...you've been warned...

Hey All,

I leave tomorrow to head east going towards Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney.  I've got no set days of when I will be in any of these places.  I also have no idea when I will have internet and computer access. That being said, I don't know when I will have updates on here.

Miss you, love you,
Camille

...randomness at its best...

So I played a bit of competitive badminton the other day.  Yep.

Story...  I went and got a burger from a local restaurant here in Perth and the girl at the register was super friendly and talkative.  As I waited for my food to be cooked we talked about a couple of different things and she happened to ask me if I was a Christian after something I said.  She then invited me to her church's young professional outreach activity for the following day, which was playing badminton.  I have not played since I was maybe 7 or 8 years old in the yard at my parent's house and it was definitely NOT anything serious.

Well, we get to the gymnasium at 8:30pm and there are like 5 badminton courts set up with people playing and watching.  I was not expecting it to be such a huge thing.  It was all Asian people if you had not guessed that already.  Most of the people in our group were Malaysian.  I had fun talking with them and played 3 playful games (poorly).  It was fun to watch and see how serious it got for some people, like there was sweating and keeping score and real technique.  At 11:30pm we finally left and 9 of us headed to Chinatown to grab dinner.  I loved this experience! 

I thought that the restaurant we were in was pretty significantly and authentically Chinese but they let me know that it was still quite European.  Two of the guys ordered for the whole table (where there were only chopsticks given).  We drank tea and had about 8 different dishes brought to us.  I'm not sure what I was eating some of the times (I automatically recognized the pork and chicken but there was also duck and tofu that I didn't immediately know).  Before they ordered they were smiling and asking me if I have any allergies, if I like hot food, and if I there is anything I won't eat.  I reluctantly let them know I have no allergies, do like hot-ish food, and am open to trying different things.  I liked everything with the exception of one dish and I think that was the one that was something suspicious by the look on their 2 faces as I ate it LOL.  I heard the word "intestines" but I don't know to what animal they belonged and he was hushed :-/

About the chopsticks... I've tried to use them before and am able to sort of do it, however incorrectly.  I tried again with them and one of girls actually just got up and got me cutlery without even asking me LOL.  So I think that we can consider that a FAIL! on my part.  No one can say I didn't try though.

I'm actually going to lunch with some of them in about an hour.  We're going to another Asian type restaurant. 

This is so great, you all really must find a way to experience other cultures.  Easily done in the city you live in!

Love,
Me

Can I just get an "A" for effort!?!

About this whole computer thing... I went to the shop today to pick up my computer and was told that my computer is fine and my battery is fine, which are both blessings to hear for obvious reasons.  However, the issue is with my charger and I cannot really get another one until I get back to the States.  They were going to order one for me but I will not be in Perth by the time it could get here plus I don't want a plug that goes to an Oz outlet.  So now the issue with technology is no longer that I would just need wireless to post on here, I need a computer and access to a port that would allow me to be able to upload my pictures.  In the city that is not a huge issue but when I'm not in the city, that is a whole other story.

So that being said I am going to upload some pictures from the roadtrip to Perth from Darwin plus the last few days of traveling the southwest corner of Oz.  I am going to do my best but again am pretty limited.

Thanks for your patience and miss your faces :-)

This was at Kakadu National Park

 

 

Again at Kakadu National Park just as the sun was setting...

 

We had to hike up a bit but this is at sunset at Kakadu National Park...

 

 

 

End of the sunset at Kakadu...

 

Still at Kakadu at the sunset.

 

This is at Kakadu National Park... There were 2 wild horses so that was really cool to see and experience first thing in the morning :-)

 

Yes, yes I do like to dance LOL

 

@ Kakadu National Park... This was cool to be able to see some of the Aboriginal rock art out in nature.

In Litchfield National Park at a site of termite mounds (it looks like a cemetery right!?!)

 

We went for a morning swim here in Litchfield National Park...

 

View from above at Litchfield National Park

 

A field of kangaroo along our drive...

 

Is there such a thing as an ugly sunset on the water, I mean really!?!

 

Apparently when you are traveling and camping with a French guy you can expect to eat very well.  I told Remi that I don't even eat this well when I'm at home!  It was as good as it looks :-)

 

This is where he cooked it!!!  At the border of Northern Territory and Western Australia...

 

I finally got a picture of one of the bushfires... It's in the distance but you get a better idea of what we were driving through sometimes...

 

Cockatoo are everywhere here.  They make an awful sound but they are cool to see none the less...

 

In Canavaroon at the end of the pier before walking the mile in flip flops along an old wooden railway bridge.

 

:-)

 

 We got to the westcoast and this is where we slept that first night... Great spot picked by Remi.

 

Sunset from the caravan's parked spot :-)

 

And in the morning there was a double rainbow!!!  Could it have been more perfect!?!

 

Hello Perth, we'll see you in the morning! :-)

 

They are very proud of King's Park here and boast that it is bigger than Central Park.  I liked this cool playground.  Simple.

 

The ducks had a nest in the tree and were waiting for all of the babies to plop down out so that they could move on to a new life phase... (Good find Remi!)

 

I finally was able to get close enough to take a picture of one of the parrots I've seen so much of!

 

As we drove down the westcoast we were met by some pretty sites...  Including fields of yellow flowers :-) Update 9/5/13 I now know that this is Canola, like the oil.

 

Sunset as we drove down to Albany from Perth...

 

In Albany as we were driving around in the morning...

 

This is the natural bridge...  A lot of wind and water were fought to get this picture :-)

 

Margaret River displayed another rainbow for us.  I seriously have never seen so many rainbows in such a short period of time as I have since being in Australia...

 

In Margaret River... A much bigger kangaroo than I have been seeing :-)

 

Sorry about the angle... This was a bit outside of Margaret River...

 

Down a street in Fremantle :-)

 

I've noticed a lot of the city buses are Mercedes, if that tells you something about this city!

 

In South Perth along Swan River... I learned that Black Swans are native to Australia, I didn't even know that they existed COOLNESS!!!

 

So this is in the museum... It's beautiful but has very little inside surprisingly (or not surprisingly?).

These computers will not allow me to upload the videos I have.  Maybe another day!?!

Enjoy!

...some kind of mood...

Have you ever experienced a movie, exhibit, song, etc. for the first time that put you in a sorrowful mood?  Well, allow me to share my Western Australia Museum experience with you.  As I have said before I am in the city of Perth for a bit and today I decided to go to the museum.  It's actually quite bare and the way it is set up was disorienting, but that is not the point.  (Actually I wonder if it is set up in this way to go along with the way this country is mostly, a lot of open space with sudden areas of something.)  Anyway, the last exhibit I left was the area that displayed modern history of the Aboriginal people.  If you know nothing about this population I think that they are worth looking up.  Not surprising, I have seen a lot of Aboriginals since being in Oz but not so many here in Perth.

The exhibit mentioned the "lost generation" as well as other older history of the population.  Even just looking at the photography from the early 1900s I could see the lowly status of the Aboriginal men without even needing to hear the history.  If there were white men in the picture then the Aboriginal man was in some way kneeling or at some lower physical position than the white man, very blatant actually.  The history reminds me of the Native American's in the States except theirs is more recent.  Even as recent as 50 or so years ago the Aboriginal people did not have the same rights as the rest of Australians.

I have talked with some Australian people and of course they are not the spokespeople for their country.  That being said they had an expectation that anyone that comes to this country assimilate into their culture, period.  I think that a lot of people in the States believe this too, it's sad really.  We lose cultures when we think this way and have these expectations.  I also talked with some Australian people that genuinely appear to have an understanding of the impact and meaning behind what has been done.  The understanding and ignorance know no age limit because some of the people have been older and some younger.  It's all about the heart I suppose :-)

The realization that people come from another country and kill, steal, rape, kidnap, etc. from the native people then expect them to be like you is RIDICULOUS!?!  We did it with the Native Americans and they did with the Aboriginal. 

Like I said, I'm in some kind of mood.

...west coast here but not there...

Hey Sunshines,

So I am currently on Australia's west coast after 1 week traveling from Darwin to Perth with my French travel-mate.  It keeps coming up in my head that I have never been to the West coast in the States.  Actually when I think about it, I haven't been to a lot of places in the States in general compared to all of the places that I have been here.  Someone I talked to reminded me that I will always have my own country to easily explore but not necessarily other countries, so I'll use that as my excuse for wanting to keep going to other countries.  I have to go to France now to visit Remi since he has now gone back as of yesterday.  It might take a couple of years to save up the money and learn some French but I am definitely going to have to make my way there.

My computer is in the shop for the next couple of days so I have no pictures to share but they will be good.  I'm hoping to maybe be able to add some videos as well.  Like I mentioned we did a caravan relocation for Apollo that took a week from Darwin to Perth.  After that we rented a car here in Perth and traveled down to Albany, Margaret River, and Fremantle.  They were all lovely places for different reasons.  I am glad to be in a bigger city again though because I really missed buildings and a lot of people and shops and public transportation (which I never use but still) and options and and and... I basically just realized that I am a city girl at heart.  So as much as I appreciated the outback, beach towns, and little cities along the way, I missed the city a lot!

My lovely mother will be glad to hear that I am staying in a hostel room with all females since I have been traveling a lot with guys (only because that has been how things have worked out).  Sorry to worry you mommy, please keep praying (protection, discernment and blessings).  I would like to say that all of the guys have been really nice and respectful-ish in a masculine way (burping, farting, cussing, smoking, etc.) LOL.  All of them have been brotherly acting though so I can't complain too much.

I'm slowing down as far as tours and adventures that require I pay because I have gone over my budget the last 2 weeks with paying for diesel fuel and then getting another rental and paying for that petrol as well.  I am chlling out here in the city for the next couple of weeks to avoid spending much more money as I plan for making my way east on to some of the other cities and eventually back to Brisbane.  My computer breaking did not help with this at all but with technology it is what it is I suppose.  Once it is up and running again I will gladly share more of my adventures with you all!!!

LOVE TO YOU,
Me

…on the road again…

Written 8/9/13

I’m making my way around quite well.  A bit faster than I thought I would actually.  I’m now in the outback headed to Perth.  It’s a week long ride with my travel mate from Cairns that I happened to meet up with in Darwin.  He and I traveled to Kakadu National Park as well as Litchfield National Park.  There were some stupendous sites to be appreciated.  Unfortunately we were limited to 2WD roads but we still experienced some pretty things such as a natural waterfall we were able to swim at the bottom of.   Now we are taking a truck down to Perth for Apollo and so got a good deal on it.  The vehicle is our transportation as well as our kitchen and bedroom so we save on accommodations at least :-)

Plus I am learning how to drive a manual 4WD truck!  Yea, go hard or go home right!?!  I don’t really want to learn how to drive a manual car but I feel bad that he has to drive the whole way so I am going to try to help out.  I drove a small bit in the regular car the other day so I at least got a feel for the right side of the car and left side of the road (and the turn signal being on the right side and up being left and down being right after several accidental windshield wiper turn ons).  My travel mate is super patient and helpful so that is great when it comes to learning.  I believe that he has much more confidence than I do about my learning.  He has 2 younger sisters so that helps because he apparently taught one of them to drive.  I love that we are driving through the outback listening to a mixture of French, Spanish and other music as well (he is French).  I have no idea what the lyrics are but it’s a fun experience. 

We have met several other travelers along the way.  One was a family of 5 and very kind and talkative.  They let us try their grilled pumpkin and some sort of camp bread with honey and cream on it… SO GOOD!  Yesterday there was a couple that has been traveling for 5 months.  I have noticed that traveling is really a part of the Australian culture.  Everyone has campers and RVs and 4wheelers and boats and and and… They are a very traveling culture and I LOVE IT!!!  Not just within Australia either, most of the people I have met within stores and around the campgrounds has people that have been all over the world.  I am realizing that I need to travel the US more as people tell me places they have been in the states that I have not been to, mainly the west coast. 

This was very rushed, as have been most of my posts, so I apologize for the many spelling and grammatical mistakes for those of my friends and family that pay attention to those things ;-)

Miss your faces!

(pictures to come, I'm out of time on the internet now)

…PG-13…

Written 8/6/13

Parental Advisory is suggested due to this post mentioning the (unintentional) death of a kangaroo ;-)

I arrived yesterday in Darwin.  It was about a 3 day drive from Townsville to here.  It was sort of a disappointing ending point to be honest with you.  I was unable to find reasonable accommodation so I have to stay with my travel mate for at least one more night.  Plus the city looks sort of dirty compared to some of the other places.  Getting here meant that I had to go through the Australian outback.  It was such an amazing stereotype.  There were so many caravans; hundreds of kangaroos, several bush fires, amazing sunsets and clear starry skies (fail on a sunrise because I slept through them all).

I experienced “road trucks” which are 3-4 trailer long semis that kick up every possible thing they can from off of the road.  They are intense and intimidating.  At first I just saw (and smelled) dead kangaroos all along the highway in Queensland.  Then once we got to the Northern Territory there were little kangaroos everywhere.  We hit one (I’m about 99.9% sure we killed it).  I was kind of upset about it for obvious reasons but it was unavoidable.  After we hit it I was on high alert trying to help the driver to not hit anymore, mission accomplished!  We didn’t see any bushfires until the end of the trip.  Something else that upset me but that was unavoidable for us obviously.  This is one resilient country I’d like to say!  I am glad that I chose not to fly to Darwin because I got to see a lot.  I even learned a new constellation and star name… BAM!

In the few hours I’ve been in Darwin, I’ve been taught about Australian rules rugby (and actually think I get it).  Next thing you know I’ll be calling people “love” and “mate.”  And for the record I actually really like that they say “love” here so much more than people back at home saying “sweetie”, “honey”, “baby”, “ma.”  It is an across the board term for both men and women to use and I like it just fine :-)

Miss your faces!

With Love,

Me

 

The view at the top of my hike up Castle Hill in Townsville...

This was at the top (thanks a lot!)

It was really pretty inside of this place, and there were beautiful and random birds in cages (turkey, ducks, peacock, etc.).

From one of the street entrances looking in...

One of the views from inside the garden (that is the hill I'd hiked up earlier in the day).

Walking along the beach on the main stretch in Townsville.

 

The outback at its finest...

...2 days of this... and cows and hawks and crows and kangaroo...

...driving...

...still driving...

...yep... (these bushes made me think of ballerinas for some reason(maybe I'm starting to hallucinate))

...tee hee hee... (got a little bored)

...sunset in the outback...

...it was pretty lovely if I do say so...

...and it seemed to take forever...

...you can't really see anything but this is one of the smaller bushfires as we were driving past... (I never knew when to pull my camera out to capture one so I didn't get any good shots of one)