Current Mood: Cool & Tired

We’ve spent the last 5 days in beaten up Toyota Landcruisers which we’ve had to push up hills, being stopped by the Cops, driving without lights in pitch black, in a 15 Bed room with 6 other people who all drink, stay up late and snore heavily, the food has been okay at the best of times, the plates and cutlery were all greasy and dirty, the traveler helpers were stoopid, did I mention pushing landcruisers up hills!!! Yet after all that I have one hell of a good time… 2 words – SURF CAMP!

We boarded the bus in Lennox Head and the other 6 were already aboard – we had a great group that consisted of 2 Belgiums – Pino and Manu, 2 Americans – Mike and Ben, 1 Canadian – Ashley and a crazy Icelandic chick called Caitlyn. We’re then introduced to our instructor, a dude called Moondog aka Michael Lavens and he became the girls eye candy on the trip being an ex-model (coming forth in Series 3 of ‘Search for a Supermodel’ in Australia). Everyone got chatting straight away and the bus journey passed in the blink of an eye.

Our driver, Steve-O began to prepare us lunch while we hit the beach for our first lesson from Moondog. Obviously our first lesson was standing up and we were in the water within 15 minutes – all of us managed to stand up pretty much straight away, but only in the white water. Ben and Mike went out back as they are already surfers looking to touch up on their skills.

We shot back to the bus and had a bite to eat followed by Moony’s customary siesta – a one hour period of sleep to let the food go down in between surf sessions, his philosophy being ‘chillin’. The only period of time he knew was an hour and a half, so when asked how long the journey to the next beach/camp/shop is he would always reply an hour and a half (usually between 5 – 45 mins in real person time!).

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The next lesson Moondog taught us about rips – how to use them to our advantage, The Back – where we need to catch waves, The Impact Zone – where we really don’t want to be and The White Water – the left overs from the waves. We just chilled in the water learning to pop to our feet, how to paddle properly and generally just playing in the white water. Really good fun and we all drove to our accommodation for the night (Wey Wey Lodge) totally and utterly ‘stoked’. I got to share the ‘girls room’ while the blokes all festered in each others farts ;).

The following day we caught the big blue bus to the next beach, which was ideal for beginners like most of us. The waves were only around 3 foot, didn’t close out too soon and the swell was gradual, the whole day I spent trying to catch waves from the back with Pino and Manu – but spending most of the time under the water and being washed around the beach, still a bit of perseverance and I caught my first wave from the back – a super cool feeling. My arms were killing me and by the end of the day when Moondog came out to surf with us I could hardly lift them – time for me to go in and watch Moondog rip it up on a foam Mal, he made it look so easy and even through in a few tricks like ‘Shove Its’ and a few aerials (on a Longboard :)).

We made our way to the Surf Camp accommodation with Jackass 2 playing on the bus DVD player, stopping only to pick up pizza and a few beers for the evening. Our accommodation slept 15, but with only 9 of us it gave everyone a bit more room. A good thing considering the volume at which Mike snored! The evening passed with us in the food hall chatting, having a laugh with a few beers.

The following day we said goodbye to Steveo our bus driver as he had to go back to pick up another group. We didn’t know at the time that he also took with him his culinary skills, he was a good cook and the food we got with him was edible and really tasty. We all jumped in the Toyota Landcruiser and like sardines headed towards the next beach, the TL was making some really funny noises and the oil light came on so Moondog pulled in at the garage and bought some to put in. We made it to the beach and had a wicked day of chilling and a bit of surfing, more lessons and another siesta.

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When we boarded the TL again, the engine took a while to start but eventually kicked into life. Trouble being we didn’t have Caitlyn, so drove to the shower block to pick her up! The vehicle didn’t have a handbrake so when we stopped the car to let her in the back Moondog put it in gear and turned off the ignition. Bad friggin’ move! With Caitlyn now loaded into the back he tried the key, nothing, again, nothing… Shit!

Everyone piled out the car and we tried to give it a push start, Lucy was in the hot seat, but after we had pushed for what seemed like miles it turned out that she didn’t know how to jump it :(. So I jumped in (thank god!) and the boys pushed me down a hill, it coughed, spluttered, the wheels locked on the loose gravel and that was it! No luck… Shit!

There were a couple of helpful Oz guys who brought over their jump leads, but with the corrosion under the bonnet they couldn’t get a decent connection on the terminal. No luck, so we had to resort once again to jumping the thing. Boys to the back and we had to push it right to the top of this hill… Shit!

The guy in the hotseat (one of the Oz helper guys!) got a real good push, waited until he had picked up a lot of speed and tried again. Nothing but locked up wheels! Resigned to the fact that we were either sleeping out under the stars with the native creatures and mosquitos or walking back to Surf camp – an hour and a half by car away (according to Moondog!) we dropped our heads and prepared for the worse. Some other Oz dude in one of the big engined utes came past and offered his assistance, he connected the cable to the front of the Land Cruiser and the other to the back of his truck. Moondog jumped in the drivers seat and without warning the guy in the ute set off at some serious pace, fast enough for the door at the back of the Landcruiser to fly open! :P

About 5 mins later moondog is driving down the road unassisted, the only trouble now being that the lights and electrics are playing up. So loaded back into the truck Moondog drove at snails pace back to the camp, using the car behinds lights to find his way. The only real trouble being when we have to drive down the surf camp track – about 5 normal driving minutes – with no light at all. Pino to the rescue using the flashlight built into his mobile phone we make our way down the track to the safety of our camp and chalet.

That night we celebrated our safe return and Moondogs superb driving with a few beers as you can see from the pictures everyone had good fun.

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The following day we had a little lay in due to the beers that were consumed the night before. Then Moondog came to get us and let us know that he had changed Landcruisers for us, it was still battered to bits, but it start which is always a bonus. We head out for another days surfing, only to be stopped by two coppers on the way because the registration (tax) disc of the car was outta date. What do we do wrong to deserve all this!!!

The day was spent mostly chilling on the beach, chatting, sumo wrestling and listening to Moondogs tales of Surf Camp, modeling and his life in general. We even drew him a catwalk to walk down, he obliged by showing us his impression of a velociraptor, very funny. Siesta stretched on for a while longer and we had lunch down on the beach with a makeshift table (Longboard!).

That evening we partied and partied and partied. Winning our game of ‘Flip Cup’ with ease (like a more sophisticated boat race)!!! It was a hard going, but excellent trip that I would recommend to anyone. As you can tell by the length of this blog and the amount of pictures… A good time was had by all!

Current Mood: Happy & Tired

Darwin, the Northen Territory’s capital – home to some 63,000 people and they even have a couple of high-rise buildings. Yep, we’re back in civilisation, after venturing around towns with 120 people in them for a while it was quite nice to see roads with cars on, people dressed for office work and supermarkets bigger than your local corner shop!

Feeling right as rain we managed to do a bit of exploring, seeing the sights of Darwin and working out where a decent bar was. A month or so of no social interaction, we needed to go out for a couple of drinks one night with the guys we’ve met. What a result, down our stretch of road are a few really nice bars – outside, under terrace with lovely seating and a nice atmosphere! We spent a good couple of nights here chilling out with another stubbie and decent company…

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Our highlight of Darwin is the Litchfield tour though, it was absoloutely amazing. We were picked up at 7am by our tour-guide and taken straight to the Adelaide River where we got to handle a blah blah something Python, he was really cute looking and felt like a rubber toy – I won’t look at snakes being all slimy and horrible again, I actually heard myself telling Em that this snake was cute! I’ve been away from my dog too long! ;)

We boarded a double decker river boat and got to the top deck and a decent spot. Here we got to see crocs jumping from the water using their tails, trying to get to some meat that was being hung over the side by a giant rod. The little ones 3-4 metres in length could propel themselves right out the water, the big boys struggled to get their top halves out but were equally impressive. I would not fancy my chances in the river with these things!

