Sparkie
Samantha Sparke Joined: September 22nd 2006
Logged in: December 30th 2011
Logged in: December 30th 2011
This has been the most amazing year of my life.
Travel Blog Posts
Milford Sound scenery
Apologies - currently unable to restore. If you have a backup please edit this entry and save/publish. There is a small possibility that this entry will be restored - only small. ... read more
Heejjue and me, Sufers Paradise
The day after we returned from Nimbin, Heejjue and I decided to give Dolphin Kayaking a go. I had made as sure as could from the guy who owned the operation that we would definitely see dolphins as I’ve wasted money on this sort of thing before. Anyway he reassured me we would so Heejjue and I we in. After arriving we were suited and booted in some really terrible gear including the hugest crime of all; a massive helmet that I had to wear as they couldn’t find one to fit my tiny head (as a result of this, no photos exist of the following activity). Before commencing on the dolphin fun we all stood and listened as the guys went through the safety talk- but suddenly without warning I was transported back to ... read more
Me on Oz Bus; first day
I was up very early to meet the OZ bus. Trying not to wake the lovely Dutch couple in my dorm I made a stupendous effort to pack quietly but blew it all at the end by the door hitting me in the arse and then slamming extra loudly as I left. After chucking my stuff down 5 flights of stairs and dragging it up the road out side, dodging homeless men and drunk folk (Kings Cross is ever so classy) I was alarmed to see the OZ bus already waiting for me as I’d thought I was early. Turns out the driver, Adam (who was gorgeous despite inexcusable crime of hippy man-bag) was extra early too so no harm done. Once we had loaded my stuff on board we drove about Sydney and picked ... read more
Kings Cross
Well I was up early the day I left Melbourne as I still wasn’t packed due to attending the comedy festival yesterday and seeing Ross Noble who was totally (tears running down face, cheeks hurting) hilarious! After leaving Robyn a little goodbye present and giving Saffy The Biting Dog a tentative pat on the head, I left my residence of 6 weeks in Murrumbeena and headed for the airport and for Sydney. Thankfully my mate Paul was ready and waiting to pic me up at the other end and as it was a bit late to do anything cool we just headed back to his and his housemate Bib’s place. Once at their house I was alarmed to see that they shared with another housemate, a spider the size of a hamster which Paul maintained ... read more
Flinders Lane, wicked Graffiti
Well even with two broken bones in my foot, a funny boot and crutches I still managed to enjoy my unexpected, extended stay in Melbourne. Thankfully you cannot go 24 hours in Melbourne without something huge scheduled to happen and Federation Square seemed to be the hub of this happening city. If we weren’t attending an ad lib fashion show or watching bands play on the stage we were just drinking in the Transport Bar, which is actually where we spent most of our time. Another of our favourite pastimes was finding back street bars that were total gems. Robbie (a born and bread Melbournenite who we first met in New Zealand) was the leader and we named these nights Robbie’s back street bar craws; the only rule seemed to be that if it had ... read more
Sculptural walk, Docklands
This morning Sarah’s friend Ester came to pic the three of us up after offering to drive us to the Mornington Peninsula, which lies just south of Melbourne. Before we’d even left Melbourne we’d stumbled across a sight that I was shocked to see; an actual car wash where the women were scantily dressed in Bikini’s and 5 of them were working on the one car as a couple of guys totally perved on them- I really thought these things were a joke, not real- I’d like to know where the naked man version is. Any way, after getting out of Melbourne we travelled along the Port Philip side of the coast, taking in some gorgeous beaches and first stopping at a look-out point near Arthur’s seat. This was when we decided to head along ... read more
Jan Juc beach
Today was our weekend away and we were getting ready to hit Torquay with Robyn who has a house down there. We loaded up the car after Robyn got in form work with Sarah, Liz, Robyn, Robyn’s dog Saffy and me. With a bit of rush hour traffic we made it down to Torquay within a couple of hours. Robyn’s house was fabulous, situated near Jan Juc beach. After dropping the stuff in the house she took us for a drive to orientate us, stopping at a look out over Jan Juc beach and the little shops near by. That evening was pretty low key and we hired a couple of DVD’s and got fish and chips from the local, which was totally divine. Next morning Liz and my first challenge was to find out ... read more
Ned Kelly death mask
Today was a beautiful day, the sun was shining brightly and it was a bit of a hard decision whether to stay and lounge about by Robyn’s pool or actually get off my arse and do something. Liz, who had come to stay at Robyn’s for a while elected to stay home and enjoy the comforts of not being in a hostel for a while but Sarah was up for doing something so we decided to head to the Old Melbourne Gaol. The Gaol was certainly a sight to see. It was very dark and set on three levels and after I started reading about the notorious men held in these cells the place seemed to come alive. What was brilliant was the addition of death masks that were present in some of the tiny ... read more
shark attack
And before we knew it we were back in the land of Oz…….. Well unfortunately it wasn’t as simple as clicking ones heels together three times as it involved a 5 hour plane ride to Auckland where we found out we were not booked on our flight to Melbourne and instead had to wait about for a plane to Sydney and from there we eventually got to Melbourne. We arrived at my lovely friend Robyn’s house in the dead of night waking up her dog that inturn barked and woke up the neighbourhood. After a goods night sleep Robyn took us for a drive around to orientate us, driving down Bridge Street (major shopping street) and then through the city and down St Kilda past some of the beaches. That evening Robyn had booked us ... read more
Star fish
Well our first day out of the resort had been so much fun I was really looking forward to today’s trip. Between now and the last day away it had been much of the same relaxing routine; sea, sun, occasional half day rain showers that sent me room wards to watch bond repeats, which I still thoroughly enjoyed. We caught the bus from outside and this time headed to Nadi. The day was looking gorgeous which was handy as going to an actual deserted island in Fiji just wouldn’t have been the same in the rain. Once we were dropped off at the port we met with some other tourists and all boarded the huge boat/ship that was to take us to the island. The ship was a little like I imagine a pirate ship ... read more
