Goodbye blinky bill

Greetings blog fans

Welcome to the first of my blogs from Ozzy. I have finally completed by first epic voyage, my grand tour of the east coast. Here are the high/lowlights:

Cairns

This was my first stop in Oz after setting off from a rather rainy and bloody freezing Christchurch NZ. I was looking forward to some heat and sunshine, and there was plenty in Cairns. However, despite the welcome increase in temperature, I have to admit I absolutely hated Cairns. If you like getting shit faced every night, you'll love this place. If you want anything else....you really won't. Unfortunately I was booked in for 3 nights, which was 3 nights too long.

Port Douglas

This was a great spot. Located about 90 minutes north of Cairns, PD still has the good weather but a much more 'grown up' atmosphere. Lovely beaches, nice cafes, and a fantastic hostel with cheap beer. What more do you want. Stayed here a couple of nights and then it was off to...

Cape Tribulation

This was the most northerly point on this voyage. In fact, this is really as far north as you can go without a four wheel drive. En-route we had a cruise up the Daintree river, my first chance to see big scary crocs in the wild (they don't do much, but I spotted a couple shagging..nice). There isn't much here, but the rainforest and wildlife is incredible. I would recommend doing a evening guided tour through the rainforest. This is the best time to see a lot of the animals. My tour even features a demonstration of the cane toad's little known moonwalking skills. Some would call it animal cruelty...I call it bloody funny. Good spot, but 2 nights was enough. After a night in PD and a night in Cairns on the way back down, it was time to embark on the Southern leg of my journey. Next stop was...

Mission Beach

Really liked it here. Again, the hostel was cracking and right next to the rather nice beach. You can do some skydiving and white water rafting here. I am too cheap, so opted to get pissed and talk bollocks.

Magentic Island

Accessed from Townsville, Magnetic Island is a touristy wee island about 30 minutes from the mainland. I opted to stay in a Koala reserve and as part of my package I got hold one of the furry little swines (NB very sharp claws). The island was nice, but as ever, any more than a couple of days and you would probably go crazy.

Airlee Beach

Airlee Beach is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. There are around 60 operators offering various different types of sailing experience around these stunning islands. Quite frankly, some of the boats are shit and I heard some horror stories from other travellers. Two points of advice - if you want to sail just rock up a couple of days before a book something last minute (you can get some great standby rates). Second - be choosy, as you definitely get what you pay for. I went out on a racing yacht (Broomstick) and it was and incredible experience. The crew were great, the other guests were a good laugh, and belting round the islands at high speed (and at some rather scary angles) was the highlight of my trip so far. Highly recommended!

Hervey Bay

Having done the Whitsundays, it was time for some more island based fun on Fraser Island. The largest sand island in the world, Fraser Island has some truly stunning scenery including crystal clear lakes and pure white silica sand beaches. There are also lots of baby stealing dingos. I did a guided 2 day trip as I am a complete wimp. Lots of fun, but not a patch on the Whitsundays.

Noosa Heads

Now this is a nice spot. I'll admit it is a bit poncy, and you couldn't survive here without a serious amount of cash, but it was a nice place to spend a couple of nights.

Brisbane

Bris-vegas is the 3rd largest city in Australia and it generally gets a pretty hard time for being, well, a bit mince. I loved it. Sure, its no Sydney, but for a relatively small city I thought it was great. I even went to an AFL (Aussie Rules Footy) match (which I didn't understand one bit). Nice city, nice friends, nice beer. Overall, a very enjoyable visit.

Byron Bay

I really liked it here. I arrived the day after the end of Splendour in the Grass, a but music festival that takes over this hippy dippy town. There were come 'interesting' characters still lingering around, but this didn't detract from what was a lovely spot.

Port Macquarie

This was the last stop before Sydney. It was pretty quite, but it was a great opportunity to chill out before reaching the big smoke. If you happen to pass through, try out the whale spotting tours. This is the cheapest place to do it in Oz (only $35) and I saw loads of the big blubbery chaps. There is also a Koala hospital. If I don't get a blind Koala for Christmas this year I will not be amused!

Sydney

So, I have finally arrived in Sydney and my intention is to get some work and top up the funds a bit. I haven't really had a chance to get to know this city yet. I'm staying with some lovely relatives out in the suburbs while I get myself sorted. Lets hope I get sorted quickly as I'm going slightly mental having not worked for about 3 months now (sounds good, but in practice is a big mind-numbing).

I'm still making my mind up about Australia. To be honest, I really don't feel the same connection as the one I still have with NZ. I really miss NZ and to be honest I am still thinking about going back before I come home. However, I want to give this place a chance. I will try and be patient (not by greatest skill) and see how things pan out. That said, I think I have some interesting choices to make over the next few weeks and it we will need to wait and see which way I swing......I'll keep you posted.

As ever, I miss you all...and for the first time I actually miss Scotland.

Take care

Tambo xx