the adventures of the lime green leisure bicycles

Yesterday it was another beautiful day in paradise; the sun was shining, the weather was great and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
Kait and I were out by our pool bronzing and soaking up the rays, these UV rays here so so strong, it doesn't take long to get a nice bronze going on.
The weather here is finally getting nicer, temperatures of 30+ I really do live in paradise, I couldn't ask for a better life.
As the sun started going behind the buildings it was time for us to think what we were going to do next on this beautiful day. We decided that we were going to go biking. Kait and I decided that we were going to walk down the street and hire some bikes and go riding.
We hired the bikes and took off down the coast. Life is good. Bike riding down the coast of the ocean, sun is shining, I don't think life can get any better.
Kait and I biked from Surfers to Harbour Town, Harbour Town is an outlet type outdoor mall that has a discount fruit market which is so yummy! You can get heaps of fresh fruit for so cheap. From Surfers to Harbour Town is a 20k ride there and back. Yep you got it, I rode 20k in 30+ weather along the coast of the ocean. It was BEAUTIFUL!

This a a quick map of the route of where I biked to and from yesterday.

Me on the leisure bike riding down the costal highway.

Some of the beautiful scenery we saw along our ride

Bike path along the coast

The lime green leisure bikes, LOVE THEM!

Now that Kait and I have realized that we love to bike and apparently we like to bike substantial distances we are going to invest in our own bikes and go riding all the time. I want to work up to being able to ride from Surfers to Coolangatta and have breakfast at my favourite place called Raw Energy.

This is a map from Surfers to Coolangatta, its a bit more of a ride on a bike. Its 24km one way.

This gives us something to work up to and we know that there is a yummy treat at Raw as a reward for us haha!

Life is Good.

2 Months...Can you believe it?!

So I have been in Australia for 2 months now. I actually can't believe it. I feel so at home here!

I'm going to let you all in on a little inside info now! (Mom, Dad, you're not going to be happy about some of this but its life)

So over the past 2 months that I have been here I have; met a lot of really cool people and made lots of new friends. I have been to the wildlife centre where I pet and fed a kangaroo, and saw koalas and dingos. I have driven on the other side of the road, and well thought I was in Canada at one point and actually went down the wrong side of the road and came you know head to head with a yute. Thank gosh we were both going at low speeds in a residential area. I have rented a moped and went places you would never think a moped would go, I was about a good 45 minutes from a town on an empty tank of gas...I made it home with just enough gas. Kait and I tipped the moped and between us we had to pay the moped guy $200 each for him to fix it. We don't talk about that much anymore, we are still quite bitter about that. I have had about 8 jobs while I have been here, I am now down to 2 and I really enjoy them. I have bought a 26er of Smirnoff vodka for about $50, yes alcohol is very expensive here, I now drink very cheap wine or even stoop as low as drinking goon. I have been to Melbourne for the weekend where we explored the city, went to local wineries and did wine tastings, and bought some local bottles of wine. I have been down the Great Ocean Road and it is absolutely beautiful. I have almost missed a flight back to the Gold Coast, running through the parking lot with the McDonalds family pack in hand we made it to the check in just as they were closing it off. I have been to Byron Bay three times now and have come to the conclusion that is so far my favourite place on earth. I have went to pay for something and gotten my card declined. I have had $44 to my name. With that being said I have spent about $5 000 in 2 months.  I have asked someone to borrow money at the bar to buy a bottle of wine. I have worked a 17-hour work shift. I have taken over 1 000 pictures since I have been here. I have been to a rainforest and hiked through it. I have been to caves where there were glowworms. I have tried hitchhiking but didn’t get picked up. I guess karma has gotten me there because I don’t pick up hitchhikers either. I have been locked out of my apartment for hours and had to hang around the pool where some family asked me if I wanted to join them for dinner. I declined. I have gotten a new tattoo, it is on my foot, and it is the most painful tattoo I have gotten so far. I have been on a rollercoaster here that I think is the scariest one I have ever been on. I have become a Chai Tea Latte addict, its very hard for me to pass by a Starbucks and not indulge in one of these yummy drinks.

There are still lots of things I want to do like learn to surf, I want to skydive in Byron Bay for Christmas, I want to go camping in Noosa or anywhere on the Sunshine Coast for that matter, I'm planning on going to Fiji in February with my roomies and some friends before I leave the Gold Coast and there is heaps more but I would be here for hours writing it all out.

My plan from the Gold Coast as of now is to go farming in a little town outside of Perth, apples will be in season at this time. I figure I will get a sweet tan, get fit and really learn how to ruff it. This will enable me to extend my Australian Visa for a year. Don't worry I just want to extend it so I can make sure I can see everything in Australia I want to see before I have to come home. This side of the world is so beautiful!

Personality Colour

Today I was laying on the couch kinda bored and yes I was creeping Facebook. I saw that one of my Facebook friends did a quiz on what their "Personality Colour" was. Laying here bored I was like what the heck I'll take the quiz too. Here are the results....

My Personality Colour is...

RED

You have incredible will-power and you are capable of overcoming obstacles that would stop others. You enjoy a pleasant and colorful environment. You are capable of bursts of high energy spontaneity, though generally more "laid back". You are energetic and interested in many areas of life. You are capable of accomplishment when consciously focused and persistent.

