the Great Ocean Road

soooo last weekend my friends and i decided that we were over the gold coast and wanted to go to melbourne for the weekend.  we also decided that while in melbourne, we wanted to take a road trip as none of us ever get to drive anymore, and hardly ever get to ride in cars anymore.  it's a weird thing to miss, but nonetheless... we wanted to rent a car, but you have to be 21 to do so. at first it was fine because there were 5 of us that were going to go, and two of those people are 21.  however, due to classes and other such work commitments (really?!) neither of them could go.  so here we were, tuesday afternoon, three 20-year-olds trying to figure out how we were going to get around this interesting ordeal we found ourselves in.  this is where the breezer comes in.

even with companies like wicked campers and stuff like that, you have to be at least 21 to hire out, and it has to be for at least 5 days.  however, there was one veryyy sketch place we found where you only had to be 18.  so of course we went with it, and soon enough casey, lauren and i found ourselves in melbourne on a friday afternoon, hiring out a campervan for the weekend.  casey and i got there first because lauren had to fly standby from brisbane, so we decided to go get the campervan and pick up some supplies while we waited for her.  so we got all the paperwork filled out, got all packed up into our campervan, and jumped in the front seat ready to go... and couldn't get it started.  embarrassed, we went back into the rental place and asked how we were supposed to get the vehicle started.  the woman replied, the clutch of course, it's on the far left-hand side.  the clutch?  that's correct.  the campervan is manual.  so casey and i got back out into the campervan and stared down where, sure enough, there was a stick shift and a clutch on the far left-hand side.  

obviously neither of us know how to drive manual, so we once again found ourselves in quite the interesting situation.  frantically, we started calling some friends to try and get ourselves a quick over-the-phone lesson on how to drive a manual.  finally matias answered his phone, and when we told him our situation, he warily began to explain how one drives a stick-shift.  mid-lesson, however, he stops and says, "listen you guys, i really don't think this is a good idea." not disagreeing, we decided to go back into the rental place and ask them to just take the campervan back and get a refund.  however, because it was so last-minute, it would have been considered a cancellation and we wouldn't have gotten a cent of our $400 back.  so a decision had to be made; either we were out $400 and were going to have to just figure out something else to do in melbourne for the weekend, or we were going to suck it up and casey was going to learn to drive a manual.

well, obviously we chose the second option, so we get back on the phone with matias, explain to him the situation, and he begrudgingly gives us a lesson on how to drive manual.  very very veryyyy nervously we finally decide casey is ready to exit the parking lot, and we drive out and into a larger car park next door, at the central west shopping centre, in the town of braybrook, the sketchiest suburb in all of melbourne, i am positive.  we spend the next three hours, still waiting for lauren, driving in circles around the car park in braybrook, practicing starting and stopping, slowing down, etc.  finally, lauren arrives, we tell her the situation, and she is extremely nervous, as we all were at this point, but of course goes with it.  feeling confident(-ish), we go to aldi for some supplies; bread, pb&j, some breakfast bubbles, milk, chips, cookies, and a few boxes of goon.

finally ready to head out on the road, we begin our journey toward our destination for the night: geelong. we arrive before dark, but not before realizing that although we have a bed to sleep in for the night, we have no where to park it.  there are no open caravan parks in geelong, but even if there were we would have to pay for them, and that kind of defeats the purpose of the campervan. sooo we drive drive around for a while, stall in the middle of an intersection, and halfway up at a hill at a stoplight, casey has a couple meltdowns... and then finally we find ourselves at a dead-end road on a cliff over looking the ocean, in the parking lot of a church.  perfect.  we park the breezer, get out to stretch our legs, bathroom break, and get started on the goon.  

by this time we were all absolutely exhausted by our travels we decide against making the trek back into town and have our very own bonding sess in bed.  did i mention that the back of the breezer is a cage? that's funny... the campervan is really only for two people, which is why it is so cheap, so there are no seats/seatbelts in the back, just the bed, which we folded up during the daytime for seating for lauren.  i, of course, had to sit up in the front with casey to navigate/keep her calm so lauren sat in the back, in the cage, like a locked-up feral child.  not a big deal, but pretty key looking back...  so anyway, we're chillin in bed, drinking our goon, when cars start randomly coming to park on cliff st. over looking the ocean.  who knew church parking lots also doubled as make-out points?  needless to say, we had some interesting visitors that friday night...

the next morning we woke up extremely early, as we were all a little bit anxious about the day ahead, and a little nervous that we had a ticket.  however, we did not so not to worry.  we had some breakfast bubbs & pbj for breakfast, then walked down the hill to a park where we got to wash ourselves a bit.  then we packed up the breezer and went back into the geelong to give ourselves a little walking tour.  we had some coffee at an adorable little cafe on the beach, went to cunningham pier, and then made a little trek to the national wool museum where we, luckily, met some kind old men who gave us the most amazing directions for the great ocean road, and to whom i will be eternally grateful, as we may not have made the journey without them.  after talking to them we were excited to get on our way, so we got back into the breezer and headed off for our next destination: queenscliff.

queenscliff is an adorable little colonial town consisting of all old people and war museums and memorials.  we walked around checking out all the history, which we don't get at all on the gold coast, the white picket fences, and B&B's... it was adorable.  we stopped at the courtyard, an adorable little cafe in a garden, for some sandwiches and coffee, and then back to the breezer and off we went... we drove through the bellarine, vineyard country overlooking port philip bay, through more adorable towns and scenic sights like point lonsdale, ocean grove, barwon heads... we got stuck in a little bit of traffic in torquay, a surfing town of the famous bells beach where surf brands like cult and rip curl originated. turns out the traffic was because of a bicycle race that was going on that saturday afternoon, so that was terrifying driving on coastal highway trying not to kill any cyclists. 

we continued on thorugh anglesea, aireys inlet, and somewhere between there and lorne we came across some remains of the victoria bushfires that have been raging on down there pretty much the entire time i've been in this country.  the fires were contained, but it was terrifying to see, and so sad. plus all the cyclists had to bike through that nasty smoke, which couldn't have been good for them.  our next stop was lorne, another surfside town that reminded me of coolangatta beach on the gold coast. lorne is the home of eskrine falls, which was our next stop.  however, to get to eskrine falls, you first have to drive up the steepest hill i have ever seen in my life, on which we stalled and began rolling backward into oncoming traffic. terrified, casey somehow got the car turned around and we rolled down the hill forward, at least.  after a small meltdown, we realized that matias had not covered driving uphill in his lesson, so we called our friend natalya, who freaked out and then explained that in order to drive uphill you have to be in the lowest gear possible. good to know. she also informed us that after we had talked to matias  and a few others the day before, everyone back at school was terrified for our lives and we needed to check in more often so they knew were still alive.  check.

okay, so we finally made it up the hill, however, when we got to great otway national park to turn down the road to eskrine falls we realized that we would be doing a little off-road down the second steepest hill i have ever seen in my life.  no big deal.  we made it to the falls; it was gorgeous, reminded me of fern gully.  made back up the hill no prob in first gear, and continued on our merry way along the great ocean road.

we didn't have any more stops to make before our final destination for the night, so we were pretty excited that we just go to drive for a little while and enjoy the scenery. little did we know that the entire drive from lorne to apollo bay would be ocean highway aka the hilliest, curviest, scariest roads in the entire world, over looking a cliff down to the ocean the entire way.  and of course, because that wasn't exciting enough, we got attacked by a biker gang heading up to queenscliff, more of the cyclists who were coming from god-knows-where... but we did pull over randomly on the side of the road for a quick breath and saw some wild koalas. don't exactly get to see that every day, eh?

well, needless to say we finally made it to apollo bay, and were faced yet again with the ordeal of finding a free, probably illegal, but sketchy enough place to sleep that we wouldn't get fined or murdered. we pulled into a "caravan park" which eerily resembled a trailer park, but we were too sketched out to do anything else so lauren went in to talk to them about prices and such.  she came back out to converse with us, but by the time we went back to book a spot, they had just given away the last one. sooo they directed us to a campground, which turned out to be half the price and sooo much better. and it just so happened to work out apollo bay music festival was going on that very weekend, so we picked the most bumpin' night of the year to spend the night. perfect.  we had to scale this giant hill to get into the actual town, but it was so well worth it, so much fun.  partying on the gold coast is a blast, usually, but there are so many american and tourists that it can get kinda old pretty fast.  it was fun for once to be the only americans at this australian bar.  so much fun.

