Melbourne: A Place to [temporarily] Call Home

So after we ended our time in Sydney, it was time for Robbie's folks to go back to the US. We debated back and forth about what the next step should be. We had a few more WWOOF spots lined up but we were pretty sure they couldn't top our last experience at Ironbark Grange. Besides, we had spent over a month sleeping in the back of our car and peeing at rest stops. We were ready to put some roots down, so to speak.

We discovered that we could afford to get an apartment and hunker down for the rest of our trip. So, we made our way to Melbourne and moved into a flat. We have four flatmates: Nathan (from Australia), Peter & Amanda (from Vancouver, Canada) and Yusuf (from Mauritius). Our place is very nice and get this: we have our own bathroom! Yippppeeeeeee! We've loved having time to sleep, think, and dream. We've loved going to the beach and getting to know our flatmates. We even sold our car to the lovely Canadians we live with - amazing! The travel Gods have bestowed their blessings upon us. Melbourne is definitely one of the coolest cities we've ever been to. It's artsy yet down to earth. It's cheaper and less glamorous than Sydney. The architecture is incredible. There are lots of free things to do and it's always bustling with people...street performers...cafe goers...people from all over the world.

We arrived right before the holidays so the city was decked out in Christmas garb. It was so strange to experience the holiday season in 80 degree weather and shorts. Here are some pictures of Melbourne during our first weeks exploring the city:

Robbie relaxing in Federation Square

The Metro

A great little cafe in Fitzroy

A beautiful flower cart on Swanston St.

Gorgeous sunset downtown Melbourne (it was 101 degrees that day!)

Multi-colored beach shacks on Brighton Beach (a 30 minute train ride from our flat)

That's it for now. We only have four weeks left in Melbourne until we come back to the US. It's incredible how fast it's gone. Six months really does fly by.

The Blue Mountains

Hi everyone. Happy Australia Day! It's the anniversary of the date that Captain Cook discovered Australia. It's a public holiday and the Aussies usually celebrate with barbeque and beer (similar to our 4th of July). Today, we're going to have a barbeque with our flatemates and maybe we'll go see some fireworks later. Here are some photos of the Blue Mountains which are located just a couple hours west of Sydney. The highlight is a rock formation called the Three Sisters (see first photo below). We arrived on a clear day just before the sun went down. The view was incredible.

Well, that's all for now. I'll post again in a few days. We got some bbq eatin and beer drinkin to do! Cheers, mate! Happy Australia Day!

great barrier reef

Robbie's parents arrived in Brisbane on December 2nd. We were so happy to see them and be able to spend two whole weeks with them. Robbie and his dad are scuba certified and so he waited for his dad/dive buddy to experience the Great Barrier Reef. After an unsuccessful attempt to dive out of 1770 (due to torrential downpours), we decided to try a jaunt to Lady Elliot Island.

We flew to the tiny island on an eight-passenger puddle jumper airplane. We only flew about 600 feet and it took about 35 minutes to get there. We landed on a grass runway. Here's a view of the island from the window of the plane:

We spent the day diving and snorkeling. The coral went as far as the eye could see. There were enormous schools of colorful fish. We saw beautiful starfish. The best part, though, was the sea turtles. We swam with them and got to touch the back of their shells. They're amazing creatures; they swim so gracefully. I learned that the sea turtles always go back to the same beach on which they were hatched to lay their own eggs as an adult. It was an unforgettable experience being so close to them in the wild. Here's a shot of a sea turtle coming up to the surface for air:

This is a photo of the glass bottomed boat that took us out snorkeling (can you believe that blue water?!?!) :

sydney in pictures

Byron Bay

Before we even got on the plane, we kept hearing about Byron Bay. Over and over again, people told us how amazing it was, how laid-back it was, how great the beach was. Everyone we talked to had something to say about Byron Bay. So, needless to say, expectations were high as we drove into the little hippie town.

Byron is a funky, down to earth community filled with hippies, shops that smell of nag champa, cafes and surf shops. People from all walks of life roam the streets... most don't bother to wear shoes. The beach overlooks the bay with the Byron Bay lighthouse on the southern cliff.

We took Robbie's folks to our favorite fish and chips joint right on the beach: Fish heads. Best seafood we've had in Australia by far. Everything is take away and you eat out of a cardboard box but it still has a way of tasting gourmet. Maybe it's the herbed mayo they serve with your chips?

After dinner, we went to the Byron Bay lighthouse. The southern cliff at Byron is the most Eastern point of Australia. The shoreline is absolutely beautiful and they have some of the best surfing in Australia. We heard that Jack Johnson has a house there which makes complete sense. If you could take Jack Johnson and make him a town, that would be Byron Bay.

The lighthouse on top of the cliff at Byron Bay.