2 Crazy Sheilas

SO I cannot believe that I was seriously just in Fiji and now I get to go to Hawaii and enjoy MORE sun!

After my not-so-bad flight from Fiji (I got sat in an aisle, in between two pretty good-looking Spanish guys, all the while watching a movie I was waiting to see for ages J) I hopped off of the plane and breathed in the Hawaiian air. I then took the shuttle bus to my home for the week, Waikiki Beachside Hostel, just one block from famous (and beautiful) Waikiki Beach! I immediately dropped off my bags and headed to the beach for a day in the sun, as if I hadn’t had enough sun yet J! After a long and warm day in the strong Hawaiian sun I headed back to the hostel where I met my new friends for the next few days, a Hawaiian, a Swedish girl, and a Puerto Rican. I found out from my new friends that the Hostel hosted a bar night every night at a bar of choice somewhere in Waikiki or Honolulu. (And just to let you all know this newfound knowledge will have a lot to do with my nightly activities from that night on out!)

After having a few drinks with my new friends at my apartment-like hostel room, we met up with a group of other travelers from all around the world and headed out to the bars. The bars in Waikiki, although expensive to get into because they all ask for a cover charge, were a pretty fun time. My new Swedish friend, Melinda who had just studied in Australia as well, but in Newcastle, and I had too much fun so we decided to head home and catch some shuteye.

The next day, in order to milk our headaches, Melinda and I headed to the beach, after a quick stop at the surf shop of course J, we headed to Waikiki beach to lie in the sun and catch some surf. I was super pumped to try surfing since I have never surfed before so I couldn’t wait to get into the water with my 10-foot long-board! I strapped the leash around my ankle, put on a borrowed rash guard (sort of like a t-shirt) and drug my huge surfboard into the water. It was a little hard to balance on the board but I had plenty of time to get used to it as I paddled out into the open water to join the other surfers. When Melinda, who has surfed a few times before and came to show me the ropes, and I finally reached the group of other surfers, we decided to hang out on the side of the group to avoid getting hit or hitting other surfers while trying to catch the waves. My heart was pumping as the relatively small waves came rolling in and one after another I watched other surfers paddle hard, catch the wave, stand up, and ride it in. It seemed easy when you watched it, but once I got up the courage to try and catch my first wave I realized how hard it actually was. Not only was it hard to paddle fast enough to catch a stinking wave, but once you caught it standing up without falling was in itself a chore! Lets just say the first few waves, as I got my feel for them, were a disaster. After a few missed waves, a few falls and a little of both, I finally stood up and rode my first wave! I wish I could tell you how cool it was to catch a wave, I felt on top of the world! Surfing is really tiring and seeing as its been awhile since I have worked out I was huffing and puffing just in time for our surfboard rental time to be up, thankfully! Melinda and I paddled in, returned our surfboards, and walked back to the hostel just in time to grab dinner, hop in the shower and get ready to go out for the night.

Tonight a group of us from the hostel went out for a few drinks at a local bar. Melinda, a few British guys, two Scottish Girls, and two Irish Guys, along with some others had a ton of fun dancing, taking shots, and just being young. I had to go to the bathroom and while I was gone my friend Melinda decided to tell some random guys on the dance floor that I was a three hit wonder in Ireland and that she was my manager! When I came back to meet her I was in total confusion at what was going on, but I caught on and decided to play along too. The two of us ended up making up this huge story about how I had two pop hits, and even though I was not religious at all (I did it for the money apparently) I had a really huge Christian hit there as well! It ended up being really hilarious as they drilled me with questions about how I was discovered, and what my last name was so that they could download my songs, which I ended up telling them it was O’hara! In the end, we could no longer take it and through our hysterical laughs we told the very gullible (as if we had Irish accents!) boys the truth, along with telling eberyone we were with the hilarious story! (The Irish boys that were in our group thought it was really funny J)! It was getting late, I was tired (especially from laughing) so I decided it was time to go home, I needed to be rested for by big trip to Pearl Harbor the next day!

It was Melinda’s last day in Hawaii today so the two of us decided to wake up very early and go surfing, before she headed back to Sweden, and myself to Pearl Harbor. The waves were looking good as the sun rose and Melinda and I headed out into the chilly water to catch some more waves. After catching a few waves and riding them magnificently disaster struck! This is how the story went, I was catching this wave, and as I learned quickly if someone is clearly catching a wave you back off and let them be, especially if you’re new (as many, including me, were). Well this young girl must not have got the memo about wave etiquette, and completely ran into me with her ten foot surf board right into the side of my face! Not only did I not see it coming, my ear got hit really hard (instructors were yelling and asking me if I was okay, I guess it was pretty loud!) but I lost my one earring that my parents had gotten for me for my 21st birthday! I was boiling with anger, especially when the young girl just decided to paddle away without any acknowledgement that she had hit me whatsoever!!! I was literally livid! I sat out in the ocean and cooled down a bit before I tried and caught some more waves.

After surfing, and losing an earring, I was off to the hostel to eat some breakfast, shower, say good-bye to Melinda, and hop on the local bus for the hour ride to Pearl Harbor. I didn’t really know what to expect when I went to Pearl Harbor. I arrived and checked my bag, got my number for the trip out to the memorial, and waited a few hours while looking around the museum. I couldn’t believe how packed the museum was, I couldn’t even tell you how many people go through there in one day, and waiting hours I got to glimpse only a fraction of the people that visit daily. I didn’t know that you actually rode out to the memorial in a boat where you could look below and see the U.S.S. Arizona under the water, which was the grave of so many WWII soldiers. I learned that there is still oil leaking from the boat, that I saw, which is incredible to me because it happened so long ago! After taking many pictures of the memorial, I looked around the free museum and learned a little more about the attack on Pearl Harbor and WWII as a whole. I got to read letters of fallen soldiers to their parents and family before the attacks, and about the life of them, including daily tasks and activities, like sports they take part in. I then decided to skip out on the rest of the museum, which cost around $30 to get into and head back to Honolulu and do a little bit of shopping at the mall before heading back to Waikiki. Tonight, being that I woke up at literally dawn, and took the trip to Pearl Harbor, I was pretty tired and decided to stay at the hostel and hang out with a few new roommates and friends in my room.

