Missed flight :(

So my flight from Nadi got in early (12:50)  but we has no gate to set down at so we had to wait for buses to be arranged to come pick us up and transport everyone to customs. That took at least 30 min. By the time we got off the place it was about  1:30ish. Since the flight was originally scheduled to land at 1:40 they would give me an express pay to get through customs fast since my connecting flight was at 2:45. By the time I had power walked to the other end of the airport with two heavy cases, it was too late to check in! Delta was not helpful at all, saying they could no put me on any other flight until 7:30AM the next morning! Gave me a discounted rate to a hotel, which if you ask me $99 is much of something to call a discount! Went to the hotel ate some dinner and then went to sleep at 5PM only to wake up at 10PM wide awake! Only had to be at the airport at 5:30AM so I ordered some food and watched tv until I had to check out. Got to the airport and checked in easily. The flight I am on is overbooked so hopefully I get onto it! If not I guess I will be flying out at 1PM which will be awful! What has traveling come to these days!? You can't go anywhere with out having a good experience! There is no consideration for people who have just flown across the world in a 20 something hour flight, and just want to get home!!

Journey on back begins.

Check in went fairly smoothly, had to take some stuff out my carry on case. Nothing to major, luckily I had space in my big case to put it in. Got some subway and then proceeded through customs and security easily straight to my gate.  First leg is the Short flight, only to Nadi (3 hours). Then have a 4 hour layover, until my long leg (9 hours) to Los Angeles. Last leg will be an 5 hour flight to Atlanta but on delta. Cutting it pretty close so I hope I make it. 

Last day or two.

It was still yucky weather til Saturday, but definitely didn't let that stop me. Friday I woke up and headed to Bondi (I know I have gone there pretty my much everyday, but I like it ok?!) ran from Bondi all the way to Coogee beach. Passing Tamarama, Bronte and Clovelly along the way. It's only about a 3 mile run along the coast but lists of beautiful sites and stair are involved. Stopped at a cemetery, Waverly cemetery, it was so gorgeous but kind of sad at the same time, ya know? Before Clovelly is a small beach called Gordon's bay, very well know for it underwater trail. Saw lots of scuba divers and wish I would have had someone to do this with me! Clovelly is home to a huge blue grouper fish, Riahne  and nic went but the water was too cold me for! I guess I'll have to do it when I move! :p. Caught a bus back to bondi and ate a meat pie from Harry's cafe de wheels, and then just headed home to watch some tv and chill. Went over to grants Friday night. Ate some dinner and just drank at the house. Went out to a place in surry hills, called the soda factory. Interesting place, but not really my scene. I was expecting dancing music like, today's hits. The music at the pub was old school like twist and shout kind of stuff. Great music and vibe but not my cuppa tea! Had a few drinks and then wen back to grants. I passed right we we got home who knows what time it was. On sayirday I woke up and went back to double bay to change and met to Ri in Newtown for lunch. Had a yummy burrito and then sadly we said our goodbyes. I headed to the beach (take one guess which beach 😸). The rain has brought in a chill so it wasn't the best beach weather but I was determined! Only lay of the beach for about 1 in a half hours. Decided to go find beach road hotel, and on the way scoped out place to live. Found a great little flat on each road that was for lease :) of only it is still there in about a year. Could definitely live in bondi, even though meg said its very noisy. Maybe Newtown as well. So many great places! After the pub I met granty back at marks flat to say good bye. I hate good byes, who doesn't though. It's been nice having quality time with my cousins. When they come visit its never like it was now. Meg came and picked me up for some dinner, sushi in double bay an then went to a bar near her house for a drink and a dessert. Had a marvelous strawberry and cucumber marg!!!! Heaven in a glass! Dropped me back at marks (once again good byes were said) and then went to bed. Sunday I woke up and took one last run around double bay, came home and got ready to go to the airport! 

A royal f up :( but life goes on!

So remember Chris (22 year old, friend of a friend that I met and got close to). Well after Saturday I hadn't really heard from him much. Which was a little strange we talked all day for the past 3 days.  He was in the blue mountain visiting his brother and mom. Just checked in to see how his day was going. He responded very broadly and then that was it, no other conversation was held. Weird to me as well. After a couple hours of nothing I sent a good night message with a sad face, why the sad face he responds. I say just because we haven't talked much that day. His excuse was he hasn't really used his phone that much, fair excuse. So the next day goes by no word, and then by the time I know it it's Wednesday. That's 2 days of not even a "hi", none the less he's been sending snapchats and posting stuff on instragram and Facebook. So of course I jump to the conclusion that he is an asshole and isn't going to talk to me anymore for whatever reason he thinks is logical. I message him about it (maybe not the nicest message, hell I was mad)! it turns out he really doesn't have time for me, because he has work and school and he can't just drop everything for me....I guess he wasn't that special anyways. What the hell is he talking about IT'S ALL ABOUT ME!? I'm

Just kidding, I didn't expect him to drop everything but a simple text message saying hello, and maybe throwing in a I'm really busy but I promise ill see you before you leave would have been nice! Whatever, he was way to young, even if he did have a career and all that stuff set up. Plus there are way cuter boys around ;). So anyways I guess that can be considered the shortest relationship I have had! Lol 1 week, woo! That's great! Not that we were really in a relationship but we spent 3 days together, that is something. And after 3 days I didn't want to murder him like most people! Anyway lesson learned don't jump to conclusions. I could have taken a less "patronizing" (that's  the word he used when responding to my angry text) route, like maybe asking if I did something wrong, but who am I kidding. I don't have time for that shit! I'm getting old! ;p Another thing that this made me think about, don't EVER let being busy and not having time to talk to someone you care about be an excuse. You never know what tomorrow might hold, life is a gift and can never be taken for granted. I'm busy is by far the stupidest excuse in the book! If anyone uses it be warned you will be slapped! 

Last couple days in the land of the Oz.

