Sydney (my fav!!!) and Melbourne

Sydney
Sydney is AWESOME!!!! We spent the first day there sightseeing in The Rocks, the oldest part of Sydney, and home to the Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. People say that the Sydney Opera House is the 2nd most recognizable building in the world, after the Taj Mahal. It lived up to the hype, especially when we went back and saw it all lit up at night. Brooke and I enjoyed a glass of wine at the Opera House Bar, located just below the Opera House, with a glistening backdrop of the city and the sparkling lights of the Harbor Bridge. On one particularly hot day, we trekked on the train out to Crounullah Beach, the last stop on one of the lines and hit up the beach there. We took a little walk and stumbled on something I have never seen before- a swimming pool in the ocean!!! Not one, but two!! The surf is really strong there, so the walls of the man made swimming pool provide a safe haven for small children, as well as a really fun and novel attraction for adults. We also took a day to trek out to Manly Beach, which is best accessed by a ferry out of Sydney. We took a car instead, and it took over an hour- Sydney is huge and it takes forever to get from one place to the next. But, we finally made it to the beach, and had a lovely day bobbing in the waves (I did get out at one point after seeing a jellyfish bobbing as well) and eating fish and chips on the beach.
Brooke and I decided that we liked Sydney so much that we were going to check out some apartments, and move back in a few weeks. Together, we took train trips of up to an hour around town to check out some seriously expensive hovels. The first place we went was an apartment in a high rise, which sounded decent enough. Wrong. The door was answered by a sniffling Asian guy, who led us around the teensy apartment in about 2 min flat. The room was small and messy, the kitchen was smaller than my armspan, and it looked as if the living room was partitioned off and someone was living there. And they were asking $600 a month from each of us to share a room. Next!!! Unfortunately the next place was even worse. It was in Redfern, which is located right by the University of Sydney, as well as a host of other universities, causing it to have become much of a student slum, where landlords take advantage of the multitude of foreign students by charging insanely high rent for jokes of apartments. The one that we viewed probably should have been condemned, but alas, there were people living in it. Very messy people. The living room looked like it had been ransacked, but we were told the guys who lived there had just been up late partying. We squeezed up one of the narrowest staircases I have ever been on and found ourselves in a room, if you can call it that. There were holes in the ceiling, clothes everywhere, and only one bed. We were told there would be 2, as there are 2 of us. “No problem,” we were told, “I can put another bed in here, now you have 2 rooms!” The landlord leads us through the room, out the what I am pretty sure used to be a balcony, but had been converted to a room by adding plywood floors and walls. Hell No. Additionally, the kitchen had about 60 years of black grime over everything, and the dirty toilet was practically in the backyard, it was so far from the rest of the house.
These viewings had chewed through our entire morning, and more than a day’s worth of patience, so we decided to treat ourselves by taking a trip to the zoo. The Taronga Zoo is pretty spectacular, in that it lies on a hill outside of the city. You have to take a ferry to get there, and then you get on a gondola, called the “Skylift,” which takes you airborne above the zoo to the entrance at the top of the hill, where you proceed by walking downhill as you take in the attractions with a gorgeous backdrop of the city skyline behind each exhibit. I’ve been to quite a few zoos in my life, but really enjoyed this one for the view, and the fact that they had many animals that were indigenous to Australia and therefore not as likely to be seen in zoos in other part of the world. I even saw a legless lizard! We decided we really like the ferries, so rather than taking more trains that day, we took another ferry around the city to Darling Harbor, a lively port full of bars, restaurants and even an IMAX Theater. Brooke and I checked out one last apartment, which was actually really nice, on the 52nd floor of a luxury high rise, but the landlord wanted $800 a month each to share a room, and he wanted an immediate move in. So we said no thanks, we’ve got more traveling to do!! We finished off the evening with a bit of a restaurant/ bar crawl around Darling Harbour, having a drink at one bar, dinner at another, followed by a drink at a third stop. The Harbor has a vibrant nightlife, and was excellent for an evening of people watching.
Melbourne
Our original plan was to drive all the way down to Melbourne from Brisbane, but after the first leg to Sydney, we realized it would be faster and cheaper if we just flew to Melbourne. We lucked out and found flights on Jetstar for $100 each round trip from Sydney to Melbs. We are currently half way through our 8 days here, and have already celebrated Australia Day at the Elsplanade Hotel in St. Kilda, Checked out the shopping to be had on Brunswick Street and Chapel St, viewed the sprawl of one of the world’s largest cities from the top of the Eureka Tower, and mastered the extensive tram and train network. We found some great bargains at shops all over towns- I got a killer new necklace for $3.50 at one store!! Tomorrow we are departing bright and early for a day trip down the Great Ocean Road, “one of the world’s most spectacular costal drives,” according to the Australia Lonely Planet. We will take in spectacular views of costal rock formations, walk on lush rainforest trails, and hopefully even see a wild koala or two.
As we are packing up and traveling somewhere new every day, it may be a while before my next update. Our internet opportunities have been few and far between. Thank for you patience!! But in case I don’t check back in for a bit, we are heading back to Sydney on Tuesday morning, and then immediately driving up to the Blue Mountains for some bushwalking and scenic view taking in-ning. Haha. Then, we’ll jet back down the coast for one last night in Sydney, where Amy and I are going to see Wicked, the Broadway Musical. After that, we’ll start our trek back up north, Brisbane bound. This is the point where we all go our separate ways- Brooke has a friend coming out from Toronto that she’ll travel with for a month, and Amy has decided to move to the Sunshine Coast, about 2 hours north of Brisbane. I haven’t quite finalized anything, but I have been researching places, and I think I may just brave the heat, humidity, and summer storms and go up north to Airlie Beach, the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef, as that area was largely why Australia appealed to me in the first place.
Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Start of Our Australian East Coast Road Trip

Jan 16th marked the beginning of our Amy, Gen and Brooke’s drive down the coast, with the goal of reaching Tasmania. We are now on the fourth night of our trip, and have concluded that is a MASSIVE distance, and are opting instead to drive just to Sydney, and then fly to Melbourne to meet up with another friend from Club Med. Unlike the states, or Canada, towns in Aus are severely isolated from each other. We would drive for hours through forests in between towns, and have realized that we will save time and money if we just fly the second leg of our trip.
The first day, we cruised on down to Byron Bay, stopping at various beaches along the way—we have consistently swam in two different beaches/cities every day thus far, and often pile back into the car in just our bathing suits, ready for the next swim break. Byron is a hopping hippie/backpacker town, full of cute little shops and cafes. We had lunch on the beach, as is becoming our custom, and then strolled all the shops. Rather than stay the night there, we continued onward- Amy’s mom’s cousin offered to put the 3 of us up for the night in his town, Evans Head. Looking a bit like Crocodile Dundee, and emanating some serious hippie vibes, it wasn’t long before Halden had approached us with a wild snake in hand and made us pose for some photos. No trip to Aus is complete without a snake encounter!
After an early morning beach visit in Evan’s Head, we drove further south stopping for swim and lunch in Broome Head, then we made our way to Coffs Harbour. Coff’s is home to the Big Banana, a tourist attraction marked by, you guessed it – a MASSIVE banana. We all ordered chocolate covered bananas as a mis afternoon snack. We stayed at a YHA hostel just down the road from the beach, which we were still lounging at by 6:15 pm. After a dinner of Indian food, we decided to hit the town. We spent the night tearing it up on the dance floor, in true Club Med style.
From Coffs, we made out way next to Southwest Rocks, which just happened to be hosting a massive lifeguarding competition, for kids from about 7-17. The whole beach was full of kids competing in rescue activities and relays. They had a relay race on the sand that made the 4x1 look like a walk in the park. After a quick swim ourselves, we were back in the car and on our way. We made a quick stop at Crescent Head before continuing on to Port Macquarie for the night. We took a long walk from Ozzie Pozzie, our hostel, to the boardwalk, where we marveled at the “painted rocks”- big rocks that the public is allowed to paint however they liked. There were uplifiting phrases, marriage proposals, and lots of dedicated memorial rocks. After a homemade dinner at the hostel, we caught a quick drink at the local irish pub, to some live music. The next morning, we woke up early in order to catch 8 am feeding time at the Koala hospital, and, or course to enjoy a quick swim!
Next stop: Anna Bay at Port Stephens, where we are currently staying for 2 nights at an eco-hostel, which serves as a wildlife Refuge. As we checked in, there was a baby owl on the desk, and baby magpies at our feet. I got some hilarious video of the magpies playing around with Amy and I. We spent the day at the beach, swimming, climbing rocks, and relaxing. We’ll stay here one more night- we’re planning to do dinner on the beach tomorrow night- before heading to Sydney.
That’s about it so far—it feels like I’ve been here forever, but it’s only day 10. It’s going to be a good year!!!

Moreton Island, the world's 3rd largest sand island

Hi guys! Last time I checked in, Amy and I were about to embark on an overnight trip with Goanna Adventures to Moreteon Island, the world’s third largest Island. The trip was fantastic, educational, active, and memborable:
We were picked up by the tour company at the train station, by our tour guide Logan, a tan athletic Aussie sporting a full head of blonde dreadlocks. We boarded our bright blue 4 wheel drive tour bus, which we drove right onto a ferry that took us to Moreton within the hour. 97% of the island is national park, and there are no paved roads- they are all sand, necessitating a 4wd capable vehicle. Even with our monster truck, we still got stuck in the sand at one point.
Our first stop was “The Dessert” for a little sandboarding. In the burning sun, we trekked up a massive sand hill with our boards. After a quick intro on safety, we were good to go. In the spirit of go big or go home, I chose to skip the lie down option, and did my first run standing up, as if I were snowboarding. Most people choose to lie down, which I tried as well- lying down on your stomach, careening down at high speeds is sure to guarantee a mouthful of sand! Once we were thoroughly spent, covered in sand, and sweating, we bumped our way back toward the beach., where we donned snorkels for a swim around a series of shipwrecks right off the beach. Our tour guide brought a bag of bread, which in turn brought hundreds of fish swarming all around us. It was incredible! We spent the night in tents at the tour company’s permanent camp. Logan, our guide, cooked us a great dinner, and even played a bit of guitar at night. The next day, he took us to a freshwater lake, not more than 100 feet off the beach. Because it is a sand island, rainwater deposits underground, and then filters back up, clear as can be, into the lake. It was beautiful! After breaking camp, we moved on to another larger lake, which was great as a respite from the heat, but not nearly as clear. Overall, a great trip, and I may book a tour with them later to Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island, which also sports a rainforest.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Stradbrooke Island

I hope you all had a wonderful first week back at work of the New Year!
While you all have been busy working, I have been equally as busy exploring.

