Beer Cans, Throb, and a gay Woolworths................

So as the rest of Australia seems to be drowned in rain and below 0 temperatures, Darwin is still as hot and sunny as ever and I'm so glad we are here to bake in it!

On my rare days of freedom from work I managed not to spend the day nursing a hangover and relaxed on my balcony and cooked myslef a little to top of the tan I seem to have lost since working what seems like all day everyday! Lovely. :o)

Wals been working his ass off working 2 jobs. He's joined the Shags team behind the bar and also got a job playing with squid and prawns. So by day he smells of fish and nights he smells of stale beer. Mmmmmm.

Wal looking happy to be working at Shags

We don't seem to see a whole lot of each other at the mo but at least we are saving some hardcore cash to be able to have some of this holiday fun we keep hearing about! Hopefully we can have a bit of time out in a couple of months to actually holiday and not work for a bit. I can't wait. 

So now that I am a loner most evenings and on my free days, I decided to be pro-active and join the gym. I've being enjoying it amazingley and done some pretty hardcore body-pump classes along with some pilates/yoga/thai chi classes that prove just how un-flexible I am. I have ached for about a week now and I'm determined to fight through it. Get ready for the gun show....................

Darwin fun has been as bizzare as ever with the annual Beer Can Regatta that was held at Mindill Beach. 

The main event was about 10 teams of people that had made full size boats out of Beer cans and then had to row them in a race, it was pretty funny to watch. There where some pretty good ones and none of them actually sunk so people had really put a lot of effort into it!

There was also, tug of war, iron man and thong (flip-flops!) throwing competitions. Strange but amusing stuff. 

T

Lady din't bring these guys luck as they lost!

Beer can man with a mother of a nob!

 Other amusing happenings around Darwin is that someone managed to climb onto the roof of Woolworths Supermarket and graffiti this..........

Haha. I do love childish humour.

Once again I have had to say goodbye to a mate I've made on my travels. :-( Lisa who I worked with at Shags has left Darwin to travel down the East Coast for a month and then off back to Essex. It really does suck all these goodbyes. 

She has only been in Oz since about April but said she's ready to go home. Me and Wal have actually got flights booked back to the UK in September but won't be using them. I cant imagine going home in 2 months. I just don't feel ready or feel that I have been away long enough. There is still so many places we want to visit and fun stuff we want to do so it would just be too soon.

Anyway, for Lisa's final night out a few of us headed out into Darwin city for one last blow out. My plan was not to stay out too late and not get too drunk as I was at work the next morning but that all went wrong when everywhere we went seemed to want to give us free drinks and obviously you can't turn down a free drink........or 20. 

Lisa, Maz and me!

Bye Bye Lisa

 We went from bar to bar and club to club and the best laugh was in Throb which is-

"The venue where gay, lesbians, straight, bi-sexual, transgender all mix together with a free to be attitude." 

It was such a fun place, everyone was such a laugh and it was not at all what I would have expected to find in Darwin......I didn't think it would exist in a place that seems so 30 years behind everywhere else! 

I definatly want to go back there as we only stayed for about an hour as more free drinks where calling at the next club!

2 hot blondes?????

Be safe kids.

  So my early sober night turned inrto a late drunken one with another pie and peas beinng consumed and a bad head in th morning. Lucky for me I had to go to work bright and early and serve sweet smelling jagerbombs to drunken baffoons all day...........happy days.

Darwin the Time Warp

I have been trying to do this blog for about 2 weeks now but there has been either big queues in the Internet cafe, Internet crashing, forgetting to put pics on a dongle or just generally being too busy has stopped me but I'm here now. :-)

So the longer we have stayed in Darwin the stranger we find it. It really is a place lost in a time warp. The general mentality seems to be women have the jobs where you serve the men and look pretty after they have had a hard day grafting. Wals struggling like mad to get a job in a bar basically because he's a guy. 
Everything but the pub seems to be closed on a Sunday, there are no shopping centres, buses stop about 11pm so you can't get anywhere late on, and the Aboriginals are still very much classed as secondary citizens. Mind you, the Aboriginals that live in Darwin really don't do themselves any favours. Every one I have seen seems to live in the park and is drunk. The women and men have full on fist fights with each other, shout, swear, and just generally act like morons. I have not seen one of them working anywhere. It's really sad because I know not all of them are like that but the ones here just paint a really bad picture. I was walking through the city the other day when a drunk Aboriginal just started coming towards me with his hands out and I actually had to slap him away. Was a bit freaky........ maybe he just wanted a hug.

  Darwin is classed as a city but it's more like a large town. It has a population of about 100,000, and the closest KFC and Hungry Jacks (Burger King to those from Blighty) is a 30minute bus ride away. Not that I base how big cities are in relation to if they have fast food chains but you know what I mean!

Tiny Darwin

 As there aren't many shops in the city apart from souvenir shops, it's a 30 minute trip to the 'Biggest Shopping Centre in the Northern Territory' which is slightly bigger than White Rose centre in Leeds so I was a little shocked when I arrived in full shopping mode. Oh well, it stops my bad spending habit I guess. 

I think before we came to Darwin we expected a bit more but despite that I do like it.

It has some great chill out spots, an outdoor deckchair cinema (which hopefully we are going to go to soon), good pubs, and a great beach market twice a week where you can go and get some amazing food, see some crazy street performers, and watch the sun go down. Most people seem to just go to get drunk so it has kind of a small festival feel to it. I had some fantastic pictures of the the sunset and the market but being the idiot I am I accidently deleted most of them off the camera. Just means I have have to go again I guess............damn shame. 

A photo of Wal at Mindill Market that I managed to save!

Mindill Beach Sunset

Weird scary dolls for sale at Mindill Market

 The pictures I am gutted I deleted is of me with a snake wrapped around my neck! It was a cobra and was so amazing. I swear it happened but now I have no proof.

I also wrestled a crocodile, swam with a shark and had a boxing fight with a Kangaroo. Don't believe me?? Nah I wouldn't either................ the snake part is true though. Gutted.

I would say that I deleted pictures from my birthday too but me and Wal were actually way too drunk to take any! ha! Through the many jugs of beer and Jagerbombs I vaguely remember having a good night and woke up the next morning with a half eaten pizza which the ants in our room had so kindly decided to devour. 
Cheers to everyone for the birthday messages, was much appreciated being so far away...............
And a big thanks to Lou too who sent me a 'Hull' T-shirt which I promise to wear proudly. :-)

Oh so proud

The V8's came to Darwin last weekend and Wal managed to blag us free weekend tickets being the good boy that he is. There were loads of different car races on, vintage cars, Utes and our passes let us go into the paddocks to see all the huge transport trucks and cars and also into the pits. Again, we had loads of pictures but they where on my delete list so we have absolutely nothing to show for it. Boo.

 There was a concert on in the evening where INXS where playing live. Note again Darwin lives in a time warp so I was half expecting Michael Hutchence to come out. 

Michael is still alive in Darwin

 We never actually got to see who did come out though as we got extremely bored waiting for them as their opening act was a bloody magician???

We couldn't believe it! Who puts a magician on at a rock concert........oh yeah, Darwin does! Madness. 
The only way I would have been impressed was if he could have made Michael Hutchence appear on stage but as his opening line was 'Pick a card any card' I didn't have much hope. 

Pick a Card.......any card

 Other things to happen this week are we finally moved out of the cell in the backpackers and into an apartment which is sooooo much better AND cheaper! No more outdoor TV, no more annoying early morning conversations on the way to make my cup of tea, no more sharing my room with a hundred ants............awesome.

We moved from this.................

.........to this! Awesome.

Work have moved me onto day shifts so no more late nights and more hours which is good, I am actually missing doing the nights though as I get on really well with all the night girls and guys so we'll see how it goes, I may ask if I can do half and half but we'll see.

