Thursday, May 31, 2007

Lake Alexandrina...


Lake Alexandrina in the Fleurieu Peninsula


Scrubby sand dunes and surf at the coastal area in the Coorang.



Kim and I got recently went to visit Lake Alexandrina. We went with one of Kim's co-workers and her husband, Kathy and Tony. Lake Alexandria is a huge lake that sits about an hours drive south east of Adelaide. We started our trip in the oldest German town in South Australia- Hahndorf.



Some water reeds along the shore at Lake Alexandrina


We drove through the green rolling Adelaide hills (it has been raining a lot the past month) - when we came and visited this area a few months ago it was much dryer and brown. Its amazing what a little rain can do. We went through the town of Strathalbyn, Currency Creek, and Goolwa. Kathy and Tony used to live in the area around Clayton so they knew the area very well and took us to some neat places and filled us in with some local knowledge.




Kim, Kathy, and Tony overlooking the Encounter Bay in the beach town of Goolwa



We saw the mouth of the Murray River which feeds into lake Alexandrina and some of the National Park area on the Coorang. We stopped in the beach town of Goolwa and went aboard an old historic paddle steamer boat boat called the Oscar W. It was a fun day and they even brought lunch for us which was homemade coleslaw, chicken schnitzel, and fresh veggies- very tasty indeed!



The beach area in Goolwa it was a cool, windy, and overcast day.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Weekend fun...

Well, since our last posting we have not went on any big trips, but we have been having a blast hanging around Adelaide. We recently went to the town of Wilunga then to the McLaren Vale wine region and visited the Wirra Wirra and Penny Hill wineries. This past weekend we able to do some great hiking in Morialta area, which has some nice waterfalls, cliffs, and caves. Yesterday we went mountain biking which was great, nice cool weather and we found a park with heaps of trails and some nice singletrack.

We have also been hanging out with several other exchange teachers as well. We spent a day up at the beach at Somefore visiting our friend Ginger, she is on exchange from Canada. She has a very nice big house on her exchange with an outdoor pool (she even has a pool boy who comes and cleans it). There were other exchange teachers there as well, Paul from Colorado, and Larry and Caroline from Canada as well. It was a great day and we went for a long walk on the beach, and then went out to lunch for some tasty fish and chips. We also have started a weekly movie night with several exchange teachers. Last weeks movies were the Big Lebowski, and the Princess Bride. After watching the Big Lebowski we set up our own bowling game in Paul's house with empty beer bottles. We managed to break several bottles and no one was able to roll a strike, but we had a blast. Next week might see Quiton Tarintions Pulp Fiction and Monty Python's Holy Grail.

In June we have an upcoming trip on a houseboat for the weekend on the Murray River. Other upcoming trips include going to Alice Springs, Uluru, and then flying to Cairns to spend a week at the Great Barrier Reef in July. We have also added some Colorado photos to our blog photo section- Kim has been getting requests from her co-workers about her life back in Colorado in the United States. So now they can check out the blog and some pictures of the Rockies and the wonderfull place we live.

Cliffs and a waterfall at Morialtta Park.




Kim and Caroline dancing on the beach.




Patrick and Larry- having some fun jamming on the guitar.

Saturday, May 5, 2007

Seeing Sydney...


We flew to Sydney after our four day visit to Melbourne. Sydney is a very different city compared to Melbourne. It is much larger and spread out and also sits on some of the most beautiful harbors in the world. We were there for a week, and spent four days in and around the city and two days in the Blue Mountains. There was so much to do and we had a lot of fun. Some of the highlights from our trip were seeing the harbors and the Opera House, walking across the Harbor Bridge, going on a cruise boat out into the harbor, and going to see the awesome aquarium with the sharks, crocs, and Australian marine life from the Great Barrier Reef. We also spent time walking around and checking out different areas of the city. We went to the areas of Paddington, Circular Quay, the Rocks, Kings Cross, Darlinghurst, Bondi Beach, and Chinatown. Up in the Blue Mountains we saw the some spectacular rock cliffs, waterfalls, and went on a nice 12 mile long hike. It was also fall up there so the leaves were starting to change. Most of the trees that change color are not actually native to Australia. The weather was great for two days, but we did get three days of good solid rain. The rain was acutally quite nice and a welcomed relief to the drought. Here a few photos from the things we saw and did while we were there. There are also more photos in our photo gallery so be sure to check them out as well.

The Harbor Bridge in Sydney connects the north and south parts of the city. It was completed in 1932 at the cost of $20 million. The height from the highest point to the water is 134 meters or 400 feet. The length of the bridge spans just over a kilometer in length, or about 2/3 of a mile. It is really a huge giant bridge and it was neat to walk across it and see the city. For the people more adventerous, not afraid of heights, and finacially well endowed you can walk up the arches to the very top with a guided tour group.






The Syndey Opera House is probably one of the most recognizable buildings in the world and the icon of Syndey. It was started in 1959 by Danish architecht Jorn Utzon who expected it to be completed in a few years for $7 million. After years of disagremeent and poIitical problems Utzon quit in 1966. It was then handed over to a select few Australian architects and contractors to finish. It was complted in 1973 at the cost of $102 million. It sits out on the harbor with the city and harbor bridge behind it. It was really neat to see the Opera House up close as well.



