The Merry Ol' Land Of OZ!

Wow, Ubie slackin' on the blog entries...

I have been chillin' in Melbourne, Australia for a few weeks and getting a 'plan' together for this MASSIVE country. Australia (or "Oz" as they call it) is about the size of the United States, but with much fewer roads, and smaller population. The roads mainly hug the perimeter of the coasts and there is one road that goes north-south through the red center. 90% of the population lives on 2.5% of the land of this country (mostly on the east coast). In fact, Melbourne alone has 3.5 million people, which is an overload after New Zealand (with a population of 4 million in the entire country!)

Because of Australia's shear size and deceaving distances between places, you can only see a limited portion with a 3 month visa. So, it's almost like having to determine what not to see. However, I've already inquired about a 3 month extension of my visa just in case...

So, tomorrow I am flying to Perth (a 4+ hour flight waaaay to the south-western coast) to buy a car from an Irish couple I met in NZ several times. They are finishing their Oz journey on Thursday and need to sell their 1985 Subaru 4WD station wagon named "Mary". I couldn't pass up the deal. Then "on the road again" finally!! I believe I will travel all the way up the more isolated, sparse and less touristy west coast, then through the Kimberley and into the outback of the northern territory.

It is mid-summer here and hot, as in HOT!! The last few days were nearly 100 degrees. Dry heat but..ya know...HOT! Makes Africa seem like Pittsburgh. BTW, Thanks for keeping me updated on the winter weather situation back in the N'oreast USA. Brrrrrr...I do not miss that. But at least it's not so damned HOT!

I have not spent much computer time, thus a lack of blog updates or pix. I can't wait to sit down to finish the stories I started about New Zealand. Oz has some big shoes to fill after NZ's magical experiences. We will see, one day at a time...