Bob's Under Where?

End of the Road

2006-08-01T01:51:00.000-07:00

From Fraser, Jordan and I headed south to Noosa, where we had two nights and one day of nice weather on the beach. I had to say farewell to Jordan in Noosa, but was glad we had the chance to travel the east coast together. It was a blast. Jordan and Matt are two great Canadians and 2 of the best mates I made in Australia. Godspeed in Thailand gentlemen, until Vegas.
Yesterday I arrived back in Sydney, where the adventure first began exactly 5 months ago today. It's a bit cooler since the last time I was here. They call it winter, but the jeans and sweater weather remind me of October in New York. Other than the weather, the city is the same, familiar place that I left a couple of months ago. Today I took my last stroll around the city and had my last $5 dollar steak at Scruffy Murphy's. Tonight I'll have the last pint at O'Malley's and be entertained by the legend that is Bo Bice for the final time. And, this will be the last entry to this blog. Tommorrow morning I head to the airport and catch a flight out of Australia.
Australia is an awesome country. The experiences gained from the sights, places, travels, and most of all, the people I have met, will be unforgettable. That being said, in the five months I have been here I feel that I have seen and done just about all that one can in OZ. I have travelled just about the entire country. In my travels I have met loads of backpackers who claim that they want to stay in Australia forever, and never go home. On the contrary, I'm ready to leave. I guess I can consider myself fortunate to have an appreciation for where I am from, and actually be happy to return there, because not everyone in this world can say the same. Australia has been a hell of a good time and adventure, but all good things must come to an end. I'm coming home.

Fraser Island

2006-07-29T00:33:00.000-07:00

Fraser Island, just off the coast of southern Queensland, is the one of the largest sand islands in the world. It is home to many freshwater lakes, shipwrecks, huge sand dunes, whales, tropical rainforests, and dingoes. Jordan and I were put into a group along with seven other strangers, given our four-wheel drive, and we headed for the ferries. We camped out for two nights and spent about three days 4-wheeling around the island in our beat up old landcruiser, seeing the sights. The weather was great on our first day, ok on the second, and then didn't stop raining on our third, which was unfortunate. We camped with another "truckload" of backpackers and at night, the lot of about 20 of us had some pretty competitive flip cup games. Our weekend was made by two Korean guys in our group, whose names I won't even attempt to spell. They were super nice guys, very easy going, spoke little english, but were a blast to hang with. They're two main passions in life were to take pictures, and jump, often combining the two. We became pretty close with them over the past three days and on our last night in Hervey Bay, they, along with the two girls they were travelling with, cooked us a Korean dinner. We recipricated the favor with some jugs of beer at the bar. We arrived in Noosa today, which is a small beach community a couple hours north of Brisbane, and will be staying here for two nights.

Whit Sails the Sundays

2006-07-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

On Friday afternoon we set out aboard the racing yacht, the 'Samuri,' to sail around the Whitsunday Islands. There are nearly a hundred of these islands, some small, some large, with blue-green waterways to navigate in between them. Our ship had four crew members; captain Ash, dive instuctor and 1st mate Benny, cook Wazza, and dishwasher Clement. Along with Jordan and I, there were 18 other passangers. After leaving the docks we sailed for about two hours north to Hayman island where we anchored off in one of the calmer bays. I slept outside on the deck the first night until about 5 am when I was awoken by the rain. That morning we spent swimming and snorkling around the island. The afternoon we sailed for about three hours to another island where we anchored off for the night once again. The booze began to flow at sundown and everyone had a pretty rowdy night aboard the Samuri. 'One Eye's' originally a BC tailgating event, played a large role in the night's activities. The next morning we all jumped overboard, in an attempt to relieve our hangovers, and spent the morning swimming, relaxing, and eating. We eventually got to sailing and made are way back to the docks in Airle at about 2 pm. Overall, we had a blast. The boat itself was a bit beat up, but we had a fun bunch of people, which always seems to be the most important part.

Magnetic Island

2006-07-20T19:24:00.001-07:00

Jordan and I left Cairns on a greyhound bus and our first stop was Mission Beach. The town of Mission Beach was very small, and as we learned the hard way, doesn't sell any type of food after nine pm. We stayed for two nights, but the weather was crap the entire time so we were happy to move on. Our second stop was Townsville, where we took a ferry over to Magnetic Island. For the first time in a while, we had great weather on the island. Magnetic Island is home to many secluded bays and beaches, and we visited nearly all of them. We spent the two days hiking the island, and also did some snorkling at one of the bays. The place is pretty quiet at night, except for the Wednesday night Toad Races. Locals, backbackers, grandparents and children were all in attendance for the weekly event at Magnums on Wednesday night. Bascially, this old aussie bloke auctions off about 8-9 toads, each going anywhere from 25 - 60 bucks per toad. Once all the toads are bought, and the pot is set, they're put in the middle of a chalk-line cirlce and to the roar of the crowd, they race to be the first toad out side the circle. Owner of the winning toad takes the pot. Good Times.
We arrived in Airle Beach last night, which is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and met up with Danny,(England) and Chris, (Switzerland), two friends I've been running into the last few weeks. In three hours we'll board a sailing ship, along with 20 other backpackers and four crew members and spend the next three days/two nights on the 'Samuri', sailing the islands.

