Leaving Sydney at 9 in the morning, I was on a plane to the center of Australia: Alice Springs. Here I would begin my 6 day adventure tour through the outback. It was something I knew I had to do before I left Australia, so I made sure to book the trip ahead of time :) I arrived in Alice Springs and took a shuttle from the airport to my hostel. It would be my first of four experiences of staying in a hostel while in the outback. If you don't know what a hostel is, it is basically a hotel for students: it is much like a dorm, you stay with anywhere from 4 to 12 other random people depending on what room you get, and it is REALLY affordable ($5-$40 per night). It is also a bit risky because you have no idea who you will be staying with. Anytime I was staying overnight in one, I didn't want to take my chances, so I often slept with my luggage at the foot of my bed and made sure I left nothing valuable in the room. It was quite interesting to say the least, I would do it again to save money but that would be the only reason.
Alice Springs: I was going to be in this town for the rest of the day and overnight because my tour picked me up in the morning, so I decided to explore. Basically any town or city in the outback is going to have a large percentage of the population being aboriginal. It was a little bit of a culture shock walking around town. I probably made the mistake of walking by myself at night trying to find a mail box to send my postcard, lets just say I didn't get very far before I turned around and gave up looking. During the day I went downtown, to a few souvenir shops and aboriginal art galleries. I went to Anzac hill (easily comparable to a Veteran memorial/icon) and climbed up it to see a different perspective of the town. I also went to the reptile center and held my first python which I was hesitant to do but it was actually pretty cool! :) Then went back to my room, I took a shower and went to bed because I had to be up at 5:00 in the morning.
Uluru/Kata Tjuta-3 day tour: Adventure Tours Australia picked me up at 5:45 in the morning and I started my tour to the Red Centre. There were a total of 25 people on the bus, from all over the world (Czech Republic, Poland, England, Chicago, Germany, and more). It was so cool to meet so many people and I ended up becoming close with a few of them because they were with me for the whole six days. We had 2 tour guides because one was in training: Chuck and Jerry (both women). They were very entertaining the entire trip, and I learned a lot from them. Jerry was in the passenger seat, so she made an effort to make sure we had a good time on the bus. We passed around the microphone to introduce ourselves as well as had a couple different contests on the bus. I will not go into detail because I plan on challenging my family and friends to participate in them once I get home...muah ha ha. Jerry also played music to make the time go by, and I was right up front so a lot of the time we ended up singing along with the music together :) We did tons of things within the three days which can be revealed in my pictures on facebook: like see a bunch of animals, and brilliant landscape. We stayed at a different camp every night, and I slept in a swag which I swear by!!! Anytime I go camping from now on, I want to sleep in a swag, they are the most amazing invention ever! It is basically a mattress inside a thick sleeping bag, then you have another sleeping bag around you. I got to gaze upon the beautiful stars before I went to sleep, and I was extremely comfortable and warm. Other people who stayed in tents complained about bugs and being cold, but I never once had that problem. I also got to try camel sausages and kangaroo steaks for dinner, they were both very tasty :) Our group did a lot of walking and hiking up and down steep rocky trails, although it was a lot of energy exerted in the hot sun, the reward was totally worth it. I hiked through Kata Tjuta, around Uluru, and up King's canyon. I saw breathtaking views I could never have seen anywhere else! I learned a ton of things about the aboriginal people of Australia, got to see the sun rise and set over Uluru (Ayer's Rock), and got to meet some extraordinary people. It was the experience of a lifetime :)
We went back to Alice Springs after three days and spent a night in another hostel before continuing the tour. Some people from our tour weren't coming all the way to Darwin, so they had to say goodbye, and sadly we were getting a new tour guide. So we all met up for dinner and drinks that night as a farewell and whatnot. The next morning was also an early one (I was used to it by now).
