Coming soon... I will be landing in Sydney Australia in just a couple of days!
My first view of Sydney. I can make out the Opera House!
My hostel, the WakeUp Hostel, in Sydney.
The lobby of the WakeUp Hostel in Sydney. Pretty nice place.
The elevator in my hostel is kaput and I am on the third floor (which is really the fourth floor here, crazy Aussies!) which means I am getting a good workout.
Room 301, with six beds, is my room. I took the bottom bunk on the right side near the window. They have rooms with up to ten beds here at this hostel.
What an awesome tree!
A cool park full of leftover 19th century concrete building fixtures.
Comments? What the hell are these things? I thought the dodo went extinct.
Timer shot of me running and standing in front of the Sydney Opera Hall.
iPhone takes more interesting photos, so let's see a few...
iPhone panorama
iPhone panorama. Let's walk over to that bridge!
Another iPhone panorama from the center of the bridge.
A shot of the Opera House and Round Quay, the small inlet to the right.
OK, I'm gonna try not to go all "car-ry" on you guys, but I kept seeing these GM-built car-utes everywhere and each one made me want it more than the last.
This one has a utility bed on it!
I saw a handful of these. (drool)
(still drooling)
Yet another one parked in front of my hostel, the Wake Up Hostel, and the license plate reads WAKEUP. Maybe the owner's?
Last but not least, this bohemith should be my next live-aboard. It had a separate compartment just for the driver and the navigator, there is a second level above the drivers head so that people have an unobstructed view of the road ahead. Neat-o!
Trivia night in Sydney, what are the chances that I would get another car-related section? We came in third and all got free drinks. My only error was the second image, which was the 2034 Lexus from Minority Report. Argh!
Our team, close to a win, but not close enough. Teeam name: "Hey everyone, this is my last quiz because I have been convicted of pedophilia and I am going to jail". Trust me, it was funny.
Heading to sleep, and I notice that my bus is already parked out front. Hell yeah!
Stopping for breakfast on our way out to Crescent Head.
On the road, driving north up Australia's east coast.
Finally at the Mojo Surf camp in Crescent Head.
Main lodge at the Crescent Head camp.
Our two-room, 24-bed outbuilding packed with learning surfers.
Mojo Camp Rules. Read them carefully.
Surfing rules and a diagram of the beach with rip tides and troughs indicated in dark blue.
Crescent Head, absolute paradise in the middle of nowhere.
The Crescent Head mascot and her tree toy.
Grommet, the camp mascot, never lets go of anything. Ever.
Welcome to Spot X.
Each cabin at Spot X is named after an Australian town, and this is ours. Carl, our lone bunkmate, lives in Brisbane and recounted tales of being stuck in his apartment building during the recent floods.
A new Aussie surfing sign.
Max attitude, righti?
Playing some serious pool to win a trip to Nimbin. One of the guys in our group won!
Barely enough room in our cabin for two bunks (four beds). My home for this few days is on the bottom bunk. Check out my cool Jonas Brothers pillow case!
Playing a new drinking game which got me very drunk, very early.
A large lizard scampers by on the rooftop. Iguana? Not sure.
A little later this animal drops from the roof and starts climbing the support beams over our heads. It looked like a mutant squirrel on steroids to me. It turns out that was an extremely rare Bush-Tailed Possum and wildlife rangers later reported that they have disappeared from some areas of Australia for decades.
Spotted in a phone booth near Spot X. I zoomed way in, it looks huge but that rivet next to it is about 4mm. It is still a pretty big spider as it was over an inch long from top to bottom.
After our drinking game ended, this crazt British drunk girls decided to come chat with us. Sweet hat!
Crazy drunk British girl disguised as an Australian?
Crazy panorama of the Spot X beach. The creek turns into a lake at high tide and the bridge is almost covered with water. This is low tide, now.
A chillax area at Spot X.
Chow time
Last night it was a card game, but tonight we honor Beerfest (the movie that we watched earlier) and plat several games of tip cup. My team remained undefeated by the end.
Flip cup action is getting intense!
Some of out group's girls on our second night at Spot X. Most were traveling separately, but all spoke Dutch and would randomly break into crazy Dutch at any moment. After this photo we all ended talking a long beach walk and jumping in the waves.
Jai gives us tips for our last big group surf at Spot X.
Waterproof camera shots: Spot X
Waterproof camera shots: One moment before being smashed to bits.
Waterproof camera shots: Mario rides a wave in to shore.
Waterproof camera shots: Robert waits for a wave.
Waterproof camera shots: Self Portrait While Catching a Wave (1 of 6)
Waterproof camera shots: Self Portrait While Catching a Wave (2 of 6)
Waterproof camera shots: Self Portrait While Catching a Wave (3 of 6)
Waterproof camera shots: Self Portrait While Catching a Wave (4 of 6)
Waterproof camera shots: Self Portrait While Catching a Wave (5 of 6)
Waterproof camera shots: Self Portrait While Catching a Wave (6 of 6)
Waterproof camera shots: Jai, our instructor, shows us how easy it is.
Our last group surf before most of the group moves north to Byron Bay.
These two were walkiing down the beach together and I just couldn't help but include them in my gallery.
Drive-through beer and liquor store in Woolgoolga.
Surfer girl Grommy coming back from the beach. A Grommy (short for grommet) is a client of Spot X who decides to stay and work in exchange for a free bed and food.
The crazy bridge that gets us from Spot X camp to the beach.
More relaxing in hammocks at Spot X.
Full moon over Spot X
Some tropical birds eating outside of our bedroom.
John instructing a class of new surf students.
My flatmate Robert, our surf coach John, and me.
Our surf coach, John, on our second day of personal instruction.
This article details our surf instructor's credentials.
Mojo Surf Photos
Arriving in Byron Bay; Cheeky Monkeys
Mario stole this from behind the bar. Nice one!
A cool RAV4 coupe that we never got in the States.
The weather would alternate between pouring rain and blue sky every few minutes.
Byron Bat pub crawl with white man, green man and black man are out of the shot.
Out at night in Byron Bay.
Our dorm at the Nomads Hostel in Byron Bay.
Off the coast of Byron Bay is a small rock island that reminds me of Twin Rocks.
There were tons of surfers at the beach in Byron Bay.
At the end of the beach in Byron Bay is a large rock formation with a wooden staircase running to the top.
View from the top of the platform on the rock formation at the end of the Byron Bay beach.
Surfers, kayakers and divers share the water at Byron Bay.
Nomads Hostel in Byron Bay
Patio at Nomads in Byron bay. We had some pretty serious ping pong challenges on the table inside the double doors.
Each place we go gets bigger. We just arrived in Surfer's Paradise and it seems like a mini-Miami. These Hummers shared spaces next to our Greyhound drop off.
The hostel was booked up tonight, so we got a couple of private rooms on the top floor of the hostel. Surfer's Paradise looks like Miami from here.
Robert tried some sunscreen graffiti on his belly yesterday, but didn't put any sunscreen on the rest of his stomach or chest. Oops.
Little did I know that the world's tallest residential building was in Surfer's Paradise, Australia.
As we walked down onto the beach the lifeguard was announcing that people should bring it in a little bit because of shark sightings in the immediate area.
The beach in Surfer's Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Burger King is Hungry Jack's here.
A pedestrian-only street at the heart of Surfer's Paradise.
Boob's McGee was selling beer cozy's and calendars with boobs on them. Why? To fund a charity that pay's peoples' parking meters when they are about to expire in order to prevent tickets by the local authorities. Haha.
This is in the walk-in fridge at the bottle shop (that is where you buy beer in Australia) and we had to take a group photo while the clerk wondered why we were all giggling.
Back in our room after we have properly supplied ourselves.
Stocking up on alcohol in our hostel room.
They have sweet Vaxhaulls and Holdens here. The front car is Bimmer-ish and the back one is a common police car.
In car country now. Check out the R33 and the dumped Toyota hiace. Common sights here.