Today I took a trip to the beautiful North Shore of Ohau, which in the winter is the home of Pipeline, one of the most epic places of surf in the world. Almost every famous surfer has surfed pipeline and has lived there for some time throughout their careers. It was really cool to stand on the Pipeline beach (although there were no waves due to the summer months) and know that so many crazy surfers have risked their lives on that beach and so many famous people have called that beach home. I took some pictures of the Volcom houses and envied the pro surfers that call the houses home because they get to look out their windows and see the beautiful coastline of Hawaii daily. After Pipeline, we stopped just up the road and my British friend and I jumped decided to join the many young people and jump off of the 30 foot rock and into the water just off of the shore. I was a little worried about jumping off a cliff into water literally feet from the beach, but my fears were relieved when I got into the water and realized the drop off! It was really exhilarating and I had to do it again and again! After taking many pictures and jumping at least five times we decided to go a little farther up the coast and take a few pictures because the view was spectacular. With the Hawaiian mountains green as can be, the blue water and thriving palm trees, it was a picture perfect spot and although I took my fair share of pictures, I couldn’t do it justice.

After the trip to the beautiful North Shore a huge group of us headed out on the town to a bar named Scruples, where we had a lot of fun, too many drinks, and danced out butts off.

The next day, tired and not feeling too hot from the night before, I headed to the beach with my roommates and lounged all day in the sun, and cooled off in the water after a few fun games of sand volleyball. Tonight was my last night, as I thought, in Hawaii so I HAD to go out right??? That I did! A group of us headed to Scruples, the same bar from the night before, and had a few drinks. There was a bikini contest going on that night at the bar, which to my surprise was less of a bikini contest if you ask me! I swear that eight out of the ten girls were wearing floss for bikinis, not my taste in swimwear that’s for sure! In any case, I decided to skip out of the bikini contest early and head home to rest before my flight out of Hawaii and back to the main land.

Lets just say that for some odd reason my brain took a vacation in Hawaii! I woke up on my (what I thought) was my last day in Hawaii and packed up my bags and went to go check out. Upon checking out the people at the front desk said that I was booked for another day and when I went to look at my flight itinerary I realized that they were right, I wasn’t supposed to leave until the next night and wouldn’t get into LA until late the next day! This is where my problems began. I called my friend Kory who I was staying with in LA and he told me, to my surprise, that he had booked all this stuff for my next night there. He got us a car, reservations at a really nice restaurant STK in Hollywood, and even was planning to take me to a few really fun clubs! He spent quite a lot of money and I felt too sorry to disappoint him and cause him to lose all of the money. So in the end I decided to fly out a day early and into San Diego and end my time in Hawaii.

Hawaii turned out to be a really fun stop on my travels. I surfed for the first time, saw soo many beautiful places and met some really unforgettable friends, who I will be sure to keep in touch with for years to come! I hope to get back to Hawaii and see more of what the vast islands have to offer! Although I left a day early the next and last stop on my trip was to Los Angeles to visit a friend from Boscobel, Kory, who now lives there. This last leg of my tables is going to be a good time…I can just tell!

Will tell all about LA shortly…

~Claire                  

So as I have mentioned in my last few posts, while I was obviously catching up on them, I spent ten days in Fiji! I won’t go through a day by day tell all of my time there because it mostly was made up of sitting in the sun, going on a day trip, and taking my open water scuba dive certification coarse. But I will let you know how much fun I had in paradise!

As soon as Miranda and I got off of the plane in Nadi, which we had to walk outside in order to get to the terminal, we were blasted with the sticky, humid and hot air that hovers over the Fiji Islands daily. Although I was completely not used to it, coming from Sydney where it was rainy and chilly the whole time we were there, it was welcoming. We were greeted by Fijians yelling and exclaiming their joy of us being there by saying, “Bula!” which means welcome, or hello in the Fijian language. Throughout my stay saying Bula to everyone became customary and I didn’t even realize it was another language at times, just normal. I also learned another good Fijian word, vinaka (pronounced vee-naa-kaa) that means thank you. I am sad to say that I was taught many other words and sayings but I can’t seem to remember them today.

After going through the worldly customs and immigration rituals Miranda and I hopped on our shuttle, which draped us with traditional Fijian necklaces made from shells, and headed for our accommodation Mango Bay Resort, which is on the south side of the main island of Fiji directly an hour and a half between Nadi and Suva. Mango Bay Resort turned out to fit right in with the Fijian atmosphere, with permanent tents, bures, and huts, all with grass roofs, which gave a real island feel. Heading toward the ocean when at Mango Bay you could look straight through the dining area, past the pool and see the clear blue water waves crash against the sand beach. The resort was also lined with a reef just in the near distance off the water, which made it a perfect place to learn to scuba.

The second I arrived I decided that it would be a perfect place to get my scuba certification, and since it was offered and I was the only one interested I got a one on one certification. The course didn’t start for a few days so Miranda and I lounged at the resort for the first rainy cloudy day and got massages in one of the huts. The second day was what Fiji should be, sunny and warm, so I decided to lounge in the sun along the pool, just beside the ocean. Today Miranda and I made coconut jewelry. We collected the coconuts, peeled the protective layer of starchy stuff from it and then the fun began. Once left with just the nut Miranda and I sanded and sanded until we felt we could sand no more, then we got the saw and sawed the nut into half, peeled out the coconut (saving as much as possible to eat while we worked) and cut the pieces into the shapes we were after. After more sanding we varnished our pieces and left them hanging to dry in the water sports and activities hut. Later that day I went back to collect my pieces of coconut and make them into the jewelry I had planned.

