Semester Break Stops 2&3: Law, Lounging and Finding Nemo

G’Day from Cairns, the third and final stop on our best trip EVER. tour. Things have gone well since the last update… although I seriously doubt anything could top Tuesday’s glorious events. I suppose I owe you an update on how things have gone during the rest of the Brisbane trip, as well as our journeys thus far in beautiful North Queensland.

Brisbane was, by all accounts, the highlight of my trip. I think my last update emphasized that quite a bit. Aside from all the glory surrounding the Australia Zoo, we actually didn’t end up doing much of great significance. When we arrived on Monday, Janis, Rach and I headed down to the South Bank, which was a really cute little area about 15 minutes away from our hostel. It was the equivalent of a boardwalk by the river. We spent most of the day walking and lounging, embracing the actual break of our break. Janis and I caught the JetCat ferry that ran up and down the river next to Brisbane. It was a nice way to pass the afternoon, and a good prequel to today’s boating adventure. The highlight of my day was happening upon a grassy knoll-esq area, surrounded by palm trees, laying down and doing a bit of reading and writing. We made some pasta for dinner back at the hostel, and managed our usual Monday night television, catching Idol, Californication and The Office. Good deals.

Tuesday was, of course, the day to end all days. I doubt after last entry you want to hear anything more about my pilgrimage to the Australia Zoo, but let me reiterate one more time… it was absolutely amazing. The true realization of a dream. After the day’s adventure, we toasted Steve over $1o pitchers of Strongbow and a bit of pub quiz. A great way to cap off an even better day.

Wednesday marked our departure from Brisbane. We got up on the earlier side and czeched out of Brisbane Backpackers, catching the bus into the city. We had intentions of going to Surfer’s Paradise, but when we looked up bus and train timetables, it didn’t work out. So, we stuffed our bags in rental lockers and went about exploring the city, looking for something fun to do. What did we come up with? Why, the Brisbane Law Courts, of course! I know, we’re total nerds. Whatever. It was air conditioned, and it was the Supreme Court, and there were suits involved. Need I explain myself further? Well, okay. After talking with the security guard for a bit (we stood out in our tank tops and shorts), we went in search of an ongoing murder trial. A series of locked doors and empty rooms later, we happened upon an assault trial. Things started out slowly, but certainly picked up. We got to see the whole schpeal: judge, jury, evidence, testimonials, even the barristers in their Revolutionary War-era wigs and robes. Quite an event. For anyone looking for free entertainment on a hot day—I highly recommend trial law. Criminal law, if you can get it. Because everything’s more fun when there’s violence involved.

After our stay at the Brisbane Supreme Court, we walked down the street to a backpacker eatery and grabbed lunch. A bit more city exploration followed, and soon enough it was time to head back to the Transit Centre to take our train to the airport. The flight was uneventful; I watched an episode of X-Files to pass the time. Sadly, no interesting travel companions this time around. We caught a cab to Gilligan’s, our Cairns hostel for the first two nights. Gilligan’s is the Four Seasons of hostels. They had a pool (which I opted to take a nighttime swim in) comparable to Fritzopia—a feat in and of itself for a hostel. I spent most of Wednesday night reflecting on Tuesday’s events and being awoken by hostel roommates who have no sense of privacy. In the interest of maintaining the integrity of this blog, I won’t go any further with that.

Thursday was our first full day experiencing Cairns. We got up pretty early to talk to the Gilligan’s travel agent and book ourselves some fun adventures during our four day stay in tropical North Queensland. We opted to embark on Janis’s adventure—Kuranda and the Rainforestation Park. We hopped a $4 van that took us outside the city and up one of the mountains overlooking Cairns. The drive there was actually quite nice… probably because I strategically positioned myself by an open window. When we got to the top of the mountain, it was off to Rainforestation, home to the trifecta of Army Duck Boats, Aboriginal Learning, and Cuddly Koalas. Our first stop on the tour was riding the Army Duck through the rainforest. The scenery reminded me of Fern Gully, and our guide kept everything very interesting. Also, there’s something completely awesome about driving into a large body of water. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s there. After our drive/boat ride, we headed to the theater area, where we saw a series of Aboriginal dances, complete with a live digeridoo soundtrack. The dances were pretty cool to see, and some of them were actually quite funny. Post-show, our Aboriginal experience continued with a more hands-on sort of activity. We got to try our hands at boomerang throwing and digeridoo playing (I was much better at the former than the latter), and witnessed a spear throwing demo. Educational and fun. The wildlife park was our last stop at Rainforestation; nothing compared to the past 72 hours of animal encounters and reflections, but it was still pretty neat. I did, however, befriend a kangaroo who I dubbed “The Ambassador,” and saw a baby koala sleeping with its mum. Cuteness to the third power. At the end of our tour, we had the opportunity to get our pictures holding a koala and a baby crocodile. We all opted for the double package. Holding Walter the koala was completely amazing. He was so adorable. I wanted to steal him. Steve was absolutely right about one thing—if you have the opportunity to get close to animals, it makes you love them and want to save them even more. Holding the baby croc was fun as well… I almost gave him a kiss, but the guy taking the picture was looking at me kindof funny, so I didn’t. Expect to see those pictures on facebook as soon as I can locate a scanner.

And so ended our Rainforestation adventure. We shuttled back to the main area of Kuranda and wandered the markets for a bit before catching the van back. Whence back in Cairns, Rach and I embarked on a money/ice cream and cake/beach journey. I ended up falling asleep at our stop by a makeshift beach. It was quite redeeming. We headed back to Gilligan’s just as it was getting dark, and I had another swim before getting ready for dinner. We opted for a nicer sort of meal Thursday night, dressing up and meeting with Justin to eat at a higher end Indian restaurant. Our level of class rose another degree when we opted for drinks before dinner; I had a strawberry daiquiri, while the other three split a bottle of wine. Dinner was quite good, as was the conversation and the company. It’s nice to be classy sometimes. Didn’t do much after dinner… the adventure of break was starting to creep up on us, we were all asleep before 11.

