We Find Australia - A birthday in the outback

Running out of internet time...so this is a very rough idea of how I spent my 23rd birthday, and crossed the Australian outback by train!

My company: 1 Russian girl (Anna), 1 Danish man (Kristian), 1 British couple (Annie & Archie), 1 Oz couple, 1 irish man, 1 Italian guy, 1 French girl, 1 Maori boy-raised in Oz (Tyrone)-who was also my little sidekick for most of the trip, I taught him the wonders of X's & O's, and then had to pretend I was out of paper when I stopped being able to pretend it was gloriously amusing!

My bed: two reclining chairs and don't fit your body correctly in any direction.

My food: canned fish & laughing cow cheese on seaweed rice crackers, with pb for dessert (gourmet, no?)

My journey: Around 3,000 km, including the world's longest straight stretch of railway track (478 kilometres), too many hours...

Chance to stretch your legs: Cook - a ghost town with a remiaing population of 5 people

Kalgoorie - a major mining town where we were warned not to walk along! Also the site of my $15 pub burger for dinner.

Time for me to kick off to my dodgy hostel, which may or may not provide me a better sleep than seats 20&21, but one's gotta try!

Many thanks for all of the birthday wishes - there's nothing like seeing a page full of new messages after being out-of contact for 3 days!
xx

Sorry there's no pictures - my camera won't connect to this computer, but don't worry, there's a factinating pictorial describing my journey :)

A Day in Adelaide

(just doing some back-writing since I've been off of this for a few days)

Well, Mildura, where would I start to explain this happenin' town. 1 hour wondering around and 2 photos, that's it. So moving along...after a nice morning on the town, Kay (Brett's mom) and I set off for a drive to Adelaide, car fully loaded!

Highlights of the 5 hour drive...umm, the quarantine at the border where you're supposed to dispose of any fruit from the state you are leaving. I was sleeping when we passed the giant siloh - sigh.

Woot, woot, into the city of Adelaide we arrived! We stayed in and had a great home cooked me. For the next 3 days I was spoiled by nice food, fresh juice, and free laundry!! Spoiled.

Adelaide is a quaint city, similar to Saskatoon I'm going to go for. Minus the freezing winter. Lucky me, in a city known for it's amazing weather, guess who brought the wicked winds and rain from the East! Oh but don't worry, wondering through museums, zoos, and galleries doesn't really require much sun. And I caught a glimpse of the beach on my last morning before kicking out on the train.

From here, it was an entirely different scenario...

Just Like Home

At my last check-in, I was stranded in Albury...and I couldn't wait to get out. The hours spent wandering around the town were painful & very slow. They sped up a bit when I was solicited by a guy trying to sell AusStar? in the mall (a tv service), and I said I didn't live there we struck up a convo. I know I must've been very desperate for someone to talk to, because we talked about sport the whole time - ice hockey, aussie rules, cricket, baseball (which I have since discovered is the dumbed-down American form of cricket...or perhaps a game stripped of all the British nonsense). Whether it was due to my poor hearing or his accent, I didn't understand half of the things he said - relied on the good ol' smile and nod - gives them reassurance & confidence, and saves you from looking like a tool!

Back at the train station, I managed to catch the bus to Echuca. And by Murphy's Law, or by some other man with an ironic sense of humour, this bus was delayed! Not to worry, not that I imagine you were, I was soon strapped in ipod in ears, book in hand, and onwards through the flatlands.

I arrived in a rainy Echuca at 8pm, where the 5 other people on the bus quickly dispersed. I phoned the hostel, confirmed its vacancy, and then began a short trek through un-lit streets there. I wasn't about to find my next travel buddy sleeping here. I had the hostel entirely to myself. Slightly erie, I remember hearing tales of a horror film called 'Hostel', enough to freak myself out a little...but eventually I turned out all of the lights and had a sleep.

Wednesday morning, I checked out the big town of Echuca. With a population of about 10,000, that isn't the only similarity it has with Summerland. All of the buildings and signs have the old-British colonial theme. There was a fudge shop (Willowbrook), wineries, and apparently the world's largest collection of paddleboat steamers! Yee-haw. Although I couldn't fit in a ride on one of these, I sampled some fudge and bought a post-card for good measure. The Australian economy can thank me later. Check out the pics below...

Soon it was time to hop back on the bus and take myself to Mildura. Another smaller town, where I'm bunking with a friend's parents for the night. I had a home-cooked meal tonight. Wow. Not pb toast, or canned tuna. My body hasn't had to digest all of these nutrients in awhile.

The past two days of bus rides have felt like a trip through the praries in Canada. It's flat, filled with farming, and I met the lovely country women on the bus ready to chat with anyone, and nervous about an upcoming excursion to Thailand! I imagine it being my mother 26 years ago! Hi mom.

Time for a chick flick & some fudge!

Maybe some pictures to come soon.
xx

The Bus Forgot Me!

That's my colloquial way of putting -
5:05am: Morning wake up call to the tune of "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz
6:07am: Drop off keys & depart hostel loaded up with all of my belongings
7:10am: Arrive at locked train station. No one else is around
7:18am: I think I hear the doors being unlocked
7:20am: Right on time, I see the bus arrive
7:20:10am: I decide that now is a good time to run into the bathroom for 1.5 minutes and change out of my sweaty clothes
7:21:50am: Run back out and see an empty parking lot - the bus was goners!

Here's the scene of the crime, the Albury train/bus station where I have spend too many hours.

Okay, so then what. Well I hung out with the local homeless guy, who draws lines across the pages of his notebok. And that was cool for about 3 minutes. Then I had a little nap, talked to a local, contimplated getting the hell out of inland Oz and heading for Melbourne & the coast...ahhh, ocean. Finally the ticket office opened and the ticket agent devised a few new routes for me. So this afternoon, I should be catching a bus to Echuca, hopefully arriving in time to still catch a picture of the paddlesteamer!

Until next time...later mates.

And randomly, here's a picture of me, Kate, and her 2 wicked dogs in Lane Cove (Sydney)!

On The Road Again...

It's that time of the year again...when I pick up my backpack and sleep in a different bed each night - sound dodgy? Only slightly.

Here is me after my last day at Seven. Although I look excited, I am very sad to leave everyone there. I miss them already! Good thing cell phone reception extends to the random towns I will be visiting!

(Above left: the New parliament building. Above right: hailing a bus in the ACT (aka, the Australian Capital Territory)

So I've kicked through Canberra already, stolen someone's bed, shared a room with a lady using a walker, and trudged my 15kg? backpack for over an hour to get to the hostel in Albury. It's been an adventure. Oh, and all while being on the no money = no food diet. I miss the free Tim Tams!!

Time to get a move.
xoxo