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Date: January 8, 2004
Location: Korumburra, Victoria, Australia
First off, my sister has made some improvements to the website. She rearranged
the buttons on the left, updated some photos and travelogues. That's right --
it's all about me now. Seriously, we didn't have many contributors lately and
it is too darned much work. Thanks, Carrie. Also, thanks to my financial planner,
Mom, and my spare parts coordinator, Chris, my brother. These people all help
bring my wonderfully funny and sad stories to your email box. According to the
Korumburra tourist brochure, "There's something for everyone here -- if not,
then very close at hand." Therefore, it is a fair statement to say, I am
stuck 130 km from Melbourne, nowhere special. It is too cold, wet and dangerous
to bicycle. Outside, the leaves are bashing each other creating a rasping roar
and the rain is smashing the corrugated tin roof, an ugly but practical and common
architectural feature in Australia. Maybe the conditions will improve by the time
I leave the library. It's hard to judge somethings in advance. To leave or not
to leave: neither one is right or wrong. So my hatred of getting my feet wet battles
the logic of not wasting time. Australia has turned out to be one of the coldest
and wettest countries and, definitely, the most windy. I am just 120 kilometers
from the southern most point of the mainland. There is not much to stop the dense
Antarctica winds from rushing into the barren outback. I only experienced more
rain in Thailand but it was a warm monsoon rain and easily avoided.
I am alone again. Matt has retired his bicycle and is looking for a job to
fund a trip to Holland. And, I have left many friends in the hostel, the Coffee
Palace, a more apropos title would be the Pancake Shithole. It was great fun.
I have never spent so long in one spot, 6 weeks. Melbourne was one of my favorite
cities. It is similar to a small Chicago or a big Milwaukee with a California
flair and English leftovers.
Now I am hurrying to meet some friends in Sydney. I am still trying to make
travel plans. I can't fly to New Zealand without an onward ticket
and I can't buy my onward ticket until I go to New Zealand. Australia
has treated me well. Still I have stayed here a disproportionate
time and I'm anxious for New Zealand's renowned scenery.
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