Weekend in the Sun(Rain,&Cloud)Shine Coast

On Day 1, the Sunshine Coast, was the Rainy Coast, Day 2 it was the Cloudy Coast, and on Day 3 it was the SUNSHINE COAST!!!! Wahoo.

I stayed at a friend's (Sarah) place on residence at the University of the Sunshine Coast. It was a nice set up there. She's got access to two pools, a gym, a beach volleyball court, and tennis and basketball courts. The Friday night wasn't the greatest. It just rained and rained, and I ended up watching a chick flick with 7 Canadian Girls. I did go to Australia Zoo .... didn't go in, but I bussed into the parking lot.

On Saturday we headed to Mooloolaba (try saying that one) Beach for a day of fun in the cloud. Went for a quick dip in the water. It was very busy there as they had a Tri event going on. The best part of the day was Hacky Sack Yoga man. By far the most unbelievable Hacky Sacker I've ever seen. He was doing tricks that were unimaginable, then he would balance the ball on his foot and do crazy yoga moves. Unreal! The cloudy was not all bad.... it resulted in one the best sunsets I've seen in Aussieland. And, since the University is loaded with kangaroos, I was able to get my dream (Kangaroo Sunset) Photo. Although it's not bouncing, I still like it!

The Sunday was great. Sarah and I just hung out at the pool and read. The sun was shining. Then some German guys asked if I'd join in for some Beach Volleyball. Are you kidding me??? Of Course!!!! Lots of fun, until a Super-German came in. I like playing against Super players cause it forces you to play well, but when you play with one, all he wants is to smash the ball the whole time. Not a team player. Then had to say goodbye to the life of a student and head back to Brisbane, ready for the trip to Fraser Island tomorrow!

The pool with the beach volleyball court in the back ....

Uploaded photos to my photosite.

Rain Rain Go Away

Leaving Brissy this morning. It's pouring rain again. Boooooo!!!!! I'm hoping the Sunshine Coast lives up to its name!

Surfer's Paradise? More Like ......

Surfer's Notsonice. At least weatherwise because it was terrible today. I should have known since it was raining in Brisbane. When I got to Surfer's Paradise (2 hours south by train/bus), it was absolutely pouring.

The city is very strange. It's like a mix between Las Vegas, Honolulu, and some Theme Parkland. Highrises on the beach, casinos everywhere, and there seems to be like 10 major theme parks. I was hoping for a day at the beach, and maybe take a surfing lesson, but that didn't happen.
What saved the day was finding a Pele book at the bookstore. He's got the same birthday as me. Gotta love Pele!
I also got my flight home booked with Cathay Pacific. They are so friendly and helpful. Going to stay in HK for 16 hours and try to do some sort of day tour. We'll see how that goes!!!

Putting the Gordon Head to Brisbane

Today was another fun day exploring Brisbane. However, I had a friend, Minnie, along for the trip. We worked together at the Bay and both grew up in Gordon Head! She's now doing her Masters here in Brisbane. Today was filled with fun. Botanic Gardens, Lunch at the Irish Club (nice recommendation), I booked up the rest of tour (see below), got some slurpees, walked around, hit the fake beach, headed to the Art Gallery (they took my backpack from me) and then went to the museum.

Tomorrow, I'm training down to Surfer's Paradise for the day, then Friday training North to Sunshine Coast to stay a couple nights with another former Bay co-worker. I'll then head back to Brisbane on Sunday. Then leave on a 2 night Fraser Island Tour, that brings me back to Brisbane. Then off to Cairns on the Thursday and am there for 8 nights. Fun Stuff!!!!

Sadly, the end is in sight. But the Switzerland eyes are beginning to open!!!! Will probably look into booking my Perth to Van flight in the next couple days. All the best!!!

Australia Literally!!!!! I'm Back!

I'm back in Brisbane. Leaving behind beautiful New Zealand. I was happy to leave Auckland. I found it to be a bit dirty, boring and smelly. However, I was sad to leave all the friends I've made. The early morning flight was crazy, I got there 2 hours before the flight but spent about 1:30 in lineups, so the time flew by. Also, I got the Emergency Exit seat again without asking. I guess the single, tallish, young male is what they look for to put in those seats. I didn't complain. The movie was August Rush. Had never heard of it before, but was entertaining. I left Auckland at 7:30am and arrived in Brisbane at 8:00am.... a quick flight.

