The thunder Down Under
Few things I’ve learned in my brief stay so far:
Uggs is an Aussie brand; their stores are all over Sydney
2nd level of a structure is actually the 3rd floor
Look RIGHT for traffic, damnit!
Australians will make up silly words to avoid saying easy ones. “McDonalds” becomes “Mackies” or “Mackers”, “Breakfast” is “Brekkie”, and “Mate” means “Idiot”.
I did what is inaccurately called a “walk” the other day. It made me reevaluate my expectations about a lot of stuff. I asked afterwards, and found out the Bush is where the eucalyptus trees and other foliage is all around, creating a canopy and very full ecosystem. The Outback, however, is red dirt and barren landscape with vegetation that rarely tops about two meters. Turns out I did about seven miles in the Bush. It’s surprisingly close to urban areas, yet remains quite remote.
I progressed through confusion, frustration, and dependence; coming out on the other side with a greater appreciation for adjusting expectations and working with what you have.
Below are some pics from the trip, from the train station all the way to the pool I lounged in at the turnaround point (look for the lizard next to the waterfall, we shared the view). Note the rocks across the “trail”, which you’re expected to climb over. It’s a “F#¢₭ the Differently Abled” way of creating hiking trails, to be sure.
Yesterday was a Big Eats day, with breakfast out, lunch out, dinner with a bunch of people and board games into the night. Learned some fun games! Today is the flight to Uluru, where we’ll spend a few days before returning to Sydney.