Heather's Diary
Heather's Diary
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Day One: Wednesday June 21, 2006 Delayed
Today we were supposed to be on our way at 5:04 p.m. but our first airplane to Denver was delayed for almost 3 hours. While we were on the airplane I mostly read and did a crossword puzzle with Tiff. When we landed at the Denver airport Tiff and David got our bags while Dad and I raced off to our next gate. We got there just minutes before the airplane left. Another dozen or so people came racing after us hoping for a spot on the plane to San Fran. Once on the plane we were briefly delayed because of something to do with the amount of people on the plane. We arrived in San Fran midnight just missing our plane flight to Sydney by half an hour. Next Dad and Tiff found someone that was able to confirm 4 plane tickets for the next flight out to Sydney. That night we found a place to sleep near the airport and fell asleep as soon as our heads touched the pillow.
Day Two: Thursday June 22, 2006 An Exciting Inconvenience
Today we woke up at around 8:30. We watched the end of the U.S. v Ghana soccer game (which the U.S. lost 2-1), got dressed, and had a large breakfast. Next we took the shuttle to the airport where we then boarded the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to down town San Francisco. We then caught a cable car to Pier 39 where we booked tickets for a Bay Cruise. After that we got lunch and watched the soccer. Brazil(4) v Japan(1) and Australia(2) v Croatia(2). After the soccer we boarded a boat for our Bay Cruise. On the cruise we saw the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, Alcatraz, and Angel Island. The cruise was really fun. Then we walked around and looked in some shops. David and I both bought key chains as souvenirs. After that we waited for one hour to ride one of San Fran's famous cable cars. I got to hang onto the outside of the car like in the movies. It was really fun especially when we went down San Fran's steep hills.
Then we went back to the airport and checked in. We were able to get 4 economy plus seats next to each other. We then boarded the plane and got ready for take off. That's all for now, bye!
Day Three: Friday June 23, 2006 Disappearing Day
Friday June 23 doesn't really exist because of the international date line. We counted the 23rd as the time spent on the airplane.
Day Four: Saturday June 24, 2006 Jetlagged at the Footy
Today we finally arrived in Sydney (after we landed in Brisbane because the Sydney airport had been temporarily shut down- but that was only for a little while). After we had landed David, Dad, and I got to go into the cockpit. It was really cool but the cockpit was very crammed. Anyway while we walked through the airport it was good to know we were finally in Australia and wouldn't have to be in an airplane for another 6 1/2 weeks.
My Aunt Kate picked us up and the drive to her house was pretty quite because everyone was a bit exhausted. When we arrived at the house though everyone pircked up. For the rest of the afternoon David, my cousins Patrick and Brendan, and I hung out while the adults slept. I did take a lie down for a while but I didn't get any sleep because David kept singing exceptionally loud.
At about 5:30 we all left for the footy. We hoped on a bus to Telstra stadium (where the Sydney 2000 Olympics were held, it's really cool). We found our seats and sat down to watch the game. It was my first professional footy match ever and it was very cool. We were rooting for the Sydney Swans but they were losing to the Collingwood Magpies. At half time David crashed and fell asleep because of jetlag. At the 3rd quarter Tiff and I became sleepy and we decided to leave. In the end the Swans lost but I still enjoyed the night.
Day Five: Sunday June 25, 2006 Wanna' Game of Table Tennis?
Today I slept surprisingly late considering the time difference between Sydney and Milwaukee. In the morning we played lots of table tennis (ping-pong). David's become very good at his left hand but I can still beat him. At about noon David, Brendan, Aunt Kate, and Uncle Michael left for Brendan's piano recital. While Patrick, Tiff, Dad, and I went to get supplies for our trip.
That was basically all we did until 4:30 when we went to have dinner with some friends Chris, Vicky, and Sierra. We had forgot to grab their address but with some photographic memory and luck we managed to find the correct house. Chris had just bought a new SMART car. It was really small but really cool. Then Sierra (who's David's age), David, and I all played Twister. Don't worry we were careful of David's arm. I kept winning so I coaxed Tiff into playing and we really got twisted! We had a good dinner and I tried Ginger Beer for the first time and it was good! When David began to fall asleep at the table we knew it was time to leave.
When we got back David, Patrick, Brendan, and I fooled around until we went to sleep.
Day Six: Monday June 26, 2006 Soccer at the Oval
Today David and I went to Brendan's soccer practice. It was good to play soccer again and it was especially fun when I pushed one of the boys down in a drill. I also got my all time juggling high of 14. Go me!
After that Tiff, Dad, David, Brendan, and I went to Bobbin Head National Park. We saw kangaroos, wallabies, crabs, turkeys, pigeon like birds with mow hawks and some cockatoos. It was so cool it was bursting with coolness (inside joke).
Now I'm sitting here typing while Brendan's at a friends house, Tiff, Dad, Aunt Kate, and Uncle Michael are out for Dad and Tiff's wedding anniversary, David's playing Play Station, and Patrick's making spaghetti. Later we'll go to sleep for a while and get up at 1:00 a.m. to watch the Australia v. Italy soccer match. Hope you're having nearly as much fun as me!
Day Seven: Tuesday June 27, 2006 Winding Road
At 1:00 a.m. we got up to watch the soccer. Australia v Italy. Italy scored on a Penalty Kick in the last seconds. Other than that it was a great game.
At about 10:00 a.m. we truly began our journey. We left Sydney and entered the Blue Mountains. First we saw Wentworth Falls. There we went on a hike and saw some great "jungle" like forest. After that we went to Scenic World where we went down the steepest incline Railway in the world. Then we drank mine water and went on another hike.
After that we hoped in the car and headed out to the Jenolan Caves. The road to the caves was VERY curvy. The road kept winding up the mountain. You could barely see what was around the next bend. We then pulled up to a cabin that we had rented for the night. The cabin was only heated by a fire. We quickly unpacked the car because it was dark out and about 28 degrees Fahrenheit. We then went to bed at 9:30 p.m. so we can get up early the next day.
Day Eight: Wednesday June 28, 2006 Cave Exploring
Today we got up early and headed out to see some caves. Our first cave was called the Orient Cave. It was a spectacular cave with lots of stalactites, stalagmites, and shawls. It was quite big with lots of crystals. Our guide told us that the Orient cave was one of the top 10 caves in the world. Then we saw the Lucas cave. this one wasn't as good but it was very big. They actually have concerts in one of the cave rooms.
Then we got back in the car and began to drive to the Wombeyan Caves. There we went on a self guided tour through Fig Tree Cave (but another person in the cave was a certified cave guide and was able to explain some things to us). After that we went on another winding road for about 1 hour. I didn't like it very much because we were right near the edge of a cliff the whole way and we were on a mountain.
After that we found a place to sleep and eat after a day of cave exploring.
Day Nine: Thursday June 29, 2006 Thar' She Blows!
Today we had a quick breakfast, packed the car, and drove to the Don Bradman museum. Don Bradman was the greatest cricket player ever. His batting average was 99.94. The second best batting average is somewhere in the 50's. Don Bradman is the Babe Ruth or Michael Jordan of cricket- but better. We got to the museum 25 minutes early and played cricket on the Don Bradman Cricket Oval. It was a good oval but it was covered in bird poop. The museum itself was very nice. I learnt that cricket itself started in the 1600's and the first Australian cricket team to go to England was an Aboriginal team. At the museum there were TV clips from the 1930's and 40's. I liked the museum a lot.