Moving on we got to see some giant Termite Mounds which stretched about 5 metres into the air, then Wangi Falls – where we couldn’t swim because of the crocs in the water. Really nice waterfall though due to the torrential rain and the wet season…

We did get to swim in Florence Falls though where the water is apparently so clean you can drink it straight out the pool. Such a nice treat relaxing in this pool!!! But we moved onto Buley Falls where we relaxed in a series of cascading pools, I’ll put the photos up soon as that’s the only way I can really describe it.

On the way home we went to the Aboriginal Art Gallery where we got to handle a Blue Tongued Lizard and a baby python. Then have a go on the old Didgereedoo, brilliant…

Now we’re flying back to Brisbane where we will pick up our Surf Camp all the way down to Sydney. Wahooo…

Current Mood: Sickly & Tired

So we’ve got to Broome, Lucy with an ear infection and me with some sort of bug which really wasn’t a good start! Also, coming into Broome at the tail end of a cyclone meant that the rain was torrential and made the days really humid. We checked into the Kimberley Klub and got to our room, not a bad size but it looked like a map of the world on the ceiling from all the mould that had formed.

I slept the whole of the first day, not in very good form. The girls went and explored around us, coming back to report that ‘Hot Fuzz’ was on in the local cinema and that there were two small shopping centres near us. About 6pm I managed to get up and even get my ass to the cinema, didn’t feel too great, but the thought of seeing Simon Pegg and Nick Frost lifted my spirits – it really is a bloody good movie and made me laugh loads, not good when I had to get up to go and be sick, but I don’t think I missed a major part of the plot ;).

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We returned back to the room and I jumped straight back into bed, Em sat with me while Lucy went out and saw some of the others we met in Exmouth. With my high temperature I was dreaming quite a lot and then when I woke up didn’t know where I was, even having mild hallucinations which scared me a little – like a good little nurse though, Em looked after me and the next morning I felt a lot better.

We jumped in the Hyundai Tucson and headed to Cable Beach, it was not the nicest weather but if you go to Broome then you’d be stupid not to see it! It really is a spectacular beach and I reckon if the weather had been nice, our whole time in Broome would be here! Still, it wasn’t, so we buggered off back to the shopping mall where we stopped to pick up some medicine from the Pharmacy. Yum yum…

Our hostel is quite central and they don’t check anyone who comes in and goes out, quite good for us as Marco and Lea came and joined us for a couple of evenings – enjoying a nice ‘Cold’ stubbie before going to watch ‘Old Hogs’ at the cinema. Then returning back to have a few more stubbies. Rich, Vic, Simon, Sarah, Mel and John were also at the hostel so we joined them in the pool where we just chilled out and relaxed.

Not that much to do in Broome during the weather we had, but good fun was had and it became a very relaxing place to plonk our bums for the 5 days. It also had the best internet place, I managed to get in an hours gaming during one particularly wet day! What a geek!!!

Wow, we’re missing all the birthdays being over here during this period of the year – but we just want to wish Sarah Harvey a very Happy 28th Birthday. We miss you mate and can’t wait to celebrate (belatedly) when we get back! Enjoy your day and we’ll hopefully speak to you soon… HAPPY BURPDAY :D

Current Mood: Tired & Sickly

Up early and loaded into the trusty Hyundai Tucson we got ready to drive to Karratha, our first nights stop. But before we actually left Exmouth we visited the supermarket to pick up some supplies! I wait in the car to keep the a/c on while the girls went in, all of a sudden Em comes running out telling me to lock the car and go with her. As any man knows, you don’t argue with a woman when she’s like that so I obliged. All of a sudden I see a lady holding a Joey (Baby Kangaroo) in her arms like a baby, his name is ‘Midnight’ as that is the time he was rescued from his dead mums pouch. She had been hit by a car! We all took it in turns to hold him, getting our pictures taken and finding out about what happens to him now – shame he’ll end up as a burger… Only joking, he’ll be released back into the outback when he is 1 year old if he seems able to fend for himself.

