G'day Mates Want you to know I have enjoyed reading about your adventures and seeing your photos from the beginning in Fiji. I did think, Scott, you could have looked more ferocious doing the Hoka dance. I imagine you are working on that. I did not realize you are both into ocean diving as you are. What a fantastic dimension to your experiences "down under". Clover, you write beautifully with all the right mix of interest, information, detail, entertainment, and humor. I enjoyed learning what "mozzies" are. I hope you have recovered from the leech attack (you could carry a cigarette to light when you need to make the leech let go). Good for you - appreciating a proper tea. Very civilized! I have been interested in your comments on the food along the way. Hmm, scrummyburgers - but not at McDonalds, right? I regret to tell you, Lord of The Fries is a play on the title - Lord of The Flies. I look for any evidence you are carrying a didgeridoo by now (sending one home, by chance?) I missed my chance to buy one a few years ago. You are doing good, nephew, doing good! Safe traveling - make memories - know we are looking forward to your next installment. Robert
Pub Picture Luv the pub pic. I saw that too when there, but was too stupid to take the picture. Go to Sydney for New Years sometime. The fireworks are amazing. Keep up the good work. I am here freezing in China. Not sure why I went North? Oh back to the stupid theme that explains it. L8tr, Dave
Curious? Sounds great all. So when are you guys going to see that Mother Big Rock with all the juju? The one in all the post cards that the aborigines like so much? Ever think about island hoping for some good WWII vintage diving? Guadalcanal and such. Of course my idea of distance is exagerated by all maps here placing America in the middle and I think they tend to cut through the region where your at. Suppose maps the Aussies use puts their country in the middle eh? Wonder what Canadian maps look like (ponders America being at the bottom much like Mexico is on American maps). Well, tons of snow, snow, snow and more snow. I've taken to wearing my sunglasses even though the sun isn't out just because everything is so damn white. Still working and planning the wedding. Kate's doing well and we're having a great time...in the snow. Love you both and take care of yourselves. Keep sucking in that gut Scott, it might go away.
Steve
Slave Ship Blues Ahhh. The refreshing sound of slaves straining at the oars below decks while lamenting their plight. Drink you're portion of Rum and back to work you scurvy dogs! You'll pay for this voyage and be thankful you're not keel hauled or sold as a pleasure rag in Bangkok.
Apparently little brother, you didn't listen well whilst I related such pertinent historical experiences as, The Bataan Death March, The Battle for Guadalcanal or the scourage of malaria on poor americans forced to travel into the Pacific. I can't wait till you get close to the Tze Tze Fly or encounter Beri Beri (and Beri Beri is not a Hollywood star). Didn't you every really read The Heart of Darkness or pay attention to Dr. Livingston? I know that was in Africa but you'd better keep in mind that the ecuatorial tropics have only become known as "paradise" since the advent of Air Conditioning and OFF bugspray. Prior to that, Australia was a prison colony because it was HOT and miserable. If the British had known about AC units then they'd have moved the prisoners somewhere else and parked it on easy street. But noooo, you've got to stumble through leech infected pools, swim with killer jellyfish and risk melanoma to get your adventurous jollys. What's next, getting run over by a 1,200 pound bull in Pamplona? Fighting off Candiru in the Amazon? Just remember bro. There's a lot to be said for enjoying the ravages of nature on the Animal Planet from the comfort of your couch with a cold brew, quick access to pizza and more cold beer.
Just remember when things get really hot you'll need to sing Le Boudin (The Blood Sausage). It's the French Foreign Legion march song used when fighting in the Sahara. It'll get you through.
Love, Steve
Words of Wisdom Have the leachs sucked out your brains? Perhaps the heat has liquefy your brain cells and oozed out your pores. Haggus Black Tongue you will be held accountable for your evil ways...bark juice to rum. Cease before your black tongue falls out of your sun scorched head. Enjoy the beauty of mother nature and beware her crafty coharts that leads down the path of darkness. Forget the ring...beware the "wrath of mom" Abandon the buggy forest, pull off the blood sucking leaches, keep away from the sun, leave the killer jelly fish to hunt some other tourist, and when you have had all the fun you can take........come home mom
Great Pictures Hi Scott and Clover! Looks like you two are having a blast. Clover, I think the picture of you cupping your breast is cute, don't listen to the others, they are just jealous. Scott, I am totally with you on the meat and beer diet. Be safe and thanks for adding me to the email. 4 months until I am a Waggoner!
Ta ta grabbin' Hmm...I was under the impression everyone grabbed their left ta ta when drinking tea. Wouldn't you do it as well if they were there? Anyhoo, they are mine I don't have to ask like you guys do, so why not?
Into the Wild Between scummy burgers and hobbit eating leeches I'm feeling better about refusing to go on this venture every day. Oh, I know you didn't invite me but still...I'm enjoying my cozy hole and soaking up all this wonderful freezing weather we're having at the home front. Hey, does anyone go wallaby tipping down there? Or maybe Roo tipping? Dunno, ever since I saw one of those Roo's kick a midgets arse on Real TV I've maintained a healthy distance.
Yeah, I noticed the boob grab also. But the cup of tea adds a little class that you don't normally have when you've done that grab in the past.
You're both lucky you didn't get a leech somewhere that would of really been scary. Hmmm, wonder who would have noticed first? Well got to run. Keep safe and remember...stay to the left.
Steve
Good Job Clover Hey do you always hold your left breast while drinking tea? Just wondering? You hobbits are having a great adventure. I love the Falls pic. Keep up the good work. I got duped out of a 1,000,000 dong here in Saigon. I know it is only $60 but a million sounds a lot cooler. Sneaky little critters these folks are. I think they may have hobbit blood in them. Take care and thanks for the great blog entry!
Nice Dive Pic I paid the same crazy amount on Christmas Day to get a picture at 10 meters with my christmas tree and santa hat on. Where's their Christmas Spirit. I saw lots of sharks as well and actually swam up through about 10 of them with two other divers. I think some food was falling off the boat which drew the sharks in. I was a little unnerved by the whole deal. I would love to hear about the shark attacks if you have some details. Your blog is great and update even! It was great traveling with you and Clover in Kiwi Land! Take care and I hope we cross paths again some day! The Fireworks in Sydney were out of this World. I got goose bumps even! Hasta Luego! Lucky Charms
Fear the Roo. Seeing the horrible effects the heat has on the Roo, the hobbits flea in terror in search of cool waters to bath in. Next, the troubled travel weary hobbits tour the Volcanic Yungaburra WaterFalls in search of the fabled duck-billed beaver. Plat-o-puss?
The horror continues [Open on our Hairy little Hobbit's, underwater and back to back, with Hagas trying to swat away a tiny suspicious looking piece of translucent material while Clover uses Hagas's leg to ward off vicious sharks].
Fatigue and travel go hand in hand as the hobbits learn that one drunken bruhaha after another, and another, (ad-naseum) with physically brutal treks through ancient jungles coupled with visiting vast vista's of desert in 100 + heat and humidity really can not be called a vacation...maybe it's more symbolic of a death march or being lost in the Sahara with the occassional oasis thrown in just to keep you alive. The creature comforts quickly vanish once you leave home. Air Conditioned environments give way to stale rooms with open windows and a chirpping fan in the corner that only reminds you of how insanity correlates to the level of water leaking from your body.
Being exposed to the constant fatigue of translating cultural English slang and using your body in new and unusual ways to convince a confused vendor that you only want a wedge of cheese, some fresh bread and for God's Sake please some regular water. Of course you didn't know that water is typically served carbonated or that in many foreign lands a hamburger is exactly that...a sandwich with ham..."where's the beef? It's in America my little hobbits." On the epic adventures fatigue scale I'd say you've only just reached Rivendale and have yet to venture into the Mines of Moria. There you must truly embrace your despair. You will be faced with rocking your own backpack in a desperate effort to capture some significant piece of memorabilia and flinging yourself in desperation at the foreign teenager that doesn't understand what a "number two value meal is" (Quarter Pounder...yummy). You have only begun to have strange and bizzare conversations with foreigners both while drunk and sober with greater confusion resulting and a developing aversion to human communication. You will clutch furtively at the overweight gaudy tourists that dwell in pampered seclusion and give no notice to your travails or hardships but still you will feel a longing to wear burmuda shorts and drink cocktails in the morning while having your every whim fulfilled. No sycophantic captured natives for you little hobbits but rather the gloomy despair of impoverished locals overcharging for a ride in their turnip trucks and skulking revolutionaries lingering, always in the corners of your vision. Will the hobbits pass this epic challenge of endurance or succumb, thereby surrendering to the ring and seeking solace in the arms of luxurious 5 star hotels? Will they return home scarred but worldy wise about the horrors of dysentary and importance of fresh fruits and vegetable available year round? Or will they become embittered and angry at the lack of civilization beyond the boarders of home....ah, home....it calls to the little hobbits with neon clarity and eternally paved roads. The hobbit burrows of America call to the little hobbits who yet have so far to travel.
