well i’m on my way…

I arrived in Auckland with two main things to do:  pick up some last minute souvenirs and meet up with my friend Simon, whom Naomi and I met in Invercargill.  He was on a whirlwind tour of the south island and had to go back to work in Auckland.  We had a blast together when we met, so I was determined to hang out with him one last time before I left New Zealand.  After two days of comparing prices and haggling shop owners, I completed my souvenir shopping.  My last day in Auckland I met Simon for coffee before I had to pack my bag.

I was so sad to leave New Zealand, but glad to leave Auckland.  I landed in Melbourne not too thrilled, as I spent almost two weeks there a few months ago, but I was staying with a friend I had met in Sydney when I first started traveling.  Tyler met me at the bus stop, which was only half a block away from his building.  After we went through the security doors and said hello to the concierge, I was impressed.  The marble floors and a promise of tennis courts and a swimming pool were way above my hostel standards.

The flat was on the 27 floor and had quite a view.  We got ready to go out and had a dinner of pizza that made me glad I was going home to Chicago soon to eat REAL pizza.  We met up with more friends on the infamous Brunswick Street at the even more infamous Little Creatures, originally from West Australia.  We ran into some people I knew from Sydney and even more people I didn’t know.  We did a bit of bar hopping and stayed out until the bars closed.  I hadn’t stayed out that late in a long time; in fact, I hadn’t drank since St Patrick’s Day!

The next day I wandered around Melbourne, or more truthfully, got lost.  I found the library and sat down to read my book.  Instead, I fell asleep!  I made it back to the flat as it was getting dark out and had an early dinner of noodles and went to bed early.  We were all hurting a bit, I think.

Monday I went to the Melbourne Museum while Tyler and his flatmates had to work.   I got really engrossed in the exhibits and ended up getting kicked out when the museum closed!

All day I kept on having contradictory emotions.  I’d feel like a kid on Christmas Eve, just wanting to go to bed so Christmas moring would come sooner; or in my case, the day to go home.  But once that word “home” ran through my head, a wave of panic would overcome me.  I don’t want to go home!  I don’t want to leave Australia!  The only thing that made it OK, I think, is the fact that I’m home for four days, then off to Greece and a two month Euro-trip.

When I arrived at the flat, Tyler gave me two options:  go to an AFL (Australian Football League) game or go out for a friend’s birthday.  I asked “Why can’t we do both?”  The footy game was crazy, with unprotected men running around after a rugby-shaped ball, kicking it, hitting it like a volleyball, and underhand throwing it.  Any kind of defense seemed to be allowed-shoving, kicking, tackling…everthing but face-punching.  After the third quarter, the team we were rooting for was losing by 4 times their score, we left.  Tyler and I collected some of his roommates and headed for the city center to meet up with the birthday girl and have some drinks.  We only stayed out for one and ended up having a semi early night.

I woke up the next morning and looked out the window, sad that I was leaving.  I said goodbye to my new friends and headed for the bus stop.  I don’t think I’ve ever walked so slow in my life.  As I stared out the window on the way to the airport, I vowed myself I’d be back to Australia and New Zealand, very very soon.

I checked out of the greasy hostel and practically ran to the cleanliness of the YHA.  I couldn’t check in til 1 so I did some laundry and just hung out, mindlessly watching the news and reading Lord of the Rings The Two Towers.  I’m kinda hooked.  I’ve just been wandering around the city, not really doing anything too active-I fly out of here in May (read: WINTER) so I’ll probably want to spend some time, decompress from New Zealand, and check out museums and see who of my friends are still living here.  I went to the cinemas and saw He’s Not That Into You.  Good flick, I guess, but it had a happier ending than I thought it would-given the title and all.  It was nice hearing American accents…I hung out on the hostel rooftop that night overlooking the city. 

Melbourne and Chicago are similar-with the rivers cutting through the cities, “docklands” being converted into housing, ferris wheels, the skylines are a bit similar-don’t ask how…it just feels a bit like home here.  And I’m not sure how I feel about it.  I travel to find new things, different things, and Melbourne doesn’t really feel new or different. 

The next day my mission was to check out the two cultural streets:  Lygon Street and Brunswick Street.  Lygon Street is the Italian street-I still don’t understand why cities want to put all of the same thing on one street.  Anyways…walking down the street the smell of garlic was so pungent, and it was 11 in the morning!  I didn’t have any food, but smelling and drooling over the menus were enough for me!  I headed two blocks over to Brunswick street-the “bohemian” street that was filled with arty gardens, secondhand shops, and eclectic cafes…I walked up and down the street, pausing in a few shops here and there.  I was so tired, even though it wasn’t that hot.  My feet were sore (btw, the ankle’s recovered for the most part) and I started heading back to the hostel.  I stumbled across a nice park on the way back and lied down in the inviting shade of the trees.  I must have fallen asleep beause I jumped when I heard laughter-I got up and wandered around some more.  When I got back to the hostel, I met some people on the roof and we watched The Full Monty.  

I lied on St Kilda beach yesterday.  The waves were nonexistant but the sun was ever present.  I worked on my tan, since I’m afraid I will start losing it once I get to New Zealand, with temperatures being in the 50s and 60s (farenheit) on the South Island.  Yuck!  After I returned to the hostel, I went up to the roof and eavesdropped on a conversation-but only because I was trying to determine whether or not a guy was Canadian or American.  When I heard him say “It was, like, awesome” I butted in and asked him what part of the States he was from.  He looked taken aback, surprised someone asked him if he was American (a big no no, especially if you make the mistake of calling a Canadian an American), until I explained that I was from Chicago and hadn’t heard an American accent in so long.  So we chatted it up about the differences for a while.  I’m not homesick by any means, but hearing a familair accent is nice once in a while.

Today I went with one of my roommates to the Rialto Observation deck-55 stories up above the city.  It was a bit foggy out, so there wasn’t much to see, but what we did see was cool.  We’re heading to the night market tonight to see what there is to see.  I have to pack my bag tonight-yuck!  But I’m going to New Zealand tomorrow, so it’s so worth it.  =)

I’m condensing the last week into one post, so I’ll only give you the highlights:

The first day, Monday, we headed south and west, away from the fires and closer to the coast.  We followed the Great Ocean Road which is exactly what it claims-the road winds in and out of the mountains, towards and along the coast for a while, then back into the rainforest.  It was amazing.  The ocean was beautiful, deep blues and waves crashing…We stayed in Apollo Bay that night at the YHA (Youth Hostel Association) hostel which was a beautiful building.  I kept on saying “I don’t belive this is a hostel”.  My hostel standards have forever been raised and from now on, I will stay YHA in my travels,when I can, more expensive or not.  It’s definately worth it.  YHA’s are so much cleaner, the beds are more comfortable, the people staying in them are travlers who like to drink wine over conversations instead of the tourists in other hostels who drink goon to get wasted.  I have finally found my people!  (I did hear that Australian YHAs do have a higher standard than those in the rest of the world.)  Cameron and I sat on the beach and watched the waves and people attempting to surf while we ate our dinner.  

The next day we set out early to see rocks, waves, and lighthouses.  I’m pretty sure that this was the day we saw The 12 Apostles, as Cameron dubbed “the second most famous thing in Victoria”-with the penguins on Philip Island the first.  We stayed in Port Fairy that night and played pictionary with some other people in the hostel. 

The third day we went on a daytrip to South Australia with another person from the hostel.  We drove and drove and drove to see another lighthouse (Uncle Mick would have loved this roadtrip), a beach, and a really really blue lake, with no explanation as to why it’s so blue.  I don’t buy Cameron’s explanation that it’s so deep it’s that blue.  The ocean isn’t that blue, and it’s a lot deeper.  The signs posted had no explanation either, which I found odd.  Maybe it’s dyed?  Once we got back to the hostel, we walked to the beach in town and checked out the wildlife and another lighthouse. 

