Happy Thanksgiving to everyone back in the States…Thanksgiving here in Australia is a non-event for the masses (obviously they don’t even remotely acknowledge our holiday) but the German girls (Pauline and Linda) and myself decided to go out to dinner as a celebration of the holiday.
Pauline, Linda, and myself have been traveling together down the coast for nearly two weeks at this point and we are getting along smashingly well – I am a bit behind though on my blogs so you’ll hear more about them in the coming …

After leaving Wollongong I was getting a bit weary…Kiama was my next stop on my trip down the south coast of Oz and I was a little bit taken aback by how remote these coastal towns are….  Kiama is the quintessential small south coast “city” – this tiny town literally has one main street and one claim to fame: the Blow Hole.  The whole of the town is situated right next to the water and besides a grocery store, church, and the dozen or so cafes catering to …

After the beauty of the Blue Mountains it was time for a change of venue – this time to the relaxing beaches and charming small towns on the South Coast of Australia.  First stop on the itinerary: Wollongong (which actually isn’t small at all but still had a bit of charm).  Now, there really isn’t a whole lot to do in Wollongong except relax on the beach and head to the pub in the evenings.
The water was a bit too chilly for my tastes (what can I say, …

My second most notable hiking trip in the Blue Mountains was definitely the five hour hike to see Wentworth Falls…oh, and Ross said this hike would be just three and a half hours, so his estimations are getting better!  The hike to Wentworth Falls is actually much like the hike that ends in the Giant Staircase but this part of the mountains is simply full of waterfalls everywhere you look.  If we passed a dozen on the first hike we must have passed two dozen on this hike.
We actually …

Wouldn’t luck have it that I am hunkered down on the southcoast of Australia during one of the bigget storms this state has seem in years.  It’s pretty cold and about as windy as a tropical storm (or more) – trees have fallen down in the middle of all of the major raods.  Luckily there is a pair of German girls here;  we are cooking meals together in the evenings and playing some rousing games of Uno to pass the time :)
It is supposed to begin to clear tomorrow …

Don’t send out a call to the embassy guys, I am 100 percent ok :) – my biggest problem right now has been finding reliable internet.  It seems that I have gone back about ten years in the internet boom.  The owner of the last hostel I was in didn’t even really understand the concept of wireless internet…so needless to say that was a bit surprising!
Then add to that an incident where the internet cafe was closed for no good reason (the hostel person said everyone in the town …

I spent a very exhausting yet thoroughly relaxing four days hiking in the Blue Mountains north of Sydney.  This mountain range is utterly beautiful and takes its name from the blue haze that hovers above the mountains everywhere you look.  Interestingly enough, the blue haze is actually formed by oil released from eucalyptus plants – there is so much eucalyptus releasing oil that it tints the entire mountain range blue!
I encountered a few backpackers claiming that I should just day-trip it up to the mountain town of Katoomba (it’s …

Foreign countries bring to mind exotic scents and sites, the lovely lilt of foreign dialects, and a taste of new cultures.  Well, put a halt to that train of thought and ponder for a moment the more practical problems – the ones that come from operating on auto-pilot.
Now, I consider myself a bright girl yet I have the very real and daily problem of nearly getting myself run over every time I cross the street.  Strangers on the corners have actually reached out and stopped me from walking into …