Brisbane is hot, and muggyish. My backpacker's is shitty. But had free wireless internet. You give a little, you get a little. That won't matter if my laptop gets stolen though. Hopefully not. Today, I just walked around the city, and now my feet hurt. I have a friend living in Brisbane, so I will hopefully meet up with her tomorrow, then maybe head to Gold Coast (Surfer's Paradise) for the day on Thursday. On Friday, I am planning to head north to Sunshine Coast, where another friend is going to Uni there. After that, things are still in the air. But will likely head to Fraser Island then fly to Cairns (Great Barrier Reef).

Nothing really funny happened today. Pics here.

North Island Part 2

Day 12

Before leaving Rotorua, we stopped off at the Agrodome to watch a sheep show. Yeah!!! It was very entertaining, especially when we did comical things with the sheep’s wool. The highlight was when one of our more “senior” tour members was sprayed by cow’s milk and then she tried to steal a lamb. Very funny. Off we headed on our way to Waitomo, the site of limestone caves. On the way, we found a shop that had a beach cricket set. SCORE!!!! Myself, an aussie bloke and a Japanese girl had a thrilling cricket match before we set off for our Caving Adventures. I participated in the Blackwater Rafting. It was actually just tubing in the pitch black in an ice cold cave. We did have wet suits and headlights. The craziest parts were that we had to jump down waterfalls, you just put the tube on your butt, hold your breath, and jump backwards. The guides actually helped with a push. I’ll put up some photos of the caving in general. Unfortunately, the CD with our groups photos didn’t work properly.

The most bizarre part of this day was going to see a rabbit get shaved. You’ll have to check out the photos to believe it, but they tie the rabbit up just like Mel Gibson in Braveheart (no blue face paint). They then go crazy with the shavers!

Day 13

Due to a fun pizza party the night (it was technically the last day for all of us north islanders), I forgot my Beach Cricket set at the hotel in Waitomo. D’oh! It was going to be fun in the bay of Islands. We dropped off the 10 or so leaving us in Auckland and headed to Pahia or something like that. I’m just calling it Bay of Islands. This was one of those long drives and no photos days. The weirdest part though was that we dropped off 10, but picked up 30 as another Contiki tour was starting as ours finished. Lots of new people to meet. To make up for the lost cricket set, we purchased a soccer ball, and kicked it around. At the same time, the sand flies came out and destroyed my legs. Great.

Day 14.

The fun day at the Bay of Islands. Myself, and about 5 other from the OLD group took part in an all day Dolphin/Catamaran extravaganza. There were many more NEW people as well. Part 1 was the Dolphin watching, we cruised for a couple hours before finally spotting a couple dolphins. We had the option of swimming with them at a cost of $30. If you hit the water, you had to pay. I was in my swim trunks, and thinking about it, but unsure as the dolphins did not seem very friendly. 3 friends from the OLD group got wet suited up and were all ready to give it a go, however, 18 people had already jumped in (that was the max allowed at one time). What happened next was extraordinary. The dolphins went left, the dolphins, went right, the dolphins went out far …. The people just didn’t move. Only one guy actually started swimming anywhere, and funnily enough the dolphins actually swam up and with him. No one else even got to see the dolphins while they were in the water. That’s 17 x $30. They didn’t let a second group go as the dolphins were not friendly enough.

Part 2 was the much better part. It was a cruise/lunch on a wicked catamaran. All we did was lounge around drinking beer and wine, and having a great time. One german dude hit the booze hard with his bro and picked up a $120 tab. We docked for two hours at one of the islands and snorkeled, explored, kayaked, and Donuted (inner tube behind a boat). Very fun time. That night was the last night for our group. So sad.

Day 15
Left the Bay of Islands, and made it to Auckland. Auckland is dirty and smelly. Not a huge fan so far. I went to the wrong backpackers as there are 2 with the same name in a 5 block radius. The afternoon was spent with some of us old group members lying in a park.

Post tour….. on Saturday (today for me), several of us tour members ferried over to Waiheake (sp?) Island and spent the day bussing around and lounging on the beach. A very fun day.

Updated more photos again.....

