We got off to a bit of a late start on Thursday to get to Springbrook National Park in Queensland. Once we got there though it was one adventure after another. We ended up getting there a little late and much to our surprise everything closes at dark there, luckily we found an open cafe and stopped in to chat with a local guy who runs the place. So far, I will be sincere and say that everyone has been exceedingly kind here. Sean (the cafe owner) rang a few of his friends in the area with accommodations, and luckily we found one place that still had some vacancy - Rosella's B&B.
Once we woke up in the morning we were literally IN the national park. Walked across the street to the entrance and started our journey (which unexpectedly ended up being a 17km hike!). We ran into so many beautiful waterfalls and so much natural beauty.
Once we ended our hike we headed down the mountain to a town called Kirra Beach, which had a camping ground with cabins. They were very nice and we cooked our kangaroo meat there and had a nice dinner. We were pretty tired so we hit the sack early that evening.
The following day we made our trek to Surfer's Paradise. I think I'll nickname it Backpackers Paradise. It's a nice city, but full of hostels and lots of evening festivities. Jane and I took part in the festivities by booking a pub crawl and getting to tour the town that way for the evening. Ended up being a great evening, but left me the next day not feeling so hot. Hence the nap on the beach :)
After my beach nap, we headed to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and saw an abundant of Australia's indigenous species-- Koala's, Tasmanian Devils, and Roos. I had no idea that I've actually be able to pet a kangaroo, so that was a nice treat! The wildlife sanctuary has several "shows" through out the day, but one of the best is the feeding of the Lorikeets at 8am and 4pm. These colorful birds flock to the sanctuary at this time (because they aren't actually living in the sanctuary, so they come to get fed) and are very used to humans.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Oz: Koala Hospital & Byron Bay
Jane and I started the day by visiting the local Koala Hospital on her campus. Let me tell you that the Koala is not a bear! It's a marsupial and please don't mistake it for any sort of a bear :) The Koala is a very protected animal in Australia. Unfortunately the hospital gets about 700 calls a year and nurses about 300 back to health every year. Most that come to the hospital either come because of a dog attack or were hit by a car. The interesting part about Koalas though is that they get many of the same diseases that humans do-- AIDS and other STDs. We are planning to travel to the Curriumbin Wildlife Sanctuary later this week, so I'll get some photos of Koala's there!
Another different thing about Aussie culture is their love for pies. Their pie is not a fruit pie, however. They have many types, but the classic is the meat pie. It reminds me of a pot pie, but it's fresh and homemade and you can get them everywhere! We also splurged on a apple & blueberry pie with ice cream - yum!
Following our pie and Koala excursion we hopped in our trusty Holden and cruised up to Byron Bay, which turned out to be a beautiful beach area with a lighthouse. Jane's friend, Elliot joined us. He's from China and is studying at Southern Cross University for a year or so. While in Byron Bay, we ran into a aspiring Dutch author who is backpacking here for a year. Australia has a very large backpacking community. Seems there are hostels in so many locations, it's a very accommodating country for backpackers.
As you can see from the photos, the lighthouse is beautiful. It sits on the most Easterly point of Australia. We were scanning the ocean for whales and other ocean life, luckily we did get to see a few whales breaching.
To end the evening, we headed to a pub in Lismore to play games with some of Jane's Aussie friends. Turned out to be a very wonderful day!
Another different thing about Aussie culture is their love for pies. Their pie is not a fruit pie, however. They have many types, but the classic is the meat pie. It reminds me of a pot pie, but it's fresh and homemade and you can get them everywhere! We also splurged on a apple & blueberry pie with ice cream - yum!
Following our pie and Koala excursion we hopped in our trusty Holden and cruised up to Byron Bay, which turned out to be a beautiful beach area with a lighthouse. Jane's friend, Elliot joined us. He's from China and is studying at Southern Cross University for a year or so. While in Byron Bay, we ran into a aspiring Dutch author who is backpacking here for a year. Australia has a very large backpacking community. Seems there are hostels in so many locations, it's a very accommodating country for backpackers.
As you can see from the photos, the lighthouse is beautiful. It sits on the most Easterly point of Australia. We were scanning the ocean for whales and other ocean life, luckily we did get to see a few whales breaching.
To end the evening, we headed to a pub in Lismore to play games with some of Jane's Aussie friends. Turned out to be a very wonderful day!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Australia - Day Two!
Jane and I started out the day touring around the city of Lismore. One thing I noticed was the houses are all built on stilts and this is because Lismore is located in a flood plane. They really seemed quite high though! Then we went to a local organic market in the same city and watched the locals buy their produce for the week. As we ventured further out into the country (yes, lots of gravel roads!) I soon found out that the Macadamia nut is native to this part of Australia and the Hawaiians actually took the nut back with them and were the first to grow it commercially.
While we hiked around the Rocky Dam (Lismore's water supply), I shot photos of the interesting plant life there. To me, this area seems very tropical and apparently it is this time of yeas as it's been raining for the entire time so far! This hasn't stopped Jane and I from getting out and about however!
As we were driving along another country road we stopped at a shack that seemed to be selling something. I got out of the car to find no one actually guarding their supply of "paw paw", herbs, and lemons. Read the sign... I thought this was interesting! I also bought one of the "paw paws" and Jane and I will eat it with out breakfast in the morning. I think it's actually a papaya, but Jane won't tell me :)
After cracking up about our "paw paw" we decided to head to the next town of Nimbin. All of Jane's roommates have asked "are you going to Nimbin?"- so we took the venture there. Apparently it's one of the areas where people can buy weed and it seems to be a very normal and legal thing to do there. The town is comprised of shops along the street that sell marijuana and other goods. It's not legal here, but this town seems to be the exception!
Although Nimbin has character we didn't spend much time there and decided to head to a park to eat lunch. Jane pulls into a parking area near a park and we scarf down our pre-made sandwiches before we hiked to the waterfall. From the photos you will be able to see the splash left behind after we jumped off the cliff into the water! It was freezing! But as Jane continually repeated to me "We are so close, might as well jump" - so i did! It wasn't very high :)
On our way back to town, we saw some Wallabies hanging out in a grassy field area. They really reminded me of rodents or large rabbits. There were so many of them just lying around. I think they could actually be compared to deer in South Dakota, there are a bunch of them everywhere (same is true of kangaroos).
We finished off the evening with a dinner with one of the Rotary Clubs in Lismore. Jane received a Rotarian Ambassador Scholarship to come to Australia, so part of her "opportunity" (as she puts it) is to present some information about her self, South Dakota and her experiences in Australia. It was really a great time to be able to chat with local Aussie's about everything from pythons getting in their roofs to eat rats, to spiders, macadamia nuts, to wheat farming! Really a unique experience for me, and I'm grateful for that!
While we hiked around the Rocky Dam (Lismore's water supply), I shot photos of the interesting plant life there. To me, this area seems very tropical and apparently it is this time of yeas as it's been raining for the entire time so far! This hasn't stopped Jane and I from getting out and about however!
As we were driving along another country road we stopped at a shack that seemed to be selling something. I got out of the car to find no one actually guarding their supply of "paw paw", herbs, and lemons. Read the sign... I thought this was interesting! I also bought one of the "paw paws" and Jane and I will eat it with out breakfast in the morning. I think it's actually a papaya, but Jane won't tell me :)
After cracking up about our "paw paw" we decided to head to the next town of Nimbin. All of Jane's roommates have asked "are you going to Nimbin?"- so we took the venture there. Apparently it's one of the areas where people can buy weed and it seems to be a very normal and legal thing to do there. The town is comprised of shops along the street that sell marijuana and other goods. It's not legal here, but this town seems to be the exception!
Although Nimbin has character we didn't spend much time there and decided to head to a park to eat lunch. Jane pulls into a parking area near a park and we scarf down our pre-made sandwiches before we hiked to the waterfall. From the photos you will be able to see the splash left behind after we jumped off the cliff into the water! It was freezing! But as Jane continually repeated to me "We are so close, might as well jump" - so i did! It wasn't very high :)
On our way back to town, we saw some Wallabies hanging out in a grassy field area. They really reminded me of rodents or large rabbits. There were so many of them just lying around. I think they could actually be compared to deer in South Dakota, there are a bunch of them everywhere (same is true of kangaroos).
We finished off the evening with a dinner with one of the Rotary Clubs in Lismore. Jane received a Rotarian Ambassador Scholarship to come to Australia, so part of her "opportunity" (as she puts it) is to present some information about her self, South Dakota and her experiences in Australia. It was really a great time to be able to chat with local Aussie's about everything from pythons getting in their roofs to eat rats, to spiders, macadamia nuts, to wheat farming! Really a unique experience for me, and I'm grateful for that!
Australia - Day One
So far I have been having a great time with Jane in Lismore NSW Australia! We rented a car (what a beaut, eh?), stopped at a cafe and had some hot chocolate and carrot cake, tested vegemite (hence my bad face), and ended the evening with a fine cooked chinese meal from Jane's classmates! Yum! I stayed up as late as I could, which was about 8pm!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Training
This week training was incredibly lacking. I didn't do one thing and now tomorrow I need to be ready for a 20 mile training run for the Long Beach Marathon. I'm slightly worried only because I've not only been working out less, but feel much heavier and have been eating horribly this week.
I often wonder if I have what it takes to be a marathoner... I've done several now, but I have a higher expectation this time and I am worried that I won't set my new PR.
The only thing I can do is train as hard as possible until the marathon and eat as healthy as I can! This will be difficult no doubt because I'm planning a trip to Australia to visit Jane during a portion of our my training. Need to get in the training anyway! :)
Saturday: 20 miles
Sunday: Rest
Monday: Cycle
Tuesday: Run
Wednesday: Hill workout
Thursday: Rest/Yoga/Swim
Friday: Cycle
I often wonder if I have what it takes to be a marathoner... I've done several now, but I have a higher expectation this time and I am worried that I won't set my new PR.
The only thing I can do is train as hard as possible until the marathon and eat as healthy as I can! This will be difficult no doubt because I'm planning a trip to Australia to visit Jane during a portion of our my training. Need to get in the training anyway! :)
Saturday: 20 miles
Sunday: Rest
Monday: Cycle
Tuesday: Run
Wednesday: Hill workout
Thursday: Rest/Yoga/Swim
Friday: Cycle
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