the next morning we got up and had the standard breakfast bubbs & pbj breakfast, and then had to gas up at the petrol station, get some coffee, and we were off to our next destination: bimbi park and the camp otway lightstation.  we saw some more wild koalas, but we had to pay to go to the lighstation, so we snuck in the back way up the great ocean walk.  we still got to see the lighthouse and the cape otway, so all people trying to rip off innocent tourists can suck it.  our next stop was the otway treetop walk, about 30 minutes out of our way. however, when we got there we had to pay as well! so we just enjoyed some iced coffees at the otway treetop cafe, and then went back on our merry way.

next stop, princetown and the twelve apostles.  however, when we arrived in princetown we were a little surprised that all the town consisted of was a convenience store/petrol station/cafe.  we went in to get some snacks, and asked if we were in the right place. we were not, we had to drive a little bit further down the road, thank goodness because the twelve apostles was our last and biggest stop of the trip and it had been talked up so much that i would have been incredibly disappointed in what princetown had to offer us.  eventually, after stalling on a blind corner into oncoming traffic, we made it to the twelve apostles, which was gorgeous, and filled with asian tour groups, always a treat. 

after the twelve apostles, it was time to head to port campbell, the port campbell national park, and off of the great ocean road, back up toward geelong.  i must say, it was not such an exciting drive through the farmland/countryside of victoria, but we sang some taylor swift and play a rousing game of sex, drugs and rock n roll which kept us busy for a while. not to mention the twelve maps i had on my lap to ensure i was navigating us in the correct direction.  after a few hours we finally made it to the town of colac where, coincidentally, some of the fellows we had met the night before in apollo bay were from.  we made a pit stop at macca's for a snack and then continued on to geelong.

by the time we reached geelong we gassed up again and realized that we still had an hour or so of sunlight, so we decided to continue on to melbourne, our final final destination. however, we once again had nowhere to sleep so by the time we did some scary scary driving around the cbd of melbourne (did i mention it was scary?) we accidentally pulled over into the parking lot of a beach in st. kilda where, wouldn't luck just have it, there about five other campervans just parked in various spots.  we went over to talk to a few of them to ask about the situation, and they said they had been sleeping there for a couple nights already and hadn't gotten fines or had to pay anything so, perfect!  we pulled up and joined our homeless friends.  indeed, we may have just made a lifestyle choice.

the next morning we woke up on the beach, again, washed ourselves, had some brekky, and took a little walk along the beach to a cafe, and to decide what we were going to do with ourselves for the rest of the day.  we decided to take the campervan back to braybrook, and then take a bus back into the city to do a little exploring until our flight at 6:30. when we make it to the city we decide to walk to lygon st., as that is where our study abroad advisor told us we absolutely must go when in melbourne.  let me just say, i was not impressed. however, we did have some delish lunch, which, after pbj, chips, and breakfast bubbles for three days, probably anything would have been more appetizing.  

for our next and final adventure of the weekend, casey insisted that we find the dan o'connell (her dad's name) hotel on canning st. so we walked for about 700 miles, asked all kinds of people, and thought for a very long time that this was a very made up place. however, we did find it, and then needed very badly to take the tram back into the cbd, as lauren had left her mobile at the pharmacy we stopped at when we first arrived to town to get directions. 

when we finally made it back, we stopped at a cafe across the street for some beverages, and then headed to the train station where we had to catch a skybus back to the airport. sat at the airport just long enough to become exhausted, drank the rest of our leftover goon, hopped on the plane, and home we went back to the gold coast. what an adventureee

16 March

another week already... well, i recovered from mardi gras just in time to celebrate my friend's 21st birthday on tuesday night.  he lives in my corridor so we had the biggest party the AC:CR has ever seen!  it was insanely hot, and i spent most of the party with my head out the window while everyone else played circle of death and peer pong (with water, so as not to make a mess...).  finally we moved the party over to varsity tavern, a short walk from campus, to continue the celebration of matias's day of birth.

i think i told you about the rest of my "spring break" activities already so moving on to this past weekend... it was finally SUNNY!  on saturday kathryn and i sat down by the pool the wholeee dayyy, it was so fabulous.  the only bummer was that there was a brewery tour going on the same day that BASIC was hosting (beer appreciation and social intercourse club) because it was supposed to be rainy weather all weekend.  i really wanted to go, but couldn't risk missing out on the first sunny day in so many days!  luckily, sunday was sunny too!  kathryn and i went to burleigh beach, my second favorite only to main beach in byron bay, to do a little shopping and more basking in the sun.  i bought a really sweet dress from my new favorite store/art gallery called inverse.  this lady that works at a restaurant down the street makes these dresses from vintage scarves that she collects on her travels, so they're all one of a kind.  so coool.

today is ANOTHER sunny day, but i had to do some work as i put it all off this weekend to lay out in the sun.  i'm pretty behind in my lab assignments, so i'm probably going to be spending a couple of hours in the library/lab =(.  tomorrow night is a st. patrick's day celebration, so i have to get everything done by then! xx

13 March

i looked at all the pics from crush party and for the first time have been just the slightest bit homesick... i absolutely looovee it here, but i miss you girls more than you'll ever know.  that being said...

since we don't have spring break here at bond uni, we declared this week (and by this week, i mean since last thursday night when we left for sydney) our spring break.  i skipped all of my classes (some on purpose, others because i was still asleep/in bed) except for one where they take attendance...  instead of going to class i did massive amounts of spring break activities.  on wednesday i went to broadbeach to hang out with my friend, lauren's, sister who came to visit for her actual spring break, and her friend.  we went out to surfers, but wednesday night is not a big party night so we ended up at this bar called the avenue with a bunch of creepy old men.  very wisconsin-esque.  

it was fun though, and i ended up sleeping at the apartment lauren's sister was renting for the week.  i slept on the little couch and lauren, who is a good six inches shorter, got to sprawl out on the big couch.  needless to say, i got a fabulous night's sleep. casey brought a sheet from her bed here at school to sleep on the floor, so kathleen and her snuggled under that.  the next morning we all awoke in a shambles, borrowed some swimsuits/cover-ups/sunscreen, etc. from lauren's sister and friend and went to the beach on the first "nice" day they've had all spring break.  kind of sad, but it's been raining a lot lately so we jumped at the chance to go lay out for a while, even though it was kind of chilly and overcast.

we took the sheet that casey had brought for her night's sleep on the floor and all laied on that because none of us had towels.  when we finally got too cold to lay there anymore, we went back to the apartment to sit in the hot tub for a while.  there was a really hilarious small child that came and hung out with us while her parents watched on suspiciously...  so we left the hot tub and came back to school for our 77th night of spring break-ing in a row.  maybe not that many, but it seems like it, it's been a long couple of weeks.

anyway, that is all for now.  today was a chill day.  i walked three miles to burleigh waters with kathryn to look for her keys that she lost when she was on a run the other day.  we didn't find it, but it was a nice little stroll. then we watched a lot of hours of sex & the city and movies.  it's been very rainy lately, i hope the weather gets better soon so i can play outside again.

Mardi Gras

oooh i should have written a post sooner, as memories already fade fast about my past weekend.  well, i will do my best to fill you in on all the happenings.

we left the gold coast at 8:00pm on thursday night and hopped on a coach bus for what we were told would be a 10 hour drive.  as if 10 hours isn't bad enough, it was a lie.  more like 12 1/2.  the bus had to stop every 2 1/2 - 3 hours for the bus drivers to switch off, and bathroom breaks for the 200+ students i was traveling with.  i took some dramamine and slept most of the way, but of course sleeping on a bus is not a great sleep and i was exhausted when we arrived in sydney on friday morning around 9 am.  we got to grab some brekky, move our stuff into one of two rooms, and change our clothes, wash our faces, etc. very quickly before our tour guides took us on a walk around the city.

we were exhausted, but the walk was still pretty sweet.  we got to walk through hyde park, the royal botanical gardens, up the steps of the opera house, and on top of the harbour bridge which was terrifying, not only because i am afraid of heights but also because it was a windy windy day way up there and i was pretty convinced i was going to fall off into the ocean and wash up somewhere in melbourne.  it did not happen, don't be alarmed.  

