Today Chelsea and I took a day tour of the Great Ocean Road. We woke up at 6, got picked up by the bus at 7, and then went to pick up all of the other people at the other hostels. As per usual we were the only ones from the U.S. Did I mention hardly any people from the U.S. come to Australia? So we had a fair amount of English, Chinese and Korean.
It was brisk today, but beautiful. We saw the famous surf beach, Bells Beach, some koalas in the wild (I was unfortunately stung by a Bull Ant while taking a picture of one of the cuddly creatures), the 12 Apostles, and Loch Ard Gorge. It was quite a full day, so now we are relaxing in our hostel, watching Tommy Boy (of all things), and doing laundry. Tomorrow we'll walk around town some more and do a little more exploring before hopping on a plane to Sydney in the evening. I'm still taking antibiotics and hoping to be rid of this stupid cough before Thailand. But I'm getting excited to go. Looking forward to the beaches and the cheaper prices!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Franglais at Fraser
Last Thursday and Friday I was on a tour at Fraser Island. The largest island made completely of sand. It was great and a good thing too because it certainly wasn't cheap!
There were 26 of us plus the tour guide, who was pretty goofy. He actually broke one of the bus windows while driving us down a really bumpy road and hit a big tree branch.
I met and hung out with lots of Europeans - two French girls, two Swiss guys, a girl from Spain, and a guy from Scotland. One of the French girls didn't speak much English so I got to practice my crappy French with her as we walked aroun the island. Lake mckenzie in the middle of the island was so beautiful, all of the water here is this bright turquoise color and the contrast against the sand is stunning. We also took a dip in the Champagne Rock Pools up towards the north side of the island. They are calle that because the ocean tide comes in and spashes over the edges of the rock pools creating fizzy bubbles in the water reminiscent of champagne.
After Fraser I took the bus down the coast to Noosa Heads which is a beautiful beach town set in and around lots of rivers. I spent two nights there, the first day I just hung out by myself and walked along the river where people were kayaking and boating and fishing. That evening I ate pizza for dinner with a glass of wine (happy hour special at the hostel), and talked to an Irish girl and a German guy, sharing our different experiences at Fraser island. The next day I met two really sweet German girls and went on a 3 hour walk with them in the national park. The weather was beautiful. Later I met up with Swiss guys who I had met at Fraser for dinner and drinks. We had fun teaching each other both silly words and swear words in each other's languages.
Yesterday I took the bus to Brisbane and spent the afternoon taking a ride down the river in the city's commuter ferry boats called the Citycat. The room I stayed in at my hostel last night was not very nice however, so i was glad I didn't spend much time there. I got to have dinner with my friend Linda's friend, Erica, and her husband, Ryan. Both of whom were very nice and great conversationalists. They told me some pretty funny stories about their travels in Thailand and I got lots of tips, which was nice.
I just got to Melbourne this afternoon, so I need to go out and see the sights a little bit! Will upload pictures soon.
There were 26 of us plus the tour guide, who was pretty goofy. He actually broke one of the bus windows while driving us down a really bumpy road and hit a big tree branch.
I met and hung out with lots of Europeans - two French girls, two Swiss guys, a girl from Spain, and a guy from Scotland. One of the French girls didn't speak much English so I got to practice my crappy French with her as we walked aroun the island. Lake mckenzie in the middle of the island was so beautiful, all of the water here is this bright turquoise color and the contrast against the sand is stunning. We also took a dip in the Champagne Rock Pools up towards the north side of the island. They are calle that because the ocean tide comes in and spashes over the edges of the rock pools creating fizzy bubbles in the water reminiscent of champagne.
After Fraser I took the bus down the coast to Noosa Heads which is a beautiful beach town set in and around lots of rivers. I spent two nights there, the first day I just hung out by myself and walked along the river where people were kayaking and boating and fishing. That evening I ate pizza for dinner with a glass of wine (happy hour special at the hostel), and talked to an Irish girl and a German guy, sharing our different experiences at Fraser island. The next day I met two really sweet German girls and went on a 3 hour walk with them in the national park. The weather was beautiful. Later I met up with Swiss guys who I had met at Fraser for dinner and drinks. We had fun teaching each other both silly words and swear words in each other's languages.
Yesterday I took the bus to Brisbane and spent the afternoon taking a ride down the river in the city's commuter ferry boats called the Citycat. The room I stayed in at my hostel last night was not very nice however, so i was glad I didn't spend much time there. I got to have dinner with my friend Linda's friend, Erica, and her husband, Ryan. Both of whom were very nice and great conversationalists. They told me some pretty funny stories about their travels in Thailand and I got lots of tips, which was nice.
I just got to Melbourne this afternoon, so I need to go out and see the sights a little bit! Will upload pictures soon.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Holy Grail of backpackers...and I have it tonight
That would be an entire 8 person dorm room all to myself!!! Plus bathroom ensuite!!
Too bad I have to leave so early in the morning and cant use the opportunity to sleep in. Well, almost 12 hours on a bus today. I'm beat. Goodnight.
Too bad I have to leave so early in the morning and cant use the opportunity to sleep in. Well, almost 12 hours on a bus today. I'm beat. Goodnight.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
"The best WOOFer ever. I give you that award"
Today I leave the maca farm. Yesterday Lynda took me down to the travel agency where I bought tickets for the next week's travel up the Gold Coast. Hopping on a bus this morning to Hervey Bay. Tomorrow I go on a 2 day tour of Fraser Island. Then to Noosa for a couple more days and then a stop in Brisbane before getting on my flight to Melbourne.
I said my goodbyes to the Colbert family here. Hugs from everyone and got a family pic of them to remember them by. I'll upload it later when I get a chance. The 17 year old, was the one who said I was the best WOOFer ever, and even gave me a hug goodbye. Quite remarkable apparently say his parents as he has never before even spoken two words to any other WOOFers.
As much as some may think these last 10 days were a waste of my total 30 here in Australia, because I didn't see hardly any of the sights Australia has to offer, I disagree. For me its about the experience and I like to temper the touristy experiences with some of the more organic, local ones where I can really get to know people.
So now I'm off to live night to night in different hostels seeing something new everyday, pushing myself once again out of my comfort zone.
Wish me luck :)
I said my goodbyes to the Colbert family here. Hugs from everyone and got a family pic of them to remember them by. I'll upload it later when I get a chance. The 17 year old, was the one who said I was the best WOOFer ever, and even gave me a hug goodbye. Quite remarkable apparently say his parents as he has never before even spoken two words to any other WOOFers.
As much as some may think these last 10 days were a waste of my total 30 here in Australia, because I didn't see hardly any of the sights Australia has to offer, I disagree. For me its about the experience and I like to temper the touristy experiences with some of the more organic, local ones where I can really get to know people.
So now I'm off to live night to night in different hostels seeing something new everyday, pushing myself once again out of my comfort zone.
Wish me luck :)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
The Nanny Diaries
So I've basically become the live in nanny for the kids here. Not a bad gig. They're great kids. After we went to Macadamia Castle (a petting zoo, slash mini golf type of thing), they insisted on going back again the very next day. Ok! So a bunch of my pics are of our outings there. I took one of my little rustic cabin that I'm living in. There are a million and a half bugs in it. Oh and also a frog behind the toilet tank. So thats fun.
I have the day off today, so Lynda, the mom, dropped me off in Byron to hang out and see the beach for the day. I used the opportunity to look into why I have not gotten rid of this nasty cough I've had for weeks. The pharmacist said I have to go to the doctor because its probably an infection. Lovely. So I have an appointment at the local medical clinic for later this afternoon. I have to kill about 3 hours from now until then and I have no idea what I'm going to do. I really just want to take a nap.
Other than that, not too much news. Next week I plan to head farther up North to Brisbane, and then to Fraser Island. Chelsea is supposed to meet me up there. Apparently the tourist thing to do on Fraser Island is to ride around on four-wheelers over the sand dunes. Sounds pretty fun. But I haven't made any solid plans yet. For now I'd like to focus on getting my health back in gear. Oh and I believe I have mild pink eye. So yeah. I'm just a mess. Can't believe the family I'm staying with hasn't really noticed and kicked me out.
I have the day off today, so Lynda, the mom, dropped me off in Byron to hang out and see the beach for the day. I used the opportunity to look into why I have not gotten rid of this nasty cough I've had for weeks. The pharmacist said I have to go to the doctor because its probably an infection. Lovely. So I have an appointment at the local medical clinic for later this afternoon. I have to kill about 3 hours from now until then and I have no idea what I'm going to do. I really just want to take a nap.
Other than that, not too much news. Next week I plan to head farther up North to Brisbane, and then to Fraser Island. Chelsea is supposed to meet me up there. Apparently the tourist thing to do on Fraser Island is to ride around on four-wheelers over the sand dunes. Sounds pretty fun. But I haven't made any solid plans yet. For now I'd like to focus on getting my health back in gear. Oh and I believe I have mild pink eye. So yeah. I'm just a mess. Can't believe the family I'm staying with hasn't really noticed and kicked me out.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Maca farm
Today is my second day up near Byron bay doing my work exchange. The family who is hosting me is lovely. Mom dad and three kids. I have my own little mini cabin with bed, bathroom and half kitchen for eating breakfast in the morning. The weather here is heaps (Aussie word) better than Sydney. So much so that I might take a swim in their pool once I've finished today's work. Although this is a macadamia nut farm, the harvesting season is already over so my help is being put towards refurbishing an old bathtub and sink so they can try to sell them. They are remodeling their house currently and have discarded these items. So I've been outside mostly, sanding, and the little neighbor dog has been keeping me company. It's nice.
