Home

Well I must say, it definitely feels good to be home! After a 13 1/2 hr flight from Sydney to Vancouver, it was good to get out and walk. Most of all it was good to see somebody we knew! Jen and Steve along with the kids, came to meet us in Vancouver. We had a very good visit with them and really appreciated the fact that they came to see us. Our flight was supposed to leave Vancouver for Calgary at 1:00 but didn't end up leaving until 6:30. Needless to say, we were very, well lets just say 'disappointed', with the airline. By then we were extremely tired and just wanted to get home. Mom and Dad's hugs were very much welcome!! After waiting an hour for our luggage to come on the conveyer we only had a five minute wait for Dylan's parents so we surprised them at met them after customs! It was a very long trip home but I can say this with confidence, it was well worth it!!
We are hopeing to have a slideshow some evening now that we are back and everyone is welcome. I will post a day and time when we have something figured out. We need to catch up on some sleep first!

Comin' Home

Well the time has come.  Tomorrow morning we are heading to the airport to begin our journey home!  We have enjoyed our time here but it is definitely time to come home!  There are so many things that we have gotten to experience and we look back with no regrets!  With many of the things that we have done here, we wouldn't have had the chance to do them back at home.  We have come away with so many new memories and good experiences!!  

Thank-you to everyone that has been thinking and praying for us!  We could not have done it without the support of your prayers!  We look forward to seeing everyone again and sharing the rest of our experiences with all of you!  

Thanks again,  Dylan and Debbie

Sydney

Well for the past week, we have been enjoying a bit of rest and relaxation in Sydney.  It has definitely been a good finish to our time here in Australia.  On Wed the 4, we visited the Australian National Maritime Museum.  Here we got to tour some historic vessels.  This included a Sailing Ship, Tall ship, Submarine and a Destroyer.  It was very interesting to climb aboard and see how they used to live on the different Vessels.  

On Thursday we went surfing!  It was a rainy cold day but the waves were awesome and there were only four of us on the beach!  Dylan did really good catching five waves in a row!  Deb somehow managed to catch her first wave of the day, but that wasn't the only one thankfully!!  We were not there for a full day but it was sweet while it lasted.  

On Fridays we got to go Parasailing!  This was the seventh time that we have tried to go so we were glad that it actually worked out today!  It was an incredible feeling to just be floating up there. 

Catch Up

What to say...!!  A lot has happened since we have left the farm.  For the first few days of our holidays, Dylan and I travelled up North to a place called Alice Springs.  It was a 19 1/2 hr bus ride but that also includes the mandatory stops for the driver.  From there we did a tour to Uluru or Ayers Rock.  It was incredible.  For those of you who don't know, Ayers Rock it is basically a big rusty rock in the middle of a desert.  Well to us that is what it was, but to the Aboriginals it is a very sacred place.  We got to learn a fair bit about the culture and the people.  We were hesitant to go at first because we thought that we would be disappointed, but we chose a sunset tour so we watched the sun go down and the colors change drastically of this enormous rock.  

From there we headed to Cairns where we started our last vacation.  We had enjoyed it so much that we decided to come back here again.  Our accommodation is right on the Esplanade so we have access to many shops and the local swimming lagoon.  Our main focus was to relax so to be honest, we have not done much around here!  On Sunday we are heading to Sydney where we will spend the rest of our time.  We will be there for 7 days and then we will be on our way home!  

I am sorry that there are no pictures with this post, but McDonalds provides free internet so we have been using that and as you can imagine it is extremely slow and very busy so it would take a while to upload all of our pictures!!  

Time Flies

Well, it seems hard to believe but this week will be the last one here for us on the farm. On Sunday the 18, we will be heading into Adelaide for the last time! We are planning on doing three weeks of holidays and then heading home on November 7. We are definitely looking forward to seeing everybody again. It seems as though a lot has changed in the past seven months! We have had a good time here on the farm but it just isn't quite the same as in Canada. We have learnt so many things about the culture and the country since we have been here and are looking forward to sharing all of our experiences with everyone!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!!  Down here in Australia, they don't actually have Thanksgiving so Dylan and I have had to celebrate this on our own!  Our meal wasn't quite as fancy as it would be if we were home considering that our meal consisted of a Big Mac and Chicken Mc Nuggets!  I am definitely holding out for that Turkey when we get home though!!  

