Sky was pretty cloudy this morning so we decided to do our last bits of souvenier shopping. We ended up wandering round for a bit and found ourselves down near the opera house, having completed our shopping for the day.
I swear the minute I turned my back Matt was doing a little rain dance, because all of a sudden the heavens opened and down it came! The lengths that lad will go to to avoid walking will never cease to amaze me :)
Been in the hotel this afternoon waiting for online checkin so I thought I'd catch up on the blog for a bit. Weather is still crap so think we will head home tomorrow :)
Sunday, April 22, 2007
A day of rest...
After a big night out at Home nightclub on Saturday night, ending up with a quick trip to Harry's Cafe de Wheels at around 3:50am for a Pie just before closing time, we decided that Sunday should be an easier day.
We had a trip up to Doyles with Ann and Rosh for a somewhat large lunch, and then caught the Ferry back down to Circular Quay. By this point last night was catching up with Matt so he grabbed a cab and went back to bed for a few hours. Ann had already gone off to do something exciting like her washing and ironing, so that left me and Rosh to entertain ourselves. We got a little carried away with the amount of wine we bought at the Hunter Valley last week, so this seemed like as good a chance as any to make use of some of it :). We had a nice chilled afternoon sat outside the hotel with a bottle of wine, waiting for Matt to come round again :).
It then started to rain.... now I'm not being funny but I can get rain at home. I was not happy :).
Matt put in an appearance then so we headed off to Cargo Bar for some tea, then on to shark hotel for some pool. By 11 we had all had it and headed for home!
We had a trip up to Doyles with Ann and Rosh for a somewhat large lunch, and then caught the Ferry back down to Circular Quay. By this point last night was catching up with Matt so he grabbed a cab and went back to bed for a few hours. Ann had already gone off to do something exciting like her washing and ironing, so that left me and Rosh to entertain ourselves. We got a little carried away with the amount of wine we bought at the Hunter Valley last week, so this seemed like as good a chance as any to make use of some of it :). We had a nice chilled afternoon sat outside the hotel with a bottle of wine, waiting for Matt to come round again :).
It then started to rain.... now I'm not being funny but I can get rain at home. I was not happy :).
Matt put in an appearance then so we headed off to Cargo Bar for some tea, then on to shark hotel for some pool. By 11 we had all had it and headed for home!
The Croc Farm.
Saturday was our last morning in Cairns so we decided to take a trip to the crocodile farm. There were a few different events taking place that morning so we decided to tag along and see what happened.
Firstly they take you through to the tanks which contain some of the younger crocodiles they were breeding. The majority of these were still only around 2 years old.
We couldn't actually see the rest that were younger than that as they are kept in warm dark encolsures until a certain age, which aparently they prefer. Can't say as I'm convinced but I guess I'm not the expert on the subject... Apparently they keep the crocs until they reach around 3 years old, at which point they are sold on for their leather and their meat. They fetch around $1000 each at that age. The guy reckoned that there was no wastage from any of the crocodiles either. Apparently they even send the feet off to taxidermists to be turned into back scratchers!
After that we jumped on a boat which takes you round the lakes where the 'display crocs' are. As the boat heads out the crocs clearly know whats happening as they all start to some into the water and swim towards the boat. The guy then sticks a chicken head on the end of a piece of string which is attached to a pole and dangles it over the side. It's amazing how high those crocs can jump just to get their mouths round a chicken head!
The third and final display piece we attended was the feeding of the rest of the crocs. Once again you can see they know whats happening as they all start heading over the where the keepers are when they see them. One keeper heads off down to the side of the pen and distracts some of the crocs while others are fed. It seems they can get a bit nasty at feeding time, so much so that one of the crocs had actually lost both front feet in a previous incident.
After the feeding had finished we decided we had had enough and it was time to make a move. It was about 30 degrees at the time and very humid, so the cars air conditioning was a welcome change.
