South Coast

After I got back from Ettalong, I had one more day of work and then I packed up and moved out of my apartment in Newtown. Tamsin, Kat, and her fiancé Adam had rented a Jucy Van to drive down to Melbourne and I decided to tag along. Neither Kat nor Adam has their license yet, so it was up to Tamsin and I to get us there. That meant I had to drive on the right side of the car and the left side of the road. For the first time in my life I was actually driving under the speed limit because I was so nervous! I think by the end of the trip I had the hang of it, I’m just happy I was driving mostly on the highway and not in the city. It was an absolutely beautiful drive down the south coast; tons of ocean views, farmland, and vineyards.

This wasn't my first time living in a Green Machine...

Our first stop of the trip was in Kiama to see a blow hole. The blow hole turned out to be a let down, but no one seemed to mind too much because Kiama was so beautiful!

Apparently the water and wind weren't working in our favor that day, so this was the biggest "blow" we saw.

Everyone in front of the blow hole (the picture is more exciting if you imagine a big splash of water behind us).

The second stop of the day was for Seven Mile Beach in Wollongong. It's a popular place to learn how to surf because the waves are relatively calm.

I loved watching this kite surfer.

Adam found a hermit crab on the beach.

Some people stop to smell the roses, I stop to feed the horses.

The first night we stayed in Nowra in a wildlife park, we arrived just in time to catch the most beautiful sunset!

Everyone unloading the van for the night. Kat is standing on a latter about to go into the "penthouse" where she and Adam sleep.

The thing about sleeping in a wildlife park is you wake up and find peacocks chillaxin' nearby.

We got a tad bit lost (sans GPS system it happens quite frequently...) and asked a local for directions to Murrays beach. He suggested Green Beach instead, which we liked much more. And I have to admit, I felt pretty cool going to a local not even mentioned in my lonely planet!

The nice thing about driving/living/eating out of a car is that you can choose whenever you'd like to stop, rest or eat.

Shortly after crossing over into Victoria the "empty" light went on. We drove for as long as we could and ended up in Mallacoota, a town where the gas stations close before 8pm.

Fortunately, we met the nicest-- not to mention tallest-- police officer named Trigger (it was like he was destined to be a cop) who was more than happy to let us spend the night in the police parking lot. There was just one small condition...

We had to cook him dinner. Yup, not only did we drive all day and sleep all night in the green machine, but we cooked dinner in it too!

The back of the van serves as a passenger seats during the day, dinner table in the evening...

and Tamsin and my bedroom at night. Pretty impressive, huh?

Thankfully, we made it to our final destination the next day without any problems.

Ettalong

Last weekend, Kylie invited a group of us to her beach house in Ettalong. It's a small coastal town just over an hour north of Sydney. We got their late Friday night and spent the next day lying out on the beach, relaxing by the pool, and painting. Kylie took us to this place in town called Plaster Fun (it reminded me a lot of the old Snoop Shop in Glenview) and we each painted a different animal. We were there for at least three hours... Courtney, Kate, and I even had to go back the next day to finish ours. What can I say, we take our art very seriously! Ettalong isn't the most exciting town in the world (it's mostly a vacation/retirement spot) so on Saturday night we hopped in a cab to another town called Terrigal where we danced the night away. It was a very fun weekend that passed by much too quickly!

The front of Kylie's beach house. She has been spending her summers here with her grandparents and cousins since she was little but only has time to go up for a few weekends every now and then in summer, kind of like me with Harbor Springs.

The view from Kylie's backyard.

Everyone laying out on the beach: Kate, Andrew, Jenna, Courtney, Kylie, and Tash.

Kylie brought a pool and we sat in it all day and just ate, drank, and talked. It was so relaxing and so much fun!

Everyone hard at work painting their plasters!

My finished product; I named her Ettalong.

Everyone hanging out at the only club in Terrigal on Saturday night.

Happy Holidays!

A very (belated) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! On Christmas Eve, Rachel and I went to Kat and Tamsin’s for dinner. It was very similar to our Thanksgiving feast (chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing) with a few English touches such as Yorkshire pudding… which in my opinion tasted like a bland pancake. Dinner ended on a bit of a sad note because it was Rachel’s last meal with all of us, the next day she flew home to Maryland. She’ll be living at home and working before heading off to college next fall—although she hasn’t decided where she’ll be attending just yet. I can’t say that I was particularly looking forward to my first Christmas away from home, but I found solace in the fact that I would be lying out in 80° weather while my family would be bundled up in bulky sweaters. No such luck, it rained all day long. Needless to say, I will be home for Christmas next year.

Kat and Tamsin had Christmas Crackers waiting for us at our seats, an English tradition. Each person crosses their arms and pulls on the ends of two different crackers. Inside are a few treats and the paper crowns, which the girls insisted we wear the rest of the night.

Our last picture together as roommates.

New Year’s Eve was much more successful. I joined Tamsin, Kat, and her boyfriend Adam at their friend’s house in Double Bay, which is located between the city and Bondi beach. Not only was the apartment amazing, but we were right on the water and met some very nice people that night. I can't believe that it's 2010 already. I have so much to look forward to this year, starting with my parent's upcoming visit on January 27th. We'll be going on a road trip around the south island of New Zealand for a week, flying up to Cairns to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef and then heading back down to Sydney for a show at the Opera House. I can hardly wait, I'm so exited!

The private beach where we spent New Year's Eve.

We had the beach all to ourselves; it really beat the crowds at the Opera House!

Adam put a whole new meaning to "ringing in the new year" that night... At midnight during the fireworks show he proposed to Kat. She said yes!

There were fireworks at 9pm and then again at midnight. The city actually put on three sets of identical fireworks at the same time in different locations. From where we stood, we could see all of them. It was incredible.

Cheers to 2010!