Nic's travel log

The recovery and relaxation

2009-11-18T14:48:00.002+11:00

After getting off the mountain we had a relaxing evening at Poring Hot Springs which had mixed reviews from websites and the Lonely Planet. But it was lovely. Hot, not-stinky water, in a private room mended my aching limbs somewhat.

We were confused with the dress code with some fully dressed muslim women mixing with westerners in bikinis. But it all seemed to work.

This was followed by two nights outside Kota Kinabalu on the beach where I got massaged, reflexologied, ate fries, and generally had the holiday I'd wanted from Day 1.

4000 metres in the sky

2009-11-18T14:35:00.002+11:00

The top of the mountain - well 2ks shy of the peak is just over 4000 metres above sea level. Probably the highest place I've ever been outside of an airplane. Altitude sickness can cause nausea, dizziness, sleeplessness, gas, slow circulation, breathlessness etc etc. Seems like a place I’d like to go.

I didn’t experience all of these, although dizziness was certainly there as was the lack of sleep at the hostel (but that may have been the noisy Koreans and Russians and freezing conditions). I politely declined to get up at 2am to see the sunrise at the peak and laid in bed, enjoying the feeling as warmth returned to my thighs and fingers.

The descent was to be slightly shorter, with us taking the main trail and we were hoping to be done by lunch. The first few steps were shaky and unsure as my legs rejected any more walking especially down slippery wooden planks spaced at uncomfortable intervals down a sheer granite slope. But I had a stern talking to myself and braced for the next four hours of knee slaughtering angles and steps.

I did make it down for lunch and ended up almost running the last 2ks – I was ever so happy to get off that f-ing mountain.

The, erm, Mountain

2009-11-18T14:22:00.005+11:00

My happiness at driving 5 hours in the opposite direction to sealevel was short lived. We arrived at the town around Mt Kinabalu to a lack of humidity and the first comfortable weather of the trip. We packed day packs for the 400th time for our couple of days on the mountain and chatted endlessly about what was needed for walking for ages and altitude (apparently gas and ladies problems are two things not mentioned in the guidebooks about the affects of altitude.

Our night at the base camp was lullingly comfortable; wide bunks, warm showers, and endless cups of tea. All that was missing was the sauna and fresh Milk (Borneo is a big fan of creamer).

We had a leisurely start to the first day at 9 am and had 8ks to tackle. Piece of cake I thought, I could run that in 40mins. But alas it was not terrain for moving quickly, and my concerns about how my body would react to altitude made me slower than usual. The first 5 ks were pleasant, we chatted and walked and joked with our mountain guides we even stopped each k for a snack and loo break. The trail was exceedingly well marked; even though we had taken the less popular Mesilau trail (and extra 2ks).

At the 5k point it all started to go horribly wrong and I debated going back, crying or just sitting down and waiting to be rescued. First the rain started; we were in the middle of a rather large mountain which turns all paths into waterfalls – my shoes held up for about an hour and then became heavy bathtubs on my feet. A little after that it started getting dark and I sped up, leaving my walking buddies and mountain guides behind in the hope of a warm bed and the end of the trail. But it seemed to go on for forever as it got darker and darker and rained in monsoon like fashion I repeatedly asked myself what the hell was I doing. About 500 metres from the top I started getting dizzy and I realised I couldn’t really see where I was putting my feet. It was the longest 500 metres in the history of 500 metres. And I was only saved by a porter’s Motorola phone light after stacking it in a puddle (don’t worry I was already soaked through).

10 hours after starting the walk I arrived at Laban Rata and proceeded to kiss the ground through tears of joy.

My Peeps

2009-11-15T13:32:00.002+11:00

I was a bit excited about seeing the Orangutans in Sepilok and I wasn't disappointed. They had 2 feeding times and there were lots of visitors both times. In the mornings the little ones came out who had recently been released from the centre and seemed pretty happy performing for people - so much so that one of them followed the crowd of people back to the reception centre and hung out on the gutters for a while. In the afternoon I was confronted with the alpha male, who was huge and scary - although only a portion of the size of the ones in the wild and a mum and her two babies - one so tiny you could barely see it on her tummy. They were all pretty cute, especially the two who were chasing each other in what appeared to be a serious manner as the one being chased kept peeing himself.

Other than that, Sepilok is a pretty quiet and bloody hot place, so I was somewhat happy to move up into the mountains.

Borneo- the Jungle

2009-11-15T12:53:00.005+11:00

The 'sleeping in a hammock and homestay' part of this trip was one I wasn't really looking forward to. I had pictured rain, leeches, and uncomfortable moments with the locals. But I was pleasantly surprised. We were the lucky recipients of beds in the new eco camp which consisted of little camps on stilts and mosquito nets. Other than my toothpaste and glasses case being gnawed on by some small animal and the prevalence of DEET resistant mosquito’s it was a pleasant stay.

Did I get a leech you ask? Yes, I did. But I caught it just before it reached the skin on my stomach at the top of my trousers....lucky escape.

An early morning river cruise on the Kinabatangan river saw loads of different monkeys and birds and some quite rare ones as well. We also saw some otters in the river.

Air Asia - not so bad

2009-11-10T12:14:00.001+11:00

After some concerns Air Asia turned out to be pretty comfotable. They were on time for both flights and I had loads of space. For Melbourne to Malaysia I had three seats to stretch out on and a individual screen. However, the food was horrendous. Lets hope they keep up the good work on the way home.

Borneo via Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur

2009-10-30T11:59:00.001+11:00

Heading off again on some exciting adventure. Follow me at:
http://www.tripit.com/trip/public/id/2AD8C50671B1

Great Ocean Walk - finale

2009-04-14T21:53:00.003+10:00

Day 4 Cape Otway to Aire River 9.7
Tired, grumpy and dirty I resentfully packed up the tent for the last time and taped up my feet to ensure they would survive another day. I trudged most of the final walk cursing Cheryl for bringing so much stuff she couldn’t share the carrying of the tent. My feet were hurting, my hips were hurting, I was bitten by mosquito’s and feeling a little sunburnt.
Somehow no one else was feeling my pain, or crankiness as they powered on up ahead in soft sand. I spent most of the day miles behind the rest of the group – catching up only when they stopped for a photo op or scroggin break. Jay’s unnerving cheeriness was even getting on my nerves, and I’m sure, had I complained out loud Natasha would have carried my bag as well as hers.
So I sucked it up, ate my final chocolate, took some more asthma medication, had a go at Cheryl for not carrying the tent and trudged on.
We had started insanely early this morning, due to me having to catch an evening plane. We had left our campsite at around 8. Before we knew it we could spot the bridge where we’d left the car, and arrived in record time at 1030 – the last 200 metres was ridiculous – I didn’t think I could lift my boots for one more step.
Sitting down and taking off my boots for the last time – towelling off the repellent and sunscreen we all fantasised about what meal we’d have back in Apollo Bay for lunch. The streak, chips and beer I had was the best thing I’d ever tasted. Glancing around the bistro at the groomed tourists we sat in a corner in our sweaty, unwashed group and realised we didn’t really belong there.

Great Ocean Walk Day 3

2009-04-14T21:44:00.002+10:00

Day 3 Blanket Bay to Cape Otway 10.5 (aka the low point)
The beginning of day three came with a decision point – these yellow flags indicated where you could walk a bit inland or along the beach and rocks – this usually required some knowledge of the tides. We opted for the rocks as they were far more interesting than sandy hills. After an hour we decided that these were getting increasingly dangerous and sent the alpha males out to scout ahead – it appeared that there was only more than the same so we backtracked (which is my favourite thing to do). So an hour later, we were on the right track to begin our 10ks walk.
Today was the day we headed for the lighthouse, I was looking forward to having something to aim for. This was probably the least scenic day, and hill after hill followed by 4WD track felt a little unrewarding. It was also the day I joined the blister club. The lighthouse was also unrewarding as it was $14 to go have a look. We had to satisfy ourselves with soft drink and ice cream instead of the beer steak and chips we had been fantasising about.
Cape Otway was a leafy campsite with what looked like a fire pit which we were more than happy to put to use (uber carefully). The guest book in this campsite contained multiple references to Koalas and their nightly goings-ons. At one point in the night I thought Cheryl’s snoring was calling them over.

