Underwater Pics and Australia Zoo
Hey mates, how ya goin'? Noosa has been treating me very well since I've arrived, and I'm still loving it here - the surf is good pretty much every day :) First off, I've got one more picture from Fraser Island that I didn't include in the last set cause my camera fritzed - I got this one from Vanessa.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43938/Ship.jpg Speaking of Vanessa, she's gone down to Byron Bay, but we'll meet up again in Sydney before I fly to New Zealand. Before she left she outlined her budget to me - she was planning on spending only 35 dollars a day for the next few weeks. That's about enough money for accommodation and food, if you budget well. I asked her why, and she told me "Well, then I have 500 dollars to go shopping with!". I will never understand the female mind. Before she left, though, we got our underwater camera developed, and I was absolutely ecstatic when I saw how the pictures turned out. Just look for yourselves. I'll start off with the manta ray I swam with in the Whitsunday islands - it looks almost fake it's so bright.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43937/F1000001.JPG Next we've got a picture of me petting the massive fish I told you about, on the great barrier reef. This thing was 2 meters long or so, and you get a good perspective from the size of my hand on it's back...
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43937/F1000017.JPG Next, we've got the turtle we swam with
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43937/F1000010.JPG And here's possibly my favorite picture I've taken in all of Australia. This one is definitely going on my desktop when I get home
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43937/F1000004.JPG The person you can see swimming in the picture is one of the girls on our Whitsundays boat. I think her name's Lucy, but alcohol has weakened my mind and I'm not entirely sure :) here's a picture of some random fish and reef structures
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43938/F1000021.JPG And finally here's a picture of little me swimming with the scuba divers, with my tiny snorkel and mask. I had so much fun down there!
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43938/F1000027.JPG While Vanessa was here we made it out to the Australia Zoo, which happens to be the zoo that Steve Irwin built with his parents (having viewed numerous informative yet boring videos on Steve Irwin, I now know more about him than I ever wished I would). The place was pretty awesome, although I was disappointed that I didn't see anyone get maimed or dismembered by a crocodile. I mean really, that's what we all hope for whenever we see Steve Irwin on TV, isn't it? We got to see the croc feeding, as well as lots of other cute but very fast animals that I couldn't get good pictures of :) I did manage to get a couple pictures of one of the slowest animals ever... Here's a picture of Harriet, the 174 year old turtle, when we got to the zoo at about 11 in the morning.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43938/P4280003.JPG Here's a picture of Harriet the 174 year old turtle when we left the zoo at 3 pm.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43939/P4280005.JPG That's what I call relaxed locomotion. I guess when you're 174 you can do whatever the hell you want, as slowly as you please. Here's a slightly younger turtle who was closer to the fence - take a look at his wrinkly little head - does he remind you of any famous movie stars?...
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43939/P4280007.JPG If you haven't gotten it yet, try thinking Steven Spielberg films. Still not seeing it? This turtle was the model for ET! Now you see it, I know I know... Here's a picture of the croc feeding - you all knew this was inevitable
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43939/P4280022.JPG And lastly here's a cute picture I took of some random birds. I think they're Cookaburras?...
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43939/P4280036.JPG I've settled into Noosa quite nicely now, and I'm saving a ton of money by working here and surfing for free. Life is good. I've met a ton of the locals here and I've actually been busking a couple of times with a guy named Rich - he's got a small djembe and he plays a lot of songs I know, so I just harmonize and play the wee drum. I let him keep all the cash we get, I just do it cause it's great fun! I've been eating way too many desserts at work... I think Sue is trying to make me fat. Sue is the cook in the kitchen at the hostel I work at, and she takes great pride and gratification from feeding all of the staff until their stomachs are about to burst. Who can say no to fresh baked home made strawberry cheesecake? Ah crap, I'm getting hungry again... Sue's basically a surrogate mom for most of the backpackers that come through the hostel - she reminds me of home, without actually reminding me of anyone I know. Strange but true! I'd love to tell you more but... Well, there's nothing more to tell :) My trip is going amazingly fast now - I cannot believe I've already been gone for almost 4 months - It seems ridiculous. Hell, I've been in Australia for a whole month! Anyone who's done this sort of traveling surely knows how I feel - even the days are going quickly now. And, on that note, I've got to get to the beach before the sun goes down - there's surfing to be done :) Spiker
Noosa.... Still!
