Great Ocean Road

It was a great Christmas as my folks decided to stop by! With my brother having left a few weeks ago I felt pretty spoiled. Enjoying some rays in the park. Melbourne weather is so erratic that locals make the best of a great day here. I'm just waiting for a new passport and then we're off on a new adventure. Tip: If you're planning on doing any extended travel, it may not be enough to simply renew your pp for another 5 years. Make sure you get the 48 pager(5 bucks extra) as most countries like to issue the full page visas. With shipping, fees and photos that's about 1 week worth of travel in Asia.
We decided to head out to The Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road. Here's Scot enjoying the view.
Flowrum Purplis
AUS:

Melbourne: Best night life, Worst hangover, Best music, Worst festivals, Best police presence, Worst alcohol abuse, Best ocean road.

Byron Bay: Best hippies, Worst b.o., Best lighthouse, Worst goon hangover.

Brisbane: Best sun, Worst burns,Best a/c, Worst food, Best beer.

Sydney: Best Westin, Worst Prices, Best Opera House, Worst Bat Infestation.

Adelaide: Just don't even bother going...haha

Always the health nut with the banana in each shot.

Getting away from -15°C weather back home.
Pondering living on the beach.
Lightsman.
I found out why these little guys are so lazy. All they eat are toxic eucalyptus leaves which contain little protein/calories/water so they've got a very slow metabolism. This guy is probably finishing up his 16-18 hour power nap.

More Great ocean road. If you do find yourself in this area, try and get down to the ground level as these pics don't provide good scale. The cliffs are huge!
Couldn't get down there. I wonder whats inside that cave?
Wait for it...
Tada!
Scot Enjoying some darn good Mojitos! Best breakfast in Melbourne ever!
Taller than the Aposltes!
Breathtaking!
Jacynte asked me to take a few steps back for a better shot. Nah Nah I didn't fall for it.

The Razor backs.
Wicked!
People were too busy taking pictures and getting back on their tour buses. We were the ones who looked out of place just hanging out on the beach.
A few days later.....Bright-eyed and bushy tailed. 7am wake-up for the music festival!
Everybody made it out for this one....
Mid-set entertainmentHangover mornings. Nothing like ear destroying rock at 10am to straighten out those hangover tremors.A cancer free Aus trip I hope....still rocking a sandal tan.
Cassette Kids rocking out with "Acrobat" Check em out!
The Girls getting ready for 2010...3..2..1...

Only 3 weeks to go in Aus...The Rainbow Serpent festival is still to come and a wee holiday from my vacation before my real sabbatical begins :)

Toes on the nose bros!

This is the Bro Post. Mikhail gets here for a few weeks of vaca. Picking up my brother at the airport.

Gave him the most ridiculous towel I could find.

Its been 8 months since I've seen my brother. From India to Melbourne. This is the last shot I had of him from our travels through South India.

I've been hanging out in Melbourne for about 2 months now. It seems like a year has gone by. The longest I have stayed in one place. I'm enjoying the western feel but starting to get itchy feet! (This was taken almost a year ago in Southern India)

Espresso bar in a trailer in an art gallery. This wouldn't fly in the T dot.

Melbourne coffee culture is sure to up your caffeine intake 2 fold while you tour the city!

Guest of honour everywhere he goes. My friend Rebecca who I met while volunteering in Kenya.

Sidewalk party with Jackson and crew. Book drive for kids in Kenya. Jackson is another friend I met while volunteering in the outskirts of Nairobi. These girls are balancing work, Uni and fundraising to send help out to kids in Africa.

So We started off with a little Street art. Melbourne is full of great bars but they are all in the sketchiest looking alleys.

Random suits.

Rebbecca invited us to come out on her catamaran. Good times!

Setting sail.

Back at the condo the birthday bash starts off promptly.

I'd show you more but it all goes downhill pretty fast from here. We got pretty shot ducked!

One with the boardwalk.

Feeding these filthy rats with wings.

Working for the weekend. Roadie, off to Phillip Island.

How ya going mate?

Wombats are our friends.

Kangas!!! Can you believe people actually eat Kangaroo meat as if it were a fine piece of steak. I'll take mine medium rare.

Roo!!

So high, always.

This guy did not move an inch...probably meditating.

Secluded beaches in the winter time. Had the entire beach to ourselves. Winter weather here is still unreal for us Canadians.

5 star service back to town. Thanks Terry.

Mikhails new fav drink.

At a little creatures pub. They make killer beer!

Bar hopping in the same building. 2 more to go.

"Daddy can't dip" quote of the year.

So, planning on staying a few more months and then its time to hit the road. I think I got my fill of routine for 2009. Bring on the new Adventures! Perhaps the Philippines or Indonesia as a New Years reso. Merry Christmas y'all!

Melbourne!

O.k. so Its been over a month since the last update. I'm in Melbourne for good(about 3 months in Dom years) Been lookin around for the usual "real life" accessories like a job and a place. Let the fun begin....but first a little shopping.... They built a mall around this tower. Dodgy Aussies.

Federation square.
Just giving you a panorama of the square where found a gig.

Good old Real job. I've traveled all this way to work in a bar...again. This place has as many if not more beers than the last place I worked at. Perks here include a mandatory drink after shift, sending customers to the kitchen to order food and 13 other bartenders that help you shut the place down. The police throw people out over here and the bouncers are actually bigger than the patrons.

Pissed that we've spent almost 3 weeks in Backpackers since arriving in Melbourne.

Even more pissed...

Instead of banging head against wall I decide to go house hunting.

But before that its time to catch up with old friends. I stayed at the Orphanage in Kenya with Rebbecca. While I've been selfishly travelling about, she's been busy fund-raising to send books overseas.Condo time. Its been a year so I pick up where I left off. Got me a sweet Korg R3 with my first paycheck. Rent can wait. I'm seen here annoying my neighbors. The place has a gym and a lap pool... so I've got no excuses not to get in shape.

The queen west of Melbourne. Fitzroy is pretty rad.

Just sauntering about.
Keeping the beats Alive! Here is the latest! To say this track is a departure from my usual stuff would indicate I actually have a style. Feel Free to Bite... check it out here

Doing the Graffiti walk in Brunswick.

Another friend from the orphanage in Gathiga. Jackie! She took me out to go see some live music in Chinatown.

Who needs nuit blanche when the most random art is all around you? The sailor and I found these clean white slippers in step right off a major street in Fitzroy. Yes I did look around for a mental health clinic.

So with hot water, wifi, a job, bars and summer on its way I'll be chillin here for a while. I can now officially accept couch surfers!