So I've been in Australia for a week now and have yet to see a koala or a kangaroo. I'm a little disappointed with that, but otherwise, it's been pretty good. It didn't get off to a great start, however.
I arrived on Sunday March 24th, and immediately had problems. At customs they decided to do a narcotics test on some of my stuff, and low and behold, they found traces of cocaine on my keyboard! I started to freak out, because I've never done cocaine, I've never even seen it in person! Because of this, and the fact that I booked my flight and bought my visa last minute, they needed to rip apart all my bags. It took me probably an hour after everyone else to get through, but finally I did, and it turned out okay. It was pretty terrifying though, I'm not sure what would have happened if they decided I couldn't come into the country. Anyways, after I got through, I got picked up and went down to Victor Harbour, where Louisa had spent the weekend. We went down to the beach for a little while, and then drove home. I was extremely jet lagged, having spent more than 40 hours in transit, and Louisa was just hungover, so we napped for hours. Even with the 4 hour nap, I slept for 14 hours that night. I must have needed it. Louisa finished school and came home before I woke up. Once I did, we went down to the beach, and had lunch, and then went to see The Hunger Games. It was a fantastic film, and there was hardly anyone in the theatre. That Monday night I slept for another 12 or 13 hours, I was still catching up I guess.
On Tuesday, while Louisa was in school, I went to the mall and had a look at all the shops, went into some travel agencies to try to get some plans formulated, and went to the doctors to try to get a prescription for some of the pills I forgot in Nairobi. I ended up making an appointment for the next day because it would have been about a 2 hour wait to get in. We both had a quiet night that night.
On Wednesday, I skyped home early in the morning, and then went to the doctors. After the doctors, I made my way down to the beach. I spent probably an hour or 2 just browsing through a used book store. That night Louisa and I went out to meet a couple of her friends for drinks.
On Thursday, we went into the city and walked through the Botanic gardens (still no koalas, but I did see a kookaburra). It was very pretty with all the big tall trees, and different flowers. We then went to Rundell Mall, which is a huge outdoor shopping centre, and found some beach chairs that we sat in and people watched for half an hour or so. We then made our way to the market. It was so interesting, and you would never expect there to be so much room in the building it was in, but there was so many vendors. After the market we walked through China Town for a bit, and then made our way home. It was a long day, so we had a quiet night that night as well.
On Friday Louisa’s father, Louisa and I went kayaking in Port Adelaide. It was awesome! We discovered my common sense is not so great sometimes, Louisa told me to stand up in my kayak, and I tried to, and consequently fell in. After struggling for a few minutes to get back in, I realized I could stand up. So we emptied my kayak and went back to the shore. After an hour or so of tanning, we were getting ready to leave and then all of a sudden I look out at the water and see 3 dolphins swimming along. Naturally we both got really excited and watched them for about 10 minutes. In total I think we saw about 6 dolphins. It was wonderful to see them in their natural environment, they are so graceful. That evening, we were supposed to go to a benefit concert about climate change, but we were both so tired we just stayed in and watched a movie. On Saturday, Louisa, Adrian (L’s brother) and I went to Comic Con. Adrian didn’t want to dress up, but Louisa went as Poison Ivy, Batman’s nemesis, and I went as Katniss from the Hunger Games. It was actually a really fun day. Lots of people got dressed up, and I felt really cheap with my simple costume and homemade bow and arrow, but a couple people recognized me, so
that was good. After Comic Con, Louisa and I went to a SAFL (South Australian Football League) game with a bunch of her friends. SAFL is a very interesting sport; it’s like a mix between rugby and football. I didn’t understand much of it, but it was fun. After the game we went to a bar for some drinks and ended up back at one of her friend’s house. All in all, it was a good day.
On Sunday, Louisa and I went to a housewarming party for a couple of her friends, and we met a lot of people. It was meant to be quiet but Louisa was still so tired from Saturday night that I had to drive home. It wasn’t much different than driving in Canada, apart from being on the left side of the road instead of the right.
Today, Monday, we have no plans, and have not done anything exciting. I’m heading to Melbourne tonight; I’m taking an overnight bus so I don’t think I’ll get much sleep. Because of that I’m just taking it easy today.