Farewell Australia

Just a short post from me (Shailen).

When we did the last post I didnt know that my lovely girlfriend has bought us tickets to see Fall Out Boy in concert here in Melbournes SOLD OUT show!!! She got her hands on the tickets and so on Friday night (28th September) we are going to see FOB again. I can't wait!

Me with Pete (Top) and Joseph (bottom) from Fall Out Boy when they came to NZ.

FOB in full force at Melbourne

--- This part is written after the concert. As you can see we smuggled our camera in and got some pics :D The show was awesome! But for those of you that went to their concert in March in Auckland there were a few surprising differences. First of all, Patrick moved around a whole lot more on stage!! We were sitting to the right of the stage and saw him whenever he changed his guitar and he is actually really short! But theres no denying that voice. The other thing too is that the T-Shirts on sale looked a whole lot better than that on sale there - I actually bought one! :D They also played a whole lot of random songs like:

• Akon - Don't Matter
• Michael Jackson - Beat It
• Green Day - Basket Case
• Panic At The Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies
• and another random song that we can't remember the name of.

The day we arrive in South Africa I am having laser eye surgery done. So wish me luck for that! Hopefully soon there will be no more contact lenses or glasses to worry about!

Also another thing is my mate that I have been working with here in Oz has just started a new clothing line. Its a street style (skate/surf/ski). The clothes are great value for the quality! I've got a shirt and soon to get a hoodie. Check out his web-site. Its still in the early stages but well worth a look and when you contact him, mention me and he'll see what he can do for you.


The site is http://www.criticize.com.au/

Peace Out

Shailen and Alisa

Australia - Part Three (Adelaide)

We decided that we were going to go to Adelaide for the weekend which is about an 8 hour drive. To make the most of our time there we decided to leave the night before and arrive the next morning. One of our neighbours Katie was having birthday drinks in town so we went there first. Got home at about 9.30 and slept until about 1.30 and left at about 2am for Adelaide. Man it was a bit of a struggle!!!

Poor Shailen drove pretty much all of the way so I was able to get a little bit of sleep. I must say though that I drove for about an hour (and no I didn't crash!!!) so it was the first time I had driven on the road. It was a little scary but the road's were so straight and there were hardly anyone on them so it was ok.

Before we left we went on to whereis.com.au which is like our wises website in NZ to get directions. We were staying with extended family of Shailen's who live outside the main city. But the directions were crap!!! Imagine us lost in the middle of the bush at 9.30 in the morning with practically no sleep and with the petrol light blinking!!! And who should come to our rescue??? Drum roll please…… Shailen's flash new GPS phone!!! (I take back everything bad I said about it!). So we finally made it there and learnt along the way not to follow instructions from whereis.com.au!

We stayed with Dan, Viveka and their most beautiful little boy Kavi. Dan is the head chef for a restaurant in the city, Viveka is studying to be a school teacher and Kavi? well, he is making women everywhere swoon with that cute smile of his and cheeky laugh.

Viveka, Dan and Kavi.

We were pretty hungry arriving as we hadn't eaten anything since waking up at 2am so they took us out to a winery for lunch. They are quite famous for their wineries in this region of South Australia and there were heaps to pick from! We went to a place called Cariole and stopped at their cellar door to have a few wine tastings (absolutely free!). Also they have a couple of cheeses you could try. One was a goat's cheese and was described to me after Shailen and Dan tried it as tasting like a Goat's armpit. They didn't sell me on that one LOL. The combination of lack of sleep, lack of food and wine soon meant we were quite jolly. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we sat on the veranda sipping wine and eating fine food. We had platters of food which had a range of cheese's, meats, vegetables etc. Shailen was introduced to his first taste of Roo. Yes he ate one of those cute bouncy Kangaroos! It was smoked and he described it as tasting like smoking a cigar. Again didn't sell me.

After lunch we went to a couple more wineries to try some different ones. For all you wine lovers I know Shailen want's to tell you about the different ones that they have which we don't get in NZ so I'll let him do that now.

All I wanted to say was that coming here and seeing the immense range of wines they have available here just makes you realize how young and sheltered NZ is as far as wines go. We may have them but they are not mainstream. Some wines they have here are:

• Sparking Red Wine!!! (Apparently a must at Christmas lunch)
• Zinfandel (red wine that’s a Californian style originating from Czech)
• Chenin Blanc (a smooth fruity white wine)

Just to name a few. There are more types but these stuck out at me.

That night we went and had dinner with Viveka's parents who live close by. Dan was working that night and we were planning to go in and meet him afterwards and have a look around the city. I am a little bit embarrassed to say that we didn't quite make it. Instead we tucked ourselves into bed and slept like logs!

The next day we were cooked the most beautiful breakfast that we had to take a photo of it! LOL
(Shailen why aren't you a chef?!?).

Clockwise from the Bread: Omelette, fried cherry tomatoes, bacon, mango chutney and smoked trout. YUM!!!

