The Road Trip Saga

Okay, so I said I'd post an update after the diving trip. And I totally would have except the diving trip was cancelled due to 20-30knot winds. And, while I was disappointed, I do understand why. But tales of me and Lindsay schlepping ourselves back to Cairns to hang out and watch movies in Cairns (where the weather was also dreadful) do not make exciting blog stories.

So, instead I have the tales of our road trip. As you may (or may not) know, my little brother Mike is also now in Australia. He's here until Dec. 24th, and wanted to have some time to see me before heading off on his own adventures. So, he and Lindsay and I rented a camper van with plans of driving it from Sydney to Adelaide and back to Melbourne. Here's part one of our tales:

Day 1:
Sydney-Bega

Picked up a very sleepy but excited Mike at the central train station in Sydney and then the three of us got on the train to the random Sydney suburb where we picked up the van. It was a bit of a hike with all our gear from the train station to the caravan rental place, but we made it. And then waited to pick up our 'van. And waited. And waited. We finally headed off at about noon, two hours later. But after a quick stop for Starbucks and groceries, we got on the road!

Of course, it couldn't be all that smooth. We found out that tape cassettes from Canada don't work in Australia and so were stuck listening to the radio instead of our iPods. Very sad, but it also marked the start of our search through many small towns for an iPod cassette adapter (iTrip). Small town discount stores, we learned, are very random and entertaining places!

We pulled into the town of Bega at around 6pm and stayed at a very friendly caravan park for the night. After a yummy dinner, we introduced Mike to the joys of Tim Tams, and played a few rounds of Scrabble. It took us a bit of effort to convert the van into our beds, but we were rather comfy, I think.

Day 2:
Bega-Toorak/q

Day 2 started off with me having to check the oil and coolant in the engine. Once I got the engine open, it was all easy, but, well, I did have to read the instruction booklet. Who's silly plan was it to put the engine access under the passenger's seat?

After some coffee and yogurt (the Australian breakfast of champions!) we headed to the Bega cheese factory. Bega cheese is a pretty common brand down here, so it was quite exciting. We wandered around the museum part, and then headed straight to the cheese sampling area! For the budget-concious sum of $7, we picked up a chilli cheese and an aged cheddar called 'sharp and bitey'. Delicious! We looked around Bega for an iTrip, but still no success. We did manage to get an INXS cassette, though, which saved us from the country-Christian radio stations.

Next stop: Eden, home of a fairly decent whaling museum. My favourite part were the gigantic blue whale jaws hanging from the ceiling! Also in Eden, we looked for an iTrip (no luck) and introduced the local cafe to the concept of travel mugs. We went in and asked for two flat whites in our travel mugs. After looking at them confusedly, she took them in the back to measure them, and then came back to say that it would cost us $7 each to fill them! Lindsay and I picked up our jaws off the floor, and then had the idea to instead ask for a mug size to just be poured into our travel mugs. Cost: $3.80 each (and they were pretty much full). Probably one of the strangest coffee stories we've had yet!

In some random town past Eden, we finally managed to find an iTrip (thus rescuing us from the joys of small town talk radio).

We crossed the border into Victoria shortly before finding a caravan park for the night in the very cold, coastal town of Toorak. Other than snacking on some of our cheese and being very cold, Toorak was pretty uneventful. Oh, except we did manage to transform the van into a movie theatre so we could watch a couple movies (as it was too cold to just hang out).

Day 3:
Toorak-Pt. Campbell

We headed out from Toorak and then, after avoiding Melbourne as much as possible, began our trip on the famous (at least down here) Great Ocean Road! First stop - Torquay, home of many many many surf shops. We were all quite restrained, however, and just window shopped for all the pretty clothes.

After Torquay, the road pretty much hugs the twisty coastline for a long while. I'm sure it was quite Great and full of Ocean, but for me, it was just really twisty and hilly. But Stan (our van) did a very good job. We pulled into Pt. Campbell for the night, a very expensive touristy town right on the coast.

Day 4:
Pt. Campbell-Kingston SE

After waking up in Pt. Campbell, we backtracked 15km or so to see the 12 Apostles and the Loch Ard Gorge, two pretty nifty sandstone formations along the coastline. But after those, we pretty much decided we'd had enough of rock formations, so we headed back onto the Great Ocean Road.

That is, of course, until we saw the tourist sign pointing towards a fur seal colony. How could we resist detouring? We drove for what felt like ever (but was probably 40 minutes) until we reached a tiny seaside village in the middle of nowhere. Just above it, there was a sign for the fur seals pointing to a parking lot. So into the parking lot we went, only to find that the fur seals were actually a 2.5hr 'very strenuous' walk away. As it was raining and cold, and well past lunch time, we decided to skip the fur seals and just eat lunch in the parking lot. And you'd think we'd have learned not to follow brown tourist signs on a whim but, well, you'll see...

We crossed the border into South Australia on that day, as well, and just on the other side, we saw a sign pointing to a whale nursery. We've no recollection of what town we were in, but the idea of a whale nursery was intriguing so we headed off. Only to get a little lost and then to find out that the whales are only around between May and October. No more brown signs, we said!

That night we pulled into the lovely caravan park in Kingston SE, where we were right on the ocean. It had been a pretty busy day, so we pretty much just crashed, and slept very well, being the first night I was warm!

Leaving Cairns

So today, I'm leaving Cairns after having been here for over 2 months! It's sure gone quickly, but it's also been a lot of (sweaty) fun! I'm actually coming back next weekend for a couple days before flying to Sydney but I won't be working or back in my room. I'll be back as a 'tourist'. Finished up work last night, then went out with Lindsay and the gang last night. And then this morning, after a late start and some coffee, we cleaned and packed up our room. And now, in about an hour, we'll be getting on the greyhound bus to start our adventures! But I'll save tales of our adventures for after we've had them...

So, now, in list form, things I'll be taking with me from Cairns:

- if you blur your eyes a bit, all rainforests look alike.
- there can be no one in Germany between the ages of 18 and 25, because they're all here.
- hot, tropical climates are only meant for vacations, not for working.
- it is possible to drink water all day at work and still get dehydrated.
- carrots make the world go 'round.
- I know 2 ways to fold fitted sheets.
- Bernard Fanning (lead singer of Powderfinger) can solve most problems.
- and if he can't, coffee can.
- there are some countries where it's okay to start drinking at noon.
- the 'cafe smell' is international.
- it is possible to save a lot of money by watching movies every night.

Overall, Cairns has been an awesome place, except for the heat and humidity, and I'll miss the people I've met here a lot!

Hopefully, I'll update with the tales of some scuba diving next weekend! Miss you all lots (but scarily, I'll be home in 5 weeks!).

It's been pointed out to me, on many occasions, that I'm a little scattered about the updating of this blog. I really didn't think it had been a month, though, so I apologise. If any of you are still checking this page, that is...

Anyways, what did I do in September? I'm still in Cairns, working at the same cafe. I'm also driving the hostel's shuttle van and cleaning. Overall, I'm working 6 days a week, saving lots of money and just having a pretty fun time!

Cairns is a strange sort of place. It's a smallish town, only 100,000 people live here. But it's always busy! In fact, it might be more touristy than Whistler! Things are open late (well, late for Australia), there are tonnes of restaurants and bars. But strangely, there's no Starbucks here. And, nearly as sad, no 7-11! And it's almost always Slurpee weather! Except for the past few days, it's been gorgeous and about 30C everyday for a month. Today, though, it's raining and I'm loving it!

This coming up weekend, Lindsay and I are going to attempt Thanksgiving. We've made plans to borrow a friend's oven to make pumpkin pie. There will be stovetop stuffing, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce, vegetables and photos! Oh, and no turkey, but that's okay! I hope you've all got equally fun plans for your long weekend!

I'm working on putting up some photos, so I'll post again when those are ready. Look forward to seeing Magnetic Island (and a Barbie car!), Lindsay&Sara's Breakfast Tour of Cairns, our Hot Room in Cairns, and more!

Cairns Update

I'm still in Cairns, staying at the bestest hostel ever (Dreamtime). My friend Lindsay and I are sharing a quite nice twin room (where we are watching many movies, reading lots of books and eating lots of chocolate and skittles). And downstairs from our room (pictures to come, some day), there's a cute little cafe where I work. Yes, I do indeed have a job! Glamourous it's not, but the people are fun, it's usually really busy (we did 101 plates for lunch on Monday this week!), and the commute is fantastic. I'm mainly doing dishes, with some food prep and other things thrown in for fun. In general, I work 10:30am until about 2 or 3, then 6:30 until 9:30 or so. And it's only weekdays, so I've got weekends to get out and enjoy Far North Queensland!

Other than being really glad to have a job, there's not much going on for me. Well, Lindsay and I have planned out a few things we'd like to do before going home (Tasmania, diving in Townsville, New Zealand).

And in the biggest of all news - 15 weeks from today, I will be back in Vancouver! December 17th! When I left, I wasn't sure when I'd be ready to go home, but as it's getting closer, I really do think that by then I'll still be having a great time, but will also be ready to be home. Hopefully you'll all be ready for me to be home, too!