Cairns, Cape Trib, and the Great Barrier Reef

2006-07-13T23:46:00.000-07:00

Allthough it's currently the dry season, the weather in Cairns hasn't been the greatest. I spent one day snorkling the Great Barrier Reef which has been the best snorkling I have done while in Australia. I spent two days/one night up in Cape Tribulation which is about two hours north of Cairns. The Cape is basically one big rainforrest surrounded by beaches and water. However, it rained most of the time I was up there so it wasn't exactly as pretty as the postcards make it out to be. Cairns is currently packed to the brim with all sorts of travellers and backpackers. There's more travel agents and tour bookings here than I have seen in the entire state of Western Australia. It's a bit overwhelming really. I had the pleasure of meeting up with Mike Dean (brother of Doug) and his good mate, and long-time DFC veteran, Dave. We caught up over some Pizza and Goon (cheap, boxed wine). They took off the following morning for Brisbane. At night our group would usually scramble around town seeking out the free meals, and most of the time wound up at the backpacker bar, the Woolshed. The Woolshed hosts goldfish races a couple of nights a week, in which there about 8-9 fish, all of different "nationallities", in which pub goers can bet on thier favorite fish. I found myself knowing the names of all the goldfish, thier descriptions, and racing records, before they were even announced. That's about when I realized that it was time to leave Cairns.
Tonight my Canadian friend Jordan arrives and in the next day or two we'll be heading south down the coast.

From Alice to Cairns

2006-07-08T21:37:00.000-07:00

The trip from Alice springs, through the outback to Cairns took us three days, two nights. One night we stayed at a working cattle station. The most important thing to remember at the cattle station was to close the gate behind you so that the baby kangaroos that freely hopped around wouldn't get out and get eaten by dingos. The second night we stayed in a small outback town. The one pub in town was crowded that night due to an intense rugby match between Queensland and New South Wales. Queensland won in the last ten minutes of the game so the pub goers were happy. We spent alot of time on the bus, but we had a pretty good group and we stayed entertained. We gradually left the dessert-like plains and as we reached the great dividing range, the scenery began to change to mountainous rain forrest. The coast of Northern Queensland is where the rainforrest meets the beach, and is also the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. Cyclone Larry hit here about three months ago but many of the farm houses and landscape still remain damaged. Cairns is the largest town/city I have been to in a while. It's full of the typical east coast backpackers, hostels, etc. I met up with both Jenny and Mike once again, among others. Last night we went out for Mike's 21st birthday. I feel old.

The Red Center

2006-07-03T01:55:00.000-07:00

After a wild weekend in Darwin, I left and headed south for the outback on Tuesday, June 26th. I have learned that the hardest part of travelling is leaving behind friends that you have made. In Darwin I had to say goodbye to some great people that I had met all the way down the west coast over a month ago and have traveled thousands of kilometers with since. Jenny, Mike, Yanika, Phil, the Irish lads, and others. In Australia however, there's always the chance of meeting again. Our trip from Darwin to Alice springs was about 1800 kms, mostly of driving because there isn't too much to see along the way. We made a stop at Daly Waters Pub, the oldest in the Northern Territory, as well as Devil's Marbles. The trip took two nights, three days. Our nights consisted of big group dinners, a beer or two, and a night in a tent or under the stars in a swag, which is bascially the Aussie version of a sleepingbag, but better. We eventually made it to Alice Springs, which is more or less in the middle of Australia, and no where. The next day it was off to the red center for 3.5 days to see Kings Canyon, Ayers Rock, and the Olgas. Yulara is the name of the town which all of these attractions are sort of situated around and is the 4th biggest town/city in the Northern Territory, with a population of 3500 people. Islip's population is about 21,000. The following three days we really roughed it. Our group was about 12-13 people, with our tour guide, Spinner. We were up before Sunrise each morning and slept outside in our swags each night while the fire burned down. We cooked all our meals, and did a decent amount of hiking at all our destinations. And, I learned, that the Dessert gets cold at night. At night and in the early mornings it dropped down to tempatures of around 30 degrees. The whole expereience was pretty exhausting, but rewarding nonetheless. I haven't seen the east coast since Sydney but tommorrow morning I set out for Cairns.

Katherine and Litchfield

2006-06-22T00:17:00.000-07:00

After Kakadu we headed south to the small outback town of Katherine. While there isn’t much to Katherine, the main attraction is the near-by Nitimik National Park which is home to the Katherine River and its many gorges. We set up camp for the night and the next morning we headed out to the river for some kayaking. We rented a one person kayak and two-person canoe for the three of us. We spent the whole day on the river, paddling, swimming, hiking, and climbing. The day got interesting during some of the small rapids that we encountered, and we nearly capsized a few times, but all was good in the end. After another night in Katherine we headed back north and west to our final stop of our trip, Litchfield national park. Litchfield is much smaller than Kakadu, but had some great spots within. We spent two nights camping in Litchfield and spent the day in between going from waterfall, to rock pool, to creek, to hot spring, swimming at each one. The day we left Litchfield we headed out to the Adelaide River and saw some jumping crocodiles and on our 8th and final night of our trip we treated ourselves to a cabin in the small village of Virginia, about 30 km’s outside of Darwin. We arrived back in Darwin this morning and despite a broken chair, tent, a melted plastic plate, and a lost hubcap, the trip was a success.

