Blogs from Anglesea, Victoria, Australia, Oceania

Photo of Lighthouse, and coffee shop which used to be the stables for the lighthouse keeper.... read more

We arrived in Melbourne 24th of May and slept over at a Best Western Motel near the airport. The next morning I took a taxi out to the storage place to pick up our Land Cruiser. That was the first problem. The batteries had gone flat. Well after a jump start I doubled back to the motel and picked Liesel up (without turning of the engine) and headed toward the city to a specialised battery centre. They tested the batteries which by this time had picked up some what, but we decided in the spirit of caution to replace both. Of interest I did not know one got left and right hand polarity batteries - you need opposites on a Land Cruiser. I dropped Liesel off at a chalet we had booked in Coburg and took ... read more

After we left the cold weather in Wilsons Prom, we decided to skip Phillip Island because the Moto GP was on that weekend and head straight for the GOR. We drove through Geelong stocked up on supplies and made our way through the surf towns of Torquay and Anglesea. Torquay is the home of the original Quiksilver and Rip Curl shops and some real bargains can be found and we painfully looked but didn't touch and moved on quickly to Anglesea. Anglesea is a nice little seaside town with a great beach to learn to surf. From here the road continues to Aireys Inlet which has a famous lighthouse but as we had planned to see the Cape Otway lighthouse further along the coast we decided to push on. From here the road really starts to ... read more

Now while many of my US friends spent the fourth of July having an outdoor barbecue, watching the fireworks, and reflecting on what an amazing nation they live in, I spent the weekend with 80 university and graduate students at Anglesea Recreation Camp. Though not a patriotic trip of sorts, I had a wonderful time at my first Coptic University Convention in Australia! For those not familiar with the convention scene, Coptic conventions aim to bring together Coptic youth of the same age group and spend days in spiritual enrichment activities. These can be lectures from priests/bishops/leaders, divine liturgies, and lots of free time activities (sports/games/etc.). It's kind of like a mini-summer camp, but it comes during the winter and summer months. It's also a great way to network with other Coptic people, especially if you ... read more

I've already gotten into the mode of procrastinating and homework in July just seems wrong from every angle. Last weekend, I went with the surf club and mostly international students to Wye River, which is the town we stayed in at a bunk house and then actually went surfing at Anglesea. The ride there was somewhat treacherous since we had stopped to eat on the way and then went on Great Ocean Road. Beautiful rode and scenery when visible but it was at night with a full stomach. For you that have been up to Grandad's bluff in La Crosse, think about the curves in that road and multiply it by 10 and then add about an hour and a half. I apparently decided to catch my mom's motion sickness which was not a good feeling ... read more