under the sea....

The day before New Years eve and also our last day as a group.
Most of the contiki's will leave us tomorrow afternoon while 9 or 10 go upto the rainforest and celebrate new years eve there.
I'm in the last bunch.
We're all sad that it's almost over. All of us do think this was one of the best trips ever. I made some great new friends, created new memories, and got to do a lot of my todo list (aka the bucket list)

One of those things was to go scuba diving. And where better to go than the Great Barrier Reef, one of the wonders of this planet....

After skydiving yesterday I went scubadiving today. It's all about going down, down unda' :)
We got onto a boat that took us to a spot in the middle of the reef. You could see all the different shades of blue in the ocean.
After signing a paper that states you understand the risk of scubadiving we got to put on our wetsuit and gear. The instructors explained what was going to happen. We would go under water, hold on to a bar a breath slowly. Then we got to a rope which took us deeper and deeper under the sea. I felt the pressure on my ears and gave the signal to my instructor who made it clear I had to sqeeuze my nose and blow slowly to let the pressure out a little. It worked but still it felt weird.

I always thought I would struggle more with the breathing than the pressure but breathing was rather easy.
In the beginning you do have to think about breathing, but once you get to the reefs and see how beautiful they are, you start to breathe automaticly.

I have to say, seeing all the reefs and fishes was one of the most beautiful things i've ever seen. It really is a whole new world out there. The fishes just swim around you, they mind their own business and don't really care about us crazy bubble blowing divers. It was so amazing. Kinda felt like I was sitting in a big tropical fishtank :)

I held a seacucumber (photo) that looked like a carrot but felt mushy.
We saw this big oyster like shell, our instructor took our hand and put it in. It felt soft and mushy and closed when we touched it.
Most of our group saw a seaturtle as well, I didn't.. Too bad. But it was wonderfull anyway.

This really was one of the most amazing things I ever experienced....

Anyway, I got to go, we're going to the woolshed, a spectacular bar where they dance on tables...

x,

mermaid tania

I'm alive!!! I'm alive!!! :)

Dear people,

This morning, this crazy chick jumped out of an airplane!!!

I woke up at 7 and I couldn't sleep anymore. I kept thinking: Why did I sign up for it? What if I faint? What if I get sick? What if I shit my pants? What if I die?

But, it was all paid for, and as Hendrickx's are, when it's paid for, you don't let it slip.

So around 8 I got up, got ready and met the others @ reception. We got on a small bus that took us downtown where we got our gear and had to sign a paper that states you won't sue the company if you're injured or dead due to the skydive.

For a moment there I saw my life flashing by...

Rob went first since it was per 3 and there was 7 of us. As he got back he was really really pale and had to throw up.

Nervous as I was we watched the short video on how the position of our body is supposed to be with the skydive. After putting on our gear we got into the small bus again that would take us to the airport.

We got on a really, really small plane with no door. My instructor was really cool. Explaining me all what would happen and immediatly I felt calm.

Strangely enough, as I got on the plane, all my nerves disappeared. The instructor was joking a little bit about the parachute won't opening and stuff, it was funny actually.

So there I was on the plane, going higher and higher and I thought ones we got to 10.000 ft we would jump. But my instructor said: nah, we'll go up to 14.000 feet with the others....

For a second there I thought 'what???' but then I was cool with it. No nerves at all.As we got to 14.000 ft, the instructor said I had to sit on the edge of the open door with my legs out and cross my arms.

On three we would go.

So there I was, hanging out of a plane @ 14.000 feet and not nervous at all. So one...two... go.... And off we went, falling from the sky!

It was as if I was flying, really cool. Only thing was, if you're falling @ a speed of 180 km/h it's hard to breath. Sometimes I had to put my hands in front of my mounth to breathe a little.

I liked it so much. than he opened the parachute which was cool too. I got to steer it but it made me a bit dizzy. The landing was good, really soft on gras & it was 37°C out there, so hot.

As we got back we got our skydiving certificat which states:"Congratulations, you jumped out of a perfectly good aeroplane... are you crazy?"It also says: "Perhaps not, but it does prove you aren't afraid of life's little challenges, or if you are, you still have the courage to achieve whatever it is you wish, no matter what difficulty. We all know that first step into nothing is one of the biggest you will ever have to take, so congratulations!"
Never guessed it would be so cool.

Of course... I 'd like to say a special thanks to Touristil, the motion sickness pill. :)

In the afternoon I went horseback riding in the rainforest. It was nice but most of them were beginners so they kept it slow. Especially after you went skydiving it felt slow :)

That's it for today, we got a free night and tomorrow I go scubadiving for the very first time.....

blub blub blub

Tania

Living the life in thongs...

Hi folks,

HAHA, thongs in Australia means flip flops...

So I'm in my short and thongs in the Cairns Colonial Club Resort.

This morning we said goodbye to 5 people of the group including my new friends: Kirsten (USA), Mariana (Brazil) & Jimmy (Canada). It was the first time it rained (tropical rain) as if the sky cried of the goodbye's and the near ending of our trip ;(

We got on the ferry from long island to the harbour and got on the bus for a looooong busride to Cairns. Because of the goodbye party the night before, I only slept for 2 hours so I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open. The party was fun, some of the locals (ozzie bartenders) had a day off and partied as well. No pictures of the party though, this is a censured blog :P

After a long drive and a few stops to have lunch or use a toilet we arrived in tropical cairns. It's a bit cloudy outside but so hot. I think it must be around 32° and it's very humid.

So, what will I be doing the next couple of days?

Tonight: Pubcrawl (in dutch: kroegentocht) First we'll have dinner and than a putcrawl in 4 or 5 different bars. Can't drink though cause tomorrow is a full day with activities, I'll need a clear head. :)

Tomorrow morning 9am (Mom, now is the time to skip to the afternoon) I will go... skydiving. I know... I'm crazy. Well I always said: "people who pay to jump out of an airplane are crazy" so I guess I got crazy down unda'
I got convinced by some of the other contiki crazy people and we are gonna skydive with a beautiful view over the reef & rainforest.
Don't worry, a professional will jump with me to open the parachute. Now in case the parachute dooesn't open, I will be dead anyways so don't worry about me, I had the best times here! :)
Nah, it'll be fine. I'll jump from 10.000 feet while all the others will jump from 14.000 feet. So, I'll go first... 9am here is 12pm in Belgium, so think about me for a second, jumping out of an airplane with a prachute.

Tomorrow afternoon: I'll go horsebackriding on a farm close to the rainforest. It will be so beautiful.

Tuesday: scubadiving!!! Since the reef here is the most popular place to see little nemo's and stuff I can't go home without trying this too.
I'll have a introductory dive. I'm so looking forward to this! I'm gonna try to buy an underwater disposable camera, don't know if it'll work, but we'll see :)

So, lads & gents, that's all for now.I'll try to let you know tomorrow how it was...

Don't forget to check out my previous blogs since I'm putting pictures on them!!!

xxx
Tania

Daydreaming next to daydream island....

Hi guys & gals,



Today was a relaxing day off. I slept in until 8h30. Got some breakfast and went to lay on the beach, the looks from my hammock was like postcards... Blue sea, sunny, nice beach.... Don't need much to be happy :)

Too bad that some people of the group are leaving us tomorrow... They only booked the trip until the Whitsundays.

Too bad cause my friend Kirsten from Pensylvania will be going. But we already agreed on coming back soon.... very soon :)

Ho Ho Hot out here on long island :) Merry Christmas!

Hi guys,

It's gonna be a long blog since I haven't been able to get online....
Enjoy it en enjoy your christmas!!!

21/12/2008
After a great surfing lesson this morning from a hot surfing teacher we got ready to go have dinner at Dracula's. A restaurant where they perform a show.
We arrived at Dracula's and they took us in a room where they talked a little bit about vampires. After that we went on a short ride through a haunted house and got out at the cocktail bar where you could order cocktails by the name of ' bleeding heart' which I ordered :)
It was 40 AU$ (25 €) expensive but worth it, it was a really big bowl.
The food was okay, the show was funny.
After Dracula's we went out to a club named Melbas. We got free entrance and a free drink.
I was kinda hoping the cute surf teacher was gonna be there since he mentioned that he might hang out there tonight.
Unfortunately he wasn't....
We had a great time and didn't go home untill 4h30....
Too bad we had such a short time in Surfers Paradise.....
I willl definately come back here!!



22/12/2008
After 1,5 hours of sleep and a 5 min breakfast we got on the bus by 7h30 and left for Brisbane.
Surfers Paradise was great, too short to really see it all.
Brisbane was nice town, I got my secret santa gift here, a beachtowel with the Australian road signs. (I wish I got one for me, but beachtowels take in too much space :( )
After Brisbane we drove up to the harbour to catch the ferry to fraser Island.
We had a late dinner and most of us were so tired about the lack of sleep that we went to bed around 10h30pm.

23/12/2008 Ding, ding, dingoooooo
Ah.... the first day I can sleep in a little since the tour started. Since I'd gone to bed @ 10.30 and got waken up by my buddie Kirstin around 8.45, I catched up a little with my sleep.
(Believe it or not, sleeping untill 8.45 was sleeping in!)
I got up, showered and we went to check out the beach which was amazing. The water was warm and again chrystal clear. We walked in it up to our knees and stood there for a while. Taking it all in.
Suddenly we see a 'stingerale' swim in front of our feet! It's so amazing.
After a stroll on the beach we got back to get on our half day tour around the island.
A 4X4 bus picked us up and we got going into the rainforest of the island.
We stopped at a creek, the water in the creek was so clear you could hardly see there was any water there.
The guide was telling about it took 7200 years for the water to get there, so we all tasted it. It tasted like tapwater.
After a short walk in the forest the guide stopped at a tree where we could see this little hole about 2,5 cm (1 inch). Apparently it's the 'home' of one of the most deadliest spiders called the funnelspider. One bite and you are likely to be dead after 15 minutes...
Good thing they are nocturnal!!
We got back on the 4X4 and drove up to lake Mckenzie.
Lake Mckenzie is one of the springwater lakes of the island. The water is not salty at all. The only animals that live in these waters are a certain kind of waterturtles.
The white sand is very pure, which means it feels soft and you can clean your silver jewellery with it.
The guide says it's a great idea to use it to exfoiliate. You get into the water, come out roll into the sand and get back in to rinse off.

So we got there and it was breathtakingly beautiful! I have never seen such a picture postcard lake. We got in for a swim and it was heaven on earth.
After an hour we got back to the bus where we got some muffins and chocolate chip cookies.
Back on the bus the driver starts telling this story about how the aboriginals used to live and cook. They would spit in the dough to make it rise.... And we were eating the muffins.. Uhuh.. :)

Back to the ecolodges we got changed to meet down bij the pitt (pier) to watch the sunset together.
Once it became darker we saw a dog strolling over the beach. I was just about to call 'hi cute doggie' when Nick (our tourguide) said: wow, look a dingo!
To me he looked like a regular dog Maybe a little thinner but other than that, the dingo looked like a unsocialised dog.
Only difference is that a dingo doesn't bark, it only howles like wolves.
After that we ate some pizza and went back to the pier to lay on our backs an gaze at the millions of stars. So beautiful!
We were about going to our lodges when we passed reception. The hot tub looked so good we got in in our underwear to gaze at some more stars :)
What a though life do I have here :P

24/12/2008 Santa baby...
Today wake up call was 6 am. Breakfast was @ 6h30.
We got back on the ferry to get going to the farm where we will spend our Christmas dinner.
We stopped at this little place called Childers where we got some fun stuff for our theme party on the bus on Christmas day: Cowboy and Cowgirl!
The best dresses will receive a price.
And yes, Santa even comes to Oz :)
We all had to buy a unisex gift around 10 AU$ and and wrapped it in newspaper. Tomorrow Santa Nick will give a gift to everyone, Yey :)
Christmas down under is really awkward. It feels more like a summer holiday like august 15 in belgium or the 4th of july in the usa.
You see headlines « Santa got a great wave » Where you see a picture of a surfer dressed as santa on a surfboard. Other than that you see gastanks to bbq and artificial christmas trees in the streets where everyone is dressed in shorts and flip flops.
I don't feel like it's christmas at all. The cold, grey rainy days and early nights in Belgium seem so so far away...
And although i'm not really in the christmas spirit, I do think about my mom, brother and my dad; whom I still miss very very much.

24/12/2008: update
We had a lovely Christmas dinner at the farm. Roasted chicken with gravy, veggies, potatoes... And dessert was a very nice cake and some candies on the table.
Since we had to dress up as cowboys and cowgirls I put on my Christmas cowboy hat, put on my red t-shirt that says : "Dear Santa, define good... ", a jeans skirt and christmas stockings which I wore over my high heels.
My hair was in two ponytales and I put 2 red stars next to my left eye.
As I was getting dinner, the lady of the farm takes the microphone and says: 'The price for the best dressed cowgirl goes to.... Tania'
There I was, standing in the middle of the room with my plate full of food :)
I won :) I got a book about wildlife animals and a dvd too :)
After dinner our tourmanager dressed up as santa and handed out our present. I got a wine opener with a kangaroo on it:)
After santa hand out all his presents, the farmer showed us how to use a whip to kill a snake or other small dangerous animals. It was quite spectacular.
We also went to see the stars and Nick pointed out a few things, like the Milky way & some kind of cross. And how you know what south is, since you cannot see the northstar here.

25/12/2008
Christmas day! As we got up at 5 am (yeah that's right, 5 am!) We put on shorts en tshirts since it was already pretty warm outside and had breakfast at the farm.
At 6 o'clock we were off to Arlie Beach to catch the ferry to long island (in the whitsundays)
We arrived around noon and had an hour free time @ Arlie beach. But with christmas days all the shops were closed.
It's so weird when people say Merry Christmas to you while they shop for the Christmas bbq while it's 36 degrees outside!
When we got to the island it looked as if we arrived in heaven, the water is so beautiful turkuoise blue. I don't think I've ever seen that many colors of blue in any ocean or sea.
The hotel is on the beach with a cocktail bar, pool, hot tub, hammocks...
As we chose from the buffet I noticed everyone of the staff's wearing christmas hats. Again, I don't really feel like christmas. It so weird.
After dinner I spend a couple of hours at the bar and than went to bed to get up early again...

26/12/2008
Boxing day... was a dream day.
We got up at 6H15 am and went to breakfast. After that walked up to the jetty to get picked up by the shuttle to ... Dreamday island. Yes, I swear there is an island with that name. Google it if you don't believe me!
@ Daydream island we were picked up by a purple catamaran to take us on the cruise between the islands. We went snorkling and I saw some fish swimming around the reef.
We had a bbq on the boat and cruised to Whitehaven beach. The beach with the purest white sand in the world. This sand is so pure and soft you have to be carefull so it doesn't gets in your camera cause it can ruin it.
You're also not allowed to take any sand because it's protected by law.
I swear I could not believe I was actually sitting on this beautifull white island with the most beautiful blue sea.... It was like a dream....
The cruise was really great. Wish I could spend every boxing day like this for the rest of my life :)







Catch ya ' later
Sheila
:P

Merry Christmas from me and all the surfing santa's out here....

Hi all, this will be a very short message, wishing you all overseas a wonderful x-mas.

At the moment I'm on frazer island just gazed at a million stars.
Today I swam in a beautiful lake McKenzie which has a white beach and christal blue water.

Tomorrow we will drive up to a farm where we'll have Christmas eve and on Christmas day we go to the Whitsunday islands. For those of you who don't know what they look like:
http://www.tourismwhitsundays.com.au/

Buy for now
XXX

Surfers Paradise...

G'day,

This morning I went surfing again. This time @ the Goldcoast in Surfers Paradise.
Again, the teacher was sooo hot! He was like a blond-bleached version of Rob Estes from Melrose Place.
I don't know what they put in the food down unda' or if it's a genetic thing. Either way, me like... a lot :)
Surfing was hard today since it's pretty windy outside and the waves were so strong.

Tonight we'll have dinner @ this place called dracula. A creepy dinner show thing. Looks fun. After that we're gonna go out into town. Although I'm so, so tired, I'm so looking forward to it too.
We do have to get up early every morning and we go to bed way too late...
(to give you an idea tomorrow we have to get up @ 6 o'clock...)


Catch ya' lata'

To surf, to feed a kangaroo or to cuddle a koala? What the heck, I did it all :)

Yesterday we were at Coffs Harbour @ a surfcamp. To put it in Ozzie words!: It was AWESOME.
Coffs harbour is this little beachtown between Sydney and Brisbane where not many foreigners go to, but it's a place where the ozzies go to.
A little outside of Coffs harbour was a surfcamp. And when I say camp, I mean actual bunkers, like these 'containers' that they have on boats to ship banana's. That's where we slept.
We got there in the afternoon, dropped of our luggage in our 'condo's', got into our wet suits and grapped a surf board.
Our teacher was a real surf ozzie boy, and he was GORGEOUS. I'm not even exagerating when I say he looked like Matthew McConaughy. He could have been his younger brother.
The girls got the surflesson from this hottie and the guys got this tanned blondie.
The lesson took about 25 min. It was fun. After being explained how to peddle and get up on our surfboard we were about to get into the ocean with our instructors.
I think it took me only 3 times before I could actually stand up!
So yes, I did surf you guys!! And for those who don't believe me, I have proof, there was a guy form the 'mojosurf' camp taking pictures which you could get if you bought a t-shirt. I needed my proof right? :)
After spending 1,5 hours in the water we got to shower off the salt and had a great dinner. Fresh fish with fries and veggies. Delicious...
After dinner we put up a bonfire and one of the guys got out his guitar and sang some songs by the fire.
It felt like I was on another planet. A great planet where I could stay forever.
And many people actually do stay here for a while. A lot of backpackers go there for a day or two and then decide they wanna stay. There were some people from holland, america, ireland... Al staying there and working to get their stay for free. They cook or do dishes and in there free time they surf of course!

Today we made a stop at byron bay beach where we chilled for two hours and then drove up to a wildlife sanctuary where I handfed kangaroo's and cuddled a koala.
Again: AWESOME!

While I'm rereading all of this I realise how lucky I actually am to experience all this.
I really love it down unda' and I know now I will be back after this holiday (that is after I paid off my creditcard....)
Oh yeah, the people on tour are great so far. And, I'm not the oldest :)

Well, mates, catch ya' later!!!

Surfgirl & koala-lover Tania

My first day @ contiki

The day started early, 7:15 in the lobby.
Good thing I stayed at the travelodge hotel where we were meeting up.
A whole bunch of people were there from all over the world. America, Korea, Brazil, Scotland, Ireland, England, Austria, Japan... Our tourguide's name is Nick. He seems all right, a bit ADD'ish but other than that okay.
The drivers name is Shawn, also a real ozzie.

So, we got on the bus, Nick explained some basic rules & off we went to Port Stephens.
Port Stephens is this little town with a nice pretty white beach and a blue ocean. The water is so clear and the colours are so beautiful. Every colour of blue you can imagine.
You see fish swimming around, very nice.
After a stroll on the beach and a walk up a mountain we went to our hotel, shoal bay. I share the room with a Korean and a Canadian girl.
The hotel is pretty nice, right across the street from the beach. Tried the pool, was refreshing after a hot day :)
We got a dinner coupon which we could trade for a peace of meat or fish and BBQ it ourselves. Was pretty fun.

Tomorrow it's 'INTRODUCTION' day. Means everyone has to intruduce themselves... Don't know if I'm looking forward to that...
Then on Christmas Eve, we'll be staying @ a farm and the theme will be cowboys and cowgirls. Lucky I brought my cowboy hat with me :)

Tomorrow we're driving up to Surfers Paradise where I'll be taking my first surf lesson...

Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go down unda'

Hahahaha, bet you are expecting a saucy story. Aint gonna hapen!
The title is what I read on a t-shirt today.
Y'all know I've got a soft spot for T-shirts with great quotes on them.
Unfortunatelly they did not had that one in my size. But hey, I keep searching...

My second day in Sydney. Again sun, lots of sun. Walked around the city, took the monorail, walked up to the harbour. I feel great here.
Sydney reminds me a lot of New York City.
So you know I feel home walking these streets.
Only difference is the buildings are a lot newer, they drive on the left side of the streets and the accent, mate.
Guess you could say Sydey is a mix of disneyland and Manhattan :)

Tomorrow my tour starts, I'm a bit nervous about who will be on the tour, what's it gonna be like and will I fit in? I did met one guy, a (cute) scottisch guy, working in Dubai. He came on the same shuttle from the airport.

