Melbourne, Sydney, next stop Delhi

The last time you heard from us we were wandering around paradise. From paradise we flew directly to Melbourne. There, we were warmly taken in by Liz’s Aunt, Pip, and her five cousins. Their home just outside the city felt like an oasis for us after weeks of roughing it around the east coast of Australia, travelling with only our Jansports and eating meals of budget pasta and canned beans. After making certain compromises during our impromptu Aussie tour (not to mention the bites Liz had from our most recent hostel that looked suspiciously like the work of bed bugs!!) we all appreciated feeling at home for a week.

As much as I’d appreciated the natural beauty of the Gold Coast and Cairns, I couldn’t help but feel relieved to be in the middle of people, buildings and urban life again; it’s my nature, I’m from New York! The three of us happily explored the myriad neighborhoods Melbourne has to offer. We visited the Greek quarter, where we stopped form some friendly conversation, spanakopita, and frappethes. We got an even better sense of the prominent Greek population in Melbourne at the Australian Open, where we spent the day watching the Greek Cypriot Bagdhatis play against a Swede (and win, to the excitement of many rowdy Greek fans). We spent a day wandering through the Queen Victoria Market, and each bought a new article of clothing to add to the wardrobes we’re all getting very tired of. To celebrate Australia Day we visited the Immigration Museum on a whim. Not the most Australian way to spend the day but probably the most appropriate given the occasion.

Leaving Melbourne we learned Travelling Lesson #84: ALWAYS verify which airport you’re flying out of before checking in at the wrong one. We failed to do this before arriving at one of Melbourne’s (apparently) two airports an hour before our flight to Sydney; we couldn’t figure out why our boarding passes weren’t printing out at the “easy check-in” station. When the Jetstar employee kindly explained to us that our plane was taking off an hour away from where we were located, at a different airport, we laughed the whole thing off and moved ourselves to a later flight. Ultimately more good than bad came from the blunder: we gained an extra day in Melbourne, learned an important lesson, and I now have the opportunity to share this valuable insight, saving you from making the same mistake.

I can’t remember if this is something I read somewhere, or maybe Liz said it when we were going from one place to the next (or was it my mom?) but Lesson #85 would have to be: Travelling is leaving. We’ve been back in Sydney for over a week now and we’re already leaving for New Delhi (via Abu Dhabi, because it’s on the way) in four days. All I can do is take in what’s left of my time in Australia. The other day we took a trip to the Blue Mountains. I’m convinced you can’t find a similar phenomenon anywhere else in the world. The idea of a blue mountain range seemed to me fantastical at first, like something someone could only dream of or paint or write a poem about. But these mountains are actually blue! I wasn’t thrilled about going to see them at first. The day before the trip I was tired from spending all day at the beach (it’s hard, I know) and waking up the next day at 6 am only to travel three hours on trains only to walk around some mountains all day did not sound appealing. But Liz insisted and luckily I gave in. We saw the “Three Sisters”–an incredible sandstone formation, hiked around the area all day, rode on the Katoomba Scenic Railway (the steepest railway in the world), and admired the greyish-blue tinge the mountains take on from a distance. The unique color has something to do with the oil released from all the eucalyptus trees…but don’t ask me why.

As our time in Aus comes to an end, I’m finding it harder to deny the daunting landmark that lies before us: the halfway point of our gap year. Our perfectly proportioned itinerary of 3-2-3-2 months, with the larger portions of time spent on the more trying parts of the globe, indicates that we have now survived 20 weeks together and have another 20 ahead of us. Liz reminds me everyday, making good use of her cell phone’s “count down” application: 192 days until my birthday, 4 days until India, 83 days until Israel, 201 days before I go to University, 1070 days until the end of the world (according to the Mayan calendar), and, all the more daunting, 144 days until the end of our gap year. I refuse to dwell on the inevitable end of what we believe to be the best year out of our current 18/19 years; the glass is still half full. India here we come!

