Goodbye Adelaide *lower lip pout*

We'll I've always believed if you're patient, you will get what you want. So I stayed here in Adelaide with a dream in my head to drive to Darwin through the center of the country and make a heaps of stops along the way to see the sights. I have my previous WWOOFing host, Todd, to thank for this dream, as it was his suggestion that turned me on to it.

So I patiently made a life for myself here in Glenelg, as you can see in my previous post, and settle in for the wait.

Things often seem like fate when you're traveling, it's quite a beautiful feeling and has really changed the way that I look at life.

So fate made me start looking for the perfect ride on gumtree right about when the perfect advertisement popped up.

Me and four others from various countries are headed off, hopefully Monday, to do exactly what I had been waiting for: Renting a FWD and traveling up the middle to see the sights and I'm excited. I'm trying not to be too excited because I don't want to have too high of expectations, but, oh hell I'm pretty excited.

Upon making my plans to leave, I've realized how attached I'm come to Glenelg, so settled in that I forgot to pay for my hostel because I just felt like I lived there. Me and Rich, the man I had to pay, had a bit of a laugh about it.

I have so many beautiful people around me that I had share laughs, tears, ideas, and moments of silence with.

I've learned quite a valuable lesson that I hope to carry along with me: No matter where you are in the world, you are not alone.

Love to all my readers,
Sarah Rose

The nitty gritty of Glenelg, Adelaide

Glenelg is a Palindrome, same spelling front and back. A lovely woman named Karen informed me of this at singing group last Thursday.

Singing group is wonderful! A whole heap of people, about 80 of us, get together and sing our hearts out every week. It's better than drugs! You actually get an endorphin rush. People don't sing enough these days. I hope everyone will go off and sing a song after you read this blog. I know I've had Bohemian Enrapsody stuck in my head this morning if you have trouble picking a song it's one of my favorites to belt out at the top of my lungs whilst running down the lovely beach that is literally a minutes walk from my hostel! Who could've drempt a better location? Sorry for that incredible runon sentence. I just feel like I have a lot to say today! :)

I have been hanging out with quite a few elderly people actually. I quite enjoy their company. They're (usually) pretty accepting and curious about me, unless they're feeling a bit grumpy (usually the men *coughcough*) AHEM! :D

I found most of my new friends at the lovely community center that has given me free range on their craft room. I'm currently making baby hats and practicing for when I'm older. Don't worry mum! Much, much older. They have also convinced me that I must come to folk dancing class on Thursday and Tai Chi on Wedensday AND Bingo on Tuesday, need I go on? They love their hobbies! I'm not complaining, it's keeping me well entertained.

I even gave a little computer class to a couple ladies who were wondering how to use in the internet. I found it requires quite a bit of patience, but I do enjoy teaching. Hmmm..career opportunity???

I made a friend, Karen, at my singing group. She's lovely and lives just around the corner from me so we walked her dogs on the beach AND I'm invited to Family dinner on Sunday. Boy do I love family dinner! It reminds me of home. Thank you mum and dad! Dad especially for all the lovely meals. I think it was one of my favorite things in the whole world. And now I get to enjoy it on the other side of the world, hehe.

Otherwise, I'm going to have new adventures every day and I will keep you updated. Key words: free internet. Gotta love the local library eh?

From beyond Tasmania at the edge of the outback

So the Tasman Penninsula was AMAZING. I had such a good time there, if you check my facebook you can see some photos of the hike, or as they say in Aussieland 'bushwalk', that I did whilst I hung out and chilled at a community that my friend Ilan was attempting to create. They had just put up the 'for sale' signs on the different lots on the property.

While I was there I helped out by doing a bit of garlic planting and cooking. There was a couple from Taiwan that were wonderful and we took turns making our local dishes from our home countries. They were fascinated by my gourmet mac and cheeses as well as the hamburgers where my friend Lian (Lee-Ann), also from Taiwan, and I made the buns and dipping sauces for the handmade french fries. It was all good fun. I was only going to go for a couple of nights, but ended up staying 5 and got a free ride back to Hobart with another backpacker that was also moving on after being there for 2 1/2 months. He was from Holland. It was quite an international crowd with another girl from England and a couple from France topping it all off. Wonderful place.

I stayed with a friend and his family at their home just outside of  Hobart for a couple of nights. Two beautiful young daughters, the oldest of which, 4 years, challenged me greatly by wanted to play the game 'how much does that hurt'. I told her I wouldn't play with her if that was the only game she had in her repertoire :) A couple days, a few curries, and a lecture from Vancouver about midwifery, isn't the internet wonderful, later I was dropped off at the airport with a hug and a warm adieu and back in Melbourne.

Melbourne wasn't hugely exciting, but it was nice to see old friends and have a bit of a chin wag (I learned that one in the past couple of days.

I decided to wait till the last minute to decide where I was going next, and headed to the train station on a bright early morning. Needless to say the teller wasn't too impressed with me not having a destination in mind and made me stand to the side for a while until I could give him one. I saw a sign that said Swan Hill and gave him the word and 3 hours later I was off.

Luckily I made friends on the bus who made sure I was safely in an accomodation before leaving me to my own devices, she even got me a discount on my room. The town was so small and not really touristy so it only had motels and single rooms. I spent a lovely night by myself with a hot shower and some telly before heading off the next day to cheaper beds.

I ended up in Mildura and booked a couple nights at the backpackers that looked like it had the most character, it had shoes hanging off the electrical lines out front. Mildura is a huge grape, almond, and citrus growing area. There are lots of people that go there to do some seasonal work in order to earn their 2nd working/holiday visa for Australia. I quickly made friends with the family of backpackers who had united together in their efforts to reach this goal. They were from England and Germany and Italy and Korea. I had such a wonderful time, but knew that despite this I was not ready yet to settle down.

So I decided to come here to Broken Hill. It's a strange little mining town that is literally in the "middle of nowhere". Actually. My new friend Nick and I had a bit of a drive around in the nothingness and ended up in the next town Silverton, population: 42! Hahaha. His friends were the proud owners of the Mad Max II museum which I got a free tour of. Interesting.

I'm off to Adelaide tomorrow or the next and shall continue to blog along the way.

No more pictures from here on out, it's too hard with not knowing when I have to pay to use the internet everywhere.

Love to all!

Tasmania

 I decided to take the ferry from Melbourne...

 I'm on a bit of a ground transport kick, it's nice to feel the distances your traveling in real time. The ferry was quite relaxing, read, slept, lounged...

From the port I knocked on the window of a future Olympic rower, lucky me, who drove me to Launceston. Then from there I got a ride to my first WWOOFing host on the Northeastern coastline from a lovely man named Clive. He had two babies, sold wheelchairs and was building new house in Launceston, your typical family man. We stoped in a tiny little town on the way to pick up a boat and I was facinated by the petrol station...I'm guessing it's self-serve?

My host dad, Todd, taught me how to eradicate Spanish Heath, which is a pesky weed that took over their property. One bush at a time, there were throusands...they are the rosemary-looking brush behind us.

 

 

 On the last day I was there, it was mother's day and my host mum, Astrid's, Birthday so we all spent the day baking cupcakes and cake and...

Host mum with all our yummy baked goods.

 Vegemite scrolls. That would be vegemite and cheese rolled into bread and baked..deeelicious. I grew a love for vegemite when I lived in New Zealand and have rediscovered it since I got to Aussieland.

Todd and Astrid had 2 daughters, Eve and Grace. Grace lived in Launceston during the week, but came home for the weekends and Eve in this photo is still in high school.

This was my home for the first week. I snuggled up in my sleeping bag like a cocoon, with a hot water bottle shoved down by my feet. You could only see my eyes peeking out, it was pretty cozy.

After a week I sadly parted and made my way south to a new family. Brenda and Stephen, with little 3 year old Quinny and 6 year old Elanta their two 11 week old kittens. Living in a purple house, much like the one I grew up in back in Kauai. Little did I know how much work it takes to be a parent, but I walked away with a much better idea of what life can be like when you have small people to take care of.

I luckily found a ride to the lovely Tasman Penninsula, which I arrived at last night and am about to venture out into the town of Nubeena, population 277. See what I can find. Until next time....