Today has been another jam-packed day, again, in the best way possible. We were up by 6:3o this morning for an early check out; we had to be at the marina by 8:3o for our Great Barrier Reef scuba/snorkel adventure! Checking in and out of the hostels proved to be a bit more difficult than we originally thought. This mostly had to do with the fact that we grossly misjudged the distance between the two, and ended up walking about seven blocks (with our giant bags, mind you) to Calypso. After a quick check in and bag drop-off, we hailed a taxi and made our way to the waterfront. We only got mildly lost trying to find the info centre, but all was well once we hopped on the ReefQuest and began our day at sea. Ohh, do I love boats.

After a few introductory sessions, we were pretty pumped to find we’d be amongst the first group to scuba. The boat was pretty big, and we were among maybe 4o passengers, 14 of whom were doing their first scuba dive with us. After cruising a while out to sea, we got suited up in our gear and were dangling our feet into the Pacific in no time. I wasn’t sure how I’d handle the whole breathing underwater thing, but I after the initial “this is really weird,” I got used to it pretty quickly. We had three quick mini-lessons about ten feet below the surface, consisting of what to do if we get water in our masks, if we spit out our regulators, or if our regulators get stuck behind us. We faced a few minor setbacks at first—Janis had to abandon us because she wasn’t equalizing with the pressure… then Rachel’s tongue ring came undone (hilarious), and my right ear wouldn’t pop on the way down… but soon enough, Rach and I were exploring the Great Barrier Reef from about 5o feet under water. The scenes we swam through were downright breathtaking. It was exactly like something out of Finding Nemo, no lies. One of the first fish we saw was a four foot long reef shark. Then, our guide pointed out a clownfish living in his anemone home. We saw hundreds of different kinds of fish swimming amongst brilliantly colored coral. Colors I didn’t think existed in nature presented themselves in the form of foot-long rainbow fish. It was absolutely brilliant. Giant clams, angelfish… everything you could imagine would be living in tropical waters. Our scuba time expired after about half an hour under water, and as soon as we resurfaced, I shed my gear and hopped back in for a snorkeling expedition. I came across even more fish that I hadn’t seen while scuba-ing, including five enormous blue fish that were almost as big as me. After an extended stay in the water, chasing random fish and diving whenever I could, I popped up for air and realized I was pretty much halfway back to Cairns, so I snorkeled my way back to the boat. Perfect timing, too; lunch was ready just as I got back on board. I dined atop the rear deck with Janis (Rach wasn’t feeling too well) and we cruised to our next dive location. At this point, my right ear felt like it was going to explode. Damn pressure changes. This didn’t hinder me from entering the water again, though. After all, how many times in ones life does one have the opportunity to explore the world’s largest living organism?

Although tired from my earlier scuba and snorkel sessions, I explored away at the second stop. It offered what I can only describe as the real-life Drop Off from Nemo. All it was missing was a manta ray singing about the zones. More brilliantly colorful fish and coral sightings followed, but the highlight of that dive had to be my encounter with a sea turtle. I spotted him while I was on my back to the boat, about 25-30 feet below me. Naturally, I turned around and opted to follow him instead of keep on track to the boat. As I swam above him, he began to ascend, until he was within arm’s reach of me, swimming maybe a foot below me, and three or four feet away. It was incredible. He began to descend after maybe 2o or 3o seconds of swimming beside me, so I bid him adieu and headed back to the boat. Just before reboarding, I spotted what must’ve been his companion, about 40 feet below, munching on some coral-like vegetation. Needless to say, for those few minutes, I completely forgot about how much my ear ached. Our boat ride back was long but enjoyable. It was incredibly soothing to bask in the ozone-depleted Queensland sun while being cooled by the occasional sea spray. After landing, we made a quick stop at Woolworth’s to pick up much needed soap, and taxied back to Calypso. Showered, compared burns (I’m not bad for once! Score!), and ate dinner downstairs. Since then, I’ve been unwinding in my bottom bunk, admiring the Pocahontas bed sheets the front desk gave me, watching X-Files, and writing this. And now that I’ve fully recapped the past five days, I think it’s time I get some sleep. I’m going mountain biking tomorrow morning in the Cairns rainforest. I’m told there will be waterfalls and a swimming cove involved… count me in! Then, the Grand Final in the afternoon. Geelong vs. Adelaide… GO CATS! If Geelong wins, the city’s going to be much more fun when we get back. I’m pumped about it. This will likely be my last entry until my return to Waurn Ponds, so let me say that thus far, best trip EVER. has definitely lived up to its name. It’s been chock-a-block full of adventure, but also incredibly soothing at times. So, unless I find the time to update between now and Sunday night… cheers from Queensland!

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The Pilgrimage

There aren’t words.

How can you even begin to describe what it’s like realizing a dream? You can’t. I’ve tried; believe me, in the past twenty four hours I’ve tried my damndest to comprehend a means of conveying to you, or even to myself, what yesterday was truly like. And believe me, as someone who considers herself to be relatively good with words… I’ve hit a wall on this one. But, I’ll try. I owe it to you. After all, having the opportunity to visit the Australia Zoo is the definitive reason why I’m on this continent to begin with.

The events began at 8:oo yesterday morning. Rach woke me up from my top bunk at Brisbane Backpackers, and I donned my pre-planned outfit of “He Changed Our World” Steve Irwin Memorial T-Shirt, brown skirt, green tank top, and orange flippers. We were downstairs by 8:3o, and within ten minutes, our transportation had arrived. Chris (of Croc Connections) was our guide—a gentleman who had worked for the Zoo for about two years before branching off and starting his own Zoo-related business. He knew Steve personally, so when we hopped into his bus (complete with a big picture of Steve and a snake on the side), I made sure to sit up front and drill him with questions. We drove through Brisbane to pick up some more Zoo patrons, and Chris and I went back and forth talking about Steve and the Zoo. He had some new insight for me, such as the fact that Steve didn’t drink because he was crazy enough without any outside stimulants, as well as some other bits of information I’d already known through my years of Croc Hunter devotion. Chris was impressed with my repertoire of Steve knowledge, as well as my awesome shirt and response to his question “So, are you excited for the zoo?,” which was (appropriately), “I’ve waited six years for this day.” Well, it’s true.

After we had a full busload of people, we departed north from Brisbane city towards the Glasshouse Mountains. Chris put on the “Steve’s Story” biography special for the bulk of the ride. I’d seen it already, of course, but it was a nice way to pass the drive. My excitement level jumped from “six year old in a candy store” to “inmate about to leave prison after a thirty year sentence” when we turned on to “Steve Irwin Way,” the road housing the Australia Zoo. My forehead was plastered to the glass as we drove passed signs indicating “10 km to the Australia Zoo” and billboards featuring Bindi and the Zoo’s latest attractions. As we turned into the parking lot at 1o:2o, I couldn’t hold back an ever-growing grin, knowing I was about to experience my hero’s life’s work first hand.

