You Might Say This Post Is Fascinating...

Why yes, Mummy, I'd love some tea. 

What's that? Shall we have Jeeves take us to the races today? Splendid idea, Mumsy, just brilliant!

Can you see where I'm going with this one? It is true - I, a lowly commoner from Canada, have been to the races. And when I say races, I don't mean the kind they have at Woodbine, where a lack of trucker hat constitutes dressing up. Aussies do their races right - just like the Brits, only... erm... with a slight Aussie flair, shall we say.

This past Wednesday was Ekka Day in Australia - also known as Show Day. It's a Queensland holiday that celebrates the Ekka fair (Ekka is short for Exhibition - I don't know HOW you didn't guess that one). For those who have been to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair or the CNE in Toronto, it's sort of a combination of both - plus a lot of alcohol, of course.

post-race tea and fondue

But when in Rome, as they say - so the girls and I got all dolled up and headed off to the races. I bought my very first 'fascinator' ($11.88 at Target, thankyouverymuch!), put on a pretty dress, and joined the crowd. 

I'm PRETTY sure I saw some horses at one point. 90% sure. But had a very fun day and definitely celebrated in true Aussie style ;)

Insert Jaws Theme Here

In honour of Discovery Shark Week, I decided to put myself out there and become a statistic. 

That's right, ladies and gents - I am an Australian shark attack victim. But before you get all crazy and picture me in a hospital - may I remind you that sharks come in all shapes and sizes. Some sizes are very small. And some sharks don't really bite, so much as... ram your ankle.

That's right - the ankle-biter, as I have been nicknamed in the past, was ankle-attacked by a shark. Ironic, don't you think?

But I'm getting ahead of myself - back to the beginning of the trip...

Because life is extremely difficult when one doesn't vacation every three weeks, 10 girlfriends and I decided to hop up to the Whitsunday Islands for a long weekend. For those unfamiliar with the landscape, the Whitsundays are a cluster of 74 islands termed "fringing reef" - they are located just off the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef. We decided to do a live-aboard boat for 2 days, followed by 2 days on the mainland, Airlie Beach. And there is no better way to get close to your friends than to live aboard a small boat for a couple of days, let me tell you! 

No, only kidding - I'm lucky to have a (mostly) sane group of girlfriends, the crew was great, and the cuisine was surprisingly awesome! Minor seasickness occurred, but otherwise an excellent trip. The highlights? Hanging out under a blanket of stars (in a hot tub no less - I travel in the lap of luxury!); hanging off the back of the boat as a dolphin plays in the boat's blue light; watching a mamma and baby whale crest alongside the boat; scuba diving and hearing the whales call to each other; scuba diving and making it through 2 dives without any near-death experiences (a first!!); visiting the famous Whitehaven Beach; and... oh yeah. The shark.

So we're walking in calf-height water near Whitehaven Beach - just me and 20 of my closest boatmates. And my crew leader decides, in typical male fashion, that he is going to corral and jump on a small black-tip reef shark. (I think that's the type. Could be wrong.) Now this little guy is barely over a foot, but we all know what happens when creatures panic - strength comes out of nowhere. 

So crew member Richie jumps on the shark, which of course manages to escape. But as he turns to leave, what does he see but 20 different pairs of (extremely pasty) legs blocking his escape route. I could feel his panic. And then I really did feel it, because that wonderful little guy decided to choose MY pasty legs in particular to ram his way out. And let me tell ya, those sharks do not have slimy skin - they have SANDPAPER. Apparently it's a defense mechanism - who knew? So while there were no tooth marks, I did have quite a nice little scrape along my ankle - and now I can officially say I was attacked by a shark whilst living in Australia. 

I swear it looked bigger in real life.

James Bond ain't got nothing on me.

Thailand - Land of Smiles

He's not impressed.

