The latest...

I have been on the road since Tuesday, as I mentioned in the last update. On Wednesday afternoon we arrived in Airlie Beach. It is a small little place with tons of backpackers going to the Whitsunday Islands. On Thursday we went on a sail boat out to the Whitsundays. We went snorkeling in two different locations. Although the water wasn't as clear as when I went snorkeling in Cairns. From the boat the water was the most amazing aqua colour. It was absolutely beautiful. We spent the night on the boat in small little bunks. It was also very hot. I definitely improved on my tan while sailing. On Thursday we went onto this amazing beach and spent the morning. We then just sailed back to Airlie Beach all afternoon. That night we got back to our hostel and made our supper and chatted with our other dormates. Two of the girls wanted haircuts so I promised to do them in the morning before we left. So I got up bright and early and did two haircuts and then we hit the road. Today was a long day of driving. We drove from Airlie Beach all they way to this little town called 1770. We are planning on spending two nights here and then going to Rainbow Beach and then Fraser Island. After that I am not exactly sure what the plan is. I know I will be in Sydney on the 9th to meet mom, but I am not sure if I will arrive earlier or not. I would love to visit with Helen and Diana's mother and partner while I am there. I guess we will just have to see how it all works out.
Until next time,
Cindy

Sweet sweet sweet potato.

I must apologize for not keeping up with my blog. I have been away working on a farm for two weeks after Bobbi left. I was at a farm with no telephone or Internet service. I didn't think I would be able to handle it but after a few days I didn't even notice.
On the farm I was planting, picking and packing sweet potatoes. On my very last day I got to pick passion fruit, and capsicum and pack limes. We would get up every morning at 6am and start work between 6:30 and 7am. It was sometimes really hard work, but other days I really enjoyed it. The job I hated the most was digging potatoes on "the sweet potato express." It was such a dirty job and some of the positions on the digger were really fast so it was hard to keep up. I did however enjoy packing potatoes. Mostly because we weren't out in the hot sun all morning. We would have a break about 9:30 for 45 min or an hour and then we would work until noon. Afternoons were too hot for us to be working in the fields. Occasionally Graham would have some odd jobs for people in the afternoon. I arrived with another girl from Japan, the two of us made 12 wwoofers. A couple days later another girl came and made us to 13. I really enjoyed the people I met on the farm. I spent a lot of time with Keith from Scotland, Michelle from Ireland, Jim from Holland and Ruairi from Ireland, as well as Hannah from England, and Kenny from Sweden. There was also Gemma from England, Ritchie from England (but was living in Scotland), Martina from Sweden, Mikako, Myomi, and Nahoo from Japan. Everyone got along very well, and I definitely made some great friends. I am hoping to meet up with Jim and Michelle again in Australia. I also really loved the owners of the farm Graham and Jan. They had three children; Jordan, Hannah and Neve. The only thing I didn't like about the kids was they had a rule about swearing. If they caught you swearing in front of them they would yell out "chili" and you would have to eat a chili. Luckily I only had to eat one, and it was so hot that I swore I would never say another swear ever again. (that didn't last long). It was very enjoyable to watch others eat chillies as well. lol. On the one weekend it was Kenny's birthday so we had canoe races in the damn. The best three teams had to compete again for the championship prize of a 5 kilo sweet potato. Luckily I think Ruairi and I got 5th place. Not last but not in the top 3. I would go back to the farm again anytime and I will really miss the friends I met there.
I came back into Cairns with Ruairi on Friday. I had heard on the farm that he was planning on renting a car and driving down the coast with a friend of his. His friend, Ruadhan and him decided to buy a car instead of rent one. The three of us are driving down the coast and hopefully picking up another passenger along the way. We just left Cairns this morning and are now in Townsville. It has been an adventure already. I enjoy the company but sometimes feel bullied by the two guys. I am looking forward to having another girl to talk to. Townsville is really nice, but unfortunately I am on a really tight budget and cannot afford to go see anything. I may take a walk in the morning and check things out a bit.
Tomorrow we are driving to Airlie Beach and on Thursday we are taking a two day 1 night tour of the Whitsunday Islands.
Once again I apologize for not keeping up with my blog and hopefully it won't happen again,
Until next time,
Cindy

Back to backpacking.

Today Bobbi, Nick and London left to go to Sydney and meet up with Gord and Diane. I woke up feeling good, but a little sad that our vacation (my vacation from my vacation) was over. I went for a quick dip in the pool and then had a shower and finished packing up my things. After my shower I obviously moved wrong or something because I have a ridiculously painful knot in my upper back near my shoulder blade. This used to be common when I was doing hair, but I haven't had a pain this bad in over 6 months. Bobbi felt around, but didn't have time to give me a massage. She figured from the way I jumped that something was almost out of place. I spent the rest of the morning entertaining London and trying to relax enough to get threw the day. It didn't work. Bobbi and Nick dropped me off at my hostel just after 10am. They had to catch a flight around noon as well as drop off the van. I was in tears most of the way to the hostel. Mostly because my back hurt so much it is actually painful just sitting and secondly I was so sad they were leaving and I had to go back to being a backpacker all on my own. I will miss having Bobbi as my sounding board and Nick keeping Bobbi in line (ha ha just kidding) and I will miss London. I was teaching her paddy cake. Hopefully when I get home she can sing it to me. She is still working on clapping throughout the whole song. She also enjoys when you whisper. She would put her ear right up to my lips just to hear what I am saying. Sometimes she would just watch my mouth to figure out how I was doing this whole talking thing. I will definitely miss them all. Since it was too early to check into my room I just dropped my bags off at the hostel and decided to check my emails. I was trying to line up a job or a place to stay. I have signed up to try WWOOFing. (Willing Workers On Organic Farms). I spoke with a man yesterday about going to their farm. I don't get paid to work but you are expected to work 4-6 hours a day and you get free accommodations and meals. This is great since you don't need to spend any money. Some hosts even show you around the area. Most hosts claim their are lots of things to do in the area like swimming, canoeing or fishing. I also applied for a few jobs online around Cairns. Doesn't seem to be a shortage of rooms available here, but the jobs aren't as available. I guess everyone wants to stay where it is warm all year. I finally gave up looking and got myself some lunch. After lunch I checked into my room and called about the WWOOFing. The guy I spoke with said he would call me back to see if they had room for me to come. I then decided I would go to a movie to see if I could relax since my back still hurt so much. I went to see Confessions Of A Shopaholic, since I just finished reading the book. This didn't relax me as much as I had hoped so I went to find a massage. I luckily walked in at the perfect time. I got a half hour massage at a nice spa. I told the girl I was having pains and that I hadn't had a massage in over 6 months. She worked hard to get out the huge knot but failed to relieve my pain. She also couldn't believe how tight my muscles were. I explained that this is what happens when you backpack and don't have a regular bed to call your own. I don't know what has set off my back but I am even having trouble moving to stretch it out. I felt a bit of relief from the massage, but not as much as I was hoping for. Once back in the hostel I decided to read a bit more about WWOOFing and see if there are any other farms I would like to go to instead, since I hadn't heard back from them. While I was eating my supper and reading my book I got a call from Graham whose farm I want to go to. He said they have room and that he is coming into Cairns tomorrow and will pick me up. I am relieved because I have somewhere to stay at least for the next week. If I don't like it I will either keep looking for a job or try a different farm. I have about 5 weeks before mom comes to visit. I would love to work and make some extra cash but if it doesn't work out, oh well.
So tonight I am just taking it easy trying to relax my sore muscles. Cairns seems like a pretty happening party place. All of the girls staying in my hostel went out drinking with their friends. So we will see how many times I am awaken in the middle of the night. Hopefully no one decided to turn the lights on for an hour and eat potato chips.
Until next time,
Cindy