http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/NikkiandGreg/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from NikkiandGreg en-us Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:04:32 +0000 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:04:32 +0000 Day 10Back to Christchurch today Wersquove already done most of the cheap options available in Christchurch so it would have been good if we could have skipped it but never mind. We arrive in the afternoon and after getting some supplies in we head over to the local museum. Not usually our cup of tea but our bus driver told us it is meant to be really good and itrsquos FREE. The museum is http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-419289.html Day 1 Sunday 28th June 2009 ChristchurchWoke up to the sound of someone incessantly buzzing the flat door at 5am today and just as I am about to go crazy and shout to them to give it a rest I realize it is our taxi driver for the airport I had set my alarm for 4.30am but must have slept through it and have visions of Tasmania all over againhellip We run around like crazy and grab our suit http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/blog-416759.html As we arrive in Cairns we decide we need to look for work asap as we are running out of money. Greg gets offered a few dj shifts in a nightclub and I have an interview with the Hilton but it is clear we are unsure whether Cairns is for us. The weather is gorgeous and sunny but there is not a great deal to do in the city itself. We also felt that the road trip from Sydney was such an awesome expe http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Cairns/Cairns-City/blog-416745.html Time to leave Airlie Beach and head for the Outback. We leave the hostel at 10am and make our way to Mount Surprise roughly a ten hour drive As we leave Airlie we meet Stefan from our cruise and say goodbye to him as we head up north. En route I make a phone call to a working backpacker hostel in Innisfail and shock horror they advise us they have work for us starting this Monday. Good news http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Undara/blog-415298.html Day 16Get up early doors to catch our boat The Avatar for our 3 day 2 night Whitsunday Island Tour. The Whitsundays are a group of 74 Islands located on the Great Barrier Reef off the east coast of Northern Queensland. We manage to get a reasonable sleep even although there was some idiot playing his guitar until 2am. We arrive at the marina on a beautiful winters day with the mercury reaching http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Whitsundays/blog-415292.html Mackay Airlie Beach via Cedar Creek FallsWe wake up early today as we have two skylights in our room without any curtains covering them so it proves impossible to sleep once the sun rises. I managed to get quiet a good nights sleep and would have slept right through if it hadnrsquot of been for Greg sleep talking saying ldquoWe are going to go on loads of big rides tomorrow.rdquo Have a b http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Airlie-Beach/blog-414378.html Rockhampton MackayThe Queenrsquos birthday today not that I would have ever known apart from the fact it is advertised everywhere and for most Australians it is a public holiday.So letrsquos start off with a morning riddle. What do you do when you have a stomach full of meat from the night before Well pile more meat on top of it of course We have a sausage sandwich for breakfast and it http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Makay/blog-414377.html Hervey Bay RockhamptonA long drive again as we drive 380km from Hervey Bay to Rockhampton. The journey nearly doesnrsquot start at all after Greg whacks the car against a high kerb on the way into the supermarket car park. In typical Nikki style I take a bit of a strop as I panic Greg has wrecked the tyre and we will have to buy a new one. Luckily it is okay and we continue on albeit in sil http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Rockhampton/blog-414375.html Day 10 The sun is shining this morning and it is really hot so we take full advantage to top up the fading tans and head down to Hervey Bay beach. The tide is out so we stroll along the sand and see armies of little blue crabs skittering along the beach. As soon as you get close to them they disappear down into holes in the sand. There are loads of little rock pools too with fish in them I try to http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Fraser-Island/blog-413226.html We are up and out of the caravan for 7.30am this morning so we can go and hand feed dolphins at the local bay. I am a bit apprehensive that they will actually appear but sure enough when we get there there are 3 indian pacific dolphins gliding about in the shallow water about 3 metres from the beach. There are a few other people standing in the shallow water with the dolphins so we climb in too http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/blog-413222.html Feeling tired and a bit weary this morning after our late night shenanigans yesterday. To top it off the weather hasnrsquot improved which leaves us in a dilemma. We donrsquot know whether to continue on with our 2 day Noosa kayaking tour or not. We check the weather forecast for the next few days and it pretty much confirms it will be torrential rain and thunderstorms. Greg phones the tour g http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Rainbow-Beach/blog-413048.html I cannot believe it is June already where has the time gone Thankfully we have to check out early this morning as if I have to spend another minute in this hostel I might just cry. We make our way along the highway and stop at Australia Zoo home to the legend the crocodile hunter. Itrsquos a big part of our road trip as itrsquos something Greg has been talking about doing since we first ar http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Noosa/blog-413046.html Day 6We reluctantly have to check out of our hostel today and make our way over to Tamborine Mountain about 25km 15 miles west of Surfers Paradise. The plan is to do a ropes course at the Thunderbird Adventure Parc as we never got a chance to do one at Tasmania. The roads are all uphill not surprising when going up a mountain and poor Trixie bell doesnrsquot like it much especially as she http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Brisbane/Central-Business-District/blog-411086.html Day 3Feel sad to be leaving our first hostel as it was such a nice place but we have much more to do and many more exciting adventures to be had The motorway has been reopened so we head off nice and early towards Byron Bay. When we get about half way we are unfortunately detoured through Casino and Lismore as some of the roads are still flooded. That adds about another two hours onto our alre http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Surfers-Paradise/blog-408980.html WErsquoRE GOING ON A ROAD TRIP BABYAnd so the journey beginshellipOur plan was to leave at 7.15am today so we could avoid the morning traffic and we actually do manage to leave the house on time for a change. However we decide to have one last farewell breakfast in Barzura to set us up for the day and to celebrate not having to work for a month yippee Words cannot describe how nice it feel http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Port-Macquarie/blog-406822.html Day 1 We set the alarm to go off at 5.45am this morning so we have enough time to get up and organized and drive to the airport before our 7.30am flight. Things donrsquot go quite as planned though as neither of us hear the alarm and Greg finally wakes me up at 6.20am doh So we have 10 minutes to get ready and check out before having to leave for the airport. We just about manage and then it http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Tasmania/Launceston/blog-397103.html Day 1 Our flight to Melbourne is at 8.45am and our flatmate Jacki kindly offers to drive us to the airport on her way to work even though it is in the opposite direction. We are cutting it fine as per usual and get there with only 5 minutes left to spare to check in. The airport is even busier than Glasgow airport and I have a feeling we wonrsquot make it in time but then a guy from the airpor http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/Richmond/blog-394037.html Okay so it is Greg doing the latest blog So this will be brief as Nik is working this afternoon.If memory serves me correct the last blog entry was the Blue Mountains which was in January. Since then things have pretty much been the same here in sunny Coogee. We have now reached the end of summer and the temperature is slightly cooler at roughly 2526 degrees. Practically all of the guys we hu http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Coogee/blog-381554.html A rather early start for us as we had a two hour drive to get to the Blue Mountains which is inland and North of New South Wales just outside Sydney. Surprisingly it is Greg who wakes up first and he has to practically roll me out of bed. You would think that starting work at 6.45am nearly every day would have made me slightly more accustomed to getting up early but that doesn't seem to be the ca http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Blue-Mountains/blog-373307.html Last night in our prison cell dorm tonight as check out is tomorrow. We have definatley decided that we want to live by the beech. After searching and searching for houses Jacki the Kiwi from our previous entry says that she would love to have us stay and the room was ours if we wanted. Feel alot more relaxed now we have somewhere to stay and can properly now start looking for jobs.We went to http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Coogee/blog-356837.html