Day 66 Minjin Swing

Today is the start of my last 14 days in Australia! Twelve of those days will be spent on a tour from Cains to Brisbane. Early start and hot walk to the meeting place only to discover that the tour is different and is 11 days not 12 and the driver had no idea that 2 of us were getting off in Brisbane or that he had to Brisbane! Oh well it'll work out. We all jumped on the very nice bus and set off. There are 9 of us, 5 girls from Germany, 1 Swiss, 2 English and one guy from Sweden (I think!!). Still 8 girls, 1 guy!

Our first stop was up north of Cains, we had a couple of hours in a town with lots of sanctuaries/zoos. A few of us went to the koala one to get a cuddle with a koala! We met an other English girl who had just been left in the town for 4 hours so we took her under our wing and she came round with us. The koala was so cute and fluffy! After plenty of picture taking I gave her back, she was to big to squeeze in my pocket! We looked round the rest of the animals then head to find a drink. Once our 2 hours was up we went back to the bus and were off again this time heading for lunch. Sushi!! The driver said we could stop at a bungy jumping place if people were interested. I put my hand up (sorry mum!), not to bungy but they had another thing called a minjin swing which sounded fun. We got there and I looked at the information about it. 100% safety record, 45m to 1m in 3.5 seconds at 120mph!! And yes I went for it! Hehe! Sorry mum!! You put a body harness on and the hook you up to the ropes of the swing. They then pull you up to 45m and once the light turns green you pull the cord to let yourself go. That was the worst part! Well I had to wait till the guy had jumped round to the camera because the remote was broken! Pulling the cord I fell and my stomach stayed in the air! It was so fast at the top of the swing up it was like you stopped in mid air and I could see over the trees to the sea, amazing!! I swung for quite a while and began doing silly poses! Superman!! The guy caught me and brought back steps for me to lean on. He said it would only be $20 to go again. After a little bit of thought I said go for it and was again pulled up to 45m!! Hehe!! Even better the second time! Once I was done hanging around we set off for the camp.

We were staying in big tents, but to be honest they weren't really tents how you would imagine more chalets made of canvas, in cape tribulation. Our last activity for the day was to swim in a river/waterhole. It was cold but really nice after being hot and sticky all day. The others in the group were reluctant to get in but I love water and swimming so me and another girl called Kathi (one of the german girls) jump straight in! It was raining by now and once back at the camp it really began to pour!! After dinner and a run down from PJ as to what we would be doing and where we would be going, we played cards and that's when the lightening started. One fork struck maybe 4m from us and took out the power in our tent! So we had to get into bed by torch light. The storm carried on all night so needless to say not much sleep was had.


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Day 65 Bridge Climb and Leaving Gareth :(

Today is finally bridge climb day woohoo!! Got Gareth out of bed, checked out, stored our bags and headed down to the bridge for the climb of our lives! Once we had got our tickets and filled out the waver form (I had to do 2 because I filled the back out wrong on the first one!) we were directed through to the changing area. Once again we donned silly suits and I got special shoes as you can't climb the bridge in flip flops! They then gave us harnesses and we did a stair test to make sure we could move the safety lock up and down the ladders. Once we were all kitted up with head sets and raincoats and hankies we were off. It was raining so we put the rain coats on. The climb was not bad a couple of ladders then steps at a reasonable incline, with stops on the way for the guide to explain various things and take pictures. It stopped raining after a short while so the raincoats came off as it was getting abit warm with them on. It was really really good and all the stories she told us were good like how the bridge was made and how many people fell during the making and how many survived, 1! Once back on soils ground we got out of our stupid suits and got the pictures on a disk, for mum!

We headed over to circular quays for some lunch. We could decide where to go and I wanted to go inside the opera house, so after a quick look inside we decided to eat there. It was all very fancy French waiter and tables by the water and fancy pants menu. It was very tasty though a perfect place for our last meal before I leave Sydney. We went back to the bridge and climes one of the towers at the end of the bridge to get some pictures of Sydney from up high. We met a friend from the hostel there and I had to drag Gareth away as I had to go get my stuff and get to the airport. Gareth walked me to the train station were I was very good and only cried a little bit! Then ran down to the platform to get the train to the airport. At the airport it seemed like chaos queues were massive and everyone seemed to be moaning. I soon discovered that the airlines computers were down and they were checking people in manually and it would take a long time. Oh well nothing I can do about it so I just stood in the queue and waited and utilised the free wifi! Hehe!! To be honest it didn't go all that slowly and by the time I got to the counter the computers were working again. After getting some pick and mix in the duty free I waited at the gate. It kept changing and it was all still chaos on the other side. Anywho I made it on to the plane and got to Cains a little later than planned but got there none the less. Chatted to a woman in the hostel room and had a shower then climbed into bed. Phew busy busy busy!


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Day 64 Blue Mountains

Up early doors today to go on a tour of the blue mountains! After talking to the snotty girl in the office we jumped on the bus and set off with our guide Smokey for a day of fun in the mountains! Unfortunately the weather had other ideas! It rained and was very cloudy! But this didn't stop our fun. The first stop was to search for kangaroos in the national park camp site. Smokey gave us a lesson on kangaroo safety ie don't get close because they can disembowel you with one kick! So after pictures taken utilising the zoom function to it's full potential we set off for the mountains. A quick stop in a village for a drink then to the top of the world again. Today however we could not see the world for the clouds. We did the walks to the waterfall, down and back up about 1000 steps!!!! And to the three sisters but couldn't see them. Smokey didn't let us miss out though he found and told us about various plants and there uses in aboriginal culture, like tea tree plants. Also made paint they use to do the teaching bs cave paintings. Apparently it's good for you skin so I gave it a go! Only a stripe on each cheek! Our final walk took is down to the base of one of the worlds steepest railway tracks. This near vertical train is by no means comfortable to get into but once it sets off and your nearly standing upright it's a little less painful! I don't think the pictures will do it justice though but still I took plenty!

Once back in the city and Gareth now very good friends with smokey as they share a love for mountain biking! We headed for a nice meal as it's my last night in Sydney. We didn't get very far just the restaurant in front of the hostel but it was nice and tasty! We then headed down to side bar for a couple of drinks and a game of pool. Gareth challenged the people already playing to doubles and unfortunately I must have left my pool skills in England as we lost. Sorry! Anyway we had a few drinks and a bit of a dance with some of the guys from my Melbourne to Sydney tour who turned up. Then earlyish night as tomorrow IS bridge climb day!!


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Day 63 Sky Tower and Bondi Baby!

I managed to get Gareth up at a reasonably good hour today! Bonus! After eating breakfast we headed down to the monorail station to go to the Sydney sky tower. The monorail carriages are tiny and it reminds me of being at Alton towers! Again I was the snap happy tourist embarrassing Gareth hehe!! What are big sisters for! We bought tickets for the sky walk and went in a simulator that takes you on a tour round the world. Then we went in the lift all the way up. Well not all the way just to the viewing platform but it was only a matter of time before we donned our star trek like suits and were heading for the sky! Oh after we had past the breathalyser that is! We went through a metal detector and some fire doors to the harness area then on out the door to the top of the world! To say it was a little breezy is an understatement!!! It was very cool though you walk round the top harnessed on and walk on glass platforms, jump up and down on glass platforms. The guide took alot of photos and told us about the city as we walked round. At the end we stood on a small platform and then it moved, Gareth's eyes went to the size of golf balls! Once back inside we took our attractive suits off and under strict instruction from mum bought the pictures! There was a problem with the computer though so it took ages for the cd to burn. Never mind more time for me to take a ridiculous amount of photos! Hehe!!

After a quick monorail ride and the best pie in Sydney we were back at the hostel. This is were we both had a rest/nap for a couple of hours! Maybe I am getting us up to early! Once we both came round we headed for the train station to go to bondi!! Woohoo!!! Unfortunately due to the rubbish weather the beach was empty but is still paddled and took pictures of the things I recognised from bondi rescue! Oh and got a picture of a life guard!! Even if it was using full zoom as they were all hiding from the rain in the tower. It wasn't a total loss though as I did get some bargain board shorts. Once back in the city we headed to the IMAX cinema, the largest IMAX screen in the world. The only full film they were showing was Tron, and because they only have one screen it was all delayed by 45minutes. Oh no I hear you say but fear not there was an ice cream stand just out side so we indulged in an scoop and sat by the water. The screen was massive and the 3D glasses equally huge!! The film was good and the 3D bits were amazing. Bed after as we are up early tomorrow for a full day at the blue mountains!


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Day 87 cards and cyclones

Last night was cold, the wind blew straight on me through the window, must get a blanket on Friday. The beds had shook last night and we asked if there had been an earthquake. Kalo said that other people in the village had felt it so it must have been an earthquake. He also told us there was a storm warning and we had the choice to stay or to go to Vila at our own cost. We decided to stay in the village and see what happened. As there was a storm on the way we couldn't do much so Kalo played cards with us. He taught us a few card tricks that I really must try to remember! Because of the storm the track to the beach had become impassable so we would have to clear it the next time we went. I am quite looking forward to chopping through with a bush knife!! Hehe!! The tide was up high for a really long time today, it was very strange. Kept thinking it was going to keep coming up higher and higher. After lunch Susan taught us how to weave island style! We learnt how to make head bands, it took a bit of practice but soon we got the hang of it. She told us all the thugs you can weave. It's done with pandanus leaves from a pandanus tree. Once we had mastered that she showed us how to make bracelets, it was a really simple technique and I kept thinking of all other things you could use to do the same thing and get pretty jewellery! I do love making things! Kalo returned and demanded we play more cards. He the said we should try more kava, the local drink, so off we went in search of the kava bar. The place we has thought was the bar was now all dismantled. When we got to the bar they didn't have any kava, personally I was gutted (well not really as it's vile and is not kind to foreigners stomachs!). So we went back and played yet more cards! Kalo is funny we played a game Jessie taught us. It's like wist but you have to declare how many you will win before you start playing. Again must try and remember the rules! After dinner John the turtle beach manager came and we chatted to him and Susan for a while. Now can I just say at this point that the weather has been good all day! Dark clouds came and went with no rain and no wind and no cyclone! I think possibly the it had already passed yesterday. Oh well path clearing and beach in the morning. So early to bad after more cards and some diary writing.


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Day 88 Beach and Snorkelling

Our plan for today was to help clear the path to turtle beach, however before we were dressed Kalo rang to say we were to go straight there and dig some nests. The track was much better than we thought it would be, not to muddy. John cleared the way pretty well with a big bush knife and we got to the beach in good time. Once there we realised there wasn't any nests due to be dug up so we decided to go in search of the nest that the 2 baby turtles we had seen on the first night had come from. On the way we found a couple of hatched nests and dug them up. There was alot more hatched eggs in these nest but also a couple of dead baby's that hadn't made it out. Very sad! The time was getting on so we decided that because the 2 turtles were right at the start of the beach that we should go back instead. We did walk along the part of the beach which we hadn't yet done and John told us a story about a rock that was on the waters edge. It has 2 rocks in it shaped like breasts, one a young woman's and the other an old woman's. If a young man didn't have a girlfriend or wife his father would bring him to this rock and he would close his eyes and touch the rock. If he touched the young woman's breast he would marry a young woman and you can guess the other option! The walk home was even better than on the way. Men from the village had been and had cleared the path totally. On they way we saw someone making charcoal.

After lunch Jessie and I had planned to go back and snorkel on turtle beach, but the weather looked like it would be bad so we settled for a walk back to the charcoal pit to take a picture. There was an axe there so we did a bit of posing with the axe! Then we went to see Susan and give her a shell we had collected off the beach. She told us about the charcoal and about the sandalwood. On the way back we saw a man shaping the inside of his canoe and I asked if I could take a picture. We went snorkelling just by our bungalows but the tide was quite far out and we couldn't get over the corals to the clams. We settled for floating in the shallows. There was a lot of fish though, a family of black and white clown fish the baby was really tiny! When we got cold we headed in and took it in turns to shower and wash our hair. I think I may have said it before but I do love the camp shower that they have! I don't know how I would wash my hair without it. We were quite pooped so it wasn't long after tea before we were tucked up in bed.


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Day 83 Canoe Building

After a lay in and breakfast we went for a walk around the village. At Kalo's dads we were told some men were making a canoe and we should go see. When we got there they were having a break and some of the children wanted to show us something so we followed. They led us to a lot of twisted metal, they didn't tell us what it was. It wasn't until we got back that we found out it was a crashed plane. After lunch we headed back to the canoe building site. They were having lunch so we sat in the windy place by Kalos dads and waited. After a couple of hours we went again and this time they were assembling it. We helped by cutting rope and sealing the ends. Also by sitting on the out rigger while it was planed to make it smoother. It was fun and cool to help make a traditional canoe. They let us name it but didn't seem impressed with what we came up with, JAK for our initials! Oh well we tried! It was getting close to going to the beach time so we headed back to get ready. Just James came with us tonight and also the dog that seems to have taken to following us. This I wasn't so keen on due to the tendency for dogs to want to eat/bite small moving things. She followed us all the way to the beach and down the beach! Lucky we didn't see any turtles really. I found the walk alittle easier today, maybe by the end for the month we will be running it!! Maybe not! At sector 1 we stopped for a rest and it appeared that James had fallen asleep! It was really quite funny! The walk home was long I was glad go be back to have a wash and go to bed!


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Day 82 Day Off In Vila

Today is our first day off, not that we have done much in the 3 dats we have been here but today GVI pay for a boat and bus to take us to Port Vila. To start with though the boat was late and we had to go to somewhere else to get on it. Then the bus was't there and Kalo had to call to get them to come. On the way to town we stopped to pick a few people up and stopped so the driver could buy some fish! We had written a list of things we wanted to get and do. The main thing I wanted was as much insect repelling stuff as I can get my hands on!! I spent a small fortune in the chemist and then we headed to the Internet cafe. After a while of replying we decided to go walk round the shops and get the bits we wanted. After lunch which was a tuna salad that was underwhelming we went back to the Internet cafe and spent the rest of the time there. In the bus on the way back the driver pulled into this dodgy looking yard. It turned out to be a kava bar. Kava is the local drink, it resembles grey dish water and is said to taste no different! Worth a try I think just to say have tried it!! It really does taste horrid! I only managed a mouth full of mine then rinsed it down the drain and quickly drank some water to try and get rid of the taste. One of ifs other properties is that it makes your mouth and lips numb. Kalo had filled a pop bottle with it to take home!! We got back and chilled and chatted for a while until we felt ready to have wash and go to bed!


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Day 81 Third baby turtle

Up early this morning to go to the beach for our first nest digging session! The walk was long again and I hope that I will be able to tell where we are along it at some point in the next month. We went to the first nest that needed digging. It was full of bad eggs and only a few good hatched ones. This was quite depressing, after the excitement of the babies yesterday. The next nest had better numbers of hatched to bad egg ratio. It also had a live baby turtle! Jessie took it down to the beach and we saw it crawl down and swim away! I decided we should call it squirt! We walked home and ate lunch. We decried to go for a snorkel, I don't have any reef shoes and the start of the walk out was in muddy grubby sand. I tried to go in my flip flops but they kept getting stuck in the sludge. Jenita and I stayed quite close to the shore as I didn't make it out far with my footwear. Jessie went for a proper snorkel but said that there wasn't a great amount to see. As we sat out of the water a little girl called Jennifer came and began playing with all our hair. She put Jenita's up then came to do mine. I think it was a bit long for her because the hair bands kept falling out, and she kept sighing. Once she had done Jessie's she ran off. We washed our hair and I used a camp shower that was in the wash room it made it easier and possible to wash my hair! After tea we sat and chatted again until we were tired.


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Day 61 Sydney with Gareth

Lay in!! Well sort of anyway! Got up and out about 10:30-11ish. First port of call was Sydney harbour, on the way we nipped in to queen Elizabeth building to look at the clock. Strange as it sounds it was a really cool clock! Lots of different faces telling time around the world, a ship going round for the second hand and carved pictures of the discovery of Australia. Took quite a few pictures of the clock! Then we headed on to the harbour, I got very excited about seeing the opera house and the bridge! Lots of pictures taken again!! We got a guy to take one of both of us and he took loads cos people kept walking across behind us. We went up so I could touch the opera house I don't know why but I just wanted to. From here we walk through the botanical gardens and saw all the flying foxes sleeping in the trees. I think by the end of these few days Gareth is going to be sick of me taking pictures!!

After some food we headed for the rocks, the first place were captain cook landed in Australia. There was a few shops and a house that was the first built apparently it wasn't anything special from the outside but there was some interesting stuff inside like old pipe work. The next place I wanted to see was darling harbour and the replica of cooks ship. We had to ask someone for directions and she sent us down a wild goose chase! The way she said to go lead to one of the cruise docks. We eventually found darling harbour and it was quite pretty. The largest IMAX is in darling harbour Sydney. Ggrr the problem is everywhere I go the list of things I want to do gets longer each new place I visit. Note to self go to watch a film at the IMAX! We had planned to meet everyone at bondi beach but by the time we got to darling harbour it was to late to go to bondi. We walked all the way around the harbour looking for capitain cooks boat but couldn't see it so we asked in the aquarium. Yer it's off having repairs then it's sailing around Australia for 13 months. Oh well maybe next time!! We walked back to the hostel and Gareth had a nap. I think I fell asleep for a little bit too!! When we woke up it was time to eat so we got ready and went for some food. It was really nice but I seem to be unable to finish a meal over here so we took mine in a goody box. It was arranged that everyone from the tour would meet in the sidebar below our hostel so thats where we headed after dinner. Nearly everyone was there and we had a good dance. The plan is to do the bridge climb in the morning so Gareth went to bed earlyish so he could get up to do it. I stayed up a bit longer because good dancing songs kept coming on and the girls taught me a dance they had been doing. It was easy to pick up and Nat was delighted when it only took me 2 goes to get it right! I went to bed around 1 but I could of carried on dancing!


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Day 86 A Windy Day

Woke up this morning and it's still raining! So we can't do anything today and we won't be going to the beach. I put my credit on the phone and text Dan and Mum. It was good to hear from them. We played cards with Karlo and he taught me some card tricks which I think I will have to do daily to remember them! We took it in turns to 'shower' and wash our hair. I used the camping shower and it was really good! Well for a bag of water with a hose and shower head. The mission for today was to eat the bunch of bananas that we still had from yesterday, there was still a lot on it! I started by having one with nutella. We spent most of the day talking, I was trying to get my diary up to date, Jessie was doing word puzzles and Jenita was doing soduku and reading. Not at the same time obviously! Jessie drew out one of her puzzles and we raced to finish it but I struggled because I'd never done it before. I didn't win but I did finish it without help. After tea Jessie and I had gotten bored and had a bit to much energy, Jessie mad it her mission to help me be able to touch my toes. This came about because we decided that we could teach the kids at school pilites and dancing. But guess what it worked I can just touch my toes!! She did have me doing some very bizarre stretches though! We then had a turtle drawing competition, my turtle had wonky eyes, an amputated flipper and was purple red and blue!! We then found Jessie's sharpie pens and drew turtle tattoos on each other! Jessie and I had a sudden burst of energy so I taught her how to chacha and some salsa! The rain had stopped but it was now really really windy. We could hear metal clanging like it was blowing off things and decided that our beds were the best place to be, so an early night.


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Day 85 A Stormy Day

The plan for today is to go to Heathers garden. After breakfast Jenita and I went with Heather and Susan to the garden. Jessie was still feeling rough so she stayed behind as it was a decent walk up the hill to the garden. I found it a little difficult in places as I was wearing flip flops and I kept getting the toes caught on things and trip. Heathers garden was quite big with lots of things growing. Chinese cabbage, sugar snap peas, pineapples, cucumber, sandal wood and much more. We walked round it and picked some cabbage and peas for dinner. I took pictures and told Susan how mum talks to her tomato plants to make them grow. Susan said it made her happy to hear it because it reminded her of a year she talked to her tomato plants and she had lots of tomatoes that year! We got back and had lunch. After lunch we were left to our own devices so I took the opportunity to get my scrap book up to date. It took most of the afternoon! Susan had told us we didn't have to go to the beach every night and I really wasn't looking forward to it tonight. But I don't want to feel like I'm not doing anything and that I may miss a turtle if I don't go. So Jenita and I got ready for the patrol! Jessie was having the night off as she was still recovering. I decided that music may help with the walk so I put my iPod in the water proof case Fiona got me for Christmas and had it round my neck so we both could hear it. I was right it did help the walk there didn't seem nearly as long! However when we were nearly at the beach James asked if I had my raincoat because it was going to rain. I had left it at the bungalow but thought oh well these clothes need a wash! When we got to the beach there was a big storm heading our way from the sea. John and James said it was our choice if we should stay and patrol or we should go home. I didn't know what to do because I would feel guilty if we didn't do it. However after a few good forks of lightening and some thunder, oh and James saying he has seen the lightening explode trees, it was an easy decision to make!! Home!! We set off quickly but didn't get to far before the rain started! I still had music playing to help and the lightening helped with lighting up the path! Needless to say we got soaked! Right through to our underwear! The path became more like a stream and my boots got soaked but I think that was from the water going down my legs because they stayed dry for quite a while even though I was basically walking in water. We got back in record time I think and had washes then got into bed. Leaving all our wet gear outside! Oh and tipping the puddles out of our boots! I am not looking forward to the track now, it will be so so muddy!


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Day 84 Church and Chill

I woke up ealry because I had asked karlo if I could use the phone in morning to text Dan and arrange a time to call. I don't think he heard me though because there was no sign off him anywhere when I went to the kitchen. There was only Susan and 2 other women (who's names may be Heather and Doris or Edina I can't quite remember!) breakfast was ready. After we ate, I had a wash and put a dress on because we were going to church. There was still some time until it started so I attempted to get my diary up to date. Well my turtle diary my actual travel diary is still on the 16th January!! It is driving me mad! I will have to go somewhere really boring with no distractions and get it up to date!! The bell rang for church and we headed over, a man showed us were to sit, it was so loud!! They were singing quite up beat songs that seemed to be half in baslama and half in English. The service started and they welcomed us, it was good to go and see more people and experience it. At the end we had to stand outside and shake hands with everyone, my hand ached from being squeezed so much! We headed back for lunch, it was so hot and still there seemed to be no air movement. We found a bench under a tree were there was a breeze and Jenita and I wrote in our diaries and Jessie did some of her arrow word book (with me helping/peering over her shoulder!). We needed to fill up our water butt and when it started to rain we thought if we took the lid off that nature may do it for us m, so that's what we did and moved into the hut out of the rain. For some reason we all got really sleepy and ended up having a nap in the hut! When Jenita and I woke up Jessie had gone to lay in bed, we decided we best fill up the water butt before it got hotter again. The well is getting easier to use with every trip to get water. The carrying of the heavy, water filled, butt however doesn't get easier. This time we did get a few little helpers! About 12-15 of the kids helped us or stood on our flip flops on occasion. I asked them all their name and they found it hilarious listening to me try to pronounce them. We then filled up the drinking water too. One of the men stood chatting to us and we heard the bell for worship go, there are 3 churches in the village and on a Sunday afternoon they all come together and worship together. We couldn't go because we were going to the beach. After dinner we got ready to go and Jessie wasn't feeling to good. I am still not used to the walk yet I keep thinking that we are nearly there then realise that we aren't. The wall down the beach is pretty challenging to I hope to not stumble like a fool by the end of the month! So far we have not been walking all of the beach we have been missing about 10sectors so tonight John wanted to do it all. However Jessie was feeling rough by the time we cane to do the last bit so we headed home. The walk back seemed longer than before. When we got home worship was still in full swing! We sat and chatted to John about his family and the village. He then began to tell us about church. Once we had all washed we got into bed, the latest so far.


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Day 80 First Turtle Day

I slept quite well on the thin mattress. Because the others had got in late from their flight we had no set time to get up. I kept waking up and noticing no one else was up I just went back to sleep. We eventually got up at 8:30, all washed and went for breakfast.

After we had eaten Karlo told is more of what we would be doing in terms of the turtle work. He showed us the forms that had to be filled in for the mother turtle sightings and the nest data sheets of the hatched eggs and bad eggs. Because it's the end of the season we will be lucky if we see any nesting turtles but we should see baby ones. After a nest is laid it can take up to 60days for the eggs to hatch, so once a nesting turtle is seen we wait 70days before we go and dig the nest up to check how many hatched. After he had finished he took us on a walk around the village and showed us where we were to get our washing and drinking water from. We planned to visit the school after lunch, as by the time we had finished our tour it was lunch time for us and the kids.

The walk to the school was all along the shore. As it's Wednesday they were all playing sports, because Wednesday afternoon is sports. The head master was off visiting another school so one of the three teachers took us around. They have 3 classes for the 6 year groups so 1&2 together etc. We watched the games until the end of school, not all the children joined in some collected seeds from trees and others just played rough and tumble. They all said hello to us at the end if school and a handful were told to show us the way home. On the way they found 2 black and white water snakes and proceeded to play with them. I was quite nervous because I didn't know if they were dangerous or not. They soon lost interest and we carried on home. It wasn't long until dinner was ready so we played cards with Karlo. Afterwards we got ready to go on our first trek to turtle beach.

We went with John, the beach manager and James one of the monitors. It was an ok walk apart from the copious amounts of mud! It had rained alot in the last month so the path was pretty boggy in places. It also seemed to take a long time to get there, am sure it will seem better after a couple of times. At the beach we had a quick rest then set off in search of turtles. John spotted some old turtle tracks but they were a couple of days old. We then came across some from the night before, and so began the search for the nest. We all dug gently in the area were the sand had been disturbed, James found the nest and we charted it down and marked the spot with a stick with ribbon tied to it with the date and neat number on, and we covered it back up. It is so strange walking on sand in walking boots, it is defiantly not the easiest thing to walk on. After quite a bit more walking and having to put our head torches on because it was now dark. Jessie suddenly stopped because she had spotted a baby turtle! Woohoo!!! I took a quick picture and we watched it for a minute. It was just going round in circles, we realised it was because we had our torches on still! They look for the light to follow which is out to sea, we turned our torches off and John stood near the water with his on and the baby scurried off toward him and to the sea. At the same time James had found another one who also headed for the water. We couldn't find the nest they had come from however. We continued to walk to the end of the beach and had another quick rest before setting off back to try and out run a large rain cloud. The walk back was pretty much the same muddy and lots of stumbling. Even with my was torch on I was struggling to see the path then I realised I had it angled at Jenita's bum!!!

When we got back home we were all desperate for a wash only to realise we sent have enough water! Jessie and I took the water container and attempted to find the well in the dark! One of the local men helped us by showing is the technique for collecting the water with the milk bottle collector on a rope. It is a skill that is perfected by repetition! We didn't fill the bucket (which is more like a bin) all the way because we wouldn't have been able to carry it! After we had all washed we fell into bed.


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Day 79 Begin Turtle Conservation

Today is the first day of the turtle project! I woke up nervous about what to expect. After a shower and bag sort I went for breakfast. There was a girl sitting alone and I thought maybe she was doing the same thing. Then another girl joined her with a large rucksack and a smaller one. I ran back to my room to get my handbag and when I got back they asked if I was doing the turtle conservation. I swopped tables to sit with them. They are both from Australia called Jenita and Jessie. They are from different states so don't know each other only met on the plane.

Once we finished eating we got a taxi to Wan Smolbag theatre (pronounced one small bag) the meeting place for the orientation. Now James at STA had told me when I booked it that I got the last slot, this however was not true as the total number they take is 7 and it was to be only the 3 of us. I don't believe that 4 people pulled out! But anyway it is the 3 of us for the next month. We went up to the office and had a talk about general project life and what to expect and how to dress for certain things etc. She then took us for anwalk around the wan smolbag project. It is a volunteer thing with a theatre group, youth group and clinic. From there Karlo the main manager of the project got us and took us to town to show us where places were and left us to get last minute bits and bobs and use the Internet if needed. First stop was to get Jessie some malaria tablets. They were ridiculously cheap! Less than a £1!!!! After we used the Internet and walked down the main street and back up again! Eventually we stopped for some food. After eating we used the Internet and went to the supermarket where I got some raisins for the walks. There was still a while until we got picked up so we went back to the Internet cafe and browsed until our pick up. The bus took us to collect our bags then on to meet the boat. On the way Jessie had a quick nap, when we got got the meeting place there was no boat. Karlo had to call them, while we waited I noticed mosquitoes and was a little concerned because mosquitoes tend to find me very tasty! The boat ride was quite short, at the other end we were greeted by 2 women, Susan and Heather. They gave us each a flower garland and gave us a drink. Karlo gave us a welcome speech and then showed us were we would be living for the next month. He left us to unpack and to sort out our beds. There was to be 2 sharing a room and one with a room to her self. We put a clean and 2 dirty pegs into a hat and drew them out individually. Jenita got the clean peg so she was to have the room alone and Jessie and I would share. We made our beds and had great fun putting up our mosquito nets! It looked nice and cozy! It was nice to unpack as well and be able to see all my things, because the last 6weeks I have lived out of my bag! Susan called to say our food was ready. After we had finished we chatted for a bit then headed off to scope out the washing situation. Stand up bowl wash, fine, cold but fine. I think easier in the daylight than by head torch but still clean and tired I climbed into my mosquito net bed and went to sleep.


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Day 55 Leaving Adelaide

Early mornings!! :( luckily today's pick ip was only 2 doors down from the hostel so I didn't have to get up to early. There was alot of people waiting, I arrived just as a bus did to pick people up so the pavement cleared alittle. I asked one girl where she was going and she said Melbourne which was reassuring I was in the right place! The bus arrived and there was four of us to get on. Once the bus had everyone one on it we headed to base to check in and then set off on our journey to the Grampians and the great ocean road!!

Shelly was our tour guide and she made us all go to the front and tell everyone about us over the microphone and to choose a word from her Australian slang book. I am I little tired of the whole microphone introductions. But hey we have to play the game don't we! Once that was all out of the way shelly gave us a run down of our plans. Unfortunately the rain would stop us going into the Grampians for the walks today and tomorrow. Also the warnings of floods in the area would also mean we couldn't stay in the usual hostel. This was because the police had closed the roads and evacuated to town! We would have to find somewhere else to stay.

We drove to see some white kangaroos, they were pretty chilled/boring just laying in the grass. From there we crossed the south Australia/Victoria border. We did the group picture on self timer and the standing over the border pictures!! From there we headed to a swamp for lunch!! There was a big slide and Kat, Gemma and I had a quick go hehe!! Kids a heart! We went for a walk along the wooden walkway and to be honest it was pants. It stank and the was nothing there apart from a small hut at the end that I can only guess is for bird watching. After we'd all eaten we set off to see if we could walk anywhere. On the way we stopped to see the pink lake. It's a salt lake and the salt has a pink colour because of the iron ore i think!! I say lake its more of a salt plane. However due to the large amount of rain it was actually a lake and it wasn't pink so we didn't even get off the bus.

As the Grampians came into sight they looked lovely and I bet the walks and views and waterfall are stunning. We did manage a small walk to some cave paintings and Shelly told us a lot about the animals and plants. Also the dream story of the area. The only down side to the walk, apart from being very short and cold, was the hundreds of mosquito's that feasted on us! It was horrid. I did manage to squash a few but we all got eaten alive! Needless to say we practically ran back to the bus. As I mentioned the place we were supposed to stay in had been evacuated so we had to stay some where further away. Enroute we picked up 4 more people. They had come up from Melbourne and had managed a better walk in the Grampians. It was then a long drive to the hostel.

On arrival at the relocation hostel it really didn't look big enough to fit us all in but (like Mrs B's house) it turned out to be a bit of a tardis!! The only room they could fit us in was a 16 bed dorm where the receptionist guy slept in the make shift tent he'd created on a bottom bunk! The room looked like a jumble sale and smelt like I don't know what! But we can't be choosy as they took us on late notice. They good feelings towards them soon left. As we prepared our tea in the staff kitchen Louise discovered, to everyones disgust, maggots on the chopping board!!!! We washed everything!!!! Yuck yuck!!!! Makes me go uurrgghh even now! After dinner I showed Kat all the badges I'd got from various places and the guide groups I visited. After a nice shower I climbed into bed and was out like a light!


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Day 78 Leaving Australia

I know there's a jump between day 60 and here but I am working on them.  Plus the note are on my phone and I have left it on the island in my bed! DOH!!

Anyway to day I left Australia :( but on to Vanuatu to do the turtle conservation for a month. 

I got up early and checked out, then ran (well waddled with large rucksack, small rucksack, handbag and 3 carrier bags) to the post office.  As much as I wanted to post the huge rucksack I was good and posted the things in the carrier bags to various places.  Well  home and New Zealand, stuff I don't need for the turtle project but will need again after.  I was surprised it was quite reasonable to post it all by airmail so fingers crossed it gets there ok.  After the post office I had to find the train station to get to the airport.  I had missed one train and if I missed the next one then I would miss check-in at the airport! Stress!! Luckily everywhere is signposted in Australia so I followed the signs to central station.  However within the train station the signs make no sense what so ever!  I queued in the tickets queue, only to find out it wasn't a tickets queue despite the sign.  I found the right ticket queue and bought my ticket with 2 minutes before the train leaves!!  This time the signs didn't let me down and I ran down the stairs and on to the train just in time.  I didn't take my bag off because it was to much effort to put it back on so I just took up 2 seats!  The trains over here go straight to the airport which I think is really good and useful!! 

At the airport the check-in queue was reasonably long but seemed to be moving at an ok pace.  I think I annoyed the woman behind me, as I was putting my rucksack in the flight bag, she kept huffing when the line moved and I didn't move to quickly as I shook the bag to make it go in.  She also had little respect for personal space as she insisted on standing almost right on my heels!  My bag only weighed 21kg WOOHOO!!  The check-in guy also changed my seat to one with more leg room.  I know those who know me are thinking I don't need more leg room with my little legs but it was nice of him so I smiled and said thank you!  I went through security and headed to the tax refund stand to get the tax back on the camera I bought yesterday (I'll explain on the previous post when I do it).  Dan called as I was buying food and we talked until his credit ran out.  I wasn't really hungry because I felt quite nervous about going to Vanuatu. 

The flight was ok I slept most of the way, in fact I think I was asleep before we took off!  In the queue for passport control I was trying to look for people who looked like they may be going to do a turtle conservation project.  I don't know if I thought they would look different to other people.  I looked different to other people, shorts and walking boots not exactly holiday wear!  After going through passport control i got my bag and freed it from the flight bag and put it on.  On the quarantine form it asked if you had been to a farm in the last 2 weeks and I had to tick yes because we went to the ranch.  When I explained to the guy he looked suspicious and I assured him I had washed all the mud off everything.  He let me through.  I got a taxi to the hostel, which to be honest is more like a hotel with bunk beds!!  I had flowers on my bed and a towel provided and flowers in the bathroom!!  Fancy pants!!  After I had sat for a while a little dazed as to what to do next, I got off my backside and got a map and went for an explore.  I found the main town easily as its by the sea so if you just head for the sea you can't go wrong!  The project information said it was best to wear skirts and dresses and I didn't feel I had enough so I bought another one more of an island dress but fitted at the waist not the mother hubbard island dresses mentioned in the lonely planet.  I bought a phone card and called home and tried to call Dan but it kept saying I didn't have access to the number :( I went in search of an internet cafe to email him.  After a quick nip in the supermarket for some water I got a taxi back to the resort and had a shower and planned what to wear the next day.  I ate in the resort for ease and had a nice steak not the fillet that it said on the menu but nice anyway.  It came with the most garlicky mash I have ever tasted which I needed after struggling to take my vile malaria tablet.  Then to bed for an early get up and a new challenge to begin!