Yes, I guess it is time for yet another installment of
"Anita heads out west in search of the perfect sunset,
more flies landing on her eyeballs than one can safely
count, and, er, the ultimate cyclone experience".

So much has happened since my last email, which I
didn't get to write, and oh! its all so confusing:
I'll just start from where the last "story" left off -
we are in Perth just back from Wave Rock.

Well, disaster was about to strike.  I called our tour
company (who we were headed to Broome with) the night
before our departure to re-confirm our pick-up only to
find that they had no record of our booking!  There
was much profanity that evening. 

After spending all morning in "negotiations" (anyone
who has had business negotiations with me when I am a
paying customer will know that this is a tumultuous
tug-of-war struggle in convincing arguments) with the
person who our tour company thought (to which I am
incredulous) had either worked hard enough or had the
brains enough to manage the reservations department, I
finally secured a 100% refund of our tour up to
Exmouth and a free alternative tour that shortened our
journey there by one day.  Not bad, I guess.  I was
most upset that we would not be travelling to Monkey
Mia to see more dolphins, but at least I had seen them
in Bunbury.

SO, after one more day in Perth, we set off to Broome
(in Exmouth, we were to re-join our originally booked
tour).

Turns out, as fate would have it, that 3 day tour was
by far the best experience of my travels to date.  The
group was fantastic (4 japanese girls who loved
hearing me sing, a funny and cute aussie tour guide, a
Dutch man called Christiaan with razor sharp sarcasm -
what more could I ask for?) and the scenery just
spectacular.  The first morning, we left at 6am, so it
took at least until 1pm for my grouchiness to depart.
We spent the morning sand boarding (well, the group
did, I thought "screw that in this heat, I'm going to
swim naked in the ocean!" - which I did.) and then
drove on to the Pinnacles national Park.  This is a
wonderfully phallic national park.  With phallic sand
sculptures in a beautiful gold color as far as the eye
can see. Enough said about that.  It provided me ample
opportunity to act out and say inappropriate lewd and
offensive things to everyone to get shock factor.  Ah,
good times, good times..... 

We drove on to camp but we stopped first at a real
West Australian Roadhouse (you know, the kind you see
in the movies about Oz, sweaty greasy men who look up
from their beers to check you out and then decide if
you are worth shooting with the rifle they have
stashed under the counter or not)to visit "George".
No, George was not some roadhouse human oddity, he was
the pet joey kangaroo that the family had rescued from
its dead mothers pouch after they hit here with their
car. (altogether now, Ahhhhh...and "what bastards"!)

George stole my heart. Quick as lightning.  He came
right over, let me cuddle him and even gave me a peck
on the lips. He also found my beer very interesting so
I tried distracting him with apple which he ate right
out of my hands.  Now if only I could find a man like
that....

After a good ol "Barbie" we collapsed.  Early morning
to come.

Went to Kalbarri National Park in the morning and went
abseiling with Giovanna down a 250 foot gorge.  Now,
I've only abseiled once before, at a Butlins camp in
Wales with Giovanna when we were 8!  So, this was
quite something to be doing it together again....

The park was stunning - very much like Utah or Arizona
but with a unique feel to it ; probably because they
were gorges not canyons; there is an extremely
scientific and logical explanation for the differences
that I can't remember - sorry!  Abseiling was fun - i
liked to push off the rock wiggle my legs mid air and
pose for my photo with my tongue hanging out.  Well,
its me and I make no apologies.

It was hot.  My God it was hot.  We were like Sausages
on a spit slowly roasting as we turned in the sun.  SO
we found a lovely swimming hole (no crocs, you
promise???) and jumped in.  Ah, refreshing.   This was
to be a repeating highlight of WA - lots of abominable
heat relieved several times daily with a dive into
crystal clear water under a giant rock escarpment and
tropical waterfall.  This was where it was at.

After a natural waterfall massage (I had to rescue my
bikini top at one point about 200 meters downstream -
whoops - eye candy for anyone paying attention!!)I
felt a lot better.  Until I was dry in about 30 seconds
coming out of the water and the thousands of flies
landed on my every exposed orifice and began
ritualistic mating dances.

Loved Kalbarri.  But better was yet to come . Thats
not correct grammar, but hey, this is email.

The following day we drove to Coral Bay and Ningaloo
Marine National Park.  This is the west coasts' answer
to the Great Barrier Reef, and it was spectacular.
Christiaan (who was fast becoming like a brother to
Giovanna and me) and I opted for a day eco-tour
swimming with Giant Manta Rays, sea turtles, Reef
sharks and other reef snorkel spots.  Wow.
Incredible.  I have some amazing underwater shots of
me swimming with these incredibly graceful creatures
who glide along  like giant Frisbee's.  I also have
pictures of my ass red raw like a fresh lobster from
the sunburn I suffered that day. Ouch.

We drove on to Exmouth and had a kinda wild night
saying goodbye to our group.  They all asked me to
sing for them, which of course I did, then the
Japanese girls sang, I cried, we all got piss drunk,
danced and did....um,....other crazy things you do (A
pash - look it up in Australian dictionaries!).  What
a great night.  And our new group and tour guide
looked about as exciting as a wet flannel shoved down
your pants.  Not happy about that.

Yes, our tour guide was dull and STUPID (oh, I am
sorry for being mean, but SO STUPID).  And the others
were just not worth the breath, so Christiaan,
Giovanna and I pretty much segregated ourselves all
the rest of the way up to Broome.

We drove and drove and drove the LONG ASS way to
Karijini National Park, and spent our first night in
"swags" (these waterproof, supposedly bug-proof,
sleeping pad things) under the stars.  It was
beautiful, if a little smelly.  Quite the
quintessential "wow, I am in the middle of nowhere,
smelly, eating red dust, could get eaten alive by some
highly venomous snake and/or bugs simultaneously
whilst swatting flies from my face, but I AM croc
dundee, and by god this is fun!, right???" kind of
experience.  Memorable.

The next day (sorry this is taking so long) we did a
famous hike known at "the Miracle Mile".  It involves
spider walking through gorges, treading trepidatiously
along tiny ledges with "brains would smash into a
million pieces" falls underfoot, jumping into pools,
swimming a few kilometers, climbing, and generally
other really cool but dangerous stuff.  The scenery is
quite simply, (and I know I do keep saying this) the
most spectacular of any place I think I have visited
on earth.  If you have to maim, cheat or kill to get
to Karijini - you should (well, you know what I mean).
We descended narrow gorges which had walls of layered
rock towering hundreds of meters above us and swam
through narrow channels clambering over rocks blocking
our path.  It was quite a challenge and felt so good
to complete.

We swam in more pools with names like Fortescue falls,
and fern pool - all glorious "tarzan meets the blue
lagoon" feelings to them.  Just magnificent.

Evenings were interesting out in the bush.  Giovanna
and I really had to "get over" our fear of bugs,
because you basically share your food with them.
There were crickets, moths, mozzies, flies, locusts,
and other flying things with no names landing on our
heads, necks, arms, and, plates! Christiaan got so
sick of our shrieks that he ate a moth in front of us
just to shut us up. Which of course it didn't.

However, this was not as bad as the next place.  We
drove to Eighty Mile Beach which is exactly what it
sounds like.  Probably the most pristine, white, wide
and deserted beach I have ever stepped on. We spent
hours after sunset looking for baby turtles who were
hatching that night.  All we ever found were the
tracks of baby turtles and the tracks of the tens of
crabs that would eat them before they made it to the
water.  I know, sad.

That campsite took "insect fear" to new heights.  Just
taking a shower was amusing because if you were in the
bathroom for longer than 3 minutes with the light on,
what seemed like the locust Egyptian plague descended
upon you in the shower.  They were just falling off
the ceiling on to you, it was a scene that made Psycho
look like a General Audience movie.  I have to say, my
resolve against these critters is somewhat stronger.

The following day we arrived in Broome, finally!  It
was quite a quaint little town with a huge Asian
influence to the food and architecture.  We all went
to Cable beach for the sunset, which was a little
disappointing because these huge black clouds looked
like they were rolling in. And they did.  For four
days straight.

