Duncan's search

Robe Easter Perfection

2007-04-15T19:58:00.000+10:00

Beautiful one day, perfect the next....and no folks, i am not talking about the Gold Coast.

The annual easter voyage (its about my 5th easter robe trip now) started a little bit chirpy. I managed to score a lift with Charlie and his new girlfriend Joe, Robe debutee, who couldn't dare the thought of spending 5 days without her beloved Cockatele who happen to sit next to me in the car and didn't stop chirping for a solid 5 hours! First stop thou was the morgan family farm which eddie runs. Having about as much experience something funny, eddie showed us around the farm and even let me shot a gun for the first time. I have just got my hearing back. It was a .243, apparently thats a powerful rifle. The highlight was definetely seeing the new born pups which were 4 weeks old. Very cute.

How could you say no!

First surf

From the farm, it was a quick 1.5 hour drive to Robe. Robe has been a traditionally holiday for the morgan family for about the last 40 years. Its situated on the coast about 3.5 hours south of Adelaide. The morgans own one of the historic old pubs that has been converted into a B&B and a family holiday home.

Robe locals. They set up the couch at Stonies while drink musket from a flaggen!

The program for robe is simple..
Surf
Breakfast...big egg, bacon, sausage cook up
Let it sit for a few hours
Surf or sail in the arvo
Montrous dinner.

Boys sailing at long beach

This goes on for a number of days. This year we were treated to unbelievalbe conditions everyday. Light offshore wind and 2-4 foot surf created perfect clean waves. The boys even got a really good wavesail in at longbeach due to a out of season sea-breeze. I unfortunately couldn't go windsurfing due to my foot injury from christmas, but i could still surf. The pictures prove the conditions.

Clean as a whistle.

Me nose riding the webber at Stonies

Once again, the Easter Weekend was heaps of fun and a big thumbs up goes to the morgans for hosting once a again a memorbrale Easter Weekend.

Cayyse, Will ya hold me hair back!

2007-02-21T22:00:00.000+11:00

Yo Fabian, what’s up? “Dude I need you to come out with me tonight and be my wingman. Me, “sorry man, I have a 21st”. Fabian, “21st!, who the hell do you know who is 21!”

Last Saturday night, junior of URS, Stephen Haack had his 21st at the Drifters Alibi in Port Melbourne. Never refusing a free night on the piss, a large contingent from URS came along to celebrate Haack’s 21st birthday.

Hey Sel, you really should get that mole checked out…it could be cancerous…

Well haacky must have thought all his birthdays came at once when the usual suspects Sel and Kath rock up dressed to impress. Ife had pulled out her previously once worn Two Tribes Dress covering all not that much and Kath wasn’t to be outdone with a very enlightening black dress which I think young Haacky was having the odd fantasy about and probably still is.

After the speeches, the two bad ladies took over the dance floor and went nuts. Not to be felt left out with the moon boot and all, Katherine proceeded to carry me around the dance floor (impressed). Casey was even rumored to grace the dance floor and Ife and Kath gave Haacky birthday present he will never forget by sandwiching him on the dancefloor all while ife was slamming down wines faster than barman could pour them.

The Petroni

After an hour or two of classic hits from Farnham, Barnsie and Jacko, Kath commented, “Sel is soo going to spew tonight”

The ride home was truly a memorable one. With kath driving, Sel in the front passenger seat and casey, myself and Danni crammed into the back, Sel thought it would be a good time to give all of us her benella impersonation a go while inhaling a couple of helium balloons from the party. It went something like this….

Caayyyyse, you’re the best..
Maaaarrry me Caayyyyse....
Caayyyyse, put it in there....
Harder Cayyyse.....
Take my to IKEA Cayyse
I luv ya Caayyyyse …..for a solid 15 minutes…I don’t think Danni had any idea what was going on!

Kath...If i don't dance in the next 10 minutes, its going to be ugly

And just thinking that this was possibly the best entertainment ever, Selina out did herself by projectile vomiting out Katherine's car at Hoddle Street. Then twice at home! And 4 times in the morning….

Oh yeah, Happy 21st Haacky.

Dunc Goes Country

2007-02-06T19:57:00.000+11:00

Benella. Its dry. Its flat. Its hot. Its a little bit country. Its a place where if you don't have a V8 ute (sporting a big UHF antenna), a slab of VB in the back, and a wife beater tan, you may as well turn straight back around to Melbourne.

Upon Arrival

Well thats what myself and two bad ladies (Selina and Katherine) risked when Casey Robertson invited us to spend Australia Day with him at ferrels annual Australia Day Tripple J Hottest 100 bbq/party

Cans...

Always a little sceptical about heading anywhere away from the coast on a sunny day, the girls and i where already encountering problems with Sels parents car overheating on the drive to Benella. From Melbourne, Benella usually takes around 2.5 hours to drive but we managed to stretch that out to 4 hours due to regular stopping to let the honda cool down and for sel and kath to yell at absolutely every bloke who they thought is a bit of "auuurlright''.

Sel took this one?

When we finally arrived, we fronted up to what reminded me of uni days at a college party. Ferrell was very kindly relieving himself in the middle of the lawn for all to see, cockeye was doing a layback, deano was in a bit of a tussle, blocka was just being blocka and most bits of furniture were strewn around the yard and there was no shortage of empty beer bottles scattered around. So whats one to do? Start drinking very quickly and enjoy the festivities.

Given the intial shock of the scene, i was soon enjoying myself by mostly just watching other people. It was kind of like a nature show. "what we can see her are two males performing in a ritual seal crawl to attract the attention of the surrounding females"

After a 6 pack of beer and a few Johnnie Walker's, it was time for every country tradition. A parma at the local pub. Beautifully located on Benella lake, we enjoyed our parmas in ambience reading ourselves for the nights activities at another pub nearby.

The backdrop from the Pub. From the left we have Kat, Sel and me!

Well the rest of the night was a bit blurr. Sel and Kath were well and truely warming up with a gathering of local boys sniffing around. I think its been a while since two single 25 year old ladies have visited Benella.

Robbo and Kath

The night went into the wee hours. There was nudity...skinny dipping...drinking...and a little more drinking. Kath, Sel and myself enjoyed our little country adventure, but we think it might be a while before heading back.

Margarets 50 Year Storm

2007-01-09T21:30:00.000+11:00

The scene was set for a week mahem...surfing, windsurfing and whatever in between! I headed over to Western Australia after boxing day to meet up with my mate John Brown who recently moved over there in the search for better weather and pristine desolate perfect barrelling waves.....well it may of been because his girlfriend had moved over and was busting his balls to come over as well!

The gear i lugged onto the plane.

Lugging the usual quiver of surfboards and windsurfers on the plane, Virgin you are the best by never charging me a cent for excess luggage, John picked me up from the airport sporting his new, well 1984 ford van he picked up for a lazy $1,800 clams! We headed straight down to Margrets where he had booked us into the caravan park at boganville...sorry Dunsborough. However, the weather was very unseasonal with cloud cover and rain....Was something brewing.

After the 4 hour drive, we rocked up to the beach to be fronted by a growing swell and onshore messy conditions. Due to the considerable swell size, we hunted around for a protected bay and found this peaky little beach break with a million shark biscuits on it and too many grommets who rip.

Crowds...You could swear they were sitting in a lake

After the surf, the rain persisted and increased. Eager to find out what the hell was happening to the weather, we checked out the forecast to discovered that a massive storm was brewing..http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200701/s1820750.htm

Labelled as one in a generation storm.

This meant one thing for the Western Australian Coast Line....BIG SWELL AND A HONKING SOUTHERLY WIND PERFECT FOR WINDSURFING AT MARGRETS!

Well the next morning definetly didn't dissapoint. Rocking up to Prevally Main Beach (AKA Margaret River) i was encountered with 8 to 10 foot surf and 30 knot cross shore winds. Rigging up in the carpark were the 2005 wavesailing world champion, Scott McKercher, Peter Voltwater and 2nd in the womens world wavesailing, Karin Jaggi. Knowing that going out in these quite extreme conditions for me (well not for the locals as its like this a bit but i haven't had a wavesail in over a year), i knew i would be kicking myself if i at least didn't give a shot, or get wet and say i went sailing...who would ever know!

Rocking up to Margarets to this....They still look big from 600m away.

Fate...Destiny...Stupidity...FUN! For the windsurfing lads, i had a 4.2m rigged flat.

Warm up wave!

Sailing out and jibing around on what seemed like a moving mountain of water, my balls crawled up to my throat as i dropped in to the biggest wave i have ever surfed. Luckily enough, i managed to survive by being a bit of wuss and hugging the shoulder. As my confidence grew, i started having a awesome time by taking off deeper and deeper. As always when one confidence grows a little to quickly, mother nature soon puts an end to that by being wipped out by mast high white water which John later told me held me under for a good 8 seconds. I had 2 sessions that day and no one could wipe the smile of my face for the whole night...well to 9pm when i went to bed because i was so knackered.

Gramps..AKA Scotty! World 2005 Wavesailing Champion and local to Margret River (believe it or not, this man is only in his mid 30's and truely looks like he has spent a good portion of life in the sun)

Peter Voltwater. Professional Windsurfer
Nice off the lip.

Big Forward

John cuddling up to a beer.

The next morning saw very similar conditions with the swell still around 10 foot and the wind slightly more off shore and lighter at around 25 knots. Things were alright until i mis-timed a top turn and ate it. Unfortunately my foot got stuck in the foot strap with the board going one way, and i going the other way! The consequence was....

Big wave...

then.....

HOSPITAL

I suffered severe bruising to my foot (it felt like i had a car run over it) and was on crouches for the remainder of the trip:(

For the next 3 days, i was succombed to brides maid and just watched John attempting to surf while picking up a bit of a tan as the 50 year storm had passed and weather had resumed back to normal WA bliss of not a cloud in the sky.

John Surfing

Even thou the trip ended earlier than expected, it was still well worth it because is vicco, conditions like those don't come around to often and if they do, i am most probably at work. The next plan is to move to WA and find a rich girlfriend who has a holiday place down Margrets way...Thats not asking to much!

Cheero

I"M BACK BABY

2006-11-11T23:11:00.000+11:00

Its over. The search has ended. My thoughts....Where do I start. Being the engineer, I think its easiest in point form!

favourite Place - Well Tarifa was my favourite destination I visited due to its chilled and relaxed atmosphere with the Spanish culture and so called best windsurfing in Europe. Rome was definitely my favourite city I visited.

Least Favourite Place - Brussels. Not a bad city, just non eventful or exciting.

Did i find what i was looking for? Well I wasn't really looking for much I guess. I was having a fun time in Melbourne and to keep the good times going I thought it was the perfect time to see a bit of the world and experiencing different cultures which I have heard so much about but experienced none.

Home! The Corona still going strong and boat number 3 ready to set sail!

Most Beautiful Women - Difficult one...I would say the roman women very closely followed by the women in the south of Spain

Least Beautiful Women - Next question

Number of nights I saw the sun come up - 5 to 10. To hard to be exact. I know on the Greek island of kos we had a few.

I guess the biggest thing about Europe is its history. Being from such a young country, Australia has so little history compared to Europe. Everywhere you look there is something different and the most amazing thing is you only have to travel a couple of kilometers and you can be in a completely different country with a different language, food, customs..everything.

Scariest Moment - Fab's cousin driving home after a couple of drinks and a few spliffs at 200 km/her in his BMW convertible with everyone insisting I don't wear a seat belt. As If!

Funniest Moment - Tim busting his penis. The phone call to his father who is a doctor was truly memorable.

Favourite Food - Kebabs. There is a kebab shop on every corner in Europe.

Least Favourite Food - Kebabs. There is a kebab shop on every corner in Europe.

For a Aussie guy, the night life Europe has to offer is the best by none. There is no waiting at queues in clubs only to be told you can't come in because you have no girl with you. Clubs aren't full of sleazy morons and most have more girls than guys. I am not sure if it was because I am on holiday and in a different country, but everyone is more accepting of everyone. Its awesome! And in Europe, when you order spirits you actually get spirits. None of this measuring out one shot crap. They just pour and keep pouring to when say when!

Number of spews - First night out in Rome (embarrassing - Didn't realize how much vodka the bar tender put in my drinks. Standard European practice!) and the farewell party from Lanzarote

My old room at my folks house which is being used as a junk room!

Money Spent - Put it this way, i have moved back home for a bit. At a guess, i would say around $12,000 - $15,000 (includes money that i earnt working)

Best Surf - Secret spot with Dave and Matt. Never had so many waves in perfect 4 foot left handers that walled up for miles. Photos to prove it.

Best Windsurf - Costa Teguise. Solid 30 knots, 2m swell, perfectly powered on the 4.0m with the 69L JP Radical Wave. Big Jumps!

Most Memorbrable Moment/Time - Lanzarote. The team and local people at Lanzarote made my time so enjoyable. My lifestyle there was so perfect. From my bedroom, I could be fully rigged and on the water in 5mins. When the swell hit, there were countless point breaks with no one to surf them. I will never forget my housemate Oggy who on the first day when I moved in said he had spent the night in the slammer! Thinking this was a bad idea, we clicked and had some awesome times. Thanks Ogg! The crew at Windsurf Paradise were so good and heaps of fun.

Romper - Loyal. He acted like i never left

Best traveling adive - Don't be afraid to spend your money for fun. Too many backpackers are such tight arses that they end up doing nothing because they are on a budget. We met a group who wouldn't even pay 3 euro to get into a club! Your trip might finish a couple of weeks early, but you will have so much more fun. Also, try to spend at least 3 or 4 nights at each destination. Staying at places for 1 or 2 nights is too stressful and a pain in the arse. If you are a aussie guy, hang around euro's and not westerner's. It will pay off!

Europe has been a experience. The search has been full of everything. There were times when traveling sucks and the only thing I could wish for was my bed at home, but the number of fun times far outweighed these. Traveling western Europe has planted a small seed to explore a bit more of the world. In the pipeline would be a long surfing safari down the South American coast. A visit to Hawaii is a certainty and a snowboarding season will be on the cards if all the snow doesn't melt away from global warming!

And to answer my questions posted in my first blog http://duncanbanks.blogspot.com/2006_03_01_duncanbanks_archive.html

1) Didn't see the pyramids

2) Walked through the Sistine Chapel

3) Got pissed in every country i visited

4) No i didn't shag anything that walks. Only quality;)

5) Australian lasses are harder work compared to their European counter-parts.

So that's it. I will keep updating the blog occasionally with new trips and some things I think might be worth mentioning.

Thanks for everyone who has posted their comments and thoughts and request and to those silent watches as well. I know who you are!

The Final Destination!

2006-11-11T22:22:00.000+11:00

Thialand, Phuket...
Hot, humid, crazy, weird, beautiful, seedy, unique, fun, sad and...... On my return flight home to Melbourne, i thought it would be a good idea to get some more sun and water and stop off in Thailand for 7 days and head to Phuket. Thinking it would be pretty much like Bali without waves, i was about right but just add in the seedy bit. Arriving late at night and finding a hotel, i thought i would have a brief walk around town to see what i am up for. Lets just say when i went to bed that night, I was well and truely thinking of leaving Phuket and heading to another island. Being a young striking single man, i was mobbed by thai ladies wanting to love me "long time"! It was overwhelming. I could not walk down the busy streets as i was surrounded by Thai girls trying to hold me back, kiss me, pull my pants down...anything to get me to stop. They saw some fresh meat on the market that wasn't some old dirty german guy and wanted it.

That night, i was, well i will just do day stuff. So I booked my scuba diving and island hoping tours for the next couple of days.

The scenary in Thailand was amazing. All the surrounding islands have these unbelievable limestime cliffs sticking out of the water in prestine clear warm water abundant with coral and sea life. I did a couple of dives and a day island hoping on a tour.

Heading off to diving destination 1. Rachi Rachi

Rachi Rachi

Determined not to be beaten, i headed out with some South Africans dudes i met on the diving trip. We had a awesome night which gave me some faith for the future night life!

Beach from the movie "The Beach"

Cheeky monkeys

Limestones cliffs. Amazing

Phi Phi Don Port.

The next night i headed to the most exclusive club in Patong..''The Banana". Paying a $10 Aus entry fee, i was hoping to evade the throng of thai girls. Funnily enough, i met these cool Thai girls from Bangkok who were at Phuket for a holiday. They took me under there wing and showed me around the island and the for a few nights out.

Jirayu and A

A was up for a bit of pole Action

Typical bar in Phuket. Yes, every bar had poles and girls dancing around the poles. Classey!

Last evening in Phuket!

Phuket is a strange place. There is such beauty, but around the corner is a seedy scene which kind of leaves you feeling sorry for the people in it. I had a fun time there but I think my asian adventures will be based around indo for the surf.

Off to Melbourne!

Good God, Theres more of them!

2006-10-31T23:04:00.000+11:00

For the past week, I have been staying with my old mans brother and his family in the very not sunny district of Blackburn. Having never ever seen him in the flesh, and only talked to him very briefly on the phone, i was very excited to see the other side of the Banks family which i have heard so little of.

For the first 2 days, my dads brother Clive was home alone (looking after 3 dogs and 4 cats) as his wife Judy and their lovely daughter Sadie were on holiday in Ireland.

So first thing, Clive thought it would be a good idea to take a trip down memory lane and visit where they grew up in Rishton and visit my dads old grammar school where he apparently went down in history as recieving Dux's of the college which the records are still there now.

The Family Home

The Study house! Apparently Ernest's mum couldn't stand any books lying around the family home so he had to study at a family friends house.

Fathers Grammar School

When Judy and Sadie returned from their holilday, Clive, Sadie and myself headed off to the lakes district.

The lakes district was quote ''RICH IN VEGETATION'' (Sadie) and rather wet. It didn't stop raining all day.

Next we were off to meet aunty Christine as shown below.

From the left we have Jim, Aunty Christine, Sadie and Uncle Clive

Little Moses. The newest addition to the Banks family.

Preparing to show the youngesters how to have a big night out with Sadie's friends.

Clives wife Judy. She was hard to capture on camera but i got this one while she wasn't looking

Clive myself and Sadie

For my final day, the sun decided to pop out so we headed to Blackpool! Blackpool is home to Englands biggest fun park fittingly named the Pleasure Park!

The Blackpool Spire.

The Sling. A exciting ride which involved gettting winched high between two towers then slung over the ocean.

Clive, Judy and Sadie truely made me feel like one of the family during my stay. I had a ball staying at the Banks Household and i wish them all the best for the future. Rumour has it Clive and Sadie will be making a trip down under so look out Australia.

Back To Skool

2006-10-24T18:01:00.000+10:00

It was a blast from the past, well not really as i never lived in off campus student accommadation. For the last couple of days, Anya and Becky very kindly offered me a fun packed 5 days of madness in the uni district of Birmingham. I met Anya Beckie while they were on holiday in Lanzarote. On their departure, they said i had to come to Birmingham and live the uni life once more.

In their final year of a geography degree, and having a strenous 2 days at uni per week, they made sure i saw the sites and experienced the exciting nightlife Birmingham has to offer. Upon arrival, Becky had already got costumes ready for the first night at the uni bar. The night was Sports night, where all the sporting associations dress up in a different theme and just get absolutely plastered. We dressed up as the 118'ers, which unfortunately shows a little to much of my pasty white skin

Me, Becky and Anya

After a few.

Recovering after the one of the worst hangovers i have experienced, we were to back it up at VOD BALL. Yes, thats right, a party sponsored by Redbull. Here you could buy a vodka red bull for a mere £1.25. The night is held at this massive night club where thousands crammed into.
Hard to show just how many people were here.

On day 3, we visited the Snowdome. A indoor sking and snowboarding centre at Tamworth. The runs were a little short, but the snow was actually really good. It definetly wet the appetite for the european ski season.

But its indoors....i will be fine in jeans and a jumper. It was a wet ride home!

Becky had left the big one for the final night of mayhem. GODS KITCHEN! The premier night club in Birmingham, and known world wide. Miss Many Penny and Frenchman David Guetta were the main acts. www.godskitchen.com

Ahhhh yay

This dude was definetly freaking a few people out.

I cannot thank Becky and Anya enough for my days in Birmingham. They put a roof over me, feed me, washed me (i wish) and kept me entertained for the whole time. Secretly i think i was the excuse not to do any uni work and to party every day and night. I wish you two all the best and hopefully see you in Australia sometime in the future.

World Record Pub Crawl Event!

2006-10-16T20:00:00.000+10:00

What do most or nearly all Londoner's do, well aussies in London do? Drink! To embrace the culture, my good friend Kat entered us into the Guiness World Record Pub Crawl Attempt. The logistics were, 15 teams of at least 150 people, drinking at least one drink in 10 different pubs scatterd around central London. To make it official, everyone was sporting a stylish white t-shirt and armed with a coupon that had to be stamped at every pub visited. The day started early at 8pm and drinking commenced at around 11. By the end of the day, i was still standing and had successfully visited every pub required.
Everyone converging at Trafalgar Square for the morning photo.
What are friends for. The blonde on the left felt a little sorry for the big man.

The offical photo's of the world breaking event can be seen at http://www.bugbitten.com/blogs/Unassigned/TimTheTourman/World_Record_Pub_Crawl_Attempt_October_14_2006.html

Amsterdam

2006-10-12T00:55:00.000+10:00

Whoa...wierd but cool town and the red light district is..lets just say different!

Arriving in Amsterdam, i was not sure on what to expect. Rollling into the Flying Pig Hostel mid morning, i was confronted by the front room in the hostel with cushions everywhere and everyone stonned out of their heads. And it was only 10:30am. The usual activities for most was to wake up get high, eat, sleep, wake up, get high....This happens about 3 times a day.

The red light district. As tourists are not allowed to take pictures, i will try to briefly describe it. The red light district is a whole bunch of apartments located alongside a number of canals. Each apartment will have a lit up window facing the street where the ladies sit and try to alure people passing by. In the windows you have the option of everything from blonde, brunette, ginger to big black mumma's, older more mature women to chicks with dicks. Something for everyone i guess.

Madam Tusows was in Town. Love Kylie

Not wanting to feel totally left out, I went to a live sex show with a few guys from the hostel. The set up was basically like a movie cinema where people (nearly all asian) would sit and watch couples and girls perform a variety of shows. The opening act started with a young lass with the unusal talent of being able to smoke a cigar with her errrr, lets just say not her mouth! Next up was a couple going at it followed by a bit of audience participation where a loud drunken australian got dragged up on stage got given the whipping of his life by a women dressed in bondage. Very Funny. The rest of the performances were of similar taste which doesn't need any more explaining.

I firstly apologise to everyone for the photo but thought it is worth showing. So i was told, this is Long John Silver who has the biggest ''eyes'' ever. Note, the woman in the photo is not Pauline Hanson but a bloody good look alike.

So now its off to London where hopefully i will meet up with a few friends i know and very much looking forward to seeing my uncle, aunty and cousin which i have never met before!

Paris

2006-10-12T00:39:00.000+10:00

Swapping the board shorts, singlet and lathering of suncream for long pants, shoes, t-shirt and jumper, I arrived in Paris on a frosty morning ready to see the sights and party Paris Style. Arriving at the "Peace and Love Hostel" the joys of backpacking came flooding back to memory. Stuck on the top floor, no lift and being crammed into a room not much bigger than my cupboard with 2 other backpackers, it was the perfect motivation to get out and explore and see what all the fuss is about in Paris.

The first thing that comes to me about Paris is its a fooking big big busy city. People and tourists are everywhere, the traffic is crazy but it all seems to roll on with not much hassle. I don't think i need any explanation of where the following pictures are taken.

The view from the top looking over something important.

Me

Been there, done that

On my last day, i caught up with a couple of French dudes who i became friends with at Windsurf Paradise. They took me out for a nice lunch in suburbs of Paris. Christophe has unfortunately severly broken his arm and my god it was swollen..He could press his fingers into his arm and the skin would take a minute to go back to shape.

1, 2, 3 and 4 jet streams crossing each other and a rooster.

Next stop Amsterdam.

An Open Letter To Duncan...

2006-10-05T11:12:00.000+10:00

Admin guy and self appointed mentor thomasr "guest posts" on this blog, regarding the possible return of the Dunc...

Our Dearest Duncan,

Well me lad, you did it. You went away: worked, worked 'em over and it all worked out.

We (That is The Tone and I) were chatting (funilly enough @ Stevo's launch party) and we get the distinct impression that you might be ready to set sail for Australia.

In short: bloody don't. We think you should stay away for longer. We think you need to hit 12 months out of country at least. You have a job waiting for you- whether back at the old gig or not. You're ripe for the picking for any company; you have the uni marks and the working experience. You can now add worldly experience to your CV; don't underestimate how much this will be valued when you return and crank out the CV's and applications.

Perhaps 12 months working in the UK with frequent foray into Europe might be the go... What about settling for a year in Holland or Sweden? Plenty of English spoken there olde bean.

Anyhoo- see the comments, feel the vibe.

Regards

Thomasr (and Tone)

AM I CRAZY?

2006-10-05T00:44:00.000+10:00

Well Paradise has finished with a very quick jolt to the system. After a very drunken last night in Lanzarote, I have now arrived in Paris and guess what? Its fooking cold and i haven't slept for 2 days! Having to fly to Gatwick London first, and getting a face full on the fresh night air, i must admit i really had second thoughts about leaving my beach side apartment in Lanzarote. And of course the day i left, it was blowing a gale (I still got a sail in thou) and the Island had the best forecast i have seen while i was there. Typical...

A big thanks and farewell goes to the crew and Windsurf Paradise and all the other friends i made while i was there. They really made me feel at home and its definetely a place i could escape to in the future. Just to make my last day even more emotional, the team very kindly gave me some binnoculars (a bit ironic because i was really suppose to use them while on baywatch...just kidding carsten!), a photographed signed copy of the team posing including the Hoff and a lasting supply of rubbers.

To the Lanzarote crew, if your ever in my next of the woods one day, make sure you give me a email to catch up as i have a lot of favours to repay to everyone.

And also a special thanks to Donny who is a good friend of Carsten and got me in touch with Windsurf Paradise.

BUBBLES cont'

2006-09-30T04:53:00.000+10:00

Today I went for my first dive without a instructor keeping a close eye on me. We went to a old shipwreck which was at a depth of 20 to 25m. Here are the pics!

Sunken Ship...obviously

Me

Steve Irwin Killer....it was a big one spanning about 2m. Its hard to see but its a stingray.

BUGGER

2006-09-29T00:22:00.000+10:00

Question: What do you do when you are working at a windsurfing resort and there is a constant 18 knots with flat water?

Answer: Ask the boss if i can rig up his 7.2 Neilpride RS5 race sail with a 100% X9 Carbon Mast and take out his custom carbon slalom board to see if i can break the speed record at the resort.
Obvious really isn't it.

Question: How do you tell the boss you snapped his 9oo euro mast in half while rigging it.

Answer: Really quickly and 5 minutes before he is about to leave on holiday for a couple of days....

The big man took it quite well considering. I thought he was going to make me his whipping boy for the remainder of my time here but his only response was ''dude thats a 900 euro mast'' which i replied ''was a 900 euro mast''.

Enough said.

BUBBLES

2006-09-27T06:19:00.000+10:00

As of yesterday, i am an offical Open Water Bubble Blower. Located convientely next to the windsurf school, and having 4 days off work a week, i thought it was the perfect opportunity to get my scuba diving license.

My dive buddy Stephan from Germany.

The course was completed over 3 days which involved 5 dives up to 20m depth and a exam. The dives involved completing a number of under water exercises which apparently i took to like a fish to water. On my supposely last day of dives, i woke up in the morning with a bit of a head cold. Thinking nothing of it (they strictly say you shouldn't dive with a cold) the first time i headed under my ears wouldn't equalize. After trying for like 5 mins which also includes sucking water through my nose (apparently this works to clear the sinus), i had to abort the dives. Depressed, and walking away with my regulator between my legs, i completed the last 2 dives a week later and got my certificate.

Diving also told me to be a little patient. Being an activity (they call it a sport) where the aim is to be relaxed and calm (to preserve precious air), the diving fraternity are a little more relaxed and chilled and don't mind taking their time.

Playa Chica - Location of the last two dives. The reefs here were home to lots of NEMO's, a few trumpet fish and even a school of barricuda.

Spending most of my time above the water windsurfing, surfing or kiting, diving has opened up a new playground to explore when the wind is light and the surf is flat.

YEEEHHHAAAA

2006-09-25T04:46:00.000+10:00

On Sunday we visited another reef break just up from the secret spot. It was a chunky right hander (finally) called Spiders.

Shitty myself. If you don't make the section, lava rocks loom on the inside.

Bit of size

The old man Marky pulling into this monster.

Didn't quite make it

Flying high.

Thought i would show Diony (PROFESSIONAL WINDSURFER!!!)

a thing or two about surfing.....not!

YEEEHHHAAAA

2006-09-25T04:14:00.000+10:00

The anticipation was building. The forecast for the weeked was a solid 3m swell with favorable winds and i wasn't working! Having been here for a few months and yet to see good surf, i was itching for the classic point breaks i here the locals go on about.