After we left the supermarket we said goodbye to Scatt as she was flying back to Perth and then onto Brisbane to see her boyfriend Dougal. Then it was on the road – our first stop was due to be Karratha, which was about 3-4 hours away. We kept ourselves amused playing the ‘Name Game’, ’80s Tunes’, ’80s Cartoons’ and a load of other random rubbish. When we arrived at Karratha we had a quick stop at the Supermarket to get some water, it was still early so the decision was to continue to Port Hedland – about another 3/4 hours up the road. Easing our bellies with a Fillet from Maccy D’s we continued on, more games and more larking about later we arrived at Port Hedland, it was dark (about 8:30pm) and we were going to try and find somewhere to sleep for the night. Our trouble was that there was NO space at all!

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Back on the road again thanks to a late opening petrol station we carried on driving, hoping to get as near to Broome as possible. That night we kipped in the car having driven for around 16 hours! We woke in the morning and sat waiting by the petrol pump for the store to open… Once again caught out by the time difference, we were waiting for about an hour as the clocks had gone back! Wonderful…

Refuelled and back on the road we carried on driving, but after we had driven about 10 mins I had to pull over – I had stomach cramps, headache and a high temperature. Em took over and I tried to get some sleep! I woke up about 90kms from Broome and felt really ill, I kept my gob shut and my head down for about 70kms but then had to get Em to pull over where I was very sick :(. I felt terrible and luckily Em and Luce got us to the YHA and checked us in while I went to Lay down! We were in Broome and I couldn’t move very well, liquid coming out of both ends.

The girls explored, while I just lay there feeling sorry for myself :(

Current Mood: Esctatic & Tired

Thank goodness for a short drive, only an hour and a half from Coral Bay to Exmouth so we were there bright and early at 10am – checked into the hostel side of the Potshot hotel and into our room by 10:30, first thing to do – Sleep! The room is nice and compact and we have a huge a/c unit, so when we woke up we realised that setting it at COLD setting wasn’t too great an idea – you’ve seen the scene in Dumb and Dumber where Harry and Lloyd go all the way to the ski resort on the scooter, well that’s how we felt!

Most of the first day was spent catching up on the website, sorting through the millions of photos I have taken and then burning a DJ’s worth of CD’s and DVD’s… When we got back to the hostel we flopped back on the bed and watched some TV, something we have missed from the UK – Lost, Prison Break, Bones, 24 and Crossing Jordan (Em also delved into the realms of Neighbours and Home and Away). Then ‘Knock, Knock’ on the door and we open it to find Lucy standing there, they’re in the room next to us! Freaky…

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The following day Em and I head to the Northern point of Exmouth to see some of the beaches and various sites that there is to offer. The first stop Bendigo Beach where the water is flat, calm, see through and there is a Jetty without a barrier – perfect for some high flying action. We only stay here for 15 mins as there is a wealth of beaches to see…

The next stop on our Whistle stop tour of this part of Oz is the SS Mildura, a Cattle ship that collided with rocks on the 10th March 1907. Every person lived but all 481 cows and bullocks on board were left to drown :(.

While we were here we saw what we initially thought was a lizard, then out of the shrubbery shot a little mouse, we thought we were suffering with a bit of the ol’ Fisherman Syndrome (everything is bigger than in your mind than in reality), but the next minute a long thin brown snake shot out the shrubbery in hot pursuit. It was like Tom and Jerry on the beach, the Mouse would gain a bit of space then the snake would catch up and grab hold of the mouse – who would retaliate with a kick to the head and a bite of its own back until the snake let go, chase resumed and away they went again. I’ll tell you what snakes can seriously move quickly!! After about 30 seconds and about 4 rounds of Mouse vs Snake, the mouse did the unthinkable and ran towards the surf (Crazy fool!), the waves were only 30-50cm’s high but to a mouse that’s like a tidal wave! Even the snake thought he was crazy as he stopped dead in his tracks, coiled up and craned his head to see what was happening.

The mouse was engulfed in a wave and we thought how brave the poor sod had been. Resigned to the fact that the mouse was to join the cows in their watery grave we started taking pictures of the snake again – then as if by miracle a little up the beach we saw a little thing get washed ashore in the next big wave, Mighty mouse! Wet, bedraggled, tired, limping, yet alive, he hopped back up the beach to safety – the snake still looking out to sea… Victory for the mouse – wahoooooo…..

