Week Two - Let's throw a snag on the barbie

Week Two – ‘Let’s throw a snag on the barbie’

It’s true. They say it. My housemate Dan was the first to utter the famous Aussie catch phrase. ‘Let’s throw a snag on the Barbie.’ I laughed. A lot. The smile was wiped off my face shortly afterwards when I met my first Huntsman spider, apparently it was a baby, I thanked my lucky stars he didn’t introduce his family.

I had my first night out painting the town red Aussie style, the Aussie’s have been awesome at playing tour guide and met up with another girl called Kathryn who showed Jen and I around the Valley (the equivalent of my usual stomping ground in London.) At one of the bar’s I got chatting to a women who had lived in London for five years and I enjoyed having someone to reminisce about home with. Kathryn invited us to see her friend’s band play who for a local band were pretty good; although I was sorely disappointed with the bar women’s statement that they didn’t serve rum, what kind of Australian bar doesn’t serve Bundy!?! I learned my newest favourite Australian word from Kathryn when she was talking about somewhere out in ‘Woop Woop’ (I’ve spelt that phonetically!) which I thought was another strange Australian place name but apparently means somewhere far away. Later on headed to ‘The Chalk’ which is a bit like the equivalent of Watford being a bit more local than the city; my housemates had blagged a private area and lots of dancing was done.

Lynelle took Jen and I out for dinner, after a week of catering for myself on a travelling budget (think marmite toast, marmite toast and a bit more marmite toast with the occasional bowl of cereal thrown in if I’m feeling particularly extravagant) it was outrageously good to have some proper food. I can’t remember what the restaurant was called but it’s a favourite of Lynelle’s and she ordered us dessert promising that we wouldn’t be disappointed. ‘Chocolate Corn Chips’* soon arrived which might not sound appetising but they were really good!

Now due to Lynelle being the most wonderfully random person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing I would be disappointed if an evening out in her company didn’t involve some sort of adventure and so she took us on a glow worm hunting expedition up to a place called Mount Tambourine. I think because of Australia being such a huge place (The UK would fit inside 31 times…) the locals are better accustomed to driving further distances to get to places than us Brits so after some extremely skilled hooning* on Lynelle’s behalf we found ourselves at the top of Mount Tambourine. Shortly later we were on a trail in the ‘bush’ as it were; to set the scene it was pitch black other than Lynelle’s torch, and pouring with rain so visibility was to put it mildy; poor. My fear of spiders went in to overdrive what with not being able to see much, and I felt pretty embarrassed when I stepped on a stick and screamed because I thought it was a snake. I felt embarrassed that was until Lynelle’s friend, an Aussie bloke, walked into a tree branch and thought he had a spider in his hair and jumped around screaming ‘Get it out, get it out’ at a pitch a six year old girl would be proud of.
Lynelle’s torch apparently wasn’t too fond of the rain and decided to quit providing light half way there but thankfully she fixed it or we would have been down to mobile phone light! I have to admit for me it was an experience that had every single one of my senses alert as could be as it was an environment totally alien to me. I’m perfectly comfortable walking around King’s Cross in the dark and taking the risk of muggers as it’s something I’m used too, but walking through the bush in the dark taking the risk of snakes and spiders had the adrenalin pumping for sure as it’s not something I’m at all used too. But that’s what this year is all about having new experiences and being in places that I would never normally find myself in so although I may have been a little ‘on edge’ as it were I was happy to be doing something totally different to anything I’d ever done before. Besides a little fear makes you feel very alive. The walk was well worth it too when we reached Lynelle’s destination, a waterfall and a whole stack of glow worms. I’ve never seen a glow worm before (although my Dad told me he saw them in France) and especially with a whole glow worm city they were a really awesome sight. Thanks Lynelle! The glow worm’s were literally everywhere even a couple on the floor so Lynelle’s friend managed to find one to pick up and made a very well played ‘E.T phone home’ impression with a glowing finger. Lynelle also briefly enjoyed a glowing nose.

Oh and I can’t forget to thank Jen for her ‘Welcome to Australia’ cake which was very well decorated with a beach scene and a little person surfing. Thanks Jen! We demolished the cake at a mini house gathering, where my Irish house mate decided to prove the fact that the Irish are bigger drinkers than the Australians. I had to defend the British honour by proving that pom’s* are just as capable of sculling* a beer as their Australian and Irish counterparts; an experience I wont be repeating as I headed to bed feeling less than fantastic shortly afterwards. The things I do for England!

On a random aside I’d been given various explanations as to where the term ‘pom’ originated from. Some told me it stood for ‘Property of her Majesty’ and some said it referred back to convict roots being an acronym for ‘Prisoner of her Majesty.’ I did a little research on the term earlier and it seems that nobody is actually entirely sure of the exact origin of the term but the Oxford English Dictionary thinks it most likely is a shortening of the term ‘Pomegranate’ which the Australians used to use to refer to immigrants. A little general knowledge for you all!