We headed back down to Cairns to get some lunch and have a last wander round. It wasn't really much better by day than it was by night. Matt said there were lots of attractive young lady backpackers wearing very little around the pool area but I can't say as I noticed ;).
We grabbed some food and then decided the only thing that would help to deal with the heat was a nice James Boag's fresh from a bucket of Ice.... mmmmmmmmm :)
Firstly they take you through to the tanks which contain some of the younger crocodiles they were breeding. The majority of these were still only around 2 years old.
We couldn't actually see the rest that were younger than that as they are kept in warm dark encolsures until a certain age, which aparently they prefer. Can't say as I'm convinced but I guess I'm not the expert on the subject... Apparently they keep the crocs until they reach around 3 years old, at which point they are sold on for their leather and their meat. They fetch around $1000 each at that age. The guy reckoned that there was no wastage from any of the crocodiles either. Apparently they even send the feet off to taxidermists to be turned into back scratchers!
After that we jumped on a boat which takes you round the lakes where the 'display crocs' are. As the boat heads out the crocs clearly know whats happening as they all start to some into the water and swim towards the boat. The guy then sticks a chicken head on the end of a piece of string which is attached to a pole and dangles it over the side. It's amazing how high those crocs can jump just to get their mouths round a chicken head!
The third and final display piece we attended was the feeding of the rest of the crocs. Once again you can see they know whats happening as they all start heading over the where the keepers are when they see them. One keeper heads off down to the side of the pen and distracts some of the crocs while others are fed. It seems they can get a bit nasty at feeding time, so much so that one of the crocs had actually lost both front feet in a previous incident.
After the feeding had finished we decided we had had enough and it was time to make a move. It was about 30 degrees at the time and very humid, so the cars air conditioning was a welcome change.
We headed back down to Cairns to get some lunch and have a last wander round. It wasn't really much better by day than it was by night. Matt said there were lots of attractive young lady backpackers wearing very little around the pool area but I can't say as I noticed ;).
We grabbed some food and then decided the only thing that would help to deal with the heat was a nice James Boag's fresh from a bucket of Ice.... mmmmmmmmm :)
A trip out to Kuranda.
On Friday we took the Skyrail over to Kuranda. It's about a 7.5km ride in a cable car up to Kuranda village. There were a couple of stop offs on the way to Kuranda, including Red Peak station, where a ranger takes you on a short guided walk and points out various plant life and trees, then on to Barron Falls where you have some great views of the waterfalls just below the dam.
We also managed to spot a small lizard known as a skink, and a Golden Orb spider. This was the first time we had actually properly seen these creatures in the wild.
Finally we jumped back on the Skyrail into Kuranda village. Kuranda is a small village, with only around 600 inhabitants, but there are a fair number of aboriginals amongst them. We had a wander through the village and ended up going round a small display of some of Australias most deadly animals. Amongst them were the two deadliest snakes in the world, and I have to say it was a little disconcerting as they were nothing to look at and didn't particulary stand out, yet ranked number 1 and number 3 deadliest. Both can be found in Australia. Great!
After that we went and caught the bus to Rainforestation. It started out, as so many of these tours seem to, by letting you get upclose with a few animals. There were the usual Kangaroos, Koalas, wombats etc with a few differences. Firstly one of the Koalas had a baby in it's pouch :). Additionally there were various different types of crocodile, snakes, Lizards (including one the same as mine - although a bit bigger I accept. I also now know mine is female having seen a male and female together), as well as some Barramundi (very nice fish - to eat at least) and a Cassawary which apparently despite looking nice can be lethal.
The next stage was a ride through the rainforest in an old army duck (officially spelt dukw). An amphibious 6 wheeler which were used as a landing vehicle many years ago. They took us through the rainforest pointing out more plants and wildlife, then into the lake to see some more. We saw more Eastern Water Dragons (same as mine), some of the smallest ever Kangaroos, a turtle, Ulysses Butterflies and some kind of owl.
Following the trip in the ducks we moved on to watch some Aboriginal dancing which was quite interesting. They got 3 of the audience up having a go at the end which was really funny.
After that we had aboriginal demonstrations of spear and boomerang throwing, before finally heading off back down to the Skyrail for the trip back down.
In the evening be decided to go into Cairns for some tea and see what was there. Compared to Sydney you really could blink and miss the place. It seemed nice enough, but not really a lot going on. The beach was pretty crappy also, but to make up for it they have a large swimming pool down by the sea front, and they have also created a little beach around that as well as a park area. It seems to be a popular spot with all the backpackers at least. There were also free to use BBQ's all round the outside of it which must definately be a winner!
We also managed to spot a small lizard known as a skink, and a Golden Orb spider. This was the first time we had actually properly seen these creatures in the wild.
Finally we jumped back on the Skyrail into Kuranda village. Kuranda is a small village, with only around 600 inhabitants, but there are a fair number of aboriginals amongst them. We had a wander through the village and ended up going round a small display of some of Australias most deadly animals. Amongst them were the two deadliest snakes in the world, and I have to say it was a little disconcerting as they were nothing to look at and didn't particulary stand out, yet ranked number 1 and number 3 deadliest. Both can be found in Australia. Great!
After that we went and caught the bus to Rainforestation. It started out, as so many of these tours seem to, by letting you get upclose with a few animals. There were the usual Kangaroos, Koalas, wombats etc with a few differences. Firstly one of the Koalas had a baby in it's pouch :). Additionally there were various different types of crocodile, snakes, Lizards (including one the same as mine - although a bit bigger I accept. I also now know mine is female having seen a male and female together), as well as some Barramundi (very nice fish - to eat at least) and a Cassawary which apparently despite looking nice can be lethal.
The next stage was a ride through the rainforest in an old army duck (officially spelt dukw). An amphibious 6 wheeler which were used as a landing vehicle many years ago. They took us through the rainforest pointing out more plants and wildlife, then into the lake to see some more. We saw more Eastern Water Dragons (same as mine), some of the smallest ever Kangaroos, a turtle, Ulysses Butterflies and some kind of owl.
Following the trip in the ducks we moved on to watch some Aboriginal dancing which was quite interesting. They got 3 of the audience up having a go at the end which was really funny.
After that we had aboriginal demonstrations of spear and boomerang throwing, before finally heading off back down to the Skyrail for the trip back down.
In the evening be decided to go into Cairns for some tea and see what was there. Compared to Sydney you really could blink and miss the place. It seemed nice enough, but not really a lot going on. The beach was pretty crappy also, but to make up for it they have a large swimming pool down by the sea front, and they have also created a little beach around that as well as a park area. It seems to be a popular spot with all the backpackers at least. There were also free to use BBQ's all round the outside of it which must definately be a winner!
Friday, April 20, 2007
Scuba Diving... it's like learning to ride a bike... scary at first but alright when you get the hang of it... so i'm told
So today was the big day for the trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. The coach picked us up this morning and took us out to our QuickSilver Wave Piercer. An impressing looking vessel I have to admit. We all got aboard and made rapid process out to the outer reef at Agincourt where we would be spending our day.
We arrived around 11:45 and were assigned a scuba dive slot of 12:40. By the time we got onto the pontoon we had enough time to grab out suits, flippers and masks and head to where we were to meet ready for the dive. We got the briefing from the instructors on the trip out to the pontoon and there was plenty to remember.
Being honest both Matt and I were feeling more than a little nervous as we began to don our gear, with neither of us ever having done it before. Our instructor was really good and started by getting us used to breathing whilst sat on an underwater platform before heading out to the seabed. It took a bit of getting used to as I was finding I wasn't breathing out far enough initially which made things difficult. The instructor soon set me right on this and I felt a lot happier. We then had to go through some basic safety stuff, including how to clear water from your mask should any get in there, and how to change over to the backup regulator in the event the primary one failed. Not a thought I wanted I can assure you, but after a nervours start we both managed to do them both ok.
Then came time to lower ourselves down using the ropes provided. Every time you drop down a meter you have to hold your nose and blow out through it to pop your ears. This takes some getting used to when you have a regulator stuck in your mouth! By this point (and you will have to excuse my French but I need to tell it how it is) I was shitting myself!
We made it down to the bottom and it is far too easy to panic a bit while down there. Not a pleasant feeling. Thankfully our instructor was obviously used to this sort of thing so if she could see you were struggling, or you indicated to her that you weren't 100% through hand signals she was brilliant at relaxing you, or distracting you so you weren't thinking about things other than the fish, or corals that were around you. We saw all sorts of fish, and clams, including Crusher a Mauri Wrasse. Either way, this thing was bloody massive and very friendly. It was quite happy for you to stroke or pet it which was most odd for a fish.
Onwards we went to giant clams that closed up as you touched them, a sea cucumber that the instructor picked up and handed to each of us in turn, amongst countless types of fish and corals. Crusher made regular appearances too. He seems to like the divers, and the air bubbles they produced.
I can honestly say it was one of the longest and scariest, but at the same time amazing and enjoyable 40 minutes of my life. As we made it back to the boat we were asked if we wanted to go again a little later at half price. Matt and I looked at one another and agreed that we had had enough for one day, bet would definately try it again at another time. We settled for buying a copy of the DVD they make of you down there instead.
After the diving we went snorkelling which was great. Admittedly you didn't see anywhere near as much, but I felt far more comfortable. I suspect this was partially due to having got used to the mask and flippers during the dive, and partly because I could go to the surface whenever I wanted. Either way the time flew while we were snorkelling and it was soon time to head for home.
It was a great day out and a fantastic experience. Tomorrow we are headed for the Skyrail from Carvonica which takes you up into the mountains and rainforests, following a recommendation from Helen. Thanks Cous. Unfortunately the railway is closed currently for maintenance so we have to take the Skyrail in both directions. Oh well - I'm sure it will still be good :).
We arrived around 11:45 and were assigned a scuba dive slot of 12:40. By the time we got onto the pontoon we had enough time to grab out suits, flippers and masks and head to where we were to meet ready for the dive. We got the briefing from the instructors on the trip out to the pontoon and there was plenty to remember.
Being honest both Matt and I were feeling more than a little nervous as we began to don our gear, with neither of us ever having done it before. Our instructor was really good and started by getting us used to breathing whilst sat on an underwater platform before heading out to the seabed. It took a bit of getting used to as I was finding I wasn't breathing out far enough initially which made things difficult. The instructor soon set me right on this and I felt a lot happier. We then had to go through some basic safety stuff, including how to clear water from your mask should any get in there, and how to change over to the backup regulator in the event the primary one failed. Not a thought I wanted I can assure you, but after a nervours start we both managed to do them both ok.
Then came time to lower ourselves down using the ropes provided. Every time you drop down a meter you have to hold your nose and blow out through it to pop your ears. This takes some getting used to when you have a regulator stuck in your mouth! By this point (and you will have to excuse my French but I need to tell it how it is) I was shitting myself!
We made it down to the bottom and it is far too easy to panic a bit while down there. Not a pleasant feeling. Thankfully our instructor was obviously used to this sort of thing so if she could see you were struggling, or you indicated to her that you weren't 100% through hand signals she was brilliant at relaxing you, or distracting you so you weren't thinking about things other than the fish, or corals that were around you. We saw all sorts of fish, and clams, including Crusher a Mauri Wrasse. Either way, this thing was bloody massive and very friendly. It was quite happy for you to stroke or pet it which was most odd for a fish.
Onwards we went to giant clams that closed up as you touched them, a sea cucumber that the instructor picked up and handed to each of us in turn, amongst countless types of fish and corals. Crusher made regular appearances too. He seems to like the divers, and the air bubbles they produced.
I can honestly say it was one of the longest and scariest, but at the same time amazing and enjoyable 40 minutes of my life. As we made it back to the boat we were asked if we wanted to go again a little later at half price. Matt and I looked at one another and agreed that we had had enough for one day, bet would definately try it again at another time. We settled for buying a copy of the DVD they make of you down there instead.
After the diving we went snorkelling which was great. Admittedly you didn't see anywhere near as much, but I felt far more comfortable. I suspect this was partially due to having got used to the mask and flippers during the dive, and partly because I could go to the surface whenever I wanted. Either way the time flew while we were snorkelling and it was soon time to head for home.
It was a great day out and a fantastic experience. Tomorrow we are headed for the Skyrail from Carvonica which takes you up into the mountains and rainforests, following a recommendation from Helen. Thanks Cous. Unfortunately the railway is closed currently for maintenance so we have to take the Skyrail in both directions. Oh well - I'm sure it will still be good :).
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Arrival In Cairns...
First view? Well it's very different from Sydney. We arrived at around 10am on the Wednesday morning to find a fairly close 25 degree heat. It wasn't unpleasant but I definately wanted to get back into shorts and out of the combat pants I travelled in.
We went and picked up our rental car and headed out. The first thing you notice is how much more tropical Cairns feels than Sydney. So many more palm trees, and fields full of what we think is sugar cane plants. There are also signs up warning you off swimming in the river because there may be crocodiles... Nice!
We made our way up the apartment we are staying in which is reasonably pleasant. It's a place called Cairns Beach Resort, which is at Holloway Beach, around 8km North of Cairns. We arrived and had a look round the apartment, and then the surrounding area.
To put it frankly there isn't really a great deal here. A couple of restaurants, and off license, a beach, and a convenience store and that's about your lot.
We decided that as there wasn't a lot else we would have a ride North in the hire car up towards Port Douglas. It was a nice drive along the coast between here and Port Douglas so on the way we stopped in at Palm Cove and another beach a little further up. Both were either deserted, or had a couple of people on them.
One thing I have noticed here is that you tend to catch a glimpse of some form of creatures scurrying away when you walk places which is always a little disconcerting given you haven't a clue what they were.
When we got down onto the second beach we noticed lots of round holes in the beach where something had clearly dug itself a hole. Once again I find myself not sure I want to know what! :)
Had a wander over to some rock pools on the beach and found tiny baby crabs, little fish and even a couple of little lizards, all of which scarpered if you tried to get too close.
We eventually made it up to Port Douglas and found that although it was a bit bigger there wasn't much there either.
Ahh well. The weather was good and it was a nice change in pace from life in Sydney. After a couple of hours we headed back to the apartment and tried one of the local restaurants. The dining area was literally a few feet from the beach and was pretty nice. We had a reasonable meal, and just as we were about to leave one of the waitresses started doing a fire display down on the beach. Have to say she was very good so we hung around until that finished before calling it a night.
We went and picked up our rental car and headed out. The first thing you notice is how much more tropical Cairns feels than Sydney. So many more palm trees, and fields full of what we think is sugar cane plants. There are also signs up warning you off swimming in the river because there may be crocodiles... Nice!
We made our way up the apartment we are staying in which is reasonably pleasant. It's a place called Cairns Beach Resort, which is at Holloway Beach, around 8km North of Cairns. We arrived and had a look round the apartment, and then the surrounding area.
To put it frankly there isn't really a great deal here. A couple of restaurants, and off license, a beach, and a convenience store and that's about your lot.
We decided that as there wasn't a lot else we would have a ride North in the hire car up towards Port Douglas. It was a nice drive along the coast between here and Port Douglas so on the way we stopped in at Palm Cove and another beach a little further up. Both were either deserted, or had a couple of people on them.
One thing I have noticed here is that you tend to catch a glimpse of some form of creatures scurrying away when you walk places which is always a little disconcerting given you haven't a clue what they were.
When we got down onto the second beach we noticed lots of round holes in the beach where something had clearly dug itself a hole. Once again I find myself not sure I want to know what! :)
Had a wander over to some rock pools on the beach and found tiny baby crabs, little fish and even a couple of little lizards, all of which scarpered if you tried to get too close.
We eventually made it up to Port Douglas and found that although it was a bit bigger there wasn't much there either.
Ahh well. The weather was good and it was a nice change in pace from life in Sydney. After a couple of hours we headed back to the apartment and tried one of the local restaurants. The dining area was literally a few feet from the beach and was pretty nice. We had a reasonable meal, and just as we were about to leave one of the waitresses started doing a fire display down on the beach. Have to say she was very good so we hung around until that finished before calling it a night.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Blackmail on the bus to Bronte...
.... but before we get on to that a quick catch up on the past few days is in order.
Sunday we had a ride over to Gary's for a BBQ at lunch time. Gary is an ex pat, who has lived in Sydney for about 7 or 8 years now and work for Microsoft. My first visit to Sydney was to go on a sales mission with Gary and Steve so I've known him for a while now, and made a point of catching up with him last time I was in Sydney so though it would be good to do so again. Gary has moved house since last time I visited him and now lives North of Sydney up near Palm Beach. His new place is fantastic, and has a living room that opens up onto a balcony which has a fabulous view over the bay. Even his toilet has a one way door that lets you see out over the bay from inside, but is mirrored looking in from the outside. A little weird to get used to but fantastic all the same. After the BBQ me and Matt jumped back in the car and had a ride up to Palm beach, which apparently is where Home and Away was filmed. Unfortunately there are no piccies as neither of us took our cameras that day.
We had some great food and a good afternoon anyway and were unsurprised to find that Gary wasn't missing the London lifestyle in the least. Thanks again Gary!
Today Ann has taken us out for the day to show us some of the parts of Sydney tourists wouldn't necessarily see. We started out by going for Yum Cha in China town which was fantastic. You go and sit at your table and the staff wander round with trolleys full of food and you just point out the ones you fancy and away you go. Once you have finished you settle up and thats that. Very nice and very tasty. Had some of the foods I enjoyed more whilst in China which was great. No chickens feet or pigs feet here.... thnak god :).
Next we jumped on the bus to Bronte from where we were going to do a cliff top walk acorss the Bondi. The journey started out fairly quietly and all seemed well until about 10 minutes into the journey. At this point a woman got on and sat behined me and decided to make a phone call to her ex husband and tell him if she he didn't give here $7000 by Friday to buy a car with she was going to the police. This conversation went on for some time and became more and more elaborate as time went on. Seems the guy on the other end of the phone, Beppe, has been a bit of a naughty boy.... Seems his crimes range from Drug smuggling, tax evasion, oh and then failing to pay the correct amount of child support money. She has evidence of what he and his brother have been up to and if she doesn't ghet the $7000, no scratch that it's now gone up to $8000 by 10am Friday she is going to the police to tell her story, and then to the Italian Consolate.
Why she felt the need to have this conversation on a bus at the volume she did god only knows, but I certainly wouldn't want to be in poor old Beppe's shoes. This lady means business!
She got off th bus shortly afterwards and left us to finish our journey in peace. We made it to Bronte which was a very beautifull little seaside area which I suspect is not cheap to buy land in! We made it down to the cliff side walk and got some fantastic views as we headed over to Bondi. Along the walk we saw our first spiders in their natural habitat, along with a bloke I presume to be homeless camped out in the cliffs overlooking Bondi. Not a bad place to live I guess.
Bondi was very nice and we spent a bit of time on the beach and having a bit of a paddle in the water. Saw a couple of young lads trying to do some weird variation of surfing using what looked like McDonalds trays which gave us a good laugh.
After a bit of time on the beach we wandered up to the shops and bars and went for a couple of beers and games of pool while we waited for our 6pm dinner reservation at a Steak and Ribs place. We sat and had dinner, then finally made our way back up to the City.
One final drink at Opera bar was in order, and we found a massive cruise liner sat in the harbour ready to set out. God only knows how those things actually manage to keep afloat. It was so big I'm certain it wouldn't have been able to pass beneath the harbour bridge!
