LaRae's Aussie Trip
Entries "October 2005":

Sunday, 30 October 2005

Hervey Bay

We just got to Hervey Bay (http://dkd.net/herveybay/) after travelling for 2 days. We left Surfers and drove to Brisbane which is like a smaller Sydney and spent the night. Today we woke up at 5:30am and drove to Noosa which was like a Beaverlodge by the ocean, it was so cute. We then went to Rainbow Beach and the name really describes it. The sand it literally like a rainbow - all different colours so very pretty. The water was a dirty color brown from the bad storms that we've been having at night - washes sea-weed up onto the shore. We then got to Harvey Bay and it was nothing at all what we had expected so we were kinda bummed earlier as we had planned to stay here for a month or so and work as much as we could.

 

We are leaving Tuesday morning to go to Fraser Island which is supposed to be breathtaking. Look it up on the internet! http://dkd.net/fraser/ or http://www.deh.gov.au/heritage/worldheritage/sites/fraser/. It is a huge white sand dune Island with bright blue water. We booked a 3 day, 2 night Fraser Island Safari where we go with a group of 10 people and camp and drive ourselves on this island. I guess it's totally roughing so we are pumped for that. It was only $150 and we couldn't go past this area without seeing it. We phoned a resort over there and left our phone number. We're going to see if we can get a job at the resort because apparently they are always looking for employees. We'll see what happens.

 

This tax thing is a real pain but I think we have it figured out now. We got royally screwed over by Indy with our final paycheque being only $330. We were expecting around $800 so it was really disappointing. We looked into it and it is correct and we will get about $300 back later plus the guy we talked to let us know about a loophole for next job when we fill out the tax info but for now I guess we do without that $500.

 

I will try to be frugal over the next while and we're making work a priority. I was super proud of us tonight because both Emma and I were considering catching a greyhound back to Surfers and just getting our own place. After a 'team meeting' we decided that we came to Australia to explore the country and that would just be going back to a comfortable situation so we decided not to. Good work Team Canada (that's what we call us).

Anyway Mom, I miss you more than you know. Kisses and Goodnight or good-day whenever you get this.

Love LaRae

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Posted by: larae    in: My travelblog

Modified on November 8, 2005 at 5:07 PM
Thursday, 27 October 2005

Thursday, October 27

Hey,

 

Well it has definitely been a while since I wrote an update, so here it goes.

 

Emma and I are spending our last night in Surfer's and saying all of the good-byes to everyone that we have become great friends with. It is super hard but we are planning on meeting up with most of them in New Zealand when we head over as most of them are Kiwis.

 

Indy just finished a couple of days ago and it was such a cool thing to be a part of. Indy had over 300,000 people enter the gates throughout the weekend and it was basically a huge party with lots of cars. Every single high-rise had people on it that would just watch from their balconies while playing practical jokes and yelling the infamous Indy saying "Show Me You're Tits". The corporate booths where we were working had professional photographers that are e-mailing all of the pics to us from the entire weekend so we will have some action shots of the whole event when I get home.

 

My birthday celebrations took place on well Sunday and Monday night so it was quite the week with Indy and all. We had a big BBQ around the pool and hot tub at our new apartment that we have been living at with Sarah and Ricky .It was definitely a birthday to remember although I missed celebrating it with everyone from home.

 

About a week ago, Mike Paine, the Canadian that we met in the Singapore airport came to Surfers with all of his mates so we have been hanging out lots with them. Yesterday we decided to go on a serious road trip back to Nimbin and then Byron Bay to go to a Fat Freddie Reggae Concert by the beach. It was one of those road trips that make Australia so memorable.

 

I know I am blabbing on and on but mom keeps insisting that I should keep everyone informed. So Emma and I are still doing great and are getting along amazing, not even one single argument yet and have definitely developed a lifelong friendship. I really miss everyone back home so keep e-mailing and keep me informed of how things are going.

 

                                                                                      Love LaRae

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Posted by: larae    in: My travelblog

Modified on November 8, 2005 at 4:49 PM
Saturday, 15 October 2005

October 14, 2005

Hey everyone,
 
Just thought I would write to everyone because the weirdest thing happened the other day just to show how small the world is. On Thursday night Emma and I were sitting at a little Italian restaurant outside right by the walkway when I looked up and Mike Lauzon was walking by. We knew he was in Australia but had absolutely no idea which part he was in and we ran into him. He invited us to his house for a BBQ tomorrow in Burleigh which is only about a 15 min drive. Those of you who know Jon Goldie, well I have been talking to Bethe and knew he was down in Melbourne but we never went down there. I just recently found out that he is venturing to Surfer's in about a week so we will have a little Grande Prairie Alberta Canada clan going on.
 
Later,
 
LaRae

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Posted by: larae    in: My travelblog

Modified on November 8, 2005 at 4:56 PM
Monday, 03 October 2005

October 1

 

Hey Mom and Dad.

It is Oct 1st here in the afternoon and we just had a shower after a long  day at the beach. I am in love with the ocean. We go swimming probably 3-4 times a day (it's become a ritual to get up at 5am and go for a swim as the sun rises... it is beautiful).

As you know, Emma and I moved into an apartment with two guys - strictly plutonic! Things are going extremely well with Toby and Brendon. We get along really well and have had so much fun since we've been there and it's cool cause we have actually met and got to know people for more than 3-5 nights like at the hostels. Toby just bought a surf board yesterday so he's gonna try to teach me (he surfed back home in New Zealand)

I actually feel safe in the ocean in Surfer's because they have shark netting up, boats that drive along the net watching for sharks and 2 helicopters that continuously go back and forth along the beach. Down South around Melbourne where the water is a little cooler, there has already been 3 shark attacks since we've been here(none of them bad though).

Emma and I are going for an interview sometime this week to work on a cruise ship for 1 month and make $6000 so hopefully things work out allright with that. I can't believe that we have just about been gone for a month now. Crazy how time sure flies by because it does not feel like that long.

Anyway I Love you so much and better run so I will talk to you soon.

Love LaRae

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Posted by: larae    in: My travelblog

Modified on October 3, 2005 at 9:11 PM
September 26

It is still really hot n sunny here everyday on average about 25. We just recently moved into an apartment with 2 Kiwi guys that have been here about a month (I know it sounds bad but it really isn't). We work with them at our evening job and they have an extra room with 2 beds in it and offered it to us for free. We only have to pay $50 a week for food so it is saving us lots of money as we would've paid about $700 on our hostel alone for the month.

Chris and Kelsey have booked their plane tickets to come to Australia in January. I am so excited to see Chris and it has only been 3 weeks and we have 3 months to wait. We are really talking about doing this Thailand thing on our way home from New Zealand. I think that would be so much fun as it is a little more rugged than here and I would love to go and do all the camping and hiking things with Chris.

Yesterday we went to an animal sanctuary and got to hold a Koala and pet and feed the Kangeroos which was exciting. Other than that we are not doing too many exciting things right now as we are in one spot and not moving around. Emma and I just got a cell phone (needed one for work) so if you ever need to get a hold of me call Mom and she'll give you the number.

Love LaRae

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Posted by: larae    in: My travelblog

Modified on October 27, 2005 at 5:52 PM