Had Christmas turkey... :)

I had a surprisingly great Christmas Day. It started off really sad just thinking of all the people that I miss at home, however luckily that was remedied when I got through to my brothers. The boys were at Nay’s new house having a couple of drinks; just hearing from them really brightened my day.

After that my friend Gayle that I met in Brisbane brought me to her house to spend Christmas day and night with her family. It was really sweet, they have five children in the family and their excitement about Christmas really made it a great day. I really think that children make Christmas. I enjoy the party aspect as well, but Christmas day is really the best with that bit of extra excitement. They took me in like I was a part of the family and really that is what I needed. If I was going to be away from home I think that is a great way to spend the day. Oh and I can’t forget I got turkey :)

Today is Boxing Day, I spent the day playing with the kids, giving them piggy backs, play catch and all the things you do with children between the ages of 3-8. We also went for a walk on the beach which was really nice. Tonight I am getting on a sailing boat to the Whitsundays. I should get to do a lot of snorkeling and will get to see part of the Great Barrier Reef. I am sure I will update again in a couple of days.

Missing everyone at home very much.

I may have found a new calling...

A couple of days ago I had a highly interesting and entertaining day in the outback. I have to say it was one of the best things that I have done in Australia so far. We visited Kroombit Cattle Station, an active farm, and got to participate in the farming duties. It was really unique. Turns out I am a natural. Throughout the day I mustered goats, lassoed a goat, shot my first gun (a shotgun – I got 3/5 clay pigeons), cracked a whip, and got on a mechanical bull. I have to admit that the only part I seriously lacked was staying on the mechanical bull for long. If it wasn't for that I would have had to seriously consider moving to the outback... sadly I guess I am destined to be city foke.

I am currently in Arlie Beach for Christmas until I get on a tour of the Whitsundays on the 26th. After that I head to Magnetic Island for a Full Moon New Years Party.

Merry Christmas everyone! Really missing the snow and everyone at home! x

Sand is the enemy...

I am just back from Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. I went on a self drive tour (don’t worry I didn’t drive) with ten other people… we were randomly selected, given a 4x4, food, tents, and a map and send to the island. There were no showers for two days, one day we didn’t even find a fresh water pond, I will be picking sand out of my belongings for weeks, but it was by far one of my best trips in Australia so far.

We got to see one of the top ranked lakes in the works, Lake McKenzie. See a lake that won’t exist in ten years because a sand dune will eventually overtake it, sleep in front of a ship wreck (even though we weren’t suppose to), drink more goon then any group of people really should, and all around just have an amazing time. The group I was with was made up of four Canadians including myself, two girls from Hong Kong, and five from Germany. Couldn’t have asked for a better group of people, everyone was really laid back and fun. If I had to go again I would still want to go with that group of people.

At this point I am ridiculously tired and slightly disoriented. The shower after this trip was probably the best of my life. The start to this East Coast adventure has been pretty awesome. Next is a trip to the outback in a couple of days… not sure what to expect there… riding a mechanical bull… shooting a gun…who knows.

Farewell my sweet, well the time now has come and the road has begun to move beneath my feet – Amos Lee

As most of my friends are decorating their trees, singing Christmas carols, wrapping presents and drinking festive drinks I prepare for a tropical adventure. It is currently 35 degrees in Brisbane and it is only going to get hotter up the coast. Christmas will be spent on a beach, Boxing Day I will leave to go on a three day cruise of the Great Barrier Reef and New years will be spent on a tropical island. I am pretty sure this years plans couldn’t get much more different than lasts years… even regarding friends. I am traveling alone for this little stint of the trip, whereas in the past Christmas has been all about friends and family.

I am ridiculously excited and can’t wait to start moving again. Once I have seen the East Coast I head back to Brisbane for three days and then onto New Zealand to explore as much of the country as I can in three or four weeks. My Mom and Aunt are coming down for this portion of the adventure. This will be the fancy part of my year, as I will be staying in hotels and not hostels and renting a car and not taking the bus.

The dates of travel are December 15th to Feb 5th (at least). I will do my best to post often, take lots of pictures, and keep up with my emails (however I feel this last one might be a tad ambitious).

A day a the races

I have had a fabulous week in Brisbane. I am really starting to settle in, I have different groups of friends and there are always things to do now. It is starting to feel more like home…not sure if this is where I want to be but it is good for the time being. Two weeks until I head up the coast. I have several different Christmas invites but I think I will just spend the day with Maria and Dean up the coast on a beach.

This week I had a couple of girls’ nights, went to see Australia, became completely addicted to sushi, had a decent week of work and went to the races. It was another fabulous Australian experience, I have never really watched horse races and I thought that they only really dress up for Melbourne cup, but apparently they do every race day. I went with my flat mate Jo and her friends. It is essentially a day of dresses, hats, betting and debauchery. I would highly recommend it for a fun day out.

Next week work is having a fancy dress party, which means a uniform costume party. I am not sure what I will be yet but it should be entertaining. As well, the event will involve more karaoke… bound to be a fun.

As the holiday season gets near I am really starting to miss everyone from home. At least I get to see my Mom and Aunt Sherry in a little over a month in New Zealand.

Tropical paradise…maybe not…

Everyone keeps telling me that I should be used to the extensive amount of rain since I am from Newfoundland and the only other place I have lived is Scotland… I am not. I didn’t move to Australia to deal with downpours all the time. On Sunday Brisbane experienced the worst storm in twenty years. A guy died in my suburb, there are over 4000 homes damaged, and they are still expecting more storms.

They told me when I arrived in Brisbane that there were 300 nice days a year. This is a lie. I haven’t made it through one week without it raining at least once. As I am typing I can hear the torrential rain hitting the tin roof of the house… While on occasion I have a fond love for thunder and lighting (despite my grandmother once getting hit by lighting) it loses its glamour after weekly bouts.

I still haven't left Brisbane... it seems the stop that never ends. On a good note the reason that I am hanging around is to save some funds before heading up the coast and onto New Zealand (Mom and Sherry are coming). I have a job doing in person sales getting people to sign up for Amnesty International, so it is a pretty fun job. Looks like the end of December onto the beginning of February will be pure travel. Still no idea what I will be doing after... but that isn't important.

A couple of weeks ago Maria and I headed back to Byron Bay, the home of the best gluten free food!! It is really sad how much food is one of my favorite things in life. There is a reason that no matter how much exercise I do I will never be a skinny person. I had the best steak sandwich...oh the simple things in life. We also went to Nimbin the hippiest place that I have ever been in life. Everything is painted with murals, the locals are all pot heads and the museum is the most eclectic amount of random things ever. It was a really fun weekend and just nice to get out of Brisbane.

Nothing too exciting is planned for the next while, settling in and saving money is the only real plan. End of November I am going to head to the horse races with the girls. I am pretty excited; dresses and fancy hats...should be fun.