Hey people! Well I'm still in Noosa, having the time of my life, surfing my arse off and working occasionally. My job is awesome - it basically consists of making people happy and doing dishes once a day, five days a week. It's like 18 to 20 hours a week, for free food and free accommodation, free laundry, free net, etc... Plus I get to live in my own little pad! AND THERE'S A PLAYSTATION! Home sweet home. I haven't played video games in god knows how long, and I'm probably going to get addicted to FIFA 2002 while I'm here :) I surf pretty much every day, I'm trying not to drink pretty much every night, and things are great. Having said that... Nothing new and/or exciting has happened in the last week. The job is solid, the people here are solid, the surfing is great and I'll be here for a couple more weeks, at least - I may actually have some money when I get home! Spiker
Fraser Island Madness
Hey kids! I'm in Noosa right now, I got here yesterday after some Fraser Island recuperation. Holy crap I was tired after that trip - And it was amazing! I have many pictures for you people, but I do have a bit of bad news about my camera - the memory card malfunctioned halfway through my Fraser trip, and I've had to delete the photos on it to get it running again. It was probably just a wee virus, lots of the internet cafes here have them. Thankfully, Vanessa has pretty much all the photos that I've lost on her camera as well! I still have some eye candy for you today though, Fraser Island was gorgeous - something I've come to expect here in Australia. We stayed at Beaches hostel on Saturday, and left for the island on Sunday, with 8 other people, in car "C". Basically, my trip to Fraser was a self drive experience. What this means is - Pile 10 people into a 4x4, go buy a lot of food, go buy even more booze - a REDICULOUS amount of booze - go to Fraser Island, set up camp, and finally eat and drink yourself into a coma. Our group was an excellent mix of people, including a few Brits, some Swedes and a Norwegian, us two Canadians and the craziest Irish man I've ever met. Fantastic. We saw so many amazing things on Fraser Island, and all three of our days there were absolutely packed with activities and destinations. As always, the pictures say volumes more than I ever could, so let's get to it! This is Indian Head- I got some pictures from up on top of there, but my memory card fritzed just after, so I've got no shots form up there until Vanessa gives me hers. From up there you could see turtles and stuff, as well as Tiger Sharks, two meters long, swimming in waist deep water... We did not swim in the ocean on Fraser Island :)
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43936/P4180003.JPG The views only get better from here. Next we went to the Champagne Pools, so called because the waves hit the rocks and foam up over them, it feels kinda like a salt water jacuzzi when they hit you.
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http://www.geocities.com/spiker43936/P4180012.JPG The next few pictures are of lake Mackenzie, which is in the middle of the island somewhere. I've never seen anything like this place... The white sand runs into a crystal clear freshwater lake, and then drops off suddenly, creating quite a nice color scheme. Hmm... I just said "color scheme"...
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43936/P4190044.JPG Here we decided it would be a great idea to hold hands and skip into the water, and get pictures of it. Now you see what two nights of heavy drinking does to brain cells. Stay in school kids.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43936/P4190052.JPG And here's possibly my favorite picture taken at lake Mackenzie, which shows just how rough a time I had on the island.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43936/P4190049.JPG Pretty hard work over there, I tell you what. There was also a lush rainforest on the island, and though I'm sure you're all tired of seeing pictures of trees, I think you might like this one anyway.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43936/P4190060.JPG Lastly, a picture of the most dangerous creature on the island. Deadlier than tiger sharks, more venomous than any snake, this creature strikes fear into the heart of anyone who sees it. Luckily this one was contained behind thick steel bars.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43936/P4190070.JPG How freakin cute is that? Of all the things we saw on the island though, I think the thing we saw the most was the bottom of empty beer cans as we finished them... I don't think I'll be drinking again for a little while, just to give my poor liver a rest. As a group, we finished 72 cans of beer and 8 liters of wine... ON THE FIRST NIGHT. We actually had to buy more for the second night... Ah, the hard life of a massive alcoholic :) I had such a great time over there, and made some good friends as well, it was a raging success. Having made our way here to Noosa, Vanessa and I are planning to spend a few days lounging around on the beach, and surfing our butts off! I really can't wait to get out there and surf, it's the only thing I've got left to do in Australia, and I'll be able to do it for next to nothing because I just got a job! Well, it's barely a job, all I do is work 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, and I get free lodging, free food, and a free SURF BOARD! Woohoo! I don't think it gets any better than this. I'll be here for the next three weeks or so, and I'm hoping to extend my stay in Australia until about the 22nd, so I can still see Byron Bay and Sydney on the way down. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be posting too much in the next little while, unless amazing things happen that you've simply got to hear about! After this, I've just got New Zealand left and then I come home to work in Kelowna. I am missing my family a bit more now, and I think that by the end of my trip, I will definitely be ready to come home :) Nevertheless, these next two months will go by very quickly I think... I can't believe I've already been gone for three and a half months... That honestly blows my mind. I've been so busy and overjoyed that the time has absolutely flown by. Then again, that's what they say - Time flies when you're having fun :) Spiker
The Whitsunday Islands and Chaka Shaka Washington
Ahoy landlubbers!... Okay, that was lame, but I
have been on a boat for the last few days - My sailing trip was a whale of a success!... Okay, I'll stop now. As most of you know, I was aboard a sailing ship in the Whitsundays for the last few days, and boy did I have a great time. We were aboard the Waltzing Mathilda, a beautiful sailboat about 30 feet long (that's just a guess), with 12 other adventurers and two crew. Here's a picture of everyone just as we got back to dry land, though I definitely can't remember everyone's names...
