A lot has happened since I left Canberra. I drove a little bit towards Sydney, but since I had gotten a late start I didn't get too far. Instead I pulled over in a small town called Goulburn and asked around about camping sites. One very friendly bloke told me of a few nice spots so I thanked him and proceeded to one in the northeasterly direction from town. I spent a quiet night there under the stars and woke refreshed and ready to move in the morning. As I was preparing Missy for the voyage something caught my eye in the field facing me. I looked up and to my utter delight and amazement I saw three Kangaroos hoping along about 100 meters away. This may be as common as spotting their own hand to Australians but to me it was a revelation! It was amazing to see these creatures that I had always known only in books or magazines. To see them in the wild going about their business. It was a moment that smacked me on the head and said, "you're really in Australia!"

After that great start to the day I made good time to Sydney . . . and promptly drove around it. You see, Lisa and I had already decided that we would part Australia at Sydney and so I would have plenty of time to get to know her later. My destination on this day was a small town about an hour north called Terrigal. A Terrigal name for a town, I know, but it did have a lot to offer.

I ended up staying three nights in the town and soaking it in. The weather was in my favor - beautiful sunny days. I borrowed a surfboard from one of the hostels and continued my apprenticeship. The next day I did the same thing but got tired quickly and called it a day by mid-morning. Instead I wandered around the area with Missy. When I got back to town that night everyone was buzzing about a shark warning that had been called at the beach in the afternoon! Apparently the shark spotted was over 3 meters long (unsure what type it was). All I could think was that I missed another chance to see some Aussie wildlife up close, yeah right!

I finally pulled myself away from this little nook to head up to its larger neighbor up the coast, Newcastle. The second largest city in New South Whales was hosting its annual "Surfest" and I wanted to see how the pros did it. Some of the biggest names in pro surfing turn up at this tournament which is the longest running surf competition in Australia; it was celebrating its 20th anniversary.

The bad news was that the weather took a turn for the worse, but the good news was it wasn't deterring the surfing. Despite some really gnarly conditions I watched some really crazy surfing for the better part of two days in Newcastle. No rodeo clowns, but plenty of sweet floaters.