Floodies!

As soon as I realised I was off to Brisvegas I was keen to get involved with the flood clean up. I was lucky enough to find a government funded place to do so with a group called 'Conservation Volunteers Australia', which would entail me spending five days doing flood clean up work in central QLD. After my trip down the Gold coast, to see Byron and Nimbin and the like, Caitlin and I saw some of the Sunshine coast at the weekend before I was heading out to get invloved with the flood relief. I didn't really know anything about the kind of work we'd be doing, but I was off to the office at Navy O clock Monday morning to find out! Unfortunately the rest of the volunteer programme weren't quite such early birds and I had an enjoyable 45 min wait before anyone else showed up. Luckily once they did arrive the programme was efficently underway and with minimal paperwork filling-in we were off to Toowoomba in central Queensland, which was one of the towns worst hit by the flooding. First order of the day was to aquaint myself with my new 'floodies' (flood buddies- yes, I am a comedy genius); I was in a team with two young English guys who had just finished college (Martyn and George) and two Korean girls (Sally and Joy), our team leader was a true Ozzy crocodile-dundee-alike called Geoff.

Upon arrival at camp we were briefed on our first days work which was to be cleaning out a community centre which had been flood damaged. We were all assigned tasks when we got there and I opted for toilet cleaning duty knowing noone else would want to be! The Korean girls asked if they could come with me (slightly dubious that they knew what we were signing up for) which they regretted horribly when they saw the state of the 'dunnies'. Not horrendously messy, but chock FULL of tree frogs. One toilet had become home to 26 of the cute critters! However, while I found the amphibians charming and cute Sally and Joy saw them as much cause for screaming and running away. The next hour or so was spent on 'frog rescue', which would have taken much less time if Geoff and I weren't the only ones prepared to pick them up. To be fair Joy did have a go at holding one of the green croaky chaps, but with classic comic timing the frog decided to relieve itself all over her hands as soon as she picked it up which resulted in yet more screaming and me having to catch a now-airborne frog. Frog unharmed, Joy then declined to have anything more to do with the de- amphibianing process and went back to mopping floors with Sally.

Eventually the dunnys were clean, as was the rest of the property, despite the locals wind-up calls of 'Watch out for the snakes! We saw hundreds go in there!'. We were then back off to camp to meet the other floodies who had been working in different teams, in total the camp was catering for about 30 volunteers. It was really nice to meet the reminder of the volunteers as most of them were born and bred ozzys who had used up their leave from work to come and do 2 or 3 weeks helping with flood relief. I wonder how many people would do the same if such a tragedy struck England? A classic character among the group was a chap called Jonathan, who was still dredlocked despite being into his mid- 40s and enojoyed discussing what would happen if his hair started to drop out. Wearing a pink and black 'WORLD POVERTY- what are YOU doing about it?' t-shirt (for the whole week-stereotype, what stereotype?), and looking very similar to someone brandishing a clip board on the street who migh chase you for a 2 pound donation, Jonno was actually superb fun; winning the hearts of my team by introducing us to a card game with a rude name which we played ceaslessly for hours till bedtime. Other volunteers ranged from students who had time off from school to help, all the way up to Murray who must have been in his mid 70s and referred to my whole team as the 'idiot youth' (until I managed to fix the TV so he could watch the news, when he referred to me as the 'slightly less idiot youth'. Better than Jonno who referred to me as the 'one as sharp as a bowling ball'. They all liked me really.)

