Travelling around Oz

Alice Springs
It was quite a culture shock going from the big city of Sydney to the small, outback town of Alice. I took a quick walk around the town, which took all of 10 min, then went on a camel ride into the outback. I took a 2 day tour of Kings Canyon, Uluru (Ayers Rock), and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). We got to do a lot of hiking, and I even slept outside in a swag one night! The stars in the outback are so bright. I saw the Southern Cross (the constellation that is on the Australian flag) and the Milky Way. I also heard some dingos howling in the distance that night, but they never came close to us so all is good! I saw Uluru at sunrise, and it was absolutely beautiful! The rock turns a bright red colour at sunrise. It only last for a couple of minutes, but it is amazing! Went down to Adelaide, stopping in Coober Pedy on the way where I slept in an underground hostel! About 30 percent of the population in Coober Pedy lives underground because it gets extremely hot there in the summer. The people who live in the town are all a bit strange.

Adelaide
It was so great to see civilization again!
I took a wine tour into the Barossa Valley. We went to Jacob's Creek, Richmond, and 2 other smaller wineries. We were all pretty tanked by the end of the day. I tried kangaroo for lunch, and it was really nice! It tastes a lot like deer meat.
Adelaide is much smaller than Sydney or Melbourne, but it is very beautiful. I went to a couple of art galleries and walked through the botanic gardens.
I took a 2 day tour of Kangaroo Island. There is so much wildlife on the island. I got to see kangaroos, wallabies, sea lions, fur seals, koalas, and penguins. I was really excited about seeing a live kangaroo because all of the ones I had seen up to this point were roadkill in the outback! We walked on the sand dunes and got to surf down the hills. It was really amazing how big they were and how much land they covered. It was strange to see all this white sand in the middle of a green island. We also climbed on the Remarkable Rocks. It is this really cool looking rock formation by the ocean that was geologically formed the same way as Uluru. One of the guys on the tour had made his own didgeridoo. He brought it out one night to the campfire, and I gave it a try. It's kind of hard to play, but I managed to make a decent sound out of it.

The Great Ocean Road
Took a 3 day trip from Adelaide to Melbourne. On the way to the coast we passed loads of wildlife, mostly kangaroos and emus, running along the hillside. We stopped in the Grampians National Park and saw aboriginal paintings in a cave that were originally done 5000 years ago. We hiked the McKenzie Falls and and the Pinnacles which were both very beautiful. The view from the top of the Pinnacles was fantastic!
When we got to the Great Ocean Road, we stopped to see the impressive rock formations all along the coast - the Bay of Islands, Bay of Martyrs, London Bridge, Loch Ard Gorge, and of course the Twelve Apostles. It's a really beautiful, scenic ride.
Then we headed to the Otway Fly Treetop Walk where we hiked in and above a rainforest. There were steel platforms built all through the rainforest ranging from 20 to 50 meters high. It was a little scary at the very top!
Our last stop before Melbourne was Torquay and Surf City. This is the home of all the great surf shops like Quicksilver, Billabong, Roxy, etc. I did a little shopping and bought some really cool board shorts.

Melbourne
Explored Melbourne a bit...Walked along the Yarra River, through Yarra Park to the famous MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground). Strolled through the Royal Botanical Gardens which were beautiful! Walked along the main shopping street on Collins, through Chinatown, and to the Carlton Gardens.
I took a day to go to the Dandenong Ranges. It's only a 1 hour trip by train out of the city. There are some beautiful hiking trails. I went on 2 hikes that day. One was 3 hours long, the other 2 hours. I didn't see any wildlife other than birds. The weather was amazing! There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but there was still a cool breeze so it wasn't very hot at all. I was exhausted by the end of the day though!
I took one of the trams to St. Kilda Beach one day. It's a cool little town with lots of cafes, restaurants, and shops. I spent the day just browsing and walking on the beach.
I walked down to the Queen Victoria Market in the city centre. It is a huge outdoor market with fresh fruits, veggies, cheeses, breads, fish, etc.
Dan met me in Melbourne for a long weekend. We went to the Bill Henson photography exhibit. We both enjoyed it...It is actually one of the better exhibits I have seen. We went to see an Australian Rules Football game at the Telstra Dome. St. Kilda v. Adelaide. Neither of us had been to a game before, but Dan knew some of the rules so at least we weren't completely lost. We bet a little money on the home team of St. Kilda to win, but of course they lost big time! :-) Then we went to the Crown Casino to try our luck there. It was a proper casino, not like the crappy one in Tampa. I won about $70 at a black jack table, but then he took the winnings and tried to play at a different table and lost it all! We had a great time though!


So, back in Sydney now. I have to say, I'm kind of glad to be back home. I'm going back to work straight away...Have to make some more money since I've spent quite a bit in the last few weeks! I'm staying at Dan's apartment in Bondi until I leave for my next trip...probably in a couple of months.

I had such an amazing time. Met loads of fun people and got to see so much of Australia. I can't wait to start planning my next trip!