Please Brian, call the police!!

There's nothinh like a goodbye party after a hard days of work.

While we all were working hard in Bar Alto David was at home preparing nice little fingerfoods.
When i finished i ran home to help David and have a quick shower, i also planned to get rid of a lot of the function wines that i had lying around, but as people arrived there was about 10 more bottles there! What??
Glen had carried a very heavy case of poker chips all the way from home to our apartment because we wanted to have a poker night. It didn't turn out very well though as noone knew how to play poker! We all gave up after the second hand.

Angela, cheers

Daniel

Glen

David can't stop smiling

Drinks were flowing, music was playing (but not too loud)
Around 2 am David got a text from our lovely housmate Brian, who said if we're not quiet then he's going to ring the police and he also said that the neighburs had been calling and complaining (how do they have his number i wonder??)
So basically, when it's the weekend it seems like you can be as loud as you can and nt care about anyone, but as soon as we have a party then they have to ring the police and everything!! Can anyone understand why we left those bastards?
We stayed up really late chatting, drinking and listening to music anyway, even though most of the people left. We did get to see Daniel's party trick once again. (He will never star in the movie "Sleepless in Seattle").

Daniel is missing out on the fun

There could just never be a party without Daniel falling

asleep right in that spot on the couch :)

At least we did achieve what we always wanted to do, wake THEM up for once! We got some revenge. yey!
 
Angela & David

Last BBQ in New Farm Park

7th December

The plan since about 3 weeks ago was to go to Cedar Creek with a few people from work as a goodbye party. Matt and his boyfriend were supposed to drive us there early in the morning (as it's about an hour drive) and we were supposed to have SO much fun, drinking, swimming and eating!
Well that didn't happen, did it?! Here's what happened.
I set my alarm for 7.30 as i knew Matt was going to ring me early.... but noone rang me. So i text and ring Matt, no answer. And it's now close to 11 o'clock and still nothing from him. I started getting my hopes down on going to Cedar Creek...but there's always a BUT!
Thats why we arranged a lovely last BBQ in the park, which turned out to be great fun. It started off with me, David and Glen eating some snacks, drinking wine, beer and cider and of course talking shait!
Moments later Ryan turned up, this is when we started playing "cheats" a bloody good card game! Of course i won, and all the rest were loosers! We also put 16 sausages on the barbie, of which I had ONE and Glen, David & Ryan ate the rest! I Just can't believe they didn't burst!
Again, We succeded to have a lovely day in the park. Thank you guys!

Glen & Ryan

looking in the magazine of love

David

Excited about something?!

Ryan

with the cool new haircut!

And, yeah...for those who wants to know the reason Matt couldn't come, he set his alarm on 7... but he didn't see it was actually 7 in the evening!! Matt, Matt, Matt...you little sleepyhead :)

Angela & David

Fraser Island Tour-Day 2

2nd December

Day 2 began early-ish. Breakfast was served at 7 am, but some German guys obviously didn't understand that we were on a tight schedule and decided to hold everyone up by not being ready. So we set off 30 mins later than planned, and lord behold the high tide has stranded us on the beach. We were trapped between where we needed to be and even couldn't call anyone as there is no reception on the island. So we had to wait and wait until the tide got lower. By that time we were over an hour and a half late. So everyone were under pressure, the driving got faster, the mood was down, but we still had a whole day of beautiful sightseeing to come.

First stop was Lake Wabby, it is a 2.4km walk to it, but its through a forrest with some beautiful trees shedding their bark, and some great views of the ocean behind us. So things were not so bad. Nearly at the lake we step out onto a field of sand, it looks like a desert on a hill and its quite a sight. Then there is a very steep sandy bank down to the lake. Amazing. The lake itself is dark green in colour with some poisonous catfish as its main inhabitants. They are poisonous if you try and grab them and thats when they release their poison. Otherwise, everyone can swim in harmony. So we did. Peaceful and quiet down in the valley. We also spotted a lace monitor lizard trying to escape up a hill, he was a beautiful greeny colour and was difficult to spot initially, but we got him.

Forrest on the way to Lake Wabby

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Sand Desert on a Hill

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Lake Wabby

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Lace Monitor Lizard

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Catfish are ready for the brave swimmers

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Second stop was a shipwreck on the beach, its rusty, and its cool. It was an old Japanese war ship but its nearly eroded, so better se it quickly before its gone. There were fighting crabs living in it and and made for a good, although very short visit. Enough time to take a picture or two, and try and get away from the German guys who, were very needy and begged us to take pictures of them all day, as their phone camera ran out of battery. Prepared eh, thats so not like the Germans we know.

Shipwreck on the beach

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David the wreck

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Third stop was Eli Creek. A fresh water little river that pumps out 5 million of litres of water a day. It doesn't look like it when we get there, but we take a dip and float down river. Its cold and shallow, so we get a lot of sand in our pants. Wehoo. Then lunch soon followed back in the camp, with a bbq fight between Brendan (the guide/driver) and the German guys. One wanted to cook his burgers, but we didn't have time for that, so then there were words said like " I am a customer, and I want to bbq", which was a reply " I don't care, you are not going to bbq as we have no time". Anyway tempers were running crazy, so to take our mind of things we spotted some dingoes passing beside the camp, they obviously smelt the food.

After lunch the journey began back to Brisbane, which is a whole 5 hours in the back of a 4WD. First day it was exciting, going home its not that much fun. Everyone falling asleep, but conversations were still going on between David and Enrique, they were great people. On route we got rain, we got sunshine and we got some road rage too. This just explains how crazy our guide was, so it goes like this: On the outskirts of Brisbane he gets cut off from getting into a lane by a young guy in a car. So at the traffic lights he jumps out and a conversation takes place, the you guy calls him an "old cu*t", so the "old cu*t" punches him in the face and the lad speeds off. The poor Korean tourists were very worried at that point, well so were we of course. We still managed to get a lift back with him to the Valley, and sure he was a fun guide, even though, maybe he has some anger management issues. Overall though we enjoyed our Fraser Island experience and would do it again, just not this year. Ha ha.

Funny lady and Angela

(on route home)

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Angela & David

Fraser Island Tour - Day 1

1st December

Welcome to Sunrover 2 day/1 night Fraser Island tour experience from Brisbane. And what an experience it was. It began at 6.45 in the morning from Roma Street Bus Station where we met our driver. His name is Brendan, and he is a 42 year old, zz top looking, mofo that has 40 snakes in his house and plays in a blues band. At first David thought he was some homeless guy looking for spare change, but no, he is our driver/guide. We got into our 4WD and lord behold 3 Korean tourists are on our tour aswell, not much english spoken there so a silent journey for the first hour at least. Next we pick up 3 others at Ettamogah Pub, oh oh they are really old and have a problem climbing into the jeep. Wow what a start to the trip, we thought, while looking at each other in sort of disappointment. Another two, and the final two passengers are picked up in Noosa. This time there is a light at the end of the tunnel, some young people from Germany. We all get aquainted with each other, and get ready for the trip.`

Korean lady, David, Enrique and Iseas

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Brendan ends up to be a mad driver from the start, thats even before we reach the island. But hey all the more fun, perhaps. At Rainbow beach we get the essential supplies (beer, sausages and snacks for the bbq that night). The ferry crossing is smooth, but clouds have set in already on us. We start chatting to everyone and our first kilometer on the sandy 130 km beach we spot a lonely dingo. Great start to the tour, as Fraser is the only Island that the dingoes reside so we are told, in the wild. They are curious creatures, and we see many signs telling us not to feed them, and to watch your children, if you have any as they are known for taking them. (A little side story for you....there has been two cases in Australia where the child has disappeared and the mother was blamed and sent to jail for killing the child).

Dingo

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The ride on the sandy beach is fun and something new for everyone, so we are in high spirits. W come across a washed up, decapitated turtle on route aswell. Oh boy it does smell bad, but a true photographer has to suffer to get the shot.

Turtle without the head

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Next tour stop is the rain forest at Central Station, to get there it takes the hard, bumpy, off road 4 WD. Brendan does not seem like a man that likes to waste time, so we get some AC/DC on the stereo and bump and grind in the back of the jeep. The oldies are very funny, they are really not enjoying themselves, but still have a smile on their face. Then the forest walk follows, its beautiful and not too hot. We spot a kingfisher bird, and listen to the sound of the forest while walking through it. A nice walk.

Brendan and Angela

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Angela

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Hollow

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Next stop for today is Lake McKenzie, this fresh water paradise, nestled between the trees. Clear blue waters and an absolute pleasure to swim in it. The clouds make it a bit colder than expected, but something great none the less.

Angela

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Lake McKenzie

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The Boys

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75 mile beach

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Back to base camp was the next part, as it was getting dark. The more bumps on the side roads once again have Dieter, Enrique and wife jumping for sorrow in the back of the jeep. I think they have never been happeir to see asphalt in all their lives, and so were we for that matter. But tomorrow the driver promises straight beach runs, so everyone are pleased.

Huntsman Spider

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The night is young for the young at heart and the camp gets going and the bbq is fired up. While settling into our lovely (not) 4 person tent David spots our uninvited guest "the huntsman spider" as he is waiting for us to roll out the red carpet for him. We manage to get a long enough stick and gently get him away. Then the beer started and the conversations with all the campers that were there, Iseas and Ray (Germany), and Rosa (Finland), and of course some guitar playing from the tour leaders, singing and good all round end to a first day.

Brendan and Joel (Camp leaders)

(talanted musicians too)

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Angela & David

More "Valley" for Money

29th November

Brisbane in its glory

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Sunday Bloody Sunday. And yes the sun is still shining ever so brightly in Brisbane. The heat wave is still here and its a hot topic amongst the people. As it happens the weather talk is common all around the world, but thats ok. Anyway, lets move on to the next topic, which is Sunday. David had a short day in work, and had planned to meet Valerie after work, but she didn't reply to his messages, so he came to my work in Bar Alto for a few beers. He mamaged to catch the last session of free comedy for the year, and it was a great laugh with the main act being closely related to Jack Black, so everyone thought.

Things went from beer to more beer for him at home, as I was working of course, very hard. But the night is young, especially if going into the Valley. So off we went after work, to "The Family", another gay nightclub only bigger than the other one that we previously have been to. The place was packed and why you may ask, well because Britney Spears was in town and she was doing a show there. Ok ok, it wasn't the real Britney, but close enough, the only difference is that this one had a penis......she/he still performed by lip sinking to the music, etc ha ha ha. It was a great show and great performances by all the dancers, fun to watch. No pictures though as we never brought the camera this very wonderful night, but I am sure you can picture it yourselves. Another morning to see the sunrise, well to be fair it does rise very early here as Queensland are detached from the rest of Australia and won't adopt the daylight savings venture that every other state has done, oh well.

Story Bridge (Brisbane)

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P.S. David still didn't get chatted up which he is very disappointed about....ha ha ha. (Not really though).

Angela & David

Into "The Valley" of Death

25th November

The time has come, no longer can we put off the inevitable. Yes its time to go out in "The Valley". This is a place like no other in Brisbane. Okay okay I am being a bit eccentric and over exaggerating slightly but it is the core, the sleazy, drunken filled, dirty, smelly and where all the going out action happens in Brisbane.

The night was young and our basement was being used once again by us to have a few pre-out drinks. Wine was the drink of choice for me and David of course had a six pack of Coopers Pale Ale. (A fine fine beer, if you ever get a chance to sample it). Anyway, moving on swiftly. We drank, we listened to newly acquired music and we chatted about Europe and all its glory with Tess. Then the cavalery arrived in the form of Matt and Glen from Bar Alto, after their work was done. They were in full song and ready to conquer the Valley, not for the first time.

All went well, and we ended up meeting up with Ryan (on the left) and Daniel also from Bar Alto, we all went dancing the night away in a Gay Nightclub called " The Beat", as you can imagine the music there was pretty good and made for dancing. So at 5 am we were shown to the door and the bright sun nearly blinded us on exit. Now thats the worst part, and hot, hot, hot. We went straight to bed after that, and it was a pretty good feeling. As we were coming in our flatmates were leaving for work, ha ha ha ha! (Bastards)

So we survived and enjoyed the night out, so thats another thing off the list of things to do before we leave for Sydney.

Ryan "Cooper"

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Glen

(What can you say about that picture, really)

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Glen, Angela & Ryan

Having a gay old time

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Angela &Some Old Guy

(David was very jealous)

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Matt, Tess, Angela and Glen

(Bar Alto-gether)

Angela & David

Current Affairs

25th November

Nothing much has happened so far this week. But for the ones that really wants to know what's going on, keep reading.

We have booked a trip to Fraser Island. The photos i have in the blog is not taken by us, but it's just for you to see what it looks like. We're going on this tour next tuesday for 2 days. We're going to camp on a beach and drive around in a 4x4 Wheel Drive on the white sandy beach.

Now that's something to look forward to. It doesn't come cheap, but i think we deserve it after all the hard working hours in work.

Now for something mor liquidy! We're going out tonight. And yes, believe it or not, it's our first time out in the Valley! We're going to have a few glasses of wine in the basement first, then we're going out to "The Wickam" A gay bar with great drag queen shows! I'm really excited about that! So hopefully some great pictures will arrive on the blog in the next few days!

Why doesn't anyone comment on the blog anymore?? Are you guys still reading it or is this blog getting boring? :)

Especially you Tatyana, i miss your lovely comments! :)

Angela & David

BIG changes!

18th - 20th November

I never thought this would happen! But yes, we're going to Sydney. I will now tell you the sad, annoying and evil story!

By reading the blog i presume you saw my post from sunday morning. Our dear flatmates had a party in the house and we couldn't sleep all night, it's not the first time but this time we had enough!!
We went on our little mountain climb that monday and got a text the next day from one of the guys living here saying something inbetween these lines "It's not working out with you guys working on the weekends and us being off on the weekends, because that's our time off and we need to do whatever we need to do" bla bla bla, basically he gave US an eviction notice over a TEXT! For what?? for being responsible, quiet and trying to sleep when we have work the next day, or maybe for clenaing the house all the time?? well i don't know, but if they want to play that shit, they get that shit!!
And as people say "everything happens for a reason" So true, because we have a friend that lives is sydney that asked us if we're heading down to sydney we could come and take care of his house for a month while he goes with his wife and baby to Ireland for Xmas.
And as well i think everyone knows by now that the independant ME is homesick and wouldn't mind coming home a little bit earlier.
The only thing that was very hard about this is that i will be leaving some really good friends behind, I've had so much fun with everyone in work. Matt has been a wonderful manager to me and it was especially hard to tell him i was going. And lovely Glen "Glan The Man", he's been the best support ever! And Ryan, i will so miss his "Jiiiissseeeees" and "What the fuuuuck". And everyone else in Bar Alto. I wish i could move to sydney but at the same time bring work with me! But it's not the last time i'll see theese people. Matt, my manager is coming down to Sydney for Xmas so we'll be catching up with him and have a few dirty nights out! And of course we'll meet glen again! In Europe somewhere :)
But it's been decided and i think it's the best way to go. We will be staying in Brisbane untill the 12th dec, go to sydney for about 5 weeks or so, and then hit New Zeeland and South America, and them back home!
As for David, well wont be having this much trouble telling the Subway boss that he's leaving as he says everyone in there is a F**k head! :)
Enough talking bad about people.
Let's just enjoy the last 3 weeks we've got in Brisbane. We've still got a huge leaving party and a few nights out that needs to be planned before we go.

