Embracing the hippy-ness...
Trip Start
Nov 11, 2007
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12
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Trip End
Feb 11, 2007
Byron Bay,
Australia
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Ok so on monday 10th me, mel and catherine went to Australia Zoo, home of the crocodile hunter, or Steve Irwin to give him his proper name. Sadly he is no longer around but we still had the most amazing day! Going round the zoo and seeing the conservation work he has put in place already and the work that will continue in his and his family's name as his dream is carried out was fantastic.
We got picked up from our hostel by th tour company Croc Connections and driven to the zoo which took about an hour and a bit from Bris. The bloke who drove the bus used to work for Steve so he knew all the best things to tell us about him and the zoo, plus how to avoid wasting time there. When we got dropped off we headed straight for the Crocoseum to see the Crocs live show. This was a typically cheesey but fun show with the keepers showcasing birds, snakes and finally a massive saltwater croc. They told us loads about the animals there and how to avoid any dodgy situations with them. Watching the croc stalk the keeper from the water before finally launching at him out of the water to get the meat in his hand took my breath away a few times!! It was very cool to see!
After the show we ate in the food court surrounded by koalas in the trees around us and then we set off to explore the zoo. We saw so many animals , the majority of them native to oz like dingo's, echidnas (like a hedgehog crossed with an anteater), koalas, wombats, lizards and even cassowaries. I stroked a blue tongued lizard, a gorgeous wombat I wanted to take home and a koala. The best bit though was going into Roo heaven where the roos just roamed around mostly lazing in the shade and you could just go up and stroke them! It was great and they are so soft! I fed an elephant but it wasn't as good as when you could get up close and personal with them in thailand and I even braved the venomous snake house and managed to take a few photos of them too. I'm getting brave lol! Also saw some tigers, giant tortoises, emus, and cute tasmanian devils plus, obviously, loads of crocs, both 'salties' and 'freshies'. As we got told throughout the day 'Crocs Rule!'
After spending all day wandering around, we had a little look in the shop and bought a souvenir or 2 and then we got back on our bus to take us back to Bris via this great little fruit and veg shop where I had some awesome pineapple. Yum! After getting back and having tea we entered into the pub quiz at our hostel. It was a typical quiz with themed rounds and we even managed to get some of the sport questions right! It wasn't too bad except there werew massive gaps between the rounds and I was so tired from the day that I just gave up before the end and went to pack as on tuesday we were booked on the bus to move to Surfer's Paradise.
So on Tuesday we got up and ready to head to Surfers, which we'd heard was bascially a place for going out and getting drunk and surfing and thats it. Whoever said that was right, it's not the best place I've been in Oz in fact it's probably my least favourite place so far. It's a small coastal town trying to be something it's not with high rise building and posh city like bars and restuarants. The shopping was good though and I did have to rein myself in a few times to stop myself blowing my budget lol! We spent 4 nights there and left on yesterday (saturday) morning. When we got there we decided to dump our stuff and go and explore the town centre which was a short walk away from our hostel. We found the shops and supermarkets easily and bought some food. We were then stopped by 2 blokes who managed to get us to buy tickets to a pub crawl the following night promising lots of free drinks and entries into the best bars and clubs for the whole 4 nights we were in town. The first night we decided to take it easy and just had a few bottles of wine between us and headed home about midnight after a bit of a dance in a bar/nightclub called Shooters. The music everywhere was pretty typical chav and I have to be very drunk to be able to dance to 50 cent, Kanye and the like all night.
Wednesday started early as we were woken by builders hammering and drilling directly underneath our room at 7am! This did mean I could go and call Jack though which was nice. This continued for every morning we were there and the longest lie in I got was that first day at 7am. We were generally woken aroun 6am most days. It was crap and we complained a few times but no apology was given by the manager at all. Total crap, called Backpackers in Paradise, don't go there! I spent the day by the pool until about 2pm when it started to get cloudy showing us what was to come. The heavens opened about half an hour later and we had a storm complete with thunder and lightning. The pub crawl started at 5 anyway so we started to get ready hoping the rain would stop but it just got worse, so we booked a taxi to the first place. It rained all night so going between places was a nightmare for the straight haired girl i.e. me! When we got there we had to choose a sticker - green for single and orange for taken. Obviously I went for orange being an attached girly and Jen did too and the 2 single girlies went for green! The first drinks were in at 5:30 and by half nine and lots of free and cheap prices later I was a very wobbly girl. Yep I was back at the hostel by half 10 lol! Lightweight!!! Jenna came with me and we had chips to try and sober up a bit. Mel and Catherine preceded to stay out and actually stayed out all night the naughty girls!!
