She's a bit longwinded...

In the land of scantily dressed trees that smell of Vics VapoRub, turquoise waters that act as a window to things both spectacular and chompy, and red dirt good for the walking and bouncing, Sylvie and I have parked our cabooses for over 3 months now. As I slowly transform into a giant freckle with arms and Sylvie becomes reunited with her native roots, we bit by bit make our way around this enormous island by plane, bus, bike and automobile. The first stop being Sydney where the weather was cold (mind you not by Canadian standards) and rainy, less than pleasant in comparison to Fiji’s hot hot heat. A quick look at the Sydney Opera House and the Art Gallery of New South Wales was satisfactory for us to warrant hightailing it outta there to Queensland’s balmy Surfer’s Paradise. Surfer’s was not only a paradise for those who enjoyed the sport but also for Japanese tourists, as well as those who enjoy boobies and living in Pepto-Bismol coloured high-rise apartments, however one can’t be too cynical when you are mere seconds from gorgeous warm water beaches. Graciously hosted by Sylvie’s sister and her beautiful family, we felt very much at home in their cozy apartment with what our hearts desired most in the hot humid weather, the Cadillac of all air-conditioning units. I’d have to say my favourite part of this leg of our journey was being kept company by Sylvie’s adorable two year old nephew, who at his inquisitive age was forever wondering “What happening?” Our week and a half visit to Queensland included some fantastic day trips to Byron Bay, a backpacker's haven, Burleigh Heads, a true surfer’s paradise, and the very eventful Tamborine Mountain where a daft young girl could have put our first aid skills to good use by repeatedly tumbling and sliding down various jagged rock faces. We then continued on to Adelaide where work beckoned.

Adelaide’s lodging was top notch, certainly the nicest home I’ve ever laid my head, complete with our own wing of the house, a pool and a pantry bursting with deliciously delectable treats to gorge ourselves on. We arrived in the mist of the Fringe Festival which we frequented religiously, one night even daring (because we a crazy like that) to have some drinks in a big blue double-decker bus turned bar. This is where I’d like to take a few moments to send out a word of warming to all those whom may be inclined to travel to Australia, never and I mean NEVER order a bloody ceasar in Australia, let alone from a double-decker bus sporting a unicorn statue on its roof. To say it was horrid would be an understatement, totally inconsumable made with fruit infused tomato juice, lemon vodka and seasoned with whole peppercorns which acted as mini missiles being fired at the back of your throat every time you took a sip from the straw. This public service announcement has been brought to you by Sylvie and Amy, two girls who always have your best interest in mind. Our stint in Adelaide also included a trip to our hosts’ beach house in Goolwa with a quick tour around the posh coastal area of Victor Harbour and a rainy day trip to Cleland Wildlife Park. A road trip to a wino’s favourite valleys, the Clare and Bourassa Valleys, also took place during this time but the events that unfolded are worth much more than a simple mention in this lengthy blog entry, thus a separate entry is in the works to be posted on a date yet to be determined (for our avid followers, you know that this may take some time). Having replenished our wallets, fed the docile kangaroos and pet with contemplations of stealing the perpetually drowsy Koala, we felt our mission was complete and traveled west to Perth.

Seems everywhere we go during these months of travel we’ve been blessed with the warmest and most welcoming of hosts, in Perth, Chris and Brooke certainly ranked at the top of this list. Their downright comfy retro apartment is where we both became one with the furniture acting as a staple of their living room. Their efforts in making us feel at home worked instantaneously, so much so that we refused to leave for three weeks. We sometimes managed to muster up the energy on rare occasions to take half day trips to a whole score of beaches, some of the surrounding areas (Freo being our favourite) and the large shopping mall that is Perth’s Central Business District, the CBD for short. In Perth, everyday ended with the most content of all sighs coming from Brooke who stood staring out her window at the setting sun over the Indian Ocean, a view we were all too lucky to have just across the street. Sylvie and I found jack squat while attempting to procure work and our ideal lives of swimming, reading and napping on a breathtaking beach (be prepared to take out your mini imaginary violins) eventually only made us grow restless, mind you restless with an excellent tan. As luck would have it, a reply to a microscopic classified ad found in a larger than life classifieds paper led us to the Shire of Esperance to become farmhands for three weeks. As with the Clare and Bourassa Valley, this story is deserving of so much more than a simple mention, thus it too has a placed in the 'to be written' category. But to keep you waiting with baited breath this story will have elements of horror, drama and delight that could only be recounted properly and oh-so dramatically in a few short sentences by the skilled movie preview voiceover guy. Truthfully, there are many stories still waiting on the sidelines and as you by now have probably come to the conclusion, I could continue to go on for eons but I’ll bring this entry to a close with a thanks to all for your patience in waiting for this long overdue entry to be written.

Fiji: A procrastinated reflection

From afar you’d think that I’m wearing three different coloured shirts, one red, one pink and one white but upon closer inspection you quickly come to realize that this is simply my stylish three tiered sunburn, the definition of a Canadian tan. Accompanied by the cherry coloured nose on top and fly bitten legs and feet, these remain only minor set backs of the excellent time spent in Fiji. Budgetary constraints confined us to the main island but certainly not against our will. An eight day layover allowed us just enough time to sample what the Fijian main island of Viti Levu had to offer in terms of beaches, mountains, juggles, waterfalls, cities and villages. Of course, we began this visit with a b-line to the beaches of the Coral Coast, destination Mango Bay Resort. A different spin on your typical Cuba/Dominican resort experience however with some of the same unfortunate trappings (e.g. scheduled egg tossing activities). Beyond its superficialities, the resort gave way to the ever-smiling local spirit with opportunities to snorkel, kayak and visit the local school. As a side note, snorkeling and kayaking are simply avenues for Sylvie and me to freak each other out. Fed by each others fears, every concentrated look at the ocean’s bottom seems to conjure some form of deadly creature, always poisonous and man eating/nibbling. The beach fulfilled our laziest of desires until we met a great American couple from Montana whom we followed to the countries capital, Suva. Heaploads of people filled this city’s scorching streets selling everything from unique fruits and veggies, to every nic-nacs under the sun, to weird mushroom shaped pastries on every single corner, to a candlelight Valentine’s day dinner at McDonalds, even florescent green speckled lobsters, everything except the one thing we desired, a beer (or in my case, a icy cold stiff drink). Soon after our trip to Suva, we journeyed into the Sabeto Mountains. Sitting at the foot of the mountain, we couldn’t have asked for a better view and more gracious hosts who brought us on our first ever Hash Run. Basically to summarize, it’s a locally organized run where at the end you eat homemade food, chug beer, wear a plastic penis on your nose and jokingly insult each other.

We finished our eight days in Fiji with a trek through the juggle to have a well-deserved swim in a beautiful (are there any other kind) waterfall. Privately guided by a local who had to cross every river three times to help us unbalanced broads get through the sometimes knee deep flowing water, all while hiking along sharing local knowledge and facts such as why the cows blocking our path were mooing bloody murder. He also was helpful in alleviating some of our underwater fears including telling us that what we were seeing wasn’t a deadly snake but a harmless ugly fish. Thus we departed Fiji a bit more courageous and one step closer to acclimatizing to the mega hot and humid weather.

Travel Day #1: Through Amy's eyes

On tap are an ipod, four books, 18 movies, plenty of games and a whole score of turbo shitty American TV shows. It’s really unfortunate that Horatio, everyone’s favorite fluffy red-headed criminal investigator doesn’t keep me at the edge of my seat or that TV’s forensic science doesn’t blow my mind because man am I friggen bored. A view of the Rockies from the plane serves as a reminder that there is life outside this flying sardine can. Life which will resume in t-minus 10 hrs when feet touch ground in Nadi, Fiji.

Recounting some of this butt-numbing travel day, I’ll begin with our simultaneous panic attack. Either through the fault of an oversight on my part or junk mail’s overprotection, an email in which Sylvie set our meeting location in the Halifax airport remained unread. Alone at my gate with boarding time at 11:55am and the clock reading 11:57am, I began to pace, breath and worry heavily. All the while, Sylvie was apparently doing the same in the airport’s Timmies. Luckily with the help of a rule-breaking, might I even say bad ass, clerk at the Continental Airlines check-in, Sylvie’s mind was put at ease with the top secret knowledge that I had already in fact checked in. My mind in a full fledged freak-out, partially due to drinking four cups of coffee, was set to rest by the sight of Sylvie finally turning the corner. Heart attack averted! As two chatty Cathys, we sat and had ourselves a catch-up session until Mr. Stary McGoogly-eyes butted in questions-a-blazing. Struggling with our increasing annoyance and our ingrained Canadian courteousness, we both minimally made small talk of the awkward variety. A horseshoer by trade, he invited himself to Fiji and we both gave him the Frig-NO giggle. Thankfully Newark, our first connection, was where we parted ways with this older gentleman.

A total of 21 hrs of traveling with only a few sporadic naps between the two of us, we gladly set foot into Fiji airport at 5:30am. We had all we could ask for, a view of the surrounding mountain covered in a thick lush green forest with clouds lingering at its summit, a minor wait at the gate and a comfy air-conditioned coach bus waiting to bring us to the beach.

Welcome!

Welcome everyone! So Amy and I leave in approximately 10 days for our Australian adventure. First stop Fiji for a week, next stop Sydney. We’ll be in Sydney for a few days before we head up to Byron Bay and meet up with my sister.

We hope to keep in touch with all of you during our time downunder and will post as many pictures and videos as possible. This site is also a great way to hear from all of you so please post as many comments as you wish.

Keep warm… ;)

Cheers,
Sylvie and Amy

Map of Australia