A last minute day trip to the Gold Coast

Whilst my mum and sister are still here with me in Brisbane, we’ve decided on getting a train to the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast is a city roughly an hour south of Brisbane and buy purchasing a Go Card and putting roughly $25 on it you can get there and back. We are going to do it just for the day.

I love Brisbane’s skyline, it’s going to be a real shame when this view shrinks onto the horizon for the final time when I leave in March. I love the city in general, the size, the people, the experiences I’ve had… But that day isn’t today. I’m on the train as I type and I’ll be back tonight and make sure I take in the city sights and sounds as much as possible until that day.

This is my first trip to GC, so I’m looking forward to it! Pictures to come…

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Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

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Happy blogging,

Sam

Just a WW2 plane in the rainforest…

One of the more interesting finds we had up in Kuranda was what appears to be a crash site of an old plane in the rainforest.

 

This is Geronimo, a US Air Force plane that began service in 1942 before being used as a passenger airline for Trans-Australia Airlines (a part of Qantas) in 1946 under the name Cunningham. It was then used in the movie ‘Sky pirates’ and went under the name Miss Fortune in 1984, the plot of the movie having the plane crash on the Barrier Reef. After the film the shell of the craft was given to the town.

 

What a life it has had, eh?

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Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

New to this site? Click here to visit my About My Blog section

Want to keep up with my travels? Click here for my Travel Diary or follow me over on Instagram

Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.

Happy blogging,

Sam

Good morning from Cairns!

I was here pretty much a year ago with friends, and coming back to this city has reminded me of some very fun memories. Last time was different however, we were four friends staying in Gilligans Hostel so it was mainly sunbathing and alcohol consumption. And an incredible Great Barrier Reef trip, even if I was a little hungover. One of the best experiences in Australia so far.

We are at the Pullman this time, a five star hotel and a million miles away from hostel living. Yesterday I spent a lot of time just watching the weather change from glorious sunshine to tropical storms.

From this…

The skies turned into this…

And then the mountains and oceans dissapeared…

And a couple hours later it started to clear up, just in time for the cruise leaving the dock at sunset.

This was yesterday, and thankfully the weather is holding up and it’s looking pretty nice for our trip to Green Island in an hour. We are just doing a quick half day trip at the reef today but hopefully that’s enough to get some decent shots and see a few creatures. 

I’ll see you all when I’m back!

A 91 hour, 1,820km bike ride

I found this guy eating Dominoes in Ayr (as some of you are aware is a small town south of Townsville where I completed my farmwork) stopping for a break from what seems like one hell of a long journey.

In flip flops. On a bicycle.

I have just googled how long this journey is for the first time since I took the picture. And it turns out to be…

This guy has some motivation. I really wish I went over to ask him what his reasons were for doing it, whether he is just travelling down or doing it for charity. He may even still be on this journey, depending on how many stops he has taken. 91 hours on bike, and a little short of 2,000 kilometers. That is pretty impressive.

I used to love bike rides. It was my favourite memory from childhood. The freedom then and even now, avoiding traffic and being able to go off the beaten track. It never gets boring for me, although sadly in adulthood I haven’t kept up the hobby. I haven’t done anything like this however, and I am not sure if I could. It is a huge commitment and would take a lot of physical and mental strength.

Have you ever taken a journey like this? I can only imagine the feeling of accomplishment at the end. He is an inspiration to us all! I hope it went well and if he is still pedaling, I wish him all the best on the journey.

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Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

New to this site? Click here to visit my About My Blog section

Want to keep up with my travels? Click here for my Travel Diary

Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.

Happy blogging!

Monkey business

Spotted this guy walking on rainbows as he shelters from the rain. But is he collecting the rainbows? I’m not sure what is going on here but I’m sure many interpretations can and have been made.

I enjoy the colours and their contrast to the dull rain.

I found the artists Instagram, which I have linked below. Here, he comments under the image on his page…

So it turns out the chimp is a rainbow dealer. Not a bad thing to deal I guess…

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Artist: Nitsua on Instagram

Location: Rainbow Beach, QLD, Australia

 

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Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

New to this site? Click here to visit my About My Blog section

Want to keep up with my travels? Click here for my Travel Diary

Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.

Happy blogging!

Sugar cane burning is incredible!

Yesterday was a day off, which didn’t amount to anything other than a hangover after a quarter- final World Cup win over Sweden in the early hours, so I spent the day resting and trying to wrap my pounding head around England being in a semi- final. 

Hangovers have never felt so good.

Later that day, my friend was phoned by his farmer asking if he wanted to see a sugar cane burning. This is something that happens this time of year. It is quite a sight, even from a distance. It is beautiful to see so many fires from so many sugar cane farms, from dawn til dusk. The flames are visible even from a distance. 

At 5.15pm, we jumped in a mini bus that the hostel kindly let us use and headed to the farm. Sadly, they started the fire earlier than scheduled as the wind changed direction pretty quickly, but the seven of us that made our way there were not disappointed. Here is what we saw as we approached the field.

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The fire was intense. Even from a distance you could really feel it. By the time it was directly opposite, it was almost enough to make us back away.

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I didn’t know how quickly these fires burned the sugar cane. It travelled up the field incredibly fast and to the height of a multi storey building. What was just as impressive was how fast it burned out. As soon as the fire reached the end of the field, the fire diminished and the roar of the fire stopped immeditely. It was like blowing out a match. Small fires continued to burn outside of the field where the farmer was igniting it, but the large fire was no concern. Campfire sized fires looked like they could be put out by stomping on them compared to the blaze before it.

17 days to go. I’m glad I’m still experiencing different things whilst I’m here and I hope to squeeze a little bit more out of Ayr whilst whilst I can. 

Have you ever seen a sugar cane burning before? If you get the chance, do it!

Farm Work Day 53: I got injured picking pumpkins (disgusting finger warning)

Whilst the watermelons are not quite ready to pick, I’ve been picking pumpkins to afford my weekly rent at the hostel and to tick off more of the 88 days I need to do to obtain a second year visa. This was going well until one pumpkin decided to ruin my day altogether causing me to jump around and swear like a madman. I ended up here after my shift, it thankfully happened only 30 minutes before finishing picking.

What happened was this. The gloves I was provided to pick with worked well, but are prone to wear and tear with the spiky stems of the pumpkins. They are also terribly itchy when walking through the vines, one of the more frustrating factors to deal with at on this particular farm. 

My middle finger became exposed through the glove throughout the day, and towards the end I realised the benefit of having gloves to wear when working. As I picked a pumpkin, I didn’t see another one right next to it under some dense vines. As I hurriedly bent down to pick it (it is important to keep up with the trailer as all the fruit needs adding to a conveyor belt to be placed in large cardboard bins) I scraped my finger down the skin of the hidden one. This resulted in pumpkin skin- very hard and tough skin may I add- being jammed under my fingernail. This detached a portion of my fingernail from the skin underneath, causing quite a bit of pain. 

It isn’t so bad, but for those that are easily grossed out, look away now. This was my finger the following day.

You can see the green skin underneath my nail (yep, it’s green, I always though it was orange!) and the white skin is from Benedine soaked onto my finger underneath a bandaid. The nurses spent a good 30 minutes trying to get the pumpkin out by jamming some tweezers under my nail, all to no avail… It would simply break up when trying to pull out. The most painful part was the bill afterwards. I didn’t get a Medicare card, so this ‘Level C Surgery’ cost me $80!

Lesson, get a Medicare card, and avoid farmwork if possible.

35 DAYS TO GO!!

This is my new office

As I was walking to the store to buy a new phone, my phone switched on for the first time in days. Very coincidental. Anyways I looked for a new phone, but I think I will buy one online and get a better deal.

This has allowed me to access the first picture I have snapped on the farm so far.

I thought the land around Ayr was flat, until we arrived at the farm 30 minutes from the hostel. Suddenly the terrain changes and we have a backdrop of beautiful mountains covered in dense forest and steep cliffs. The temperature varies everyday, some days are kind to the farm workers with clouds and a light breeze. Other days, like today, are full of relentless heat and blue skies. You need to have a minimum of 5 litres of water during a shift, enough to see you through the day and the heat. Some days bring huge downpours, with that, flash floods that make work and quad biking rather difficult. The quad biking is my favorite part of the work, cruising along on a trailer behind a farmer and his dog as we take in the scenery.

The itching is what I hate the most. I haven’t been bitten by a spider or a snake yet, so they haven’t been a problem for me. Green ants however, they are fast becoming an enemy.

If anyone has any questions regarding the farmwork, I would be more than happy to answer them. It is great fun. Hard work but fun. I have three days left on this current farm before moving onto something else, this farm is at the end of its season.

72 days to go…

 

RIP iPhone….

So my iPhone has eventually died… Some of you may recall me mentioning that it sustained water damage and didn’t have too long left. However it has lasted a good few months, much more than I expected.

The funny thing is, I finally managed to take my phone to the farm and snap a shot of the view I have whilst picking, a good few hours before it shut down for the final time. It was a great view too. Emotional times.

I am having fun, and since I last spoke to you all, I have completed NINE DAYS of the 88 days I need to stay in the country for another year. 79 days to go!

The countdown is on, sorry I haven’t been able to speak further however without a phone to take to the farm and now a broken phone, it has been very difficult.

I also had a spider on my shoulder for the whole journey home today. I am not sure if it was poisonous but you can’t really gamble with that here!

I am sore, I have cuts all over my body and it was around 35 degrees today. But although the farmers seemed to be psychopaths when I first met them, I understand their humour and they are great to work with. They just have high standards.

I will give a better insight to the work itself in my next post, for now I just wanted to say hello and come out of the metaphorical cave I have been hiding in.

Ciao!

The biggest spider I have seen in Australia so far

It had to be 8-10 feet long, hanging on a web above a main road, coincidentally outside the Museum of Tropical Queensland.

All I am going to say is that I am glad they aren’t actually this big. They would rule the world. 

Maybe all spiders here will seem small from now on? I can only hope…