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| Miranda and Jemima |
We visited Andrew's family because his brother, Chris, was riding a bull in a rodeo...FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! We went to Andrew's parent's home in a small town called Raymond Terrace which was about 1.5 hours north of Sydney. The drive was through the mountains and we had a beautiful, sunny drive. The bull ride was exciting even though it was only seconds but the whole family (minus one brother) was there and there was an excited buzz the entire rodeo since Chris rode last. After the ride we watched the kids (Jemima-7, Miranda-5, Sam-3, and Ethan-2) on the bounce house and playing some carnival games. After getting attacked by hungry mozzies (mosquitoes) we headed back to the house where Jemima and Miranda gave me a gift box (decorated by them and their brother, Sam!) and some homemade necklaces. Then I taught 5 more people to play cribbage! Wisconsin taking over Oz! The next day we celebrated Andrew's parent's anniversary (40th I think!) with a BBQ and a short game of golf with Andrew, his youngest brother, Dave, and Andrew's sister Jenny's husband, Mark (Muzz). Jemima and I took over driving the cart around which was great. In the morning we also went for a motorcycle ride with Dave around the country. It was a beautiful day and the area around Raymond Terrace was surrounded by green pastures filled with cows, horses, or sheep. The landscape reminded me of Wisconsin a lot with the farms, temperate "rain forests", and small towns. It was a great way to see the area!
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| Wild Kangaroos! |
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| Jervis Bay-- "Whitest Sand in the World" |
After we left Raymond Terrace, we drove back to Sydney to pack for our week trip to Melbourne. Andrew's parent's equipped us with a tent and camping gear so our plan was to tent on the way down, stay with Andrew's friends while we were there, and maybe get a hotel in the city one night. We drove a few hours and ended up in a lovely little place called Jervis Bay on our first night. We didn't have much of a plan and since we drove from Raymond Terrace the same say we didn't arrive until nearly 7 which meant the after a quick stop to check out my first wild kangaroos we set up camp just before sunset and grilled up some sausages for dinner and were following up with some cribbage in the tent (by lantern light) when some kids dive bombed our tent, that is, jumped right on it (and Andrew mostly), caving it in, and running and jumping the fence. Andrew wasn't happy but it was a little funny. The next day after exploring Jervis Bay, which boasts the "whitest sand in the world", we drove another few hours to Narooma where we stayed the night in a cabin (cheaper than a hotel!) due to thunderstorms. We continued our trip down the coast to Eden, where I dragged Andrew to a Killer Whale Museum and onto Lake's Entrance where we stayed in another cabin. The road we drove down the coast is called the "Princes Highway" and it winds through mountains, more temperate rain forests, wine countries, farmland, and coastline. It takes about 6 hours longer than the main highway but the scenery made it worthwhile!
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| Wallaby |
On Thursday when we got to Melbourne we stayed at Andrew's friend's house, Nick and Mel who had a toddler, Zach, and a newborn, Ben. They were very nice hosts and we had three great nights with them just drinking beer and eating yummy dinners. We went to the Formula Ones on Friday which was just a practice day but we still saw the cars, enjoyed the atmosphere, and even saw Tony Hawk! On Saturday we went with Nick and Mel and their kids to the zoo. It wasn't a normal zoo though, it was just Australia animals, so it was pretty cool, and if you know me, you know I love animals so getting to pet wallabies, wombats, and even snakes was right up my alley! On the way home we decided to just take the less scenic highway back to Sydney and after road construction, a huge crossword puzzle, and 9 hours we arrived home safe and sound.
Looks like a calm couple of days back here in Sydney before another weekend traveling to visit one of Andrew's brothers, Steve and his family (and new beagle puppy!). Steve also lent me a guitar for the year which worked out perfectly!
If you have any specific questions for me, please comment them and I will answer as best I can!
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