Cameron and I took a walk on the beach in the morning-Cameron decided to take a nap so I went to wander the city on my own.  I think this was my first time really on my own in the last week.  I didn’t realize how much I appreciate solitude.  I checked out a gallery and some antique shops.  The news of the fires were still getting bigger and bigger at this point, so I decided to phone home and let them know I’m alive and well and all that good stuff.  I think I talked to my mom and sister for almost an hour.  It was nice hearing a North American accent after hearing only Aussie for a week.  I had lunch at a Chinese restaurant and we left Port Fairy for Ballarat, the gold town in Victoria.  Ballarat still has all its old buildings and not many new ones-this is not very common in Australia-or at least the Australia I’ve seen so far.  It was a really cute town.  We walked around the town and had dinner at an Irish Pub.  I had nachos for dinner (sorry Dad) and they were surprisingly really good.  

On Friday the 13 we went to Soverign Hill, a reenactment of the gold rush days.  It was a pretty cool place-the people were dressed up to match the 1830s and they were selling lots of wares from back in the day.  After walking around there for a few hours, we went to the Gold museum across the street.  We checked out an art gallery in town before heading out.  The gallery housed a massive war-tattered flag.  Viewing it reminded me that I’m an American-(embarassingly) The Star Spangled Banner popped in my head when I was observing what was left of the Australian Labour Flag.  

Cameron wanted to show me a natural spring-mineral water being pumped out of the ground.  We had to park the car and walk down a road, then walk down some stairs.  I was walking down the steps, looking ahead into the bush (forest), not paying attention, and I fell.  I did my infamous roll of the foot and put all my weight on the outside of my right foot and crumpled to the ground.  Yep, I did it again.  I was wearing boots too.  The sprain isn’t as bad as it’s been in the past, only my ankle is a little swollen this time.  It should heal soon.  There’s just one thing I don’t remember:  at night, when I elevate my foot, should I wrap it?  Or leave it unwrapped?  I know I should wrap it while I’m walking around…

We got back to Melbourne around 6-I decided that I wanted to spend the weekend (and the rest of my time) in the actual city so I had to look around for a hostel.  The second one I checked could put me in a six bed room for the weekend…that was all I was worried about at that point.  All the hostels will clear out during the week.

So after a painful week for Victorians and generally Australians, I am back in Melbourne.  There are people everywhere with buckets asking for donations for the fire victims, market vendors are advertising they will donate percentages of their profits made today, and you can even donate at the supermarket.  It’s amazing watching all the people come out to help.  And it makes me realize that this may be the big difference between here and the United States.  When Hurrican Katrina happened, sure a lot of people went down to help, people donated money and goods, and adopted animals.  But what I’m seeing here, in a city of three million, is something that would only be witnessed in a small country town in the US.  Although Australia has a population of 21 million, it still has that small town feel of compassion and humanity.  Sad to say, I don’t witness it to this scale in my hometown of Chicago.  I didn’t witness it on this scale of 911 (I’m comparing apples and oranges here) or with Hurricane Katrina.

I was listening to Hamish and Andy, a popular radio talk show, earlier this week.  They were taking pledges and I was completely floored at what I heard.  People were calling in and donating $100, $500, a week’s wages…One woman just came into some money so she donated $20,000.  A kid called in and challenged his “cheap” father to donate $1000.  The father easily negotiated that he would only donate the $1000 if his son donated his XBox.  The kid readily agreed.  Would an American kid donate his XBox?  None that I know. 

And yes, I have donated.  I am probably one of the few backpackers that have.  I’ve talked to a few backpackers in this hostel and most of them didn’t really know about the fires.  So much for traveling to get to know a place and the culture…

I just hope that the fires put themselves out and soon.  I hope that people can begin rebuilding their lives as soon as possible, that the fires don’t take any more deaths, and that maybe some other countries in the world (ahem, America) can learn something from the way that the people have really banded together over here to help and make a difference.  These people aren’t “under attack”, and Australians are still coming together to help.  

I hope you guys are still enjoying the world’s most famous koala.  😉  

On Friday I had the best/worst breakfast of my life (after the avo and cheese of course) today: pancakes and berries smothered in maple syrup and vanilla ice cream.  Yum!-although I did feel a bit sluggish for the rest of the day.  Cameron and I made it down to the city around 1 and wandered, although not aimlessly.  We went to the Art Gallery, through the shopping district, saw the state library, though the Queen Victoria Markets (well just the bread, cheese, and olive part) and bought lunch there.  We took our feast of ciabatta bread; avacado, sun dried tomato, and eggplant capsicum (red pepper) dips; an antipasto salad, and octopii for Cameron.  The food was delish, though very rich.  After we both had stomachaches, we headed for the MCG-Melbourne Cricket Grounds.

Cricket is kind of like baseball, except the bat is flattened out, the batter runs back and fourth (like in running bases), the field is a circle, the pitcher is called a baller and runs toward the batter before pitching…OK it’s nothing like baseball.  The rules aren’t too hard to follow, but I’m not going to bore you.  I’m pretty sure that for 95% of the game, I was the only one paying attention.  The crowd is the real entertainment at a cricket game.  When I walked into the grounds, it already smelled like the garbage pit (what’s it called Em?) at the end of a show at the Tweeter Center: stale beer.  The Aussies were already incomprehensible, not only for me, but for Cameron as well.  I had one beer to get into the culture, but that was it. 

People were blowing up beachballs and throwing them around, not unlike at a Jimmy Buffett concert (or any show for that matter).  When the cops or security would take them away, the entire section would chant “You are a wanker!”  It was great.  The crowd started going crazy in another section, and we noticed a blow up doll getting thrown around.  It was then that I noticed the crowd was mostly male-and you could just imagine what they were doing to the doll besides throwing it around.  I’m not sure who reads this, so I’m not going to get too descriptive.   After playing keep away with the cops for about 15 minutes, they finally got a hold of her, and the crowd was quiet for about an hour.  Until everyone in the place started going crazy and our attention was turned toward the field-there was a man streaking across the field!  The screens intantly flashed to a warning of $6000 for going on the playing field (and who knows how much for indecent exposure!) and the guy was tackeled in the middle of the field, handcuffed, and taken out of the audience’s eye, but not after someone else ran out with a towel to cover him up.  Not long after, another clothed guy ran out, didn’t get nearly half as far, but skipped in between the cops with a shit-eating grin on his face as he was taken off the field.  Stupid drunk people are so entertaining!

The game was between Australia and New Zealand.  New Zealand won, which made the ride home interesting.  The tram car was split between Aussies and Kiwis.  The Kiwis were drunkenly boasting, telling the Australians that they sucked, whatever…until one of the Aussies bleated like a sheep (there are 140000 people in NZ, and 40 million sheep).  The Kiwis laughed (thank god) and remained good humored. 

The next day Cameron had to work, so I had the day to myself.  I got to the city after takign the train the wrong way for 20 minutes and realized I had stepped into an oven.  The mercury reached 47 C on Saturday, which comes out to 117 F.  Even though I was being cooked, the heat was dry and I kind of enjoyed it.  I found Starbucks and had to indulge-I haven’t had any in two months!  I went to the free Immigration Museum, which was very informative, but a lot of it was repeated from the Fremantle Museum (the excellent exhibit) and the heat had made me inattentive.  I walked around, looking for some relief from the heat, but I didn’t want to go in any shops I may be tempted  to purchase something in.  I suffered the heat most of the day.  The skies were very hazy, not from the heat, but from the fires not too far away.  The wind was terrible too, which was not helpful for the fires as well.  I had Subway for lunch/dinner-I’m a little ashamed that I consumed American brands all day, but it’s cheap.  I headed back to the apartment around 730, showered and read for the rest of the night, when I wasn’t glued to the TV learning about the damage the fires were creating.  Guess I do have some of my mom in me! 

