Random Pictures from Australia

So, here are a collection of random photos from our time in Australia. Shane left on Nov. 6th and went back to GA. I stayed until the 15th and now I am in Vietnam visiting some friends for a few weeks. The plan is to try to get a 12 month visa for Australia and go back, but things are up in the air right now.

A random guy I met on my last night in Perth:)

The photos from here down are of the weekend away I had just before leaving Australia. Myself and 14 other friends went to the wine country called Margaret River that Shane and I had went to when we first arrived. We rented a big van and all drove down and stayed at a great house that we rented on the beach.

The view from our balcony.

Two of the coolest guys in Australia! Craig and Jeremy. I worked for them for about a week and they are great!

Everyone in the van that we rented to drive to Margaret River.

Daniel, Jeff, me and Chris.

The group hanging out on the veranda after breakfast and our little meeting.

Playing vollyball on the beach.

Hils, Rochelle and I on the beach.

Chris, who wonderfully volunteered to drive down and back for us.

The house that we rented for the weekend.

Everyone in the van on the way back from our weekend away in Margaret River.

The photos from here are of Shane's road trip he took and some other random photos.

Shane's fancy ride while he has been in Perth. It's been my taxi, so I have a great fondness for it.

One of the things Shane saw on his road trip up the west coast.



One of the places Shane visited on his road trip.



Shane crossed over the Tropic of Capricorn in Africa and Australia.

Shane and his pink snapper that he caught on his charter fishing trip.

The kangaroo hunting gang. Craig, Heather, me Shane and Chelsea. We all have on about 12 layers of clothing..you would think it was cold here.

Shane hunting the roos and Craig spotlighting for him.

Malia, me and Luke during our face painting hour. These are the 2 kids that we are living with right now. My face is compliments of Luke.

Luke after a night of face painting! He ended up looking a bit like Mario.

Another day in Perth

So, I haven't written in awhile, because, well, we haven't been doing much. We are still in Perth and Shane is a bit over Australia. He doesn't like it here nearly as much as he thought he would. He took a small road trip a few weeks ago up to Coral Bay and really liked it there. He is planning to go next week on a 2 1/2 week train trip up to Alice Springs and Darwin. So, he is quite excited about that. I think he hasn't really liked it here cause he is bored.

I have been working a lot, so I stay busy. I am working at IGA still as a checkout chic and it's a lot of fun. I get to see the best and worst of Perth:) Last week there was a big fair here that they call the Perth Royal Show. It's huge and full of rides, booths, bad food..and all the usual stuff. I helped some guys I know here at the booth they set up there for their company. It was a lot of fun.

I'll try to put up some pictures soon of Shane's trip up to Coral Bay and maybe some photos of us and the friends we have met here. We are going down south this weekend to help out on the convention grounds/farm. Shane is excited cause he gets to go kangaroo hunting down there on the farm. However, I think I am going to pass on killing the roos. They are way too cute! I'll put up some pictures next week of the farm and all of us down there too.

As I mentioned before, Shane is leaving at the first of Nov. to head home. Looks like I will be here awhile though. I am going to Vietnam and Camodia in Nov. and Dec. for 3 weeks so I can apply for a new visa to come back into Australia. They have just approved 12 month working holiday visas for Americans that goes into affect Oct. 31st, so I have to leave the country to apply. I'll go and visit my friends/roommates that I lived with in Korea. They are in Vietnam now, so I will get to spend my birthday with them. I'm so excited! Then, I'll come back to Perth and stay here until April. After April, things are up in the air...I'll keep you updated until then though.

Perth

Thanks for everyone who has left us comments. We love reading them. We have been so surprised at some of the people who are reading our blogs. It's nice to know that there are folks our there enjoying reading about our adventures.

Shane's hair at it's longest. This is the day he finally broke down for a haircut.

So, we have been in Australia for just over 3 weeks now I think, and life is good. I have managed to snag a job as a checkout chic at the local IGA supermarket and I am loving it. Some of the friends we met in South Africa put us in contact with a South African family here and they own the IGA. We have also been staying with them for the past week and a half. We stayed with some friends from Texas the first week we were here though and it has just been great. We are making so many new friends.

Kayleen and little Malia..this is the mom and daughter of the family that we stayed with from Texas.

The first weekend we were in Perth, my friend, Ged, took us down about 3 hours south of here to a place called Margaret River. That is the area where some of the best wines in OZ are produced. It is a beautiful area with river, oceans, caves and loads of other things. We had a great weekend there and I would love to go back. We went on a wine tour one day, went to the ocean, and visited one of the caves there called Mammoth Cave.

The beach at Margaret River.

Where the river meets the ocean.

The first vineyard we visited on our wine tour in Margaret River.

Our bush lunch on our wine tour. We ate traditional Aboriginal food like game meats and different plants. And then there was Shane who ate a raw grub...yes a big, fat, squishy worm! YUCK

Shane coming out of Mammoth Cave.

