Leaving Adrenaline Heaven

We woke early one again to catch a 7:15 bus to the Milford Sound!  This is supposed to be one of the greatest spectacles on the trip, but it was sub par in my opinion.  The bus ride takes about 4 hours, which is a little long, but the real problem is the stops.  First there is two hours of driving, then for the next hour there are like 20 stops, occuring 150 meters down the road from each other, really just ridiculous.  The landscape however was fairly magnificent.  We had arrived during the season when these really pretty purple and pink flowers are everywhere (which are actually weeds because they are not indigenous and threaten native plant life, but pretty none the less).

We eventually arrived to the sound (which is really a fiord not a sound) where we boarded our cruise ship.  The cruise was a little less than two hours long, with magnificent views up mountains full of trees surrounded by water.  There are some pretty cool waterfalls too, and we saw some seals or sealions or something (they were small like otters, but I think they were seals, definitely not otters).  Anyway, the cruise came to a close and then we had a grueling 4 hours back.  Not the best day we've had, but still something special like nowhere else I've ever seen.  I guess we are just getting a little spoiled by all the magnificent beauty here.  We returned and hit the sack to prepare our minds for the day ahead of us... bungy day!

We signed up for what is called the "Thrillogy." This includes:

The Bridge: the first bungy jump ever 

The Nevis: currently the second highest jump at 134 meters, and

The Ledge: which allows you to jump in any fashion you wish with a view 400 meters above Queenstown.

We arrived and awaited the bus picking us up at 9.  It transported us to "The Bridge" and we signed in and walked across the bridge.  There were already a lot of people there and there is a big crowd watching from a side platform.  Here you have an option to "take a dunk," which means you alter your jump in order to dip down into the river 43 meters below... I took this option.

So dressed in only my speedo I took to the air and it was.... awesome!!  I didn't really know what to think and it only lasted a few seconds then splash!  I bounced back up, adrenaline filled and completely disoriented.  Bungy jumping is the coolest thing ever invented.  No stress on the stomach, just falling a far distance NOT followed by death and dismemberment.  Cool Beans.  Derek was a little nervous, but did it without the dunk and said it got his stomach a little, but he still enjoyed it.

We gathered our things and got back on the bus to "The Nevis."  "The Nevis" is more secluded.  You have to take a private dirt road up a mountain to it and there at the top, strung between two mountains is a small metal box where people jump to live.  We harnessed up and boarded the transport car to the box.  They suited us up and we waited for the first guy to go.  AAAHHHHHH for 8.5 seconds and then back up proclaiming "best thing ever!!!!"  The next guy went, not as much sound, but crazy to watch still.  The "pod" has a partial glass bottom where you can watch the others and see what awaits you.  Then it was my turn...

I sat in the chair as they attached me to the pod and safetied me up.  I walked close to the edge.  I shuffled my toes to the end.  I looked down.  It was far.  Then I looked out, 5-4-3-2-1............... and I flew.  Seriously the most liberating, exciting feeling I've ever had.  I put my hands down to my sides because it helps you gain extra speed and I could feel my face flapping.  It is the single most incredible extreme thing I've ever done.  Understand the coolness and funness yet?

Then it was Derek's turn.  And he was a little nerve racked to say the least.  It took him a second to step over into the chair to get done up, but they talked him into it.  You could see him shaking a little, but he got up a walked toward the edge... and stopped.  They urged him on, but he didn't budge.  He went back and sat in the chair as they unhooked him.  We all cheered for him but he wasn't feeling so froggy.  They talked to him for another 5 minutes as he tried to close his hands, which had seemed to be frozen flat.  He couldn't move them.  But we cheered, and they did him up again, and he walked once again to the edge....5.....4.....3.....2.......1........................................

And he flew!!!!!  I thought he was going to hate it until I heard the echos of happiness over the mountain side.  He though it was awesome!  I was really proud of him, he was totally freaking out, but he still went for it, and LOVED it!  Then didn't stop talking about it.... which was cool because none of us and no one else could stop talking about it either.  Great time and we still had one more to go!

We hopped on the bus back to Queenstown, got another "Fergburger" and headed up the gondola to "The Ledge."  We were big shots, high and mighty, we weren't scared of this measly 43 meter plumit situated hanging 400 meters above the city.... until we got to the edge.  It's a little more than intense.  Derek went first this time and for pictures sake decided to pretend to read a book as he jumped.... but his instincts got the best of him and instead he ended up in the same flying squirrel pose screaming all the way down.  I decided to go for a gainer (running forward, jump off and do a backflip).

The guy told me about how I should hold the rope to do such a thing and that I had to throw it out of the way before it ended or it was going to come up and smash my face.  There really was not a lot of room to run, so I ran as much as I could, jump flipped, flattened myself, and then felt the rope start to pull as it was right in front of my face... I whisked it away just in time with a little barrel roll action to save my face from destruction.  Phew!  It caught and I will disperse them and put them up here once I get to a place with more internet time and such.  

Then to have a little less risky fun we did this street luge thing... along with all the 10 year olds in Queenstown.  It was actually pretty sweet.  We boarded the gondola down and got into the car to continue our quest for Christchurch!  Drove about halfway, crashing for the night and finishing to return the car in the morning.  The scenery is once again beautiful.  We have crossed the mountains where the rain reaches and are now in an area of really beautiful plains and valleys with the mountains still in direct site.  It is really beautiful here, I know when I drive back to school I will appreciate it more.

Queenstown is for lovers

We departed the Franz Josef glacier and set our course for the EXTREME capital of New Zealand, Queenstown. The drive was approximately 6 hours, but the stunning scenery really made it whisk by in a hurry. It is really beautiful out here. Mountains, lakes, rivers, trees, just awesome. We made it to about an hour outside Queenstown and stopped in a place called Wanaka for lunch. We saw a place that said Uncle Mike's BBQ with a special on sandwiches, so we decided to check it out. Great decision! The guy was from Kansas City, and his BBQ was top notch. Now I really can't wait to get back for some Rudy's, Rosa's, Matt's El Rancho, Torchy's, aaaahhhhhh I don't know how I will last.

We ate and headed toward Queenstown stopping at the famous 'Puzzling World!!' It was super sweet. Derek wasn't really feeling it, but it was right up my alley. They have this giant maze with bridges and huts and it was crazy. It took me about 40 minutes to do it, lots of fun. Then there was a illusion room with holograms, a slanted room where everything seems to roll/fall/flow the wrong way, and finally the hall of faces! The hall of faces was crazy, it was a giant room with faces of lots of famous people that seemed to follow you wherever you went, really cool. We finished that and headed for our final destination.

Queenstown!

Queenstown is really really cool. It is a small town on a lake, very clean, doesn't seem too busy, but it is! The main street is lined with offices for every extreme thing you could ever think of: bungy jumping, sky diving, canyoning, canyon swinging, day hikes, extended hikes, mountain climbing, 4 wheel driving, stunt plane riding, it is crazy! Behind this street is a little shopping center with gift shops and restaurants, it is really a neat set up. We crashed for the night in anticipation of our 3:30 date with the skys to dive out of an airplane the next day...

We got up the next day, rented our camping gear for the 3-day Routeburn track (which we were starting the next day) and went to check in at our skydive only to find out the entire day was canceled due to wind. We didn't understand. The weather was gorgeous! But New Zealand is crazy, we bought food and supplies for the hike and when we stepped outside no more than 20 minutes later it was pouring rain and the skys were covered in dense clouds. We rescheduled our skydive for the following morning.

The new plan: Wake up at 6:45AM, Skydive at 7:20AM, return before 11:30 AM, catch a bus to the Routeburn at 12:00 PM, hike our 2 and a half hour first day, then get good sleep for our 8 hour hike the next day. Needless to say, it was a little crazy.

We got up and the weather was once again beautiful and the skydive was on! We arrived to the drop site, suited up and awaited instructions. These were the extent of the instructions: fall like a banana, not a pineapple. Derek was a little anxious, I didn't really know what to think, so I was just chillin'. The plane started up and Derek, two girls, the 4 instructors, and I all piled into this tiny tiny cabin space in the plane. We were literally sitting on our instructors laps with the next people sitting right up to our cramped legs. The the plane rose... and rose.... and rose to 12000 feet. It is really, REALLY high. The door opened and the two girls scooted off. The next thing I know I'm on the edge of the plane door, then I'm falling at terminal velocity, spinning, upside down toward the earth. IT WAS CRAZY!!!! Derek said they fell straight out, normal orientation, but my guy must have been some kind of skydive stuntman. After spinning and flipping we somehow righted ourselves falling belly buttons toward the ground. What a feeling! It is kind of like flying, it doesn't hurt your stomach or anything and the view was amazing! A snow capped mountainous backdrop with more mountains in the foreground, a giant lake and rolling hills. Truly magnificent! The chute deployed and we floated (though much much faster than I would call floating) down to the earth. We slid in and took a deep breath. Scratch that off the list of things to do.

We got back to the city in plenty of time to grab some lunch at this place called "Fergeburger" which has huge, awesomely awesome burgers and boarded our bus to the track. Derek was feeling a bit under the weather (we think from the anxiety of thinking of skydiving for the past few days) but he was still alright to go. We did the two hour hike with our enormous backpacks and reached the hut around 6 o'clock. I made us some freezedri roast chicken dinner and then we went to sleep.

We woke up in the morning and Derek had fallen farther under the weather. And the weather was freezing, snowing on part of the track and raining on the other parts of an 8 hour hike with an approximate 800 foot ascent. We decided his condition wouldn't be good for the conditions ahead and had the DOC warden change our bus plans. We went back to the original drop and headed back toward Queenstown.

It was a little disappointing as the Routeburn Track is supposed to be one of the best in the world. In just those first two hours it was absolutely gorgeous. We walked through dense forest across a few rivers and creeks. The rivers disappeared into snow capped mountains with waterfalls flowing out of them. The valley that opened up when we reached the hut was something special as well. It was along a river with a stretching plane behind it leading up to mountains full of trees with mountains behind those you could actually see the snow falling on. It was a good decision to go back though, no harm done. We took a nap and headed back for the bus at 12, returning to Queenstown for a day of rest at around 3.

Tomorrow we take a bus and cruise to the Milford Sound, which is supposed to be fabulous. Cheers!

Glacier Hiking

We awoke at 8:30AM this morning and took a leisurely walk down the street to get prepared for our glacier hike!  It was pretty neat.  First you go through an assembly line where they give you waterproof pants and jacket, boots, socks, crampons, hats, and gloves.  We boarded the bus and soon after set off on foot to the valley left by years of glacier retreat.  The glacier is HUGE!

Pretty much the Fraz Josef Glacier is a big block of ice mountain with mountains on both sides.  It was really cool and a fun day all around besides the cramps still left in my feet from the crampons.  The name fits perfectly.  The glacier looks like a blue coconut snowcone with cream, absolutely delicious!  You start at the bottom where it is mostly rock the glacier has displaced.  Then you make it to the ice where your guide cuts out stairs in the ice as you go with an ice axe and puts in a rope where it is really steep.  It's pretty crazy, but was a great time.  After 6 hours of ice hiking we were spent, the group got back to the bus and we spent the rest of the day in the sauna with a few beers.  Simply lovely. 

Tomorrow we head to Queenstown for the true adventure portion of our expedition.  Fun awaits on certain sore legs and adrenaline pumped bodies.  Shwang!  

New Zealand Bound!

So I know I haven't kept up with my weekly update rule and I'm sorry!  I'm trying, but here is a two week post.  We cleaned up our apartment to ready it for move out when we return to Sydney, tried to sub lease it (unsuccessfully), and then boarded our plane for Auckland!  They say it is good to spend 3 weeks to cover New Zealands hot spots at a leisurely pace, but our move out constraints have limited us to two, so we're busy!

We landed in Auckland at 11:30PM on the 8th, went straight to our hostel, crashed, awoke at 7:30AM the 9th and headed to pick up our rental car.  The hostel was a little odd.  The airport shuttle was beat up and had a different company logo on it and when we tried to get a taxi in the morning a guy came out from behind the desk and let us know he was our taxi... no ticker, no directional skills, but a few wrong streets and backtrackings later we made it to the car rental place.  We signed some sheets, got the keys to our fabulous mid 1990's Nissan Pulsar equipped with cobwebs, a few dents, but brand new tires and we were off!

Our first stop was about four hours away at a place called Wai-o-Tapu.  Right before arriving we made a quick halt at a ZORB farm where you can jump in a giant inflatable ball for $50 and roll down a hill... we opted to eat for another day rather than roll.  We arrived at Wai-o-tapu 2 hours before the park closed, which was not a minute too soon.  The walk around the park takes approximately an hour and thirty minutes, but we had to stop and photograph the place until they could have closed it.  It was magnificent.  It is a thermal area of pools of boiling mud, bright green lakes, steaming orange ponds, the craziest colored water you've ever seen.  The waters get there colors from the minerals dissolved in them and they are truely a sight to see.  I had now found the location of the picture on the cover of my New Zealand guide book.  Fantastic!  The park also has a geyser that goes off at 10:15AM every morning, but we had to be going on to our next adventure.

We drove down past Lake Taupo, which is absolutely gorgeous and arrive in Turangi.  A full day indeed.  We crashed right away and awoke at 5:15AM the next morning for our hike across the Tongariro Crossing.  Our bus pulled up at 6AM and I inquired about footwear and clothing choices.  The guy laughed his face off when I asked about wearing sandals and told us we'd better bundle up.  He told us we were the kind of jerks that the rescue teams we're sent up for.  He was the kind of jerk who told us he would pick us up when really it was another guy with a different bus that would leave us thinking we were stranded for 3 hours (later story though).  We stepped off the van and started our 6-8 hour hike over a still active volcano.  We must be the luckiest guys on earth because the weather was gorgeous.  It was a little nipply on the top where the wind whipped around us as we ate our peanut butter and jelly on bagel and apples for lunch, but we could see forever which apparently happens on a total of about 2 total weeks a year (the following day there was snow at the top).

It was truely a trek and our bums and legs did not let us forget for the next few days.  The tramp itself was awesome though.  It started as you would think the base of a mountain would be, then near the top there is a giant crater that is completely flatland that you walk across, it's like being on another planet.  After reaching the pinnacle the view is astounding on the other side.  A few bright blue/turquoise lakes dot a lower part of the top of the mountain and one really big blue lake a little in the distance.  Really just gorgeous like nothing I've ever seen.  After crossing the lakes and starting the descent it looks like rolling grass plains with hot spring running down them.  Off in the distance there are lakes and rolling hills across the landscape.  Then after a grueling 14 kms you step into a jungle out of nowhere, it is ridicuouls.  About 5 kms of jungle and we were finished!  We fell asleep at the pick-up point, which we reached two hours early, and waited for our driver who never came.  After an hour and a half past when he was supposed to arrive passed, we started asking other drivers and found out  that one (who had already been by a few times) was supposed to pick us up.  Grr.  Anyway, great day.  We picked up some groceries, made dinner, and headed to our next destination an hour up the road for our 3-Day Whanganui River Journey!

We awoke, ate, and jumped in the van headed for our river starting point.  It was a little overcast, but not anything terrible.  The starting point is down a long, very, very windy and narrow road past rolling green green green greeen greeeeeen hills with sheep all over them.  Along the way a tractor came driving down the other way, our driver moved over to the side for him... a little too far.  We got stuck in the ditch next to the road sandwiched into the mountainside (pictures will be up in a week or 2 when i get back).  The tractor obviously didn't see and so did not stop.  Luckily our driver knew the farmer who lived 10 minutes walk up the road.  Before we knew it a little squirly fellow in a silver mitsubishi pulled up and rescued us from certain doom!  He used his car to pull out the van, then we used the van to pull out the trailer with our canoes and once again we were rollin'!

We arrived at the river at 12ish and set into our canoes for a day of paddling.  The river was aaaawwweeeesssooommmmeee. And but awesome I mean it was truely something that inspired awe.  A low mist hung down and sprinkled us with showers every now and again as we gazed upon lucious rainforest at all sides.  I've never seen so many waterfalls.  Litterally every 100 meters there was one pouring down the mountainside into the river.  We arrived at our hut 5 and a half hours later, completely satisfied with our trip and only having been on it for one day!  The weather was disgusting all night and when we woke the next day, which was not too enthralling, but as we had learned earlier the New Zealand weather is not one to stick around for long.  We tried to wait out the weather because it was supposed to clear up in the PM, but at 11AM we decided it was time to get started.  We put our gear into the canoe, looked up and there was not a cloud in the sky.  Truely remarkable.  

We paddled for another 5 hour day, stopping at the next hut for relaxing, dinner, and sleep.  By this time we had met all the people who were travelling down the river on the same agenda as we were.  One guy was from Long Island so we told him we had family there (small world), a few germans, some frenchies, and two Israelis!  Wherever you go there always is someone jewish as we have learned from camp songs.  Very true indeed.  Unbeknowest (is that a word?) to us it was the second night of Chanukah already!  Our Israeli friends were obviously prepared for this and we lit a makeshift menorah with them and did the Chanukah blessings.  It was a very warm and friendly evening.

We repeated again another wake up, breakfast, and 5 hour paddling to our final destination where we boarded our van back to the initial departure point.  This time we made it on attempt one, no sticky ditch situations.  As soon as we returned we packed our car back up and drove 5 hours down to Wellington in preparation for our morning date to crossover to the South Island.

Today we awoke, crossed over, and drove 6 hours to a town called Greymouth.  Tomorrow we wake, drive 3 hours and head to the Glaciers.  Needless to say, it's been a little crazy, but never dull.  The scenery around here just awesome.  This could be the first time I've ever driven the speed limit on a road trip.  There is too much to see to want to push it any faster (mom I know you will be pleased to hear that).  Check in in the next couple days and I shall update again with more goodies!

Make a Scuba! (Part 2 of 2. Read part 1, below, first)

Read the post below this first, which leads into the rest of the scuba trip.... you can save this post for a later time too since I keep taking so long between posts and writing too much.

The time for the night dive came and I was exhausted. Derek had decided not to go and I decided not to go also. There was two other people who wanted to go so Nico said he would take them first, then if I wanted to go I could go when he got back, but I had to be ready in 25 mins. I decided to just chill and not go... so obviously I went. I got my suit and everything on and waited for him to return. I really wasn't worried at all, they give you a flashlight and junk and it didn't seem like a big deal. Then I got in the water... and it was dark. Like really dark. Like when you are laying in bed with the lights off and your face in the pillow with your eyes open. Pretty dark I'd say.

So we started off into the blackness with probably about 15-20 feet of visibility from our two flashlights. So we swam... and swam... and swam, and then Nico kept looking back every minute or two and I didn't know why. Either something was stalking us or we were off course, I didn't hope for either. Turned out we were off course. So we swam in blackness for about a 10 minute period that seemed like a 30 minutes period... then finally we came to the reef! I was pretty relieved to say the least. We swam along and it was pretty cool at night. I hadn't seen anything really cool earlier in the day, but this changed when we came to the den of a turtle. Trust me, much more exciting than it sounds. I thought turtles were synonymous with smallness... until I saw this turtle. I was HUGE! By HUGE I mean it was almost the size of my mother (in length, and obviously much much wider). I was astounded. Unfortunately our lights had awoken it, so Nico decided we should vacate quite rapidly.

We continued on, seeing a couple more turtles and cool things. After a bit he let go of me and let me go on my own, which was a little uncomfortable, but fine. I saw my first shark, not anything spectacular, but a little eerie even though reef sharks are known to be scared of people and never attack them. We returned and I shed my gear and headed up to hang out with the group for the rest of the night... a crazy, crazy night.

After a while most people went to bed except for the boat crew, me, one guy from our group, and a couple people from the other group that had been there a few days. We played king's cup (a drinking game) and to say the least people got a little silly and it got a little wild. Slowly people left the game for bed or other reasons until only the crew and about 3 others of us were still up. Some of the crew decided it scuba time so they strapped up and jumped in the water. Little did I know, it was really shark viewing time. And not only shark viewing time, but shark feeding time.

They tied the remains of a big fish they had caught earlier on a rope and dropped it in the water, scubaing near by with flashlights to watch the sharks go after it. Flipping Crazy!!!! I watched from safety on the boat. They slowly came up onto the boat sad because their flashlights were keeping the sharks from coming up to the bloody fish (this completely dropped my fear of the reef sharks). Not a minute after the last person lept onto the boat, the sharks came after the fish, which a guy was holding by a rope. That was a site to see. I was sure the guy was going overboard, but I guess that is one of the skills you pick up living on the boat. I don't think I could or ever want to pick up that skill.

I finally got to bed at 2:30AM and then awoke again at 5:30AM for our last day of diving. We had 3 dives, including one on our own without the instructor. It was good, very interesting and truly an amazing experience. The scuba diving has without a doubt been one of the peak moments of this trip and of my life thus far. It's a little expensive so I don't know how often I will be continuing it, but I now have a license how to continue it as I wish. It was really just fantastic.

We returned to the mainland and ordered a couple pizzas for an early night. The next day we took a 45 minute skyrail (gondola) through the nearby rainforest area to a city called Kuranda, which was a nice relaxing day with a few hikes. The trip back is by train, which was a very pleasant time. It wasn't the most exhilarating thing, and is definitely not a necessity when you go to Cairns, but it was a good way to pass the 24 hours period you have to wait to fly post-scuba diving. All in all, very successful.

Dad is here for another week, then we head south for a frantic romp around New Zealand for a few weeks, and then back home. Don't worry mom, we're being safe! Toodles.

Big Poppa Arrives and we make a Scuba! (Part 1 of 2)

Dad got into Sydney just fine and we got a little off on our sleep schedule. We had to go get him at the airport at 8AM, needless to say we were all sleep deprived by the mid-afternoon so we layed down for a little nap around 4. We awoke around 9-10PM and so went into a nocturnal spell, which was broken by our 4:15 AM wake up to fly to Cairns. We stayed up all day finally and were set back on track after an early sleep and an 8AM wake up for our first day of Scuba lessons. Or as our instructor Nico put it "go to make a scuba!"

We had two days of pool training and theory lectures, which weren't really that bad. Dad was the only old man around and it took him a little while to get into the groove. This was probably due to the fact that he's been around long enough to know you're not supposed to breathe underwater... the rest of us just went for it. I just decided to pretend I was a fish... a fish with a giant tank on my back, a hose in my mouth, and a plastic contraption to keep the water out of my eyes.

The course went by fairly easily and we boarded the boat in the morning to transfer us out the great barrier reef. The night before we left we went to a great barrier reef class thing to learn about the reef. They told us about good fish, bad fish, 1 fish, 2 fish, red fish, blue fish, jellyfish, smelly fish, big belly fish, and country grammar Nelly fish (he's a rapper). The most interesting of all things though was the flatworm called the pseudobiceros hancockanus (did not make that second name ups at all). It is a genus of hermaphroditic flatworm, which engages in penis fencing with another flatworm. One will win by stabbing the other in it's penis sword 5 or 6 times, injecting sperm into it. The injector becomes the father and swims away to weiner-spar once more. The injectee settles down, buys a Martha Stewart book, bakes cookies, and settles into motherhood for the baby flatworms. Australia is a weird place.

Unfortunately during our scubas we didn't come across any of these fascinating wormoids. We hopped into the ocean for the first time at around 1PM. It was not like the pool training. They pretty much just throw you into the ocean, very rushed, and you look under the water to what's going on. We saw quite a few fish about the size of our heads swimming under the boat... and then blue nothingness. It is pretty crazy, it is just a fuzzy blue abyss. I kept thinking a shark was going to just appear out of it heading right for us, but they told me that wouldn't be so. For some reason I believed them and we started our descent...

The reef wasn't as far down as we thought, just the visibility was poor, so that was actually a relief. It is a really wild experience. All of a sudden you're just underwater, still breathing, not knowing if everything is normal or not, but it feels pretty normal. Dad was my buddy, but he wasn't doing so hot, so I kept looking after him while trying to view the reef a little bit and get my bearings. It's really unexplainable, it is just wild. Dad had some problems throughout the dive and at the end decided that diving just wasn't his thing. We were really proud of him for going down though because he was totally not into it, but we made him try it anyways. He was happy to have tried, but retired to the sun deck with a rum and coke for the remainder of the day.

We moved reef locations and had another dive at 4PM. First we snorkeled, which was really cool at the new reef location since it was built up so close to the surface. After about 20 minutes snorkeling, we got our tanks back on for our second dive, which was pleasant. We were getting more used to it now, which was good. At night there was an optional night dive, which the instructor takes you on in pairs of two so Derek and I decided we would do it. Then after the 4PM dive Derek was feeling a bit light-headed and decided to sit the night dive out. I didn't know whether to do it or not...

Long Overdue Post for those of you still checking in...

Sorry it's been so long! School picked up a smidgen and I got a little lazy in my free time taking in the summer sun here on the beach. I apologize for sparking jealousy and hatred from those of you falling into winter. Anyway, things over here on the island continent are wonderful. I finished two classes and Derek is completely finished with school. I have one more final to go so have been spending my days surfing, studying, and surfing the web!

As most of you know, Derek and I opted to not buy internet here due to it's massive expense and instead have resorted to school and cafe's for our internetisms. Eventually we found out the Cafe next door sells internet for $5 for a day of wireless AND that internet extends to our apartment stairwell. Soon after this we found out that they had a problem where after signing into their internet you were never signed off. And in the spirit of my loss your gain we have received free (limited) internet... via stairwell. The other day though while working on a puzzle my computer someone found a connection with the network. I've spent the past couple days experimenting with this and have found one spot on my table where I get three bars of connectivity! I have traced my laptop and so will be able to return here and receive this joyous gift often... hopefully.

Derek and my surfing has thoroughly improved to the point where we can stand up with ease and can now give others dirty looks because we are good enough to look like we know what we are doing. Before we were just the victims of dirty looks when we were in the way. Now we have become the 5th graders, easily spotting the 2nd and 3rd graders so if we mess up we can easily blame them. It's a jungle out there... in the ocean. A wet, blue, tree and monkeyless jungle.

There's a quick update. Dad comes in about a week and we're super stoked! We're going to go scuba diving in the great barrier reef. I'll try to update again at least weekly until we return January 7 and get to see the whole gang! Can't wait to see you mom we miss and love you!!!! Muah!

The Great Ocean Road Part 3 of 3 (read these in succession, they are long)

If you are reading this as the most recent post, read the post two below first. It is part 1 of 3 of our Great Ocean Road Trip. Then there is part 2 of 3. This is part 3 of 3. If you read these to fill empty time in your day I suggest one a day, they're long.

We awoke after our 12 apostle experience to the sun finally shining and limited clouds. We set off for the place we were told you could surf with the whales, and we were stoked! We were a little worried because the previous day there had been 20 foot swells, which, if you are not familiar with surf swells, is like a house sized wave when you're surfing and at the bottom of it. When you look out into the ocean it looks angry... very angry. We got to the spot and we happy to see the waves were down a bit, probably to about 10 foot swells. We looked out and the whales were literally 150 yards off the coast. If the sea was calm you could easily swim out there with no board (though not recommended). We were a little let down to not see any surfers out, but we went in to town to rent some boards and try our luck.

Our Luck: nobody in town rents surfboard.

However, there was a town 20 minutes up the road that rented them... so we started the engine back up. We got into the next town about 20 minutes before the surf shop opened so we got some coffee and bakery goods at a the pace next store. This place was sweeeeetttt. I wanted to take some pictures of it... but I refrained since my camera was in the car.

The shop opened, we rented the boards and wet suits and had to purchase some straps to tie them to the roof and we were on our way back. We got back, strapped on our suits and headed to the beach. Still no surfers out... not good. We walked down the beach looking for a calmer spot, but the sea was still pretty angry. We stopped at a spot that looked decent and decided to try our luck. I was about to step in and looked up to see about 100-150 yards off the coast a GIANT and i do emphasize GIANT dorsal fin. I haven't seen jaws, but I know what a GIANT shark is. I also know what a normal size whale is. Both are GIANT. Needless to say, I was reluctant to get into the water.

Everyone else (who were obviously eyeless) went right in. They didn't make it out to far though, the waves were a bit too crazy. So I joined in the fun only to find that the covering I had on (previously thought to be a wet suit) would be better described as a mesh wet suit. It wasn't mesh, but the point of the wet suit is to have no tears in it so water can't get in. My wet suit obviously didn't get the memo, so I FREEZED MY BALLS OFF. Our surfing was unsuccessful, but we yearned to surf, so we headed into town to ask about a better surf beach.

We got poor directions (as we had now come to expect) and were driving around when we saw an elderly couple exiting a place that looked possibly like a beach. We asked them if there was one there. There wasn't but they were extremely nice and got in there car and let us follow them to one. We thanked them and headed off for round two.

Round Two: freezing Dillon, giant waves. I reached the crest point where the waves stop after being smashed by a few and was very happy to be able to finally take a break. I sat on my board for a bit just enjoying the ocean, though it was far less enjoyable while being an ice ocean until I thought I had gained my strength back up to catch a wave. I didn't really and just kind of unsuccessfully caught little bits of waves and drifted back to shore.

We dryed off and headed back into town to find a hostel. We asked around and called around finally landing on a hostel with an open 4 bed room for $25 a person. It was a little odd, it was located above a local pub filled with old men and definitely didn't have the hostel feel. We got the "only room left" which was in the very back of the place with no light down our corridor. We had all seen that horror movie before and were a bit skeptical of the place. The room was super nice and even had a TV and DVD player... more skepticism.

We went out that night into this very odd town for dinner. It was fine, then we walked down the road to find a happening bar. While walking in front of a masonic temple we heard loud music coming from what seemed like the alley. We continued on and after turning the corner we heard it louder... we inquired and found an opening with loud music. There was a sign that hung in the alley with creepy spray painted writing that spelled out "thirsty?" We were, so we went on. The door guy told us we were welcome, but it probably wasn't going to be our crowd. We entered into a room full of screaming, hands in air, church goes and a band on stage singing songs with lyrics such as "praise him, praise him, he is great." We had seen that horror movie before too, and in agreement with the door man, quickly exited.

We found another bar that seemed more our style. We got a drink and a big guy came up super friendly and had a chat with us. It reminded us of a small town Texas bar... for the Irish. There was a team of rowdy netball player there. If you are unfamiliar with the game netball, it is a women's game that is like basketball with not backboard where contact is not aloud AT ALL. You are not even aloud to play defense, it is stupid.