The night is young, so the drinking begins.
Discussing our drinking game plan to get the night started right.
When the night starts with goon you can always expect a crazy ending.
Oops. That is alcohol abuse.
Mario earns the rank of President in our drinking game called Asshole.
Mario includes the laptop in our game.
Wandering the streets of Surfer's Paradise in a semi-drunk state of mind.
More meter maids for our collection.
Huge, gross spider that I spotted in a bush. Larger than 4" from top to bottom!
Funny skateboards spotted in a bar in Surfer's Paradise Australia.
Surfer's Paradise is more of an Australian Miami than anything else. Tons of lakes and canals and islands.
Our new five-bed, ground-level hostel room next to the pool entrance. Sweet!
Wet'n'Wild Water Park: Public transportation in Australia is spotty, but this bus was super convenient.
Wet'n'Wild Water Park:
Wet'n'Wild Water Park: Nick gets stranded on the entrance side while the crew tries to fix the broken ride.
Wet'n'Wild Water Park: Riding the Tornado over and over...
Wet'n'Wild Water Park: The two Canadian girls carry the tube for the three of us.
Wet'n'Wild Water Park: FlowRider looked fun!
Epic 13-game tennis match between me and Tyler under the hot sun in 92-degree, humid air.
Our last night in Surfer's Paradise was spent at TwentyOnes, a night club.
Shots at TwentyOnes on our last night in Surfer's Paradise.
At TwentyOnes on our last night in Surfer's Paradise.
A photo of joy that I took as I spotted a familiar landmark after wandering around Surfer's Paradise drunk and lost for about an hour.
Woke up in the morning with this gift on my shin. Glad I don't have to sleep in those sheets again!
A day of rest (hungover) and travel from Surfer's Paradiswe to Noosa Heads.
We arrived at the bus stop in Noosa and this funky turkey thing was not shy about looking for food in our bags.
Too tired to clean up in our new hostel room in Noosa.
After an early night in Noosa, I woke up early and rented this exotic beast. (Nissan X-Trail)
Funny shots as we drive to Bli Bli to spend the day at the cable park.
Last night Mario lost his cash card, so this is proof that I loaned him $100.
Suncoast Cable Watersports in Bli Bli Australia.
Darren wakeboarding at Suncoast Cable Watersports in Bli Bli Australia.
Mario wakeboarding at Suncoast Cable Watersports in Bli Bli Australia.
Taylor wakeboarding at Suncoast Cable Watersports in Bli Bli Australia.
Chris wakeboarding at Suncoast Cable Watersports in Bli Bli Australia.
Adam wakeboarding at Suncoast Cable Watersports in Bli Bli Australia.
Max wakeboarding at Suncoast Cable Watersports in Bli Bli Australia.
Robert wakeboarding at Suncoast Cable Watersports in Bli Bli Australia.
Wakeboard groupies at Suncoast Cable Watersports in Bli Bli Australia.
Driving back from Bli Bli. Forgot to drive on the left as we pulled out of the parking lot, but got it figured out again now.
As I am writing these captions on the lounge chair near the pool I hear small nuts falling from the tree above me. This large bat was hanging in the tree eating the tree's flowers and berries. The bat then proceeded to drop some guano on my shoulder and towel.
Shot of the large bat (18" tall?) hanging in the tree above me, as taken by someone else's camera and then their screen photo's by me.
Panoramic shot of the Nomads Noosa Hostel courtyard after a heavy night and day of torrential rain. Check out the pool on the right that was a beach volleyball court yesterday.
Trying to stay dry as we walk around the small, quiet, wet town of Noosa Head.
We were warned several times of this fact, with a stern $2200 fine if busted. When security did a sweep of our room and found three bottles of rum, two boxes of wine and a dozen beer bottles he just told us to hide it better.
Weary travelers waiting at the bus stop for a Grayhound to leave Noosa early Saturday morning.
On the beach at Hervey Bay. The tide is out and if you had eagle eyes you could see Fraser Island in the distance on the horizon right under the center of the pier.
