Dallas was still busy with classes till the end later in the week so he asked if I could come a little later in the week so I decided to do a 3 day trip out to Kangaroo Island.
Kangaroo is a 45 minute ferry ride off of the Fleurieu Penninsula (South Australia). It is a small island most of it being National Park and wildlife. There are a few little towns, they are small like Outback towns except, its not the Outback, it gets cold there! The tour itself was really relaxing, it was focused on wildlife and nature which was awesome. We saw kangaroos, wallabees (they hungout around our cabin), koala's (slept in the gum trees around our cabin), different types of birds, New Zealand Fur seals but, my favourite were the sea lions, they were amazing.
When we went to go see them I thought we were being taken to a sanctuary. We got to the beach and literally before you step a foot onto the sand and take in the sceneray of the ocean with it's rolling waves, with miles of beautful beach all with a backdrop of high cliffs you literally come face to face with hundreds of sea lions. They were everywhere and may I say they had picked when of the best spots. Everywhere I looked there would be groups of them just sprawled out basking in the warm morning sun. Some of the mums were swimming with their pups, other pups cried for their mums, one full grown one actually kept walking up and waking other ones up and walking away to wake up another group. All we did was sit their and watch, I had never seen them before, and to be so close in their actual environment was amazing. I really just wanted to sit their all day and watch them, it was so warm out and I felt so peacful watching them, I was quite disappointed when we had to move on.
We went into caves and hiked to beautiful beaches and sat around a bonfire at night and told ghost stories. "oh look a cricket" says our guide Clancy "I don't know why he is out right now it's not even cricket season. It's footy season!" he was such a jokester, he was always telling corney jokes, and if we were on our bus he would honk the horn twice after the punch line. "Where do bees go use the toilet? The BP station!!" Honk honk.
Even though I had slept in swag the week before I really wasn't up for it, it was quite cold and there was no fire. Two of the other girls felt the same so we decided to sleep in our swags in the cabin...or so we thought. There were so many bugs and we could hear the bats above us and within two seconds our swags and us were covered in beetles. So not having this we picked up our sleeping bags and moved ourselves to the bus, much better. The second night - which I would like to add was so cold I was in two pairs of pants, hat, hoodie and a windbreaker - we didnt take anychances and went straight for the bus.
"Well guys welcome to Australia...have any of you ever been here before" was what Clancy said to us when we got back to the mainland. "Do you guys see those big speaker like things" he said pointing to what looked like massive speakers on tall telephone poles "well it gets really hot here in the summer and the farmers play the animals music. It helps relax them in the heat." We had no idea where he was going this, we knew he was joking but we weren't sure where it was gonna end up "it's true, it helps to relax them and when they are relaxed they are healthier meaning their meat is better. For the cows and sheep they play country...and for the kangaroos they play hip hop" Honk honk.
I had one night in Adelaide and then it was off to Melbourne to see Dallas. A ten hour Greyhound to Melbourne and strangley enough I have nothing to report about the Greyhound!
It was so good to see Dallas, he was really busy with classes and work but the time we did get to spend together was awesome as always. After a few hours sleep (my first day) I went into St Kilda to meet up with Nik (from Drax) and I went back to my old hostel and it felt so wierd one of my mates was still there. After I met up with Dallas and we decided to go to the Peel for one hour, one drink...ya right. We get there and two guys and a really hot chick get turned away at the door "don't worry sweetie you are going to get in" the security guard told me "I dont get it" I said to dallas" I'm in track pants, trainers a singlet, scarf and hat. How come I can get in and they can't. " "It's one hag per fag honey" and then we went in and partied with beautiful (gay) men till some late hours into the night.
I met up with a few friends I hadn't seen. Suzanne (roomie for Cali), Amy (friend from Cali), Aidan (one of our really good mates from the Island) and of course my Dallas. My plan after Melbourne was to go to Sydney to catch up with Ryan and some other friends but, there were some work issues back in Darwin so after five fun days in Melbourne I hoped on a plane and flew back to Darwin to pack up and leave for Bali two weeks early.
And now here I am, my last night in Australia after a year. It is so wierd...I'm a little nervous to be leaving. I have never spent this long in a country other then my own. I have so many friends here that I dont know if I will ever see them again, and there is still so much I havent seen yet. I can't believe my year here has come to an end, it feels like I just got here, it all went so fast but man I gotta say...what a fucking Epic year it has been. I have had some incredible times, met amazing people and made some of the best friends of my life. To all my room 3 girls from St Kilda you were my first Aussie family and Bonnie I miss you heaps we still owe eachother that beer on the West Coast. To the most amazing peopole and place in Cairns-Calypso-Tracey, Jen, Axel, the skydive crew and Doofy. You guys are amazing and always made me feel like I was home whenever I was in Cairns and I am absolutely gutted that I couldnt make it out there for one more night of Agwa Bombs. Tracey you have no idea what your friendship means to me and I will always hold you close to my heart and Doofy, you are Calypso's heart and soul and a big part of that place is going to die when you leave and I am so greatful I got to experience the place while you were there. My little Karumba family, even though I was never happy there it's one of the places I miss the most. My island Donga Family, that was one of the highlights of my year, I was only their three weeks but you all were my world, Aidan and his lover Max, Justine with her counting system, Matty for great talks, Blair for being the best supervisor, Corey for never really knowing what was going on, Graeme for giving us safe bus rides and the best goodbye hugs, Nils for being the crazy German friend that every group has to have and anyone else who I haven't mentioned, those three weeks were unforgettable and are so cherished in my heart. To the Darwin crew - wow, where do I begin. I have had some amazing times but Darwin is the place in Australia that I consider my home, you guys are my heart and my family and I am going to miss you guys heaps. You all have been nothing but amazing to Dan and I and we love all of you. David and Jared just for being who you guys are, Trent for being a great boss and a great friend and Rosie for being nothing but amazingness.
There are a few special thank yous. First is Dallas, you are such an amazing friend. I am so glad this past year I have gotten to spend heaps of time with you, we have had tears and laughs, great nights, one night stands (not together) and amazing talks. I can't picture you not in my life and I am so glad we have managed to keep our friendship after California. If it wasn't for you I would not have done this trip and for that I am forever greatful. I will see you on the Red Carpet.
Ryan, unfortunately we didn't get to seee much of eachother but I am glad we got those two days together in Sydney. You will always be in my heart.
Alex, wow where to begin. We went from living together at a job and being acquantances to being inseperable when we were reunited in Darwin. I am going to miss you soo much. You have become my best friend and my sister , I am so going to miss our talks and man did we talk, we had the best ones. But dont worry, we have that road trip in Canada and we can catch up there.
Dan, my love. I kept pushing you away and you stuck around and now we are engaged and you are my future and I love you so much and am so excited to spend the rest of my life with you.
Last but not least, Australia. WOW what a country. It's so isolated from the rest of the world that basic everyday slangs or laws or so different. YOu almost forget about the rest of the world when you are here. You can have any type of vacation here, beach, snow, tropics, bush, city, Outhback it's all here in this amazing country and man even though I have had some rough times it's been a wild adventure and an epic year. I can't believe my year is at an end but its just onto new adventures. Next stop Southeast Asia!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Central Australia
After my 22 hours on the Greyhound I spent the next 6 days going through Central Australia, or, what the Aussies like to call "the real Australia." It was AMAZING!
Our first day we drove for about 6 hours until we arrived at our first spot, King's Canyon. 2 hours before we got there Wookie (our guide) pulls over to the side of the road and says "alright guys this is your last toilet stop until the Canyon" "where is the toilet?" "anywhere behind those bushes" I peed!
At the start of Kings Canyon there was a 300 stair climb (and not just stairs but a rocky path that was considered stairs) up to the top. All I kept thinking was "Devils Staircase" from the Tongeriro Crossing in NZ, the 9 hour hike I thought was going to kill me. Thank goodness for me and some of the others who had done Tongeriro it did not even come close to the Devils Staircase and took less then half the time. We were at the top within half an hour! and, lucky for me my vertigo existent. The canyon was amazing, the views were spectacular, we learned about how it was formed as well as the different vegetation that grows throughout the canyon such as Ghost Gum Trees - they are covered in a powder which makes them look like they are glowing at night and also works as a sunscreen on skin in the day time - and rock mint - mint leaves that grow in the rock which works as a rohipnol for kangaroos.
By the time we got back to our bus it was past 4pm and the sun would soon be setting so we made our drive to bush camp (not sure how long it took because I slept most of the way though I was awake to see the iconic rock in the distance which made me even more excited for our trek there the next day.
Before we went to the camp we had to go get enough fire wood to last us the night. We were told to break down old trees, they had to be this size, this thick make sure you take the branches off, thats to big, thats to small. Covered in scratches and dirt I looked at Wookie and said "this wasn't in the brochure" "it's bush life, just experience it" was his reply.
The sun had set by the time we got to bush camp. Wookie (our guide) pounded the song "Hwy to Hell" on the radio has he sped down a pitch black road out into the bus. Our dinner (chilli con carne) was cooked over the bonfire - which we all helped cook, and cooking just like the firewood wasn't in the brochure- and we all sat around the fire eating and enjoying a few beers. We cleaned up and did the dishes (not in the brochure) and then we all got into our swags and slept around the fire. It was a little creepy at first. I mean out in the bush in Australia, with Australian bugs and snakes that can kill you. We were all using "bush toilets" because there was no way we were using the outdoor dunny. I wasn't even tired and almost everyone was asleep, I was so Dan sick at this point at least I cold snuggle him and feel safe, but I didn't have him so i just put on my iPod and looked up at the sky which was pretty amazing. I could hear a few voices which made feel better that I wasn't the only one awake and finally drifted off to sleep.
It was a 5am wake up the next morning. No one really slept that well and it turns out that mostly everyone thought everyone else was sleeping and they were the only ones awake haha. We made use of the "bush toilets" which was kind of funny because all us girls went around the back of the same bush and you would turn your head and see someone elses ass stuck out while they made the morning tinkle and there was an akward "morning" with a giggle.
