Pindan Land

Other adventures around Broome included a trip up North to Cape Leveque, with its' white sand beaches, turquoise sea and red rock cliffs. 5 people, from 5 different countries (England, Germany, New Zealand, China (Hong Kong) and South Korea if you're interested) in one automatic 4WD (seriously, what's the point of an automatic 4WD?? You lose so much control when you have an automatic car!). Muggins here was the only one over 26 and with a valid driving license and therefore allowed to drive off sealed roads in the hire car, so I got to drive. Which of course lead to arguments as I thought that someone else should take on the task of navigating, but a general lack of road signs, and lack of attention on behalf of all the passengers (and possibly the lack of an insane father - who taught me how to read maps properly) meant that no navigation got done, we got lost, and the driver got ratty. Fortunately we had brought a decent supply of junk food with us (in fact more junk food than real food....) and sugar calms all wrongs, or so it seemed. Or it may have been the beautiful sunset over middle lagoon where the tide had gone out quickly leaving wet reflective sand, just down the dune from our secluded campsite, ripe for many silly photos and running around barefoot. And then trying to work out where we'd left our flip flops, and more importantly, where we'd left the path to the campsite and car....

The first night we got very damp as condensation fell over the tents. We charred food in the fire, and eventually gave up and cooked the rest on a gas stove. Much alcohol was drunk, resulting in a display of Korean disco dancing... “sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry...” I'm not sure if that was the song, or just a warning for what was to come, but no matter how drunk we got him he never did repeat that display! The next day we headed up to Cape Leveque (along more red sand roads), after New Zealand insisting we all take many papparazi style shots of him...

We went snorkelling at Cape Leveque, watching the fish dart among the rocks in the sand below us. Only after about 20 minutes did I realise that the sea was so salty that I wasn't swimming so much as floating and solely moving my limbs to change the direction that I was looking in! We wastched the sunset, and got a very confused solo tourist to take group photos of us, before heading along towards One Arm Point to camp for the night. Here we caught the end of the sunset as we watched the sharks feeding off the remains left by fishermen on the rocks as the tide came in.

The next day we headed to the turtle hatchery at One Arm Point Aboriginal Community, where we saw sea turtles, but unfortunately didn't see any babies, then it was a pretty fast drive back down to Broome to get the car back in time to remove all the pindan (red dirt) that had eked its' way into every crevice (of both the car and us!)

Shake, Rattle and Please Don't Roll!

Many months ago now I hired a 4WD (called “Fluffy”) and drove the Gibb River Road with a friend. Having never driven a 4WD before (and having never needed to) I was a little reticent to get behind the wheel of such a large and powerful car to begin with. The end of the trip had me sulking that the last major river crossing had a bridge built over it! On this trip we took in some truly spectacular scenery, inhaled a lot of dust, washed a lot of dust off by swimming in gorges and waterfall pools, discovered what happens when gas cookers go bad and I learnt what it must feel like to be an ice cube in a cocktail shaker. Yes the Gibb River Road is unsealed and dusty (in the dry, impassable in the wet), which means it has ever present corrugations that you just have to trust are not going to shake your eyeballs out of your head before you hit the magic speed of 75 kph where you stop feeling them. Even with a reserve tank you have to fill up at every petrol station that you pass, because you certainly won't make it anywhere close to the next station if you don't, and this is where the corrugations really come into their own. You know that you have to fill the tank, but the diesel is so shaken up that it has foamed up like washing-up liquid! As you put liquid in, bubbles are spilling out...

Driving the Gibb River Road we passed many flat tyres, many cheerful backpackers (the most memorable being the 5 French guys traveling in one car and sleeping in 2 two-man tents, spilling out of both whenever we saw them!) and even one very determined, but very sweaty, cyclist! Kudos to him, but I hope he hadn't misread the scale of the map – the Gibb River Road is 626 km long! If you look at maps of the Kimberley you will see a whole lot of nothing apart from rivers. Well these rivers have carved the “nothing” into series of gorges and waterfalls (still spectacular even if some of them weren't flowing during the dry – there are very few time you get the chance to stand in the middle at the top of a massive waterfall and look straight down over the edge!) that provide welcome relief from the heat in the form of cool clear pools. Most of which are crocodile-free!

