hiya,
i know i'm terrible at updating. i'm sorry. it's just that the internet is impossibly slow or EXPENSIVE. ashley just updated, but here's my short spin on things.
we're in cairns, we've been here for a week and a day, and are staying until thursday at least. We've been trying to find work for a week and it's proven quite difficult and rather frustrating. We have an interview tomorrow with some sales company, which involves person to person sales of some product. I'm probably going to hate it. we're also calling working hostels in queensland region because you can stay in them and they transport you to a farm where you pick fruit or veggies...but it's only part time work. then once we've got enough money we will work down the coast.. we really want to see whitsundays and frasier island.... look it up, google it. it's gorgeous, with the whitest sand in the world, and the best beaches in all of Australia.
Bonnie and Amber have gone back to Sydney to try and find work and the boys haven't decided what they are doing, they have paid for their adventures down the coast already so they'll probably move on to the whitsundays soon...except I know they wouldn't mind some work eventually too.... we'll probably just meet up with them in sydney again in a few weeks or a month if they do their travels before their work.
That's all so far.... jungle surfing was a lot of fun.... the better pictures of me are on the other people's cameras so hopefully they're posted soon too. Hope all is well. miss you love you all.
ps. We're in a room filled with germans right now, it's kinda funny. I yelled at one in german last night...haha.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Yesterday I went in the Sea....they call it the sea here, never the Ocean. I don't know if we're technically in the Tasman Sea or not..someone has tried explaining this to me but I can't keep it straight in my mind. It was a bit chilly, like going in the lakes during May I'd say... but the waves knock you about and make you swim enough that you stay warm. I kept my shorts on because the waves were so strong I would have lost my bikini bottoms. It was a lot of fun though. I did swallow some water which of course tastes like salt. First Nic and Glen went in and then I went back in with Glen after because no one else wanted to swim. Well Amber wanted to but she didn't have her bathing suit on and couldn't be bothered to walk across the road to change... I don't blame her. I can't wait to get up to Cairns where the weather is more like 28-30 and the water will be warm! It's going to be glorious. I don't know what we're going to do today....I want to go for a walk so maybe I'll do that. I also am about 5 days behind in my written journal because it's just so impossible to find enough time to update it all...especially with last week being so busy. I want to go on the coastal walk from Coogee beach to Bondi but everyone says its too cold. I'll see who I can persuade to come..Bonnie seems into it. Then tonight I think we're going to find the Imax theatre to watch the Terminator Movie...well Ashley and Bonnie will see something else because they're not interested in it, but Amber, Nic, Glen, Dean and I will see it.
We also have to book our stay at a hostel in Cairns- which apparently has a pool and bigger, nicer rooms and lots of extras, for the same price as what we get here in Sydney.
Alright, we're off... don't think we'll make it all the way to Bondi - 1.5 hour walk- but we'll go somewhere
xo
We also have to book our stay at a hostel in Cairns- which apparently has a pool and bigger, nicer rooms and lots of extras, for the same price as what we get here in Sydney.
Alright, we're off... don't think we'll make it all the way to Bondi - 1.5 hour walk- but we'll go somewhere
xo
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Thursday:
We had the choice of going to the zoo or going to Bondi beach and snorkeling, but after a long day at the beach
surfing most of us wanted to go to the zoo, especially since we can go to Bondi beach for free anyday, but we'd have to
pay for the zoo. So that's what we did, and it's a good thing too because it rained a bit in the afternoon.
Ashley was really excited about the zoo but I think both of us were somewhat disappointed. It was cool because we saw
some animals native to the area, that we wouldn't otherwise see, but other than that it was all the same as the zoos everywhere
else in the world. There were giraffes and hippos and elephants and bears....woohoo... but it was neat that we got to pet
kangaroos if they came on the path we were walking on, which one kinda did and the other stopped right beside it so Ashley got to
pet it really well, I just touched its back before it jumped away. They are quite cute. The koalas were adorable too but they were
sleeping so I didn't get any good photos.. in fact most of the animals were sleeping. We watched a bird show and a seal show which
I enjoyed because they both had species native to the area and were very well done. In the bird show, the birds flew low over our heads
to the zoo keeper person. To get to the zoo we took the ferry and then a cable car or gondola type thing hanging from a wire. That was pretty
much the most excitement we had for the day.
Later in the evening we had a travel and work talk with Trent, the group leader, and after that we went out for dinner to Sauce, a restaurant right
by the hostel, because it was Fay's 25th birthday. Unfortunately it was ridiculously priced so I had a small chicken caesar salad and wasn't exactly
impressed with it. But that's alright.