The third day Miranda and I went on a day trip to Yanuca Island, a small Fijian island just off of the mainland. On the boat trip there the group of nearly 12 did some deep-sea fishing. We caught a few tuna that we were going to get to enjoy at lunch later that day. While fishing we got to do some whale watching as a group of what seemed to be 20 or so whales passed our boat and even swam directly under us. As they came up to get some air we all oooed and ahhhed and snapped as many pictures as we could. After fishing and whale watching the Fijians took us to the reef to hop into the warm water and get a glimpse of the underwater world. As we snorkeled we got to see all sorts of fish, colorful underwater plants and coral and even a turtle and a reef shark! The sun and the snorkeling left my stomach rumbling with hunger so it was a perfect time to pull up to a nearby island and have some lunch. We cooked up our tuna on an open fire and enjoyed the fresh fish with sandwiches and sodas. Once full we had some free time to snorkel some more, lounge on the beach and even get a few games of volleyball in. After letting our stomachs digest our food for some time we all boarded the small boat and headed over to Yanuca Island. The wind, which made for very choppy water, accompanied by our crazy Fijian boat drivers, soaked us along the way to the island. When we arrived on the island we got a tour of the small village and learned a little about the village and how it survives. It was interesting to learn that they survived almost mainly on sweet potatoes and a plant called kava, which they take the roots and dry them and then grind it into a powder a made a drink out of it. Miranda and I were able to try kava one night while in Fiji and I found it a quite interesting experience. Kava turned out to be a sort of alcoholic drink, as you drank it you could feel your throat numb.

Going back to the village trip, after learning a little about the village we headed up the hill and got to look at the school and meet some Fijian children and watch the whole school group, which was made up of about thirty children of all ages, sing a number of songs to us in both English and the Fijian language. It was such a treat to get to watch the children perform and be excited to meet us and learn about our lives. Once the show was over it was time to head back to the resort. On our way back we opened the wine and beer bottles and enjoyed the beautiful Fijian sunset, which was just the icing on the cake to a perfect day.

The next day at the resort was the start of my open water scuba course. Today I spend the morning in the swimming pool learning about my scuba gear and getting used to breathing underwater. That afternoon I got to go on my first scuba dive out on the reef just off of the shore along the beach. Let me tell you it was such an amazing thing to be breathing under 36 feet of watch and to get so close to the fish and coral along the reef. The fish along the reef were so colorful and diverse; I have never seen such a beautiful underwater location before. The rest of my scuba certification I spent going back and forth between the swimming pool and the reef. In the pool I learned the basics of scuba diving and what to do in certain situations, such as out of air, regulator problems, leaky goggles and buddy troubles. When in the open water I practiced the things I learned in the pool, but in an obvious realistic environment. After practicing in the open water the dive instructor, Marcel, and I swam around and did some sight seeing around the reef. When exploring I saw some of the coolest things I had yet, including four reef sharks that were 5 to 7 feet long swimming below us, a manta ray that came speeding toward us with its 12 foot width only to jet to the right just in front of us, and a little purple octopus about the size of a melon! It was seriously the coolest experience I have had yet. After completing the water part of my course, it was time for my test, which was on the book I had been reading about open water diving since the beginning of the week. Luckily I passed the test, with only two wrong, and got my scuba certification! It was my favorite part of being in Fiji!

While I spent my time on getting my certification, Miranda had gone back to the states and I was left to meet some new friends. I spent my last few days hanging out with a Dutch friend, two British girls, and an Aussie, on the beach and in the bar lounging and having fun in paradise.

My Fiji experience had come to an end, after eight wonderful sun soaked days and it was time to head to my next island, Hawaii. While in Fiji, not only did I enjoy being in paradise but also I made some wonderful friends and got my open water scuba certification, all of which will be with me for the rest of my life, not only in my memories, but also in the experiences to come.

~Claire     

How sad it was to know that my trip through the beautiful Australia had nearly come to an end. It seriously went by so fast and it aws so much fun!

Miranda and I got out of the plane, collected our luggage and hopped on the train to Central Station where we then switched trains and headed north of the city to meet up with a friend, Cody, who we went to University with in Melbourne at LaTrobe. Cody works and thus lives in Sydney during breaks and summers at University, so therefore gave Miranda and I a free place to stay with a friend!

Miranda and I arrived at Codys and hung out for the rainy afternoon at his place and enjoyed all the food he made us to fill our empty stomachs! After an afternoon of doing relatively nothing we headed down the road to meet one of his friends, Jules. We found out that we were to be staying at Jules’ because she had room for us and apparently loved taking in travelling nomads! We stayed at Jules’ for a while and drank wine, chatted with another naighbor (the wife of Codys boss), and giggled at her unruly 11 year old, Sam. After finishing a bottle of wine we headed across the lawn to the neighbors where we drank more wine, played some table tennis and watched their children, including Sam, kick butt at Guitar Hereo, which is a playstation game where you play a guitar. A cask of wine later Miranda, Jules, and I decided it was time to head off to bed as Miranda and I had planned to get up early and head into the city, find a hostel, and enjoy our last hours in AUstralia after running a few errands.

The next day Miranda and I woke a little later than planned, had toast and tea at Jules’ house, said goodbye and headed back over to Cody’s where we were fed breakfast again! After stuffing my stomach beyond belief we headed into the city….regrettfully deciding to take the bus….which in the rain the walk and wait for the bus was not pleasant, especially when it didnt come and we had to walk the opposite direction to the train station. When we finally got into the city Miranda and I had to run to STA travel to get our travel inineraries, send off a package of sand to the states (customs doesnt allow us to bring it in so we smuggle it via mail) and head to the bottle shop (the liquor store) to grab Jules a bottle of wine as a thank you. Once we were finished with all of our errands we headed back to Cody’s grabbed our bags and went back, yet again, into the city and checked into our hostel for the night. Once all of this had taken place it was late afternoon and Miranda and Cody headed to do some shopping while I took a shower.

Tonight we were meeting up with our dutch friend, Rody, whom we met on our travels down the coast, for dinner and drinks. Rody, who goes to Macquarie University in Sydney, took us to a resturant named Pancakes on the Rocks. You can guess it, we had pancakes for dinner, which were delicious and after we headed to a few of Rody’s favorite bars. One of which was like five bars in one and had a DJ floating on a see-through platform! It was pretty cool! After heading to the multi-bar bar we headed back to a bar near our hostel, where we had the most fun! A long night of partying and celebrating our last night in Australia with Cody and Rody was the exact thing Miranda and I needed! We had a blast dancing, taking jager bombs (too many I might add), and just having fun. The next morning Miranda and I woke to get back to the Sydney airport for our flight to Nadi, Fiji.