Travelling the East Coast

So, apparently, travelling up the east coast is much busier than the west coast as I've done so much and had no time at all to be online and write about what I've been doing! Oops!

My friend Kim from Vancouver and I have been working our way from Sydney to Cairns for the past few weeks. We're on Magnetic Island right now, just one stop on our bus trip (oz experience) from Cairns. So far, we've been surfing, four-wheel driving, sailing, diving, snorkelling, kayaking, walking, hiking, and so many more things! It's been a blast (and so great to do with a friend!). I've uploaded a bunch of photos, from the last few I took at the resort through to the sailing trip we finished yesterday. One of these days, when I'm not moving around so much, I'll have to sort through all my photos (and put up some that Kim took) but it's just been non-stop the last little while.



So, let's see. Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island. It's amazing, and I'm so glad I decided to go. I went to the island the last time I was in Australia (6 years ago), so wasn't really sure about going. We went on a 4wd self-guided tour. To make it more affordable for backpackers, they put people into groups of up to 11 (we had 9 in ours), sign everyone on to be a driver of the rental car and give you all your camping gear. We'd heard some stories about people being stuck with awful groups but we really lucked out, I think. We got to see everything, met some cool people, and had a blast. It was quite cold camping but we survived.



After Fraser, we went on a sailing trip that was amazing! Our boat was called Summertime (booked it through Oz Adventure Sailing), and I'd totally recommend it to anyone. We got to go diving, snorkelling and kayaking in the Whitsunday Islands. And the boat was gorgeous, the crew were awesome. It was pretty spectacular (a bit rough but gravol's amazing stuff!) and my only complaint is that 3 days is too short!





Now we're on Magnetic Island, where we'll stay for 3 nights. It's raining, so instead of kayaking or beaching, I might go diving. Or maybe just hang about and go for some hikes. It's really beautiful here, apparently!

And as always, there's heaps more photos over on my flickr thinger (or just click on one of the photos to go there).

Back East

So I'm back on the East coast of Australia as of early this morning. Sydney to be exact. And it's strange - even though Perth's a fairly large city, it's so much more chill and calm compared to Sydney. It's like comparing Vancouver and Toronto (except Sydney's about the pace of Vancouver, I think). Met up with Kim, whom I'll be travelling with until the end of August, and we start heading north (to the warmth!) the day after tomorrow.

Today was mainly spent recovering from the red-eye experience of last night and then wandering around downtown with Kim. And other than it being 6deg. this morning when I got off the plane, it's been a fantastic day. Tomorrow I reckon we'll head out to Bondi Beach for the day but that's a post for a later date.

For now, it's just about time for dinner so I should probably sign off (and drag Kim with me).

I'm sorry it's been so long...

Mackerel Islands!

Now that I'm back on the mainland, I guess I should tell you all what I've been up to for the past 10 weeks, 'stuck' on an island with no internet access and no mobile phone.

First up, I most definitely wasn't stuck. Or perhaps I was stuck, but voluntarily. What I'm trying to say is, I had an amazing time on the island and I'm really going to miss the place (and the people).

Work-wise, I did a lot of cleaning and a lot of customer service stuff. The cleaning, well, I can't say I loved it but when you're cleaning a cabin with someone, you have a lot of time to chat; we defintely learned a lot about each other while cleaning cabins. And the customer service stuff was pretty fun, really. Most of the customers on the island were great, and not once did I have to tell anyone to stop taking photos inside the gallery.

Most days on the island, I started work at 7am and worked in the shop for two hours. The shop's pretty tiny but manages to sell quite a lot of stuff - mainly fishing stuff and booze but also groceries, ice creams, souvenirs and munchies. After the shop, and possibly a quick morning tea, it was usually time for some cleaning. Once that was out of the way, even on days I was working I usually had time to get down to the beach for a while before having to be back in the shop at 5:30.

Although I definitely put in a lot of working hours, I managed to get in a ton of snorkelling. And I even went out fishing a couple times (but I only ever caught 2 fish)! On one of my days off, I walked around the whole island - I did it quite leisurely and it took about 5 hours.

In the evenings, everyone would usually congregate in the bar before dinner. Guests got fed at 7, and then the staff would get called for tea once the guests were all in. Harold, the cook, always put on awesome food for us - especially the roast dinners! After tea, sometimes it would be back to the bar for a bit, or if the weather was nice and we were feeling lucky, we'd head down to the jetty for some fishing.

Usually in the evenings, people'd be trying to catch squid - so tasty! Often when got there, though, we'd see a bunch of dolphins hanging around; this usually means no squid for us poor landlubbers! On one occasion, though, one of the boys - Dave - was reeling in a squid from under the jetty and a dolphin followed it in, gave him the dirtiest look I've ever seen from a cetacean, and then circled around under the stairs for a bit. Definitely a pissed of dolphin! That same night, we saw at least 6 dolphins around, some of them leaping up into the air. So even on evenings where we didn't catch any squid, we'd at least see some dolphins - definitely a highlight for me!

The reef around the island has some amazing snorkelling, as well. Aside from all the people I met on the island, the snorkelling action was the best part of my stay! The other day, as I was puttering around off the front beach, I counted 42 species of fish in about 5 minutes or less. And I could have counted more but I was starting to lose track! The diversity out there was amazing - I've never seen so many different kinds of coral, either. While snorkelling, I also saw sting rays (mainly leopard rays), octopus, some kind of long skinny shark (sort of dogfish like), really huge blue bone and parrot fish, crayfish (rock lobsters), and even some turtles. And up until the last week or two, the water was warm enough that I'd just be out there in my board shorts and a rashie.

I've got so many more stories about the island but that's probably enough for today. I'm in Exmouth at the moment, and fly to Perth this afternooon. I'll be in Perth until the evening of the 30th and then I fly to Sydney to meet up with Kim! I'm a little worried about being back in the cold but I'm sure my Canadian blood's still in there somewhere!

And now that I'm back to having regular email access, I'd love to hear what you're all up to! I'll try to be around on msn on occasion, and I'll even reply to your emails! I missed you all heaps while I was on the island and can't wait to hear more about what's happening back home.

I'm currently uploading all my photos but it's going to take a while for them all to get there. The link on the top left will take you there, and I'll do a blog post with photos in it soon!

Yes, I'm still alive!

I've been working on Thevenard Island, for the Mackerel Islands 'resort' for about a week now. Things are quite fantastic here, busy but also lots of fun. I generally do a bit of everything from cleaning rooms to working in the general shop to waitressing. There are only about 6 staff here right now (plus the managers, but they and their daughter are away this week), and not many more guests. Things are, apparently, going to get quite busy in the next few weeks, though.

The island is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. There are fish all around, and I've even seen sharks, dolphins and stingrays off the jetty! All the other staff are awesome, and even the guests are usually pretty cool. It's the kind of place where I can wear my barefeet everywhere, and feel like I'm dressing up for dinner if I put my flipflops on. Lots of sand everywhere, so I haven't worn actual shoes since I arrived.

I'm still sorting out internet here, so for the moment I'm pretty limited with my access. But I promise I'm taking lots of photos and will show you how awesome this place is one of these days.

And now I'm off for a stroll on the beach, and then tonight I'm in the bar. Cool beans!

I've just a few days left in Perth before I head up to the Mackerel Islands. I've been working a bit, packing a lot, and mostly getting out, doing the things I haven't fit in yet. Yesterday, for example, I went to the University of Western Australia and then to the Aquarium (AQWA).

At UWA, I met with one of the co-ordinators of the Science Communications program for a chat about their post-graduate programs, whether they're what I'm looking for and what I need to do/know to get in. She gave me a lot to think about but they have a very interesting set of programs, from a 1-semester certificate to a 2+year MSc. Most excitingly, though, they might be starting up a new MSc. program next year that would be a Diploma of Education (teaching qualifications) plus the Science Communications coursework. Very interesting, overall.

And the campus there is beautiful, right on the river, lots of old buildings. And, you know, palm trees.

Then I went on a public transit adventure up to the aquarium. I didn't get lost but, from UWA (1 bus ride from home) it took 1 bus, 2 trains and another bus to get to the Aquarium. But I did get to see lots of areas of Greater Perth that I hadn't seen before.

The Aquarium's in an area called Hillary's Boat Harbour. In addition to AQWA, there's a shopping/restaurant area (think Londsdale Quay), a huge marina and boat launch, posh housing and the department of fisheries. Big, busy place in the summer, I expect, but it was pretty quiet yesterday.

The Aquarium covers pretty much the whole of WA in its various galleries. Most fascinating, for me, is that all their exhibits have live coral, not artificial. Although, that's got to be easier here, where you can just hop off to the ocean and collect some more, than at home. They also had leafy seadragons, some very cool fish, sharks and rays, and Australian sea lions. Pretty nice place, but I think I've been spoiled - it sure didn't compare to seeing some of these things in the wild!

I took photos but my camera's out of batteries, so I'll put them up another time.

Three more sleeps until I head up north!

