horseback riding

as far as horseback riding goes theres a few things that i really want to do. 1) barrel race 2) take my (nonexistent, but hopefully soonish-to-be) horse on the death valley ride 3) ride in an australian saddle 4) ride on the beach.
well i accomplished 2 of those goals saturday at gunnamatta on mornington peninsula. getting down there was a bit of a bugger, but it was definately worth it. it was such a nice ride.
i had to leave about 9am (which for me is very early) caught the train for an hour, then a bus for another hour, then had to have a girl from the stables pick me up from the bus stop and take me to the ranch. being bound to public transportation is such a hassel, but it's either that or spend twice as much on a car for the day and probably cause a huge accident with the whole driving on the left thing.
i think it's funny that when they give an experienced rider a horse, it's always the one that bites and kicks at the other horses and has a gernerally bad disposition. scully, my horse, was no exception. but once we got moving he perked up a bit and turned out to be a nice ride.
australian saddles are kind of a hybrid of an english and western saddle. they have the metal stirrups, no horn, and the general shape of an english saddle, but they are bigger and comfier like a western saddle. the ones we rode in were stock, so they weren't true aussie saddles, but i got the general gist. i still like western the best. maybe it's because i'm lazy, but i just hate having to hold my legs up so high and post and have the reings in both hands. it's just way to much work!
they put 8 of us on the ride and took us allong some paddocks (fields), the bush (shrubby forrest), and then onto the beach. on the way there they let us trot our horses a bit. the ride was about half and half experienced riders to those who hadn't ridden much if at all. the first time we started trotting the girl in front of me was about a second and a half away from falling off. instinctively i wanted to start talking her through it having a flashback to my wrangling days, but then realized someone else was in charge and she wasn't my responsibility. it was a pretty good feeling to be able to sit back and relax as opposed to constantly checking saddles and trying to be social. the girl ended up hanging on and i think was starting to get the hang of it by the time the ride was over.
when we got to the beach, half of us said we wanted to canter down it so they just let us go. it was so awesome! the horses sink into the sand so their gate is even smoother than normal and the surf was up and the tide was in so the waves crashed around their hooves. the water was blue, sky was clear and sunny (for a change)...just awesome!
i was kind of surprised they let us go as much as they did. it's a huge liaility thing in the states and at sombrero there was absolutely no trotting or anything for the guests. here - they just don't care. if you fall off, it's your own fault. i like it!

sailing the whitsundays

(FINALLY finished my homework for the week so now i can blog - wee!)
so after much rigamaro from getting from surfer's to the airlie beach (of which i'll spare you the details) we checked in for our 2 day/2 night sailing trip around the whitsunday islands. this was the hilight of our trip - i was so pumped!
our boat, the "hammer", was a maxi-sailing vessel from the 80s which has sinced retired from her racing days. after some modifications it now holds up to 19 guests and 4 crew members for her current tourist usage. she's painted half teal and half yellow and is 75ft long.
the weather had been absolutely beautiful throughout the entire vacation, including that morning, until we were walking to the boat. at this time, the clouds rolled in at the rain started with no signs of letting up. this, however, was not going to keep us from having a good time. in my opinion, if you're going to be in a tropical, beach-oriented place while it's raining, you might as well be on a boat. otherwise you are stuck in your room or milling around shops all day.
our sail had 18 guests: the 3 of us, 6 college-age americans kids studying in sydney, a college-age swede studying in sydney and his mom, dad, and older sister, 3 mid-20s irish guys, and a upper-20s german couple. also on board was the skipper, his 2 deck mates, and a cook.
after a brief run down on boat safety, we motored out of the bay and set sail across the ocean. i've never been on a small sail boat before, so i didn't really know what to expect. when we got both sails up we got moving around 25 knots and the boat was tipped on her side to the point where you had to wrap your arms and legs around the railing or you were going in the water. so cool!
the rain refused to let up the whole first day, so after sailing around for a bit, we found a protected cove and dropped anchor for the night. we pulled out the awning to get away from the rain, ate some dinner, and hung around the rest of the night getting to know everyone.
i slept really well that night, but i may have been the only one. our beds were just big enough to fit onto comfortably and the top bunks (like mine) were maybe a foot below the ceiling. this along with the rocking of the boat and stifiling heat made sleeping difficult. i, however, have been blessed with the ability to fall alseep on que and stay that way until it's time to get up in the morning. :)
we woke up to much appreciated sunshine the next day, had breakfast, and then set sail again towards whitehaven beach. on the way, the winds were pretty gusty (moving us 35 knots-ish) and we ripped our mainsail in half. apparently that's not supposed to happen - haha, but there wasn't a whole lot anyone could do about it. we still had our front sail, so we kept it up and sailed on. without the mainsail we weren't able to go as fast or have that fun tipping action, but we were sailing none-the-less.
at whitehaven beach we had 3 hours to kill by laying out and playing in the water. whitehaven is the beach always used for advertisements in australia because it has beautiful, fine, white sand surrounded by blue water, and tree-filled islands. best of all, there's not a building in site. it's been rated 6th best beach in the world - absolutely gorgeous!
after the island stop, we sailed over to another location for a snorkel. the water was the perfect tempurature and fairly clear - great conditions. the whitsundays are located around the great barrier reef which is the big tourist attraction of queensland. the coral was the best i've ever seen - super bright and colorful with lots of different kinds. we saw plenty of fish as well, and best of all - a shark! before you freak out, it was just a harmless reef shark, but it was so cool to see in the wild.
the rains came later in the evening and so that night and the next day were more of the same...hanging out and sailing, until we returned to airlie beach around mid-day. the next 24 hours were spent wondering about the little beach town, lounging around the lagoon, shopping, and just enjoying the warm weather. unfortunately our vacation had ended and it was time to head back to cold, cloudy melbourne. don't get me wrong - i absolutely love this city and if i were to do it over...i'd still pick it, it's just the weather leaves something to be disired.
on a positive note, queensland was terriffic! an awesome way to spend easter break, that's for sure!

surfer's paradise

there were no hostel rooms left at the yha for friday so we decided to head down to surfer's paradise for the night. i absolutely loved it! i could totally be a beach bum, totally.
it took us a couple hours by train/bus to get there, so it was past laying out time when we finally arrived. we checked into our hostel and then hit the beach anyhow just to see it. surfer's can be compared to miami beach in that it is lined with skyscrapers and super busy. the difference is that nearly everyone there is in their 20s and the main part of town just off the beach is more low-rise and walkable.
after the sun set i wandered through the night market which had a bunch of souvenier type things to buy. the most amazing full moon came up over the water shortly after. absolutely gorgeous. (the picture just doesn't do it justice) it was one of those moons that making you have to stop some stranger and point it out because you don't want them to miss it. gorgeous. haha ok enough about the moon - i just really liked it.
we headed back to the hostel to get cleaned up then adrian and alicia went back to town to see the night market for themselves. i stayed behind with no real plans until i heard that the hostel had paid for a $16.50 buffet at shooters for everyone who wanted to go. free food? yes please! i made friends with some fellow hostelers and was invited to a local friend's beach party. this guy's apartment was literally right on the beach and far enough away from the main part of town that we had the whole thing to ourselves. the whole day was such a typical beach-town day. i loved it!
i had a rented surf board delivered to the hostel and woke up early the next morning to go for a surf. i wanted to take more lessons, but the times weren't going to work out. in a place called surfer's paradise you can't hardly justify not surfing so i decided to give it a shot anyhow. although i've been surfing once before (2 months ago and on baby waves with no one else around) it didn't seem to matter. i paddeled out to where everyone else was hoping they knew what they were doing and attempted to catch a few waves. after a few hours of being demolished by every wave i attempted and sitting around on my board wondering why the good waves always seem to be wherever i'm not, i gave up and laid out the rest of the morning. i've decided that surfing is hard and i'm just not good at it. oh well - it's not like indiana has many waves anyhow.

day two....crikey!

