Aussielicious

I’ve decided that I’m officially way too old to stay in Hostels now. There were people way older than me staying there, but I paid a ridiculous amount of money to get a private room but still had to walk down stairs, across the courtyard and around the corner to go to the shower and bathroom. Not good.

Swimming in all those beautiful waterholes was just torture. I really wanted to strip off and swim nude but didn’t think it would go down too well with the others. Oh well. I did visit Darwin’s nude beach twice but it’s a massive beach and hardly has anyone on it. Sadly it almost exclusively lived up to the cliché of nude beaches being the domain of old guys.

Today once I got home I got under my first really good shower and did my grooming etc that had been neglected while away.

Run, don’t walk, down to your travel agency and book a trip through the top end of Australia!

After some initial hiccups like my tour being cancelled, I’ve had the most amazing time up exploring the Northern Territory. I arrived in Darwin on Saturday afternoon last weekend and while I didn’t know what to expect of Darwin I have to say it’s not my cup of tea. Very much developing a niche as a backpacker party town. I rang the tour operators late Saturday to reconfirm my tour only for them to tell me it had been cancelled because there weren’t enough people. They put me on to another slightly different tour that left the day after the initial one. Thankfully I had room at the other end of my trip to fit the different schedule in.

Our tour guide was the most amazing guy. He was only 24 but has an incredible passion for the area, plants, animals and the culture of the traditional owners. Rather than just churning out the same old spiel he filled you with the desire to know more and to respect everything about the area. He really made it more special for most of us.

Some of the sights were just brilliant. I nearly passed out from dehydration on day two, which was a bit embarrassing given that I was one of the fittest there. I think I went a bit hard on the first walk, a steep climb to some pools at the top of the beautiful Twin Falls in Kakadu. After two more walks that day I felt like I was going to pass out and throw up. It was around 35 degrees every day and very dry. I’d actually even drunk 4 litres of water that day. I think it was just the change from cool sydney and sitting in an office.

My favourite location was Maguk or Barramundi Falls. We climbed to the pools above the main falls and gorge and had the place to ourselves for about an hour swimming in the crystal clear deep pools exploring mini waterfalls and little swim through tunnels. Absolutely mind blowingly beautiful. I’ll post more photos over the next couple of days.

After weeks and weeks of blabbering about my holiday, trying to get friends to come along, wistfully dreaming of feeling the sun on my skin the day has come for me to fly to Darwin. I’m packed and it’s probably the lightest I’ve packed for am 8 night trip in my life. I’ll be out in Kakadu National Park for four nights and hiking and swimming in waterholes etc so travelling light is the key.

Winter in Sydney has been very mild this year and not really anything to complain about but if I go too long without real warmth I get edgy. When I booked my flights a couple of months ago I posted on facebook that I’d just bought them and a couple of people I know vaguely asked why on earth I’d fly to Darwin. It’s a mentality I’ve never understood. I know Darwin isn’t thought of as a cultural hub but why WOULDN’T I want to see somewhere new and different other than the oxford street strip which is dirty, tired and unsafe these days? I’m off to explore one of the most rugged parts of the oldest continent. Red earth, wide blue skies, cooling waterholes, beautiful wild birds and animals, the original residents of this country. It’s all waiting for me up there to see and enjoy.

I probably won’t be posting even when I’m back in Darwin on Thursday night, unless I find an internet cafe and write something about what I’ve seen but I won’t be posting pictures until I’m back in Sydney. Have a great week everyone, I’m off to recharge my solar panels!

It’s only four more sleeps now until I fly out for Darwin and Kakadu and I seriously can’t wait. It’s always exciting getting on a plane and going somewhere new and different. I’m expecting Darwin to be unlike any city I’ve ever spent any time in and Kakadu will be ruggedly stunning. Fingers crossed there are some cool and interesting people to chat to and meet on the tour.

My flat mate’s parents are down for the weekend from a couple of hours away so it works out well that A can sleep in my bed and his parents can sleep in his while they are here for the night. I even promise to change the sheets.

It’s only ten days now until I fly to Darwin for my tour of Kakadu. I can’t bloody wait. Work is starting to settle down which is good because I was worried it was going to be crazy right up until I went on holiday then I’d crash with some kind of cold or flu or something as soon as I landed up there. This way I might have a bit of a chilled week next week beforehand.

I’m dying to get some sunshine and relax and get out of the city. I love my lifestyle in Sydney but it’s always good to get a taste of something different and a change of pace. Bring it on I say.

In 25 days I take off for Darwin to go on my tour of Kakadu and I can’t wait. Work has been full on for a few months now and it’s not really showing any signs of slowing down soon. Combine that with the stress of moving house, which I’d forgotton just how intense it is, and you have one very tired and grumpy blogger on your hands tonight.

So far this year I’ve only had two days off work apart from weekends and public holidays. That’s no great achievement I know. A lot of people work a lot more stressful jobs than me but I’m really feeling like I need a break. Being the middle of winter I’m also sorely depleted in my Vitamin D reserves. I need to get some sunshine time in and soon! Not only do I feel healthier and sexier with a tan (I know, I know, it’s bad for you) but I think I’m solar powered. I’m a much happier person when I’ve been out in the sunshine soaking it up. By default, being in the sunshine also means I’m not in the office which can’t hurt the cause at all…

I don’t think I’m going to get any skinnydipping opportunities on the tour but I’m dreaming of swimming in beautiful waterholes framed by red rock walls as ancient as our land gets with a blazing blue sky overhead and the call of wild birds on the breeze. 25 sleeps and counting.