Well obviously Mother Nature hates me and has made it rain pretty much for a week! My thoughts were to spend my last few days soaking up the sun, but nooo! Mother Nature had other plans for me! Lets see where I left off at the last time I blogged. Went out to eat Sunday night with Meg/grant/Ian and Glenda at a nice Thai place in kirribilli after dinner I walked to Luna park with Ian and Glenda, got to see the bridge and opera house from a different view. Very pretty! Went home and just went to bed. Then next day I got up a ran and then just hung out since the weather was crappy. Went to see Dallas buyers club later that night with Ian and Glenda, was a great movie! It's about a guy who gets aids/HIV and goes about obtaining unapproved drugs to treat himself. Definitely a must see, has Matthew Mccongauhey in it. The next day I packed up my stuff and moved to double bay to marks apartment, since Ian and Glenda are going to Melbs this weekend! When I got to marks I dropped my stuff off and went to bondi, did some last minute shopping and then lay on the beach for about an hour in a half until it got cloudy. Went for a walk from bondi to bronte beach and then went back to marks and had dinner. The next day Mona and Erin (friends from the wildlife park) were coming to visit and stay with me for a night! I met them at the station around 10:30. After dropping off their bags at marks we headed to the city to go explore. Walked heaps around the city from central to darling harbour, took the ferry to circular quay. Walked to the opera   house  and then through the royal botanical gardens back to the city. Went home changed and then head back out to the harbour for some drinks at margaritaville. Took the ferry again to circular quay and then walked to the rocks had dinner at a nice pizza place and then went back to the opera house to take a few pictures! Had a great time with them! It will be Sad to say good bye, because I won't see them again! The next morning we went to bondi, but it was raining so just did a little walking around and then they had to head back to gosford :(( I miss them already! Later that day I went to get a manicure and the walked to double bay shopping area to grab a drink be fore mark got home for dinner. Had a nice dinner at home and then just watched law and order until it was bedtime!

It's the freaking weekend baby, bout to have me some fun!

Friday I didn't do much except for go for a long run to the saint Ives shops to look at some stuff, came home relaxed and then walked back to the shops to purchase my findings (just contact solution and mascara). On my way back from the shops I stopped at Max Brennan's chocolate factory and got some delish chocolate! Came home was bored so I looked up different works outs and tried some of them. Wasn't sore while doing them, but boy was I in for a treat the next morning and throughout the weekend! Went to Megan's house for dinner with the family, and the went back to grants place to just chill. Went to bed fairly early for a Friday night. On Saturday we went to go look at some houses for granty. Took a breather at microbrewery, where I had an absolutely yum cider! Went to get lunch in Newtown, finally tried Vietnamese! So good! Did a little shopping, and then went back to Meg's  house to change for the beach. Tired one of the harbour beaches. Redfern was the one of choice. Got there just in time for the sun to get caught behind a nice big cloud! Eventually it came out again. Had a little nap on the beach with the G-unit and then Went back to Meg's so we could shower. Ordered pizza and pasta for dinner and had a little drinky drink. Finally finished my peach vodka! Only took me 2 months! I have an unopened bottle, which I will be saving for Valdosta! Moved the drinking party to grants house and never made it out to a pub, meg and I took a taxi home and watched some house of cards. Great show! Then passed out. On Sunday I went to bondi beach, caught a few rays, ate lunch on the grass and people watched . Had fish mongers, it was good but i expected more from them! Made up for it with Ben & Jerry's ice cream! Came back to Meg's, watched more house of cards and the got ready for dinner with the family. Went to kirribilli, and ate at a great Thai place! Walked to Luna park with my aunt and uncle and saw a view of the city I had never seen before, gorgeous! I leave next Sunday, part of me is excited and ready to go home, but another part of me wants to stay. For 1 going home means I have to face the fact that sweet Lizzie is really gone and it wasn't just a dream :(. Everyone at home I feel like has had their point to grieve, for me I never got that moment. I couldn't say goodbye to her at the funeral, so it's not real to me. I knew it was something that would

Eventually come about and my friends and family are there to help me, but I don't t want it to be real, it was so unfair! Secondly, this city has really grown on me. Sitting on the grass at bondi today, I felt like this could really be my home. At first I said no way I could live here, but as time went on and I learnt the ways of the city I really started to enjoy it. Plus there is Chris, while I'm sure what is happening...are we more than friends? just friends? Who knows, I like him and he is fun to be around. Definitely would not be moving to Australia for him ( let's just get that clear!) my cousins are here, and Rihane. Some good work opportunities are here pertaining to wildlife, it's hard to think of everything right now though. I have so many ideas in my head, but no clue where to start with them. It supposed to be rainy weather all this week, no good for me! I need beach weather! Erin and Mona (girls I worked with at the wildlife park) are coming to Sydney wed/thur and will be staying at marks house with me and we are going to explore the city. Ill play the tour guide! Hopefully will get to see Chris Thursday. He invited me up to the blue mountains, but I couldn't go because I had arrangements with the family, but since him being there (his mom lives up there) I haven't really talked to him. Makes me sad. No set plans for tomorrow or the next coming days, just waiting on the weather to show what it  actually will be doing, since we can't trust forecasts anymore! 

Great plans ruined by the dang bus.

After getting back from the wildlife park last night, Chris and I had plans to go bowling but then changed them to go see his friend play at a pub close to his house. He lives about 30-45 minutes from me so instead of making him drive a good hour to hour in a half trip I said I would ride the bus. It didn't seem like a hard task, jump on the 197 right up the street ride all the way to Waterloo road and then hop on the 619 and boom I'd be there. Except the 197 never arrived at the stop! I waited a good 20 minutes for it. Saw it stop on the other side of the road but never to my side ( which was definitely the right stop, I checked the stop numbers). After it left I checked the timetables and apparently that was the last 197 bus for the night....great. Called Chris and he offered to come pick me up but that would be silly! In my head I wanted to say yes but I couldn't make him do that. :(, I was really looking forward to seeing him. We get along so easily and I enjoy his company (plus he gives good back massages!). I head back to the house and just  finished my book and then Went to bed :( not a great way to start my last several days in Sydney. Hopefully granty and I go out tonight to have some fun, and ill have to met up with Chris and the gang maybe on Saturday. 

Broken laptop...

After only being used for less than 2 months my BRAND new hp laptop will not turn on...I'm hoping it is just because the power converter isn't working otherwise best buy or hp ( whoever wants to deal with me) will have a very angry gal on their hands. Since I can't get on my comp ill have to give you a quick update from typing on my phone, which I suck at. 

Starting from last Weekend;

Friday- went for a run, Ian dropped me off at Mona vale beach,  stayed for about 3 hours, got a snack at cute coffee shop while waiting for glen to Pi l me up. Relaxed and got ready for dinner at bev. Went back with meg, watched weird movie with Ryan and then bedtime. 

