Bondi Beach Feb 1-2

Today we were beach bums. We weren't the only ones on the beach. Hundreds of people were enjoying the sun in all sorts of ways…even topless…hmmm. Brave souls! The whole day was spent hanging at Bondi Beach attempting to get a tan. Luke swam in the ocean and did some body surfing. Phillip and Casta splashed around while Calesta barely got her feet wet. Gallons of sunblock later we were successful in achieving somewhat of a tan. We realized pretty quickly what spots we missed. We all have random designs of red patches. This whole trip we have been in search of the cheapest beer…we finally found it! $3.50 beers and happy hour! Wooohoo!

So our hostel…. Phillips grand pick! Lamrock Lodge…the name should have given it away but it didn't stop us. This place is located about five minutes from the beach sweet right? Well here's the kicker. Its about 90-95 degrees Fahrenheit and surprisingly humid here. The hostel rooms were a 10 x 10 space cooled with one portable fan that did a great job recirculating the muggy air from our rooms. Casta and Calesta never understood how and why men complained about being sweaty while sleeping due to having the temperature turned up in the winter. Lets just say that they have a new found respect for sweat yourself to sleep! Miserable. After two nights of hell we decided to check out. In the end we lost money because we had to prepay for the rooms but it was well worth the move to another hostel. Fancy this! The new hostel has air-conditioning! We have moved away from the beach and into the red light district…could be an interesting night :)

Sydney 1/28-1/31

We are back in Sydney and have a sightseeing trip planned for the first half of the day. We woke up early in the morning to make our 7:00 am pick up time. On our tour we saw main highlights of the city. We saw Chinatown, Visited Mrs Macquarie's Chair, Paddington, drove through the red-light district of Kings Cross, and walked around Bondi Beach. After the tour we grabbed a quick bite to eat, and toured the Sydney Aquarium. Here they had everything we didn't see while snorkeling on the Green Island. The aquarium had jellyfish, coral, sting rays, sharks, tons of tropical fish, river/freshwater fish, turtles, platypus, penguins, etc.










For the next 3 days we toured Sydney on our own terms. We went shopping, visited the Museum of Sydney, the Australia Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Sydney Tower. In the evenings we treated ourselves to ice-cream, wine, and food from top rated restaurants.

Alice Springs 1/27

After a 30-40 minute fight we arrived in Alice Springs, a town of 29,000 people. Hard to believe it could have this many people since Ayers Rock is not to far away and only has 450 people. Alice Springs is a town rich in natural resources. We were told its main industries are mining, cattle, and tourism. We helped out their tourism industry today and and took a trip around town, stopping at major historical venues. Most of the places we visited were inside and air-conditioned, so we were able to escape the 112 degree plus temperature for a little while.

Our first stop was the Aboriginal Art Gallery. This gallery was home to original tools, spears, boomerangs, paintings, clothing, etc. of the Aboriginal people. It also housed the worlds most expensive piece of Aboriginal art. This artwork consisted of four to five canvas panels that stood probably 7 feet tall. It was sold in an auction for over $1 million dollars back in 2007. The lower level of the gallery featured art you could purchase. Some of the art work was absolutely amazing. It was interesting to see the difference in style painting from generation to generation.

Next stop was the Royal Doctor Flying Service. The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (aka The Flying Doctor) is an emergency and primary health care service. The RFDS was designed for those living in rural, remote and regional areas of Australia. Similar to Alaska in regards to rural populations, many individuals cannot access a hospital or general practice due to the vast distances of the Outback. This place was right down Casta's ally. While the rest of us found the service to be interesting, Casta loved it. Who knows, maybe some day she will be a flight nurse with a similar service back home.

Now off to the School of the Air. This school is an educational service for children living in remote areas of Central Australia. In the Alice Springs program, there are currently 140 children enrolled in various grades from preschool to 9th grade. It was called the School of the Air, because lessons were transmitted through radio. Only until recently the school received a grant for educational resources such as computers web cams, printers, etc. The children all log on to their computers (at a designated time per grade level) and interact with fellow students and teachers for daily lessons. Homework is sent via postal service. Four times a year, for social interaction, the school flies the children to Alice Springs for a "in school week". During this week the children get to attend a public school with children their own age and get some face to face time with the students and teachers they see everyday online. The week is also filled with fun and games for the whole family.

Second to last stop was the Overland Telegraph Station. Built when settlement in Alice Springs began in 1871, The Overland Telegraph Station was a repeater station for lines that ran from Adelaide (Southeast) through Alice (Central) and up to Darwin (North). The line also linked Australia's south and southeast to the rest of the world. From Darwin, the telegraph line traveled underwater and on land to Indonesia, Singapore, Burma, British India and across Asia and Europe to London.

Our last stop was Anzac Hill, a memorial for those who lost their lives in battle.

Ayers Rock 1/26

So today started off at 0450 in the morning…we hopped a tour bus and drove up to Uluru or otherwise known as Ayers Rock to watch the sunrise. The rock changes colors through out the day as the sun sets and rises. We had the opportunity to see both. Only about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. After watching the sunset on Uluru our journey took us to the sacred Kata Tjuta or otherwise known as the Olgas.

The flies are in full force and the sun continues to shine. By this time the temp is about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Water intake at this point = 2 liters per person.

