Finally Sydney

(working on getting a few more photos added!)

After our whirlwind tour from corner to corner of the Island Continent, we finally landed in Sydney. For about $7 a night, we found a bed in the smallest 6 person dorm we have seen yet. We have learned that the "cool and hip" areas where backpackers generally find a room are also the "grungy and sketchy" red light districts (known as Kings Cross in Sydney). After sleeping (or trying to sleep at least) we headed off for the Sydney harbour. Miranda described the first glimpse of the Sydney Opera House the best: "It's like meeting a celebrity!" After seeing so many photos, we were finally able to see the building in person... which led to us taking way too many photos ourselves. We did get to see a ballet at the Opera House, and spent the rest of our time searching out some of Sydney's beach districts.

Cairns (aka. "Cans")

I have no idea why they spell the city with an 'r'...no one pronounces it! I guess with that logic we should spell Toronto, "Trono".
But I digress...

So, Cans...its hot, its rainy, the ocean is murky...not much going for it. Take a boat about two hours away from the coast and "ahhhh". You have mostly sunny skies, beautiful clear water and, really, the only reason to go to Cairns, The Great Barrier Reef! We went for a dive/snorkel on our last day there and it was really...well ...great!

We spent Easter weekend just relaxing at a place called (now get this) Nimrod Resort Apartments. Yes, Nimrod.
I think one of our favourite moments was when the shuttle bus dropped us off at the hotel. He's going, "Nimrod? Nimrod?" and we reluctantly respond "Yeah, that's us."

Kiri and Doug

Our first stop after leaving Melbourne was on the far west coast. We flew in to Perth to visit my cousin Kiri and her new Fiance, Doug. They treated us so great and we had such a good time. We even had the chance to represent the Donald Clan at their engagement party... good thing too, Doug managed to get a brother there as well! Over the weekend they took us down to Margaret River and I will list all the things we did, just on the Sunday!

Woke up camping in a National Park.
Got some coffee and breakfast.
Went to watch a Pro Surf Contest.
Went to the beach for some swimming and lazing.
Went to 2 different wineries for some tastings.
Back to another beach for an afternoon jog up a sand dune.
Into the car for the 3 hour drive home.

Needless to say, we were tired when we left!

Sleepover in the Airport

We left Perth at 7:30 pm (we'll post some photos from there soon!) and arrived back in Melbourne at 1:00 in the morning. Our next flight to Cairns was scheduled to depart at 9:40 am so we decided to not to worry about a hotel that night. A whole night in the airport is quite an experience! We searched for a place to sleep for awhile, wandering in between terminals. One guy beat us to some nice leather couches, so we settled for a carpeted floor in the deserted international terminal. We woke up at 5 am to a busy airport and never felt more like backpackers!
We waited around until 9 and boarded our next flight, only to sit on the Tarmac for 2hours before getting off again... something wrong with the fuel filter, so it was good we didn't fly. So we finally got a replacement plane and were herded through the airport to a different gate.

Needless to say, we made it to Cairns eventually and slept from 9:30 at night until 12:30 the next day!

Our Melbourne Friends

So, it may come as a surprise to you but, we did manage to make friends while in Melbourne! I'll sum it up quickly as to say, most of the guys are Mike's friends and most of the girls are Miranda's friends. (What can I say? Mike grew up with brothers, and my household was mostly female dominated...we stick with our kind!)
I do want to make special mention of the cute blonde sitting in between Mike and I in one of the photos. Her name is Alyssa Gourlay and she was our flatmate for 4 months! She was a whole lotta fun, and we really did create a wonderful friendship with her!
We miss all our friends back in Melbourne so much, and want everyone to know that if they're ever in Toronto in the future, look us up! You'll always have a place to stay! (Moms? You don't mind right?)