Festive Family Fun

Well...the final 2 days on my own passed pretty quickly which was good.  I was able to stay 1 night in my parents apartment which was great as I could just chill out watching tv and getting ready for the big arrival!! I even made a cheesy airport sign J  haha!!

It was very exciting waiting at Melbourne airport for my family to arrive – it was like being in ‘love actually’ holding my breath every time the doors opened and closed!! Then the fun really started!! The first day I showed them around Melbourne city although they were slightly like zombies after a long time travelling!

We hired a car and headed to Great Ocean Road which was just as fabulous the second time around.  Everyone enjoyed each of the sights including Loch Ard Gorge, The Twelve Apostles, Bells Beach and Apollo Bay.  I was able to show them where we ‘camped’ and a similar version to our van – neither were particularly sought after by the Jess clan.  It was a brilliant day out and nice to be able to show them some of the beautiful sights, unfortunately though it was a slightly overcast day but this didn’t stop us enjoying it!  Dad was especially pleased that I was able to find them some of the local Koala wildlife along the route!

On the second day we took a trip to Wilsons Promontory – James and I had really loved it the first time round so I really thought it would be worthwhile taking a trip.  It did not disappoint and they all loved it.  We saw loads of Kangaroos which was still fantastic – the novelty of this really does not wear off...still such a tourist at heart!! I still took lots of cheesy pictures and was delighted that all the family got to see the cute roos in the wild!

It was a very sunny day so the beaches were beautiful, the scenery around Wilsons is stunning especially in the good weather.  We spent some time relaxing on the beach which was lovely and then visited a remote beach called Squeaky Beach – an isolated cove surrounded by rainforest and the sand actually does squeak when you walk on it – pretty awesome!!

This was a great day out and very worthwhile making the journey – again definitely one of the highlights of my time in Australia.

On our final day in Melbourne Dad went off to have a tour around the Melbourne Cricket Ground which he really enjoyed – he got to see the Indian team in training for the Boxing day test match and certainly seemed to the enjoy the experience.  Mum, Rich and I went off for a pretty epic tour of Ramsay Street!! I had done this before 4 years ago but I loved it then and it was just as great this time!! We visited the school and the studios seeing the sight for Lucas’ garage, Dial-a-Kyle, Lassiters etc then we went to the street.  It is actually a real street with real people living in it, only the outdoor parts of neighbours are filmed here.  All the houses look the same from the outside though and it was really cool getting pictures.  One of the big highlights of the tour is that you meet one of the current or former cast members....we were really lucky as we got a good one.  Skye Mangel!!! Richard was delighted as she was pretty hot and saw this as a good opportunity to get a hot girl in his facebook photo lol!! She was a lovely girl aswell and we had a great chat with her – it was great fun!

We left for Cairns early the next morning, heading for Christmas on the beach!  We arrived into the most fabulous apartment right on the edge of the pool and across the road from the beach.  It was lovely to spend a few days just relaxing and eating and having a bit of family banter!  I was delighted that Santa managed to find me after being away for so long! 

Even more special was getting a swim in the sea on Christmas morning – completely surreal!! We had a lovely BBQ and bubbles sitting outside by the pool, definitely a lifestyle I could get use to!!

Boxing day was equally as different and strange compared to home but totally fabulous.  We headed off for a day trip on the Great Barrier Reef.  A fantastic experience, with mum and I snorkelling and Dad and Rich trying out scuba diving!  There were a few hiccups with Dad almost being eaten by  Titan Trigger Fish – the instructor came back very stressed out by the fact he had to drag Dad away from this fishes nest to prevent him getting bitten – apparently these fish are very territorial and Dad was getting a bit close!! Unfortunately we arrived back to dry land with one perforated ear drum in our midst....poor Rich has been suffering and we may have to leave him in Cairns when we all fly to Sydney in a few days....any takers to look after him speak now!! Aside from all this the trip was a great success and it was great to see all the gorgeous coral and fish again from a different location.  This is definitely something I would recommend people to do when they are here, the reef is now a World Heritage Site and although it is well protected, I doubt I will ever be back to see it again as I don’t see how many more years they will be able to allow so many tourists to visit but still manage to protect the 1000’s of species living there.

Port Douglas is only a short drive to Mosman Gorge, Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation which are also World Heritage sites so we spent a day visiting those which minus all the mosquito bites was a great experience, the scenery was beautiful tropical rainforest leading down to the waters edge with beautiful white sand beaches and also rivers with people swimming in them throughout the forest.  It was great to visit something new and it really was so pretty.

It has been a great trip so far and we still have a week in Sydney to go, including New Year which will be a very special experience.  I hope everyone has had a very Happy Christmas and Santa was good to you all.  I look forward to hearing all about it in the New Year.

Lots of love

xxx

The Final Fling!!

The Final Fling!

We left Gold Coast and headed for Byron Bay, sadly it rained from when we arrived until we left again.  The place has the potential to be so beautiful but as the focal point of the town is the beach and surfing etc it was a little disappointing for us.  We did fill in half a day by walking to the most Easterly Point of Australia – yet another lighthouse landmark.  We have now visited the most Northerly point of NZ and the most easterly and southerly points of Australia – the Westerly will just have to wait for another trip!  The walk was through a tropical rainforest and along the headland, even in the rain it was very pretty – we were able to watch all the surfers from the headland, the bad weather didn’t put them off!

 I saw this Christmas decoration on a house and thought it was much more suitable than the usual ones for Australia!! 

We didn’t stay long in Byron as there really wasn’t much to do in the rain so we brought our train forward one day and headed on back to Sydney – 13 hours on the train for the privilege!! Our final relocation together!!

It was nice to be back in a city where we felt we knew our way around and were quite comfortable.  On the first day we did a gorgeous walk through Hyde Park, the Anzac memorial and into Botanical Gardens.  We stopped for the cheesy photos at Mrs Macquaries point which is stunning – it basically has uninterrupted panoramic views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House...we fought for a space among all the Japanese tourists and their cameras and finally came out with some pretty pictures J

On the second day we got the bus out to Cooggee beach and did a walk for about 1.5hours around the headland to Bondi Beach.  The walk itself takes you in and out through all the little bays and inlets and small beaches and the scenery is stunning...both landscape and surfers haha!! We really enjoyed it and then we arrived at Bondi and had our wee picnic, it was a great day out!  Bondi is very touristy but its definitely worth a visit and this walk was the perfect way to see it without having to just veg out on the beach (not something James is keen on!!)

We were due to the go to Manly the next day but it started to rain again so we were lucky enough to have been treated to a night in the Hilton Hotel Sydney for our final night together and to celebrate our 1 year being engaged.  As a side note...woah how time has flown since last December I can remember it like it was yesterday and can not believe that has been a year ago, I wish I could have that day again!! I guess so much has happened in that year so the time has really past in a flash! So we checked into the Hilton and I casually mentioned that it was our last night together in Sydney and the guy disappeared off...to be honest we were getting annoyed at him that he was taking so long to check us in and then he came back and said he had given us a free upgrade to a King Relaxation Room....all was quickly forgiven haha!! Oh my word this room was amazing so we went to the spa and pool and gym etc and just relaxed all day it was perfect especially since the weather was poor and a very welcome break from dorm rooms!!

Then finally the sad day arrived...we spent most of the day pretending it wasn’t happening and walked round all the sites for James to get a look for the last time and he did some last minute souvenir shopping.  We had arranged to go out for a nice meal which was really lovely – probably one of our only meals in a proper restaurant while we have been away it was fun to get all dressed up and we had a great evening.  It was a fantastic end to the trip of a lifetime.  It has hard to believe how much we have achieved in such a short space of time and the memories we have created that we will no doubt talk about for many years to come.  I feel so lucky to have done the trip with James and after many people telling us that it would either make our break us we can definitely said it has made us.  It has been the best few months of my life made even more special by sharing it with my fiancé!!  Needless to say I was pretty gutted when he left and it was an emotional farewell but its only for a month and shortly he will be stuck with me forever so I am sure he is at home now glad of the peace and quiet haha!!

I just can not believe our trip is over...we spent so long thinking about it and planning it its just surreal that its done!  We would not have changed anything about it so all our planning efforts seem to pay off!  So after James left me at 3am my new adventure of a solo traveller for 1 week began....

I was a little apprehensive, I have travelled on my own before and was totally fine but having spent 4.5 months living out of someone elses pocket and doing everything together it is strange not to have a hand to hold or someone to bounce ideas off!  I have been on my own for 3 days now and I am still in 1 piece!! I basically just walked all around all the sites again with my ipod and looked through the shops.   I was very chuffed that a few people from back in the day saw my status on facebook and got in touch saying they were living in Sydney and would I like some company....the kindness of strangers is sometimes overwhelming..well they weren’t strangers but 2 of them I haven’t seen since school days!  So I had a lovely afternoon yesterday having a drink with one of the girls catching up on old times and getting updated on her lifestyle in Australia, we managed to put in 3 hours sitting in a cafe beside the opera house just gossiping, not a bad life really! – it was very kind of all the girls to contact me and it really cheered me up and filled in some time!

Last night I went with 2 of the girls in my dorm room to see Mary Poppins in theatre here – its was amazing!!! She flew through the crowd and I was singing the songs all evening, it was totally brilliant and I loved it!! SO glad I got to see it as I couldn’t manage to drag James when we were here!

Today is my last day in Sydney and tomorrow (Sat) I get the train to Melbourne where I will have 2 days on my own before the final adventure begins!! I am so so excited to see my family again and to try and play tour guide for them, it is going to be a fantastic 3 weeks and a very unique and special Christmas and New Year...my final one as a Jess so I have to go out with a bang and it sounds like I will definitely be doing it in style haha!!

The next blog will feature some new smiling faces and some old sights as I go back through Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road with the Jess clan.......eeeek I am so excited!!! Roll on Tuesday morning.....

xxx

Party on the Goldie

Our penultimate stop in the camper van was in Noosa.  We had high expectations for Noosa having heard lots of good reports from people we met – it is described in lonely planet as ‘a stylish resort town for fashionistas and bronzed bikini bods’!! The latter especially sounded good to me.

The only downside is that its full of condos and beach side apartments so there are really no campsites next to the beach – our first time having to park frustratingly far away.  We decided that we couldn’t really complain having practically parked on the beach every night for three weeks lol!! Noosa itself did not disappoint, it is very similar to Puerto Banus with quite an upmarket promenade and main strip with mostly unaffordable shops and restaurants, filtered down with touristy souvenir shops.  We enjoyed wondering along looking at all the well dressed fashionistas!! The beach is just off the main strip and was absolutely packed when we were there – it was a hive of activity with surfers, kite surfers, paddle boarders and swimmers.  We didn’t sit by the beach as there was no shade we opted instead to sit at the pool in our campsite – it was quite refreshing not being in saltwater for a change.

Noosa was certainly a fantastic place and although we couldn’t quite make the most of it, its a place definitely worth visiting for those not travelling with backpacker restrictions as the sea front hotels and restaurants looked amazing!

We had 2 nights in Brisbane with Vinnie before we were due to leave him back.  We found a campsite 4km outside the city centre which was perfect.  We got the bus into the city and did some touring around.  It’s a nice city although not much touristy stuff to do, it is famous for its art and museums neither of which we were bothered by – instead we pottered through the shops and looked at the Christmas decorations etc.  

Brisbane has a purpose built beach and pool area just on the outskirts of the city called South Bank, it was a gorgeous place and absolutely packed with kids and families when we went to visit.  After the floods we were told that it was really badly damaged and the water was all polluted etc so it is such an important area to the local residents, that anyone whose house was not affected by the floods spent as much time as possible volunteering to help rebuild the South Bank area.  It is basically back to normal now and its really pretty.

With heavy hearts we left Vinnie back on Wednesday morning – we really did have the most amazing time with him and will remember it fondly for a long time.  We were so lucky that we had absolutely no problems with him either so were relieved to leave it back safe and sound – both him and us!! 

  The day wasn’t all sad as we headed into Brisbane that afternoon to get the train to the Gold Coast to visit our friends from uni – I was really excited for this!!

Alice is a dentist and Thomo is a doctor and they have been out here living and working for 18months.  We have had an amazing week with them and their friends, we felt so chilled and welcome it was so nice.  They have created a whole life out here for themselves with a really fun group friends, a nice area to live and they are just so happy.  It was the first time since we had been away that both of us could see how people do end up settling out here for a longer period of time.  Don’t worry we haven’t been getting any ideas lol!   

Their house is absolutely amazing, on the edge of a river with a little jetty and private beach area, a huge decking area and a pool, as well as huge open plan living kitchen area looking out onto the water – we really should have come here earlier!!! We basically spent the time relaxing, catching up, eating, bbqing, drinking, swimming and sunbathing – a perfect week after the hectic few months we have had haha! Although it seriously was nice to not be on the move constantly and to shower with no shoes on!! You forget about these little luxuries!! We even got to see them putting their Xmas tree up while sitting in our swimwear...really felt so wrong!!

party on the pier!! 

The waterways on the Gold Coast are rumoured to have bull sharks in them and the guys in the house have created a challenge for everyone who visits to swim across the river and back – basically an initiation although they have done it themselves too.  (All started because Thomos Dad who is 65 did it when he visited!)  Never have I seen James swim so fast haha!! We both did it and survived thankfully although I did have flashes of news headlines ‘Irish girl eaten by shark as fiancé and friends stand helpless’!! We felt very brave and daring after doing it although the locals swim in the water all the time – I was beginning to think it was just a myth until James had  a look on Wikipedia which says ‘There are great numbers of bull sharks in the canals of the Gold Coast’ – whoops!! Very glad I read that afterwards!

Alice just got engaged 2 weeks ago so I was very lucky to get to go wedding dress shopping with her!! It was so strange being in bridal shops out here, basically there is no difference lol!! And she might have found ‘the one’ so that was even more exciting – I cant wait to see the finished version after she basically redesigned the whole thing in the shop!!! Bring on wedding season next year...it is going to be so much fun and it will be nice that we will get to meet her Australia friends again, this time in Scotland!! It did feel a little strange though saying ‘Good bye see you on my wedding day’ as that is the next time we will see them both haha!!

James finally got to go fishing using Thomos equipment and he caught 2 fish – not exactly monster fish but still its a start!! He was very pleased with himself!

We got to see a pretty luxurious side of the Gold coast with these guys but the city itself is so strange looking, its basically loads of huge high rise buildings the ‘CBD’ on one side of the road with the beach and sea on the other side.  It is a popular party area and big for surfing, the beach is really pretty although with a strange backdrop!  

The Gold Coast is quite famous for its theme and water parks so we went to Wet n Wild one day – it was amazing, felt like big kids again!! One of the highlights was a ride where you stand upright at the top in a tube and they pull the floor away from you and basically your momentum takes you around a loop the loop before reaching the bottom.  The lighter people don’t make it the whole way around and go backwards to a midway exit point...clearly I didn’t have this problem!!  It was class though but super scary!!

We had such a fantastic time visiting these guys, if only these things didn’t have to end!! I am really happy they will be moving back to Scotland in 2012...slightly closer for the next visit haha!! Thanks again to Alice Thomo and not forgetting Mary for all the fun and banter and tours round the area!

We are off to Byron Bay for a few days now, then its back to Sydney for the very part of our adventure...tear!!! Until then....

xxxx