I Owe You

Dublin was light years ago and is shadowed by the brilliance of further 2009 adventures. Hip and I partied amongst Cologne’s Carnival. The University Boxers created havoc in Salou, Spain. We hen partied in Magaluf. The Waverley Roaders screamed our way through the Isle of Wight festival. The Sucre Babbies VIPed in Madrid. Again, the uni girls camped in Newquay and drank through Summerbreak. The Never Forget Girls sang with Take That at Wembley’s reunion. And the past week has been spent eating and exploring London; Greenwich Park, Portobello Road, Bond Street, Hanover Square, Gay Parade, St James’ Park, Sloane Square – making a change from the usual delights of Leicester Square, Holborn, Covent Garden and The Strand.

This is a promise to tell you about Cologne in Germany plus Salou, Magaluf and Madrid in Spain. Festivals, Summerbreak, Camping and London Discoveries are on my To Do List also but first and more excitingly is the next big travelbuzzing experience. IBIZA – 2 MONTHS – Molly - No Job – No Accomodation – No Hesitation

Links of Fame

As I’m still the newest geek in the pack I have no idea how to blog links. Heeeeelp.

 

Our first STA Explorers meet-up

1 hour ago by Molly   What’s better than a sunny afternoon outside in Covent Garden, a load of alcohol, and a bunch of lovely people talking about their upcoming travels, social media, and a whole load of other things I’ll discreetly decline to reproduce … STA travelbuzz – http://www.statravelbuzz.co.uk – References

 

Are you tired of travel scare stories?

23 Jul 2008 by Molly   In her latest post, Death by Dingo, STA Explorer George tackles the tricky subject of all the warnings you get given when you set off on a trip. As she prepares for her own tour of Australia, she’s been told:. Be careful.. Keep safe. … STA travelbuzz – http://www.statravelbuzz.co.uk

 

George gets her campervan

16 Jul 2008 by Molly   So. Imagine, just for one blissful moment, that you’re a young lass planning to travel The Great Ocean Road from Adelaide to Melbourne for 4 days with your best mate. Do you: a) take a Greyhound bus, which is cheap but public and … STA travelbuzz – http://www.statravelbuzz.co.uk

 

‘Choose Adam on desk 2, STA Travel Piccadilly’

11 Jul 2008 by Molly   Our latest STA Explorer is the lovely Miss Georgina Nutley from Kent. Getting ready to go backpacking round Australia at the end of this month, George is seriously excited about 9 weeks of ‘amazing sites, incredible adventure and wild … STA travelbuzz – http://www.statravelbuzz.co.uk – References

STA Exploring – there are no rules!

Just a quickie about why I’m writing this gay blog – some really cool people at www.statravelbuzz.com asked me too. They thought it would help other travellers to be inspired (or put off) and it would publicise STA (all good so far but if it goes wrong- I will shout and scream. Fingers crossed, I have high hopes.) Its quite obvious we’re all more switched on today than we were yesterday and we can guess when adverts or marketing campaigns are trying to trick us. And the clever companies out there have realised we won’t be fed their cock & bull anymore. If honest people like me tell it how it is the chances are you guys out there will think more of my opinions than of any advertisement slogans. And the intelligent thing that companies like STA are doing is.. nothing. They let us get on with it, they let us shout our gobs off and tell the world what we really truly think of them – that shows everyone they are confident in the services they are providing, surely? The down side of spending my precious time writing about STA adventures is that there is actually no free stuff which you’d kind of expect – it could be seen as bribery perhaps to write good stuff about them. I would see it as keeping a down and out student who’s been scrimping and scheming for Aussie dollars quite chuffed. Any chance of 2 free t-shirts for hip and I?? If you don’t ask you don’t get   :–)

Anyway…. yesterday. After tottering around Holborn in the blazing heat squinting at a scrappy map that I had drawn from google (the printer had no paper) I clearly became pissed off. If I couldn’t find the STAtravelbuzz office how the hell could hip and I find our way up the East coast of Australia. I asked some dodgy looking security guy then after another ten minutes questioned a helpful receptionist who sent me back on myself to the cute front door. There I was greeted by 4 explorers and 3 travelbuzzers plus loads of cakes, beer, wine and much needed oj. As I stuffed my face and chatted through mouthfuls of crumbs it became apparent that the travelbuzzers really loved their jobs and these explorers were just as excited as I am.

Excited… past excited, 3 tiny little sleeps!!!!!!!! Today doesn’t count neither does Monday so its 3 days until carnage!!! AAAAaaaaarrrhhh I can’t wait!! G’daaaaay mate!

