Bye Bye Australlia Hello New Zealand......

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**NEWS FLASH NEWS FLASH**

During our time on Fraser Island someone stole our little home (aka the tent) out of the luggage store in the hostel. This left Clare and I distraught as we had become quite attached to our little Oztrail 3dome. We did however not make it onto the National news due to this incident as some people believe (mostly the families). After working out how much we had saved from camping before the tent was stolen (which ended with us breaking even) we decided to go back to the hostels for the remaining few nights.

So the last time you heard from us we were in Airlie Beach waiting to sail the Whitsundays. We set aboard the Camirra early in the morning and were greeted by the crew and some tea and biscuits, mine and Clares favourite past time. After a couple of hours we reached our first destination, Hook Island. Here we jumped off board into the (not so warm) sea for a little bit of snorkling. After seeing some pretty coral and fish we got back on board and had some more tea but this time with some cake.... mmmmmm. By this time the sun was on full show so we set up camp in a nice sunny spot and took in the beautiful scenery whilst helping ourselves to drinks from the open bar. The next stop was Whitehaven Bay which was absolutely stunning, it looked exactly like what a postcard looks like, clear blue sea, white sand and nothing else for miles. Here we were taken ashore to spend an hour or so on the beach. After getting snap happy and writing messages in the sand we sat and relaxed on the lovely beach. Getting back on the boat we were treated to lunch, the biggest and best BBQ you can imagine. We had sausages, chicken, steak and fish and a huge amount of salad. The rest of the afternoon was spent sailing back to the Harbour at Airlie Beach. We just sat relaxing in the sun whilst taking advantage of the open bar and snacks on board. We arrived back in the Harbour at sunset and made our way back to the hostel where we just chilled out and got an early night ready for our early bus to Magnetic Island the next morning.

Magnetic Island is a fairly big island just off the coast from Townsville. We got the bus to Townsville then the Ferry across to Magnetic. We stayed at the xbase hostel which was really cheap for campers but due to the stealage of our tent we booked into a dorm courtesy to Sam (thankyou very much Dad). On arrival we were told we could upgrade for an extra $2 a night to the sanctuary room which was an all girls 6 bed dorm and you were provided with towels, AVEDA shampoo, conditioner and soap and as much champagne as you could drink between the hours of 6 and 7. Obviously we upgraded ourselves, but not for the free alcohol but for the towels..... you'll never appreciate how good a proper towel is until you have used a (not so) quick drying travel towel! After checking in we hit the bar for the free champagne and a free meal of calamari and chips. The next morning we decided to travel around the island on the local bus. First stop was the Koala Village to see some Koala bears (something Clare has been extremely excited about). Before seeing the Koalas we got to see and hold some other local creatures such as birds, lizards, crocodiles and a snake (arghhh). To hold a Koala you have to pay $14, this is a rule set by the Government so as Clare and I are pikey backpackers we didnt actually hold the Koala so we had a stroke while the guide held it. On our way out of the village we spotted a Koala in a tree on the road side so that was really cool to see one out in the wild. We then headed back down to Picnic Bay on the bus. We thought Picnic Bay was the hub of the Island but there actually wasnt much to see apart from a few fisherman so we just sat and had a drink then hopped back on the bus to the hostel. That night we went to the bar with some girls from the dorm next door for some drinks and the weekly quiz which we actually didnt do too badly in, the winners got 25 and we got 20, not bad. The next morning was another earlyish start to get the ferry back to Townsville so we could catch the bus to our final destination, Cairns.
Whilst we sat in the bus station waiting for the coach we realised actually how pikey we are! refusing to pay for overpriced soggy sandwiches we cracked open our coles cool bag and pulled out a couple of plates and a knife, a loaf of bread, philidelphia and a tomoto and proceeded to make our own sandwiches whilst sat on a metal bench at the bus stop, an absolute classic moment!
On the bus we were treated to 2 movies, One of the Batman ones and Avitar so we were kept well entertained on our last journey up the east coast.
We checked into our final hostel in Australia only to be told the dorms were full so we had been upgraded to a twin room, bonus! That night we treated ourselves to some magazines, something we havent bought since heathrow aiport back on the 29th December 2009 so we got a wee bit excited and spent the evening trying to catch up on the gossip but actually ended up getting confused as i think we have missed far too much! So please feel free to fill in the gaps. The next day we had a wonder around Cairns to see what it had to offer. Obviously we found the mall but just depressed ourselves with yet again looking at all the things we cannot buy but we did find a charity shop and purchased ourselves a handbag each for $3 as the lovely asia ones have died a sorry death (god bless them).
On our second day in Cairns we spent the day apart, the first time since leaving the UK all those months ago so it was a little strange but Clare decided to go diving on the Great Barrier Reef and as much as i would have loved to have gone i decided to save my money for some activities in NZ so i spent the day wondering around and joining the mass number of people sunbathing on the grass next to the harbour. Clare came back form her diving on a high as she got to see loads of pretty coral, huge fish and even some sharks! She got to do 3 dives on 3 different dive sights and by the sounds of it had a banquet on board. That night we went for dinner at the woolshed which povides free meals to backpackers who are staying in selected hostels (ours was one of them) with some people Clare met on her dive tour. After diner we headed straight for the bottle o to get some goon. We then went back to the guys hostel for some drinking games and goon fun before heading to the famous Gilligans nightclub across the road.
As Cairns as little to offer apart from diving we spent our final day wondering around and preparing for our departure. As we cannot afford another trip to the hairdressers we treated ourselves to some hair dye (chocolate chestnut for me and root touch up for Clare) and spent the afternoon dying our hair and packing our bags before catching up on some trashy english TV that evening.
The next morning we were up early to catch the shuttle bus to the airport for our flight to New Zealand. The duty free shop once again kept us entertained, i now think we both can tell you all you need to know about YSL make up as we generally spend all our time hanging around the counter appling makeup and pretending we our actually thinking about buying some, we wish!
The flight also kept us entertained with a huge selection of movies, tv programmes and music. We were amazed to see the last episode of Gavin and Stacey was an option so we caught up on that followed by a movie (500 days of Summer for me and Alice in Wonderland for Clare) and then some music videos. We were both a little disappointed the flight came to an end.

