Bienvenue au Canada!

I have arrived back in a country where they know what green peppers are and the word "capsicum" does not exist, chips are potato chips (not french fries), recycling bins are everywhere, the money is colourful and the coins are light and plentiful. I no longer hear "How you goin' mate?" from everyone I meet and socks, sweaters and toques are around every turn.

Weather around the world has been affecting flights everywhere, including mine. Some strong winds in Sydney caused a two hour delay, causing me to miss my connecting flight to Ottawa. I'm now on an afternoon flight from Vancouver to Winnipeg and then on a late flight from Winnipeg to Ottawa (that gets in some 30 hours after I left Melbourne). The ticket guy at Air Canada gave me a lunch voucher and told me to grab a coffee so I don't fall asleep. So far so good - but I still have 12 hours to go. Wish me luck!

Fun fact about australia:
Trucks are not common there, instead people drive UTEs (utility vehicles) that look like trucks but have a car body... strange things, but they grew on me (especially the purple ones :))

The Great Ocean Road

The highlight of Melbourne (apart from Mel and Chris's wedding) was driving part of the Great Ocean Road on my birthday and catching a little live music in a tucked away backpackers hostel. Unfortunately it was a short visit as I had to be up at 3:30am to get back to the airport and off to Canada, but regardless, it was a really nice way to end my trip and leave me with a nice memory of Australia.

The Great Ocean Road is a big memorial to casualties of World War 1 and winds all along the South-Eastern Coast. It is filled with big landmarks and little towns. The most famous spot is the Twelve Apostles (photo), which is a collection of limestone near the national park.

Mr. and Mrs. Moltzen

Melodie and Christo's wedding was a small ceremony in their backyard with close friends and family. It was a beautiful sunny day (despite some not encouraging rain the night before and in the morning). For the gals, the day started with hair, nails, makeup, photos and a champagne breaky. Around 2pm we walked through the back fence and not 10 minutes later, they were married! Now I have to admit that I get teary eyed at most weddings when I'm surrounded by so much emotion and happiness but it was a new level to be at the front of the crowd, right next to the bride - I could practically feel here heartbeat. After the photos on the beach and too many glasses of champagne and wine later, it was my turn at the microphone. I looked at the crowd, swallowed hard, and did my thing. It wasn't the most elegant speech but it was from the heart and was over before I knew it. The rest of the night was filled with fun, dancing and good memories. I'm so happy to have been there to celebrate Melodie's special day and honoured that she asked me to stand up as her witness and maid of honour. She was an incredibly beautiful bride and looked like the happiest woman on earth! :-)

Photos will come soon!

Time for a Mini-Vacation

After seeing some of the city in downtown Melbourne and not loving the cold-ish weather, we decided to catch some cheap flights up to the Gold Coast and live on the beach for a few days. The adventure began in Coolangatta, a neat little surfing town right next to the airport. We literally got off the plane, walked to the beach and decided to stay. Within a few hours of deplaning, we had already purchased a cheap surfboard and were on our way to becoming locals - until we realized that the whole town shuts down around 8pm. So off we went the next morning in a rental car to drive down the coast and check out Byron Bay. It was a real treat to go back to Byron and see my old hangouts. We drove up to the light house, surfed at Lennox Head, ate at my fav pizza joint and saw some live music (played neil young!) while watching surfing competitions. We were living in paradise. After Byron, we made a quick roader to Surfer's Paradise (which doesn't quite live up to the name) before flying back to Melbourne.

