TravelStream™ news feed for member ravntina on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/ravntina en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:14:30 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1193634900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1193634900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1193634900/tpod.html Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:14:30 -0500 Rav n Tinas Worldwide Adventure!!!!

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Rainbow Beach, Australia

1770
After Airlie we made our way to a town called 1770. It was a tiny little place with only 600 residents. There wasn't much to do here if you weren't into surfing.
As we were only staying 1 day we took a tour around the place (which didn't take long) & then headed to the beach.
The hostel we stayed in was lovely we had to have the last room available which was like a big shed at the bottom of the garden - but it was nice.
The grounds had a lake & swimming pool etc & it was so relaxing.
We were meant to get the 6am bus to Rainbow beach because we had booked a 3 day tour but unfortunately the lady at the hostel forgot to book us on so the bus didn't come to pick us up!!!
It was a bit of a nightmare because there were no more buses that day so we couldn't make the tour. Luckily they rearranged it so we could do the day trip instead & we managed to get a couple of free nights accommodation out of it!


After 1770 we headed to Rainbow beach, another small town with a beach but not really much else to do. The main reason people come here is to go to Fraser Island.
Fraser Island is a 75 mile beach Island with a rainforest! There are no roads on the island so you have to drive on the sand! Our first stop of the trip was to Maheno shipwreck. It has been there since & was originally 50ft wide!
Then we went to see the coloured sands on the rocks. Just before lunch we got to walk through Eli creek. It was lovely & the current was so strong that it practically carried you all the way back! After lunch we went to a fresh water lake called "lake Mckenzie" - it was the best water we have seen so far!! The sand is there is so pure that people use it to clean their jewellery.
We wish we could have stayed there forever. Our next stop was a walk in the rainforest & we got to see Wanggodba creek. This was known as Ghost creek to the aborigines as the water was so clear. The water is so pure you can just drink it from the lake. The highlight of our trip though was our plane ride over the Island. It was spur of the moment, we just got off the coach & on to this tiny plane!
It took off & landed right on the beach & was so shaky in the air it was pretty scary!

The next morning we got up early and went to Tin Can Bay where we got to hand feed some little humpback dolphins which was amazing.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1194159840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1194159840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1194159840/tpod.html Sat, 24 Nov 2007 15:34:18 -0500 Rav n Tinas Worldwide Adventure!!!!

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Brisbane, Australia

We were quite disappointed with Brisbane - there wasn't really much to see or do! The weather was also cold & miserable so our 1st day was spent watching DVD's in our room. On the evening we wanted a curry so decided to walk to this place we had a voucher for as it wasn't far! When we couldn't find it we asked for directions & realised it was the other side of the bridge (about 45 mins away) We really wanted it so carried on walking anyway!
After another day in Brisbane not doing much we were looking forward to Sydney...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1193982900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1193982900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1193982900/tpod.html Sat, 24 Nov 2007 15:33:04 -0500 Rav n Tinas Worldwide Adventure!!!!

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Noosa, Australia

This was probably our favourite town in Australia - It was actually different from the others with lots more to do. When we arrived though we didn't realise there was a triathlon so the streets were mayhem!
We booked some accommodation but when we went to our room there were people in there! The hostel had made a mistake & there were no more rooms available so we stayed in the staff lodgings! It was wicked - we had our own 3 bed house with kitchen TV & DVD player.
We were gutted we were only staying 2 nights. We also got some free beers out of it! The manager wanted to move us after the 1st night but we said we were fine where we were!!! When we woke up though we realised we weren't alone - in the hallway was a massive spider! we were so worried it was poisonous we hardly slept! The next day we went to Steve Irwin's zoo. It was really quite sad because there was so much memorabilia etc around!
The following day we had a couple of hours free before our bus so we played a game of tennis & went for a swim. Because where we stayed was quite out of the way it was surrounded by wild kangaroos - they just came & sat outside your room or just outside the pool area - it was wicked.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1195889700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1195889700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1195889700/tpod.html Sat, 24 Nov 2007 02:36:33 -0500 Rav n Tinas Worldwide Adventure!!!!

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Christchurch, New Zealand

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Sydney, Australia

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]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1193291280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1193291280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1193291280/tpod.html Tue, 06 Nov 2007 01:42:14 -0500 Rav n Tinas Worldwide Adventure!!!!

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Airlie Beach, Australia

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]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1193118180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1193118180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1193118180/tpod.html Tue, 06 Nov 2007 01:23:29 -0500 Rav n Tinas Worldwide Adventure!!!!

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Mission Beach, Australia

We arrived in mission beach & found a lovely little hostel. It had a pool, camp fire, nice big kitchen & the owners were very friendly. There's not a lot to do here but it's a lovely place to relax. We originally only had 1 day here but decided to stay an extra day because we liked it so much.

We went to the beach which was great - it was massive & practically empty. The sun here burns so much as there's no ozone layer so you can't stay out too long. So after a while we went back to our hotel & relaxed round the pool in the shade.

The 2nd day was pretty much spent lazing around - we slept in most of the day then just watched a few DVD's & lay by the pool. It was so relaxing here & we managed to save some money by doing nothing!

Then we headed to Airlie Beach to go sailing around the Whitsunday Islands...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1192686120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1192686120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1192686120/tpod.html Thu, 01 Nov 2007 02:10:30 -0400 Rav n Tinas Worldwide Adventure!!!!

