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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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25th December 2017

Merry Christmas world!

It was 0700. We went to bed about 6 hours ago for the first time in what felt like 3 days. I was so excited that I didn't even think about how tired I felt. We were about to go and knock on my Dad and Ange's hotel room door. I was absolutely buzzing.

We had a wash, got dressed and ate some breakfast. Steve had his leftover Subway roll to eat and I had a sandwich I took from the plane. I left my Subway roll for lunch. We were still living like backpackers. We had too – we had no money left!

It was time to walk to Dad's hotel. According to Google maps, it will take us 7 minutes. The most nerve-wracking 7 minutes of my life. We left the hotel and made our way there. It did literally take us a few minutes. I was at the hotel. My heart was in my stomach.

I approached the reception staff. There was 1 female and 1 male sitting there. They were lovely. They wished us a Happy Christmas and I advised them why I was there. They were more excited than I was. They said they would take me to the room now. The young male said he would even knock on the door. He couldn't wait. I sat down and took deep breaths... I was panicked. Was it too early? Would they be in? Would they see me walking to the room? Oh God. Everything was a bit of a blur.

We walked across the courtyard. It was time to go. This is it.

I searched everywhere because I know what my Dad is like. He gets up and goes for a walk. It would typical that he would see us and surprise me!

We got to the door. It was time. Big deep breaths. The staff member knocked on the door.

We waited. We waited for what felt like an hour but must've been 2 minutes. The door opened. My heart raced. The staff member said “Good Morning Sir”, my Dad replied “Good Morning”. You could tell that he had just woke up. He was groggy. I had to force my legs to move. Go forward, go forward!

I went into his view and said “Merry Christmas, Dad”. He was shocked. Maybe he didn't know I was coming. He said “What are you doing here?!”, “Ange – it's my baby!”. He cried, I cried. We just cuddled. It was amazing. Steve and I went into the room. They had just woken up. We all sat on the bed and chatted away...

And that was it. Our backpacking year was over. I didn't document our holiday to India. My Mum and Brother came out for a couple of weeks. We enjoyed family time. When we got home, Steve and I was told by Alison and Joyce, (Mum and Nan), that they were going to surprise us in India! I was gutted they never did that. Both of our families together at such a wonderful time. It would have been lovely. Hopefully there will be another time.

Being away from home for a considerable amount of times makes you realise a lot. Travelling has completely opened our eyes. We appreciate the undervalued things. Our perspective has changed. We were both taken out of our comfort zone and it was the greatest thing for us. We have learnt about what is important and what isn't. Our independence has given us a new lease on life. You manage so much on your own when you're travelling, even though we always had each other. That itself was an experience. I'm not sure how I would've coped without Steve. I am so proud of us both – what an achievement to have completed the entire year, together.

From having no plans the moment we stepped off that plane, to now.

The stories, memories and friendships that we will keep with us for the rest of our lives.

Live simply. Dream big. Be grateful. Give love. Laugh lots.

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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24th December 2017

It was now 24th December 2018. The flight was 11 hours long. We slept, watched films, got restless and starved. We were literally starving. We got off the flight and I was so excited to stretch my legs! There is no better feeling than finally getting off a plane, is there?! Well, other than getting into bed... Now that is the best feeling ever.

Going through Indian airports are the worst. You have to split between men and women for security checks and what not. I wasn't looking forward to being on my own. It's just so busy! We had to pick our bags up and put them back on again which was a real annoyance. It was all a bit over the place. Never mind. We managed it and went to find security. This is where I said bye to Steve. It was in the same room just two separate queues. Mumbai is so busy though, you would literally get lost. We stuck out like sore thumbs though, if you get what I mean. Steve never took his eyes off of me. Every time I looked up, he was already looking at me. He went through before I did. The women's queue is always longer. I eventually went through and found Steve.

Time for food. We needed to find the first food place and fill our stomachs. Please be something I can eat. Please, please, please! The first thing that we found was KFC. That will do. It was around 1900 Indian time. Our body clocks were literally all over the place. I had no idea what was going on, when I last ate or slept. Was it yesterday, two days ago, today?!

KFC was almost shut – like everything in the airport. They said that only spicy on-the-bone chicken was left. I declined and Steve ordered. He didn't like it though, it's very different to what we know. After walking around, we found a Subway! Perfect. We ordered a foot-long and only managed half. We kept the other half in case we ended up in another situation like this one.

We only had another hour before we were meant to be taking off. Time to walk to the gate. We had what felt like 15,000 miles to walk. We just kept going and going and going. The corridor kept going and going and going... There were stunning art pieces, statues and sculptures along the way mind you.

We got onto the plane and moaned at us having passed Goa on our first flight to get to Mumbai. We only had an hour and a half left of flying.

I am pretty sure the flight felt like 20 hours. The 14 hour flight felt quicker than this one. Maybe because we were so overtired now. We had been flying for days and through however many time zones – I don’t even know. We were so close to being finished that it felt worse.

We arrived at Goa which was nice to arrive at something that was familiar to us. The queues didn't take all that long considering it was India. We had booked an AirBnB for our holiday here. The owner said he arranged a taxi for us. It was outside and waiting. Perfect. Finally.

So. Close.

After 1.5 hours of driving, we eventually got to our AirBnB. I was SO excited. We were here. We did it. We got all checked in and went to sleep straight away. I'd like to say that I have never felt something so comfortable, but for anyone who knows India – they sleep on concrete. Didn't matter. We were asleep before we could complain about it.

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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23rd December 2017

We woke up around 0800 again. A very busy day ahead of us. Plus, we love the breakfast so much – it's well worth waking up for. We chucked some random clothes on, shoved our key/lanyard around our necks and hiked down the million of stairs. Our faces had a massive smile on constantly. We are so happy here.

We had our breakfast. I managed to resist the pancakes both days which is a massive deal for me. I absolutely love pancakes. They're the best thing in the world, no?! We washed our plates in the kitchen and headed back upstairs to our room. We had to sort all of our clothes out and check out by 10. However, because Sam is so good to us, she said we could just take our time. It didn't matter so much. I also asked if we could shower later on before leaving and she said 'of course'. To be fair, most hostel staff anywhere are pretty lenient. Especially in the circumstances of leaving late after check out.

It was extremely stressful trying to pack our bags and then leaving stuff out for later, after our showers. Plus having our mini backpacks ready with the stuff we needed. Not only that, we were off out for the day too with swimwear so we needed stuff for that too.

We finished and I was stressed to the max. It's like packing before you leave for a holiday. Trying to make sure you have everything you need in the places you need them. We carried our backpacks down and then went back upstairs for our dirty sheets. We chucked them into the wash and then shoved our bags into the TV room.

We left the hostel and went to Kings Cross station. We both had about $10-$15 left on our Opal cards so we didn't want to put any more money onto them. We were literally down to the littlest bit of money left. We jumped on a tube to Bondi Junction – 2 stops. We had then got the bus to Bondi Beach. I was so excited – I love it here.

We walked up and down the high street, going in and out of shops. I came across one with a Bondi Australia hoody and I loved it! It was perfect. I'm so pleased I didn't settle for a rubbish one yesterday. We walked over to the grass area and sunbathed for a while. We spoke about tomorrow, the day after and the 365 days that flashed behind us. Strange. Weird.

We walked down to the Bondi Icebergs. That's where the famous swimming pool is – the one 'in the sea'. The waves crash and go into the water. It's great. We took some photos and decided to actually go inside to the bar area and treat ourselves to a drink. We both had a beer and watched over the horizon. We obviously went for the cheapest beer there was and dreamed of going for an expensive cocktail. One day but not any time soon... We wanted food but we already felt like we didn't fit in there. Everyone looked posh, like they had money... We weren't' either.

There was a balcony all around the bar area which was lovely. I managed to take some good photos of the pool and beach. We left shortly after. We were absolutely starving so we went back down the high street to find somewhere to eat. We put enough money aside to ensure we enjoyed our final day, as much as we could.

We came across a Hurricane and decided to eat there. It's such a lovely chain and we enjoy it every time. We went there yesterday but oh well. We were happy to go again! We sat down, ordered and enjoyed our time. Our meal came and it was slightly different in a worse way and the price was a bit more expensive. Presumably because of where we were. We still really enjoyed our meal, but last's nights meal was better.

We left the restaurant and realised that we needed to get the bus back to the train station. We waited 10 minutes for the bus outside the restaurant. I tried so hard to take everything in, like I have all year. It's so difficult when time passes by so quickly. We jumped on the bus. There was an English family on there on their holidays. It was so great to hear a homely accent.

We got off the bus and onto the train. We only had two stops to go. We jumped off and walked to our hostel for the last time. Annoyingly, the TV had people inside watching a film. We were back and forward in front of the telly getting our stuff from the luggage room. We got showered, put our travel clothes on and sat in the TV room. I was feeling really tired. We had a little while before we needed to leave. We both fell asleep on the bean bags.

Davide was in the TV with another person flicking through scary films. It was time to leave. We grabbed our bags, shoved them on our backs and said goodbye to Sam. She took a photo of us on the stairs. A year. An entire year has passed and everything has changed.

We left the hostel and started walking towards Kings Cross station for the last time. We got our train to Town Hall and then to the International Airport stop. We both had no money left on our opal cards after today so I was hoping this journey didn’t cost us much... It was about 10 stops though so I'm certain we wouldn’t get through the barriers.

We received a text on the way saying that our flight had been delayed by an hour or two. Excellent. Wish we knew that before we left. Could've stayed a bit longer napping.

We got to the stop and it cost us both $8 however the gates opened as we tapped them... How strange. I call that lucky if you ask me! Thanks Aus. We walked around the airport trying to find out check in desk. We were travelling with Etihad to Mumbai, catching a domestic flight from there to Goa. A very busy 2 days ahead of us and we were ready for bed...

We found our desk and the female said we had a delay and printed our tickets. It said we arrive 10 hours later than usual... We asked 'Does that mean we are going to miss our connecting flight from Mumbai to Goa?”. The female said “Yeah.”. We wen't MAD! What the hell?! Where does that leave us now?! What are we going to do?! I asked for the manager – this lady did not have a clue what she was talking about. The manager came over and said that we were delayed but we would get on our connecting flight – it was an error on the print outs by them. They didn't get the times right. Jesus Christ – I almost went batshit crazy.

We checked our bags in – thank goodness. We went through security and found the seating area. We walked around all the shops but we had no money. We had hardly any money for food and drink. We sat down and I realised that we had a lot of change to spend. We already got some of our Australian notes changed into Rupees.

I counted $30 in change. Steve suggested halving it and us going round on our own to buy each other a Christmas present. What a great idea! Good luck trying to buy something in Australia for $15 – let alone in an airport! Steve went off first. I played on my laptop... 30 minutes later...

Steve has a present. I wonder what it could be. Steve isn't the greatest at gifts – he gives literally everything away. Steve organising some sort of surprise would be literally like telling a 5 year old. I was excited though. My turn.

I walked around. EVERYTHING WAS SO EXPENSIVE. What the hell was I meant to buy?! I text Steve asking how the hell he found something to buy me. He said 'With great difficulty'. Yeah, tell me about it.