I was in a state of shock when the time came to exit the bus. I remember walking through the main gate, into the zoo, and just feeling numb. I’m relatively sure my mouth was gaping open, and when Janis and Rachel asked me where we should go first, I think I squeaked out some sort of answer about following Chris’s suggestion and heading towards the morning elephant feeding. I had no idea what to expect going into the Zoo. I know I’d seen it more times than I can count on television, but part of the allure was not knowing how everything would look in person. As we stood amidst the ever-growing crowd waiting for the elephants to arrive, I stared around, completely in awe that I was finally at Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo. The three girls arrived while I was still in my stupor, and the crowd continued to grow in turn. We didn’t get the chance to feed the elephants first-hand because of the mob of Zoo patrons, but with the entrance of Steve’s favorite ellies came the reemergence of my ability to produce any sort of cognitive thought. I suggested to Janis and Rach that we head further into the Zoo to ensure we had good seats for the 11:oo Wildlife Warriors show. So, off we went, further into the depths of the Zoo. After walking past innumerable tempting souvenir opportunities, I turned the corner to find what was arguably Steve’s greatest project at the Zoo—the Crocoseum.

Entering the Crocoseum was like a religious experience for me. I’m completely serious… the emotions I felt walking into the 5,ooo seat arena can only be compared to how devout Catholics must feel when they visit the Vatican, or the sensation that overwhelms Muslims when they finally reach Mecca. Chills ran through my body as I wandered, open-mouthed through the Crocoseum, finally realizing Steve’s dream in person. I sat down just above where the crocs came out and silently watched the various Animal Planet clips playing on the jumbotron, doing my best to take everything in. The show started soon enough, with a silly opening act featuring a dancing gorilla. The two hosts of the show came out next; I was only minorly dismayed to not recognize either of them from television. The first portion of the three-act show featured snakes. They pulled a guy out of the crowd, asked him a few questions, wrapped a snake around him, then simulated a snake bite. They finished off by tossing him in the water, which got a laugh from everyone. Birds were the main feature of the second act. The level of training those birds had was amazing. The Crocoseum, for those who don’t know, is an open arena, structured much like Rome’s Colliseum. The Zoo Crew had the birds flying all around the Crocoseum, perfectly obeying every command. A few flew so close to my face that I felt the wind from their flapping wings. The bird show was all fine and lovely, I promise, but the part that followed was probably the highlight of my completely stunning day: the croc feeding demonstration. When they introduced the morning’s star croc, I was pretty excited to find that I knew him—it was none other than Mean Murry! Seeing the Zoo Crew mimic Steve’s trademark moves, feeding the crocs while teaching the audience messages of conservation was unbelievable. For someone who has followed the Crocodile Hunter for over six years now, it was so redeeming to finally have the opportunity to experience it live in the park he created.

After the show ended, we headed out the back exit to watch Murry return to his enclosure. His neighbors were the likes of Graham and Bindi—true Crocodile Hunter stars. The whole set up was brilliant… I made sure to thoroughly document it thoroughly, check facebook sometime in the next week to see for yourself. At this point, my inner five-year-old took over, and I lost Janis and Rachel in the crowd while trying to catch a glimpse at the behind-the-scenes Crocoseum crew. Following the swell of the post-show crowd, I left the Crocoseum to continue my adventure and exploration. I first came across the Crocodile Hunter Museum, a work in progress. It was chock-a-block full of Steve pictures, newspaper and magazine articles, and memorabilia. They even had a sturdier version of my life-sized cut out of Steve, and a replica Croc Car that visitors could hop in. My initial predictions on my reaction to the Zoo manifested themselves when I came across the memorial area. The long line of khaki shirts signed by friends and fans hanging beside poems, hand-crafted items and pictures was overwhelming. I’d seen it on television, but again, it doesn’t do it justice. I started to cry as I walked through, reading the tributes and coming to the realization that, although I had made it over ten thousand miles, I would never have the opportunity to meet the man himself and thank him for everything he’d done for me and the world. But although his memorial was a pretty prominent aspect of the Zoo, the atmosphere was not at all one of mourning or loss. It was as if he was still alive, still out catching crocs, wrangling snakes, and teaching kids across the world about the importance of conservation. I suppose, in a sense, he still is through the Zoo itself. His legacy will survive as long as the Australia Zoo is up and running. I know that’s how I felt walking through… it was like I was a part of Steve’s life in simply being there. It was like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

I managed to compose myself after touring the memorial, and embarked on a full-on walk about the Zoo. I saw koalas, cassowaries, dingoes, Tazzy devils, tortoises, wombats (I even got to pet one!), and of course, crocs. The croc enclosures themselves were another completely surreal experience. I can’t count the amount of times I’d seen Steve hop the fence of an enclosure and muck around with Agro, Acco, Charlie, or any of the other crocs. Seeing them first hand was fantastic. I managed to find Janis and Rach again while walking through the venomous snake house. Australia’s top venomous snakes were well-represented, from the incredibly dangerous Fierce to the gorgeous Red-Bellied Black Snake. We headed to the far corner of the park after that, walking through a beautiful rainforest bird enclosure, and stopping along the way to pet a few kangaroos. When we reached “East Asia,” I was reminded why the Australia Zoo is highly regarded as one of the best zoos in the world. The décor surrounding the area was unbelievably ornate, with Hindu statues and enormous fountains in and around the elephant and tiger enclosures. We walked about the wetlands after that, checking out the emus (still scary), swans, and other birds. Having finished that section, we had seen basically everything the Zoo had to offer. So, we spent some more time examining the Croc Hunter Museum in more depth, taking lots of pictures, and hanging out by the big crocs. I contemplated sacrificing myself to Agro, but decided it’s not what Steve would have wanted. That, and I wanted to be able to document this all before any impending apex predator-related death.