Great Ocean Walk Day 2

2009-04-14T21:41:00.001+10:00

Day 2 Elliott Ridge to Blanket Bay 11.6
We had braced ourselves for day 2, as it was to be our longest day, 15ks according to our fearless leader, although the website seems to think it’s 11.6. I guess we’ll never know. We creaked our way off our self-inflating mattresses (those who had brought them – alpha male thought he didn’t need one), and found all our sore bits from the day before. Three hours later we were ready to go.
Day two was so much easier than anticipated. No soul-destroying hills were to be had, and we praised ourselves on our excellent time, regularly stopping for photo ops and scroggin (trail mix for Victorians) breaks. Lots of sandy paths and mosquito’s, and imagine our surprise when we landed at Blanket bay around midday.
By far my favourite campsite, the walk in site was right on the beach and not nearly as damp or surrounded by trees. We collapsed in our own way – boys sorting out their stomaches and girls sorting out their feet (mostly into thongs). After some tent pitching, toilet discovering, Yoga and swimming (for some) we wandered around the bay and discovered more rock platforms and Koalas.
Some night cold tablets, sleep deprivation and freeze dried apple pie helped me to have the best sleep of the trip and we all slept in late (to 7) before hobbling out to see if the seals had made a pilgrimage to our beach (they hadn’t).

Great Ocean Walk

2009-04-14T21:23:00.001+10:00

Day 1 Apollo Bay to Elliott Ridge 9.9kms
Not entirely sure what prompted me to think that a multi-day hike carrying my worldly possessions was a good idea. But somehow a few enthusiastic people and a lack of excuses had me researching an ultra light tent and packing things into glad bags for the 4 day hike.
We started at Apollo Bay, the plethora of cosy looking B&B’s had me thinking twice as we positioned a car 50ks down the track and had our final hot meal and beer before the pain.
The first bit of the walk was along the road and seeing civilisation whilst we all adjusted our turtle-like packs and got into a rhythm was oddly discomforting. The scenery was beautiful and in surprising fashion the weather in Victoria was stellar. We walked along beaches and we walked along rock platforms and we adjusted our packs and we compared weights (lightest Jay at about 9kilos, heaviest probably Ryan at around 28 as he decided to bring beer and whisky....in bottles). I came in around the 14 kilo mark with water and the tent.
Some of the signposts were a little unclear, so when the group stopped for a break and one of the alpha males headed off ahead I followed. Mostly in fear of him getting lost and dying of exposure and also fear that if I stopped I wouldn’t be able to start again. As we walked up and down hills and up and down hills all the while looking at the beach we may have continued across I became less and less sure we were going the right way. By this time we had gone too far to turn back. The day was getting longer and the mosquito’s were setting in, and I was getting slower and slower on the uphill bits. At a few forks we made ill-informed decisions (that oddly-enough turned out to be right) and kept plodding our way towards camp. Hills and more hills awaited our every turn and I’m pretty sure I started abusing the alpha male who had put us in this position. I had images of the rest of our group waiting at the camp site for hours having taken the easier beach-side route. The last and never ending hill was torturous – I didn’t know it was the last hill, so it was seriously soul-destroying. That is, until we saw a Koala – he was on a tree about 2 off the path and seemed to be awkwardly looking for a comfy position. He surveyed us disinterestedly as I attempted to take a pic without a flash and alpha male tried to take a pic with his mobile. At this point I heard children laughing – it wasn’t the delirium that alpha male thought was setting in but the evidence of a campsite not too far away.
Triumphantly we arrived in the campsite and attempted to find our walking buddies. But they were not to be found. It would appear that we did indeed take the only path up to the campsite and we had (slightly) beat everyone else up there, and they looked as beaten as we did (except Jay who had run up dumped his pack and returned to advise the other girls how long was left to boost their morale). Cheryl had even swapped her (20-something) pack with Natasha (15 kilo) to get to the top.
It was a leafy, damp campsite and we were happy to arrive before dark – particularly for those of us who hadn’t put up their tents before. There were loos, clean water...and as we discovered late at night mating wombats and crazy ducks (some weird noise of things moving in the trees that sounded like a toy being wound up).

Final Stop

2009-04-01T11:38:00.001+11:00

Our final stop and last long drive was up to Christchurch. The grey skies and drizzly rain cleared as we headed north and tried to gauge how long it would take to get there. It seemed that this was a little longer than expected as we arrived in Christchurch at 4.58 to drop off the car by 5.

Our accommodation in Christchurch was relatively fancy as well with a Rydges special helping out and our first foray into our own queen size beds! Heaven.

Christchurch was pretty cool, very ye olde English with punting (kinda like a gondola) along the Avon river and lots of arty stuff. The arts markets on the weekend were a bit of a highlight as was the sitting in the sun (in a t-shirt) having a long lunch. We also shopped up a bit at my new favourite store which I saw in Napier but was having a sale here.

Home of Chocolate

2009-04-01T09:51:00.000+11:00

Another long drive had us off to Dunedin, where I was only interested in doing the Cadbury tour. Dunedin is probably the most grey and dreary place I visited in NZ. It’s a uni town, so lots of cheap pubs, but not a whole lot for a tourist to do. The Lonely Planet says that the best things about Dunedin are out of Dunedin.

We went for the short drive out to the Otago Peninsula to see some seals and Penguins. Which was a pretty drive, but a little disappointing. We were too early for one type of penguin and lots of tourists were scaring the other one off, and there were only 2 seals to see. Much less than we saw on the road out of Kaikoura.

The chocolate was worth it, although the tour was a bit crap the samples were generously distributed and the shop supercheap. They had lots of different types of chocolate that I hadn’t seen before. And people were there buying up the whole shop – they couldn’t stack the shelves quickly enough.

Another location and another below par hostel, the manor house hostel had a policy of no keys which makes one feel a little uneasy, and wasn’t really close to anything.

The long way round

2009-04-01T09:10:00.001+11:00

Those of you who have driven from the glaciers to Queenstown will know that there’s no road that looks even slightly direct. Rather than heading over the mountains there is a long drive around them to get to Queenstown. The scenery was rather middle-earth and I felt I should be wearing a long cloak and talking in poorly formed sentences.

The long drive was nothing compared to trying to find our hotel. The fuel light had come on as we entered town and as we lapped up and down Frankston St we were worried that we would run out of petrol before even finding our bed for the night. We’d found a bit of a bargain on wotif.com given the season and were staying in the nicest hotel of our trip. And the view was unbelievable. It would have been great to see some snow – but alas, the season did not humour us.

Queenstown did humour us with some yummy food, despite the 17% surcharge due to a public holiday. We tried some Bluff Oysters, which have been called the best in the world…and I have to say that they are. They were incredibly pricey, but well worth it.

We hadn’t really quite worked out how we were going to get to Milford Sound, but we knew we wanted to go. And it appeared that a 5hour each way bus ride was the answer. Milford sound was pretty and all, but not entirely worth the effort. The ride in seemed shorter than 5 hours and I was amazed that our bus driver talked non-stop the whole way, twas quite the feat.

Franz Joseph and other assorted Glaciers

2009-03-30T10:02:00.004+11:00

After quite a lengthly, but pretty drive (for which I was asleep for the last bit), we made it to the glaciers. These are mostly famous for people dying at them, so we were sure to heed the warning signs and stay on the trails. But not so for many of the other tourists. Loads of people ignored the numerous signs warning of impending death and walked to get a closer look at the ice.

