New Zealand

Since our visas expire on the 2nd of December, we had two options:
1) Extend our visas (including x-rays for TB) ---been there, done that--- or
2) Shoot over to New Zealand for a week and return on tourist visas for the remainder of our time in Australia.

We fly into Auckland tomorrow morning and we'll rent a car and tour the North Island from there. We'll keep you posted....

Last Week....

The "Finished" Project

friends

A Look Back

Warrnambool was definitely not part of the world tour itinerary but has since become an integral link in our adventure. Weird to think that our plans seldom follow a projected course and, more often than not, lead us to something greater than we could have imagined. Flexibility shines brightly as the reoccuring theme to this journey. Mastering this quality is not particulary easy but I would like to believe that we have made great strides to figuring it out and rolling with the inevitable punches.
Recently we discovered that in order to extend our visitor's visas we would need to undergo x-ray tests for TB. Needless to say, we immediately researched and opted for the cheapest alternative. Hence, this morning found us in the Warrnambool Flight Centre with questions as to the most reasonably priced tickets out of the country. New Zealand is our most likely "getaway" destination and we are thrilled to add yet another country to our list. Flexibilty strikes yet again!

Many shining moments come to mind when contemplating the past 10 weeks. Invaribaly the relationships made are amongst the greatest highlights. Warrnambool Baptist Church has been a haven for us in the time we have been here and the infamous -in my opinion- singles' group has slowly grown on me. (Mom, I can hear you laughing!) We have made some great friends through the group (kudos to Joel, James, Andrew, Scotty, Steph, Lauren, Camilla, Tony, and Sharon) and a few are planning to return the favor by visiting us.

The not-so-shining moments are great for a laugh and we have done our fair share of laughing. Hilko "two wheels" van Til got ticketed for speeding (a mere 7 kms over the speed limit, mind you) and thinks, periodically, about slowing down his driving habits.
I get the repeated "volume meter" talk as I tend to speak and laugh loudly. I often get the look from my well-meaning siblings that says, "Turn it down a few notches"
On my first day at work I was using the electrical hedge trimmers and cut clean through the line, resulting in a power shortage. Thankfully no one was hurt and Hilko was able to cut and rewire the extension chord while Erick reset the fuses.
While Erick was taking out a piece of the wall, a section came loose and fell the wrong way resulting in the demolition of our plastic lunch table.
Annette's not-so-shining moments are continuous so it's hard to differentiate where one ends and the other begins! (hahahaha----poor thing----for peace of mind Annette is sitting next to me laughing and nodding in agreement)

In fact, I think our all-time best moment was getting stranded in the Otways because our car ran out of gas. Thankfully, our friend, Lauren, was with us and Erick, Annette, and her were able to head into the nearest town to buy some gas. Hilko and I chilled in the car on the side of the road and had a great heart-to-heart. It was the most random scenario but it is undoubtedly one of the best talks I have ever had with him. I firmly believe that the best memories are made when you least expect them.

Continuation of the project

Recent Happenings

The Car

Sadly, our new car, The Red Rooster was pronounced "UN-road worthy" only 2 weeks after we purchased it. Apparently our "steal of a deal" turned out to be simply a steal. We have already gotten over the loss and have opted to hire a car instead.

The Next Step

We are entering our last week in Warrnambool and are planning on traveling around Australia for the next 4 weeks.
Our plan is to travel first to Sounthern Australia, taking the ferry across to Tasmania, and are planning to spend a week there. From there we will head back to the mainland, over to Adelaide, then through the central part up to Uluru and eventually Darwin. From there we will head down to Brisbane for Christmas and New Year's and eventually to Sydney. We have been told that if you break down in the central portion of Australia help could be literally miles away. Needless to say, a reliable car is not a luxury but a necessity. We will definitely proceed with caution. ::smile::



Typical Australian Food
We've had a fair share of Australia delicacies including:

Meat Pies
Sausage Rolls
Kanga Bangas
Kangaroo Burgers
Fish n' Chips
Whizz Fizz

Australian Lingo

"G'day" ------------ Hello
"How ya going?" ---- How are you doing?
"Ta"---------------- Thank you
"Cheers, Mate"------ Thanks
"Good On Ya"-------- Good Job
"Dodgy"------------- Sketchy
"Bloke"------------- Guy
"No Worries"-------- No Problem

Hopefully this gives a window into our everyday experiences in the Land of Oz. We have all agreed that we are definitely going to re-visit this country. How can you not love this place?

November Arrives

We are almost at the halfway point of our trip. Right now we are at the point of our stay in Warrnambool where it seems like we have been living here forever. We know all the streets and the stores and restaurants; we see the same people on the ways to and from work every day. It is not uncommon for us to meet a friend on the street or to see them while we are about our day to day activities. Sometimes it is hard to imagine life before we landed here. But at the same time we are getting restless. We have another three weeks before we pull up stakes and move on again. Our time here has been important and well-spent, but now the days have the feeling of the time leading up to your birthday or Christmas or some other special occasion. Only a few more sleeps...

In other news, we bought a car. This is a very big occasion for me, one that warrants song and dance as I have never in my 25(that's alot) years owned a car of my own. My first car is not much to look at. The running joke when I was younger was that my first car would be a primer gray beater. This car is neither primer gray nor is it a beater. It's a little red '82 Corolla that we paid $450 for. We bought it because the advice we were given was that it would be cheaper to buy a car than to rent for our road trip. We heeded said advice and now we have the car. At the moment it doesn't start. This is distressing as I am the most mechanically challenged person of all time. Hilko and I cracked the hood the other day and tried to fix the problem. All we had was some tubing so we switch the old with the new and sat down in the driver's seating expecting the car to fire up like a bored-out GTO. Nothing. This may be a problem...Our new plan is to take the car to the mechanic and to let him know what our plan is and to ask him to lay enough healing on our frail car so as to get us around for a month. After that if it dies, it dies. Right now if it dies, we die(metaphorically, of course.)


For a while I was on a hair-growing mission. If you take a peek at the photos from eariler in the trip, you will notice the overflowing of hair coming from my head. I thought that if it let it grow there would be positive results. The opposite was true. I was thinking Ashton Kutcher but instead I got a Muppet crossed with Ronald McDonald. Needless to say, it came off and I am back to my previous hair situation. So all of you who have been telling me to get a haircut, you can stop now. I did.


Patience

I have never had a lot of patience. Never. Every now and again I have fits of patience, but they go as quickly as they come and usually they can be traced by to some type of ulterior motive. So never is a good word. I've been asking God to help me with my patience. I'm sure that we have all done this from time to time. One too many strained conversations will do that to you every time. But this is different. If I don't get some patience soon, I may go looney and run off into the Outback to spend the rest of my days with kangaroos and bushmen.
It isn't anybody's fault. It's not like anyone is out to get me or to push my buttons, it just sort of happens. When I asked God for patience, I think that there was an idea in my head that it would be a little like an injection: short, uninvasive, and only a nominal amount of pain. Reality is that my patience upgrade is a little more like an amputation. See, you can't have your way and patience. One has to go. The good news is that there has been some progress made. It's slow, painfully slow, but it is coming along. I suspect that patience is probably around the next corner, a few more awkward situations away, or maybe one or two more toes stepped on. Ironic that the key to getting patience is to wait for it.