On this journey we visited the Bungle Bungles – how mountain ranges would look if Disney did mountains! They are rounded orange and black striped rocks 200m high - basically they look like a swarm of giant bees have nosedived and become stuck in the ground... We then explored El Questro, taking in El Questro gorge and Zebedee springs – hot springs that form many natural small pools interspersed by palms and ferns – it couldn't have been designed any better if it was a man-made top-end beauty spa! We hiked Emma gorge, where the top pool has two waterfalls flowing into it from such a height that they move with the breeze, and where I realised at the top that I'd forgotten my bikini, so just jumped in fully clothed! Next we chilled out under the stars at Ellenbrae homestead, where they have hot showers – provided you remember to light the fire under the boiler the night before! We hightailed it down to Galvans gorge, with a mighty boab overlooking the pool and the falls, and then to Bell gorge where the sound of a didgeridoo echoed around the walls as we swam. Our final stops were Tunnel Creek, a waterway that carves its' way through the mountain , and Windjana gorge, which winds its' way into a wall of sheer cliffs that reminded me of “The Lost World”, and sure enough was populated with crocodiles. Freshwater crocodiles, but still we didn't swim there! Finally we headed down an avenue of boabs and termite mounds back to “civilisation”. Which we didn't find, but we figured that Broome would probably do.

Yes I am still alive - promise!

So it's been quite a while since I last wrote on this (the bad apple referred to in the last blog got fired!). I'm still in Broome, and maybe that's why. Not that I've done nothing, but more that I slowed to “Broometime” and what with work, beach and trips around The Kimberley I've not found time to write. I'm now nearing the end of my time in Australia as my visa will expire at the end of the month. This means that I will be on the road again very soon, and I feel that you should be updated with where I am so far before I start regaling you with my new adventures! Those of you who keep in touch over facebook already know a lot of what I'm about to say. Those of you who don't, well I hope you have a REALLY slow day at work because this is going to be long!

Last time I wrote was a few months ago now and it had just rained. Let me start by saying that the “dry” in Broome is not a misnomer. It hasn't rained since then. Not one drop! Although sometimes the temperature drops enough at night for the moisture in the air to condense on the metal roofs and drip down so persistently that it looks like rain. Until you step out from under the eaves. We are now in the buildup to the “wet” (charmingly nicknamed the “sweat” in housekeeping: it's physical work and as the humidity rises... well I don't really need to explain do I?), which basically means that instead of a balmy 32C every day it's now risen to a humid 36-39C daily, and the humidity is rising daily. Everyone has started looking for the storm clouds on the horizon that will bring the first rain, but I doubt I'll still be here when it happens. Of course the storm clouds are currently obscured by the smoke from the band of wildfire burning just outside of town and cutting Broome off from the North completely.

Bad apples

As they say, it only takes one bad apple to spoil the crop. That bad apple has landed in our crop in the form of a rather arrogant, rather young male chauvanist. Unfortunately he is a permanent staff member, and the rot is spreading as other staff members are dropping like flies as they choose not to put up with him. Only those of us without the money to move on remain. Fortunately I have a week off coming up to go and explore the Kimberley a little by 4WD (any suggestions welcome!). I can only hope it's calmed down a little by then, or at least that his ego has deflated enough to allow him to fit through the doorway to the kitchen to actually deliver some food to the customers once in a while...

Broometime

Long time no blog...

Well what have I been up to? I've been gradually adjusting to “Broometime”. Which roughly translates as “you're in the tropics, but with less spicy food”. And yes, I certainly am in the tropics here. I've been trying to define tropical, and I've come up with a few criteria:
You can eat the coconuts that fall from the palm trees in the grounds of the hotel.
There are lots of scooters, even if they don't carry families of 5 (I am in Australia still....).
People walk around barefoot a lot. Even into town (although you only make the mistake of walking barefoot past the Commonwealth Bank once – there's a thorn tree somewhere near there...)
It doesn't rain, it RAINS, stopping as suddenly as it started.
The sea is an impossible shade of turquoise.
Going to the beach can be a full-time activity...

Saying that I've not made it to Cable Beach that much, and only once with my camera - to see the sunset. Unfortunately on a cloudy day! Even with this deficit of beach visits half of Cable Beach still seems to have made it into our dorm room.

I have been fishing again, and once again failed to catch anything. Although I do blame the shark for this. I FINALLY felt a tug on my line and started reeling it in (we fish with handlines, so reeling the line in involves pulling in the slippery line). There was quite a fight going on at the end of my line, and as I pulled further I realised there was a shark following very closely. About 2 metres offshore there was a scuffle in the water, the line went loose and the shark swam off. Having snacked on my fish. I was less than impressed.

