http://www.packedmypipes.com en-gb packedmypipes.com 2009-6-12T00:00:00Z packedmypipes.com http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#43147 Ok so Ive been useless at posting updates. I have lots of stories to tell but I just havent had the time and not always internet access to do it so for now im gonna just try and get some good pics up here so you can follow where we have been and Ill update the text side as soon as I can.Ok so in the last post we had just had our 1st evening on the Ise pearl in the Whitsunday Islands. We were there until the 21st February 2009 and o to continue from below here are some more pics of our time there. I think I can say with a degree of certainty that this is the best thing that we have done so far on this trip. As im sure you can see from below it really was ParadiseThe 1st 3 pics are from the stunning Whitehaven beach. and the next 2 pics are of one of the many other deserted islands among the Whisundays. You may recognise the stinger suit in the next pic and no I didnt keep the one from the barrier reef However it was still stinger season so we had to wear it while in the water. Which bri... 2009-6-11T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#40588 SUNSHINE WHOOOOO HOOOO PICS TO BE UPLOADEDThe 1st day of beautiful sunshine for ages and the perfect start for our trip we just couldn180t believe our luck We made out way down to Abel Point Marina both happy as Larry and ready to meet our hosts from the Ise Pearl.There we met Captain Sparrow yep no joke and his partner Machi. Both seemed dead nice and were just so excited to have people on their boat as it had been 6 weeks of stormy weather previously and so they were unable to take anybody out.We were taken by dinghy to our trusty vessel for the tour The Ise Pearl. An old Japanese pearl lugger that Captain Sparrow had rebuilt by himself. It looked fantastic as I180m sure you will agree from the picture below and after a short safety breifing we set off on our journey at around 1pm. We spent the 1st day sailing towards Whitehaven Beach. This is billed as the highlight of the Whitsundays and about 4hrs later we weighed anchor just off the beach and decided to wait till the morning b... 2009-2-21T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#40583 Airlie Beach is one of the main ports for trips to the Whitsunday Islands. Located just off the Queensland coast they consist of 74 islands some of which known as the most beautiful beaches in the world. I think its something to do with the crystal clear turqoise waters and long white sandy beaches that surround them Hope I180m not making anybody too jealous back homeObviously we couldn180t wait but we weren180t actually going until the 18th so we had a little time to kill. We decided to take a day trip to Mackay which was around 140km away and yep you guessed it another boring drive on Queenslands poker straight roads A good bit of rain did keep me on my toes mind you.At this point I would just like to point out that Andrea pretty much refuses to drive because she a big chicken and so if I sound a bit unimpressed by the whole driving experience in Queensland it180s because I180ve been doing all of itAnyway Mackay was pretty forgetable just another town really but we stayed the night t... 2009-2-16T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#39780 Ok well I know we had kinda been on a bit of a road trip already around Cairns but this was the start of the real road trip back to Brisbane. The plan was to head pretty much down the Queensland Coast with our top priorities being the Whitsunday Islands and Fraser Island. We hoped to stop along the way as much as possible as long as there was something interesting worth stopping for.The 1st leg of our trip was Cairns to Townsville. It doesnt look that much on the map but you forget just how massive Australia is sometimes and it was actually around 400km away. To be honest this part of the trip was pretty forgetful. The road was dead straight most of the way like most of the main roads in OZ and it made for a pretty boring drive. We made it to Townsville without any sign of any flooding on the road and decided to stay there for the night. As it was my birthday we broke the budget and went out for a meal again something pretty forgetable it has to be said and pretty much just hit the hay... 2009-2-14T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#39715 Day 4 and we were up and down at the ferry terminal for 7.30am. We hadnt booked anything yet so it was best to get there early so we didnt miss out. Thankfully that paid off and we got on the tour that we wanted to. I think it came to about 120 each which was pretty good considering it was a full day out on the reef with meals etc all included. I just realised havent mentioned the weather Well before we left things were certainly looking up as the sun was fighting to break through the clouds and by the time we got out to the reef about 1 189 hrs the sky was completely clear and the sun was beating down on us.Once it was time to get out onto the reef I couldnt wait as Id been snorkelling in the Red Sea before and absolutely loved it. The water temperature out there was around 29 degrees too We did however have to wear these very fetching stinger suits as it was the marine stinger season until march. Back to the actual reef and its was pretty incredible. Just imagine swimming in ... 2009-2-13T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#39714 On day 3 of our time in Cairns yep you guessed it rain We are from the North West Highlands though so we werent about to let that spoil our day. Andrea has an old school pal living in the Atherton Tablelands which are a little bit further inland from Cairns so we decided to head there in the hope that we might be able to catch up with her. Also the tablelands have lots of waterfalls and as you can imagine they were all bursting at the seems from all the rain so for once we were thankful for the wet as it made for some pretty cool photos. We managed to get a hold of Andreas pal Kirsty and spent a couple of hours there getting some banter before setting off on our journey back towards Cairns. She did advise us of a nice little waterfall circuit that was on the way so we took a little detour and man was it worth it.I love getting in the water at any opportunity and one of the waterfalls on the circuit was absolutely perfect for it. Its almost like something you would see in the... 2009-2-12T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#39692 We arrived at Cairns airport around 10pm on the 9th Feb and were greeted immediately by that wonderful Queensland humidity. This time it really felt a lot worse than we had been used to further down the coast in Brisbane. I think it was something like 86 which is pretty much unbearable indoors unless you have air con. Thankfully our hostel for the night did have air con but although we had plenty cool air flowing we still had an awful nights sleep thanks to some rowdy guests having a full on pool party when they came in from a night out from midnight till about 5am Needless to say we werent in the best condition in the morning but I was still looking forward to picking up our van and starting our exploration of North Queensland. Sadly we were in for a bit of bad news. Im not sure if it is being as widely reported as the Bush Fires are back in the UK but almost 65 of North Queensland had been flooded over the previous week and we were being advised by the van rental personnel that we ma... 2009-2-9T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#38789 Sydney was brilliant We arrived about 6.30pm and checked in to the Great Southern Hotel on George St pic below. This turned out to be a great find from Andrea on one of those last minute deal websites. We got our 1st 2 nights for 64 for the room per night miles cheaper than a hostel It was because of that we stayed a 3rd night albeit a little more expensive at 109 but it all evens out in the end. We had an ensuite fridge and a flat screen T.V. and all for cheaper than a hostel. Of course it wasnt this price all the time so we then relegated ourselves back to a hostel which was 85 per night each for our room Ridiculous Just because its Sydney they think they can hike up the prices. Anyway back to Sydney. Definitely my favourite out of the 3 main cities in OZ. Its much larger or at least it certainly feels like it and there... 2009-2-5T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#38108 Our flight was pretty early by our standards 5.30am to be exact but as it only came to something like 75 for the both of us it was definitely worth it. The reason we were going to Canberra was to visit the parents of one of my friends from work back home. Graeme and Margaret put us up for 3 nights in total and looked after us exceptionally well. We were also surprised that my friend Cathy was actually visiting at the same time so it was an added bonus to catch up with her too. Canberra is the Capital of Australia although a lot of people actually think that it is Sydney not to mention any names Andrea. It was actually purposely built as it couldnt be decided whether Melbourne or Sydney should be the capital and so to stop all the squabling an entirely new city was built. This means that the capital of Australia is not even 100 yrs old The whole city is built around a large lake and what is know as the parliamentary triangle. This specific area is one of the main attractions of Can... 2009-2-4T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#38107 Leaving our house in Brisbane was very sad. It had been our home for 3 months and provided us with an excellent base where we could feel relaxed and chilled out. Our housemates were awesome too which also made life a whole lot easier. The house itself was amazing too. We were only paying 230 a week between us which when you compare that to staying in a hostel for 55 per night is a lot cheaper. Ive put some pics of our humble abode below. Staying in Brissie is all good and well but you cant see much of Australia just sitting about in the same place. So Andrea and I planned a little tour to do on our last month from the 1st of February till the 26th February before we fly out to New Zealand on the 28th. Starting in Canberra we are then catching a bus up to Sydney and then flying to Cairns where we will finally picking up a van for a 3 week road trip back down to Brisbane along the Queensland coast. We have already booke... 2009-2-1T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#38105 I had my first Surfing lesson at Coolongatta beach on the Gold Coast. It was a belter of a day and the waves werent too big in other words perfect conditions for learning to surf. Only 40 for a 2hr lesson is a bargain in my book and afterwards you can hire a board for the rest of the day for just another 20. Now though lets get to the actual surfing and anybody that knows me well will know that I love any sport and like to try and do my best at them so I was hoping that I could pick it up as quickly as possible. As you have probably guessed I was utterly useless and spent most of my time being flung face first from my board into the water and the sand underneath. I ended up getting extremely frustrated not like me at all and decided not to bother hiring the board for the rest of the day. Looking back though Im definitely gonna get back in and try again. Just maybe with a little bit less expectations this time ... 2009-1-28T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#38104 Australia Zoo is just about 1hrs drive north of Brisbane. This is incase you didnt know the home of the crocodile hunter Steve Irwin. It really is a fabulous place with tonnes to see and do but the highlights rather obviously being the crocs. They have a massive ampitheatre where they hold shows and where they bring out the bigger crocs for everyone to see. This particular guy is called Graham. I think they said he is about 3 189 metres long . Even all the other animals looked really healthy which is a bit of a change from what you can sometimes see at the Zoo The only thing is the absence of Steve Irwin. The whole time we were there you couldnt help but wish he was still around to put on a show for everyone and wrestle a crocodile or something. On our way round the Zoo we came to his shrine if you like. A place where all of the letters giving condolences and messages to his family have been put o... 2009-1-27T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#38103 Christmas in Brisbane was very strange. Seeing Christmas decorations and trees in the blinding sun just seemed a bit wrong That coupled with us being so far away from friends and family made our Christmas pretty uneventful. We did however have a fantastic feast courtesy of our Finnish housemate Emma and her mother. That was definitely the highlight. Sadly though there was no turkey as Emma is a Vegan but there was still more than enough delicious food to choose from. With Christmas gone then came the New Year and again pretty uneventful. We did head down to Southbank to see the fireworks though which were not bad. Although I am one who believes once youve seen some fireworks youve seen them all. The Aussies love their fireworks though as Im sure you will have seen from Sydney. That was pretty much our Christmas and New Year. Nothing great to report. We decided to hire a car from the 2... 2009-1-26T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#38102 Byron Bay is about a 3hr drive south of Brisbane and when our housemate Derek offered us the chance to head down for the weekend we jumped at it On the way down Derek who is a Local to the Brisbane area decided to take us a through the scenic route through some of Queenslands Hinterland. We stopped in one of the national park areas for a quick cool off in one of the pools as his car had no air con and it was about close to 37 degrees. Unfortunately the water was absolutely freezing and we both chickened out. Back on the road and our next stop was a little bit more interesting. Derek spotted a snake at the side of the road and as we hadnt seen one yet well in the wild at least he decided we should stop so we could have a little look. Fortunately it was just a little carpet python so it wasnt venomous but could give you a nasty bite. Once we made it to Byron we were greeted by Dereks friend Zerena who was putting us up for the weekend thanks Zerena. Thats her below learning the p... 2009-1-25T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#35450 Just to let you know weve since been back to Surfers and I have been in the water. It was awesome They were just starting to get some king tides so the waves were a bit bigger than normal and a hell of a lot more powerful. Check them out in the pics Ive been swimming at the beach loads of times on holiday in Spain and other places but it was nothing like that. The power in the waves is immense. Even just standing knee deep it is almost pushing you over. I was watching some of the locals swimming with the waves so I thought Id give it a go. Definitely not a good idea if your not a strong swimmer though luckily Im just about ok It was so much fun though. Such a rush when you feel the force of the wave hit you and then you sort of glide along with it great banterThe whole culture is definitely something I could get used to. Its pretty common for people to go for a swim or surf before heading to or after work. I know people do that at home but thats in the gym and stuff its ... 2009-1-24T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#35449 On the 15th December we decided to take the train down to the Gold Coast. Its only about 1hr and a half on the train and a wee bit shorter if you have a car.It was a grand day I think just under 30 degrees perfect for the beach Sorry if Im making any of you guys back home jealous especially as your not particularly having the best weather but I didnt really get the chance to enjoy the summer at home this year because I was working like a dog so Im making up for it nowAnyway the Gold Coast has many beaches to choose from but as it was our first outing down that way we decided to hit Surfers Paradise. Its basically the kind of capital of the Gold Coast. There are loads of plush hotels designer shops and luxury beach apartments as you can see from the pics below.It was a fairly uneventful day. Just chilled out on the beach topping up the tans watching the surfers. The water was still a bit too cold for me at this point so I decided not to venture in. Once the sun set we headed back for th... 2009-1-23T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#34810 I did say before that we arrived Brisbane mid November 2008 but it was about a month before we got properly settled and had a look at what we could do that was fairly close by.Our first wee excursion was on the 13th December 2008 involving a trip to the worlds oldest and largest koala sanctuary. Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is one of Brisbanes most popular attractions and I guess I can see why with it being only a short bus ride from the city centre and also fairly cheap at 25 per person. There are over 130 koalas for you to see along with kangaroos and other Australian wildlife. Got to say that both Andrea and I loved it. The Koalas were dead cute if I can get away with saying that. They also look as if they have got it made just hanging about on some branches sleeping all day maybe waking up to have a wee nibble. Some of the positions they were in were hilarious. Hopefully you can see from some of the pics.The best bit for me though were the kangaroos. You can buy some food for them at ... 2009-1-22T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#35460 We flew into Brisbane on the 17th November 2008. Got to say that it wasnt exactly sunny when we landed but it was certainly a lot hotter than Melbourne. Its actually only 768km below the tropic of Capricorn so its is also pretty humid as well. We checked into our hostel which was aptly named Somewhere to stay and 1st impressions of it were certainly pretty good. I should say that we hadnt actually booked anywhere to stay in Brisbane before we left Melbourne thinking that we would get somewhere without any problems. That wasnt entirely the case and after trying most of the hostels that Brisbane had to offer Somewhere to Stay was the only one with any room for us. Anyway it was a blessing in disguise as it was right in the heart of the popular west end and within walking distance to the city centre. Our first few days were spent trying to decide whether or not we were going to make Brisbane our base for the next few months. We still hadnt totally decided even after nearly a week well I h... 2009-1-21T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#33160 A comparitively short 7 hr flight this time compared to our last one of 12.5hrs and a much more comfortable one too. Flying Quantas this time and man what a difference Tonnes more legroom and all round better service. We touched down in Melbourne at 0600am on the 4th November 2008 and I stupidly didnt sleep at all on the flight as I was too engrossed in The Dark Knight. Needless to say I was absolutely knaccered when we got off the plane. We were able to get a bus straight to our Hostel Freeman Lodge. A really nice hostel with the owner Bob who was a fantastic host. It was the day of the Melbourne Cup and I had every intention of getting the Kilt on and heading to the races for a spot of busking but unfortunately my stupidity of not sleeping on the plane hit me right in the face and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out like a light for hours and missed the Melbourne Cup We only spent 2 nights in the hostel as I had booked an appartment in St Kilda right next to the beach for... 2008-12-1T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#33106 My apologies for not updating this blog until now. It has been extremely difficult without a computer. However I now have that problem solved so I can update everyone on whats happened on our round the world trip so far Well we left windswept Britain on the 29th October 2008 and arrived in Singapore about 12.5 hrs later. The flight wasnt the best note to anybody considering a long haul flight do not go with British Airways or at least economy with them anyway utterly useless First thoughts of Singapore were immediately about the HEAT Well maybe not the actual temperature itself but more the humidity. 35 degrees during the day and then only cooling down to 30 at night was a struggle. Once you get passed that though its such a beautiful city. The people are unbelievably helpful and friendly and everywhere is so clean Not to mention the transport systems which are ridiculously efficient We stayed in a backpackers hostel called The Hive. Really nice place and the main thing was the ai... 2008-11-30T00:00:00Z http://www.packedmypipes.com/page8.htm#30845 My Girlfriend Andrea and I are about to embark on the trip of a lifetime On the 29th October we will be jetting off to Singapore for the first part of our round the world trip We will be travelling for about 1 year and of course I have packed my pipes so if you are in any of the below countries that we are visiting and you need a piper theres only one place to come...........packedmypipes.com As you can hopefully see on the map above after Singapore we plan to visit Australia New Zealand Chile Brazil Peru North America California Arizona Texas and finally Canada Keep informed of our wee adveture on this blog and check out the picture gallery for updates on the interesting places ive been able to play a tune on my pipes Cheers Alistair 2008-10-11T00:00:00Z