Tuesday morning Lynelle, Kathryn, Jen and I indulged ourselves at a popular Australian breakfast venue called ‘Coffee Club.’ They seem pretty big on going out for breakfast here. A cultural difference I’ve come across which I wasn’t expecting is that the word ‘ketchup’ means absolutely nothing to the Australians and if you ask for it you get a completey blank look; you have to ask for ‘tomato sauce’ instead. Australia it would seem doesn’t have the same love of ketchup as Britain anyway as every time I ask for it I get a strange look. Apparently they’ve never heard of the traditional Canadian breakfast of pancakes, bacon and maple syrup (and my own personal addition of ketchup too!) either so I think I convinced the waitress that the English are completely insane by the time I’d finished ordering.

Mid week the last 14 days of excessive amounts of sunshine, new people, fast food, drinking, partying and general being busy took its toll, that and I think I’m allergic to the dog, and I had to cancel my plans for that day and take to my sick bed for twenty four hours to recover. I was glad I’d decided to bring some of my DVD collection with me!

A few days later Kathryn took me out to the local bar (one of my housemates is the manager; free drinks!) to meet some of her friends and afterwards we went for a drive up to Mount Coo-tha. Queensland is big on what they refer to as ‘look outs’ where they have created viewing platforms at vantage points around the city so as to have a view all the way across Brisbane and probably beyond. Mount Coo-tha is from what I’ve seen so far the most spectacular of these as you have a clear uninterrupted view as far as the eye can see and at night with the city being lit up it made for a quite fantastic scene. Strangely despite the number of lights Brisbane seems to suffer from less light pollution than London so there are more stars to be seen than back home. Of course none of the constellations are familiar to me, and I’m trying to find an Australian who can point out the famous Southern Cross constellation to me but I have yet to succeed.

Kathryn had the following day off of work so we went on another Wallaby finding expedition, with much success at a big estate near Mount Cotton where there was wallabies aplenty just hopping around people’s front gardens! We even saw a couple of joeys too. Kathryn thinks it funny how fascinated I am by the Wallabies, but they really have to be just the coolest creature ever! We also went to visit a friend of Kathryn’s who lives on a lot of land and often gets Wallabies in her back garden and we were lucky enough to see a few.
The constant battle that the Australians are up against with their climate does astound me; perhaps more so for me having grown up in suburbia rather than somewhere rural, but it seems to me they are constantly up against some sort of threat from nature. If it’s not the wildlife or tropical storms then it’s fire. I probably should have put two and two together and figured it out for myself but it just didn’t occur to me that they don’t have Bonfire night here. Admittedly I guess Bonfire night does have its roots in British history so perhaps it is just exclusive to Britain (anybody know?) but even if they wanted too they can’t have a firework night here because of the strict fire restrictions. The 5th of November just won’t be the same while I’m here! They have a fire risk code with different grades and depending on factors like the wind or humidity sometimes they are allowed to have fires and other times all fires are banned so as to try and avoid bush fires which are a very real and constant risk to those that live in and around bush land. Kathryn’s friend Sam was talking about their fire escape plan if there is a bush fire with the last resort being heading for the local stream. Also she was saying how they have controlled fires supervised by the fire brigade around their house to clear a certain distance between the house and the bush of trees and vegetation so that in the case of a bushfire it would be less likely for the house to be taken. I guess it’s the price Australia pays for its beautiful sunshine and beaches that Mother Nature throws so many other obstacles at them to be contended with. A perhaps slightly smaller problem for them than bush fires, Green Ants; one of them bit my toe and does it half sting!!! I was not impressed.

There was a big beach party at the weekend up at the Sunshine coast a couple of hours away from where I’m staying. I was invited by Carly who I met up with last week and her friends were kind enough to invite me to stay with them at one of the girl’s parent’s holiday home. Carly and I headed up Friday night, and those of you that are familiar with my navigational skills will be shocked that I actually succeeded in map reading successfully. There are fewer roads out here than in the UK so it’s easier! It was a beautiful house set right on the beach and from the veranda we could hear the waves crashing. Friday night was spent getting to know the girls and there was a pool party arranged as part of the weekend at the resort just down the road from where we were staying, but when we arrived it didn’t look so great and we decided that our own entertainment was better. Saturday morning we headed for the beach…which involved a one minute walk from the house to the beach! It was like having our own private beach too as there wasn’t another soul in sight. Carly works as a life saver (I think that’s what it’s called, the people that patrol beaches) so we went for a swim, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have as the current was so strong that it was almost impossible to walk against it never mind swim. I have to admit to being a little bit aware that a shark could swim up at any point, but really you just have to accept that it’s a risk but that you would be very unlucky for it to happen to you. Kathryn told me that sharks don’t like to be in the surf* so I’m sticking with that theory and so long as there is waves I’m happy!
In the afternoon we took the short drive up to Noosa, which as you might remember is my new favourite place in the world, and stopped off for some ice cream. The Australians do like their ice cream! We then went up to the National Park area and went for a walk which gives you fantastic views over the beaches at Noosa. As we were walking one of the girls Anna said that she spotted a dolphin, but none of us could see it, so we carried on. When we got to the look out we had been there for five minutes or so just taking in the spectacular views, when Anna was proved right, and another dolphin jumped! Then another, and another. There must have been a school of fish that they were chasing as it seemed like there was a whole pod of dolphins in the area. I was completely awe struck, I’ve only ever seen dolphins at Sea World before, and to see them in their natural habitat, especially a whole pod of them, was absolutely spectacular. The water at Noosa is so clear that not only can you see them when they jump you can see them under the water too. I tried to take pictures but it was difficult to catch them as they are so quick. If Noosa was my new favourite place on earth before seeing dolphins, I think it’s now my ambition in life to live there some day! I was surprised that several of the beach patrol team headed out on their boards and boats towards where the dolphins were, but the girls told me that if you get a pod of dolphins feeding like that then sometimes you will get a shark feeding too. So going swimming when you see a pod of dolphins might seem romantic, but perhaps not the best idea!
We climbed down some rocks to sit and watch for a bit longer, and sitting there in the sun, spotting dolphins, with a great group of girls, I totally understand how people come to this country and never want to leave it.

On the way out of the car park I spotted a Goanna* and I was shamefully touristy and got the girls to stop the car so I could take a picture of it! He actually let me get surprisingly close to him, I didn’t think he would! I do love the lizards, they have the tiny little cute ones that you get in Europe too, slightly bigger ones that come indoors as well, and then the Goanna’s which are pretty big. I have yet to see a snake, but I’m actually looking forward to it, so long as it’s not too close for comfort!

We headed back to the house late afternoon, and I’m still not used to the sunshine so I had a bit of a nap! Two of the girls cooked us dinner, which was quickly devoured; sun, sea and sand makes you hungry! Anna made us all a fruit punch, which she had to refill it went so quickly. The Saturday night was the main event of the weekend, a dance party at the surf club, so we headed down there and met some new people and did lots of dancing.

Sunday morning ten of us headed for breakfast at the Coffee Club; the intake of food was much appreciated as some of us were feeling the effects of the night before! Then we headed back home Sunday ‘arvo.’ Carly took us home the scenic route driving past the Glass House mountains, one of which looks like a big Gorilla! Got to say a massive thank you to Carly for the invite and for ride, Anna for being kind enough to invite me to stay and all of the girls for being so welcoming and friendly to me! One of the girls, Nic, was English, the first English person I’ve come across since I got here, and it was so strange because I could hear her English accent. Very strange to be able to hear your own accent!

I’m having a quiet week this week as I was promised three days work but it fell through so it’s back to the drawing board on trying to find work. Have had a couple of movie fest nights with my house mate Dan, and have enjoyed the American TV series I’m used to for a bit of homeliness, I got very over excited about NCIS being on and made Dan watch it with me!
It was slowly but surely killing me not having internet access so I’ve picked up a pay as you three internet dongle, but I’ve already had to recharge it twice so I’m going to have to cut down on Skype time, but it is so amazing to be able to have face to face conversations with you guys back home I get a bit carried away!

This weekend Kathryn has invited me to Indy with her, a car racing event at the Gold Coast, so I’m looking forward to that! Another weekend at the beach, I could so get used to this lifestyle! Might be heading up to the Sunshine Coast with Dan tomorrow so looking forward to that too.
Other plans in the pipeline are a trip to Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin’s zoo), a trip up to Cairns to the Great Barrier Reef, breakfast up Mount Tamborine to watch the sun rise, and if I’m a very very lucky person a trip to Fraser Island; the largest Sand Island in the world. Also have a very exciting trip planned for next month with Dan; but I’ll update you on that sooner when it’s confirmed!

Still missing all of you back home loads, keep seeing things that I know you guys would love and wish you were here to share them with me! Like I said I’ve got internet access at home now but I’m going to have to be more careful with Skype as its costing me a lot of internet usage so email me and I will reply! Keep me updated on all the gossip from home! (Thanks Frances for doing a good job of this!)

I will keep my promise of postcards but I hear the Royal Mail are striking at the moment, so someone let me know when that gets sorted out!

Edel, Lisa, Ben, Suze & Gav I still expect to see you out here at some point!

Oodles of love to you all

Liza xXx


English Translations:
Corn Chips = Nacho’s
Hooning = Fast Driving
Sculling = Downing
Pom/Pommy – Australian term for a British Person
Surf = Waves
Goanna = Monitor Lizard