I woke on wednesday (at 6am cos of hammering Grrrrrr) with a headache and bad tummy! This was made worse as it sounded like the builders were trying to break the floor to our room. After tryin to sleep through the vibrating bed I finally gave in and went to lay by the pool which I did all day until we had to shower and change for our next night out - 3rd night in a row! O the stupidity but we knew it was ladies night on thursdays which meant FREE champers so we weren't gonna miss out on that one! Went to a club called Bedroom which was actually quite nice and full of massive beds to sit on with big cushions! We got stuck into the free champagne and were waited on by a topless men so we didn't even have to move off the beds! We were then treated to a stripper who came out in full top gun regalia and went for it! He was sooo cheesy and obviously loved himself it was hilarious! So good in fact that I left before the end to go to the loo and missed a treat apparently with him writhing in a thong. Lovely - not!
After the free champers offer ended we decided to leave as we'd had a bit of a dance and were pretty drunk anyway so we were home for about midnight again. Seriously I'm getting too old for lots of nights in a row. We were woken again at 7am by the building, it was very annoying but no amount of complaining to the manager helped us. I felt so ill on friday it wasn't good but I managed to drag myself out of bed and eat something. You really couldn't stay in the room cos it was vibrating so much. I spent another day by the pool before giving into the shop temptation and bought a new dress and a top quite cheaply. I came back and packed as we would be leaving for Byron Bay in the morning and I wanted to be ready so I wouldn't be messing about packing on the day we were leaving. Me Jolly and Jenna had already said we couldn't do the fourth night in a row which mel wasn't pleased about but we spent a lovely evening playing rude scrabble (so funny) and teaching jolly and jen how to play Newmarket (a card game - ask mum or dad). Had an early night because we needed it and then it was saturday morning and time to move on.
We left for Byron and left Queensland behind us and crossed over into New South Wales which meant the time difference between me and u icicles over there is now +11hours. After getting off the bus and finding out where our hostel was, we walked to short distance and checked in. We're now in a 16 person dorm which is a treat (and a mess lol) but it's fun cos everyone here seems really friendly. We were walking around getting our bearings when I met up with Selina again and she suggested a night out. We thought 'what the hell it is saturday' so we agreed to meet later. We shopped for some supplies and then headed back to shower and get ready and headed to a bar called Cheeky Monkey which was offering $2 wine, beer and champagne between 8-9pm. It was a really nice bar and we spent a great time being enthusaistic about the music which wasn't chavvy for once! They even played me Fallout Boy which I was very happy about. One boy decided to tell me I was gorgeous to which I replied thanks but I've got a boyfriend thank u very much and then he said, much to mine and jen's amusement, well you tell him he's a very lucky guy and walked off!! Lol! So there u go baby apparently you're one lucky bloke ;o) Hehehe!
Headed home quite early cos me and mel had a bit of a tiff which is ok today by the way (just drink talking me thinks but I'm leaving it alone and assessing the situation) and today we have spent lazing around - AGAIN! We made camp just off the beach on the grass so we didn't get sandy and I have laid in the sun all day! I'm working on my tan hehe. We had fish and chips for lunch staring at the sea with the sun shining down! I don't think there's any better way to eat fish and chips. I really like Byron Bay cos it's so chilled out and there's lots of lovely little shops (oh dear), it's not commercialised at all. Think tonight's gonna be a night in and a shared meal together - hooray not beans on toast or pasta and sauce!!! Think the plan for Byron is basically just to chill out here before getting to Sydney where it's gonna be a lot more fast paced as it's gonna be packed out over the festive period!
Can't believe it's almost christmas! Hope everyone's gearing up for some great celebrating and I'll be thinking of you all! Don't forget about me just cos I'm over here and trust me, I'm sending massive christmas love to everyone!! Have lots of fun, dance, be merry (or wasted it's up to u) and enjoy!
Lots of love to everyone, Smiffy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