And now i know what they were talking about. On saturday we surfed a 3 to 4 foot left handing breaking of lava with just the boys. Check it out! The name of the spot is ''The secret spot''. Then on Sunday we surfed spiders which was big chunky right handed.

First wave of the day!

The girls keeping my cocktail ready for when i exit the water. God Bless'em

Germans have a lot to answer for. This bloke came out of the water with his flippers on wearing pink hotpants with a lime green rash vest. Only in Europe

A davo off the lip. One the lads from the Paradise Windsurf

The lip just waiting to be carved to pieces.

Local Spanish dude dropping in. Made sure it was the last time he did that.

Pic of the day!

Europe Mourns

2006-09-09T02:25:00.000+10:00

No matter which country you are in Europe, if you ask them what they know about Australia they will reply;
*Rolf Harris (No shit)
*Great Barrier Reef
*Kylie Minogue
*Jason Donovan
*STEVE IRWIN

Last weeks news of Steve Irwins bizarre death has rocked Europe. They loved him for everything he stood for even if he did dress all in Khaki. Talk to someone and as soon they knew you were from Australia, they would throw in a ''Crickey'' and ''Fair Dinkim''. No one could quite believe that someone who wrestles crocodiles, kisses deadly snakes and goes swimming with sharks could be killed by a relatively harmless string-ray!

The funny thing is, Australia is known to Europeans where every fish or animal will eat or kill you and now everyone is terrified of little string-rays which is especially frustrating for the diving centres (which I am currently do more open water course) as all the divers are now afraid of string-rays.

A Tour Around Lanzarote with NICOLE

2006-09-01T20:59:00.000+10:00

For the last two weeks, Nicole has visited me here in Lanzaroate. With my only day off, we went on a voyage around the island so see the sites! You will see from the pictures that lanzarote is a volcanic island. So we were told, the island was erupting only 15o years ago so a lot of the islands land is very new.

The first stop was at the Ceuva De Los Verdes, underground caves created by lava flows. The picture above is a optical illusion. The picture looks symmetrical but in fact the bottom half is a pond reflecting the light from the top of cave making it look like a massive hole. Everyone on the tour thought it was a hole until the tour guide threw a rock into the pond!

The next stop was lunch at Haria. Every palm tree in the town represents a new male born.
No they are not craters created from mini volcanoes or mortar fire. At the bottom of each mini craters there is a couple of grape vines. The poor sods who dug all the holes and laid stones around the surface.

The Mountain of Fire. A huge concentration of volcanoes in a small area. At the information centre, they have drilled a number of boreholes where the tour guide pours water down holes to later erupt in a jet of steam and water.

They warned me not to put my head over the blow hole

The big Mumma that exploded and killed lots of people.

Nicole and yours truly

The last stop on tour was at the green lagoon. Its pretty much a pond with blue gree algae next to the beach. Looks cool though. Didn't risk swimming in it!

P.S Every photo in this article is courtesy of Nicoles camera! (Which apparently is better than mine so i was told!)

The First Swell

2006-08-20T08:06:00.000+10:00

The locals talked it up...big, hollow, powerful and shallow lava reefs. If your a little confused on what i am talking about, please resume ebaying or pornsurfing.

Yes, the first swell of the surfing season has hit Lanzarote. Although it was a little windy, it wetted the appetite for more. The wave wasn't exactly what the locals described, but it was definetly pretty big and powerful. Given a offshore wind and a lower tide, i think they would be pretty much spot on.

As shown by the pictures, there was a bit of surface chop which made the
chunky left handers a bit difficult. The surfing fitness wasn't quite there either and honestly, i should of put on goggles and a swimming cap because i caught only a handful of waves.

Just when i was getting a bit of confidence up, what should happend? My leg rope broke. Having one of my better rides, the wave sectioned off so as usual i jumped off my board only to feel the horrible feeling of having a sudden release in pull from my legrope, similar to fishing when reeling in the catch of the day only to loose it at the last second. Surfacing, all i could see was white water with no board in view. After a few minutes paddling and scrambling up the rocks, a local fisherman very kindly retrieved my board off the rocks and returned it to me. Some how the board was not damaged and i called it a day.

Upon returning home, the wind had kicked in and i got my first sail in 2.5 weeks.

Stoked!

The Drought has Ended

2006-08-20T07:43:00.000+10:00

Fristly, apologies to the fans out there for the lack of news from abroad. The main reason is there has been sweet F.A to report on!

For the first 3 weeks in Lanzarote, the wind was relentless and did not stop. Having windsurfed 15 times in 17 days, in a post beer sail I asked my boss does the wind ever stop here is i was really looking forward to a few windless days for the body to recover. As Murphy's Law would have it, the wind stopped, not just for 1 or 2 days, but for 2.5 weeks! Shit!

What does one do in Lanzarote when there is no wind or swell, well pretty much sod all except for a few more drinks and listening to all the locals crap on about how good the surfing gets here in winter. So to bring the wind back, i visited a local Australian surfboard shaper who is set up here in Lanzarote to buy a second hand surfboard. Surely this will be the wind back!

I bought a 6'5'' hot buttered thruster in good condition for 160 euro's

Now we wait!

The Batch Pad

2006-08-06T01:08:00.000+10:00

If you recall, i was pretty much squatting in a half built apartment. Well i have finally moved in to my new pad with a english dj/peanut seller/sunglass dealer "Oggy". The pad is situated right on the beach and looks straight over the bay where everyone windsurfs. Oggy is a 40 year old guy who has recently split up his missus and is looking forward to single life again. When i first moved in i was a little shell shocked as it was rather messy, even by my standards and when inquiring if the lights work oggy replied, yeah mate, i just need to change the globes!

Heres the living room and oggy dressing his two little boys zane and toby. The boys are over on the weekends and a couple of days during the week. In true oggy style, they just run around naked picking everything up at eye level. Reminder...have to remember to store everything out of little peoples reach.

My room with ensuite

The view from the front porch. Not very windy here, 15 to 20 knots. Good freestyle conditions.

The pad also has sky television, internet access, a shat load of music and a washing machine! Lets just say i did my first wash in a month.

Only in Lanzarote

2006-08-06T00:28:00.000+10:00

Well they party in style in Lanzarote. In Greee they have wet t-shirt parties and in Lanzarote they have foam parties. How? Well they have a huge machine that spits out a shit load of foam. Here are the pictures to prove the craziness.
Shorts are a must!

The girls also get into it as well

The english youngsters love a bit pole practise. I thought it was Hoises at first!

It might look like fun and games, but extreme caution on the dance floor was needed as it was supper slippery and once on the floor one could be lost in the foam. One of the pole girls night ended poorly by slipping off and splitting her chin open on the bench! Needless to say there were many guys to her rescue.

STATS

2006-07-25T06:50:00.000+10:00

Been here 14 Days:
Days Windsurfing - 12
Days Surfing - 1
Largest sail used - 5.2m
Smallest sail used- 4.4m (could of used a 4m)
Most used sail - 4.7m
Preferred Wave Board - 74 L JP Radical Wave
Preferred Freestyle Board - 85L JP Freestyle Wave
What i had for dinner last night...chicken curry
Injuries - None except for sore hands

Lanzarote on a day with wind and waves

2006-07-20T00:27:00.000+10:00

A couple of week ago the PWA visited Lanzarote for the Super X. They were greeted with some windy conditions as seen by the photo.

Would like to say thats me. I personally would of gone for the double forward.

My Batch Pad and My Birthday

2006-07-20T00:17:00.000+10:00

My current Aparment. Brings a new definition to spacious living

The main Bedroom

Bathroom. Everything else in the aparment is under construction

PICS FROM MY BIRTHDAY BASH

Two lovely diving girls who work next to us

Just booked myself in for my diving certificate!

2006-07-20T00:11:00.000+10:00

Sailing Location on a flat windless day

Famar Beach and a skinny me

The windsurfing paradise team but without the boss

Canary Island Pics!

2006-07-19T23:39:00.000+10:00

Flying over Lanzarote

Windsurfing Centre. Home for the next couple of months

Anyone need a sail!

Or a board....

Costa Teguise beach. This is where we go sailing obvisously

Looking back from the beach. Volcanoes are everywhere you look

SWEET 25

2006-07-19T06:14:00.000+10:00

Well i have officially entered the mid 20´s bracket by turning 25 last Saturday. The family kindly rung (they didn´t last year and i was in melbourne) to wish me happy birthday and to tel me that i was looking too skinny...Thanks mum and yes i am trying to eat more!

For the night we hit the local bar chespas, i know, shit name then headed to a local costa teguise party to the early hours of the morning. Thinking everyone would be speaking full on spanish with bugger all english at the party, i was pleasantly surprised that pretty much everyone spoke english (tourist town) and to make it better, i was the only aussie there and pretty much on the whole island.

On the other side of things, i have been working pretty hard for the last couple of days. It gets crazy at our windsuring resort with about 40 customers out on the water during the afternoon. That means there are 40 fooking rigs to de-rig and store away in the centre. And who´s the gimp who does that...hmmmm. Lets just say i have put on and taken off enough booms for a life time of windsurfing. My silky soft hands are also feeling it to as i am constantly pulling on ropes all day and yes i know you were all thinking of something else i could be pulling (with those who have their minds in the gutter).

The accomadation side of things sucks a bit at the moment. The place i am suppose to move into has been delayed to the end of July. So at the moment the only accom we could find was this apartment that is currently being built! All it has is a bed, toilet, basin and a crappy old fridge. The Gov said i could rent of for free if i do a wee bit of grouting here and there but me grouting skills are not one to boast about.

The positive thing is the apartment i am moving into to is totally cool. It has a full ocean view and the dude i will be living with is a english dj...i.e. the house is totally decked out with all the latest electronic hardware. Most of it is probably off the back of a truck but fook i couldn´t care less. His name is oggy and he has just split up with his misses and he seems like a good right of fun.

What else...ummm, yes i know you are all wanting pictures of the big birthday and Lanzorate but the only internet cafe only has windows 98 which doesn´t recongnise my camera so be patient.

Well heading back to squat in my apartment. Good thing is if you don´t go out, i get to bed early as there is absolutely nothing to do and as its forecasted to blow 30 knots tomorrow with swell, so a good nights sleep will be just the thing. And i have tomorrow off as well.

Stoked Dude!

P.S Keep those comments coming.

HOUSTON..."WE HAVE TOUCH DOWN"

2006-07-13T22:20:00.000+10:00

Well, one might be mistaken when landing at the airport of Lanzarote, that you have in fact landed on the lunar landscape of the moon! Forget trees, grass and green, Lanzorate has rock, volcanoes everywhere and a little more rock. This might not the ideal holiday destination, but once I arrived at my home for the next 2 months, I was confronted by a big bay which crystal clear blue warm water, a solid 20-25 cross shore wind with a nice little point where waves break over which are perfect for hurting themselves.

My job description is pretty much GOFER. I am working at a windsurfing resort/rental/instructing shop. I will be pretty much rigging and derigging sails for customers and beach patrol. Tough Work! Work is from 9:30am to 6:00pm and then afterwards I hit the water for some Duncan time. I apparently start work tomorrow so in the mean time i have been windsurfing all day. Nearly did a spock! I must stress nearly! The area i am staying at Teguise is populated with basically english tourists who haven't heard of sunscreen and responsible parenting. I have never seen so many ridiculously burnt poms in the one place. Blister burns are not uncommon- the one thing I love, it doesn't stop them from getting to the beach for the next day.

I will get a few pics of the place and put them up later today or the next convienent time.

Off to go windsurfing. Today i will be riding a brand spanking new 4.7m Neilpride Combat wave with a JP 84 litre Freestyle Wave. Life sucks!

Brussels in a Day

2006-07-11T00:05:00.000+10:00

Well i am in Brussels in transit for my plane trip to Lanzarote. Luckily, i only have a day because i seriously think i have seen all of it in a couple of hours. The lonely planet day says its famous for Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne which is a indication of someone one has to visit. I am probably being a little hard on Brussel and i think its due to the fact that one gets over site seeing.

Some Sqaure...Lots of Tourists

Some of the sites and city squares are pretty cool, but the thing that caught my eye was a bicycle thats also a recombent (don't know spelling)

Nifty bike. I want one!

Short but Sweet

2006-07-10T04:17:00.000+10:00

Well my greek voyage ended a bit sooner than i expected due to my windsurfing employment in the canary islands, but i can honestly say that myself kat, Tim and bec left our mark. Kos was just as you picture a greek island. Sunny, warm water, people sunbaking everywhere, POMS and so many bars.

Kos Harbour

One of the many islands of Greece.

The night life was Krazy. There was one strip with at least 20 bars and clubs and to get you in, each bar would give you a free shot and cocktail. Serious memory loses... Seriously, it's the first time in my life where I've photographic proof of scoring a hot pom (ed: like they exist) only to have no memory of the event occuring (pic below).

Kat and Bec from home were putting up with myself and Tim.

I found this on my camera the morning after...

BLUE STEEL - After the 10th cocktail!

Tim and Kat.

We had an ace little holiday home which had been renovated to 2 storeys. The building was not quite tall enough so the second floor was only about 1.6m high which meant I had to walk around crouched. (ed: like the people in this movie)

My scooter for the week. I started off wearing shoes, pants and helmet. That didn't last long!
Tim feel off his scooter and busted it.

For the bridge lovers.

Greece was great fun and I wish I could have stayed there longer but I could not let go of my job opportunity in the Canary Islands. I am now in Brussels waiting for my flight to the canaries.

Windsurfing for 2 months here I come....

Karma Baby!

2006-07-07T23:52:00.000+10:00

I have always said I am a firm believer in karma and if you do good, goodness will always come in return.

Well after being told that my dream windsurfing job in Canary Islands was no longer....Guess again baby! Just got a email today saying he needs more help and i am the man for it. FOOKING SWEET!!!!

SO I AM OFF TO LANZAROTE!!!!

Things I love and hate about travelling in Europe

2006-07-06T22:25:00.000+10:00

Even though I am still regarded as a naive traveller, you pretty quickly discover the things you love and hate about travelling. Here is just a few I can think of!

Love
1) European Women!
2) European women beach attire (well lack of it really)
3) 2 for 1 cocktails!
4) Being able to buy alchol anywhere and its only 1 euro fo a litre of beer from the supermarket!
5) Siesta.
6) Listening to my mate Tim use his favourite pick up line.....Where do you come from....I might of used that once or twice.

Hate
1) Travelling. Going to the train station and lining up for a hour only to be told you are at the wrong window (in Italian), then later discover that you just missed your train!
2) Nodding off in buses only to wake up to discover that you have drooled all over yourself and everyone knows about it.
3) Being in a bar full of Italians watching Australia loose the world cup match against Italy and to be told that it was "Meant to be!" Get foooked!
4) Finding a clean public toilet in Italy. Good Luck
5) The French....nah, they are ok.
6) Eating. Having to eat is such a pain
7) Loosing weight (I actually thought that was not possible for me and i have sooo much to loose)
8) Trying to get all the necessary food groups from KEBABS. Fricking Kebab stores on every corner in Europe
9) Typing nor,qlly on q french keyboqrd.

Off to Greece

2006-06-30T01:27:00.001+10:00

Well I thought a week in Tarifa would be enough to get some wind, but I was wrong. I got one sail on a 5.7m and a 98L freeride board and a kite. I was hoping for some out of control 3.7m days but maybe next time. Ahead of me know is 3 days of travel to greece. Most would fly but I still have days left on my eurail pass so I may as well use them up before they expire.

Till Greece...

SEND US A COMMENT!

2006-06-28T02:20:00.000+10:00

To the people glancing at my blog from time to time, send us a comment. Just click on the comments link at the bottom of each posting and tell me what you think...what you want to see or just send me a cheero from where ever you are.

Krazy.....

2006-06-26T07:28:00.000+10:00

In tarifa you have two winds. The levanter or the poniente. The levanter usually blows its tits off and comes from the east and no one is on the beach because you get sand blasted. The poniente comes from the west and is on the lightish side which is ideal for kite surfing and chilling on the beach. Have a guess which wind was blowing today from the following picture.....?

Now if I ask an Australian what is the most unique thing about Europeans at the beach, what do you think it would be?

And just to prove it is windy here, heres something to prove it.

The pic hasn't uploaded to well but there are a sh!t load of windmills.

Tarifa....Not Windy

2006-06-24T05:07:00.000+10:00

Well apparently I should have been here for the last 3 weeks when the Levante (East) blew every day- averaging around 30 knots. Currently, the wind is coming from the other direction- Poniente (West)- and that means light winds. That gave me a chance to catch a few tourustie things as shown in this picture. This was taken from a whale and dolphin cruise.

The next couple of days aren't looking too flash hot but they are predicting some wind.

This is a shot from yesterday when there was some wind. I arrived in Tarifa in the afternoon and didn't have time to hire any gear. Pissed!

Madrid

2006-06-21T23:44:00.000+10:00

Only here for a night as i am on my way to Tarifa. Really nice city but can be a little pricey. I just had a quick walk around the gardens and a few sites. The gardens are amazing and they are so well maintained- all of Madrid is. The picture below is the Estanque which is where the royals use to go for relaxing and entertainment. The would hold mini marine wars on the man made lake.

Some monument. Thought it looked cool.

Thats it for now. I better get some more food as my waist line is reducing which i didn´t think was possible. All my shorts and pants are falling off me.

Depressing...

Barcelona

2006-06-21T23:29:00.000+10:00

If you want to party, Barcelona is the town. Although it is a a lot more expensive than i thought it would be, the clubs and night life is pumping every night. The Barcelonians attitude to life is party 1st, and work 2nd. The usually preceedings for day in Barcelona would be:
1) Get out of bed around 12 to 1pm after a big night
2) Bum around for a bit, get something to eat and head to the beach around 3pm
4) Head back to hostel around 6-7, have dinner and go to bed around 10pm for a quick nap
5) Wake up at 11pm, and go to a bar or pre drink at hostel. A 1 litre of beer costs 1 euro!
6) The clubs in Barcelona don´t open till 2am in the morning and they don´t get going to 3am.
7) Party to 6ish and head home for sleep.

Without doubt the hottest woman (6´3")I have seen in my life. I had to turn her down because she wasn´t really my type. She took it pretty bad.

When we arrived in Barcelona, we didn´t know there was a massive rave party weekend so every hostel was booked out. Luckily, or unluckily, we found a small apartment with 10 people sleeping in including 2 mexicans, a squatter and 7 backpackers. Tim, Fab and myself had a room with two bunks in it which didn´t even have enough room to walk between them. The room also had no ventilation or windows. As you could imagine, it was quite stuffy and a bit on the smelly side since the temp doesn´t get below 20 at night.

A shot of Barcelona from the waterfront. Really cool marina and waterfront. Barcelona is a really beautiful city. I imagined is was going to be pretty dirty and a bit 3rd worldish but I was wrong.

Mother F*&"/er

2006-06-21T05:24:00.000+10:00

Yes thats right, we have a Mother Fooker among us. I am not willing to say who it was, but i can assure you it wasn´t tim or myself. On our first night in Barcelona, a local took fancy in our future to be MF (she spoke no english). The night ended a little scarey with the MF who ended up getting chased out of her apartment by the Father (they were separated)...shit you not. The MF played it a little more low key in Barcelona after that.

Perpignan....Torture

2006-06-17T00:24:00.000+10:00

You would think the south west of france, on the Mediterranean would be perfect for a relaxing week to recover from the previous 2 weeks of going out.

Wrong.

What I was confronted with was big long beaches where it was blowing it tits off for 6 straight days only not being able to hire or burrow any windsurfing or kiting gear. The other odd feature of perpignan is it must be the only european city that hasn't heard of football or even the world cup. Fabain has been pulling his hair out because there was a total of one bar in a city with a population of 170,000 that shows the football when the feel like it! Other than that, perpignan is a relatively quiet town with a lot of beach resorts. For the last couple of days, we have been pretty much just working on our tans and eating some healthy food for a change to try and get us fully fit to battle the night life of Spain.

A good solid 25 knots without a windsurfing hire venue
anyway......

In no particular order

2006-06-13T22:06:00.000+10:00

St Peters

We reached 200 km/hr down the freeway only to be overtaken by a motorcycle with a kid on the back!

A family party

Family dinner. Roughly 20 courses!

Funny stuff

1st night in Florence! 2 Friendly Americans

At the beach in Rome

The daughter of the US Ambassador to the UN!

Another American.....

No Need for a description

Abruzzo. 70km out of Rome

Latest Update

2006-06-10T19:40:00.000+10:00

It been a while since i have written my last email. For the last week and a half, a few interesting things have happened. We have been in vienna and prague. Tim and myself have been out of action due to different reasons and Fabian has taken full advantage. I came down with a sore throat and a bit of a cold that lastest what seemed like forever. My throat was sore for a good 8 to 10 days which really pissed me off as i couldn't really go out at night as i was too stuffed and couldn't talk. It didn't stop me from meeting a girl who's father was the US Ambassador to the UN in Vienna! Tim on the other hand, sustained a injury of a different nature in Vienna. Tim being the last one off the mark, had a two day sex romp which resulted in a busted penis. He was diagnosed with a busted blood vessel and as a result, his dick was black....pictures to follow. The doctor swore it was due to extreme overdose of masturbation, but i guess i can't say anything as i was lying in bed being sick.

Fabian on the other hand, had the biggiest tantrum in prague i have ever seen after picking up a very attractive american only to be denied at the 11th hour when he previously mentioned to her that he was the lead singer in a band. She then demanded that he should sing a song which resulted in running for her hostel. The next night, Fabian redemed himself very well and successfully strengthened the relationship between germans and Australians.

We are now in the south of France at Perpignan. The weather is warm, i am feeling better and Tims injury has subsided so its game on again. The girls are arriving today (some of fabian and tims friends) so keep tuned for the next update.