I eventually found two possible gifts. One bottle of Jack Daniels or an extra large Toblerone. The Jack Daniels was a bit larger than your average 'miniature' bottle. I wanted the Toblerone more than the Jack Daniels but I couldn't find plain milk chocolate. Only dark or white. I couldn't remember whether Steve enjoyed white chocolate enough to have an extra large bar of it. I was gutted. I spent an extra 15 minutes looking for milk chocolate. I even asked two members of staff. I had to go with the alcohol. They had the fireball so I went with that rather than the Jack Daniels. We love that cinnamon drink. I also had change left for a large bag of Haribo sweets. Not something I enjoy.

Done. I walked back to Steve. We grabbed a bite to eat. There was a McDonald’s next to the seating area but that was really the only thing. Everything else was very Asian. I don't like Asian food really – Sushi, Japanese, Dim Sim... I'll stick with a chicken salad and a diet coke. They had a two floor Mcdonald’s. The counter was on the ground floor – where we were. That's all that was on the floor. They sent the orders up via print out and then the meals where clipped onto a conveyor belt which ended up coming down! It was so amazing! I loved it. I just watched and watched for ages. It was fascinating. We'd never seen anything like that before.

After food, a nap, a walk, twenty toilet trips... It was time to go. We sat in our seats, comfortable and excited. It was 2300 and it was time to leave Australia. The plane took off.

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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22nd December 2017

Our alarm went off at 0800. Time for breakfast. Our favourite hostel breakfast! Steve was so excited. I was just hungry. We jumped out of bed (not literally or I would've died). We went down to Happy Travels and had almost everything they had to offer. I took a photo of Steve and he looks like the worlds creepiest man with his smile. Weirdo.

It was good to be back.

We went and got showered, dressed and ready.

We got a bag packed and off we went. We wanted to do some of our favourite things for one last time whilst we were here.

We went straight to the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. It was a bright day and the sun was beaming. It was just lovely. We walked around, taking a few photos here and there. We remembered the time we were last here. I walked in and out of a few shops where I decided I wanted a 'Sydney' hoody. We both tried a load on from different stores but I couldn't find the one that I wanted. We left it and hoped I'd find one at some point.

We walked back through the Botanic Gardens as I really loved them. I would spend so much time here if I lived here properly. The grass was so green and the flowers were so pretty. It was just such a nice space. We sat down in the space we sat the first time we came here. It was lovely.

We started to head back as I was starving. We spent hours walking around taking photos and talking about our time here in Australia.

We had to get back to the hostel to get ready to go and meet Louisa who was here in Sydney too! I was so excited. We hadn't seen each other since the farm. It was going to be so nice seeing a familiar face.

Steve and I got back to the hostel and started getting showered and ready.

Gladrags on and we were ready to go and enjoy the night ahead.

We were meeting Louisa at the Opera House. We had no plans from then on which is probably a good thing because do plans ever actually go to plan? I'm sure this entire blog teaches you that they really do not.

We found Louisa and hugged forever! Yay!

We took some photos with the sunset and harbour bridge in the background. They were lovely. I was so excited for this evening. It was going to be so good.

Steve suggested going to the Hurricane Grill as it was only over the road. We walked down the restaurants along the water front, where Steve and I went for valentines but the Hurricane got all our votes. The waterfront ones were packed already.

We got to the Hurricane and the restaurant hadn't opened yet. We waited outside in the seating area whilst chatting about Louisa's time at the farm after we left. We went inside and grabbed a drink. Louisa got an extremely pink cocktail and it matched my blouse. I had a few photos with it. I looked like Barbie.

We got shown to a table and I ordered a bottle of red wine. If we're going to go out, we may as well do it with a bang! Anyway, I was ordering steak. What goes better with steak? Nothing!

Dinner arrived and it was so delicious. Definitely our favourite chain here in Australia. Louisa loved it which was even better. I hate suggesting places in case other people do not like it... There's honestly nothing worse!

We had enough food to give us food babies... We had to walk them off. We walked around the harbour and Louisa took us to some of her favourite bars from when she was here before the farm. We queued up for one but they wanted $20 each just to enter. We all said no and went elsewhere. $20?! Just to enter?! What a joke! I'm not surprised because it's Sydney and they ask for money to enter anything but that was just ridiculous. I'm so pleased Louisa said no. I would've died if we wasted $40 to go into a place for one drink!

We eventually ended up in a roof top bar which was beautiful.

We looked over the entire harbour and the city. It really was the icing on the cake. As our last night, I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend it. We stayed in the bar drinking for a while but it was so packed. We couldn't even sit down.

Steve and I left around 2300 as Louisa had plans elsewhere. We had to be up early the next day to check out anyway. We said our goodbyes, said we would see each other in London some time soon.

Steve and I got the train back and got straight into bed.

Our actual last nights sleep in Australia...

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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21st December 2017

The alarm went off. I was sad. This is it. Our East Coast trip had come to an end. What an experience.

We didn't have time to reminisce. We had to have breakfast and get packing. The entire van needed cleaning and we needed to try and fit everything that we had accumulated into our backpacks again. The next hour or so was going to be dreadful.

Steve sat and chilled whilst I went on a mad one emptying the van as good as I could. Steve started to help and eventually we finished. We had bags and bags full of rubbish. I was leaving so many clothes and shoes behind. We wanted our bags to be as light as possible. I struggled to get everything into my bag, like I do every time we try and pack... I had a lot of clothes that I didn't want to throw away and wanted sending home. I put them into a cardboard box that I kept from Melbourne where Mum had sent me stuff over. My plan was to go into the post office in Sydney to send it home. Fingers crossed.

Steve eventually squished everything in, our bags were packed, the van was back to it's original state. The table was up and it was time to leave Canberra. We were showered and ready to go. I started the drive. We were off to Sydney which was another few hours away.

We drive back up was a bit weird. We were quiet. It was strange. I don't think we realised what was going on. We were really excited to get back to Sydney mind you, we loved Sydney a lot. We were also booked into our favourite hostel – Mad Monkey Kings Cross. We started our journey there and we were ending our journey there too... How lovely.

After 2 hours worth of driving, I had to pull over. I was busting for a wee. Steve checked on the maps where the next services were and we pulled over. I ran into a KFC to wee. You know when you're busting so much you're not even sure you're going to make it to the toilet... That's how I was feeling!

I come out of the toilet and noticed Steve ordering food. I laughed a lot but I wasn't surprised. Only Steve... I didn't feel hungry at all but I asked him to grab me some popcorn chicken just in case. I asked Steve if he could drive now as I didn't want to do anymore. He had 3 hours to do now. He laughed at me and said that I did hardly any of the driving this trip. I did agree to half and half today but what is the point in driving another 30 minutes for us to pull over and swap? No point whatsoever!

We eventually pulled up to Sydney. We were in the area where we had to give the camper van back so we looked at how far away the post office was... 3 roads away. Perfect! We drove there first and we jumped out. I sent my box off and it cost $50. A lot less than I thought it would be. It was going to take around 3 months to get home which was fine. It was summery stuff and it's winter at home. I wasn't going to need it.

Next, I was going to wet myself. Steve had to rush over the road to get me to a McDonald’s before I did actually wee in the camper van which would've been typical for us as we were about to give it back... I ran in fully expecting to find Steve in queue as I got out.. I didn't, he was still in the van.

We pulled up at the camper van place and started to empty the van. I think we were really sad, tired and a bit stressed. We were arguing like cat and dog. I took all the food and drink into the reception area to put in the 'free bin'. Hopefully other people will find use of our old rubbish. We also left our table and chairs. We bought them separately as it was cheaper than hiring it with the van. Top tips!

That was it, all done... Our van was given back and our East Coast trip was over. 5 incredible weeks, 4306 kilometres and 23 amazing places. I was so sad. We both were. But I was so excited to get to our hostel. I had been messaging Sam for a while and she sorted our room out for us.

Steve and I were walking to the bus stop with our bags on our backs again. Steve hated having his bag on, it gave him the hump. To be fair, the first ten minutes are fine. After that, you question why you pack anything other than underwear! It really does hurt your entire body.

We got to the bus stop after about 10 minutes walking and trying to run across a main road... I hoped more than anything that I wasn't going to trip over. I wouldn't have been able to get up, I would've been like a turtle stuck in a shell!

We got on the bus and it was 1430. We had about 30 minutes worth of travel on that. After that, it was the tube. It was pretty straight forward for us, but I guess that's because we knew where we were going. We knew Sydney so well. I sat on the train with the biggest smile on my face. We were going to our favourite hostel, in our favourite place!

I pretty much rain from the tube station to our hostel. I even ran up the 3 flights of stairs. I jumped at Sam as we checked in! How exciting! We had our catch up and I noticed someone we had seen before... The two girls from our Fraser Island trip! We weren't friendly enough to say hi but they definitely recognised us. They were the girls that stayed at the same campsite as us afterwards. How strange. Small world as they say.

We checked into our room. We were in 2C. It was a 12 bed. We went inside a there were loads of empty beds. We picked the two closest to the door. It wasn't right under the aircon and it wasn't next to the toilet. Perfect. I just hoped that the door wasn't going to be opened and shut constantly but you can't have everything, especially in hostels.

We chucked our stuff away and headed out. We had to go to Westfield’s to pick up Steve's sunglasses before the store shut. We walked to the tube station and jumped on 2 stops to Town Hall. We luckily still had our Opal cards with money on. Ca-ching!

We went to the Specsavers we were told to go to. We explained the situation to the staff member and gave her the card. She went away to collect his glasses. We sat and waited. She came back over and said that we must have the wrong store because they didn't have them. Steve just went 'bang' and went mental. He asked whether the number on the card was correct for this store and she said 'I don't know'. Steve said “How do you not know the number of your place of work?!”. Eventually, she went to look again after realising that it had to be the correct store.

She found his glasses and Steve walked out. I apologised on Steve's behalf for going crazy at her. She said it was okay. I bet she was fuming though. It wasn't her fault but she did act slightly stupid.

It was late so we grabbed a bite to eat in the food hall. I took loads of photos of the Christmas decorations on our travels home. Sydney at Christmas was beautiful, and hot. There were thousands of people around! It was so busy. I'm even sure it's busier than London at Christmas.

We got back to the hostel and chatted to Sam for a while before heading up to our room. There was nobody else in our room when we checked in but I'm sure that's going to be different when we head up now...

It was full of girls. Steve was the only male. I'm sure he liked those odds until they all started getting ready to go out! We had two American girls next to us. They were on their 'vacation' – not backpackers. They were really nice. We told them what we thought was worth visiting here and what to skip. They ended up going out, like everyone else. Steve and I had one plan and one plan only.

Sleep! I was on the top bunk. Oh how I don’t and won’t miss you!

Goodnight world.

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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20th December 2017

Our alarm went off early. We had a full day of Canberra ahead of us and we had a lot to do when we got back to the van. We had our second to last breakfast and packed for the day. Steve had sorted out where we needed to park and how to get into the main city centre, which was by bus and tram. How annoying. I guess it's like driving into London, easier to park outside and travel in via transport.

We pulled up at the car park that we had picked after a 20 minute drive. We weren't able to park there for long so we needed to find a different one. We were getting stressed out driving around and it took us about 15 minutes before we found a multi-storey car park. We tried to park in Woolworths but didn't want to risk a fine for not shopping there and being over 2 hours.

We paid for parking and walked out to find the tram stop that we needed. The weather was rubbish. Grey sky, quite cold and windy. We found the right tram stop and only waited about 5 minutes for it to arrive. We sat on the bench when an elderly lady sat next to us. She started speaking about the trams that were being built. She wasn't happy about it. Said that Canberra was just trying to copy Melbourne and they were better off without it. Sydney had just started building work for new trams too. We spoke to her for a fair while before the tram turned up.

We only had a couple of stops to take and then we had to figure out where to go from our stop. We jumped off and walked around like lost losers for a little while. It took some time to realise where we needed to go. On the list first was Parliament House. Steve said it was only a few minutes walk away.

Steve was wrong. Steve is a knob. Steve made me walk for about 45 minutes. Steve didn't realise that we could have driven the van rather than parking it.

To be fair to him, we both expected the capital to be a lot different than what it was. It was quiet, boring and pretty lame to be fair. It was nothing like Sydney – Sydney seemed like the capital more than Canberra. After we walked for what seemed like forever, we eventually arrived to parliament house. There was the old and new one. We went to the new one.

I took loads of photos and then we went inside. After security, we were given leaflets and a map to tour the entire building. I was so excited. Before we could start, Steve had said 'be right back'. I stood waiting for about 10 minutes before he returned. He said “I just took a shit in the presidents house!”. Excellent. Fantastic. Great.

Now that Steve had parked his breakfast, we could start our tour. The building was massive. We had so many rooms on separate floors to go and visit. The most exciting was visiting the Senate and House of Representatives Chambers. We were able to go up the lift onto the roof of the Parliament House. The views were pretty nice – especially with all the pretty symmetric gardens. We went to the Member's Hall and looked at the Great Hall Tapestry. We went to the Queen's terrace gallery and then went through to the Queen's terrace cafe. We grabbed a drink and bite to eat. It was lovely. In the courtyard was a massive sculpture of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Steve and I had a photo next to her after a lady heard that we were English and demanded that we had one. I look awful in the photo.

Steve and I aren't hugely involved with politics, not as much as we should be but we really enjoyed our day there. We spent a couple of hours walking around. We left the building and walked towards the old building. We decided against going in, mainly because we couldn't find the front door... Time was getting on and there was stuff I wanted to see! Next, the War Memorial.

By the time we got back to the bus stop, the heavens absolutely opened. Luckily I had my umbrella but we were absolutely soaked. We sat and spoke to a girl from Switzerland who was lost. She hadn't long been in Australia and was asking advice. The thing she struggled with most was the driving being on the opposite side of the road. Long story short, she kept going to the wrong bus stop because she expected them to go the other way down the road. She did the same this time until we told her!

We found a massive shopping centre and went inside as it was so cold and wet. We walked round a few shops. I bought a few Christmas cards to send and we bought a bottle of wine for the last night in our camper van.

Our plans didn't really go to plan... Do they ever? We were tired and wanted to go home. We decided against anything else as we weren't a huge fan of Canberra anyway. It wasn't what we expected. We're glad we done it and can tick it off however, we kind of wished we spent our time elsewhere. Canberra isn't great.

We took an hour or so to get home. We started to make our dinner, using up as much as possible.

We had our wine and played Backpacker in the car whilst it rained. It was great. We loved our van and I was feeling so sad about having to give it back.

I can't believe this is the last time we'll be sleeping in our van!

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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19th December 2017

We woke up and packed everything up. We got showered and had our breakfast. Today we were leaving New South Wales and off to the Capital City – Canberra! Unfortunately, this was a 5 hour drive away. I didn't have high hopes for today being a particularly fun day. We jumped into our van and started our extremely long journey to tick another State off our list.

I can't really say much about the journey other than how boring it was. It wasn't even a pretty drive. It was motorways the entire way... When I looked at the maps, I noticed that we had to drive through Sydney. Driving through Sydney is very much like driving through hell, or worse. It's horrible.

After a few hours, we were fast approaching Sydney and rush hour was also around the corner. So we were basically driving through hell but on fire at the same time. Excellent. I put Steve forward for nominated driver, of course. Although, Steve gets super stressy that half of me wishes that I nominated myself for it.

We got half way through the nightmare and pulled off at KFC. We were absolutely starving and desperate to get out of the traffic. We walked inside, ordered some food and sat down. It was nice to have a cold drink. Steve's food took forever because every construction worker had gone into the same KFC to order food. Honestly, it looked like some sort of weird construction advert.

After about 40 minutes of eating, drinking and people watching, we finally got back into the van. It was my turn to drive. Steve started looking for campsites. It turns out, Canberra isn't really big for campsites and camper holidays. There were hardly any choices for us and they were mega expensive. How annoying! Steve picked one in the end, I think it was a pick out of 2-3. Hardly any considering it was the Capital. Very strange.

We pulled in and jumped out the van to check in at reception. I went round grabbing the leaflets as I always do. It's so helpful because every reception will have things to do in the area. Unfortunately, we were a good 20 minutes out from the main city centre but there wasn't anywhere else closer.

We were given our allocated spot and we drove into the park. We were gutted. It was horrible. There was no grass, no space, nothing. It was essentially a car park. It was concrete with allocated spots. We were separated by a white line on the ground. I felt like I was in Woolworths or Coles.

We both had the raging hump (more me) (in fact, I'm not even sure Steve was that bothered). I think I was so upset because I knew this was our last place with our camper van and I just wanted it to be perfect. I got over it after about 30 minutes.

The campsite was called White House caravan and campsite. It had a large jumping pillow, an outside BBQ area and two bathrooms. The showers and toilets were an outbuilding. It was brick and cold, spiders in all the corners. 3 toilets and 3 shower cubicles. I wasn't looking forward to having to go on my own. There was a washing room next door.

We put a wash on straight away. This was our last wash in our camper van! We spend the evening sorting some of our stuff out. We were chucking away stuff we knew we didn't want anymore. For dinner, we just had to have whatever was in our fridge. We needed to get as much eaten as possible so we weren't just throwing it away.

We went to get the washing out and put it into the dryer. The weather was quite grey so I didn't want to put it out. I saw over a fence a large group of wild kangaroos. I shouted a Steve to come over quickly. He rushed over and I pointed to the kangaroo's... Unfortunately, at the time Steve looked over, two took the opportunity to engage in sexual activity and left me humiliated! I wasn't calling Steve over to watch live kangaroo sex! Why did they pick when we were watching them?! Gross! Steve couldn't stop laughing.

We went back to the van and just chilled out for the rest of the night. We planned our day for tomorrow and got ourselves to sleep. I was so excited to see the capital. The temperature difference was even more crazy.

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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18th December 2017

Our alarm went off very early. We needed to get up and go to Specsavers as a particular young man decided to break his brand new sunnies. Nice one Steve. We drove to the closest one and parked up. It was a huge shopping centre, kind of like Lakeside but smaller, with a Specsavers inside.

We explained that we had bought these in Specsavers Melbourne, broken them here in Port Stephens but will need them posted to Specsavers in Sydney within three days before we leave Australia forever. She laughed. It was a nervous laugh. She didn't make us feel comfortable, I was expecting her to say it couldn't be done.

She had to ring Melbourne store first to get some codes from them, ring into Sydney to see whether they had any in stock and whether they'd be ready in 3 days... Eventually we were told that Sydney will have a new pair ready for us when we arrive. The lady wrote down the address and contact number on a piece of card for us to take away. We already knew where the Specsavers was but took the card anyway.

Steve was very annoyed he didn't have his sunglasses with him for the rest of the trip. Serves him right for being heavy handed! To be fair to him though, it wasn't his fault. They must have been a weak, faulty pair but at least they're sorting it out before we leave.

Next one the list for the day - Tomaree Mountain Hike.

I had wanted to do this particular mountain hike in Port Stephen's that I found when I was doing our research - so here we are! We've decided to do it early so that it's not too dangerous in the heat. I've read reviews about it and it's meant to be hard. There's loads of steep tracks and steps upwards. Well worth the views from what I can see on images though. A very early alarm for us considering what we've done already!

Tomaree mountain was pivotal in the defence of Australia during World War Two and especially 1942 with what was known at the time as the 'crisis year'. The Japanese had conquered much of South East Asia and landed on the beaches of Papua New Guinea. Australia seemed the next logical target in the search. Port Stephens was important to the war effort to ensure Australia’s defences were in place.

We packed our stuff for the day - sun cream, water, GoPro, selfie stick, hat and lunch. We had our van with us anyway but we had to think about what we'd need on a hike. With our fitness levels at next to none, we struggled quite bad when doing hikes and we've done a fair few. I told Steve I'd love to get into hiking properly though. Go on cute hiking holiday's and climb the highest mountains for the most spectacular sunrises and sunsets.

We drove to the Tomaree National Park car and started our walk around 0800. There were a fair few people coming downwards already. A lot that I was expect to be locals doing their morning exercise.

We started the hike and it wasn't too bad. We were hot - the sun was beaming. We were breathless and sweating but it felt amazing. We stopped every now and then because I was in awe of the scenery.

We eventually reached the top after 1-2 hours and we were very impressed with ourselves. It wasn't as hard as we thought it was going to be. The top of Tomaree Mountain was boarded out with a pathway that went in a large circle to get the whole 365 degree view. It wasn't a busy and we were able to get really good photos. It was amazing. I loved every moment of it.

I read all the information plaques around on our hikes and we had read about 'Fingal Bay'. It's the sea with a split in the middle from the sandy beach. The split is created by sand and I really wanted to walk on it. So, off we went to Fingal Bay!

We started our descend which is always as easier than the climb. It was getting quite busy now so I was pleased we did it as early as we did. We got back to the van and drove the 15 minutes, if that, to Fingal Bay. We parked up, jumped out and walked down to the beach front. The sand was bright white and the water was bright blue. It really was beautiful. It was what you'd expect to see on the front of a Holiday brochure. The spilt was a mile or two walk along the front. It was a pleasant walk. Steve was in and out of the water as we walked. I kept taking photos.

The split seemed to be moving as we moved. It took us much longer than we thought it would. It only looked about 15 minutes away but it was like 45 minutes. Not that I'm complaining. Who doesn't love a beach front walk?

We arrived and we had about 10 minutes before the tide came in and the split disappeared... How annoying. I took some photos before the water covered it. I wanted to walk on the split to the other side but Steve said no. We compromised and we went across... The water was getting high once we were on the other side. It wouldn't have been a problem clothes wise because we had our swimwear on underneath but I had my rucksack with my cameras and lunch in. We were both starving so lunch was our main priority.

We managed to get back safely, with the water up to our waist. We decided to sit on the high point of the sand and have lunch watching the split disappear. It was nice. Lucky, the seagulls didn't find us and our wraps. Steve likes to feed every breathing animal and I don't like to share my food.

We walked back along the beach to where the van was parked. It was mid-afternoon and Steve and I didn't know what to do next. I wanted to do the sand-boarding and camel rides however Steve really wasn't keen. I suggested we just stay at the beach because of how nice it was and Steve said yeah why not.

We got back to the van and Steve said he had found a 'Sting-Ray and Shark Encounter'. He rang up and asked whether there were still places to come in and how much it would be. They had space and we went straight away. It was about $60 for us both which isn't too bad.

The place was called Irukandji Shark and Ray Encounter. Irukandji is the name of the most venomous box jellyfish. The Irukandji is one of the worlds most dangerous creatures. We parked up after a 15 minute drive and walked in. We paid first and then had to go into separate changing rooms. We were given a wet suit and a pair of crocs to wear. I came out first and waited for Steve for what seemed like forever.

Steve came out and a member of staff came over to us. They asked us to come over and get into a pool. We climbed down some steps into cold water. I hadn't realised that this pool had a lot of stingrays in, a few being the size of a double bed. I panicked, a little. There was a group of about 6 of us in the water, and 4 out the water. You can do the tour in or out the water but we opted for in the water. Why else would you come for the encounter?

The staff member – Gemma, got in the water and started talking about the sting-rays. She started off by saying that we were in a pool full of the type of sting-ray that killed Steve Irwin. Great opening line!

We had to stand in a line and Gemma got the biggest sting-ray to swim up against us. We were able to stroke her as she went past. It was so soft! I was so shocked. I had touched sting-rays before at aquariums but I haven't had one basically on top of me before. It was great.

After a while in this pool, meeting and feeding all the sting-rays, we moved onto the next pool. The next pool was sharks... I panicked, again. In this pool were about 4 extremely large sharks. They looked mean. I got in and tried not to have a bitch fit. Steve was loving it and so was I, I was just hoping that I wasn't going to be lunch.

We got to feed the sharks and stroke them. Stroke sharks. Yes, most people stroke dogs, cats, maybe even the odd rabbit. Not sharks. It felt weird. Eventually, after feeding time we got out and moved onto the next pool.

The next pool was full of loads of tiny sting-rays and sharks together. When we walked in the pools, we weren't allowed to bring our feet up. We had to slide them across the floor to make sure there were no creeping stingers underneath us, hence the crocs we were given.

We had to kneel down in the tiny pool and we were given lots of dead fish parts to feed them with. It was great! I loved it. I tried so hard to get photos on my GoPro but they kept coming out like rubbish. Not the best animals to try and take a photo of...

There was an aquarium around the pools too. They had the deadly Lion fish and the Irukandji itself. Both were a no from me. Our experience fished and the staff asked if we wanted to go again. Naturally, we both said yes and went round for the second time! I wasn't as scared. Who can say they've had a hug from a double-bed sized sting-ray and a huge Tawny Nurse Shark?! What a great end to a great day.

We got changed and headed back home once we were finished. We got showered straight away and then got loads of bits out for dinner. We were starving and just had a 'picky bits' dinner. We played card games and fell asleep straight away.

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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17th December 2017

I still get fairly upset when this day comes along. Always thinking of you Nan.

We were up early because another 2.5 hours drive was ahead of us. We decided to get into the van as quickly as possible and go down to maybe spot the dolphins again.

We pulled up, got out and waited... Nothing. Not a single bit of movement out of water. Never mind. At least we got to spot them yesterday. We were lucky enough then.

We walked around the town for a bit. We hadn't had breakfast yet because of our spontaneous decision and we were looking for a cafe. We were starving. Unfortunately, Australian's do not know how to do a cooked breakfast. In fact, they can't really do anything without having avocado inside it. Steve and I really dislike Avo's. We went into one cafe and almost ate there but it wasn't what we were really looking for. It was all healthy and expensive. I just wanted an Old Pond set 1 with toast and tea. Why is this so difficult?!

We ended up giving up and grabbing something from Subway. We should've just had cereal or something but never mind. We will have to wait for a cafe breakfast when we get home. I can't wait...

We jumped into the van and started our travels down to Port Stephens. I was very excited for Port Stephens. We arrived there mid-late afternoon. We checked into a really, really nice holiday park. It seemed really expensive when we rang up beforehand but we had no choice. There was nothing else in the area.

There were pools, sun loungers, loads of space everywhere. The reception area was nice too. The receptionist asked us how we found out about their holiday park and we explained 'through the app 'WikiCamps'. He had to give us a discount for using it and it ended up being extremely cheap! I was shocked and excited. Happy days – we love money saving!

We were absolutely starving. We decided to check in and get cooking straight away. There was a camp kitchen that we were closest too. It was outside, quite large with about 4-6 benches. There wasn't much electrical equipment – a TV that didn't work. We were used to limited resources though, that's the fun of living out of a van.

I cooked us a chilli which is Steve's favourite meal that I cook. I did a garlic bread on the oven, brown rice and cracked open a bottle of wine. We sat and enjoyed our meal on the wooden benches. Unfortunately, the flies were trying to enjoy our meal too.

Whilst we were clearing up, the worlds LARGEST lizard approached us. I'm talking body length lizard. I think it was an XL Komodo Dragon. It was just strolling up to the kitchen!! I got as close as my guts would let me to film it. So strange that these creatures just walk around. We left the lizard to do it's thing and we went back to the van, all of about 100 yards.

We got back to the van and Steve had someone managed to break his brand new sunglasses! WHAT?! Typical Steve of course. It wasn't his fault though, the arm literally just fell off. Not even where the screw was. We were up early tomorrow in that case – straight to SpecSavers!

We saw that there was a walkway to the beach from our park again so we followed a couple there. Port Stephen's is hugely known for their sand dunes. It's basically all sand. We started this walk to the beach and the sand got wider and deeper. It was quite the challenge. I was knackered by the time we got there.

It was beautiful though. I'd never experienced, or even knew what a sand dune was until we went to Fraser Island. I love it. It's so beautiful. The camera doesn't catch it well though.

We eventually found the beach after what felt like a gym workout. We walked along the sea front, kicking around the in the water. We sat down far back and I lit a candle and put it down in the sand for my Nan. It was the anniversary of her death.

We watched the sunset and chilled in each others company. We took some silly photos, filmed each other messing around in the sea. We went climbing up on the massive boulders. Steve can't help but go exploring. He loves to look for crabs – I don't. Eventually, the tide came in and we were starting to get stuck. We had to rush to get back and I started to panic a little bit.

We got back in one piece, of course. We started to head back to our van. The dreadful sand hike back.

We played card games with my candle flickering in the small breeze. We had an early-ish night. Can't wait to start tomorrow.

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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16th December 2017

An 0600 alarm. Am I an idiot? Yes. Am I going to be fuming if I don't spot a dolphin? Of course... Do I regret my decision? Completely, for now.

We had our breakfast and left for the marina. It's not a far drive, we were already next to the water. We just had to go the long way round to get to where we wanted to be.

We drove round the town, which looked really cute. We found a car park and jumped out. I was in a bit of a mood to be honest. A very strange occurrence for me.. Not. I guess I was just tired. Not your normal tired though, like a 'I've been living out of hostels and a camper van for a year' kind of tired.

We walked along the water front where there were HUGE boulders along the water front separating the pathway and water. They were all decorated by the public – all different designs and colours. The boulders went on for miles and miles. Some where pictures, some were family designs, some memorials. I was desperate to do one for Steve and I – ‘STEVE N CHARLIE WOZ ERE 2K17′ kind of rock. We had no idea whether we were allowed to do it and where to get the paints from. I spent forever googling about it. We could do it if we wanted but I couldn't find a shop online to buy paints from cheap enough. Paints that were going to last on a boulder by a lake/river and outside.

We found a nice flat boulder to sit on and we watched the rowers exit the marina. We waited and waited for dolphins. There were loads of people around – there must've been some kind of charity/running event on. It was packed full of people walking, jogging and running. Far too many for 0700. I know Australian's are much more active than us English but this was a joke!

Steve shouted all of a sudden... “DOLPHIN, CHARLIE LOOK!!” As I turned around, it went back into the water. I was gutted! I waited for a few minutes and more came up! I was so happy! They were still about 100 yards from us but you could clearly see them swimming along. Now all I need to do is swim with them in the wild just like Steve's Nan has done!

We sat and watched by the water for about an hour or so. We didn't see anymore after those 5 minutes. We got up and walked the miles down into the town area along the boulders. We were reading them, looking at the colourful paintings. They really were great.

We walked to the beach areas and back again. We ended up going back to find a bench near the start of our pathway. There was a girl on the bench so Steve was telling me we couldn't sit there. Yes Steve, we can sit on the bench when someone else is sitting there. I was starving and I wanted my lunch!

We sat down and ate our usual packed lunch... It was only like 1030/1100. But we had breakfast 4-5 hours ago. We enjoyed our wraps on the water front and then walked back to the van. We went to look at all the different beaches along the Coast but not to swim, as advertised by the Holiday Park owner.

We stopped at every beach and they were gorgeous. Some of the stops we did were quite high up – like view points. I took some photos and we carried on. One had an outside gym on the grass. Steve had a go at the monkey bars and I couldn't stop laughing. He didn't get very far but said that it was because they were different than usual monkey bars... Okay Steve hun. Whatever you say. I have video evidence of this – I watch it over and over. You can hear my laughing in the back.

After we mooched around the numerous gorgeous beaches, we decided it was time to go to the Koala Hospital! I was so excited for this. It's a not-for-profit hospital that has paid staff and around 200 volunteers. The Koala Hospital has 1 treatment room, 8 intensive care units, 6 outdoor intensive care units and 33 rehab yards. The rehab yards have many trees for them to learn how to climb.

We got the Hospital and paid our entry fee. Things like this I’m more than happy to pay for – what a good cause. I love animals! We walked in and waited for the tour to start. Our group was massive so they spilt us into two groups. The tour guide had a microphone so we could hear what they were saying. It started off with us looking at the white board and seeing who was admitted and why.

The first section was 'Permanent Care'. Presumably these koala's are full-time residents and cannot leave as it's not safe for them to do so. There were 8 koala's listed for permanent care. 4 had Chlamydia which gives them awful conjunctivitis. 2 were in for road traffic collisions, 1 was hit by a train and another was stuck in a bush fire. These are the most popular reasons koalas get admitted into hospital. 7 were in Intensive Care – Not visible. 5 for Chlamydia and 3 for bush fires. 8 were in the rehab yards – again, chlamydia, bush fires... One had an elbow break and other had an unknown injury that was being monitored.

The public are fully aware of this koala hospital and they also do call outs. If you bring a koala in, you get to name it. The first name is what the finder calls it and the surname is where it was found – the street name. There were quite a few in the non-visible intensive care with the surname 'Maria River Road'. Sheila, David and Amy.

We were taken round to view the yard and look at the koala's in rehab. There were two different yards. One you weren't allowed to see into. They weren't allowed human engagement because the staff do not want them to get used to it. They are due to be released. I guess that's a good thing. The others were either never going to be released or have had too much human engagement.

It was feeding time when we went there. The volunteers fed them with baby bottles of sugary milk I believe. It was so good to see. We were given great advice should we come across a Koala (better for residents of Eastern Australia of course).

At the end of the tour, we went into their little shop. We added donations as that is all they work off – there's no Government help. I also bought a sparkly koala pin to put on my Australia lanyard when I return to work. We were told about one Koala – their famous one. Her name was Birthday Girl. Birthday Girl was admitted to the hospital in February 1990. Typically, male Koala's live around 10 years and females around 15 years. Birthday Girl made it to 22 years old! She had severe arthritis and moved very slow but she was happy. The staff put her forward to be the eldest koala to ever live and the Guinness Book of Records accepted it, however, the hospital couldn't afford it. The price of having Birthday Girl in there was far too high and as a non-profit hospital and only working from donations, they couldn't justify it.

I spent the rest of the day being upset that Birthday Girl wasn't in the Guinness Book of World Records. Why couldn't I be rich and famous and be able to just pay for it to be there. How sad. You can search the hospital on Google – you can also read articles about Birthday Girl. She was quite the koala.

We eventually got back to the Holiday Park and asked to stay the night again. We showered and cooked our dinner. The bathrooms weren't too bad. There were only two toilets and two showers each. It was small like I said – a family built park.

We watched the sunset again, enjoyed more wine and played Backpacker. A local resident came over and pointed out an owl in the tree next to our van. How cute.

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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15th December 2017

We woke up and checked out as quickly as possible. Another early rise, another travel day and another new location. I think the New South Wales locations are all quite squished up but it's our own fault. We wanted to get as much seen as possible.

There was one last place I wanted to see in Coffs Harbour before driving to Port Macquirie – the jetty. We drove about ten minutes before we were there. We jumped out the van and walked down to the end. It looked lovely – loads of people on the beach already.

When we were on the jetty, groups and groups of people were jumping off of it. I tried my hardest to persuade Steve to jump with me but he didn't want too – bore! He said that he would but we would have to drive to our new location uncomfortable which is fair enough, but I still really wanted to do it. We both had our swimwear on. I was so so gutted he didn't want to do it. There was no way I was doing it alone. It was quite the drop! Everyone just left their stuff on the jetty whilst jumping in over and over again. Could you imagine that in Southend? The moment you left your stuff for a second, that would be on the back of the next person on the Jezza Kyle show!

We walked back towards the van and I wondered off to get some photos. An elderly lady came up to me to express her love for my dress. It was only a black floral one from H&M. She asked to feel it and all sorts. I wanted to take it off and give it to her but I was embarrassed to walk back with my swimwear on. I am the sort of person to do that though, give away my stuff to other people.

We eventually got back into the van to drive to Port Macquirie. Emma loved this location when she went so I was looking forward to it. We drove just under 2 hours to get to the Port Macquirie Marina Holiday Park. Steve picked this one (he picks them all usually unless I moan about the price). We pulled in and it was opposite a huge lake. We jumped out and went inside the reception/office. It was tiny. We realised that it was just a little family run holiday park – using their own land. It was lovely. There was a dog in the office and I couldn't stop stroking it.

We asked the lady that checked us in where was good to go in the area and she grabbed us a massive map. She showed us the popular areas and where to go. Most importantly, she told us where NOT to go. Essentially, they were swimming spots. She crossed on the map where we were not to swim as people drown and die frequently. That's good because Steve and I love to swim and we probably would have ended up going to these beaches at some point.

We had a plan of what we wanted to do but it's always best to get advice from the locals. She pointed out the locations that I already had planned for us. This particular location was most popular for two things. The first – The Koala Hospital. The second – dolphin spotting. The lady advised us that the dolphins always follow the rowers down at the marina around 0700. They follow them out where the water opens. Early morning start for us then!

We were knackered. We had such an early start and we have another early start tomorrow. We decided we were going to cram all our pre-planned events into one day and enjoy our evening by chilling.

We cooked our dinner – meatballs and pasta. Are you getting the hang of our theme? We also had a side of garlic bread... Of course. Cheapest meals – easiest to cook also. We had a bottle of wine which was absolutely amazing! Thoroughly enjoyed. We watched the sunset over the lake, played backpacker and got ourselves off to sleep fairly early. We were in a tiny park with residents who must stay regularly. We only saw one other couple the entire time we were here that weren't permanent residents. They didn't have a van though, they had a tent. God knows how they got back and forth to places. Not sure the Greyhound would drop them here. Who knows though.

I am so pleased we did this in a camper van. We were so close to not doing it this way.

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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14th December 2017

We woke up to the sound of the joyful alarm. Nothing puts me in more of a bad mood than the chimes of DING DONG WAKE UP. Argh. On a separate note, I am thoroughly enjoying the temperatures of New South Wales. What a great night sleep in the cool air.

We woke up, had our breakfast on our fold up plastic table on the allocated cemented slab. We showered in the best showers to date and checked out before 10am. We had a 2.5 hour drive now to Coffs Harbour. Sounds quite far but 2.5 hours sounds like a trip to the corner shop for a loaf of bread and 2 pints of milk.

It was still so warm during the drive. The more the days went on and the further down the coast we went, the cooler we got. I didn't have to worry about those god awful rhino beetles any more. In fact, I don't think we've ever seen a horrible critter in New South Wales. Bye Queensland, never coming back! That's a lie of course - I would return, just not during summer...

We got closer to Coffs Harbour and I was driving. I saw a sign for a look out point that I wanted to see. I quickly made a right turn and up a mountain we drove. And yes, you heard right - I was driving (50/50 ratio as mentioned before).

The mountain was steep and it was round and round and round upwards. We eventually got to the car park and I was already amazed. There was a huge bridge you could walk out on to get further over the edge to see the view. I saw bridge - it wasn't quite a bridge because you had to return the way you went onto it. I can't think of what it is called though.

You could see for miles and miles. We were on top of the world - above a forest full of broccoli's (or so that is what it looked like from above). PIER! That's the word I'm looking for. It was called the Forest Sky Pier. We walked out onto the pier, not bridge. What a melt. If you type into Google 'Forest Sky Pier', it'll come up straight away in images. It's really impressive. So pleased I took the quick right turn.

We jumped into the van and headed back down to find our campsite. We had picked a BIG 4 again. They are expensive but it's worth it. It's all part of the experience - I look back on the places we've been down the coast already and I always think of the campsites. They aren't too much that we can't afford to stay there though – they're so popular and big (hence the name) that they can afford to lower their prices. We get some discounts through the campsite finding apps we use too.

We pulled up in our spot on the grass right next to the 'jumping pillow'. How exiting?! Pretty much half a bouncy castle next to my home. Excellent. Bye Steve. Another couple pulled up next to us – hi next door neighbours. They parked against the white line, they were pretty much IN OUR BAY AND ON OUR LAPS. They weren't but it felt that way. They got as close to us as possible! I was so angry! Talk about invasion of privacy.

I went to find the toilets as I was busting from the journey. They were ages away! I was getting stressed out. I wee constantly – I'm literally like a little old lady. What if I need to go during the night? I will have to wake Steve up and get him to walk me there. What about after our showers? I'll have to take a full set of clothing with me and change in the van because I can't let the entire world look at my wobbly bits as I walk back in my pyjamas!

I got back to the van to moan at Steve further about our space. He interrupted me and told me that we were a few metres away from the van opposite us. Excellent. I love food. What a great spot. Very impressed.

We went to make some lunch as it was mid-afternoon and we were starving. We sat at our table in our spot and had tea with cookies after. I had the boot up and the wind was strong. Everything from inside ended up out the van and flying all over the shop. Off running I went...

We put the table away and locked our van up. We decided to go for a walk. Apparently the beach came off the park we were in so we went searching. We got lost, of course. A resident shouted out to us that the beach was the opposite way. Kind man. Idiots. Maybe I should've taken the DofE more seriously.

The beach was miles long. Might even be called something like Ten Mile Beach. They love a name like that here in Australia, especially when it comes to their creaks. We walked along the beach for hours and hours – collecting shells. I'm going to take them home and put a string through them all so I can hang them up. They're all a bright purple colour.

The wind was really strong and it must be strong here constantly. It's really popular for wind/water sports. Wind surfing and whatever else you can do. There weren't that many people relaxing and swimming because of the wind being that strong. You weren't chewing on it though, which is always a plus I guess.

We eventually walked back to the campsite. We went into the kitchen to make dinner. I was starving. I'm sure that's my most common sentence throughout these blogs. We were making pasta and I tried to cook the garlic bread into the oven however it was in GERMAN! I cannot read, speak, understand German. Luckily, a German girl saw the horror in face because I thought I hate to have dinner without garlic bread. She came over, sorted the oven out and laughed. Serious incident that. What a lucky save.

We enjoyed dinner in the kitchen communal area. I changed the TV channel but Steve shouted at me. The Australian cricket team were playing England and apparently they like their cricket. He said there was no way I could just change the channel. Pfft. Bore me later Steve. Surely we can all watch something better, maybe Home and Away? I've never watched it before but it's better than cricket, no?

We washed up and got ourselves ready for bed. A travelling day is quite tiring. To be honest, any day for me is tiring. I like to sleep. A lot.

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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13th December 2017

Camper van life was taking a toll on us... We were getting more and more tired as the days went on. Ange was asking whether it would cost too much for us to stay in a hotel for one night, just to get that really good nights rest. Ange even offered to pay for us but we declined. We only had one week left in our van so there was no point. We'll be in a hostel before we know it! However, we both definitely had a look to see how much it would cost to stay in the Versace hotel for one night. For those of you who don't know, that's the hotel that the celeb's stay in for I'm A Celeb! And, to make it better, the celeb's were there at the time too! Unfortunately, we didn't have a spare $500.

We decided last night that today was going to be a 'do nothing' day so that we could sleep in. We slept in until 0900. Thankfully, it was a cool night and the sun didn't wake us up as early as usual. We opened the door to our sweat box and let the fresh air pour in. What a lay in!

As we checked in for another night, we didn't need to rush around and check out before 10am - result! We decided on doing a beach day. Just an absolute chill out and do whatever we want day. I live for these days...

We had our breakfast, sitting at our table. It's crazy how big Australia actually is. We drove 1 hour south and into a new timezone and state, and we're so much cooler already! We got ready and packed our bag for the beach. The beach we saw yesterday along our walk was the pick for today. It looked beautiful and wasn't too packed. I hoped that because it was Wednesday, most people would be at work... I made us a packed lunch and we were on our way!

We were 20 minutes out of course so it wasn't like we could walk to the beach. That doesn't matter because I paid forty dollars less than everyone else staying in town and who enjoys walking anyway?

We got to the beach, parked up and walked down the long steps to the beach. The steps were through a forestry area so until you get to the bottom, the element of surprise remains. The surprise we got today was how busy it was! I wanted a nice little private space for us both but that wasn't really going to happen. My common thought process: Why isn't anyone at work?

We spent about 10 minutes walking up and down the beach until we found what we called the best spot. After 5 minutes, another group set up next to us so it was a waste of time really. Towels down, sun cream on... Time for a game of Backpacker! We spent about 45 minutes playing cards in the sunshine. Time for the water. We got into the water and swam around for a short while. We both love the water so we probably spend more time in there than your average couple on their holidays.

I had made us wraps with crisps and whatever else. Obviously, Steve had his usual strop because it wasn't gourmet but we save money. He will get over it one day I'm sure. I ended up feeling quite funny - probably due to too much sun so we left in the late afternoon.

We got back to our camper spot and showered in our lovely, clean, radio-playing bathrooms. Steve said that we were going to have our first 'Date Night' in, well, forever? I can't remember the last date night we had. He had found a bowling place near-by.

We got ready and left. I was driving and Steve was navigating. We were going somewhere called Ballina. It was literally like 10 minutes away, if that. Steve moaned about how I didn't do any of the driving this trip but I definitely have done my fair share... 50/50 ratio.

We pulled up and there was all of about one car outside. There was graffiti all over the walls and some red necks walking out. It was literally as if we had driven into a real bad American suburb. I said to Steve that I really did not fancy dying and therefore we should postpone date night. We didn't end up going bowling for multiple reasons, one being preservation of life.

Steve found a Mexican restaurant called 'The Burrito Bar'. We went inside and looked at the menu. Steve ordered a burrito bowl and I ordered a burrito. I've loved burrito's ever since I went to Mad Mex. What a great food chain. Steve ordered a shared pancake dessert thing because he gets the impression that if he orders a dessert to share, he won't get in trouble for ordering more food because I would be having some... We really enjoyed our meal and then walked it off outside. We ended up walking around KMart because it was the only store open.

We found a few bargains that we both fancied for about $3 and then went back to the van to drive home. What a great lazy day. Alarm on for the morning - check out day.

