Thursday, 27 August 2009
Day twenty six
Today we drove. And we drove. Then we drove some more. Then we threw the sat-nav out the window and drove a little bit more.
Day twenty five
Today we woke up to a clearer day but the snow had melted quite a lot so unfortunately we were unable to do the Shotover River Jet boat as the river was too tumultuous. We decided instead to head out of Queenstown to an old gold mine on the side of the river which we had passed on the way into town. We had seen they also did jet boating so we thought we’d have a look. It worked out in our favour in the end because their jet boat was still running and we were the only ones there too. It was great fun hurtling round the river really really fast and doing spins and sideways drifts. Our guide stopped at various points and explained a little of the history of the Kawara River which is where lots of gold was found during the gold-rush years.
After the boating we stopped in the mine and learnt a bit about the mining then had a turn ourselves. We had to dig up the ground and pan through it; we were hopeful as a few weeks ago a kid found a piece worth $300. Several pans of dirt later and with very cold hands we gave up having found nothing. Not even a shiny rock. One guy who was there at the same time found a little bit though; probably worth about $10 – hardly life changing but hey, it’s a start.
In the evening we had a really nice dinner in a place called Tatler. Mark had pate, lamb shanks with veg and chocolate brownie. I had ham and pea soup, goats cheese and roasted veg stack with salad and white choc cheesecake. Yum yum yum.
After the boating we stopped in the mine and learnt a bit about the mining then had a turn ourselves. We had to dig up the ground and pan through it; we were hopeful as a few weeks ago a kid found a piece worth $300. Several pans of dirt later and with very cold hands we gave up having found nothing. Not even a shiny rock. One guy who was there at the same time found a little bit though; probably worth about $10 – hardly life changing but hey, it’s a start.
In the evening we had a really nice dinner in a place called Tatler. Mark had pate, lamb shanks with veg and chocolate brownie. I had ham and pea soup, goats cheese and roasted veg stack with salad and white choc cheesecake. Yum yum yum.
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Day twenty four
What a long day! We were up at seven to get our coach to Milford Sound. We got our coach on time and then spent an hour driving around Queenstown trying to pick up other passengers which was slightly annoying to say the least. Our first stop on the 4.5 hour drive was at some mirror lakes. Unfortunately due to the torrential rain they weren’t mirroring anything but they were still very pretty. The next stop was Te Anau; a little town about halfway between Milford and Queenstown. The initial delay meant that our next stop, a wildlife sanctuary, was cut short to only ten minutes. It was only a small place; just about seven or eight pens with different native birds in them but it still would have been nice to have seen them all properly anyway. The next two hours from Te Anau to Milford were without a doubt the most incredible two hours driving ever. The Fjordland National Park is so beautiful and so rugged it feels totally untouched by humanity but for the small windy mountain road than meanders trough it. On one side the road is bordered by lakes so vast that boats appear like dots on their surfaces and on the other enormous snow-capped mountains rise up disappear into the clouds. Because it was raining so much the mountain sides were covered in hundreds of little (and some not so little) waterfalls which looked like little white veins. There had been lots of recent avalanches and the snow in some places on the road side was taller than the coach.
We stopped off just before Milford at a place called The Gorge which is a point at which five different rivers meet. To get to it we had to walk through some forest which was literally roaring with the sound of waterfalls. We passed two or three small ones which were really pretty; lush green forest, smooth rock and torrents of water made for some good photos. Then we reached the main Gorge and the noise from the water was almost deafening. I suppose it was a good side to the awful weather as the rainwater had swelled the rivers and the main waterfall was really spectacular. Where the main body of water fell it cut a massive hole in the rock and it was a really incredible sight. This part of the day was made particularly good for me personally because when we got off the bus we were greeted by a Kea. I don’t know if you know Keas but if you watched that programme on the Pacific recently they are the green alpine parrots that live in New Zealand. I thought they were really cool when I saw them on tv. There are only 200 of them left and there was one greeting us off the bus! His name is Harry apparently and he comes and greets the bus everyday. He was literally right outside the door eyeing each passenger as we got off. He gave a little “keeeeaaa” and went off to investigate the next car that came along. It was very cool.
So anyway, we got to Milford eventually and went on our cruise. It was nice – but the weather was complete crap which meant that the picture card views were somewhat obscured by cloud. However, the rain meant that the waterfalls here were very full too. Despite the rain though, it was still amazing to see – and the clouds gave quite an eerie feeling to the place. We got to see some NZ fur seals up close too which was cool. It’d be really good to go back in the future when the weather is better.
On the way home we stopped in Te Anau for dinner and then settled down on the coach to watch a film for the journey home. Unfortunately our driver (who was slightly on the senior side) couldn’t work the DVD so the movie didn’t happen and it was a bit of a long, slow journey home. A really good day though. Tomorrow we’re jet boating.
We stopped off just before Milford at a place called The Gorge which is a point at which five different rivers meet. To get to it we had to walk through some forest which was literally roaring with the sound of waterfalls. We passed two or three small ones which were really pretty; lush green forest, smooth rock and torrents of water made for some good photos. Then we reached the main Gorge and the noise from the water was almost deafening. I suppose it was a good side to the awful weather as the rainwater had swelled the rivers and the main waterfall was really spectacular. Where the main body of water fell it cut a massive hole in the rock and it was a really incredible sight. This part of the day was made particularly good for me personally because when we got off the bus we were greeted by a Kea. I don’t know if you know Keas but if you watched that programme on the Pacific recently they are the green alpine parrots that live in New Zealand. I thought they were really cool when I saw them on tv. There are only 200 of them left and there was one greeting us off the bus! His name is Harry apparently and he comes and greets the bus everyday. He was literally right outside the door eyeing each passenger as we got off. He gave a little “keeeeaaa” and went off to investigate the next car that came along. It was very cool.
So anyway, we got to Milford eventually and went on our cruise. It was nice – but the weather was complete crap which meant that the picture card views were somewhat obscured by cloud. However, the rain meant that the waterfalls here were very full too. Despite the rain though, it was still amazing to see – and the clouds gave quite an eerie feeling to the place. We got to see some NZ fur seals up close too which was cool. It’d be really good to go back in the future when the weather is better.
On the way home we stopped in Te Anau for dinner and then settled down on the coach to watch a film for the journey home. Unfortunately our driver (who was slightly on the senior side) couldn’t work the DVD so the movie didn’t happen and it was a bit of a long, slow journey home. A really good day though. Tomorrow we’re jet boating.
Love from us xxxx
Monday, 24 August 2009
Day twenty three
A nice lie in this morning till 10 then we got up and headed to the town centre. We had some brunch and then went for a walk around the waters edge. It’s so pretty here; the town is right on the edge of Lake Wakitipu which is massive and is bordered by mountains on all sides. We decided to go on a cruise around the lake which was really nice. We saw all the posh bits of the town including NZ’s first ever “million dollar neighbourhood” which is an area where the average cost of a property is over a million – and you can see why. The captain told us that the lake is the biggest in New Zealand in terms of water volume and is over 80km long – it’s amazing.
After our boat cruise we took a gondola up the mountain side to the top of the mountain which overlooks Queenstown. It was a very steep climb up and gave spectacular views. At the top of the gondola there was a luge track which was great fun; we did five runs on it. It was really fast and full of twists and turns and tunnels and hills.
Mark then decided that he wanted to do a tandem paraglide off the mountain side back down to Queenstown. I did think about it but decided against it so went back down the gondola and waited for him at the bottom. He said it was brilliant though: really peaceful but at the same time exhilarating; particularly during turns. He’s done something daredevil-ish so he’s happy.
This evening we had a free beer (courtesy of the paragliders) in a local brewery which was really nice and then had a pizza. It’s bloody cold here; it’s about minus one tonight but we’re glad that it’s winter as it is so pretty with all the snow on the mountains.
Tomorrow we’re doing a whole day tour to Milford Sound which is a four hour drive away. We’re not driving though as it’s a difficult drive apparently and it was cheaper to get the coach anyway.
Love from us xxxxx
After our boat cruise we took a gondola up the mountain side to the top of the mountain which overlooks Queenstown. It was a very steep climb up and gave spectacular views. At the top of the gondola there was a luge track which was great fun; we did five runs on it. It was really fast and full of twists and turns and tunnels and hills.
Mark then decided that he wanted to do a tandem paraglide off the mountain side back down to Queenstown. I did think about it but decided against it so went back down the gondola and waited for him at the bottom. He said it was brilliant though: really peaceful but at the same time exhilarating; particularly during turns. He’s done something daredevil-ish so he’s happy.
This evening we had a free beer (courtesy of the paragliders) in a local brewery which was really nice and then had a pizza. It’s bloody cold here; it’s about minus one tonight but we’re glad that it’s winter as it is so pretty with all the snow on the mountains.
Tomorrow we’re doing a whole day tour to Milford Sound which is a four hour drive away. We’re not driving though as it’s a difficult drive apparently and it was cheaper to get the coach anyway.
Love from us xxxxx
Sunday, 23 August 2009
Day twenty two
Up early this morning to head to Queenstown. A seven hour drive with nothing but a country music radio station for company (oh yes, along with a gear box which either selects 2000 or 5000 revs and an accelerator which is either on or off we have a radio which tunes between 76.0 and 88.9 – country music FM). In the end though it was a great drive and certainly didn’t feel that long. We stopped first of all in Geraldine and had a cooked breakfast, then stopped at Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki which were amazing. Imagine the pictures you’ve seen of NZ that’s where we were. The lakes were huge and the water was so clear. We drove for a while through the Southern Alps listening to Crowded House on the iPod (I know it’s clichéd but it had to be done – if you don’t know what I’m talking about it’s the song from the “visit NZ” adverts). The iPod died after about twenty minutes so we only had the tuneful sound of whining from the car as music. Oh well; it was still a great drive and we saw more cows and sheep than people. It’s good that we can share the driving; it makes it a lot less tiring. We’ve just got to the hotel – it’s nice; nothing amazing but clean and comfortable and with a mountain out the window.
Love from us xxxxxxxx
Love from us xxxxxxxx
Day twenty one
Today was a day of contrasts… This morning we had a nice breakfast in our hotel and then headed to the spa and each had a massage. It was soooo relaxing. The girl who “did” me was really good – she knew exactly what hurt and what I wanted and I came out feeling relaxed and my shoulders felt really loose. Mark was a little worried that it was a bit girly but there were actually more men there than women and he enjoyed it too. So that was my half of the day. Mark then had his choice of activity. Quad biking. It was… (please choose option from below and insert here)
Option One:
… great fun! I got to zoom around stunning scenery on a massive quad bike; spraying through mud, splashing through rivers, zooming up and down hills, over jumps and through scrubland. I also got to play the hero as some knob in front of me tried to take a hill too fast and ended up at the bottom of a ditch with a quad bike on top of him. I came home covered in mud and it was brilliant.
Option Two:
… Bloody terrifying. After a bumpy and horrible turn round the training track I gave up and told the instructor I wasn’t going any further as I couldn’t steer the thing and nearly killed a cow. I then had to sit on the back of the instructor’s bike which, in front of seven cocky blokes, was really embarrassing. I then spent two hours being driven around the NZ country side being scared s***less by the crazy kiwi driving at top speed spraying through mud, splashing through rivers, zooming up and down hills, over jumps and through scrubland. I have pulled every muscle in my arms, shoulders and neck thus undoing all the hard work of the massage. I came home covered in mud and it was not brilliant.
After returning to boredom / sanity we headed home and didn’t do a lot in the evening. We just played a few games of Rummykub and cards.
Option One:
… great fun! I got to zoom around stunning scenery on a massive quad bike; spraying through mud, splashing through rivers, zooming up and down hills, over jumps and through scrubland. I also got to play the hero as some knob in front of me tried to take a hill too fast and ended up at the bottom of a ditch with a quad bike on top of him. I came home covered in mud and it was brilliant.
Option Two:
… Bloody terrifying. After a bumpy and horrible turn round the training track I gave up and told the instructor I wasn’t going any further as I couldn’t steer the thing and nearly killed a cow. I then had to sit on the back of the instructor’s bike which, in front of seven cocky blokes, was really embarrassing. I then spent two hours being driven around the NZ country side being scared s***less by the crazy kiwi driving at top speed spraying through mud, splashing through rivers, zooming up and down hills, over jumps and through scrubland. I have pulled every muscle in my arms, shoulders and neck thus undoing all the hard work of the massage. I came home covered in mud and it was not brilliant.
After returning to boredom / sanity we headed home and didn’t do a lot in the evening. We just played a few games of Rummykub and cards.
Day twenty
Day twenty (eeek – it’s gone so quickly!)
This morning we headed off early to Hanmer Springs which is a town about two hours drive from Christchurch. As you may guess from the name it’s the sight of a thermal spring. The drive up here was amazing – Top Gear should come here. Long windy roads take you through hills and mountains and alongside freshwater streams. The more we see of New Zealand the more beautiful it appears; and the air is just so clean. It’s just a shame we’ve got a crappy automatic which has absolutely no soul – the steering is too light, the engine gear changes are slow and really clunky (like driving with a learner) and the accelerator is either on or off. Even the Fiesta would be a thousand times more fun to drive around these roads. Ah well, it does the job.
Anyway, when we got here we decided that it was far too beautiful to only spend a few hours here so we checked ourselves into a hotel so we can stay tomorrow too. We headed straight to the hot springs. It’s about ten degrees here so getting into swimming stuff was not pleasant, I can tell you. The pools were lovely though and made it all worth it. There were three hot freshwater pools, eight hot rock pools, three sulphur pools, a water slide pool for the kids and a normal pool. Apart from the normal pool the temperatures ranged from 33 degrees to 37 degrees in the rock pools; 36 – 38 in the freshwater pools and the sulphur pools were 41 degrees. Oooooh. It was so nice and relaxing and the setting couldn’t be more picturesque. Trees and rocks everywhere and the backdrop was a massive, snow-covered mountain. The only problem was getting out – it was bloody freezing to say the least. Oh, and the sulphur pools stank to high heaven too. Mmmm, rotten eggs. We got a return pass so we went out for a bit and then returned in the evening – it was really nice to be there in the dark as well; a bit quieter and the lights are really cool. Even colder getting out second time around though. There was a great machine in the changing rooms called the suit mate. Basically it’s a tiny spin dryer but you pop your costume in and turn it on for five seconds and it’s dry. It’s the best invention – no more soggy swimming bags!
After washing the egg smell off we headed to the street (there is only one here) for dinner. We didn’t realise that everything would be closed at half eight after having been in Sydney where nothing ever closes. It actually worked in our favour though as we ended up in the only place that was still open and it was so yummy. It was an Indian restaurant called Malabar and it’s run by a couple who came from Mumbai (population 18 million) about ten years ago to Hanmer (population 800). The food was so good and we weren’t surprised to learn that the restaurant has won awards. Now we’re watching the cricket – looks like you’re having good weather over there!
This morning we headed off early to Hanmer Springs which is a town about two hours drive from Christchurch. As you may guess from the name it’s the sight of a thermal spring. The drive up here was amazing – Top Gear should come here. Long windy roads take you through hills and mountains and alongside freshwater streams. The more we see of New Zealand the more beautiful it appears; and the air is just so clean. It’s just a shame we’ve got a crappy automatic which has absolutely no soul – the steering is too light, the engine gear changes are slow and really clunky (like driving with a learner) and the accelerator is either on or off. Even the Fiesta would be a thousand times more fun to drive around these roads. Ah well, it does the job.
Anyway, when we got here we decided that it was far too beautiful to only spend a few hours here so we checked ourselves into a hotel so we can stay tomorrow too. We headed straight to the hot springs. It’s about ten degrees here so getting into swimming stuff was not pleasant, I can tell you. The pools were lovely though and made it all worth it. There were three hot freshwater pools, eight hot rock pools, three sulphur pools, a water slide pool for the kids and a normal pool. Apart from the normal pool the temperatures ranged from 33 degrees to 37 degrees in the rock pools; 36 – 38 in the freshwater pools and the sulphur pools were 41 degrees. Oooooh. It was so nice and relaxing and the setting couldn’t be more picturesque. Trees and rocks everywhere and the backdrop was a massive, snow-covered mountain. The only problem was getting out – it was bloody freezing to say the least. Oh, and the sulphur pools stank to high heaven too. Mmmm, rotten eggs. We got a return pass so we went out for a bit and then returned in the evening – it was really nice to be there in the dark as well; a bit quieter and the lights are really cool. Even colder getting out second time around though. There was a great machine in the changing rooms called the suit mate. Basically it’s a tiny spin dryer but you pop your costume in and turn it on for five seconds and it’s dry. It’s the best invention – no more soggy swimming bags!
After washing the egg smell off we headed to the street (there is only one here) for dinner. We didn’t realise that everything would be closed at half eight after having been in Sydney where nothing ever closes. It actually worked in our favour though as we ended up in the only place that was still open and it was so yummy. It was an Indian restaurant called Malabar and it’s run by a couple who came from Mumbai (population 18 million) about ten years ago to Hanmer (population 800). The food was so good and we weren’t surprised to learn that the restaurant has won awards. Now we’re watching the cricket – looks like you’re having good weather over there!
Day nineteen (part two)
After our tea and cake in Christchurch we wandered around the town a little and walked through the botanical gardens which were really lovely. The weather here is perfect for that sort of thing – it’s very fresh and bright which makes for quite pleasant walking weather, and it was nice to sit in the rose garden for a while in the sunshine. The centre of Christchurch is quite eclectic in its style; in some parts it feels quite provincial, in some it’s reminiscent of European gothic quarters and in others almost American. Certainly seems like a lovely place though.
When we finished exploring the town centre we decided to go for a drive in the hills around Christchurch and wow, we can understand why Peter Jackson found this place so attractive. The hills whose foothills the town is situated in are more dramatic than anything we’ve seen in the UK. Huge rolling hills, clear lakes, sheer drops and lush pine forests form a beautiful backdrop for the city which lies on a huge plain forming the vista all the way to the Southern Alps which can be seen miles away in the centre of the country. It’s difficult to do justice to how beautiful this country is and we haven’t even been much beyond Christchurch yet. We sat for a while on a large rocky hill which gave fantastic views over the landscape and, needless to say, took a lot of pictures. This evening we had dinner and played Rummykub with Jessie and a former foreign student of theirs, Komiko, who has come back to visit.
xxxxxxxxx
When we finished exploring the town centre we decided to go for a drive in the hills around Christchurch and wow, we can understand why Peter Jackson found this place so attractive. The hills whose foothills the town is situated in are more dramatic than anything we’ve seen in the UK. Huge rolling hills, clear lakes, sheer drops and lush pine forests form a beautiful backdrop for the city which lies on a huge plain forming the vista all the way to the Southern Alps which can be seen miles away in the centre of the country. It’s difficult to do justice to how beautiful this country is and we haven’t even been much beyond Christchurch yet. We sat for a while on a large rocky hill which gave fantastic views over the landscape and, needless to say, took a lot of pictures. This evening we had dinner and played Rummykub with Jessie and a former foreign student of theirs, Komiko, who has come back to visit.
xxxxxxxxx
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Day nineteen (part one)
Steve doesn’t have wireless so at the moment we’re sitting in Starbucks by Christchurch Cathedral having some lunch. We're having a lovely (if slightly cold) time so far. We’ve been into the Cathedral and up the spire - very nice views from the top although by Sydney standards Christchurch is more of a small town than a city. The church was nice inside too and we were particulary intrigued by a wall design comprising lots of little swastikas... the plaque next to them emphasised that they were built into the wall and were intended to represent the orignal (peaceful) meaning of the Hindu symbol rather than that the moustache-sporting-genocidal Austrian guy. Still, slightly bizarre. We’re going to mooch around and then drive around the scenery ourselves after we’ve eaten.
(Little aside; Mark has just spotted a cake in Starbucks called a Chocolate Covered Afghan - he is very amused)
Love from us xxxx
(Little aside; Mark has just spotted a cake in Starbucks called a Chocolate Covered Afghan - he is very amused)
Love from us xxxx
Day eighteen
Today we got up at 5am (uuggghhh) and went to the airport for our flight to Christchurch. Our flight was OK – nothing much to report there. We picked up our car which was a bit of a surprise. It’s older than we expected – we thought we’d booked a new one. It’s not bad though, and the plus side is that they don’t care about chips on the paintwork. The problem is that it’s automatic and its wipers and indicators are in the wrong place – gonna take some getting used to! We didn’t do a lot in the evening; Steve took us for a little tour around the area – it’s gorgeous; so dramatic. We had spaghetti for dinner and headed gladly to bed :-)
Day seventeen
We had a busy day sightseeing today. First we went up the Sydney Tower which is the same height as the Eiffel Tower and affords great panoramic views around the city. Part of our ticket was to see the “Oztrek” experience. Well, what an experience. Not. Honestly, we sat through a virtual tour of Australia which was as cheesy as gorgonzola and was clearly designed to sell as much of the country as possible to tourists. The actual tower though was very good and we both enjoyed the views a lot. We also enjoyed having lunch overlooking the city – that was nice. After that we walked to the Chinese Garden of Friendship which was really lovely. It was a little spot of tranquillity in a busy city.
We then wandered towards the Harbour Bridge and walked about halfway across it to take in the views of the harbour. The area around the bridge is nice – it’s a bit like The Lanes in Brighton; all old buildings and little twittens. After mooching about the shopping district for a while we headed back to the hotel for a bit and then headed out for dinner. We ate in the Blackbird Café which is a really tasty restaurant overlooking Darling Harbour. It’s quite swanky around there – lots of lights which look really pretty reflected in the water. We’re going to pack now – New Zealand tomorrow! Can’t believe it’s going so quickly.
Love from Us xxx
We then wandered towards the Harbour Bridge and walked about halfway across it to take in the views of the harbour. The area around the bridge is nice – it’s a bit like The Lanes in Brighton; all old buildings and little twittens. After mooching about the shopping district for a while we headed back to the hotel for a bit and then headed out for dinner. We ate in the Blackbird Café which is a really tasty restaurant overlooking Darling Harbour. It’s quite swanky around there – lots of lights which look really pretty reflected in the water. We’re going to pack now – New Zealand tomorrow! Can’t believe it’s going so quickly.
Love from Us xxx
Day sixteen
We did a bus tour today. It took us all around the city and we saw all the sights and learnt a little bit of the history of Sydney too. After completing the bus tour we went to the Australian Museum which was really good. It had lots of exhibitions but particularly good were the Indigenous Australian exhibition and the Dangerous Australians exhibition. The Indigenous Australian told the story of the Aboriginals and Torres Straits Islanders and how they were treated throughout the early years of the European occupation. There was a harrowing part about the stolen generations which refers to a policy of forcible separation of Indigenous children from their parents by the Australian government.
After the museum we hopped back on the bus and went to Darling Harbour which is a revamped area of old industrial harbour side. There are lots of shops and things to see there, including a Chinese Garden which was closed but we’re going back there tomorrow. It’s a nice part of town with lots of nice views of the water and also of the business district’s enormous skyscrapers. We decided to get on the monorail which takes you round in a circle around the centre of the town – that was a novel way of seeing the city; weaving in and out of buildings. For dinner we had a Pizza Hut buffet; bit boring but it was cheap! (and I didn't throw up either - score!)
After the museum we hopped back on the bus and went to Darling Harbour which is a revamped area of old industrial harbour side. There are lots of shops and things to see there, including a Chinese Garden which was closed but we’re going back there tomorrow. It’s a nice part of town with lots of nice views of the water and also of the business district’s enormous skyscrapers. We decided to get on the monorail which takes you round in a circle around the centre of the town – that was a novel way of seeing the city; weaving in and out of buildings. For dinner we had a Pizza Hut buffet; bit boring but it was cheap! (and I didn't throw up either - score!)
Sunday, 16 August 2009
Day fifteen
We moseyed into town this morning and stopped in “Hyde Park” (quotation marks intended) for brunch. We walked all round the harbour side and then got on a tour boat around the harbour which showed us all the sights. The harbour bridge is particularly impressive from the water. Sydney is a really lovely city; we’ve basically spent the last two days walking around aimlessly! In order to make up some of what we spent last night we’ve been to Coles and bought ourselves an indoor picnic for dinner. Tomorrow we think we’re going to take a bus tour and maybe go to the botanical gardens.
xxxx
xxxx
Day fourteen
Today we said afuwiedersehen to Cairns and arrived in Sydney. Our hotel is really nice, just a Travelodge but it’s got all we need and we’re on the 14th floor so we have great views over the city. It’s a while away from the harbour but it’s a nice walk and there is a train station nearby so that’s OK. We dumped our stuff (after a twenty min wait in reception whilst a tour bus of old ladies tried to work out how to use the lift) and wandered into town. We walked around the Opera House and looked at the spectacular views.
In the evening we decided to splash out on a swanky meal so we chose a restaurant underneath the bridge, right on the harbour with views overlooking the Opera House. It was lovely. Well, until I choked on a piece of Parma ham and threw up into a napkin. How classy. Literally the nicest restaurant I’ve ever been in and I manage to make an arse of myself. Nonetheless, the food was really good and we really had a good evening; it’s just such a great location.
Love from us xxx
In the evening we decided to splash out on a swanky meal so we chose a restaurant underneath the bridge, right on the harbour with views overlooking the Opera House. It was lovely. Well, until I choked on a piece of Parma ham and threw up into a napkin. How classy. Literally the nicest restaurant I’ve ever been in and I manage to make an arse of myself. Nonetheless, the food was really good and we really had a good evening; it’s just such a great location.
Love from us xxx
Saturday, 15 August 2009
Day thirteen
Today we did nothing. And it was lovely. Well, we got the bus to Palm Cove a really lovely beach in Cairns’ northern suburbs. And we really did nothing all day. Sydney tomorrow.
