After a long ride on the bus stopping to see a giant mango and giant snake and the nicest public toilet on the east coast we made it into Townsville. From there we were to take the ferry over to Magnetic Island so named because when Jim Cook sailed past his compass went crazy. Crazy.
So when we get on the bus by the skin of our teeth, because we weren't booked and just went and tried and it luckily worked out, the driver takes off his hat and glasses and goes into a 5 minute Smeigel impression. Seriously, 5 minutes. Funny for the first 1 minute or so, scary for 4. Yeah so we are on and have our surfies in the aisle all day and on this day we stop 100 times and have to move them. See we have no more big green buses and thus no real storage. Where we could have 50 on a bus it is now 24. Sucks but we got on in the end because Mary didn't show and there is always shotgun open if you can put up with driver's zany antics. On this day Freddy and i were DJs because the tape deck wasn't working and he had an iTrip to play through the radio. I think most of the bus appreciated his Danish taste of American music to my in touch and deep knowledge of what is truly good music. Oh well. Can't win em all. I did get some mango jerky and mango smoothy in Bowen the supposed Mango capital of the world where they say "there's mangoes and there's Bowen mangoes" or something along those lines. I think that my mind is slipping a bit only thinking about things like my next meal and whether to go to the beach or not. Actually not true i do read a lot and try to understand non English speakers and correct them. At their request of course.
So when we make it to Townsville we drive up Castle Hill which isn't supposed to have buses on it but we do it anyway. Cool up there and i think it's the rich part of town because they all have beemers and Maserati in their garages. Strange to see a Maserati in Aussie. Don't ask me why. It's a Saturday here in a town of over 100,000 and there is nothing open for lunch. We were later told that Queenslanders are religious and need to go home early on Saturday to drink in the backyard. End up eating at Subway (3rd American restaurant of the trip) and it was divine but they had no water and i didn't want Coke. Yeah nothing was open it really sucked. We then went to the ferry terminal where driver was trying to back onto the barge in his first ever backing with a trailer experience. Went surprisingly well. Another ferry ride with eagles eating fish and waves and wind. We got over and did a short walk with the bus crew and saw a bunch of wild Koalas and remnants of a WW2 fort to protect Townsville from the Japanese. Cool walk and learned about Koala mating habits. Quite strange for such a slow moving creature. You should look into it.
Magnetic was dope. Hung out the first day getting sorted and our bearings although impossible when your compass doesn't work. I decided to camp the whole time out here and was very glad to get out of the dorms for awhile and breathe the good air. Four nights did wonders but the last it rained all night and i don't have enough stakes for the rain fly so i was a bit wet and tired in the morning after a long night. While here we went for a hike hoping to make it around to some secluded bays but to get there you have about 2k of bouldery coastline. Great fun for me but not for the ill prepared ie Jon with thongs on. Jake annoyed him a bit by asking if he would like extra suntan lotion applied to his neck. These are constant reminders of Jake's big question (BGJ). Did that and it felt good to get some exercise and the jug of beer when we finally got back was even better. We jumped off some rocks but getting out holding onto barnacles is never fun. We were all cut to hell but smiling nonetheless. Next day was my day and i explored Picnic Bay and met a crazy Austrian lady who had been there 14 years and made art from scraps in the junk yard. She would stop by the next day while i was waiting for a broken phone to call mom on her bday to wish me good luck for the future. She told me of her band of 20 friends on the island each playing a different instrument and making beautiful music. She recounted stories of her travels and went on and on. Quite enjoyable though. Did a lot of hiking on this small island and was glad to have some solitude. However the hostel where everyone (Danes, Dutch we met, Jo, and Jon) was nutty. Huge parties and bar and stuff. Didn't partake except the last night when Jon had 2 free jugs of cocktails which turned out to be sprite and grenadine. Good shit.
On the way back to the ferry terminal we met our next driver and she was huge and obnoxious. However we had a cool shuttle driver - an old guy named Cpt Dave and he had a train whistle, could look like Popeye, and really did. Face, clothes, hat, voice, cursing, he had it all. Very cool and he recommended some good ice cream.
Friday, May 13, 2005
Scurvy on the high seas
Watch out for that Scurvy crew they might start a mutiny and take over this bloody vessel.
Yes, this is the nonsense that i put up with while aboard the Defender one of a fleet of three tall ships in the Aussie Adventure Sailing crew. It was a 110 year old Queenslander, which, in lay terms means that it looked like a pirate ship with some funky sails. Tons of bonus sails up front too we were to find out on the last day. So we are in the Whitsundays off the coast of Airlie Beach for a 3 day 2 night adventure in which Jon and i are determined that we will start a mutiny to take over this old wreck and it's crew of 3 and 3 volunteers which could be easily swayed since Jo had somehow blagged on as one from her previous voyage. From the beginning we were looking for recruits who could keep the idea on the down low but were bold enough to carry through when the time came. It was a slow process but eventually got an 18 year old English guy and a couple from San Diego to join us in our endeavor (not to mention dream). The one thing standing in our way was Captain Gary. He was meaner than a snake (think Jimmy Jarrett) and a bloke in Jon's room the day before told us he was strangled against the wall of the wheel house when he accidentally grabbed the captain's ever so precious iPod charger. Tough going this was to be.
So with this crew of three was Jay a freakishly blond tall guy who made up rules as he went. One such rule was to always stay with the group while hiking. This was promptly broken and there was all hell to pay. Luckily they let me back on the ship and didn't make me swim back in the rain. Another is "Do what i say, not what i do" and this one went for everything. I tried to climb out on some rock and this rule came into effect. The funny thing is that much like Dingo there were "No Rules!!!" on the boat. Except the obvious seaman's code of conduct. Yeah he did end up teaching us where Leo the Lion, the Southern Cross, Sagittarius, Sirius, and other constellations/stars were. Then there was Ricky who i only talked to once for about an hour but he seemed solid and talked of surfing in canals being pulled by quadbikes (four wheelers to normal folks). Then there was Alison the cook and she was fine but made herself scarce. Then the volunteers. One was also Jay (i think) and followed the other Jay and tried to take pictures with his new Canon digital SLR but they all sucked and he was selling copies of a CD for $20 which seemed a bit excessive for a pile of poo. Also was the other kitchen helper whom i never got to know because she may have been mute. She did smile though so i know she was alive and thinking at least. And then there was Jo which could be easily pulled over to our side and the hostile takeover we were about to attempt.
Scurvy was our main worry on the high seas and in preparation JP and i each drank several gallons of lemonade since we had heard the citric acid really helps. Thing is we did it beforehand and put ourselves in danger of developing this disease on board from all the moldy cheese and hard tack we were to eat on the journey to the reefs. We stopped at some island and hiked where we broke just under 20 of the 1,000,000,000 rules that were on board. Luckily it was a gorgeous day and this gave us ample opportunity to figure out how to get into the wheel house during the night and commandeer the ship. Among the supplies we brought on board were no change of clothes, 2 toothbrushes, a half box of wine, pint of SoCo, iPod, 2 cameras, and maybe a towel. We would need to invite Macgyver (sp?) over to help (gimmee an avocado and a snorkel and i can make you a bong in 30 seconds). So the rest of the trip was left to planning and the takeover never happened because Alison, Jo, and nameless girl cooked too much food and made us fat and lethargic. So, moral of the story is if you plan a mutiny you need supplies and to follow through with the plan.
One night we were sleeping on deck despite a considerable downpour and one of the two UK rockstars on board woke up and screamed several things at the rain including obscenities not to be displayed here (this is f---ing brilliant, where are all the scandies they are so f---ing cool). These sayings or sayings resembling these sayings were actually said. This is just a tribute. During this night i was sleeping on the side of the deck, apparently downhill, and i had a river running through my pad and blanket and i don't think i slept longer than 30 minutes at a time. Great night. Luckily you get to get up early on a ship and brekky is served at 7am. Along with coffee, plenty of it.
