Diving the Great Barrier Reef

Diving in the Great Barrier Reef is something you can't miss if you come to Australia. It's an iconic Australian experience that you simply won't get anywhere else. In short it would be a crime not to have a look. 

The reef stretches from Torres Strait to Fraser Island so you can dive and snorkel in a lot of places and get a good look at the reef. Jack and I decided we'd take the plunge in Cairns whilst we were on our trip up there. We cruised with 'Ocean Spirit' to Michelmas Cay from Cairns. You can cruise from Port Douglas and there are heaps of tour operators to choose from that go to various different parts of the reef and different islands. 

Green Island is the most popular but it's also quite busy so Jack and I decided to try a different area. We visited one of the tour information centers in Cairns CBD to get an idea of the various different options, and I'm glad we did. They told us the best day of the week to go for visibility and also for how choppy the sea was going to be. As someone who is not the biggest fan, by not the biggest fan I mean hate, of boats it was good to hear from someone in the know what would be best for me. 

The person we spoke to suggested going with Ocean Spirit as they have a really good reputation and also the boat is a catamaran meaning it's less bumpy. And he was right. The crew and staff were all lovely and really happy to help from checking in right until we left the boat in the afternoon. The sea was relatively rough so it was still a little bumpy but nothing like it would have been in a single hull boat. He also told us that Michelmas Cay was a really great island to go to. It's quieter than other islands as only two boats go there and also it's how Green Island started. So eventually Michelmas will look like Green Island so it's pretty cool to see. 

On board we were given tea and coffee and muffins in the morning, a light buffet lunch, and cheese & biscuits and champagne on the return voyage. Included in the price is a trip in the semi sub so you can get a view of the reef even if you don't want to swim, return boat trips (as many as you like) to the island and snorkeling equipment and wet suits if you'd like one. Scuba diving is an additional cost but one worth the price.

Our instructor, Marcos, was really great. I think he could tell I was little nervous and made the effort to relax me and make me feel OK about it all. He explained everything in depth so there was no confusion and was reassuring if you weren't 100% about something. If you're feeling nervous about diving don't be. The instructor won't let you dive if they don't think you're capable and you don't even have to let go of their arm if you don't want to. You're guided through the whole thing and it becomes like an under water guided tour without the commentary. 

The key tip is to relax. Don't focus on your breathing, or your ears or anything apart from taking everything around you in because it's a once in a life time thing. It's incredible down there and we're lucky to be able to experience it in this way so enjoy it. At the end of your dive you swim under the boat and there's heaps of fish swimming past you and it's just the most amazing thing. If you've got your diving license you can dive unassisted but if not there's no need to worry, even if it's your first ever dive. 

If you don't want to dive, you can still snorkel and that's also an incredible experience. You can still get close to the reef and see all sorts of underwater creatures. 

For us it was one of the most incredible experiences of our trip and I can't wait to dive again somewhere else and carry on exploring the underwater world. 

Until next time,

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Take the road less traveled | Queensland

When travelling around somewhere there's always the places you want to go, see, experience. You're in Thailand you want to see the elephant sanctuary, you're in New York you want to get to the top of the Empire State, you're  in Australia you want to see Sydney Opera House. Of course there's nothing wrong with wanting to see these things you've just got to do them.

But there's always more. The touristy parts are only the shell of a place. To really discover somewhere you've got to dig deeper, go further and take the road less traveled.

Most of the time I've been in Australia I've been in Queensland and it's a beautiful state. It's got oceans, rainforests and of course the outback. Is there anything else you could want? 

But aside from Byron Bay, Cairns and Brisbane there's heaps of gems to discover and here are just a few. 

Toowoomba

Pizza & Pie in Toowomaba - a must

 After shopping, bars and restaurants but with a quieter feel that the city? Toowoomba, also known as the garden city, is the place for you. A few k's, well 125km but in Australian terms not much, west of Brisbane and set in among a beautiful range it's a great spot. Head to the top of the range for some awesome photos and great picnic spots. A definite must is the Sunday market for some great food, gifts and everything else a good market should have. Also check out the cathedral and one of the 150 parks in the city. 

Longreach

Longreach Stockman's Hall of Fame

Longreach is a real outback town and in all honesty there doesn't seem that much there to see. However it's home to the Stockman's Hall of Fame. The museum is a must for anyone who wants to know some more about the Australian outback and the origins of farming the land. I'll have a whole post about the museum soon as I visited recently so look out for that. You'll also find the QANTAS founders museum is Longreach as it was one of the founding centres for the airline. 