Alice Springs to Darwin-3 day tour: Our new tour guide was Jason. He was very experienced and a great tour guide. We learned a lot from him but he didn't go above and beyond like Chuck and Jerry (but no one could top them!) He listened to a lot a 90s music and chick music (if you ask me) but I wasn't complaining, it was great! haha We had a lot more driving to do on this tour since it was about a 15 hour drive. We drove about 5 hrs each day, stopping about every hour or so at different places. We saw many different animals again, like wallabies, emus, camels, crocodiles, exotic birds, snakes, and kangaroos of course. One place we stopped I actually got a chance to feed a croc, which was pretty much amazing!!! There were a couple of these really cool pubs along the way that tourists would just leave different items, so there was collections of stuff from all over the world, it was pretty impressive. When I asked the bartender if he had anything from Wisconsin, he didn't, so I felt it was necessary to change that. Unfortunately all I had was a bank business card from Ashland, WI but it was all he needed. I got to see Devil's Marbles, swim in natural thermal pools, hike through Katherine Gorge and swim in the waterhole there (not to mention jump off a really huge rock!!! what a rush!!)
Mandakini: So I met the COOLEST old lady in the entire world!!! Here name is Mandakini and she was also on the 6 day tour with me. Originally from England, she moved to Australia to live about 40 years ago, and she is a performer. I am not joking when I say this either: she is a rapper! She raps with her son and calls herself "The Granny Rapper," or more formally "Resurrection Mary and the Prodigal Son" She has youtube videos and everything! NO JOKE! Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tqOr0KU-S8 She was also on Australia's got talent, but unfortunately didn't make it past the first round. She is about 72 years old and she has SO MUCH energy. She did everything on the tour that I did, and she did it with spunk! Whenever she introduced herself it often began with "Yo yo yo whats up?" and ended with "Peace out!" I loved her!! We became good friends and she is officially my Aussie Grandma, I can't believe I spent an whole week with this incredibly kooky woman!
Darwin: I got spend a whole day in Darwin after the tour was over because my travel agent kind of screwed up my dates, but I was fine with it because I had a day to spare and I kind of wanted to check out the largest city in the Northern Territory. The were a couple people left from our tour that were staying in the same hostel as me including Vit from the Czech Republic, Mosh from Poland, Bridget from Liverpool (Mandakini's daughter), and Mandkini. We all had a free day to do whatever in Darwin, so we decided to spend the day together. We went to the botanical gardens and walked along the shoreline of the city. It was very hot out, about 35 degrees C, witch is like 95 degrees F. Vit and I were hanging out together most of the day, he was a pretty cool guy and we got to know each other...I was mostly teaching him how to correctly pronounce words in English (which was something I hadn't done here at all since the Aussies usually think I am the one saying things wrong). We went to the Sunday night markets that evening and we both wanted to try Crocodile, so we went looking for it and had success. It basically tasted like a fishy chicken, it was alright.We all watched to sunset, and once the sun was down the temperature was gorgeous! It was a beautiful day to relax before flying back to school the next day.
Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better experience of the outback. I met wonderful people, saw once in a lifetime sights, and had a great time! It was a lot of driving, and a lot of camping....but I recommend it to anyone! If you want to see the outback, ATA is the way to go!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Sydney: The Sexy City
Ok so here goes the first week of my two week vacation from school.....it is a long one so be prepared: The day after the concert I a got on a plane to Sydney to spend a week in the 'must-see' city with my wonderful Aussie sorority sister Ruby Cook. She was kind enough to let me stay with her and her family for a week, plus she gave me a personal tour of her beautiful hometown. Right away when I got there, she met me at the airport, and I was so happy to see her! :) It was really cool to be the one in a different country this time, since the last time I saw her she was in Wisconsin. It was Sunday and I was planning to be there until the following Sunday...we had a full week of plans ahead of us! :)
Sunday: After we got to her house and settled in, I met her family and such, we packed a lunch and headed to the city the spend the rest of the day. We got a family fun pass that allowed us to take the buses trains or ferry for only $2.50 per person-all day. We got the city by train, and as soon as I got out, I saw the Sydney Harbor Bridge! It was GORGEOUS...to say the least. We walked down to Luna Park, which is a park similar to Coney Island that is right on the Harbor, overlooking everything. We walked through, sat and ate our lunch while we enjoyed the view, and took tons of photos. We then got on the ferry to Circular Quay, where the Opera House and main excitement of the city was. We explored and went to the Opera bar for a drink. Throughout the day we witnessed three different weddings that took place near the Harbor, they were beautiful. :) We walked around the city, went to Darling Harbor, Max Brennar (a chocolate cafe that caused me to gain 5 lbs haha, but well worth it), and the Casino in Star City (here I discovered that I liked roulette, don't know if that's a bad thing). We spent a total of 12 hours in the city-a very successful day I must say.
