I dove into the source, and found the <video> tag, and the source file, an HTTP Streaming .m3u8 playlist file. I downloaded the sl_mvp.m3u8 file it an opened it in TextEdit. Inside were the links to the various quality program stream playlists:

#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:PROGRAM-ID=1, BANDWIDTH=1308077

http://qthttp.apple.com.edgesuite.net/11ajdjnvkjnd10weoihf23ohfoihqw/2540/prog_index.m3u8

I figured the higher the bandwidth, the higher the quality, so I went with the highest. I then downloaded the prog_index.m3u8 file, which contained a sequential list of the transport stream chunks of the video. Each segment was about 10 seconds long. this file contained two important pieces of information: The base file name (fileSequenceXXX.ts), and the total number of chunks (486) for this stream. I figured this would be a perfect use for OS X’s built in curl utility and fired up the Terminal. I made a new folder for my video chunks, cd’d into it, and ran curl:

curl -O http://qthttp.apple.com.edgesuite.net/11ajdjnvkjnd10weoihf23ohfoihqw/2540/fileSequence[0-486].ts

hitting return went about downloading all 487 chunks. When all 1.6GB were done, I had to merge them together. Because these are transport streams, cat works well enough:

cat * > ~/output.ts

That command makes a file called output.ts in my home folder by merging all the small chunks in the folder together (I did use Automator to rename the files to three digit numbers just in case my shell’s file ordering was different than the Finder).

QuickTime X has no problem playing back this H264 video, AAC audio transport stream file directly, which is great: Mission accomplished. But being the perfectionist I am, I felt the need to try and maximize compatibility and get the .ts into a .mov or .mp4 container. VLC did this for me no problem using its wonderful export wizard, but for whatever reason when I played back the resultant .mov (or .mp4) in QuickTime I got black video. VLC played it fine. I’ll look into this more later, but here’s to hoping this info can help someone else!

Sorry Mom(s). Ben and I shared that sentiment after landing from a 60 second long free-fall from 15,000 feet high above the mountains and Lake Wanaka on the south island of New Zealand. It was a once in a lifetime experience, and boy oh boy was it epic. And yes, I made Ben do it. In his words:

Adam made me do it. Never ever did I think I would jump out of an airplane. Guess thats why I’m traveling with one of the biggest risk takers I know! What an epic experience- a 15,000 ft free fall through a raw canvas of unimaginable scenery with snow capped mountains and glaciers everywhere. Wow.

Well, what are you waiting for? Check out those videos and pictures!

Ben:

Adam:

You can download higher-quality versions here if you want: Ben, Adam.

Adam and I have been discussing some wild things, so stay tuned. And don’t worry Moms, we’ll be sure to keep safe. Love everyone back home!!

Once we got back to the car in Brisbane we spent a few minutes doing research and deciding where we wanted to stay that night. I found Lamington National Park in Queensland. It was a bit further inland but had camping, so we decided we would head that way and check it out.

As we pressed on, the road quickly turned to one of the most fun single lane (two direction!) roads I’ve ever driven on. While it was (mostly) paved, there was abundant livestock freely roaming on the road, so be careful if you ever make the drive!

Cows in the Road

After a long drive up a mountain through a dense rainforest, we arrived at the Green Mountains campground. We pitched our tent and called it a night, just around midnight. The next morning we drove up the road to the welcome center and asked about what we should do given a limited time schedule. The tree walk and botanical gardens, as well as a short hiking loop to the waterfalls, were recommended.

Lamington Campsite

The treetop walk was incredibly cool. A wooden boardwalk took you up into the rainforest, literally up to the tops of the trees (There were suspension bridges, ladders, and platforms!). The sounds, trees and rainforest plant life was fascinating, and the birds were gorgeous (Except for the wild turkeys, which were so abundant it almost got annoying!)

Luke on a Suspended Walkway on the Treetop Walk

Ladder Up to Observatory Deck on Treetop Walk

Treetop Deck Heights

Treetop View

Botanical Gardens

We stopped in the café to get a quick bite to eat before heading out on our second walk. Luke got a sandwich. He was eating it as we walked back to the car, and just as he was about to get in he got attacked by a flock of colorful birds that stole the remaining portion right out of his hands! Thugs! (See some video of the birds after the break!)

We drove down the road to the trailhead and set out on the short hike to the top of the falls. We were treated to more gorgeous rainforest trees and wildlife, and got to see a magnificent waterfall with an expansive view out to the surrounding mountains.

Luke sitting in a large Black Booyong Tree

Waterfall!

View from the hike

I decided that for the drive home we were going to do an inland route, to essentially complete a large oval loop back to Sydney. After some research, I found “The Junction” campground in Nymboi-Binderay National Park that sounded nice, with a river to swim in and reasonable park fees. We put an approximate location in our GPS since the directions, “Off Black Mountain Road,” weren’t very helpful, and set out on our way.

Along the way we drove through spectacular country and farmland. It really is a part of Australia that I didn’t even know existed. I’ve heard about the beaches, and I’ve heard about the Outback, but this country land (Along with the rainforest land we just left!), is so close to all that, and is equally as impressive.

Kangaroo and Koala Road Sign

Country on the Way South

Onward we go!

Rest Area in the Border Ranges National Park

Road Hazards...

As the night dawned, we came into the Kangaroo State Forest. The paved road we were on disappeared and turned into a dirt road, which very quickly turned into a rutted out, rock-filled logging road. We pressed on, hoping our destination wasn’t too far. After all, it was night time and we were in a car with about 3 inches of ground clearance and 2 wheel drive. After about an hour of very slow going, the road was getting even gnarlier, with steeper hills and deeper ruts. We came to a a few low spots filled with water. A bit nervous as to whether or not the car would make it, I had Luke get out and check the depth. At it’s deepest it was probably only about 15cm, but because the mud under it was soft and because the car’s exhaust now faced forward since we lost the rear muffler I was a bit worried we’d either bottom out or fill the exhaust up with water and stall. After carefully choosing a route, we went for it (See the video of the car’s trials and tribulations after the break!). Happily, it made it through just fine and we were back on our way! (We came to a couple of these along the way).

Onto the logging roads we go!

After several hours without seeing so much as a road sign, we finally came into the Nimboy-Binderay National Park and saw a sign indicating Black Mountain Road. The dirt road in the park was a little bit better than the logging road in the forest, but not by much. Eventually we came to a sign for the campground, and followed a much rougher road a few more kilometers in. At this point we saw another sign. This sign was the one that got us in trouble. It read “4WD vehicles only, very steep descent car park” and had a single arrow pointing to the left. Perhaps we were just tired, and perhaps we were just being overly optimistic and reading what we wanted to see, but the hill up to the car park to the left looked pretty steep and besides, we wanted to go to the campground, not the car park! I thought that the sign had meant that the car park, to the left, had a very steep descent and was for 4WD vehicles only. Unfortunately, what it actually meant was the track ahead had a very steep descent and was for 4WD vehicles only. Yeah, we went straight.

As soon as we got over the first ridge I realized our error, but at that point it was too late. The track wasn’t wide enough to 3 point turn (or even a… 10 point turn), and we tried in vain to back the car up the slope. After a few attempts we resigned to the fact that we were pretty thoroughly screwed and continued the descent down to the campground. And boy oh boy was it a hell of a descent. It seemed like it’d never end, with every crest bringing forth a steeper and steeper hill. If you hit the crests head on the car would bottom out, so I had to hit them at an angle and then quickly straighten out before driving off the edge of the trail. After the longest hour in the world, we finally came down into a nice parking lot for the (completely empty) campground.