The rest of the week was to be spent helping farmers in remote areas put their fencing back up. Yep, that's right, I know how to strain and tie fencing now. When the floods hit farmers moved their cattle to higher ground and a lot of the low lying pastures are unusable because the fencing got demolished. If you look at the picture here of what the water did to a ROAD you can see why fences stood no chance! This work entailed lots of driving to and from sites, which led to a lot of team bonding; ranging from group renditions of ' We are the Champions', to farting competitions (to the horror or the Korean girls), to Spanish lessons, to Korean lessons, to burger eating contests, to fishing lectures, to talk-geoff-into-doing-handbrake-turns-in-the-minibus challenges, to kangaroo and snake spotting sessions, to lectures on the birds of Australia. Needless to say I learned a lot, not least that when you're in an enclosed space with two teenage boys all the windows should always be open. The farmer we had been assigned to for the week actually no longer needed our services, but his neighbour, a lovely man called Lindsay asked if we would help him out, and we were more than happy to do so! Lindsay's land was part- woodland and his fences had become wrapped around trees, and was covered in debris from the nearby railway line- it would have taken him a month with hired help to get done what we did in our four days there; we managed to get up nearly 4k of fencing in that time... amazing what you can do with so many pairs of hands! We were super lucky in that Lindsay and his wife were so greatful we were showered with homebaked muffins, cakes, fresh watermelon, sweets and pancakes. Work turned out to be much harder with our stomachs sticking out a mile! We also had great fun looking at the wildlife on the farm, the farmer literally picking up anything of interest and bringing it to show us. He found a lizard at one point, picked it up by the tail while driving and on his mobile phone to bring it back for us! He also found us a dead snake which to boys were happy to pose with for some action phots. Geoff and Lindsay were also happy to reenact the 'you call that a knife?!' classic ozzy bit to our great delight!

On the Wednesday we moved to a new camp even further out in the sticks. The government had managed to procure an old 'classic' ozzy holiday/ theme wedding resort for our usage called 'Adora Downs', which has to be one of my favourite places I've visited in Oz. The main building was an old shearing shed, the accommodation were classic labourers huts made of wood and corrugated iron, the TV room was an old school bus and once again the toilets were full of tree frogs! It was at this point we found out about the earthquake in Christchurch, and I have nothing but praise for the Australians, who still in the process of cleaning up from the floods immediately relocated their professional aid support teams to NZ to help out.

The best part of the ranch was that it had kangaroos living in it, who not only were so tame you could pet them, but who bounced into the dining hall at dinner time to see what they could pinch!! I was delighted, doubly so at the expressions on all the Ozzy faces as they explained that kangaroos NEVER do stuff like that, and they had never seen one so close either, even in a zoo! we also did manage to see some bonafide wild ones out on our travels, so I can well and truly check that box!

All in all it was an amazing week, definately the best thing I've done in Oz!

By Friday night I was back in Brizzy, and by Saturday night I was down in Sydney waiting for my flight out to New Zealand!

Brisvegas and beyond...

Yep, that’s really what the locals refer to it as. So far I have no idea why.

I was lucky enough to be picked up by my friend Caitlin at the airport in Brisbane- for those of you that don’t remember I met Caitlyn in Cuzco, Peru where we worked at Loki together; she had kindly agreed to let me stay at her house for a week or so to enable me to explore so of the East coast and of course catch up with her! Caitlin lives in a lovely suburb of Brisbane called West End which is walking distance from the city (a fact I found out when I paid $4 for the bus!) It was very nice to be staying in a house for once, having the luxury of being able to leave your towel in the bathroom and it still being there the next day is now enough to amaze me!

As Caitlin has a busy Medical school workload and schedule to keep up with we had agreed I would entertain myself. Wednesday was spent exploring the city centre, visiting art gallerys, public museums, a farmers market and walking the river and through the cultural centre. There’s absolutely no doubt that Brisbane is my favourite Ozzy city to date- metropolitan and sophisticated, but small enough to get round by Shanks pony. Actually it reminds me of Liverpool, and I love it. The weather is also more welcoming here… not Melbourne’s constant rain, nor Perth eternal baking sunshine; the temperature’s lovely and everywhere is so green. It does tend to err on the humid side but it really is beautiful.

The next day I took Caitlin’s car for a drive so I could see the Gold Coast. I was keen to make it to Byron Bay, as it’s considered the ‘must see’ of the East Coast, but I found plenty else to distract me on the way there and back. First stop of the trip was at Surfers Paradise, a stretch of beach backed with skyscrapers famous world over for its iconic surf. Apparently the design was modelled on Miami in the USA, but I infinitely preferred surfers. That said, if you really want a skyscraper adjacent beach Rio would still be my pick! I just went for a walk at Surfers, admiring the gorgeous waves and chatting to the lifeguards who are trained to rescue people using surfboards… very cool!

Next I was away to a Koala sanctuary, which was free to see all the run- of -the -mill wildlife, and an expensive $55 to cuddle a Koala. Deciding I’d rather save my money for petrol so I could see more of the coast, and definitely not wanting to pay the extra $25 for the photograph of the blessed event anyway, I stuck with the birds and lizards (Kathryn...what kind of lizard is this? It runs like a velociraptor, tis awesome) I could see for free and was on my way.

The final stop of day one was Byron Bay itself, and boy was it worth it. Despite everywhere I’ve been in the last year, Byron has to be one of the most beautiful stretches of golden sand defined coastline I’ve ever seen. I arrived mid afternoon and was soon climbing to the top of the iconic lighthouse to see the view. Followed by a swim in the sea, and a relaxing jog along the beach. I would have liked to surf there but I thought it erred on the side of irresponsible to go out alone when I’ve really only had one lesson.

My evening was spent with a group of Swedish travellers, who amused me greatly with an hour long conversation about the benefits of Ikea. Nothing like embracing the stereotype there chaps. Apparently the meatballs they serve there where worthy of the 4 hour round trip the next day to the nearest Ikea outlet, ‘tastes like home’!

In the end I fell asleep on the beach, which I’m assured is an essential travelling Ozzy experience… so I’ll check that one off my list...

The next day I walked back up to the lighthouse to enjoy the view again before moving onto the next coastal town of Ballina. I was expecting to be able to swim again here, but there was no sign of beach culture so I headed inland to a tiny village called Bangalow. So far my Australian Lonely Planet hasn’t steered me wrong. Bangalow turned out to be a fabulous return to the ‘Book of Lies’ status, as when I got there I found about as little to see as a visitor to Long Bennington might find,but without any period houses or fun little pubs. I was out of there and headed for a tiny town called Nimbin.

Nimbin has shot to fame in recent years as the ‘Pot Capital’ of Australia. An identity they have embraced with a ferocity that borders on the insane. Never-the-less I spent an enjoyable few hours wondering around the brightly coloured town. I enjoyed the museum there immensely as I have never before been to a museum that is without exhibit or coherence. Basically all the drug addicts in the town seem to have been given a small space in the museum to deface as they please, and the result is entertaining to say the least. Especially brilliant was the fact that the inside of the museum is all about living freely and money being the corrupting force of the world, and the outside of the establishment boasts a prim little sign complaining about people not paying enough to enjoy the museum, ‘this facility can’t sustain itself people!’. Classic.

My final stop was to the National Park that runs between NSW and QLD, I enjoyed several hours hiking and driving around the beautiful waterfalls, and mountain views. Sadly , despite seeing a million signs saying to watch out for them, I STILL haven’t seen a wild kangaroo. But I’m sure I will at some point… or are they fictional… who knows …

And then I was back in Brizzy for a red- wine fuelled night with Caitlin and he friends, and a weekend of preparation before I’m off to help with the flood project next week…

A very Ozzy birthday…

Getting back from Bali I only had a few short days left in Perth before jetting East to Brisbane. Seeing as this time period coincided with my birthday it was largely spent drinking on the beach and enjoying the beautiful natural surroundings of Freo with my friends. My remaining memories of my birthday night out to celebrate turning 24 consist of eating pizza and waking up on the sofa around 3am… I’m sure some other stuff happened in between. I spent my night before my birthday completing my most epic run to date… making it all the way from Fremantle to Perth and back again, which was a lovely way to spend the evening!

Actual Valentine’s day started with opening all my cards from my amazing family and friends, a MASSIVE thank you to all those who thought of me and made my day special from a million miles away! The chaps at the hostel had also got a group signed card, and my friend Lars claimed me in the name of Canada (see phot), apparently a great honour. The afternoon was spent in Perth central with my friend Laura, as it was my last day and I had managed to convince myself I had seen little of the city. I was wrong – there’s actually not much in Perth to see- and I had already hit all the major landmarks with the exception of Kings Park. Kings Park is a lovely stretch of what seems like about a million miles of beautifully maintained parky beauty, including botanical gardens with some of Australia’s rarest plants. Being the well mannered young ladies that we are, Laura and I celebrated the find by rolling down the big hill in the centre of the botanical garden, and then falling around with laughter. A good day.

The evening was spent watching episodes of House and preparing myself mentally for the 4 hour public-transport escapade it would take to get me to Perth Airport for 8.3 am in the morning. Totally worth it for the 15 dollar saving though. And I made it in time, so, as they say, no worries mate!! Brizzy here I come!

Balirilliant!

The best time to find out there is no bus to the international airport is when you’re on what you think is a bus to the international airport. Luckily this dilemma was solved by two kindly ozzy chaps who gave me a list from the centre out to where i needed to be with just 30 minutes to spare before my gate closed on the flight to Bali. No other hitches and i was in Indonesia just in time for the daily horrendous torrential downpour in the ‘leaves something to be desired’ city of Kuta. This had the twin effect of a) drenching everything I owned in about 5 seconds, and b) forcing me to befriend two young similarly drenched French chaps who were also looking for accommodation in the hopes of finding somewhere cheaper to stay if the cost was split between three. There was success on this front and along with Clement and Trevor we were in a previously- fancy hotel with swimming pool for the evening. The accommodation was well up to scratch for mangy backpacking types, though the food on offer in Kuta (traditional Indonesian fare with a ‘what the tourists want’ twist was not to my liking. I decided to head out of Kuta as soon as possible, and so after a very enjoyable swim in the hotel pool I was off on a shuttle bus bound for the central town of Ubud. I was actually surprised the public transport in Indonesia, especially a tourist hotspot like Bali, wasn’t better... I actually believe the South Am transport system is much better sorted in most places. Bali seems to suffer from some kind of Taxi- raqueteering prohibiting the public transport system from running efficiently or effectively. Actually I was disappointed that the Balinese attitude, especially around Kuta and Nusa Dua was largely centred on money grabbing as opposed to investing in the island ‘s wellbeing or original cultures.

Anyway, I was off to Ubud, where in an ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ twist I managed to procure myself lodgings in an ashram run by a Balinese medicine man; Delighted with 3 days of early meditation sessions, hiking and a minimalist diet of noodles and banana toasties (that well known Indonesian dish). Luckily I still had my days free to explore the loca

le and see the country so i was off that afternoon to Ubuds famous Sacred Monkey forest, which is a wood that is full to bursting with monkeys and ancient Indonesian temples. Think Indiana Jones. The monkeys made for an entertaining day as long as you stayed out of their way chasing each other (and me at one point!) through the forest, and making off with all the sunglasses the tourists didn’t remove (as instructed) at the gate. the next day I decided my best option was to hire a driver to see the island (you can get across most of it by car in one day... my plan exactly) first stop was to the Elephant safari park, where i had a phenomenal time riding an elephant through the Indonesian jungle. My elephant was called Roxy, and after going for a ride I was allowed to feed both her and the parks baby elephants. Next stop was the oldest temple on the Island, and admiring the views of the massive dormant volcano that dominates the place. It was slightly cloudy which was a shame, but I did know it was rainy season when I booked. My final stop was a tour of the Balinese countryside where I admired the rice fields and got guilted by local children into buying postcards. It was a truly brilliant day, and so the next day I decided to take a more relaxed meander and opted for a day of meditation (learning about the Balinese traditions of making offerings to the Hindu Gods, and the benefits of silent reflection- numb bum was the first one i found!!). I also managed an enjoyable hike into the Balinese countryside, the only upsetting side- effect of which was several nasty tick bites on my legs. My final day was spent watching Balinese dance (loud, confusing, amazing) and looking around the Ubud market (loud, confusing, amazing) and the Palace in Ubud (loud, beautiful, amazing). The next day i was away to Sanur because i found out that I could attend surf school in Kuta (a place I had no desire to return to) but be picked up and returned to Sanur. The journey to the new town was very enjoyable as I spent the hour journey travelling with two International teachers who were telling me all about their travels and a recent trip to Vietnam (SO want to go there!). Sanur is called ‘Snore’ by the tourists as its famous for having no nightlife and being very quiet. For someone coming out of a very secluded three days in an Ashram with only a Balinese medicine man and his family for company (not that they weren’t very friendly, just not very chatty, apart from laughing at my love of banana toasties- seriously... i urge you to try them! Oh and my other favourite new Indonesian dish Nasi Goering which is fried rice with a fried egg on top, YUM.). I liked Sanur a lot, I was keen to organise my surf lesson and so I set it up for the next day and then spent the remainder of the time swimming in the sea and enjoying the opportunity to run along the beach frint (completely impossible in the tiny town of Ubud which is crammed with kamakazi motorcyclists). I also met two lovely American girls Paige and Josie who were flying out to Kuala Lumpur the next day, we decided to have dinner that night where we traded stories about my brief spell in hospital in Cuzco with Paige who had had an operation in Kuta (erg... nuff said) to drain an absess on the back of her neck. The girls were keen to show my the video of the operation (they had allowed an unscrubbed Josie into the room to film it!) but luckily their laptop battery had died so I wasn’t forced to repress that memory.

The next day i was away to enjoy my first ever surfing lesson. I was delighted to be quite good on a board, managing to stand up on my second attempt. My luck ran out when I got so excited i surfed my board into the beach and did a spectacular knee skinning front flip. But needless to say the very next chance i get I’ll be off on a board again! That evening was spent enjoying the company of the Balinese family who ran the home stay I was living in- i was muchly entertained by the mother who had managed to pick up the English expression ‘yeah, yeah, whatever’ and used it for everything. My final day saw a last trip to the beach (not really comparable to the beautiful ozzy beaches, but the sea there is lovely to swim in) and then hanging out with an Englsih couple who had just flown in and an Ozzy policeman who tried to convince me to join the force here!

My journey to the airport was made more enjoyable by the company of a 65 year old Canadian backpacker who told me stories of trying to get around the world by train... he’s doing quite well so far! And then it was just a case of waiting for my flight back to sunny Freo!

A final week at work

Today I'm off to Bali in Indonesia for a week, which I am super excited about.... to be honest I'm hoping for some diversity, and some culture. Australia, while lovely and beachey and hot is largely sin cultural or historical experiences. Not as bad as Miami, but I'm definately missing the sense of adventure a totally alien culture provided.
My last week in Freo has been largely without incident. I finished my thrilling telemarketing job, which while boring in itself was staffed by genuinely lovely people who made me very welcome and made me laugh through the day. We had a particularly good game in the office of sending people links through MSN that auto-opened to play songs very loudly, which if you're wearing a headset to do your telemarketing makes you jump a mile. Luckily I will see them again at my birthday night out which we're having when I'm back in Freo next weekend. Hopefully sin 'revenge of the borg' headsets this time.
Other than work I've been continuing with my running and exploring of the locale. They have a particularly lovely harbour here which is so beautiful to run along as dawn is breaking over the ocean.
I haven't ventured back to the swimming pool as of yet, for fear of ending up with a crispy back again, but hopefully I will get in another swim before I move on.
This week (as i'm sure you all know) North Queensland was ravaged by Cyclone Yasi, and I have to say I have been nothing but impressed with the response of the Oz emergency services who took everythign in their stride and managed to avoid any reported casualties to date. I have serious doubts that, if faced with a similar incident, the British services would be capable of responding half as efficently. Lets hope we never have to find out.

Right... off to catch my flight now! Yay!