Melbourne, Colac, Brisbane, Mt. Tamborine--AUSTRALIA!

Well I've been in Australia for 3 weeks now officially.
Part of me feels like time has flown by really fast. The other part feels like I've been here for months.

After Sydney Liz and I caught a train to Melbourne. It was overnight (12 hours) and we beat the system by sleeping on the train and therefor not having to pay for a hostel for the night. WIN! Liz's bag was overweight so she had to check another one.. but she didn't have a spare one so she placed like 7 kilos of stuff (about 15 pounds) into a trash bag and used it as a carry on. SO FUNNY!

Melbourne was a cute little town--definitely not as busy or hectic as Sydney and it was more.. calm? I enjoyed myself. We were picked up by Liz's friend Jess who lives in a little town outside Melbourne called Colac. They met at a horseback riding summer camp in Maine and have been friends ever since. And Jess said it was cool to stay with her for about a week. She and her boyfriend Daniel live together and have this cute little home with an overly loving cat (Bella) and two adorable little puppies (Chloe and Jock). 

We went out to the local pub where literally everyone knew everyone! We had dinner at her parents' home, went to her Pony Club (yes its actually called that) and I learned more about horses than I thought I'd ever learn! We also got to try Daniel's Didgeridoo... I actually laughed so hard I was crying at one point. Its hard!!

We flew out to Brisbane on the 18th and were picked up by our WWOOF hosts (we work on a farm for a few hours in exchange for free meals and accommodation. Its worldwide! Look into it!) Tania and Howard. They live in another tiny little mountain town up in North Tamborine. They have the most incredible home. They built it themselves and they have a separate room entirely for music! The best part, though, is their backyard. Its a little patio, and then it literally ends and the mountains, cliffs, and forest starts. As in, if I stepped off the patio, I would tumble down a cliff. Its the most incredible view to wake up to every morning. And I sit outside with a cup of coffee (a cuppa!) every morning and write whats on my heart. Its wonderful.

Howard used to be on the Olympic Eqquestrian team so he and Liz have been chatting a bit. And Tania is an opera singer and voice teacher... so she and I have quite a bit in common! It's insane that we would be such a good match with them! They've both led the most incredible lives and I've learned so much from them. I look forward to the next few weeks.

We;ve been gardening mostly. Nothing too hard, and no--not slavework (AJ!)

A few days ago we went to Surfer's Paradise Beach and took a surf lesson. That's off my bucket list now AND I stood up on a wave! Several times!
I am quite proud of myself and I honestly think having a snowboarding background helps!

I love it here. I'm having an awesome time.

I am sorry my blogs have been pretty picture-less. They don't have wireless internet here and it's hard to find time to go find an internet cafe or whatnot. I've uploaded a few albums since being in Australia and they can be found on my Picasa site.

Love u all!!

A real update--Aussiesss

There's no doubt about the fact that the Australian cities seem a little more.. Westernized? I mean New Zealand definitely has Western influences (yay for Europeans invading indigenous people for the millionth time!) but the Maori culture is definitely much more... integrated. I don't really know how else to explain it. There were times in Sydney when I felt like I was in a friendlier New York. Liz and I were in Sydney for 4 days and it was really awesome! 

We were staying in this super dodgy hostel.. and every time i walked in the door I started laughing to myself about how sketchy it was. It's part of the experience right? And it was only 3 nights.. still it was hilarious. We met some cool Irish girls and three German guys (SO MANY GERMANS IN THE PACIFIC!) And I learned that I haven't been saying some phrases right. I usually say, "Ich spreche Deutsch fuer drei Jahre im Gymnasium"... and apparently, even though its understandable, I should be saying, "Ich spreche Deutsch for Zeit drei Jahre auf dem Gymnasium." O well. 

Anyways we met up with our friend Mike, also from Wellington. And we walked around the town, saw the Sydney Opera House (YAY!) and took a ferry to Manly Wharf. 

SOOO many jokes... like when some sign said "Manly Pharmacy"... it never got old. We met up with Liz's long lost cousin Andy (they hadn't seen each other in 4 years!) and the four of us watched this super awesome surfing competition on the beach. 

And then we played on the beach, before heading home. 

The next day we took a train ride up to the Blue Mountains. Anyone going to Australia should definitely do this. Its 2 hours out of Sydney and the mountains are incredible. 

The tramp definitely reminded me of New Zealand (*tear*) and we had a really awesome time just walking around and seeing everything. 

Our last day in Sydney was spent at the Botanical gardens, the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and Darling Harbor. It's been a pretty awesome trip so far. 

This morning we got into Melbourne. There's this awesome view of the city and everything from this super expensive spot. But our travel guide book told us that we could get the same view for free if we went to the bathroom on the 35th floor of this 5-star hotel. Guess what we did??? HAHA, it was SO funny. 

Anyways, off to dinner. We may be heading towards a Vampire Dinner Theater tonight. OOOOHhh. 

In honor of my German friends: Tschus! (i hope i spelled that right)

PS. I finally got my purple tree picture!! (see last blog)

Purple Trees

There are these trees that are covered with blooming purple flowers all over Sydney... and often they are in the midst of a sea of green. (the title makes more sense now doesn't it?)

Every time I see these trees I feel like there is a really cool picture to be taken of them... I just can't figure it out! It's actually quite frustrating. I know it's there. I can feel it.. I can almost smell it. There's a cool picture in there somewhere.. I just have to find out how to take it and from where.

I wish I could find just one purple tree amongst the many other green ones... maybe in the center of a circle of green trees. What would that symbolize? Perhaps the pressure to conform and the defiance to be different. ooh, i'm getting all Indie now.
But even then I don't know how I'd take this picture!!

Stupid purple trees.

I think that'll be my saying now, when things don't go the way I would like for them to.

Stupid purple trees.

Sydney

I am in Sydney now with my friend Liz.

Pictures to come!