happy father's day dad!

Dear Dad,

composed this song for you on this violen I found. Hope you like it!

love, Jewel

sheep and kangaroos!

I am currently in Keith, South Australia WWOOFing on a sheep and mixed crop farm with Dean and Adair, the couple who own it. Lots of exciting things have been happening here! Kristen, Erika and I got here right in the middle of lambing so there are babies everywhere. Every morning we go through all the paddocks and check on the ewes and help the ones who are having trouble give birth. Now, some of you who have spent a lot of time with me may wonder about how I did in those situations as I have a very strong fear of childbirth (or anything giving birth for that matter). I am proud to tell you all that I did quite well and even pulled a lamb out myself one morning. I almost hyperventilated and had several minor heart attacks but I feel like I'm making progress.

After my last update we went to another WWOOF host near Bega and stayed there for a week and then went back north to Sydney, exchanged rental cars, went straight west to Broken Hill and then south to Keith where we have been for the past week. We are heading into Adelaide tomorrow and then north up the center of the country to Alice Springs to see Uluru. From there we are going north a bit and then back east to the Great Barrier Reef and then down the east coast to Sydney where we will fly out late August. Well that's the Grand Plan at least!

I thought this might just be a cliche but there are seriously kangaroos everywhere. Everywhere. You cannot get away from them. There are roughly 60 million or so. We have also seen wallabys (little kangaroos), wombats, emus, parrots, cockotoos, and kookaburas. No sign yet of the elusive koala bear but I am constantly vigilant in hopes of spotting one.

It's really beautiful, the outback. There's nothing there but red dirt and scrub for miles and miles and miles. Open sky and lots of space, I really like it. The closer you get to the coast the bigger the trees get. I have never seen eucalyptus trees like here in Aussie. They are absolutely fantastic.

final note: I'm not sure when I'll be able to write next. We don't have any other farms lined up and we're headed into the middle of nowhere for the next month or so. I will hopefully have many wonderful stories and pictures to share soon though. Love to you all.

AUSTRALIA

Ok.

So the ENTIRE first week I was in Australia it rained. Erika, Kristen and I lived in a three person tent for 7 days. Wet. It was hellish.

Upon flying into Sydney two weeks ago we proceeded to rent a miniture version of a real car and take off down the coast to Jervis Bay where we camped. In the pouring rain. While an army of possums were invading. Our activities during that time consisted of sleeping, eating sandwiches, reading, railing at Australian weather, sleeping, picking fights with each other, kicking possums, and trying to figure out how to come home early.

After about 4 days in Jervis Bay we moved on to Canberra to see the sights there. Went to the national art gallery, the oldest Anglican church in Australia, and the Parliament building. We got to sit in on the question time in the Parliament and it was AWESOME. Basically what happens is the Senate is sitting in a big room and a person will be called up to a mic to address whatever issue. All the people who agree with the speaker boisterously call out their approval and clap and all the people who disagree heckle the speaker and laugh at them. It was absolutely hilarious and utterly fascinating. I could not believe the madness unfolding before my eyes as American politics are nothing like this. This was not stiff, crusty, or boring. I thought a few times that a fist fight would break out but it didn't quite escalate that far.

We also went to the movies one night in Canberra to escape the rain and saw Prince of Persia. To anyone who has not seen Prince of Persia yet.....go see it. If you like movies with fight scenes go see it. It's awesome. Props to Jake Gyllenhal for that role. It's a little cheesy but in a good way and definitely worthwhile. We snuck into another movie called 'I Love You Too' which turned out to be an adorable Ozzy romantic comedy. So we not only got out of the rain for four hours or so, we saw an epic Persian movie and got an Australian cultural experience.

Shortly after our trip to the Parliament we drove out to our first Ozzy WWOOF hosts, Greg and Sue. Here we've been having a wonderful time ripping tussocks out, helping get ready for the installation of some solar panels, fencing, shifting cattle, and cooking authentic American meals for the family (hamburgers and pumpkin pie which they have never heard of). I've been learning about strawbale house construction, passive solar heating, intensive grazing, and biodynamics, all of which are extremely interesting. I also learned to ride a motorbike and it was possibly the most intensely awesome experience ever. I also learned to drive a stickshift. With my left hand as I was on the other side of the truck! It was odd, but very fun and I am immensely impressed with myself!

Leaving tomorrow morning for our next WWOOF hosts. After that...not quite sure.

Love to you all!

Jewel

this is Australia
I have recently realized that in riding a motorbike I am fufilling a very important part of my destiny: speed and adrenaline.
pouring concrete footings for the solar panels!
a parrot at our campground in Jervis Bay
KANGAROO!

Hot Water Beach, this is the hot tub we dug :)
Cathedral Cove. This is the most beautiful place in the world. No joke.

Sheep
Sunrise at the East Cape Lighthouse