It certainly wasn't as cold as we expected, and the thermals, gloves and hat seemed a little overkill. I always thought ice =cold. In town was some signs for more thermal pools, so given we were tired and had not much else to do we thought we would check them out. They were awesome - a little smaller than Hanmer Springs, but beautiful at night set amongst a forrest of ferns. And there were hardly any people, we wallowed and floated our way through 36, 38 and 40 degree baths. Not having a bath for about 5 years made this heaven. And we retired with fantastically soft skin and very well relaxed.

Ahhhh, hot springs

2009-03-29T17:23:00.003+11:00

One good thing about there being lots of volcanic activity is that there are lots of hot springs around. We'd not done the ones at Rotorua mostly due to time and smell. But Hamner had been on the cards for a while and would break up the drive between the wine areas a Franz Josef.

Hanmer Springs was our first rainy stop and it rained continually. A bikie convention had coincided with a mountain bike race (7 hours). but the town was very cute with lots of homemade things made with wool and a fantastic pub/restaurant with a cosy fire. We ate 2 of our 2 meals there and were very happy with the wine and the seafood.

The springs were awesome given the plumeting temperature and rain that had set in. It was unbelieveably busy, so a private room made up for the crowds of kids and families. We then braved the cold outside and smelly sulphur pools to warm up.

Little did we know that more (and far superior pools) were to come.

Canberra V Wellington

2009-03-26T07:19:00.004+11:00

I had high hopes for Wellington after hearing about the fabulous food and arty crowd. Although its small population was a bit of a worry, but for a town about the size of canberra it is about 400 times livlier.

Loads of bars and non-public servanty people, an awesome museum (yes, museum) and pretty cool local designers made up for the hideous hostel we'd booked ourselves into (Base Wellington is now known as the nosiest hostel in the world).

Wellington is also the gateway to the ferry to the south island - so after a bleary early morning after no sleep we boarded the ferry over to Picton and wine country.

We'd decided to stay in Renwick rather than Blenheim due to its proximity to the wineries, but it was a very, very small town with not a whole lot going on, but the hostel was lovely. The wines were also lovely, although dominated by Pinot Gris and not the expected Sav Blanc.

From here I'd wanted to head off to Hanmer Springs for some pampering. It was a surprisingly busy town with about 400 bikies and a mountain bike race going on, so we were lucky to get accommodation.

Finally in NZ

2009-03-16T15:44:00.003+11:00

After a surprisingly short plane ride, I'm now in a country where the people speak funny and the money is different. I'm used to having to travel for at least 8 hours for that.

Two days in Auckland saw more weather than Melbourne and an awesome night at La Clique (if you haven't seen the German in the bath, you haven't lived). It seems a bit like a town where everything happens out in the burbs - I felt like my whole time in the CBD was a bit like being on George St in Sydney. The accents are still amusing me though.

A mamoth drive saw us off to the Hot Beach where warm water comes out of the beach and you can wallow in the sandy warmth. We also stopped off at Cathedral Cove which was spectacular and well worth the walk down.

After that we headed on more windy roads off to Rotorua, where the smell cannot be described..well yes it can, and you know what it smells like. It was rather strange to see steam pouring out of the ground and somewhat unsafe. We did some wandering on the first night to look for a beverage and didn't see a soul - we were right in the centre of town and it was like the invasion of the body snatchers. We then happened upon an Irish pub which was full of Irish people - rather strange again.

My travel buddy dragged me off for some sledging down the rapids. If you're wondering about sledging, its kinda like body boarding on some rough water. http://www.kaitiaki.co.nz/ I wasn't entirely prepared for what was to come, but it was (mostly) fun and rather tiring. After the 10 minute walk to the beginning of the rapids in full gear with a 10 kilo board I was ready to call it a day. But an hour of flying uncontrollably down rapids and almost dying on more than one occasion was to follow. My fear of eels (during mating season mistaking my wetsuit covered leg for a mate) and either drowning or getting stuck in a whirlpool kept me alert and alarmed for much of the hour. I now have a rather spectacular collection of bruises which I didn't notice getting at the time.

We left Rotorua and headed for Napier a city which is all Art Deco due to a devastating earthquake. It was a rather cool place to wander around, and we even joined the toddlers for a look around the National Acquarium which also had kiwi's and glowworms - it was rather fun.

Next stop is the bottom of the South Island Wellington. I've heard of its gastronomic delights and am very much looking forward to dinner and a savignon blanc.

27 Hours on a Bus

2008-07-03T16:01:00.003+10:00

When you look at a map Darwin doesn't seem that far from Broome. And I'm sure if I was driving it wouldn't have been. But in a bus that didn't go over 80ks (and that was only with the air con off) it was a rather long journey. Luckily there were only 3 of us in a 12 seater bus so plenty of room to spread out and nap - which I did with abundance, only waking for toilet and biscuit breaks. At some point boab trees started appearing, which are pretty cool.

We stopped at a plethora of roadhouses - all which start looking the same after a while. We camped on the side of the road in swags (I thought they were more warm and comfortable) in cooee of the roadtrains wizzing by. Although being able to look up at the stars when your face wasn't freezing off was pretty special - and I looked at them for hours as my neighbours snoring kept all the animals away (and any hope of sleep for me).

We arrived in Broome after around 27 hours on a bus with a racist homophophobic driver, no shower and no air conditioning.

Did I mention I'm flying back?

Cable Beach

2008-07-01T10:00:00.002+10:00

After a rather arduous and much regretted 2 day bus trip across the territory and WA I've arrived in Broome. I've always wanted to come here and now I know why. Its quite lovely. Just what I needed, slow pace, lots of yummy food, cool stores, a single fantastic beach and a laid back hostel which so far is snorer-free.

More territory

2008-06-24T14:14:00.003+10:00

Following some incompreheansible policy making I suddenly had a free trip for someone to come up and see me in the territory. After more knockbacks than I care to mention (I'm getting some new family and friends) a mate of mine packed a bag and jumped on the plane.

Katherine and Darwin are great places to visit, but after some time I've found that one does really run out of things to do. So to show the sites we went to the Jumping Croc cruise (which I had not yet experienced) - the crocs seemed a little fake and swam up to the boat expecting to be fed - in the wild that felt a little strange. We also experienced a fishbowl drink at the tap and got annoyed by slurring lads - as to be expected in Darwin. We also drove for ages to see the termite mounds and have a paddle in Bluey rockhole.

I also got to have one last visit to one of my fave places in Darwin, the Trailor Boat Club, its on the beach and has cheap drinks and a huge variety of food.

Things I've learnt in the Territory

2008-06-09T19:09:00.002+10:00

1. No hat is too big
2. 130ks an hour can feel slow and is often just a suggestion
3. Road trains are like taxis in Sydney, unpredictable - keep out of their way
4. Dental health in Australia is non existent
5. Wild animals are very very stupid especially when it comes to very big cars
6. Strangers are not to be trusted and customer service will arrive in the territory in 2015
7. There's remote, then there's Remote (e.g. 80ks on a sealed rd verses 4 hours, half on dirt and a $500 barge to get across the river)
8. Good coffee is a rare commodity to be treasured
9. Scabies can be transmitted through shaking hands
10. Shoes are always optional
11. The road is a safe and comfortable place to sleep, especially after a few green cans

Welcome to the Northern Territory, please turn your clock back 10 years

2008-06-04T17:33:00.002+10:00

I always wondered why the asylum seekers sewed their lips together. Now that I'm staying in the ex-Baxter detention centre accommodation I know why. A small box with no window, a air conditioning unit from 1983 that intermittently blows bits of debri onto you, and a shower that makes me cry every morning. Three quite painful streams of water hitting your body is not something to look forward to. Half of me is being scalded, the other half freezing as I sidle up to the wall to get close to the stream of water pointed straight down the wall at the floor. Don't even talk to me about washing my hair - it'd be funny if it wasn't 3 months of my life.