Today, Sunday, we went to the St Kilda Festival.  St Kilda is the cafe/beachy/clubby district.  They shut their streets down, set up a ton of food and ware vendors, and 4 stages where very different bands were playing.  We saw a few bands, sampled a lot of food, and people watched.  St Kilda is known for their cake shops, so you know I indulged-I had a lemon square (Amazing) and a peppermint square (eh…).  After seeing pretty much all there was to see short of stupidly drunk people and a few more bands, we left and checked out the Botannical Gardens, which were very brown-a lot of the trees are starting to die, the grass is brown, and the flowers are all wilted.  They’re in a massive drought right now and could use a bit of rain.  The crazy heat isn’t helping either-yesterday set a record for Melbourne.  When we got back to the apartment we prepared for the week-Road Trip! 

I don’t know if this has reached world news yet, or if it will, but if you have heard about the bushfires in the state of Victoria, Australia, I want you to know that yes, I am in Melbourne, where these fires are raging around, and that yes, I am OK.  I would say that I’m unaffected, but I am breathing in the polluted air that these fires are causing.  I haven’t seen actual blue sky in a few days.  I’m supposed to go on a roadtrip out of the area leaving on Monday.  It might not happen, as most of the roads around here are blocked from the fires, or whatever has been left by the fires.  I’ve been seeing lots of things here in Melbourne and I’ll update you soon.  I’m going to a music fest today, unless the government calls for civillian help.  I just thought I’d send a shout out in case you’ve heard of what’s going on here.

I’d first like to share that I’m sitting in the comfort of my friend Cameron’s apartment.  I met Cameron on my last day in Beijing; he was in search of a camera and I for something to do besides look at more temples.  Staying with a friend means a lot of wonderful things a backpacker is not accustomed to: my own room, showering without flip flops and not worrying about a moldy shower curtain touching me, no fighting for space in the fridge or around the stove, and cleanliness!  It also means that I’ll see what the real Melbourne is like-instead of only what Australian tourism wants me to.  The most important benefit of this is that I already have a friend here, and I don’t have to totally put myself out there (or conversely, my game face on) in a hostel.  I’m going to have to find friends in every city from now on if I let myself get this spoiled.

Cam picked me up from the airport Wednesday night and drove through the city to get back to his suburban apartment.  From a distance, Melbourne could pass for a compacted Chicago-from the actual way the skyline looks and the fact it’s on a bay.  After we got over Westgate Bridge, Cameron told me how it was constructed: 2 teams of guys started on each side of the bridge and started building out, figuring they’d meet in the middle.  (We all know where this is going!)  One side ended up being 3 feet (or meters) higher than the other.  In order to fix this, they put weights on the heavier side.  Thirty-some people died in the construction of this and no one really trusts the bridge, although countless people drive over it daily during their commute. 

Thursday I slept until 11.  I don’t even know when the last time I slept that long was!  After being lazy for a while, we went to an American food store.  I laughed, amazed at the things that were imported:  corn nuts, moon pies, Jack Daniels BBQ sauce, Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup, Crisco, Tide…I purchased Code Red Mountain Dew since I haven’t seen it in the states for years and some kettle cooked potato chips (crisps!).  Cameron bought some Vermont maple syrup and some spice rubs for the barbie.  (A certain Jim Carrey movie just entered my thoughts right there…)

 We later went to Philip Island to watch the penguins come in.  Fairy penguins hang out all day at sea playing and eating and at dusk come in to their homes to sleep and feed their young.  We, along with 148 other people, paid the $20 to sit in the dark and wind and wait.  The seagulls provided quite a show while we were waiting-they were sitting (floating) on the top of the water and instinctively flew up back to calmer water every time a wave came in.  Most of the time.  Sometimes they just got drenched.  Then, one by one, little penguins were breaking the surface!  They would just float in and sit on the beach, let the water move them in and out of the shore a bit, finally get out, shake off, look around, and run back in the ocean!  It was so cute!  Then a few would come up, usually three at a time, go through these motions, and then waddle upshore to higher and safer ground.  We watched a few groups do this-usually of three or four.  We looked down the beach, where there were no lights and saw a massive group of the lil guys heading upshore.  We sat and watched until we got the warning that the lights were going to be turned off (probably when the majority of the penguins come in) and headed up from the shore.  We walked on a boardwalk that allowed the penguins and whatever other animals dwell there to move freely and saw more penguins waddling along.  Some just sat there, while others scratched their backs with their beaks.  They were so fuzzy looking-I just wanted to pick one up!  I was probably as vocally excited, if not more, to see these guys than most of the children around us. 

I woke up on February 2, my 46th day of traveling, with a mission in mind. I was going to Perth! Well, actually, I was going to another suburb of Perth, one I’m sure not too many tourists see, unless they or family members of theirs ride a certain American-made motorcycle. Usually a mission like this in other international cities has proved to be quite an adventure for me, or anyone else I’ve ever sent on this same mission. Every other time, it’s been a hassle, I’ve gotten lost, been given wrong directions, and taken up lots of time (which is something I have an abundance of!). This time, it was too easy, which in itself, was a bit of a disappointment. I was hoping for an adventure! I took the train into Perth and asked at the information desk (since there were no maps that extended to Dianella) how to get there. All I had to do was walk a few blocks and pick up bus number 60. After riding for about 20 minutes, I saw my destination, pressed the button and got off the bus. I made my purchase, went back to the bus stop and headed back to Perth.

Back in Perth, I wandered. What’s great about Perth is that it’s a nice combination of the old and the new. In Sydney, there seemed to be one little area of the old original buildings (or what were made to look like the orginals) and the rest was new. In Perth, Skyscrapers share the same block as the old buildings. There’s a glockenspiel in the middle of their main shopping streets! The temperature was unbearably hot, even for me, so I found the very air conditioned cinema and bought a ticket for 7 Pounds, which was a great movie. I highly recommend it. What I also appreciated about it were the traveling and even Aussie references-the box jellyfish is a very important character in the film.

The next day, today, I went to South Beach. I forgot my sunscreen again, though I did lather up my face before I left the hostel. So yeah, I’m pretty f-ing burnt. I regretfully looked at the beach before I left, knowing that I wouldn’t see it again. I leave for Melbourne tomorrow.

So after we arrived in Perth, I went with my new friend Jen (also on the tour) to her beachside hostel somewhere between Perth and Fremantle.  I didn’t have a reservation, but I was confident I’d get a bed.  Jen already had reservations.  After doing some real backpacking-walking the wrong way, getting directions from about 8 different Aussies, and walking up and down some steep hills, we saw the ocean and arrived at the hostel.  The hostel had nothing for me!  I bucked up, found phone numbers for hostels in Freo, which was where we were going drinking anyway and got a bed at the first hostel I booked!  I showered at Jen’s hostel and we headed out to Freo.

When we arrived in Freo, I was surprised (or not) how excited I was that I was back in Fremantle, and for 5 more days!  I won’t be surprised if I never see Perth.  When I got to my new hostel (not the bedbug one) I learned that I was booked in the ‘Stairway to Heaven”-which is a bunkbed in the foyer of the back door to the girls dorm under the stairs.  Hmm.  It’s called the emergency bed.  Great.  But it’s cozy and there’s a window and I get a real room after 2 nights.  And it is cheaper than the real room.

Jen and I were the only ones from the tour to make it out besides the tour guides.  We had a few beers and closed the bar at midnight and headed back to the train station.  En route we encountered a man who had set up a full drum set playing and singing.  There were tons of people dancing on the sidewalk.  This is why I love Freo.

I woke up today, Jan 31, very happy to be in Freo.  I went to the markets and treated myself to a two dollar avacado and walked around, enjoying the town again.  I headed back to Jen’s hostel and we laid on the beach for 4 or 5 hours.  The waves were cool here too, but nothing like last week’s.  After I started sleeping and feeling crispy, I left for Freo to do laundry and sleep.  The sun sure gets to you out here!

I booked a 5 day tour to see the south west corner of Western Australia and left early Australia Day morning.  We did and saw a lot, and I don’t really remember all of it.  We saw a lot of rocks, mountains, and beaches-so many different rocks and mountains that after a few days it got really redundant.  I’m not saying that I didn’t have a good time, but just that I’m going to sum up the trip with the things that stick out in my mind.

The first day we drove from summer to spring and went to a chocolate factory where I could eat as much FREE white chocolate as I wanted!  After that we went to an organic winery to taste some wine-I had some of my first red wines, and actually gagged on one of them.  I’ll continue to stick with white.  After that we went to a jamery (?) where we could sample jams and different flavored olive oils.  Everything was very good but I’m sure you can imagine my stomach ache after these three stops!  We went to the estuary where the Margaret River meets either the Southern Ocean or the Indian Ocean (it’s on the corner?) and the waves were just AMAZING.  I’ve never seen such big waves in my life!  All of the currents were forcing the waves into each other and just – wow.  As soon as I saw this, I ran down to the beach, flung off my shoes, rolled my pants up and stood in the water.  The tide was very random as well-I was standing in one place where the water was hardly covering my feet and then as soon as I turned around to take a photo of myself and the ocean, a wave came and soaked me up to over my knees!  After dinner at a hostel with amazing showers and comfy beds, one of the tour guides busted out his guitar and started playing-expecting a sing-along.  I got made fun of by everyone in the group because I was the only one who knew the songs-songs from Neil Young, Simon and Garfunkel, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan.

On the second day I climbed a tree.  I didn’t climb it like a kid would, pulling himself up branch by branch.  There were two foot metal rods sticking out of the tree spaced about two feet apart that spiraled up the tree up to the 60 meter mark.  I’m not sure exactly how high that is, but I generally figure that a meter is about three feet?  You do the math.  These rods, or steps were made “safe” by putting a wire mesh on the outside of them.  There was nothing underneath me, nor anything below me for safety.  No Dad, OSHA would not approve this, and yes, that fact did go through my mind, but I did it anyway.  And I lived to tell about it.  I was the first one to go up after the tour guide because when I looked up at the top, I realized that the highest point is less than 27 stories, which is the highest I’ve hung off the side of a building for work.  When I got up to the top and the guide tried to scare me by shaking the platform but it didn’t work.  Swing stages sway a lot more than what he could do.  The way down was scary though.  I think it had to do with the fact that I was walking backwards down a ladder with no safety.  Maybe.  At one point the guy below me stopped and that was when my legs started shaking uncontrollably.  My mind wasn’t scared, but my body was naturally reacting.  So I leaned up against the rods and chilled until my legs stopped shaking.  I remembered that I had to ‘make friends’ with the ladder.  After a few minutes, I descended with no problems.  It was a great sense of accomplishment, since I don’t really consider myself much of a risk taker.

The third day we saw more scenery and climbed some rocks.  Can you tell I was impressed?  The weather was cool and a bit rainy.

The fourth day was probably my favorite.  Despite the overcast skies, it was a beach day.  The waves were not calm at all and seemed to be saying to us “Come play with me!”  And play we did.  I watched the guides and a few of the other people body surfing and had a blast.  The waves did throw me around and I ended up with a head full of salt water but it was amazing.  Even though the waves were vicious, it was so much fun.  The ocean can kick my ass any day.  I was one of the last ones out of the water (sound familiar?) and kept on asking when the next beach was.  One of the guides asked where I learned to ride the waves the way I was.  I’d never done anything like this in my life!  Heh, I’m a natural.  Surprise!  The sand on these beaches was the strangest I’ve ever seen:  it was so white and the grains of sand were so fine.  It retained water like no sand I’ve seen before and squeaked when we walked on it.  Crazy!

The fourth day we did a lot of driving.  A ridiculous amount.  We saw the wave rock that water eroded out of a larger rock and guess what-it looks like a wave.  A little walk away from it was a rock called Hippos Yawn.  And it looked like a big rock on top of a little rock.  Aussie tourism sure has a lot of imagination. We rocked back into Perth around 530 and made plans to go out with some of the people from the group.