We got home and I noticed the backs of Steve's legs. The back of his thighs were so burnt that he looked like a giant Drumstick Squishy! The tops of his legs were so white from his trunks and the burn was so, so bad. 27 years old and still can't look after himself!

I looked up at the night sky and it was pitch black with the brightest stars I have ever seen. I laid my towel down onto the concrete slab and starred at the stars. It was so tranquil. I was making shapes with the stars, creating animals like I used to do when I was 7. It made me think of my Nan. I thought about where she may be in the world and what she was doing, whether she followed me on my journey around Australia. I thought of her listening to silence although it wasn't actually silent - there were 100's of bush creatures buzzing and beeping.

For the first time in my life, I saw a shooting star! I shouted to Steve to ask whether he saw it, too! He didn't, I was gutted. He laid down on his towel next to me and we waited for more.

We saw at least 9 shooting stars altogether that night. I honestly will never see a sky like it and I'm so pleased we got to see it. Scientifically, the stars are seen better from the southern hemisphere because you look directly into the heart of the milky way. If you go to Australia, you must star gaze. The night sky will not disappoint.

We laid there talking for an entire hour looking up at the sky. A damp towel on a cold concrete slab yet the most wonderful evening.

Good night world.

Hopefully we don't get piles.

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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12th December 2017

I had the worst nights sleep going. In fact, I can't even call it a sleep. I was just laying there. I'm ridiculously overtired today so I can see what's going to happen here, so can Steve.

We got up around 0800. We had to be out before 1000 for checkout so we needed to get our arses in gear.

We had our breakfast which was lovely, as per normal. We got showered and made the most out of our delightful bathrooms. We checked out and we were on the way!

Byron Bay – here we come!

Byron Bay has quite a reputation. All the backpackers that I've met have said that this tiny little town is their favourite. It is quite literally tiny but it has a very chilled vibe. It's pretty hippy, or so there's loads of wanna-be hipsters. It's full of surfer dudes and girls with floral dresses and dark round sunglasses.

We were driving along the motorway when the sign came up 'WELCOME TO NEW SOUTH WALES'. How amazing?! New South Wales has a different time zone to Queensland so within an hours drive, we lost ourselves an hour. I was excited though, this meant the day and the sunlight would last a lot longer. We'd also be able to sleep in a little bit better.

Our phone time changed automatically which I always find weird. How does my phone know that I've just crossed a boarder? I mean, obviously with it's navigation, location and data. But, like, how?

We drove through the main town after road works took us off the road we wanted. We were driving for an extra half an hour trying to get onto the main road that was blocked off. I was getting very stressed. Google Maps didn't know about the diversion – how rude, and kept taking me to the road block. Stupid phone!

Steve eventually got us round and into the main town that was very small. Extremely busy mind you. There was nowhere to park so we drove on and parked up. There was a lighthouse walk I wanted to do so we found where it started and drove down to find free parking. The parking at the main car park was about $4 an hour. How expensive can you get?! There's no way I'm paying that.

We found a place with 4 hours free parking a few blocks away. We ended up parking and I ended up having a bit of a mental breakdown due to lack of sleep, unnecessary road works, a stress head boyfriend when he's driving and well, I don't need any more reasons really. I couldn't stop crying and I just needed to go to sleep. You know when you're desperate to sleep, you'd fall asleep the second your head hits that pillow.

Steve tried to comfort me and he had a look at what campsites we could stay in. We weren't really looking in advance any more, we didn't need too. Our apps 'Wiki Camps' and 'Spaceships' were our lifesavers and did all the hard work for us. We were ringing the ones in the vicinity to see who was the cheapest. First one was $69 a night! WHAT?! THAT'S DAY LIGHT ROBBERY! I was so angry that I left a comment explaining their price and that it was day light robbery. A bit harsh as I hadn't even gone there to see if it was worth the money but come on – we're paying $35 a night for our camper van alone!

Second one was $50 unpowered... I was getting fed up! The third was the same. No way was we paying that.

Steve found a campsite 20 minutes drive away from Byron which was $30 powered. Perfect!

I told Steve that I didn't want to waste another day so we'd quickly do the walk and then go to the campsite. Well, boy was I wrong when I said the world 'quickly'.

The sites along the way were absolutely stunning. We walked down a path, detouring, to see the local beach. The water was perfect. A clear bright blue. It wasn't hugely packed but it was. It was no Bondi Beach but for Byron, it was popular.

We walked back up the steps to the main road to continue, or should I say, begin our walk. I realised after about 20 minutes walking that we could've parked the van much closer and start the walk closer. Never mind. Walking is good for you!

I was taking picture after picture because it was just so beautiful. The views were incredible. We came up to another beach (same beach, different area) and had a walk around that. We climbed over the rocks and sat down to watch the surfers. I reckon Steve could watch them all day long. I get bored because they sit on their boards for ages before picking the 'right' wave.

We went up to a lookout point which I believe was called Captain Cook's lookout – I could be wrong though. The view was unreal. We could see into the water it was that clear.

We left after about 10 minutes of watching and walked back onto the track. We had been gone around an hour now and we weren't really on the track to the lighthouse yet.

We continued walking and I was getting more and more tired. The views weren't disappointing and it was definitely worth it.

We eventually got to 'The Most Easterly Point of Australia' after a huge climb of rocks, stairs and everything else. Steve and I were dripping in sweat. I had more stairs to go. A year of travelling means a year of being slobs, sort of. Our fitness levels weren't even at 1. Steve started making a point of moving quicker and started doing step ups on each step we came across. I was laughing at him. He said I needed to do it too and I told him that he was on drugs. He ended up with a soaked T-Shirt, aching legs and he was well out of breath. Who's the real winner here?

Finally – the lighthouse! It was beautiful. It was bright white in colour. You could see the tip of the lighthouse just above the trees. We had a few more flights of stairs before we were actually there but this was good enough.

We finally made in alongside the lighthouse. It had the number '1901' on the door so I presume that's a date of importance. It looked so well kept considering. It was surrounded by the most beautiful waters that were so blue, even blue wasn't the best word to describe it!

We were invited in by an elderly woman who was telling me off for not wearing a hat. She said I was far too fair to not be wearing one in this sun! She was right but I wanted the sun to bleach my hair... Oops.

We went inside and there was a little museum in the main room. It had all things lighthouse/byron bay kept inside, all ancient. My favourite things were the news articles. They were so blunt and to the point. You had family members named like everyone knew who they were. At that time, they probably did. I stood and read them all.

We started getting talking to a lovely elderly lady. There were about 4 members of 'staff' there - all retired people volunteering at the lighthouse. After speaking with her, she asked if we wanted to go up to the top. Wow! I'd never been inside a lighthouse properly, let alone a working one.

We queued up with 5 others and went upstairs. The lady told some stories about the lighthouse before we got to see the incredible views. It was worth the wait though – the water! I just couldn't believe it. Steve and I took loads of photos and videos before going back downstairs. We signed our names in the book and made our way out.

Steve managed to find a little cafe joined to the lighthouse and he bought a coffee. He bought me a milkshake because they're my favourite and I was miserable and tired (as always).

We continued our walk in hope that we were almost finished. I was exhausted. We're a good 4 hours into the walk and my poor feet didn't want to do any more.

According to Google Maps, we had about half an hour more until we got back to the van. I had to keep telling myself “I can do this!”.

We got back to the van and I was desperate to just fall asleep, then and there. We drove the 20 minutes out of town to a place called Skennars Head. It had the cheapest camp site going so there was no way I was staying in Byron and paying $60 to sleep, in my own van!

We got to the campsite and checked in. It was $30 for powered. Or so, we thought. We couldn't find the power plug and we had to ring reception to ask where it was. We were really hoping they hadn't checked us in as unpowered so we had to pay more. It might not be the bargain we thought.

Reception said it was hidden underneath the water pole and when we checked, there it was. Phew. It really is a bargain spot!

We got ourselves showered, ready to make dinner. I was starving. The toilets and showers were really nice here. I reckon my favourite. The only reason I prefer them to the Gold Coast ones are because they play the radio 24/7 in there. What a dream! We haven't been able to listen to the radio since, well, forever.

Steve and I cooked a vegetable medley. We had broccoli, peppers, onions and carrots all fried in a paprika seasoning with cashew nuts. We had a bottle of Fifth Leg Sav Blanc too. Delightful.

We sat in our chairs at the table playing cards and drinking all night whilst the sun set. These are the evenings I'm going to miss the most I'm sure.

When it got dark and it was time for us to go to bed, the nosiest birds came out to play. It was like listening to Monkey's have an argument. Then countless amounts of planes flew over our campsite really low – really loud. The crickets decided to join in too with their constant noises! I recorded them all and sent them on the group chat! Do these creatures know how tired we are and do it on purpose?!

Either way, we fell asleep within moments. It was a lot later than we thought. The sun set later, obviously as we were in a different time zone. It was amazing. It was so much cooler at night, we needed the duvet again. Amazing! We decided no alarm tomorrow and a chill beach day at Bryon. I think we need something like that. With the price of this campsite too, we may as well stay one more night.

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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11th December 2017

Our alarm went off at 0900. The first thing I did was go and check the tree. The koala was long gone and my water bowl was still there. I couldn't tell you whether anything had drank out of it, I would literally have no idea. I'm hoping he did. He wasn't in a Gum tree so he wouldn't have been able to get water as they get it from their food. Hopefully he wasn't scared and stuck up there so long. The kids went away pretty quickly.

We started to get ourselves ready for the day – washed, dressed, breakfast. We had to decide whether we wanted to stay another night before 1000. Of course, we said yes. That man was right. We agreed that we'd stay one more night here and then make our move down further down south.

We left our camp spot and parked by reception. I was driving so Steve ran in and booked in for another night. I wasn't able to get out of the barrier because we'd lost our bit of paper with the code on. He had to go and ask for us to be let out. Slightly embarrassing when there's a queue of people waiting to leave!

We were on the road by 0940. The park opens at 1000 and we were only 20 minutes out, if that.

We pulled up and parked in row B. I was so excited. We were like little kids. We queued up and was ready for there to be complications with our tickets. It would be the last time we would want to use them that something would go wrong. We found someone and showed them our email and explained the situation, although they were already well aware and let us walk straight through.

We didn't make it through without our photograph being taken though. I hate that. I hate my photo unless I'm in charge AKA let me do the selfie so I can get the right angle to make myself look nice enough and add any filter I need.

I grabbed us a park map and went to the first ride we saw. I can't remember what it was called but it looked like the Saw ride in Thorpe Park. There was no queue whatsoever so Steve and I were straight on. We were buckled down and ready to go.

The ride went straight up, like literally a straight line up so we were as vertical as you could get. It then went backwards so we were going upside down the wrong way. I was screaming. I was never, ever scared of rides but now all I can think of is 'What if I fall out of this?, What if the cart falls off the tracks?, What if the ride completely breaks down whilst I'm stuck upside down?'. I'm so over the top. These things can happen though...

The ride continued backwards and upside down until we get flung down. We ended up going round again, and again. I was hating life. Now I know what my Mum means when she said 'The older you get, the more scared you become'.

We got off the ride and I was so excited to be on hard, solid, ground. Concrete. Pavement. The right way up. I'll give that one a miss next time. Steve's face was like a 10 year old. He was loving it.

We looked at the map and continued walking around. We ended up finding Tiger World. We watched the tigers for quite some time as Steve and I love them. Of course, captivity is not the greatest thing in the world but with around 3,500 wild tigers left in the entire world, it may help them.

Steve found a small play tunnel going from one end of the tiger park to another. He obviously had to climb through it. I got a photo the other side which made me laugh. He's having a great time as you can see by his smile that I caught on camera! 5'11 and climbing through a child's tunnel on the ground. His poor legs and knees.

The tiger show was on at around midday so we said we'd roam around for a short while and then come back. We try to donate what we can, when we can.

We walked through the tiger shop and I found so many beautiful things I wish I could've bought. I hate that about travelling. Find stuff that you would love to buy but cannot because 1) you have hardly any money 2) you can't fit stuff in your backpack.

We continued walking around the park and ended up in the Disney park. I love Disney so I was having a great time. There were Madagascar statues standing still as we walked through but I had seen before that every now and then, they squirt water out of their mouths. I knew Steve hadn't noticed so I was trying to get him to walk in the way so that he would get soaked. He realised just before though – I was gutted!

He could've had a photo with The Gingerbread Man but he was too shy. Steve also could've had his photo with Gloria, the Hippo but he declined the offer also. We went into the Disney shop which was a stupid idea really. I turned into a 10 year old and suddenly I need every Disney teddy in the store. All the merchandise is a need, not a want! There was quite a few bits that I could've got for other people but I just didn't have the money.

We walked around a little bit more before heading back to Tiger World. We found a seat and waited for the show to start. They always feed them and explain how we can help their declining number. The tigers aren't forced to do anything so should they decide to sit down and not take part, then so be it. One was really lazy and didn't want to do anything. Two were white and absolutely gorgeous. They were playing Hide and Seek. Or so, one of them though. He was creeping up on the other (as if she couldn't actually see his massive self). I was laughing so much. Cats are so good.

We had our lunch at the end of the show which I packed. The same again so we're saving those pennies. Although, they're not pennies – they're cents.

We went on a walk to make sure we went around the whole park. Steve and I were saying that the majority of the park was still closed with maintenance so it was rubbish. We should've done this park and yesterdays park in the same day, We would've managed it with ease.

I saw a ride that I wanted to go on before we left. It was a motorbike ride. You sat on a bike rather than a cart as such, and you're stuck in. Steve had to check he wasn't too tall beforehand otherwise his two little men would've been in pain.

You sit on like a bike too, leaning forward, holding onto the steering bars. It locks you in from behind and over your back. When Steve was locked in, he realised that his two little men were not comfortable and the moment we start the move, he was going to cry.

This ride is a fast one too. It will go from a red light, to amber, to green. Once it hits green, you fly off. I had a great time on it and I loved every second! I wanted to go again.

Steve declined and said that he wouldn't be able to have children should he do that again. I don't know what all the fuss is about!

We walked around the rest of the park before leaving. We watched people surfing on those fake slopes which looked like great fun. It wasn't included in the ticket though – it was an extra $10.

We stood and watched other people for about 10 minutes.

We ended with a churro and looking at our photos from the rides and the random photographers round the park. I didn't like any – of course, so we left.

We spent ages in the shops afterwards because Steven saw loads of lego stuff. They had built life size people and animals in lego which looked so cool.

We were back to our beloved van after about 15 minutes of aimlessly walking around. Steve was driving and we decided on a chilled evening, maybe even go into the pool.

We had to stop on the way to get petrol so we went into the 7-11 to get a $1 slush puppy (slurpee). We sat in the car and I saw the discount chemist across the road. I had to go in to get some toiletries so we ended up walking around some stores for a bit.

We drove back to the Big 4 and parked up. I was absolutely knackered after a little while so I napped. Steve wasn't tired. He went for a shower and played on his phone.

It got dark quickly and I woke up to find Steve had gone for a walk. I knew exactly what he was doing. He was going to get dinner as it was too dark to cook now. He's a cheeky so and so.

He came back with McDonald's and two bottles of wine for the next couple of days. I couldn't be mad at a man that arrives with two bottles of wine, can I?!

We sat and ate our food, chatting away. Tomorrow, we leave Queensland. We enter New South Wales which means our journey is coming to an end. How scary?! Time has just flown by. The East Coast so far has been absolutely incredible and I have loved every second. I am excited to leave Queensland though. Well, South East Queensland isn't bad at all. It's much cooler than the tropical North. I was pleased when we got away from that. The humidity, the heat, the rhino beetles.

We ended up playing a game of cards and heading off to bed. It was cool enough to sleep with the duvet which was great.

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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10th December 2017

We woke up and decided that we were going to go to the Water Park! I was so excited – I love water parks. Steve and I are avid water lovers anyway so adding slides in makes it twice as good.

We got the table and chairs out of the front seat and set them up. We had no electricity so it was cereal and iced coffee for breakfast. We really enjoy our iced coffees in the morning, more so than a normal coffee. I guess the heat has a lot to do with that.

I suggested that we stay at this place for another night but we're used to having electricity now. Steve said we'll have a look around later on. I went to the bathroom to get myself sorted whilst Steve shoved everything back into the van. I had to put my swim stuff on underneath my clothes, brush my teeth, wash my face. I didn't shower – grubby as that sounds. The showers were full of the children getting washed. I was going to get into the water straight away so I cut my losses.

I got back to the van and sorted the rest of the stuff out whilst Steve went and chucked his trunks on. He only ever takes 5 minutes and the majority of that time is walking to and from where he needs to be!

We were on the road by 0930. We were half an hour out and the park opened at 1000. I was dreading the queue mind you, it was going to be a nightmare. Steve was driving and I was passenger which was what happened 65/35. Steve loves to drive (as do I) but he comments on my driving ALL the time and I can't bare it. He used to do it when he didn't have a license! I reckon I'm the better driver anyway but at least he agrees that I'm better at parking.

We pulled up at the park and tried to find a space. There were loads but much further away from the park which isn't an issue. We got our stuff together and walked over to the main door. Our tickets are considered a 'Season Pass'. If they were working, we'd have a photo card pass. I was gutted when I found out, I would've been able to keep it for my travelling book.

We queued up in the pre-paid ticket queue. We weren't sure whether it was right but they were technically already pre paid for. I found a member of staff and they already knew what was wrong with our tickets and let us go straight in. What a result! I was expecting to be sent to another queue and then explain the situation all over again.

We walked through and went straight over to the map. We found our bearings and then went to the wave pool to get some sunbeds. People were actually running to get good seats... We grabbed two sunbeds and then sat down to sort our stuff out. We had to put our sun cream on and let that sink in before going on any of the rides.

We shoved our stuff under the beds and went to the first water slide! There weren't really any queues yet which was great. The first slide we went on was called 'Hydro Slide'. After climbing around 10 flights of stairs, I was dying, naturally. We had to sit in a ring of 3. Steve was at the back and I was in the middle, nobody was in the front. The guy pressed the button and we were off!

We went down a drop first which was dark and then we were shot up into the sky. The ring followed the track round, with drops and shots all over the place. This ride took our photo at a drop which I can imagine being a hilarious capture. We ended up in a massive pool of water and I couldn't get my fat behind out of the ring!

First ride complete and we were smiling from ear to ear. We were the oldest children there, besides the actual adults with their children (who probably say it's for the kids but it isn't).

We were straight up the same tower but different stairs. The next ride was called 'The Green Room'. This was a big rubber ring that sits 4. Steve and I had to sit opposite each other – facing each other. The slide was dark and there was an immediate drop. We eventually came out into a massive bowl which shot us up to the top of the bowl. We were almost at a complete vertical angle. We continued going round and eventually went down into a big pool. I liked this ride but when we went vertical, I could've cried! I thought we were definitely going to tip out! Steve went backwards the whole time thankfully.

The other ride on this tower was called 'The Wedgie', which was a no from me. These are the only water rides I can't bring myself to do. It's the ones where you stand in what looks like a capsule and then they press a button. The floor below you disappears and then you fall down. At the end, you come out with a massive wedgie – hence the name. I told Steve to go on it but he wouldn't if I didn't. There was no way I was going on it, I hate those ones.

That was the first tower of rides complete. We walked back over to our chairs to make sure that our stuff was alright, which it was. We went onto the next 'tower' of rides. We walked over and saw 'The Bro'. The Bro was one for the kids but we still decided to queue up for it. We had to grab a mat with handles from the bottom of the slide and carry it up with us. It was basically like a waterproof yoga mat with handles. At the top of The Bro, there were 8 slides. We had to stand with 6 others and wait for the green light to go. We had to kneel on the mat in the top of the slide which was almost like a mini pool. Steve and I were egging each other on by saying who was going to win. Obviously, I was going to win. I go down slides really fast and it's 100% nothing to do with how large I am...

Red light... Amber light... GREEN LIGHT!

I launched myself forward, head first holding onto the handles. It was pitch black and I was going so fast. I smashed my elbow on the side of the slide at one point which really hurt but I wasn't concentrating on that. I was concentrating on whether I was going to come out before Steve.

We were out into the light on the slides to the ground now. I saw Steve behind me! I was in the lead! In fact, I was in the lead out of all 8 slides! The last bit was going downwards, wibbly and wobbly bits up and down into a pool.

I got up and Steve got up. We were laughing at each other. I was claiming victory! We handed our mats to the next lot of people in the queue and walked over to find the next ride. I told Steve that I hurt my elbow on the way down and he had a look. I had actually cut it and it was bleeding. Cuts always look worse when they're wet because the blood travels with the water. I thought I'd cut it open! Once I cleaned it, there wasn't really a mark I could go on about (which is a shame. I love the sympathy vote, me).

We walked over to get on the Triple Vortex. We had to queue downstairs again this time to grab our rubber ring. It wasn't actually a ring though, it was a 3 man rubber ring with the holes in a row. We waited for people to come off so they could give us theirs. Steve carried it up the stairs which was great because I was knackered climbing like 20 flights of stairs let alone carrying something other than myself!

We got to the top and the queue's were picking up as the time ticked on. We eventually got on and Steve and I had to sit opposite each other with our feet in the middle hole. I was a little worried because I have a very large behind and it was touching the floor! How embarrassing?! Oh well, I just had to push my hips up slightly so I didn't get water slide burn.

Triple Vortex consisted of 3 (funnily enough) 'bowls' as you go down the slide. This had drops and darkness and I hated the idea of going backwards. Steve was going backwards the majority of the way though so I didn't have to worry about that. I'm hoping he offers to go backwards all the time.

We got to the bottom and he was laughing so much. I couldn't get my fat arse out of the hole and everyone was watching! They were obviously all waiting in line to get their rubber rings to take up. I fell out of the ring into the pool. Why couldn't I have been swallowed up then and there?!

We went onto what we believed to be the last ride in the park. The RIP. I was hoping it was called rip as in 'Let one rip' rather than Rest In Peace. The Rip was a 4 man rubber ring in a circle and Steve and I had to sit opposite each other to even out the weight. The Rip had a massive drop to start with and I screamed the moment we were off. It was another bowl type ride but they were all different. Again, the man that pushed us off let Steve go backwards so hooray for that.

We went back to our beds to check on our stuff. Everyone was fine so we decided to go into the wave pool for a swim. It was as busy as anything with all the children waiting for the horn to go off. I would rather no waves but that's because I get awfully bad travel, motion and now apparently sea sickness!

We were in the deep end, singing away to the music being played. We swam around and then the waves started. They were quite big to be fair. There was one thing missing from this water park though – a Lazy River. One of my favourites. Who doesn't love sitting in a rubber ring, doing absolutely nothing, as it takes you down the 'river' around the park!?

We got out for some lunch. We had bought our own with us. Ham and mayo wraps with apples, crisps, cereal bars. Steve obviously went to have a look how much fish and chips was but it was something ridiculous like $20. I told him that it's going to be mega expensive at Theme Parks hence why I packed our own!

We sunbathed for a while afterwards, letting our lunch go down. We then decided to give the same rides, in the same order another go!

We started again with the Hydro. The queues were so much longer now. I presume more people have turned up mid-afternoon. The weather forecast was cloudy and miserable but that's turned out to be wrong. How lucky are we?

We did the two rides on the same tower, ignoring the Wedgie again. We went straight over and did the three rides on the other tower again, too. Steve and I were worse off this time in regards to competitiveness when we went on The Bro. Steve was determined to win and I was even more determined to keep my winning streak!

I did win on The Bro again. The gold trophy remains mine. What also remains mine is a severely bruised elbow and a bashed up knee. Serves me right really. I literally launched myself down that slide like I was some sort of missile.

We went back to our chairs, checked the stuff and went into the wave pool. There were no waves for ages and we waited for them, for about 40 minutes. I said to Steve as soon as we get out, they would start... They did.

We dried ourselves off and decided to start packing up to head home. We were checking into a new camp ground and we were treating ourselves to a more expensive one. We were going all out with power and water. Woop woop!

We decided to stay at the Big 4. The Big 4's in Australia are quite well known and they're usually for big families. You find that in Australia, there are more motor homes on the road than cars!

Big 4's are big – obviously, with pools, camp kitchens, trampolines, kids parks and all sorts. They're very much like holiday parks. You would happily stay there for a long period of time and be well away with the facilities provided. Some though, are not up to standards that they usually give. They're boring and expensive for no reason. It would be good if they had wifi mind you. You'd think by charging $40 a night for 2 people is enough to provide good quality wifi. Apparently not.

We checked it and it was posh. The reception area was really nicely decorated. We were shown to our spot by a care taker who spoke so passionately about the Gold Coast Big 4. We only booked in for one night but he said he was positive we would book for another. We'll see, Brucey! (His name wasn't Bruce).

He showed us where all the good bits and bobs were – toilets, showers, swimming pool, koala walking track, where the kangaroo's would be etc. He was quite the asset to the company if you ask me. I was very pleased so far.

Steve suggested a walk around the grounds which was nice... Ish. I was tired, quite moany too actually. I wanted to sit, or lay, and do nothing. My usual wants though.

We walked around and he stopped to watch someone fish. How exciting. I was thrilled, kicking dust around. He eventually left and we walked back to our van. It was time to shower and get dinner going.

The showers were lovely. Really posh. We had a separate part to get dried in and hang our clothes up. It was amazing. Like, an actual door to stop everything getting soaked. That never happens?! We have never had such luxury on our way down the coast. I was in heaven and I didn't want to leave.

I got back to the van and Steve was already out of the shower cooking dinner. He was doing Alfredo sauce with chicken tortellini. The usual stuff that we have. We were both starving so dinner went down a treat. It got dark pretty quickly though so we didn't really get time to sit outside the van and chill as the sun set. We got our stuff in and sat in the van. We played a few games of cards, of course.

Just before I went to brush my teeth, I saw a dog walk in front of our van. Except, it wasn't a dog when I looked closely. It was a KOALA! There was a koala walking around our van! Oh my God! I was so excited. I screamed to Steve to look and we were staring at him. I was slightly worried though. When we went into the hospital, they said that if a koala is ever on the ground, they are most likely dehydrated looking for water.

I saw a bunch of kids chase after the koala – I wanted to scream at them! They were trying to film it on their Snapchats with their flash on. The poor thing was so scared, it ran up a tree that wasn't even a food tree. Once they all left, I filled up my cereal bowl with water and left it at the bottom of the tree. You know, just in case. I knew 100% that it wouldn't drink from it, but I'd rather it just be there, as an option.

We got ourselves ready for bed and laid down. I kept trying to look for the koala but it was too dark.

Tomorrow, we're off to the other half of the water park – the dry half! We're going to the theme park. I was so excited. Time for sleep!

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

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9th December 2017

We allowed ourselves to wake up when we wanted. I mean, we had to be out by 1000 at the latest otherwise we would be charged, but we're always up way before then anyway. It was chilly at night and we did use the duvet. It was amazing. There's nothing quite like wrapping yourself up warm in a duvet at night.

Today, we were on the move to the Gold Coast. I've heard amazing things about this place so I was stupidly excited about it. I imagined it to be one of my favourite places. I was hoping it would live up to the name. It was only an hour and a half drive so we planned for the day.

I saw online that there was a deal for Dream World tickets. They were doing entry into the theme park, the water park and the sky point observation deck for $79 each. That's an absolute bargain in my mind. The observation deck itself was $20 each. I bought the tickets online as Steve was driving.

We arrived in Surfers Paradise around 1200 and my smile was from ear to ear. It looked amazing. It was a city but also a holiday destination. There were sky scrapers everywhere as well as palm trees. The sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We were driving round for a long time trying to find a parking space. We drove along the coast looking at the beach. It was a massive stretch of white sand and crystallised water. There were surfers everywhere. It was Australia's version of Miami.

We found a car park that we weren't sure we'd fit in. There was a limit bar above us and I was so worried we'd hit it. We were obviously miles off and we did get in without losing the roof. It was an expensive one but what else could we do? Every space along the beach front was full and you're always limited to time. I had a coin bag which is what I had collected them for, silly things like parking. I had a good $200 in coins so we were set for the trip.

We walked through the centre to get to the beach front. There were shops after shops. It reminded me of our favourite place in NSW – Manly. It had that relaxed vibe. People were there for the beach and that was it. Swimwear and surfboards.

We walked along the beach and I started to get hungry. I had packed our extra pizza and half of mine from last nights dinner into sandwich bags. We didn't eat the garlic bread either. We sat on the beach watching the waves as we ate. I was so content.

We decided to go up the sky deck as we were right next to it and it was on our to-do list. We had our tickets, sort of anyway. I purchased them and a confirmation email had come through. The email stated that 'this is not your ticket, they will come through in a separate email'. That separate email never came through. I rang them up and asked what was going on as I was waiting to use them. They said that as it was the weekend, the tickets wouldn't be through until Monday. We were meant to be leaving on Monday so they better had think of something fast! They said that if we just show the confirmation email, we will be allowed entry. Let's find out.

We walked to the deck and waited in line. I went up to the person and explained. She seemed very unsure and had to speak with her manager. They allowed us in which was good. I would've been very upset if we couldn't.

We waited outside the lift and the door opened. We had to go up 88 floors. We stood inside and the lift moves so fast. I looked at the ceiling and there was a camera showing what it looked like from inside the lift shaft. It was incredible how fast we were actually going up. My ears kept popping.

After about 30 seconds of going up, the doors opened. We walked out and the room was a 360 degrees circle with glass walls. It's probably my Dad's worst nightmare. We walked up to the glass wall and looked out – it was unreal. We did the sky deck in Melbourne but there's something pretty spectacular about seeing a beach go for absolute miles. It was really quite the picture. I was so happy and taking pictures like there was no tomorrow. Steve walked off and went to the bar.

I found two seats next to the window and sat down. The views were just incredible. I couldn't get over it. You have the most beautiful city to your left, with skyscrapers and palm trees, rivers, lakes. You then have the longest stretch of golden sand separating the ocean from everything. It was quite the picture.

Steve came over with a beer for himself and a glass of wine for me. It wasn't too expensive so we thought, why not treat ourselves? We sat there for a good 20 minutes chatting away, admiring the view.

Once we were finished with our drinks, we continued to walk around the perimeter of the room. It was a huge room, obviously with a bar. A lot of people were having their Afternoon Tea. The views continued to not disappoint. We decided to leave after we were finished and waited for the lift. First on the Gold Coast to do list – done!

We left the skydeck and walked along the beach front. Steve saw an advert for Mini Golf so we were walking towards there. It wasn't until I Googled to find out it was $30 each to play, that we decided against it.

Funnily enough, the weather started to make a turn for the worst. The winds picked up and the skies turned dark. We walked back to the car as quickly as possible. I was getting really quite, how do I put this? The only word I can really use is shitty (sorry Dad). I was quite clearly knackered and I really needed a nap, according to Steve. I was just being very snappy and sarcastic, argumentative. You know, the average.

We drove to our campground which was a cheaper one. We decided to go cheap and then tomorrow, we will go expensive. Maybe.

I had found one on our camping app that was only a 20 minute drive out of the city. It was $25 for unpowered but there was showers, kitchen, hot water, and free laundry.

The rain was really coming down when we eventually pulled up. It was a lady who obviously had way too much land so she 'rented' it out. I guess a lot of Australian's have a lot of land though, look at the size of their country!

She lived in a forest although it wasn't a scary one. It was a large area with a lot of ground and trees on the outside with some dotted within.

We passed her little house where we had to stop to give her the money. It was chucking it down so it was a run to and from the car. She told us that we could stay on the gravel area which is what we wanted. We didn't want to get stuck in the mud, again!

We pulled up, emptied the bed and I was told to have a nap. He was being fair to be honest, I really was tired. I struggled getting off to sleep because I was over tired. It was getting later and darker and we really needed to get dinner going. Plus, Steve has to sit there in the bed as it's raining.

It started to stop so we got out, got the table and chairs out to make dinner. We had decided on cooking veg as we felt so unhealthy. We bought some veg earlier on in Coles. The plan was to fry them in seasoning and have cashews with them. We got the table out and it had to go behind the van so that the boot door would block the rain from us should it start again.

Steve chopped all the veg and I stirred. How exciting! I love our little portable gas stove. It's amazing. I wish we had them at home, especially when you're entertaining. One flick and it's on! I am so easily pleased though. They've probably been around since the dinosaurs...

Our dinner turned out to be amazing. It was so nice to finally have something which was boarder-line healthy (minus the nuts and oil they were cooked in). We had enough veg left over to do the same dinner again another time.

As we were finished, the rain started ever so lightly. I didn't think that we had particularly long before the heavens opened again so I rushed all the stuff over to the kitchen to get it washed.

There was a little camp group staying at the same place. I guessed that they often stayed as it was loads of kids and a few adults. The kids had little cabins to stay in with bunk beds. They all had dinner together and dessert. Some of the aboriginal said to me that they were doing a performance with the didgeridoo later on should Steve and I want to come over and watch. I would've loved too but I probably would be asleep the moment my head touches the pillow.

I went back over and Steve had put the chairs and table away to stop it getting ruined in the rain. We jumped into the back and the rain got heavier. How irritating.

We had another car pulled up next to us – a slightly bigger version of ours. A high top. Steve was desperate to get a high top but that wasn't in our budget. I love our little van and I wouldn't change it for the world.

We played some cards before getting off to sleep. Or, well, at least tried. The camp group didn't end up playing the didgeridoo as I heard them ask if they could play hide and seek instead. Sounds great but it was pitch black outside and one of the kids went, “Let's hide under their van!”. Erm, how about no?! Don't go anywhere near my van.

They didn't, or so I didn't think they did. We fell asleep after about 15 minutes of listening to them running around, shouting and what not. You can't get annoyed, you just have to remember what it was like being that age, especially with nothing around you to keep you entertained.

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