Heading inland

I'm heading inland a bit for a few days and will likely not have internet.  The posting will be on hiatus probably until I get to Sydney.

Night photos

I want to be able to take great night photos and I'm using this trip to learn and practice.  I went out the other night specifically to take some photos.  Here are some that turned out ok.  You have to start somewhere! :-)

Aussie, Day 6 & 7

Day 6 we went to a beach, did some whale watching and saw the view of the Gold Coast from the world's tallest residential building.  Day 7 we went to another beach and I got to work on my tan a little.  I have to start small so I don't get a sunburn.  The rest of the day we spent relaxing and went out to dinner.

The beach near Sea World - I even went into the water!

Sea World - where we did the whale watching tour from.

A whale!

Me on the boat.

At one point a couple whales where about 20 feet from the boat!

Q1 - the world's tallest residential building.

The views from the Q Deck - as far as the eye can see.

Me on the Q Deck

The beach at night.

The beach at night.

View from the Q Deck at night.

Aussie, Day 4 & 5

Day 4 we wandered around Brisbane and went to my very first footy game!  Day 5 we went to 'the Hinterland' - basically a rainforest.  It was a rainy and foggy day though and so we didn't stay long and I got very few photos.

Brisbane - City Ferry

Brisbane - Arts Centre

Brisbane - Ferris Wheel

Brisbane - man made beach

Brisbane - Suncorp Stadium

Brisbane - Titans footy game

Hinterland - hollow tree

Hinterland - waterfalls

Hinterland

Aussie, Day 2 & 3

Day two down under was pretty relaxing, had a nap and went to dinner with some of Mark's friends.  It was a great day. 

Day three was very awesome.  We went to the Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin's zoo).  We saw tons and tons of animals, saw Bindi Irwin perform some songs (apparently she's kinda the like the Miley Cyrus of OZ).  Here are a few pics from the day.

Koalas at the Australia Zoo.

Hangin' with the Irwin's at the Australia Zoo.

Petting a 'roo at the Australia Zoo - they are so used to people that they let you pet them!

Otters for Miss Erin!

A sleepy little koala!

A giant tortoise!

The beach at Noosa Heads.

The beach at Caloundra.

Aussie, Day 1

Well I have arrived safe and sound in the land down under.  My flights were good.  No issues on my layover and the LA to Brizzy (Brisbane to those outside OZ) was uneventful.  Mark met me at the airport and we spent the day keeping me awake so I can try to avoid the jet lag as much as possible.  We picked up some groceries, did some driving tours and most excitingly, saw kangaroos!!

There was a field where the roos just hang out and you can walk amongst them (though not too close!).  i got to take tons of pics and got to see two of them play fighting (or maybe they were putting on a show for me?). 

This is me in the field of roos.

This is a little roo that let me get pretty close to take this picture. 

All in all a very good first day in the land down under!

And it begins...

The packing that is!

I also got me some Aussie money!

Well, I'm now retired...

Or at least done work for the time being. Which means that the adventure starts in 9 sleeps. Yikes!

The move is going well. I have my furniture in and just need to move some small stuff and the kitchen stuff too. Should be pretty much done tomorrow except for the cleaning. I will be so excited when it's done. Then I can focus on unpacking, setting up what I need to and getting organized for my trip.

11 days and counting...

It's hard to believe that in just 11 short days I will be flying away Down Under. It's pretty exciting to think about but, since I have very little planned, it's also a little stressful. I have a lot on the go right now with finishing up work and packing/moving and so the trip is the last thing on my mind right now. Thanks goodness for good friends who are helping me move so I have less to think about.

Flights are booked!

I depart Vancouver on September 19th stopover in LAX briefly and will arrive in Brisbane on September 21st. I fly to New Zealand on October 25th and will be there for 2 weeks. I then fly back home on November 6th. Quite the adventure for little ol' me!