This particulat netball team was extremely trashy... and drunk. We chatted with a few of them, they came in flocks. Some came up to talk with us and other left, then the same ones would come back, some would stay, some would go, it was interesting. Then one whispered into my ear "oh my god, he is so sexy, I don't even know what to say, he is the sexiest man I've ever seen" talking about our friend Ian. Lucky for him he had a good excuse... and girlfriend. This girl was CRAZY and kept coming over throughout the night as her friends tried to pull her away... and she struggled to get Ian to take her home. He was a real good sport. Another girl who was probably the best looking, but just as trashy stayed around a lot and when she ran out of things to talk about we found out what Australians think of black people.

Ash is black. We found her quite entertaining, in an extremely disgusting racist way. She had no censor. She told us about black people in America (in strong, drunk Aussie accent): "Oh yeah, all you Americans just eat cheeseburgers all day long wif eight patties and lots of cheese, and all the black people sell crack and have guns. They just sit in bed all day with a bucket of fried chicken running down their face..." It was fairly extreme... but we had a good time at her expense after this display. Ash wasn't offended, we all had a good laugh.

(Mother, grandma, etc. you might want to not read this part as it is distasteful and graphic). When I said she had no censor... I meant it. Not even a black censor bar when all the booze gave her shirt anti-gravity. She was not to be outdone by the girl who was in love with Ian. She followed quickly behind her friend. We were having a great time... and I think everyone else was jealous. That wasn't the end of their rowdiness though.

(Mother, grandma, etc. you may continue) Another team of netballers (who were quiet and reserved) came in and all sat around a big table in the middle. The rowdy team couldn't keep the shit talking down though and it came out rapidly in full force. It got to the point where one girl stood up on the table and started kicking the other teams drinks off at them. She was escorted out promptly. Then it was getting late... so we headed back to the hostel.

We arrived, same creepy crowd downstairs + band playing right below our room. We went upstairs and there was a weird guy standing in front of a door... not entering, and asked us how we were doing. We were all a bit tipsy at this point and a bit skeptical about our surroundings. The fact that only one of our windows had a cage over it and the other window didn't lock well didn't ease our discomfort any. It was pretty trippy. However; I knew that Derek would be tripping more than I would be... so after lying awake for a bit I went to sleep. I awoke in the morning to confirm my suspicions. Derek was awake on watch and slept only a couple of hours... that silly boy.

We set out again to surf with the whales! This time it was even colder, it actualy got warmer when we got into the water. Bad sign. We swam and swam and the waves crashed and sent us back. I got to one point where I looked up at a wave cresting in front of me and directly behind it I saw a blowhole spout up out of the water. I decided this was close enough for me. WHALES ARE HHUUUGGGGEEEE. Much bigger than I could fathom. I turned around and returned back to warm myself in the car. Ian and Derek stayed out for a bit longer.. unsuccessfully.

The rest of that day we drove up in the Grampians Mountains, which were cool, then headed back to Melbourne for the final two days. We saw a kangaroo in Grampians and Ian went out to get a closer look, eventually forcing it to stand up and start scratching it's stomach and genitals at Ian... we thought he was done for. Luckily he came back to us and it turned and walked away. We also saw an Emu with it's children, and echidna which are real cool, and some neat things along the way. We talked about science, evolution, and the ever expanding Earth. It was a good time. That night we got drunk and played numerous games of pacman and galaga. We spent the next day exploring Melbourne and then returned home safely the following morning.

Now starts my two weeks completely full of work, which will suck. Then I'm pretty much done. My birthday is tomorrow, Dad is coming to visit a little after we finish school, we will see the reef with him then head to New Zealand. Blickity Blou.

The Great Ocean Road part 2 of 3 (read part 1 first, they're long)

If you are reading this as the most recent post, read the post below first. It is part 1 of 3 of our Great Ocean Road Trip. This is part 2 of 3.

The drive to the apostles was about an hour. We took off early in the morning and upon the advice of some fellow backpackers we took a long, slow detour to investigate "an open field filled with kangaroos." We followed the directions excatly and arrived at a trail labeled the same as we had been told. After morning hiking for a few miles (morning hiking is not so tight) we didn't see any kangaroos... or a field... or anything. We ran into another hiker coming back from the end of the trail and were sad to find out that there were no kangaroos... no field... just a beach. We had seen plenty of beaches by this time, so we set back for our car, all uphill. It was not an enjoyable detour.

We pressed onward to our destination though and arrive we did!!! The 12 Apostles are AMAZING. There aren't 12 of them anymore, more like 7 1/2, but they are awesome. They are these giant rocks sticking out from the middle of the ocean right off the coast. They are gorgeous and really a site to see. You should see them before they become the 6 apostles, then the 4 3/4 apostles, and eventually the apostle (see, not as cool). Anyway we spent a while there and it was worth the whole trip and the kangaroo detour. Then we set off to the next town we were staying in 20 minutes up the road. We went into a cafe/bar and were seated. We looked at the menus and realizing they were far too expensive we decided to head up the road for something cheaper. We got some flake (shark) and chips, which is much better than regular fish and chips. We hung around a bit and then headed back to the apostles for sunset.

They were BEAUTIFUL at sunset. The sun hadn't come out much during our trip, but it peaked through the clouds a little bit just for about an hour for our amusement. A big rain storm looked like it was coming so after filling our memory cards with redundant pictures we started back to the car. We stopped at one point to take a few more pictures and Ian sparked up some convo with a guy that was waiting with his camera and tripod set up. He said that if we waited 'till sundown that we would get to see penguins coming back from hunting. We were totally game! So we waited... and waited... and waited... and it got colder... and then finally when it was just about too dark to see anything these little black balls came out of the water and walked up across the beach into there homes. It was cool, but too dark to take any pictures. Apparently they leave in the morning and spend all day swimming and fishing and come back at sunset. They swim 500 kms a day! Eat your heart out Michael Phelps.

The next day is a long story... so it is in part 3.

The Great Ocean Road Part 1 (long entries, read in pieces if you wish)

For our spring break adventure we took to the streets in a rented car headed southeat out of Melbourne. The trip started out fairly nice, it doesn't turn into the Great Ocean Road until about an hour or so out of the city though. I made a couple CDs to last us the trip and it was a good thing because that road is long!

The Great Ocean Road is magnificent. On one side of the road is an endless view of beaches, cliffs, and rocks along side a beautiful ever expanding blue ocean. On the other side are rolling green grass hills at some parts and Tree covered forresty hills at other parts. We took our time leisurely stopping in a few beach towns and at a couple of points to hike to a waterfall or two. It was a beautiful and equally relaxing way to travel.

On our first day we even came across a Koala Bear up in the trees jumping around so we stopped for a bit to photograph it. We stayed for two nights in Apollo Bay YHA, which is by far the nicest hostel we've stayed in, touched, or even seen. It is only a few years old and has two kitchens, super nice rooms, bathrooms, everything was perfect. Derek and I played a game of Bocci Ball against the other two guys who came on the trip with us (Ian and Ash). Of course we put our powers together to destroy them in back to back games and become the champions of Bocci Ball and $10 apiece richer.

After staying one night we went out in the day for what we were told was a really great hike by some Montanian tennants of the hostel... but after the hour long trek along the beach with no changing scenery we decided these girls had probably only just started there Aussie travels. When we got to the end there was a sign that the Great Ocean Walk was just beginning... we had trekked through the sand for miles only to come to the beginning of the good part. Never listen to American girls (I know, duh right?). We checked out a big pasture splotched with sheep. It was pretty neat. Ian decided to try for a closer look and almost stepped right on this giant snake! Luckily he didn't. We snapped a few pictures and headed back to the hostel.

When we returned we jumped in the car and headed 20 minutes up the road where the ocean and forrest turns into rain forrest. It was awesome! If you've never seen trees covered in fur that are tall enough to where you can't see them anymore you are missing out. We did a little hike, then headed off to Triplet Falls. A tour guide told us how to get there and it sounded like it was about 5 minutes away. So we started off still not having gotten lunch because we figured it would be pretty quick and there would be something to eat in the town along the way. Once again we were wrong... and hungry. The road there was RIDICULOUS. It weaved back and forth over and over and over again. It was beautiful out the windows, but the dirt road didn't have straight aways lasting more than 20 meters. At least we weren't driving.

We arrived at the falls, they were cool but not worth it, then we went back to the hostel. We were talking to some people who had just come from the other side of the road and they told us of a place where you could surf with whales. It sounded tight, so we added it to our agenda for the upcomming couple of days.

We awoke the next morning and headed out to the 12 apostels... continued in part 2.

The intruder....

We've seen a few hanging around our apartment and made a phone call to our landlord as a precationary measure, but we didn't think it was anything to worry about really. They come by infrequently, but dealing with them when it's light hasn't been an issue. They range in size, but are more annoying than bothersome so we haven't raised too much ruckus.

The other night I was lying in bed though and I thought I heard something on the floor. I disregarded it, but rolled onto my back so I could hear better just in case. Then I felt something touch my arm... gently. I jumped out of bed and turned on the light and there was one right there on my bed! Yes, a normal (not even giant) cockroach! I smushed it and went to bed. This is my first attempt at suspense writing... what do you think? New York Times bestseller? I agree.

Tomorrow we leave for the Great Ocean roadtrip! Very exciting indeed. I checked on everything to make sure it was in order yesterday. I was really excited about the super cheap car fare we got ($230 when most are in the $450 range). Who knew there was a Melbourne in Florida too? ... I redid the car fare for Melbourne, Australia and we got the normal $450 range. But what are you gonna do? So tomorrow we're off! Mother I will be calling/texting you to let you know we are fine.

Short update

I turned in my concept report over a project for a rubber band powered car and a lab report on Tuesday... and now I have nothing due for a MONTH. I don't know why they call it school, but I will not argue. Everything is going well, I went out surfing the other day and got up pretty well. Now that it's getting warmer, lots more people are showing up, and they're good! It kind of sucks sometimes because apparently if you get up first on the wave, it is yours. So these good guys come along and get the best waves from the origin and ride them all the way down the tube... Once I get good enough I think I will wear a giant fist on one of my hands and while surfing, punch people off their board who are taking all the waves. Booyakasha!

The man with the dancing puppets

When I get off the train from the beach to the city I walk a tunnel under a busy main street with an escalator leading right up to my school. The tunnel is usually dotted with different musicians. Some are there more times than others. Some are good. Some are not so good. Most play guitar, some just sing, one guy plays keyboard, it's a nice sight to walk through for the most part.

Every Tuesday morning when I go to school at 9 AM there is an old Chinese man standing at the same spot every time. He has this little puppet booth and a puppet on strings with ancient Chinese music in the background (I know because I have been watching lots of kung fu, duh). And every Tuesday morning he is there with this content, closed mouth smile on his face just swaying back and forth with this elaborate puppet and stage. It is sweet.

A few things about Sydney

First off, saw Ben Folds this week at the Sydney Opera House and it was FUCKING AWESOME!! Sorry to swear, but I think it was needed to get across the severity of the awesomeness. Ben Folds is the man and must have fingers made of super iron ore the way he plays those keys. He's playing another show tonight with no set list and is playing by request. I wish I had more money. Word on the street though is if it's not sold out and you go there at the time of the show you can get the tickets for quarter price... so I think I'm going to look into that.

Here though are a few things about Sydney in case you ever come here:

1) You will be worried about crossing the street and not knowing which way to look. Never fear! Just look on the ground and at almost every crosswalk in the city, there on the ground in big white letters will be the words LOOK RIGHT/LEFT. Look in that direction and you will be safe from cars. Also you wont have to worry about knowing when the walk sign is. When the walk sign comes up there is this crazy, very distinct 80's video game sound to guide you across safely. At first you will think you are being shot at by space invaders or the galaga plane until you get used to it.

2) Although you will know how to cross the street, knowing which street you are on is an entirely different story. There are no street signs!!!! Not no street signs, but a very limited amount to the point that it is extremely annoying when riding a bus and seeing where to get off, or driving and seeing where to turn. When there are signs, there's no telling where they could be! Sometimes they are on the buildings, sometimes they are on a post, sometimes there is a post and no sign, it is stupid. Whoever put all that money into painting LOOK RIGHT/LEFT everywhere instead of putting up street names should be shot (not fatally, maybe with a beebee gun or something).

3) Everyone LOVES BBQs. However, the definition of a BBQ is a hotdog like piece of meat, two slices of bread, carmelized onions, and some green stuff. This goes for EVERY BBQ you go to. It doesn't matter where, nor what the occasion may be. These things are the items found in every BBQ. At the end you can get a tangy BBQ sauce or tomato sauce (ketchup).

4) Everywhere in the city, suburbs, anywhere you have seven choices of food. Asian food, Indiand food, Italian food, Kebabs, Seafood (mainly fish and chips), Sandwhiches, or BAR FOOD. Anytime you see a place that says Bar, Hotel, or VIP Lounge they are all the same thing. They will have a bouncer, a large central bar inside where you order and pay for your food, and seating around it. There will be TVs. You can have an $8-$12 rump steak, chicken shnitzel, fish and chips, margherrita pizza, hamburger, chicken burger, or salad. This goes for EVERYWHERE, and by everywhere I mean every corner in the city, and every other corner of a popular street in the suburbs. The hotels are not hotels, the VIP Lounges are not VIP lounges, they are all the same bar with the exact same food. It's crazy!

And don't get the hamburger. It comes on a giant bun with an entire salad on it, then you open it up to see the burger which is sadly sulking in the corner as it has been evicted from it's natural place by beet root, tons of lettuce, tomato, and sometimes an egg.

These are a few things about Sydney. There are also many good unique things like the plethora of natural spaces laid throughout the city, the beautiful architecture, and many fine looking women. All of these you can look forward to when you reside here.

I've decided to change my update day from Sunday to Tuesdays/Thursdays since that is when I am at school and have internet. Hope all is well around the world.

Waves aCrashin' Jews aFightin'

A good week has passed peacefully. I went out and tried to surf again and was saddened by the weekend surf crowd. Upon coming over the ridge to see the beach I was confronted with the sight of surfers sitting out in the ocean from end to end. I never thought the ocean could get crowded... but I was incorrect. I think I will reserve my surfings for the weekdays when people have silly things to do like jobs, work, and school.

We went down to another beach to party last night, had a good time, met a guy who's going to travel the great ocean road with us during spring break. All is well! No worries are present! Life is good! If you have never had this feeling you should come to Australia... but your pockets will pay for the easy life.

Derek and I also played in a little poker tournament at the club down the street. Once again we did not realize the amount of Jewish influence in the area. The whole game was Jews, old lady Jews, middle-age man Jews, younger Jews, the dynamic and situational happenings were amazingly comical! Especially when the old lady sitting next to me got really upset at a controversial hand and there was lots of old Jew lady vs. younger Jew boy bickering. GREAT STUFF! I will have to go back weekly (I placed 4th in the tourney).

That's all for this week. Going to see Ben Folds at the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday, yippee!

Wagwan, Wagwan, I'm sorry to have not posted in a long while, but nothing too exciting has been happening. Derek and I have been hanging out a lot, watching movies, playing chess, and cooking up some sweet food like kangaroos and muesli aplenty!

We FINALLY went surfing for the first time on Friday. I bought a 6'8" board from a shop for a pretty good deal, but Derek insists that he can get a used one that will work for him. We never surfed before and decided to forgo the lessons for now so I grabbed my board and Derek rented one and we headed down to the beach. After wiggling and pulling our way into our wetsuits we took off for the water hoping it wouldn't be too cold. We dove in and it was..... warm! A wetsuit is the most miraculous piece of material I have ever owned. You get in the water and feel like you are in a warm bath (minus your feet, hands, and face).

