Indonesia so far..

From Cairns we landed in Bali late at night. The rain was lashing down and we had no accommodation booked which was not a clever idea. I was covered in bites and my leg had swollen up to twice its normal size after the flight giving me a very unattractive cankle. We went into an internet shop and quickly realised that most of the places for that night were already booked up. After a bit of a panic we managed to find a place in Kuta. We didn't really want to go to Kuta as we had heard that it was a bit of a scummy place, however we actually had a good day there. Our hostel was quite nice and there were a lot of young people staying there which was good because we made two friends, Katy and Simon to explore with the next day. Unfortunately the weather hadn't cleared up in the morning but we still found plenty to do. I bought a new dress and then took my bag to the laundrette and had the entire lot washed, dried and ironed for about six quid. This was the biggest luxury after sniffing clothes before wearing them towards the end of Australia.

After doing this we went to explore and I was desperate to get some tiger balm (I was literally covered in bites after staying in Queensland). We walked up and down the streets, firstly buying some umbrellas for about 50p. We got fairly hassled but it was quite nice as it made it such a lively atmosphere.

After we were fully drenched we went and had massages. These were nice but also pretty brutal. I could hear the others all getting slapped and whacked about around me. I also had a pedicure and the whole lot only cost about 6/7quid. Amazing.

We had a delicious meal that night- just because we can- and booked our ferry to the Gili islands for the next day.

It was STILL raining the next day but we sailed off to Gili Trawangan regardless- picking up an extra friend, Phil, on the way- and when we arrived the weather was boiling hot, hooray! The sea is such a gorgeous colour here and it’s so nice to be on such a small place where they don't even have cars.

However, it’s also a massive party island. There are people out all night every night and magic mushrooms are legal here so there are signs up everywhere and little Indonesian people grinning at you saying "mushi mushi". 

We decided to do a snorkelling trip whilst we were here. I really wanted to do this because we were told we would almost certainly see turtles in the water (we missed out on these on the reef). Unfortunately for us what started out as a beautiful day ended as a bit of a horror show. We stopped at two places and saw some interesting fish, including Nemo and Gill. At lunchtime we went to another Gili Island called Gili Air and had an omelette for about £1.00. However when we set off it started raining and we could see that the direction we were heading in looked a bit stormy. This was an understatement. I spent most of the journey huddled under my sopping wet towel, occasionally looking up to see the water level with the boat or feeling splashes hitting my back. I think most people thought we were going to capsize and at one point I turned round to see a group of people, including Katy, clutching life jackets. Phil and Simon had also put their snorkels back on because of all the water splashing in their faces. We eventually made it back to a huge cheer off everyone on board. It seemed as though the island had taken a pretty big hit from the storm too because the streets were completely flooded and we had to walk through a small river to get back to our hostel.

The sun is back out today and the streets look as if nothing had ever happened. We are hoping to go back to Bali tomorrow and stay in Ubud where 'Eat Pray Love' was filmed. I can't wait as they apparently have fantastic markets there.

Great Barrier Reef

Our last trip in Australia was out to the Great Barrier Reef. We had to get up at 6.00am for our trip but they had provided some nice pastries and fruit to keep us going. We were also looking forward to our trip because we were on the same one as our Canadian friends. We tried to have a bit of a snorkel at the first stop but the waves were quite choppy and there were jellyfish everywhere. One went into my hand and I accidentally squeezed it before I realised what it was. Luckily for me it didn't sting me. Loring also thought he may have swallowed one so we thought it best to get back onto the boat after that.

I was a bit nervous about the introductory dive we were going to do because when I did it in Turkey I felt quite panicky about it. There was no need to be nervous though as it was amazing. It was so easy to breathe and they talked us through the whole thing and looked after us. The coral was incredible and we could pick up sea cucumbers while the guides showed us which corals were safe to touch. There were also giant clams under the water where you could put your hand over the top and they would close up. 

