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Mar 4 2003 Off to Australia |
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I would be leaving Thailand one day before my visa ran out. Got up finished packing and out the door by 8:30. Avoided the usual rip off taxi that refused to use the meter and demanded B300 and caught another taxi that used the meter which came out to B180. Wandered |
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Mar 5 2003 I Do Not Like Melbourne |
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The plane arrived around seven in the morning and I had no problems with immigration despite some extremely strict quarantine rules. Australia is rather paranoid about preventing foreign bugs and critters into the country. All organic matter had to be declared so I declared my M&M candies and Wrigley?s gum. They |
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Mar 6 2003 Fleeing Melbourne |
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I set my alarm to get up early. I had thought about my options quite a bit during the night and decided the thing to do was to get a car. The bus was cheaper but the bus did not run every day. In fact the next bus towards Sydney did |
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Mar 7 2003 The Great Ocean Road to Ballarat |
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I checked out of the hotel at nine, mainly because that is when the parking meters started going. I then drove down the Great Ocean Road. This took me a good five hours. It was a good drive and quite scenic. It wound along the ocean and at times ventured a |
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Mar 8 2003 Of Koalas, Kangaroos, Wombats and Soveriegn Hill |
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First order of business was finding a place to stay. Fortunately the people at the hotel helped me find another room at the Criterion Hotel. Unfortunately the only room they had was a rather pricey A$50 double room. I moved my stuff over the Criterion. This is a rather nice place |
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Mar 9 2003, A Rainy Day Off |
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The weather report had predicted rain so I figured that I should use the day as a day off. I slept in late, had a leasurely lunch and did a little more catching up on my writing. I took a stroll around town, checked my email and then watched |
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Mar 11 2003 Arriving in Canberra |
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I slept in late and didn't get on the road until 10:30. It was another beautiful day and I pushed hard to get to Canberra before dark. I didn't stop other than for quick cat naps and a short break for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunch at |
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Mar 12 2003 Why Australians are a Touchy People |
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This was to be my only full day in Canberra so I wanted to make the most of it and was out of the Hostel by nine. It was another beautiful day and perfect for sightseeing. As I drove out of the hostel I saw two women waiting at the |
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Mar 13 2003 My Arrival in Sydney |
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Got up and it was time to hit the road again. I saw a guy at the bus stop this time and gave him a ride into the city center on my way through the city. I would face a long drive as instead of heading directly for Sydney |
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Mar 14 2003 Walkabout in Sydney |
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Larry and his father Tom are very early risers, often getting up at the ungodly hours of five in the morning. I deference to them I also got up early, around eight thirty. Larry had some things to do and I didn't want to impose upon him |
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Mar 15 2003 The Sydney Zoo |
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I got up early and was out the door by nine to go to the Sydney Zoo. The zoo was across the harbor and I had heard there were some nice walks around the Zoo so I planned to spend the whole day there. I caught the train to |
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Mar 16 2003 Meeting Leisa |
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It was a bit of overcast rainy day so I had not planned to do much but I got an email from a woman named Leisa who had replied to my ad offering a ride to Cairns. I gave her a call and arranged to meet her for lunch |
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Mar 17 2003 Sydney Aquarium and Opera at the Opera House |
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In the morning I headed back into town to meet Leisa. We went back to Darling Harbor and this time went directly to the Sydney Aquarium. When we got to the ticket counter we found out we could get a combination ticket for A$25 more which would include a |
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Mar 18 2003 Working My Butt Off and Valentina |
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It was a cloudy, drizzly day and I had spent a lot of money on that Opera ticket so I figured I would just spend the day in the house catching up on the ton of computer stuff I had to do. Leisa had some stuff to do so she was |
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Mar 19 2003 Stood up and Frustrated at Bondi Beach |
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I gave Valentina a call around 10 and after a bit of confusion learned that her cousins were going to take her to Bondi Beach. It didn't help that Valentina's cousin was playing with her and getting Valentina to say I'm horny. I thought it wasn't very nice of |
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Mar 20 2003 The Blue Mountains and Newcastle |
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Larry was leaving for work at 8;30 so i I figured that i should hit the road at the same time. I didn't have much trouble getting out of Sydney and it was good to get out on the road again. I planned to go up to take a |
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Mar 21 2003 Off the Beaten Track in Forrester-Tuncurry |
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I resolved to leave Newcastle as soon as I got up. I had origionally liked Newcastle because of the free dinner but losing my bed, smelly roommates and the lack of free parking counted as three strikes and I set out on the road by nine in the morning. |
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Mar 22 2003 Disappointed in Byron |
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In the morning I checked out early to make the long run up to Byron Bay. It was an all day run and i didn't stop much other than for a quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich. As I drove I passed a man who was hitchhiking and on |
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Mar 23 2003 Hippies, Drugs but no Rock and Roll |
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I slept in a bit and checked out just in time at 10. My destination for the night was Nimbin a small town just 70km away. Nimbin was the site of the Aquarius Festival in 1973 and has tried to keep the hippie culture ever since. I had |
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Mar 24 2003 Surfer's Paradise |
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I packed all my stuff back up and headed out to the interestingly named town of Surfer's Paradise. Lonely Planet described Surfer's Paradise as the most partying place in Queenland which is the next state up from New South Wales where I was I was at the moment. It |
