The little hatchling before his journey into the ocean!

At last, after losing half the group a few miles back down the beach, the elite athletes amongst the turtle watchers got to see a torch in the distance. We were all beckoned onto the grass verge at the side, and gathered in a semi-circle around some cones surrounding a patch of sand. And then, the most magical moment, which made everything worthwhile, was when the tiniest little turtle poked it’s head up through the sand and then crawled across to the torch light where the ranger picked it up and put it inside a little pen. All of a sudden there were more, two and three at a time pushing their heads through to see their first glimpse of the world (50 faces all staring at them!!). It was quite an emotional experience, being so close to nature and more particularly knowing that only one out of a thousand of these tiny endangered species would make it through to adulthood. There were about 80 hatchlings in total that scrambled about 60 centimetres from their eggs up through the sand and out into the big wide world. The ranger came round and showed us a hatchling so that we could take photos and touch it. I hope our little mite is still alive today. The eggs we saw hatch were loggerhead turtles that were laid on the 28th December 2005. We even know the tag number of their mother; it was her first lot of babies! When the rangers had made sure that no more hatchlings were trying to dig their way up through the sand, anyone with a torch had to stand with their legs apart in a line on the beach down from the grass verge to the sea. Kate had a torch on her mobile so she was the last person in the line near the sea. We all stood at either side of the line of torches. The turtles were released from their pen and all raced towards the torchlight of the first person and through their legs! It was remarkable, they were about the size of the palm of my hand and they were going as fast as their little legs would carry them through each person’s legs! The last human face many of them would have seen was Kate’s (poor things! :-) ) and then it was time for them to reach the sea, a wave swept in and picked some of them up and that was it, they were off on their big adventure in the ocean. As the waves picked up the last few turtles it was quite sad to see them go, knowing that a lot of them wouldn’t last long at all. But at the same time it was a wonderful moment knowing we had helped set them off on their journey of life.

We all thoroughly enjoyed an unforgettable experience, and we’ll definitely go again to see the big mother turtles actually laying the eggs.About a week after we had been here we had some very stormy weather on the coast due to a distant cyclone, and we were really sad to hear that a lot of the turtle nests at Mon Repos had been destroyed by ferocious tides.

Mum and Kate waiting to see the turtle

At 6.45pm we drove to Mon Repos beach, which is where the turtle rookery is. Mon Repos Turtle Rookery is the largest and most accessible Loggerhead Turtle Rookery on the Australian Mainland. Each year from November to March, turtles come ashore and nest, followed six to eight weeks later by the emergence of baby 'hatchling' from their sandy nests. During these periods nobody is allowed on the beach between 6pm and 6am, however guided tours operate nightly to allow close up experiences with the turtles. Mon Repos supports the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles on the Eastern Australian mainland and is one of the two largest Loggerhead turtle rookeries in the South Pacific Ocean, which is impressive. Successful breeding here is critical for the survival of this endangered species.
We didn’t really know what to expect here, it was so remote and Bargara such a tiny place, that I half-expected it to be just us there to that evening, or maybe another couple of people. When we got to the car park however, this was clearly not the case. I don’t know where all the people had come from, but there were about 100 queuing up outside when we got there! My heart sank a little as I thought we didn’t really stand much of a chance of seeing anything with all these people there. We all got a sticker and were allocated to one of two groups. We were in group one, which meant that we were up first if any turtles were hatching. I didn’t realize either that we just had to sit and wait at the visitor centre (watching a few presentations) until one of the rangers saw something – this can be until 1AM!!! I think we had decided that we’d wait until about 10pm and then we were off! Nesting turtles are best viewed after dark one hour before to two hours after high tide from mid November to February. Turtle hatchlings are best viewed from January to the end of March between 7.00 p.m. and midnight - so at the time we were there we would hopefully see some hatchlings. However, we were constantly reminded that ‘Turtles are wild marine animals - sightings are never guaranteed and on occasional evenings, turtles do not arrive’. After listening to one of the most irritating sounding rangers for an hour, (I think dad counted 163 times she said ‘basically’ and her voice had a very high rising inflection at the end of every single sentence) we got a cup of tea and were starting to think that tonight would be the night where the naughty little wild animals would decide they were staying in their nest!
Typically, just as we were drinking our cuppas, a frantic sounding ranger was bellowing ‘GROUP 1 TO ASSEMBLY POINT A, GROUP 1 TO ASSEMBLY POINT A’, well we got all panicky as though it were a fire drill and scrambled to the assembly ramp clutching our teas! About 50 of us then filed along a very windy and dark beach (no lights allowed as it can disturb the turtles). The ranger who was our guide was talking away but we couldn’t hear a thing and we were stumbling on the beach trying to keep up as he marched along at quite a pace like we were in a military drill. He then stopped, talked on his radio and said something to us – which we couldn’t hear, and then turned and walked back where we had come from! I just couldn’t stop laughing by now, seeing all these people of all shapes, sizes and ages almost running along a dark beach to keep up was quite amusing.

