ATTENTION ALL!!!!

WE FOUND A PLACE TO LIVE!


so Sydney is notoriously expensive and there was no way we could afford something, so after much consideration and the realisation the $720 a month is more like $600 Canadian we decided to widen our reach and in doing so snagged a pretty cool place with a lot of character and one hell of a view...

the description doesn't do it justice, so pictures will be posted soon...

not that I want to kill you with anticipation...

i think we might make the second 1/2 bedroom into a large closet...

hmmmm lovely.

(this also means I won't have internet for a few days and thus the blog will yet again be delayed)


Next on the list of things to do:
- PADI diving liscence 4 day course
- swim in the ocean so mom can tell uncle gregg that we finally did more than wade
- check out Torongo Zoo
- orientation at UTS
- Queensland!

So cheers for now, hope all is going well, and if you phone me it doesn't cost me anything!

I'm not the wicked witch of the west, but yesterday I melted

Yesterday, we checked out of our hostel and had about 10 hours to kill before we were supposed to catch our 8pm train. so in order to get out of the sweltering heat, we spent 2 hr in a food court at the big casino (we couldn't afford much else in the place). Then we went and watched "Curious Case of Benjamin Button". then we got our dinner in a different food court in the same complex. Walked around feeling slightly out of place, due to the amount of money flying around the place. Then we headed to the train station and stood melting waiting. After about an hour, we sat and melted. By the time 9pm rolled around, we were puddles on the pavement, on which you could probably fry an egg. At 10pm is was stuffy and we were still waiting. Then at 11 the train became a bus, and we took the bus 4hrs to a different station where we boarded the train, which was so over-air conditioned I couldn't sleep cause I was so cold.
So now I'm a frozen puddle.
Weather.
Oh, the reason the train didnt come was because the tracks buckeled due to the weather and the rails were unpassable, so we had to travel past where the tracks were ruined.
What a day/s

Now we're back in Sydney, which is starting to feel like home, and in search of an apartment, or flat if you will. We shall see how that goes

still in good spirits though.

the luck has got to change sometime!

This is the last one for now...the glorious van!

So the first image of our lovely van is the interior. Thats right ladies and gents - 3 people slept in there for 7 nights. enough said.

Our gorgeous van on the Great Ocean Road

Kevin's display of how fragile our van/tin box is.

family photo

our somewhat adapted back. Now this wasnt the most offensive van we saw on the website, but it came second in the offensive category of the 20+ wicked vans we saw on our travels.

o well, it was a blast and it makes one hell of a story!

Thats all for now! Cheers from Melbourne!

Are you ready? Next round of pics

Neil Young at Big Day Out at Flemington Racecourse on Australia Day. Absolutely amazing performance.

Just hanging out on the beach at Torquay. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Glorious sun.

Well, we are very classy. Wine out of tupperware? sure, why not.

This is blue lake. It looks like its full of koolaid and would taste delicious. it has a completely flat bottom and is 200+ meters deep. and you can't get down to it. cause its in a volcano. very cool.

Picture time!

Alright, so here are the photos that go with the last post... my favorite 5 that is. this could be difficult...

Ahh yes, trouble with the formatting, and then I lost one of the photos, bla bla bla. So starting at the top: The giant lobster - it was supposed to be created with the measurements in feet and inches but the maker screwed up and made it in meters so now it is bigger than the restaurant it was supposed to sit on top of (more pictures and comments on the van later)

The rocks/ocean picture are 'the Crags' just outside of Port Fairy. Very cool. We got right down beside the water. shhh don't tell anyone..

Then there is me with Charlie (the koala). He thinks I'm a tree.

And me with a roo. They are my favorite. They even had albino ones!

How you goin?

The three of us infront of the Harbour Bridge on a sunny day, the day before we left for Adelaide

Self explanatory: much better view than the previous post.

