Thanks for all the fish

I have been thinking a bit about the end of my travels and the return to real life especialy as I leave for London this afternoon. I guess it has been a long time to be travelling but strangely I don't feel that familiar tug to return home at the end of a holiday. You know the one, where you know that you've had a good time, but it's time to go home? I feel as if I could just continue for another couple of months at least. Strange.

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I don't feel as if London is my home anymore. Home isn't where you own a house or even where you have a job, home is where the people that you love are. That's not to say that there aren't people in London that I love, I do, I have some great friends who I love very much. But they're all getting on with their lives and starting their own homes and me, well I'm still yearning to be on the road again.

Or maybe it's because overall, I have had such a good holiday that I just don't want it to end. I thank God for the many lessons that he has taught me. I have enjoyed going through "The Purpose Driven Life" book with Charlotte, I have learnt a lot about the need to have God as my priority in life and to seak to glorify him in everything I do. *sigh*, I don't, but I have been encouraged that even when I mess up, I can get up, take it to God, and continue going.

I have also had it reinforced that God has a purpose and a plan and he will take care of me. There have been a couple of rough spots in the holiday but I have seen God working through his people to encourage me and get me out of them. Thanks God, thanks friends.

And finally, I have learnt once again, the comfort of being a part of God's family and enjoyed the hospitality that it brings. I hope that I can take these lessons and apply them to my life and become a much more hospitable person. I have been thinking of having more dinner parties at my house and I must make that desire a reality.

So that's it, I board the Singapore Airlines plane in Sydney in 6 hours time for my mammoth flight back to London. Please pray that I have a safe flight and that I am given the opportunty to glorify God in some way during the trip.

It's been good,
Vaniah

Hunt that vino

You guessed it, today I went on a day trip to the do some wine tasting in the Hunter Valley region outside of Sydney. After a crack of dawn start (I had to meet the bus in town at 7:50), we then drove for 2 1/2 hours to the Hunter Valley region. There we visited 4 wineries and did one cheese tasting.



It was good, I was a little disappointed because the Hunter Valley is more famous for it's white wines than for its reds (my favourites) so the tastings were understandably more white wine based. We visited Rothbury (best teaching about how to drink wine), McGuigans (best port - bought a bottle), Rosemont (best example of large scale capitalism) and a winery which produces only local wines called Green something (most random drink - a chilli liquour - ouch!).

I had a lovely time and learnt a great deal about wine, so it was in all a good day.

Figaro

No I haven't gone and done anything daft such as going to the opera. For those who don't know and think I'm being closed minded, let me assure you that I have in fact been to the opera, not once but twice and I can honestly say that I hate it. I'm not exagerating here, I really do hate it. This entry is of course talking about the infamous Sydney Opera house. Beautiful place, and the Opera bar is an outside affair by the bay with a view of the opera house to one side and the Bridge on the other. If you do go there, try the Pinot Noir or the Margarita, both are fabulous.



I officially love Sydney. It's a proper city with famous landmarks, massive shopping centres, history, a river, stuff to do and a beautiful skyline. It has the added advantage of having a proper beach a short ferry ride away and the weather to make it worth it. Hmmm...

After meeting Dave on Friday night and dropping my stuff off at his place, I went out to meet up with the group I had travelled with and say goodbye, pick up my CD's that I had forgotten etc. Bye guys, it was fun.



Saturday, Dave took me to Manly beach, named for the manly behaviour of the sailors who discovered it to the native people. It's a lovely area, reminded me a bit of Brighton with it's old slightly faded charm and the slightly artistic nature of it's inhabitants. We had fish and chips (it seems to be an Aussie thing as well) before taking the ferry into Sydney harbour passing the Bridge and the Opera House.

We were going to go to the Botanical gardens but got distracted by the Opera Bar instead. We had a delicios seafood dinner - I had Moreton Bay bugs which aren't like bugs at all but more like mini lobsters - yummy, and a delicious baramunda.

I have really enjoyed my first full day in Sydney, it is a lovely city.

Groovy Baby

Today we spent the day at the Warner Brothers Movie World theme park. I didn't even know that there were theme parks on the Gold Coast until after I got here. Jo and Andy had got passes to the three major theme parks - Sea world, Wet and Wild and Movie world and Thursday was Movie World day - not a problem.



It was a very good day, school was in session so there were very few pesky kids around the place so we pretty much got to the front of all of the queues very quickly. The highlight of the day had to be the appearance of my childhood hero... you guessed it... Batman. I even convinced him to let me take a picture with the BATMOBILE! He was lovely, and looked fabulous in black rubber, no one will convince me that those muscles aren't real.



It was also a time to stand safely behind the shatterproof glass away from a dozen of the now deactivated Agent Smith's. They keep them well away from any electricity sources but I'm sure that I saw an evil glint in one of their eyes. You tell me if you can make out which...



The surprise entertainer of the day turned out to be none other than Austin Powers who travelled forward in time to say hi to us and introduce us to his "friends". Andy had an inflatable fish called Harry the haddock which is the mascot of his football club (Grimsby). He also runs a website for some of the fans and someone from his club sent them some photos of Harry at some famous locations such as the Taj Mahal and the Pyramids. Not to be outdone, we convinced Austin to have his picture taken with Harry.



When we were leaving, these two guys went up to Austin and asked if they could have their picture taken with him. To which he replied "Only if you have a giant inflatable octupus". We nearly wet ourselves with laughter.

It was a good day, but the last for both of us. Jo and Andy are off to San Fransico (or is it Los Angeles) on Friday and I am off to Sydney to spend some time with my friend Dave for the final leg of my trip.

I can't believe that it's almost at the end. It's only been a month but it seems much longer. Lots has happened but in the grand scheme of things, nothing much has taken place. I haven't come to any blinding revelations, I don't think that I have changed as a person and I doubt that I have made a major impact on the life of anyone I have met. Does that mean that this trip has been a failure? I don't think so. I do think that I have seen Gods work this holiday and perhaps I just needed some time away to appreciate how much he takes care of me instead of taking it for granted. I have experienced the love and hospitiality of Christians the world over this trip and I am beginning to understand a little more of what it means to be a part of God's family. I hope that I can take these practical lessons and apply them to life back in London, or wherever I end up.

the freaks come out at night

After abandoning the group (sorry guys), I met up with Jo and Andy for lunch in Surfers. It's funny, we don't get much of a chance to meet up in London so it was really nice to find out what they've been doing on their holidays.



After dropping my stuff off at the hotel and having a quick swim, we met up with Jo's sister Marissa and her husband and went to the dinner caberet called Dracula's. I was in the car with Jo and Andy and when we drove in, this woman with purple hair jumped into the car. Andy handled it very well and just kept driving. She (the purple haired freak) then proceeded to duck below the window so that the poor unsuspecting man who had just finished locking up his car couldn't see her... until she jumped up and frightened him *laugh* Let's just say that the evening continued in that trend from there.



It was a very good evening, the food was good, the cocktails were good, the entertainment was very funny and not the least bit scary, and the company was great. Would definately recommend it as a slightly different twist to your visit to the Gold Coast.

surfers in paradise

Yesterday the group wanted to make a trip to the Australia zoo which I had already been to so I decided to spend the day in Brisbane and explore the city by myself.

It was nice to be in a city again, I think that it just confirmed to me that I am a bit of a city girl at heart - it's not that I don't like the country or wouldn't want to stay there, it's just that I think I really like cities. As far as cities go, Brisbane isn't anything special. After updating my Blog, I wandered through the shops and down to the riverside where I caught a City Cat (like a riverboat) along the river. I'll put up some pictures. Initially I went the wrong way and had a little adventure making my way back into the city but eventually I got it right.



I didn't have long there and I had to make my way to meet up with the group at our next stop: Surfers Paradise.

I arrived at the hostel that we were staying at just as the group were arriving in the bus which was excellent timing! the hostel was a dive but at least I managed to have a good night's sleep on a mattrass (!) last night. we went out for dinner then on to a disco last night and it was nice to get a chance to dress up for a change.

Today some of the group are learning surf while I was sunbathing with the rest. I think that I would like to try surfing one day but I have tried so many new things this trip that I think I'll leave some things for the next time that I visit Australia :)



I meet up with Jo and Andy Holt in about half an hour and we're going to be staying at Seaworld Nara. I'm looking forward to a proper bed and some more sleep. Not sure how I'll get to Sydney on Friday but I'm sure I'll think of something...

Fraser island

What an experience! Fraser island was fabulous. It's hard to describe it and do it justice. For one night, I didn't even mind the camping.

While Toby (our guide) went to get a couple of 4-wheel drives, we each packed a bag which contained the stuff we'd need for one night at Fraser island. Once he got back with Mick the other driver, we stopped to get some groceries and headed for the ferry to take us over to the island. We got there without a minute to spare.

Fraser island is the largest sand island in the world. It is several kilometers (something like 100 km) wide and about half that across and as it says on the tin, it's completely made of sand. That doesn't mean that it is just a giant sand dune, trees and plants grow on it and there are several beautiful lakes in the centre of the island. It does mean that it's very difficult, and dangerous, to build any real structures or roads on the island so the main road tends to be the very wide beaches. How much fun is that? Driving a 4WD on the beach... hmmm... fantastic, have a look at some of the pictures on this site about Fraser Island.



We got there and went for a little tour where we saw some coloured sand mountains, an old shipwrect and a lovely rock pool that we could swim in. We haven't been able to swim in the sea due to the jellyfish which inhabit them at this time of the year so this was our first dip in the ocean.

We then went to our campsite and set up camp. There was a not so nearby toilet so we all went and on our way back we saw some wild dingos - they are their purest bread on Fraser island and completely wild.



The sun set and after dinner we all sat on the now deserted beach looking up at the stars. We couldn't see another camp in any direction, it felt as if we had the whole island to ourself. There were no lights except a couple of boats at sea so all the light was from the moon and masses of stars. I had to thank God for making such a beautiful world for us to live in and enjoy - he certainly knew what he was doing!

The next day we went to a couple of freshwater lakes and did a short hike through the island. How on earth can you have lakes on a sand island? Won't the water seep through? Aparantly not, the lakes - Lake Wabby and Lake McKensie were both raised lakes formed from dead vegetation forming a plug at the bottom of the valley. Over thousands of years of rainfall they were filled with pure water. Lake McKensie was the most beautiful with cool which silica sand and crystal clear water.



We left the island in the afternoon and headed for our next campsite. We have camped every night so far this trip and I think that I have now reached to the end of my camping total for the next 10 years! I do believe that I have been missinformed about the trip - I thought there should have been 4 nights accomodation included and the plan so far is to have one night (tonight) in accomodation. I've sent off an e-mail complaining about it so we'll see if anything happens. I hope so but in any case, if you aren't a camping fan, I would advise you NOT to go on any tours with LetsTrek America/Australia/New Zealand etc.

I think that I'm going to stay with the group tonight and then when they leave tomorrow, then I will stay in Surfers Paradise for a few days. I've already been in touch with Jo and Andy Holt so I'm going to link up with them until Friday then make my way down to Sydney.

On the road again

Today is Saturday (?) and at the crack of dawn we hit the road again, this time for the longest road trip (for me) so far. 900km from Arlie Beach to Harvey Bay - I don't know either. As far as trips go, this one was fairly uneventful, we played card bingo, play dough, uno, stopped for lunch, didn't see any koalas.

Tomorrow we head over to Fraser Island which is the largest sand island in the world for some heavy duty camping, i.e. no toilets nor showers. I'm not sure if I will be able to cope. After I finish this blog entry I think I'll have a look on the net to see if there are any hostels on the island as a Plan B...

I don't know what the facilities will be like with respect to internet access so you may not hear from me for a couple of days. But keep those e-mails coming, I love to hear from you.