leaving the alice and koala encounters

(Alice Springs. I was really not this thrilled about it)

Our outback adventure is officially over:-( The last few days in Alice Springs were uneventful, except for our new German friend Paul from the YHA who told us Alice is the murder capital of the world. Nice. Hannah and I flew into Sydney and went to Govinda's for the evening- an all you can eat vegetarian Indian buffet (which we took FULL advantage of) followed by a movie in their crazy theater with futons instead of chairs and you have to take your shoes off. It was a great set up for one of the worst films of all time- some sci-fi thriller with Nicholas Cage which was super creepy but luckily ended by aliens blowing up the world (not even kidding) so we weren't scared anymore when we had to walk back to our hostel at midnight.
We took the train up to Newcastle which turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. Sydney and its surrounds must be one of the loveliest cities in the world- on the train we passed through lots of little water ways and beaches, and through tons of lush vegetation. Newcastle reminds us both of Norwich and we had a good time reminiscing about the uni days we spent there (aww). The fact that it has been overcast or raining the whole time has only reinforced the English feel! It is full of cafes and boutiques and has a very pretty waterfront esplanade. Last night we went to the opening night of a French film festival and were served wine (we are close to Hunter Valley, one of Australia's main vineyard areas) and delicious French cheese. The movie was sweet- and alien free!

We ventured out to the Blackbutt Koala Sanctuary (again, not even kidding) today and got to pet the koalas! It was an interesting little place and they had enclosures for different kinds of ozzy animals. I saw my first wombats! They were HUGE and I really wanted to squeeze one. Maybe next time. Also some emus, walaroos, kangaroos, and a ton of birds- I am almost getting used to the crazy animals around here- but they still make me happy:)

We are going to a chocolate and coffee festival tomorrow (!) and on a wine and cheese tasting tour Monday before we venture further up the coast. Luckily the flooding has subsided and all the roads are supposedly open. It does feel like winter has come though, a big change from the far north a week ago! Coming up on a month that I've been out here- hard to believe that so much time has already gone by!

The Red Center Day 3

Monday, May 25th

Our last day on the trip! We got to "sleep in" half an hour and get up at 5:30am. We went to King's Canyon and did the 6km rim walk, got to see sun rise from the top and the mist lift off the mountains. Apparently a canyon is formed from tectonic plate movement and a gorge is formed by erosion. We saw some ghost gum trees (a gum is the common term for a eucalyptus tree here) that pull zinc out of the soil and use it in their bark to protect themselves from the sun. We hiked to the Garden of Eden which has water holes year round (the middle purple shale layer of rock is impervious and keeps water close to the surface). Hannah waded in but decided against jumping in with all her clothes on (again). The whole thing was pretty spectacular.
Upon getting back to Alice the group went out to Annie's again. Sadly Fabi couldn't go to Bo's because there were peanut shells on the floor and she is deathly allergic so we couldn't bust out our line dance moves. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone (thank goodness for Facebook!). hannah and I are the only ones sticking around Alice for more than a night, but we are starting to gear up for a whole new adventure on the East Coast!

The Red Center Day 2

Sunday, May 24th Another early morning! We were up at 5am to get to Uluru to see sunrise. Again it was cloudy, but there was a rainbow by the rock which was awesome! After the sun came up we walked around the rock on the Southwest side. Uluru is a single giant sandstone rock, and the red color comes from iron oxide in the dirt- which apparently was blown from another part of the continent relatively recently (only a few thousand years ago) and in places where there has been a lot of wind erosion you can see the original greyish white color of the rock. When we met up with the bus again on the other side of Uluru it started to rain, and Steve our tour guide gave us the option of doing the short Mala walk in the wet or to go to the visitor's center and stay dry. Hannah, one other girl and I were the only ones willing to brave the rain, and it turned out to be the best decision of our trip! Because it was pouring, water was collecting in pools at the top of the rock and flowing along paths down the sides in waterfalls and the whole rock became a milky white color. We saw some rock paintings which were much more simple than the ones we saw further north, and Steve explained this is because life around Uluru was much more difficult and most of the people's time was spent looking for food a fuel and they didn't have extra time to sit around and paint. We saw some sites where women butchered emu and ground and stored seeds. There was a cave called the Wave Cave because wind erosion has made it look like there are waves in the wall, and then we went over to a waterhole that tours don't always make it to. During the dry season it rarely rains much, so a lot of the people familiar with the area haven't seen it like this! Our guide and a couple of others were running around taking pictures, and apparently park rangers were stopping on the road to take photos as well. When we got to the water hole there were at least 4 waterfalls coming down in different areas. Some were just small streams, some were coming down through a series of pools on the face of the rock, and there was a giant one rushing one. While we were standing there looking at it I said to Hannah that I really wanted to run into it, and she said she was thinking the same thing. Steve said "I won't tell if you don't tell" and then it was pretty much decided. I pulled off my socks and shoes, rolled up my pants (not that it made a difference) and just ran in. I think the other two were surprised that I actually went for it, but once I ran back out they both went in as well. You aren't actually supposed to go swimming there, but we rationalized that it wasn't really swimming if you just run in. And anyway, how many people can say they've been under a waterfall coming down Uluru? Ridiculous. Hannah and I couldn't stop smiling all day. Luckily we could get dry clothes- it would have been a very uncomfortable 4 hr bus trip to King's Canyon otherwise. It stopped raining by the time we got to the campsite. A bunch of us scrambled up a hill like goats to watch the sunset. Leanne and Fabi taught some of us to line dance- apparently country music is huge in Canada. Who knew? We all made fools out of ourselves, but had a good time. Jane made damper bread for us- an Australian outback tradition. It's baked in big cast iron pot on the embers of the campfire. It was dense and delicious and we ate it covered in butter. We had another night in swags. A bunch of stuff was wet from the rain (unfortunately including the last sleeping bag which I had to use). Steve helped me heat it over the fire, and I had my sleep sack. I woke up in the middle of the night to hear dingos howling which was both spooky and amazing!

The Red Center Day 1

Saturday, May 23rd

First morning of our Red Center Tour! After 2 hours of sleep it was a fun first few hours on the bus. Our Canadian friends Fabi and Leanne and Regula from Switzerland from our first tour were on the same bus as us, and about half the rest were on a different bus doing the same tour so we saw them at all the stops along the way. We had 2 guides again, Steve and Jane, who told us Jane was just along to drive but it turns out Steve is still training but they wanted everyone to think it was really his tour and give him feedback accordingly. He did a good job, and mostly fooled us all!

On our way out to Yulara where we spent our first night we stopped at a camel farm and a couple of the girls went on a little ride around the paddock. Apparently there are only one-humped camels (dromedaries) in Australia. They brought them over from Asia and the Middle East to help build railroads across the desert. When the work was done the handlers were told to shoot all the camels, but instead they set them free. The camels adapted to life in the outback pretty quickly and now there are close to a million that roam free. We also drove through Curtain Springs where we saw Mount Conner or "Fooluru" because a lot of people think it is Uluru the first time they see it. It isn't a rock at all, but a mesa or tabletop mountain, and impressive in its own right.











We set up camp at the Yulara "resort" (a very loosely used term) and got our passes to the National Park sorted out. We went over to Kata Tjuta which means 'many heads'. These are 36 domes about 50km west of Uluru. I hadn't known anything about them until we got out there, and they turned out to be spectacular. The domes are a conglomerate of sandstone and other small rocks that were pushed into the area millions of years ago, and they look like they are made of a rough red concrete. The area is still sacred under Anangu law and there are only a few tracks that you can walk through it on. We did the Valley of the Winds Walk (not the same as the Valley of the Waters Walk in the Blue Mountains!) which was a bit steep and rough but and very windy! We made it to the second lookout in between two massive boulders and looked into a valley dotted with boulders. People were losing their hats and everyone's hair was blowing all over the place, but it was nice to escape the heat and especially the flies (which were EVERYWHERE. Gross.)

