* July 24: The Salisbury
* July 24: The day before school!
* July 23: 15 km, 902 steps
* Phase Four: Transition Travelling
* Day 7, July 21: What does "home again" mean again?
* Day 6, July 20: Snowy, Slippery Cradle Mountain
* Day 5, July 19: A Meandering
* Day 4, July 18: Penguin Watching!
* Day 3, July 17: On the Convict Trail
* Day 2, July 16: Hobart
* Phase Three: Tasmania, Day 1: July 15
* Phase Two: Orientation
* Test Test 1-2-3
* Day 18: Phase One Comes to a Close
* Day 13-17: User-friendly
* Day 13-17: Musical Accommodations
* Day 12: 'Spring' Cleaning
* Day 11: Dancin' the Rainforest Jig
* Day 10: Crikey! A crocodile!
July 01, 2005
Stuffed = Broken.
That title is what Captain Cook must have said when he landed on the island off the coast of Townsville that screwed up his compass's directions. Because of this, he named it Magnetic Island.
We've bought ferry tickets to get over to the island, said to be the "Koala Capital of Australia." They even gave us the student rate, even though we haven't gotten our Australian student IDs yet! Even though the terrain is steep, we'll hike up to Arcadia (a town about 2K away from where the ferry lands) and rent bikes to climb the hills to the koala lookout.
It will be the 4th Australian wildlife sighting we'll have had (minus the insects, frogs and lizards). First was the dingo, then some kangaroos in a field, then we saw a platypus in Eungella National Park. With any luck, we can add wild koalas to the list!
We stayed in the Platypus Bush Camp near Eungella National Park (west of Mackay) for Tuesday and Wednesday night. It was quite an interesting place; remind us to give you more details later. I think all of us were quite charmed with the place, the hippie chain pot-smoking owner, the VW-bus driving refugee from Italy, and the Finch Hatton Pub that reminded Karl of Crocodile Dundee.
Francesco
Wazza and Dog
Wazza and Me
We explored the Finch Hatton Gorge and the platypus pools in Eungella, had our first meat pies, and enjoyed cheap beers for once!!
We've got Eva now, and are ready for the last part of our journey! Can't wait to hear y'alls comments!! Miss you!
Category:
I'm most intrigued by the characters you choose to describe on your trips. They all seem defficient in some way. I'm not saying you gravitate towards degenerates, or that they necessarily gravitate towards you, but it's interesting that they affect you so much that you end up writing about them. I appreciate this, and want to hear more. I'm thinking about the "the hippie chain pot-smoking owner," " the VW-bus driving refugee from Italy"
Posted by: IamnotSam on July 1, 2005 11:58 PMCurse this bloody Web! That is not the comment I intended to post.
This is:
Speaking for my anonymous self, I'm most intrigued by the characters you describe on your trips, most of whom are deficient in some way. I'm thinking about the "the hippie chain pot-smoking owner," "the VW-bus driving refugee from Italy", the pervert on the subway and the fellow on the bus before you left the states, and the Welshman who spoke indecipherable English.
More! More! Meet more!
And don't forget to add the bear to your wildlife sightings, and the opossum that ate your tuna sandwiches. And did you say pythons on Fraser Island?
Posted by: IamnotSam on July 1, 2005 11:59 PMAt last! another message. Where are your pictures? Love your descriptions. What about Karl? Is he having a good time. Waiting in Yorktown for the arrival of your parents and Alex. They were going to a baseball game tonight. Alex won first place in all his races last night. The little poot is growning up. We watched Howard Hughes' first (only?) ,movie tonight - "Hell's Angels." All the women were evil and sleezy and all the men were good, but died. What a tale. It was over 100 here today. The boat is in the water and we will miss your skiing antics this holiday weekend! Thanks for sharing your adventures with us.
Posted by: Pawka and Karla on July 2, 2005 02:21 PMWe are really enjoying your messages. Keep them coming. We all will miss you this holiday. Woody says HI!
Posted by: Paka- Don on July 3, 2005 02:52 AMAsk an Aussie about "train-smash" for breakfast?! (supposedly, it's everything but the kitchen sink thrown into a skillet). Love their slang...mushies (mushrooms), etc.
Jan--did you hear that Larry broke his leg? His bummed b/c he can't do anything...and I'm bummed b/c I have to do everything! We are laughing about it...and miss the happy the medium. Larry knows how you felt this Spring. How is your knee holding up, old girl?
Sam went pee-pee in her potty yesterday (and twice on the hard wood floors). She now gets M&Ms if she actually makes it to her potty! Wish her luck!
Love your blogs. Be safe! We love you! xoxo
Posted by: Shelley on July 4, 2005 07:34 AMWhat do you mean by cheap beer at last? I have been led to believe that "FOSTERS" is the only beer in AUSTRALIA!
My little granddaughter is growing up!