One word... ...WoAhhhhhhh! ... ...more words: (as transcribed from my scattered journal, so excuse the writing.) 25th July Well, it's been the most wonderful week of fresh air, pixies, family and awesome hitchhiking! It all started a bit slow after Salt Spring Island, with Steve n I not getting the best of luck with our rides up to Courtenay (but nothing as bad as the previous week!) But eventually our lunatic behaviour got us there and we rolled into Alani's place before dark. Spent a beautiful few days hanging out, gardening, making felt and swimming in rivers and waterfal [View Full Entry]

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Well, it's been an eventful week since the end of the Toby tour. Many more adventures than I expected - but then, what do you ever expect when you're on the road? We took 4 days hitching from Canmore before we got to the island. Two of them spent in the pouring rain (about 7 hours waiting for a ride) and the other two spent in the roasting sun. After a short (but wonderful) stint in Victoria involving swims in the sea, hanging out on a pirate ship, dumpster diving, going on a 60km bike ride to a lake and getting [View Full Entry]

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...something of interest here soon... til then enjoy photos! :) [View Full Entry]

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Still trekkin around with the band... playing the same ol songs... stayin in the same ol hotels. I've managed to shake my swine flu at last (or whatever fever/headache/cough/dizzy/crappiness I've had for the last week) with lemon & ginger tea and lots of good food. Been driving through some spectacular country, although never seem to get the chance to step outside for more than 5 minutes! Vancouver seemed like a cool city, although I was still pretty out of it with the flu. My cousin Nate came up from Seattle to see the gig and we spent the arvo hanging out [View Full Entry]

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Well, the town I'm currently in - Fort St John in Northern BC, isn't even currently listed on Travelblog, which probably sums up a lot right there. Instantly reminding me of something of a cross between Manjimup and Karratha (in West Oz) I'm not quite as distressed as I would otherwise be that I'm holed up in a hotel room with the flu *oink oink* (hahaha! just joking!... or AM i? ;) Getting here was probably the most interesting part. We left Milwaukee at 6am and arrived here at midnight... and the sun shone the [View Full Entry]

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The thing that is so weird about America is how familiar it all is, yet I seem to be experiencing some of the strangest kind of culture shock of my life! It's as if someone has taken all of the over-the-top, in-your-face hyperbole of every bad Hollywood film or American sitcom and plonked it into real life... only the sad thing is that it's the other way around. It is ACTUALLY like that! Everyone is shouting all the time! Everywhere...EVERYWHERE there are advertisements demanding you buy stuff... or ELSE! There is a looming ominous feeling that you are about to be [View Full Entry]

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After a two hour drive, another 2 hour four-wheel drive (through some VERY hairy bush terrain) and a 2 hour trek up a muddy vine-entangled, fern-covered mountain, Qua, Lee, Ben and myself found ourself well and truly in "Da Jungle"! And it was "Massif!" Thankfully having watched the 5 minute instruction video of the "Gibbon Experience" earlier, we kind of knew what to do when we were given a handful of harnesses, carabeenas and pulleys by our friendly Lao guide, and with a big smile, told to zip off on a series of flying foxes to the treehouse we would [View Full Entry]

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Well, what a milestone! Two years and no blogs later, I've found my password and can blog once more! :) This is just a quickie, really seeing as there are no thousand-word pictures to put up (YET! i'll have to raid Qua's camera when she gets back) Pai is a beautiful litte town in amongst the mountains of North-Western Thailand. It's got some of the best music I've heard in the whole country (which isn't saying a whole lot, but there is some great live jazz bands as well as just GOOD music playing everywhere!) but is also the most chilled [View Full Entry]

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Well, to explain the lack of blog for a while- I've been travelling incognito as I went around the (Australian) countryside surprising friends and family who had no idea I was home. Lex at first thought I was a recording of a ukulele, both Struth and Luce didn't seem to register that I was back for a good 5 minutes, Dad looked at me funny then went a bit teary and Mum asked me who I was sitting on her verandah! :) I just arrived at Mum's today, but have spend the last few days at Dad's chilling among the trees [View Full Entry]

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Well so end the adventures in France (for now). I'll spare you all the details to avoid provoking jealousy ;) but pretty much it boils down to the fact that I had an absolute ball in Tours- thanks to my wonderful friends and travel guides, Alex and Thierry. I have eaten enough pastry for the next four years, tasted stinky cheese so stinky that is actually illegal in most parts of the world, seen countless acts of brilliant music and wandered aimlessly like I've never wandered aimlessly before! And as if that wasn't good enough, I have photo evidence as well!! [View Full Entry]

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