Holy Shit!

Hey guys!

Ok, second blog of the day, but this is really important.

First of all, I have a slight correction to make as to the white water rafting thing. I think the rock I jumped off of might not have been 400 metres. Gullible me, believing everything I hear...

The reason I know this is that i went bungy jumping today off a 50 metres platform, which was WAY higher than yesterday's rock. It was the absolute scariest thing I have ever done. The jump itself is not that bad, as it only lasts about 2.5 seconds, it's getting there that sucks. You actually have to waddle (cuz you're feet are tied together) to the edge of a plank (like the pirates) then jump... crazy crazy crazy. I wasn't even going to do it cuz I was so bloody scared, but then I thought... what the hell, this can't possibly be more dangerous than, say holding a crocodile in your arms... something else I did today.

Pretty eventful day! But that's enough out of me!

See you soon!

Steph :)
xxx1/3

Signing my life away...

Hey guys!

Alright, so yesterday, for at least the 6th or 7th time in the past couple of weeks, I signed my life away. That's right, I once again signed a sheet stating that should I die over the course of the day, no one could be held accountable. Unsafe, right? Buyt sooo much fun.

Yesterday's activity was that of white water rafting. Too cool!!! It was an absolutely beautiful day and the water was just the right temperature... so that when we fell out/tipped the boat on purpose, it was all good. Anyways, basically, the day consisted of us racing down the rapids on the Tully River, trying not to fall out... not that I had much success. At one point, I fell out of the boat right in the middle of one of the rapids and was pulled under the boat for a good 30 seconds... kinda scary, but soooooo awesome, all at the same time.

We also got to descend a rapid without the boat, which was supposed to "give us a fell for the water". So we took the rapid like a water slide... only with more rocks hitting your ass and a few places where there really wasn't any time to breathe... amazing. I can honestly say that I still don't "have a feel for the water", but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

After that, we stopped at a rock which protruded from the water about 400 metres high. We climbed to the top of it, then jumped. Again, very cool, but I don't suggest diving. That's what I did... though probably without and style... and it hurt like hell. I was wearing a helmet, so the impact on the water caused my head to rattle pretty hard against the plastic. But it's all good, cuz that's not something I get a chance to do at home very often.

Well, today I'm off to Cairns, but on the way there I'll be stopping at a croc farm and a bungee jumping place. Whether or not I decide to bungee jump is to be detremined, but I figure, if I can jump a 400 metre rock into rocky water, I can certainly hop off a cliff, no? Yeah....

Ok, well, that's all from me!

See you later!

Steph :)

Popeye the Sailor Man

Hey guys!
Me again! Are you surprised? No...

Anyways, lets get straight into the adventures of late. I spent the last three days on a sailboat in the Whitsunday Islands just outside Airlie Beach. It was absolutely amazing. To begin with, our skipper looked like Popeye, so that was fuuny. Also, we got to stop at all the islands and beaches where the sand is pure white and lots of the beaches actually are entirely made of silicone...it's like walking on implants... no, but seriously, it's the softest sand ever! And the water... oh my god... it was sooooo blue! Amazing.

We also got the chance to go scuba divbing and snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef and that was just about the coolest thing I've done so far., if you overlook the fact that I had to wear a stinger suit (sexist things ever!!! full body spandex...grrrr). One minute, you're standing on the beach, totallly unaware of what's around you... and the next you stick your head underwater and you are in a whole new world. It's absolutely fantastic... the coral is so colourful and the fish are really cool. I'm usually pretty scared of fish, what with the creepy eyes and whatnot, but these are pretty cool. They are also pretty dumb... they'll swim right up to you, realize that you're bigger than them, start to swim away, forget what they are doing, and come back. It's really funny to watch. While I didn't find Nemo (Australia's favourite fish, and I'm not even kidding) I did see some really cool fish. there was a huge Rainbow coloured fish and this crazy-eyed fish that looked like it was actually cut up into puzzle pieces. I can't even begin to describe the outstanding feeling of diving, but at least I've tried... and one more thing, if you ever get the opportunity to do it. DO IT! you will probably never see anything as amazing as this anywhere else but at the bottom of the sea... and any sea will do, I'm sure!

Other than that, the sailing itself went pretty well. The people were pretty cool, there was even a guy who could compete with Graham in the funny contest... the food was awesome and the crew was really nice. I only felt a little bit seasick for a short while, so that's good, and we saw a huge turtle one day. It was really awesome!!

Anyway, that's all the gushing I can really do in one spurt, so I'll leave you with that!

See you later!

Steph :)
xxx1/3

-- 

Dingo ate ya baby?

Hey guys!!

Ok, so I didn't actually have a baby and get it eaten by a Dingo, but I'm working on it... well, no... but whatever.

I did, however, spend last night in a place called Dingo. We actually slept in a cattle station, which, despite the enormous bugs, was very cool. The entire estate is formed of the dorms where we slept, a bar and 42,000 acres of ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! It's cool, really... they have 40,000 cows there...

So, last might was basically party party party, cuz there were two Oz Busses there. We had a sick BBQ dinner, Aussie style, and then there was lots of drinking, singing and dancing on tables. They do that a lot down here, the whole dancing on tables thing... but that;s not the point. The point is that, during the evening, the cowboys who run the place (hottest cowboy ever is one of them, by the way) told us that the only place in the world where line dancing is considered cool was in Dingo. So, needless to say, we were taught. Just picture 100 drunk 19-40 years olds trying to line dance. It wasn't pretty, especially considering that line dancing is actually really difficult.

So that's last night. This morning, not-so-hot cowboy Rich took us out on a tour of the property before we headed out. This would have beenb pretty boring, since it's just dry land and a some cows running around, but with the shotguns, whips and boomerangs, it got pretty interesting. Out first stop on the tour took us basically into the forest, where we were taught how to shoot a rifle... scary and loud really, but definitely provides an adrenalin rush. Also at this stop, Cowboy Rich shot his shotgun at a pair of shorts I volunteered to "give them a bit of Dingo style". what that means, basically, is that I now have a pair of shorts with lots of little holes in them. It's ok, though, cuz I figure it'll make a pretty good story. "Hey what happened to your shorts?" "Oh, you know, just a shotgun" I think it's entertaining, anyway... After that, we were taught how to crack a whip... very cool... no one will ever want to get on my bad side again (not that I ever had one, but whatever). That's also a pretty difficult move, but with a little practice, it gets easier. Finally, we were shown how to toss a boomerang so that it a) comes back to us, and b) doesn't kill us. Good to know!

So that's Dingo in a nutshell... pretty interesting place, actually. I'm in Airlie Beach now, and I'm going to be sailing the Whitsunday Islands on Friday until Sunday, so that'll be good. The weather is still really hot, but I've got a pool and a beach, so I'm all good!

See you later!

Steph :)

Camel Toe!!!

Hey Hey!

It's raining again, so I'll take this time to tell you all about camel toe... not the disgusting kind, but actual, real camel's toes. Camel's have really large, circular feet and, while they look like said "camel toe" at first glance, when they step, there appearance changes greatly. Their whole foot, which is soft, squishes to the ground and sort of spreads out, it's cool, really.

How do I know this, you may wonder? Well, this morning, Sophie, Natalie (new English girl) and I hopped on yet another day trip bus and headed to an island, where we rode camels for a few hours on the beach. Those things, by the way, are ENORMOUS!!!! And ugly... their eyes are like the size of my head and they are constantly chewing (with their mouths open, of course!)... oh, and they smell awful, really, they give off the worst smell... worse than Graham and Jean-Luc combined , and that's saying something.

Other than that, not much to report...I'm leaving again tomorrow, heading to Bargara then to the town of 1770. So who knows what will happen down there!

Alright, I'm off to take a walk in the rain...

See you soon!

Steph :)

xxx

Water... Glorious Water!!

Hello Hello!!

I'm soooooooooooo hot!!! No seriously, everyone here is so sweaty it's actually kind of disgusting to look around, but that's besides the point.

The point is actually that water is my new favourite thing in the world. Not only have I been drinking about 6 litres a day (not even kidding) in order to stay even remotely hydrated, but any time an opportunity comes up to go swimming, I feel like I'm in heaven. Yesterday, for instance, Sophie, Dave and I went down to some Waterfall in Mooloolaba. It was absolutely gorgeous... not the biggest waterfall I've ever seen, but big enough for us to swim under and have a really great afternoon. The water was the perfect temperature and there was no one else around, so it was really relaxing.

