Amy Sept

10:14 am: Skydive in Queenstown...
Incredible...really incredible. I spent the morning staying pretty quiet as we went drove to our take off location. All through the explanations the instructors were giving, I still wasn't truly taking in that I would be doing this. Daniel, one of my fellow travelers on the Stray bus, came in a wonderful gesture of moral support. Sam, another fellow traveler, also signed on to do a skydive at the same time as me. I stayed almost calm until we reached the point when I was on this tiny plane (fitting only 8 people) and realized that I was going to have to jump out of this thing. Only with a couple of minutes to go, I felt everything in me seize up only to scream, 'I don't want to do this.' Of course, not out loud.

Alex, my tandem instructor scooted me to the edge of the plane. I made the mistake of looking down. He pushed my forehead against his shoulder (as I was TIGHTLY strapped onto him) and then I just had to wait for him to jump. The freefall, though only 45 seconds, felt like forever, and was so amazing! It's like nothing I've ever felt before. Like falling, but not. We played with our camera guy a bit. My famous tongue pose was not missed even falling through the clouds. About two minutes after my landing, I was ready for another. !!! Great fun!!

08:00 pm: How can it only be a couple of days ago I hiked the Franz Josef Glacier? It feels like a week ago, but in such a good way. I've been having such a great time.

The hike was incredible. (Pictures on Facebook.) We spent about six hours on the ice. The ice tunnels, the areas where we squeezed *barely* through two large sheets of ice, the pure freshness of it all, lovely. Whoever invented cramp ons (the spikes you were on the bottom of your hiking boots) deserves a metal. They work like a charm. Unfortunately, the boots I had were just a tad too big. As a result, I have giant blisters on each of my heels that have been all leaking and gross stuff for the past two days. Yum. Despite the cold nights, I refuse to wear anything other than flip flops. After a good bit of party that night, we moved camp.

Yesterday we staying in this tiny town that had little outside of sheep, hills, sheep, hills, oh, and a river. It was wonderful though. The group I've been traveling with is an absolutely great bit of fun which inevitably makes the experience.

Today as we made our way to Queenstown, we stopped at the first official bungy site in the world. One of the guys on our bus, Daniel, was the only one to do the jump. I was close to a panic attack just watching him. :) Though we all took lots of photos and videos.

Tomorrow I have a skydive scheduled for the morning. Eeek! Sam, another one of my fellow travelers, is going to be doing it at the same time so I'll have some moral support. !!!

08:01 pm: I left Hobart yesterday morning at 4am. The plan was to fly Hobart to Melbourne, Melbourne to Christchurch. After two attempts at landing in Melbourne, our plane was diverted to Sydney due to bad weather conditions. Arriving in Sydney at 8:30am, I was told the next flight to Christchurch wasn't until 7pm. Luckily, Jaim (the girl I had the tour with in Tasmania) lives in Sydney. I waited a few hours for her flight to come in and spent the afternoon at the famous Bondi Beach with her and her boyfriend, Justin. What a great way to spend an afternoon! They were so wonderful showing me around in such a beautiful area. Although it is my 3rd trip to Sydney, it is my first that hasn't been dictated by public transport.

Arriving in Christchurch just after midnight allowed me to be in bed around 1:30am only to be up at 6am in order to meet up with the bus company that I'll be on tour with while I'm here: Stray. A couple of stops before we arrive in Franz Josef Glacier this evening.
1. A town that is known for Jade. I basically just took a picture (for my niece, of course) and did some grocery shopping.
2. Oh my goodness. This one is so for Pelo (a.k.a. Tyler Barenjager): We visited a museum which explained the history behind the deer farms which are numerous on the south island. It started with a film entitled, "When Bambi was a terrorist." Basically a bunch of species were introduced into New Zealand way back when. The deer that were introduced were not a good combination for the environment & began to quickly degrade the rainforest. The government then enlisted native New Zealanders to kill these creatures in an attempt to salvage the area. In the 1950s, a new market opened up to sell the deer meat to Germany and thus a new form of income as well as a profitable solution. This new market boomed then it was realized that the deer population was dipping too low to continue meeting market demands. Here's the fun part. They came up with the idea of capturing the animals and moving them to farms in order to breed that way. They tried several ways of capturing the deer. The most interesting (and certainly most entertaining to watch on video) was a method that involved a helicopter. They would locate a deer while out in the helicopter, move in close, and the "deep capturer"
(??) would jump directly onto the back of the deer and tackle it to the ground. Thus the deer farm popularity on the south island of NZ.