This is the inside of the 19th century Victorian style designed Queen Victoria Building. It has four floors with over 200 botique shops and cafes. One store we really enjoyed was the photo gallery exhibt of Peter Lik- he is an up and coming amazing photographer from Australia. You can check out some of his work online at http://www.peterlik.com



Bondi Beach! This is the world famous Australian surfing beach- they film a local show here called Bondi Beach Rescue- where they actually follow around lifegaurds in a reality TV show style. Nice beach but I thought it was crowded and overated and have seen much nicer beaches elsewhere in Australia- however I think Bondi's claim to fame is that it has some great surfing waves, a nice wide beach area, great lifegaurds, and tons of beautiful scantliy clad people lying around all over the place. The neighborhood of Bondi was nice and had some good cafes and a nice outside Market they run every Sunday.



Getting down on the Didjeridoo! This was a concert called "Sounds of the Outback" and was a live didjeridoo show set to sounds and images of Australia. The aboriginal didjeridoo player was Lez Beckeh and he was gerat. He tours and plays all over the world not only on the didjeridoo but also as a beat box player (mimicking drums and beats with your mouth to a microphone) in a hip-hop band. We talked to him for a briefly after the show about his experiences, but he quickly had to leave because he another show that night at the Opera House.



Seals and fish from the Sydney Aquarium. It was fantastic and they have tons and tons of neat interesting fish and marine wildlife. We saw playtapus, crocodiles, sharks, giant fish, manta rays, jellyfish, seals, sea turtles, eels, and many more. It really displayed the diversity and richness of the marine life in Australia, and the Great Barrier Reef. It has several transparent underwater tunnels you walk through and parts of the aquarium are actually built into the harborside.




This is Katoomba falls in the Blue Mountains national park. Kim and I had a nice relaxing two days there. It was very easy to get to and was only two hours by train from downtown Sydney. The hostel we stayed in was the best hostel I have ever seen, nice comfortable rooms, a huge kitchen and rec area, big screen TV for movies, and a giant size chess board outside. Very nice place! We did some great hiking and enjoyed the quiet relaxing pace in the mountain towns of Katoomba and Leura.



Working on my chess skills- Knight to H4- CHECK!



There was so much to do in Sydney. One of the things Kim and I really enjoyed was just walking around the harbor and seeing everything, especially around the Circular Quay area. Sydndey was a fun exciting city to visit with great people, food, and things to see. Without a doubt we will be back!

Friday, May 4, 2007

Visiting Melbourne...


The end of the Ocean Road drive took us into Melbourne. Pronouced Melbun by Autralians. It is the captial of the state in Australia- Victoria. It is a much larger and more cosmoplitan city then Adelaide. Population wise it is about three and half million, so its about similar size to Denver. The city is laid out fairly nicely and sepearted in half by the Yarra River. We stayed in the bustling South Yarra district. It was fairly easy to get around and we could walk to most places. We were close to great cafes, shops, the botanical gardens, and about a mile and half from downtown. The best way to really see a city is by foot- you also can avoid traffic hassles and parking fees. So we did quite a bit of walking for the four days we were there. We really enjoyed our trip to Melbourne and if we get the chance we might go back!

Here is the major Downtown Center which has the usual skysckrapers, office buildings, big banks etc. with the Yarra River in front.



Kim and I really enjoyed the cultural and artsy vibe in Melbourne. The is a real diversity of cultures in the city. It has quite a large Greek and Jewish population. It reminded me of San Francisco a little. There were tons of great ethnic restaurants and food. The city aslo had a lot of great shops, and some interesting neighboorhoods. We visited some great outside markets, went to the History Museum where they had an awesome display on the history of the Great Wall of China, visted the large Victoria art gallery, and took a crusie up the Yarra River. We also saw the botanical gardens, and went to the relaxing beach of St. Kilda just south of the city for an afternoon.

Busy cafe culture on Collins St. in Downtown.



Kim taking a break to direct the marching band in Geelong.



Check out some of the cool underground graffiti. There are a lot of side streets with some interesting graffiti artwork.





Some photos of interesting and unique shops in Melbourne.

I found these two shops just as I was craving some fries (chips in Australia) and hot doughnuts- mmmm- perfect!



Its no Home Depot or Bed Bath and Beyond but we had to check it out just for the name!



This one too- what in the F#%$ where they thinking here.



Relaxing in the Botanical Gardens



We took a day trip to the neat town and beach area of St. Kilda. It was about 2 miles from our hostel and had a great walking pier, shops, beach area, and promenade.




Parliment Building in the Carlton- Fitzroy section of the city.



Federation Square in the downtown area



Cindy getting proposed to from the Jumbotron screen downtown- word on the street was that she said yes!

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Driving down the Great Ocean Road...



Hello everyone and thanks for visiting our blog!

Kim and I had a great time on our two week fall break. On the first leg of our journey we rented a car in Adelaide and drove to Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road. It was a spectacular drive and we took in some vast empty beaches, cliffsides by the raging sea, and some wonderful small beachside towns. We aslo did some great hiking, and saw some great coastal scenery with tons of limestone eroded rocks and arches left out in the ocean. The road twists and winds along the ocean for quite a ways, and the beaches and views were amazing. It also goes through the forrested Ottawy area where there are bushy forests and tropical vegetation, which added a nice contrast. The drive was quite long, roughly 600 miles or so. We split it up over four days camping in the towns of Robe, Port Fairy, Apollo Bay, and Torquay which is known as the surfing capital of Australia. Here are a few photos from our trip so far.

Johanna Beach



An underground limestone cave called the "Grottos"



Eroded cliff formations known as the "12 Apostles"



Coorang National Park along the 90 mile beach.



Circular seaweed on the beach



Beachside town past Apollo Bay



Scenic view of the coastline and road.



Lighthouse in the seaside town of Angelise



Kim making some handprints in the sand.