Sat woke up and went to bondi to meet Rihane for lunch and walk around. Ate some yum sushi. After nic got off work we met him And his mates at coogee beach to hang while the played volley ball. Big storm came through, went to coogee beach bar started drinking. Started  chatting with one of nics mates (Chris) nice guy but the only bad thing about him besides the fact that he smokes is he is 22. Hit it off anyway, all started as a joke about finding someone to have a baby with so he could get this weird/but hilarious dummy (pacifier) we all saw at the pub. Nic and rihane left for dinner I stayed with Chris and his friends nico and Zach, crazy bunch. Decided to go to newton and continue the party around 8:30-9. When to copper bar first and then courthouse. Great places, played pool at copper and won. Chilled at courty, met Chris' sister and one brother (has 7!) after pub closed went to get kebabs (amazing!!!) stayed at nicos house with the crew since granty was out in surry hills. 

Woke up sun mornings an went to get some breakfast with Chris. Brekky was at a Japanese place ( eggs and toast kinda stuff, weird but delish.) Went back to Meg's and took a nap only to wake up to another big storm. Stayed in and relaxed/ready book until meeting rihane, her friend and Chris at central station for dinner. Went to a pub and had a nice steak, migrated to strawberry hills hotel to play some pool again. We all were tired and the night ended at 9 :30.

Have to go up to gosford again tom for work so Chris suggested to stay at his house and we could go up to the central coast to the beach. Went back to his house is western side of the city. Watched some Australian comedian. Very funny dude. 

Monday- woke up and walked about 10 from his house to a nice cafe for breakfast. Came home and got my stuff together for gosford and headed up to the central coast to avoca beach. Took us about a hour. Avoca beach was really pretty and not very busy. Has some yummy fish and chips for lunch at a little place on the beach and took a walk around the  rocks. After the beach we kept driving north towards Newcastle to meet Chris' dad for dinner. Lives in a town called Toronto but def not Canada! Went to eat at a place of Darby street in Newcastle, goldbergs. Finally got to the park around 10:30 and went straight to bed. 

1st day at park:

Same old duties, got to feed the snakes though. Very cool. 

2nd day:

Did some stuff in the morning by myself and then worked with tash later in the afternoon. Usually am the one who gets to do the bilbies and potoroo in the afternoon but can't complain. One potoroo comes and eats out my hand. Got over my fear of crickets by having to help tash feed the Boyd dragon. And the. Helped feed one of the bearded dragons. Those are the coolest lizards! I want one, eventually! Had a nice farewell BBQ with the peeps from

The park. Erin was upset about not passing her driving test so we had a drinking night. Ill never turn that down! Went to bed around 9:30, so wants that much of a crazy evening. 

Last day that park.

I did a lot to day by myself, which was really cool. Kind of felt like I actually worked there. It was a very different feeling to just following someone around and helping, I liked it! Started off with doing the billy yard, also got to clean out the wombat and echidna yard. 2 things I had not done yet. The wombat is so sweet! After those yards I cleaned the brush tail Possum cages and the feather tail gliders. Those things are super cute and tiny !! After lunch I had to replace all the branches in the bat enclosure, sugar glider cage, quoll enclosure and the brush tails. It all done just in time to run back to vollywood and take a quick shower before heading out. Before lunch they had a cake and thank you card for me, so sweet! Well I'm tired of typing on my phone so updates will come later. 

**i don't care if there are hella spelling mistakes, I don't have he patience to go back and re-read this***

Back at the W park for 3 days

Got back to the park and settled in for another long 3 days for working/boredom (at night). I brought a good book this time, so hopefully it will keep me busy! First day back was pretty easy, worked with Natasha. I helped her make food mixes, cleaned out enclosures and same old same old. Last week we listened to a semi-seminar of what snakes were at the park. 4 venomous snakes were present: the tiger snake, eastern brown snake, puff adder and red belly snake. The Puff adder and red belly snake are not aggressive snakes, when seen all you have to do is stop, back away slowly and take another route. The snake will only strike if there is no where to hide and it feels threatened. The tiger and brown snake on the other had are very aggressive snakes! Number one rule...NEVER run from them, they WILL chase you! How freaking scary is that! They will chase because that is how they catch their prey. Fun fact number 2, if you see a tiger or brown snake and it is a good distance away from you...you can walk/run parallel to the snake and it will mimic you....WEIRD! Definitely not going to test that theory IF I see one. So back to what to do if you see one, back away very VERY VERY slowly, get as far away as possible from that bugger. Once far away still do NOT run, just keep walking backwards. GEEZ I hope I never see one! With all the out of the way and explained I can get back to my day. While walking from the Visitor center to the maintenance shed, Natasha almost stepped on a Red Belly! Crazy shit! I think I saved her life :). It went into an animals enclosure and then all volunteers were sent away so they could catch it and rehome the snake on the outskirts of the park.  That was the excitement of that day. On to the next day, worked with Karen and got to clean the Bilbilies/Potoroo yard by myself. Treated the short neck turtles (they had shell rot, which they get from being in the water too much and the open wounds getting infected.) You have to soak them in iodine from an hour and then coat them in a ointment for another hour. After washing off the excess ointment, I had to feed all the turtles. The two I treated in the shed, one in the farm yard, and two in the koala yard. Got to feed the tawny owl at the end of the day and the kookaburra! He is a sneaky/feisty bugger always trying to steal the other birds food! I forgot to mention I got to help with the leaf change for the Koalas. Every day at 2:30, the Koalas get woken up and we give them new Eucalyptus to munch on. Interesting fact about Koalas. They sleep 20 hours a day, because the leaves have very little fat content, which does not give them much energy to do much, plus it takes over 200 hours to digest the leaves since they are very toxic! They wake up basically to eat, for the most 15-20 minutes!

Back to my last day before the weekend! Had a horrible storm last night, thunder and lightning like no other! Luckily it was all done by the time I had to get up and go to work. My days all seem the same, I am with either Natasha or Karen (I think Natasha does it on purpose, we have a fun time together. Joking about everything!) Help clean, get to do some enclosures by myself, make the food for some animals in the shed. Help feed the animals in the afternoon, and check all the locks at the end of the day...BLAH BLAH BLAH. I ready for a fun weekend in Sydney, the end is coming up fast! This weekend I want to go to Kings Cross!!!

Da weekend....FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL!!!

After Shabbot dinner I went back with Meg and Ryan to stay the weekend with them. Saturday was Future Music Festival, but in the morning I got up and went to get my nails done with Meggy. I had asked Granty and/or Rihanne to come to Future with me, but both bailed. No worries! I was determined to go even if I had to go by myself! Future had an awesome line up this year, plus I couldn't miss HARDWELL! The festival started at 12PM and would end around 10:30 PM. Besides Hardwell; Mackelmore and Ryan Lewis, Pharrell Williams, Carnage and a lot of other great DJ's were playing! After my nails I came home and changed and then met up with Meggy and Isabella, they walked with me to the Kings Cross train station, where I departed and headed to Central station to catch the free shuttle to Randwick Raceway (where Future was being held). Got to the festival just in time for Martin Garrix! Wondered/raged around by myself for a little bit. When I went to watch Carnage I managed to get to the very very front! it was AWESOME!! He was soooo good! I saw him in Atlanta with Allan and his gang! After Carnage I made my way to the main stage to see Pharell Williams. On my way I bumped into a guy, after stopping and talking to him for a bit he mention my friends had left me...I was following a group of people to get through the crowd easier. My response was " I don't have any friends, I came by myself!" I was immediately taken into the group! There were from Canberra, close to were regrowth was the weekend I went with Grant. All younger kids but they were so nice and welcoming, asking me how I could possible come to huge festival alone, and questions about the states. Tommy (the guy I bumped into) introduced me to everyone, and I followed them around all night. We had such an amazing time, meeting them definitely made the experience! Headed home around 10 but it took a while, since everyone was leaving too. Got back to Megs around 12:30, chatted for a little bit and then hit the sack. The next morning I went to brunch with her and her friends at a place in Double Bay. After that we went to Bondi Junction to have a little shop around. She and Ryan had an engagement party in the afternoon, so I met up with a friend (met him on Tinder, and we had been chatting for a couple weeks. Every time we planned to get together it fell through, so this would be the first meeting...) Meg and Ryan dropped me off at his place in Mosman and we sat on the balcony overlooking Belmoral beach and chatted about each other. He had a dinner date with his sisters so we walked to the station together and then I made my way back to Megs apartment.

On Monday, I went to Bondi Beach for a little to catch some rays. Ate a yummy snack/lunch at a salad place and then went back to St Ives to get ready to catch the train to Gosford for my second week of volunteering.

First week volunteering at Walkabout wildlife park.

So I finally get a chance to do some wildlife work at a park up in Gosford. It is a private park, who was bought my Tassin and Gerald about 9 years ago from the government. They have really turned this place around and made it a great place to come visit. They have koalas, kangaroos, devils, qoulls and many more native Australian animals plus some farm animals. Reminds me on the movie "We bought a Zoo." I left Gordon station and took a train to Hornsby and then connected on through to Gosford, where Gerald picked me up and took me to park. There were accommodating me since St Ives was so far. The lodge had a room with 10 bunk beds, kitchen area with a  fridge, hot plate and microwave, and then a living area with only a table, a bunch of sofas, a tv and some DVD's. No Internet and no TV. Oh boy this is going to a long 3 days! There were 2 other girls staying there thankfully! Erin (20), from Bryon Bay. She is a employee, just doing a test run to see if she likes the job before she looks for a place to live. Mona (17), from Germany. She is staying for 5 weeks! Both are very nice. The next day was my first day to learn the daily routines starting at 8Am. I got to work with Karen, a ranger who had been at the park for about 4 years. She is very nice and funny. First task was to move the Geese from one farm to the other. We trapped the geese in a corner and then boom, just pounce! I'm a professional goose catcher! After getting them settled I had to clean out their new enclosure and set up this playhouse/baby pool.  Karen had been deworming all the birds, so I assisted her with that. Not much to do except replace all their water bowls with the worming solution.  Other tasks that day included helping her clean the quolls, bilbilies/potoroo, Tasmanian devil (which I wasn't allowed in the enclosure, tazzies are MEAN!) and the bat "Flying Foxes" enclosure. That about wrapped it up for day one ending at 5PM, and I was exhausted! Working in the heat all day really does a number on you!

Day Two started at 8AM again.  This day I started with helping clean the farms. They have 2 Australian Mountain Goats, 2 alpacas, some chickens, a bunny and a pig! Today was a little disorganized and started off slow but once we got a hold of everything it turned out better. One volunteer ended up leaving early because she dog had gone missing that morning and she was very upset (who could blame her!). I miss my babies! Later on in the day Erin went back to house early, she wasn't feeling good.  Since 2 people had left things got a lot more exciting, I got to take on some of their tasks. First was cleaning out the Eastern Pygmy Possum cages. The female is blind but very sweet, and the male is blind in one eye. He doesn't really come out his little box like the female. I swept the cage, changed the waters and water bucket that hold the branches, put new branches in and changed their food.  Next I had to clean out the Sugar glider cage (Nutmeg), she was a cutie! Swept it out, changed her branches and gave her new water/food. Ended the day at 5PM again, and then went to the store to get some stuff to eat for the rest of my time there. May have gone a little crazy at the grocery store, but It was all healthy much needed food!

Day 3, and my final day before I returned to Sydney for an exciting weekend! Started out with cleaning  the farm. Changed all the water buckets, raked up all the old food/poo (sound fun doesn't it!).  It was all by myself so I felt accomplished! I work with Natasha a little bit after. She is another ranger,  younger gal. Started out as a volunteer, then became a paid volley, and after that became a full-time employee and now she is a ranger. All in about a 2 year span, pretty good if you ask me. Good on her :). That Friday I left at 1PM, and headed back to Sydney for Shabbot dinner at the house with Meg, Ryan and Granty. 

http://www.walkaboutpark.com.au/ <-- check out the park!

Living like a local (or at least trying to!)

