Well, after a great stay at the resort in Bundaberg we were refreshed and ready for the road once again.  We say goodbye to air conditioning and a queen size bed, and “hello old friend” to the open road.  The drive wasn’t much to see when we first started out and even when we arrived in the Town of 1770 it was again one of those small Aussie towns you could bat an eye at and miss it.


The Town of 1770 is one of only a few places in Australia where the sun sets in the west over the water. The historical legacy of European settlement is rich in 1770, marking the site where Captain Cook stepped ashore. 


After visiting the info center of 1770 we experienced our first taste of Mamino ice cream (possibly the best) and ‘least melty’(which is a criteria of Amanda‘s!) ice cream we have ever had, we were told of a few places to visit while in 1770. 
The main look out is a peninsula nestled into the western side of Rodds peninsula surrounded on three sides by the Coral Sea and Bustard Bay had magnificent coastal views. The lookout was spectacular. Standing on the peninsula surrounded by the endless ocean clear blue sky’s was wonderful, even saw pelicans watching for fish. We stayed three nights at the beautiful spot. We parked the van to camp for the night in the small parking lot at the tip of the peninsula lookout. One unforgettably clear, warm, night there we laid on the ground and looked at the stars, while listening to our one and only neighbour play his guitar. That was an amazing feeling. 


 12 kilometres to the south,  is the small town of Agnes Waters.  Mainly just a small marina, some shops and what seemed to be the one and only attraction,  “Scooteroo” (“the Original and the Best Chopper ride in Australia”). Well, we were excited because were else can two people ride a chopper for $80 for 3.5 hours and see some breathtaking views? We had a blast and not only did we have a fun ride (not a real Harley by the way…) but we got to see 1770 peninsula in a different view-a breathtaking sunset. 


After thoroughly enjoying our stay in 1770-Agnes Waters we hit the road again because we had booked a sailing tour for 3 days two nights to the WhitSunday Islands! We are so excited. So many people had told us of their wonderful experiences sailing to the famous islands. When we got to Airlie Beach we were early by 3 days, which made us even more anxious and excited. The morning we went we were all packed and arrived early at our meeting point at the marina where Summer Time, our sailboat, was waiting! We met Sam, our dive instructor and 13 other new friends we would be having a blast with for our official Great Barrier reef dive, sail and kayak! 


We boarded and then met the other two crew members, Brad (the captain) and Britta our ’hostie’. Brad introduced himself and told us we were in for a treat because we had picked the best sailing and adventure boat to tour the islands. We learned various rules of the boat.  The main ones to remember were: no wet suits downstairs, no excessive drinking, etc and no ’wings, strings or things’ down the toilets!

 Also 1 minute showers were only permitted per person each day.  Brad explained that there were no rules stopping you from gambling your one minute over a friendly game of poker, or saving up two days worth for a double length shower!  So we were off!! 2.5 hours later, aboard the 70ft traditional oiled timber sail boat, crystal clear views on a perfect 30+ day, a little choppy at times, brought us to our first destination: the world renowned White Haven Beach (a protected island just north of Airlie beach, nestled amongst many other islands)

 We had got to know everyone on the sail over and what a great group of young people we all were. Nick and I had huge smiles for the days to come. What was said to be overcast, rainy weather so far had turned out to be crystal blue skies and perfectly hot temperatures. A dream come true. At White Haven we put on the thing we would be wearing most of the time for the next 3 days-our wet suits! A short walk through the dense forest brought us to a lookout.  From there we could see over the magnificent silica sand, and water that took on many shades of green, dark and light blue. All of us were speechless, it looked just like a post card. We all went swimming with our suits on, these are worn because its jelly fish season. The sand was incredible, so fine. We spent a couple hours there and waded in very shallow warm, but cool refreshing water. We even saw sting rays! 

Nick and friend from Ontario playing
a strategy game after dinner 

Later back on the boat Sam briefed us for the next day-diving and snorkelling! We had a lot of questions about our 9 meter dive, but Sam was a great teacher and patiently listened and explained everything. We all woke up early as we were spending the whole day anchored at Lucheon Bay exploring the reef! And what another beautiful day we woke up to! Nick and I were definitely excited and a little nervous about our first dive but Sam was a great teacher and made us feel comfortable and confident! Nick, myself and two other first timers were the very last group to go, that way we got to take in the snorkelling and get used to that before the diving. Right after jumping into the water we could see coral of such bright colours, schools of fish of all different shapes and patterns that we had only seen on TV. We were instantly amazed and couldn’t get enough. We couldn’t wait to go diving. After we got fitted with proper weights and got our BCD vests on, we were ready to go to the beach and do our in water practice test. There Sam taught us our hand signals, how to breath and how to resume breathing under water in case your mouth piece comes out. Also he told us how it was important to try not to hit your fins against any coral as everything is living!!!!

 That day we did 2 dives and couldn’t get enough. Another follow first timer asked the crew if she could just do one more dive very early in the morning on the 3rd day (our last day). Sam asked Brad, the captain and then asked us if we wanted to go. He told us early morning dives were amazing. He was right!  By the time we got into the water it was 5:30 am and what a great way to start the day. After our dive we came back and had breakfast. Oh I forgot to mention how great the food was, so much variety, and always fresh. We really were spoiled all around on this trip. 

Ok, so the last day was our kayaking. Sam lead us as we paddled in our rafts of two, just around the corner of were we had anchored each night at Hook Island. There he told us some history on the formation of the islands. We also saw our first mangrove tree. A very interesting tree which root systems are buried in the sand at sometimes deep levels of water close to tropical shore lines.

After the kayaking we had to go back to Airlie beach. Many sad faces were seen on the boat then because we all had had such a great time. All and all, we saw sting rays, a sea eagle, a giant turtle swimming, dolphins eating bright orange squid after dinner the first night, and many different fish,(including Dori and Nemo) the brilliant coloured coral, and a crown of thorns star fish. Spectacular!  


Our time aboard the ship Summer Time will be something we will never forget and it will be one of the highlights of our trip here in Australia for both of us . We made great friends. We shared the incredible first time experience of not only diving but diving the Great Barrier Reef. We got to experience nature in a way that may not be seen the same in the future. Incredible.

From here we will continue north.  Destination: Cairns.  We are under a tight schedule as Amanda has a job starting in two days.  With 800+km to roll over sully will get little rest.  Nick will start his job hunt right away.  What we earn over the next few weeks will have to serve us until we reach western Australia some 6000+km away.  It will be strange going getting back into a full time position as it is at this point that “routine” no longer fits into our routine. 

Two upside-down’s make a right-side-up

That’s right, turn something on the other side of the world upside down and its right side up to a Canadian.  That’s how the two of us look at it anyhow.  By this logic, that means that a good portion of a joy flight Nick took recently was done “right side up”.

We were both very anxious when YAK 52 pilot ,Peter, pulled up in his golf cart at the Bundaberg Airport and escorted  us to his hanger.  Ready and waiting was a polished, 9 cylinder radial, Russian trainer aircraft.  Peter went over a few safety procedures and had Nick jump into a flight suit.  They paused for a few “before” pictures and wasted no time getting in and synching down their shoulder straps.  The engine came alive and settled into a deep growl.  If Harleys had cousins that flew they would sound like this.  Peter taxied down to the end of a grass strip and did a quick high RPM run-up.  They turned back to face the hanger and the YAK’s voice went from a growl to roar.  The nose came up followed by the to main wheels, and it seemed like only a second had passed before they shot almost vertically into the cloudless sky.  It wasn’t long before they were a tiny black speck, and then just an invisible hum.  In the rear seat with the canopy closed Nick could still hear the wind howling over the airframe.  After a quick warning Peter pulled back on the stick, pointing them vertical again, and held it back taking them inverted, then facing the ground and finally, with the YAK forcing them into their seats back to the usual “blue on top” configuration.  Testing out Nicks belt tightening skills Peter swung the stick left  rolling them slowly as if they were in a drying machine rather than an aircraft.  They headed for the coast near to where we have been staying and just so Nick wouldn’t have anything obscuring the view, Peter did the majority of the sightseeing upside down.  After hearing that Nick had flown before Peter handed over the controls.  They did a few simple exercises (for Peter) like (very) steep turns and a couple rolls.  They flew a navigation exercise inverted and even practiced a Hammerhead or two.  They flew back to the Airstrip and did a couple low and over’s for Amanda’s camera on the ground and Nick (with Peters guidance) brought the YAK back to earth.  Smiling and a little white Nick took off the straps and stepped out for a few “after” photos.  Peter presented Nick with some gear and jotted down his info to send him a DVD of the experience.  It turns out that Peter had taped the whole thing from inside the cockpit.  Should make for an entertaining movie to watch when we get back.  Also since Peter is also a flight instructor in his spare time Nick was able to log the time/training in his records (every little bit counts).  Though both Nick and the plane are on the ground it seems like his head will remain in the clouds for days to come.    

As a warm up to the flying adventure we took in an aviation museum dedicated to the world famous local Bert Hinkler.  It was a tribute to his life spent building, flying, and inventing flying machines.  He was the most famous for his solo trips flown from England to Australia.  He was is/was a local legend and even has a song written for him.  The tours concludes with a tour of Hinkler’s (actual) home relocated to the park just outside the museum.  It was a great story showing how once you catch the bug (called Aviation) it can be very hard to get rid of.

A stay in Bundaberg is not complete without a tour of the world famous Bundaberg Rum and Gingerbeer distillery.  These are two separate entities, but together they form another legendary beverage the “dark and stormy”.  This is a premixed drink, combining both their gingerbeer and rum, which they assure us is something that the public came up with.  The guided tour took us through the whole process from sugar to molasses to fermentation to ageing to the bottle.  They also let us in on a secret.  This secret being that they ship their rum in milk trucks as to fool any potential rum bandits.  The only difference on the truck is it is required by law to have a flammable sticker on the back.  So next time you see a milk truck, check it for fine print, it could be a rum runner.  The tour ended with a few sample on the house.  They had all the options you could get at the any local bottle shop, but also had a few blends exclusive only to the bond store.  The ginger beer factory tour also ended with a sampling.  Instead this time you were encouraged to try all 14 flavours.  By the end of it Nick was feeling a bit sugar sloshed.  After sleeping off the sugar, we packed up Sully and pointed him North to Airlie Beach.

Relax, its Queensland!

Yes! A week at a resort!! Thanks mum!
After a much need break from our 10 week stint of working with the Segways we checked into Don Pancho resort on the beautiful Kelly beach in Bargara QLD 10 mins from Bundabergs CBD.

Ahhhh like a breath of fresh air we immediatly took in our studio suit for the week. A queen size bed, bathroom which can be accessed at any time just feet away quickly became a luxury.  Quite often you would be wide awake when you return from the hike we sometimes had to do for a midnight bathroom run. Included on our list of new luxuries were: kitchen with stove top and microwave, full fridge with freezer, (yaa ice cream!) and TV with cable. Amazing what a treat the little things had become.

Friday: We checked in, exploded our things all over the room. Saturday: relaxed and went for a walk around the area. Great beaches, some of the last ones to swim and surf at before we get farther up north where swimming is to dangerous because of the jelly fish.

Sunday: we took in Bargaras local united church where we where welcomed by the retirement community locals. We talked to almost everyone, over coffee and treats, they had so many questions for us. Us being the youngest ones there, they where interested in our adventure. Many had been to Canada when they where younger and of course had wonderful things to say. We said "good bye" and where even given a jar of jam-Jaboticaba cherry!!
Monday: It took almost the whole day to do the last blog entry as we had lots to catch up on. We also went to the beach and enjoyed the empty pool, as most of our older guests usually where reading in their suits or taking beach walks.This we found to be the trend for the week, which was great to have a pool to ourselves and a quiet stay.

Nick shoulder deep in Mitsubishi

 Tuesday: We wanted to go to an aviation museum but Sully (the van) had a different plan. After just leaving our parking spot we stalled and fortunately coasted to the shoulder. Nick carefully diagnosed the problem to be the fuel pump. Later that night we went to the beach for a walk, being told we might be able to catch a glimps of a baby turtle making its first steps.
Wednesday: We enjoyed bacon, eggs , toast and blueberry pancakes on our balcony over looking the beautiful blue waves flow gently onto the shore, another 30+ summer day, clear sky. We even watched a YAK (a Russian war bird) fly laps of the beach over head. With the help of the owner of the resort, we got a fuel pump from the wreckers which she kindly picked up for us.

That night though we took in the locals fav retirement hobby-lawn bowling. There was lots of laughs had by all in our group, they also where first timers. Snags (sausages) with onions and a beer plus lawn bowling for $7 was a great way to spend the night, even if all the locals stared at us, because again we where the youngest ones there.

 Thursday: the previous night we kindly had our new, but techincally used fuel pump delievered to us. Nick spent the better part of the day contorted into weird positions to access the engine area. I brought him water and applied lotion to his burning calves. He borrowed tools from the maintanace man at the resort and by the afternoon Sully was up and running again!!!! Oh how excited we where and we both hugged as we had another moment of hope for Sully's future and his secound trip around Australia. That night Nick proudly drove to Mon Repos (a conservation park) where each year mother Loggerheads make their way up the beach to lay their 150ish clutch of eggs. These turtles are one of the common breeds but are indangered. Hatching is always at night anywhere between 7:30 pm to midnight. When the temperature drops in the sand, the babies know to hatch. Once they hatch they are drawn by the magnetic feild of the earth toward the ocean(which they will also use to find their way back to lay their own eggs).

The conservation park, with volunteers, monitors their habits and help assist them safely to the ocean.  The park is open to the public to watch the events take place.  With nature there is now garontee and we worried that being at the very back of the line was going put us in the last group and more likely to be in a group that dosnt get to see the very best action. We got our passes...Group #1! oh, we couldnt wait.  Our pree show show in their out door aputheatre was cut short because group 1 was called to go to the beach. For what we didnt know yet! We were lead by flash light in our group of about 30. Our group consisited mainly of Christian school boys on a field trip, and even a photographer from the local newspaper. Along the way we were given instructions on how to be safe around the hatching babies. The nest had been relocated up high on a sand dune, so the rangers could study them better and have a better success rate against high tides.
 We gathered in a semi circle around the nest, right now just sand and grass. The boys excitement grew and soon the first baby poped his head through the top of the sand. He was well ahead of the others as he was the only one up and about for the next 30 minutes, when woke up. 10 at a time, now crawling all over each other made there first crawls toward the ocean.  74 exploded from the earth, and the ranger brought around one to let everyone see up close and touch the shell. At this time the journalist from the paper took Nick and my picture! He even took down our names. But before they where off to their new home they where collected in a net and brought down off the high sand dune. We stood on either side of the long line the ranger and volunteers made as a path way for them to make their first steps. What an incredile sight to witness, some of the boys got to stand and have the babies crawl through their legs, this with flash light made an illuminated path for them to follow.  Readers of this will not be the only ones able to hear our story as this saturday we found a detailed version in the local paper with both of our mugs plastered in the middle of a two page article on C7.!!

Life is Swell....

Quite literally.  Since our last entry Nick has acquired a surf board.  Whenever the conditions permit, and occasionally when they don’t he has been chasing and catching waves.  He has made it his mission to master the skill before we leave the country.  The surfing days are numbered however once we head north.  Soon we will drift into the no swimming area of OZ.  The waters will begin to get clearer and more beautiful but with the rainy season in full effect, will bring on the jellyfish, crocks, and sharks.
He will often ride a Segway from work to the beach before work, which has often caught a few eyes and brought in more work for the afternoon.  This may seem counter-productive as the more he surfs the less he can surf, but it doesn’t seem to hurt the financial situation.  The van seems to be getting smaller with the influx of souvenirs, and we have taken it upon ourselves to rig up a roof rack and strap the majority of our all-weather items on top.  Too much more and we will have to add a trailer to the mix…

Over the Christmas/school holidays the Segways never seemed to stop rolling.  Towards the end of January the tours became smaller and eventually we saw a few days off.  At this point we welcomed the mandatory holiday.  We took up a new hobby in the form of cable skiing.  This activity is virtually the same as waterskiing or wakeboarding, accept one major aspect: the boat.  Instead you are launched from a dock and sent skimming around a man made lake via a tow rope attached to a series of cables and pullys’.  The whole “getting up” and “riding” bit proved to be easier than its tow-boat counterpart, but there was a new skill required to make it around the lake.  This skill consisted of being able to do a (seemingly instant) 90 degree turn to the left.  Both of us took the majority of the night to master whip #1.  That still left another 3 ½ whips to make it around the whole lake.  Needless to say the majority of the evening was spent walking back the launch pad.  I forgot to mention before but this was all done at night with the help of spotlights.  This was another advantage to the cable ski racquet; you can unwind after a full day of work, and you don’t need to buy (or know someone with) a boat.  It is also worth mentioning that Amanda didn’t face plant while launching for the first time.  We were told by the cable operator that it is rare to see a newcomer stay dry for more than a few seconds.  Amanda avoided that fate…until whip #1 of course.  There were heaps of gear to choose from and Nick made it duty to try everything at least once.  This meant riding wake boards, kite boards (thinner), surf boards and skis.  Once he thought he had conquered them all he found a lonely plywood disc in the corner of the gear room.  He asked if it was an option and the operator laughed and said “yes, but make sure you don’t ride it upside down.”  It turns out there wasn’t a difference between top and bottom and it was meant for more of a gag for birthdays and bachelor parties.


Nick said he wouldn’t have noticed it except his father relayed many a story about the toys they used to ride behind the boat, and one happened to be one of the same.  Nick beat the odds of getting off the dock with it but soon noticed its lack of a steering mechanism and spun himself off and into the drink.  Determined he rode it, again and again.  He skipped down the lake and forced to do his own impression of a flying saucer on the corner as he was whipped to the left, leaving the disc flying straight toward the shore.  After giving it the ol’ college try he decided to put it back in the corner to wait for its next victim.

 In the mix of work and play the Aussies declared a holiday-Australia Day.  Very similar to our Canada Day, people were scurrying about with coolers and grills flocking to the beaches and parks.  Getting up early we were rewarded with a free breakfast at the local beach.  In the spirit of things we gorged ourselves that evening on meat pies, washing it down with OZ made ginger beer, while watching some local music and taking in the fireworks on the beach.  We even interviewed a few locals asking them what the best part of being Australian was, to which one replied “ice cream” which may have been a bias opinion from the ice cream merchant.

Things in this neck of the country have been heating up.  All the recent rainfall has now taken to the air and made this Canadian couple feel much more Canadian.  We have been hiding out in shops and supermarkets mooching A/C like its our job.  The small van we reside in has been getting smaller each night and trips to the beach have become more frequent.  We have equipped small fans to our “bedrooms” in hops of relief.  The only success we have has was to leave the coast for a few days and do a tour of the foothills of Maleny, and Montville.  Here we were reacquainted with our shoes, pants and sweaters.  We also got to know the views of the rolling peaks, freshwater lakes and deep valleys.  In Montville we visited shops of all kinds.  We took time to take a lesson from the custom candy makers, and enjoyed tasting a few fine liqueurs made locally.  After tasting the pride of the shop we couldn’t leave without a small bottle of coffee liqueur that makes Bailies taste like dirty socks.


 In Maleny we found market after market of fresh produce.  The town brags of no franchises and the book stores outnumber the pubs.  There were also many beautiful walks in the area to which we were obliged to include in our stay as well.  Our trip back to the coast was broken up by a night of flying sod and mud as we drifted off the safety of the ash fault and came to rest at the bottom of a seemingly gradual slope.  This was our own doing as we ventured off the designated rest area parking and to the shelter of a nearby tree.  We never made it to that tree.  Instead we spent the majority of our time trying to get farther from it realizing it requited a lighter vehicle with a bigger footprint than our Sully had.


After exhausting all other options we called a tow truck only to find out it would cost more than a days wage to get us out of this pickle.  We decided to call the only other person we know in the country with a truck (Ray) and see if we could cut a deal.  Luck was on our side as Ray was only 15 min away at the time and could make short work of it and not even miss his supper.  It turns out you pay your mates for towing the same way ya do in Canada…with beer.  So we cut a deal and traded his services for a few goods we picked up at the nearest Bottle shop.

Amongst the Segway tours we were enlisted to assist with a few Corporate events.  One crew found themselves suddenly in a plane wreck situation with only a few items dropped from the plane before its unscheduled decent.  They worked together to find food, build shelter, cross a raging river, hunt their own food build a fire.  They worked in teams and earned points along the way.  The final event was a clay pigeon shoot out, the winner walking away with a free Segway tour of the nearby ranch.  We were located not far west from Brisbane but on our tour we encountered roos, horses, lots of spiders, and even a group of wild camels wandering through.  It was just as much an adventure for us as it was the clients.  Other days had us setting up human-fooseball, lazer-clay and Segway-croquet for clients such and EB Games and a local Engineering firm.  It seemed like we had as much fun watching them as they did playing them.