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43935/P4150068.JPG The darker girl was an American, and I mean she was AMERICAN - she complained a lot, about everything, and offered her opinion, on everything, and thought she was great (and didn't mind sharing this information), and always told you how her opinions weren't subjective, they were just... Right. I recall her talking about one of the crewmember's names, she said "What kinda name is
Tristram anyway... Is he like, named after Timtams or something?" It took all the power inside my entire body and soul to stop from pointing out that not only was her first name "Chaka", but her second name was also "Shaka", just spelled differently... How can someone with the name Chaka Shaka Washington declare that "Tristram" is an oddity?... Oh right, she was American :) I had quite a lot of fun with her throughout the trip - those who know me best know I have a tendency to push buttons... And she wore her buttons in bright colors on her shirt :) Aside from the fun I had with the American, we did a ton of other things that were both relaxing and exciting - an odd combination, but that's the best way I can describe it. We went snorkeling a few times, and Vanessa and I managed to find a sea turtle, some dolphins, and a manta ray! Amazing stuff down there under the waves. The manta ray felt like a rubber boot, and it looked so cool - I can't wait to develop the pictures we got on our underwater camera! Hopefully they turned out, you never know with this kinda stuff - we might just get streaks and bubbles. But if they do turn out, we'll have pictures of giant fish, turtles, rays... Australia kicks ass :) On our trip in the Whitsundays, we went to a Whitehaven beach, which was nothing short of stunning. Having been in Thailand, I was pretty sure I knew what a world class beach looked like - until I caught a glimpse of this one... The sand on Whitehaven beach is so fine that
it squeaks when you walk on it! It's made of almost 100% silica, but in reality it's just fish poop. Makes for one amazing sight though - take a look for yourselves. We got there early in the morning and so we were initially the only ones on this massive white sand beach. I'm actually making the first tracks on the beach that day, in the first picture here.
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This last picture is one of my favorites, though the fact that I got it is more luck than anything else - I awoke one morning to find that there was a big rainbow off the starboard of the ship, which was beautiful in it's own right, but then a ship sailed directly underneath it... Right through the middle. I found my camera quickly and took some shots, and they turned out great
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43935/P4150063.JPG I also got one where the ship is right on on end of the rainbow - I wondered aloud if they should rename the ship "Pot 'O Gold"... No one else laughed. A couple of the girls were feeling seasick that morning, though they didn't ever throw up - Chaka Shaka was the only one to ever lose her lunch on the boat. Speaking of lunch, the food on the boat was brilliant, and it was nice not to have to cook for a change - not that I mind cooking, it just gets tedious at times, especially having to use the kitchens in the hostels here, most of which are pretty crap - But, when I cook, Vanessa insists on doing dishes! It's a match made in heaven folks. Anyway, I'm off to Fraser Island tomorrow, yet another World Heritage Site, and I'm rather looking forward to it. Our group pooled it's money and we bought groceries together, and of course, liquor! It should be an enjoyable time, as long as I don't get eaten by Dingos... Once again, I won't be posting for a little while, but I should have some nice pictures when I get back! Cheers, Spiker
Crocodiles, Birthdays, and The Announcement
Hey people! Hope everyone's doin well over there, I know I am! Well... Alright, I'm kinda hungover from my birthday party last night, but what can you do? I'm 23 now, but my friends will tell you I'm not a day past 10 ;) As far as the post title goes, "The Announcement" will have to wait until the end of the post, so you don't just stop reading right here :) Now, on to my travels - I've got a lot to talk about. In the last few days I've been up to Cape Tribulation, been on a crocodile cruise, seen Port Douglas and most of Cairns, been out to the great barrier reef, and had a very awesome birthday party. Hmm, where to start... Cape Tribulation is a most wonderful place where the rainforest of northern Australia meets the ocean where the Great Barrier Reef lies - it's the only place in the world where two world heritage sites meet. On the way up there, though, we stopped at a few places, including Port Douglas, where I found this cute little church overlooking the ocean.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43930/P4070151.JPG We also found a very nice beach where we spent some time sitting on the sand. We never went swimming, however, because this part of Australia, at this time of year, is absolutely infested with box jellyfish. Apparently getting stung by one of these things is like putting a cigarette out on your arm. No thanks! We also found some very nice foliage - this one reminds me of a weeping willow, though I've got no clue what it actually is.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43930/P4070158.JPG After Port Douglas, we went out into the rainforest for a look at the interesting and frankly scary world that exists there. Spiders as big as your hand, snakes as long as a boat, and crazy lizards that look like dinosaurs, but still manage to blend completely into the plant they happen to be sitting on...
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43930/P4070180.JPG flora and fauna I've never seen before, or even imagined. Thankfully, once you accept that there are numerous things in the rainforest that can kill you, you sorta forget about it and just walk around wide-eyed, studying the gorgeous landscape in which you find yourself immersed. Take a look at these pictures and you'll understand what I'm trying to say :)
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http://www.geocities.com/spiker43931/P4070184.JPG Pretty amazing stuff. We did a crocodile cruise next, and we saw.... A crocodile!
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43931/P4070188.JPG Apparently, this croc was a pretty small one at 2.5 meters. The guide was saying the biggest croc he's ever seen was 8.5 meters long, weighed 3 tons, and was estimated to be 120 years old. Can you say dinosaur? If you hung it from a building, it would hang down like three stories! I'd like to see Steve Irwin take that thing on :) The Crocodile hunter would get great ratings for that episode, being his last. Next, we made our way up to Cape
Tribulation, where we stayed in a sweet hostel in the middle of the forest, close to the beach. We were pretty hard done by, as you can see by this picture :)
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43932/P4080232.JPG Cape Tribulation is actually named after English explorer Thomas Cook (I think it's Thomas), who was exploring just off the coast, and smoked the Barrier Reef with his ship. They went ashore for a bit, and he made camp in Cape Tribulation - so named because of the tribulations of this particular journey. You all know I love sunrises, so we couldn't miss the chance to get some pictures of a nice Cape Tribulation sunrise. The results were quite nice!
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43931/P4080207.JPG We had a free day in Cape Trib, which we used to spend even MORE of our money! We went kayaking on the ocean, out to the mangroves and creeks where the crocodiles live.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43932/P4080227.JPG I love kayaking, and though I did get a wee bit sunburned (Australia has no freaking ozone... Seriously), I still had a fantastic time. The guide was kinda worried that Vanessa would lag behind, cause... Well, cause she's a girl, but I think maybe in a former life she was an Olympic kayaker... Maybe even the person who actually invented kayaks. After kayaking, our guide split a coconut using a screwdriver, and we ate some of it, leaving the rest for the massive bush rats, that can get up to two feet long. Our time in Cape Trib was fantastic, well worth the money, though it was expensive... Speaking of spending excessive amounts of money, yesterday we went out and saw the Great Barrier Reef for the first time. It was simply amazing. Vanessa and I snorkeled our little hearts out, and saw some amazing things. Every kind of fish imaginable, every color, every shape, from tiny schools of fish as big as your the nail on your thumb, to sea turtles, to massive fish that troll the bottom of the reef looking for unfortunate food. I actually got to pet one of the fish - I'm not exactly sure how I ended up petting a fish, but there you have it - his name was Wally, or so I was told. He was about a meter long, and I think the only reason he let me touch him was because he was way too big for me to hurt, and he knew it. Most of the snorkelers just looked down at the huge fish, which was about 8 meters down. Luckily, I think I got a lot of my genes from Neanderthal man, including my large chest cavity, which lets me hold my breath for nearly a minute will I'm swimming around. I just swam down to where the scuba divers were and hung out with the big fish, swimming along beside it while it tried to ignore me. It felt amazingly soft, not what I was expecting at all. I tried to give it a hug, but it didn't like that very much... Still, I made a new friend :) We got lots of pictures from underwater, but they were with Vanessa's underwater camera, which uses regular film. I'll try and scan some pictures if possible, but don't hold your breath. The only picture I can offer you is this one, taken from inside the small semi submersible they had on the reef.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43932/P4090242.JPG This reef is only one of many types of reef that grow here. The entirety of the reef is massive. In fact, it's the only natural wonder that can be seen from space! I only saw a small part of it, but I'll get another chance to see some reef when we hit the Whit Sunday Islands. Oddly enough, the amazingly fine sand that makes up the beaches in the Whit Sundays comes from a most unlikely source - it's fish poop :) And now, getting to my birthday... What a strange, exciting night. It started out as all birthdays should - Having pints with some friends we'd made. These two English blokes were hilarious, it's too bad they're traveling North, since we're headed South. They're brothers, Lloyd and Byron.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43932/P4090251.JPG From there, it went places I definitely did not expect... You see... They have a coyote ugly type bar here in Cairns, named PJ's. Apparently they pick people from the crowd to come and dance on the bar, and whoever wins gets some kind of prize or something... All I know is, one minute I was drinking my beer, the next minute everyone around me was shouting "PICK THIS GUY, IT'S HIS BIRTHDAY!!", and soon after that I found myself... well, just look at the picture. WARNING - The image you are about to see is not only shocking, but it may cause temporary blindness.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43933/P4090264.JPG I know what you're all thinking - Proud day for me and my family! Luckily, I didn't make it past the first round. Even so, once I got down I was an instant celebrity, and everyone started buying me shots and drinks. From there, the night is a little hazy... What I can say for sure, though, is that I felt a lot better last night than I did this morning. Observe - Before:
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43933/P4100270.JPG After:
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43933/P4100272.JPG What a night. I had a ton of fun, and met a lot of excellent people, though I can't remember anyone's name... Finally, we went shopping today for sandals and books, and to my surprise I met up with a good friend I know from Canada, and from Thailand. I look somewhat like him, especially with my hair getting longer. I think most of you will know him too - He goes by Ronald.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43933/P4100274.JPG Ronald Macdonald that is. Didn't I tell you Macdonald's transcends the universe? Tomorrow we head off to Airlie beach, where we sail to the Whit Sunday islands. We've got an 11 hour bus trip ahead of us, which I'm not excited for, but the Whit Sundays are supposed to be absolutely gorgeous - the definition of the word paradise. Squeaky sand and tropical sun should make for a fantastic time - The only drawback was, as usual, that this trip is bloody expensive. Then again, you can't come to Australia and miss the Great Barrier Reef, the Whit Sundays, or Fraser Island, where we'll be going soon after our Airlie Beach sailing adventure. I will not be able to post for a few days, since I'll be on a boat in the middle of the ocean, though I'm sure it will take a while to read this post anyway - it's as long as a crocodile :) The only thing left now is the announcement! As you may know, last summer I worked in Kelowna at a camp called OAC, and I applied for a job there again this summer. I've just received word from the hiring staff, and I got the job! This means I'll be spending all summer in Kelowna, making lots of money for school and such, soaking up the sun in yet another waterfront location. My 24th year is shaping up to be a good one :) Spiker
Cairns
G'day mate! ... Shameless use of Aussie rhetoric, but it had to be done. So, I flew to Cairns yesterday, settled in here at my hostel, and we've planned out the next few days. I must say, Australia is bloody expensive... I would put it on the same page as England... Which is unbelievably expensive. If you've been there, or here, I'm sure you know what I mean. I'm definitely gonna have to do some work over here, that much has become very clear in the few days I've been here. In the next few days, I've planned a trip out to the great barrier reef, which happens to be the only biomass on the earth visible from space, and I've got a trip up to Cape Tribulation, which is where the Australian rainforest meets the Ocean. I didn't even know Australia had a freaking rainforest! Apparently, they do. And I'm going there, tomorrow. I don't have any interesting pictures to show you people, since I've just been arranging busses and crap all day, and I'm about to do some laundry and go swimming in my hostel's gorgeous pool. While, as I said, this country is very expensive, but I'm having a lot of fun so far. Australia is awesome, and I haven't even explored the most interesting places yet! I'll have tons of pictures for you guys when I come back from the reef, and hopefully I can find a computer that will let me upload them - this may be a problem in Australia, as many of their computer cafes don't allow this. Meh, I'm enterprising, I'll figure it out :) Look for a post sometime near... My birthday! I turn 23 on April 9th, and I think I'm having a pre-mid-life-crisis-crisis. 23 feels old. Don't start Omi, I know you're way older than me - I just
feel old :) Until then, good on ya, mates! Spiker
Brisbane, Australia
Hey kids! I write you now from Brisbane, Australia! I'm sure you guessed that after reading the title... Australia has been amazing so far - I know I've only been here a day or so, but I've been that impressed. Brisbane's resemblance to Vancouver city is uncanny. If I didn't know better, and if people didn't keep saying "G'day mate, oh yeeeeah, good on ya!", I might think I was back in Canada. This city is beautiful, clean (I can drink the freaking tap water, yay!), and full of very interesting people. Yesterday I was too tired to post anything - I didn't sleep a wink on the flight. There was this baby - it would not stop screaming. That's right, not crying, sobbing, or whimpering - screaming. This baby was the lead singer of slipknot. Seriously. I don't know exactly where the baby was sitting, but it's screams seemed to come from inside my head, after a while. I put my ipod on, full blast - and I could still hear the baby. It's poor parents, imagine how embarrassed they must have been... And it must have been red as a tomato, hahaha! Anyway... The plane did one good thing - it got me to Australia. Vanessa was there at the airport to pick me up! What a good friend, god knows I would have let her find the place herself - apparently Vanessa is much more a gentleman than I :) We got to the hostel, and wow is Australia expensive - especially after being in a place where you can live quite well on 20 dollars a day - our hostel alone is over 20 dollars each, per day. The food is expensive, the transit is expensive, alcohol is VERY expensive... It's a good thing this country is beautiful :) Plus, it brought me and a very close friend to a beautiful reunion...
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43928/P4010004.JPG Ah, Doritos. How I've missed you. Still no Kraft Dinner though, that reunion will have to occur back in Canada. To cut back on cost, and simply because I can, I'll be cooking for myself a lot here in Australia, doing my own laundry a lot, and churning my own butter. K well... Maybe I'll just buy butter. I'll make someone a fantastic housewife one of these years. Here's me, enjoying some cultural headwear
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43928/P4020012.JPG I look disgustingly good in that hat. Ew. After playing dressup, we went out to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, where we saw.... Some Koalas... as well as Kangaroos, Wallabees, and tons of other things I can't even remember. They were all really cool, take a look! And I would like to introduce my readers to Vanessa, the girl I'll be traveling with for the next few weeks, at least!
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43928/P4020033.JPG http://www.geocities.com/spiker43928/P4020051.JPG If that isn't the cutest picture you've ever seen, you need a head examination. Also, I made an interesting discovery at the sanctuary - I found an R.O.U.S! For those of you who don't know what an R.O.U.S is, be sure to see "The Princess Bride". This thing had massive teeth, and was about as big as a labrador dog.
http://www.geocities.com/spiker43929/P4020057.JPG Actually, it's a tasmanian devil. Still, it was huge. Makes me glad Alberta doesn't have rats :) Lastly, here are some pictures of Brisbane!
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http://www.geocities.com/spiker43929/P4020087.JPG Well, thanks for reading the latest installment. We leave for Cairns, by plane, on Tuesday. Oddly enough, flying there is the cheapest way, by about 100 dollars each. Pretty ridiculous that it's cheaper than the bus, which takes two days to get there... Or the train, which takes two days and costs twice as much. From there, we plan on making our way down the coast, surfing our arses off, and going out on adventures to the Great Barrier Reef, the Whit Sunday Islands, Fraser Island, and anywhere else we can get to. I'll have to put myself to work somewhere in there as well, since I don't want to cut my trip short, and Australia is madly expansive. Farewell for now, and look forward to a new post in the next few days people! Spiker