In the Aboriginal culture the Olgas are a sacred ground for men. This is where men hold "meetings" and share stories. The culture here is expressed in oral tradition. Creation stories or what is known as "dreamtime" are passed on to the "right people" aka fellow male aboriginal people. Women is this culture wouldn't dream of hiking the enormous rock domes of the Olgas. So being the adventurous women we are we went anyway! By the time the hike was over the temp is now 114 degrees Fahrenheit! Water intake= 3.5 liters per person. We took a break from the hiking and sight seeing in our air-conditioned room. We we got back to our rooms we were greeted by what we now know as a wasp. This wasp wasn't any old Alaskan wasp! Its was the size of our dragon flies! Luke decided to be the brave one of the bunch and get the wasp out of the room. How will he do this? With a can of bug spray! Oh yes! And how did the wasp react to the bug spray….? Lets just say that Luke ran around the room screaming and yelling with his eyes closed all the while desperately spraying bug spray. In the end one wasp down! Later in the day we headed back the Uluru to walk the base of the rock. Our tour guide had been with the company for many years so he had a lot of information to share with us. We visited water holes, saw aboriginal cave paintings and visited the local aboriginal culture center. This took several hours and by the time we had completed our walk it was time for the sun to set. We enjoyed local wine and snacks as we watch the sun go down. It wasn't long before the entire rock was covered in shadow. Today is also Australian day! What better way to celebrate Aussie day than with a BBQ. We joined people from all over the world and ate local foods. We had kangaroo and emu along with all the beer and wine you can drink… :). After dessert, the chef turned off all the lanterns and lights for some star gazing. He pointed out 2 galaxies, the southern cross, Venus, and all the constellations. In the southern hemisphere all the constellations are upside down. The star gazing was interrupted by a German barking spider. This Older German man and his wife broke away from the group and walked toward the bus which was about 50 yards away. Out of nowhere came this series of trumpet blasts from German man. Lets just say we did our very best not to break out if laughter. I guess only Americans find farting funny because everyone else pretended like nothing happened. We saw a few more stars and headed back to the hotel. Off to Alice Springs in the morning.

Ayers Rock 1/25

Today we arrived in Ayers Rock. Hot! 115 degrees Fahrenheit. It feels like we all died and went to hell! Scorching sun and red sand.
We didn't do much today except for drink water and look around at the local tourist shops for a hat.

Jan 24 Cairns

Another beautiful day in Cairns. Today we boarded a fast catamaran to the Green Island for a snorkeling tour. The boat ride took 50 minutes each way the waters were calm. Thank goodness nobody got sick. The Green Island was covered in rainforest and white sandy beaches. The Great Barrier Reef could be seen from the dock. We got directions to the dive shop and then headed off to collect our snorkel gear. Its stinger season now so stinger suits (head to toe Lycra suits) were highly recommended. Australian waters are home to the box jellyfish, one of the most deadliest jellyfish in the world.
With snorkeling gear and stinger suits we headed to the ocean. Due to the Cyclone that recently formed off the coast of Cairns visibility was bad this morning. Only one meter (3.28 ft) of visibility, so no cool photos of fish to share, but check out these stinger suits. Everyone looked pretty good in the stinger suits, but Luke took it to a new level. He had a team of Japanese tourists following him around taking pictures of him. I guess they don't make men like that in Japan. After a hour or so of impressing the Asian tourist, and swimming around in murky water we difficultly pulled off the suits and toured the island. The island was a tourist attraction since the early 1900s and is also home to the largest captive salt water crocodile. We did not get to view croc due to time constraints. Another hour or so of walking around and eating ice-cream until we boarded our fast catamaran and headed back to Cairns. We all we tired from fighting off Luke's Asian harem so we slept the majority of the boat trip back. Upon arriving in Cairns we went to the supermarket (Woolworth's) and picked up some meat to BBQ at the hotel pool grill. We bought 1kg of BBQ chicken wings, 3 different flavors of chicken kabobs, and 4 pre-seasoned steaks. After figuring out how to start the 2 grills, Luke showed those Ossies how to grill USA style. Eating to the point of being uncomfortable, we packed up the leftovers and called it an early night. Off to Ayers rock in the morning……..

Cairns 1/23

So the weather forecast called for rain, but much like Alaska, the meteorologist was incorrect. No rain just blue skies and sunshine, all day.... So I hear it is -6 back home. So anyway it was beautiful. We spent the day walking around downtown Cairns. We stopped at the local lagoon and took a swim. Because of the crocs and "stingers" (jellyfish) most of the beaches in Queensland state are closed to swimming. The people improvise by putting up nets in the ocean or pumping saltwater into a man made area called a lagoon. Basically it is a giant saltwater swimming pool at the beach. The lagoon was packed with locals and tourist alike all enjoying a hot day in the sun.

After the swim we were on a mission to cuddle a kola. We went to the Cairns Casino/zoo. Atop the casino was a rainforest dome. We payed a fee, and got to take a picture holding the fuzzy little guys. Too bad they are endangered because they would be a sick pet. The handler told us that Cairns is the only place in Australia where you can hold a kola.

That evening we decided to try a local eatery called Dundee's. It was located on the boardwalk in the marina. The marina was home to 100 of sailboats and tour ships. Dundee's on the other hand was home to a traditional Australian meal. Dundee's featured beef, chicken, pasta, kangaroo, emu, crocodile and fresh seafood. Wanting to try something new and different we opted for some Australian wine and a sampler platter of kangaroo, fish, croc, emu, and buffalo as our appetizer. Just so you know kangaroo taste like beef, croc and emu taste like chicken. Not bad, but quite spendy.