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Mar 25 2003 Noosa and a Car full of Girls, Krickey! |
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I got up and got ready to get back on the road. I had considered hanging out for a day or two but Surfer's just did not seem to be that happening on weekdays. There were a large number of amusement parks in the area including waterslides, rollercoaster parks |
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Mar 26 2003 Ten Ways to Die on Fraiser Island |
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I got up, packed and went out to do a little relaxing in out of the hammocks outside until our arranged 10 A.M. departure time. As we were just about to leave we were approached by a young German woman who also wanted a lift. I only had a |
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Mar 27 2003 Death by Dingo! |
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Packed up my big bag to leave at the hostel as I was just bringing my small daypack for the trip. We all met at nine to check over the vehicles, equipment and supplies. The vehicles were white 4WD trucks with bench seats in the covered back. It |
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Mar 28 2003 Thank Goodness for Irishmen |
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I got up about 8:30 and walked up to Indian Head, a high rocky outcropping where I had been told I might be able to see sharks in the water. It was a bit of a climb to get to the top and the view was good but I saw |
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Mar 30 2003 Leisa Returns! |
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I figured on spending a lazy day resting and writing while waiting for Leisa so I spent most of the day in the common area writing. Here I met a cheerful 19 year old blond English woman named Lottie who was also writing her journal. We had a pleasant |
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Mar 31 2003 On The Long Winding Road |
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The next morning the four of us left bright and early by 8:30. Once again it was quite crowded with four passengers but it was only a bit over an hours drive to Gympie so it was not too bad. At Gympie we dropped off the couple at the |
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Apr 1 2003 Jello Wrestling in Airlie Beach |
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Checked out of the hotel by 10 and was on the road again eating up the klicks. By mid afternoon we reached Airlie Beach the small bustling resort town of 3,000 known primarly as a party town and the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. Lottie had spent a month |
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Apr 2 2003 "Do you speak English?" |
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We were at the bus stop at 8:30 waiting for our bus to the boat. We picked up the eleven other passengers and were dropped off at the marina. There we met Luke, one of the crew. He then lead the drinkers to buy alcohol and many cases of |
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Apr 3 2003 Drinking Games |
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We raised anchor by nine and motored over to Whitehaven Beach here we were dropped off on the long beach to hang out for a while. The Englishmen had brought a Cricket set and quickly started up a Cricket game. I played for a while until it because too |
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Apr 4 2003 How to Get People to Strip in Public |
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Surprisingly most people were feeling Ok the next day as we set sail. Our first stop was Black Isle where we went snorkelling. This time we brought some bread and were soon surrounded by colorful tropical fish. It was a lot like swimming in a crowded aquarium. |
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Apr 4 2003 Another Long Drive |
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I was supposed to return the car in Cairns today so I had to hurry north. However since Cairns was over 1000 km away I resigned myself to having to keep the car an extra couple of days. Lottie had rejoined us but for some reason seemed to be |
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Apr 6 2003 A Day with Two Angels |
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I had planned on continuing to Cairns today but Lottie and Leisa pointed out it was a bit of a waste to go all the way to Magnetic Island just to spend the night. I was a little tired of islands so I planned to go to Townsville. I |
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Apr 7 2003 Arrival in Cairns |
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We got up early the next morning to catch the ferry back to the mainland and speeding on our way to Cairns. It was another long drive but we arrived by five at the Serpent Hostel where we quickly checked in and I sped off to return the car before |
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Apr 8 2003 Valentina Returns! |
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Despite being a popular tourist destination people come to Cairns not for the city itself but as a base to engage in the many attractions around the city. By this time despite my continued attempts to keep up I was almost two weeks behind on my writing. Leisa had |
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Apr 9 2003 Dancing on Tables |
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I had figured that all Lottie, Leisa and Valentina would all be heading north today so I figured I might as well move as well. I had booked a Virgin Blue flight to Brisbane for A$145 the other night leaving Saturday afternoon and I figured I would be able to |
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Apr 11 2003 White Water Rafting |
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We both managed to get up at the ungodly hour of dawn. The Raging Thunder tours minibus arrived right on time and we made several more stops. At each stop several young women would board until there were ten young women along with Claudio and I. Even in |
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Apr 12 2003 Arrival in Brisbane |
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My flight for Brisbane left at three PM and I was due to leave the hostel at one so I had planned to borrow Claudio's laptop again and burn another CD, hang out, have lunch and relax before leaving. However as I was checking out I ran into Claudio. |
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Apr 13 2003 Rest Day |
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I wanted to catch up as much as possible on my Australia travelogues before leaving Australia so when I passed a A$15 all you can eat Japanese Buffet near the hostel I turned right in and settled in for a snack and write session. I stayed there for a good |
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Apr 14 2003 Work Day |
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Having completely blown yesterday and done essentially nothing I determined that I had to go downtown to see a bit of Brisbane. First thing though was to call Garuda to change my flight to as early as possible. They were able to get me on a flight for Wednesday |
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Apr 15 2003 Reflections on Australia |
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I determinedly woke up early and caught a morning bus into the city. I headed straight for the Barnes and Noble I had noticed the day before and purchased a Lonely Planet New Zealand. Looking through it I was relieved to find that New Zealand granted Americans an automatic |
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