East Coast to North West - Road Trip 07

DAY 1
Wednesday 15th March 2007
Glasshouse Mountains to Rockhampton
Distance travelled: 580 km. 7.5 hours
Left home at around seven after a fab big breakfast courtesy of mum and dad. The weather was pretty grey and miserable. Stopped for a roadside pee a few hours into the trip and spent ages wondering fumbling around wondering why the key wouldn’t unlock the car when Liz realised we were at the wrong car. Laughed at ourselves for ages after that one! Following that the lining from the car ceiling came away and put orange foam everywhere. Tried spray adhesive and string to fix it before resorting back to the tried and tested pinboard tacks which worked a treat. Stayed in a cute little cabin thing on the north side of Rocky. Laughed at the giant fibre glass bulls with their balls bolted to ground on the way out the next day.

The family waving goodbye...

The little cabin that we stayed in. Was pretty cute though the linen gave me the worst hay fever ever and I spent a large portion of the night having sneezy itchy fits. So not hot.

Our gourmet dinner of sausages, carrot, zucchini and packet pasta. I thought it tasted alright.

DAY 2
Thursday 16th March 2007
Rockhampton to Townsville
Distance travelled: 718km. 9 hours.
Left Rocky fairly early. Got stuck behind lots of slow cars. Stopped in Kuttabull which was memorable only because it had the worst toilet in Oz and Bowen where we got a photo with a giant mango. Got some hot tips from the lady at the Bowen info centre who piled us with maps and brochures for everywhere between there and Darwin which was sweet if somewhat highly un-friendly for the environment. Arrived in Townsville in the afternoon and stayed at a backpackers in town. Wandered down the Strand which was really nice. Had some biatch backpackers take my veggies out of the microwave before they had finished and then proceeded to use it for half an hour. How rude!

The car was full to the brim!

A photo from some random servo along the way. Liz insisted on climbing the tree after I took this photo. Weirdo.

The big Bowen mangon. What a thrill.

Liz gets friendly with the locals in Townsville.

DAY 3
Friday 17th March 2007
Townsville to Cairns
Distance travelled: don’t know. 5 hours.
Left Townsville at 6:45 and promptly got mixed up in the one way streets. Made it out ok and then got stuck behind slow traffic, grrrrr. Stopped in Cardwell to get a photo with ‘Rocky’ the giant crab that was stuck on top of a restaurant. Too cool. Stopped at Lumholtz National Park for some more photo ops which was beautiful. Made it to Cairns around noon and checked into our cabin which we ended up getting an upgrade for – brilliant! Spent the afternoon flapping about in the pool.

Rocky the giant crab.

I got bored in the car and ended up taking a whole heap of dodgy self portraits. This is one of the better few.

One hot mama.

Another hot mama.

And once again the cheesy self portraits make and appearance.

DAY 4
Saturday 18th March 2007
Cairns to Moore Reef (part of the Great Barrier Reef).
Did a day trip out snorkelling on Moore Reef about 65 kms off shore. The sea was ridiculously rough which made half the passengers throw up all over the back of the boat which was a bit nasty but hey, I was with them so I can’t complain too much. Finally made it to the pontoon, got into our flame red stinger suits (hot!), had a bit of a snorkel around the reef before doing our snorkel safari with the resident marine biologist. The whole day was amazing with the highlights were seeing a giant Maori wrasse and being close enough to touch it as well as seeing huge schools of trevally and barracuda swimming past. Would recommend anyone to go and do it if they have the chance. Got all dressed up that night to go out for St. Pat’s, fed the freshwater turtles in the creek and promptly fell asleep. We are such grandmas!!

This was Wally the Giant Maori Wrasse with us in the background. He was so cool!

Us in our flame red Cathy Freeman suits.

DAY 5
Sunday 19th March 2007
Cairns to Cape Tribulation (return)
Distance travelled: 200 km. 6 hours.
When we told the staff at the front office that we were heading up to thew Daintree they recommended that we went up to Cape Tribulation rather than heading to the town of Daintree. One lady also recommended stopping in at Mossman Gorge on the way which was a great tip as it ended up being amazingly beautiful. The rest of the drive was amazing as well with stunning forests the whole way up. I got to see my first ever Cairns Birdwing butterfly which was brilliant as well as a few of the blue Ulysses butterflies as well. All in all a very enjoyable day with some amazing sights.

Mossman Gorge. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

The view from one of the lookouts over the river mouth and the ocean.

The beach.

Me at Cape Tribulation.

DAY 6
Monday 20th March 2007
Cairns to Townsville to Hughenden
Distance travelled: 720 km.
Had to backtrack down to Townsville before heading out west to Charters Towers where we stopped for lunch. The road out west (Overlanders Way) was pretty good so we were able to make good time for the first time in a few days. Got stuck behind a few road-trains which can be up to 50 metres long which was a bit scary. I hate overtaking at the best of times let alone on winding roads with huge trucks! Stopped for a chocolate Billabong at a servo, it had a really cute little old lady there, she was so sweet. The scenery started to thin out once we started the road out west though was surprisingly green for the time of the year. I think they have all had a bit of rain out there. I got a mean truckers’ arm and leg from the driving, not a good look. Visited the dinosaur museum once we got to Hughenden and had our first beers of the trip (and a steak) at the Great Western Hotel. Stayed in an 80’s looking motel.

My mean trucker arm and leg!
One of the dino sculptures around town.

DAY 7
Hughenden to Mt Isa
Distance travelled: 519 km.
Left Hughenden at 7am and stopped in the next town, Richmond for some more photos with dinosaurs. The road straightened out heaps and was basically in a straight line out to Mt Isa. Saw lots of birds of prey which were near the road for all the road-kill. Got to Mt Isa early afternoon and booked into a cabin. Got the car tyre fixed as it was leaking and got a hot tip to go to Lake Moondarra, the local water source. It was such a great idea and a really nice place to take photos and have a swim though I have to mention that I did get attacked by water weed and got the shits. Checked out the lookout which had a good view of the town and the mines. Tried to get some night photos but they didn’t work very well.

A marine dinosaur model at Richmond.

Lake Moondarra.

Me at Lake Moondarra.

The cool sign at the Mt Isa lookout. You can just make out the distances to both Brisbane and London in the photo.

DAY 8
Mt Isa (QLD) to Three Ways (NT)
Distance travelled: 630 km.
Woke up late and left Mt Isa around 8 and headed across to Camooweal and then over the Queensland – Northern Territory. Got a photo with a random fibre glass kangaroo with horns at Camooweal and with the border signs. Stopped at a roadside stop for a pee and something to eat and as they were no actual toilets had to use the ‘bush dunny’ ie: the nearest bush. Asked Liz to look out for cars but she forgot and entire family drove in on me having a wee. Not happy. At all. Stopped overnight at Three Way Roadhouse in the middle of a locust plague. Made friends with the staff and got free drinks. Yay! Ended up sitting in the bar doing crochet like proper grandmas. Saw the fattest frogs ever that had made the ladies toilets their home. They had the biggest bellies on them. Ever.

Cheesy shot in front of the NT sign.

The Stuart Highway. If you go left here you go out through the Red Centre and (kind of) past Ayres Rock and then down to South Australia. If you turn right you go up through the Northern Territory and on to Darwin. We turned left.

Three Ways was in the midst of a locust plague. Yay.

DAY 9
Three Ways to Jabiru
Distance travelled: 960km
Left Three Ways about half seven as Liz insisted on having all her coffees and cigarettes and generally held up proceedings. Were going to stay at Mataranka and go to the thermal pools but they were closed due to flooding and crocodiles plus we got a weird vibe from the place so we headed up to Jabiru instead. Saw lots more termite mounds which were a lot bigger than the ones that we had previously seen. Turned off the Stuart Highway at Pine Creek for the last 200 km of the trip which turned out to be the longest 200 km in the history of mankind. We did make it there in the end though and Liz finally got to see Rick, yay! There were signs everywhere in the park telling patrons to carry torches when walking at night to reduce the chances of standing on venomous snakes. Not cool when the only shoes I had were pluggers!

There were croc signs everywhere!

Kakadu National Park. Jabiru (where Liz is working) is in the park.

This was one of the smaller termite mounds.

DAY 10
Jabiru and surrounds
Didn’t do too much today except for checking out the tourist info centre which was actually really amazing. They had heaps of really cool exhibits set up and it was all really information. Got some info about a place to visit as all the other cultural sites were closed due to the floods. Flapped around the pool in the morning too which was really lovely. It was one of those nice big kidney shaped ones with a waterfall and landscaping, a nice addition I must say. Had a look around the township too which took about a minute as it consists of a supermarket, library, bank, doctors and café. Still it is everything that you need I guess.

Lounging by the pool.
The oh so fabulous pool.

AFTER THAT…
I didn’t write in my journal for the rest of the time so I don’t really know what we did when though we did visit Nourlangie Rock which is an amazing Aboriginal site and then went into Darwin for a few days. Didn’t really do too much there but watched a lot of Animal Planet and did makeovers on each other as we wanted to stay in the air-conditioning. We did make it out to the museum and art gallery though which was great. There was a whole section on aboriginal art which was completely amazing. There was some of the older more traditional art but then it had some of the new contemporary stuff as well which was great. Well worth going to see. Caught my plane flight home at some silly hour in the morning from Darwin to Brisbane. Was a bit hard to say bye to Liz after having such a good trip and not seeing her for a year. Still I think that she is going to really enjoy her time up in Jabiru so it is all good. Watched an amazing sunrise from the plane. It was like I was the first person to see the start of the new day with amazing reds belnding into the navy blue of the night sky. Pretty amazing stuff.

Nourlangie Rock.
Me!
Me at Darwin.

A Quarter of a Century

I have to admit that I was a little freaked out about my 25th birthday. Twenty five, it just sounds like I should be grown up or mature or something and as I am neither I was hence a little concerned about my impending doom. I have since come around and am actually quite enjoying the fact that I am in my mid-twenties. I think it sounds quite distinguished. For my actual birthday I was going to have a bbq at the beach but as I was still knackered from the flight and flu, I decided on the very grown up option of lunch with my family.

Liz had been working in a really nice restaurant in Maleny so we went there which was really lovely. The manager even gave us free nibbles and wine to boot which was wicked. The food was really good and it was fantastic to have the whole family together again after over a year. After lunch we went around to Mary Cairncross Park which has beautiful views of the mountains and a walking path through the forest which was a lovely way to end the day. Not really the rocking party that I had originally envisioned but wonderful all the same. Perhaps I should take it as a sign that I am finally growing up...

Even my Dad is more tanned than me!

A rose between two thorns. Or whatever.

The entire Martin clan. Our waiter took to standing on a chair to take this photo. Health and Safety aside I reckon that it turned out all right.

Me and my fabulous tahition lime creme brulee. Mmmmmmmmm.

A close-up of above mentioned fabulous creme brulee. Mmmmmmmmmm.

Home and Winnie & Sami

Basically the flight home sucked and was really long and boring. I had hardly any sleep what with partying all weekend and then getting the flu on the Sunday before I left so I didn't really get a good prep for the journey plus I don't sleep very well on planes. There was light at the end of the tunnel though and it felt good getting off at the end of it and being able to see my family after a year. I have to say though, it was ridiculously hot and humid even at that time of the morning (I got in at 6:30am!) and I felt like I was going to pass out. I think that I have gotten used to it now though and am more bronze than off white now which is a relief. After the 45 min car trip back to Glasshouse Mountains I finally got to see the puppies. I was worried that they wouldn't remember me but they were beside themselves when I finally got to see them. I think that I got my yearly dog slobber quota in one morning! They are still as cute as ever and after hanging out with Dad for a year are considerably better behaved. Em, I promise to get some more up soon. I don't really have any cute current ones so will get some and post them asap.

Dad, Mum and I. I wasn't kidding when I said my dad was tall and my mum was short - I come up to Dad's shouler and Mum's afro makes her about the same height as me. Bless!

Not too sure what Mum is trying to do to me in this one. Perhaps she wanted the present that she gave me back or something.

Liz and I. She thought that it was hilarious that I was so white. I on the other hand did not.

Sammie. So cute.

Winnie. So cute.

Oh what a (random) night

As is custom with the Unanimis office I had work drinks on my last Friday in London, though just to shake things up a little we went to the Mortimer instead of the usual Eagle (Evil). Once everyone was over that inital shock and after a few beers the night took a rather unusual turn and we ended up (surprise!) at the Eagle anyway. The night just got more and more random after that. My memory is a little hazy but I think that after the Eagle we got into those little pedicab things (not a good idea when you are drunk) to some random members-only club filled with weirdos. I was absolutely starving by this point and the place had no food, I repeat no food. They didn't even have a kitchen. After accosting just about every staff member in the place I managed to get a bowl of corn chips which I then annihilated.

After that I think that we walked to one of Scott's mates houses in Mayfair which took about a billion years. I did get fed there which was good though from memory we had some mushroom truffle stuff on little toasty bread bits and maybe some salmon as well which was slightly random but good nonetheless. A bit upmarket from the usual chicken kebab on the way home that is for sure.

Then it was time to head home which involved getting in a cab to Regan's in Hammersmith, watching a bit of telly, closing my eyes for about five minutes until the tube opened and then wandering to the tube so that I could (finally) get home. Beats me how we even found the tube station but miraculously we did. Passed out on Stiffler's shoulder for a kindy nap before almost missing our stops and then dragged my sorry arse the couple of hundred metres home to my oh-so-comfy bed for an hour's sleep (by this point it was 8:30 the next morning) before I had to get back up again to meet the new house mate and backing it up with the 80's night. Yes, I am an idiot.

Do it.

Dips, Chris, Damo and Stiffler wish me luck (please note that the snake bite that I am holding in this photo is my only one for the night. I swear on my life. Maybe.)

Lou spend the night making us laugh like complete and utter lunatics with her Gollum and Chipmunk impressions which were so unbelivably funny. I laughed so much it hurt.

U Can't Touch This!

As most of you know I have a (slight) fetish for tacky 80's tunes and cheesy early 90's classics, so it will come as no suprise that the venue for my last bash in London was at Reflex, an 80's inspired club in St. Paul's. As soon as my aussie mates heard where we going it quickly became apparent that everyone was keen to get dressed up for the occassion so the fluro pink leg warmers, side ponytails and bright blue eyeshadow came out and we made a night of it. Amazingly when we had a search around the high street it was like we had actually been teleported back to the eighties. Lou and I paid a visit to TopShop and were instanly accosted by lycra leggings in a mulitude of colours, followed by hot pink bangles, leg warmers and massive earrings (which I bought of course), lime green parachute jackets and a varying array of fluro everything. I was worried that we were going to look a little OTT but it seems that the fashion cycle had landed firmly back in 1985.

Outfits aside, we all met up at TGI Friday's in Covent Garden for dinner before hand which was pretty cool. I was going to k-i-l-l the receptionist there though, she was a total biatch. Things ended up sorting themselves out though and we almost all managed to get a seat and some food (sorry Em and Dan!). A highlight of the dinner was getting happy birthday sung to me by the ENTIRE restaurant and a card trick performed by our (cute) waiter Drew. I even got to keep the queen of hearts card from the trick, awww!

After dinner I had a rendevous with the Hoff who kindly greeted me at the entrance to Reflex, it was all about me after all... That was followed by a little bit of drinking and a ridiculous amount of dancing. My eighties moves got a thorough workout, actually that's how I dance normally so really my normal dance moves got a workout. What does that say about me I wonder? Anyway, I had a wicked night with all my friends and even ended up wearing a multi-coloured mullet (which I consequently wore home on the night bus) and an I love 80's red tshirt (thanks Chet and Lou). Thanks to everyone that made an appearance, it meant a lot to me and I hope that you are all still living it large in London.

Dips, Claire and Lou looking hot.

Even though they were late Kristy, Hayley, Stacy, Carlissa and Jo made it worth the wait.

Though slightly embarrassing I have to admit it was pretty cool getting Happy Birthday sung to me by the entire restaurant. I felt very special.

Me and the Hoff.

I am thinking that perhaps my career as a rock 'n roll goddess may need some fine tuning...