Blogs from New South Wales, Australia, Oceania - page 1208

21 September 2003 It wasn’t until today that work took me out of Victoria again. I wanted to travel to Griffith by a different route and noticed on my map a straight stretch of road between Benalla and Cobram which I had not travelled on before. First the roads I drove on were the familiar Goulbourn Valley Highway out of Yea and the Midland Highway that took me into Benalla. About ten kilometres out of that town the road branches to the north. The landscape is fairly flat in this area and farmers have taken advantage of the green pastures, running many head of sheep on their properties. After quite a few kilometres I arrived at the New South Wales border town of Tocumwal where I crossed the Murray River. The weather was uncommonly warm so ... read more

NZ Warriors - versus - Canberra Raiders 17-16 The crowd roared. Black and white flags covered Aussie Stadium like a blanket. "Warr-i-ors! Warr-i-ors!" the Kiwis chanted in unison. The Warriors had just won the semi-final Rugby League game that with a little luck, will bring them into the Final Four Championship. And so it goes... the treasured Australian game of rugby. I've never known much about the game, but after witnessing my first Pro-rugby game, I can say that it is both an entertaining and admirable sport. As many Americans equate rugby to American football, I disagree. Although it could be argued that the two are very similar, I'd say rugby deserves to be in a class of its own. As my Irish and Welsh friends provided the necessary commentary, I caught on quickly to the ... read more

As I came into the city on the bus this morning, all I thought of was this day -- 2 years ago. September 11. A day the whole world remembers. A day, that for a moment, the whole world stopped. It's intriguing to get the Australian perspective of the US at a time when terrorism is the new wave in crime. While 9/11 is a sad day for the US, October 12 is a sad day for Australia. October 12 marks one year since the bombings in Bali took place. 88 Aussies died in Bali while on "holiday". That day Australians realized that they were no longer "safe" from the terrorist activities occurring in the rest of the world. As the paper said today, "Due to Australia's "lucky" location it seems as though - like the ... read more

Saturday, 23 August 2003 Slept well last night, woke up around seven o'clock. I'm still in Temora, as I will be until next Friday when I hope to complete a successful week working in a centre here in town. I didn't want to waste the day, so decided to travel via back roads to Glenfell some one hundred kilometres north east of Temora. It was around ten-thirty when I started the car and drove out of town along the Young Road. Not far along the way I came across a sign indicating Glenfell. This road past very flat farming country, sheep grazed contently as I passed. I was particularly surprised to see the flocks of birds feasting on new seeds that grew on the side of the road. I followed more signs to eventually arrive at ... read more

31 July 2003 After a seven hour drive last Tuesday I arrived at my pre-booked accommodation in Griffith. I have settled into this Budget motel and although it isn't as comfortable as the motel I usually stay in, it does serve good meals. I have been having both breakfast and my evening meals delivered to my unit, Which has saved me an evening trip to the local club. I was surprised to find it was right next door to the Pre-School that I enjoyed working in just a few months ago. It has been cold in the mornings and I have to pour water over the windscreen before I head off to work.... read more