After that we headed back to the coast where we went to Kiama. In Kiama there are 2 blow holes. Water pressure builds up and shots up through a hole in the rocks and you get a blow hole. The water was just a bit wavy and so we saw some good water shoot up into the air. Apparently though on really wavy days the water can shoot up 120 feet into the air. After we saw the blow holes David, Dad, and I took a walk along the rocks on the water. The tide was coming in and you could just keep walking and staring at the water for hours. It such a pretty scene.
Next we headed down the coast till we got to Nowra where we're eating dinner at my cousins Briony's house. She's just had a baby and her mom (my aunt) is also here. That's all for now!
Day Ten: Friday June 30, 2006 Tropical Beach
Today I woke up with the sniffles. Nothing right? Just a cold. Well as the day progressed it got worse but I'll get to that later.
First we went to Jervis Bay. The bay is used a military base and sometimes they play war games for practice. Anyway, we went to Point Perpendicular which is at the top of the headland. There we tried to see some whales but we didn't see anything. Next we went to Honeymoon Bay. The water there was crystal clear but cold. Rocks came out from the bay and were fun to climb on. It was all very pretty. Like a tropical beach in Jamaica.
Next we drove to Ulladulla. There we had a picnic lunch. There my cold increased. After that we drove the rest of the day to Queanbeyan which is right outside of Australia's capitol city, Canberra. We found a place to spend the night and eat dinner. When we went to dinner I was so cold that I had on 3 sweatshirts, was in a room with a fire and open stove, and was still cold. And I don't get cold that easily. In case you haven't figured out I was cold because of my cold.
Day Eleven: Saturday July 1, 2006 Capitol Hill
In the morning when I woke up I had a bit of a fever but that didn't stop me from having a fun day. First we went to Parliament house -Australia's capitol building. It was a very modern building with lots of marble and woods. It was very cool. Then we went to the war memorial. It is basically a memorial of all the Australians that have died during the wars. There was a museum attached to the memorial as well. The museum was very good. It had lots of information and good dioramas. It was kind of depressing though. To think of the conditions these people fought in.
After that we went to the National Museum of Australia. This museum was really weird. It was very full on and in your face. The only good part was a theatre that you spun in to different theatre where there were moving TV's. That was cool. After the weird museum we went to the National gallery and looked at some art. then we went back to our cabin and just verged out until we went to sleep.
Day Twelve: Sunday July 2, 2006 Lunch With Lukey
Today we got up a little later than usual. After packing all our bags and stuff we went to the Canberra markets. It was ok. I did get a book and a Spanish churros. then we went to have lunch with my cousin Luke. After a nice pancakes we said goodbye and started to drive. And drive we did. We only got out once to see the dog on the tucker box. It is a monument to a famous song that goes: the dog sat on the tucker box five miles from Gunadagi ect.
Day Thirteen: Monday July 3, 2006 Snow
Today we went to the site of Ned Kelly's last stand. Ned Kelly was a famous criminal. He was more of a hero than a villain. You should Google Ned Kelly or rent the movie with Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom, it's a really good story.
After that we headed into the mountains. We went to Mt. Buffalo National Park where we went to some lookouts. On the way back down the mountains my ears and sinuses began to hurt because I was having trouble adjusting to the pressure because of my retarded cold. So while everyone else went on a hike I had a peaceful lye down in the car.
Then we drove through taller mountains. We actually drove on the top of some mountains in the clouds. The top of the mountains were capped in snow. Yes I know snow in Australia. What do ya' know? We drove through a ski resort where people were bundled up like it was really cold. It was only 30 degrees Fahrenheit! We weren't very cold but I guess everyone else was used to a warmer climate than us. Then driving back down the mountain we saw a animal that looked like an elk but my dad said that elk don't live in Australia. What a mystery. Now I'm typing away at a fish and chips shop. Choa for now!
Day Fourteen: Tuesday July 4, 2006 Favorite Place
Today we got up and went for a walk on some sand dunes between a lake and the ocean. The beach had lots of shells. Tiff gave it the name Million Shell beach because there were so many shells on the beach.
Then we got in the car and drove until lunch time. Then we got out and had lunch at the beach. David and I rolled up our pants and stood in the surf letting the waves crash around our legs. We raced the waves up the shore trying to outrun the wave. The water was cold but very refreshing. My toes began to go numb as I stood in the water. Our pants sill became wet and we had to change our clothes before we left to get back into the car.
Next we continued driving until we arrived at Wilson's Promontory. Wilson's Promontory contains the southernmost point if mainland Australia. There we went to Whiskey Bay. At Whiskey Bay there were huge boulders piled on top of each other along the water. We climbed in between and on top of the boulders. It was lots of fun. There was new discovery and routes around each rock. You'd have to watch out for water that found it's way between the rocks. You could easily spend hours there, so it was disappointing to leave after just half an hour. While leaving I came to the conclusion that Whiskey Bay is my favorite place so far. It was just fun clambering over all the rocks. (For pictures of my favorite place click on Tiffany's Picture Diary's on the homepage.)
Now we're just entering Melbourne where we'll spend a week with our cousins. Bye!
Day Fifth teen: Wednesday July 5, 2006 The GREAT Ocean Road
Sorry I haven't updated my diary, but I've been having so much fun in Melbourne I haven't gotten around it to now. Sorry for the incontinence, Heather
Today we got up and hoped in the car to go on day trip with our cousin, Nellie, who's leaving the next day to go to London. It was about a two hour drive to get down to the coast. First we went to a famous beach called Bells Beach. Bells beach is famous because it's a good place to surf. We also went to Winky Pop, which is right next to Bells Beach. After walking along the beach continued driving.
We then drove along a famous road called the Great Ocean Road. This road is right next to the ocean. Along the Great Ocean Road we stopped in a town called Lorne. There we stopped and had fish and chips. The little restaurant we went to had really bad service. The lady put down 66 chicken nuggets instead of just 6. Who's fat enough that they're going to eat 66 nuggets? Then the lady didn't tell us our food was ready so it was sitting on the counter. It was BAD service. But in the end it was good food and we had a nice lunch on the beach.
After that we went to Nellie's boyfriend's, Brent's, parent's house. (By the way Nellie and Brent are going to get married in February 2008 and we might go for their wedding.) It was a very nice house and we had a good meal. For dessert we had pavlova which is an Australian cake. It was very delicious. After that we drove home, said goodbye to Nellie, and went to sleep.
Day Sixteen: Thursday July 6, 2006 Magnificent Melbourne
Early in the morning we watched the World Cup semi-finals. Because we got up at 5 a.m. and went back to sleep at 7a.m. (to watch the soccer) we slept in 'til 10:30 a.m. after getting having breakfast we caught the tram to downtown Melbourne. First we got out at the Queen Victoria Markets. The markets are HUGE. They stretch over about a 5 block area. There are row upon row of fruits, clothes, toy, souvenirs, meat, and so much more. We spent about two hours just looking at what each vender was selling. We didn't buy much (except a few gifts for some special people) because we were going to come back with our dad who was currently in a U.S. footy meeting.
Then David and I saw a sports shop and hoped they had World Cup gear. We really wanted to get an Australia soccer jersey before we left. They didn't have any good soccer jersey but I did buy a Portugal soccer banner. (Portugal is my second favorite soccer team.)
Next David, Tiff, and I walked to the museum and saw an IMAX. The IMAX was about the ocean and it was 3-D. It was really cool, it felt like you were in the reefs, swimming with the fish.
