Happy Birthday Tammy!

December 26th, 2006 was one of my closest friend's birthday - that's Tamara! Happy belated birthday Tammy! I wish I could've been there to celebrate Christmas and your birthday with you, but don't freight, we'll be able to celebrate other birthdays in the future.

Miss you guys! xo Christine

First Aussie Christmas w/ The Simpsons

I spent my first Aussie Christmas up in Atherton, with Stuart & his family of course. I was really looking forward to it. It's always great to go up to visit Barb&Les, Glynis&Steve and the kids, but this time the entire family was going to be there which meant we could visit with Kendall & Cady as well. If I was to spend Christmas away from my family, what better to do it with the Simpson's. They always make sure you are well taken care of and that you feel right at home.



Stuart and I arrived late Thursday nite (we had to work during the day) so the festivities began for us on Friday. The first couple of days were spent touring around Atherton to finish off our Christmas shopping and also to hang out at the pub & Cuda's house so Stuart could catch up with his mates. In the evening, we all gathered for dinner and some drinks. We laughed, we cried (I didn't cry, but some people did...tears of joy I suppose), and we sang (really we did. The 'Pianola' was in full force!). Everyone picked on the Canadian (Kendall was the worst. Making me fetch his beer for him, forgetting about me when going to Glynis', etc. I could've retaliated with some things, for e.g., his inability to get up on water skis, but I didn't), there were great debates, but most of all we had a ball.

Christmas Day arrived and we all gathered to open gifts. Kendall was Santa distributing the presents with some extensive commentary (it was hilarious, you had to be there) and then we all sat down to eat an absolutely fabulous Christmas lunch. It was a massive spread prepared by Les & Barb. I haven't eaten that much at Christmas in all of my life. It was great!

Then Kendall & Cady, and Steve's kids had to catch their flight back to Brisbane so we had to say good-bye. We promised we would each visit each other's city soon, which probably won't happen, but that's fine, Stuart and I have accepted that :)

Overall, my first Aussie Christmas was great and I was so lucky to spend it with the Simpsons. I was worried that I was going to be homesick and sad, but I wasn't and I owe it to them (cheesy isn't it?).

Photo time!

Smoking Chocolate Cigarettes...

Cady & I preparing 'Devil's on Horseback' (Prunes wrapped in Bacon). Sounded strange to me at first, but once I tried, I was hooked. So good!

Glynis & Nicholas...the beer helps him sleep...Christmas morning...there's jolly ol' St. Kendall.....

All the kids on Christmas morning...

Stuart & Grandma Lorny...she's 93 and looks fantastic!

Setting the table for Christmas Lunch...

Lisa Visits: Day 10-12 - Whitsundays

The 12 hour train ride up to Airlie Beach was worse than I thought it was going to be. We departed Hervey Bay 10:30 pm and arrived in Airlie Beach 9:00 am the next day. Both Lisa and I did not sleep a wink! Babies crying, people talking, air conditioning pumping too much cold air coupled with really tight foot space and 90 degree angle seats that would not recline kept us up the entire night. I saw the sun rise over Mackay as we got nearer.

In any case, we made it. Arrived at Bush Village backpackers, a good 1 km from Airlie, checked in, booked our tour on the Whitehaven Express for the following day (after Lisa sifted through thousands of brochures), had showers, and hitched a ride into town to check out the scene.

We just toured around the shops, got some groceries, and then decided to hang out in the park and do some reading. Airlie beach is cool. Very much a party town though. It was bumpin when we were there and it wasn't even high season. The afternoon came quickly, and we were fighting to stay awake, so we decided to head back to our room, eat something and take a snooze....which lasted until morning so really was a deep nights sleep.

The next day got us on the Whitehaven express off to explore the Whitsunday islands, do some snorkeling, and chill out on the infamous Whitehaven beach.

The Whitehaven Express....that was our boat.

Our first stop on the tour was Manta Ray Bay to do some snorkeling. Apparently Manta Ray Bay is the best snorkeling in the Whitsunday islands....and I have to agree. I wish I had a waterproof disposable camera bc the view was amazing. Colourful coral and so many beautiful fish, I couldn't spent the whole day under water. We only had an hour though....then it was back on the boat to check out Hill Inlet & the scenic outlet overlooking Whitehaven Bay.

This was by far the most amazing beach view I had ever scene. Apparently this point is the most photographed spot in the world and the beach one of the top 10 beaches in the world. The photos don't do it justice, but check them out!