After lunch they took us to this tiny little sand island which was really beautiful and we saw a huge turtle bathing in the shallow water. Chad also had his most unpopular moment here when he chased the turtle away.The next snorkelling stop was a bit calmer and we saw hundreds of fish and some really weird coral, including some that looked like it was covered in flowers. One of the crew was also in the water with us and he kept diving down and picking up sea cucumbers for us. One of them was massive and it was covered in star shapes. I put it on my head. It was so heavy and huge that it was dragging down my snorkel. It was making me laugh so much especially when the guide put it on his head because he had dredlocks so it looked like an extra massive dred. Laughing in the water is not really a good move though because you're soon choking like an absolute maniac and I also ended up with a load of snot in my snorkel.

That night, as part of our east coast package and because we were staying at the party hostel Gilligans, we went out on the Ultimate pub crawl. This night was amazing because A. Carly was still with us B. it was St.Paddy's and C. Wales won the Grand Slam!!! Woooohoooo!!

As well as this, it was our last couple of days with the Canadians we decided to do something to commemorate and got group piercings. Gwenda got her nose, Luce her tragus, Chad and I our top ear and Matt got both his ears. Chad may have passed out getting his done. 

Before coming to Australia I didn’t think anything could beat my time in New Zealand, however I absolutely loved Australia too. I had so much fun, meeting new people, doing all the incredible trips, especially the Great Ocean Road, Scooteroo and Uncle Brians. Now to see what Asia has in store... 

Magnetic Island and Uncle Brians

After leaving the Whitsundays and Airlie behind we went to a place called Magnetic island. We didn't know much about the it but after a hectic few weeks we were happy just to chill out. When we got there we were blown away by our hostel; it was right on the beach and had its own pool overlooking the shore. It was so pretty and the weather was fantastic. It got even better later on when we won $100 in the bingo at our hostel. 

Unfortunately it rained for the rest of our time there but it was nice to have a lie in and just chill our without drinking.

After leaving Magnetic Island we headed towards Cairns where it was also bucketing it down with rain (why did no one tell us that Queensland's summer is also the wet season?!) It was really strange arriving in Cairns as it's so green and tropical compared to the south. We had trips booked everyday in Cairns, although our white-water rafting got cancelled due to the weather.

On the first day we did a rainforest tour called Uncle Brians. This was honestly one of the best trips I have done. We were slightly hung over from our first night in Cairns but were soon bright and breezy as we had such an enthusiastic guide. The first place we visited was called Devil's Pools where you can see water rushing over these huge boulders. We also got to have a little swim in another pool and saw a little turtle. Afterwards we left for a place called Josephine Falls where we weren't sure if we were going to be able to swim. Our guide said it could be a bit dodgy but if we were strong swimmers he was happy for us to go in. I was panicking a bit but decided to go in and I'm so glad that I did because we got to climb and slide down these smooth rocks which were a lot of fun. It was a bit trickier when it came to getting back to the bank. The first girl to try had to be dragged in by a rope after panicking in the current and screaming for help. I got dragged under as well but thankfully managed to fight my way to the side. It was only after we got out that our guide told us that two people in the last couple of months had died in a spot just a little further downstream (not on the Uncle Brians tour).

After a huge lunch and pudding we went to the waterfall where Peter Andre filmed mysterious girl and they shot the timotei and herbal essence shampoo adverts. This of course meant that we got straight in belting Mysterious Girl at the top of our lungs and dancing in the waterfall. We also took pictures of us doing the famous timotei hair flick in the water.

On the first day we did a rainforest tour called Uncle Brians. This was honestly one of the best trips I have done. We were slightly hung over from our first night in Cairns but were soon bright and breezy as we had such an enthusiastic guide. The first place we visited was called Devil's Pools where you can see water rushing over these huge boulders. We also got to have a little swim in another pool and saw a little turtle. Afterwards we left for a place called Josephine Falls where we weren't sure if we were going to be able to swim. Our guide said it could be a bit dodgy but if we were strong swimmers he was happy for us to go in. I was panicking a bit but decided to go in and I'm so glad that I did because we got to climb and slide down these smooth rocks which were a lot of fun. It was a bit trickier when it came to getting back to the bank. The first girl to try had to be dragged in by a rope after panicking in the current and screaming for help. I got dragged under as well but thankfully managed to fight my way to the side. It was only after we got out that our guide told us that two people in the last couple of months had died in a spot just a little further downstream (not on the Uncle Brians tour).

After a huge lunch and pudding we went to the waterfall where Peter Andre filmed mysterious girl and they shot the timotei and herbal essence shampoo adverts. This of course meant that we got straight in belting Mysterious Girl at the top of our lungs and dancing in the waterfall. We also took pictures of us doing the famous timotei hair flick in the water.

Whitsundays Sailing

Another one of the trips we had left to do was the Whitsundays sailing that we had booked. We arrived in Airlie the day before we sailed off; this was a really lovely little town and we had a fairly nice hostel with its own pool. 

The next day we left to go and get on our boat- the New Horizon. When we turned up there were also a lot of people there who were sailing on the party boat- the Clipper. When they split us into our boats and we set off we soon realised that the clipper was an entire boat of boys and we were on an entire boat of girls- the disappointment on the boys faces when they realised they were going to be partying on this boat with a load of guys for the next few days was absolutely comical. Lucky for them five Swedish girls saw an opportunity and paid $100 to change onto their boat(!) 

I had seen pictures of the Whitsundays and previously thought that it was mainly just visiting beaches during the day. This, however, wasn't the case as we soon learnt that we would be getting the chance to go snorkelling- our first taste of snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef. We didn't do much of anything on the first day except settle into our dorms (where we had been told before leaving that bedbugs were living). 

We didn't get too drunk this first night because we had been told we would be woken at 6.00am the next day. We did manage to meet a few people off the boat though and luckily everyone was really nice.

The next morning our lovely crew member came and woke us up with a rap (I am NOT a happy camper in the mornings and I definitely did not enjoy this).

It was worth getting up though as we sailed to one of the world’s most beautiful beaches called Whitehaven, unfortunately the weather wasn't great so we didn't see it in its full glory, but we weren't complaining because at least it was dry.

We were now in the North of Australia and in jellyfish season which meant we had to wear stinger suits whenever we went in the sea. They have two of the most dangerous types of jellyfish in the world there so I was definitely keeping my suit on. 

After having a little swim and messing about on the beach, where we met up with Chad, Matt, Loring, Grant and Lasse, who were on the Clipper, we went back onboard for some lunch- they really provided with the food and I found myself stuffed the entire time.

In the afternoon we went snorkelling; they had told us that on the first day it was mainly looking at coral and that the following day we would be seeing more fish. I thought this would be a bit of a snore but the coral was absolutely incredible and we actually saw a lot of fish. We also saw so many jellyfish- so when they told us that you hardly ever see them it was a complete lie. They did tell us that only two out of 300 types of jellies are deadly though. 

That evening we played a few games, including one where Gwenda had to lick vegemite (gross version of marmite) out of my bellybutton. It was a good way to make friends though and we met three nice English girls, Abi, Amy and Becki, who we saw quite a bit along our travels. I also had to play a sex position game with Abi, so as I say, a lovely way to make friends. Later on, we saw some dolphins, a reef shark, some stingrays and squid from the side of the boat that had been attracted to the lights. This was amazing because the dolphin was jumping in and out of the water for ages, chasing fish that were skimming across the sea’s surface.

The next day we were woken again by a crew member who this time made a crow call to get us up. This was slightly better than the rap because it didn't last as long. We headed straight off to the reef after having breakfast and got our stinger suits back on to jump into the water. We had an amazing time seeing hundreds of fish including some that looked like zebras, rainbow coloured ones and a huge one that they called Elvis. I got to stroke him as they were throwing him some food off the boat.

After a bit more snorkelling we went back to the boat and spent some time jumping off the diving board. We were all sad for the trip to end and when we went to sit at the front of the boat our crew played Titanic music for us. 

Scoooooteroooooo

After leaving rainy Fraser Island behind we headed to a little place called 1770/Agnes Water. We arrived at as lovely hostel called Southern Cross which had its own pool and two dogs; I strongly believe that one of these dogs was actually a dingo. It went for two people just while we were staying there so god knows why it’s allowed to stay, either way I kept well away from the monster. 1770 was really just a stop off point to break up the journey to our next place but we had had a few people telling us that whilst we were there we had to do this thing called scooteroo.

I had heard a bit about the scooteroo; basically you ride around the town of 1770 on these little scooters that have been chromed up to look like Harleys. I was looking forward to it but I definitely underestimated how much fun this can actually be. It was really good for us because quite a few people from our Fraser trip were also doing it at the same time. So, together we went and got transfer tattooed and put on flaming leather jackets and hats. 

Now I really didn't think it would be too hard to drive these things but after having to complete a lap six times until they were satisfied with me I was thinking a little differently. You had to balance on them quite well which was a lot harder when you were going slowly. After this Gwenda and I ended up getting stuck at the back of the group- this was quite funny though as we could see everyone in front of us and were both just laughing our heads off at how funny we all looked in our gear driving around. After a while we were told we could overtake so we decided that we were sick of the back. Although I could barely even turn corners on my scooter we went crazy on the overtaking, whizzing past Lucy, cackling loudly, we soon caught up with our Canadian friends; Chad, Matt, Loring Grant and Lasse (Danish) from our Fraser trip and I managed to get a few before they overtook me back. At this point I had no idea where Gwenda was until she caught up with us at a stop to say her chain had fallen off as we were going for it.

The way back was the best part of the trip because we were riding into the sunset which looked incredible, especially as we were riding along on our little scooters, wind in our hair and all that. 

All in all it was definitely one of the best trips that we ended up doing in Australia. 

Surfing up a storm and camping in a cyclone

After leaving Brisbane we headed to a tiny little place called Rainbow Beach. Although it seemed really nice it did have a kind of inbred feel to it. We were really going there because of a camping trip to the largest sand island in Australia which left from Rainbow but we also had our first surf lesson booked there. Gwenda and I were panicking big time about surfing as we thought it would be really hard and we'd end up just shivering in the sea for hours.
When we got there our instructor was nice but he seemed about as enthusiastic about teaching us as a wet fish. We had to practice standing up on our boards on the beach for a while then we were straight in the sea. My first few attempts were terrible but I managed to stand up which I was pretty happy about before I landed on my face into the sea. I was able to stand up quite a few times but would definitely say that the waves were riding me more than I was riding them.

We'd had a few nice days of sunshine but, of course, when we were leaving for our camping trip the rain started to come down. The trip we were going on was called a tag along tour where there were four groups and each group has their own four wheel drive. We were going to a place called Fraser Island where we wouldn’t be alone because the place is also teaming with dingos- wild dogs that are kind of a cross between dogs, wolves and foxes. We were a bit unsure about what to do if one approached us because we watched a one video that said to back away, one guy told us to talk to them (!) and another said to take a spade if you went to the toilet and use it as a dingo basher if necessary (this would have been my preferred method). We were also told that we wouldn't be allowed to swim in the ocean on our trip as the waters around us were completely shark infested.

With all this in mind we set off in our 4wd to catch the ferry to the island. As well as Luce, Gwend  and myself we also had a German girl, two Danish girls; Anne Sofie and Pernille and two Canadian boys; Chad and Matt in our car that we would be sharing the drive with and also cooking all our meals together. Luckily everyone was really nice (with the exception of the German who was a bit mental from time to time).

The first place we were visiting was Lake Mckenzie. Even in the rain this lake was beautiful and we all jumped straight in. We were also told that the sand was a really good exfoliant and as we wouldn't be washing for the next three days we made the most of it.


The rain really started to get worse then so our guide, Brendan, took us to a rainforest which he thought would look cool in the rain. It was pretty good but I quickly found out that my waterproof was not very waterproof (mum and dad you were right). This didn't really matter as I think we had already resigned ourselves to the fact that we would not be properly dry again for a few days.

After this we went and set up our camp- our tent had about six pegs and the outside didn't close, so that was excellent. Luckily we managed to get another outer layer to double up and make a super waterproof tent. As there wasn't much else to do the group more or less decided to start drinking at about five o'clock. We had all bought the cheapest drink available- GOON which is a cheap nasty wine that apparently contains dairy products and traces of fish. It did the trick though and we soon forgot about the rain lashing down. Our guide Brendan had also set up the cars around our little shelter so we could have light and music. Our group were all really nice and we soon had some drinking games going in a huge group.

