Road Trip!

The school year here starts in late January and is made up of four 10-week terms, each separated by two weeks of holidays. The first term of school ended right before Easter and we all decided to take a week off for a little road trip. We drove up the coast to an area called Port Stephens, and spent a few nights at the local YHA. Before we got there, I was worried that we might be kept awake by partying backpackers, but it was really great. We stayed in a little cabin, there was a pool and shared outdoor kitchen facilities. The outdoor kitchen was one of our favorite parts of the hostel. It was surrounded by huge trees and plants and felt very tropical. Here's a pic:

The funny part was that the first two nights there were backpackers in the cabin attached to ours and we didn't hear a peep out of them. The third night, a family of five arrived and they were up at around 6am, loud as anything, (which I know can't be helped when you have a kid under 4, but man - were we ever happy that we had the backpackers beside us the first couple of nights!)

The YHA advertised that they were located in a "koala corridor" and we, and most especially Vic, were determined to spot a koala out in the wild. Every afternoon and evening we would head out to the most likely koala viewing spot, and try to find them in the trees. No luck. But, we did find this guy right outside our cabin door (look above Gus' head in the pic below).

Possum, up close.


We also spent some time surfing in the sand dunes. The sand dunes stretch about one km wide and 30 km long, all the way from Newcastle to Port Stephens. They were quite spectacular. There were a few moments when all you could see was sand, think desert scenes from Lawrence of Arabia or The English Patient.


Wipe-out!!!

The hard part (just like tobogganing in snow) was walking back up the hill, ugh!


We also found a really great snorkeling spot, and went on a short hike in a nearby national park.

While we were in the sand dunes, we spotted a group of tourists who were jumping up and down while someone was taking pictures of them. It was hilarious to watch, and after that Vic and I kept trying to take pictures of each other jumping in the air. Here's one of the funnier ones taken on our hike.

The views on the hike were something else. Take a look at the background in this picture below. And no leeches - yay!

It was such a nice break. I read a non-thesis-related book, and caught up on some of the lighter podcasts that I subscribe to, like Q from CBC radio, which reminds me...have you heard/watched that interview between Jian and Billy Bob Thornton? Wow - (in the words of a friend and former co-worker) Billy Bob is a real douchebag!

Back to school and work tomorrow. I feel refreshed and ready to get back at it.