Escaping the floods

As I'm sure you have all heard, the floods got extremely bad when we got to Brisbane so we thought it was safest to leave before we got stranded in a country where we don't know anyone to help. Transport to the city from the airport was cut off and no one was sure we would make it to gold coast. We had already cancelled plans to noosea but we are sad to miss Byron bay and the Steve Erwin zoo. Also sad that I saved surfing for the these few cities. However even if we made it to gold coast, it was constantly raining. They are calling these floods an "inland tsunami" which the worst one in history - lucky us! So now you're wondering - where are we?!

We ended up getting a flight from Brisbane to Christchurch, which is a city in the south island of new Zealand. Our original flight was from gold coast to Auckland so it was very kind to completely change our flight to get us out of there before there was the risk of airport closure as was the case in other flooded cities. We are staying at the novotel Christchurch cathedral square which I'd highly recommend! Super cute hotel with a lot of character and very central! They have an iMac station with complimentary internet for guests which I love! We didn't do a whole lot today except explore, went to the art gallery to see a sculptures exhibit and ate. After much deliberation, we are taking a tour tomorrow and then staying in queenstown for a few days before flying to Auckland to start our original itinerary! Thank you meena for sending me south island info in my panic! We really don't know much about the south island and only brought a guide book for north island so it should be interesting!

Hope everyone is doing well at home!

Sailing the Whitsunday islands

We are just waiting at the airport for our flight to brisbane. We are unsure whats in store for the next few days bc of the terrible floods in the Queensland state, which is where we are headed. North and west of brisbane has already been affected and we are debating leaving for new Zealand earlier if it gets any worse. Keep you posted. A few people was died and a bunch missing. If its not on the news in canada, YouTube the videos bc they are pretty scary.

We went on a sailing trip around the Whitsunday islands which are a group of 74 islands, the most famous one being Whitsunday island and specifically Whitehaven beach! White haven beach was the most gorgeous beach we've ever seen with sand that is 99% silica and the whitest and softest sand you've ever seen and felt. We lucked out bc although its the rainy season in this part, we didn't get any but the heat on Whitehaven beach was so intense that at times you felt like you were in a desert! Poor Adam - there wasn't any shade on the beach at all! There were some awesome people on our boat and thank god most people were also in our age range. Some people were traveling for a month like us and others for 10 months! It's only a dream to ever think we'd we able to travel for that long and still have a job when we got back. We all went out after the sailing trip as well which was nice. I'm not going to lie - the sleeping situation and bathrooms abroad the boat could have definitely been better. The boat we went on was called Siska with 20 ppl which we booked through Peter pan travel. Apparently koala adventures is a good one too but more days than we had and we were told that it's an extreme party which is obviously not what Adam and I wanted. There were far more options for 2 day and 2 night trips and there are also fewer trips leaving on Sundays. Besides that, food was good and company was great! Snorkeling was fun as well but less visibility than in cairns. I saw a stingray this time and a few really big fish! We also saw some turtles and the highlight was the dolphins that hung out around our boat all evening. So cute! There is so much to see and do in Queensland!

We met up with Omar and Melissa in Townsville and they drove up to airlie beach with us. It was great to see them and catch up! They were great company for our psycho drive - there was a Crazy lightning storm with no rain or thunder. The lightning literally went on every 2-4 sec for at least 2 hrs. Even the locals were weirded out by what was happening and videotaped it. If Omar and Melissa weren't there, I don't think Adam would have let us drive through it alone.

If anyone reading this has any info on nz south island, please email me bc I only bought the north island travel guide and if we are forced to leave early, we will have time to see both north and south islands.

Next post from Byron bay or new Zealand! We already got screwed on our prepaid hotel in noosa and the rest of our hotels this week are prepaid.

Under the sea

We are now in port Douglas, a super cute resort town for locals 1 hrs drive from cairns. It isn't even listed in the lonely planet travel book but I'd read it was a locals honeymoon spot and alysha recommended going there after her Aussie trip. Thank you alysha and meena for all your travel advice! Lord know we don't need the space but got upgraded from a 1 bedroom to a 2 bedroom villa at the rendezvous port Douglas resort. Staff are super friendly and the hotel restaurant has really good food! I'd highly recommend for people to visit here when they come to oz! It's nice and relaxing after the last few hectic days! Bistro 3 was also a really good restaurant there as well on the main street.

We went on our diving/snorkeling great barrier reef trip yesterday. Because of his asthma, Adam couldn't go diving. We used the company Reef experience which was a midrange company but overall very good and good value. Diving was a scary experience initially! I panicked twice and came back to the surface to catch my breath and the instructor had to work with me a few extra minutes to make sure I could put my mouth piece back into my mouth if I lost it under the water. It was a great experience and a nice introduction but I think I'd prefer to get certified before trying it again. Anyone wanna get certified with me?! Adam won't ever be able to go but I think he's secreted happy bc he has an excuse not to go! Lol. The fishes under the water are so cool - especially the colorful parrot fish! It's so interesting to watch the world under there!

The weather is tropical now that we are in the queensland state of Oz but with warm weather brings lots of bugs! The temperature is low 30s but even higher with humidity! Australia is the skin cancer of the world bc the uv rays are intense here! Hopefully Adam will make it through the trip okay!

We are off to Townsville to meet up with Omar and Melissa and then to whitsundays islands for a sailing trip!

Fashion hub of Australia

"Hi ya goin?" thats equivalent to "how ya doin" or "whatcha saying" in Toronto. The first time someone said that we answered "we're walking!" now we are used to it. I'm currently writing this post waiting for the penguin parade at Phillis island which is a 90minute drive from Melbourne. We arrived early to get a good seat to see them come out of the ocean to the beach area where all the visitors wait for them. 

Melbourne is a pretty cool city from what we've seen so far! The St. Kilda beach area is a cute area but sydney's beaches are far superior.    Adam did some awesome shopping along lt Collins lane and we both found a few things along chapel street, the fashion area of Melbourne. Adam rarely finds his size in clothes in Canada or the us but here everything is his size since the guys here are trim and the urban guys where fitted clothing. Also, guys clothing is always more expensive than girls clothing, I find, but here it's the opposite. fashion is a big deal here which is why Melbourne is so much like Montreal! If it had the beaches, I'd like it even better than Sydney! It's too bad we dont have more time in Melbourne to get to people watch in one of the cute cafes or just hang out in their main square called federation square that is similar to dundas square in Toronto but with cooler architecture and less lights. Like in every big city though you will come across your share of wackos! Adam and I use Internet  most frequently at mcdonalds because they have free wifi! My dad was kind enough to lend me his ipad for a month so its super convenient! We just loiter half the time but luckily we aren't the only ones! Got turned off mcDs wifi when a random asked to sit with us and literally asked us if we wanted to have a threesome with him. Wacko!

will write again soon about the cute penguins and scuba diving from cairns!

Spiders while cruising the great ocean road

We are now in Melbourne and staying at the clarion suites gateway! It's a nice hotel with a good location. The rooms are even nicer than the lobby which usually isn't the case. Its a nice change after our Apollo bay accommodation which I will get to. Holiday inn darling harbor in sydney was great too but not for the price we paid!!

Great ocean road is a scenic drive along the coast where you can stop in smaller cities or surf towns along the way. My favorite of the towns we visited was Lorne. Torquay and Apollo bay were cute too but the best accommodations are probably in lorne too. We stayed at a seemingly cute b & b in Apollo bay called hawley reef views b&b that was recommended in the lonely planet. Everything was fine until we got home from dinner to find a bunch of spiders in the room! Most were daddy long legs but there was one scary guy crawling along the wall near our bed! I screamed and got bug spray from the owner and we sprayed every corner of the room. We literally killed 7 or 8 spiders and had to trap the big guy under a cup to make sure he couldn't go anywhere. This experience reminded me of Thailand and in Venice battling cockroaches in cheap accommodations although Adam or Sophia and Meena did the exterminating so i was lucky. The problem here is that we paid more for the b & b than most of our hotels in the coming weeks including staying at the Marriott! In it's defense, I think the problem was the immaculate rose garden at the front of the house attracting all the bugs and it being on the ground floor - lesson learned!

Driving on the other side of the road has been an interesting experience! The highway was fine but downtown Melbourne driving is another story - lots of yelling at Adam unintentionally and last minute turn instructions when we figure out where we're going! The funniest is when Adam accidentally turns the wipers on when he's trying to indicate to turn!

Looking forward to seeing the cute penguins at the penguin parade tmr evening!

Beginning of a new decade

Happy new year everyone! 

New years eve in Sydney was crazy! I think they expected 2 million people around the harbourfront to watch the nye fireworks. There were fireworks at 9 pm which is meant for families and then again at midnight which last longer.  At one point you didn't know where to look because there were fireworks everywhere over Sydney opera house, Sydney harbor bridge, downtown sky scrapers, and various other areas along the harbor. They were definately the best fireworks we seen but holy it was crowded with tourists and locals! 
 
Finally 3 nice days of heat and sun! We went to manly beach on one day which is a ferry ride from the main city port or circular quay and the second day we went to the infamous bondi beach after a picturesque coastal walk between coogee and bondi beach. Both beaches are very nice and busy but I liked the feel of manly better bc it's smaller. The sun is pretty intense here - I almost never burn but my nose is definitely burnt. Poor Adam just thinks about the sun and he's burnt although he's doing pretty well so far (in the shade).

Sydney fish market was also an interesting place to visit! They sell fresh seafood and there is a busy food court selling prepared seafood. We had lobster, prawns and calamari but you can get everything under the sun and Nadia, you would have gone nuts about the fresh sashimi!

Food and the beaches were definitely the highlights! I wish we had more days to just eat! Heres our list of places we ate at or tried to go to but were either closed over the holidays or we couldn't get reservations all week! I always ask people where to eat so this list would have been golden for me to have before we left!

Cheaper eats: 
- mamak: Malaysian 
- chat Thai
- spice I am
- Baja cantina: Mexican 
- zaafron BBQ: Indian  
- medusa Greek tavern

Fancier restaurants:
- spice temple: Chinese  (yummy beef fillet!)
- long grain: Thai 
- cafe sydney: book in advance $$$
- est: $$$
- Sushi e
- churasco: Brazilian BBQ 

We currently in Melbourne. We will post again soon!

Honeymoon at the holiday inn!

Hello mates!! Hope everyone had a good holiday! So far Sydney kind of reminds me of Toronto but with a more European feel - just my kind of place! Everyone here is fit and fashionable and well put together. People are very friendly and you don't see many grumpy people here!

We are staying at the holiday inn darling harbour that we booked off hotwire so all we new was that we were getting a 4 star hotel in a certain area and found out it was the holiday inn after we paid for it  We were definitely disappointed that we didn't get intercontinental or sofitel but thats what you get for booking 6 weeks in advance for a busy city on nye.  Everything here is very expensive and even though there are a bunch of sales in the stores, it's still more expensive than canada or the us. I guess people here can afford it when they get paid 3 times on holidays, 2 times on Sunday's and 1.5 times on Saturdays! I like that way of thinking! 

We went to a really yummy restaurant called mamak on our first night that was highly recommended by everyone who gave me tips on sydney. Yummy roti canai, satays and Malaysian curries! Its so popular that we lined up for 30 min or so. The time passed quickly because we met a really nice couple from singapore but who live in Melbourne now. When I asked them for shopping suggestions in Melbourne, even they said they just wait until they go back to singapore to shop because Australia is too expensive!

We have been trying to find a place for new years but everything is sold out or damn expensive, some places have been sold out since Jan 1st 2010! One place we wanted to go to was a set menu for $850 per person so that was obv out of the question or a harbour cruise for between $550 - 1000 pp. We finally decided on an Indian fusion restaurant with a harbor view. Hope its good! They call sydney the news years eve capital of the world so lets see if it lives up to the hype!

On our second night, we went to a restaurant called chat thai and guess who we saw in the "que?" the same couple from the previous night!! Strangest thing! This time they were meeting friends but the four of them also got seated at the table next to us! 

The temperature tanked the day we got here but it warms up tomorrow so we are off the manly and bondi beach! Stay tuned