Melbourne

The next few days in Melbourne were mainly spent recovering from Neighbours Night, and for me, job hunting!

We wondered around Melbourne a few times which was nice. Went to Federation Square, went to some markets in Fitzroy, walked along the Southbank, and went to the beach at St. Kilda!

We also went to a Good Charlotte gig! A band who I was obsessed with when I was about 15! They're actually really big over here in Oz. When I was working on the farm and we had the radio on when picking zucchinis, Good Charlotte were always getting played! Don't think they'd be on the radio at home at all!!
But the gig was really fun, the support band, Amy Meredith were also pretty cool, I actually recognised one of their songs from the radio at the farm too, just hadn't known who it was! For some reason the main part of the gig was Good Charlotte playing songs from one Weezers albums, as they're a band who have really influenced them. It was good because they played a song called 'Buddy Holly' which is my favourite Weezer song. But the best part of the gig was obviously when they played their own songs! They played a really cool mix of stuff including some of my favourites, 'Riot Girl', 'Boys and Girls', 'Last Night' and loads more from all their albums! So it was a really fun night!

Another cool thing we did was go to the Penguin Parade on Phillip Island - a treat from Becca as my early Christmas present! It was a really good day out. First we went to a wildlife sanctuary which was ok, nothing special though as I've seen all these animals before, and it wasn't the nicest wildlife place I've been to. We also visited a cool beach, went on a walk to spot some penguins and had a yummy pizza dinner (including a kangaroo and crocodile pizza!!) before seeing the main event - the penguin parade!

We all got a mat to sit on, and sat on the beach to wait for the penguins. Just as it was starting to get dark at about 8.20pm, the penguins started to appear! It was amazing! They appeared from the sea in little groups, and slowly made their way across the beach to their nests on the shore. It was so cool to watch them! And every now and again they'd run back to the sea because they were scared of the seagulls.
Once they'd all gone across the beach, we went to the boardwalk where you could see them running through the sand dunes to get to their nests. It was amazing! I don't have any pictures though as cameras aren't allowed. Here's a picture I've found on the internet though, to give you all an idea of what it was like!

The day after the penguin parade was Becca's last day in Melbourne :( We decided to go out for tea to a really cool restaurant called 'Lentil As Anything'. It only serves vegan food and you pay what you feel the food is worth. So instead of a til they have a big box where you can put your donation, so even the waiters don't know what you pay. It was really cool and the food was yummy! I had a vegetable curry and it's the best curry I've had in Australia!
After the meal we went to a couple of bars for some drinks as Becca's flight wasn't til 3am! We got back to the hostel at about half 11 - 12ish and it was time to say goodbye :(
It was really weird once Becca had gone as I'd got used to having someone else with me. Was so good to see her! 

Now I'm on my own again, I've not done much since Becca left. I moved out of the hostel in St. Kilda to a cheaper one in the CBD. It's a really good location right on Elizabeth Street. And I've managed to find myself a job - in a cupcake shop!! It's pretty good, I get free cupcakes which is a bonus, though I don't want to be putting on weight!

It feels really weird at the moment though as Christmas decorations are starting to be put up around the city, and today it was sunny and 34 degrees. It just doesn't feel right! Christmas is supposed to be a time when you have to wrap up warm etc! Oh well, Christmas in Australia is going to be an experience anyway!

I'm glad I'm finally up to date with my blog now! I'll keep updating every now and again when I do something interesting in Melbourne :) But for now the crazy travelling fun is over and it's back to work!

Neighbours Night!

As anyone who knows me is aware of, I am a massive Neighbours fan! So I was really looking forward to Neighbours Night (even though I've been before...)!

We got there at about 7pm and got seats quite close to the front which was good! We were going to be meeting Malcolm Kennedy, Stingray and the legend himself, Dr. Karl Kennedy!!
The evening started off with the host Safari Pete getting everyone to sing the Neighbours theme tune - cheesy but had to be done! Next the characters were introduced one by one then answered questions from the audience before they made there way around the pub so we could all chat to them and get photos! While they mingled with the crowd, Safari Pete hosted a trivia quiz with a lot of Neighbours related questions popping up here and there! There were also lots of games to take part in to win prizes, I didn't do any though!

So me and Becca got our photos taken with Mal, Stingray and Karl! I managed to have a quick chat with Dr Karl, telling him to play a song called Mattress on the Floor - which he has promised to do at Neighbours Night on 21st November, so I may have to go to that! What a shame!! I also told him Becca was a real doctor, so he asked her to fix his hernia!! Haha.

Malcolm Kennedy!

Karl Kennedy!

Stingray!

After the stars had done their rounds, it was time for Karl to get on stage with his band The Waiting Room, by this point many glasses of wine had been consumed so I couldn't tell you what songs he played!

After the band we had another drink in the pub before heading to a random bar/club in St. Kilda with a load of other people from Neighbours Night, and Stingray came too!

It was a really fun night but ended up being a bit too drunken as I ended up losing the battery from my camera (no idea how I did that) and even worse, I lost my glasses! The first pair I've ever lost and I've been wearing glasses since I was 3 years old!