At this point, time was beginning to wind down, so I began my quest for the ultimate Australia Zoo souvenir… okay, souvenirS. I started off by getting my picture with Steve at Ayres Rock. Sure, it’s not exactly real par say… but it is completely amazing, and authentic! I can’t wait to go home, frame it, and hang it up next to my autographed picture of Steve from Collision Course. I wandered around a bit more by myself before purchasing anything else, spending a decent amount of time just sitting in the Crocoseum, taking it all in. I couldn’t get enough of it. Being there was truly like being a part of Steve’s dream. I got the chills every time I thought about the fact that I was actually at Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo, and my late hero had somehow touched everything I was experiencing. Time was truly dwindling at this point, so I made a bee-line back to the gift shop and started my purchasing. I ended up spending about $175 on Australia Zoo apparel, altogether. I say that without any nuance of regret, either, because I know every cent I give to the Zoo goes right back into helping conservation and improving their facilities. My keepsakes range from Crocodile Hunter postcards to a DVD to a mug to patches and a magnet and even an authentic Australia Zoo crocodile, among others. I was already a few minutes late for the bus in insisting on squeezing every last second of Australia Zoo greatness out of my day, but I waited a bit longer to sign the Visitor’s Log. After thanking the Zoo for allowing me to fulfill one of my greatest life’s dreams, I ran outside and grabbed one more quick picture in front of the giant Australia Zoo sign. I jumped back on the idling Croc Connections bus, with two bags of souvenirs, an unshakable smile plastered on my face, and a head full of irreplaceable memories. Chris gave us one last mini-tour of some more behind-the-scenes Zoo things that most people wouldn’t get, and the time came for me to bid adieu to the Australia Zoo. It was a day I’ll never, ever forget.

And now, a day after it’s happened, I’m still riding on the high of my inaugural visit to the Australia Zoo. I cannot emphasize enough how amazing it was to finally pay homage to my hero, and visit the place that he dedicated his life to. In a sense, it was like I was visiting Steve himself. Either way, 25 September 2oo7 will forever go down in the Kirstin Schoeninger Record Books as epic.

I think there’s only one thing left to say… “CROCS RULE!”

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Semester Trek Stage One: Trains, Not Trains and Sydney Shenanigans

G’Day from Brisbane!! I report to you in the heat of best trip EVER., in what has become our first real moment of downtime. No lies, we’ve been going full-on since our Melbourne departure on Thursday night. What a fiasco that was. Allow me to elaborate.

So, Rachel, Janis and I began our adventure Thursday night when Kiri kindly drove us to the Geelong train station. No worries there. We hopped the train to Southern Cross without difficulty; I spent most of my time making a delicious new playlist (which I’m currently listening to). Arrive: Southern Cross. We swap platforms and board the XPT to Sydney within 2o minutes. To my dismay, the train’s chock-a-block. Little did I know this would be the least of my worries.

The train leaves on time, which is more than I could say for my last train trek to Sydney. So I’m eating my sandwich, doing my thing, when about five minutes into the trip, the train stops. Nothing to worry about, trains do this from time to time. But see… it doesn’t start back up. We sit there, no announcements, no choo-chooing of the train, for a good 45 minutes. Awesome, right? Great start to our trek, hah. So then, the conductor dude comes on the PA and tells us that the engine broke, and they’re either going to attempt to fix it, or bus us to Sydney. I’m thinking neither of these options are looking too stellar, but whatever. Another hour or so passes, and suddenly we’re moving backwards. Back to Southern Cross. To catch a bus for the eleven hour drive to Sydney. Now, if you know me at all, you know that long bus rides and I do not get along, even a little bit. So things aren’t exactly looking spectacular. But, fortunately, things didn’t end up being all that horrible. Amidst the trek, we befriended a guy named Duane, stuffed ourselves in lockers, ate chocolate and saw probably the clearest sky I’ve ever seen while driving through the sticks of Victoria. Also, I can now officially say that I’ve visited an Australian truck stop. Got a cup of tea and a Dixie ice cream cup, too. And, due to a few smart choices, we ended up each getting two seats to ourselves on the coach. Bonus points for sprawling out and sleeping. We ended up in Sydney at about 1o:3o and czeched in to wake up! without difficulty. I got to see Wil right away, which was also a good deal. So after a rocky start, the Sydney adventures began.

We met up with Justin first, who had done the smart thing in flying in that morning. I demonstrated my Sydney prowess in guiding us to Circular Quay, where we grabbed some breakky at a café just off the harbour. Thumbs up for turkey sandwiches, I’ve grown quite fond. Then, it was over towards the Opera House. On the way, we passed Minus 5, the ice bar, and decided to stop in for an afternoon cocktail. It’s pretty intense, if not a super touristy, overpriced thing to do. They give you gloves, a parka, and a free drink with the price of admission. Everything in the bar is made of ice… the walls, tables, chairs, glasses… it’s a pretty awesome sight. You’re only allowed in for 3o minutes, but by the end of the half hour, you’re freezing anyway. I snapped a few covert photos, and we suckered ourselves into splitting the picture package. Good deals, expect to see them on facebook soon.

After unthawing, we walked to the Opera House, where Justin, Janis and Rach booked a tour. I opted to pass, having seen the Opera House about a month ago. Instead, I spent a little over two hours walking through the Botanical Gardens, taking pictures, writing, and marveling at the idea of such natural beauty living in such close proximity to the city. For you Philly folk, it was like having Longwood Gardens with the city skyline right behind it. Gorgeous. I opted to join some of the sunbathers and took a nap on the grass by the harbour. It was immensely soothing. After rendezvousing back with the other kids, we wandered around the Quay a bit, and headed towards the bridge. We had intentions of climbing the Pilons, but it was closed. By the time we got back off the bridge, it was just about dark, so we made our way back towards the hostel. Popped in and out of a few stores along the way, and after a flawed attempt at catching up with one of my dad’s co-workers, we opted to make pasta and pesto for dinner. I suppose all of Rachel’s food supplies were of use, hah. We showered and got dressed in an attempt to go out (and, essentially, pick up suits), but after losing Janis and remembering the footy game was on, Rach and I ended up staying at wake up! and watching Geelong play Collingwood. They won, which means they’re going to the Grand Final, which means Geelong is probably peeing itself right now. Could it be? Could a team from my town win a championship? As a native Philadelphian, I am unfamiliar with this feeling. I’ll try not to get used to it.

Saturday was our full day of adventure in Sydney. We started off going to Paddy’s Market, which is like an enormous Booth’s Corners, except with Australian stuff. It was pretty excellent. I invested in a carry on-sized suitcase for $2o, which I ended up carrying around the better part of Sydney for the next nine hours. It happens. From there, we wandered around Darling Harbour for a bit, playing on the playgrounds and in the fountains, and then it was back to Circular Quay to hop the ferry to Manly. It was a bit of a trek to get there, but the ferry ride was quite nice. Saturday’s weather wasn’t the best, but we were relatively determined to get to the beach. Plus, it was unbelievably entertaining watching the sailboats tip over in the harbour. Ah, schadenfreude is a beautiful thing, eh? Manly was fun. We spent most of our time sitting by the beach, just chatting and making fun of Rachel. It was deserved-- she tried to argue with me that clouds don’t move, we move. Sure, Rach, maybe that’s how it works in England. We got some excellent ice cream after a few hours on the beach, and caught the ferry back just in time to see the sunset over the Harbour Bridge. We hung out in Starbucks for a bit after getting back to Sydney, then walked back to wake up!. Tried and failed (again) to grab dinner with my dad’s co-worker, and ended up scrapping the whole eating thing and going down to sidebar for the Oktoberfest party. Rach and Janis had steins of Beck’s, while I stuck to Strongbow. Busted out some insanely ridiculous dance moves with Wil until about 3, and then crashed. Long day, but quite a bit of fun.

Woke up yesterday and czeched out of wake up! by 10, then began our last day’s adventure in Sydney. We made our way back to Paddy’s to grab some breakky, then we were off to Darling Harbour for the day. It was ridiculous; there were two festivals going on, and it was a completely gorgeous day… not a cloud in the sky. Heaps and heaps of people milling about, a great day for people watching. We happened upon a play area that had a bungee trampoline area, and Rach and I couldn’t dare to pass it up. I mastered the double backflip. Excellent. From there, we made our way down to the Aquarium, a Sydney staple. Wandered through there for a while… it was super cool, but I liked Melbourne’s better. But then again, Sydney did have seals, and a whole lot more Nemo paraphernalia. We stuck around Darling for a while after the aquarium trip to get some lunch and enjoy the weather and the atmosphere. I got my lunch from a place called "The Silly Sausage." Jealous much? It was surprisingly tasty, though. After an extended waterfront stay, we reckoned it was time to get back to wake up! to collect our belongings and get to the train station. Stopped at Coles to grab some supplies for tea on the train, and said our farewells to Sydney. Enter train adventure numero dos.

So, you thought the first train ride was more like a train wreck, right? Well, the second one was almost equally as ridiculous, but not necessarily in the bad way. More like the "I love the fact that completely random things always happen to me" way. When we first boarded the train, I was a bit dismayed to find that I was the only one who had someone seated next to them—Janis and Rach were on their own, while I was next to a gentleman who was pretty much Crocodile Dundee at the age of 7o. The apprehension heightened when a CountryLink official came up to Janis and Rach, and told them that they were bumped to first class. Yes, that’s first class for my two travel buddies, but not me. They were told that the people they were due to sit next to were, I believe the term was "undesirables," who they didn’t think younger girls should be sitting next to. This left me with a fourteen hour journey next to my new friend Crocodile Dundee Barney. With such a journey at hand, Barney and I struck up a conversation. He had countless stories of travel and adventure, heaps of advice and words of wisdom, and one-liners that rivaled my Pop-Pop’s. My favorite Barney-ism had to be when he pulled out his box of KFC and, after offering me some (which I declined), said "I never used to eat chicken." I replied, "Why’s that?" And he said "Because it’s fowl." Brilliant. So, the train’s chugging along, we’re chatting, Barney is eating chicken and drinking VB, and the conductor comes over to check our tickets. I present mine, he initials it. Barney hands over his, and the conductor informs him that he’s in the wrong seat. He’s supposed to be sitting a row back and to the left—where Janis was supposed to be sitting. In essence, he was one of the "undesirables." Except now he’s my train buddy, who I’ve been talking to for the last two hours. Right. So, Barney moves, and I have the two seats to myself. I begin writing a bit in my travel journal, and within half an hour, Barney is back next to me to chat some more. Hilarious. We talk a bit more, and the conductor asks him to move again, because the woman behind me sitting next to the other undesirable was supposed to be next to me. Sadly, this ended the Barney/Kirsty chronicles. The remainder of the train trek was uneventful. I slept awkwardly, ate a bit of my turkey, bread and dip, and listened to some jams.

We arrived on time in Brisbane at 6:3o, and after a bit of wandering, we were picked up by the Brisbane Backpackers. We had some breakky a bit earlier… three cheers for Cocoa Krispies! And now we’re just hanging out, finally having a second to breathe. I think we’re heading to the beach in a bit, apparently it’s only a 2o minute walk. And at seven this morning, I was fine walking around in shorts and a hoodie, so I’m thinking it’s going to be a downright gorgeous day to be by the shore. I’m digging it. We’re looking for a low-key sort of day today, I’m thinking, considering what’s in store for tomorrow. That’s right… THE AUSTRALIA ZOO!!!! AHH I cannot believe it’s this close. We booked our trip this morning. A guy who used to work for Steve is our driver, and he’ll be picking us up at 8:45, where we’ll take the scenic route to the Glasshouse Mountains. And then… six hours of pure joy at the one and only Australia Zoo. I’m going to cry so hard, and it’s going to be so bloody amazing. But for now, I think I’m going to get my relax on in beautiful southern Queensland. So until next time, until post-Zoo time, until I’ve crossed off another life goal… later days!

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eeee!!

BREAK STARTS TOMORROW!!!
AND Janis found House seasons three on the network!!
AND I, Scully, will be in Sydney in less than 3o hours!!!
AND AT THE AUSTRALIA ZOO IN LESS THAN A WEEK!!!

SEEYA, SUCKAS! I'm off to EXPLORE THE EAST COAST OF AUSTRALIA (well, once I finish tomorrow's classes... but still... justified reasoning for USING ALL CAPS IN EXCITEMENT!!)!!!

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But I can't remember the sound that you found for me...

Virtue the cat explains her departure. The song-sequel to Plea from a cat named Virtue. I. Bow.

But you didn't come here to hear about my awkwardly awesome taste in music. Nay. You want to hear about Australia!