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Cairns, Australia

After spending so much time on a bus it was nice to get somewhere where we could relax for a few days. Cairns is basically just restuarants, tour shops & internet cafes. There was a lovely lagoon which had a little beach & plenty of grass to laze around on so that's pretty much what we did.

The kitchen in our hostel was disgusting so we ate out all the time which got very expensive - We did find a nice little kebab shop though.

One day we tried to go the wildlife park but had trouble with buses again! There's no public transport that runs there so we decided to give it a miss.

The weather was very hit & miss here - one minute it was sunny & hot, then raining & cold & this changed hourly!

The night before my birthday we went out with a couple we met from the tour & got very drunk! It was a really good night but the next day we were paying for it!! After a little lie-in we went to the lagoon & lazed around all day & ate lots of birthday cake - we were meant to be going out that night as well but decided to just go for a nice Italian instead.

The next day was the highlight of the trip - Diving in the "Great Barrier Reef". We booked a tour to go snorkelling but we got to do an introductory dive as well! At first I was pretty scared & after 5 seconds of going under water I had to come back up because I was panicking! I tried again though & this time it was fine. The only problem we both had was our ears sore & popping but once they were fine it was amazing exploring the reef. It was just a shame it didn't last longer but we did manage to find nemo. After lunch we went to another part of the reef where we went snorkelling. We saw lots of fish but nothing we hadn't already seen in malaysia.

The next day we got the greyhound to our next stop - Mission Beach.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1192426740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1192426740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1192426740/tpod.html Thu, 01 Nov 2007 01:58:03 -0400 Rav n Tinas Worldwide Adventure!!!!

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Cairns, Australia

Another early start. This time we left at 5am to begin another 3 day driving tour upto Cairns. This tour was even more of an 'outback experience'. There were no 'proper' road and just dirt tracks. The first day driving we saw a few kangaroos in the wild which was cool. Nearly all of the day was spent driving with a few picture stop along the way. That night we stayed at a little motel in the middle of nowhere and sat round a camp fire and had dinner. The guy who owned th place had a pet kangaroo called Mary which kept everyone entertained for the nights. She was drinking beer along with the rest of us.

We had breakfast and in the kangaroo was drinking coffee - crazy. The next day was again mainly spent driving. Its unbelievable how big Australia really is. We stopped at about 9am and I had a beer. With all this travelling and early morning our bodyclocks were completly ruined!!!! We stopped at a small town along the way which was the origin of the song 'Waltzing Matilda' which apparently many Auzzies wanted as their national anthem!!!!!!

That evening we had a game of 'killer pool' and a few beers with the rest of the tour group and the locals. It was really good fun.On our last day off the tour we had a barbeque for lunch and then went swimming in a crystal clear lake in the rainforest before we finally arrived in Cairns!!!!. Looking forward to the Great Barrier Reef......
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1192167420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1192167420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ravntina/world_trip_2007/1192167420/tpod.html Thu, 01 Nov 2007 01:46:38 -0400 Rav n Tinas Worldwide Adventure!!!!

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Alice Springs, Australia

So 6am we were up ready for the tour. We left Alice Springs and our first stop was for a cup of tea and we went on a camel ride. It was the most painful experience ever. Our bums were hurting like mad when the camel started running and we just being thrown up and down. It was so much fun though. After the we had another long drive to a place called Kata Tjuta. We did a 6km walk through the red rocks and up steeps gravel slopes. Along the way a old guy in our group called Pat was struggling so we helped along most of the way. At one point he fell over and his leg came off from the knee down. We never realised he had a plastic leg. He told us how he had to have it amputated after an accident working on the ships. It was amazing that he was attempting the walk because this had only happened 5 years ago and he was pushing 80 years old. The walk itself was really good and the scenery was unbelievable,especially when we walked between the huge red rocks and all we could see in the distance was the crystal clear blue sky.

That evening we went to the iconic Ayers Rocks for the sunset. The sunset was brilliant and the colour of the rock changed as it got darker. That evening we went back and had some food and slept in a swag. These were basically big seeping bags and we slept out with nothing above us but a million stars - it felt so surreal and was such a great experience.

The next morning we were up by 4am so we were up and ready for sunrise. We went back to Ayers Rock to complete the walk around it. The walk was almost 10km but it got quite boring just walking on flat ground around the walk. We couldn't take many pictures of most of the rock because it is a sacred site to the aboriginal people and was offensive to them. After the walk we went to an aboriginal cultural centre. We then travelled on to our campsite at Kings Canyon. That afternoon we got to have a swim in pool on the cmpsite and we had a few beers at the pubs with our friend Sylvia from Holland and Pat bought us a drinks to say thanks for helping him on the walk. Even though we told him not too. We spent that night in a proper permanent tent and after dinner a few of us stayed up and had a few bottles of wine.

On our last day we went to Kings Canyon. This was the hardest of all the walks. It was only about 6km but alot of it was uphill. The Canyon was so cool. It was like we were on Mars with the red rocks and craters everywhere. We got to got right upto to the edge of the Canyon and the drop down looked quite scary. Two Japanese girls we met, Iko and Uko were crazy and literally hanging over the edge whilst one held onto the other!!! After the walk we headed back to Alice Springs. That evening we spent just having a few beers with old pat and a canadian guy we met. Up for 5am the next day we couldn't wait!!!



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