TravelStream™ news feed for member jen_and_chris on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/jen_and_chris en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 26 May 2008 09:57:23 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1211161140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1211161140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1211161140/tpod.html Mon, 26 May 2008 09:57:23 -0400 "Out, back and round". Welcome to our midlife crisis! We're homeless, unemployed and living out the back of a Nissan van. So here's to a year of freedom, fun in the sun and the open road...

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Perth, Australia

G'day sports, we are delighted to invite you all (not at the same time though) to come and stay with us in Perth in September. We have been given the opportunity of housesitting for friends and felt this would be the ideal chance to catch up with friends and/or family whom we have missed thoughout our travels. Perth is a great destination and if you were to come all this way we would totally recommend you see as much of Western Australia as possible. The north is always warmer and has National Parks galore, the beaches that stretch the coastline of WA are awesome, there are more wineries than you could shake a shiraz at, the Ningaloo Reef is rivaled only by the Great Barrier Reef, the south has lush rainforests and, of course, there is free accommodation and 2 delightful hosts awaiting your arrival in Perth, ready to throw a shrimp on the barbie and crack open a couple of cold ones. Ripper!If you have the time, the money (and the inclination) it would be great to see you. Sadly Priscilla has now gone to a new home and will not be available for loan, but we would be happy to help work out an itinerary so you got the "best of the west" (what a great line... maybe I should work in tourism...). If you are interested please let us know and see below for weather details.... RSVPPerth Weather and Climate: Perth has a mediterranean climate and is located in one of only five mediterranean climate zones in the world. This means that for most of the year, the weather is fine and sunny, and even during the short mild winter the sun is often shining. It is because of these endless summers that many Perth activities revolve around the outdoors. So if you enjoy sight-seeing, outdoor activities, warm sunny days, or lazing on clean sandy beaches, Perth is the perfect destination for your next holiday. Springtime in Perth begins in September, and from this time on, the weather quickly warms to fine sunny conditions for the many months ahead. For the most part spring is sunny and warm. Average Spring Temperatures September: Daytime 18-21C Overnight Minimum 9-12C.If Perth is good enough for Sir Elton John, Fiddy Cent, Dave Grolsh, Lord Justin of Timberlake and Vanilla Ice, to name but a few, then it's got to be a pretty good place to visit, surely?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1207555320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1207555320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1207555320/tpod.html Sat, 26 Apr 2008 11:15:38 -0400 "Out, back and round". Welcome to our midlife crisis! We're homeless, unemployed and living out the back of a Nissan van. So here's to a year of freedom, fun in the sun and the open road...

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Hyden, Australia

We decided to mark Priscilla's last official outing with a journey into the WA outback. It had been a while since we had "gone bush" so we figured we would head to Wave Rock. We had been told by other people that it was the kind of place you would vist en route to somewhere else as it wasn't that great. In hindsight we should have listened. Nevertheless, we had a nice little weekend and managed to save ourselves about $50000 by doing our own tour of the "surrounding attractions" of the area. The rock itself was smaller than we had imagined (well when one has climbed Uluru everything else would surely pail into insignificance). As with most other Australian landmarks it is aptly named Wave Rock because...yep you guessed it, it's a rock that looks like a wave. The next day was spent walking through scrubland trying to find other rock formations such as hippo rock. Again you would not be mistaken for thinking it was so called for being a rock shaped like a hippo. However, on this occasion I feel the discovery of this rock must of been done under the heavy influence of some rather potent mushrooms. Moving on we headed out past the road sign that said "keep your bush tidy", well any self respecting woman does doesn't she? We headed into the town of Hyden which is very small, has a population of about 14 and its streets are lined with odd little sculptures made from metal. These I believe were to pay homage to real towns people from back in the day, there was Barry the bus driver, Tina the teacher and before you can say Mr Bun the baker you had the whole town laid out before you. Further down the road we came across one of the "Hyden Tour Highlights". A very small town with a not so catchy but insightful name of "the town of the dog in the ute". This place was home to an annual competition where local farmers all get together, chuck their muts in the back of their ute's and parade through the town in a long line. To fully believe this bizarre event follow the link to the 'Official' website (http://doginaute.corrigin.wa.gov.au/event_info/event_history)  Check out the scoreboard to see which state is 'top dog' (sorry).  This was not the only tribute to mans best friend in the area as next stop was the "famous" Dog Cemetery. Whilst we were a little concerned this might be a morbid affair we found this to be a very lovingly kept, and well populated cemetery where the dogs in question (RIP) were given the kind of burial ground a human might be envious of, check out some of their names in the photos. I have not seen such dedication since Michael's shrine to F1 Ferarri that has taken over my mums house. (it's a shame I can't bury those by the side of the road in the middle of the outback. Chris)Having returned back to sunny Perth, we took stock of the trip we had just made. Wave rock is 335km from Perth, and we thought nothing of driving the 770km round trip for 2 nights camping next to a 15m high, wind sculpted rock. That's like driving from Surbiton to Leeds, pitching a tent in Roundhay park, taking some pictures of Michael's rockery, then going home. Mad. Or you could fly to Egypt, and still have enough time left over to buy a carpet from 'my brother's best shop for much cheapness'.It was examples like Wave Rock and the Dog Cemetery that made us think how passionate Australians are about everything. Something we would not consider putting on the map as a must see will always pop up when you are down under. So what are you guys waiting for?, come over and visit us, there is heaps we want to show you :)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1205740860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1205740860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1205740860/tpod.html Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:43:42 -0400 "Out, back and round". Welcome to our midlife crisis! We're homeless, unemployed and living out the back of a Nissan van. So here's to a year of freedom, fun in the sun and the open road...

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Walpole, Australia

Having worked hard for at least 3 weeks we thought it was time for a holiday, yes I know you all think we are already on holiday but we needed a break from this holiday with another one. As we are still awaiting approval for our visas it was also an ideal opportunity to get out and see some more of the state in case we have to exit stage left at short notice. South WA looks delightful and charming in the brochures so we planned a full itinerary that would get us to Esperance for some (more) stunning beach action alongside some beautiful national parks we could explore. We packed all the essential camping gear, the walking shoes, cans of soup and $2 noodles (which we thought we had seen the back of since leaving Broome), the body boards, suncream and raincoats (just in case). We had barely made it to Margaret River before the blazing heat of Perth disappeared and the heavens opened. We made it as far as Pemberton before setting up camp for the night amongst the trees alongside a lake - which I am sure, would have been delightful if we had been able to see it through the swirling mist. We made a brief stop en route to the Gloucester Tree. Yes ok so it's just a really big tree (big woof, wanna fight aboud eet?) but it's very cool. It's one of the original fire trees with iron pegs set out to the very top, where a platform gives superb views of the surrounding forest. Now climbing a tree isn't all that, normally, but this tree is mahoosive and near the top you have to climb a vertical ladder. Now picture this, when your legs go into muscle spasm and you are a billion feet up a tree (although signs say its only 61metres) with no harness, no ropes and still need to get down without falling to a messy death. (Never let it be said we don't use artistic license to dramatise our stories). After waking up to the sounds of nature rustling in the long grass we set about driving to the Valley of the Giants and the Tree Top Walk just down the road in Walpole. Not much we can say except that it's a really nice way to spend a few hours walking the around the tree top canopy, it would have been so much nicer in good weather but come on we are winging poms, so we are used to rain (it helps cure the homesickness too). Sadly our onward journey was curtailed due to inclement weather with forecasted flood warnings (anyone would think we are in Kent not Australia) and so we never did get as far as Esperance, which is a real shame but it will stay on the "to do list" ready for next summer.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1204880340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1204880340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1204880340/tpod.html Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:42:41 -0400 "Out, back and round". Welcome to our midlife crisis! We're homeless, unemployed and living out the back of a Nissan van. So here's to a year of freedom, fun in the sun and the open road...

