New Year's Eve in Sydney was pretty cool. They had two sets of fireworks, one shortly after sunset and then a bigger better set at midnight.
This was a shot from the smaller first set of fireworks. To give you an idea of how big the explosions were. Look at the bridge. The biggest ship you have ever seen will easily sail underneath of it, and it is bigger from the roadway up than the roadway down.
It was easily the most spectacular organized fireworks show that I have ever seen. It was worth coming to Sydney for.
In other news, I'm going back to Perth a little early to get to work on the fruit shop and Tracie will be spending a little more time working at some of the hospitals here in Sydney. Travel nurses are love in what ever city they go to. Travel nursing in Sydney is no exception. She will hopefully be joining me in Perth in about a month.
-Gary Milner
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Friday, December 30, 2005
Water in Tasmania
Water plays has a big part in the life of Tasmania. I made a series of running water photos this this one.
There are lots of dams and hydroelectric generation in Tasmania. There have been huge protests over prospective dams to be built in parts of Tasmania that are only accessible by helicopter, and many people have houses or cottages in areas where the only safe drinking water is the water you collect from rain via your roof.
Roof water is not tasty water, but it's better than buying water. In places where it rains a lot you can shower and sate the thirst of a good sized family. Tons of beach houses have cisterns sitting in their backyard that will hold 5000 liters or more. It is really quite amazing, how much rainwater is collected all over Australia, not just in Tasmania.
This series of photos was inspired by a few photographs I saw in several visitors centers. It really is amazing to me that I can do a photo just as good or better than 99% of the postcards on my first try with no really specialized equipment.
-Gary Milner
There are lots of dams and hydroelectric generation in Tasmania. There have been huge protests over prospective dams to be built in parts of Tasmania that are only accessible by helicopter, and many people have houses or cottages in areas where the only safe drinking water is the water you collect from rain via your roof.
Roof water is not tasty water, but it's better than buying water. In places where it rains a lot you can shower and sate the thirst of a good sized family. Tons of beach houses have cisterns sitting in their backyard that will hold 5000 liters or more. It is really quite amazing, how much rainwater is collected all over Australia, not just in Tasmania.
This series of photos was inspired by a few photographs I saw in several visitors centers. It really is amazing to me that I can do a photo just as good or better than 99% of the postcards on my first try with no really specialized equipment.
-Gary Milner
For Those Of You Who Love Tents
This is the inside of the tent we used for the couple of weeks that we were in Tasmania.
We rented a car from Avis in Hobart because they seemed to be the cheapest by about $10-$20 a day over 10 days. Driving around Tasmania is quite easy. The longest distance between any two cities is something like 500km, so if you don't actually want to see the far south east corner as well as the far north west corner of Tasmania you can drive all the way around it in about 7 hours which is not too bad if you are going to be there for two weeks.
Our first night in the tent was spent on a beach. It's really nice to find free camping spots even if they aren't technically in campgrounds.
One of the amazing things about Australia in general is the fact that there are free electric barbeques set up everywhere. Just about every public park has a public barbeque there waiting to be used. For the most part, people keep them pretty clean as well.
We couldn't boil water on the first one we tried, so we resorted to simply using the little stove that we rented in Hobart from the camping store.
We mainly ate rice with store bought sauces, spagetti sauce and stir-fry sauce. Our pot was a little small to make enough for everyone and we didn't have any meat to add to any of the meals . The food in general was pretty disappointing. We had instant soup, rice, instant noodles designed as side dishes, type things for supper and bread with jam and peanut butter but no real butter or margirine for breakfast.
I was starving for the entire trip, and felt guilty when I did buy something for myself and not the rest of the group.
Sharing food is for the birds. You don't know what the other person likes. You have to worry about dividing it equally and you have to have your meals at the same time.
The tenting worked out quite well for me as I was a comfortable as can be expected in a tent. We saved money several nights because Tasmania has a large number of free camp grounds and because the pay campgrounds cost about a third of what it would cost to goto a hostel.
It's hard to see in the picture, but three people fit in this tent, if they have a car to put their stuff in.
You can see by my backpack I am Canadian.
-Gary Milner
We rented a car from Avis in Hobart because they seemed to be the cheapest by about $10-$20 a day over 10 days. Driving around Tasmania is quite easy. The longest distance between any two cities is something like 500km, so if you don't actually want to see the far south east corner as well as the far north west corner of Tasmania you can drive all the way around it in about 7 hours which is not too bad if you are going to be there for two weeks.
Our first night in the tent was spent on a beach. It's really nice to find free camping spots even if they aren't technically in campgrounds.
