Pics

Here are a few pics of my trip that I didn't get a chance to post while on the road. I just skimmed through and picked a few, total pics for the entire trip = 1140.

Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays

Starfish near Cairns

Hiking through the Olga's
















An Aussie Meat Pie (the works) sorry I can't figure out how to rotate it on the blog




















Some of the 12 Apostles

Loch Ard Gorge along the Great Ocean Road

Koala next to the side of the Great Ocean Road

My first Footy Game

First Kangaroo encounter in Perth

Australia`s most famous Beach: Bondi

Sydney from the Harbour Bridge

Surfing

Home At Last!!!

I made it home today after a loooong day of sitting on planes. I caught the train to the Sydney airport and was not very optimistic I would get on but figured that I should really try. There were 9 other standby people waiting for their names to be called and 8 of them got seats about 45 mins before the flight and I had a feeling that was it and started to get ready to head back into town. The lady at the counter told me to wait around a few more minutes since there were 2 more passengers booked on the flight who hadn't checked in and if they didn't show up I would have a seat. With only 25 minutest left to the flights departure I was handed a seat in the very back of the plane and am still in awe that it all worked out. I made the typical mad dash to the gate and settled in to my seat for a 14 hour flight that was full of movies and an attempted sleep. I got in to Vancouver 3 hours before my flight left Sydney (see if you can figure that one out!!) only to find out they had lost one of my bags and had to go through the baggage help centre to track it down. When all the paperwork was done I made my way to the Toronto flight and got the 2nd last seat on the flight, it actually turned out to be a very successful flying day for me. Im now at home and am running on only about 3 hours sleep in the past 24 hours so I'm slowly fading. Thanks for following my blog for the past few weeks, I hope you had a taste of what I've been through and maybe are considering doing Australia yourself. I'll post a bunch of pics tomorrow now that I have the time and tools to do it properly, they say a picture's worth a 1000 words so you can see for yourself tomorrow.

Surfing

I have discovered my new favourite hobby-regardless of how often I'll get to it-surfing is absolutely awesome. I got up early and went to the pick-up point for the Surf's Up surf school and met Doug who was also waiting to be picked up and after a bit of a wait our instructor Dean pulled up in beat up Truck. Turns out the winter season is not a popular time for people learning to surf and it was just Doug and I giving it a go today. We drove to one beach and had to check the surf since every day is different based on the current, temp and winds it can bring in an array of surfing waves. The beach was a bit too sheltered for the wind today so we moved on to another one just up the road and it turned out to be perfect. The waves were about a metre high and were just right for us since neither of us had surfed beforehand and after a few minutes of dryland training we hit the water. I was surprised as on my 3rd go I got to a standing position on the board (only for a second or 2 mind you) and was instantly hooked. We spent a couple of hours in the morning getting as many waves as we could and then had a bbq on the beach only to get back out for another couple hours on the surf. There's something exhilarating about catching a good wave and getting up, a sense of accomplishment, like you've conquered something that the ocean's just thrown at you. I loved every minute of it but by the end of the day my legs were exhausted. The steadiness of controlling your board and standing up quickly was surprising hard and by the end of our 2nd session I was definitely ready to head back into town. I can't wait till the next time I'll get to go surfing, and don't know where it'll be but am already looking forward to it. For anyone who hasn't tried it, definitely do it if you have the chance but get lessons since I had no clue what to do and having an instructor nearby to give feedback makes a huuuuge difference.
Tonight I have the unfortunate task of packing up my things in hopes of getting back to Canada tomorrow. For anyone who doesn't understand how my Air Canada passes work, I fly standby so only get a seat if there's room available on the plane and am given a seat based on my seniority on the standby list-in tomorrow's case it's quite low. The numbers are not looking good so there's a chance I'll be back in Sydney for another night (or 2 or 3.....) but tomorrow I'm heading to the airport with an optimistic attitude. Please pray!!
I've had a blast here in Australia and am so glad I did the trip even though I was a little overwhelmed at the beginning. If I get the chance again in the future I'll definitely be back with a better perspective on what to do and what not to.

Sydney

It's been a few days since my last post, sorry for not keeping up. On Monday I spent my last morning in Perth before heading to the airport for my flight to Sydney. I used the public transportation and it took me quite a bit longer than I had planned and cut it real close to not making my scheduled flight time. Fortunately it was delayed a half hour so I was saved from having to solve a serious problem. I got into Sydney quite late, around 9:30 and took the train into the city where I found that the east coast is significantly more humid than the west coast. In Perth it was hot in the sun but as soon as you hit the shade you cooled right down whereas in Sydney if it was hot, it was hot, regardless of where you standing. Every time I go to get a clean shirt from my bag it feels damp from the humidity, but I can't complain since I'm loving it here.
Yesterday when I got up the forecast said it was going to be the warmest day of the week so I decided it was a great day to check out Sydney's most popular beach: Bondi. Took the train to the station closest to the beach and was told by a lady in a nearby hostel that the beach was just 20 mins up "that" road as she pointed up the neighbouring street. So I walked, and I walked, and I walked, and walked until 45 mins later I figured maybe a accidentally took a turn somewhere and stopped in at a convenience store for directions. It turns out the first lady I asked had sent me in the complet opposite direction..... I'm sure you can imagine how upset I was and ended up taking a bus since I was not in the most patient mood to now walk another hour or so to get to the ocean. When I finally did get to Bondi Beach (pronouned bon-die as I was frequently corrected) it was a bit smaller than I expected but one of the nicest beaches I've been to. It was pretty busy for their winter season and I found a spot to read for a couple hours and doze off thankfully with plenty of sunscreen on. I was able to catch another sunset but noticed that there was alot of smog or smoke nearby and it smelled a bit smokey, but didn't really think too much of it. Later back in my room when I was watching the news I found out it was in fact smoke from controlled burning of forests on the outskirts of the city which they do frequently here along with Perth. I had another Australian meat pie again last night but this time from Harrys Cafe de wheels, apparently a landmark in the city. It looks like a chip truck and they serve all sorts of meat pies and I got the tiger pie, which is not made of tiger like I'm sure your thinking but is a steak pie with mashed potatoes, peas and gravy slathered ontop. Soooooo good and as was checking out some old pictures on the side of the the truck I noticed that there were quite a few pictures of celebrities eating pies from Harry's. Most were older actors/actresses but I thought it was hilarious that there were about 3 or 4 pictures of Pamella Anderson eating a pie, an advertising scheme I guess???
Today I basically toured around the city and saw the infamous Sydney Opera House which really is so differenty from any other building I've seen. I walked over Sydney's Harbour Bridge only to find there really isn't much on the other side of the harbour other than houses and apartments. Next I checked out the Rocks which is the neighbourhood still standing from when the Europeans settled in Australia and is now a huge shopping district. I went into a souveneir store and was amazed at how pushy the store owner was, coming up to me every time I picked something up to show me what it was and how it worked (in the case of the boomerang I humoured him and listened to his description of throwing it and having it return). Making my way through downtown I made it to the Sydney Tower (basically their version of the CN Tower but not as tall) and got there just in time to catch a few minutes of sun and get a 360 view of the city at 250 metres up. When I got back to the bottom little did I realize that an OzTrek Movie showing was included in the price which turned out to be a cheesy movie about Sydney's history while sittin in moving seats-which I have to admit was kinda fun. I walked around the downtown core a bit more and saw what i could in dark of night before getting back to my hotel.
Tomorrow I'm getting picked up early and heading to a beach somewhere outside the city for a full day of surfing lessons. I'm super psyched and am hoping that 1 day is enough time for me to figure out how to get up properly.

Western Australia

This morning Janice and I headed down to Freemantle to spend the morning in the neighbouring city that is right on the ocean. It is very much a tourist town and is full of small cafe's, restaurants and we were lucky to be there on the weekend to hunt through the weekly market that has anything you could ever need. I continued my souveneir shopping and got a cool instrument that is local to the Aboriginals (can't give too much more info since someone is going to be recieving it soon).

Next we headed up the coast and stopped at a beach for lunch where it got quite windy and in turn lots of kitesurfers took to the ocean for a great show. We were watching a couple guys on the beach who were trying backflips, it was hilarious since a few times they landed facefirst and got a mouthful of sand. Not too sure why they chose to try flips on the beach where everyone could see them make fools of themselves?!?!?

From there we drove to AQWA (Aquarium of Western Australia) and got to see local marine life in a really cool environment. The highlight of the aquarium was a massive tank full of sharks, manta rays, sea turtles and other fish where a semi circular pane of glass looped in a circle and you literally walked underneath the water. Partway through, a group of people went scuba diving in the tank and were able to get close enough to pet the sharks, a mother's day treat that I'm sure not many mothers would look forward to.

After lunch we drove up to Yanchep National Park where we walked through a Koala enclosure to find most of them sleeping and one shy one hiding on the other side of a bush. From there we drove to a golf course in the park where I got to see Australia's claim to fame: Kangaroos. They really are a neat animal and we got within feet of them before they would bound off to find new grass to eat. Quite a few of them had babies in their pouches but it was too cold in the evening for them to pop their heads out. It was definitely a highlight of my trip so far and was amazed of how quick they were, easily able to outrun me.

Tonight we got some vintage fish n chips and the got an order of shark instead of the usual fish which was soooo good. I've had such a great stay with Janice and am sad to leave but will be returning to Sydney tomorrow for my last stint in Australia. I'm heading back home at the end of the week and will have a few days to tour around Australias most popular city and am hoping to get signed up for surfing lessons.

Around Perth

Today I was glad to be back in some warm weather, it seems like the south coast has much colder weather this time of year in comparison to the rest of the country. I was able to bust out the shorts and flip flops again which I wasn't able to do in Melbourne.

I started the day off by going for a run through King's Park which is the biggest one I've been to yet and it has a great view of the city with a path that runs along the edge of a steep slope. The skyline is amazing and is set next to Swan River which winds out to the ocean. After a quick breakfast Janice and I drove out to a couple of beaches in the area and went for a short walk. Cottesloe was the first one and apparently the most visited by people and at one end of the beach some people were giving surfing a try. It was interesting to see how sparse the beaches were with people since they are technically getting into their winter season and it's cold for the locals. From there we headed to the Subiaco Oval arena where the local West Coast Eagles played in an Aussie Football game against Hawthorne. It was such a different sport to watch especially with an oval shaped field and the number of players on the field. The Eagles ended up winning and it was definitely one of the favourite parts of my trip so far, a stadium full of 40 000 cheering fans is so fun to be a part of.

After the game we headed to King's Park where a couple of weddings were taking place and it really is the perfect setting. From there we toured through the local Perth University and are now back at Janice's place for dinner again. It is great getting toured around from someone living here since they know the ins and outs of what do/what not to do.

Tomorrow we're heading up the coast to some other beaches and apparently I'm going to be seeing some Kangaroos which I'm looking forward to. I figure I can't leave Australia without seeing some roo's.

Great Ocean Road

It has been a busy but amazing few days recently, I apologize for not posting in a while.

While in Melbourne at the hostel I met a few neat people, one of them being Brechd, a Belgium guy my age who was awaiting confirmation for his internship. I told him about me driving the Great Ocean Road later in the week and invited him along, and after a few emails and phone calls he said he could join. We took the shuttle bus out to the airport and I got the keys to my Hyundai Getz, a tiny car that had great mileage but no pickup when I put the pedal to the floor. We took off westward and after a few wrong turns made it onto the tourist route of the Great Ocean Road. It turned out to be great since it was quite a long drive to Port Campbell where we stayed Wednesday night. The drive was absolutely amazing on Wednesday as we were right along the edge of the coast and at times literally on the edge of a 100 foot drop to the ocean below. At one point there was a 20 minute stop where construction crews were working ahead and a worker came around to each car letting us know they were moving "rocks off the road that had fallen from the cliffs above"...... We drove by these rocks that to me looked more like boulders, some a few feet in diameter. We got to Port Campbell just as it was getting dark and walked around the town which turned out to be a few small motels, restaurants and gas station. Very much a tourist town.

Yesterday we drove to a site nearby; the Loch Ard Gorge, a small inlet where the ship Loch Ard crashed back in the late 1800's and only 2 people survived. I'm not quite sure why it was named what it was since a whole slew of other shipwrecks occured in the same region, but nonetheless it was a neat inlet that gave way to a great beach that was accessible from a set of stairs at the top of the steep cliff. A short hike in the area brought us to a blowhole that was created from the ocean eroding an underground tavern that led to a spot inland that caved in and was basically a plunging hole in the ground. A couple other beaches along the way were quite neat but definitely not swimmable based on the size of the waves and the rocky shore.

Our next stop was at the 12 apostles lookout, a point in the coast where you can see freestanding rock structures that have formed from the erosion of the sea waters. Some have toppled over from the ongoing wear and tear but a few are left standing and make for a picturesque scene with cliffs and and endless ocean in the background.

In the afternoon we drove to Cape Otway Park where the oldest lighthouse in Australia is located and toured around the area which included the telegraph station turned schoolhouse and WWII lookout bunker. The drive in to the Lighthouse was neat since we stopped to see what other cars at the side of the road were looking at and found Koala's nestled in the Eucalyptus tree's beside the road eating their leaves or just sleeping in the branches. They're such a funny animal because they have a soft, goofy look to them and were very photogenic when we all started snapping pictures. As we drove back to Port Campbell we raced against the clock and made it back just in time to see the sunset over horizon and another clear evening.

This morning we got on the road quite early to get the car back in time to the airport but the guy working at our hostel overestimated our travel time by about an hour so I had a long waiting time at the Melbourne airport before my flight to Perth. After a 4 hour flight I arrived in Perth and was welcomed by a friend of a friend, Janice who has been nothing short of an amazing host giving me an evening tour of the city and cooking me (something I have truly missed) a homecooked meal. She lives in the suburbs right next to Perth and are going to tour around the ciy and the coastal beaches for the next couple days and see the Aussie Football game I have long awaited tomorrow afternoon. It is great here in Perth since I am back in warm weather where Melbourne and the Great Ocean road was very cold both day and night.