Sunny Melbourne

Learning Cricket

The Blue Mountains

The Three Sisters

Returning home

Truly Paradise

Having traveled to a combined 22 countries over our 18-19 years on this planet, over the last week we came to the conclusion that from the 15th to the 17th of January we visited the only two places we can now honestly describe as truly paradise.

Although I had previously written-off organized tours as cheesy and boring, a very good experience in the Galapagos on a tour prompted me to encourage the twins to take a look at what some tours from Cairns had to offer. Fortunately we were staying at a great hostel, Calypso, that offered free advice and help with booking. We spoke to a tour ‘guru’, Buddha, who recommended a three day, two night tour up to Cape Tribulation.

From the beginning it was clear that we had made a very good choice. Our tour guide, Ben from Jungle Tours, was exceptionally informed, interesting and intelligent. As we drove out of Cairns on the stunning Captain Cook highway, he told us about the tree kangaroo, an animal that even most Australians don’t know exists, the different types of environments that cover Australia and various creepy crawly and slidy creatures that can kill you or 300,000 mice with a single drop of venom.

The first stop on our tour was a Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary featured three different environments: grasslands, wetlands and rainforest and a wide selection of the animals that naturally inhabit these areas, living almost freely. We saw fruit bats and cassowaries, who are both sadly endangered and at serious risk of extinction and learned of the significance of their existance to the survival of hundreds of plants, of which they are the sole ’seed spreaders’. We also saw a great deal of birds, old men koalas and Sophia’s new obsession, wallabies and their joeys.

Our second stop was a short botanical walk and a swim in a water hole a few km’s down stream of Mossoman Gorge. On the walk, Ben pointed out ancient and fascinating plant species, including one of the oldest plants in the world that draws heavy metals out of the ground and deposits them on its leaves. This simultaneously protects the plant against herbivores, ensuring its survival through the ages and allowing Australians to find and mine their natural stores of precious metals without wasting time and energy digging numerous holes.

After the refreshing swim and some lunch it was time to look for crocodiles. A guided tour in a boat around the little bays and estuaries that Australian crocodiles love to inhabit provided glimpses of darting kingfishers, a massive golden orb female spider and two male crocodiles. Soon it was time for the final drive right to the Cape, to our room in the jungle, to our simple self-cooked dinner and to our new friends: a giant spider in the kitchen and a monster cricket in the bathroom.

Because of hurricane damage to the boat we were told that our reef tour the next day had been cancelled, but we were offered a place on a boat out of Cairns instead and, as compensation, a free scuba dive. Given that we had limited time in Cairns, we decided to leave the cape a day early in order to take the reef tour the following day. However, as our bus back was not arriving until 4pm we still had the whole day on the cape to explore.

Needing only bikinis, cameras and a hat or sunnies, we set out to find Mason’s swimming hole. Due to our meandering, fear of crossing possibly killer jellyfish-infested waters and general inability to follow simple instructions we spent the next three hours wandering the beaches, roads, bush land and lookout points of the area. On the way we played the ‘What are we grateful for today?’ game and found enough answers in our surroundings alone, there was little need for other conversation.

After three hours, however, we decided we were running out of swimming time and should probably find a faster way to Mason’s. Without money, our only option was to hitchhike. Fortunately, and arguably thanks to our weather-appropriate outfits, the first car stopped and one of the three young Danish guys inside asked, “What are you three doing, wandering half-naked in the jungle?”

Although we made good friends and found out that we were all actually staying in the same hostel in Cairns, we had even less luck finding the water hole in the car and eventually got out and asked a local for directions. I’m glad we persevered in our search for the water hole because we soon found ourselves at a secluded creek with a rope swing and some very curious fish. We played in the water until it began to rain and then looked for a ride home.

Due to our water-logged state, we realize our best hope of a lift was a ute or pick-up truck and we hailed the first one we saw. A pierced and slightly strange looking man offered us a place on the back of his truck, which we gladly accepted. It was only as we climbed in that we noticed we were surrounded by some daunting equipment: two chainsaws, a jug of gasoline and a pair of bolt cutters! Fortunately, we did not encounter a sticky fate and made it back to Cairns with the memories of crystal water and a thousand facts still marinating in our brains.

