Mitz the wonder mobile

Wow, it's been a while since I have updated this!! I just got back from a trip to Tasmania - amazing! I had three days of school and then left on Wednesday from class to the airport to meet the other four who were going - Adam, Matt, Amanda and my roommate Nikolai. Mali came as well but she had a test that she needed to stay for so she met us on Friday. So we flew out of Sydney and arrived in Hobart around 8:00pm. We checked into our hostel and then got a recommended place to go out and have a couple beers. We ended up being super hungry afterwards so we took a walk down to the Salamanca markets to find a 24 hour bakehouse which served up hot meat pies and rolls. So tasty! We then woke up the next morning with one mission - to rent a car. We asked the woman at the hostel and she recommended a place. We called up and figured out that we could get an eight passenger van for a week for $500. We were sold so we walked over there, filled out some paperwork and were introduced to our new friend (who we named Mitz) - a blue Mitsubishi van that looked about 20 years old but at the same time awesome! She was a standard and they also drive on the opposite side of the road so this was a huge adventure waiting to happen. After getting some maps and directions we decided to go to the southern most tip of Tasmania and I guess the whole country of Australia and see the sunset. It took a little bit longer to get there than we thought because one of the roads was all dirt and rocks so we took it slow with Mitz. The whole drive there was unbelievabley gorgeous with rolling mountains and fresh green everywhere. The two hour walk we took around Fisherman's Point when we got there was also breathtaking. Adam kept on saying how he couldn't believe this was real - everything was just too pretty. We got to see an amazing sunset over the water with deep reds and oranges about mountains that looked like someone had a file folder of them which they just like stacked all together. It was a great first day in Tasmania.

The next day, Friday was day to pick up Mali. We had to figure out our accomodation situation for Cradle Mountain - tenting or cabin and then rent whatever we needed. We decided on a cabin and cheated the system a little bit. A cabin came with two sets of bunk beds and a double bed for $150 a night for two people and then it was $20 for every extra person. I didn't understand this because the room came equipped with six beds? So we just booked it for two people and then split that six ways. We then decided to get some sleeping bags so we rented those and then picked up Mali from the airport. We then treked out to the Cadbury chocolate factory where we got a presentation on the factory and then got released into their "discount chocolate shop" - um I was in heaven. I think my bag at check out weighed about seven pounds but we were good to go in the chocolate department for our trip. We then drove five more hours to our cabin up in Cradle Mountain stopping occasionally for food and scenic spots etc. The roads were super winedy and very mountainous. In one of my travel books it said that if you flattened all of Tasmania out, it would be almost as large as the mainland Australia. After a great night sleep in our cabin (which was clutch for the weekend, it was so good equipped with stove, bathroom, beds and a dinner table) we woke up to hike Cradle Mountain.