New to Old

On September 18, Dylan and I got the afternoon off to head into Adelaide and welcome the new trainees.  They arrived in Australia on the 17th already so the jet lag was really starting to kick in!

There are about 14 of them so it is a bigger group than when we came.  This also meant that we got a new trainee for here on the farm.  We have had a good time getting to know them over the last few weeks.  On Wednesday nights the trainees usually get together for tea.  We have a ways to drive so they try to make it close enough for us to go as well but it doesn't always work out.  They seem to be a good group of people and I sincerely hope that they enjoy their time here in Australia.   

Full of Surprises!

This is what we did for Dylan's birthday.  As part of the surprise long weekend I had also made a reservation to go Skydiving.  Unfortunately the weather was terrible that day so we had to re-book for Monday.  It turned out to be a beaut of a day!  When we got to the Goolwa Airport, we were put through a brief training session, suited up, and boarded the plane!  It was such an amazing experience and we would recommend it to anyone!  Big thanks to Skydive Goolwa for taking us up and well..... down!!  

I have tried many times to get the video to upload but it will just not go.  So I have taken some pictures of the video!  I am sorry for the poor quality of the pictures but at least you can still share in our experience!  Just ask us when you see us next to watch the video's!

Kangaroo Island

September 12 was Dylan's birthday so as a surprise, I had arranged for a long weekend off!  We took off Thursday after lunch and came back on Monday night so we had a really long weekend. We took a couple of days and headed to a place called Kangaroo Island.  Below are a few pictures from on the Island.  The weather was miserable most of the weekend but we did try to make the most of it.  

These are Fairy Penguins.  The live along the coast and this was the first time that we actually got to see them.  Actually, Dylan was down below the deck getting the car off of the Ferry so he got to see them via pictures!!

We stopped at a very vacant beach!  Due to the cold weather, nobody else was there.  What I found interesting about this picture is that the footprints appear to be raised at first glance.  It takes some concentrating to get them to actually switch to sunken in.  

We found a little spot along the way from one side of the Island to the other that had a Koala viewing.  There were rows of Eucalyptus trees with 20-25 resident Koalas.  We walked up and down the rows to try and find these cute little guys!  We never actually counted how many we found but there would have been between 10-15 that we saw.  

On the Island they have a place called Kelly Hill Caves.  The caves are dry limestone and appear to be a popular tourist spot.  The name comes from a rather simple story.  A horse and rider were out riding through the trees and exploring the area when all of a sudden they sunk into the side of the hill.  Now how did they get the name, well.... the horses name was Kelly!  Nobody knows the actually ending to the story, but they have never found horse bones in the cave.  There were so many different formations that we got to see but here are just a few pictures.

Take a close look at this stalactite.  It looks as if it could be a ballerina leg with a slipper.  I thought it looked pretty interesting although I would hate to have to hold that pose for this long!  

This is a picture of the flashlight shining onto a piece of the floor in the cave.  

This picture is just some of the many Stalactites and Straws hanging from the roof of the cave!

Royal Adelaide Show

On Sunday the 6th, Dylan and I had the opportunity to head to Adelaide to visit the Royal Adelaide Show.  To explain this best, it is like the Stampede but only with out the Rodeo aspect and smaller.  The main reason why we were there was because Agriventure, the exchange program, was sponsoring a number of categories.  Dylan and I were asked to represent Agriventure and sash the 'Horses in Action'.  So basically for one of the classes we got to head into the ring and tie the sashes around the necks of the top six horses.  It was something that you don't experience very often!  It was a very interesting insight for the both of us!   

On The Road Again....

On Sunday, August 30, Dylan and I went to the National Motor Museum in a small town called Bridwood.  It was actually very interesting to see the wide variety of different makes and models.  To me, a car is a car so I basically just thought that they were interesting.  Dylan on the other hand went around comparing engine sizes! We had a great day there and are very glad that we could go.  We are also very thankful for our Student Discount Cards which have helped us out alot, especially at a place like this!

I am not exactly sure as to how this one steers!

