Freo and Perth and All Hallows Eve

I've been in Freo (Fremantle) for a couple of days, mostly just bouncing around the city and exploring. I spent a night with the Shreeve family, one of my mother's former student's mom's sister living in Perth. They were very nice to take me in, and have already offered again for when I am homeless next weekend after my tour. I have booked 2 tours, both kind of steep in price, but will take up 2 weeks of time and include my room and board, which means no more thinking required on my part. The first tour gives me a pretty complete overview of the southwest, so it takes care of what I was trying to accomplish. The second tour takes me north up the coast, and I have arranged to be stranded in Exmouth at the end. No one would ever purposefully arrange for this to happen, except I have also already booked a greyhound bus to take me from Exmouth that night to Broome. I have been trying to really limit my money output, I am getting down to the wire considering I still have a little over a month left. Take a look at my map now. The green is what I've done, the purple was the original route. I've generally stuck to the plan, but it will look very different after this next leg when I go tour the southwest then head north along the coast. Tonight I went to a sushi places, one of those places that has a little track that circulates the food in front of you and you pick plates off the track as you want them. Going in, you see the plates are color coded, ranging from just $2 to $5, and you think you could really come off cheap on this. But you don't take into account that food is constantly rotating in front of you, and if you make selections that aren't too tasty, you still have to pay for them. I had eyed a movie theater next door, and had seen that the next showing of The Social Network was around 7. I had wanted to see it, and figured if it was less than $20, I would go. But at some point during dinner, seeing as I am running low on cash, I had to make the choice between raw fish and Justin Timberlake, a choice that I am sure every person has had to grapple with at some point in their lives. I resisted some very nice looking tuna that came past me several times, and paid the check. The movie ticket was just this side of 20, but I went for it. She asked if I wanted anything from the candy bar, and I pocketed my last $3 dollars, knowing that even if the answer was yes, I didn't have enough.
This hostel I am staying in is kind of weird. I mean, it's a lot like most hostels I've stayed in, but I could see myself going mad very quickly here, much quicker than other places I have stayed. For one, the restroom fans run constantly in both bathrooms when the light is on. And this fan is not quiet. You can hear it inside your rooms. It's a constant, humming, dull basketball buzzer background noise. And one fan is slightly lower in key than the other, so they seem to be trying to sing together, but someone is off key. It's always present, in the kitchen, in the dining area, everywhere except the lobby. No where is really comfy, which is not really new for hostels either, but when you have a top bunk, you really have no choice than to try and find other seating (or make sure you have gathered everything you will need for several hours when you set out for your trek to the top). First you have to decide if you can tolerate the people around you. Then you note the background noise. If it's tolerable, you then consider if you can handle the overall comfort of the chair. If all these things align, make yourself at home! I've become quite the pro at climbing into the top bunk without a ladder. It seems the fat girl that gets up earlier than everyone else always has to sleep on the top of skinny bias that sleep in until noon. But isn't that just how life is? I mean, they should make that into a bumper sticker. But I deal, and do my best to roll out of bed quietly and creep around them all morning, 'cause that's what I do.

I'm back in Perth now. I caught the train earlier today. I had to check out at 10am, and my new hostel wouldn't take me until 2pm (just sticking to policy, as now I have checked in and there was CLEARLY no reason I couldn't have checked in at noon), so I had a few hours to kill. Since I had all my bags with me, tourist activities had to be limited to a minimum. I threw my bags in the corner and watched some sport of Ireland versus Australia with a bunch of Irish guys sitting around me muttering obscenities when Australia scored. I still don't know what the sport was. It was like soccer, except you could touch the ball and there were goal posts as well as a soccer goal. One sec, let me google... ok, it was gaelic football. Actually, it was international rules football, which is a fusion of Australian rules football and gaelic football. Now they are just making stuff up. Anyway, Australia won. I left about noon to get cheap lunch at subway and found through the line with my bags. I got the train about 1pm, and it took about 30 minutes to make it through all the stops. I don't understand who enforces that you actually purchase a ticket for the train. No one was around to take my ticket or to scan it or even see that I bought a ticket. I really think it would have been quite easy to ride without even buying one. But it was only $3.70, so it would have been very cheap of me to steal that. After getting my bearings, I walked about 30 minutes to get to my hostel. It only took 30 minutes because I had to go through several malls and stopped twice to readjust bags that were cutting off arm circulation. This hostel is very lax. Too lax, I think. The room is standing open for anyone to walk in and rummage or take stuff. So I will not be leaving anything of value in there. Also, there are 10 beds but 6 lockers, so I can't even try to lock stuff up. And I of course have a top bunk again. I probably will for the rest of the trip. You know, I am just going to assume now that is what is going to happen, so if I get a bottom bunk, I will be so excited.
Tonight is halloween. I am not planning on doing anything. I did buy some weird green hair braids in St. Kilda. I might just put them on and walk around because I could get away with it. But I am checking out tomorrow at 6 am to leave for my southwest tour, so I won't be doing anything too late. I will update as I can the next week, but I have no idea how much access I will have to internet. It may be just a massive update on the weekend.



Happy Halloween!

Projectile Vomit at 30,000 feet

24/10
I wasn't feeling well the day I checked out of the Underground hotel. My stomach had been a little off for a couple of days, but I figured I would be able to make it to Perth and take it easy a few days. I got up, checked out, ran some errands around Coober Pedy with my free car, then Donna from the hotel took me to the airport around 1pm. The flight to Adelaide was uncomfortable, but nothing I couldn't handle. I had a few hours to kill in the airport before my flight to Perth, so I found a chemist and bought some medicine for my stomach, hoping it might have some effect. I was still feeling really awful when I got on the plane, and considered staying in Adelaide overnight and rescheduling my flight. But I knew this would cost me money, and I would also lose money on my hostel already booked in Perth, so I decided to man up and deal with it. I knew when I confirmed the flight, it looked like I had a whole row to myself, so maybe I would be able to stretch out and lay down. As the plane filled up, I was quickly losing hope. Soon, two ladies arrived and piled in with me into the row. I almost explained to them that I was sick, and that they might need to jump up quickly, or give me the aisle, but I didn't. I sat, with my eyes closed, trying to will the plane faster through the sky. I kept feeling worse and worse. I reached into the seat pocket and brought out a bag. But I was too late. I puked all over my window. The girl in front of me with her seat leaned back, not minding to take up all that space, was suddenly very willing to give me that space back as her seat shot up. I had my earplugs in, so as I threw up into the bag, all I heard was me, and nothing else. I turned to the ladies and apologized, they told me they had hit the call button for the attendant. To spare you the gory details, I was covered. The flight attendant threw out my sweater, confusing it for a blanket, but it might have been beyond saving anyway. I took the walk of shame past everyone in the plane and cleaned up in the bathroom the best I could. When I came out, I didn't want to go back to my seat. I knew the attendants wouldn't let me stand back there with them, but I knew everyone was watching me. One flight attendant was particularly perturbed with having to attend to me. She told me if I was feeling bad, I should have rescheduled my flight. It was a little late for that, I supposed. She asked what I needed, I said ginger ale and she gave me water too. I took it back to my seat and sipped it slowly. They had reseated the other two ladies at my request, so I did end up having a row to myself! They were passing around that peppermint smelling stuff to the rows around me, to distract the passengers from the nice perfume I had created. About 30 minutes later, I was feeling ill again. I got up and went back to the bathroom. The flight attendant had told me she locked one bathroom for me and to tell her and she would unlock it, but the drink cart was in front of it and she was bent over doing something, so I went into the bathroom I had already been in. I was sick again, and when I came out, she scolded me for not using my designated stall. I explained that I needed it quicker than she could have provided it, but didn't feel like dealing with it and apologized too. I sat back down and slept a while, my head slumped against the seat in front of me. They served dinner, and I did my best not to get sick smelling all the food. They gave me a popsicle, which I managed to keep down. We finally landed, I lugged all my bags and called my hostel to see if I could get a private room, 'cause, ya know, I wasn't too keen on throwing up in front of any more people tonight. They did have one and they said I could still catch a $15 shuttle instead of taking a $50 cab. I missed the 9pm shuttle by 15 minutes, so I called my parents and told them about my horrible day and bought a bunch of drinks to take to the hostel to begin my rehydration. The shuttle took FOREVER. They couldn't wait for me at 9:15, but we had to wait for every old lady and young, confused, non-English speaking traveler at 10:15pm. I was reeking of vomit and dead tired. I was finally dropped out front of my hostel at 11pm. I checked in, showered, and collapsed into my bed. I managed to not get sick through the night, and have taken a few days to recuperate, not doing anything but sleeping and occasionally venturing out for fluids and white colored foods.

*No pics for this one, believe me, you wouldn't want to see them.*

A Sunset and A Late Arriving Moon Rise over the Breakaways

23/10
I was lazy this morning and slept in to about 9am. The thing about this place I have noticed, you are not woken up like other cities in Australia. For one, you are sleeping in rock, so sunlight really can't reach you. Another thing, in ever city I have stayed in so far, the birds will wake me before the sun bothers me. There are no birds here. You do not have to worry about the squawking that woke me in Brisbane, or the chirping that was common in St. Kilda. Even at night, standing outside, all I hear is the occasional dog and crickets in the distance. After getting up, I watched the competitive kid game shows on Saturday morning TV and ate my free brekky. I called Grandma around 11 to tell her happy birthday and excitedly talk her ear off about Coober Pedy. I decided to venture out around noon. I noodled unsuccessfully for a couple hours in the very windy, sunny weather. I would have noodled longer, but I can't help but always feeling like I am in a scene in some apocalyptic movie in which the next scene consists of me being attacked suddenly by crazy people with mohawks and losing a race to my car. I then ran by the bank and got "lasagna" at Johns before going by Oasis to see if I could book the Breakaways sunset tour for tonight. George said they would be running the tour, and to show up about 5:10 pm. Little did I know what a treat I would be in for.

Few people understand the relationship I have with the night sky, and more specifically, the moon. You see, we have our own way of interacting, almost flirting, the moon and I, and when the moon is at it's absolute best, when it's big and full and magnificent just once a month, it makes the event extra special. I can be seen peering over my shoulder every once in a while, sneaking peeks of my beloved, making sure he is still present and looking as good as ever. He plays along in this game, hiding behind clouds or trees from time to time, but always returning, dependable and true, to his position of prominence in the sky. My friends can attest to my perhaps unnatural attachment to my sky suitor. They have all occasionally received frantic text messages from me, pleading them to not miss the display being put on in the sky by the lunar Romeo. Well tonight, I was able to witness his unveiling among the spectacular mountainous formations of the Breakaways, and the Mars-like setting of the Lunar plain, red and desolate and dotted with flatted stones.

I arrived at Oasis and paid for the tour. We loaded up the car, just George, me, and two middle aged Australian couples. We drove and drove, way out on dirt roads, past Crocodile Harry's, past all the thousands of mining hills, to the ending of a cliff that overlooked the Breakaways. We all got out and took pictures. It adds nothing to my experience to keep hearing about the films made in such a serene area, in fact, it hurts my heart to think of the numb skulls that tromped around the place, munching donuts from the crafts service table and bitching about the heat or the flies or something like that. But it is an amazing area. And not to sound like some kind of hypocritical groupie or something, but I totally bit the dust big time in the exact place that the scene was filmed in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome where the plane almost goes off the cliff but turns at the last second. (Another draw back of people continually mentioning the Mad Max film is that I continually have Tina Turner singing "We don't need another hero" in my head.) We continued on the dirt road, stopping to take pictures of the formations from almost every angle and pondering what drugs people must have been on when they claimed to see a man or a dog in the rock shape. We stopped at the dog fence, the longest fence in the world, built to keep the dingos from eating all the sheep. We continued on to the moon plain, which now doesn't look so moon like, because as I continue to hear as I make my way across Australia, there has been an unusual amount of rain, and the usually red, desolate desert is now remarkably green. But we did come across a crackled, light textured ground, that sank under your foot. It was like nothing I had ever walked on. We found evidence of the internal sea that existed millions of year ago, as well as the rainforest that existed before that. A petrified tree lay beside my foot, something you think would be stuck in a museum somewhere. We watched as the sun sank down low behind the Breakaways in the distance. I did my best to capture the brilliant pinks with my camera. George had promised a brew at this time, which in American means beer. Imagine my disgust at being offered tea or coffee. Thanks Brits. But I accepted my tea and muffin, and awaited the arrival of my moon. It was later than usual, playing coy with me. We all talked and slapped at mossies (mosquitoes), waiting for the moon to arrive. I kept my eyes fixed on the horizon, knowing he was due any minute, and that he would be full tonight. I was the first to notice and call out to the others, as he appeared first as just a glow under the soft clouds blanketing the horizon. But quickly, he rose, emerging full and orange over the horizon, greeting us and mocking us at the same time. I tried to take pictures, but the cameras I have can never capture the brilliance of the moon. I watched it rise into the sky as we loaded up into the van and made our way back to Coober Pedy, which sparkled on the horizon more than you would expect a tiny town of that size would sparkle. As the moon rose, it changed out of it's orange hue to glow it's brilliant white. It continued to rise over me, and I was always watching it, even along my drive home. I made a sandwich for dinner and ate outside in the moonlight. A full moon rise was really the most perfect way to end my Coober Pedy experience. I love Cooper Pedy for what it is. And I know it sounds crazy, but I can imagine scenarios where I would very much like to move here and live in their little mountain dugout oasis.

Underground living, Crocodile Harry's, and Kangaroo Kisses

22/10
I was picked up this morning about 8 am for my tour. I was with an older couple from Perth and a family of 4, with two braaaaaatty girls, from Sydney. George was our tour guide, so he gave us an overview of the town. We started at the Serbian Church (underground, of course). It's pretty impressive, and has carving into the stone of figures. He next took us to the public noddling area where he humoured us by giving us about 30 minutes to seek our fortune and discover opal in the picked-over piles of rock and dirt. He told us about a week ago, a ten year old girl found a $4,000 piece of opal. Ok, sure. Next he we went to the Coober Pedy Golf Course, which I hope is more of a joke than anything. Of course, there is no grass on this course, but George says the membership is $100 and the club has 80 members. He drove us next out to the open mines area, which is closed to the general public. The reason for this is because the area is FULL of open mine shafts, literally thousands of up to 30 meter holes all over the ground with gray pyramids of sand beside them. It is quite a sight. He said that once someone digs on the land, they are under no obligation to fill the holes, so the result is thousand of open mines over the years. He took us next to the Umoona Museum. We watched an award winning film on the formation of Coober Pedy. It was formed because a group of men in search of gold in the area ran out of water. They left there camp with only a 14 year old boy there, and searched the area for water. They returned, unsuccessful, that evening to find the boy missing. He returned later with a sack of opal, announcing he had also located water. So the buy saved their lives and sealed Coober Pedy's history in one. Men returning from WWI had no jobs and lots of experience digging trenches, so many came out to the middle of nowhere to seek a fortune in opal. The name Coober Pedy comes from the Aborigines, who were traveling thorough the area and noticing something common among the people working there, calling the area "white man in a hole." Coober Pedy has always been built for efficiency and not for aesthetics, so the place is littered with old cars and machinery, tires, and even props from the movies filmed in the area. It's a bizarre and wonderful scene.
I was dropped back off at my hotel, where I ate lunch and ended up passing out for several hours. I then went out and bought $400 in opal and decided to seek out Crocodile Harry's, a suggestion from George. I followed the road until it turned to dirt, then kept following it for almost 15 minutes. I could see nothing up ahead, it was literally driving to nowhere. I kept imagining scenes from Mad Max and pictured a car in the distance behind me, approaching quickly to run me off the road and kill me for no other reason than boredom. Of course, this didn't happen. I eventually located Harry's, accidentally passing it because it was tucked into a cliff side (like everything else in town). I pulled in and parked as a man walked out. "How you going? I just shut the place down, give me a minute to open back up," he said. He came back around, almost shocked I was there- "how did you find us?" I told him George at Oasis had suggested it, but the truth was, if he hadn't, no way I would ever had know this place even existed. He smiled, told me to have a look around, and look in back too, because their was hand-dug caves. I thanked him and began exploring. So this Crocodile Harry guy was a crocodile hunter until the 60's when they became protected, then he just fell into his next favorite hobby, being a ladies man. The walls and ceiling over his bed were covered with underwear and bras with notes from girls over decades of time. They were also covered with everything else- business cards, photo ids, passports (good luck leaving!), photos, menus, all kinds of junk. The walls were painted with notes and messages from people that had visited. It was weird seeing all this in such a deserted place. You get the sense that this was once a rocking bachelor's pad, but now was forgotten into the dusty country side. I walked to the back and looked through the caves until I became convinced that there was either a dingo or a ghost of Harry that wanted to kill me, and got spooked. I fought flies back to my car and left. Back in the bustling city, I checked my watch. It was about 15 minutes to five, and I remembered the kangaroo orphanage had feedings at five. So that was my next stop. I browsed the gallery in the front until it was time to feed. Terry, the owner, told me they were waiting for a group to arrive. Wonderful, I thought. But it wasn't bad. I got some pictures of Terry and the group leader feeding some of the older kangaroo babies. Then he brought out a younger one named Dideio. He was tiny, a little smaller than the kangaroo baby in Kangaroo Island, and very cute. He hopped around, relieved himself, then hopped some more. It's so funny to watch the new ones try to get around. They don't know their own strength, and so sometimes a huge hop turns spastic, and they end up landing on their head. Terry held out him pouch, and he jumped head first in. Terry invited us back inside to hold him for a minute. I grabbed a couple of dollars from my pocket, strategically donating as Terry entered behind me. He offered to let me hold him first. Haha, excellent. I cradled Dideio, and Terry told me to blow into his face for kangaroo kisses. I blew, and Dideio looked up at me and began licking my lips and cheek. I usually am not a big fan of letting animals lick me in the mouth, but I figured it would never happen again, so what the hell? I passed him off and thanked Terry.
After my makeout session with Dideio, I was hungry for dinner. I decided to get pizza from culinary genius John, and brought it back to the hotel for the night. For a place in the middle of the dessert, they do make a mean spinach and tomato pizza.

Desert Paradise

21/10
I AM IN COOBER PEDY!!! SITTING IN MY UNDERGROUND ROOM!!!!
I got up this morning in Adelaide, parted ways with my dear adoptive family that I've spent about a week with, and was driven to the airport by Sarah. My flight at 10:20 am only had about 10 people on it, even though we were on the Kangaroo Island sized plane that can fit about 30, so we were able to stretch out a little. We lifted off, and I watched the city become pathwork farms, then change into deserted redness in front of my eyes. Nothingness except the occasional bush tree and long, straight dirt road cut cleanly through the red. It took about an hour and a half to reach Coober Pedy, and we arrive in bladder kicking turbulance. I scanned the barren moonscape and noticed thouands of tiny gray holes in the ground. There is no possible way these could all be mines! There are literally thousands of them! But as we got closer and closer to the ground, it became clear. The red was red, except for the thousands of current and abandoned opal mines that dotted the surface, like freckles on my best friend, haha. We landed no-so-gracefully and exited the plane. It was warm, but not dramatically hot. I waited for my ride outside the front of the "airport," a building with 3 rooms- the check in, the waiting room, and the baggage claim. While waiting, I witnessed my very first dust tornado! I struggled to get my camera out in time, and was only able to capture the last of it as it disappated. My car pulled up, and a lady asked if I was waiting for transport to Underground Motel. I said I was, I don't think I ever even got her name! But we talked, she has only lived in the area for 4 years, but enjoys it. She pointed out things and really gave me a tour of the town (a strip of road about the size of the main drag in Efland, NC), consisting of opal shops, restaurants, supermarkets, and the occasional petrol station (gas station to you yanks!) We finally arrived at the Underground Motel, on the far side of town. I was aleady reasoning out in my head how long the walk might be to the main strip. She checked me into my room before helping me carry my bags to the room. While checking in, she asked me an unsual question. "Do you drive?" My mind started ticking, wondering where this may lead. "Um, in my own country, I do. I haven't driven in Australia yet." She said, "Well, I am looking after this place for Mike right now, and it might be easier for me to just give you the keys to the car and let you go where you like instead of driving you around when you need it." I was stunned. She was handing me a car? But I wasn't supposed to drive until Alice Springs! "Are you sure," I said. "Absolutely, no problem," she said. "Is there any time I need to have it back, am I sharing it with other people?" "Nope, all yours." I let this sink in as she gave me a brief tour of the kitchen and my room. I would be driving, by myself, a free car, all around Coober Pedy. Awesome!
I was too excited, and needed to tell someone, but it was about 10:30 pm on the Atlantic coast, so I called Matt, I knew he would be up. He was out in NYC, I could hear the bar noise behind him. I was just glad he answered, because some people see the strange numbers I am calling from and do not answer. It's only about a month until I meet him out in Alice. It's so crazy! I chatted with Matt a few minutes, settled in, then decided what I would be doing in my drive out. I knew I would be hitting up the much touted John's Pizza Bar, mostly just for the 10 discount I would receive. I also decided to opal browse and grocery shop too. I spent about 5 minutes psyching myself up. Then I grabbed my purse and keys and town map and walked out to the car. It was a Ford Falcon, whatever that is. I unlocked the door, cranked the car, buckled up, then took a couple minutes to locate the various levers I would need. I then released the parking brake and was off. I was driving on the left! I didn't know the speed limit, so I just went a speed that felt right. I also kept forgetting that the levers are reversed, so I occasionally sent the windshield wipers swishing for imaginary rain instead of using my turn signal. There are no stop signs in the town. So people do not stop. They simply roll out into their turn, some not even slowing down. But I stopped, mainly since I am in a car that is not mine. I ate a hotdog at Johns, browsed a couple of opal shops, then went to the information center. She was able to suggest some things to do and tours I could book. I then went to the grocery store to get some stuff. I spent the rest of the evening relaxing and planning what I would do. I called and booked a tour for the next morning that was kind of a highlights tour of Coober Pedy.

Various Seals, Various Rocks, Various Bad Sweaters

19/10
I went today on the highlights tour of the island. I got up around 7am, my roommates alarm went off or phone rang at 6am, so I had been semi awake since then. She was still in bed asleep. I got ready and headed out, planning on picking up something for breakfast. I happened upon a grocery type store, so I went there to get stuff for dinner. I ended up getting frozen pizza, yogurt, and bananas. I went down the street to a bakery and got a ham and cheese scone and a muffin for the next day. I returned to the Backpackers and was picked up by the bus. He drove us to the airport to get some more people, then we went to a Eucalyptus Distillery. The highlight of this was a baby orphan kangaroo. It was adorable. We wandered around the distillery, watched a video on how distilling eucalyptus actually works, then I bought a tube of eucalyptus lip balm. We went up to the road to meet our coach. This was one of those mega-buses that I have been able to avoid until this point. I think I will continue to avoid them when possible. I mean, it wasn't horrible, but a lot of time was spent waiting for the old people sitting at the front of the bus deciding when they were going to get off the bus. I had to sit in the back since we were the last group to join. It was mainly old people and couples, ranging from the annoying young ones to the middle aged ones in bad sweaters (seriously, at least one person in each middle aged couple had a bad sweater. I can't understand bad sweater, and sweaters in general on this day were kind of inexcusable. A light jacket in the morning would have sufficed. I was peeling down to my tank top by the afternoon, and lots of middle aged couples were stank since they had their bad, sweat-soaked sweaters.) Anyway, we saw two different seal colonies throughout the day, and saw a bird of prey show, but the highlight was definitely the Remarkable Rocks. I am a bit of a geology nerd anyway, always have been, so crazy rock formations are still a little more exciting to me than the average person. And these, well they have a very appropriate name. We spent about an hour there, fighting over prime locations for photo ops, before finally giving up and taking pictures that contain random strangers posing with the rocks (I tell myself it's to provide size reference). Another thing to note is the crazy bush on that island. They also have big problems with wild fires, but everything has grown back quickly and thick. It seems impossible when looking over the expanse of twisted, mangled, low growing, interlocking bush to imagine being early explorers trying to make their way through. It makes sense now when I read things about them only covered about 5 km a day. We were driven back to our meeting places in Kingscote and I was dropped off at the backpackers. I walked around town a little more before dinner. I found the oceanfront, and discovered a public swimming pool made in the water edge. The safety sign had the normal rules like "no running," then some inexplicable ones like "no putting animals in the water, especially sharks" and "no setting fires." These are things I would usually assume would go without saying. Of course, as a lifeguard, I feel that way about running too I guess. Tomorrow I fly back to Adelaide and will be there overnight before heading off to Coober Pedy!

Walk down the street, 1, 2, 3, can't miss it...

18/10
I spent a lot of today being a slacker, mostly because I had done so much up until now. Marie was kind enough to agree to drive me to the airport in the afternoon. So she came to me around 1:00 pm, me still having not showered for the day (hey, I said I was being lazy), and proposed a trip to the city before our drive to the airport. I was starving and wanted to buy a "Heaps Good" shirt, so I agreed. I rushed around getting ready and packing a 2-day bag for Kangaroo Island. The Pollock family is kind enough to let me kidnap their room for an additional couple of days and leave my big pack there so I can just carry on stuff to Kangaroo Island. Marie and I set off to the city. We visited my shop first, the Urban Cow Studio, and bought my shirt. Then we strolled through the mall, and decided we were too hungry to make it all the way to the Asian market, so we ate fake Chinese at the food court. I kept distracting her with questions, so I ended up finishing lunch much earlier than her. We then walked a little further into the city. I mentioned that I had wanted to go to the casino on Friday but wasn't feeling up to it after my tour. She suggested we visit it now, since we had some time. We walked up and there was some type of well dressed bouncer. I half expected him to stop us and not allow us entry because, who are we kidding, I don't belong in a casino. But he let us past. We walked past the intimidating ruelette wheel and blackjack tables (maybe intimidating because they are manned by actual people) to the shining, flashing pokies. We each dug out $5 and decided to play the 5 until we didn't have it anymore or ran out of time. The first machines we tried with our first $2 didn't win us anything and were kind of confusing. We decided to try some differnt ones. We walked to another cluster of machines and began playing on those. I was excited to win back my original $2 and $2 more. I looked over at Marie because her machine kept making musical noises and flashing. She was looking at the machine in wonder, and fanning herself as if she might faint. She kept winning sums of almost $20 then collecting. I had my fist of dollar coins, and she had enough to cover the bottom of her bucket. Frustrated, I ended up playing another one of my coins and getting nothing, so I came out just $1 up in the end. We walked over to allow Marie to cash out (I kept my 6 dollar coins since I figured it would be too embarassing to hand him 5 coins to cash in on). He poured the coins into the scale and handed her back $59!!! She won $54 on those stupid pokies. I was so jealous, and decided I didn't need to help pay for our parking after all since she had this new found wealth. We drove to the airport after that and she was going to drop me off at the terminals, but took the wrong road and decided to park and walk me in. I checked in and thanked her, telling her goodbye and that I would see her on Wednesday. After going through security, I had about an hour to kill. I was starting to get hungry (losing money and watching others make $60 in 20 minutes works up an appetite), so I grabbed something to eat as I sat at my terminal. Regional Express, or Rex as it is known, is a very small enterprise. They can afford to be efficient as there are only about 30 seats in their planes to seat, so they can book flights 10 minutes apart at the same terminal. In fact, they were about 15 minutes early in boarding every flight, including mine. We were called and simply checked off a list (no electronic scan like with Qantas). We walked downstairs to another waiting room. Then, went we were all there, we were taken out to a bus and driven about 10 yards to the plane (I couldn't help but laugh. I guess they can't let people walk on the tarmack, even for that short distance, but it was humorous. Our flight took less time that check in and security; it was about 20 minutes. I looked out the window and felt someone watching me. I looked at the seat in front of me and saw the boy sitting in that seat looking at me. We exchanged smiles and continued taking in the beauty. We landed on the tiniest runway, at the tiniest "airport" I have ever seen (but, I have Coober Pedy on Thursday, so this may change very soon). It was all so entertaining for me. This is what I have been asking for- deserted! I went inside, concerned about finding a shuttle at this tiny place. I saw I guy standing under a sign about Kangaroo Island transfers, and he was wearing a name tag, so I asked him if he was who I booked the shuttle with. He was, so I was able to book both the trip to the hostel, and the trip to the airport on Wednesday. We loaded the other people into the bus and headed off. We saw no other cars. And the road turned to dirt. Yes! We got to the hostel and there were a couple of buildings around, but no big names or anything. I checked in, which consisted of the guy saying room 4, then showing me the door that already had a key in it. Then he showed me the bathroom. And that wrapped up the tour. He asked for the payment, which since it was only 2 nights, I paid in cash. I asked about internet, he said we'd have to go to the library, which wasn't open now, but I could sit out front and use the internet "Go down this street, 1, 2, 3, when you get to Dourney, turn right, you can't miss it. Do you know where it is?" I said "yes." "No you don't," he said, and proceeded to repeat the directions. After getting him out of my room, I spoke to my roommate a little then settled in. I forgot to bring any granola bars with me, so I would need to eat something in the morning. I went out to ask about that. I found the man arguing with the woman that works at the hostel over whether or not you can sit outside the library and still get wireless. As she saw me approach, she kind of hit him to shut him up. I asked about food in the morning, he said "Go down this street, 1, 2, 3, when you get to Dourney, take a left, you can't miss it. Order the eggs and bacon." I said, "OK, so down here, breakfast on the left, library on the right." "You got it," he said. Gosh, I love him already.

A Giant Rocking Horse, A Greedy Kangaroo, and Paradise

17/10
Yesterday was spent on a quest to the Big Rocking horse, the chocolate factory, and the cheese factory. This big rocking horse is quite big, and I climbed to the top, despite it being a climb by ladders rather than stairs. I was kind of petrified the whole time, mainly because there were no real safety catches if I was to lose my footing or hand grip. Plus, it might be cool to die in a helicopter crash off the Great Ocean Road, or in a fiery Ferris wheel death in Brisbane, or a hot air balloon crash in Alice Springs, but death by giant rocking horse? That's not the coolest way to go. So fearing death I was on the steep climb and subsequent minutes I spent on the top of it's head. Sarah wanted to demonstrate how she and her brothers used to climb to the top and grab the sides and rock the horse. I politely declined the demonstration. Well, I actually asked it they were insane.
We climbed down and decided to visit the petting zoo at the same park. They had 3 kangaroos, some llamas and goats, and a couple of birds like peacocks, ducks, and we even saw a couple of chickens. We were only interested in the kangaroo though. We bought a 2 dollar bag of feed and found a kangaroo that had been sleeping. As we approached him, he got up, being all too familiar with what we were there for. We took turns feeding him out of out hand and petting him. A goat approached, feeling neglected and hungry. The kangaroo, not wanting to share the spotlight or feed, grabbed the goat by the head and pushed it away. We spotted a bigger kangaroo nearby, a bigger, grayer one. We went to feed it. I offered him a hand full of feed, which he gladly ate. Then, becoming frustrated that my hand wasn't immediately able to produce an infinite amount of food, he grabbed the bag of food out of my hand from the bottom, dumping all of the feed onto the ground. He then proceeded to eat the paper bag, munching on it as if it was delicious. We were both laughing hysterically at this point. Out of feed because of a greedy kangaroo's actions, we walked a circle around the zoo before leaving. We then went to the chocolate factory and bought a couple of bags of chocolate (seeing a theme on this portion of the trip?). The cheese factory was literally next door, and we were able to sample 8 different kinds of cheeses, although we were not able to tour the actual factory. That evening, we went out to an Indian restaurant for one of Sarah's friend's 25th birthday. It was a nice evening where I mostly took in all the Aussie accents, only occasionally contributing to conversations when I had something relevant to say.

Today I went to Sarah's church. Her friend Belinda picked me up and sat with me during the service. It was very different from the church I am used to at the small churches in North Carolina. For one, the church is an enormous concert hall. They began the services by playing several contemporary christian songs on guitars. It was a band on young adults on stage singing, the choir behind them as backup. After about 4 songs, they did have a sermon, but the environment was very different. I talked to Belinda about the differences and the facts that it seemed so many young adults were not only present, but actively involved in the church. She said it was by far their biggest age group, 18-35. I told her that in America, at least in the churches I have been involved in, that is the group that seems to be missing. It was interesting to me to see things done so differently.
I was dropped back off at the house after church and met up with Sarah later. She decided I needed to experience a meat pie, so we got pies and chips (french fries for you yanks), and watched the classic Aussie movie The Castle. It was very funny, a great movie. We grabbed Chinese takeout and went over to Sarah's friend Stacey's house to watch her copy of Beauty and the Beast on Blue ray (Yes, all we do is eat!). I leave for Kangaroo Island tomorrow for a couple of days. I return overnight on Wednesday before heading off to Coober Pedy!

A Bottle of Red, A Bottle of White

15/10-
Today was the Barossa Valley wine tour. I had to catch the 8am bus to insure that I would be were I was supposed to be at 9am when the bus was to pick me up. Normally, I have been catching the 503, but as the 503X pulled up, I figured it would be going to the city too, and it was displaying a name of a street I recognized, so I chanced it an hopped on. The bus just ended up by-passing the Paradise Interchange before taking me to the city, which was ok. I hit the button to be released when I thought I knew where I was and was far enough into the city to walk. It was an awful, disgusting rainy morning, and I began walking in one direction down the main road in town. A few minutes later, upon reaching a round-about that wasn't supposed to be there, I realized I was going the wrong direction. I turned around, fighting rain and oncoming people, and made my way back in the other direction. I eventually, wet and cold, made it to the designated location. Realizing I was still 15 minutes early, I began waiting and people watching. I was being picked up outside of a very ritzy hotel, so it was interesting to stand in my hoodie and backpack and see all the rich people scurry about to their various engagements. A van finally arrived, and tour guide Dallas picked me up. The tour was only an older couple from Sydney and two young guys from Thailand. We stopped first at the "Whispering Wall," which is a dam built in the area that does the neat acoustic trick of being able to reverberate your whispering voice from one side of the dam all the way to the other side so that people waiting and listening on the other side can hear everything you're saying. The old man on the trip was very impressed and demanded to know if it was a trick. It just makes me kind of nervous and wonder if I am in such acoustic spaces and not know it. Sometimes I need to talk about people without them hearing me. So don't be building any acoustic trickery rooms and luring me in, in hopes that I will say something about you and you will catch me. It's not nice.
We visited 4 wineries throughout the day, sampling between 6 and 10 wines at each stop = nicely tipsy bus. The most remarkable one I tried the whole day was a wine from the oldest Shiraz vines in the world. Australia did not have a disease outbreak that Europe had, decimating almost all the Shiraz vines over the region. These old vines were planted in 1843. The older the vines, the more rich the fruit they produce. So we were privileged to sample this $100 bottle of wine, normally not offered for sampling. It was delicious. At one of the wineries, there is a collection of wine produced that has original works on the label from young art students. There is a contest to see whose work will be chosen. The winning artist is granted a scholarship to continue their art education. The lady at the winery, showing us the various labels throughout the years, offered one that had an abstract, almost Picasso-esque painting of a topless woman on it. Since I had introduced myself as being from the States, she decided to give us a piece of trivia about this bottle. "If you notice, the woman on the bottle has her breasts exposed. This had to be covered up when bottles were sold to the United States." Everyone looked at me in almost disgust as if I had made the decision and declared the bottle unfit for American eyes. "Why? Why would they do that?" the older lady on the tour asked me. I shrugged and shook my head. "Puritans," was all I said, sipping my wine. If I had to explain and try to justify or even predict the reasons for all the insane things we do in America just because I'm American, it would be a long day. "I'm not offended by them," I added, just to let them know I was one of "the good ones."

On the way back to the city, I had a discussion with the driver. He had traveled quite a lot, and lived in America for 4 years. We talked about all kinds of things, and even got into politics a little, mostly because he had lived in New Orleans for a while and I asked about if he had followed what went on with Katrina. He said that if you asked him his favorite place and least favorite place, it would both be New Orleans. He said he was shocked by the racism that was still going on down there. He said he was applying for a job, and the man told him he only had "black work," which Dallas thought meant under the table, but meant "black work." According to Dallas, that man was like the great grandson of the Grand Wizard and was still very active in the KKK. He said that the older black men he worked with refused to call him "Dallas," insisting on calling him "Mr. Dallas," even though he was just in his early twenties. I asked what year this was. "1994," he said. I sighed.

We finally got back to the city and they all wished me luck in Coober Pedy (they had very little confidence in me not being swindled into buying fake opals or even surviving two days in that town, but I will show them!) I had wanted to do some gambling since I hadn't yet and I saw a sign for the casino, but I wasn't feeling so great, with so many blancs and shirazs and ports and tauneys swishing around in my stomach, so I ran a few errands and began my bus journey home. I can't believe how cold it is here! It's like winter weather in NC. I booked a kangaroo island tour finally, so I am set to actually see things when I am down there for two days.

Kangaroo STEAK!

14/10-
I went to Hahndorf today with Sarah and Marie. Hahndorf is Australia's oldest German town. We had lunch at a restaurant and I had KANGAROO! They suggested I order it medium rare, which is usually a little rare for my tastes, but they said it tends to get tough when cooked too long. It was perfect though, and very lean. It reminded me of a lean steak. I ate everything but one very raw bit. We then walked around and explored the town, going into the shops, wishing we had an infinite supply of money in order to buy the lovely things we saw. We went into a shop that was a particularly weird experience. It was a Lavender shop, everything was lavender. The color, the smell, they had lavender soaps, lavender clothes, lavender food. And the woman was lavender too! She was soft spoken, wearing a lavender shirt, and handing out lavender mints. She talked to us about travel and invited me to visit their lavender farm during my Barossa valley tour the next day. After Hahndorf, we went to watch Sam and Marie play volleyball again. God, I miss volleyball.



Clean Plate!!

ABs, Exploring Adelaide, Boys with Volleyball Skills, and Phillip Island Summary

13/10/10
I'm in Adelaide! I landed yesterday, and after some set backs regarding spilt detergent and transportation (I bought a ticket for a shuttle, and then wasn't allowed entrance onto it. I got a refund), I was able to figure out what buses I was supposed to take to end up at the North Adelaide library to partake in free wifi. I ended up only having to pay $4.80 for a trip that would have been upwards of $60 bucks if I hadn't kept reminding myself that setbacks are part of the journey and adventure and restrained myself from hailing a taxi. It took me about an hour from when I decided I was busing, mainly because I had to wait n several different buses, and kept annoying bus drivers by asking if I was on the right bus and point to maps of where I was trying to ultimately go (uh, screaming "tourist"). But I did finally make it to the library. I would have usually walked a little more and explored, but it was an awful rainy day and I had all my luggage and was quickly being tired of being easily identified as a backpacker. I was only at the library about an hour when Sarah called me and told me she could pick me up. We went to her house on the outskirts of Adelaide, about a 20 minutes drive in rush hour traffic. She lives in this house with her father Roger, brother Sam, his French-Canadian girlfriend Marie, and two Cats- Molly and Max. The house is very quaint four bedrooms and one bath, two living areas, a kitchen, a washroom. It's one of those houses that has connecting doors from each room to the other, so you can literally circle throughout the house. We all talked a while and waited for her friend Toni to come over and go to dinner with us. Haha, oh dinner. So Sarah had been preparing me for my dinner since about the time I got into her car at 4:30. She began mentioning this thing called an "AB," which she said was chips (french fries) with meat on top and tomato sauce (ketchup), garlic sauce and barbecue sauce drizzled over top. She said it was delicious and she hadn't had one in ages, but if I wasn't keen on it, we could make dinner at home. Feeling adventurous and calling on the when in Rome cliche, I said I would love to join them for ABs. I later made the mistake of asking what an AB stood for. "It stands for after birth, because that is what it looks like," she said. "But it's so good." Not the most promising name for a culinary creation. Her brother later was arguing with her that it wasn't after birth, it was abortion, which throws in a whole 'nother level of controversy and loveliness. We were still discussing the name at dinner, and I suggested we ask the creators, surely they would know what the "AB" stood for. They told us it was AB for Atomic Bomb, which I was hoping wasn't forecasting the later dietary result of consuming the dinner. We bought two of them because each one is supposed to feed 1-2 people. We got one with barbecue sauce and one without because Sarah prefers without. She treated Tammy, Marie, and I to the first round of the ABs. I have to say, despite the appearance and name, it was actually quite good. Definitely only for certain occasions, and would definitely qualify as "drunk food" as well. Sarah, Marie, and I decided we wanted a little more, so I bought another, this time requesting half with BBQ, half not. The counter attendant seemed surprised four girls cleaned up 2 ABs and were asking for a 3rd. "They sneak up on you," he warned me. "I think we can handle it," I said. And we had no problem finishing the second.
We went back to the house, on the way discussing minimum wage differences between the two countries, wait staff, and fast food. At home, we continued chatting, discussing politics from each country, being careful not to get too much into personal policies, although I think I could figure out where everyone seemed to stand. We discussed what happened in the 2000 election (I explained even America is still confused about that one) and I explained how much disgusting pull that lobbies have on policies and laws passed. We somehow started talking about TV and television ads, and watched some of what they thought were the best of Australian ads on youtube. I finally asked them my burning question: what is the deal with fairy bread? "Uh, it's the best thing ever." said Tammy, as if that would wrap up the issue for me. "Ok, but it's just bread, butter, and hundreds and thousands?" I asked. "Yes! It's delicious!" they said. I decided I should try it, and they have been encouraging me to give Vegemite another whirl as well. We went to bed around midnight. I have my own room! With my own double bed! And I didn't pay a cent!

Today I am exploring Adelaide. I had to catch buses into the city, nervously navigating where I am supposed to be and what I am to pay. The bus drivers were nice though, and answered my questions. I got off at the first stop in the city near the zoo. I decided if it was $23 or under, I would go. I walked through part of Adelaide University campus to get there. It's lovely with lots of trees and nice old buildings, looks vaguely like UNC, except in the middle of a big city and with less open quads. I got to the zoo- $28.50. It was a no go. I walked back up through the university, stopping to watch students and pretend I was in school. I figured I was passing- dressed down, with a backpack and iPod. I really do miss school. I miss the unstructured nature of it. I mean, I did have a schedule as far as classes went, but other than that, it was my time. And until a month ago, I had schedules, and errands, and responsibilities just about every waking minute since I had 2 jobs, a volunteer commitment, and housesitting. Now, I have nothing but my time. And it is so lovely.

I spent the day wandering around the city. I went to the free Adelaide Museum, mostly because it was free. I spent the better part of the day exploring the middle of the city- the mall area. There always seems to be public performers in big open spaces like malls. I was debating whether or not to tip him, but when I emerged from the Vodafone shop (after buying yet another recharge less than two weeks after the first), he was playing Learn to Fly by the Foo Fighters. Ok, I will toss you a couple of bucks, which is easier to do in Australia since the buck and the 2 buck are coins. I made my way back to the home by bus, somehow finagling my way into another free ride on the second bus. After dinner, I went with Marie to watch Sam play volleyball. They were very good, and it made me miss volleyball so bad. Boys in America are bad at volleyball, hitting it in very unusual and ungraceful ways. But these guys were good.



I don't want to not acknowledge Monday and pretend like it didn't happen, because of course it did, and there were a couple of notable things that occurred, but as I drift farther away from it, I have less and less desire to write about it. So I will at least give you the outline of what we did that day and how I felt about it. We first stopped for a wine and cheese tasting. The wine was nice, as was the cheese, but the people that own and work at the vineyard seemed distant. I thinks it's because they knew we wouldn't be buying anything. We went to a chocolate factory next. It was amazing, especially compared to Cadbury's factory. A solid chocolate statue of The David, a painting of The Scream made from chocolate, a chocolate waterfall, a ton rick of chocolate, a robot that feeds you chocolate, and a make-your-own chocolate machine. It was pretty sweet. Next we went to a koala park. This was mostly just more walking around snapping pictures of koalas way up in trees, until I came upon a crowd- which means either someone is hurt or something very cool is happening. It was a mother koala with the cutest baby clinging to her side. She was walking along the railing of the walkway, so close that we could reach out and touch her. We all frantically snapped identical pictures, one after another. It was definitely a cool thing to see. We then went to the Nobbies (it seems everything in Australia has cute names). These are rocks in the water. It was breeding season for the gulls, so picture thousands of screaming gulls with their chicks as far as the eye can see. We walked around, trying to spot a penguin, but only finding one being unsocial in his hole. I walked the stretch of the boardwalk, just praying the showers of gull poop would miss me. Finally, around sun-down, we went to the Phillip Island viewing platform to see the penguins come in at night. I have to say, I was disappointed. I was expecting wave after wave of penguin, I mean, they call it a penguin island parade for god's sake. It was like maybe 30ish penguins, that came out gradually. I was more disappointed in the humans around me. They were bickering about seating and fighting over whether or not they were allowed to be taking pictures. And some were wanting to touch the penguins. It made me wish they would just close the park and let the penguins come home in peace. Uhg, humans.

The Great Adventure of The Great Ocean Road

Ok, this is going to be a pretty long entry, so just bear with me...

My day started off pretty interesting, I got up, crept around in the dark showering and getting dressed as not to disturb my roomies, then went downstairs to get breakfast. I entered the kitchen, there was only three people in there. One was a guy, who had clearly just rolled out of bed and came downstairs for breakfast. The other two people were already dressed and looking very nice, like they were going to work or somewhere important. "Wow," I thought. "They are very dressed up for 7 am." I quickly realized that these people weren't "up" at 7am. You can't be "up" if you haven't yet gone to bed. The girl was taking occasional swigs from a wine bottle, and the guy was just sitting lazily on the couch watching TV. I laughed to myself, I tried my best to watch them unnoticed, like when you see wildlife somewhere and don't want to startle it. But the girl did notice me, and began chatting with me. "Hi," she said. "Would you like some wine," she politely offered at 7am. "No thank you," I declined. She asked me where I was going and what I had planned for the day. I explained I was up so early to go on a Great Ocean Road tour. "Oh, that sounds like so much fun!" she exclaimed. "You are going to have the best day!" We chatted a few more minutes before she asked me if I knew where the nearest bathroom was, then she excused herself. I don't mind drunk people, as long as they are happy and friendly drunks, even at irresponsible times like 7am. I so much prefer them to rude or mean people. Give me a friendly 7am drunk over a stuck up prude any day.

I finished my brekky and went upstairs to wait for the bus. I ran into drunk girl again, and she again told me nicer than any flight attendant ever had to have a nice day. I figured it was a good omen. I was picked up right around 7:30 am from my corner and met a German girl named Ann Marie. She was traveling alone as well, in the country for an internship in Sydney, and was taking a weekend trip to Melbourne. We met up with our bus and our tour guide named Sandy, who people on the tour for some reason drew immediate connections to Sandy, the character in Grease played by the Australian Olivia Newton John. After fiddling with her mic for several minutes and stalling the van out in the middle of the road ("If you all can tell, this isn't my usual van..."), off we go. We first stopped at a seaside beach area known for surfing called Bells Beach. It's the beach that is apparently the setting of the groundbreaking Keanu Reeves movie 'Point Break,' although that movie was actually filmed in Hawaii (Aussie ain't got nothing on our rip curls). We took some breathtaking shots (it's almost impossible not to on this trip, actually) and the most significant thing I learned at this stop was that the Aussie passion for surfing was born due to Americans stationed here in WWII. Our soldiers brought surf boards and impressed the Aussie girls, so the hobby caught on. We had out morning tea on the beach (gotta love the English influence) and set off again. Our next couple stops were scenic viewpoints for photo ops. We stopped at the Great Ocean Road sign, once a promising stone structure, but after being knocked down several times and once destroyed by fire, they have now put up a very inexpensive wooden archway. We made our way onward, stopping in a neighborhood known for its koalas and birds. We drove up a long road and parked to walk down and see if we could spot any creatures in the trees. It was amazing, almost every fifth tree seemed to be inhabited by a koala. We gathered under each koala tree, frantically taking identical photos as if one picture of the koala wasn't going to cut it. Our van eventually picked us up from our koala quest and took us down the road a little ways. There were lots of birds gathered in one area, as if they were accustomed to an event occurring there (and they definitely were). Bird seed was distributed by Sandy, and like trained house pets, these birds came down from the trees and began landing on our arms to feed on the seed. I kept having several that for some reason felt my head was the perfect perch and would swoop from the tree to sit on my head. This was happening to other girls in the group as well, but I am proud to announce there was much less screaming and squealing involved in my bird landing. I was just glad none of them felt the need to defecate while using my head as a resting place.
Our next stop was a tiny town for lunch. After 2 days of Go West tours, I have come to conclude that a lot of these smaller towns still exist only because of the tourist groups that come through and stop to eat. There was a beach nearby (of course), so after lunch, I walked out and got a few more photos. We continued on our journey, really starting to get into the more green portion of the road (meaning more Ireland, less California). When the road was constructed after WWI as a tribute to the soldiers who did not survive, it was started at either end. The project took much longer than planned and was much more intense than expected, so the middle portion of the road ended up being made from old logging truck paths and was well off the ocean. It was a stark contrast to the jagged rock edging and rocky beaches we had seen on the beginning portion of the road. It was hill after rolling hill of very green grass (wettest year in the last ten, remember?), most often covered with some type of feeding livestock. We stopped for a tour at Maits Rain forest walk, named after the guy who used to watch over the area and make sure the loggers were not overlogging or taking protected trees. It was amazing, like a jungle right out of some prehistoric era. You half expected some dinosaur to come wandering out of the bush edge. There are some tremendous trees here (I confronted Sandy about Melbourne claiming second tallest tree. See, both Huon valley and Victoria can't have tallest tree behind Redwood. She explained, depending on where you go, I might find a third or forth contender. It depends on who you ask. I guess no one is checking when each tour makes this claim...), but I am so much more impressed with the ferns. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for ferns, and seeing these ferns taller that full grown men is just amazing to me. Sandy says they have been budding more this year than shes seen in decades. You used to only see the occasional new leaves spawning, but there was not a single fern I passed that didn't have at least one curl growing up from it's center.
Let me pause from my exciting fern talk to explain some of my disappointment for my fellow countrymen on this trip. I was one of 5 Americans on the bus of only 11 tourists, so it was more Americans than I have been around in a month (huh, that is a weird thought.) If we all behaved like these people on my bus, I can see why the world hates Americans. There was a couple, and a man from Chicago, and a man from California, but he sounded originally from Ireland or something to me. Anyway, the Irish Californian or whatever really loved the sound of his own voice. You could tell this because he kept telling Sandy and people beside him on the bus irrelevant things, things not even people who knew him or cared about him would care to know (for example, the song "What a Wonderful World" came on the radio and he felt the need to announce to the entire bus that this song was played at his niece's wedding. Yeah buddy, her and probably 3/4 of the weddings around the world just that day. Who gives a damn?) This in and of itself isn't completely unforgivable, I mean, I have family members and even friends that I can tolerate for a couple days that feel the need to be the center of attention, but he was on my list. Then, which is the reason for this side story in the middle of my rain forest description, he did something completely unreasonable, unimaginable, unforgivable. HE LITTERED IN THE RAIN FOREST! I mean, I have a big enough problem with people littering in nasty cities where there is already trash laying around and you almost think, "what's one more piece?", but this is a rain forest, one of the precious few left on the entire planet. I was walking behind him, listening to him drone on inanely even though no one was listening, fiddling in his pockets as he walked. He discovered a wipe we had been given earlier to clean our hands after feeding the birds, and as if it was nothing at all, flicked it so carelessly from his pocket that I wasn't sure I really saw what I did. The wipe fell tragically down too far for me to retrieve, and I was so upset by that, because I wanted to pick it up, take it back to his freckled, bespectacled face and demand an explanation for littering in the rain forest. I hated him silently the rest of the day. Oh, and the other guy, the Chicago guy, kept burping out loud all the way home. And was a mouth breather. I couldn't wait to get off the bus.
Anyway, looooovely rain forest. I learned how fragile they are, because if they ever catch fire and are lost, they can't be replaced. They are the kind of forest that cannot be made again, so once they are gone, they're gone. You might say, "Well, fire, why do you mention that? Is that really an issue?" It is because the trees that grow up to the edge of the rain forest are the types of trees that crave fire; they are pretty much suicidal trees. They need fire in order to reproduce. They actually shed their bark all around the tree in order to make their own kindling in hopes that a stray spark will come along and help them pass on their genes. You can see why this is a problem for the neighboring rain forest.

Onward we went, finally making our way to the highlight of the trip- the rock formations off the coast known as the 12 Apostles, the Loch Ard Gorge, and London Bridge. The latter two have great stories I will tell you (I told you this would be a long one) and the former formation is actually only 8 instead of 12, the liars. Anyway, we arrived and I decided to splurge and pay the extra $75 for the helicopter ride to see the formations from above. It was totally worth it. I got some amazing footage, even though I meant to get some recording of it and forgot because I was so intent on taking pictures from every angle. After we landed and rounded up the troops (gassy, mouth-breathing Chicago and his Chinese girlfriend decided they didn't need to come back on time), we went off to see Loch Ard Gorge. Sandy, who is a fantastic story teller, told us the story of Loch Ard Gorge. It is named after the ship that crashed in the area during early settlement. The story is centered around the two survivors from that 54 person ship- two eighteen year olds Tom and Eva. Tom was thrown overboard as the ship struck one of the tiny islands off the cliffs. He was a pretty good swimmer, and managed to make it even to shore basically because he was trapped under an overturned life boat. Eva was not the best swimmer, but managed to survive by clinging to wood from the ship. Long story short- Tom hears Eva's cries for help and saves her, but because of how long she's been in the water, she's suffering from hypothermia and going in and out of consciousness. Tom and Eva stay in an on shore cave until morning. Tom knows they will not survive unless he finds help, so he goes out in search of help. Just by sheer luck, some of the rancher checkers in the area had been out that morning, and Tom was able to follow horse prints to get help. They end up being saved and they become instant celebrities to the whole country. People are pressuring Tom to marry Eva (everyone loves a happy ending, right?). Because it's Victorian times, many people begin changing the story to say Tom and Eva slept in separate caves, to protect Eva's reputation, haha. Eva's entire family (mother, father, 2 brothers, ad 3 sisters) were killed on the ship. She and Tom took a land route back to Melbourne (which takes a month) and upon arrival, Eva books the first trip back to England, never to return to Australia again. In interviews later, they ask Tom why he never proposed to Eva, didn't he love her? Tom tells them he did love her, since they had spent all that time together after the ship wreck, but he knew that if he proposed, Eva would say yes because he had saved her life. And he knew she hated Australia and knew that every day looking at his face first thing in the morning would be a constant reminder of that night. He said he would rather love her and miss her the rest of his life than force her to be unhappy. Awwwwwwwwwwwwww!

London Bridge is a rock formation named because it looks (or looked, I suppose) like a bridge. It looked much more like a bridge before 1990, and they actually used to let people walk out onto it in the middle of the ocean. But one day in 1990, there had apparently been too many millions of people and millions of years of ocean hammering at the structure, and part of it toppled into the sea. This happened at the end of the day, lots of tour groups, including a school group of children, had just gotten into their buses and left. There were only 4 people left out on the structure: a elderly couple and young couple with champagne, waiting for the old couple to leave so they could have some privacy. Eventually, the older couple made their way across the structure and back to the car park (haha, Aussie for parking lot). Just as they did, the whole section that they had just walked across dropped into the sea. The younger couple were frantic, afraid their side might go as well. They yelled for the older couple to get help (1990, the time before cell phones, mind you). The older couple went back to town and went to the police station. The old man went inside and yelled "London Bridge is falling down!" The cops initial reaction was one of, "yes, I've heard that one," but agreed to come along and check it out. After seeing it was true, he radioed for help. The rescue helicopter was in Melbourne and could be there in 3 hours. By this time, towns people had heard what happened and drove up to watch. Local news helicopters were circling and one landed on the rock formation. The couple rushed to the helicopter, thinking they were being saved. The reporter stopped them, shoving a microphone in their face. "We're not licensed to carry passengers, but can I get an interview?" The couple angrily refused, and the helicopter returned to the sky. Finally, three hours later, the Melbourne chopper came and rescued the couple, dropping them right on land next to their car. The couple, covering their faces, went to their cars and left immediately. The crowd was disappointed, why not take some time and enjoy the fame? The next day, the reason was exposed by local news- the happy couple was married- but to other people. The woman had a husband and children and the man had a wife. They worked together and were supposed to be on a work conference, but had taken a romantic holiday to the London Bridge with champagne and everything. BUSTED.

So that's my story of the Great Ocean Road. It was a good day, and I took some amazing pictures.

On a different note, I'm still not a fan of my roommies. They are pretty inconsiderate. I mean, I always go out of my way not to disturb people sleeping, being very quiet, using my cell phone as a light. One of them doesn't have the decency to shut the bathroom door when getting ready in the morning, so all the sleeping people in the room are subjected to her series of hacks and snorts and general lugey hawking choir in the morning. I mean, come on. Shut the door, it's the least you can do. I did meet one of them last night sitting in the hallway and she spoke to me. "Our roomies slept a lot, huh?" I told her. It seems like there is always at least one asleep, where it is 8 pm or noon. She was reading Russell Brand's 2nd book, and I told her I had been reading his first (yes, I've been just slightly obsessed lately- despite my obsession with luberjacks, I am also inexplicably a sucker for boys in eyeliner) and I had noticed the book on her bed and wanted to meet her. She is checking out this morning too, and she's been the one sleeping above me the past couple of days. Anyway, she was nice.

Anyway, I am off to Adelaide this morning. I will add some pics to this later and tell you about Philip Island yesterday. I have just been so insanely busy the past two days with tours, and I haven't packed a thing yet. Oh, I forgot to tell you, Sandy says I say "G'day" very well. When I was talking to my German friend about saying "hello" when people say "g'day," apparently Sandy was listening. "You say that well though," she said. "I do?" I was very happy. So maybe I will throw the occasional G'day out there now that I have Aussie approval.

Rockin' the Boat, Icy Roomies, and Salsa-less, Taste-less Mexican food

It rained most of the morning of my last day in Tasmania, so I checked out at 10am, stored most of my luggage in their storage room, and hung out at the hostel until the rain let up. I ran some errands before catching the bus at 2pm. I had to walk down about 10 blocks, then turn and walk another 6. I did this with all my bags. It wasn't too bad, I did it when I arrived, but I don't understand people. When I see someone coming at me carrying a huge pack and 3 other bags, I will do my best to keep out of their way. I was constantly the one who had to step aside to avoid people. I should have just plowed them down; I had the momentum on my side. Because I am so paranoid, I arrived at the bus terminal almost an hour before my bus was scheduled to leave. So I sat in the empty terminal and read my Fodors Australia book to see what they suggested about Western Australia. I am undertaking the difficult task of narrowing down the towns I will see when doing Western Australia. It's the biggest state, twice the landmass of Texas, and the towns are spaced far apart, so I will probably be catching Greyhounds from place to place. I will have about a month from the time I land in Perth to when I am meeting Matt in Alice Springs, so I will have to figure out how I want to space my trip.
My bus finally arrived, and we ended up leaving late because some woman was late. This was concerning because if I didn't arrive to check in at the Spirit of Tasmania by 6:45, I would lose my ticket. The bus only had me and two other women on it. I sat towards the middle and both women sat up front and talked to the driver the whole way. I popped my earbuds in and listened to Foo Fighters while reading and dozing all the way to Launceston. The driver warned me we were running late, and I told him as long as we make it to Spirit before 6:45pm, it would be ok. He said we would. We picked up a man in Launceston and I moved up towards the front as to be more social. We talked intermitently about travel and prostitutes and gay people (I'm too tired to go into it). He did get me their before 6:45, but only by about 5 minutes. Flustered, I checked in, went through security, checked my pack, and made it onto the ship. I went directly to reception to inquire about an upgrade. She said they didn't do upgrades until after the safety announcement. I took a seat near reception and put my ear buds in even though I wasn't playing music. I hoped this would fend off anyone thinking I was in need of entertainment or company. I people watched until they finally showed the safety video. She must have told a group of people what she told me, because as soon as the safety video was over, a line formed at the counter. I took my place in it, trying my best to look sick, as this was going to be my excuse for wanting to move to a cabin. It was finally my turn and I explained I was interested to see if they had any open beds available. She asked for my boarding pass and typed on the computer. "This will be $82 for a bed and $198 for a private cabin." Ugh, no free upgrade. I was afraid of this because there seemed to be many more people on the ship this time, and I guess they figured they could charge for upgrades. I did pay for the upgrade, once again figuring I would never be on this ship again, and needed to experience the cabin. I walked up to the next floor with my new key card and walked for what seemed like forever to get to my room 3050. It was about what I expected, 4 beds stacked on top of each other, a window, a bathroom. I stuck my stuff under my bed and looked out the window. It was dark so I couldn't really see anything. I went back downstairs in search of food. I had decided if I got the free upgrade, I would opt for the nicer meal at the restaurant- either 2 courses for $54 or 3 courses for $63. Since I didn't, it was the $25 cafeteria food again. I filled my plate up, trying to feel like I was getting my 25 bucks worth. After eating, I walked around a little and checked on the movie. It was Green Zone, which I have seen and it was good, but I wasn't planning on staying up until midnight tonight. I found a bar and asked the older lady behind the bar if she could please fill my water bottle up (another trick from my American friend from the first voyage). She looked bewildered, then took my bottle and filled it with boiling hot water. I didn't think I would have to specify that I wanted cold water and not hot, but my mistake I suppose. I went to the bathroom and poured out the boiling water, burning my hand. I then let my metal bottle cool down a few minutes before I decided to try again, this time at the bar at the other end of the ship. This time, I made sure I requested COLD water. This seemed to confuse the male bartender again, but the female bartender grabbed my bottle and used both squirters to fill it. I thanked her and went upstairs to go to bed. I read a while, and as I did, the ship began rocking worse and worse. I literally could not lay still. I read until around 10, then decided to turn off the lights to see if I could go to sleep. The ship was rocking so badly that I could hear water being thrown up on the deck when the waves would hit the side. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, I was tired, but it was like someone was shaking me to wake me up every couple of minutes. I kept checking the clock and the waves did not calm down until almost 1am. I slept a few hours until we docked in Melbourne at 5:45. I was able to disembark, get my checked bag, and get a cab fairly easily, but I wasn't allowed to check in until 11am. I went to get another crepe from the same place I went a few weeks ago. The girl remembered me because she asked was I sure I wanted a flat white instead of hot chocolate. "No chocolate today?" she said. I was impressed. "Not today," I said. This place is situated so that it's basically outside, so I had to sit outside. I froze while eating, so I finished as quickly as I could.
I went to the grocery store to pick up brekky for the few days I would be in Melbourne. I was shocked to find eggs, not in the cold food section, but on a regular aisle, like with cereal. It was farm fresh, cage free, hormone free eggs, never have been refrigerated. And they were brown! I got a box of six, I will let you know how they are. I also picked up some fruit juice boxes, some muffins, and two bananas. All these things for my next four days breakfast cost less than what I spent for brekky this morning. I wasted a few hours until 11, then tried my room. There were still 6 girls in it. I went downstairs to see what the deal was. They had issued me a key for 310, and told me I was in 310, but really I was in 307. I was reissued a key, then tried again. The room was clear, except for one girl still in bed. At 11:30am. I asked if a bottom bunk I saw was taken. "No, but they haven't changed the sheets yet," she said. I claimed it anyway, not putting anything on the bed, but hanging things on railings, so newcomers would know it was mine. I then decided to let sleeping beauty have her time, took my Fodors, and went downstairs. They were showing Zoolander on the big screen, so I watched, while planning the west. After giving her two hours, I went back up, hoping she was gone. She was, thankfully. I showered and started making myself at home. The one thing about my bed- the top bunk is too low. I cannot even sit on the bed straight up! It's too low. So I weighed my options- climb up and down every time I get up, or have to lay down every time I'm in bed. I decided climbing was more annoying, and stayed on the bottom. I spent the afternoon figuring out what I would be doing with my free time on Saturday (Sunday is a day long trip to Great Ocean Road, Monday is Phillip Island Penguins). I was also craving Mexican, and decided I needed to give it a chance here, just to see if it's as bad as everyone says. Since I only had an apple for dinner, I left around 5:30pm to go to a place up the road called Amigos. I ordered a white wine sangria that had tequila and agave in it. It wasn't bad, pretty refreshing. I also ordered guacamole, since the meal didn't automatically come with salsa and the waitress advised against the salsa. "The guacamole is better," she said. No good salsa? At a Mexican place? Not boding well.
The guacamole was very good. I also ordered a combination meal that had a taco, an enchilada, and a taquito with rice and beans. The rice was awful, I didn't bother with the beans either because I was getting full. The beef in everything was shredded beef, but it reminded me of pot roast. It was clear that no spices whatsoever, except maybe salt, had been added when cooking it. The most flavorful item was the enchilada, and that was because it had melted cheese and a green salsa on top of it. The taquito was boring, and the taco had no taste and wasn't finished. And tacos are my favorite! I don't know if I'm going to try again. I mean, I love Mexican food, but that did not quench my thirst for it. it just reminded me that I am luke warm about pot roast. And Mexican food without salsa and tomatoes?! It's a sin!
My roommates seem pretty unfriendly. I think, and I am just stereotyping because I haven't stayed in a mix dorm yet, but I think that the girls that book all girl dorms tend to want to keep to themselves and not socialize or meet other people. I wish I could have the best of both worlds. I just imagine it smelling a lot worse if boys were in the room. I suppose I already usually dress in the bathroom after showers anyway, so the privacy thing wouldn't change. Well, at Kangaroo Island, I am booked in a mixed dorm, it was the only choice. It will be my first experience with it. I was booked in a mixed dorm in Brisbane too, but they put me with only girls.
I left my book and my voltage adaptor in Tassie, since neither could serve me any longer. I like the idea of leaving books where I have been. I left my favorite pages dog-eared, so maybe it will become someone else's favorite pages too.

Cadbury, Cruise, Restaurant Rebels, and Haunted Shower Stalls

Today I went to the Cadbury chocolate factory. It really wasn't that great of a tour, I mean, they didn't even let us see machines or anything; they just showed a video. But we did get some free candy. And then I bought 6 more bars of chocolate of various kinds, and am going to have oh so much fun cramming them somewhere in my already jam-packed luggage. But I guess when in Rome, and when standing the the candy store at a chocolate factory that has a hint of that Willy Wonka-esqueness to it, it's kind of hard to resist. As you can see, I also took a picture with Freddo. My uber geeky picture number 1 for the trip.

Like my tour on Monday, it was all couples. And also like that tour, I ended up conversing mostly with a pair of elder Aussies on the lunch cruise. There was also a newlywed couple on the cruise that talked to me quite a bit. (This pic is of the inside of the boat, btw.) The man, named John, is actually a baseball pitcher, which I think is weird because I didn't know there was baseball in Australia. I decided to share my story about asking Mario in Sydney if he "struck out" with a girl and him not understanding what I was saying. I realized it was a very American expression since it's a baseball term. Angela, the new bride, thought that was hilarious and shared it with John. They were married just on Saturday in Sydney and decided to go on their honeymoon to a couple of places in their on country they hadn't been. They want to go to New York someday and see a Yankees game.

After the lunch cruise, I fought every fiber in my being to not hail a cab. My foot gels are really working (they should go ahead and give "Scholls" his doctorate down here as well, he seems to be doing good work), so I manned up and walked back from the waterfront. It was about 2 pm when I got back, so I decided I was going to go out and have a nice dinner tonight. Around 6:30, I spruced up and went to this place down the street called El Suprema Ristorante. It was an Italian place. I dropped quite a lot of cash for a backpacker's dinner, but since I hadn't technically spent money all day, and it was my last night in Tasmania, I rationalized it well (I learned this from a former roommate- love you Sal!). There were not a lot of people in the restaurant since it's a Wednesday, so both the waiters were talking to me a lot and asking me questions about my trip and North Carolina. One of them asked about the weather. I explained it was temperate, so we definitely had distinct seasons, and most times at least a little snow in the winter, at least it's always cold enough for it. And I said we were on the edge of the South, so it got very hot in the summer as well. He said "Oh, so you were on that side of the war?" I said "Oh yeah, we were the rebels." Australians love this. They love the idea of rebellion against government and such, so I've so far had very positive reactions, which is why I bring it up. This was no different. He smiled, "Yeah, we're rebels down here too. Up in Launceston, they drink Tooleys. We drink Cascade here." I don't know how this is rebellion, but I laughed. After I few more minutes of talking, I ducked out because it was looking like it was going to rain; one waitress was predicting a thunderstorm. One thing about restaurants down here- no one is in a hurry to do anything. See, in America, working on tips, they want you in, fed, and out so they can get your and the next person and the next person's tips. In Australia, they don't get tips, so they couldn't care less if you sat there all day; it's actually less work for them. So I often find myself sitting around and waiting and hoping the check is coming, but it never does. You always have to request it. They always assume you want another glass of wine or dessert or coffee, so they are in no hurry to clear your plates and bring you the check. And in some restaurants, the check isn't brought to you, you have to know to go up to the register when you are ready, even in some nice restaurants. It's still extremely confusing to me sometimes, so I find myself watching what other people do around me to see what protocol is. And sometimes I feel like I am seen as curt or demanding or something asking for the check. Sometimes the waiters seem disappointed. I mean, I have to go, and you want this money, so we have to do this eventually. I don't know, maybe it's just something I haven't quite figured out yet.

Also, I have found myself lying to people in Tasmania about what I've done in Tasmania. Yes, I did this state wrong. I should have scheduled hostel staying in a couple of regions throughout Tasmania to see more of it, but I was just doing like I have done so far- pick a city to see. People seem really disappointed if you haven't seen everything they ask about, so, haha, I have lied a couple of times. I mean, they won't find out, or ever see me again, and everyone walks away happy. I just don't understand them getting so disappointed- I'm the one missing out on seeing stuff, not them. If you visit Tasmania, if possible, get a hire car (what they call rental cars) or camper because there is lots to see everywhere. Day trips from Hobart doesn't cut it. And if Tasmanians ask, let them you have, even if you haven't.

Also, I really am sincerely starting to wonder about this hostel. I'm wondering if it's haunted. Every morning, in the shower, I hear the distinct sounds of people moving around and banging in the stalls on either side of me. Like the sound of something being dropped and moved, someone is there getting ready to shower. But when I turn the water off and get out, no one is in there. And I am only taking like 2 minute showers. It's very weird. I guess it's a good thing I am checking out tomorrow morning.