Heath Ledger Must be Crazy!!

I just heard that Heath Ledger is moving to New York and giving up his Sydney digs. I don't know about New York but I can probably guarantee that he won't find miles and miles of stunning beaches, fabulous weather, lovely people or breathtaking views such as we've experienced here. We are really enjoying our stay in Oz and now that we're comfortable and past the jet lag and reverse culture shock, it's all good.

Our hosts, Pat and Mike have been lovely and so accommodating to our needs and whims and for that we can't be more grateful. Last week we took a road trip up to Queensland which is the northern province. Unlike home, the further you travel north here, the hotter it gets and it was very definitely hot! Along the way to Coolum, where Pat's sister and brother-in-law, Shawn and Phil live, we stopped off in a small town called Ballingen where we were deluge with a huge rainstorm and spent the night in a funky old hotel. The road into Bellingen was a windy, loopy one with magnificent vistas of farmland and majestic trees. There are many macadamia farms and cane sugar plantations. The next morning the sun was shining and we had a great breakfast of eggs benedict and headed off up the road.

Our next stop was Byron Bay - I want to live there! We climbed up to an old lighthouse located on the most easterly point of Australia. The beaches here stretch for miles and miles and are white sand that shines like diamonds, the water is crystal blue and Byron Bay is just too cool for words. Looking down from the lighthouse we saw a school of 5 dolphins frolicking in the surf and a manta ray that must have been 2 meters wide making his black and eerie way along the coast.

Later that day we stopped into a bar called the Rails where a smokin' band was playing the day into the night. It was a friendly, relaxed atmosphere and the cast of characters were as colourful as a Whitehorse Frostbite crowd. The food was good, the beer was cold and the folks were folksy - a very fun evening. Later, Ivan and I went to visit a couple of Canadians who live in Byron, Bill and Linda Wade, friends of Larry Gray who I worked with at the college. We had a lovely visit with them and I was green with envy for the great place they are living in.

On to Surfers Paradise - MORE white sand beaches and very reminiscent of Fort Lauderdale with thousands of terraced apartments, glass towers reaching to the sky and funky beachside cafes and cool shops. I keep wondering as we roll along - where is all the money coming from? Considering the small population of Australia, the high cost of living, how on earth does everyone afford their lifestyles? It's a mystery to me.

Our trip culminated at Coolum and a lovely, relaxed visit with Shawn and Phil at their funky, Queesland house, an open, airy home that wraps it's arms around you. We hung out on the wrap around deck for 2 days and swam in their cool pool with Peaches the snow white Labrador (I got a pet fix - yay)! It was so relaxing I nearly melted. Ivan and I finally visited a beach at Noosa and nearly burned the soles of our feet off. Again, lovely buildings, more stylish shops and streets and lots of yummy restaurants. I could live here in a heart beat, I'm just not so sure I could afford it. I would really hate to have my nose pressed up against the bakery window if I couldn't buy the pastry. Apparently there is a lot of work in Sydney but this city is too big for me, I guess I'm a small town girl at heart. Coffs Harbour ( Russell Crowe's hometown, we looked for him but he wasn't about) is definitely a place I could call home, approx. 20,0000 people; it's lush and green and hilly with the world's biggest banana on display! There are the world's largest things all over Oz....including the prawn and the guitar and I could go on and on, but I won't. Ocean views, banana plantations - I could die with envy. Ok, enough already.

I decided to fly back and give Pat and Ivan a chance to boy bond on the road. I booked my ticket online and pushed the wrong button - as I am wont to do - and ended up booking out of the Gold Coast instead of the Sunshine Coast - easily enough done - and ended up paying for a new ticket at the airport - duh. Another blunder, more money - oh well, it's only money. The flight took an hour and a half and on the take off, I was overwhelmed by the miles of white sand and brilliant blue water and landing in Sydney was an awesome experience. When we flew in our first time, it was at night but this day the sun was shining and the view of the harbour bridge, the yachts, the sailboats, the opera house and the vast, sprawling city. Wow. As I said, Heath Ledger must be crazy.

One of the most amazing things we found about travelling is how wonderful the roads are. They are mostly concrete with many lanes and super signage. Again, how do they do it? It's mind blowing, the infrastructure in this country is topnotch and convenient to the extreme. There is a billboard that says "Fixourbloody roads.com" for people to whinge about the roads on, and I just can't believe there's anything to complain about. They should travel some of our roads! As we've gone along, we've met lots of friendly people and everyone is so proud of their country, as well they have a right. The one thing we are missing is the extensive coverage of the Olympics that we have at home. While they do cover it here, it's limited and of course geared towards the sports Australia is entered in. No ice hockey but good on the girls hockey team. Yay Canada.

We have abandoned the camper to Melbourne as the insurance was $800.00 upfront and it's a worry with all the interchanges and driving on the other side of the road but are still planning on travelling south. So many people say we should go to Melbourne and we are heading to Adelaide so have to make a decision whether to do both.

On another note, I just heard from home that my roof is leaking like a sieve and am trying to sort that out through my friends helping me out at home. It's always something! I'd really like to say thanks BIG TIME to Sophie and Austin for their assistance for without their support at home, I'd have to be on a plane home tomorrow. More news is that I've heard from my relatives in Poland who I've never met and we are all excited that we will finally meet when we head to Europe. I am so excited about this, it's a dream come true. That is if we don't lay roots here!! I will post more pix very soon.