...and I'm off!!

Passport stamped?  Yup!!  Suitcase found and collected?  Yup!!  Tour Guide waiting?  Yup!!  Stepping on Aussie soil?  Yup!!  ...and I'm off and running on a lifetime dream trip to Australia!!

One never realizes just how draining it is flying halfway around the world until you step on the ground and try and 'hit it running.'  Thank goodness for adrenalin and hot, long showers to revitalize you!  Oh...and also caffeine to boot!!

...and hit the ground running is just what happened the first day in Australia! 

After a wonderful hot shower off we went up into the Dandenong Mountains which are pretty much outside the Tour Guide's back door as she lives in the foot hills of the Dandenongs. 

If you take away the rain forest type atmosphere the Dandenongs so remind me of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia especially with their hazy blue appearance...and the winding mountain roads with hairpin turns back and forth as you wind your way upward are a definite similarity.

In a short time we were at the William Ricketts Sanctuary which is a sculpture park originally known as Potter's Sanctuary.  William Ricketts, though never trained as a potter, is known for the power of his vision of a modern Australia that embraces Aboriginal spirituality and respect for the natural world.  In the 1960s the Victorian government bought the sanctuary from Ricketts and made it into a public park.  Ricketts continued to live here and create until his death in 1993.

This is the entrance to the pathway that winds its way through the sanctuary...you feel as if you are being ushered into the rain forest by these two sculptures.  It is an amazing walk through the rain forest that you find yourself going on and at each twist and turn you are seeing yet another amazing sculpture amidst the trees and ferns.  Finding myself surrounded by such a vast array of green after the cold white of a Minnesota winter causes one to breathe in deeply and envelope your senses with the wonders of the rain forest and I found myself feeling a calm and quietness surrounding me that I hadn't felt in such a long time...it was bordering on magical and the talent that William Ricketts had really was amazing. 

I do not know just how many sculptures were in the sanctuary but I do know that I did not succeed in photographing every one of them though I gave it my best try.  What a fabulous choice of an introduction to Australia this was and to think I'd only been on Aussie soil for a few mere hours.  Little did I know the vast amount of wonders I would see in the oncoming days!!

If you would like to see more pictures taken at the William Ricketts Sanctuary here is a link to that photo album on Picasa: Play slideshow

Customs Fun?!

What an awesome sight this was to see for someone who had been waiting years for their dream of going to Australia to come true.  Of course...and don't laugh too loudly...I had to take the picture days later as I wasn't prepared to shoot any the day I arrived.  That first day all I could do was look and look and look just like a kid in a candy store!!  Oh the sights and sounds and GREEN grass...NO snow!! 

But getting outside of the terminal to actually step on Aussie soil was an adventure in itself.  I think I now know how cattle feel being herded into a small area to creep through a maze towards a chute.  It seemed to take forever to get to one of the Customs checkout areas.  Of course it did not help that at least 4 other International flights had landed about the same time as mine so there was a milling of probably 800+ people trying to get through International customs as quickly as possible and there just wasn't anything quick about it.  It was hot, humid and slooooow...painfully sloooow!!! 

Finally I was through the first part of Customs with my freshly stamped passport in hand and off to the carousels to find my suitcase.  After what seemed like another eternity finally my suitcase appeared on the carousel and off I found myself in the final line to get through the 'sniffer' dogs.  By this time I was definitely feeling like a pack mule with my overfilled backpack, laptop and camera bag draped around me and the largest suitcase allowable in tow.  If only I had cut out at least a third of what I had brought but a bit late for that.  Needless to say this thought would go through my mind multiple times during the next 30 days...hindsight is definitely 20-20!!

At last the end of the 'tunnel' was in sight and, though I was a bit nervous about finding the Tour Guide in this mass of people, there she was pretty much front and center and I spotted her almost immediately and I was relieved though there was no band nor red carpet waiting for my grand entrance to Australia though I had repeatedly reminded the Tour Guide this was 'standard procedure' for me.  I thought I was pretty convincing...guess I was only being dillusional!!  LOL

Regardless I was finally on Aussie soil and thrilled to be out of planes with my feet firmly planted on the ground!  A 15 1/2 hour flight just from Los Angeles to Melbourne was a bit long to say the least but I now had 30 days to forget all about it and have some fun!!  I could hardly wait!!

Jet Lag Anyone?!

Oh my...I really don't know where the past 30+ days have gone but my once in a lifetime Australian adventure is over and I am incredibly jet lagged from the flights back to the U.S.  There were a few hitches/glitches the past two days traveling but by the grace of a manager at Frontier Airlines I still managed to arrive home to Minneapolis on time and it appears maybe in time for a spring snowstorm that looks to be heading our way in several days. 

I actually find this fact a bit rude since I had spectacular weather for the majority of my adventures...not too hot...not too cold...pretty much just perfect though more than one native Aussie commented that they were having a colder than normal summer.  I personally don't think it could have been much better for someone coming from the dead of winter.

Now...let the unpacking begin and the resettling in happen and the daunting task of going through the massive amount of pictures I took.  You know you're taking a lot of pictures when the few times I didn't have a camera with me comments were made!  LOL  Hopefully I will have a few worth sharing in the coming weeks with you all as I recap and take you back through my amazing trip to Australia which has definitely left me wanting to return for an encore!!

I can't begin to tell you (but I'm sure I will try in upcoming blogs) how spectacular the people were I met in Australia...how awesome the 'Tour Guide' and her family were to me and, though I missed home, how hard it was to take that final walk to the International departure gates as I left.  That in itself tells you an awesome time was had and hopefully friendships have been strengthened and new ones were discovered!!

* * * * * *

On a side note I lost two friends while I was traveling...one to early onset Alzheimer's disease and the other to lung cancer.  They will be dearly missed but I celebrate their lives and how they touched mine.  Ludvine and Dave...I will dearly miss you both. 

“Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like it's heaven on earth.”  Mark Twain

Just a Handful of Days Left...

I can't believe that in just a few days I'll be heading back to the states and my great Australian adventure will come to an end. It's actually quite depressing when I find myself dwelling on it but I am also getting excited to relive the trip starting next week blogging and oh you would not believe the amount of pictures I have taken and some of them actually have turned out good but it'll be weeks before I can go through and edit all of them.

This has been an amazing trip...far exceeding my hopes and dreams and I have met some wonderful people along the journey. But for now I just wanted to pop a quick note on here to let you all know I'm still alive and kicking (as if there was any doubt!) and loving every minute in Australia!!

Until next week...wherever you are...have a wonderful day!!

Just a Handful of Days Left...

I can't believe that in just a few days I'll be heading back to the states and my great Australian adventure will come to an end. It's actually quite depressing when I find myself dwelling on it but I am also getting excited to relive the trip starting next week blogging and oh you would not believe the amount of pictures I have taken and some of them actually have turned out good but it'll be weeks before I can go through and edit all of them.

This has been an amazing trip...far exceeding my hopes and dreams and I have met some wonderful people along the journey. But for now I just wanted to pop a quick note on here to let you all know I'm still alive and kicking (as if there was any doubt!) and loving every minute in Australia!!

Until next week...wherever you are...have a wonderful day!!

Tassie Trip

We are in our second day in Tasmania and the scenery has been just gorgeous along the coast up to Bicheno where we stayed the first night. It is so peaceful at the shore listening to the sound of the waves hitting the shoreline.  

Tasman Sea by Bicheno, Tasmania



We had been looking forward to going on a tour to Wineglass Bay today but sadly found out the tour had been cancelled due to incoming high winds. Though it remained sunny and gorgeous throughout the day the winds definitely appeared and the Tour Guide didn't have a real spectacular time driving whenever a gust of wind would hit...not that we went off the road or anything...she's an excellent driver...the gusts would just catch the car and since we were going through some mountainous areas I can only say I'm glad I wasn't driving.  Not that I would have been anyways...I think that that might be a bit disastrous since staying on the opposite side of the road would be quite necessary and I'm not sure I would have been quite able to reverse 36 years of driving on the right side of the road.  So...I've got my own Tour Guide and am being driven around like Miss Daisy...does it get much better?!  LOL

Love this sign!!!

I love the different road signs I'm seeing in Australia and this one above about wildlife (aka roos versus cars) had me laughing this morning as I snapped it as we zoomed by...it almost looks like the roo is lifting up the car.  Hopefully the rest of the trip here in Tassie we'll only see the signs and not experience this for real!

Well...off to bed...another big day in Launceston tomorrow...going to Cataract Gorge and whatever else tips our fancy and drive back to Hobart in the afternoon for the last two days here.

Until next time...wherever you are...have a great day!!

Bruno Torf

An amazing day today...went to Marysville and toured through Bruno Torf's Art & Sculpture gardens with the Tour Guide and two of her friends and their young son. I had the great pleasure of meeting Bruno Torf and chatting with him...he was such a delight...not at all like what one would expect for a renowned artist to be like. Very refreshing!! As have been all the Aussies I've met in the week's time I've been here!! I have taken a ton of pictures already and have earned a name from the Tour Guide but in everyone's best interests I'll not share what that nickname is though it was a bit funny!! Anyways...I'll be posting pictures probably after I return to the states unless I happen upon some wifi availibility for the laptop when I have that with me but I am not carrying the laptop around with me as it does become quite heavy after just a short time. But, in the meantime, if you want to read about Bruno just google his name and you'll get a peek at his art.

Hope all is well and until next time, wherever you are, have a great day!!