This is what I've spent the last 5-6 weeks doing. The first 3 weeks were spent with my friend Paul and the last 3 weeks with my parents, sister and grandad. Much much fun. Many photos. Not necessarily good photos, but photos nonetheless. Feel free to ask what any of the pics are - it took so long to put them all in, I just couldn't be bother to caption them all. Have fun, my lovelies
Part 1: Tasmania
Paul arrives late Friday evening (26/11/10), much wandering down Macquarie Street trying to find him. Saturday is spent wandering into city, checking out TMAG (Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery) and doing shopping. Sunday follows much the same – wander into city, wander to RTBG (Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens), wander back, wander round, check out tourist information, go to cinema (Harry Potter 7, pt. 1). Monday slightly more eventful – book tours for Tues & Weds, wander down to Battery Point and raid the second hand bookshops (Classics fix: Metamorphoses, the Oresteia and the Theban Plays).
Tuesday head out early to go on tour to Port Arthur and Tassie Devil sanctuary. Paul not v. impressed with Port Arthur, annoying guide on boat. Paul more impressed with Tassie Devil sanctuary – cute baby devils. Paul not so impressed with limited time at each place. I was happy just to go snap happy with the camera. Many pics.
Wednesday another early start to head up to Wineglass Bay. Weather not brilliant, but still gorgeous. Wasn’t pleased with people stroking tame wallaby in car park. Not at all. Walk up to look out nice, but horribly unfit – not so nice. Gorgeous view, even with shitty weather. Paul almost took out some guy when he slipped on the wet rock. Silly boy. Lunch in Honeymoon Bay – again, gorgeous, many brilliant pics. Paul happy to wander round being an ecology geek. Happy times. Also, Letterbox cave pretty cool. Very well hidden, surprisingly big.
Thursday early start again. Bus up to Launceston. Hit Launceston about 1pm, grab lunch, wander round, get bored, head to Tourist info, book bus and tickets to Tasmania Zoo. Still bored so head to museum place. Lots of interactive stuff. Awesomeness. Whisper dishes especially cool. Not happy that awesome gallery with dinos was closed, but interactiveness made up for it. Back to backpackers, tea, boredom. Went to cinema – Due Date. Very funny. Crash. Early again for bus to zoo. Zoo nice but small. Baby Tassie Devil, hand-reared, very cute. Paul insanely happy. Weather miserable. Bus back to town. Cataract Gorge. Weather much better. I moaned about the walking track, but views were amazing and walk back was much less strenuous. Didn’t realise I was so unfit. Bus back to Hobart. Rain in Hobart. Crash.
Saturday… what did we do on Saturday? Presumably not much. Stayed awake all night because no point in sleeping because airport shuttle at 4am. Ugh. Paul napped. Lucky sod. Slept on flight, missed breakfast, but got brunch (quiche). No furbies allowed on plane. Giggles. Alice Springs boiling. Hostel nice, plus free wi-fi. Pizza for tea. Crash.
Part 2: The Red Centre
Monday early (again). Drive to Uluru. Nice people on tour. Cultural centre = awesome. Uluru = spectacular. Kata Tjuta also amazing. Nice walk despite heat. Back to Uluru for sunset. Many photos. Aman already annoying. Vanessa already apparently perpetually miserable. Everyone else lovely.
Tuesday stupidly early – sunrise. Gorgeous. Base walk amazing. Many photos. Guided walk with Rachel also awesome – love the stories. Drive to Kings Canyon. Pretties. Too hot. Swim. So nice. Campsite pretty cool. Upgrade again. Anand attacked by bugs, as always. Shithead with Paul, Stefan, Dana and Anand, much giggles. Sleep.
Wednesday not so early. Kings Canyon walk. Heartattack hill aptly named. Beautiful views though. Pics galore. Stick feet in waterhole. Paul went for swim. Finish walk. Lunch. Back to pool. So nice. Dead, floating bugs not so much. Back to Alice. Fishcake & chips. Chat with Paul, Stefan, Anand, Asano, Misaki and Florence till fairly late. Sleep.
Part 3: Adelaide
Thursday bus to airport. Flight to Adelaide. Nice chatty Aussie guy on flight. Chicken sarnies on plane for lunch. Yum. Adelaide much cooler. Only one night in hostel (cos Paul is silly) so book second night in YHA cos other is full. Introduce Paul to Dr Horrible. Watch Meet The Fockers. Crash.
Adelaide Zoo on Friday. Giant Pandas (Paul more interested in reds, understandable). Many cute and fluffies. Many not so cute or fluffy but still awesome. Whole day at zoo. Surprised. Move to YHA. Find card for Moonlight Cinema. Bored so go. The Expendables. Not brilliant, but it’ll do for whiling away an evening.
Saturday Tandanya – Aboriginal Cultural Centre (?). Very interesting. South Australian Museum – pinch free wi-fi. Bored. Head to Glenelg on tram. Tram quite expensive. Not much in Glenelg and too windy to lounge on beach. Grab Subway for tea and head back to Adelaide proper. Still bored as hell. Grab luggage and go to get Greyhound. Almost don’t check in. Almost lose ticket. Finally get on bus. Very little sleep. Ugh.
