Brisbane

Sue dropped us off monday morning and we took the train into town. We stayed at the hostel her daughter, Ally, use to work at. After settling into the room we went and started to get ourselves established in Australia. This involved stopping off at the bank and applying for a bank account. We also got Spencer a new phone so we now have a contact number and a way to contact people when we are on the road. We retired pretty early that night after getting some pizza and wedges for dinner. Who knew what a good combo sour cream and hot chilli sauce makes.
After a decent sleep, considering there were 10 people in our dorm, we ate our free breakfast and went off to explore the city. This involved going to the south bank and walking along the river. We found the lagoon, which is a man made beach where you can just hangout. We spent the afternoon there reading, listening to music and relaxing.

On the way back we hit the bank up once more, trying to take out as much cash as possible inorder to pay off our car. This involved calls to both our banks and Spencer trying to up his cash with-drawl limit. For dinner we once again hit up the bar downstairs as it was half price pizzas. We also met Damien, Ally's boyfriend who gave us a free jug of beer, which worked out well for me as Spencer doesn't drink. A little later to bed this time I think that I am finally getting use to the Australian time zone (though this could be because there were no early bird wake ups).

Our last day full day in Brisbane involved once more ATM visits and walking through the botanical gardens after stopping at a local market.  We then headed over the river and walked up the south bank. Eventually we arrived at museum which had bird, reptile and mammal specimens stuffed for identification and a few skeletons of dinosaurs that were found in Australia. After an early afternoon we once more headed to the lagoon and chilled at the lagoon, soaking up the rays and enjoying the water.
When we returned to the hostel we had a bunch of new roommates, and as a group we all headed out to dinner, once more to the bar downstairs. This led to a fun night, we met two different Richards, once from England and another from Papua New Guinea. After nearly winning trivia we closed down the bar with a group of 4 Irish people. Instead of going to bed as we should have we then headed to another bar that is open all night. After too many drinks, walking a kilometre in the wrong direction we finally got back to the hostel, luckily sneaking in without waking too many people.

Last day we pack up our stuff and met up with Pat and Sue. With enough cash to pay for the truck we went and picked it up, Pat driving till we got on the highway outside of the city. Pulling over on the side it was now my turn to drive on the wrong side of the road, and manual which I had only practiced twice in Canada (thanks Mallory). Successfully made it with out stalling to the grocery and liquor store but on the way to Pat and Sues forgot to down shift up a hill. This involved restarting on a hill leading to us pulling up to the house with the smell of the clutch lingering.

Landing in Australia, Brisbane.

After a long series of flights, including a the 14 hour trip to New Zealand with no tv that worked and people beside me who kept needing help with their movies we have finally landed in Brisbane. Security was quick, bought a bottle of Amarula and waited for Sue at the departures pickup. We then proceeded to drive to her house, after a quick stop at the grocery store. The ride was warm, lots of new birds lined the roads but the biggest surprise was seeing where they lived.

After a ten minute drive up their driveway, though their fields, we reach the house at the top of the hill. Surrounded by birds and forest it was beautiful. Caught up with Pat and Sue and went out on a drive through their fields to look for kangaroos and other wildlife. First thing we saw was two tawny frog mouths, very rare to see in the wild since they're nocturnal and during the day do not move. Also saw a bunch of kangaroos, not bad for being in Australia less then 12 hours.

 After a early wake up because of the sun and the sounds of the birds we helped Pat take garbage to the dump. We also rolled out a new water pipe as their old one had been destroyed in the fires a couple of months before. At this time we saw our first poisonous snake, a red bellied black snake. Swimming in their pool and just relaxing in general was a nice start to our holiday.
Sunday was our first day of planning for the trip. We searched all day for a vehicle that we thought could get us through the rough roads of the outback and which would hopefully uphold its value for when we sell it next year. Pat and Sue drove us into town that afternoon to take a test drive on one that looked to be a pretty good deal. As it was a busy place and I hadn't drove standard or on the left side of the road Pat drove us around, and let us know that it was in good shape. Put down a deposit on it and set up to pick it up on thursday after we got all the money in order. The drive back was an adventure as for the whole hour we drove through the middle of a huge thunderstorm. Sue got us home safely though and we packed up for our next couple days exploring the city.

Flying to a warmer place.

Currently sitting in Vancouver airport getting ready to fly to Auckland. The long flight doesn't seem like it'll be fun but just have to keep thinking about when we get there.

Flight Booked

So we have finally booked our flight to Australia.

We are leaving Toronto at 4pm on the 20th of March. 

After 28 hours we should land in Brisbane, Australia via Vancouver and Auckland, NZ. Because of time change and crossing the International Date Line we will land around 10am on the 22nd. Pat and Sue will be picking us up at the airport and hopefully we will be able to sort of everything out in the week and a bit that we are with them. This includes setting up an Australian bank account, Australian cell phone number,  a vehicle and insurance and a tax number for working. But before that we have to pack all the equipment and clothes that we will need in Australia. After my house has been taken care of and I finally start packing I will create a list of everything that we are bringing. We have also been reading up a lot in guide books and a wildlife guide telling us what animals we may encounter. Being zoologists this is one of the things that Spencer and I are most excited for. 

Visa (finally) comes through

As a lot of you know I've been waiting a long time for my Working Holiday Visa to come though. After pushing our travel date farther and farther back it has finally arrived which means that now Spencer and I can book our flight.
This delay means that our planned route will be messed up (see photo of route map), but with hopefully 11 months of travel we will still be able to see everywhere that we want to.
This means that we will most likely fly into Brisbane and not Sydney, skipping everything south till we get to Adelaide in May or till we finish the route in December (updates to come). Will let you know as soon as the flight is booked.

Australia?

So I've been wanting to go to Australia for a while now, and since it has been over 2 years since I have been to Africa I feel like now is a good time. A working travel visa application has been sent in, so now I am waiting for it before buying my plane ticket. The plan so far is to buy a vehicle there, drive around the entire continent and work when money is low. Main reason that I have chosen Australia is because I have many friends that live here as well as many who are just starting to travel around so there are many people who I can get help from, and the wildlife that can not be found else where in the world. No idea how this blog will work and how often I will update it but I am going to attempt it.