In Aussie!

Well, we finally had to leave New Zealand... Mally was approaching her three month limit and New Zealand would have hunted her down and kicked her out if we didn't leave on our own accord (not that they could catch her on her bike, but we didn't want to cause trouble). We spent our last evening strolling around Christchurch - ran through the botanic gardens, jumped in the pool at our high-class hostel, and listened to some bagpipes in the park... a nice musical farewell.

We woke up at 3:30 in the morning and were on our way to the airport... as we took off, I got my last glimpse of beautiful New Zealand... the mountains were waving goodbye in the distance as the bright red glow of the sun peaked out over the horizon. While it was tough to say goodbye to our beloved land of beauty and sheep, the sadness of leaving New Zealand was soon replaced with the excitement of arriving in Australia... a new land with new sights and dangerous animals (wait! I want to go back to NZ!)

We arrived early in the morning and Geoff Dale, the father of Mally's friend Katherine was waiting to pick us up and take us to a couple days of luxery... the Dale's gave us two comfy beds, fed us wonderful meals and frothy hot chocolate, and made us feel right at home. It was nice to have a place to unwind and relax... and it was even nicer to be living with two lovable, cute, cuddly dogs... Jack and Sophie.

Mally and I spent our first day getting over jet lag, cleaning our clothes, and enjoying the comforts of being in a real home. Today we explored a little of Melbourne... Rosemary Dale took us for a walk to the Botanic gardens, to lunch overlooking the Bay, and then into the heart of the city where we were left to see the art museum and explore. The art museum was fascinating becuase we got to see some Australian and Aborigine work that I have not seen before. I quite liked the natural tones and unique designs of the Aborigine work. I wanted to take a few pieces home with me, but decided they would be too heavy and delicate to carry on the bike. After filling up on art, we walked the streets of Melbourne... along the way we stopped into a candy shop and watched as two guys made hundreds of little hard boysenberry candies out of large globs of a gooey sugary substance. Afterwards we got to try one of the candies while they were still warm... I don't usually like hard candies, but this one was scrumptious. After being thoroughly amused by the hard candy making, we found ourselves some books at the used book store and headed back home to play with our two new friends... Jack and Sophie. We have now been fed another delicious meal and are headed to bed in our two very comfy beds.

Tomorrow, we must leave our luxurious quarters and head into the crazy wild world of Tasmania to begin some more cycle touring. I can't wait!