Livin' London 2012 - My Short Life as a Games Maker Volunteer

Summer of 2012 - this short period of my hopefully long life I call my Games Maker Life.  I need to be at the Olympic Park by 7.00am for a morning shift as a 'GM' - my identity during the English summer. Afternoon shifts don't start till 2:00pm which gives me a little time to catch some of the morning coverage on T.V. Morning shifts means a 5:00am bus ride and hop on a summer mornings tube up to the Stratford, the home of the Olympic Park in the east of the city. Funny enough I actually enjoy the getting up early part, but I can never sleep very well knowing that I need to be up at the crack of dawn to travel into the city. I leave in my generously free special purple and poppy uniform, which only a handful of people have been selected to have. Looking very militant, I could almost feel myself totally out of character marching down the street like I'm on duty somewhere. That's just dumb.

Memories of a Games Maker - The Rehearsal of the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

 

So London 2012 is over, the build up over seven years for hosting the Greatest Show on Earth has now climaxed. But man what a summer it was. I want to share my experience witnessing the rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony that shook the world on the night of 27th July 2012.  

Australia Adventures: 21. Journey To The Red Centre, Daley Waters Pub and 'Dinky The Singing Dingo'...

G'Day! Greetings from the Rugged Red Centre, the real essence of Australia!

Australia Adventures: 20. Kakadu National Park and a Taste of My Own Aborigine Art ...

G'Day! Thanks for checking in to my latest instalment of my adventures on the Aussie road...



Up at the crack of dawn, I took day trip to the famous Kakadu National Park a 22,000 sq region east of Darwin on route to the only really place that traditionally Aboriginal people still live in the Top End - Arnhem Lands. A four hour trip first to the wetlands we met an Aboriginal Man 'Graham' from the Limi Ingan - Wulna tribe and his family who educated us about the Didgeridoo, ochre painting, basket and dilly bag weaving and Dreamtime Aboriginal Stories they base their life on. Even got an arm painting myself! Dots signify the desert, and stripes and cross hatching are more accustomed to the Top End and Arnhem Land Area representing the land and waves of the land. His daughter gave a demonstration of weaving baskets and dilly bags. Indigenous people are great craftsman. Didjeridoo's actually come from Darwin originally, whereas the Boomerang actually originates from South Australia.

Australia Adventures: 19. Meetin' an Aborigine, Darwin Bush Air Rescue and Swimmin' with Crocs

Hello from Australia's Northern Territory!

I'm finally here, the vast, rugged and edgy province of this great continent's 'Top End'. As this blog shows, I'm extremely interested in the mechanics of Indigenous communities in each country, which is my main drive to travel and explore this world.
Like I say meeting the REAL people and not just the safe and secure chocolate box experience that cushions many travellers. The Northern Territory to me is the gateway to understanding the foundations and culture of the 'First Australians' so without haste, I left Brisbane on Australia's fabulous no frills budget airline 'Jetstar' to get me to Darwin.

Australia Adventures: 18. The Home of The Crocodile Hunter, Brizzy Brisbane and Goodbye to Queensland!

Hi everyone!

                                       The soothing serenity of Noosa Heads....

Welcome to my latest instalment of my endeavour to discover the wonderful Land of Oz...

Last time I left you I had been introducing myself to the Fraser Island Dingo's and continued travelling south down the east coast of Australia to the swanky sunshine town of Noosa Heads.
The town had a lot of roundabouts but good surf, not that I can surf well, but I rented a board from a backpackers that the hostel owner in 1770 had built himself and sent me packing there. Man, its fun having fun on the water out here! but people are very protective of their waves out here though which is pretty trivial to me, but I was rooming with a ex marine from the United States who was educating me about his four year life in the marines which was pretty fascinating. This is what I love about travelling, it gets you out of your familiar social circle and throws you in the mix with individuals from all different cultures and all walks of life. Love it, Love it, Love it! At the bottom of the road we had the Noosa river, perfect for a spot of chilling and fishing for my marine friend!

Australia Adventures: 17. Fraser Island and Meeting Mr Dingo....

Hey Guys - Sal here reporting from Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia.

Wow 8 months in Oz already! Last night I jumped on a boat under the starry sky back to Hervey Bay here from the beautiful Fraser Island. But more about that later....

Recently the rain in Queensland has dominated and is flooding the areas but I had nothing to hang around for so I caught a  lift with an American guy called Baz  (his middle name was in fact Duke) in my backpackers in Rockhampton who was heading to Agnes Water in the Town of 1770 a nice lil laid back fishing town, lined with surf shops and restaurants which has great surf - but no one locks their doors which coming from London couldn't fathom the trust of the environment!. It was quite a trip and we were actually pulled over by the police because Baz took his seatbelt off for 30 seconds - they are very strict on road safety out here so we were majorly caught off guard. The Aussie road is full of unpredictability and adventure - even in the pouring rain!

I took a 3 hour surf lesson for $17! from the local surf shop who told me ''Just show up at 10 and we'll give ya a board'' in fact its probably the best price for surf lessons on the whole of the East Coast! yep sharks in the water, won't get a better price than that in Australia - but because Oz is such an outdoorsy place it can be a bummer when it rains so I couldn't go motorbike riding, but its a good excuse to go back.....I did get a free tour of the Agnes Water by 'Macca' who worked at the backpackers. I helped clean the backpackers in 1770 and the owner who I'd discovered actually invented the backpacking industry in Australia paid me a bit for my efforts! Super! Was very impressed by 1770, but not the weather!

Hitching a ride with Baz to the Town of 1770...

Deciding to move on from the downpours of 1770. I arrived in Hervey Bay, which is the gateway out to Fraser Island with a fantastic hip guided tour called Cool Dingo Tours

Fraser Island is a beautiful Aboriginal territory east of Hervey Bay, the 2 day tour consisted of a quirky tour guide driving us on an extremely bumpy 4WD bus over the rough terrain time (seatbelts were a must) and educated us about the aborigine habitats whilst walking in the beloved rainforest, swimming in crystal clear lakes of Lake McKenzie and checking out the decayed 100 year old shipwreck of the Maheno Wreck. We also stopped off to view some sandblows which make you feel like you're really in the middle of the desert and Eli Creek which you allegedly meant to float down (we sure didn't float)  On route along towards Indian Head in the north of the Island, Mr Dingo introduced himself to us but they're wild dogs so no poochie kisses (our tour guide was very protective of us, but the Dingo didn't seemed bothered). It was extremely special to see a wild dingo in its natural habitat. Once we reached the top of Indian Head, I watched Stingrays, a pod of dolphins swim pass and hump back whales migrating back to Antartica. Cool! The Champagne Pools were incredible. The sea causes a pool of water to bubble like a champagne glass as it thrashes against the rocks, was exhilarating and nothing I'd ever seen before. The night was spent playing funny drinking games in the on island Dingo Bar but overall we were lucky with the weather as it perked up a little bit by then lucky for us so I had a great trip. Here's some photos from my Fraser Island Adventures...

Lake McKenzie.....gorgeous lake on the Island

Hello Mr Dingo....:)

On top of Indian Head

Wild Dolphins!

The 100 Year old Maheno Wreck

Now I'm settled back in Hervey Bay and I'm going to head south to check out the surf and Steve Irwin's famous Australia Zoo - as far as Brisbane and then head up to the deserts of the Northern Territory before looking for work again (fingers crossed). But this is a beautiful country and want to see as much as possible but of course I do find myself thinking about the charms of London every now and again - must be getting cold there now - haha!

Anyway, thanx for reading and hope life is being kind to you, there's so many more stories but my fingers hurt now so signing off...until next time dudes!

With Lonely Planet Travel Guide Australia