I'm writing this from the airport lounge in Brisbane as I await Qantas Flight 055, non-stop to Christchurch NZ.  I know it's short notice, but I just got the itch.  I'll check back in after I've settled into the Land of the Long White Cloud...

I'm heading down to the evocatively-named Surfers Paradise for the weekend.  I won't be on here at all until I get back, but to make it up to you all I promise to bring back pics.  :)

Melbourne has been tons of fun but the wanderlust has struck and it's time to move on.  This morning I'm off north along the Great Ocean Road on my way to Adelaide, where I'll be visiting with my friend Helene.  In one of those odd coincidences of life, Helene is a girl from Montreal whom I met while travelling through Europe and who is now studying at the University of South Australia.  I'll be staying with her for a few days and enjoying the sights and sounds of the city, before moving on to trek through the Outback.

Leaving Sydney today.  I'm going to miss it a lot but it's time to move on.  Much thanks to the fine folks at Wake Up! and Side Bar, and to all my new friends that have made the Sydney sights so much more memorable.  Ciao!

Next I'll be heading south, spending the weekend in the Australian Capital Territory before moving on to Melbourne for the next while.  I'll check back in early next week, until then be good.  :)

I'm here!

I got into Sydney more-or-less on time (about an hour late, negligible for a 22.5 hour flight) but exhausted nonetheless.  Of course, the massive jetlag doesn't help -- my body thinks it's 7:30pm yesterday evening, not 9:30am on a beautiful Sunday morning.  I'm sitting in my room in the hostel where I'll be staying while in Sydney and it's truly astounding.  Yes Mom, I'm fine and the plane didn't crash in the ocean...

More once I've recovered from the flight -- now it's time for some much-needed rest.

Everyone who knows me knows that I have the travel bug, bad.  This blog is a chronicle of my latest excursion, a planned 4-month odyssey through Australia and New Zealand with little more than a sturdy pair of boots and my trusty laptop and digital camera.  You can follow the ups and downs of my trip here, and I promise to share as much of the adventure and the scenic goodness as I can manage!

After months of planning and saving I'm leaving the weekend after Easter: booked on Qantas Airways flight 3246 from Toronto to Los Angeles, departing 6:55pm on Friday 16 April; then I catch Qantas flight 108 across the Pacific from L.A. to Sydney, no stopovers, arriving on Sunday 18 April at 7:20am local time.  I'll be spending over 22 hours in the air (yes Mom, I promise to get up and stretch my legs so I don't get bloodclots... )!  I'll make my next entry once I've settled in Sydney.