Blogs from Australia, Oceania - page 4002

Cairns - 14/02/07-20/02/07 Just before we get into our trip to Cairns, there’s something I need to mention about Oz that’s been bugging me since we got here and I keep forgetting. Australia doesn’t have 1 or 2 cent coins in circulation. Nothing particularly strange or annoying with that I hear you say, but it is when they keep pricing everything as $4.27 or $16.99. You get to the checkout and you either have to round up or down. How daft is that ?? Anyway, as mentioned in an earlier instalment, part of my 30th birthday present was to go diving for three days on the Great Barrier Reef and do our Advanced Open Water Scuba certificate. We’ve been looking forward to this part of our trip basically since Lee booked it and we did all ... read more

Dear Blog, Although I was totally dreading the flight beforehand, it wasn't really that bad after all. Mainly because I did manage to get a bit of kip, but also because it was broken up a bit by a stop in Melbourne. But one thing that I found so hard to conceive is how how far away New Zealand is. In fact it made me a bit upset to think that I was leaving all my friends and family so far behind. But I gave myself a mental slap round the face (with Catrina's voice ringing in my ears) and I was fine after that. I sat next to a really nice girl from Somalia who has emigrated to New Zealand because of the war. She told me that she has 12 brothers and sisters who ... read more

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY NORTH AMERICA!!! I know I'm a bit early, but it's the 14th over here already. Visions of Boris all night long. For a lame spider, he sure does make his way around the house pretty fast. Got up for the call of nature last night, looked up, and there he was staring at me. SHRIEK!!! Not that Dave came running to save me or anything (Note to Dave: what the fuck kinda emergency services worker are you anyway!?!?). The toilet is separate from the shower (like a powder room) and this arrangement is common in older style homes. Unfortunately for me, the toilet also happens to be right next door to the laundry room (= Boris's hood). Oh well. Maybe I can train him to do tricks? Can't wait to play hide and ... read more

What a fabulous day i have had! we got up early and took a boat out to the amazing great barrier reef. Lots of small jellyfish around so we all looked fabulous in our stinger suits (as you can see by the photo!). We decided to just snorkel, (due to financial reasons mainly!) but also because i plan to go diving later on my trip in melbourne. We were taken about 30km out to see the reef. There was a tiny sandy island in the middle of the ocean where we started our exploring. before we could go to the tiny island, we had to wait for a couple to get married first - how cute on valentines days! The reef was absolutly amazing. i dived in Thailand but that didn't even come close to what ... read more

So I have finally arrived in Brisbane at Griffith University!!! I left SeaTac and flew to LAX, then onto Brisbane International Airport. Overall the flight was about 16 or 17 hours. Surprisingly enough, the LAX to Brisbane portion didn't seem that long to me... Those planes really do have everything though! Quantas had installed in a whole entertainment system in the plane so that each person has their own mini tv. You can watch premiere movies, tv, sports, news, interviews, cds, radio, view the flight plan, play games, and use it as a phone. Craziness. For now I'm just going to get settled in and unpack and go buy things I will need. I am so glad I am finally here. I can already tell that I am going to love it! Actually eariler today while ... read more