Backpacking

Once again I left Sydney before my visitor got on her plane back home to Norway...(Am I a bad host...)
This time I went to Melbourne, Victoria. Melbourne is definitly a place I'll go back to, for sure!!! Good shopping, nice gardens & parks and just a goodlooking city
From Melbourne I left for Devonport, Tasmania with "Spirit of Tasmania". Nice ride!!
On land in Devonport, I jumped on the Adventure Tours bus going on a 3 day tour down the east coast to Hobart. First stop was a brekky stop. yummi!! A bit later we stopped at Bridestowe Lavender Farm where I tried one of their blueberry & lavender muffin... Very interesting taste...quite good After a barbie-lunch, Bruce, our ATA-guide started telling us a story about a little town:

The story
During WW1 a lot of Australians went to Europe to save the world. And the same was 3 brothers from a tiny town in Tasmania. They left their mum thinking they were going on the adventure of their life. The woman was heartbroken watching all her children leave to fight in the war.

During the war there was a little man on his little horse travelling with yellow envelopes in his bag. In these envelopes was the soldiers name, place and how he died and where he had been buried.

The woman prayed and prayed that the man would not stop at her house. She watched as he stopped at other houses. And she felt extremely sorry for those he stopped at, but was reliefed everytime when he didn't stop at her door.

In France, Australia lost more men than France itself...

One day the woman watched as the man on the back of his horse stopped outside her house. She opened the door with tears running down and you can only imagine how heartbroken she was when he held out 3 yellow envelopes for her...
All her kids had died in the war.

In memory of the soldiers the town planted an alley of trees, which grew big and strong.
But a couple of years ago a branch fell down on the road, so the trees where getting dangerous, and it was decided that they where going to be cut down. The people of the town did not like this. They called for a guy that used a long time cutting down the trees. But the trees they finally were cut down and this is what he left:

war memorial 01
war memorial 02
war memorial 03
war memorial 04

I absolutely loved this story

On our way to the beach house in Bicheno, we stoppe at a waterfall - very nice - and a white beach with turquise water, crystal clear - very very very nice!!!
We also drove through the town that suffered the most from the bushfire right before christmas 2006. The fire had just kept on till there was nothing left to burn, right down by the water. Sad sad sad 80% of Australia's bushfires are lit on purpose...and so was this as well...How sad is that...

The next day we started by walking up Mount Amos, which ended up more like climbing fun fun fun At the top we had a great view over Wineglass Bay +++

"Wineglass Bay is such a romantic name of a beach, but it got it's name years ago when they used to drag the whales up on the beach and cut them up there. Having all the blood running down the beach, looking like red wine...Wineglass Bay"

After the walk/climb/slide we jumped in the freezing water at the beach where we had barbie-lunch yummi!! After cleaning up we drove all the way to Port Arthur. After dinner some of us went on a Ghost Tour down at Port Arthur Historic Site, with Todd as out guide. Interesting true stories, but not very scary(not even close to London...)
The next day we had all morning till lunch to explore Port Arthur Historic Site on our own. After lunch we drove to "Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park" where we fed Tasmanian Devils, roos and wallabies. And then we headed to Hobart, where the Adventure Tours trip ended.

On 29 january I got a plane to Adelaide, South Australia.

12 january I was really excited, cause a friend from Norway was coming to visit me YEAHY
So when Ann-Helen jumped out of the airport shuttle, I was standing there (it's not just an expression, she actually did jump ) We talked and talked and talked and shoved each other pictures and talked and talked and talked so when we eventually got out of our room everything was closed..Therefore we didn't get to book our tour with WesternXposure we were quite sad about it, cause it looked like a great tour up to Exmouth and back. We decided to make dinner (so my poor body would get some vitamins) and while we tried to make chicken, veggies, pasta in sataysauce, we drank some amazingly good Vodka Cruiser Melon. y u m m i quite a while later we finally got out of our room again, and met Leo Melvin Gay(Ernesto that I worked with at Waves Surf Camp). We went to a place in Northbridge, and after one drink Ernesto and his friend went home cause of work the next morning. Ann-Helen and I went home after sunrise and when people had started working... (got some weird photos ha ha)
I woke up by the phone...

"Can we stay one more night"

Ann-Helen slept to 4pm(16:00)!!!
When she finally got up, we ate some junkfood & thought about going to Adelaide(where I am now) and Kangaroo Island...but when we got online we booked tickets for Fiji Islands
A couple of hours later we waved goodbye to Perth from the plane to Fiji Islands
14 january we landed on Viti Levu, Nadi airport. We stayed one night at the island, before we headed out to Magical Mana Island
On Mana Island, we got fed 3 times a day at Rata Kini Backpackers, sunbathing(in the shade), swimming, snorkeling and trying to sleep at night(we pushed our beds right under the fan, after a tip from the swedish pear )
What a wonderful life
oh oh oh we also danced Fijian Macarena ha ha we learned it during the Fijian Night And we tasted coconut(kokonott er naa den offisielle oversettelsen ) & I tested what it's like being sunburnt on the ass... And I can say that it is very similar to being sunburnt on the eyelids!!

I was on the other side of Australia, before sis even got on her plane back home...
Of course, the first thing I located in Perth, was the doctor. haha
I spent the days in Perth relaxing and trying to catch up on some sleep & figure out where to travel next. A couple of days later I jumped on the bus down to Denmark, which is south in Western Australia. A cosy little town by the river Great atmosphere!!! There was a market right next to the river when I was there. With different kind of bands playing, activities for kids(and adults), great food and of course everything else that belongs on a little town market I absolutely loved it!!!
From Denmark I got a bus to Bunbury, and while waiting for the bus to Margaret River, I started talking to an old woman. She was quite old, 10 kids, heaps of grandkids and her husband died a year ago. She had an amazing lifestory, experienced so much. And she's still busy doing everything even though her knee is bad and she got a pacemaker(which she has already had for years, and even changed once). Such a facinating person!!
My hostel was by the beach right outside of Margaret River, so of course I watched the sunset at the beach And of course the next morning I located the doctor in Margaret River ha ha Where I f i n a l l y got the right antibiotics YEAHY So it was back to taking a pill every 6 hour ha ha

Btw. in Margaret River there is a shop called "Ye Olde Lolly Shoppe" which I'll recommend europeans to pop in to you never know what you might find far far from home...
Before I left for Perth again, I went on Bushtucker's Great Wineries Tour, very nice!! Even got something similar to "Glogg" YUMMI!!!

Since I had to go see a doctor everyday, I wasn't able to plan ahead with the others The day we changed hotel in Sydney, I didn't have to see a doc , so we went to queen victoria building for some shopping and lots of window-shopping and had dinner at Hard Rock near Kings Cross - nachos, salmon and the best dessert I've ever tasted, ice cream and cream on top of a brownie YUMMI YUMMI YUMMI
On new years day I went shopping at Bondi Junction and later met Hege down by the bridge and house. We had a walk around, ate something turkish beef & spinach thingy sat down for a bit before we went back to the hotel. Where we set up a new years eve table with glogg, saltsild, candy, fruit, food and champagne At midnight I had a sip and Hege a glass or so of the champagne, took pics of the tv-fireworks(was that all bridge...??!??) while I was ithcing one leg and my sis my other leg HAHA I had to get a rash as well And then I fell asleep, thinking a guy tried to wake me up by talking to me... HAHAHA

The day I went to the emergency I was extremely nervous and all I concentrated on was trying to stay calm. I got to try alot of new things before they pushed me & the bed to surgical - I got a plastic thingy put in my left hand and a nice nurse with a christmas jumper and blinking earrings took blood from my right arm ARM!!!not my finger... and they gave me stuff throught the thingy in my left hand. After a couple of hours I was pushed from emergency by a guy and a nice nurse up to surgical, and they placed me at 9.4. They left me lying there for quite a while wondering if the nurses at the ward even knew I was there... Suddenly this really nice, old guy came in with tea, coffee, milo and cookies. It was nice even though I couldn't have anything since we didn't know when I was having the operation done... A bit later some nurses came and put the thingy I got in my left hand on a machine that beeped everytime it got empty. Eventually I had to pee, so they told me to have a shower at the same time and put on the coolest operation-outfit ever I have never looked so good with undies I couldn't even feel, a big purple thingy with opening in the back. Back in bed 9.4 I watched telly and just looked around still trying to stay calm.
People had asked me a couple of times both there and at the emergency if I wanted them to call someone. But no way I would let them call my sister before after the operation. Didn't need an extra patient (du har blitt ekstremt mye bedre da, Hege
Out of nowhere around ten eleven some time a nurse came in and said I was going to theatre *skrekk og gru* since I guessed that ment the operationroom. They put on some fancy socks that matched my outfit and another nametag around my leg(even though I already had one around my right arm) strange..!?!? I tried to stay calm but my legs seemed to live their own life and started shaking. A guy and a nurse pushed me to theatre and put on a nice thingy on my head and put all my hair in there. -The whole outfit were finally done -
The next place I got pushed was a cold room, where another nurse asked me questions(again) and then a dude(nurse or doctor??) talked to me and said he would make sure I wouldn't remember anything when I woke up, no pain and not naus...something(kvalm) and then they pushed me in to the operationroom which was full of people and I had to jump over to another bed, and a nurse put a really nice and warm blanket over me and the dude gave me something through the thingy in my left hand...
And then I woke up with a thingy down my mouth I was going to freak out but the nurse took it out quicker than my brain managed to react. HAHA But then she put an oxygenmask over my mouth - Do I have to have this on? No. - thank you nurse
so there I was lying asking heaps of questions extremely tired but so relived it was over
One of these guys again came and pushed me from recovery back to surgical and place 9.4 a bit after midnight. I was really happy and really tired. There was a new nurse and she was really nice. She looked after me and gave me more stuff through the thingy in my left hand & left another thingy around my arm cause it was going to "go off" every now and then. it made sure I didn't sleep the whole night HAHA
When I beeped on her cause I had to pee, she came and asked if I had to pee before I got to say anything. HAHA She'd been waiting for it because of the amount of fluid they had given me through the hand HAHA I was so happy it was over that I didn't really wanna sleep even though the arm was burning(at least no one was touching it but I said "I guess I have to sleep" to the nurse when I came back to bed. I also said yes when she asked if it was painful, and she said she'd find me some painkillers. I think I fell a sleep and was really drowsy when she came back and gave me a morphine shot in my tummy THAT IS THE WORST SHOT I'VE EVER HAD - SOOOOOO PAINFUL!!! both when she put it in, injected it and took it out good thing I was sooo tired. She told me it would work till the morning... (can't say it did but at least no one touched my arm and it wasn't exactly a shock it didn't work properly...
I got brekky with a beigebrownish pill + painkillers and then the doc(that I didn't like at all cause he was all blablabla and just kinda ignored when I asked something and didn't answer me) came and told me I had to go to a doctor everyday, move my arm alot and have a second operation
Before lunch they came and gave me another one of those horrible morhpine shots in the leg this time & told me to have a shower where I got to put on my own clothes again. After the shower the nurse started dragging 2 long thingys out of my arm, where everything inside seemed to hang on to them They gave me more morphine + valium. And left my lying there almost falling a sleep for a little while but I was fine again when the nurse came back and started putting things inside again I thought it was quite mean since the arm was burning horrible and I thought it was weird cause I thought morphine was supposed to be very strong When they finally left the arm alone I was exhausted & the arm was burning - on fire - it felt even worse than after the operation... those morphine shots was NOT worth it!! pain for not having to feel the pain and then it doesn't work
My sis came right after they were done, and I must have looked really sick since I was so exhausted and didn't dare to move ANYTHING cause the arm was so painful. burning burning burning
Later Kristine og Siri came with grot, glogg, chocolate, christmas tree and presents. We gave some grot to the really nice old lady in bed 9.2(we didn't dare mention that is was supposed to taste better, not burnt). The arm was still painful but I started moving more to the middle of the bed, it was christmas eve and I had to do my job Reading cards and giving out the presents It was a really nice night thanks alot sis, Kristine and Siri (not going to forget christmas 2006, that's for sure haha)

On the morning 25 december I got my 2 new painkillers, showered and a nurse came and dragged 2 things out of my arm again(luckily nothing as the day before, and put some stuff on it instead of in it which made me very very happy Then I had the beigebrownish pill with brekky and then my sis came. And the nurse gave us all the paper and took the thingy out of my hand (which made me even more happier - the hand was in a horrible condition, quite swollen and in pain, which it showed me everytime I tried to move my fingers or bend it or anything at all haha but I was very happy leaving the hopital My sis and I got a cab from the hospital to the airport where we got on the plane back to Sydney. Gotta say I looked very good HAHA with babytags(hospitaltags) with number, name and date of birth, both on my right arm and left foot