We went over to a lookout area to watch the sun set on Uluru. Unfortunately it was a bit overcast so we didn't see the spectacular colors as advertised, but it was still pretty cool. After dinner and a campfire (with the obligatory didgeridoo being passed around) we set up our swags- Australian bedrolls with a pad at the bottom and a canvas part that zips over your sleeping bag. We were told to stick our shoes under our swags, as the dingos sometimes like to steal them in the night! We were a little more concerned about the dingos eating our faces, but everyone woke up intact.

Darwin to Alice Springs Day 3

Friday, May 22nd

Our final day on the road. In the morning we went over to the Barkly Community Center where a group of Aboriginal guys play rock music and had invited us to come listen. It was cool to see a different, more modern side of the culture.


Our major stop was at the Devil's Marbles, a large group of boulders in the middle of the desert that was formed underground millions of years ago and now, due to water and wind erosion, has left large round granite boulders perched on top of one another. We tool the obligatory tourist photos and got to climb around on them.

We went through Wycliffe Well after lunch. The entire town consists of a couple of houses, a few campgrounds, and one creepy service station (servo). It's claim to fame is being the UFO capital of Australia, and they get over 300 sightings there a year. The servo was full of newspaper and magazine articles on sightings and abductions, photos of flying saucers...and a whole glassed off room of knick-knacks from around the world and a stuffed gorilla sitting on a canopy bed. If we didn't think the people there were freaks because of all the alien stuff, that whole other bit really put them over the edge. I wouldn't want to find myself in Wycliffe Well at night time. I think I'd be more scared of the town folk than anyone from another galaxy, though maybe they prove there really is something to all the abduction stories...

After a few other quick stops in nondescript towns we got into Alice Springs! Everyone from the tour went to Annie's for dinner, which upon reflection seems to be about all there is to do in Alice. We had a lot more time to chat with one another, and I learned a lot more about Morocco, among other things! A few of us carried on the night at Bojangles, the local tavern, and going to bed at 3:30 is a really good idea when you have to get up for your next tour at 5am!

Darwin to Alice Springs Day 2

Thursday, May 21st Hiked to a lookout over Katherine Gorge- unfortunately we couldn't go swimming or canoeing because the rangers hadn't gotten all the crocodiles out of the water! We did get to go swimming in Bitter Springs in Mataranka at lunch. Because of the geothermal activity underground, the water is warm but also smells like sulphur (rotten eggs). It was amazingly clear and there was tons of tropical vegetation in and surrounding it- including chunks of floating algae and enormous spider webs. The rocks and logs at the bottom of the spring were also covered in slimy algae. About 6 of us floated down together- there is also a current, so it is hard to swim in the opposite direction. It was an interesting game of trying not to bump into everyone else, to not touch anything on the bottom, to dodge the floating algae, and especially to keep your face well away from the spider webs. Definitely an interesting experience, but I'm not in a hurry to try it again.

Further down the road we stopped in Daly Waters which supposedly has the oldest pub in the outback. We met our "guide" for the town, 9 year old Baily who showed us around an abandoned house, an old jail cell, a tree with a bower bird nest under it, and the "community center" which is essentially a covered concrete block, and took us to the pub. And that was essentially about it! We had a drink in the pub which was good fun. People that come through can staple anything to the walls, so the place is covered in money from all over the world, photos and old IDs, hats, socks, and bras. Our tour guide Michelle had us all sign her bra and stapled it to one of the rafters. Our last stop of the day was at a road house that had an quite the reptile collection. We got to hold an impressive boa constrictor who was pretty friendly.

We finally got into our camp at Tennant Creek 12:30 am! The stars were incredible- you can see the Milky Way really clearly, I learned what the Southern Cross looks like (now I'll be able to navigate my way out of Arnhem Land!). It was FREEZING at night- I woke up with a numb face. We were were in tent cabins again, but this was on a horse farm. I was up at 6:30 and got to pet some of the horses and see a flock of Gullahs!

Darwin to Alice Springs Day 1

Wednesday, May 20th

Road trip! Hannah and I decided to go with a tour for the 1,500 km from Darwin to Alice Springs. We booked on with Adventure Tours Australia which turned out to be a great idea. We got picked up at 5:30am (well, we were waiting outside at 5:30 but didn't get picked up til after 6 because of a flat tire, but met some nice people while we were sitting on the curb). 22 of us backpackers and all our stuff into a small bus with a trailer. The people on our trip were from all over the world- The US, UK, Canada, Belgium, Morocco, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland, Tasmania, Korea, and we had crazy Ozzy guides Scotty and Michelle.

We covered pretty much all the major points of interest along the Stuart Highway. We got breakfast in a small town who's claim to fame is being the home of Charlie, one of the start from Crocodile Dundee. After Charlie died they had him stuffed and put him in the pub! Lunch was at Edith Falls where we went swimming in a waterfall pool and went for a hike with lookouts of the area. Jeremiah from our group went on walkabout and we spent a few hours waiting for him. Next we went to a "culture camp" where and Aboriginal artist Manuel and his wife Jessica taught us how to do the traditional rock painting with the very precise lines. They typically only use 4 colors- red ochre, yellow ochre, white clay, and black charcoal because those are what they can find in nature, though many of them like Manuel use man made colors now. We got to try our hand at painting, and it is so much harder than it looks- and it definitely doesn't look easy! We also got to throw a boomerang, play a didgeridoo, and pet an emu (I called him Marley and he scared the pants off me. I didn't dare touch him for fear of getting beaked). We spent the night close by in Katherine at permanent tent cabins and got our first tasted of a cold Australian night!

Crocodile Tears...and Wee

Even though we didn't get to see a crocodile out in the wild (probably for the best) we went to see a bunch of them in captivity in Crocodylus Park here in Darwin. It is a farm so they raise them for their skin and meat, and they take "problem" crocs from the wild for their breeding program. They also have a zoo area with native animals including wallaroos, cassowaries, dingos, and agile wallabies. They had monkeys, lions, tigers and a fisher cat but that was kind of sad.

The crocs, however, were awesome! The males they had taken in were HUGE- over 4 meters, which is like 15 feet! They do a whole guided tour and feeding and get the crocs to jump out of the water. We saw some of the females and babies jump, and that was cool and all, but then we got to feed the big guys and I actually got to hold the pole with the chicken on it and make the big old crocodile jump out of the water. Ridiculous! And then we got to hold baby crocodiles- and it peed on me. Check that off of once in a lifetime experiences!

Tomorrow we are off for the tour to Alice Springs at 5:40 am :-/

Kakadu

Kakadu National Park! One of only 11 places in the world listed as a World Heritage Site for both it's cultural and natural aspects.

The trip started off a little shaky when we nearly missed our bus in the morning due to faulty alarms and then showed up in the town of Jabiru and realized there was... nothing. No people, no town (it was really only a little block of stores) and it was so bloody HOT. We checked into our "hostel" which turned out to be a Bush Bungalow- a hut with slatted floors and corrugated tin walls full of holes and covered in screen. The roof was tent material and the bathroom was in a seperate building. We came to really like it, but at first it seemed a bit, well, rustic. We really were in the middle of nowhere.

Being the intelligent young women that we are, we booked ourselves onto two full day tours that picked us up and dropped us off at our little hut, and they turned out to be excellent!

Saturday we went on an Aboriginal cultural and arts tour to Arnhem Land which is within the park but fully under the control of it's original owners. Our guide was an extended member of the tribal leader's family and so could take us to a lot of sites that were not open to most visitors. We saw a number of billabongs full of wildlife (didn't see the crocodiles that inhabit them though) but lots of native birds including the 3 species of egret and the Jabiru or stork. We saw a bunch of rock paintings, some tens of thousands of years old, a sacred burial site complete with human bones, and a working art center and gallery.

We were taught some survival skills in case we were to get lost in the bush (like how to kill a file snake- bite it's head off, how to hunt for long neck turtles, getting water from paperbark trees, and what the Southern Cross is- do we have different constelations in the Northern hemisphere?) We also found out that the Arnhem Escarpment used to be the coast of Gondwana- the mega land mass before the continents broke apart. Crazy!


On Sunday we went on another 4wheel drive trip, but this time to Jim Jim Falls (named after the An Jim Jim plant, or Pandanus tree). It was a long bumpy ride down a 2 track road and then we hiked 900m down a "path" that was really just a scramble over huge limestone boulders. When we made it to the base of the falls we got to go swimming in the pool at the bottom, and actually got to swim right under the falls and get splashed by water coming down 250m! The water in the pool was about 60m deep according to our guide, and I tried not to think about the Rainbow Serpant rumored to be in it as I swam over it. There was another beautiful beach in the valley/gorge and Hannah and I went wading in it after lunch. The little fish were very curious and I had my toe nibbled so we high tailed it out of there. On the hike out we saw a file snake (but didn't bite it's head off) and learned about the Eucalyptus called the Darwin Woollybutt (hehehe).

This Winter Is Out Of Control

Darwin! We've gone from the mountains to the desert overnight. It has been a bit of a trek- a flight from Sydney to Brisbane and then another 4 hours on to Darwin with screaming babies sitting in front of us. We planned the trip so last minute most hostels were full, so we booked beds in the only one we could find vacancies in. When we got in at 2am, the place was a dump but we didn't have any other options. We woke up this morning and relocated to the YHA, got our travel sorted to Kakadu National Park (for tomorrow!) and spent the day wandering around town and being HOT. Thank goodness it is winter here, because it is still like 34 degrees C- which is about 93!!!! It is so hot when I finally took a (cold) shower I was sweating the second I turned the water off. Yuck!

We went to the Mindil beach market this evening which was apparently where the entire city of Darwin goes on a Thursday night. There were tons of food stalls, artists and all sorts of knick knacks. I ate a delicious bucket sized portion of laksa, sat on the beach, and watched the sun set into the Timor Sea. Because we are so close to the equator it looks like the sun sinks straight down into the horizon. We stood with our feet in the warm ocean for half an hour watching the sky change colors. AMAZING.

We set off for a 3 day trip to Kakadu tomorrow to check out crocs and birds and aboriginal rock drawings. Then we are back in Darwin for a few days before we join the bus tour that will take us the 1,500km (or about 21 hours) to Alice Springs, stopping at Katherine Gorge, the Devil's Marbles, and some natural hot springs. Then we have a few days on our own near Uluru and will be heading back to Sydney. It'll be quite the Outback adventure!

Also, I now have an Australian phone, so let me know if you want the number so you can randomly call me!

Spelunking Platypus

Every day this crazy country throws something totally unexpected and so much better than imagined at us! Yesterday we took a day trip to the Jenolan Caves- the worlds oldest walk in limestone caves (who knew?). They were pretty incredible and full of stalactites and stalagmites and all that fun stuff. The mud in the caves is over 300 million years old, and the "decoration" grows at a rate of about an inch every century- and some of these formations were like 10 feet tall! Definitely cool, and very random. Apparently the year after light bulbs were invented they had them installed in the caves and people came to check out electricity in action- prior to that the wealthy spelunked by candle light.

Possibly even better than the caves though was Blue Lake, where the water that flows through the caves and all the limestone comes out. It is an amazing shade of blue and turquoise because it flows slowly over the limestone and picks up particles that reflect the blue green light back, like glacial water. Even better than that was when we found out there were platypus living in the lake- and actually got to see them! We saw one floating in the water and then dive down a couple of times, and after the last cave tour ran (literally) back to the water to have another look. The platypus was floating around again! Even though it wasn't a great view, it was still super exciting to see one in the wild!

Today we went for another walk around Katoomba and went down about 1,000 steps by the Three Sisters and through the woods and ended up at Scenic World. Neither of us had any idea what to expect, but it really was like walking into another world- Disneyland gone green. It was a combination of thrilling but scenic rides (glass bottom gondola, old mining train), information on the ecology of the area, and creepy dioramas about the mining history of the town. Especially when you walk into the boardwalked weirdness out of a normal walk through the woods, it was pretty crazy. We took the old mining railway up the side of the mountain- when you get in on flat ground you are practically laying on your back in the seat, but it goes almost perpendicular to the ground as it goes up the side of the mountain and you are afraid you are going to topple over forwards and out of it. Apparently it is the worlds steepest funicular railway- lots of world record places in just a few days!

And in other exciting news, we decided to forget Melbourne and go to the OUTBACK instead! We are flying to Darwin tomorrow (!!!) and going to spend 2 weeks seeing crocodiles, kangaroos, desert, the Devil's Marbles, and Uluru. It will no doubt be amazing, and sooo Australian it really had to be done while we were all the way out here!

In Cars With Strangers...

Third day in the Blue Mountains! We thought we would go for a walk, have a quick look at the town, and move on in about 2 days, but boy were we wrong! The mountains are amazing- they look blue from a distance when the sun hits the mist of oil given off the eucalyptus leaves (fyi). We are staying in the town of Katoomba which is full of used book shops and quaint cafes serving coffee and cake and hippie families with home knit sweaters. It is pretty funky and very excellent.

Yesterday we went on a 6 hour bush walk at Wentworth Falls and through the Valley of the Waters and Darwin's Walk (Charles Darwin was actually HERE and did that very walk in 1836- the ecologist and conservation biologist thought that was very exciting). The National Pass that we were walking on is a natural ledge along the cliff face, so there were amazing views of Jamison Valley at every clearing, we saw TONS of waterfalls, walked up and down a ridiculous number of steps, and saw loads of wild (extremely loud) cockatoos. And all of this only 2 hours outside of Sydney!

Today was misty and rainy and Hannah and I decided we should actually try and figure out what to do with ourselves for the next 7 weeks! We looked at some maps, realized we had loads more time to do what we had planned on than was necessary, so modified our plans. Now we are thinking of flying down to Melbourne and taking the train all the way from Melbourne to Brisbane and hitting lots of parks and beaches on the way.

After our afternoon cake and coffee we went down to the visitor center and got a map for a local walk to Leura Cascades. The weather cleared for a bit and the falls were lovely (though nowhere near as impressive as the ones yesterday). Just as we were heading back it started to really rain, and the fog rolled in in earnest. We realized the map and directions we had were total crap, and it was starting to get dark. Luckily we left the path for a road near a nice restaurant and asked some people outside a) where we were and b) how could we get back to town? They were lovely and offered us a lift. Going against all advice we have ever gotten, we took them up on the offer and are still alive to tell the tale! It was a good thing they did give us a ride though, it was much further back to town than our rubbish map showed (why are these things not drawn to scale?!) and it left all of us with a more interesting evening (don't worry Mom, it won't become a regular occurrence).

Tomorrow we are going on a tour to Jenolan Caves- huge limestone caves with lots of stalactites and stalagmites and all that good stuff. We are thinking of staying an extra day to do a walk in the nearby town of Glenbrook down to an area where you can often see wild grey kangaroos! The guy at the info center said they might not be out in the middle of the day, but he was also wrong about just about everything else, so we might give it a go.

Pictures to come when internet isn't so expensive!

Oh Manly You're So Fine, You're So Fine You Blow My Mind

Manly Harbour. Hannah and I are both in love... and have decided to look for millionaire Australians (wealthy Bruce's as she calls them) to marry us and buy us beach front property.