Friday:
This was probably the best day I've had all week, other than the bit of time on Tuesday in the Aquarium that I enjoyed a lot... We went on a trip to the
blue mountains, and it was done by a guided tour, separate from Ozintro, so the person leading it was really informed
with the history of the place and plants and mountains we came across.It was a gorgeous day. Unfortunately we had to leave at 7 am, so I was up around 6am,
and then on a bus for close to 2 hours, but it was well worth it. On the way there our trip was broken down anyways, it wasn't 2 hours straight. First we stopped
at a national park because you're supposed to be able to see kangaroos in the wild. After 15 minutes or so of driving around, our guide found 3 kangaroos in a gully
off the path so we stopped to get out and see them. Then we stopped in a nearby little town for "morning tea" which is like what you eat after breakfast before your lunch,
or instead of breakfast...I don't really understand, but I was hungry and the bakery/coffeeshop had cinnamon toast and a hot mocha, so I was pleased with
that.
Once we finally got to the blue mountains it required a LOT of walking. The best bit didn't come until the very last section of our trip, but the first was just as
pretty. It took us down a path to the cliffside of the mountains, past a few waterfalls and breathtaking views. I spent an hour today trying to upload these photos to facebook
but it failed because the internet cut out...so I'll try to do that as soon as I can. Anyways, after we had walked to the cliffside - called suicide cliff or something like that,
where you were seriously on a path about 3 feet wide between the hard rocks of the mountain and the cliffs edge, where you would plummet over 400 feet to your death.....at least
I think it was feet, maybe it was metres, but that doesn't seem as far a fall. I felt like I was about to fall over the whole time we were out there so I was
clinging to the mountainside, and holding on tight to the one iron railing separating me from my deathfall.
When that was done they fed us sandwiches and pasta salad for lunch, in a picnik style, and then drove another half an hour to scenic park.This is what I was waiting for the
whole day because it had the steepest train ride in the world that we were going to take back up the mountain -- I was excited up until the moment I saw it
then I didn't want to take it anymore. haha. But I did and I survived. At one point we were pretty much standing up because it was so steep...and it went backwards so you're looking
down the mountain instead of towards the top where you're headed. I was afraid about losing my shoes since I'd already broken those other sandals haha.
I squished myself between glen and dean in the middle, and ashley took the other side of dean where its enclosed, because glen's side only had a rope ...the doorway was open.
Oh and we had no seat belts or lapbars. so I clung on for my life. hahah. It was quite entertaining.
Anyways...best day yet by far.
love Michelle
We had the choice of going to the zoo or going to Bondi beach and snorkeling, but after a long day at the beach
surfing most of us wanted to go to the zoo, especially since we can go to Bondi beach for free anyday, but we'd have to
pay for the zoo. So that's what we did, and it's a good thing too because it rained a bit in the afternoon.
Ashley was really excited about the zoo but I think both of us were somewhat disappointed. It was cool because we saw
some animals native to the area, that we wouldn't otherwise see, but other than that it was all the same as the zoos everywhere
else in the world. There were giraffes and hippos and elephants and bears....woohoo... but it was neat that we got to pet
kangaroos if they came on the path we were walking on, which one kinda did and the other stopped right beside it so Ashley got to
pet it really well, I just touched its back before it jumped away. They are quite cute. The koalas were adorable too but they were
sleeping so I didn't get any good photos.. in fact most of the animals were sleeping. We watched a bird show and a seal show which
I enjoyed because they both had species native to the area and were very well done. In the bird show, the birds flew low over our heads
to the zoo keeper person. To get to the zoo we took the ferry and then a cable car or gondola type thing hanging from a wire. That was pretty
much the most excitement we had for the day.
Later in the evening we had a travel and work talk with Trent, the group leader, and after that we went out for dinner to Sauce, a restaurant right
by the hostel, because it was Fay's 25th birthday. Unfortunately it was ridiculously priced so I had a small chicken caesar salad and wasn't exactly
impressed with it. But that's alright.
Friday:
This was probably the best day I've had all week, other than the bit of time on Tuesday in the Aquarium that I enjoyed a lot... We went on a trip to the
blue mountains, and it was done by a guided tour, separate from Ozintro, so the person leading it was really informed
with the history of the place and plants and mountains we came across.It was a gorgeous day. Unfortunately we had to leave at 7 am, so I was up around 6am,
and then on a bus for close to 2 hours, but it was well worth it. On the way there our trip was broken down anyways, it wasn't 2 hours straight. First we stopped
at a national park because you're supposed to be able to see kangaroos in the wild. After 15 minutes or so of driving around, our guide found 3 kangaroos in a gully
off the path so we stopped to get out and see them. Then we stopped in a nearby little town for "morning tea" which is like what you eat after breakfast before your lunch,
or instead of breakfast...I don't really understand, but I was hungry and the bakery/coffeeshop had cinnamon toast and a hot mocha, so I was pleased with
that.