Apart from that life has consisted of working and getting to know the other staff here. Housekeeping in a hotel that has no room numbers containing the number 13 and working in a restaurant with a steak special, but only 6 steak knives. And alcoholic chefs. But the better you get to know the chefs here, the more snacks you get whilst working, and the more likely you are to be able to request staff food that you like!

And that's enough for Broometime. It may now be beachtime...

Gone Fishin'

So, what have I been up to? (Apart from housekeeping and waitressing, neither of which you need any details of...) Me and my roommate went fishing with one of the chefs here and his friend. We wandered along the shore of Willie Creek at low tide, barefoot and muddy, to catch mullet to use as bait. The bit of Willie Creek where the crocodile lives. As we walked along the bank towards the side creek where he basks, people on the other side of the side creek started shouting a warning that the croc was there, but it must have just slipped into the water as we arrived. Needless to say we were keeping a distance from the water and keeping our eyes peeled when our chef headed to the water to throw his net. We didn't realise quite how big the risk was until we asked what the 4 pronged spear was for. “For the croc” was the reply. After that we noticed that the guys were always walking between us and the water. We retreated onto a ledge a safe height above the water to fish. My bait kept being stolen, but my roommate caught a catfish and our chef caught a large Barumundi – a much sought after fish here – very expensive, so we were pretty excited, especially when he cooked it up for dinner and gave me and my roommate special staff meals (Thai style lemongrass and tumeric marinade) making everyone else who had beef curry again very jealous!

We were meant to be heading off fishing again, with two of the other chefs. But they never checked the tides, and it was always going to be more about beer than fishing, then suddenly it rained! So yes, I've been fishing, but there's not a lot else to do here... You work, you hang out on the beach, you play tennis (we can use the hotel facilities) if it's not too hot, you drink, you laugh at the hungover people trying to do housekeeping...

I guess the sharks weren't hungry?

Well I've been in Broome a few days now. I've started work, although I've only had the one shift so far, on the breakfast shift, so I started at 6.15am. That was quite painful...

I've also found my way around town a little and got to know the people in staff accommodation a little better. The big night in town is a Thursday night when everyone heads down the Roey for the wet t-shirt competition. Yes I really am in the middle of nowhere!

Yesterday it was wet. There isn't a lot to do in Broome apart from drink when it's raining. And seeing as they can't sell alcohol in volumes larger than 1 litre here, that means no goon. I'm going to have to be careful with my money. I'm guessing the alcohol rule is because they have a lot of problems with alcohol addiction here. As Broome is the regional centre, the street that I walk down into town has the police station and prison on one side of the road and the courts and “dry out centre” on the other side. I guess that pretty much says it all...

This afternoon a group of us are off to Cable Beach, which will be my first time on any of the beaches up here. I'm looking forward to the turquoise sea, even if I know I can't swim in it because of the crocs, sharks and stingers. The way that people talk you start to suspect that the sea is full of creatures with a taste for human flesh just waiting for you to get close enough. I suspect that this is a slight exaggeration, but I'll let you know if I see lines of eyes watching us as we wander along the beach, and if I see any holding salt and pepper shakers I'll be getting out of there pretty pronto. Maybe a little paddle along the shoreline – it is about 30C. A few of us played tennis this morning in the hotel. Or more specifically we headed to the tennis court with rackets and balls and proceeded to hit them vaguely in the direction of each other, but missing them more often than not. I for one need some practice. I certainly hit some balls, as evidenced by the balls that ended up outside of the court, but it probably would be more conducive to a rally if I kept them within the fences... The heat doesn't help either – suddenly hitting a ball doesn't seem so important if it means running for it, but we gave it a good go and I now feel that we deserve to crash on the beach for the afternoon.

Well, I still haven't posted this, so I'll say that we all went to Cable Beach, piled into 2 cars, we all swam in the sea, if only briefly and in the shallows. We bought beer and were just settling in to enjoy the sunset over the beach (Broome is apparently the only place in Australia that you can enjoy both the sunset and the sunrise over water), when three mobile phones rang as the hotel realised they were understaffed and called us in. Mine was one of them, so one of the guys drove the three of us that were working back to the hotel and I had my first evening shift in the restaurant when it was slightly chaotic and I'd already consumed 2 beers. So I have yet to see the sunset over Cable Beach.