Yes, my memory of Broome will always be the cyclone.
At first it was quite exciting, you know, "hey folks
we've gone to Yellow alert, so the whole city is
shutting down, looks like you gotta buy your beer
right here!", to "hey folks, its gone red alert, so
we're getting the body bags out of the basement".
Literally, it got a little scary. We lost power on the
second day, as rain pummeled the hostel and wind raged
through our semi-open "common area" where you got more
wet than the inside of the bottle of beer you were
consuming despite it only being 7 o clock in the
morning, because you couldn't sleep, and you were so
bored that alcohol was the only way to dull the pain.
The cyclone hovered 80 k offshore and then veered
south, so we never felt the full brunt of its power.
But everything was flooded, nothing was open, couldn't
go anywhere, flights were filling up....it was a
nightmare.  On top of this, Giovanna had picked up a
nasty rash on our outback trip and she was not going
on the next trip through the Kimberley with me.  I
discovered that there were only 2 other people booked
on it in any case, so I cancelled and cut my losses.
Originally we were going to fly to Darwin together,
but the flights got sold out, so I decided to come
back to Perth, and Giovanna flew to Sydney for a week.

Yes, Broome is kind of a hazy memory of drinking,
dancing, loud music, exciting weather, not-so exciting
wet clothes, being stuck in our dorm room, playing
chess and debating with Christiaan, and the heavens
dumping all they could give.  On our last afternoon
there, we did manage to go out for food (we had
survived on what little we had bought at the market
our first night there, and what the hostel thankfully
handed out to hungry people) and visited the crocodile
farm. Got to hold a baby crocodile which was cute.

By this Saturday, i was done with Broome.  Had to get
out.  Severe Cabin Fever.  So I flew to Perth. Thats
where I am now....

I will leave my last few days' of adventure to the
next email - this has been long enough.

Hope you've stuck with me till now - I can honestly
say that West Australia has by far been the best part
of my trip so far.  It is stunning, full of really
laid back, friendly, people and it has an other-world
vibe to it.  Can't really explain it, but despite the
heat, the flies, the distances, and the Wet Season, I
loved every moment here.

Well, till next time.  Hasta La Vista. No worries.  No
dramas.  She'll be alright, mate.

Well...what can I say?  It has been QUITE THE TRIP SO
FAR here in West Australia.  Absolutely stunning,
brilliant, fabulous, and unpredictable!

So much has happened, that I am forced to write two
emails, one for the South West of the state, and the
second for my trip up the coast of WA to Broome, where
I currently sit in the path of deadly and destructive
cyclone - Cyclone Fay, just off the coast of Broome
and heading our way!  I am stuck in our youth hostel,
getting drunk even though its still morning....what a
way to spend a few days!

Anyway, here is the update from when Giovanna and I
arrived in Perth.  The next letter will follow, but
this should make it easier for you all to read!

Well, Perth is such a beautiful and cosmopolitan city.
 We went to Fremantle in the morning for some
cappuccinos and just melted the morning away in the
blazing heat.  We took a cruise back to the city
center, and found that they offered free wine tasting
on board - needles to say, we were both completely
sozzled by the time we got into the city of swans....

Later that afternoon, we hired a car for our south
west adventure and headed south.  Our first stop was
the beach at the wondrous Indian Ocean.  I was most
impressed with the clarity of the water and the
whiteness of the sand.  I would say that the west
coast gives the east a run for its money in terms of
its beaches!

The next morning, in Bunbury, we hurried on down to
the Dolphin Discovery Center, a non-profit center that
boasts a bottle nose dolphin "interaction" zone where
the dolphins swim to on a daily basis right up to
shore to interact with the humans.  Tears welled in my
eyes, as "Jet" swam in front of me inches from my
hands.  These creatures are truly magnificent and
graceful.

Moving on that afternoon we found several paradisaical
beaches to lounge upon - Meelup and Bunker bay were
highlights!  Just crystal blue water: a bounty advert
about to happen and not another soul in sight!

That evening was absolutely mesmerising.  We went to a
bay that was supposed to have giant stingrays.  Just
about to leave after failing to spot one, I noticed a
grey shape gliding by us close to shore.  I ran,
screaming with excitement, and saw the ray : a large
grey "monster" with eyes the size of eggs and about
1.5 meters long.  Some local fishermen there were kind
enough to give us some fresh fish to feed the ray with
- it was quite a tug-of-war extravaganza with the ray
tugging on one end and you holding on for dear life on
the other.  Such a strange sensation!  We were also
able to stroke the strange things, obviously avoiding
its painful "stinger".  

Just at that moment, I looked up at the blushing
sunset sky only to spot two dolphins about 15 feet
from shore swimming in.  I started to scream with
excitement (again) which was immediately followed by
more shrieks from Giovanna and a mad striptease and
running into the water.  This time, without any prior 
planning, I was swimming within 1-2 feet of these
creatures who were feasting on a pod of salmon. 
Mind-blowing night.  Truly.

