Changing Times

Dear All,
I arrived in Brisbane on 3rd June and met up with my Aussie friend Terrie, whom I know from London. She has been in Canada for a year, which she thoroughly loved! Before she hit reality back here in Oz, we had arranged a road trip up the east coast to the Atherton Tablelands and back.
We spent two and a half weeks on the road, courtesy of her car Ivan!
We travelled to Gladstone (Terrie’s home town) before continuing on to meet her friend Fiona in Townsville, who was going to join us on our excursion to Magnetic Island, for Terrie’s birthday.
The ferry over to the island was choppy to say the least and left me feeling somewhat seasick! Thankfully, I wasn’t!
We got to our accommodation, which was OK, but I wouldn’t go back!
We went for a long walk accross the island on the Saturday, taking in some beaches and a walk called the “Forts Walk” around the old fortifications on the island from WWII.
On Sunday, we had a lazy morning, before heading off in the afternoon, to achieve an ambition of mine and go horse riding on the beach and in the sea! To quote my canadian friends, it was “AWSOME”!!!!!
After our return to the mainland, Terrie and I headed up to Yungaburra in the Atherton Tablelands for the night and stayed in a lovely hostel called “On the Wallaby”. We took in some walks and waterfalls, took some photos to add to my collection of yellow animal signs and got some exclusive ones, before returning back down the coast stopping in again in Townsville and Gladstone, from where we went on a day trip to Agnes Waters and 1770, where Captain Cook landed in (stragely enough) 1770!
Unfortunately, the weather didn’t treat us too well on this trip, but it can’t be perfect all the time and Oz needs it’s rain!
Nevertheless, we had a great time and got to see and experience some great stuff!

We returned to Brisbane on 18th June and I was joined by Mik on 20th June. I spent 2 weeks frantically job hunting, to no avail. There is unfortunately little work here of any substance at this time of year at least and I really didn’t want to go back to doing harvest work!
I have also been forced to do some hard thinking about my finances and have come to realise that realistically I cannot afford New Zealand and am frankly fed up of living out of my rucksack! I also have some financial problems back home that I need to start to rectify and I have therefore made the decision to return home six weeks early and not go to New Zealand. The country is not going anywhere and I can return in the future when i can afford to enjoy myself rather than watch the pennies all the time!
I have got work in a telesales post for 2 weeks, before I return to Sydney for a week, or so to change my flight home (the ticket is in Sydney!) I will then stop in San Francisco on the way home, as planned. My aim is to be home mid-August, but that’s subject to being able to change my flight.

I hope that everyone is well and that the saving for your return to Oz is going ok Lauren and Nas!

Well, I’m off to prepare myself for my return to reality, by going to see “Pirates of the Caribbean #2”!!!!!! Ahah me hearties!!!!