Once again off in the distance The Rock was there and the sign said "Uluru 150km" Imagine how big it is if we can see it from that far away. "Alright guys when I count to three I want you to yell it's name so it can hear you. I want The Rock to hear you. 1 2 3" "ULURU" "Again" "ULURU" "one more time" "ULURU' "Alright guys that is Mt Conner that you are seeing not Uluru. It is always mistaken for Uluru. The Aboriginals did not fight to get Mt. Conner back because it is considered to be bad luck and they say that whenever a storm starts it comes from Mt Conner" It really did have an eerie kind of look to it. It's like it was just sitting there looking down at us with it's blackness *shivers*
Our first stop that morning was Kata Tjuta which means many heads and Kata Tjuta has 36 "heads". Kata Tjuta is so sacred that there is only one walk for the public eye, The Valley of the Winds, the rest is so sacred to the Aboriginal men that the Aboriginal women only get to see parts of it. Our guide was not sure why it is so sacred because there is not much information known. The wierd thing is when I got there and stood infront of it I said "WOW! I feel like I am standing infront of something so sacred!" It was incredible. I had only seen it on postcards, I really didn't even know what it was I honestly just thought it was a few massive rocks, but it was so much more then that. The 36 heads stretch around for miles and every side of it looks completely different. The walk through the Valley of the Winds was like something out of a fairy tale. The heads just surrounded us with the bluest sky that made the heads almost look like a water colour painting settled in the perfect green of the grass which apparantly only happens every 50 years. I loved it! I could've set up camp and lived there but unfortunately I wasn't aloud and we still had Uluru to see, the real one.
I wasn't as taken with Uluru as I was with Kata Tjuta. Don't get me wrong its incredible but I think it's one of those things that is just so built up by others, so when you get there you are expecting more; but, with that being said what I learned about the rock took my breath away. The history of the rock and how important and significant it is to the Aboriginal Culture and Australian history is amazing. I would love to write about everything I have learned but when telling the Aboriginal Dreamtime you need to tell it word for word or else the stories and the facts get all muddled up and dont come out right. The guides are actually trained and tested on these stories. The Aboriginal take so much pride in their stories that you can not tell them wrong, so with that respect I am not going to tell any stories. But, I will say this; there is a walk up the rock. Some business owners in the 60's decided they wanted to put a walk up it to create business at there road houses - water, food, camping etc. When the Aboriginals got Uluru back from the white man one of the conditions was that the walk not be taken down. The walk consists of metal poles and a chain that were put in in the 60's and never been changed therefore it is extremely unsafe. The Aboriginals are still fighting to take it down and not necessarily for that reason. If you go to someones house and they ask you to take your shoes off you do out of respect. If you go to there place of worship you respect it even if it is not your place of worship because you ahve respect. Well, it's the same for Uluru. It's like there Cathedral and people walk all over it (baby nappies have been left up top as well as other rubbish), it is not being respected. If we can't respect it then why should they share everything about themselves with us? None of us walked it. I thought it was just a rock, it`s so much more then that. It`s history!
That night we had dinner with wine watching the sunset over Uluru, it was pretty cool, especially when you look at that postcard picture you have seen so many times and now you are looking at the real thing. I missed Dan so much. Watching the sunset of the Iconic Uluru without him just didn`t seem as amazing as it should have. Same with sunrise the next morning, it could`ve used a little bit of Dan. Plus it was freezing. I didn`t even want to get out of my swag in the morning I was so cozy all curled up like a little catterpillar in it`s cocoon, I wasn`t ready to turn into a butterly that morning.
After sunrise we had the base walk around Uluru. Nothing like a 9km walk first thing in the morning. Some parts were alright and other parts were amazing. One spot jst took my breath away. I just stood there looking at it thinking ``wow, something great took place here`` I so wish I had a time machine so I could go back in time and watch the history of Uluru take place. We had a few kilometers to go when I realized we missed the waterhole that Wookie told us not to miss. Pete, Pedro and I turned around to walk back passing the others in the group. We walked fast checked it out and started making our way back. We were almost at the carpark when I see our bus driving up the street ``oh no not again. `` ``there is no way thats our bus`` said pete ``well then why is Andreas hanging out the front windo waving at us. It`s definatly him I recognize his bright yellow shirt`` ``shit. do you think Wookie is mad, do you think they will stop`` ``I hope so`` we start running back where we came from. Wookie stoped at a little path and waited for us with a smile on his face.
It was a long drive back and I was pooped when we got back to Alice Springs. I was so looking forward to a goodnight sleep in a comfy (bunk) bed, though it was too early when my alarm went off the next morning at 6am as I had to be up for another 3 day tour to make my way to Adelaide.
This trip started off with a lesson in wild life. Whenever there was an animal on the road Diesel (our guide) would pull over to a yuey and stop, hop out of the car and pick it up and bring it over to us (except for the brown snake, the dingo and the bull) we definatley got some great photos. Our first stop was the NT and SA State borderline. I actually got to be in two places at once, who knew it was possible! After dorky pictures we hoped back in and made our way down to Coober Pedy. I was so excited! I have been wanting to go to Coober Pedy since I got to Australia. Coober Pedy is an opal mining town (I believe it`s 80% of the worlds opals) where everything, even the houses are built underground. I was couldnt wait...I had waited a year and finally the day had arrived that I would get to see my little underground town and sleep in an underground bunker. Diesel said it was awesome...he loves it there. All the roads and sidewalks are underground, they have an underground nightclub, there is a big elevator that lowers the vehicles down onto the road. Oh and when it rains it can get a little messy. I couldn`t wait. As we got closer we could see piles and piles for miles for the underground mines, it was quite an interesting site, we were getting closer. Finally the Welcome to Coober Pedy sign, my camera was ready.
As we entered my mouth dropped. There were streets, cars, houses...all above ground. ``I couldnt resist you were so excited. don`t worry 75% of the town is underground`` it so was not what I was expecting, I dont know what I was expecting but when you hear underground town your expectations are a little high. The town it`self is nothing much to look at, it`s actually quite ugly. There is no green, it`s all dust and sand, our underground bunker was cool but nothing special. I thought at least the underground nightclub would be awesome but no...it just look like a regular club with stone walls it actually sucked and the dj is putting your own money into a juke box and playing what you want. How corney is that, pfft. It was a pretty early night for all of us except the two German guys who decided to stay up drinking with the other tour group and lock themselves out so they banged on the door at 2am and kept me awake. I called them on it the next morning and they said I was being a child ``so because you got drunk, got locked out, banged on the door and kept me awake i`m being a child`` ``yes``` as if
It was a 430 wakeup and we were off to the Southern Flinders Ranges. On our way down we got to stop off at Lake Heart. The lake itself is completely dried up and in it`s place...salt. It`s really wierd, I felt like i was walking on ice but yet it was so crystal like at the same time, I kept forgetting it was salt. It did have water on it that was about ankle deep, apparantly the water only happens once in awhile but it does happen and when you take your feet out they aer just covered in salt, they almost feel like they didnt get wet, it is such a high concentration of salt.
We got to the Southern Flinders Rangers and did a hike down to Alligator Gorge or Smelligator Gorge as there was a dead wallibee and it stunk up the place. We spent the night at a camp ground in doors and I got my own room which was awesome, no fireworks between me and the Germans. The next morning was a chilled out wakeup, we got to take our time and sleep in till 8am which was so nice. We drove through the little town Melrose which is the first town in the Flinders and it is absolutely stunning. Everything in SA is stunning, it reminds me a lot of NZ.
Now I am in Adelaide staying in Glenelg Beach. I honestly don`t know why I didnt come here sooner. It`s amazing! Glenelg is like the St Kilda of Adelaide except less grungy. I`m staying right on the beach and it`s gorgeous. The place has such a vibe, its got shops, cafes, restaurant, beach volleyball courts, a jetty that the kids jump off of into the water a beautiful park area on the beach and the palm trees give it that Santa Monica feel. The Adelaide CBD is beautiful, it`s got a vibe as well (though the Fringe festival was going on) it`s not busy and confined like most cities it`s a little more spread out and so relaxed no one seems to be in a hurry. The mall reminds me of The Grove in Hollywood...its so awesome. I keep telling Dan we have to move here lol.
I am so glad I have done Central Australia...the past week has been awesome and I feel so different towaqrds Australia. There is so much to it and so much of the worlds history takes place here and as for the Aborignals, it`is such ashame that we see the drunk ones living on the streets and begging because their culture is not only fantastic but it is the oldest one in the world. This trip down has given me a completely different respect for the culture and I am so glad I got to see and learn what I did.
Our first day we drove for about 6 hours until we arrived at our first spot, King's Canyon. 2 hours before we got there Wookie (our guide) pulls over to the side of the road and says "alright guys this is your last toilet stop until the Canyon" "where is the toilet?" "anywhere behind those bushes" I peed!
At the start of Kings Canyon there was a 300 stair climb (and not just stairs but a rocky path that was considered stairs) up to the top. All I kept thinking was "Devils Staircase" from the Tongeriro Crossing in NZ, the 9 hour hike I thought was going to kill me. Thank goodness for me and some of the others who had done Tongeriro it did not even come close to the Devils Staircase and took less then half the time. We were at the top within half an hour! and, lucky for me my vertigo existent. The canyon was amazing, the views were spectacular, we learned about how it was formed as well as the different vegetation that grows throughout the canyon such as Ghost Gum Trees - they are covered in a powder which makes them look like they are glowing at night and also works as a sunscreen on skin in the day time - and rock mint - mint leaves that grow in the rock which works as a rohipnol for kangaroos.
By the time we got back to our bus it was past 4pm and the sun would soon be setting so we made our drive to bush camp (not sure how long it took because I slept most of the way though I was awake to see the iconic rock in the distance which made me even more excited for our trek there the next day.
Before we went to the camp we had to go get enough fire wood to last us the night. We were told to break down old trees, they had to be this size, this thick make sure you take the branches off, thats to big, thats to small. Covered in scratches and dirt I looked at Wookie and said "this wasn't in the brochure" "it's bush life, just experience it" was his reply.
The sun had set by the time we got to bush camp. Wookie (our guide) pounded the song "Hwy to Hell" on the radio has he sped down a pitch black road out into the bus. Our dinner (chilli con carne) was cooked over the bonfire - which we all helped cook, and cooking just like the firewood wasn't in the brochure- and we all sat around the fire eating and enjoying a few beers. We cleaned up and did the dishes (not in the brochure) and then we all got into our swags and slept around the fire. It was a little creepy at first. I mean out in the bush in Australia, with Australian bugs and snakes that can kill you. We were all using "bush toilets" because there was no way we were using the outdoor dunny. I wasn't even tired and almost everyone was asleep, I was so Dan sick at this point at least I cold snuggle him and feel safe, but I didn't have him so i just put on my iPod and looked up at the sky which was pretty amazing. I could hear a few voices which made feel better that I wasn't the only one awake and finally drifted off to sleep.