That night we stayed in the top hostel in Australia in
Augusta.  Just so cute and the management so friendly-
pretty much how you can some up all West Australians,
wonderfully sarcastic in their wicked humor and
bending over themselves to be helpful.  The characters
we met on our car journey alone were worth the trip!

The following day we visited Cape Leeuwin, the south
western most point in Australia.  Then it was on to
the legendary forests of tall Karri and Tingle Trees. 
Our first stop, just before Pemberton, was the giant
Bicentennial Tree.  Now this was no ordinary tree, it
had a ladder carved into it so that you could climb
its' precarious 70 meter height to the top of the
forest canopy.  I have no idea what possessed me to
attempt this ludicrous feat, with absolutely no-one
around, no net to catch you if you fall, and just a
sheer drop awaiting you under each rung, but up we
both went.  Fucking exhilarating.  Excuse the
language, but we wished there had been a crowd of
people around to cheer us on when we got to the top! 
Instead, we sufficed on munching our lunches, feeling
like Ewoks in Return of the Jedi.  The climb down was
even more terrifying, and we were most glad to reach
solid ground.

After such a morning, we treated ourselves to a
relaxing swim in Hooker Reservoir before driving to
Walpole for our third night.

The next day we also walked up into a tree-top canopy,
but this time it was via the famous Valley of the
Giants tree-top walk; essentially a bridge platform
built 40 meters off of the ground.  It was very
exciting, just not quite as scary as before!

We continued driving through stunning forest and
coastline on to Albany, and since we still had hours
of light, we decided to press on the extra 300 K to
Wave Rock, in Hyden.

People say that Wave Rock is disappointing: 350 k from
Perth and a 10 minute wonder.  But I gasped when I
first glimpsed it.  A sheer 15 meter high rock that
has formed the shape of a wave through erosive forces.
 The view from the top was gorgeous too, my first real
view of the "outback" - red dust as far as the eye
could see in all directions....

The drive back was long, but we arrived in Perth that
night ready for our tour up the west coast in the
morning......

That's where I will leave it for now, its definitely
time to have another beer, and check out this
cyclone's latest heading!

I will write again tomorrow with more adventures.  I
hope this email finds you all well.

Yes, I am finally back in the world of sun, heat,
heat, no rain, lovely sun, more heat, and yes!..shorts
with NO gloves, hats, shivering at night and rivers of
water in the tent (last letter....)

Oh I love it here, yes I do, I love it!

Not that our last week in New Zealand didn't have some
distinctive, somewhat wet, yes, memories....

As soon as we arrived back in the North Island, it
seemed the gods were just not with us at all, and it
poured from the heavens the way it only does in
Biblical tales.  In fact, on arrival in the Bay of
Islands (supposedly famous for white beaches lapped
with crystal clear blue waters) we slammed right into
a cyclone, complete with horizontal rain.  Trudging
through mud and puddles with 3 packs on our backs to
the youth hostel we all but fell over laughing our
heads off - it was that or cry!  After a month on the
road, I needed serious re-humanizing.  For those of
you not familiar with re-humanization, it basically
involves the warming of the body with numerous hot
showers, the wearing of comfy slippers and loungey
clothes, hours spent in reckless comfort watching
feel-good soppy movies, and reading, writing journals
and eating yummy comfort food full of chocolate,
caramel and copious amounts of tea....Yes,
re-humanization is as important as sex. (oops...did I
say that out loud?)

Actually, we ditched the bus and spent our last few
days enjoying the above mentioned process.  The sun
peeped out on the last day; but I already had plans
for my day....Yes! it was the oscars, New Zealand
style.  Those of you who know me well enough will
realize that this event is as close as I get to being
religious these days.  I broke into a posh motel, put
on my biggest smile, and asked to "borrow" their
lounge to watch SKY.  It was great, complete with all
necessary products for the continuing re-humanization
effort, with added alcohol just for fun.  Every thing
was great until Sean Penn won for Best Actor, and I
got so excited that management had to shush me because
I was disturbing some of the guests....whoops!

Back at the hostel it was discovered to my joy (sheer
in nature complete with streaming tears) that there
was a karaoke contest to be held that night!  Well, my
peeps, did I enter?   I THINK SO.  I sang about eight
songs! It was fantastic, even the DJ took a liking to
me and asked me to sing with him.  And I won...which
is always nice, right?  Free drinks all around that
night....  I met a fabulous gay man called Tim that
night from Hobart.  I just loved him instantly and we
stayed up half the night singing through the entire
score of Phantom of the Opera in the hostel car park. 
Too much fun.

ANYWAY, we took a bus back to Auckland, hopped on a
bus, hopped on a plane, hopped in my friend Phil's car
and before we knew it, we were in Melbourne!

Now, I know there is a huge rivalry between Melbourne
and Sydney - so i was most curious to discover what
the fuel behind the fire might be.As it turned out,
I'm sorry, there really is no competition - Sydney is
so WHERE ITS AT!  However, in M's defense, it really
is a completely different city with a totally
different vibe, and I loved it all the same.  G and I
were spoiled rotten by Phil (whom I met at my hostel
in Rome in September) who even gave up his own room
for us. More re-humanizing ensued for the next four
days.

Giovanna and I putzed around the city for a  few days
stopping every few hours for the obligatory espresso
beverage and cake....We met up with a few people we
had met in NZ and had a wonderful time.  Highlights of
my time in Melbourne include a wonderful day out with
Phil in the Dandenongs - a national park of towering
mountain ash trees, beautiful. The afternoon was
highlighted with a totally scrummy stop at the English
tea room "Miss Marple's" where I suffered self-induced
sugar coma (my ass has also been suffering from the
side-effects of previous bouts of this condition).

Yesterday was the start of the Mooma Water Festival in
Melbourne.  It  was FABULOUS and TOTALLY AWESOME DUDE!
 I went to a sand sculpting competition, watched a
water skiing competition and listened to an open air
concert that focused on world music.  There was a
group from Croatia who only used strings and a
clarinet, and they were completely hilarious! 
Fireworks at such a close range I felt sure my clothes
would catch fire ended the splendid evening....

Giovanna and I left this morning at a ridiculous hour
of the O Hundred variety.  We are taking a 3 day tour
to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road; another update
will follow in a few days, no doubt.

Loving it here, missing home though, and all of you!



Anita

Time has really started to speed up, I cannot believe
that I will be back in Australia this time next
week....

I last wrote to you all from Dunedin.  So much has
happened, it will be hard to put it in a nutshell, so
I'll just describe the bare highlights.... There has
been little sleep, much activity, much partying and
merriment... Oh so tired am I!

After having so much luck with the weather so far, we
did spend much of last week sheltering from some
pretty violent storms that brought rain, more rain,
rain, and Oh....? Did I mention we had some rain?  I
have begun believing that a tent is no longer properly
functioning unless there is a river of swift current
flowing directly beneath, next to, or through it.  If
contents of said tent also become drenched then one is
officially camping.  Needless to say, this did serve
to dampen our spirits a little, but we have braved
through it, and now head to a North Island where major
highways have now re-opened after some of the worst
floods in 25 years!  I sure know how to time my trips!

After I last wrote, we drove into Fjordland on the
south west coast of New Zealand.  We took a four hour
boat cruise on Milford Sound, which was so mind
boggling beautiful that flies had laid eggs in my
mouth since I had my jaw dropped to the floor for the
entire voyage....  On our return from the sound, a
group of eight of us were dropped off to start  a 3
day back country hike through the Routeburn Track.
Again, we had a stunning time despite the rain on the
second day.  My only issue on this trip was dealing
with the rage of my fellow hikers who stupidly forgot
to pack any lunch provisions and therefore vied to
harbor as much guilt on me as possible for thinking
only of myself and packing the night before....(my
salami and cheese was most precious....!)

Heading north from Fjordland we arrived in Queenstown,
which I have decided is the Boulder equivalent in New
Zealand.  I loved it.  Lots of open air cafes around a
stunning lake with "The Remarkables" (mountains used
many times in the LOR movies) in the background.  My
only travel bugs here were the unfortunate occurrences
of having my mobile stolen (please email me your phone
numbers if you are in Australia!!!) and taking an
ill-fated Lord of the Rings jeep safari tour with a
driver who was better suited to a career selling
funeral packages....He received the not-so-often-seen
dark side of my pissed off nature, and I got a full
refund.  What a jerk.  He even had the audacity to
point out that he hadn't seen any of the movies
because he had "better things to do than spend 3 hours
in a movie theater!"  I can think of more appropriate
things to say to six eager (and yes, somewhat
pathetic, I grant you) young LOR fanatics who had just
foregone the opportunity to hand glide to spend $100
seeing film locations in the flesh.

Anyway, moving north again, we took a trip to Fox
Glacier (Jon, I thought of you.) situated among
coastal rain forest.  Several of us took a guided
crampon hike on the ice and I got to crawl inside an
ice cave complete with flowing river.....great
experience.

We stayed a few nights in Punakaki in the Paparoa
National Park.  I went Black water rafting which is
basically an inner tube ride in complete pitch black
other than the mesmerising star-like luminescence of
glow worms in the sky. Excellent!

Today we left Abel Tasman National Park where I went
Sea Kayaking for the day, only to be turned around due
to gale winds....oh well, no rest for the weary....

Heading to Picton tonight, and ferry tomorrow back to
the North Island and then 2 more days to Auckland.

I will stay in touch!

I am in Dunedin and have a few internet minutes.  The
trip is still mind-boggling.  I am sure I will calm
down in a few days and not feel the pressing need to
bombard you all with such frequent letters!

Our travels took us to the South island where we spent
our first night in Picton (looked very similar to
Skagway!).  We journeyed on to the coast to Kaikoura
and had the opportunity to rise at dawn and swim with
wild dolphins in the ocean!  It was mesmerizing.

We woke at 5am and put on freezing cold wetsuits.  I
was sea-sick on the speed boat but it was soon all
worthwhile.  These dusky dolphins enjoy their human
interaction and found us to be something of a
curiosity.  After several sweeps, swimming in circles
around all of us in snorkel gear, a few responded to
my high-pitched singing in the water, and swam right up
to me.  Looking beneath me, I saw dolphins brush right
by my skin, a calf and its mother twisting and
tumbling below me.  One dolphin stared me right in the
eye as we swam together in a large circle for what
must have been eight repetitions.  I couldn't believe
that they could be so close and so real....
Breathtakingly beautiful. 

Back on the ship we had an hour or so watching them
"perform" including their magnificent acrobatics
(apparently, dolphins are one of the few other animals
in the world who have sex for fun; the guide said that
dolphins nearly always leap and spin right after
finishing the sexual act which is participated in
frequently and with multiple partners!)

On from Kaikoura, we travelled south to a wilderness
camp below Mt. Cook - one of the most spectacular
mountains I have ever seen.  I have been cycling a lot
on this tour 20 or 30k a day, and its really been a
great way to see the countryside off of the bus!
Yesterday we took a hike in Mt Cook National Park to
Hooker Lake; again, scenery and weather could not have
been more satisfying.

And I am finally feeling a little better...Thank
goodness!  Went to the doctor in Christchurch where I
was prescribed steroids for inflamed bronchial
passages.  They seem to be working...Got the rib put
back in too - but my back is so messed up its just a
matter of time before it falls out again.  I've bought
a Theraband to do my physical therapy as prevention!

The physical pain has been quite a downer, but I am
trying hard to enjoy myself nonetheless, and with such
a great country and group to enjoy; its been easier
than it might have been.

Last night, Giovanna and I went on a tour of a Penguin
Colony in Oamaru on the coast.  We sat on a beach as
the sun went down and watched over 80 of the little
darlings waddling out of the ocean.  They were so
cute, you just wanted to nuzzle one of them.  That was
a highlight.

Today we are in Dunedin; a beautiful seaside town that
looks and feels very scottish.(the bus overheated on
the way here; it was very exciting, flames and
everything on the side of the road!)... I still have a
date with coffee and cake, the photo shop, and a hat
shop, so I better go for  now!

Going on a 3 day "tramp" in Fjordland next, so the
next update will be from Queenstown!

Dear Friends

It has been an incredible last few weeks here in sunny
Sydney.  I have found romance, rekindled a wonderful
childhood friendship, partied like a rockstar, and
finished my job at The Sheraton!!

I am now heading off with Giovanna for 3 months of
travel, adventure, and the great unknown....  All that
hard work is about to pay off!

Giovanna arrived on Sunday the 25th.  She did not
suffer much in the way of jetlag, probably because she
was just so excited to be here!  Interestingly, the
same day, I was at work and bumped into a work
colleague who had stood me up for a date the previous
Thursday.  I have liked him for the past two months,
and just assumed that he was not interested because he
had not called.  Well, as it turns out, he had one
digit incorrectly entered into his phone address book.
So, all this time, there were sad assumptions being
made on both our parts.  Anyway, whilst I was
disappointed to find this out with only 1 week left in
Sydney (typical for me, right?) I couldn't pass up on
the opportunity to make the most of the time we had
left.  I have enjoyed an amazing week with him,  I am
so glad that we had this time together.  It has been a
romantic high, and proven very difficult to juggle my
time with my new friend!  I have gotten so exhausted
that I now find myself stricken with yet another cold,
with one day to go before I take to the New Zealand
skies.....boo Hoo for me!

Not to say I didn't find time to take Giovanna to some
cool places.  We have been to the beach (many times!),
done some coastal hikes, enjoyed a picnic and free
opera in the botanical gardens, numerous free meals at
The Sheraton, Open Air Cinema, Theatre to see Sir Ian
McKellen in Dance of Death, the zoo, a gay drag show
rendition of the Sound of Music, had massages & high
tea, gone on a tour of the Blue Mountains, not to
mention a lot of coffee shops, bars (drinking? Never!)
and breakfast establishments.

I think my highlights were the opera in the domain -
we saw Bizet's Les Pecheurs Des Perles and it was
absolutely incredible, and free! We had wine and
cheese on a blanket, with over 25000 people in
attendance.

I am saddened to be leaving Sydney.  A city that
proved so tumultuous for me when I first arrived has
slowly become a place I've found good friendships and
a comforting sense of home.  I actually remember my
work with fondness (now that its over) and all of the
wonderful people I worked with....

Giovanna and I are in the Travel Agency right now,
about to book all of our trips beyond Melbourne.  We
have a full schedule ahead of us, including
Australia's West coast, learning to dive, canoeing in
Bushland, treks in the red center, sailing in
Queensland....the list goes on.  Of course I will stay
in touch and be sending more photos shortly too!

Keep writing!

Much love and wishes

Anita

Wow, I cant believe how quickly the last month has
flown by.  I have settled into my Australian lifestyle
pretty well by now, although I am working so much it
has been difficult at times to find time to play!
Christmas and New Years were decidedly fun and
entertaining; which was quite a nice surprise.  SO,
for those of you who are interested in hearing about
life in Sydney (well, my life in Sydney) please read
on.

I have settled into my new jobs rather well.  I am
quite confident about waiting tables now (working on
the floor as it is known at the Sheraton), which is
still a hilarious fact to me.  I can carry multiple
plates simultaneously, pop bottles of champagne, make
espresso, schmooze guests (alright, I think I hand
well-honed schmoozing technique before I became a
waitress) and my biceps are developing nicely.  The
tips aren't bad either (although Aussies are way more
stingy than Americans!) and I have met quite a few
lovely people at work (although I wasnt here the
night Nicole Kidman ate here after the premiere of her
movie Cold Mountain Dammit!!!!!!!).  This includes
a little old lady who I served on Christmas Eve, who
promptly invited me to her family home for Christmas
lunch when she heard that I had nowhere to go!  I
declined at first (a little weird, even for me,
right?) but she insisted that there would be many
people there and most of them my age, so I'd fit
right in (she didn't know me, so one can't blame her
for making such an assumption, right?). 

So, off I went in the blazing heat (SO strange) and I
had quite a fun time!  There were four generations of
family present including Gramps who declared that
they should have a strange English girl for Christmas
dinner every year from now on, because I was simply
lovely as he put it (yes, he was old; and the older
the person, especially if male, the greater the
possibility of finding me delightful, or so I've found
to be the case in the past.)  The family's hospitality
truly stunned me when they presented me with 3 wrapped
gifts from under the tree; including a Limoges gravy
boat (yeah, that will carry well in my backpack!), a
hand-painted Christmas tree ornament with my name, and
a basket of perfumed candles.  Well, blow me down if
they didn't get me drunk too!  I went straight to work
from the lunch, and the hand was a little unsteady
pouring champagne for a few hours, and Anita was ever
more gregarious, complete with Santa hat and tipsy
smile.  We had carolers in the hotel, which sang
requests for the guests at their respective tables;
it was all so beautiful it was all I could do to stop
myself from hugging them all and openly weeping. 
God, I'm emotional.

Boxing Day was highlighted with a trip to the premiere
of Return of the King; and I can honestly say it is
one of the best movies I have ever experienced
(experienced because you can't watch Lord of the
Rings, you are there with the characters).  An
absolute work of genius, I highly recommend it to all
of you! I cried, shouted, hollered, cheered and
clapped so much, everyone within a 5 row radius knew
me by my first name by the credits.

New Year's Eve in Sydney was incredible.  I managed to
beg, plead, cavort and bribe my way out of working
(I'm sorry; but how often will I be in Sydney on NY's
Eve??  I rest my case.) and headed for the botanical
gardens with people from the house.  I say people
from the house because, since I'm hardly there, I
haven't really developed any friendships with any of
them, and haven't felt cheated as a result; they are a
unique bunch of young, drinking, travelers (No, not
like me at all!)  My friend, Andreas, flew to Cairns
on 30 Dec so I was missing his presence muchly.  He
was bummed to leave; apparently there wasn't much
going on up north, whilst Sydney was jammed with
activity.  We lay out in the sun for the best part of
the day, in an excellent spot right on the harbor with
a magnificent view of the bridge and opera house.  The
fireworks were spectacular, especially the second set
(yeah, two sets!!  London eat your heart out!)  at
midnight.  The only interruptions were one of my
drunken housemates screaming and crying into her
mobile to her ex-boyfriend that she still loved him,
and then another couple from the house who decided
that the stroke of midnight was the perfect
opportunity to start a loud brawl.  Yes, a perfect
start to a New Year.  I walked home alone,
contemplating a rewarding, successful and
adventure-filled (well, duh!) 2004.  Hopefully, with
more of you guys in it , I miss you!!!!

Lets see, What else fun to share?  OH - perhaps my
biggest news is that I will shortly have a new partner
in crime!  My oldest friend on the planet, in fact,
Giovanna from the UK is flying to Australia at the end
of January.  Yeah!!!  Funnily enough, whilst we were
inseparable from the ages of about 7 to 12, we lost
touch after that, and have only spent a day together
since as adults!! (well, we got along famously for the
day, and still have a surprising amount in common, so
I can't wait for her to come out and join me!)  We are
flying to New Zealand together on the 3rd of February
for a whole month of the alpine, thermal, beach,
nature and adventure wonders of Lord of the Rings
country a camping tour of both islands with a focus
on hiking and biking.  I can't wait.  I miss the
wilderness and being in such a busy city as Sydney is
taking its toll on my love of the great outdoors.(oh,
Alaska!!  love to all of you out there braving the
winter!)  After New Zealand, we are flying on to
Melbourne and then driving on to the Red Center of the
country. Major heat!

Not that I haven't been enjoying the great outdoors
here.  Sydney does boast some great long walks; and I
have been exploring on my days off of late.  I have
walked several coastal walks, all the way from the
northern suburb of Watson's bay, famous for its
suicide-popular site known affectionately as the Gap
a spectacular set of cliffs plummeting straight down
to the Pacific Ocean and coast as far as the eye can
see; to Bondi Beach and beyond to Coogee.  Of course,
I have stopped to swim and sunbathe along the way and
have started to really love the coastline here. The
real estate is simply incredible, people sure have
money here.  Each beach tends to have rock pools that
let you swim free of the dreaded waves and sharks
(yup, still a little wary) so I love those for a
refreshing dip.  But mostly, I have really started to
treasure my afternoons of solitude, breathing the
fresh sea air and contemplating the present and
future. 
Being here in Sydney has been SUCH a learning
experience.  Although, there are things that I will
always associate with Sydney that I never thought I
would:  the thousands of giant bats I see each night
flying overhead to Moore Park as I walk home, hearing
a multitude of Eastern European languages every day on
the public bus system, Australian words for espresso
coffees (Flat white, short black, long black), Tooheys
Beer, and the list keeps growing.  I now feel that I
could handle setting up from scratch in any major
city.  And I know that by the end of the year, I will
be forced to do just that, stateside.  Right now, I am
looking to Seattle to call home come next fall.

For now, there is more work, fun, sun, mountains and
good times to look forward to. And not to forget,
ALASKA by May!!!!!!!

I just want to end this letter by mentioning my
gratitude for all of your wonderful and comforting
words and comments to me recently.  I do not feel
alone because of your amazing emails.  Keep 'em
coming!

Love to you all and best wishes for 2004

Anita


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