Monday: Ruby took me to see her special beach, the one place she loved to go to get away and relax. It was about a 30 min drive or so, and on the way I was amazed by the landscape and sandstone walls that surrounded the roads, it was pretty cool. We stopped to get some fish and chips (french fries), seemingly appropriate for the beach. We got there and walked over the the rocks and walked all the way out to the end where they were really big and we had a great view of the ocean. The waves were constantly crashing against the rocks, sometimes getting us wet. It was so peaceful- we sunbathed, took photos and a video of the wave soaking us, and we just enjoyed the view. It was a wonderful experience and I was so happy to be the one she could share it with.
Tuesday ('Chooseday' pronounced Aussie style): Ruby, her younger sister Lily, her good friend Hamish, and I all went to the Blue Mountains. We walked a lot and climbed down MILLIONS of stairs the get to the bottom on the mountains. I got to see the 'three sisters' rock formation that goes along with an aboriginal story (which I learned was made up by the government only to get more tourists-wow). It was exhausting, but well worth it, the view was extraordinary :) We all had a great time, and treated ourselves to subway and ice cream afterward! Later that night when we got home, we rewarded ourselves a bit more with a relaxing evening in Ruby's hot tub.
Wednesday: We decided to relax and chill at Ruby's house for the first part of the day. We watched some TV and went on facebook and whatever. The whole family wasn't really home except for Ruby's little sister Lily. Ruby's other younger sister Molly had to go to Uni for her nursing program or something, even though it was holidays. It was really nice getting to know her whole family and staying with them for the week. It made me really miss my family, but at the same time, they made me feel welcome so it was like having a whole new family on the other side of the world :) Ruby's dad is hilarious and he is always being sarcastic, which was perfect because I could just spit it back at him which he enjoyed. Ruby's mom (mum) was extremely nice, one word to describe her would be sweetheart. She was really laid back, but at the same time driven and organized. Of course I can't forget Ruby's puppy Buddy, the cutest dog with an under-bite, so he looked angry but was completely innocent--it really made me miss my puppies at home. I would compare my staying with Ruby's family with staying at a bed and breakfast because it was homey and everyone was courteous, but I never felt awkward or unwelcome in any way. That night we went to the Sydney Royal Easter Show. It was basically like the State Fair. There were live farm animals to see and pet, there were food displays with free samples, tons of rides, food stands, and an arenas much like a grandstand where sporting events and rodeos would take place. Ruby, Lily an I walked around and explored everything. The most popular thing at the Easter Show would have to be the showbags. There was this big building with tons of booths selling themed bags from different companies filled with goodies. For example there would be TV show themes, candy brand themes, movie themes, and cartoon themes all containing items such as toys and candy from that theme. I had to get a couple Aussie candy (lolly) showbags for the experience. We went to the rodeo later, where Ruby and I had a blast singing the country music that was playing on the loudspeakers. Afterward there were fireworks and a laser show which was pretty cool.