I don't know if I'll be able to give you an update everyday now, but I'll try.
Oh, and did you know that a 'pincet' can fix a Eee pc keyboard? Last night I got a little bit frustrated with nettie so I try to fix her myself and guess what, she is up and running again so far.

Got to go now, time's up and I need to pack for the tour.
Bye mates!

First day down unda' and lovin' it!

Hi guys!
My first holi'day' is offically over, sun just set as I was writing postcards in front of the Opera House overlooking the bridge.

My holiday had a rough start, as you know, my netbook broke even before my flight took off. After spending most of the day trying to find a computer repair shop I have to get over it and just enjoy my holiday.

Those who know me well will know that losing my computer is hell to an addict like me. I was so desperate to find a shop that I took a bus down to this little place called 'Gladesville'
Like the name sounds, it looks like this movie town with nice houses & friendly people.
As I walked up and down a hill I reached the PC repair store, which was supposed to be open untill 5.30pm (most shops close in Sydney around 5pm).
As you can guess, it was closed.
I saw this lady inside who was closing up. I started to make signs @ the window to draw her attention (yes, that's how desperate I was)
The lady came out, telling me she cannot help me and that I had to come back tomorrow.
I was on the urge of a nervous breake down asking her if she could tell me how long it would take. "With the holidays coming up, it will take about 4 days, if it could be fixed"
4 DAYS???
With tears in my eyes I walked back down the hill and up to catch a bus back to Sydney citycentre.
There I was, in front of a church with people inside singing.
It was almost like God was saying: "Don't be sad my child, don't hold on to these material things in this material world"
As I was thinking that I spend most of the day walking around Sydney for my computer I must say God had a point there.
The bus stopped I got on it asked to take me to city centre.
This nice guy said it would be 3$
I pulled out a 20$ note.
The driver said: I just started my tour so I don't have any change yet. So just ride for free!
I was happy so sat down in front of the bus.
As the driver, named Chaz, started talking to me about my holiday in australia it was obvious to see how friendly and open everyone is down here.
He gave me some tips about Sydney & Australia and dropped me off at the harbour bridge.
Where I enjoyed some sun and thought about all the great things I will see...

This is what I live for & especially work for... To travel, meet amazing people, discover other cultures & enjoy the beauty of nature...

This was Tania live from Sydney :)

Sun sun sun

Yep,
I made it!
I'm in Sydney, dressed in short skirt and t-shirt ready to go outside!
It's sunny and warm! I love it :)

First I'm gonna try to find a computer store, hopefully they can fix my laptop. But I doubt it though. So I won't be able to put pics on on this blog...
Anyway time is up, got to go out in the sun!

I look outside and it feels a bit like home...

Hi all,

At the moment I'm in transit in Singapore. (After a 12,5 hours flight)

Bad news: in Brussels Airport, my bag fell...
Result: Nettie is broken... :'(

It's raining outside, a bit like home....

Good news: they played Sex and the City the movie on the plane, and the captain was funny!

Anyway, got to go for now

More when I get to Oz!

Packing summer clothes while it's freezing outside :)

Yes!

In less than 12 hours I'll be up in the sky...

My journey from home to Sydney will be 34 hours of which 21,5 hours in the air.

Still need to pack, download my music to my mp3 and make sure Nettie has got all the info I will need.

Oh, I would like you to meet my co-traveller: Nettie! My ASUS Eee pc 1000H

Yes that's my hand. Like I said, Nettie is small and cute :-)

Anyway, got to go and pack....

Done working for this year...

Hi there!

Today was my last day @ work... Well for this year at least.
Now I can fully focus on my trip to the other side of the planet :)

Some of you may know that Nettie (my little new netbook) is coming with me to Australia. Thanks to Nettie, and the internet, you will be able to follow the adventures I'll make.
(At least the censured ones ;) )

I still have to prepare a lot, so I'm gonna make it short.
More to read later!!