North Island .... Part 1

technically done the tour now .... just catching up on things

Day 8 (I think)
This was another long travel day. We got a new tour manager in Christchurch (wahoo), and headed off for our adventure in the North Island. Along the way we hit some beautiful roads, and got out at a few gorgeous beaches. We then made it to the InterIslander (the ferry that crosses the Sound between the North and South Island). Contiki doesn’t put there busses on the ferry, they just unload one tour at the port, and then load the other tour going in the reverse direction. Our group got out, and then cleared our luggage into a van for the ferry. Then the other tour group’s manager started putting their tour’s luggage in the coach. Then for some strange reason 5 of our people on the tour starting helping this manager load the coach. I admit, that I did not help, as I was the only person who realized that the ENTIRE other tour group was standing about 10 yards away just watching their luggage get put in by another group. I was dumbfounded at how stupid these people were.

The ferry over was cool. There appeared to be 10 decks on the ship. Or as were announced by the kiwi crew … “dicks”. “Liferafts and jackets can be found on Dick 6 but not Dick 7”. The ferry had 2 movie theatres, a pub, a nice cafeteria, and some wicked Lookouts. I had bought a box of Froot Loops a few days earlier, so I went for a bowl of cereal. Just follow your Nose!

We arrived in Wellington around 5:30, and I quickly headed off in search to meet up with Thea, a friend from University. It was nice to have a break from the tour, I was going to call it an early night as I still wasn’t feeling well, but thought I would stop at the restaurant where the group was having dinner to see what was going on. I’m still quite shocked about this place. First, the bouncer looked like he was ready to tackle me when I tried to walk in ….. I then asked if “Contiki” were still there, he smiled and welcomed me in to the strip show that was going on. Even more disturbing than that were these male predators. There were about 10 to 15 guys prowling around from girl to girl, or in some cases guy to guy, or guy to girl, with the goofy “I want to have sex with you tonight” smile. I think I got hit on about 5 times, and one guy gave me his number. I only kept it because he somehow wrote it on a coupon from one free dinner at the restaurant. Anyhow, there were a few moments where we really had to push them off. At one point one got so aggressive he knocked a girl’s drink over, and shattered the glass on the table. Kiwis seem not to know that No, means NO!!!

Day 9

Sleep in !!!! Wahoo, first one so far on the trip. This day was an All Wellington affair. I met up with Thea late in the morning and she took me up the hills to her office building. She works for the Metservice (Meteorologist), so the building is in a wicked location, with awesome views. Then went down through Wellington’s Botanic Gardens, past the Beehive (Parliament Buildings), then along the Harbour for lunch watching the Dragon Boat Races. We then got tickets (scalper tickets) for a NZ vs England Cricket match. We sat with the Barmy Army. The English fans that spend their lives following the tricket. Barmy means Mental, and let’s just say that is a fair name for these fans. There were some wicked costumes: Spiderpig, batman, and robin, dresses, ginger spice, seargent peppers. They also had cheers for every situation (ex. Cute girl walking by with ugly boyfriend ….. they spontaneously break out into “Is she really going out with him?”). Most fun I’ve ever had at any sporting event. I forgot there was even a cricket match on.

Wellington was a really awesome city. I could have easily spent a week there. It’s got a small San Francisco look to it. All I need to find is an Uncle Joey and Uncle Jesse. Oh man, a beach boys song just came on at the hotel right this second. Makes me think of the Beach Boys episode. Ok, Cut it Out.

Day 10

Wellington to Taupo. Yadda yadda, driving again, stopped on the road to see Mt Doom. They love their Lord of the Rings here. Not too much exciting going on at Lake Taupo. Myself and one of the girls participated in a Lake Hole In One challenge, with a floating green. We failed. The night was filled with an Irish Pub of course. In prep for tomorrow. Then off to the Karaoke. We brought the house down performing S Club 7 …. “everybody get down tonight”.

Day 11

On to my favourite day. Or at least what was supposed to be my favourite day. Surprise surprise. We actually stopped on the 1 hour drive from Lake Taupo to Rotorua at Huka Falls. Only 5 of us actually walked out to the falls. That was strange. We then headed to the Zorb at Rotorua. Zorbing consists of going inside a plastic bubble and then rolling down a hill. You can either get strapped in, or go in with no harnassess, but lots of water. There are also two tracks, a straight downhill one, and a zig zag one. This was the #1 thing I wanted to do in NZ. Unfortunately, as I was signing up and clicking off disclaimers, you are not allowed to with heart conditions, yadda yadda, other sicknesses, or if you’ve ever dislocated your shoulder. Technically I was still allowed to go down the straight one, as long as I lay on my back and didn’t move the whole trip down, but the risk was in my own hands. Or shoulder. They also mentioned that they frequently have people dislocate their shoulders in the Zorb. Great! I decided that 8 months of pain wasn’t worth it for 5 seconds of fun.