Thursday: We explored the city a bit more intending to go to Patty's markets to find more gifts and souvenirs to bring back home. Apparently there was tons of stuff and Ruby claimed I would find anything and everything I wanted for a cheaper price. I was all for it! This time to get to the city we decided to walk across the Harbor Bridge ourselves for the view, it was wonderful! I decided not to do the bridge climb because I was getting just as great of an experience without spending the extra $180 to see everything from a higher perspective. It would have been cool, but I decided to pass. We then caught a ferry to go to Manly Beach, where we walked around and explored the small town of Manly (while I excessively enjoying the 'manly' pun on every business name and sign: The Manly Pharmacy, 'Enjoy Manly', and Manly Salon--it was great) WE went to the beach which was just a small oval shaped cove, but it was very charming, and MANLY--okay I will stop. We walked into the city after catching the ferry back the Circular Quay, heading for the markets. On the way we walked through the mall and I looked up and saw the Center Point Tower, we were right below it and it was pretty amazing! Ruby was right about the markets, I found everything I needed and more.
Friday: Friday I got to meet a few of Ruby's good friends when we all went to a Manly Sea Eagles rugby game together. It was so much fun and I grew to love all her friends really fast. One of them actually came to the state to visit Ruby, so I vaguely remembered him: David Wilson. The other guy was Chris Fletcher who I found very entertaining and friendly. I found it very easy to make him laugh with my typical American ways. I found him so cool that I decided to boost his ego and change the stereotypical American saying from "that is so fetch" to "that is soooo FLETCH!" He quite enjoyed it :) The rugby was incredible, and I couldn't believe how aggressive and intense it was. I could hear how hard the hits were from where I was sitting ans they weren't wearing any padding or helmets, it was nuts! I quickly fell in the love with the Sea Eagle team and decided to be a fan (plus they were 'manly'--ok I'm really done now) Naturally I had to buy a jersey to wear with pride in the states, as well as Queensland. After the game, which Manly won :), we were allowed to go out on the field, and coincidentally the song Sweet Caroline starting to play. Ruby and I freaked out with excitement since it was the Theta Phi theme song ("Sweet Theta Phi"), so we got Fletch's gf to videotape us dancing and singing on the field--so perfect! We all went to Mackers (McDonalds) to hang out a bit more after, then went home.
Saturday: I went to Bondi Beach with Ruby an Molly because I just had to see it after all I had heard, It was a beautiful coastline, but the beach itself wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It was cool, but I imagined it to be much bigger. Maybe the experience would have been more rewarding if there were a ton a people there like there usually would be, but it wasn't beach season (even though I thought it was quite warm). I had a blast finally getting to know Molly a bit more since she had the day off. We went to some more markets to get last minute gifts that I couldn't find before, then we went back home for a girl's night. We had planned to go out to King's Cross and party, but we couldn't find a way to get into the city being Easter weekend a lot of transportation was unavailable. So all dressed up, we decided to make a few drinks of our own and we watched Finding Nemo n the media room. I was in Sydney, it HAD to be done! It was cool to say that I could recognize places on the movie and say that I had been there :) We then went to bed, knowing the next morning I had to leave.
Sunday: It was Easter morning at the Cook house! I woke up at 7am to find an empty Easter basket outside my door meant to gather chocolate eggs that were hidden all over the house. I was extremely tired, but so EXCITED! All four of us girls (Me, Ruby, Lily, and Molly) went searching for the hidden candy. It felt like home: a bunch of girls racing to find eggs, separating them after, a little bit of whining and complaining about who gets what, and an Easter breakfast. I couldn't have asked for a better sendoff :) I left around 7:30 to catch my flight to Alice Springs. I said my goodbyes to me Aussie family and Buddy, them headed to the airport with Rubes. We hugged and said goodbye, knowing that I would see her and her family in July when they came to the States for a vacation :) It was so nice to be able to spend time with Ruby and talk to someone about home :) We both have an amazing love for Wisconsin and the Packers, it was refreshing. It was simply the BEST week I have ever had in Australia!
Sunday: After we got to her house and settled in, I met her family and such, we packed a lunch and headed to the city the spend the rest of the day. We got a family fun pass that allowed us to take the buses trains or ferry for only $2.50 per person-all day. We got the city by train, and as soon as I got out, I saw the Sydney Harbor Bridge! It was GORGEOUS...to say the least. We walked down to Luna Park, which is a park similar to Coney Island that is right on the Harbor, overlooking everything. We walked through, sat and ate our lunch while we enjoyed the view, and took tons of photos. We then got on the ferry to Circular Quay, where the Opera House and main excitement of the city was. We explored and went to the Opera bar for a drink. Throughout the day we witnessed three different weddings that took place near the Harbor, they were beautiful. :) We walked around the city, went to Darling Harbor, Max Brennar (a chocolate cafe that caused me to gain 5 lbs haha, but well worth it), and the Casino in Star City (here I discovered that I liked roulette, don't know if that's a bad thing). We spent a total of 12 hours in the city-a very successful day I must say.
Monday: Ruby took me to see her special beach, the one place she loved to go to get away and relax. It was about a 30 min drive or so, and on the way I was amazed by the landscape and sandstone walls that surrounded the roads, it was pretty cool. We stopped to get some fish and chips (french fries), seemingly appropriate for the beach. We got there and walked over the the rocks and walked all the way out to the end where they were really big and we had a great view of the ocean. The waves were constantly crashing against the rocks, sometimes getting us wet. It was so peaceful- we sunbathed, took photos and a video of the wave soaking us, and we just enjoyed the view. It was a wonderful experience and I was so happy to be the one she could share it with.
Tuesday ('Chooseday' pronounced Aussie style): Ruby, her younger sister Lily, her good friend Hamish, and I all went to the Blue Mountains. We walked a lot and climbed down MILLIONS of stairs the get to the bottom on the mountains. I got to see the 'three sisters' rock formation that goes along with an aboriginal story (which I learned was made up by the government only to get more tourists-wow). It was exhausting, but well worth it, the view was extraordinary :) We all had a great time, and treated ourselves to subway and ice cream afterward! Later that night when we got home, we rewarded ourselves a bit more with a relaxing evening in Ruby's hot tub.
Wednesday: We decided to relax and chill at Ruby's house for the first part of the day. We watched some TV and went on facebook and whatever. The whole family wasn't really home except for Ruby's little sister Lily. Ruby's other younger sister Molly had to go to Uni for her nursing program or something, even though it was holidays. It was really nice getting to know her whole family and staying with them for the week. It made me really miss my family, but at the same time, they made me feel welcome so it was like having a whole new family on the other side of the world :) Ruby's dad is hilarious and he is always being sarcastic, which was perfect because I could just spit it back at him which he enjoyed. Ruby's mom (mum) was extremely nice, one word to describe her would be sweetheart. She was really laid back, but at the same time driven and organized. Of course I can't forget Ruby's puppy Buddy, the cutest dog with an under-bite, so he looked angry but was completely innocent--it really made me miss my puppies at home. I would compare my staying with Ruby's family with staying at a bed and breakfast because it was homey and everyone was courteous, but I never felt awkward or unwelcome in any way. That night we went to the Sydney Royal Easter Show. It was basically like the State Fair. There were live farm animals to see and pet, there were food displays with free samples, tons of rides, food stands, and an arenas much like a grandstand where sporting events and rodeos would take place. Ruby, Lily an I walked around and explored everything. The most popular thing at the Easter Show would have to be the showbags. There was this big building with tons of booths selling themed bags from different companies filled with goodies. For example there would be TV show themes, candy brand themes, movie themes, and cartoon themes all containing items such as toys and candy from that theme. I had to get a couple Aussie candy (lolly) showbags for the experience. We went to the rodeo later, where Ruby and I had a blast singing the country music that was playing on the loudspeakers. Afterward there were fireworks and a laser show which was pretty cool.
Thursday: We explored the city a bit more intending to go to Patty's markets to find more gifts and souvenirs to bring back home. Apparently there was tons of stuff and Ruby claimed I would find anything and everything I wanted for a cheaper price. I was all for it! This time to get to the city we decided to walk across the Harbor Bridge ourselves for the view, it was wonderful! I decided not to do the bridge climb because I was getting just as great of an experience without spending the extra $180 to see everything from a higher perspective. It would have been cool, but I decided to pass. We then caught a ferry to go to Manly Beach, where we walked around and explored the small town of Manly (while I excessively enjoying the 'manly' pun on every business name and sign: The Manly Pharmacy, 'Enjoy Manly', and Manly Salon--it was great) WE went to the beach which was just a small oval shaped cove, but it was very charming, and MANLY--okay I will stop. We walked into the city after catching the ferry back the Circular Quay, heading for the markets. On the way we walked through the mall and I looked up and saw the Center Point Tower, we were right below it and it was pretty amazing! Ruby was right about the markets, I found everything I needed and more.
Friday: Friday I got to meet a few of Ruby's good friends when we all went to a Manly Sea Eagles rugby game together. It was so much fun and I grew to love all her friends really fast. One of them actually came to the state to visit Ruby, so I vaguely remembered him: David Wilson. The other guy was Chris Fletcher who I found very entertaining and friendly. I found it very easy to make him laugh with my typical American ways. I found him so cool that I decided to boost his ego and change the stereotypical American saying from "that is so fetch" to "that is soooo FLETCH!" He quite enjoyed it :) The rugby was incredible, and I couldn't believe how aggressive and intense it was. I could hear how hard the hits were from where I was sitting ans they weren't wearing any padding or helmets, it was nuts! I quickly fell in the love with the Sea Eagle team and decided to be a fan (plus they were 'manly'--ok I'm really done now) Naturally I had to buy a jersey to wear with pride in the states, as well as Queensland. After the game, which Manly won :), we were allowed to go out on the field, and coincidentally the song Sweet Caroline starting to play. Ruby and I freaked out with excitement since it was the Theta Phi theme song ("Sweet Theta Phi"), so we got Fletch's gf to videotape us dancing and singing on the field--so perfect! We all went to Mackers (McDonalds) to hang out a bit more after, then went home.
Saturday: I went to Bondi Beach with Ruby an Molly because I just had to see it after all I had heard, It was a beautiful coastline, but the beach itself wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It was cool, but I imagined it to be much bigger. Maybe the experience would have been more rewarding if there were a ton a people there like there usually would be, but it wasn't beach season (even though I thought it was quite warm). I had a blast finally getting to know Molly a bit more since she had the day off. We went to some more markets to get last minute gifts that I couldn't find before, then we went back home for a girl's night. We had planned to go out to King's Cross and party, but we couldn't find a way to get into the city being Easter weekend a lot of transportation was unavailable. So all dressed up, we decided to make a few drinks of our own and we watched Finding Nemo n the media room. I was in Sydney, it HAD to be done! It was cool to say that I could recognize places on the movie and say that I had been there :) We then went to bed, knowing the next morning I had to leave.
Sunday: It was Easter morning at the Cook house! I woke up at 7am to find an empty Easter basket outside my door meant to gather chocolate eggs that were hidden all over the house. I was extremely tired, but so EXCITED! All four of us girls (Me, Ruby, Lily, and Molly) went searching for the hidden candy. It felt like home: a bunch of girls racing to find eggs, separating them after, a little bit of whining and complaining about who gets what, and an Easter breakfast. I couldn't have asked for a better sendoff :) I left around 7:30 to catch my flight to Alice Springs. I said my goodbyes to me Aussie family and Buddy, them headed to the airport with Rubes. We hugged and said goodbye, knowing that I would see her and her family in July when they came to the States for a vacation :) It was so nice to be able to spend time with Ruby and talk to someone about home :) We both have an amazing love for Wisconsin and the Packers, it was refreshing. It was simply the BEST week I have ever had in Australia!
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