The campground itself was actually really nice, and well maintained and was set along the banks of a river. I paid our park fees, and we set up the tent. Luke made some beans for me for dinner, but I didn’t have much of an appetite and was actually a bit sad that the Mondeo may be at its final resting place at the bottom of this ridiculous 4WD trail.

Luke Making Dinner

In the morning we did some exploring around the campsite while I set out on the task of finding phone reception so we could call someone to help us get out.

River at the The Junction Campground

Stairs down to the Campground

Luke Across the River

I found a really weak signal downstream on the river, but the best reception was up in the car park at the top of the trail. I decided that the only way the car was going to make it out in decent shape was if we got someone to help us tow it out. I called the Ranger’s office, who informed me they couldn’t really help us, and besides had nobody in the area; that everyone was out fighting fires. They gave me the number for a private search and rescue group, which didn’t answer their phone when I called back. After a while we decided we’d have a go at making it out on our own, and packed up the car to head out. We walked the entire track, clearing big rocks along the way. At the top of the ascent we called the rangers one more time and were put on hold. Then my phone battery died. We went back down to the car and I put the phone on the car charger. I told Luke to stay well clear of the car, especially on the turns, and to not tell me to stop unless the car was on fire. I knew I really was only going to have one shot at this.

The sign that started it all...

I flew up the first hill and into the first turn, skidding the back tires out on loose rocks as I shot upward in first gear. The second turn was even steeper, but I managed to keep enough momentum up to make it up the next hill. I shot over the crests at 45 degree angles and landed on the upslopes, being careful to avoid big rocks and ruts. I was incredibly surprised at how well the car was doing. About half of the way up the track, I came to the steepest hill yet. It also happened to be covered in loose gravel and rocks and I was quickly loosing speed. I nearly made it to the top, coming about 5 meters short. After trying (and failing) to do a stand still hill start, I backed the car down about half a kilometer to a flatter section and decided to get a bit more speed up. I really got the car going this time, making it into second gear. This attempt brought me within 2 meters of the crest of the hill, but unfortunately still didn’t get us over. I stopped the car, left it in gear, and set the emergency brake. Luke gathered some big rocks and set them behind the tires for wheel chocks.

We hiked back up to the top and called the Rangers back. This time we got a bit of good news. The dispatcher had been in contact with the head Ranger on duty, and informed us that the Ranger wanted to talk to us. After we got patched through, the Ranger gave us some advice on things to try to get up the hill (which we’d already tried), and told us that he would be on his way soon. He was stationed in Grafton, which he told us was about an hour and a half out from our location. We hiked back down to the car and got out the cooking supplies to cook some pasta and meat sauce for lunch, being sure to make some extra for the Ranger.

Cooking While We Wait for the Ranger

The Ranger arrived just about when he said he would. He was incredibly nice, and was very appreciative that we had actually tried to get out. He did say to us that had we been locals he would have just told us to call our mates for help, but because we weren’t from around here he was willing to help. We got out a tow strap, hooked it up to his Ford Ranger, and started a slow assisted ascent to the top of the track.

Once we got to the top, we asked the ranger on the best way to get out of the park. He told us that he could show us the way back to Grafton if we waited for him while he checked out the campsites (I guess they don’t make it this deep into the park very often!). While we waited, I checked the damage on the car. It wasn’t too bad; we had lost a few plastic underbody panels and had cracked the radiator and were loosing coolant, but besides that everything was in good shape. We checked the oil and other fluid levels, and waited for the Ranger to return.

When he got back we started to follow him out of the park. He was driving really fast, and not wanting to lose him I tried to keep up. Rocks were flying up at the bottom of the car hard and fast. Luke and I noticed a bit of a burning smell and that the engine sounded a bit different than it did before. We didn’t have any warning lights on the dashboard, and because we had lost some underbody panels I thought maybe it was just extra noise from missing some insulation. At the top of the next hill I realized I was wrong though; I downshifted and felt a lot more resistance than I should have in second gear. I immediately shifted into neutral and was about to shut the engine off when it stalled. It was too late.

I got out and peered under the car, immediately identifying the problem. There was oil everywhere, originating from a giant hole in the oil sump. We must’ve caught a rock and popped a hole in the oil sump, rather quickly draining all of our engine oil and likely seizing the engine (We most likely threw a bearing or two). Engines really don’t like to run without oil.

No more Oil...

The Ranger was long gone in front of us. We didn’t have his number, so we called dispatch and had them patch us through. We told him the bad news and he turned around to come back to us. While we waited I did a bit of quick research regarding towing services with AAA in Australia. As it turns out, they have an agreement with the NRMA here in Australia. The agreement entitled us to basic tier service, which includes a tow to the nearest service station. We called the national NRMA dispatch number, and they got in touch with a local towing company. They informed us we’d be waiting about 3 hours. When the Ranger got to us, we had him get a better location to the towing company, and he helped us push the car off the road. He left, and we were on our own waiting for the tow truck.

NIght fell rather quickly, and 3 hours turned into almost 4 and a half. By the time the tow truck got there it was nearly 7PM. The tow truck driver, Geff, was really nice, and his truck had a huge cabin. He owned the shop he was towing us to, Motortorque, and really knew cars. Both he and his son built their own cars and raced them. On the drive out of the park we saw some kangaroos and other assorted wildlife, and heard some really interesting stories.

Towing her away...

Geff was initially optimistic that he might be able to fix the car, but did say that having an aluminum sump exposed like that was a crap design and that repairing aluminum, especially aluminum that was always in contact with oil was difficult, and that finding a replacement might be our best bet. If the engine wasn’t seized, I figured before we went through the cost and expense of having the sump replaced, Luke and I could try and do a patch job on it ourselves with some aluminum plate, epoxy, sandpaper, degreaser, and few liters of fresh oil, knowing full well it’d only be a temporary fix.

Geff told us he could try cranking it over when we got to the shop and find out for sure whether the engine was seized or not. When we got the car off the truck, he tried to crank it over, only to hear the telltale clicks of a dead battery. That was probably my fault; 4 hours running the inverter to power my laptop in the car while we waited likely did the trick. He hooked up a booster battery and tried again. It didn’t turn over, not even close; you could see the car lights dim as the starter sucked all the power.

It’s a bit depressing to have made it so far, and then still not making it out with the car. Such is life though. Geff told us he could find some scrapyards in the area that might want it for scrap and hopefully get us a bit of money for the car. I checked the bus schedule and found that there was a greyhound bus leaving at 10:50PM headed to Sydney. Geff graciously offered to give us a ride to the bus terminal. We unloaded all of our stuff from the car and put it in the cab of the tow truck and headed off  into downtown Grafton.

We said bye to Geff at the Bus terminal. I sent Luke on a mission to get some trash bags and consolidate our gear so we met the baggage requirements, while I went online and bought us bus tickets. The two tickets set me back $188. I went across the street to the McDonalds to grab some late night munchies, and headed back to join Luke on the bench and wait for the bus.

Waiting for the Bus

About 20 minutes before the bus was supposed to come, an interesting gentleman drove up in a Jeep and struck up a conversation, asking where we were headed and what we were doing in Grafton. He was really nice (like seemingly everyone out here; I guess people are just nicer out in the country compared to the city!), and as it turned out he was going to be our bus driver. The other driver, who started in Brisbane, was switching with him here in Grafton for the remainer of the journey south to Sydney.

Greyhound Bus Home

The bus rolled up right on time, and we packed our gear into the cargo hold and boarded. It was surprisingly full for such a late bus, but we still managed to find empty double seats to stretch out on. We got about as comfortable as we could, and tried to get some sleep as we embarked on our ten and a half hour journey south to Sydney. We stopped twice along the way at rest stops for food, bathrooms, and getting up to stretch, and came into the outskirts of Sydney just after 9AM on Wednesday, September 1st. We got into Central Station at around 9:30AM and hailed a cab back to Sydney University Village. I was in pretty rough shape at this point, exhausted from a night of not much sleep and neck cramps on the bus, and in dire need of a shower. I had class at noon, so I cleaned up and headed out, while Luke jumped straight into bed.

Luke was flying back to the US the next day, and did laundry and packed. When I got back from class at 9PM I immediately jumped in bed and passed out. The next morning Luke and I lugged his bags out to King Street and hailed a cab to the airport.

It’s sad to have Luke gone, but I had an amazing time with him here. If you’re ever in Australia, definitely get a car or a campervan… There’s no better way to see all the amazing sights just outside the touristy metropolitan areas that everyone else goes to! Hit the ‘Read More’ link to see the videos after the break!

Videos:

Some of the gorgeous birds in Lamington National Park:

Sedan Destruction 101 (And… why you should always listen to Luke!):

First, a few quick notes: I added geo-tagging to the pictures on the blog; you should be able to click the pin in the corner of the picture to get an interactive Google Maps popup with the exact location the picture was taken. Give it a shot and let me know if it works! Also, please pardon the picture overload in this installment. I wasn’t feeling all that selective this evening …and now onto the post!

After leaving Seal Rocks we set a course up the coast towards Byron Bay. It was slow traveling as we stopped at just about every beach we passed by. After the freezing cold night in the Mondeo, we decided to stop in at a KMart and buy more proper camping supplies. For less than $70, we bought a tent, two sleeping bags and a butane stove. Not a bad deal at all!

Boomerang Beach

As night fell we passed by a forest fire right on the side of the highway. As we continued driving, we saw large plumes of smoke rising from farmland. Last I checked the fire danger was supposedly low, so we figured most of the fires were set intentionally. Regardless, we went to investigate and took a detour onto a side road that went through some farmland. Interestingly, mere minutes after we started watching one fire it went out, almost instantaneously. Another fire on a different section of land started up shortly after. Seeing the night sky ablaze is a pretty wild sight (Check out the short video clip after the break!).

We stopped for gas and did a bit of research on where we should stay that night. I came across a campground on the Beach in Bundjalung National Park, just a few miles south of where we were. We headed out, turning off of the highway onto dirt roads into the park. After 15km or so driving into the bush we came to the Black Rocks campground, setup our campsite, cooked some steak, potatoes, and baked beans for dinner and called it a night.

In the morning we cooked some breakfast and went out on the beach to explore. We didn’t know it at the time, but apparently this section of beach and ocean was used as recently as 3 months ago for live bombing exercises for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). (There’s an article on its decommissioning here). This might help explain some of the most interesting beach terrain I’ve ever come across; it was truly fascinating! Along the beach were really soft “rocks” that had been eroded away by sea water. They were super easy to carve into, even with just a finger, stick or rock, and we added our impression to the vast array of scrawlings along the beach.

Black Rocks Campground

Bundjalung National Park Beach

Bundjalung National Park Beach

Me on Bundjalung National Park Beach

Adam and Luke in OZ at Bundjalung National Park Beach

Bundjalung National Park Beach

After we finished exploring again, we hit the road up to Byron Bay. Byron Bay is a lot like what Boulder, Colorado would be if it was on the ocean. It was full of hippies and tourists. Fun I suppose, but a far cry from some of the gorgeous beaches we had been experiencing on our journey north. After spending an hour body boarding and tanning on the main beach at byron bay we went off to do a bit more exploring.

We drove down the road a bit into the Headland Reserve at Byron Cape, the Eastern-Most point in Australia. The beach and terrain here was far more impressive than Byron Bay, and we actually got to see a pack of wild bottlenose dolphins swimming in the Bay! It was a pretty amazing sight!

Cape Byron Headland Reserve Sign

Cape Byron

Dolphins at Cape Byron

Cape Byron

Cape Byron

We made an executive decision to make it up into Queensland, to Surfer’s Paradise and Brisbane, and continued our journey up the coast (stopping to bodyboard and sightsee along the way).

Shoes as Public Art by Cabarita Beach in Tweed Shire

Shoe on the Fence

Booti Booti Beach

"Nothing of Significance Happened Here"

Sunset driving to Surfer's Paradise

We arrived in Surfer’s Paradise just as it was getting dark. I’m really not sure who gave it the name, because the beaches and waves were nothing spectacular (Certainly less impressive than the other beaches we’d visited), but Surfer’s Paradise was an interesting city in its own right. It felt a whole lot like Miami Beach, with a pinch of vegas thrown in for good measure… with surf shops everywhere. It was very built up, and very touristy, but definitely worth the visit. Perhaps as if to fit right in with the Surfer’s Paradise culture, we decided to eat dinner at McDonalds (“Maccers” to the Australian natives), a first for this trip. There was a rumor (which we pretty soundly disproved) that the McDonalds burgers in Australia tasted different, even better than the ones in the US. Perhaps their “Angus” burgers, but their standard fare tasted pretty much the same. And a note to anyone visiting McDonalds in OZ: You have to ask for ketchup (tomato sauce to most here..), and they’ll only give you 2 packets unless you ask for more! At least McDonalds has Heinz

Luke on the Beach at Surfer's Paradise

Construction in front of Surfer's Paradise Entrance

Surfer's Paradise Pedestrian Mall Entrance

Condom Kingdom at Surfer's Paradise...

McDonalds: Australia's Favorite Fries!

We left Surfer’s Paradise and headed up further north to Brisbane, mostly because we wanted to be able to say we made it there. We got there pretty late (~8PM), and because it was a Sunday most of the shops had already shut down. There were a few 24 hour shops and restaurants in the pedestrian mall and a few clubs open late. After a few hours in the City snapping some pictures and checking out the sights, we headed back to the car to begin the return journey back to Sydney.

Casino in Brisbane

Luke with statues in Brisbane

Queensland!

Metal Balls in Brisbane

Kangaroo Art in Brisbane

24 Hour Restaurants in the Pedestrian Mall in Brisbane

Luke outside the Telstra building in Brisbane

Me in front of the Story Bridge in Brisbane

Little did we know our adventures were just beginning. More to come in the third, and final, installment tomorrow!

This is Luke, coming straight out of Oz. Thats Australia for all you foreigners. I have been in Australia for about two weeks now, and oh what a two weeks it has been. I’m here visiting my brother, Adam, seeing how life abroad is and what his days are made of.

He lives a pretty tough life. He’s finishing up that computer science major and for that he’s taking… ceramics, photography, web production, and the philosophy of happiness. Pretty tough schedule  if you ask me. Especially because he has classes all of three days a week. Hey, but who’s complaining. I’m surely not. Fewer classes=More time for adventures.

And the adventures haven’t stopped.  Lets start in Sydney: Opera House, jet boat roads, sight seeing, amazing city beaches, clubs, pottery, driving on the wrong side of the road.

Sydney is a combination of Vancouver, Barcelona, and what I imagine San Francisco looks likes. Amazing views, night life, architecture. All connected by steep city streets, parks, dense coastal communities, and beaches.

The opera house is everything its made out to be. An architectural icon in the middle of sydney harbor. It looks great from the water too. Using my newly developed sales and negotiation skills I managed to negotiate our way onto a $120 dollar jet boat tour of the harbor for forty bucks. Besides the opera house, the sights haven’t stopped. Adam and I found ourselves cruising through open urban markets, where we happened across some of the best sandwiches this side of the equator. So good in fact, Adam even eat one. (Ed: I did? Oh right, the steak ‘sandwich’.. more of a piece of steak in a yummy bread roll…)

Speaking of firsts; Sydney has been full of them. The first time I body boarded a perfectly smooth, left handed, double over head wave happened right in the heart of Sydney. Thats’s right, twelve foot tall waves, and many of them. Sydney is host to the most beautiful beaches in the world. Right in the city. Besides the occasional surfer who reminds me I have no idea what Im doing, Sydney beaches have been the highlight. They are amazing. Perfectly white sand, an intense cliff and urban environment, and crystal clear seventy degree water. Did I mention its the dead of winter? People think I’m crazy to go swimming with out a wet suit. I’m quick to remind them they did not grow up swimming in Seabrook, NH.

The one great perk of having an awesome brother is his awesome car. His awesome car, which may I mention is very Dodge Neon-ish (RIP), rides like a dream. 1995 Ford Mondeo. The Mondeo has taken us over roads that the most serious Utes (SUV for Austrailians) wouldn’t dare look at.

The Mondeo brought Adam and me north of Sydney on an epic road trip. As I write this we are half way into it. The first part of the trip brought us to Seal Rocks, a series of beaches surrounded by cliffs and lush green forests. (Ed: The lighthouse looked like a UFO circling the night sky.. Without any light pollution, the stars were more vibrant than I’ve ever seen before!) We camped out in the car our first night at Seal Rocks, making use of a vacant lot that overlooked an incredible bay with an incredible beach. That night we set up our kitchen on the beach, made a fire, and made a quick dinner of spaghetti and tomato sauce.

After dinner we put the fire out and made our way to our five star accommodations. Just as we were getting settled in we heard a frightening, loud screech and then crash. The telltale sign of a car crash, a bad one. We made double time to the scene. Or where we thought it was. I saw the crash from our camp site. It occurred across the bay on the steep and windy roads that brought us to seal beach but as we approached were I saw the car leave the road there was nothing. Upon closer inspection we could make out two dark skid marks leading directly off a cliff. I jumped out and ran to the edge and low and behold there was a car. About two hundred feet down the cliff, rolled up onto its side. It would have rolled all the way to the beach except for the two precisely placed trees that held it into place. I quarter ran, three quarter fell to the car below me, expecting the worst. All the while Adam was on his iPhone calling the crash in to the fuzz (000 here in OZ). Thank god he had an iPhone because I had no idea where we were. Right as I got to the car a guy popped open the driver door  and climbed out. Following him was four other surfer dudes. They exclaimed they were ok, grabbed a surfboard and a guitar, a case of beer and walked off. All five of them. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Here was easily the worst car accident I have ever seen and before I could even blink the five people in the car are up the cliff side and gone into the night. It was something out of a movie. Five guys, a case of beer, a guitar, a surfboard, and a completely totaled car. I tried to explain to them that the police were coming but they weren’t having any of it. In true aussie fashion they disappeared into the night leaving my brother and me to wait for the police.

The police came from a station 40 minutes away. After a brief chat with the officer , who seemed equally as unconcerned as the surfer bros, my brother and I called it a night and tried to sleep in the freezing Mondeo.

Morning and the sun couldn’t come quick enough. When they did we found ourselves in a paradise, really only explainable with pictures. It was the first time we had seen the area in full daylight. If you’re ever in Sydney, make the trip to Seal Rocks.

The night brought a very large and rambunctious swell to the beaches. They were big and powerful, doing a good job showing me who was boss. After two rides on my body board in those waves I dried off with the white towel. (Ed: We didn’t have a white towel…)

On our ride out of Seal Rocks, on one of the many dirt roads that brought us there, our muffler fell off. The whole kit and kabootle. Luckily there are two, so we jimmied the busted one from under the car, threw it in the trunk and headed on our way.

Ed: As it turned out, our adventures had just been getting started at this point… more to come tomorrow!

I mentioned in my previous post I might be buying a car here in Australia. Well, I did it! I am the proud owner of a white 1995 Ford Mondeo with a manual transmission, and just under 190,000 km on the odometer. It’s got new tires (tyres?) A/C, manual windows, manual seats, power locks, grey cloth seats, and a tape player! Aside from a few issues with an intermittently high idle and being a bit cranky to start when its cold it actually runs pretty darn well.

