Blogs from Oceania - page 7434

Now that i am travelling alone, i seem to have a preoccupation with meeting other people, this has stemmed a bit from an email i received from Cal (the guitarist who i met in New Zealand) who said that meeting others is the most rewarding part of travelling. Therefore on my first day in Alice Springs i was looking to talk to people and try to latch on to them a bit (god, I'm insecure). Anyway i met a few people who all seemed to range from coming across as fine to annoying. However the people i met that i really did like were a British couple called Jo and Rich. They are in their mid thirties and have been travelling on and off (but mostly on) for three years and are two and a half ... read more

Sydney’s ‘Big Day Out’ one day music festival is the Aussie version of Scotland’s ‘T In The Park’ (TITP). We managed to buy some last minute tickets online by basically sitting for an hour on the internet 2 days before Christmas Eve in Kalbarri waiting for an extra allocation to go on sale. We were lucky as so many peeps have tried and failed to get their hands on these tickets for some months now, such a popular event it is. This year’s line up was due to be really great with some of our favourites listed as playing; including gems such as White Stripes, Magic Numbers and Kings of Leon. With this in mind we’d been really looking fwd to the day arriving when we’d don our festy gear and trip along to the Olympic ... read more

You can play dot-to-dot with my mozzy bites and the actual inside of my ears are peeling, which is a unique and lovely experience. My fault for not applying enough insect repellent and sunscreen, respectively, but it has in no way detracted from the amazing last couple of days I had in Northern Queensland. First, diving on the Great Barrier Reef. An undescribably surreal experience, so I am not even going to try, except to say that I saw giant clams, starfish, all sorts of sea cucumbers (remember those little bad boys, Gill, Wenders and Orla??!), hundreds of multicoloured fish including clownfish and one large black scary looking one that isn't at all scary - a Great Crevally. I stroked a sea turtle too. But the most exhilariting moment was coming within 5 metres of a ... read more

Here's a few more photos. This place is just a few kilometres south of Dunedin city, which looks pretty awesome when the sun's out. Not really a surfing beach, but a small wave trying to come through. The last picture is of a wild penguin hiding in a cave. Not a great picture but you get the idea. Played my first game of golf the other week too. Good course, crap golf. Thanks for your suggestions on naming my sheep. So far we have: "Willy Warmer" (Let's overlook the fact that it's a girl sheep. Perhaps it should be Willie Warmer?) "I-will-be-betrayed-murdered-and-eaten Woollypants" (fair do's mon) "B*gger the sheep" (thanks Samara!) "Shaft the sheep" (thanks Samara, there's a theme emerging here) "Stew the sheep" (or for that matter - "Roast" the sheep) "Oi Ewe" (ok, but ... read more

Had technical and domestic problems with camper van, so arrange to swop it for another one in Cairns, so head back south earlier than planned. Set off from Cairns and continue South, only to experience more van issues! Not going well. How we long for the heady days of YHA'ing across Australia. It seems we are unable to get a refund from the company, so have to stick with the miserable thing. We plough on regardless, but decide some nights in regular accomodation or called for. Camping in faulty vans and monsoons is NOT a good combination! Spend the night in Townsville, capital of North Brisbane, and called into Mission beach for a run en route.... read more