Oh for a proper shower, a queen size bed, a glass of wine within arms reach and the ability to leave my house without getting attacked by dogs, kids with scabies, pigs, bulls or donkeys (yes, donkeys, we apparently have a feral donkey problem- I fall asleep to their lulling brays).

Heartbreak Hotel & Caranbirini - Teeth optional

2008-06-04T16:58:00.004+10:00

What is one to do on all these long lonely weekends in the NT? Head down to the Heartbreak seems to be the answer. So on Saturday I jumped in my government funded vehicle and drove the 500 or so ks to Cape Crawford. There is nothing, and I mean nothing at Cape Crawford other than the Heartbreak a shop/camp ground/hotel/bar type establishment. Where the meals were a welcome change from the burgers and schitzels I had been enduring so far through the NT. And the Corona's were $5...or often free as the bar tender attempted to get me drunk...quite achieveable since I've been living in a dry community.

One thing that is near by is Caranbirini, the poor mans version of the Bungle Bungles, but since I haven't seen the Bungle Bungles I was quite impressed. Towering domes and interesting trees all looked fabulous in the afternoon sun. I'd never heard of the place, but I was pretty happy I drove the 30 or so ks out of Cape Crawford to see it.

The evening was an interesting one, more hats and belt buckles than you could poke a stick at and a small smattering of flannels - worn in un-ironic fashion. Drinking rum (and the odd girly alcopop) seemed to be the pastime of the local ringers, stockmen and cowboys, who all seemed to take a keen interest in the new girl in town.

Adventures

2008-05-09T16:10:00.002+10:00

And the adventures continue. A trip to Darwin coincided with a weekend so off we went to Litchfield and every market imaginable. Mindle beach is just as good as everyone says, the markets are great, the sunsets spectacular...and yes, I spent all my money.

Litchfield was great, lots of waterfalls and locals with their esky's. But the lost city was closed, so I'll have to do it another time.

Ngukurr cont...

2008-04-05T19:54:00.003+11:00

The original plan was for me to be in Ngukurr for 3 months. A fairly daunting idea, but one I had no less signed up for. On Thursday I was called to inform me that I was being 'redeployed' to Barunga and Jilkminggan.

So I pack up my worldly belongings and do the reverse trip back out to Katherine. Katherine, was once (apparently) a charming little town, I'm struggling to see any remaining evidence of it. After driving down every street I could see I ended up at Red Rooster for lunch. I was craving a homemade milkshake and a burger but it was not to be. However, I do have an airconditioned room, a swimming pool, and access to beer again. So how could I complain.

Monday morning I'm off to my new accommodation in Barunga, only 100ks from Katherine.

Ngukurr

2008-04-05T19:48:00.004+11:00

So after a brief rest in Perth, I was off to Ngukurr via Canberra, via Sydney, via Darwin. Ngukurr is an Aboriginal community around 310ks from Katherine. I drove 3 hours in a brand new Patrol to Katherine feeling like I was in a bus and worried about the tyres shredding. The 3 day 4WD course did nothing but make me fearful for every possible car disaster (tyres shredding, feral animals crashing into your car, snakes flipping up underneath, overheating, fan belts breaking).

After a night in Katherine, a brief swim and my last beer for 2 weeks, I took to the dirt road the Roper Highway out to Ngukurr. Highway is not the right word for this road, in most places its a one lane black top and for about 80ks its a dirt track...and a dirt track in the wet season is fairly challenging (read=I can't believe they sent me here alone!).

There are 2 options for getting into Ngukurr by road and crossing 2 rivers or getting on the barge to cross the river. As one of the rivers was at 1.8 (higher than my car I think) I chose the latter option. I think my heart actually stopped beating for a moment when I saw the barge, it looked like a tinny. Upon driving onto it, which was no mean feat, there was about 10cm on either side of the car - not even room enough to open the door.

But I arrived, in 1 piece, with 10 years taken off my life and all tyres in tact.

I've been to....

2008-04-05T19:38:00.005+11:00

After my stint in Maningrida, I flew back (again on the pencil of death) to Darwin to hang out for 12 hours for a plane to Canberra - you'd think there'd be more than 2 planes a day and at slightly more convenient times than at 12 40 midnight. But who am I to complain where there's beer?

Leaving Darwin at 1240 saw me arrive bleary eyed to a rainy cold Canberra morning - the 3 hot chocolates I had a Sydney airport did nothing to awake me. And at 5pm that night I was back at the airport to fly to Perth via Melbourne. Thats right I flew from NT to Sydney to Canberra - back to Canberra airport to Melbourne to Perth. That's 5 airports and 3 states and 2 territories in 1 day - has to be a record.

I arrived in Perth at a reasonable 11pm to be picked up by my lovely friend Lisa, who drive way out of her way and braved the traffic in Perth. I was a bit shellshocked and not quite sure where I was but keen to have a great Easter break.

Cheryl's place in Perth is like heaven. Right on Scarbrough beach, 2 swimming pools (one with its own fake beach), a sauna and spa. Alana and I even had a room each - luxury compared with the Donga. We shopped, we ate, we drank, we saw Freeo (Freemantle), Rotto (Rottnest Island) and caught up with some long lost friends. Rotto was great fun with gorgeous little Quokkas (sp?) everywhere, we hired bikes and cycles around for hours stopping for a swim in a gorgeous bay that Alana still swears had a jellyfish (I'm still not convinced).

After Easter and much eating, it was time to do the multi-state trip in reverse. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

Adventure

2008-03-13T18:17:00.003+11:00

I had quite an adventurous day today in Maningrida. I not only learnt to drive a manual around town (best place to do it with no cars), although it does still seem like a lot of unnecessary work. I also spent some quality time and money in the arts centre.

In the afternoon we got invited to go to an outstation with one of the local guys. The road was dirt and sand in some places and was pretty waterlogged, there were also a couple of river crossings - loads of fun...but I wasn't driving. Most of the people from the outstation live in the town in the wet.

The local guy pointed out all the different areas, like cemetaries and the old market garden which they are keen to get running again. He also mentioned that some salt water crocs had been washed up this wet season.

It reminded me of a guy at yellow water who said the women in his family had a ceremony they used when they went into water with crocs involving singing and slapping the water. I kind wished I knew it when two of our party headed out into a river crossing to see how deep it was.

The Pencil of Death

2008-03-10T21:07:00.002+11:00

Yes, the pencil of death. So nicknamed by the pilot. If you have had the opportunity to ride in the pencil of death you will certainly know what I'm talking about. For the uninitiated they are these tiny planes that all 165cm of me had to bend double to get into, 2 seats on either side of an aisle. There was no air con until about 20mins into the ride so it was a cramped, hot, stinky, hard to breathe in ride....and some people do it every week. I'm hoping I get the other plane on my way back out in 9 days.

I'm in Maningrida for 10 days to see what they want me to do for a crust....and yes, I can feel my accent broadening and slang becoming prevalent. Its quite shocking to be out here, the department of housing has a lot to answer for. There are some dog issues too which make walking around impossible. The work is heartbreaking and heartwarming - and I'm sure it'll be more so when I have a community to call my own. I've had a few moments where I seriously thought I can't do this (and they're certainly not paying me enough money to do it).

Kakadu

2008-03-08T13:26:00.003+11:00

Dispite my previous post, I did get the chance last weekend to check out Kakadu in the wet. Stunning. Nuff said.

The Territoy - the beginning

2008-03-08T13:11:00.003+11:00

I've had 2 weeks in Darwin now, and I can honestly say that I've seen none of it that doesn't lie within 3 blocks of my hotel. Other than work, work and a bit more work there has not been much happening. I'm thinking $50 a day does not cover the 24/7 work!

