To Adelaide

August 2 

2:03pm Sydney time 

I'm on a coach bus to Adelaide right now. We had to say goodbye to the rest of the group. I tipped Campbell $20AUD mostly because I didn't have anything smaller but I also really liked him and thought he did a great job. He had to know all the information and drive us around all 2 and a half days and that seems like a lot to me. I was appreciative of his services. He wa also enthusiastic and energetic. I asked the other girls on the tour if they were going to tip and they said no. But I felt bad so I did. I guess it's not part of their culture though because when I gave him a hug and the money he was surprised and said, "Really!? Thank you! I love your culture!" So at least I know for my next tours that if I don't have enough money or decide I don't like the guide then I don't have to worry about it. He was great though so I was fine giving him the money.

This bus will arrive in Adelaide at 7:30pm tonight. Whhoo! Then I get to get up at 6am to be ready for a 6:45am pick up for my next tour. Agenda for tonight: hot shower, maybe dinner if I'm hungry, Internet since I haven't had access in a few days and I actually have things I need to check (like whether or not ill have a hostel in Alice Springs and maybe email WM again), and sleep. 

This morning we got up around 7:30am, breakfast at 8am (I tried veggiemite which is a disgusting breakfast spread Australians use. Campbell showed me the correct way to eat it so it wasn't too bad but I won't be taking any home with me either. It's a brown thick paste that is really salty. You are supposed to put a lot of butter on the toast and them spread some veggiemite over it... I took maybe 1/4 of the amount of veggiemite Campbell did. I also ate a piece of bread with peanut butter and one with Nutella on it. I think I'm getting used to this peanut butter thing. And then, some fruit.), and departure from Neds Other Beds (hostel) at 8:30am. 

It was raining. So that sucked. We started off heading to MacKenzie Waterfalls. It was a 116m walk down a ton of steps but it was cool to see. On my way up I was wondering if maybe my butt has gotten bigger on this trip. With all the hiking and stairs and everything. Who knows though. My gluts have definitely been getting a workout though! 

Australia has some funny signs so I have been taking photos of those to add to my funny SE Asia signs. Most of the Australian ones are about unstable cliffs or trees falling on people. The tram one in Melbourne was pretty good too- it basically says a tram weighs as much as 30 rhinos in any language and to watch out.

After the waterfall, we went to a lookout point where we were supposed to be able to see the balconies. I'm not sure what these are. But it didn't matter too much because there was so much fog and rain we didn't even end up going to see it, mostly because there would be nothing to see. 

We saw a Kangaroo who had been hit by a car. Campbell said this happens quite often but that after he dropped us off he would go back and check it out and call the wildlife rescue people. Kangaroos have very fragile legs so its important to get them help if they need it. Without it they will suffer or be eaten by aunts and die or something gross. The kangaroo ended up being okay and just had a sore on its leg.

Later, Campbell told us that normal people can actually become kangaroo care takers. If a mom dies they can orphan a Joey. So that's really cute! Even international travellers can do this. You usually have to let them go when they are 8 kilos because otherwise they get too strong and big. He said some of his friends did this and he got kicked in the leg by the kangaroo and couldn't walk for 2 days because they are so powerful!

We then headed off to the aboriginal center in Halls Gap. This was just down the street from our hostel. Here, we had an hour to look at everything. It's kinda sad actually. The aboriginal culture has really been wiped out by the government. At least what was left of it. When the English and Scottish came over they wiped out a lot of the aboriginals as well with diseases they brought over. The aboriginals also used to use a certain type of animals coat, which I now can't remember which animal, to make coats or blankets for themselves but when the Europeans came they brought blankets and many aboriginals got sick and died because these blankets weren't waterproof or as warm as their original animal skin coats. To me it wasn't totally clear why they do not want the aboriginal culture around still, but even Campbell said its confusing. The center said that even children were taken away from families and put in missions or foster care homes. It really just sounds terrible. Willamton Abraham is one of the most famous aboriginals and he basically said I'm your brother and I am here to stay and lived among the Europeans. It sounds like there is a fair amount of racism with it from both sides.

Here we got to watch a story about creation as well. Here it is:

In the time before time, the Great Ancestor Spirit, Bunjil, began to create the world we see around us; the mountains, the lakes, the forests, and the rivers, the plains and the seas. He created all the plants and all the animals.

When he had created the beautiful sandstone ranges of Gariwerd, he often took the form of Werpil the Eagle so that he could view his work. He looked over the cliffs and the mountains. He listened to the sound of water, dripping after rain and thundering over waterfalls. He watched the plants and animals grow- from miss and tiny blades of grass to tall sturdy gums; from birds that flew to animals that burrowed through the soil. 

Bunjil had a special place near Gariwerd. From there he could look out over the ranges. He is pictured there in Bujils shelter with his 2 helpers, two Wirringan, or dingoes.

Bunjil appointed 2 brothers, the Bram-Bram-bult brothers, sons of Druk the Frog, to finish the task he had set himself. Their job was to bring order to the new world; to name the animals and creature, to make the languages and give the laws.

At the end of his time on earth, Bunjil rose into the sky and became a star. He remains up there to this day, the protector of the natural world, his people and their beliefs. Meanwhile the Bram-Bram-bult brothers had a big job, sorting things out here on earth. There was a huge, ferocious emu called Tchingal who lived on the flesh of people and animals. His home was in the malee scrub. He was hatching an enormous egg.

One day while Tchingal was away from the nest, Waa the crow flew past. Feeling hungry, Waa decided to have a peck at the egg. He was pecking away quite happily when Tchingal returned. The monster emu was furious. Waa fled across the country toward Gariweld, with Tchingal right behind him. 

As he approached the ranges, Waa saw a crack in the mountains ahead. He flew into it, thinking he would be safe from Tchingal there. But Tchingal rushed at the mountain and struck it a mighty blow with his foot.

The mountain split open under the force of the impact, releasing a mountain stream and creating a gap, Barigar, also known as Rose's Gap. The emu could now see Waa flying off toward the west. He chased him through Bariger, right to the other side of the range. 

Waa spoiled another crack in the rockface. Desperately he tried to hide in it, but again Tchingal delivered a mighty kick to the rock and split it right open. This is how Jananginj Njaui (Victoria Gap) was formed where Bugara (Glenelg River) passes out onto the western plains. With the sun low on the horizon, Tchingal decided to make his camp at the foot d the new gap. This is why the place is called Jananginj Njaui, which means "the sun will go."

The next morning Waa rose early and escaped to the nearby Moora Moora swamp. As this was his totem site, and therefore sacred territory, Tchingal was forbidden to follow him there. 

Tchingal was angry and he was also very hungry. Just at this moment he spied a man, Bunya, out hunting in the distance. He decided to make a meal of him. When Bunya, who was not very brave, realized the emu was after him, he took off as fast as he could. Instead of using his spears to protect himself, as a warrior should, he threw them to the ground and scrambled up a large tree. Tchingal, not being able to climb, decided to wait. He knew that Bunya would have to come down some time.

Meanwhile, Waa the crow had flown north to where the Bram-Bram-bult brothers were staying. He told them of his narrow escape and of Tchingal's ferociousness. Already angry at the emu for his bad deeds, the two brothers decided to punish him.

They came down to the mountains and saw what they thought was a bright star shining- it was Tchingal's eye. Approaching the bird from different directions, the brothers crept up and threw their spears. One struck the emu in the chest, one in the rump, and one in the neck. Tchingal raged and stormed at the brothers, but he was fatally wounded. He ran off toward the northern plains, losing blood all the time. Soon he died, and the trail of blood he left behind him turned into the Winnera River.

The Bram-Bram-bult now approached te tree where Bunya had hidden. They told him to come down, but Bunya was too scared and called back that he would stay there until they made sure Tchingal was dead. 

The elder brother was angry at such cowardice. He waved his spear and causes Bunya to become a possum, telling him to always stay in the treetops and to hunt for his food only at night.

Reaching the spot where Tchingal had died, the brothers plucked all the feathers from his body. Splitting each feather down the center, they threw one half to the left, the other to the right, making 2 piled of emu feathers, each the size of a present day emu. The splitting of the feathers can still be seen in all emus. Their feathers are double, with 2 separate halves.

After feasting on Tchigal's flesh, all the people travelled to collect his egg. It was so big and heavy that no one could lift it until Babimbal the wattlebird came along. He was very strong and managed to carry the egg to Horsham, where it was cooked and made into a great feast. Babimbal had the honor if dishing it out, and in doing so he splashed himself with some yolk, creating the wattles on the side if his head. 

Before leaving, the Bram-Bram-bult ordered the 2 emus to divide their large egg into several smaller ones in future, so they wouldn't be as jealous of their one egg as Tchingal had been. In this way they hoped to keep the peace.

Now, if you look at the Southern Cross, you can see the story told in the stars. At the head of the Cross is Bunya, the timid possum. Three of the stars are the spears hurled by the Bram-Bram-bult. The large western star is the spear that struck Tchingal in the chest, the smaller star next to it is the spear that passed through his neck, and the star at the bottom of the cross is the spear that struck him in the rump.

Tchingal himself is the dark shape that lies next to the southern cross. The eastern star of the cross is Druk, the mother of the Bram-Bram-bult, and the two brothers are the pointers of the southern cross. Waa the crow is at a safe distance on the other side of the sky, as the star we know as Canopus.

After the center, we headed to Bunjil Park to see a very important rock art drawing. It's really important to the aboriginal people since Bunjil created everything and still looks after the land. It isn't anything spectacular by any means though. A little piece of culture and history is always worth seeing though.

Then, we headed to stop for lunch. On the way we saw a kangaroo fight! They were standing up and batting at eachother and kicking eachother. It was kind of exciting to see. Campbell said they were probably fighting over the female, or practicing. When we stopped and got out to take pictures they stopped and just looked at us. They kept fighting after a minute though. Videoed that! 

For lunch we had about 15 minutes. There weren't too many options. All the sandwiches had mayo on them. I still haven't been able to get used to that taste. Absolutely still hate it. So I got a snack pack which was a small piece of fried chicken with some chips. Not what I wanted. I wanted a grocery store so I could buy some turkey and eat my Brie and foccaccia from the other day. Boo! 

3:14pm Sydney time 

The bus stopped in a town called Nhill. Bathroom break I guess. Also, we are not allowed to take any fruit across the border so that's annoying. I had an orange and an apple for breakfast tomorrow morning and I had to eat that. The orange was amazing tasting though. So was the apple. Fruit at this point just tastes so good. I have some foccaccia and cheese still that I bought a few days ago. I will be angry if I have to throw that away. No one told me this would happen. I could have eaten it elsewhere. Hopefully I can bring it in. It was expensive as well! 

4:50pm Adelaide time 

We just stopped off in another little town. There is a half hour time change between Melbourne/Sydney and Adelaide. So it is 5:20pm Sydney time and 4:50pm Adelaide time. Sooo 2 and a half more hours...

9:34pm Adelaide time 

Ugh! I'm so annoyed! Like just angry. And it's stupid because I shouldn't be but ugh. 

The bus ride was so long. We did get in on time at 7:30pm though so that's good I guess. Then I was trying to look up where my hostel was and how to get there. All the hostels on my confirmation sheet have the how to get here on there. It was totally unhelpful. It literally just said take the free bus and it will drop you off. Nothing about where the free bus was or the hours it ran. WTF. There wasn't wifi either so I couldn't look it up. 

I asked the lady at the bus station desk. She was very nice but also extemely unhelpful. There are 2 free buses. She didn't know the times but they were out the door to the right. She had never heard of my hostel. 

I went outside to look at the bus stop signs because she said the times were on there. Got out there, looked at the sign. I knew my hostel was on Hutt street and there was a stop at the Hutt library. So that seemed correct. Well, after that I was confused. The time table had M-F AM and PM with times. The bus stopped running around 5:30pm. So then there was also a Friday only schedule for the bus with times. The times did not specify AM or PM either so what the hell. And no, it wasn't in military time. Anyway, there was a bus maybe coming at 7:58pm... Or am... And it was 7:55pm so I waited about 10 minutes. Nothing came. 