We were planning to go fishing because Shailen has never been before but it was too windy so instead we went to Cleland National Park. On the way we stopped at the top of Mount Lofty which gives a beautiful view over the city. Although we went on a beautiful day it was quite hazy over the city (probably due to smog). Cleland's is a big park where you can pat Koalas and feed Emu's and Kangaroos and so on. We did the touristy thing and got a photo of us holding the Koala (only when bribing it with Eucalyptus leaves) so that was fun. Their fur is so soft! We fed the Emu's which is a little scary cause they come in so fast and grab it. It amazed me how tame all the animals were. Everywhere you looked there were Kangaroos lying on the grass or bouncing around. We fed them and even saw one with a baby Joey in its pouch. We also saw an albino Kangaroo which was interesting. I'm sure the Kangaroos wouldn't have been so nice to Shailen if they had known he ate some the day before!!!!

Emu

Us feeding Roo

If you look carefully, you can see a baby joey in the mothers pouch. (Its only his legs and tail)

We got home in the early afternoon and decided rather than rushing off to get back to Melbourne we would stay for another day and enjoy ourselves. We went to dinner again that night at Annabelle and Raj’s (Shailen's great Uncle and Aunt) where there were also some friends over. The friends were telling us how they used to open a map book put their finger on a page and try to go to the place so we decided to give it a try. By my reckoning I need to go to Israel and Jakarta. Shailen needs to go to Calcutta and Libya. So stay turned to see if any of these actually happen LOL.

The big sport here is the Footy and the grand final this weekend is between Port Adelaide and the Geelong Cats (they are based about 40min out of Melbourne). The friends that were over for dinner gave us Port Adelaide Scarves to wear and we have been given strict instructions to support them due to our lack of allegiance. I think if we wore one of those scarves on the streets in Melbourne you would get beaten!!!! LOL We headed to bed after watching the Illusionist which I really liked and Shailen nearly fell asleep watching it. So you might have to make your own mind up about that one!

The next day we woke up early and headed out fishing. Dan had a boat that he took us out on. We anchored the boat and put some nets in for crabbing and also did a little fishing. It was a disappointing day overall in terms of fish as we left with one crab and that was it (although we caught several crabs, they were either too small or didn't look very appetising). Shailen actually caught a Puffer Fish which are pretty toxic to touch. Luckily it shook itself off the line so we didn't have to worry about it. For me the best thing was all the Dolphins we saw. In total we saw about 10 and at one point they were right close to the boat! We had a really good day (even though I got sunburnt and Shailen got seasick – yes Shailen you were seasick) – but I did not chunder!!!! - and now Shailen has been fishing. Tick that off his life to-do list.

It was back for a quick bite of food, a quick goodbye and we were on the road again heading back to Melbourne (this time without getting lost). Again I drove for about an hour and this time in the dark! Shailen actually slept for a little while when I was driving so he must have had some faith in me LOL. We got home just before 2am in the morning and it was straight to bed. I didn't have work the next day but poor Shailen did. So that was Adelaide. We drove 8 hours to get there and never once went into the city! LOL

With us leaving on Monday (1^st October) for South Africa this will be our last post in Australia. We have really enjoyed our time here and will come again and see more of the country. We are not too sure how available the internet will be in SA but will try and keep you updated as much as possible.

Take Care

Alisa and Shailen

xoxo

Australia - Part Two

After spending some quality time with Shailen's family they jetted off for sunny South Africa. It was sad saying goodbye to them but we knew that we would be seeing them soon.

It has been great staying with them and we are glad we got the chance. It has also given me a chance to get to know his family better and has been good. It has also been fun getting to know Nishay and Samita who are really great kids :) So now there are just the two of us rolling around in this huge house.

Shailen and his new friend outside Victoria Markets.

The Tuesday after they left Shailen bolted out of bed at 5am and ran for the toilet throwing up. He pretty much remained this way for the next 12 hours and no he wasn't hungover!! This gave us a bit of a scare as we realised we still had not bought travel insurance. But all was well and he was back at work the next day although he had a sensitive stomach for a while after.

That Thursday at 7am two trains and one bus later i arrived at the airport to pick up Penny (a friend from NZ). She was only going to be here until Monday so we decided not to waste any time and headed straight to the shops. By the end of the day we were pretty tired and shopped out after doing the center of the city as well as Bridge Road. For anymore who has been to Melbourne you will know Bridge Road :) It is a street full out outlet stores!

Flinders Street Station in all its glory.

Me and Penny outside Federation Square.

We met up with Shailen after he finished work and headed up the Eureka building which at 91 stories is the highest building in Melbourne and is the second highest residential building in the world! It was only opened in Oct 06' so is still very new. Here are some interesting and random facts we learnt:
- The last 10 stories have a panel of 24 Carat Gold plated windows! (Someone has way too much money!)
- The viewing deck is actually higher than the one in the Sky Tower (NZ). But the Sky Tower is still taller due to the big spike on top.
- Melbourne actually used to be the capital of Australia between 1909 - 1936 before Canberra was built.
- Melbourne has the highest population of Greeks outside of Greece and Cyprus.
- New Zealand's whole population is about the same of that of just Melbourne's!
- The most common surname in Melbourne's phone book after Smith is Nguyen which is Vietnamese. (Interesting random fact! LOL)

The view from the deck on the 88th level is stunning. We went as the sun was setting so that we could see the city both during the day and at night. You can see in all directions and although we looked unfortunately we didn't see NZ. LOL But the binoculars are free which is cool.