Panorama shot of some Sharpie graffiti on the Hervey Bay Pier that didn't turn out right, but was cool enough to keep.
Our first glimpse of Fraser Island from the beach at Hervie Bay. The weather is pretty gnarly right now, but hopefully it will clear up over the next couple of days.
A kick-ass Australian shortie motorhome.
Our hostel room 404 door is open just to the left, behind the pool. It hasn't rained for hours, but there are still some puddles here and there. About 80 degrees so still walking around in shorts and flip flops.
The last two hostels have had bars on the premises which meant no alcohol anywhere else. Lame! Not that we followed the rules.
Tired, confused and crabby, we try to figure out what is going on as we prepare to leave for Fraser Island.
Main driver for team C, this is my Toyota Land Cruiser Troopy for the next few days.
We follow Team B (the girls) to the ferry and smell brakes the entire way. They had their parking brake set, and when we parked and told them they released it. Then their truck rolled backward into the front of our truck.
Leaving the mainland in Hervey Bay and headed to Fraser Island.
Our first glimpse of Fraser Island from the ferry.
Onto Fraser Island from the ferry, we were greeted with some low-speed trail driving.
Our first stop for lunch and we see signs warning us of dingoes, but none of the actual animals.
An old host tree that is being overtaken by a parasitic tree.
There were some cool futuristic off-road buses hauling tour groups around the island.
High-speed driving on the sandy beach sometimes got a little squirrelly depending on the sand consistency.
Hiking through the forest to find Lake Wabby.
We break out of the forest and into a giant sand dune.
At the bottom of the sand dune is Lake Wabby, a pure fresh water lake.
The beach at Lake Wabby was steep and ran right down into the water.
The water was warm and from the far side of the lake you can see the steep beachfront area.
The catfish in Lake Wabby were bold. If you held still they would swim right next to your legs.
Catfish swimming around my legs in Lake Wabby on Fraser Island.
Another high-speed run down the beach, with our third and fourth trucks right on our tail.
The Maheno shipwreck, a steamship that was being towed to its grave 80 years ago when bad weather caused the ropes to snap and the carcas grounded itself.
Maheno Shipwreck
At camp, we spot our first Dingo right away. There were two young pups and we nicknamed then Dinkies.
Mario accidentally brought an entire ant farm into our tent when he tried to make a stool out of an old barrel. He frantically tries to kill them all with a shovel.
Goon time. Taylor is already feeling the effects.
Cooking up burgers on the BBQ. Our food situation was not well planned, so most meals were just bread and ham.
Mario lets Robert take care of the cooking for a few minutes.
A Walking Stick insect that our guide, Pete, found in the bushes.
K'Gari Camp in the morning is quiet as we prepare to explore more of the island.
Toyota Land Cruisers are the off-road vehicle of choice in Australia.
More sandy trails as we cruise around the island.
We stop by a freshwater lake where lots of small turtles are swimming around.
Found a large (six foot long) Black-Tailed Monitor Lizard sneaking through the tree debris.
Mario and I walk to the bathrooms and spot about twenty more of these spiders in strategic places.
Taylor gets buried on the beach.
Taylor gets buried on the beach... then erupts and chases after Mario after a ball tap.
Carrie getting buried up to her shins.
Taylor is all tired out and starts drooling in the passenger seat.
Heading up to the natural swim pools.
Love the warning symbols!
Natural tide swim pools.
Heading around the top of the island to Indian Head.
Indian Head, the reason that the island exists after millions of years of sand building up behind it.
The view from Indian Head.
Drinking on our second night on Fraser Island. Adam uses bread to clean up spilled beer and liquor from the nasty picnic table, then he eats it!
Max puts on his smart glasses to impress Carrie. (chemicals and shit)
Mario gets a little concerned about Adam's level of inebriation.
Max is drunk, using an inflated goon bag for a pillow.
Not for long.
I'm a little drunk and happy as well.
Max is game over.
Goon bags are great fun even after they are empty.