For dinner we had dinner with our cousin, Katie (who's Nellie's older sister), and her fiancé Michael. After dinner we had gelati on Lygon Street. Lygon Street has lots of Italian restaurants. Lygon street was filled with Italian supporters when Italy played in the World Cup final.
Day Seventeen: Friday July 7, 2006 Whoa! That's Expensive!
After catching the tram downtown Dad, Tiff, David, and I walked to the old Melbourne Gaol. (Gaol is not a misspelling of goal it is the old English spelling for jail and it is pronounced like jail.) There we learnt about living conditions for prisoners, hangings, and prisoners stories. It was very interesting. We also leant more about Ned Kelly. We saw his death mask and old gun. Then we went to the Melbourne library and saw Ned Kelly's armor. I'm too lazy to explain the armor so Google Ned Kelly or watch the movie Ned Kelly found at Hollywood video. The library was really nice and I want to know why Marquette's Library doesn't look like Melbourne's.
Next we walked to Bourke Street. Bourke Street is lined with store and cars can't drive down the street. We weren't going there to shop we were going there to check out the soccer jerseys. the jersey's were so expensive. They were 140 dollars and didn't even look that nice. We went into 4 stores and they were all over 100 dollars! I saw a soccer all for 100 dollars and it was pretty basic. I was astonished.
After that we went to the Melbourne Aquarium. It was awesome. There were really cool fish and jellyfish and even a giant squid frozen in ice. It was massive. The best part was the end where they had a giant fish tank with fish, sharks, and sting rays. The fish tank went over your head in some place, so you could walk under the tank. It was so cool. The sting rays and sharks were huge.
Then we had dinner with some U.S. Footy people. That was also fun.
Day Eighteen: Saturday July 8, 2006 On the Field
Today we slept in and then went to the footy. We saw the Hawthorne Hawks play the West Coast Eagles. It was a close game but West Coast won. It was my second pro footy game ever. At half time we got to go onto the field. It was really cool to walk into the middle of the field and look around. At half time they have kids play footy on the field. David could have played but because of his broken arm he wasn't able too.
That night we had dinner with Katie and Michael before we went to sleep. We wanted to get to bed early so we could watch the soccer. Portugal v. Germany for 3rd place.
Day Nineteen: Sunday July 9, 2006 Ugg!
Today we got up fairly early and caught the tram to the Queen Victoria Markets. It was our last time at the markets so we bought allot of stuff. I bought I Melbourne t-shirt, Portugal soccer jersey, an Australia soccer jersey for 40 dollars that was nicer that the 100 dollar ones, and a pair of original Ugg boots. The boots are really comfy.
After the markets we caught another tram to the footy. Collingwood v. Saint Kilda. We had excellent seats! We were in the first row right next to the St. Kilda team bench. We were sooooooo close to the players, water peoples, phsysio's, and bench coaches. It was interesting to see everything that goes on apart from the playing field. The game wasn't as exciting as the one the day before. St. Kilda beat Collingwood 62 to 122. It was a blow out!
Afterwards we went downtown to a famous Melbourne pub/cafe/restaurant with our friend Rob Perry. Walking there I bought a 2006 Commonwealth Games t-shirt. Then we went home and watched Ocean's 11. It's a very good movie, you should rent it.
Day Twenty: Monday July 10, 2006 Science Works
Today we watched the World Cup final. It was a great game and ended in penalty shootouts. Italy won and I wanted France to win. But after Zidane's head but I really didn't care.
Today was Davo's day because David got his cast cut off. Hooray! First we had to exchange our rental car because something was wrong with our old car. After that we went to Scienceworks. It was really fun. It was all interactive activities and problems. We all enjoyed the museum from ages 9 to 39. Gosh Tiff is old! Then we went to the hospital to get David's cast removed. I got to see the whole thing. It was kind of cool. His arm was kind of gross after the cast was taken off.
Afterwards we went home and packed to be ready to leave the next day.
Day Twenty-one; Tuesday July 11, 2006 I Found Gold!
Today we hit the road early, enough. We drove for around an hour until we got to Sovereign Hill. A living historical village. There was a mining town set up and people did things like in the 1800's. It was really awesome. It was so cool it was bursting with coolness. We did candle dipping and searching for gold in a stream. We also went on a mine tour. We saw gold pouring, candle making, and tin plate making. We did old fashioned bowling too. we bought candy, WANTED posters, candles, and handmade plates. We also bought a few gifts. Who could they be for? I really enjoyed it. You almost felt like you were in a mining town.
Then we went to a couple museums before hitting the road. That night we watched Finding Nemo before going to bed.
Day Twenty-two: Wednesday July 12, 2006 First Glimpses of Desert
Today we got another early start. We drove into Mildura. Dad and I had good food and Tiff and David had disgusting McDonalds. Then we went on a river boat along the Murray River. We got to go through a lock and that was cool. We also got to see the steam engine. It was just like the old ones. It was a very nice and relaxing ride. I even got to steer the boat!
Then we went to the joining of the Murray and the Darling Rivers. We went on a brief hike there. Then we had a quick snack before driving 21/2 hours to Broken Hill through the desert. Not as desertous as the middle of Australia but desert enough. Now we're entering Broken Hill and I have nothing else to type.
Day Twenty-three: Thursday July 13, 2006 Creek bed Lunch
Today we went to a Silver town, which is a old abandoned mining town, with our Aunt Sanny, Uncle Chris, cousins, Emily, and Amelia, and her boyfriend Jock. There we saw some galleries and old buildings. At one of the galleries I fell about 3 feet but was fine. I had a glass bottle in my pocket and if that had broken oooh that would have hurt! Then we went to a scenic lookout and all you saw was outback. You saw nothing! After that we saw Broken Hill's water supply.
Next we went into a dry creek bed. There we collected wood and made a fire. Then we put some food over the fire and cooked lunch. After lunch we played cricket, footy, and soccer. It was really fun. We were in the sand under the trees something you could never do in the U.S.
That night we had a farewell party for my cousin Emily who was leaving the next day to move to Darwin. We had a concert that night and did several skit and tricks. I did the Prologue to Romeo and Juliet and my juggling sticks and my Diablo. After the concert all the kids went into the back room and had pillow fights.
Day Twenty-four: Friday July 14, 2006 Rain, Rain, Go Away. Come Again Another Day.
Today we woke to the pitter patter of rain. RAIN, in Broken Hill. Broken Hill only gets rain couple times a year and it just happens to rain when we're here! It was soooo weird. It just rained the whole day. The dry creek we went to yesterday would probably be filled with water.
So after we got up we went to an old mine for a mine tour. We had to put on helmets and head lamps. To get into the mine we went down the mine shaft about 400 feet. That was pretty cool. Then we went on a 2 hour mine tour. Our tour guide had worked in a mine for about 40 years and really knew his stuff. We went into 3 sections of the mine. The guide even used one of the old drills. The coolest part was when we went into one of the rooms and the guide had everyone turn off their lights. Then he lit a candle and explained that that was what the miner used for light in the 1800's. It was pretty amazing that they could work by such little light.
After the tour we had lunch before going to Broken Hill's geo center. It was pretty interesting. There was this really interesting bit about Nicholas Flamel. If you remember him for Harry Potter he was the guy who invented the Sorcerer's Stone. Well he turned lead into silver and modern scientist haven't been able to do that. The coolest part of the museum was the Silver Tree.
That night we had dinner with Aunt Sanny, Uncle Chris, and Amelia. After a couple games we went to bed and Dad and Tiff went back to their hotel.
Day Twenty-five: Saturday July 15, 2006 It's Raining, It's Pouring!
Today we slept in for the first time this whole entire trip! I got to sleep until 10:00 a.m. Then we had brunch at around 11:30.
After that we went to a famous Australian's artist, Pro Hart's, private art gallery. The paintings were cool but I was a little bored.
Next we went to the Broken Hill Cemetery and saw my Uncle Pat's gravestone. (David is named after my Uncle Pat.) Before we left we put some eucalyptus leaves on the grave. David said he should be buried right behind Uncle Pat.
Then we went to the Broken Hill adult footy. It wasn't as good as the professional footy we saw in Melbourne but it was still good. Dad got to meet up with some old friends and David made some friends with some of the kids that were at the game.
Next we went to the Sculptures. they're basically carved rocks or sculptures on top of a hill. They're supposed to be really at sunset. But because it was overcast and wet and windy, we ran up looked at the sculptures and ran back down to read about them in the car. Besides it being chilly it was really nice.
After the sculptures we came home and had dinner before seeing Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest at the Broken Hill movie theatre. Dad said that the theatre used to only have 2 speakers at the front of the theatre. He said it was really crappie noise quality. But now the theatre had speakers all along the sides of the room. Overall the movie was really good. It's full of surprises. After that we came home and went to bed.
Day Twenty-six: Sunday July 16, 2006 Personalized Tour (in the rain)
It rained again! We decided that we had officially broken the drought after having it rained for 3 days. We also thought it was funny that my dad had talked about how dry Broken Hill was but when we come it rains and rains and rains.
Anyway, toady we got a personalized tour of Broken Hill. We saw Cottage seven where my dad grew up. Because my Grandpa worked on the mine they got housing from the mine and only had to pay $10 a month for rent. The neighborhood looked like a really cool place to live. With lots of nature and things to do outside. We also saw old pools and parks my dad remembers going to as a kid. He also showed us the Broken Hill Basketball Center where my Uncle Pat played basketball. (My Uncle Pat was 6 foot 10 and really good at basketball.) We saw my dad's old school and some old friends houses. We also went to Bell's Milk bar where we had Spider's (Australia's version of Root beer floats). My dad remembers going there on special occasions.
Then we went to the Broken Hill airport and went to a museum about the Royal Flying Doctor Service (R.F.D.S.). The service flies out to people in the outback that need medical attention. They're hero's to many people that live in outback Australia. It was a really interesting. We watched a movie and got to see the airplanes they use. We spent $250 at the gift shop and all the proceeds went to the Flying Doctors. We got a book about Flying Doctor stories that I've started reading. They are really good. Some are about delivering a baby in the plane and the others are about stitching up a dog that got into a fight.
After that we went back to the house and started to pack to be ready to leave the next day.
Day Twenty-seven: Monday July 17, 2006 A 27 Hump Camel
Today we got, packed, and headed out the door. First we did some things in town. A couple galleries and Mario's Palace Hotel. Mario's is a hotel where they filmed some of Priscilla Queen of the Desert (another great movie, rent it!). Then we went out to Silverton and went on a 30 minute camel ride. It was sooooooo cool. We were really high up and the camel was a little wobbly. Bedside's being on a camel there was really nice scenery. Oh yeah, the rain stopped and the sun came out just for our camel ride which made better. When you get on and off the camel it's sitting so when the camel went up or down it was really weird. First you went forward then you went back. Overall the camel ride was really cool.
Next we went to some for galleries, in Silverton and Broken Hill before leaving for our next destination White Cliffs. White Cliffs has been mined for at least 100 years for opals. Now there are only 200 resident and only 4 kids! Most of the houses are dug into the side of the hills. We were staying in a hotel underground. It was really cool. Kind of like cave camping except you had a proper bed, electricity, a bathroom, and kitchen. Once we got there we got to go on a mine tour that started in our room. It was a short tour but we got to learn some things about opal mines, the dugout houses, and White Cliffs.
Before we went to bed we watched a movie.
Day Twenty-eight: Tuesday July 18, 2006 Fossicking
Today we got up at 8:00 and went fossicking on the roof of our hotel. Fossicking is like searching or going through the rocks for stones of value. We found several pieces of opal. Some were small shards and others were larger pieces. The bits of opal we found are really cool. (Actually the hotel managers throw bits of opal all over the roof.) None of the opal we found is of real value.
Next we went to the opal mines. They're basically lots of holes dug into the ground. A couple of the holes are still being mined in but most are retired with dirt filled in them. There are LOTS of mining holes in White Cliffs.
Next we went to an opal gallery where Tiff got a necklace. I also got a keychain with opal shards in it. Besides the opal stuff we got Aboriginal clap sticks and a bowl, as well as a didgeridoo. We also got a copper anodized eucalyptus leaf. There were some cool postcards that we got too.
After that we went to another opal store. There we splurged and got a painting as well as some souvenirs. Then we drove to Cobar where we had dinner and spent the night.
Day Twenty-nine: Wednesday July 19, 2006 Carcasses Road
Today we got up and were driving out of Cobar at 7:20a.m. We drove for a couple hours to get to Bourke. There at Bourke we had breakfast and went to the wharf. At the wharf we saw and felt the Darling River. Then we went to the Back O' Bourke. At the Back O' Bourke we went to an mini museum that was beginning to develop . There we watched a movie about the history of Bourke and some wildlife in the area. The person working there said this only stage 1 of 3 stages. They said they planned to be finished in about 2008. Next we saw Bourke's paddle boat, like the one we rode in Mildura.
Just as we were leaving Bourke we saw a semi-truck packed with sheep. There were four rows of tightly packed sheep all off to market to get ready for the butcher.
Then we drove for a couple hours and I worked on this fabulous web-site. We drove until we got to Cunnamulla. There we went on a hike along the water and spent some time on the see-saw at the playground. A really nice guy at the tourist information center helped me find some license plates and I'll be going home with 3 plates. Just before leaving we got some food and saw the weir.
Then we drove 20 minutes to Nardoo station where we hoped to spend the night. It sounded like a really cool place with a hot tub and sheep shearing building. But there were no rooms left because the sheep shearers and the tour bus had already booked all the rooms. That was disappointing but Dad still showed us the sheep shearing shed and told us how they sheared sheep. Sheep shearing sounds like really tough work.
Now we're driving in the car to St. George were we'll spend the night. David and I are trying to convince Dad and Tiff to let us watch a movie.
Day Thirty: Thursday July 20, 2006 Bat Attack
The first thing we did today was go to the Unique Egg. There there were carved emu eggs with lights inside. The eggs were really cool, some were more symmetrical and others were of things like the Sydney Opera House. My favorite was an egg that had all the different of the Olympics engraved onto it.
Then we drove to Dalby where we had lunch. At Dalby, David and I went and explored we were walking along and all these things started to fly around us. We then realized that they were bats. There were loads of bats in the trees. The weird thing was it was day time and all these bats were awake. They kept sweeping from tree to tree. We didn't understand that because bats are supposed to sleep during the day.
After lunch we drove for a while before we got out at Swinging Bridge Park. There was a suspension bridge there that swung back and forth when you walked across. It's like the wood bridges you see in the movies. It was really weird to walk across. The first time I used the railing but on the way back I did no hander.
Next we drove the rest of the way to the Sunshine Coast where my Granny and Grandpa. Once we got there we settled in, had dinner, and told all about our trip. Before going to bed we watched Floyd Landers take first in the mountains of the Tour de France.