The first week was all training indoors and working out how much paperwork we were going to have to do with little to no connectivity and a toughbook (aka slowbook).

This week has been all about First Aid and learning about the plethora of creepy crawlies that will get you up here (note to self: do no go outdoors). Everyone seemed to have a story about a snake attacking a car, a eagle smashing through a windscreen, a 13 year old girl getting bitten by a spider. Have I mentioned how thrilled I am to be going outback.

The last 3 days have been 4WD training, my personal weakness I knew this would be a challenge. The first day was theory and car maintenance (and yes I changed a f-ing heavy tyre), 2nd day was serious 4WD on hills and muddy stuff and the 3rd day on a WWII airstrip doing braking and skidding (loads of fun). I have to say I had a bit of a moment on the hills where I thought I was going to burst into tears and run out of the car home - but the fact that I couldn't walk down the hill (so I still don't know how the car got down) made me stay. I don't think I'll ever be 4WD for fun.

One exciting (or life reducing) part of the week was when we were pulling a 2 tonne truck out of a bog, the snatch strap was attached and as one of the guys pulled off (with his foot to the floor) the part of the car in the mud that the strap was attached to broke. There was a massive bang as the strap flung back towards the towing car. When we walked over to the car we realised what had happened, the brace on the car, the bolt and part of the strap were imbedded in the spare tyre on the back of the car.

2008-01-21T12:16:00.000+11:00

After both becoming a bit sick of driving we headed down to Coles Bay and Wineglass bay. We staggered to the top of the look out for Wineglass Bay which was surprisingly difficult with 600 steps but totally worth it. We wandered around the national park for a couple of days, picking spots based on their cute names, such as Friendly beaches (with unfriendly flies) and Honeymoon Bay (very rocky).

With our holiday nearly at an end we headed back to Hobart to stay somewhere slightly nicer than the pickled frog. We couldn't get into the cadbury factory - damn school holidays, but we did check out the cascade factory which rekindled my love for beer...actually my love for beer has never needed to be rekindled. And finally we wandered around Salamanca markets with every man, his dog and baby before being delayed for 2 hours by Virgin.

Will I ever fly again on time?

2008-01-21T12:06:00.000+11:00

From there we headed out to the Tamar valley to source some of those yummy wines. After heading out in the completely wrong direction we turned the yellow canary around and were on our way…in the pouring rain. Due to the rain we skipped my desired stop to Tasmazia…I’m still heartbroken.

Tamar Valley was good, although no one told us about the tasting fees everywhere. I ended up buying some average wine out of protest for paying the tasting fee. We stayed at a cool pub in a pretty small and unexciting town called Beauty Point, however it is the home to Platypus House and Seahorse World.

We then braved the bushfires (just missing them I think) and drove out to St Helens with the plan of checking out the Bay of Fires and other assorted nearby beaches. The beaches were white and gorgeous and freezing – yes we went for a invigorating dip, just to say we did.

Upon returning to the banana, Trish opened the door and promptly let out a girly scream. A huntsman had scrambled into the door and disappeared under the steering wheel. As it was definitely Trish’s turn to drive I figured it was her problem. We immediately started arguing about who was going to drive. It went a little like this:
Me: I’ve done my driving, I drove for 6 hours yesterday
Trish: It was more like 4. I’m not driving, I hate spiders
Me: I hate spiders too. Just be an adult, the spider is not going to hurt anyone.
Trish: Well you drive then.

After some debate, I relented and decided to drive. Since I hadn’t seen the spider I figured he couldn’t be that big and wouldn’t eat much. However, I had some concerns that if he did drop on my whilst driving there was little chance that I would avoid driving off into a ditch. I moved the seat as far back as possible, positioned Trish with a rolled up newspaper in the passenger seat and proceeded to drive the 15 minutes home at 150km an hour.

We got back to our cabin incident free and the spider was not to be seen, a conveniently provided bug spray was emptied into the car. Some time later we headed into town to pick up supplies. About an hour later we returned to the car, Trish opened the door, screamed, and the spider, looking drunk, was staggering out the door. How he survived the can of spray I have no idea. Crisis averted.

2008-01-21T11:57:00.000+11:00

Cradle Mountain was gorgeous country, the weather was rather erratic, but we were quite lucky. We stayed in these fabulous cabins with a spa next door and a fireplace that was operated by a remote!

I dragged Trish on a 10k walk around Dove Lake and up Snake Hill, the last 3ks would have been far more pleasant had they not been uphill. Dove Lake was unbelievably rewarding with fabulous views at every stop, green cool rainforest-like forests and comfortable boardwalks in most areas. Its good to know Tassie is doing something with all their national parks dollars.

Barely functioning after our 10k walk (9.5ks more than I usually walk in a day), we signed up for a wine and cheese tasting event which involved some tasty iced riesling and yummy stinky cheeses.

The journey continues

2008-01-21T11:54:00.001+11:00

After some convincing Trish relented and we headed out to Port Arthur. Trish was a little concerned with our lack of mobile reception in Wolf creek country. After procuring some accommodation in what looked like converted shipping containers we headed out to the old and somewhat creepy convict settlement. We booked ourselves in for a ghost tour, somewhat inexplicably as neither of us had any desire to see a ghost. We didn’t see one, but the photos and stories were quite frightening and out last stop in the asylum had me wanting to make like a tree and leave.

We had an amazing dinner at a place called Mussel Boys and retired to our shipping container in the woods….alone…..

From then we took the 4 hour drive to Cradle Mountain which for some unknown reason took us 7 hours. Yes, we drove about an hour out of our way, but how does one account for the other 2 hours??

Tasmania - the arrival

2008-01-21T11:50:00.000+11:00

Out Trip to Tassie was rather lacking in planning, however we had the foresight to book our first nights accommodation at an interestingly named hostel called the Pickled Frog. It has been a while since I’ve stayed in a hostel, and perhaps I’m getting too old and grumpy. Trish and I were rocked to sleep whilst listening to a girl snore loudly until 3:30am, which was then replaced with the beeping of a crossing signal outside our window. After finally donning a sleep mask and earplugs I fell asleep only to be awoken by glass collection morning. I awoke, took my stiff joints down from the upper bunk and attempted to quietly assemble clothing and shower implements. Upon entering the shower I immediately regretted not packing thongs, the sodden matt and wet, dirty floor were indications on impending tinea.

We joyously checked out and swore to never return. We climbed into our bright yellow, spoiler donned lancer that made us look like 18 year old boys from Campbelltown and headed up to check out the views from Mt Wellington.

Off to Tassie!

2008-01-08T10:48:00.000+11:00

Yes, I am actually off to see some of Australia - for once! Stay tuned for exiting stories and hijinks

Jetstar Dramas

2007-07-01T15:24:00.000+10:00

I have fell victim to the evils of low cost airlines. I still don't know what happened to our plane on the 29th, but our flight was delayed for 20 hours. It all seems like distant pain now, but at the time it was truly painful.

The staff at Phuket checked our luggage and told us to come back at 9 to find out what was happening to our flight. Trish was off to geneva on business class so she was fine. At 9 we hear rumours that the flight has been delayed indefinitely and we're all to be bussed out to hotels.

Having none of a crowd of bogan aussies with bad tattoos and imitation Von Dutch bags (the customer base of the low-cost airline) I collected by bags and got a taxi back to our old hotel where they were more than happy to have me for another night. I was more than happy to spend another day by the pool, although lacking in clean clothes and toiletries that I had tossed out to lighten my pack. And I was more than happy to charge it back to Jetstar along with room service and any other charges I could think of. They're also giving me a $100 voucher to use, although I'm reluctant after being stuffed around twice (first time they flew me domestically on an international flight - very annoying).

In addition I got a bulk head seat and a spare seat next to me as Trish didn't fly, and the Valium was good.

Having missed my cheap bus back to Canberra I booked a flight (which was heaven) and was home by 9 this morning to be met at the airport by Phoebe.

It's good to be (finally) home.

All in one day.

2007-07-01T15:02:00.000+10:00

So we finally had a sunny day, with no sign of cloud in sight. So Trish and I headed off on a sunset boat trip. It was a boat full of aussies, and we did everything conceivable in one afternoon. We checked out monkey island (apparently they bite). Went canoeing and snorkeling in this amazing area surrounded by limestone cliffs; all that much more fun as the guys running the boat tour kept throwing bread into the water where we were swimming to make the fish bite us.

And then we went for an adventure off to the beach where they filmed 'the beach'. When I say adventure, I mean adventure. The only way to get to the beach was through a cave and lagoon, at low tide we could walk through, but at high tide people have to swim through the cave. So we canoed out to the cave and attempted to scramble onto a rock whilst being bashed against them by the waves, and climbed our way up through the cave. We then proceeded to walk through a sandy path in the forrest out to the beach. It was stunning, gorgeous blue water, towering limestone cliffs and no one there but us.

On the way back to the boat (another adventure with the tide coming in and more submerged rocks than you could scrape a knee on), Trish and I were walking through the forrest with two other aussie girls. Suddenly we hear a noise. The bush is rustling and there is a low growling noise like I've never heard before. I thought to myself quickly, 'should I be scared? Hell yes, I decided, we were in the middle of nowhere and the terrain looks disturbingly like the set of Lost'. Someone in our party screamed, so I jumped on the bandwagon and screamed as well as we all ran off down the path hearts in our chests. From behind us comes peals of laughter, the rustling in the bush was one of the guys from the boat trying to scare us. Relieved, and a little humiliated, Trish and I spent the next two days killing ourselves laughing over it; she tells me I have a girly scream.

Last Days

2007-06-28T17:18:00.000+10:00

Last night, with some time on our hands and umbrellas safely above our heads we wandered around the town again, only to discover a whole new world of hidden restaurants and shops. I was very excited. Many dodgy DVDs were bought and beers consumed.

This morning we awoke to sunshine and it has remained so for the day (needless to say I'm a little pink...ok...red). We're off in 9 minutes to see sunset on a boat, some monkeys (i don't really like monkeys), the beach where they filmed the beach, and some snorkeling (which Trish is particularly excited about).

Tomorrow's our last day, heading back to Phuket in the morning and fly back in the evening.

sniff....

Canoe..

2007-06-28T17:13:00.000+10:00

Who knew canoeing would be so difficult?

I'm sure I've done it before and its been a breeze. Trish and I had quite a few hilarious moments mostly caused by a lack of coordination and steering skills. Trying to head out to open water we ended up facing the wrong way quite a few times, I can only hope no one was watching from the shore.

Then on the way back in we decided to hop out for a swim...which was fine until we tried to get back in. We tried simultaneous jumping, then one at a time, then one whilst the other was holding the canoe. then one of us would successfully get in only to be capsized by the other. Trish was constantly erupting in fits of giggles as we tried to get ourselves in whilst also trying to keep our respective belongings out of the water.....my sunglasses sadly didn't make it.

Phi Phi

2007-06-27T20:23:00.000+10:00

I just posted this section, but hit what I thought was 'post' and lost the lot, so here I am again 2 days later trying to remember how witty and funny I was the first time around.

All the instructions are in Thai, so wish me luck.

Phi Phi is lovely and relaxing. Green season (read=wet) has arrived, so it's been difficult to plan anything against the sky's opening up and dumping its contents on us. So we've been lying by the pool, lying by the beach, and lying on the balcony of our bungalow. So really not a whole lot of activity except walking to breakfast, which is a lot more of a work out than anyone really wants early in the morning.

I've also partaken in a massage a day (it'll be hard not to have it when I get back), they're quite dynamic and I have a few impressive bruises from the enthusiastic 41kilo masseuse in Patong.

Now, wheres the publish button...?

Phuket...

2007-06-26T14:19:00.000+10:00

After a freezing bus ride to Sydney from Canberra sitting next to a woman who was once possibly a man, I arrived at Sydney airport to find an overexcited Trish waiting for me. The flight was not eventful which is exactly how I like them - although a little longer than I had anticipated at 9 hours.

We arrived to check into our hotel late and were happy to find their restaurant spilling out onto the sand on the beach and the beers appropriately cheap.

Patong beach is a bit intense - like an asian vegas. We spent some quality time at the pool and a small amount of time at the beach. there seemed to be not many people swimming at the beach and after the fourth piece of rubbish brushed against my leg masquerading as a creature from the deep I realised why and retired to the safety of the pool.

Off to Phuket

2007-06-20T16:30:00.000+10:00

I'm off to Phuket on Friday and am very excited, especially considering we booked these tickets more than a year ago. Yeah for Jetstar sales, although I am a little worried about getting there, and back, on time:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/jetstar-passengers-stranded/2007/06/20/1182019169081.html

Back to Istanbul and home.....

2006-10-22T13:18:00.000+10:00

From Urfa we drove down to the Syrian border (I'm pretty sure smart traveller warns against that too) to drop off half of our group who were heading off to Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Then drove to Adana to catch a flight back to Istanbul. It was quite an adventure as a huge storm came through Adana whilst we were waiting to board which flooded part of the terminal and the thunder and lightening made all of us want to catch the 26 hour night bus back.

It seemed to clear in time for us to take off and we arrived a couple of hours later to a cold(about 14) and rainy Istanbul. I really liked Istanbul and there was heaps there I still wanted to do, needless to say there wasn't enough time. But I had time to go to Taxim Square twice (and eat at this surprizingly cheap restaurant twice), take the tram, metro and funicular, see the pretty huge but great archaelogical museum and visit another Hamam (not quite as good as the one in Cappadocia - but still pretty good). I also visited the Grand Bazaar which was a bit disappointing and the Spice market again which wasn't disappointing at all. The men selling things were particularly hilarious - shouting out things like 'its cheaper for blondes' and 'give me back my heart' to all the girls.

So after 3 weeks with a bag full of washing I prepared myself for the 22 hour flight and fighting through security at Bahrain airport to return home. Why can't every day be a holiday?

See my photo's here

Urfa and the Syrian border

2006-10-19T22:27:00.000+10:00

Urfa on the Syrian border turned out to be what I expected all Turkey to be like. It was crowded, chaotic with lots of street stalls and crazy traffic. Its also quite a religious town, we couldn't get a beer during our stay and most people were fasting for ramadan - there was also a noticable lack of women. There was also a noticable lack of tourists - making our western looking group a bit of a spectacle much of the time we were wandering around town.

We went to see where Abraham was born in a cave, and a nearby lake with sacred carp. There was some story involving someone trying to burn someone at the stake and the flames turned to fish - hence the sacred carp.

The town was quite interesting lots of mazes of little streets and endless chaotic confusing markets and odd-looking food products, including a carrott root drink- but don't ask me what the root of a carrott looks like.

Gıant Heads

2006-10-15T01:18:00.000+10:00

The gıant heads were just what I was waıtıng for ın Turkey - now my lıfe ıs complete.

We stayed a nıght ın the unremarkable Khata - a rather relıgıous town (read- dry) where I thınk we were the only tourısts - yet agaın. And went off to see Mt Nemrut ın the early mornıng. It was an absolutely stunnıng drıve up through theTaurus mountaıns whıch were so barren and never endıng. And then a hard 30 mınute clımb up to 2000 metres (I thınk) where the aır seemed a bıt thınner - or I'm really out of shape.