Headed out to Canberra this weekend with my cousin and his friends for Regrowth music festival. The drive is about 3 in a half hours and we left around 7:30-8 Friday night. First we stopped at Woolworths (grocery store) to pick up some food for the weekend (you camp out in the sticks), then of course we had to hit up the bottle shop for some "juice" :P. After all the jazz was complete off we went! Not a bad drive, it was raining the whole way. Got to the campsite just in time for one of the girls that was in the group to go perform with her group (close call!). Watched her first and then set up the camp site. She was playing a jam band, and it was a kind of open mic thing. Anyone could grab the mic and spit some lyrics if they pleased. The evolver lounge was were this all took place and cool little tent with lots of couches and stuff to lay down on and just chill, real hippie stuff. Not much action on the Friday night, after the camp site was set up everyone went to sleep. Woke up Saturday morning and it was still raining :(, luckily we had a tarp that we tried to trees and made a little common area space with mats to sit on. A pretty bad ass set up if you ask me. Granty, Leila and I headed into town that morning to grab some ice, since no stores were open last night. It was Nicki's (Nikki is a really popular name in Aussie) birthday that day so we got some bubbles, face paint, candles and some cookies to celebrate later. Had some yummy crepes with caramelized apples/pears and nutella spread for breakfast. Yea we eat like royalty when camping, no big deal (just wait til you hear what we had for dinner!) Hal, Nicki and Leia all took a snooze while Grant, Jonathon and chilled in the "living room/kitchen." Had some snacks and started to drink a little later on. Everyone woke up about 3 hours later and then the party had officially started. Threw some lamb chops on the grill for dinner (Royalty, I tell ya) with some corn/potato and coriander salad, DELICOUS! By then the rain had stopped and we headed out to the festival to listen to a band called OKA, very different band/dj. They use the didgeridoo and some other instruments along with some dj beats. I liked them a lot.  Then some really good unknown DJ's followed. I'll list them and their music below so you can take a listen too! We partied all night and I honestly can't tell you when we all went to bed! It was so much fun, everyone is so friendly (everyone is a HIPPIE)! The star at night were amazing!!! Such a clear site and so many of them! Nicki showed me the southern cross and the scorpion. The southern cross can only be seen in the southern hemisphere, and the scorpion is huge! All I wanted to do was just stare at them. I kept thinking about that scene in the Lion king where Pumba, Timon and Simba are laying down staring at the stars and Simba said that his father told him that stars are fellow people looking down on you. In this case I said hello to my grandpa and Lizzie. I couldn't help but smile :) I know both of them are doing great up there! Gramps is probably sitting with all his new friends watching tennis and golf friends, and Lizzie she definitely schooling people in soccer, like the star athlete she was and infecting people with that smile and laugh of hers!  I could not sleep that night, from being up all day/night my legs just wanted to keep on dancing and moving! Finally got a few hours of sleep and then it was morning. No breakfast the next morning just a early lunch, some rice with a veggie stir fry. Also so yummy for camping food! I'm taking many notes! That day we took it easy and just went into the festival to listen to some music, then walked to the look out spot. The festival was in a valley, so you hiked up the hillside and could sit and see everything around you. It was just trees everywhere, absolutely gorgeous! After hanging out there for an hour or two we headed back down to relax before dinner. I took a lay down, since I barely got any sleep the night before. Not clue how long my nap was, but I woke up for some dinner and it was so cold! The temperature had definitely changed :(. Not feeling the party scene I decided to go curl up in the tent and relax. ended up falling asleep again. Everyone except Lelia and I went out to the festival that night. Everyone came back to the tent for some hot tea and I had woken up but just had no motivation to venture out into the cold!  The next morning we got up and just went to walk around the festival, I wanted to get a henna tattoo, so that was my mission. Finally tracked down the henna artist and mission complete. Went back to the campsite back up our stuff and headed out around 3PM. Stopped to eat some lunch in a town caller Groublin, not the best lunch but it was cheap. Got back to Sydney around 7. There were NO showers, this was legit camping! So the first thing we all did was SHOWER! It felt so good! Not showing did not really bother me at the campsite though and it was so nice to not care about technology! Spent he night at my cousins, had some Indian food for dinner and then woke up the next morning and walked to Newtown. I am volunteering at a Wildlife park Wed-Fri and needed a pair of "work" jeans, so I found an Op show (thrift shop) and scored a pair of jeans for $6. While wandering around I found a nice shop with some really cute top and shorts on sale, got a pair of white high-waited shorts and two crop tops for $50, best deal yet! Made my way back to Saint Ives and then just hanging out until I have to leave for the Wildlife park at 6:30. It is called Walkabout wildlife park, and Cassie and I actual went there for the wine tour we did on Valentines day! I'm super excited to get getting some good work in! This weekend is Future music festival! I'm so excited to go! Hopefully my cousin or Rihanne will go with me otherwise I'm going by myself, which I have no problem with. It would be easier, wouldn't have to worry about losing a friend when I got to the bathroom or anything, and I'm sure I'll meet some people to tag long with if needed!

Here are the Dj's I was talking about!
- Oka (http://youtu.be/VgB0IK0N0m8)

- Snareophobe feat Dup Princess (https://soundcloud.com/snareophobe)
Unfortunately there are no mixes with Dup Princess on his profile, but she was amazing! Had a reggae tone to her and snag while he played beats, I wish I would have recorded it!

-Monfly (https://soundcloud.com/monkfly)

ME, Myself and I....in Sydney :(

Alright so I believe I left off at Tuesday....On that day what did I do? Oh Yes I stayed in Saint Ives. Woke up and went on my usual run but decided to take a different route and go check out a little National Park down the road. It is called Garigal National Park, very green area and peacefully. Walked the trail a little bit then just stopped on sat on a rock and listened to the trees and birds. Came home and just organized some stuff, then later that night I met up with Rihanne and we went to Newtown area to a comedy show. It was just a small open mic night, but had a few funny people performing. Slept at my cousins house that night since I was close by and then woke up Wednesday morning and went to Coogee beach. My plan was to actually go to Clovelly beach BUT...I got on the right bus but just going in the wrong direction....SO. Had to ride that bus back to where I started from and go 30 minutes in the right direction. When I got to Coogee it was about a 20 minutes walk to Clovelly, which is really good for snorkeling (that's the only reason I was going), I was irritated and tired so just ended up staying on Coogee. I believe it is near Bondi...maybe if Cassie and I had walked all the way to Bronte beach that one day we might have been close to it. The beach was nice, but got a little cloudy in 2 hours or so. That was my cue to leave so I packed up and head to the buses, making sure I got on the right one and right direction this time. Asking questions is that best way to go! Before I say what I did that night I need to take a few steps back and explain something.

Either Monday night or Tuesday I can't remember, I was bored so I decided to download Tinder (that social/dating site). Started picking who I would like to meet and what not, and got a few messages from some fellas. One guy was James, and there were others but James is the one you need to remember. So know that I have explained I can proceed with my evening plans!

