Monday, June 13, 2011

Back from the Land Down Under!

I can't believe it's already time to do an Oz Round-Up! Holidays always go far too fast, especially when you're having as much fun as we did! * sad trombone * Nonetheless, there's a lot of randomness and fun to catch you up on, so without further ado....

Never one to keep things simple, I came pretty close to missing my flight to Sydney. I was running soooo late on the way to the airport, and was terrified I was going to get there and check-in would be closed. It almost resulted in World War III, but I managed to keep breathing, and got through to the boarding gate about ten minutes before they opened for boarding. Ash looked so relieved to see me that I thought she would squeak! Hehe

Unfortunately, because I'd been so late, she had already checked in, and I wasn't able to get a seat next to her, but we were pretty close together, only two rows apart. I was lucky enough to sit next to a really nice lady, and I had a window seat, so all was not lost. Taking off over Joburg at night was just spectacular. Lucky for me, I'd taken my anti-anxiety pills at just the right time, and got to actually enjoy the view as we took off, rather than clinging to the lady next to me in terror. Yay for that! Watching the lights of the city twinkling below us as we climbed the sky was like watching a farewell committee of fireflies, and that was awesome!

The flight was pretty standard; fairly cramped and a bit boring, lots of movies, and a little turbulence thrown in for fun. It wasn't anything scary though, for which I was very grateful, because I'm not the best plane passenger in history. Although, now that I've done two long distance flights over the sea, I feel like I can do anything! Haha

Going through Border Security in Sydney wasn't nearly as terrifying as I had anticipated. I'd worked myself into a bit of panic about it after watching too much Border Patrol on the Reality Channel, so was expecting a lot worse than what we encountered. Everyone was really lovely, and the Passport Control guy even flirted with us a little, which was great, considering we looked like we'd been dragged backwards through the plane's jet-stream!

I somehow got through the gates a little before Ash did, even though I'd had stuff to declare and she didn't. Steph's face when she saw me was brilliant: One part disbelief, one part excitement, two parts “OH HOLY CRAP, SHE'S FINALLY HERE!!!!” It was classic! And while we were laughing and hugging and, yes, squeeing, we had a pretty funny encounter with a random guy.
Random: “Are you off the Johannesburg flight?”
Me: “How did you know?” (We'd been very loud, so I figured the accent gave it away...)
Random: “The plastic-wrapped bags.”
Score one for Joburg paranoia!

On Sunday was Stephy's Hen's Do. We took a ferry from Manly to Circular Quay, and met everyone else at The Rocks.

First View!!!!


Rock Stars on Board!


We had such a blast, and it was a fantastic way for everyone to get to know each other and for the visitors to see a bit of Sydney.

Bride to be!
We did a scavenger hunt around The Rocks area of Sydney, with random and crazy tasks to complete and weird and wonderful objects to collect.

Task: Get a photo of your whole team with a guy showing off his muscles.
He showed us all his muscles!

Task: Get a stranger to propose to a member of your team. Bonus points for a ring.

I have a ring which is three rings in one. We did a double proposal. Bonus Points!
Task: The oldest member of your team must be in a photo with a cute, younger guy.


Julie, the Cougar, with two kids who were eating ice creams and looked very bemused when we asked if our gorgeous cougar could take a photo with them
Task: Get a photo of two of your team members kissing a man in uniform.

We stopped a bus and the girls kissed the driver
Task: Get a photo of two of your team members inside a red phone booth with a man in a hat.

Bridesmaids winning!
Task: Get a photo of the bride-to-be spanking a stranger.



Bonus points for spanking a group of strangers who were getting high in a van


Our team won, of course! There was no way we couldn't, since we rocked the Rocks so hard! We had some other random and weird tasks too, but these were the highlights for me. After everyone else had gone home, Steph, Ash and I ended up at The Orient, watching Elevation, a U2 Tribute Band, drooling over the bassist and vocalist and dancing like crazy ladies. Our Hen's Night wings and hats and halos stayed on all night and scored us a few free drinks, a lot of strange looks, and a couple of winks from some cute boys. So that was fun! We also went down the water and watched the Opera House being lit up, which was a lot more incredible in person than what I managed to capture on camera in my ... er ... elevated state.

You get the idea! Go here for a video that does it justice!
What a way to start what became two weeks of Friday nights!

A lot of randomness ensued on our late-night train journeys! And this was just the beginning...
Until next time my little possums,



X



Coming Up: Newtown, Koala Parking; Hot Child in the City; Wedding Round Up; Cruising Sydney; The Entrance Road Trip; Coming Home; What I Learnt in Australia

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