Part 4: Melbourne
Melbourne at 6:30 on Sunday morning. Everything closed except 7/11. Tram to accommodation. Can’t find accommodation. Have to ask guy in motel reception. Find accommodation. Have to wake up RA to get into accommodation. Poor guy. Head back into city on tram. Have no idea where to get ticket for tram. Head to station. Get ticket. Wander city. Find gallery. Indigenous art very interesting. Paul decides to buy book about said art. Find live, free music in square. Lounge in sun. Get food. Home. Sleep.
Monday, get week ticket for tram. No more worries. Book Great Ocean Road Tour. Book tix for Biffy Clyro on Thursday. Paul very happy. Disney exhibition at ACMI – amazing. Other gallery also interesting, but Disney pwns all. Lunch. No free music today, just some illusionist type dude. And a giant green wishing penguin. Paul insists on photo with penguin. Weird. More wandering. Chinatown is boring. Feet in much pain. Go to State Library for exhibitions but closed at 5pm, now five past. Lounge on grass. Discuss random shit. Head home on busy tram. Tea. Glee. Sleep.
Great Ocean Road on Tuesday. Gorgeous views. Many hours on a bus. Early start. Much sleeping on bus. Koalas in tree – Paul v happy. Many photos. Argument with fallen dead tree. Scratch across right knee, coupled with existing blisters = uncomfortable right leg/foot. Drinks in nice pub/bar in city. Limp back to accommodation slightly tipsy. Happy times. Sleep.
Wednesday… not much really. Went in the State Library to look at the picture book exhibition – pretty cool. Wandered round for a bit. Grabbed lunch at Pie Face. Internet café. More aimless wandering. JB Hi-Fi – cruel. Lots of Deep Purple, so that’s Dad sorted for xmas. More aimless wandering. Tea. Night market at Queen Victoria Market was pretty cool. Got Amy’s xmas pressie. That’s two down, Mum (and possibly Grandad) to go.
Thursday was immense boredom. Wandering. More wandering. Bought Dad’s CDs. Home. Lunch. Melbourne Museum definitely not so boring. Pissed that the Forest Gallery was closed, but I’ll just talk parents into taking me this week. Chicken Parma = scrummy. Home. BIFFY!!! Calling All Cars (support) were also fucking amazing. So much so that I bought a t-shirt. Gotta love self-decapitating teddies…
Friday morning took City Circle tram. Not so great. Kinda interesting in places but generally boring. Lunch from Pie Face. Park… somewhere. Paul left for bus to airport. Expensive wi-fi in apartment, so head to Fed Square to pinch the free stuff. Boredom. Telly. Family finally arrives at gone 11pm, thouroughly jetlagged. Fun times.
Part 5: Melbourne take 2
Family jetlagged. Apart from Grandad. Weird. Should not leave travel diary till 3 weeks after it happened. Cannot remember what we did. Erm... oh. Pizza for lunch. Then indigenous gallery at the Ian Potter Centre again. Then... park... possibly... Fairy Tree. Creepy. Still cannot remember...
Sunday suspect was City Circle tram... yus... Queen Victoria Market too. Possibly. Then aquarium. I think. Probably. Penguins = total epic awesomeness. Also - sharks and turtles. Very cool. Feet in pain.
Monday = Great Ocean Road take 2. Only went as far as Lorne. Saw a few Wicked campers. Love 'em. Loads more pics of pretty views.
Part 6: Phillip Island
Feel sick Tuesday morning. 2 hour + drive down to Phillip Island does not help. Koala Conservation Centre does. Several cute fluffy sleepy koalas, including one witha joey. No snakes. Then down to the Nobbies. Many gulls. Have to pay to use seal cameras so don't. Mum becomes obsessed with small fluffy squeaky penguin. Tell her I'll buy her one for xmas. Happy Mum. Dad not so impressed. See small penguin in nest. Cute. Penguin parade = epic awesomeness. Many many cute and fuzzies. Funny watching them climb hill back to nests. 6cm legs not good for climbing.
Wednesday = Churchill Island. Heritage farm kinda cool. Cute ducklings, plus a wallaby enclosure. Several cute wallabies. Nice walk round island - many photos. Family get sunburnt. Silly. Should remember to top up suncream. Oh, and a walk down Cowes waterfront in the morning. More pretty views.
Part 7: Mittagong and surrounds
Flight to Sydney on Thursday lunchtime. Glad not in Uncle Les' car on way to Mittagong. Scary driver. Brant much safer feeling. BBQ for tea. Mandy already making an impression - never runs out of energy! Crash.
Christmas Eve (Friday) spent with Mandy, sightseeing. Mt Keira lookout - padlocks on fence. Wanted to pinch the keys. Wollongong seafront for lunch. Pelicans on lamppost. Dad using camcorder more often. Down to Kiama to see blowhole. Didn't blow. Bushrangers Bay and Bass Point (?). Then to The Farm - beach. Wave jumping. Do not like spiky seaweed - attacks round the ankles and knees. Sea water up the nose. Amy loves it. Mandy's friend makes scrummy hummus. Tea in pub in Bowral. Yummy burger. Wine. Nice.
Slightly hungover Christmas morning, but good nonetheless. Parents appear to have left The Book at home. Should not be annoyed but am any way. Can't help it. Gorgeous earrings though. Toy Story 3 from Grandad - will have to find some way to play it. i.e. external disk drive. Colleen makes way too much food, but it's nice food. Raspberry cruisers are yucky. Lime much better. Swimming again in the afternoon in some random friend of Mandy's outdoor pool. Awesome. Lunch leftovers for tea. Crash.
Boxing Day with Uncle Les - Berrima and something else that I can't quite remember. Galahs everywhere. Coll stays at home - poor thing. Breakfast with Wayne, Ros and Guy. Guy's a sweet kid.
Monday in Canberra? Yep. War Memorial gorgeous. Parliament not so interesting. Wooden wombat earrings - awesomeness. Stop at Big Merino on way back. Scary giant sheep. Tea at a Chinese in Bowral... or possibly Mittagong. Epicness - banquet type thing. Bit of everything.
Tuesday... Blue Mountains, probably. Railway was brilliant. Nice walk in forest. Saw lyrebirds, but not mimicking. Cable car not so cool, but good guide. Skyway pretty boring other than view of waterfall. Walk back from Skyway instead of queuing again. Lunch at some point. Amy buys ridiculous amount of koalas for friends. Now stuffed in random places in bag. Spaghetti for tea with Coll's brother, his wife and Mandy.
Wednesday family day. Fitzroy Falls and Kangaroo Valley. Nice pie. Awesome new shell ring. Mad fairy for Mandy's xmas tree. Bowral. Meh. Stop off to see Wayne on way back. Springy dogs. Tea at a pub in Bowral. Ciderrrrr.
Part 8: Sydney
Drive to Sydney uneventful. No hangover - happy times. Hotel turns out to be a Masons Club. Ah well. Walk down to waterfront with Les and Colleen. Grandad walks back with Les and Coll, we head further down Circular Quay. Opera House steps. Pretties. Ice cream. Short walk through the Rocks. Not much there. Fail to find steps to bridge. Ah well. Bar for tea. Awesome burger. Park - giant bats. Sleep.
New Year's Eve. First walk to bridge. Find bridge this time. Head up pylon - interesting museumy bit. Nice views. Claim space on Opera House steps to see fireworks at midnight. Fail to stop Grandad getting sunburnt. Silly man. Fireworks at 9, 10, 11, 11:30, 11:45 and finally at midnight. Epic awesomeness. Find out how hard it is to take decent fireworks pics. Hotel. Phone Paul. Crash.
Taronga Zoo on New Year's Day. Grandad has another 'duh' moment. Zoo awesome but see no platypus. Cute baby elephant. Tea at 24 hour restaurant with free wi-fi. Email happy birthday to Claire. Hotel. Wine. Fizzy - not so good. Sleep.
Part 9: Cairns
Sunday = airport yet again. On different flight to everyone else. Ages of boredom. Free wi-fi in terminal 2 though. Good stuff. Cairns hot and sticky. Wander round in flip-flops. Silly thing to do. Raid the tourist info. Crash. Again.
Monday = chill day. Pool before breakfast. Book reef and rainforest days. Pool again. Supermarket and wander down to Reef Fleet Terminal. Tea. Pool again in the rain. Awesomeness. Hair does not agree. Condition the crap out of it. Happy again. Crash.
Tuesday on the reef. Freak out first time snorkelling. Don't know why. All right after that. Semi-sub cool but can't see much. Glass bottom boat much better. Driver cool too - really into his stuff. Grandad spends most of day sitting on pontoon. Get feeling he's not enjoying it. Oh dear.
Wednesday epically awesome. 4WD rainforest tour. Driver totally awesome and see loads of stuff. Almost end up with pet stick insect. Amy freaked over a (huge) spider but managed to walk past it. Well done her. Poor sibling. Wallabies made her happier. Lovely smoothie at fruit and veggie shop in Mareeba. Tea at Mediterranean place. Defeated by chicken parma again. Pack properly for first time in weeks. Crash.
Part 10: Back to Tassie
Rude awakening at 3:30am for 4am shuttle to airport. Damn parents and their ability to get lunchtime flights when I have to leave at silly o'clock in the morning. Manage to stay awake long enough to get on plane. Feel ill. Think it's the tiredness. Fall asleep on plane. Watch some of inflight film. No idea what it is, but funny and sweet. Katherine Heigl. Will look it up. Wait in Sydney Airport for hours for connection to Tas. Mark offers to pick up from airport in Hobart. Awesome.
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