I can't believe that I am going home tomorrow. It was a blast, but I guess it has to end sometime. I have been working alot the last couple of days so today I tried to see as much of Melbourne as possible. I started at the Queen Victoria Market that is huge and had tons of food, junk, cool stuff, etc. I enjoyed listening to a Peruvian band and watching little Australian kids dance around to the music. I then walked over to the Koorie Heritage Cultural Center that had some incredible aboriginal works and a great facility. I hopped [View Full Entry]

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I'm now in Melbourne and finished the first talk today at University of Melbourne - two more to go. However, I had an amazing weekend hanging out with Bruce's mom and brother (and his mom's friend). They were a hoot! We saw some amazing sights along the Great Ocean Road and I took way too many photos. There were so many awesome views of the ocean, the cliffs, the rock formations and the wildlife to capture. I took the train out to Geelong on Saturday morning and they picked me up from the train station and we headed to Port Campbell [View Full Entry]

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On Wednesday morning, I drove up to see various parts of the Daintree Rainforest. It's reported that "this World Heritage Listed area contains the highest number of plant and animal species that are rare, or threatened with extinction, anywhere in the world. The Daintree Rainforest is over one hundred and thirty-five million years old - the oldest in the world. Approximately 430 species of birds live among the trees, including 13 species that are found nowhere else in the world." I first stopped at Mossman Gorge and to do a walk by the Kuku Yalanji people (aboriginal people who have been [View Full Entry]

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So after rescheduling my second dive day a couple of times, it still didn’t work out since the weather has continued to be cool, windy, overcast. I will just have to wait to dive again in the sunny Carribean. Yesterday I worked in the morning and then hung out at the pool (then the beach) and met some lovely Victorian’s - Lynn and Ian. They own a canola farm south of Melbourne which I am now invited to visit . We had a great dinner at Port of Call Bistro in the evening and today I chilled out at the beach. [View Full Entry]

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I went diving yesterday. The diving was great, but getting to/from the dive site was quite an adventure (as was trying to get back up the ladder onto the boat). The wind was blowing like crazy so the ride over and back was reeeeaaallllllllly rough! Several people needed the little brown bags to barf up their breakfast and lunch. Fortunately, I took the 24 hour Dramamine so didn’t lose my lunch, but it was a really uncomfortable ride. I got banged up pretty good while trying to put on my wetsuit, go up down the stairs, getting on the boat, etc. [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Port Douglas late last night and this place is a pretty cool, beach community. It's a smaller town up the coast from Cairns and I am staying close to the beach so hung out there today for a bit (as well as stocked up on some supplies since am staying at an apartment so can do a bit of cooking/laundry, etc.). I walked over to a restaurant on the pier for dinner to see them feed a giant Grouper named, George, but George didn't show. It started raining so the guy that feeds him said that's probably why [View Full Entry]

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It’s been a busy couple of days - and having a fabulous time! I went with Andy and Val to the Aquarium and to the Caversham Wildlife Park. I have seen a few kangaroos around the roadsides, but had a chance to pet some of the furry critters at the Park (as well as koalas). It was incredible to see the various fauna from this region - echidna, Tasmanian devils, cassowary, emu, kookaburra, etc. In the evening, I went to Leisa and Wency’s place for a delicious Indian feast. Judy joined us and we had a great evening of food, wine, [View Full Entry]

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I put the wrong days in my last post - today is Sunday morning here (and Sat. night in US). I had an opportunity to walk around Perth yesterday (my Saturday) and went to the art museum, a little craft market, shopping areas, etc. Perth is growing rapidly because of the mining boom and all the lucrative jobs here. So, there is tons of construction. See all the cranes on their skyline below. There are tons of young people out and about and it seems a little rough around the edges here. I guess after coming from Sydney which is very [View Full Entry]

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So, my last day in Sydney, I made it to the Australian Museum (http://www.austmus.gov.au/) which was interesting, but also a little strange. There was an amazing exhibit of Western Australian Aboriginal art from the Papunya people. The exhibit was very well done with some massive paintings and a wide variety of artists as well as an interesting documentary about the artists (who relocated to their aboriginal lands to start an art collective). The next morning (reallllly early), I left the hotel for my 5 hour flight to Perth. I arrived around 11:10 am Perth time and have been going non-stop [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday I had to work in the morning so didn't have as much time for sightseeing, but I did manage to take the ferry out to Manly Beach. It was a bit warmer so am glad I went in the afternoon. It's still fairly chilly here, but pleasant in the sun when there is no breeze. I love just walking around Circular Quay and the city. However, I figured out how to take the subway and it was quite easy and efficient. They have double decker trains which are interesting and they get just as jam packed as the DC metro [View Full Entry]

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