So I am finally spending a decent amount of time infront of a computer so it is fitting that i update this unreliable blog.
We landed in Adelaide, without need for passports or any sort of ID. Steve, my granny's first-cousin's son picked us up at the airport and took us to the Wicked Campers location to pick up our lovely van. We were prepared for something offensive, and got a moderately so tin box. I will post photos later, but for now I will leave it to Kevin's description. "Have no fear, the van depicting the cruxifiction of Christ is here". So we hung up our Canadian flag in the back and made a lovely sign that read "sorry, we can't go any faster" and we were on our way. We stayed at Steve and Jenny's for two nights. They made amazing hosts and I hope someway, someday we will be able to show the Canadian hospitality too. We checked out the Barossa vineyards and the Gorge Wildlife Park, where we got to hold a koala bear and play with kangaroos. Very very cool. Then we were off to Kangaroo Island.
That would have been great but they were wanting $500 for a 40 min. ferry for the three of us and our "van" so we got back on the road.
Now, the drive from Adelaide to Mount Gambier usually takes about 4 1/2 hours. We took the scenic drive. All along the coast. Which made it a lovely, frusturating 12 hour drive. The scenery wasn't anything spectacular, so we were a little frusturated by the time we got to Jenny's parents house. Ron and Joyce made our day with their wonderful hospitality. We stayed at their beachouse in Port MacDonnell for two nights and hung out by Blue Lake, which is a volcano lake that looks like it is full of blue koolaid. Its an unbelievable colour (again, photos will help and will be added at a later date) then we were off to the Great Ocean Road. We stayed in Port Fairy, Port Campbell and the Torquay for two nights (the birthplace of RipCurl) then headed to Geelong, Hobson Bay and finally to Melbourne. It was a great trip with lots of beautiful sights. Then sadly, we had to return our beloved van. I slept like a rock last night in a real bed - so amazing. Three people sleeping in a van gets a little uncomfortable. Kristine and I went to see Wicked last night, and on Sunday the three of us headed down to the Australian Open to check out some tennis action. Very cool and a great time of year to be in Melbourne.
Its Australia Day today, and the day Big Day Out is in Melbourne, so we shortly will be on our way to go see the Arctic Monkeys, the Ting Tings, Sneaky Sound System and of course Neil Young. I will let you know how that goes in my next post.
Oh, and tomorrow Kristine and I are going shopping. very excited about that. Kev's going to see the Aussie Open Quarterfinals.
So until the next time, cheers. And I would love to hear from you! k2barr@gmail.com

love always

Kim

G'Day!

Bondi Beach:

The Sydney Aquarium

The Sydney Wildlife World: Please not the giant croc and the sign that says "If the fall does not kill you the crocodile will"

The Sydney Harbour Bridge - I do have a better picture when it is sunny, I just can't find it right now. Hmmmm

Me infront of the Opera House. Also have a better picture than that. ug. i did just get off a plane...

Hey all. This is going to be the last posting for a little while, and no pictures for a couple weeks - but then there will be an overload, so do not fret. We (Kristine and I) arrived in Sydney on Friday and immediately went to Darling Harbour, the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. The weather wasn't amazing that first day, but it sure is gorgeous now. Anyways, we checked into the hostel and it is awesome. Great place - if you're going to stay, the Sydney Central YHA is cheap, has everything and is superclose to downtown and the rail lines. The next day we checked out the Sydney Aquarium and got a good look at some really neat species of fish and some huge sharks - and a giant sting ray! That night we checked out the Sydney festival first night - there were music stages set up all around the parks in downtown - 300,000 people in attendance! It was a very neat look into the city - and what is legal. There are designated areas where you AREN'T allowed to drink in public. So the rest is fine. Different to get used to. Sunday we made our way to Bondi Beach; our first time using the public transit so it took us a good extra 2hr than need be. Gorgeous beach - amazing. Can't wait to see what all the others are like. Monday we went to the UNSW campus to check it out and try to find apartments. We got a storage unit and got all that kind of thing sorted out, which brings us to Tuesday. Chubey flew in today so we went to meet him at the airport, then we went to the Wildlife World and then took the ferry from Darling Harbour under the Harbour Bridge to Circular Quay, which gives a breathtaking view of the opera house. Pretty cool. And it was sunny today which provides and even more impressive back drop than the first day we arrived.
So, tomorrow we will fly to Adelaide, pick up our van, and spend the night at Steve's. We're then hoping to check out Borossa Vineyards, Kangaroo Island, the Great Ocean Road and Tasmania. All this while making our way to Melbourne where we get to attend Big Day Out, headlined by Neil Young.
So ya, pretty stoked. I will try to keep writing, but no pics until we get back to Sydney around Feb.8th-ish. Until then, hope all is going well, write me lots of emails (k2barr@gmail.com) and good luck with the snow!
Cheers and love you all!
Kim

Cheers!

Hey all! The last few days have taken an interesting turn. We narrowly escaped a cyclone in Fiji, only getting hit by the massive amounts of rain that skirted it - see the photos. It was crazy! I've never seen so much rain in my life. But now we're in Sydney where it isn't wet thank God, but its pretty grey at the moment. Its alright though, cause we need to do some serious apartment hunting. But here are a few more photos of the beautiful Fiji coast, rain and no rain. Feast your eyes!
Will talk soon. Hope you're all doing great.

Kim

Bula!

Hello all from the beautiful South Pacific. It is absolutely gorgeous down here! Its got to be around 40 degrees and humid as can be. The bus we took here was a rickety thing that was going faster than it should ever have gone, but it was definately a fun and interesting trip. I don't think the locals see redheads very often and I'm pretty sure they were all thinking "she's doomed". Which it turns out is very correct regardless of how much sunscreen I apply. But I gotta run, the warm ocean is calling my name and we're going to go sea kayaking soon.
Cheers all and I will write more and in depth when we get to Sydney!

Kim!

ps. if you want to comment and you don't have a blogspot account, just send me an email at k2barr@gmail.com