Posted 7:56 PM by MelanieandSteve
FAIR DINCUM about OZ (True stories), and yes, we're still here, but not for much longer.

Since our last entry on 24 May, we've continued North, stopping for some fun in the sun, and not so fun in the garages and travel agencies, but it's all good and progress progresses.

TWEED HEADS: DRIVING IN THE DARK, AND MEANWHILE ... W/O WHEELS...

--DRIVING IN THE DARK: When we left Byron Bay, hours after our last Blog, we knew something was wrong when we could see our own shaddow in front of us cast by the headlights of the car behind us. Our own dimming headlights wouldn't have even competed with parking lights. Reaping the benefits of driving with our home on our backs, we simply pulled off the road and went to sleep - no problems tonight that can't wait for morning light. In the morning, we used our spare battery to start up the alternator-less engine and got to the nearest town, Tweed Heads, and spent all day being rejected by auto mechanics who didn't have time for us. The next morning, however, one took Chester in. Now he runs like new.

--MEANWHILE ... W/O WHEELS: While we waited for Chester to get energized, we caught a movie, took a trip to Tweed Heads Beach (this was the area of famous Surfers Paradise, though the waves looked pretty small to us), and spent hours on hours with our travel agent planning our next 7 months. We now have a tentative itinerary including a round-the-world air ticket. Never before have we planned ahead so far. Never again, do we hope to spend 3 days straight in the seat of a single travel agent's office. . . but we were no more tired or hungry than our poor patient travel agent (who, by the way, only took our complicated case after the first agent decided it was over her head.) In Tweed Heads, we slept in the van in the Hostel's parking lot using their kitchens, showers, and warm living room, but watching DVD's in our cozy little love bug (OK, not a VW, but still our love bug.)

BRISBANE: OUR LAST BIG CITY IN OZ: FUN WITH FRIENDS FOOD AND FOOTIE, OZ ZOO, AND A VIEW FROM ERUPTIVE ROOFTOPS: Car fixed, we finally made it to Brisbane, our last big City experience in OZ. From here on out, it's small towns. But Brisbane is special - layed back, well planned, and pretty, with many of the good qualities of a smaller town. At night the City lights reflect in the Brisbane river which snakes through the whole city. In the day, walks or jogs along the "floating boardwalk" are inviting and especially beautiful at sunrise. The bridges along the river are all different and unique and well lit so that they stand out shiningly at night.

--FUN WITH FRIENDS FOOD AND FOOTIE:

----JACQUIE AND NORMAN: FUN IN THE CITY AND FANTASTIC FOOD: We stayed with our friend Jacquie who we met in Cambodia. She took us into her darling wood-floored home, complete with huge wolf hound dog, washing machines, kitchen priviledges, and other such homey qualities - giving us a little R and R revival. Jacquie and her friend Norman went exploring with us around "South Bank", the area of the '88 World Expo and we were amazed by the town planning, the ocean thematic decor, the weekend markets, the amphitheater with big screan TV, and the inviting "man Made Bay". Jacquie also showed us Mt. Cootha (Fonz would call it inspiration point) with a 180 view of the city. One night Jacquie, insisting she was not a great cook or hostess, disproved herself by BBQ'ing an amazing feast. Another Night, Norman invited us to his farewell celebration party where he cooked a Traditional Philipine meal since he planned to leave for the Philipines next week. Yum.

----KERRY AND ALAN: AND OUR FIRST FOOTIE: We met Kerry in Laos. We told her we wanted to see and learn about Aussie Rules Football (AFL, or aka "Footie"). Australia has Soccer (yes, they use the American word), Rugby League, Rugby Union, and Australian Rules Football, - all sports of a similar style. Kerry's father is a club ticket holder for AFL, and Kerry invited us to join them for a game. AFL is like an amalgam of the best aspects of American Soccer and football. The game moves like soccer without stops or time-outs, but the players can kick, catch and pass the ball toward the goal. Mel found herself wishing we had this sport in the States and is sure she would have taken it up if she could have.

--OZ ZOO: On our way out of Brisbane, we stopped at Steve Irwin's (The Croc Hunter) Australia Zoo. - there were demos going on virtually all day. We got to pet a wombat and a Koala, we saw the Koalas just before feeding so that the usually sleeping animals were actually frisky and active, watched a croc feeding, tried to capture speedy Tasmanian Devils on film as they raced in circles, and we cooed over the Tiger cubs and 7 months old Bangal Tiger.

--A VIEW FROM ERUPTIVE ROOFTOPS: The Glasshouse mountains, 20 million year old volcanoes protrude dramatically against the Northern Sky. We drove to the Glasshouse Mt Lookout at Sunset after the day at the zoo and the spledor of the suns rays fanning out from behind one of the old volcanoes was a matter of perfect timing and perfect placement.

SLEEPING TO THE SOUND OF WAVES, WAKING TO THE GLOW OF SUNRISE, NOOSA: Heading north, we stopped at the beachy town of Noosa, just because. We found a perfect water front parking place in a quaint, tree lined cove. As we lay in our bed watching a DVD, we faded away to the soothing sound of waves. In the morning, Mel ran along the wooden boardwalk weaving between the sandy shore and lush forest, while Steve continued to sleep in, still lulled by the sound of the shore. We both spent the morning lying out in the very warm sun before once again wheeling away. We really appreciate what we have.

ARLIE BAY, THE WHITSUNDAYS, WHITE SANDS, BLUE WATERS, MULTI COLORED SKIES: We were told over and over that sailing on the Whitsundays was not to be missed. We signed up for a 2-night trip on an 11-passenger catch. The weather was a little fickle, sunny at times, windy and rainy at others, but perfect for sailing. We pulled into Whitsunday Island and hiked to WhiteHaven Beach, touted as one of the worlds 10 best beaches. The pure silica quartz sand was fine and white. The water glowed bright blue. The tide came in as fast as we could walk. We built a sand castle and watched the tide take it out. We also enjoyed jumping from the boat and snorkeling among schools of Great Barrier Reef fish. We're still looking for Nemo. (The trip got a nickname: "KEVIN COSTNER'S DANCES WITH TURTLES, STARRING MEL POODLE, AKA WONDER WHIPPET, AND GUEST STARRING RICH DOGGY DOG ... YO. YO. YO ..." - the Mel was our cook Melissa, not Melanie, and Kevin Costner was Dave, our Skipper, who looked like Kevin Costner.)

IN THE WORLD: HELENIC HAPPENINGS: on 5 June, the Olympic torch relay went through Australia. We, of course, were on the high seas and didn't see it, but last week, we began to celebrate the Olympic spirit by seeing the movie "Troy". It was pretty good, especially after first watching the more educational "Helen of Troy" on DVD.

VENUSIAN ECLYPSE: No living person has ever before witnessed the transit of Venus across the Sun. It only happens less than once a century. On 8 June, we saw it from the beaches of Townsville through Steve's binocculars refracting an image of the sun onto a piece of paper (like the way we used to observe lunar eclypses in elementary school.) Excited, Steve showed it to several of our fellow Sun bathers lying nearby.

IF LIFE IS A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION, ... is life over for us? We've made it to our final Australian Destination - Cairns (after coastal stops in Townsville and Mission Beach). We've now come twenty-four thousand kilometers in our old friend Chester. It's time to pack up, sell the van, and get ready for other countries and continents - - but we still hope to make time for a little SCUBA before we go.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS TO:

Annika C, Maryna C, Sophae, Jon M, Dee A, Jeni F, and Henry P