We are making this entry 4 hours North of our last one, from inside a Don Pancho Resort room.  We are very thankful to Amanda’s mom for the Christmas gift of a weeks stay here on beach in Bargara 10 minutes from Bundaberg.  The A/C is a blessing and it’s a treat to be able to spread our possessions out and regroup for our next leg of the journey.  A kitchen, though small by most standards, seems just big enough to cook some recipes from home. Our newly acquired freezer has found itself full with icy treats.  We are also informed that we have arrived just in time for sea turtle hatching season.  There is a place down the road you can pay to have a guided tour, with chances to see the little guys taking their first steps, but we have been told we have the same chances when we stroll the beach ourselves after dark.  We have a full moon tonight to light the way.  We will head out shortly to try our luck.

We are not completely sure of our next move.  There is talk about saving some more money for the long leg around the top.  We are also considering spending a week at sea sailing the Whitsunday islands.  As soon as we know we promise to let you all know.  We would like to end this entry with a quote from Ray’s website: “Do the best you can, with what you’ve got, right where you are.”

Dread’in the New Year

For all of you that know Nick the term “dread” seldom means gloom or anxiety, but almost always refers to the hairstyle made famous by Bob Marley.  One may ask “how can you “dread” in the new year?” and the answer is simple.  Woodford Folk Fest.  This place could arguably be the dreadlock capitol of Australia.  People of all ages, nationalities, and genders, all rocking dreadlocks, were enjoying music, art, comedy, and stunts performed by other dreadlock rockers.  We both couldn’t help but feel like the minority with our nappy lacking hair.  The hair aside it was nothing but good times with good people.

 The day ticket bought us 15 hours of various acts and displays as well as a cozy camping site to crash for the night.  To get the full picture we must mention that it has been raining every day for the past two weeks.  On our way to a dry camping spot we passed “tent village” which was a collage of bogged cars and campers, clothes lines sagging with dripping attire, and piles of rubber boots outside each humble abode.  You could tell many residents had been there for the full week of festivities and have not let the weather dampen their spirit along with their socks.  I will leave out details of the acts as not to spoil the surprise in case your in the neighbourhood this time next year, but some of the sights and sounds we took in included: a comedic fire fighter duo who could also juggle, mini bike stunt team, big band music, storey teller, graffiti artists, Dj’s as well as some fine food and beverages.  Not included in the itinerary but also entertaining were the mud runs.

 All cars of different sizes had to get through tracked out, greasy stretches of earth that could help the Corb Lund boys write their sequel. This show ran all day because it was the only route to get in or out of the grounds.  Everyone seemed to do their part to push from time to time, because in the back of all our minds was the fact that all of us will need a push eventually, and we did.

Out of order but no less enjoyable was Christmas at Cotton Tree Backpackers.   It was odd to say the least to get up and put on sun screen rather than flannels.  We all received our first present right away, which was sunshine.  It was a treat to be dry for more than an hour.  The night before we all stayed up helping prepare for the afternoon BBQ.  The Hostel had a homey feel to it as many of the residents had been their for months.  There were also a couple of resident dogs (Nelson the lab and friend).  We were welcomed in to the family immediately.  Under the tiny tree (with melting candy cane decorations)on the coffee table in the morning were tiny presents.  French Santa came again at brunch wearing shorts, flip-flops, and carrying a beer. Amanda and I exchanged gifts and watched the others unwrap their Christmas Speedo’s, boxed wine (goon), and water pistols.
We sat on the patio enjoying our complementary champagne and orange juice soaking it in while others threw on their red hats and hit the beach.  We all made phone calls home to tell our families Santa was on his way.  The afternoon was spent playing games such as celebrity heads, Chinese checkers, and pass the parcel.  In the parcel you could get either a present or a dare.  Amanda wound up performing a clever yodel and Nick had to hug a stranger.  Everyone ate until they were stuffed, had a nap and then ate some more.  We traded a few more movies before we left our home away from home.