Back to Freo

Like many Australian things, Fremantle has a nickname. Freo. Don't ask me why but Aussies like to abreviate strangely. Like MacDonald's is Macca's, Sharon is Shazza, and Fremantle is Freo. My friend Cat (we met on the tour up to Exmouth) came down to see Fremantle for the day so it gave me an excuse to take some photos of where I've been working and living for the past while.

For the past few days, this US ship has been in the port. 4000 American sailors have been wreaking havoc on the town (although I think they're gone now). Apparently this ship's big enough to have its own McDonald's. Just one of many ships in port, though.



Freo, like many places here used to be a prison colony. The Round House was an important building for some reason.



And now it's got a nice view.



Or it does on sunny days... About two minutes after I took this, we got completely and totally drenched. Huge winds, sideways rain, the whole thing. The beach there is usually much nicer looking; it's where we take our school tours to do beachcombing.

To escape the rain, we went in to Cicerello's, where I work. The place was packed but I got a few photos.



And then you can't have a Freo day without either the markets or a street performer. We did both but the markets were too packed for photos. Instead, here's a crazy pirate who's a world record sword swallower. We didn't stay for the sword swallowing, though!



***
Almost forgot! All over the place here, and up the coast, there are these crazy birds, some sort of cockatoo. They make the most annoying sound! And in Exmouth, I managed to get a video of them squawking away. They're way up in a tree so it's a bit quiet but enjoy! And imagine them squawking outside your house, all afternoon!

http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=-877096535557880775

(I can't check it on this computer so let me know if it doesn't work!).

***

In other exciting news, I'll be leaving Perth very soon (but not WA)! I'll be going to the Mackerel Islands near Onslow, WA (www.mackerelislands.com.au) to work at the hotel/resort there. I leave the city on the 15th and arrive on the 16th and plan to stay for 4-8 weeks. I'm not exactly sure what I'll be doing, other than 'a bit of everything'. Probably cleaning, in the restaurant/bar, in the shop. The plan is to work there, then try to see some whale sharks (again), then fly out east by end of July/beginning of August.

The islands are known around here for their amazing fishing and diving, so as long as I can get out on the ocean every now and then, I'll be a happy camper. And it should be easier to save money up there, too. I think I'll have some internet but not much. But I'll definitely keep you all posted!

And good luck to Mahssa and Tom, who are moving to London, England today!

West Coast, part 3 (the last part)

Day 6

We woke up to find it raining, unfortunately. Today was the big snorkelling day on the Ningaloo Reef. It didn't stop us from getting into the ocean but we all spent the whole day pretty wet. The free tea/coffee on the tour bus was such a treat! First up we snorkelled in Coral Bay, about a 10 minute walk from the hostel (about as far from the reef as you can be in Coral Bay). We were out for about 90 minutes and then, thankfully, could go back to the hostel for hot showers and second breakfast. Then we all hopped on the bus to Exmouth. It's a pretty short drive, less than 2 hours. We went and checked into the hostel, ate some lunch, and then headed out for our second snorkel.

This time it was a bit of a longer trip, maybe 45minutes on the bus until we arrived at Turquoise Bay in Cape Range National Park. It was still raining but pretty much everyone trooped out across the sand. We had to walk quite a ways down the beach, first to get away from a rip current (that would take us out to sea) and then further along the beach as Turquoise Bay is a drift snorkel - what a treat! We spent about 2 hours in the water, I think. Went so quickly, even with the rain on our backs. I saw so many different fish - really big wrasses and triggerfish, lots of different clownfish, and more that I haven't got names for yet (I need to get an Australian fish book!). The best thing we saw, though, was a green turtle! It was about 50cm long and was completely okay with us getting quite close (less than a metre away, for sure). We got to watch it chomp on some coral, come up to the surface for air, and just bob around in the current. I'd have watched it all day but it started getting close to the rip current that we were to avoid. And it was time to head back on to the bus back into Exmouth.



Exmouth isn't really a big place but after Denham and Coral Bay, it seemed huge! Even though only 3000 people live there, it's quite spread out. We were staying in little backpacker caravans in the Exmouth Cape Caravan park. It's just been redone (new owners, I think), so was quite nice. Only problem was, we were in town just in time for the first rain the area's had since about October so it was really muddy! As you can see, the mud's a lovely brownish-red colour and has stained the bottoms of my feet! We had dinner across the road at the pub that night, then I had an early night so I'd be ready for my reef adventures the next day.



Day 7

Woke up to a lot of rain, which made it tough to get out of bed. But as it was to be my whale shark snorkelling day, I was actually up in plenty of time! Unfortunately, after a lot of hanging around and waiting (mostly in the dive company's minibus), they made the decision to cancel the trip. The boat would have been fine but a huge part of having successful whale shark trips, and the reason they are so expensive, is that they send spotter planes out along the reef to find the sharks. In the rain, though, the planes are unable to see anything in the water. I was a bit upset because there were no spaces left on the next day's trip, but I was able to get a full refund and book onto a trip for the next day.

Ended up spending some time in the internet cafe that was across the road from the caravan park. And then next to that is a second hand bookstore (aka heaven in the rain). The owner was super nice, offered me a cup of coffee and just left me to it for a good hour or so. Picked up something easy so that I'd have it for the long (but very very straight) trip back down in a couple days.

As it was ANZAC Day today, most people had the day off. Being a tourist town, though, at least the supermarket was open. On my way to the supermarket, though, I ran into Lindsay and her friends. They'd arrived into town early that morning and after a nap, had headed down to the Returned Services Bar. ANZAC Day, while similar to Rememberence Day, basically consists of an early morning service followed by lots and lots of drinking. So, we all went to the bar for free beer, met some really awesome people (veterans, RAAF personelle, and locals). They play this game called two-up that I really don't understand but apparently it's quite easy to both make and lose a lot of money at (I didn't participate!).

Went back to the caravan park to make some dinner, and hung out with the other girls in my caravan for a bit. We walked down to the pub for a live band that night but, as I was to be diving the next day, went to sleep relatively early.

Day 8

This should have been a really great day. If I've already talked to you about it, then you probably know it wasn't. The dive company picked us up at 8 (us being myself and another girl from my caravan, Charly). We went to the dive shop and were there told to return at 10:30 because they were waiting for a small part for the boat to come in. We went back to bed for a bit, then back to the dive shop. The skipper at this point had the part and was working to install it as quickly as possible. So, we headed to the mooring about 20 minutes away. Here we hung around from 11 until about 12:30, at which point they decided they were unable to get the boat to work and the dive was cancelled.



At this point I was pretty angry because not only had my dive been cancelled (although I would get a refund), I'd had my whole day wasted. If they'd cancelled it earlier, Charly and I would have been able to go out in a car with the two others from our room and get some snorkelling in. It wouldn't have been as good as diving but they did see a shark and a turtle - better than nothing, really.

I ended up geting a bit grouchy at the owner of the dive company because at this point, I hadn't been able to do any of the things I was really looking forward to in Exmouth, and I had to leave first thing the next morning. Although it wasn't all his company's fault, I still felt like they'd wasted two of my days; I spent at least nine hours over the two days hanging around waiting to see if things would be cancelled. So, he gave me a voucher that, if I am able to go back to Exmouth, would give me about $200 off a 3-day package (1 whale shark day, 2 diving days). At this point, that's the plan - work a bit and then head back to Exmouth in June or so.



Even though I had a really disappointing day, I really wanted to make the best of it. It was finally sunny by the time we got back to the caravan park. Went for a bit of a swim, started writing up this blog, read my book by the pool. Lindsay et al. got back from their whale shark trip (the one I'd have gone on if there were room), where they didn't see any whale sharks but had a good day diving and snorkelling. We ended up just having one of those really fun nights you can really only have when playing cards on a picnic table! I learned to play 6-handed Italian Rummy, which is definitely something I'll have to remember for Nelson Island!



Day 9 and 10

These days were pretty much spent on an Easyrider Bus for an Express trip back to Perth. The first day we went all the way to Geraldton, back in the land of traffic lights and cell phone reception. It was a bit odd, to be honest. We got into the hostel there at about 5:30, so were able to have a nice night near the beach. There were just five of us on the bus, plus our driver, Graham. We all got on well, so was quite a fun day! The last day we only had about five hours left to drive, and then by about noon, we were back in Perth!

Overall, it was a really awesome trip even though I didn't get to do everything I'd planned. I'm trying to figure out how I can bac up the ceast, maybe getting a job in one of the resorts up there or something. I'll keep you all posted, for sure! I hope you enjoy the photos, and sorry for being so long-winded at times!

*And don't forget that you can click on any of the photos and see all the others ones I took. There might even be some fun comments to go with them if I was in the mood when I uploaded them!

Well, that's my whole trip. I hope I didn't bore you too much! At this point, I'm working on figuring out how to get back up the coast so I can see the whale sharks and the reef. Working somewhere up in the area is seeming very likely at this point, and I should have more details soon! Yay!