View of Melbourne from Eureka Tower as sun is setting.

They have an extra experience which you can do while you are up there called "The Edge". You go into a glass cube which slides 3 metres out of the building (on the 88th level!). You are completely surrounded by glass even under your feet so it is pretty scary. You get into the cube with about 6 people and no staff (makes you wonder how safe it really is then!!). It starts off as cloudy glass and you slide out of the building to theatrical sound effects. Once you are out there is the loud sound of glass breaking and the glass becomes clear.

Penny and Shailen getting ready to go into "The Edge" with the sexy slippers they give you to cover your feet so the glass doesn't get scratched.

At this point i should point out that only Shailen and Penny went on this because i was too much of a wuss!!!! LOL They said that it was neat but maybe not worth the extra $12 it cost to go in it.

Friday consisted of more shopping around the Victoria Markets which are huge and sell everything you could possibly want. We had dinner at this really yummy and cheap Thai place (really yummy prawn spring rolls!!) and then showed Penny the fireballs outside of the Crown Casino that we mentioned earlier. Then off to bed!

This brings us to Saturday. The day of the Great Ocean Drive!

The Great Ocean Drive is along the Southern Coast of Australia between Torquay and Warrnambool. The road took about 15 years to build and was officially opened in 1932. It is the world's biggest war memorial for the men and women who lost their lives during the first world war.

This Arch is the 3rd one to grace this spot. The 1st came down when the road was widened and the 2nd was burnt down in the Ash Wednesday bush fires that swept through the landscape.

It took us all of the day to drive along the coast but when finished we came back inland which was alot quicker. Driving along the coast you get a beautiful view and it reminded us alot of driving along the coast of NZ although their rock formations are quite different and spectacular. Shailen tells me that this coastline is almost identical to the drive along the coast in Cape Town. The same sheer cliff faces and the same turquoise blue water!

Our first stop was at Torquay which is the official start of the Great Ocean Road. But i have to admit our first stop was purely for shopping. With Torquay being the location of the famous surfing Bell's Beach and home to Billabong there was no end to surf shops so it was a good start to the day. Our next stop was at Split Point Lighthouse which is located at Aireys Inlet and built in 1891.

Split Point Lighthouse.

Our next stop was as Lorne for a picnic lunch by the sea. In Lorne they have a tennis court sized areas full of ground level trampolines. I thought it was the coolest thing! Also in Lorne instead of sea gulls there were heaps of parrots just flying all over the place. This seemed very weird to us!

Our brochures told us that the lighthouse at Cape Otway was the highlight of the journey. So our next stop was off this through a narrow forested windy road. On our way we saw some people stopped on the side of the road looking up into the tree. So we stopped and got our first look at a very sleepy Koala!!!!! They sleep for most of the day and are perched out on the very end of the branches. It is a wonder they don't break them! They look so cute and soft but i have been told they can be quite mean and they do have some big claws on them. They eat Eucalyptus trees all day long and are drugged up on them! Anyway we got to the lighthouse and discovered we had to pay so decided not to and turned back. Not a complete waste of time though cause we saw lots more Koala's on the way back and got some great photos. Also met a couple of Kiwi's getting out to look at the Koala's with a beer in their hands LOL

Our new friend the Koala. We actually found one that was awake!

So then it was back on the road and we reached the Twelve Apostles near the end of the day as the sun was beginning to set. It is hard to describe the beauty of the area and wonder at how it became like this and how it is going to change in the future. The wind, rain and sea are constantly changing this area. With only perhaps eight Apostles still standing the last one to collapse was only in July 2005! Imagine watching that! The photos can describe it better than i can so i will leave you to look at those. It really is a must see though. It is absolutely beautiful!

The apostles with the sun setting behind.

You can see the one that collapsed in the front of the picture!


Just to prove we were actually there. I promise no photoshop!

Not too far away we also stopped to see the the Loch Ard Gorge which is the location of the Lace Curtains, Thunder Cave and Blow Hole. The Lace Curtains are a sheer cliff face that is amazing. The blow hole consists of a huge open hole where the water is sucked in from the sea with a loud noise and then sucked out again. There is an eerie story associated with this. There was a ship wreck in this area and 11 bodies washed into the blow whole. At night the whole glowed purple due to wax vestas (phosphorus matches) washed in from the cargo. That is something i am not in a hurry to see! The whole area along the coast is also known as ship wreck coast due to the huge numbers of wrecks that have occured there.

The Lace Curtains.

The Blow Hole.

The Thunder Cave was quite similar to the Blow Hole where huge amounts of water are sucked it and then thrown out. But this is right on the coast and it is quite amazing to watch and listen to the noise. By this time we had ran out of light and had seen everything we wanted to see so we headed off home.

The Thunder Cave looking out to the sea.

The Thunder cave looking inland. At the back you can see where the water is sucked into.

Shailen and Penny on the path to get to the Thunder Cave. Wouldn't want to do that in the dark!