From our balcony at the apartment in Bargara

I had booked us a 3 bedroom apartment in Bargara called Kacy’s and it was absolutely perfect, it had sea views, a huge living area, two bathrooms and a massive kitchen and laundry room. It was actually bigger than our house! We had intended on eating at the hotel restaurant before going out, but after seeing the kitchen we thought we’d buy something and make it ourselves. We had about 10 minutes to dash to the shops before they closed but we luckily managed to find a lovely butcher who had portions of chicken and beef stir fry just ready to throw in the pan and cook. We got some drinks from the bottle stop and had a lovely meal on our balcony.

Mum and dad enjoying the life of leisure

We arrived back at the hotel looking a little dishevelled and joined mum and dad around the swimming pool for a few hours before continuing on our travels. That few hours proved for Kate and dad to be very memorable… the fateful moment when they thought ‘I won’t need sun cream, I’m only laying down for 10 minutes’ came back to haunt them after the magic shower that evening. They were both very red and in a lot of pain for a few days afterwards!

We set off up to Bargara, near Bundaberg (home of the Bundaberg rum distillery) at around 12.30pm as it was a good 4 hour drive there and we had an appointment with some turtles that evening.

He's surfin'!!

The lesson looked really good and Andy was getting lots of practice falling off the surf board as we looked on and took photographs. During the last 15 minutes though he finally came towards us standing up on the surf board – hurrah!! At the end of the lesson he got given a sheet detailing what they had done, it was lesson 1 of over 100!! He enjoyed it though so we’ll no doubt be back for another stay at the Sheraton and lesson 2, ah the things I have to do!

Andy learning to surf

It was already really hot at 8am as we walked along the beach to the tent where Wavesense (the surf lesson people) are based. As mentioned earlier, due to a little mistake on my part, Andy had a few minutes to wait before his lesson so we tested the waters (quite literally) and went for a play in the waves. Andy’s surf instructor turned up – on time, and off they went doing the moves on the beach. The waves didn’t look really bad but believe me they had some power in them. Kate and I were like rag dolls getting tossed around in the surf, on more than one occasion I thought I’d never see the sky again as my head hit the sandy floor and I surfaced gasping for air! It was really good fun but after more than one near death experience, and not being a cat, I was ready for a bit of sunbathing. Luckily, we were able to steal some factor 30 sun cream from the surf tent as Andy was out learning to surf and we had a nice relaxing lay in the sun.

The beach at Noosa

DAY 3: February 20th, Noosa / Bargara

It was time for Andy’s Christmas present, the surfing lesson was at 8.30am (I realised after we had got to the beach and phoned the company to complain that no-one was there at 8am for the lesson…) and we had an included breakfast to have at the hotel before then, so it was an early rise for Andy, Kate and I. The breakfast was fantastic, the options went on forever – you could be healthy with fruits and cereals, choose from about 15 different breads, boil your own eggs, have smoked salmon and poached eggs, a full fry up, the continental cheese and meat style breakfast, or just opt for toast and jam. A tough choice at such an early hour in the morning, so I played it safe and opted for a bit of everything.

The intrepid explorers await some food

It was quite late by the time we all stopped playing in our whirlpool baths, eating free apples and trying all the lotions in the bathroom so we had to choose a restaurant fairly quickly. We didn’t particularly want to walk too far and we were all so hungry we could have eaten the proverbial horse, so we settled for an Italian restaurant which was very nice.

View from hotel balcony over the river

We were certainly in the right place for recuperating though; the hotel room was fantastic, very big with a huge bed, sitting area, kitchen and a whirlpool bath. The balcony looked out over the river and there was complimentary water and apples (which I must say I have never had before – a healthy complimentary option!). After a quick inspection of the room, we were out at the pool for a much needed swim, drink and hot tub!! The pool bar had closed, but they brought us some drinks out anyway and we had a lovely dusk swim in the pool and a very hot and bubbly hot tub.

