:: Lolly's trip ::

:: Tuesday, July 22, 2003 ::

Well... here i am back in not-so-sunny ireland. have been back 3 weeks, and it's still very weird not being on the move the whole time. after the quick update from swakopmund we headed on down Namibia, and saw loads of fantastic stuff on the way. climbed some of the highest sand dunes in the world (in the oldest desert on the planet, the Namib) for sunrise, canoed along the Orange river in South Africa, went to Fish River Canyon which was v spectacular (Colca Canyon in Peru had nothing on this...) then we finally ended up in cape Town, with a truly fabulous night out. Spent a couple of days in Cape Town, which I really loved, i'd go back tomorrow. then came home... Have got my photos, can see some of the highlights at Africa pics and South America & the Antipodes.

Am now hard at work trying to figure out when I can get away again.....
:: Lauren 11:19 PM [+] ::
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hi...

quick one, first time i've been on the net since i came to africa, having the MOST incredible time ever. in a wicked group of 14 people, came from johannesburg,up to botswana, then zambia,into zimbabwe, back to botswana and into namibia where i am now. did a huge bungy jump backwards at victoria falls, have seen all of the big 5 in the wild, went skydiving again this morning, and have seen so much amazing stuff. anyway, no time right now, but will be back in a week.....
:: Lauren 12:56 PM [+] ::
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Hi... had a good few days in melbourne, nice and chilled, and a good night out with Sarah (friend from my Sevilla-time). Did a trip along the great ocean road, which was really spectacular. and saw lots of kangaroos and koalas too. cute but, i believe, nasty if you ge up close. i didn't. Then i flew back to sydney (a couple of hours after an attempted plane hijacking out of melbourne, big drama). and have been sorting stuff here for heading off again. also had a good night out with alex (friend who lives here) and lots of his friends, and got shown the joys of various sudney spots today by alex too, before being treated to dinner cooked for us by one of his friends. which was nice.
am flying to johannesburg in the morning, so bye bye oz, and come on africa.....
:: Lauren 1:49 PM [+] ::
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Yo. got to (hick) alice springs. then spent 3 days on a wicked tour. there was a group of 9 of us in a landcruiser, and we all got on really well. first day we headed to ayer's rock (uluru), which was amazing. a couple of the people on our tour climbed it, and the rest of us walked round the base (about 9km. the aborigines don't like you to climb it.) then we watched the sun set over it, which drinking sparkling wine and crackers and hummus. which was cool. we had dinner cooked over a campfire, and spent the evening sitting round the fire on our swags with beer and various other beverages, taking it in turns to play (or attempt) the didjeridoo, and generally take the p**s out of each other. was really fun. and the stars were incredible. we slept out under the stars in swags (like a big sleeping bag made out of waxed jacket, you put your sleeping bag inside it. toasty warm). Up at 6 the next day to watch sunrise over uluru and the olgas, then we drove to the olgas and walked round them. after that we drove (a long way) to king's creek station, where we spent night 2. everyone went out for a quadbike ride, except myself and another bird; we went for a swim and had a bottle of wine instead :-) the others got back and we drove to our campsite, spotting wild camels on the way. dinner over the fire again, and more incredible stars to fall asleep with. Up at 6 *again* and on to king's canyon. we went for a big walk round the rim, the scenery was great. then had a very long drive back to alice springs, some of it off road, which was cool. on the way we stopped to see Dinky the dingo, who sings along when someone plays the piano. wonders never cease....
Back in Alice and all clean and shiny, our group went out for dinner and on to a pub (i've never seem anything like it. local yokel doesn't start to describe...), and had a great night out. lots of fun.....

next day i got on the "legendary Ghan" train, as they call it. that lasted for 17 hours. and i got off it on Adelaide straight onto another train, the Overland, to Melbourne. so after 31 hours on a train I was vey pleased to get here last night. Have a few days to chill in Melbourne now, and catch up with a friend from Spain who lives here, before heading back to Sydney and on to Africa.....
:: Lauren 6:54 AM [+] ::
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Since the last installment... had a rather large night out in Airlie Beach the night we finished on the yacht, which was a lot of fun, but made the 10 hour bus trip up to Cairns the following day particularly challenging. but we made it. spent the next day chilling in cairns, and saw the Matrix Reloaded the day after it came out. (am reserving judgement on that till i see the final installment....). Andy headed off back to Seattle (via Sydney and San Francisco, nice trip) at 4 in the morning yesterday. I didn't have quite such an arduous day; the weather was spectacular (apparently it's been rubbish for a few weeks. but not any more) I went out on the great Barrier Reef, and spent pretty much the whole day snorkelling. Was a bit weird getting in the water off the back of this huge boat (ship?) seemingly in the middle of the ocean (you drive offshore for about an hour, fast, in a big boat, and suddenly you're at a reef. but you don't really notice that there's a reef till you're in the water with it. unless you've got polaroid sunglasses i guess...) The fish were fantastic, I swam with Wally, the napoleon maori wrasse (there's a link to his photo in my last post; he's the same kind of fish as Elvis in the Whitsundays). He was really playful and friendly, and got my pics taken with him. he felt really smooth and squidgy and kind of slimy. lovely. there were sharks in the water, a few people from my boat saw some. Unfortunately i didn't. but at least i have now swum in shark-infested waters :-)
Have since been chilling in the sun in Cairns, and tomorrow i get the joys of Qantas again when i fly to Alice Springs to see the 'red centre'. hope my pink skirt doesn't clash with the earth......
:: Lauren 6:29 AM [+] ::
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ok, after nimbin, we came further north and went to fraser island. it's the biggest sand island in the world, and it's pretty cool. had lots of fun there, swimming down a creek, trying (and failing) to spot sharks in the sea (apparently there are loads there, and they come really close in). and saw kangaroos hanging out in the wild. then came even further north on another fabulously entertaining overnight greyhound bus to Airlie Beach, and today we just got back from 3 days sailing in the Whitsunday islands. was fantastic. the yacht,Siska, was cool, really fast, and really sat up in the wind (of which there was loads). It's won loads of races. We went for an introductory scuba dive on the first day, among loads of coral, and swam with lots of multi coloured fishes, and saw a stingray, and Elvis, a Maori Wrasse, (which happened to be my favourite fish at sydney aquarium) and we did lots of sailling. Yesterday went to Whitehaven Beach; perfect white sand, reputed to be one of the best beaches in the world. Today we went snorkeling, saw loads more pretty fish and coral, and swam about with a stingray for a bit. then did more sailing, and the wind was really strong, so it was really fun. and the whole time they fed us like kings and everyone had brought enough beer/wine to last about a year, so it all went great...


:: Lauren 8:37 AM [+] ::
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finished up in style in sydney, met up with alex, a guy i met in NZ (from N Ireland, but lives in sydney), did lunch, and then spent the afternoon in a pub with a roof terrace overlooking the opera house. followed by another pub for a quick dins, then on to an open tab (thanks andy...) at establishment, sydney's yuppie hangout of choice (which was especially fun considering out extreme level of underdressed-ness). things then took a swift dive when we said goodbye to alex and had to get on an overnight greyhound to byron bay. A mild hangover in the middle of the night combined with seating specially designed for discomfort did not a pleasant journey make. but anyway, we got here, and the weather's great (apparently it's been raining for 3 weeks, so think we're lucky). spent a day on the beach, then yesterday went on Jim's Alternative tour, which was an interesting day.. Today andy is going to go for a skydive, which is v cool, cos then i'll have someone to rave about skydiving with... then tomorrow at some ridiculous hour of the morning we're getting a bus on up north, ayeeee......
:: Lauren 2:03 AM [+] ::
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