I’ve still got nearly two months before I go up to the Northern Territory for a break, but I can’t wait. Given all the drama here after the last couple of days, you would have thought we had enough, but last night we had even more. I can’t go into it as it’s a very personal issue for one of my flatmates but it’s serious.

I don’t think I’m going to get to skinnydip or hang out nude by the campfire on my holiday but I can’t wait all the same. Getting out of the city, a LONG way out of the city and seeing more stars than I ever have, breath clean air and see some beautiful wilderness.

I’ve booked myself a week off work in a couple of months and am taking myself off to Kakadu in the Northern Territory for a 5 day camping and 4wd tour. I can’t wait to go and explore that area. It’s been on my list for ages. I’ll be staying in Darwin for at least a day either side of the tour. Are there are any readers from up that way or experienced visitors to the area who can recommend anywhere to stay?

I’m not particularly fussy but some advice would be good. Sadly it doesn’t look like there are any nudist resorts up there close to Darwin. There is “Top End Naturist Retreat” but that is 70km out of town sadly which, without a car will be too far.

This is about as fast as I think I’ll ever put together an episode of Aussielicious TV, but I didn’t take a lot of footage, so you get it tonight. That and the longer I put off going to bed, the longer I can prolong still being on holiday.

In this episode you see my friend Russ passed out on the lounge the first afternoon before I went to the wedding, me making a very un-glamorous naked entrance into the tea tree lake at Tyagrah and a little bit of me looking a bit sad in the car on the way to the airport to drive home.

Aussielicious TV – Episode 4 – Byron Bay from Brenton Parry on Vimeo.

I’ve just arrived back in Sydney after four blissful days in Byron. I haven’t seen a better collection of hot men in a long time. There is a theory forming in my mind that people on holidays are hotter, probably because they are tanned, wearing less and are incredibly relaxed. The other alternative is that they just seem hotter because they are fresh meat to fellow tourists.

My gym buddy’s wedding was beautiful, his bride stunning and the speaches very tearful. I didn’t have any silly emotional moments. There was one whimsical moment where I thought it would be nice to be able to do this one day but not in a depressed and melancholy way.

We had a beautiful day on King’s beach enjoying the sunshine, sadly I was the only nude one out of my friends and I. The next day we headed to Tyagra lakes but unfortunately, possibly because of higher water levels, there was no mud to be “mudded”. Such a shame, I’d been looking forward to that for a while.

From there we spent the rest of the day at Tyagra beach. After a couple of hours there, my friends all decided to join me in my nudity which was a very pleasant surprise. Only one of them has joined me being nude on the beach before. They all commented at how surprised they were at how relaxed they were about it after while. Well, DUH I told them. THAT’S why I do it!!

This week at work, while not stressful has been long and rather busy, but it’s now over and early tomorrow morning three of us are boarding a plane to meet two others in Byron Bay for four days of relaxation, and a wedding for me.

Weddings can be an emotional experience for me because as yet, I’m not allowed to have one, have no one to have one with but still make me smile and warm inside because you see two people so full of hope and love and expectation.

Another friend is visiting from the Gold Coast for a day and a night and will probably join us at the beach. He’s as prone to stripping off his clothes as I am so that will be good. There are going to be three days with bugger all on the agenda apart from relaxing. I won’t be online until I get home on Tuesday night. So enjoy the break from my ramblings. Go bond with family and friends, masturbate, read a book, whatever it is you feel like doing.

My annual holiday with my family and family friends is always great but I’m glad it’s over. There were 22 of us at our most this year and six of them ranged from 6 years old to 1 year old. To say it was exhausting would be an understatement. My niece and nephew were saints compared to a couple of them but my poor little niece was sick yesterday and managed to throw up 6 times throughout the day. She kept count. One of those times was when I’d just finished taking her for a swim.

I’m glad to be sleeping in my own bed. I’m glad to not have to share the room with my nephew and I’m glad to be able to just have some quiet time. It was fantastic to see everyone though. I’ll resume regular posting tomorrow!

In two and a half weeks I’m heading to Byron Bay for my straight gym-buddy’s wedding which will be a lot of fun. Some friends are coming up with me and while I’m there I intend on heading to the tea tree lakes for a good mudding. Two friends that are coming up witnessed a mudding last time they were up there. I wrote about their description here.

Who knows, it might even end up as an episode of Aussielicious TV.

A friend of mine is really keen to go on a cruise with his partner for his 40th. Personally a cruise is one of the last things I’d like to do for a holiday, right down the list with visiting a war-torn country. They are talking about a few options, including a gay cruise. That is holiday hell for me. Take the gay scene, lock it on a boat and tell me I can’t get off for a week or more. Awful but at least I guess I could get a nice tan and count the waves?

These photos however, represent something totally different. The email they came with said it was an all-male sailing trip around the Mediterranean I think. A bunch of good mates, eating beautiful fresh seafood and fruits, drinking nice wines and icy cold beer and going wherever we pleased and skinnydipping in blue waters. Perfection.

Halloween just isn’t a big deal here in Australia. Trick or treating isn’t something that people get ready for and expect to have kids knocking on their door wanting sweets. The idea of dressing up is always something I like, for a party or whatever excuse.

What are you guys and girls dressing up as this year?