A sweet skydive with 'Cupcake' Christen!!

We had an early start to get No.9 crossed off the list...the skydive!! We got up at 6.15 to get to cairns for 8 to meet the skydive company. James drove us down to Cairns where we met the bus with 'Tandem Cairns' and then we had another hour long drive to the drop zone! Miranda napped most of the way and I had to wake her for the safety video. Instructions were all quite basic, cross your arms, tilt your head back and lift your hips....a bit like James signature move we were discussing the day before ;) haha!!

We had quite a wait at the house they had next to the grass runway and landing zone, as the second group were circling for 45 mins before they could jump due to the rain. There were 2 groups before us so we watched them all open their shoots and come into land, most managed a standing landing rather than a sit down one. We were quite glad to be in the last group as it meant not waiting around after the jump to leave and we missed the circling in the plane, one of the girls felt really sick while she was up there before she jumped, don't think she will be doing it again.

Then it was our turn, we had put on the trousers over our shorts to protect our bums in case of a sit down landing and waited to be called by our instructor. I had a Swedish man called Christen, who turned out to be a compete joker. He was quite cute and his nickname is 'Cupcake' as he is so sweet....aww!!! Miranda was with the Japanese guy who gave us our second safety briefing and said at the end if we didn't understand anything he said because his english wasn't great, to ask our instructor but if we has him it was tough as he would say the same thing!! We think his name was Tang or Tao, but he was great too.

They harnessed us up and double checked we knew what to do, all the time Cupcake was reassuring me by saying he had bad eye sight so I'd have to point out the landing point, he didn't know his left and right, he had only landed 2 tandems before etc. it actually made me feel quite relaxed and calmed my nerves a little getting into the tiny plane.

We climbed in with one girl on front of us who was supposed to jump at 10,000 feet but was treated and jumped at 15,000 feet with the rest of us. Cupcake was still joking around in the plane pretending to attach my clips to him with a rubber band, asking Miranda if I was a close friend and would she mind if anything happened to me and when I said that this was another thing on my list he replied 'I thought you were suppose to survive a bucket list!!'. It did make me hesitate when he actually asked me to do anything as I thought it was more of his joking around, like getting me to sit on his lap to do up my harness tighter when no one else seemed to be being strapped up this way.

As we were sat side by side they asked which wanted to go first, we hadn't spoken about this so they made us do rock, paper, scissors at 15,000 feet while the guy was opening the door in front of us!! We got the same thing the first 3 times then I lost so Miranda watched me fall out of a plane, she said it was quite surreal and in a flash it was her turn. She also hadn't let on that her legs were shaking and she got really nervous while we were doing rock, paper scissors as I was the more nervous one before we got in the plane!

It was the most bizarre thing putting your legs out of a plane with your arms crossed, leaving your life in the complete control of a stranger but it was absolutely amazing!! The first 60seconds were free fall at 200km per hour and all through clouds, they were actually quite painful at times and felt spiky on your skin and face. I remember seeing the plane after falling out of it so must have gone upside down but it all happened so quickly, we spun around a lot and it felt like my cheek was in my ear as we spun round.

The jokes didn't even end while Cupcake opened the parachute, he tugged the rope and we slowed down and he pretended or maybe actually needed to tug again saying 'This parachute doesn't seem to want to open!'. At this point we were almost clear of clouds and swooshed forward and started circling. I could see the ocean and mountains and miles of farms, Christen did say the names of some of the things but I was just getting my breath back as the free fall literally took my breath away I don't remember them. Before I knew it I was being asked to lift my legs ready for a sit down landing, Miranda had already landed so waved me in.

It was such an amazing experience, I can't imagine how scary it would have been if there were no clouds for a first jump, as I couldn't see the ground after 8,000 feet. I definitely want to do another one, when there are clear skies, it was such a buzz and one I will never forget. I did ask Christen how many jumps he had actually done once we landed and he had done 102 tandems including me and over 1,500 in total, so relatively few compared to the guy who James went with at over 10,000!

We got out harnesses off and took some pictures, looking very wet from the clouds and waited for the bus back to Cairns. The next group were Asian and one girl was dressed ready for clubbing, pleather leggings and a red dress with a sheet panel at the boobs and back!! Hilarious!!

