My Tassie Birthday!

8 months and 3 trips later...I'm a slacker and I have a lot to write about. Woops! Lets skip all of the mini trips and go straight to our April holiday, a.k.a. my Birthday Week Celebration!

On Saturday, April 20, Avi and I planned a birthday bash at our friend, Hillel's apartment. Avi made me a delicious cookie cake since it's my favorite kind of cake and they don't have kosher ones in Australia. We also had jello shots, pickle backs (a shot of Jameson Irish Whiskey followed by a shot of pickle juice...don't ask why but it just works!), and heaps of other alcohol; we played limbo (which I dominated, owing my success to my former bar/bat mitzvah dominations); and even sang some karaoke. Needless to say it was a blast!

April 21st - My Actual Birthday!
We woke up about 4 hours later for our flight to Tasmania and both Avi and I were definitely hung over (potentially still drunk...). Thankfully Natan Kuchar was nice enough to give us a ride as my birthday present so we didn't have to deal with a cab or the train.

We flew in to Hobart, Tasmania, picked up our car and drove to the ferry to Bruny Island. We took our car on the ferry (very cool) 
and then drove to this Smoke House.
Tasmania is one of the major providers of salmon and smoked salmon in Australia; we went to this place that smoked its own fish and ordered a huge platter of smoked salmon and flounder - it was delicious! A perfect birthday lunch!

After lunch we went for a short hike to see "The Neck"

and then a longer hike where we saw some beautiful sights along with some Wallabies in the wild.

We were hoping to do some more hikes but I was exhausted so we took the ferry back and went out for a nice Italian dinner.

The next morning we woke up early and drove to Freycinet Island. It was a beautiful drive with amazing sights at every turn.

It took a little longer than expected because we paused a few times for some impromptu birthday FaceTime chats. After arriving in Coles Bay we picked up a picnic lunch and then began an 11 kilometer nature hike.  The sights, such as Wine Glass Bay, were outstanding! 

Tuesday, our last day in Tasmania, we did lots of different activities. In the morning we drove up to the top of Mount Wellington, where you can see all of Hobart below.

We also saw snow for the first time in over a year! It was the coldest temperatures (1C/34F) we had felt since the winter before we left for Australia, in March 2012.

Afterwards we went to the Cadbury Chocolate Factory and got some free samples and bought heaps of yummy chocolate.

Lastly, we drove to Port Arthur. Port Arthur is the site of one of Australia's oldest prisons set up by the British during the 18th and 19th Centuries. Also in 1996, it was the location of the worst mass-murder event in post-Colonial Australian history, which caused the Australian government to change their gun laws.

From Hobart, Tasmania, we flew to Melbourne, Victoria, where we met Ben Pask, our cruise director for our time in Melbourne.

On Wednesday Ben took us around Melbourne and then we went to the Penguin Parade at Phillip Island, which was so much fun! Every night after sunset hundreds of little penguins leave the water and come waddling across the beach to the safety of the conservation center. They waddle across the beach which is their most vulnerable time of the day as their predators are more likely to see them, which is why they wait until darkness. They were adorable and so funny. Often a pack of then would start crossing the beach and then they would get scared and run (or waddle) back to where they started. It was so much fun to watch.

On Thursday, Anzac Day (Australia's Memorial Day), Pasky took us to the Australian Football League (AFL) Anzac Day game at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG). There were approximately 90,000 people there; the atmosphere was great. And the team that Ben made us adopt (the Essendon Bombers) actually won!

Afterwards we went out to dinner with some of our Melbourne buddies (Monique and Charlotte!). Then on Friday, we went back to the MCG to see the Australian sports museum. Finally, we went to Avi's cousin, Bezalel Gleiser's, house for shabbos, which was really nice.

On Sunday morning we flew to Brisbane, Queensland, for Rachel Thompson and David Orchansky's wedding. We had a blast at our first Aussie wedding!

And that wrapped up our wonderful Taselbane (Tasmania-Melbourne-Brisbane) holiday! I have at least 2 more blogs to post before we leave Australia so be on the look out.

Cheers!

Western Australia and the start of 2013!

