Adventures Down Under.

Diving at the Great Barrier Reef

This paddy left the paddy for a trip to the southern hemisphere. What a trip it turned out to be. I met up with the girls in Cairns and the Australian adventure began.

Cairns was beautiful.  The weather was just right and the town itself was lovely and parts of it reminded  me of the vibe in Galway. We rented a convertible and Maher and Byrnsey drove us up the coast where we saw crocs and excitedly watched out for kangaroos. We also went diving and snorkeling on the great barrier  reef. It certainly was eventful with Byrsney losing her mask and knocking her reg out of her mouth while we were under! There were four of us in our group and I turned around and suddenly all there was to see was Gal. I looked at her and looked around and saw no one. I looked again as it is easy to miss someone while diving as they could be under or over or beside you. However, Gal was the only one I could see. We finally saw two pairs of legs dangling above us. Byrnsey had swallowed too much water to continue but managed to swim back to the boat on her own while me and Gal hung out with Nemo. On the way back to the boat we saw a massive barramundi.  Gal was quickly reminded by our guide to keep her hands close by her side in case the fish bit them off!!

Next stop was Coolum beach and Fraser Island.  The bus to Fraser Island was so ridiculously bumpy I felt like I needed a sports bra! It was a nice trip though and we met some really cool people.

Proof that I managed to stay in the kayak !

Next we moved onto Byron Bay. The beach was spectacular and the town was nice and small. We went kayaking with the dolphins.  Our guide was a bit of a fruit loop and said things like "happy happy joy joy. Tra la la la la" and "peace and love, love and peace". Maher had the misfortune to be paired with me in the kayak. The brains were supposed to be in the front and the strength at the back. I was in the front so our brains and strength were well and truly in the back seat! The first big wave picked me up and unceremoniously dumped me out of the kayak. The unbalanced kayak then flipped over and dumped Maher out with the kayak landing on her head. Our happy happy guide Dougie pulled us back in and we were on our way again. Until the next big wave hit and dumped me out of the kayak again.  I tried to ask Dougie a question. His response was "There are no time for questions in nature! ". We finally made it past the breaking waves. It was quite the adventure even before we started!

We moved onto Surfer's Paradise then. It was a bit of a concrete jungle but the beach was lovely. We attempted to go surfing but ended up being kind of rescued by the lifeguards.  We didn't even realise we were in danger. We were just hanging out chatting. The waves were a bit rough but sure we felt like pros after our Byron bay shenanigans!

It was finally time for the first test so we headed to Brisbane. The city wasn't the nicest and the rugby was kind of pants to be honest but the craic was mighty.  

We headed to Melbourne then for the second test. Melbourne was a really nice city with buckets more culture to be found in comparison to Brisbane. The rugby was kind of crap again but I can't even begin to describe the atmosphere in the stadium. It was just electric! We visited the immigration museum since they had an exhibit called Leaving Dublin. It wasn't the best but they had a booth where you could record your own immigration story and listen to others. My favourite was the guy who had been in Australia for about a year. He put his head in his hands and start to stutter. I miss, I miss, I miss. He seemed a little distressed and paused and then looked at the camera and said so sincerely " I just miss Brennan's bread". Well I almost wet myself laughing! 

On the great ocean road

We picked up another UCG rugger here and rented a car and drove the great ocean road. The views from the twisty coastal road were spectacular and the craic in the car was unreal. Well until the spectacular ocean road went on and on and got twistier and twistier. We finally made it to the Twelve Apostles just before the sun set and the journey proved to be worth it. The views were breathtaking.

I was responsible for the return leg and so we headed for dinner. We headed for the nearest town as we were starving since we hadn't eaten since we left Melbourne over six hours ago. The town was smaller than any pokie village in Ireland. The town's only cafe slash shop slash hostel was open and so we went it. We all ordered something different and yet we all got the same thing. We got three versions of chicken schnitzel with different types of "gravy" on top. And by gravy I mean semi solid pile of goo! My stomach still turns slightly when I think of my chicken satay.  Gross! We had a good laugh about but I could taste it the whole way home! It only took about three hours to get home but since I am not used to driving anymore it seriously felt like forever.  All the kids were asleep in the back but my wonderful co-pilot Byrnsey kept me on the right road and entertained my moaning the whole way home!

Sydney was the next port of call and the craic continued there. We stayed with Maher's friend Sarah in Cronulla and went to Summer Bay and met some fine fella Heath who I had never heard of but not adverse to saying hello to. Sarah and her sister Tara and her friend Kirwan were also along for the ride. Sarah drove the new family around in a people carrier and it was like we were all old friends.  We all got on like a house on fire. We a spent the next day in Cronulla eating and drinking and listen to hilarious stories from Tara

The gang in Cronulla

We moved to Sasha and wills place in Bondi next and it seriously felt like Sasha had just moved out from the house in Rosan Glas yesterday and not four years ago. It was the first time I met Will and we all got on famously.  We walked the feet of ourselves in Sydney.  We went to the botanical gardens and Circular Quay, the rocks, the big observation tower and the paddy markets. The markets in Sydney weren't a patch on Victoria Market in Melbourne though.  

The view from Sasha and Willy's apartment

The final test was the icing on the cake. We moaned and moaned about the selection and the decision to leave BOD out of the squad and other selections that that eejit Gatland made but it seemed to work on  the day and players that hadn't really shown up all tour gave very good performances.  I didn't want to leave the stadium.  I stayed until almost the majority had left and soaked it all in!

It was an amazing experience that I would love to repeat. I had some much craic with the girls and all the people we met along the way.

New Zealand 2017 anyone?

The shenanigans!