It was really sad to say goodbye to Australia, but it really didn’t hit me then as the thought that Fiji was ahead clouded my sadness for leaving. I still can’t believe I am not in Australia anymore and its really sad to think that I don’t know when I will be able to go back, let alone see the many friends I made while there. It was the best decision I ever made and I wouldn’t take it back for anything, the only thing I regret was that I didn’t decide to stay longer!

Australia wasn’t the end of my travels though, as I am now in Fiji! Fiji is beautiful, complete paradise! I will be telling you all about my time here in Fiji next…so stay tuned

~Claire  

Hey all so I finally have some time to tell you all about my trip to Byron Bay! Miranda and I were only there for one full day, and seeing as there really isn’t too much to do in Byron, a full day was good.

The Oz Bus from Brisbane dropped us off at our accomodation, the Village Hostel, in the evening and Miranda and I were only given a few hours before we were to meet back up with our Oz group at a bar across the street named Cheeky Monkeys for dinner and drinks. When we arrived at Cheeky Monkeys we were imformed that not only were we going to get discounts of our dinners (whoo hoo!!!) but we were in a competition with the greyhound travellers for free beer. It was more of a ‘who can cheer louder when your name is called’ sort of thing. Unluckily for us our group lost one, and then the bartenders made a big mistake. They gave us connect four games to play, but as we quickly found out they made MUCH better noise makers….allowing us to win the next three rounds, which meant for lots and lots of free beer! After lots of beer and cheering (my voice was definately gone!) I decided to head to bed because Miranda and I had to wake up the next morning and head to Nimbin for our day trip.

The next morning, although raining Jims Alternative Tours picked us up and we were off to a little Hippie town named Nimbin. We learned along the way, before our pub stop for a few morning beers, that Nimbin became popular during the war. As the states were having their Woodstock and celebrating free love and peace many Aussies decided that they should have a little Woodstock of their own.  It all started when a few boys, who were running to escape the draft, ended up in Nimbin and decided that it would be the perfect place to hold an event as such. Bands from around Australia, and a lucky few American bands gathered together with all the hippies, free-spirited, peace lovers from around the country. At that time Nimbin only had five police officers and when two men got caught for smoking weed and were thrown in jail the people enjoying the festival marched up to the police station and broke down the doors and got the men out of jail to celebrate with the rest of them. It is said that until this day many of the hippies decided to stay in Nimbin and the now nine police officers sort of turn their head to the junkies smoking and dealing weed in the town, hence the attraction.

After our pub stop it was off to Nimbin to see what all the fuss was about. The second Miranda and I hopped off of the bus we felt like we were in a different world. We walked up the street, heading for the Nimbin Museum, and passed many stores, such as Billabong, which you can guess what it sold, and it wasn’t surf clothing! I was a bit nervous and felt a bit out of place as I passed by the locals, whereby many were trying to sell their goods, until Miranda and I arrived at the eccentric museum. It was by far one of the coolest museums I have ever been too. It was sort of a home-made, cluttered place that from room to room led you through the story of Nimbin and its place in the world today. We passed by cut outs of Bob Marlery look-a-likes, arrived in a black light room full of neon paintings, went through a room of wooden pot leafs. Also while in the hostel, which we learned was sort of a safe haven for the smokers of the city to nurture their needs away from the police (cleverly named taxi’s by the locals if you see them on the streets) and were given many opportunities to take part in the activities.

After walking around and grabbing a wuick lunch it was back to the bus and off to a mans house in the middle of no-where. Along the way the bus driver informed us that the upcoming hill was sort of a rollercoaster ride down, exactly 5 minutes and 13 seconds of rollercoaster, and that he cleverly found a song that lasted exactly 5 minutes and 13 seconds. We stopped at the top of the hill and the driver assured that the road below was clear. He then let off of the brakes while pushing play on the stereo and off we went down the hill, slowly gaining speed and eventually zooming around corners to the beat of the music. The bottom of the hill was in sight and it was clear that the song was ending and at the exact moment the song quit the brakes were on and the bus was at a halt! It was pretty cool and actually did feel like a proper rollercoaster. After our exciting trip down the hill we arrived at a mans house. We hopped off of the bus and waited and waited for the man to show up. Our bus driver was yelling the mans name for minutes to let him know we were there. Eventually a man came into sight through the thick woods ahead and I immediately knew this was going to be an interesting visit. He came out of the woods dressed like a shabby Hugh Hefner. He was wearing black galoshes and a long burgundy robe. In his hand was a pipe and his long, matty grey hair was tied back, which if it hadn’t have been I would have had a hard time figuring out where his hair started and his beard ended! He quickly introduced himslef, which I regretfully missed as I was too dumbfounded by his appearance. He led us along a path where we picked manderine oranges and these grapefruit sized fruit, which as we tasted later and found it to be sort of a hybrid between an orange, lemon, and grapefruit. They were really good. While having a few beers, macadamia nuts, and fruit the man went into a long and drawn out speech about quantum physics. And to tell you the truth he lost me at “Hey, listen to this….!” Once my head was tired from nodding at smiling at him when he looked at me we all thankfully went back to the bus and headed back to Byron Bay, after a munchie stop for those that took part in the Nimbin festivities of course! 

Back in Byron, and after a long day Miranda and I took a little nap, went and grabbed some dinner, and went to Cheeky Monkeys to meet up with a few Dutch guys we had met that day on the tour for a few drinks. The next morning we had to wake early and head an hour north for Bellina, the home to the airport that was going to take us to Sydney, our last stop on our Australia tour.

Miranda and I boarded the plane and headed to Sydney, which I will write about later.

Hope you all are enjoying my entries! Will write more later

~Claire

So I hate to tell you all this but I am no longer in Australia. It was SOOOO hard to leave, but I gained a lot of memories and friends along the way, which are irreplaceable. I know I have a lot to catch up on, especially my last days in Australia, and I will try to do my best. I am now in Fiji (which I will tell all about later) and the internet costs an arm and a leg so it may be a bit short and sweet, but I will get all the information as I can out before I lose all of my internet credit :)! 

I wasn’t going to tell but it was guite a fun night at the bar. Miranda and I met a few Frenchmen that talked us into being part of a drinking contest where the wining team would win money and free drinks. The only catch was that the team of three males and one female led to the Frenchmen having try-outs for the team. This didn’t turn out so well as not many girls wanted to take part, let alone chug their beers for fun just to prove themselves to some crazy frenchmen. Miranda, who fell for the chugging hoax, downed her beer and was left by the boys to go and check out others for their team. In the end Miranda was asked for the team and I was needed as well to complete a team. We got ourselves ready for the contest and saved our bellies for beer room. When it was finally time for the contest, Mirandas team and my team got up in from of the whole bar and were put to the test. The point of the contest was to chug a half-pint (a pot) and put the empty glass on the top of your head before the next person on your team can go. The girls started and next were the two boys. The contest was finished off my the last person, who had to chug a pint through a straw and put it on the top of their head as well. It was quite funny, even though my team lost and Mirandas team dumped nearly all of their beer on their shirts (which they also instructed Miranda to do, but in her honesty she didn’t stating that it was cheating, bless her soul ) and won the entire contest. After Miranda and her team basked in her glory they were all rewarded with ten dollars cash and a jug (OZ slang for pitcher) to share. Miranda, being as tired as I was, headed off to bed with me as we had a long day ahead.  

So I know I left you all off wondering how my walking tour went, which I must add I was accompanied by a new french friend, Victor, and was a great day! I woke early and ran out to the city for some much needed coffee and a quick stop at the plarmacy for contact soluntion (because I wouldn’t want to miss the sights without being able to see :)!) On my way back to the hostel I ran into Victor, who I had met the night before at the bar and who was also a fellow traveller. We headed right out on the city with our first stop at the Picasso exhibit at the Brisbane Museum. Victor had already seen the exhibit, and since it was $20, he left me to go through be myself while he took a walk along the Brisbane River. I paid my entry and went through the exhibit and looked at every piece one by one. It was a really good exhibit not only because it contained some of Picasso’s most famous pieces, but it was also a collaboration of art he had collected throughout his own life, which included work by Renoir, Dali, Matis, and many others. It was really amazing to see what his taste was in art while he was alive. After taking my time going through the exhibit I met back up with Victor and the two of us headed over to the free section of the Museum and learned a little about the area and its history as well as Australia in general. After going through the museum and playing with all of the kids toys throughout, we headed to the public ferry and took a ride to the end of the city and back for a little sight seeing in Brisbane. Once we took our long ride in the ferry to the subarbs of Brisbane and back into the city, all the while loading up on pictures of Brisbanes skyline, we decided it was time to haed back to the hostel and wait for Miranda to get back from her day at the nearby themepark Dreamworld. Once Miranda arrived and Victor and I finished watching our movie with some other travellers in the TV room we headed back to the riverfront and went to dinner in the middle of Brisbanes central business district. Dinner, as delicious as it was, left the three of us quite thirsty. We headed back to the hostel and decided to have a few drinks before we headed downstairs to the bar. Our hostel which was a historic building had a great deck which played home to ”Claire’s Bar” for the next few hours while Miranda, Victor, and I nearly finished off 4 liters of goon (slang for Australias box or cask wine) and goofed around taking pictures and having a good time before we headed down to the bar for some drinks. Drink after drink and before we knew it it was time to go to bed because we had to catch the bus to Byron Bay the next day, after spending a morning shopping of course! We both said goodbye to our new friend Victor and headed to bed.

We awoke the next morning, packed up our bags for Byron Bay, and headed to the main shopping center for breakfast and a little bit of window shopping. I wasn’t really up for shopping as my head ached and my stomach hurt from the goon, so I went back to the hostel and enjoyed a movie before the bus picked us up for Byron Bay.

We were picked up and I swear I nearly slept the whole way to Byron Bay, only waking to have a look around and some lunch at a small surf town along the coast famously known as Surfers Paradise. It was such a cool little surf town as I wished we could have stayed longer, but as time persisted we hopped back on the bus to go south even more.

Well its come to the point where I have run out of credit so I suppose I will add on my adventures about Byron Bay and Sydney later. Until then I hope you are having a wonderful time, I know I am, as paradise doesn’t even begin to explain Fiji

will write more later,

~Claire    

So I’m in Brisbane, the third last stop on my travels southward down the coast. Today has been pretty uneventfull, besides a long drive from Rainbow Beach to here, settling into the hostel, which I must say is nice. The location is exactly in the city center, couldn’t get any better. After getting settled (i.e. throwing our bags into our room while trying to get out asap as to not wake up the sleeping blokes) Miranda and I headed to the Southbank for the Sunday Lifestyle Market. Although not as big (and by saying not, I mean literally heaps smaller) than the Victoria Market Miranda and I found ourselves oogling at the jewelry and clothes. For the most part we held back, only thinking of our loved ones back home and buying a few gifts for them. After we made our way through the market we sat at the lagoon on the riverside and had a relaxing people watch, followed by a nice walk back to the hostel through a shopping area. Brisbane really reminds me of Melbourne, with the river winding its way through the city center and the tall buildings at the edge of the sky. The only thing Brisbane lacks is about 4 million people, the fun alleys with awesome bars, and the even better cafes. But I guess I can’t jump to conclusions, Brisbane may certainly have all of these things!

Tomorrow I am planning to do a walking tour of the city while Miranda heads to Dreamworld, which I am not exactly sure what that entails but I’m sure she will fill you all in. While on my walking tour I plan to make a stop at the art Museum, they’re holding a Picasso event, something I think would be really cool to see, even more because its free! I also heard of a music festival going on this week, so if I can find it I plan to stop there as well. I will fill you in. 

Tonight we may go out, I’m not quite sure yet as I lost Miranda in the shopping area, or we may not. I guess I should go find her and she what she’s got for ideas about tonight!

Until then I hope you are all reading my entries! Only 6 days to go until I leave Australia for good…(no comment)

~Claire 

P.S. In case you are wondering why I called Brisbane ‘Brisvegas’ its just what they call it here…sounds like home (i.e. P-vegas for Platteville) I guess we’ll see if the vegas part of Brisbane lives up to its name !