Mooloolaba

Mooloolaba by evening light

If you're looking for a quiet but beautiful beach spot this is the one. Think Noosa heads but quieter and less tourist packed. You'll find restaurants, cafes and bars and a beautiful beach which is hard to find a rival for. Located in the heart of the Sunshine Coast you can't really miss it if you're exploring the Queensland coast. 

Is there anywhere off the beaten track you think I should visit? Let me know in the comments or send me a tweet. 

Until next time,

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The tropical north | Picture Diary

Traditional boomerangs at Cairns night market

Windsurfing at Trinity Beach

Stream in the Daintree rainforest 

Returning to Cairns harbour after our day on the reef

Beach at Port Douglas

Undara lava tubes

Michelmas Cay from Ocean Spirit

It's been just over a month since Jack and I took our trip to Cairns and the surrounding areas. Finally I've got to sorting through all the photos I took and have devised a few blog posts. There will be several in this 'Tropical North' series so if you're thinking of taking the journey or just want to see more of what's about up there, keep your eyes peeled over the coming weeks. 

Today's post is simply a bit of a picture diary of our time in Cairns and the other places visited whist we were there. Hopefully it will give you a bit of a feel for what's coming up in this mini series and also I get to show of some of my favourite photos from the trip.

Until next time,

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Exploring the tropical North | The Travel Diaries

If you read my last travel diaries, I know it's been a while, or follow me on Instagram, you'll know that Jack and I ventured up to Cairns last week. It's part of Australia we've been talking about seeing since I arrived over a year ago. So when some time off from the farm was suggested we knew exactly what was in order.

As with any Australian drive it was long and arduous. But 20 hours and two shattered backpackers later we arrived in Trinity Beach, just outside of Cairns where we'd be staying for our trip. A whole blog post about accomodation and tour operators will be coming up once I have proper internet  so keep your eyes peeled for that if your planning a trip to Cairns soon or just want some ideas for good way to get accommodation and tours. 

Throughout the week we did a few tours and also took ourselves out to different places. I think it's important to do both when you're travelling as sometimes with tours you don't have the time to look at things as much as you could but the extra information you can get from tour guides is excellent. I would highly recommend booking a couple of day tours when you next go on a trip.

There's lots of lovely places in the Cairns area that are a must if you're around that way. Daintree, Mossman and Port Douglas are just a few on the list but again they'll be a blog post about the 5 must do things in Cairns region coming up shortly so I won't spoil it for you. 

Of course the diving the Great Barrier Reef is a must do for anyone visiting Australia and Cairns is a great place to do it with a heap of tour operators going out to various locations every day of the week. Make sure you do your research before booking though. Another post all about this coming soon but I will say now Jack and I had an amazing experience and I would highly recommend it to anyone who's visiting the Queensland coast.

Cairns is a beautiful spot in Queenslands tropical North surrounded by the wet tropics on one side and the barrier reef on the other it's literally a tropical paradise. There's heaps to do and see but it's a must see spott and comes highly recommended from me to you. Look out for all future blog posts in what I suppose you could call a tropical North mini series.

Until next time,

Emily x

P.S. For more photos of my trip head over to my Instagram, the link is in the right hand side bar. 

Back to Business | The Travel Diaries

Well it has been a while ey? I write this from my phone, after downloading the 'Blogger' app which seems a bit dated and took me all day to download but alas, is better than nothing. So yes, writing this from my phone, in our little quarters, on a farm in central Queensland.

Yep, we're back doing that farming thing and we're loving it again. Of all the things I've done so far out here the rural work has definitely been the best experience I've had and one of the things that makes me glad I decided to come out here, among many others obviously. I think people who decide not to do the rural work missing out big time because this is the only place you can experience working on farms in this way. I'd highly reccomend it to anyone but it's not for the feint hearted, but more about that in a future post I think.

We left Brisbane nearly three weeks ago no, crazy how time flies. And we've been out here in the outback mustering, decorating and all the fun things that rural life entails. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram for regular photo updates. Unfortunately I can't put links in on my phone but all my social media is in the side bar so make sure you check them out and hit the follow button for more regular updates.

Now I've got this app though hopefully blog posts will be more regular as well. 