Tomorrow I'm off for a full day's hike on the Franz Josef Glacier. But right now I'm off to bed as all this time on planes and airports and traveling to & from airports has me cranky and in need of an actual night's sleep!

09:03 pm: Happy Halloween...sort of.
It isn't really a holiday celebrated here. More to make fun of Americans I think. A few of the crazies dress up, but the kids don't trick-or-treat. Sadness...if only they knew what their childhoods were missing. :)

I've spent the last three days on a West coast tour. It ended up being just me and another girl with our tour guide as it is the slow season. Pretty lucky.

The highlight was a 5-hour hike to Cradle Mountain...harsh. Lots of steep rocks to climb up and still a bit of snow in places. We made it to Cradle base and waited for the fog to clear so we could take the extra hour to reach the summit, but alas, it only started to clear as we finished our decent. Not enough daylight to go back and try it. That was really enough for the day though. Slept wonderfully that night!

Freezing cold water, but went up to my knees in the Southern Ocean. There was a first. Went to Russell Falls followed by some real Tasmanian ice cream today..yum! Visited the Henty Dunes and ran down....so much fun!! Saw a bunch of local wildlife: Tasmanian Devil, Playtapus (sp?), etc...which was wonderful! Counted around 2 dozen 'pieces' of roadkill. That's definitely an issue here.

Have about a million and one photos to upload, but that is difficult when living the backpacking life. It will likely have to wait until I get home. 24 days from now...Off to Christchurch, New Zealand tomorrow!

01:48 pm: Tasmania.....
I've spent the morning walking through this beautifully wooded path with Charlie, Maggie, & Chris. Chris is one of the women that I volunteered with while I was working with the elephants in Thailand a year ago. Charlie & Maggie are her dogs. Here on her 5-acre lot in Gravelly Beach, it's not a wonder why she loves living in this particular spot in the world. I'm surrounded by trees of every fruit, a huge vegetable garden, and just wonderously peaceful country.

I've been back in Brisbane for the past two months working more temporary work and spending time with people close to my heart on this side of the world. Leaving there a couple of days ago was quite difficult for me. As James headed off to Tokyo for the Bledisloe Cup (a rugby match between Australia & New Zealand), I left a few hours later to make my way to Devonport, Tasmania.

Tasmania has a population of half a million. With Devonport the 3rd largest city, I expected well...not what I got. I boarded the smallest plane (while screaming not so nice words in my head) I've set foot on, a 48-seater. Arg. But 80 minutes later (and a snacks package--thank you Qantas), I arrived at the Devonport Airport. The airport in Moscow, Idaho is bigger. Those of you WSU & UofI know what I'm talking about. They drove our luggage into a warehouse next to the airport where I was told to pick my luggage up off the truck. Yeah.

After spending a night in the Gingerbread House hostel with just ten Japanese tourists & a quick walk around 'town,' I jumped on the bus to head to Launceston (Tasmania's 2nd biggest city). Here was I met by Chris and a couple of her co-workers as we headed to lunch. I toured 'downtown.' It is a small town with small town pleasures. I chatted with the local baker for twenty minutes or so on our favorites reads as I ate a homemade cupcake & enjoyed the people watching opportunities.

Tomorrow I'm off on a 3-day hiking tour of the West coast. It should be great fun!

My entries from here until Thanksgiving will be much more frequent as the traveling as begun once again.

03:36 pm: The Sri Chinmoy Half Marathon!
July 26th, 2009
Princes Park, Melbourne, VIC, Australia



Before the race...
All of us grouped together and freezing in the morning chill anxiously awaiting the race to start.




And we're off!




Isn't that just the most attractive picture of me? NOT

My official time was 2 hours, 23 minutes. Not too shabby. Julianne has a video of my finish on Facebook which I'm sure will be available soon for those who wish to see me in all my sweat and glory!

02:41 pm: Melbourne....
It's time that I properly update this site.

Julianne (my backpacking partner in crime) and I finished our tour of the east coast of Australia last week. We traveled (mainly by Greyhound bus) from Cape Tribulation (the Daintree National Park) to Melbourne.

Click on this! (for a better view)


It has been a great adventure though I'm kicking myself now for not believing people who told me that Australia does, in fact, get cold in winter. They were not lying. There are so many different highlights of the trip. Starting from the top: During a night walk through The Daintree Rainforest, I was 'shat' on by a random rainforest animal. Not exactly what I was expecting to happen. I've not seen as many stars as on the beach at Cape Tribulation because it is distanced from any city. Of course, snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef was awesome. I only wish our underwater camera could have truly captured the pictures more accurately. At Airlie Beach, I had the amazing opportunity to kayak with sea turtles who are much bigger than I previously thought!

I took my first surfing lesson aptly at Surfers Paradise. I think I had more fun not getting it right though I managed to get up about half a dozen times (mind you, only for a few seconds or so). I was like a little kid in a candy store. !! In Bryon Bay, I took at trapeze class offered by a circus arts school. No joke. The first go of it was the most difficult. I didn't know my hands had the ability to sweat that much. What a rush! Over the Queen's birthday holiday (not her actual birthday), at Coffs Harbour, I met up with James, my boyfriend, (as this is his hometown) and met his parents who own a lovely apartment building overlooking the jetty. Jules & went whale watching there as it is the beginning of the season & were lucky enough to catch sight of a few! Georgeous creatures! Time spent in Sydney touring the city along with the Sydney Aquarium was good fun. Jules climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I didn't join as I had my run at it in December '08.



Then our arrival to Melbourne! It's only been a week and a half or so, but it is most definitely WINTER here. No snow, but quite chilly especially in the evenings. The sun usually tricks us a bit in the afternoon, though only for a short while. Last week, we went to see Wicked (the Broadway Musical) at The Regent. Uncle Tim will be glad to know I didn't miss out as he previously offered me a ticket a few months ago. Mind you, the ticket he offered me was for Portland, Oregon while I was here in Australia. It was a wonderful play! It left me with mixed feelings about the 'Good' Witch Glenda though.

We are settling into life in Melbourne easily enough. We'd found a 3-bedroom apartment in the perfect location: just outside the city and practically on the Yarra River. It's a wonderful area for my morning runs as I get back into training mode for the upcoming half marathon here. Julianne & I share a room along with two Scottish girls in another room. Our third room is currently empty, but is sure to be filled soon enough. I've been working contract/temp positions as I will continue to do to raise funds for the next leg of our journey. Jules is also looking for work along with preparing for the Hillsong Conference in Sydney which runs from July 7-10th.

The plan from here:
Now-end of August: live & work in Melbourne
~~~August (1st week): short trip to Adelaide to see Pink in concert & visit a few friends
September (1st week): Tasmania: visiting friends & backpacking
September (3 weeks): New Zealand: backpacking
October: New Zealand: Volunteer work
~~~Oct 28th: Jules & I have tickets from Auckland, NZ to Seattle
**Keep in mind that airline tickets have a way of changing themselves quite easily.

Love & Miss you all back home!!

03:26 pm: Is it really June already??
I am awful....
I haven't updated this in such a long time.
Let's just see what's happened in the past couple of months....Julianne (my friend from WSU) flew out on April 25th to join me. I worked another three weeks in Brisbane and we began our east coast trip from Cairns to Melbourne on May 15th.
While in Brisbane, I started dating (& am still dating) an Australian guy. :) Nuff said.

The breakdown on places we've been:
1. Cairns
2. Cape Tribulation: The Daintree Rainforest
3. Cairns
4. Port Douglas
5. Townsville
6. Airlie Beach
7. Hervey Bay
8. Noosa
9. Brisbane
10. Noosa
11. Surfer's Paradise
12. Bryon Bay
13. Coffs Harbour

The breakdown on activities participated in:
1. Snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef
2. Night walk through the oldest rainforest in the world: Daintree
3. Horseback riding on the beach at Cape Tribulation
4. Rented bicycles and rode around Port Douglas all day (horrible decision as was the day after horseback riding...)
5. Hiked up to the top of Castle Hill (Townsville)
6. Went to PBR (professional bull riding) Australia competition...a rodeo....sort of
7. Kayaked with sea turtles....SO cool!
8. Nature walk (Noosa National Park) for five hours trying to see koalas and dolphins but alas...nada, but still beautiful
9. Surfed! Yeah...seriously. I was like a little kid in a candy store...so much fun

10. Trapeze lesson....not kidding. There will be a video on Facebook at some point soon.


I will try to make a better effort in the future with this. Julianne has been doing a fantastic job of keeping her blog updated and all the pics are up on facebook while has given me reason to slack off....sorry.
Julianne's blog site: http://juliannegoesdownunder.blogspot.com/
Love to you all!

07:04 pm: Happy Easter!!
It is officially Easter for those back home now! I'm happy to be here but am sorely disappointed that I will miss out on helping Jade and Kahlia hunt for Easter eggs...pictures will need to be sent to me. Australia celebrates a 4-day weekend for Easter (Good Friday & Easter Monday are public holidays) so I've been relaxing and not doing much so far.