It’s too Luge to Apologize. So after the disappointment of zorbing, some of us headed to the Luge tracks. This was absolutely the funniest thing ever. First off we painted our faces green (St Patty’s Day), and then we raced down the tracks at break neck speeds. There were a few running of people off the road, and some wicked collisions. It was absolutely awesome.

Rotorua smells like Rotten Eggs. In Rotorua, I went to get some alcohol, and got refused for the first time in my life. And that was even with my ID. I didn’t have my passport though. It may not have helped that I still had green face paint on from St Patty’s Day. Persistence paid off when I tried again, and got refused again, this time at a grocery store. Fortunately I got the lineup on my side and they caved.

The night was fun. We had a cultural Maori performance at a traditional site …. The Hotel Lobby. It was a lot of fun. Lots of yelling, and spinning sticks. I got up on stage with some of the other guys and performed the Haka. After dinner we headed for a room party, then off to the local Polynesian spas for some warm tubbage action. A very fun day.

Continuing to add photos to my photosite
http://picasaweb.google.com/australialiterally/

South Island Almost Complete 2

I wrote this 2 days ago .... now in Wellington. will try to do an update on today later, but this wouldn't post 2 days ago, so will post now.....

More Day 5

So I lied. I didn’t go luging after all. We made it to the start of the gondola, but came across a sign that read “You can’t leave the town without making a stop at the city”. It was such a good slogan …. And it was the slogan for a mini golf place that we just had to go check it out. It turns out that it was the most creative and amazing minigolf that I’ve ever seen. So much detail, so many options. A ski hill, a roller coaster, and a candy factory were just a few of the main highlights that we saw. The funny thing about it was that it required no skill at all as you just hammered the ball into a hole and then the ball would go in one of 3 tubes, and then you’d end up in bizarre places….

We got back to the lodge a little lateish. Just after 8 and went to order our pizzas (it was a special pizza night for contiki people), but they were out of pizza???? How do you run out of pizza? All you need is dough, tomato sauce and cheese.

Day 6

Oh geez, Back to the driving. Let’s see, we head off at 7:30, and drive for 2 hours, stop for 30 minutes. Drive for 3 more hours. Stop for 5 minutes, Drive for 2 more hours until we reach Fox Glacier. I decided to do a Heli-hike. We were helicoptered up the glacier in stunning fashion. The pilot was banking very hard to the left, then very hard to the right, and then headed straight for a cliff before lifting at the last second it was quite exhilarating. I had some pretty good spills, and the song "I keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding" became my song for the glacier hike.

Day 7

Just driving from Franz Josef to Christchurch. Very boring day. The tour manager was in a hissy mood. He wouldn't play any dvd's for us. It's his last day. New one for the north island tomorrow.

For the last 4 days I haven’t been feeling the best. Most noticeable is that I have lost my voice. I kinda sound like Super Dave when I talk. Also have quite the cough and cold. I never suffered any kind of cold in my 7 months in Australia, what’s the deal?

Day 1

After the exciting trip back to Christchurch, we officially began the tour. By that I mean we drove and drove and drove and drove. So far the South Island is lot like British Columbia and the Yukon. Mountains, oceans, forests …. Etc etc. We had a look at the Southern Options (skydiving, bungy jumping, helicopter rides, etc etc) and had to make our selections. Tough to do on the first day. We stopped in a town with the World’s Largest Jersey. No one was interested enough to actually see it. Then off to a few of the major lakes. Lake Tekapo, Lake Ohau. We spent the night at a lodge on Lake Ohau. There was ping pong, pool, drinks and party time as we all broke the ice. Quite literally. Well not really.

It’s an interesting group of people. It is dominated by English people. Quite a few Americans, Australians, and Brazilians. A couple Japanese, Scots, and Singaporeans. I’m the only Canadian, and I think there is an Austrian.

Day 2

Did I mention long drive??? Well this was another one. Lake Ohau to Milford Sound. About 6 solid hours of driving Yeah! The scenery was quite spectacular, especially the “Homer Tunnel” that we passed through before the quick descent to the Sound (actually a Fjord). We went for an overnight cruise in Milford Sound. The weather was absolutely terrible. Cold, windy and rainy. Although the rain did create some nice waterfalls!!! We went on a little tour of the sound. The fjord was spectacularly breathtaking. We were able to get on kayaks and paddle around. Some people spotted penguins. Since we got soaked from the rain while kayaking, myself, and a few of the girls decided to jump off the boat into the ocean. Let’s just say the water was FREEZING. You don’t realize how fast you can swim until you go in cold water. Fortunately there were showers on board the boat. The luke warm temperature felt like burning.