Unfortunately, I don't have anything all that exciting for you regarding the Land Down Under. I do have some other notables, though, if you're interested. Like, for instance, I'M LEAVING FOR BREAK IN LESS THAN 65 HOURS!!!!!

I am so, so, so pumped about break. Returning to Sydney will be the best thing to happen to me in the month of September. That is, until we up and go to Brisbane three days later. Apparently while in Sydney, I'm going to be meeting and dining with one of my Dad's colleagues who's there for a dragon boat race. Intensely awesome. I've also got a trip to the Ice Bar and Lenin Bar, some more Manly Beach action, a walk through the Botanical Gardens, and a reunion with Wil to look forward to. Then, Sunday night, I will embark to my third-visited Australian province and TUESDAY I'M GOING TO THE ZOO!!!!! Seriously though? This is how much of a dork I am: last night, I had a dream about Steve and the zoo. I've been waiting for this for at least six years now. If I make it past the 25th, we'll be off to Cairns where we're splitting our time between Gilligan's and Calypso, scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef, hanging out with koalas, and basking in the great North Australian sun. Sounds completely badass, if you ask me. So yeah, forgive me if Geelong's rainy cold isn't cutting it right now. But I can't wait to leave Victoria for sunnier climates.

Other exciting news of late comes in the form of released exam schedules. Good news: I have only two exams to take. Bad news: I have exactly one month of Deakin University education left. Good news: I also have a ten day study break spanning 19-29 of October. Bad news: I have nothing to do during said week. Good news: I might go to Tasmania and/or Antarctica (if I can figure it out) with Jake. Bad news: well, I guess there isn't any bad news. It ends with that. House, anyone, Bueller? Didn't think so. Yeah, I'm still obsessed. It's cool. But if anyone wants to buy me the third season and send it on over... well, by all means, go ahead.

But back to all this free time I'll be having once I finish all my work. Because between mid-semester break, which starts Thursday, and study week, I have four assignments due. This may not seem like a whole lot, but consider the fact that I've only had four assignments due in the two months of school I've had thus far, and you may change your mind. Oh well. Long story short (too late): like it or not, I'm almost done school. But, I've got plenty of opportunity for travel now. Wanderlust on, mon.

Other notables from the past few days include (but are not limited to): Bended Elbow birthday dinner for Jess, the start of a lit paper on conspiracy culture and paranoia (!), boxing class, Walk the Line, the last PR lecture (sad, no more Ross to start my week off the right way...), House-In-A-Tux (aka the Emmys aka I Heart Television and Suits EHHH), new jams courtesy of the British kid, and a general rediscovery of the joy of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I'm averaging one a day for either breakfast or lunch. Yum.

Tomorrow's the day off. I have constructed plans of history research (Regan's foreign policy. Fun?), Pizza Hut shenanigans with the Evatt 2 kids for Erin's birthday, a trip into Geelong, and the possible screening of the newest Bourne movie with Jake. Should be a good time, I'm thinking. But considering I've been up since eight, and it is now past two, I shall be going. Expect another update consisting mostly of expressions of jubilance before best trip EVER. gets underway. Now, though, Frank & Dean are going to sing me to sleep as I dream sweet dreams of the Australia Zoo and House's cane. Until next time...

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Hey, could you refill my Yahtzee shaker? Hit the sippy cup too. Danke.

Ohh, Jim Gaffigan. It's been too long since I've listened to you.

As promised, I deliver to you, faithful readers, a post-Turtle update. I'm pleased to say that the evening was a stunning success. I knew the night wouldn't disappoint when Diane, Rach and I walked to the bottle shop, and they had six-packs of Strongbow for $14. Cheaper than Carlton, and not all that far off from the price of a sixer of Woodchuck in the city. Love it. By the time six o'clock rolled around, we were pretty much in full costume. For me, it was a long sleeve green shirt, black shorts, orange flip flops, an orange band around both knees and elbows, as well as one around my eyes. We all had matching belts, with our distinguishing letter on the "buckle" part, weapons correlating with our characters, and completely badass shells. Mine was made out of a rubbish bin lid, painted brown, and attached with strings. Oh, and we were painted green, head to toe. I thought we made a pretty excellent trio. Check us out:


I was voted "Most Turtle Like" of the crew. We took a bunch of pictures, most of which can be found on facebook. Overall, an excellent experience. I cannot stress how greatly I want American culture to adapt the Australian idea of dressing up in theme and partying. We're boring, in comparison. We just sit around and drink. Sometimes we go out and drink. Over here, we get dressed up and drink... and that element of being in character, or simply preparing a ridiculous outfit that will be culturally accepted, because hey, everyone else is dressed up too... well, that's just spectacular, in my eyes. I don't know, maybe it's because I don't want to let go of my childhood quite yet, but I find theme parties to be extremely entertaining.

Highlights of the evening included (but were not limited to): climbing the tree, the Spartans (in all their ridiculousness), Evatt 1 Dance Party, Spice Girl sing-a-longs, and the general fact that we spent the better part of five hours dressed as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and drinking. Only in Australia.

Since the party, not much has been up, really. Class times four yesterday. I was relieved to find that 4/4 classes weren't excruciating. Not so relieved to find a mysterious, egg-shaped ailment on my arm. But after consulting some other kids and Dr. Sam, I quit worrying.

Yesterday was gorgeous weather, though. I had breakfast beside the pond between history and PR while listening to The Black Keys... it was fantastic. Went to the gym for a bit, and spent most of caf talking to Jake about New Zealand, adventures, politics and psychology. Always a good time. Two more episodes of House last night with the regulars. Halfway through the first episode, I decided to play the new and improved House Drinking Game with the two Strongbow's I had left. Love it.

And now... today. Haven't really done much of anything yet today. I suppose I should go start up my lit and history papers, or at least get some research done. You know how it goes. I'm really going to try to commit to getting at least the research aspect of my work done before next week. I've got to do something to occupy my time, because all I can think about is BREAK! Can you blame me? In one week, I'll be back in Sydney. And in eleven days, I'll be at the AUSTRALIA ZOO. Yeah, so I need something to do instead of just sitting around, being anxious. Might as well be productive, I suppose.

That being said, I'm going to put the Backstreet Boys on my iPod and dance my way to the library. Until next time... jam on 'cause Backstreet's got it!

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Hello children.

