My life has been in fast-forward for the past 3 weeks. Ever since Halloween, it seems like time has decided to move extra fast, as if it wasn't pushing the limit anyway. It seems like just a few days ago that I first arrived here in Australia and now my adventure here is in its last weeks. Although, while time has been flying, I've managed to make the most of it with some really great friends I've made here.
The weekend of the 8th of November some friends (17 to be exact) and I made it down to the wine-growing region of Western Australia known as Margaret River. Beautiful coastlines, massive waves and a relaxed atmosphere centered around the consumption of wine made this the perfect holiday. We rented cars and booked a huge house with ocean views right outside the town of Margaret River. Just a short drive to get groceries or petrol. We went to the beach, did some spelunking in the cave systems, did our self-guided wine and beer tour through the region, made pit stops at a chocolate factory and a cheese factory. At night, we made the most out of having a massive beach house all to ourselves. I think I could get used to this kind of lifestyle. Sanna, Brittany and I swam up the Margaret River aways. I always seem to forget I'm in Australia and dangerous things lurk around every corner. As I was swimming I couldn't get the image of crocodiles out of my head. Not to mention the giant "coastal death adder" we saw on the road on the way to the house. It was probably 5 feet long. No more walking around in bushes for me, thank you. Death adders are not my friend.
The whole region of Margaret River is breath-taking. Massive karri tree forests spring up along the road. Rolling hills are covered in grapevines and peppered with palatial mansions. Strange that such a place exists in a country known for its vast deserts and arid climate. As exams are underway here now, this trip was a sort of farewell to everyone. In the next couple weeks the people who I've grown to enjoy and treat like family will go their separate ways. Sad in a way, but all good things must end.
Today was the Fremantle Festival on the cappuccino strip in Freo. The main street was closed and stages were set up for live music and other attractions. Freo is full of energy on just a regular weekend, now the entire focus of Perth was upon the village. The parade that went through town was intense. Usually, parades are nothing more than fire trucks, the VFW, and candy-throwing. That's not how they roll in Freo. This parade was like a social justice Mardi Gras. Floats passed through the street with messages like 'Save Freo Beaches' and 'Equal Rights for All'. Such a diverse group of individuals. Aboriginal dancers began the parade strutting like the emu. So many colors in the costumes of the participants. Happiness and hopefulness radiated from the entire spectacle. Fairies frolicking, children smiling and waving, musicians playing. Such a great way to spend a day.
While Fremantle does feel like a second home now, there are so many people and things I can't wait to get back to in the States. I'll just do a short list.
-Family (immediate and extended)
-Friends (you know who you are)
-Driving (both on the right side of the road and just driving in general, I miss my car)
-Papa John's Pizza (Australian pizza is so so bad, they have Dominoe's here and they say it's the best, if you thought Dominoe's in the States is bad, the Aussie version is 10x worse)
-Homemade chocolate chip cookies (technically I could make them since I have an oven, it's just laziness)
-Seasons (Sure, it's great having sunny day after sunny day, but the leaves never change here, it never snows, plants rarely bloom. It gets old real fast. Not to mention trying to study when it's always perfect weather makes for a big distraction)
-A good gym (The Murdoch gym is like a closet compared to the TRAC)
-Having an income of some sort (It's sad to constantly see money go out of my account and never in)
-Backgammon (I didn't bring my board cause there was no room in my bag! ARGGH!)
-General Tso's Chicken (Yum)
It's such a bittersweet experience to come home cause there are countless thing I'll miss from Australia as well.
-Being able to drink legally (The age here is 18. I only have one more month once I get back until I'm 21 though)
-Soy Crisps (Best snack food in the entire world)
-Kebabs (Chicken, Tomato, Lettuce, Sweet Chili and Sour Cream...I'm in heaven)
-Playing Rummy nearly everyday (I have an addiction, luckily I found people with the same one. It's a support group)
-Having class 2 days a week (best schedule I'll ever have)
-So many cool accents in one small area
-Friends (It's sad to say it but most of them I will never see again)
-Living so close to the beach (I don't think I've ever turned down a trip to the beach if someone suggested it)
-Tim Tams (They are going to be for sale in the US, but only caramel and original. My favorites are Double Coat.)
-Always having something to do or see (Perth is an amazing city and I'm proud to have called it my home for the past few months)
So it's just a few more days and then I'm off to Sydney for a week and then back home to good old Peoria, Illinois, heart of the Midwest and ready to start another chapter in my life.
Road trips. A university students idea of a holiday. Pack up a car, get a map, and drive. This past week, Brittany, Amanda, Sanna, Martin and I did just that.
After the whole Margaret River debacle (it was only a debacle because there were so many people on it. It's so hard to do fun things with a huge group that has no leadership.) we decided that another road trip was in order. This time, there were to be no plans, just a leave date and an return date. Our first day we drove down to the tourist town of Pemberton. It's a really really small town that caters mostly to backpackers coming through the region. The forests in the area are incredible. Huge karri trees surround almost the entire town. A really cool place. We camped near a creek in a caravan park. To cut costs we borrowed a tent from a friend. The tent was made for three people. We had five people in our group. We were very cozy in the tent. Also, since we were further south, the temperature was a little chillier, especially at night. We froze that first night.
The next day we drove along the coast to a town called Walpole where we got coffee which made everyone happy. Right after we made our way to the famous Tree Top Walk. It's a steel structure that takes visitors up into the tops of these massive trees. The trees weren't karri this time but tingle trees. Because of the iron ore in much of Australia's soil, the trees take on a reddish tint. The treetop talk was stunning. We were nearly 40 meters off the ground at some parts! I can officially say that I've danced in the tree tops.
After that we trekked to a place called Greens Pool where the coast is not sand but massive rocks. We climbed around on a section called Elephant Rocks. Martin and I got adventurous and climbed on some of the more dangerous sections of rocks. The rocks were very steep with rocky gorges in between. Death traps for sure. We made it out alive though. As we were walking back a massive snake slithered across the path. Then it just sat there, in the path, staring at us. An Aussie man and his daughter came up and he told us that it was an Australian Brown Snake and that it was one of the most deadly snakes in the world...and we were all barefoot. We turned back from there and found a different path to the car.
Drove to Albany after to find a place to sleep for the night. Found a great caravan park that had a pool and a hot tub and really nice facilities. It didn't take much convincing for us to decide to stay there. We quickly changed into our bathers and swam and relaxed in the hot tub. We went into Albany for dinner and a drink at local bar. After we all walked out to the beach and watched the stars. So many shooting stars. It was amazing.
The next day we decided to explore Albany. We took the drive along the cape which Albany sits on and stopped along the way. Our first stop was a look out, but we traversed through the bush to the coast. We found a perfect place for jumping into the ocean. We all took turns jumping into the amazingly blue water. Just driving down this peninsula we stopped at some of the most beautiful places in the world, one right after the other. The Southern coast is just breathtaking.
After we had our fill of amazing scenery we started our trek back. We wanted to make it to Busselton to watch the sunset. The drive back was intense. Martin was driving ridiculous fast on these winding roads. Magpies were reluctant to move for our car so we had to brake constantly and then the bugs...We must have hit right after all these insects hatched because there were thousands of them. Once we hit them with our car they stuck to the windshield. Once the sun hit the windshield covered in bug guts it became impossible to see out of. It made the drive a little scary. We made it to Busselton just before the sunset and walked out onto the jetty (supposedly the longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. It's almost 2 kilometers long!) and watched the sun go down. There was a lightning storm going on right along the horizon so we watched that for awhile as well. Hit the road after, only stopping to get Chicken Treat for dinner. Made it back to Murdoch around 11:30. Exhausted. Fulfilled.