Red earth, turquoise sea

So, I made it to Broome! All I knew when I left Perth was that I would be met at the airport and that accommodation was sorted. It was surprisingly easy for relatives who have never met to recognise each other and so I was delivered to the hotel. I'm in staff accommodation, which is a bit like a hostel, but everyone's staying for a while, and free food! In my room there's a German girl and an English girl, both of whom seem very nice, and I've gradually been introduced to many other people in the accommodation, although there are too many names for me to remember. It's someones birthday tonight, so we're all out to hit the town, which I've yet to explore – it was dark when I arrived last night. I start work tomorrow, although as yet I still don't know what work I'll be doing!

So Broome, what do I know of it so far? I know it's small (the airport's pretty much in the centre of town) it's warm (but you still need a jumper outside at night) and that there's a 3m croc in the creek, although I've yet to discover where the creek is... I think that may be the task for the afternoon.

Onwards and upwards

Today is the first day that I've been in Perth when the sunshine has been interrupted by a hazy layer of cloud. And I've been here for two weeks. Perth is coming into winter, it's low season, and as such there hasn't been any work for me here. Instead I am moving North to Broome on Wednesday. Broome is currently in its high season and I have distant family there (the son of my great aunt – I'm not sure what relation that is to me? Cousin removed, second cousin?) who say there is definitely work for me there. Money is tight, having finally got the tooth I broke in Singapore fixed, and now having paid for transport to Broome! So as much as I love Perth, I have to move on.

Therefore I've taken my last few days to explore around Perth a little and do the “tourist thing”. I went down to Freemantle – the first settlement around here. Whilst my guidebook says to allow at least a day for Freemantle, I allowed an afternoon. And I was very glad that I did, as I was bored before I'd been there for two hours. Not a comment on Freemantle so much as me. I just don't think it was for me. Whilst I found the shipwreck museum interesting, I was more interested in the temporary exhibition about early trade routes and navigation than of all of the artifacts that they'd pulled out of the sea near here. The history of Dutch shipping and their discovery of a faster route to the spices of Java was very interesting. The numerous bits of pottery, coins and fabric swatches less so...

I also visited “the roundhouse”. The oldest building and early prison. Again interesting, but no historical facts or concepts that I wasn't already familiar with. And then I notice a passing reference that this land was populated with aboriginals when the first ships arrived. And that's it. Just a passing reference. What did the Europeans do to them? Now that would be a story I would be interested in. Something that I didn't learn in school. But as always the interesting stories are glossed over for dates and measurements. In a way I was reminded of the audioguides in China, which put great emphasis on describing everything that is in front of you, giving you the measurements (which are pointless as you can see how big it is – it's in front of you!) and dates (which you can get from your guidebook), but no actual history or context.

After this I wandered around the famous Freemantle markets, which had a lot of interesting wares for sale, most of which were, for some reason, imported from Asia, and not a great place to spend time when you know that you have no money to spend (incidentally I chose the museums to visit that were free entry or entry by donation). I also visited the less famous E block markets by the quays. Which were similar to the Freemantle markets, but surprisingly with more tat at higher prices.

Apart from Freemantle, most of my tourist exploration has centered on the beaches, and these are by far the most satisfying option. Beautiful expanses of soft white sand that stretch for miles along the blue of the Indian Ocean. I only hope that Broome is as beautiful!

Asia-lite

So, I’m back on the road again! Well, nearly… I’m actually in a small town/suburb north of Perth, where I’m planning on settling down for the next 6 months - providing I find work. It’s beautiful here, by the beach, the smell of eucalyptus… feels like California somehow. So I’m really hoping to find work, and make some friends, now the jet-lag’s finally wearing off.

On the way to Perth I stopped in to visit an old work mate in Singapore for a few days. It also coincided with my Birthday - well I figured I hadn’t spent a Birthday in Asia yet! And I’m still not sure that I have. Singapore is very much “Asia-lite”. It’s westernised facilities with an Asian cultural background. They even speak English lah! (OK, well “Singlish”, but technically it’s the same language). There are lots of rules and laws. It’s illegal for two men to have sex. Apparently it’s OK to be a lesbian though. I wonder whether that’s because the politicians don’t mind watching the ladies? Which leads me onto the next bizarre law: It’s illegal to be naked in your own home. Unlike at home, if someone’s watching you through the windows of your home and you’re naked, they’re not a peeping-tom, you’re an exhibitionist! So how do they take showers…?

