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Published: November 11th 2008
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Elandra welcome party
The Cassowary that greeted me outside the Elandra Hey everyone
Just thought i'd update you all on whats going on, firstly work, on my first day at the Elandra the bus i needed to catch to get there drove past without stopping (good start) so Chris (the manager of the hostel) drove me there. I was greeted by a cassowary on the road who was trying her best to not let me pass and when something that can disembowel you doesn't want to let you pass you don't really argue so i had to wait until she went away until i could get to the reception at the Elandra, the receptionist took me to the Chef who was my boss who after spending around 5 minutes telling me how rubbish i was in general and how i wasn't going to be very good at the job then made me clean out wheelie bins full of moldy food! The rest of the week followed with the same bad tone and i was working from 11am until 3pm then from 6pm to whenever i was finished which was usually around half 12-2am! Although the job was really hard and the chef was horrible i still made the most of my
Bear tree
This was in someone's front garden near the beach time there and on my lunch breaks i looked around the area which was mainly beach but also had rain forest around as well, a few days in around half 10 one of the bar staff ran into the kitchen telling me to come quick and see something in the staff room (which wasn't really a room more a patio with a roof) when i got there everyone was stood on chairs or tables because there was a Taipan! You probably haven't a clue what that is but its a snake and not just any snake THE most poisonous snake in Oz they usually don't just attack you once they go again and again and you normally have around 30 mins to get help before it kills you! Apparently some guests staying at the Elandra had come to the bar saying there was a snake outside there room and they couldn't get in so one of the bar staff went to have a looked armed with a broom, and when they tried to shoo it away it kept going for the broom and was getting really aggressive until it almost bit one of the guests so they hit it with
Hostel
This is the seating area at the front of the hostel the broom in the hope it would go but it got even more aggressive and they had to kill it otherwise it would have attacked the guests the second they came out of there room.
The reason everyone was still on chairs and tables was because the snake was still moving even after being hit several more times, eventually it stopped though which is when i managed to get the photos. All in all i worked at the Elandra for 6 days and clocked up 54 hours!! I left on quite bad terms with the chef on Saturday night but it definitely hasn't changed my thoughts on how nice it is here i think he was a exception to the usually warm and friendly Aussie's i have met so far.
As the title suggests i couldn't only work without doing something fun so i planned on going to Dunk Island but sods law when i woke up it was chucking it down!! Which was the first bit of rain since i arrived in Oz, and just when i sat down to have breakfast and rethink my plans someone who lived a few houses down asked at the reception if
Diesel
This is the manger of the hostels dog-Diesel there was anyone who would want some work for a few hours and muggins here agreed to do it. It was just clearing some palm leaves that had fallen and generally tidying the garden and they said they'd give me $20/£8.70 an hour, i worked for an Italian man and his wife who had been living in Oz for 35 years but lived in Roma before, they were really nice and the work was easy, i just picked up the palm leaves and put them in a trailer and then emptied the trailer at the dump, all in all it only took me about an hour and 40mins and the guy paid me $60/£26ish! And he brought me a beer to say thank you so i'm glad i did it and it passed a bit of time, i spent the rest of the day chilling out by the pool and had an early night because i had to be up very early the next day.
I woke up at half past 6 because today i thought i'd cram in all the fun i could as its my last day in Mission Beach, I thought what better way to wake
Giant Cassowary
This Cassowary is the first thing you see when you get to mission Beach up then.......Throw myself out of a plane from 14,000ft!!! I got picked up at half 7 and we drove to the Jump the Beach (the company i was jumping with)office/airstrip, on the way it started chucking it down and i thought i might not be able to jump but when i arrived they assured me the weather would get better and i could definitely do it today, after a quick briefing on what i needed to do and a introduction to my instructor (Andre) we sat and watched a few videos of people who had jumped before whilst we waited for the weather to get better, then about 30 mins later it was all good to go and we got into the plane, the plane was tiny and only took 6 people (with the 6 instructors) and when it took off it was very different than when you take off in a jumbo jet it felt a lot faster and it seemed more realistic compared to the almost distanced feeling you get from flying in a jumbo, we flew for around 10 mins and when i thought we were almost as high as we needed to be i looked at
Leaf Bug
A weird bug that looked like a leaf at the hostel the altimeter on Andre's arm and we were only at 5,000 ft! It took another 10-15 more mins until we were at just over 14,000ft, i was the second to last person to jump so i saw everyone else going which was a little nerve racking but all in all i wasn't scared at all more exited than anything, before i knew it i was next, we shuffled along until my legs dangled out the door i looked down and below all you could see were the clouds which looked like the top of a beer, i tilted my head back and then we went! Its really hard to describe how it feels but the word euphoric almost comes close, for the 60 seconds that you are free falling at speeds of over 120mph it feels exactly like you are 'Free' for those 60 seconds no one can call you, no one can email or txt or even talk to you, your just unreachable and for those sixty seconds you just accept whats going on & enjoy every single second of it. This was truly THE MOST utterly amazing thing i have ever done in my life and i would
do it again in a heartbeat.
Tomorrow i head to Townsville which is where you catch the ferry to Magnetic Island, im staying for 2 nights until Thursday but im hoping to stay a day longer because on Friday there's a Full Moon Party, i've heard loads about these party's from people who have been to them in Thailand which is the main place that does them but apparently the ones on Magnetic are good too so i'll let you know.
Take care love Alex
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Simon
non-member comment
Awe inspiring!
Hey Alex Firstly sorry to hear about the moron of a chef who gave you a hard time, you did the right thing and left. Sounds like you're really enjoying yourself now and not at all thrown by your experiences, that's the hope that I had for this trip for you, that you would be able to cope with whatever life throws your way, and that you mature into the fantastic man that we all know you're capable of being. Skydiving!! what a buzz that must have been Alex, I'm genuinely envious as it's something I've always wanted to do, maybe it's never too late even for an old man like me. The way in which you recounted your feelings were lovely, it bought a tear to my eyes. Don't know what your plans are right now so keep blogging and let us know. Take care and have fun. Love, Simon