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Ellen's Mini Adventure!
Dear All,
Hope this email finds you well......i have now left Australia, after the most amazing 11 months there. Is extremely hard to leave somewhere you are so settled, it was the closest to home and family i have felt in 18 months, and my times there with my 'family away from home' will be greatly missed but never forgotten.........
Now for a quick update on the most fantastic 3 weeks travelling the East Coast of Australia.....
CAIRNS.......23rd May- a 3 hour flight north from Sydney and i arrived in Cairns......a lot warmer than Sydney now that Winter is approaching, however it rained non stop while i was there....typical. But also didn't mind so much as that blasted stingray attack came back with a vengeance and i spent 4 days in hospital....not the greatest of ways to start my trip down the coast, but did mean that by the time Greg arrived i had a full itinerary and route for us to get down the coast and see and do as much as possible! Woo woo.... Greg arrived on the 28th and we went scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef....an absolute highlight for us both! Great visibility and a fantastic crew on our boat. Next stop.......
JOHNSTONE RIVER CROCODILE FARM......the name says it all...and the photos say even more..... www.ellenmoriarty.com
MAGNETIC ISLAND....we boarded the Oz Experience Bus, which we had both booked to get us the whole way down the coast, and our first stop was the idyllic island of Magnetic. One night here just wasn't enough, but am so glad we got to see it. The water this far north is not open for us to swim in due to sharks, stingrays, jelly fish etc (and with my past record i wasn't going to risk it!!!) but the beautiful weather and hostel swimming pools made it a great experience all the same. It was here we began for form a little 'travelling crew' and no longer were Greg and i on our own.......... Magnetic is particularly memorable for Dan attempting to cook a pizza in a frying pan.....!!?!
AIRLIE BEACH....arrive early evening and all book into the same hostel, by now we have made plenty of friend with the people on the bus and there are 9 of us travelling together...a great crowd, all on the same wave length and all offer something fantastic to the group...and most importantly all up for a great time! Airlie is a party town, and also the stop over for all the Whitsunday Island boat trips. Every night here is eventful and amusing as we get to know each other and experience the sights and sounds of Airlie nightlife........Airlie also has a beautiful lagoon, although the weather was very temperamental here, so we tried to catch the lagoon when it wasn't raining....Sunday 3rd June.......
WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS SAILING TRIP......the weather cleared up slightly, and we boarded our authentic sailing boat The Boomerang. Unfortunately we had the worst boat crew ever...unenthusiastic and a bit of a let down, but Greg, Rosie, Helen aka Jim and I made the most of it and just enjoyed the experience. Whitehaven Beach- renowned for having the clearest water and whitest sand was just beautiful and the sun came out for us then so we were happy! Sleeping quarters left a little to be desired, nice and cosy aye Greg- ha ha- but all added to the experience! We visited Aus Island, Tongue Bay, Whitsunday Island, Hill Inlet, Whitehaven Beach, Blue Pearl Bay, Hayman Island, Stinehaven, Hook Island and Caves Cove and did some amazing snorkelling before heading back after 3 days to Airlie Beach......
KROOMBIT CATTLE STATION..... possibly the most random of evenings spent in a cattle ranch....!!?!....we pulled up and were given our dorm rooms (old horse stables!!!) and then we had dinner, before being taught how to crack a whip, lasso, tip a goat and brand it and ride a mechanical bull........this was a particular highlight for me....never one to embarrass myself.....!!?...i managed to last the shortest amount of time on the bull.....ever...one buck and i was off....and Greg being the good friend videoed all three seconds of it....i give it a week before its on You Tube for all to see!....an early morning bus ride the following day brings us to.....
HERVEY BAY.....brilliant hostel here! And altogether we are going on the FRASER ISLAND 4X4 EXPERIENCE!!!! 9 of us are Me, Greg, Dan, Joy, Harriet, Hannah, James, Paul and Irish. As we pull up to our hostel, we see the jeeps that we are going to be doing our 3 day jeep adventure with....and they are bright bright pink!! We are all ecstatic! There are 9 of us per jeep, and we have a prep meeting upon arrival along with 2 other groups as to what to do and not to do on the island. Fraser Island is one large sand dune, and the only way to travel around it is by 4x4 jeeps, as there are no roads only beach and forest dirt tracks........the excitement is building........
FRASER ISLAND.....we set off bright and early the next day on our 3 day camping adventure.......and this was without a doubt the best 3 days of my east coast trip. The most beautiful island, stunning scenery, fresh water lakes, sand dunes, exciting driving along the open beach, camp fires and drinking games galore, fantastic group the Pink Posse as we are now all known, out in tents, beautiful walks and the best weather of the coast so far........just fantastic......the photos show it all www.ellenmoriarty.com ...and we end the 3 days back in our hostel where all the Pink Posse have the most fantastic BBQ (thanks Ian, Rory and Paul!!!)...........plus lets not forget...the game of SLAPS!!!
RAINBOW BEACH... a one night stopover here, but our last night with Hannah, Harriet and Irish, so we show them off in style with a great night in the hostel and a sad farewell.......but the snakebite is flowing and the singing and dancing will never be forgotten.....we leave bright and early the following morning for......
NOOSA..a very hippy and different town, but beautiful and really enjoyed it here. Our hostel was great and it was our chance to go to Steve Irwins Zoo.......a great day out, although very sad that he wasn't there......his memory will certainly never be forgotten though as his conservation work and dreams are being carried out by the fantastic staff there. Some great nights in Noosa, a very relaxed couple of days, and a well needed rest for us all.........
BRISBANE.... not really impressed with the nightlife here, although think just chose the wrong places. Hostel was again nice, with pool and tennis court, so we made the most out of that and also did the Brisbane River tour....which was beautiful. Was also Gay pride when we were there so paid the festival a visit...........
ZORBING.....entails being put in a giant hamster ball with 2 other people, in my case with Joy and Greg, also 50 litres of water, taken to the top of a giant hill and rolled down it..............absolutely hilarious......just brilliant fun....laughed the whole way down.....
BYRON BAY.....a cool, chilled hippy town, unfortunately only one night here, but we stayed in a cool hostel and saw the most amazing night time waves down at the beach. We said a sad farewell to the crew of 10, as Greg, Joy, Dan and I were the only ones leaving for Surf Camp the following day. Was a brilliant night though, I'm just lucky that i managed to see Byron last year with my girls from home!
SURF CAMP........an experience...........ha ha ha....i am by no means a natural but i gave it my all, and was very careful to avoid any stingrays this time round.....the crew here were brilliant and the food and company was great too.......next and final stop......
SYDNEY.......back home!!! Was great to get back here for the 2 nights i had before leaving for New Zealand. I spent Wednesday doing the tourist sights of Opera House, City, Harbour Bridge and Botanical Gardens for the last and final time....it was a very emotional couple of days. Leaving my family of Kiwis, Irish and English....you know who you are and i miss you already!
So here i am now, in Auckland, New Zealand- and boy oh boy its cold here! There is not much to do here really, so i am heading south to Christchurch in the next few days where i will be reunited with Greg and Dan.....and then Ryanna on the 8th July (woooo wooooooo!)
Hope you are all well, and sorry in the delay in this update, but as you can tell has been a busy few eeks for me over here.
Only 5 weeks left now.......not sure I'm ready to come home, but reality beckons......
Love Me xxx
All photos are updated now on www.ellenmoriarty.com
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