... and on his farm he had some Crocodiles!

I could tell you about Brisbane and how it's a nice city with a great river walk through it. Or I could tell you of Australia Zoo, the home of the late crocodile hunter Steve Irwin and how clean it is and what a great tribute it is to his life and passion for conservation. I could even tell you of the scary night I had in Bundaberg at a hostel full of fruit-picking backpackers. I could retell the events and conversations I had during a fabulous dinner with Brooke and Olivia, two Americans I met during my first night in Rockhampton... But I'd rather tell you what you've all been waiting for, the crocodile farm! Koorana Crocodile Farm is tucked away off a back road, aptly named Savages Road. Large crocs lay motionless just beneath the water's surface in pens lining the road up to the restaurant. I arrived on a Sunday so there wasn't much action. My adventure would start on Monday.

A lot of people want to know what I do at the farm. I'll spare you the day-to-day details of farm life and say that I've fed them, eaten them, held them, killed them, cleaned them, caught them, moved them, raided their nests and salted their skins. And that's all within the first week. It feels good to be a crocodile farmer! The farm raises Saltwater Crocodiles for their meat and skin. There are about 3000 crocodiles here. Within 3-5 years they are near 6 feet long and the perfect age for culling. Any older and the meat gets tougher. A couple people work in the abattoir skinning and processing the meat. My main duty is feeding the younger crocodiles. They eat chicken heads every Monday, Wednesday and Friday while the adults get food less frequently.

Croc farmers, like crocodiles themselves are quite opportunistic, so when a lady called up saying she had just shot a cow and was willing to give it to us we all jumped in the truck to go get it. Before long we had it cut up and were feeding it to the big crocodiles. For any Animal Planet watching regular, it's common knowledge that crocodiles bite down with a force of nearly two thousand pounds per square inch. There is absolutely no way you can grasp that amount of power without feeding one yourself and hearing their jaws popping like gunfire and the bones crunching under the force of their bite. I went through a weird emotion at that time. I wasn't in any immediate danger. We would get the animals to come to the fence and then throw them a piece of beef. However there is an element of danger. Hang a little too far over the fence or hold on to the meat a little too long and you could lose an arm real quick! The closest thing I can equate what I felt was as if a friend had handed you a gun and said it wasn't loaded. Then you pull the trigger and the gun goes off. It's a combination of elation that you weren't killed, fear that you were so close to being killed and giddy that you get to do it all over again. Any thoughts of me being young and bulletproof were quickly grounded!

I'm learning something new everyday. If it's not about crocodiles it's about the surrounding towns or definitions to new Aussie lingo. Before I leave I hope to decipher the mystery of cricket! (It's a sport people, google it!)

Here's to a Year of Living...

Happy new year everyone! As you could guess arriving in Sydney without a clue felt like... well, arriving in a big city without a clue! I walked around town from one hostel to another quickly realizing that I wasn't the only one who thought it would be fun to spend New Year's Eve here. All the hostels were full, there wasn't any vacancy until after the 2nd of January. I spent the first night at a hotel downtown and went looking for new accommodation first thing in the morning just to find out what I'd already known, everything was booked since before Christmas. Finally I settled into a run-down hostel near Hyde Park. The location was great, but it's what my English friends would call 'a bit dodgy.' There wasn't much security, only one staff member who was really quite cranky most of the time, the kitchen was a breeding ground for various molds and insect cultures and the dishes left a lot to be desired. On the plus side though, the internet was free, the location was good and since it was the last place in town everyone staying there was in the same desperate situation I was.

I had some preconceived notions and expectations of Australia before coming; everyone speaks english, it's very similar to the USA, the girl to guy ratio is nearly 8:1 and Aussies love Americans. The reality I experienced was much different. It seemed like everyone was Asian, even the people who did speak english couldn't be understood, it's a different country than USA, the ratio-although favorable-isn't all that noticeable and as far as friendliness goes, I wouldn't know, I hadn't met any Aussies during my first few days.

I did however meet Germans, Swedes, Chileans, Swiss, Kiwis, Chinese, Japanese and heaps of Brits. I love the conversations you have between travellers. I've never discussed US politics as much as I have in the first week I was in Sydney. I thought it was interesting that the news here has a close eye on US elections. But there are other topics as well like differing accents, where people have been and where they are going and regional idioms (you wait in queues not lines, smoke fags not cigarettes and wear thongs on your feet not under your dress.) It's been a lot of fun.

For the most part I didn't do much on a day-t0-day basis in Sydney because I was trying to stay within my budget. After a couple of days I realized I'd spent my monthly budget in two days and had to reevaluate! Australia is expensive. I still found time to visit the opera house. Oh the opera house. You know I can't think of any building that has taken my breath away. But the first glimpse of the opera house made me jump with excitement. Maybe it's because it's an icon of Australia, maybe it's the location over the harbor or the unique architecture or maybe it was the first familiar thing I'd seen since I'd arrived-whatever it was, it was a nice sight.

A few of us from the hostel banded together and set out to watch the fireworks over the harbor. We left late in the morning and brought a picnic with us. We sat in a park in East Balmain overlooking Darling Harbour opposite the opera house and Harbour Bridge. It was thirteen hours before the fireworks started, but it didn't feel like it. There was a happy energy among the party goers and everyone was having a fun time. The fireworks were just part of the experience.




The next week a couple of us took the ferry to Manly Beach which was closed, but we could still swim at a nearby beach protected from the strong current. It was nice to relax, sit in the sun and have a swim. It was also one of my first outings in Sydney other than New Year's so that was also nice to see a change of scenery.

Saturday was the kick off to the Sydney Festival in Hyde Park. There were six stages set up around downtown and different musical guests were at each stage. My personal favorites were the Spanish Harlem Orchestra and Pink Martini. They played very good music. Salsa dancers were showing their stuff in the street and I made up my mind then and there that I will learn to dance. It was only reinforced a couple minutes later when I went to the next stage and they were playing swing music and entire swing clubs were there getting their dance on. It was impressive and very entertaining to watch people who can actually dance. A big comparison to the foam parties and late night techno rave crap that goes on at most nightclubs.

At the festival I met a couple girls who told me about Hillsong Church. I was looking for a church nearby so I went the following day. I would say it's your typical large, contemporary church. Complete with t-shirt wearing presiders, full band, good music and there's a coffee shop and bookstore in the lobby. I met a few people who were real blessings, Steve, Vicky and Roy. Steve and Vicky were visiting from Tasmania and we sat next to each other. They were extremely nice and generous. I almost wish I was going through Tasmania just so I could stay with them longer. The other was Roy, once he heard I didn't have a place to stay for the night he offered his house. Perfect! It was a great night, after evening service we went to his house and talked about Africa, the USA, church planting and growth and different books we had read. The next morning he showed me where to catch the bus into town. I'm really glad I met him.

This past week I've been near Crescent Head at a surf camp. It was a good time. There were nearly thirty people in the group. We spent our days at the beach trying to catch that perfect wave that would propel our love of surfing to the level of lifetime commitment. I don't know if I ever caught that wave. I did have a couple really good ones, and I won't be giving up any time soon, but I don't think I'll be making a lifestyle out of it. The best thing about the camp was being outside of the city. It was refreshing to see rural Australia. These are my kind of people, this is my kind of landscape. Uncrowded beaches, laid back working people and not a single tie-wearing, brief-case carrying office worker among them! I saw my first kangaroo too! It's weird, I have this urge to shoot one now. I think it's just to be able to see one up close that's fueling this urge. But it'd be nice to eat it too I think. From the sounds of it, I may get my chance while I'm here. The other exciting animal encounter happened during our last night at camp. We had a bonfire on the beach and on my way back to camp I came across a small black snake. It seems like everything in Australia can kill you in one way or another, but that didn't stop me from going Steve Irwin on it. I'm not sure what kind it was, but I wasn't planning on letting it bite me either way.

I am now in Byron Bay. It's popular with backpackers and it shows, the streets are busy and my hostel is packed with people from all over. Mainly Europeans but others as well. I'm anxious to get up to the crocodile farm and get into a routine for awhile. But that's not stopping me from thinking of where the next stamp in my passport will come from. Anyone up for Fiji in April?

Hawai'i

Hawaii is warm. Hawaii is beautiful. Hawaii is nice. It was my first time to Oahu and I was surprised how many people are here. I believe it's the most populated island and you can tell. The thought of Hawaii doesn't usually conjure up images of freeways, buses, skyscrapers and concrete jungles. But they do exist there. They are easily forgotten when you walk along the beach and gaze out into the green-blue sea.

The main excuse to come to Hawaii was my friend's wedding. Travis and I grew up together from childhood and his sister Kim, was getting married. To be honest, I used to be against outdoor weddings. There's just too much that could go wrong like rainstorms, wind, asteroid showers- well okay maybe not asteroid showers but the former are valid concerns that are really uncontrollable. However, I've been to more outdoor weddings in the last couple years than my entire lifetime before. My sister in Alaska, my friend Jason in Wyoming and now Kim's in Hawaii. They were all beautiful and added an element that just couldn't be obtained indoors. As you can see from the pictures it was absolutely beautiful and the most intimate wedding setting I've ever been to. The witnesses were limited to mostly family and a few friends, most of us were barefoot, a harp and flute were the only accompaniment, everyone received flower leis at the end of the receiving line and Kim and Buddy released butterflies after the ceremony. It was very cool!

I stayed at my parent's timeshare on Waikiki of which I was extremely grateful. Thanks Mom and Dad! The weather was perfect everyday, not too hot, not too cool. We went snorkeling at a nearby bay and saw a plethora of fish. Parrot fish, puffers, a moray and even some humuhumunukunukuapaua'a, which are Hawaii's state fish and also known as the trigger fish. But it's more fun to say humuhumunukunukuapaua'a! A few people saw a sea turtle but I couldn't find it.

I managed to completely destroy my feet with a pair of cheap sandals. My feet are more accustomed to steel-toed boots than flip-flops and the webbing cut into the tops of my feet with every step. After a few days I chucked them and went barefoot or opted for sneakers again. Apparently I'm a slow learner. This isn't the first time that's happened. In my defense, I usually travel in the winter months when it's not really feasible to break in summer footwear at home. If it's not new shoes it's usually playing barefoot soccer and cutting up the bottoms. I am now taking Lt. Dan's advice in Forrest Gump, "Take care of your feet!"

Christmas Eve marked my first attempt at surfing in a few years. I'll be honest, it didn't go so well. I have a new respect for surfers and everyone who participates in ocean sports really. It could quite possibly have been the most difficult thing I've ever done. And I say that because after two hours I still hadn't progressed a bit! Most people would have seen some improvement. I was surprised too because I had picked it up rather quickly in Costa Rica, although I was taking lessons and the waves were consistent and uncrowded, unlike the waves in Waikiki. Out of everyone out there I was most impressed (or maybe humbled is a better term) by two girls who literally surfed circles around me. I would be completely exhausted by the time I paddled out to past the break whereas they were catching waves every time I looked up. It was unbelievable and I had to laugh at my complete desperation to catch a wave opposed to the ease at which they caught theirs. I was defeated that day, but I maintain that I will learn to surf.

We all drove to the North Shore Christmas Day expecting thirty foot waves. Although they were bigger in the north, it was a pretty flat day. Smaller waves meant we could swim, even though we weren't planning on it. So we all went in with our clothes on! It was a lot of fun and I can't believe we nearly didn't go in at all. After a short drive back to the south side of the island with our shorts hanging out the window to dry, we hiked up Diamond Head. It's a nice little hike up a mountain trail with great views of Honolulu below. We had worked up an appetite and all went out to dinner.

It's a given that if you travel enough you will experience setbacks and roadblocks. I knew this. I was expecting this. Just, not so soon. At the airport, ready to board my flight to Sydney I was asked for my paper tickets. I thought I had e-tickets for the flight but after a few calls to the travel agency that issued them I discovered that indeed I had paper tickets. The bad news was, they were in a file folder back at home in Wyoming. The good news was was I could buy a ticket with a low-cost carrier the following day for only $360. That 24 hour delay gave me time to think, and I got scared. I finally realized I had no plan once I got to Australia, I had never been there, never seen a map of the city, wasn't aware of the exchange rate, didn't know what to do or where to go or even how I would get there! What was I going to do?

I didn't come up with much of an answer. Not a really good one anyway. Just put my head down, get on the plane and see what happens. Merry Christmas everyone.