Day Thirty-one: Friday July 21, 2006 Back to the Beach
This morning we slept in and went to the beach around 11:00. It was our first time swimming in the Pacific Ocean since fourth grade. First I played in the water before getting our boogie board. I hadn't been boogie boarding in 2 1/2 years so I didn't have the timing and all that jazz down. But I still got a couple good waves. I was dumped and pushed under once or twice but I still had fun. I must say the real boogie boarding is allot more fun than the artificial cruise ship boogie boarding.
After awhile I got out of the water and helped David build a sand castle. I dug the dungeon so deep I reached water. It was a good dungeon until it caved in and the waves started to wash it away.
Then we went home and had lunch. Once we finished lunch we learnt how to play Euker before we began to lay out all our camping gear to let it dry out. (The camping stuff had been on the car top carrier and was a little wet.) We had just started to lay things out when I got the idea for David and I to camp outside. David liked the idea so we set up one of the tents.
Then we went the plaza to see if Dad could get his hair cut. The shops were all closed but we walked around the plaza-which the equivalent of a mall. It is much cooler than usual malls because half of it's outside and a river runs through the middle of it.
That night we played scrabble, ate dinner, showed off our new art collection, and watched TV. before going to bed in our tent.
Day Thirty-two: Saturday July 22, 2006 You say Netball I say Basketball
Early this morning birds started tweeting and woke me up. I couldn't get back to sleep because of all the noise. To make matters worse it started to rain. At this point David had woken up and he too couldn't go back to sleep. So David and I got our pillows and waited for the rain to break so we could run into the house. We did so and went back to sleep as it was around 7 o'clock. We then slept in until about 10 o'clock.
After we woke up and got ready we got in the car and drove for half an hour to the Emundi Markets. These markets were more handcrafted. David and I found the markets kind of boring. We did however enjoy some frozen mango pops and a 6 dollar round of mini golf. The golf had only nine holes but was very cool. Some of the holes were like pin ball and others had motors moving things back and forth.
After the markets we drove along the coast looking for beaches that we could maybe go for a swim at. We found one beach that a cool play set. It had this this thing that was like a pyramid with four outer strings and several strings forming triangles and squares inside of it. It was cool and David and I climbed to the top of it. In the end we didn't find a place to swim so we went to the Plaza and Dad got a haircut while Tiff, David, and I went to a sporting store. David and I bought a world cup soccer ball to share.
Next we went to our usual beach, Alexander Headland, where Dad went for a swim, David made a sand castle and I did a bit of both. Then we went back to the house where I took a shower before settling down for dinner. After dinner we tried to setup a DVD player we had bought for Granny and Grandpa just 1 day before. We were cheated of our money and didn't have all the parts so instead of we put the famous Australian movie The Dish in. It was a really good movie and afterwards Granny, Tiff, and Dad played Scrabble while I watched my first game of Netball. Australia was playing New Zealand. It was interesting to watch but I like basketball more. New Zealand won the game but I still enjoyed the game.
Day Thirty-three: Sunday July 23, 2006 Boogie Woogie Board
Today we went to church with my Granny and Grandpa. It was interesting but a little bit boring. After church we went to the Cold Rock. Cold Rock is like Cold Stone Creamery. You choose different candies to be mashed into your ice cream. I choose mango and Carmel ice cream, with gummy bears, cherry ripe, and a carmelo koala. It was really good.
After the ice cream we walked across to the beach where I grabbed the boogie board and went into the surf (water). My dad helped me catch a couple waves to get started because I hadn't used the boogie board in about 2 1/2 years. Then dad went out further to go body surf and I caught some waves by myself. I got some good waves and some not so good waves. I was also pushed under once or twice. All in all I had lots of fun.
Then we went back to the house and had a relaxing lunch. Afterwards we went to Underwater World (an aquarium). It was very cool. We saw lots of colorful fish. We watched a seal show with jumping seals. In the show one of the workers fell in and a seal ripped her pants off. One of my favorite fish tanks was a car with of the interior taken out with fish and seaweed added. It was pretty cool.
After Underwater World we went home and had a relaxing night.
Day Thirty-four: Monday July 24, 2006 Kapernick Farm
Today we hit the road at about 11o'clock. From Buderim we drove up to Gympie. In Gympie we bought some camping supplies for our tent. After our stop in Gympie we drove on to the Kapernick Farm and Household (Craig, Clare, Amy, Caiti, Bekka, and Raechel) where we were going to spend the night. Dad went to school with Craig and Clare during university. The Kapernick's own a farm outside of the small town Cloyna. When we got there we got to go and walk around the farm. We walked along next to the cow pens and got to watch the cows being fed. The cows are fed hay from a large bail. Near the cow pen there were five or six rows of bails of hay. All of the kids jumped on to the bails and ran down each row and jumped from each row. I mostly talked with Amy who is the same age as me. In fact I'm only 9 days older than her.
After the "bail running" we went back to the house and played soccer. Then it started to get dark and after awhile we decided to go inside. Once inside we watched some TV. before dinner. After dinner we had some cake and ice cream because it was Craig's birthday. During desert we were offered to got to school with the kids tomorrow and we accepted.
Day Thirty-five: Tuesday July 25, 2006 Countryside School
In the morning we got up and went to school at 9 o'clock. 9 o'clock, can you believe it?! That's late compared to our school that starts at 8 o'clock. The school only had 2 classrooms. The pre-school thru year 3 room and the year 4 thru year 7 classroom. The whole school only had 55 kids! The Cloyna school is allot different from Wauwatosa schools. David and I explained our school and trip to the class before doing some of the school work. All of the grades did the same work so most of it was pretty easy for me. Then the teacher asked Amy and I if we could type up a story about school in the U.S. for their school newspaper. After we were finished the teacher checked it and read some of it out loud. He thought is was mean that we have so much school with only one lunch break. Allot of kids thought is was unfair too. At 11 o'clock we had morning tea and got to play outside. During tea Dad and Tiff came to pick us up. They met the teachers and the teachers told us stories about different animals at the school. They said they have a koala in a tree behind the school, frogs in the toilets, and once they had a king brown snake in the eating area. In case you didn't know king brown's are the most poisonous snake in Australia. All in all I had lots of fun at the school and got a taste of year seven before anyone else.
After school we drove back to the coast to the town of Bundaberg. In Bundaberg they make ginger beer and rum. We went to the rum factory and went on a tour. It was quite interesting. We got to see the building where they store the molasses. That building really smelt. Then we got to try some molasses. Ewe! Then we went to the Ginger beer factory and got to taste some ginger beer. (Ginger beer is a soda not a beer.) Then we got a 6 pack for the road.
Next we drove further north to the Town of 1770. There we went camping for the first time the whole trip. We made our own food and went on a hike to the beach. At the beach we briefly looked at the stars before heading back. On the way back we heard the Thump, Thump, Thump of kangaroos.
Day Thirty-six: Wednesday July 26, 2006 The Great Great Barrier Reef
Today we got up at 6:30 and got ready quickly so we could catch a boat that was going to take us out the Great Barrier Reef. We were going out to the coral cay and island lady Musgrave Island. On the 75 minute boat ride out Dad and I sat on the top of the boat and Tiff and David sat below. It was fairly wavy on the way out. On top we saw some dolphins and got to go in the pilot room where all the steering of the boat is done. The ride on top was also windy and a little bit wet so the crew passed out raincoats. When we arrived at the reef the water was turquoise colored, I said it looked like opals.
Once we were anchored we went downstairs to see how Tiff and David had done on the boat ride out. They had been puking allot of the way! After Tiff and David had recuperated we began to get all our snorkeling gear, towels, ect. and got onto another boat to the island. The boat had glass on the bottom so you could sea the fish and coral. The water was only a few inches deep but there was still lots of coral.
When we got onto the island we set down all our stuff and began to follow our island tour guide. The first thing we noticed we little rock like things that was dead coral. The coral dies and is pushed along by the waves until they eventually come to a rest. After several thousand years Lady Musgrave Island eventually formed. The island had several trees on it. There were vines going this way and that. It was really very cool, it looked like you were in the jungle.
After our island walk we striped down to our swimsuits, put on our snorkel gear, and began to walk backwards (as not to fall) into the water. The water was quite cold when you got in. I sort of got used to the water temperature but during most of the snorkeling I was shivering. Besides the shivering I really enjoyed it. We saw giant barnacle clams, sea stars, and lots of fish. Some were plan looking and others were the color of the rainbow. We saw some Nemo's and Gill's from Finding Nemo. We even saw some sea turtles! There was one area where the turtles liked to hang out and we saw 3 of them sleeping there at once. One of them even got up and started to swim around. We mostly saw along the drop offs of the reef because if you swam over the reef it was so shallow you could scrap yourself or touch the coral. We all know that if you touch coral it will die.
After about an hour of snorkeling we got back on the glass bottom boat and went back to the main boat. On the glass bottom boat we saw turtles and fish and coral and I go it all on tape. Back on the main boat we had lunch before going back out into the water. David and I each got wet suits so we could be warmer. With the wet suit on I was still cold but it wasn't as bad.
When we got into the water one of the crew told us there was a lagoon that we could go into. In the lagoon there was less of a current and lots of the same stuff as the snorkeling we did early but it was better. The entry to the lagoon was fairly small and there was a turtle resting in the entry way. In the lagoon we saw several schools of fish. There was lots better coral in the lagoon as well. We saw some fluorescent blue and one fish the was yellow and tube-like.
After a little more snorkeling we got back on the boat and left to go back to the mainland. On the boat ride back we saw several whales. We saw some plumes and tail flips.
When we got back to the mainland we had dinner and fell asleep in our tents thinking of the reef.
Day Thirty-seven: Thursday July 27, 2006 Paddle, Paddle
Today we had a relaxing morning before packing up our camping supplies and heading to the beach. At the beach we were going to go on a group kayak tour along the ocean. There was a sand bar along the beach that kept the waves and current back a little bit which made the kayaking a little easier. We kayaked for about 40 minutes to a little beach. During the short period of time we were kayaking my shoulders started to ache because I had a knot in my muscles from sleeping on the ground.
After a while on the beach we went out to the opening of the sand bar and did some wave kayaking. I was in the front of the kayak and Dad was in the back. Tiff and David stayed on the beach. We went over a wave and KATHUNK the kayak we would hit the water. Most of the time when we went into a wave water would spray we all over and I'd be bumped out of seat for a couple inches and hit the seat of the kayak. When we would get a wave I'd have to lean back so the kayak wouldn't nose dive into the sand. The first time when we caught a wave we flipped over because the person in the back had to steer you and Dad wasn't the greatest had paddling. We were dumped a three or four times and one of the times the kayak was on top of me and I panicked a little bit. After that I didn't enjoy the kayaking in the waves as much.
On the way back to the beach where we started I was getting kind of tired. The way back was especially hard because we were against the current. No matter that the kayaking was difficult I still had lots of fun. After the kayaking we drove all the way up to Rockhampton. At Rockhampton we found a place to stay and had Thai food for dinner.
That night before we went to bed we caught up on our budget and discovered that we were 1000 dollars under budget. Yippee!
Day Thirty-eight: Friday July 28, 2006 Eat 'em, Wear 'em, See 'em
This morning we got up and David and I played ping-pong in the rec. room before we finished getting ready to go. Before we left the hotel I bought a Great Barrier Reef souvenir book so I would have something to look at in 5-10 years and remember our snorkeling adventure.
Then we drove outside of Rockhampton and drove to a Crocodile Farm. There we went on a tour of the croc' farm and got to see some croc' eggs and some pretty big crocs. We learnt a lot about crocodiles. Like how to find there nests and escape from them. After the tour we had croc kebabs and they tasted allot like chicken and chicken is good. Then David and I got croc tails. You could also buy shoes and hats made from croc leather. Tiff said you can eat em, wear em, and see em.
After the farm we went on a scenic tour for about 45 minutes. Then we went to the Rockhampton free zoo. There we saw dingo's, kangaroos, emus, crossway's, peacocks, chimpanzees, koalas, monkeys, and lots of birds. We were going to see the chimp's being fed but they started acting bad and screaming and jumping around they didn't feed them when they were supposed to because they were so bad. When the chimps acted up we thought in was intentional because it was kind of funny.
Next we saw koalas being fed. They actually jumped from tree to tree and ran on the ground. The zoo keeper said 4 adults tried to steal the koalas but they were so feisty that they took a croc instead. Go koalas! Now we know why Steve Irwin doesn't wrestle koalas. After that we got to feed the lorikeet's. We took tray's of fruit and held them so the lorikeet's could come and get some food. The bird's swooped down and landed on the plate. It was kind of hard to hold with the bird's walking around the dish. After we had fed the bird's two of them started having a fight. It was very amusing. The bird's were biting and clawing each other.
Next we began to grow out of Rockhampton. Before leaving we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn. Then we drove to Gin Gin where we spent the night.
Day Thirty-nine: Saturday July 29, 2006 The Deep Dark Tunnel
After leaving Gin Gin we drove for about half an hour before we arrived at a hand carved tunnel through the hills. The tunnel was called Boolboonda. It is the largest man made tunnel in the southern-hemisphere. It's 192 meter's and it is unsupported. When they made the tunnel they were only 2 cm. off. We walked through it and there were lot's of bat's. I don't care for bat's and didn't want to stand around.
Next we drove to Bundaberg. There I got a Great Barrier Reef t-shirt. Then we back to the Ginger Beer Factory and we did a self-guided interactive tour about ginger beer. We learnt about it's history and how to make ginger beer. One of the things we learnt was that ginger beer used to have like 50% alcohol but now only has 0.5% alcohol. Then we drove outside of Bundaberg and went to Mon Ripos beach. At Mon Ripos turtles come onto the beach once a year and lay their eggs. Mon Ripos had the most amount of Loggerhead turtles lay their eggs in the world.
Then we drove to down the coast to Inskip Point. At the point you could camp and drive on the beach. At the point we could see Fraser Island, which is the largest sand island in the world. In it home to the largest amount of pure bred dingo's and his home to wild horses. The island is only 1 km. from the mainland but there is still a very strong current. One day hopefully we can go to Fraser Island because it sounds really cool.
Next we drove to Rainbow Beach. Rainbow Beach has colored sands along most of the beach. But the part of the beach we were in the sand was only the regular color. We did go for a swim there and David did his first boogie boarding for the trip. Also at Rainbow Beach you could drive your car onto the beach.
Then we drove all the way back to Buderim, where we had dinner with Granny and Grandpa, Sanny and Chris, and there daughter Sarah with her husband Aaron.
Day Forty: Sunday July 30, 2006 Birthday Round Number 1
Today we got up and went to church with Granny and Grandpa. I did my sudoko puzzle because I got a bit bored. Then we went back to the beach and David and I each had some goes on the boogie bored. Then we went to the Headland Gardens where Sanny, Chris, Sarah, and Aaron were staying. There had a birthday lunch for Dad's 39th birthday. We had a long good lunch. Uncle Peter, Aunt Jude, Briony (my cousin), and her son Joshua, where there as well. David and I played tennis and went swimming during the lunch. We gave Dad a Commonwealth Games 2006 t-shirt and a pair of Superman underwear.
Then we had another swim and had a quick dinner before Dad's friend Ben and his girl friend came over for a couple hours. (Ben is David's godfather.)
Day Forty-one: Monday July 31, 2006 Lost!
Today, like every other day, we went to beach for a morning swim. Of course I went boogie boarding. Then we went back to the house and had a relaxing lunch. Uncle Andy and Aunt Jude were coming for Granny's birthday. They arrived at lunch so we spent some time catching up with them. Then we left and went to the Bellingham Maze. The maze was made of hedge's about 8 feet tall. David and I went off in one direction and Dad and Tiff went in the opposite direction. David and I ran and Dad and Tiff walked through the maze leisurely. It was very confusing. You'd think you would be going in the right direction when all of a sudden there was a dead end. Several times we went back to the start. Finally we found the water fountain in the middle. Dad, Tiff, David, and I was the order we reached the center. Then we had to find our way back through the maze to the start that wasn't as confusing as finding the middle but it still wasn't easy. Then we did another maze where you had to follow the pattern red, blue, green. It looked easy but was still very difficult. It was hard to even start at the finish and cheat! When we got the Answer sheet we still had difficulties.
After the maze we went to Opal's Down Under. We went there because Tiff wanted to look at some opal's. At the store there was fossicking so David and I went fossicking. The store had thrown out nice polished rocks. We found amethyst, rose quartz, and other gems. It was pretty entertaining. We ended up buying some Aboriginal artwork things.
Then we went back to Granny and Grandpa's. Dad, Tiff, and Sanny went out to buy groceries for Gran's 80th birthday dinner and breakfast. When they came back from the store we started to make dinner for Briony, Uncle Peter, Aunt Judy, Uncle Andy, Aunt Jude, Aunt Sanny, Granny, Grandpa, and the four of us. We had a good dinner and it was nice to be with so many relatives.
Day Forty-two: Tuesday August 1, 2006 Breakfast at the Beach
Instead of going for a morning swim we had breakfast on the beach from Gran's 80th birthday. Aunt Sanny, Uncle Andy and Aunt Jude, (obviously) Granny and Grandpa, the four of us, and Granny and Grandpa's good friends Jane and Bruce. We had eggs, bacon, hash browns, and fruit all overlooking the water. Our gift to Granny was a book of 80 thoughts for Gran's 80th birthday. Granny read most of the thoughts and really liked it. Actually everyone liked the book. It was a very lovely breakfast.
Then we went back to the house and had a quiet lunch. We didn't really eat much because we all had so much to eat. Then we went to the Big Pinnacle so Tiff could do some shopping for her nurses. The Big Pineapple is a tourist attraction that used to be really nice and the place to go. But now it's deteriorating and looks really run down. The gift shop is bare and doesn't have very much good stuff. Tiff did find 2 good gifts to give her nieces.
After the slightly depressing Big Pineapple we went to the Sunshine Tropical fruit factory where my Dad's friend, Mike Hughes, works. (Actually he owns it.) At the factory they sell mangos to companies and restaurants and they make different jams and spreads. We got to go on a tour of the factory and hear some plans for the factory in the future. Mike also told us about some of the food testing for bacteria they do there. We also got to take home some frozen mango cheeks and desert syrups. Mike's mom lives very close to the factory and we went to see if she was home. At her house there was a polar bear skin (with the head and claws attached) that we got to look at. Then we went back to their house. They have a chuck (chicken) house there and three chucks- one for each of the girls. The chuck house was very pink and sparkly. Not like your regular chuck house. David and I each got to hold one of the chuck's. When we were holding the chuck it started squirming and flapping it's wings. Next we went inside where the adults talked for awhile before we left to have dinner with Granny and Grandpa.
Day Forty-three: Wednesday August 2, 2006 Lucky
Today David and I woke up, not at Granny and Grandpa's, but at the Headland Gardens where Aunt Sanny was staying and where we spent the night. We got up and watched a half hour of TV. before we went swimming in the Headland Gardens swimming pool. When we got up David called Granny and Grandpa's and had Granny hold the phone up to Dad's ear and he sad "Wakey. Wakey. It's time to get up." Granny used to say to Dad to get him up. It was pretty funny.
We swam until Dad and Tiff came and then we all went to the beach. At the beach I went boogie boarding and everyone else played cricket on the beach. The waves were very good for boogie boarding. They were very defined, fairly large, and very easy to catch. I continued boogie boarding for a while before I decided to play cricket. I found a place to stand and looked at the water for a moment when all of a sudden the ball hit me in the back. I was hit right between the shoulder blade and my backbone. It left a temporary mark of the tennis ball on my back. Apparently Dad was trying to hit the ball towards me and didn't know I was looking away when he hit it. It hurt pretty bad and I started to cry. Despite that I still got Dad out, did a fairly good job batting, and even got David out. Before we left the beach we did some more boogie boarding. Then we went to get ice cream and I got butterscotch and cookies n' cream ice cream with violet crumble, passion fruit, and flake toppings. It was good.
We then had leftovers from the days before for lunch before we left for the plaza. At the plaza I got a rash top and Dad got a new swimsuit. I tried on some board shorts but they were all expensive because of the brand names. Then we went to the Australian Geographic Store- which is always fun to go to- but we didn't buy anything. Next we went to Rebel Sports where we bought a boogie board to give to Granny and Grandpa because the other one was broken.
Then we went to Top Shots fun park. There we did mini golfing. It was fun and they had some pretty cool holes. I got a hole in one where I just in the ball randomly and ended up lucky. Besides that I did pretty bad. Then David and I did the Extreme Trampoline. Basically there is a trampoline set up vertically and you're put in a harness and pulled up to the top of the trampoline. Then on the way back down you have to hit as many "targets" as possible. If you it at least 4 "targets" you get to go again. And so it continues. Then Dad, David, and I did Blaster Boats. They're like bumper boats but they also spray water. It was really fun. It was kind of cold because of the outside air temperature and with water being sprayed at you. We had fun teaming up and attacking each other. David said we should buy a couple and bring them to Door County. Before we left David and I each bought a slushy.
Then we went to a different beach than we usually go to and tested out the boogie board we were going to give to Granny and Grandpa. It was lots of fun except when I was pushed under by a wave and the string around my arm attacked to the board was ripped off. But that wasn't terrible and I still had fun.
That night we presented the boogie board to Granny and Grandpa and gave Tiff a birthday cake for her upcoming birthday.
Day Forty-four: Thursday August 3, 2006 Tourist Shop After Tourist Shop
Today we said good bye to Aunt Sanny and Granny and Grandpa. Then we went for our last swim on the Sunshine Coast before packing the car and driving to Brisbane. There we met up with my Dad's old friend at the mall. The mall there is much different from malls in the U.S. There is one road blocked off that only people can walk down. Then there are buildings on the side of the road with more shops inside. The whole mall is like 5 times bigger than Mayfair Mall. Anyway we had lunch with our Dad's friend. Then my Dad's friend had to go back to work and we looked at some of the shops. There were sooo many tourist shops. All with most of the same things and all packed with people. If they all had the same stuff then I want to know why we went to every single one. I mean one or two or even three is okay but five or six is just too many tourist shops.
