The First and The Last

I was just thinking back all the way to my first day in Australia on January 11th. We had a long wait in the airport because five 747 planes had come in to the airport at the same time, so there were like 450 people on each 747, so the place was packed! We go to the Brady's around noon, had some sushi, then went into the pool.

I don't know if I've told the thong story yet, so here it is.

Vultured Vulture!

This evening, at around 7PM, Leah and I were watching "Over the Hedge" when my dad came in and told us we had to come outside! He said he was fixing the sprinklers when he noticed a crowd of people down the street. We went over to investigate and found out that a juvenile turkey vulture had got his foot stuck in a light post. The poor bird was being dive-bombed by a huge flock of crows, while hanging helplessly upside-down.

Some ladies that live across the road from the light post noticed the vulture, then our neighbor was driving up the road and noticed the ladies and the bird at around 6:15pm. They called a bunch of different numbers, and then an open space ranger came to have a look. Apparently, when they first found the vulture, his head was stuck in the pole as well as his foot.

When we got there they were figuring out how to get the vulture down. Nobody had a long enough ladder to climb up there, so they called the fire department. It took the department twenty minutes, and I was really freaked out for the bird by then. The vulture kept trying to fly and he kept struggling, it looked so painful and helpless.

Around 8pm the open space ranger got lifted up on the ladder, threw a blanket over the bird, unhooked his foot, and safely got him down. The 12 or so people watching applauded with relief. The turkey vulture is hopefully now at a bird-rehabilitation center in Broomfield. I want to check in and see if he's all right, and if he'll be able to go back 'into the wild'.

Brighton to Boulder

Three delicious Aussie foods that I wish we could have here in America: Milo-a yummy chocolatey/ovaltine drink, tim-tams-the best cookies EVER, and vegemite, which you can get in the US (I think). Yummmm!

The packing up of the Brighton home took about three days. My parents rented a truck to return all the borrowed furniture to the original owners while Leah and I packed our stuff and went to Church Street to watch "Kung Fu Panda" in the theaters.

We flew back to Boulder on Sunday, 20th of July and got back to Boulder on the same day. When we were in the Melbourne Airport a plane that had just gotten there from L.A. had got struck by lightning and needed fixing! ! ! ! Leah was a bit worried.

Then on the first plane the pilot said the plane 20 mins ahead of us had unavoidable fairly bad turbulance (cuz they didnt know it was there until they were on it), so then the other plane went down lower and it wasnt as bad, so we were bumpin, then went down lower. That was the only thing.

The flights were ok besides the teeny turbulence. Lots of sitting, i just wanted to get there. In the 13 hour flight I watched four movies and lots of TV shows.

Then in the L.A. airport people were grumpy and their accents made them sound like they walked out of a TV show, because I was so used to the Aussie accent!

When we got to the table mesa park and ride the Raeders were there with a sign that said 'Welcome Home Mullers!' and they spent all evening with us (until 11pm, after i had eaten mac and cheese!).

Then i had to try to go to bed, tried till 12:30, got up and went on the computer to instant message my friends in Australia. I didn't fall asleep until 2AM. The jet lag has pretty much gone away now.

I woke up at 10:30 am to nice pool weather! Since I have been in Boulder I have swum almost everyday, and been smothered by my friends! The house is very nice, big, and comfortable, and the view is amazing. I also got braces 4 days after I came back from OZ.

Boulder is good.

Australia Winter Break

During our last 3 weeks in Australia I did quite a few things beside going to the Whitsundays. I went to the Australian Footie with my friends. Aussie Football is so cool, instead of throwing the ball they run, kick, or punch it. Its really fun to watch.

My mom, sister and I went to the city, which included going to the zoo, this huge fruit, vegetable, and tourist market called the Queen Victoria market, and the aquarium.

At the aquarium you walk through a really cool glass tunnel surrounded by giant sharks and sting rays.

When we were in the Whitsundays we saw coral like the coral in the aquarium, and the giant clam.

My friend Tabitha (on the horse) took me horse back riding at her stables.

Her horse's name is Bunky. Tabitha even taught me how to trot.

Whitsunday Sailing Holiday

What a great way to end my six month long adventure in Australia: sailing off the Great Barrier Reef with the Bradys!

Our catamaran was called Lunasea and we were sailing with one of the best sailing companies in the world called Sunsail. Every morning and evening we would have to call in to Sunsail and tell them where we were. The conversation would usually go like this:

'Lunasea, Lunasea this is Sunsail, Sunsail.'

"Sunsail, Sunsail, this is Lunasea, Lunasea. We are planing on going to Bluepearl Bay, then anchor at Butterfly Bay. Over."

'Thank you Lunasea. I hope you have a good day.'

The first couple of days we weren't in snorkeling territory yet, and the second night we were staying next to an inlet (Nara Inlet) that had hammer-head sharks, so we decided to go for some walks. We walked up to a cave with aboriginal art, and I thought they looked like the basket of lacrosse sticks.

On the third night (Butterfly Bay) the water was about 77 degrees Fahrenheit, and there was some coral, so Alice, Leah and I jumped in, even though it was getting dark. We saw some pretty cool coral and some baby-head size clams.

The next day we went to One Foot Island to snorkel. There was an amazing variety of coral! There was some fluorescent blue coral, some pink, yellow, orange, and green coral in stag horns and brain shapes. There were some fish, but the fish at the next bay we snorkeled at (Blue Pearl Bay) were better with more variety (parrot fish, needlefish,moon wrasse).

Also, Leah and Alice were swimming off the back of the boat and there were huge sixbaded angelfish. I wanted to see them better, but I was too chicken to jump in, so I stuck on a snorkeling mask and put my face in. I think one of them thought my hair was breadcrumbs, so he came kissing up to me! I freaked and and pulled my head out of the water, because I almost got a kiss from a fish!

On the fifth day we did some REAL sailing. We went out into the ocean where there were huge (well, 6 foot) waves! When we were heading out we saw a few 4 foot turtles. At first we were all in the front of the boat getting all the wave action, but then we got really wet and the waves were getting so violent that the parents were worried we'd go flying over board! That was a full-on day of sailing.

The next day we snorkeled in Cateran bay, which has some of the best soft coral in the Whitsundays. It was really shallow at first, but once we went farther out we could really enjoy all the pretty colors and the unique corals. There were also some pretty big fish, including blue and pink parrot fish. My dad and I saw a HUGE clam, like the ones in the Great Barrier Reef. At first I thought it was a giant purplish-blue soft coral, but then I realized it was a Leah-sized clam! Wow!

On the sixth day we got to go to one of the best beaches in the world: Whitehaven Beach. Its name truly describes the beach. It is so white, fine, and squeaky when you walk on it! The water is a beautiful turquoise color. And to make everything seem even better the beach is 3 1/2 miles long!

On the last morning we all got up at 7am to go for one last walk on Whitehaven Beach. Then we sailed back to Hamilton Island, where we first came from. I definetly want to go back to the Whitsundays again!

Brighton Life

I haven't done many posts about where I live and my life, so here is one.

This is Leah and me at Brighton Beach. There are a bunch of colorful beach boxes that make Brighton Beach well known (right picture).

The picture on the left has the city in the background.

I just realized I never put any pictures of possums up, so here they are. Eeeeek the one on the left is the possesed possum from Wilson's Prom backpacking trip. The one on the right is the cute little one that lives by our house. There is a huge difference between the two, but they both make ugly noises.

These are pictures at Luna Park. Its teeny, but it has a really nice atmosphere, and really good cotton candy ;)

more videos

Leah and Alice did this one. It's kind of long, but it gives you a really good idea of some of the people (girls, specifically Alice and Leah) that visit Cape Schank. My sister is quite the movie maker!

This shows how you feel after you hike all the way up all the stairs at Cape Schank. To get to the Cape, you have to walk down MILLION of stairs and it brings you down to a point with a pinnacle of wave battered rock sticking out of the ocean.

This is me messing around with the camera in Portsea, which is about 45 minutes away from Somers. We went there to have a yummy sea food lunch at the Portsea pub, then went for a stroll on the beach and pier.