Another oversized arachnid

At this point of the walk we made a slight error in judgement and decided that rather than walk back along the path we had come from, we would walk back along one of the pathways through the middle of the forest area of the national park, it was only another few kilometres… Later that night we arrived tired, weak, hungry and weary back at the hotel (ok – I’m exaggerating, it was actually about 5pm!). It was a really nice walk and we saw several extremely monstrous spiders just sitting in a web at head height a few centimetres from where we were walking, which is always a bonus. Unfortunately though, the last few kilometres had broke us and we got back to the hotel with aching feet and empty stomachs after not having had the appropriate footwear or food and drink rations for an 8km hike in the sun!

Mum and dad at Hells Gates, with Alexandria Bay in the background

The tourist information centre staff were helpful and provided us with a good map (always an essential for a map fanatic like myself!) and we set off on what was to be a walk along the coastal edge of the national park. We walked past the beautiful Noosa Beach, and the sea looked so inviting! The walk was great, a boardwalk took us along the edge of the beach and then we followed a path along delightfully named places such as Witches Couldron (Boiling Pot), Tea Tree Bay, Dolphin Point, Winch Cove, Fairy Pools and culminating in Hells Gates!! We failed to see any witches or dolphins and particularly sadly there were no fairies in the pools. We could, however, see where Hells Gates got the name. This was the furthest point of Noosa Heads and it consisted of a long narrow cove in the steep cliffs into which the sea was crashing into at quite a force. It wasn’t somewhere you would want to dip your toes into that is for sure.

Me and sis at Hells Gates

We got to Noosa around lunchtime and pulled up at the impressive looking Sheraton hotel. The concierge took our luggage and we checked in. I do adore good service, and I can say that in those first 10 minutes of arriving, the concierge and reception staff made me feel totally welcome - we even got a room upgrade! The rooms weren’t ready when we arrived so we decided to go for a walk around Noosa Heads national park.

The Millingtons on Noosa Beach

DAY 2: February 19th, Noosa

It is about a two hour drive up from Brisbane to get to Noosa so we set off from the hotel mid-morning so that we could have a nice afternoon in Noosa. It was quite a feat managing to fit in all the bags and suitcases as well as 5 adults into the Territory! We were actually going to Noosa because I had booked Andy a surfing lesson as a Christmas present (before we knew that my family were coming over) as well as a night’s stay at the Sheraton Noosa Resort – the only 5 star hotel in Noosa! I chose Noosa because it is meant to be one of the best places to learn to surf due to it being a rare north facing beach and has the warmest waters (averaging 25 degrees while we were there!). The surf school I chose (Wavesense) was awarded as surf school of the year last year and was recommended in the guide books. However, I was also keen to go to Noosa as I had heard lots of good things about the top class shops, restaurants, beaches and walks there. It all tied in perfectly with mum, dad and Kate’s visit and the road trip back up from Brisbane.

Our meal at Michael's restaurant

That evening we had a special meal to celebrate missed birthdays, Christmas, our engagement and of course the fact that mum, dad and Kate were actually here in Australia! It was at a restaurant called ‘Michaels riverside restaurant’ which was, logically, on the river in the centre of Brisbane. It is said to be the most awarded restaurant in Brisbane and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

An unusual sighting of a moving wombat, plus a bonus shot of a dragon/goanna

Spot the additional family member (Stuart's stand in)

Dad enticing a wallaby from the tree trunk

We all fed the kangaroos and wallabies, and Kate and mum had a memorable cuddle of a koala.

Kate with koala

We had a fantastic afternoon at the sanctuary, and saw lots of Australian creatures (yes, humans too!).

Mum succumbs to the cuteness of the koala

I won’t go into descriptive mode about the sanctuary as we have already been there and done that – check out November/December archives if you want to read all about our first visit. Instead here are lots of photographs of the day.

Luckily I have a good camera to capture the lightning movements of the koala...

DAY 1: February 18th, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

I allowed everyone a sleep in for the first morning (no such luxuries for the rest of the trip though!). We set off to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary around dinner time, if you are an avid blog reader, you may recall Andy and I going here back in November. I thought this would be the perfect place to get close to a lot of the Australian mammals, birds and reptiles. Plus, the photograph you can get with the koala is great value as it’s not every day you get to cuddle a koala is it?

Kate - having breakfast in Brisbane

Andy and I had actually already planned a trip to Brisbane to see Dirty Dancing the Musical at the theatre there, so it dropped on perfectly that mum, dad and Kate would fly into Brisbane while we were there too, and we could then drive all the way back to our house with them.
The day before we set off on our first ever big road trip to Brisbane, I had the day off work and meticulously cleaned the house from top to bottom (well, as it’s only one level I guess side to side is more appropriate?!). It was the kind of obsessive cleaning that you do before your parents or friends arrive at your house, I even cleaned the skirting boards!
We then set off on the big journey, firstly to Mackay to drop our beloved son Ben off at the kennels. It was late by the time we got there as Andy was working that day. By the time we left the kennels and grabbed a nutritious KFC meal to keep us going it was nearly 9pm. We decided we would drive as far as we could and then crash in a motel for a few hours before setting off again the next day.
The Bruce Highway is a long road, mainly single carriageway and mainly very straight and featureless (more so when it is pitch black at night!!). It is one of the great drives of Australia, winding up the Coral Sea coast from Brisbane to Cairns for 1700km! It gives you access to all the towns and cities on the east coast of Australia, as well as a whole host of attractions and changing scenery along the way.
We managed to make it to Rockhampton, the main city between Mackay and Brisbane, and got 6 hours sleep there before heading off again the next morning. The drive wasn’t as bad as you might imagine, we just drive until we are feeling tired and then swap, and stop to get food and drinks now and again. We probably only passed about 5-10 vehicles in the 3 hours it took to get to Rockhampton, but as we got nearer to the Sunshine coast and Brisbane the volume of traffic increased a lot. We eventually got to Brisbane at around 4pm on the Friday (17th) afternoon after driving for just about 14 hours! We were staying at the same hotel we first stayed in when we arrived in Australia, The Carlton Crest, and I had booked mum, dad and Kate in there too. They were due to arrive into Brisbane at around 10.30pm, just as our show finished, so it was hard to concentrate on the fact we were going to the theatre because of their imminent arrival.

Dirty Dancing

We had excellent seats for Dirty Dancing, as I had booked it the minute the tickets went on sale, being a huge fan of the film! It is a new musical and Australia is the first place they have shown it, but I have just seen it advertised for England so get your tickets booked girls!! The show was really fantastic, very different to the classic musical in that the lead characters didn’t actually sing anything, and neither did a lot of the other characters. It was mainly a live band on stage performing a song in the background or it was the original song being played. The only scenery was a mechanical arm in the middle of the stage which raised/lowered/tilted as necessary and film was used at the top of the stage to illustrate where the set was or what particular actors were doing (i.e. footage showing vegetables being served from silver service was shown when Robbie the waiter was pretending to do the same thing on stage). A lot of the visual/acting scenes were so well choreographed that the actors were moving in synch with what was happening on the screen. All the actors/actresses were spot on both in looks and their acting, and the film script was almost followed word for word. The person who played Baby was actually Libby from Neighbours (Kym Valentine) and she was very impressive and believable. Josef Brown played Johnny, Josef is a former Australian ballet star, as well as being very good looking with a body to die for! Hence he got lots of screams of delight as he removed his top and at some points I really don’t know how the leading pair managed to stay focused as the audience shouted and screamed with delight and encouragement as their love story evolved. We had a great night and the audience were on their feet applauding the cast at the end!

At last… the time had come to meet up with my family!!
We switched the mobile phone on as we got out of the theatre, and got a text message from Kate “Plane filled with smoke so we had to re-land back in Sydney”. My heart sank, but then Andy started laughing and said that it would all be a big joke and they would be waiting somewhere to surprise us! I really didn’t know what to think, but I said to Andy that knowing my luck it would be true! We got back to the hotel and snuck round the side entrance hoping to play them at their own game, but they weren’t there. I asked at reception, and they hadn’t checked in yet – aargh, how can this be happening?!! I phoned Virgin who confirmed that some smoke had filled the cabin, but they had successfully taken off from Sydney again and were on their way to Brisbane. We then thought that we would surprise them by driving to the airport to pick them up, so off we dashed having no clue of where the airport was! Just as we had parked up, the phone rang and it was Kate saying they were just about to get their luggage and get a taxi to the hotel. We ran from the car to get to arrivals before they left and stood in the doorway and scanned everyone waiting at the luggage conveyor, and there they were!!! I stood next to mum without her knowing and said “I think that’s yours” as she looked at a suitcase, then she turned and realised it was me!! It was so wonderful seeing them at last and knowing that we had 3 weeks of fun and adventure ahead of us!!