A few days ago, Amy and I went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the world's largest sanctuary for koalas. They were everywhere! Their exhibits were arraigned according to age- so all of the little koalas were in their clubhouse together, the old retired ones were off to one side and the rest were in perches located around the park- we ate lunch in an enclosure surrounded by koalas! In the wild, koalas only live about 12 years, but in the koala sanctuary, they survived much longer- the oldest recorded koala had lived there, and lived to the age of 23!

Also really cool was the kangaroo enclosure- it was this huge field where you can enter and get right up close to the kangaroos. And they were everywhere! some were sleeping, some would come right up to you looking for food or a good scratching, and others just ignored people completely. It was awesome! I kept waiting with my camera ready for some to start boxing, but unfortunately these were very mellow kangas. The park also had native birds, such as the cockatoo and kookaburra, as well as wallabies and even dingoes.

After the park, we embarked on a mini road trip to world renowned Surfer's Paradise. We walked along the beach, careful not to step on the blubottles, tiny blue jellyfish that wash up with the tide. The water was really rough, not anything like the calm waves of Santa Barbara. We posed for a picture with the Surfer's Paradise sign, an Aussie must see, but other than that I wasn't too impressed. The place is really built up with massive high rises along the strip, and every form of chain restaurant you can imagine. I felt like we were in a theme park. It was fun to vist, but definetly not a place I need to go back to.

Yesterday, however, we did find that Aussie feel I was looking for. Amy and I drove here car out to the nearby port town of Cleaveland, where we caught a ferry over to North Stradbrooke Island, but just barely. None of the information we could find said how much it cost to take a car over. Turns out it was $150 buck, so we said no thanks, and then had to book it to catch the passenger only ferry, a much better deal at $17. They were nice enough to hold the boat for us, and the ticket collector gave us some tips about what sights to see on the island. Upon landing, we caught a bus to Cylinder Beach, a family friendly bay that had some sweet waves for surfers and boogie boarders, but also a calm bay for small children to play in. We caught some waves for a bit, and even stayed in the water during a sudden downpour, it was that warm. From there, we followed the coast north, along some scenic coastline, and up to the North Gorge walk- a planked walked that traversed the side of a huge gorge, where the ocean slipped inland about 100 feet. We found a way to get down into the calm waters of the gorge, where we hung out for a bit before heading onward. From the cliffs, we saw some small sharks and rays, close to where the fishermen were casting their lines.

Our next big adventure is going to take place on Tuesday, when we head over to nearby Moreton Island for an overnight tour, complete with shipwreck snorkeling, 4 Wheel Driving, and Sandboarding the world's largest sand mountain.

Made It!!

After about 25 hours of flight/travel I am in Australia!!!

My flight from LAX to Sydney was on V Australia---aka my new favorite airline. The walls at the check in counter were painted pink with blue LED lights illuminating the V Australia sign, and there was some rocking disco music playing. Everyone at the counter was smiling and polite, and made a great first impression for Australia, at least in my mind. Upon boarding the plane, the same awesome music was playing, the same blue LED lights lit the aisles, and the seats were big and comfy. The blankets were plush, the meals were delicious, and the first glass of alcohol with dinner was complimentary. Swank. I felt like a rock star. And I flew economy. Plus, the in flight safety videos were absolutely hilarious and totally casual, and full of Aussie laid back humor. Loved it!

Amy was able to meet me at the airport in Brisbane, after my connecting flight from Sydney. She drove me home, after I tried to get in the driver's side of the car- even after extensive time spent in England- its all backwards! She brought me to her house, where I got to meet her family, and then we set off for a walk. Although it looked really chilly out because it was so overcast, it was hot, balmy and humid- weather I love :) We walked barefoot up and down the river banks before catching a train into Brisbane. There, we checked out the man made beach and caught the City Cay, a river ferry, up the river. We got off and played around on one of the coolest playgrounds I have ever seen- with a 50 ft climbing rope structure that would be considered a MASSIVE liability risk in America (I'm pretty sure a 5 year old outclimbed me). From there, we trekked all the way back into the heart of the city, where Amy's dad met us after work and gave us a lift home.

Tomorrow we are off to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, one of the top 10 zoos in the world, according to AOL. In case you were wondering, "Koala" is an aboriginal word meaning "no drink," as koalas rarely come down to the ground for water, getting instead from the eucalyptus leaves that they eat.