Surfers Paradise and Mt. Warning Climb

16th Oct- 17th Oct

Monday morning began with excitement once again. It is the so called weekend time for us and we are off south to the Gold Coast and the Hinterlands. Only a mere 2 hours drive from Brisbane, so nothing too much to worry about. We fill up our Hyundai Getz with all the essential, clothes, wine, eskiy full of food and the most important thing which is the camera. On route we pick up a tent and some sleeping equipment after all it is easier and more fun to camp than to sleep in a small car and we speak from experience here.

On the motorway I take a liitle nap, while my choeffeur brings me to paradise. Surfers Paradise to be exact. As we step of onto the beach, the golden sand, the strong waves, the high winds that is all part of the experience. The strange thing about this beach is that it is lined with skyscrapers as far as the eye can see. While there we hear screaming, shouting, and a lot of excitement for a Monday afternoon. We check it out and find about 50 school students all running into the sea with their uniforms on while the lifeguards have extra work on hands, we enjoy this by taking a few quick snaps before hitting the Coffee Club for a milkshake. Surfers Paradise looks like a happening spot for night life and one of those drinking towns full of beach bums etc.

Back on the road to our nightly destination and to the edge of the humongous Mt. Warning (Wollumbin-fighting chief of the mountains). As we enter the holiday park we are greeted by a bloodshot eyed lady who checks us in. She already looks like she had a few beers, but she makes us feel at home none the less. We pitch the tent beside a running river. The night brings many peaceful sounds of the wild, and we snuggle into our two man tent. Tomorrow, the climb to the summit of Mt. Warning.

David

Is loving our new tent!

Our alarms go off at 4 am, as advised by the people. Its the time to get up there for the sunrise, however we could not open our eyes. So we slept in, I'm afraid. But not too long, just until 6 am. Then breakfast and to get the energy levels up for the climb. Standing at the base of this huge 22 million year old extinct volcano, we get scared. We seriously doubt that we can make it all the way up, the terrain is rough. The path is windy, the climb is steep. We huff, we puff, but we keep going. We motivate ourself with goals like a peach at the top. We are close now, just another few hundred metres. But the last part is a vertical climb, a scrammble up the rock face. The wind picks up, the cool air. WOW. We made it to the top (1157m above sea level). The views are spectacular of the valley below. We can see all the way to the coast, the green valley below with its lakes and creeks. We deserve a break and our reward, a juicy peach and some water to wash it all down. It was worth every step.

Can you see the highest peak?

That's mountain we're going to climb, ALL the way up!

David found a caterpillar hanging from a tree.

Good thing we didn't touch it as we found out later that they can make you itch!!

Angela

This is abut 40 min after we started.

I'm soaked in sweat, and yes it is a fake smile!

This is what i call a walking stick.

Some people call them stick insect....what a weird name for a stick that can walk!

(Walking stick)

David, so close to the top

It was a killer i can tell you!

David

It was SO worth it!

Who wouldn't walk 5 hours to see this??

David

Angela

Now its time to get down again, ha, you thought it was gonna be easy. Well its not. We begin, the descent back down, which takes us less time than the climb. We are wet, hungry but satisfied with the days work. Are muscles are in jelly form right now. We still need to drive back to Brisbane though, so we do that. We make a stop on Palm beach to cool off from the days events, and get back on the road before the thunderstorm hits. Grabbed a bite to eat with Glen (my work friend) and watch lightning touch down every couple of minutes. The heavens open and rain lashes down, but we are home and sleeping in no time. What a great two days, which was our anniversary celebration.

Angela

on her way down, and it's not easy!

Angela & David