What I've been up to...

I failed to post pictures the other week when Jody, Regan, Mike, and I took a little day trip to the theme park here, Dreamworld. It's something like Kings Dominion, and we all decided to go two weeks ago on Friday to check it out. Unfortunately, we picked a day filled with rain showers, so we had to invest in these awesome ponchos:

Jody, Regan, and Me!

The park has six 'high thrill' rides (three of which are roller coasters) - we managed to go on two of three of them. I took this picture of the drop thingy because I refused to go on it!

The only really neat ride they had there was something I'd never seen before - based on the motorcross racing that is fairly popular here. Granted, this coaster doesn't go upside-down, but it goes pretty darn fast and all you do is grab onto the handlebars! There is a restraint that comes down and presses into the small of your back, but I almost couldn't believe that this thing is safe! Unfortunately I didn't get to try it out myself, as it started to rain too hard right after I took this picture, and all the big rides were shut down.

At one point we wandered over to the petting zoo area and found this cute little momma with her joey curled up in her pouch. Looks pretty comfy, right?!

Last Friday was one of the biggest national holidays here, Anzac day, which is basically a memorial day for Australians and New Zealanders who served in WWI. There was a big parade in the city and everyone gets the day off from work to honor those who lost their lives and those who currently serve the country. My friends and I had planned to go out to dinner that night, but because of the holiday most restaurants were closed. We ended up having a really great BBQ at one of the grills along the cliffs (which are directly across the street from my apartment).

Leah (who went to UVa), me, Katie (Jody's friend who is visiting), Jody, and Jess (from Canada)

Jody's kebabs were fantastic!

This weekend was yet another filled with wonderful weather. I woke up to the call of a Kookaburra right outside my window on Saturday. You can hear what they sound like here. They make me feel like I'm living in a rainforest! I made plans to meet up with Jody on Sunday to do work at the library and took these pictures at the top of the cliffs before walking down to the river. It's so hard to believe that it's almost winter time here! Today it was almost 80 degrees outside!! The only time you can tell that it's winter here is at night, when it gets pretty chilly. I think right now it's around 50 degrees outside...brrr! :o)

In other news, I awoke this morning to a really thick haze that I immediately noticed when I looked out my window. I thought it was just humidity from the sudden hot weather we've had - Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are all supposed to get pretty hot this week. I learned on the news tonight that it was actually due to a dust storm! You can watch the Nine News story on it here.

Last, special thanks to my mom, who was WONDERFUL enough to post me three whole boxes of Girl Scout cookies in the mail. What a good surprise!!! I didn't discover that I had a package waiting until today, so they were a great start to my week. Thanks mom!

So Australian...

This morning I walked downstairs and noticed this huge cherry-picker outside the apartment complex! I couldn't figure out what the heck they were doing - the two guys in the bucket kept circling the top of this hoop pine and peering into it...

...but then, in true Aussie fashion, they each took a break to snap a photo of the other against the city skyline!
Turns out they were removing dead branches from the tree...pretty intense pruning!

So Proud of my Roomie!

Yesterday was also exciting as I got a package in the mail from my best friend Hadley. We lived together for three years in college before she moved what she thought was as far away from me as possible - to LA! She's been singing, acting, and writing up a storm since then. Her first short story was just published in the Santa Monica Review, a nationally distributed literary arts journal sponsored by Santa Monica College. Congrats and love you Had!

Another fantastic sunset tonight...

...was followed by the first lightening I've seen here!

Brissie Life

The weather here has been extremely pleasant over the last few days - nice and clear with highs in the mid 70s. After class this morning Jody and I decided that we couldn't say cooped up inside, so we walked over to Southbank and did some work out in the fresh air. There is a 'rain forest' with a boardwalk that grows in the middle of Southbank, and this little clearing is bordered by it, so it's very tropical and lush looking!

obviously my Whitsunday tan has worn off...

...this water dragon sat next to us for a few hours

This pretty dragonfly hung out on Jody's flip flops!
Havaianas are THE flip flop to wear in Australia.

After working on our epidemiology assignment we split a kebab from the shop in Southbank. I haven't mentioned these on the blog yet...and I don't know why! Kebabs here aren't what you'd picture - meat on a stick. They are much more amazing than that. Probably one of my top 5 favorite things about Australia! The kebabs I'm talking about are doner style - the meat is stacked and cooked on a vertical spit, then sliced off to order. I typically get a chicken kebab with lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, and BBQ sauce. It's folded into a wrap and heated on a grill till it gets crispy on the outside. Perfection!

We finished our little snack and parted ways, and I headed towards my apartment along the river. The sun was just starting to go down, so I took a few pictures along the way.

This is the Goodwill Bridge, a pedestrian bridge that links Southbank to the QUT campus/Botanical Gardens in the city. It's super nice - it even has a coffee cart halfway across!

A view of the city from across the river - the road to the right is the Riverside Expressway, which I can see clearly from my apartment.

Looking ahead (in the direction that I was walking) at the Kangaroo Point Cliffs. My apartment is located just behind where the expressway runs into the cliffs in this picture.

This is a view of the Botanical Gardens on the left, which run into the Brissie CBD. You can see how Kangaroo Point sticks out - the river winds back to the right on the other side. Also in the distance you can see the Story Bridge that Randy and I climbed. There is also that kayaker! A cool outdoorsy company, RiverLife, operates at the base of the cliffs and offers kayaking, abseiling, and rock climbing daily.

I've posted a few pictures of the sunsets that I get to see every evening...they are always pretty and occasionally spectacular! Here are a few recent ones:

Jesus in the sky...

Yesterday as I was preparing to walk over to the Cole's grocery store I glanced out the window and saw this. I thought 'what the heck?!'


Can you see it??

I grabbed my camera and ran out the door, down the stairs, and snapped this picture just outside my apartment building:

Then I walked a little down the street....


Jesus! That's weird. Then I walked a little further...


Then I started to get a little freaked out.

Is it a message for me???


No.


It's for Elisabeth!

Just before I walked into Cole's this is what it looked like - I think the final result was 'I heart Elisabeth Jesus'

Underwater Pictures!

OK - I promised more fun stuff, and here it is! I finally got my underwater camera pictures developed today...

A few of the parrot fish I caught on camera:

snorkeling at Blue Pearl Bay:

my first scuba dive:

this fish totally stole the spotlight from me...!

Patricia the wrasse:

pretty coral at Langford Sound: