Movin' on up...to the East side!

Ok first things first, my Elvis sunglasses finally broke. I'm actually surprised they lasted for as long as they did considering how terrible I treat sunglasses. I left them in my backpack and put tons of crap on top of them and when I went to pull them out they had no arms. I amputated them. This is sad news. I had a funeral. I really loved those sunglasses. Sorry Katie:(


My last Friday in Melbourne I went to an Irish pub called The Drunken Poet where I met a few of my dearest friends to say goodbye. It was bittersweet. I felt ready to leave Melbin' but at the same time I had been there 6 months and had made a few really great friends who I am going to miss very much.

Kara and Nery were there (thankfully I will see Nery again when we meet up in Darwin at the beginning of August to travel down the West Coast in a campervan with Lisa (Brady) and her boyfriend Mark who is visiting from Ireland.)

Kara and a friend of Nery's who she used to work with hit the dance floor early in the night...

It was happy hour from 5-7pm so pints were only $5.00 (which is the price of a pint regularly in Canada but here pints are usually about $7 or $8!!!)

Ashley and Nicki who I met at Cirque Du Soleil were also there...

Then it was me and Nery's turn to kick it on the dance floor. They were playing a lot of MJ tributes since he had just died the night before (ON MY ACTUAL B-DAY!)

Then I had to say goodbye to my lovely flatmates Kate and Briony. They were the best flatmates I have had in Australia so far.

I left Melbourne on a Greyhound Bus after not sleeping a wink at 7:40am Monday and arrived about an hour outside of Sydney in a small town called Liverpool at 7:30pm. Luckily since I hadn't slept I spent most of the time asleep and had 2 seats to myself so the 12 hour bus ride wasn't as painful as it could have been. As I mentioned before I had mixed feelings about leaving Melbourne and being back on my own but as soon as the bus pulled away I felt that feeling of freedom that I felt when I first was in Sydney (coupled with extreme homesickness of course...it can't all be roses). It's almost the same feeling you get when you have been running consistently for about 30 minutes (which is called "runners high" appropriately enough) but much more intense. I'm assuming it's attributed to some sort of endorphins that get released at the prospect of being completely free and not knowing at all what the future holds. So exciting!!!

Damien picked me up and we drove to his parents farm in a small town called Campbelltown where I stayed with him for 2 nights. I have always thought of Damien as such a city boy so it was very strange for me to see that he grew up on a huge farm with tons of animals including sheep...

this crazy bird who danced by bobbing up and down while I was holding him, repeated a few words that Damien said...

and puffed up his feathers when Damien kissed his neck. Cutest!

There were also ducks and roosters...

A horse...

A Cat named Ginger (pronounced "Ginga" with an Ozzy accent)...

And 3 dogs which I didn't get a pic of. It was kind of like being at a Zoo. After 2 relaxing days I said a teary goodbye to Damien and hopped on the train into my old stomping grounds, Sydney, for 2 nights. I stayed with Laura in a scary neighbourhood right near Kings Cross. She had a huge Rubber Tree plant in her alleyway (and you thought mine was big Andrea!)

After 2 days visiting the Harbour, Bondi Beach and catching up with my friend Michael one last time I hopped back onto a Greyhound bus at 7am and arrived in Port Macquarie at 1:30pm. I am going to be spending a lot of my time over the next month until I reach Cairns on a Greyhound bus...

Port Macquarie is really pretty. It's a small town so I am only here for 2 nights but there are some lovely things to see. Here is a pic of a Stork I took on the river. These are the birds that deliver babies to people...

I went on an hour long hike around some wetlands and it was really pretty...

The hostel I am staying at only had 6 people in it last night which was great because I didn't have to make an effort to talk to anyone, we just all automatically hung out, played some pool and had a few drinks. My friend Michael (who I met in Sydney and who has done a lot of travelling) and I were talking the other night about how much harder it is to meet people in big hostels because generally everyone is in groups and you have to make more of an effort to talk to people.

Today I got up and hired (rented) a bike which was only $5 but I soon realized why. It was way too small for me and very heavy and difficult to ride. I certainly got a good workout riding it. I went along the harbour and saw various beaches...

Then I went to the Koala hospital which was free and I got there just in time to see them being fed. There was a board at the front listing the koalas that were there, what was wrong with them, how long they had been there and what their treatment was. A few of them had been there many years and one of them was 22 years old (which apparently is about 110 in human years). Apparently a few of them hadn't used protection...

Actually the lovely lady who gave us the tour talked about how serious it can be for Koalas to get Chlamydia (which I don't think is actually contracted the same was we get it) and if left untreated could kill them. Every time I see Koalas I still can't get over how cute they are. Like seriously...bahhhhhhhhhhhh!

So that's been my East Coast adventure so far! Tomorrow I go to Byron Bay and I will stay there for at least 5 days in a hostel called The Arts Factory in a lakeside cottage. This place looks like a hippy commune and everyone I know who has gone there doesn't want to leave. Check out all of the different types of accommodation they have. You can even sleep in a Teepee!

http://www.artsfactory.com.au/. If I don't update for a few weeks it's probably cause I'm too stoned to work a computer:p

Muah!