Day 3

More Driving? You bet ya! We went the same route back from Milford Sound to Queenstown. Another solid 4+ hours of driving. Before actually reaching Queenstown, we stopped at AJ Hackett Bungy jump to cheer the brave souls that went for the first jump. It was quite entertaining. Our Lodge in Queenstown had a wicked hot tub with an even better view. After an evening hot tub session, the group went up the Gondola to overlook of the city for a group dinner. Then followed up the dinner with a dance party at one of the night clubs.

Day 4

No Driving!!! Well just a little. To get to the site of the Routeburn track where several of us went on a 6 hour hike. It was quite fun. There were a couple Canadian girls along the trek to, so everyone bonded well. After the hike, it was more hot tubbing, followed by dinner at the Lodge. Then, it was off to Minus 5. An bar made entirely of ice. I went up and bought my ticket. The ticket was handed to me, and I put it in my wallet so I wouldn’t lose it. The cashier then gave my change back to me, noticed I didn’t have a ticket, and gave me another one. I was then able to pass that on to one of the girls for a free trip into the bar. The bar was cold. Too warm up, we had a dance party at the pub across the street. It got very heated.

Day 5

Today. This morning I decided to go extreme and do something I’ve never done before …..

Horse Back Riding. Myself and two guys from the tour went to a local stable and saddle up. Did someone say Brokeback Mountain … the Thrillogy? “I wish I could quit you”. That was quite fun. I got put in the back of the line and was stuck behind a slow horse that farted. Everytime I got my horse moving fast and trying to pass, the horse in front would cut me off. All day long it was intense battle. I finally passed it, and then the Guide said I had to go to the back. Lame.

That’s all so far for the day. Some of us are planning to go up the gondola again to do some Luging. Then back to the hotel for a party session. I’ve been a bit sick. I think it might have been the freezing cold temperatures of Milford Sound’s water. Tomorrow we leave Queenstown to go to Franz Josef. I’m planning to do a Heli-hike up on the Fox Glacier. After that it is back to Christchurch for a night. I’ll try to get some photos uploaded that day (Thursday night NZ time) from the Xchurch library. Then it’s off to the North Island. I have one friend I went to university with who now lives in Wellington. So I will hopefully get a chance to meet up with her for a little bit.

Boyd Out.

On Tour!!! First Stop .... Christchurch???

I just started the Contiki tour, and unbeknownst to me. The first stop was .... well .... Christchurch. How can that be a stop when we are already there??? I guess some people got in last night, and the meeting point was outside the city, so they get an hour to roam around. I on the other hand have seen what I need to see, so internet time!

I'm a little tired as our room played several "Sleeping Games" last night. No, there was no FREEEEEZE, but we did play the animal game and the country game. You name an animal, and then the next person has to name one with the last letter of the previous one. There were 4 British girls (Britches .... they liked that!) and a Yukon guy. We were up til about 3 with that one. Good times.

On a positive note, it is sunny and supposed to break 20 C today. Wahoo. On the road to the Lake Ohua in 30 minutes. By for now!

What a Relief .... to see Relief!

I'm HOME!!!!

Or at least it feels that way. It was quite exhilirating to see real mountains from the plane. It has been a while! Christchurch is very much like Victoria. It's got about the same population, the same English charm in the downtown, the smell of flowers everywhere ... AND .... IT's POURING RAIN!! The temperature was around 18 this afternoon. In Australia, I'd be freezing, but for some reason it's quite comfortable here. Another thing I noticed was the intensity of the sun (it was out when I first arrived) was nowhere near that of Ozland.

I went for a bit of a stroll around the block in the hour or so I had before it rained. It's not a long walk anywhere. I ended up in the Botanic Gardens and they had an Excellent display of Dahlias!!! G-man would be in Heaven!!!

Some Photos of Christchurch here

The backpackers I'm staying at has wireless internet at $15 / day. Are you freaking kidding me!!!! That's $450 / month. I could understand $5/day but that is a little steep if you ask me. I then remembered what Matt Finn had told me when he first moved to Perth. "If you want free internet, go to the Library". So I crossed the street, literally! Just a 2 minue walk, and into the library, and voila, FREE INTERNET! I'm Liking Christchurch Already. Hopefully this library strategy will work throughout the trip.

For those of you trying to figure out what time it is here (Dad) ... I am 21 hours ahead of you. Or you can just add a Day, and subract three. Right now it is 7:45PM on Wednesday for me, and 10:45PM on Tuesday for you! .... Go get me started when Day Light Savings Changes though ...

New Zealand Literally!

Holy Christchurch! I'm leaving the Land Down Under to go to A Land Even More Under. I guess I should now change the name of this site to something more Kiwi-ish, but that just takes too much time. I've been in Oz for almost 7 months now, and am looking forward to seeing a new country. I'll be doing a 15 day tour of New Zealand. I start in X-Church (christchurch) before heading to Milford Sound in the south of the South Island. Then head to Queenstown before heading to Wellington in the North Island. I continue up north to other towns: Rotorua, Waitomo, Bay of Islands, and then finish in Auckland, where I will spend my Easter Long Weekend. I'm really going to need that Long Weekend. Travelling is very tiresome.

Last Night, Russell Peters was Great. He had the place in stitches. Also performing were Jo Cor and Ahmed Ahmed.

My 3 internet will no longer be available to me until I get to Brisbane, so I probably won't be updating very much, and may not get pics up for a couple weeks. I'll have to track down some wireless locations. Starbucks anyone?

"Be A Man .... Do The Right Thing!"

Updating from Melbourne. The last couple days have been good. I headed with Claude to watch some pro beach volleyball at South Melbourne beach on Sunday. It was very good. Explored downtown a little. Find out there was another Canadian in my room from Toronto. He used to play OHL for the Mississauga Ice Dogs (i think) and played with Jason Spezza. Don Cherry was the coach for a little as well. He hated him. I didn't impress him by my performance with Scoff's Hockey Shop in Grade 6.

On Monday, I woke up to a great surprise. An early morning Blackhawks vs Canucks game. There is nothing like sleeping in bed listening to the Hawks destroy Vancouver. So good. Then I got up and headed back downtown. Someone gave me this "Free Edge Experience" ticket on top of Eureka Tower. Eureka Tower is the world's tallest residential complex, and I went up to the lookout on the 88th floor. It took about 30 seconds to get to the top, and the guides said it was the fastest elevator in the world. Personally, I found the elevators at BC Hydro to have faster acceleration. Anyway, this Edge Experience thing was absolutely ridiculous. You go into this glass cube, but they tint the windows so you can't see out. They then put on some sound effects and the cube moves out over the "edge". Then a big CRASH (sound effects), and you can see out the glass. Yes it was cool to be able to look straight down, but it wasn't like it was entirely glass. There were beams that made up about 60% of the floor. No cameras were allowed in so that they could take your picture and charge you $15. Sometimes things just get way too touristy, even for a tourist. Seeing the city from above was still pretty cool.

The Edge
Later that evening I met up with Holly (friend from Perth in town for a few days) and a couple of her friends for a night on the town. I think we went to a Chinese, Vietanese, and Malaysian. A great combo!

Today, I'm going to take it pretty easy. Do some washing. Get my gear together for the flight tomorrow to Christchurch. Later tonight, I got tickets to an Indo-Canadian comic named Russell Peters. He is playing about a 3 minute walk from my hostel. Very convenient. Should be a fun night. "Be a Man, Do the Right Thing"

Added a few more pics of The Edge and Eureka tower to the Melbourne Pics

Mel-boring

Well not quite .... it's very interesting in Melbourne. My first night at the backpackers in St Kilda was very interesting. Hahahaha, I just think back and laugh.

Anyway. Spent the day hiking around the city and parks with the last person I still see from my Adelaide to Melbourne tour. The guy's name is Claude and he's a 40 something guy from Switzerland. Not too much exciting, saw the Australian Open stadium, the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (unfortunately we missed a cricket match last night and footy match at Telstra dome as well. "d'oh".) Also checked out the Botanical Gardens, and walked through the city. Melbourne is very artsy fartsy. Everywhere you look there is a unique statue or building. It's quite nice.

Tonight I saw sunset at the beach at St. Kilda, came back for a few beers, and may go back down to the backpacker pub for a few more. There is a toga party, so the girls are looking very nice.

I'll start updating photos on a Melbourne Page.....haven't done much yet though