5/09/2011
Coastal Australia
Long time no post. Hope everyone is doing well.
Been on the move a lot lately, so this should be a long one with lots of pics.
Spent a few days in Sydney. Really enjoyed the city - from what we could see of it. We happend to be visiting on the 5 day easter/ANZAC long weekend so most of the city was on lock down. As expected, great catching up with Todd and also had the opportunity to see a future Cambridge classmate. The harbour was cool and the Sydney opera house is impressive, albiet slightly less white than expected (they say the tiles are self-cleaning, but Aly's not so sure). Also managed to make it to Manly island between showers (8 days straight and counting) to walk around the beach and town. I can see why people say Manly is their favorite place in Sydney, although only its a short ferry ride, its a lot more laid back.
Next stop: Gold coast. Apparently this coast gets more days of sunshine than any other part of Australia... but we're not so sure about that. The main purpose of the visit was to catch up with an old friend, Gregg (no, that's not a typo). Attempted surfing early one morning but due to a combination of factors (most important being lack of experience), it didn't work out so well. In reality, there was no actual surfing - the morning consisted of paddling, getting pummelled by waves, and drinking large quantities of salt water. It was also my first time wearing a wet suit - felt a bit like the hulk.
After finally breaking the rain streak on our last day on the Gold Coast (at 16 days), we were off to Brisbane to stay with a former co-worker (and current friend) Mike and his gf Kelly in their pimp apartment. Great city and glad to see that it has recovered from the floods. Made a few day trips, including a Koala sanctuary, where we got up and (REALLY) close with a few kangaroos and koalas.
Rented a car and drove to the town of 1770, where we caught a boat to the S end of the Great Barrier reef. I managed to convince Aly to venture out for a snorkel to see some of the corals and a plethora of fish - who had always said she'd never do it due to a fear of sharks (luckily there were no sharks that day).
Worth a mention: on the way out to the GBR, we were informed by the staff of the boat that many people get motion sickness and to take a motion sickness tablet before hand. Aly and I did as we were told and like the soldiers we are, were totally fine. However, it would appear that not everybody got the memo, as roughly 30-40% of the passengers were sea sick en route. Nothing like looking one way and seeing 80 something year old grandpa using a barf bag, then turning back around and catching a couple of 8-10 year olds ruining their fathers shorts. Apologies for the description, but it was one of the worst situations I've been in (Aly slept through most of it), followed by one of the best afternoons.
After the GBR, we headed back to Brisbane to take advantage of Mr. Di Iulio's/Ms. Bragg's hospitality for another couple of days - while there we hit up a Rugby League Game (as opposed to Rugby Union, the version of rugby most Canadians are familiar with). The League version eliminates the scrum aspect/line outs and is all in all a quicker game. That said, I sort of prefer the scrum element of Rugby Union. Nevertheless, an awesome evening.
After over 5 weeks on the run, we're taking our show to Asia, Singapore to be exact. Took an eight hour flight from Brisbane yesterday afternoon to Singapore and got settled in shortly after 8pm (two hour time difference from Australia/Singapore, so we're not 12 hours of Toronto time). Staying in Little India, which might as well be another country all together. Headed out for a bite last night and had incredible Indian food - very spicy and delicious. Aly had a chance to catch up with her friend Phil, who just finished his film degree (and who will be delivering his commencement speech later this week) for a drink later in the evening. It would appear that we made it to Singapore in the middle of a heat wave. Considering this place is already so close to the equator, that means super hot temperatures (especially by my standards - Aly is more open to warmer weather) in the 40's with the humidity - which is super thick. We'll see how this goes. The pics will follow.
Cheers,
Craig and Alyson
Been on the move a lot lately, so this should be a long one with lots of pics.
Spent a few days in Sydney. Really enjoyed the city - from what we could see of it. We happend to be visiting on the 5 day easter/ANZAC long weekend so most of the city was on lock down. As expected, great catching up with Todd and also had the opportunity to see a future Cambridge classmate. The harbour was cool and the Sydney opera house is impressive, albiet slightly less white than expected (they say the tiles are self-cleaning, but Aly's not so sure). Also managed to make it to Manly island between showers (8 days straight and counting) to walk around the beach and town. I can see why people say Manly is their favorite place in Sydney, although only its a short ferry ride, its a lot more laid back.
Next stop: Gold coast. Apparently this coast gets more days of sunshine than any other part of Australia... but we're not so sure about that. The main purpose of the visit was to catch up with an old friend, Gregg (no, that's not a typo). Attempted surfing early one morning but due to a combination of factors (most important being lack of experience), it didn't work out so well. In reality, there was no actual surfing - the morning consisted of paddling, getting pummelled by waves, and drinking large quantities of salt water. It was also my first time wearing a wet suit - felt a bit like the hulk.
After finally breaking the rain streak on our last day on the Gold Coast (at 16 days), we were off to Brisbane to stay with a former co-worker (and current friend) Mike and his gf Kelly in their pimp apartment. Great city and glad to see that it has recovered from the floods. Made a few day trips, including a Koala sanctuary, where we got up and (REALLY) close with a few kangaroos and koalas.
Rented a car and drove to the town of 1770, where we caught a boat to the S end of the Great Barrier reef. I managed to convince Aly to venture out for a snorkel to see some of the corals and a plethora of fish - who had always said she'd never do it due to a fear of sharks (luckily there were no sharks that day).
Worth a mention: on the way out to the GBR, we were informed by the staff of the boat that many people get motion sickness and to take a motion sickness tablet before hand. Aly and I did as we were told and like the soldiers we are, were totally fine. However, it would appear that not everybody got the memo, as roughly 30-40% of the passengers were sea sick en route. Nothing like looking one way and seeing 80 something year old grandpa using a barf bag, then turning back around and catching a couple of 8-10 year olds ruining their fathers shorts. Apologies for the description, but it was one of the worst situations I've been in (Aly slept through most of it), followed by one of the best afternoons.
After the GBR, we headed back to Brisbane to take advantage of Mr. Di Iulio's/Ms. Bragg's hospitality for another couple of days - while there we hit up a Rugby League Game (as opposed to Rugby Union, the version of rugby most Canadians are familiar with). The League version eliminates the scrum aspect/line outs and is all in all a quicker game. That said, I sort of prefer the scrum element of Rugby Union. Nevertheless, an awesome evening.
After over 5 weeks on the run, we're taking our show to Asia, Singapore to be exact. Took an eight hour flight from Brisbane yesterday afternoon to Singapore and got settled in shortly after 8pm (two hour time difference from Australia/Singapore, so we're not 12 hours of Toronto time). Staying in Little India, which might as well be another country all together. Headed out for a bite last night and had incredible Indian food - very spicy and delicious. Aly had a chance to catch up with her friend Phil, who just finished his film degree (and who will be delivering his commencement speech later this week) for a drink later in the evening. It would appear that we made it to Singapore in the middle of a heat wave. Considering this place is already so close to the equator, that means super hot temperatures (especially by my standards - Aly is more open to warmer weather) in the 40's with the humidity - which is super thick. We'll see how this goes. The pics will follow.
Cheers,
Craig and Alyson
4/26/2011
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