We went to bed in our extremely cozy tent! Our zip was a nightmare and wouldn't close so I was going mental struggling with it and trying to yank it down, swearing etc, then I looked up and saw that I was literally nose to nose with a dingo.  "I said girls there's a dingo" and Luce said "no way", to which I replied-eye to eye with the wild dog- "come and look". After that there was a fair bit of shouting and clapping as we tried to scare the thing away. The girls next to our tent said this was pretty funny to listen to.

The next day we visited a few places including a creek which we all floated down and a point called Indian head where you could see sharks, dolphins, turtles and stingrays from. We managed to see a few stingrays and some massive fish. After eating dinner and seeing plenty more dingos we headed back to camp where it started pouring down with rain again. Brendan had told us that the weather we were experiencing was as bad as it ever got and if we wanted to go to a hostel then we could. There was no way we were doing this but four people did go, including this loud mouth scouse; he hadn't stopped showing off since we got there so it was quite funny that he chickened out of camping.



Just when we thought we had the worst of the weather one of the rangers came to speak to Brendan to tell him there was a cyclone on the way and they were shutting down parts of the island. Of course we decided to still camp. One problem was the fact that our tent had completely collapsed so Luce, Chad, Matt, Anne Sofie and I ended up piling into the car. Matt was a massive backseat hogger so Luce and I created a unique sleeping position where we lay on our backs with our heads on each others’ shoulders.

The following morning when we were due to leave the sun came out- typical or what? We visited another lake called Lake Wabbi which was fantastic as it had a massive sand dune running down to it where you could do a roll down called the crumbed sausage, landing with a massive splash in the lake.

We headed back to Rainbow Beach that day a little more damp and tired than when we left but having had a fantastic time. We were so lucky that we had such an enthusiastic group as we heard a lot of other groups had ended up at the resort. We had also met a lot of other people travelling the same route as us up the coast so all went out that night and were on the bus together the next day.

Crikey mate that's a whopper! (Steve Irwin Zoo)

After spending another night in Brisbane we decided to take a day trip to the Steve Irwin Australia Zoo. We had to get up at the crack of dawn to get our bus which was annoying and when we got on the bus there were three Japanese people making a travel documentary. So at some point I will be on Japanese TV discussing my trip so far.

I had heard lots of good things about the zoo but I didn't expect it to be so interactive. At 10.00 we went to an elephant feeding and all got to feed them a couple of times. This was really good and felt so weird when its trunk wrapped round your hand; it was really rough and you could tell how strong it was.

After watching the tigers for a while we went to get a seat in the crocoseum ready to watch a show. On the way, however, we got distracted when we saw a lady holding a baby alligator (four years old) for people to have pictures with. I ended up holding it for a picture and it felt so weird, it was really quite squishy underneath where I was holding him. After holding the alligator they brought out a koala so I held him as well. This wasn't such a success as when I handed him back to the keeper I realised he had pooed in my hand and done a wee all over my top. Here's a fact I never knew about koalas... they stink.

We finally went to take our seats in the Crocoseum which was really amazing as we got to see the keepers feeding the crocs and the crocs leaping out of the water. This was apparently the show Steve Irwin would perform when he was still alive.

After the show Gwenda said she wanted to hold a snake so we went back to the photo place and all held it together. It was a massive Burmese Python and when we were holding it, it felt like holding one massive, smooth, powerful muscle.
In the afternoon we went to see the tigers playing. The keepers don't like to call it a show but they get a pile of toys out and see if the tigers want to play with them. It was fantastic to watch as the tigers are literally big cats with their keepers. There was a pool in the enclosure and while the tigers were playing they were jumping in and out of it.
When all the shows had finished we carried on looking round the zoo at all the other enclosures, including roo heaven where you could sit amongst the kangaroos and wallabes feeding them. This was a lot of fun as the kangaroos were jumping all over us trying to get the food.  

At the end of the day we returned back to Brisbane completely shattered but ready to leave for Rainbow Beach the next day.