Sydney is exactly the same as when I left it a few years ago. This time the sun isn’t shining quite as much, but the Opera House is still sitting next to the Harbor Bridge and tourists are still packed around it. Business men walk around with shirts and sunglasses, and there are aboriginal crowd pleases playing the didgeridoo and doing traditional dancing on the streets. Kings Cross (the Ghetto of the city) is packed with showgirls clubs and neon signs. This is of course where I stayed, class through and through. Only the best for my budget. In my room, [View Full Entry]

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What can I say about the Great Barrier Reef?? No surprises why this is one of the 7 wonders of the world. I got on my dive boat in the morning and did two morning dives. The water was so clear and I could see all around me for what seemed like miles. Very strange to qualify back in march and then they just literally give you a map of the reef and tell you not to get lost whilst booting you into the water. I loved every minute of it. The first few times I was put with a buddy [View Full Entry]

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The Whitsundays are truly gorgeous. I set sail on the Prima sail boat with 11 other people. The boat was err cosy, but it had everything we needed. I befriended the Captain and he let me steer the boat and showed me how the sailing works and how to navigate. In between this, I managed to sunbathe (well, burn) on the deck and look out and the blue sea. Within minutes of getting out of the harbor we saw humpback whales shooting out water and breaching. Of course, they timed it so that you just got your camera out and then [View Full Entry]

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Arrived into Hervey Bay ready for my Fraser Island trip. I met my group who I would be spending the next three days with in the bar. We were given a briefing on what to do if we came across the wild dingos (which was apparently just stand there) and how we operate the four wheeled drives. We then had to get up at 6.00 in the morning to pack up the truck, which took a lot of patience and many coffees. We finally set off with a map, tents, torch and cool box of meat and wine set to catch [View Full Entry]

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I ended up completely bypassing Surfers Paradise. It looked horrible. Fill of high risers, macdonalds and dingy bars. Not what I imagined at all, so kept on the coach and headed for Brisbane. I met an Irish girl from my room, and then headed to see Natasja who I met in Auckland. We jumped onto the City Cat ferry and took a tour of the river around Brisbane and checked out several places. Brisbane looks its best at night with all the lights I think. We ended up going into China Town and having dinner and before we knew it, the [View Full Entry]

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After Oz waved me off at 7 in the morning in Queenstown, I hopped onto a coach heading for Christchurch which would take me to the airport and into Australia. The coach took about 11 hours, and kept stopping constantly. By the time I got to my dorm in Christchurch, I couldn’t sleep and ended up staying up all night to catch my flight. Luckily for me I was entertained, as an ageing rock star came through the doors wearing tight shiny trousers and looking like an extra from The Darkness. He entertained me in the wee hours of the morning [View Full Entry]

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Right at the heart of Queenstown is a gondola which takes you right to the top of a hill for amazing views of the town. The cable cart swings into action and climbs to the top passing sheep, bungy jumps and luging (glorified go-karts which uses gravity instead of a gas pedal). At the top the views are brilliant, and you can see people paragliding in the distance, you can also watch the bungy jumps, see the Mountains, watch the aeroplanes or just simply sit at the bar and admire whats in front of you. The nightlife is just as amazing, [View Full Entry]

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The snow gods have arrived and Queenstown is covered in snow. Down came the blizzards, mountains closed, cars gone off the roads and huge gail force winds. Perfect opportunity to make snowmen and have multiple snowball fights. Never have the neigbours come together before, and all in the pretence of friendly banter, right up until a snowballs start pelting away. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...... [View Full Entry]

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Have arrived in Queenstown after days and days of driving. Queenstown is amazing. Loads of boarder type people milling around, shops selling mulled wine by the bucket and of course the Mountains. After finding our feet in our new home, we can see The Remarkables just across the lake. Everyday, I become more and more like the local MET office and find myself measuring the snow on the peaks of the Mountains, cloud coverage and general drops in temperature. I am on constant snow watch. Strangely the whole town seems geared up for Christmas, with some shops with fairy lights and [View Full Entry]

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After finally leaving Auckland, with some paychecks in our pocket, we set off for the South Island. We hit Lake Taupo after 4-5 hours of driving, and got out of the car to have lunch. It suddenly hit us how much the temperature had dropped and we weren’t even in the South Island yet. We could see a Mountain range in the distance, and as we got back into the car, we slowly got closer and closer to it, which was very distracting as you’re trying to drive. After many hours of driving (10 hours plus) , and lots of mountains, [View Full Entry]

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