Admiral's Arch - K.I.

Admirals Arch houses a colony of New Zealand fur seals - it is quite picturesque and the view through the arch itself it cool. Shame the place stinks of fish.

This is the life

Its a hard life being unemployed and travelling the world.

Remarkable Rocks - K.I.

A very bizzare sight, On the end of the coast line lies a granite rock formation that has eroded over the years to form very odd shapes.

Kangaroo's on Kangaroo Island

We saw many 'roos on the island, the highlight was this mum and her joey - they came right up to the van to have a look what was going on before hopping off.

Did you know how kangaroos got their name?

A white settler saw one and asked an aboriginal guy what it was called, he said 'Kangaroo' which actually means 'I don't understand' in the language he used. The white settler thought the guy had said the name of the animal and its name stuck.

Koala's on Kangaroo Island

Just after lunch on our first day, we have a stroll around the farm to see if we can find some Koala's. In practically the first tree we look at there is one fast asleep in the tree. Koala's may look cute but can be vicious - they sleep for 20 hours a day as they eat quite toxic leaves for food and get very little energy from it. No wonder they get grouchy.

Seal Bay - Kangaroo Island

Seal Bay houses a colony of Australian Sea Lions - the only one that you can go down on the beach (Accompanied with a ranger). There are quite a lot of sea lions there but the population isn't growing. We saw a couple of disagreements amongst the sealions and a feisty young male pup was going round waking up the females to try and find his mum. Sea lions are grumpy if there rest is disturbed - they fish for 3 days straight then relax for 3 days.

Kangaroo Island

Feb 26th. After our early morning pick up at 6:20am, we drive for a couple of hours to get to the ferry port to take us over to Kangaroo Island. The island is Australia's 3rd biggest one and features some unique wildlife. Our group is pretty small (12 people) and a good mix of nationalities. We will be staying on an old farm with just possoms, koala's, kangaroos and other things as neighbours.

Random Animal Pictures #5

Meet Reggie the dog who lives on the farm we stayed at on Kangaroo Island. He enjoys waiting for the minibuses and jumping on the drivers lap, Chasing possoms, Playing fetch with pine cones and helping us find koala's. He is a bit of an attention whore though but very cute

Alice Springs to Adelaide

Feb 25th. We check out and head to the airport for our midday flight down to Adelaide on the South coast. On arrival in Adelaide we find out that it is the cities busiest period in the year with a motor race and a film festival so accomodation is thin on the ground - also our not having booked tours may cause a problem. Doesn't sound good but a lovely lady called Belinda at the tourist information place at the airport sorts us out so we are booked to go to Kangaroo Island tomorrow for 2 days and then we are going on the 'Wayward Bus' (Tour company) for 3 1/2 days to Melbourne afterwards. Our accomodation is called 'The Blue Galah' - Those of you who used to watch Home & Away will remember Alf Roberts saying 'Flaming Galah'.

For those of you interested - A Galah is a bird.
http://www.amonline.net.au/factSheets/galah.htm

Mount Conner/Lake Amadeus - A brothers Tale

Feb 24th. On the coach journey back to Alice Springs, we stop off and clamber up a sand dune and get a great view of Mount Conner and also a salt lake (Lake Amadeus) with a small mound in it. Mount Conner is sometimes known as 'Foolaru' as some tourists see it and think they have seen Uluru.

The aboriginal tale goes as follows :- 2 brothers go out into the outback one day - 1 of them has all the skills to provide for himself, the younger one doesn't have the skills yet. The older brother leaves the younger one to fend for himself and eventually becomes sick, the older brother lays him down to rest using Mount conner as a bed (His neck rests on the depression on the right hand side) but he never recovers and dies there. The older brother carries his body over to the lake on the other side and he is buried in the small mound there. The salt lake is created from the older brothers tears.

The Olga's

Feb 24th. After leaving Uluru, we drive for 40 minutes to the Olga's. Another spectacular natural feature of Australia's Red Centre. We have a stroll into the canyon and then head back - It is baking hot again and is over 40 in the shade. We head back for a nice lunch and then get on the bus for the long drive back to Alice Springs.

Uluru - Please don't climb it

Please don't climb Uluru - It is a sacred site. The aboriginals don't want people to climb it but won't stop you from doing it. It is disrespectful to do so. It is also pretty dangerous and people have died doing it.

Picture - Some Mingers climbing the rock (Minger is aboriginal for Ant)

Uluru - Walk around the base

After watching the sunrise, we take a stroll around the base of Uluru, some of the group climb the rock. The rock is 5 miles around the base and has various sacred sites that the aboriginals perform various secret ceremonies. We get told some of the tales of old aboriginal lore which are cool to know.

Pictures - Left (Frogs face in the rock), Right (Water erosion as it trickles down the rock and discolours it)

Uluru for Sunrise

Feb 24th. We get up at 4.30 for brekkie and head off to watch the sunrise over Uluru. It is quite busy with all the coach loads of tourists but it is a spectacular site to see the colour change as the sun hits the rock.

Pictures - Left (Me half in the Sun with Uluru behind), Right - (Uluru earlier in the day)

Swags - Sleeping under the stars

After reaching Camp after a tiring day, We have a 'Barbie' of steak and sausages which goes down well. After that we are given the choice of camping out in Swags under the stars or sleep in a little metal shack. No choice really, A swag is like a cloth bag which contains a sort of mattress that the bushmen of old used to carry around with them. It actually proves quite comfortable and I get a really good night sleep. A few things buzz around at night but I don't get attacked by anything or find any insect friends during the night in my swag. I also register no bites of any kind.

The stars were absolutely amazing to see, really clear.

Kings Canyon

Unfortunately it is too hot to do the Crater Rim walk - You are only allowed to do it if it is 38 degrees or less in the shade. Today it is 43 in the shade which would mean that on the rim it would be about 50 degrees and in direct sunlight. A recipie for cooking yourself. We hike up Heart Attack hill to get some photos of the canyon from a decent vantage point. It is spectacular to look at and well worth the effort. We the descend and walk in the 'creek'that runs through the canyon itself. After that we get back on the bus and head off for our drive to camp.

Pictures - Views from Heart Attack Hill

43 In the shade (Kings Canyon)

Feb 23rd. We get picked up from our oven like hostel - It is still really hot even at this time in the morning, so much for the desert cooling down. We ride in an a/c mini-bus towards Kings Canyon.

It is a long drive and takes several hours. We have some lunch (BBQ Chicken burgers) and then head out to Kings Canyon itself.

Picture - Thermometer showing the 43 degrees in the shade

The Sir Alec Guinness in Bridge over the river Kwai Cooler Experience

We check in to our basic hostel (Basic is probably putting it kindly - not a great place) and find that the room has no air con or a fan. Trying to sleep in the room was impossible - I had a shower before bed as we had to get up at 4.30 for our camping trip to Uluru. The room was like the cooler that Alec Guinness was put in in the film 'Bridge Over the River Kwai'. I was slightly worried that it would require a seance to wake me up. No fear of that, I didn't sleep at all.

Alice Springs

Feb 22nd. A lot of people say that Alice Springs has nothing in it and there is no point staying here apart from using it as a base to see Uluru.

I can confirm that this is correct.

Darwin to Alice Springs

Feb 22nd. We say goodbye to Darwin today and head to the airport for our midday flight to Alice Springs. The flight is uneventful and we touch down into Alice - the first thing that we notice is the heat - it is about 38 degrees, the 2nd thing we notice are the flies that bombard you. Not pleasant.

Termites

Known as the cathedrals of the north, we spot several massive termite mounds. The one in the picture is about 20 foot high and will have several million termites in it. It probably is about 50 years in the making as well.

Aboriginal Art (In Kakadu Park)

After a nice lunch, we board our coach and head to a local place called Angabang (may have got that slightly wrong). We walk into the rocks and see some aboriginal art daubed on the rocks. It is quite impressive and the drawings have been there for maybe 500 hundred years.

Pictures - Left (Aboriginal gathering of women, the lighning man is in the top right), Right (Depicts a family gathering with dancing).

Boat trip on the Yellow River (Kakadu)

After our plane trip (unfortunately Amanda barfed mid trip), we get to the dock and go on a boat trip on some of the wetlands. Some of the places only exist in the wet season. The highlight of this is we see a 4 metre crocodile basking in the shade. We get as close to him as we can but not too close.

Pictures - Left (The croc), Right (View of the Wetlands from the boat)

Jim Jim and Twin Falls

After flying for about 20 minutes, we reach the first of our main goals for the day - Jim Jim falls. It is pretty spectacular and in the wet season the only way to get to see it is via the air. After Jim Jim, we carry on and see Twin falls, both are really impressive - such a shame we couldn't get there via a 4WD - Maybe next time I will come back in the dry season and check them out.

Pictures - Left (Jim Jim falls), Right (Twin falls)

Kakadu by Air

Feb 21st. After getting picked up ridiculously early (6:25am) by our coach for the day, we stopped at a roadside diner for a little 'brekkie' and then headed to the local airstrip so we could see the local national park by air. This park is called Kakadu and features wet lands, rocky outcrops and much more. We board a Cesna light aircraft and take to the skies as it is wet season here and roads are impassable.

Picture - Rocky Outcrop on the way to Jim Jim falls

Darwin

Feb 20th. Arrive in Darwin at about 6:00am - Time difference is GMT +9.30. We get a bus to the city centre - some backpackers have accomodation already booked so we head for their hostel. Nice clean room and quite cheap too. We sort out tours to Kakadu for the next day and also our camping trip to Uluru for when we get to Alice Springs.

Picture - Darwin beach and Bay.

Singapore to Darwin

Feb 19th/20th. Doesn't start out well when we get to the Airport and the computers are down. We are having to check in using bits of paper. Initially our bags and us were going to be heading to Cairns by mistake but we realise quite quickly and our bagage is retagged. Bit shambolic and doesn't really give a good impression for the worlds most efficient Airport.

Comedy announcement while waiting "Would the passenger who has left a watch and a bottle of wine at terminal 2 please contact security" - I was hoping they would take them out and blow them up.

The flight was one of the most uncomfortable ones I have ever been on. Food was gash as well. The only saving grace was the incredible lightning display as we were approaching Darwin itself. Awesome.

Dive Pictures from Koh Toa #2

More pics from my Dive DVD, Left is our pretend underwater fight and Right is me wearing shades as part of our taking the mask off skill (and mucking about for the camera)

Dive Pictures from Koh Toa #1

Pictures taken off my Diving DVD that was filmed on Koh Toa in Thailand.

Leaving South East Asia

Feb 19th. It is a sad day - we are leaving South East Asia after being here for 1 month. It has been lots of fun and we have had lots of cool adventures. The highlight for me has definitely been the diving.

I will return (probably sooner rather than later). Thailand is quality and cheap too.

Are Singaporeans Fruitist?

For those of you who may be travelling on the MRT in Singapore and who also like offensive smelling fruit beware. Thankfully there is no fine but the fruits called Durians are banned. This could have something to do with the fact that they smell like rotted corpses.

For more info Fruit fans - check out the following link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian

Singapore Zoo and Night Safari

Feb 18th. We get up rather late (afternoon) after the previous nights fun. Usually I am not a fan of zoos but we head off to the national zoo which turns out to be very good. You feel quite close to the animals and there are a lot of various ones there. We go on the Night Safari as well which involves driving around in a tram looking at various animals at night. (OK, there are dim floodlights to help you see). Anyway it was good fun.

Picture - White tiger on the prowl.

Thanks to Uncle Steve and Linda

Feb 17th. As a way of saying thanks to Amanda's Uncle Steve who is kindly letting us stay at his appartment we head out into downtown Singapore and go to the Hyatt hotel for their buffet dinner. The food is really good and in true buffet style I eat far too much. Some great desserts were had as well (All local and Chinese style though) as the Chinese start to celebrate the new lunar year.

We end up in Muddy Browns - An Irish pub which has a live band that are very good (just doing covers of popular songs). At about 1 it is time to head for home.

Steve and Linda have made us feel very welcome and we had a great meal just before we were due to fly out to Darwin.

Picture - Steve and Linda say farewell at the Airport.

Sentosa Island

After arriving, we decide to have a go on the luge which turns out to be great fun - it is basically like a downhill go cart which you can steer - there is no engine, just gravity is used but you can get up to some quite quick speeds (or it feels fast anyway). We then head to the Merlion which turns out to be one of the tackiest things ever, A video explaining the mythology of the Merlion is risible and everyone gets a lucky gift for putting a coin in the Merlions mouth. We go to the Underwater world which is disappointing (KL's was much better) and also a dolphin show which I always feel is a bit cruel even if the dolphins appear to be having fun. We finish off the day on a high note by having another go on the luge (we actually debate coming back early on Monday just so we can have some clear track and get an hourly pass!).

Picture - Left (Dragon made up for the Sentosa flowers exhibit), Right (Check out how ecstatic I am to receive my Merlion fan from my 'lucky' coin)

Cable Car to Sentosa Island

Feb 17th. We decide to visit Sentosa Island - this is kind of a Disney type experience and is basically a theme park. We get the cable car to the Island which offers some good views of the city and the bay itself. Little did we know how tacky it was going to turn out to be.

Amusing Shop Names #1

No Comment.

The Mythical, Magical Merlion

Steeped in the annals of time, dating back to the last millenium, the mythical creature known as 'The Merlion' (Half Lion, half Fish) stands proudly on Sentosa Island and also in the harbour front. The merlion has become Singapore's symbol of eternal shame.

Unfortunately despite what is told to the tourists, the mythical Merlion was created in the late 1970's by the Singapore tourist board as a symbol to help the tourist trade and become an icon for the land. Knowing the true story makes some of the things that are said and read about it highly amusing. No wonder the locals feel the way they do about it.

Singapore

Feb 17th. We spend some time wandering around Singapore seeing various sites, The centre is packed with shopping centre's galore. It is swelteringly hot and humid so any excuse to go inside an air conditioned building is taken.

Pictures: Left (Raffle's Hotel), Right (The Esplanade)

Singapore's Tallest Lady

Feb 16th. After spending some time looking around the main shopping district, I head into town to meet a friend from University - Sonia was in the womens basketball team that I coached for several years. We met at Newton MRT station and went to the renown Newton Food court for some food Singapore style. I let her decide what we were eating (with a bit of trepedation when she asked how I was with chilli), but really enjoyed just about everything. The highlight of the dinner was the Chilli Stingray - fantastic and highly recommended. We also had grilled squid (with chilli) which was a bit chewy but good. I drank some sugar cane drink and we also had some local desserts. A pint of kilkenny from one of the trendy bars at Clarke's Quay washed down the food. All in all a cool night and great to catch up.

While Sonia was at Uni, Singapore ran a contest to find the tallest lady in the country - the winner turned out to be 5 foot 10 - Sonia is 5 foot 11. Gutted.

Picture - Sonia towering over me.

How to use a sitting down toilet

On both sleeper trains in Malaysia, just in case you didn't realise how to use a sitting down toilet, these helpful instructions were on the wall inside the toilet.

Sleeper Train - KL to Singapore (1st class of course)

Feb 15th/16th. We arrive at the train station and sit in the 1st class lounge that we were cordially invited to. It turns out that we are the only ones there. We get our executive lift straight to the platform and hop on our train. It is an improvement over the previous sleeper train as we have our own toilet, bathroom + shower. The beds also face the way of travel which is good. I actually manage to get some sleep - we have to pack up our bags and take them when we reach the border to clear customs/immigration. So much for having a lie in. We finally pull in at 8:40am - journey time is 10 hours, 40 mins.

Bored in KL

Feb 15th. We have an afternoon to kill. We try checking out the cinema complexes so we can watcvh/fall asleep in front of a movie but nothing suitable is on. It doesn't help that ever 10 minutes we count up how many hours there are till we can go to our first class lounge. Forgive me but we went to Starbucks and crashed out on their comfy sofas, taking a couple of hours over a hot chocolate. I can't remember what we did for the other 4 hours.

Kenny Rogers Chicken - The Pilgrimage Ends

Feb 15th. The sole goal of the day was to finish our quest off for a taste of Kenny Rogers 'award winning' chicken. After an initial foray into the KLCC shopping centre which the Kenny Rogers site had promised us a restaurant (Thanks for the duff info guys), we end up on Bintang walk when we spot the shrine of wood fired chicken.

Our initial inspection of the menu doesn't inspire - we were promised a fillet burger - we settled for roast chicken with various sides. I received my meal OK but then the waiter came and told us that they had no more chicken. Disaster, imagine our disillusionment at this. I ate my meal (it was OK) but Martin had to settle for a stodgy jacket potato. The dream of wood fired heaven is over. It was more like a trip to Gala Bingo than the Mecca of Chicken.