The only unpleasant bit about it was the guy who showed us how to get there. Some local guy we met on the bus... he seemed nice enough, but I wasn't too thrilled by his drinking (he was carrying a six pack and drank 3 beers in about 15 minutes), smoking (don't think I saw him without a cigarette in his mouth), wheezing (just creepy) and complete lack of teeth... odd really (Heather: he kinda reminded me of the road to freedom guy!)

Anyways, I'm here in Noosa today and we, once again haven't got much to do...but I'm sure we'll figure something out.
Talk to you all soon, probably with another stupid adventure to report!

Love you, Kiss you!

Steph :)

P.S. Ray your koalabees are on their way, so worry not!

P.P.S. I actually ate Kangaroo steak the other day... it's really chewy and knid of unpleasant... just thought you should know.

Crikey!!

Hey Everyone!!!

So, I hopped on the Oz Bus again yesterday on the way to Mooloolaba (how cool is that?) and guess who was there?? One of my Canadian friends... it was very weird, cuz we keep running into him, but he's cool, so it's ok. Anyways, on the way to Mooloolaba, we stopped at the Australia Zoo, home of the crocodile hunter!! Now, he was not there, but worry not, there were loads of excited guys in khaki outfits to keep everyone happy. It's a pretty cool zoo... we got to feed some kangaroos, pet koalas, hold snakes and see the world's oldest tortoise. We also saw the world's top ten deadliest snakes and if I learned one thing from my visit, it's that if I encounter a snake at any time during my stay in Australia, I should get really close and poke it with a stick. Oh, we also got to see a crocodile feeding session, which was cool, but scary...those things are vicious...and they crunch REALLY loud!!

Anywho, here in Mooloolaba there isn't muh to do other than swim in the pool or swim in the sea... not that that's bad. It's also bloody hot here... like 36 degrees today and it's only 10 o'clock in the mrning. Our room is tiny and our fan is crap, so sleeping is not really an option, but we're trying!!

Ok, well, I'm gonna get going now... it's too hot to stay at the same place for more than 10 minutes!!

Love you, Kiss you!

Steph :)

P.S. Ashley, no it hasn't happened... you are a sick girl....

So much sand...

Hi!!

Where to begin... well, let's try the beginning. I left the dream house on Tuesday, and am now at the Palace Backpackers in Brisbane where I met up with Sophie, my friend from the Oz Bus. We toured the city a little, and, big surprise, it's a city like all the others... with shops and food courts and such. Fantastic. Anyway, the point of this city talk is that (all you St-Georges guys will get this) everywhere I go, I expect to see Mme. Sewina lurking about. She told me she was going to be in Brisbane, so I kepp looking (down) to see if she's not about to walk into me...

But anyway, back to the topic at hand. Yesterday, Sophie, James and I went to Moreton Island, which is the third largest sand island in the world. It was very cool. We started the day out by sandboarding, which, as you may have guessed, is like snowboarding, but on sand. I was obviously to much of a chicken to try it (I've had bad snowboarding experiences), so I opted for the toboggan option, which seemd a whole lot safer. It was pretty exhilirating, if you could look beyond the sand that got all over your hair, mouth, eyes, nose, etc...

After that, we went on a 4WD tour of the island, which was pretty rough. Sand roads are not exactly optimal driving conditions, though I think I handled it better than most, cuz I'm used to driving on snow. We finally arrived at our destination, which was a prefectly pristine beach called Champagne Pool. It's called that because there are big rocks formations down the side, and when the ocean waves hit the rocks, the bubbles that come over look like Champagne Bubbles. It's absolutely breathtaking. We saw a few more beaches as well, then went to the lighthouse, from which we could look down on the ocean, and see the turtles swimming around. Not too shabby.

All in all, it was a pretty cool trip... except that I somehow managed to get a fairly splotchy tan on my back, which sucks... but hey, I can fix that.

Today was pretty uneventful. I had a job interview this morning, which went well, but I (along with my mom) have come to the conclusion that this is a pretty sketchy place (and she didn't even hear about the bar inside the office), so I'm going to have to turn that down. Too bad... This afternoon, I got lost in the city with Sophie and said goodbye to James, who got back on the Oz Bus... I'll see him again soon, I have no doubt.

Ok, I guess that's enough out of me!

Love you lots!

Steph :)

P.S. Kristina, I'm really sorry I missed your show... and I really hope you can get a tape of it for me... your clowning is certainly good for the soul!