Island of 'Roos'!

Well, time for another update! I tell ya, it's hard to keep up with a blog when you have a full-time job! Don't worry, I'm only about 4 months behind! :) Quick update on my job: being a travel agent is actually super stressful. I had no idea of all that is involved in it! I'm still going to give it a fair chance, but let's just say, I don't think I've found the job for me. Oh well, at least I can say that I tried it....and hopefully one step closer to finding that job that is the right fit for me!

 So, for my 3rd Groovy Grape Getaway, I headed to spectacular Kangaroo Island, an island full of Aussie wildlife! KI is OZ's 2nd largest island, the first being Tasmania of course. As you may have already guessed, the island was named KI because there are tons of kangaroos and wallabies. The original founders of the island kept shooting a particular animal and then cooking it up. After learning that that particular animal is called a kangaroo, it made sense to them to name the island that.

On this tour, I was reunited with Holly and Laura, 2 English girls that I had done the great ocean road with. The rest of the group included a Dutch girl, a girl from Hong Kong, and 3 French (2 of whom were very bossy). Our tour guide, Simon, was a very crude Aussie bloke and 2 days with him was enough! I still had a great time, but could've done without his sleaziness (most of the girls agreed on that)!

So, what did I do on KI, you ask? Well, let me tell you all about the fun I had. After getting off the ferry, we went to the Cape Willowbeigh Lighthouse. The views of KI are just magnificent, so the old lighthouse was a nice way to start off the day.

From there, we went to the Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Farm, where they grow their own eucalyptus and make all kinds of products (from soap to chocolate). Now the really special thing about this farm is that they raise orphaned joeys, like when a kangaroo has been hit by a car (yes, it happens heaps here). If there is a joey in the mum's pouch, the locals take the joey to the farm. I got to meet Luna, an adorable kangaroo they are raising. She just sat in her basket the whole time-so sweet! Luna is free to come and go as she pleases and soon she will probably just stay with her own kind. She might miss her basket though! Apparently, she still always shows up at the farm for dinner!

Isn't she sweet?!

I love the basket!

What emu farm is complete without an emu?

The next wildlife we saw were sea lions on the beach! They were everywhere! The adult sea lions go out hunting for food for 3 months at a time, so when they are at "home," it is really important for them to sleep...and sleep they do! To me, they look like fat sausages sizzling on the beach. I saw plenty of mum and pup seals; when the mums are home, the pups want to eat all the time and it is really important for them to, so the poor mums never get much of a break. It was so fun watching them wake each other up and then huddle for warmth or ride a wave into the beach. They all fight for the middle spot in the group! It certainly looks like a lazy life, but it makes sense why they have to sleep so much.

He looks like he just flopped!

Mum and pup

So cute!

How sweet...see her arm around the little one?

Having a little chat...actually that big guy kept trying to push in the middle of the others, so she was telling him off!

See what I mean about fat sausages?! Those brown lumps are the sea lions.

After the sea lions, I got to try sand-boarding for the first time! Oh my goodness, it was so much fun and one of my new favorite things to do! It's like sledding, only better because it's such a smooth ride and as you fly down the sand dune, it isn't cold or wet...you just get sandy! :) We had a little competition to see who could go the farthest and I won! I was really flying! Such a blast!

Waxing up the board...very important!

Waiting for the right moment....

Getting in position....

Off I go....

Check out that form! The pointed toes definitely helped! ;)

SO MUCH FUN!!!

We then headed to our cabin for the night. We had a blazing fire and all sat around and toasted marshmallows.

Our rustic cabin.

Some of the group enjoying some hot cocoa. It was freezing at night!

At about 10pm, we went over to the beach to see fairy penguins (now called "little penguins" due to political correctness...so silly)! They are so cute and we saw tons! I don't have any photos b/c the flash hurts their eyes. But it is the coolest experience to see them in the wild....not just in a zoo!