It was a 5am wake up the next morning. No one really slept that well and it turns out that mostly everyone thought everyone else was sleeping and they were the only ones awake haha. We made use of the "bush toilets" which was kind of funny because all us girls went around the back of the same bush and you would turn your head and see someone elses ass stuck out while they made the morning tinkle and there was an akward "morning" with a giggle.
Once again off in the distance The Rock was there and the sign said "Uluru 150km" Imagine how big it is if we can see it from that far away. "Alright guys when I count to three I want you to yell it's name so it can hear you. I want The Rock to hear you. 1 2 3" "ULURU" "Again" "ULURU" "one more time" "ULURU' "Alright guys that is Mt Conner that you are seeing not Uluru. It is always mistaken for Uluru. The Aboriginals did not fight to get Mt. Conner back because it is considered to be bad luck and they say that whenever a storm starts it comes from Mt Conner" It really did have an eerie kind of look to it. It's like it was just sitting there looking down at us with it's blackness *shivers*
Our first stop that morning was Kata Tjuta which means many heads and Kata Tjuta has 36 "heads". Kata Tjuta is so sacred that there is only one walk for the public eye, The Valley of the Winds, the rest is so sacred to the Aboriginal men that the Aboriginal women only get to see parts of it. Our guide was not sure why it is so sacred because there is not much information known. The wierd thing is when I got there and stood infront of it I said "WOW! I feel like I am standing infront of something so sacred!" It was incredible. I had only seen it on postcards, I really didn't even know what it was I honestly just thought it was a few massive rocks, but it was so much more then that. The 36 heads stretch around for miles and every side of it looks completely different. The walk through the Valley of the Winds was like something out of a fairy tale. The heads just surrounded us with the bluest sky that made the heads almost look like a water colour painting settled in the perfect green of the grass which apparantly only happens every 50 years. I loved it! I could've set up camp and lived there but unfortunately I wasn't aloud and we still had Uluru to see, the real one.
I wasn't as taken with Uluru as I was with Kata Tjuta. Don't get me wrong its incredible but I think it's one of those things that is just so built up by others, so when you get there you are expecting more; but, with that being said what I learned about the rock took my breath away. The history of the rock and how important and significant it is to the Aboriginal Culture and Australian history is amazing. I would love to write about everything I have learned but when telling the Aboriginal Dreamtime you need to tell it word for word or else the stories and the facts get all muddled up and dont come out right. The guides are actually trained and tested on these stories. The Aboriginal take so much pride in their stories that you can not tell them wrong, so with that respect I am not going to tell any stories. But, I will say this; there is a walk up the rock. Some business owners in the 60's decided they wanted to put a walk up it to create business at there road houses - water, food, camping etc. When the Aboriginals got Uluru back from the white man one of the conditions was that the walk not be taken down. The walk consists of metal poles and a chain that were put in in the 60's and never been changed therefore it is extremely unsafe. The Aboriginals are still fighting to take it down and not necessarily for that reason. If you go to someones house and they ask you to take your shoes off you do out of respect. If you go to there place of worship you respect it even if it is not your place of worship because you ahve respect. Well, it's the same for Uluru. It's like there Cathedral and people walk all over it (baby nappies have been left up top as well as other rubbish), it is not being respected. If we can't respect it then why should they share everything about themselves with us? None of us walked it. I thought it was just a rock, it`s so much more then that. It`s history!
That night we had dinner with wine watching the sunset over Uluru, it was pretty cool, especially when you look at that postcard picture you have seen so many times and now you are looking at the real thing. I missed Dan so much. Watching the sunset of the Iconic Uluru without him just didn`t seem as amazing as it should have. Same with sunrise the next morning, it could`ve used a little bit of Dan. Plus it was freezing. I didn`t even want to get out of my swag in the morning I was so cozy all curled up like a little catterpillar in it`s cocoon, I wasn`t ready to turn into a butterly that morning.
After sunrise we had the base walk around Uluru. Nothing like a 9km walk first thing in the morning. Some parts were alright and other parts were amazing. One spot jst took my breath away. I just stood there looking at it thinking ``wow, something great took place here`` I so wish I had a time machine so I could go back in time and watch the history of Uluru take place. We had a few kilometers to go when I realized we missed the waterhole that Wookie told us not to miss. Pete, Pedro and I turned around to walk back passing the others in the group. We walked fast checked it out and started making our way back. We were almost at the carpark when I see our bus driving up the street ``oh no not again. `` ``there is no way thats our bus`` said pete ``well then why is Andreas hanging out the front windo waving at us. It`s definatly him I recognize his bright yellow shirt`` ``shit. do you think Wookie is mad, do you think they will stop`` ``I hope so`` we start running back where we came from. Wookie stoped at a little path and waited for us with a smile on his face.
It was a long drive back and I was pooped when we got back to Alice Springs. I was so looking forward to a goodnight sleep in a comfy (bunk) bed, though it was too early when my alarm went off the next morning at 6am as I had to be up for another 3 day tour to make my way to Adelaide.
This trip started off with a lesson in wild life. Whenever there was an animal on the road Diesel (our guide) would pull over to a yuey and stop, hop out of the car and pick it up and bring it over to us (except for the brown snake, the dingo and the bull) we definatley got some great photos. Our first stop was the NT and SA State borderline. I actually got to be in two places at once, who knew it was possible! After dorky pictures we hoped back in and made our way down to Coober Pedy. I was so excited! I have been wanting to go to Coober Pedy since I got to Australia. Coober Pedy is an opal mining town (I believe it`s 80% of the worlds opals) where everything, even the houses are built underground. I was couldnt wait...I had waited a year and finally the day had arrived that I would get to see my little underground town and sleep in an underground bunker. Diesel said it was awesome...he loves it there. All the roads and sidewalks are underground, they have an underground nightclub, there is a big elevator that lowers the vehicles down onto the road. Oh and when it rains it can get a little messy. I couldn`t wait. As we got closer we could see piles and piles for miles for the underground mines, it was quite an interesting site, we were getting closer. Finally the Welcome to Coober Pedy sign, my camera was ready.
As we entered my mouth dropped. There were streets, cars, houses...all above ground. ``I couldnt resist you were so excited. don`t worry 75% of the town is underground`` it so was not what I was expecting, I dont know what I was expecting but when you hear underground town your expectations are a little high. The town it`self is nothing much to look at, it`s actually quite ugly. There is no green, it`s all dust and sand, our underground bunker was cool but nothing special. I thought at least the underground nightclub would be awesome but no...it just look like a regular club with stone walls it actually sucked and the dj is putting your own money into a juke box and playing what you want. How corney is that, pfft. It was a pretty early night for all of us except the two German guys who decided to stay up drinking with the other tour group and lock themselves out so they banged on the door at 2am and kept me awake. I called them on it the next morning and they said I was being a child ``so because you got drunk, got locked out, banged on the door and kept me awake i`m being a child`` ``yes``` as if
It was a 430 wakeup and we were off to the Southern Flinders Ranges. On our way down we got to stop off at Lake Heart. The lake itself is completely dried up and in it`s place...salt. It`s really wierd, I felt like i was walking on ice but yet it was so crystal like at the same time, I kept forgetting it was salt. It did have water on it that was about ankle deep, apparantly the water only happens once in awhile but it does happen and when you take your feet out they aer just covered in salt, they almost feel like they didnt get wet, it is such a high concentration of salt.
We got to the Southern Flinders Rangers and did a hike down to Alligator Gorge or Smelligator Gorge as there was a dead wallibee and it stunk up the place. We spent the night at a camp ground in doors and I got my own room which was awesome, no fireworks between me and the Germans. The next morning was a chilled out wakeup, we got to take our time and sleep in till 8am which was so nice. We drove through the little town Melrose which is the first town in the Flinders and it is absolutely stunning. Everything in SA is stunning, it reminds me a lot of NZ.
Now I am in Adelaide staying in Glenelg Beach. I honestly don`t know why I didnt come here sooner. It`s amazing! Glenelg is like the St Kilda of Adelaide except less grungy. I`m staying right on the beach and it`s gorgeous. The place has such a vibe, its got shops, cafes, restaurant, beach volleyball courts, a jetty that the kids jump off of into the water a beautiful park area on the beach and the palm trees give it that Santa Monica feel. The Adelaide CBD is beautiful, it`s got a vibe as well (though the Fringe festival was going on) it`s not busy and confined like most cities it`s a little more spread out and so relaxed no one seems to be in a hurry. The mall reminds me of The Grove in Hollywood...its so awesome. I keep telling Dan we have to move here lol.
I am so glad I have done Central Australia...the past week has been awesome and I feel so different towaqrds Australia. There is so much to it and so much of the worlds history takes place here and as for the Aborignals, it`is such ashame that we see the drunk ones living on the streets and begging because their culture is not only fantastic but it is the oldest one in the world. This trip down has given me a completely different respect for the culture and I am so glad I got to see and learn what I did.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
1 year, Riding the Dog and a New Future!
I have been gone a year now and WOW!!! What a fucking year it’s been! It feels like just yesterday I said my goodbyes at Pearson Airport yet, at the same time it feels like it’s been a lifetime since I left. I can’t believe the year I have had, I look back and think WOW this has been my life the past year…have I really done all that, is that really me in those pictures?!?
There is no point in me writing a blog and rehashing the year and going over events that you guys have already read about…and to be honest, it would be too long to write so I am just going to let you know what has been going on.
Though I have been gone a year, I still have not reached my year mark in Australia though, that part of my travels is quickly coming to an end next month. There is still some of Australia I have not seen which I want to check out before I continue on my travels with Dan next month. I have been planning 5 weeks trip (on my own) for my last few weeks. With a sad goodbye to Dan yesterday (as we have never really been apart the 5 months we have been together) I hopped on the Greyhound for a long ass 22 hour bus ride to Alice Springs.