Being Back in Melbourne

2006-06-04T02:35:00.000+10:00

To see the latest blogs, please click on the latest month on the left hand side

Farking hell its cold. I thought i left the Australian winter to warm and sunshine....Wrong. We were in Munich for 3 days and i never saw sunlight, got rained on every time we went outside, caught a cold, and the temperature never got above 10 degrees. The city is nice, exactly like melbourne but the weather sucks and the locals need to learn how to J-Walk.

We then headed off Vienna were the temp increases to a whopping 13 degrees and a little less rain. We are staying at a hostel called Wombat, can never escape Australia, which has a really cool vibe. All the boys on the trip have finally got on the scoreboard as well which has eased tensions as i got off to a mini flyer.

I plan to put some photo's up soon but it is hard to find a internet cafe where i can reduce the resoultion of photo's so i can upload them. So if any of you know how, can you please let me know.

Thats all for now. We are off the prague tomorrow or monday. Can't wait.

Florence

2006-06-01T18:29:00.000+10:00

Apparently like Rome, Florence has many amazing sites to see which i managed not to see one in two days!

We got into florence at around 6pm and went straight into a dodgy hostel where we prepared ourselves for a pub crawl which started at 8. It was free drinks for a hour which got us all in a good mood and chatting to all the american students. Lucky for us, we were the only aussies on the pub crawl so we were very popular. By the 3rd stop, i had met a friendly american called Kelly. Lets just say for the next 2 days, i didn't see much of Florence...

Where Chapel Street Originated!

2006-06-01T18:21:00.000+10:00

Just when i thought i was as far away from Australia as possible, we end up and this tiny little country town in Abruzzo (outside Rome) where the local past time is to do laps between the round abouts on anything that has a engine. The more up market vehicles have halegon lights on the bumpers and dashes and all the local kids even have the standard chapel street 17 inch sub woofers! We were fortunate enough to have a ride in a chapel street cruiser where our driver could very skillfully prepare a joint while driving stoned, which everyone in Italy does.

We visited another very popular beach resort called Pescara where there is about 1 percent of the beach available to the public. To my amazement, there was a windsurfing school there but the very light winds wasn't enough to suck me in.

Live for the day, not for the Future

2006-05-22T00:30:00.000+10:00

Culture Shock... What can i say, the Italians definetely live for the day and not for the future. I say this because the other day, after about the 20th main for lunch (19 of those were some type of pasta) i was laughed by my mates cousins for putting a seat belt on in the back seat in the car(this is un-heard of in Rome), to preceed coasting down the freeway at 200kmph with no one in the car wearing a seat belt. To put this into perspective, a motor bike screamed past us like we standing still only to have a young boy (max 12 years old) on the back in shorts and a t-shirt and the national road toll per week is over 100!

Every night in Rome, a couple of english companies organise pub crawls around the city where you pay 15 euro and you get free drinks for a hour and free entry into the clubs. Its a good way to see the night life as its really expernsive (15 euro entry to most clubs and a beer at a club is 10 euro....$1 Aus = 0.6 euro). The only small downer is the pub crawls seem to be full of americans tourists. Of the 70 people on the pub crawl, 50 of them would of been americans. I am not saying i don't like americans, but 50 of them in a rome bar can get a bit much.

We also went to the beach the other day which was different. In Australia, we can go to any beach we want but in Italy, 95% of the beaches are private and locals pay a annual fee for a bit of beach space.

Being the mature one I am, the first thing a guy will notice in Rome is the women. I don't know if its in the water or all the pasta they eat, but the roman females are the most well endowed women i have ever seen. There is no such thing as a flat chested roman women. Even the young girls are busting out!

The plan for the next week is to spend one or two more nights in Rome then we are off to Abruzzo where my mate has a family holiday house on the eastern coast.

Cheers

I Have Arrived

2006-05-18T23:19:00.000+10:00

What is the definition of boring? Being trapped in a mine for 2 weeks...No. Sitting in Bangkok airport for 15 hours while in transit. What do you do in 15 hours of sitting in a airport which has the longest duty free shopping strip i have every seen? 1) Play i spy, 2) Read 300 pages of the the Da Vinci Code and 3) Try and sleep in chairs that were specially made not be slept in.

Anyway, after the hassles of that, I have arrived in Rome and was greeted by warmth and humidity. Rome is one of the most crazy placs i have visited with insane traffic, unbelievabely cramped living, tiny cars, and being able to walk down the street and around the corner is some of the most visited tourist destinations in the world.

I have been staying with my mates family, who i might add speak no english, which has been fun trying to communicate with them. They are very friendly and the key phrase to learn is "sto bene"...i am fine. If you do not say this, they will not stop serving you food.

We are planning to stay in Rome for a few more days then we are heading off to the countryside where Fabian has some relatives in Abruzzo.

I am writing this email from a cafe which is next to the beach. Rocco, you are absolutely correct about the women in Italy and the women who visit the beach!

P.S. I really need tan up quickly.

Till next time.

Final Farewell

2006-05-14T17:08:00.000+10:00

In true engineering form, I exited URS in fine form...A drunken slobbering mess. URS kindly organised a farewell lunch at Southbank (thankyou dena, very well organised) which was followed by a big session at the BLVD. Brucey, who dropped by to wish me farewell, decided I wasn't drinking enough so loaded me up on scotch and cokes and conventiently left before they fully hit me. After shattering my glass all over the floor, Ii decided it was time to go given I had to back it up on Saturday night with a session of go karting and drinks at the Elwood Lounge.

Driving to the go-karting track in Sunshine, I was rather nervous see i was having trouble keeping the contents in my stomach together in the car, let alone zooming around on a bumpy go kart track. Surprisingly, it all went well and I placed a respectable 5th. Then we headed off to the old faithful, The Elwood Lounge for something to eat and a few final beers with the crew. Thanks to everyone who came along to see me off and "I wish youse all" the best while I am gone.

A pic!!

2006-04-11T11:42:00.000+10:00

THE SEARCH

2006-03-25T12:15:00.000+11:00

Yep, thats right folks, I am outer here..Duncan Banks is heading off to explore Europe with two good friends, Tim and Fab. Tim and Fab have labeled to it “The 2006 Euro Sex Tour”. I on the other hand have labeled it “The Search”. The Search to experience other cultures, to see the pyramids, to walk through the Sistine Chapel, or to get pissed in every bar in every country, shag anything that walks and to see if the myth is true that that Australian lasses are damn hard work compared to their European counterparts!

The search is beginning in Rome where Fabian has many family relatives scattered around who are more than willing to take us in (so we are told). We then head north in a anti-clockwise direction around Europe. Next stop will be Vienna then Prague, Germany, Amsterdam, Belgium, France, Spain then across to Greece. My other traveling mate Tim has a family holiday house in the South West of France in Perpignan and knows of people who own a villa on the island of Kos in Greece which we plan to take full advantage of. I will also be on the Search for wind and waves when the opportunity arises. So stop offs in Tariffa (Spain), the south west coast of France, Portugal and maybe Morocco could be a possibility. There is also a chance of regaining a windsurfing job that I got offered and then denied on the Island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.

When will I be back, who knows! At the moment I am thinking my hard earn savings will last me around 3 to 4 months of traveling then it might be back to England and find myself a job until the Australian summer.

So that’s all for now before I head off. Remember you can post a comment to my blog for all to read or you can send me a email on the latest tidings back in Aus. My email is banks.duncan@gmail.com

So that’s all for now. Keep an eye out on my blog for my latest news or conquests.