shaun & charlies great escapade

The last few days in Tonga

2010-07-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

So spent a lot of money on stuff! it was all really nice and wow have to say i do love Tonga!

if i was to come back i would go to a few of the other islands and make more of it but i only had a week and not much incentive to explore to the extreme! had such a good time so no regrets!

the flight to LA via Samoa was ok. first leg i was sat next to a massive bloke so that was not the most comfortable thing ever but hey it was only just over an hour!
wandered around the departures lounge which was no bigger than Tonga's and yet again we got off the plane onto the tarmac! fun!!!!
LA airport was a nightmare! was 2hours late to begin with so that didn't help my stress levels! went through customs and wondered around for a while looking for signs to get to the other plane! well ended up leaving the airport and starting from the beginning! hate LAX!
anyway found the plane i was meant to get on wondered around as it was very busy and i was in no rush to get on yet another plane!
so in what is basically business class thanks to my wonderful mother! it was so so nice! best flight i have ever been on! got a little goodie bag with some kick ass headphones, ear plugs, eye mask, lip stuff, info and other stuff!
the food was so nice and the drinks never stopped until i fell asleep! oh and the leg room was immense!

cant explain how happy i was flying over London looking at all the sights! landing to bright sunshine was just icing on the cake!

baggage claim was not as fun! mine took so long i was getting worried! bags left in LA things like that but finally they came! found my mum, dad and bro so that was so so nice!

had such a good time traveling but so so nice to be back now!

all my love charlie xxxxxxxxx

2010-06-19T23:21:00.000-07:00

The dinner party was really good! dinner was a buffet style with the plates made from banana trees! they were amazing! all sorts of fish, chicken and a massive pig being carved up! it was brill! the food was amazing but the seaweed was not so great! yup still not a fan for seaweed pity Sammy wasnt there to eat it up! the dancing was really good as well! the girls were so beautiful and the guys... wow!
no it was really good! money well spent!

yesterday went back to the market and bought yet more stuff! asked one of the places to do some carving on a few things i bought so im collecting that on Tuesday morning so that will be wicked to see! everyone is so nice if you stop and say hello!

today went to church which everyone does here in Tonga which was really cool! didnt understand a word being said but it was really nice just sitting and listening to the singing! they have such amazing voices!
then we walked to the wharf to get on this tiny little boat to an island! we were a little worried by the clouds as it was meant to rain the last few days but has so far help off but all was well and the sun was out all day! swam around the big ship wreck and walked all around the island which took all of 20mins! not a very big place but it was really nice!

not really sure what im going to do tomorrow! prob head into town and get some lunch! they have some really nice places for food here!

lots of love charlie xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tonga Market

2010-06-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

went yesterday into the town which is the capital of Tonga! well Timsbury is bigger and that no lie! most of it got burnt to the ground in 2006 due to riots so they are very slowly building it back up but still its really no big!
the market how ever is amazing! its the only place you can get fresh veg and fruit! well unless you buy it from people at the side of the road.
so the market.... the bit at the front is full of arts and crafts and pretty things and then the bit at the back and sides are full of fresh fruit and veg! its amazing! and everyone is so nice unlike a lot of markets i have been to! they dont hassle you in the slightest! was really good fun! im going back tomorrow because its meant to be much much bigger on a Saturday!
to night we are going to a dinner in a cave right on the beach! we have a traditional meal then watch a show! should be amazing! i saw the cave in the day light when they were setting up for the one on Wednesday but it was full so we have to wait for tonight but never mind!
we are also going on a day trip on Sunday to one of the other island so that will be nice! think it is a small island with one resort on it but you can walk around it in 20mins but the beach is meant to be amazing and the snorkeling brill!
not really sure the plans for Monday or Tuesday but im pretty sure that Tuesday will be taken up by last min shopping and trying to pack everything into my two bags!

lots of love charlie xxxxxxxxxx

last stop Tonga!

2010-06-16T00:19:00.000-07:00

so last few days in New Zealand were pretty easy going! sorted out the bank and watched tv was really really nice!

flights were good and fairly fast so that was also good!

so arrived in Tonga late last night so didnt really get to see much but the airport is something else! rather like a bus stop but the buses happen to fly! lol

so landed and got off onto the runway which was nice and had a short walk into the building. then stood waiting for ages to go through passport control but was nice and warm so didnt really mind!

got to the hostel which is really nice but up a bumpy track/road if you could call it that! slept well apart from being woken up by dogs at random points in the night!

so today went on a tour of the island which was really really nice! got to see the massive blow holes and the landscape! the only bad point which really put a huge dampener on everything was watching this stupid guy from OZ climb around a blow hole and fall in...... didnt end well for him! there was nothing anyone can do when you fall in. you either come out the top or the bottom. he come out 5 mins or so later into the sea. was so horrible! have never seen anything like that. really really horrible! respect the sea and dont go sniffing around blow holes! that is what i have learnt!

tomorrow im going to go into town and then prob to the beach. the weather is really really nice! hot and sunny! well not to hot but really nice!

lots of love charlie xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lake Tekapo

2010-06-11T22:24:00.000-07:00

so left Queenstown on Friday morning after spending the day with Charlotte and then the night with her a Rhod which was really nice! we went for a tea pot and then watched a bunch of girls dancing on the bar! was eventful to say the least!
so the drive wasnt to bad so that was nice!
the city didnt really get explored all that much as i was on a come down after Qtown and was tired so i just chilled out with my book so i was pleased with that!

so fairly early start this morning had to be on the bus by 8am so was pretty easy really! had the dorm all to myself so that was mega mega nice!
Lake Tekapo is beautiful to say the least! the only prob is that it is so bloody freezing! there is snow on the ground and more to come tonight! they are putting the snow chains on the bus to make sure we can get out! ahhhhhh no its amazing! staying at lake front lodge and it is right on the lake front! i look out the window and oo look its a lake! they have been busy outside building a snow man! i being very sensible have put my bottle of wine in the snow outside to chill! genius if i do say so myself! well who wants warm wine anyway?!?!?

so Christchurch in the morning! woohoo my last bus stop in NZ! yes i fly out on Tuesday! cant wait to be in a warm place again! have very very much enjoyed NZ think it is the best place so far!

love charlie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

last part in Qtown

2010-06-09T15:22:00.000-07:00

so went skiing! was so amazing! fell over a few times but hey who cares i had such a wicked time! me started off on the easy slopes and then went on the int slopes and wow! im a little stiff today but o so worth it!

so josh went off today to catch his plane up to Auckland to fly out tomorrow! lucky him!

not got much planned for today but im off tomorrow! have to be on the bus at 7.45am so another early start but it means i can sleep on the bus!

Nevis Arc part 2

2010-06-07T22:24:00.001-07:00

so i am still alive and buzzing! it was amazing! went up the wrong way and everything! was like getting two for the price of 1! was like a bungy at the start and a swing at the end!
70M fall/swing! wow wow wow!

got a goodie bag with a hat in! im so pleased with myself!

didnt buy the video/photos as camera man Josh was standing by!

still alive charlie xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

NEVIS ARC

2010-06-07T18:24:00.000-07:00

ok so i am crazy!

have booked the dam thing! leave in 1 hour and i am really rather scared!

josh wont jump but he says he will come with me! man its not good! will write again later to say if i have survived!

well i better had as i have paid for the snow tomorrow!

lots of love charlie xxxxxxx

Milford Sound

2010-06-07T18:19:00.000-07:00

well what can i say....... nothing that will do it justice! no really it was out of this world!
the mountains all with snow covered peeks, the water so blue/black it was amazing! the only downer was it was cloudy! other than that it was amazing! cold but amazing!

so early start and a bit of a muck up with the rooms so we had to change and bla bla bla had to put the bags in storage and stuff so that was annoying but ok. so on the bus at 7.45am and back at 7.45pm so a long old day! 300k there and 300k back with a boat trip in the middle and a floating thing that you go in and under the water 10m so you can see all the fish and coral! it was wicked! took millions of pictures! well at least 200!

Queenstown part 2

2010-06-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

went to Arrow town today via the bungee jump (which i didnt do) and a winery which i did buy a bottle! was very nice! dont think i will be able to get nasty cheap bottles anymore! oh well it was always going to come to an end!

so Arrow town..... lord of the rings filmed there, big gold mining village and thats about it! no it was a pretty place but it was raining so was a bit soggy and thast never good!

so Milford sounds in the morning! getting the bus at 7.45am and off we go on the day tour! go on a boat and get given lunch! what nice people! well for the amount the ticket costs am glad they do give you lunch! nope it should be good and will be lots of snow due to the rain today so that will be pretty!

plan for Tuesday is ski-ing and prob for Wednesday as well! lots of snow up on the mountains so all is good!

not long left in New Zealand now! just over a week! it has gone pretty quick really but has been really good fun so far! have booked my bus out of Queenstown for Friday morning so thats lucky!

hope all is well and that it is warmer than here!

lots of love charlie xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Queenstown!

2010-06-04T22:25:00.000-07:00

well got in on the bus last night about 6pm and went out for a few drinks and some food!

woke up early today and had a look out the window to see bright pink skys and a huge lake and snow covered mountain! have to say the best view i have ever had!
found out the snow fields were open and got very over excited! went out and spent some money on some trousers to keep my legs warm...... well i needed them!

so went and found Charlotte and watched sex and the city! was amazing! then wandered around having a very good chat found some lunch and its now 5pm and im still full! its hard to do you know! my plans for tonight..... well dont really have one but we are going on a bus trip like a couple of oldies in the morning! ment to be on a big red double decker! but it may be broken so may get a boring one! that will be sad!

monday milford sound then tue, wed and prob thurs SKI-ING! BRING IT ON!

lots of love charlie xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Franz Josef!

2010-06-02T22:15:00.000-07:00

wow look at me go writing every day for the last few days! im doing pretty well!
it will stop now im sure as the next stop is Queenstown and im there for a week so will probable wait until i leave to fill you in!

so Franz Josef glacier was AMAZING! no it really was! i know i keep saying it but wow i have never done anything like it in my life! did the half day climb up the glacier and wow the views are stunning! so tired now so im sure i will sleep well tonight! leaving early in the morning again so that sucks! have to be on the bus for 7.30 so not all that early but still its so cold here in the mornings! when the sun gets up and going its not to bad but man before hand its bloody chilly!

my plans now are to wait for my washing to finish and then put it all in the dryer get some food, read my book a little and get an early night! im just that cool!

hope all is well
lots of love
Charlie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Greymouth

2010-06-02T02:55:00.000-07:00

Train was so amazing! bloody cols but it was so good! the first half was under cloud but made it look really cool! went through the big long tunnel 5miles or so and come out the other side and it was bright sunshine! was so good! such beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers, forests so on and so on!

went to the beer tasting thing and seeing as i really dont like beer and never drink it i drank rather a lot of the nasty stuff! the apple cider was good and the lemon and lime one was drinkable! Ryan and Rose kept taking my glass up! think they thought it was funny! Ryan is from Chicago and Rose Korea so im doing well!

so off to Franz Josef in the morning! 8am start so thats pretty good and the hostel im staying at even give you breakfast! good morning to look forward to!

im off to have a BATH! so excited! first bath in 7 months! even got a proper towel and everything! if i wasnt so excited about Queenstown and if the town was more exciting i would stay here longer!

lots of love charlie xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Christchurch

2010-06-01T00:56:00.000-07:00

So a long day starting at 7am and just got to the hostel now at 8pm! so got the ferry to Picton the the train pretty much straight away to Christchurch! i did have time for a subway in the middle so that was lucky! best thing of all the sub of the day was meatballs!
the weather was pretty naff but was beautiful all the same! getting to see the mountains on one side and the Pacific ocean on the other! the waves were huge!

best thing of all im staying at the jail house! yes a really jail house! well it was many years ago! they have pretty much left it how it was but have painted it and added some better beds and sofas and stuff and you can open the doors from the inside! a bonus i think! they have left 1 room with all the stuff in it which is really cool! have take some photos so you can see them when i get back as i have no way of putting them online at the moment!

so off to Graymouth in the morning on another train! should be fun! going through the mountains this time! cant wait but its another early start! have to be outside for 7.45 so not as bad as this morning!

charlie xxxxxxxxxx

Wellington!

2010-05-30T19:47:00.000-07:00

so arrived in the big city! well its not huge but hey its only the capital of New Zealand!

my plans are very simple.
1: buy a new pair of jeans as mine are falling to bits and have a huge rips in the legs! not good for the south island!
2: go to the museum
3: go to sleep so im all good to get on the ferry in the morning!

i think i should be able to complete my list!

love charlie xxxxxxxxxx

Taupo!

2010-05-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

so having such a wicked time with Becca, Wayne, Sam and Billie! they are so good to me letting me stay!

so what did i do my first day.... went for a walk around town, had a coffee at one of the million of cafes, send my grandma a post card and went for a walk along the lake! well not all the way around the lake but a small part of it! its bigger than Singapore did you know!

next day i went to watch a rugby match! i tell you the under 9's are crazy! then went a lugged around so branches and went to the pet shop to look at the puppies!

today we went on a walk to Huka falls and had some coffee at this really nice cafe/art studio. was a really good day!

getting ready to pack my bag and get everything sorted out to go off to wellington in the morning! have to be at the bus stop for 8.30am! Becca is going to drop me off on her way to work so thats really kind of her!

its very cold but sunny today so that was nice as the last few days it has been cloudy and rainy!

all the best
love charlie xxxxxxxxxx

black water rafting today!

2010-05-27T00:47:00.000-07:00

yes i went into the caves!

had many flashes back to "the decent"! was rather worried!
it was so so much fun! saw some amazing glow worms and got so wet and cold but it was all worth it!

went 300ft below the ground into a network of caves with a rubber ring! no lie a inner tube! was all kitted out with a wet suit and very nice white wellies but still got bloody cold!

was like nothing i have ever ever done in my life! was such a amazing thing to see! can hardly describe what it was like other than WOW you have to see for yourself! bought the pics and they kinda show you what we saw but man they def dont do it justice!

having a brill time! im staying in Taupo for the next few days and im very lucky that a friend of mu mummys has aloud me to spend a few nights with them! sleeping in a double bed all to myself is wow! cant even begin to thank them! they are ever so nice and the children Billie and Sam are wickedly funny!

so tomorrow im off to explore! hope i dont get to lost!

all my love charlie xxxxxxxx

white water rafting!

2010-05-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

well what can i say i had an awesome day! and thats putting it lightly!

it was wicked went down a 13k river in a massive dingy with a paddle wow!

so the river has rapids, waterfall (only 3m) so not all that big! it is a grade 3-4 river but as we have had so much rain it was pretty much grade 4!

if you have seen without a paddle then you will have seen this river!

at one point we got out onto the river bank so we could slide back in! the drop looks nothing but man it was steep! was a 4m drop and was sheer! wicked!

had so so much fun!

off on the bus tomorrow! ahhhhhh its so cool!

so no worries im still alive mum!

charlie xxxxxxxxx

2010-05-24T17:42:00.000-07:00

got to subway at 2ish and the bus wasnt going to leave before 4 so had a nice lunch and sat myself down to read my book!
got on the bus and we were off! had a nice chat with the driver of the bus just talking about what i was going to do and what i should def see and all things like that so i was feeling pretty good!
about 2 hours into the journey a random bloke got on and sat next to me! was not all that happy but hey the bus was filling up so couldnt really complain! sat with my ipod on! all was going well until he asked me if he could drink his beer on the bus?!?! well i didnt know so said dont see why not! then he never shut up! think he was high or something as he kept asking me the same things. i got off the bus in Auckland and ran so he couldnt fallow me! crazy man!

so got to the hotel and sorted myself out! was going to go out to bugger king but i fell asleep! woops!

so next morning got up and sorted and left to head down the road to the fat camel to catch the bus! got talking to a girl from Canada and she said the magic bus had already left! panic panic panic! i couldnt have missed it! it was only 7.45 and the bus wasnt leaving till 7.55! few it was the bus going north!
when the correct bus did arrive it was pretty much empty! 11 of us! yay! nice driver and pretty much everyone was alone! wicked!

saw the big L&P bottle, the hobits house thingy so on and so on!

in the afternoon when we arrived we went ZORBING! was so so much fun! big hamster like all with water in rolling down a hill! i went for the zigzag one! bouncing all over the place! water went up my nose and everything! was brill!

so today being tuesday we were going to be white water rafting but a tree has fallen in the bloody river so hopefully we can go tomorrow otherwise i will have to do it elsewhere but it will be more expensive!

so my plans now...... get into the swimming pool which is at 39'c! heated by the ground! its brill!

lots of love charlie xxxxxx

ready steady go.....