Nick celebrated his 26th with a steak dinner at a place called Mooo Char.  It was sponsored by Mr. Segway (Ray).  Not only does he get to ride around on Segways all day he also has a Birthday Bonus package.  Not too shabby.  We both have been working steady at the resort and Amanda has also been assisting with tours.  She has an interview 2km down the road for a new dental office.  We are both in “save” mode for the new few weeks, and Nick has been shopping for a surf board.  His first tour is not until 10am which leaves the morning open to take up Australia’s No.1 hobby -surfing.  It will be rough but some how we will get through it ;-)      

STOP, DROP, AND ROCK MELON

Stop, Drop, and Rock Melon: You can do these in any particular order.  We started with the rock melons, then stopped, followed quickly by dropping.  We both agree it was the hardest day of manual labour and mental strength of our lives so far.  I’m sure many of our co-workers, would have agreed but we didn’t get a chance to talk to them, as they decided not to even finish the day.  The idea sounded simple when we started.  “All ya have to do is follow the tractor, twist every melon to see if its ripe, and if it is it will break off, then simply pick it up and put it on the belt.”  They were right.  It wasn’t hard.  Well the first 500 were ok, then the next 500 were little tricky to hold on to, but the last 500 seemed to weigh 100 pounds.  That must have been the wet part of the field.  We were all glad to see the tractor sink into the mud 45 min early to end the day.  Everyone on the bus back to the caravan park decided to try picking onions the next day instead.

The following day rained. So did the day after.  It was at this point we decided to socialize, and trade movies with people to give us all something to entertain ourselves with while we wait on the sunshine.  Speaking to some we find out they had been waiting on weather for over a week so far.  We had a look at the weather forecast.  It called for another 4-5 days of rain and the farmers assured us it would take another 2-4 days of dry weather before they could convince the tractor to take a run through the fields.  With our dwindling bank accounts and increased free time, we turned the wheel to the coast and pushed the right pedal down in search of indoor jobs.

Brisbane was the next major city, and that’s where we began our search.  It reminds me a lot of Calgary.  It is spread out with only a few high rises in the center.  It has a river running through the middle, and all the major roads in or out are under construction!  We treated ourselves to a cabin.  This gave us a great chance to dry out and recover from the melon picking.  I can’t stress enough how important it is to stretch before and after any strenuous activity.  After sitting in the car for two days, following our one full day of picking, we were both walking as if we fell from a two story building.  We made up resumes and scoured the internet for work, in between refilling the hot water bottle and taking in the next episode of “24” which we became addicted to(like the fellows who gave em to us promised).  With both walking, and clutch work low on the priority list we enjoyed our recovery time and hit the airports and temp agencies hard later in the week.  Amanda found work right away temping as a dental assistant which left me with interviews out at the general aviation airport just west of the city.  To my pleasant surprise they have a Canadian on their staff already which they had sponsored from an apprentice and were the local Cirrus service centre.  They were pleased to see I had experience with them as it is uncommon to see in many Australia applicants.  The bad news however was that they would be slow until the new year and would have to check back after the holidays.  That didn’t fit into our financial plans.  The plans being: “we need money A.S.A.P.” Amanda continued to temp and I decided to look into alternative employment.  Through complete fluke I stumbled on a single leaflet left behind at the book trade in, when I was dropping off magazines I borrowed from the last one, and just so happened to be for a segway tour just north of Brisbane.  I decided to give it a ring and tell them about my segway experiences in Canada.

The timing couldn’t have been better.  The tours were expanding and the holiday season has left them all flat out and need someone to take up the slack.  Next thing you know I am doing training for a rainforest/resort tour on a fleet of 15, X2 off road.  I am actually writing this blog from inside a sea can (which we use as an office/storage).  The tours have been great.  They have been mostly family’s and couples.  This is a welcome change from the regular students I have, which include the fresh from the beer gardens, “I’ve seen mall cop I know how to ride it” kinda crews.

Amongst all the new work for the two of us we squeezed in some more play.  We took a weekend trip down to the Gold Coast as well as Byron Bay.  We got up at 5am and were the first in Australia to see the sun rise from its most easterly point.  We watched some kite boarders tearing up the waves in a redbull world event.  Your visit to OZ is never complete without a trip down the narrow switchbacks to Nimbin.  This is a village stuck in the “free love” era and boasts: “home of the hemp Olympics” (complete with bong toss) and also the worlds largest (recorded) joint.  Their claim to fame however is their VW bus museum.  I won’t go into details an spoil the surprise, besides is better you see it for yourself.  Two hours after arriving we feel we have seen it all and head to the information desks favourite hidden gem; Mynion Falls.  The rain comes down in sheets as we dodge the washouts on the single track road up to the falls.  We tough out the rain with the help of the last few episodes of “24”.  The silence is broken in the morning by the sound of a ute and two amped men going on about jumping off the falls.  Thinking it was a dream I considered falling back to sleep, but with all the posters of skydivers, and base jumpers running through my head I decided to toss on a pair of shoes and follow em to the lookout.

