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...Hi, I'm Carla reporting live from Cairns, to fill you in on the story so far,
When I last wrote we were still waiting for the car, well we spent a few days in Brisbane, mostly drinking and playing monopoly and then having the silly drunken monopoly domestics that always happen when you mix monopoly and alcohol, why can't you let me off that hotel on old kent road, I let you off the hotel on Mayfair!
Enyway enough of gameboard politics - serious stuff - the ruddy car. We finally got the all clear on Tuesday the 14th. But before all that I have to tell you about the pikeys, its a bit of a soap opera.
(sing along now, to the theme tune of Neighbours)
Caravan park, everyone needs a caravan park, thats where good pikeys all live!
Enwyay, so we were happy on the campsite, a few nice random people around and then these 3 pikeys moved in, they had been kicked out of their sisters cos she had enough of them and was paying for them to live on this campsite! They had made friends with Lee and Kaite, a couple who had moved up from Adelade and were camping until they had sorted themselves out. After a few days one of the pikeys started trying it on with Katie. She then told Lee. He got very cross and threatened to 'kick his head in.' CRUMBS!!! So the pikey left. Hahaha 1 down, 2 to go.
A nice bit of drama on the campsite, blooming pikeys
Enyway so we got the car back and the nice people from Travellers Auto Barn payed for half, which helped us ALOT. We came back to the campsite, packed our stuff and left straight away. We drove to Caloundra, a nice place along the coast about 2 hours north of Brisbane. We went straight down to the beach and had a swim. That evening when we were having dinner, just after it got dark we saw thousands and thousands of bats flying in a wave across the sky.
The next day we went to Australia Zoo, home of the crocodile hunter AKA STEVE IRWIN. We didn't see the big man himself, apparently he is doing some work up north tracking crocodiles, but the zoo is incredable, we read some where it was described as the disney land of zoos and it truely is. They had a 'crocoseum' which is a 5000 seat arena where they did 4 shows, snakes, tigers, birds and crocodiles. The birds were free flight so they were flying all around us. The tigers were my favourite, the fed them and got them playing with carrier bags tied to the end of big sticks. They were playing in the water with the keepers. The whole time they did the tiger show they had an extra keeper just standing at the edge of the cage keeping and eye on the tigers because sometimes whilst the keeper is playing with one tiger, the other one may get board or jealous and try and creep up and pounce on the keeper! We also saw them hand feed the crocodiles.
We also saw a giant tortoise called Harriet and she was 175 years old. Charles Darwin actually baught her back from the Galapous Islands to England and she eventually ended up at AZ about 15 years ago. She can live up to 250!!! Blimey
We saw lots of others talks too, one on Cheetahs and another one of tigers by their enlocure and you could actually see them underwater. The zoo was incrediable, I loved it.
The next day we decided to start heading up to Cairns so we packed up and headed off. We drove for about 8 hours and ended up in a small place just off the main highway 1 called 1770, because thats when Captain Cook landed there. Its a tiny little village on the coast and our spot on the campsite actually looked out over the sea. We had a walk down the beach and there were trees growing out of the sand and hundreds of crabs. The two boys camping next to us were from Streaham and Tooting - small world!
The next day we carried on up the coast and stopped Airlie Beach, which is the main port to the Whitsundays Islands. We wanted to spend a night or two camping on one of the islands. So we had an ask around about boats and prices etc and was told that there was a cyclone warning so all camping on the islands was cancelled and we could go out for a day trip on a boat but it would be very windy. The cyclone warning would be on for at least 3 or 4 days. So we had a think and decided that as time is not on our side maybe we should move on and what we thought, move away from the cyclone. So we carried on and after about another 5 hours ended up in a place called Mackey. We found a campsite, and the lady who ran it was from Brighton and her daughter lived in Croydon! Even smaller world it would seem.
The next day we drove for about another 7 hours and got to Townsville, we found a nice campsite and set up. This is the southern most tip to access the Great Barrier Reef and we read there is a good wreak dive, the SS Yongala. So we went into town to find out about doing some diving, we went to one place and was told that there was a cyclone warning - crumbs, we were so naive, we thought we could drive up a bit and it would be gone but no, as we were soon to find out we had driven into it! Anyway the lady said to give her a call tomorrow at 3pm when she has got a final weather update and wether we will be able to go out in a boat. So we went back to the campsite and had a nice evening.
The next morning (the 19th) we went to reception to pay for another night (we thought we would hang around to see about the diving) when the lady told us about cyclone Larry and how they were on a warning, she said the cyclone probably won't hit where we are (about 200kms north) but we would get strong winds and lots of rain. She said it wouldn't be safe in a tent and maybe we should get a cabin. We said we would have a think, cos it cost about 3 times as much.
So we went back to the pool and considered our options:
1. stay in the tent, a cheap option and Drake, lets face it, is a badboy. He saw us through the rain with all our gear in it in Brisbane.
2. Sleep in the car, also cheap and guaranteed dry but really crampt and if we need to get out all the bedding will get soaked.
3. Get a cabin, costs more, but then only as much as if we had stayed in a hostel, safe and dry AND we would get to sleep on a proper bed. At this point it had just occured to us we hadn't slept on a bed for about 6 weeks!
We decied the cabin. So we packed up drake and moved over. We had AC and a TV. We watched Karate Kid 2 and then saw the news, we were now really glad we got a cabin. Cyclone Larry was a catorgy 4 and due to hit sometime around 7am. By about 4pm all the caravans in the park had moved out and they had taken in all the outdoor bins and tapped up all the windows with big X's across them. It had been sunny all morning but by this time there was a funny grey dull light. We went down to the supermarket to get supplies. The supermarket was caos. The queues were about 8 trolleys long and the shelves were empty. We got some bread and a large bottle of coke and lemonade. LUCKILY they hadn't sold out of whiskey. phew, it was close but we got the essentials.
We got back to the cabin and stayed in. We watched Signs (OH MY GOD - do you remember the bit Steph?) and the Omen and every hour checked the updates. There was a lot of wind and rain and they even evacuated parts of Townsville cos they were worried about flooding. The next morning cyclone Larry hit Inisfail and it built up to a cat. 5 (Katrina in the U.S. was between in a 3 and 5) It had winds of 290 kmph.
We stayed in the cabin another night.
It seems we were lcuky any further north and the damage was a lot worse.
We moved back to a campite the next day and hung around for a couple of days until the roads re-opened. Also on the way up to Townsville we noticed a funny rattling sound had developed in the engine so we had to take that to get sorted out, but it was only a small thing and they fixed it in an hour. (Let's hope this was the last thing.) We had a look into diving prices in Cairns and they were a lot cheaper so we decided to head on up. We had to drive a long way round cos the main highway was still shut. It was fun drive, took about 9 hours and we had all kinds of weather, from severe fog, heavy heavy rain and blinding sunshine. And most of the road was one thin lane not finished at the edges so if you went past a vechile, which was mostly BIG trucks you had to go off the road onto the dirt track. But we eventually got to Carins yeaterday and managed to find a campsite that was still open, put our tent up in the dark and then treated ourselves to a subway (whihc I have to say, even though I used to boycot in England cos they are rip-off for veggies, are actually well nice and good value for money when you get ALL the salads. I do well like them now - so sorry subway I take it all back) ENYWAY, we booked a couple of dives and tomorrow we are going to dive the Greta Barrier Reef.
When I last wrote we were still waiting for the car, well we spent a few days in Brisbane, mostly drinking and playing monopoly and then having the silly drunken monopoly domestics that always happen when you mix monopoly and alcohol, why can't you let me off that hotel on old kent road, I let you off the hotel on Mayfair!
Enyway enough of gameboard politics - serious stuff - the ruddy car. We finally got the all clear on Tuesday the 14th. But before all that I have to tell you about the pikeys, its a bit of a soap opera.
(sing along now, to the theme tune of Neighbours)
Caravan park, everyone needs a caravan park, thats where good pikeys all live!
Enwyay, so we were happy on the campsite, a few nice random people around and then these 3 pikeys moved in, they had been kicked out of their sisters cos she had enough of them and was paying for them to live on this campsite! They had made friends with Lee and Kaite, a couple who had moved up from Adelade and were camping until they had sorted themselves out. After a few days one of the pikeys started trying it on with Katie. She then told Lee. He got very cross and threatened to 'kick his head in.' CRUMBS!!! So the pikey left. Hahaha 1 down, 2 to go.
A nice bit of drama on the campsite, blooming pikeys
Enyway so we got the car back and the nice people from Travellers Auto Barn payed for half, which helped us ALOT. We came back to the campsite, packed our stuff and left straight away. We drove to Caloundra, a nice place along the coast about 2 hours north of Brisbane. We went straight down to the beach and had a swim. That evening when we were having dinner, just after it got dark we saw thousands and thousands of bats flying in a wave across the sky.
The next day we went to Australia Zoo, home of the crocodile hunter AKA STEVE IRWIN. We didn't see the big man himself, apparently he is doing some work up north tracking crocodiles, but the zoo is incredable, we read some where it was described as the disney land of zoos and it truely is. They had a 'crocoseum' which is a 5000 seat arena where they did 4 shows, snakes, tigers, birds and crocodiles. The birds were free flight so they were flying all around us. The tigers were my favourite, the fed them and got them playing with carrier bags tied to the end of big sticks. They were playing in the water with the keepers. The whole time they did the tiger show they had an extra keeper just standing at the edge of the cage keeping and eye on the tigers because sometimes whilst the keeper is playing with one tiger, the other one may get board or jealous and try and creep up and pounce on the keeper! We also saw them hand feed the crocodiles.
We also saw a giant tortoise called Harriet and she was 175 years old. Charles Darwin actually baught her back from the Galapous Islands to England and she eventually ended up at AZ about 15 years ago. She can live up to 250!!! Blimey
We saw lots of others talks too, one on Cheetahs and another one of tigers by their enlocure and you could actually see them underwater. The zoo was incrediable, I loved it.
The next day we decided to start heading up to Cairns so we packed up and headed off. We drove for about 8 hours and ended up in a small place just off the main highway 1 called 1770, because thats when Captain Cook landed there. Its a tiny little village on the coast and our spot on the campsite actually looked out over the sea. We had a walk down the beach and there were trees growing out of the sand and hundreds of crabs. The two boys camping next to us were from Streaham and Tooting - small world!
The next day we carried on up the coast and stopped Airlie Beach, which is the main port to the Whitsundays Islands. We wanted to spend a night or two camping on one of the islands. So we had an ask around about boats and prices etc and was told that there was a cyclone warning so all camping on the islands was cancelled and we could go out for a day trip on a boat but it would be very windy. The cyclone warning would be on for at least 3 or 4 days. So we had a think and decided that as time is not on our side maybe we should move on and what we thought, move away from the cyclone. So we carried on and after about another 5 hours ended up in a place called Mackey. We found a campsite, and the lady who ran it was from Brighton and her daughter lived in Croydon! Even smaller world it would seem.
The next day we drove for about another 7 hours and got to Townsville, we found a nice campsite and set up. This is the southern most tip to access the Great Barrier Reef and we read there is a good wreak dive, the SS Yongala. So we went into town to find out about doing some diving, we went to one place and was told that there was a cyclone warning - crumbs, we were so naive, we thought we could drive up a bit and it would be gone but no, as we were soon to find out we had driven into it! Anyway the lady said to give her a call tomorrow at 3pm when she has got a final weather update and wether we will be able to go out in a boat. So we went back to the campsite and had a nice evening.
The next morning (the 19th) we went to reception to pay for another night (we thought we would hang around to see about the diving) when the lady told us about cyclone Larry and how they were on a warning, she said the cyclone probably won't hit where we are (about 200kms north) but we would get strong winds and lots of rain. She said it wouldn't be safe in a tent and maybe we should get a cabin. We said we would have a think, cos it cost about 3 times as much.
So we went back to the pool and considered our options:
1. stay in the tent, a cheap option and Drake, lets face it, is a badboy. He saw us through the rain with all our gear in it in Brisbane.
2. Sleep in the car, also cheap and guaranteed dry but really crampt and if we need to get out all the bedding will get soaked.
3. Get a cabin, costs more, but then only as much as if we had stayed in a hostel, safe and dry AND we would get to sleep on a proper bed. At this point it had just occured to us we hadn't slept on a bed for about 6 weeks!
We decied the cabin. So we packed up drake and moved over. We had AC and a TV. We watched Karate Kid 2 and then saw the news, we were now really glad we got a cabin. Cyclone Larry was a catorgy 4 and due to hit sometime around 7am. By about 4pm all the caravans in the park had moved out and they had taken in all the outdoor bins and tapped up all the windows with big X's across them. It had been sunny all morning but by this time there was a funny grey dull light. We went down to the supermarket to get supplies. The supermarket was caos. The queues were about 8 trolleys long and the shelves were empty. We got some bread and a large bottle of coke and lemonade. LUCKILY they hadn't sold out of whiskey. phew, it was close but we got the essentials.
We got back to the cabin and stayed in. We watched Signs (OH MY GOD - do you remember the bit Steph?) and the Omen and every hour checked the updates. There was a lot of wind and rain and they even evacuated parts of Townsville cos they were worried about flooding. The next morning cyclone Larry hit Inisfail and it built up to a cat. 5 (Katrina in the U.S. was between in a 3 and 5) It had winds of 290 kmph.
We stayed in the cabin another night.
It seems we were lcuky any further north and the damage was a lot worse.
We moved back to a campite the next day and hung around for a couple of days until the roads re-opened. Also on the way up to Townsville we noticed a funny rattling sound had developed in the engine so we had to take that to get sorted out, but it was only a small thing and they fixed it in an hour. (Let's hope this was the last thing.) We had a look into diving prices in Cairns and they were a lot cheaper so we decided to head on up. We had to drive a long way round cos the main highway was still shut. It was fun drive, took about 9 hours and we had all kinds of weather, from severe fog, heavy heavy rain and blinding sunshine. And most of the road was one thin lane not finished at the edges so if you went past a vechile, which was mostly BIG trucks you had to go off the road onto the dirt track. But we eventually got to Carins yeaterday and managed to find a campsite that was still open, put our tent up in the dark and then treated ourselves to a subway (whihc I have to say, even though I used to boycot in England cos they are rip-off for veggies, are actually well nice and good value for money when you get ALL the salads. I do well like them now - so sorry subway I take it all back) ENYWAY, we booked a couple of dives and tomorrow we are going to dive the Greta Barrier Reef.
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