2010-05-18T23:25:00.000-07:00

so im off on Sunday!!!!!!!

yes i leave the wonderful Kerikeri for good! sad and excited all mixed into one! leaving all on my own.... umm im getting braver about it but im sure come Sunday afternoon my poor nails will be no longer!
so Sunday night i stay in Auckland and Monday morning get on the magic bus at 7.55am to head off into the unknown! well Rotorua so not all that unknown! stay their 3 nights as have rather a lot to do! white water rafting is top of that list and not to far down is the spa! bring on the mud!

no im feeling much better now i have sorted everything out! all buses are booked all flights are changed all i have to do now is to sort out where im going to sleep! pretty important as it is bloody freezing here! last night was a clear sky and with thin windows and no heating it gets rather chilly in a big room with only 2 other people for warmth!

shaun remains in Kerikeri in the hope he will have some more work but its looking a bit unsettled! his snow job starts mid June so he wont have to worry for much longer!

will update soon when i start the big journey!

lots of love charlie xxxxxxx

2010-05-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

so for all those with facebook this will be old news!

shaun has his job for the snow! yes yes we are all very pleased for him! so he is getting very over excited about that!
he still is yet to pay his speeding fine! silly boy but hey it only doubles after 28days! who cares!

umm more news.... not a lot really its getting colder and colder but the day and my tan is now nonexistent! thats sad! i was so pleased with myself! hope to get some back in Tonga! have bought a new bikini and the lovely bravissimo sent it all the way to New Zealand for me! big smiles from me!

hope to go to one of the hot springs here on monday so that will be cool if it happens but i may b working when the bus goes! will be very annoyed if thats the case!

other news....... vince and josh are here thats about it!
going to try and watch iron man 2 this week and also to eat less Mc donalds!

lots of love charlie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

2010-04-30T14:40:00.000-07:00

so i still have a job! woopie!
yep im safe for now!
so shauns interview went ok! he drove all the way to Taupo and didnt get lost! big hand for him!
interview was in a group so he is not liking his chances but im sure it will be ok!

vince and josh were a bad influence as usual and got him drunk! well im sure he didnt need much persuasion!

now for the good bit! on the way back up to the wonderful Kerikeri mr shaun farrow got caught speeding! shock shock horror horror never done that before! he is saying its because he drove 1360K in 2 days and was only going 14K over the 100 limit!

so its raining today so the lads are not picking and im not working as we dont have much fruit in stock so we had 2 days off! really good! definitely needed it!

anyho hope all is well

charlie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

long time no write.....

2010-04-21T04:05:00.000-07:00

not a lot to report! shaun has been fishing and has caught pretty much nothing! well nothing huge! but have had some tasty dishes that other people have caught and cooked! thanks Rod!

been working so much its crazy! iv been doing over time this weeks so thats 8am to 8.30pm! and shaun has been chilling out picking from 9.30ish to about 5.30ish! all dependent on the weather! what it is to be a girl!

shaun is heading south in a few days to go to an interview for a snow season! life attendant or something along those lines! he is very pleased about it and now has to figure a way to get down there! we are thinking car but he will have to get there and back all on his own! umm that will be tricky! :)

erm not much else! got a day off on sunday as it is a bank holiday! going to the farmers market! get lots of cheep food! 9 massive corn on the cobs for 5 bucks! cant go far wrong with that now can you!

mucho loveo charlie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

2010-04-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

went shopping today!

was really nice to spend some money and time on me! shaun went to work with the lads picking so me and charlotte hit the shops! left at 8.30am and just got back at 3.15pm! woop woop walked bloody miles! saw a pretty waterfall so was good and had a subway which was even better! bought some food and lots of new clothes! think i have doubled what i have!

moving rooms tomorrow so we have a room all by ourselves! will be nice not to have people everywhere! getting sick of dorms!

not a lot to report on the job front still going and still boring! did two days of repacking which is basically unpacking all the boxes making sure all the fruit is good and packing them back up!

everyones really nice and shaun keeps going fishing so he is a happy chappie!

charlie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

not a lot has happened

2010-04-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

so we have been working as much as we can! thats about it really! shaun goes fishing when rod is heading out but other than that not much to report! everyone here is really nice as the guy who was horrible got kicked out much helped by me and charlotte! we are so good! no dont feel sorry for him! he was nasty well just not nice and he had unset lots of people! thats about all that has really happened! well i went to the shop yesterday to get some coke to go with my rum i bought in OZ but they wouldnt let me buy coke as it was easter and had to get pepsi! crazy crazy crazy! didnt end up drinking it went to bed with a mag while shaun played on his computer with ash and others! dont think they will ever give up! they only stop when they need a beer! not all that healthy really!
ooo went to the cinema again to watch the clash of the titans! was ok not sure if i will buy it but was good to do something! might go again this week!

happy easter! dont eat to much choc! im off to get some food!

love charlie xxxxxxxxxxxxx

the job continues.......

2010-04-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

the days have been dry so shaun and his friends have hit the orchards to pick the kiwis! he says its boring and has to bend down all the time but other than that he has it easy! well i think he has it easy!
me and charlotte and been in the packing house grading the fruit before it gets packed and shipped off to far away places like Taiwan! so my job is to pick out any damaged, misshapen any with big blemishes basically anything that defaces it or that might cause it to go bad while in transit! ooo a useless piece of info for you... did you know that if you wear strong perfume it will cause the fruit to ripen? true it does!
i have the best outfit in the world! a apron and a very fetching hairnet and a pair of gloves! yep i look amazing!

the good thing is we get biscuit in the brake times! and toast in the morning! they are pretty nice people! my supervisor is wicked! shes really nice but he main boss man scares the living day lights out of me! he had no facial expressions and looks mad all the time so i try to stay clear of him!

so day off today it being good friday! the time has gone really fast! so my plans for today.... do washing maybe walk to the waterfall not really sure. its only 10am!

have a good easter!

love charlie and shaun

I have a job

2010-03-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

this morning i got up at 7am to be on the bus to work at 7.40! shaun stayed behind as he is a man and is not aloud to work in the packing part of the kiwi world as his brain doesnt work right for checking fruit! true thats what we were told! he was not happy!
so got off the bus and filled out the paper work and listened to things to do and not to do like walk out in front of tractors and lorry's! well thats something i have never thought of!
well im not in the packing house im a picker so shaun could have come! hee hee but as it was raining we couldnt pick because kiwis have to be dry to pick otherwise the world implodes! true! lol
have sorted my IRD number now so tax will not be a problem now! few weight off my mind!
now have the rest of the day to fill with not a lot!

have fun!
charlie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kerikeri

2010-03-27T22:05:00.000-07:00

tis really pretty! yep I say that alot! but honestly it really is!
woke up today to some very noisy people leaving our house! well its not a house but its the best room we have stayed in so far! table and chairs and a fridge and a kettle! and only 4 beds! its the first time in nearly 5 months that I have unpacked stuff and placed my big bag under the bed and forgotten about it! only thing thats wrong is the bathroom is a little walk across the car park.... cant have everything! after all it is only $115 per week!