We haven't really been doing much sightseeing, because I have been trying to concentrate on working to make some money. It just so happens that I am almost out of money, so working has become top priority. Shane has decided to end his trip in Nov. and go back home to find a job. He would love to keep traveling, but money has just become an obstacle. So, on Nov. 6th, I will lose my traveling partner. However, I have managed to snag another one...the oldest daughter of the family we are staying with, Heather, wants to come traveling with me now. So, if I can make enough money, the travels will continue.

My new travel partner, Heather.

Shane is planning to do a bit more traveling here than I am. He has rented a car from the family we are staying with and is going to do a little road trip. I think he will leave next week and drive up the west coast to a place called Broom. Then, he is planning to come back to Perth and hopefully, I will be able to fly up north with him, so we can go to Alice Springs, Darwin, and Caines. I have made plans to go skydiving over the Great Barrier Reef, but I will probably chicken out.

Shane take a spin on Ged's bike.

Ged taking his bike back.

Africa Photos!

Moses, our cook, in the kitchen at our campsite at Orange River.

Steve, our driver, cooking steaks for us at our campsite beside the Orange River.

Getting our bags out of the truck.

All our bags.

Cooking lunch on the side of the road. Everyone pitches in.

Shane looking out over Fish River Canyon in Namibia.

Me looking out over the canyon

Shane and I at Fish River Canyon.

Firemaking 101. I taught Kristie how to make a fire and light it with just one match...a skill that any self respecting girl should know.

Shane bringing firewood for our fire.

The Namibian desert.

Charlie's Angels in shadow.

Our footprints in the sand.

Walking up Dune 45 for sunset.

Dune 45 in Namibia. You can see the little people on top. It is hard to express how big this dune was and how hard it was to climb it.

Dune 45 from the road.

This one speaks for itself.

Shane and I at the Tropic of Capricorn.

Our group at the Tropic of Capricorn in Namibia.

Our first stop on the quad biking adventure.

The quad biking gang.

The route we had to take up the dunes...hard work!

Shane walking up the dunes to go sandboarding.

Skydiving team...Michael (the tandum who saved Zara's life), Zara, Lee and Kristie

Our bush camp at Spitzkoppe.

Spitzkoppe, Namibia

Shane, the mountain man, at Spitzkoppe, Namibia.

Sunset at Spitzkoppe, Namibia.

Me timidly petting a Cheetah at the Cheetah Park in Namibia.

The wild Cheetahs at the park.

A Wildebeast at Etosha National Park, Namibia.

Giraffes at Etosha National Park, Namibia.

An Oryx at Etosha.

Springbok at the watering hole in Etosha.

A Zebra at Etosha.

An Elephant at Etosha National Park.

Everyone looks pretty exhausted after a day of game driving in Etosha. This is the front of our beloved truck.

A road side store in Namibia.

Everyone loaded up and ready to drive to our launching point in the Okavango Delta.

Our launching point to go into the Delta. These are some of our polers and the mokoros.

Shane and I relaxing in our mokoro.

Shane enjoying our mokoro ride in the Okavango Delta.

All of our mokoros docked at our campsite.

Our campsite in the Okavango Delta.

One of our polers weaving bracelets from palm leaves.

Now take a GOOD look at this! Shane is being creative and weaving!!!

One of our polers, Lesh, opening a palm fruit for us to eat. They were gross! They looked and tasted a lot like cork.

My foot in an elephant's footprint. Makes my foot look small for once.

A termite mound in the Delta.

A baboon hanging out in a tree in the Delta.

The polers teaching us how to make fire with sticks and elephant dung.

The poler with the best hair!

This is all of us heading out for our sunset cruise in the Delta. We went out looking for hippos.

Sunset in the Delta!

This was our poler, Galtor. He was great!

The sun sinking a little further in the Delta.

Everyone hanging out waiting to watch the sunset in the Delta.

Enjoying the sunset.

The sun is almost gone now.

And now it's gone and we are back at camp.

The polers dancing for us on our last night in the Delta. This guy was our favorite, because he really liked to get down!

Lesh dressed up and they acted out this really funny song for us.

One of the polers and her baby. This was the day we came out of the Delta.

A female lion in Chobe National Park.

An Impala in Chobe.

A giraffe in Chobe.

The hippo that we came across on our drive. He had been in a fight and had been thrown out of the herd, so he was sulking.

Zara wrapped up in her sleeping bag as usual. This was the morning of our game drive in Chobe National Park. It was soooo cold!

Kristie and I on our morning game drive.

Everyone on the boat ready for the sunset cruise.

A big croc that we saw on the cruise.

Water buffalo on the sunset cruise.

Hippos on the sunset cruise.

View from the sunset cruise we took at Chobe National Park.

My flipflops in the bin:( Shane finally convinced me to throw them away...it was a very hard morning for me! Those shoes went through so much with me!

The performers at the restaurant where we ate the first night in Zimbabwe.

How much it cost for just my dinner in Zimbabwe.

The little monkey going through the trash at our campsite.

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Zara, Kristie, Rhian and me at Vic Falls

Shane and the new love of his life, David:)

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe