Tales of a Gypsy's Adventures

Gallery: Humpback Whales

jillafogle — Sat, 5 Sep 2009 15:40:00 GMT

Humpbacks off Fraser

Australia Zoo

jillafogle — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:51:00 GMT

A few weeks ago, I took a train from Brisbane then a bus to Beerwah, a little town several hours away. It’s the home of the Australia Zoo, home of the Crocodile Hunter, which is Beerwah's biggest claim to fame. The Zoo was expensive but well worth it. There are crocodiles, alligators, snakes, otters, elephants, tigers, a wetlands section, tropical birds, and of course, koalas and kangaroos that have open exhibits so one can walk through and pet them. Really neat. I even went to a croc show in the Animal Planet Crocaseum.

There are huge pictures of Steve Irwin everywhere. Mostly pictures holding one animal or reptile or another. His videos are playing all over the place and pictures of his wife and kids are everywhere too. It’s a very Irwin family place. It made me a little bit sad that he is gone, even though my only relationship to him was via television.

My supervisor at Kingfisher worked with Steve for several years when she worked at his zoo. She told me he was exactly the same person off camera as on. Passionate about what he was doing and loved his family dearly.

In my opinion, the coolest part of the Zoo were the kangaroo pens. There were 2, one for grey kangaroos and another for red kangaroos. Walk though a fence gate, make sure to close it, and there are a dozen or more kangaroos just hopping around their enclosure. Not only was I able to walk up to them, but pet and take pictures with them too. So cool. I had no idea kangaroos were so soft! They are shorter than I thought they'd be too.

The koalas were similar, walk through their enclosure and pet the ones in the lower trees that have a sign that says "you can pet me." Picking them up was not allowed but it was still really cool to see one close up and touch it. Koalas were my favorite animal as a child.

The crocs were huge and as much as I'd like to see them in the wild, I will be content regardless of whether or not I actually will. They have a lot of teeth and when the guy presenting the croc show is obviously nervous about dealing with one and that's his job, probably it'd be better for me to avoid them entirely.

Among the other creatures to give me goosebumps, the snakes. There were a lot of them and mostly they were venemous. Including the fierce snake that can kill a lot of people with one bite. I took a picture of that one and hope to NEVER see one outside that zoo. Really very creepy but then I'm not much of a snake person to begin with.

The zoo was great and I recommend it to anyone who is not Australian because the animals are so completely different from any at home or elsewhere. Check out the pics I posted.

Leaving Brisbane

jillafogle — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:37:00 GMT

I've been in Australia for a month now. And while the first week was pretty hard, things have dramatically improved. And I'm thoroughly enjoying myself here.

From Guam, I flew into Brisbane and spent a couple days there before spending a weekend in Byron Bay where I took surfing lessons and went whale watching (I have a post specifically about those). After returning to "Brissy," I was hired by an outdoor company in the city as a rock climbing, rappelling, and kayaking instructor. It would have been a fun job but I realized before starting that I didn't come to this country to be in a city. I'm here to explore the beaches and bush. A city is a city anywhere in the world. Brisbane is a nice enough city with free museums and things to do but nonetheless, it's still a city. So after 10 days I left and headed north.

Noosa is a tourist town through and through. I landed there because I heard it had a nice beach. It does. My understanding is that Noosa is where a lot of city people have vacation homes or where they retire. Essentially, it’s a mix between Arizona and Florida except more expensive.

Before I even got a bed at the hostel, I met an American guy named Ben who was also staying there. At this point I'd been in the country for 2 weeks and had met 1 other American. Sometimes a person just wants to speak to someone who has that background in common. He, another American from NYC, me, and a Dutch couple hit it off immediately.

The morning after I arrived, Ben and I went for a hike in the dark at 5am through Noosa National Park until we got to a place called Hell's Gate. We watched the sunrise there on a rock outcropping and it was beautiful. We heard a kookaburra (sp?), saw red-bellied lorikeets, a murder of crows, an eagle, some seabirds, and as we walked back down the trail, I was telling Ben that I just really want to see a kangaroo in the wild somewhere in this country. Just then, a kangaroo hopped by. It was fantastic.

After a few days walking all over the Noosa area, including a walk to the Sunshine Coast which meant walking across a nude beach (whoops!), I left Noosa for Hervey Bay to join the Dutch couple and the 2 Americans for a 3 day camping trip on Fraser Island. The 6 of us, along with 2 Irish couples, took a 4 wheel drive huge van, the kind with the elevated roof for storage space, made the trip on the ferry to this island. It was awesome! We drove all over the place, on the inland tracks to perched lakes and on the beach to viewpoints and shipwrecks.

