Tractors, Trailers and Plenty of Beer

Where do I start?? We have done so much since leaving the Gold Coast and been so busy, but had so much fun at the same time.

When we were planning where we would complete our rural work, we had no idea what would be best for us. Could we survive picking baskets and baskets of fruit in the scorching heat or would we be best at looking after animals (probably being bitten to death my bugs and maybe worse!!!). However, we must have done something right because we landed an amazing opportunity working for some amazing people. We managed to get jobs working on a small family run farm about 80km from Griffith. When they said small, we didn't realise small in their standard meant huge in ours. 3,500 acres of land and 'a few sheep' rounding to around 700! Fair enough the farm next door is over 20,000 acres, but still 3,500 acres is a fair amount of land compared to the size of my back garden at home.

Leigh was employed to help complete farm duties like tractor driving and helping maintain live stock. Whereas I was employed to help out in the household, which included caring for 2 children aged 2 and 5 and general household chores.  

I can honestly say we have had a complete blast being here and ended up staying on an extra month and a half to save up a few more cents.

Whilst looking after the children I have vastly developed my knowledge of My Little Pony and Dinosaur Train. I feel I could honestly say I could easily identify over 30 different ponies and the type of pony they are (If only this topic was covered in the National Curriculum back home, I would be winning!!).

 

Leigh kindly, not through choice, taught me to drive a few different types of vehicles I wouldn't have had the chance to drive at home. I can now say I have become an expert at shovelling animal poo using a loader. Now if I happen to own my own thousands of acres of land in the future, I will 100% be purchasing a quad bike to travel around it on. How I have ever survived without quad bike in my life I will never know! 

Me being obsessed with animals, we have been lucky to see a wide variety during our stay. From rounding up rogue sheep to dodging wild kangaroos which love to roam the dirt track roads, I have turned into Doctor Dolittle when it comes to attracting and searching for animals (talking to the animals could have come in handy a few times too). One afternoon we set nets out and left them over night so we could fish the damns on the farm for Yabies (which are the Australian version of crayfish). We caught a blue tongued lizard, an echidna and even a wild pig (with thanks to Ruby, an Irish Wolf hound/Stag hound puppy). Then the kids were given two guinea pigs named Bob and Rainbow Dash and a floppy eared bunny named Peter. Let's not forget the 5 chickens which have laid us lots of scrummy eggs to eat. Soon the farm will have to apply for a change of use and become a zoo!

Now our time here is drawing to an end and it actually feels quite sad to say goodbye. However, we have decided to come back and help the family out later on the year to help harvest the crop, so it's not a final goodbye but it is time to move onto the next adventure. Where to go to next... The country is our oyster!

xx

Miles and Miles of Sandy Beaches... This is the Life!

Now we were very lucky to meet some lovely people in Thialand who kindly put us up for a month in the Gold Coast. With a 5 minute walk to a never ending beach (so it seems), what more could we ask for?

We regularly took a leisurely stroll along the glorious sands to Surfers Paradise, where we were able to enjoy the beautiful weather and views.

Unfortunately the weather wasn't always so dreamy during our stay. We did end up getting the back lash of a Cyclone which had hit the Sunshine Coast, this did mean a number of days were spent in the shopping centres hiding from the rain (not that I'm complaining about that). 

When the weather was clear, we spent more time exploring. We took a trip along the skywalk at Mount Tambourine and trekked around the headland through Burleigh Heads National Park. On route to Mount Tambourine we passed many vineyards and decided it would be rude not to stop for some wine tasting.

Now I have been looking forward to holding a Koala since we arrived in Australia and I finally got the chance to do so at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. I also got to hold a baby crocodile and stroke a kangaroo, so overall it was an amazing day for me and many things were ticked off my bucket list.

We decided to treat ourselves some more and took a weekend trip to Brisbane; visiting the typical sites like the City Botanic Gardens, Roma Street Parklands, Streets Beach, South Bank Parklands and Market and of course treated ourselves to some delicious meals out.

