Oh my god..... who let Gaz and Rach loose in OZ!

Well.... i can honestly say that when I met Rach I never ever thought that we would be doing this...... and what can I say.. apart from WOW! The reason that I can only say wow is that I have that feeling that when someone says to you "did you have a good holiday?" all you can answer with is "yeah, it was amazing thanks!" but when you try and tell them what you did, what the weather was like and stuff you are lost for words! That and I think that Rach will agree that WOW was the most freqently used word of the two weeks... WOW!

I really miss Rach so much, but I also thank her for going to Oz, cos if she hadn't, we would not have just shared the truely amazing two weeks of my life, with our own little mini adventure around the most beautiful parts of the country... so thanks Rach cos ive got some beating to do when i whisk you away on our next holiday (she's already set me a challenge of beating our Oz adventure.... boy have a got a challenge on my hands!)

Anyway, thats enough of me blabbing on... il let you read on and see if I can get a grip of this Blog writing thing!

Arriving in Oz.....
My flight was on the Friday evening from Heathrow, I was working down that way so I got to the airport early... what did I do with my time I hear you ask?! Well... i hit the shops and had a paddy's day Guinness as I knew that I would be in the sky somewhere for the whole of Paddy's day! The first flight wasn't too bad, and I had a lovely 4 hour stop over in Kuala Lumper.... which was interesting!
I killed the time quite easily with a beer and a book, and a long chat with a lovely chap from Sydney who inspired me so much about the next couple of weeks in Oz....I couldnt wait to get there!.... Oh, I forgot I still had a 12 hour flight to go! I had a quick chat to Rach and she was in our apartment in Manly... reality suddenly hit the both of us.... oh my god, im going to Oz to see Rach, Oh my god he's actually coming to Oz to see me!!!

I touched down at about 9am on the Sunday, clearing customs seemed to take forever (didn't it Rach!x), and I eventually came through the gate to see Rach patiently waiting for me (I have to say she looked amazing!), so we dragged my huge bag accross town on the train and onto the ferry. My first taste of Oz was on the ferry across the harbour with a stunning view of the Opera House.... WOW! The apartment was great and all we had to do today was go for a stroll down the main street ( I had to check out the surf shops!) and get some food.. shortly after which the jet lag got the better of me and i died!

Sydney
We spent two very long days checking out the sights of this stunning city, DAY ONE started with a lovely sunny ferry journey over the harbour, and the 1st stop was the opera house, we did the tourist thing and took lots of shots of it and then trotted off to find the bus stop for the trusty city tour bus! We spent a couple of hours on the tour, deciding what to do over a chat and many references to the good old bible that is Lonely Planet (LP as I like to refer to it!) We decided what we wanted to do and ended up seeing and after a lovely lunch and a beer, headed for the Anzac memorial and poole of reflection (a tribute to the soliders who died in the great war), we headed to the huge tower which takes prominence in the city skyline and took a trip to the top to check out the amazing view of the city..... WOW! It had been raining for most of the day, so by the time we had finished this, we decided to head back to the ferry which let me tell you is no mean feat when you are walking with Rach on the wet floor in her well worn flip flops.... she was sliding all over the place... funny! (she wasnt laughing!) We ended the night with a lovely meal on the sea front in Manley... WOW!

DAY TWO started with a trip to Bondi beach where Rach somehow pursuaded me to spend some pennies in the Mambo store before we headed down for a walk on the beach... it was stunning and quite hot, waht a great view! Next stop was back to Sydney where we headed for Darling Harbour to check out the Maritine Museum (yes, we were a little geeky), the aquarium and the wildlife park! After a very long day, we headed back to the apartment for a decent nights kip before our flight in the morning to Alice Springs!

Day Three
We woke early and headed to the airport for our flight, people must have thought that we had left home as we seemed to have a hell of a lot of stuff with us including the famous cool bag..... which we ended up using for everything from food to beer to purses and wallets! After a 3 hour flight, we touched down in Alice Springs, and well, it was quite a culture change from our 2 days in Sydney! We made our way to our caravan at the hostel and then decided to head into the centre for a look around.... which took some time, as LP decided to take us on a complete circle around the centre... not good when it is absolutly roasting hot and you dont have a clue where you are! Anyway, we found our way to the centre and had a well deserved lunch and a drink... Rach.... im still jealous of your pancakesx!

Our Trip!
We woke early, as we were getting picked up at about 6 am, now I have to say that neither myself or Rach are very good morning people, but despite this, we were surprisingly lively for this time of the morning! We waited patiently outside the hostel until our 4 wheel drive truck arrived to pick us up, a lively chap jumped out and greeted us "G'Day, im looking for Gareth And Rachel" he said.... at which point Rach thrust her lady bug bag toward him to put in the bus! I on the other hand offered a firm handshake with "Stuart" our new buddy for the next few days (Or Stuey as he became known!)... Like I said, Rach aint too good with mornings! We picked up the rest of the gang and headed on the 400K Stuart Highway in the direction of Uluru (Ayers Rock). We would travel there today, with a few stops before hand including a Camel Farm for some Breaky and a look at the Camels and Kangaroos! We arrived at the Ayers Rock resort at around lunch time and found our campsite.... we would spend the week in a series of permanent camp sites, we were very impressed with the scout like tents, beds and the well equiped kitchen and toilets.... in fact, me and Rach been scouting geeks, we were quite at home! Stuey said that he had to go and pick up some more people who were joining us, and asked if we could start to prep lunch. "If someone can peel some cucumber, someone wash up some lettuce, open the tins, chop some tomatoes etc" he said, "Don't reck the house while im gone kids, dont let any strangers in and no parties!" We both knew that we were going to get on great with this guy, or I did when Rach told me that I was the only one who was laughing at his jokes! Oh well, hey ho! You must have been able to tell that me and Rach were scouty types, as within 5 minutes, we had unpacked our gear, aired the tent, emptied the truck and sorted lunch whilst the rest of them dilly dallied about (apart from the annoying ozzy mum and daughter duo... but please dont get me started on that!)

In the afternoon we headed out to look at the Olga's, a stunning mountain range near Uluru, the scenery was stunning, and we ventured on a short walk into the foothills to check it out (now Rach tells me that she hates walking, but Stuey described us both as speed walkers when we got back... we left them for dust!). Stuey told us loads of stories about the local people and myths about the area, they were always funny and told with so much feeling, they were great! The day ended with a glass of wine and the sunset over Ayers Rock, not a great one tonight, and spoiled by the huge amount of tourists that were there, but, suppose we were part of them too! We headed back to camp for a mean bbq and an early night.... early start again tomorrow!

Day 2 started with the sunrise over Ayers Rock, we were so stunned by the scenery... but all that was on our mind was would the climb up the rock be open today, they quite often close it due to the heat, weather or religous reasons.... but we were elated when we drove to the bottom and saw that it was open... it was 6.45 am and we were going to climb it.... the first part is a very steep climb with a chain to hold onto.... now the climb is hard enough, but when you get a load of Chinese tourists who decide to just stop dead, slow down or even worse simply collapse in front of you, it kinda winds you up! We both made it up the first part of the climb with several stops to catch our breath and take in the views.... the last leg of the climb followed a white line just like a road! All the way to the summit, where we were so pleased to catch site of the trig point! It was at this point when Rach said quite possibly the best thing of the day..... "Gaz, dont we still have that can of xxxx in the bag?" Oh yes we did! We proceeded to drink said lager and pose for a few pics..... I even managed to pose for a pic with a group of Chinese tourists, Rach was a tad embarrased by this, but they loved it (and so did Rach secretly i think ;-) This had to be the highlight of our trip, it was so magical and special sharing what must be some of the greatest views in the world, we didnt want to leave, but had to start heading down... time for one last WOW and then down we went to meet Stuey and his slices of Orange and Melon..... a lovely reward in that heat! We checked out the culture centre, then it was time to make the long journey to Kings Creek Cattle Station where we would spend the night, we enjoyed a lovely swim.... quite funny, it was only the brits among the group who sniffed out the only swimming pool for miles around! The end of the night was perfect with a camp oven dinner, a few beers and a fire, perfect!

Day three was a funny day, we rose early again and set off on a hike around Kings Canyon to check out the stunning scenery... the thing today was that it was chucking it down and freezing cold! Just like been at home... how random! The hike took a good few hours, and despite the weather was great fun, we arrvied back, dried off and headed for some lunch. After a long drive down a dirt road (very, very bumpy!) of about 150K's, we arrived at the Glen Helen Resort where we would spend the night, most of the group left us here as they were only on the 3 day trip, not like the hardcore 8 of us who were doing the 5 day! We were quite glad to be in a smaller group, more relaxed and friendly. We were entertained this evening by enjoying a few beers, a couple of Malibu's and listening to a singer who amazed me with his skill of being able to play several instuments at the same time!

On the morning of day four, we were treated to a specacular sunrise over the campsite, which set me up for the day.... we headed to Ormiston Gorge where we ended up having a bit of an unplanned adventure!... the rain had been so bad that the river had risen too high to cross it, so we had to build a bridge of stepping stones! Myself, Arnie and Stuey carefully placed a bridge accross the river, after which we helped the rest of the group accross... who was the only person who got his feet absolutly soaked? go on, guess.... oh thats it, me!!! We spotted several rock wallabies here, they are cool little fellas who just seem to watch you from up on the rocks! Next we headed to another highlight of the trip... Elerry Creek water hole, an amazingly beautifull natural watering hole set in a small rock formation, only the two of us and Arnie (A wierd German guy) took the plunge and swam to the other side. Rach and I took in the scenery for what must have been 45 minutes, but we didnt want to go, it was so perfect... quiet, tranquil and warm.... time to snap out of it though, as we had to head back, dry off and cook lunch.... cheese toasties on a BBQ.... WOW! Next stop was Stanley Chasm, a natural break between two rocks that was an amazing site, just enough time here for a few snaps and a brew, then time to travel to Wallace Rockhole, our stopover for the night. This is an aboriginal village, and a lovely lady gave us a tour of the surrounding hills, the rockhole and gave us a great insight into the aboriginal way of life. This was a lovely place apart from one small thing that drove us both mad over the five days..... THE FLIES! there were hundreds, and hundereds of flies!!!!!!!!!

The final day of the tour was great, I sat up front with Stuey whilst we off roaded our way to Palm Valley, an amazing patch of the Finke gorge National Park with Palm trees in it! We had a good walk through the valley, and Rach and I took the alternative route back over the ridge, which gave us a slightly different view from above! After our walk, we were treated to our final lunch or hamburgers on the BBQ, WOW! We headed from here slowly back to Alice, where we arrvied at about 2.30. We said our goodbyes and headed back to the hostel.... where it all went wrong! We waited nearly 3 hours for someone to turn up at reception.... neither of us were clapping as it was a bit of a bad end to 5 great days! We treated ourselves to a lovely eveing at a local Indian and then headed back to the hostel for our last night in Alice!

The next day we had a lot of travelling to do, we did breakfast and a bit of souvenier shopping in Alice before heading to the airport for our flight back to Sydney. We then cought a train and a bus, which was easier than we expected at rush hour. After picking the car up at Rach's aunties, we drove to Avoca via ahuge shopping trip......

Avoca was unreal and probably one of by biggest WOW's! The apartment was amazing and the area was stunning, here we spent a few days chilling out and watching the world go by really, it was like a seperate holiday after the tour we had just been on. It was wierd the pair of us living, cooking and eating together for the time we were there, but we got on better than ever and loved every minute of it! We ate out most nights on the balcony and I managed to take on the huge BBQ.... we did a pretty good job of the food I think, a great team! The beach at Avoca is amazing, great views and I could have easily spent all day just watching the waves crash down and the surfers trying their best to take them on. Went for a dip one day, I was like a big kid, I just couldnt believe how warm the water was and how clear it was! The only time we ventured out of Avoca was to go to a local town where we had a little look around the surf shops and treated ourselves to fish and chips and ice cream for lunch... perfect!

Saturday came far too soon for both of us I think, and we didnt really admit that it was ever going to happen until we got to the airport when it hit us both badly, I didnt want to go, and Rach didnt want to be on her own again, but we both knew that it had to happen, so after the whole issue with getting Rach's bag sent home, we headed to passport control and said our goodbyes. When I had gone through I was totally gutted, and couldnt believe that that was it, I was going home! I was more upset at leaving Rach out there than me coming home, I dont know how she does it on her own, shes a real credit to all of us to be doing something so big for so long.... and for that I respect her so, so much.

The journey back took forever, only helped by my 9 hour unplanned stop in a 5 star hotel in the airport at Kuala Lumper....it was only £35! Before I knew it, I was back in my car, driving up the M1 on my way home, more depressed than ever, wandering what Rach was doing, and how she was bearing up... its wierd being back home, and if it wasnt for the pictures, the memories and people asking me how it was, it feels like so long ago.......

And then..... oh, actually, thats the end of the story folks!

Only 14 weeks to go now til she comes home.....WOW! (not that im counting or anything mind you!)

Right, im off to rack my brains as to how the hell I will ever beat that trip..... the pressure is well and truly on!

Gaz
xxxx

Rach's Photos - http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/5251577
Gaz's Photos - http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/5253369

Getting to Melbourne

That was the longest and hardest coach trip i have ever had...i had to stop myself getting off at the airport and going home...i was...am so so homesick since Gaz left. Its not his fault i was before he arrived, miss my Mum and all that. But thanks to a very very special person she convinced me i was a fighter which i knew really and i had to finish what ive started or regret it. So i arrived in Melbourne at 8am and after finding the Hostel and waking up my room mate on the phone in tears ive had a really great day. Gemma adopted me and took me to St Kilda with her to see the markets and go on the worlds oldest roller coaster (even though were not sure it actually is) at Luna Park. We've ahd such a laugh this afternoon and even convinced me to eat (if you can call strawberries and gorgeous ice cream eating!)... anyway i cant stop as the internet place is closing...just a quick note.

Love you xxx

Ps - for any scout geeks out there...the Peru article is in this Months Network bit, Mums got my copy if any one wants to see it otherwise you can check it out on the scout magazine website...its not exactly what we wanted but at least they published our story.