All of our checked bags were lost we discovered upon arrival in Brisbane, so we were given these tiny “essentials” kits. We were told that we’d get our bags the next day, but the word “lost” is slightly disconcerting. 

I guess we over-packed if these are the essentials.  All those things I thought I needed apparently weren’t essential! 

We got snazzy pajamas though.

 

            Our family friends who now live in Australia came to greet us.  Their names are Helen and Graham, but I mostly refer to them as Mr. and Mrs. Whyte.  They and their youngest two of their four sons lived with my grandma, Nana Myrna, for a year when they moved from New Zealand.  We are staying at their house.  One of their sons, Josiah, or “Si”, has selflessly allowed Julia, Lauren, and I to sleep in his room for the time we’re here while he sleeps in the laundry room.  His mom said that when we leave, his room will smell nice, like perfume.  His response was, “but I don’t want my room to smell like girls!!!” 

Mrs. Whyte gives us a warm welcome to Oztraaalia.  

 

Driving on the left side of the road and with the steering wheel on the right side of the car scares me a little. 

 

 

      Before my dad began driving our rental car, Mr. Whyte “comforted” my dad, saying in his New Zealand accent, “By the way, Australians are very aggressive drivers.  Not courteous at all.”

      I’m glad I’m not driving here! Everything is backwards. Slow traffic is on the left and cars pass on the right.  All the exits are on the left. I’ve taken lots of pictures of the concerning road situation.

 

  It is concerning not only because it feels different to me at the moment, but also because I’m a little worried about when I come back to Washington and have to get used to

the right side of the road again. It seems that everything is backwards in the southern hemisphere, so it makes me want to start wearing my clothes backwards, or maybe even upside down, just for the occasion.  This is so weird.

 

Sister love: Lauren found it entertaining to swing her used sock in my face on the car ride from the Brisbane airport :P Such a Lauren thing to do.

            A few C10s said before I left, “You know they send people to Australia to die.  That’s why it was for criminals as a penal colony.” The places I’ve been in Australia so far are like a combination of some of my favorite places: Woodinville, Hawaii, Costa Rica, and California.  Hard to believe a place with such a humid, warm, and breezy climate like in Queensland and Brisbane could harbor such dangerous creatures!
           Even though it is almost summer here, Mr. and Mrs. Whyte have decorated their home with Christmas trees, Santa Claus, and other winter-looking decorations.

We removed the sunglasses to reveal…creepy Santa Claus.

 

          Mr. and Mrs. Whyte have a very environmental-friendly home. They have solar panels and they get some of their water from rain that they collect in a tank and use to flush their toilets.

The fruit here is some of the best I’ve ever had.  Mrs. Whyte is also an amazing cook.

            Mr. and Mrs. Whyte took us to a rainforest hike where there was a bat and glowworm cave.  We heard some bats squeaking, but only saw one glowworm. 
Here are some of the rainforest pictures I took: