Hello!
Yes, I am still alive.
And no, I haven't “cashed in [my] airline tickets to buy goofy hats and a sheep ranch and given up on returning to North America,” a concern expressed by my dad in a recent e-mail regarding my ongoing “walkabout” (though the idea does sound rather enticing). If Curtis could stand to be away from his family for another year, I won't lie, we would likely consider the prospect.
I am writing this first bit on a bus, on the way to a cattle station in the eastern outback town of Kroombit (random, I know, and oddly pertinent to the previous paragraph). But I'm going to take a wild guess here and assume there will be no internet and I will in fact be posting this when we get into Rainbow Beach, our next stop on the coast, and the gateway to the famous Fraser Island.
(Ok, well I didn't get time to post in Rainbow... or Noosa... or Brisbane. Or Sufer's Paradise... which, ironically, is known for its poor waves, overcrowded beaches and generally bad surfing. Despite having free internet at our next stop, the bustling hippie town of Byron Bay, I didn't find time to finish writing & post this there, either! We are now on the Coffs Coast at this little surf camp/hostel called Spot X, working for accommodation, yummy food, and endless surfing in a town called Arrawarra... but I'm getting ahead of myself.)
So... where did I leave off? Ah yes, the tragic llama incident and baby Francesca, among other updates. Basically (I never did figure out how to make that google map thingy, so if you're interested, you'll have to input the points yourself) our journey over the past two months has consisted of something to this effect:
LEG 1
Melbourne, Victoria to Adelaide, South Australia for three days. Highlights include the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians (a Eucalyptus Rainforest and National Park).
The GOR was just as beautiful the second time around (it actually worked out cheaper to tour it again than it would have been to bypass it and fly straight onto Adelaide). Also, the trip was far more relaxing as a three day tour than it had been as the one day trip that we took back in March.
We used our day off in Adelaide wisely, South Australia's capital being a fairly small and boring town, and took a day trip into the Barossa Valley wine region. As of late, Curtis has been fascinated with wine making, so this was particularly interesting for him. And plus, who doesn't love being drunk before 10am? We visited five wineries, (including the renowned Orlando Winery, home of Jacob's Creek), had about six or seven tasting glasses at each location, and befriended a lovely Aussie/German couple from Melbourne. All in all, a delicious day.
The facebook photo album for our trip from Melbourne to Adelaide is here.
Alrighty, I think that's enough for now! I'm getting into a regular schedule here at Spot X, which should translate to more frequent posts. Or more surfing. One of the two.
Lots of love,
the traveling stahr...
