bungi jump - ben nevis

Holy sh!t this is high!

bungi jump - ben nevis

I believe i can fly!

bungi jump - ben nevis

getting ready to jump

christchurch

18/11/05

the weather picked up a bit today. it was around 18 degrees and the sun was out. we had our customary look round.

had a look down one of the main shopping streets and then got our flight tickets changed. only gonna be in tahiti for 2 hours now!

we then headed for the cathedral square. this is where it all goes on. ok, its not quite sydney or melbourne but it was nice enough. took a few pics, then had a look round the market, the catherdral and the are gallery. a $40 million complex aparently. saw some interesting korean modern art as well as some 18th/19th century contemporary art.

went to the botanic gardens (must get this from their ozzie cousins) and sat with some pleasant ducks!

after dinner we met up with tanya's friend, anna, who has been travelling here for a few weeks. went our for a few bevvies and had a good catch up....

land of the sheep

17/11/05

after getting not much sleep, it was early to rise to the airport and off to NZ. The flight took less than 3 hours, which is good, as it takes 4 hrs to get from sydney to cairns!

well christchurch is pretty damn cold, grey and very english like. 11 degress off the plane, it was like we hit an ice wall. we could have been back at home, with the grey skies, green trees and english like houses.

after checking in and getting some shopping in, we didnt have much time to do a lot else,. the hostel is great. its like a hotel!

great ocean road

16/11/05

another stupid o'clock rise for our day on the great ocean road. got an upgrade on the car, as they didnt have any small ones left. after driving an hour or so we stopped at a place called torquay. much like its namesake in england, there wasnt much there.

belles beach was next. this was meant to be featured in the film point break, so its pretty famous round these parts.

we then went to a waterfall just outside lorne. very pretty and very green! we stopped for lunch at a place called apollo bay. very nice little surfers town and could have stayed here overnight if the plans went that way.

from there we took in the 12 apolstles, london bridge, the arch and the loard arch gorge. each pretty amazing in their own right. the colours and shapes were so unique and the way that the waves crashed against them showed how unstable they really are. (one of the apostles collapsed when we were in sydney).

we headed back home after this. got back just after the footy kicked off between australia and uruguay. the ozzies had to win to get to germany. went to federation square where there were around 10,000 supporters and a huge screen. when they scored, the atmosphere was incredible. even the english/irish/greek/italians were jumping around.

it went into extra time and penalties, which the ozzies won 4-2. the whole city erupted. you'd think they actually won the world cup. lets hope they meet england in the group stages!

nice quiet day

15/11/05

up a bit later than usual. did a bit more shopping where tanya spent her beauty voucher. even got some aftershave for me!

after lunch, we did a bit more sightseeing. went to federation square, where they have all kinds of funky architecture, against the old church buildings...

went to one of the exhibitions and also the moving images gallery. here they have short stories by local directors and they also had a video games exhibition. there were loads of new games, and new concepts in mobile phone video games. we tried them all, which took up a lot of time..

NEIGBOURS DAY

14/11/05

This day will live long in the memory for many reasons......

we got on the bus and headed for the school 1st. its actually a language school in real life and is called blackburn school of language. but to us, its erinsbourough high!

we drove past and took some pics, which must have looked quite dodge! after that, we hit the studio, but again, it was only a drive by. didnt see any stars, but saw where they do the lassiters shoots, and the place where scott proposed to charlene.

then, we hit the steet. it was really weird seeing it in real life. its a normal street where normal people live, but they shoot there twice a week. it was a lot smaller than it looks on tv, but aint that always the case!

our guide gave us a little story on each house. we took loads of pics, of all the houses, the street and one with the ramsay street sign. the road is actually called pine oak ct!

my fave house had to be the old robinson house. jim robinson and helen daniels live on!

after the street, we went for a nice bbq. steaks and salad which was pretty nice.

then we went to feed the parots and birds.

before we went home, we went to a sweet shop, where they import english sweets. i bought some dairy milk and tanya got a caramac.......

on the way back to the hostel, we saw the most gruesome sight. some guy was driving along, playing with himself. and he seem to enjoy the fact that we noticed him (and the fact there were about 10 girls on the bus). DIRTY MAN.......

After dinner, we headed to st kilda and a pub called the elephant and wheelbarrow. this is where our neighbours night experience began. there must have been 250 people crammed in to one section on the pub. we sat with some other girls from our hostel ready for the big quiz. they were showing some old episodes of neighbours on a massive screen. one of which was when helen daniels died.....bought a tear to our eyes....

after an our or so, the stars arrived. 1st up was dr Karl. the place went made and lit up with camera flashes. then out came toadie followed by steph. in turn they came round each table and everyone had their pics taken with them. whist this was happening, the quiz was taking place.

