Brisbane, the town of big lattes

Monday night was our last night with the surf crew and nothing could have made it any better than spending it at Cheeky Monkey's. Everyone who was still in town met up for a cheap dinner just before the place turns into a club. We all danced the night away, again... but Meagan and I made it a decently early night so we could get up in time for our bus to Brisbane in the morning.











Brisbane... there isn't much to say about it... which is why we named it the city of big lattes. Meagan and I arrived around 3pm on Anzac Day (a national holiday) and everything was closed. We checked into a hostel named Palace Backpackers which was pretty much only cool because it was in a building build in 1802. The elevator was one of those super old ones that has the sliding metal doors and the entire elevator is a cage. Yikes! Really creepy.




This is the Anzac Day Memorial in Brisbane ... conveniently we came across it by accident on Anzac Day!






We ate lunch in a Starbucks-esque shop, "The Coffee Club" which had such nice food that we ended up eating a total of 3 (out of 5 total) meals there plus got a take-away coffee!!

We visited the Museum of Art on Tuesday and tooled around the city on Wednesday. We tried to be cultural and visit the Newstead House which is a refurbished home from the Victorian era that housed the American Army during WWII (when we were helping Australia). When we finally got there via public transport it was 4:01pm and apparently the house closed at 4pm! grr...




Museum of Art






















So basically the two highlights were playing with a dog that belonged to two old people and then talking to them and seeing the monument dedicated to America for it's support in the war which was really awesome. Lastly, we took a walk through Queensland's Casino which ironically enough was in the old treasury building! It was definitely different to the casinos in Vegas since it each game was separated into tiny rooms like an old house.






Scenic view at sunset in Brisbane

Nimbin, Railway, and Beach Bar

Nimbin is a town about 3 hours away from Byron Bay and it's stuck in a time warp. Meg, Kyle, Martin, Richard, Fiona and I took a day trip out of Byron but the 10 other people in our group rented a car and drove. On the way there, we stopped at the Sunday Bungalo Markets and wandered around the little town... then we stopped to take a picture of the 3 rocks which have great importance in the Aboriginal myths... finally, we arrived in Nimbin which was literally two blocks stores straight out of the 1970s hippie era! Apparently some hippies moved there for a protest in the 70s and never moved out!



The rocks on the way to Nimbin









You can see how hippie this town is... even the signs say it! Someone took the "T" off "Tweed!"









Nimbin







On the way home, we stopped by Mt. Warning which is the lip of an extinct volcano and the hills surrounding it were formed from lava flows!





Eeerie! Yikes






That night we went to a couple of really cool bars that were sort of like outside beer gardens...

Byron Bay

Coyote's and Cheeky Monkey's

Friday night we celebrated the end of the Surf Trip at Coyote's, a "Tex-Mex" restaurant! Meagan and I tried out the margaritas and the fajitas... both were good except the fajitas weren't very "Tex-Mex!" The group started out ready to party with tequila shots and coronas... then we headed to the backpacker bar next door, Cheeky Monkey's. It was so fun to be at the bar because everwhere I looked I literally saw at least 2 people that I knew! The dinner tables in the bar become dance floors after 10pm and we spent over 5 hours dancing on crowded tables with all of our friends! It was so fun!

Jack, Jay, Rich, Chris, and Kyle at Coyote's

Martin our favorite Danish boy! The funniest thing is that when he gets drunk he loses the ability to speak in English and no one can understand him! hahaha

Chris from England was so hilarious... he kept taking off his shirt and waving it over his head until the bouncer would kindly ask him to put it back on. Again and again this happened... but it just got funnier every time. Afterwards, as we were walking down the street, we hear this reggae music blaring and see this rickshaw slowly moving past us with Chris standing in the back waving his shirt over his head! haha

On our way home, we decided to try one of Australia's famous Meat Pies which are supposedly addictive. Yeah, the consensus among all the north Americans was that they are disgusting mystery meat and should not be consumed! haha

Byron Beach
Saturday the whole clan (13 + people) layed at the beach and watched a couple of our friends who had rented surf boards try to surf... they learned it's definitely not easy when you don't have the huge whale-sized longboards!