Actual breakfast on our second morning, a little expensive but way better than bread and ham.
Another strange tour bus seen roaming the island.
On our final day we hung out at a crystal clear lake called Lake McKenzie.
The water was so pure and clean it was amazing.
Leaving Lake McKenzie and driving back to the ferry to head back to the mainland.
These two Great Danes greet us as we arrive in the town of Agnes Water, which is also called 1770.
The Southern Cross hostel might be my favorite yet! Great cabins, pool, chill bar, karaoke and billiards... I could live here!
The Karma Bar and chill area at the Southern Cross Backpackers Hostel in Agnes Water/1770.
A great beach and the last place that we can surf on this trip. The Great Barrier Reef is just north of us and blocks waves from reaching the beach.
Mario heads out to catch a few waves.
Robert does his best Hasselhoff down the beach.
Taylor has put on ridiculous amounts of sunscreen.
Lovin life.
We all created a portion of this castle. Mario decided to add a cock'n'balls to his area.
Sandcastle in 1770.
Last surfing on this leg of my trip in Australia
Got really drunk last night and decioded to become an Aussie biker.
Scooter Roo chopper rental in Agnes Water where anyone can be in a biker gang.
Bikes are a little, um, small.
Our top-notch support vehicle.
About 30 bikers, some first-time riders, out scoping kangaroos and dodging rain clouds.
Taylor practicing his biker growl.
Hitting top speed on the 49cc chopper, which is about 50MPH and feels like 100MPH.
A quick butt rest for those who aren't used to riding for hours on end.
The lead bike was a Buell, the first that I have seen since I got out here.
Stopping for food in 1770, all the bikes lined up on the side of the road.
Some kids took the opportunity to join our gang as they headed into the restaurant.
Scooteroo in 1770 Australia.
The view of the bay from 1770.
The center of town in Airlie Beach, with our Nomads Hostel right at the heart.
A sudden tropical rainstorm hits as we wait for our Dominos pizzas to be ready.
The beach is made up more of crushed shells than sand.
Taylor rests at the lookout point next to the bay at Airlie Beach.
Woke up this morning and it was raining hard. Today's forecast is more of the same.
A small stream that runs through the hostel is running strong from all of the precipitation.
Watching movies in our messy hostel room at the Nomads Airlie because of a tropical storm outside.
Lazy day because of rain, so we watch movies on the laptop.
Today we rented bikes and headed out to seek the Cedar Creek Falls which are a little over 30km away.
Drivers aren't very courteous of bicyclists here and it was common to get a horn blast and a high-speed buzz.
Taylor found his retreat.
As we traveled down Cedar Creek Road we passed a completely washed out road.
iPhone panorama of a washed out road we found on Cedar Creek Road on our way to the waterfall.
Little did we know, the road we had to use to reach the waterfall was also flooded out.
Cedar Creek Waterfall
Cedar Creek Waterfall: downstream
Cedar Creek Waterfall: Robert posing (looks like Mack from Always Sunny, right?)
Heading back out, we catch a car fjording the creek...
...basically he just floored it and went as fast as he could...
...lost a lot of speed by the end, just a few more feet to go...
...made it! I am amazed.
Having only had a small breakfast, we were starving and exhausted after riding almost 70km. Hungry Jacks (Burger King) was more than happy to supply Mario with two complete meals.
The bay at Airlie Beach contains some of the excursion boats that support the tourism here.
Airlie Beach Lagoon: A man-made paradise pool right on the beach. Clean, fresh water and no sharks!
Airlie Beach Lagoon
Airlie Beach Lagoon from underwater.
Taylor takes advantage of Mama Africa's 2-for-1 drink specials with three minutes before midnight. Eight vodka-lemonades?
Walking back to the hostel on a deserted main street in Airlie Beach.
There is no shortage of topless sunbathers at the Airlie Beach Lagoon.
Our first view of the Atlantic Clipper waiting for us in the marina.
Day one on the Atlantic Clipper as we head out to the Whitsunday Islands.
The bow of the Atlantic Clipper just ahead of the jacuzzi was a cool place to watch the waves.
Our tiny cabin had three bunks wedged into an area not much larger than a closet.
Our first destination is a resort on Hook Island.
Our two tender boats shuttle all 50 of our group to the resort for a few hours of drinking and swimming.
The Atlantic Clipper anchored as we head to the Hook Island Resort. The building at the end of the dock is an underwater observatory that was damaged by recent cyclones.
Chilling on the beach at the Hook Island Resort.
Drinking beers and playing volleyball in the pool on the beach at the Hook Island Resort.
It wasn't easy to climb to the top of this pole.
Darren on a stick.
The three muskateers sharing a hammock.
Mario doing a backflip into the pool without looking to see that Robert is in the way.
The moon is almost full and out very early in the day, as seen from Hook Island.
As we partied on the yacht at night the crew fished for squid at the stern. Each small squid they caught went right on the grill and become instant calamari. Medium-sized fish would try to eat the squid, then a 4' long shark snatched up one of the medium-sized fish and left with the front half.
Party Night One on the Clipper: nearly 50 people on the top deck
Party Night One on the Clipper: the party games are getting a little intimate
Party Night One on the Clipper: Mario wins the sex position contest
Party Night One on the Clipper: Robert can't stop giggling for reasons that I am not allowed to say
Party Night One on the Clipper: Both of us have partaken, but only one shows it.
Party Night One on the Clipper: Adam quietly guards his juice.
Party Night One on the Clipper: Robert works on his high-class bag of wine (called Goon here)
Party Night One on the Clipper: Swallow the goon, Robert!
Party Night One on the Clipper: Max taking photos of his own feet.
Party Night One on the Clipper: Chillin on the deck
Party Night One on the Clipper: nobody really knows what Taylor is ever doing or thinking
Party Night One on the Clipper: Rumor has it that somebody has done something bad in the jacuzzi.
Party Night One on the Clipper: telling secrets
Party Night One on the Clipper: attacking the paparrazi
Party Night One on the Clipper: impressing the ladies
Party Night One on the Clipper: self portriat by Max
Party Night One on the Clipper: once again Adam is messing with stuff that isn't his
Party Night One on the Clipper: Playing five is about the hundredth drinking game that I have learned in this trip
The morning of day two is quiet.
The sun rises above one of the Whitsunday Islands.
The yacht heads for Tongue Bay so we can hit the beach for a few hours.
The view from our cabin porthole.
The view from the Hill Inlet lookout point.
Entrance to White Haven Beach, the most beautiful beach that I have ever seen.
White Haven Beach at Hill Inlet.
The sand at White Haven Beach is supposedly some of the finest and purest silica in the world. Sand from this beach was used to create the glass mirrors for the Hubble Telescope.
Our first snorkel dive is at Luncheon Bay.
Snorkeling in Luncheon Bay.
Snorkeling in Luncheon Bay. Here fishy, fishy, fishy...
Snorkeling in Luncheon Bay: Taylor had his goggles a bit too tight.
Another day at sea in paradise on the Atlantic Clipper.
Playing in the water at Luncheon Bay.
Evening approaches as we are anchored in Luncheon Bay.
The resort of the rich and famous on Hayman Island, with tiny little Arkhurst Island on the left.
The ship's crew whistles for a few minutes and a pair of White Breasted Sea Eagles head over us looking for food.
Arkhurst Island, Hayman Island and Hook Island
The sun is getting low in the sky on our second evening.
Sunset in the Whitsunday Islands.
Day three and we are at a small beach in Blue Pearl Bay to do some more snorkeling.
Meet Elvis, a huge, old friendly Napoleon Maori Wrasse who was not afraid of us at all.
Elvis checks me out and then wanders off.
A large school containing hundreds of fish envelope me and each one pauses to check me out.
As I happily become lost in another school of fish, I spot Elvis coming back for another swim-by.
This time he lets me run my hand down his entire length. Smooth and hard and very, very exciting!