Then, I decided I was tired and just wanted to get a taxi. There were 5 taxis lined up just on the other side of the bus stop so I walked over there. I walked toward them and none of the cab drivers acknowledged me. They didn't even seem to want to take me anywhere. One guy was eating a sandwich, one guy didn't even look at me, the other guys just started at me. Then, one guy was standing outside his cab and I asked if he was working but he was like well yeah but did you want to go with him and pointed to a taxi further down the line. I was like I can if you want me to and he's like it's up to you so I was like ok I'll just go with you. It was really strange and awkward. In the cab he was really nice though, although it was $10 AUD for a maybe 5 minute ride but whatever. 

I got out and saw the sign that said Nomade Adelaide Travellers Inn... And everything was dark. Then there was a sign posted saying the office is only open 8am to 7pm... There was a number to call if needed. Too bad I don't have a phone with a SIM card in it... So I kinda just stood there for a minute. What hostel closes their front desk!? Not happy.

There was a white board that said Rachel Room 3 on it with a few other names and room numbers. There was also a door right next to it. So I went in the door. It was a hostel. There was noise. But all the lights were off. I kinda just walked around with my bag on and everyone starred at me. Finally a guy told me reception was closed and I asked if there was a way to get ahold of anyone. He said he would get Lilly for me. 

Lilly came out with some intense dreads. And asked if I already had a room booked which I did. She gave me my key and I asked about the Internet and she said I could pay $4 for 2 hours or try to connect to the free Internet from the library across the street (so it was the correct bus stop) which is what most people do. So I said I would try that. 

Long story short, it didn't work. I tried to find Lilly again to buy Internet and I couldn't find her. I went back to ask that guy because I felt like maybe he worked here and just had the day off (Lilly seems to live here so maybe he did too). He told me, "Sorry love, I think you may just have to wait until tomorrow." I told him I didn't really have tomorrow since I was leaving in the morning before reception even opened and needed to at least check my pick up time. Another older, and drunk man pulled out his phone and let me check it on his. 

At this point I was stressed out. I checked the email and saw a bunch of other ones and needed to get the hostel thing for Alice Springs figured out. But, I was using some old guys Internet time so I was trying to be fast. I still can't get on the Internet and its not a huge deal because I did get to tell them to get me a hostel in Alice Springs and check my pick up time tomorrow morning. But, I haven't had Internet in 3 days and probably won't have it the next 6 so it would have been nice but oh well. 

I did get to take a hot shower which was very nice. The people just got stranger and stranger. Like thank god I'm leaving tomorrow morning. Early. Yikes. One lady is older and from Melbourne originally but has been here for 4 weeks because she has no money and is trying to get to Vietnam. She was just in Malaysia. She had a bunch of vampire books and a mess of clothes by her bed. Then the other girl was in the Internet area on her computer and got really fussy about me opening the door to the balcony. They're both older. The guys downstairs were strange. There was a guy and a girl eating pizza in a corner. I don't know. It's very loud here too. And cold. So, at least I'm gone early. 

I am sleeping in my clothes and getting up at 6am. I'll grab my stuff and go downstairs and wait. Hopefully eat breakfast, cheese and bread. I put my cheese in the fridge and hopefully it'll still be there in the morning, otherwise I will just be having bread for breakfast. 

On my next tour all the meals are included so that should be nice. Hopefully I won't be spending too much money. I didn't really on this last one either, especially compared to what I spent for 2 days in Melbourne. I'm hoping ill be able to get through Sydney without needing to withdraw more money but well see. I have about $210 AUD left. I pulled out $400 to start. But I can put things on my card which is nice. I think Melbourne was expensive because I was doing stuff with Mars. If I eat on my own in Sydney it shouldn't be too expensive. Rawrr. 

Even reading this as I type it is funny to me but I'm still just annoyed. Probably going to sleep now...