All's well, if not a bit chilly, in Geelong. I had another pretty uneventful weekend, but not without its own merits. Let's rewind.

Friday, oh Friday. Friday marked a day of neglecting my Australia Today paper, finalizing some costume ideas, going food shopping with Diane and Rachel, phoning home, and devising a rather brilliant House MD drinking game. Rach, Janis, Diane and I united that evening with what has become the customary weekend group dinner. We took what we'd acquired during our food shopping trip and made some pretty delicious chicken fajitas, capped off with dessert provided by Janis, and two boxes of goon (because we're classy). Four episodes of House season two followed, but unfortunately the sub-plot of the House and Stacey love affair spoiled most of the fun of the drinking game. We still had a good time, though. Hell, it's always a good time when House and booze are involved.

Saturday merited a trip into town for a decent part of the day. Janis, Rach and I went to Market Square and the surrounding areas to find things for our respective costumes. Rach is crashing our unit function, because two Ninja Turtles isn't allowed, and although we don't have the standard four heroes in a halfshell, three will have to work. Nobody ever really liked Donatello anyway. I invested in a green shirt, some orange fabric ('cause I'm Michaelangelo), material for a belt, a set of nunchucks, and a mango/raspberry smoothie. All in all, a successful trip. Came back to campus and parted ways for a bit. Mucked around on photoshop, because I love photoshop, and an hour and a half later, I'd come up with a rather delicious new background for my computer. Czech it:


Yeah, he's the love of my life right now. You know, you know. Reunited with the Musketeers, made a delicious sandwich for dinner, and watched Now & Then, because it's a brilliant movie. Hadn't quite filled our movie fix, so Rachel picked out Friday Night Lights afterwards. I'd never seen it before. My review of the movie is as follows: the only good thing about it was the Explosions in the Sky-esq soundtrack. It also reconfirmed my dislike for the state of Texas. Sorry Liz.

By the time Sunday rolled around, it was past time for me to get my butt in gear with this paper. With the motivating factor of our lecturer saying he "didn't think anyone would get above an 80," I spent the better part of the day researching the ins and outs of the social and economic impact of footy on Australian life. Finished the whole kit and kaboodle a bit after 4 AM, with copious breaks and prologued procrastination including (but not limited to): an episode of House, cleaning of my room, the creation of a new (and ever so delicious) playlist, and several google image searches of "Dr. House," "Greg House," and "House MD." Yeah, it's cool, I'm well aware of the level of my obsessions.

After Sunday's commitment to productivity, I wasn't entirely thrilled about the fact that Monday started off completely terribly. The internet had gone down on campus, and the computers in the Arts building (that I so desperately needed to finalize my paper) had a vendetta against me. I skinned my knee after completely biting it in a failed attempt at jumping off a ledge, and it was pretty damn cold. Luckily, though, I had the luxury of getting the godforsaken paper submitted by the 9 AM deadline and going back to sleep for the better part of the day. Woke up in time for history at 2, and experienced a combination of amusement, disgust, boredom and elation throughout its ninety minute span. Made a few last-minute corrections on my PR assignment and submitted it, e-mailed Sam, and watched an episode of the X-Files. I'm up to season two. Can't wait for M&S to be reunited in the basement... with her in Quantico and him in Behavioral Sciences, it's seriously hindering the MSR shippy-ness I'm used to. Seriously though? More people need to watch this show. Boxing was in the PM with the British kid. I really do enjoy boxing class... it's a great workout, and it's really, really fun throwing punches. Caf after boxing, and then the brilliance that is Monday night television. I watched another episode of X (and revealed my penchant for shouting at the computer/television while viewing Chris Carter's finest works) while Janis, Rach and Diane watched Idol and Law and Order. Then... Californication!! That show is fantastic, really. David Duchovny still wounds me, even though Mulder and Hank Moody are drastically different characters. We watched two rather excellent episodes of House after Californication, and then most of Ghostbusters 2. Love it.

Today hasn't really been anything too special. I spent a lot of the day in the library checking out books for my upcoming children's lit and history papers. Watched The Lion King for lit tomorrow... I forgot how amazing that movie is. Quite excellent, and worth revisiting if you haven't lately. After librarytime, I wandered down the hill to Bunnings to get some last-minute features for my turtle costume. I was attacked by a bird on the way. We were warned that, around this time of year, some of the local birds get all crazy and try to swoop down on you. This happened to me three times on my walk. You'd think it wouldn't be that bad... I mean, they're just birds. But it's scary, trust me. During my walk/iPod jam session back up the hill, I found it incredibly ironic/awesome that, at the crescendo of "November Rain," it began to rain. So badass. By the time I got back, it was time for caf, and now, here I am. We've got resi sports tonite-- dodgeball! So it's time I get ready for that. More House, costume design and xgoodtimesx later on tonite. I'll report back post-Turtle Time. Should have some good pictures, too. So until then...

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So, pretty much right after I wrote that last post, I popped in the Steve Irwin Memorial Tribute dvd that my cousin gave me for Christmas last year, and bawled my eyes out for an hour. Don't feel bad... I'm well aware of how pathetic I am, and it was actually somewhat redeeming. I haven't had a good cry in quite some time. That dvd gets me every time, though. Without fail. I can't even make it past the menu screen without choking up.

But, enough of the sentimentality. That happens once a harvest moon cycle for me. Or something like that. I suppose I've been up to quite a bit since my last recap. The weekend was pretty uneventful... mostly Rach, Janis, Diane and myself watching House compulsively. We have an addiction. It's not a problem, but it's an addiction. Just like House's relationship with Vicodin. More on that later, probably. Aside from our addiction to House, I can't think of a single notable from the past weekend. I walked to the store and back, but that's not particularly exciting. Things picked up a bit on Monday with the start of the school week, boxing in the evening, and the second episode of Californication. BRILLIANCE. Still, nothing overtly thrilling, though. I suppose Tuesday's events made up for the lack of anything from Thursday to Monday. Rach and I spent the day in Melbourne, it was a blast.

