Hanging out with Brian

On Saturday the 24th I flew from Brisbane to Sydney where I met up with my brother Brian. Brian is studying abroad in Wollogong, a city an hour or so south of Sydney. Sydney was a great place to start our time together and we had an enjoyable day exploring the city. We started out by checking out the Sydney Opera House and taking some photos. From there we walked along the harbor and found ourselves in "The Rocks" part of town where we had an awesome lunch at "Pancakes on the Rocks". Contrary to the name, neither of us had pancakes, but we did enjoy the best Greek salad I've had in a long time and some really yummy nachos. After lunch we walked around the Saturday craft market where Brian found some souvenirs and then went to the art museum to take in some contemporary art.
All of the sight seeing wore us out, so we went back to the hostel for a quick nap before getting dressed up for the Opera House. We had tickets for an actual Opera, and we were excited. I had never seen an opera before, and what better place to try one out than the Sydney Opera House. The opera was entitled Ruslaka, and was performed in Czech. I was concerned, because from our seats you couldn't see the subtitles... but we didn't have any problems because it turns out that the first 2 acts of the opera Ruslaka are exactly the same as my favorite Disney story... The Little Mermaid! And even more to our good fortune, after the first act a man and his two little kids came up to us and offered us his closer, much better tickets. He needed to take the kids home because they were tired and he didn't want the tickets to go to waste. So, Brian and I moved on up. It was good without the subtitles, but once I really knew what was going on, it was even better.

Then next day we took an early train back to Wollogong, and hung out around Brian's dorm. It rained all day, so it was a good day to take a long nap and cuddle up and read a book. I have been going strong for 2 1/2 months now.. it was nice to relax a bit.

On Monday I pretended to be a college student again as I went to class with Brian. I learned some stuff about politics and culture and got to check out the campus first hand. It's no Madison, but it is in Australia, so I guess it makes up for it. After class, Brian and I went into the City of Wollogong and explored the coast a bit.

Tuesday, while Brian was at class, I had my first extended time of being alone in the past 2 1/2 months. It was really nice to just hang out with me. I went for a run, hung out at the beach, did laundry and caught up on my travel journal. It was so nice. That evening we went to the beach and I watched Brian surf for a bit before it got too dark.

Wednesday, after being on the beach for awhile, Brian and I decided to go hike Mt. Kiera, a big hill/bluff/mountain near campus. It was a nice hike, and the views from the top were really nice. You could really see a long way up the coast. It was just nice to be out and active with my brother. That night we went to his University movie night and saw the movie Dream Girls.

Today, Thursday, Brian and I took the train to another coastal town called Kiama. This town was more relaxed and cuter than Wollagong, and we had a relaxing day of walking around and reading at a cafe and library. The weather was a bit rainy which took away from the beauty of the town a bit, but we had a nice day anyways.

It was so good to hang out with Brian for awhile. He is having a great time in Australia as well. He has bought a surf board and is working on his surfing along with biking up and down the coast with his bike that he brought. He is making a bunch of friends and learning a lot as well.

Tomorrow morning I am taking off early and flying from Sydney to Johannesburg South Africa. That will begin my month of African adventure. Wish me luck!

Australia Zoo

The last day of Pacific Challenge, our group went to the Australia Zoo. It was there that I accomplished one of my goals for the trip… to get over my phobia of snakes. I have been terrified of snakes for as long as I can remember. Even seeing them on TV gave me the gitters.


Well, today was the day that put an end to that. We went to the Australia Zoo, home of the Crocodile hunter and the worlds most deadly snakes. We started off the day nice and easy by working our way through the Aviary and looking at the Wombats (which by the way are the closest living relatives to the Koala Bear.) We then walked through the deadliest snakes exhibit, and I did pretty well keeping calm.

After feeding the elephants for a bit, we made our way to the main show of the day. They had crocodiles, snakes and birds in the show and it was entertaining. At the beginning of the show, the host was warming up the crowd by having them do animal impressions. He had one side to monkey impressions, and the person with the best impression got a free photo. Now, I knew I wanted a free photo, so when he told our side to make an animal impression, I did the most obnoxious, funny impression of a large bird that I could think of . Needless to say, I won. But I did have to repeat the dance while they were filming me on the big screen.

With that free photo I made my way over to where they took photos with the snakes. Tami and I sat down and just a few seconds later they placed a gigantic python around our necks. I did so well! I didn’t scream, cry or hyperventilate like I normally do when I see snakes. And I have a free photo to prove it.

The rest of the day was more low key for me. I got to hold and pet a Koala bear which was absolutely adorable, feed the kangaroos and see a Tasmanian Devil and a lot of Crocodiles.

Today I am in Brisbane Australia staying with my friend Aimee who was on the Pacific Challenge trip with me. We are staying at a really nice hotel that her mom had gotten for her as a treat. I have a couple days here to relax and get reorganized before I take off to meet Brian in Sydney on the 24th.

Beach Time

From Byron Bay we moved north to Harvey Bay where we spend the night before taking a ferry over to Fraser Island. Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island. We rented four wheel drive vehicles to explore the island and its wonders. One of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen we discovered on the island. Lake McKenzie is a freshwater lake on the island. The water was so clear and blue that it was amazing, and the bottom was very soft sand. We spent a good part of the morning there, splashing around and having a good time. From there we went and set up our campsite and took a snooze. That afternoon we walked about an hour to another lake. This lake wasn’t nearly as beautiful, but was surrounded by giant sand dunes. I took that opportunity to roll down the dunes like a little kid until I got to the water. It was so much fun! That night camping we heard Dingos, which are like wild dogs outside of our tent.

The next day, Wednesday March 14th , we spent a lot of time exploring the island with the 4WD and ended up back at the beautiful lake to enjoy some more fun in the water. We caught the ferry back to the mainland and camped there for the night.

Thursday we enjoyed a 6 hour bus ride to our next hostel in Yapoon where we spent the night and got ready for our next couple of days on Great Keppel Island.

We woke up early Friday morning and got on the ferry to Great Keppel Island. When we arrived we were greeted by beautiful weather (about 85-90, sunny with a slight breeze), clear blue water, white sand beaches and a beach house where we would be spending the next couple of days. We were all very happy. The first thing that Tami and I did was to put on the swimming suits and take advantage of the beautiful beach. After a couple hours of swimming, we went on our first SCUBA dive in the Great Barrier Reef. It was really cool. We were able to see a lot of rays and tropical fish. We didn’t see any sea turtles though, so I was a little bit disappointed. I think that I have gotten spoiled from my previous diving. After diving it was back to the beach to enjoy some more of the beautiful sun and work on our tans.

Saturday was a great day as well, I started out the morning with another SCUBA dive in the Great Barrier Reef. It was beautiful, but a lot similar to the dive that I did the day before with a lot of rays and tropical fish. Totally cool. After diving I enjoyed the swimming and beach some more… only to break for a short shopping spree and lunch. It was so nice to be able to just relax and hang out for a bit since we had been going non-stop for such a long time. After lunch I did some sea shell collecting along the shore and then it was back to the beach. Around sunset I took a walk around part of the island to fully enjoy the beauty of the island sunset. It was gorgeous.

Sunday was our last day on the island and our going away party for our group. We spent a lot of the day organizing our present for our leaders and laying on the beach catching some rays. When afternoon rolled around, we decided it was time for the party to begin and had some daiquiris on the beach. Around sunset out whole group went down to the beach and we took group photos at sunset which turned out amazing. We gave out awards to everyone in the group and I won the “Most Avid Sir Mix A lot Fan” for my beloved love of the song “Baby got back”. I was excited. We drank champagne and made our way back to the beach house where we exchanged homemade gifts and hung out the rest of the night. It was so much fun. I have really gotten to love my group very much. I have had so much fun with them over the past couple of months that it is really sad to be leaving them all.

Long Awaited Photos

Exploring Australia

Since we left Sydney we have been exploring the Australian coast and having a great time.

We left Sydney and drove to the Blue Mountains, which after the mountains in New Zealand weren't really what I would call mountains, but I think I have officially been spoiled. While there we went canyoning in the canyons there. What canyoning is walking through the canyons formed by rivers flowing down the mountains and jumping off rock cliffs into pools of water and sliding down small waterfalls into pools of water below. It was a lot of fun... but I was a little scared because this was my first activity where the chances of seeing a snake was high. It was fine though, no snakes were spotted.