I hope you're all well, remember to tweet me and comment below letting me know what you've all been up to. I hope you like the photos below and I'd love to see photos of your travels and happenings. 

Beautiful outback sunset

Our renovating efforts

Another beautiful outback landscape

Seeking cattle for mustering

Me and the still unnamed puppy 

Until next time,

Emily x

A boring, cloudy week | The Travel Diaries

As you may be able to tell from the post title and the photograph, it's been a rather cloudy week here in Brisbane. Autumn is definitely in the air. The temperature has dropped below 30 most day that's how I can affirm this. This week has really been a bit of a nothing week, I really haven't done much. Jack and I took an adventure to a little town (pictured) but I have no idea what it was called we just stumbled upon it. 

However, it's Easter this weekend and while my father and brother will be living it up large on rugby tour, and my mother wining and dining in Brighton; Jack, Connor, Laura and I are planning either a camping trip or a rainy movie/food/monopoly filled weekend. Easter is one of my favourite times of year and not just because I don't need an excuse to eat my body weight in chocolate. It just always feel so happy and fresh, even if it is supposed to rain the entire weekend.

Seeing as I haven't done a lot this week I thought I'd share with you some things I've been loving if that's okay with you?

Eating&Drinking

Vanilla chai tea latte's. They smell like Christmas, they taste like heaven and they're caffeine free which is perfect for someone like me who suffers from the odd bought of anxiety. I've been loving them particularly on these cold rainy afternoons. I picked them up in a box of 8 sachets from Coles, the Tetley variety is my favourite. 

Watching
I realise I'm a little late to this band wagon but I'm addicted to Pretty Little Liars, or PLL to us hardcore fans. Jack and I, yes Jack as well, got through season one in a week and we're ready to get onto season two this evening. Please no spoilers. 

Reading

If you follow me on Goodreads you'll know that I'm still trying to make my way through 'The Power of One' by Bryce Courtenay. It's really good but it's quite heavy and I've just been a bit unmotivated to pick it up. However, I really want to get through it in the next few weeks so I can carry on with my reading resolution to read two books a month. 

Apping
I loved being able to sort of speak French through high school, or at least knowing enough to survive in France. However, since the two hour, three time weekly French lessons have gone from my life my French skills have depleted big time. However, thanks to Sanne of Books and Quills I discovered the app Duolingo and I love it. It's so easy to get to grips with and it's a really great way of either refreshing your brain or starting from scratch as it assesses your ability and suits the exercises to that. It's available free on the App Store.

So there's what I've been loving this week. Let me know if you like this format and let me know what you've been loving in the comments.

Until next time

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Jan Powers Farmer's Market | Discover Brisbane

A couple of weekends ago, in fact the first weekend we were in Brisbane, Jack and I decided to check out a farmers market. Farmers markets are something we quite enjoy going to in the UK and our local area offers quite a few throughout the year but we hadn't discovered any in Australia until this point. I did some Googling and was happy to find one held locally to us, in Newfarm, every Saturday morning. So of course we had to go and check it out. 

There was loads of great fresh produce on offer to try and buy from fruit, flowers, cakes and homewares it had everything you could want from a farmers markets. Jack and I were mostly interested in the food, being massive foodies, so we spend most of our time hanging around the brownie, bread and cheese stalls pinching free tasters - all delicious I might add. 

It's a great way to spend a Saturday morning in the city because it doesn't have to cost you a penny, or a cent in this case, unless you decide to buy something. It's great just to wander around looking at the stalls and indulging in the relaxed atmosphere. It's easy to forget you're only down the road from the CBD. 

The location was awesome too and if you want you can go into the powerhouse and have a look around. I would recommend rocking up early, as it does get busy and if you're driving you might struggle for a park. However, the city cat terminal is literally down the path from the market and there are bus stops near by. 

So why not hop on the ferry this Saturday, grab a coffee and a pastry from one of the coffee retailers at the market and spend your morning relishing in all the beautiful fresh food and home ware stalls this farmers market offers?

Have you tried out a farmers market in Australia? What other fun things would you recommend I do whilst I'm in Brisbane? Don't forget to let me know in the comments,

Until next time,

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A Brissy catch up | #TravelDiaries

So here we are with the first travel diaries. In case you missed my last post, this is a new little series that I'm going to do  during my at the end of every week as a little round up of what I've seen, done and experienced. I thought it would be a nice way for other's to get some ideas of things that are about in the area and also a good way for me to be able to look back at my travels. 

Jack and I have been in Brisbane a fair while now and whilst I haven't managed to secure any permanent work yet, as always, Jack has. So three days a week I sit in the apartment reading, writing, marathoning Pretty Little Liars and looking for a job and Jack goes to work. However, on the four days in between we've managed to squeeze in a few adventures and fun days out.

We're definitely lovers of nature and natural beauty rather than big bustling cities so we often try to get out of the city on the weekend. We took ourselves of to Somerset Dam earlier in the week. It was so peaceful and tranquil and also had some lunch from the cafe at one of the stops along the dam. It's definitely a great place to get out of the city as it's only a forty five minute drive. It doesn't even have to cost a penny because there's plenty of picnic benches around to enjoy a homemade picnic at. 

Midweek Jack decided he wanted to see the sea. It's craving both of us get every now and again. So Jack had a google and found Brighton beach. Well we couldn't exactly not go, could we? It wasn't the best day weather wise so the beach was a bit grey but it kinda felt like Brighton beach for real that way. We just enjoyed sitting by the sea and having a walk along the front. It was, again, a nice escape from the noise of the city but inexpensive and not as crowded as beaches such as Surfers Paradise.

Whilst on one of my Google hunts for things to do in Brisbane. I stumbled across the Jan Powers farmer's market which is held every Saturday at the Powerhouse in New Farm. Although it wasn't as big as the farmer's markets we're used to at home it was a really nice morning. I won't go too much into this as I have a whole blog post planned for it as I loved it so much.

We're living with friends of ours in Brisbane so it's always nice to get out and do things with them as well as 90% of the time it's just Jack and I. This past week we enjoyed a nice meal out at the Archive Beer Boutique in West End which was a great evening out accompanied by some awesome live music. We also got taken up to Mt Tambourine and the little village and waterfalls around it. It was a lovely day but again there's a whole blog post planned for this so more about that another time.

So that's it for the first #TravelDiaries. Let me know what you thought and if you like this idea? Have you got any ideas for places to go or things to do on a budget in Brisbane? If so let me know in the comments

Until next time,

A little life update

Photo credit

So, it's been a while. Sorry about that. After my week full of blog posts I was really hoping to get back into blogging on a more regular basis but as always life threw a bit of a curve ball. 

Due to the lack of work in Yamba we decided we'd head to Brisbane to try and get work and earn the money required to see some more of the things we want to see. We weren't sure about it at first because neither of us are really city people and we're both of the opinion that we could work in a city pretty much anywhere in the world and they're all really, pretty much the same once you've done all the little touristy things there are too. 

However, we realised it would be a different experience to the one we've had so far out here and it would be as close to real life as we could get. Proper jobs, paying rent etc, etc. So we figured why not give it a go. It was also our best chance for earning good money relatively close to where we already where. 

So yes, I'm writing this to you from Brisbane with the sound of city traffic rushing past my third floor apartment bedroom window. We're living with friends of ours that live, work and study here full time and I think it's working out really well so far. 

However, this doesn't explain why there was a lack of blog posts. Well when we arrived Connor and Laura had no wifi set up in the apartment. Of course I had 3G on my phone but I was saving that for looking for the much needed job that still hasn't arrived as of yet, but soon fingers crossed. So with no wifi I was unable to get on my laptop to get some new blog posts down on any sort of regular basis so I made the executive decision to leave blog posts alone until I could write them properly on my laptop with decent photos and be relatively regular about it. So that's that I hope you can forgive me.

On the relatively regular note however, there is another update point to make. I say relatively because I don't want to make promises to so many blog posts a week on certain days. In a recent blog post I mentioned how blogging for me is a hobby and is for fun and I don't want to take away from that by forcing myself to write something purely because I've said I'd post something on that day. I've done this in the past and can sometimes lead to poor, un-planned, disorganised blog posts. Therefore, all though posts will hopefully be relatively regular, there's no schedule and no promises so that if I don't have something to write you don't end up reading something rubbish. I want all posts to be posts I'm proud to put forward into the interwebs. 

And that's that. A little update on where I am, what I'm up to and all about relatively regular posts. 

I hope you're all well. And remember you can tweet at me, like the page on facebook or comment below to let me know what posts you like most and what you'd like to see more of on Lemon Pea lifestyle. 

So, until next time

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In the outback

In the five months I've been in Australia I've seen a lot of Queensland and most of that has been outback Queensland. When I left the UK I didn't think we’d be spending too much time away from the coast, that’s what everyone pictures when they picture Australia right? But being out in the outback for roughly four of my five months has been the best Australian experience I could have had. 

Jack and I quickly realised, after my arrival, that we wanted to stay in the country for longer than we’d planned and to do that Jack would need to get himself a second year visa. To get this elusive entity the Australia government requires you to do three months work within certain industries within Australia, one of those is rural industries. Luckily for me and Jack we fell into rural work quickly and haven’t really left it alone yet, save a week or so on the coast. 

Back in May we put an advert on Gumtree essentially selling ourselves as ‘young enthusiastic backpackers seeking rural work’. Yes those are the exact words we used to grab potential employers. We weren’t really expecting a response as there are thousands of ‘young enthusiastic backpackers seeking rural work’ out here for the exact reason we were. To our surprise we got an e-mail from a man called Steve offering us three weeks of work in return for board and wages. Three weeks was a good start and would give us some cash to get us going. So off we trundled to a little village called Toobeah in south Queensland not far from Goondiwindi (you should find that on a map a bit easier if you’re interested).

We spent three weeks in Toobeah on Steve and Yo’s farm, Alamagordo. We had the best time, we got on really well with Steve and Yo and were so grateful for the experience they gave us. To top it all of they found us our next batch of work, north west of them, on a friends farm in Augathella. So after three weeks of fencing, general farm maintenance, stair building, veranda renovating and a bit of cattle work, oh and tractor driving not forgetting un-dioreah-ing a horses bum, we left Steve and Yo to head north. 

We’d heard rumours that the more west and more north you go the more wild it all gets, so I was little nervous heading north west (how many times will I get that baby’s name in this post I wonder?). Driving to Augathella the roads got dustier, the land more barren and greenery more sparse. We were in outback Australia and there was no going back.

After I got over my initial Wolf Creek-esque fears, we had an amazing time. We spent three months at Newcome with Robin and Bash (Ian, everyone’s got a nickname out here) and we did so many things we’d never have got the opportunity to do otherwise. We mustered hundreds of cattle, went through two lots of weeners (calves that have been taken of their mum and are being trained to go through the yards) learned to weld, drove tractors, graders, quad-bikes and had over all, a generally great experience and again met some lovely people. 

We headed back to Steve and Yo’s after three months, yes three months, out in Augathella at Newcome. We did some house sitting for Steve and Yo for a week before heading just twenty minutes down the road, a very short trip compared to all other trips we’ve done, to work for Steve’s cousin and his wife, Ian and Rae on their farm, Kondar. 

Again we were so lucky with the people we were working for. They were so lovely and kind and despite the fact they were paying us  and we were doing jobs for them we didn’t really feel like we working at any point. We were knackered at the end of the day but the days are so fun and relaxed and easy going that a days work isn’t a struggle. I got to do a bit of horse riding at Kondar, we looked after a potty calf christened Lucky and we got to watch some camp drafting as well as going along to a couple of social events with Ian and Rae alongside the work obviously. 

We’ve been so lucky with our outback experience so far and all the people we’ve worked for have been kind, generous and so easy to get on with and we’re keeping in touch with all of them which is so nice for us. From our point of view, as backpackers, we probably wouldn’t have come out to any of these places unless it was a requirement for our second year visa and do and see all the things we’ve seen and done so we both think it’s a great idea as it gives us a chance to do those things we wouldn’t otherwise. I know the people we’ve worked for love the idea too as it can be difficult for them to get the people in to do some of the jobs that us backpackers do so it’s a two way thing.

Obviously not everyone out there is as lovely, kind and normal as the people we were lucky enough to work for so it’s important to be careful when you’re going out to the outback as it’s unlikely you’ll have phone signal out there. If you find work from a site like Gumtree, try and check the people out first if you can. Most people are on Facebook now a days so it doesn’t hurt to take a look, but don’t panic if you can’t find them just make sure you let people know where you’re going and ask your employers if you can give someone their details for contact purposes. Also be sure to give your employer a next of kin just in case something goes wrong. We’re lucky that there’s two of us and we have a vehicle. I’m really not sure if I’d have done these things on my own without a car but that’s just me. 

Oh, and don’t watch Wolf Creek before you go out there.