I have heard Bondi Beach is a very vibey place on a Wednesday, but no one would go with me (and I'm a little brave but not brave enough to go to a bar by myself!) So I think hey James said he'd liked to meet up if I wanted and he could show me around...Perfect! So sent a little texty text and BOOM I got a date...Now most people would be a little skeptical, in a new place and going to meet up with a random guy...my thoughts YOLO! My aunt and uncle were very nervous but I gave them his Full name and number so hopefully that eased their thoughts (probably not). James was very nice and offered to come pick me up from Saint Ives, he lives in Bondi (that's a good 30 min drive). First a little more info on James: He was born in England, moved to Aussie for work 10 years ago, works for a big bank in Aussie and does their IT stuff, owes a 2 bedroom condo in Bondi, does pretty well for himself seeing so a condo in Bondi is crazy expensive and has a cute little BWM, and lastly he is 35. Only 9 years older than me so not too bad! Plus I think he kinda hads a little Luke Bryan look going on. Ok and back to the evening, he picked me up in St. Ives and we go back to Bondi. Eat dinner at an awesome Thai Place called Rice Pot and then went down the street to a quiet bar for a drink. It was rainy so all the big places in Bondi that are usually packed on Wednesday were not so packed. At dinner and drinks we talked about everything: family, hobbies, pets and all other animals. Had some good laughs and it was a very enjoyable evening. Before taking me back to St Ives we drove to this little look out spot where you can see North Sydney, the bridge and the Opera House. It was Gorgeous! Literally like a postcard view. That was the end of the date, got returned to St Ives in one piece and went to bed. Might see him again, we talked about it but I think he is super bummed I'm leaving in a Month so we will see. If he asks me out again I will definitely say yes!

The rain stuck around the next day so I just went to darling harbor and walked around, they have a Margaritaville! Of course I had to stop and lucky for me it was happy hour. Hello $10 watermelon marg! After that I came back home and then went to eat sushi with my aunt and uncle for dinner.

This weekend I'm going to a music festival with my cousin and his friends, Its 3.5 hours south of Syndey in Canberra. Basically you go and camp out, plant trees, listen to music and have a good old time. You can read more about it on the website (http://www.re-gen.org.au/about).

http://youtu.be/JG79xOsTVaU
http://youtu.be/JG79xOsTVaU

Should be interesting!

Count down to Future Music festival though....9 days! (http://youtu.be/JG79xOsTVaU)

After movie from last year (http://youtu.be/Ir2rQFeSAIc)

Shelly beach

Today I ventured off to manly again, but think time to a smaller beach near by called Shelly beach. It is a smaller secluded beach and can you guess why its called Shelly Beach...Ding ding, you are correct if you said because the sand is mostly broken shells!!! You are so smart :). Getting there was a bit of a hassle. I decided to take the buses thinking it would be fast, which it really would be if the damn buses weren't late every time!!! Took me about 2 hours to get to Manly, but I got to see a different side of the city, so no complaints really. It was quite relaxing. Shelly Beach is also know for good snorkeling. I took one step in the water and decided it was way too cold! The water was crystal clear though and gorgeous!! Saw a few regular looking fish around my feet but nothing worth freezing over! I spent most my time at the beach relaxing, watching some cute kids and just enjoying the scenery! After the sun started to cool down I took a little hike to a cliff, where you can see all the beaches. It so peacefully being that high over looking the gorgeous water and reflecting on life. Saw a few water dragons on my way, and a HUGE spider. Luckily it was in its web high above my head! Not much of an eventful day, but I enjoyed it. Got home and ate some yummy chili, prepared by my perfect auntie and then just spent the rest of the evening looking for fun things to do tomorrow night. Might go meet Rihanne at a comedy club tomorrow and then who knows what will happen. Ready to meet some more good looking Aussie boys, since the one I had my eye on is hella kilometers away in Cairns! Sad day!

farewell cassie.

After spending the last 2 days on the beach: Bondi and Manly, little Cassie had to say good bye to Australia. It was a bitter sweet feeling. I was sad to see her go because we had been in each others company for 3 weeks, but I had a feeling we were getting on each others nerves. I know she had a good time and did not want to leave. I'm glad she got to experience the place she has always dreamed about. I on the other hand have a whole new adventure ahead of me! After dropping her off at central station I ventured on to Stanmore, where my cousin Grant lives. We hung out for a bit and then headed into Newtown for some lunch via bicycles. I was wearing a flowy dress and the bike was definitely too big for me but we made it there in one piece, with much entertainment! The place we ate at was a little pastry café and it was AMAZING!!! Not to mention cheap as well, my kinda party! Walked around Newtown a little more and then headed back to his house, for a little down time. Watch the weirdest movie ever, it was called Half Nelson....Not quite sure what was going on but it was the type of movie you want to turn off but keep watching hoping that something that explains it will happen...it ended and nothing was explained = FAIL! After the movie we met up with his roomie, Johnathon, and some other friends at a pub in Surry Hills. I met a girl who lives in Bondi and gave me her number to call whenever I need advice on where to go! Super sweet girl! I have decided that I MUST got to Byron Bay, so the tickets are only $80 each way and there is no excuse. I'll go and just meet people, explore the beautiful beaches and just live freely! This weekend it looks like I'll be going to trance party with my cousin and his friends, its 3 hours outside of Sydney and a 3 day festival. Its called Regrowth, you party and plant trees, Granty says it is in the middle of a forest. Super excited!!! I have so much to come now that I'm on my own, and can't wait to see where the wind carries me!

Elaboration of the Cairns trip.

So arrived in Cairns, waited 1 hour to be picked up by the shuttle to be taken to our backpackers....not the best start to a journey but hey at least we got picked up for free. Before I proceed let me stat that this is mine and Cassie' first time staying at a backpackers/hostel. So we check in a get show to our room, the bed had no sheets on it (which was a mistake) and I definitely could have gone all my life not seeing that mattress. Disgusting doesn't even describe it! The whole room was nasty, carpets probably had never been vacuumed, shared bathroom made me want to not shower the whole time there and I still would feel cleaner that actually showering. After getting sheets on the bed we headed out to a pub across the street called Pier bar, they have happy hour and is very vibey on a sunday. Had a much needed drink at the pub and then headed down the street to Gillians, which is the ritz Carlton of backpackers (and the place were we got our free dinner). Ate dinner and then wandered around looking at the scenery (and as is scenery I mean guys). Until finally we were approached by a very appeasing to the eye candidate. He then invited us to his table with his good-looking friends. :) These boys were from Brisbane (the REAL Australians)! Super fun guys plus they bought all our drinks. So far Australian boys are taking the lead over American guys. Night one is Cairns was going to be a hard one to beat.

