The Pages of Magic Bob

Travelling Down Under Tie me Kangaroo down !

On October 14th I set off with my backpack for a bit of travelling through the lands Down Under. The skeleton plan was to visit Bali, then the Top End and Red Centre of Australia before flying to Brisbane and travel the Southern part of the East Coast to Sydney. From there to Auckland in 'Kiwiland' for however long i could hack it there !

The purpose of the trip was threefold (i) Escape the English weather back home as long as possible (ii) See the sights and sounds of some amazing countries (iii) Experience as many new beers as possible !

Eight months later and the trip is over, seems like only yesterday that I left. I managed to keep to my 'plan' for the first six weeks in Oz, but it went out of the window when I got to New Zealand, I was aiming to work there for a while. But it was such a beautiful country I just wanted to keep on travelling, so that's what I did !

My travels took me through some amazing places. In Australia the sheer size of the country is mindblowing, the distances are huge. But the scenery is incredible - Kakadu National Park, Uluru (Ayers Rock), the Blue Mountains, Great Ocean Road, High Country, Byron Bay, Fraser Island, the Whitsundays and the Atherton Tablelands are just a few highlights from Oz.

And then of course New Zealand which has such a diverse range of envrionments all packed into a country about the size of the UK - Sunny Pahiaa in the Bay of Islands, the volcanic landscape of the Tongariro national Park near Lake Taupo, The tranquil waters of Marlborough Sounds, beautiful beaches in Abel Tasman National Park, the Wild West coast and the immense Franz Josef glacier. The Otago Peninsula, Stewart Island and the awesome landscape of Milford Sound. Mount Cook and Lake Tekapo, where the water is so blue. The amazing Tranzalpine journey to Arthurs Pass and the Kaikoura ranges where 2000 metre mountains sit 10km from where Whales dive. And of course Queenstown nestled between Lake Wakatipo and the Remarkables, what a fantastic town that is.

Of course I wasn't just looking at trees and mountains, i was also having a fair bit of fun on the way. Skydiving, Bungee Jumping, White Water Rafting, Mountain Biking, Horse Riding, Diving, Sailing, all these and more featured at various points. And there was a little bit of nightlife now and then, the odd drink here and there ! The Lighthouse, Finn Machoulls, The Holy Cow, Poo Pub, Casbah, The World, Pogue Mahones, Cheeky Monkeys, Cocomangas, Paddy Shenanigans, and of course the infamous Woolshed, good times were had at all of these. And of course the Kiwi Experience Bus helped along as well, going down the West Coast of New Zealand I don't think I was sober for 10 days !

A word must be said about all the great people I met whilst travelling. There were Kiwi's and Aussies obviously. And of course hordes of other English travellers. A fair few Irish as well. The Dutch, Danes, Swedes and Norwegians were always up for some beers ! Italians, Spanish, German, French, virtually all of Europe I met at some point. Canadians who all wear their flag with pride and the odd Yank as well. Some crazy Japanese, South Africans that could drink and drink and Israelis that liked donuts. And last but not least the Swiss (French, German & Italian!), everywhere I went I met them !

So after eight months of living the life of a traveller, it was time to return home again, because i'd spent all my money ! It really was an amazing trip, the places I saw and the people I met were fantastic. Below are links to some of the photos I took during my travels, hopefully it'll give an idea of what i've seen and done through the trip :-

The Journey (Click on title for pictures)

Bali (Oct 15th - 23rd) - Chillin' on the beach at Kuta, watching the sunsets, playing football with the locals, drinking with the Aussies in the evening (Bali is the Australian Ibiza !). Tough Life ! (No Decent Photos unfortunately)

Darwin / Kakadu (Oct 23rd - 29th) - Amazing scenery and wildlife in Kakadu - saw Snakes, Spiders, Crocs, Birds (feathered variety), Buffalo. Spectacular waterfalls, huge termite mounds. Also got very pissed at Point Stewart (Cheers Brad, I owe you some Beers !), fed VB to a wallaby and saved my sunglasses from being eaten by a pig.

Alice Springs / Uluru (Oct 29th - Nov 4th) - Meatloafs 'Helloween' Tour of Watarrka, Kata Tjuta and Uluru. That's Kings Canon, The Olgas and Ayers Rock for the uninitiated. Three Days - 1500 km driving. 20 Km walking in 30 degree heat - absolutely knackered ! Sleeping in Swags and drinking Slabs. Helicopter ride over 'The Rock' was awesome.

East Coast - Brisbane, Surfers and Byron(Nov 4th - 16th) Beer at the Caxton Hotel, Steak at the Norman Hotel. 70's night and a club crawl in Surfers. Then on to Byron Bay with it's beautiful Cape and Lighthouse - living the beach life and meeting crazy Italians, Spanish and Irish. Football & Snakes on the beach. Too much beer was drunk !

Sydney / Blue Mountains (Nov 17th - 28th) - Partying with Mr Campbell at his Balmain 'club'. Opera House & Harbour bridge made classic viewing. The Blue Mountains were spectacular and beautiful. Sydney is a top place.

Auckland / Bay of Islands (Nov 28th - Dec 17th) - Volcanos & Futuristic Skytowers, Auckland was certainly different. A lot of time was spent in 7th Floor Bar at the ACB, many jugs of beer were consumed. Cruising the Bay of Islands in Kayaks, surfing down Sand Dunes, sailing in Tall ships and partying at The Lighthouse. Back in Auckland we hit the clubs and journeyed up Queen Street in the back of a boat wearing Sombreros !

Whitianga, Rotorua and Taupo (Dec 18th - Dec 29th) - Travelling the Kiwi Experience through the North Island. Street Luge, Geysers and a Maori Hangi in Rotorua, Skydiving and Drinking in Lake Taupo! Spent Christmas here which was a blast - 19 backpackers from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Holland, Denmark, Switzerland, Canada & Japan. The British Isles united to defeat Europe in a Christmas day Football match - much to the disgust of the Dutch contingent !

SKYDIVE !!!

200 km/h Freefall ! ... Click above for Photos and Video

Marlborough Sounds, Nelson Lakes and Abel Tasman - Chilling at the Lazy Fish, Four days walking on the Queen Charlotte Track - 67.5 km, more Bushwalking in Nelson Lakes and then Sea Kayaking in Abel Tasman National Park. Beautiful scenery everywhere.

'Go You Good Thing' Tour 2001 !! - Cruising down the Wild West coast with Auto, must be the craziest driver in New Zealand ! Five days in the middle of nowhere with amazing scenery all around - wild surf beaches to the west and beautiful alpine views to the east. Gold Panning, Heli Hiking on the Franz Josef Glacier and Jet Boating on the Wilkin River. Cross Dressing night in Mahinupa was a blast ! Then into Queenstown for a bungy jump and three nights of partying at The Casbah. A crazy few days - nice one Auto !

Deep South - Heading down into the Deep South of New Zealand on the Bottom Bus. Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula with it's Sea Lions, Penguins and beautiful Royal Albatross. And Sheep ! Then through the Catlins and onto Stewart Island - the furthest South i've ever been. Three days tramping on the Raikura track, there were a lot of steps ! Then through Te Anau to Milford Sound, a most incredible landscape.

Lakes, Mountains & Wizards - Hanging out in Queenstown for 3 weeks - the place is so f**k**g beautiful ! Sitting in Pogue Mahones watching the sunset over the Wharf became a daily event. Drinking Coffee at a sidewalk cafe in the afternoons and dancing at 'The World' in the evenings. Managed to fit in some White Water Rafting, Mountain Biking and the 'Live Wire' in between. Then onto Mount Cook National Park with glorious views of the Southern Alps, and Lake Tekapo with it's Glacial Blue waters and picturesque church. Finally to Christchurch, the 'English River City', listening to 'The Wizard' preaching in the square before bidding farewell to Kiwi land and heading back to Oz.

St Patricks Day and The Great Ocean Road - Back to Oz again, first of all to Sydney for a superb St Patricks Day Weekend with Bouffon and Mr Campbell. Then across to Adelaide to join the Wayward Bus for the journey to Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road. Koalas, Kookaburras and Kangaroos, Emus and lots of Limestone Rock formations made for a great tour. As did drinking too much VB on the last night, ended up dancing round the kitchen to Abba !

Melbourne, Sydney and Sheep Shearing - A few days in Melbourne, touring the city and the Mornington Peninsula. Start of the 'Footy' season at the MCG, we became very familiar with a bloke named 'JONNO !' playing for the Essendon Bombers (the guy behind us screamed at him throughout the match !). Then up through the High Country and the Snowy Mountains before heading to Canberra and up the coast to Sydney. FA Cup Semi Final weekend was a blast ! Then on up the East Coast on the Oz Experience Bus. Sheep Shearing where I nearly killed the sheep, Horseriding (i have never been so scared !) and Birthday Party's made for a good trip !

Beach Football, Cheeky Monkeys and Dingos - Back to Byron Bay, can't stay away from the town. Football on the Beach with the Dutch and English scoring a famous victory over a team with Two Brazilians, the Celebrations were messy ! Diving off the Julian Rocks was superb, the fish R cool. Fraser Island was very sandy but very beautiful, highlight was a plane ride over the sand dunes and sea, amazing views.

Airlie Beach & 'Solway Lass' - Into the Tropical North to Airlie Beach and the magical Whitsunday Islands. Four days and three nights on the fair ship 'Solway Lass'. Spectacular Sunsets, an awesome full Moonrise and beautiful starlit nights. Not forgetting chillin' in the beer garden, drinking games and a mutiny over Led Zepellin. The highlight was riding in the Bowsprit Rigging as the sun shone down on a diamond sea. Remember Stan, this was Reality !

Maggie, JJ's and The Woolshed - Far North Queensland where the sun shines and the beer is cold. Chillin' on Magnetic Island followed by partying in Cairns. Diving on the barrier reef was beautiful, lots of Fish(!), as was driving through the Atherton Tablelands. Seven a side football with JJ's Backpackers was brilliant, we almost won the title ! And of course the infamous 'Woolshed', how many times I was in there ?!!

Kiwi Snow Trekking - Back to Kiwiland for my last two weeks. Winter had come and the snow was on the Southern Alps as I travelled up to Arthurs Pass on the famous TranzAlpine line. Picture postcard scenes of snow and waterfalls were everywhere, like being in a snowstorm shaker. On through to Kaikoura, then it was back across to the North Island and Lake Taupo, where I did the Tongariro Crossing. A 17km walk through volcanic peaks, craters and lakes, all covered in snow. Tough going, but worth it, the views were incredible, beyond the white volcanic plateau the country spread out in all directions. A really amazing way to bid farewell to New Zealand.

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