Well another day out done. Thanks to Ann for taking the day off work to take us out today. It was a good day out and nice to do something a bit different.
First thing tomorrow we head off for Cairns. Yay :). Looking forwards to that one! Will no doubt have more updates for you then!
Sunday we had a ride over to Gary's for a BBQ at lunch time. Gary is an ex pat, who has lived in Sydney for about 7 or 8 years now and work for Microsoft. My first visit to Sydney was to go on a sales mission with Gary and Steve so I've known him for a while now, and made a point of catching up with him last time I was in Sydney so though it would be good to do so again. Gary has moved house since last time I visited him and now lives North of Sydney up near Palm Beach. His new place is fantastic, and has a living room that opens up onto a balcony which has a fabulous view over the bay. Even his toilet has a one way door that lets you see out over the bay from inside, but is mirrored looking in from the outside. A little weird to get used to but fantastic all the same. After the BBQ me and Matt jumped back in the car and had a ride up to Palm beach, which apparently is where Home and Away was filmed. Unfortunately there are no piccies as neither of us took our cameras that day.
We had some great food and a good afternoon anyway and were unsurprised to find that Gary wasn't missing the London lifestyle in the least. Thanks again Gary!
Today Ann has taken us out for the day to show us some of the parts of Sydney tourists wouldn't necessarily see. We started out by going for Yum Cha in China town which was fantastic. You go and sit at your table and the staff wander round with trolleys full of food and you just point out the ones you fancy and away you go. Once you have finished you settle up and thats that. Very nice and very tasty. Had some of the foods I enjoyed more whilst in China which was great. No chickens feet or pigs feet here.... thnak god :).
Next we jumped on the bus to Bronte from where we were going to do a cliff top walk acorss the Bondi. The journey started out fairly quietly and all seemed well until about 10 minutes into the journey. At this point a woman got on and sat behined me and decided to make a phone call to her ex husband and tell him if she he didn't give here $7000 by Friday to buy a car with she was going to the police. This conversation went on for some time and became more and more elaborate as time went on. Seems the guy on the other end of the phone, Beppe, has been a bit of a naughty boy.... Seems his crimes range from Drug smuggling, tax evasion, oh and then failing to pay the correct amount of child support money. She has evidence of what he and his brother have been up to and if she doesn't ghet the $7000, no scratch that it's now gone up to $8000 by 10am Friday she is going to the police to tell her story, and then to the Italian Consolate.
Why she felt the need to have this conversation on a bus at the volume she did god only knows, but I certainly wouldn't want to be in poor old Beppe's shoes. This lady means business!
She got off th bus shortly afterwards and left us to finish our journey in peace. We made it to Bronte which was a very beautifull little seaside area which I suspect is not cheap to buy land in! We made it down to the cliff side walk and got some fantastic views as we headed over to Bondi. Along the walk we saw our first spiders in their natural habitat, along with a bloke I presume to be homeless camped out in the cliffs overlooking Bondi. Not a bad place to live I guess.
Bondi was very nice and we spent a bit of time on the beach and having a bit of a paddle in the water. Saw a couple of young lads trying to do some weird variation of surfing using what looked like McDonalds trays which gave us a good laugh.
After a bit of time on the beach we wandered up to the shops and bars and went for a couple of beers and games of pool while we waited for our 6pm dinner reservation at a Steak and Ribs place. We sat and had dinner, then finally made our way back up to the City.
One final drink at Opera bar was in order, and we found a massive cruise liner sat in the harbour ready to set out. God only knows how those things actually manage to keep afloat. It was so big I'm certain it wouldn't have been able to pass beneath the harbour bridge!
Well another day out done. Thanks to Ann for taking the day off work to take us out today. It was a good day out and nice to do something a bit different.
First thing tomorrow we head off for Cairns. Yay :). Looking forwards to that one! Will no doubt have more updates for you then!
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