Australia Part 2

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So, after a few days not moving it was time to get going and sit on a bus for a while. This next tour was one that very few people do, deciding to fly from Broome to Darwin instead. The Kimberleys were one of my favourite places due to the fact that very few people travel through, a bit more authentic Oz.
The tour started on the 25th May (very early). It was a smaller group and a few people i had met before from previous tours, including Brandon and Zara from Grenwich and Valerie from Switzerland (who actually had her 21st on the tour !).
We were to be travelling over 2,500 km on what can best described as a big 4 wheel drive fridge. It was our tour guides first tour so he knew as much as we did. No constant talking on the headset about Australian so called history or nonesense about plants and the aboriginal name for them. He was a good laugh and even learnt some Man U songs oh and being an ex army cook was a bonus.
Day 1 - We went to Tunnel creek (caving in icy cold water with bats!)
Day 2- Windjana Gorge - vertical cliffs, bird life and feshwater cocodiles.
Day 3 - Keep river national park for Sunset (yep another one !)
Edith Falls - swimming and a bit more hiking.
Day 4 - Bungle Bungles - so good they named it twice. Actually Aboriginies use the same name if there are a lot of something ie rocks. They are 200 - 400m high rounded beehive-shaped domes with horizontal coloured bands of orange, black & grey.
Day 5 - A dome walk and Cathedral Gorge and back to Darwin.
On this tour we camped outside in Swags (canvas sleeping bag with a very thin matress in it) which gave an unbelievable experience as you will struggle to see a more impressive sky at night, due to no light reflection. You are in the middle of nowhere ! The food was also fantastic all cooked on the campfire.
This tour out of all of them felt most like a camping trip. No showers, no bed and a shovel to dig a hole for a toilet. Back to nature for sure !
We arrived in Darwin on the 25th May after a lot of driving that day and every day come to think of it. That night we went out for Pizza and a few beers before heading back to my shared dorm for 4 hours sleep before heading on my next tour round the Kakadau.
So the usual early start and pick up by our guide Ruebin who had an aboriginal father making his perspective and knowledge a refreshing change..
The first day we went to Litchfield national park and a swim, waterfall and then a river cruise looking at wildlife and crocks. The second day was spent looking at rock art, swimming and sunset.
Day 3 was spent at a waterfall and travelling back to Darwin.
Kakadu was incredible for sheer natural beauty and i would have liked a few days to re charge the batteries before it as i found myself feeling like i'd seen it all before with a bit more culture attached.
28th May - usual meeting up with everyone in the pub for terrible food, beer and pub quiz (which we came 3rd in - robbed !)
29th May - Up early (4 hours kip) to fly to Cairns to begin the East coast.
I got To cairns to be greeted by rain and a lot of it. Something i'd seen very little of since leaving Manchester, apparently its tropical there. Maybe it should be called tropical Didsbury or Tropical Manchester, yeh right, its just wet !!
I checked in to the hostel and upgraded to a twin room as i wanted a good sleep and i knew Adi who was joining me that night from back home wouldn't entertain a shared dorm for love nor money.
That night we went for a proper meal with decent wine and everything.
30th May - up early to go on a boat trip on the Great Barrier reef including an intro scuba dive. It was a good day trip, lots of fish and a litle shark and some nice coral. We also found out that Adi gets sea sick, which was brilliant..
31st May - Off on a 3 day tour up to Cape tribultion via Mossman gorge and another river cruise looking at wildlife and crocks. We basically spent 3 days eating drinking and sleeping, just what the doctor ordered. It was raining a lot - apparently it is a rain forrest in Tropical Queensland - yeh whatever !
Cape trib was also full of strange characters such as a 60yr old man who looked like a wizzard pushing a pram around with puppies in it - exactly !
I also met a girl who was working at the hostel we were staying in who i had known from 16 years ago - small world !
3rd June - boot camp as Adi now called it (up early again !) consisted of white water rafting on the river tully. Brilliant day with a great group and a guide who looked like Nemanja Vidic (Man u defnsive machine !). A day of holding on for dear life, getting wet and hitting rocks.
Expensive but well worth it. The East coast is full of amazing things to do at a cost !
4th June - spent mostly on a bus from Cairns to Airlie beach. That night i stayed in the worst accomadation ever, prisoners stay in better rooms i'm sure of it.
5th June - we went on the Solway Lass sailing boat, sailing round the Whitsundays (a group of 74 islands)
The weather on the first night and following day was awfull. Most people stayed inside holding on to whatever they could. Being an idiot i obviously stayed outside getting soaked and getting involved with the sailing. No point moaning about the weather. Guess thats the Manc in me, whats a bit of rain ? Saying that it was a pretty bad storm.
The weather picked up nicely and we had a real laugh swimming, hanging off rope swings and drinking. Me and Adi were put in a room with a guy called Steve, a great character from Edinburgh.
The sailing trip was qulaity and like everything it depends on the people you meet and what you make of the experience.
We had a big night out when we got back to Airlie beach. We were staying at a nice place this time which even had a couch (which scottish Steve ended up on covered in Tomato sauce from the hotdog on the way home)
We spent the next day hanging around the lagoon waiting for the bus to Rainbow beach.
9th - Bus from Airlie beach to Rainbow beach (Fraser Island) A long journey (14 hours to be specific)
We arrived at 7am, went for brekkie, hit the beach and got ready for the meeting that afternoon to sort out our
self - drive 4WD trip. Thankfully our group was a nice mix of people, looking around there were some right clowns in the other groups. (Normally involves Kiwis or Aussies)
Our group was made up of English, Irish, Scottish and an American.
In a nutshell you are given a big 4WD, food, tents and a map & you're on your own to explore the biggest sand island in the world populated by a few locals and lots of Dingos.
We had 11 people crammed into the thing and off we went. We actually had 2 birthdays, Erin (the American) on the first night and Craig (Boro boy) on the second night. So we spent 3 days driving on the sand, visiting lakes, camping, star gazing and having a laugh. p.s weather was beautifull !!
The night we got back to Rainbow beach turned into a messy one drinking Goon (awfull cheap wine) and singing South songs (Sunday league football team- Don't ask !)
14th June - Guess what ? 7.30am bus to Byron Bay. Nothing else to report that day except it was the first day that i gave Adi a budget and a task to book us into a hostel. He managed to stick to the budget but unfotunately booked us into a hostel in the gold coast, so we found somehwre else in Byron - over budget ! If you want something doing....
Out that night for proper food and wine .
In case you hadn't noticed travelling to a budget was long gone !
Next day was a day trip to Nimbin - a hippy colony, full of tree huggers, dreadlocks and a laid back atmosphere to put it mildly !
Byron was a nice place witha good feel to it, a few more days there would have been good, you can't have everything though i guess.
16th - Jump out of a plane day. What an experience. 14,000 FT skydive, over 60 second freefall. ( see dvd - back home)
That aftenoon still trying to get my head round it we flew to Sydney. Met Graham and went to comedy night at the opera house, lots of Wine, Sambucca and Vodka.
I had been travelling with Adi down the East coast, we parted company in Sydney, so back to the world of backpacking and working to some sort of budget and talking to randoms.
17th - 20th - caught up with a few mates, stayed with Graham and took time out in Sydney before heading to New Zealand !
Australia had been great fun, i had certainly fit a lot in and would be back at some point, don't know where, don't know when !

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Photos

Tully river
White water rafting

Whitesundays
Whitehaven beach

Comments

[Gabs]

but I know we'll meet again...
some Satinoff do do do dooooo