And the day included some beautiful flora and crazy wildlife as well....

 This guy ran into the restaurant and stole crackers, we all laughed so hard!!

Cape Town is stunning, I had no idea of the natural beauty here. Mountains, beaches with the softest white sand I've ever seen, jagged cliffs, wow! I wish I could post all the pics, I'll share the best, hope you enjoy!

 

March 27, 2015

Made it to Cape Town, South Africa after 30 hours of flying/waiting/flying/waiting/flying. Apparently, there is no easy way to get from Australia to Africa, lol. I crashed and burned about 5 pm last night and now wide awake at 4 am. Going out this morning for a full day of exploring, very excited to see this part of the world. Not too excited about being awake at this hour but I guess it will take a couple days to 'right myself.' All good! Going to be here 2 weeks.

This won't be my last trip at all! When we landed, I was shocked at the pollution in the air, holy cow, you couldn't even see the mountains by the airport. I thought maybe it was rain or bad weather and I asked a worker there and he said it was not bad weather, but "bad air". I'd heard that China is having horrific air pollution issues right now, apparently so it HK. It was quite a (bad) shock to see.

I'm going on a full day private vineyard tour Monday, should be awesome!

March 26, 2015

After two months of hostel living, I'm enjoying the pampering at the United Lounge during my 6 hr lay-over in Hong Kong, food, wine, internet....nice. Then the overnight flight to Johannesburg. It's a long travel day but well worth the adventure!
— at United First Class Lounge at Hong Kong International Airport.

All three flights were fully booked, ugh!! Not much sleep and yes, my legs got really crampy. I walked the Hong Kong airport to stretch them out, walked the aisles of the plane a few times and did stretching exercises in the back of the plane where there was a little more room. It was a long 28 hours but I made it to Cape Town about an hour ago, glad to be out of planes for a few days!

Bye bye Australia, had a blast here, saw and did so many things I had only dreamed of. Now off to yet another adventure, Africa!! Lions, elephants, rhinos, oh my!
— traveling to Johannesburg, Southafrica from Cairns Internationational Airport.

My trip out to the reef was great, a little disappointed in the sites. Apparently, it all depends on the area they take you but even so, a day on the boat beats the hell out of sitting in the hostel or staying in town all day! So....pics aren't very good but on yesterday's flight, the plane followed the GBR and I blew up my phone taking pics from the air which are way better than the ones I got underwater. Here's a sampling, enjoy!
— at The Great Barrier Reef.

 

Signs in my Cairns hostel, love their sense of humor here, laid back, easy going, fun loving. I especially love Reason #4 for washing your dishes!
— at Cairns Central YHA.

 

 

Made it to Cairns today after a bumpy start. I missed my ferry to the airport, entirely my fault, and of course I had checked in my bag so the bag went to the airport without me. The ferry staff was awesome, got me on the next ferry to a nearby marina, met me at the marina and took me to the airport terminal where they had already collected my lonely bag. I got checked in and on the plane before they closed the doors, whew!!! Plan B was to have to take a bus to Cairns, a 10 hour ride, ugh. And....this morning, as I was checking out of my hostel, I was thinking how wonderful everything has been since Day 1 (2 months now) and how flawless my travels have been, no lost luggage, no missed flights, no delays, no cancellations and so far, I have not lost a single thing along my journeys. I probably need to quit thinking, I'm jinxing myself!

— at Cairns Central.

What a spectacular day today!! A little disappointed, tried to get on an overnight boat tour to the Reef, how cool would that have been to sleep out on a boat, on the Reef, under the stars? Unfortunately, all tours were booked, bummer. So, I got a day cruise for tomorrow, excited about that. Today I hung out at Airlie Beach and the lagoon, beautiful. Pics from Airlie Beach, 5 minute walk from my hostel, which costs $27/night, about $15 US, just can't beat this!

 Airlee Beach Lagoon

 The Airlie Beach lagoon, beautiful, free to enjoy!

 

View from the lagoon.

From the ground-

— at The Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

 

 

 Tiny airport, two planes on the tarmac

 Luggage carousel, hahaha — at The Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

Nuff said!

 

I feel like I've landed in Fantasy Island! Pic from the air-

— at The Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

 

 

 

March 21, 2015

Great Barrier Reef bound, soooo excited!
— traveling to hamilton island from Sydney Domestic Terminal.

March 20, 2015

The recent events concerning the obtaining of a visa from the India consulate have made me finally and formally acknowledge that: A) I do not 'chill' well; B) I can get 'wrapped around the axle' pretty easily and C) I can get my 'panties in a bunch' pretty easily as well. That being said, I GOT THE VISA TODAY!!!!!!! When I got the notice it was ready, I ran to the consulate, got it in my hands, kissed all the clerks and did the Happy Dance all the way back. That's when I realized just how upset I had been with everything, even though I was telling myself to 'chill' and take it easy, it wasn't happening and I was a lot more upset than I was even telling myself. So, flight and lodging reservations have been made, heading to the Great Barrier Reef Sunday morning, woo hoo!!!!!! I'll only get three days but that's three days more than I thought I was going to get, soooo excited!!


March 19, 2015

As many of you know, the untimely death of a dear high school friend was the catalyst for this journey I'm on. I did not mention his name to many of you but my WSHS classmates knew I was referring to our beloved Art Steffen who died at such a young age shortly after retiring. His death cheated him of the best years of his life to come. It made me realize life is short and there are no guarantees. You know, life is strange and moves in ways we don't always understand. The girl I met last night from Switzerland, the one I enjoyed so much and helped to put things into perspective over being held in Sydney longer than I had wanted? Her name is Barbara Steffen. I'm not sure what the chances are of running into 2 people with that last name but I think I ran into Art last night and I'm a better person for it. Hugs to you, Art, miss you!!

It's time to put things into perspective. I went over to the Indian visa office this morning to inquire (AKA: throw a hissy fit) as to the status of my application and I was told it is "still being processed." It's day 6 of the "it might take 10 business days to process." The nice gentleman told me I would probably have it by Monday or Tuesday. My flight to Johannesburg, South Africa leaves Cairns on Thursday, I need to be in Cairns by Wednesday evening with passport IN HAND. Talk about a squeaker!!!!! This means I will miss the Great Barrier Reef, one of my most important reasons for wanting to visit Australia. I'm not upset about being in Sydney, I'm enjoying the city very much, but I am upset about missing the GBR. Well, last night I met a girl here at the hostel from Switzerland and we spent a couple of hours talking about our respective trips and home countries. She shared some of the most drop dead gorgeous pictures of Switzerland I've ever seen, views out the "back of my house" and extended an invitation to come visit her. She told me her "holiday" was coming to Australia for about a week (her third visit) and that the main focus of her trip was a 2 week cruise through the South Pacific out of Fiji. With the recent cyclone, she was nervous about going to Fiji but she was assured the cruise "was on" and to fly to Fiji. Once there, the cyclone hit the area and after 5 days of being stranded there and of course no cruise, she was finally able to secure a flight back to Australia. To add insult to injury, she is fighting to get her cruise money back from a very resistant company. After talking with her, I'm glad I'm me and my biggest issue is missing the GBR. Sounds like the focus of another future trip!

I'm coming up on the 2 month mark of my journey.   I'm still elated with the trip and everything I am doing, seeing and experiencing and the people adding to it.  It is AMAZING!  I'm also experiencing bouts of homesicknesses, I miss my boys and my puppy.  The boys are doing fine and probably don't think much about my absence in their lives right now, they are busy with work and their lives and doing very well which made leaving them easier to do.  It's my little puppy I think about a lot.   She is with my former hubby who, thankfully, also thinks the sun rises and sets in her little face.  I've been so blessed to have Ron step in and take her during this trip.  I'm not sure I could have left her otherwise.  He is retired so she has him most of the day unless he's playing golf or riding his motorcycle.  So, during my vacation, she is vacationing in Myrtle Beach and, according to the pictures Ron sends, she is also having the time of her life!  I thought I would share some of Bella's vacation  pics.  She's managed to work her way into his bed, she may not want to come back to me and her  little bed on the floor at the end of my bed, hahahaha!  I may be sleeping with a dog when I get back, not the worse thing in the world.  She loves the beach and is getting plenty beach time in.  Miss my little girl, enjoy!

 Walking Ron on the beach :-)

 Playing with Chris

 Queen on her throne

 Waiting for my milk bone treat from the teller at the bank!

March 17, 2015

Spent yesterday in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, great to get out of the city and this beautiful area! We spent time at a wildlife refuge playing with the koalas, wallabies and other local inhabitants, so cool! Then off to a rainforest area and up into the mountains for some amazing views!

March 16, 2015

Good morning from Sydney! Sydney is the most physically active town I've ever been in. There is an outdoor fitness club across the street from the hostel. At 7 am, there were basketball and soccer games and track events going on, adults not kids. Runners/joggers everywhere. This is how they start their workday here.