lisa and i woke up bright and early thursday morning, snagged 'brekkie' for free at uq, then i took the city cat back to the yha to get ready and collect adrian and alicia while lisa went to class. the four of us met up a couple hours later and took the train a couple hours north to the australia zoo.
normally i wouldn't travel such distances to see a zoo...especially on vacation and after spending an entire day at a wildlife sanctuary, but this zoo was worth the trip. this zoo was owned by steve irwin the crocodile hunter! crikey! we just had to see it!
when we arrived we had no real faith we'd actually get to see the croc hunter in action. he did shows at the zoo, but only sometimes and they wouldn't tell you in advance if he'd be performing or not. however, much to our surpise, as we sat down for the 'crocks live!' show they announced that steve irwin himself would be coming out soon. we were so stoaked! after way too much build up: an mc, elephant demonstration, steve irwin impersonater, countdown video introduction....he and his wife finally came out. the show itself was marginal, basically a croc was let into the arena river and steve irwin ran around trying to get it to snap at him while his wife made corney jokes, but the overall experience was great. super touristy, but great!
we milled around the zoo the rest of the day seeing more australian wildlife including all of its poisioness snakes (and there are a ton of them - something like the 9 of the 10 top poisioness snakes live in australia) and more shows such as 'snakes live!' and 'birds live!'. there were also camel, tiger, and elephant pens which was kind of out of place, but still very cool.
when we tired of seeing animals for the second day in a row, we caught the train back to brisbane. on the way, these two crazy high school girls picked up on our accents and started asking us all kinds of questions such as 'do you see celebreties walking down the street?' and 'does hollywood actually exist?' this country is obsessed with celebrity gossip. plus queenslanders are known for being a little strange. 'mad as cut snakes' as bill bryson would say. these two were no exception. we first answered their questions politely, but after a while started getting a bit sarcastic and by the end of the trip we had everyone in the car joined in the conversation and rolling with laughter.
that night we had dinner in south bank on the river near the man made beach (brisbane is not on the ocean and seem to be a bit sore about it) and then lisa headed home early to pack for her 6am departure for new zealand. adrian, alicia, and i then met up with brendan (a guy from townsville, australia who studied abroad at purdue several years ago and was good friends with adam and just happened to be visiting brisbane as well) and his friends for the rest of the night. i took a step up in accomidation that night. brendan's cousin let me sleep on a mattress on the floor of her apartment. no cockroaches that time, and i have to say i was pretty relieved.

brissy...day one

we, my roommates adrian, alicia, and i, set off for our easter break by plane tuesday night. we arrived in brisbane, queensland around 11pm, checked into our hostel, roamed around town for a little while, and then hit the sack to rest up for our first full day of vacation.
besides my stay in the blue mountains with my orientation group, this was my first real hostel experience. we stayed in the yha city in a 6-share room. besides the three of us there was only one other dude in the room. he was asleep when we arrived and gone when we woke up, so we never actually met him. however, judging by the maple leaf flag on his bag, we assumed he was canadian. why do canadians have their flag plastered on everything the wear/carry? they do - all of them! crazy canadians.
wednesday morning we took the bus to lone pine sanctuary to check out some aussie wildlife. we saw emus and wombats, fed and chased kangaroos/wallabies, and held koala bears! i've been waiting to see these animals since i've been here and was very pleased to have the opportunity. unfortunately it had to be while they were in captivity, but you take what you can get.
that evening, we met up with lisa, a highschool friend studying at uq, for dinner in chinatown and then walked around the valley looking for cake and live music. lisa isn't much on nightlife herself, so didn't have a lot of local insight on where to go. we found cake, but failed to find a worthwhile band to watch. oh well - the most important goal was achieved. :)
afterwards my friends went back to the hostel and i went back to lisa's dorm for a free night's sleep. we took the city cat (a boat used for public transport down the river) back to uq and to her dorm. the lifestyle differences between lisa's living situation and mine is huge, but she seems to like it fine. the one big problem with where she is staying, or at least in my eyes, is the cockroaches.
when we walked into her room there was a cockroach on the wall. she instinctively grabed the designated cockroach catcher (a plastic bag), plucked him off the wall, and threw him out the window. she said that she usually sees a cockroach or two everynight and that her whole side of the building had the same problem. we found 6 that night. that was, 6 before we turned off the lights and i slept in a sleeping bag on the floor. i checked and double checked my sleeping bag before climbing in and immediately zipped it up tight. i thought for sure i was going to wake up with a cockroach crawling over my face (or worse in my mouth) and wouldn't get any sleep, but alas i fell asleep surprisingly easily and woke up to no such fright. as far as i know there were no more cockroaches around me after i fell asleep and whether that's true or not, i'd like to continue thinking that way.

easter break

i did so much over easter break it would be obnoxious to try and fit in all my stories into one post. plus, if you are anything like me, when you see a super long blog you really don't want to read it. so, to spread things out and give us all something to do over the next few days, i'll only post about a portion of my break at a time. i also have heaps of pictures, but it may take a few days to get them posted so check back!

wabbit wocks

i went climbing at wabbit wocks saturday. that made my third climbing trip (1 indoors, the others outside) and i'm becoming addicted. it's one of those sports that is forever challenging and changing, can be done anywhere indoors, and has spectacular views when you can go outdoors. i absolutely love it! i hope there's a wall somewhere relatively near school so i can continue going when i get home.
it's been pretty cool, cloudy, and rainy here the past week so i haven't gotten out much. however, saturday cleared up by midday and the sun actually came out! great conditions for climbing, lounging on rocks, and chilling with the outdoors club - pretty much the perfect day.
wabbit wocks themselves were very different from the rocks in the grampians. these climbs were 'slabs' meaning they had nearly no hand holds and the climbs were all about scrambling and keeping balance. i got in 5 climbs throughout the day and actually finished an 18...my best yet. i may have gone a little off course making the climb easier, but that's just a minor detail...right?
what else is new...i have an interview tomorrow for a waitress position at a reception hall. pretty excited about that. the place is just down the street from my flat and has fairly non-strict hours. it would be the perfect job and i could really use the extra cash. i just have to convince the guy to pay me under the table and that it is worth training me to work for only 2 months...we'll see how it goes.
i also entered the australian national rogaining championships today...haha. rogaining is basically navigating a hiking route to checkpoints. my team is going to try and do 50k in 24 hours. that'll be about 18 hours of hiking and 6 hours sleeping. i have a feeling i'll be sore the next day.
i leave for brisbane/the whitsundays tomorrow night for easter break. i'm super pumped about that. two roommates - alicia and adrian - are going with me and we're visiting two friends of mine - lisa and brendan - while we're there. we also are going on a 2 day/2 night sail and snorkel trip. i'll tell you all about it when it get back.

t-shirt graphics

so i had an hour to kill tonight between class and an outdoors club get together so i got dinner in a pub across the street from school and hoped to catch part of the collingwood (my new team)/adelaide afl match. as i was sitting there, a guy passed by wearing a blue louisville baseball t-shirt. it looked about 3 sizes too small from him and was possibly an authentic little league shirt. i just had to ask.
so i went up to him and asked if he had been to louisville. he gave me a quizzical look so i pointed to his shirt and said louisville...like it says. he just laughed and said he had bought it at a local store.
i find it so funny to see people wearing graphic tees that promote obscure places in the states. for whatever reason the state of illinios is big around here. there are so may t-shirts that have illinios written across the chest and then a made up sportsteam name and mascot on the bottom. do they know that besides chicago, there's not much to speak of in the state. oh those cornfields....so exotic!
however we do the same thing. we have zip up shirts advertising 'ireland' or random chinese/japonese characters that most people could not translate. if they did, it would probably make less sence than the illinois idians. in aussie terms i'm sure we have screen print tees with 'surf's up: wherever, australia' proudly stamped across the chest.
it must stem from an obsession for parts of the world untraveled by us. prior to coming to australia i had the picturesque image of sunny, low-populated beaches with waves perfect for surfing, and kangaroos grazing idlely by on the fringing grass. maybe australians picture the american midwest as a sports haven for strange games such as baseball and gridiron football. on second thought, they might be right.

picture invite

i sent out invites to my newest kodak album tonight. if you didn't recieve an invite and want to view my pictures, shoot me an email and i'll send them your way. if i've left you out, don't take offense. surely it was just an oversight.

wildlife walk

saturday morning/afternoon was spent on a 15K hike through kinglake national park with a couple guys from the outdoors club. i woke up at 7am to pouring down rain and had my doubts about the "fun" the day had in store for me, but i was pleasantly surprised.
we were set to have a group of 6 leave campus at 8 am for the day, but when it was time to go only two of us had shown. i presume the dreary weather and early start time deterred the rest, but me and martin the swede were raring to go. our guide was the type of guy you'd expect to be the rogain director of the club: long hair, scruffy beard, reserved...your basic mountain man type. the three of us set off for the hour drive north of the city towards kinglake with a scheduled stop at the st andrews outdoor market on the way to get fruit and coffee. i tried to keep the conversation going in the car, but had minimal response. that didn't keep me from blabbering away the whole time, however, so i'm thankful it was a short trip.
although cool, the sky had cleared by the time we arrived which made us all pretty happy. kinglake is a large, wooded, hilly, national park filled with eucalyt trees and rain forrest-type shrubs. the goal was to see wildlife along the way and we were promised koalas, kangaroos, echidnas, and wombats. we saw none. well i MAY have seen a heard of kangaroos on the drive there, but i'm not entirely sure they wern't wallabies. we did, however, see several birds along the way including a kookaburra sitting in an old gum tree...you know...like the song. :)
daniel, our guide, although having no skills in small talk, had little reservation when talking about the local flora and fauna in which he was very well versed. although we didn't see any of the animals we had hoped, he told us all about them during the hike. he had a particular fondness for wombats because they are 'fat and cuddly.' it was extremely humorous to see a rough and tough mountain man get googly-eyed over a cuddly woodland creature. i have to admit, though, from the pictures they do look pretty cute. plus, they have evolved to lay square droppings on rocks (so they don't fall off) to mark their territory. we saw plenty of scat and it's true...it was square! very cool. well at least as cool as poop gets.
animals or not, is was great to get out of the city, into nature, and hiking around for the afternoon.