Once we finally got to the blue mountains it required a LOT of walking. The best bit didn't come until the very last section of our trip, but the first was just as
pretty. It took us down a path to the cliffside of the mountains, past a few waterfalls and breathtaking views. I spent an hour today trying to upload these photos to facebook
but it failed because the internet cut out...so I'll try to do that as soon as I can. Anyways, after we had walked to the cliffside - called suicide cliff or something like that,
where you were seriously on a path about 3 feet wide between the hard rocks of the mountain and the cliffs edge, where you would plummet over 400 feet to your death.....at least
I think it was feet, maybe it was metres, but that doesn't seem as far a fall. I felt like I was about to fall over the whole time we were out there so I was
clinging to the mountainside, and holding on tight to the one iron railing separating me from my deathfall.
When that was done they fed us sandwiches and pasta salad for lunch, in a picnik style, and then drove another half an hour to scenic park.This is what I was waiting for the
whole day because it had the steepest train ride in the world that we were going to take back up the mountain -- I was excited up until the moment I saw it
then I didn't want to take it anymore. haha. But I did and I survived. At one point we were pretty much standing up because it was so steep...and it went backwards so you're looking
down the mountain instead of towards the top where you're headed. I was afraid about losing my shoes since I'd already broken those other sandals haha.
I squished myself between glen and dean in the middle, and ashley took the other side of dean where its enclosed, because glen's side only had a rope ...the doorway was open.
Oh and we had no seat belts or lapbars. so I clung on for my life. hahah. It was quite entertaining.
Anyways...best day yet by far.
love Michelle
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
summary for the last 3 days
sorry i haven't been posting, it's nearly impossible to get a steady internet connection here, and if i use a PC then i have to pay for the time, and it's so slow i don't even get done a post in time!! haha.
anyways I wanted to write in more detail but that will have to come later.... right now here's a short version of what I've been doing the last 3 days.
Day 1 of OZintro: our group arrived early in the morning and we met up with them around 10 or 11 and then at 1230 the group leader picked us up and we went downtown sydney and saw the opera house and bridge and all that. then we went on a jetboat around the sydney harbour for what was probably about an hour. it was soo much fun... really fast and exciting....but then i broke my own pair of sandals (not the pink ones for mom and gramma wondering) so that was annoying.
Day 2: We went to the Darling Harbour- which is where Brooke had taken Ash and I Sunday night .... and to the Sydney Aquarium, we had to take a boat to get there and that's where most of my pretty pictures are from. It was finally a beautiful day then, with sunshine instead of rain. We also sorted our bank cards and the people from the UK got their medicare. Then we went out at night dancing at a local bar, which was a lot of fun.
Day 3: Yesterday we went surfing!! It was exhausting but so much fun. I didn't try standing up on it in the water because by then I was so tired I figured I'd probably just fall off even on solid ground. We had to learn on the sand first. But it was fun and we wore wetsuits so that was also kind of hilarious. Then they did a BBQ on the beach....this beach was 2 hours north of Sydney because its winter and that's where you have to go to surf in the winter.... so it was a lot of driving yesterday and we had to get up quite early. When we got back most of us were still very drained from the day so we just spent time hanging out in rooms and trying to put up pictures from our trip on facebook....nearly impossible....
So that's that. today were either going to the zoo or snorkeling at a different beach, depending on the weather and people's choice....I'll update as soon as I possible can, please be patient with me.
love ~M~
anyways I wanted to write in more detail but that will have to come later.... right now here's a short version of what I've been doing the last 3 days.
Day 1 of OZintro: our group arrived early in the morning and we met up with them around 10 or 11 and then at 1230 the group leader picked us up and we went downtown sydney and saw the opera house and bridge and all that. then we went on a jetboat around the sydney harbour for what was probably about an hour. it was soo much fun... really fast and exciting....but then i broke my own pair of sandals (not the pink ones for mom and gramma wondering) so that was annoying.
Day 2: We went to the Darling Harbour- which is where Brooke had taken Ash and I Sunday night .... and to the Sydney Aquarium, we had to take a boat to get there and that's where most of my pretty pictures are from. It was finally a beautiful day then, with sunshine instead of rain. We also sorted our bank cards and the people from the UK got their medicare. Then we went out at night dancing at a local bar, which was a lot of fun.
Day 3: Yesterday we went surfing!! It was exhausting but so much fun. I didn't try standing up on it in the water because by then I was so tired I figured I'd probably just fall off even on solid ground. We had to learn on the sand first. But it was fun and we wore wetsuits so that was also kind of hilarious. Then they did a BBQ on the beach....this beach was 2 hours north of Sydney because its winter and that's where you have to go to surf in the winter.... so it was a lot of driving yesterday and we had to get up quite early. When we got back most of us were still very drained from the day so we just spent time hanging out in rooms and trying to put up pictures from our trip on facebook....nearly impossible....
So that's that. today were either going to the zoo or snorkeling at a different beach, depending on the weather and people's choice....I'll update as soon as I possible can, please be patient with me.
love ~M~
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