Then we walked down to the river that splits Brisbane in two. Dad explained that boats are used like taxi's or buses, taking people across the river. He also explained that on the other side of the river there used to be a large area where the World Expo was held. he said that it was held for 6 months and different countries would have booths displaying different goods. The Germany booth made a ski slope that you could ski down. You could rent ski gear and go skiing in Brisbane.
Then we went to see another of my Dad's friends, Dean and Jacquie, at his house. Dean has three kids that are very close to David and mine ages. We then went with them out to dinner. The place we went to dinner had a kids playground that was really cool. There was one room with a TV. one room with about 6 Play stations, swings, and two jungle gyms with ropes connecting the two. While the adults sat inside all of us kids played tag. After we'd played tag for a while we came inside and did this game where you can win chocolate. Basically you control a crane and try to get it to grab a piece of chocolate. Once the crane grabs the chocolate it drops the candy and another device pushes the candy down a hole so you can get it. So with one try you can get several pieces of candy.
Then we went back to Dean and Jacquie's house where we spent the night.
Day Forty-five: Friday August 4, 2006 One More Friend
After leaving Dean and Jacquie's we went to another one of Dad's friends house. This friend was the only person from Broken Hill Dad still keeps in touch with. That was nice but a little boring. David was fine because he was played Play Station but I become bored when I play Play Station. Before we left Brisbane we also saw Dad's old apartment.
Then we drove for a couple hours before we got to Natural Arch National Park. There we went on a 1 km walk through the rainforest and came to the bridge near the end. Through the middle of bridge there is a waterfall. It was very cool. There were some really cool strangler fig trees in the rainforest as well. In a couple of them you could look through the middle of the tree.
Then we continued driving though the hills until we got to the coast. At the coast we went to Byron Bay. At Byron Bay we went the most easterly point of Australia. We took several pictures because you had a very nice view. There was a storm moving in so the sky was overcast. On the horizon you could see rain coming down. David ran to the very tip of the headland which is really the most easterly point. No one else ran down because we didn't know when it would start to rain.
Next we drove for half an hour to Lennox Heads. At Lennox heads we found a place to spend the night and went out to dinner. When we came back from dinner the electricity of our cabin had gone out but it was turned back on. Then we watched a movie before going to bed.
Day Forty-six: Saturday August 5, 2006 From the Big Pineapple to the Big Banana
Today we slept in for a bit before leaving Lennox Heads. Then we drove to Balina. Where we had a walk to wake up. We went to the information center and got some treats at the bakery. Then we continued driving to the Big Banana. The Big Banana is allot like the Big Pineapple in that they grow and sell bananas and banana products. The Big Banana, however, is kept up better. The gift shop is full and everything looked nice. There David and I each got chocolate covered bananas. The bananas there were cheaper than the bananas in the supermarket because most of the Australia's bananas were wiped out in a cyclone. So the bananas cost like $14.00 when they should cost only $4.00.
At the Big Banana there was a walkway over the bananas you could take but it was raining so we decided not to do it. Also there was a place where you could go tobogganing but it wasn't running when we were there. Then we went into a puzzle store that also had cool juggling stuff. So now I have more juggling things to keep my eye out for. Then we went to a candy store where we bought some fruit hard candies before going back to the car.
We drove for the rest of the day until we got to the towns of Tuncurry and Forster (they are separated by a lake). There we found a place to spend the night before we went out to dinner. We ate at a nice family Italian Restaurant. It was our last family meal of the trip. At the restaurant they had giant pieces of paper over the table that you could draw on. I had drawn on most of my area and pushed on plate over so I could start to draw. There was a napkin on the plate and a candle on the table. I pushed the plate right next to the candle and suddenly the napkin started on fire. Dad and I quickly blew it out. A couple of sparks flew onto my sweatshirt and I quickly eliminated those. Besides the burning napkin we had a very nice meal.
Day Forty-seven: Sunday August 6, 2006 One Last Swim
Today we left our hotel and went to go look at the beach. The waves were quite big today. There were many surfers out in the waves but most of them weren't vary good. On guy lost his board and came out of the water with his arm hanging in an awkward way. We think he dislocated his shoulder. We then got out of the car and went for a little walk. We walked around a swimming pool that is on the beach and fed by all saltwater. We also watched some surfers climbing over the rocks and jumping into the water to get out to the waves faster. Then we drove to a lookout over two beaches and at one beach we think we saw a dolphine or something with a fin. Dad ended up looking at the surf for about 15 minutes taking a long last look.
Then we got in the car and drove to Anna Bay where we went sand boarding. In the area next to Anna Bay there are several sand dunes that you can go sand boarding on. It's basically like sledding except it's in the sand not the snow. It was really fun the hard part was climbing back op the dunes. While we were boarding it was raining but that didn't affect the boarding experience. When ever we went down the dune sand was sprayed in your face so you had to close your eyes. The sand dunes where fairly steep. When we drove through the dunes it was a really bumpy ride because of all the clumps of sand.
Before we left I asked if I could go swimming for one last time and I was allowed to go. It was windy and chilly outside but that didn't stop me. The waves were kind of choppy and weird because of the wind but I still went out. The wind kept blowing the boogie board away from me when I let go but I still caught some waves. I was only out there for 10 minutes but I still got my last swim in.
Then we got back in the car and drove all the way to Sydney. We went to my Uncle Michael and Aunt Kate's house first and had a cup of tea with them. We also gave them back all the stuff we borrowed from them. Then we went to Chris and Vicki's house to have dinner and spend the night. We were spending the night there because Uncle Michael, Aunt Kate, and Brendan had all had the flu and we didn't want to get sick before leaving to back home. We had dinner, then Sierra, David, and I played a game before Sierra went to bed and we started to pack our bags. We stayed up until midnight making sure everything was in order.
Day Forty-eight: Monday August 7, 2006 Uncomfortable Sleep
Today we got up, did finishing touches to the packing, before going back to uncle Michael and Aunt Kate's house for a last cup of tea, before driving to the airport. At the airport we did the usual airport routine check-in, security, ect. We then bought a couple souvenirs at Duty Free and had our last meat pie. Then David and I bought a coffee cup with aboriginal designs on it as a thank-you gift for Dad and Tiff. We then boarded the airplane for the long flight back. On this flight we were awake for most of it because we left at 2 o'clock. We watched Ice Age 2, the Shaggy Dog, and Akeelah and the Bee. I got terrible sleep and was very uncomfortable in the airplane seats. I only slept for about 4 hours. Mostly on the plane I read, slept, did sudoku puzzles, or watched movies.
Day Forty-nine: Monday August 7, 2006 Repeated Day
Monday is repeated because we cross over the International Date Line during the flight.
We landed at the airport in Los Angles. There we had to go through customs and immigration. Immigration is a pain because the lines are always soo long. We then walked from the International section of the airport to the domestic area. Then we got some pizza before getting on the airplane to Chicago. We slept most of that flight. Then we ran to our next gate and got some food and hoped on the plane from Chicago to Milwaukee. In a matter of 10 minutes we were back on the ground in Milwaukee. We then walked to baggage claim where we got our bags. Our mom made a surprise visit to the airport and she drove David and I back to our Dad's house and Tiff, Dad, and the luggage went with Brett..
Once at home we began to unpack. We were up until 12:30 a.m. before we were drugged out.
Afterwards
I have really enjoyed the whole trip to Australia. I know I am lucky to be able to go to Australia for 6 weeks. That is something most kids don't get to do. I have enjoyed traveling about Australia and understand the isolation of outback Australia. Australia is an amazing place and everyone should get a chance to go there.