Word of the Day

Woop Woop (also, Whoop Whoop): an invented name for an unimportant town, aka the middle of nowhere

"You're going to have to drive through Woop Woop to get to Darwin."

Word of the Day

Hey?

interjection

1. "Right?" similar to the Canadian "Eh?" usually at the end of a sentence.

"You're coming to the pub tonight, hey?"

"I'll see you there, mate."

2. "What?" as in response to an American talking too fast about nothing in particular.

American: "Oh-my-God-so-yesterday-yada-yada-akljwfe.."

Aussie: "Hey?" [What the hell is she talking about?]

Highlights from New Zealand

I spent Easter break in New Zealand, exploring the best parts of the South Island with 11 other people in 2 campervans. The country was full of sheep, trees, lakes, oceans, and huge mountains. The weather was perfectly sunny and beautiful for us, even in the parts of the country that get 300 days of rain a year. We were even luckier with our illegal and very sketchy campervan parking – apparently you aren’t allowed to camp on the sides of main roads, but we didn’t get busted once!

Our first night, we arrived late at night in Akaroa, not knowing that we had parked along the most beautiful lake in town until morning!

Here comes another top ten list: My Favourite Parts of New Zealand:

10. The baby lifestyle. As a passenger in the giant campervan, I was entitled to a continuous cycle of eating, drinking, and sleeping during our long roadtrips.

I’d say I probably spent the majority of the week lounging in this cozy bed.

9. Rugged living. When we weren’t on the road, we were hardcore campers. That means hiking up the beautiful rocky mountains, breathing in the crisp air, barely showering, and peeing in the woods.

See that reflection in the water? I'm so artsy.

8. Kayaking Milford Sound. What’s better than belting your favourite Disney songs while kayaking through an otherwise peaceful fiord? Seven other things, apparently. Keep reading.

Milford Sound is actually a fjord and not a sound, but New Zealanders spell it "fiord" just to be even more difficult.

7. Extreme spooning. Four girls in one full size bed (see image from #10 above). We made it work.

6. Climbing the Franz Josef Glacier. It was such a nice day we hiked in shorts!

Who do you think is going to get killed first?

5. Queenstown. I’d call it a cross between the ski resort towns of Colorado, the hiking in Maine, and the extreme adventureland in my head.

A view of Queenstown from one of its highest peaks. We were told the hike to the top of this mountain would take three hours, but we owned it in under sixty minutes!

4. The Fergburger. I’m drooling just thinking about it.

"This tastes so good, I'm worried I'm going to get this burger pregnant."

"If he does get that burger pregnant, I have dibs on the delicious burger babies." -How I Met Your Mother

3. The crash. We hit a pole in the parking lot within 30 minutes of renting the campervan. Nothing huge, but it was enough to jam our main cabin door for the rest of the trip. I don't know why, but it made my top 3.

2. DNMs. That's Aussie for Deep and Meaningfuls. Pillow talk, if you will, and we had plenty of time for it.

1. Bungy jumping. I dove off Kawarau Bridge (just outside of Queenstown), where bungy jumping was invented. It beats skydiving by a mile.

I just kept falling and falling and falling...

Word of the Day

Sweet as:

Origins in New Zealand, most likely circa the late 20th century. Scholars believe the phrase developed as a result of kiwis (New Zealanders) being too chill to finish their sentences.

adj.

1. "I confirm that what you are proposing is good by me."

2. Sweet

3. Cool

4. Awesome

"Hey mate, let's jump off that bridge with only a stretch cord attached to my legs."

"Sweet as."

Note: Don't ask a kiwi, "Sweet as what?"

Word of the Day

SWOTVAC: Study WithOut Teachers VACation, also known as Reading Period, taking place this year on May 27 - June 5.

Or in my case, TTCIOLBTBIHTGHW: Time to Cram in One Last Big Trip Before I Have to Go Home Week.

Words of the Day

Dead horse: tomato sauce, which is Australian for ketchup.

Bullseye: meat pie.

They (the Australians, infamous for tricking gullible Americans) claim "dead horse" (pronounced "dead HAWS") sounds like tomato sauce (pronounced "to-MAH-to saws") and "bullseye" sounds like meat pie..

Well, lollipop sounds like poppycock, so Mr. Candyman, can I get one poppycock please?

Quote of the Day: Say What?

"Get the torch out of the boot. It's next to the esky."

-Fiona, a real Australian

Tasmania: Team America vs. the World

Tasmania was absolutely incredible (and surprisingly large too). As the only American on a 21-person trip through western Taz, my very creative trip-mates nicknamed me, "America," "Team America," or simply "Oh my God!"

We covered over ten nations, with big representation from the UK, Germany, and Japan.

Coming back to mainland Australia and the big city life of Melbourne after five days in the wilderness of Tazzy has been the biggest culture shock that I've experienced so far. I could rave forever about the amazing time I had, but I don't want to make you too jealous, so here's my four favorite parts of the weekend:

1. The sights: the landscapes were gorgeous and so diverse. One minute we'd be driving through open pastures and suddenly we'd be entering a temperate rainforest. From climbing giant rock slab mountains to trudging through kilometres of sand dunes, I couldn’t believe I experienced so many different environments on one tiny island.

2. Okay, so there were times when I was the typical tourist in a bus. Sit sleep for a few hours, groggily file out of the bus, snap a few pictures, and repeat. BUT we also went on tons of walks (Australian for "hikes") to explore the island, and were able to see waterfalls, wombats, wallabies, and so much more.

Wombats: just as cute and cuddly as a koala bear. Plus, they're slightly more active; you can't tell by looking at him, but this guy can sprint up to 40 km/hour!

3. The people: I entered this trip on my own, but I left with so many wonderful new mates. Spending every waking hour for almost 4 days with the 20 others on my tour may have quickened the bonding, but people in Tazzy are just so friendly - I knew Brett, my 60-year-old airplane seat-partner, for exactly 10 minutes before he offered me a ride to my hostel!

Dutchie, America, and Mexico.

4. My favorite part of the trip by far was Saturday's 6-hour hike that took us to the top of Cradle Mountain. Most of the hike had no path; instead, we scrambled over loads of huge boulders, with nothing but a tight grip on the rocks and shoes with minimal tread to prevent us from tumbling to our death below. It was exhilarating, especially when we six survivors finally reached the peak. The mist had just burned away, giving us a clear 360-degree view of the beauties all over Tasmania.

We climbed up this..

..through this...

..to get to the top of this!

I was going to leak a clip of my first documentary, but the internet here moves slower than a sleeping koala bear, so you'll have to wait until its big debut on the Discovery Channel :).

On the Road Again: Traveling the GOR

There’s a first time for everything, and I had quite a few this weekend (these are unrelated to the beautiful sights I've already talked about):

1. I contacted a stranger (John) on Gumtree.com.au (Australia’s Craig’s List).

2. I agreed to travel the GOR with him, plus two people neither of us knew.

3. The four of us began our roadtrip less than 36 hours after my first email to John.

4. John had never driven a car in Australia before.

John only drove on the wrong side of the road once the whole weekend!

5. We ate dinner on the side of the road.

6. I brushed my teeth in the bathroom of Hungry Jack’s (Australian Burger King).

We might be homeless, but we've still got good hygiene.

7. The four of us slept in one tiny car...

8. ... in a dark corner of a car park (parking lot) for Coles (grocery store) and Hungry Jack’s.

That's the view by day. Notice "Brekky."

9. We handwashed our rental car using the windshield washer thing and lots of paper towels at the gas station (somehow dozens of large bugs got caught in our grill as we were driving, it was pretty gross).

10. I ate a pineapple muffin for breakfast.

This is definitely one of the more spontaneous, "don't-travel-by-yourself-and-don't-get-in-a-car-with-strangers" dangerous things I've done. A lot of things could have gone wrong, but I'm alive and I had a great time traveling with my new friends. I wouldn't change a thing.

My international travel crew: Lisa from Germany, John from France, and Chris from England. Cheers, mates!

Kangaroos, Koalas, and Emus, Oh My!

I trekked down the Great Ocean Road over the weekend! That’s GOR for short. The GOR is a 250 km long road leading west from just outside Melbourne, and continues along the southern coast of Australia. The road was lined with long stretches of beautiful beaches and dense rainforest (where we saw several of Australia's national wild animals, including koalas, penguins, and parrots), and ended at a site called the Twelve Apostles, an incredible collection of rock stacks on the beach.

Not quite Niagara Falls, but this waterfall in the rainforest was definitely stunning.

We made it to the Twelve Apostles just in time for sunset, without even trying! What a perfect way to end a perfect day.

We completed the roadtrip to the end of the GOR in one day, leisurely stopping at all the scenic views and eagerly snapping pictures of the lush scenery.

On the way back the next day, we drove through Grampians National Park, completing our mission to see the remainder of Australia’s famous wild animals (kangaroos, emus, giant ants...).

The kangaroos wouldn't stop staring. I wouldn't be surprised if they pulled cameras out of their pouches and started taking pictures of us!

Some koala species are known as "drop bears" in Australia because of their tendency to drop out of trees and attack passersby. Good thing this one wasn't a drop bear.

It was such a relaxing adventure; even being lost in the mountains with no cars in sight and less than a quarter tank of petrol didn’t bother me. Something about being surrounded by endless oceans and wide open fields ignited an inner peace in me, sort of like Gandhi :).

Australian Rules Football

I went to my first footy (Australian Rules Football) game on Thursday, and it was a blast! The action on the field never stops. It was just a preseason game, so the stands weren't packed, but the energy in the stadium was unbeatable.

People were going CRAZY. I'm not gonna lie, I joined more than a few "Let's go Demons!" chants.

Here's a few basics about footy to get you rookies started:

• Push and shove
• Yell at the ref

Okay, but actually, there isn't a good parallel in America. It's definitely not American football (known as "gridiron" here) but the two sports do have a few things in common, as well as similarities to soccer and even basketball:

• Kick the ball between the posts to score
• Bounce the ball every 15 steps
• Pass the ball by handballing, tossing, or kicking

It makes more sense when you watch it, but I promise, it's fun.

They wear short shorts and high socks. What's not to love?

And on the walk back, we were pleasantly surprised by two big-eyed possums staring down at us from a tree in the park.

They're not koalas, but they're still pretty cute.

Quote of the Day: Abbreves

Translate this:
On Chrissie morning, I have brekkie with my rellies before opening my pressies.

The Language Barrier

Let’s get this straight: Australians do not speak English. Nodding my head with a big smile and fluttery eyes while twirling my hair does not mean that I have any idea what that Aussie is saying.

Check out my list to the right to see some of the words I’ve learned this week.

Comic of the Day (3 days left)

Goal #3: Travel (8 days left)

What is Canberra?

A) A fruit similar to acai that’s high in antioxidants and found only in the Australian outback

B) Yogi Berra’s son, born in Sydney, Australia

C) Australia’s national beer

D) None of the above

If you answered D, none of the above, congratulations! You have won a free trip to Melbourne, Australia for as long as you would like. The trip includes room (you can sleep on my floor) and board (I will feed you cereal and milk). Airfare is not included.

Come visit me at the top of the world.

In fact, Canberra is the country’s capital (the capital city was a tug-of-war between Sydney and Melbourne, so officials settled on a physical semi-median of the two, giving birth to Canberra, the largely unknown but most highly populated inland city), and one of the many places I’d like to visit. Also on my list of travel destinations are Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef, Brisbane, Alice Springs, Tasmania, and New Zealand, to name a few.

You may wonder, “But Audrey, how will you ever get from Melbourne to all of these wonderful and not typical tourist places?” Enter the campervan: “Each budget camper comes with a unique paint job, comfy bed, kitchen, and loads of storage space” (http://www.wickedcampers.com.au/).

So the vans may be slightly inappropriate. But unicorns and rainbows don't really make a strong statement.

But, dear readers, you’re smarter than that and then ask me, “But what about Tasmania and New Zealand? They are an entire ocean away!” To that, I respond, “Dude, she’ll be apples.” (That’s Aussie slang for “don’t worry about it.”)

And if I bring my charm, I may even qualify for this 10% discount.