The Cookie Monster

All of the bosses headed out of town to a conference (my poster won an award at the conference, btw ;).  So, I decided that it would be a good opportunity to take a weekend excursion.  Inspired by pictures from one of my friends, I decided that I had to get to Mt Cook (Aoraki) while there was snow everywhere.  There's something about the contrast of the mountains with the white of the snow that makes the scenery so appealing.  The drive to Mt Cook was stunning.  

When I arrived, I noticed that the usual roadway to the trail I was planning to use was blocked due to snow.  Luckily, I found another access point to the trail and away I went.  Originally, I had hoped to take the trail the following day, but the weather was forecasting an Antarctic blast.  The views turned out to be absolutely beautiful.  The trail was easy to walk on as well, since the snow had packed all of the brush down.  I got up to a decent viewpoint of Mt Cook near the Sealy Tarns and decided that I better get back to the car before sunset.  I glacaded (slid) down the mountainside, which was loads of fun.... until it was time to stop.  At that point I got snow in everything and froze my hands when I tried to slow myself down.   

Lemmings

 There are funny signs all over Australia.  This particular one warns observers that giants dance on the end of cliffs, making them unstable.  This can be seen by the angry giant in the yellow sign.  I also am ammused by the googley eyed guy.  It appears as though he is falling onto the cliff, not off of the cliff.  I suppose such activities could also make a cliff unstable.   

Continuing down the Great Ocean Road, there are additional rock formations found in the sea.  I thought this particular picture was foreboding.  After this scene, we came out to a city that had a brewery.  The beer was okay.  However, it certainly wouldn't sell if it weren't in a tourist destination.  At the brewery, we watched a little footy and ate some dinner.  All pubs in Victoria serve chicken parmigiana, which is unusual from my American perspective.  I decided to make it a mission to rate the chicken parmigianas from the various pubs and determine which pub produces the best chicken parmigiana. 

Great Ocean Road

Took a trip to the Great Ocean Road.  First things first, I had to grab some provisions.  Melbourne has some wonderful wineries nearby.  The area, I believe, is most famous for its Shiraz.  It may be worth buying a car just so I can get out to some of these wineries.  However, wine was just the beginning of the trip... well middle... and end as well.  What goes great with wine?  Driving.  So, the rest of the trip involves driving along a decent road that generally boarders the ocean.  It is Melbourne's claim to fame.

The next stop on the trip was the Triplet Waterfall.  A nice coffee, meat pie, and awesome dessert were enjoyed here.  Meat pies seem to be the ultimate combination of foods.  There is meat, pastry, and it's all in pie form.  It's the epitome of perfection. 

 Another beautiful stop for the Hyundai Getz was the 12 Apostles, which are rock formations off of the coast.  Can you name all of the Apostles? 

Animals of Victoria

I made a recent trip down the Great Ocean Road, which, is a, generally good, road that goes along the ocean, leading west from Melbourne.  This trip was my first trip out of the city, since being in Australia.  There were two wallabies along the road during the trip.  The locals of Melbourne tell me that wallabies are horribly destructive if you hit them with a car.  They are the "deer" of the south.  Although, I think the worst thing to hit would be a moose or cow.  That aside, wallabies are hilarious.  They have an enormous butt that bobs like a rabbit when they bounce away.       

 They also have Tyrannosaurus Rex arms.  I have no idea what they could use those arms for.  Wallabies appear to be a very stout animal with a very low center of gravity.  I would imagine that they are very hard to push over.  Cows on the other hand...  There was a big group of cows getting led down the road by a 4 wheeler during the trip.  This experience reminded me of my hunting experience in Wyoming.  It was nice to experience an Australian cattle drive. 

The other interesting Australian animal is the tourist.  I find that tourist destinations can be quite an obstacle course.  Many people like taking pictures from across walkways... which is fine.  However, it seems like there is a correlation between length of time to take the picture and the amount of the walkway the picture taker/receiver take up.  It makes me think of the obstacle course scene in First Knight.  Lancelot has to sprint, then stop and wait for a swinging axe, and then sprint, while straddling the side of a walkway, then duck and crawl.    

World Cup Previews

The Super 15 finals were last night.  The Super 15 are rugby teams around the Tri-Nations (Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa), that remain under the thumb of the monarchy.  The final game was between the Canterbury (Christchurch) Crusaders and the Queensland Reds.  After living in Christchurch, I have become fond of the Crusaders, which luckily have some of the best players in the world.  Anyhow, I went to a Melbourne sports bar, with my NZ All Blacks jersey to support the Crusaders.  Surprisingly, most of the people at the bar were rooting for the Crusaders, despite the fact that the Reds were from Australia.  Therefore, I didn't feel out of place at all.  My friend, Imala, came along as well, to share in the rugby fun.   

Sadly, the Crusaders lost.  However, many play for the NZ national team, the All Blacks.  Therefore, they will have their rematch against Australia.  It is amazing to compare the rugby teams in the Tri-Nations with the U.S. rugby club teams.  Well... there is no comparison.  The Tri-Nations are really a spectacle to watch.  However, I would like to point out that the best player for the Crusaders (probably the world), Dan Carter, is the same age and height as me.  However, he is 27 pounds heavier and probably 100x faster and more skilled at rugby.  However, I chose to provide a comparison between Dan Carter, getting tackled, and me, who is attempting to get the ball in the other picture.  I think there is a similarity.   

Flowers for Mom