rebel down under

2002-10-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

Sent: Wed 10/16/2002 7:37 PM
Do we have to leave?

Okay my little friends! Sniffle Sniffle! This will be the last email from this journey because we are one half and hour away from getting on the plane to head back to the States. Boo-Hoo!

I believe we were in Sydney last time, Bondi Beach to be exact. Well that was just a couple of days ago and we spent it by going to view an amazing Dali Exhibit containing 350 works of his. I was floored, of course I am partial to his work! There was hardly any of his really well known pieces besides some sculptural works but it was instead filled with pieces that I had never seen before. His Dante collection was breathtaking! Jeff wasn't all that impressed but I found it really inspirational and can't wait to get home to my paints!

Other than that we attempted to play on Bondi Beach a couple of times but as soon as we layed down on the beach the wind would pick up bringing with it the clouds and sandstorms. So our attempts were futile. Don't worry we made the best of it by drinking a couple of beers overlooking the lovely sea!

Our last evening and we wanted to do something special. I bought a new dress, we are so sick of our limited amount of clothing, I think we will toss them as soon as we get home! We got all spiffy and headed into Sydney Central. Our first stop was at a coffee shop, what are we going to do with the shitty american cup of coffee? Probably go to Linnaea's! Then on to play a bit of indoor golf in our nice dudds. Random and totally wierd concept! Then off to meet a friend in Hyde Park. We met her and went to an Asian food festival. Bought a nice bottle of wine and a bit of a snack and sat on the grass with her for a couple of hours. What a beautifully warm night it was too! Then we saw Emily off to the train and Jeffrey and I went to Circular Quay for an expensive dinner overlooking the Sydney Harbour. Italian and Champagne! A sweet goodbye to a lovely city.

So here we are now, sad to go but happy that we will be near the ones we love very soon. Thanks for joining us on our silly travels. I got to talk as much as I wanted! Wink Wink! Love you all and can't wait to give you smooches!

My heart, Rebel Down Under!

2002-10-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

Sent: Mon 10/14/2002 7:51 PM
Australian Vampires!

Hey there all!

You have to love it when you spend an hour or so on the computer and it crashes erasing all of it! Aaarrg!

Anyways, I do believe that I left you in Apollo Bay. We had a beautiful drive to Otway National Park. On our way in we spotted a funny sign that stated " Dogs, Cats and Firearms prohibited" I thought that was quite an eclectic combination!

The park was beautiful. Jeffrey called it the Australian Redwood Forest. No Redwoods just Rainforest. We drove out to the Otway Lighthouse and along the way saw bunches of Koalas including a momma and her baby. They are so chubby and healthy looking compared to the ones we have seen so far.

From the park we drove to Torquay which is known world wide for its excellent surf spots including Bell's Beach! Quicksilver and Ripcurl both started up in this town. There were a couple of conventions in the area, probably another Baked Bean Gargling contest or something, so we drove further up the coast to a town called Geelong for the night.

The next day we drove on to Melbourne. It was good to be in the city again. We booked a hostel for several days so that we could stay in one spot for a while. We didn't do much in Melbourne besides relax but one of the highlights was coming out of the theatre one night and looking up into the spotlit night sky and seeing thousands of white birds flying around in circles. Breathtaking! Jeffrey gave me a little tickle under the chin and said he was petting me like a kitty. Which made me think of Wizard. I miss him so! I wished that I was laying on the Establishment deck in the sun with that stinky kitty purring on my belly!

Like I said previously, we hadn't the energy to do much in Melbourne and on our last night there we still weren't planning on doing anything special. We went out intending to get some take away for dinner but instead stumbled into a place called "Dracula's". Anyone that knows me a bit also knows that this is right up my alley, so we started nosing around reading plaques, posters, etc. I had just finished reading an especially gruesome one about the very building being the site of a tragic accident where the owner's daughter, nine, fell into a vat of molten metal and all that was left of her was the impression left in the press of her screaming and then how her ghost still haunts the building to this day. Anyways, suddenly the dungeon door creeks open and this pierced up freak comes out and I nearly wet myself!

We found out it was called "the Theatre of the Vampyres" and it was a dinner theatre. So this red haired punk rocker slave of the devil lured us in off the street and closes the dungeon door and begins to tell us about the place. I am looking around the room at the best haunted house I have ever seen and thinking this is how it always happens in the movies! Rebecca, Remember the rules of every horror movie...1. Never go anywhere alone 2. Never take a shower. 3. Never be a girl, alone, naked under any circumstances! We were shown to the ghost train ride which I just crouched, huddled up to Jeffrey and closed my eyes throuh. Then we passed through a creepy bar and into the main hall. Photographs coming alive and bidding you to turn back the whole way.

Believe it or not, I got an excellent vegan dinner. They teased the hell out of me being a veggie, they were vampires afterall and wanted to know if I would explode if I had any dairy products. I said Yes! They were thrilled and said it would add to thier show! When I didn't they said I was selfish and only thinking of myself! Gruesome comedy, lots of vinyl and goth and all the heavy metal I could want. Yum! At one point Lucifer himself showed up to our table and we got a shot taken with him. I gave him a little kitty tickle under the chin too! They ragged the hell out of the only two Americans in the house, calling us filthy hippies, vegetarians, tree huggers and commenting on all the armpit hair or something - They were pretty on target actually! Excellent night!

The next night we had to catch another overnight bus ride to Canberra. We weren't looking forward to it and in fact had thought that these long night rides were in the past! Jeffrey swears that he will never set foot on a bus again!

So that brings us to Canberra, the nation's capital. Everyone we spoke to about going to Canberra immediately asked us why? But it is supposed to be great from a planning perspective. We hiked to the Parliment and took a tour. It is a beautiful building with lots of meaning, set up as a central point of the city with axial views radiating out away from it, very powerful. Too bad the whole city was destined to be redesigned in the seventies!

Afterwards, we hiked back into the city and into a large protest against the Prime Minister's support of George W's political choices. Made us feel a bit squirrely but we could relate.

The next day, we hiked back to the Botanical Gardens Floriade Festival. Absolutely stunning plantings. The ground is literally painted with fresh spring flowers, tulips, freesia, pansies, iris, poppies, hiacyanth. Amazing colour and all the more breathtaking because thes acres of flowers will only be at thier peak for a few weeks tops!

Later we went on a huge trek to the War Memorial. It was a tremendous trek up a monstrous promenade, one of the axis off of the Parliment. Along it tribute is paid to each war and the Australians who fought in them. The memorial itself was amazing though I have mixed feelings about it. No Aboriginals were represented in any photographs and all paintings represented blonde men. There were huge walls of names of those lost, lovely red poppies stuck in the great wall next to loved ones. So many people. Of course, I blubbered and Jeffrey had to settle me down. I am far to sensitive, But then I wonder if everyone else is just so detached. The best part of the monument was a lovely old woman that smiled at me as we entered, she was knitting something white.

From there we hiked further to the National Gallery of Australia to see the Jackson Pollack Exhibit. Then on to feed two adult swans and thier three not so small babies a bit of bread that Jeffrey had wrestled from another poor bird! That night we went back to our hotel, one that Jeffrey has been referring to as the place where Politicians bring hookers to. When we got there he looked at me wide eyed and pointed behind himand the ladies of the night were hanging out in reception waiting! I couldn't believe he was right and we eagerly awaited our bus out of Canberra in the morning!

We caught a bus back to Sydney, 3 1/2 hours and our loop has been completed! It was so good to recognize the city, it almost feels like coming home. This is a truly great city, perhaps one of the best we have ever experienced. We hustle, bustled with our huge packs by bus, to train, to bus again till we got to Bondi Beach on the outskirts of Sydney. Our hotel, the one we will stay in till our leave, has the best view over the rugged coastline of cliffs and the ocean. It is good to smell the salt air again! We hiked down to the famous Bondi Beach and along the way we came upon another of Sydney's public pools. This one is right on the edge of the ocean and is a salt water swimming pool, the ocean waves crash up and into it! We hiked around the main promenade a bit more but got chased home by a thunderstorm! Yum! Gotta love the smell of that! Chased that day down with a great dinner and a few drinks and a smooth funk band! Such a full tum!

Okay, gotta close for now, out of time again! Time is running out for the travelers in Australia. As most of you know by now, I will be making a guest appearance in California from the 17th to the 28th. So grab your smooches while you can, this offer won't be around for long! Then, I look forward to seeing all you folks on the east coast soon thereafter!

Love you all and someone please make Wizzy do the Stevie Wonder thing for me!

Rebecca

2002-10-04T09:37:00.000-07:00

Sent: Thu 10/3/2002 11:50 PM
Less than two weeks left in Oz!

Hey there my beauties!

Let us start this one off with something I forgot to tell you about Adelaide! On Friday night, one week ago, we saw a mighty bicycle brigade screaming and ringing through town! It reminded me of San Luis Obispo! We were on foot, but whooped it up with them as best as we could!

Okay, so we left off in Victor Harbour I believe on our way to Mount Gambier. The landscape was as lovely as anything we have seen thus far. Beautiful country drive and charming farms. The landscape has become a bit sandier here, lots of limestone too. We came upon a great bunch of pink lakes just north of Lake Alexandrina. The colour is no ordinary pink either, it is literally the colour of pink lemonade! I haven't figured out what causes it, but my guess is either high salinity or something to do with the lime in the soil. I will try to figure it out.

Drove further through soldier like forests with thier perfectly engineered lines and angles. Forestry is the areas major industry. Along the way we came upon the Great Lobster. Probably had to be my favorite gimungus thing this far.

When we finally got into Mount Gambier, we discovered another tiny little country town that was built on top of some extinct volcanoes. Our first stop was to the old craters which are now filled with beautiful bright blue lakes. The colour is brightest blue right now, and supposedly changes over the next few months to a dark grey, then back to this lovely blue in a years time. Next we checked out one of the many caves in the area, which happens to be located right in the center of the town! Its called Cave Park and is literally a giant hole in the middle of town that has stairs going straight down into it! They have landscaped to sides on the way down. Strange but interesting.

The next day we drove from Victor Harbour to Port Fairy. Passing into Victoria, we stopped first in a tiny little town called Nelson. It is a little fishing town. We saw Black Swans on the river and Emus in the fields. Later we drove to Portland to wander around for a bit. We met some locals here that were absolutely fantastic and if we had been spending the night there we would have insisted on taking them to the local pub.

But we were off to Port Fairy! Along the way we saw great flocks of Galahs and Cockatoos and a new bird with a scarlet breast and dark blue wings that looks like a parrot, I discovered later it was called a Crimson Rosella. Port Fairy turned out to be an excellent little town, very quaint. Lovely old architecture, saloons, etc. I can picture a dirt road and horse drawn buggies before the current asphalt main street.

The hostel we staying in was lovely, one of the oldest buildings in the area. Though it was the worst nights rest I have had in a long time. I told Jeffrey that I felt like we were sleeping in a barn and we came to find out that I wasn't so far off. We were in fact sleeping in the old horse stables!

The next morning we hiked up Tower Hill on our way to Warrnambool with our brekky. Its another old volcanic crater that erupted 30,000 years ago. The land was then so abused for so many years that the native landscape was forgotten untill a dusty old 1850's painting of the landscape was discovered. Now it is a wildlife preserve. We saw more emus and many, many Black Swans. The Swans are magnificent birds, all black with red beaks!

Jeffrey is starting to get very worried about going back to Massachusetts, and more and more frequently brings up a conversation about how he is going to freeze to death, he thinks that I am trying to kill him. He keeps trying to persuade me to move to Florida instead.

We stopped in Warrnambool because locals told us we must go to Logan Beach to see the migrating whales. We were so lucky because there was a big old momma whale with her new calf. They were so graceful and beautiful to watch. Thank goddess that Jeffrey picked up some binoculars early in the trip! We ended up seeing four Southern Right Whales. They were almost whaled to extinction here on this stretch of coastline and are still critically endangered! They are called the Southern Right Whale because they are found in the South and they are the "right" whale to hunt because they are slow, rich in oil, and float when killed. Seriously, we read those exact words!

We are now traveling the infamous Great Ocean Road. Along this scenic coastal highway we hiked around such wonders as the Bay of Islands, Bay of Martyrs, The Grotto, London Bridge and the Arch, and oh, yes the mighty Cheese World (we didn't actually stop here!) They are all great rock formations climbing out of the ocean. Great towers, arches and caves.

After a quick lunch in Port Campbell, we travelled further towards the Twelve Apostles. I finally discovered what the name of one of the birds we had been seeing along the coast was called, the brightly coloured (green, red, blues) deafening flocks of parrots are actually called Rainbow Laurekeets. Down the road, we hiked around the Loch and Gorge which is the site of an old shipwreck and then on to a stunning 100 meter deep blowhole. Later, we saw the great Twelve Apostles. The area is reminding us more and more of the lovely California Coastline. Exhausted, we spent the night in Apollo Bay.

We realized why we have been feeling so tierd lately when we went back through my journal and realized that we haven't stayed in one hostel for more than one night in a full month. It will definatly be nice to settle in one place soon. We head back to the states in less than two weeks and on one hand we are happy to be going home to see family and friends, on the other so sad to leave this country with its amazing people and sights. This trip has been wonderful.

Miss you all, more from me later (I will try to be less sleepy next time!) A huge thank you to my lovely friend Marya for all her wonderful efforts putting together the Rebel Down Under web page. It's spectacular! You warm my heart lady!

Love, love, love to all of you, Rebel

2002-10-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

Sent: Tue 10/1/2002 12:52 AM
Oz times a tickin'!

Oh! Time is officially running out here in Australia, insert Rebel's grumpy face here!

We spent a little down time in Adelaide, I think we were tierd because we didn't do anything too adventurous, except putter around town, read and rest. Who knew traveling could be so exhausting? While on one of our little walks around town we came to a pedestrian mall and in the middle of it was a very contraversial sculpture of an enormous set of balls! They appear to be made of stainless steel. I liked it, very good statement! But, I am a bit on the strange side!

After a couple of days of rest we arranged for another rental car for seven days to travel to Melbourne. We got a great deal through the hostel owner on an old clunker he had.

The temperature has changed drastically down here. From around 36-37 C to about 5C. Unfortunately the coat, pants, and sweaters have gone back on! Our last night in town we went to a comedy show. It was pretty funny, the best part was when a guy got up in the middle of the comedian's performance and walked out. The comedian just watched him leave quietly, then had us all agree to help him out when the guy came back. Whe he did, the comedian starts in like we've been discussing it for a while..."So, who here rally likes to shove big cucumbers up thier asses?" The whole crowd went wild and all raised thier hands, until this guy, looking around the audience, gives up and raises his hand too! Then the comedian singles him out and calls him "one sick fucker!" Hilarious! Even the guys mum was in on it!

Next day we drove a bit North of Adelaide up into the Barossa Valley for some wine tasting. This area, it has been said, produces wines comparible to Robert Mondavi's! Which gives me sweet memories of my lovely friend Shane C. Green! We drove up there through green rolling hills, along serpentine roads lined with great trees (Eucalypts up to 10' in diameter!). Along the road curved a rushing river lined with granite and the colour of seafoam. The hills are clad in vinyards and spring flowers (bright fields painted red, yellow, white, and purple) and they are often dappled with sheep. We rode along the road in the middle of a parade welcoming the arrival of spring. It was full of classic cars and motor bikes and the dress of the era.

The participation in the parade from the towns and those in between is unbelievable. People parked all along the road (which was made into a one way street for the event) they set up couches, tables and chairs with picnic baskets and wine. All were grinning and waving hands and flags wildly at the vehicles. I felt like I had been invited to a party!

A bit later, we stopped for our own brisk picnic in the town of Angaston ( I like the name of the town, it reminds me of AC/DC!) before heading into the Barossa Valley. On our way we added to our list of giant whatevers with a giant Rockinghorse and the Tin man from the Wizard of Oz! We ended up buying wine from a dozen local wineries after some lovely tastings. We decided to splurge a bit that night on a bed and breakfast/winerey. We have been staying in Backpacker Hostels the entire way.

Neither one of us had ever stayed in such a nice place before. Lovely gardens, huge room, absolutely everything we asked for or could want. On top of it we got fruit baskets and the wineries own champagne. We drank the champagne in the spa in our room filled with about 3 feet of bubbles! We woke the next morning to a 10:30am breakfast, got the best table in the house, set and waiting with fresh fruit on it for us and overlooking the gardens. Best part? It only cast $140.00 Australian, that is about $70.00 American! It was hard to leave and head back to the hostels again!

That day we drove South along the coast to the Fleurieu Peninsula and then on to Victor Harbor where we spent the night. The landscape was very similar to what we had experienced the day before with the exception of how it is give a very geometric look with the trees that have been planted to be farmed. Perfect rows, no undergrowth, and strong, straight edges against softly rolling hills. All overlooking the ocean.

And that would be about all I have time for today folks the computer clock is ready to boot my ass off. I love you and can't wait to see you soon.

My love, Rebel

2002-09-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

Sent: Wed 9/25/2002 11:06 PM
Ooo! This is Outback Livin'!

Hey there my sweet babies!

When we left off we were in Alice Springs, at the heart of Australia. We rented another car here to give the left handed lane driving another go. The worst is the directionals as they are located on the right side instead of the left so whenever we have to turn we usually end up washing our windows!

Our plan, to drive to Uluru, Kata Tjuta, King's Canyon, and through the West Macdonnell Range. It was a long ride to Uluru, nearly six hours from the Alice. The car was equipped with all our camping gear and we had loaded up on food. Along our drive we saw a sign that read " rabbit control demonstration" in the middle of nowhere, Australia. Jeff doesn't think that I would want to stop. Rabbits were introduced here in the1800's along with dozens of other non-native animals and plants by Europeans trying to make Australia feel more like home.

I am overwhelmed by the number of dead things on the road. (I could avoid it by bus, you couldn't see the road, but in a car you can't avoid it!) And it isn't just the huge dead creature in the middle of the road you have to avoid but the enormous condore sized, eagles that are feeding on it. They could take out a windshield for sure! I am constantly blessing the poor little animals and trying to encompass our car in positive energy to protect anything around us from harm! (Jen says "what a dork!") Out here a town consists of one shack that you might be able to buy some gas at, something to eat at, and maybe a place to sleep.

So far we have seen quite a range of dead things, quite amazing really. Dead Kangaroos (one about every 20 meters!), birds, cows, snakes, koalas, emus, and get this one, camels! It was really starting to get me down and I was thinking that Uluru better be pretty damn amazing to account for all this death! When we got to the campsite, we had just enough time to set up and to run up to a lookout and catch a flaming sunset over a flaming landscape. On one side was this sunset on the next was a full moon rising and in between was the lovely Uluru glowing in the distance. I felt truly blessed to be there.

We woke at dawn to watch the sun rise over Uluru, then hiked 10 kms around the base of it. That is one big rock! There were sacred sites along the track that you couldn't go to or photograph. Off limits to Piranpa (non Aboriginal people)! There was much rock art, thousands of years old, and lovely rock formations towering overhead. The most amazing part was watching it change as the sun's position changed, casting long shadows. It must be absolutely amazing during the wet season when water collects on the top and cascades in pools all the way to the base.It is hotter than hell here now and there is definately no water. You can hike up to the top of Uluru via a very steep grade and a chanin railing, about an hour and a half hike. It looks like fun to climb. Jeff did, I stayed down because it is an extremely spiritual place to the Aborigines and they don't want anyone to climb on it other than the Aborigines for thier cerimonies. It is so strange, the government stole this land, then the government gave it back but are 'managing' it for the Aborigines. Doing a pretty shitty job of it too, might I add and they write it all off as if this was what the Aborigines want. It's a huge issue here. Sad.

After making lunch with a hungry dingo eyeing us, we headed to Kata Tjuta and hiked through the Valley of the Winds then up to the Walpa Gorge. We hiked about 24 kms at around 100 degrees. Exhausted! We wrapped up the day with an amazing sunset over Uluru and the full moon 180 degrees away again. Needless to say, we slept like the dead that night!

Next morning, woke about 45mins before the sun (we're getting good at this!) One more sunset over Uluru. On our way we saw a couple of cats. Now you may wonder why I would mention this, but the truth is they are another big issue over here. My favourite, was a sign I saw of sweet little kittens peeking out of a rainforest backdrop and it said 'Danger! Ferral Cats!' It's hilarious but I guess they are quite a problem to the small rodents and birds of the country. There are loads of other ferral animals, all those introduced to the area actually. Ferral camels, cats, dogs, fox, rabbits, horses, goats, etc.

Later we drove to King's Canyon National Park and took an absolutely spectacular rim walk around it, we could have spent hours more doing it but we were already both showing signs of heat exhaustion.

Next day, awoke before sunrise again, this time by a huge flock of Galahs, all pink and grey and squaking up a storm! We listened to the radio on our way to the West Macdonnell Range. One of the two stations, a host who just has people call him up and shoot the shit about anything and everything! They just talk, it's like you are eavesdropping on a conversation and can't relate to any of it! The other station, hosted the World Baked Bean Gargleing Championship! Can you believe it! We listened to the whole event! The record is 48 minutes of baked bean gargleing! This year it was won by a representative of the Northern Territory Parliment!

New note: Aboriginals don't understand our preoccupations with time, money, and possesions. They live free and don't collect or stay in one spot long. They are a nomadic people. People hear complain often about how the Aboriginals destroy the government houses given to them (smash out windows, rip up floors for firewood, etc. Thier culture live out of doors!) and how they don't participate in the work force. But they don't stop to think about the huge cultural differences. They just expect them to be the same as they are. The "Long Grasses" as some of them call themselves just ask to be left alone. That is about all I have to say about that for now, sooo...

When we got to the West Macdonnell Range we hiked up the Simpson Gap. More stunning rock formations with nasty standing water that was actually looking quite appealing in the hot, dry, heat! We were in search for Rock Wallabies and Perrenti Lizards which can get to be 2-1/2 meters in length!

Next the Standley Chasm. It was an incredibly tall rock face, with a small gap coming through the sheer walls. The sun made the rock positively glow bright oranges. Reminds me a bit of Arches N.P. We hiked quite a while, deeper and deeper into the Chasm till we were shimmying across slippery logs over deep stagnent water and scaling rocks that threatened to toss us down into the chasm floor! We suddenly got a bit worried about where we were putting our little paws, the Death Adder lives in this area, and though I don't know what it looks like, I don't think that we would want to mess with anything with such a name! So, we turned back, though we would have enjoyed spending a bit more time there. We were on the sun's clock.

The next stop turned out to be where we camped. It was called Big Water Hole. The weather was fry pan hot and dry and this spot has this amazing gorge to swim in! We jumped in for a frigid swim, there are actually signs here warning about the temps of the water being so cold! After setting up camp in this serene location we lay on a sleeping bag and watched the stars!

As we were constellation peeping, a German girl came up to us and invited us to come join herself and friends for a bit of bush bread they had made. It is made of self-rising flour, salt, and water and all you have to do is mix it up and lay it on a flat iron or hot rock in a camp fire. Very hearty, a bit dry but good, and it only takes about 15 minutes to make! While nibbling on the bread, more commonly called a damper, she told us they had learned to make it up in Darwin where they had gone on an Aboriginal guided tour of the Outback. They learned about and ate many traditional foods including Green Ants, which you crush in your hand, eat, and taste like lemon. It was also used medicinally. Honey Ants, which have a large amber, clear back end which is filled with honey and you eat them too! They speared turtles and duck for dinner. We have seen all these creatures allready on our travels, but I wasn't going to eat any of them. When I met up with the Green Ant, it bit me on the tit and left a very big red spot! That night we fell asleep to the sound of Didgeridoo and bats chirping overhead while they fed.

Next morning, I woke about a half hour before the lazy sun ( I am getting better than she is!) to the sound of bees buzzing and heavily scented honey fragrances coming form surrounding bushes. Lovely. I was the first one up in the camp, so I hiked back to the water which was glassy and still. I found a canoe that some sweet person had left out for the use of everyone! As I rowed out, all I could hear is chirping birds and the gentle lapping of the cold water against the rocks. A slight breeze pulled me through to the other side and I sat quietly looking for wildlife. The owner of the canoe came along shortly in a second one and joined me for some conversation. He spends all his free time, I find out, running around in the nude over on this side of the gorge! Very nice little Nature Boy! I saw my first Rock Wallaby, a small female. I couldn't believe how agile they are, bouncing over rocks with great speed. I went back to camp to wake Jeffrey but he was up and wanted to go out in the canoe after I told him of my experience. So back we went, more conversation with our new friend Daryl and more Rock Wallabies!

Once we got back to Alice, we went to a Digeridoo Performance. Pretty good. It combined Didge, Lots of Percussion, and Photographs of the Outback.

Now we are in Adelaide (South Australia), after a long and exhausting journey by bus down here. We got on the bus at 10:30am in Alice. It was supposed to be a 20hour ride. But the bus broke down about 45 minutes from Alice Springs, broken fuel pump! So we all unloaded the luggage, waited for the new bus to arrive, reloaded the luggage and gladly got back on the stinky bus and out of the desert heat!

The bus drivers are great out here. The last trip we took, two people were broken down on the side of the road, they ran out of gas. The bus driver picked them up and drove them to town ( a considerable distance away!) Of course, people would be risking thier lives being left out here to long, especially in the summer. The bus also part-times as local mail couriers out here. Most of our stops in the Outback are to deliver bags of mail and packages!

So, today we are in Adelaide. We got to a hostel, got a total run around from a guy trying to sell a backpacker stay to us (He was English, not an Aussie) He totally misrepresented himself. I think he thought that because we were so tierd he could snow us, but we were a bit fiesty after the ride and we got our money back and went elsewhere, we have been napping most of the day to make up for the lack of available sleep on the bus.

Okay, I am almost out of breath! "I don't believe it" you might say. But it is true! You all just caught me on a worn out day! I LOVE YOU ALL BUNCHES AND BUNCHES AND MISS YOU EVERY DAY!

Take care, and hope to hear from you all soon.

Rat Bastard!

2002-09-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

Sent: Thu 9/19/2002 3:17 AM
We are in the heart of Ozland!

Hey there loved ones!

Man, do I miss every last one of you daily!

When we last saw our travelers they were up on North Queensland heading towards Cape Tribulation, I do believe.....

We had to constantly remind eachother to "stay on the left hand side!" of the road while driving. We drove up to Mossman Gorge, which was about the smallest Gorge I have ever seen! and then through the spectacular Daintree National Park. What a lovely rainforest hike that was. We saw a bunch of scratching in the soil, mostly around the roots of trees. (Tracker Rebel) It was the Green Possums trying to find Witchita Grubs, which is also one of the traditional Aboriginal foods. The local tribe here is the Kuku Yulangi. Each tribe uses different figures and signs that are distinct to that tribe, apparently a person educated in such things could look at a piece and name the region and tribe it came from, it is like a signature. Each tribe uses the same colours to paint with, however, Blue, to represent water. Red to represent blood. White to represent bone, and Yellow to represent the sun.

Little side track: Interesting observation (so far as Rebel is conserned!) The Aussie's love to create huge oversized road side attractioins of every type. Each town seems to use a monstrous something or other to represent itself at its entrance. Kind of reminds me of Castroville "home of the giant artichoke". So far we have seen the giant clam, giant crab, giant prawn, giant banana, giant crustacean, giant mango...It's the wierdest thing I have ever seen. They all have to be absolutely huge! I will keep you updated on what else we come across, don't you worry!

We went to Daintree Village and bought tickets to go on a Daintree River Cruise. We saw four big crocs, a couple of green tree snakes mating ( I tried to get the guide to get them and bring them in the boat, he didn't go for it!), a water dragon, and dozens of crazy birds. The guide told us that a couple of weeks ago he saw a croc attack a full grown cow on the water's edge and do a full death roll! He also said that after a meal like that a croc doesn't have to eat for up to a year after! They are a real danger here. Afterwards we drove up to Cape Tribulation, which was one of the most beautiful and desolate places that I have ever been to.

After a good nights rest, I woke up with the sun and hiked out to Cape Tribulation Point along a completely empty beach accessible only at low tide. Hiking by myself I became a bit nervous about crocs because I crossed a couple of tributaries and there were mangroves everywhere. While worrying about that on one side, I looked to my left hand side and noticed a dog in an aggressive stance, staring me down and realized it was one of the rare (and very dangerous!) black dingoes of the area. I am one of the first people to walk up to random dogs to play with them, but these dogs scare the crap out of me, they have torn people to shreds, and they are just plain mean looking!

Anyways, got past that situation, sweating bullets, and then proceeded to collect sweet Aboriginal treats that I had learned about the previous day to bring back to Jeffrey for breakfast! We had learned about them from the river cruise man. There was these large red berries that taste like lollies and hibiscus flowers which blossom and fall of the branch in one day. Though sometimes you can find a pink or better yet a red one that is that colour because it has managed to stay on the branch longer and has a higher sugar content because of it. We nibbled on them when Jeffrey woke up and luckily we didn't die because there must be a billion red berries in this rainforest and I only saw them from the boat! Anyways, they were tasty.

As soon as we got back, it started to downpour like only a rainforest could. We had scheduled a horseback ride that we couldn't change but it cleared right before we left. We had a lovely 2-1/2 hour ride through fertile, lush rainforests and along open, pristine beaches, we got to ride in the surf! We rode around croc infested estuaries, huge strangler fig trees, and took a refreshing dip in a little swimming hole when we stopped for afternoon tea. Did I mention that Jeffrey put down that he was an expert rider when he thought he put down beginner? First time English style too! By the way, that was how they picked his horse!

In the afternoon we hiked along the Maarja Boardwalk through wet mangroves and dense, dripping rainforest! Delicious! Afterwards we visited the "bat house" which informs the public and houses a few injured fruit bats (flying foxes). They were so sweet, but quite stinky little bastards! Thier fur was as soft as a new duckling and thier wings felt like a warm extra thin layer of latex. They love any kind of fruit they can get hold of, but they are a problem to many local farmers and the bats, unfortunately, get shot at often.

Side track: We were told that as Americans (this coming from an Englishman, mind you!), have the most to fear from the crocs. His explanation...Americans are pampered and we are like veal for the crocs! If I see him again, I might push him into an estuary! (at least something loves the American!)

Next day, we took a long hike down the beach, rock hopping over rock outcroppings. Our directions were..."hike till you get to Emagen Creek". Now, mind you, there were half a dozen small creeks coming across the beach, none with signs! You were just supposed to recognise it! You have to stay away from every stream crossing because that is where the crocs like to hang. We finally found the unmarked trail and hiked further into the rainforest. It was magical, the rain showers (they are relentless!) never cease but the air is sultry, the sun is shining hot and the showers turn off and on again every five minutes. Then you steam to a near dry and it rains again. Protection can be found under the great rainforest canopy, leaves as big as unbrella. Even when it stops raining, it is difficult to tell within the forest as it continues to drip on you! While tip-toeing around trying to avoid crocs, Taipans, and killer spiders on our tiny path we were the luckiest souls on earth to see two male Cassowaries. This one species only exists up in this small area and there are only 49 in existance! I gasped as I saw them, they are as big as an ostrich and look slightly similar except the males have skin that is electric blue from thier neck up. Striking and very fast! Afterwards a frigid skinny dip in the rain in crystal clear Emagen Creek, Yes, the same one that is infested with crocs about 10 minutes downstream. Apparently it isn't salty enough for them where we swam! Balls the size of Texas, I tell you!

The YHA that we stayed at for those few days was lovely, a series of cabins in the rainforest. You can't see one from the other because the foliage is so dense around it. All are connected by a meandering concrete path that leads to a bar and bistro down by the sea. On one evening scamper in the rain, we saw big Cane Toads. We have been told that if you lick the back of thier head you will either die or hallucinate for a while! (Didn't Homer Simpson try that once?!) Anyways, we think we will refrain from licking any toad head. You have to wonder how one discovers a thing like that!

Early the next morning, we drove from Cape Tribulation down to Cairns and then took a bus back to Townsville, so we could start our journey inland.

Next day we had a 12 hour bus journey!Youch! Then landscape changed tremendously, as it usually does in such a distance. We left sultry, lush rainforest, dripping with moisture and traveled over the Great Dividing Range into open lands with stunted trees and grasslands. There is no true green here like that of the rainforest jungles. All the greens have a bit extra blue or yellow in them. The landscape looks rather bland until it decides to contrast itself to the rich siennas and ochres of the soil. When this happens, you realize that there are dozens of different colours and textures everywhere! The land is now peppered with tall termite mounds made of the bright red soil. I want to photograph them at sunset or sunrise when everything absolutely glows!

We finally arrived in Mt. Isa which is a sleepy little town, though considerably larger than the other so called "towns" we came through to get there. (they consisted of a couple of run down shacks and a small and usually shut down store!) Mt. Isa is known primarily as one of the largest silver and lead mining towns in the world and during our dinner we could feel the explosions going off under ground! As confirmed by the owner of the hostel, I think that we will see all we need to see of this town in one day.

But it took less than that even! We were going to take an underground mine tour, I thought it might make for an entertaining photograph of us in coveralls and mining equipment, but the tours had been discontinued. So, we hiked around town and head out to Alice Springs tonight by bus. We did stop by the museum for the Royal Flying Doctors. They brought health care to all of Australia. The maximum wait? Only two hours anywhere in Australia.

Even the most rural of areas! Caught a 14 hour night bus to Alice Springs at 7:45. Talk about a tough trip! On our way to the bus station, I saw a group of nude Aborigines on thier way out of a filthy, polluted river they had been bathing in. It is so strange how they live on the outskirts of town, won't look you in the eye, seem completly ghost like in the surrounding city and people. This is a product produced by stealing of Aborigine children from thier tribes and families and forcing them to find Jesus and live in a culture that wasn't thier own. They seem so lost. As I believe anyone would be in the same situation. A broken culture, unforgivable.

The roads we drove on to Alice were bright red, very straight and super tiny. When a trailer truck came in the opposite way the bus had to pull off the road into the dirt to allow it to pass!

We got very little sleep on the bus and spent most of today recouping! I did, however, catch an amazing sunrise this morning, a bright red streak across the horizon, and then the warming glow of the sun across the landscape. Yum! Lots of Kangaroos along our way and the road definately takes a toll on them! We are now in Northern Terrritory. Alice Springs is at the heart of the country, smack dab in the middle. There is a much larger Aborigine population here. I can't help but feel out of place among them, almost shameful, as if I am intruding.

Okay, my loves, I am off once again, a few days coming up of outback exploration, Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Promises to be spectacular.

Got the tip off to the possible theme for the Stab Halloween Party, ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! Craving a jug of beer with all you stabbies at Gus's and subathing at Pirate's. Miss my snuggle time with Austin and Jordan, only a month to go buddies! Can't wait for martini's with big f-ing pimentos with my sissies. Sending out a big Happy Anniversary to my folks and to Kris/Josh. And plenty of extra snuggles for the rest of you when I get my grubby paws on you next time!

Much love as always, Rebel

2002-09-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

Sent: Sat 9/14/2002 9:18 PM
Oz!

Hey there loved ones,

When we last left our super heros were on there way up to Townsville....

The weather is definatly getting warmer up here. Down right sultry. In addition the sun is getting stronger, I feel like a roast all day long. I can feel myself baking! Sunscreen goes on about three times a day! It took about 4 1/2 hours to get to Townsville via bus. I think my favourite thing about the bus rides is all the wildlife that we see along the way. We saw great big termite mounds everywhere, 2 black swans on a lake and emu! The town was full of beautiful colonial architecture but it was pretty much shut down when we got there on a Sunday afternoon. Strange.

We took a ferry over to Magnetic Island the next day from Townsville. When we got there we rented scooters to tool around the island! We hiked all over the island, stopped to take warm swims in the turquoise waters and lie on the white sands. The island was used during WWII to keep the invading Japanese off. Though it was never actually needed. We hiked up to the old forts and gun stations. After that hike we rode down to a lovely Mango farm and sampled homemade sorbets and icecreams (mango and macademia!). We had a lovely lunch withing a mangrove at the end of a boardwalk on the farm then we walked back through the mango groves and cracked open a fresh coconut! mmmm!

The scooters were our first time driving around by ourselves in Australia! We sincerely try to stay on the correct side of the road but every once and a while we slip up and scare the crap out of ourselves and the other guy! We nearly killed ourselves cutting a truck off! More lovely little sleepy koalas. Beautiful curtain fig trees everywhere, and the water is warm as a bath. We are so happy that we aren't here through Stinger season. Imagine being here during the summer heat (and it is hot as hell during the winter!) and not being able to swim!

Next day, we traveled six hours up the coast to Cairns (pronounced Cans) by coach through endless sugar cane fields, banana and mango plantations, and sugar and salt refineries.

While in Cairns, we decided to get our scuba certifications, we are at the Great Barrier Reef! We decided to become Advanced Divers so we could do deeper dives (30 meters). The first two days were in the stinky pool but we followed that up by four days on a ship out at the reef! We woke every morning at 5:30am for our first dive, our second was at 8am, three dives by noon! Followed by a 4pm, and a night dive with torches! The sea life was amazing, Giant Sea Clams, Giant Sea Tortoises, and a large octopus that changed color and texture as it slinked over the coral reef. We also saw our first dangerous shark (reef sharks were nothing to worry about). It was during our first night dive, we saw green eyes and it was a shark, he didn't seem to want anything to do with us and stayed pretty far away. During our first open water training they shot an excellent video of our lessons, we got one so remind us to show you all when you see us, it's a real kicker! We bought underwater cameras so we could photograph everything on the reef, the sea turtles were definately my favorite, that was all I really wanted to see. I swam right up to them and pet there shells!

Our last day on the boat we had two lovely morning dives and wanted to go on our third and final dive but we had gone too deep (25 meters) for too long (26minutes) and combined with our first dive we were off the charts when we did our calculations. Not good, but a good lesson! We couldn't go back in due to the likelihood of decompression sickness. Live and learn. Once we got off the boat it took us at least two days to stop swaying the waves!

September 11th, and I find comfert in the fact that we are in Australia and not in our own country. I find our recent actions disgraceful. Here in Cairns, we thought it was a public holiday. But we found out it was a parade in recognition of the September 11th event of last year. Deeply touching.

Interesting observation...We walked by a sign on a chalkboard in front of a cafe one morning, we both looked at as we walked by, stopped and walked back to be sure of what we read! Went something like this...."This cafe is reluctantly up for sale due to my wife not taking the pill" Gotta love that! Do you think the guy was mad?

Anyways, arranged for a 4X4 rental to go up to Cooktown which is up North and only accessible with a 4X4. Jeffrey haggled with a couple of companies to try to get us a deal, got them down to $75 bucks a day (around fourty american). Little did we know that the two companies we were dealing with were relatives! When we got there to pick up the vehicle the next morning they were pissed and had rented it to someone else as a result! You can't be slick here, you won't get away with it! So, Cooktown was out, but we found another company to rent us a car & saved a bunch of money not getting a 4wd.

First we drove to the scenic railway to ride it up to a town called Kuranda. The railway was constructed from 1882-1891 and stole all its land from the local tribes as usual. Kuranda was mostly a place to shop, very tiny town, and we found a yummy little Hare Krishna Center to have lunch at. The markets sold local crafts and I saw against my will, Kangaroo skins including tail. Not very nice for the little vegan. We took the skyrail down which was magnificent. The Cableway hangs above the treetops of the dense rainforest with breathtaking views of Barron Gorge and the ocean beyond. Afterwards we went to the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park. They educate the public on what has happened since the modern world descended upon a 40,000 year old culture, the spiritual beliefs of the Tjapukai people, and there traditions like dance and songs, didgeridoo, bush foods and medicines. It was a real relief to see this issue finally addressed somehow, rather than ignored. These people were being slaughtered and raped in the mid 70's and no one talks about it and the aboriginal culture seems nonexistant except for the products sold by the white man.

Okay, on that note, I am nearly out of time. Tune in next time folks. I love you all. Family take care and please keep me in touch about how Trevy is doing, I get worried when I don' t get updates. Trevy, I love you with all my heart.

Take care my loves,

Rebecca

2002-08-31T09:02:00.000-07:00

Sent: Sat 8/31/2002 3:10 AM
Letter from Oz!

Alrighty then, sorry about the last false alarm!

Hey there Mates! (sounds so square when I say it!)

Okay, left off in Rockhampton I do believe, giant Bull balls and all! From there we traveled by coach again up to Airley Beach. Instead of the random Kangaroo we have been seeing, we saw great groups of them just hanging around in the fields. They are so cool!

Ah, but I get ahead of myself for a moment! I forgot to mention that as we waited for that bus we had about two hours to kill. We stopped into an old pub called the Anchor Hotel though its not a hotel anymore. Our 65(ish) year old host "Bruiser" informed us that it was the third oldest pub in all of Australia. He was great, he gave us beer and information on great places to go to off the beaten path. When we had to leave we asked to say goodbye to him and he came around the bar shook Jeff's hand and then mine and planted a big fat kiss on my cheek. Warmed my heart completely. It is so strange coming to a country like this from America, we are constantly suspicious of people's intentions though they are just genuinly nice, and we have a tendancy to be very aggresive with people to get what we need but it is never necessary because they want to give you everything to make you happy. Unlike the states "your innocent until proven guilty" but if you cross that line where they feel you have betrayed or taken advantage of them I think that it could be quite bad. Bottom line, I love that you don't have to earn thier trust, they just give it to you. More people should be that way.

Side note: Did you wonder what a typical Australian brekky might be like? Of course they serve meat and eggs but they also serve baked beans or spagetti on toast. I keep trying to get Jeffrey to try it but he thinks it sounds gross!

Okay, so back to Airley Beach. We got in during the wee hours of the night, snuck into the dorm trying not to wake the other six people up and prayed that we would wake up in time for the trip we were to take in the morning. Surprise, surprise, we don't carry watches! Fortunately my inner alarm clock went off with plenty of time and we headed to the harbour to climb on to the "Avatar"! We had booked a sailing trip for three days! The ship was amazing and so much nicer than any other that we saw. It looked like a cross between a catamorand (?) and a sail boat. And apparently it is one of the fastest little sail boats in these hear parts. It was about the size of a tennis court! You could lie out on the tramps and look down at the turquoise ocean whizzing by.Within the ship was a common area, beds, kitchen, and bathrooms. The bathroom was cool because the sink faucet also functioned as the shower head when you pulled it out. Jeff and I had our bed in the exterior of the ship, it was like a little rabbit hole you climbed into via a skylight above the tiny (about 6'x6') cabins. Of course we never spent much time inside the boat, we mostly lounged around outside. The weather was finally beautiful

The ship's crew was great, consisted of three guys. We didn't have to cook anything because we had three gourmet meals, appetizers, and afternoon teas prepared for us every day (vegan treats for me!). To our surprise one of our Fraser Island buddies showed up on the same trip (21 people total). We set sail and got absolutely drenched because the water was quite choppy away from the mainland. All we did for the next three days was snorkle around coral reefs looking at sea life and eat! We would feed the fish chunks of bread and they would nibble it right out of your hands. They kept mistaking my amber ring for food and I was afraid I might loose a finger! They were quite big! There were these huge clams within the coral that came in amazing velvety rich colours, purples, blues, green.

On the ship we were warned not to do a couple of things or we would be "punished". Punishment was....1st offense - a heaping spoonful of vegemite. 2nd offense - a naked run around the exterior of the boat (bear in mind size of tennis court). 3rd offense - a naked swim, facing the sky around the boat singing your national anthem! Guess who managed to get into trouble first? I ate that spoonful of vegemite like a champion (nothing so disgusting in my life!) Personally, I think it was Jeffrey that ratted on me! He dissapeared suspiciously just before I got nabbed! At night we were rocked to sleep in our warm little cubby with our portal open to the stars smelling all the warm salty air. mmmm.

Next day we saw Giant Sea Tortoises swimming in the ocean. They can get to be 6' across we were told! We hiked up to a beautiful vista looking down over the most amazing stretch of beach I think I have ever witnessed. That is all I can say about it, you have to see the photos. In the water we swam with Giant Sting Rays and baby sharks. Our next stop, more great turtles and huge swarms of feeder fish that you could dive into and swim through. They were as far as you could see in every direction and would separate like you cut through them with a knife when you swam through then mold back together like syrup once you had past. I asked about a fish I saw while snorkling it was about three feet long, and was told that it was nothing compared to the male of the group that was four times as big! Apparently they are all born female and one becomes dominant and changes its sex to male and becomes huge! When he dies off another will change. I was feeding the fish more bread when I saw it! It started to come up to my hand and I got frightened and let it go, but the motion of my arm forced the bread right into my mask and I screamed through my snorkle as that huge creature ate it right in front of my face. All I could hear was everyone laughing thier asses off outside of the water! Afterwards we sailed to a place to anchor for the night right next to a resort island doing a controlled burn of the forest. At night it was amazing, it just glowed with monster flames! We had our first naked run on the ship as one of the guys was being naughtier than me. All I saw was a white ass streak past because I had managed to slip on the deck and slice my foot up. I tracked blood all across the ship. They wrapped my big toe up in a huge white bandage. It looked a little cartoonish! Later I told everyone that I did it on purpose so I could get the pity factor and get out of getting naked! Needless to say, I didn't get in any more trouble!

Top speed on the ship was 16 knots, though I have no idea how fast that actually is. All I know is that we caught and passed a couple of other sail boats on our way back to port! That night all passengers and crew went out to a couple of clubs and danced the night away. Someone placed Rebecca up on top of a big wiskey barrel in the middle of the club and made her dance her buns off (I won't name any names but I think you can guess who the little rat bastard was!). Anyways I made a twenty cent piece and got a free shot out of the deal! We danced until 3am.

Today is Saturday and it was a huge day for the area. They had big Sailing Races today. What a strange sport. We watched them just cruise back and forth (dozens of them) doing laps. We were actually supposed to race with two of the crew from the "Avatar" but we didn't get up in time. (no alarm and a really late night) Tomorrow we head out for Townsville about five more bus hours up the coast. We are almost at the Great Barrier Reef!

I hope all is well and I miss you all tremendously. I love you. Happy Birthday little Jordan! Austin, you can actually play with that boomarang I sent, I promise it won't get broken. I love you buddy! See you all very soon!

Rebecca, Queen of the Run on Sentence. (did I mention that I never read over these emails? I am sure it shows!)

2002-08-27T17:55:00.000-07:00

Sent: Mon 8/26/2002 8:21 PM
If you could only see where I am writing this from!

Hey there family and friends,

I left off in Noosa, which was kind of a rest spot for us, traveling is tough what can I say. We spent a couple of days there. The highlight of the visit was there amazing National Park that I spent a full day discovering. I walked very slowly and silently to see as much as I could, very meditative. They have these amazing Lace Monitors here the one I saw was about two and a half feet long, all black with yellow and grey flecks on it and they are extremely quick and hide very well in there surroundings. The low point is that we had a room in an amazing old colonial building housing the local YHA that was located directly above the bar and was separated by what seemed to be the thinnest wood floor ever. The noise was unbelievable! Not to mention that we sucked the smoke out of the bar and into our room all night. The cherry on the sundae? Had to be the couple making out on the couches directly outside of our room for about three hours!

We went up to Hervey Bay after that and slept like babies. Hervey Bay is notorious for the fact that it has Humpback whales that visit it every year and instead of just cruising through as is common they remain in the bay with thier young for about three months every year. There had been recent sitings of some Orcas there killing the Humpbacks as well. Really quite amazing. Instead of whale watching, however, we decided to embark on a self guided 4X4 tour of Fraser Island. We were to go over with seven others, three Brits, two Irish, one Brazilian, and a guy from Spain. We all zipped off to the market and bottle shop the night before and bought all the supplies we would need for the three day trip and headed off the next morning at 5:30am in a Landcruiser crammed with nine people, all of our luggage(minimal to say the least), all of our supplies(mostly beer), tents, and camping gear. None of which we were instructed in how to put together or where any of it was located strategically in the truck! Did I mention that it was raining from the start?! Well, it continued for the next three days! Imagine nine people stuck in a 4X4 all mildewy and sweaty for three days! Help me I wouldn't have the energy to do it again very soon. We mudbogged for three days down dirt roads, saw amazing lakes of freshwater that contrasted amazing turquoise against the white of the sand, and set up our tents well into dark the first night during the strongest downpour. Everything was soaked, tents, us to our bones, sleeping bags, and we all huddled (standing room only) around a gas stove that refused to work properly! With all this in our first night it was amazing to see how high spirits were, we all had continuous good humor and smiles. There really was nothing to do except laugh at ourselves and the situation!

Second day there, still no end to the rain, we piled everything still soaked into the jeep again including our pruning selves. We went to an overlook called Indian Head to try to view Tiger Sharks and Rays below in the water but the water was churning. Then up to the Champagne Pools that is the only salt water that you are supposed to swim in on the island. They are pools just to the side of the sea, separated only by a rock outcropping. The surf comes in and pounds against the rocks bringing in new water and lots of spray. Jeffrey and I decided if you can't beat them, join them and went swimming anyways, we were wetter just standing around already. The pool had beautiful fish in it, fortunately they couldn't or wouldn't kill us.

Wisely, we decided to set up camp early that night. This time we had it down. Soggy, we still smiled and laughed, of course we had brought with us an exorbidant amount of beer! We saw our first dingos here, it is funny to see them advertised as some kind of cute puppy here on all the brochures, but in reality they are quite crafty little creatures and should be feared. They ripped a poor boy apart recently and it is in all the papers, people still try to feed them. That night we said to hell with the sharks and stingers and went swimming in the ocean even though we were told not to go in past our knees. We saw huge jellies washed up on the shore that were about two feet in diameter and purple, we were told that these were small! All the fish are so strange and scary looking, one was dead (I think) on shore and was covered in spines and seemed to have an actual face on it! That night we huddled around an actual campfire because the would we had collected had finally dried out enough for us to use it.

The next day the sun shown for a short while and everyone was absolutly joyous, running around like children! We took down camp quickly and hiked an hour up to Lake Wabby, another beautifully blue lake surrounded by monstrous sand dunes, then on to Lake McKenzie to swim in an even more stunning lake with water so cold and fresh and blue(it looked like the color that people paint there pools interior). We got back that night and rushed to wash everything we had brought with us! What a bonding experience with the others, we all exchanged email addresses to swap horrific photographs with eachother! Everyone said they had a fantastic time!

The next day we headed up to Rockhampton, which is supposed to be the beef capitol of Queensland (lucky Rebecca!). There are huge statues of Bulls everywhere and I wonder why they all have such obscenly huge testicles hanging off of them! Gross! One the way up here we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn.

We headed to Great Keppel Island the next day after about 6 & 1/2 hours of bus time to get here. Took a fairy across and again, overcast and a bit drizzly and cold, but I refuse to let it get the best of me, I will enjoy it no matter what. The boat ride was a bit harsh and I was worried about Jeffrey's tender tummy because the boat was surging forward and upwards and sideways but he made it. We are a bit worried about the upcoming three day sail trip to the Whitsundays we have planned! We have been camping once again for the last two nights here, but the conditions are better because we have cover and the tents are permanant. Though everything is completely soggy and mildewy from all the rain. When we got breaks in the weather we managed to hike around the island which is mostly National Park save for one small resort and the camp setups. We hiked down to the snorkling beaches that it was to choppy to snorkle in and decided to swim anyways, quick little skinny dip! We were told that the sea creatures here were rather harmless, reef sharks and rays mostly. The island has no fresh water so everything you eat tastes like salt, try brushing your teeth with salt water sometime! That night I had a nightmare about something trying to get into our tent and woke to find Brush Tailed Possums crawling over the top of our tent which was open so I could watch them, they're quite cute! I didn't know what they were until the next day when I asked the man at reception what they might have been, he said "it was either a possum or a big fat PYTHON!" He apparently had no idea that that would not scare me, I continued to tell him about Zephyr! Guess who was scared after that conversation! Rat Bastard!

Anyways, we have finally dried out and the weather is beautiful again, tonight we drive all evening on the bus once we get back to the mainland and leave to sail to the Whitsundays, please wish us calm seas and lovely weather for that one!

I love you all dearly, Rebecca

2002-08-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

Sent: Thu 8/15/2002 8:08 PM
It's me again!

Hey there my beauties!

I am getting a bit behind on these damn things so let us just hurry them along a bit more!

We got to Brisbane on the 9th of August. We immediately phoned the EDAW office and were invited to come and join them for a few Friday drinks at the office by the firm principal! We got the whirlwind tour of the office and drinks were popped into our hands! It was by far the most casual office visit that I have ever experienced. I should have prefaced this by saying that Jeffrey had met the principal's wife when he did the summer student program for EDAW in Colorado. We later got whisked of to a local pub by an employee there for drinks and a going away party for someone we had never met. We topped the evening off with a visit to an extra schwanky bar for drinks and big fat cigars! I couldn't stop thinking of lovely Heather because the design of the bar was absolutely delicious!

Next day we headed to Michael and Adrienne's home for a bbq (principal and wife). We got a prime tour of the area and got to meet there three little rugrats who were great and absolutely brimming with energy!

Also while in Brisbane, we hiked along the South Banks which was one of the best examples of LandArch that I have seen this far. Beautiful park with unbelievable arbors, waterways, etc. People sunbathed in the middle of a park on the man made beaches as you walked by on the sidewalk, strange feeling. We hiked on through the botanical gardens and local Sunday markets and saw our first Kookaburra, another strange looking bird with the most amazing call. We now need to learn how to immitate it with the didge!

Interesting sidenote observation...We saw this on a bathroom stall..."If you are caught masterbating indoors the penalty is decapitation" I don't know where exactly but I thought it was quite an interesting fact to pass on!

We continued to stumble along, heading towards Chinatown without much of a game plan when we heard some sexy blues coming out of a little bar and decided to go in for a few ales and listen for a bit. Needless to say we spent the better part of the afternoon there! Please remember that we are unemployed and that is what you do when you are unemployed! There was this older gent playing banjo and guitar with the most amazing smoke and whiskey voice, I loved him!

Later in the week we met with Michael again, what an amazing man. So helpful and straight forward. He offered to help us out in a half dozen different ways, speaking on our behalf. We got some work information together for him to distribute but it really looks like it is going to be very difficult for us to work here, they really want us to work for at least two years and we aren't sure how to do that and continue to pay the bills as we probably wouldn't be making that much money compared to the states.

That night we decided to get all spiffy and go to the Centre of Performing Arts to see "Bill and Mary" which was a play about a beautiful friendship that develops between Sir William Dobell, the painter (who's work we saw displayed in the South Bank Cultural Centre Art Museum) and Mary Gilmore, the poet. What a woman! Boy was it powerful! Later on we humiliated ourselves singing Kareoke(?), not very pretty!

Last night we got into Noosa, still on the coast, and spent the night relaxing with beer, pizza, pool, and ping-pong. Overall a good night!

Okay, that is it, I am caught up. Better stories coming up as we will be sailing to Fraser Island in a few days...I love you all and adore all the great letters you keep sending to us.

Mushy kisses to all, Rebecca

2002-08-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

Sent: Wed 7/31/2002 10:19 PM
I think we found heaven on earth!

Hey there all you beautiful people,

So many adventures and so little time.... We stayed in a little sleepy coast town named Port Macquarie on our way up to Brisbane from Sydney. We think that we saw about all they had to offer in the couple of days that we were there.
First we hiked along the Kooloonbung Creek Nature Preserve through the billabongs (waterways), Eucalypt forests, and mangroves, we spotted more amazing birds ( I have lost track of the names of all the birds, there are so many here and they come in blazing colours!), and some pygmy possums snuggled up in there tree crotches. We tried to spy some koalas but they were no where to be seen.

Later on we went to the koala hospital at feeding time, which is strictly run by vollunteers. I think I found my new calling in life! What a wonderful place and even more wonderful people donating there time to fix these loving little creatures up after bushfires and car accidents. They then wean them off the place and reintroduce them to there natural habitats. I was so moved that I asked about vollunteering my time. Side line for Austy only....The koala's looked like grey little bears that you could snuggle in your arms and they had big black flat noses and big tufts of hair coming out of there big ears! I will send you photographs when I get them developed! Love you bud!

We walked along the beaches here for the first time, saw a pelican (peli, Jeff wants to kill me for calling them that, says I am putting on the old accent, I just like to get his goat, so I say it a lot!) anyways it was the size of a small car! Well maybe a swan, but it was enormous. The beaches are beautiful, still not quite warm enough here for a dip (plus we are still scared from reading Bill Bryson's book In a Sunburnt Country (or something)) but we did break out some shorts today.

Monday was our day to take off for Byron Bay but in the morning we managed a beautiful hike through the tree tops in the Sea Acres Rainforest along a boardwalk. We had been told that it was the only remained virgin rainforest of its kind in all of New South Wales, if that is so, it's quite heartbreaking... It was lovely and smelled delicious like damp earth and decaying leaves. We saw Flying Fox (a huge bat with an approximate wingspan of 1meter!) and some Bush Turkeys and were told to keep our eyes pealed for a Wallaby and her Joey (mama and baby kangaroos) but we were out of luck because we didn't spot them.

Then off to Byron Bay by bus where we did see a Wallaby and her babe in a field along side of the road! I was so excited I startled some of the surrounding passengers with my gasp!

So, now we are in Byron, which is a sweet little hippy town, tons of veggie-heads and a nightlife that doesn't shut down at 6pm like Port Macquarie. We are contemplating crashing here for a week, a month, a lifetime and just surfing all the time! Anyone interested in renting a house with us? Ladies you don't need to wear most or any of you bathing suit here! Side line for Mom~but of course your little angel would never take hers off in public! Wink Wink! The waters are magical and spiritually cleansing here, I feel as if I have bathed in these waters and washed away some of the unsettled feelings I have been feeling...Mmmm. Did I mention that it took a while for us to get into the ocean? Still scared as to which waters we should swim in and where(box jellies, sharks, crocs, I could go on for an eternaty), but we are watching the locals carefully.

Okay and with that I am off once again, hope my long emails are not too much of a burden to all of you, no offense taken if you delete. And then I leave you with a little story....She knew her heart was enormously full of love and tenderness and at points it threatened to burst out of her body when she saw all the love and beauty in the world. But she wasn't afraid because she knew how to vent a little bit at a time to avoid the distinct possibility of her heart clawing its way out of her chest... I love you all very much.

Rebbie

2002-08-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

Sent: Mon 7/29/2002 11:54 PM
Letter from Down Under!

Okay, so where did I leave off?

Day eleven of our tour...

We did interview with the Sydney EDAW office, the firm principal was wonderful, he gave us a full two hours of his time! He seemed interested but needed to find out more about how to go about the process of hiring. At the end of our tour, Andrew pointed out that they had a very unique boardroom, and indeed it was, the full glass wall overlooked this ancient cemetary. Spooky but beautiful.

The next day was raining so we went to the Australian Museum. My favorite exhibits had to be the body art exhibit and all of its shock, and the Aborigine and Indigenous People exhibit. They also had a great gem show and we also got to see all the local bugs, spiders, and birds all looking absolutely horrific in death. Afterwards we got to enjoy a bottle of champagne overlooking the harbour and opera house at sunset.

Another interesting observation on my part, at least for me. Australian television, we saw a commercial in which this beautiful woman kills her husband and mops up the blood before the cops get there with her ultrathin maxipad. Well if that couldn't sell a product I don't know what could!

Next day, we took a train to Bondi Junction to check out Centennial Park. There were a million different types of birds there. Amazing. Hundreds of screeching cockatoos, parrots of every size and color, etc. The down side is that it was exceptionally frigid that day so we weren't able to check out the well known Bondi Beach. Instead we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art and then met our pal Jamie and attended a Buddist meeting. I have heard about a retreat in the Blue Mountains here and think that I might attempt one when we come back to Sydney.

Day Seven, we took a train to the Olympic Park. The people we met along our way reinforced our overall judgement on them before. They are something else. You don't even realize that you are lost and they are already offering there help. This leads us to believe that we must stick out a bit more than we origionally suspected as tourists. The park is a virtual wasteland . It was eerie walking around in a place like that and there were no people there to fill it, and all for a few weeks of events! Highlight of this desolate place was that we got to swim in the olympic pools!