Also, WE SAILED, WE WERE SAILORS (What about Bob? copyright 1990?). Tied up to the mast and everything - way cool. Also we did Titanic poses and were constantly yelling about the port side, setting the main sail, getting in the crows nest, icebergs dead ahead, rogue waves, etc, etc. It was basically a great time on the open seas even though we never saw the open seas. We went to Whitehaven beach which is one of the whitest beaches in the world and has some of the finest sand in the world (more silica) so that was rad. Played Frisbee and i taught Jon the game Steve and i play a lot which is keep feet planted and throw back and forth as many times as possible - we got 28 i think. Also did some fire twirling and model rolling in the waves. Problem was it was (is) still stinger season and these jellyfish can either kill you or really hurt i don't know which. So, to combat this problem they rented us some stinger suits. Basically full body lycra with hood (Steve Zissou). These were also used in our 2 snorkeling adventures off the boat. Saw some cool fish and coral but visibility was bad and tide was bad in both places so that was kind of a bummer. I did learn to go under and blow out the water though so i figure i can do anything now.
On the way home we hoisted all of the sails. Six i believe. I helped out quite a bit because i am so darn strong. I was now on the side of the regulars and was being called part of the Scurvy crew by Jay (alien). The thing we did was he yelled "two, six" (apparently rope numbers in the olden days) and we would yell "heave" good stuff. I really worked hard because i think the sail weighed well over an imperial tonne. We had a good blow that day and made it back in record time. No, i will never forget the mistakes i made in planning the mutiny or in trying to fight Scurvy but i will try and forget the sleepless nights on deck.
Yes, this is the nonsense that i put up with while aboard the Defender one of a fleet of three tall ships in the Aussie Adventure Sailing crew. It was a 110 year old Queenslander, which, in lay terms means that it looked like a pirate ship with some funky sails. Tons of bonus sails up front too we were to find out on the last day. So we are in the Whitsundays off the coast of Airlie Beach for a 3 day 2 night adventure in which Jon and i are determined that we will start a mutiny to take over this old wreck and it's crew of 3 and 3 volunteers which could be easily swayed since Jo had somehow blagged on as one from her previous voyage. From the beginning we were looking for recruits who could keep the idea on the down low but were bold enough to carry through when the time came. It was a slow process but eventually got an 18 year old English guy and a couple from San Diego to join us in our endeavor (not to mention dream). The one thing standing in our way was Captain Gary. He was meaner than a snake (think Jimmy Jarrett) and a bloke in Jon's room the day before told us he was strangled against the wall of the wheel house when he accidentally grabbed the captain's ever so precious iPod charger. Tough going this was to be.
So with this crew of three was Jay a freakishly blond tall guy who made up rules as he went. One such rule was to always stay with the group while hiking. This was promptly broken and there was all hell to pay. Luckily they let me back on the ship and didn't make me swim back in the rain. Another is "Do what i say, not what i do" and this one went for everything. I tried to climb out on some rock and this rule came into effect. The funny thing is that much like Dingo there were "No Rules!!!" on the boat. Except the obvious seaman's code of conduct. Yeah he did end up teaching us where Leo the Lion, the Southern Cross, Sagittarius, Sirius, and other constellations/stars were. Then there was Ricky who i only talked to once for about an hour but he seemed solid and talked of surfing in canals being pulled by quadbikes (four wheelers to normal folks). Then there was Alison the cook and she was fine but made herself scarce. Then the volunteers. One was also Jay (i think) and followed the other Jay and tried to take pictures with his new Canon digital SLR but they all sucked and he was selling copies of a CD for $20 which seemed a bit excessive for a pile of poo. Also was the other kitchen helper whom i never got to know because she may have been mute. She did smile though so i know she was alive and thinking at least. And then there was Jo which could be easily pulled over to our side and the hostile takeover we were about to attempt.
Scurvy was our main worry on the high seas and in preparation JP and i each drank several gallons of lemonade since we had heard the citric acid really helps. Thing is we did it beforehand and put ourselves in danger of developing this disease on board from all the moldy cheese and hard tack we were to eat on the journey to the reefs. We stopped at some island and hiked where we broke just under 20 of the 1,000,000,000 rules that were on board. Luckily it was a gorgeous day and this gave us ample opportunity to figure out how to get into the wheel house during the night and commandeer the ship. Among the supplies we brought on board were no change of clothes, 2 toothbrushes, a half box of wine, pint of SoCo, iPod, 2 cameras, and maybe a towel. We would need to invite Macgyver (sp?) over to help (gimmee an avocado and a snorkel and i can make you a bong in 30 seconds). So the rest of the trip was left to planning and the takeover never happened because Alison, Jo, and nameless girl cooked too much food and made us fat and lethargic. So, moral of the story is if you plan a mutiny you need supplies and to follow through with the plan.
One night we were sleeping on deck despite a considerable downpour and one of the two UK rockstars on board woke up and screamed several things at the rain including obscenities not to be displayed here (this is f---ing brilliant, where are all the scandies they are so f---ing cool). These sayings or sayings resembling these sayings were actually said. This is just a tribute. During this night i was sleeping on the side of the deck, apparently downhill, and i had a river running through my pad and blanket and i don't think i slept longer than 30 minutes at a time. Great night. Luckily you get to get up early on a ship and brekky is served at 7am. Along with coffee, plenty of it.
Also, WE SAILED, WE WERE SAILORS (What about Bob? copyright 1990?). Tied up to the mast and everything - way cool. Also we did Titanic poses and were constantly yelling about the port side, setting the main sail, getting in the crows nest, icebergs dead ahead, rogue waves, etc, etc. It was basically a great time on the open seas even though we never saw the open seas. We went to Whitehaven beach which is one of the whitest beaches in the world and has some of the finest sand in the world (more silica) so that was rad. Played Frisbee and i taught Jon the game Steve and i play a lot which is keep feet planted and throw back and forth as many times as possible - we got 28 i think. Also did some fire twirling and model rolling in the waves. Problem was it was (is) still stinger season and these jellyfish can either kill you or really hurt i don't know which. So, to combat this problem they rented us some stinger suits. Basically full body lycra with hood (Steve Zissou). These were also used in our 2 snorkeling adventures off the boat. Saw some cool fish and coral but visibility was bad and tide was bad in both places so that was kind of a bummer. I did learn to go under and blow out the water though so i figure i can do anything now.
On the way home we hoisted all of the sails. Six i believe. I helped out quite a bit because i am so darn strong. I was now on the side of the regulars and was being called part of the Scurvy crew by Jay (alien). The thing we did was he yelled "two, six" (apparently rope numbers in the olden days) and we would yell "heave" good stuff. I really worked hard because i think the sail weighed well over an imperial tonne. We had a good blow that day and made it back in record time. No, i will never forget the mistakes i made in planning the mutiny or in trying to fight Scurvy but i will try and forget the sleepless nights on deck.
Airlie Beach
Sitting in the Fat Possum cafe i just don't know exactly what to say about Airlie. It's not much of a town. It's the outlet to the Whitsunday's and that is about it. It is party backpacker paradise with cheap rooms ($14) and lots of beer. People out till all hours of the night and sleeping all day waiting to get on a sailboat. My room had a fridge and AC though. There is no beach in Airlie Beach so they built this lagoon which is affectionately known as the "sperm bank." Yeah yummy makes me want to go swimming and get crabs.
Went to both KFC and McDonald's to feel like an American while I was here. Good stuff since i haven't eaten like that in about 3 years. Complete with Coke and everything. Also had some sushi rolled by a fat white Aussie. Needless to say it was not the best sushi i have had in my life.
A couple of good nights out at Beaches backpacker's bar completed my time here and i must say it was funny when Mark got clocked by the low hanging fan and had to go in the ambulance to get 2 stitches. Wowzers.
I have been gone from reality for so long now. My main focuses are to try and spend as little as possible on meals and accom. Most computers suck. I still hate possums even though they are completely different and almost Wallaby like here. Don't let life turn into a routine - it is good to be tired at the end of the day. Drinking goon will make you feel like hell the next day and forever just because you remember you did it. Go out and do something don't wait for it to find you.
Went to both KFC and McDonald's to feel like an American while I was here. Good stuff since i haven't eaten like that in about 3 years. Complete with Coke and everything. Also had some sushi rolled by a fat white Aussie. Needless to say it was not the best sushi i have had in my life.
A couple of good nights out at Beaches backpacker's bar completed my time here and i must say it was funny when Mark got clocked by the low hanging fan and had to go in the ambulance to get 2 stitches. Wowzers.
I have been gone from reality for so long now. My main focuses are to try and spend as little as possible on meals and accom. Most computers suck. I still hate possums even though they are completely different and almost Wallaby like here. Don't let life turn into a routine - it is good to be tired at the end of the day. Drinking goon will make you feel like hell the next day and forever just because you remember you did it. Go out and do something don't wait for it to find you.
Dingo
Finally another chance to experience the "true" Australia. Yes, I am on a cattle station somewhere between 200-300k inland and just here on a stopover before heading to Airlie Beach and a sailing adventure on the Whitsunday islands. Our first bus driver told us that Dingo was a whicket time and we should certainly try to go there if at all possible. The crew that i am travelling with decided to arrange schedules to make this happen. You see because of the previously mentioned takeover of Oz Experience all of the busses have been hell to get on and we have to spend 20 minutes on hold every time we have a question or want to book a bus. Pain in the arse, that is for sure. Anyway after the 2nd of May there was to be a change in the schedule and the buses would be going to Kroombit another cattle station but one with a YHA hostel and the finer things in life that go along with that (cutlery, cleanliness, that's about it). Well when we pulled into Dingo about sunset i decided to camp and watch the sunset. This place strangely resembles Nebraska and the sunsets that are seen on the open plains with plenty of dust probably anywhere in the world. They get 13 days of rain here a year on average. Yeah so for $17 i camp and get a full BBQ dinner. Not too shabby. They but up Daisy (a nice Brahma i was to learn) for our dinner and she was tasty. First steak(s) i have had in quite some time. Used to eating peanut butter, pasta, and anything else cheap and quick. I do, on the rare occasion, make a nice dinner but you really need at least 3-4 people participating to make it worth cooking. So we hung out and snuck a few of our beers from 1770 since this place is licensed even though the cowboy bloke who jumped on the bus said there were absolutely no rules. There was a northbound and southbound bus there that night and we were to have competitions and dance offs and sheet like that.
Dinner was super with seconds and dessert. Yum.
That night got a little nutty under the stars with all the typical backpacker bar music going on all night long. I woke up at one point to 'Burn' by Usher playing at about 4am. So think cheesy American party songs and you have got the music pinned. For example the guys who work there had a dance routine to the Bloodhound Gang song 'Discovery Channel'. I think that is what it is called anyway. I think these Jackaroos have been on the farm too long and their only touch with reality is backpackers, most of which are from countries with no style or touch with reality themselves. If you try to figure out what is going on in the world or what is popular from the group i am travelling with you would be sorely mistaken. What i am trying to say is that these guys would have done fine in 1999 because that's where they think they are. Isolation. Chicks dig it.
The night wore on and most of the activities ended up being UK vs Rest of World. We competed in tug of war, dance offs, fashion shows, music trivia, and drinking contests all of which Rest of World easily won. Another fun activity they do is beginning line dancing. We learned like crazy but i can never catch on so i ended up having my own ho down think Tanner/Carse Dixieland Delight days. Good fun and they even played Cotton Eyed Joe my favorite techno country song. The other big part of the night is when they announced the fashion show but this was to be a crossdressing fashion show and there were plenty of clothes on the porch. We all dressed up as very cute girls. I had on a long dressing coat, pink pleated skirt, and sequined top. I didn't win because the cowboys were just trying to hook up with the chicks so they gave them all the free drinks. Or that is at least what i have been telling myself. Had a nice laugh and went to sleep under the infinitillions of stars that were visible. No constellations i knew except Scorpio though. Kind of a bummer but i was out of it. Good to sleep in the tent.
Next day we had a cattle station tour hosted by Rich one of the main workers there and i blagged onto that puppy for free. We learned things like: a Brahma bull's testicles should be 42.5cm in circumference, that he worked on a station in NT where he didn't see a girl for 24 months 8 days and 3 hours or taken a shower for 32 days or eaten baked beans with all meals for over 4 months, that the station had been sold for $13M and that's why Oz wasn't coming anymore, that he has a 19 year old Swedish girlfriend and he is 34 (awfully proud of that one), that he kills all dingoes and snakes, and on and on. What we did get out of the tour was the ability to shoot our clothes with a shotgun (i did not participate due to the fact i only have 4 shirts and 2 pairs of shorts), learning to crack a bullwhip (i ruled at it, of course), and eating some kind of bread that tastes like cornbread and tea from a gum tree. Good times. We saw one bull so irate that he wouldn't let any of his 300 ladies have a drink of water. Doesn't seem right since all he does is shag 15 times a day. Dad that cattle ranch is sounding better all the time.
Dinner was super with seconds and dessert. Yum.
That night got a little nutty under the stars with all the typical backpacker bar music going on all night long. I woke up at one point to 'Burn' by Usher playing at about 4am. So think cheesy American party songs and you have got the music pinned. For example the guys who work there had a dance routine to the Bloodhound Gang song 'Discovery Channel'. I think that is what it is called anyway. I think these Jackaroos have been on the farm too long and their only touch with reality is backpackers, most of which are from countries with no style or touch with reality themselves. If you try to figure out what is going on in the world or what is popular from the group i am travelling with you would be sorely mistaken. What i am trying to say is that these guys would have done fine in 1999 because that's where they think they are. Isolation. Chicks dig it.
The night wore on and most of the activities ended up being UK vs Rest of World. We competed in tug of war, dance offs, fashion shows, music trivia, and drinking contests all of which Rest of World easily won. Another fun activity they do is beginning line dancing. We learned like crazy but i can never catch on so i ended up having my own ho down think Tanner/Carse Dixieland Delight days. Good fun and they even played Cotton Eyed Joe my favorite techno country song. The other big part of the night is when they announced the fashion show but this was to be a crossdressing fashion show and there were plenty of clothes on the porch. We all dressed up as very cute girls. I had on a long dressing coat, pink pleated skirt, and sequined top. I didn't win because the cowboys were just trying to hook up with the chicks so they gave them all the free drinks. Or that is at least what i have been telling myself. Had a nice laugh and went to sleep under the infinitillions of stars that were visible. No constellations i knew except Scorpio though. Kind of a bummer but i was out of it. Good to sleep in the tent.
Next day we had a cattle station tour hosted by Rich one of the main workers there and i blagged onto that puppy for free. We learned things like: a Brahma bull's testicles should be 42.5cm in circumference, that he worked on a station in NT where he didn't see a girl for 24 months 8 days and 3 hours or taken a shower for 32 days or eaten baked beans with all meals for over 4 months, that the station had been sold for $13M and that's why Oz wasn't coming anymore, that he has a 19 year old Swedish girlfriend and he is 34 (awfully proud of that one), that he kills all dingoes and snakes, and on and on. What we did get out of the tour was the ability to shoot our clothes with a shotgun (i did not participate due to the fact i only have 4 shirts and 2 pairs of shorts), learning to crack a bullwhip (i ruled at it, of course), and eating some kind of bread that tastes like cornbread and tea from a gum tree. Good times. We saw one bull so irate that he wouldn't let any of his 300 ladies have a drink of water. Doesn't seem right since all he does is shag 15 times a day. Dad that cattle ranch is sounding better all the time.
1770
Ahh, that is the sound of complete relaxation. This is the Town of 1770 and Agnes Waters. The hostel we stayed at, supposedly one of the best in Oz is run by a bunch of surfer dudes with laid back attitudes. Very cool indeed. I already wrote this post once back in Airlie (now on Magnetic Island) but the computers seized up and the lady told us that the server for all of Australia had gone down. I waited for about 30 minutes and apparently Australia doesn't use the internet because it was still down. They handed off $1 off coupons to us and thought that they were doing us a favor. Not happy about that one. Such is life.