Since picking up the car late thursday night and getting my first taste of driving on the left side of the road from the right side of the car, I’ve been doing quite well. Most of my journeys so far have been to various beaches, with a 40 minute trip down the motorway to get the car back to the city, and a trip to the airport to pick up Luke interspersed in there too.

More on the (awesome) waves and beaches later, I promise! In terms of getting used to driving on the other side of the road, I’m pretty comfortable now after only a couple of days. The first few times out were a bit nervewracking, but after getting used to it its really not much different than driving at home. Shifting with my left took some getting used to, as did staying in my lane (Being on the right side of the car gave me a tendency to drift a bit further left than I should be… I’ve gotten much better at this though!). Some things to remember if you ever find yourself driving here: No left turns at red lights unless its explicitly stated, and no u-turns at traffic lights (though I’ve still seen people doing it!). Also, in the city the leftmost lane tends to get filled up with parked cars, so be wary if traveling there that you might have to quickly move over!

I’ve been using my iPhone loaded up with TomTom Australia as a navigation tool. It seems to do pretty well at getting me where I want to go, and has a handy warning indicator for speed cams, red light cams, and whenever I’m exceeding the speed limit by a good amount. It also lets me choose routes without tolls, which is nice too.

I went down to the RTA on Friday and got the registration formally transferred to my name (as required by law, within 14 days of purchase). As far as I know, this makes the Mondeo the first car ever legally owned free and clear by me! While I was at the RTA I also picked up a Toll transponder, which I figured might come in handy.

Working on planning out road trips now, I’m excited! Having a car gives me lot of flexibility as to where I go and what I see… Since getting it I’ve already seen a ton of things I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Lets hope the trend continues, and let the adventures continue!

Somebody must love me. As you can see, none of my classes meet on monday, so that leaves monday effectively blocked out. Blocking out the time when photography meets on friday blocks out all of friday, and blocking out the time ceramics meets on tuesday blocks out all of tuesday. Viola! 5 day weekend! This is the resulting (official) timetable for my classes:

So Wednesday, my schedule looks like this:

Philosophy of Happiness (Lecture) 12:00PM – 2:00PM
Photography (Studio) 2:00PM – 5:00PM
Ceramics (Studio) 5:30PM – 8:30PM

And on Thusrday, like this:

Digital Arts (Lecture) 10:00AM – 12:00PM
Digital Arts (Tutorial) 12:00PM – 1:00PM
Philosophy of Happiness (Tutorial) 3:00PM -4:00PM

And I get the rest of the week off! I could possibly be the luckiest guy in the world. I’m in Australia taking four great classes (Photography, Ceramics, Digital Art, and The Philosophy of Happiness) for my last semester of school possibly ever, and I get a 5 day weekend! The possibilities for travel are now wide open; here’s to hoping I can get a flexible job that gets me some travel/spending money and lets me take off time to travel

The majority of the AC outlets I have come across on planes are EmPower brand single receptacles that accept a variety of plugs and output 110V AC power at 60Hz. They accept North American grounded and ungrounded plugs, Australia and New Zealand grounded and ungrounded plugs, and European ungrounded plugs (CEE 7/16). You can see all those plug types in the specifications sheet here if you’re interested. Power is only available once the plug has been inserted all the way, and is generally not available during taxi/takeoff.

Seatguru.com has been my goto site for determining what planes have what features before I fly (as well as for identifying any seats that are less than ideal). You should check it out to see the location and availability of power on your plane before you fly. Most commonly the outlets are underneath the seat, right in between two seats. To find them, reach down under the armrest and feel for a small square box. It’s pretty easy to identify by feel. It is right next to the life jacket pouch, as you can see in the photo above, so be careful where you’re tugging! Enjoy, and happy flying!