“Excuse me guys. Correct me if I’m wrong but I thought you said you were going to jump off the falls??”…….”yep”

And after a few basic stretches they wasted no time climbing over the railing and hurling themselves toward the earth.  I picked em up at the trail head and gave em a lift back to their ute, as one was late for work.  “Beats coffee!” he said as he drove off.

We took the alternative rout to the falls later in the morning.  We scrambled some rocks and found ourselves a pool and hung out in the natural jakoozee made by the boulders.

The remainder of our time has been spent trying to stay dry (as it has rained virtually every day since St. George) and keep enough clothes clean as to keep the van’s FUNK-O-METER below 10.  We also got to test out or roadside repair kit as we blew our first tire.  Both of us are now confident that we could locate and operate anything we need in that case.  This will save us time in the future, because somehow putting the steering wheel on the other side required the manufacturer to hide the jack, wrench, and handle all in different places!

The calendar has been telling us that Christmas will soon be here.  There are even carollers’ on the beaches and Christmas tunes in the shopping centres.  I stumbled upon a small lonely carton of egg nog today at the corner store.  All this doesn’t seem to cover up the fact the there is no chance it will snow.  It’s a stretch but somehow we will be trading our cooked goose dinner for a couple yabby’s on the BBQ.  I suppose some of the beaches are white…..this year Santa rides a jet ski.

The Squizzy Capitol - Nov 16-Dec

After leaving our very kind friends in Lithgow we traveled to Bathurst where we visited the Bathurst airport. Shortly after we arrived we watched an Albatross jet fighter take off for a test flight. You could be in the hot seat at 5 G-force for a small price of $3200 for half an hour. I told Nick he should talk to the pilot, see if we could get a deal. He suggested working for them, but they weren’t looking. Though he did get some good tips on where he might be able to do maintenance. Maybe next time!
So its on to Orange, the unofficial wine capitol of NSW.

We spend the next three nights at the best free campsite we have stayed at yet. 60km outside the city is a well maintained, cut grass 30 acre land with walking trails, ponds and hardly anyone there. Each night when the sun went down, we sat under the trees, a cool breeze on our cheek, tea in hand “no-worries” we thought it cant get any better.

After some sight seeing, a few laps in the swimming pool at the Ex-Services club, and a afternoon skyping we decided to keep going onto Canberra, the capital, and try and get educated about the history of Australia and its parliament. After a tour of the second floor we watched as people were going through a metal detector, proceeded by a long corridor.  Asking the guard what this was all about she replied “The senates are in parliament, you can ask them questions and have a squizzy”. A squizzy? Nick and I looked at each other after she had left. A whaaat?? We laughed as we asked another guard at another station. He smiled, it means “a look around”.

From there we set off to the Australian Museum.  There we learned about the discovery of Australia and rich history of building the country and industry.  Nick admired a truck with a giant hook on the front used to catch buffalo. But the highlight of the day was learning our new slang Ozzy word, squizzy-and coming from such a important landmark. HA!

Also visited the Zoo in Canberra. We got to see the locals: Kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, koalas, little penguins, snakes, chameleons, as well as visitors from Asia: Red Pandas, India, Africa; meer cats and giraffes. Nicks favourite was the curious otters.
The next day we visited a 1915 power house-run by coal.  In the past decade it has been turned into a glass blowing studio and gallery. We spent 4 hours in the afternoon watching a group of 3 create a large round vase sculpture for a hotel in Japan, just one of 50 that take 5 hours to make each. What an interesting process. Wouldn’t that be fun as your career?

After getting a good feel for Canberra, it was off to the coast again.  We have missed the ocean. We find ourselves at Shell Harbour not far from Sydney. This is where we found a lot of beaches have showers. J

2500km after leaving Sydney we find ourselves right back where we started.  We made it a loop so we could make it back to catch Stereo Sonic (a full day electronic music festival). Thousands of people danced the day away for the outdoor music show. There we tried a deep fried potato ring on a stick, which we thought should definitely be added to the “a-la-stick” menu at the Calgary Stampede.
One short stop in Blacksmiths along the coast and we have decide its time to start our fruit picking career in St. George…………..