Some more Aussie slang:

Now I know that Canadians shorten words like Timmies, Undies, Hoodies, Pressies, etc. but the Australians take this to a whole new level. They use these words in national commercials and are probably in their dictionary (though I can't be bothered to check):

Here are a few of the words I came across in four short weeks:
Chrissy = Christmas
Breaky = Breakfast
Ta = Thanks
Mozzies = Mosquitoes
Esky = Cooler
Chook = Chicken
Bikkie = biscuit, which is short form for a "cookie" (not a biscuit)
Roo = Kangaroo
Sanger = Sandwich

Mel's Hen in Melbourne

After Caves Beach, we caught a flight to Melbourne and I rushed off to Melodie's Hen Party (aka, bachelorette). I can't reveal the details of the hens party but I'll say that in involved some gals attempting to play golf, some cranium, some dancing and lots and lots of wine and champagne. Very good times! I was really happy to see Melodie and be there to celebrate her pre-wedding party! Photos to come...

Caves Beach

It's hard to describe the amazing hospitality that we felt in Caves Beach. We stayed with some family of a friend and were blown away by the kindness and warm welcomes that we received. A 5 year old toured us around the caves and the gorgeous beaches on the first day and on the second day, a really nice family member gave us some private surf lessons before hitting up a pre-school disco (aka Christmas pageant). It doesn't sound that exciting, but trust me... these pre-schoolers can party :-).

Hopping Around Sydney

Sydney was beautiful. The second half of my trip has been full of new excitement and adventures. I had a chance to see the Opera house and even wandered in to use the washroom. On my last day, I went on an organized tour of the Blue Mountains and saw kangaroos!! There was a mama kangaroo, a baby kangaroo (the joey in the pouch) and a daddy kangaroo. We also saw the three sisters towers and took an old cable train up the mountain. I also made time for a beach day, chillin on Cogee Beach (just next to the famous Bondi Beach but a little nicer and less populated).


Next stop after Sydney...... Caves Beach to visit some family of a friend!

Whitsunday Islands

Hello! So after a quick overnight bus I ended up in Airlie beach, which is another laid back traveller's town. The docks are packed with tour boats that head out to spend a few days on the water exploring the Whitsunday Islands, which consists of 74 tropical islands located alongside the Great Barrier Reef. I wanted a few relaxing days after Fraser Island but somehow I ended up on the party boat... the SS Atlantic Clipper, which holds 53 people. I took it easy though and went to bed early both nights (yes - lame!) but I still had a lot of fun and met some cool people from all over the world.

Some new slang I picked up:

How's ya splice? - How are you? (Irish)
Are you taking a dip in the drink? - Are you going in the spa (a.k.a. jacuzzi) (British)

Next stop Sydney, then off to the final destination..... Melbourne!!
:-)

~Amanda

p.s. I found this article really interesting: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/australias-dangerous-economic-divide/article1824987/

Fraser Island Adventures

Hi! I just returned from a three day four wheel driving adventure on Fraser Island. Fraser Island is a 120km island just north of Brisbane that was discovered by James Cook. It is now a world heritage site and incredibly beautiful. My group was lucky enough to have beautiful sunshine for the first two days and just a little bit of rain on the way home today - not bad for rainy season! Here's a few photos (one of me driving along the beach), but it is really something that should be seen in person. Breath taking.



Next, I'm off on an overnight bus tonight and first thing tomorrow I head out on a tall ship for a 3-day Whitsunday Islands tour. Stay tuned for more details in a few days.

Mom, Dad... I'm running away with the circus!

Nah not really but I wish I could!

The last day in Bryon Bay was bitter sweet. One day earlier, I was itching to get on the road again. That last day though, after hiking out to see the lighthouse, having my final surf lesson and taking a private hoop class from a girl in Circus OZ I definitely debated sticking around awhile longer. The circus class was incredible. On the outside it just looked like a tribal store (selling drums, digerydoos, etc.) but once you walk through it the whole backyard opened up and was full of circus performers. There were jugglers, fire throwers, big stick and ball games, gymnasts and hoopers. I was the only person there for hoop so I had an incredible one on one class with a professional hooper. I learned so much!! It was awesome :-). Afraid I didn't snap any photos though...

If I had more time in Byron I would have headed to the yoga studio and taken a day trip out to Nimbin. Next time!

~Amanda