It's Kanga and Little Roo

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Trip Start Aug 23, 2007 Previous
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  Hall's Gap, Australia
Saturday, October 6, 2007

  Leaving the Southern tip of mainland Australia behind, the bus hung a sharp right towards the Grampians National Park.  We climbed straight up the jagged and uninviting rocks to an incredible lookout of these beautiful mountains.  After scrambling back down, we saw one last lookout which fortunately, was a walk over flat terrain.  The sun set over the mountain tops as I dragged my weary legs back to the bus and the second hostel.
  At this time, I must rant.  It seems to be acceptable here, but when I have pinned the women down, the truth comes out.  I have spent far too many night sleeping next to strange men.  Relax, Mom, these are men that you share rooms with.  I'm sure they are all lovely people, but I don't know them and there is nowhere to change.  This lovely place had one toilet for 10 people all sleeping together in this house.  Uncivilized, in my opinion...you probably think I'm uptight.  I have met and talked to women about times they were in a mixed dorm and were harrassed (polite word) by the guys when they came home after drinking.  Liability for the hostel and puts women in a dangerous situation.  I'm done now.
  The next day we went to see Mackenzie Falls.  Mackenzie keeps showing up, but no one can tell me who he is or why he was so significant that places are named after him.  Maybe someone out there knows...thoughts?
  On the way to Adelaide we stopped at a White Kangaroo farm...ok, one more rant.  It's not right.  The first white kangaroo was spotted and captured by a local farmer.  He ran it over several times with his truck and it took weeks for the kangaroo to recover.  This white kangaroo is not an albino, but a product that results due to genetics.  So, the farmer starts genetically modifying the kangaroos and now many of them live in this big cage.  They are susceptible to skin cancer and over twenty have been put down (another polite word) in the last few years.  They are being produced purely to bring in the tourists.  Can you imagine if we did that to the Kermode Bear in BC?  Needless to say, I didn't take a picture or get off the bus, and I'm thrilled to report that no one else did either.  I think it was Abraham Lincoln (could be wrong) who said, "A civilizaion can be judged by the way it treats its animals."  Second rant completed.
  So, I have arrived in Adelaide and plan to take a day off from being a tourist.  Order of the day: sleep in, eat and drink great coffee slowly, write in journal, write in blog, email, nap, buy great lunch at the market, nap, go out to a nice restaurant with some people from the tour, drink lots of Barossa wine in preparation for the wine tour.  Enjoy your days everyone, cheers!

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