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Lancelin, Australia

It is said that when it comes to beaches "West is best". It is also said that you cannot come to WA and not check out the surf. So we thought we would investigate, not that we would know any different if it was complete rubbish. We gingerly booked ourselves into a residential surf camp for a few days in Lancelin. Now I know I have claimed before to be a beginner - this is not so that I can show off with my whoops and turns (or whatever they are called) pretending I am a natural, but more so as a self defence mechanism so I don't feel under any pressure to be any good. It's a tactic that works a treat. The surf camp house was lovely, all new and clean, hammocks on the balcony overlooking the ocean, a dedicated beer fridge and a 5 minute walk to the beach. Each morning you are out in the surf by 0800 hours smothered in zinc (which you need paint stripper to get off), wearing oversized colour coded t shirts to identify which group you are in. T-shirts aside, beginners are usually easily spotted as they are the only ones bobbing up and down in the sea, watching their surf boards, twatting unsuspecting bystanders around the back of the head being tossed about in the wave, whilst they are dragged behind by the leg rope. It is fair to say that Kelly Slater does make it look incredibly easy but the truth is that its really incredibly difficult, incredibly painful and the joy of catching a wave is normally very short lived. Just as you raise you hands in the air to whoop with a "yip yip" of excitement, (assuming you have mastered the standing up bit) a wave will savagely rip you up and dump you in the churning salty water. Either that or your boyfriend will take your wave (and yes it is territorial out there) and carve you up with little regard for your safety or riding etiquette...yes you know who you are.....Christopher. A dose of pain and humiliation never hurt anyone (well apart from the bruises and inability to move the next day). I would like to profess that by day 2 we were out there carving it up man and looking like the ex-presidents. The truth is, the wind had turned and made the sea look like a washing machine on a long spin cycle, the waves were wild and choppy and I was getting very bad tempered being thrown about like a seal between 2 sharks. Speaking of sharks, we experienced being out to sea with a couple of ominous looking dorsal fins with nothing to protect us but a 6 foot piece of foam. Once the screaming and Olympic speed swimming to shore was over, we realised they were just a party of playful dolphins. Surfing with dolphins.....welcome to Australia my friends. Please don't be fooled by the photos, it may look like we are surfing off the coast of Newcastle upon Tyne in November, but it was still over 30 degrees and we call got sunburned. Please also ignore what we are wearing, the wetsuits were a necessity and not that uncool, the hats and t-shirts on the other hand will not win us any contracts with Billabong modelling for next season. Mind you, I am still baffled by how people board in just string bikinis and shorts - the sand burn is enough to make you bleed, the ties of the bikini indent your skin to bruising and that is before you have dealt with any dignity issues! We might not be in the running to join the Bra Boys of Maroubra but we definitely plan to go out again (and obviously keep claiming to be novices until we can say "I caught my first tube today") although now that we have learned what the "stoke is all about" that might just give the game away....busted.I'd like to point out, in my defence, that controlling one's direction on a wave was not covered until day three, and,  as we were only on a two day trip the necessary turning skills had not yet been learned. Up to this point i had tried surfing only once during our trip round Oz at Byron Bay, where it has to be said, I was overwhelmed by the sea and underwhelmed by the whole experience in equal measure. After that, Lancelin was a revelation. Looking at the videos now, the waves look so puny, but submerged in the water up to your neck, a meter high swell suddenly looks like barrelling tube of death (hmmm I seemed to have picked up Jens skill for exageration). Several times our instructors tried to get us both on the same wave so we could get a video together (Everyone say "Ahhhhhh") but after I ran over Jen for the fourth time, we decided to part company so I could run some other people over instead. Day two had it's own unique flavour as well. Crawling out of bed at 7, my arms felt like I had been crucified overnight, even lifting my cereal spoon was an Olympic event, I now understand why surfers have shoulder muscles like a mountain Gorilla. Having been spoilt the day before with a steady on shore breeze that lined the waves up one after the other, we were now being treated to the opposite, an off shore wind that left the sea choppy and difficult to read (get me. next i'll be talking about weather fronts and 50 year storms). The morning of the second day definately stole our Mojo, even the guys who were on day 4 were struggling to pick the waves and stay up, but we trusted in our instructors, and shore enough (sic) the wind had swung round by mid morning, and yesterdays waves were back. By the time we had to leave their were cries of "Just one more wave, pleeeeeeease", the odd tantrum, and a few slammed bedroom doors (I made that bit up).  Off we went though,  back to dry clothes,  no sand in our sandwiches,  tidy haircuts and the big bad city. All in all a fantastic experience, and one definately to be repeated, especially if anyone comes to visit.......
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1201416000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1201416000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1201416000/tpod.html Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:48:42 -0500 "Out, back and round". Welcome to our midlife crisis! We're homeless, unemployed and living out the back of a Nissan van. So here's to a year of freedom, fun in the sun and the open road...

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Rockingham, Australia

As a special treat and under instruction not to spend Christmas money on boring stuff we took that advice and booked ourselves on a "swimming with dolphins" experience and many thanks to&nbsp;those of you who made it possible. Lucky for us the location was down at Rockingham,&nbsp;where we spent xmas with Rhiannon and Andrew. This was perfect... a nice quiet night in at their place&nbsp;before a very early start the next morning at the yacht club, which was only&nbsp;10 minutes from their house. This would have been a perfect plan except for the fact that after Rhiannon and I had decided to call it a night at a sensible hour, the boys continued drinking, and drinking and drinking. For anyone who has witnessed Chris on an drinking mission you will have a vague idea of how messy this can be, but what needs to be said here is that on this particular occasion he was drinking with Andrew, a 9 foot tall, 4 foot wide,&nbsp;built like an outhouse, marine from Leeds who would more than likely, and quite happily "knock yer lips off" if he thought you weren't keeping up or would demand you had a pint of "harden the fcuk up" if he felt you were lagging behind. So down went the beers, down went the white wine, down went the red wine and then down went the whisky. Only to be intermittently interrupted by these two grown men singing along passionately to Natalie Imbruglia. Indeed a joy for everyone. However, this joy was short lived as 4 hours later we boarded our water vessel. I was chirpy and more than happy to make new friends at the opposite end of the boat to where Chris could be found hugging a life raft, nursing the smallest bottle of water in the world and blowing chucks over the side of the boat as we chopped through the waves and out to sea.&nbsp;Now when we refer to "swimming with dolphins" these are wild animals and not often found in the Indian Ocean balancing small children on their noses or playing with brightly coloured beach balls. This is nature at its best. The water was a little stirred up by the idiots who couldn't understand the concept "get in the water quickly and quietly or else you will frighten the dolphins away". Which part of <i>quickly means faff about, and which part of <i>quietly secretly means squeal "oh my god look its a dolphin a dolphin look look". Honestly! So anyway we had got used to the sand being a little churned up making visibility a little cloudy but it was a magical experience, these elegant creatures playfully swimming so close to us in pairs and pods. Ah yes magical and elegant, oh but someone really stirred up the sand at one point and I could not see anything as I swam through dark brown sea mist....yes that's right its wasnt stirred up sand at all, one of those magical, elegant dolphins had done a big water poo poo and I had swam right through it! bloody nature at its best indeed.&nbsp;Once Chris has regained his basic motor skills and the ability to make full sentences we continued to celebrate Australia Day (have we mentioned how much we love this country and its love of public holidays). The evening was spent up at Kings Park overlooking the foreshore, watching the fireworks, and listening to the commentary of what a great country Australia is, well streuth me old cobber. In our group there was only 1 true blue Australian, the rest of us were made of the united colours of benetton. The narrator could be heard saying "...and people have come to our country to escape the hardships of their own war torn society" to which&nbsp;a cry could heard from the crowd " yeah... Manchester".
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1203083880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1203083880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1203083880/tpod.html Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:38:26 -0500 "Out, back and round". Welcome to our midlife crisis! We're homeless, unemployed and living out the back of a Nissan van. So here's to a year of freedom, fun in the sun and the open road...

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Perth, Australia

I will keep this brief. During our trip round Oz, it was always my intention to experience a skydive. Throwing oneself out of a perfectly servicable&nbsp;aeroplane at any altitude is a bit questionable, but at 14,000ft, the highest&nbsp;legal altitude in Australia requires a bit more encouragement. That encouragement arrived in the form of Christmas&nbsp;gifts from&nbsp;my Dad and his wife Sue, and, relieved of the excuse of having to pay for the experience,&nbsp;I had no barriers left to hide behind and had to overcome my vertigo by booking myself a place on Wes's 30th birthday skydive. Believing we would be given some 'quality' training that would equip us for the discipline of leaping out of a plane&nbsp;1.7 miles&nbsp;above the Earth's surface, I was somewhat disappointed&nbsp;that it took longer to fill out the disclaimer forms than it&nbsp;took to train us to land safely.The rest&nbsp;of my experience is best captured&nbsp; in the video I have attached. All I can say is&nbsp;"fucking awesome". Just do it. 60 seconds freefall. A rush like no other.&nbsp;If it's good enough for Jonny Utah and the Boda Zapher it's good enough for me......
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1201573860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1201573860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1201573860/tpod.html Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:29:41 -0500 "Out, back and round". Welcome to our midlife crisis! We're homeless, unemployed and living out the back of a Nissan van. So here's to a year of freedom, fun in the sun and the open road...

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Perth, Australia

11 months ago we landed in Sydney a couple of pasty faced whities, ignorant of stubbie holders, drive-through bottle shops, body boarding, wake boarding (ouch), sand boarding and expecting to see everyone wearing hats with corks shouting 'streuth mate'. As much as we have learned in the last year, we both felt that one year was not enough and set about trying to stay in Australia a little bit longer. My first thought was to find an employer who was certified,&nbsp;through immigration, to sponsor me to stay in the country, allowing to extend our stay up to 4 years, Jen's first thought was to find a hunky aussie and marry him. Hmmm. Not sure I like where this is going. In Jen's defence she, a) came up with the idea to stay first (about 2 days after stepping off the plane) and b) was flexible in her plan (she thought we might be able to pick up a couple of Visa hunting 'friends of Dorothy' at Sydney's Mardis Gras). Alas, her plan did not get to fruition, although she came pretty close in Darwin on her birthday where Thys offered his sister Summer to me in exchange for Jen's hand. (not literally, 'her hand', you understand?)And so to plan B.CityBeach, well aware from&nbsp;the outset&nbsp;that I would require business sponsorship if I was to stay working beyond February, stonewalled me for two and a half months and decided to leave it until the 11th&nbsp;hour before offering me sponsorship (although I was not filled with confidence when they asked&nbsp;me what to do next. "Er, phone Immigration perhaps?").&nbsp;However following the maxim 'Hope for the best, plan for the worst' I had already been seeking other avenues of employment in order to gain my sponsorship along with some quality management experience to further my learning, something I was not likely to find at City Beach.And so to plan C.I start my new job on Feb 11th as&nbsp;operations manager for Bstore, purveyors of Birkenstocks, who will provide me with an appliction&nbsp;for a long stay business&nbsp;visa, including Jen as defacto partner, which will allow us both to stay in Australia, if granted, for up to 3 years. For those of you who have provided references both work related and 'proof of relationship' related we thank you for your time and for the hilarity that followed the occasional comment (you know who you&nbsp;are). Suffice to say that should plan C go ahead, you are all welcome (er, not at the same time) to come over and stay just so long as you bring some proper mayonnaise and a case of Magners, oh and Autocar magazine and my Caterham, and cheap books and a chicken escolape club sandwich on white crusty bread with no tomato but lots of mayo from Yummys...... hhhmmmmm........
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1198232400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1198232400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1198232400/tpod.html Fri, 21 Dec 2007 05:50:01 -0500 "Out, back and round". Welcome to our midlife crisis! We're homeless, unemployed and living out the back of a Nissan van. So here's to a year of freedom, fun in the sun and the open road...

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Perth, Australia

Well it's that time of year again folks. With the scent of holly on the breeze, a warm fire crackling in the grate and fresh mince pies warming in the oven it can only be Christmas, well Christmas in the Northern hemisphere anyway. Down under we have carol singers, festive decorations, mince pies and overexcited kids, but the kids are wearing boardies and sunnies, the carol singers the same, and the twinkling&nbsp;Christmas lights are drowned&nbsp;in glorious sunshine. "It's Christmas Jim but not as we know it." Not only that but outside my store all week we have had camels in a festive petting zoo, believe me when I say they stink. The only driving force behind&nbsp;me leaving them alive was the realisation that they would probably smell worse dead. So thank you to those who posted us Christmas cards, we really appreciated it, 'Bananas' to those of you who didn't and we look forward to seeing you all in the new year,&nbsp;as long as&nbsp;we don't get so battered we can't see anymore.With love,Chris &amp; Jen&nbsp; x
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1197341640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1197341640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1197341640/tpod.html Fri, 21 Dec 2007 05:18:57 -0500 "Out, back and round". Welcome to our midlife crisis! We're homeless, unemployed and living out the back of a Nissan van. So here's to a year of freedom, fun in the sun and the open road...

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Margaret River, Australia

Just when you thought our lives sounded a bit too cruisy we decided to take a little camping trip down to Margaret River. We packed up Priscilla and headed south. MR is a delightful place and the main reason for going....the vineyards. we jumped on a tour named "wine for dudes" run by a guy who was definately a dude alright, his opening line when introducing us to wine was "there are only two things you need to know when wine tasting...whether you like it... or whether you don't". The tour was fun, in a beautiful rural setting with some very funny people, mind you I could have completely made that up as we didnt have lunch until after the 12th glass of wine so what we cant remember we'll just make up. It wasn't long before there was talk of visiting a local cheesery (a made up word but I like it) and then just as we thought we had reached the pinnacle of all nirvana we went to a chocolate tasting factory, yes the CH diet is truely adhered to here, CHardonnay, CHeese and CHocolate, now this is what makes the world go around. Hurrah.The journey home the following day was lets say at a leisurely pace, pootling up the stunning WA coastline and whilst it was a bit nippy (and I mean below 25 degrees when&nbsp;I say that), it didn't stop us taking a little walk along the white sands and a break to nibble on some fast melting chocolate and cheese that was never going to make it 30k down the road before it got mullered. hhhmmm yummy.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1196837460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1196837460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jen_and_chris/australia_2007/1196837460/tpod.html Fri, 21 Dec 2007 05:13:19 -0500 "Out, back and round". Welcome to our midlife crisis! We're homeless, unemployed and living out the back of a Nissan van. So here's to a year of freedom, fun in the sun and the open road...

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entry & travel map

Perth, Australia

We made it back to Perth about 6 weeks ago and liked it so much we have decided to stay a while, more about that later though. In the meantime we just wanted to let you know that if Santa gets confused because we are not at home for xmas please redirect him to the following address; 29 Marcus Avenue, Booragoon, Perth, WA6154.Love to one and all x&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; **********&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Part 2&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; *********&nbsp;It took a while for us to settle back into reality having to get up for work, going to meetings about shorts and skirts, fathoming staff rotas for over 100 people and deciding which funky item of surf wear to buy next. Well that was Chris's day in a nutshell as he secured himself a job as deputy manager at the biggest surf store in Australia... man. This job certainly appeared to have its upsides, he could go to work looking like Ashton Kutcher, sweeet....dude...sweet, befriended the live DJ who played every Friday, got to work with young girls in very short skirts and lots of fluro colours. So much so that I would not be surprised if someone in white goves smelling of vicks walked out of the changing rooms one day shouting "accciiiiiiiiid"with that quizical Quantum Leap expression on his face, oh boy. yes it is possible to mistake this grand old building for an old school acid house rave warehouse, and there is certianly enough fluro clothing and day glo tut around&nbsp;to make you think you had travelled back in time to 1990.I remained unemployed for a while longer until a travel agent job came up. Now this was not one of my brightest ideas but this is the perfect environment in which to try new things. However 2 weeks later feeling like Rainman having memorised every world wide airport and city code and tired from relaying the fact that the "computer says no" it was enough to make me realise it was time to go back to unemployment. Days later however I was Odd Job Jen picking up work packing sandals, waitressing VIP tables at a boxing match ...aaddrrriiieeeennn, hosting corporate dinners at the cricket ground...hhoowzzaaat, and dabbling in a spot of secretarial work on the side. Amongst all this hard work we also managed to have some fun ,&nbsp;I know&nbsp;I know that sounds very unlike us but we did try. We&nbsp;squeezed in a&nbsp;torchlight tour of Freemantle Prison with the big brother boys, Anna, Tracy, Luke and Jason from Darwin as well as Felix and Jordie, most excellent if not a little bit cheesy. Don't mention that to Tracy though as this is the girl who accompanied only by a small torch in the darkness of a spooky prison screamed and hit the deck upon thinking a deadbody was going to land on her head from the railings above. Tracy Tracy, it's just a puppet and a very bad actor up there now get up off the floor and stop crying :)We also had the pleasure of the red bull air race visiting Perth, however this became somewhat uninteresting after Jordie had a wee next to Justin Timberlake in a Northbridge pub and the story dominated every conversation for at least 3 weeks afterwards.We had a charming dinner one evening, watching the sunset over the Swan River&nbsp;on the 33rd floor of the&nbsp;rotating restaurant (which we only noticed was in motion moments before Chris wanted to demand a table by the window so he could see the view). It was a little confusing after a few sherberts to find that your table was no longer where you left it and slighly daunting if not hilarious to think that if you didnt pay attention after powdering your nose you might find yourself sat at the wrong table with the wrong people!Chris's work had a fancy dress xmas party hence the photos, unsuprisingly Chris dressed as scooby doo confused the real dogs and i&nbsp;definately crushed a few ribs in that wonder woman outfit.As mentioned above we moved into a new house,&nbsp;belonging to a couple we had met in Darwin, hurrah for them as they are great, their house is lovely, their dogs are hilarious, their pool is excellent and&nbsp;Ange's 30th was as any 30th should be, crazy outfits, dancing until 6am a spit roasted pig (and i dont just mean some fat ugly minger who was too drunk to say no) and a hired&nbsp;hot tub&nbsp;(that&nbsp;we can confirm does fit more than 12 people in at one time). I cant wait until I am 30 (again).
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