The Great Ocean Road

Ok, well since Uncle Skip doesn't appriciate the brilliance that is my writting... I will simply list the places Megan and I saw on our Great Ocean Road adventures:

Our Car:

Flagstaff Hill

Cheeseworld!!!

Bay of Islands

Bay of Martyrs

The Grotto

London Bridge

The Arch

Blowhole

Thunder Cave

Lock Ard Gorge

Twelve Apostles

Otway Tree Top Walk (but it was closed when we got there)

Castle Cove

Port Arlington

Well... we have to get up in 7 hours (3am here) to make it to the airport on time to catch our plane to Auckland, so the next time I post it will be from another country!!!

And she speaks....

Well we are nearing the end of our jounrey here in Australia (we leave for the land of Kiwis on Wednesday), so I thought I would jott down a few of my thoughts on each of the cities that we have been to. I figured you all have only been privy to Ben's point of view, so changing it up a bit would be nice. Anyways Im too lazy to post pictures, and you already get the gist of it from Ben...well here we go in 3...2...1...
Brisbane, Queensland:
Hostel:The first hostel we stayed in, Valley Veranda would have been very nice had it not been for a room mix up, and a sewagey shower. The next hostel, Palace Backpackers was amazing! It was right in the center of town and had a great staff.
The City: The city itself was nice, although it took time to grow on me.
Highlight: the Australian Zoo, they actually let me touch the animals.
Surfer's Paradise:
Hostel: The Islander, nice and we had our own bathroom and shower which is a big plus, great location.
The City: The city is one big tourist resort, very young and very hip. The beach was beautiful, with alot of beautiful people on it, the water on the this side of the Pacific is nicer.
Highlight: Leaving Surfer's for the Hinterlands. Tree top walking is fun, plus rainforests kick ass ( i know my vocab is off the highest quality).
Hobart, Tasmania:
Hostel: Hobart Hostel, great hostel, very small, felt like we were staying at a friend's place.
The City: I absolutely fell in love with the city, it was green and beautiful and never rained during the day, only at night. The only problem was that the city shut down once the sun fell, which was around 4:30...seriously...no one in the streets after 4:30...I think they have a problem with vampires.
Highlight: Our tour to Port Arthur which took us through parts of Tasmania that we otherwise would not have been able to see. Plus there were ruins...i like ruins...therefore i like Port Arthur. And our tour guide was amazing, very personable.
Adelaide, South Australia:
Hostel: Backpack Oz, I thought that Hobart Hostel was great, this one was even better. Everyone would come down to the commons room, which was like one big living room and watch TV or movies together. It had a very homely atmosphere, with alot of young interesting people from all over the world.
The City: The city was perfect, not too small yet not too big, and green! I like green. It rained on us alot, but it wasn't too bad. Adelaide Univeristy is beautiful, and so are the botanical gardens.
Highlight: Making friends and the hostel, and the Barossa Valley Winery Tour. Mom, Dad i got you a bottle of wine....all I have to do is not drink it...
Kangaroo Island, South Australia:
Hostel: Old Farm house converted into bedrooms, kitchen, and living room. Greatest thing ever!
The Island: The Island is absolutely beautiful, so much wild life and beautiful scenery. We got to see some amazing coastlines, crazy rock formations, the Australian Sea Lion, the New Zealand Fur Seal, the Little Penguin, wallabies, kangaroos, and tons of very pretty birds. We also got to go on hikes, explore caves, and just have an all-around good time.
The Highlighht: The whole trip was just one big highlight, but I think the best part was the people we got to experience this with. Our tour guide was so much fun, more like a friend, same with other people on our tour. Since we got to spend three days with them, they became more like friends rather then just people yet another tour. Oh yeah and the food was amazing.
The Great Ocean Road Trip:
Yes, we rented a car, we had some trouble getting out of the city, but once Ben started driving all was better. I never quite got the hang of driving on the other side of the road, and I continually turned on the windshield wipers rather the the turn signal.
Hostel: Nope for three days and two nights there was no hostel, just our car.
The City: We passed through lots of cities, Flagstaff Hill which was a recreation of an 1800s maritime village, tons of crazy rock formations, and beach side towns. Too many to list.
The Highlight: Actually making it to Melbourne in one piece, it was an adventure and quite a fun one too.
Melbourne, Victoria:
Hostel: Urban Central, its big, and new which is nice, but just mostly big.
The City: The city is crazy, it reminds me alot of New York. I'd like to catch a rugby or football match so we will see. We kind of just want to take the next couple of days to just relax since the next leg of our trip is going to be a busy one.


Well, that is it for now, sorry if it was a reiteration of what Ben has already said. We are happy and healthy and excited for the next country. Ok im running out of time...byes!

South Australia Pictures!

This is the University of Adelaide... I want to take some classes there!

Here are some pictures of the Botanical Gardens we got stuck in:

This was a weird "fountain-type" thing that warrented a picture... with my feet...

Here are some Barossa Valley and wine tasting pictures...

Vinecrest was the best winery we went too!

And in the Barossa Valley is the biggest rocking horse in the world:

And a picture of the valley itself:

And now... Kangaroo Island... the highlight of the trip so far:

On our way to the boat...

On the boat...

On the island we saw a sea lion colonies, roos and wallabies, and some Remarkable Rocks:

Adelaide and Kangaroo Island

Ok Folks, for those who havn't given up on us yet, here is a brand new stink'n post!

Right now we are in a hostel in Adelaide, trying to figure out how to make it back to Melbourne... we might rent a camper!!! So what has happened since the last post... let me try and remember:

So from Tassie we flew to Melbourne and arrived at 7:10AM... before anything was open. We grabed as many flyers as we could and tried to figure out where to go. We knew that we wanted to end up in Adelaide, but had no idea how to get there. We walked over to the international terminal and talked to the information booth there, got some numbers, and called a few train companies to get an idea on how much and how long. We were told that we had missed the last train/coach for the day and would have to wait till the next morning. We went online to try and see if we could be reserve a seat f0r the morning train and saw that there was one train leaving in half an hour which the lady on the telephone decided not to tell us about... so we ran! We ran to the airport shuttle... waited for what seemed like the longest 20 minutes of my life on the shuttle... then ran up to the train platform to see our train steaming off... Long story short we ended up taking an overnight Greyhound to Adelaide (worst idea ever!).

I would like to say that our little adventure ended there... but oh no, that would be to easy. We got into Adelaide at 5:00 am the next morning... with no place to stay... and nothing open... Again, we grabed as many flyers as we could and started figuring out where to stay. We called about 4 hostels until one picked up. They had a room! And picked us up! Not only that, they didnt charge us for that night and let us check in and sleep right away! So it was a crazy 36 hours... but it was a happy ending.

We love Adelaide! Its so green... yet its also a city... its fun to explore. We spent two days just walking around and finding interesting places. The Botanical Gardens were pretty cool, though we had to see it in stages, hiding under big trees as the heavens opened and closed. We did a day tour of the Barossa Valley and got to taste wines at four different wineries... though three before lunch had Megan "very happy". And I do not know if you are checking this Brenda, but the Shirazes are amazing! The best Shiraz we tasted was from a small winery, Vinecrest, and I bought a bottle. They also had a Soft and Sweet Shiraz which was very good, Megan got a bottle of that. And for lunch I had kangaroo! I thought it was really good, but Megan didnt like it. She didnt like the sauce either, so if I order it again it might be different.

The past three days we have been at Kangaroo Island camping in a farm...there was no cell service and obviousle no internet access. The island was so cool and the guide was very knowledable and entertaining. We got to see alot of wild life... most of which ran across the street in front of the 4WD. We saw seals and penguins... I got close to one, but people were watching so I couldn't take it with me... maybe in NZ.

So now I have to get back to trying to figure out how to get back to Melbourne... wish us luck!!!

P.S. This hostel doesnt have USB ports for pictures, so the will be added in Melbourne... once we get there...

Tassie and Pictures!!!

Ok, so Megan and I have come to the conclusion that Tasmania is one of the sweetest places in the world! Today is our last day here, so we're pretty bummed, but we've done a lot!
The first day here we went to another brewery (the picture on the left), the Cascade Brewery. It was real interesting to hear their take on beer and how they make it. They have a real good amber ale and a great stout. I've come to the conclusion that I'm a stout man, I love the darker, roasted beers.
Yesterday we took a tour to Port Arthur and Richmond. Both places were interesting. Richmond is one of the oldest towns in Australia and looks like an old English village (They have a good bakery!). They have the oldest bridge in Oz also, built in about 1823.
Our tour guide, Mark. was the best I've ever had in my life! He knew more then a person should! We found out this is because when his kid was a baby he had nothing to do at night, so he's read the Lonely Planet books from cover to cover. thats a picture of him down next to the bridge.









Port Arthur was amazing too! This is one of the oldest penitentiaries in Australia and was where the worst of the worst were sent. It was hard to believe that it was such a bad place to be... its beautiful there now!









Ok, well here are some pictures that I promised people. I took some pictures of metal sculptures for you Skip:










And for you Megan, a surfer on the Gold Coast at Surfer's Paradise:










We have to be ready at 4:45am tomorrow and head to the airport... so I shall talk to y'all later!!!

Ok... Sorry...

Ok... so this Internet Cafe is expenisve... and isn't letting me add pictures... so give me till tomorrow... and I'll try to get some up! Sorry!

Gold Coast and Surfers Paradise

I put my feet in the Pacific Ocean!!! Can you believe it?!?

...yea, it was about as exciting as it sounds, but I did get to stare at some very attractive Aussies, which was definitely worth the time I spent turning pink in the sun. The beaches here at Surfers Paradise are pretty nice: dark blue water, waves the size of me, and did I mention the gorgeous Aussies?

We pretty much just laid out at the beach yesterday and explored the very busy, very tourist-oriented boardwalk they have. We found a Mexican restaurant, and I'd been craving enchiladas ever since I learned about the echidnas at the Australia Zoo (the words are too similar if you ask me, and naturally my brain is going to jump toward the one involved with food). After dinner we got gelato... because nothing goes together better than Mexican and gelato!

Today we took a tour of the Hinterland and the rain forest region of the Gold Coast. We first stopped at an alpaca farm (another animal I have to try and steal) and then went to Lamington National Park and did a tree top walk up in the rain forest canopy. One of the trees had a ladder bolted into it and at the top a small observation deck (barely big enough for me, let alone Megan and I). The views up at the top were amazing! After that, the tour took up to a few more interesting places, a little town in which we ate too much fudge and washed it down tasting different wines, and a small waterfall (getting to which helped up burn off the fudge).

And I am sorry I have no pictures, but I left my camera cord up in the room, and do not have enough time to go get it... I promise more tomorrow!

We leave for Hobart in the morning, so the next post will be in Tassie!

Koala Sanctuary and XXXX Brewery & Alehouse

So on our last full day here in Brisbane we decided that we needed to cuddle some koalas and drink Queensland's finest.

Lone Pine is the worlds first and largest koala sanctuary. They are pretty famous as well with pictures of numerous celebrities who have held their koalas (Oh, and Mark, they had the original picture of the Pope holding the koala that you keep in your wallet... I thought that was pretty funny).
The koala we got to hold was named Dudley... he was an old fella. Because I took pictures of Megan and she took pictures of me, I only have pictures of her with Dudley... but she has a lot of me with our little friend.



After Lone Pine, we had a tour of the famous XXXX Brewery, serving Queensland's finest with Queensland's finest since the 1800's. The tour talked about beer wars between the states in the early 19th Century and was really interesting. The tour let out into the Alehouse, where we got to sample four beers! So last night our dinner consisted of potato wedges and beer... I think this has been a very good trip so far!!!






Right after I post this we are going to checkout and head down to the Gold Coast and Surfers Paradise (So Megan, I will try and see what I can do about your gift...).

Thanks for sticking with me after the few days of nothing, I'll try and get better... G'DAY!

Australia Zoo

To try and organize what we've done so far, I'm breaking up the days in three separate posts...

OK, so on Thursday here (Weds for people back in the states), we went to the Australian Zoo!!! (Home of the Croc Hunter!). It was sweeeeeeeeeeeet! Not only did we get to see a lot of animals native to Oz, we got to feed them too! We made friends with different Roos! The one you see here was quite lazy... so we got along immediately.




Megan made friends with some Roos as well, though when she tried to name them, her creative genius left her... Lets see there was Little Roo, Big Roo, and Old Roo (though that was quickly changed to Yoda because he looked old and wise.)



Though the Roos were probably the highlight of the trip, the other animals were cool as well... I now want a wombat.

Finally Posting in Brisbane!!!

Hey there everybody, and sorry it took so long to get the first official post of the trip up! First of all, let me tell you that 15 hour plane rides and my size don't really go hand in hand. Luckily I am able to fall asleep just about anywhere so I pulled my hat over my eyes, turned on my iPod, and I was out!
The customs line in the Brisbane airport was fairly long, but it moved pretty quickly. We made it through without any problems and were able to keep the cookies that we did not finish on the flight.
We found our way to the hostel, with a little help from an information desk, dropped off our bags and went for a walk around the city. We some how stumbled upon the Roma Street Parkland, which has a huge garden and an even bigger lake. We hung out there for a while and walked around taking pictures of the flowers and tropical plants.
We returned to the hostel to find out that they double booked our room and we were moved to a 11 bed dorm, which wasn't bad, its just the principle of the matter. We quickly decided that we needed to find a new place to stay... which we did right in downtown Brisbane! (I am in the internet bar of this hostel typing this.)