Heading back to Airlie Beach on day three. We had sun in the morning, but rain clouds hover over our destination.
The pile up flipflops waiting for our drunk/hungover group on the dock as we debark from the Atlantic Clipper.
A heavy rain day traps us in our room at the Nomads Airlie Beach Hostel.
Last night together as a dysfunctional group of nitwits.
Last night together as a dysfunctional group of nitwits. (Is she a solid 7, Mario?)
An overnight Greyhound ride takes me to this brand new hostel in Emu Park. Fancy!
Emu Park is a town that is full of parks, but none of them seem to be named Emu... this park is at the tip of town.
The highest coastal point in Emu Park is this lookout which features a sculpture that uses wind to create sound.
The Singing Ship, a huge wind chime monument to James Cook.
The lookout in Emu Park.
A chill little skate park in Emu Park. Totally empty even though it is the middle of the day in the summer. Strange.
The Aussies love their Land Cruisers and their bull bars. Overkill much?
As the sun sets a storm moves in.
This was the setting for a three-hour lightning storm that is still going on here. I love thunder and lightning, so I'm pretty entertained.
Sunrise at 5:30am in Emu Park with a planet (Venus?) shining brightly
A stranger's footprints left in wet concrete a long time ago...
Another sandcastle on the beach in Agnes Water
There are plenty of big bugs here. This grasshopper is larger than my finger!
This is what Darren looks like with a beard.
Moments later I shaved the scraggly thing off.
Today my job is to find and photograph a kangaroo. I rented a bicycle and followed this road with a promising warning sign.
When I went on the Scooteroo tour two weeks ago this yard had some kangaroos, but the sound of our engines scared them away. Today I am stealthy and the kangaroos aren't running for their lives. There are four in this photo.
What do you know! Moments later the Scooteroo group zips through, sending the kangaroos scurrying.
After the scooters left I tiptoed into the yard and got close to these two small roos. They were very alert to my ninja-like stealth. Check YouTube for the video of them bouncing away.
This is a cool flood-resistant home that was along my bike route.
The Toyota Land Cruiser Prado is our Lexus GX460. This two-door version is not available in the States. The owner came out of her shop and spent a few minutes telling me all of the cool features of her brand new rig. Fourteen speakers! Five cameras!?! She was very, very proud.
The owners of the hostel have a couple of sweet old dogs always looking for loving. The male has posted up in front of my door and requires that I scratch him behind the ears anytime I enter or leave.
This is a Lada Niva 4WD, which is an earlier descendent of the Fiat that we came to know as the Yugo in the States.
Friday Night "Bin Bag Party" at Southern Cross.
Friday Night "Bin Bag Party" at Southern Cross. (The bubbles are in the shape of Australia)
Friday Night "Bin Bag Party" at Southern Cross. (The sex position game is popular here)
Hungover all day. This place is ideal for reading in a hammock.
On this bus I begin my long trek home.
On the ten-hour bus ride we take a 30-minute break at a park in Kybong. This giant roo was there to greet us.
Birds in Kybong.
A black swan in Kybong.
Small turtles filled the pond and every few seconds another head would pop up for a short breath of air.
The view from the 5th-floor pool at the YHA Hostel in Brisbane.
Some cool architecture in Brisbane.
The subway that takes me to the Brisbane Airport.
Along the subway route there was a lot of bad graffiti and a few select spots where the more talented artists showed off their stiff.
The first of three planes that will get me home. This one will get me to Fiji in 3.5 hours.
I got bumped up to first class and get this sumptious meal while the peons eat sand in the back.
I didn't make it out of the airport in Fiji, but it looks like an island that needs revisiting.
My first glimpse of US soil in four months. Los Angeles and it's halo of smog greets me after a ten-hour flight from Fiji. It was my first ride in a 747 and I got to ride in the top of the two floors. Cool.
Ahhhh....
My third and final chariot that will get me from L.A. to Portland.
The sun sets through the dirty plane window and my journey comes to an end. We land in Portland a few minutes later.