We swam out a little bit on our boards next to a surf school and took in the lessons from afar. Now I said I bought a 6'8" surfboard and if you don't know anything about surfboards that probably sounds like a good size. The guy at the shop told me it would keep me occupied for the duration of our stay in Australia so I said cool beans! The beginner one Derek rented was 8' and double the width of mine... needless to say it was a little difficult to maneuver mine for a first time in the water. The waves were decent side (we thought (later "we thought" will be explained)). We learned how to catch the waves correctly every now and then and tried to stand up. We probably got up for a second or two about two times each, but none the less it was fun!

Day 2 Surf: We awoke a little sore and decided to take to the waves once more. It was beautiful and sunny outside which was better than the previous overcast day so we headed down to the beach for round two. Derek rented a 7'6" board and we headed out. The decent sized waves we had seen the day before ended up being teasing beginner waves (which were good for our first day though). We walked out with our board through the water and the first wave came, I was holding my board on the side the wave was coming on. Bad idea. The wave came and knocked me back flat on my ass right between the two people walking out behind us. I didn't make that mistake again.

We spent some time out on the waves, they were huge! One after another they came crashing in and one after another we tried to ride them, falling and missing more than we got on them. We finally got better at catching the waves to the point that we were able to be in a position to stand up on them every time now. We got up a few times for a second or two, but every time I would wait back and watch Derek go I would see him, see the wave take him, then see his board fly up over the wave... repeatedly... and he would get up and turn to look at me... and I would laugh at him. It was fun! Eventually I was expending too much energy trying to swim out to the waves and stay out of the swim zone so I had to take a much needed break for a while.

Derek kept going then after we broke for a bit we went back out for another 20 minutes or so, but our arms were dead. The worst part about surfing is paddling out and expending all your energy to get out to a good spot. Then when a good wave comes you can't paddle with it to get on it because your arms feel like jelly and can't even move anywhere. But it's sweet!

Sunday we lay in bed all day nursing our muscles and then watched some movies and did homework. I built my prototype for a project in my design class which was a 3 story egg drop. We went to the hardware store and asked if the had fabric for a parachute I was putting on. They didn't but they had directions on where to go to get some. Ooo the Aussie directions:

Us: Where can we get some fabric?
Clerk: There's a store called spotlight at the junction.
Us: O, how do we get there when we get to the junction.
Clerk: (with hand gestures) Well, Here's Oxford street, you go one, two, and it's right down there.

I must be acclimating to being here because I thought I knew what he was saying and I arrived with no problem, so I must have somehow known exactly what he said.

Monday I met a couple friends down on the beach to surf with. There were zero waves. The waves were bigger going AWAY from the beach than coming in... so our stay was short lived. We got a few good ones in about an hour. I actually stood up and rode on for a good bit though and accidentally turned correctly by just trying to keep my balance. A 6'8" board is NOT for beginner's I am finding... but it will keep me busy for a while so I'm happy for that.

I finished my egg drop project and also read Doyle Brunson's Super System last week. Accomplishments aplenty.... That's all for now, I'll try to start updating at least every Tuesday (Monday in the states) from now on. We're going to see Ben Folds at the Sydney Opera House next Tuesday... wahoo!!!!

How to View the Blog Now + Small update

Hey everyone! We've continued our settling ventures and over the weekend had some good relaxation. I've updated the blog with pictures and videos so here's how to view them!

PICTURES: The pictures are in slideshows on the right. If you want to slow them down and view them at your leisure just click on them!

MOVIES: There are movies of us whale watching and one of kangaroos that are in the posts. To see them just scroll down and click on them!

Updates: This weekend we just lounged around a little bit. I applied for a few jobs, but most places aren't looking to hire people who are only going to be around short term so we'll see how that goes. We watched 007 Quantum of Solace and have since decided to watch all the James Bond movies in order. We began with Dr. No and are currently viewing through our Sean Connery's.

I found out yesterday that there is a UTS basketball team with open tryouts as well as a club that plays on Fridays so this week I'm going to try out. There is also an American Football team, but I don't know if my body wants anymore football so I might go ahead and pass on that one.

So far I have ridiculous amounts of down time here as I am only required to take three classes and I only have class on Tuesday and Thursday. Life is hard. Grrrr. That's all for now. Toodles.

The Pad

So things have finally started to settle down around here and we are done moving about. Ari came back to Sydney and we spent two nights hanging out with him and then he left back for the U S and A. We went to see Bruno, which was highly praised for shock value, but other than that we were slightly disapointed. Still funny, but no Ali G show bruno.

We finally got a place! We found this sweet little apartment tucked away on a street down from the beach for the same price as all the other places we looked, which is awesome!!! The only bad part is that every place we found, including this one was unfurnished :( So we spent our first night of ground sleeping last night, but hopefully the craigslist will grace us with more free mattresses and furniture soon.

The neighborhood we live in reminds me of a very toned down California. The people still have the rich, cali style, but they seem to have less money or maybe just want to flaunt it less. We were talking about how we kind of looked like homeless people beacause we were walking around in hoodies and jeans, while everyone else we saw was dressed a little more lavishly. Then I bought a bottle of beer and was drinking it from the bag and we laughed about how our homeless appeal had increased. On our walk home we saw that a bed and mattress had been set on the sidewalk to be thrown away and as we picked it up we made the final decision that although we have a sweet apartment, we are homeless. (Joke). We didn't take the mattress though because then we would be a little too homeless for our own good. Wish us luck in the craigslist gods granting us mattresses by the weekend.

Two nights in Alice Springs

We returned from our outback trip all in one piece and went to a pub to party it up with our tour group for the evening. The pub was really cool and dinner was cheap finally so that was good, there was live music for a little while and a really nice atmosphere. Then we said our goodbyes and in the morning moved hostels for our last two nights.

We went golfing at one of the top 10 desert golf courses in the world and decided just to play the front nine. To say the least we're not the best golfers ever and when you mix that with not getting a cart "moseying" along the course might have been an understatement. Funnily on the first hole we met two older guys, one who graduated from University of Houston, and one was an Aggie. Small world. Anyway, we really took our time and had people passing us the whole time and I think people were getting a little testy. An Austrian guy playing with his kids even caught us and let us know how slow we were. But as my friend Trace's dad says: If you don't have the time to enjoy a round of golf, maybe you shouldn't be out there. We enjoyed every penny and even got better than 3 over on some holes.

We had dinner at a famous outback steakhouse called Overlanders where we ate family style dining on different Kangaroo steak dinners. Kangaroo is awesome!!! You have to order it medium rare or less or it gets too tough, but it is great. We got a bottle of wine and had a riot of a time, but for some reason they placed us in the corner... After our 2.5 hour dinner we went to a popular bar there called Bojangles, which was kind of quiet. Then we realized it was because it was only 9:30, but we were tired so we crashed for the night.

We got up the next morning and hired some bikes and rode them about 15kms out to "Desert Park." It was a really nice little park, the birds were beautiful and I got some good pictures. We went to a bird's of prey show which was pretty cool and then went and saw some Kangaroos. The cool thing about the park was that there were little stop sections when certain animals were caged in, still in their natural state so you could go in and get up close and personal with them. A pretty wild experience.

We rode back stopping every 5 minutes the same as we did on the way up because one of the bikes had a chain that came off on every other bump. Luckily Derek is bicycle savvy and fixed it up real quick every time. We got a shower and went to this restaurant we had been to on one other night called Oscar's. If you ever go to Alice Springs GO TO OSCAR'S!!!! It is awesome. The food is presented stylishly and is absolutely delicious. I had chicken stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes the first time we went and a porterhouse the next time. Total the meals were a little less than $20 American, which is crazy for the quality and style of the meals. My porterhouse was a little overcooked and they happily took it back and then rushed out another one, which was perfect. Good stuff, happy people, great service, and you don't even tip in Australia!