West Coast, part 2

Day 3

I got up early this morning (well, earlier than the others in my room) and went down to the beach in Denham. The whole town's along the waterfront, so I didn't have to walk far. I did go up to the far end of town to where the beach widens. It was a nice windy day so I was able to lie on the beach in the morning without being too hot. In fact, I didn't even warm up enough to want to swim. It probably wasn't the best place to swim, either, as I was the only person on the beach!



I ate my lunch down there and collected a few shells. The beach was more a mixture of sand and shells but had many different types of shells. All tiny, though. At the moment I've got them in a small plastic box but I saw a really neat idea for displaying them in front of a photo but behind the glass. A project for when I get home!

After lunch, I strolled through the few (very few) shops in Denham. There's a pottery studio, a newsagents/post office/souvenir shop, a couple supermarkets, a cafe and another souvenir shop along the main street between the beach and the hostel. A quiet afternoon by the pool about finished off this busy day!

Day 4

The hostel in Denham runs a free shuttle to Monkey Mia so I hopped onto it this morning at 7:45. To get into Monkey Mia as a day visitor, you have to pay $6 (like a national park fee). Darren from the hostel dropped us off out front of the resort at about 8:15 and would be back to get us at about 3:30. We walked through the visitors' centre to the beach just in time to catch the end of the first dolphin talk.



At Monkey Mia, they have a group of about 13 dolphins that visit the beach regularily. Five of them, all females, are fed each day. The feedings are strictly controlled in terms of the amount of fish, which dolphins can be fed, and what times of day the feedings happen. In general, there are a maximum of 3 feedings each morning and a limited weight of fish for each dolphin (about 3-4 fish per feed). Because these dolphins have been getting fed at the same beach at the same time of day for years now, it's become a pretty popular tourist spot. When we arrived, there were at least 50 people standing on the beach watching the dolphins get fed on this last day of school holidays. There would have been another feed and talk shortly but I decided to save my dolphin experience until the next day, hoping it would be a bit less busy.

So, I set off to find Lindsay (the same one I flew down with from Vancouver). She's been in Monkey Mia since the beginning of Febuary and I really wanted to see what she's been up to. After some wandering around, I managed to find her! She and the other researchers there are in the caravan (R.V.) park of the resort and I got there as they were all thinking about breakfast. For various reasons, Lindsay didn't have to be out on the boat that morning so we got to hang out a bit. She took me on a tour of the resort and I got to meet all her coworkers - lovely people! And then, super exciting, Lindsay switched with someone else so that we could go out on a boat that afternoon. Not the research boat but a catamaran sailing boat that does a 2 hour wildlife cruise!

On the cruise, we saw a bunch of turtles and at least two dugongs (sea cows, kind of like manatees). And it was just so nice to be out on a boat! It was pretty calm, but enough wind to sail. Even though we saw lots of animals, I didn't get any good photos of them. But here's one of Lindsay and I on the boat!



The afternoon around Monkey Mia was pretty quiet for me - just ate lunch and watched a movie with Lindsay and a couple of the other research assistants (Adam and Rachel). Headed back at around 3:30 into Denham. That night, the people from the bus I'd be getting on the next day arrived so mingled with them by the pool table and then checked out some stars from the beach. The stars down here, even in the cities are amazing because you can see the Milky Way. Once you get away from all the lights, though, they're incredible! And, I found out that the moon waxes and wanes (gets bigger and smaller) in the opposite direction from the Northern Hemisphere!

Day 5

Met the tour bus and new driver, Wes, at 7am this morning and we all headed off to Monkey Mia. This time, though, I got there in time for the first dolphin talk. There were still at least 30 people all standing on the beach and only about 6 dolphins around. I guess having been pretty up close with whales and dolphins over the years at the aquarium, I wasn't all that impressed by the whole thing. It's a neat idea, though, and seems like it's well run. But to say that you're getting up close with wild dolphins in Monkey Mia is a bit of an exaggeration. The dolphins do come right into shore, where there's a big group of people in about calf-deep water. Once it's time for the feeding, though, everyone has to step back onto the shore. The volunteers pick people out of the crowd to feed each fish to the dolphins, so maybe 15 visitors in total do the feeding. And while these dolphins aren't in captivity, they are 'trained' to come in to the beach everyday. Of course, they don't have to but the easy to catch fish seems like it brings them in very regularily. Overall, I'm glad I did the dolphin experience but I think that there are better wildlife encounters around.



After Monkey Mia, we headed to an amazing look out called Eagle Bluff (still in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area). From the bluff, we were able to see sharks, rays, and perhaps some turtles. We were quite high up, though, so they really just looked like specks of different shapes. A lovely look-out, though! Next up it was lunch time, so we headed to Shell Beach. It was a pretty hot day so it was great to be near the water. This beach is more famous in the area, but I actually liked Nanga Bay better. Shell Beach, though, has the same shells around, and apparently in some places they are at least 10m deep!

Shell Beach is right at the edge of what is called Project Eden. I'd have taken a photo but Project Eden is, essentially, a fence. The penninsula is completely fenced off to keep feral cats (and others) out of Frances Peron National Park. Throughout the park, the native wildlife were being eaten to near-extinction by introduced animals. In addition to being a physical barrier, the fence is wired so that when something approaches it, it barks! Very funny because if the windows are down, you can hear it as you drive past. The project is along the same lines as the predator-free islands around New Zealand but, I think, it's pretty amazing that they've had similar success with an area so close to towns and roads.



Once we left Shark Bay, we had a big drive ahead of us along the North West Freeway. We drove along the second longest straight stretch of road in the southern hemisphere (something like 500km). Other than a few eagles and the Tropic of Capricorn, we didn't see much along the way. We did play a few fun bus games, though. And had a kangaroo spotting contest! Luckily we didn't hit any, but we were close a few times. We were driving along a road where they often see 50 in 100km, and I've learned that 'roos are not so traffic aware as you'd like to hope. Wes, our driver, said that on the roads up here, the most common fatal accident comes not from cars hitting kangaroos but from swerving to avoid them and rolling over on the shoulder. They're a bit different than hitting a moose, I'd say, but still would do a lot of damage to a small car. Lesson - don't drive a car after dusk in rural Australia!

We arrived in Coral Bay by around 7:30 and checked into the hostel. Coral Bay's a tiny community, only about 120 people live there. All their drinking water comes from a desalination plant that is quite expensive to run. To help save money and resources, there are essentially 3 types of water that can come out of various taps - grey water is used for watering lawns, partially desalinated water for showers, sinks and toilets and drinkable water only in marked taps. The whole hostel (maybe 100 beds) has only 2 taps that are for drinking. I'm really glad I got a chance to get to this area now, though, as Coral Bay is currently being essentially bulldozed to make way for a Hilton Resort to come in. It's sad, really, as it's a quaint little town that really is there to take full advantage of lovely beaches and accessible Ningaloo Reef. I wonder what all that will be like once there's a big resort instead of smaller, local-run hotels and motels.

That night in Coral Bay, after dinner, we had a party down on the beach - so much fun just talking with everyone on the tour and listening to the waves. We'd have watched the stars but the sky had clouded over. We had an iPod for entertainment, though, and my overpacking saved the day - I had AAA batteries for someone's speakers!

*

Just a few days left to report on! In the present, however, I'm in Fremantle, settling back into the same hostel as before. I briefly tried out a different one but it was very loud and had mice. Therefore, back here. Looking for a second job, possibly looking for a job up in Exmouth or Coral Bay. Ideally, I'd like to be out of the city soon but it's expensive to get to anywhere from Perth (there's not much nearby as I learned!).

The West Coast, part 1

Day 1

I met the tour up in Perth at about 7:15. We all checked in and had a coffee, so by the time we left the city, it was about 8 or so. Everyone was tired but pretty friendly. Enzo, our bus driver, was super fun, had lots of things for us to do in the stops and was just a super nice guy. Other than the driver, though, it was a bus full of 14 girls until we got to Dongara where we picked up one German guy! The first day was heaps of driving, about 750km or so. We didn't see too much, but had a few nice scenic stops.

First up were the Pinnacles in Nambung National Park. There are thousands of limestone pillars poking out of the sand. They can get up to four metres tall, but the ones we saw were smaller, maybe only two metres at the most. The desert landscape was pretty impressive, as well. And luckily there was a bit of a breeze going through so it wasn't too hot and the flies mostly stayed away.



We also passed through major crayfishing towns like Dongara and Geraldton. Not much to see, really, but crayfishing's a huge industry in WA. The crayfish out here are a lot different than the ones in North America, they're much more like lobsters and can be pretty huge. Crayfishing season is on now, and lasts for about 6 months. The guys working on the boats make $60-70k in just that time (and spend the rest of the year surfing, apparently). The companies pay them quite well - they get a retainer at the beginning of the season and then are paid a percentage of what their boat makes (usually 5-10%) at the end of the season. Much better than other remote jobs where they get paid throughout then often don't save enough to get through off season. All along the coast these shacks are set up so they can get to the boat easily. There's really nothing else around for a few hours' drive, though.

We got in to Kalbarri at about 7:30pm that night, so didn't end up seeing much of the town. We left for dinner at about 8 and walked a ways to a really awesome seafood BBQ place - Finlay's. They do a backpackers' special, so for $10, we each got a huge plate of food - battered fish, grilled fish, mussels, prawns, squid rings, chips, rice. And there was a salad bar, too! None of us could finish it all, but it was really delicious. And a fun place, too!

After having such a long day on the bus, we all crashed pretty early that night.

Day 2

Seven o'clock start today! We went to the supermarket for breakfast and lunch shopping he headed inland from Kalbarri to see the gorges of the Murchison River. We checked out Nature's Window and The Loop. We could have gone to another spot, but given the option between that and going to a beach in the afternoon, everyone on the bus chose the beach! The gorges we saw were quite nice, though, but lots of flies!




Really flat boring drive - we were on the 2nd longest stretch of road with no turns in the Southern Hemisphere. It makes driving across the prairies seem interesting - at least there are grain elevators and the occasional cow, there. This drive, though, was just flat expanses of shrubs for as far as you could see. To keep ourselves occupied, we played bus cricket. Everyone puts $2 into a cup. One by one, we went and sat next to the driver and you had to try to get cars driving the other way to wave at you. If they did a little wave, you got 2 points. Proper wave, 4 points, and if they used 2 hands or the passenger waved as well, then 6 points. But, if they didn't wave, then you're out! The person with the most points won the money! And if you didn't get any waves, then you got a squirt of cold water in the face!

Of course, as soon as we started the game, we went about half an hour without seeing any cars! But the game stretched out nicely, and ended up taking a couple hours. I didn't win, but I didn't get squirted either.

We also played Enzo's Bus Bingo. Everyone wrote down 15 cards on a piece of paper and then Enzo called out cards until someone had all their 15 cards called out. Bingo! Quite a good driving game, actually!

Finally, we got to the Shark Bay World Heritage Site. First stop there was Hamelin Pool Stromatolites. They're really not much to look at but they were the first organisms to really start producing oxygen and pumping it into the atmosphere. Shark Bay is one of the only places where they're still alive - quite a feat considering they've been around for about 4 billion years! The organisms are cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and they form mats and pillars out of sand and mucus. These pillars were, way back when, similar to what coral reefs are today. They made great habitats for primitive ocean creatures. But considering they're not much to see, it was a pretty quick stop.



We ate lunch on the bus between the stromatolites and our next stop, Nanga Bay. Went for a bit of a swim there, even though the water was quite chilly! The beach was amazing, though. It was all shells, little tiny clam shells mostly but also some pretty snail shells. It looked a bit like shell pasta, but was actually quite comfortable to lay on. And no sand between the toes!

A short drive away and we were at Ocean Park, an outdoor aquarium. We saw baby loggerhead turtles, sea snakes, a bunch of sharks. It was a really nice place, actually. All the fish were caught in the Shark Bay area, and the guide was really knowledgeable about everything. My favourite, though, was a stone fish.



Doesn't look much like a fish, but see if you can find its mouth and eyes. They don't move hardly at all, but have really poisonous spikes along their backs. Luckily, they aren't ever found on sandy beaches, so it's pretty unlikely to step on one.



They fed some sharks at the aquarium, too. Lemon sharks and nervous sharks. There was also a big tiger shark in there, but it stayed under the whole time, so we just got glimpses of it. Very cool, though. And because the aquarium's right on the water, things like the sharks are just there for a few months and are then released back to the ocean.

After the aquarium, we arrived in Denham at the hostel. It's a really nice hostel, there's a pool and it's across the street from the beach. I'm in a 3 bed room, and it's quite lovely. I think the hostel was once family motel units. I'm in a 3 room unit, so there's a kitchen/lounge area and then three dorm rooms attached. After getting settled, we went to the pub for dinner, and then to the hotel bar where the local band (The Denham Genes) played. Pretty awesome night out, actually.

*

Well, that's about long enough for now, I think! I'm still working on writing up the rest and I'll post more soon.

Photos from the West Coast

Sorry it's been such a long time since I blogged but I've been super busy and in pretty tiny places with slow internet. But I'm now it the thriving metropolis of Exmouth (pop. approx 3000) so I'm making a start on getting you all updated with what I've been doing.

These are the photos from the beginning up until two days ago.

I've been keeping good notes and will have, once I'm back in Perth, a full account of what I've been doing. But, for now, if you go here, you can see the tour that I was on. It doesn't have everything there, but you'll get an idea. I haven't any photos past Coral Bay uploaded.

Overall, it's been a great trip. Since Coral Bay, though, it's been raining a lot (first time since October or so). I wasn't able to do a whale shark tour because of the rain yesterday. But I'm going out to do 3 dives on the Ningaloo Reef today, so that should be awesome!!

I hope you're all doing well and I promise I'll have more details soon. I get back to Perth on Saturday afternoon, I think.

Back in a hostel

So, I've moved out of the share house I was in and back into a hostel. On the plus side, I'm a ten minute walk from shops, work, everything. On the minus side, the rooms here are a bit small and sometimes it's a bit loud. I'm just here until I leave on my trip up the coast next Thursday. And then I guess I'll come back here when I return. The plan, though, is to find another share house to live in down here. Places seem to come up frequently all over the city, so it's just a matter of finding one that's near Fremantle and not too expensive.

I worked today, just for the morning to get the aquarium stuff done. I was awake at about 5, though, and couldn't get back to sleep. Being so close, though, I could get up and start work whenever. On days when there aren't any tours booked and it's just me in, I have about three hours of work to get done. As long as everything's finished by about 10, they don't mind when I start. So, I got to work about 6, worked until 9. Then came back just in time for the free breakfast - it runs 8-9:30 everyday. Just toast, jam, cereal and coffee/tea but as I'm out of cereal and haven't bothered to buy jam or tea yet, it's quite a nice treat. Had a big nap and now I'm ready to go for the day.

Oh, except it's raining here, so no beach today. Might go to the market or perhaps just wander around town. I'm on a hunt for new flip-flops. There are lots around, but I haven't seen any that aren't bright pink or too big or too expensive. Old Navy indeed spoils us - tons of selection and the pair I got before I left Vancouver were only $5!

On the subject of Holey Soles/Crocs

Like in Vancouver, these strange plastic clogs are everywhere down here. I own a pair of turquoise ones that I recieved as a Christmas present from my mum. I thought they might come in handy as slippers/boat shoes, and might be nice on long bus rides. And they have been, but I've also been wearing them more often than I'd expected to. Now, have no fear, I don't wear them around town or anymore than I have to. Trust me. But they're the perfect shoes for work. We're not allowed to wear sandals/flip-flops, but our feet are often in puddles or getting water spraying on them. They're not great when we go to the beach as they fill with sand, but they also let the sand out pretty easily. I've been wearing them so much that, on top of the lovely flip-flop tan, I've got a bit of a Croc-tan. Yes, I have faint polka dots on my feet. Laugh away!

Minor update

I booked myself into a tour up the west coast today. Perth to Exmouth and all stops between. I leave Perth on the 19th and get back on the 28th. I'll spend a couple days in Monkey Mia (where Lindsay is) and a couple in Exmouth (where the whale sharkies are). Other stops include Kalbarri and Coral Bay.

Going tomorrow to look at a new share house. It's just two train stops away from work. It also looks like it's closer to grocery stores and such than the current place. A bit more expensive but I'll save money on transport.

Easter weekend and then two weeks of school holidays coming up here. Means I won't be doing many aquarium tours but I'll still be working. We have a few daycare groups coming in. And the fishies still need care and feeding. I'll probably end up peeling a few kilos of carrots here and there, too. And yes, one of these days I'll remember to take my camera with me!

Happy Easter all!

Things are much the same here for me. Work's going well, and I work my first weekend shift tomorrow. Today, however, I got bitten by a mulloway (a fish). My finger just looks like I've got a couple paper cuts, so it's nothing serious or painful. Pretty amusing, though. It happened while I was feeding the fishies. Really, the worst part about it was that I had to wear a glove the rest of the day while I helped in the kitchen. Peeling onions and butterflying shrimp while wearing a glove is a challenge!

A Work Update

I've worked nearly every morning this week at the aquarium/restaurant. I've learned a lot about all the fish and the aquarium set-up. Mostly, it's pretty easy stuff (scrubbing the tanks, feeding the fish), with the occasional bit of variety - collecting sea weed from the ocean, teaching the kiddies, cleaning the sand filter out in the ocean, getting soaking wet.

The other staff that I've met so far have been great. There are a few exceptions but they aren't people I have to work with often.

Today, there was no school tour coming so the aquarium work was all done by about 9am. Since it takes me about 30min to get there, the managers have been great about offering to extend my shift on such days. Today, I buttered rolls and made garlic bread for about three hours. Not exactly intellectually stimulating but I was in the kitchen, chatting with the cooks and chefs. Most days it'll either be the bread or the salads that I'll be prepping. And perhaps I'll work my way up to serving, but I'd rather smell like garlic bread than fish and chips!

I'm looking to move down closer to Fremantle in a few weeks. The girl I'm sharing a room with will be moving in mid-April. And the more time I spend in Freo (as the locals call it. not sure why), the more I really like it. There are neat old buildings, and it's got lots of beaches nearby. The markets are really fun on weekends, too.

This weekend, the weather's supposed to be a bit cooler so I think I'll go to Scarborough Beach and watch some of the Surf Life Saving competition. It'll be packed but as I won't have to drive, I'm not too worried about it. And I'm quite excited to see something that's so 'australian'.

Diving!

I had two great dives today around Rottnest Island. Early start to the day as we had to meet in town at 7:30am! But once we got there, just checked in and left to drive to Fremantle by about 7:45. A bunch more people met us at the dock and it turned out we had a very full boat! We finally got to the island by about 9:30 or so. We traded some of the people on the boat (snorkellers) for some more divers from the island and headed off for the morning dive with about 18 divers or so.

Because I was signed up to do a refresher course (I hadn't been diving in 5 years!), I pretty much had an instructor to myself. The other two instructors on board each had four students with him. So my buddy/teacher and I decided we'd be about the last ones off the boat and headed off for dive number one. We were at a reef and rocks area with lots of swim-throughs and big caves. Tons of fish to see, and even more to see on the ground! I won't bore you all with the details because I could go on. And on. And on. But my favourite things this dive were these big bright orange sponges and the Codium, a really neat kind of algae. Also on this dive, I practiced getting my buoyancy (evil fin pivots) and regulator recovery/clearing. Important things to learn. I wasn't going to do a mask clear because of my contacts but then I wiggled it and had to do a partial one anyways. Ah well. Just a little water up the nose. Did about 35min on the bottom, to a depth of 11m (about 35').

Back on the boat, we headed back to the shop for lunch. The shop staff filled up our tanks while we ate and then back on the boat. Where we all got to put on our nice wet wetsuits! I, however, had taken mine off the boat and let it dry in the sun a bit so it wasn't too bad. I thought about leaving it on, but as it was nearly 30 degrees, I really had to take it off.

The second dive had a few things to see - 2 small wrecks and a reef wall. We started at the reef and saw a really really big fish. And apparently there was a ray, but I missed it! Too busy checking out the big urchins dug into the reef. Navigation down there was really tricky because the wrecks had some steel cargo and it messed with the compass. We found the first wreck which was pretty unrecognizable as a boat, but covered in plants and animals. Didn't get to the second wreck but I was happy. We spent nearly 45 minutes underwater on this dive, and only needed to go about 7m to see everything.

Overall, they weren't the best dives I've ever done but they were a great refresher and confidence booster! And I'm really excited to get up to Exmouth and see the Ningaloo Reef. Next month some time, I'm hoping!

And tomorrow's another early day. I have to be on the bus by 6:10 for my first day at work!

Perth photos

In this batch, there are photos of Scitech (the science centre here), the State Museum, the beach, and my house.



I'm all moved in here. Didn't take long! Went grocery shopping today - it's a bit far, but I'm hoping that there'll be a supermarket on the bus route between here and work. I'll find out on Monday.

It's Saturday here, and it's been great to have a bit of a lazy day. And it'll be an early night as I've got to leave at around 7am tomorrow for diving at Rottnest Island. I'm super excited to finally get diving. And the other aquarium staff said they sometimes go diving after work so if I can find a place to rent gear, that would be so fun!

My first day/trial day at the job went really well. A nice, controlled school tour for 55 or so 5-6 year olds. Right! Chaos, but the good kind where everyone's having fun. We talk about sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, rock lobsters, and Port Jackson sharks. The kids get to touch everything, even the sharks! We take the babies out, and they actually really like getting their heads scratched! The rock lobsters are a bit intimidating, too, but not as bad as a dungeness crab because the lobsters have no pinchers. I'll try to take some photos of work this week.

And that's about all from me.

So, I move into a share house tomorrow (Friday). It's in South Perth, just across the river from downtown. There are 5 or 6 bedrooms in the house, plus a tv room, kitchen, laundry, outdoor patio/barbeque, etc. It's nice and close to the bus route and other important things like a 24hr convenience store and a video rental place. Since I'm sharing a room (with a German girl I met at the hostel), it's a very cheap place to live.

Also on Friday, I go for a trial for a job. It sounds a bit strange, but I'd be an aquarium assistant at a fish and chip's place in Fremantle. Not looking after the fish for eating but they have a big aquarium set-up and offer school touch pool/beachcombing workshops. Basically, I'd be cleaning the tanks, feeding the fishies, and looking after the school groups. And a few other things that will require snorkelling (collecting seaweed and cleaning the sand filter). The shop is called Cicerello's. It sounds like, as long as I like it and they like working with me tomorrow, I'll have a job starting Monday.

I'm booked in to go for a refresher diving course on Sunday. I'll do two dives on Rottnest Island with an instructor. Since I wanted to dive Rottnest anyways, it works out perfectly. And then I'll be all ready to go for diving up North. And also the other aquarium staff go diving after work sometimes.

That's about all I've got going on right now. Nothing too touristy lately. And once I've got photos of the house, I'll do a picture post with the other few Perth photos I've taken so far.

Happy Spring Break to everyone who's got a break! And I hope all you SW people are surviving it okay!

Perth

Settling in here in Perth, and I'm actually going to look at a room to rent tonight. I'll let you know how it goes but I'm quite excited about it. Over the weekend, I puttered around in a couple interesting places.

Saturday I went to Freemantle which is about 30min away by commuter train. It's an old fashioned sort of place, with cool old buildings and a nice port town sort of feeling. For you Vancouver people, it's a bit like if Granville Island were its own town. And if it had an old prison, which makes the analogy fall apart. But Freemantle's got a couple weekend markets that have buskers around and really good fresh produce. And there are tons of bookshops around town, so lots to see there. I quite enjoyed myself, even though I didn't go to the prison. I think I'll save that for another trip down.

Sunday I headed to Cottesloe Beach. It was very beachy. They had an outdoor sculpture display going on so the beach had all kinds of weird things on it. There was even a giant 8-ball out in the ocean. Odd. Being a Sunday, the place was packed but there were still lots of places to swim and sit. My first dip in the Indian Ocean! It's refreshing! Quite wavy, as well, so I had a nice time bobbing around. Cottesloe's about 30min SW of downtown on the bus. Quicker on the train but a) it wasn't running on Sunday morning and b) the train station's about a 30min walk from the beach. Sunday was, overall, a lovely day on the beach. Except that I left my blue UBC hat somewhere and I'm very upset. I'll have to pick up a new hat today, I guess.

Other than Freo and Cottesloe, I spent a couple hours at Scitech, the science museum here. I saw a really cool planetarium show (in a mini omnimax theatre!) but the rest of the place was quite small and unexciting overall. It looked like they have a neat lab set-up for school programs and after school classes.

If I've been up to anything else, it hasn't been very exciting. I am hoping to get some diving in here near Perth, and then in a few weeks up north. There's a cyclone or three going through right now, though, so I'm not exactly sure when I'll be travelling up there yet.

Random Observations

I'm in Perth but haven't done much exciting yet. I did get up to the gardens on Monday and enjoyed some views of the city and the river. Mostly, I've been just getting to know the city a bit, started looking for a job and other such dull things. I'm in a new hostel now, Governor Robinsons and I love it here. It's so clean and friendly. Best part, though, is that it's got a/c. Fantastic stuff!

So because I have nothing to say regarding my current situation, I thought I'd share with you some little tidbits I've observed the past month:

-No coffee shops or restaurants (other than Starbucks) have drip coffee. It's all espresso drinks and I find it rather odd. In fact, very odd. I miss my cheap refillable coffee at Joe's!

-Speaking of coffee, I've been in and around quite a lot of downtown Perth and haven't seen any Starbucks yet. I kinda feel like I'm on another planet, but I'm not complaining! The only good thing about Starbucks is that it's like MacDonald's - you know exactly what you're going to get!

-There's a nationwide chain of athletic shoe stores called The Athletes' Foot. Amusing!

-There are very few Americans around, at least in hostels. There was one lady from Hawaii on the Kangaroo Island tour and Lindsay and I had a really loud one behind us on the flight from Fiji to Sydney but I'm pretty sure that's it.

I left my notebook with other notes in my room, but I know there are more. Maybe I'll do this more often.

Oh, and for those I told I'd be getting a post office box - turns out you need to have a street address first, so I'll just wait until I have a flat. I can hopefully use the hostel address to get bank and tax stuff started, though. Project for tomorrow!

Glenelg Photos

So, I'm in Perth now, have been for a couple days. I'll save all that for next time because I've got some photos and such from when I was in South Australia.

First up, we’ve got some photos from Glenelg, mainly sunsets but there’s also the town square and such.



This one, with all the trees is kinda neat. The trees are Norfolk pines, very pretty trees and pretty common around here in SA. They were planted by explorers and settlers because they’re really straight and it was thought they’d make good masts. A couple problems with that, though. One, by the time they were big enough to be masts, well, it was probably the 1950s and the demand for wooden masts had kinda dropped off. And two, you can see that all the branches come out radially (all around the trunk at each height) and this causes the trunk to be really weak at all those spots (a really bad quality in a mast). Anywhere you see them down here, though, tells you that there was a settlement there back in the late 1800s or even farther back.



Let’s see, what else is there to say about Glenelg? A couple nights while I was there, right after sunset, I got to watch a really funny hula-hoop show put on by these two girls, Stacey and Tracey. They call themselves, ‘Two chicks with circus tricks and great shoes.’ They change the shoes for the acrobatics but for the intro to the show, they had sparkly heels on. Overall, quite a good show, and they’re local, too.

Oh and the free bus around Glenelg (aka ‘the bay’ to locals) is called the Bay City Roller. I didn’t take it (it’s not that big a place!) but I did grab a brochure because the name amused me so.

Last night in Adelaide, had quite a good time. Watched a four-piece band in the street for a while. They were really funny and talented. They had a show somewhere that night but I’d already made plans to hang out with some girls in my room. One of them, we roomed together a couple nights in Melbourne, and even played Scrabble together. So strange (and great!) that we were in the same room again.



Wandering through town last night, there were lots of people around because of the Clipsal. Justine and I worked it out; Clipsal’s kinda like Indy in Vancouver. Now it all makes sense! Ooh, and I saw a couple of mounted police last night - I didn’t know they had such things here but it was fun to see.

And at some point, while I was in Glenelg and it was 37degrees, I went to see ‘Miss Potter’. It’s quite delightful, even if it doesn’t have much in the way of plot. The drawings are delightful and Renee Zellwegger was less annoying than usual. She’s better when she’s got an English accent, I’ve decided, because the last film I liked her in was Bridget Jones. And Ewan MacGreggor sings, which is never a bad thing. If you love the Beatrix Potter books, then you’ll probably enjoy the movie.

Glenelg

Glenelg is the lovely seaside suburb of Adelaide. It's aboust 30min away by tram and is right on the open ocean (or at least that's what it looks like!). The sunsets here are amazing, the shops are all quite touristy and the fish and chips are fantastic. I'm staying in the only backpackers around, the Glenelg Beach Hostel. It's not quite on the beach but it's quite close. It's also the first place I've stayed that has no bunk beds. The weirdest thing about the place, though, has to be that it's so similar to the house I lived in in Dunedin, NZ. Big old rooms, window seats, the lot. Very cool, actually, but I wouldn't want to be here in the winter!


Glenelg is super busy right now, but not because of the beach. There's some race - Clipsal - happening all weekend just up the hill a bit. I think it's a car race, but I could be wrong. There are loads of middle-aged men in sunnies* and strange racing jerseys around this morning. And the hostel's packed!

Mostly I've been trying to find a bit of shade near the sea (easier said than done), getting up early to swim and lay on the beach and meandering. I also booked my ticket to Perth - I leave Sunday at 3:20pm and get in at 5something pm. I'm quite excited!

Today's plan (it's not quite 10am yet) is to take the tram back into Adelaide and have a shady day, perhaps in the gardens or maybe even inside. I'll be back in Glenelg for the sunset, though!

No photos yet, as my camera just kept forgetting to come along to the beach! But tonight I'll snap a few for you lot.

*sunnies is Aussie/Kiwi for sunglasses (they're not scary!)

Kangaroo Island

Lots of photos in this entry!

Friday afternoon, Justine and I took the bus down to Cape Jervis and then the ferry across to Kangaroo Island. Nice trip - about 2hrs on the bus and 45min on the ferry. We stayed in the Penneshaw YHA, about a 2min walk from the ferry terminal. Penneshaw’s one of the towns on Kangaroo Island and has a population of about 400. The main town, Kinscote, is nearby, and has about 1000 people. The total island population is about 4000, with a population density of about 1 person per square kilometre. We got into the hostel at 7ish, I think, and that left us with just enough time to grab some food for breakfast at the grocery store and dinner from the hotel nearby. We thought about going to see penguins that night, but it was raining a bit (finally!) so we played a little rummy instead.



Saturday morning, the tour bus came at 8:30 to get us and three others. It was a nice little bus with a friendly and very knowledgeable driver. Since we didn’t have anyone to pick up until 10am at the airport, we made an unscheduled stop at a hill somewhere. There were 511 stairs to climb, but the view from the top was quite amazing! The bus left from there to the airport. We had just enough time to grab a cup of coffee before the plane landed. We picked up three more people (all retired North Americans down to KI for the day) then headed off on an hour long drive to Flinder’s Chase National Park off at the west end of the island.

On the drive, the tour guide/driver had lots of fascinating things to say about the natural history of the region and what we were driving past. He had strong opinions about the need for proscribed burns to control the bush fires on the island. He also had lots to say about the reasons why KI has so many endemic (found only on the island and no where else) species of plants and animals. Basically, the island, like much of Australia, has soil that is quite deficient in many trace minerals like selenium. This meant that farming of sheep and cows continuously failed throughout the 19th century. By the time agriculture scientists figured out why, much of the island had already been designated as national parkland. One third of the island is national park, and 47% of it is covered in native bush plants. Amazing! Controlled burning of all this precious bushland is, while controversial, necessary to protect all the endemic species on the island.

We’d learned a lot by the time we made it to the Flinder’s Chase NP Visitors’ Centre. There were a few educational displays here, but not much else. We moved on to the Remarkable Rocks nearby. Justine and I weren’t expecting much, just some dull rock formations. Turns out, though, they really are remarkable. These ancient granite boulders are slowly being eroded and making theses very impressive formations perched on the headlands.



Next to the rocks, there’s also an amazing beach, with lovely sands and blue blue water. As far as we could see, though, the only way to access this beach is by boat. Which of course just made us want to get there even more.



A short drive and we were at the Admiral’s Arch. There’s an interesting rock formation here, but it really takes a back seat to the huge colony of New Zealand Fur Seals.



These aren’t ‘true seals’ like the harbour seals in Vancouver as fur seals have little tiny ears. They’re more closely related to walruses and sea lions, actually. They were quite smelly and noisy, but there were lots of them to see! In another NZ connection, there was a lot of tussock grasses around. In NZ, these grasses are everywhere, all over the hills and seasides. And they’re actually supposed to be that brownish colour.



From the arch, we went to the farm for lunch. The lunch shelter was full of another big tour so, instead, we went to see koalas first.



Aww, so cute!

Around the farm, we also found wallabees and echidnas.



A lovely lunch was followed by a bit of a drive and then, my favourite part, the Australian Sea Lions! This is the rarest pinniped (seals and such) species in the world. They’re only found around the south coast of Australia and for many reasons, are having a steady population decline. We were at the third largest colony, with about 700-800 sea lions. It’s the most accessible colony, however, and we really got close to the sea lions. A parks guide met us and took us right onto the beach with the sea lions. We kept about 5m back, but definitely got to see them all interacting and surfing the waves.



The guide at the seal bay was really knowledgeable and I had a chance to chat with him a bit about why the sea lions are in decline and some of the research that’s going on nearby. I’d write about it but I want to do a bit more reading so maybe at the end of the week.

After a dinner of canned chilli, we headed across the street to the penguin centre for a penguin walk. The little blue penguins, at this time of year, are starting to come onto land for the breeding season. The males are choosing and sprucing up their burrows and the females will then come and find their mate. We didn’t see many penguins walking around but there were many males staking out their burrows, and a few penguins already paired up. Penguins generally go with the same mate each season, but if one of them dies over the year, they have no problems choosing a new mate. No flash photos or torches were allowed on the tour, so we didn’t bring our cameras. At the end, though, quite a few penguins were around the visitors’ centre (and the lights!), so Justine dashed back to take a photo! I don’t have it just yet, but I’ll get a copy from Justine asap.

The ferry back on Sunday morning was much more rough than on Friday, even though the weather was nicer than Friday. There were major swells across and, well, I’m very glad I took some gravol. The rest of the trip was uneventful, except that we saw a bunch of kangaroos from the bus!

Overall it was a fantastic trip. I really learned a lot about the island and its animals and plants. And it was so great to have Justine along, too!

Melbourne to Adelaide

I'm writing this from a lovely coffee shop that has really really good coffee, free newspapers and the comfiest couches ever. And the newspaper had an awesome photo of the colossal squid that was caught in New Zealand. A 450kg squid! As the article says, the calamari rings you could make with this critter would be the size of tractor tires. Wicked cool.

So, first up, I've got some photos from the Melbourne Aquarium. I didn't like it as much as the Sydney one but their feeding talks were quite good. They also had lots of scary critters like scorpions, leeches, poisonous spiders and such. I couldn't get photos of most of these, but they were mighty cool.

This coconut crab is the world's biggest crab, in terms of the size of its body. The spider crab's the biggest in terms of arm span. Coconut crabs can use their claws to open coconuts. The adults are completely land dwelling, which is also cool.



This is an elephant fish. They swim really fast, so I couldn't get a good photo.



