Wednesday was a very unique day, as we hopped on a bus and headed to visit the town of Nimbin. The pictures probably give a better explanation than i ever could, but its basically just a hippie town where you can't walk ten metres down the street without smelling pot/ being offered pot/ being offered "special" cookies. Some of the signs (and people for that matter) provided us with much amusement- my favourite being "bringabong" instead of "billabong". The drug use there is so blatant that the police kind of leave everyone alone and turn a blind eye to people lighting [View Full Entry]

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Arrived into brisbane in the rain and went to explore the city a bit... ended up mainly just on the street with all the shops! That night we went to the club that is attatched to the hostel for "ladies night" which meant that all the guys in there had to wear womens clothing, otherwise they wouldnt be served drinks. Day 2 in Brisbane, met a really nice girl called Siobhan who is doing oz experience too and was staying in Caitlin and Kristie's room- turns out she is doing almost the identical thing to us too, so will be sticking [View Full Entry]

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So, classes have started by now. I’m taking Marine Biology, Victorian Literature, “The Anglo-Saxons: An Interdisciplinary Approach,” and a history course. They also offer mini courses through our Clubs and Societies organization, and they are awesome. They have everything from bone carving to conversational Spanish to Polynesian dance. Anyway, I’m taking “Delectable Deserts” and “Beginners Squash,” both of which should be loads of fun. All of my flatmates have arrived by now. There are four in all: Gretchen (my kiwi host), Rob from Montana, and Thomas/Tom from South Carolina (oh the accent). Rob’s basically never there because his girlfriend came through [View Full Entry]

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While Sydney is a great city we decided to escape the hustle and bustle of World Youth Day with a couple of trips that showed a very different side to the area. We had already found peace and quiet on the coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee and the Scenic walk round Manly and had even experienced a bit of wild-life in the form of some huge but apparently harmless spiders on Manly, but we wanted more. On Friday we got up at the crack of dawn to join an "Oz Experience" day tour to the Blue Mountains. The mountains are [View Full Entry]

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Hi guys Before we start our big European holiday I thought I would share some of the highlights of planning a 7 week trip with you. It is also a good way to practice using this travelblog before I need to use it in anger. Let me know if you receive this blog by posting a message on the site. As we travel around we would love to receive messages from home keeping us up to date with the latest gossip... I mean news. Here goes... As some of you are aware our travel plans started when Geoff retired in April. [View Full Entry]

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Well this is my last blog entry so I hope you enjoy it.... Well since my last entry in Nelson I have had quite the adventure. I left Nelson and hitchhiked to Blenhem then to Picton right to the Ferry terminal where I instantly got onto the ferry that was leaving in about 10mins so it was pretty perfect timing, I was lucky the guy who gave me a lift was helping me out so much, he even called the other ferry to see what time they were departing. Anyway I jumped on the ferry and took the journey back to [View Full Entry]

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Hi again! i have now been in new zealand for over 3 weeks, and can i just say, i am holding each and everyone of you responsible for the bout of homesickness i've been getting over. apparently i have amazing family and friends and you people just make it hard to go places without you! that being said, i think i am starting to get into the swing of life here, and i really am loving it! on the great advice of lauren smith i am trying to drink in and live up as many moments of this experience that i [View Full Entry]

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We just got to Franz Josef glacier and it's pouring outside. We've splurged on a private room at the YHA lodge so we don't have to sleep in the van. We have a lot to catch up on since we haven't had fast Internet access... this will be a long entry! After Jake's bungy jump in Taupo (see the video we uploaded today), we drove to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. The architecture of the waterfront area is impressive-- they built a wooden bridge/sculpture that looks like a cross between a futuristic shantytown and a boat. Not wanting to spend [View Full Entry]

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Spent much of my last day in Brisbane trying to find shoes that would fit onto my very swollen foot, as i was currently walkign round the city barefoot - lovely i know. Then hopped on the bus to surfers paradise , or surfer's parasite as my bus driver called it- hes clearly not a fan of touristy beach areas where all there is to do is surf, sunbathe and go out clubbing, but its fun for a few days! When we arrived in surfers we found, to our great pleasure that Kristie siobhan caitlin and I were all in the [View Full Entry]

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The night sky in the Australian country is breathtaking, especially when you get to see the Southern Cross, stars you can only see on this side of the world. Today, we had the classic Australian blue clear skies while walking the streets of Canberra in the Australian capital. Visiting the Australian National University, I was again struck by how spacious the grounds were, and the beauty of Canberra red bricks used in building the schools. At the University walk, trees lined up on both sides bare and without leaves, planted there to show the changing of the seasons. It should be [View Full Entry]

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