10 days to go... Wow, time flies...

I booked my Australia trip on Christmas Day. Sort of like a 'fly by the seat of your pants' moment... Today I decided to pack my bag... I figured since it's pouring rain here that I probably won't be needing my summer clothes anytime soon. Here's what's in the pack so far:



5 swimsuits
2 Jeans
4 short sleeved T's
2 Jean skirts
1 Long cotton pants
1 Long sleeved T
5 shorts
4 Tank tops

Plus I've managed to put all my toiletries in one little bag... which will be nice..



My pack is only half full (with all this good stuff IN it)... So I think I'm still in good shape!

25 more days to go....

I'd like to give a big shout out to my cousins wife Elizabeth for lending me like 20 rad swimsuits for my trip to Australia! Tonight my best friend Nicole and I picked out the "Top 5" suits to take.... I'd love to take them all but since I'm just carrying a backpack I really have to pack light and I think 5 swimsuits will do me well.

All my working out at the gym is definitely paying off. I've been doing up to 2 hours/day - 5 days per week. Usually I just do about 90+ minutes a day and I can totally notice a difference in my legs and booty! I'm in a weight range I haven't been in since high school and I can see my cankle legs taking shape! YAY to that!

So, 2 or so weeks ago I shipped my camera off to Olympus to have them fix all the things that were wrong with it when I bought it, and apparently since my camera case has a scratch on the outside the warranty is void! Yeah, something about impact damage... Ugh... That really sucks. My friend and former neighbor Anthony said I could borrow his camera for my trip. Thanks Anthony!!

Anyhow, I've been doing a lot of catching up with my mate Nathaniel and I can't wait to see him! We're gonna have a great time catching up over a few schooners in NSW! He's the crazy Aussie I met in London the first day I got there. This was our pic the first day we met...



notice how we're not even touching each other... Then this is what it was like when he came to stay with me in San Francisco.. (a little more comfortable)

Bitter Sweet....

So, if things would have gone according to my original Australia plans, I should be there right now... weep flick! I guess it's not so bad, I only have less than 5 weeks till I hop my Qantas flight to Sydney. I still have to finalize everything on my itinerary. The only thing that's officially booked is my flight there. I still need to put down the deposits for my hostels and my other short flights. Yay! :D

It was really good to catch up with one of my friends the other night who actually lived in Oz for 8 months, then again for a year till he got kicked out of the country for 3 years...lol Apparently he over stayed his visa and they told him not to come back for 3 years! My friend Nath says that's what they do to "Seppo's"... My new Australian word of the day!

Seppo means American.. and here's how we got that name...

Aussies call us Yanks, as in Yankee Doodle, and Yank rhymes with Tank... and the plumbing in Oz is only septic tanks which are referred to as seppos...

I feel like I'm in grade school with all these nursery rhymes!

I decided to exchange my pack..

For a bigger one.. The one I had was a good size, but this one has a few more compartments, plust it has a few more features, the top comes off and doubles as a fanny pack for day hikes and stuff and a sleeping bag holder that way I don't have to stress about carrying around my sleeping bag too... I also got the camelpack insert for water.

It's a different color which is OK I guess...

What to bring, what to bring...

So, I paid about $200 for my pack (which is sort of ridiculous for a backpack but it has a lot of cool features) and I'm hoping that 23 days worth of stuff will fit in this thing. When I look down into the bag, I think, "wow, this is like a Mary Poppins bag" and I think it stretches a little but I'm getting sort of nervous... Like, "what if everything doesn't fit?!".. Luckily I don't have to bring a ton of stuff because it's summer and its tank tops, shorts, bikinis and things that are generally smaller than winter clothes..basically I need to pack for 1 week and do laundry once a week for 3 weeks. I also don't have to worry too much about people thinking I'm wearing the same thing over and over (Yes! Girls do think about this) because I'll be travelling alone and no one else is gonna notice... (I hope!)

My backpack (Osprey Ariel 55) has a lot of little compartments and a compartment that holds a camelpack for water... totally cool. I think that's gonna come in handy cause it's gonna be super hot (so I'm told)..

I also got this really cool swimsuit which is the Australian flag (duh!).. and it's actually really cute on but needs to be sewn together at the cleavage... the triangles slide around too much and it would be 10x more flattering with a little "Nicole Denny Special"...hahah

For those of you who aren't familiar with the "Nicole Denny Special", she can fix ANYTHING and make it look great... If you need your clothes fixed, a resume, a letter, a nasty gram, home surgery; anything... Just ask for the "Nicole Denny Special"..

This picture reminds me of my travels...

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to go to Australia (for the billionth time)! This picture reminds me of my future travels and my future in general because I know that the experiences I'm gonna have and all the crazy people I'll meet will forever change my life. I'm sort of "Afraid" to be travelling alone but more afraid of the unknown...This picture is of a woman with a suitcase all alone, which will be me in Australia... me, my backpack and an Aussie Rail Pass....

Is it possible to have the same dream 3 times in the same night?

Apprently so....

A couple nights ago I kept having the same dream over and over again that I had gotten to the aiport and didn't have my passport! I missed my flight to Australia, I tried to reason with the airlines to get me on another flight but they said my ticket was no good anymore. I had this dream 3 times before I finally decided that going back to sleep was too stressful, so I just got up.

I had the same dreams right before I left on my Europe trip...

I had to get my 'visa' today in order to enter the country. Apparently no matter who you are or what your purpose in Australia is, you need to have a visa. It's pretty easy to obtain online.

Yesterday I sent my camera back in to Olympus America to be serviced since the red-eye function, shutter speed and card cover problems needed to be resolved before I head off on my journey. I'm feeling naked without my camera... Hopefully it will only be gone a week or so...