I likee. The Balrog blog, i like that. To bad i didn't think it up first. Probably due to the gallons of sweat i lose every time i go into a non air con internet cafe.
Cheers.
D&D Jungle Death Crawl So, not only are the lilly white hobbits required to engage in various sundry local customs but also they must now brave the ancient hyboreole jungle complete with deadly snakes, gimpy tree's which incapacitate the unwary and just when they thought it was safe to go into the water...[modified jaws soundtrack with tinkling sound belying the deadly minute size of the irikanji]. I just wonder if they have those microscopic bugs that reverse flow up your wang whenever you pee in the water??? Will they lilly white hobbits survive this jungle death crawl? Stay tuned as we find out if Haggus Black Tongue can ward off a pack of howling monkies flinging dung...or whether his mate will put the ludicris poo poo dance to good use.
Middle Earth Madness So glad the ring is still safe. Not sure rubbing your butt on the carrot and not the Kiwi was the right move. Glowing anything has got to be very cool. Just make sure Gollum isn't down there waiting for a chance to steal precious. Thanks for the blogs which is very close to the every scary Balrog.
welcome to the green side sure you can respect yourself. Don't be afraid to taste the goodness of broccoli. Trust the people who's ancestors invented kim chi to surprise you. Stoked to follow your updates, keep up the good work. Peace out G's
Good point. Hey, if there's a grub out there that will induce some strange intoxicating feelin, you know we are bound to try it:) Wow, X-mas party time. Hard to think it's xmas time when it's hot and tropical, just don't seem right. Albeit New Zealand is a little colder. Tell Ness to have a Red Beer for us, works wonders on the hang overs.
SunBlock 2000 to the rescue. Nothing works wonders like the new Sun Block 2000... Helps us pasty white folk survive down under. Although clover forgot to put it on her butt and had several painful days of sitting.
Oh really Do you really think photoshopping your pasty white butt into pictures from places like Fiji are gonna make us believe you are traveling the world? Give up the ruse and admit your somewhere in LA. How do I know? Your pasty white body isn't burned up from all the sunshine. :-) Be careful out there and don't eat any bark that isn't juiced.
Jim, your Palestine Partner
Bark Juice Why on earth did you think drinking bark juice would be a good idea?
You seriously didn't feel typsy at all? What a waste of time and resources......
Had the Pason Xmas party last night. first work function without you guys. Have to say it wasn't the same. I am a little HUNG but I think Nes is gonna be in serious trouble when she wakes up... I think Corina's is in order.....
Have a good time in NZ.
Welcome all to the adventures of Clover and Scott. As most of you already know, we've hung up our corporate spurs, placed our domestic lives into brown boxes with labels that now reside in a storage facility, and have purchased our Around the World Tickets!!!
It's time we took our path through the yellow wood.... full info
Uncle Robert
non-member comment
G'day Mates
Want you to know I have enjoyed reading about your adventures and seeing your photos from the beginning in Fiji. I did think, Scott, you could have looked more ferocious doing the Hoka dance. I imagine you are working on that. I did not realize you are both into ocean diving as you are. What a fantastic dimension to your experiences "down under". Clover, you write beautifully with all the right mix of interest, information, detail, entertainment, and humor. I enjoyed learning what "mozzies" are. I hope you have recovered from the leech attack (you could carry a cigarette to light when you need to make the leech let go). Good for you - appreciating a proper tea. Very civilized! I have been interested in your comments on the food along the way. Hmm, scrummyburgers - but not at McDonalds, right? I regret to tell you, Lord of The Fries is a play on the title - Lord of The Flies. I look for any evidence you are carrying a didgeridoo by now (sending one home, by chance?) I missed my chance to buy one a few years ago. You are doing good, nephew, doing good! Safe traveling - make memories - know we are looking forward to your next installment. Robert