We were advised by an English friend at Calypso not to drink the night before we went scuba diving (advice he had not followed, and sorely regretted) and so we had a pretty early night. In a continuation of our unseasonably good luck, morning came and the sky was bright and clear. At first we were a little hesitant about the group that we traveled to our catamaran, Ocean Spirit, with, the median age of which seemed to be 85, but it turned out that there was a nice range of people on the boat from all countries and decades.

It was a 90 minute sunbathe out to the reef. We sailed to an area called Michaelmas Cay and began the day with a trip on a semi-submersible boat. Out of our underwater windows we could see fish and turtles swimming around us and colourful coral and giant clams living on the reef.

After a delicious buffet lunch on the Ocean Spirit, we were eager to get into the water and see these creatures in the flesh. Happily, our first dive went perfectly and the highlight of, at least my trip, was the chance to touch a giant clam and feel it shiver.

When we finished diving we took a little boat to the cay to relax with the birds and splash around in the shallows. To say the view all around us was picture perfect, or just like a postcard is to put it so mildly it’s just not fair. The truth is that everywhere you looked you saw perfection. Truly paradise.

The Three Beans

Although Sophia, Ariana and I spent the last four years practically living together through high school, over the course of these months traveling we have practically become triplets. To celebrate our time together and our remarkably strong friendship, which appears to be lasting effortlessly (well, almost effortlessly) we paid a visit to a well-recommended tattoo parlour and began to discuss coffee beans.

We chose coffee beans for a few reasons, not the least of which is a Cat Empire song reference. Obviously we are enthusiastic coffee drinkers, enjoying at least one cup a day, but it is more than that. Over the years, coffee has supported us through the dark winter days of AP classes, overdue essays and, according to Sophia, economic strife. The amount of times we have run out to OK Market for a $1 pick-me-up, met in my kitchen for a freshly brewed mug of french pressed happiness or felt the overwhelming rush of gratitude a large cappuccino bought by a friend and left in your locker brings are simply uncountable. Coffee has kept us awake, kept us talking and kept us together. I don’t know where we’d be without it.

Given all that and despite how close we are, we are still very much individuals and we wanted our tattoos to represent our differences. We all chose a different bean to base our tattoos on, a different style in which to have them done and three different locations. Ariana’s is quite dark and on the back side of her left hip, Sophia’s is by far the smallest, located on her right wrist and mine is light, sketch-like and on the front of my left hip. Separate they are all beautiful and when brought together, complement each other perfectly…  According to Ariana, just like us

I: from Sydney to the Gold Coast

A brief photo synopsis of our Australian adventures thus far!

Sophia and Liz in Sydney

Liz in Manly

Christmas + Summer dresses

View of Sydney

the beach!

Trying out the scooter

View from Joe’s house…the Gold Coast

Christmas day!

Christmas on the beach

Welcome to Aus!

We’ve arrived in Australia!!

It’s Wednesday night and we are chilling with a couple beers and my cousin Joe. It’s the end of our first week here and we are already completely settled in. After a few days of bad weather at the start (rain and 20 degree cold), the sun has been shining and the surrealness of a hot December has set in. Joe has been an excellent chauffeur and chef, not only driving us around from Bilgola to Palm beach to Manly to Curl Curl and back home to Warrawee but also whipping up unbelievably delicious breakfasts and dinners . The Renshaws, and particularly Tess, have been such generous hosts, giving us a spacious room, showing us around the city and generally making us feel at home.

Apart from spending time at the beach, we enjoyed a lovely bbq at my Uncle Mark’s house, which gave me a chance to see my cousin’s beautiful sons who have grown up so much! We have also visited Darling Harbour, Circular Quay, The Opera House, The Rocks, Hornsby Mall and walked across the Harbour Bridge. All in all, we feel at home here in the sunshine, and are looking forward to next week when we will travel up to the Gold Coast with Joe and maybe even go skydiving..!

We’ll keep you posted