My original plan was to leave for Oz January 14 and return February 5... So weird to think that if my original plan was still in place that I'd be leaving for Australia in 4 freakin' days!

Do you come from a land down under?

In case any of you didn't know... It's REALLY hard to plan an itinerary, especially if you're backpacking alone... This has taken a lot of man hours, research and a ton of reading... The best book I've found so far is "Let's Go: Australia - Australia on a budget" and I've dabbled in "Frommers: Australia from $60 a day", but the Frommers book just isn't as good as the Let's Go book. Frommers does have some good information, for example I would have never known that Whitsundays has an airport on Hamilton Island, but thanks to my handy Frommers book I now know! I don't even know why Frommers says "from $60 a day" because none of their recommended accomodations are even really in that ballpark. I'd go way over my $60 budget if I was really trying to follow that book. I also like how it tells you the estimated travel time from bus, car, train or plane to or from your destination. That's really helpful when trying to manage your time.

All I have to say is the Australian rail system is F'd up in the worst way. Their schedules are nearly impossible to read and trains only leave on certain days which is a pain when you're trying to just get somewhere. It can really throw off your entire schedule when the train only leaves on Thursdays and Sundays, which forces you to cut out days, add days to waste time or take a plane...It's the main reason I'm flying from Hamilton Island to Cairns. I either have to have a boat load of time in Cairns or one day and my main reason for going to Oz is to see, snorkel, dive The Great Barrier Reef... If their train schedules were even 1/2 as normal to understand as the Eurail schedules, this would be an easier trip to plan, but unfortunately, it's not... it's a colossal pain in the ass... I basically have to plan my entire trip on what days the trains run. If I happen to miss a train, I'm seriously hosed Tommy....

Enough ranting, here's what I've got so far:

Australia 2007 Itinerary


Friday February 16, 2007
· 10:35 pm - Leave SFO to Sydney

Sunday February 18, 2007
· 8:05 am Arrive Sydney, take train to Richmond
· Stay and catch up with Nathaniel 1 night :)

Monday February 19, 2007
· Take train back into Sydney for sightseeing and
· Check into Hostel 1 night

Wake Up! Hostel
509 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Telephone Number: +61 9288 7888

Tuesday February 20, 2007
· Leave Sydney for Coffs Harbour, Depart 7:15 am
· Arrive 3:54 pm
· Check into Hostel for 2 nights

Aussitel Backpackers
312 Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia

Wednesday February 21, 2007
· Sight see Coffs Harbour

Aussitel Backpackers
312 Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia

Thursday February 22, 2007
· Leave Coff’s Harbour for Byron Bay 3:54 pm
· Arrive Byron Bay 8:08 pmCheck into Hostel 2 nights

Aquarius Backpackers
16 Lawson Street, Byron Bay, NSW 2481, Australia
phone: +61 2 6685 7663

Friday February 23, 2007
· Byron Bay Sightseeing

Aquarius Backpackers
16 Lawson Street, Byron Bay, NSW 2481,
Australiaphone: +61 2 6685 7663

Saturday February 24, 2007
· Leave Byron Bay for Surfers Paradise 8:08 pm
· Arrive at Surfers Paradise 8:59 pm

Trekkers Backpackers Resort
22 White St, Southport, Surfers Paradise, QLD 4215, Australia

Sunday February 25, 2007
· Surfers Paradise

Trekkers Backpackers Resort
22 White St, Southport, Surfers Paradise, QLD 4215, Australia

Monday February 26, 2007
· Leave Surfers Paradise for Brisbane 8:29 pm
· Arrive in Brisbane 9:21 pm
· Check into Hostel and stay 2 nights

Palace Backpackers Embassy
Corner Ann & Edward Streets, Brisbane, ., Australia
+1800676340

Tuesday February 27, 2007
· Sightsee Brisbane

Palace Backpackers Embassy
Corner Ann & Edward Streets, Brisbane, Australia
+1800676340

Wednesday February 28, 2007
· Leave Brisbane for Fraser Island – Depart 8:55 am
· Arrive 2:07 pm Marysborough West train station
· Arrive in Hervey Bay
· Stay 1 night in Hervey Bay Hostel

Beaches Backpackers Hervey Bay
195 Torquay Terrace, Hervey Bay, Queensland, 4655, Australia

Thursday March 1, 2007
· 8:45 am – meet up with Fraser Island Tour
· Stay on Fraser Island 2 nights
· http://www.cooldingotour.com

Friday March 2, 2007
· Fraser Island Tour

Saturday March 3, 2007
· Return from Fraser Island to Hervey Bay at 5:45 pm

Beaches Backpackers Hervey Bay
195 Torquay Terrace, Hervey Bay, Queensland, 4655, Australia

Sunday March 4, 2007
· 11:40 am - Depart Hervey Bay - Qantas flight to Cairns
· 4:45 pm – Arrive Cairns
· Stay in Hostel 1 night

Dreamtime Travellers Rest Cnr.
Bunda & Terminus St., Cairns, Australia, ., Australia

Monday March 5, 2007
· Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling

Dreamtime Travellers Rest Cnr.
Bunda & Terminus St., Cairns, Australia, ., Australia

Tuesday March 6, 2007
· Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling

Dreamtime Travellers Rest Cnr.
Bunda & Terminus St., Cairns, Australia, ., Australia

Wednesday March 7, 2007
· Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling

Dreamtime Travellers Rest Cnr.
Bunda & Terminus St., Cairns, Australia, ., Australia

Thursday March 8, 2007
· Fly back to Sydney
· Nath will pick me up

Friday March 9, 2007
· Sydney
· Hang with Nath

Saturday March 10, 2007
· Sydney
· Hang with Nath

Wake Up! Hostel
509 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia

Sunday March 11, 2007
· Fly back to USA