Alice Springs

Yesterday we arrived in Alice Springs. We checked in to the hotel, went out shopping, stocked up on groceries, toured the local galleries where I got to see some amazing Indigenous art.  We went out for an amazing dinner and I turned in early. We were going to have an early start today to go the remainder of the way to where we're headed, the roads we need to travel on are closed due to flooding, so we've spent the day today touring around, the country here is amazing. 

This is entering Alice Springs, this is known as The Gap, I love the red rock. 

About 25 miles outside of Alice Springs

 

This next photo is taken with me standing in the Todd River, as you can see the river is dry. It's hard to believe that the roads are closed due to flooding about two hours from here. 

The scenery here is amazing,  the lady I met who is taking us to the lands is phenomenal, she's a ton of fun and extremely knowledgeable about not only the lands, but the area I am training in as well.

Yesterday and today there was no internet connection, a line was cut someplace but no worries, I got connected today.

These lyrics explain how I feel. 

"Birds flying high
You know how I feel
Sun in the sky
You know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by
You know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good"

Feeling Good ~ Michael Buble

 See you when I can get back this way, we might be heading out tomorrow, we might not, it's dependent upon the roads. Cheers.

BRB

BRB... going on a 

Cheers.

My Bags Are Packed

Now how does that song go? I'll brb, I'm going to go and google the lyrics. Oops, forget that song, that's more of a love song. K, here's another one...

"We're here for a good time

Not a long time

So have a good time

The sun can't shine everyday" 

Well the sun was shining but I'm heading out in the morning just the same. It's time to do some work and get immersed in a different culture and see what I can learn. I have no idea what lies ahead of me, but how will I ever know if I don't go? I'm excited, a bit apprehensive and full of hope. 

Today I went out and purchased wireless internet...

...are you sitting down? I paid $150 Australian dollars for... get this, 8GB of data, like seriously? Now my next hope is that this works in the desert.  I won't be able to be online every night I doubt, but trust me, I'm going to try. I'll miss all of you if I can't connect, I'll post first and take it from there if I can get connected but when I get back I'll see if I can catch up. 

I hope you all have a wonderful six weeks, take care and 'til we meet up again... may your dreams become your reality! Good night and God Bless.

Entertainment

Today was a sort of laid back type of a day, a nice way to spend a Sunday. We, my roommate and myself, went out for a bit to do some Sunday shopping... and no we didn't buy clothes (for a change!). We were at Rundle Mall and with the Fringe being in Adelaide there are plenty of street performers, different ones than we normally see. 

 This man plays the most amazing music, he was one with his guitar and touched my heart and soul. 

This man was a part of a band that played Indian music, it was also phenomenal. 

We stopped off and watched a magician, there was one couple standing there so we joined in.  This magician was hilarious, he had so many one liners, that's what made his show... well that and he also picked my roommate to help him out. He had a rather large group drawn in, this was in a matter of about 10 minutes, I think that people were frightened to continue walking by, he would have had something to say to them, or about them, but it was all in good fun.

This city is amazing, every day there's some type of entertainment, or something to do. If you're ever looking for a fantastic get-away I highly recommend Adelaide... just don't stay anywhere on Henley Street!

Henley Beach and Homework

Today I figured I'd best do some reading, it's about time to start up these correspondence courses. Grudgingly I packed a bag, changed and headed off to study... at the beach!

After some reading (about 5 minutes) I had to give my eyes a break, I glanced up and what did I see? A realtors sign on the condo... really now

 

I assessed the neighborhood and visions of living on the beach danced in my head... this is a lifestyle I could get used to! I'd miss everyone, so I guess my family could always relocate or visit all the time... back to my reading... wait a second, it's 39c... what's that? The water's calling my name.

I heard right, the ocean beckoned me, so I obliged and did it ever feel fantastic!

 

After a few hours of "studying" it was time to pack up and head for home, I didn't want to get burnt out! Ya, I know, it's a tough job to be studying in Australia, someone had to do it though. 

The real work begins on February 29th, til then I'll keep on trying to get this text book read, I've read one thus far and I'm almost done this second one... it's not all fun and games ya know. 

"The dream never dies

Just the dreamer

The dream never dies

If its strong

 The song never dies

Just the singer

So come on everybody

Sing along"

The Dream Never Dies

by The Cooper Brothers

The Fringe

Well there's yet another big event going on in Adelaide, their annual Fringe Festival kicked off with an evening parade.

The streets were jam packed, this little girl anxiously awaited the performance. 

Kermit showed up...

My favorite part of the parade was the fun loving people who were around us, the ladies were hilarious! And the fireworks which ended the evening were spectacular.

 Magical stars... 

These looked like blades of fire...

and this last one is one of my favorites, 

However, I was a tad bit concerned, they were shooting these off right next to these tall buildings... thankfully all was well, no fires!

Monkey Business

"Oh Romeo, oh Romeo, wherefore art thou?"

"Just hangin' out with the guys Juliet, what's up?"

"You want what? Some love? Be with you in a minute!" 

"Hey, what's up? I got down as quick as I could, come back Juliet, come back!"

"Sheesh...Women!"

"I'm here Juliet, ready or not..."

"Here's some of my lovin' just for you sweetheart!" 

 Have you hugged someone today?

Adelaide Zoo

I've been taking so many photos it's hard to decide just what to post... I was at the Adelaide Zoo today, so animals it shall be.

I don't know why, but I thought Panda's were much smaller; I guess I was thinking more along the lines of a koala... they sure are cute though.

Preparing for take off...

Wouldn't want to see this fella upset!

I LOVE turtles! (Not the chocolate turtles though)

Feeding time and this tiger knew it...

Blending in...

I'm going to post two posts tonight/this morning, I didn't post yesterday and this next one I think is cute!

As for the zoo, we spent about 1 1/2 hours there today, it became unbearably hot so we called it a day. A lovely zoo though, if you're ever in Adelaide it's a must see.

Lolly Shops

I think that it's rather cute that Candy Stores here are called Lolly Shops. 

It reminds me of that song "Lolly pop, lolly pop" which I wish I could find the link to, but there's zero downloading on this end, the internet is way to expensive for that! 

Up a Wall

My roommate and her friend found a wall which is so neat, she had to take me there to show it to me on our way home...

You might wonder what I found so interesting about this wall so I've enlarged a section of the photo, it's not perfectly clear as all I had on me was my P&S but I think that you'll get the basic idea. 

This entire wall has miniature cars glued all up the side of the wall! This wall is a must revisit with my zoom lens, it looks so amazing. 

As I turned to head home I spotted a quaint shop

Some of the architecture here is so impressive, I love it!

Pukatja

I believe that all of my family has been notified, so now I can share with you all where I'm heading next. I'm off to Pukatja to do my placement, if all goes well I'll be leaving somewhere around the 25th of this month and I'll be gone for approximately 6 weeks. 

If you take a look on the map below, Pukatja, aka as Ernabella, I believe is South of Alice Springs, Alice Springs is almost centered on the map. Yup, I'm going to the desert to see what I can learn from the Anangu peoples.

I'm super excited to see what I will learn, it's going to be an entirely different way of life. I'm excited, a bit apprehensive, and this was totally unexpected. What is meant to be in life will be.

Now I'm not sure what the internet connections are like out there, or how much access I'm going to have, but if I can't post while I'm away, you'll all be in my thoughts and I'll stop in when I return, I'm sure laden with photos to share!

This next week is going to be spent preparing; mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I'll see how the week goes, I'm sure I'll be making time to have some adventures along the way, so til we meet again... do what you enjoy, and enjoy what you do! 

Cheers.

Adelaide Botanic Garden

Today it was super hot, it was so hot that I even broke out in a sweat... now that's hot! Without thinking to check the temperatures I went out to the Adelaide Botanic Garden, it's beautiful! However, I only stayed for maybe 2 hours, it became unbearably hot.

The huge trees provided some welcomed shade...

we stopped and sat a while. 

Before we turned a corner I could smell it, the smell was a distinctly familiar one, but I was not prepared for this...

Roses, roses and more breathtaking roses! 

I would love to have a rose garden such as this, down-scaled naturally

And what's a garden without statues? 

I particularly like this statue,  it is what a real woman should look like in my opinion, not a twig on two posts as our media portrays as sexy.

I'll leave you with one last photo, I hope you enjoyed our visit to the Botanic Garden, it was too hot but what an amazing place to see!

A wee bit of color in your world to help brighten up your day!

Can I Take Him Home?

The Koala's are so soft, cuddly, and lovable... well the ones in the Cleland Wildlife Park are.

Can I please take him home?

...and there were kangaroos

Tasmania Devil...

Tons of various birds...

Yup, it was a wonderful afternoon for us Canadians!

Hmmm, wonder what's next.

All Shopped Out

Yesterday I had it confirmed where I'll be doing my placement while I'm here in Australia (more on that within the next few days), but what I need to go out on this practicum required some shopping... so shopping we went! 

We went to a place called Harbour Town where there's tons of stores, most of which have fantastic deals. I'm so grateful there's such a place and we found it, I'm going to have to go back at least once, maybe twice, before I leave on placement. Tonight I'm all shopped out, I'll take a break from shopping for a few days before I head back to finish up getting what I'll all need.

...never a dull moment in my world! :-)

If All Else Fails...

... there's always burrito's!

Will brb, going to get me a burrito...