Back To The Western World

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After two months of travelling through the poverty stricken countries of Southeast Asia, we arrived back in the modern world. We flew into Sydney, Australia on an absolutely beautiful and sunny day. We were lucky enough to have a few friends from home who were living in Sydney (Mike's friend Harry and Meghan's friend Laura) and they were gracious enough to let us move in for a few days. We also met up with one of Mike's best friends from home, Matt, who decided to join in on our journey and travel with us for the remainder of our trip.

We all met up in spunky Bondi Beach, where both Harry and Laura live and began enjoying our coastal surroundings. Bondi Beach is the infamous party town just outside Sydney that becomes the home to most young foreigners who decide to stay and live in relaxing Australia. We stepped off the bus, the sun was shining and we immediately decided to hit the beach. When we got down to the beach every inch of the silky yellow sand was occupied by beachgoers. Gone are the days of desolate, quiet beaches, welcome to the saturated beaches where the party never ends. Although this was much different than the tranquil islands of Thailand, we began to enjoy the crowds of people (who amazingly all spoke English) and the vibe of the popping city. We spent the next several days at the beach, soaking in all of Australia's hot sun, and enjoying the crazy nightlife. Our second night, after a great sushi dinner, we went bar hopping around Sydney. Our first bar of the night was called Minus 5, which is located in Sydney's harbor right next to the Opera House. For the first time seeing the famous Opera House, it was absolutely beautiful. The lit architectural masterpiece sparkled in the night and reflected beautifully over the water. We took several pictures, but they didn't turn out too well since we did not have a tri-pod. We then made our way over to the bar. Minus 5 is an ice bar, where literally everything is made out of ice. When we got there, the front desk prepped us and gave us a new wardrobe: parkas, booties, mittens and gloves. Once dressed, we were taken into a entryroom where we had to wait for the group before us to come out. Due to the fact that the bar is "so" cold, negative five degrees Celsius (about 40 degrees Farenheit), guests are permitted to stay only 30 minutes inside the ice chamber. After the first group came out, it was our turn to enter the bar. The chilly room was filled with ice sculptures (dolphins, penguins, Titan, etc.), chandeliers, tables, chairs and even a bar created entirely from ice. We made our way over to the bar and were given drinks in thick ice mugs. At first we were scared that our tongues would stick to the ice, but thankfully it didn't happen. None of us actually thought that the bar was THAT cold, we think they make it out to be way colder than it actually is. Our thirty minutes went quick and soon enough we were out. We had a fun time and were satisfied with our choice in spending a pretty dime for the experience. The rest of the great night was spent in several bars in downtown Sydney.

On our third day in Sydney, we decided to be productive and a bit touristy so we went downtown to the Harbor. We saw the Opera House again, but this time in daylight. It was a cold, muggy and rainy day so unfortunately the beautiful building didn't seem to shine the way it does in most pictures. We took a ferry over to the other side of the harbor and went to the Taronga Zoo. We spent the day looking at a myriad of zoo creatures: kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, chimpanzees and the sort. After a fun visit at the zoo, we walked through the enchanting streets of downtown Sydney. Although the weather was a bit cold, we enjoyed the thriving city and the bustling streets. We actually had a really fun day and it was nice to see the city of Sydney in the daytime. We had dinner at a great family owned pizzeria and then headed back to Laura's for a relaxing night.

Although we had only anticipated staying in Sydney for a few days, we actually stayed for a week. We had a blast with Laura and Harry and enjoyed the magical city of Sydney. We decided that we needed to get a move on it and began looking for a car. Initially, we had wanted to buy a car for cheap (a tip that we had been told of by other travellers) and then sell it at the end of our journey. We went down to the seedy area of Sydney, called Kingscross, and began the search for our dream car. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a car in our budget and decided to rather rent a car. We found a traveller's rental car business and decided to go with a stationwagon. We picked up our car the next morning and were on our way. Betty, our nickname for our '98 Ford Stationwagon, was a perfect car to take the three of us on an Ozzy adventure. It was also equipped with all of the necessities: a tent, pots and pans, a table and chairs, a cooler (otherwise known as an "esky" in Australia) and a few other ammenities. And we were off. We said goodbye to Laura and Harry and made our up Australia.

The first stop on our road trip was the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains are located an hour west of Sydney and offer an amazing view of spectacular rock formations, cliffs, valleys and a tropical wilderness. The Blue Mountains derived their name from the blueish hue that the mountains exude. This blue color is caused by the release of volatile oils from the eucalyptus forests that occupy this area. It is rather stunning. We drove through the winding mountains, hiked a bit through Wentworth Falls (which were nothing impressive due to the lack of water falling) and witnessed the beautiful Three Sisters. The Three Sisters are a famous rock formation that were formed by erosion. Indigenous Australian legend tells that three sisters fell in love with three men from neighboring tribes, but they were unable to wed due to tribal law. The sisters were turned to stone to protect them when battles began and they were never seen as humans again. After taking a few pictures in front of the Three Sisters and the breathtaking valleys they stand in front of, we decided to go on the steepest railway in the world. We boarded the almost vertical ride and for almost two minutes, rode the slow machine down to a lower platform. It was a bit overrated. However, when we got to the bottom we were surrounded by thick vegetation. Enormous tree ferns, ancient trees and a dense rainforest bordered the majestic valley. Unfortunately we weren't able to spend enough time in the beautiful environment and had to get to our campsite. We drove further into the Blue Mountains in pursuit of our campsite. As the last few rays of the sun diminished and as we were nearing our site, we caught a quick glimpse of a kangaroo hopping in front of our car. It was only a split second and to our dismay, the only wild kangaroo we would see the whole trip.

We arose early the next morning and drove the rest of the way through the colorful mountains. The rest of the afternoon was spent driving north. We stopped at a beachside town called Seal Rock, and decided to stay there for a night. We found an awesome campsite called Treachery. Treachery was stunningly located behind sand dunes that lay directly in front of the ocean. Although the weather was a bit crummy and the surf a bit rough, we enjoyed the atmosphere of the spot and decided to stay a couple of days. After relaxing a bit, we jumped back in Betty and drove further north. Along the way, we stopped in a few cute little beach towns like Forster's Beach and Coff's Harbor for a quick bite to eat. So many of the small beach towns reminded us of Southern California and quickly made us feel at home. The people were just as friendly as the towns were likeable. As we were driving we were amazed at how much water resided along the coast. As if the enormous ocean wasn't enough, gigantic emerald green lakes and rivers lay just inland of the ocean and provided locals with an alternate form of beautiful waters. It was crazy to think of how much water there was along the coast and then how little water there was in the unhospitable Outback of Australia.

After our first week and a half in Australia, we had driven through some amazing little beach towns along the eastern coast, had some decent weather (a mixture of sun and rain) and were enjoying all Australia had to offer. Our friend Matt decided that he wanted to become a certified scuba diver so that he could dive later with us in the famed Great Barrier Reef. He found a dive school in Byron Bay and we decided to make it our home for the next week. Byron Bay was a great town and totally reminded us of the beaches in Southern California. The vibe was great, the weather was warm and we were excited to get some sun. While Matt was in school each day, the two of us hit up a variety of beaches. Some of them were enormous; they strected for miles and were mostly empty, besides a few kite surfers and surfers here and there. A huge difference that we noticed from the beaches at home was that the majority of the coastline was completely untouched by houses or buildings. Empty white sand and clear blue water was everywhere and wonderfully, people were not. Each night as Matt finished his class we cooked dinner by the campfire, watched beautiful sunsets (although weirdly not over the ocean since we were on the east coast) and relaxed. Life is great.

On Matt's final day of classes we decided to go diving with him. We got all of our gear and headed out on the choppy sea to the dive site: Julian Rocks. During our dive we saw an enormous sleeping turtle, a half dozen spotted Wobbegong Sharks (small harmless sharks, which each had amazing and unique patterns) and several schools of fish. It was a quick and fun dive. That night in celebration of Matt passing his test, we met up with several of the people that were in his class and went to a local bar overlooking the water. It was great fun.

After 5 days in charming Byron Bay, we decided we better move on and headed further up the coast.

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Photos

Megs and Mike
Three Sisters:Blue Mountains

Comments

[Mary Schafer]

red dress
Beautiful red dress Meg. And sexy! You, al l l of you look so young and healthy. Keep having fun. Aunt Mary