We got to Cairns and found the 'Rattle and Hum' on the esplanade and got a couple of pints. I had a Great Northern lager as I want to try as many different beers/ales. James, Debbie and Paul came to meet us and we had a walk around the boardwalk and look in the night markets before heading home for a chilled night in, BBQ and wine.

An awesome day I'll never forget and I'm so glad Miranda moved out here and we could jump together :) The pictures are not our best but we had just been soaked by clouds, but I did get a sneaky one of the Asian girl who massively dressed up!!

Love Nikki xXx

Port Douglas

It was a fairly relaxed morning as we had packed the night before ready for our flights to Cairns to drive onto Port Douglas. You only have to be at the airport 30 mins before a flight and they don't check your passport either, more like getting a train really.

The flight was short, only 2 hours and while Miranda dozed I daydreamed out the window looking for cloud animals, which I pointed a dog shaped one out to Miranda and I don't think she finds it that odd a thing now!!

We waited a little for Debbie and Paul's flight to come in before getting the hire car, Paul was disappointed with the one in Mooloolaba so James was under pressure to get a good one this time. We have a Holden Comador (Vauxhall but don't think we have s british equivalent) it has a V6 engine so much better for the hills and Paul seemed to enjoy the drive along the coast to Port Douglas, reminded me of berts brow outside Guisborough at times, it was pretty steep and some good bends!! It was raining on and off at the start too and I saw the end of a rainbow in the sea, sadly no pot of gold or bag of skittles...!

The villa hadn't been cleaned when we arrived, some mix up with the cleaning company and booking agent but the villa manager turned up quickly and was really apologetic. She recommended the yacht club for dinner as a real Port Douglas experience so we headed there. It was not what I expected in the boat shoes and white linen and was very laid back and great food. I had a seafood platter of battered prawns, scallops, calamari and fish with chips and salad for $20 (£15ish). Also had a different Aussie pale ale '50 lashes' but in a scooner, smaller than a pint but bigger than a half!

We stopped in Coles on the way back for supplies, I love a foreign supermarket and took a couple of pictures wandering round, mostly of funny headlines, vegemite and a massive selection of Tim Tams!! They also don't sell alcohol in supermarkets in Queensland but have 'bottle shops' next door, with a walk in fridge of beer!

We got back to a lovely clean villa, had a few beers and looked through the surfing photos. Not surprisingly there were not many of me as I spent most of my time under the waves rather than on the board but they got some great shots of Debbie and Paul, a few of Miranda and got lucky with a couple of me!!

Love Nikki xXx

Breakfast by the sea, showers and sunbathing.

As James was on nights we went and met him in coloundra and cooked breakfast on the bbqs by the sea. While Miranda and I prepared the Kanga Bangers, bacon and eggs the guys and Debbie tried to catch some fish. The breakfast was more successful as it was too windy to fish. The Kanga Bangers were delicious, and so cool the gas bbqs are provided by the councils on beachfronts for free.

As the fishing wasn't great we walked up and down the prom looking at the kite surfers and views of the glass mountains in the distance. James wanted to show us the wreck at a beach further along so we drove across and as we turned back to the car after seeing the wreck the heavens opened!! I took a picture about 5 mins before as you could see the rain over the ocean, felt like we had been in the ocean after the rain it was so heavy!

Miranda, James and I made a run for it to the car while Debbie and Paul took cover under a tree as Miranda and I had waxing appointments in Mooloolaba. We only just made it in time and the lady was super quick but I have ticked another thing off the list, No.1 get a wax. I would say it was probably more painful than getting a tattoo but wore off quicker, although its a shame the results aren't permanent like a tattoo.

The rain was on and off but stopped late afternoon when we headed to the beach before Mirandas last shift before Port Douglas, I am actually typing this up on the beach now, it's so nice to be warm :)

Quite a chilled night planned tonight, I'm going to pack for our trip to Port Douglas as we fly tomorrow for 5 days, make a salad for us all for dinner, and go for a wander round the shops on the front. I won't have wifi in Port Douglas so the next few posts maybe a little more spread out but jam packed as we have lots of fun stuff booked.

It is so beautiful out here and keep having moments of 'Am I actually here' and Miranda had one too last night that I was actually in Aus! They have such a great lifestyle and it is so healthy out here, I can't definitely see why they stayed a few more months.

Love Nikki xXx

Shopping, surfing...well trying to!

With James on nights it is just me, Miranda, Debbie and Paul for the day. Miranda has been so organised with having us staying and making the most of things all of us wanted to do on the same days we today was surf lessons!

We drove up to Eumundi to have a couple of hours at the markets before heading to Noosa for the surf. The market was really good, not your usual tut more craft and original stuff. Lots of handmade jewellery and since I had only brought one necklace I got another, a blue material chain with colourful pendant on the end. I also bought a nice ring for myself (No.14 on the list), an amber stone on a steel twisted ring, handmade by the guy selling them, although will no doubt buy more jewellery as there is a nice shop in Mooloolaba too. Miranda and I also got feathers in our hair...it's not a tacky thing like a braid and lasts up to 3 months!! We both got a blue and a blonde patterned one, I feel like I'm properly on holiday now and work will think I'm more of a hippy eco warrior when they see it!!

After some yummy noodles we headed onto Noosa Head for our surf lesson with 'learn to surf', Noosa was quite posh and the houses looked fancy a d we may be going back for dinner one night. Our lessons were with 'learn to surf' and they guarantee you will stand once by the end of the lesson...we were sure they would have their work cut out for them!

We got our boards and headed down for to the beach with Stephano and had a surf safety talk, where we learned to respect the ocean. We did some land practise on where to be on the board and the first stage, which is a chicken wing type press up. After three waves practising this and getting balance we got back on the beach for the next steps. It was my fist time fully in the sea and it was warm, not a shock at all to get into. The next steps were to find your sweet spot (feet at the back of the board), have your left foot ready to push and right leg bent at the knee, then push your bum in the air place your right foot down and swing your left leg round...easy as that...!! It did remind me of the scene in 'forgetting Sarah Marshall' with the whole too much, do less, no do more thing as you have to do it slowly while not looking at your feet and avoiding other people.

Debbie must have been a surfer in another life as she was great, up on the board after a couple of goes, Paul wasn't too far behind and I had a couple of ok stands at the beginning. I think I started to think too much as I got tired and got worse towards the end (when the guy with the camera arrived). It was great fun and I did more than I thought but still definitely a way to go. Miranda wasn't bad, despite the extra attention from Stephano!! He had the hots for her and in his French accent was saying 'she is distracting, Stephano has fallen in love eh', I'll point out he is mid 50s, he even threatened private lessons if she didn't stand up on the board!! Cheeky!

The 2 hours flew past but we were all knackered by the end and chuffed at our skills. We headed back to Mooloolaba, Miranda went to work and ordered us take out pizzas which I collected later to have in with James before the night shift. I chilled, watched neighbours, which I haven't done for years so was a bit odd and went to meet Miranda from work at 8.30. She was still busy so I went and got some frozen yogurt, warned it is paid for in weight and ate it at the bar with Miranda while she cleaned up. It poured down while I was there, really heavy rain that only lasted a couple of minutes and was still warm.

Such a tiring day and I have bruises forming from being dumped in the sand but well worth it. Just have to wait until tomorrow to see the pictures as 'learn to surf' post them on their Facebook page, I hope they managed to get a photo quick enough to catch me standing!! I did get a couple of Eumundi and the old style petrol station!

Love Nikki xXx

Cuddling koalas, befriending kangaroos and jetting around in Brisbane!!

We all got up reasonably early and all 5 of us were in the car on route to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary by 9am. The 5 were me, Miranda, James, Debbie and Paul, we are together until the end of the Port Douglas trip later in the week. Miranda expertly drove us there with James back seat navigating, literally not sarcastically!

Lone Pine is south of Brisbane and i was surprised at how many different animals they had, although can't decide which I liked more koalas or kangaroos!?! They have different areas for the koalas with the Bachelors, Oaps, Kindergarden, Pregnant and a general enclosure. Some were in the funniest positions to sleep in and others literally looked like they were smiling at you, I took so many pictures but have out a few oft favourites on here.

You had to pay for a picture with the koala but while they were doing the professional one we lined up and took loads with our own cameras. The koala was a lovely lady called Tinkerbell, she was so calm and seemed pretty happy to be cuddled. Cuddling a koala was also No.10 on the list so I am really racing through them now, although I didn't have the courage to hold a snake which was an option today...lets see how that goes later on!!

After cuddles with Tinkerbell we wandered to the general area where there were kangaroos, ostriches, wallabies, and various birds. James had kindly gone and bought some kangaroo food while we were all staring at the koalas earlier in the day, I think he has seen his fair share on trips with Miranda as she adores them to much!

Some of the kangaroos were really friendly and I seemed to be quite the too whisperer with a young one even holding my hand!! While Miranda and I entertained the cute ones we saw James chilling out with a bit of a loner roo under a tree... The sanctuary is really good and they have a kangaroo chill out area where people can't go, this was not surprisingly full as it is school holidays and they were probably fed up of being chased by children. There were also some pregnant and mummy Roos with joeys in their pouches, one had got in funny and just it's legs were hanging out!!

After Lone Pine we drove to Brett's Waef in Brisbane to catch the City Cat ferry to South Bank, a really cool way to see the city and it is used by commuters and tourists to get around. We had a quick lunch and my first Aussie pint of pale ale and headed back on the ferry as Miranda was working at 5.30. I cooked us all some dinner timed for Miranda getting in from work and James going to start his nights shifts.

After dinner Miranda and I went for a wander to the beach and watched the waves before getting back to the apartment, updating the blog and going to sleep before another adventure tomorrow...

Love Nikki xXx

Hello Australia!!

Well I was in luck on the flight as I had a whole row of 4 seats to myself, naturally I made the most of it and lied down almost the whole flight and tried to get some sleep and onto Aussie time.

I got through customs pretty quick (despite leaving my hand luggage in the loo and having to run back to get it...think I was still half asleep...oops!) and had the best present waiting for me at arrivals...Miranda!! She spotted my bright orange back pack instantly and had the biggest hug :) we chatted non stop all the way to Mooloolaba and I grabbed a quick shower and we continued but while Miranda showed me around the gorgeous town her and James call home at the moment.

They are literally 2 mins from the beach and an array of restaurants, it is so pretty. I also saw the restaurant where Miranda works and we will no doubt go for dinner one night. We grabbed some burgers from Raw, a healthy food place and ate them on a park bench, I even got to see 'Tan Man' who is literally the colour of leather and a regular at the beach!

We walked up and down the shore while Miranda pointed out the mountains in the background and where they have been and what we have planned the next few weeks. We grabbed some dinner stuff from the supermarket and headed back to their apartment. Miranda and James were both working (employers have to pay double on bank holidays so it was too god to miss!) so I chatted with Debbie and Paul, James mum and fiancée and had. Little snooze.

Miranda cooked kangaroo kebabs and salad for dinner, it was really tasty, like a cross between lamb and beef but sweet and lean. Being quite tired we went to bed early, which was a sleep over in the lounge for Miranda and I, with an interruption from James coming in from work at 11 making bacon sandwiches and wanting to get in on girly time!!

I realise I have not been numbering the things I have done so far off the bucket list so here is a quick update:

Chapter 26 Badders Bucket List

2. Go to a gig
3. Have a Singapore sling
7. Read a GOOD book (I've started it...)
8. Passport stamp
13.
24.
26. Daily reflection in journal form (I am cheating slightly and using this blog!?!)

Lots planned for tomorrow...

Love Nikki xXx

So long Singapore...

Sadly my last day in Singapore came round too quickly although a lot had been packed in at the same time. The temperature was particularly hot and clear in the morning so would be really uncomfortable to be out in it so we enjoyed some time by the pool...perhaps a little too long as both Lottie and I got a bit burnt :( On the plus side I did race through a whole 20 pages of the GOOD book Lottie brought me, The Alchemist, and I didn't have a Roald Dahl book hidden inside it!!

After we headed up to the apartment for a break from the sun the clouds came over and gave a little thunder and lightening storm which was pretty cool but not the magnitude they can be.

As it was my last day and needed to be at the airport for 10.30 we went for an earlier dinner on Boat Quay. The Indian restaurant was in a great location overlooking the Fullerton Hotel with the top left of the Marina Bay Sands in the background. After a tasty Indian, which was so much lighter and less greasy than in the UK we walked round Boat Quay and through the Fullerton Hotel onto Marina Bay to watch the light show at 9.30. As we were a bit early we wandered along the quay in and out of the posh hotels to get a bit of cooling down from the air con and a quick zip up to The Lantern bar on top of the Fullerton One hotel for a different view.

We settled down to watch the light show on a marble bench, it was very impressive and such a fitting end to the stay, the last song was 'what a wonderful world' and I couldn't agree more!!

Love Nikki xXx