Latest update: I am working and quite excited to be doing so. My contract with Toyota was renewed so after a week of not working, I'm back to the same office. On the other hand, my life here isn't too different than at home for the time being. I'm busy hanging out with new friends and working...pretty much loving life.

I went to a rugby league game a couple of weeks ago. What fun! I really didn't expect to get into it as much as I did. It helped that a teenage girl in front of us had a cow bell which she rang for the opposing team (who killed us so she was heard from often). :) The Queensland Reds vs Chiefs. Though I wasn't rooting for a particular team as it took a bit of time before understanding how the game works. The guys I was with had a good go of it.

Went to see The Boat that Rocked with a friend of mine, Dom, on Thursday night. It's basically the story of how a particular radio station in the UK played rock music during a time when it was legally banned for its 'sinful nature' as such. :) Very funny...I would recommend it.

Tomorrow I'm headed to the Bryon Bay Bluesfest!! It's an annual music concert about 90 minutes from Brisbane. A couple of friends of mine & I will be carpooling down there to dance until midnight and proceed to drag ourselves to work the next morning. :) Headliners tomorrow will be Missy Higgins (Australian singer), Jason Mraz, Ben Harper...to name a few.

Oh, and just for those who are curious....I can't find Peeps anywhere! I don't even like them much, but it's Easter. I have consoled myself with a Kinder surprise egg. It's European (?) chocolate with a surprise inside. Last night I ate the egg to find a puzzle inside! I know...I am easily amused.

09:40 pm: Quarter century...I've crossed the line into new territory....
First off...thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the lovely birthday messages, e-mails, e-cards, phone calls, and thoughts!! It's easy to forget sometimes just how many people I have in my life rooting for me. This entire trip, I've been continually overwhelmed at the amount of love and support I've received.

On the eve of my birthday one of my old roommates & related friends as well as some of the Irish girls that I work with painted the town in The Valley....lots of dancing and good times to be had. I've been able to spend a bit of time with the Irish as of late...which came in handy around St. Paddy's Day! :) Saturday night was a laid back evening surrounded with a few Australians who have come to have a special place in my heart. Dan Dash, a fellow Uganda volunteer joined the fun along with a couple of my old roommates, and two other Ozzy friends. A light dinner in South bank then drinks in West End sitting on the steps of a church in the dark discussing life, love, & a bit of politics...haha. Sunday morning brought an opportunity to celebrate for a third round with my friends and family back home...this 17 hour time difference really does work in my favor occasionally. :)

This weekend was a wonderful turning point for me. Strange at it may sound, something clicked for me. I've achieved the original purpose for this Around the World (and back again) trip. I've struggled so much in the last year from putting myself in situations that forced me to change who I am and now it feels as though it has all fallen into place. I'm so happy to be exactly where I am with this person I've become. Learning and admitting one's limitations is difficult to accept. But it allows growth because you learn how to focus your energy in a few meaningful areas rather than feeling spread so thin that you become useless overall. I am deeply grateful for the course my life has taken. All the mistakes, stumbles, falls, tears, and frustrations have brought reason for me. There's a peace to be found in that.

07:49 am: Weather Update
Australia seems to be the center of natural disasters lately. We’ve have massive fires down south (in Victoria) and horrible amounts of flooding in the north (northern Queensland). Yes, there is currently a cyclone in the midst of Queensland. Luckily, I’m to understand that all Brisbane will feel of it is a bit of wind and more than enough rain, but none of a dangerous amount. For those of you unaware, Brisbane is located in the very southern corner of Queensland about an hour in from the ocean.

04:57 pm: New place to live, New job, and Nine weeks until Julianne gets here!!
Hiya everyone! (Or ‘G-Day Mate’ if you prefer)…

It’s been quite a while since my last update. Basically because looking for jobs isn’t all that exciting…and a bit more depressed when you write it out for the world to see. While I tried to keep busy with my roommates and new Aussie friends, there still was far too much free time for me to be happy with. As per usual, new pictures are up to check out.

I’ve moved into a new place. It’s a bit farther away from the city (about fifteen minutes), but great residential location. So far, three roommates.
1. Bec: 18-yr old Aussie from up north. She just finished high school and is starting university down here as a ‘horse whisperer.’ I’ve forgotten what the technical term is, but it sounds like it will be a fulfilling career for her.
2. Adam: 18-yr old Aussie from up north as well. He and Bec are dating. He is the computer nerd of the house. His car looks like one you would see out of Flashdance….great kid.
3. Di: 29-yr old Aussie from good ‘ol Brisvegas….right here. She’s been travelling off and on for about the last four years spending a great deal of time in the UK. Just starting working for the government as she settles back into life here. She’s only been back for a few months.

Found a 6-week contract position of which I’ve finished. This is after taking a job that was described to me as a cashier with a bit of food handling which in actuality was my making burgers and the occasional pizza…yeah. Three days into that job (as I wasn’t going to turn down the only offer I’ve received since starting to look for work in mid-November), and I received the offer by which I am currently employed. I’m a ‘Customer Solutions Representative’ for Toyota which basically means I’m a debt collector. I spend all day on the phone. But after my commute, it ends up taking about 12 hours of my day so it is definitely keeping me busy. The people I work with are great! Most of the people in my department are on Working Holiday visas as well. A majority of these are Irish which confuses me at times, but all have comedic personalities and are willing to help so it makes for a good environment.

The next five weeks will be pretty normal. Hopefully I’ll be able to get my contract extended a few weeks which will add to the funds for the backpacking Julianne & I have planned to start at the end of April. Things are good. I’m happy and healthy and making new friends everyday. Isn’t it wonderful to just be able to say that life is really good right now? Despite the happenings of the world right now which I know is on everyone’s minds…we are healthy and have amazing people in our lives. Love to you all!!

PS Congratulations to Uncle Tim!! He’s taken a position to start on Monday. Life is good all around, yeah?

10:12 am:

Garden City, Brisbane home For Dad...this sticker is on the door to our basement...thought you would appreciate it. :)

10:13 am: Happy Valentine's Day!

Packages Again with the popcorn....haha....Gma always seems to have issues with the popcorn. First in a package sent to me in Uganda and now the problem follows us to Australia. The government wanted $42.50 to send the popcorn back to the states...decided that wasn't worth the added travel. :)

09:25 am: Back in Brisbane....
After four flights and far too much time in crappy airports, I have arrived back in Brisbane, Australia. Yay! My roommates, Halley and Liv, gave me a most warm welcome home followed by a Friday night out on the town in West End. Wonderful way to get back into the swing of things. Luckily, the jet lag doesn't seem to have affected me in the slightest. One good night's sleep after a night out and I am back on track.

A couple of things to remind me of exactly where I am: Last night, I received...count 'em....nine mosquito bites. Arg. I am quickly regretting my forgetfulness in buying a DEET 100 product whilst home. And although the sun still rises at 4:30am, the true heat has backed off until about 9:30am which is a happily accepted change.

I am thankful to have had the time at home that I did. It was a necessary trip as I needed the comfort of being around the people who love me and familiar places in order to continue this trip with a renewed enthusiasm. Thank you to everyone who made the effort to see me. I know it wasn't easy with my cramped schedule. It was quite lovely to see everyone.

And so, on with the experience, I plan to stay in Brisbane for a few months until Julianne (a friend from WSU) comes out to join me in late April. (!!!) I can't tell you how excited I am. It has occurred to me that this year won't be an Around the World trip so I guess I'll need to come up with a new name for this 2009 adventure. :) Love to you all!

10:50 am:

Butterhorns! Gma & I made them a few days before Christmas...it's tradition after all!

10:48 am:

Time to Sled! Me & Jade all bundled up ready to get some speed!

10:46 am: Back at home....

View from our home... In Tulalip...looking out towards the mountains

10:09 am:

Sydney Harbor Bridge Me at the top overlooking the city

08:03 pm: All packed up...
The 2008 Journey: more to come in 2009....
ROUTE:
Seattle, WA, USA
Dublin, Ireland, UK
*Gallway, Cliffs of Moher, Cork, Blarney Castle, Kilkenny
London, England, UK (flight only)
Kampala/Entebbe, Uganda, East Africa
*Mukono, Ntenjeru, Nsumba, Jinja
Kigali, Rwanda, East Africa
Kampala, Uganda, East Africa
*Kabale, Lake Bunyoni, Mukono, Nsumba, Ntenjeru, Entebbe, Jinja, Murchison Falls
Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Africa (flight only)
Bangkok, Thailand, Southeast Asia
*Ko Tao, Ko Pha-Ngan, Ko Samui, Ko Phi Phi, Phuket, Chiang Mai
Luang Prabang, Laos, Southeast Asia
Bangkok, Thailand, Southeast Asia
*Chiang Mai
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (flight only)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
HOME (via Nadi, Fiji & Los Angeles)

I have 12 hours until I leave for Sydney. One day there before I make the long journey home...Man am I ready to be home! I can't get over how strange it is to have Christmas music playing whilst everyone is in the sunshine. Love to you all and I will see you soon!!!