we stopped at a food court at a mall to get some lunch.  i ate at healthy choices, which they have  at pretty much every mall around here.  they make fresh sandwiches and salads and stuff and are way more delicious and healthy than... say... macca's or something.  hehe, macca's is what they call mcdonald's here, fyi. =]

after the walk was complete we got to move into our rooms in the hostel, which, turns out, my room was one of the rooms where people were keeping their stuff for the morning, so i was trying to take a quick blink and there were people walking in and out all over the place trying to get their stuff situated.  finally we got showered and dressed up and ready for the activities for the night aka booze cruise in the harbour.  the entire time we just floated back and forth under the harbour bridge and past the opera house and all the beautiful city lights and had to keep telling myself, girl you are in sydney, australia because it was just so unbelievable.

the next day was an optional "hike" in the blue mountains, about an 1 1/2 bus ride away from our hostel in downtown chinatown.  my friends and i opted out of the hike and decided to take a walk around darling harbour.  on the way there we stopped at paddy's market to find some supplies (aka bright green afro wig) for mardi gras.  then we accidentally wandered through festival indonesia which was interesting.  we stopped for a bit to listen to some legit indonesian music and check out some of the snacks they had set up, although did not actually try any of them.  we went further down the boardwalk and had a drink for lunch, ran into some friends who were also in sydney for the weekend, and basically just had a very chill, relaxing afternoon in preparation for the night ahead.

well, if you haven't seen the pics on facebook i suggest you look at them because there is really no way that i can do the things that i saw justice in writing.  and those pictures aren't even the half of it - i can only capture so much, i am only one person.  we had dinner at the gaf, a bar right off of oxford street where the parade was held.  so we got to eat dinner and have drinks while the parade raged on only feet away from us.  it was absolute insanity.  it was difficult to see a lot of the parade because there were so many people lined up on the street and there weren't as many floats as just men in butt-less chaps dancing down the street.  did i mention mardi gras in sydney is also the gay and lesbian pride parade?  right.  that may or may not change things.  

after some dinner and drinks we walked around a bit to try to get a better view, and then stopped at another bar to rest.  we met some nice australian boys from sydney who said they would be happy to take us to a club, wallaby, in darling harbour.  they promised it was just a short walk.  they are liars.  i still do not believe that they are even from sydney because they had no idea how to get to darling harbour, and the walk felt like it took hours.  and to make things even more ridiculous, one of them thought he needed to take a bathroom break behind a bush, and almost got us all arrested by the rangers. ughhh.  well, needless to say we made it to the club and ended up having a very fun and exciting time.  dancing the night away and such. you get the idea.

the next morning we got up bright and early to pack up the buses, grab some brekky, and head off for a cliff walk along the beaches.  we saw tamarama, bronte, bondi... i apologize i can't remember them all but they were beautiful.  it was kind of an overcast day so the air was nice and cool, and i got some pretty fabulous pictures overlooking the ocean.  well, by the time we got to our final destination, bondi beach, famous for, among other things, the reality tv show bondi rescue, which one of our tour guides is actually on.  so, turns out i met a famous australian reality tv star.  too bad i've never seen the show, or any show for that matter as i do not have a tv.

sadly, it began to rain shortly after we arrived to the beach so we took a short walk around the boardwalk, went to a market which was cool and i could have spent hours at if not for the rain, so we ended up going to hotel bondi, where we had a few drinks and sat for six hours watching and trying to figure out the cricket game that was happening on the tv in the bar.  cricket is a very confusing sport, which is why i think it has never became popular in the states.  not to mention it is the most boring to ever to watch.  it's kind of like baseball, but even baseball seems exciting compared to cricket.  anyway, that was quite the long afternoon, but we had some dinner and around 7:30 hopped on the bus for the 12 hour bus ride home.

we arrived home around 6:30 on monday morning and i lugged my suitcases up into my room, into my bed, and crashed, still wearing my bathing suit full of sand and cover up.  i woke several hours later spooning my suitcase in a puddle of sand.  there is no other way the weekend could have ended.  it was fabulous.  i love sydney and want to move there forever.  the end.

Sydney

here is my itinerary for my weekend in Sydney!

