Bula!

It's been a fairly quiet few weeks here in the Australia world. With Paul's work and things up in the air about our return home, we have not traveled much. But, this blog entry is going to be terribly exciting because we went to...
FIJI!



For our seven year anniversary (wait, let me just rewrite that...SEVEN YEARS!), we decided to treat ourselves to a little slice of heaven. Sydney has been so drab and rainy for the past month (168 mm) that it was time to get away and relax. On May 29th, our anniversary, we boarded the plane and took the four hour flight to Nadi, the nation's capital. After the flight, we met up with the resort's pick up guy and he drove us to the little harbor where our tiny boat waited. The boat took us to our resort on the Yasawa Islands (Waya). The ride was...unforgettable to say the least. It was very fast but was so powerful that I felt at points we may have been thrown out. The tour was still beautiful and I felt a little like I was in South Pacific but instead of a French plantation man, I had a Southern chicken farmer...I think I got the better deal.



Our resort was called Octopus Resort and it was beautiful! The boat ride took a solid hour but it was so worth it. It was awarded by Lonely Planet as one of the Best Romantic Getaways. It's a nice blend of backpacker and resort. When we got there, we were greeted by the staff (who are all local villagers) who sang a little song saying bula (hello). After being given fruit cocktails, we were shown to our rooms. We opted to stay in a cabin, but were upgraded to the premium suite, with our own hammock, lounge chairs, and outdoor shower!!



That night, we participated in the local welcome ceremony where you have to clap your hands once, say bula, drink this stuff called kava, then clap three times afterward. Fun, but I may need to make sure I don't have any diseases after sharing a coconut with fifteen other people. But whatever was in the kava stuff was interesting...it sortive numbed my mouth. Nothing too terrible, but it was just a funny feeling. Oh well! Can't live until you do things! The time change was two hours ahead of Sydney, so after dinner, we went to bed.

Next morning, we did the most amazing stuff...which was lying around, getting tans, swimming in the warm ocean, and snorkeling. The snorkeling was so amazing. To get to a good snorkeling spot there, all you have to do is swim out to some orange buoys and you're there! The water was crystal clear and turquoise. I could not get over how amazing everything looked. We saw so many different fish,even Nemo again. We could not have had a more fantastic day just by swimming and tanning.

That night, they had a big movie screen up for movie night where we watched Alice in Wonderland 2010. Good movie, good times. That night, they even put up our mosquito nets, which was so thoughtful of them to do...if you ever decide to go to Fiji, I know the resort that is absolutely perfect and doesn't kill you in the process.

Next day was our last day at Octopus and we were sad to see it go. But before we left, we kayaked around and then had massages (for only $30 Fiji dollars...which is nothing!). It was such a perfect weekend, it was so hard to say good bye.




We left the resort at 3PM on the big ferry boat for the mainland. We had to stay the third night on the mainland because our flight to Sydney was so early the next day. We stayed at the Westin and made a few friends...the kind of friends I loathe to see. Mosquitoes. At dinner, I was eaten alive in an hour. Of course, I forgot the bug spray. I had 20 bug bites by the end of it and found plenty more in our room. And yes, there were no mosquito nets in the hotel. So during the night, I waited for the pests and did get a couple more bites before the end of the trip. Sad ending, but I recommend that if you do go to Fiji, bring bug spray and stay on an island...the mainland has more to do, but a little less beauty. So now I am forced to scratch myself to death for a few days. Oh well!



This trip was still gorgeous and of course very meaningful to me and Paul. Seven years. We have been through so much together in these years. We've grown up together. Sometimes, I'm just so amazed and happy whenever I am just sitting next to him. I always think, man, high school Rachel was so very smart. I'm a little wiser in so many ways now, but back in high school, I made the best decision in my life: GET THAT PAUL MEGGS! Haha, I'm very grateful for him and for our life together. He's a wonderful man and I love him very much. Okay, I'm done with the mushy, but I just wanted to commemorate this post to the man who has made this craziness possible: Paul W. Meggs.

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A little post

Late post! It's ok, you haven't missed much. We pretty much relaxed all weekend because we didn't go anywhere. Sometimes you need the break from all the travel. Pretty much spent the weekend catching up on all the House episodes we have missed (the fact I went this long without it was killing me). Here's what we are up to for the rest of our time here:
We had a trip to Port Douglas in Queensland scheduled for this weekend, but it seems Paul has been called to Singapore at a last minute trip, so, we will probably visit the Blue Mountains when he returns. Then, we will are going to Fiji (I know, I know, I know!!!! I'm too excited) and then last but not week Kakadu National Park with our friend Sarah and Chris.

But that's not all! I will be returning to the States for my best friend's wedding on June 22nd and then coming back on June 28th so that we can visit...NEW ZEALAND! I don't like having to fly that much, but I will soon be silver status with Delta which means, free flight anywhere in the US. Sounds like our honeymoon to Alaska will be less expensive than previously thought.

So, I pretty much only have a month left here, and it's going to go by too fast. I have missed the US with so many little things, like really really good food. But, I also think I will truly miss this beautiful country. A little sad but seriously, you have no idea how much you miss Mexican food until it is no longer with you. I suspect our first two weeks in the States will be fat inducing indeed. Anyway, just a quick update for all of you on how goes it. Cya!

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A few photos

Melbourne is a lovely city



Chocolate art...for our artsy weekend




This was a really pretty bird that was next to our car one day in Melbourne. We thought you'd appreciate it.

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Melbourne weekend

This weekend, we re-visited Victoria since Paul had training down there. We were hoping this time to do the other fun activities we couldn't accomplish when we did the Great Ocean Road.

Friday:
Paul was already in Melbourne, so I was flying down to meet him. I had a jam packed day of fun before though. Paul's company was having a significant other program that got only the SO's out and chatting. This event was at the Art Gallery in downtown Sydney. We saw the Archibald Exhibit and it was so great to be out with other girls and enjoying ourselves! They were all super nice, even when I had to dash off so that I could catch my flight. Hopefully, more of those events will follow.

I flew into Melbourne and we ate dinner in downtown. It was so confusing! The city has trams that are in the middle of the street and if you need to go across the tracks, you have to do a hook turn, which means you must go into the left lane, to make a right. Weird, we know. We did not try that out. The city is not the most user friendly place, since it took us forever to navigate ourselves to the highway. We then drove all the way to Phillip Island to our bed and breakfast. We should not stay in B&Bs anymore, since we always arrive late. Oh well!

Saturday:
Next day, we drove out to Wilsons Promontory and hiked in a couple of areas. One place was called Squeaky Beach, because if you dragged your feet, you made noises that sounded like scuffing your feet on linoleum. It was fun to do.

Then, we went to the Penguin Parade. Phillip Island is home to a large colony of Little Blue Penguins, or Fairy Penguins, who are only a foot high. Every evening, at dusk, the penguins swim up to the shore in groups of twenty, and then make their way to their burrows in the vegetation. The place that "presented" the parade had bleachers on the beach, in front of the grassy knoll where people could see the little guys. They were so adorable! They came up and stood on the shore for a minute, probably too terrified to move, until one little brave soul booked it for the grass and then everyone else followed! We really loved it. Then we got to see them in their burrows, cooing to each other. We couldn't take photos because they were protected by law, but we were satisfied with the experience.

Later that night after dinner, we went to a local movie theater with roughly 50 seats in the house. We saw Date Night and it was so much fun. Of course, we are big Tina Fey and Steve Carell fans, so the two in a movie was blockbuster magic.

Sunday:
We checked out of the B&B and then made it to the happiest place on Earth for me...the local chocolate factory. Panny's is the name of the chocolate and we were able to go on a tour with samples a plenty! We got to try regular chocolate and then we got to try wasabi chocolate. We don't recommend it. Keep wasabi with sushi in my opinion. But it was neat and everyone was super friendly. Paul kept pressing all the machines that just doled out chocolate, like a rat in a lab. I did want to to do other things in my day, so I had to push him along. It was the best chocolate we have had in Australia though.

After Panny's, we went to the koala conservation centre, which was fun. We of course got to see more koalas. Then we were on our way to Melbourne.

Although the city is hard to navigate, once you park and walk around, you actually find that the place is very charming and beautiful. There is a river that runs through the heart of the city, Federation Square and it was nice to walk by it and see the markets. Paul actually wanted to go to the National Art Gallery there, since he was so inspired by my trip to the art gallery in Sydney. It was nice to explore the endless corridors with him and talk about which ones struck a cord in us, or which collection we liked and why. We are so cultured.

We also ate in a little cafe in a street that my student recommended going to. Melbourne is supposed to be the food capital in Australia, and it was pretty good. The little alleyways were very reminiscent of Spain for me, with all the cafes and tight spaces. Although the food is ok here, we couldn't help but start listing off the restaurants we were excited to go to when we made it back to Atlanta. We probably could gain back every single pound and more after a week back in the States. Can't help it, the food is so good in Atlanta!

After our fun day in Melbourne, we went to Geelong to hop on a late flight back to Sydney. We had a delay, but I guess Victoria is just going to the state where if you want to go anywhere, expect to be late. At least, that's the way it is for us. But it was a good weekend.

Thanks for tuning in! And Happy Mother's Day to all our moms and grandmas! We love you and thank you for all that you do!

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Wombat

Here is our encounter with a wombat.

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The Outback Photos

So, it seems Snapfish has decided to no longer post to Blogger? I will have to have Paul investigate, but for now, here they are!

http://www5.snapfish.com.au/snapfishau/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=4358853014/a=113203351_113203351/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/

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Uluru and the Sound of Silence dinner

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The Outback!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, finally the trip we have been patiently waiting for...the thing that we most associate whenever we hear the word Australia...it's the Outback weekend! Before I moved here, I really did not know so much about Australia except for the Outback, kangaroos, and dingos. Of course, over the last four months, I have been pleasantly surprised at the diversity of life on this continent and the Outback did much the same this weekend. I never knew how much life could be in the lands that are considered uninhabitable to humans. Trees were everywhere, despite the little rainfall, as well as animals. We didn't see kangaroos oddly enough...but we did find a camel. They run loose in the Outback and it's weird to see them.

Anyway, back to our whirlwind weekend. I was a little scared Paul and I would not be able to fit in all the things we wanted to do, but we were so good at keeping time. We are exhausted of course, but pleased with what we did.

Friday: Left Sydney at 9:30. It was raining, but there were no raindrops in the Red Centre. We arrived at Ayer's Rock airport at 12:40 and headed off to our hostel, The Pioneer Hotel. We were in a 4 bed mixed room which kept really warm at night which was nice. For this weekend, I packed lots of food because my student told me that the food was highly overpriced. She was correct but we still bought a few things anyway.

After dining on the turkey sandwiches I packed, we headed off to Kata Tjuta...or the Olgas. These are huge rock formations that just come out of nowhere. Although mountains always tend to make me feel small anyway, these truly were an imposing presence that made me just gape at them in awe. We did a bush walk on a trail called the Valley of the Winds and the Gorge walk. Both were truly spectacular and Paul loved how clear the sky was when he took the photos. We saw so many trees and flowers, it made me feel dumb to think that this place was desolate!

But, don't be fooled. This land is tough and you have to be tough to be apart of it. The bush walks were not all that simple because it involved a lot of rocks on the path that could trip you up. Also, the flies are a massive problem. My friend Sarah warned me to ask the check in guy at our hostel if the flies were a problem and if so, I was to buy a fly net to keep them away. The check in desk said, oh the flies are not a problem now! It's winter! How wrong they were! I guess I tend to forget that any winged insect loves me so much that they will get up in my business and invite all their friends to join in the fun. Where Paul did not get but two flies on him, I had at least 15. I have no idea why mosquitos/ flies are so possessed to be near me. But they are. And during my first hike, I learned a valuable lesson. We bought a fly net the next day.

That night, we hurried back to our hostel to change into nicer clothes to go to the Sound of Silence dinner. Sadly, no Simon and Garfunkel songs were played. We hopped on a tour bus that took us to a very open and very remote area that gave a clear view of the sun setting on Uluru (the big rock in the desert that is the icon of the Outback) and Kata Tjuta (Olgas). We had canapes and champagne while we listened to a didgeridoo and watched the sun set. Of course, it was beautiful. We then were led down to the restaurant itself, which we sat at tables with different people and ate some delicious food, like kangaroo and crocodile.

Then, when the stars were out, we were given a star lesson on the different constellations in the southern hemisphere and where they were located. I actually didn't know that on the Australian flag, the stars are not random stars, but actually a constellation called the Southern Cross, which helps you find south. We also found Orion, Alpha Beta stars, Saturn, Mars, Can nus Major and Minor, also several others. We also got to look through telescopes and see Saturn and the rings, and a cluster called the Jewel box cluster...which was all beautiful. Some folk were being very rowdy though and the teacher in me got very angry. The speaker had to wait for them to be quiet! Just goes to show you that every country has obnoxious people and there is no way in going around it. We then were taken back to our hotels.

Saturday: We woke up really early so we could see the sunrise on Uluru and found that it was really cold in the morning! Anyway, about Uluru.

Uluru is really just a giant rock in the middle of nowhere which looks really neat. You can actually climb on top of it, but it is a dangerous climb (some 33 people in the last 20 years have died). It is a sacred area to the Anangu tribe who own the land and there are certain areas where you are not permitted to take photos because they are sacred. The people still perform their traditions at the rock, although we did not see many Aboriginal people. In one area, women give birth to children.

After the sunrise, we walked around Uluru for three hours, just marveling at the magnanimous rock. Paul then fueled up the car and we drove for another three hours to King's Canyon. The ride was pretty much flat with lots of desert life, which you will see in the pictures I will upload.

After checking into our cabin area, we set out to hike King's Canyon. There were three choices and we chose the three hour hike that was moderate with a strenuous beginning. Paul wanted me to throw that in there. We completed it in two hours. Paul also wanted me to throw that in there. Paul and Rachel are hiking machines. We did not rush though and it was enjoyable. The hikes are getting easier for us and we love the experiences of all our hikes.

We then returned to our cabins where we picked up a BBQ pack and cooked our own dinner. Then, we set out to make a fire. In the past, our fire making attempts have not gone over well. However, this time...eureka! We created fire and it was magical! I think it also had something to do with dry wood...we never have dry wood. After watching the fire, we stargazed and picked out all that we learned from our star lesson the previous night. What a romantic close to a wonderful Outback weekend!

Sunday: Woke up after a very restful sleep and had a hearty breakfast and had to drive three hours back to the airport and then another three hours were dedicated to relaxing on the plane ride home. We absolutely loved this weekend and hope you like the pictures, which I will upload tomorrow because, we do not have our internet data back yet. We feel so fortunate to be here and experience such amazing things. The Outback is so wonderful and I cannot stop saying how much I love Australia!

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