Cradle Mountain was a total 6-8 hike which we all geared up for. It was pouring when we woke up but turns out the visitor center didn't open for another hour when we got there so by the time we got our map and were situated on where to hike, the sun started shining. The hike was absolutely breath taking. It was one of the most scenic hikes I've ever been on - since the trees aren't very tall, you can see everything around you as you hike. It definitely combined some of the best hikes I've done all together - it had the tundra like Alaska, the beautiful lakes and rocks like Glacier and the scenic route like Mt. Katahdin in Maine. There was a point in the hike where you climbed up an edge to see Bam! Cradle Mountain. It looked like something from Lord of the Rings. It was so cool and the fact that we got to climb to the summit was that much better. My camera however did die right before we got to the trail leading up to the actual mountain so I was a little bit bummed about that but life goes on. But getting to the summit was kind of ridiculous because you would follow these markers as you were boulder climbing and you would see one in the distance that you were like "oh yea, that must be the end" and then you would get there and see another seven markers ahead. There was also this grey haired man who we deemed mountain goat because he passed us hiking at a ridiculous speed and then passed us again on his way back down. I commented that he was a mover and he just smiled and said he was pressed for time that day so he needed to do it fast - aka lapping 20 year olds making us look so out of shape. We finally got to the summit though which was awesome. For three of the six, this was there first successful mountain that they had reached the summit to which kind of boggled my mind because I guess normal people don't live with big dave's whose idea of a vacation is cross country driving to all different mountains. The way back down was pretty but so long. This is what I've figured out about hiking...getting there is awesome but very kind of a pain because normally it's uphill and stairlike so you're quads hate you. The summit is awesome but you can only stay there a little while before your sweat dries on you from the wind up there. And going down is great at first cause it's a lot easier than going up but after like an hour, you just want to get down the mountain and to your car. So we hiked down for a good four hours because I guess we took the longer trial back. It was almost 6 when we spotted the car and by that time the sun had gone down and it had started to rain. We were so excited to get back to Mitz and go back to our cabin, take hot showers and then go out to eat at the only restaurant around. I got into the drivers seat and attempted to start up the car and it started sputtering and then shut down. Then I tried again and it did the same thing. Matt switched, turned the ignition and nothing happened. Awesome, the battery was done. So we all got out and started to push the car to attempt a jump start. Nothing worked. Finally, other hikers saw us and offered to jump our car. The only problem was we had no idea where the battery was located cause Mitz didn't have a hood. It took us about a half hour to figure out that you had to unhinge to hooks next to the passenger seat up lift the whole middle consol up to find the engine and battery. We hooked up the cars and the car still wouldn't start. Finally, Matt decided to check the oil to find the tank completely dry. By this time it was almost seven and everyone was closed because it was a National holiday and there was no cell phone service in that part of Tasmania. Matt hitched a ride up to try and find help at...somewhere while the rest of us tried to stay warm in the car. Matt ended up flagging down a tour bus for "Night with the Animals" and convinced the driver to take us back up to our cabin. Thank goodness because our cabin was 10km. away and we were absolutely freezing and cold and exhausted. Once we got to our cabin, we took hot showers and rationed our food because we couldn't drive out to the restaurant. Mali and I ended up having peanut butter and jelly pasta (which was actually quite tasty!...try it)
The next morning, Matt and I woke up early to go try and figure out the Mitz situation. We bought oil and get a lift down to our car by a shuttle bus. We filled up the car and attempted to start to it but our battery had again died. We caught the shuttle bus back up to notify the ranger so he could come and jump our car. We again rode the shuttle bus back down to our car and pushed Mitz into place. A couple women saw us and asked if we needed a jump. We decided it wouldn't hurt to try it out because the ranger was going to be another half hour. We hooked the cars up and again, the car wouldn't start. The woman was like "mmm, it's not your battery. It could be your alternator" so I was like "oh brother, what the heck Mitz!!". But then the ranger came and hooked us up with a generator and the car started after the second try - thank you jesus! Matt said it was probably because the oil needed to get back into the engine so it needed a couple times to turn over. After that we picked up the other guys and started our scenic drive back to Hobart. We stopped off here and there for photo opportunities and ended up in Hobart around 9pm. We parked and grabbed a quick bite to eat at a pizza shop. To save money for the night, we were just going to sleep in the car so we were going to move the car to a better location. I got back in the car to start it up and discover that yet again, Mitz died on us. AHHHH!! so we were standed again and our flight was in 10 hours in the morning. Someone had the geneous idea to call the phone number on the van and people came within ten minutes to give us a jump. Although Mitz was unreliable, it was one of the best trips ever - so gorgeous. And you know what, it makes for better stories when you get back - count it.

computers are stupid

So, I got all excited to come back from spring break and upload photos and update my blog and my computer decided he wanted to ruin my dreams. Apparently my screen lights have slowly gone out to the point where my screen is now all black with little visuals of what i'm supposed to be seeing. So this whole week (aka two days) has been me mooching off of people's computers and being in the computer lab constantly. But the girls got back fine and dandy...we went to the Aquarium our last day to find nemo and see sharks. We were successful on both so that was a plus and then went and got meat pies (which are a big thing here). But I got an email from Becca saying they got in safely which was great!

I am actually flying out to Tasmania today which is ridiculous and I can't believe I just got back from an adventure and I'm going right back to another one but I can't wait! The cadbury chocolate factory is there so that was a big starred item on my list haha. But I will update you on all the adventures once I get back!! Hope you're having a great week!

So many leash kids...

ADVENTURES CONTINUED!! whew...I know you were waiting for this...no worries...I am back to update! so where did we leave off? The bridge climb? sure...

