our trip up the coast so far

here are some pics of our van voyage so far... miss you all!


hanging out with john howard, george w, and osama bin ladin (does anyone know who the guy to the far right is???)


the other side of our van


brushing my teeth in the van the first night


having lunch outside the van overlooking the ocean in newcastle


on a beach camel safari in port macquerie


the most eastern point on australia's mainland....nothing between here and home!

our gold coast/surfers paradise possie...parker, me, christine, caitlin, nick, and kate at the sweet timeshare!


the police station we spent quite some time at in the middle of the night filing our police report..BOOOO!


caitlin, me, parker, and christine on the barge on the way to fraser island


lake mackenzie on fraser island (freshwater lake)


me, parker, and christine jumping at lake mackenzie


being "dingo safe" at our campsite on fraser island


our fraser island group in front of our truck


on the shipwreck on fraser island


in a FREEZING freshwater creek on fraser

Let the travels begin!: Tasmania

We just got back from our week (5 days) in Tasmania and loved it!! We did a guided tour of the east coast from Launceston to Hobart (in case you want to look it up on a map) and here are some of the photos from our journeys:


launceston gorge

launceston gorge

the 2 of us in front of the st. columbus waterfall in the rainforest

waterfall in the rainforest

an echidna...an animal native to tasmania...looks like a mix between an anteater and a porcupine

our van

bay of fires

bay of fires

bay of fires

laura at the bay of fires

lauren at the bay of fires

the top of the hike looking down on wineglass bay

we forgot day packs so we used the top of our backpacks as fannypacks...soo stylish

port arthur, just outside of Hobart...this was a prison and, yes it used to look like that. not a bad place to be imprisioned

the two of us at the guards tower at port arthur

a tasmanian devil..i know, it looks nothing like the cartoon!

parker with a kangaroo

me with a kangaroo

us with our new friend, roo. he followed us as we walked away

hobart, tasmania

Parker's Birthday...and then some

(The view from our new flat)



Sorry its been so long since we last blogged. Since we last wrote we have moved to a new flat a couple of blocks away in Coogee (where there is no internet, so our internet usage has decreased). We now live with 5 Irish lads in a house that is, well...pretty much a shithole. That being said, it is also has fabulous ocean views from our balcony and our room...so we cant complain too much. It has been a bit tricky trying to communicate with the irish lads at first, seeing as how neither of us could understand a word they were saying, but we are getting better and can now carry on actual conversations with very few 'what?'s. (pretty aussie birds on our balcony)

Lately, Laura has suffered a few beatings from Mother Nature. About a week ago, she was stung by a jellyfish in 4 locations!!(2 on the legs, one on the back, and one on her stomach). We're not sure whether it was just one angry jellyfish or several different ones...but needless to say, they introduced her quite nicely to the treacherous Australian ocean. In addition, she failed to SlipSlopSlap properly yesterday and, as a result, now resembles a lobster. (Lauren is tired of hearing her complain because it was self-inflicted)


Mike, Laura, and Josh surfing in Manly


Josh, Parker, Sam, and Died before our all-you-can-eat brazilian meat feast!


It was Parker's birthday a couple of days ago and we celebrated on Saturday and Sunday night. Saturday was the Mike and Sam's (our old roomates) last night in Australia, so we all went out together one last time in Sydney. On Sunday, our cafe was short-staffed so, unfortunately, both of us had to work all day on her birthday. We made up for it by going out at night with the whole staff (and some regulars as well). It was a great time and she had a fabulous weekend! (She would like to thank everyone for the packages, cards, and messages!)

At the Palace Hotel for Parker's birthday!


Ronan, Parker, Ade, and Died at the Palace


The Coogee Cafe girls (Ade, Danielle (with her eyes closed), Parker, and Died)


Parker, Danielle, and Died


Downtown Sydney for Parker's Birthday Eve


Died, Michael, Parker, and Sam (p.s. the boys' beautiful beards are a result of "facial hair february")


its midnight!!! yay for being 23!

Our Road Trip to Melbourne

Hello everyone...i just spent about an hour writing all about our excursions with many pictures and descriptions...and for some unknown reason, it shut off and deleted it...so this is going to be less thorough and you can blame the internet cafe for this unfortunate event.

On another note, Lauren and I just got back from a wonderful week-long trip to Melbourne. We spent the first 2 days driving down the coast from Sydney, past Melbourne, and on to a town at the end of the Great Ocean Road (one of the most beautiful stretches of coast in the world just west of Melbourne). On the third day, we drove down the Great Ocean Road back into Melbourne. All along the way, we stopped to eat, explore, watch the tennis matches, etc.


(Jervis Bay...our first stop after leaving Sydney. Some of the most turquoise waters known for dolphin spotting...although we didnt see any)


(we took many pictures of road signs along the way...we finally got this one showing the distance to Melbourne after about 5 other failed attempts)


(DAY 2: At Kings Lake, one of the many lakes in Lakes Enterance, the town we stopped in and stayed our first night)


(Laura and Lauren with their new lifeguard friends in Geelong, a city about an hour west of Melbourne. We stopped here to eat lunch and watch Roddick beat Fish on our second day)



(The Great Ocean Road...Bay of Islands and the famous 12 Apostles (just above)


(The view from the windy windy road, which Laura so wonderfully mastered, as though she were a real local...yes i will toot my own horn. no pun intended)


On day 4 of our trip, but our first day in Melbourne, we went to the Australian Open. We got to see men's doubles semifinals, and the womens singles semifinals...Serena Williams v. Nicole Vaidisova and Kim Clijsters v. Maria Sharapova. We tried desperatly to see the Roddick v. Federer semifinal, but they were sold out and so we instead watched on a huge screen in the beer garden of the Aussie Open grounds. Looking back, we are quite pleased that we did not spend $120 to see Roddick get his ass handed to him in straight sets.


(A really really awkward picture of us in front of Rod Laver Arena. and yes, parker IS holding that hat, which she proceded to purposely leave in the hostel. She wanted a floppy hat, but according to her, "it flopped in all the wrong places")


(Hanging out in the Heineken beer garden)


(Serena after her win against Vaidisova)


(Sharapova v. Clijsters)


(so hot! poor andy..)

The rest of our trip consisted of celebrating Australia Day on the 26th, and exploring the city and the St. Kilda area, where our hostel was, oh and finding Lauren another nose ring, due to the tragic loss of her old one on Australia Day.


(Australia Day!!)