Friday night and we have a date with our friend Emily and she joins us at our hotel where we have been invited to partake in a big house barbie. Emily was our token Aussie, the rest of us were foriegners, Irish, Brazilians, Japanese, etc. The Brazilians made this wicked drink by the pitcher which consisted of crushing fresh limes, adding a bit of sugar and a whole lot of vodka. We passed it around like the matte gourd.

Saturday, don't need to say much. Day of rest and relaxation. I think that Brazilain drink snuck up on us!

Sunday, we took a trip up to the Blue Mountains with our pal Emily. This was our first Australian driving experience and I think that it will take a lot more to get used to flip flopping our driving procedures...So, we hiked the rim walk in Leura (afraid the whole time of deadly spiders and snakes) and then into the town of Leura for lunch ( I had a risotto-pumpkin ball rolled in sesame seeds! Vegelicious!) and a trip to the biggest candy store ever. We then went to Katoomba afterwards to see the Three Sisters and hike down the Giant Staircase which consisted of over 900 steps down to the valley floor carved out of stone. Stairmaster hasn't gotten anything on that place! It nearly killed us all.

Monday morning and we packed up and moved on out of our little apartment in Kirribilli to travel by bus to Port Macquarie. This was the bus trip from hell. First, we had to stop at a halfway point to switch buses, then the one we get settled into finally we hear a bunch of screaming from the back and one Aussie yells "Watch yerself mate!" "Shit house water comin' yer way!" We lifted our feet just in time to miss the toilet overflow from the back of the bus. Throw in a couple of chickens and we might be back in Central America! And we paid for 8,000km of bus travel last night in advance! So, once we switched buses then dealt with toilet water the bus driver announces that we will be stopping for dinner. And this is only 15 minutes after our last stop. He talks up this amazing meal that has been basically voted five stars or something them we pull into a Mobil station. Unbelievable! He also announces that we will stop for tea in about an hour and a half too. Can you believe these Aussies? So what it boils down to is that we purchased 8,000km of travel time and we are spending 8 and 1/2 hours traveling what could have been a 4 and 1/2 hour trip so that we could stop for a spot of tea and eat at a gas station! Basically, I spent most of the trip staring out the window at the beautiful stars and wished that all of you could have been doing the same with me.

And on that note, I love you all and I will write more later ( you can bank on it!) Austin, I saw a Koala finally, I will tell you all about it later! Love you Buddy!

Rebecca, Rebel, Rebbie, Auntie Pee-Pee, Rat Bastard....

2002-08-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Sent: Sun 7/21/2002 9:35 PM
G' day

Hey there my beauties!

We are on day three of our travels here in Sydney. It is a lovely place. Jeffrey has always said that I would never survive in a city because I am always smiling and striking up conversations with strangers...this is the city for me! People here are wonderful. They look you right in the eye, offer help without being asked and are very genuine when asking how you are, and they never have something more interesting to look at as they pass you on the street. I love it.

So, day two of our travels took us into Darling Harbour after a leisurely breakfast and yummy soy lattes. We must be putting about 7 or 8 hiking miles on a day. First stop, was the Sydney aquarium. They have an exhibit on the Great Barrier Reef, it was lovely being able to touch and see all the corals, fish and jellies. Touch the corals, see the fish and jellies (please remember that everything here will kill you!) Especially the Moon Jelly which was lit with what appeared to be some kind of black light making the jellies seem eerily irridescent as they floated through the water. My favorite part, however, the sharks. You could walk through this glass tunnel, and it felt like you were in the ocean with all these menacing creatures around you. Sharks, Rays, Turtles, and these huge glass sucking creatures (can't recall what they were). It was amazing to be able to watch every inch of a monstrous shark as it cruised overhead.

After that we had some lunch and Jeff harassed a bunch of seagulls that were begging bites. Then off to meet a pal I used to work with in California, Jamie, who is also here in Sydney. We spent the better part of the afternoon listening to schwanky jazz and sipping local brews on the harbour outside of the Sydney Opera House, and what a sunset! We were told to stay out of the Harbour because it is full of sharks and that makes me wonder about the people I see kyaking in it in the mornings. I am watching very closely but haven't seen anyone go down yet!

Today hasn't been much more exciting than chore day as we are opening accounts and contacting EDAW for work, though we did have a rather pretty Ferry ride through the harbour this morning, still looking for shark fins!

So, I will leave you for now with a couple of interesting observations I have made here. Well, interesting for me (and probably my pal Marya, because she will want to put these on her beautiful website as keepers!), but then again I am my biggest fan! We noticed a car named the ka2, that makes it the ka-ka car, can't imagine that it is a very big seller. Secondly, I saw my favorite billboard, it stated..."California has issued six driving licenses to people named Jesus Christ". I don't really know what it was in reference to and honestly don't care, it's just funny!

And then....I love you all very much and hope these letters aren't going to be too much of a clog to your inboxes because they will be coming on a regular basis...and no you can't unsubscribe!

My love you all of you, Rebecca

P.S. thanks for the lovely responses, we love to hear how you are all doing on your side of the world, you know who you are!

2002-08-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

Sent: Fri 7/19/2002 10:30 PM
Guess where we are!

Okay all you little R.B.'s out there!

First, I would like to apologize to all of you for this group email thing. It is the most efficient way right now though. Second, if I have left anyone off the list that needs to be, please let me know.

We have just arrived in Sydney Australia today, 6am on the 20th of July to be exact. We lost the 19th as we crossed the international date line, we ceased to exist! The good side is that we will get two of the same dates going back, flashback to "Groundhog Day". Anyways, the flight was unbelievable just because it took six hours to cross the states, Boston to San Francisco, and another fourteen to get to Australia. The later of which was in complete darkness the entire way! We got a total of six shitty movies to watch and I was served a vegan meal which I like to call polenta pucks in pita bread, that was a little alliteration for all you smarty pants out there! (Did I spell that right? Operating on very little sleep here)

So we showed up in Sydney and were really surprised by how small the airport seemed. Podunk was what I believe my buddy Jeffrey called it! From there we took a train to Kirribilli where we had a hotel reserved. We were at home immediatly as there was a personal note with a key for our room hanging on the door of the hotel welcoming us to Sydney. The owner of the hotel, Mary, is probably going to be our mother figure for the following week, she is so great! We had a liesurly breakfast this morning and I already tried "Vegemite" which seems to be a very dense yeast mixture, it spreads like nutello and is a nasty brown color, I decided I needed to develop a taste for it because it is such a big local thing but I haven't had something so icky in a long time, flashback to polenta pucks in pita! (insert Wayne's World fuzz out)

We have been hiking around Sydney since then, it feels like it should be around 9pm now but a glance to the clock tells me that it is only nearing 3pm. Rebbie is tuckered. We have already hiked from Kirribilli, which looks across the bay to the Sydney Opera House, accross the gigantic Harbour Bridge into downtown Sydney. Through a beautiful Saturday market selling Aborigine art and photos, blown glass, roasted corn, amazing furniture made from local woods, and all the while the market reaks of yummy spices from a local vender selling whole spices.

From there we hiked to the Sydney Opera House, just a hike around though, we will try to take a tour inside in a few days. Then off to the Botanical Gardens. We actually skirted the gardens too, I think we are waiting to really be able to appreciate it after some sleep. I think we are starting to understand the layout of the city now, a lot less intimidating than the maps try to lead us to believe. Sydney seems rather smaller than we imagined. And this pleases me. I love the architecture this far. Such and eclectic mix of times and styles. Its quite yummy.

Other than that... Rebel got hungry and her pal Jeffrey desperatley grabbed for the guide book for the first time yet and led her to an amazing vegetarian chinese kitchen. First Australian food experience bad, second excellent. We are 0 for 0 folks. Looks like the little veggie will fare pretty good overall (even without the bowls of grass her pops likes to mow for her!)

Now it is time to rastle up my pal and make him take me back to the hotel so we can get some sleep. A couple of personal notes first though... Thank you all you stabbies for the icing on the cake of my California experience. It makes me start crying every time I think of that send off you gave us and all the beautiful things we have shared in the past three years. (Keep it short and sweet Rebbie!) The only way I could have really shown you all just how much you mean to me is if I tore my heart from my chest and threw it on the table for you all that evening. I love you all. To my east coast family...I miss you already. Jordan with your little yellow blanky stuffed in your mouth. Splashing with Austin the wet little seal in the water. I will see you very, very soon. Momma, Papa, my beautiful sissies, I love you. Jen try to keep those crazy pimentos away from Missy...Shawn your on my "Big S" list because Jeffrey threw your sweet little "Turner's Trash" comment at me today and he still hasn't changed out of those Massachusetts fireman shirts yet!

Now I go because I am leaking again...my love goes out to all of you...

Rebecca Leigh (A.K.A. Rat Bastard)