The Great Ocean Road

After just over 3 hours on the plane, we arrived in Melbourne, and it was COLD! Having been in warm sunny Queensland for so long it felt like a bit of a shock to the system!

We arrived quite late so once we'd checked into the hostel we went straight to bed as we were picking up the campervan quite early the next morning!

We checked out of the hostel the next day and got the bus to Backpacker Campervan Rentals to pick up our van. Turns out we got an upgrade! Instead of just a van with a bed in the back, it was a proper little motor-home type thing! Had a little kitchen area and everything! So that was cool.

The Camper!

Soon enough we were on our way! It took about an hour to get to the Great Ocean Road and our first stop was the surfing town of Torquay. It was a lovely sunny day so we sat outside and had a picnic lunch before heading off to have a look at the massive surf shops!
Next stop was Bells Beach which was really cool. Stayed there for a little while paddling in the sea before heading to our next destination: Split Point Lighthouse aka. the lighthouse from Round The Twist!! I was really looking forward to seeing it as I'm a massive fan of the show! I even put the theme tune on in the campervan as we were driving towards it haha!

Bells Beach

Split Point Lighthouse

Next was time to head to Apollo Bay where we would spend the night. We found a really good campsite and managed to get a discount from the company we hired the camper with. Although the campsite had its own kitchen we decided to take advantage of the kitchen in our campervan! I cooked us some kangaroo, Becca prepared a salad and we had some jacket potatoes - YUM! That evening we had a cider each and watched a film before having an early night as we wanted to make the most of the next day!

We slept relatively well considering we were in a campervan, and the next morning set off to see more of the Great Ocean Road - mainly some pretty amazing coastal features! First stop was the Cape Otway Lighthouse, so we thought! We got there and discovered you had to pay to go and look at it! So we decided since we'd already seen a cool lighthouse (what could beat the one from Round the Twist?!) we'd give this one a miss. That didn't stop us having a look in the gift shop though! We both bought ourselves a stubby holder (a thing you put your can or bottle of drink in to keep it cool) which we used that evening for our ciders! So our first proper stop was The Twelve Apostles, they were pretty impressive! Took lots of photos before setting off again. Next we went to the Loch Ard Gorge which was also very picturesque. We also saw The Arch and London Bridge, and had another picnic lunch! 

The Twelve Apostles

Loch Ard Gorge

The Arch

London Bridge

Soon enough it was time to head back to the campsite in Apollo Bay. As we got there quite early we decided to have a wonder round and look at the beach which was nice.

 Had a less fancy tea that evening of 2 minute noodles and salad, and had another early night! We did take advantage of our new stubby holders though!

The next morning we got up and checked out of the campsite as we had to get the camper back to Melbourne for 3:30pm. We stopped off at Kennett River to have a walk to try and find some wild koalas - Becca spotted one so we took a few pictures! 

We also stopped at a pretty seaside town called Lorne to have a look around. 

After Lorne we drove straight back to Melbourne as we wanted to drop our bags off at our hostel in St. Kilda before giving back the campervan to save us having to take our bags on the bus!
After a mad drive through Melbourne city centre and a very quick check in at our hostel, we made it back to the rental place at exactly 3:30pm! Gave the camper back with no problems so we then got the bus back to the hostel to get ready for our fun evening ahead - Neighbours Night!!

Cairns & the Atherton Tablelands - again!

We arrived in Cairns at about 6pm and checked into Global Waterfront backpackers - the 3rd time I'd stayed there!
We used our $5 meal vouchers and headed to P.J O'Briens Irish pub for food and some drinks! Becca had the steak and I had the chicken parma, for $5 it was pretty good! Got a glass of wine included in the price too! We had a couple more drinks before heading back to the hostel.
The next day we went shopping to look for a new camera to replace the one I broke on Magnetic Island! Managed to find a good one. After having always had Canon cameras I decided I wanted a changed and went for a Sony one! So far it seems pretty good!
We had sushi for lunch which was yum, then went for a walk around Cairns to take some photos and sat by the lagoon.

In the evening we went on a pub crawl which was really fun! Started at P.J O'Briens and went to a few different bars, getting a free drink in each one! I managed to get a second free drink in one of the bars by being the best Macarena dancer!! Haha! It was a good night and I think it was about 3am when we got to bed!

The next day we just stayed at the lagoon as we were pretty tired, before picking up our hire car as I was taking Becca to meet Mike and Tracy at the guesthouse in Malanda! It was really good to see Mike and Tracy again! Becca had brought a few things from Wales for them, like some Bara Brith and a calendar with photos on North Wales on it. I think they liked them! That evening me and Becca where treated to a meal out, then later on I showed them the video of my skydive!

The next morning we said goodbye to Mike and Tracy and we set off on our little Tablelands adventure! I took Becca to Lake Eacham where we found some turtles swimming in the lake, we went to Yungaburra and discovered a really cool cafe which had loads of cool arts and crafts thing to buy. I also took her to the Curtain Fig Tree, a place Tracy had taken me and Sarah to the first time we went to Malanda. Then we headed to Kuranda as I'd really liked it there last time we went. But unfortunately most of the shops were closing so we didn't get to see much.

Soon enough it was time to return the car the Cairns airport, and catch our flight to Melbourne. After having spent nearly 6 months there, it was time to say goodbye to Queensland!

Mission Beach

I was really excited about getting to Mission Beach as I was meeting my sister there! Hadn't seen her for over 6 months!
Got the ferry back to Townsville from Magnetic Island where I got the 12 o'clock bus to Mission Beach. I got there at about 3.40pm and Becca was waiting for me at the bus stop - complete with a pair of crutches as she'd fractured her ankle back at home!
We stayed at a really cool hostel called Scotty's, the dorms all surrounded a big outdoor area with hammocks, a pool and sun loungers etc! It was a really good place to chill out! 
We didn't do much the first evening as Becca was jetlagged and I was pretty tired from the Full Moon Party the night before, so we had an early night, as the next day was a big day - jumping out of a plane!!!

The hostel

Got up quite early the next morning ready for our skydives! To say I was nervous would be a bit of an understatement! We got picked up from the hostel and taken to the skydive office where we were given a form to sign stating all the risks involved - it was pretty scary and it took my a while to actually sign it after the warnings that many people have died from skydiving!!!
I decided to go for the most expensive option and had my own personal cameraman who would jump out of the plane at the same time, to film my skydive and take photos. The other option was for the guy I was attached to to have a handheld video camera, but I decided I wanted his only focus to be on opening the parachute!
So after filling in the form I did a quick interview for my skydive video, then met my instructor Mike, who was really cool. He kept making jokes about how he tried not to drop people as it's too much paperwork for him! But he was really nice and kept chatting to me to take my mind off what I was about to do!
Before leaving we had a quick lesson on the best position to be in for the free fall and how to land, then it was time to go! We had to get the bus again to the runway where the plane takes off. We had to wait a while because it was cloudy and they had to wait for a gap in the cloud so it was safe to jump.

Before getting on the plane!

Soon enough it was time to get on the plane! Mike chatted to me the whole way, pointing out the banana trees and telling me random facts about Mission Beach - none of which I can remember as my mind was slightly preoccupied!
Once the plane got to 14,000ft it was time to jump! I was second to go so had to watch the first guy leave the plane, it was pretty freaky as he literally just disappeared! Becca was 2nd to last so got to watch me - she said my face was a picture! I was hoping for a couple of minutes to prepare myself but as soon as the first guy was gone I was suddenly sat at the edge of the plane, and before I knew it I was falling through the air!!! It was crazy, but amazing! 

I don't look too happy here!

The freefall was so cool, seemed a lot quicker than 1 minute though. One thing I couldn't believe was how close my cameraman Pete was to me - he was literally right in front of me. It was cool though, he kept doing silly things to make me laugh, and trying to get me to do stupid things back to him - didn't really work though as at first I felt paralyzed with fear!! But eventually I managed to do a quick thumbs up and even blew him a kiss!

It was quite a shock when the parachute actually went up, there was a bit of a jolt, my ears popped, then all of a sudden we went from free falling really fast to slowly gliding through the sky. At this point we'd gone through the clouds so I could appreciate the amazing view of Mission Beach, and it really was amazing! Could see the Great Barrier Reef and everything!
The landing went much more smoothly than I thought, I didn't fall over which was good! Had a quick post skydive interview for my video then it was all over - seemed to go so fast! It was amazing though and definitely something I'll do again!

While waiting for my photos and DVD to be ready, me and Becca went for a well deserved drink! I introduced her to Aussie Strongbow - much better than the rubbish we have in the UK!

We didn't do much for the rest of the day - I was kind of in a blur, couldn't believe I'd actually jumped out of a plane!
We decided to go out for tea that night, we went to a place right next to the hostel and had kangaroo and a few glasses of wine. Sat with some other people from the hostel so had a nice evening chatting to them.

The next day was white water rafting day! Becca stayed at the hostel as it wasn't really a good idea for her with her bad ankle! But at least the weather was good and she could sunbathe by the pool - my tan is way better than hers so she needed to at least attempt to catch up!
White water rafting was really fun, and a bit scary at times! The rapids were crazy! I was lucky though and only fell out once! Everyone now and again we were allowed to jump out of the boat and swim along the river with the current from the rapids drifting us along. We also got to stop and jump off a massive rock into the water which was fun!
It was a full day trip so we had 2 hours in the morning, then lunch then another 2 hours so it was quite tiring! On one of the rapids our instructor told us to all sit at the back of the boat huddled up together - this meant that when we got to the bottom of the rapid the boat flipped and we all fell in the water! It was fun though!

Just cruising along...

Crazy rapids!!

Got back to the hostel at about 4pm, had a good chilled out evening before having to check out the next morning. We spent the next day chilling out by the hostel pool before getting our bus at 3.40pm to Cairns!