In Singapore I mostly ate at home, and we ate European food (and some very delicious Tzatziki at his Greek friends house). I did, however, get to try some traditional Singaporean cuisine on my first night in Singapore, in a very lovely seafood place around the corner from my friends compound. I had Chilli Crab - basically a whole crab (on which I broke a tooth. On my first night out of the UK, at least it was on something yummy!) swimming in a sauce of chilli sauce. Also deep-fried whole prawns coated in cereal - a bit like eating a bowl of warm muesli dry and finding prawns in it! Apparently you can eat them whole, crunching through the shells. I was more keen on removing them and eating the delicious prawn inside! Apparently the locals suck the brains out of the prawns as they believe that it gives them “power”. That seems to apply to a lot of foods. The more gross, the more power seems to be the rule with food! But only to be eaten in a designated area. No eating or drinking in many places - including on trains and on station platforms. But it’s so hot does this include water? There are so many rules that I wonder whether that’s why everyone seems to smoke - maybe it’s the last rebellion allowed?

I didn’t really do much sightseeing in Singapore. To be honest there aren’t really many sights. Unless you’re interested in shopping. There are a lot of malls. And most of the shops are incredibly familiar. Either from the UK, or Australia. I did take a wander around ‘Little India’, which was full of impressive moustaches and shops selling gold and saris. To be honest it reminded me of a warm, sunny Bradford. So not Bradford at all!

We also went out on Clarke Quay. The best way I can think to describe this is “Disneyland for adults”. It’s bright - almost garish - with lots of places to eat and drink, all a bit quirky, and various rather strange sculptures… One of the bars we passed was clearly based on a medical theme. People sat on benches made from hospital gurneys cut in half and had drinks hanging from bags on drips. Fortunately I didn’t notice anyone actually taking their cocktails intravenously, instead they seemed to drink from syringes. I couldn’t help but wonder whether they were sterile sealed syringes, or from the local hospital… We later went along to Boat Quay where we had a drink in a classic British pub (I assume it was British rather than Irish because of the name: “The Penny Black”, but we went there for the Guiness). Interestingly this row of pubs and bars, along the waterfront, seemed to be where all the ex-pats and tourists hung out, whereas parallel to the water, one street further in, was where Singapore hung out - complete with very bad karaoke issuing from most bars.

My last day in Singapore was spent wandering along walkways above rainforest in and connecting the park areas of Singapore. We got caught by an approaching thunderstorm and so took a cable car down from Mt Faber (I think) back to “civilisation” (another shopping mall) just as the rain started. This afforded a fantastic view of the jungle behind, and the jungle of cranes at the docks ahead, both of which were quickly obscured as the rain grew heavier!

To be honest all of Singapore is a jungle. There’s the green canopy of trees, and above the grey canopy of high-rise buildings. On the ground, instead of leaf-litter there’s, well, strict fines if you drop litter, so it’s pretty clean. It does feel like the city is growing as part of the forest though. And I guess there’s not a lot of choice than to grow up. Singapore is a small country. On the plane on the way to Perth I spoke to a man who lives in Malaysia. Except his closest airport is Singapore. So he hops across the border to catch flights, but lives in the green space allowed by having just that bit more land.

So that’s Singapore really. An interesting place that seems to be an Eastern caricature of Western life.

Melbourne smells of eucalyptus

I just needed everyone to know that. I don't think it's just because of the smoke that continues to wrap the city.

My job has extended for another couple of weeks, so I may just be able to fly back out to Australia... I'm taking it one day at a time at the moment!

By the way, the fires didn't get as far as Melbourne

Just for those of you who sent me worried emails - the worst we got was a lot of smoke (which is still around) and ash. And a few days of searing heat (46.4C being the highest I think).

The end is nigh?

The dream may well be coming to an end. A combination of the plummetting pound draining my finances rather earlier than expected and the global financial crisis making it nearly impossible to find work have meant that I have no money. Sure I have a job (I started yesterday!), but it's only a temporary assignment, I don't know how long it will last and rent will be due before I'm paid. It looks like when I head back for Sarah and Simons wedding, that will be it. I won't be able to afford to fly back out. And even if I could afford to I wouldn't be able to support myself job-hunting (not to state the obvious or anything, but you can't draw on the dole as a foreign national!). So I guess this means back to the world of Blighty and trying to find a "real" job then? Or at least something that will tide me over and let me save money so I can escape again? What a waste of the "once in a lifetime" working holiday visa... Do you think I can claim my visa fees back on the basis there isn't work? At this point I'm open to any ideas/suggestions/offers of work/free flights/free accommodation....