One of the amazing things about Australia in general is the fact that there are free electric barbeques set up everywhere. Just about every public park has a public barbeque there waiting to be used. For the most part, people keep them pretty clean as well.
We couldn't boil water on the first one we tried, so we resorted to simply using the little stove that we rented in Hobart from the camping store.
We mainly ate rice with store bought sauces, spagetti sauce and stir-fry sauce. Our pot was a little small to make enough for everyone and we didn't have any meat to add to any of the meals . The food in general was pretty disappointing. We had instant soup, rice, instant noodles designed as side dishes, type things for supper and bread with jam and peanut butter but no real butter or margirine for breakfast.
I was starving for the entire trip, and felt guilty when I did buy something for myself and not the rest of the group.
Sharing food is for the birds. You don't know what the other person likes. You have to worry about dividing it equally and you have to have your meals at the same time.
The tenting worked out quite well for me as I was a comfortable as can be expected in a tent. We saved money several nights because Tasmania has a large number of free camp grounds and because the pay campgrounds cost about a third of what it would cost to goto a hostel.
It's hard to see in the picture, but three people fit in this tent, if they have a car to put their stuff in.
You can see by my backpack I am Canadian.
-Gary Milner
Gordon Dam in Tasmania
When we got to Hobart, Tasmania it was pretty late close to 1:00am. The taxi from the airport took us to three hostels, but they were all closed for the night. We stopped by a hotel, but they wanted $130 and we would have to be out of the hotel by 10am anyway.
We decided that spending the night in a park would be our best option. There are no 24 coffee shops or doughnut shops in Hobart.
It was quite cool, but we put on our sweaters and found a bench to sit on. The first few hours were pretty fun taking pictures and chatting.
We saw a couple of possums which livened things up for about three seconds. And I finished the morning sleeping on the bench.
The only people we saw were two teen girls looking for pot to smoke.
This is a photo of the Gordon Dam. An adventure tour company in Tasmania lets people rapel down the side of the dam for $60. The bill it as the worlds longest commercial abseil.
It looks pretty scary, there were a few people dangeling at the end of a rope while we were there.
You can go down more than once if you are willing the climb the stairs back up. On of the guys who did it said he didn't want to go agian.
An interesting thing about the Gordon Dam is that they let the public walk all the way accross the top of it, while you aren't allowed to walk across the top of many of Tasmania's other dams.
Tasmania uses hydroelectricity quite frequently and we must have seen 8 or 9 dams during our trip.
-Gary Milner
We decided that spending the night in a park would be our best option. There are no 24 coffee shops or doughnut shops in Hobart.
It was quite cool, but we put on our sweaters and found a bench to sit on. The first few hours were pretty fun taking pictures and chatting.
We saw a couple of possums which livened things up for about three seconds. And I finished the morning sleeping on the bench.
The only people we saw were two teen girls looking for pot to smoke.
This is a photo of the Gordon Dam. An adventure tour company in Tasmania lets people rapel down the side of the dam for $60. The bill it as the worlds longest commercial abseil.
It looks pretty scary, there were a few people dangeling at the end of a rope while we were there.
You can go down more than once if you are willing the climb the stairs back up. On of the guys who did it said he didn't want to go agian.
An interesting thing about the Gordon Dam is that they let the public walk all the way accross the top of it, while you aren't allowed to walk across the top of many of Tasmania's other dams.
Tasmania uses hydroelectricity quite frequently and we must have seen 8 or 9 dams during our trip.
-Gary Milner
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Sydney For New Year's Eve
We made it from Melbourne to Sydney on the Firefly bus. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought a bus ride from Melbourne to Sydney would be. We were on the top level of a double decker bus for 12 hours. Luckily I was able to sleep through most of it in two, three hour stretches.
The thing about riding busses is that they make Tracie motion sick. This is compounded by the fact that the top level of a double decker bus sways much more than a regular bus. Tracie felt ill very quickly after we started our trip, but thankfuly we got onto the highway relatively quickly and the swaying stopped.
She also had a gravol, (anti nausia drug) to help her feel better as well as catch some z's. They played the movie, "Flight of the Pheonix" once we got out of the city. I hate to use the term 'turd parade' to describe any movie, especially if you are willing to ignore several really important flaws in the script. In anycase it was better than trying to sleep.
When we arrived in Sydney we went straight to hotel that Tracie's friends booked on our behalf. Unfortunately we are able to check in until 2:00pm so we are basically haning out until then.
I'm going to make time to upload photos with in the next three days.
-Gary Milner
The thing about riding busses is that they make Tracie motion sick. This is compounded by the fact that the top level of a double decker bus sways much more than a regular bus. Tracie felt ill very quickly after we started our trip, but thankfuly we got onto the highway relatively quickly and the swaying stopped.
She also had a gravol, (anti nausia drug) to help her feel better as well as catch some z's. They played the movie, "Flight of the Pheonix" once we got out of the city. I hate to use the term 'turd parade' to describe any movie, especially if you are willing to ignore several really important flaws in the script. In anycase it was better than trying to sleep.
When we arrived in Sydney we went straight to hotel that Tracie's friends booked on our behalf. Unfortunately we are able to check in until 2:00pm so we are basically haning out until then.
I'm going to make time to upload photos with in the next three days.
-Gary Milner
Hello Sydney
Well, it's nearly ten am and we've been in Syndey for about three hours. It's gorgeous out...going to be 40 degrees today.
We have a few errands to do before we get to the good touristy stuff. I have an appointment with what will be my new nursing agency in two hours.
I can see the Sydney Harbour Bridge from here... We'll be taking some photos this afternoon, I imagine... It's exciting to be in Australia's unofficial capital.
Tomorrow is New Years Eve. We have a few friends in town that we're excited about seeing, but our main goal is to watch the fireworks over the harbour.
Tracie
We have a few errands to do before we get to the good touristy stuff. I have an appointment with what will be my new nursing agency in two hours.
I can see the Sydney Harbour Bridge from here... We'll be taking some photos this afternoon, I imagine... It's exciting to be in Australia's unofficial capital.
Tomorrow is New Years Eve. We have a few friends in town that we're excited about seeing, but our main goal is to watch the fireworks over the harbour.
Tracie
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Back to the mainland
Once again, time is just slipping through our fingers. Our two weeks of hiking and camping in Tasmania are over and our three day road trip on the great ocean road has also come to an end. We leave for Sydney tomorrow night, so this will be our last night in Melbourne. Where oh where is the time going?
We had a very nice Christmas. We spent the morning opening gifts around the tree with our old flatmates in Melbourne. Our roomate from Perth / travel companion of over a month, Stephane was also there. Getting to the internet with our laptop has proven to be a bit challenging, so sorry about the lack of photos, but we'll be posting photos as soon as we can. We've taken several thousand pictures in the last few weeks I'm sure.
Tasmania was a lot of fun, maybe more so looking back on it than it was at the time because it was so bloody cold. We even had SNOW on Mt Wellington in Hobart on Christmas Eve. That's a crazy summer. Word from my family is that it was 14 degrees in Canada in winter the same day. Nice and hot and 35 degrees back on the mainland yesterday though, for those of you who were wondering.
Well, I'll add more when I can. Still have a lot of errands to do this aft. Merry Chirstmas to everyone and happy 30th wedding anniversary to Gary's parents.
-Tracie
We had a very nice Christmas. We spent the morning opening gifts around the tree with our old flatmates in Melbourne. Our roomate from Perth / travel companion of over a month, Stephane was also there. Getting to the internet with our laptop has proven to be a bit challenging, so sorry about the lack of photos, but we'll be posting photos as soon as we can. We've taken several thousand pictures in the last few weeks I'm sure.
Tasmania was a lot of fun, maybe more so looking back on it than it was at the time because it was so bloody cold. We even had SNOW on Mt Wellington in Hobart on Christmas Eve. That's a crazy summer. Word from my family is that it was 14 degrees in Canada in winter the same day. Nice and hot and 35 degrees back on the mainland yesterday though, for those of you who were wondering.
Well, I'll add more when I can. Still have a lot of errands to do this aft. Merry Chirstmas to everyone and happy 30th wedding anniversary to Gary's parents.
-Tracie
Saturday, December 24, 2005
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Well, right now it's Christmas Eve here in good old Medicine Hat, Alberta. We are dressed in our gay apparrel and are ready to celebrate ---fa la la, fa la la,la la la. This is a special greeting to Gary and Tracie and a wish for a merry Christmas. Also, is everything okay? We haven't heard from you in a long time.
Monday, December 12, 2005
The theory of evolution
In a talk given by Gordon B. Hinkley about geneology he said that people have past relatives known as "forebears". I already knew that bears also are known to have forbears so I'm putting two and two together and assuming that somewhere in the distant past we are related to bears. Later I hope to discover proof that were also related to monkeys, so stay tuned.
Tasmanian Devils
Our stay in Melbourne has come and gone. Before coming here, I used to think that three weeks was a long vacation, but now I realise that you can hardly see anything in only three weeks. There were many more things that I would have liked to have seen and done in Melbourne, but I guess you can't do it all.
Well, we've been here in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, since early yesterday. For those of you who don't know, Tasmania is an island state in Australia off the south east coast, just south of Melbourne. So far it seems pretty because there are actually some mountains. Although they aren't quite the Rockies, the view does seem more like home than most things we've seen so far.
Because our flight got in so late, we spent our first night outside in the cold...that was crazy. Needless to say we were tired, so when we checked into the hostel yesterday morning, we slept until early afternoon before exploring the city only a bit. Right now we are at the library like nerds waiting until we can pick up our rental car in 20 minutes. Our first stop this afternoon is the Cadbury Chocolate factory, which I'm really excited about.
After that, the three of us head out into the Tasmanian wilderness to explore for two weeks. We stayed up until after one o'clock last night with a guy we met at the hostel who gave us tips about what to do and see. He's been here since mid November taking his time seeing the sights of the island. I started talking to him when I overheard him tell someone else he was from Calgary, Canada from the north west neighborhood of Country Hills.
It's a small world.
-Tracie
Well, we've been here in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, since early yesterday. For those of you who don't know, Tasmania is an island state in Australia off the south east coast, just south of Melbourne. So far it seems pretty because there are actually some mountains. Although they aren't quite the Rockies, the view does seem more like home than most things we've seen so far.
Because our flight got in so late, we spent our first night outside in the cold...that was crazy. Needless to say we were tired, so when we checked into the hostel yesterday morning, we slept until early afternoon before exploring the city only a bit. Right now we are at the library like nerds waiting until we can pick up our rental car in 20 minutes. Our first stop this afternoon is the Cadbury Chocolate factory, which I'm really excited about.
After that, the three of us head out into the Tasmanian wilderness to explore for two weeks. We stayed up until after one o'clock last night with a guy we met at the hostel who gave us tips about what to do and see. He's been here since mid November taking his time seeing the sights of the island. I started talking to him when I overheard him tell someone else he was from Calgary, Canada from the north west neighborhood of Country Hills.
It's a small world.
-Tracie
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Ryker gets recognized
Jackie and Glen along with Ryker went to Edmonton today. One of the places they went was the West Edmonton mall which is know to be the largest mall in the world. Edmonton has a population of about a million smiling people. Well they were walking along in the mall when all at once, baby Ryker was recognized by a passerbye from his pictures on" flyker."Amazing eh?
Urinals and Cellphone Don't Mix
The other day Tracie and I went to see Harry Potter. Before the movie started I went to the lavetory. While using the facilities I heard a kid talking loudly. On my way out I notice that he was all by himself at the urinal talking on his cellphone!
It was a clear case of T.W.P. Talking While Peeing! The last time I heard of such a thing was from my friend Bob Riddley who said a girl that liked him one time flushed the toilet while talking to him and he caught her. I couldn't believe it. If you can't hold it, tell the person you're talking to you will call them back.
I thought that it was an isolated incident until yesterday when I was in the facilities at the mall and a man came in talking on his phone and procede to relieve himself without hanging up.
What conversation can't be interupted for this bodily function? Seriously, they'll wait. You can call them back. Send them a text message. They understand. They can hear the splashing and it grosses them out.
-Gary Milner
It was a clear case of T.W.P. Talking While Peeing! The last time I heard of such a thing was from my friend Bob Riddley who said a girl that liked him one time flushed the toilet while talking to him and he caught her. I couldn't believe it. If you can't hold it, tell the person you're talking to you will call them back.
I thought that it was an isolated incident until yesterday when I was in the facilities at the mall and a man came in talking on his phone and procede to relieve himself without hanging up.
What conversation can't be interupted for this bodily function? Seriously, they'll wait. You can call them back. Send them a text message. They understand. They can hear the splashing and it grosses them out.
-Gary Milner
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Bonne Anniversaire Cedric!
Lundi soir nous sommes alles boire un coup avec Cedric et ses amis Eric et Alexi. On est alle a St Kilda en commencant et a environs 1h00 on est alle tous les cinqs au Crown Casino. C'etait genial...moi et Cedric on passe la plupart de la nuit ensemble a la deuxieme etage parlant de la vie et de nos voyages jusqu'a date. Gary s'est passe son soir avec Eric en jouant du poker...en fin ils ont gagne 170$.
Merci Cedric pour une bonne soiree, et bonne anniversaire.
Merci Cedric pour une bonne soiree, et bonne anniversaire.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Melbourne Life
Well, we've been here in beautiful Melbourne for about 2 1/2 weeks...I think...I actually have no concept of time anymore. I worked two shifts last week at two different hospitals, both of which were very similar to any hospital in Perth, so there's nothing really interesting to tell. Work is work.
Gary was offered two jobs since he's been here, one at an office and another with a restaurant, but since he was honest about how long we would be here for up front (that is to say, Not long at all), both jobs basically told him it wasn't worth it. I think for this reason, and because I couldn't work the first week and a half, we have felt a little lost here. We thought we might be wasting time just hanging out when there's so much of the country to see. On the other hand of course, seeing a country requires money and our funds are rapidly dwindling.
The plan as it stands now is to fly to Hobart, Tasmania this Sunday, drive around the state for two weeks and then fly back to Melbourne Dec 25th. From there, we drive up the coast to Adelaide and then take the train to Sydney just before New Year's eve. The coastal drive between Melbourne and Adelaide in maybe only about 500 km, but it's known here as the "Great Ocean Road" and it is a "must do" for anyone visiting Australia. I'm really excited for these next few weeks...
Working with the agency here is getting better. I was cancelled for a few shifts last week, something that never happened in Perth, so I was quite unimpressed. They have been growing on me though. I was at the agency Christmas Party yesterday (quite funny to see Santa in the summer at a BBQ) and I mentioned to one of the staff that I was heading to Sydney for January. She suggested I come chat with her today. Well, I'm at the office now (I've just chatted with her) and she has already forwarded my info to a hospital in Sydney and put me in conact with someone who rents flats there. Things like that just don't happen in Canada, and it's a really surreal feeling to be in such great demand and have people going out of their way to help you. You're in demand in Canada too of course, but any Christmas party I've been too there, I've had to pay for myself, and I've never heard of any hopital nurses back home get picked up from the airport or getting subsidized accomodation from their employer. Here, you are in high demand, and you are treated accordingly.
Anyway, 6 more days in Melbourne...I'm excited for the trip, but also a bit sad to leave a place that I never really got to know. My roomates have been awesome, and I'm a bit sad to leave them as well, although I guess I'll have new roomates and new adventures in Sydney.
-Tracie
Gary was offered two jobs since he's been here, one at an office and another with a restaurant, but since he was honest about how long we would be here for up front (that is to say, Not long at all), both jobs basically told him it wasn't worth it. I think for this reason, and because I couldn't work the first week and a half, we have felt a little lost here. We thought we might be wasting time just hanging out when there's so much of the country to see. On the other hand of course, seeing a country requires money and our funds are rapidly dwindling.
The plan as it stands now is to fly to Hobart, Tasmania this Sunday, drive around the state for two weeks and then fly back to Melbourne Dec 25th. From there, we drive up the coast to Adelaide and then take the train to Sydney just before New Year's eve. The coastal drive between Melbourne and Adelaide in maybe only about 500 km, but it's known here as the "Great Ocean Road" and it is a "must do" for anyone visiting Australia. I'm really excited for these next few weeks...
Working with the agency here is getting better. I was cancelled for a few shifts last week, something that never happened in Perth, so I was quite unimpressed. They have been growing on me though. I was at the agency Christmas Party yesterday (quite funny to see Santa in the summer at a BBQ) and I mentioned to one of the staff that I was heading to Sydney for January. She suggested I come chat with her today. Well, I'm at the office now (I've just chatted with her) and she has already forwarded my info to a hospital in Sydney and put me in conact with someone who rents flats there. Things like that just don't happen in Canada, and it's a really surreal feeling to be in such great demand and have people going out of their way to help you. You're in demand in Canada too of course, but any Christmas party I've been too there, I've had to pay for myself, and I've never heard of any hopital nurses back home get picked up from the airport or getting subsidized accomodation from their employer. Here, you are in high demand, and you are treated accordingly.
Anyway, 6 more days in Melbourne...I'm excited for the trip, but also a bit sad to leave a place that I never really got to know. My roomates have been awesome, and I'm a bit sad to leave them as well, although I guess I'll have new roomates and new adventures in Sydney.
-Tracie
Friday, December 02, 2005
Vegemite...More like Nasty-mite
I would rather lick dog poo than eat vegemite.
I just don't understand Aussies.
I just don't understand Aussies.
Falling Down
Tracie and I went to see Harry Potter last night. I really enjoyed it. I have read the book, but couldn't really remember a lot of the details except to know that they cut a lot of the book out of the movie.
After the movie, we started riding the tram home, and Tracie got a little motion sick so we had to hop off after only a few blocks. As we were walking home, we passed a group of people who had just left some sort of function and were waiting for taxis to show up. A few steps beyond them I heard the scraping sound of highheeled shoes on concrete quickly followed by a loud thud of a drunk middle aged woman hitting the ground hard. It wasn't like she was able to catch herself at all like sometimes when you slip on the ice and can save yourself by crouching or ducking or what ever so that you fall a shorter distance. This was the thud of a person who was perpendicular to the ground three feet in the air and went straight down. Like when cartoon character slips on a bananna peel. She didn't get up for a long time. I'm pretty sure that she even cracked her head pretty hard.
One thing that I've noticed about Australia (Perth and Melbourne) is that they really tolerate public drunkeness here a lot. People take their drinks out into the street and there are always lots of drunken people wandering the streets late at night. The main roads are always littered with empties. It's not just the homeless people that drink in public here either. Supposedly respectable people of all ages are stumbling in the streets.
-Gary Milner
After the movie, we started riding the tram home, and Tracie got a little motion sick so we had to hop off after only a few blocks. As we were walking home, we passed a group of people who had just left some sort of function and were waiting for taxis to show up. A few steps beyond them I heard the scraping sound of highheeled shoes on concrete quickly followed by a loud thud of a drunk middle aged woman hitting the ground hard. It wasn't like she was able to catch herself at all like sometimes when you slip on the ice and can save yourself by crouching or ducking or what ever so that you fall a shorter distance. This was the thud of a person who was perpendicular to the ground three feet in the air and went straight down. Like when cartoon character slips on a bananna peel. She didn't get up for a long time. I'm pretty sure that she even cracked her head pretty hard.
One thing that I've noticed about Australia (Perth and Melbourne) is that they really tolerate public drunkeness here a lot. People take their drinks out into the street and there are always lots of drunken people wandering the streets late at night. The main roads are always littered with empties. It's not just the homeless people that drink in public here either. Supposedly respectable people of all ages are stumbling in the streets.
-Gary Milner
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Knee Deep In Paperwork
As Gary said I got my marriage certificate (thank you to Gary's parents for sending it), so after a bit of hassle (but not too much), I was able to get registered in the good state of Victoria. Working at a nursing agency here in Melbourne has so far proven to be quite different than it was in Perth. In Perth there was a lot of butt kissing going on which was nice since it was my butt being kissed. "Sure Tracie...Whatever you want Tracie..." Here they don't hide the fact that they're inconvenienced when I tell them I do or don't want to work. Anyway, time will tell how they are to work for. So far not so good though because my very first shift which was supposed to be last night got cancelled. Oh well, c'est la vie.
The nice thing on the other hand is that this agency has a couple of houses which they rent out to their out of town nurses. A few days after coming to Melbourne, we moved into the Miller house - so called because it's on Miller Street. It's quite spectacular, especially compared to the flat we were renting in Perth. The living room has massively high ceilings, there are four beds, two baths a courtyard in front and a little patio area in back. Seven of us live here in total...There's Me, Gary & Julie from Canada and Lynsey, Chris, Clare & Vivian from the UK. Everyone but Gary is a nurse. We have all gotten along fabulously, going out together every day and every evening. It's been really fun for us to have 5 new instant friends. I've posted a few pics of the appartment on flickr. This is a pano of our living room.
Melbourne so far has been ok. To be completely honest, we didn't know what to expect when we got here so we were neither disappointed nor pleasantly surprised. We've just been muddling around. The weather here isn't as nice as Perth...about 10 degrees colder actually...but I won't complain about weather for the sake of all of my Canadian readers. The view of the city from the Yarra river is spectacular, especially at night when all the lights are reflecting, but so far I haven't gone down at night to take photos. You can walk along the river on palm tree lined walkways take in the beauty of the city. My friend said he figured it was more beautiful than Sydney...they just need the opera house. People here have been really nice, although they have been everywhere in Australia so far. (Except the guy in Adelaide who tried to run us over...when Aussies get behind the wheel, watch out!) They have thicker accents in Melbourne than they do in Perth and at first we found them much harder to understand, although it's getting easier now.
Yesterday Julie, Lynsey, Gary and I went to the top of the Melbourne Obsevation Deck which is on the 55th floor of Rialto Towers downtown. You get a nice 360 degree view of the city, which is quite beautiful. After that we went down to the Old Melbourne Gaol which is the jail where Ned Kelly was hanged, which is now just a tourist attraction.
We are slowly getting to see the city, although we are supposed to leave in less than two weeks, so it's all going so fast and I'm sure we won't get everything in that we want to.
Well...so far I am scheduled to work tonight, so I'll let you know how it goes.
The nice thing on the other hand is that this agency has a couple of houses which they rent out to their out of town nurses. A few days after coming to Melbourne, we moved into the Miller house - so called because it's on Miller Street. It's quite spectacular, especially compared to the flat we were renting in Perth. The living room has massively high ceilings, there are four beds, two baths a courtyard in front and a little patio area in back. Seven of us live here in total...There's Me, Gary & Julie from Canada and Lynsey, Chris, Clare & Vivian from the UK. Everyone but Gary is a nurse. We have all gotten along fabulously, going out together every day and every evening. It's been really fun for us to have 5 new instant friends. I've posted a few pics of the appartment on flickr. This is a pano of our living room.
Melbourne so far has been ok. To be completely honest, we didn't know what to expect when we got here so we were neither disappointed nor pleasantly surprised. We've just been muddling around. The weather here isn't as nice as Perth...about 10 degrees colder actually...but I won't complain about weather for the sake of all of my Canadian readers. The view of the city from the Yarra river is spectacular, especially at night when all the lights are reflecting, but so far I haven't gone down at night to take photos. You can walk along the river on palm tree lined walkways take in the beauty of the city. My friend said he figured it was more beautiful than Sydney...they just need the opera house. People here have been really nice, although they have been everywhere in Australia so far. (Except the guy in Adelaide who tried to run us over...when Aussies get behind the wheel, watch out!) They have thicker accents in Melbourne than they do in Perth and at first we found them much harder to understand, although it's getting easier now.
Yesterday Julie, Lynsey, Gary and I went to the top of the Melbourne Obsevation Deck which is on the 55th floor of Rialto Towers downtown. You get a nice 360 degree view of the city, which is quite beautiful. After that we went down to the Old Melbourne Gaol which is the jail where Ned Kelly was hanged, which is now just a tourist attraction.
We are slowly getting to see the city, although we are supposed to leave in less than two weeks, so it's all going so fast and I'm sure we won't get everything in that we want to.
Well...so far I am scheduled to work tonight, so I'll let you know how it goes.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Life In Melbourne
Tracie got everything with her Victora nursing registration worked out yesterday after our marriage certificate arrived. She is schedueled to work night shifts for a week starting today.
This morning, we went to the lookout deck of the tallest office building in the southern hemisphere. It costs $13.50, but luckily they have a backpacker discount which brought the price down by $2.00. I'm still not sure if it was worth it, but at least is was something to do.
After lunch Tracie and two of our nurse roommates went to the old Melbourne Gaol. It's where they hanged Ned Kelly. They wanted $12.50 to get in so I decided not to go even though Tracie and her friends went. It seems to me that they should be thrown into their own jail for charing $12.50 to get in. I figure that maybe if they caught me shoplifting something, I could probably get a free tour of a new jail but I didn't want to take a chance on being too good a criminal and actually making it out of the gift shop with a Ned Kelly puppet and not getting a free jail tour.
In anycase, it seemes to me that almost everything in Perth was free and that almost everything here in Melbourne costs $12.50+.
I'm looking for a job today, but I feel bad telling restauranteurs that I'm planning on being here several months when in fact we are only planning on being here for two weeks. It not only is an outright lie, it seems dishonest. Although I'm pretty sure no one wants to hire someone for only two weeks. I wish I had a job where I could work for 8 hours and then move on and they love you for it like Tracie can.
Anyway, look for new pictures on flickr in a day or two.
-Gary Milner
This morning, we went to the lookout deck of the tallest office building in the southern hemisphere. It costs $13.50, but luckily they have a backpacker discount which brought the price down by $2.00. I'm still not sure if it was worth it, but at least is was something to do.
After lunch Tracie and two of our nurse roommates went to the old Melbourne Gaol. It's where they hanged Ned Kelly. They wanted $12.50 to get in so I decided not to go even though Tracie and her friends went. It seems to me that they should be thrown into their own jail for charing $12.50 to get in. I figure that maybe if they caught me shoplifting something, I could probably get a free tour of a new jail but I didn't want to take a chance on being too good a criminal and actually making it out of the gift shop with a Ned Kelly puppet and not getting a free jail tour.
In anycase, it seemes to me that almost everything in Perth was free and that almost everything here in Melbourne costs $12.50+.
I'm looking for a job today, but I feel bad telling restauranteurs that I'm planning on being here several months when in fact we are only planning on being here for two weeks. It not only is an outright lie, it seems dishonest. Although I'm pretty sure no one wants to hire someone for only two weeks. I wish I had a job where I could work for 8 hours and then move on and they love you for it like Tracie can.
Anyway, look for new pictures on flickr in a day or two.
-Gary Milner
Monday, November 28, 2005
Margaret River
The shire of Augusta-Margaret River is a short drive from Perth through Bunbury and Busselton, offering some of the most picturesque scenery in Western Australia. Margaret River town is situated on the banks of the Margaret River approximately 10kms from the ocean, and lies amidst lush green pastures and forests.
The development of Margaret River can be attributed to the Group Settlement Scheme of the 1920's, when some 100 settlers found themselves setting up industries with the assistance of the Government Scheme.
Today the town rests in the heart of the state's largest premium wine producing region. This, combined with the stunning natural surroundings, supports a thriving tourism industry attracting visitors from all over the world.
As a result of its popularity, there has also been an influx of added attractions and facilities created in the area to meet the guests every whim.
When we got there we went to the visitors center and Tracie asked one of the girls what the best thing to do if you only had half a day and didn't drink wine was. For some reason this rattled the girl and she became visibly nervous. Maybe it's because the only thing there is to do here that isn't anywhere else are the wineries.
We settled on seeing one of the caves. The Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge is scattered with over 350 limestone caves. Six of these have been developed into major public attractions, all of which are on the Caves Road.
Visitors are encouraged to start their discovery of the regional caves with a tour of the Cave Works Interpretive Center at the Lake Cave site. There they have interactive displays, a crawl-through cave model, and an amazing outside viewing platform which looks down into the cave.
Lake cave, which recently celebrated its 100th year as a tourist cave, has been entirely relit to fully show off its delicate formations and famous reflective lake.
The next morning we went to the mouth of the Margaret River to see the beach and to do a little body boarding. The Margaret River area has some of the best surfing in WA. The waves were pretty small while we were there, only a meter and a half at maximum, but they were really fun. The beach had a very shallow incline and so the rides were a lot longer than they would have been at a beach in Perth. I can see what a big difference good waves make on how much fun you can have.
We stopped at a chocolate factory on our way home but it was pretty disappointing. There were no Ommpa Loompas, and it was more of a chocolate store than anything else. I didn't feel like spending an arm and a leg to buy a few tiny pieces of chocolate. I would probably skip the chocolate factory if I had it to do over again.
We made it back to Perth but were an hour late taking the van back to the rental place. They were good about it and didn't charge us a late fee.
This trip has put both Tracie and I into a vacationing mood. We feel like we are having a trip instead of just working and living in a new place.
The development of Margaret River can be attributed to the Group Settlement Scheme of the 1920's, when some 100 settlers found themselves setting up industries with the assistance of the Government Scheme.
Today the town rests in the heart of the state's largest premium wine producing region. This, combined with the stunning natural surroundings, supports a thriving tourism industry attracting visitors from all over the world.
As a result of its popularity, there has also been an influx of added attractions and facilities created in the area to meet the guests every whim.
When we got there we went to the visitors center and Tracie asked one of the girls what the best thing to do if you only had half a day and didn't drink wine was. For some reason this rattled the girl and she became visibly nervous. Maybe it's because the only thing there is to do here that isn't anywhere else are the wineries.
We settled on seeing one of the caves. The Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge is scattered with over 350 limestone caves. Six of these have been developed into major public attractions, all of which are on the Caves Road.
Visitors are encouraged to start their discovery of the regional caves with a tour of the Cave Works Interpretive Center at the Lake Cave site. There they have interactive displays, a crawl-through cave model, and an amazing outside viewing platform which looks down into the cave.
Lake cave, which recently celebrated its 100th year as a tourist cave, has been entirely relit to fully show off its delicate formations and famous reflective lake.
The next morning we went to the mouth of the Margaret River to see the beach and to do a little body boarding. The Margaret River area has some of the best surfing in WA. The waves were pretty small while we were there, only a meter and a half at maximum, but they were really fun. The beach had a very shallow incline and so the rides were a lot longer than they would have been at a beach in Perth. I can see what a big difference good waves make on how much fun you can have.
We stopped at a chocolate factory on our way home but it was pretty disappointing. There were no Ommpa Loompas, and it was more of a chocolate store than anything else. I didn't feel like spending an arm and a leg to buy a few tiny pieces of chocolate. I would probably skip the chocolate factory if I had it to do over again.
We made it back to Perth but were an hour late taking the van back to the rental place. They were good about it and didn't charge us a late fee.
This trip has put both Tracie and I into a vacationing mood. We feel like we are having a trip instead of just working and living in a new place.
Melbourne
Things here in Melbourne are OK.
Actually things in Melbourne are getting a lot better. The marriage certificate arrived today a little after the rest of the mail.
Tracie is in the process of getting her registration and if all goes well, she will have her first shift tomorrow.
-Gary Milner
Actually things in Melbourne are getting a lot better. The marriage certificate arrived today a little after the rest of the mail.
Tracie is in the process of getting her registration and if all goes well, she will have her first shift tomorrow.
-Gary Milner
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