Hi all :-) its me again. time for the second installment of this travel update (Yay!!!)

 

Some things that i left out of the first one include:

There was also this massive ou that was living with us, looked like a caveman! pretty much just grunted at everyone also! there was this guy from capetown, probably the most decent of the lot, he was pretty cool. Oh, Bryce, the braai we had included bacon and cheeze. yeah!

the day after i first met chris, i reckon the jet-lag took its toll hey. the effect was probably exaggerated due to the fact that i had had a long and tiring day, and night. i pretty much woke up, had breakfast, wrote the first e-mail, and went back to bed. I was EXHAUSTED! had a headache also, and it was overcast :-( so no sorry dad, i didnt get to see the beaches. i was really bummed abiout that, cos it was something that i really wanted to do. plus i missing the beach now also. the thing is, even if i did go... i would need to take at least my wallet to pay the ferrie to the beach (I was gonna go to manly) then what do i do with it when i want to swim. im not big on giving things like that to strangers and then leaving them with it. however by later that day, like 8pm i was feeling a bit better and went to say hi/cheers to chris. we had a "braai" there and listened to music. chris even put on some of The Narrow, not everyone enjoyed it :-). also, most ppl dont understand ("You dont understand") the general situation in good old SA. from the poverty, the level of education, the public services, the violent crime, etc...  That same day i had also asked the lady at the backpackers wether(?) the shuttle service would be able to take me to the airport the next day, and she says "Yeah sure, no problem." so the next morning i wake up early to get to the airport on time. (The plane was leaving at like 9am) and get to reception and they tune "No sorry, the bus isnt working today, catch a taxi" straight! no "Call these ppl" or, so sorry we'll make a plan.. Nothing! so i missioned out to the main street nearbye, and its rushhour and there are taxis everywhere, but they all delivering ppl to businesses. so the robot changes (red) and i jump in front of this taxi and demand that i get in. he was a goos ou and lets me in before the light changes backl. he only had to round the block to drop off the person he was carrying. The fare was expensive, but by that time i wasnt too phased (I had a ride to the airport!) and i had got A$10 off from those buggers at reception. I put down a $10 key deposit for my room, and claimed A$20. hehehe. the taxi driver was really cool, and took me straight to the doors of the terminal where i had to book in. i only had to walk like 30m from the taxi to the check-in, which was nice. he was a typical taxi driver, if i said imagine a taxi driver to you, that is what hed look like. oh, before i get on the plane... Another kak thing about that place was that they almost never had toilet paper! there were like 8 bathroom/toilets and u always had to mission to all of them before finding the stuff! (What a bugger)

Something that i have also noticed, is that almost everyone has iPods! theyre effing everywhere! unbelievable! 

Another strange thing is the accents. some ppl i am able to understand (And tolerate) but some of these ous... its too bad to describe. 

 

Ok, so i get to the check in at Sydney airport, and my bag is going through the scanner and the guards start looking alerted, when suddenly the one guy tunes "Salad Spoon!" i swear, it was like he'd just discovered i was smuggling a nuclear weapon! (Was funny, but worrying at the same time) but it turns out it wasnt soo bad. the one guy (There were 3- 1 scanning and 2 lookers on) starts opening my bag and then walks off, saying that its his break and that the others can handle it. (well i should hope so, ots only a salad spoon). it first took a while for me to figure out how a salad spoon got into my hand luggage, when i clicked that mom had wrapped a set as a present for Kiker, from Africa. so i tell the lady the story and hand her the package. she sends it through the scanner and hands it back to me and says, "ok off you go". Sjo, that was close hey...

So im boarding the plane, and the hostess lady says "jst over there". I look at my card and reckon "Yeah, seat 10 isnt too far back". but someone was sitting in my seat! turns out i was meant to be in seat 1D, not 10! LoL. so i missioned back against the flow of trafic, to my seat. 

The plain lands, and i head to the baggage collect place where i wait for my "Big" bag. all 20kg of it. and i wait, and i wait, and i wait. was starting to get worried, when out it comes. (YAY)

Phone the backpackers (Bloody payphones) but they only do pickups from the main train terminal. so i mission to the nearest train terminal (Which was right there) and head off to the central station. well it wasnt the real central station but the roma street station which is closer and no more of a hassle to get there. Phone them again to come fetch me... (I hate payphones!) and they are like "yeah, sure, hold on". i wait 10 minutes and this minivan (like an 8 seater job) pulls up packed with pretty girls. (Score*10!!!) the ride isnt even 2 minutes to the backpackers, and WoW! what a difference! the place is jacked up, clean, and the ppl here arent nearly as dodgy. its just really nice all-round. The rooms are all airconditioned which is nice, but it can get chilly sometimes. there is a bar, and they cook breakfast and supper (For a fee) and have a heated pool. pretty self sufficient.

Ok, so ive finally arrived in Brisbane...

Turns out there is a service where this guy (Supposedly knows Steve Irwin) picks ppl up from the doorstep of the backpackers, plays episodes of crocodile hunter, and showes u a good time (No, not like that, for u dodgy ppl). so after all this missioning i decided "hey, for like 5 bucks extra, whynot?" (Yay, im going to the zoo) That night there was a fancy dress at the bar - hookers and pimps. was pretty funny. Turns out im the only south african here. met a bunch of ppl from all over. my room is an 8 sleeper, with 1 girl. its all pretty decent, and we usually only there to sleep, otherwise the common-room is where most ppl are.

 

So, thursday arrives and im off to the zoo. have a small packet of chips and a coke for breakfast. go brush my teeth, and get stuck outside my room. its about the only complaint that i have, its nearly impossible to get into your own room. just really triksy (lord of the rings - triksy hobbitses...) locks. so i couldnt put my toothbrush away, and ended up going to the zoo with it in my pocket. LoL :-) on the way there they driver played a documentary about steve irwin, and showed clips from most of the episodes that he's been in. turns out i've seen the documentary (although this was slightly different cos it was the uncut one) and most of the episodes that have been made. fancy that. The zoo was awesome! really clean and neat. the animals have first class enclosures, and the staff are really committed to ensuring that they have the best care, food, etc. I started at the snakes (Surprising) and saw a taipan, amongst others, and wow. id put it on a par with the black mamba - it was big. also saw green tree pythons, (i thought they were called emerald tree boas? maybe its something slightly different) but they must be one on the more beautiful snakes around, what a lovely green.

Saw a platupus, pretty birds (but they were still birds), dingo's, tazmanian devils, emus, cassawories (spelling?) - those massive ostrich-like birds with a horn thingy on their head. kangaroos, koalas, wombats, and a few others. they had lizzards (i think they were bearded ones, cos they were like minature dragons, not like the ordinary lizzards u are used to) running free all over the park - pretty comical little buggers. they had elephants and cheetas, but really, ive seen those before. just shows how privilaged we are in SA, that we take things like cheetas and elephants for granted. you wouldnt believe the mass of people that crowded around the elephants! at the main "arena" the Crocoseum, a 5000 seater, there was a snake awareness show, a bird show, a tiger show (this was really great, cos i really like tigers!), and of course, a croc show! WoW! it was awesome! I had a really great time and was grinning all the way back to the back packers. turns out i was only the second person from SA there that day, and the other lady (and old indian woman) has been here for 27 years! thats longer than i have been alive, so i wont count that. :-) Never saw Stevie, but hey... you cant win them all. i got a souvenier - a glass/perspex block with a 3D crocodile and writing saying "Aussie zoo", in the centre. really cool. got back at like 5 and i was buggered. after a sausage roll and a fruit juice for supper, i hit the sack for a power nap which ended up being a bit longer than intended. i woke up an hour later at 6pm. i must say that this touring business isnt the most healthy way to live. the thing is, im not in any place long enough to warrant buying anything substantial, and if i did, theres the problem of storage. plus im just lazy :-) there was a "Killer Pool" pool competition that night, which was pretty fun. im just chuffed that i never came last. getting back to the zoo quickly... boy did i have to be selective with my pictures, since i am running out of space. and even though there are pc's here, the cases are locked away, so i still cant transfer the images to my flash drive. :-( it was a good lesson in being selective and judging quality.

oh, my phone's batteries have died, and the watch that i got from estelle doesnt have an alarm, so today i was going to go around town and do the whole photo taking thing and look fior a cheap watch/alarm clock at the same time, because i got to be at the airport by like 7am tomorrow. (How bad is that?) also, the shuttle only starts at 9am, so i's gotta walk with all my stuff like 10 min. to the train station. (aarg) the thing is, its been drizzling and overcast most of the day, with a few scattered showers, so i didnt take my camera with me when i first set out for the city on account of - i didnt want to be caught in a shower with my camera. so my main mission was to get an alarm clock thingy. i went to the sort of city centre - queen st., where the whole street is a shopping centre! yes thats true! its amazing. there is a centre in the middle of the place, a bit smaller than the pavillion, and it doesnt even feature! this street must be at least 6 blocks long. just amazing. got my watch, but found myself in need of a good kak, in the middle of the mall! egad. it must have been my stay in the backpackers in Sydney, but it turns out my fear of crapping in public p[laces hase gone. (Yay) but maybe because there wasnt anything to fear, the place is so clean that you want to go there.

oh, something completely off topic quickly... they have the Simpsons on tv like every day here. mostly old episodes but soo funny.

After that, i went across a massive bridge across the river (duh! what else would a bridge be over? well i suppose there are a few other things...) and went to a museum (Free. Score!) and the science centre, which was really cool. went back to the backpackers, and got lunch on the way. i had just got back when it started pouring, like hurricane leftovers. just as well i never went to the artificial beach. maybe next time?

Things on tv - the government is really proactive (Adverts etc.) about anti-abuse against women, and everyone (Especially children) exercising at least an hour a day.

this letter has taken a bit longer due to the fact that there are only a limited number of pc's and we got to get off after half an hour. so i just been cycling around the room.

 

Thats about it for now, i guess... i know that i left something out, its niggling in the back of my mind. bugger, there just too many things.

 

Keep well all of you, and ill see you in Aukland! cant wait!