After our 3 days finished, we were waiting for the ferry to take us back to the mainland. I had previously applied for a job at a resort which happened to be on Fraser, and since we were there, I popped in and said hello. By the time I got back to the hostel and my phone that night, I had a voicemail from the resort to set up an interview. That was Thursday night. I was back on the ferry the next day for the interview and moved onto the island on Saturday and started working as soon as I arrived and even before I my housing arrangements. Good things move fast sometimes, I guess.

So now I've been working at Kingfisher Bay Resort for a week and I love it. It's a challenge to learn an entirely new set of flora/fauna but it's the kind of challenge I enjoy. My room is nice, much nicer than the place I stayed/worked in California. The staff is all pretty cool too. I'm the only American here. There are a handful of Kiwis, S. Koreans, and people from the UK but I'm the only North American and I am just fine with that.

I spend my days taking people on bird, flora/fauna, beach, eco, mangrove, and other walks around the resort. I love it. I'm happy here and I'll stay for at least 3 months with the option to extend.

So check out the pictures I've posted and I hope to hear from you soon!

Gallery: Fraser Island Camping

jillafogle — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:39:00 GMT

Largest Sand Island in the World

Gallery: Noosa

jillafogle — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:28:00 GMT

Noosa

Gallery: Crike!

jillafogle — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:42:00 GMT

Australia Zoo

Australian Toilets

jillafogle — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:57:00 GMT

Among the things I find interesting about this country, probably the toilet flushing system ranks the highest.

Australia is a very green country. As one walks about this city (Brisbane), there recycling programs, Save the Outback-type organizations, and organic everything is available. And there was a massive drought here until this year so the answer is water conservation in big, bold print. The hostel restrooms all have signs that read something along the lines of “Australia is in a drought, please conserve water. Take short showers or shower with someone.” Hostels are filled with free-loving hippies, after all.

So the toilets here look like American toilets. They are generally white or a variation thereof and have a typical seat. The amount of water in the toilet to begin though, is greatly decreased. Rather than the American way where the toilet is already half filled with water, these only have a little bit of water all the way at the bottom of the pot. 2 Aussies have told me that when they went to the States, they were surprised at the amount of water and thought they were going to fall in. So that’s one.

Second, the always-famous Correolis Effect (how is it spelled?), which makes the water go down the toilet in the opposite direction of the Northern Hemisphere. To be expected and not really noteworthy, although semi entertaining upon the first observation.

Thirdly though, is the proper way to flush the toilet. In the states, there is one choice, To Flush or Not to Flush. The correct answer, of course, is always, always, always, To Flush. In Australia, there are 3 options. Not To Flush, To Half Flush, or To Whole Flush. Your choice. So in an effort to consume less water, there are 2 buttons on the top of the toilet, one gives a half flush where only half the amount of water is used and presumably the better choice when one is only discarding liquids. The other button is for the whole flush; supposedly better used for disposal of both solids and liquids.

You know, I understand the desire to save the environment and conserve water and I'm all for it. I’m sure this flushing choice is a very effective way to do so, especially when one takes into consideration that switching to a low-flow toilet changes water consumption by the flush from 18 liters to 6 in the average American household, according to some website or another. However, I still think this is funny.

Gallery: Byron Bay

jillafogle — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:26:00 GMT

Byron Bay

Surfing and Whale Watching in Byron Bay

jillafogle — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:58:00 GMT

Tuesday, 11 August 2009

Last weekend I took surfing lessons in Byron Bay. Phenomenal experience, for sure. My instructor was a cool guy, of course, because no surfing instructor can be uncool. There were 6 of us in the class and we had lessons on the beach and learned about rip tides and waves and things to look out for prior to entering the water. Then we pretended to be in the water and practiced jumping up on the board as if catching a wave. While it looked rediculous since we were on the dry sand, it was an effective method to prepare for actual waves.

We went into the water maybe 200 meters from shore (I’m starting to think in metric terms) and he would push us, one at a time to catch the wave. It was amazing. I stood on my first try and it was a fantastic feeling to be standing on a wave. I caught the wave on the next try too and it carried me all the way up to the beach and then I finally fell off after holding on for a while as I tried to maintain my balance. So cool! I guess the trick to it is not to look down. Even when jumping up on the board from laying down and paddling, one is not supposed to look at the board. Just look at the horizon or beach or whatever and I guess it helps maintain balance. It worked.

When I fell off the board after surfing for a while, the wave knocked my earplug out of place. Water didn’t go down my throat (I have a hole in my eardrum if you didn't know it, and when I get water in my ear it can go down my throat. Yummy.) but it was a good indicator that I needed to be finished for the day. So I parked myself on the beach and watched the others surfing one wave at a time. Everyone caught a wave and rode it. Good teacher.

I’m so excited that I finally did it and was able to get up and stand on a wave. Walk on water. So amazing! I hope to have the opportunity to do it again and since I'm in Australia, it's entirely possible.

The following day, I went whale watching. It was great in a completely different way than surfing.

The humpback whales migrate north from the frigid waters around Anarctica along the coast of Australia to the warmer waters nearer the equator to give birth. As it happens, Byron Bay is right in the middle of the migration path.

While it wasn't exactly a National Geographic special where the whales are doing acrobatics and leaping out of the water 20 feet from the boat, it was still cool. We were just close enough to seem them spouting and just coming up and down for air and got to see a few tail flips and apparently there was a baby with one group. Not that I could tell but whatever. So we chased them around a bit, then followed another group for a while, then a third before heading back and watching the sunset from the boat. It was a good day and a fantastic weekend.

Gallery: Guam

jillafogle — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:27:00 GMT

Guam

Fishing off Guam

jillafogle — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:28:00 GMT

I found myself laying face down on the tailgate of a pickup truck in the Agat Marina parking lot as an off duty corpsman poured vinegar onto the jelly sting on the back of my thigh. I reflect on how I ended up in this particular position and come to this conclusion: no day is complete without some sort of scar, break, inflammation, rash, bite, or sting. It was a great day.

The first time I was here (Guam), some friends and I chartered a fishing boat and ended up catching 5 huge mahi mahi. Downside to that trip: the captain was less than stellar and we nearly capsized in water more than a mile deep. But it was an adventure and the fish tasted wonderful. So I wanted to do it again, perhaps this time with a different charter boat and a more….ummmm….sober captain.

I made the arrangements and on a lovely Saturday afternoon, John, his awesome friend Danny (the corpsman), and I drive to the pier to board the boat for a 4 hour fishing trip. Yellow fin tuna, mackerel, and sailfish are in season, we are told. Yeah, right.

This captain, a young guy named Tim, seemed cool enough and the boat was descent so we boarded and headed out to open water. After a couple hours of nothing but talking over the loud motor and enjoying the breeze, John, Danny, and I headed up to the bow of the boat. Shortly thereafter, the captain cuts the engine and calls to us that we got a fish. We run to the back of the boat and I take the reel and start to bring it in. It was a big mahi mahi that was fighting like crazy against the line. After a few minutes, I passed the reel to Danny to bring home and the line snapped. We laughed and got excited that we now know the potential is there to actually catch something. So we hung out in the back of the boat and hoped…

Then we caught a little bait fish. It was about 4 inches long and after laughing hysterically that a little tiny fish was caught on a huge hook, we let it go and John and I headed back to the bow and left Danny to talk to the captain. We sat there and watched the sunset over the water. It was beautiful. The strange lighting illuminated the clouds, the sky, and the island.

Even though the trip was coming to an end and we still hadn’t caught anything to speak of, we were still having a lovely time. After some time passed, Danny came to meet us and we sat with our legs over the bow and kicked water on each other, laughing and having a good time. The engine suddenly stopped and the captain calls to say we caught another fish. John took the reel and after a few, handed it to me. We caught a 20lb wahoo fish. So pretty! Blue and shiny with killer teeth and apparently quite the catch, it is the cash fish of the island.

While the boat was stopped, we jumped in the water to swim. Even though the sun was down and it was dark, the water was the perfect temperature and we played and swam. John is a Navy diver and Danny is a rescue swimmer so despite the fact that the water is well over a mile deep, I felt safe with them. Then something bit my thigh. The boys looked at my leg and told me it was a jelly sting, not a fish bite.

All 3 of the guys were very sweet, offering to urinate on my leg, but I declined, opting instead to wait until we got to the pier in lou of vinegar. Didn’t realize that it was going to hurt that much, if I had I would have let them do it.

We got to the pier and unloaded the fish and cooler. Tim cleaned the wahoo for us and gave us 4 huge fillets to take home. My leg still hurt so Danny went for vinegar to treat it. So I’m laying on my stomach on the tailgate of his pickup truck with my shorts leg rolled up a bit while he is doing this.

Now after a few days it’s just a line of raised bumps on the back of my thigh which should eventually go away too. The wahoo was amazing to eat and we thoroughly enjoyed it. If I had to be stung again to have a day that wonderful, I’d take 2.

Adventures in Corporate America

jillafogle — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 16:21:00 GMT

After temping at Covidien for the last 8+ months, I've learned some vital "corporate" lessons. The different sizes of file labels; which restuarants are the favorites for lunch deliveries; all things related to Microsoft Outlook; the cleaning, organizing, and labeling of multiple closets; and the making of creative promotional items, to name a few. Even more so, learning the personalities of the people around me and their particular "ism-s." Who is super-anal and likes to have all staples going in one direction; who can be silly; who thinks that spreadsheets are the coolest things ever; and who was tragically born without a sense of humor? It's been fun, interesting, at times frustrating, but mostly it's been great. And I've enjoyed my time here.

Thank you to all the people I've worked with/for over this period. I wish you all the best in your lives and future endeavors. Remember to take the time to have fun!