Time for Em and I to run as the Snake slithered back up the beach and past us, thoroughly pissed off I’d imagine!

Quite buzzed from our close encounter with nature we visited every beach down the coast hoping to see something else as cool. Nothing quite the same cropped up, but there were a mixture of washed up Jellyfish, some round, some square, some a mass of tentacles and others just a big mashed up, bird pecked mess! Em collected up some shells while she was beach combing and we both looked for the hatchling turtles that were said to be around.

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The following day was Lucys Birthday (and Clare Coopers back home!), I had sneaked out after she had gone to bed the previous night and stuck a ‘Happy Birthday’ banner up on her door with a couple of balloons, then Em and I went into the Kitchen and bench area in the morning to decorate it for her arrival which Scatt was looking after. With it all prepared we sat and waited, Rich, Vic, Sarah and Simon joined us and we waited some more – next moment, Scatt pops her head around the side of the wall “Oh shit!”, she shouts, realising that they were late – off she runs again to get dressed and more importantly, get Lucy.

“Surprise!”… Luce was a little overwhelmed and quite chuffed which was cool, I began cooking pancakes for everyone but with them taking some time I employed the culinary skills of Rich who joined me at the pans to dish out a mixture of perfect crepes, fluffy pancakes and the odd lump of slosh! We spent the day at Bendigo beach with Marco and Leaz joining us – most of the time here spent throwing ourselves off the jetty! That evening we all got dressed up and went to the hotel restaurant for a lovely meal and then to the disco where a few MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice moves were bust before we called it a night! A cool time has been had in Exmouth!!!

Current Mood: Playful

Just a quick blog to wish Clare Cooper and Lucy Evans both very Happy Birthdays.  Lucy is being spoilt rotten out here in Oz, I hope you guys back home are spoiling Clare!

Current Mood: Cool & Tired

Both Em and I had really wanted to dive the Navy pier in Exmouth, in fact that was one of the only reasons we had come here – trouble was, the pier has been shut down! The reason is not really known, so we resigned ourselves to the fact that we would probably have to resign ourselves to a lesser dive. Em booked us two reef dives and we waited outside the office at 7.30am for them to open up and to get our equipment.

We climbed aboard the bus and were advised that there were only 8 people diving today, bonus considering they usually have 20 dives! When we got to the harbour we saw the boat and it looked massive, climbing aboard we saw how big it really was – you could easily fit 40 people without anyone complaining, a fully equipped kitchen, bath/shower room, large carpeted deck with seating and places for all your equipment, lounge area and the Captains cockpit which contained more computer consoles and screens than my old office.

The skipper came out and advised everyone the rules of the ship and the diving – “Don’t flush the toilet at the dive site, we want you to all log your dives, not dive your logs!” was a typical line and I missed most of the others because of laughing. We got kitted up and ready for our first dive ‘Blizzard Ridge’, the reason it was called this was the current and when you jump in you are being pulled straight away, we were finning hard to stay in the same place so descend down to the ocean floor to escape. The current on the sea bed was virtually non-existent and the life was amazing – loads of big fish like Potato Cods, Lagoon Rays, Bat Fish etc, but zillions of the little ones like nudibranch, anemone fish etc that really made the dive. Everywhere you looked there were fish, making for one of the most interesting dives I have ever had.

The next dive was at a place called ‘Labyrinth’, which was because the reef down on the floor created like a maze which you could swim around and get lost in (coming up a bit if you wanted to see where you were again!). Around every little corner were different fish and then when we turned one corner, we saw a Teenage Mutant Ninja Sea Turtle just sitting on the coral itching his belly. He wasn’t interested in us in the slightest and we hovered near him taking photos and watching him chomp rock for ages. He wasn’t even afraid to be touched and his shell and skin felt really soft? Strange!

Leaving him to his own devices we went a little further around the maze, coming face to face with two white tip reef sharks, neither of which were fazed by us and came right up close – really nice as usually they bomb off as soon as they see you.

On the surface everyone was on a high and chat about what they saw all the way home, it also now becoming common for people to have underwater cameras so we were all looking at what each other took. Great day, great dives…