Thursday, January 31, 2008

The Map


The above map has our route overlaid on it with a thin colored line. as it was logged via GPS. The color changes denote different days. Click on the map for all the excruciating details.

Photo Gallery

Monday, January 14, 2008

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Eh, close enough



I've been "on my way home" for 48 hours and counting

Posted by ShoZu


Blizzard 1, Andy 0




Greetings from san francisco int'l. Apparently the northern hemisphere has this thing called "winter" going on. Flight was cancelled, in line to rebook.

Posted by ShoZu



Saturday, January 12, 2008

DATELINE: Sydney, Australia                                                    

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Author: Andy

"Passengers travelling with digeridoos, please alert the cabin staff prior to boarding."

DATELINE: Sydney, Australia                                                    

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Author: Andy

We have AUD $2.37 voice credit left on our prepaid phone.

For the next 2 hours only, we can be reached at +61 04 4749 0800

Who wants to talk to us for a minute and a half?

First come, first serve. At 3:30pm local time, this number will pass into eternity. Until Telstra reissues it in 6 months.

DATELINE: Sydney, Australia                                                    

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Author: Nick

Starting OdometerReading: 33010 km

Final Odometer Reading: 38047 km

TOTAL: 5037 km (3130 miles)

DATELINE: Sydney, Australia                                                    

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Author: Nick

What I Learned:

1. Outback Steak House is better than the real thing.

2. Nescafe sucks. Real Australian coffee is just cappuccino.

3. Australians are sorry.

4. VB = GB (Victoria Bitter = good beer)

5. If there's grass on the wicket let's play some cricket!

6. The best thing about Cricket is the free WiFi!

7. Check over your rental car before you leave the lot.

8. Canberra = Trenton

9. Australians are very sorry.

10. Tell your credit card companies you are going on vacation BEFORE using your card on "Kangaroo Island"

11. "Waltzing Matilda" is NOT the Australian National Anthem. It is a song about a man who steals a sheep (whiskey in the Tom Waits version)

12. "Advance Australia Fair" IS the Australian National Anthem

13. When crashing a New Years party, bring pretty girls to guarantee admitance.

14. Best national park attraction name: "blow hole thunder cave"

15. The Great Wall of China was built to keep the rabbits out (or maybe it was the 4 "Great Australian Rabbit Fence" which, by the way, di not work.)

16. Dead Koalas are still cute. Just not cuddly.

17. Australians are very, very sorry.

18. There is only one free on-street parking spot in Melbourne, and it comes with free wi-fi

19. "Twisties" are Cheetos. Don't believe the hype.

20. one hectare = four bushels

21. The British started the Australian colony as a place to send convicts right after their old prison/colony stopped accepting inmates on July 4, 1776.

22. There's a reason Australia doesn't export kangaroo meat. It's the same reason the US doesn't export squirrel meat.

23. You see more dead animals than live ones during the day. The opposite holds true at night.

24. When climbing Uluru: "If you get hurt, or die, your mother, father and family will really cry and we will be really sad too." (Barbara Tjikatu, Traditional Owner)

25. Best National Holiday: Sorry Day!

DATELINE: Sydney, Australia                                                    

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Author: Andy

Apparently we have all of this data usage left on our SIM card, so I put it in the N95 and uploaded a few days worth of shozu pictures (since cricket).

Our room in Sydney's got a nice view, and for some reason we find ourselves watching beach cricket on TV.

What's beach cricket? Well, what's beach volleyball?

Friday, January 11, 2008

Back in sydney




Kings cross looking south

Posted by ShoZu



Back to sydney




Posted by ShoZu



Aussie Trucker hall of fame




Posted by ShoZu



Icons




The only thing missing from this picture is the sydney opera house

Posted by ShoZu



"but we do."




Posted by ShoZu



Japanese tourists reach the edge of nowhere




Posted by ShoZu



Sculpture garden




Posted by ShoZu



Coober Pedy




Posted by ShoZu



Old timer's mine




Posted by ShoZu



Road train




Posted by ShoZu



Outback roadhouse




Posted by ShoZu



Cricket




Posted by ShoZu



GPS, at sea




Posted by ShoZu



DATELINE: Alice Springs, Australia                                                    

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Author: Andy

There's a guy ahead of us at the airport check-in counter who is trying to check a unicycle. They made him put it in this big clear bag. I guess you wouldn't let someone carry it on, because you don't want someone on a unicycle taking over the plane.

DATELINE: Alice Springs, Australia                                                    

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Author: Nick

Try http://www.bossaloon.com.au/

for Bo's website. Oh, and NT beer = PBR

DATELINE: Alice Springs, Australia                                                    

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Author: Nick

Waiting for Andy to get out of the shower, then it's off to the airport. Dinner was OK. See Andy's transcribed review of the exotic meats. The steak sucked. How the hell do you screw up steak?

We went to Bodangles after dinner and stayed till 2AM (the other club was kinda lame... We met mostly locals, who were very friendly, with butterface or reminded me of dinner. Merryment was had by all. Apparently there's a webcam feed of the place if you want to see just how hopping the Northern Territory bar scene is - www.boossaloon.com.au

DATELINE: Alice Springs, Australia                                                    

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Author: Andy

It's just after midnight. I'm sitting on the east side of Todd St. watching a large Aboriginal woman scream "Fuck You!" over and over again into the window of an empty KFC. i'm not sure what to make of this.

