Queensland Adventure

Well I am not sure if anyone still reads this since I post on it about as often as Hailey's comet comes by but here goes anyways. My parents stopped by for a lovely visit and we had a great week in Perth. We showed them all the city has to offer, including some rather lively trips to the beach, and even went on a nice tour of the southwest and popped into a winery. After a week jam packed with fun my parents went on their merry way to Uluru (Ayer's Rock) and then to Cairns in Queensland to join up with a tour. George and I flew to Cairns and spent a few more days with them. We had a great time walking around the city but got a tiny bit wet as it is monsoon season up there. Then on the second day of our trip George and I started our 5 day Open Water SCUBA diving course. We spent 2 days in the classroom and a swimming pool getting the basics down and then we boarded a boat for the 60km journey out to the Great Barrier Reef. We spent an additional 3 days and 2 nights living aboard a boat that went to several dive spots on the reef, it was amazing. We got our Open Water Certification on the second day on the reef and then we were free to dive on our own. We participated in a few adventure dives including one night dive where we saw 20+ sharks. Some were within 3 feet of George's frightened flippers, it was incredible! They showed little to no interest in us but it was still a little scary since some were 10 feet long. The fear soon subsided and it turned into my favorite dive of the trip. We had a few more dives and saw some other amazing creatures and I can not wait to get back into the water in Western Australia. Things are good back in Perth, I should be starting my job any day now, just waiting on visa approval. The weather here is scorching and it never rains so it seems to be business as usual. I will write more to all my devoted follower(s), likely just my Mom, when I start working. Cheers for now.

Our Apartment!!

Hello, here are some pictures of our new townhouse in Perth. The neighborhood is Leederville and it is a great location with plenty of restaurants and pubs. Our shipping crate arrived last Friday and we are totally unpacked, it is a miracle!

Summer Down Under

I have just returned from yet another week of plant work in Australia. I spent the week at a B&B in Manjimup and was fed home cooked dinners every night, it was so grueling. I have my dad to thank for hooking me up with this volunteer opportunity. I had a good time scribing for a botanist and saw some gnarly looking plants and lizards that were approaching dragon size. I have some pictures I will post online later. We have had a good couple of months in Perth. George has spend several weeks working in Manjimup and I have been finding casual work where ever I can. Last Sunday we had a really cool job working "security" at a concert at a winery. It was really easy and we got paid to listen to the bands mainly. We are going to do several more this summer including hopefully Rob Thomas. Summer is really heating up here and the sun is now rising before 5am because Western Australia does not observe daylight savings so it is quite warm by the time you wake up. We are all settled into our new apartment in Leederville and are really enjoying it. Pictures have been taken and will be posted ASAP. The great news this week is that our shipping crate is arriving from the US today!!! Its like Christmas for us. I am so excited to stop living in my backpackers gear. This weekend we are bottling the beer we brewed 4 weeks ago and our very excited to bring our new beer baby home. On Sunday we have surfing lessons, I am braving the water and hoping nobody decides I look like a seal or a sea turtle, yipes!!! I am still trying hard to find a job and have a few leads. But until then I am still taking any casual work I can find. I really enjoyed hearing about the Oklahoma Nebraska game. I am so excited for the team but am a little concerned about what is going to happened if we have to play Texas in the Big 12 Championship. I think we will be getting up very early or staying up very late to watch the KU v. Nebraska game on Sunday. GO SKERS!!!!! Well I must be off, the shipping crate arrives in a few hours and I must prepare the apartment, I have no idea where we will put all this stuff! I will post pictures from our first few months here and the apartment this weekend.

Africa pictures are now on snapfish

The title pretty much explains it all! Email me if you would like to view.