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I don't know about you, but I was feeling 22 this morning.
I woke up on 8th January 2015 in a hostel in Byron Bay & had finally hit the grand old age of 22. Not the worst place to spend your birthday if I do say so myself! Apart from the fact that it was pissing it down with rain!! Bloody typical, doesn't rain the entire time we were in Oz but it happens to rain on my birthday :( Which also meant that my bikini/towel that were hanging out to dry on the balcony were soaking wet, just as I was about to pack them in my case. What a nightmare! But hey hoe, I was off to the beach to go Sea Kayaking!
Thankfully the rain stopped when the kayaking guy picked us up in the worlds smallest 4x4 (see 3rd photo) to take us to the beach. We got into pairs, I was with my friend Polly, but by complete coincidence we were asked to split up so we could both go with instructors. I definitely wasn't complaining, as not only did I not have to work as hard because the instructor was doing most of the work, but the guy I was put with was SO fit. I never got bored of seeing tanned guys with blonde curly hair that's for sure! I told him it was my birthday, and because he was an instructor & could basically do what he liked, he steered us away from the group & went searching for some waves for us to ride. When he saw a big wave coming, he would build up some speed & the wave would come right behind us and push us forward at what felt like 20mph! It was such an adrenaline rush & so much fun compared to the rest of the group who were peacefully rowing in the calm waters! I thought to myself, "How bloody lucky am I to get put with the adrenaline junkie instructor (when I'm a massive adrenaline junkie myself) on my birthday?!" It really was the most perfect way to start the day!
When we got back to the shore, we all sat on the beach & had hot chocolate & Tim Tams with the instructors which I didn't know was included so that was really cute! Just as we were about to leave it started chucking it down with rain so we spent the entire journey home absolutely drenched looking like drowned rats, much to the amusement of the group back at the hostel! This afternoon we continued our journey & crossed the border from New South Wales into Queensland for our next stop, Currumbin! One of the Aussie guys I had gotten quite close to on the tour was sat with me on the coach & out of nowhere handed me two paper bags full of birthday presents! They were just silly things that he picked up locally but it's the thought that counts & it really was such a sweet gesture! One bag contained typical Aussie food like Vegemite & Arnotts Butternut Cookies, the other contained general things like Pringles & a jar of Nutella. A girl's gotta have her snacks!
We spent a few hours at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary feeding Kangeroo's & having photos with Koala's before heading North again to the Miami of Australia, Surfer's Paradise! Surfer's was the first place since Sydney where we were staying for more than one night, which was a relief as we were all getting pretty bored of packing & re-packing our suitcases every. single. day. The hotel we were staying at was unbelievable! 4 of us had a huge family room to ourselves (not a bunk bed in sight!) with a kitchen, 2 single beds, 1 double sofa bed & a separate bedroom with a double bed, sliding wardrobes & its own private balcony! Because it was my birthday the girls let me have the separate room with the double bed, so I definitely felt very spoilt!! That evening the whole group decided to pay extra to have a 3 course meal at Dracula's Cabaret Restaurant, one of the most famous cabaret shows in Australia. It was so lovely having the whole group together for once as it was rare to have everyone paying for the same optional activity (usually everyone would be off doing different activities!) As regular guests, Contiki are always reserved the best tables right in front of the stage & are always given a special shout out which was really nice! The show was SO funny, especially when they were taking the piss out of my friends English accent! The drinks were really expensive though... well, all drinks in Australia are ridiculously expensive to be honest! $20 for a double vodka and coke, what the hell?
After the show, the coach took us to a club where we had VIP entry included (again, complete coincidence that it happened to be my birthday!) For anyone who's been on a Contiki before, you'll know that every group has a 'day song' that is played every morning & evening to get us pumped up & to remind us of tour when we get home. Ours was Uptown Funk, and even to this day I can't listen to it without wanting to cry happy tears because it brings back such amazing memories! When Uptown Funk came on in the club, we all went CRAZY. It really was the best night! Everyone kept buying me so many drinks that at one point I was holding & attempting to drink 3 drinks at the same time (see last photo)! My Aussie friend walked me home at the end of the night & bought me Krispy Kreme doughnuts - can life get any better than that? I seriously doubt it!
