Hey everyone, I've finally caved and started a blog. In the past I've thought having a blog would be too much to keep up and would eventually fall to the wayside, but I've come to realize this may be more convenient than the mass emails. Now you can take it upon yourself to keep up with what's going on down here if you so choose.
This will be quite a long post since I have a few weeks to catch up on. Painfully long. Here I go...
Most of you know this but I'll start anyway by going back to 2005 when I came to Australia the first time. I went to the University of Newcastle for a semester during my junior year in college. Newcastle is about a 2 hour drive north of Sydney on the coast. The main reason I chose Newy was simply because of the proximity of the Uni to the beach. That was really my only criteria was to be close to the ocean. Turned out to be a good decision. I made some amazing friends and it was quite the memorable 7 months for me. I lived on campus at the International House (IH) that was comprised of 50% Aussie students and 50% International students. After coming back home to the US, I kept in touch with most of my Aussie friends which has now paid off.
Back to '09:
Mom came down here with me to see some new places she missed when here 2 yrs ago. We got into Sydney on Friday February 20th after a 14 some hour flight. Allison (friend from IH) picked us up and it was so great to see her smiling face. Even after coming into the Sydney airport, it still didn't seem real that I've moved here and was actually on the other side of the world...again. Came back up to Newy for the weekend and it was incredibly surreal being back and seeing everyone. That first night went out with my old group of friends and as my luck would have it two of them were in search of a flatmate so that was a big check of my list! Next day came and checked out the house and it's just lovely. Not only do I have two very laid back roommates, both of which I lived with at IH, but I'm just down the road from Al. Perfect!
Saturday night Mom and I made dinner for Al and friends and had a small graduation party for her at her house. Even sitting at dinner looking around the table I still couldn't believe I was back with such a great group of mates. Everything started back up like I had never left.
Allison lives in Newy but is currently working in Tamworth (NW of Newy about 4 hrs) at a hospital for a few more weeks. She was driving back to work Sunday so Mom and I went with her in order to spend more time with her and just hangout in a little country town. The drive was incredible going through the Hunter Valley that's home to many wineries and then up into the Great Diving Range. While Al was at work, we borrowed her car and saw just about everything there is to see in Tamworth. Went shopping along the main drag and hiked both days in the Marsupial Park. Hoping to see some wildlife, we only got a look at one wallaby. The hike was still beautiful though, very hot, but scenic. The town had just opened up a brand new huge equine center so we checked that out too and luckily came during a cutting clinic. We both enjoyed being back in the horse world for a moment and sat and watched while an hour passed without even noticing. During the nights we would meet up with Al and have dinner so Mom could soak up as much time with her as she could before moving on to our next adventure.
Wednesday we took a flight to Alice Springs. The Great Red Centre, the outback. Got into town before noon so had most of the day to walk around. Checked out a few Aboriginal art galleries and the reptile centre. I even held an olive python! Wasn't anything dangerous but still gave me the chills having that thing crawl all over me. Held some other reptiles as well, but the snake was the highlight.
Early next morning we took off for a 3 day camping trip out to Uluru (aka Ayers Rock by the europeans) and Kings Canyon. Took 4 hrs to reach the big rock. Bypassed it initially to check out Kata Tjuta, another sacred Aboriginal site. This site is also a huge rock formation, but comprised of 36 huge domes. Even larger than Uluru. Due to the heat, we couldn't do the longer 3 hour hike but were still able to walk in a bit and take some good pictures. I should say now that the flies in the outback were INSANE. I broke down, as did most everyone, and bought a fly net b/c they are so thick around your face that you can barely see. So when you see pictures of our black faces, thats why. Made it back to Uluru for the sunset, it was nice but I've seen better. The camping at night was one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip for me. I got some of my best sleep. We slept on Aussie swags on the desert floor under the billions of stars. Some of the best night sky I've seen yet. Without any city lights drowning them out, the stars were incredible. It didn't even matter that bugs were everywhere.
Next morning got up at 4:30am to get back to Uluru for the sunrise. As great as it was to see this, something about a thousand other people pushing their way through to get just the right shot took away from the experience. I think some tourists just travel to look at everything through their camera lens while missing the whole concept of why you travel all together. Oh well, their loss. There is an option to climb Uluru but most days its closed due to heat or wind. I had every intention of climbing the rock upon arrival, but after learning how disrespectful it is to the local tribes and how much they would rather you not I chose not to. My choice wouldn't have mattered anyway though as they closed the hike due to wind. Instead, I walked around the entire base which took about 1.5 hrs. Mom did her own smaller walks and had an experience of her own. You can only do so much at Uluru, so after our fill of this giant rock we got back into our barley air conditioned large van in the 100+ heat and were off to Kings Canyon. Another 4 hr drive but we had a pool to look forward to near our campsite. Upon arrival, I already had my suit on and went straight from the van to the pool to get some relief from the heat. Camped that night under the stars again and this time had some wild dingos rummage around as well. Another 4:30am early morning so we could eat brekkie and get to Kings Canyon before it was too hot. We hiked up to get to the top of the rim and watched a beautiful sunrise. Reminded me a lot of the Grand Canyon or Moab. Steph if you're reading this, I thought of you and how much you would have loved it. We continued on down into the canyon to this swimming hole. It was like a desert oasis and yes, went for a swim to cool off from the heat. By the time we hiked back out the sun was out and at its fullest and just made you want to melt into the ground. Kings Canyon was my favorite of the 3 days, simply gorgeous. After more swimming back at the pool near our campsite, we made the 4 hr drive back to Alice Springs.
Next day Mom and I took a day trip out to the West MacDonnell Range. I guess I'm a bit spoiled from living in the Rockies b/c I wouldn't exactly call these mountains but it was still very scenic and had some great hiking. I could list off all the places we stopped off at, but I don't think it will mean much unless you've been there which many haven't. I'll post pics and label accordingly :)
Following day, Monday March 2nd, took a morning flight down to Melbourne. With all the horrible fires Victoria has had, the smoke flying in was pretty intense. We stayed in St Kilda, just south of the main city center, a few blocks from the beach. Never got our beach day in b/c of rainy/overcast weather. Really couldn't complain though after how badly they needed the reprieve. Next two days we walked around the city and parks. Mom took me to Rubicon Cafe, a place she discovered a few years ago. I had one of the best dinners of my life! Kangaroo steak, mashed potatoes, spinach and carrots. The meat was sooooooooo good. Add some great Aussie red wine and it was perfect. Thursday we rented a car and took a trip up into the Dangenong Range (I think thats it, I call it the dandelion range b/c I could never remember how to say it right). We made it to the small town of Belgrave and jumped on the Puffing Billy train which took us through the rainforest. At the last stop we decided to hike back a few stations to get some exercise but got a little lost along the way. We ended up back on the train tracks and thankfully the conductor stopped for us as we frantically waved him down. What could have been very stressful turned out to be a lovely trip back to our car :)
Made it back to our hostel in St Kilda just in time for one of my friends, Marty, to pick us up. I met him and his newly wed wife, Lizzy, last year on the Inca Trail in Peru and have kept in touch over the last year. They live on the Mornington Peninsula about 40 min south of Melbourne and let us stay with them for 3 nights. There's something about the friends you make when traveling. It's a pretty unique bond after only spending a week in Peru together and now they were letting my mom and I into their home. It was great to catch up with them and also learn that they're expecting a baby! They both worked Friday so we borrowed Lizzy's car and explored the peninsula. Couple small hikes and stopped at a winery. Saturday was an early start so we could make a full day of driving along the Great Ocean Road. I had already done this trip in '05 over a couple days, but it was new for Mom so I was happy she got to experience it. It really is a beautiful drive and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. Parts of the road hang off the cliffside that falls into the sea and it's something else.
We flew to Sydney the next morning, nearing Mom's end to her trip in Australia. Had our first significant bump in the road upon arrival to our hostel. This was a prime example of you get what you pay for. We had made it this far staying in hostels without any problems, but this was unacceptable to Mom. Being as slow as she is, I got to the room first and knew right away it wouldn't fly with her. We were on the last leg of our trip together and getting tired from moving around so much. It was a 4 bed dorm with the other two beds clearly occupied by men with no standards of anything hygienic. (Fan I thought about you here and all the seedy hostels we've stayed in together, it was pretty bad. Think of the hostel in Rio with the mat covering up the massive hole in the bathroom floor.) There was shit everywhere, it smelled like shit, and rotting food everywhere you turned. After checking into this dump, we were checked out within the hour and into a hotel just a block down the street. I would have stayed b/c it was cheap, but I have to admit I'm glad Mom was there take me someplace nicer and still only make me pay for what the hostel would have cost. Love ya Mom!
We rented a car again and took a day trip out west to the Blue Mountains. We both wished we would have stayed here instead of Sydney but couldn't do much at the time since she was flying home the next day. There was too much to see in just a day but we still managed to cram quite a bit in. I hope to make it back down there in the next year, I loved it. Was pretty rainy and foggy when we first arrived so next best way to see the area was the IMAX theatre. It was actually pretty neat to have a helicopter tour on the massive screen and see more than I could have on my own. When we got out the clouds were breaking up, thankfully, so we took the world's steepest railway down to a rainforest and walked along the boardwalk. Getting back out we took a cable car and again, had some great views even through the fog. It was a rush back to Sydney to return the car, but we still managed to stop at a tea house before leaving for tea and scones.
During Mom's last evening in Sydney we walked around the botanical gardens and had a nice dinner in Kings Cross where our hotel was. We were both pleased at how well we got along the entire trip, aside from her slowness in nearly everything she does and my apparent need to slow down when I talk we did pretty well traveling together. We said our goodbyes the next morning and then I headed off to my friend Galvo's place in north Sydney (friend from IH) for the rest of the week. Took the train up to Newcastle last Friday and got settled into my new place pretty quickly.
Wow....if you're still reading this I'm impressed. I know that was long, but as much as I'm sure your happy this post is done I'm happy to have finally finished it! I forgot my camera cord back home so I'm unable to load pics for the time being. They'll be along soon though.
I'm very excited to be here and start another chapter in life. I've wanted to move back since the day I left 4 yrs ago. I'll try and keep this thing updated, but please send emails every so often so I know how things are going for you all. Ok, enough for now!
Cheers