1770 rocked. Or, paradoxically, didn't. Yeah it was a completely quiet town and the last place to on the Australian East coast to surf if you are heading north. This is because of the Great Barrier Reef (might have heard of it?) and how it blocks all the waves from reaching the beach. I had never really thought about that before until i came here but it certainly rings true. So Jo has gone because she is leaving early to continue our travels so now it's JP and I on our own, with some Danish friends to boot. 1770 was a lazy time with surfing during the hot as days and watching a few movies at night. We arrived to see Zoolander on top of the tv (we usually watch crap) and our hearts nearly jumped out of our collective chests. We come back after a long day on the beach to settle down and have a beer and watch the film but it has been returned in favor of films such as 'Jaws Returns', 'The Naked Gun', and 'The Castle' an Aussie film so bad i just had to leave and go sit on the internet. There were a couple of good ones though i suppose so we ended up watching Catch Me if You Can and We Were Soldiers. Decent but certainly not Hansel.
There ended up being a surf competition on Saturday and Sunday so we watched that for a bit and all the hostel kids were surfing too and getting in the way. Don't think that the locals loved it but the competition wasn't big enough to warrant kicking people out of the water. Not too impressive but couldn't really see anything so i don't really know. We got a free jeep tour and it was like a mini Fraser trip bumping around down sand roads in 1981 model Land Cruisers. Pretty BA if you ask me. Got into a yarn with a dyslexic 19 year old English kid and some English and Canadian girls. Had to stick up for and explain America as best i could. I don't think that you guys would choose me as an ambassador if you had the choice though. J and i had a good mexicana night after surfing and that turned into lunch the next day. Always good to have that much food. Also made a barefoot trek to the bottle shop and i think my feet wanted to die. It was friday happy hour and the mullets were out in full force. I don't know what these guys do for a living but i do think that all they really do is watch footy and put money in the pokies. J reasoned that we buy a 30 pack of beers and save some for Dingo (up next yippee) and for 30 beers it was $40 which is $32 American or a little over a $1 a beer. Shit beer though. This is the reasoning he always does though even though he is leaving in like 2 weeks and has plenty of denero. He is also my trip planner for the last few weeks and pretty much till i leave Aussie. He does quite a job.
Got up at 6:30 for the last day of surf and the swell was over. We have had good surfing luck all the way and now on the final competition day and our last day of surf in oz there is nothing. Flat. Oh well, we made the effort and got screwed. Seems like that's the way it is sometimes. But i had some toast and tea on the beach which is nice. Off to Dingo and a supposedly big party for the last night of the cattle station hosting the Oz Exp kids.
1770 rocked. Or, paradoxically, didn't. Yeah it was a completely quiet town and the last place to on the Australian East coast to surf if you are heading north. This is because of the Great Barrier Reef (might have heard of it?) and how it blocks all the waves from reaching the beach. I had never really thought about that before until i came here but it certainly rings true. So Jo has gone because she is leaving early to continue our travels so now it's JP and I on our own, with some Danish friends to boot. 1770 was a lazy time with surfing during the hot as days and watching a few movies at night. We arrived to see Zoolander on top of the tv (we usually watch crap) and our hearts nearly jumped out of our collective chests. We come back after a long day on the beach to settle down and have a beer and watch the film but it has been returned in favor of films such as 'Jaws Returns', 'The Naked Gun', and 'The Castle' an Aussie film so bad i just had to leave and go sit on the internet. There were a couple of good ones though i suppose so we ended up watching Catch Me if You Can and We Were Soldiers. Decent but certainly not Hansel.
There ended up being a surf competition on Saturday and Sunday so we watched that for a bit and all the hostel kids were surfing too and getting in the way. Don't think that the locals loved it but the competition wasn't big enough to warrant kicking people out of the water. Not too impressive but couldn't really see anything so i don't really know. We got a free jeep tour and it was like a mini Fraser trip bumping around down sand roads in 1981 model Land Cruisers. Pretty BA if you ask me. Got into a yarn with a dyslexic 19 year old English kid and some English and Canadian girls. Had to stick up for and explain America as best i could. I don't think that you guys would choose me as an ambassador if you had the choice though. J and i had a good mexicana night after surfing and that turned into lunch the next day. Always good to have that much food. Also made a barefoot trek to the bottle shop and i think my feet wanted to die. It was friday happy hour and the mullets were out in full force. I don't know what these guys do for a living but i do think that all they really do is watch footy and put money in the pokies. J reasoned that we buy a 30 pack of beers and save some for Dingo (up next yippee) and for 30 beers it was $40 which is $32 American or a little over a $1 a beer. Shit beer though. This is the reasoning he always does though even though he is leaving in like 2 weeks and has plenty of denero. He is also my trip planner for the last few weeks and pretty much till i leave Aussie. He does quite a job.
Got up at 6:30 for the last day of surf and the swell was over. We have had good surfing luck all the way and now on the final competition day and our last day of surf in oz there is nothing. Flat. Oh well, we made the effort and got screwed. Seems like that's the way it is sometimes. But i had some toast and tea on the beach which is nice. Off to Dingo and a supposedly big party for the last night of the cattle station hosting the Oz Exp kids.
Bagara
Ahh, yes a night in the beautiful town of Bagara. This was quite awhile ago so i don't know if i will get it all right but there wasn't too much going on anyway. So after a long and arduous day on the bus we pulled into Kelly's beach resort with a mighty gusto. The big green bus, one of the last ones i was to see seeing as how the Oz Experience has changed over to Australia Adventure Travel and smaller busses, screeched in to a halt and our driver announced a former a chippendale would be on shortly to tell us what was up for the night. It was the usual come buy our group dinner for $10 and buy everything from us because you have no choice, either in coming here or buying our product. This is the bad thing about Oz, they make you go on their route. This route includes almost all places i would have wanted to go but also includes a bunch of shitters such as Bagara and Kelly's Beach Resort. Bagara is a beach suburb of Bundaberg famous for their rum and ginger beer. Famous is a comparative word down here because the giant prawn and giant mango get quite a bit of publicity as well. They do grow a ton of sugar around here though and we were told to take golf clubs to the cane toads if we saw them because they are a nuisance and another one of those species introduced to Australia with no natural predators.
So the place we get is pretty sweet. A little bungalow/cabin kinda thing that is still a dorm but we have our own kitchen, bathroom, and even a tv. Needless to say we took full advantage of the tv for we hadn't been able to choose what we wanted to watch in ages. When there are about 20 folks sitting around watching you can't just flip through channels as i would prefer. Yeah so there was a room with 4 beds and a loft with 3. I went with the loft because it was just a lot cooler (not temp obviously) up there. Made some noodles with crappy homemade marinara and then played cards for quite some time. Both games i hadn't played before - Wist and Shithead. yeah crazy times. There were a couple of English girls who were pretty cool and also in Hervey with us in the cabana and then the Dane guys, Jo, John, and myself. Good night but we never found the beach and the spa that was promised obviously wasn't working. I have figured out that anything good about a place is sure not to work. I don't know why but I'm sure some famous philosopher once said something about it. I will add it to my list to google when i get home. I could do it here but when internet is $5 an hour i pay to keep you's guys informed. Hope you guys are all doing well and would love to hear what you have been up to. Cheers.
So the place we get is pretty sweet. A little bungalow/cabin kinda thing that is still a dorm but we have our own kitchen, bathroom, and even a tv. Needless to say we took full advantage of the tv for we hadn't been able to choose what we wanted to watch in ages. When there are about 20 folks sitting around watching you can't just flip through channels as i would prefer. Yeah so there was a room with 4 beds and a loft with 3. I went with the loft because it was just a lot cooler (not temp obviously) up there. Made some noodles with crappy homemade marinara and then played cards for quite some time. Both games i hadn't played before - Wist and Shithead. yeah crazy times. There were a couple of English girls who were pretty cool and also in Hervey with us in the cabana and then the Dane guys, Jo, John, and myself. Good night but we never found the beach and the spa that was promised obviously wasn't working. I have figured out that anything good about a place is sure not to work. I don't know why but I'm sure some famous philosopher once said something about it. I will add it to my list to google when i get home. I could do it here but when internet is $5 an hour i pay to keep you's guys informed. Hope you guys are all doing well and would love to hear what you have been up to. Cheers.
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