From Kroombit we took off yet again like two gypsies reaching Hervey Bay where the following day we were picked up for our Fraser Island tour.  Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island and rests off the coast of Rainbow Beach.  Our 5 ton vehicle road the ferry to the island and once onshore took off on the open sand.  Although there is no road on the 75 Mile Beach on the east coast of the island, vehicles swerve around waves in their own two lanes.  It felt like being in a giant enclosed four wheeler as we raced on in the open. 

As we drove along we were notified that it is whale season and it seemed that no sooner had these words left our driver Sarah’s lips then we were stopped watching a giant black beast break the surface of the water.  It was amazing watching huge puffs of mist go off as the back of the whale would pop up gliding along the beach with us.  We moved on as we were told we’d get a better view later.

Our first stop was a walk to Lake Wobby.  The group took a small path that opened onto a massive sand dune.  The light tan sand gave our legs a workout as we climbed upwards.  Claire occasionally turned around and said something but all I could hear was the wind rushing past so I just smiled and nodded J  Just as I began to feel like we were in one of those movies where the characters are stranded in the desert walking for miles, we were suddenly standing over a huge green lake.  We walked down the steep sand hill and dipped our toes.  The huge, green trees and bushes around the lake swayed lazily in the breeze, their leaves rustling, while black fish swam around our feet.

The second destination of the day was just as cool.  Indian Head was a cliff we climbed that looked out over the clear blue water.  In the distance we saw whales breaking the surface yet again and directly below we saw black sting rays and schools of fish who turned silver as the light hit.  We even saw sharks which were the main reason we were not allowed to swim at all in the ocean.  The population of tiger sharks is the biggest around due to the fish supply and breeding grounds around the little island.

Before the sun set we also stopped at the ship wreck of the Mohina.  Only the rusted bones of long ship remained and took a beating from the tide.  Barnicles clung to the sides and a large bird sat at the top picking at some dead animal.  The whole thing seemed out of place.  The next stop was more fun.  It was called Eli Creek and was a perfectly clear and perfectly cold stream that bled out into the ocean.  Claire and I both agreed it would be the perfect place to bring inner tubes and a cooler as we walked past gray fish.

Our night stay was at a hostel/resort which had a fence around the premise to keep the many dingoes out.  Pretty ironic considering as we were going past the front gate a dingo walked through the parking lot casually as though he was just heading to the bar or something.  Claire and I talked to two very gullible and ignorant boys who thought all Americans acted like the actors on “The O.C.”  We excused ourselves by heading to the beach where the giant full moon cast a glow on the waves.

The second day on Fraser Island was spent taking a hike in the morning and resting on the white banks of Lake Mackenzie.  It was perfect as I swam in the clear chilly water and then rested on the beach which is perfect for cleaning your jewelry as the sand is made of a kind of quartz.  On our way back we saw a swamp wallaby sitting at the water’s edge.  It quickly jumped in the waves and we all let out a hysterically gasp.  Our tour guide assured us it could swim and we watched as it swam down from us.

Well that’s all I have for now . . .

Thanks for reading J

Miranda

            I think this trip is starting to make my mind slip as time, days, and where I was previously is all becoming a bit blurred.  On the 16^th Claire and I hopped on the OzBus where we were greeted by our tour guide who reminded me of a creepy Ned Flanders from the Simpsons, using terms like “okaly dokaly.”  It was a long drive to the Kroombit cattle station, finally arriving there as the sun was setting.  The lazy Brahman cows greeted us as we entered the long drive and reached our sleeping cabins.  After getting settled into our tiny rustic rooms we went to dinner first taste testing a mystery meat that made me feel brave for trying. 

            Once dinner was finished we hung out for a bit around the bar.  The bar was not technically a bar, though there was an ancient white fridge that stocked beer.  The bar was actually an old wagon complete with wheels and a tawny chicken with it’s red crested head nestled in it’s wings in a deep sleep.  The bartender (and manager of the station) was a white haired man sitting on a recliner next to the fridge and within an arm’s reach of the counter.  His name was Big Al and a wooden sign posted on the wagon that read Boss gave a strong connection to Dukes of Hazard.  This man, no matter how old, looked like someone who’s orders were taken seriously.  As he talked about the cattle station his wrinkled and spotted hands ran over a leather whip.

Big Al turned out to be excellent at teaching us all how to crack a whip.  I must say I was pretty good and took a second turn which I later regretted as I could barely move my shoulder.  After we all took our turns standing on boxes, using goggles for protection, and occasionally snapping ourselves in the back or arm, it was time for the real excitement . . . mechanical bull riding!  Claire and I foolishly put our names down first.  Claire put on her white helmet and climbed into the maroon, inflated ring.  She jumped onto the fur covered machine and the three girls operating the bull gave a countdown.  It seemed before the girls had finished with one Claire hat shot off like a cork from a bottle of champagne.  Her second time was slightly better but once again her little, helmeted body went flying.   I couldn’t stop laughing hysterically (neither could the others), that is until it was my turn next.  I nervously put on my helmet and had to get one of the three girls to hoist me up onto the machine.  My stomach lurched as they began their frightening countdown.  I may be bigger than Claire but I flew just as far.

The next morning we woke up early to grab some grub.  Originally Claire and I were not going to enter the country festivities like horseback riding  or shooting guns but soon we were in the spirit and I’m glad we went.  We waited as the wranglers put saddles on the horses.  Mine was Grace, tan with a  bright blue bridle.  Our task on the horses was to muster or herd goats into a pen which took awhile as we each adjusted to our horses.  Tons of goats were slowly  penned, the babies crying the whole time noisily.  After that job was done we headed back and got off of our horses, walking away a bit bowlegged. 

After horses and goats we went to shoot some clay pigeons (you heard me).  It’s funny how everything is either made in China or Taiwan but the bullets for our shot gun . . . “Made in the U.S.A.”  The boys went first and then it was the ladies turn.  Surprisingly I shot 3 of the 5 clay pigeons and everyone joked that “The Americans were definitely here.” 

