Merry Christmas to everyone back in the States!
Christmas ended for me about 20 minutes ago…but for you guys the day is just beginning as I write so I figured this is the perfect time to update everyone on my sailing adventures. The past two weeks were filled with one tour after another leading up to this last one, a Christmas tour of the Whitsunday Islands off of Australia’s East Coast.
I didn’t want to spend the holidays alone or at a hostel so I booked myself on a sailing trip through the …

Alrighty, well, the day after I parted ways with Pauline and Linda I had a true, quintessential  RTW travel backpacker  moment…I was forced to ponder just exactly why my head itched so much…

This is an unedited excerpt from my journal:
November 30, 2008
I kinda hate this backpackers hostel…this place brings the word filthy to a whole new level…right now I am pondering if I have head lice from the beds…ewww! Let’s hope not because that is going to rightly suck!  On top of all of that, I think that I may …

If all of Australia’s major cities could be considered siblings, arriving in Melbourne is like meeting the red-headed step child of the family.  The town is unapologetically alternative; and while Sydney relies on beauty and cleanliness to stay a favorite, first impressions indicate Melbourne is an “anything-goes” city.  I arrived in Melbourne with Pauline and Linda and the three of us were immediately struck by all of the Asians, hipsters, punks, and businessmen all commingling on the streets of the city.

The CBD (Central Business District) is naturally full of …

We pick up the RTW travel adventures in Bateman’s Bay; after the fun with the kangaroos on Pebbly Beach there  wasn’t a whole lot left to do so I scheduled myself on the next bus down the coast and headed toward Merimbula…unaware that a major storm was brewing up in the north Victoria area (which is where I was headed).

Basing out of Merimbula I enjoyed a quick morning hike around a beach island, Brulee – lovely just about sums up the wander through this untouristed beach area.  Two Israeli brothers …

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update – I am currently in the very center of Australia, the Red Center, as they call it and will embark in just a few short hours on a three day camping/hiking adventure in the Australian outback – that means I wont be posting.  Had to let everyone know just in case Nikita and Lisandra are serious about their threats to call the embassy!
There is threat of rain in the center – that would be most unusual but would yield rain on Uluru, …

***Kangaroo video at the bottom!***
After nearly three weeks in Australia I was really disappointed that I had not yet seen any kangaroos or koalas in their natural habitat…am I wrong for thinking that they’re supposed to be everywhere?
I was truly hoping that my trip down the south coast of New South Wales would bring me into contact with either of these quintessential Australian animals. When I first landed  in Sydney I went to the Taronga Zoo and saw both animals, but really, what fun is that? I can see kangaroos …