Tazmania: Day 7 Happy Birthday to Me, or How I Was Attacked By Hungry Kangaroos

The day began with the Taxi coming and going before I even made it to the door. I had to call twice to get someone to send another cab over. When he arrived we took off to Bonorong Wildlife Park. When I got there, I was the only person there, aside from the wildlife caretakers. They handed me a bag of feed and told me to walk where I pleased. I immediately saw all sorts of kangaroo and wallabee (sp?) running around. Many at the sound of the bag jumped right towards me and tackled me for it. I fed who I could and kept walking around. I saw many variety of birds, reptiles, and marsupials. The whole place was a lot of fun. I saw the Tazmanian Devil and what it's like when it's hungry. They are naturally tamecreatures, but have a tendency to rough house. I got to play around with a wombat for a bit as well. They talk with their mouths so I almost got bit once.

Does anyone remember the stuffed Koala bear I had as a child? Chrissy I named it? I remember as a kid always wanting to see a real life koala and hold it. That day finally came today. I got a big birthday hug from a koala in the park who's name is... you guessed it, Chrissy! It was a momentous occasion for me. I can't help but smile. The animals were very well taken care of. The park is simply a place for rehabilitation for many of them, as they are brought in injured or abandoned. I learned a lot about the importance of taking care of these animals. The Tazmanian Devil has recently contracted a form of cancer that spreads like wildfire and they have a hard time containing the outbreak to prevent other devils from catching it. It's aready hit 65% of the population and could wipe it out within a few short years.

I then took a cab to the airport. Tazmania has a holiday today so no buses or public transport throughout the entire island. $97 to get to the aiport. Once I got there, I went through security and waited for my flight. As I began to board, the lady stopped me and said my ticket was invalid. I didnt properly check-in and so the boarding pass I had wasn't valid. I had one of two options, I could wait till tomorrow which is when the next flight out would be from that airline, or fly a different airline in the next two hours. $337 for the fligh to get back today. At least I had my boomarang.

Arriving back in Melbourne I went to a manager to complain, she refused to help. She and her staff ignored me most of the time and treated me very poorly. As long as they had my money they didnt care. I left very angry. They didnt like me when I got angry.

I took a stroll around the city centre of Melbourne. I arrived at the Crown Hotel and Casino. You can only imagine the fun I had there. I dropped off my back for free at a spot inside the hotel. 24 hour service. I first went to Eureka Tower. I took the elevator all the way up and took pictures of the city from there and then took whats called the Glass Box, or the Edge. It's literally a glass box you stand in that sticks out from the building and lets you see the city from a different view. After enjoying that, I immediately went to the Rialto Tower and went to their sky tower view. Both buildings remind me of Sears Tower in Chicago. Melbourne itself looks very similar to Chicago. On the Rialto Tower, they had a part of the sky view area closed off to a business party, so we enjoyed music being played from the party. I met a few people as well. I then headed back to Crown Hotel and relaxed for a bit. I had dinner and waited for my friends to show up to go bowling. It was a lot of fun and a good way to take my mind off things. Getting home, I was showered with a few small but special gifts. Another boomarang of different design, an Australia beanie cap, a blow up We're #1 Australia finger, a silver pen, and a cute card. My door was also decorated a bit. It's been a very long day. I will never forget everything that has happened today.

Tazmania: Day 6

I took a flight early this morning and arrived in Tazzie's Hobart Airport. I took the RedLine to the city centre and began walking around. I went on a boat tour that showed most of the city and some of the other parts, including the mountains. It has a rich history of prisons and progress. The harbors are a lot of fun to walk by and see all the different tours available. Because of some mistakes in timing, I missed my tour of the Cadbury Factory, and the Ghost Tours throughout the city. And tomorrow is a holiday so I have to use a taxi to get anywhere. I have felt quite overwhelmed and miss home a lot by being here. I feel too far away I guess. Its a unique feeling I have never had before. I love travelling and being away from things and seeing the world as it really is and all it has to offer. But when I am in a moment where it is simply me alone, taking time to think and wander, I miss being with people I know and love. There are some fun places to go though. I saw some of the historic buildings and sites here. I walked through some of the trails that are in the mountains. I am exhausted now. My resort room got cancelled cause they overbooked. So I found a room in town to stay at for the night. I'm going to a few pubs to have a drink... of soder, or as it's called here, fizzie.

Melbourne Day 5:Panning for Gold

The day started out with waking up early to drive out to Ballarat, famous for the Gold Rush of the 1840s -1960s. There is still enough gold there to be mined that the city itself still thrives off the gold alone. We began by walking around and seeing the Sovereign Hill theme park as its called. It is literally people dressed for the times, the buildings and environment is so realistic and replicated of that time period. It was so much fun. There was a gold pouring show. The guy melted the gold and purified it, and then poured it in front of everyone. It was fun to watch. The bar of gold is worth over $112,000 Australian dollars. We saw a guy dressed as a soldier fire a musket black powder style. It was loud and funny to watch. There were different gold mine tours we went on as well. They were dark and very deep underground. It was cool to see the different types of mines and what each type had to offer. We also panned for gold along the man made river. I was the only one who found a ton of gold. Christmas presents for those who are nice. Hint Hint...

There were different stores and buildings, including a bowling alley. At the end of the day we went to a gold museum and then a light show about Blood on the Southern Cross. It was an intense story of government abuses of the gold miners and diggers and where it finally broke out in a 15 minute massacre that killed many. The show had no actors just lights, scenery, and voices.

I could see a huge difference between this historic site and the towns progress compared to that of Nauvoo. This town after twenty years finally built stores and houses, schools, and so on. Nauvoo within months had everything needed for a good society. So you can kinda see peoples progress rates with different desires in mind. Most men mining for gold after the rush died at the age of 35 or so. The boys would start work at the age of 12. There's even a dinamite drill called the Widow Maker. It's no wonder it took them so long to progress and built a society. There childrens school was a tent for a long time. It's a beautiful town, but the backround makes you think. What is the price of gold to you?

After the tours ended, we headed home. My friend, who drove, began to get tired and started swerving a bit on the road. I told her she should pull over and take a nap. She got angry, turned the radio up and kept driving. She sped up, kept making sharp turns, and scared me so bad. I made sure to keep talking to her, even though she looked angrier and angrier. I knew if push came to shove I could grab the wheel and the emergency brake and end the drive till she got some rest. I later found out that she simply had taken too many of her required daily pill and it was making her very moody and on edge.

I'm at the airport right now, getting ready to go to Tazmania. I have some good spots to see there.

Melbourne: Day 4 Attack of the Sea Lions

The day started out with us nearly late and lost rying to find Sorrento Pier. I had already paid over the phone for this place and wasnt going to miss out. The plan was to take the boat out to hot spots for sea lions, dolphins, sharks, and the rarest sea creature of all, the Sea Dragon. The ladies who operate the boat and scuba tou are very firm environmentalists. They were so hesitant about even letting us borrow plastic bags to put our clothes while we swam. She told us two important things: 1. Do not pet the animals, the don't know food from affection. 2. Breath. Just because my face is in the water, doesnt mean I dont have a good source of O2 coming to me. That was the hardest part for me because I couldnt take in the fact that I could breath underwater. I was too freaked out that I couldnt imagine taking in a deep breath with a tube in my mouth while I am in the water. I eventually calmed down and learned how to keep my head at an angle while looking under water. We started by watching the massive Sea Lions, which were all males at this spot, swim around, playing with eachother, bumping into us, and even swimming right up to our faces and just staring at us. It was an amazing thing. We kept searching for dolphins and ended up by a dock that has an amazing amount of unique sea life. We decided to hop out and search for the Sea Dragon. A large and colorful version of the Sea Horse, it would swim around, breed, eat, and be a spectacular and scary sight. The thing is massive. We saw blowfish and other small reef fish swimming around too. When we returned to the ship, we had scones and hot chocolate as we continued looking for dolphin spots. Unfortunately they had been scared off by drunk kids who had been harming them earlier that morning, so they were no where to be found. After the scuba tour was over, we enjoyed talking about the many adventures the seafaring captain and her crew had.

On the drive home, we drove along to coast line and watched surfers, and swimmers, and just beachside relaxers. Our next main agenda was the Parade of Penguins. That is an event where the penguins march to shore on Phillip Island to return home for the night. It happens literally every night. They put on a show with bleachers and lights, but we arent allowed to bring flash cameras or disturb the penguins in any way. We arrived home for lunch and relaxed for a bit. We planned to go as a group and drive out there to make it before sunset. We picked up everyone we could fit and headed out. We arrived an hour before the penguins would arrive and grabbed some seats right in front. It started to rain a little but we were too distracted as waves and waves of these small little penguins began waddling up the beach. They start out slowly walking out of the water and the first part of the beach. Once they hit a certain point, they bow their heads a little bit and begin running for it. Even though they arent in real danger, there can be a larger animal or too that either intimidates them or can harm them. It was a fun little show to watch. This time of the year especially. Many newborns and pregnant females were seen coming up on the beach and scurrying into the bush.

After the show we bought a few souvenirs and headed home.

Temple of Melbourne

This is the temple of Melbourne. It only took 20 minutes to get there with the new highway that was built. Usually takes 45-50 minutes. It's a small temple, but everyone here takes advantage of going often. It is closed till the 25th for its regular clean up.

Melbourne: Day 2-3

I was at the airport and arrived in LA to head to OZ when the airline desk called for me. They said they hadnt received my VISA documents. I asked what they were talking about? I didnt know I needed a visa for Australia just for a one week visit. They said they could do the application process right there for $25. I said go for it. Two hours later with only 30 minutes before the plane took off they said that I had o wai 12 hours for the approval. Meaning I wouldn't get to take this flight. I would have to wait at the airport. I asked them if there was anything they could do to speed up the process because my flight was leaving soon. They guy there looked through an old phone book and found the Autralian government phone numbers and began dialing. He finally began speaking with someone there and explained the situation. Soon after my visa was approved and I was on my flight. Since I had gotten no sleep for the past two days up to that point it was easy to fall right to sleep listening to my Ipod. When I woke up we had dinner and a movie playing. I talked a little with some of the other passengers. Then I went back to sleep. I woke up an hour before landing in Sydney. I knew that I had to set my mind to believe that it was morning otherwise jetlag would hit me very hard. In Sydney's airport I was told we had to go to a different terminal to finish the flight to Melbourne. The lady directed me to customs and I ended up at baggage claim wondering how to get from there to my next gate. Three armed guards ended up nearly escorting me out of the airport not understanding that i was given the wrong information about where to go to get back on my flight. Finally the one with the most tattooes asked where I was intending to go and why I was where I was. I explained the whole mistake and he and I walked directly through airport security to my terminal where he loudly explained to the flight attendants that they need to be a little more clear about what to do with flight tranfers. The flight to Melbourne was quick and I finally arrived safe and sound. I was picked up by a friend, Sasha, whom I had met a year ago online. I am staying at her parents house till Monday. After leaving the airport, she drove me to the beach and pointed out the women who were fancily dressed with either feathers or huge hats on their heads. In Australia, the races or Cups are very big events. Many see them as fashion shows. They show their best stuff. We also stopped by Luna Park. The oldest and smallest amusement park I had ever seen. The entrance, as shown in the pictures, is a big mouth eating you up. We then went to grab Tim Tams, or chocolate covered cookies that are a favorite treat around here.

We finally arrived at the house and dropped off my luggage. We then went to see a few nature spots and a lookout of the entire city and valley of melbourne. Pictures also shown. Then we headed to a singles sports game night with Fish and Chips. Being that it was an LDS activity, the fish were cheap and the chips were very greasy. We had fun. I was taught how to kick a football in order to pass it to another player. A lot of the people there asked me all sorts of questions. Three girls grabbed my phone to enter their numbers. I thought that was funny. I usually like to ask first.

After the activity we went to one of her friends house. We stayed there for too long a time because of a change of plans with another friend of hers. I hate when things like that happen. I spent the next few hours convincing her to take me to her parents house so I could get some sleep. After finally arriving home, I crashed on the bed.

This morning we all got ready and went to church services. The same church building where the activity was held. The ward was a good size. Most people didnt notice me till afterwards, coming up to welcome me and then realizing I had an accent they asked where I'm from. I didnt realize I'm the one with the accent until they all were asking about it. I told them they were the ones with the accent.

I will be going to the Melbourne Temple shortly and posting pictures of it as well. Then a fireside later tonight.

Day one of the Trip: Packing

Since 11:30pm last night, I have been packing and preparing for this trip. I have emailed and messaged everyone I can think of that I know in Melbourne and surrounding cities. I loaded both Ipods with tons of music and movies and TV shows. It is an 18 hour flight after all. The last time I took a long flight anywhere was to Hawaii with my family to see Uncle Bob. He was stationed there with the army and my brother Joe, who had survived cancer made a wish to see him. That was one of the worste flights ever because of the monotonous view of the Pacific Ocean. We couldn't sleep. We had little entertainment. And the return trip back to the mainland wasn't any better. Those who were there with me can attest to that.
Although I think at the time, my little brother, Sam, and I were excited to see the movie preview for Mortal Kombat. He and I had secrety played the game at friends houses, well under the radar of our parents watchful eyes. I later because traumatized by not only the movie, but later versions of the game that required ten minutes of button pressing to pull of a finishing move. By the time I got through have the move, the opponent in the game fell and the match was over. I might give Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, which is coming out soon, a chance. I wouldnt mind seeing what Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman have as finishing moves and secret moves.
Another thing I have to take care of the boredom are two very large books, Eragon (which I sadly haven't read yet) and God, Man, and the Universe. The latter was a favorite book of my grandma, who recently passed away. She had many favorite books though, so to say that was her favorite doesn't really say much. I also know it is one of the hardest books to find. Valued at over $100 for the first printing in good condition, which she had.
I also have the gameboy advance with me, and many games, from the classic tetris game, which can entertain even the simplest of minds with its upbeat musical tone, to the increasing speed and challenge as you progress in the game, to Final Fantasy Adventure I-III, to Marvel Alliance.
The best preparation of all is the complete lack of sleep. I have not gotten any sleep since yesterday morning (8am). I am exhausted, hungry, and could fall asleep at any moment. Just the way I want to be when I get on that plane. I will also enjoy the fact that it will send my body enough out of wack to compensate for possible jet lack. Though to say the least, I know nothing about.

All that's left today to do is finish laundry, pack remaing clothes, arrange final accomodations, arrange when I am going to the places I want to go, and not falling asleep. Let today officially begin!