Australia - Day 9 (Croc's Rule!)

Kenric petting a koala @ the Australia Zoo 


The Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin 

Wow, I think this is the longest I've gone without internet or e-mail in years... :)

The last 5 days or so were spent up in the Gold Coast, where Surfer's Paradise is. It's a city very much like Miami--nothing but beaches. We were fortunate enough to stay up there with one of Jacqueline's flatmates, Kellie. Kellie and her family were really great hosts and they really spoiled us--they have an amazing place (much like a resort), lived right by the lake, and Kellie's mom made us great food.

One of the highlights was our day trip/tour up to the Sunshine Coast, which is a couple hours north. The main attraction was the Australia Zoo, home of the "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin. We were really lucky to see him 'cause he's normally in the States. But with the Easter Holiday weekend, he was back home. Anyway, he is just as animated in person as he is on tv! It's still crazy to see him go into the water with the crocs and use himself as live bait.

Unfotunately though, I wish we had spent more time on the beach, soaking up the sun. Saturday was supposed to be spent on the beach bumming around, but after only about an hour, it started to rain! Ugh, we ended up spending most of the day indoors.

(An interesting note: despite the long hours of sun every day and the apparent lack of an ozone layer, people don't use sunblock down here. And even if you went to the store to get some, the highest protection they offer is SPF30.)

Anyhow, I'm now in Canberra (the capital of Australia--yes, not Sydney) visiting Jacqueline at her school, Australia National University. No more sun, hot days and bikini babes. ;) Just campus life and the weather is pretty cool down here--much like my days in Waterloo.

From down under,
Kenric
7:05 PM Canberra Time