After dinner we headed to Bojangles again and it was a little dead at first again. We stayed for about 30 minutes and had a pitcher of this cider they have on tap at all the bars, which is delicious and the next the we new the place was crazy. The dance floor was packed, the tables were packed, the standing room was packed. People were going nuts. You can watch the bar on streaming webcam actually at Bossaloon.com.au We drank quite a bit and had a good time and still got back at around 11 to crash and get up for our planes the next day. Little bit of some lingering headaches, but they were cured by some food, coffee and Advil.

We arrived back in Sydney at our hostel today (Sunday) at 6 PM and found that there was only one bed in our room open. After a little talking and pain in the bum waiting we figured it all out and both got beds. We have orientation for school starting tomorrow. So far: Success! Pictures will be up when I get to my computer hopefully tomorrow or the next day.

The Outback!

Finding out we couldn't hire a small car and the price for a 4WD vehicle was out of our pockets range, we were a little startled, but ended up finding a nice looking semi-cheap 3 day tour to Ayer's Rock and King's Canyon. We spent the night in Alice Springs first, bought shoes for the hike, took a hike down a dry river to a watering hole, and spent the night in the hostel awaiting our 5:30 wake up for the bus. So far we havn't gotten to aclimate to the time change because we've been getting up super early to do stuff every day and been exhaustedly crashing at 7-8ish every night.

Anyway Alice Springs is crazy. People are very racist toward the Aboriginal people and their culture makes no sense. They look like primitive folks wearing Hip-Hop attire and are primarly drunk when we see them. We walked back late at night to the hostel and could hear them yelling around at eachother, it was pretty wild. Kind of like being in the woods. But the concrete jungle I suppose. We later found out thyat aborignies in the cities are those who have been kicked out of their tribes for being wickity wackity shaw.

So our bus arrives and this crazy Aussie guy jumps out, we throw our bags in this trailer attached to the back of a bus and are on our way. The trip was awesome!!!! But it was freeeeeeezing. We ate camel burgers, saw some kangaroos, they are wicked sweet. We hiked the Devil's Marbles, then watched the sunset on Ayer's Rock. It is enormous and beautiful. When I upload the pictures you will see.

We went back to camp when it got dark and slept in our sleeping bags and things called "swags" which are like over cover sleeping bags with a built mattress pretty much, very comfortable. The temperatue both nights was below freezing and we woke up with ice on our swags. Luckily Derek bought us 0 degree sleeping bags, so we were quite toasty.

The stars were absolutely phenomenal. The constilations are different because we are in the Southern Hemisphere, so unfortunately I couldn't use my infamous stars move on this cute girl I met from Canada. Maybe I'll learn some others quickly.....

Uluru was awesome, we didn't climb it because apparently it is extremely disrespectful, but we hiked around it which was still really sweet. We also hiked in King's Canyon, which was awesome as well. Everything has been a humbling, awesome, non-stop, great experience. We are meeting crazy people from everywhere and I wish I could put all the goofy stories that are going on on here, but I'm spending enough money on internet cards as it is for these less than eventful posts. They'll get better when I get to settle down though. We're alive for all those worried (mom and Bebe) so cheers for now.

Day 2 - Whales and Da Beach

So we crashed last night in the early evening and after about 12 full hours of sleep awoke to go see the whales at 9 AM only to find the boat had been fully booked. Luckily lots of people like to see the whales so we jumped on a 10 AM cruise whale watching experience. We rode out into the middle of the ocean and walked up onto the deck with the boating throwing us around like crazy. We stood around for a bit listening to a guy on a speaker trying to waste time hoping whales arose. And arise they did!! At first it seemed that we would have to view the whales from afar and in small spurts. Soon though we had a spectacular show of these ginormous humpback whales flailing about in the water. They were huge! Pictures will be up in a week or so, but since we are going to the outback tomorrow for a week I wont have my computer or anything.



Not only were the whales awesome, but the horizon and multiple skylines of Sydney were absolutely breathtaking. We rode back, Derek talked about architecture, we all talked about weird shit, it was good.

When we got back we took a train and bus to the most popular beach in Australia, Bondi Beach. It was gorgeous and looked like a sweet place to surf though I don't surf (yet). It looks like the waves are just generated perfectly into this little culdesac like beach front. Using public transportation is extremely easy and extraordinarily clean. However, we have found getting directions to be a quirky challenge.

Us: How do we get down to central station?
Lady in a cafe we asked: Well you get on the bus, 1, 2, Gloria Jeans, 3, 4. (We were stumped)

Us: Which stop do we take for Bondi Beach?
Guy on bus: Well it's not 1, but the 2nd or 3rd. There is the beginning, middle, and end. So the middle or end. (stumped again)

Anyway we made it everywhere, we climbed a cliff at Bondi Beach, which had a magnificent view over the water out into nothingness. We met some girls on the beach and told them our next stop was "King's Cross." Everytime we mention this to someone we got the reply its swanky. We looked it up in a guide and in the "describing words" section it said: naked, naughty, swanky, etc. We got off the bus there and walked down the streeet....

Strip club, massage parlor, dancing girls, massage parlor, strip club, v.i.p. club, MCDONALD's CAFE, strip club, resturant, etc. It got nicer down the way so we stopped and got dinner, which was good and watched Aussie Rule Football on TV. It is a crazy game played on a circular field where you have to punch of kick a rugby type ball. We'll learn more on that later. I'll put up whale pictures when I get time to sit down.

L.A. to Sydney and Day 1

After spending a day in the city of angels we arrived at the airport to depart following a full cuban garlic chicken meal. Delicious. Our full bellies entered the airport line with approximately an hour and a half to spare. Derek and my tickets, passports, and e-visas cleared immediately, but Ari had to purchase one there. After waiting about an hour at the desk Derek and I made a dash to the gate while Ari waited staring at the lady with the red phone in her hand. His business finally cleared and he made it about five minutes before we departed.

15 hours, I Love you man, The Express, Yes man, and an episode of Family Guy later we arrived in Sydney at 6 AM with the sun rising behind us. After waddling through customs we exited the airport with only trail mix as a customs casualty. We grabbed a taxi and rode to our hostel. As we left the airport there were giant billboards EVERYWHERE. They were extremely numerous so I just stopped looking after a little while.

We arrived in the CBD and started our crazy day one excursion. We heard there was a place down the street where we could store a few bags since we're going on a week vacation to the outback. We finally found the place only to find from a receptionist across the hall that many places are closed on Saturday due to the current economic downturn. So we walked in a circle, grabbed a free bus to take us 10 blocks down to another locations for bag storage only to find that it would cost us $350.... so we continued on. We found a storage center for much cheaper and quickly ran to the nearest bank before in closed. Then after an hour of signing up we finally finished all the important things we needed.

Sydney is a gorgeous large metropolitan center. I would describe it as an extremely clean, nice, New York. The Darling Harbour is magnificent and the multiple skylines are ravishing. There are plenty of East Asians here and due to my yellow feverish plague predicament caused by my Judaic upbringing I have been quite enthused by the aesthetically pleasing women.

We bounced around chinatown for a bit then headed down to The Rocks for a little wine tasting and market viewing and checked out The Sydney Opera House, which is an amazing monument. The outside of the building is composed entirely of tile and is amazing. We began to get weary even though it was only 5 in the PM so we grabbed some grub at a local pub with live Irish music. An English guy came up to me and commented on Gerrard's new $50 million, 3 year contract, but was sad to find I didn't think the contract was as outlandish as he did. He said "O you're American. You all do not have the same commentary that us English folk do." He was correct. We showered and crashed in our hostel at around 6:30-7 for to awake for 9 AM whale watching. Happy reading, I'll be updating soon.