Kakadu

2006-06-21T23:34:00.000-07:00

After picking up our Ford Falcon station wagon in Darwin, and loading it up with camping gear, food, and beer, we headed east to our first stop of our "top end" tour, Kakadu National park. The park itself is huge and is known for it's wildlife and differing landscapes. Limestone rock cliffs, lush green valleys, and marsh wetlands are just some of the type of scenery in Kakadu. We camped out there for three nights, setting up in different areas of the park. Mike and I took a boat cruise along the Alligator and Yellow rivers, and some some salty crocs swimming in the waters and basking in the sun in the mud. Our favorite spot in the park was gunlom falls. A 35 km dirt and gravel road led to a quiet camp site at the bottom of a huge waterfall, where we stayed one night. We swam in both the small rock pools at the top of the falls which had great views of the park, as well as the huge pool below into which the waterfall emptied. Swimming in the Northern Territory is intersting because you really have to pay attention to the warning signs at every pool. Some will say "warning: swim with care, Crocodiles." This is ok to swim in beacuse there are only freshwater crocs in these waters, and typically won't hurt humans. On the other hand "Danger: No Swimming, Crocodiles," means that there are Saltwater crocodiles which are the nasty buggers that will kill and eat you. No one got killed, or eaten on our trip. My greatest achievement in Kakadu was introducing peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches to my two Brit friends, Mike and Jenny. They both had never heard of such a thing, but loved it.

A New State: The Northern Territory

2006-06-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Darwin on Sunday afternoon, June 12th. We were just in time to head down to the open-air markets down at the beach where I ate some Kangaroo and Crocodile, and then caught the sunset over the Timor Sea. Darwin is the first real city that I've been to since I left Perth, about a month ago. There are several beaches here, but you can't swim at them due to deadly crocs, sharks, and jellyfish. The city is small and tropical and geared towards backpackers with many pubs, hostels, and tourist centers lining the main stip. It reaches about 75-80 degrees during the day but is cool at nights. However, this is their winter and I couldn't imagine being here in summertime. While there isn't much to the city itself, the "Top End" of the Northern Territory has plenty of national parks and landscape that mainly attracts travelers to the city of Darwin. Myself, Jenny, and Mike hired a station wagon and some camping gear for about a week and will set out tommorrow to see Kakadu (Dundee film location), Katherine, and Litchfield.

Broometime

2006-06-11T03:16:00.000-07:00

So the campervan thing didn't work out because somebody decided to crash it the day before it was supposed to be given to us. As a result, we spent more time in Broome than expected but that's ok beacuse Broome is a relaxed, tropical town and we had a large group of our friends to hold it down. The Kimberley Club was a great hostel and we spent some good days at the pool/beach and nights at the bar. Between PJ's (Ireland) birthday and the free concert at Cable Beach, we kept quite busy. We moved over to the Roebuck backpackers during the week and I decided to host Bob's Burger and Beer Broome Bonanza. I cooked up some burgers for everyone and then taught the lot how to play flip cups, which was a big success. The next day, the day of the Belmont Stakes on Long Island, I paid a visit to Broome's Horse Race track. Not because I desperately needed to gamble on horses and drink beer on the first Saturday in June, but because it was actually the first big day of the racing season in Broome and many people in town, as well as fellow backpackers, were going to the races. It was a small track and a fun way to spend the day, but there's only one race track on the planet that deserved my presence on that particular day. In Broome we had to say goodbye to some good blokes, PJ and Dimitri, from Holland, but there's always the chance of running into them again somewhere in Oz. This morning myself, Jenny, Mike, Yanika, and Scott boarded a rather small propeller plane and flew to Darwin.

Exmouth to Broome

2006-06-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

Well, exmouth was basically a disaster. For a town that hasn't had rain in years, it happened to rain for the five days that we were there. 4 of 5 actually. It's a small town in the middle of nowhere that has everything to to with beach/water activities so when it rains, it's not good. And, despite our best efforts, we did not get to swim with the whale sharks. However, we did get to do some good snorkling with some reef fish and giant manta rays so all was not lost. And, the company was good (Micheal, Jenny, PJ, Christain, Yanika, Dimitri) and I guess that's what matters. After leaving Exmouth there was a lot of driving to be done. Our first day we drove about 900 km up to Tom Price where we spent the night at Auski roadhouse in tents. Free Entertainment: We had the privlege of sharing our site/bbq area with a group of Bikers from Western Australia, about 50 of them, who come to that roadhouse once a year to party. With them they bought live music, fireworks, and plenty of drugs and booze. They all were really friendly dudes, and the one who introduced himself to me first was named Rat, as was also indicated as so on the patch stitched to his leather jacket. Rat and friends offered the girls in our group rides on thier bikes while downing bottles of JD, but where dissapointed becuase none of them accepted. The next day we drove out to Karijini National Park and did some hiking through gorges and canyons and then did some swimming in the pools. That night we drove up near Port Headland and stayed at a working Cattle Station. Yesterday we eventually reached Broome, our final (temporarily) destination and enjoyed the sunset at the famed Cable Beach. I plan on leaving Broome in two days to head up to Darwin and the Northern Territory via campervan through the Kimberlys. Joining me will be Micheal, Yanika, Jenny, and Crazy Phil, the bloke who I shared a tent with once and who woke up at 3 am screaming from having nightmares about being stabbed. Should be fun.

Denham to Coral Bay to Exmouth

2006-05-28T23:08:00.000-07:00

So Denham was a great place to spend a few days. The hostel was full of fun, friendly people, including the owner, a brit named John. One night John organized a big session (drink up) at the pub and then piled about 15 of us into his van and took us out in the bush where there was a natural hotspring and a hot tub set up. Bottles of Beer and Champagne were drank while lighting stuck far away in the distance. The next morning I was supposed to catch a bus out of Denham but I couldn't find my pants from the night before, which contained my wallet, so I couldn't leave and missed the bus. I eventually found my pants, and my wallet and caught the bus the next day. There is alot to be said about the small towns of western Austalia. By my third full day in Denahm i would walk around the town, which is no more than a half a mile stretch of road along the bay, and I would know half the people that I run into, locals and tourists. Good times.
After Denham we stopped by Monkey Mia to see some dolphins and then caught the bus up to Coral Bay. Our driver, Bart, was a "top bloke" as they say, and the bus was full of some great people who I have been spending the last couple of days with and plan on travelling up North some more. Some from Holland, Ireland, England. Our trip to Coral bay involved some beers on the bus at sunset along the outback road with your favorite 80's rock tunes and the occasional "wee" break along the way. Girls on one side of the road, boys on the other. Coral bay was a nice little town whose main attraction was the snorkling reef, right off the beach. We spent some good days and nights on the beach, and then it was off to Exmouth, to hopefully swim with some whale sharks.

Up the West Coast

2006-05-23T03:04:00.000-07:00

After a couple of fun nights and meeting some good people at the Underground Backpackers in Perth, it was time to move on and head north. I booked an "easyrider" bus that allows me to hop off and hop on whenever and wherever I want. Our first stop north of Perth was the infamous pinnacle desert, but was a bit overrated if you ask me. Our first night we spent in Kalbarri, a small coastal town about 600 km north of Perth. After one day of driving around the west coast I have learned that the towns are few and far between. I now understand what they mean when they say that although WA is Austalia's largest state, it is also the most barren. While on the road, you don't see much for hundreds of km's at a time. The next day we spent some time in Kalbarri National Park which had some scenic cliffs, gorges, canyons, rivers, etc. All with a hint of that amber red rock color that you picture Australia to look like. Our next over night stay was in Denham, where I decided to "hop off" and have been here for the past couple of days. It is a small town in the Shark Bay region of WA. Our hostel is right accross the road from the bay, which is clear blue and dotted with the occasional anchored rowboat, sailboat, or catamaran.

The South West

2006-05-11T19:51:00.000-07:00

Alex and his girlfreind Tracy are the Irish couple that I traveled down south with. Both really nice. Phil, from England, joined us as well. Also a good guy, who sounds more scottish than he does English. We had a good group. Alex had bought an old campervan that he and Tracy slept in at night while Phil and I slept in sleeping bags and tents. Our first stop was Margaret River, where we visited several wineries and did some tasting. The south west of Australia is very unique because it gets a lot of rain and the climate is tempertate which makes it a good spot for wineries and farms. We often drove through green rolling hills with grazing cows and sheep and it looked more like Ireland than how you would picture Australia. From Margaret river we drove south and east along the coast, making some stops, and reached the small town of Pemberton, which is along the Southern Ocean. That night Phil and I went into the only pub in town which had some very friendly clientel. As we walked in, most of the people in the pub came up and introduced themselves to us. We met some fun Irish girls and a good local Aussie named Wade. The next day we headed into the Karri forest, which is home to tall, thick trees, like the forests where the ewoks lived. Our last stop, Albany, was a town located right along some enclosed bays off the Southern Ocean, and had some nice coastal spots such as Torondup National Park.

A New State: West Australia

2006-05-06T06:42:00.004-07:00

I arrived in Perth a couple of days ago and do what I do everytime I enter a new city, I walk. My hostel, the witches hat, was situated in Northbridge, a suburb just north of the city. Perth itself is nice, young, and is the most isolated capital city in the world. However, I am learning that a city is a city, and many of them in Australia are beggining to look the same. I met up with Brent, a guy that Billy boy had befriended in Central America, and have been crashing at his house this weekend. He lives in Cottlesbro, which is a beach community west of the city, along the coast of the Indian Ocean. Brent is a good bloke, and I've had a good time with him. Today I picked up some camping gear and tommorrow I down the coast to the southwest. I found an Irish couple with a campervan who is traveling down that way and were looking for fellow travelers to go with them. Winter is approaching so this is really the last chance I'll get to see down south at all. It will probably be the last time I travel the south of Australia. After this it's north, to follow the sun.

Heading West

2006-04-30T21:57:00.000-07:00

In the recent days I've been enjoying Sydney, and the friends that I've made here, because on Tuesday I fly out to Perth, which is the capital of Western Australia. Australia is roughly the size of the U.S. so the distance between Sydney to Perth is about equal to that of New York to L.A. I have heard nothing but good things about out west, although it is far less traveled than the east coast. It will be nice to get off the beaten track for a bit and see some parts of Australia that many people do not. Went to the horse track the other night with Jordan, and other YHA dwellers. Good times, although it couldn't hold a candle to Belmont. I didn't win any money though, so in that respect it reminded me of Belmont. The following night we went to see an Aussie Rules Football game. "Footie" as they say, is similar to Rugby but a bit different. Same sort of concept. We watched the Sydney Swans beat the Geelong Cats. Our seats were great because we were in the Swan section, but right on the border of the Cats fan section so we got to see some pretty fired up Aussies go at it. It just so happens that the swans victory song is the same as Notre Dame's Fighting Irish. For a second there, I thought I was in South Bend. Then I realized there were no Meehans with me.

The Blue Mountains

2006-04-22T23:22:00.000-07:00

Katoomba is the name of the small town up in the Blue Mountains where I stayed for five days. The weather was nice every day, and while I only planned on staying for two or three nights, that changed when I realized how much there was to do. Bushwalking is the cheapest and best way to see the area, and so I spent a lot of time doing it. Many of the walks are along the cliffs that overlook the mountain range, the three sisters rock formation being the most popular area, although I did venture down to the Grand Canyon of the Blue Mountains. Down in the canyon the climate is cool and ideal for the rainforest type enviorment. The following day I went Abesaling (or repelling) and Canyoning. The first part of the day we abesailed down cliffs, getting use to the mechanics, motions, and equipment. In the afternoon we headed down into some canyons to repel down a 90 ft. waterfall. Dressed in full wetsuits, with our gear in a waterproof bag on our backs, we hiked through the canyon floor, headed towards our waterfall. At somepoints the water was only ankle deep, but at others, we were jumping off rocks into 15-ft pools of cold, mountain water, with steep canyon walls on either side of us. At some points there were even some natural rock waterslides. Eventually we came to the waterfall and set up our ropes and decended down. It's tough to concetrate and remember what you were taught only hours ago when gallons of water are being dumped onto your head and body. We all made it down.
I met some good folk at the hostel, some from England, and two from Scotland, and spent the rest of my time up in the mountains with them. We rented bikes one day and headed out on a 30 km trip. The conditions were intense, and we wound up walking our bikes at some of the steeper parts, but all in all it was a fun day with some great views. We treated ourselves at the end of the day with some pints of Thooeys at the Carrington Inn.

Easter in the Park

2006-04-20T01:36:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend is a big one in Australia. Not much is open on Good Friday and everyone has off the following Monday as well. Basically spent the weekend out in Gleebe, where Julie and Kerry, as well as Matt and Jordan, have been nice enough to let me crash at thier place for a couple of days. After a big night out of celebrating Simon's 20th birthday, we had a bbq in Centennial park on Easter Sunday. Dale, originally from NZ, but now an Aussie, put it all together. About 10 of us. After the bbq he threw us all in the back of his moving truck and gave us a ride back into the city. The French dude next to me was pretty wasted. I'm up in the Blue Mountains now, which is about a two hour trip west and north of Sydney. It's basically like any mountain town you might find in the states. Small, friendly, and a bit colder.

Back to Sydney

2006-04-12T18:32:00.000-07:00

Team Apollo, consisting of myself, Jordan, Matt, and our new German friend Simon, made the trip from Adelaide to Sydney with success. Our campervan was quite luxurious and the fact that it only cost a dollar a day made it even better. It was my first time driving on the left side of the road, as well as a stick, so I had a lot to learn in a little amount of time. The four of us took turns driving and the 3 days was more than enough time to finish the 1400 km trip. The route we took was the most direct, but offered little scenery along the way, exept for some cows. The outback is pretty baren - it's good that we didn't breakdown.
Back in Sydney again. Fells like home. We celebrated our succesful return to New South Wales by eating some Scruffy Murphy 5 dollar steaks the other night and then drank the night away in King's Cross. Staying out in Glebe, a suburb of the city about 20 mins from the center. The plan, today, is to get a job and settle down for a bit. Try making money instead of just spending it. Although if there is one thing that I learned in the past six weeks is that there is a lot that I want to see and do in this part of the world and five months isn't enough time to do it. I'm thinking about coordinating an Easter Egg hunt at my hostel for Sunday morning. A giant bunny costume would be a nice touch too.

Adelaide & Kangaroo Island

2006-04-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. Let's see. So Adelaide is a pretty quite city compared to the others I have seen in Australia. It's basically just a travel hub for people headed north, through the outback, west to Perth, or east along the great ocean road or to Sydney. That being said, along with a couple of rainy days, I used this as an excuse to relax for a couple of days and not do much. In figuring out how I was going to get back to Sydney, I, with the help of my new German friend Simon, found a relocating deal in which we can drive a campervan back to Sydney for the price of one dollar a day. Matt and Jordan decided that they too will join us, so tommorrow we weill leave Adelaide and drive through the country side to Sydney. We have to have the van back by Tuesday, at 3 pm. It's about a 1600 km trip, so we figure about 6-7 hrs of driving a day. Shouldn't be too bad, especially with four people.
The last two days I ventured out to Kangaroo Island, which is just off the coast, south and west of Adelaide. The island itself is the third largest island in Australia, and has a very diverse landscape. Rolling hills, desert-like sand dunes, rocky headlands, cliffs, and many beaches. We had a good group. A couple of Japaneese girls, some Germans, some from Switzerland, Alberto from Italy, and our Aussie tour guide Lisa. We saw most of the island, some of it's national parks along the coast, beaches, sea-lion wildlife reserves, penguins, Koalas, and naturally, Kangaroos. We went sandboarding one day at Little Sahara, which looks like a little desert. Sandboarding is just like snowboarding only on sand. At night we stayed on a farm, inland. Had some good bbq at night and sat around the campfire playing some drinking games. A game so simple as whiz can be very complicated when you play with people from 6 different countries.

The Grampian Mountains

2006-03-31T15:08:00.000-08:00

From the coast we headed north, into the Grampian Mountains, which are about two hours west of Melbourne. We spent the afternoon doing some nice hikes and at sunset we were at one of the lookouts over the whole range. That night we stayed at a mountain lodge type hostel which was islotaed, and just the 14 of us stayed there. We all pitched in to make some salad and other sides while peter cooked up some lamb chops, sausague and hamburgers on the bbq. After dinner we had some cold ones and checked out the stars, which were the brightest I have ever seen them. The next morning we were up early to do another hike. In the afternoon, we visited a winery, and then in the eveing, Peter dropped the three of us off in Ballarat, to catch our bus four hours later to Adelaide. We took an overnight bus and arrived at 5:20 am this morning.

The Great Ocean Road

2006-03-31T14:57:00.000-08:00

Myself, Matt and Jordan were picked up early on Wenesday morning by our tour guide for the next three days, Peter, born and raised in Melbourne. Our tour group consisted of the three of us, about 7 or 8 Germans, an Italian named Marco, who never spoke, and two Indonesian ladies. Our first day we drove south and along the coast. The road is a lot like the Pacific Coast Highway in California. Lots of beaches, cliffs, and windy road. Our first stop was Bells Beach, the eternal resting spot of one, Bodie. The fifty year storm had not surfaced while we were there however. After that we stopped at Apollo Bay for a swim and a picninc lunch. In the evening, we visited the twelve apostles, which are limestone and sand pillars that line the beaches along one area of the coast. The next morning we went down on the beach, where the twelve apostles stand, along with other areas such as Loch's Gorge and London Bridge. After that, it was off to the mountains.

Melbourne and St. Kilda

2006-03-27T22:07:00.001-08:00

I've met up again with Matt and Jordan, both Canadian, who I originally met in Sydney. Good guys. Sunday afternoon I played in a texas hold'em tourny at thier hostel where the first prize was a bar tab. I lost in heads up play to an aussie. Went all in with jack-ten suited, but he had ten, ace. The aussie wins, but he bought me a beer off his tab. That night I went down town to watch the closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth games. Tons of people were all over the place; in the streets, fed. square, the gardens, and along the river bank. It all ended with an impressive firework show. The next day I headed south to an area of Melbourne called St. Kilda. It's basically a seaside town, with beaches and the well-known St. Kilda pier, that extends out into Phillip Bay. Lots of backbacker hostels, pubs and cafes along the streets. Matt and Jordan are at the hostel that I am staying at so I've basically been hanging with them the last couple of days. We booked a tour together along the Great Ocean Road, which is a stretch bewteen Melbourne and Adelaide. There are supposed to be many beautiful sights/parks/beaches along the way. We leave tomorrow morning and the trip will be two nights, three days. The tour company we booked it through is smaller than some of the others, Mecca and Dave's. I think it's better that way sometimes though. It sounds as though it will be a bit more personal and aussie-authentic. When I called up the guys to tell him I wanted to go, he didn't need any credit card info just where I was staying to pick me up. "No worries mate, I'll see ya bright n' early on wednesday morning." Should be an interesting couple of days.

A New State: Victoria

2006-03-24T22:35:00.000-08:00

Melbourne is said to be the sporting capital of Australia. It is appropriate then that the 2006 Commonwealth games are being held here. 71 countries from around the globe participate in the games, which are very similar to the summer olypics. I arrived here yesterday morning, on a flight from Brisbane. The city has been buzzing due to the games. Today, Saturday, was a great day to walk the city. It is the last weekend that the games will be here. The city is filled with festivals, street markets, all sorts of flags, live concerts, events, food vendors, and loads of people, from all over the world. It is very reminicent of Atlanta in '96. Federation Square and Alexandra gardens are hosting most of the hoopla. There are also huge screens in some places that televise the games.
Last night I met some Aussies that grew up in and around Melbourne. They invited me to join along with them in thier bar-hopping around the city. A real rowdy bunch. Good times.

New Contact Info: Country Code 61, 0431 893851

Straddie

2006-03-22T19:40:00.000-08:00

I ran into Yourish (Holland) and Rob (England) on the streets of Brisbane the other day. Rob was heading north and then soon to the states. Yourish was still looking for a job, without luck it seems. I also met up with Chris (England), formally a member of the wolf gang. Myself, Chris, and the girls from Belgium all went out in Fortitude Valley for some drinks. Chris still talks a lot.
Basically, from the span of Sydney up to Brisbane, you see the same people along the way, traveling up the coast, doing the same thing that you are. Everyone sort of leap-frogs each other, skipping some towns/cities, and then meeting up in the more popular ones. It's been nice to run into familiar faces each day.
The next day I went out to Stradbrooke Island, which is about an hour east of Brisbane. For the first time since I've been in Australia, the weather has played a factor. Due to the Cyclone that hit up north, the Brisbane/Stradbrooke area has been a bit overcast and windy. That ontop of the fact that I arrived at the island mid-week, proved for a quite Stradbrooke. This was good however, as it was a bit of relief from the hustle and bustle of the busy towns I've been staying at. Stradbrooke is basically long stretches of beach, with the occasional grocery store, snack bar, pub along the way. At my hostel it was just myself, one other couple, and the guys who work at the hostel, 2 Germans, a Hollander, and an Aussie. The seven of us played voleyball as the sun went down, then went for a dip in the ocean. We all cooked up a meal of pumpkin stew and pancakes when we got back and then threw on Crocodile Dundee. The next day the couple checked out and I was the only one at the hostel. I felt like Jack Torrs in the Shining. Only I was on a tropical Island as opposed to snow-filled mountains. I spent the day walking the island, and then back to the hostel that night for more movies with the work crew. I am back in Brisbane for the night but leave on a flight tomorrow for Melbourne.

Brisie

2006-03-19T00:05:00.000-08:00

St. Patty's Day in Brisbane was a good one. It was actually the first day that I got to see much of the city. Brisbane is built around the river which curves around, and is s-shaped. I spent the day walking the city, mostly along the river. Went to the Botanical Gardens, the rainforest walk, the southbank parkland, and through Queen St. Mall. I felt the need to stop at any Irish bars along the way and cool off with a cold guiness. I believe the two that I stoped at were Irish times, on the corner of Elizabeth and George, as well as O'Malleys, which is actually under the Queen St. Mall. Later in the evening we all met up, Alex, Cindy, Chris, a bunch of Chris's friends, and myself, at Dooley's pub, where we spent the rest of the night. I finally found Dave, friend of the Dean family, namely Mike Dean, and best known from the DFC's. He is studying abroad in Brisbane. Good Times. The following day was quite unproductive, besides the fact that I moved out of Chris's apartment and over to the hostel on the otherside of town. Took a stroll around town at night, ate a five dollar steak, some serial back at the hostel, and hit the hay.
Today I went to the Eagle St. Pier Market, which only happens on Sunday. I then took a bus out to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary where I petted some Koalas, fed Kangaroos, and saw some Dingos among other Australian animals.
Note: More pics have been added to the rest of the blog so scroll down to view.

A New State: Queensland

2006-03-16T15:09:00.000-08:00

In Brisbane I have been staying with a fella named Chris, who is a friend of Cindy's and has been living over here for about a year and a half. Real nice guy. He lives in a suburban part of the city. The other night he took us to his bar he goes to every week for Trivia night. Our team won, but due to the fact that we had twice as many people as everyone else. Nonetheless, we welcomed our prize of free beer. Wed morning, Alex, Cindy and myself took a train down to Surfers Paradise. The town is touristy, with tall hotel buildings lining the beach, and lets of restaraunts, etc. Played some beach volleyball that might as well been a UN game, as everyone was from a different country. Our favorite was the Japanese guy who called himself Tex. Thursday mroning we rented a car and headed out to Springbrook National park. Did some nice hikes, past, behind waterfalls, along cliffs edges, and over natural bridges. A nice day. Today I am heading out into Brisbane to see a bit of the city and then it's over to Dooleys Pub for a St. Patty's Day extravagaza.

Byron Bay

2006-03-13T19:30:00.000-08:00

So I called up Yoursih, my dutch friend, from Port Maquarie to find out what he was up to because I thought he might have been in Byron Bay at the time. Luckily, when I called him, he was checking in to the YHA hostel in Byron Bay and was able to book me the last bed in the place over the phone. Byron Bay is a nice beach town. It has the usual surf bums, beach vibes etc., that seems to go with any given coastal town in Australia. I took a bike up to the Byron Bay lighthouse which had some great views, and I stood at Austalia's most easterly point. Yoursih has been traveling with a guy Rob, from England whose a good guy as well. We cooked up some tortillas last night and then made it out to the Chinkey Monkey. Good times. I just arrived in Brisbane about an hour ago. Going to track down the man they call Alex Conway.

