A COUPLE OF YANKS IN OZ: PART II
ANIMALS
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Photos and Such
Well, as most of you know, we got back to the states. The trip is over, and I'm sad. There is so much more I could say about our last days there, Phil the tour guide, things I like better about Australia then the US, things I like better about the US than Aus, but I'll leave it for now.
Anyway, all you really want is pictures anyway. So here is a link to all of the photos (and two short videos) off of my (John's) camera. Chris has about 400 more, and I'll try and get all of those up next.
Here is the link: http://photobucket.com/yanksinoz
Enjoy.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Melbourne -- Day Two
Right now it is Wednesday, the 28th.
Yesterday we awoke to a cloudy city, and rain. Our initial plan had been to catch a train down the bay to one of the more well known suburbs of Melbourne, Geelong, but it just didn’t seem like a good idea with bad weather. Instead we decided to stick in the city and do some indoor stuff.
We grabbed a meal at the Melbourne Center, which is a giant mall that encloses an old factory in the middle of the city, then crossed the street to visit the famous Old Melbourne Gaol (gaol is how Australians spell jail) where Ned Kelly was hanged in 1880. For those of you who don’t know, or haven’t seen the great movie starring Heath Ledger (RIP) and Orlando Bloom, Ned Kelly is like the Australian Jesse James. He is a folk hero, the last of a group of outlaws known as “bush rangers.” He is notable for his last stand where he and his gang faced off against the Victorian Police while dressed in body armor (complete with helmets) made out of plowshares. He was captured, brought to Melbourne, and hanged inside the jail we explored. His last words are purported to have been, “such is life.”
Part of the Gaol experience was the Watch House tour (the watch house was a newer jail used in Melbourne beginning in the 19th century), where a “police sergeant” took twenty of us and booked us as criminals. Each person was given a new identity and a crime for which we were being jailed. I was Tristan O’Keefe, arrested for “dangerous driving.” My excuse was apparently, “I knew what I was doing and no one was ever in any danger.” Chris became Dan Rogers, arrested for “manufacturing illicit materials.” The Sergeant was hilarious (and knowledgeable having actually worked as an officer in the watch house in the eighties –it was closed in 1994 and became part of the Gaol museum.) We were all booked and put in a cell, then unexpectedly the lights were cut and we were left to sit uncomfortably in the dark while speakers played sound effects of prisoners yelling and what not. After a bit the Sergeant turned the lights back on and let us out to explore the cells and exercise yards, including a fully padded cell for insane people. So Mom, I’m sorry but I did go to jail.
After the Watch House experience we moved into the actual cell block turned museum of the Gaol, built in the 1840’s and home to 135 hangings, right up to 1975 when Capital punishment was (inexplicably) outlawed in Victoria State. We saw the actual gallows, which are inside the cellblock on the second of the three floors. The condemned would be tied to the scaffold via noose then a trapdoor would opened by lever dropping the lucky bloke (or Sheila) halfway towards the ground floor before he or she was snapped short and killed via neck breakage. Sometimes however, since it was a short stop hanging method, the necks of the criminals wouldn’t break and they’d just hang and choke to death while writhing about. In one instance, a woman hanged in the late 19th century dropped through the floor only to have her neck tear apart as oppose to breaking. There was a humorous little toy demo that exemplified this process. When you hit the button, the trap door opened suddenly beneath the toy man and he dropped abruptly to his hilarious “death.” I hit the button at least three times, and laughed out loud at each toy hanging.
The highlight of the exhibits was Ned Kelly’s death mask (a mold of his face taken off his corpse after his hanging) and his colt revolver on display. Unfortunately, the Gaol doesn’t have his armor (it’s in a museum somewhere though.)
After the Gaol we crossed town to take a ride 88 floors up to the observation deck in the Eureka tower, the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. We saw all of Melbourne from above, from the far Dandies where we explored the day previous, to the bay and coastal suburb of St. Kilda. We took copious photos. Once returning to earth we walked up the street to see the Shrine of Remembrance, which is a memorial originally built in the 1920’s to honor the dead in WWI but has now been updated to include WW2 and subsequent conflicts Australia has been involved in (Korea, Vietnam, Borneo, Malaya, etc…) It was a sobering place where we paused to reflect and watch the sun set on the city in the distance.
Weather permitting; our next outing will be to Geelong. If it rains, we might check out the aquarium or something else indoors.
Yesterday we awoke to a cloudy city, and rain. Our initial plan had been to catch a train down the bay to one of the more well known suburbs of Melbourne, Geelong, but it just didn’t seem like a good idea with bad weather. Instead we decided to stick in the city and do some indoor stuff.
We grabbed a meal at the Melbourne Center, which is a giant mall that encloses an old factory in the middle of the city, then crossed the street to visit the famous Old Melbourne Gaol (gaol is how Australians spell jail) where Ned Kelly was hanged in 1880. For those of you who don’t know, or haven’t seen the great movie starring Heath Ledger (RIP) and Orlando Bloom, Ned Kelly is like the Australian Jesse James. He is a folk hero, the last of a group of outlaws known as “bush rangers.” He is notable for his last stand where he and his gang faced off against the Victorian Police while dressed in body armor (complete with helmets) made out of plowshares. He was captured, brought to Melbourne, and hanged inside the jail we explored. His last words are purported to have been, “such is life.”
Part of the Gaol experience was the Watch House tour (the watch house was a newer jail used in Melbourne beginning in the 19th century), where a “police sergeant” took twenty of us and booked us as criminals. Each person was given a new identity and a crime for which we were being jailed. I was Tristan O’Keefe, arrested for “dangerous driving.” My excuse was apparently, “I knew what I was doing and no one was ever in any danger.” Chris became Dan Rogers, arrested for “manufacturing illicit materials.” The Sergeant was hilarious (and knowledgeable having actually worked as an officer in the watch house in the eighties –it was closed in 1994 and became part of the Gaol museum.) We were all booked and put in a cell, then unexpectedly the lights were cut and we were left to sit uncomfortably in the dark while speakers played sound effects of prisoners yelling and what not. After a bit the Sergeant turned the lights back on and let us out to explore the cells and exercise yards, including a fully padded cell for insane people. So Mom, I’m sorry but I did go to jail.
After the Watch House experience we moved into the actual cell block turned museum of the Gaol, built in the 1840’s and home to 135 hangings, right up to 1975 when Capital punishment was (inexplicably) outlawed in Victoria State. We saw the actual gallows, which are inside the cellblock on the second of the three floors. The condemned would be tied to the scaffold via noose then a trapdoor would opened by lever dropping the lucky bloke (or Sheila) halfway towards the ground floor before he or she was snapped short and killed via neck breakage. Sometimes however, since it was a short stop hanging method, the necks of the criminals wouldn’t break and they’d just hang and choke to death while writhing about. In one instance, a woman hanged in the late 19th century dropped through the floor only to have her neck tear apart as oppose to breaking. There was a humorous little toy demo that exemplified this process. When you hit the button, the trap door opened suddenly beneath the toy man and he dropped abruptly to his hilarious “death.” I hit the button at least three times, and laughed out loud at each toy hanging.
The highlight of the exhibits was Ned Kelly’s death mask (a mold of his face taken off his corpse after his hanging) and his colt revolver on display. Unfortunately, the Gaol doesn’t have his armor (it’s in a museum somewhere though.)
After the Gaol we crossed town to take a ride 88 floors up to the observation deck in the Eureka tower, the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. We saw all of Melbourne from above, from the far Dandies where we explored the day previous, to the bay and coastal suburb of St. Kilda. We took copious photos. Once returning to earth we walked up the street to see the Shrine of Remembrance, which is a memorial originally built in the 1920’s to honor the dead in WWI but has now been updated to include WW2 and subsequent conflicts Australia has been involved in (Korea, Vietnam, Borneo, Malaya, etc…) It was a sobering place where we paused to reflect and watch the sun set on the city in the distance.
Weather permitting; our next outing will be to Geelong. If it rains, we might check out the aquarium or something else indoors.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Marvelous Melbourne
May 26th, Monday.
In Marvelous Melbourne, at least, that's what everyone here calls it. The city is massive, and all of the surrounding suburbs fan out from the center over an incredibly large area. I said early on that Brisbane was a big city, but not overwhelming....Melbourne is a huge city and it is overwhelming. I think we've got a good grasp on things now.
Mel is really the opposite of Adelaide, not least of the differences being the privatized public transportation system here. We had to be shuttled from the airport (Brisbane and Sydney have trains running, and Adelaide had buses) and it was pricey, but at least we were dropped right at the hotel and they'll pick us back up when we leave. When we arrived yesterday afternoon the sky was cloudy and threatened rain (it ended up only drizzling a bit) so the driver joking welcomed us to "sunny Melbourne." Then he added, "but it's alright we need the rain." I asked if the whole country was in a drought then (they are, for eleven years now) and he replied, "not really, its patchy. Victoria's a bit dry, but we've had a spot of rain these past weeks."
Today we booked an afternoon tour out to the Dandenong ranges, which are low mountains covered in primeval rainforest. We were taken up in a tour bus with a fantastic guide named Phil (Dr. Phil as he introduced himself assuring that we would learn plenty of useless information -- a promise he kept). Phil drove us first around the city to get an idea of where everything is, then we head out for the "Dandies."
The rain forest was spectacular, with giant "mountain ashes" (really just another variety of eucalpyt) that tower over massive ferns and mossy undergrowth. The whole place looks like dinosaurs should be roaming about. We stopped for tea at a little park in the forest where we socialized with flocks of cockatoos (about three different varietys) and other small parrots that were quite tame and would eat out of your hand. One arrogant cockatoo landed on my shoulder and stole my lamington (or jamington, since it had jam in it) straight out of my hand. Chris and I wandered into the forest and caught sight of a kookaburra, and snapped a few photos before getting back on the bus.
We then drove up the mountain to the summit of Mt. Dandenong were we de-bused to look out over the whole Yarra river valley with Melbourne shrouded in mist in the distance. The whole time we were treated to Phil's great sense of humor, himself being a Pommie (English) and having lived in Vancouver for a spell. He told us he fell in love with a Melbourne girl and had been there since they married the year before.
Anyway, time to go eat. I'll add some more stuff tomorrow morning...maybe.
In Marvelous Melbourne, at least, that's what everyone here calls it. The city is massive, and all of the surrounding suburbs fan out from the center over an incredibly large area. I said early on that Brisbane was a big city, but not overwhelming....Melbourne is a huge city and it is overwhelming. I think we've got a good grasp on things now.
Mel is really the opposite of Adelaide, not least of the differences being the privatized public transportation system here. We had to be shuttled from the airport (Brisbane and Sydney have trains running, and Adelaide had buses) and it was pricey, but at least we were dropped right at the hotel and they'll pick us back up when we leave. When we arrived yesterday afternoon the sky was cloudy and threatened rain (it ended up only drizzling a bit) so the driver joking welcomed us to "sunny Melbourne." Then he added, "but it's alright we need the rain." I asked if the whole country was in a drought then (they are, for eleven years now) and he replied, "not really, its patchy. Victoria's a bit dry, but we've had a spot of rain these past weeks."
Today we booked an afternoon tour out to the Dandenong ranges, which are low mountains covered in primeval rainforest. We were taken up in a tour bus with a fantastic guide named Phil (Dr. Phil as he introduced himself assuring that we would learn plenty of useless information -- a promise he kept). Phil drove us first around the city to get an idea of where everything is, then we head out for the "Dandies."
The rain forest was spectacular, with giant "mountain ashes" (really just another variety of eucalpyt) that tower over massive ferns and mossy undergrowth. The whole place looks like dinosaurs should be roaming about. We stopped for tea at a little park in the forest where we socialized with flocks of cockatoos (about three different varietys) and other small parrots that were quite tame and would eat out of your hand. One arrogant cockatoo landed on my shoulder and stole my lamington (or jamington, since it had jam in it) straight out of my hand. Chris and I wandered into the forest and caught sight of a kookaburra, and snapped a few photos before getting back on the bus.
We then drove up the mountain to the summit of Mt. Dandenong were we de-bused to look out over the whole Yarra river valley with Melbourne shrouded in mist in the distance. The whole time we were treated to Phil's great sense of humor, himself being a Pommie (English) and having lived in Vancouver for a spell. He told us he fell in love with a Melbourne girl and had been there since they married the year before.
Anyway, time to go eat. I'll add some more stuff tomorrow morning...maybe.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Footy Fanaticism or Adelaide -- Day Three
May 25th, Sunday.
Yesterday Chris and I woke up and walked into the city to catch our free bus to A.A.M.I stadium to watch an Australian Rules Football match. Now, if you don't know anything about the AFL (and I'm sure you don't) I can't possibly make you understand it in words. However, here are a few points that might give you some idea:
The game combines elements of soccer and rugby.
Each team has eighteen players on the field, which is a giant oval.
The object of the game is to kick the ball (shaped like a rugby ball or a larger American football) through the middle of four uprights--thats a score of six. However, if an opposing player touches the ball as it goes through than it only counts as one point. Also, if the ball is kicked through the outside uprights, it results in a single point. Needless to say, these are generally high scoring games.
More aborigines play Aussie Rules than any other sport in the country.
The AFL is huge in South Australia and Victoria, but not so much in the rest of the country where Rugby is a bigger deal.
Ok, if you want to know more you have to find out yourself.
The game we saw was the Port Adelaide Power vs. the Sydney Swans. The Power has a better name, but the Swans have a better fight song. We got to the stadium early, so we crossed the street to eat some lunch in a giant mall. After poking around a bit, we headed back in to the stadium and found our seats near the field off to one side of the goal. As we sat down we were treated to the "curtain raiser" game of Indigenous teams playing a quick game. There was something that just felt out of place in modern day Australian society about watching a bunch of Abos play football for a crowd of mostly whites as pre-game entertainment. They seemed to enjoy themselves however, and a big to-do was made the whole day about Aborigines in the AFL.
After the "curtain-raiser" came the most mindbogglingly hilarious spectacle of young, mostly women waving flags and doing what I suppose could be called "dancing" to a terrible techo song that informed the crowd that "this is how we party", over and over again. Imagine a massive gathering of high school color guard/flag core girls trying to pretend like that are in an Usher video on BET and you have some idea of how ridiculous the whole thing was.
But the Aussie's love their Footy, and this was apparently all part of a ritual. To understand how "hard" these people "get up" for Footy just imagine how American's treat Superbowl Sunday, and you've got a bit of an idea how it is at every AFL game. In other words, they really get into it. People cheered like made at every Port Power score (we sat with them) and booed even harder at every Sydney kick and score. There was also and incredible amount of profanity thrown around--and there were kids everywhere. Footy is as much a family affair as anything in Australia, and I guess most people just get used to the outbursts.
The Power struggled most of the game, but eventually came from behind only to lose in the last quarter by eleven points. Behind us was a hilarious older man who screamed out at various intervals:
After a bogus penalty: "It's a man's game you idiot!"
As the Power was doing well: "Come on Port, show some class!"
As the Power did poorly: "I don't believe this!"
Randomly: "Don't give the ball to him, he's a useless pr*ck!" or "This violates the rules of the game!"
Along with a handful of other, more colorful phrases.
Since the Power lost, everybody left a bit disgruntled but the general feeling was that the game was a fine spot of football all around. I couldn't have agreed more.
The sun set during the game, and it really turned into a full day affair at 36 minutes quarters, but it was fun never-the-less. Today, Sunday, we are in the airport about to fly for our final Australian destination: Melbourne. The airport has free WiFi. South Australia, the free internet state. After this its probably back to libraries, but we'll see. We learned our lesson after last time and went ahead and made reservations at a hotel in the city. So next post should see us settle in the heart of Australia's other big city.
Yesterday Chris and I woke up and walked into the city to catch our free bus to A.A.M.I stadium to watch an Australian Rules Football match. Now, if you don't know anything about the AFL (and I'm sure you don't) I can't possibly make you understand it in words. However, here are a few points that might give you some idea:
The game combines elements of soccer and rugby.
Each team has eighteen players on the field, which is a giant oval.
The object of the game is to kick the ball (shaped like a rugby ball or a larger American football) through the middle of four uprights--thats a score of six. However, if an opposing player touches the ball as it goes through than it only counts as one point. Also, if the ball is kicked through the outside uprights, it results in a single point. Needless to say, these are generally high scoring games.
More aborigines play Aussie Rules than any other sport in the country.
The AFL is huge in South Australia and Victoria, but not so much in the rest of the country where Rugby is a bigger deal.
Ok, if you want to know more you have to find out yourself.
The game we saw was the Port Adelaide Power vs. the Sydney Swans. The Power has a better name, but the Swans have a better fight song. We got to the stadium early, so we crossed the street to eat some lunch in a giant mall. After poking around a bit, we headed back in to the stadium and found our seats near the field off to one side of the goal. As we sat down we were treated to the "curtain raiser" game of Indigenous teams playing a quick game. There was something that just felt out of place in modern day Australian society about watching a bunch of Abos play football for a crowd of mostly whites as pre-game entertainment. They seemed to enjoy themselves however, and a big to-do was made the whole day about Aborigines in the AFL.
After the "curtain-raiser" came the most mindbogglingly hilarious spectacle of young, mostly women waving flags and doing what I suppose could be called "dancing" to a terrible techo song that informed the crowd that "this is how we party", over and over again. Imagine a massive gathering of high school color guard/flag core girls trying to pretend like that are in an Usher video on BET and you have some idea of how ridiculous the whole thing was.
But the Aussie's love their Footy, and this was apparently all part of a ritual. To understand how "hard" these people "get up" for Footy just imagine how American's treat Superbowl Sunday, and you've got a bit of an idea how it is at every AFL game. In other words, they really get into it. People cheered like made at every Port Power score (we sat with them) and booed even harder at every Sydney kick and score. There was also and incredible amount of profanity thrown around--and there were kids everywhere. Footy is as much a family affair as anything in Australia, and I guess most people just get used to the outbursts.
The Power struggled most of the game, but eventually came from behind only to lose in the last quarter by eleven points. Behind us was a hilarious older man who screamed out at various intervals:
After a bogus penalty: "It's a man's game you idiot!"
As the Power was doing well: "Come on Port, show some class!"
As the Power did poorly: "I don't believe this!"
Randomly: "Don't give the ball to him, he's a useless pr*ck!" or "This violates the rules of the game!"
Along with a handful of other, more colorful phrases.
Since the Power lost, everybody left a bit disgruntled but the general feeling was that the game was a fine spot of football all around. I couldn't have agreed more.
The sun set during the game, and it really turned into a full day affair at 36 minutes quarters, but it was fun never-the-less. Today, Sunday, we are in the airport about to fly for our final Australian destination: Melbourne. The airport has free WiFi. South Australia, the free internet state. After this its probably back to libraries, but we'll see. We learned our lesson after last time and went ahead and made reservations at a hotel in the city. So next post should see us settle in the heart of Australia's other big city.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Adelaide -- Day Two
It's May 24th here, Saturday morning. Yesterday we took the train out into the country (what Aussies call the "bush") for a little nature hike or bushwalk. The train ride itself was a nice experience as we rode through the Adelaide Hills and got to see a lot of the uninhabited South Australian countryside.
We alighted in a place called Belair on one of the oldest train stations in Australia (from the look of things) and walked a few short feet into Belair National Park. The park was the first ever set aside in South Australia, back in the late 1800s, and as such the sign we passed under to enter simply read "The National Park." Immediately as we entered it was like stepping into the real Australia with towering gums trees (eucalyptus are called gums here) over head, parrots chattering annoyingly in the branches, giant termite mounds made out of the red soil, and an overall sense of the age of the land.
There we signs of kangaroos out there, but we didn't see any wild ones. We did spot a few wild (thought they hardly act that way) koalas and more lorakeets, cockatoos, and other colorful birds than you can shake a stick at. The place was also crawling with giant bulldog ants. The park is huge, and we only had enough daylight to do a part of it. Our hike led us around a duck inhabited lake, up into the hills, through a freaky tunnel under on of the hills, into a valley where it was cold from lack of sunlight reaching the bottom (where we spotted the first koala), and up to where there used to be a waterfall before the drought.
Today (Saturday) we've got tickets to an Australia Rules Football match in Port Adelaide, which is a bus ride north of us. Then tomorrow we are off to our final destination before home: Melbourne.
We alighted in a place called Belair on one of the oldest train stations in Australia (from the look of things) and walked a few short feet into Belair National Park. The park was the first ever set aside in South Australia, back in the late 1800s, and as such the sign we passed under to enter simply read "The National Park." Immediately as we entered it was like stepping into the real Australia with towering gums trees (eucalyptus are called gums here) over head, parrots chattering annoyingly in the branches, giant termite mounds made out of the red soil, and an overall sense of the age of the land.
There we signs of kangaroos out there, but we didn't see any wild ones. We did spot a few wild (thought they hardly act that way) koalas and more lorakeets, cockatoos, and other colorful birds than you can shake a stick at. The place was also crawling with giant bulldog ants. The park is huge, and we only had enough daylight to do a part of it. Our hike led us around a duck inhabited lake, up into the hills, through a freaky tunnel under on of the hills, into a valley where it was cold from lack of sunlight reaching the bottom (where we spotted the first koala), and up to where there used to be a waterfall before the drought.
Today (Saturday) we've got tickets to an Australia Rules Football match in Port Adelaide, which is a bus ride north of us. Then tomorrow we are off to our final destination before home: Melbourne.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Adelaide -- Day One
Well, there is a full day behind us in Adelaide now, and it was a pretty good one. Adelaide is what I like to call the Savannah of Australia. Of the three main cities we have now been to, Adelaide is the smallest and oldest feeling. Like downtown Savannah, a large proportion of Adelaide's buildings have been around since at least the 1890's or so. We went into the South Australia Museum which has two exhibits (one of South Pacific Islander artifacts and another of stuffed animals from around the globe) that have been up since 1895. The museum's axillary buildings are converted barracks over the doors of which read "Australian Light Horse and Scottish Battalion."
Before we went to the museum we of course saw Indiana Jones, a day earlier than the states. I won't write a full review, but I will say that even though it's not the best of the series, it is still an entertaining film.
The rest of the day was dedicated to seeing the city and orienting ourselves. We ended things off by finally getting some of the Asian food that is so ubiquitous here. I once again had kangaroo, this time barbeque's Chinese style. Today we are going to take a train out towards the mountains to one of the state parks for a bush walk. Time to see some Australian wild country.
Before we went to the museum we of course saw Indiana Jones, a day earlier than the states. I won't write a full review, but I will say that even though it's not the best of the series, it is still an entertaining film.
The rest of the day was dedicated to seeing the city and orienting ourselves. We ended things off by finally getting some of the Asian food that is so ubiquitous here. I once again had kangaroo, this time barbeque's Chinese style. Today we are going to take a train out towards the mountains to one of the state parks for a bush walk. Time to see some Australian wild country.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
In Adelaide
We landed in Adelaide today (May 21st) around four o'clock after crossing into a new time zone that put us thirty minutes behind Sydney. To our chagrin, we found out that the train in Adelaide doesn't run from the airport, so instead we hopped the bus. Its cheaper, but not as direct and therefore slower. Anyway, we got into the city and de-bused to try and find a place to stay. Thus began our journey.
I had looked into some places in the city, but Chris had a list of safe bets (names like Quality Inn) so we decided to try those first. Turns out the first one we went looking for was north of the city and meant a ridiculous hump with all of our gear. My pack was suited for such situations, but Chris has a big duffel bag, and my laptop bag is a bit unwieldy. We made it never-the-less to discover the Quality Inn was all booked up. So we tried another local place around the corner with the same results. The man there gave us some suggestions, however, first pointing us across the street to the O'Connell Inn.
Suffice to say, the O'Connell is where we have ended up. It has an older feel, but it is nice, inexpensive, and best of all....they provide free internet. We are a little out of the way, but the buses should take care of us, and there is a train somewhere. Also, the Inn is right next to a cinema, so you know what that means. Yup, Indianan Jones tomorrow morning! A full day ahead of you guys. Don't worry, I'll be sure to spoil it for you.
I had looked into some places in the city, but Chris had a list of safe bets (names like Quality Inn) so we decided to try those first. Turns out the first one we went looking for was north of the city and meant a ridiculous hump with all of our gear. My pack was suited for such situations, but Chris has a big duffel bag, and my laptop bag is a bit unwieldy. We made it never-the-less to discover the Quality Inn was all booked up. So we tried another local place around the corner with the same results. The man there gave us some suggestions, however, first pointing us across the street to the O'Connell Inn.
Suffice to say, the O'Connell is where we have ended up. It has an older feel, but it is nice, inexpensive, and best of all....they provide free internet. We are a little out of the way, but the buses should take care of us, and there is a train somewhere. Also, the Inn is right next to a cinema, so you know what that means. Yup, Indianan Jones tomorrow morning! A full day ahead of you guys. Don't worry, I'll be sure to spoil it for you.
Sydney Wrap-Up
Well, we did Sydney in two days, seeing the major sites by day and clocking plenty of kilometers afoot along the way.
We set out on Monday from our hotel and made our way first to the library for internet, then on to the main show at Circular Quay via the Botanical Gardens. In the gardens we got to experience some more rain forest complete with a multitude of giant fruit bats in just about every tree, fighting and chattering away. We got close up to a flock of grazing cockatoos, and I made the mistake of offering them some biscuit. Before I knew it they had surrounded me and begun to attack. I took off running to get away as one flew straight at my head. I escaped unharmed, but the greedy blighters did follow us for a bit.
Now in sunlight, we took another gander at the opera house and the harbor. Chris got pictures aplenty and I managed a few before the camera died again (turned out the switch kept getting set to “on” in my pocket.) I got some good video as well despite the thousands of Japs everywhere. Next we made to the famous bridge and crossed over to the North side. I had had thoughts of taking one of the bridge walking tours that leads people all the way to the crest of the bridge's arch, but I soon changed my tune when I realized I was barely going to make it across the regular level without peeing myself. The bridge is quite tall, that’s all I’m saying. Mom, you wouldn’t have even been able to look at it.
On the North side we strolled through a nice neighborhood and happened upon a secluded little beach with two park benches that looked out over one of the many smaller bays nestled off of the main harbor. After a rest, we headed back across the bridge to check out Darling Harbor and Cockle Bay. Of the whole place, these areas were the most tourist-oriented with a wildlife park and aquarium, boat tours, overpriced restaurants, and a food court and McDonald's. We did manage to get into the National Maritime Museum (again, free) and I was impressed with the exhibits which included a whole section on US/Aussie relations at sea (apparently a centennial gift from us.) It was probably the best museum we had come across. They also had docked out back a replica of James Cook’s Endeavor, but it cost money to go aboard and the light was failing. Plus we were starving.
After the museum we started our trek back, stopping first at a restaurant called the Orient Hotel where we enjoyed pies and mash. Mine was Kangaroo pie (roo is a delicious, noticeably gamey meat) but Chris stuck to what he knew with good ole Aussie beef. By the time we got back our legs were worn out and sleep was fast upon us.
The next morning we started out by foot in the opposite direction towards the coast. We saw plenty more of Sydney (and would end up seeing more then we bargained for on the way back) and without a map and only limited knowledge of the way we were going, we ended up right at Bondi beach. The beach, and the whole coast for that matter, was stunning. It was one of Sydney’s warmest days in a while apparently, so even though it is their fall/winter, plenty of people were on the sand or surfing the swells. I stepped into the water, but it was like ice…crystal clear, blue tinted ice. The beaches (three biggies in a stretch up against each other) are surrounded by cliffs that stretch off down the New South Whales coast. Staring out at the vast Pacific we even caught sight of a pod of dolphins fishing not far from the beach. It was an amazing place to be.
On the way back we missed one of the many little roads we had come down on and ended up in the rich part of Sydney where all of the mansions line the river near the coast. It was here we passed the Malaysian Consul. By the time we made it back it was time for a serious nap, then dinner at Roy’s Famous (though I don’t know if Roy can back up his claim, but at least the steak was good.)
Today, as I write, we have checked out of the hotel and are bound for Adelaide just as storm clouds have rolled in.
Brisbane Wrap-Up
I wrote this post on the 18th before flying to Sydney and saying goodbye to Brisbane:
Farewell Brisbane, you will be missed. Queensland seems like a great state, what little I’ve seen, and I’m sad that I don’t have time to explore more of the country. We were here four full days and didn’t even see all of Brisbane itself (though we saw quite a bit.)
The day after the Zoo we went into downtown and saw the sites. After a trip to the mall to eat, we entered the Brisbane City Hall, home of the Museum of Brisbane. The entry was free (as is the case with all the museums around here it seems) and the museum was decent, although the main focus of the exhibits was immigration and all the different periods and peoples in Brisbane’s history. The best part of the visit was riding the lift to the top of the clock tower. The lift is the original from the ‘30s, and the first built in Queensland period. It had an operator and everything, and he was a sunny, humorous man who was quick with the jokes. We got to view Brisbane from above, but unfortunately (because we didn’t know we’d have this opportunity) we didn’t have a camera.
Later that day we walked out to the suburb called Milton. It was quite fun to see my name on everything to include the Milton Brewery where they brew Queensland’s beer spelled XXXX but pronounced fourex (every state apparently has their “own” beer and they celebrate them—particularly in association with sports, not unlike our NFL.) The place had a tour so we decided to take a look inside the Milton Brewery where I learned a great deal about the Australian economy, for it is of particular note how in Australia almost everything possible is made here. The brewery used all ingredients grown somewhere in Queensland, and local coal (which is abundant) to fuel their engines as well. Our tour guide was excellent and told us way more than we needed to know about everything. The best part for me though was strolling through the packaging museum and seeing old labels for Milton Beer, which is long extinct.
While in Milton we also located the giant Suncorp Stadium where, on Saturday night, we returned to watch the QR Reds (the local team) loose to the Waratahs from New South Wales in a Super 14 Rugby match. The game was great, with lots of tension because it was a grudge match of sorts, but even when the Reds lost everybody still seemed in a good mood. I was disappointed because I half expected a riot.
Before the game on Saturday night, to backtrack a bit, I have to mention our trip to the South Bank. After leaving Milton on Friday, we crossed the Brisbane River to see the city from the opposite side by night. We got some great photos, and then we stumbled across the cultural heart of Brisbane. The South Bank was like another city, and on Friday night it was happening. There we people everywhere, including a group having an art exhibition for “Schizophrenia Awareness.” There were cafes and restaurants on the river, a beach, a miniature rain forest, and booths set up with people hocking wares. We ate at an Italian place where we were able to enjoy local king prawns in spaghetti (prawns are just big shrimp here.)
We came back the next day to the South Bank in the morning because we had discovered the free internet. The place was just as nice in the day, and had the water not been so cold, I might have hopped in the water at the world’s only inland beach. The weather was excellent, sunny and warm for the most part. It did rain briefly before the game Saturday, but the shower was over in minutes and forgotten an hour later. While it rained we ducked inside a place called Irish Murphy’s were a guy not much older than us, dressed in a kilt, was playing away on a set of Scottish bag pipes to a crowd of University students celebrating Norway’s Constitution Day. Befuddled and intrigued by all of the Norwegian fanfare, I asked a girl if any of them were actually from Norway. Turned out she was, and one other person, the rest were just along for the ride. They had just finished a parade of some sort. By the quiting of the rain, the piper had gone from Scotland the Brave, to a couple of reels, to Amazing Grace, then started all over sort of mixing them all.
We left the next morning, taking the train back to the airport. All in all, Brisbane was a great city and I’m glad it was one of our stops. On to Sydney.
Adelaide Apologies
We are in Adelaide now, so I'm a bit behind. Sorry about that, but internet is a rare and elusive commodity in Australia...or it was. We finally are staying in a place with free WiFi. Time to catch up.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
MINI UPDATE -- In Sydney Now
Monday, May 19th.
I actually have a post wrapping up Brisbane, but its on the laptop and I am currently using the New South Wales Library free internet. God bless libraries.
Chris and I are in Sydney now, we flew in yesterday afternoon and checked into a Holiday Inn at Pott's point, then hit the town to see Sydney Harbour by night. We saw it from the air coming in, and no matter how many times, or under what conditions you see it, it's a sight to behold.
After a great meal at the historic Observor Hotel (which is no longer an actual hotel) we caught a film on the Circular Quay at a Dendy (Australia's premier arthouse theater chain.) The film was The Counterfeiters, winner of best foreign language Oscar this year, and it was an incredible film. So my first film in a foreign country was a foriegn langauge film, only the language was German.
We'll be heading down to the harbour again later, probably taking on the bridge and maybe the maritime museum or some such. There is so much to do in see in the city (it is totatlly geared towards tourism) and hopefully we can get over to Bondi tomorrow and at least see the beach, since it is chilly fall weather here at the moment.
Hope to post again soon. Cheers.
I actually have a post wrapping up Brisbane, but its on the laptop and I am currently using the New South Wales Library free internet. God bless libraries.
Chris and I are in Sydney now, we flew in yesterday afternoon and checked into a Holiday Inn at Pott's point, then hit the town to see Sydney Harbour by night. We saw it from the air coming in, and no matter how many times, or under what conditions you see it, it's a sight to behold.
After a great meal at the historic Observor Hotel (which is no longer an actual hotel) we caught a film on the Circular Quay at a Dendy (Australia's premier arthouse theater chain.) The film was The Counterfeiters, winner of best foreign language Oscar this year, and it was an incredible film. So my first film in a foreign country was a foriegn langauge film, only the language was German.
We'll be heading down to the harbour again later, probably taking on the bridge and maybe the maritime museum or some such. There is so much to do in see in the city (it is totatlly geared towards tourism) and hopefully we can get over to Bondi tomorrow and at least see the beach, since it is chilly fall weather here at the moment.
Hope to post again soon. Cheers.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Free Internet
Chris and I discovered free internet use at the Queensland State Library, so now I can blog about miscellaneous things that are weird in Australia (prior to now I have been typing the posts up on my laptop then copy/pasting them once I was online.)
We have solved the age old mystery: toilets don't flush the opposite direction, in fact, they go straight down.
As I promised earlier: McDonalds.
They are everywhere. In the Queensland Mall alone there are at least four, and one is dedicated entirely to desserts, of which they have a much larger selection then in the states. We passed a really nice one yesterday with the new McCafe coffee bar, but have yet to try it out. Yesterday for lunch we decided to give Aussie Mickey D's a try. The menu is similar, but there are some new things on the menu such as the McFeast (its like a whopper) which I tried and the Triple Cheesburger which Chris had. Plus, you can add bacon to any sandwich for a dollar extra. The Aussie's love their bacon (rashers.) Imagine it--two all 100% aussie beef patties, lettuce, pickles, onions, special sauce, all on a seseme seed bun...with bacon.
There is a coffee shop (or bar as they call them) every five feet, some stacked three to a block.
Chris and I were cutting through the mall to get from one street to another on a quest for dinner two nights ago and we saw this bloke in a suit, with a briefcase, looking completely hammered. Chris made a comment about how drunk the guy looked and I said "Yep." To which this guy replied "Yup." I said "yep" again, and he stumbled by with a fairwell "Yup."
The Burger Kings here are called Hungry Jack's and as we passed one the other night we saw "Yup" man again trying to drunkenly order a whopper.
I've almost been hit by traffic twice because of the whole opposite side of the road deal, but I think I'm getting it.
There is no dollar bill. Everthing under a five is in coins: one dollar gold coin, two dollar gold coins (which we call abos because of the picture of an old blackfellow on the face) then fifty cent pieces on down to five with no 25 or 15 piece.
We have solved the age old mystery: toilets don't flush the opposite direction, in fact, they go straight down.
As I promised earlier: McDonalds.
They are everywhere. In the Queensland Mall alone there are at least four, and one is dedicated entirely to desserts, of which they have a much larger selection then in the states. We passed a really nice one yesterday with the new McCafe coffee bar, but have yet to try it out. Yesterday for lunch we decided to give Aussie Mickey D's a try. The menu is similar, but there are some new things on the menu such as the McFeast (its like a whopper) which I tried and the Triple Cheesburger which Chris had. Plus, you can add bacon to any sandwich for a dollar extra. The Aussie's love their bacon (rashers.) Imagine it--two all 100% aussie beef patties, lettuce, pickles, onions, special sauce, all on a seseme seed bun...with bacon.
There is a coffee shop (or bar as they call them) every five feet, some stacked three to a block.
Chris and I were cutting through the mall to get from one street to another on a quest for dinner two nights ago and we saw this bloke in a suit, with a briefcase, looking completely hammered. Chris made a comment about how drunk the guy looked and I said "Yep." To which this guy replied "Yup." I said "yep" again, and he stumbled by with a fairwell "Yup."
The Burger Kings here are called Hungry Jack's and as we passed one the other night we saw "Yup" man again trying to drunkenly order a whopper.
I've almost been hit by traffic twice because of the whole opposite side of the road deal, but I think I'm getting it.
There is no dollar bill. Everthing under a five is in coins: one dollar gold coin, two dollar gold coins (which we call abos because of the picture of an old blackfellow on the face) then fifty cent pieces on down to five with no 25 or 15 piece.
Brisbane--Day Two
On day two, our packs were still lost in LA and Chris and I found ourselves waking from a 12 hour sleep around 4am. We hoped on the internet, figured a few things, then decided to catch a train up the coast to Beerwah to visit the famous Australia Zoo. Sadly, as we all know, Stevo took a stingray bard to the heart two years ago and wouldn’t be there to greet us, but we figured the trip would be worth it anyway.
After stopping by a bakery to have a breakfast of meat pies (which hold you over for a good long while) we headed back to the train station. The train ride up was nice as we got to see lots of the Sunshine coast countryside—including the massive stone pillars known as the Glass Mountains that, surrounded by jungle and pineapple plantations, look like they belong in Southeast Asia somewhere. The ride was a little over an hour, but felt shorter. We stepped off in the little town of
The zoo was fantastic, and we took plenty of photos and video (NOTE: unfortunately we lack the proper cables to transfer the pics and vids to the laptop). We got to hang around plenty of roos and koalas, see all the famous cros like Agro, enjoy a show in the Crocoseum, feed elephants, and looks of other zoo stuff. The staff was great and would wonder up to tell you anything and everything you wanted to know about the animals. Some of them were even walking wombats and the like through the zoo so you pet them or get up close.
One of the funnier things about the zoo was how, despite the hundreds of families with kids being around, the zoo staff during shows would drop ridiculous, yet subtle sexual jokes and no one seemed to mind. At one point during the Crocoseum show the presenter asked everyone to imitate their favorite animal ending with “and men, you could pull your pockets out to do an elephant.” There was also an abundance of sexist humor as well, such as when someone asked after the croc feeding, “how do you tell the males from females?” The whole reply was hilarious, but the best bit was,
“You stick your hand up in that pocket, called the cloaca, and if you feel the wallet and car keys it’s the dad. If you feel around and there is nothing in the pocket, it’s the mom.”
We left the Zoo around closing at 4:30 and were shuttled back to the train station, which was really just a lonely looking platform reminiscent of something you see in westerns. We had about half an hour to kill before the next train, so we went into Beerwah and walked around to get a feel for rural
Inside an old used book shop I found a hardback volume entitled
The train ride back was in the dark, and a lot longer as we had to constantly stop and wait for other trains to pass us. The train was nearly empty, so I had plenty of space to myself and I used it by stretching out and putting my feet on the opposite seat from me. At one point these train officials came walking through the cabin checking tickets. I sat up straight to show the guy my ticket, and as he left I started to stretch out again with my feet on the seat. As I did this stranger got up from his seat and walked over to me. He said something about my feet on the seat, and I thought he was asking me to take them off, so I said yes and did.
“So that man asked you take them off and you put them right back on?” He said, confusing me.
“No.”
“I ask because I’m a police officer,” he flipped open a badge, “and it’s a hundred and fifty dollar fine for putting your feet on the seat.”
“I’m sorry?”
“What did that guy ask you?”
“He just asked to see my ticket. I thought you had come over to tell me to take my feet off the seat.”
He just looked at me for a minute, then put his badge away.
“Well, it is a hundred and fifty dollar fine, so keep you feet off the bloody seat.”
“Yessir.”
He then walked off and moments later got off the train with his buddies (probably more plainclothes cops). Needless to say, I kept my feet off the seat.
Bags
Today I woke up and the city was shrouded in a thick fog. As I write it is around 7am on Saturday the 17th. Yesterday morning, soon after I last posted, I went downstairs to find my pack had arrived. The girl at the desk was almost as excited about it as I was.
“Hey, they brought your pack!”
“Really?”
“Yeah, Mate! I put it in the luggage locker.”
“Awesome. It only took them two days.”
“So you’ve been wearing the same thing the whole time?”
“Well, I’ve had two shirts, but everything else.”
“Gross.”
It went something like that.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
In Brisbane -- Day One
When we arrived at BNE in Brisbane
We went from waiting by the carousel to standing in line for the baggage services counter for another hour. The woman was cheerful and pretty much told us we could expect our bags the next day, and they would send them to our hotel. She gave us a file number we could track online and a phone number to call to check up on things. To make a long story short—the tracking number didn't work and every time I called the phone has gone straight to an answering machine.
We left the airport a bit bummed, but hopeful and excited. Just from the airport alone, looking out on the country, you could really feel the immensity and beauty of
From the station we walked out into downtown 
staying, a backpackers called the Tin Billy (named for a type of Outback tea traditionally brewed in a tin pail), was just a short walk down from the station and we made our way inside to be greeted by girl about our age who asked “Are you alright?” I didn’t know at the time that is the Aussie way of asking if you need help, so I fumbled a response about being just fine. She must have picked up on my Americaness so she went straight into help mode and got us booked into a two bed room for four nights. We couldn’t get into the room until noon, however, so Chris and I lit back out into Downtown Brisbane to have a poke around.
We passed many old British looking buildings the color of sandstone mixed in with ridiculously modern office complexes and some place called the “Law Courts.” We noted where the 
The gardens are on a peninsula in the 
load of local birds (ibises are everywhere), one of the campuses of the
About halfway through the park, these two old women wave us over to look at an abandoned baby possum of some sort on the footpath. 
They were nominally concerned, but wanted Chris to find help while I watched it, because they were tired and had to be getting on. Chris agreed and went off to “find” someone (the only people working out there were contractors) and I stayed to "watch over" the ugly thing. One of the women asked me where I was from and I told her the states. She replied, “Oh wonderful, you really must take a photo of it then. Get close ups and all.” So I did. Then they left. Then I left. We bumped into the same two old women in the Queen’s Street Mall later on and they inquired as to how we “got on, with the creature and all.” I told them we had left it in the care of someone else, passed the torch so to speak. “Oh, that’s good,” came the reply.
Before heading back to the Tin Billy, we spent some time in the mall and wondered through an Australian Target. We got back sometime after one o’clock and got the key cards to our room. We were provided with much welcomed (since our bags were MIA) complimentary soaps, shampoos, and tea (complete with electric kettle.) Outside the window we could see the city and a very helpful giant, digital clock atop one of the city’s tallest skyscrapers.
We got settled in, then went next store to the hotel’s pub to grab some grub. I had a decent plate off fish and chips (with plenty of HP sauce) and Chris had a hearty bowl of traditional Irish stew. By the time we were finished eating the sun was already setting, and it was only around four o’clock, and the place became packed with blue collar types that had been working downtown all day from the looks of it. We retired to our room, and passed out until 4:30 or so the next morning.
Chris has finally got his bag the next night, which was delivered with tags saying it had been through
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Getting There Blues
One of the reasons people so seldom consider
Nowadays its a fourteen hour flight from LAX, but for us coming from Savannah it was more like a full day’s journey (during the course of which we skipped a day). That being said,
We made
Now, here is where things start to suck. The flight to LA was long, about five hours, and we felt every minute of it. The lame movie they played was Mad Money (Heard of it? No? That’s right.) and US Airways wanted us to pay five buck for a headset to hear it. So I stuck to my Zen and caught up with House, Lost, and 30 Rock which I had loaded before leaving and Chris watched movies on my laptop (before the battery died). The staff was disinterested at best, and the worst we had on the way over. Then we reached LA.
First, I will start with the positive. The view of LA from the sky was gorgeous as we approached, with the sun setting on the horizon riming the world in a soft pink. The first glimpses of the city below looked like little splatters of iridescent paint, and then as it grew to enormity beneath us I was reminded of the opening to Blade Runner. Once we were on the ground the sense of awe vanished. LAX is, Chris and I agree, a horridly designed facility with the terminals spread all over the place and traffic running through it like an interstate. We had to leave the terminal we flew into and board a bus to carry us to the international terminal, which was under renovation (on the flight back we were delayed out of Melbourne and literally had to sprint through the traffic/terminal/crowds of Mexicans). The place was a mess with pipes hanging out of the ceiling, everything blocked off or covered in plastic and tape, and terrible lighting. We made the mistake of checking in before eating at a restaurant in the concourse, thinking there would be something once we got through. Well, there was—a grossly overpriced hotdog place and nothing else.
Our gate was packed and the one next to it, in the same big room, was filled with a gaggle of Filipinos outbound for home….so the place stunk. The PA system was, of course, broken so it was a gamble knowing when to que up. But we made it aboard onto one of the biggest planes I have ever seen and were seated dead center of a three row four seat configuration. We were crammed.
Things were good though, and Qantas is a fine airline. We had a free headset, pillow, blanket, sleeping mask, and socks (yes, for your feet) awaiting us in our seats. The chairs in front of us had built in screens and we were treated to a wonderful array of on demand entertainment that we could control from our seats. New movies, Australian classics, Aussie TV, documentaries, you name it. They even had a section where you could watch a graphic of the flight path complete with stats about speed and elevation as well as time ‘til arrival. They fed us dinner (Chris got it at least, I was passed out) and gave us snacks and breakfast. I popped a few Tylenol PM and slept like a baby most of the trip, so it actually felt shorter then the LA flight. It was dark the entire fourteen hours and somewhere in that darkness we passed over the 13th of May without stopping to pay a visit.
So we arrived today the 14th in beautiful, sunny Brisbane, Queensland as the sun dawned and we passed through immigration to learn that our checked bags had been lost in LA and were not there to be picked up in Australia.
In the next post I will detail the baggage saga, which is not yet resolved, and elaborate on our check in to the Tin Billy backpackers (which is nice) and our morning visit to the Brisbane Botanical Gardens.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Why Australia?
So it's T-minus five days and counting until we fly out, and I figured I would address the main question many of you may be wondering about: Why Australia?
I've told a lot of people about the trip and received many differing reactions. Most are positive, like the sweet dental hygienist who, her hands shoved deep inside my mouth, told me that it was "awesome." Some reactions have been cryptic; my boss told me to "be careful" because "they drink a lot of beer down there." And a few have been less than enthusiastic like my Dad whose first impulse was to ask, "Why Australia? Everything can kill you there." (For the record, he's right. Not only are there sharks and crocs that kill people regularly but 17 of the worlds deadliest snakes - including the deadliest, the Taipan - and a preponderance of spiders with fatal bites.)
There are a couple of answers to the question, Why Australia?
First, they speak English there, and even though Australians have a different lingo, its pretty easy to pick up on. Second, like America, Australia is a new country. If you are from America (as I am) you can't really visit America. Sure you can go to other States you haven't been to, but its all the same country, and you can't visit your own country. If you want to experience what it would be like to visit America as say a Belorussian or a Chinamen, the best thing to do is probably to go to Australia.
They are a sporting culture, and if you dig some Rugby and Aussie Rules, then obviously a trip down under is a no-brainer (cricket as well, but no self-respecting American understands let alone appreciates that ridiculous Pommie game). They have all the best trappings of British culture and society that we as Americans have lost (and I am an Anglophile, so that's a huge selling point), but they still resemble Americans - and they like us there.
Perhaps one of the key things right now that makes Australia an ideal place to travel is that our dollar is still a wee bit stronger then theirs (about .94 USD to 1 AUD on a good day) as opposed to the Euro which is up the dollar almost fifty percent or the Pound Sterling which is twice the dollar. So, other than the ridiculously long flight, Australia is cost effective.
There are other reasons, of course, like kangaroos, Steve Irwin's Zoo, the beaches, the outback, meat pies, wombats, Vegemite. So the real answer to the question Why Australia? is actually another question itself - What, are you retarded or something?
I've told a lot of people about the trip and received many differing reactions. Most are positive, like the sweet dental hygienist who, her hands shoved deep inside my mouth, told me that it was "awesome." Some reactions have been cryptic; my boss told me to "be careful" because "they drink a lot of beer down there." And a few have been less than enthusiastic like my Dad whose first impulse was to ask, "Why Australia? Everything can kill you there." (For the record, he's right. Not only are there sharks and crocs that kill people regularly but 17 of the worlds deadliest snakes - including the deadliest, the Taipan - and a preponderance of spiders with fatal bites.)
There are a couple of answers to the question, Why Australia?
First, they speak English there, and even though Australians have a different lingo, its pretty easy to pick up on. Second, like America, Australia is a new country. If you are from America (as I am) you can't really visit America. Sure you can go to other States you haven't been to, but its all the same country, and you can't visit your own country. If you want to experience what it would be like to visit America as say a Belorussian or a Chinamen, the best thing to do is probably to go to Australia.
They are a sporting culture, and if you dig some Rugby and Aussie Rules, then obviously a trip down under is a no-brainer (cricket as well, but no self-respecting American understands let alone appreciates that ridiculous Pommie game). They have all the best trappings of British culture and society that we as Americans have lost (and I am an Anglophile, so that's a huge selling point), but they still resemble Americans - and they like us there.
Perhaps one of the key things right now that makes Australia an ideal place to travel is that our dollar is still a wee bit stronger then theirs (about .94 USD to 1 AUD on a good day) as opposed to the Euro which is up the dollar almost fifty percent or the Pound Sterling which is twice the dollar. So, other than the ridiculously long flight, Australia is cost effective.
There are other reasons, of course, like kangaroos, Steve Irwin's Zoo, the beaches, the outback, meat pies, wombats, Vegemite. So the real answer to the question Why Australia? is actually another question itself - What, are you retarded or something?
Monday, May 5, 2008
What its all about
If you are reading this, chances are you know what this is all about. I, John, and me good mate Chris Craft are jaunting over the great blue Pacific to check out Terra Australis. We'll be packing a little consumer Mini-DV cam ('cause my XL1s is too big and the school has some irrational policy about not letting graduates take equipment overseas) so I plan on posting vids of the trip and I figured a blog would go nicely alongside. Since I was able to "aquire" a laptop and tablet PC from work, I'll be able to update regularly. If I feel like it.
Anyway, we leave from the Savannah International Airport on Monday May 12th. The flight connects through Charlotte, NC to LAX--then on to Brisbane, our first stop. Since the world doesn't make sense, we will magically skip a full day of existence and end up in Brizzy at 6 AM on the 14th. Interestingly enough, my final grades come out on the 13th, a day I will not live, so maybe It will feel like I get them sooner then everyone else.
Feel free to pop in regularly for updates. Chris and I's goal is to experience Australia like normal people, like locals, and try to avoid being too touristy. Hopefully that means I'll get to waltz matilda with some Banana Benders, but we'll see.
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