1st to visit us was karl. he seemed genuine and friendly, but he was loving the attention! he's a pro at this, as i think he's there every week. toadie was next. again, an old pro, but he was more of a sport....letting people get him in a head lock, and jumping on his back....

then it was steph. quite shy but she was very pretty. once they did the rounds, dr karl got up on stage and played with his band. they werent bad. they played some covers and some of their own stuff. they're touring the UK very soon as well.

I won a heniken cap at the bar as well..... all in all, it was a great experience and a definate must do if you stay in melbourne!

biltong heaven

13/11/05

had a nice lie in this morning. a little hungover from last night, we headed to queen victoria market. tanya was after some trainers. after about an hour or so she finally found some she liked.

the best is to come.... we looked around the food part and after 5 months of searching, i finally found some biltong for sale. i couldnt believe it. xmas come early. tanya bought some stuffed goats cheese, so she was in heaven too. we rushed back home and ate our gourmet lunch, and that was after we had the 3 doughnuts each!

stuffed as pigs, we headed towards the botanic gardens for a little look. turned out to be a nice sunday afternoon stroll. this country is obsessed by botanic gardens, but its a nice addition to any city.

we watched a movie - running man - back at the hostel. a classic......

an early night as we get to go to the place which is the reason we came to oz....RAMSAY STREET. After almost 20 yrs, we finally get to meet the stars and walk on the hallow turf.....

a european city

12/11/05

Got up after about 2.5 hours sleep and made arrangements to stay at another hostel. the reception at this hostel was supposed to open at 8.30am but no-one turned up. so at 9.10 we just left and i left a rather angry note! - if you pay cheap you get cheap!

the new hostel is right in town and is actually geared for backpackers. this place is $70 a night but what price is worth a good nights sleep!

we went out for brekkie and was pleasantly surprised by the number of cafe's and coffee shops. especially down the litte side streets. reminded me of amsterdam a bit.

we took a walk round and took in the city and atmosphere. after getting some shopping in, we went to a car rental place to get some wheels for weds and the great ocean road. almost went for a BMW Z4 convertable - only $175 but you dont get many gallons to the dollar in one of those! so we went for a hyundai instead.

in the eve, we went to the bar downstairs where they were doing salsa lessons. we were too late for the lessons but they had a live band which we listened to for a couple of hours. we then went to another bar for a bit of a boogie and bumped into one of lee's friends. weird, as when lee was in melbourne, he bumped into one of my friends.....small world.

where the streets have no.... sign posts

10/11/05

got ourselves into town and decided to take the lonely planets advice and walk the parliement triangle. oh boy, what a mistake. despite the fact that we almost walked 10km, there were no sign posts, no street names, and sometimes no pavements. things between me and tanya were pretty heated all morning.

after getting only close to the parliment building, we had some lunch and went to the national gsllery. saw some interesting pieces including work from andy warhol, monet and picaso amongt many others.

after that, we walked to the war memorial - knackard at this point - only to find that it was just about to close. we made the last call though, which was quite special.

back to town and we had a coffee to build up our energy.

had dinner at the hostel and watched an interesting documentry by the same guy that did super size me. something about a christian living with a muslim family for 30 days.

got another snooring bloke in our room this eve.....god help us

capital city

09/11/05

we left sydney knowing we wouldnt be back for a very long time - if ever. just a short trip to canberra. checked into another YHA. Nice place but a bit outta town.

got some shopping in and just chilled for the rest of the day. still teaching tanya the art if chess.

tourist again

08/11/05

did the tourist circuit again. just went down to darling harbour, saw the opera house, the bridge etc etc.... this definately would be the last time we would see these gracious landmarks.

we sat in the botanic gardens and watched the world go by for an hour or so.

in the eve, went to the cinema and almost went to see a film called wolf creek (about backpackers who get murdered) but decided against it as we may be hiring a car in NZ. Saw in her shoes instead. tanya had a good cry and I saw cameroon diaz prance around in her underwear!

had a right snoozer in the dorm this eve. where do they come from/

back to sydney

07/11/05

back to sydney today. quite looking forward to seeing our old stomping ground. checked into the wake up hostel - just down the road from where we lived.

after dinner, we met up with rosie and pete (from fraser) plus lee as well. went to side bar where they were having a las vegas party night. had a good catch up and a few beers and then we hot the sack

i was very, very drunk........

06/11/05

with the weather taking a turn for the better, we hit the hunter valley region and the wine tasting tour. all started well, as we sipped our 1st chardonnay at around 10am.... we learnt all about the different names, but we were just interested in what they tasted like.

we were offered a spit bowl, but that was never gonna happen now was it!

swiftly off to the 2nd winery, and here there were even more wines to try. from sweet white, to aged oak red. also had a sip of port, which me and tanya are acquiring a taste for!

we then hit our 3rd winery, where we were given chilli shots and also a white chocolate liquieur.... not in the same glass mind you.......

after lunch, we went to an olive shop, where they have all sorts of salad dressings and dips. tanya was in heaven here. she must have tried one of each and there were at least 50.

another wine tasting and also some cheese as well. well, tanya thought she had died and gone to heaven. all she needed now was free tea, and that would be it!

when we got back, we were a little squiffy, but the wine just made us tired. we had a walk down the main forshore, where we stopped by a pub for a quick beer! the flies here are awful. hundreds of them just flying round your face and landing on your face..... we were put off and headed back home.

in the eve, we had a free meal at a local irish bar, a few more beers with our fellow hostel members, and a rowdy local resident from new zealand. he hated the english, and when tanya asked why, he spouted something about his dead ancestors from 150 years ago and the great potatoe famine in ireland....at this point, we left. a man with a 150 yr old grudge - how sad.

which newcastle?

05/11/05

What a god awful day. now, we were confused. we may as well been in newcastle in england, because it was grey and raining all day and very hard.. didnt leave us with many options.

we had a bit of a lie in, and then hung around for a bit. thrashed tanya again at chess, and watched a bit of TV.

After the rain had calmed, we decided to have a look round for the hell of it. we walked into the town centre, but in all honesty, there wasnt much there!

after lunch, we decided to have a look at the beach, even though there was no sun! to our surprise, there were people out surfing, making the most of the waves. also, further on, there were 4 wedding parties having their pictures taken. i felt pretty bad for them as the weather was so awful. this didnt deter tanya thought, and she was in awe of all the wedding dresses and bridesmaids....GREAT!

We watched panic room that eve in the massive lounge and then headed for an early night. a bit of a wasted day really.

hydro golf

04/11/05

after checking out of the hostel, we decided to hang around for a bit and wait for an evening coach. in the heat of the sun, we walked about 2km to a place called Hydro Golf, where they have a 27 hole mini golf course and a driving range which has targets placed in a small lake.

we played the mini golf 1st and can you believe after 27 holes, me and tanya drew! must be fate.

we then had a go at hitting the targets in the water. this was quite amusing. after a few dodgy shots, we both managed to get the balls up in the air and aimed near the targets. the clubs were only pitch wedges, so the distance wasnt that great...more to do with accuracy. it was impossible to hit the targets, as the holes were no bigger than a cricket ball.

after lunch, we walked back and stopped off at a pet shop, where we saw some very cute puppies and kittens. also saw a walking fish. back at the hostel, i taught tanya the basics of chess and gave her a couple of games. she's not bad...

for dinner, we headed back into town where we had some scrumptuos fish and chips.

the coach picked us up about 6.30pm and we got to newcastle about 10.30pm. the YHA here is a massive old building which was once a gentlemans club. its all very old looking and has a massive lounge area which used to be a ball room. looks very much like on old country hotel in the english country side!

hiking on a bike

03/11/05

We decided to hire a couple of bikes and explore port macquarie for the day. we headed to the north shore beach 1st in our fetching gear and bikes with no gears andf reverse pedal brakes!

the beach was empty but you could see why as the wind was quite harsh and the waves were very strong. we walked right along the wall which went out to sea. from this wall, you could see the main part of the town and another beach. after that, we headed down towards the main town and to town beach, which was much calmer.

then had a look in the shops but didnt manage to spend any money this time. it was a dominoes pizza for dinner and we watched the 1st 2 austin powers movies.....yeah baby

long distance

02/11/05

after 7 hours on a coach, we arrive at Port Macquarie. the hostel seems reaky nice and we met some friendly people aleady. the town looks very "local" and friendly so looking forward to having a look round tomorrow.

melbourne cup

01/11/05

today was melbourne cup day but as it was only a one horse race, we didnt take much interest in it. instead, we headed down to the main beach and topped up our tans whilst everyone else were crammed into pubs, betting and drinking their money away.

it was a beautiful day and we totally enjoyed our time in byron, just relaxing and taking in the atmosphere.