Brits in Melbourne on Australia Day

Well what have I been up to? Mostly job hunting. That's it really. Oh and melting in 41C heat (seriously, it's like walking around with a large hairdryer blowing at you outside). What have I learnt? The global financial crisis has hit jobs in Australia, hangovers are even less fun when it's steaming hot and you have no aircon, I still have no idea when guys are flirting with me, and me and Mhairi should NEVER be left unsupervised with alcohol. That last one is a VERY important rule. Which got broken briefly again on Australia Day (26th January for anyone NOT Australian) as we gave up on being tourists and joined the locals having a few beers in the botanic gardens. Fortunately we were soon rescued by the boys from the hostel returning and... well encouraging us to have more beers by the river instead (what seems to be an Australia Day tradition). However we did behave ourselves very well under supervision. It was Irish Mark who did an Irish Jig for the crowd and Canadian Wes who decided it was a good idea to swim across the jellyfish infested Yarra river (another tradition apparently). He didn't get stung, but he did emerge with a lovely cut on his foot. Which was duely ignored by the 3 medical students we had with us. So yes, I am getting indoctrinated into the Australian way of life, which seems to involve cold beers in hot places.

Japan or Melbourne?

Having now found a reasonable Japanese restaurant (with lots of cheap sashimi) and a Japanese style karaoke booth bar I find myself today feeling rather nostalgic for Japan. And with a sore throat!

I'm also getting a bit nostalgic for St Arnauds hostel, which has become a bit like a second home (albeit one where your room is shared with snorers and borderline alcoholics...), as tomorrow I check out. Yes, I have somewhere to live!! I will be living in Prahan for the next 6 months with two lovely Australian girls (address available on request). Now all I need is a job to pay the rent...

Sweden is a bad influence...

...yes the whole country. But they know how to rock!

Of course drinking on a Thursday night is only possible as I still have no job or flat. I'm ever hopeful... but 37C heat makes it rather hard to think, let alone trapse round town!

New year, new job?

OK, so I'm still job hunting, but everything closed down for ages over Christmas and New Year here and is only just starting up again. I'm ever hopeful that I'll find something soon - I've blitzed with my CV, so we'll see.

In the meantime I haven't just been twiddling my thumbs! I have explored Melbourne with Geoff. This included taking in "The Life of Brian" under the stars (and bats!) in the botanic gardens on Christmas Eve, meaning that for the whole rest of the time we have been bursting into song (or more often whistling). When Geoff wasn't asking "are we nearly there yet" - despite my constant reminders that life's not about the destination, it's about the journey. That's as philosophical as this post's going to get - it's all downhill from here.

We have also explored the Melbourne Museum (lots of cool buttons to press and interesting insights like "canoes need oars"), St Kilda Beach (rather a disappointment after many of the beaches I've been to with soft white sand and no litter... but we did see a baby penguin on the pier),the Melbourne State Library (complete with quiet room surrounded by metal steps that echo fantastically if you hit them just right with a flipflop - you have to try hard though! Oh, and Ned Kellys armour), the Dandenongs (courtesy of Imtiaz who couldn't think of anything else to show us), Melbourne Aquarium (which I'd probably have enjoyed more if it wasn't New Years Day and therefore the way perspective changes as you walk past curved tanks was REALLY trippy) and Melbourne Gaol (which is where Ned Kelly was imprisoned and hung, and would make a really good hostel!). Oh, and the Great Ocean Road, let's not forget that! Which was really impressive, if chilly. Great for the "rock scientist" (Geoff). The trip was short and fun, taking in many of the sights like the 12 apostles (there aren't 12 and no-one seems to know exactly how many there are - you wouldn't have thought that rocks could move THAT fast would you?!) and London Bridge (which really IS falling down), as well as allowing ample time for koala spotting! I learnt (again - but I keep forgetting!) that it's COLD along the coast here. Geoff learnt that he looks like he has a bad case of dandruff all day if he does a headstand on the sand...

So New Years Eve was spent drinking in the hostel with the Swedish contingent (a Swedish family and friends), Ricardo, Thomas and Fabrice (the campervan boys) and a British couple before we headed off towards Federation Square at about 11pm. We never made Fed Square, we ended up viewing the midnight fireworks from the forbidden position (as it's the best position!) of the bridge beside Fed Square. Not before we lost the Swedish contingent. And found them again by Geoff bellowing "SWEDEN" as they passed in the crowd! Alcohol was forbidden in public. So obviously several groups had plastic bottles filled with "ribena". After midnight (and an impromptu performance of acapella Swedish rap...) we headed to Fed Square (finally getting there around 1am!) and ended up standing in the middle of the road, where the tram tracks cross, outside Flinder Street Station - what a great place for drunken photos... which are up on facebook now... Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas from the sunshine!

OK, so it certainly doesn't FEEL like Christmas, but the calender definitely says that it's the 25th of December, so therefore that MUST be the reason I've eaten many mince pies today... Merry Christmas from someone who's spent much of the day chilling in the garden with a cold beer!

Melbourne or bust!

To cut a long story short, I made it to Melbourne. There you go, that's it - shortest blog EVER!

OK, maybe not, it's just that I've been a bit lazy about updating my blog lately, having had very rare (and very expensive) access to t'internet, so I don't really know where to start. I can't tell all, so maybe I'll just tell a few short stories...

At some point I realised we were in termite country. I think I first noticed it as we shook our way along a dirt track to yet another free camping area. Every dirt track is a challenge, and it isn't only small roads that can be unsealed. You can have followed a seemingly quite major road for 50km only to find that there's 20km of dirt road in the middle before you get back to the tarmac at the other end. Some dirt tracks are fine, but it has been raining (yes - really) and many tracks have had dust rivers washed away and potholes enhanced. This tested Ricardos driving skills to the limit (thank goodness we had the brakes replaced eh?), and also tested the fittings in the van as they squeaked and rattled more and more. Anyway, I digress. When you see one termite mound you see more and more and eventually you wonder just how many you passed without seeing, and they can't suddenly have 'appeared' right? The termite mounds are a good indication of the colour of the soil - never brown, but varying shades of orange from yellow through to red. Which makes me wonder whether the 'dusting' of colour on the tops of all the trees is dust or flowers. I suspect flowers, but it really does look like the termite mounds are mini-volcanoes that have shot plumes of dust up to the treetops.

Last time I wrote I believe I talked about our encounters with wildlife. Well since then we found possums that were even braver than our rubbish bin raiding kangaroo. We had possums IN the van. They chewed a banana and an orange that we then left close enough to us to get some decent photos whilst they finished them off. Or at least we would have if possum world war III hadn't started - oops! Who'd have thought that something as simple as a misunderstanding (in this case over a banana) could cause a war *ahem*. Other wildlife encounters were less cute and cuddley. Yes a huntsman spider tried to get in the van. And it nearly did. It turns out that the "insect killer spray" that Ricardo had doesn't do what it says on the tin. Fortunately my 40% DEET insect repellant DOES kill big spiders. Nice to know! (And yes, I did sleep with it beside me that night... just in case...)

We spent a few days in the Snowy Mountains. Only a few days though. It was VERY cold at night (below 4 degrees) - OK, so that's not as cold as most of you guys are at the moment (he he he!), but you were not in a little camper van. Trust me when I say it was COLD. And the roads winding, and the views spectacular. What else can I say except that we pushed not showering to the limits (yes there were rivers. Need I remind you how COLD it was? And that Mount Kozioszco still had patches of snow on the top? Yes smelling WAS the better option!)

So at some point we had the luck to happen across the Blue Pools campsite. Another free campsite. Recently built compost toilets (ie the door still shut, even if it didn't lock). Looked just like any other campsite at first glance (except it was all on a bit of a slope). Then we wandered off looking for firewood and found the bathroom... (now's the time to look at the video below!) We spent an extra night there to explore. Went for a lovely bushwalk the next day, with a little light rain falling. One thing that's different about Australian rain is that there's a lot of space in between drops, so you hardly even notice that it's raining, especially when it's warm. Of course it does rain heavily (as we discovered later that night), but during the day it was "lovely weather for a bushwalk" as we were greeted by the local guy prospecting for gold at the river at the apex of the walk (which had no bridge. I was wearing crocs, so just waded through, fortunately for Ricardo our gold prospecter had a spere pair of wellies in his car and threw them across to him!). This chirpy chappy told us where to find gold near our campsite, so we spent a pleasant few hours in the afternoon prospecting for gold in a wok. And yes we did find some! And boy we must have looked daft!

That evening the heavens opened and a proper downpour prevented any firelighting (even using firelighters made from nasty fake marshmallows (so much stuff here is just way too sugary - even for me!) wrapped in free newspapers from the tourist office). So we were huddling under a tiny canopy with Riocardo attempting to find exactly WHERE that water that was dripping in his dinner was coming from, when the only other van in the site regurgitated one of its occupants. Which is how we met Fabrice and Thomas from the French Alps. They invited us over for some wine, and by the end of the evening we'd decided to travel together! The next morning I woke early (for someone who'd been up drinking with French guys until late) and went for a swim in the pool from which the campsite took its name. Which isn't blue by the way, but is more a kind of greenish brown, as that is the colour of the rocks underneath. The water is incredibly clear, but the pool so deep in the middle that even with a snorkelling mask on you can't see the bottom. Did I mention how COLD the pool was too - I have no idea where the water came from, but seeing as we were at the edge of a mountain range it'd be fair to say that it's probably partially snowmelt. And it was freezing! And therefore a very SHORT pre-breakfast swim, but very pleasant nevertheless as the sun was shining and the wind hadn't yet picked up for the day. And boy did the wind pick up....

So we headed off down Wilsons Promotory with the French guys. By this time the weather had changed and it was tipping it down with a bit of a gale blowing. Just like summer in England really. On our way to the Prom we stopped off for lunch outside a pub (having found no rest areas). Here we got talking to the local lads (although where they live I couldn't tell you as the town seemed to consist of a pub, a service station and a shop/chippy - incidently, they don't do proper chips with their fish and chips down here). The local lads insisted on buying us drinks (well, me and Thomas, Ricardo and Fabrice were driving) and kept feeding Thomas Aussie speciality after speciality (and I tried a "Bundy" for the first time - Bundaburg rum and coke in a can - very nice!). They then put music (power rock) on the jukebox and rocked out to Aussie music, which they were then shocked that we'd never heard. One of the guys ran to his truck and grabbed a few CDs of MP3 files with "Aussie music" on them. Although when we finally managed to look at the files most of the bands seemed to be American or British... maybe he gave us the wrong discs?

The time at the pub definately made us care a little less about the storm at the campsite down at Wilsons Prom. Well, me and Thomas cared less - we had the warming power of alcohol inside us, Fabrice and Ricardo had been wrestling with the vans in the wind, dodging branches and in some cases trees, and now they were stuck with two giggling idiots in the rain. Fortunately with two campers and two canopies one of the giggling idiots (yours truely) realised that we could build a room with 3 walls and a roof in an attempt to stay warm and dry. We stayed nearly dry and nearly warm (obviously the wine had to be drunk for its medicinal warming properties...). The next morning we realised that it wasn't a good idea for Thomas and Fabrice to go to bed without finishing their bag of wine (the seagulls had pecked it open), and that the parrots are just as dangerous as seagulls if you have food... I had a parrot walk onto my head, then later one landed on the arm of my chair, walked across my knees to the other arm, then back again, whilst another flew in and landed on my head. And all because I was eating tortilla chips! Wilsons Prom (the Southernmost point in mainland Australia) turned out to be very pleasant in the sunshine, even though half the paths from the campsite to the bridge across the adjacent river were flooded and "squeaky beach" was so wet that the sand didn't squeak at all. I feel a little short-changed about that....

And so much more has happened besides! I have been within 200 km of Horsham (Victoria), and found a coffee shop that does Fairtrade coffee (in Ballarat) and serves very delicious "something wicked?". So it's probably just as well that I'm no longer in Ballarat and am in Melbourne for the forseeable future. And the sun has come out!

White sand, white surf

Ah yes, I'm headed down the coast between Sydney and Melbourne in a camper van with a German guy called Ricardo. So far we've made it to Horseshoe bay. Having seen many beautiful beaches, and much wildlife en route. Most of the wildlife has been flies. Although we did spend a night with wombats and kangaroos on site in Kangaroo Valley, where the wombats wandered under the van, rocking it in the middle of the night. Then there were the Possums in Jervis bay, so unafraid of us that one ran straight into me in the dark whilst they were busy fighting. And then there was the kangaroo that snuck up on us and raided our bin with me sitting under a metre away!



But the scariest encounter was the one with the huntsman spider than ran across the table (in the dark) and I saw it just as it approached, and climbed, our full bottle of wine... I'm very proud of the fact that I DIDN'T scream! And boy did I NEED a drink after that one! (A friendly Aussie guy removed it for us, after laughing quite a lot at the look on our faces!). And there is so much more to tell, but the sun is shining, the sand is white, and the sea blue, so why would I stay in here any longer than necessary?!