After the Melbourne Aquarium, I hopped on the overnight bus to Adelaide. This bus was full, and I had the lovely luck of having a Leaner sit next to me. My personal bubble! Eventually, she got the message, though, and I got a couple hours of sleep. Luckily, the hostel here picked me up from the bus depot! I had just enough time to shower and get settled in then my friend Justine and her friend and roomy Sean came and met me. They were lovely! We went for breakfast, then wandered all around town. Sean showed me his work and we went to a great Chinese place nearby. Mmmm, beef and black bean sauce...

In that area, we saw a new years celebration going on. In the bank.



Hung out with those two for the rest of the day. Even had a much needed nap up at their house. Sean was lovely and drove me back into the city to my hostel. The next day, Wednesday, I had a nice sleep in, then went to the Art Gallery for a few hours. Quite nice, there. Air conditioning, too. Wandered around town the rest of the day, checked out the sights and some public art.



Yesterday, I went to the State Museum. Overall, not the best one I've seen. It's a very traditional museum with lots of primitive artifacts, stuffed critters and models of animals. It does, however, have a model of a giant squid!



I didn't like how it was displayed - in a dark case so that you can't ever really see the whole thing. Cool that they had it, though. In the Adelaide photos, there's also a photo of an elephant fish (so you can see how bizarre they really are) and some other neat animals.

Today, Justine and I head off to Kangaroo Island where we'll see some Real Live Australian Animals. Yay! We get back on Sunday, so I'll have more stories and photos early next week.

I hope you're all doing well, keeping safe and all that jazz!

Pictures!

From Questacon:


And here's one from Melbourne:



Click on the photos to see the rest!

Leaving Melbourne

Melbourne has been amazing! Hot, but still lots of fun. Yesterday, I went down to the beach in St. Kilda, about 20min on the tram. I didn't last very long in the heat but it was a nice spot. On the way back to the downtowm area, I stopped in to the international part of the national gallery victoria. It was free, and air conditioned. Let's see, what else have I been up to? Went and saw "Music and Lyrics" last night. It was cute, and watching Hugh Grant dance like an 80s pop star was hilarious! The night before last, I went down to the botanic gardens area for a free symphony concert. It was quite fun, lots of people out, having picnics in the music bowl.

Tonight I head down/over to Adelaide, again on the overnight bus. Before then, I'm hoping to put up some pictures on the web, go to the aquarium, and perhaps do a bit more shopping in my quest to find a sundress.

In reading about South Australia, I've learned that, in some areas, you can see leafy sea dragons while diving! I'm, well, really excited by that, so I think that'll be my first diving area, I expect. Leafy sea dragons, by the way, are related to sea horses but, well, even more strange looking.

And now I'm off to check out and store my luggage. Very exciting!

Just arrived in Melbourne

A girl I met in Canberra (Anna, from Germany) and I took the bus last night into Melbourne (8hrs). We spent the morning having breakfast, then walking around the botanical gardens and stuff. There's lots going on here all weekend, like markets, a book fair/sale down the street, oren air cinemas and lots more. The hostel I'm in is a bit more expensive than usual but it's got free breakfast, 30min of free internet and lots of activities (I might go on the pub crawl tonight). I'm booked in here until Sunday morning, and then I'll probably change hostels, maybe to down to the beach (St. Kilda area) or maybe just closer to the bus station (if I take an overnight bus again!).

The rest of my time in Canberra was great. I went to Questacon (science centre) and met some cool people, saw lots of cool exhibits. It was pretty quiet, though - think sw on an early september weekday. I met a family from Qualicum Beach (Vancouver Island), of all places. Questacon was definitely my fave stop in Canberra! I've got some photos but no plug-ins on this computer, so they'll have to wait for another day.

Canberra

Yesterday, Lindsay and I came down on the train from Wallongong to Sydney. Or, I suppose it's up as Wollongong's south. Sally came with us and helped us find our way to the hostel - Central Sydney YHA. It's quite nice. From there, we walked a really long but lovely way to Darling Harbour where we went to, shockingly, the Sydney Aquarium!

(For those of you who don't know, Lindsay and I used to work/volunteer at the Vancouver Aquarium together. To say that we're marine bio geeks is an understatment.)

Anyways, we took many many silly photos and had for too much fun! Here's one of the shark tunnel:



The one of Linds with a straw has a story. Really, it does. At the Vancouver Aquarium, we both worked in the cafe. Our #1 question there was 'Where are the straws?' and the answer to that is, 'We aren't allowed to carry straws because they're dangerous for the animals in the open habitats,' or something like that. Such fun, let me tell you! Anyways, at the Sydney Aquarium, they have straws! And open habitats! So, of course we had to take a picture. We got some strange looks from the cafe staff there.

Today, we went to through Hyde Park and the Botanical Gardens. We also went to the State Library and the market in The Rocks. A heck of a lot of walking, let me tell you! Oh, ane we (and Sally) went to the Museum of Contemporary Arts. Lucky we did too, because while we were inside, it poored with rain, but then when we came out, it was back to being sunny. Humid and sticky, and not really dry, but at least there were no drops of water falling! Tonight, LindsayÕs back in Wollongong and I'm in Sydney. I'll be on the bus to Canberra first thing tomorrow morning.

*update*

So, the above didn't get posted yesterday (which is a good thing as I know have pictures of yesterday up).



I'm in Canberra now, staying at the Canberra City YHA. Just chilling out today, and then I'll have 2 full days to see the museums, galleries, libraries, and Questacon (National science and technology centre).

Canberra is indeed quieter, cooler, and drier than Sydney. There are lots of international students around it seems, as uni starts quite soon and it's just a few blocks away from the hostel. Overall, though, Canberra's just how I remember from last time - lots to see in the day, and evenings are a good chance to sleep!

I hope you're all doing well wherever you are! I've finally got stamps, too, so if you'd like a postcard, email me your address and I'll add you to the list.

Last thing - if you ever just want to see the photos and not have to read my yammering, the links over on the left there. There's also the link so you can figure out what time it is in any part of Australia.

Wallongong

I'm now officially in Australia! Lindsay and I are staying at her aunt's house in Wallongong, about an hour and a half south of Sydney. We'll be going today to sort out mobile phones and have a wander around town. Tomorrow, we'll go into Sydney on the train, and probably spend a few hours at the aquarium (such a hardship for us, I know!).

The many flights went fine. Going through security 3 times was pretty exhausting; we had to unpack our laptops and bag of liquids, take off our shoes and jackets, try not to lose our important pieces of paper and then put ourselves back together. Crazy! Everything worked out fine (didn't even set off the metal detectors once!), and by the end of it all, we were experts. Australian customs and immigration was easy by comparison!

Oh, and our big worry - that it would be raining here when we arrived - was unfounded. It was cloudy and would have been quite muggy if it hadn't been so windy! It did rain a bit last night but today's just looking cloudy so far, and might be about 28deg or so later.

No pictures yet, but I'll keep you all posted!

2 more sleeps!

I posted the photos I took at the Cambie on Friday. It was great to see everyone!



And if anyone else has photos that are online, stick the link in the comments. That's what there for!

And Saturday was Barenaked Ladies. Really, it was everything I hoped for and more! So amazing and fabulous. I'm also the proud owner of a usb memory stick - it came with an mp3 of the whole concert. It's called 'Barenaked on a Stick'.

For those of you worried about such things, I have started packing. Clothes are all done except for the few things I have to wash tomorrow. Everything else is very close to being done.

In Australia news, I'm working on finding somewhere in the city to stay. The place I stayed last time, the YWCA near Hyde Park, has gotten more expensive ($35 for a 4-share now, compared to $25). That and it's also really booked up, so I'm not sure what I'll do yet. Time to pull out the Lonely Planet again!

Guess it's time to get in my 2nd to last sleep in this time zone. Don't let the bedbugs bite :)

Testing

Actually, let's consider this a test post, a first post and an update all in one. Multi-purpose. I like it.

I leave in less than a week for Australia (next Tuesday, to be exact), and one week from today, I'll be somewhere between Fiji and Sydney. Between now and then, I have a lot of rather dull things to do, like banking, cancelling car insurance and packing. I won't bore you any further with that.

Also between now and then, I have some fun things going on, too. Friday night, I'm gathering at the Cambie downtown for a group goodbye. Anyone I know is invited. And then, on Saturday night, I'm going to the Barenaked Ladies concert. Yay!

As far as what I've got planned on the other side of the ocean, well, let's see. Arrive in Sydney. Hang out there for a few days (there will likely be a beach involved). Head south to Melbourne and Adelaide on the bus and visit and do tourist stuff there. Fly to Perth on perhaps the 20th or so. I originally thought I might take the train across but that was quickly dismissed. It takes from Sunday night until Tuesday morning to get there, and would cost about $1000 if I want a bed and about the same as flying if I just want a chair. So flying it is! Once in Perth, I'd like to settle in there for a bit, find a job and see the sights. I'll also be heading up to Shark Bay at some point!

That's about all I've got planned so far, but watch this place for more information. I'll try to update here often!