We started our adventures sometime around 1o:3o, which placed our arrival in Melbourne city centre right at the business lunch hour. What impeccable timing. Rach had to get her visa stamped, so I spent two hours doing what I do best-- following random suits around. I'm a total creep, and if I was anything other than a smaller, innocent-looking white girl, I'd probably be suspected of something. Lucky for me, nobody ever suspects the random American girl walking through the city with a smirk plastered on her face. Rach and I met up in front of the ACMI building right by Federation Square. We decided to check out the ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image), and it ended up being some pretty fascinating stuff. They were celebrating the 25th anniversary of Pixar, and they had a whole bunch of sketches, molds, and displays on Toy Story, Cars, The Incredibles, A Bug's Life and Finding Nemo, among other smaller projects. It was pretty awesome. After spending a few hours there, we made our way downtown a bit, and decided to take a wander through the aquarium. I wasn't entirely impressed with it... until we got to the bottom level. There was an ENORMOUS tank, including a few tunnel-like areas that you could walk through, featuring some pretty incredible fish. I saw gigantic rays, really fat sharks, and schools upon schools of fish, all coexisting peacefully. Something about being surrounded by pristine, blue water, and countless animals moving majestically about was incredibly soothing. Seeing all sorts of underwater wildlife made me incredibly pumped for our spring break trip and scuba diving in Cairns. It'll be a reality in less than three weeks!

After exiting the aquarium, Rach and I decided it was past due time that we indulge in our second favorite (only to House) past time-- eating cake. We headed across the bridge to the Crown Casino, and discussed the finer points of business attire while enjoying the Crown's finest cakes and coffee. Brilliant. After cake, it was back to Geelong in time for our nightly dose of House with Janis and Diane.

Yesterday wasn't entirely exciting. Lit class proved my American prowess and capitalist mentality. Kindof funny. I was also pleased to find the network stopped hating on me, thus allowing me to search lots of new, fun music. Currently digging: "Catch My Disease" by Ben Lee, "Grace Kelly" by MIKA, "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by the Rolling Stones (House and Californication reference, ehhh!), and all of the Josh Ritter I've had on my computer for years now. They all come highly recommended, and are currently circulating through a delicious new playlist I created last night. Mmm, there are few things greater than a perfectly crafted playlist to reflect your mood.

Today hasn't necessarily been anything special, either. I suppose it could be justified that everyday I spend in Australia is special, but I'm just not in that mindset right now. Four hours of class, three cups of tea, two new library books, and a partridge in a pear tree... or, an episode of House. You know how it goes. The highlight of the day was probably either finding out about our unit function next Wednesday, or, more appropriately, my creation of the new facebook group "The best part of my day is having a cup of tea and watching House." Like I said, addicted. But the details on our unit function is more fun to talk about... or at the very least, more fun for you to hear about. The theme? Superheroes! I've got to come up with something awesome. I'm leaning towards Ninja Turtles with Diane right now, but nothing's set in stone. I briefly considered Muscular Beaver (an Angry Beavers reference... personally, one of my favorite superheroes), but I don't really want to spend the evening explaining my costume to people. Either way, we'll be heading into Geelong sometime this weekend to get our costumes together. I'm pretty pumped for it.

I'm scheduled to have a paper due tomorrow for Australia Today, but our tut lecturer told us we didn't have to have it in until Monday. So, given my penchant for not getting anything done, ever... I won't be starting it tonite. I'm going to try to work on it for the bulk of tomorrow, really I am. Yeah, I'm about as good at faking sincerity as I am getting work done. We'll see, I'm not ruling anything out quite yet.

I suppose that's all I've got for you for now. Hopefully the weekend will bring some fun new adventures. Perhaps a night out, a day of shopping, something eventful. I'll keep you updated accordingly. So until next time, thanks for reading!

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RIP, Steve-o

Today is the one year anniversary of my hero's untimely death. I feel this is worth mentioning for a series of reasons. First, and most obviously, he was Australian. Probably the most recognizable Aussie in the States. Before I came here, I was of the impression that most Australians thought he was something of a "wanker" (wikipedia it); a guy who pushed the Australian stereotype on other cultures and misrepresented the country. But to my relief, every time I brought the subject up, most of the kids I talked to weren't of that opinion. Although they did see him as a bit of a dork, almost everyone said they respected what he'd done for wildlife conservation and Australia. And it's true. In the area of conservation, no one has done anything remotely close to what Steve had accomplished in his 44 years, and I seriously doubt anyone ever will. In simply following his life through his television shows for five years before his death, I can honestly say that he changed my life. I started watching the Crocodile Hunter shows when I was about fifteen, and I was instantly hooked. I fell hard for the Australian accent, the love for animals, and the overall rugged, I-don't-care-if-you-whack-me-on-the-arm; I'm-still-going-to-muck-with-you mentality. Sure, it was funny watching Steve wrestle crocs and get tagged by snakes, but I found myself learning quite a bit along the way. I gained a much greater sense of respect for the less than cuddly animals that Steve loved most. I suppose I'm a product of exactly what he wanted: conservation through education.

His death last year hit me hard. Here was a man who had changed my life by instilling his energy and passion for all walks of life into me, and I would never get the opportunity to meet him, shake his hand, and thank him for everything he'd done. I bawled during the entirety of his memorial service, and at every subsequent mention of his legacy, I start to choke up. He's a big reason why I'm here right now; I wrote a rather heartwrenching essay on his impact on my life as a part of my study abroad application. I know it makes me completely cheesy, and a complete American about it all, but I loved Steve, and I genuinely regarded him as my hero. I loved his passion, his energy, his enthusiasm, his khaki shorts... everything about him. I still wear my "Wildlife Warriors" bracelet every day, and, at the age of 21, I'm not ashamed to flaunt my action figure or don my "He Changed Our World" t-shirt. I can't wait to visit his zoo and finally have the opportunity to see, first hand, everything he's created, and the world he lived in.

Before I got on the plane to come to Australia, the last thing my Dad said to me was "If anyone ever tells you dreams can't come true... tell them they're wrong." I knew what he said was true, and I'd like to think I owe a lot of that to the memory of Steve Irwin. Because with Steve, it wasn't about incorporating the word "crikey" into my vocabulary, trying to top-jaw rope my dog, bringing my life-size cardboard cut out to school, or even expanding my knowledge and appreciation for wildlife. It was about the passion. Sure, I spent a significant part of my later teenage years learning about salt water crocs, spitting cobras and sand goanas; but the lesson that has stayed with me the most has been to instill a sense of passion into whatever it is I'm doing. For that, he's impacted my life far more than many people I see on a regular basis. For that, I wish I could thank him.



One year later, I still miss you, mate.