Jen n Jeff

Not long after purchasing Lola, I was faced with the issue of how and where you fill up a propane vehicle. Thankfully a google search provided a helpful map of gas stations all across Canada which would happily help us out. Turns out this map was a little old, and thanks to those bloody bbq cylinder swap services, most places listed had gotten rid of their filling stations. This was all becoming extremely frustrating – or a pro-pain in the arse, as I cleverly coined the term.. It was a relief when a few days before the road trip began I came across a comprehensive database by the US dept of energy () which outlined where propane was sold, when they were open and what the attendant had for breakfast that day. Our only hope was ... read more

It was near the end of a long and cold winter, we were making lots of new friends and generally having a fun time exploring Toronto, Jen was settling into her Toronto job nicely but I was getting increasingly annoyed and downbeat by my lack of success on the job front. There had been a couple of nibbles here and there for interesting ecology jobs, but nothing ever seemed to eventuate. And then one day, I got a call from Alberta - "want to be flown from site to site in the remote boreal wilderness undertaking biodiversity protocols??" And so a decision was made, a birthday/farewell party was enjoyed, Jen stayed in Toronto, and I flew 3 provinces and 3500km away to the home of wild roses, cowboys, big skies and heavy industry. The Alberta Biodiversity ... read more

It was the middle of October when we took to the skies once more, up and over the Rockies, across the prairie provinces and into lake country – thousands of them dotted the landscape below us – including the largest of the ‘Great Lakes’ – Superior - and finally Lake Ontario. Our plan of attack for settling into Toronto life included introducing ourselves to the world of CouchSurfing, which is an online community which matches up those willing to share their couches with travelling strangers in need of a couch to sleep on and looking for people to meet. We had lined up a couple of couches for our first week in Toronto (or TO or T-dot as locals like us refer to it). Unfortunately our first couch fell through, so we spent our first 3 ... read more

How's this for a new record in blog laziness!? Its now early spring in Toronto, Ontario, with the birds starting to chirp and the trees about to bloom back to life, but lets head back half a year (!) to the brilliant burning leaves of autumn/fall and our road trip through beautiful British Columbia into the Rocky Mountains and awesome Alberta. Our first surprise came at the car rental place. Like always we ordered the cheapest option - the compact Hyundai or some such where your head hits the roof and your knees hit your chin. But they were all out of those so instead we got a free upgrade to a massive Lincoln SUV with electric leather seats, opening roof and lots and lots of room. In all the comfort we almost forgot to drive ... read more

Hey, remember us? Its the travelling travellers. You may recall our adventures through southern India, rocking out in Glastonbury, the UK and France, traipsing ALL around South America - from mountain high to snorkel low - eating, drinking and chicken-busing our way through Central America... And you may have been lucky enough to catch up with us when we popped back into Sydney for a cup of tea and scones, before shooting off to the other side of the world again! If your memory serves you well you may recall that our plan of action was to fly into Vancouver, Canada, settle into a house, find some friends, walk into high-paying jobs, etc, etc... Well the flight went well (with the exception of the woman in front of me losing consciousness midway over the Pacific, her ... read more