For bedtime, I slept outside for the first time in a swag! I really felt like I had a true bush-Aussie experience. A swag is basically a mattress encased in a canvas liner, but you put your sleeping bag inside and then zip the canvas up around you. It was a freezing night, so I even had my face covered up, but my body stayed very warm. The nice thing about swags is that they really trap your body heat in.  And if it rains (which it did in the desert...of all places), you can pull the flap over your face. A lot of Aussies camp with swags. But the best part is I was lying underneath a brilliant canopy of stars! It was absolutely spectacular to gaze into the sky and see that many stars! So that was my first swag experience and I've had plenty more since then...that's how we slept in the desert and in the Kimberley's. Here's a pic to give you an idea of what they look like.

I think they look like body bags!!! Imagine how funny it is to see a bunch laid out around the campfire.

The next morning, we woke up bright and early, so there were still stars out because it was so dark.

Some friends who greeted us in the morning.

First thing for the day, we went to a wildlife reserve and saw some cuddly, sleepy koalas.

I love how they look like balls of fur!

After that we headed to the Remarkable Rocks. That's really their name and they really are remarkable! As you can see from the following photos, we had a lot of fun taking pictures with the rocks!

The Remarkable Rocks

Holly, Me, and Laura....miss those girls!

Love this shot!

Hehee, I think we look like little animals!

We got to see some more fur seals at Seal Bay and Admiral Arch. I'm telling ya, KI is just full of wildlife! These seals were either sleeping on the rocks or playing in the water and there were TONS of them!

If you look closely, you can see all the seals on the rocks. It's a bit like Where's Waldo?!

There's those fat sausages again!

Admiral Arch

Beautiful views!

Sparkly like diamonds! ;)

For the rest of our time on the island, we spent the day on a beautiful beach - Hudson Bay. The water was once again the most magnificent colors and so clear! I just love these beautiful Aussie beaches (just wait until I blog about the west coast beaches...unbelievable)! I'm sorry, friends, but OZ has way better beaches than America. You'll just have to come see for yourself!

Even though the water was super cold, Holly convinced me to go in with her...since this may be the only time we are ever on KI. So, now I can say I've been swimming on Kangaroo Island!

Braving the cold!

A bit chilled but loving it! :)

Well, that brings my Kangaroo Island adventure to a close. As you can see, it was fantastic and I would definitely go back there again! I would recommend it to anyone!

Up next: 7 Day Desert Patrol....think of the big red rock!!! :)

Aussie Fact of the Day: Kangaroo Island is famous for its honey and for being the oldest bee sanctuary in the world. Ligurian bees were imported from the Italian province of Liguria in 1881, and Kangaroo Island now has the only pure strain in the world. As a consequence, the importation to Kangaroo Island of bees or any honey products is prohibited.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo_Island

For more pictures of my time on Kangaroo Island, click on this link: Kangaroo Island

Wining & Dining...

With Groovy Grape and my package deal, I also went on a day trip to the Barossa Valley, which is just outside the city of Adelaide, South Australia. The Barossa is where some of Australia's famous wine is made, such as Jacob's Creek, which I'm sure you have all heard of (and even tasted)! We went to 4 different wineries, and taste-tested at each one, so by the end of the day, I was all wined-out! We also had a delicious barbecue lunch (including kangaroo meat) of which I ate a ton! Even the tour guide noticed how much I ate...it must've been all the tasty wine I consumed! ;)

I also was reunited with my English friend Laura, who did the Great Ocean Road with me. (We also met up later in my travels on the west coast in Perth). We had a fun-filled day together of wining, dining, and good conversation. And yes, I was still able to walk at the end of the day! ;) Here's a few pictures!

And it did!

Jacob's Creek Winery

SO beautiful!

Winery #2

Gotta love wine-tasting! Such a sophisticated activity! ;)

Winery #3. I love the palm trees on the barrels.

In Adelaide, I also had the wonderful opportunity to stay with the lovely Noelene and Bob Hunt, the parents of American/Australian family friends in St. Louis (thanks for hooking me up, Grahams)! The Hunts live in the scenic Adelaide hills. They welcomed me into their home, cooked me some delicious meals, showed me the sights, and most importantly, spoiled me with some TLC, the kind that only parents can give! It was nice having a mum for a day! They even took me to buy a new camera before I headed into the desert for 7 days (my camera was starting to take blurry photos...I think some sand got in the lens). It was really wonderful to be able to relax for a day before heading onto the next adventure...and it is always nice being spoiled. So thank you, Bob and Noelene, for your generosity. I hope to be able to visit again and spend some more time there! ;)   

We had a nice little lunch on a hill overlooking the beach.

They also took me to the beautiful Mt. Lofty gardens!

The pictures of the botanic gardens are the first photos I took with my new camera.

That concludes my time in lovely Adelaide. Up next: Kangaroo Island!!! Yes, it's everything you can imagine. Until then, I leave you with the....

Aussie Fact of the Day:  Adelaide was named after Queen Adelaide of England (1792-1849), the wife of King William IV (for you, Lindsey)! South Australia is also the driest state in Australia, but it still has 3,800 kilometers of coastline. 

http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Adelaide-51175.html

I also just got my haircut...a lot chopped off! For those of you not on facebook, click on the link below and check out pics of my new look and STA Travel Training (in Sydney). I had an awesome group of trainees, so lots of new friends. It was an intense training, but we all made it through and passed! We had to pass the training in order to keep the position...it was just like being in school again. We had a great time together though. The new job is very overwhelming (this was my first week), but hopefully in time, it will get better. I'll keep you posted!
STA Travel Training and my new "do"!

Great Ocean Road with Groovy Grape Getaways!

Time to jump back into my adventures! You'll be hearing the name Groovy Grape quite a bit because I booked a package tour deal with them. With GGG, I traveled from Melbourne all the way up to Darwin (2, 332 miles)!! Oh and by the way, a couple of posts ago, I said that I had traveled a couple thousand miles during my backpacker journeys. At the time, I was too lazy to calculate all the miles, so I just estimated....and guess what, my estimation was way off! I have actually traveled approximately 7, 042 miles!! WOW.

Alright, back to Groovy Grape. The package deal was an excellent price and the tours were such good value for my money! GGG caters to active backpacker-type travelers. I kicked off my first GGG tour with the Great Ocean Road and it was fantastic! I spent those 3 days with 5 Germans (tons of German and Dutch in OZ), 4 English (1 girl from the Channel Islands between England and France), 2 French and 1 Danish; 3 guys and 10 girls, along with our tour guide Brian, a real Aussie bloke!

Once again, I have seen some beautiful scenery in the land of Oz. On day 1, we left Melbourne and started out by traveling on the Great Ocean Road! As you can imagine, just from it's name, it is spectacular! It stretches all along the coast, so even from the van, I had beautiful views of the ocean and beaches...no sleeping this time! And the waves in this part of Australia are HUGE!

YAY!

A-mazing!

Here's a few photos of some of the incredible things I saw on the first day:

As you can see, it was rather rainy and cold...yet still beautiful!

It was really amazing to see the mist off the water rising so high!

The Arch

On days one and two, we got to see the amazing Twelve Apostles. There's only seven of them left now, but they are quite a sight! The apostles are a collection of limestone stacks that rise up to 70 meters!

We were there at sunset, but because of all the clouds and rain, it wasn't much of one. Rain or shine, the apostles are still an amazing sight!

Incredible!

On the second day, we were up bright and early, ready to see the shining Twelve Apostles again. So, if you haven't seen enough photos already, here's some more! ;)

As you can see, it was still rainy! I look like a conehead!

Loch-Ard Gorge

I LOVED this spot!

London Bridge

The Grotto. It was awesome to watch the waves and mist spout up through the rocks!

Are you in love yet?

I also saw wild koalas!! Koalas are actually really hard to spot in the wild, but Brian pulled the van over and we went out in search of them. We saw about five in the trees! I was super excited to see them because most of the koalas I've seen have been in zoos or wildlife reserves. Oh and notice that I'm not saying "koala bear"... koalas are not bears; they are marsupials. There is a catchy little Aussie song about not calling a koala a bear....if you know me well, I'm sure you've heard it! If not, I'll sing it for you someday. ;)

They look so cuddly!

A little stretchin' action before falling asleep again.

Koalas are such funny creatures. They basically get stoned off of the eucalyptus leaves that they eat and then sleep for 18 hours of the day. I won't tell you about their mating habits...you can google that yourself!

On the second day, we also headed into the Grampians National Park. We hiked down to McKenzie Falls for some spectacular views. We were also there at the perfect time to see sunset over the mountains!

In the Grampians, we stayed in an actual house (GGG housing) with an incredible view and a paddock full of kangaroos in front of it!

The lovely view from the house.

Kangaroos in the mist to greet us in the morning. There were tons of them!

On our last day, we again started out bright and early and hiked up to Mount Hollow in the Grampians. It was just beautiful! It was a really nice spot to relax in the sun and enjoy the view.

Hiking up to the top.

View from the top.

Another view.

Moving on from the Gramps, we crossed over the border into South Australia and stopped at Bordertown, where we saw some white kangaroos!

Pretty neat, eh?!

Hehee...having a little scratch!

Finishing up the trip, we pulled into our final destination of Adelaide. As you can see, I saw some amazing sights and had a blast! The cool thing about booking the package deal was that a lot of the other backpackers on this trip had done the same, so I ended up doing several trips with a few of them! Groovy Grape Getaway #1 = totally groovy!

Up next: The Barossa Valley (think Jacob's Creek wine) and the Adelaide Hills! Until then, I'll leave you with the...

Aussie Fact of the Day: White kangaroos are extremely rare. They are basically albinos; white due to genetics (a white strain of the Western Grey Kangaroo). A white male kangaroo was captured in 1980 and brought to the park in South Australia where he became the founding father of the white colony. About 50 white kangaroos have been bred at the Bordertown park and a number of those have been sent around the country.

http://www.tatiara.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=337

To see more photos of The Great Ocean Road, click on this link: Great Ocean Road

If you need to plan a trip, I'm your girl!

G'Day everyone! 

Before jumping into more travel adventures, I'll just give you a quick job update. Because traveling is such a passion of mine, I recently started thinking that I'd like to get into the travel/tourism industry. Amazingly enough, there were 3 different travel agencies hiring in Canberra, so I applied to all and ended up getting interviews with all of them! But the one that I really wanted snatched me up first! :) I am now the newest travel adviser for STA Travel here in Canberra! Basically, I get to talk to people about traveling and help them plan their trips! Their typical customers are students and young adults, but they cater to everyone! They also have locations on many major college campuses. 

I really like the sound of this company...they believe that traveling is one of the best experiences a person can have, which I definitely agree with. In my opinion, traveling provides an education alongside adventure and gives invaluable insight into the world around us (you learn so much about people, nature, and culture...things that you wouldn't necessarily learn in a book). 

So, with that said, I start my new position next Wednesday! I will have 3 days in the office and then I'm off to Sydney for 2 weeks of training (not bad, eh?)! There's a few people in Sydney I want to catch up with, so I'm excited about that too. 

I really hope that I will like this position. I think it will certainly be my foot in the door into the travel industry. Ultimately, I'd like to become a study abroad coordinator at a university and encourage American students to travel (...I don't think enough of them do). That is my friend Mandy's dream and it has been for awhile, but I am stealing it (I have her blessing...thanks Mandypants)!!

Oh and the dress code is "smart casual"! Yep, I can wear jeans! :)

So that's the big news for now, folks. After 5 months of not working, it will definitely be hard to get back into the working routine! Hopefully it will be a smooth transition! ;)

To get an idea of what I'll be doing, click on this link: STA Travel Careers

Aussie Fact of the Day: STA Travel is the world's leader in student and youth travel, with a global network of over 400 branches worldwide.