2002-2005 (c) GetJealous.com, All rights reserved. http://www.getjealous.com/olinorwell/rss.xml Welcome to Oli's World Tour Journal. This is a travel journal/blog of my trip to Australia and New Zealand in 2006/2007. This was going to be a private journal, then I decided to pass the address to family and friends, now it's publically available, hopefully someone out there will find it usefull!..... 170+ blogs on different locations in Aus/NZ/Japan/Hong Kong, 2300+ photos, and a few videos... hopefully you will find it informative, but if not maybe entertaining http://www.getjealous.com/olinorwell http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=411748&go=olinorwell Eventually we took off at 1:40am, nearly two hours late. By now I was tired, but at the same time intent on staying awake to enjoy the first in-flight meal! I was seated at the back of the aircraft, in row 71. Not only was the seat next to me empty, but this row only had two seats next to each other rather than three, due to the aircraft getting thinner towards the rear. Thus I had plenty of room ... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=411748&go=olinorwell Sun, 4 Nov 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=411235&go=olinorwell As I had all day to wait until flying home I decided to pay for an extra night. This meant I could sleep until lunchtime, rather than having to get up to check out at 10am. As it was I got up at about lunchtime, these last two nights I"ve been in a ten bed dorm, ironically though this much cheaper room is actually far more spacious and comfortable than the four share room.There was nothing I ... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=411235&go=olinorwell Sat, 3 Nov 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=411189&go=olinorwell Here in Melbourne I"m staying at Nomads Industry, which is a relatively new hostel just outside the centre of the city. Behind us here is the Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne largest and most popular market. I"m staying in a four bed dorm, which is really small, for my $30 a night I would have expected a little more space. With me in the room is a woman from Israel called Zehavit, and a ... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=411189&go=olinorwell Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=411181&go=olinorwell There was a minor panic today as I woke up hoping that a bank transfer that I"d initiated last week had gone through. They take three days to go from my Barclays account to my Nationwide account, for some archaic reason, as no doubt in reality the actual transaction could be completed instantly if the money grabbing banks so desired! Somebody like Richard Branson really needs to start a moder... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=411181&go=olinorwell Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=409330&go=olinorwell Frustratingly I awoke on Friday morning with a terrible head cold and a soar throat. In the 300 days of this trip I"ve only been ill once before, also at WakeUp in the first few weeks of the trip, perhaps this place is a breeding ground for germs! Feeling ill when travelling is awful, as I don"t feel like talking to people when I"m sick, which inevitably means people don"t talk... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=409330&go=olinorwell Fri, 26 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=409329&go=olinorwell Once again I have chosen to stay at Wakeup in Sydney. This large hostel is situated across the road from Central Station, in the Haymarket region of Sydney, about a ten minute walk from the heart of the city. I"d booked a four share room over the internet, but ended up being put into a ten share dorm. This must have been an administrative mistake on their part. It was about $80 cheaper than m... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=409329&go=olinorwell Wed, 24 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=409313&go=olinorwell Summer is certainly approaching in Australia, the days here feel stickier and warmer, the nights are the same. During my two and a bit month stay in Brisbane earlier in the year the days were like nice English summer days (even though technically it was winter in Brissy). Now though the days feels somewhat tropical.At City Backpackers I"m in a room with three English guys (Jack, Andy and Jord... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=409313&go=olinorwell Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=408184&go=olinorwell I couldn"t sleep so just sat about until it was time to go to the airport. At half three in the morning I was picked up by the shuttle minibus. There is a bigger service bus that goes to the airport every twenty odd minutes, that also happens to be a lot cheaper, but this didn"t start until 4 or 5am, and so wasn"t much use to me.Auckland was empty at 3:30am, other than the odd taxi ... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=408184&go=olinorwell Tue, 16 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=404149&go=olinorwell In the travelling community Auckland has a reputation for being incredibly boring and drab. Of about twenty opinions expressed to me, I think perhaps one or two had something good to say about the place. Most of the hostels are right in the centre of the city, it may well be that the interesting parts of Auckland are away from the travelling crowd, meaning all they get to see in their days here is... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=404149&go=olinorwell Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=404078&go=olinorwell For the final time I woke up and prepared to catch the Magic Bus. As has usually been the case the bus was parked outside, the driver having also slept at the hostel. I took my time, making sure I shaved properly, outside the bathroom Dan was impatiently warning me that the bus was outside ready to go. Downstairs the driver was chatting in the reception so I knew I had plenty of time.Along the roa... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=404078&go=olinorwell Sun, 14 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT