Advertisement
Published: February 4th 2007
Edit Blog Post
...Starring Jason and Marie
Jan 09 - Jan 21
I got to Brissy - the Aussies like to shorten every name if they can, passing the habit on to tourists like me. Jason arrived hungover from his Fraser Trip late that night to meet me. I was already asleep, but he tickled my feet anyways. I didn't appreciate the humour. It ruined my Zen. We had a look around Brisbane or BrisVegas, but almost missed our greayhound to Surfer's Paradise. With about a half hour left to arrival time in Surfer's, Jason started ringing a list of hostels to book a couple of beds for that night. This was the first time we encountered a problem with doing so. All hostels were completely full. The cheapest accomodation we could find was a Motel room for $84. This was going to burn a hole in our wallets so we considered our only other option. Jason has an aunt who lives in Gold Coast, so even though we weren't completely sure if it was a couple hours away from Surfer's or just a couple minutes, we gave her a ring anyways. It turned out that this city was just 15 minutes
drive from Surfer's, and that we were more than welcome to stay with them for a few nights. What a relief! Anna went out of her way to come pick us up from the Greyhound station and make two beds up for us. We were so lucky.
Anna and Don; the two we were staying with, did so much to help us out during our stay. They suggested the best sights and activities, took us out to eat, and just really went out of their way to make us feel at home. We thought we were going to have to sleep with the crabs and the seashells on the beach. Sounds magical I know, but we really weren't in the mood to wake up with sand in our ears ;P
On our first full day in Surfer's, we ventured off to look for some excitement. We found some almost immediately, but for $100 each!! Bungee Jumping TO THE MAX in the heart of downtown Surfer's. We decided - what the hell. Describing it as scary isn't fully accurate. It was heart-numbingly insane.......I mean for Jason of course. At the first sight of the 40 m monstrosity, Jason began
BrisVegas Baby!!
Jason and I ran around a little bit in City Hall. This was one of the pretty impressive rooms we ran into. to wimper, then broke out into full blown bawling. Awe... I said I'd jump first. I was pretty nervous getting to the top, not to mention when I finally had the bungee strapped to my ankles, looking down at my target. I mean my body could not physically come to throw itself off of the structure. I must say, I'm quite relieved to have that instinctive characteristic. After three countdowns, my body finally prevailed and I lifted my arms to a 180 degree angle, shut my eyes, and just tipped off the edge. Jason described it as looking majestic. Hehehe. When I opened my eyes on the way down I freaked out big time and cursed like a sailor. I mean, all I could see were upside-down buildings, and the ground falling on top of me. The video is on my camera to prove it.
Jason went next. He describes himself as "fearlessly swan-diving off of the platform without hesitation." Haha ya..right. He did do more of a dive than I did I guess. Overall, it was a really cool experience and I'm happy I did it. Though, now my thrill level has somewhat heightened and I'm always on
Flying in Surfer's
Having our pre-jump ciders before plunging off the 40m crane in Surfer's Paradise the search for something a little dangerous and exciting. I LOVE IT!
Jason and I also bought some really cool fun-filled boogie board shaped blow-up rafts from City Beach Surf Shop. We spent a day using those on the waves in Surfer's. Then looked around town some more, bought a litre of about 7 different flavours of Baskin Robins Ice cream to share, then just chilled with Anna and Don for the night.
The next morning, we woke up to catch our greyhound to Byron Bay. This time, we did our homework and called ahead for dorm beds in Byron. All were fully booked for about four days, so our other option was Nimbin. Now, Nimbin is something else. The land of the hippies. Home of Mardi Grass, and yes, I mean Grass. So Jason and I were booked on the midday 'Happy Bus' from Byron to Nimbin. We were so looking forward! We got to our hostel there; Grandma's Farm, and were welcomed by two 60-year-old hippies. It was a cool place. Two pools, a pool table, and a really laid-back atmosphere.
Next, was Coff's Harbour; a fishing Port town. This was one of our fav.
stops. The hostel was spotless, and the staff were really helpfull. We went out for fish and chips right at the harbour, walked along the beach, and just chilled. We stayed two nights, then hopped on a night bus for our final leg of the journey. It would be seven long and uncomfortable hours until we would arrive in Sydney. Our final destination in Australia.
We arrived tired, caught a bus to Bondi Beach, checked into a hostel, and caught a little shut-eye on the beach. Then, we went into the city centre to sort out our tax and superannuation, and have one last look around. We met up with Leo and a couple of friends from Perth for a few drinks on the beach later that night. Jason left for Singapore the next afternoon. The last couple of days for me went by way too fast. Leo borrowed a car from some friends and we drove to Manly Beach, went out for dinner, shopped (;P), then went to the top of the AMP Tower in downtown Sydney for the sunset. It was amazing! We could see the whole city from the top. Sydneys unbelievable! We got out of
;)
Stoked about his jump there around 11:30 pm or so, then headed home to make dinner. It was the latest dinner I have ever had. It was ready by 1:30 am. I didn't get much sleep as I had to pack and leave the house by 5 in the morning. Leo helped me pack, then drove me to the airport...again. I almost missed my flight to Singapore, because we were enjoying our Chai Lattes a little too much to get distracted. I wasn't ready to leave Australia just yet, but all the same I was excited to embark on my last adventure of the year-long trip; Asia.
Here's a small excerpt from Bill Bryson's book, "Down Under", that in short, best describes Australia's authenticity for me:
"Australia is the world’s sixth largest country and its largest island. It is the only island that is also a continent, and the only continent that is also a country. It was the first continent conquered from the sea, and the last. It is the only nation that began as a prison. It is the home of the largest living thing on earth, the Great Barrier Reef, and of the largest monolith, Ayers Rock (or Uluru
to use its now-official, more respectful Aboriginal name). It has more things that will kill you than anywhere else. Of the world’s ten most poisonous snakes, all are Australian. Five of its creatures—the funnel web spider, box jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus, paralysis tick, and stonefish—are the most lethal of their type in the world. This is a country where even the fluffiest of caterpillars can lay you out with a toxic nip, where seashells will not just sting you but actually sometimes go for you. Pick up an innocuous cone shell from a Queensland beach, as innocent tourists are all too wont to do, and you will discover that the little fellow inside is not just astoundingly swift and testy but exceedingly venomous. If you are not stung or pronged to death in some unexpected manner, you may be fatally chomped by sharks or crocodiles, or carried helplessly out to sea by irresistible currents, or left to stagger to an unhappy death in the baking outback. It’s a tough place."
I must say that Australia has so many charms to it. It is by far one of the most fascinating countries I have ever visited. I had an amzing year
;)
Of course this excitement came after the crying... spent in this country and will never forget all the friends I have made and all the memories to come with it.
>>>>>MORE PHOTOS TO COME SOON!!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.07s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 14; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0318s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb