Magic Island

Hi everyone!

So it’s been quite a while since I’ve updated my weblog… but a lot has happened since I wrote last and I’ve just been really busy ever since!

I think I wrote about the job at the ranch I was gonna do, but when I went by to have a look I figured it would be pretty lonely out there, with me being the only one working there besides the owners
and no way of getting into town at all, since town was 40 minutes away, and there was no form of public transport at all (nor cell phone reception). So after some wise words from my friend Eva
Blonk, (cheers for that ;)) I decided to go some place else, and went for a volunteer job on Magnetic Island. But before I started there I went for a 6 trip through the outback, and it was amazing!

I flew in to Alice springs on a Friday morning, and at the airport I met a girl from…. Holland! So we hooked up in the afternoon and together with a girl from Germany had a stroll through the Springs…
man it’s dry out there! I was really glad I was leaving the next day. We met a cute aboriginal girl there though, so we did all have a nice day there. On Saturday morning I got picked up by the
Groovy grape tour guide and we headed of for Uluru. I’ve spent two days there, and saw Kata Tjuta aswell, and then went off for a days hike through Kings Canyon. After that we had a stop at the Opal
capital of the world: Coober Pedy! We also visited a kangaroo orphanage there which was amazing, I’ve cuddled with some of the cutest animals in the world there, and their coat is really really soft! So after three days of hiking, which I did on my new bought ozzie Kustom sneakers (awesome sneakers, not so great for hiking) I had yet another mountain to climb: the devils peak. It was an amazing
experience, but after that I was really glad I was done with all the hiking ;) If I ever go proper hiking again I am so buying good shoes, coz I actually think I messed up my knee a little by jumping down
all those rocks in the canyon. Oh well…. It was an amazing experience touring through the outback, where I found out why groovy grape was actually called groovy grape; because the sound system
was amazing and we danced in the bus to ‘ You used to hold me’ by Calvin Harris every day! (oh and to Lady Gaga’s Alejandro and Gangnam style, which apparently everybody loves out here hahahah!
And I learned that every tree is a lavatory, and that trailers that are used to put luggage in can fit two Dutch girls in perfectly, swags and all, so we didn’t have to sleep under the stars with all the
huntsmen spiders crawling around, damn they are huge, scary and ugly :P
Although I had a wonderful time in the outback, I was pretty happy to arrive in Adelaide, it’s way dry and hot out there, and you just feel like you’re the only group of people on the planet, which is nice
for a few days, but after six I’d kinda had enough of that. ( we did meet someone in the outback, a guy from the UK who is just travelling the whole world by bike! Cycling through Australia now and
just doing so with nothing but some food, water, a tent and his bike, pretty amazing!)

Spent just the one day in Adelaide, since I will be doing the ’Great ocean road’ in January. So flew out to Townsville and headed on to Magnetic Island. I’ve been working on the ranch there for about three weeks now, and I’m loving it! Basically I get up at six am every morning, feed the horses, then run them in the yard where we catch the horses we need for the ride and brush and saddle them.
When everyone’s there we get them on and head out for a 2 hour bush and beach ride. At the beach we take the saddles of and take the horses for a swim, and then head back home. Same thing in the
avo. So I’m spending most of the day in the saddle, and when not taking care of the horses. It totally suits me! I’ve been leading the tour myself aswell, which is really enjoy doing. I don’t think I’ve ever
been this relaxed back in Holland, it really is ‘ No worries’ up here. The horses are amazing, really well trained, although I do enjoy the horses that need an experienced rider the most, most of em are
quarter horses and Dusty and Kita Boy are definetly my favorites. I enjoy talking to all the tourists who come for a ride, and met a nice girl from Holland last week who I hung out at the beach with last weekend. In the evenings I go to the bungalow bay a lot, where a lot of the tourists stay and just hang out with who ever’s there.
I will be staying here until the 22nd of December when I meet up with a girl from Holland to travel down the east coast. Still hoping to get a campervan to do so, coz that just would be amazing :D
After that I’m gonna do a payed job at a race horse stable up near Sydney, I might even met Andrea there, who I travelled over with from Holland. She’s working over there now and having an awesome time there too. I’ve got a different provider than the one I started out with, and this one allows me to call free to everyone with an Australian number: so phoning all my friends out here in the evenings when I’m too tired to go out.
Right now it’s Sunday, and I’m having a day off and Bethany, who works here in the weekends, has lent me her laptop so I could write this weblog and watch some movies. It’s really hot outside today, so sitting in with the aircon. on is pretty nice :D I did experience what the ‘ wet season’ means over in Oz though, and got totally soaked on the ride yesterday, it was very refreshing hahah!

Well guys, I guess that’s about it for my update. I don’t know when I’ll write again, since using computers over here is very expensive, so I’ll probably look for a library once I’m heading down the
east coast. Just know that I’m really enjoying myself out here, but do miss you and love to hear what everyone is up to back in Holland and UK.
Before I go I just want so share something with you I read back at the airport in Brisbane, which at this point, totally suits me:

Dance, as though no one is watching you, love as though you have never been hurt before, sing as though no one can hear you, live as though heaven is on earth. – Which is kinda what I’m doing atm.

Lots of love, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Amy