We had penned all of the goats earlier and we soon learned why.  We were going to be in a goat rodeo!  Divided into groups of three, Claire, I, and an older man from Las Vegas teamed up as Team America.  We laughed and watched as the teams before us chased the goats, grabbing them by the horns, and branded them with a fake brander.  Once again I laughed until it was my turn.  The wrangler, a hillbilly in a blazing orange shirt covered with holes (probably from goat wrestling),  brought out a large goat who gave us the stink eye until Claire grabbed him by the horns, the older man brought him to the ground, and I poked his bum with a metal rod. 

Before leaving the station we played a game where we all joined hands in a circle and spun a bottle.  I know what you’re thinking but I didn’t end up kissing some country boy.  The light green bottle paused, pointing between the guy next to me and the person on his other side (thank God).  What this meant is that this is where the two people would be zapped by a cattle prod, sending the electricity to each of us in turn.  The moment the electricity hit everyone in the circle jumped simultaneously.  That was the end of our stop in Kroombit.  Goat mustering on horseback, shooting clay pigeons, wrestling goats, riding mechanical bulls, and cracking whips all in a couple day’s work.  Oh and the meat we had for dinner the night before . . . goat :S

Miranda

I swear I am getting SO sick of these early as starts! I am beginning to feel like an old woman, waking up so early and going to bed so late has really caught up to me, and I’m starting to get tired at nearly 8 p.m.! I know I know, I’m young right? I feel a little bad for my parents, I have a felling that when I return and spend a week at home they’ll actually want to spend some time with me, I’m just afraid that once I fall asleep, especially in my own clean bed, I might be put into a coma and not wake up for days! Well I guess we’ll see if they read this, because at least they can’t say I didn’t warn them !

Ok so guess what? I’m still traveling down the coast and yesterday and today I spent some time on Fraser Island. If you have read the end of my last entry you will find that I have already told you a little about Fraser Island, and quite frankly I am not going to repeat myself so you all can scroll down

We woke up early and hopped on the 4WD with the others travelling with us on the two day, one night tour. We drove south from Hervey Bay to Rainbow Beach where we picked up a few others and where Miranda and I dropped off our bags and booked our hostel room for the following night. After some reservation making we hopped back on the 4WD and headed to the coast of Rainbow Beach, boarded the farry and were taken across the ocean (or straight, or sea??) and landed on Fraser Island. When we grove off of the ferry I quickly learned that there were no paved roads on the island (only sand) and that the only highway was along 75-mile beach, an unswimmable beach on the east coast of the Island. We learned that the waters were practically unswimmable of you had any brains at all due to the large population of Tiger Sharks, and inhabitaion of Jelly Fish, and due to the current northern migration of Humpback Whales bringing Great White Sharks into the area as well. The two words, shark and jelly, were enough of a warning that there was no way I had even wanted to put my feet in the water! 

Along our drive to the north of the island to check out Indian Head, a rocky cliff suspended 60 meters above the sea level, making a great look-out for marine wildlife, we saw jelly fish and even some migrating humpback whales (which is what I really wanted to see, and let me tell you it was REALLY amazing!) Along our way to Indian Head we also learned about the dingoe population on the island, which was the largest in Australia, and learned that we were not to feed them and what to do if they get agressive, as there have been maulings of children and even deaths on the island that were completely due to dingoes. After being a little worried about the dog-like animals we got out first glimpse of them just before we arrived at Indian Head. They just look like tan dogs, but looks can be decieving as I already mentioned, they can be very dangerous.

Before Indian Head we made a quick stop and had a hike up through huge sand dunes to Lake Wabby. Lake Wabby, being a freshwater lake and surrounded by sand dunes was as green as ever and played home to many catfish-like fish swimming beneath the surface. When we got to Indian Head we immediately hiked up it and got a beautiful view of the ocean below, where we got to see sharks, stink rays, turtles, whales, and diving birds at an arial view, amazing huh! On our way back down the coast we stopped at the Pinnacles to see the different colors of sand in the rocky sliffs above and learn the aboriginal story behind it. Ater quick photo we headed south again and made another stop at a shitwreck on the beach, the ship which was named Mohina, and it made a home on the shores of Fraser Island years before. The heat of the day brought us to Eli Creek, a freshwater creek that leads to the ocean with a strong current. Miranda and I quickly hopped into the freezing water and walked our way up to the point where we had to listen to the signs and turn around and head back down. Along the walk we saw many grey fish below the clear waters surface and enjoyed the view of the ferns, palms, and trees that surrounded us.

Erong Island Resort was our home for the night and Miranda and I had a relaxing (and early) night after we stuffed ourselves with the Mexican buffet.

This morning we woke up, had breakfast and hopped back onto our 4WD truck and headed inland to a rainforest walk in the central station of Fraser Island. On our way there we learned that Fraser Island had previously been mined for sand and was the spot for logging as well. Central Station, being the hub of the old mining families homes, also has a few really nice hikes around. We went on a mile hike through the rainforest and got to view lots of plants and creepy crawlers. We got to see a King Fern, which is apparently really rare for the environment, and saw that it really was a king, as its fronds cound get as long as 5 meters long (15 feet)! The ones that we saw were about 4 meters long, and still huge!

Wer made our way throught the trees and saw that our 4WD was there waiting to take us to famous Lake Mackenzie. Lake Mackenzie, being a completely freshwater lake and having sand made from perfectly round quarts crystals, was so beautiful, especially under the cloudless sky. We were given a lot of time there to lounge, take pictures, and have a dip in the freezing water before we were to return to the truck eat lunch and make our way back to the mainland, Rainbow Beach. Along out bumpy ride back to got to see some more wildlife, learn about the Island and its name and even see a rare Swamp Wallaby! Our tour guide told us that in the two years that she has worked on the island she had never seen a Swamp Wallaby so it was an exciting sight, especially when it dove into the ocean to get away from our snapping cameras! 

We arrived in Rainbow beach this afternoon and Miranda and I have been lounging ever since. Having a cleansing shower, doing some laundry, painting nails, and writing blogs. Tomorrow we have to catch the Oz bus at 6:45 a.m. and head down to Brisbane so I’m assuming that we’ll have a pretty quiet night as well.