Dad, Kate and Mum here at last - stood with the Kangaroos in Brisbane!!

Mum, Dad and Kate’s Visit

On my birthday this year I got some news that was better than a present, I found out that mum, dad and my sister Kate were flying over to Australia in just a month’s time!! It was totally unexpected and fantastic news! They were to fly out on the 8th of February and fly back a month later.

Then began a month of intricate researching, planning, timetabling and booking by myself in a quest to make their trip an unforgettable and thoroughly enjoyable experience. I had all my leaflets out (that, to Andy’s annoyance, I collect from anywhere we go) and the internet usage was sky high as I gathered information and made online and telephone bookings to slowly but surely create a calendar of events to occupy my family for (almost) every moment of their stay here in Oz! Every day Andy returned from work to have me excitedly tell him about my latest booking or plans, until it wasn’t physically possible for them to do anything else in the 3 weeks they were to be with us! The longest I have ever not seen my family is probably 3 weeks when we have been on holiday, so 7 months was such a long time for me. Particularly when those 7 months were spent at the other side of the world with a 10 hour time difference! Apart from our night out with Kelly who I used to work with, they would be the only familiar faces we had seen since leaving England too. Hence I got so excited about the visit that I could hardly sleep for the few weeks before they arrived! It would be so strange to have them here in our house and show them little things like where we take Ben for walks, where we work, where we shop, where we go swimming, what our garden looks like etc. etc. I was also almost fanatical about hoping I’d got everything organised alright and that I had arranged everything sufficiently so that there was something for everyone and they would all enjoy themselves. I did enjoy planning everything though, as I love doing things like that and it was a good escape from working at Coles!

They arrived into Sydney late night on the 9th February and stayed in a hotel I had booked for them in the Rocks area right near the Opera house and Harbour bridge. When we spoke on the telephone at around midnight that night, they were all just going swimming on the roof of the hotel with views of Sydney!

The next day they flew to Narandera, South West of Sydney, to meet up with Roy and Pam – who have lived in Australia for around 30 years, but Roy used to work with dad when they lived in England. They were to stay with them on their farm near Whitton for a week and then fly up to Brisbane to meet us. It was so strange knowing that they were actually in Australia, but still a long long way away from us. They had an absolutely fantastic time with Roy and Pam, who showed them all around their farm (or station as they are called in Australia) and took them to see the local towns and attractions. I couldn’t believe it when they phoned to tell me they had seen kangaroos in the wild already! I think by the end of the week they had had so much fun and excellent hospitality that they weren’t really bothered about coming up to see us anymore :-( !!

The ring at last!!! (Just arrived yesterday)
(Excuse the reptile skin - the camera is too good - must get some moisturiser!!)

After getting changed we headed off for something to eat and some celebratory champagne, we went to an Italian and had pizza and the best champagne they did (well, it’s not everyday is it?!). We were taking it in turns to phone our families between courses to tell them the news!

The Establishment (hotel) did us proud with another two giant cookies to finish a very exciting day with!

The moment!!

Andy was very quiet leading up to the climb and during the ascent he hardly said a word, which I put down to nerves. We had a stopping point at the top of the bridge to take in the views and that is when the experience became even more unforgettable… Andy got down on one knee and proposed to me!!!! Well, it was an emotional moment and I think I managed to squeak out a ‘yes’ as the rest of our group and the other 2 groups on the bridge all started cheering and clapping!! He gave me a fashion ring just for the moment and we had our photo taken there and then by our excited climb guide! It was unbelievable, unbeknownst to me he and the rest of the climb team had been planning it all as I was getting ready so everyone knew about it! Everything was very surreal then as the sun set and the harbour lights were twinkling, the opera house illuminated and we were engaged!! At the end of the climb they gave us a certificate and photo each for completing it, also gave us a special certificate that said congratulations to us on our engagement, which was really nice!!

In the darkness on the way down

It is hard to put experiences like this into words that will do it justice, so all I will say is that it was breathtaking. It was hard to realise that we were on top of Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia looking out over surely one of the most magnificent harbours in the world! I can honestly say that the fact we were 134 metres above sea level on a metal bridge hardly even crossed my mind as we were too busy taking in all the views and listening to the climb guide as she told us about what we could see from various points. The most difficult part of the climb was the 4 flights of steps we had to get up in order to reach the curved arch, from then it is quite straight forward walking along a steady inclination to the top (although my calves were killing the next day!). The guide took photos along the way which was great, and at the end we could chose to buy any we wanted.

The sunset

The whole experience lasts for about 3 hours and you start off by signing a declaration saying that you are fully fit and they aren’t liable if you fall off etc! We then watched a video about the climb and our group of 12 then got called into a room where we had to take breath tests for alcohol! After a talk about putting our climb overalls on, we then got changed into the glamorous bridge climb attire. It is very strict, no loose items, you even have to have a special hair band that is connected to your overalls! We were given all sorts of things to tie to us, like fleeces, handkerchiefs and attachments for sunglasses and then we had to put our belts on with the safety clip that attaches you to a wire the whole way along the climb. It was then practice time and we had to walk over a little bridge using our clip on the wire, all very nerve-wracking stuff at this stage wondering whether my little knees would be up to the job! Finally we put our headsets on so that we could hear our climb leader, put our oxygen tanks and face masks on … (only joking!!) and we were heading off down the street to the bridge entrance.

On the way up

The Harbour Bridge Climb
Friday 27th January 2006

I was so excited when I booked the Harbour Bridge Climb, it looked like one of the most memorable and exhilarating experiences ever, and with superb views along the way! You get a choice of when you want to go, the cheapest option being in the day time, then there are the night climbs, twilight climbs and rare dawn climbs. I thought twilight sounded perfect because you get to climb the bridge in the daylight and then the sun sets as you are on the top and it is dark by the time you finish the climb. You get to see the city in all its moods then!

Top of the bridge - if you look carefully you can see a group of bridge climbers beneath the far flag - we were there that night!! You can also just make out the huge heart on the big screen in the middle, this is left over from the New Year's Eve firework display.

We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, it was very informative and interesting, and we got to see so much of Sydney – it really gave us a flavour of the city.

Distant icons and city skyscrapers

Sydney centre became a distant view as we neared the actual entrance to the harbour 11km away with the rugged sandstone cliffs of North Head and South Head flanking the gateway to the ocean. We went round to middle harbour and saw the numerous suburbs and beaches along the way. It was so surprising how huge the harbour actually is, apparently if you walked all the way from North Head around the edge of the whole harbour back to South Head then it is the equivalent distance as from Sydney to Brisbane!! I can’t find out if this is exactly true, but anyway, it gives you an idea of the scale of the whole thing.

Lifestyles of the rich and the famous...

As we continued out of the harbour and looked back the photographs were perfect, with both icons side by side. We then passed all the multi-million dollar houses of the rich and famous that are built on the water’s edge with views that almost justify the costs of living there! We saw Nicole Kidman’s house, the mayor of Sydney and John Howard’s home (Australian prime minister) and apparently Russell Crowe has a home somewhere there too. Some of the houses there were absolute designer works of art, built on steep cliff faces. It was amazing to see some of the most exclusive real estate in Australia as we floated past.

Opera House and Bridge from ferry

Harbour Cruise
Friday 27th January

We decided that it would be a good idea to do a harbour cruise around Sydney in the afternoon to see all the sights from the water. The cruise we chose was 2.5 hours long with a commentary telling you about what you were looking at. The views from the offset were spectacular as the ferry departed Circular Quay with the opera house on the right and harbour bridge on the left.

Opera House from Circular Quay

The magnificent Opera House

The White Stripes - not the best photo, need an extra zoom on my camera!

The White Stripes – Genius!!
We were extremely tired by the time we had waited for the WS to appear on stage at 9.15pm and after being shoved about trying to get a good spot we were relieved when the stage at last lit up in the familiar red and white lighting and the musical genius Jack and his ‘sister’ from Detroit made Sydney rock! For those who went to Glastonbury, then it was the same stage set, and mostly the same songs, although in a different order. They did extras such as Meg’s ‘In the cold cold night’ and ‘I just don’t know what to do with myself’, and played my favourites ‘Blue Orchid’ and, of course, the era-defining ‘Seven nation Army’. It was an amazing performance, full of Jack’s energy and musical diversity. One of those that leaves you grinning away for ages afterwards!

An excellent (big) day out!!

PS: St George's Day is April 23rd!!

Franz Ferdinand

Kings of Leon – great but we had unfortunately hit a tired point of the day so were sat at the back of the stadium and the atmosphere wasn’t there. More family here, with two brothers and a cousin from Nashville. The brothers were sons of a preacher man so their childhood was spent on the road and in churches. Music described as garage rock, boozy blues, rootsy riffs and a dash of country! Their first album was released in 2003.

Franz Ferdinand – FAB, as usual!!
FF are big in Australia too, taking the number 1 spot in the hottest 100 chart of 2005 for Take Me Out. Described as ‘the band who make rock music you can dance to’, FF arrived in early 2004 and sold over a million copied of their self-titled debut. New album is equally as good. We got quite near the front to watch them and it was worth it, they are great to watch live. I didn’t realise they were all actually born in England, but Alex lived in Greece for most of his childhood and Nick lived in Germany until he was 16.

The Magic Numbers

Bands we saw were:

The Subways – great performance, need to buy album.
The Subways are two boys and a girl with an average age of 18, formed through a rock n roll fairytale: Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy teaches girl to play bass, boy persuades brother to take up drums, girl sends demo to Glastonbury competition, band gets record deal! Wow!

Sleater-Kinney – not my style, kind of punk rock stuff.
Three girls from Oregon, USA, first album out in ‘95

The Magic Numbers – fantastic, made me listen to their album more since!
Feelgood indie music from 2 pairs of brothers and sisters who have been playing together for two and a half years.

Main Stages (one band sets up on one stage while other plays on second stage = continuous music!)

Interestingly, a lot of the huge inflatable decorations adorning the festival site and stages were actually from Glastonbury!

Me with Glasto t-shirt!

Due to the weather we had experienced the day before we had worn less summery clothing than intended, which was a huge mistake as the mercury rose to about 34 degrees in the afternoon and we were sweltering with sunburnt faces!
I would compare the BDO to the V festival in England, although there were far more stages. I wore my Glastonbury t-shirt and was approached by about 4 people saying had I really been to Glastonbury and that I was so lucky, oh yes!! Small world though, I saw another bloke with the same t-shirt on!

Andy

Like the gigs we have been to recently in Brisbane, the security was very strict, with police and sniffer dogs around everybody walking in and bag searches. ID had to be shown in order to get a drinks arm band so that you could buy alcohol.
The venue was excellent, it was at the Olympic Park in Sydney, venue of the 2000 olympic games. It was a unique venue because all the stage areas and arenas were already there. The main stage was in the main stadium, with six other stages spread across the venue at various other sporting stadiums and venues. It was strange being at a festival with a huge seated stadium!

Telstra Stadium in background

The Sydney show is traditionally held on Australia Day (January 26th) which meant that there were lots of Australian flags draped around people, flags stamped on faces, and all the other patriotic clothing/face painting that we don’t do/aren’t allowed to do in England on St George’s Day. The sad fact is that I reckon nearly every Australian will know the date of Australia Day, whereas how many English know the date of St George’s Day?! It was great to see all the Australians really being proud of their nationality and it enhanced the festival spirit even more.

The Big Day Out

The Big Day Out
Thursday 26th January 2006

The Big Day Out (BDO) was the reason we were in Sydney. When we first got to Australia I was told that the biggest music festival they had was the BDO. So I was signed up to the updates on their website as soon as I could and hence was probably one of the first people to buy tickets as soon as they went on sale last year. The BDO is actually the world’s biggest touring music festival with the majority of the bands playing at Auckland (in New Zealand), the Gold Coast (below Brisbane), Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth within the space of 16 days. The BDO has been going since 1992 when the only venue was Sydney and the headliners were Nirvana and the Voilent Femmes! Since then there have been some top class performers playing such as Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, Primal Scream, RATM, Ash, Fatboy Slim, Marilyn Manson, RHCP, Foo Fighters, Basement Jaxx, Placebo, White Stripes, Metallica and Muse. They always mix a good international line up with the top Australian bands and also local bands who play at individual venues. It is only a one day festival so no camping required, just very good transportation systems to get 55000 people in and out smoothly. Sydney managed this feat superbly with huge signs at the train stations directing festival goers and loads of special BDO trains to ferry people back and forth.