On arriving in Christchurch, New Zealand we were greeted by Brenda and Bruce, friends of Clares family. They live in a lovely house in the countryside just outside of the city and they have an amazing New Foundland dog called Bunts. On our first evening we got to sit by a log fire with a cup of tea to warm ourselves up from the shockingly cold weather. We spent the first day here in the house sorting out all our washing and catching up on all the little jobs we had to do. That evening Brenda cooked us a lovely meal of Beef Stroganoof followed by a bananna split, asolutely lovely. The next day Brenda dropped us off at the Riccarton Mall so i could buy myself a ski jacket to keep myself toasty warm. With no luck in the Mall we caught the bus into the city where i managed to pick one up in the sale. After the shopping was done we went for some lunch in a homely little cafe down Poplar lane before going to the Cathedral to climb the spiral so we could have a view of the city. We spent the rest of the afternoon having a wonder round and returning to the Cafe for some tea and cake before heading back to the mall to meet Brenda. We were treated to another lovely meal of Pork chops followed by cheese and biscuits and pineapple (we are really being spoilt!). The next morning Brenda dropped us of in the city so we could visit the Museum and Botanic Gardens which were both very interesting. Late on that afternoon Brenda and Bruce picked us up and drove us through the mountains to Lyttleton where we went for a gorgeous steak in a restaurant on London Street. On the way back through the mountains we go to see the City all lit up which was pretty amazing to see.
Today has been our last day in Christchurch as we are leaving in the morning to join the Kiwi Experience so after some homemade waffles for breakfast Brenda, Bruce and Bunts took us out to Akaroa which was beautiful. We sat and ate some fish and chips by the water before taking Bunts for a walk along the pretty road. We have just had a relaxing evening watching Shrek 3 on the TV before we hit the sack for the last time here (we have had a huge double bed each...). Its an early start for us in the morning as we are hoping to catch some of the England VS USA game on tv before we have to head off, come on England!!!

So we have had an absoultely wonderful time at Brenda and Bruces and have been really spoilt so thank you to Clares Aunty Elizabeth for putting us in touch and thank you to Brenda and Bruce for having us.

Hope you are all okay in the UK and are enjoying the summer. We are getting the winter we missed here, snow has been predicted on the weather forecast! How exciting.

Love to all

xxxxx

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Photos

Whitehaven Beach
Heaven

Comments

[Mimi]

wow, nice pics i love the sandy islands, i hope my Great Barrier Reef diving tours wud be as fabulous as yours!