I am nearly there! After applying for my New Zealand Visa back in June, they have almost received what they need to approve me! I needed a chest X-Ray to confirm that I don't have TB after spending nearly a year in SE Asia. Thanks to a Dooofas in Darwin called Simple Simon, who informed me of all sorts of incorrect and half complete information, I have waited 45 minutes in a doctors surgery for an appointment I didn't need. I've walked in torrential rain in 10 inches of flowing road water to a hospital who refused to help. I've rushed a road trip and posted results to an office who couldn't process them, and finally received a phone call in England from Shalane in Broome to confirm the X-Ray results had been kindly sent to a caravan park I no longer live on!
So yes, hoops I have jumped through, they have moved and I've jumped them again and finally, thanks to Shalane pretending to be me (and I never did ask her if she put on an English accent) the results are now in Perth, with the overdue official stamp, due to be posted tomorrow! Watch this space!
In the meantime, I've been freaking my friends and family out with this video of two guys attempting to cross a river on Te Araroa. For my family, who thought I was just walking up a few mountains, I have created a taboo subject! I think Shalane will agree that after I sent it to her, we were both suddenly aware of what we were facing in the months to come. Shalane and I are currently working from 2 ends of the world, shooting emails back and forth as our only method of communication, so when I sent her this link, I think we both realised what a challenge this trek will really be. We are going into this adventure a little blind, there is only so much you can prepare and there is only so much preparation that will truely help with a mission of this type. The video and others we found may have created a little anxiety and self doubt but the excitement and determination is still very much there!
So enjoy the video and keep those fingers and toes crossed for my visa. My leave date is still due to be 7 September so let's all say a bit thank you to lastminute.com.
Bye for now!
25 August 2010
16 August 2010
What a Journey!
I won't lie to you and tell you I was too enthusiastic about coming home! Last year I flew the long, 24 hour journey, as budget as you can get, stop overs were plenty and anything luxurious was in short supply! Gotta love Air Asia for the lack of..... everything! But cheap it most certainly was. So, with memories of the UK feeling over crowded and everyone seeming a little miserable, I was finding it hard to conjure up the excitement of the journey I had ahead.
All that said, there were obviously a few good reasons to be coming back! First of all, let's not forget the reason I was coming back at all! Leia's wedding! Since I have been away Leia has met Graeme, had a baby and is about to get married so a bundle of fun to look forward to there! And with important duties of bridesmaid/ring bearer/witness, this event is not to be missed! There was also my little detour; Holland! If anything was taking the sting out of my Australia departure, it was looking forward to my week in Holland visiting Ron!
So I began my journey, drunk, thanks to my send off from Ben and Riley! Sitting next to an Irish guy on the plane then only encouraged the drinking, so needless to say, I flew off to Singapore in good spirits. I had just enough time to grab some very rank food on my way to the next flight to Kuala Lumper and by the time I reached my Malaysian destination the food poisoning had set in nicely and I managed to faint and throw up at the airport, before finding a nice row of plastic benches to sleep on until morning! So after snoozing for a few hours I then had 10 hours to walk around, sit around, crochet, read and generally feel a bit rough. I could have locked my bags up and gone into the city but having passed through KL 5 times now, I didn't really feel a great desire! I was soon bum on seat and en route to London Stansted, and can confirm that I pretty much slept the WHOLE way! I woke up to eat and then back to sleep, waking up just a few hours before Stansted to ensure I slept well on the floor of the airport before my morning fight to Amsterdam!
As I walked through the airport in Stansted late a night with plans to find a shower, I expected to find a load of over-worked, miserable staff, but instead I found some really helpful, happy people and I started to think "maybe this isn't going to be too bad"! The London accent seemed really exaggerated after being surrounded by "Gday's" and "How's it goings for 2 years!" And more good news - A flight to Ibiza had been cancelled so I had company in the hundreds on the cold stone floor that was to be my bed for the night.
So after a lovely long shower, clean clothes and an average night sleep, I was onboard to my flight to Holland. I am pretty certain that the plane started the landing process about 5 minutes after take off so I didn't have much chance of digesting what was about to happen! I was just about to see Ron and Fleur and as the plan landed and I walked through to baggage collection, I was finding it pretty difficult to keep the lid on my excitement.
The week in Holland was great and every place I visited I loved! With a mix of beach and city, bike rides and chilling and a day with Fleur each side, I felt like I'd unwound nicely, ready for the UK. After a 4 hour delay and an emotional goodbye with Ron, I was on my way again to my final destination!
Poor Laura was waiting for my delayed flight at Stansted and at 2am, I walked through the arrivals gate to see her lovely, smiley face waiting for me! I was home!
All that said, there were obviously a few good reasons to be coming back! First of all, let's not forget the reason I was coming back at all! Leia's wedding! Since I have been away Leia has met Graeme, had a baby and is about to get married so a bundle of fun to look forward to there! And with important duties of bridesmaid/ring bearer/witness, this event is not to be missed! There was also my little detour; Holland! If anything was taking the sting out of my Australia departure, it was looking forward to my week in Holland visiting Ron!
So I began my journey, drunk, thanks to my send off from Ben and Riley! Sitting next to an Irish guy on the plane then only encouraged the drinking, so needless to say, I flew off to Singapore in good spirits. I had just enough time to grab some very rank food on my way to the next flight to Kuala Lumper and by the time I reached my Malaysian destination the food poisoning had set in nicely and I managed to faint and throw up at the airport, before finding a nice row of plastic benches to sleep on until morning! So after snoozing for a few hours I then had 10 hours to walk around, sit around, crochet, read and generally feel a bit rough. I could have locked my bags up and gone into the city but having passed through KL 5 times now, I didn't really feel a great desire! I was soon bum on seat and en route to London Stansted, and can confirm that I pretty much slept the WHOLE way! I woke up to eat and then back to sleep, waking up just a few hours before Stansted to ensure I slept well on the floor of the airport before my morning fight to Amsterdam!
As I walked through the airport in Stansted late a night with plans to find a shower, I expected to find a load of over-worked, miserable staff, but instead I found some really helpful, happy people and I started to think "maybe this isn't going to be too bad"! The London accent seemed really exaggerated after being surrounded by "Gday's" and "How's it goings for 2 years!" And more good news - A flight to Ibiza had been cancelled so I had company in the hundreds on the cold stone floor that was to be my bed for the night.
So after a lovely long shower, clean clothes and an average night sleep, I was onboard to my flight to Holland. I am pretty certain that the plane started the landing process about 5 minutes after take off so I didn't have much chance of digesting what was about to happen! I was just about to see Ron and Fleur and as the plan landed and I walked through to baggage collection, I was finding it pretty difficult to keep the lid on my excitement.
Poor Laura was waiting for my delayed flight at Stansted and at 2am, I walked through the arrivals gate to see her lovely, smiley face waiting for me! I was home!
03 August 2010
Epic Road Trip
One of the things I always told myself I must do before I leave Australia is the Kimberleys. When I worked in Darwin last year in a restaurant, so many people said to me "you haven't seen Australia until you've seen the Kimberleys". So when I flew to Broome it was always my intention to drive to Darwin via the Kimberleys before flying home.
The Gibbs River road is a dirt road so I knew I'd either need to find a lift in a 4WD or hire one. When I found out that to hire a 4WD, all I would need is $200 per day (cough) I started looking into other options. Hannah also wanted to head up there so we looked into getting a relocation vehicle or lift shares! When we called standbyrelocs there seemed to be loads heading that way but we were told we couldn't book until a couple of weeks before we wanted to leave. I was itching to leave Broome. I did like the little wild west town but I don't think I ever really saw what others did about it. Maybe because I had high expectations or maybe because I went there straight from Byron Bay. Either way, quitting my job and heading up north was NOT coming around quick enough.
We managed to book a relocation leaving on 16 July, and we would have to return it in 6 days. Number 1 rule of hiring a relocation 4WD is "don't drive it off road"!!! Yeah right! With the car booked and my notice handed in at the travel agent I was working at in town, I was getting over excited! My job had grown on me....well, my boss had. She was really great and I had felt really bad about not sticking around as long as I promised. I even started to fall in love with Broome in the last weeks, once I knew I was leaving. It is a gorgeous place, I think I just went there when my head was elsewhere!
A few days after confirming our relocation booking, I had a phone call (at 7am on a Sunday morning can I add) informing us that the vehicle was no longer needed in Darwin and therefore they will be cancelling our booking. Me and Hannah went full steam ahead with finding an alternative, with both of us ringing the same company every morning asking again and again if they had anything for us. They offered us a non 4WD but there was no way I was missing the whole reason I was driving that way! Just under a week before, they called us and said they had exactly the same deal for us. Same dates, same vehicle but with a slightly lower fuel allowance! "We'll take it!" The hire works out pretty much free and all we had to do is pay for fuel. And with Fabien, a German guy who had recently moved into the campsite now joining us, we were looking at a cheap trip!
I got some tips from my boss on the best places to visit and after getting over a few hurdles like my driving license being out of date and me needing to be in Darwin for a certain date for a hospital appointment, we were all set to go. With just one legal driver, but all three of us keen to get behind the wheel, we were already planning on breaking a few more rules!!
Minutes before we left, I had to have my last swim in Austrlian ocean. I ran to the beach and jumped in! Looking out towards the white sands and the sun rising over the dunes and floating in the refreshing turquoise water, I realised how strange it felt to be leaving Austrlia in a week, after it being home for me for 2 years.
We did have a few days of constant driving but with Hannah happy crocheting in the back the promise of jam and peanut butter sandwiches when we stopped, everybody seemed to keep themselves entertained. We had some gorgeous walks around the Bungle Bungles and my favourite, El Questro was sooooo beautiful! We had a 3 hour trek across HUGE boulders and having been advised to wear good footwear, me and Hannah struggled a little in our flipflops or bare feet! We waded through waist deep waters and climbed up vertical rock faces before arriving at a fresh water, croc free, waterfall and pool. We slept well that night!
Putting up the tents as the sunset and getting dinner cooked by a chef every night wasn't a bad end to each day either! Living by the sun always feels so natural so after dinner, we were generally tucked up by 7 or 8pm. Waking up in the same tent as Hannah every morning was a laugh a minute! She never stopped cracking me up and she would even wake up laughing! I'd open my eyes and she would giggle. Waking up laughing is fully recommended!
So with the journey coming to and end and the last day spent at Berry Springs, just out of Darwin, we started to plan our last day with the 4WD. Having driven her on bumpy dirt roads and through deep water by somebody underage and somebody with no valid license, the rule breaking was going really well!
We arrived in Darwin and dropped all our bags off at hostels and friends houses and headed to the hospital to get my chest x-ray. Luckily, I had been sent to the private hospital, so I was quickly in and out with a promise to picking up my results later that same day! So I jumped in the car and off the three of us drove to Spotlight! For those of you who don't know what it is, you are missing out more than I can explain! Spotlight is everybodies dream, no matter on gender or age! After that we did some op shop shopping before returning the car to Britz and heading out on foot once again! We all had our first shower in quite sometime and headed out for a drunken night on the town.
It was great to catch up with friends and Darwin was just a brilliant as I remembered, if not better. I was pleased to learn I do not have TB! An added bonus to the trip!
My last few days were really sad, not only did I have to say goodbye to people, new and old friends but I was leaving Austrlia. My time was coming to an end. Wow, what a few months of change. Selling Bumbles, leaving Ron, leaving Byron and travelling alone. Now leaving Australia and the lfestyle I've known for what seemed like a while. But Holland here I come!!!!!!!
The Gibbs River road is a dirt road so I knew I'd either need to find a lift in a 4WD or hire one. When I found out that to hire a 4WD, all I would need is $200 per day (cough) I started looking into other options. Hannah also wanted to head up there so we looked into getting a relocation vehicle or lift shares! When we called standbyrelocs there seemed to be loads heading that way but we were told we couldn't book until a couple of weeks before we wanted to leave. I was itching to leave Broome. I did like the little wild west town but I don't think I ever really saw what others did about it. Maybe because I had high expectations or maybe because I went there straight from Byron Bay. Either way, quitting my job and heading up north was NOT coming around quick enough.
We managed to book a relocation leaving on 16 July, and we would have to return it in 6 days. Number 1 rule of hiring a relocation 4WD is "don't drive it off road"!!! Yeah right! With the car booked and my notice handed in at the travel agent I was working at in town, I was getting over excited! My job had grown on me....well, my boss had. She was really great and I had felt really bad about not sticking around as long as I promised. I even started to fall in love with Broome in the last weeks, once I knew I was leaving. It is a gorgeous place, I think I just went there when my head was elsewhere!
A few days after confirming our relocation booking, I had a phone call (at 7am on a Sunday morning can I add) informing us that the vehicle was no longer needed in Darwin and therefore they will be cancelling our booking. Me and Hannah went full steam ahead with finding an alternative, with both of us ringing the same company every morning asking again and again if they had anything for us. They offered us a non 4WD but there was no way I was missing the whole reason I was driving that way! Just under a week before, they called us and said they had exactly the same deal for us. Same dates, same vehicle but with a slightly lower fuel allowance! "We'll take it!" The hire works out pretty much free and all we had to do is pay for fuel. And with Fabien, a German guy who had recently moved into the campsite now joining us, we were looking at a cheap trip!I got some tips from my boss on the best places to visit and after getting over a few hurdles like my driving license being out of date and me needing to be in Darwin for a certain date for a hospital appointment, we were all set to go. With just one legal driver, but all three of us keen to get behind the wheel, we were already planning on breaking a few more rules!!
Minutes before we left, I had to have my last swim in Austrlian ocean. I ran to the beach and jumped in! Looking out towards the white sands and the sun rising over the dunes and floating in the refreshing turquoise water, I realised how strange it felt to be leaving Austrlia in a week, after it being home for me for 2 years. 
Putting up the tents as the sunset and getting dinner cooked by a chef every night wasn't a bad end to each day either! Living by the sun always feels so natural so after dinner, we were generally tucked up by 7 or 8pm. Waking up in the same tent as Hannah every morning was a laugh a minute! She never stopped cracking me up and she would even wake up laughing! I'd open my eyes and she would giggle. Waking up laughing is fully recommended!
We arrived in Darwin and dropped all our bags off at hostels and friends houses and headed to the hospital to get my chest x-ray. Luckily, I had been sent to the private hospital, so I was quickly in and out with a promise to picking up my results later that same day! So I jumped in the car and off the three of us drove to Spotlight! For those of you who don't know what it is, you are missing out more than I can explain! Spotlight is everybodies dream, no matter on gender or age! After that we did some op shop shopping before returning the car to Britz and heading out on foot once again! We all had our first shower in quite sometime and headed out for a drunken night on the town.
It was great to catch up with friends and Darwin was just a brilliant as I remembered, if not better. I was pleased to learn I do not have TB! An added bonus to the trip!
My last few days were really sad, not only did I have to say goodbye to people, new and old friends but I was leaving Austrlia. My time was coming to an end. Wow, what a few months of change. Selling Bumbles, leaving Ron, leaving Byron and travelling alone. Now leaving Australia and the lfestyle I've known for what seemed like a while. But Holland here I come!!!!!!!
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