An ode to Melbourne

Sometimes I ask myself, "what AM I doing with my life." There are days where I do what some people would consider nothing. Today I woke up and wrote in my journal, went and sat in the sun to eat breakfast, called my best friend and talked for 3 hours, played my ukulele in the park, read my book, and watched a movie. I feel guilty about it at times, like I'm not improving the world and that is what I'm supposed to do with every minute! But my friend reminded me of all the amazing things I HAVE done despite these lazy Sundays, when it's really a Tuesday :)
So I'm thinking as I spend my last couple of days here in Melbourne, what have I gotten out of these past 3 months, besides finishing my university degree of course! And I looked around the back yard and came up with a few things...

I made friends with this silly cat who stalks invisible things in the backyard and despite taking himself so seriously, he has a silly disney character and a bell hanging from his collar.

I realized how much I love hanging laundry in the sunshine.

I found out I could actually grow my own food!

I experienced the joy of finding a vegetable that I had not yet discovered because it was hiding amongst the leaves trying to grow big enough to impress me ;)

I now know what an artichoke looks like once it  blooms. 

I read heaps of books.

In the end I know my ukulele is always there for me no matter how much I neglect it.

So despite looking like I'm doing nothing, I have actually accomplished heaps. It feels like a lot less is happening when you're stationary in a foreign place. There are lots of other things I've learned about that I can't take pictures of, such as relationships and not being afraid of the dark and entertaining myself, things I won't even know until I use them later. So despite the doubt that invades my mind from time to time, when I say to myself, 'wahhhhtt am I doing with my life?' I know that I'm in the right place. My life is giving me a sense of confidence in my abilities and who I am. Every day I feel challenged and I must often rely on the friendship of strangers, and sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy in my head because I don't have anyone to talk to. 

So yeah that's me.

Brining Olives

Olives are going wild all over my neighborhood, and little did I know they would turn purple and go soft when they ripened. But I saw an old italian looking man going for them at the park and I decided he probably knows what he's doing so I followed suit.

 Then of course, google told me exactly what to do with them next....

Container

Slice into their juicy little sides to allow the brine to seep in more effectively.

Brine is heaps of salt and water.

They look like they're taking a bath.

Now you have to shake them around once a day and change the brine once a week until they're not bitter anymore. I'm making a checklist to remind whoever takes responsibility.

Voila....edible olives

More foodie adventures and some Great Ocean Road ones too.

Another food adventure occurred, sourced from the Victoria markets. We had more kangaroo, but in the form of burgers...

 As well as some crocodile sausages, which were mighty tasty. Light in flavour, a cross between chicken and fish.. This photo makes it look huuge...

And I'm always the vegetables with every meal! Nazi, so I try to make a salad most nights, using some stuff from the garden.

On another note, I was told by most people that I was to not miss going on an adventure on The Great Ocean Road. So finally a coworker of mine, Kristy, and I headed off on our own little adventure. Da Dun Ta Dah!....

We camped for two nights, the first in a trailerpark in Angelsea and the second at a beautiful camping park in Joanna Beach. But shhhh don't tell, it was the only free spot to camp and there weren't many people there so we don't want word to get out!

On the second day there was a fancy sign that announced that we were, in fact, on the Great Ocean Road. Ahhh, this whole time I thought we were already on it!

We made camping food, mine tasted a bit like dog food, sang tunes to the neighbors and went to sleep along with the sun.

We saw the 12 Apostles, bit limestone fixtures, of which there are only 6 left.

Apparently some people went out on the cliffs and it crumbled away underneath them awhile ago.

And Kristy had a sharp eye and spotted an echidna on the side of the road. They are apparently not related to the porcupine, despite some slight resemblances.

All in all it was a fun trip. I love to camp and sleep in a tent. It's very cozy. I'm not too fond of sights with lots of tourists. Perhaps I've had enough of that in my life. Despite the huge variety of beaches, there wasn't many people swimming. Apparently the water stays cold all year round. I went for a quick dip right before we headed back to the city, it was a bit...fresh :) The currents are also pretty rough, there was a sign at the second beach we camped on warning not to go swimming so that you didn't get swept out to sea. Not a risk I was willing to take.

Otherwise, my last exam before I graduate is looming on the horizon. 29th of April, Australia time of course. My last month in Melbourne before I hit Tasmania is passing quickly and is filling up with all the things I meant to do. Working hard, occasional couchsurfers here and there, same old. Love to all.