Allright we all know how I love Greyhound (sarcasm – remember my venture out to Vegas with Pauly for my 30th). Well to start off the bus was a half hour late, but the bus wasn’t full so I got to stretch out which is always a bonus. About two hours in we drove past Emerald Springs so I gave it the middle finger with a smile lol and about an hour after that we had our first stop in Katherine. There isn’t much to say about Katherine except never go there unless you absolutely have to it’s not the greatest town and it smells bad and so does the Greyhound Station where the toilets are infested with spiders and you can’t even eat a bag of crisps while you are waiting in the waiting area. We were only supposed to have an hour stop but because the bus coming from Perth was running an hour and a half late and there was one person on it transferring to our bus we ended up waiting around 2 hours instead of 1 hour and we were bothered by drunken aboriginals , I was never so happy to get back on a bus.
I was in and out of sleep all day as there is not much else to do on a lone bus trip and driving down the Stuart Hwy hour upon hour becomes menotenous. About midnight we stop off at Daly Waters which is this awesome pub in this out back town called Daly Waters. There is a pool table and peoples ID’s up on the wall as a collage, a decent sized bar where one side is a Takeaway. Out the back is this massive patio with a stage where live music plays few nights a weeks, I honestly wanted to spend the night. Anyways me and this older gentleman on the bus had to go to the toilet (the one on the bus was clogged with poo and we all know how I feel about poo these days). As I’m tinkling I hear something “no it’s a truck its alright” We get back out the front…THE BUS HAS LEFT US THERE!!! My heart sank. My phone, my money, my backpack everything was on that bus. I was panicking. “it’s ok they stop 7 km’s from here we will call the next place and tell them to let you know to wait for you. One of our bartenders will drive you.” Thank god! The older gentleman ( I never did get his name) was panicking too, I was so worried the bus wasn’t going to wait. This wasn’t the first time they had left someone behind apparently.
We pull up and the bus is there, my heart started to come out of my stomach and relax to it’s normal spot in my chest. We thank our driver and head to the bus. “Hey we are back” I said to the driver as we were climbing back on the bus “why would you get off the bus?” was his reply “I had to pee” “well that wasn’t a stop it was just a drop off. I am not Psychic how was I supposed to know.” “How are we supposed to know which ones are stops you are not announcing anything and the one before that you stopped for 10 minutes and the toilet on the bus is clogged and I had to pee. “ “Well it wasn’t a stop and you shouldn’t of gotten off” and he was being rude, he was almost yelling at me and the older guy. We both said to him “we were just telling you we were back there is no need to be rude we were just letting you know we were back” “I’m not being rude I am just telling you how it is” and being in Australia too long I replied “your being a cunt!” and got on the bus only to find out that someone on the bus had told him I wasn’t on the bus when he left and he said “It’s not a stop and it’s not my problem if she is not on the bus!” Fucking Greyhound.
We switched drivers at the next stop and then the stop after that was Tennant Creek where we had to switch busses and then wait around while the transferred all the mail around (the Greyhound is also the postal service here). As the mail we got moved around we all waited on the bus but there were a few people transferring to our bus and the driver wouldn’t let them on till he was done everything. He made them wait an hour with their bags so he could finish while we were all on the bus sleeping. Then we had to go through the mail drive through and pick up mail. After that as we were leaving Tennant Creek the driver realizes he has forgotten his log book so we have to go back to the bus station to look for it, where (lucky for them) to people had missed the bus because they fell asleep and were waiting.
It took another 7 hours after that to get to Alice Springs. At one point when I woke up we had pulled into the UFO Museum, through sleepy eyes I see green martian men. Apparantly this little place has the most UFO sightings, but it was closed. The rest of the trip I slept, or I tried to anyways. The driver (who was heaps nicer then the last) was listening to music with his headphones on and he sang all through the night. Though I don’t really know if you could really classify what he was doing as singing because he really wasn’t even singing words it was more gibberish then anything…and it was sooo annoying sleeping on a bus is hard enough.
I really wish Dan was with me. I miss him so much already. I mean, it feels really good to be travelling on my own again but it is so weird not having him with me…I feel like half of me is missing. Five weeks of us being apart is good for us though…we need the separation, and I need to know I am ok without him…which I am but I miss him like crazy. Though seeing him after five weeks is gonna be awesome and then we are off to Bali to get married!!! Yes that’s right…married!!! We got engaged two weeks ago and we are so happy and can’t wait. Some of you probably wondering what happened with Ryan. We are still amazing friends and are planning on seeing each other in two weeks…and we will always have a spot in our hearts for eachother…but our time is over (as a couple) and we both know that, though he knew that before I did ;)
So now here I am in Alice Springs in an 8 bed mixed dorm that consists of me and 7 other guys lol ya it’s really mixed. I have to be up at 5 am as I am doing a 3 day trip that I am so excited for. You will have to wait for my next blog for that one x
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
A Shitty Night!
WEDNESDAY. "Babe why are our clothes wet?" "I don't know. Everyone was drinking last night, maybe something got spilled. Do they smell?" Dan smells them. "No." I smell our pile of wet clothes "hmmm. Maybe it's just water, it doesn't smell like Goon or anything I will put them in the laundry bag and get them dry later." Dan open's the door to our hostel room and steps outside "WTF?!?" "What's wrong babe?" "My clothes are folded up on the chair our here." "So" I say coming outside, then I see what's so wierd. The clothes that were folded up neatly were clothes that he hadn't worn in months and when I say months I mean months...clothes he has not worn since we have been together and that is 4 months.
THURSDAY "Babe I am just gonna go wash the we clothes because my work uniform is in there do you need me to wash anything?" I say pulling the clothes out of the laundry bag and then immediately dropped them back in the back "FUCK! Babe, they are covered in piss!!!" "What!" Dan comes over and smells. "You have to be fucking kidding me." "Eww there are ants all in the bag! All over my underwear. It smells like a dog kennel.`` ``Who the fuck would piss on our stuff.`` ``Babe I don`t know but it is just pee. Worse things have happened in hostels. It was just our clothes and nothing else. I will get them clean and then we will go down to the front desk and tell Rihanna.
I get our load of urine covered clothes in the wash and we head down to front desk. ``Really. Wow. Ok, well here you go. Enough laundry detergent to last you 2 washes.`` ``Gee. Thanks, that helps heaps.``
FRIDAY-SATURDAY Nothing much happened the next few days. Dan and I were reallly keen on finding an apartment and getting out of the hostel. We liked the hostel, we loved the people but everyone was leaving by the next week and we really wanted to be able to have our own space and not worry when we rock up home at 7am from work. Plus, we were tired of the bullshit ass holes that worked at the hostel. They had no respect for anyone staying there. I even got mad at front desk just walking into our room ``Could you knock.`` ``Excuse me`` ``Well, you always just walk in our room, it`s rude. You`ve walked in when I am changing and what if Dan and I are having sex!!! Knock when you go in, have some respect, you don`t just walk into someone`s room.`` The owner, his GF and head front desk girl were rude as and didn`t care about the people that were staying at the hostel.
Saturday night we got home from work at about 6am. We couldn`t sleep, and our roommate was passed out drunk and snoring soo fucking loud. Dan and I being little shits decided to paint his face. I put on eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, rouge and I even painted his nails. He didn`t move. After a few laughs and some pictures we finally fell asleep! Only to be woken up, once again by the owners bitch ass girl friend at 10am.
SUNDAY ``Emmie, Dan! Do you two want to switch rooms`` WTF, we just fell asleep and they are waking us up again ``What`` ``Do you guys want to switch room!`` ``No we are checking out tomorrow we are fine.`` ``Alright. Joe! Joe! You need to wake up! Joe!`` Dan and I are getting pissed off at this point we had only been asleep two hours and this isn`t the first time they had come in our room and yelled. ``Joe! You need to wake up and clean!`` "Oh ya, because I love cleaning so much" "Well unless Emmie and Dan shit on the floor then you need to get up and clean it." ??? I was confused. If someone had shit on the bathroom floor how in the hell would they know it's Joe and not only that Dan and I both knew Joe would never do that. "Oh fuck!!! What the fuck!!!" Dan and I both sat up! There on the floor by Joe's bed was a pile of human shit! It was so fucking gross and the smell....honestly I don't even like to talk about it. Writing this is making me ill. They made the young girl at the front desk clean it! The cleaner had packed up her stuff in the morning and left because they wanted her to do it! Honestly I was mortified. "Joe you need to clean it" they kept saying as he was puking outside "are you kidding me?" I said to front desk "well yes he did it" "alright you are blatantly blaming our roommate for doing it when you have absolutely no idea who did it. We have been living with Joe in this room for a month and a half and he would never do that. How can you just stand there and blame him." "Well at least now we have it settled that he didn't do it. So who did?" They were more concerned about blaming someone then actually making sure we were ok. I was horrified. Not only was it absolutley disgusting but to think that someone actually came in our room and did that while we were sleeping!!! "Thats' it" said Dan "we are out of here" With two hours sleep we got up and found an apartment and went to look at it. "we will take it!" "when doyou want to move in?" "tonight"
I had to work till 10 that night so Dan packed his stuff up and went to get the key deposit back from the front desk. "Ummm ya if you just want to come back in the morning before 10am with your keys and then we can give you back your deposit." "You must be fucking kidding me! Our stuff has been pissed on, someone shit in our room and you did nothing for us but give us laundry detergent. Most places would be bending over backwards to make us feel better. You have done fuck all and now you dont want to give us back our key deposit a day early? We are moving across town, we work nights there is no way in hell I am getting up early to give you back your key. We are paid up until tomorrow and you are not even going to refund us so you are going to give me back my fucking deposit now and we will drop the keys in the box on our way out! Do you understand me?!?" "Alright now calm down" "Don't you dare tell me to calm down. why do you care so much the guy just gives you a pay cheque he is an ass hole and sexual predator. Give me my deposit so we can pack up and leave"
Alright just a bit of a note but the owner of the place is (so we have been told my many people) a sex offender. He was never convicted because he paid the girl off. At first I thought this was a rumour but all our managers at work were telling us to be careful staying there because of him. How he still owns and runs a hostel I do not know. A girl we met staying there said that months ago her friends were staying and working there and the owner asked them to wash his car which they did and then he turned around and said next time do it in a bikini. I already wrote in a previous blog what he was like when I was thinking of taking a job there. I wonder if his girlfriend is really his girlfriend or if it's just a cover. I'm trying to find some links or some info on it so I can post it. This hostel should be taken off Hostel World and Lonely Planet should put a warning on it really is not safe for young girls. Please anyone traveling and planning to stay in Darwin do not stay here especially if you are a solo female
Anyways we moved into the apartment that night and sat on our huge balcony looking out onto the water and enjoyed a couple of beers. Things are really good. We work heaps and really don't get to spend much time together. Life is not overly exciting right now. We are just trying to save as much as possible as we are leaving Oz in April, so we are working as many hours as we can get right now. I think the best thing that happened this week was this Canadian couple tipped me a Toonie! Honestly I have never been so excited to see one....I have not seen my own currency in a year. I gave them the biggest hug and had the biggest smile on my face for the rest of my shift. Well I am off as I have to leave for work soon. Take care x
THURSDAY "Babe I am just gonna go wash the we clothes because my work uniform is in there do you need me to wash anything?" I say pulling the clothes out of the laundry bag and then immediately dropped them back in the back "FUCK! Babe, they are covered in piss!!!" "What!" Dan comes over and smells. "You have to be fucking kidding me." "Eww there are ants all in the bag! All over my underwear. It smells like a dog kennel.`` ``Who the fuck would piss on our stuff.`` ``Babe I don`t know but it is just pee. Worse things have happened in hostels. It was just our clothes and nothing else. I will get them clean and then we will go down to the front desk and tell Rihanna.
I get our load of urine covered clothes in the wash and we head down to front desk. ``Really. Wow. Ok, well here you go. Enough laundry detergent to last you 2 washes.`` ``Gee. Thanks, that helps heaps.``
FRIDAY-SATURDAY Nothing much happened the next few days. Dan and I were reallly keen on finding an apartment and getting out of the hostel. We liked the hostel, we loved the people but everyone was leaving by the next week and we really wanted to be able to have our own space and not worry when we rock up home at 7am from work. Plus, we were tired of the bullshit ass holes that worked at the hostel. They had no respect for anyone staying there. I even got mad at front desk just walking into our room ``Could you knock.`` ``Excuse me`` ``Well, you always just walk in our room, it`s rude. You`ve walked in when I am changing and what if Dan and I are having sex!!! Knock when you go in, have some respect, you don`t just walk into someone`s room.`` The owner, his GF and head front desk girl were rude as and didn`t care about the people that were staying at the hostel.
Saturday night we got home from work at about 6am. We couldn`t sleep, and our roommate was passed out drunk and snoring soo fucking loud. Dan and I being little shits decided to paint his face. I put on eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, rouge and I even painted his nails. He didn`t move. After a few laughs and some pictures we finally fell asleep! Only to be woken up, once again by the owners bitch ass girl friend at 10am.
SUNDAY ``Emmie, Dan! Do you two want to switch rooms`` WTF, we just fell asleep and they are waking us up again ``What`` ``Do you guys want to switch room!`` ``No we are checking out tomorrow we are fine.`` ``Alright. Joe! Joe! You need to wake up! Joe!`` Dan and I are getting pissed off at this point we had only been asleep two hours and this isn`t the first time they had come in our room and yelled. ``Joe! You need to wake up and clean!`` "Oh ya, because I love cleaning so much" "Well unless Emmie and Dan shit on the floor then you need to get up and clean it." ??? I was confused. If someone had shit on the bathroom floor how in the hell would they know it's Joe and not only that Dan and I both knew Joe would never do that. "Oh fuck!!! What the fuck!!!" Dan and I both sat up! There on the floor by Joe's bed was a pile of human shit! It was so fucking gross and the smell....honestly I don't even like to talk about it. Writing this is making me ill. They made the young girl at the front desk clean it! The cleaner had packed up her stuff in the morning and left because they wanted her to do it! Honestly I was mortified. "Joe you need to clean it" they kept saying as he was puking outside "are you kidding me?" I said to front desk "well yes he did it" "alright you are blatantly blaming our roommate for doing it when you have absolutely no idea who did it. We have been living with Joe in this room for a month and a half and he would never do that. How can you just stand there and blame him." "Well at least now we have it settled that he didn't do it. So who did?" They were more concerned about blaming someone then actually making sure we were ok. I was horrified. Not only was it absolutley disgusting but to think that someone actually came in our room and did that while we were sleeping!!! "Thats' it" said Dan "we are out of here" With two hours sleep we got up and found an apartment and went to look at it. "we will take it!" "when doyou want to move in?" "tonight"
I had to work till 10 that night so Dan packed his stuff up and went to get the key deposit back from the front desk. "Ummm ya if you just want to come back in the morning before 10am with your keys and then we can give you back your deposit." "You must be fucking kidding me! Our stuff has been pissed on, someone shit in our room and you did nothing for us but give us laundry detergent. Most places would be bending over backwards to make us feel better. You have done fuck all and now you dont want to give us back our key deposit a day early? We are moving across town, we work nights there is no way in hell I am getting up early to give you back your key. We are paid up until tomorrow and you are not even going to refund us so you are going to give me back my fucking deposit now and we will drop the keys in the box on our way out! Do you understand me?!?" "Alright now calm down" "Don't you dare tell me to calm down. why do you care so much the guy just gives you a pay cheque he is an ass hole and sexual predator. Give me my deposit so we can pack up and leave"
Alright just a bit of a note but the owner of the place is (so we have been told my many people) a sex offender. He was never convicted because he paid the girl off. At first I thought this was a rumour but all our managers at work were telling us to be careful staying there because of him. How he still owns and runs a hostel I do not know. A girl we met staying there said that months ago her friends were staying and working there and the owner asked them to wash his car which they did and then he turned around and said next time do it in a bikini. I already wrote in a previous blog what he was like when I was thinking of taking a job there. I wonder if his girlfriend is really his girlfriend or if it's just a cover. I'm trying to find some links or some info on it so I can post it. This hostel should be taken off Hostel World and Lonely Planet should put a warning on it really is not safe for young girls. Please anyone traveling and planning to stay in Darwin do not stay here especially if you are a solo female
Anyways we moved into the apartment that night and sat on our huge balcony looking out onto the water and enjoyed a couple of beers. Things are really good. We work heaps and really don't get to spend much time together. Life is not overly exciting right now. We are just trying to save as much as possible as we are leaving Oz in April, so we are working as many hours as we can get right now. I think the best thing that happened this week was this Canadian couple tipped me a Toonie! Honestly I have never been so excited to see one....I have not seen my own currency in a year. I gave them the biggest hug and had the biggest smile on my face for the rest of my shift. Well I am off as I have to leave for work soon. Take care x
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Man Flu...Fact or Fiction?
Recently Dan and I came down with a cold/flu. It was awful, plus we were working and due to our late nights working at the club our sleeping habits haven't been the greatest so we were just feeling worse. Our bodies ached to the point it hurt to get out of bed, we had a fever and our nose was getting all stuffed up. I don't even know how we had the energy to work but we pulled it off.
"Baby I feel so sick." "I know babe so do I" "No, but like really sick I'm so cold and I hurt all over" "I know babe I feel the same, we just need to ride it out for a couple of days" and I leaned over and kissed him. "Oh baby I love you so much, it hurts and I'm so cold...you don't get it, I feel worse then you. I have Man Flu!" Man Flu?!? WTF?!?
Man Flu (taken directly from http://www.manflu.info/)
Man Flu is a crippling and debilitating disorder indiscriminately striking down male members of the human species without warning. The illness is often referred to pejoratively by female members of the species who are in fact immune from the illness as man flu is now known to exclusively attack the XY chromosome carrier. If Man Flu is kind enough not to kill the infected party it will definitely leave him weak, sick, hurting everywhere and in dire need of TLC.
Medical professionals now also widely recognise that self diagnosis by the sufferer is the best means of identification as the symptoms of Man Flu are far more severe than the simple common cold which predominantly targets the XX chromosome holders (i.e. females). This goes some way to explain the cynicism some women display towards their male counterparts.
Medical professionals now also widely recognise that self diagnosis by the sufferer is the best means of identification as the symptoms of Man Flu are far more severe than the simple common cold which predominantly targets the XX chromosome holders (i.e. females). This goes some way to explain the cynicism some women display towards their male counterparts.
You have to be kidding me right?!?
I remember my mum telling me about this when I was younger, she warned me a that no matter what pain and agony we as women endure, men will always say they have it worse.
haha ya right
I must say, the term "Mother knows best" is so true...she was so right about this thing called Man Flu.
"He is claiming to have Man Flu" "Oh man, Man Flu is the worst thing ever" yells one of the gus from the pool. "your kidding me right?" "no way, it's horrible it can kill you" says another one from the pool. "Yes but we are both sick and have all the same symptoms, I feel just as awful as he does." "No you don't he has Man Flu, you just have flu." "There is no way he feels worse then I do...he is not going to die."
"you guys actually believe this" "believe it? there is nothing to believe it exists and its horrible" "Babe they actually believe you." "Of course they do. Man Flu is horrible, you can never get it because you have ovaries"
"Baby I'm so cold, I think I see a 'the light' " "Ok now you are pushing it. I'm sick to and feel like shit and I am not winjing about it the way you are. Get out of bed."
"I'm sick too you are not getting any sympathy from me." Then he pulls out his iPhone (obviously still capable of using it) and shows me a a page on a website - http://www.manflu.info/ (obviously not to sick to do that either). "Babe look" he says in a sweet little innocent voice.
So I read:
If you find yourself in the position of primary carer for your boyfriend or husband then DO NOT PANIC. As explained elsewhere on this site you are completely immune from Man Flu.
Your beloved will shortly become completely dependant on you, requiring you to tend to his every need. Do not shun any request, don't forget that the affliction that he's suffering from is hundreds of times worse than the simple affliction which you know and understand as the common cold.
There are three distinct stages to Man Flu and it's important you know your responsibilities :
"Wait a minute. Responsibilities?!? Babe come on now this is going over board." "Not if you want me to get better it's not. You want me to get better don't you?"
Stage 1 - I think I'm coming down with a cold. Don't forget, even medical experts recommend self diagnosis, and ALL men are experts at recognising the early stages. Here you will be expected to sympathise, any flippant comments now such as , "Oh I expect it's Man Flu is it?", will cause immediate deterioration. Preferred responses will be along the lines of, "There there, can I get you some chicken noodle soup and put your favourite Police! Camera! Action! DVD on?". This stage can last from one to three days.
Stage 2 - It's not a cold, it's the 'flu. Your beloved will barely be able to lift his fingers to work the remote control by now. - except of course to go on his iPhone and show me this website. I'm sure doing it almost killed him - There will be dramatic displays of coughing and chest holding. He will present a red and sniffly nose, and a phantom fever. Do not mention <begin sarcasm˃ Man 'Flu <end sarcasm˃. Instead continue to serve comfort food and provide him with a selection of men's magazines (such as FHM or Maxim) to take his mind off the illness ravaging his poor body. You may also be required to gently dab his forehead with a lightly dampened sponge or massage his feet. This life threatening stage may last from three to five days.
I here him laughing from the top bunk.
Stage 3 - It's not completely gone, but I think it's going. By now your beloved will be physically exhausted. He will have spent the previous seven days teetering on the brink of death only to have pulled through. However, he will start to feel less 'achy all over', and begin to move short distances away from the sofa. Hang in there with your pampering, you're nearly done. This stage can typically last from six to ten days. Please be aware that any sarcastic references to Man Flu at this stage can render the hapless victim straight back to the life threatening stage 2. He should be allowed a suitable period of convalescence (the length to be suggested by him) prior to being tasked with household tasks.
Good luck.
"haha good luck huh. Good luck to you baby!" "but it hurts" "your ass is going to hurt when I shove my foot up there in a minute."
Can you believe it? Man Flu? Really? Do they actually think we believe this? They are the simple minded ones not us
Anyways we are both better now, its just more of a sinus infection now with a cough. Yes, Dan survived, he didn't die, he is doing well....well enough to cook me dinner tonight!
*all in formation quoted was from the website http://www.manflu.info/ If you know any man that claims to suffer from it or a woman that has a man claiming to suffer from it ....god help them both!
"Baby I feel so sick." "I know babe so do I" "No, but like really sick I'm so cold and I hurt all over" "I know babe I feel the same, we just need to ride it out for a couple of days" and I leaned over and kissed him. "Oh baby I love you so much, it hurts and I'm so cold...you don't get it, I feel worse then you. I have Man Flu!" Man Flu?!? WTF?!?
Man Flu (taken directly from http://www.manflu.info/)
Man Flu is a crippling and debilitating disorder indiscriminately striking down male members of the human species without warning. The illness is often referred to pejoratively by female members of the species who are in fact immune from the illness as man flu is now known to exclusively attack the XY chromosome carrier. If Man Flu is kind enough not to kill the infected party it will definitely leave him weak, sick, hurting everywhere and in dire need of TLC.
Medical professionals now also widely recognise that self diagnosis by the sufferer is the best means of identification as the symptoms of Man Flu are far more severe than the simple common cold which predominantly targets the XX chromosome holders (i.e. females). This goes some way to explain the cynicism some women display towards their male counterparts.
Medical professionals now also widely recognise that self diagnosis by the sufferer is the best means of identification as the symptoms of Man Flu are far more severe than the simple common cold which predominantly targets the XX chromosome holders (i.e. females). This goes some way to explain the cynicism some women display towards their male counterparts.
You have to be kidding me right?!?
I remember my mum telling me about this when I was younger, she warned me a that no matter what pain and agony we as women endure, men will always say they have it worse.
The pain and suffering of Man Flu is similar to that of child birth
TRUE - Though at least with child birth it's all done and dusted in a few hours, but Man Flu can last for weeks...haha ya right
I must say, the term "Mother knows best" is so true...she was so right about this thing called Man Flu.
"He is claiming to have Man Flu" "Oh man, Man Flu is the worst thing ever" yells one of the gus from the pool. "your kidding me right?" "no way, it's horrible it can kill you" says another one from the pool. "Yes but we are both sick and have all the same symptoms, I feel just as awful as he does." "No you don't he has Man Flu, you just have flu." "There is no way he feels worse then I do...he is not going to die."
Man Flu is simply a cold, the symptoms of which are greatly exaggerated by men.
FALSE - Man Flu is a serious and potentially life threatening illness, and will no doubt soon be on the Health and Safety Executive's list of Reportable Diseases. Man Flu is a distinct disease in its own right, and should not be misdiagnosed as a mere common cold."you guys actually believe this" "believe it? there is nothing to believe it exists and its horrible" "Babe they actually believe you." "Of course they do. Man Flu is horrible, you can never get it because you have ovaries"
Women can catch Man Flu
FALSE - Man Flu does not attack humans with the XX chromosome, only those with the XY chromosome. This genetic mutation effectively immunises females against Man Flu. This may account for the reason that women widely believe that Man Flu is actually just the common cold, but with a bit of extra drama thrown in for good measure. The best cure for Man Flu is a cocktail of Night Nurse, Day Nurse, chicken noodle soup and whiskey.
FALSE - There is no cure for Man Flu. Once infected the afflicted can only hope that the gods roll the dice in favour of life rather than slow, lingering death."Baby I'm so cold, I think I see a 'the light' " "Ok now you are pushing it. I'm sick to and feel like shit and I am not winjing about it the way you are. Get out of bed."
The best way to deal with Man Flu is to just 'get on with it'
FALSE - Extensive research has proven that the only way to combat the crippling effects of Man Flu is complete withdrawal to the sofa and uninterrupted mollycoddling by the girlfriend / wife."I'm sick too you are not getting any sympathy from me." Then he pulls out his iPhone (obviously still capable of using it) and shows me a a page on a website - http://www.manflu.info/ (obviously not to sick to do that either). "Babe look" he says in a sweet little innocent voice.
So I read:
If you find yourself in the position of primary carer for your boyfriend or husband then DO NOT PANIC. As explained elsewhere on this site you are completely immune from Man Flu.
Your beloved will shortly become completely dependant on you, requiring you to tend to his every need. Do not shun any request, don't forget that the affliction that he's suffering from is hundreds of times worse than the simple affliction which you know and understand as the common cold.
There are three distinct stages to Man Flu and it's important you know your responsibilities :
"Wait a minute. Responsibilities?!? Babe come on now this is going over board." "Not if you want me to get better it's not. You want me to get better don't you?"
Stage 1 - I think I'm coming down with a cold. Don't forget, even medical experts recommend self diagnosis, and ALL men are experts at recognising the early stages. Here you will be expected to sympathise, any flippant comments now such as , "Oh I expect it's Man Flu is it?", will cause immediate deterioration. Preferred responses will be along the lines of, "There there, can I get you some chicken noodle soup and put your favourite Police! Camera! Action! DVD on?". This stage can last from one to three days.
Stage 2 - It's not a cold, it's the 'flu. Your beloved will barely be able to lift his fingers to work the remote control by now. - except of course to go on his iPhone and show me this website. I'm sure doing it almost killed him - There will be dramatic displays of coughing and chest holding. He will present a red and sniffly nose, and a phantom fever. Do not mention <begin sarcasm˃ Man 'Flu <end sarcasm˃. Instead continue to serve comfort food and provide him with a selection of men's magazines (such as FHM or Maxim) to take his mind off the illness ravaging his poor body. You may also be required to gently dab his forehead with a lightly dampened sponge or massage his feet. This life threatening stage may last from three to five days.
I here him laughing from the top bunk.
Stage 3 - It's not completely gone, but I think it's going. By now your beloved will be physically exhausted. He will have spent the previous seven days teetering on the brink of death only to have pulled through. However, he will start to feel less 'achy all over', and begin to move short distances away from the sofa. Hang in there with your pampering, you're nearly done. This stage can typically last from six to ten days. Please be aware that any sarcastic references to Man Flu at this stage can render the hapless victim straight back to the life threatening stage 2. He should be allowed a suitable period of convalescence (the length to be suggested by him) prior to being tasked with household tasks.
Good luck.
"haha good luck huh. Good luck to you baby!" "but it hurts" "your ass is going to hurt when I shove my foot up there in a minute."
Can you believe it? Man Flu? Really? Do they actually think we believe this? They are the simple minded ones not us
Anyways we are both better now, its just more of a sinus infection now with a cough. Yes, Dan survived, he didn't die, he is doing well....well enough to cook me dinner tonight!
*all in formation quoted was from the website http://www.manflu.info/ If you know any man that claims to suffer from it or a woman that has a man claiming to suffer from it ....god help them both!
Monday, January 2, 2012
A New Life in Darwin, A Long Winded Guide, An Orphan's Christmas and Ringing in the New Year
It's been 3 weeks since we left the Springs and we are loving life!
Darwin is awesome. It's small but yet has a great vibe, with shops and bars lining the main street (Mitchel St.) and an awesome infusion of restaurants; Thai, Indian, Italian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Shushi, Burgers and the food is awesome....finally some good food in Australia non of the tasteless stuff I have had to indure for the last 8 months lol. Anyways, things here are great, we have an amazing job! We are both bartending at the most popular bar/club in Darwin, Monsoons, we serve till 4am so we work late -or should I say early- but it is so worth it. The money is awesome plus we make tips!!! Plus the job it self is just awesome all the managers are my age, some of them have been sponsored so were once travellers and they all actually work and I mean they bartend with us...there are bells that we randomly ring through out the nightl, Coyote Tuesday where 2 of the managers dress like cowgirls and dance on the bar and stage all night, ladies night on Thursday which is when we have topless bartenders (Dan's abs and chest or on stand-by) and a male stripper, we have water fights with eachother behind the bar, we deal with drunk wankers all night but it is great, we have soo much fun and just love going to work. I am also working next door at Wisdoms in the Bistro a few times a week for extra shifts even though it was suppossed to be my full time job and Monsoons was suppossed to be part time. Let me rewind.
