no worries...

I love Australia! Everybody is so friendly and laid back, just exactly what I needed!

Amanda and I are on Kangaroo Island today and tomorrow. Go grab a map of Australia. It's been awhile since I posted, so I'll give you the run down on where we've been.

After Melbourne, we rented a car to drive south along the coast. Driving on the left side of the road is quite interesting, which is a HUGE understatement. I got us out of the city and on to the Great Ocean Road and then Amanda took over for the remainder of that first day. Aside from the whole "being on the wrong side of the road thing", the other things that have tripped us up the most are:
1. the steering wheel is on the opposite side of the car. we've amused many people by accidentally getting in the wrong side and then realizing what we were doing...several laughs from passer-bys and also ourselves
2. we know the car is the same size as in the states, but we have to continually remind ourselves that we're no longer the leftmost part of the car...there's a passenger and additional car over there that one must keep in mind.
3. the turn signal is on the right of the steering column...i can't remember how many times Amanda has accidentally flipped up the wipers on the left side of the column and then we both laugh hysterically.
4. Australian cops are hot and apparently breathalyze everyone they pull over...even if it's 7pm and neither one of us has had a drink. :)
5. driving on the left side of the road means that right turns are VERY wide and left turns are sharp. when there's traffic around we're generally okay, but when there's not...well, we would always question each other "am I on the correct side of the road?" We just keep reminding each other. Left. Left.

The Great Ocean Road is beyond amazing. You drive through city, country, mountains, coastline, and very very windy roads on the cliffs of mountains that hang over the ocean. Once we got the hang of the top 5 points above, we did okay.

Get your map...after Melbourne, we stayed in Apollo Bay. It was beautiful with a nice beach. we actually got in early enough to go lay on the beach for a bit and then grab some dinner. It's about 1500 people and just as friendly as can be. I got caught up at the hotel reception desk for half an hour the day we left town to head to our next destination...

Mt. Gambier - this is a small(ish) town that we didn't get to enjoy too much. it's apparently supposed to be 5-6 hours from Apollo Bay, but because of the amazing scenery (tree top walk in the rainforest, beaches, rock formations in the ocean) we had an 11 day getting to Mt. Gambier. Unfortunately, this little town also has a bug problem right now because of the changing seasons. We had to switch rooms due to a bug infestation and then the second room still had a few lingering in the shower fan and trying to come in under the doors...not really much fun.

From Mt. Gambier we drove another 5 hours or so to Adelaide. Adelaide is in the South Australia territory and is a lovely "large town" of 1.1 million. :) Adelaide is also right in the middle of wine country almost. Yesterday we went through the Barossa Valley, and because it was the middle of the week, we were the only 2 on our tour. Dave, our guide, was hilarious, helpful, and an all-around great guy. We actually stopped at 4 wineries, instead of 3, and had an amazing lunch.

This morning we left our hotel at 6:20am (!!) to head down to Kangaroo Island. Check it out on your map. It's a very small island on the south coast of Australia, west of Tasmania. It's absolutely beautiful here. We've been getting close and personal with the wildlife...we held a baby kangaroo (a joey) and petted koalas and grown kangaroos. Crazy...we also learned about the birds they have on the island, how they make eucalyptus oil, and visited a few other spots along the way today. Tomorrow we're exploring some more and then head back to Adelaide tomorrow night, getting in around 10:30/11pm.

I can't believe it's already Thursday (at 9pm) and Amanda leaves on Sunday. I'm excited to head to New Zealand with Julie but am really going to miss Australia. Afterall, any country that says "no worries" to every request you have is definitely on top of the list!
"I know the sign says laundry's only open until 6pm, but could we go ahead and do a load?"
     "Ahh - no worries, mate. no worries."
"Could I possibly get a different glass of wine than the one I ordered?"
     "Sure. No worries. No worries."
"How about speeding on a country road (or so the cop says)?"
      "No worries, mate. No worries." haha :)

Love you!!