Blog Week 6 - East Coast Part 2!

Sunday 16th October - We arrived at Rainbow Beach. And you might call it the "luck of the Irish" but we had spent two whole days travelling in the camper during the day while the sun was in the 30's and scorching in the window. This was our first day to hit Rainbow Beach and soak up the sun...well it p1ssed down and was definitely a day for the ducks and no-one else! Not a happy camper being deprived of my tannage! A day of looking at one another :)

Monday 17th October - Still Black clouds -tan fading by the minute! We had our orientation meeting for our camping trip to Fraser Island that was starting the next day. Got to meet our fellow 4x4'ers for the next few days - 3 lovely French girls - Connie, Astrid and Axelle. And all singing all dancing
flamboyant Tommy from Germany! The evening was spent sitting around the camper table and playing cards (ohhhhh I found somewhere that sold West Coast Cooler so that made my day!!!). Serious camper-fever setting in though. Little did we know what was to be encountered over the next few days!

Tuesday 18th October - Off to the Island! We went camping on the largest sand island in the world - Fraser Island. The package was to be NOTHING like the Whitsundays trip. No-one cooking for us, no beds, no sun loungers. Instead it was - DIY all the way. Cook for yourself, make your own campsite. Drive your own 4x4!!  Not able in the slightest! All 3 of the 4x4's headed off from Rainbow beach bright and early. Spent the day working our way up one side of the island. We visited Lake Wabby - a fab lake in the middle of the sand island. Crystal clear water - would have been just gorgeous is..wait for it...that it didnt pour down raining again!!! We are kinda seeing the funny side at this stage that Mother Nature hates us! Well thankfully the rain didnt last when we hit our camp. Team Ireland was cooking for the jeep crew tonight. Shteaks and mash. Interesting to say the least with very limited cooking resources and me who cant cook! We did it tho! Partied into the small hours. Stars were so gorgeous on the island and even got to see shooting stars!

(Thats me being a tourist at Lake Wabby!)

Wednesday 19th October - Survived night 1 in the tent! I Think myself, Josie and Marie deserve medals in "roughing it" at this stage. Conal finds our melo-dramatics very entertaining. We were scared to death of the Dingos that inhabit Fraser Island. We had been warned, warned and warned again at how dangerous these wild dogs are. They just roam the island free and can attack your tent while you are sleeping! Nice right!! No dingo visits thank god though. We got into our self drive 4x4 jeeps again and saw lots of Fraser highlights such as the Maheno shipwreck, Indian head and the Champagne Pools (see pics!). Fraser Island is definitely worth a visit...just try avoid the roughing it! Team "everyone but Ireland" was on cooking duty tonight..so feet up and we got to enjoy doing nothing! More partying and bonding with our fellow travellers! Oh did I mention that not only are we roughing it on Fraser - there are NO showers or toilets!! So we were beginning to smell from lack of showering. And yes - we needed to go to the toilet in the great outdoors. I was beginning to think that Fraser Island shoulda paid be to visit the island and not the other way around!

Thursday 20th October - No Dingo visits again overnight in the tent. Thank god! Up really early and made French toast with the French girls no less. Amazing what you can throw together with basic ingredients. Albeit there was sand on everything at this point! Spent the day at Lake Mackenzie. Another beautiful spot on the island. Really fab - completely clear water in the lake and sand
you can polish your jewellery in again - I have never had such blinging bling! We were all ready to hop back on the MantaRay boat to get us back to the mainland to shower if nothing else! Within a few hours we were all sparkly clean and ready to set off (again!) in the camper to hit Noosa. Happy Birthday Anne-Marie!! Anne-Marie is busy in Melbourne sorting out a job and accomodation...might not be homeless in Melbourne yet!

Friday 21th October- Up at the usual 7am - sweat-tastic in the pent-house. It is just near impossible to snooze in the roof-rack when you have scorching sun in on top of you - but no reason for complaining! woke up in the lovely Noosa. Noosa is a beautiful town where all the celebs hang out on the Sunshine Coast. Spent a day baking in the sun on the beach before heading off for Josies Aunts house. We were all really looking forward to some home comforts and a break from our green and purple abode!! Arrived to Josies Aunts house (Marie) to a bubbly and hors d'oeuvres reception. Amazing - and something we are TOTALLY not used to! Lots of bubbles later we hit the hay into our "real beds". Could definitely get used to the life on the Sunshine Coast.

Saturday 22nd October - As luck would have it - Us Irish arrive on the Sunshine Coast and is pelts down rain!! Went to Eumundi Market, a massive outdoor market where I purchased THE most amazing bag.  So we visited the Mooloolaba Beach and it resembled something like Ladies beach in Galway in the winter!! So we hit the cinema! That night we donned the glad rags and hit Mooloolaba to sample the night life. Great night out - felt like my feet had been bound at the end of the night though, so not used to heels as I am spending way too much time in my customised pink havaianas (Thanks Amanda!).

(Our Sunshine Coast Family - Excuse the closed eyes - blame too much bubbly!)

Sunday 23rd October - Off to the Races on the Sunshine Coast, up in the VIP lounge thanks to Josies relatives. Nothing like a bit of luxury to get us prepared for our Melbourne Cup racing in a few weeks!
More bubbly on arriving back to our Sunshine Coast "real" house and home cooked dinners. I am REALLY gonna miss this house. Bit of house-hunting and job-hunting on th-interweb. Marie is just beside herself thinking she can get to do her "regionals" in a few months time. By regionals I mean - going to the a*se hole of nowhere and picking fruit. Marie is the pasty one in the pics - she is in utter denial and reckons she will look like an Aborigine if she gets 3 months on the farms!!
Watch this space - I will most definitely not be picking fruit for a living... (jaysus I hope not anyway!)

Monday 24th October - Family day out to Brisbane! We got the train in as the the Queen is visiting Brisbane today also! Ironic the drama queen and the real queen in close proximity! Spent a day lying by the pretend beach in Brisbane. Josies cousin Grainne brought the guys doing touristy stuff while I focused on far more important things. My tan!

Brisbane is a fab city - its like a cross between London and Manhattan. Could see myself living there!
Now Im not sure if you lot will take this as good or bad news - but this is the 2nd last blog entry for a while now! Marie and I just have one more week of holiday-ing before we "settle"! Let the job-hunt and finding a roof over our heads in Melbourne commence!
Ciao for now,
SJ x

Blog Week 5 - The Ozzie Campervan Experience

Saturday 8th October - Ridiculously early rise at 3.30am to leave "jail" (my hostel!) and head to the airport
to get my flight to Melbourne and then Cairns. Flight to Melbourne was relatively painless - its just such a pain in the face travelling on your own. I cant recommend it - you cant go to the toilet/get a coffee/do anything without bringing all of your worldy belongings with you. People look at you really funny when you are bringing your matching luggage into the toilet with you! Sat like a homeless person in Melbourne airport and watched 4Christmases- great movie btw. Stupid 8 hour layover..thanks Trailfinders for picking my flights! Got to Cairns in one piece and met Jo and Conal in Caravella. This was more like a motel than a hostel. We had our own little apartment. Really liked Caravella - swimming pool and the whole lot. Did I mention it was 33 degrees? Major change from NZ! Absolutely  shattered and hit the hay after 24 hours on the go!

Sunday 9th October - We met up with Conals friends who were in Cairns for the weekend and are living in Oz. Super handy having people around with cars! We visited Crystal Cascades just north of Cairns - there were swimming holes and places to go tubing. Lots of fun - was scared stupid about getting in the river cos the fish were looking at me - straight in the eye! But I did...see photos! We all went out on the tear that night - which is pretty much the thing to do in Cairns! Ended up in the Woolshed. If you asked me to  describe this joint - Coppers like! Ended up dancing on tables - not one of my finer moments. But when you give girls unlimited free champagne - expect the worst! Visited human size jelly babies on the way home (again see photos!)

Monday 10th October - Marie joined us from New Zealand today! Jo and I spent the morning down by the lagoon - an amazing public swimming pool in the middle of Cairns. Then Jo, Conal and myself went off white water rafting for  the afternoon. Rafting was so much fun. I am actually getting quite shocked at the amount of activities I am signing myself up for lately - but this was something I was really glad I did. Couple of near misses falling over board - but managed to stay on the raft for the 2 hours!Met Marie back at our hostel and went for the yummiest ice-cream ever and back to Caravella for the last proper night sleep in a while..you shall see why next!!

Tuesday 11th October - As some of you may have seen - today was the day that I brought roughing it to a new level!...Camper-vanning it. Our lovely "grande" campervan arrived at 10pm. Well its phenomenal what they can fit into a glorified hiace van! Nah - its very very cool. Lots of room on the inside.Kitchen in the boot..deck chairs and everything! We loaded up the campervan. I couldnt but hide that I now have...a wheele, backpack, pink bag and a wag bag (a purchase from NZ!) . I have WAY more luggage than the other three. Not good living in a camper. Drove for 8 hours to Airlie Beach...arrived at Nomads Airlie Beach at 10pm. Rough aul day. Time to open the "penthouse" before going to bed. The penthouse is a roof-rack..that doubles up as the bed that Marie and I are going to sleep in for the next three weeks. Lots of re-jigging of luggage later and we climbed up the dodgy ladder in the penthouse. Still 33 degrees at 11pm at night..this was going to be a total mare. Picture sleeping in a sauna-like coffin.
Something like that! I woke Marie up at 4am to tell her I was going to get sick on her head. Attractive right! Well I have never seen a girl move so quick..We opened the "door"...(picture a door on a wendy house!) and I was all better. Slept with head hanging out the penthouse and all was ok in case you guys were worried!

Wednesday 12th October - Travellers on tour! We are off sailing the Whitsunday Islands for the next two nights. We got on board the Wings 2 boat at midday and got fed straight away (my kinda boat!) - boat was amazing and staff so nice. We went sailing for about 4 hours before we donned the wetsuits and went snorkelling. Its not every day you can say you went snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef. It was really very cool indeed. Saw a turtle on my first snorkel attempt! After drinking about a litre of Great Barrier Reef H20 we headed back to the boat for more food! The boat is BYOB..bring your own booze..how handy! So the duty free vodka came in useful. (Sorry Mammy - promise I drank in moderation!). Off to sleep in a very compact 8 bed room on the boat..our sleeping arrangements keep getting smaller and smaller. Soon enough I reckon I could just request a baby cot on check in ;)


Thursday 13th Octover- up at 7am with breakfast laid out for us...my god to the Wings 2 crew know how to feed us! We made our way to Whitehaven beach - rated in the top 3 beaches in the world. And it did not disappoint. The sand is so fine you can polish your jewellery..so I have blinging bling again!Back to the boat to get ready for our 2nd snorkel. Snorkelling was really the bomb - saw so many amazing colouredy fish and of course beautiful coral in the Great Barrier Reef.
I could most def get used to the sailing life! Back to Wings 2 again for some food and a few sociables and a stumble into my "cot".

Friday 14th October - Usual early start..super early snorkel - well I nearly had a canary!Not able. It was high tide and the wings dude decided to feed the fish as I was getting in. We are talking sharks and the whole lot in my face. Very unfunny. Wont be going snorkelling for a while after that incident! Scalded ourselves on the deck of the boat (Marie was particularly shcaldy - think Cork Flag like!) before saying goodbye to the Wings 2 crew and the friends we made - there was an after party arranged for us in a bar in Aerlie..so it was only a temporary goodbye!Partied til the small hours and sampled Aerlie Teapots. Should have learned from the Queenstown Teapots. Just not a good idea. Vom.com ...back to the penthouse. Terribly awkward climbing up an unstable ladder into our roof rack bed. Lovely Pic of Marie doing this!

Saturday 15th October - Woken up by the 33 degree heat - no need for alarms when your sleeping in the roof rack of the camper! Off we set on a 6 hour journey down the coast. If one thing is becoming clear on our roadtrip down the coast is that it takes a LONG time to get from A to B!! Myself and Marie are like two small children in the back of the camper entertaining ourselves with romcom dvd's and the likes. Got a bit of a fright when Marie reached into the boot/kitchen in the moving camper and pulls out a stanley knife. Marie has a bit of an obsesh with Moyross! 6hours later rocked up to Emu Beach Resort...nice little spot - just a lot of midget sized wildlife. Saw a whole family of  super small lizards - still manky though. And a trog...that would be a miniature three legged frog. eugh. Had the bestest skype chat with the fam in G-town. Thanks Maggie, Ailbhe, Chels and Chloe for getting all dressed up to see me on video skype..was there a deal on fleecy dressing gowns loveens? Got onto the mom aswell - well done Emily at your feis today...wish I was there!


We are making our way down to Rainbow beach to head to Fraser Island and then onto Sydney and then Melbourne to settle down and work :(
Also I have got yet another sim card to add do my collection - my Australian number is 0064 420 812 665 ...texts and calls welcome!!
Catch up next week! xxx

Week 4 - Final Week of NZ Adventure and RWC Madness!

Wednesday 28th September - Still in Queenstown. Staying in a 5 star hostel...this sounds like a bit of a
contradiction, but its fab. It has a cinema in it, its like a ski lodge, sauna the whole lot!  They even cook us dinner! We got up super early to hit the slopes in Cardrona. First time skiing for me. I loved it. The instructor found my skiing abilities very entertaining. I think it was my complete inability to stop. Nearly took out a small child at one point. And another 1st time skiier took the legs from under me also.Couple of falls later we got up on the chairlift (not fun for those scared of heights). Half way up - I thought to myself, what goes up must come down. I started lauging hysterically. It was laugh or cry type stuff. Mangled myself getting off the chairlift, much to everyone elses amusement. I fell down the slope for most of it, I can safely say it was one of funnest things I have ever done. I really hurt my arm and though I broke my heart/chest.
I visited the girls who are on tour with us - 3 nurses, who informed me that my heart is on the other side of my chest. Panic averted - I didnt break my heart skiing!

Thurday 29th September - We left Queenstown to head for Milford Sound. This place is just a "must see" in  New Zealand. One of the prettiest sites I have seen to date.
Ok -for a VERY VERY embarassing story that happened me this morning. We did our supermarket stop - which usually happens at 4 or 5 pm in the day to get dinner and booze...but this was at 8am and we had a very rough couple of nights previous to that! So we all got out goodies - and were checking out stufff out. There were two "irish" lads in front of me. As we walked to the front of the supermarket I kind of sped up to catch up with them and introduce myself to the new people on the bus. Super friendly I am - put my hand out and said "Hey Im SJ - really nice to meet you",their faces were just blank and they looked very dazed. I thought - how ignorant. We all got on the bus - and I told Marie of the unfriendly lads I met in the car park.
She said - sure they were on the bus - I was like - eh yes of course!! On arriving in the accomodation that night - I took one look around the dinner table and realised the two lads I decided to introduce myself to
were innocent lads NOT on the bus. Cringy enough like.
Staying at Gunns Camp tonight - sounds Horrideous. No "proper electricity". This is just balancing out our 5 star Nomads hostel for the last few nights! Had a tag rugby game with the Irish
boys to distract us from the tenement style accomodation! No hairdryers, no ghd's...zero luxuries and no electricity after ten! the scary owner brought us for a walk in the dark to see glow-worms in the trees.
Once we set off into a VERY dark wood - I kinda started thinking about all of the scary movies about people going missing in dark forests. Im alive though - so dont fret ;)
No heat in our little shed - so it was off to bed cold and in the dark. Oh mo dhia!!! On the upside - Invercargill had to be a step up ;)

Friday 30th September - Off to Invercargill bright and early. This is a very Scottish town at the very bottom of the South Island. We went to Bluff - which is the most southernly point on the south island. So now
we have been to the most northernly point and southernly point of New Zealand in about 2 weeks!! Then the most exciting part of the day - shoe shopping! I just NEEDED to get high heels in case I was to stumble across Tommy Bowe in Dunedin. Low and behold we all got beautiful shoes ( I wasnt allowed pack heels in my "backpack"). Roll on Dunedin. I decorated my Flag - I have written "Baby Jesus loves the Irish" on my tricolour - so you might see me on the telly! GTL - gym tan laundry and off to get some beauty sleep!

Sat 1st October - Off to Dunedin for pre-match madness! It was really exciting - like a mini road trip. We stayed at the Leviathin hotel for the first night. We got all dolled up for our night on the tiles. Managed to catch up with Sean O'Brien the night before the game..hot chocolates all around dont worry! He managed to bring a few friends along ;) They were all so lovely - Andrew Trimble (very prettiful indeed), Rory Best and Stephen Ferris. Ferris informed me - I am a member of the "IPA - Irish Potholes Association".
This puzzled me at first - I shouldnt have asked questions...potholes are girls following the team that cant be avoided. He proceeded to tell me he was joking...hmmm!! Great night out in Dunedin...the place was just full of Irish!

Sunday 2nd October - Match day! Went for hangover brekkie in the Octagon (main hub of bars and restaurants!) The atmosphere all day was just amazing. Went for a few sociables during the day. Then we all split up that evening to go to the stadium! Sean got me sorted with an amazing ticket with all the players families. I was sitting with his family and in amidst all the wags - hence the new profiler!Amy and Susie Amy were so so nice..really friendly girls! We all hit the town again that night...lots of celebrating in Dunedin. Super late night - then back to our "couch surfing" accomodation. Words cant describe this place...awhhh :(
Monday to Wednesday 5th October - We are hanging around Dunedin for another few nights before catching our last Stray bus. Moved into Pennys backpackers..lovely hostel - with free wifi (this would be why its the 1st time you guys are seeing photos on my blog!). Off to Cadbury world with the Irish sisters, Irish Cousins and an Irish couple...getting the picture (a lot of Irish ppl hanging around!) - to eat my weight in chocolate. Tour was a lot of fun they just gave us loads and loads of free chocolate! Went back to the hostel to convince myself to stay for the quarter finals..after an hour on the phone to Quantas and a quote that would seriously break to bank to change flights - my 2nd day out as a WAG was just meant to be (Sorry Sean...I'll be thinking of ye when I am in the air to Australia on Saturday!)

Thursday 8th October - Off to Mount Cook for the night.. Super exciting day ahead - laundry and getting the summer side of ma suitcase ready! I will be seeing sunshine in T-Minus 3 days!

Friday 7th October - Last stray trip for me! Off to Rangitata for the day (not up to a whole lot!)...I have pretty much lost my voice, got the sniffles and look like death warmed up after an AMAZING month on the go - so a day of doing nothing is in order! Triple Bunk Beds and Triple Showers - accommodation just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Threesomes all round.

Sat 8th October - Back to Christchurch and staying in a hostel called "Jailhouse". Rewind back to Abel Tasman where I never imagined staying in Old MacDonalds Farm..well I really didnt expect to pay to stay in a Jail...I will let you know how that goes! Got a super super early start - 3am and check in at 4am to get to Cairns. Have to spend the WHOLE day in Melbourne...which means I am going to be in the air for the quarter finals game - it could only happen me! 
All of the gang are headed up to Welly to support the Irish team in the quarter finals....wish I could go!
Well thats it from New Zealand - cannot explain how amazing this country is - I have met so many lovely people (on the down low - I have actually met my FEH - he just doesnt know it yet!), visited beautiful places and so much fun for the Rugby World Cup. Could see myself living the Wag lifestyle after my wag-like experience last week...so yes - Andrew Trimble. I will marry you if you ask me nicely ;) )
Hope you are enjoying the blog - and next you in Australia xxx

Ps - See you in Cairns on Saturday evening Josie and Conal!!!