Since I have been in Australia I watched the movie "The Bucket List" and started to think about my own list as I'm sure everyone else does when they watch that movie. Well, going to the Gold Coast was on my list. Since I have become healthily obsessed with surfing over the past few years I have been watching surf movies of exotic beaches, islands, and perfect point breaks and barrels that this world has to offer, including the many world-class surf breaks of the Gold Coast. I arrived Saturday night and made my way to Palm Beach. The next morning my friend Liselle and I went for a walk along the beach and as I turned around to get a few of my surroundings I saw the Surfers Paradise skyline in the distance and stood there in awe. Its the back-drop of every typical Aussie movie and it is breath-taking in live view. Ah-mazing.....
One of the main reasons I came to the Gold Coast was to see my good friend Liselle who is the Women's WCT Chaplain. She was the tour manager for the Walking On Water East Coast Tour back in 2007 and is an amazing woman of God and insane musician. :) She was on the Gold Coast for the first contest (Roxy Pro) of the season at Snapper Rocks. Every top surfer in the world travels to the Gold Coast to kick-start the year, meet with their sponsors, appear at surf film premieres and the like. The place wreaked of surf culture and it was unreal. It was great for a short time, but eventually it dies down and the circus leaves town.
While on the Gold Coast I was also scoping out the land as this is one place I am considering moving to once I get back from New Zealand at the end of May. There is so much that this place has to offer and Liselle and I met a lot of great people, which is what makes a place come alive. I went to a great chuch, Beachside, right in Palm Beach with a surfer vibe and a great pastor. This coincidentally is the same church that my friend Prisca and her husband Tim go to. It was the first church that I have been to in Oz that is like my home church, North Coast Calvary Chapel.
After a week of beaching it I made my way back down to Sydney. Although sad to leave, I knew it was just a taste of what I get to come back to in May and it definitely has gotten me excited of all the adventures to come. So it's either Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast. If you don't know what I am talking about then Google Earth it. Both places are incredible.
Once I get to Sydney I met up with one of my good friends Lauren who is from San Diego. That night we went to a taping of So You Think You Can Dance Australia and it was so much fun. We stood in prime view of the stage and were actually on tv standing next to the presenter. It's not as great as the American version but then again the tickets were free.
I know these posts are few and far between but I am working hard on keeping you all up to date with all that I have been doing, seeing, getting to experience, and the like.
Until next time.......
love, cindy
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Hotel Whiskey Yankee
One of the greatest things about travelling is that opportunities arise out of no where that normally don’t back at home. This was one of those times. My friend Belinda has a friend Luke who is a pilot. A week ago Luke took Belinda and I, Jaz, Josh and Stuart for a quick trip down to a small island off the coast of South Australia named Kangaroo Island. I was extremely nervous because the plane was no 747 bus cruising through the air, it was a mini cooper bopping around with each wind pocket pushing us one way and then the other. Luke said the higher we went the smoother it would be but then again that would be a longer drop to our death. The view from the plane was breathtaking though. The ocean here in Australia is crystal clear and such a beautiful blue as we were flying over the ocean we could see reef and sea weed that made a leopard print in the water.
It was a 40 minute flight down to K.I. We had lunch at a local pub with some of the best beer-battered barramundi. It was a sleepy island with little to do without a car. After a few hours we decided to leave back to Adelaide and as I was walking to the plane I realized that I hadn’t seen ONE kangaroo. I decided that it was false advertisement to call the island “Kangaroo Island” so I have started a petition to rename the island to “Unkangarooed Island”. Just kidding. It was an incredible trip and we made it safely to Adelaide with lots of good pictures to share with you.
Oh and Hotel Whiskey Yankee was our name which Captain Luke used to correspond with the towers to land and everything else pilots do. It was a great flight and I am happy to report that I did not get sick on the plane. Luke was a great pilot. It was definitely an unforgettable experience!
It was a 40 minute flight down to K.I. We had lunch at a local pub with some of the best beer-battered barramundi. It was a sleepy island with little to do without a car. After a few hours we decided to leave back to Adelaide and as I was walking to the plane I realized that I hadn’t seen ONE kangaroo. I decided that it was false advertisement to call the island “Kangaroo Island” so I have started a petition to rename the island to “Unkangarooed Island”. Just kidding. It was an incredible trip and we made it safely to Adelaide with lots of good pictures to share with you.
Oh and Hotel Whiskey Yankee was our name which Captain Luke used to correspond with the towers to land and everything else pilots do. It was a great flight and I am happy to report that I did not get sick on the plane. Luke was a great pilot. It was definitely an unforgettable experience!
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