DATELINE: Alice Springs, Australia                                                    

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Author: Andy

Nick's aussie meat reviews!

(we're at the famous Outlanders Steakhouse)

Crocodile: slightly fishy, but little flavor at all

kangaroo: chewy and tastes like flank steak

Emu: does not taste like chicken. Melts in your mouth. Tastes more like beef than any other bird. Unique aftertaste.

Camel: really weird. Very very tender. Sweet, smokey, has the texture of chicken.

DATELINE: Alice Springs, Australia                                                    

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Author: Andy

The native tribe of the area around Uluru (Ayer's Rock) considers it sacred ground. Every male member of the tribe climbs it exactly once, at his passage to manhood. Needless to say, they are not thrilled when a bus full of tourists show up and climb it all morning.

A sign in front of the path to climb the rock says:



"Listen! If you get hurt, or die, your mother, father and family will really cry and we will be really sad too. So think about that and stay on the ground."

- Barbara Tjikatu, Traditional Owner

DATELINE: Alice Springs, Australia                                                    

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Author: Andy

Transcribed from a road sign at the Northern Territory border:



REGULATIONS OF JOHN McDOUGALL STUART'S GREAT NORTHERN EXPLORING EXPEDITION IN 1862



Everyone must be up at the break of day

The bed clothes etc to be done up and put in their proper places

Breakfast to be ready at the same time, for which half an hour will be allowed

No one is to leave the line of march without my knowledge or that of the officer in charge

No one is to fire on the natives without orders unless it is in self-defence (sic)

When on the march no water is to be used from the canteens without permission from the leader

No swearing or improper language shall be allowed

No journal to kept or notes taken

Saddles are not to be sat upon

DATELINE: Alice Springs, Australia                                                    

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Author: Nick

Cheap WiFi in the desert! ($5 for 2 hours) Yay!

There are a TON of Japanese tourists here (and Coober Pedy, Yulara, and at most places we stopped in between...) Most of them have extremely large digital SLR's slung around their neck. Some standards stay true.

We saw a nifty Truck and Transport useum when we got into town. It had 79 trailers, 1588 wheels, was 1018.2 meters long and weighed 1072.3 tonnes. It was pulled by a Kenworth C501T Cab (600HP Cummins Signature Engine), owned by Gould Transport and driven by Steve "Stag" Matthews. Fuck.

Tonight the plan is to get a feast (called the Drover's Blowout) of steak, kangaroo, crocodile, camel, and emu at Overlander's Steakhouse, then drinks at Bojengal's (looks like the Cowboy Bar in Jackson, WY but without all the antlers...) and finally clubbing at Melanka ("the most popular nightclub in Alice" - I think it might be the ONLY nightclub in Alice...)

We were promised a Singing Dingo by the ads for Stuart's Well in the tourist brochure... No dingo. All I got was a really crappy burger. Apparently "the Dingo doesn't sing on Friday's." They did have emus in the front yard. Bastards.

I'm uploading the last of the pictures now. Our flight back to Sydney is at 12:45PM tomorrow. We have a 24 hour layover, and will be spending the evening in Sydney's lovely Kings Cross neighborhood. So this will probably be the last entry for me until I get home.

The trip has been fantstic, fun filled, and without incident. The pictures tell half the story, and I'll be happy to tell you the other half over a beer sometime. Just give me call or drop me n e-mail...



DATELINE: Erlunda, Australia                                                    

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Author: Nick

Just passed a road train with 3 trailers carrying cars. Total Tyres: 130

Nice...

DATELINE: Yulara, Australia                                                    

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Author: Nick

Big. Friggin. Rock. Espensive. Friggin. Resort. (I was warned, on both accounts...) So no real surprises here. That's a good way to sum up the trip - no surprises (and no worries mate!) Everything has been awesome and fun, but also well thought out and somewhat predictable. We'll see what Alice brings... As far as the rock goes, we watched the sun go down behind it last night, and got up at 5AM to watch the sun come up in front of it this morning. It was well worth getting up at dawn. I especially liked how the Aboriginals implore you not to climb Uluru (with signage to match) and the arrogant white man put a CHAIN RAILING up the sacred Aboriginl path to help you do the climb. Bastards! Andy and I chose not to climb Uluru.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

DATELINE: Alice springs, Australia                                                    

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Author: Andy

Greetings from the "Red Centre" of Australia. On the way up from Yulara we stopped at Stuart's Well Roadhouse, which is famous for its singing Dingo. unfortunately, the Dingo was MIA today, so nick ate a cheeseburger and we drove the rest of the way up here.

On the way into town we stopped at the Road Transport Hall Of Fame. It's primarily devoted to the Australian Trucking industry, and has dozens of old trucks on display. They have all these biographies of "famous" aussie truckers on the wall, which were oddly fascinating to read. The place was very much by truckers for truckers. Although that meant i didn't understand half of what i read, it was still an enjoyable experience. Road trains are cool.

DATELINE: Yulara, Australia                                                    

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Author: Nick

Best. Rock. Ever.