The heads were pretty cool, some Kıng thought that he was a god so he made gıant ımages of hımself and created a mountaın over hıs tomb. What remains is the heads and a portion of the mountain. When I say remaınder I mean the bıts that were left after an amerıcan archaeologıst blew up wıth mountıan wıth dynamıte. Smart.

Cappadocıa

2006-10-15T01:11:00.000+10:00

As I mentıoned out stay ın Cappadocıa was actıon packed.

After the balloonıng we got taken on a 3 hour hıke through one of the valleys. It was just breathtakıng, no one was around but us and the men collectıng fırewood for the wınter on theır donkeys. We also took a walk through the open aır musem. The museum used to be a vıllage of people lıvıng ın caves ın the hılls when one of the caves collapsed kıllıng a few people they decıded to move ınto normal houses and the sıte ıs now protected, but loads of fun to clımb all over.

We also had a walk around the underground cıtıes where these same people used to hıde from other armıes, they were quıte elaborate wıth hammocks for the babıes and more wıne storage than anyone would know what to do wıth.

That nıght we were promısed an all you can eat, all you can drınk folk dancıng and trandıtıonal musıc nıght at Uranos. It wasn't quıte what I expected wıth our tour group beıng the only ones wıthout walkıng frames. The folk dancıng was ınterstıng and looked lıke a cross between russıan and ırısh dancıng. We were also treated to a Belly Dancer who was pretty great, who knew you could do that much wıth your stomach?

Balons

2006-10-15T01:05:00.000+10:00

One thıng that Cappadocıa ıs known for ıts ıts balloon rıdes over the spectacular landscape. They are ıncredıbly expensıve (they used to be about 30 Euros but ın the last couple of years have gone up to 150 euros). After some delıberatıon I decıded to do ıt as a once ın a lıfetıme thıng.

It was absolutely amazıng. We were pıcked up at 5am to make ıt for sunrıse but spent a few hours waıtıng around ın a paddock waıtıng for the wınds to dıe down. At about 7 we got the go ahead to go up, were allocated a balloon and ınto the basket we clımbed.

There were probably about 30 or so balloons goıng up that mornıng and watchıng them all ınflate and go up ınto the sky as we dıd was fantastıc. We drıfted around over the faıry chımneys and cave houses for about an hour before takıng about 20 mınutes to land ın someones vıneyard. I thınk we landed ın a dıffıcult spot as they put us straıght on the traılor and drove us out of the paddock whılst stıll ın the ınflated balloon!

It was amazıng I'm so glad I dıd ıt, and we got to celebrate wıth champagne afterwards. And all ın a muslım country durıng ramadan....

Cappadocıa

2006-10-14T01:05:00.000+10:00

Our tour leader kept alludıng to all the fantastıc stuff to do ın Cappadocıa so needless to say we were quıte excıted to arrıve after the rather paınful nıght bus.

The landscape ıs quıte unusual ın Cappadocıa - ıt was used for one of the orıgınal Star Wars movıes - ıts all sandy and hılly wıth strange rock formatıons. It was all formed by a serıes of volcano eruptıons.

Most travellers stay ın Goreme, but our tour had us stayıng ın a small town nearby called Urgup, ıt was a great small place wıth frıendly shop owners and a fantsatıc pastry shop called Dons that also made pretty good cappuccınos (a nıce change from the Turkısh coffee heart starters).

We went to see the oblıgatory carpet demonstratıon ıncludıng apple tea. It was actually quıte ınterestıng wıth the shop owner showıng us the sılk worms ad dyıng process as well as the women who are ınvolved ın the slave labour of makıng them. I resısted the urge to spend the lımıt on my credıt card on one.

We also got shown around a jewelery workshop as Turkey ıs known for ıts sılver and turquoıse. They also had some pretty ınterestıng stuff ın the style that the women used to wear ın the Harems.

Urgup ıs also known for ıts clay pots for cookıng, I had seen them ın Istanbul and was pretty keen to try ıt. They have these pots made of clay that they put lamb casserole type stuff ın, seal wıth bread and bake ın the oven. To serve ıt they break the jar whıch ıs pretty ımpressıve and pretty tasty.

Hamam Neophyte

2006-10-14T00:49:00.000+10:00

İ've just had my fırst experience ın a Tukısh Bath or Hamam. İt was one thıng that İ was really looking forward to on my trip.

We drove out by Antayla before catchıng the nıght bus (yes they are quıte hellısh, but nothıng compared to Laos) to Cappadocıa. Cappadocıa was also somethıng I was lookıng forward to, but back to the bath.

In Cappadocıa I wsa stayıng ın Urgup one of the smaller towns nearby whıch was really cute and not full of tourısts or backpackers- actually I thınk we were the only ones there. The Hamam was at the top of the town ın an old church. I wore togs (yes, I'm a bıt of a prude but ıt was boys and gırls together) and was gıven a tea towel to wrap around myself (another reason for the togs). We were told to sıt ın the heated room and steam ourselves ın the sauna untıl all the dead skın comes to the surface. The room looked lıke ıt does ın all the pıctures - all marble wıth a gıant hexagonal platform ın the mıddle to lıe on and comtemplate whether breathıng ıs really worth the effort.

After what seemed lıke an eternıty we were called two by two ınto another room by scantıly clad Turks. A skınny guy scrubbed me down and washed my haır - I was shocked at the amount of dead skın that he got off me. And I don't thınk I've ever had my haır washed by a man ın a towel before. After that a fat Turkısh guy laıd me down on a marble bed covered me ın suds and proceeded to try and crack every bone ın my body - after the nıght bus there was quıte a lot of satısfyıng crunchıng although the marble bed was a lıttle unyeıldıng.

I came out feelıng lıke a new woman - wıth possıbly the cleanest skın and haır I've ever had. And all for only 15 Lıra (about 12 dollars) bargaın.

Olympos and strange tree houses

2006-10-11T01:06:00.000+10:00

Last nıght I spent ın Olympos to look at the ruıns (I feel a lıttle ruıned-out at the moment) and the Chımera.

The Chımera ıs an area where the rocks spontaneously combust. They don't know what ıs ın the gas but ın the past the shıps at sea used to be able to see the flames. There's also some complıcated Greek mythology related to ıt that I've already forgotten.

At nıght ıs the best tıme to see ıt, and I clımbed up some pretty precarıous steps for about 800 metres ın the dark wıth a pretty dodgy head torch (note to self - buy better one for next trıp). It was certaınly worth ıt - they looked amazıng ın the nıght the flames were a lıttle blue at the bottom and rose up about 1 meter or so and there were four or fıve lıttle spots. It smelt a lıttle lıke propane gas.

Olympos ıs a natıonal park and as such hotels can't be buılt (apparently) so there are tree houses - and they're pretty dodgy, I had a normal cabın wıth a bathroom and a door that locks, however the tree houses were lıttle more than our versıon of cubby houses. We also seemed to share the hotel and all ıts ammenıtıes wıth a bunch of pretty bolshy chıckens. I'm pretty sure smart traveller mentıons avıan flu..... better not mentıon that to customs when I return.

More Medıtteranean coast...

2006-10-11T00:56:00.000+10:00

I've spent the last couple of nıghts cruısıng around the coast agaın, and I thınk I've fınally unwound. Drıvıng along the coast and stoppıng for seafood lunches by the water, stoppıng for swımmıng when the desıre strıkes ıs really the best.

In the wıse words of Bolts - why can't every day be a holıday?.....

Daylan and Brıtısh expats

2006-10-11T00:48:00.000+10:00

We've been movıng down the coast along quıte a tourısty area where lots of brıts and germans come for holıdays.

We stopped for a couple of days ın Daylan, ıt ıs known for ıts rıver and beaches. It was pretty tourısty wıth lots of real estate agents sellıng apartments ın Brıtısh pounds.