Yesterday upon meeting me, the youngest son Patrick, 8, said my accent sounded like someone from YouTube. Haha. Apparently they rarely get Americans staying with them, it's mostly French and German.
It's also nice to not be spending money, and get away from the hosteling party scene for awhile.
Yesterday upon meeting me, the youngest son Patrick, 8, said my accent sounded like someone from YouTube. Haha. Apparently they rarely get Americans staying with them, it's mostly French and German.
It's also nice to not be spending money, and get away from the hosteling party scene for awhile.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
G'day mate!
So I've been in Sydney now for 4 days. Time means nothin to me anymore by the way. I left Argentina Sept 30th, got in to sf on the 1st, hung out with my parents for the afternoon, got back on a plane that night, flew 15 hours, crossed time zones, (October 2nd, 2009 never happened in my life), and landed here in Sydney early in the morning on oct 3rd. Good news is that I happened to get seated to two very nice 20 year olds, one guy from Canada, and a girl from Morgan Hill. The girl, Chelsea ended up having a room booked in the hostel down the street from mine so we checked in and then braved the rain searching for a warmer coat for her. After a whole day of that I continued to fight the good fight of anti-jetlag and went back to my 8 person dorm to meet my roommates. Most were English, one was Irish and one was from North Carolina and had been living in Japan for the last few years. They were all really nice and after chatting for awhile we decided to get a few drinks at the bar in the basement of our hostel. (just so you know I was still wearing the same clothes that I'd been wearing on the plane and all day). Luckily my roommates were also casual dressers. After a few beers, Sai, the NC guy, dragged us all onto the dance floor where we danced until 2:30 am. Go me for beating jet lag! Then we all set our clocks back and went to bed knowing we would lose another hour of sleep. But one hour is nothing to me after my trip.
The next day, Chelsea and her roommate, Emily, came to meet up with me and my roommates for a self-guided tour to the opera house and around Sydney. Richard, our Irish counterpart, led the way and we took goofy tourist pictures, in between navigating our way through the rain and the city.
Chelsea then wanted to go out partying since she'd missed out on the night before. So after a little break at the hostel we rallied together again and proceeded to spend lots of money on drinks (it is ridiculously expensive here, I couldn't keep this up for a whole month), finding an outdoor salsa concert at Darling Harbor and then bar hopping until we stumbled upon a nice big bar that had an upstairs dance floor. The festivities lasted until early in the morning when we dragged ourselves back to the hostel.
Sunday we attempted to see Bondi beach but the weather refused to cooperate and so we ended up spending the afternoon at bondi in a cafe hiding from the pouring rain. Another very needed nap later back at the hostel and then back to the bar downstairs (have you noticed a pattern? Hey, drinking is what people do here in Australia). Yesterday, after moving rooms due to last minute decision to stay longer, I walked around Sydney again, but this time in the sun! When I get my photos uploaded you can see the difference between dismal gray to bright blue skies. Hmm, which one looks like a postcard?
Today Im reveling in the rare free wifi at mcdonalds down the street. It's crazy how none of these hostels have free Internet access! Later I'll meet up with Chelsea and hopefully try to get some plans in order to go up the coast next week.
The next day, Chelsea and her roommate, Emily, came to meet up with me and my roommates for a self-guided tour to the opera house and around Sydney. Richard, our Irish counterpart, led the way and we took goofy tourist pictures, in between navigating our way through the rain and the city.
Chelsea then wanted to go out partying since she'd missed out on the night before. So after a little break at the hostel we rallied together again and proceeded to spend lots of money on drinks (it is ridiculously expensive here, I couldn't keep this up for a whole month), finding an outdoor salsa concert at Darling Harbor and then bar hopping until we stumbled upon a nice big bar that had an upstairs dance floor. The festivities lasted until early in the morning when we dragged ourselves back to the hostel.
Sunday we attempted to see Bondi beach but the weather refused to cooperate and so we ended up spending the afternoon at bondi in a cafe hiding from the pouring rain. Another very needed nap later back at the hostel and then back to the bar downstairs (have you noticed a pattern? Hey, drinking is what people do here in Australia). Yesterday, after moving rooms due to last minute decision to stay longer, I walked around Sydney again, but this time in the sun! When I get my photos uploaded you can see the difference between dismal gray to bright blue skies. Hmm, which one looks like a postcard?
Today Im reveling in the rare free wifi at mcdonalds down the street. It's crazy how none of these hostels have free Internet access! Later I'll meet up with Chelsea and hopefully try to get some plans in order to go up the coast next week.
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