We didn't spend very much time at the top, but did spend the next few hours down on Whitehaven beach taking in the view, and having a good ol fashioned Aussie BBQ prepared by our guides. I couldn't get over the white sand and clear water. I did not want to leave...

This was my view....

Me trying to be ANTM......I think I need to soften the eyes...

Lisa did better, after all she did audition for Canada's Next Top Model

It was a great day. Perfect weather, perfect beaches. I didn't want to give it up.

The next day we were due to depart and head back to Sydney, but before we left, we spend the morning opal shopping and chilling out at the Lagoon. You can't swim in the ocean cus it's stinger season so Airlie has this man made Lagoon in town where everyone goes to suck up rays and cool off.

It was hard to believe that Lisa's visit was nearly over. I wish she could've stayed longer. It was absolutely great to see her and to be honest, it really helped me get through my moments of homesickness. Stuart and I are planning on heading to Canada for a visit in Aug 2007 so I fine to know that we would all see each other again soon.

Hope you had a great trip Lisa, it was fun to hang out and explore Australia with you!

Lisa Visits: Day 7-9 - Fraser Coast

It was a 4 hour bus ride from Cotton Tree to Hervey Bay. We departed in the morning and arrived in Hervey late afternoon. Woolshed Backpackers is where we were calling home for the next few days. Nice little resort of cabins one street north of the esplanade. Lisa and I checked in and then booked our day tour to Fraser Island for the next day. Would have loved to go with the option of doing a 2/3 day camping trip, but we didn't have time so the 1 dayer it was.
After getting settled, Lisa and I toured Hervey Bay and checked out the beach. Hervey is a great coastal town lined with hotels, contained apartments, and hostels. The gateway to Fraser Island and you could tell the whole town functioned on tourism.
Bright and early again, our tour guide picked us via the courtesy shuttle to bring us to the marina for departure on the 'Fraser Dawn' to the island. Once there, we hopped in a heavy duty 4WD and started our tour around the world's largest sand island. Highlighted stops along the way included:

Coloured Sands

Pristine waters of Lake Garawongera

Beautiful Eli Creek

Yidney rainforest amidst towering Satinays & Kauri Pines

The rusting hull of the Maheno shipwreck

You know when you go on these tours it always says on the brochure 'included: extensive commentary by our knowledgeable guides', well this time, they really meant it. Our tour guide Colin knew so much about the island....telling us all about the stops along the way, the islands history, it's flora and fauna, how the island got it's name...it was amazing. I found it so interesting to listen to him when he talked about it all. So interesting in fact, I actually retained some of it! Do you know, that the island got it's name after Eliza Fraser, a shipwreck victim & wife of a sea captain (he who died of a heart attack) who befriended the Aborigines on the island until her rescue in 1836. At first her story sold well (that she was captured by the black people), but she began to embellish it so much that people started to doubt her. She eventually remarried (another sea captain!) and returned to a life of obscurity.
A long day it was, but a great day. Lisa and I chilled out in Hervey the next day doing the beach thing, eating at the waterfront cafe, and relaxing before departing on the overnight train to Airlie beach. 12 hour train ride up the coast....here we come!

Lisa Visits: Day 5&6 - Aussie Zoo, Sunshine Coast

We woke up bright and early Sunday morning to head back to Sydney. We wanted to rest a little before we flew out on Monday to the Sunshine Coast. Plus, we had more xmas shopping to get done & I wanted to introduce Lisa to my Aussie friend Leonie before we went away.

We all met up for dinner Sunday nite at The Oaks. Leonie was raving about their Gourmet Pizza so we had to try. The pizza was pretty good, and the wine, even better. We talked a lot about reality television, the recent ACNielsen xmas party, and other girly stuff. Stuart was loving it! (na, but he got his revenge when I had to go to the BV with him & his mates). Anyway, we reached the point of silliness so took some family portraits....

Leonie, Christine & Lisa

Stuart & Christine...way better than Sears portrait photo

Christine & Lisa....gee, we really look alike in this photo.

Monday morn & afternoon was spent packing our travel packs for our trip up the coast. We were flying up to the Sunshine Coast in the eve so we could have all day Tuesday to do the Zoo and hang out around town. We stayed at a nice little homely backpackers called Cotton Tree. Run and owned by Alex & his mother, it was a very friendly & clean place to stay. It was also very quiet. Seeing as how it was nearly Christmas, the backpacker mob had yet to come. It was good for us I guess bc we were only interested in mild levels of partying, nothing uni style...we're passed that...too cool I guess you could say :) (joking)
So Tuesday we set off to the Zoo. I had already been to the Zoo with Kendall & Stuart, but wanted Lisa to go so she could see all the Kangers & Koala's....oh, and a Cassowarie since they are known to 'rip your guts out'. The Zoo is massive & we had all day so we walked around and saw all the animals. We even made it out to the 'Crocosium' for a show on Birds, Snakes, and Crocs. My favourite, Kangaroo Heaven and the Koala park.

I know you're sedated, but you could lash out any time....Gentle Lisa, they bite...The Crocosium...it's huge!There's a Koala there somewhere.

After the Zoo, Lisa and I had a couple of hours to start our tanning process at the beach. Once dark, we took some time to navigate the streets. Seeing as how it was early in the week, there wasn't too much going on so we retreated back to the hostel. We hung out for a bit, and then got some shut eye. The next morning we were catching the bus to Hervey Bay - Fraser Coast way.

Lisa Visits: Day 3&4 - Blue Mountains

Everyone who comes to Sydney must try and get away to the Blue Mountains. I wasn't going to let Lisa come here without taking her there so we dedicated the weekend to travel out there and do some bush walks.
We arrived late Friday nite. Decided to stay at a Hostel in Katoomba and wake up bright and early to begin our trek through the National Park. Lisa and I took the same trail that Stuart and I did the last time we were there. So we took the train Leura where our route started and hiked all the way back to Katoomba. Through to the Leura Cascades, detouring to view all the lookouts, and finally ending up at the Three Sisters. It's about a 5Km hike all up and makes for a long day. It was sunny, but hot that day so it made even more tiring. Lisa and I were able to catch up on the last 8 months worth of gossip though :)

Bridal Veil Lookout - near the start of our trek

Overlooking the Blue MountainsSome GorgeFinally, the Three Sisters

Lisa Visits: Day 1&2 - Sydney

Hey all! Long time no speak! Sorry for being tardy with the blogging, but nothing blog worthy has really happened until now (that and Stuart's too lazy to compose anything :P).
So the day finally arrived, Lisa comes to visit Australia. I was most excited to see a member of my family since it has now been ~8 months since I've been here. Crazy hey? I was also most excited to get a big fat tin of Timmy's and a lovely mug to go along with it as well (thanks pops & soonie!)
After meeting Lisa at the airport, the first two days for her were spent sleeping while I had two more days of work to get off my plate before my vacation. Once that was out the way, it was off to explore Sydney.

Our Itinerary....Day 1 to explore Sydney Harbour & Day 2 to try our hand at surfing.
Originally we wanted to climb the harbour bridge, but once doing the maths and realising it would cost roundabout $300, we said, 'Do we really need to Climb it? Why not just walk over it??' So that's what we did. Started our 20 min walk into the city to check out the harbour. Our first stop was The Rocks. I like to equate the rocks to the distillery district in Toronto for those who know. Lots of cool pubs and old buildings, with that cobble stone walkway kinda feel. A really cool place to have drinks in on the weekends. It's close by Circular Quay too so we walked down there so Lisa could take in the view - the bridge and the opera house all in one pan. There we just lazily walked around, paused for some lunch, and finished off with a nice stroll in the botanic gardens. The weather was gorgeous so it was a perfect day to do all that.

The Rocks - check out the xmas decos, weird eh??

Lisa & the bridge...

Christine & the Opera House

Stairway to the Gardens

After our feet could no longer do the walking, we decided to round off the day by going shopping. We had yet to start xmas shopping and with the coming week expected to be filled with traveling and activities, we jetted to Chatswood to begin our Spree.

Day 2....Surfing at Manly Beach....we were nervous!

But it wasn't as bad as we thought. The waves at Manly were the perfect size and the weather was superb. After getting some onshore lessons from our instructors, we wasted no time paddling out to catch our first wave. I must admit that I thought I would be the first to get up on the board, but surprisingly, it was Lisa instead. In fact, Lisa was pretty good at the sport - who figured? She got up quite a bit, but once experiencing the affects of getting dumped by the wave so bad (specifically the amount of water that shot up your nose and I could relate bc I got smashed every time), she developed this technique of standing up and plugging her nose.....here's what I mean.....

The hand hovers over her nose, but she's up!

And she's down!!!! Lucky she's plugging that nose!

But in all seriousness, she did pretty good. If anyone is to become a surfer it will be her. I had fun too....until I hit the point of exhaustion.....this is what surfing was like for me....hence the reason why you won't see me on the surfing scene.

We hung out at Manly beach for a bit and then went home to pack for our weekend away. Next up on the Itinerary, the Blue Mountains....