As much as we would love to just relax on the beach for the next 11 months. It was time to move on and see 'the real Australia'. So the next stop... The Farm! Time to earn some dollar.

xx

A quick visit to Sydney

Yes I know I have been rubbish at keeping this up to date recently (I did warn you) but here's a quick update of our travels so far.

After hitting Australia in January, we spent 5 fun filled packed days travelling round Sydney seeing all the typical tourist sites and catching up with friends. We took a stroll along the harbour, taking in the sites of the Sydney Opera House, the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Sydney Harbour Bridge (not forgetting a stop at the Sydney Opera Bar for a quick bevvie).

Now we couldn't go to Sydney without visiting Bondi Beach, where the tans are a vast shade of crimson and the surf boards out number the dodgy swimwear. Unfortunately I was one of the fools who didn't listen to the advice of how strong the Aussie Sun is and begun to crisp after only 2 hours in the beautiful weather. We were also disappointed we didn't get to see any of the TV loved lifeguards from Bondi Rescue, however we will be returning later in the year to hunt them down.

City life in Sydney was amazing and it was nice to get back to eating food similar to home. But next stop the Gold Coast, I will remember to wear my sun cream this time!

xx

Apologies for my laziness

I did warn you I would be useless at this blogging malarkey. I promise to update my blog very soon with all my Australian adventures so far, so stayed tuned (I've been very busy)!

xx

Trying to live the high life in Singapore but failing

I've realised my blog has become one of those boring stories where someone just lists what they are doing and nothing really happens. So thought I'd cut the waffle and try and make it a bit more exciting (told you writing wasn't my forte). I've also got a bit behind as I haven't finished what we got up to in Singapore. 

We decided for the day we would live the high life and hit Raffles hotel (famous for the Singapore Sling cocktail) and buy a few cocktails. A few cocktails turned out to be one each as it costs us £27 for 2 drinks (so much for being high rollers), however the cocktails were pretty good (didn't have the Singapore Sling though as I still can't touch gin).

Well as our plans had to change we decided to visit the River Safari. Now the river safari isn't quite what you would expect from a safari, it was more like an aquarium. However they did have some pretty awesome sea creatures including a variety of penguins, which reminded me of happy feet. They also had pandas and as the woman quoted beside me; 'Take this view in children, as it is likely you will never see one of these animals again and your children will have no clue what they are.' Crazy when you think about it but so much truth in those words.

In the evening we waited around for the night safari. Now this was a lot better than the river safari and even though it is conducted in a zoo environment, it's a must do if you ever visit Singapore. Catching the tram round the park, walking through dark alleyways to different hideouts and watching a creatures of the night show made my day (have you got the hint yet that yes I am an animal lover). I will let the pictures speak for themselves, however no flash was allowed to be used for the nights safari so sorry if you can't quite make out the animals. So much for switching up my blog. Oh well, maybe next time.

xx

What I love about Kuala Lumpur

What I love about Kuala Lumpur:

1. I love the fact you can get cheesy fries at Burger King.

2. I love the fact you can get 2 meals with sides, extras and drinks from Nandos for less than £10.

3. I love how MAC makeup is about half the price than what you pay for it in England (and it is from a genuine store).

4. I love Chilis (Asia's cheaper version of TGI Fridays).

5. I love having HBO on telly during those rainy days and nights.

6. I love how everything in the Topshop sale is in my size.

7. I love the view of the city you get from the top of the Petronas Twin Towers (The KL Tower has pretty good views too).

8. I love how the metro is just round the corner and takes us straight to all the places we need to go.

9. I love the fact we are so far away from home but we still end up meeting people who live 2 minutes down the road (Bixley and Otley, how random!)

10. I love the fact Malaysians know how to put on a good firework display, even though trying to leave was eventful (stampede of people trying to get out and being pushed left, right and centre) and they love spraying shavig foam everywhere.

11. I love meeting up with the Brooks family for a few evenings :)

That pretty much sums up our trip to Kuala Lumpur. Next stop Australia!

Oh and Happy New Year :)

xx