THE END

.... i suppose that i should start from where i left off....

after Andy left, i spent a couple days in Brisbane with KTG, and also i saw S.C-S. + Louis (friends from highschool.... but i am so clever and not using their real names... anybody from KC knows exactly who i am talkin about though, right?). Then i left Brisbane and travelled up to Noosa for a few days
Then KTG arrived and the next day we left on a two day/three night Fraser Island tour.
Fraser Island is a really awesome island - the biggest sand island in the world, and it's actually a breadind ground for Tiger Sharks so you can't swim in the ocean there, but totally randomly (because of underwater springs or something) it has all of these fresh water lakes on the island, and they're so pretty and you can swim there). Anyways, the tour was cool and we got to see all kinds of neat stuff (including huge sand dunes, whales out in the ocean, awesome sunsets, and a kareoke DJ named Elvis), and we met some pretty cool people too.
Then we headed back to Noosa for one night, and my brother was there, so it was prety fun to see him again.
Then I headed up to Airlie Beach which i met up with a man who i'll call "B" and his family. B used to work with my dad, about 21 years ago.. when i was just a baby. and now he has three kids, all about my age. and they had rented a huge sailboat for a week in the Whitsunday Islands and they invited me to join them! which was pretty freaking cool. So i sailed around with them for about five days and it was absolutely amazing. and we went snorkelling a bunch of times, and holy crap it was the most amazing stuff that i have ever seen in my life... the weather was perfect and the coral was every colour and the fish blew my mind.
After that, i travelled up to Cairns where i met up with KTG again. We spend a day in a little market town called Kuranda. and that was cool. Then we went out on a sailboat to Green Island and I WENT SCUBA DIVING! YEEEAH!!! that's right! i faced my second biggest fear (going underwater) (my first biggest fear is going into some sort of cave, either a very small one, or one that is underwater... or one that is very small and underwater... eep *shiver*) and it was SO AWESOME!!!... the weather sucked major butt, so unfortunately the visibility underwater wasn't great. and also, i opted to go with the sailboat company because they offer a 1:2 ratio of instructor to diver (as opposed to 1:4 which is what the other companies offer, and i was SO NERVOUS), but unfortunately, this company didn't have the best dive site, so probably i didn't really see the best of the Great Barrier Reef. BUT i did see some Nemo fish hanging out in an anemone, so that is all that matters.
All it all, it was a pretty fantastic experience.
The next day i went a Cape Tribulation tour and it included the best lunch that i have ever eaten in my life, and a bunch of other stuff. and a river cruise on the Daintree River where we saw REAL LIVE WILD CROCODILES!!! so that was cool, for sure.
After that i came back here, to Noosa, where i am now. i really like it in noosa. When i was about 14 i saw a Lonely Planet thing about Australia, and one of the places featured in the show was Noosa. and ever since then i have wanted to come here. so i decided to spend my last few days hanging out on the beach here. and let me tell you, my tan is PERFECT. i am so proud of myself. it took a lot of focus, concentration, and persistance, but it has paid off.
and now i am coming home.
i take a bus to Brisbane today, and i will stay at B's house tonight, then tomorrow i fly to vancouver.
HOLY CRAP.

and so this is my last post... i know eh? very sad.
i am sad.
i feel as if i should do some kind of sum-up of my trip.
i feel like i should say something... some words.... some cheesy cheesy words...
....and so i will... so if you don't like cheese, then just skip down to the pictures and be done with it! but otherwise, read on.

I have learned that:
...Nicole is the best wife in the world.
...my mom really does have the answer to everything.
...if everything fits easily into my backpack, then i have left out something large and important.
...Chaco flip flops are the best footwear that money can buy.
...quick dry towels are good in a purely functional way, but otherwise i really hate them.
...when the whole world comes crashing down at my feet, it doesn't mean that i have to fall down too.
...grape picking is the best job.
...petrol is rediculously expensive.
...i have shit luck with weather.
...my Dad is a superhero.
...climate change is gonna be the end of us all, unless we do something about it NOW.
...I could never move away from Canada permanently because of four main things: My sister. My dog. My cottage. And Tim Horton's.
...i am completely dependent on the internet and modern technology to be happy.
...nobody is noticing me, they are all preoccupied thinking about themselves, just like me.
...everybody poops.
and so much more.

but for now. that's it. I'll be seein you all very soon hopefully. August is gonna be a really crazy month, but hopefully i get the chance to see everybody in Kingston. And I'll see some of you UVic people in the next couple days, and the rest of you in September. Thanks for stickin with me and for posting your comments. They always really meant a lot to me.
I leave you with some pics from the last three weeks...



lake breneer (no idea how to spell that) on fraser island



me and KTG and a cool ship wreck thing on fraser island (wreck? reck? reack? no idea)



the view from a lookout point in the Whitsundays, looking out over Whitehaven beach... so gorgeous



the mast of our boat, Spike, silhouetted in the sunset... *sigh*



ME! SCUBA DIVING! YEAH!



this clam was seriously like four feet across. so cool.



cool fish and cool coral stuff



NEMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE TOKEN POST

ok so i'm pretty sure that absolutely nobody reads this anymore
but i feel like i should post anyways
the token post

pictures? good idea.
cept my battery died a couple days ago.... and since we were livin out of a van i couldn't charge it.... so all the good pictures are on andy's camera
... but oh well
here's a couple random ones anyways...


this is andy. on a big rock. in the blue mountains. you can't really tell in this pic, but behind him is all these cliffs and ridges and cool stuff and it's all a hazy blue colour... and it's called The Blue Mountains. pretty clever, eh?




this is andy eating a banana. and behind him IS OUR VAN!! YEEEAH. that's the lil' kitchen part of the van. beware of the lil ants that like to hang out in the lil cooler that is in the lil kitchen. i love our van. it will be missed.




there are no words




this is a sunset. reflecting off our van. it was very neat.




Australia Zoo! yeeeah! ... i miss Steve Irwin.


so anyways
i take andy to the airport in about an hour
that will suck
then i am hangin out in brisbane for a couple days, then up to Noosa, then me and KTG (friend from uvic) are doin a three day Fraser Island thingy that is gonna be SO COOL! yeeeah
then i dunno after that

peace out homeslices

PENLESS

hello everybody!
i came to the internet with very honourable and studious intentions of finally figuring out what classes i need to register for...
but alas, i didn't bring a pen
so that idea died

and so i am updating my blog! where to begin... ahhh yes....

at the start

so i have been here in perth for about ten days now and it has been pretty crazy. i took over the rez room next door to my brother and it felt really weird to be back in a place like that... but with no studying to do and no laptop on my desk... and considerably less stuff than there has ever been in my room before.

we have done all kinds of things since i got here
we rented a car with some of andrew's friends and drove up north to see "the Pinnacles" which are these hundreds of rock formations that just stick straight up out of the sandy desert. and its pretty neat. but also very not G rated if you know what i mean (imagine 7 foot tall rock cylinders sticking straight up everywhere and looking like... ummm... yeah)

so that was cool. then we went to a fast food place for dinner called "nando's" and holy moly they have the best veggie burgers in the whole universe

then the next day i went with a couple of andrew's friends to a national park and we saw a whole bunch of kangaroos hopping around and some koala bears up high sleeping in trees. holy moly koala bears are cute as they unconciously cling for dear life to swaying trees.

the next day andrew took me around to see all of the beaches that he surfs and hangs out at. the coast line here is just one big huge long white sandy beach and its gorgeous. and we saw this sunset that lasted about an hour and it was cool.

ummm also one day i explored a sortof suburb area just outside of perth on the coast called Freemantle... except that basically i was having a Stupid Alie Day and so instead of exploring i just spent three hours getting lost over and over again. but it was cool anyways.

then another day, andrew and i went exploring around King's Park (this huge awesome park between downtown perth and UWA) and downtown perth.

and another day we went to visit some of our parent's friends who have a summer house place in Mandurah (a town south of Perth) and instead of a backyard, their house has a boat and a river and the river is connected to this entire river circuit thing and then out into the ocean. so we all got on their boat and they drove us (IN THE BOAT!) into town and parked the boat and we went out for lunch... it was pretty neat. i wish i had a boat and a river and an ocean in my back yard.

then another day andrew and i drove south and went camping at Margaret River. it is a super cool surfer town that is very pretty. and we went to a couple wineries and a chocolate factory and a bunch of different Subways.

then another day we took a ferry over to Rottnest Island..... which is a really hard place to explain... it's like a holiday/resort island that is all run by the same company basically (The Rottnest Island Authority) and it is basically its own little universe. there are roads on the island but the only vehicles are official ones (like, a shuttle bus, a tour bus, a police jeep, and a delivery van - you can't take your own car over). and there is a little grocery store, and a little cafe and a little Subway and a little gift shop. and there is a hostel and a couple up scale hotels/lodges and then a million cabins that you can rent out. and andrew was there with his friends back on a weekend in the summer and he said that the entire island was full and totally booked up. but when we were there, there was only like two other people... and it was so creepy and haunted! but also very gorgeous during the day. we rented bikes and rode around the entire island, and went swimming in the Indian Ocean and it was all white sand and turquoisey water and so so pretty. and at night these animals called Quokkas come out and basically take over the entire island. and they look like huge giant rats. except their faces are pretty cute and their tails are like a foot long and an inch thick. and they hop around like mini kangaroos. and they are just so weird. but also kinda cute.
anyways

other than that... i have spent a lot of time on the internet (cause i can log in as andrew, and so it's free!), a lot of time wandering around, and a lot of time planning the rest of my trip.

in answer to sparkle's question: i will be back in canada on July 28th! YEY! so soon! ... shit i can't wait. i know it is silly, but actually i am pretty ready to get home. but these next five weeks will go by quickly i'm sure. so anyways, i'll be in victoria searching for a house/apartment for a couple days, then i get back to ontario on the first of august and i'll go up to the cottage with the cousins, and then i think i get back to kingston around like the 4th or the 6th of august. YAHOO! .... seriously... i'm actually pretty stoked.

but before then, there is much to be done and lots to explore.

tomorrow i fly to melbourne and i'll be there for a few days, then i go to sydney for a couple days, then ANDY COMES!!! YAHOO!!! and we are gonna rent a van and drive to brisbane. and then andy leaves (not so yahoo) and then i will explore from brisbane up to cairns on my own (and hopefully meat up with some friends along the way, including MIM!), then back down to brisbane to fly home!

so anyways
thats basically it
i'm pretty tired... and i still have to go find a pen and figure out all my classes
... so i should go...
blaaah

SEE YOU ALL SOON!

GOODBYE ENN ZED

ok so i am too completely exhausted and jet lagged and a little bit sick and mostly just weak and tired to actually write anything of significance...
but i couldn't let this day go by unmarked

i am in Australia now.
yup
a whole different country
a whole different ocean
a whole different accent to embarass myself with by not being able to understand at all

and i miss NZ
and i miss Mim
and i miss Andy

but right now, mostly i am just happy to be with m' big brother Andrew

nuff said

PEE ESS

i just noticed that my blog was still in Pacific Standard Time

silly me

so i have now changed it to New Zealand Standard Time

so basically, i am blogging to you from the future

lucky you

LOYAL, BROKE, AND HAPPY.

i have a loyal customer card for this internet place
every time that i spend more than three dollars here (over 20mins) i get a stamp
very soon, i will get ONE FREE HOUR OF INTERNET
woot woot
good thing that i am so loyal

travelling alone is not nearly as awful as i thought it would be...

although, apparently nicole was a vital factor in me managing to maintain my daily spending budget. because, somehow, over the past week, i haven't bought ANY groceries (i am surviving of toast - which expired two days ago, but hasn't yet moulded -, plain oatmeal - which is disgusting -, and the generosity of my new friends in christchurch - who i already owe big time), i haven't travelled much (only about six hours in the car - so only a tank and a half of petrol), i've been staying at really cheep places, AND I HAVE BEEN OVER BUDGET EVERY DAY!?!?!?!?!? i can't handle not having nicole here to be like "don't spend money on that,spend money on this", "buy coffee now, make your own lunch today", etc
without her, i don't eat, i just buy funny hats that i don't need.

though... in my defense... it is the coolest hat in the world.

anyways, i'll start from where i left off:
after i left Mim in blenheim, i headed south towards christchurch
and by the time i got to kaikoura, i was pretty tired

so i stopped there for a night
and played some crazy card games with two americans and a kiwi
...it was pretty nice to bust out some serious Napolean Dynamite jokes after four months of completely Pedro-free living (ND is apparently a very north-american thing, since nobody else that we have met here really knows what it is. or they do but they are like "oooh yeeah... that movie.... was it supposed to be funny?")

then, on their suggestion (the americans and the kiwi. not Napolean and Pedro.), i went to Akaroa for two nights (and sortof got lost in christchurch on my way there - HOLY BIG CITY).
and it was pretty much the cutests little town in the world
AND I SAW DOPHINS! YEEEAH!!! for the first time ever not in the West Ed mall! i went a cruising thing and we saw penguins (swimming penguins! not just waddling penguins) and dolphins and sea lions. very cool.
then i went to see a movie at the cinema ALL BY MYSELF! (how mature am i?) and it was weird cause i was actually the only person there... good movie though - called "Notes on a Scandal" very intense

then i came to christchurch on friday. and i didn't get lost at all on my way in to town. and i went about plastering up car posters and chatting with strangers and checking out markets and galleries and museums and just generally being independent and snazzy and wearing my new hat. and i ate a falafel (which my mom has always been trying to peer-pressure me into eating, but i never gave in... until yesterday ... and lo and behold: mom is right again. falafels are yummy... and the only veggie option on the market menu, apparently)
and also, in line for the falafels, i met a canadian girl and her german friend and we went to the botanical gardens to explore, and then to see a movie called "The Lives of Others" which has german subtitles and is therefore extremely confusing but was SO AWESOME. so obviously, mom was double right: falafels aren't just yummy - they also get you new friends, and educational german entertainment.

then this morning i took my car to a car fair and I SOLD IT! woot woot!
i got ripped off in an awful way, BUT I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT ANYMORE!
...and also i feel very homeless and like my best friend just sailed to japan or something. i miss her. oh me oh my. BUT I AM SO RELIEVED. i am no longer a car owner. i will, however, be spending the next month and a half sitting in a cardboard box somewhere in australia. Cause i didn't get enough money from the car sale to actually really travel around there. oh well. win some, lose some. it was totally worth it. i don't regret buying a car at all (despite the pain in the neck that it all was)... it was, by far, the absolute best way to see this country.

anyways
now i am just bummin around with nothin to do and thoroughly enjoying myself and looking forward to Thursday when ANDY IS COMMIN TO CHRISTCHURCH! hooray!
and i can see buskers out the window, in cathedral square. and they are on tall unicycles. and they have big green juggly things. and there is obviously a HUGE hilarious fall potential factor. so i must go. definetly don't wanna miss this.

ciao

SAD DAY

today is a sad day
thursday was also a sad day
tomorrow will be an even more sad day

my time in NZ is quickly coming to an end and i waver between devastation, excitement, and an overwhelming desire to just go home.

Andy left on a bus from Picton on thursday and I miss him.
I stayed in Picton for a couple more nights and now i am back in Blenheim to say goodbye to Mim.
woooah
i don't want to say goodbye to Mim.

I leave for Auz in two weeks and I'm basically pretty scared of being in such a huge country with no Nicole and no car. I'm crazy excited to see Andrew (brother) but nervous for after I leave him and am off to fend for myself for a month. I know i'll be fine, but I'm just scared. Being on my own will take some getting used to, and I'm just not there yet.

Hopefully Nicole and I will meet up for a while in Auz sometime in the next couple of months, but still, our real time travelling together is actually over. Theoretically, it was over a week ago when I left with Andy, but this time I actually have to say goodbye to her.
my wife, Nicole.
oh me oh my
she is at work right now and i am wasting time and getting things done. which seems like a contradiction, but somehow that's just the way it is
and trying to make it through a huge Subway craving
which i know that i will give in to as soon as i leave here
I Love Subway