life in the city. . .

have been busy settling in. . .looking for work, a semi-permanent place to stay, etc. . .here's a little update on our lives in the city. . .

Rob makes a new friend with a puppy, Layla. . .now, everytime they meet, she says hello to his toes. . .sometimes in a violent fashion. . .but it's all puppy love :)

moved in to our "new" pad this week. . . our room is the top left corner with the balcony. . .rent is decent for being so close to the city. . we do have 3 housemates (all Korean), but we don't see much of any of them. . .we have the master suite. . so it's great!. . and a big bonus. . .air conditioning!!! it's been above 30C all week!!! the humidity is what gets us. . .

Friday, January 26 was Australia day. . . we celebrated with our new friends. . it was good times! :) flag raising at Roma Parklands (above)

oh. . this isn't our party. . .but doesn't it look fab? :)

this is our indoor BBQ at Andrew's flat . . .it was really good to meet lots of new people. . .and have Sanitarium veggie hotdogs (so good that Rob wants to import some to Canada). . .

an Oz day must include some cricket. . .rob (in red) bowls (don't ask me what that means, obviously, i only watched :)

ended the day with some fireworks. . . it was a grand start to a long weekend! :)

around Oz in a campervan. . .

after the Philippines, the in-laws came back with us to Oz for two weeks. . .we rented a campervan that sleeps four (cozeeee. . . as you will see). . .and drove from Brisbane to Sydney and back. . . then up to Fraser Island and ending up in Brisbane again . . .Rob, our amazing driver, drove on the wrong side of the road only once. . .and it was because of me, the not so amazing navigator. . .ha ha. . . but we made it and it was good times. . . here are snapshots of our roadtrip. . .

at the Australia Zoo. . .home of the Irwin family. . it was amazing. . we got to play with the Kangaroos. . .and cuddle with Koalas. . .just too bad we didn't see Terri or Bindi Irwin, although Terri was supposed to be there. . .

Rob can't resist pushing the Kangaroo's ears down!!! :)

a memorial for the late Steve Irwin. . . very touching. . .

saw the croc show. . .yikes! they give me the shivers. . .

posters of Steve Irwin were everywhere. . .RIP. . .

this is our campervan. . .our home for 2 weeks. . . we had a fridge, 2 mini-double beds, a kitchenette and pretty much everything we needed! :) below is a peek inside. . that's Rob up in our bed doing some reading! :) :) :)

beautiful Byron Bay in New South Wales. . .

we were at the most easternly point of the Oz mainland! :) now we need to find the most westernly point. . .

we saw wild dolphins (above). . we watched them for hours! it was captivating! :) and we saw not so wild ones too (below). . .they were so much fun. . .

this dude is a real live pelican. . .i just can't believe how his eyes and bill outlines look like they're drawn on!!! :)

a hazy view of Surfers Paradise. . .check out the waves!

spent a couple days with a tour group on Fraser Island. . .the world's largest sand island! that's our ride - a 4 wheel drive 24 passenger bus. . .

all roads were sand. . .makes for a very eventful ride. . .those sitting in the back had the most rockin' time! :)

it was amazing to see the rainforest on the island. . .again, a sand island. .and yes, we drove through the rainforest. . wow!

then we walked through the desert!!! very, very, very HOT!!!


but we had a fresh water lake waiting for us at the end of the walk. . .again, a fresh water lake in the middle of the dessert. . on the sand island. . .wow!

the Maheno shipwreck. . .

our "rugged" accommodations :)

i enjoyed playing in the sand. . .

while rob played with the water! :)

the Champagne pools. . .incredibly clear water. . .a very refreshing swim on a scortching hot day!

back on the mainland. . .a walk on the pier at Hervy Bay. . .plenty of fish to watch or catch if you're lucky!