We did the Manly Harbour walk- which is advertised as 9 kilometers, but that is clearly a lie as the sign posts along the way advertise different distances, and after you've walked on the next one says you have further to go than the last! All in all it took us about 5 hours with lots of stops for photos and lunch sitting on the rocks watching the sail boats. A little lizard was sunning himself on a rock near by, and we thought we heard a kookaburra in the bush behind us (at least we hope that's what it was, and not a demented man laughing his head off). We walked around little coves and big harbors and through bush and mountains and had some of the most spectacular views, and got to see some Aboriginal drawings in the sandstone. As Hannah said, it made us feel very happy (to put it mildly). Towards the end of the walk we found the perfect little beach and ran into the water, but had to move on as the sun sets around 5 here and goes down quickly and we really didn't want to be caught in the woods with the giant creepy crawlies.

We took the ferry back to Sydney at dusk and came up on the Opera House and Harbour Bridge just when all the lights were coming on and the moon was coming out- it was truly stunning. Another perfect day in paradise!

Tomorrow we check out of our swank hotel and head off for the Blue Mountains for 3 days! We have booked beds in the YHA- it will be Hannah's first hostel experience, but you really can't do a budget trip without sticking to a budget. Hopefully it won't be as terrible/frightening as she expects!

Harbor Bridge, Opera House, and Flying Foxes

We saw SO MUCH today! We started the morning by taking the bus down to Circular Quay where there were a couple people playing a weird mix of electronic beats and didgeriedoo. Saw the harbour bridge and the Opera House! It is so much more impressive in person than it even is in pictures- it is massive and looks totally different from various angles. We walked around Benelong Point and got views of it from across the water and wandered through the botanical gardens where we saw many lovely plants, but those aren't really very exciting, but we did see tons and tons of BATS!!! There is a huge resident colony of flying foxes, and they were surprisingly very active during the afternoon and flying about. It was definitely one of the more exciting animal encounters I've had lately! There are also lots of very noisy wild cocatoos in the Gardens, and a few that were happy to pose for pictures.

We walked through The Rocks (one of the oldest parts of town) and across the bridge to Kirribilli and sat out looking across at the sights. The weather was gorgeous and we were just enjoying being outside. We walked back across the bridge, through downtown, and onto Darling Harbour where we had dinner and got to look at all the twinkling city lights while we ate and sat by the water. Sydney really is one of the most lovely cities, and it is centered around so many beautiful natural and man made sights.

People seem to be a bit confused about an American and an English girl traveling together. One guy asked us if we had just met, and another said "that's like a weird fruit salad...with, uh, two kinds of fruit". He was cute so we let it slide.

After a bit of grocery shopping, some planning for the next 7 weeks, and walking 12 billion steps, we are both pretty exhausted... and are getting ready to do it all again tomorrow!

Can't Believe I'm Actually Here!

First day in Australia! The flights were uneventful but looong. I left home at 2:20 in the afternoon on Sunday (CA time) and arrived Sydney 7:30am on Tuesday (Aus time). I met up with Hannah at the hostel she had been staying in and we made our way to Coogee (rhymes with oogey, and funnily enough is the Aboriginal word for rotting seaweed) where we are staying in a hotel for our first 3 nights. The area is on a gorgeous beach and we had a relaxing day and walked along the ocean side cliffs past Bronte, Tamarama, and Bondi Beaches. They have these great pools built into the sides of the rocks in the ocean, so you can swim your laps in the sea without getting knocked around by the waves. If the sun is out tomorrow I plan on jumping in one! We saw some wild parrots, but other than that no exciting wildlife (though plenty of pigeons and sea gulls, which seem to like dive-bombing Hannah's head). There are tons of joggers everywhere, which isn't a craze either of us will be joining any time soon. Tomorrow we are going into Sydney proper to see all the major sites and be super touristy!