Sorry again for the long delay between blog posts, I've been slacking since it's summer and it's sooo nice out! For the first time, I am going to include pictures, I hope y'all are excited.
The last night that Sammy was here we went to a party at our friend Lisa Kappel's apartment. It was epic! There were tons of people and lots of drinks and we had an amazing time. At some point I think her roommates kicked us out so we were hanging out outside and Avi fell asleep on the sidewalk and woke up the next morning with ant bites all over him. It was pretty hilarious! On Sunday morning we struggled to get up but Sammy left and then Avi and I had to pack for Western Australia.

On Monday morning, we got to the airport wearing our football jerseys and waited to board the plane for a 5-hour flight to Perth. From there we flew North to Learmouth airport, which is probably the smallest airport I've ever seen, but the views along the way were breathtaking. 

Then we rented a car and drove about an hour (117 km) to Coral Bay. This was our first time experiencing the drive on the left side of the road. Avi took the first leg and did a pretty good job, granted we were in the middle of nowhere and we probably saw about 5 cars the whole ride. The way there was pure desert and pretty much deserted...we had no service for most of the way and it was definitely a big change of pace from New York, Sydney, etc.

After arriving in Coral Bay, which is a beautiful tiny little town right on the Ningaloo Reef, we dropped our stuff off and then tried to go snorkeling a bit. However, it was getting late and the water was kind of chilly so we didn't last very long. Instead we had dinner and went to bed early to get ready for our diving trip the next morning.

Tuesday was AWESOME! In the morning we boarded a boat and went for a ride out to our first dive site in the Ningaloo Reef, Lotties Lagoon. It turned out that we were the least experienced divers on the trip but that didn't stop us. Even though we surfaced earlier than everyone else, we lasted 43 minutes for our first dive, 12 minutes longer than the last time we went diving. So we were happy about that. During the first dive we saw yellow boxfish, 2 amazingly beautiful green turtles, Painted Flute Mouth (really cool), Clarks anemonefish, many spotted sweetlips, flowery cod, Anna's chromodan's, midnight snapper, slingjaw wrasse, sailfin catfish, pink anemone fish, and moon wrasse. It was a blast.

After the first dive, we drove to a different spot and we were able to go swimming with numerous, massive manta rays. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done. They swam right under us and I got some amazing pictures.

However, the water was very choppy that day and on the way to lunch and our next dive site, Avi got seasick. Then he ate a little bit and he was debating not doing the next dive but when we were told that we were going to a shark cleaning station he changed his mind. Also a lot of people on the boat told him that often diving helps get rid of seasickness so he tried it out. In the end we did the dive and again we came up early (this time it was my fault since I ran out of air quicker than Avi but that's because I kept checking on him, I was nervous that he was sick), but lasted 44 minutes this time! But I am so glad that Avi decided to do this dive (I wouldn't have gone without him). It was probably the coolest one we've done yet. We saw tons of cool fish, like the bent stick pipefish, convict surgeonfish, painted flutemouth, baby Queensland groper, goldspot trevally, bludger trevally, pink anemonefish, MS sweetlips, smooth flutemouth, solar boxfish, and yellow boxfish. 

But the best part was the shark cleaning station. Coral Bay is one of the few areas in the world that has a shark cleaning station. There are certain fish (I forget which kind) that get their food by cleaning the teeth and the skin, etc. of sharks and other fish. When I first swam to the spot I got to see a gray reef shark with its mouth open getting its teeth cleaned! It was extraordinary. As I looked around, I saw 2 more sharks and they were all just chilling there. Out of this world. After the dive, Avi felt much better and was so happy that he decided to try it out. After the diving trip we had a relaxing evening and watched the sunset over the ocean.

The next day we wanted to go deep sea fishing but unfortunately the water was too rough so they had to cancel. Although we were upset, the day turned out better than we expected. Instead we decided to do a quad trek ride and snorkel (I'll post a few pictures here but check facebook for the album). 

When we first started driving, we pulled out into this desert area and we saw little kangaroos in the wild, it was so cool. Then we drove along the beautiful Coral Bay beach until we came to our first snorkel spot. Before snorkeling, we stopped because we saw a dolphin close by who had lost its dorsal fin. At first it looked like it was all alone but then we saw a whole pod of them. Needless to say, I was ecstatic! 

Then we stopped and went snorkeling in this amazing spot

where we saw tons of cool fish, an eel, 3 sea turtles and 3 wobbegong sharks (look under the coral). 










As we were swimming around more, all of a sudden a small blue spotted stingray (the kind that killed Steve Erwin) came out from underneath the sand and swam right underneath our guide. It was so cool.

Then we drove a little bit more on our quad bikes and went to the next snorkel site, which wasn't as big. As soon as we pulled up our guide thought that he saw a tiger shark so he went to make sure that it was gone and when he couldn't find it we went snorkeling. This time we saw 2 more sea turtles and they came really close to us. They were beautiful.

It was really a great experience and we weren't too upset that we didn't get to go fishing. Also, on the way back, we saw some more kangaroos which were much closer this time.

On Thursday, we were supposed to fly out early to Perth and spend the day touring the city and it's beautiful beaches but when we got on our plane at tiny Learmouth Airport, apparently the air conditioning did not work. So they put us on the place, then took us off the plane, then put us on again and then took us off again. To make a long and frustrating story short, we were stuck in this tiny airport on one of the hottest days yet with minimal AC for way too long and didn't arrive to our hotel in Perth until after 9 pm.

Fortunately, Friday was another great day. We took a ferry to Rottnest Island, a small island off the coast of Perth. The ferry ride was beautiful and when we arrived we took an adventure tour around the island. When they say adventure, they mean adventure. The water was extremely choppy and we were in a small boat, wearing body-sized panchos. 

Whenever we were traveling to another part of the island it felt like we were on a roller coaster and we often got completely soaked with water; it was a blast! On the way to our first stop we saw the strangest thing. We drove past this huge boat that had all of these dudes standing on the back of the ship with this one topless girl with large fake breasts...our boat, which was driven by a woman, drove by really slowly and we all waved and they waved back, but it was just so strange and hilarious. Anyway, on our first stop on the adventure tour, we saw New Zealand fur seals basking in the sun and playing in the water.

Apparently because of the large population of seals, there is a large population of great white sharks around Rottnest Island because they prey on seals. Needless to say, we did not go into the water there :)

On our next stop we saw an Osprey, which is a type of hawk, and it was just perched on a large rock staring ahead. It was really cool.











Then on our final stop we saw some Australian sea lions.







After the boat trip we had some lunch and then we went on a walking tour to see the quokkas which live on the island. They are these tiny marsupials that are found in Western Australia, mainly on Rottnest island. They were so cute and rather friendly. I was able to get up really close to them; loved it!

We had a blast on Rottnest Island. Friday night we watched the sunset from our amazing hotel balcony in Scarborough Beach and did a small shabbos dinner in our room. Then on Shabbos day we walked to the beach but it was kind of windy so we decided to go hang out at the pool. After that we took a long walk along the beautiful and rather empty beach before crashing for a long nap. 

On Sunday morning we woke up really early and drove down to Margaret River to prepare for our winery, brewery, cheese and chocolate factories tour. IT WAS BEYOND AMAZING! Since the Falcons were playing on Saturday instead of Sunday, I wore my jersey for the first half of the tour and then changed after they beat the Lions. Everyone else on the tour thought I changed because we lost, but really it was only because the game was over and we won. 

Anyway, we went to 4 different wineries (above) and they all had their own little niche and they were all beautiful. At the first winery they taught us the proper way to taste wine and we learned that you should never judge a wine by the first sip. Then we went to 3 more wineries and we ate a traditional Australian lunch at the 3rd one (although unfortunately we didn't get to try any of the crocodile or kangaroo). At the fourth won we tried more liqueurs than wines, but it was all a blast and delicious. Then we went to the cheese factory where I found some kosher brie that I was unbelievably excited about (probably because I had been to 4 wineries). Next we went to the Margaret River Chocolate Factory, enough said; delicious! Lastly we went to a brewery where we tried 5 different beers that they had. The bushtucker winery & brewery tour was amazing and I highly recommend it to everyone! 

After that we were pretty liquered up and tired, so we basically passed out on the couch for the rest of the night. Monday was our last full day in Western Australia so we spent the majority of the day in Margaret River. First we went to see Smith's Beach, which was extremely beautiful!

Then we went to Ngilgi Cave and Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse in Yallingup. They were our educational parts of the trip and they were also very fun and interesting.

After that, we went to see Bunker Bay, another beautiful beach and then we headed back to Perth for our final night. 

Tuesday, Christmas Day, we headed back to Sydney. Of course our flight was delayed... again, but like good American Jews, when we finally made it home we dropped our stuff off and then met Josh Borenstein for some Chinese food followed by a movie at his place.

On Wednesday, "Boxing Day", we went to Ben Pask's apartment and watched Christmas Day basketball, met Monique, Kara, and Mich, and then we started watching Friday Night Lights, which is so good. That night we went to Max Brenner, which is an amazing chocolate shop, and then we went to see Les Mis. I really really liked it, Ben fell asleep, and Avi stayed awake but didn't love it.

Over the next week or so we did a lot of stuff: we hung out with Ben and Mon a lot, we went to the beach a lot, we went out for karaoke (Avi stayed out until 5 am!), we got to see Charlotte Fliegner who was visiting from Melbourne, and we just hung out. 

Then on New Years Eve we woke up really early and went out to Macquarie's Chair with some friends and 10s of thousands of other people in the city to watch the fireworks over the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House. We got there at about 10:30 am and then had to wait in line for about 2 hours.  

When we finally got in, we found a spot and made a picnic and sat in about 28C/85F degree weather. We had a really good time. Then at 9 pm, they did about a 5-10 minute firework show and at midnight they did a really long one, about 15-20 minutes. We didn't have the best view of the bridge and the opera house because there were trees in the way but we saw at least 3 firework viewing points and we thoroughly enjoyed it. However, as soon as it was over, we were so tired from being in the sun all day that we went home and were in bed by 2.

On New Year's Day, we went to Bondi Beach to say goodbye to Charlotte and then we met up with Ben and his friends from Melbourne, got some shwarma at a pita shop and then went to another beach called Parsley Bay. The rest of the week Avi worked from home and we just chilled out at night. We invited our friends', Avital and Gideon Harkham, over for burrito Shabbat and then continued to eat the leftovers for a few days. On Monday, Avi started work again so life pretty much went back to the pre-holiday norm.

However, this past weekend, after saying goodbye to Michael Apfel, who went back to the U.S. after his study abroad semester and travels ended, on Sunday we went to Melbourne for a quick trip to see the Australian Open. We were supposed to leave on Sunday morning at 6 am, however, our flight was cancelled about 6 hours before take off. So we had to take the 12:00 flight and because it was so much later, we each received $100 vouchers, which was pretty sweet. When we got to Melbourne we dropped our stuff off at Charlotte's parents house, where we were staying, and then Charlotte took us on a quick tour of the city. It was really fun, but for some reason it was very cold for the summer (only about 19C/66F). The next morning I woke up at 5 am to watch the Falcons beat the Seahawks (after giving me a heart attack!). Then Avi had to work and when he finished we went into the city to go watch the night session of the Open. We saw Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) play against the Aussie, Leyton Hewitt. The match started off really exciting but Tipsarevic ended up winning all 3 sets. Then we watched one set of the women play and left to go to bed since we had a flight at 6:30 the next morning. It was a very quick trip but I'm really glad that we got to see the Australian Open while we were here and I know that we will be back in Melbourne soon to really get a feel for it.

Last night, we went to our friends', Lili and Natan, apartment where he had a quesadilla cook off! Natan, Lili, and I all made different quesadillas and Avi was the judge. Now if any of my campers or friends have had my quesadillas before, they know that it was no competition. Even so, we didn't tell Avi who made which quesadillas and he liked mine the best.

All in all, we continue to have an amazing time here and we hope that more of y'all will take us up on our standing offer to visit!

Cheers