In brief:
Penrith for four days. Hung with Darren and Kelly who were nice to put us up. Saw some kangaroos suffering in the sweltering 45.5 degree heat. We comisserated with them.- From Penrith to Sydney for two nights accomodation at the Four Points Sheriton hotel (free thanks to Nico's parents! gracias!). We saw a hell of a lot in a whirlwind tour that went from 9 am til 10 pm at night. We bought a 'See Sydney' card which let us into most attractions all for one low price as long as we saw them all on the same day...we really saw too much so that by the third museum it was more about saying we went there than actually absorbing anything useful.
- Rented a car in Sydney and drove down the coast swimming at numerous secluded beaches. Stopped in Ulladulla for two nights to enjoy wine and good company with Tony and Jo. We had our own suit in their house. Awfully nice of them.
- Onward to Melbourne and Geelong our new home.
- Puttered in Geelong and battled a massive hangover. The hangover won for a day.
- Took our new Suburu (it's David's but it's ours for the year) and headed out down the Great Ocean Road. It starts at Torquay - the home of Billabong, Ripcurl, and the 'best surf beaches' in the world...like Bell's Beach.
- The Great Ocean Road is the most stunning road trip I have ever done. Better even than the Redwood Forrest trip in California. The road is carved into the side of cliffs hovering above the ocean. It's only 300 KM but it took us over three days to do it as we stopped every KM or so for yet another stunning vista. We handfed a wild koala. No he didnt fall and just cause he was wild doesnt mean he was ravenous so no one lost any fingers.
- From the Great Ocean Road to Penola the gateway to the Coonawarra wine region known for its Shiraz and Cab Sav. I love the latter, Nico the former. We stopped briefly and hand fed wild possums. They are even cuter and less dangerous than koalas. We met Mark and Cathy who invited us to their house for a huge Ozzie feed that included Kangaroo sausage and steak. It was yummy despite how cute they look in life. Nico ate a cute and cuddly animal - someone please harrass her for it. Mark, funnily enough, is a Yank from Oregon and moved here in 73 to pursue teaching and to avoid the Vietnam war. Super great people. I battled a massive hangover yet again the next day. The hangover came in second.
- From Penola back to Geelong where Internet hookup became possible! Woo!!
That's the brief version, many more stories to come.
Some Ozzie Facts:
- Ozzie's do not pronounce the letter R and thus the word wierd sounds exactly like the word weed. This could lead to confusion back in Canada if I ask someone for a bee.
- Speeding is not tolerated in Australia. The speed limit IS THE SPEED LIMIT.
- Overstaying your welcome by 1/2 an hour at a parking spot is a serious offense and leads to a $75 fine.
- Driving drowsy is frowned upon. Some roadsigns "Drowsy Drivers Die" "Drooping eyes? Powernap now!"
- As anal as Aussies are about speeding, drunk driving, illegal parking, driving while drowsy, they are the opposite about bee's. The passengers can all have bee's in the car as long as the driver is under 0.05.
That's all I got for now!
The Damo.
No comments:
Post a Comment