After the Blue Mountains we drove into the Outback a bit and camped in the "bush". When we woke up in the morning we saw Kangaroos right outside of our tent! It was crazy. Since we were in a National Park, these Kangaroos were accustomed to seeing people and they would come right up to you. It was the coolest thing. We also saw Emus running across the fields and huge lizards in the trees. (Thankfully, no snakes.)

From the Outback we traveled north to Cascade, a tiny town located in the Australian rain forest. (Who knew that Australia had rain forest?) We went on a "bush walk" throughout the rain forest and saw some crazy birds, huge termite mounds, and a 1,200 yr old tree. It was so interesting to compare the different plant and animal life from what we saw in New Zealand and what I know from back home. That night we had a feast of Australian "bush dinner" where we were able to eat crocodile, kangaroo, emu, and a bunch of natural berries from the forest. It was really good- the kangaroo taste like a spicier version of venison.

From the rain forest we headed back to the coast, where we are now in Byron Bay. Here we are learning to surf (I'm now officially a surfer chick) and do some scuba diving. Surfing was so much fun, although a lot harder than I had expected. We got a professional lesson, and I was able to get up about 3 or 4 times which was cool, but I definitely need some practice. Today I did 2 scuba dives and saw huge sea turtles, sting rays and leopard sharks along with many other tropical fish. It was so cool to be next to that big of animals in the water. (Seriously, the sea turtles were as big as me!)

Well, that's about it for now. Photos to come.

Welcome to Sydney!

We flew into Sydney on Wednesday and were picked up at the airport by a fleet of Harley Davidson Motorcycles! We put on our leather jackets and helmets, hopped on the back of the bike and were off for an official first tour of Sydney. Now, to be honest, I really don’t like motorcycles… but it was amazing!!! We went all over the city- through kings cross, over Harbor Bridge and past the Sydney Opera house on our way to the place where we would be staying for the next couple of days. It was evening time, so while we were on the bikes, with the wind in our face, we could look over the city and watch the sun setting. It was amazing!When we arrive at where we would be staying, I was amazed. We are in very nice beach front apartments on Manly Beach… supposedly the best beach in Sydney. The apartment is a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom with a nice kitchen, laundry, large living/dining room and a beautiful porch. We are so close to the ocean you can practically feel when the waves crash! Quite a change from our 8 bed hostels.

Thursday was mainly spent on the beach. The beach is gorgeous. The water was pretty warm, but the waves were big… great for surfing. The beach was crawling with surfers, and it was very entertaining to watch them. The weather was perfect, about 85 with a slight breeze. It was so nice to just lay out and relax for a bit.. Once we thought we were starting to burn, we went and did a bit of window shopping along the beachfront stores. I didn’t find anything too special… but I did find a slushy which made my day J (As if it wasn’t good enough already). That night we went and explored the bar scene a bit, and had a good time dancing, but I was exhausted from the sun so called it a night by about 1:00.

Friday we had a free day to explore Sydney. Tami and I woke up early and caught a 8:30 ferry to Sydney. The ferry ride was really nice. As we came around the harbor we had a wonderful view of the city line and the Sydney opera house. We walked around the harbor for a bit, exploring little sections of the city like the Rocks, but we soon realized that this is not what we wanted to be doing. So, we hopped on a bus and took it across the city to Bondi Beach, another gorgeous beach. We were much happier there. We did some beachside shopping (where I found a beach towel), a little bit of ice cream eating (which makes everything better) and then found ourselves a nice spot on the beach where we spent most of the afternoon soaking in the sun, waves and goodness. We had a nice dinner of chicken pesto pasta at a sea side café and then worked our way back across town for our symphony at the Sydney Opera house. Now, we hadn’t exactly worked out the public transportation yet, and the bus was taking forever to get there because of all the traffic, so we decided to get off and take the subway instead… it would be faster. Well, we ended up getting off and the wrong stop, and then frantically running almost a mile in our dresses with our back packs on our back and our towels in our hands through the crowded streets in order to make the symphony on time. When we arrived we were dripping sweat… but we made it on time! The symphony was really cool to watch, and it was just really neat to be in the opera house. After the symphony we took the ferry ride back to Manly, and the city was just lit up. It was beautiful. What a great day!