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Day twelve
Today was a fantastic day. We set sail on our sailboat at 8am and headed towards Michaelmas Cay which is a spit of sand about two hours from Cairns. It’s home to over 15,000 sea birds, which is quite something given that it’s quite small. There was an amazing reef just off the beach which we snorkelled on for an hour or two. It was so incredible! The corals were so many different colours and there were fish everywhere – all the different ones you see on the programmes. We saw a ray and lots of giant clams and hundreds and hundreds of tangs and schooling fish and parrot fish. We swam back to the boat and underneath the boat were massive giant trevellians that are about two – three foot. The lunch on the boat was really nice and after we’d finished eating we headed to Paradise Reef. They’re not joking when they call it that! Unlike Michaelmas Cay, there was no island; we just jumped straight off the boat into the sea. Here the coral was even more vibrant colours and there were thousands and thousands of schooling fish everywhere. We swam around and took lots of photos and realised that we had drifted to the edge of that piece of reef – there was a cliff there which was so deep it was unbelievable how far down the reef shelf goes. It was truly wonderful to see such an amazing part of the world so up close. We headed back towards Cairns at about 3.30 and we were sitting on deck sunbathing when we heard this loud “ppppffffftttt” and I looked up and saw a whale’s blowhole about fifty metres off and then it disappeared. Suddenly there it was, right next to the boat! It stayed with the boat playing in the surf for a while giving us some great photo ops and then we saw another one. It was the perfect end to a great day. We’re both very tired now!!
xxxxxx
xxxxxx
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Day eleven
Today was a lazy day. We got up late and read our books for a while and then walked into town. We bought a special bag thing for our cameras so that we can take them under water which will be great for tomorrow when we go to the reef. We got on a bus and headed slightly out of the city to DFO which is a big discount mall. They have one in Melbourne which I went to before which was really good but unfortunately this one wasn’t so great as it had just opened and only had about half the amount of shops. I did buy a new handbag though which is really nice. After we got back we just came back to the hotel and sat by the pool reading and sunbathing all afternoon which was nice and relaxing. We had another buffet for dinner but not Italian this time – that’s one thing we’ve been eating far too much of so we’re trying to broaden our culinary choices a bit. Tomorrow will be great as we’re heading out on to the reef – gotta get up at 6 though. Yuck.
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Day ten
Today we went to Kuranda. We got on our bus driven by Mick, a John McCain lookalike/ stand up comedian/bus driver – he made the journey interesting; talking to pensioners about his days as a dope smoking hippy and the perils of getting hot rocks in between the sheets. Very amusing. We got to Cairns Central train station where we boarded the Kuranda scenic railway; an old 1930s train to take us up the windy (as in full of twists and turns not full of gusts of air) tracks through the mountain ranges to Kuranda village in the mountains. The journey was really beautiful. It takes you all through the mountains and forest, over Barron Gorge and Barron River. The train takes the path of a railway line that was built to link the mountains to the coast and that was a built entirely by hand in the late 19th century. It’s quite a feat of engineering really as the track carves through some pretty treacherous territory and the on-board commentary tells you some of the stories of those who built the line.
Kuranda village is full of little things to do: lovely shops, museums, art galleries and, of course, wildlife sanctuaries! We first stopped in a café for some refuelling and then went to the Kuranda Koala gardens. I should explain that for those that don’t know this is where I went two years ago and held Irwin, the 2yr old Koala. Well this time, a baby Koala had just come out of his mother’s pouch for the first time and his dad was Irwin! He was sooooo cute! He was only eight months old and just the tiniest little thing ever. His name was Little O. Mark and I then took turns to cuddle a Koala which was great. Her name was princess and she was very fat and furry and nice. I mentioned to the girl that I had previously held Irwin and she told me that he was in isolation as he’s going through the grumpy teenager stage and has started biting. She then said we could go up to see him if we wanted, so we got to go back stage at the zoo which was cool. Whilst up there we saw a cockatoo and it said hello to us, which was very exciting. Then, after a bit more cooing at Little O, we went and fed some more wallabies and kangaroos and headed to the venomous animal zoo. It was great looking at all the snakes and spiders until the guy got a tarantula out which wasn’t so great. I held a Shingleback Lizard which was cool – they’re great little guys, they mate for life and when one dies, the other starves itself to death. I also held a Blue Tongued Lizard and a Black Olive Snake – Mark politely declined to hold any of them. Wuss.
We mooched around Kuranda until it was time to catch the Skyrail back down to Cairns. The Skyrail is a really, really long cable car that goes for about 5km over the most spectacular scenery. You cruise in a little pod over the canopy of the forest and can look into the trees and see all the life of the rainforest from the air. It’s really good and we took way too many photos.
We just got back from a HUGE curry in town which was very nice. Had ice cream on the way home which was really good I had lychee and blood orange and Mark had mint and toblerone. Yum yum yum
Us xxxxx
Kuranda village is full of little things to do: lovely shops, museums, art galleries and, of course, wildlife sanctuaries! We first stopped in a café for some refuelling and then went to the Kuranda Koala gardens. I should explain that for those that don’t know this is where I went two years ago and held Irwin, the 2yr old Koala. Well this time, a baby Koala had just come out of his mother’s pouch for the first time and his dad was Irwin! He was sooooo cute! He was only eight months old and just the tiniest little thing ever. His name was Little O. Mark and I then took turns to cuddle a Koala which was great. Her name was princess and she was very fat and furry and nice. I mentioned to the girl that I had previously held Irwin and she told me that he was in isolation as he’s going through the grumpy teenager stage and has started biting. She then said we could go up to see him if we wanted, so we got to go back stage at the zoo which was cool. Whilst up there we saw a cockatoo and it said hello to us, which was very exciting. Then, after a bit more cooing at Little O, we went and fed some more wallabies and kangaroos and headed to the venomous animal zoo. It was great looking at all the snakes and spiders until the guy got a tarantula out which wasn’t so great. I held a Shingleback Lizard which was cool – they’re great little guys, they mate for life and when one dies, the other starves itself to death. I also held a Blue Tongued Lizard and a Black Olive Snake – Mark politely declined to hold any of them. Wuss.
We mooched around Kuranda until it was time to catch the Skyrail back down to Cairns. The Skyrail is a really, really long cable car that goes for about 5km over the most spectacular scenery. You cruise in a little pod over the canopy of the forest and can look into the trees and see all the life of the rainforest from the air. It’s really good and we took way too many photos.
We just got back from a HUGE curry in town which was very nice. Had ice cream on the way home which was really good I had lychee and blood orange and Mark had mint and toblerone. Yum yum yum
Us xxxxx
Monday, 10 August 2009
Day nine
Today we got up early and packed our stuff up ready to head back to Cairns. We had our breakfast and waited outside for the van which was picking us up at 10.30. The guy didn’t turn up until nearly twelve which was slightly vexing but never mind. In the mean time we made friends with a couple from London who had travelled Perth, Alice Springs, Melbourne, Sydney, Cape Trib and Port Douglas all in three weeks. Anyway, the van arrived and the source of the delay became immediately obvious. Our driver shouldn’t have been allowed to drive a golf buggy, let alone an 8 seater bus up one of the most treacherous roads in Australia. The guy drove at a steady 45kmph in a 100kmph zone and seemed reluctant to use any gear other than third or forth. He also didn’t seem to be used to the handbrake and its uses. We passed one of his fellow drivers who stood and took the piss out of him as he burnt the clutch like a first lesson learner. It took a long time to reach Cairns.
Nevertheless, we got here in the end and it was quite nice to be back in touch with people! Our hotel is nice, it’s like a motel but the room is nicely decorated and clean, and for some reason we’ve been given a family room so it’s nice and big. This evening we moseyed into town and looked around all the shops. We stopped for tea at this nice coffee/tea place which made me very happy as it had a proper selection of teas; not just your standard breakfast/earl grey. Mark was very happy to find a Rip Curl and a Billabong shop and has two new shirts (and they’re not white!!) which are very nice. For dinner we just went to the Italian next to the hotel which was doing a buffet for £10 a head – suited us down to the ground as we just spent $500 on trips for the week. We’ve booked trips to Kuranda and to the reef so that’ll be good. Otherwise not much to report today.
Love from us xxx
Nevertheless, we got here in the end and it was quite nice to be back in touch with people! Our hotel is nice, it’s like a motel but the room is nicely decorated and clean, and for some reason we’ve been given a family room so it’s nice and big. This evening we moseyed into town and looked around all the shops. We stopped for tea at this nice coffee/tea place which made me very happy as it had a proper selection of teas; not just your standard breakfast/earl grey. Mark was very happy to find a Rip Curl and a Billabong shop and has two new shirts (and they’re not white!!) which are very nice. For dinner we just went to the Italian next to the hotel which was doing a buffet for £10 a head – suited us down to the ground as we just spent $500 on trips for the week. We’ve booked trips to Kuranda and to the reef so that’ll be good. Otherwise not much to report today.
Love from us xxx
Day eight
Post-dated
A busy day!
We woke up early this morning and went down to the Cassowary Café at the restaurant for breakfast and then back up to reception where we were meeting our van to take us kayaking around the Cape Trib headland. Our driver, Stewie, arrived and we headed off up the Cape Trib track (just past our lodge the only road north turns into a dirt track – the only route to the next town which is 106km away). After a bumpy journey we pulled off road and through the forest into a clearing where Stewie kept all the equipment. The actual kayaking itself was great. We went from Cape Trib beach, past all the mangrove forests and around the headland onto Myall beach. The tide and winds were working against us on the way there so it was bloody hard work and we got totally soaked. We stopped for a bit on Myall beach and took in the sights. Stewie went off to find us some coconuts, and we set off back around the headland to Cape Trib beach. It was much easier coming back again (particularly for me as I was in the back of the kayak on the way home so I could slack off a bit hehehe). We were just navigating over the shallow coral that lines the beach when we saw a brown patch just to the left of us. Then the brown patch lifted a flipper up at us! It was a turtle! Wow – what a sight, to see a real turtle just swimming around about ten metres from where we were. It was really amazing. After we had finished kayaking we went back to the forest clearing and Stewie husked the coconuts for us and we all drank the milk and ate the flesh which was pretty cool.
Stewie himself needs a little explaining we think. Thirty-something bloke with unkempt hair who walks around the forest and beach without shoes on. He calls people “bro” and “sister”, his house has no windows or doors, he eats berries off trees and his motto is “where palm trees don’t grow, I don’t go”. He pointed out a shack in the forest (literally four wooden posts, some corrugated iron and a few planks of wood for walls) where he lived for THREE years before he moved to the house with no windows or doors. Apparently when his wife makes him go to Cairns and stay in hotels he refuses to have the air con on and leaves all the windows open. He owns the company and basically spends his mornings kayaking, has four hours off then goes out again in the evenings for two hours. In the quiet months he likes to go to the bush and go camping. He was certainly a true Aussie beach bum.
This afternoon after a quick shower we walked just up the track to Cape Trib exotic fruit farm for a fruit tasting session. It was really good – the farm is totally organic and is run by a couple who came here from Melbourne to retire. We tasted Tahitian lime, bread fruit (this was cooked like chips - Mark’s favourite), pomello (like grapefruit), longan (like lychee), sapodilla, yellow sapote (looks like hard boiled egg yolk - Mark’s 2nd favourite), star apple, black sapote (looks like chocolate – tastes like yuck), rollina and soursop (Siobhan’s favourite). We went for a walk through their orchard where they grow over 150 kinds of exotic fruit and all sorts of other stuff like tumeric (which looks a bit like ginger), cinnamon and vanilla.
This evening we went for food at the Cassowary Café (burger for me, pasta for Mark) and then walked along to Cape Trib beach again. It was absolutely stunning as the sun was setting and it cast this fantastic orangey hue across the whole beach, which in itself has everything you could want in a tropical paradise – sand, sea, forest and mangroves. We walked up through the forest to a lookout point which takes in the whole beach.
We learnt a lot more about Cape Tribulation today. There are only 100 people who live here, and they all know each other. The road was only tarmaced (and that is a loose use of the term) five years ago and before that if it rained it could take days to get from the Daintree River to the village. (The Daintree is the place where you leave civilization behind – you cross the river on a little barge and then all roads, phone signal and life disappears behind you – I suggest you Google it if you’re interested). There is one school which is about half an hour down the road and from ages five to eighteen there are about 25 pupils. The local grocers charges for plastic bags and gives the proceeds to the school.
It’s only 7.25 – I’ve been in my pajamas for an hour already! It gets dark pretty early and the dark is so penetrating you don’t really want to go out anywhere. However, it’s really nice just chilling out and reading our books. Back to Cairns tomorrow morning.
A busy day!
We woke up early this morning and went down to the Cassowary Café at the restaurant for breakfast and then back up to reception where we were meeting our van to take us kayaking around the Cape Trib headland. Our driver, Stewie, arrived and we headed off up the Cape Trib track (just past our lodge the only road north turns into a dirt track – the only route to the next town which is 106km away). After a bumpy journey we pulled off road and through the forest into a clearing where Stewie kept all the equipment. The actual kayaking itself was great. We went from Cape Trib beach, past all the mangrove forests and around the headland onto Myall beach. The tide and winds were working against us on the way there so it was bloody hard work and we got totally soaked. We stopped for a bit on Myall beach and took in the sights. Stewie went off to find us some coconuts, and we set off back around the headland to Cape Trib beach. It was much easier coming back again (particularly for me as I was in the back of the kayak on the way home so I could slack off a bit hehehe). We were just navigating over the shallow coral that lines the beach when we saw a brown patch just to the left of us. Then the brown patch lifted a flipper up at us! It was a turtle! Wow – what a sight, to see a real turtle just swimming around about ten metres from where we were. It was really amazing. After we had finished kayaking we went back to the forest clearing and Stewie husked the coconuts for us and we all drank the milk and ate the flesh which was pretty cool.
Stewie himself needs a little explaining we think. Thirty-something bloke with unkempt hair who walks around the forest and beach without shoes on. He calls people “bro” and “sister”, his house has no windows or doors, he eats berries off trees and his motto is “where palm trees don’t grow, I don’t go”. He pointed out a shack in the forest (literally four wooden posts, some corrugated iron and a few planks of wood for walls) where he lived for THREE years before he moved to the house with no windows or doors. Apparently when his wife makes him go to Cairns and stay in hotels he refuses to have the air con on and leaves all the windows open. He owns the company and basically spends his mornings kayaking, has four hours off then goes out again in the evenings for two hours. In the quiet months he likes to go to the bush and go camping. He was certainly a true Aussie beach bum.
This afternoon after a quick shower we walked just up the track to Cape Trib exotic fruit farm for a fruit tasting session. It was really good – the farm is totally organic and is run by a couple who came here from Melbourne to retire. We tasted Tahitian lime, bread fruit (this was cooked like chips - Mark’s favourite), pomello (like grapefruit), longan (like lychee), sapodilla, yellow sapote (looks like hard boiled egg yolk - Mark’s 2nd favourite), star apple, black sapote (looks like chocolate – tastes like yuck), rollina and soursop (Siobhan’s favourite). We went for a walk through their orchard where they grow over 150 kinds of exotic fruit and all sorts of other stuff like tumeric (which looks a bit like ginger), cinnamon and vanilla.
This evening we went for food at the Cassowary Café (burger for me, pasta for Mark) and then walked along to Cape Trib beach again. It was absolutely stunning as the sun was setting and it cast this fantastic orangey hue across the whole beach, which in itself has everything you could want in a tropical paradise – sand, sea, forest and mangroves. We walked up through the forest to a lookout point which takes in the whole beach.
We learnt a lot more about Cape Tribulation today. There are only 100 people who live here, and they all know each other. The road was only tarmaced (and that is a loose use of the term) five years ago and before that if it rained it could take days to get from the Daintree River to the village. (The Daintree is the place where you leave civilization behind – you cross the river on a little barge and then all roads, phone signal and life disappears behind you – I suggest you Google it if you’re interested). There is one school which is about half an hour down the road and from ages five to eighteen there are about 25 pupils. The local grocers charges for plastic bags and gives the proceeds to the school.
It’s only 7.25 – I’ve been in my pajamas for an hour already! It gets dark pretty early and the dark is so penetrating you don’t really want to go out anywhere. However, it’s really nice just chilling out and reading our books. Back to Cairns tomorrow morning.
Day Seven
In the Daintree Rainforest. Post-dated
We got up early this morning to leave Port Douglas and head to Cape Tribulation. It was sad to leave Port Douglas as we had a great time there and it was a great little place with just the right mixture; it was vibrant enough to be fun but not so busy that it felt like Blackpool! Our little 8 seater coach headed up the coast road past some truly stunning scenery. It’s a measure of just how remote the place is that the twice-a-day coach also delivers all the produce and newspapers to the area. We’re staying in a lodge in the rainforest, about 500m south of the Cape Trib headland. It is more basic than we had imagined but it’s grown on us and it’s quite cool really. It’s in dense rainforest with one road that runs parallel to the sea, with a few paths coming off it. Up one of those paths is a series of huts nestled in the forest – that’s pretty much where we are. Just a little hut with a little bathroom. No TV, no internet, no phone, no mobile signal; it’s quite strange but really good. So far no killer spiders either, which is a plus.
We got here and dumped our bags and wandered the five min walk down the track towards the beach (Myall Beach). We stopped on the “high street” along the road and had some lunch. The high street consists of a shack which serves as a café and a tourist information point and opposite another shack which consists of a grocers and a pharmacist.
In between the beach and the road there is a strip of forest which you can either walk straight through and down to the beach or there is a boardwalk which the local eco-tourism board has set up so you can walk around some of the rainforest in a controlled and safe way. We did that which took about an hour and a half. It was great because we could see all the plants and learn a bit about them and we saw scrub fowl and a forest dragon. We could hear all the sounds of the rainforest that you usually hear on wildlife programmes too. No crocs or cassowaries thank God. (Cassowaries, for those that don’t know are emu sized birds with a blue and red horned head which have razor sharp feet that they use to puncture your stomach if you come between them and their eggs). The board walk was really good as we could go through the mangrove forest at the edge of the forest without fear of crocs. The scenery is incredible here. Sandy beaches and blue sea bordered by dense lush rainforest and mountains as far as the eye can see. When we finished our boardwalk we walked along the beach for a little bit before heading back to the lodge where we both fell asleep – still don’t think we’ve quite got this time difference malarkey.
This evening we decided not to go to the hotel restaurant but to the restaurant where our bus had delivered some produce earlier on. It was only about 150m away from our hotel and it was absolutely fab. It was called “Whet” and it was another shack set in the forest with a veranda which you can eat on. It also serves as a cinema for the locals and tourists with a projector and a pull down screen. They show one film three times a day. The veranda was actually in the forest, so much so that you could hear the sounds of the birds and insects whilst eating. The food was great - Mark said it was the best steak he’s ever had – and that’s saying something; the man’s had a lot of steak. The walk back to the lodge, however, was not so good. It was totally and completely pitch black. We couldn’t see our hands in front of our faces and we had no torch. On either side of the road we were walking down was dense rainforest inhabited by things that don’t appreciate English tourist stumbling upon them in the night! We had to get our phones out and just try our best to see the edge of the road. The only way we didn’t miss the turning for the track up to the lodge was by luck; a car happened to pass just as we were near it and so illuminated the road sign. It was amazing, however, to see the sky. There are just so many stars; it’s absolutely beautiful to see them all twinkling away.
Aaw… A lizard just crawled along our window! We’re going to sit on our veranda with a glass of wine and a pack of cards now. Oh, and mosquito repellent too!
We got up early this morning to leave Port Douglas and head to Cape Tribulation. It was sad to leave Port Douglas as we had a great time there and it was a great little place with just the right mixture; it was vibrant enough to be fun but not so busy that it felt like Blackpool! Our little 8 seater coach headed up the coast road past some truly stunning scenery. It’s a measure of just how remote the place is that the twice-a-day coach also delivers all the produce and newspapers to the area. We’re staying in a lodge in the rainforest, about 500m south of the Cape Trib headland. It is more basic than we had imagined but it’s grown on us and it’s quite cool really. It’s in dense rainforest with one road that runs parallel to the sea, with a few paths coming off it. Up one of those paths is a series of huts nestled in the forest – that’s pretty much where we are. Just a little hut with a little bathroom. No TV, no internet, no phone, no mobile signal; it’s quite strange but really good. So far no killer spiders either, which is a plus.
We got here and dumped our bags and wandered the five min walk down the track towards the beach (Myall Beach). We stopped on the “high street” along the road and had some lunch. The high street consists of a shack which serves as a café and a tourist information point and opposite another shack which consists of a grocers and a pharmacist.
In between the beach and the road there is a strip of forest which you can either walk straight through and down to the beach or there is a boardwalk which the local eco-tourism board has set up so you can walk around some of the rainforest in a controlled and safe way. We did that which took about an hour and a half. It was great because we could see all the plants and learn a bit about them and we saw scrub fowl and a forest dragon. We could hear all the sounds of the rainforest that you usually hear on wildlife programmes too. No crocs or cassowaries thank God. (Cassowaries, for those that don’t know are emu sized birds with a blue and red horned head which have razor sharp feet that they use to puncture your stomach if you come between them and their eggs). The board walk was really good as we could go through the mangrove forest at the edge of the forest without fear of crocs. The scenery is incredible here. Sandy beaches and blue sea bordered by dense lush rainforest and mountains as far as the eye can see. When we finished our boardwalk we walked along the beach for a little bit before heading back to the lodge where we both fell asleep – still don’t think we’ve quite got this time difference malarkey.
This evening we decided not to go to the hotel restaurant but to the restaurant where our bus had delivered some produce earlier on. It was only about 150m away from our hotel and it was absolutely fab. It was called “Whet” and it was another shack set in the forest with a veranda which you can eat on. It also serves as a cinema for the locals and tourists with a projector and a pull down screen. They show one film three times a day. The veranda was actually in the forest, so much so that you could hear the sounds of the birds and insects whilst eating. The food was great - Mark said it was the best steak he’s ever had – and that’s saying something; the man’s had a lot of steak. The walk back to the lodge, however, was not so good. It was totally and completely pitch black. We couldn’t see our hands in front of our faces and we had no torch. On either side of the road we were walking down was dense rainforest inhabited by things that don’t appreciate English tourist stumbling upon them in the night! We had to get our phones out and just try our best to see the edge of the road. The only way we didn’t miss the turning for the track up to the lodge was by luck; a car happened to pass just as we were near it and so illuminated the road sign. It was amazing, however, to see the sky. There are just so many stars; it’s absolutely beautiful to see them all twinkling away.
Aaw… A lizard just crawled along our window! We’re going to sit on our veranda with a glass of wine and a pack of cards now. Oh, and mosquito repellent too!
Friday, 7 August 2009
Day six
Hello everyone :-)
Today we've had a lovely day in this wonderful part of the world. This morning we got up early and headed off to "Breakfast with the Birds" at the local zoo which is just up the road from the hotel. It was really great; we had a massive buffet meal accompanied by all sorts of different birds. The lorikeets were the best, they were so cheeky. One in particular decided that he liked my apple juice and kept sticking his beak in it. When I put a napkin over the top of the glass he knocked if off :-) he kept on doing it until he got sick of me putting the napkin back on top and he nipped me then flew away to a more obliging table. After breakfast we walked around the zoo and saw all the animals of Australia including a rather sweet pair of nesting stalks who were tending their nest of eggs. Apparently this is a sight to behold as they are the world's only captive breeding pair of this species. We also bought some kangaroo feed and got to hand feed kangaroos and wallabies (and some cheeky ducks who tried to get in on the action) - they were so cute! One little wallaby had a baby in her pouch he was soooo tiny and cute and lovely!
This afternoon we headed to the beach which was looooovely - so relaxing and nice. We read our books and listened to music and swam in the sea. This evening we had HUGE pizzas in Port Douglas village (and I mean huge - Mark couldn't even finish it) and now we're preparing to leave for Cape Trib in the morning. There'll be no internet up there I don't think so will blog again after the weekend.
Love, M & S xxx
Today we've had a lovely day in this wonderful part of the world. This morning we got up early and headed off to "Breakfast with the Birds" at the local zoo which is just up the road from the hotel. It was really great; we had a massive buffet meal accompanied by all sorts of different birds. The lorikeets were the best, they were so cheeky. One in particular decided that he liked my apple juice and kept sticking his beak in it. When I put a napkin over the top of the glass he knocked if off :-) he kept on doing it until he got sick of me putting the napkin back on top and he nipped me then flew away to a more obliging table. After breakfast we walked around the zoo and saw all the animals of Australia including a rather sweet pair of nesting stalks who were tending their nest of eggs. Apparently this is a sight to behold as they are the world's only captive breeding pair of this species. We also bought some kangaroo feed and got to hand feed kangaroos and wallabies (and some cheeky ducks who tried to get in on the action) - they were so cute! One little wallaby had a baby in her pouch he was soooo tiny and cute and lovely!
This afternoon we headed to the beach which was looooovely - so relaxing and nice. We read our books and listened to music and swam in the sea. This evening we had HUGE pizzas in Port Douglas village (and I mean huge - Mark couldn't even finish it) and now we're preparing to leave for Cape Trib in the morning. There'll be no internet up there I don't think so will blog again after the weekend.
Love, M & S xxx
Thursday, 6 August 2009
Day five
Our flight was alright in the end – although we did have a stopover in Darwin which we didn’t know about. Basically we got off the plane and stuck into a holding pen for two hours watching “Good Morning America” (not Good Morning Australia?). Neither of us managed to sleep; but in the end that worked to our favour because as we flew down the coast to Cairns we got to witness the most stunning sunrise – see facebook for photos. It was really something.
