Sydney at Last

I am now in Sydney! I arrived on Wednesday night, the 23rd. The 14 hour bus ride from Melbourne to Sydney was interesting, to say the least. I sat next to Adam and Adam from England, Jay from a small town in Australia, and Annik from Quebec. We had some great chats along the way. The memorable part of the bus ride would have to be when the bus broke down near a town called Yass. We were pretty much in the middle of nowhere and it was about 32 degrees! We sat, just shaking our heads, for about an hour until the bus driver fixed the belt on the engine. I had called a family friend, Deidre, to ask if I could store my huge suitcase at her house while I traveled up the coast and she insisted that I stay with her.

So... I have been in Australia for 2 1\2 weeks and still I have managed to stay out of hostels. The only good thing about hostels is that it is really easy to meet people. But never fear, every day in Sydney I have met at least two people. Last night, I even ran into Adam and Adam (the 2 English blokes from the bus) at an Irish pub. There are 'heaps' of pubs in Sydney. The nightlife in Vancouver is an embarrassment compared to Sydney. Sydney is just as great as I imagined! Melbournites warned me that Sydneysiders were a little snobby, but I have found just the opposite. In fact, the first night I arrived in Sydney I was walking down the street with my backpack and big suitcase, and I must have looked like I needed help because one man offered to help me carry my suitcase on to the local bus and another guy offered to help me with it when I got on the ferry. Then, I sat next to a 70-year-old lady on the ferry and she offered to drive me to Deidre's house. It was only a 2-minute drive, but it would have taken me forever with all my bags. The men are MUCH friendlier here too. I can't believe how easy it is to meet them. I have been in Sydney 3 days and 4 men have given me their numbers! If only Vancouver men were like that, I would be married by now! Oh, and there are plenty of buff, bronze surfers here to keep any single woman occupied!


Sydney harbour is just breathtaking! Every day I take the ferry from where I am staying in Manly to downtown, and I pass the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge each time. There is such an energy about the city! Sydney is a contradiction in many ways: people dressing in trendy suits walking next to people in 'sunnies', flipflops and boarder shorts. Since it is autumn here the stores are selling ski jackets and touques, but next to them will always be bikinis and flipflops.

I am going to get a hostel on Sunday in Coogee or Bondi Beach, the young,trendy area of town. I am hoping to meet some cool people to travel with up the coast. I have been looking into some package deals on what to do up north. My tentative plan for the next 2 months is to take a 4-day surfing trip to Byron Bay and Surfers Paradise, then a few days wandering around Brisbane. I'll stop in the town of 1770 and Coffs Harbour where I know some people and do some suntanning. Then a 3-day camping trip on Fraser Island, sleeping under the stars, avoiding the wild dingos, and then doing some 4-wheeling in the sand. Next, up to the Whitsundays for a sailing trip and scuba diving. These islands apparently have some of the best beaches in the world! Magnetic Island is next, but I can't remember why I was told to go there. Up to Cairns and Cape Tribulation for some partying and for the best scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef. Then up to Darwin for a glimpse of amazing wildlife, including crocodiles. I will probably fly to Ayers Rock next to really experience the Australian Outback, and then back to Sydney. This schedule is subject to change, as I may have so much fun is some places that I won't want to leave, or perhaps meet the guy of my dreams. Who knows, but I will keep you posted.

Little Penguins

Kyrstie and her family took me to Phillip Island to see the smallest penguins in the world - the Little Penguin, originally called the Fairy Penguin. I never even knew there were penguins in Australia. These particular penguins have dark blue feathers, not black. They are only about a foot tall. Every night the Little Penguins come up to the shore at dusk to sleep in little burrows for the night. It was quite a sight to see these penguins slowly emerging from the water. The stars were out and the sky was clear and full of stars. I could see the Milky Way, part of Orion, and the Southern Cross (no North Star in this hemisphere).They came up out of the water very slowly,in groups. They were very timid. With good reason, since they are at their most vulnerable to predators on the beach. Their main predators are humans and introduced species such as foxes, cats and dogs. Four penguins would come out from the water and one would get spooked and then all four would waddle back into the waves again. Gradually, hundreds of Little Penguins made their way up the beach and into their burrows. We walked onto the viewing platform to see them up close in their burrows. They made the cutest little noises. What an amazing experience!

Tomorrow I say goodbye to Tessa and the rest of the gang and continue my adventure up to Sydney.

Exploring Melbourne

Tessa and Richard are in Tasmania for two weeks, so I have the house to myself. I have their two dogs to keep me company. I went out for a night on the town with Bruce, a guy that Kyrstie introduced me to. I finally got a taste of Melbourne nightlife. Melbourne is full of restaurants and cafes. It's 'heaps' of fun (as the Aussie's say)!It took me forever to take the train into St. Kilda, to meet him. We went out for seafood, had great conversation, and sipped on red champagne that Bruce had brought, since you can BYOB at most restaurants in Australia.

Kyrstie and the rest of the family took me to see the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary, since they know I am a huge animal lover. I was excited to learn all about Australian wildlife.
I saw Possums, Tasmanian Devils, Wombats, Kangaroos, Wallabees, Flying Foxes, Koalas, and the deadliest snake in Australia:the Taipan, Kookaburras ,Ibises, Platypuses, Monitor Lizards, and some Australian birds of prey: the Sea Eagle and the Wedge-Tailed Eagle. I learned that there are over 500 species of Eucalyptus trees, but koalas only like 50-60 species of them. I learned the difference between a Wallabee, a Red Kangaroo and a Grey Kangaroo.

Bruce took me to some wineries out in the Mornington Peninsula. The first winery was T'Gallant. After tasting about 8 different wines and getting a little buzzed we headed over to Red Hill Winery and enjoyed the view of the ocean. It was autumn here in Australia, so the leaves were all yellow and red. It was so beautiful, lying on a blanket sipping wine, while looking over the colorful rolling hills and vineyards.

I have really been enjoying chilling out in the funky cafes of Melbourne. I listened to some amazing jazz in this pub called The Plaza, by Luna Park. I met some friends of the band that was playing. Supposedly this was the best jazz band in Melbourne - "Sunday Cruisin' Club".

The Great Ocean Road

The most difficult thing about driving on the left side of the road? Intersections are tough, remembering to stay in the left lane when turning, but most of all, getting use to most of the car being on my left side. I keep riding up onto the the shoulder of the road. Also, the turn signal and window wipers are reversed, so whenever I want to turn I keep turning the window wipers on.

The Great Ocean Road is a beautiful stretch of road that winds along part of the coastline of southern Australia. It is a mix of red limestone(?) cliffs, sandy beaches, and white crashing waves. I had my first kangaroo sighting! I was driving alongside a golf course and there were wild kangaroos hopping everywhere. It was funny to see people playing golf and ignoring the kangaroos as they played. I saw a sign that read "Kangaroos Crossing - Next 500 meters". Only in Australia!!

I am so amazed at how lush everything is. I went to Urskine Falls, in the middle of a breathtaking rain forest. The fragrance of the Eucalyptus trees was intoxicating. There were giant fern trees everywhere(Myrtle Beech I think they are called), some 20 feet tall. There were exotic birds singing and the sound of the waterfall and creek below. The air was so fresh.

I met this really nice guy from Norway the other night, named Anders. I tried to impress him with the only Norwegian word I knew "thank you', but unfortunately I pronounced it wrong so he had now idea what I was saying. Anders and I decided to drive to Otway National Park and walked Mait's Rest trail. Another beautiful rain forest full of Giant Eucalyptus trees and giant tree ferns . I said goodbye to Anders and continued along the Great Ocean Road. On my way to Cape Otway Lighthouse I encountered wild Koalas lounging in the Eucalyptus trees. I had a 'moment' with one koala as we stared at each other for about 10 minutes. The last stop along the road was the very impressive 12 Apostles - a cluster of enormous rocks along the coast that have been shaped by the wind and waves in to these breathtaking structures.

Heading to a Land Down Under

My adventure has begun! I have embarked on my own, on a journey to Australia for up to a year. It is a much-needed adventure and an opportunity to 'find myself' (so cliche, I know), to figure out a new path in my life. I am excited, curious, nervous, content and full of wonder.

I am writing this from Melbourne, Australia. SARS has become an epidemic, and unfortunately I headed straight into its epicenter on my way here, via Hong Kong. My parents were paranoid that I would catch something, so they convinced me to wear a mask on the plane until I arrived in Australia. Let me tell you that wearing a mask for 24 hours SUCKS! It is totally uncomfortable, and kind of pointless, since I had to take it off every time I ate something. I'd say about half of the people on the plane were wearing masks, including all the flight attendants. I had a brief stopover in Hong Kong, just enough time to catch a glimpse of 20 flight attendants walking towards me through the Hong Kong airport all wearing masks. It looked like something out of a strange sci-fi movie.

My first glimpse of Australia from the plane was exactly how I pictured, orange sandy plains with sparse vegetation. I am staying for the next two weeks with Tessa and Richard (Tessa is my mom's cousin) in Melbourne. After reassuring them that I didn't have SARS we headed back to their house, in the Melbourne suburbs. My first observations of Australia, besides the fact that people drive on the wrong side of the road, was the Eucalyptus trees everywhere and the incredible scent in the air. The houses are mostly made of brick and have tiled roofs and are raised from the ground, all ways to keep the house cool in this hot climate. The house I was staying in was pretty cold for my standards. It's funny that in Vancouver, having air conditioning in your house is pretty uncommon, and here, having 'central heating' as they call it, is pretty uncommon.

I have been slowly meeting the rest of the family. Kyrstie and her friend took me to my first 'footy' game (Australian rules football). It was tonnes of fun. It was the Essendon Bombers vs, the Carlton Blues. The fans are REALLY into it. I learned several Australian obscenities during the game. An obnoxious drunk slob is called a "yubbo". An Australian tradition while at a footy game is to eat a meat pie with tomato sauce (ketchup)and chips (fries). Simple, but yummy!

Tessa took me to the National Tennis Centre, where the Australian Open is held every January. It is located in a really pretty area along the Yarra River. Next, was a trip to the Melbourne Aquarium. It was cool to see some of the marine life that I would be seeing first hand when I go to the Great Barrier Reef (Manta Rays, Silver Travalees, sea snakes and sea stars, different types of coral... The shark tunnel/tank was very impressive. It was massive! Tomorrow I begin my driving adventure along the Great Ocean Road.