The next day we woke up super early and get ready for our snorkeling trip. Got to the boat right on time and then had a nice 2 hours cruise to the reef. The boat we were on was not the best looking boat but it got us there and the crew was fun! The boat was actually going in for a make-over the next day so we caught it just in time, since it was the cheapest trip we could find. $99 on Compass Cruises, included lunch as well. Lots of nice people were aboard that we made friends with, including the crew who we met at the pub later for a drink . That night we did not do anything exciting. Cassie and I got fried being on the boat all day, so early to bed for us. The next day we took a relax day and just walked around, ended up doing a ropes course at the top of the casino. The have a little wildlife park up there too so we looked at the animals as well. The backpackers was having a free pizza night at a place down the street called The Woolshed, and you could get 5 drinks for $10. YES PLEASE! After that we then decided to go back to try our luck at the casino. Slot machines are a lot harder than you think! What the hell! I lost $5 and Cassie won $10. I don't think I want to go to Vegas anymore, it might not end well!

Wednesday was another day for adventure, we got picked up at 7:50 at the bus stop and were headed out to see the rainforest, waterfalls, lakes and whole bunch of cool stuff, The tour we went on was called On the Wallaby, and it was a great tour. Last a good 10-12 hours but you get to see a lot of pretty sights and our tour guide was a character! Got back to Cairns around 8 and then changed and went to get some dinner. This would be our last night in Cairns so we headed out to a pub. Turns out there was a pub crawl so when we got there the place was packed but 2 seconds later Cassie and I were pretty much the only girls there amongst 5-7 guys. Of course this worked out well and we got some free drinks. After that place we hoped over to The woolshed again, were the managed escorted us in and bought us a drink too! Yay for free alcohol! Chilled there talking to the manager and other people and then ended the night at Gillian's. That place was always bumping. To cap of a good night we had to end it with Mackers (McDonalds)!

Checked out our backpackers at 10 AM and then went to take a picture of us holding a koala bear! Ate some lunch, laid out on the grass near the lagoon and then off to the airport we go, back to Sydney!

All in all the Cairns trip was a successful one. I definitely would love to go back and visit some more amazing places! Plus on of the Brisy boys we met the first night had just moved there, and we are going to get married. I have already decided this but I don't think he knows yet :P.

Cairns, 4 day trip

Sorry for the delay of posting, too many fun activities and little time to get on my computer!
I'll throw a quick draft of what we did while in Cairns and then elaborate later.
Got there Sunday night went out to eat and met some Brisbane boys who showed us a great time! Next day we went snorkeling on the great Barrier reef, amazing! That night we didn't do much, exhausted from the trip. Tuesday we just walked around and did a little gift shopping. Wednesday we woke up and did a tour through the rain forest, saw some petty sites including a waterfall, and a volcanic crater. That night we went out and met some more awesome people, and then left on Thursday! Boom quick summary and like I said I'll put more details on later plus pictures, so gotta rush to the beach to Cassie's fixing of Australian sun before she heads back to USA on sun!

Activites!!

So Wed was a lazy day, caught up on sleep and then did a little gift shopping in Circular Quay. Ate dinner at one of my mom's old friends house and then went to a local bar with their son Kev, who is a year or to younger than me. He brought his bestie Justin along and we had a grand time.

Thursday was a big day planned. Went on a free walking tour through the city, learnt some really cool facts! Had a nice lunch in the rocks, which is the oldest part of Sydney. Apparently this is were the first settlers lives. If you did not know Australia was a convict colony, meaning they sent convicts out here because it was so excluded from other places and the convicts then grew to make communities and so on. After lunch we met up with some people I had met in South Africa while volunteering with the Great White Sharks. Rihanne and Nicole. Sat on the law near the water and chatted. At 4 Cassie and I had plans to climb the Sydney bridge. Super exciting and expensive but a worthy thing to cough up the bucks to do. walked all the way to the top on it and back down. Takes about 3 hours, but surprisingly easier than you think. Meet up with Granty for some grub at a local favorite pub in Surry Hills, close to where he lives.

 Friday was Valentines day and without really noticing it we booked a whine tasting tour in Hunter Valley, about a 2 hour drive outside the city. It was fun and we were not the only odd non-couple out. Started off by visiting walkabout wildlife park where we could mingle with koalas, kangaroos, emus and wallabies! Got to pet the animals, take pictures and Cassie was lucky enough to even get a love pinch by a wallaby. It obviously didn't appreciate that she said it had lots of flies on it. I would not either! So it bit her on the arm and ran away! Had some tea and biscuits at the park and then headed off to a chocolate factory. After that it was on the way to our first winery, where we tasted a handful on yummy wines and even bought a bottle! Next stop the next winery/smelly cheese shop/lunch. Tempus two is a bigger commercial winery unlike the other one we went to which it more of a boutique winery, but still really good. Lunch and the cheese tasting was great! I would buy all the cheese spreads! Last winery was called Mount View Estate, a smaller winery as well. Tasted a bunch of great wines and learn a lot of valuable information on making wine and how its done. I might give it a try at home! Probably not as easy as it sounds! Everyone was coming over to Shabbot dinner that night so we had a quick nap before dinner and then filled our bellies with yummy homemade food, and then off we went with my cousin to see some Sydney nightlife! Yay! Went to the Surry Hills area and hung out a small pub until it got over crowded with guys from LA here for a big skateboarding thing in Bondi. We then moved to a bigger place with better music and then just chilled there. Cassie caught the attention of a guy, but just like always he was an American (from LA) that had moved here for work. Where are all the aussie boys at! The only Aussie I have had interest in was Alex and he was in LA! This is crazy! Grant and his roommates are part of this veggie group where everyone throws on 40 bucks and one group got to the market and buys a whole bunch of veggies to split between the group. Its every 2 weeks so this week was their turn. So we decided that we should got sleep since we have to go to the market at 5AM, sounded like a good idea at the time but definitely caught up to everyone later! The market was great, beside being zombie tired! Lots of fruits and veggies, a fish market and everything. Kind of like a Super H mart or roids! Left the market and went straight back to Grants to sleep. Only for about 4 hours though. Had a nice brekky sandwich and then off back to the North to get ready for Cairns tomorrow and our outing with friends tonight!

 

and the solo exploring begins!

First day back from Melbs we decided to hit up Bondi. The weather was not great but that wasn't going to stop us! We bought this great city pass, which allows us to travel on the train, bus and ferried for a week anytime. So jumped on a train and started learning our way around the city. Bondi was semi busy considering it was a Monday and overcast. We spent a few hours on the beach, and then did a little bit of souvenir shopping. After the beach we had plans to meet up with my parents in double bay and go out to eat with them and my aunt's brother. Ate at a great Thai place, and then had no plans but to go home.

 

The next day was much more of an exciting day! There is a big surfing competition going on in Sydney on Manly Beach until the 16th so we headed down there to check it out. Made it to Manly a little later then we wanted but we caught the end of the guys competition and then stuck around for the girls. The day turned into a great beach day! HOT HOT HOT! We got tired of the beach and decided to go watch the skateboarding demo, which was very exciting! After the demo was over we were walking around and passed a sign for surfing lessons. Spur of the moment decision...with a little convincing, we signed up for the lesson! What the hell, surfing! On Manly beach, the iconic surf spot :)! The lesson was so much fun and we stood up on some baby waves! A nice cold drink was definitely deserved after that so our instructor told us of a cool place that has nice beers and a skate ramp in the middle to watch the skater boys do their thang! After much wondering around we found it, and was  great spot! There were giving our free burgers so who cloud complain! One skater jumped of the roof and into the ramp, but his board flew out underneath him and hit the camera dude in the head! OUCH!!! Luckily there were medics to help fix him up! At the end of the evening we met two America guys! Pierce and Shane, both surfers that had been driving the eastern coast surfing at different spots. We all left the skating bar and headed down the street to get some more drinks and a bite to eat. The last ferry was leaving Manly beach at 11PM so had to hurry and catch it, before we got stranded! Made plans to meet the boys tomorrow either for dinner or drinks and then invited them out with Ri and Nic tomorrow night. Sadly they leave on Friday, but they both live in Florida so hopefully we can all keep in touch!

 

                                                                                

 

                                                                           

Summertime sadness.

Sadly while I was in Melbourne a friend from school was involved in an accident. She was walking across the street at a pedestrian walk (obeying all cautionary signs) but a truck did not see her and hit here :(. She was rushed straight to the hospital and was put in a medically induced coma due to her injuries. She went through a few surgeries, but in the end she was not able to pull through. This girl was the sweetest, most caring girl I knew. If you haven't heard it on the news, her name was Lizzie Lomar. Although she was not part of my sorority (she was a phi mu and I was in Alpha Sigma Alpha) she was a sister to me. We were not close like talk and text kinda close but every time I went back to visit Valdosta she was so happy to see me and interested in how life was. I never saw her frown and she loved all her friends. We were both part of Sigma Nu as white roses, and she was one of my brothers best friends. Its hard to imagine she is really gone, why her? Out of all the people in Valdosta, and god chose her. We will never know his reasons, but I'm sure they have to be pretty darn good to take such a sweet and gorgeous soul from us. My prayers go out to her family, friends and the VSU community, She impacted a lot of peoples lives and will be truly missed. The funeral will be held on Wednesday and I wish I could be there to say "see you later" to my friend.

Rest in Peace Lizzie, have a ball up there. I love you!

http://www.fundourcommunity.com/en/Lizzie

Melbs

After Cassie arriving, we had a day to rest and then off to Melbourne, which is south in Victoria. Flight was great (only a short hour and 5 min). Upon landing, we scooped up our rental car and headed to meet some family friends. We went down to Saint Kilda beach and ate some lunch, walked around and got some yummy ice cream. While my parents drove my granny to her friends house, Cassie and I hung out with Tarin ( an old friend from when I still lived in South Africa) and went to the park to walk to dogs. Once my parents returned we got dropped off at my other family friends house and had a nice bbq.

 The next day we went to Brighton beach. It is a bay so its semi flat water and a darker rocky sand, but has these adorable huts that people pay thousands of dollars for! Just to have a storage place on the beach...that shit cray. They do make for an awesome picture, and some are painted very nicely. Our favorite was the Australian flag one. After the beach we went to eat lunch at a nice café called The school yard. It is an old church converted into a restaurant. It had some very delish food. Later that night at my mom's friend (Cheryl) we had a big dinner, filled with people I didn't know but none the less it was good. Danielle is my moms other friends daughter, she is a tad bit younger (21) but a really cool girl. She took us out to a bar called The George. Super fun spot and there were some very nice looking Aussie guys there :).

On Saturday we took a drive up the coast to Red Hill, where there are a lot of vineyards. Before heading to the vineyard for lunch, we stopped at a place that makes homemade pies. Such a beautiful setting. The restaurant at the vineyard was bridal shower over-kill. Literally every girl I saw walk past had a bride to be sash, and they had a wedding that night they had to start setting up for! Besides the bridal mayhem the food (pizzas) and wine was amazing! After leaving the vineyard we popped in at a small beach, hung out there for a short period of time and then headed back home. Cassie and I had plans to go out with Tarin, her wonderful boyfriend and some of his friends, so we needed a nap! We ended up going to a nice burger joint and then made our way down Chapel street ( where all the big clubs and bars are located).  We went to two places, but I can not remember the names. We made up a game to see who could get the most free drinks, the boys had their theories on how a gal could score a free drink and we had planned to test these theories. Unfortunately, Cassie and I are too shy to play this game sober, so we did not score any free drinks from random guys....Sad day.

 

We came to Melbs just in time, on Sunday there was a big festival going on called the Saint Kilda Festival. The street that we went to the first day we got there was completely closed off and there was live music on a bunch of stages ( all Aussie bands, but still enjoyable). Over 400,000 people were estimated to be there, that's 4 times more than Tomorroworld! Cassie and I took a tram to the festival, and spent most of the day there until we had to meet up with the parentals to go to the airport. Besides music there were lots of vendors selling t-shirts, jewelry and much more. we watched a volleyball tournament and just chilled on the beach. Very fun day, but our shoulders were fried ( no sunscreen was used, poor decision...) Back to Sydney we go to fill our days with everlasting fun.