We got to the airport and straight on the coach to Port Douglas. I fell asleep straight away on the coach! Our hotel is really lovely. We have a huge room, with balcony overlooking the pools and a hot tub J how cool is that? Whilst waiting for our room to be ready though we went for a walk along the beach into Port Douglas town centre. Wow. What a beach. Truly a tropical paradise; golden sands, blue sea and palm trees. Our hotel is pretty much at the end of Four Mile Beach and the town centre is at the other end so we walked the whole way with our feet in the sea which was really nice. In the town centre we had fruit salad and ice cream for lunch and wandered around. We went inside St Mary’s by the Sea church which is so quaint and cute and then we walked all the way back again. Needless to say a sleep was in order when we got to our room!
This evening we got a shuttle bus into town and had a look round the many restaurants before settling on an “Australian-Italian Fusion Restaurant” which was very yummy. It’s really amazing here – hot but not oppressive heat as in Singapore and the contrast in the air quality is astounding and very welcome! Tomorrow we’re having “Breakfast with the Birds” at the local wildlife sanctuary then spending the rest of the day on the beach J
Us xxxxxxx
We got to the airport and straight on the coach to Port Douglas. I fell asleep straight away on the coach! Our hotel is really lovely. We have a huge room, with balcony overlooking the pools and a hot tub J how cool is that? Whilst waiting for our room to be ready though we went for a walk along the beach into Port Douglas town centre. Wow. What a beach. Truly a tropical paradise; golden sands, blue sea and palm trees. Our hotel is pretty much at the end of Four Mile Beach and the town centre is at the other end so we walked the whole way with our feet in the sea which was really nice. In the town centre we had fruit salad and ice cream for lunch and wandered around. We went inside St Mary’s by the Sea church which is so quaint and cute and then we walked all the way back again. Needless to say a sleep was in order when we got to our room!
This evening we got a shuttle bus into town and had a look round the many restaurants before settling on an “Australian-Italian Fusion Restaurant” which was very yummy. It’s really amazing here – hot but not oppressive heat as in Singapore and the contrast in the air quality is astounding and very welcome! Tomorrow we’re having “Breakfast with the Birds” at the local wildlife sanctuary then spending the rest of the day on the beach J
Us xxxxxxx
Day four
Day four (post-posted!)
We’re sitting here in Singapore airport waiting for our plane so thought we’d take the opportunity to write today’s (Wednesday’s) blog. Today we got up and packed our stuff and headed to the water front to go on the Singapore Flyer. It’s the world’s largest observation wheel and is much like the London Eye. It’s a bit better actually, because they give you an information audio guide which tells you a little about each of the things that you can see. The view was really good despite the cloudy weather. The view over Marina Bay was particularly good as we were able to see a massive new development from the air. We also could see the F1 track and pit-lane, which was pretty cool.
After the Flyer we went to a few nearby shopping malls where I found two nice dresses and a particularly lovely pair of shoes they’re so pretty!!!
That’s about it for today – just waiting to get on our flight to Cairns. A bit disappointed as we specifically chose a Qantas flight and they’ve stuck us on a JetStar (Aus equivalent to Ryanair) flight instead which is in a tiny plane and has to stop in Darwin; rather than the non-stop flight we had requested. There better be TVs and food! Also, we aren’t sitting next to each other; as we have different surnames they didn’t place us together. A bit stupid so hopefully someone will move to let us sit together. It’s not the first time Singapore has been confused about the lack of marital status actually; the check in staff were very confused at the hotel. Just goes to show that whilst modern on the outside, somethings stay quite antiquated (although it’s quite nice that Mark always gets given the bill!!) Oh well, hopefully it’ll be alright.
Love, Us xxxx
We’re sitting here in Singapore airport waiting for our plane so thought we’d take the opportunity to write today’s (Wednesday’s) blog. Today we got up and packed our stuff and headed to the water front to go on the Singapore Flyer. It’s the world’s largest observation wheel and is much like the London Eye. It’s a bit better actually, because they give you an information audio guide which tells you a little about each of the things that you can see. The view was really good despite the cloudy weather. The view over Marina Bay was particularly good as we were able to see a massive new development from the air. We also could see the F1 track and pit-lane, which was pretty cool.
After the Flyer we went to a few nearby shopping malls where I found two nice dresses and a particularly lovely pair of shoes they’re so pretty!!!
That’s about it for today – just waiting to get on our flight to Cairns. A bit disappointed as we specifically chose a Qantas flight and they’ve stuck us on a JetStar (Aus equivalent to Ryanair) flight instead which is in a tiny plane and has to stop in Darwin; rather than the non-stop flight we had requested. There better be TVs and food! Also, we aren’t sitting next to each other; as we have different surnames they didn’t place us together. A bit stupid so hopefully someone will move to let us sit together. It’s not the first time Singapore has been confused about the lack of marital status actually; the check in staff were very confused at the hotel. Just goes to show that whilst modern on the outside, somethings stay quite antiquated (although it’s quite nice that Mark always gets given the bill!!) Oh well, hopefully it’ll be alright.
Love, Us xxxx
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Day three
Today shall be know as "getting to know the laws (or lack) of the road".
We went sightseeing today; walked all the way to Little India and saw some fantastic temples and Mosques. It was really cool there actually as it gave us an impression of what "real" Asia is like; away from all the shiny malls and high tech stuff. The area was quite run down, but that added to its charm. From there we walked to Raffles Hotel and were told by the concierge in no uncertain terms that shorts and t-shirts were NOT suitable attire for men to be wearing in the hotel. No plebs allowed, thank you very much. Stupidly though, only Mark's clothes were considered unsuitable - even though I was in a vest top and 3/4 length trousers, I was fine to go in. From what we saw though, it was a lovely place and it was kinda nice (in an ironic post-colonial way, of course) that the staff all wear full Indian outfits still.
We then tried to go to the New Asia bar on the 73rd floor of the Stanford Hotel - and guess what? Dresscode. This was at 3pm. It was 34 degrees - who wears full length trousers?! Failing this then, we hailed a rickshaw and headed to Clarke Quay. This was the first part of "learning the laws of the road". We asked the driver how much before we got on - he said $20 so off we went. It was clear within seconds that rickshaw drivers obey neither traffic lights nor common sense - hurtling over traffic lights into oncoming traffic. Nevertheless, we arrived in one piece. When we arrived, he produced a card saying $35 per person and said "I give you discount see, I already give you discount, twenty dollars each not in total". We argued back but he wouldn't have it; and given the severity of the punishments for law-breakers in Singapore we decided that it wasn't worth the hassle. Slightly irritating but our annoyance was pacified by a lovely walk along the river by all the old colonial parliament buildings.
This evening we got room service for dinner then headed off to the Night Safari. It was a fantasic experience. We had a tram ride through different landscapes and saw so many nocturnal animals; bears, tapirs, lions, tigers, leopards, giraffe, elephants and bats. It was great :-). After the tram ride we went on walking trails around all the habitats and saw all the animals up close. It was really amazing, particularly the bats because we got so close to the massive fruit bats - they're actually quite cute. The seconds part of learning the laws of the road was seeing, on the 100kmph motorway, pick up trucks with up to twenty men sitting in the back. Some were sitting on the floor of the pick up, others were perched precariously on top of building materials and upturned buckets.
So tomorrow is shopping day - yay! Have to decide which of the 72 malls to go to!
Love from us xxxx
We went sightseeing today; walked all the way to Little India and saw some fantastic temples and Mosques. It was really cool there actually as it gave us an impression of what "real" Asia is like; away from all the shiny malls and high tech stuff. The area was quite run down, but that added to its charm. From there we walked to Raffles Hotel and were told by the concierge in no uncertain terms that shorts and t-shirts were NOT suitable attire for men to be wearing in the hotel. No plebs allowed, thank you very much. Stupidly though, only Mark's clothes were considered unsuitable - even though I was in a vest top and 3/4 length trousers, I was fine to go in. From what we saw though, it was a lovely place and it was kinda nice (in an ironic post-colonial way, of course) that the staff all wear full Indian outfits still.
We then tried to go to the New Asia bar on the 73rd floor of the Stanford Hotel - and guess what? Dresscode. This was at 3pm. It was 34 degrees - who wears full length trousers?! Failing this then, we hailed a rickshaw and headed to Clarke Quay. This was the first part of "learning the laws of the road". We asked the driver how much before we got on - he said $20 so off we went. It was clear within seconds that rickshaw drivers obey neither traffic lights nor common sense - hurtling over traffic lights into oncoming traffic. Nevertheless, we arrived in one piece. When we arrived, he produced a card saying $35 per person and said "I give you discount see, I already give you discount, twenty dollars each not in total". We argued back but he wouldn't have it; and given the severity of the punishments for law-breakers in Singapore we decided that it wasn't worth the hassle. Slightly irritating but our annoyance was pacified by a lovely walk along the river by all the old colonial parliament buildings.