Besıdes gettıng eaten by mosquıtos I took a boat tour along the rıver to see the tombs that the Lycıans created ın the mountaıns. There are these huge mountaıns that seem ımpossıble to get up to wıth these gıant tombs that look lıke the pantheon wıth colums and other ornate bıts and pıeces. I have no clue how they got up there, but they are serıously ımpressıve.

I also went to some mud baths and rolled around ın the warm stınky mud for a whıle - I don't thınk my togs are every goıng to be the same. ıt was hılarıous though, everyone looked pretty funny covered ın green mud and then standıng out ın the sun waıtıng for ıt to dry.

We then went to a beach (read pebbly lake) and went for a swım ın the medıtteranean. Enough saıd really.....

Pamukkale and feet

2006-10-07T05:04:00.000+10:00

I guess a lot of people have seen the calcufıed pools at Pamukkale. I arrıved ın the vıllage and ıt was a lıttle smaller than ı expected wıth many tourısts just bussıng ıt ın for the day to look at the pools and heırapolıs.

The pools are pretty amazıng - although I ımagıne they were much better before tourısm came along. The calcıum ın the water has run over the hılls to make them all whıte formıng these whıte pools all the way down the mountaın.

Contrary to the Lonely Planet advıce I walked up the mountaın to the pools, the advıce gıven ıs for those wıth soft feet as the calcıum makes quıte rough tracks ın the hıll. It was a very slow walk to the top wıth a few layers of skın beıng left along the way. At the top ıs the ruıns of the cıty of Heıropolıs as well as the very expensıve pool of Cleopatra' whıch ıs about 20AUD a day' and full of Russıans ın not a whole lot of clothıng (!?). We snuck ın and ıt was worth ıt. The pool was lagoon lıke wıth the reaıns of colums at the bottom and brıdges and lots of greenery.

We stayed for sunset whıch was amazıng and walked back down as the sun was goıng down and ıt was gettıng dark (very good use for my headtorch thus so far only used for toılet trıps). A few of us went swımmıng on the way down ın the bath-lıke water and we were the only ones there, the Russıans decıdıng to head back before the sun went down.

I now have the softest feet ever - although mınus a few layers of skın

Ephesus- and more....

2006-10-07T04:52:00.000+10:00

İ've spent the last couple of days explorıng Ephesus and Selchuk. Ephesus ıs apparently one of the better preserved ancıent cıtıes. If you could see past the Eurotrash ıt was a fascınatıng trıp. Much of the ruıns were stıll ın tact, and our tour guıde gave us ınterestıng ınıghts ınto the daıly lıves of these people, ıncludıng the bathroom sıtuatıon (apparently they sat sıde by sıde and dıscussed the day's events!).

The lıbrary ıs probably one of the more recognısable ımages and was one of the bıggest ın the ancıent world. Although ıt used optıcal ıllusıons to create the appearance of depth and sıze to compete wıth Alexandrıa.

I also had the opportunıty to go to a small town nearby called Selçuk, ıt ıs an old Greek vıllage wıth lots of Greek lookıng houses and churches named after mıscellanıous saınts. They are also known for the fruıt wınes. Peach, pommegrannıte, quınce and cherry wıne were all trıed. The pommegrannate was my favourıte, although the Cherry (wıth 16 per cent alcohol) was not bad eıther. We ate dınner up there on the hıll wıth the almost full moon ın the background, eatıng gozleme and stuffed zucchını flowers and drınkıng Efes beer.

Çanakkale

2006-10-03T16:46:00.000+10:00

The town near Gallıpolı ıs Çanakkale, ın my head I was pronouncıng ıt Can-a-karlı, however to the locals ıt Cha-knack-alı, I thınk I'm havıng some emphasıs ıssues wıth the language. The word for thankyou ıs about 7 syllables long!

It's actually quıte a cute town - but my hotel ıs completely crap. They have the horse from the movıe Troy as a bıt of a moument ın the town by the water. İ'm ımpressed by that.

Gallıpolı

2006-10-03T16:40:00.000+10:00

İn true Aussie fashıon İ've made the pılgrımage to Gallıpolı. I figured İ probably couldn't go to Turkey and not go. So İ had a 5 am wake up call to drıve the 7 hours down the coast to meet a mıdday tour of Gallıpolı. We had one stop along the way to see a zoo at a petrol statıon...yes.. a zoo at a petrol statıon.

İt was a long tour and lots of gettıng on and off the bus. But the coast lıne was beautıful and ıt was quıte ınterestıng to see how close the two sıdes were. Also we had a Turkısh tour guıde who had some ınterestıng vıewpoınts on the way, he also read us out personal accounts of events that happened, lıke Sımpson's donkey, and the Turkısh guy who walked out into no-mans-land to return an ınjured Englısh soldıer to hıs sıde

İstanbul not Constantınopole(olıs)

2006-10-03T16:29:00.000+10:00

Yes, İ dıd ındulge ın the free beer on the plane and actually slept for some of the remaınıng trıp. And yes, some of the duty free stores were open, so there'll be some shopping on the way home.

İstanbul ıs dıffıcult to descrıbe , there are 12 mıllıon people ın such and old cıty, so understandably ıts crowded and buılt up lıke old European cıtıes.

I've spent a couple of days here and stıll can only just fınd my way from the hotel to the blue mosque.

The fırst day after recoverıng from 22 hours on a plane the hotel receptionıst ınsısted I do a tour of Dolmabahçe Palace, and the Bosphorus ( the rıver through the town). So I went to see the Spıce markets whıch were quıte halarıous - I hear some seller tellıng a gırl that ıt was cheaper for blondes, and trıed some truly fantastıc turkish delıght. Then we did a cruıse of the Bosphorous, whilst the tour guıde seemed fascinated wıth the cruise lıners and the price of real esate along the rıver. I guess thats unıversal.

İt's ramadan at the moment, whıch I thınk ın Turkish means party tıme. Everyone ıs out and about, and ıt looks lıke there's a celebrıty ıman talkıng at the Blue Mosque. Hıs name ıs ın huge lıghts above the mınarettes.

Another joy of Ramadan is the 3am drummer boy. Muslims get up at 3am to have breakfast before sunrise. The sun rises at about 6 so I'm not quite sure why they need 3 hours to wake up and eat, but at 3am I get woken up to the dolcet sounds of beating drums.
Another thıng that I really wanted to do in İstanbul was the Basıcılla Cıstern, ıt was hıghly recommended to me, and for good reason, ıt's truly quıte fascınatıng. İ'll try and post a pıcture when İ fınd a slıghtly more technologıcally advanced ınternet cafe. It's an underground water reserve wıth huge stone columns that go on forever, and at the end are these Medusa heads just on the ground, and no one knows how they got there!

Half way there...

2006-09-29T06:54:00.000+10:00

Ahhh, free internet. When will all the other airports fall into line with Singapore?

I'm feeling a little dazed and confused after 9 hours flying. I think its 6 or 7 Sydney time and 4am Singapore time, and Istanbul is about 1am I think. I'm unsure as to which time I should be setting my body clock to.

I guess I should mention Gulf Air. The seats seem roomier than some of the Asian airlines, and the food seemed ok, however I was a little sick afterwards, but I think I was the only one as the rest of the plane seemed to be sleeping whilst I was holding an airbag and wanting to die. It passed quite quickly though, so I'm hoping its not late-onset motion sickness. I've certainly never had it before.....

Is 4 am too early/late for a beer????

1 sleep

2006-09-25T19:47:00.000+10:00

12 days and 8 work days left

2006-09-16T22:06:00.000+10:00

Yes, I'm counting down, and have been doing so for quite some time now. I desperately need a holiday. Turkey it is this time. I'm throwing caution to the wind and the Australian Government I'm off on a tour as I'm too lazy to do the research on where to go and what to do.

I'm going to attempt to keep a blog for the first time in my life which will save me from writing emails and serve as a record for my own selfish needs.

So watch this space......