We got up reluctantly. It was another rough night due to the noise level. We went downstairs (after hearing the code number). We waited outside, but decided to go inside to be warmer. We heard footsteps coming down the stairs, so we went back outside. While we were waiting, a girl and a guy were heading to the door. The guy was trying to put the code in, but it failed. The girl turned to us and said, "I'm going to kill myself," with a smile. She obviously wanted attention. I kind of just looked at her, so she shrugged and looked away. The tour came and picked us up. We were off and started to cross a bridge. Chris, our guide, said they had to build suicide barriers to stop the suicides that would occur two to three times a week. He pointed out various parts of the city as we were going by. He was very informative. He would pick up on things we were interested and talk about them. We first stopped at Bell's Beach. We were offered tea and biscuits. It was a really lovely day, so we walked around. Chris was a jumping picture fanatic. He constantly wanted us to do jumping pictures. It was really weird at first, but then it just got funny as the day went on.
Chris kept calling Alison and I, the California girls who live in New Zealand. He knew we were interested in seeing kangaroos, so he stopped at one point where we could see them in the distance. Then we stopped at another place where they were quite close. It was so exciting. I saw at least 8. We passed by a beach with rocks. A big shipwreck occurred there. At times, part of the wreck would wash up on shore, but they are still not sure where it is. We continued on to a place where you could see koalas. We saw a couple different Australian parrots. One was colourful and the other was white with a yellow feather sticking out of its head. There were two kookaburra birds. A guy was feeding them a lot of steak. We walked down a path and saw a couple koala bears. They were asleep and looked adorable! We went a little further and saw another one that was bigger. It started moving and we realised it was a mother and a baby. The baby was waking up and looked at us a couple times. We walked back and eventually headed for the rainforest. During this drive, we noticed a couple spiders crawling on the ceiling and other places in the car. The seat covers were furry and kind of scary. We weren't sure of what kind of critters lurked under there.
We got to the rainforest and went on a walk. Before the walk, we saw a sign about carnivorous snails. We thought that was hilarious. WATCH OUT FOR THE KILLER SNAILS! Then we walked through the trees and growth. It was pretty cool. After the walk, someone asked our guide what kind of snake is an orange snake. He showed him a picture, but Chris didn't know. So we walked through again and found out it was a rubber snake someone put out there. We had lunch, which was Mediterranean bread, spinach spread, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cheese. It was so good. As we were eating our food, I got attacked by mosquitoes. I felt something and would see one. I had several on my legs and they weren't small. If I didn't feel anything and didn't stop them drinking, I probably would need to get a blood transfusion!
We got back in the car and a spider started running down my leg. Not sure if it was poisonous, I didn't want to squish him and encourage a venomous bite. So I let him run as I was thinking of what to do. I flicked him off when I got the opportunity, but then he started running towards me quite rapidly as if to take revenge. As I desperately tried to find something to end his life before he had flesh to seek his vengeance, he made a leap into my shorts. So I spazzed out slapping every part of myself to end his life before he ended mine. I didn't see where he went, but several people witnessed my chaotic flailing arms and watched with concern and worry. They asked if I was okay and I briefly explained my predicament. I was a bit embarrassed, but I wasn't the only one who spazzed out during the rip. One girl freaked out when a giant insect was flying around the van. It had wings and kind of looked like an enormous ant with a tail. The driver asked if he needed to come back. Alison had taken off her shoe and violently hit it. She squished it quite hard on the seat, but the stupid thing wouldn't die. Even when it was dismembered and in several pieces and not moving, it would still come back to life somehow. Alison admitted that her hand hurt after the intense pressure of squashing...the thing. The girl was telling us that everything in Australia "is trying to kill you." She was more nervous than we were. Alison noticed another insect close to her another time. When Alison warned the girl, she bolted upright so fast and put as much distance between her and the bug as possible. It was really funny to watch.
One time, Chris suddenly stopped the car. A Tiger Snake was crossing the road. He said it was the biggest she had ever seen and one of the deadliest. Then he put on a Michael Jackson song where there was screaming involved. Alison and I sat up, because our first thought was, "Someone is getting attacked!" We have a new frame of mind now. Fear and self defense.
We arrived to the 12 Apostles next. There used to be 18, but now there are only 8. They keep collapsing. The most recent one collapsed in 2005. The water was amazingly beautiful. We just stood there and watched. Then we noticed our guide on all fours looking intently at the ground. we were rather concerned and asked if he was okay. he said he was looking for money in the cracks of the boards. Apparently he once found $17. Not too bad! We got back in the van and went to Loch and Gorge. We walked down a lot of different steps and went onto the sand. It was so hot, so we went in the water, which was FREEZING!
Then we went to London Bridge, which collapsed a while ago. This was the last part of our tour, so we had a long way to go to return to the hostel. The A/C started leaking. He was trying to fix it while he was driving, using both hands. He wasn't really paying much attention to the road and was making us very nervous. He gave up and turned off the air and opened the windows. All of a sudden, he stopped to show us a baby echidna that was feasting on ants. It was really cool.
The van started making strange noises, so we stopped along the highway for 1/2 hour until Chris could talk to someone to find out what to do. We ate more biscuits. Alison and I played cards. Then we were on our way. The noise stopped, but there was a bad smell and he was losing power, so we had to pull over again. He was trying to contact people, but was having trouble. He said a bus with two spots was half an hour away and a mate of his would hopefully be able to pick the rest of us up. His mate couldn't do it, so we tried to hail another bus. We started flailing our arms in the air when we saw one, but it was a school bus. The kids got a real kick out of that one. With all our bad luck that we have had, Alison and I felt like we should apologise to everyone saying we were the reason the bus broke down. Anyway, the guide found a bus for us but we were stuck for 1.5 hours. We were the first to be dropped off (what a change). We went straight to bed, but it was Friday night, and everyone was up and about and ready to party. I was rudely awakened by a band that was so incredibly loud, it vibrated the whole room! Because I was so tired, I actually did partially sleep. The music did enter my dreams. I couldn't escape it.
The deadly Tiger Snake. 
Bell's Beach.
Kangaroo Crossing.
Sleeping Koala.
Kookaburra.
Pretty water along the way.
Rainforest.
Twelve Apostles.
Twelve Apostles again.
And Again.
Loch and Gorge.
Jumping pictures.
Loch and Gorge and interesting formations.
London Bridge. The space in between collapsed. A guy called in sick and came here with a lady. The bridge collapsed and he was stuck on the island. When he was rescued, he went on the front of the newspaper. So he lost his job and his wife in the same day.
Baby Echidna.
No comments:
Post a Comment