Well, I thought my last email would be just that - my last email. But Australia has continued to enthrall me, both with its beauty and with its peculiarities. I would definitely return here in a heartbeat - if only a heartbeat didn't cost $1200!! If you've not tired of my ramblings, please read on. And for those of you who are true suckers for a good time, come over to my place for a look at my 7 rolls of film, with full narrative included at no extra cost. :)
Tim and I arrived back to Adelaide Thursday morning after our last and most definitely worst night bus ride from Coober Pedy. We staggered home, hopelessly exhausted and watched as our clothes walked themselves straight to the washer, so dirty and stinky they were.
After a brief nap on my brother's floor, we took a bike ride along the River Torrens, from the city all the way to the beach. Before I continue on, let me explain that had it not been for Tim's roommate lending me a mattress and blanket, the next three nights would have also been spent on this hard wood floor, shivering and in severe need of a chiropractor. Who said my brother wasn't a good host?? Anyhow, we rode through lovely neighborhoods which gave way to white horses grazing in open fields which then opened up to the sparkling beach, complete with white sand. The only thing that could have been more perfect was a bike seat made of something other than the hardest mineral known to man.
Yesterday afternoon was a tourist's dream come true. I mean, what tourist doesn't imagine coming to Australia and feeding kangaroos and petting koala bears. I thought I was going to miss this experience and return to the US with my head hung low, ashamed each time someone asked me if I'd managed to pet a koala bear. Well, not only did I pet a koala bear, but I also got a photo with the cuddly little thing. Considering koalas spend approximately 18 hours per day sleeping, 2 hours mating and 4 hours eating eucalyptus leaves (which apparently makes them higher than a kite!), I was quite lucky to catch this particular bear in something more than a semi-catatonic state. I think he may have even smiled at the camera for me....or maybe he had just eaten a really good eucalyptus leaf!
For all the hype surrounding kangaroo feeding, it was not as exciting as I had anticipated. Perhaps it is because I managed to get my hand bitten by one, and this put a slight damper on my enthusiasm (as usually happens when an animal sinks its teeth into your flesh. No worries though - no skin was broken).
Today is Friday, April 25th, a perfectly average day in the 365-day calendar system, unless you are from Australia. If you fancy yourself an Aussie, April 25th is Anzac Day (Happy Anzac Day Jaime!!), a holiday similar to Veteran's Day in the US. To commemorate the holiday, Tim and I went wine-tasting in the Barossa Wine Valley. It was a spectacular Indian summer day, you know, the kind of day that intoxicates you and makes you realize how wonderful it is to be alive. As we strolled from winery to winery, my ever-sophisticated brother did his best to impress by mispronouncing the names of every single wine he tried. And then we'd both swirl and smell our glasses and share our descriptions of the full-bodied, peach oak-aged, fruity tasting liquid, while the attendant behind the counter just shook her head at our total lack of savvy.
As you can imagine, our bus ride back to Adelaide was less than eventful. After 3 hours of tasting delicious wines and walking in the sunshine, we were none too content to lean our heads against the windows and close our droopy eyes.
We had made no plans for the evening, but plans found us the minute we returned to the city. As I mentioned, today is Anzac Day, and although I've noticed that Australians don't need an excuse to drink beer in large quantities, the holiday certainly offered up a valid reason to consume more than the daily liter. We stepped off the bus and stumbled onto an ANZAC street party where white-haired veterans, men, women and young children reveled in the good weather, flowing beer and good friends. The crowd was worked into a mild frenzy when a bagpipe band (complete with hefty men in plaid skirts) served up tunes the like of "Surfin USA" and Nirvana's "Smoke on the Water." If you've never heard a bagpipe rendition of a Nirvana song, your ears have been spared. It was a bit like hearing your church organist break into a Metallica tune. I'm sure Kurt Cobain would be happy to know that his music has now reached Number 1 on the Bagpipe Billboard Charts. If you'd like, we can listen to the CD I purchased while we look at my pictures next week! :)
And with that, I now must say adieu. We're off to go snorkeling in what will hopefully be a non-traumatic encounter with a shark or anything else that could eat me, sting me or otherwise cause me bodily harm.