Not to sure whats the plan for Brisbane, besides the glorious Sunday Markets (Miranda and I are market crazy these days) so I will let you all know about my adventures. The days are dwindling down, only a week left in Aussie…I can’t believe it…at least I still have three weeks left of traveling!

Until next time…

~Claire 

If you have been reading my blog you are all aware that I was last off to Kroombit, a cattle station in the middle of nowhere Queensland. I was completely sure that it would be a horrible time and I would have no fun at all, besides being reminded of good old Grant County (and I was), which didn’t turn out to be as bad as I thought.

As soon as we stepped off of the bus and glimpsed at the resturant, which was a wooden shed, the bar (a.k.a. old trailer) and our entertainment, which consisted of a country radio station and a mechanical bull, I was immediately reminded of Grant County. This was made even more realistic when I saw the old beaten up, dirty, scruffy men sitting at the ‘bar’ having a good old Aussie beer, Tooheys. I thought being reminded of Grant County was going to be a bad thing, but as I stated before, it wasn’t as bad as I thought, almost kind of welcoming (p.s. that will most likely be the one and only time I will ever say that so don’t get to used to it folks!).

We were quickly assigned to our rooms, a small wooden shack with three bunk beds and headed out to the campfire circle to have a beer (on happy hour special of $3.00, another reminder of the midwest and its cheap alcohol) and waited for our outback dinner. While we waited for dinner and had a few beers I sampled some mystery meat sitting out for taste-testing, in which we would be told the source after dinner. I swore I was eating possum or something horrible, and to my surprise it tasted good which made me even more weary because I was thinking how horrible it would be to have tried something unquestionable and actually liking it! Later, after our roast beef, mash and veggie dinner, we found out it was goat…not so bad huh?

After dinner we gathered around and learned a little about the cattle station we were on, which if I could have understood what the poor old man, Alan, was saying through his thick Aussie accent and over the country tunes, I would be able to repeat right now. After smiling and nooding for some time we left the fire circle and went out to a clearing and learned how to crack some whips! I stood up on the milk crate, strapped on my protective goggles, and gave it a go! The first time, being that I smacked myself in the back of the head with the whip, didn’t turn out so well. After a lot of coaching, flinching, and horrible whipping technique I managed to crack the whip a few times! Once everybody had a shot at the whip it was time to have a go at the mechanical bull, and go figure, my name was called first . I hopped on and held on tight with my right hand and threw my left into the air, with a count of three and am instruction to lean back on three I rode my first mechanical bull….very poorly, Miranda said I shot off of it like a bullet the second it had started! In order to redeem myself I hopped back on and gave it another go, this time I think I lasted about 3 seconds, not good enough for a professional. Miranda was next and didn’t do considerably better than I did, and was okay with !After we all rode the bull one of two times we headed back to the campfire circle where we played games and dwindled off to bed.

The next morning I was shocked awake by a shotgun going off, nice alarm huh, and told to get up and get out to breakky. After breakfast and packing up our things a few of us were off on a horseride to muster goats out in the paddock (or was we call it, field). Myself, stating that I was a beginner and nervous on horses (which I am, being that they’re so huge and intimidating) was assigned to one of two of the most docile horses on the station, named Avis. Avis treated me very well and listened and did everything as I directed as we mustered the goats in the paddock. While mustering we were told to yell, “AYYY UP UP UP” in order to move along the goats. I felt like a maniac speaking goat but it surprisingly worked! With the team of about 15 to 20 of us we managed to successfully muster the goats into the pen and ride out horses back to the stables. Getting off of the horses, quite hilariously as we all were walking funny and rubbing our sore butts, we headed to the goat pen.

Once at the goat pen we were able to have a go at some clay pidgeon shooting, which I definately took part in. Having never shot a gun before I was very nervous, especially since the shotgun was half the length of my body! Being American, and almost all internationals thinking that we as Americans always carry and shoot guns (on a daily basis) everybody was stoked for my go at it. I will have to say that I did not impress as I missed all five of my clay pidgeons, and may have put the stereotype that Americans are crazy gun carrying maniacs to rest for the others on the trip.

Shooting five bullets was enough for me and our next activity was a little bit of a competition. We broke up into groups of three, Miranda, an old American guy (mid-70’s) and I formed a team and called ourselves Team America. The object of the game was to stand in a circular pen where a cowboy put a goat into, and when the timer started one would run and catch the goat, another would pick the goat up and place it gently into its side, and the third to go and grab the ‘hot’ branding iron (which was painted red in effect) and brand the goat for 3 seconds (the other point is that only one person could leave the fence at a time), after which the timer was stopped. I had the job of running, catching, and gragging the goat back to the fence, our American teammate tp tip the goat over and Miranda to run and grab the iron and brand the goat. The time had started and I got lucky and got to the goat right away and was able to drag it back to the fence, where our other teammate had a bit of trouble tipping it while Miranda ran for the iron. All in all we had done a really quick job and were sure we had once…and sadly did not, as we lost by .1 seconds after another team! Bummer huh! The goat racing was pretty hilarious and fun and after we all held hands and played spin the bottle with a taser gun! It sounds crazy huh, well it was. We were instructed to take all of our metal off and hold hands and where the bottle stopped the two people inbetween had to each hold onto a pop can while it was hit with a taser…at which point we all got shocked and screamed!

Being shocked was the last activity for our time at the cattle station, and as much as it made me feel like I was apart of the Jackass cult (I mean come on who willingly lets someone else shock them! Its ludacris!), I was ready to get back to civilization.

We all boarded the Oz bud and headed to Hervey Bay, the outlet to Fraser Island, and all sand Island (the biggest in the world actually) and said to be one of the natural wonders of the world. Once Miranda and I arrived in Hervey, after a stressful ride as we found out that our tour had cancelled on us but we were luckily able to book another tour last minute to go over to Fraser Island the next day, we had some pizza with a few new British friends and watched a movie. The movie made me tired as so I headed to bed being that it was going to be an early one the next day because we were heading to Fraser.     

All in all my time in Kroombit ended up being a really fun time and I learned a lot about all the hicks out there and the lifestyle that comes with it. Although I may now have a partial understanding for them I still will never be a country girl, even if I’m from there!

~Claire