The Red Centre

Well, we're officially in the middle of nowhere - otherwise known as Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory. It's a little town of 28 thousand people, almost dead-centre Australia. Nearby is Oz's heart of stone, Uluru (or Ayers Rock). It's a massive red monolith rising up out of the desert, and it changes colour at sunset, from crimson red to dusty pink, finally fading into blackness as the stars take over the scene... We also went to Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), a collection of 36 smaller monoliths about 50km west of Uluru. Both sites are sacred to the local Anangu Aborigines, who make up a large proportion of the population around here, and who made their mark on the rocks with carvings and cave paintings.

All in all a very special place... Unfortunately very expensive too, especially in terms of gas... We're gonna try to pick up some hitchhikers here in Alice to share in expenses. We should be heading east next - talk to you when we get there!

Addled in Adelaide

I'm In Adelaide now, South Australia, Morgan and I having started out on our incredible Aussie adventure in his amazing Ford Falcon! Okay, so it's not so amazing, but it does the job... Driving on the left took some getting used to, but I think I've (mostly) got it now.

We got in last night at around 3:30am, when all the hostels and hotels were closed. A Hungry Jack was open though, and filled with very stylish kids from some bizarre emo-inspired subculture. Very odd. We ended up driving around and finally sleeping in the car next to a little farm with a woolly sheep who was glancing at us rather uninterestedly in the morning.

Before we left I went on a 3-day bus tour of the state of Victoria by myself, to the Grampians National Park and the Great Ocean Road. I even took a helicopter ride at dusk over the "12 Apostles," a collection of limestone towers rising out of the surf - pretty spectacular!

The only downside right now is that I'm a bit sick and stuffed up... Hopefully the desert air will rejuvinate and replenish me...

PS: I added a link to my very own Atom Feed for those of you who know what to do with that... Ciao! :)

Mostly Melbourne

I'm staying in the friends' spare room now, very cool peeps from what little I've seen of them...

Saw a scary Australian movie called Wolf Creek last night about a road trip through Oz gone baaaaad. Based on a true story too... Hopefully mine will turn out a little better.

Reading a history book about Australia's founding called The Fatal Shore, by Robert Hughes. Seems very interesting and well-written so far...

We all went down with a couple of other friends to a nature sanctuary just outside Melbourne - saw lots of great animals including koalas, echidnas, platypuses and wombats, and I petted a kangaroo!

Ciao for now!

Down the Yellow Brick Road

Greetings from down under...

Melbourne's a beautiful city, very clean and ultra-modern. Weather's chilly but sunny, with random gusts of strong wind. There are loads of parks and green spaces, and trams to get around on - seems like quite the livable city. I'm in the public library at the moment - outside there's a pro-Hezbollah demonstration going on with cops on horseback and chanting on megaphones. I'm staying with my friends Morgan and Andrea who are living in a commune-type place called Westwyck; the people there are very friendly and welcoming. I should be moving into his friend's spare room though for about a week...

I'll keep you updated as things develop!