Travelbuzzer Molly showed us the video on this site – http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/?fbid=BPQjZl - it is quality and so funny! As I sat there smirking my mind wandered to wherethehellhipandI would be this time next week – strolling around Adelaide like we owned the place, drinking goon and possibly on our way over to Kangeroo Island. Travelbuzzer Juliette could sense my excitement as well as my jitterbugs, she asked me whether I had reservations about going? I do but I’m not too sure now, I’m too excited to even consider nervyness properly just yet, I’m not too sure about anything – all I know is I have an evergrowing list of jobs to do today so I better get started.

And one last thing… as I tried to walk out of the ubercool sta office with sore feet feeling like they were walking on knives.. Juliette said oh and George, one last thing ‘take care’. I hope those Dingos are hungry.

She’ll Be Apples

G’day mates, drongos, ankle-biters, jackaroos, jillaroos and galahs

Just ‘chucking a nervy’ at the thought of understanding the Australian language. From having a cask as a heart starter  to being a hoon in the back of Bourke; we are probably going to end up looking like dags if we dont understand.

Translation – a box of wine as the first drink of the day to being a loudmouth reckless driver way outback; we will look like uncool fools if we dont understand. Get it?

It only gets worse…. get me some neck oil while i strain the potatoes in the dunny. This chook is a dinkum beaut. Stop grizzling and yabbering I’m rooted.  Give me a stubby mate. Wowser.

Surely it’s not that hard. ‘Help us, feed us, water us, we’re two girls from England’ – that’ll do and she’ll be apples.

If there are any sentences you think we should know when ‘we lob in’ let us know. Bonzer!

Geek Plans & Full Moon Parties

2 pink sleeping bags (Argos it to find pink)- check

2 pink hoodys – check

2 pink sleeping masks – check

baby wipes, medicines, plasters, pen, 1 pair of high heels, sta print outs, more sta print outs, itinery – speaking of itinery – the super-organised hip1 has made a spreadsheet with dates, days, pics, lists, websites, book marks, ideas, bookings, plans – is anyone else this organised? In the STA shop, Adam was smirking at us but he did admit that us being geeks does make his job easier. Well… we did it for you Adam! Or are we geeks? Sorryyyy if we don’t want to miss out on anything! 

Hip1 and I actually have 6 fat books on Australia between us. I think Lonely Planet is a good one although there are no pics, does anyone trust an Aussie book completely? Should we be lugging these bricks with us in the ugly back packs?

WHO HAS HEARD OF FULL MOON PARTIES? raving all night long, crazy mad dancing for 72 hours on long beaches with thousands of people? There is a ‘BASE Hostel’ leaflet in STA Travel and this is what it says “It’s a balmy night, imagine you and 2000 other people grooving to world famous DJs. Drink in hand, the stars above, sand between your toes… Beware, this will be a night you may or may not remember!”. IMAGINE THAT.

STA in Piccadilly – Choose Adam Desk 2 !

Adam is the friendly ginger giant with experiences of Australia beyond belief!! He is fantastic! Hip and I asked him a million questions last night and his answers were perfectly honest – perhaps ice in Adelaide during August… tooo big food portions and boxes of wine… crap snow.. amazing yachting on the Whitsundays!

We booked 4 excursions with STA last night! The brochures are wicked and Adam’s ideas were brilliant.

2 days 1 night on Kangeroo Island – Adam said we could swim with seals!!

3 days on Fraser Island 3 days yachting on the Whitsundays – 4×4 on the sand dunes and bring your own alcohol to the yacht! Could I be anymore excited?!

Blue Mountain tour – £10 ISIC discount!

Groovy Grape wine tour in Barossa Valley – highly recommended – Adam even knows the tour owner! Grooooovey baby.

AND last but not least – we discover our Bruce Oz Experience pass allows us to go to Magnetic Island where there are Full Moon Parties!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m so excited! Night long raving here we come!

Today – I’m going to open a Nationwide account – free ATM withdrawals in Oz. I’m buying 2 pink sleeping bags for hip and I. And 2 pink hoodys to get some crazyness printed on for our adventure.

Peace x

P.S if you want a campavan I hope you have booked them! We only want ours for 4 days, sadly STA campavan companies only rent out for minimum 10 days so Adam is calling us today to see if a car company will give us a jeep for 4 days! Hopefully it is open top. What a lovely giant Adam is.

I guess we miss out sleeping in the love wagon but no doubt a jeep will be much more attractive!