That night Meg and I went to sleep around 9pm because we were knackered!

Getting better on the board!

Day 3
Wednesday we woke up early despite slight hangovers and got back on the bus to start the "road trip" portion of the ride. We headed north towards Byron Bay and stopped off to surf at Crowdy Heads Beach. The waves here were pretty decent but much smaller than the ones from the previous day. We all rode the surf for a few hours in the morning but after lunch most of us decided it was time just enjoy the solid ground. The past few days had been wearing on us and we had some much deserved rest.


That night we stayed at Wai Wai Lodge and watched some surf videos and Point Break starring Keanu Reeves for some encouragement/inspiration! After watching these movies, we were all pretty pumped about surfing the next day.

Day 4
Thursday was pretty exciting for me because I had my best two rides of the trip! We headed north to Yurigui National Park where we set up a camp (tents and all!). The first couple of hours we all just tossed around various balls (football, rugby, soccer, frisbee) and it was so obvious who was from which country! The Americans all caught the football with confidence... had trouble throwing the rugby ball... and ran the other direction when the soccer ball came flying at them whereas the English couldn't throw a football if their lives depended on it! haha!


The beach at Yurigui was not the best for surfing beginners! There were huge pebbles all over the sand on the beach and in the water. The surf was so violent that after being knocked down a million times, it took literally 30 minutes just to get about 20 meters into the waves. As it turns out, all the girls (except for myself and one other) sat the afternoon out... but I forced my way out into the waves! They were HUGE... I paddled out past the breaks with the guys... and caught a huge wave! Yahoo! It was the coolest sensation and I continued to try for another couple of hours. By the end of the session, I could not move my shoulders another stroke so I gave up.




Me with my longboard on the pebble beach.








Jay, Craig (Engl), Felipe (Boston), Jack (Ireland), Tim (Michigan), and Chris (England) inspired by Point Break






I have to say this was my first "real" camping experience! There were no showers, light, or running water and we were so dirty from surfing all day! The sanitation of the surf camp had not been very good all week and it only got worse! We were rinsing our plates/cutlery with dirty water and then putting them back in the drainboard. You would be amazed at how well Meagan and I are adapting! haha I just closed my eyes and pretended it didn't happen! haha

We went on a sunset kangaroo walk and saw a few of them hopping around. This area was so beautiful!











That night all had a few beers around the campfire and then when it got dark, headed down a pitch black trail through the dunes to the beach where we sat around talking under the stars. You can see so many stars here... including the Southern Cross and the Milky Way! (You can't see them from the northern hemisphere!)




Jess, Jay, and Dylan singing at the campfire.






Sleeping in the tent was not that great because the ground was hard as granite and all I brought was a sheet and a pillow. The girl sleeping in the tent with Meagan and I had rented a sleeping bag from the camp and it smelled like cat pee ... so our tent did too! We were freezing and Meagan and I ended up having to snuggle on my pillow with my sheet because she had nothing! ha ha

Day 5
Friday was the surf competition at Broken Heads Beach... not to see who could actually surf but to see who could be the silliest on the board and do the most ridiculous stunts. One guy even surfed naked! He got close to winning but the guy who did the back flip off the board won! After the competition, we all hit the surf and caught some great waves before we rode the bus another few hours towards Byron Bay.


Kyle striking a pose on his surf board!

SURF CAMP 2006 Days 1 and 2

Day1
Monday morning started out bright and early as we boarded the Surf Trip bus. There were 16 people in our bus but 32 campers altogether. The bus ride started out a little boring, but quickly became more upbeat when the instructor requested Dirty Dancing Soundtrack songs from Meg's IPOD. We were then designated the bus DJs and played the most ridiculous songs.

The Surf Camp was located in Myall Lakes National Park and had a few cabins, a lodge, and a pool. I was a little nervous because the first meal was quite possibly one of the worst I've ever had. Needless to say, good ol' PB&J got me out of that one ;)

Our first surfing lesson was at Seal Rocks (Elizabeth Beach) and we all learned the steps to get on our boards. I got up a few times on my first lesson which was quite exciting!




Meagan and I at Elizabeth Beach... soon to be surfer girls.






That night it was rather awkward at first because no one knew anyone... nothing a few drinks can't fix though...

Day 2





This was along the walk to the famous lighthouse.









Tuesday we woke up early and headed to Lighthouse Beach where the walk past the waterfalls to the lighthouse was beautiful! It was the best day we had at the beach with blue skies and big white capped waves! Despite the long hike to the beach with 8 foot surf boards that we could barely hold... it was stunning!!




Jenna at Lighthouse Beach






The waves beating me around was all good until a HUGE wave came barreling right at me and I just stood there with my board in front of me. The wave slammed the board directly into my mouth and knocked me underwater. I heard a horrible crunch and knew I had chipped some teeth. I was sick just to think that my teeth might be gone! So after finally opening my mouth, I saw that I had 4 small chips in my teeth. They aren't really visible, but I can definitely feel them! After a brief stay on the sand and some lunch (which we ate off a surf board!) I headed back in for another 3 hours of practice!

Meg with Martin, Martin, Casper, Ulrik (all from Denmark), and Kyle

That night we had a party at the lodge and we danced the night away. There were all kinds of party games designed to get to know one another better. We hit the sack rather late just to wake up early and head out again.

Kyle (Georgia), Meg, Me, Beth, Clare (England), and Ulrik (Denmark) at the lodge

Dylan, one of our surf instructors... how perfect is that?

Oh how I love...

LIVING IN HOSTELS!

Meagan and I officially began the travelling portion of our trip this morning as our alarm clocks rudely awakened us at 4:30am from the comfort of our beds!

Wednesday night we sadly moved out of our Southbank apartment... but not before we enjoyed one "last supper" with our flatmates. The pasta dinner was followed by a concerted effort to clean the place so it would be ready for the future tenants. It was sad to leave, but we spent Wed-Fri nights at Stuart's parents' house packing and re-packing our things so they all fit in our backpacks! I am proud to say I am travelling with only 16kg (that's just about 35lbs) of things!

Meagan and I flew on separate flights (30 mins apart) and then navigated our way from the airport to the trains to our hostel with no problems. Our check in was early so we dropped our bags and I tried to summon every bit of energy Meagan had to get her to Bondi Beach. After living with her for 6 years, I know that when she doesn't sleep the night before... she's basically worthless... but by mid afternoon... she's fine.

After taking the train and two buses, we reached Bondi Beach ... it was just as beautiful as I remembered. We bought some swim suits and ate some lunch. Then we layed out on the soft sand in our clothes... too cold to take all of our clothes off... but still enjoying the clear, blue skies.





Bondi Beach




After Bondi, we headed to the grocery store ... honestly... I don't remember Sydney being this busy! There were thousands of people out on the streets. We were like pin balls-- dodging left and right just to make it safely to the store! Meagan and I are learning the art of "budgeting" and so we bought things to cook for breakie and dinner for the next two days. Pasta with fresh vegetables chopped up in tomato sauce was on the menu.

The kitchen in the hostel was packed with people and was equipped with 5 work stations each containing a sink and two gas burners. All these people were passing around pots and pans... and borrowing ingredients when in a pinch. It actually works out pretty well despite the fact that we were "fork-vultures". That's when you hunt down those who are finished eating to use their forks! Eww... These two dietitians are definitely going to have to get over any germ-o-phobias we might have! As you would expect, we definitely pre-washed EVERYTHING we used ... haha! We might have given Rachael Raye a run for her money with our 30 minute meal, however.




Sydney Opera House ... I just can't get enough good pictures of this structure! Meagan and I spent Easter Sunday walking around this area.

That 70s Party

Saturday night we celebrated Sarah's 21st birthday in Melbourne style. When Australians turn 18 they can legally consume alcohol, so why the huge celebrations on their 21st? Just for another reason to party! Seriously.

Sarah's party was 70s Disco theme and was held at her parent's house in Rowville. There were probably 100 people there and everyone was dressed up. I had quite a stressful time finding an outfit because the store that had the dress I wanted was closed both times when I went! Saturday afternoon I had about an hour to find something in an op-shop that fit and was appropriate for the party! Stress... I ended up with a dress that was great except that it was slightly small... I swear i have bruises on my chest from it being so tight! haha







Me, Andy, Mik,
Stuart, and Meg

Sarah's boyfriend on the right with some of his friends.

The party had great eats, speaches, music, people, and a place to sleep. We woke up in the morning for a breakfast cooked by her mom.

A Night of Cheese and Tater Pie and Bad Music!

Friday night provided yet another exciting night of entertainment starting with a traditional English dish, "Cheese and Tater Pie." Lucy and Lee had been talking about this so called dish for weeks ... and it was quite an experience. As Lee put it, "We'd be experiencing it for days..."




Lee and Lucy watching their prized product in the oven.





The ingredients included 2 kg of cheese (that's over 4 lbs of cheese), margarine, and potatoes... NOTHING MORE! The potatoes were mashed and mixed with cheese and butter and then the remaining cheese was broiled on top to form a 1 inch thick layer of crispy, delicious cheese!! haha A couple of side dishes were included: salad and buttered-sliced-white bread. The proper procedure of eating the Cheese and Tater Pie was to put it inside the bread and add some ketchup and the consumption of the salad was not advised... Then eat! Good thing I wasn't on a low-carb diet ;)



Yumm... look at the fat running down the center of the plate from the beautiful "Cheese and Tater Pie!" Despite it's unhealthy-ness... it was really really good!







Lee and Jess were teaching Me and Meg the importance of learning to squat if we were going to travel in India. Eww






After the cheese and tater pie had somewhat settled, we headed down to the Casino for some fun and games. I lost everything I gambled... surprise, surprise... but Jess won $90 on her first few spins on the $.02 pokies!! We combined our gold coins to gamble on the Wheel of Fortune-esque game ... and lost it all. We were probably the lowest gamblers at the table!

The casino sounds were drowned out by an 80s cover band in the bar area so we headed in there to check it out. It was quite possibly one of the WORST bands I've ever heard in my life! The lead singer thought he was a gift from above and that all the ladies loved him! He threw himself on the ground in passionate singing multiple times and then proceeded to jump into the crowd of only about 100 people! ha We were blatantly making fun of him and I think he band members were pretty embarrassed to be up there...



Meg, Me, Jess, Lucy, Lee at Panorama Bar in the Casino after hours of being silly and dancing to the terrible band!

Cookie

My going away party with Mecca Bah co-workers was held at Cookie on Thursday night. After weeks of discussion, the night finally arrived... and it was a blast! I started the night at Lounge...
Anyone who ever goes out with me knows that I am rather picky when it comes to beverages and that I stick to Vodka/Soda or Vodka/Cranberry ... well I found an AMAZING drink :) Urses, slow infused berry Vodka. Limes were muddled in the bottom of the glass, then a few cubes of ice were put in and a big shot of Urses. It was so amazing... like drinking cranberry juice with a kick! Well ... needless to say it hit the spot ... all night! Yikes





Brad and Adam ... introduced me to Urses.





Later we headed across the street to meet up with the rest of the clan... everyone was there! When Cookie closed, we took taxis to Damo's apartment despite the fact that he was fast asleep by this point. We took over... dancing to music and goofing around until we pretty much all fell asleep. Needless to say, the next day was spent sleeping and recovering... What a great farewell to some really really awesome people!







Jodi, Me, and Kazumi








Me and Broder





So I explained the American concept of "Sake Bomb" to my friend Chi who is Japanese in which we place chopsticks across the top of our beer glass and then put a shot of Sake on top of that... bang the table yelling "SAKE! SAKE!" and wait for the chopsticks to wobble and knock the Sake shot into the beer... ... she looked like an angry Japanese cartoon character as she started yelling "Stupid Americans!" and threw things at me!! haha




Chi and Trissy ... (picture her with water drops flying off her forehead like the Japanese cartoon characters)

Old Melbourne Gaol (Pronounced: J-A-I-L)

Wednesday was a big day for me... MY VISA EXTENSION was APPROVED! I was quite frustrated because although it was a simple process once I got to the immigration office, it was made out to be such a BIG deal for the past 4 months! I had all this paperwork to prove that I was just going to be travelling including a letter from my employer, bank statements, blah blah blah... and the agent basically sifted through them and stamped my passport! So yay... I can travel!



Meagan and I sitting on a windowsill outside the jail.






Wednesday night, Meagan and I went to the Old Melbourne Gaol which was where 135 hangings occurred, most famously that of Ned Kelly in 1880. The jail was established in 1841 and is Melbourne's oldest. The night tour was a theatrical performance of what happened many years ago in this jail and given in the dark jail with only a single candle burning.

Immediately I knew this was gonna be pretty creepy because the weather was cold and rainy and they didn't let us into the dark building until the "tour" started. We were sent into a completely dark jail and told to form a semi-circle around a single candle burning on the floor. As soon as we had just started to squirm a little bit, doors started slamming and chains jingling... creepy!

Then a man with a mask over his face walked his way down the stairs mumbling to himself... he turned out to be one of the head executioner and led us on the tour. We all went into one cell and the door was shut while he explained the lack of comfort offered to the sleeping inmates. Just as we started feeling clausterphobic, a bell rang and we moved to the torture area where the executioner demonstrated whippings and explained how the hangings were meticulously calculated based on the weight and height of the convict... YIKES!

On display were "death masks" which were made just after the inmates' death by shaving their heads and creating wax molds. There were even eyelashes and facial hair on some of them!!! It was rather gross! Afterwards we were allowed to walk around the jail and view it as a museum and read about some of the inmates. I even read a 4 page hand written letter from one man to his parents detailing some of his "unavoidable" murders.



This is Ned Kelly, Australia's most famous hanged man. Next to his "death mask" is the last gun he ever shot.













A look down the main hallway with cells on the left and right. There were 3 stories of cells and the door ways were only about 6 feet high!

I understand why boys like the Grand Prix!

The Common Wealth Games ended on Wednesday and the Formula One Grand Prix had already begun setting up promotions along Southbank and Albert Park. Originally, this event was held in Adelaide (SE of Melbourne) but it was moved to Melbourne a few years ago and is the subject of a lot of controversy. Many people feel it brings too much noise and traffic to the area and that it takes away from the "beautiful Albert Park." In reality though, Albert Park was a dumpy running trail before the Grand Prix was brought here!

We were able to hear the engines roaring from our apartment all weekend and after standing just next to the track, I understand why boys like watching it! It's fast, dangerous, and loud... all the things boys like! ;) We watched from turn 9 and Meagan and I were obviously unaware that we should have bought ear plugs, because everyone around us had them in!! Eventually we had to plug our ears with our fingers just to preserve what little hearing we had left!

Here are some pictures:

Mecca Bah Pictures

These are some of my co-workers... Biorne, Rob "the Albino Aboriginal", Tristan, Me, Justin, and Broder. Justin is the head chef that keeps Mecca food fabulous.









Me, Hannah, and Harti on Hannah's last night at Mecca. Harti is one of those "super nice people" and she's from Indonesia.








Rob, Adam, and Me... Adam is my goof around friend... he's just as silly as I am :)






See, that's Adam again with Crystal... not sure what they're doing.