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Well well well.. before you sit compfy and prepare yourself for the regular 'Matthew Blog' (which he does soo well).. i am sorry to say that it is me, Marti who is typing!
We have been so busy over the xmas period we have alot of catching up to do for you guys back home. Usually I can get on with uploading pictures and rely on thew to do his job, so today you could say I am lending a hand- or two?!
The journey continues from the departure of Rainbow beach. With the bus due to leave at 8.00am sharp, it was an early start and we were weary after last nights bevvies..
Deano, todays driver was a chilled middle-aged guy and after looking through his photo album on the bus, has travelled basically 90% of the world himself! After an early set-of, there were a few hungry bellies on board..including mine and matts so after we had killed a few miles, we branched from the road into a small strip of shops. Some of you may know Australians love their pies!! This town was no exception and here we found a great little pie/pasty shop.. In the queue we pondered over what to buy, baring in mind it was still maybe 9.30 in the morning? Eventually matt went with a typical chicken + veg and I was teased into a curry pie! What reflects our recent pigishness was that we couldn't resist buying a pink, Simpson like doughnut which would make Homer dribble!! I actually remember regretting it and it not tasting as good as it appeared behind the transparent glass counter?? Precious $$ wasted in the eyes of matt!
Anyway, we were again hurdled onto the bus like sheep and soon informed that we were traveling along 'Steve Irwin Way', which is self-explanatory a tribute to the ledgendary crocodile fanatic!! From here we made a second pit-stop at the great Australia Zoo and a pit stop it was.. Us thinking there would be some awesome wildlife etc to catch a glimpse of? Instead it was me matt james and faye taking a silly picture and then returning to the bus before it left without us! Maybe next time hey??
Brisbane or as the ozzies like to say 'Bris-Vegas' was now around the corner and the time came to leave some regular faces we had travlled with in recent weeks, including James who we had met right back in Mission beach on our sweaty walk :D !! Arriving in bris, being a city it was a whole different scene to the last two weeks and felt strange being reacquainted with the high-rise buildings. We were dropped off at the transit centre and soon after picked up by our hostel shuttle-bus. With Faye stayin at the same hostel, we all managed to end up sharing a room, HOWEVER it was a 10-bed dorm and the current occupiers had been living or you could say 'infesting' in there for too long! As we walked into G4 thinking cool, it soon turned into a phoar what the hell died?? Much pestering of reception, eventually resulted in a maid tryin to salvage some fresh air into the room..
Now we seem to mention these two lads an awful lot..mr dave and johnny.. and yes once again they were in the hood. After recieving an email from them, we learned it was their last night in bris on the day we arrived! So being the cool guys they are, we soon persuaded them to stay another night and catch them for a beer later in the evening. With the room being rather uneasy to sit in, me and matt decided to check out the new surroundings and took a walk to the Southbank lagoon.. After 10minutes walking there was still no sight of this area, so as tourists do we stopped and asked a local couple! All we intended for was a quick answer, yet this couple were Mr and Mrs Nice and within seconds we found ourselves purched in the back seat of their car being driven to the lagoon like kings.. Happy days!
Later in the evening, Dave and jonny decided they'd come to our hostel as we had a TV room which was showing the Man Utd vs Liverpool game (which indeed we would later go on to win - TEVEZ !!!.. sorry). A few jugs of Strongbow went down a treat as cider is a rare treat over here and not sold cheaply in most places.. Followed by a few games of pool which left Thew displeased after the 'cider' had affected my performance causing us to loose haha! Somehow, I have no recollection of why, we came onto the very random topic of pooh after one of the guys had told a funny story.. it all escalated pretty quickly and soon our immaturity was at full flow and the four of us chatted for a bizarre 30 minutes on this vulgar topic! Much laughter...
Needless to say we had a good night and caught up with our travel buddies before retiring to the pits of our beds..
The second two days in Bris we decided to save $$$ and so did not explore the town nightlife. Instead we thought we would make use of the hostels own bar, aswell as the tv room and dvd player. When you watch a film, which we both enjoy very much.. it becomes extremely annoying when the dvd is scratched and decides to freeze 15minutes towards the end, grr! After the third film we watched, repeated the same process as the last two - freezing right at the turning point of a good film.. we became angry to say the least and soo no more TV room! The bar was semi-lively during the evenings and we sat chatting along with Faye and downed a cheeky drink or two..
When the day came to leave Bris, we were early to ensure we got on the bus, which at this time of year can get quite busy and overbooked? It was no later than 12.30 and already we found ourselves with a pint in the hand awaiting the pickup! When the driver stepped out, we instantly recognised the driver..it was Beaver- the guy we had stolen pizza from back on Magnetic Island- you may recall Matt telling you.. ? We didnt think we would be too favourable if he remembered us but luckily he was a chilled out guy and aslo completely forgot about that minor theiving, therefore welcomed us onto his bus! In fact, it was lucky he was as nice as he was, because matt wasn't down on the list for the same bus as me and would remian behind? So although i found it very funny, the thought of Matt ending up elsewhere, Beaver made a few ammendments and us nerds were re-united!
Today our journey was set for Surfers paradise, and we were in high spirits knowing that Zorbing was on the way! Zorbing is a sport started in New Zealand and consists of a huge 15ft ball, a little water added to the middle, oh yea - us thrown in too, and a big ass hill! With our swim wear on, ticket paid for, we were driven to the top of the hill by some show-off, in what was pretty much a go-cart.. Here our zorb awaited while the dude filled er' up! Next he talked us through how we were to enter.. 'take a run up, and dive through the hole'.. after a quick soak down with his hose to grease us up.. we dived in with much laughter! Along with myself and matt, we dragged in our Swiss pal called Dan! And so we were set, the hill beneath us.. We began to walk like hamsters in a ball and soon began to pick up speed!! I seemed to roll most of the way backwards with my legs in every other direction and two other guys crashing into me - if only they were hot chicks :( I have uploaded a video on the site of us in the zorb.. but don't be fooled by the slowness on the outside- it feels alot faster inside and hey, it was fun!
Once the fun was over, we dried down and returned to the bus in search for our Christmas destination of 'Surfers'. But here is where I leave you as I like to keep it short and sweet! I hope my efforts gave you enough to read and have gave you an insight to the joys of travelling we continue to encounter.. The next chapter will talk you through our xmas week so until then, its goodbye from me, and goodbye from him! xxxx
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