Leaving for New Zealand.

Last week I went down to Cronulla, which is a small suburb 25mi south of Sydney. This is where Fineberg had spent his 10 month fellowship in Australia two years ago. It's a cool beach community that has a strong surfing heritage. I got to meet up with Fineberg again and actually had a conversation I could follow. His friend Mattie, invited me to stay with him and his girlfriend Allie. These guys were great people.
From Cronulla, I took the overnight bus to Melbourne. This one was only 12-hours long. Well, during my 18-hour bus ride from Brisbane to Sydney, I was freezing on the bus. This time, the air-conditioning was broken. Awwwwwesome. It was a sauna. Outside, it was freezing. I was soaked and ten pounds lighter when I arrived in Melbourne.
Melbourne is Australia's second largest city, but it has an eclectic atmosphere with good architecture, food, and culture. I spent a lot of time wandering the streets. The Deaflympics was going on so there were a lot of people signing. That was pretty cool.
In Melbourne, I stayed with Paul and Ceri, a couple Kev and I met when an overnight ferry failed to show up on one of the Greek Islands. We travelled together to Istanbul and spent a lot of time together. These guys were fantastic. They put me up in their home and fed me and took me out on the town, visiting some of the sights in the area.
We went to Williamstown and took a ferry to St. Kilda, both bayside communities around Melbourne. At St. Kilda, we watched a Deaflympics women's volleyball match between the Australians and the Americans. The Australians did well, but not well enough. Um...I think the teams were mismatched, in skill and in the weight class... Paul and Ceri also took me on the Great Ocean Road, one of the great drives in the world. It hugs along the southern coastline where the ocean has been eating away at the Victorian coast. This leaves beautiful arches and towers in the surf.
I'm headed New Zealand in a few hours. It has been awesome being in Oz.
Thanks to everyone I've met here. See ya in New Zealand!