Alright, I know this post is a long time coming - considering that I was in Thailand in June/July, I've been a bit slow on the uptake. But let's pretend it's because I'm focusing on school and being a good girl :)

So, Thailand - truly the "Land of Smiles". They smile when they're happy. They smile when they're angry. They smile when they're confused. Which basically means that you smile all the time, because you're constantly confused as to whether they are confused, or angry, or happy. But no one can tell. Makes for a great postcard when there isn't a frown to be seen (except the guy doing the headstand, of course). Personally, I think there will one day be a giant explosion of emotion once the smile dam bursts and the frustration reservoir runs over. But that's just me. 

One of many temples

The thing about the Land of Smiles is that they even smile when they're conning you out of things. And that makes for a great vacation experience. It's such a nice feeling to be kindly conned out of something. Almost makes it worth it. I mean, if a criminal is willing to put in that much effort and can keep up a calm demeanor - I think he pretty much earned his keep! Not that anything really happened to us - we had loads of people try to tell us that places were closed for "Buddha Day" (bet you didn't know Buddha had 365 birthdays....), or for lunch, or just to bug the tourists, but they had a really nice "other museum" or "great tailor shop" to take us to. But we were not taken in... for the most part ;)

So refreshing...

And the food - I think I had more Pad Thai in 3 weeks than in my entire life. And not one of them tasted the same as the other - not an easy feat for a peanut noodle dish, but fait accompli! And the Diet Coke (I know, Mom, I know)... was NORMALLY PRICED! No 3.50 for a 600 mL bottle - I was in aspartame heaven. Meanwhile, my travelling companions were feasting on touristy fare of fried crickets and cockroaches. Amateurs, both of them.

Climbed up here in flip-flops - that's right Dad!

Thailand is a beautiful country, and words cannot do it justice. You can hit up floating markets, ride elephants, go white-water rafting, go scuba-diving, or get a "Thai tattoo" when you fall off your scooter (thankfully avoided). Not to mention haggling at the market - and it's true what they say, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar! Thai people are very particular about being polite and respectful, so should you ever find yourself in Thailand, don't ever get mad or rude - it won't end well for you. 

The real Bridge over the River Kwai

 

Village craftswoman

The other thing that you will notice in Thailand - or for that matter, most developing countries - is that Canadian musicians will follow you EVERYWHERE. Riding in a taxi through Bangkok? Your Heart Will Go On. Trying to be stoic as you observe the real Bridge over the River Kwai? A little Summer of '69 to pick you up. There is something about Canadian music that is so appealing to the international crowd - a little bit of home, wherever you go. 

As of the end of this trip, I'm officially an Open 
Water Certified PADI Scuba Diver - not a small feat for someone scared of drowning, not breathing, open water, sea creatures, and um, death. Next stop? The Great Barrier Reef!

Queen of the Jungle!

The End of the Beginning

 Well, I made it all the way through semester one! Not that there were any doubters (ahem, Uncle Lester). 

School-wise? Still waiting on most final marks, but have managed a 94% in Reproductive, Child and Maternal Health - a great start to the year. Haven't seen 90s since first year psychology :D

Overall, had a terrific semester - a holiday visit from Dad, several trips to Sydney to see Amy and Lauren, a massive kick-off tour with Megan, and one day of class skipped to go to the beach :)

I wasn't sure, in the first couple weeks, how I'd be adjusting to Brisbane. I definitely had a few of those "it's only for a year or so" moments. But now? I can honestly say that I love this place, and it feels like home. Today I walked into town through beautiful Roma Street Parklands, had lunch at South Bank and checked out the newly opened Streets Beach (damaged from the floods), sat on the South Bank lawns and read my book in the sunshine, and then spent my evening ice-skating at the Brisbane Alpine Winter Festival. I kid you not - and for a bunch of Aussies, they make some pretty good ice!

Sure, there are quirks to the city and the culture - you'll never find a bank open in the evening, times and dates are approximations only, whether it relates to the TV schedule or buses, and bananas still haven't gone down past 13 dollars a kilo. But it's worth it for the chance to do something new every day, enjoy the sunshine, meet new people, and, oh yeah, further my education.

Next semester - more epidemiology, environmental health, health economics, health policy, and health systems. All great courses (I hope), and hopefully all straight A's ;)

But first up - a trip to Thailand with a couple of girlfriends... an adventure from which there are sure to be a few blog posts appearing!

A la prochaine, my Canadian friends!

And She's Back!

But don't get too attached, it probably won't last.

Am just capping off 1.2 weeks of holiday with Dad (a.k.a. parent-funded fun).

We started off our trip in Sydney - Dad flying in from South Africa, me flying in from Brisbane (I win, clearly). We checked out Darling Harbour, Circular Quay, and the Opera House (meh, seen 'em before). Then we headed off to the Blue Mountains for a foggy, misty quasi-view of Three Sisters. 

Now, a little thing about Sydney. We had some rain. Big deal, right? I get rain all the time in Brisbane. A few times a day. But rain in Sydney is poured directly from a freezer. It is ICE cold. Hypothermia-inducing for sure. I had to buy pants. I bet a lot of tourists don't bring enough pants to Australia. Maybe I should start a pants company.

So, legs covered, we did the Indiana Jones-style railway of doom, had a cool hike through some rainforest, "saw" the Three Sisters (nearly walked smack into it, actually), and visited Katoomba and Leura. 

And on Sunday (happy Easter!), we started the drive up (and up, and up). First stop was Yamba - a beeyootiful surfing spot just south of Byron Bay. We attended a dawn ANZAC service (war commemoration), checked out the beaches, and then headed out to Fraser Island.

Now, I've seen Fraser Island, which means you read about it (or you skipped that post, in which case read it now and pretend you read it before). We did most of the same sights in a shortened time frame, and under slightly rainier conditions - but still beautiful, of course!

And now, am capping off 3 days in the Whitsundays. Apart from sunning ourselves, we tried out snorkeling (very cool) and scuba diving (near death experience).

You know how you're not supposed to touch the Great Barrier Reef coral? Um, oops. But not touch in a "MOOOOM can I touch it" kind of way. This was an involuntary, "oh-man-my-knees-are-scraping-along-the-ground-it-hurts-it-hurts" kind of touching. My newbie instructor, super nice guy, did not provide instructions on the inflate-deflate buttons - which means I scraped that poor coral until he saw me floundering (like a fish? Flounder? get it?). So the coral stole some skin from me. And then, my instructor tried to "adjust my mask". Now, if you're rational, you'd allow your instructor to adjust your mask. But my brain (too many spy movies) thinks "HE'S TRYING TO KILL YOU! SURFACE! SURFACE!" Probably didn't help my paranoia that when I tried to surface, my instructor held me down. But as you might've guessed, I made it back to shore, and he's providing yummy food for some sharks.

Only kidding. 

Tomorrow - back to the grind - school in Australia. I know, life is tough!

No, I Haven't Been Eaten By A Python - I Only Saw One In My Backyard

Just kidding - although my next door neighbour apparently did. I try not to think about it. And I'm learning to run very fast. 

This is only a short post for those who haven't given up on me to say that YES I am here, alive, well, happy, settled into a new place (I can sneeze across the whole room in one go, but we can't all have mansions!) and looking forward to a visit from my dad for Easter, yay!!!

Easter = a week long break (+ 2 extra days - Aussies love Easter) which means more time to update this darn thing and maybe add in some new travels while I'm at it. I'll be re-visiting the Blue Mountains, seeing Yamba, Byron Bay, and the Whitsundays - so lots of new photos will be taken!

Stay with me!
xoxo Caroline

A photo to demonstrate my studious nature while here in Oz. I took advantage of a night out to become one with Australian foliage. The girl to my left, in one of those weird life coincidences - also grew up in Mississauga, and went to high school a couple blocks away. Isn't life funny? :)

It's Too Hot To Type

Just wanted to post a short update so as you don't all think I've been eaten by a snake or something...

I heard Ottawa had inclement weather today. You probably won't agree, but it's kind of inclement weather here too... too freakin' hot! Honestly, it is possible. Think of those awful summer days when kids with asthma can't go outside and you go door-to-door checking on the elderly. It's like that here - except they don't check on the elderly (meanies). So, needless to say, I lie under the fan a lot and try to avoid all movement. 

I am still searching (scavenging?) for housing - facing the toughest market I've ever dealt with. They've apparently got a little bit more competition from the flooding (put some places out of commission, put some people out of their own homes and requiring temporary accommodation). It's also a more - how shall I say this - laid back job market? For example - you call a property agent (everything's managed here, there are very few individual landlords). You say you have an interest in X apartment. They say "Ok, we have a viewing for that in a week or so. Come by then. But make sure to double check with us first." Nothing happens quickly - not even when they could turn a profit from it! So I'm stuck on the air mattress for some time yet.

I had my first day of school yesterday and that was quite fun (no joke). My biostats professor quotes Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and I'm thinking my PHAC courses have given me a pretty solid base in epidemiology. And best of all? NO EXAMS THIS SEMESTER! No more last-minute studying (I was never good at studying) and panicking and failing (oops). 

More updates to come, I promise - I'm just adjusting to the Australian way of doing things - very slowly :)

Communication Breakdown

'Tis the season for travellers from Europe, and I am finding myself at a severe disadvantage.

Don't get me wrong. I thoroughly appreciate that English is my first language, and it makes life a heck of a lot easier. English is also the 'common denominator' language - so when we're in a group, I always have top language skills (yes!). 

But speaking English also means that I cannot tell secrets. And when you're in a room with multiple strangers, quite often you find yourself wanting to tell secrets. I've noticed others do and I am infinitely jealous of their unique language that they can be quite confident others won't know. For example, Norwegian. Lovely country, lovely people. But who, apart from a native Norwegian, would ever learn the language? They are safe in the knowledge that no one will know who or what they are complaining about. 

The Swiss (of whom there were several on my Kangaroo Island tour) also have a great advantage. They speak Swiss-German, which they consider its own language separate from German, with its own rules and accents. However, they can also speak German without any problem. Oh, and they also speak French, English, and sometimes Italian. Why wasn't I born in Switzerland?

My French is poor but manageable, but the girl I am travelling with does not speak French, so that's of no help to me. Besides, lots of Europeans learn some French anyway, so I wouldn't be getting away with anything there.

Must learn Swahili.

My Valentine Was A Penguin

Last tour before starting school - am happysad. 

We started off in Adelaide - which seems to be a bit of a forgotten city ("You're going to Adelaide? Why?") in the grand scheme of Australian things. We landed on a Sunday and immediately went out for a walk around town, hoping to find a restaurant or grocery or the like.

And it was deserted. 

I'm talking Stephen King's "The Stand", where everyone on earth dies from some sort of alien thinger except for a dozen people that were on a plane and mysteriously survived (and landed the plane? illogical) and I think won in the end. Or maybe got eaten by aliens.

Kangaroo Island

But yeah, back to Adelaide - the deserted city. Apparently these guys take their Sundays very very seriously. And with multiple beaches within a half-hour drive of the city, who wouldn't? We finally came across the place where they hid all the people - Rundle St. Mall, full of buskers and shops and with a small carnival of freaks (no, really, they called themselves that) at the north end. Ended our day in the Adelaide Botanical Gardens. Apparently every major Australian city has botanical gardens, but I have to say Adelaide's are the best - massive garden of succulents, lots of shady trees for reading, and minimal crazy wildlife. 

The next morning, at lovely 6:15 a.m., we headed off to Kangaroo Island. KI is Australia's second-largest island, behind Melville Island (don't worry, no one else has heard of it either). It was named by an Englishman named Matthew Flinders in honour of - no joke here - the kangaroos that he ate for dinner when he landed on the island. To honour their memory. He then proceeded to name the rest of the island after himself - except I don't think he had to get eaten to do it.

Kangaroo Island has got a massive population of wallabies (so many that they have to kill them off, apparently, which sucks for the wallabies...), koalas (they had to sterilize a bunch of them to stop them from taking over - those buggers were eating all the trees!), and seals and sea lions.

What's the difference, you ask? (I did. So don't be ashamed.) The New Zealand seals have proper fur - so they don't get wet. They just looooved to bask in the sun and generally laze around. And they're not only from New Zealand - they just happened to be spotted there first. Australian sea lions, on the other hand, have hair rather than fur. We got to walk along the beach amongst them, as they're no longer afraid of humans. (Although if they knew what we were doing to their environment, I'm sure they'd change their tune.) Just to confuse you, Australian sea lions are also found in New Zealand. 

 We also saw the Remarkable Rocks - can you guess the origin of their name? I expect Mr. Flinders said "they're remarkable!" and someone wrote it down, thinking he'd named them, but it was an accident because he wanted to call it Flinders' Rocks and he was really bummed that he only had 20 things named after him instead of 21. That's my guess. But yeah, they're remarkable. And, um, rocks.

Saw a 'Bird of Prey' show - got to hold an owl in my lap (super soft). Did not get to hold the eagle, despite me telling them that I've held bigger birds as a kid (no joke - a hawk or something like that). But probably a good idea as I value my skin and eyeballs. And life.

Tried sandboarding down Little Sahara (the sit-down kind), but I have to say I'm still more of a fan of tobogganing - sand just doesn't allow for speeding the same way a sheet of ice does :), plus the walk up the sand dune is enough to break anyone.

A final highlight of Kangaroo Island was the Little Penguins viewing session (wildlife, not wine). Our guide was whinging about the lack of penguins, and hemmed and hawed about their "molting season" meaning they would be hiding on account of not being waterproof, but due to my magical powers of persuasion (I offered to buy many cases of their wine), we saw TWO little penguins hiding in the shoreline on Valentine's Day night. I'm sure they were offended by our interruption, but at least we brought them some red spotlights to get them in the mood. And also to not blind them, which is helpful.

Aquarium'd Out

Loves the camera.

Sydney is Australia's largest city, and Sydney-siders (as they refer to themselves) generally consider their city to be extremely cosmopolitan, international, and full of excitement.

A face only a mother could love!

So it would make sense if I spent my days in Sydney seeing unusual museums, trying out new restaurants, attending various festivals (there's always one floating around), or just generally being a cool person, because that's what Sydney-siders are.

Did I do that? No. I went to not one - but TWO aquariums (Sydney Aquarium and Oceanworld Manly) over the span of 3 days. I also went to the Sydney Tower. Having been to the CN Tower - can't say I was over the moon about that one. Now, don't get me wrong - the aquariums are very cool. They both have underwater viewing tunnels where you can tease and poke at the animals, engage in as much flash photography as possible, and generally be an annoying tourist. Oceanworld even had a scuba diving option into their main tank. (I think they also call it feeding time - it's very cost-effective.) 

But when you have a giant outdoor aquarium called the Great Barrier Reef at your fingertips (if you had Michael Jordan's armspan), the aquariums are a little underwhelming. But I do have nearly 2 years - I will get there! 

I also hung around the Sydney Opera House for an hour or so - but it definitely makes a stronger impression from the water, or when it's all lit up at night. Also, other annoying tourists simply refused to get off the steps so I could have a person-free photo. How rude!

A local highlight of Sydney was Manly Beach. (I say local highlight because my local friend suggested it, making it really cool and special and making me part of a secret club that only hundreds of thousands of others know about. Super exclusive.) Only a half-hour ferry ride (and a pretty one at that) from Sydney, Manly has a huge white sand beach (with lifeguards, phew) that offers a nice break from built-up Sydney. Definitely worth a visit if you're ever in Sydney.

Oh, and a final highlight? The Oceanworld Aquarium in Manly - a place for families, keep in mind - had a lovely feature that one might call a "Wheel O'Death" - in essence, a wheel detailing all the ways that one is more likely to die than from a shark bite. You were encouraged to spin the wheel and... er... see which way you were going to die? Definitely an Australian sense of humour...

The Hills Are Alive

This is the "before" shot. I refuse to show you the after.

When I was younger, my family would often visit Quebec (maternal family lives there). Every time that we did, my siblings and I would be taken for a "fun, relaxing" day of climbing up Cap-Trinite - a.k.a. climbing up stairs to 411 m elevation (thanks Wikipedia), down another 100 m on the other side, and then back up and over to get to the bottom. 

This activity went on until the day that I threw up a double chocolate muffin before we'd even made it 200 m up. On the plus side - I am no longer tempted to eat double chocolate muffins, and I didn't have to climb the stairs that day.

Big people rocks.

But it appears I did not learn my lesson, because today I engaged in the same activity - only voluntarily, and down a much less established trail. (If you can call it a trail. I think trail means something else in Australian English. Possibly "established route for certain death".) 

Stairs of doom.

I was very keen to see Govett's Leap, which was recommended by a British couple that I'd met on Fraser Island. They said the view was lovely, and you could walk to the bottom of a waterfall and walk under the waterfall, which was lovely except for the leeches. (Leeches don't worry me as much, because another childhood activity was swampwalking. Yep.) So we set off on the "trail" to the base of Bridal Veil Falls - "snakes are active" sign be-damned. And it was nice for the first 20 mins - before we started hitting see-through metal staircases down sheer cliff-sides, mud-washed stairs with nary a railing to protect us from Scenic Railway-type drops, and 'rock' staircases that were not made for short person legs. 

More stairs of doom.

Leech-free beauty.

And all for 5 minutes (sadly leech free) at the bottom of Bridal Veil Falls - but what a cool 5 minutes it was. Seeing the misty spray virtually float down from the cliff above was, in a word, awesome. And it was even worth the pain of getting all the way back up again.

At least that's what I keep telling myself. A day later, it is strangely enough my arms and shoulders that are in the most pain - which is a bit worrisome when one thinks about it, because it means I was truly gripping those railings for my life. Or maybe it was just for show - those snakes needed someone to entertain them!

And The Band Played... Indiana Jones!

The Blue Mountains are a very famous Australian sight - particularly the Three Sisters. And no matter how many postcards you may see of the view, it doesn't do it justice.

No, to truly enjoy the view, you must first walk down into the valley - and then back up again. Only through such pain can you truly appreciate the beauty of the Blue Mountains.

Or, if you were smart, you could take the Scenic Railway down and the Cableway back up - and then take the Skyway across the valley to finish off your "walk" :)

 Being unfamiliar with the route and feeling somewhat adventurous (or caffeinated?), I ended up doing Option 1 plus Option 2. As pain-inducing as it is, the hikes are awesome - a little piece of home in my new country. Minus the frequent lizard sightings of course. 

The Scenic Railway, found at Scenic World (like DisneyWorld for non-commercial type), is the steepest railway incline in the world (and they don't just mean in the Scenic World World, although that'd be a creative advertisement), descending 415m in about 5 minutes. And to what tune do you descend through rock, vegetation, and soil? The Indiana Jones theme song of course! I swear this ride was made for me. The Railway was originally used to transport shale from the Megalong Valley (I think that's a reflection of the fact that it's mega long, but that's my powerful deductive reasoning at work).

Lots of beautiful nature below, blah blah blah (really, you just have to see it), and then a slower ride up on the Scenic Cableway, passing over the remnants of a once-used rollercoaster (not even kidding). Finally, a trip across the Valley on the Skyway with a see-through glass floor (that's not scary or anything) and a 30 min walk to Echo Point - home of the Three Sisters. 

Even in Australia, I can't escape my three sisters - a special hi to Heather, Lizz and Emmy :)