This evening we got room service for dinner then headed off to the Night Safari. It was a fantasic experience. We had a tram ride through different landscapes and saw so many nocturnal animals; bears, tapirs, lions, tigers, leopards, giraffe, elephants and bats. It was great :-). After the tram ride we went on walking trails around all the habitats and saw all the animals up close. It was really amazing, particularly the bats because we got so close to the massive fruit bats - they're actually quite cute. The seconds part of learning the laws of the road was seeing, on the 100kmph motorway, pick up trucks with up to twenty men sitting in the back. Some were sitting on the floor of the pick up, others were perched precariously on top of building materials and upturned buckets.
So tomorrow is shopping day - yay! Have to decide which of the 72 malls to go to!
Love from us xxxx
Monday, 3 August 2009
Day two
So last night we headed to Clarke Quay which was really pretty and had a Thai dinner - absolutely gorgeous food situated right on the banks of the river. After a strange night's sleep (damn you, jet lag) we got up this morning and headed to Sentosa Island, which is the southerly most point of continental Asia. It's basically a island covered in attractions mingled with the rainforest and beautiful beaches. We got the MRT to the Harbour Station and then decided to take the cable car across to the Island which was a good choice as we got to see over the docks. On approach Sentosa looks like a rainforesty paradise on one side and a building site on the other. Unfortunately tourism has encroached quite heavily on to the northern side of the Island which was once rainforest and they're building a Universal Studios there. As soon as we got off the cable car we saw a "Luge and Skytrain" attraction which was so much fun we decided to do it again :-) basically you sit in a go kart with no brakes and no steering wheel and go hurtling down a hill - if you want to stop you have to lean back until the wheels stop moving. Once at the bottom you get on a ski-lift type thing and it takes you on a ten-min journey over the tree tops and the views over the Island are absolutely stunning.
After the luge we decided to go to the Butterfly and Insect House which was great - I fed parrots! At one point I had three on my arms all fighting for the food and one on my head - which was interesting. The whole time there was one little guy who just sat on my shoulder (insert pirate "aarrr" here) and he kept licking me. He was kinda cute. Mark didn't want a turn after he nearly got one landing on his head. The butterflies were lovely too - so many different colours.
We then headed down to the other side of the Island to a place called "Fish Reflexology". Basically, you sit with your feet in a bath which has hundreds of little fish in it and they nibble away all the dead skin on your feet. It was so tickly at first but in the end it turned out to be very relaxing. Obviously Mark has very dead feet as practically the whole shoal covered his feet and legs whereas I only had twenty or so nibbling me. After the fish had worked their magic we had a 20min reflexology massage which was lovely and made us very sleepy! I wouldn't mind getting some of those fish - never need to pumice again! We wandered back along the coast of the island which was just stunning. It really was a beautiful island paradise down there; blue, warm sea and white sand with palm trees all around and little islets which you could swim out to.
We came across this place called Eco Adventures which runs tours around the island - on Segways! Of course, we couldn't pass up that opportunity so on we hopped and, in my case of course, promptly fell off again into a bollard. Ouch. After some practice it was actually really easy; you just sorta intuitively move it - great fun and we got to see more of this beautiful island. After reluctantly giving our Segways back we passed by the luge place and couldn't resist another turn :-). It was the most wonderful day - so much fun and so relaxing. Gonna head into the colonial centre now for dinner.
Love from us xxx
After the luge we decided to go to the Butterfly and Insect House which was great - I fed parrots! At one point I had three on my arms all fighting for the food and one on my head - which was interesting. The whole time there was one little guy who just sat on my shoulder (insert pirate "aarrr" here) and he kept licking me. He was kinda cute. Mark didn't want a turn after he nearly got one landing on his head. The butterflies were lovely too - so many different colours.
We then headed down to the other side of the Island to a place called "Fish Reflexology". Basically, you sit with your feet in a bath which has hundreds of little fish in it and they nibble away all the dead skin on your feet. It was so tickly at first but in the end it turned out to be very relaxing. Obviously Mark has very dead feet as practically the whole shoal covered his feet and legs whereas I only had twenty or so nibbling me. After the fish had worked their magic we had a 20min reflexology massage which was lovely and made us very sleepy! I wouldn't mind getting some of those fish - never need to pumice again! We wandered back along the coast of the island which was just stunning. It really was a beautiful island paradise down there; blue, warm sea and white sand with palm trees all around and little islets which you could swim out to.
We came across this place called Eco Adventures which runs tours around the island - on Segways! Of course, we couldn't pass up that opportunity so on we hopped and, in my case of course, promptly fell off again into a bollard. Ouch. After some practice it was actually really easy; you just sorta intuitively move it - great fun and we got to see more of this beautiful island. After reluctantly giving our Segways back we passed by the luge place and couldn't resist another turn :-). It was the most wonderful day - so much fun and so relaxing. Gonna head into the colonial centre now for dinner.
Love from us xxx
Saturday, 1 August 2009
Day one
So... we're here in our hotel in Singapore. Our flight was OK - it was initially was quite exciting as we were on one of those new planes the A380 which (according the resident plane-buff aka Mark) is quite a big deal. It was pretty flash and the in-flight entertainment was pretty cool - pretty much every kind of music you could want, movies, TV shows (inc. a series of The Simpsons which I've not seen) and a "sky-cam" which shows the view from the tail of the plane. We could actually see the curvature of the Earth. Anyway, the excitement soon wore off after 3 hours and I began to wish I hadn't let Mark have the window seat as I was left sitting next to a fat smelly guy with the inter-personal skills of a gnat. He obviously had a bladder of steel too as he only went twice in 13 hours and gave me evil looks everytime I had to go. Well, matey, if you don't like getting up then don't sit in the bloody isle seat.
First impressions of Singapore are definately good. It's so hot here it's unbelievable - cloudy and muggy but still over 30 degrees. The humidity is like nothing I've ever experienced before. My hair isn't a big fan, it has to be said. We got here too early to check in so we left our bags and went for a wander around Chinatown and had some pretty good chicken noodles - which I ate with chopsticks (go me!). It certainly seems to be a beautiful city and everyone is very friendly. We found a row of massage places which do 60min foot massages for $30 (approx. £13) so we shall definately be going there after a hard day's shopping.
Our hotel is like something out of an acid trip (albeit a very good one) - imagine a concrete block with acid yellow perspex all over it with a spangly marble floor and flouresent pink reception. Our room is orange, green and grey and the bathroom is tiled floor to ceiling in orange and lime green - certainly not good for being drunk in. It's actually pretty cool - google Hotel Re! Singapore if you're interested. Aaaaannnddd the best part is that we got upgraded to a deluxe suite which means we have dressing gowns and L'Occitane freebies :-). We made friends with the Concierge who was absolutely fab and showed us where to go and where not to go. Rather than a subtle handshake though, the poor guy got a very un-subtle "here you go mate" $10 bill shoved in his face. Mark may need to work on his casual tipping style.
Anyway, after a 24 hour day - we're going to have a sleep then hit the town later this evening.
Hope you're all well,
Love Siobhan and Mark xxxx
First impressions of Singapore are definately good. It's so hot here it's unbelievable - cloudy and muggy but still over 30 degrees. The humidity is like nothing I've ever experienced before. My hair isn't a big fan, it has to be said. We got here too early to check in so we left our bags and went for a wander around Chinatown and had some pretty good chicken noodles - which I ate with chopsticks (go me!). It certainly seems to be a beautiful city and everyone is very friendly. We found a row of massage places which do 60min foot massages for $30 (approx. £13) so we shall definately be going there after a hard day's shopping.
Our hotel is like something out of an acid trip (albeit a very good one) - imagine a concrete block with acid yellow perspex all over it with a spangly marble floor and flouresent pink reception. Our room is orange, green and grey and the bathroom is tiled floor to ceiling in orange and lime green - certainly not good for being drunk in. It's actually pretty cool - google Hotel Re! Singapore if you're interested. Aaaaannnddd the best part is that we got upgraded to a deluxe suite which means we have dressing gowns and L'Occitane freebies :-). We made friends with the Concierge who was absolutely fab and showed us where to go and where not to go. Rather than a subtle handshake though, the poor guy got a very un-subtle "here you go mate" $10 bill shoved in his face. Mark may need to work on his casual tipping style.
Anyway, after a 24 hour day - we're going to have a sleep then hit the town later this evening.
Hope you're all well,
Love Siobhan and Mark xxxx
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)