Emu? Crocodile? Kangaroo?

I've been having a very good time in Darwin, Australia. Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory and is on the Timor Sea. On Sunday I went on a tour to the Kakadu National Park. I saw aboriginal paintings on the sides of rocks which are dated to be around 1500 years old, a ton of birds, crocodiles, and a lot of bugs. (I took pictures, but will post them when I get back)

We started work on Monday, but wanted to ensure we could see the town so went looking for a place to eat dinner last night. We found this place called the Wisdom Bar and Cafe. We sat outside and there was this massive tree right in the middle of where everyone eats. We ordered our food and waited. About 2 minutes later we looked in the tree and saw a POSSUM. There were actually 2 of them in the tree and we found out that they live there and eat food out of peoples hands. If we were in New Zealand, I'm pretty sure that possum would have been shot and killed, but over here in Australia, they treat the Possum's differently.

So we enjoyed watching the Possum eat everything from carrots to peppers to even french fries. When our food came, we ordered the Australian Sampler which contained Crocodile, Emu, and Kangaroo. We all tried them and they were pretty good.

Travelling Man

Jeremy is off to Darwin, Australia today for work. The trip today is a long one as he arrives in Darwin late tonight. But, he has a fun day planned tomorrow where he will go on an all day trip tour of the area before starting work on Monday. Have fun and I'll see you later in the week Jeremy!!

Sailing Away

We started out our weekend nice and early on Saturday when we became Certified Beginner Yachters! Our final lesson continued on from last week and we also learned how to rescue a "man overboard". After another 5 hours sailing in Auckland's Harbour with wind gusts up to 37 knots, we were awarded our certificates.

We now have basic knowledge of sea terms, parts of the boat, rigging and sails. We are also able to tie the following knots: figure eight, round turn, two half hitches, and bowline. We know how to use winches and jamming cleats, can steer a yacht under sail and power and have experience sailing a yacht on all points of sail. Look out America's Cup...here we come!

The rest of our weekend will include the usual activities of laundry, grocery shopping and some household chores. Jeremy will hopefully fit in some sports watching as well. We have a short week this week (4 days) as Australia and New Zealand celebrate Anzac Day (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) on Friday. Last year we went to the Auckland Museum to watch the Memorial Service. We haven't planned what we will do this year, but Jeremy will be busy packing as he is off to Darwin and Adelaide in Australia for a week of work.

Back from Melbourne

I am back home now after a week of training in Melbourne. I had a great trip and learned a lot which I am looking forward to putting into effect at work tomorrow! Jeremy and I have also now both been to Australia more times in the past year than we have been to the US. We never thought we would have that statistic to report!

Sailing Lesson

Living in The City of Sails, there can't be a better time for us to learn to sail. On Saturday morning, we boarded the French Connection, a 32 foot Beneteau with our friends Mascha and Jeroen for Practical Yachting, a ten hour, on the water course.

On our first day we learned the parts of the yacht, ropework (including several necessary knots), the rules of the road, and then we were off sailing! We had a mix of weather including sun, rain, no wind and lots of wind so we wore all sorts of sailing gear.

Our second day was to include more sailing and practicing rescuing a man overboard, but the winds today were at 40 knots, so our final lesson has been postponed until next weekend. We look forward to becoming certified beginner sailors!

Erin's Travelling

Erin has her first big work trip coming up next week and she's very excited about the opportunity. She is heading to the Hudson office in Melbourne Australia to work with people in her similar position. She will be away for 3 nights / 4 days and will be the first time that I will be at home while she is travelling for work. (Generally it's the other way around).

Good luck Erin!

Auckland Food and Wine Festival

We were once again blessed with amazing weather this weekend. The days are still warm, but it is getting a little bit cooler at night.

We started the weekend early on Saturday. After giving Jeremy a tour of my new office and a quick morning coffee, we stopped by the Auckland Food and Wine Festival. We had a great time! We paid $20 for admission which included a wine glass and an environmentally safe shopping bag. Over the next few hours we enjoyed live music, wine, beer, cheese, sausage, fresh fruit, bread, donuts, and many other delicious things. We were really spoiled with free samples.

After a quick cat nap, we met up with our friends Philip and Anna for a farewell dinner. They are heading back to Sweden today after 18 months in Auckland. Before starting work in Stockholm on May first, they will stop in Dubai, France and southern Sweden. Safe travels!

Today we are just relaxing and watching NCAA basketball. We had daylight savings today, so we are now 16 hours ahead of Boston, rather than 17-18.

One Year Anniversary

Today marked our one year anniversary in New Zealand. We have very much enjoyed our experience thus far and have a lot planned for the next year.

To "celebrate" our milestone we went to see a play with the Culture Vultures, a group of friends who try to do something cultural each month. This month was our choice and Jeremy did a great job planning the night which included burgers at Burger Fuel, a few drinks and Nina Rain's Rabbit. Despite the hot theatre, we enjoyed the play and ended the night with a delicious dessert.

We're still on a the hunt for someone to rent our apartment in Boston but hope to find a good tenant soon!

Tim and Jackie left Boston today for a three month volunteer experience in Peru. My mom is travelling to California to visit Julia, so we wish everyone safe travels. (Happy Birthday Julia!!)

Day Five - Bridge Climb

Before hopping on a plane back to Auckland, we had one more adventure up our sleeves. We were scheduled for an early morning climb of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I was very nervous as I am a little bit afraid of heights and narrow scaffolding things, but how could I saw no to the opportunity?

The first step was to take an alcohol breath test to make sure we were sober for the walk. We then got suited up in jumpsuits with harnesses, hat clips, sunglass clips, sweat rags, and radios. Then we had to do a practice run on a bridge simulator to gain an understanding of what we had signed ourselves up for.
Construction started on the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1923 and it was opened for traffic in 1932. It is 440 feet high at the top of the arch and is the fourth longest single-span steel arch bridge in the world. The bridge also carries eight lanes of traffic, a footpath, a bikelane and two train lines, which makes it the widest long span bridge in the world. Needless to say our climb wasn't going to be a simple task!

The climb was an amazing experience. When we reached the top of the arch we were amazed by the views (and how safe and sturdy we felt!) We weren't able to take our cameras with us, so we had to purchase a souvenir photo to remember the journey. We highly recommend the experience to anyone! It was a great way to end our exciting weekend in Sydney.