I had a night out with Marian and Lisa from Shags (Shenannigan's) which was really good. We went to Ladies Night at Monsoons, free vodka served by topless men. Bonus! It was a bit cheesy to be honest but it was free so I'm not complaining!

Me, Marian and Lisa

 After chatting with Marian who's from Wembley we discovered that not only did we live a few streets away from each other in Leeds but we also went to the same slimming world group. (Yes Kate, she knows Kim! Ha!). Weird how you can move to the other side of the world and end up working and being friends with someone you never met when they practically lived next door to you back home!

 So after a few more drinks and cheeky shots, the night ended with a good hearty meal of Pie, Chips and Mushy peas.

Oh you can take the girl out of Hull.................

Time Served

A lot to tell as I've been a bit slack on the old Blog front so here goes...........

Finally finally finally we have served our 88 day wwoofing sentence! Freedom is ours at last. Such a relief knowing that we can carry on with our travels and stop worrying about visa's. I got the paperwork in the post literally 30 mins after we clocked off and I got me an extended visa within 3 days! 

Thank you kindly Aussie Government.

So as well as moving on from Mount Tambo we had a good time celebrating Wally turning the grand old age of 30! I think he was a little sad that such a big birthday wasn't celebrated with friends and family back home but we still had a good time.
The celebrations started the night before his birthday with a party at Sandy's. It was Tony's birthday on the same day too so double cake! We had a fair amount of beer and wine and a huge Moroccan meal that was damn tasty.

The Birthday Boys

We couldn't party too late though as we where up at 5.30 in the morning to head off to the Gold Coast for the weekend. 2 nights in Coolangatta and a night in Surfers.

The hostel in Coolangatta was a bit of a pain as it was actually about 40 minutes walk out of the town centre and we had to faff around getting all sorts of buses and shuttles to get there so Wal was very upset that his 1st birthday beer wasn't sunk until after lunchtime! But we managed to find a pub route back into Coolangatta so it wasn't all bad.

Wally enjoying his 1st Birthday Beer of the day!

Wally drinking and listening to Tangaroa at the same time!

I think I was actually more drunk than Wal (which isn't hard to believe) and we had a pretty good day. Met some crazy locals in the pub, had some good Thai food, and finished off with a bottle of pop back at the Hostel. Happy days.

 A shuttle back to Town on Friday to hit the Tattoo Convention that we had been looking forward too.
It was pretty good but so small. We kind of saw everything in about an hour which was a bit disappointing. Some amazing tattooists there though. Really wanted to get one done but the funds are low at the minute so the better side of me decided to wait until another time!
There isn't a whole lot to do in Coolangatta when the sun goes down except drink and eat........so that's what we did. $5 bottle of wine each back at the hostel, slapped on some fake tattoo's that we got at the convention and got good and full at Pizza Hut's all you can eat buffet. Classy.

Looking hard with his new tattoo's..........

Looking harder with mine....................

 We got to Surfers Paradise on Saturday which was a lot more lively. Just wandered around taking it all in really. Nice and relaxed. Had me and awesome Gelato whilst watching a crazy Asian man singing and playing his guitar whilst doing one handed push-ups then breaking out his num-chucks and busting some moves. His monotone rendition of Men at works 'Land down under' mixed with Rock around the clock was pretty impressive.

I love Gelato!

Crazy singing, guitar, push-up man.....

 Early night again as we where getting the 8.30am bus back to Tambo so we where in bed for about 9pm which is pretty sad in Surfers on a Saturday night! Getting old....................

So after our last 3 days wwoofing we said our goodbyes to Sandy and Cliff and decided to have a night in Brisbane. We booked into a hostel in the West End and it's a pretty cool little place. The hostel is really good, and the people friendly. The west end has kind of a Bohemian Vibe to it, lots of small bars, cafes shops, hippie's and students. I like it which I'm glad about as Brisbane didn't impress me much last time.

We had a chilled out day wandering around the city, the museums and art galleries, China Town and Southbank which unfortunately had been badly damaged from the floods but when in it's glory is a man made beach, rain forest and lagoon type place that's a bit random in the middle of a busy city but quite pretty. 

Little me next to the worlds tallest man!

Wally next to a Hobbit

 We had a 9pm flight to Darwin which meant we didn't land until 12.30am so straight to the Backpackers and to bed!

The Backpackers place we are staying at is a bit weird. We have a double room so no sharing with randoms which is good but it looks just like a prison cell. Big brick painted walls, a bed, a TV and a fridge and that's it. No tables, drawers or anywhere to hang your clothes! But it's cheap compared to everywhere else so can't be picky really.........

There are some strange folk living there too........middle aged men who share a tent around the back and just sit and watch TV (which is outside under a tent type cover) all day and a small drunk Asian man who just laughs constantly?? Proper hicks-ville.

The hostel also overlooks a small park that a lot of the local aboriginals seem to live in and just get drunk and argue all day.  We saw a full on fight between a male and female aboriginal which was pretty weird but they seem to think it's just normal!

Darwin city itself is really small, probably about the same size as Bridlington then with some surrounding suburbs. It's a really pretty city though and has a cool man made beach area where you can go for a swim without the fear of being eaten by a croc but you may still get stung by a jelly-fish......think I'll just paddle.

Darwin's man-made lagoon

 The local news here can be quite amusing too, Headlining the newspaper was 'Local Chook traumatises Tourists'. Pretty amusing. Everyone is quite chilled out (prob due to the heat) and even when they are mad it's seems to be done with a bit of humour.

Be afraid.........be very afraid.......................

Sign in the newsagents

It's quite expensive here though, more so than Sydney, so we have had to sort out work pretty quick. 

I managed to get a job at a Tapas restaurant called Moorish but decided I didn't like it after about 30 minutes. I'm just not very good at being a waitress I don't think and I really just don't like it So following a second shift and 4 smashed glasses I managed to get a job at the local Irish Pub (Shenannigan's) and got me a new job. Better money, better atmosphere and working the Bar so no more waiting tables! Awesome. 

Wally is struggling to find a job though mainly as Aussie (especially Darwin) can be really sexist when it comes to Bar work and as he's not female and doesn't have boobs they just don;t seem to want to employ you!

He's managed to get some labouring work for about 10 days and trying to sort something else out in the meantime. Fingers crossed!

So that's it so far folks, hope it was fun for you.
My final thoughts........"I hear it's someones Birthday tomorrow???"

Awesome Cake! Selleck is the man!

a car, a train, a plane, a train and a car ride back to Sydney..............

So in the midst of this wwoofing madness I managed to swap my days off and get myself to Sydney for a few days to see my mama! 

I felt like the break away was well needed too as I haven't been feeling my happiest the last week, just wwoofing overload really and a need for different surroundings. Wal didn't come with me and I think he was a bit sad to be abandoned and alone on the mountain.

Sad Wally................all alone.

Sydney I am Back!!!!

Any hows, 7 hours of travelling and I arrived a fresh as a daisy in Cherrybrook. Felt a bit strange being back there, almost like I had never left. It also didn't feel like I hadn't seen my mum in 7 months, just slipped right back into the old ways once a glass of vino was in hand! It was really nice to see Sue, Kev and Beth too. 

They had all been to Port Maquarie for the weekend so the house was absolutely freezing that night (yes it gets cold In Sydney!) as no heating had been on so I slept in about 3 layers of clothing, bed socks and my hood up all night. Not what I would expect in Oz! I also had the pleasure of my mum snoozing loudly next to me. (Sorry mum) But as I hadn't seen her in ages I let her off with just a little jab in the arm haha...............

So Tuesday morning we headed straight out to Bondi Beach. I forgot how long the bus from Cherrybrook takes and about 1 hour and 40 minutes later we finally arrived starving and in need of the first beer of the day!

Me and Mama on Bondi

A cold Sunny stroll on Bondi Beach

 After a stroll round Bondi in the sun and a couple more cheeky drinks we took the Bus back into the city and I showed my mum the sights of Kings Cross and whilst there had a lovely cold $8 jug in my favourite local......O'Malley's. (Well it would have been rude not too.)  
This was followed by champagne in the Strand and a stroll through Hyde Park. It was nice to be able to show my mum some of Sydney sights that she had never seen.

Mama with an $8 Jug at O'Malley's

Champagne time!

Mum copying my Hyde Park pose!

  The day was finished with a stroll (or a questionable walk by then) on the rocks to look at the Billion $$ Gucci Bike and have a few more wines and a $10 steak. Perfect.

Don't drink and ride the Gucci Bike Dawnie!

So considering a slight sore head in the morning we managed to get our arses into gear and head back into the city for some hardcore shopping..........and food eating.
Pancakes on the Rocks was amazing. I never even knew this place existed!!! A few hours shopping around the city and Paddy's Market and then some sizzling King Prawns and Dumplings in China Town and a coffee over Darling Harbour. Awesome day.

Cheeky Bird

Unfortunately the fun couldn't last forever as I had to go back to the mountain on Thursday. Had a nice morning around circular Quay and Sydney Opera House with mum and Sue and then had to say my goodbyes and hop on the train. Mum and Sue started blubbing but I held it together! I felt real sad but I think I must be getting used to saying bye to people since being out here so getting a bit hardened to it........either that or I have no soul! Ha!

So after a long trek back to Mount Tambo I arrived safe and sound to get back to work and light up Wally's life again. ;-)

Happy Wally.............kind of???

Hot Rods, Jack Bauer and a big chocolate spot................

The "Garter Belts and Gasoline festival" was awesome. There where loads of really cool old cars, buses, and tiny caravans, bands playing, market stalls and so many people had made an effort getting dressed up in 40's and 50's gear.l. Me and Wal even got asked to have our photo's taken by a few of the people there. We must have looked Retro cool! Definitely the best day we had had on Tamborine. There was also a really great art exhibition with loads of Rockabilly inspired work, pop art, and we just loved everything. Fab fab day.........................

Wish we could travel Oz in this beast!

A mean machine!

My favourite of the day

Awesome car artwork

Life in a wheel trim

 I have booked my flights to Sydney so I can get to see my mama for a few days whilst she is over here so am very happy about that. Really looking forward to being in Sydney again too! I miss the city a lot more than I thought I would. I'm starting to feel a little stir crazy from all this wwoofing. I have enjoyed a lot of it and it's been a good learning experience and we have met some cool people along the way but to be honest I just want to get back on the road and travel again. My advise to anyone thinking of doing wwoofing to gain a visa is to try and spread it out over your 1st year and not do the 3 months all in one go. It really does take it's toll on your mentality. I'm pretty sure it's much better than fruit picking jobs (I don't reckon I would have coped with that!) but I really miss the lifestyle we had in Sydney of being around a lot of people, friends, earning money and having more freedom to feel like a backpacker. Only 3 more weeks of wwoofing though and then we will fly to Darwin so I'm gonna try and keep as positive and enjoy it as much as I can!

Designer wwoofing gear by Dawn

It's been pretty hardcore this week too as we have been working our arses off doing long days as we have been trying to squeeze our paid work at the hotel (which I found out used to be Mel Gibson's home! Ha!) so feeling pretty knackered by the end of it.

So Saturday was a sweet relief for a day off, we had the house to ourselves and spent the day as any good Englishman would..............indulging in junk food and beer. Brownies, cream and jam for Breakfast is the way forward I'm telling you. Mix in 7 hours of Jack Bauer and some Lord of the Rings and we had ourselves a pretty nice little Saturday! ;-)

What a guy.............

......................but before we knew it, Sunday had arrived so it was back to work at Mel Gibson's place for me, Wal, and the huge spot on my cheek from Chocolate overload. Nice.

Looking Good Mel...............cheers for the jobs!