Extreme 'Bond'age - The Ultimate Sydney Mardi Gras Tour

Thurs 5 March

Pick up at 8:00pm 

Tonight you will meet everyone and run through the trip to know what to expect! Mardi Gras is a crazy time of year so be warned! Then it's time to kick back with some movies and catch a few Z's.

Friday 6 March 09

9:00am - Arrive in Sydney. Breakfast provided and time to freshen up. Then a walking tour of downtown Sydney, taking in the historical sites, along with some iconic ones like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

3:30pm - Make own way back to hostel.

6:45pm - Meet at reception and make way down to Opera House steps. Harbour Cruise leaves at 7:30 sharp. 4 hours of beer, iwne, soft drinks. Snacks also served.

11:30pm - Kick on in the city at some great pubs and live music.

Saturday 7 March 09

8:00am - Breakfast provided 9:00am. Meet out front of hostel for blue mountains day trip.  If you'd like some more time in Sydney, just let your extreme guide know and the day is yours to explore the magnificent city.

5:00pm - After a big day in the mountains, or exploring the city we'll only have a short time to get ready for the parade and a great night out! Meet in the hostel for some food, we'll let you know where to go and then let you loose in the big city! From here we walk up to Oxford St. for the parade, followed by clubs, sampling some of the vibrant nightlife that makes Sydney what it is.

Experience the red light district of Sydney on the best night of the year for it! We have put your names the list of a club in Kings X!! EMPIRE HOTEL, this is where you are free to turn up whenever... but be warned it's only free before midnight! Party on till the wee hours, and make your own way home.

Sunday 8 March 09

9:00am to 10:00am - Breakfast provided then check out. We'll put your bags on the bus around 10am, then try to get rid of the hangover by heading down to Bondi Beach. Have a swim, check out the markets, or just chill and watch the beautiful people go by...

2:00pm After a picnic lunch, meet at the southern end of the beach to start the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk. This 2 hour walk takes in all the splendour of Sydney's coastline. You'll see the cliffs drop off into the ocean, some fantastic beaches, and even one of Australia's most expensive cemeteries! 

We end up at Coogee beach, and a great pub there called the Palace for a few well earned drinks.  Here we chill out watching the ocean and listening to the resident DJ till it's time to go home.

8:00pm - Bus departs Coogee to get you home.

Monday 9 March 09

Approx. 7:30am arrive GOld Coast or 9:00am and time to say goodbye to your new friends... until the next party!

Australia Zoo

yesterday (Sunday) i went to the australia zoo! it is steve irwin's zoo, which his wife, terri, and daughter, bindi have taken over.  it was originally created for conservation purposes, to protect endangered animals, as well as educate about the animals in australia.  i have never really liked zoos before, but i had a blast yesterday!  the only downside was that we had to be on the bus at 7:45 am, and the bus ride was about 2 hours north of us, in noosa.  

however, once we arrived there, we grabbed a snack at "feeding frenzy", the food court, and then we were ready to see the animals!  the first thing we did was go to a show called "wildlife warriors!" where we got to see some birds, elephants, and crocodiles.  the zoo keepers fed the croc right in front of us, and one of the zoo keepers hid behind a bush the entire time.  i have no idea what he was doing, it was so weird.  and i got to see a baby croc right up close!  they're pretty cute, i guess...

then we were on our own for the next four hours... we saw every animal you can imagine, koalas, weird birds, and of course, kangaroos!  we probably spent the most time with the kangas because we got to feed them and pet them and be right up in their faces.  we even saw a mama kanga with a baby joey in it's pouch!  it was really strange.  i also go to pet a koala bear, which was a bit of a traumatic experience.  he was sleeping in the tree and when i went up to him, i just went for it and reached for his adorable little paw.  the zoo keeper then came at me and yelled because apparently you are only supposed to pet his furry little butt, so as not to get clawed to death.  i don't know how that would ever happen, seeing as these koalas are stoned on eukalyptus, and can hardly open their eyes, let alone violently attack anyone.

we also got to see some otters, which were very adorable.  the boy otter followed the girl otter around everywhere, and they swam and moved in sync the entire time we watched them, like they were doing some sort of choreographed routine.  it was so strange.  at one point there was a pretty large group of people there, and the boy started barking at people getting too close to his woman.  i will have to check into whether or not otters are one of those animals that mate for life...