After our first weekend in Darwin we went out with our CV's and just went around to the bars. We both really wanted to work at Monsoons but didn't want to limit ourselves. Within 20 minutes Dan had 2 job trials and I had 3 with one that night at Wisdoms which I fell in love with. They just threw me behind the bar, no training, didn't know where anything was on their bar or the computer system, and it was a busy night....it felt great to be behind a bar again. The next night they did the same thing which I was fine with. The next week I was put into the restaurant part so they could train me for both. I talked with the managers and asked for a set schedule and hours so I could get a part time job on the side and have Wisdoms as my main income "no worries, we will give you 37 hours a week" "sweet awesome". Monsoons they would give me 2-3 nights a week so everything was working out. Though, Wisdoms was worried about Monsoons stealing me from them "we like you here" "don't worry it's just for extra shifts they wont steal me" Then the schedule came out the next week at Wisdoms - 15 hours! Three shifts in the bistro and nothing on bar, NOT EVEN NEW YEARS! "Em I feel so bad, just wait till next week I feel so bad" "Seriously no worries, I will just let Monsoons know so I can get some hours." Well not only did I let Monsoons know but I changed all my tax info so I can make them my primary income and went full time as one of the night bartenders. Not that I wanted to screw Wisdoms over but I can't sit around week by week hoping they are going to give me hours. Anyways its all working out we are so happy and Darwin is both of our favourite place in Australia. It's wierd you know there is a saying that goes something like - we travel the world only to look for comforts that remind us of home - Darwin reminds me of an oversized Blue Mountain Village, well at least the area we live in. It's basically all shops, and bars/restaurants, the people are a mix of locals, backpackers and other Aussies who ended up there because they love it (which reminds me of the collective group in Cwood) If you work at the bars you pretty much have VIP everywhere and know all the other bartenders and everyone is friends with everyone and there is drama (just like the village). You have your grocery store and the beach around the corner and your resorts and hostels, there is hustel and bustle during the day and at night the place just comes alive. I guess in a way with the smallness of it but the closeness of the people; and the ppeople here I must say are pretty awesome (though there are always a few) I feel at home and so does Dan. Some of the people here I have met remind me of people from back home which I guess goes into the whole "feeling like I'm at home" mix of things. It just sucks that we have to leave in less then 3 months as my Visa is up at the begining of April.
As the streets are lined with shops, bars and the hustle and bustle of people they are also lined with Aboriginals who sit on the side walks banging sticks and singing, playing the dijeridoo and begging for money, passed out drunk spread eagle on the sidewalks, emptying out their bodily fluids where ever and whenever they feell like it, fighting eachother and yelling at the people sitting out on the patio's....it's pretty nuts but they are a whole other story.
I originally had a job working reception at the hostel which seemed like a good deal, but.....the owner is a bit of a sleeze, all he did was look at my chest, I didn't even have any clevage showing at all, he then points to my chest and says "you have a piece of hair there." Everytime he walked past me he would have to "brush" past me....eww he is so gross. He actually has a really bad reputation in Darwin, we have even heard he has been shut down and has had charges against him from past employees. Though none of that was the reason I quit. I found out that the place is shutting down for renovations meaning that there would be no work "but I will need someone to look after the place when it is shut down so you would have free rent." "yes but I would have no money coming in." "yes but you would have free rent" so being responsible I told him that I didn't want to waste his time or my time with training if the place was shutting in 3 weeks and I would just have to find another job as I had to think of myself and my finances. Thank you very much but I don't think I will be taking the job "well then maybe you need to find another hostel where you can get free rent" "I can afford rent thank you I just need to have money coming in" "like I said you need to find a place that will offer you free rent" He was so rude about it. this place is not backpacker friendly, don't get me wrong we love it here, it's small and the people staying/living here are awesome, it is a great group of people here, but the guy is so money hungry, he doesn't care about the people here. There is an old Italian woman staying here and she wanted a blanket because she gets cold at night they charged her $10 for it. The other morning our rent was due at 10am but because we work late we slept late (we usually pay a day early but we slept all day) they come in our room screaming at us at 10am when not only have we been here for 3 weeks and they know us, they know we are staying and not checking out and that we work till 6am. Your rent is due come pay, they screamed at us to wake up. "Sorry but we worked till 6am" Dan replied extremely annoyed that they woke us up, then they stood outside tapping their foot for us to get up right away. We slept another 2 hours lol. It's pretty chilled out and quiet during the day, people swimming or just lounging but at night once reception is closed it is a different story. The place comes alive and gets crazy, though we are usually at work so we don't partake in any of the festivities and on our nights off we are so sick of dealing with drunk people that we lock ourselves in our room lol, we have become the anti-social couple lol. Oh well....I told Dan having an old girlfriend is making him old.
We did a day trip to Litchfield National Park. The morning started off with a 2 hour boat ride into croc infested water. They swam right up to the boat and jumped for the food our guide had hanging on a stick. Some of them were massive and it was a little intimidating when they jumped out of the water, sometimes you could feel them swimming into the boat. After that we stopped off and leaerned about Cathedral and Magnetic Termite Mounds which were pretty incredible to look at but our guide was a little long winded. We really just wanted to get to the falls and swim so we were getting bored. I mean, it was alright, except that we were extremely hung over and our guide was shit. All he did for 12 hours was talk about how he was raised with the Aboriginals and he never saw a white man (he is white) until he was like 10 and then he went on to talk about Scientology for hours. Everyone was so bored except this one girl who just kept asking him questions, we wanted to hit her and tell her to shut up! When we stopped somewhere he would spend an hour telling us about it then repeat it over three times, something that would normally take 10 minutes to explain took him half an hour and it was sooo hot. At one point in the day a big horsefly got into the van so I killed it. He got out of the drivers seat opened the back door and lectured me about killing flies because they have a spirit and I don't have a right to kill them - "thats why the Aboriginals are covered in them. They don't kill them because they are there brothers" - ya I don't think thats why but I will bite my tongue on that one.
All Dan and I wanted to do was swim at the waterfalls....but it seemed like that was never going to happen. Finally after 7 hours we arrived at Florence Falls. It was awesome! Two waterfalls, amazing refreshing fresh water that was super clear and amazing weather. It felt so good and our hangovers and bad moods were gone instinaneously. We swam under the falls and swam around underwater taking pictures and saw some fish, we wanted to stay all day but because we got there @ 2pm we only had 45 minutes before we had to go to the next swimming spot...Buley Rockholes. The Buley's start high up and flow all the way down, each small fall landing into small swimming holes. Soo much fun especially sliding our way from one pool to the next. We spent about 45 minutes there and then it was time to head back and watch the sunset in Fannie Bay. The sunset was incredible, the colours were breathtaking, they literally changed every 5 seconds and they were so vibrant, I would love to say the most beautiful I have ever seen but I have seen so many from different points of the country and other countires that they are so hard to compare, but WOW, I definately want to get out there and see another one.
Christmas was awesome, I called it the Orphan's Christmas as all of us were away from home and Celebrating with complete strangers yet it was one of the best Christmas's I have ever had, though at the same time it didn't feel like Christmas. There didn't seem to be any Christmas vibe at all in Darwin. Places had lights up but it was more to match their decor then give off the Christmas Spirit. Plus the hostel didn't have lights up because the owner doesn't like tacky Dan and I slept till about 2p as we don't get home from work till about 6am - Monsoons serves till 4am. Joe (one of our roommates) cooked up a massive BBQ - lobster, shrimp, skewers, sausages and of course beer, bourbon chips and dip. Rob (our other roommate) came out dressed as Santa and everyone sat on his lap, it was classic. The boys played in the pool and we listened to music. By the time the evening hit everyone was pretty much in a good vibe so the drinking games commenced for a few hours and then we had to move ourselves inside as it rained like a bitch. At about 2 am the guitar started randomly out of nowhere - Oasis, Wonderwall- and as if on cue everyone started singing together, it sounded so beautiful.
We work most of the time. My hours are nuts, working two jobs so I usually work 12 hour days but I love my jobs and Dan and I have a blast working at Monsoons, plus we love working together. We worked NYE which was a blast. We got our midnight kiss and the managers had Jagerbombs lined up for us in the kitchen. Our liscence was extended till 5am so we didn't finish till 6am so we were knackered...but to our surprise thats when the party started. The GM said drinks on him all morning so we sat inside the restaurant till 10am (I think it was 10am) ! We were pissed, we actually had to leave because we were too drunk and we had both already puked. We got back to the hostel and went for a swim and then slept till 7pm. I have now had two days off and it is back to work in a few hours! Grrr...as much as I love my jobs I hate going to work after a few days off.
Anyways....I miss you all very much and I hope your celebrations of the introduction of the new year was a blast oh and I do hope Santa was good to you all.
Happy 2012!!!
Darwin is awesome. It's small but yet has a great vibe, with shops and bars lining the main street (Mitchel St.) and an awesome infusion of restaurants; Thai, Indian, Italian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Shushi, Burgers and the food is awesome....finally some good food in Australia non of the tasteless stuff I have had to indure for the last 8 months lol. Anyways, things here are great, we have an amazing job! We are both bartending at the most popular bar/club in Darwin, Monsoons, we serve till 4am so we work late -or should I say early- but it is so worth it. The money is awesome plus we make tips!!! Plus the job it self is just awesome all the managers are my age, some of them have been sponsored so were once travellers and they all actually work and I mean they bartend with us...there are bells that we randomly ring through out the nightl, Coyote Tuesday where 2 of the managers dress like cowgirls and dance on the bar and stage all night, ladies night on Thursday which is when we have topless bartenders (Dan's abs and chest or on stand-by) and a male stripper, we have water fights with eachother behind the bar, we deal with drunk wankers all night but it is great, we have soo much fun and just love going to work. I am also working next door at Wisdoms in the Bistro a few times a week for extra shifts even though it was suppossed to be my full time job and Monsoons was suppossed to be part time. Let me rewind.
After our first weekend in Darwin we went out with our CV's and just went around to the bars. We both really wanted to work at Monsoons but didn't want to limit ourselves. Within 20 minutes Dan had 2 job trials and I had 3 with one that night at Wisdoms which I fell in love with. They just threw me behind the bar, no training, didn't know where anything was on their bar or the computer system, and it was a busy night....it felt great to be behind a bar again. The next night they did the same thing which I was fine with. The next week I was put into the restaurant part so they could train me for both. I talked with the managers and asked for a set schedule and hours so I could get a part time job on the side and have Wisdoms as my main income "no worries, we will give you 37 hours a week" "sweet awesome". Monsoons they would give me 2-3 nights a week so everything was working out. Though, Wisdoms was worried about Monsoons stealing me from them "we like you here" "don't worry it's just for extra shifts they wont steal me" Then the schedule came out the next week at Wisdoms - 15 hours! Three shifts in the bistro and nothing on bar, NOT EVEN NEW YEARS! "Em I feel so bad, just wait till next week I feel so bad" "Seriously no worries, I will just let Monsoons know so I can get some hours." Well not only did I let Monsoons know but I changed all my tax info so I can make them my primary income and went full time as one of the night bartenders. Not that I wanted to screw Wisdoms over but I can't sit around week by week hoping they are going to give me hours. Anyways its all working out we are so happy and Darwin is both of our favourite place in Australia. It's wierd you know there is a saying that goes something like - we travel the world only to look for comforts that remind us of home - Darwin reminds me of an oversized Blue Mountain Village, well at least the area we live in. It's basically all shops, and bars/restaurants, the people are a mix of locals, backpackers and other Aussies who ended up there because they love it (which reminds me of the collective group in Cwood) If you work at the bars you pretty much have VIP everywhere and know all the other bartenders and everyone is friends with everyone and there is drama (just like the village). You have your grocery store and the beach around the corner and your resorts and hostels, there is hustel and bustle during the day and at night the place just comes alive. I guess in a way with the smallness of it but the closeness of the people; and the ppeople here I must say are pretty awesome (though there are always a few) I feel at home and so does Dan. Some of the people here I have met remind me of people from back home which I guess goes into the whole "feeling like I'm at home" mix of things. It just sucks that we have to leave in less then 3 months as my Visa is up at the begining of April.
As the streets are lined with shops, bars and the hustle and bustle of people they are also lined with Aboriginals who sit on the side walks banging sticks and singing, playing the dijeridoo and begging for money, passed out drunk spread eagle on the sidewalks, emptying out their bodily fluids where ever and whenever they feell like it, fighting eachother and yelling at the people sitting out on the patio's....it's pretty nuts but they are a whole other story.
I originally had a job working reception at the hostel which seemed like a good deal, but.....the owner is a bit of a sleeze, all he did was look at my chest, I didn't even have any clevage showing at all, he then points to my chest and says "you have a piece of hair there." Everytime he walked past me he would have to "brush" past me....eww he is so gross. He actually has a really bad reputation in Darwin, we have even heard he has been shut down and has had charges against him from past employees. Though none of that was the reason I quit. I found out that the place is shutting down for renovations meaning that there would be no work "but I will need someone to look after the place when it is shut down so you would have free rent." "yes but I would have no money coming in." "yes but you would have free rent" so being responsible I told him that I didn't want to waste his time or my time with training if the place was shutting in 3 weeks and I would just have to find another job as I had to think of myself and my finances. Thank you very much but I don't think I will be taking the job "well then maybe you need to find another hostel where you can get free rent" "I can afford rent thank you I just need to have money coming in" "like I said you need to find a place that will offer you free rent" He was so rude about it. this place is not backpacker friendly, don't get me wrong we love it here, it's small and the people staying/living here are awesome, it is a great group of people here, but the guy is so money hungry, he doesn't care about the people here. There is an old Italian woman staying here and she wanted a blanket because she gets cold at night they charged her $10 for it. The other morning our rent was due at 10am but because we work late we slept late (we usually pay a day early but we slept all day) they come in our room screaming at us at 10am when not only have we been here for 3 weeks and they know us, they know we are staying and not checking out and that we work till 6am. Your rent is due come pay, they screamed at us to wake up. "Sorry but we worked till 6am" Dan replied extremely annoyed that they woke us up, then they stood outside tapping their foot for us to get up right away. We slept another 2 hours lol. It's pretty chilled out and quiet during the day, people swimming or just lounging but at night once reception is closed it is a different story. The place comes alive and gets crazy, though we are usually at work so we don't partake in any of the festivities and on our nights off we are so sick of dealing with drunk people that we lock ourselves in our room lol, we have become the anti-social couple lol. Oh well....I told Dan having an old girlfriend is making him old.
We did a day trip to Litchfield National Park. The morning started off with a 2 hour boat ride into croc infested water. They swam right up to the boat and jumped for the food our guide had hanging on a stick. Some of them were massive and it was a little intimidating when they jumped out of the water, sometimes you could feel them swimming into the boat. After that we stopped off and leaerned about Cathedral and Magnetic Termite Mounds which were pretty incredible to look at but our guide was a little long winded. We really just wanted to get to the falls and swim so we were getting bored. I mean, it was alright, except that we were extremely hung over and our guide was shit. All he did for 12 hours was talk about how he was raised with the Aboriginals and he never saw a white man (he is white) until he was like 10 and then he went on to talk about Scientology for hours. Everyone was so bored except this one girl who just kept asking him questions, we wanted to hit her and tell her to shut up! When we stopped somewhere he would spend an hour telling us about it then repeat it over three times, something that would normally take 10 minutes to explain took him half an hour and it was sooo hot. At one point in the day a big horsefly got into the van so I killed it. He got out of the drivers seat opened the back door and lectured me about killing flies because they have a spirit and I don't have a right to kill them - "thats why the Aboriginals are covered in them. They don't kill them because they are there brothers" - ya I don't think thats why but I will bite my tongue on that one.
All Dan and I wanted to do was swim at the waterfalls....but it seemed like that was never going to happen. Finally after 7 hours we arrived at Florence Falls. It was awesome! Two waterfalls, amazing refreshing fresh water that was super clear and amazing weather. It felt so good and our hangovers and bad moods were gone instinaneously. We swam under the falls and swam around underwater taking pictures and saw some fish, we wanted to stay all day but because we got there @ 2pm we only had 45 minutes before we had to go to the next swimming spot...Buley Rockholes. The Buley's start high up and flow all the way down, each small fall landing into small swimming holes. Soo much fun especially sliding our way from one pool to the next. We spent about 45 minutes there and then it was time to head back and watch the sunset in Fannie Bay. The sunset was incredible, the colours were breathtaking, they literally changed every 5 seconds and they were so vibrant, I would love to say the most beautiful I have ever seen but I have seen so many from different points of the country and other countires that they are so hard to compare, but WOW, I definately want to get out there and see another one.
Christmas was awesome, I called it the Orphan's Christmas as all of us were away from home and Celebrating with complete strangers yet it was one of the best Christmas's I have ever had, though at the same time it didn't feel like Christmas. There didn't seem to be any Christmas vibe at all in Darwin. Places had lights up but it was more to match their decor then give off the Christmas Spirit. Plus the hostel didn't have lights up because the owner doesn't like tacky Dan and I slept till about 2p as we don't get home from work till about 6am - Monsoons serves till 4am. Joe (one of our roommates) cooked up a massive BBQ - lobster, shrimp, skewers, sausages and of course beer, bourbon chips and dip. Rob (our other roommate) came out dressed as Santa and everyone sat on his lap, it was classic. The boys played in the pool and we listened to music. By the time the evening hit everyone was pretty much in a good vibe so the drinking games commenced for a few hours and then we had to move ourselves inside as it rained like a bitch. At about 2 am the guitar started randomly out of nowhere - Oasis, Wonderwall- and as if on cue everyone started singing together, it sounded so beautiful.
We work most of the time. My hours are nuts, working two jobs so I usually work 12 hour days but I love my jobs and Dan and I have a blast working at Monsoons, plus we love working together. We worked NYE which was a blast. We got our midnight kiss and the managers had Jagerbombs lined up for us in the kitchen. Our liscence was extended till 5am so we didn't finish till 6am so we were knackered...but to our surprise thats when the party started. The GM said drinks on him all morning so we sat inside the restaurant till 10am (I think it was 10am) ! We were pissed, we actually had to leave because we were too drunk and we had both already puked. We got back to the hostel and went for a swim and then slept till 7pm. I have now had two days off and it is back to work in a few hours! Grrr...as much as I love my jobs I hate going to work after a few days off.
Anyways....I miss you all very much and I hope your celebrations of the introduction of the new year was a blast oh and I do hope Santa was good to you all.
Happy 2012!!!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Good Riddance
We survived our 11 days straight of work. The last few days were hell but we survived. We were so happy Saturday morning that we had two days to relax though unfortunately we didn’t have access to any wheels and we couldn’t hitch a ride with any truckies because they only had room for one passenger. We really wanted to get out of the Springs for two days, I did not want to spend our days off there doing nothing and being depressed. We were in our room contemplating what to do when there was a knock on the door; it was the owner. “As of right now your employment is terminated so pack up your stuff and Jason is driving you into Darwin.” That was it! We packed up and left within half an hour.
We knew something was up, the last few days were getting pretty bad, the owner was treating me like shit. Infact, the night before he fired us Dan was behind the bar and when he looked down on the floor he saw my iPod. “Why is Emmies iPod on the floor?” “Well I hooked it up to the radio and that was the only spot I didn’t get any static” replied the owner ``so you take my missus` iPod and leave it on the floor in the most walked spot where anyone of us can step on it. How bout I take your iPod and leave it on the floor`` Dan picks it up and puts it on the stereo…no static ``gee, look at that no static!`` Can you believe that! My personal property and he treats it like that, it just shows you his respect level. Not only that, two of their former employees came back and they were both on bar…so now there are 6 of us on the bar? Nope, made sure he had staff before he got rid of us so he wouldn’t get screwed over…CUNT!!! Goodbye Emerald Springs.
Dear D & B, you are not the type of people who should be employing backpackers, you are selfish and a mean man who has no respect for anyone including a wife who is not well. You stand around giving out orders while everyone else works there ass off including your wife who shouldn’t be working as hard as she does. You don’t know to treat people or talk to them, and if you really cared about your staff you would’ve addressed the so-called issue with us early on to possibly avoid the termination and on top of that you would have actually listened to us when we tried to explain things about your prescious customer W who is an old fat cunt with no respect for others which is probably why you like him because he is just an older fatter version of you. You would’ve listened at the fact that he throws his money at us instead of handing it to us, I bet he never told you that Dan got mad at him and to not throw his money at us, you didn’t know that did you…Mr. W didn’t tell you about that did he, he just told you I was a bitch and didn’t like me, maybe that’s because I don’t like people who treat others especially me like shit for no apparent reason, do unto others as you would have done unto you, you treat people like shit so they treat you the same and you don’t like it. You wonder why you go through so much staff, why they leave in the night it’s not your staff, it’s you!!! Oh and about my iPod on the floor, how bout we put B’s there and see if someone steps on it, would you do that with your wifes iPod…haha I wouldn’t put it past you. Maybe you should lay off the fucking beer and the amphetamines that we all know you take but maybe you feel they make you a better person but I don’t think it’s possible for you to be a better person, you’re the type of person that I feel is a waste of space and doesn’t do anything good for man kind except give Aussie’s a bad name and a bad work experience. Your also a waste of breath and I have wasted too much writing this so I will sign off by saying, I hope for you that one day you wake up and actually see how beautiful the world is and that treating people with respect actually gives you a nice feeling inside, miracles can happen I think your miracle is B, she is a beautiful woman and I don’t know how you ended up with her, maybe you can give her a miracle by being a nice man. Merry Xmas and good fucking riddance.
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