The Big Trip...

Hey everyone!

On Friday i spent a lovely day by the lagoon sunbathing and cementing my tan, and then just had a chilled out night with Kate in the hostel, watching White Chicks and eating home made spag bol - yum!

Saturday it rained AGAIN so i just wandered around the shops in Cairns and got myself organised for diving (i.e. buying sea-sickness tablets and more factor 30 suncream - the sun is crazily strong here!). At night, me gemma, rich, kate, and 2 new friends i picked up at teh hostel (paul (oz) and heather (usa)) went to the cinema to see Deja vu - what a treat to go to the movies...haven't been since i was in glasgow so thouraghly enjoyed that!

Today (sunday) i was up at the crack of dawn to be picked up by Cairns Dive School for my first day of training in my quest to becoming a certified scuba diver. The day was split in 2: the morning was spent in a classrom where we had to watch videos about diving, the safety measures to take and all about the equiptment, and then the real fun began when we got into the 4 metre deep pool.

Here's your scuba lesson for the day:

You need to put weight belts around you so that you dont float on the surface of the water, and so that you can actually dive. Apparantly, i'm very buoyant so i needed to put about 4 kilo's of weight on me to make myself sink, compared to the 1 kilo everyone else in my group needed - great! I thought i was going to be on the surface forever, but we finally got the right weights for me. Once you have the weight belt on, and the BC (basically a big life jacket thing that u can control how inflated it gets), your compressed air on your back, fins and mask, you are good to go.

Going underwater was amazing...you feel as if you are flying and you get such a buzz from it (or mabye that was the nitrogen :S). We learnt how to help your 'buddy' if they are in trouble, and vice versa; how to breathe properly underwater; how to descend and ascent without getting ill etc etc etc.

Anyway, sitting in the internet cafe after completing my homework (yes, we have questions and answer sheets to fill out - its not all fun and games this travelling malarky!), i'm feeling a bit fragile - think i may have decompression sickness (although all you who know me well probs are just shaking their heads in amusement - i know i am a hypochondriac, but still............). I'll mention it to the instructors tomorrow and hopefully they will dismiss just as quickly as you readers are!

Anyway, i am very tired tonight, so its going to be an earlish one as I am being picked up by the dive school again at 7am tomorrow. Going to go for dinner with Kate somewhere and then just going to chill out with rich and gemma at their hostel for a few hours before heading to bed.

Next time i'll update this blog i'll have been out on the Great Barrier Reef for 3 days - how cool!!!

Take care everyone

xxxxx

Hey everyone!

So, i left mission beach a day early. I woke up on my supposedly second full day and the rain seemed heavier than the day before (and i did not thing that this was even possible!) so i rearranged my greyhound ticket and i was outta there! I was quite sad to leave the hostel as it was really nice (anyone - if you ever go to mission beach stay at Scotty's) but there was nothing to do in that weather! So after a blissful sleep (the 3 anti-histamenes that the pharmacist told me to take before bed (ye,seems a lot, i know) knocked me out in about 2 minutes) i set off on my last bus journey in oz to Cairns (pronounced Cains - silent 'r'). The rain had actually passed whn i got here which was nice but, dont worry, it was back on by the afternoon!

The hostel that i am staying at is a bit out of the way but my friend from Sydney, Kate, is here so its realyl nice to catch up with her. We spent yesterday afternoon just walking into the town and having a browse around before heading on a big pub crawl at night. It was so wierd, i was standing in one of the bars (the Woolshed) and i bumped into my good friend Dean (who has been travelling up the coast practically at the same time as me, but i though i wouldnt see him after airlie beach cause our timings were different then) and Simon and Kate (people i was on the whitsundays with). It's so strange the amount of people you bump into here! I also met a couple of guys from Harvie Ave in Glasgow - small world!

Today i got up and realised that my bites were no better and that they were starting to annoy me so i decided to visit the doctor and it was my first and hopefully last time i have had to use the aussie health care system. It only took 2 minutes to be seen and you can see a doctor 24 hours a day here without going to hospital - fantastic! (much better than the NHS) anyway, sorted out the bites so now i can get on with the travelling and start enjoying myself again!

Since i was in town, i met up with Gemma, Richard, Kelly and Jennie for lunch (all people i was on the whitsundays and fraser island with) - Kel and Jen were leaving this afternoon so it was kind of a goodbye lunch.

Cairns is my last port of call in Oz but i have lots planned whilst i am here. On sudnay i start a 5 day scuba dive course toget certified which should be amazing so long as the impending cyclone doesnt hit (its supposed to, but the weather here schanges so often i'm hoping it mite miss us). After my diving i'm going to Port Douglas for a couple of days and into Cape Tribulation for a few days before i fly to NZ- so lots to look forward to!

Hope everyone is doing well at home...keep emailing me cause i love hearing all the gossip

love danielle xxxxxxxx

Hey

I'm in Mission Beach now and its raining! Yes, i know its the wet season here, but still...rain?!?!

I was soo glad to get out of Maggie Island..didnt feel very well whilst i was there and got bitten to shreds by the mozzies and firefly's.

When i arrived in Mission BEach i was much happier - its a very relaxed, chilled out place where everyone either sits around doing nothing, or goes sky diving...pretty strange.

Anyway, today i ventured out to the shops here which consist of the bar minimum, to buy myself some anti-histimenes to help me deal with the abundence of mozzie bites that adorn my body, and then i spent the rest of the day in a drowsly state, reading my book and watching movies. a bit of a waste of a day, but the rest was very much needed to be fair.

Not much else to tell - met some really nice people here and everyone just sits out on the balcony of teh hostel chatting - its a very sociable hostel.
i haver another full day here where i am going to try and get into teh national park if the weather is not too bad, and then i'm off to Cairns for my final stop in Oz.

Danielle xxx

First, i want to set out that when i woke up this morning, i decided that Maggie Island (as the aussies call it) is actually an absolutely beautiful place that i could easily spent a week in.

However, yesterday my impressions were slightly different...i'll rewind...

I left Airlie Beach at around 2pm after having a late breakfast with gemma and richard (to cure our mild hangovers from australia day where we managed to go to every bar along the main strip in airlie beach) and got on the greyhound for Maggie Island. A few girls that i met on the whitsundays (susie, charlotte and pippa) were also on my bus and staying at the same hostel which was very convenient as it was quite a mission to get there. We arrived into Townsville (Queensland's 2nd biggest city after Brissy) at around 7pm and went straight to the ferry terminal to get our boat to the island. This was about a 20 min ferry ride. Once we got off the ferry we then had to get another bus to the hostel (first time the hostel has not picked me up!). When we arrived we were absolutely exhausted to be fair!

Anyway, we were starving and there was a cafe in the hostel. We arrived at 8pm on the dot and they said that they stopped serving at 8pm so we were none to happy as this hostel is in the middle of nowhere!!!!! We checked into our room which was basic, but it was fine, and decided that we would have to get a taxi to find some dinner.

Being complete 'flash packers' (backpackers dont do taxis - but we had no choice) we called a taxi and this complete wierdo turned up to pick us up. with 4 of us against 1 of him, we decided that he would have to do. Anyway, he started singing to us in the taxi and making us join in - was so bizzare. Think he was probably drunk. Nonetheless he got us to Horsehoe Bay in one piece. Although there were 5 or so restaurants there, they were all closed bar one that sold pizza. Apparantly, in Maggie Island, all kitchens everywhere shut at 8pm! Its now 9:30pm and the 4 of us are sitting in a local pub eating pizza, in the middle of nowhere. We thought we would have to wait until the last bus at midnight to take us back (no more crazy taxis for us) but the woman who worked in the pub offered us a lift home - think she felt sorry for us cause we were moaning so much about the lack of life after 8pm in this place.

Upon arriving back, we decided to go straight to bed, convinced that things would be better in the morning (i've learned not to judge places when you arrive there in the dark). When we walked into our room we realised that it had been infested with all sorts of insects - i'm not talking a few little bugs here and there, but hundreds upon hundreds of ants, spiders, maggots, cockroaches...it was absolutely disgusting.

Raging, we stormed to reception (which was obviosuly closed, cause of our luck) and found someone to change our rooms for us. After about a 20 minute fight that we either wanted new rooms or our money back,. he eventually upgraded us to better rooms in the hostel that were bug free.

Finally got to sleep around 1am. Crazy day.
Alright - enough ranting.

Today, though, i realise that the island is absolutely beautiful...never seen so much greenery in my life. The hostel has a big swimming pool, so i'm just going to chill out here today, as i leave tomorrow for mission beach.

hope everyone is well

love danielle
xxx

Hey everyone!

I've just had a great few days...

Tuesday i spent the day in Airlie Beach just relaxing and sorting myself out..i.e. booking hosltes and buses etc, and I had an early night in preparation for the Whitsundays.

On Wednesday, our boat 'The Pride of Airlie' departed from Airlie Beach for a 3 day 2 night excursion around the 70 or so islands that make up the Whitsundays. Despite our fears for thunderstoms and rain (it is the monsoon season here) it was glorious sunshine for the entire trip, reaching temperatures of 37 degrees!

The first day we (around 70 of us) just sailed around some of the islands, taking in the scenery, before making our way to the resort on South Molle Island. The resort was so luxurious, with golf, tennis, a spa...sheer decadence for any backpacker! Had a great night as they put on a disco and there was cheap alcohol so a good time was had by all!

We were up at 6am the next day to set sail and we went to Whitehaven Island to go snorkelling and to sunbathe on the pure white beach there. Absolutely stunning! We then sailed around for a while more before heading back to the resort where we had some extra time to enjoy all the resort had to offer. AFter dinner and a few drinks, we all headed to bed as it had been a very very long day in the sun.

On our final day we went snorkelling and saw some amazing coral and fish..was fantastic. We got back to Airlie Beach at around 2pm.

Today is Australia Day so there are big parties everywhere, and everyone from my boat is staying in the same hostel so it looks like we'll all be partying together!

Tomorrow i head up to Magnetic Island to relax for a few days - its been very hectic with Fraser Island and the Whitsundays!

Hope everyone is well at home
love danielle xxx