The Wolf 'Gang'

2006-03-11T17:27:00.000-08:00

Port Maquarie is a small coastal town, not to much going. A nice place to stop along the way nonetheless. The hostel is very cozy and freindly. I spent the day just lounging around on the beach with a guy from my hostel named Chris from Britain. We went into town last night Chris, myself, and two other guys from the hostel; Wolfgang from Germany and Taka, from Japan. Conversations were interesting. Chris is a super nice guy, and talks a lot, and even more so after he has some drinks in him. So the four of us would be sitting there Chris talking, mainly to me beacuse I understand English. Say the topic was sports. He would then try to include Wolfgang on the conversation by saying something like, "Are there any sports in Germany that are just played in Germany?" Wolfgang, however, had no clue what Chris was saying so he would just repeat the only word in the sentence that he understood, with very wide eyes, and follow that up with "yeah." "Sports, yeah." Everyone takes a sip of beer and nods thier heads. Then Taka, whose English was better than wolfgang's, would come up with some sort of nuetral statement on the subject such as "Sports are rery good." Only to make up for his broken english he would speak at double the volume of everyone else, almost to the point of shouting. Everyone, once again, would take a sip of beer and nod thier heads. So there we were, Chris the Drunk Englishmen would wouldn't stop talking, Wolfgang, the German who did little talking, and Taka, the man from Japan who did his talking by yelling. And me, Bob, from America, wondering what the hell I was doing in Port Macquarie, Australia. Good Times.

2006-03-09T21:10:00.000-08:00

New Mates (top), Sydney Harbour as seen from Sydney Harbour Bridge (middle),
View from Manly Scenic walk (bottom left), Darling Harbour at sunset (bottom right).

Collaroy and Manly Beach

2006-03-09T20:58:00.000-08:00

After Bondi I headed up north to Collaroy beach. Pretty quiet town. About twenty minutes south is Manly which I could see myself settling down in for a bit. Very laid back but with a fun vibe to it. I actually walked a 10 km hike from a place called the spit bridge to Manly beach. It basically walked all along the shoreline of one of Sydney's harbours. Got some great views of the surroundings as well as the city. The weather was perfect. Low 80's with a nice breeze off the ocean. The YHA hostel was a nice one although they lacked dinningware. I ate fruitloops this morning out of a spagetti pot. Today I head up north, to port Macquarie. Then on to Byron Bay, and eventually Birsbane. I won't get in tonight until 1 am. The lady at the hostel told me where she would put my key. Around the bus, past the picnic tables, and taped to the back of a surfboard. There's a good chance I'll be sleeping on the beach tonight.

Contact info:

Robert Whitney
Locked Bag 21, Royal
Exchange, NSW 1225

Cell Phone #: Country Code, 61 0405 624539

Bondi Beach

2006-03-07T21:50:00.000-08:00

Well the Mardi Gras fiesta was a success. Good times had by all, although a day of recovery was necessary. Met up with Alex and Cindy at thier hotel and then we went out to dinner in the harbour and ate some Italian food. The following day I moved out to Bondi Beach which reminds me a lot of South Cali. Lots of Surfers and lots of money too. My hostel, Indy's, looked a bit shady but turned out to pretty fun after meeting some english blokes and playing drinking games. The best part that whole area of town was the coastal walk from Bondi, south down to Coogee. It was along the cliffs with great views and little coves/beaches. Stopped along the way to swim, sunbathe, and then napped in the park overlooking Coogee. I am currently in a new beach called Collaroy, which is north of Sydney. Just arrived today. It's definetly a little more laid back than Bondi, which is what I can use for a day or two.

Sydney

2006-02-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

My first couple of days here in OZ have been busy and exhausting, but exciting and fun. Sydney is a beautiful city with everything a big city has to offer. Lots of pubs, parks, history, attractive women, culture, and stunning views. I've basically been roaming around, armed with an Ipod and Camera, trying to familiarize myself with the city. On top of chores like setting up a bank account, getting postal addresses and cell phone service, etc. Saw the opera house, walked around the several harbour areas, went to the Aquariam, walked accross the Harbour bridge and then took a ferry back over. It's amazing how tourist friendly it is. Tons of information centers and stuff catering to the needs of backpackers like myself. My hostel is great, but expensive. It has lounge areas, kitchens, dining halls, game rooms, a pool, and it's own bar, the scubar, downstairs. Have been hanging out with a couple of Canadian dudes and this kid Yourish, from Holland. Went out to Kings Cross last night which is basically the red light district of Sydney. A bit trashy, but fun. My plan, as of now, is to stay in the city center two more nights and then head out to Bondi Beach for a couple of days. About to cook up some food for dinner. I brought the chicken and tomato sauce and Yourish is in charge of the pasta and booze. Tonight is the Mardi Gras festivities downtown. Should be interesting.