So the bridge climb went superb! After that we went to the Glebe markets which were like a boutique store and a vintage store combined in these outdoor vendor booths. Becca picked up a really cute shirt and I found a steal of two shirts for $5 from this woman. I also made my sisters get kebabs for lunch which were huge and delicious. We then headed back to the hostel to take a quick nap, change and head out to St. Mary's Cathedral for Easter Vigil Mass. It started at 8 and the church was absolutely massive with beautiful stained glass windows and a stunning alter. We were pleased to get candles at the beginning just like St. Elizabeth's does back home at the Easter Vigil. The mass was done by the Cardinal so that was pretty cool but all three of us walked out at the end (finished up around 11 so not too bad) singing the songs from back home because there really is no beating Easter Vigil back at St.E's. The music was all choral and monotone one note if not in latin and the homily started off with the Cardinal giving bullet points for something - the best part was the actual size of the mass and building. We then went back to the hostel to call big dave because it was his birthday still in the U.S. After that we all crashed to wake up the next morning to our Easter baskets that the Easter Bunny had shipped all the way from Acton (jean marie, weigh the packages before you send them, that was a little excessive but well appreciated and loved - thank you!) Becca ate my peeps and I devoured Reese's cups because of the lack of those here in Australia. We had a lazy morning and then went out to go get brunch at a place called Pancakes on the Rocks - SO GOOD! Becca and I split two meals - one was a crepe filled with bacon, potato, onion, chives and cheese with a garden salad on the side and the other meal was a "black and white" which was one chocolate pancake and one buttermilk with a scoop of chocolate and vanilla ice cream. We decided to get strawberries to go with them. We ate the whole meal ridiculously fast and were fully satisfied with our delicatable choices. Afterwards, we went to the Scenic Wildlife World to get our Australian animal fix in. Becca found a new obsession which was koala's. She kept on running around with all the six year olds shouting "this one's awake!! come here! this one's awake"...she would even get excited about the sleeping ones. Every half hour they do "koala talks" where a ranger talks about fun facts about the animals and so forth. Afterwards she took one out of it's tree and brought it around to be touched - I thought Becca was going to pass out. At the one stop, she apparently took around 100 photos solely of koala's - it's an issue. I also found a new obsession though - spotting kids on leashes. The first day we were in Sydney I found two (hilarious) but the best one so far was at the Wildlife World. He looked just like the little kid from Jerry McGuire but screamed all the time. I don't mean scream like high pitched but more like shouting at all the animals. He was harnessed in a fancy navy blue leash and unlike the other longer straps that they other ones spotted had, this one was only about two feet in length. I was shocked at this but after creepily watching him for several minutes I realized why it was so short - he was a tornado of energy - always going, never stopping and causing as much destruction as possible. At the kangaroo exhibit, I really thought he was going to hop the barrier and get in there with them - he came pretty close, I mean the ranger had to come over and scold but him and the parents. They did let him go at some point in the day (no, I didn't stalk him that heavily, we were just in the same area again...okay maybe just a little stalking) so he could eat an ice cream. He ended up climbing up on the table, slipping off and banging his head on not just the table but the bench also. After he calmed down he was off and running - maybe that's what big dave was like as a small child? who knows? All I know is that leash kids are ridiculous and once you get over the fact that they are actually on a leash you figure out the reasons why. This kid needed to be leashed.

After Scenic World, we had some gelato at darling harbor and then went back to our hostel to check out and head to the airport - Cairns here we come!! Our flight was wonderful and we touched down in misting rain but very tropical tempatures. We found our hostel no problem and met up with Dawn (she owns and runs the hostel - crazy but super nice woman). We got all the info on our reef dive and headed to bed because we were getting picked up at 7:00am for our next adventure. We first got an underwater camera dropped off so we could take photos and videos of the reef and then were on our way down to the pier. We boarded a huge ship and got our snorkels and fins and headed to the roof top to get a nice spot in the sun. I was an idiot and didn't find out my certification information to go on a "certified dive" but they did have the option for an "intro" dive on the reef so we all did that. We first were able to snorkel right out to the reef before getting called in for our dive. My ears have such trouble "equalizing" which means as you descend in the water, you're supposed to push air back into your ears to stop them from hurting. Mine were being a pain so I dove a little bit above the group until finally they got settled. Our guide picked up a couple sea cucumbers and let us touch them. We also were able to go around a big piece of reef and take in all the fish. You could really see the difference in the color of reef from a couple years ago. It was quite faded and greying but the wildlife were still pretty cool. We then boarded back on the bus to have some lunch and go to our second diving spot. We opted to not pay the additional fee to dive again and just snorkel out to the reef. The fish were again super cool and we took numerous photos with the camera so that was awesome. At the end of the day they gave us a glass of wine and cheese and we all fell asleep on the way back. Forgetting how strong the sun is out in the water we all got very badly burned. Because I have been here for almost two months mine blended in pretty well but Mollie looked like Zorro took a few swipes to her back and Becca just looks like she has a really bad disease. She is really splotchy and the majority is only on one side haha But at least they'll look a little tan when going home.

After the reef we went out to dinner where we hunted down a place that sold kangaroo. I got the game meat plate which had both crocodile tail and kangaroo filets while Mollie got kangaroo and Becca got a kangaroo burger. Enjoyed by everyone! The next day we were up early again to trek out to the rainforest of Kuranda. We took a Scenic Railway tour first which was a rickedy old train that took you up and into the mountains. There were some really pretty views of waterfalls and valleys. In our cabin was an adorable Chinese couple about mid 50's. The wife (Lena) was the asian version of the old lady on Wedding Singer who did the rendition of rappers delite. No joke. She was that cute. They were both from New York City and it turns out the husband (John) worked right by where Mollie used to live. They were a little bit obsessed with us but I was a total fan (especially cause they thought I was the oldest - point for Brenna!) After two hours of train travel, we got up to Kuranda where we looked around the Aboriginal arts and crafts market and had the most scrumptious sandwhich lunch! There was also a walk through the rainforest which we all decided would be super (and it was free so we were all keen on that). We ended up getting the full rainforest experience because it poured on us - and we got absolutely soaked but we had fun while doing it!

Ah! I only have two minutes left....this will be another to be continued...but we fly out tomorrow to Sydney and then the girls are out the next morning :( But I'll upload pictures for the full story :)

The stupids hit up Sydney

I am sitting in my hostel right now, in Cairns :) so exciting!! It's still quite early, but that's because Mollie was a little tired (dun dun duuuuunnn) so we headed back a little early but that's okay because now it's gives me time to update this (Kelsie Bouchard this is for you)! Our adventure started in Sydney where we had a day to tour around first before Holy Thursday mass. We decided to walk places and figured out maps in Australia show everything in a much larger scale so we could get everywhere on foot pretty easily. We walked around Darling Harbour as well as Circular Quay. We then went to the Botanic Gardens to tour around. They had the most beautiful rose garden that just smelled out of this world. It was almost too much, like it was fake or they had secret little sprayers in the trees to omit the smell but no - it was natural...crazy! We were then able to walk through to the Opera House and tour around! obviously kodak moments were a must. We then stopped at a restaurant called macchiato and had homemade pizza that was delicious and italian and our waitress had the most adorable accent! We then trekked out to a town a little ways away to meet my chaplain at UoW who was having a Easter retreat and we celebrated Holy Thursday mass there. It was very good although I will say the priest spoke at quite a shouting level...I almost broke down at one point during mass with giggles because he was speaking so loudly but I luckily locked it up!
On Friday we did a Hunter Valley wine tour which was AWESOME! the last time I went we did big, commercial vinyards but this tour was called "Boutique wine tours" so all the ones we went to had were little tiny places that only sold their bottles from their specific stores. They were so tasty and our tour guide was absolutely hilarious which made the day that much more great! We got back and had a cheese picnic on our hostel beds (I know that sound gross and you're thinking of those lights from CSI being shown on the covers but it was in a plastic box...nothing spilled on the bed...even if it did, let's be honest - when it comes to food my family is gross and will eat anything and everything no matter what non-sanitary surface it touches). We then went to bed to wake up on the early side to do the Sydney Harbour bridge climb. We stopped at a little french place in the morning to grab some pastries for breakfast and then walked over to the bridge. Again we had another great tour guide named Chris who was a little appalled by our "funny" pictures which primarly were instigated by me. In one I think I actually reached out at Becca and after he took it he was like "is that an eye gouge!? you are poking her directly in the eye but that's okay because it looks like she's strangling you. You do realize these go up on a big screen where people can see them?"...yea about that...haha but the views were amazing and we did the discovery climb where you got to learn about all the fun facts having to do with the actual structure of the bridge which was right up Mollie's alley! it was spectacular and we then bought several pictures at the end of us doing it!

okay I only have six minutes left and I don't have any more dollar coins so this is going to be a to be continued post...so to be continued........

ooo i felt like I was an episode of friends or something where you're just WAITING for the next one and it says that and you're like nooooooo...I hope that's what just happened with you! actually I don't...cause that's kind of sad...that you just got upset about my blog...flattering...but really...find a hobby...or come and visit me! good see you next week!

hellloooo Easter Break!

So I am right now in an internet Cafe in Sydney with BECCA AND MOLLIE!! :) so exciting!! So I finished my 12 page presentation on Weds in my P.E. class to triumphantly head to Sydney to get the girls at the airport at 7:25am. I stayed at my friend Janie's apartment because she's right by the train station and that way I wouldn't have to wake up at 4:00 am to get a train to Sydney. Bec and Mollie arrived safely rambling about this and that...well more Becca because let's be honest, she talks more than any person and Mollie is just the side-cart girl (no offense Mollie...it's just a fact). We had a lovely breakfast and got phone cards so we could call Jean Marie and Big Dave - I didn't even try for Nana because she only spoke to me for maybe 30 seconds the last time I attempted and promptly said "Oh, that sounds important! Jean Marie, Brenna needs to tell you something important"...I knew I had lost her haha. But we're planning on doing some site seeings before Holy Thursday mass and then going to bed because the girls probably will hit a wall because of jet lag and we have an early morning wake-up to go off to the Hunter Valley for some wine tasting!! So this is just a quick update but hopefully I'll be able to post some more as we go abouts our travels! Happy Easter to everyone!

The Other Part to the Story

I've realized that every time I post a blog, about an hour later I remember something that I'm like "shoot, I meant to put that in!" So, I'm here to update you on the forgotten stories from Adelaide. The first one I thought of was our Kangaroo Island catastrophe. So Kangaroo island is known for obviously kangaroos and I guess they aren't really the smartest of animals. On our way back to our "farm" where we were staying, our tour guide actually hit one on the road after it hopped out and then right back into traffic. Now I was unaware if you hit a kangaroo, you actually have to kill it. So here comes this cute little petite tour guide to the back of the bus where we were and I thought she was going to get out a gun. No, no...she reaches down and gets a hollow, metal pipe and was like "I'm sorry guys. I can't believe I have to do this, but I love animals way to much to let it suffer." So of course everyone on our tour bus stood up trying to get a good view. I however, turned around and got to watch everyone else's expressions which was actually kind of hilarious. Rolf next to me decided to get out his high tech camera and take continuous photos of it. But after several hits I guess, our guide moved it to the side of the road and we were on our way again. It definitely was a different kind of encounter with a kangaroo.
The second story I forgot to tell was how much I hate JetStar. JetStar is an airline that sells super cheap tickets but is also horrible at the same time. So all of us brought carry on lugguge so we didn't have to deal with checking anything and when I checked in to go back, I had to weigh my carry on items (this is something we didn't have to do on the plane ride there flying with Qantas) and it turns out I was 5kg over their limit (which is about 10 pounds). My carry on luggage was far smaller in width and length than several other peoples but because of the weight (I had bought a bottle of olive oil and tomato sauce at this delicious vendor in Central Market which together weighed about 5 pounds) I had to check a bag. Now, if I signed up to check a bag online with JetStar it's only $10. But if on the day of you find yourself in the pickle I was were you had to unexpectedly check a bag it costs you $80. WHAT!? How is that even reasonable. The woman wouldn't even let us take things out. Ah, it was so frustrating! So I got my nice little receipt and sent my bag off to the world of $80 checked bags. I don't think the total contents of my bag equaled $80 - but whatever, you roll with the punches and you deem JetStar the worst ever. I also found out yesterday that Becca, Mollie and my JetStar flight back to Sydney from Cairns decided to change it's schedule. We are now leaving 9 hours earlier!? I called them because in the email there was only an agree button - not a disagree one, and the man said he could only give me a refund - there were no other flights that day. I made up a story and said that we had a booked dive and weren't getting back until the afternoon and he apologized and said he couldn't do anything about the airline but give me a refund. By this time though, flight prices on other airlines are around $700 one way so it would be a waste of money to try and switch airlines to get a later flight out. Ah! They probably have in fine print somewhere that they're allowed to do that but I think that's a little meany-head of them. Honestly, they are not high in my books right now. But on a lighter note - Becca and Mollie arrive in two days - OH MAN TWO DAYS!! I'm super excited!!