Chelsea’s RTW Travel Log

So, about a weekago we posted a WANTED ad to Gumtree, the rough equivilant of Craigslist over here. The ad went something like this:

First we got a response that we both agreed we’d ignore it. The second response just hours later was from a really nice sounding Australian bloke. He sent us a link with photos of his place and minutes later we had secured a week long homestay. Yippie! Fynn and Tan (short for Tanja) have a beautiful family home right outside of Brisbane. They have two super cool kids: Maddie or Madstar (her nickname), 13, and Hunter, 10.

The Starks beautiful home:

As soon as we arrived, we felt like it was serendipity. It turns out Tan and Fynn have been all over the world, even with their kids, which is totally inspiring. Their last trip was a full 3 months and included places like Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Spain, Italy, and many other fine European countries. When they travel, they do it right. They like to experience the local culture and ‘rough it.’  The kids have had some amazing experiences in developing countries (Maddie showed me their photo albumns).

In addition to the incredibly hospitable and kind family, there are two 13-year-old Japanese boys who are learning English and taking a week long program in downtown Brisbane. It’s a full house with all eight of us.  And the ironic part?  They’ve never hosted backpackers or Japanese kids and all of us are here at once.

Quick Video of Tan and Fynn 

We cooked dinner for everyone one night, and had a blast doing it. It seems that Mexican food is impossible to get in Australia. So, we did it up. We had a ridiculous number of toppings like tomato, jalapeno, sour cream, guacomole, salsa, taco sauce, lettuce, onion, chicken, grilled bell pepper, seasoned chicken, beans, cheese, and more. Fynn commented, “There are so many options.” I replied, “That’s because we’re American!” We all had a good laugh.

So, I am not as freaked out about the spiders as before, but MAN the lizards are huge here. They have some blue tongued lizards out by the pool, but up in Cairns they’re 3 to 6 feet long. Hunter loves to tell us about the critters here. In fact, we watched him handfeed a wallabe in a public park where they roam wild. Anway, these lizards look like dinosaurs… and supposedly hang out in campsites. Oh boy, is this going to be fun or what?

Swimming? Don’t even think about it. If your in the ocean, the box jellyfish will put you into cardiac arrest if they sting you. Remember Steve Erwin?  Same idea. And fresh water? Yep, you got it… Crocodiles. Apparently, you don’t even know if they are coming toward you. The ridges on their back make it possible to swim without making ripples in the water. . 

I am being a little dramatic. It doesn’t seem like Australia is all that scary at all. I suppose I will give you an update on the 6 foot lizards that hang out in campsites.

The crux of it? The place and people we landed with couldn’t be more perfect. We’ve had fun eating meals together, playing karaoke (on the Playstation), sitting by a bon fire roasting marshmellows, drinking wine. We even had the chance to see Hunter play in a soccer game on Saturday. He’s really good!  All and all, it couldn’t be better. 

We’ve also had the opportunity to get some work done (I know, bleh!) this week, since we’ve had wi-fi. It’s been great to get so much done. I’ve been working on the freebie site, and meanwhile Justin’s been working on a really cool program that makes calling finding a good time to call one another during a workday much easier.  Yes, we’re a little too glued to our laptops.