Thankfully the rain stopped when the kayaking guy picked us up in the worlds smallest 4x4 (see 3rd photo) to take us to the beach. We got into pairs, I was with my friend Polly, but by complete coincidence we were asked to split up so we could both go with instructors. I definitely wasn't complaining, as not only did I not have to work as hard because the instructor was doing most of the work, but the guy I was put with was SO fit. I never got bored of seeing tanned guys with blonde curly hair that's for sure! I told him it was my birthday, and because he was an instructor & could basically do what he liked, he steered us away from the group & went searching for some waves for us to ride. When he saw a big wave coming, he would build up some speed & the wave would come right behind us and push us forward at what felt like 20mph! It was such an adrenaline rush & so much fun compared to the rest of the group who were peacefully rowing in the calm waters! I thought to myself, "How bloody lucky am I to get put with the adrenaline junkie instructor (when I'm a massive adrenaline junkie myself) on my birthday?!" It really was the most perfect way to start the day!
When we got back to the shore, we all sat on the beach & had hot chocolate & Tim Tams with the instructors which I didn't know was included so that was really cute! Just as we were about to leave it started chucking it down with rain so we spent the entire journey home absolutely drenched looking like drowned rats, much to the amusement of the group back at the hostel! This afternoon we continued our journey & crossed the border from New South Wales into Queensland for our next stop, Currumbin! One of the Aussie guys I had gotten quite close to on the tour was sat with me on the coach & out of nowhere handed me two paper bags full of birthday presents! They were just silly things that he picked up locally but it's the thought that counts & it really was such a sweet gesture! One bag contained typical Aussie food like Vegemite & Arnotts Butternut Cookies, the other contained general things like Pringles & a jar of Nutella. A girl's gotta have her snacks!
We spent a few hours at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary feeding Kangeroo's & having photos with Koala's before heading North again to the Miami of Australia, Surfer's Paradise! Surfer's was the first place since Sydney where we were staying for more than one night, which was a relief as we were all getting pretty bored of packing & re-packing our suitcases every. single. day. The hotel we were staying at was unbelievable! 4 of us had a huge family room to ourselves (not a bunk bed in sight!) with a kitchen, 2 single beds, 1 double sofa bed & a separate bedroom with a double bed, sliding wardrobes & its own private balcony! Because it was my birthday the girls let me have the separate room with the double bed, so I definitely felt very spoilt!! That evening the whole group decided to pay extra to have a 3 course meal at Dracula's Cabaret Restaurant, one of the most famous cabaret shows in Australia. It was so lovely having the whole group together for once as it was rare to have everyone paying for the same optional activity (usually everyone would be off doing different activities!) As regular guests, Contiki are always reserved the best tables right in front of the stage & are always given a special shout out which was really nice! The show was SO funny, especially when they were taking the piss out of my friends English accent! The drinks were really expensive though... well, all drinks in Australia are ridiculously expensive to be honest! $20 for a double vodka and coke, what the hell?
After the show, the coach took us to a club where we had VIP entry included (again, complete coincidence that it happened to be my birthday!) For anyone who's been on a Contiki before, you'll know that every group has a 'day song' that is played every morning & evening to get us pumped up & to remind us of tour when we get home. Ours was Uptown Funk, and even to this day I can't listen to it without wanting to cry happy tears because it brings back such amazing memories! When Uptown Funk came on in the club, we all went CRAZY. It really was the best night! Everyone kept buying me so many drinks that at one point I was holding & attempting to drink 3 drinks at the same time (see last photo)! My Aussie friend walked me home at the end of the night & bought me Krispy Kreme doughnuts - can life get any better than that? I seriously doubt it!
Check out tomorrow's blog about my post-birthday hangover...
Or should I say my 6am wake up call to do a skydive!!!
xxx
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