the outback/alice springs.

the scenery has been changing daily.. ground gradually being replaced with red sand. we camped out at this one place with a sign reading - 'population: 22,000 sheep, 40,000,000 flies, 30 people'. another sign for a destination that is 500km away, the next available stop on the almost straight highway..

coober pedy was a simple little town, riding the coat-tails of old opal mines for tourism.. (oh, and they had the spaceship from the movie "pitch black" with vin diesel.. [obviously the real reason we went there..]) we stayed the night 34 steps underground in a cave-like hostel. drove out to the 'dingo fence' stretching 5300 km, and also to the 'moon plain' [which looks like you're on the moon, basically.. or maybe mars]. red dirt and broken rock spread along the surface with the 'breakaways' jutting in the distance. it was pretty phenomenal, although a difficult ride for our poor station wagon weighed down by 5 people, backpacks and camping gear..

we saw a herd of wild horses galloping through the dessert, emus, and mutant-sized birds (eagles the size of men).. hoping to climb ayers rock, we drove out to urluru; unfortunately it was expensive to enter the park, and we didn't have a clear sky so our hopes of catching sunset and watching the rock change colors were shattered.. instead we checked it out from a distance and continued on to king's canyon, taking in a small walk that evening, and a beautiful 6km hike around the rim this morning.. "the roadies" - an old couple with an assortment of instruments (and costumes) played a free show at the bar by our campsite last night and we each found ourselves on stage at some point in the night, embarrassing ourselves (and each other).. i've never felt so hick, and i'm from foxwarren..

presently in alice springs in need of some groceries and a camp site for the evening.

mount gambier/adelaide.

we left melbourne with the wind at our backs.. nothing but the open road and endless possibilities. taking the scenic route along the 'great ocean road' we passed through a series of changing landscapes.. waves crashing against the cliffs.. flat prairies, rolling hillsides, rain forests, extinct volcanoes.. we drove through one stretch with charcoal remnants on the right, and luscious green on the left; an aftermath of the treacherous bush fires australia has been subjected to in the past months. while out walking, we saw a wombat, some kangaroos, and a koala bear.

our first campsite had quite a unique view; the backyard of a roadside gas station.. [it was raining and we were losing light so it was crucial we got the tent up while we could]. we woke cold, damp, yet undeterred. the second night we set up our tent in a secluded hillside campground. it was too wet to make a fire, but we cooked dinner over our little gas stove and cozied up into our sleeping bags for some much needed sleep. this is what followed:

'crunch.. crunch..'
me: 'did you hear that?!'
[stacy gets the flashlight to go check it out].
chris: (screaming like a 13 year-old girl) 'something ran across my face!'

two beady little eyes staring back at us.
a mouse. lesson number 1: never leave the tent open.

as we pack up camp and head into mount gambier to spend a few days with stacy's friends, i notice that my cereal bag has a hole in it. so does stacy's. kind of looks tattered.. another mouse! in our car this time. this is getting personal. bad karma? are they following us from 238 faraday st? i am hoping that we've seen our last of small rodents. although, we are heading into the outback tomorrow..

mount gambier was a very relaxing few days.. we saw a 'footie' game - australia's spin on a mix of soccer, football, basketball.. and who knows what else. got a huge bag of apples straight out of an orchard, and a few more groceries to prep for our next stint of camping.

we are currently in adelaide, couchsurfing with a man named steven. tomorrow morning we pick up melissa and sean at the airport and continue north, coober-pedy-bound.

on the road again.

wednesday morning marks a new chapter in our travels. waking early, throwing our few possessions into the back of a stationwagon along with a few tents, stove, some chairs, a table.. and we're off. saying goodbye to our mouse ridden, dilapidated brick building that i'm sure would not hold up against inspection; to little genevieve's cafe which has fed me and put some cash in my pocket; the state library, the coffee shops, clare and heidi, our incompetent landlord ernie.. and the thousands of nameless strangers we've inadvertantly interacted with in the last almost four months..

we will drive west along the great ocean road, camping in freezing temperatures [figuratively.. it doesn't get below zero here] to mount gambia where we'll shack up with jess and luke for a few days.. to adelaide where we will pick up melissa and her boyfriend sean, to conquer the outback together in all it's glory. our tentative route heads north, on the only road available to us (ensuring we will not get lost), and gradually veering northeast until we reach water, then heading south along the coast all the way to sydney.

i'm not sure how available internet connections will be; but you will be kept informed as much as possible..

growing up.

in the last 3 days i have played out my life hundreds of times. starting in august: everything from job possibilities [to remaining unemployed], to university possibilities (aka. degree[s], exchange programs, course loads, summer classes), to cities i would like to live in, to potential jobs post-uni, to future travel plans, to the joys and downfalls of having/needing money.. from the things i enjoy; the things that interest me, the things i think i could see myself doing for a long time, the things i want to do while i'm young, the things that i can and cannot do when i'm old.. it's utterly fantastically overwhelming thinking about the future. i know i need not stress about it; time will pass as it does and my decisions will sway with the opportunities that unpredictably and inevitably come.. and yet i cannot help but worry that my dreams and goals are all extremely diverse, and somewhat opposing, and that i will forever be unsatisfied. is this normal? i need to be consoled.

easter.

the long weekend was spent taking in a few art gallerys down by the river.. walking around and relaxing at a few parks in the city.. checking out a gig at the comedy festival.. sleeping in.. having some wine.. reading some books.. in other words: we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. don't have to tell these three how to chill to the max.

chris: huge thanks to your easter parcel that came in last week. it was such a treat! (literally).

this four day week has been creeping by slowly; not sure how that is possible, but it's kind of nice. seems to always go a little too quickly for my liking. we have less than 3 weeks left in this city we call home..

rambling.

globalization: a word that has been on my mind a lot lately. i just finished reading the book "a fortune-teller told me" by an italian journalist, tiziano terzani. he is warned by a fortune-teller in hong kong that it is dangerous for him to travel by plane in the year 1993, and on a curious whim, decides to oblige and avoid air travel for the year. journalism brings him all over south-east asia.. by boat, bus, train, car.. his descriptions of particular cities and countries take me right back to the dusty roads and palm trees. tiziano meets with several famous fortune-tellers; some meetings set up by friends, some through random "chance" (or is it?) although the story involves continuous contradictions as to whether these 'seers' actually 'see' or whether it's all a pile, i felt in the end that it all kind of made sense and i liked what he had to say. he also put a particular amount of emphasis on what he felt and saw through the simplicity of travelling by land which is lost when you hop on a jet and arrive within hours to a destination far from the one you left. we're living in a world that is progressively materialistic.. the west is taking over. not new news. this is extremely prominent all over asia, tiziano saw it 15 years ago, i saw it myself in the last 8 months, i'm sure to a greater extent as the cycle continues.. languages, customs, buildings, knowledge of the past, lost. it makes me feel helpless, and yet at the same time more willing to sit and listen, to learn from my elders, and take a lesson from the generations before me. needless to say, i enjoyed the book.

the land of oz.

another rather balmy day today in melbourne.. 30 degrees or so and intensely humid. just stepped in the door with chris after a run around the university grounds. i feel like i just went for a swim.

chris got back a few days ago from a random two week stint on the gold coast visiting a friend. he had a marvelous time, came back tanned and more enthusastic than ever about our roadtrip heading in that direction (if that is even possible). we are happy to have him back. melissa, on the other hand, has been given the boot. and by that, i mean that she's completely ditched us for her loverboy back in seoul, south korea. so, through various coping methods, i've actually convinced myself that it was us who forced her to leave. she returns on may 5th, just one day before we hop into a station wagon and drive around australia for a couple of months.

we've taken to checking out victoria market every saturday afternoon to load up on fruits and vegetables for sick cheap. and by that, i mean standard canadian grocery store prices: a steal-of-a-deal here in a city that doesn't sell a non-refillable cup of coffee for less than $3..

still seeing lots of clare and heidi - our english companions from sihanoukville, cambodia. we usually get together on weekends, and this one coming up involves a rock star themed house party! stacy already has her outfit planned. i have an impressive supply of imagination when it comes to dressing these days due to my selection of clothing articles [or, lack thereof], so i'm sure i can come up with something.

time is flying, people are coming and going, relationships are growing..
lots happening these days in my little world down under..