this morning after the rude awakening we got up and walked across the school field to the farmers market and fair ground! was wicked! the first thing we bought was a raffle ticket to win a meat pack! o yes a pack full of meat! but sadly we didnt win :( Shauns spirits were then raised when he found a fishing weight that is shaped like a fish! hard to come back down from that sort of high!
so we went off in search of food.... bought 9 corn on the cobs for $5 massive ones and everything, capsicums (peppers) and carrots! all local and organic! we were pretty pleased with our little haul but didnt think it would suffice so new world was next on the list! some money later we were heading back to the hostel to put stuff in the fridge! our own fridge! didnt really need food but we wanted to make it our own! lol we did need food! Shaun is eating us out of house and home! impressive seeing as we have neither!

ok a little bad news. Shauns laptop had a run in with the sharp edge of Shauns speakers.... he blames me because i knocked it off but it was his stuff that did the damage.... dont think it will hold up in court though, so we are going to settle with me paying for a new screen!

so hopefully we will have jobs in the next few days! picking kiwis! dont worry not the people or the bird the fruit! just to make it clear people dont grow on trees! well bush type things.

lots of love

charlie and shaun
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

2010-03-24T20:45:00.000-07:00

Cape Reinga was beautiful!

got up early to be on the bus at 7.10am! so caught up on some sleep on the first leg of the journey! our first stop was to look at some massive trees! Koari trees! yep they were big and had funny looking bark other than that they were trees.

we then stopped at a bakery to get breakfast and to get our lunch as it was the last shops for miles! well the last shop we were stopping at anyway. shaun got his usual things of cream cakes and anything that was full of sugar so he was geared for the day!

after that we went for a drive down Ninety Mile Beach well more like 96k but hey who's counting?!?!?! was a lot like fraser island in places but it was nice. then came the sand boarding! climbed a massive sand dune and then went down it on a boggie board. that's the only way to describe it really!'i thought I was going to die climbing up! was good fun and def worth it!'

we then had lunch at a pretty beach! the lads all grabbed a board and hit the waves! i lay in the sun on the grass and very much enjoyed my pizza bread!

another walk to a lighthouse that is very important to the Maori people. it is the place that their souls travel to before they leave the land! very deep!

our last two stops of the day was a wood work place where they sell stuff from the massive koari trees and a fish and chip shop! the shop was good and hugely expensive but the fish and chips were very nice indeed!

so that was the end of our day trip up to the very north of the north island of NZ!

that night back at the hostel we got talked into going hunting for muscles! didn't do to badly and found some huge ones! took them back and cooked and ate them! well didn't eat all of them as we had so many so we put the back into the sea for another day! what good people we are!

we headed back to Auckland and decided we wanted to go to the cinema! haven't been to one since Singapore! long time for me! watched Avatar in the IMAX! wow what a big screen! biggest I've ever seen. good film as well!

so finally today we got up posted some stuff home, tried to get a tax code but as i have no drivers licence i cant get one for a while! grr then off to the bank to open an account but they didn't have any time so that was a bum as well! so basically the day is sort of over and we have been guaranteed a fruit picking job up north so im thinking i will head up on saturday or sunday but shaun want to see if he can get something better but im pretty happy with the kiwi pickings!

we will see

much love

charlie and shaun

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bay Of Islands

2010-03-21T21:40:00.000-07:00

i got my nice long sleep! was amazing!

today we boarded the kiwi experience bus and headed north! got in around 12.30 and bought tickets to go dolphin watching! was brill! we were going to swim with them but they had babies so we couldnt. :( never mind it was good!
we also stopped at an island and shaun went for a walk but i was sleepy so i sat on a bench and watched the sea and the birds! was good
shaun had a nice time on his walk with his new friends!

we are now waiting for our BBQ and man im starving! staying in a nice hostel and debating staying here and working but im not sure i really want to stay in a small town again. also the supermarket is miles away so ummmm that is a definite down side! cant live with out a supermarket! the little shops are so expensive! nothing compared with OZ but still money is gold!

in the morning we are going further north to Cape Reiga for a nice little day trip! not really sure what we are going to do but i do no that there is driving on the beach. not like Fraser island but we will be on a big bus with balloon tires! very wild! might get to see some wild horses but we will see.

lots of love
charlie and shaun
xxxxxxxxxxxxx

we have arrived in Nz

2010-03-19T23:53:00.000-07:00

Hello!

So our last few days in Australia were brill! Went up in to the rain forest to a little village called Kuranda! So we stayed in a resort but nothing swanky as we stayed in the backpacker’s accommodation. It was crazy as it was full of bugs! Well what can you do? You’re in the middle of a rain forest! Saw the biggest moth every! It was as long as my arm! No lie we took a picture of it! And its body was as big as my thumb!

So 1^st day we walked into town after checking in and sorting ourselves out. After finding some food we walked 5k to Barron falls! Was really pretty but man I was knackered! We were not looking forward to the walk back! We had walked prob about 1k when we struck gold! Two really nice men offered us a lift back to the village! They gave us a little tour and dropped us by the post office! If I’d have had to walk I think my legs would have stopped working!

So day number 2 started well with a free breakfast! Woop woop we ate as much as was possible! We then headed into the village intent on getting the sky rail down the hill to the aboriginal place. The sky rail was broken and Shaun was sad so we headed for the bus stop in hope of a bus! We were in luck! Few as Shaun’s mood had darkened immensely! So we got their and had a really good time watching them and having a go at spear throwing and with the boomerangs!

Thankfully the sky rail was back in action by the time we wanted to leave! AMAZING views! We got off to do a forest walk and then found out we had lost the camera case! Ooops! It was left in the cable car! Don’t worry it came back up so all was not lost!

We ate at the resort and had the wedges! Ummm they were very good!

So we packed up for an early start to the airport!

Caught the bus and arrived in plenty of time! My bag weighs 21.2k!!! No wonder my back hurts! Shaun’s is 19. something, lucky devil!

The flight was a bit dull and the food didn’t come as often as we would have liked!

So we went through customs having the didg taken off to be examined and the tent was whisked away to be cleaned and hoovered!

We arrived at the hostel in Auckland to be told that we were booked into the one in Christchurch! Oooops! Such is life so we walked down the road to a nice place that had space! The first time we planned ahead and booked we muck it up! Won’t be doing that again!

So today what did we do........ Shaun found is microphone and I got a new sim card for NZ. We went food shopping and found some numbers to call about jobs! And we got the forms for the tax number! We are pretty pleased all in all with how the day went!

Now I’m looking forward to a really long sleep as last night a drunk Irish man in our dorm kept coming in and waking me up!

Hope all is well! Lots of love Charlie and Shaun xxxxxxxx

Great Barrier Reef

2010-03-16T01:11:00.000-07:00

wow wow wow!

it was an amazing day! it was so choppy and man we didnt feel to healthy after lunch but still we managed!

saw a turtle and a shark!!!! well the shark was me while snorkeling and shaun saw a eel!!! it was so brill!

did our 1st dive of the day with a guild so we got used to the feel of it and saw many nemos and millions of other fish! i held a sea cucumber and got a wicked pic with us by a clam! man o man it was amazing! well worth every penny we paid which was bloody cheap!!! the under water cage wasnt working due to the weather but hey thats for people who dont want to get wet! the wimps!!!!!

the 2nd dive of the day we sat out as shaun had issues with his old synosis and i didnt want to go without him! that when we hit the old snorkel system! the currant was so strong and waves kept going down the snorkel but i saw a shark so i was well chuffed! mr shaun just missed it was he needed to pee! that will teach him to learn to pee in the sea!!!

3rd dive we went alone! ahhh we were so brave! we were going to go with these two others but 1 had an issue with his tank so headed back up so me and shaun braved it alone!
got a wicked video of a sting ray and again millions of fish and really pretty coral!
23mins into it shaun got a nose bleed. he couldnt see it as it was in his mask and i couldnt tell him as we dont know the sign language for "nose bleed" so i made the decision to finish and head up! apparently it wasnt much to worry about but still better to be safe than sorry!

so off to Kuranda in the morning! havent decided if we are going to be boring and take the bus or head up on the sky rail! will decide when i know the prices!

happy st Patrick's day!!!

lots of love charlie and shaun

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cairns

2010-03-15T03:44:00.000-07:00

So we arived in Cairns and found our hostel! the bus driver forgot about us and we were the last to get off! :( wasnt as bad as we didnt have to walk so far!

the hostel isnt the best but its right on the water front! and got a night market next door with really cool looking stuff in it!
might go spending money later!

so so tomorrow off on the boat! we were warned to take some sea sickness tablets by a nice lady we talked to in a shop as its going to be very bumpy as its really windy! but us being us dont want to spend money on meds! we will see how much we regret it tomorrow!

kisses

xxxxxxxxxx

Last Day!

2010-03-13T15:43:00.000-08:00

so we are leaving tomorrow!

sad times! lol we have very much enjoyed ourselves! the people have been really nice and friendly!

the plans for today are so, Shaun is going down to the beach with the guys to kick some Canadians arse! lol they are gong for a run and he intends to win! well dont think he can beat Nick who was in the army and is built like a tank but he can keep up so that will do! but some guys challenged them so bring it on! i shall not be attending. have top work what a shame! man cant believe i missed out!!

so we leave here at 1.30 on the OZ experience bus for Cairns! our last bus journey! sad times!

so the plan for Cairns is so:

get in at 5pm and chill out and get some food! not sure where we are going to stay yet but will book something later!
then on the 16 we are going diving!!! woop woop!!
17 mr Shauns Bday! so off into the rain forest to Kuranda. then we are heading to the aboriginal place to have a look around!
18 we are going to mill around in Kuranda to see whats going on and pack!
19 fly off to New Zealand! flight leaves at 10.30ish something like that so an early start will be had!

ummm what else...... o yeah happy Mothers Day!!!!!!!!!!!

lots of love Charlie and Shaun xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Still at Mission Beach!

2010-03-09T04:48:00.000-08:00

yep like i said still here and not a lot had happened!

well shaun had lost all of his hair! yep his new friend and partner in crime Joey shaved his head ASBO style! you would be proud of him! only prob now is he had to sun tan lotion his head! bless the English skin never gets any better!

ummm what else.... have been watching Family Guy, Inbetweeners and House! also millions of films! yep been filling our time well!

didnt get up till 12 today! changed shifts so i dont start till 2pm and i have nothing to do! but today i was given the task of scrubbing the roofs! well the over hang type thing! was given a hose and i long pole with a brush type thing on it! havent had so much fun in ages! im such a loser i know! i also managed to get shaun with the hose without realising! score!

its stake night at the pub across the road tomorrow night so we will be eating stake and chips tomorrow for a wicked $5!!!!! cant beat that!

i think my new word is wicked now! i say it alot!

so we are off to Cairns on Monday the 15! go to a croc farm on the way which should be wicked! lol

miss you all loads!

lots of love charlie xxxxxxx
(off to watch yet another film!)

Mission Beach

2010-03-01T20:56:00.000-08:00

so we were only going to stay 1 night and now we are here for 2 weeks!

not a lot to do around here but that means we spend no money so that good!
we are working 3 hours a day for our bed and free internet so mr shaun is happy about that! he is cleaning the kitchen and the bathrooms and im making beds at the moment then i think my im changing to general tidying up when laura leaves on sunday! so all is good on that front!!!!!

we are chilling out until the 15march then off to cairns for the last few days before we fly out to New Zealand on the 19!!!! woop woop

so we completed out diving course and now have 6 dives in our log books so we are well chuffed with that! as it rained loads the visibility wasnt all that great but we saw loads of rays and millions of fish! on our last dive shaun decided to stop me to show me a fish and we lost our guide so thats wasnt all that great but we found her again so that was lucky!

not a lot to report really and prob not a lot for the next 2 weeks other than cleaning and not really doing much!
the heat is mad and as we are in the rain forest the bugs are huge and plentiful! so bites are coming thick and fast! but its really beautiful so all worth it!

hope all is well and the snow has stopped!

love charlie xxxxxxx

charlie blogs it up

2010-02-27T00:21:00.000-08:00

Hello children!

so so our 1st day of our underwater dive course has gone well!

it is just the two of us so thats really nice! we did our home
work last night like good little children! we have more for
tonight so thats not so much fun!

the day started at 11am so we were looking forward to having a
lyin but alas the people in our dorm decided that they were
getting up at 5.30! damn chinese i never liked them! then fell
back to sleep and more alarms went off at 7.30! so i wasnt in
the best of moods!

anyho i cheered up when i had to listen to all the really boring
bits to do with diving! lol
na it was good and we got to watch dvds for the most part!
after lunch we went in the pool to do a few skills!
after bumping into swimmers we found our buoyancylevels and
kicked arse! no we managed the simple clearing of the masks,
finding the regulator, clearing the regulator, removing the
weight belt and the BC! the instrutor made it look so easy but
me and shaun floated away rather alot! still we were very proud
of ourselfs! as shaun likes to say go team shaun!

so we now have to sit down and "read" two more chapters of the
book we cheated last night and just found the answers to the
questions! its ok as they go through it in the videos and we
discuss the answer!

so thats our ssi dive course! freyr and mark have flown the
nest and have ventured off on their own! we may meet with them
in cairns or NZ but we are not sure what we are going to do so
we will see!

uploaded some of the best underwater pics onto shauns facebook. well impressed with the case!

ok so wrote this a couple of days ago and have a few updates on the dive status! shaun passed his theory with a wicked 100% and i passed only a little behind with 96%! woohoo!
had our 1st ocean dives today! saw a massive cod and a cray fish! like massive!!!!!

we finish tomorrow with a further 4 dives! woop woop!

lots of love charlie and shaun! xxxxxxxxxzx

Whitsundays!!!!!!

2010-02-22T16:46:00.000-08:00

so we got into the town of Airlie Beach late on thursday eve after a long 11hour bus journey! very long time to be on a bus!

ooo the town before was Kroombit! so much fun! rounded up a load of goats on horse back! then did a bit of shooting and then did a goat rodeo! fun fun fun! had a wicked time! then in the eve we learnt how to crack a proper cowboy whip and rode a mechanical bull! best night so far i have to say! i would have happily stayed forever!

so left early in the morning after beans on toast! my trip couldnt have been better!

so Airlie beach is a little town not much going on and they dont really have much of a beach so they have built this lagoon! but it is locally known as the sagoon! its just a pretty swimming pool type thing really!
so on friday me and shaun went for our dive medicals! shaun passed with flying colours while i had to go and have a chest xray to see if my illness 3years ago had left scar tissue and if so i would NEVER be able to dive because i could end up with a big hole in my lungs! so after a few hours of panic and me feeling sick i got the ok to dive! woop woop!

the big day for our sailing trip was finally upon us so we set off at 3pm for the marina!
got aboard and settled into our beds! talk about coffins! na it was snug to say the least!
so first night we pretty much got to know each other and chilled out and tried not to chuck up! lol

next day we rose early and headed to whitehaven beach! 3rd bestest beach in the world and wow it was beautiful! went swimming in our stinger suits otherwise we could have DIED! lol yep the jellyfish are that evil!
we then got back aboard and had lunch and headed off to another site to snorkel and dive! we didnt dive but freyr and mark did! the snorkeling was amazing! took millions of pics! the underwater camera case was the best thing we have bought so far!

next day we headed for another site! me and shaun jumped off the boat into the water instead of taking the little boat to sure! we were in the water and looking around thinking the water was full of stuff when we realised it was millions and millions of jellyfish! dont worry we were in our stinger suits! they were no bigger than my little finger nail! we got stung so many times on the face, hands, feet and everywhere they could reach! they dont do any damage but man they hurt!
saw so many fish again! took some film this time as we only had 13mins left on the battery!

we had a wicked time! the only downside was we STANK!

so we are chilling out in Airlie Beach until first thing tomorrow then we are off to Townsville! there me and shaun learn to dive!!!!!!!!!!! so excited!

ooooo just to say that clumsy shaun has struck again! lol he fell out of bed! no it gets better! he was in the top bunk! he lent against the rails and it gave way!!

never laughed so much in my life! dont worry he wasnt injured!

love charlie and shaun!

the town of 1770!

2010-02-15T14:43:00.000-08:00

so in a little town again! na its really nice but not much to do!
the hostel we are staying in is really good fun! got a little hut and we are with on e other guy called mike! we are helping him with his english! well not so much me but mark shaun and freyr are!
the only prob with this hostel is it is set in massive grounds with lots of trees and wildlife! being eaten by bugs! look like a dot to dot!

so we went surfing yesterday! $17 for 3hour lesson! cant go far wrong with that! stood up pretty much every time! not very well but i got up!
shaun got stung by a blue bottle jellyfish and got sent to get a ice pack! it was only on his thumb but the sting then traveled up his arm! not a happy bunny! also touched his lip with the thing still attached to him! clumsy shaun! na it went away really quick but he wasnt happy!

not sure what we are going to do today. may got surfing again but prob not as it is sooooo tiring!

ummm off to Kroombit tomorrow! so excited! its a cattle ranch and we get to go on mechanical bulls and rope goats! the dont give us bulls as they are a little to big! may go for a ride but im not sure.

will put some pics up when the internet is better!

love xxxxxx

2010-02-12T20:10:00.000-08:00

so fraser island is made totally of sand! very pretty and lovely but it gets everywhere!

so went first to lake mckenzie! wow talk about picturesque! clear water like crystal clear! so spent the afternoon there and had a good laugh mucking around in the water and getting slightly browner! so excited about that!
that eve went were in a campsite fenced in so no dingos could bother us so that was nice and the bugs wernt all that bad either! still went through the spay at a rate of knots!
next day went to the shipwreck! had a little wander around and took millions of photos! also saw a HUGE jellyfish! wow it was HUGE!
then onto Indian head! meant to look like an Indians head but i hadn't drank enough clearly! onto champagne rocks and that was good fun! wont explain but will get shaun to put a pic on here!
after that went went to eli creek! was so bloody cold! the water never goes above 16'c! well it was nice but cold! saw a massive spider and had to take a pic!

so that night we were on the beach! the wind was mental the flys and bugs were in their thousands and the dingos gave a lovely early morning wake up howl! other than that a nice night untill shaun let a killer fly into the tent as i was still sleeping! o by the way i have let in a massive sand fly that if it bites you it will come up in a massive blister! yeah thanks for that!

so amazing time! i now hate sand and never want to go near the stuff ever again! no it was such a good laugh and we were with some really cool people!

kisses charlie and my killer fly! o and shaun says howdy!

2010-02-06T16:15:00.000-08:00

ok so Rainbow beach was a little town with about 10 shops! it was pretty and everyone was really friendly! our hostel was nice and a little loud but hey thats what you get from bars and everyone singing!

we didnt really do much but we did go to the beach and saw some really weird looking jelly fish! wow they had blue bits that went on for miles! well not miles but a good 3ft! and they are called blue stingers!

so what else did we do.... ate but mark will tell you all about that! slept! lots of sleeping as its soooo bloody hot!

we did do this walk that was rather odd but sooo worth doing! we had to climb up this mega steep hill that was made of sand! it was take one step forward and 3 back type thing! so so tired when we reached the top but the view.... wow it was AMAZING took loads of pics! had the camera on burst so like 200 pics later i was happy! the sand was weird! loads of different colours! will put some pics up cos you want believe me! not rainbow colours but still creams, yellows, browns and whites! AMAZING!

i do like my wows and amazings and prettys! but words just arent enough!

ooooo freyr burnt and shaun didnt for once! hes well chuffed! my didgeridoo is really pretty and safe in its sheet! shaun broke his boomerang! clumsy shaun! lucky it was him not anyone else!

ummmm so we are in Hervey bay now! off to Fraser island on tue i think! getting my days so muddled!

so so hope all is well and not to cold!

lots of love charlie xxxxxxx

2010-02-03T14:56:00.000-08:00

so they survived

came back in one piece and everything! woop woop but they did mone that they had "canoed" for 30k! ha that what i said! they were also eaten by bugs! mana i am so pleased i didnt do it! na they had a wicked time!

so went to the zoo! Australia zoo and everything! was so weird it was as if he didnt die cos he is everywhere! posters on tv screens! madness

was good! lots to see but not as big as Sydney zoo but it was still cool! lots of crocs but think that was always going to happen!

we went back to Emundi market and bought rather a lot! got a didgeridoo each! ahh was a silly idea but still they are soooooo pretty! will have to ship them home so i dont brake them! well mine will go home not to sure what shaun will do with his!

shaun had lamed himself again! he went to town alone and walked back and hurt his toe! yes his toe! was rather a mess but we patched him up and how he is walking around with duck tape around his big toe! yes he looks mega cool! he is fine but he will tell you otherwise im sure!

so we move on later today for rainbow beach! fun fun fun. will miss noosa! been here a week and its weird to move on! havent been to the beach all the time we have been here and it had been really nice to not be covered in sand all the time!

anyway hope you are all ok and enjoying your cold! we have rain here so thats sad!

love charlie xxxxxxx

ok a little catch up

2010-01-29T20:36:00.000-08:00

so we got in to Mooloolaba. sort of a small ish town but its got a fair amount going on. got into the only hostel in the town and spent 1 night. we then went to the campsite down the road thats pretty much on the beach! so after getting set up we headed for the beach! wow i think my body really hates camping! every time we head for the tent it gives me a cold/cough thing! so spent the next day flat on a bench in the kitchen area as it was to hot to be in the stupid tent! well it saved us money but i really dont think that its worth it!
the next day we went on a tour and had a nice walk in the rain forest, saw some amazing mountains and had a swim in a river by a really pretty waterfall! after we went to a beautiful little village and had a few little samples of amazing wine! all in all a really nice day out!

so now we move to Noosa
so everyone left first thing on friday leaving me all alone! had a really nice day chilling out on the beach and wondering around! then in the evening teamed up with the 3 bloke in my dorm for a little pool which i kicked arse (thank god)!
so today i got up and got on a bus all on my own and headed to Emundi market! got on a bus and everything! found a really lovely pendent and bought it as a reminder that im very brave when i want to be!

ooo something that rather funny..... so we havent really had any rain in the day since we left Sydney so they go off for the 3 day safari and the first eve they away it pisses down! not just pissed it down thats a little light but man i have never see rain like that before!
im very glad i didnt go! cant think of much worse than camping and then the mother of all storms on the first night!

so thats pretty much it. not as in depth as others but hey im to poor to spent hours on the internet!

hope all is well!

lots of love charlie xxxxxx

We are in Brisbane

2010-01-23T02:06:00.000-08:00

Got into brisbane today about 11ish, only here for one night but its quite nice. had a nap having gone to try and find a doctor for medical for our diving certificate. apparently doctors are lazy and only do them mon-fri.

thought would upload a few teasers of oz...

good times!

2010-01-18T23:38:00.000-08:00

um um um so to day we went to wet and wild world!! yep we are 10 again!!!
loads of water rides and everyone walking around in there swim wear!! or some just in pants and a t shirt!! madness!!
we bought a summer pass which works out soooo much cheaper even though we are only here for a couple more days!! we have cut Brisbane down to give us more time at the many theme parks here!!

so we got the summer pass which lets us go to two different parks we choose wet and wild and movie world! so exciting!! anyway so two parks unlimited access!! yep we are just that sad!!!
so for the next 3 days we are hitting up the parks!! going twice to each one!

we went to the beach yesterday afternoon about 3ish to have a little walk and it was in shadow!!! the whole beach pretty much! mad! skyscrapers everywhere!! never seen anything like it! shame really but it does mean i can lie on the beach all warm and not have to worry to much about burning to a crisp!

so we are moving onto Brisbane on the 23 for a night cos why not really then onto Mooloolaba!! ace name

kisses charlie and shaun

xxxxxxxx

and so we move again!!!

2010-01-17T19:23:00.000-08:00

left Byron Bay along with the others behind! yep me and mr shaun and his gammy leg have left freyr and mark in a campsite with a soggy tent!!!

Surfers Paradise is rather warm and got lots of tall buildings!!! prob sounds weird but in Byron no buildings go above tree level!!! madness and no mc donalds but thats no bad thing!!

anyho we have gone into queensland and have thus changed time!! so we now 10 hours ahead of you not 11!!
so we have got into the hostel and wondered around about to buy a load of fruit and veg as my waist line is beginning to expand thanks to the crap i keep eating!!!
think we are then going to hit the beach but we have been told the odd horror story from a couple of girls we met a few nights ago that the jelly fishes bite here!!!(sting really!!)

the boggy boards are free from our hostel so maybe i will take one of those to protect me!!

we prob going to move hostels tomorrow to one nearer town as we a little far to walk in the heat as we dont seem to be able to get our act together in the mornings but maybe that will change now that there is less of us to get organised :)

there loads of theme parks but they soooooooo expensive so think we will give them a miss

ooooooo and we got a pool so think i gonna play in that as well!!

anyho short and sweet just like me!!!! :)

love you all miss you loads

kisses charlie and gammy shaun

ahhhhh forgot to say how he got his new nick name i shall let him tell the tale but mine is so much better story!

me freyr and bendle tried to snorkel a ship wreck that is just off coast in byron bay. quite big waves so wasn't easy, little better for me as i have fins. freyr said to climb the mast coz people were doing it earlier and cool pic... i forgot i had fins on so they hindered my climbing and whilst hanging off the mast a big wave hit me slapping my leg against it!! thought it stung a bit but thought was k. got out blood over my leg :( :( just lots of scratches from barnacles but hands cut too :(. bled a considerable amount.

and in the morning we went to a quarry jumping from the cliff edges 18metres and no injuries!!!!! lots of adrenaline though!

charlie's birthday blog!!!!

2010-01-15T16:07:00.000-08:00

so got up at 5am!!!!!!!
it was worth it! watched the sun rise over the ocean at the lighthouse! wow the only down was that it was a bit cloudy!

we then got back to the hostel and has beans on toast for breakfast!!! yep im turning in to mark and talking about food!!!!

we then headed to Byron Bay dive center for 9am for our snorkeling trip! got kitted out with a wetsuit and a set of fins for me as we have the rest. the manager/owner not sure what he is but he is my fav person for the day! he offered me a free underwater cover for our camera but we already have on so he gave me a free t shirt!!!! its rather cool got the logo and stuff on it and a really pretty blue color!!!
so the snorkeling was sooooo much fun! saw turtles, sharks!!!!! and so many fish! we were in the water for 50mins and i loved every min of it! got a little cold at points but think it was because i was staying still for ages watching the fish!

so we wondered about and got some stuff for a bbq and some GOON! (fake wine) was a nice night!!

so now we have moved out of our nice comfy hostel and into the camp site with the others. we leave Byron bay on monday and we head for surfers paradise!!! fun fun fun

love u all kisses
xxxxx

Byron Bay

2010-01-13T23:18:00.000-08:00

so we got back on the bus after seeing the Big Banana was pretty big but some say not big enough but hey such is life i was happy!

so after a easy journey we got to surf camp!! spot x is its real name! it was mad!!! after rather a lot to drink some drunken fun we hit the sack for some much needed sleep!
so got woken up a 8 and headed for breakfast which was pretty good fry up! nice!!!
got all sun screened up and a talk on how and how not to be cool! lol yes that was our intro to surfing no joke!!
so we got given our boards and headed out for the beach
we spent a little time playing around on the beach getting some help on what to do and what not to do
went rather well if you ask me and i stood up like 6 times out of about 15 and only cocked it up twice! so proud of myself!!!!
lets just say surf camp is well cool!!!

we got to Byron and it is pricey to stay but really nice!!!
we took a nice bike ride up the the light house and saw some turtles in the water and dolphins!!! wow its sooooo amazing!!
today we got the surf boards back out and hit the water! i got in some good time chilling out on the water but was worried about getting in others way so wasnt so productive! such is life!!!

so my bday tomorrow the big 22!!!! so in honor of that we are getting up at 5am to get on a bus to watch the sunrise! then we getting on a boat and heading out to a island to snorkel with the turtles and dolphins!! fun fun fun!
well ill let you know tomorrow!!!

hope you enjoying the snow!!! i got heat stroke!
missing you all!!!

love charlie and shaun
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Coffs Harbour

2010-01-09T16:39:00.000-08:00

hello all, how's the snow?
so we have got ourselves some snorkelling gear, shaun bought fins as well to compensate for charlie being a stronger swimmer than him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The beach which is about 15seconds walk from our hotel/motel room door, has very large (>6') waves and a ridculous rip so not so swimmy there but good for fishing. Therefore we have to snorkel further along, there is a nice little bay which turns into a river further up which we did yeasterday and saw some cool stuff. Today we are going around a nature reserve which has coral reef so should be exciting. Shaun having never been snokelling before has just about got the jist of it and is no longer swallowing salt water!

so starting from the beginning we got off the bus and found it a little tricky to find somewhere to stay but we managed to find a motel. we had to share a 5 bed room with another couple inc freyr and mark so 6 people in 5 beds..... was warm! we decided to stay at our Hoey Moey for the remander of our time in Coffs Harbour as it is cheap and really close to the beach!
we postponed our PADI until we are closer to the reef we are thinking of Magnetic Islands for our big swim!
we are getting through our 1l sun screen like it is water! how is the snow working out for ya?

ok so have fun and will update as soon as pos!

mwah

leaving sydney

2010-01-03T23:19:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we leave sydney at 6.30am. off to coffs harbour, about a 10hr journey :( but on the upside within the week we should be starting our PADI scuba course... Visited the blue mountains yesterday and although the weather wasn't brilliant we did get some good pictures and saw some amazing views.

short and sweet got to go no internet.

xxx

2010-01-01T17:46:00.001-08:00

ok so lots have happened since we last wrote! feel rather guilty at keeping you in the dark!

we had a brief stop in Canberra. was nice but nothing special about it! saw the parliment building and got to walk around it so that was cool! shaun also bought a hat! very pleased with himself!
ok so Sydeny....

our first whole day was manly spent sorting out our bags and the lads sitting in mc donalds! no that was the morning in the afternoon we went to see the opera house, sydney harbour bridge and the botanical gardens! very pretty and got a few good pics! we then went to a slightly dodgy place for dinner as it was free thanks to oz experience! was ok food and an all you can eat salad bar so cant complain!
me and shaun then got on the ferry to Manly as we didnt have a bed for the night! spent the night sleeping on the beach which was really nice but the sky was clear so with a good view of the stars came cold! got woken up at 5am by a tractor raking the sand!
we foung freyr and mark back on mainland and went on a few fery trips for the sake of it as we have a pass! went to the museum in darling harbour and saw some really cool boats and a submarine but no one wanted to go on them so i had to pass! dam losers not wanting to part with their money!
another night spent on the beach but this night freyr ans mark shared our fate!
new years eve:
went to the zoo but shaun being tight pocketed as he is refused to come so we lift him on manly!
zoo was cool! loads of animals in someway better than Singapore but in others not as good!

we spent the night on the beach where the zoo is as the garden we were going to be was full to the brim and the beach has such a good view of the bridge and opera house it was hard to resist!
it was fab! the 9pm display was good and lasted about 10 mins then the midnight was.... no words! shaun did a video so we will post it somewhere at some point! there wont be a better display!
new years day was spent on Bondi beach! shaun decided he knew best and fell asleep on the beach without sun tan lotion on! well he looks silly! with a line of white across his belly where his arms were folded! again pics will follow!

so that has pretty much brought you up to date! i have spent 4 nights on a beach 1 of wich we put up the tent! i smell and really want vegetables so badly but other than that we are good!

today we have decided to rent a car to drive up into the blue mountains! cheaper than the train ans gives us somewhere to our bags! mr mark has been given the job of driver! i think i will have to map read but that is a better job in my opinion! fun fun fun!!!

hope you all has a great christmas and new year

lots of love charlie and a lobster red shaun!!
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2009-12-26T23:46:00.000-08:00

so our christmas was fun!

had a bbq in the park by the river in Melbourne weather was fine with a breeze so it felt really nice! what made it better was it was all provided by the hostel we were staying at! unfortunately there was rather alot of us so getting to the food did prove to be tricky at times!

after the afternoon sun we headed back to pack up our bags and get ready for the begining of our journey!

had to be ready for the bus to leave at 6.15am so we were aiming for 6 just to be safe! bit lucky really because they didnt wake up! me i got up at 4 but thats a long story! freyr blamed it all on her alarm not going off but.... so we made it by the skin of our teeth and a taxi ride but hey we did it!

the bus is really nice and our driver is sooo cool! knows everything you could want to know and more!

so we started through Victoria to Wilsons Promotory oz's most southerly point! we then "hiked" to squeeky beach! shaun did the longer one as i dont think my legs are working anymore after the great wall! and yes the squeeky beach does squeek!!!! we then had a short drive to an old airfield that has been taken over by kangaroos! our driver then went in hot pursuit of a lizzard!

there was this red back spider that can even kill a human so i stood well back!

next day another early start getting up at 5.30!

went through a few national parks inc snowy moutains, alpines and lakes! so cool i cant even explain!

going to run out of internet so will post more later!!

love

the lovely land that is oz

2009-12-23T01:34:00.000-08:00

hello!!!
so we arived in oz on the 21 Dec!! 7hour or so flight and i didnt sleep at all!! the films were far to good! did regret it when i landed!
so we hung around in the airport waiting for mr bendle and miss freyr to land (they were late! how unlike them!) so after falling asleep on the bench using my bag as a pillow we found some food as shaun was saying he was going to starve if he didnt eat!
we found them by chance we stood in the airport and had a nice chat for a while and then got a cab into Melbourne city and founf theis really really cool hostel! got a bit of a deal sort of buy 3 nights and get 1 free sort of thing so we are staying here for the whole time in Melbourne!

its got a kitchen so that makes eating so so much cheaper! very happy about that! we have put our names down for the xmas bbq in the park! it FREE wow they are really that nice!

so the first proper day we had. Beach! so so nice! clear warm but not to warm water and fish swimming with us! what more can you ask for??? yeah so good day was had by all until we realised that we were burnt! shaun was got in the face! me on the backs of my legs and a small stripe down my nose! mark... well not a lot was left of mark after the sun was finished with him!! and freyr was hit on the back! never mind we all had fun!

today was 36'c so we didnt really do alot! went shopping for a beach ball, flip flops and sunglass case! very random i know! also got some drinks for xmas day! spent a little more than i would have liked but hey when will i ever be here again?!?!? oooo and i had a nap! was really nice!

tomorrow i think we going to a garden type thing and then prob hitting up the beach! such a hard life!

anyway im hungry jacket potatos for dinner! wow nomal food! my tummy is so so happy not that singapore was bad but i do like familiar food!

lots of loves
charlie xxxxxxxxxxx

ps excuse the old spellings!

hello

2009-12-11T09:11:00.000-08:00

hello everybody,

We have had an amazing day today it began with rather a long walk to Sentosa gateway which is the transport link to Sentosa island, 'singapores playground'. It's like a paradise island with extras lol. There are jungle areas and then they have various other slightly out of place attractions such as a 4dcinema. We went to a really cool aquarium and we then to a really nice beach, had a little swim and watched the sunset. Brought a whole new light to singapore really.

bye

Landed Singapore

2009-12-06T23:26:00.000-08:00

Hello!!!! china was cold and they filtered everything so this update been a while coming. spent a lot of money there, bougth little netbook, and diving case for camera, case was 100 which is 50less than elsewhere so decided good buy.

china was AMAZING but the cold did wear a little! the weather was good though! no rain so im happy with that!
the sights where so cool each with its own style but dragons were everywhere! on all the buildings on the streets but it was all so well done!

we went to the forbidden city! managed to sneak in! its was huge! so much to see i dont think we saw it all but every building has its own purpose and its own name!

the wall as beyond anything we could have imagined! shaun lied to me telling me it was 3km but infact i had to hike 10.8km on broken parts of the wall! no joke i thought i was going to die! but its was a really good thing to do!!!!!

we got a night train to xi'an on the sleeper compartment which was an experience they all laught at us for our lack of knowledge about what we were meant to do!

got there in the end!
went to the terra-cotta army which was epic, took loads of photos. didn't have a map for xi'an so just ran it by ear really, went to the muslim sector and went through huge market there. was a few tasty treats.

took night train back again, 12hrs decided that we should save the 50%and get a seat instead of bed, didn't get much sleep lol.

chilled out when we got back to beijing just shopping and the hostels were really cool but very westernised, full english/american breakfasts.

some general pics below.

love xx

2009-11-23T07:56:00.000-08:00

hello everybody been a while since last blog but we became very poor so stopped paying for net. currently at the airport and it seems to be free!!. no USB etc though so no photo's.

we are a few hours away from leaving for china now so tis quite exciting. our flight goes via singapore so it's quite a long one lol. but free food!! had a leak in our hotel room to so plane should be less damp lol. we did bargain him down to 250rupees a night though and we paid 550 before so was a good compromise!!!!

had an amazing time in the desert with camels, charlie absolutely loved it because it seems the camel man knew something i didn't apparently charlie is also an accomplished camel jockey, she rode the camel by herself all the way back from the desert!!!!! (i was on the back of a cart with the two camel people) charlie did get some applause from the locals though so that was pretty cool!! will upload a pic when possible.

we are preparing ourselves for the cold of china... got etc clothes at the ready, gonna be a shock as it's been about 28degrees here in india. although the cities are really polluted which leaves a haze. saw amazing sunset and sunrise in the desert.

thats all for now and we shall post again soon

xxx

hit by delhi belly!! :(

2009-11-14T03:45:00.000-08:00

sad sad times, felt quite rough for the last couple days, but we have been soldering on. We visited Taj-Mahal but only from the rear coz we weren't feeling up to much and entry was 10pounds perperson!! our driver very friendly but bit of a communication barrier...

saw the art as it was made for the inside of the taj-mahal. purchased little souvineir, for fraction of taj entry price, got some quite nice pics from the gardens etc around the taj though.

After a long drive we have arrived in ranthambur, tommoro we have to get up at 530 for breakfast then 630 leave on safari to see tigers!!

this place is much to charlies liking as she has found the cities not to her taste! and it doesn't smell!!!

lotus flower temple (right) is probably our favourite place so far, was amazing, and free!!

It allows all religions to enter to pray or meditate and provided a beautiful getaway from delhi's nasty touts etc.

on the right again taj-mahal we did think it was pretty impressive!!!

we have a overnight camel safari and the elephant ride to look forward to yet so still quite excited.

love xx

the sight seeing commences...

2009-11-12T04:56:00.000-08:00

so day 2 started well... late! jet lag meant we got up at 1pm! but we still managed to see a couple of things red fort and walked down chandni chowk, very long!!
after a small disagreement over the price of a cycle rickshaw we found somewhere to eat. (Vegetarian)
We booked a car to take us to the other cities, and we are also doing a camel safari as well as elephant ride etc. spent a little more but we weren't enjoying the diy approach!
the man we booked with was very friendly and said i could prob sell shaun 4 100 camels!
he then said he would buy me 4 200 camels and 100 elephants!!!

then 2day 12.11.09
went around with guide and car!
managed to see 8different things and this tour was free because we bought the other one.
he even insisted we saw one last place even though it was past end time and we were very tired!!

got some good pics but still slow inet so have to wait...
bit confused about this new number..? tomorrow we'll be in agra so maybe faster there.

love xx

we arrived!!!!!

2009-11-10T07:58:00.000-08:00

after becoming thoroughly confused by the 8hr flight we arrived in delhi airport.
to then become more confused by the locals!!! we finally manged to find the real tourist place after about 10 fake 1s!
shaun has now learnt not 2 talk 2 strangers! so proud as im sure you all will be!!!
although when we moved from connaught place (tourism central) advice that was offered was for the most part correct, and when we found some fellow travellors they were very helpful!!

we are stayin in a rather good place for the area! got a shower and everything not that the water is warm but u cant complain!
Transport is CRAZY cars certainly would not pass MOT.
Tomorrow we are off sightseeing and the pictures will appear in the near future, inet connection not up to much here unfortunately.

love u all!!!!!!!!!!!!!