at least that means I'm having a good time! My last couple of days in Sydney were quite touristy and involved a lot of walking. I checked out the fish markets, foolishly going right after a big breakfast and not hungry enough to enjoy a delicious meal down there, so naturally I had to go back the next day. Turned out to not be worth the second trip down as it made me feel a bit ill, and just as I was getting on the 3 hour bus to Newcastle no less. Nevertheless, kind of neat to check out and I was a super nerdy tourist and took photos of the seafood:
After which I spent most of the rest of the day wandering around taking photos. The first day I was in Sydney, I was quite proud that a local stopped to ask me a question about the buses - I must not have looked like a bumbling tourist! Yay! Unfortunately, all the smugness went straight out the window as I wandered in more circles than I care to admit trying to find my way onto the Harbour Bridge. Fortunately, it was worth the walk:
At some point I popped into the Museum of Contemporary Art, most of which was quite pretentious and I was out of there fairly quickly. There was an installation that was just a bunch of plants and supposed be making some statement about how plants are life or something like that. Anyway, my favourite part of the whole museum was the sign for that installation:
Oh and I bought a print by a local artist and had it shipped home - mum and dad, you should be expecting a package any day now! :)
My last day in Sydney, I went up the Sydney Tower which wasn't all that exciting. No way to take very good photos and I guess just not that much different than going up any other tower in any other city. Luckily, it didn't cost that much. Spent the rest of the day getting my lunch of death and grabbing the bus up to Newcastle!
I made a quick stop at the Top Floor Cafe for a little refreshment:
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| Worth the hike up those stairs? |
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| Yes! The most delicious iced coffee I've ever had - more like an iced coffee float with ice cream on top! Mmmmm. |
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| View from the Harbour Bridge |
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| View of the bridge from the far side |
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| If you can't see it, the text at the bottom reads "Please do not eat the plants." Really?! |
My last day in Sydney, I went up the Sydney Tower which wasn't all that exciting. No way to take very good photos and I guess just not that much different than going up any other tower in any other city. Luckily, it didn't cost that much. Spent the rest of the day getting my lunch of death and grabbing the bus up to Newcastle!
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