Wow! I think that this is quite accurate to what kind of personality I have. Capable of bursts of high energy and spontaneity -- I think that sums me up right there! I am also very laid back and I take things very lightly. I know that some people find this incredibly annoying that I am very passive about some issues that are quite serious but to me I feel that I can't stress about things that are out of my control. Whatever happens, happens and you deal with it!

 

I miss you...

I found myself thinking today a lot about home and my family because I looked at the calendar and realized that this weekend would be Thanksgiving if I was back at home in Canada.
When I get thinking about my family I was thinking a lot about my Grandpa. I miss him so much everyday! He brought so much joy to my life everyday and was such an influential part of my life; it is sometimes so hard to think that he isn't still here with my Grandma today. It doesn't seem right. I sometimes get so excited that when I get home from Australia I will rush over to my Grandparents house and it is just my Grandma there waiting for me.
This is all the journey that we like to call life. You are placed on Earth, you live your life, and you move on. I was so lucky to have my Grandpa in my life for as long as I did, and to have such a special relationship with him. I have no regrets, I would just like to tell him one more time how much I loved him.

Global Gypsy

I was in Byron Bay, yes I truly do love it there, and I was in a little shop and I came across this book called Global Gypsy by Gerar Toye. The words "Global Gypsy" caught my eye first and I picked the book up and skimmed through the pages. This book is full of beautiful black and white photos and beautiful quotes. 

Gerar Toye is a kiwi that has been roaming the planet for over twenty years. He has been living his dream to travel and he has spent more than half of his life traveling alone always avoiding winter. 

When I opened the book and came across the first paragraph that was in it I knew that I had to buy this book. The first paragraph in this book is. "I traveled twenty thousand kilometers before I realised the best journey was within. I could not have begun my spiritual journey had it not been for my constant desire to explore my potential. That desire was stronger than the fear of the unknown."

I have done pretty much exactly this. I traveled about twenty five thousand kilometers from home, to find myself in Australia. I have always had a constant desire to travel and explore all of the amazing things that this world has to offer. As I have been traveling I have come to realise that the best journey is within. When you travel so far from home and you are virtually on your own you really start to learn a lot about yourself. I have learned so many new things about myself that I had never known before. I am capable of a lot more then I ever thought I could be capable of. I am a much stronger person than I thought I was. I have been able to clear my head and get rid of all the negative and fill my head with only positive things. Anything bad that ever happens to me I think of the good in the situation. Sometimes it is very hard to find good in some bad situations but if you dig hard enough you will find it. 

Gerar also mentions that writing in his journal was a necessary part of his personal growth. Writing in a journal really helps to clarify any confusing thoughts of feelings you may have and you always feel safe writing in your journal. I don't know what I would do without my journal or my blog. I have always had a love for writing and I can express it freely through my journal and blog. There was one point where I was a bit insecure about my journal and blog because I was somewhat made fun of by a certain person, as I have traveled I have met so many people who have a journal and a blog. I am so proud of my journal and blog now! So screw you "certain someone"...excuse my French...

This book is full of quotes that I love but a few stand out more than others

"It's good to have a destination to journey towards but it is the journey that matters in the end" 

- Ursula Le Guin

"Travel is fatal to prejudice bigotry and narrow mindedness."

-Mark Twain

"We cannot discover new oceans until we have the courage to loose sight of the shore."

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Lao Tsu

This is how I want my passport to look...covered in stamps! 

Who doesn't have the travel bug?

Well I have had the travel bug since my first trip to Florida when I was about 2, correct me if I'm wrong Mom.
So I went from having a nice $44.07 to my name and then I got 2 nice pay checks from working. It feels good to have money again!
I can never save money so I needed to work out some goals so that it helps me save money and that I did. I spent about an hour yesterday planning my Australian Adventure. I picked up a book on my flight to Melbourne and it has all the spots that I want to hit in Australia so I planned around that.

The places I want to visit are;

• Adelaide - the visit some wineries
• Alice Springs - THE OUTBACK!
• Brisbane 
• Canberra - Australia's Capital
• Cairns
• Darwin
• Hobart - Tasmania
• Mackay
• Melbourne - I'd like to do some more sightseeing there if time and money permit
• Perth
• Rockhampton
• Sunshine Coast
• Sydney - For New Years with Jessica
• Broome

I am planning on leaving the Gold Coast in the middle of February when my apartment lease is up and doing something like this.

Gold Coast  - Sunshine Coast - Rockhampton - Mackay - Cairns - Darwin - Broome - Perth

Places like Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, and possibly Hobart I can visit while I live on the Gold Coast. I love living in Australia because domestic traveling is so cheap. I can hop on a plane and head to Sydney for a few days over New Years and it is $178 round trip. I couldn't fly from London, ON to Toronto, ON for that cheap.

Jessica is coming to visit me in Australia in December, December 15th to be exact, so we will be together for Christmas and New Years! She is coming for a month, and during that month we are going to go to Thailand for a week and maybe spend a few days in Bali on the way back.

I can't wait to start my travels in Australia, this excites me so much! I wish that I could spend the rest of my life travelling the world and not having to work, maybe along my travels I will find something that can allow me to do so!

I have to leave Australia on August 16, 2011, that will be a very sad day, but I have 6 months to travel. When I decided to get a flight back to Canada no one will know when I am coming, I will just show up! It will be a big surprise!!

BRING ON THE ADVENTURE!