This is the largest working mobile phone in the world.  Yes, it actually does (or did)

work.  They would use it in parades and as advertisement.  The company would encourage people to push the big buttons and dial anyone in Australia.  Pretty neat!

Yep you guessed it!  This is a Ford!!

You would definitely have to have at least some amount of trust in the driver with this one!

Have You Any Wool?

On August 17, the task of sheering began.  It took them a little less than six days to complete the herd.  I was unable to help due to my allergies but Dylan got right in there and gave them a hand.  His job was to sweep up the extra wool between sheep and to 'dip' the ones that had already been shorn.  To 'dip' means that he covered them with a chemical to kill the lice.  Here are some pictures that were taken, courtesy of Heather!

These are the stalls that the sheep would come out of.  There were three shearers going at all times.  They would take them from the white stall doors and once the sheep had been shorn, they would put them back through the blue doors.  They had to count how many each shearer had done so they were kept separate until the pen was full, counted and then put out.  

Bags of Wool

This is Tiger.  One of the sheep dogs.  

Here is Sylv and Ben.  Sylv would make lunch, pack it up and take it down to the shed.  Ben is not old enough for school so he would hang out in the shed the with guys.

This was also part of Dylan's job.  

He would have to get up on top and pack the wool down.  

This is the actual wool press.  Before you closed the bag, you would have to machine press it down as well.  

Dylan sweeping!!  If only this would happen at home! 

This is the table where they did the sorting and trimming.  

A full shed!

Wedding Dressing Parade

On August 21 there was a fundraiser held in town for Juvenile Diabetes.  Ladies from town and the surrounding area loaned their wedding dresses out for the occasion.  It was a Wedding Dress Parade!!  I was fortunate enough to be a model for the event.  It was a very successful evening and I had a lot of fun trying on all the different wedding dresses.  Here are just a few that I had on.  Altogether there were over 40 dresses being showed throughout the night.  

This dress was incredibly warm but definitely made me feel like a Snow Princess!  It was velvet with bell sleeves, and trimmed with fur.  It also came with a hood which in this picture had slipped off of my head already but is hanging around my neck!  

This is Heather in her own Wedding Gown.

This is Sarah wearing a dress that Heather once wore as a Junior Bridesmaid.

This was our group!  There were a few more models but were not available for the group photo.  Most of the ladies here are wearing their own wedding dresses.  I am fifth from the left and Heather is second from the right.  Sarah is sitting in front, first on the left. 

Whale Watching

While in Victor Harbor, we got to do some whale watching.  Between May and October, the southern right whales head here to mate and calve.  We checked for different sightings and there had been some spotted just down the road in Middleton Point.  We got to see three adults and their calves.  It was so spectacular to just stand and watch them.  They are such large animals.  It was incredible.  Due to the wind, it was tough to get a good picture of them in between the waves but here are a few that we did manage to snap.  There were also a few seals playing just off the shore but I have not included those pictures because you wouldn't be able to tell what they were! 

This is just to give a perspective as to how close they were to shore.  

That big blob in water is not a wave, it is a whale.

Victor Harbor

We always try to see as much as we can on the weekends so we have been taking short trips to near by Tourist Attractions.  This past weekend we went to Victor Harbor to see what it had to offer.  We only had a day and a half to see things, but we did get alot into that short amount of time.  Just a short way from Victor Harbor is an Island called Granite Island.  There is a causeway, or bridge if you prefer, that heads across to the Island.  We chose to walk but there was another way to cross.  Victor Harbor is home to a historic Horse Drawn Tram.  It goes between the mainland and the island everyday at scheduled times.  The current trams were built in 1986 but now have a few modifications.  Each tram weighs 4.8 tonnes and runs on roller bearings to make it easier for the horse to pull.  The tram is pulled by only one clydesdale at a time who apparently only needs to place 80 kg of weight to get the tram rolling.    We took a walk around Granite Island although it was extremely windy.  The island is home to, believe it or not, Penguins.  We never got to see any, you have to go on a guided tour for that.  There were supposed to be quite a few on the island but the population is depleting due to the amount of seals in the area.  Here are a few pictures.

 

This sign was along the foot path!!

The Tram as mentioned above.