Darwin.... this weekend!

So this Sunday we head to Darwin in the Top End of Australia! We're heading out for about 9 days with Sophie, Liz and Richard... we're flying there and then renting a 6-berth campervan (yes, think big) and touring around Darwin, Kakadu National Park, Litchfield National Park and the town of Katherine. (It's Crocodile Dundee country!) We expect fantastic weather as it's the dry season, loads of saltwater crocs, beautiful gorges, some spectacular wildlife and loads of aboriginal art/cultural things. And of course, 5 people in a campervan for 7 days is going to be extremely entertaining in itself... We'll let you know how it goes!

Fun Weekend - Sophie's Birthday

(Left to right: Richard, Kersti, Billy, Sophie, Lisanne)

(Left to right: Billy, Kersti, Byron, Simone, Liz, Richard, Sophie)

Liz & Sophie!

To celebrate the end of Kersti's first term, we enjoyed a weekend full of social outings! Thursday night we went wine tasting at Federation Square, and then to dumplings with a few friends... Friday we went to a first of two birthday parties for Sophie, and went to a bar then a restaurant with a big group of people. We finished off the evening getting rained on at a rooftop bar, but it was fun, nonetheless! Saturday morning we did some errands and then went to Sophie's for some birthday cake... then Billy went to hear the Dalai Lama speak at the park just a few minutes walk from our house. Then we met up with Sophie, Byron, Richard, Liz and Simone for a full night of comedy! It was a dinner/comedy show thing, which was quite fun, and then we went to our first Melbourne club. Sunday we went touring around some new neighborhoods we had yet to explore... and then met up with Richard and Alex to see Shrek 3 at Crown Casino. Of course, three late nights in a row means that Billy and I are exhausted... we just can't party like we used to!!! Good thing we have a week to rest before our Darwin trip!

Tasmania!

Bill and I just returned from a 4-5 day tour of Tasmania... It was a great little trip. We went with Melbourne Uni's International Student Outdoor Program. This meant we went along with 28 americans who are here through study abroad programs. Despite being identified as the 'old married couple', we had a lovely time!

We toured Port Arthur convict settlement.... visited a Tasmanian Devil conservation park... tasted 30 different types of honey at a honey farm (including apricot ice cream!)... we hiked to Wineglass Bay (which was up and over a big hill). On the return walk, I (Kersti) walked alone and skipped the add-on hike to do some work on my paper in the car before the rest of the group arrived. It was a very peaceful walk... full of fresh air and chirping birds. I saw 5 black cockatoos with yellow spots on their cheeks and yellow tail feathers. They were the noisiest birds I've ever heard! Fantastic.

We also went to Cradle Mountain, though I didn't get to do any hiking (paper again). The weather was quite bad so Billy had to hike in the rain, sleet and snow! But he was rewarded with a trip to the chocolate factory later in the day.

Anyway, Tasmania is fantastic... the air is the freshest I've ever experienced... no one lives there and it's got beautiful scenery.

Check out our pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/TasmaniaMay2007

Kersti's Class Fieldtrip

I went on a fieldtrip in April with my Sustainable Landscapes class. First we visited a sheep farm that had been converted to a chicken farm with a conservation area to conserve the special native grasses. Then we drove to the coast to see the 12 Apostles along the Great Ocean Road. It was a stunning view... it made me miss California! The major difference was, nothing was between me and Antarctica! We stayed the night in Warnambool, and I checked into my first caravan park. Not so bad - the trailer was quite lovely, as were my 4 bunkmates! The next day we were given a tour of an estuary and talked about the problems caused by coastal development. Then we drove into the country and took a walk through a nature area of native bush... It was a lovely walk, though SIX leaches climbed up onto my legs... Yuck. We had a bbq lunch and then got back into the bus for a trip to a dairy farm. Then back to Melbourne.

For pictures... check out: http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/KerstiSFieldtripGreatOceanRoadVictoria

Sorry for no posts!

Billy and I are very sorry to keep our fans so uninformed of our lives downunder... May was a very rough month... loads of work for kersti and lots of job searching for billy. But winter vacation is just around the corner, so we hope to update more often for the next couple months!