Hi crew!

So this weekend i was going to go to Melbourne, but my plans fell through; which actually I'm glad they did because the new Melbourne trip i am planning includes PENGUINS and everyone knows my obsession with happy feet! Well instead my roommate toby, my friend harry, my friend matt, my friend lauren and i decided to go camping. Australia recently was introduced to the hero we all know as bear grills. So the boys were very motivated to go hiking, bear grills style, and lauren and i decided to come along for the ride. We decided to drive down to Canberra, the capital of Australia, because that is where Harry and Matt are from. On the drive there (about 2.5 hours) we played silly games and took naps. We also drove through the capital of Canberra. I am not too politically motivated so just seeing the landmarks from a car window was aokay with me. By the time we got down to Canberra and got organized and ready it was about 7 at night. Most of you are thinking, well did they stay in the house and camp the next day when it was light out? Well the answer is no way!We started to drive to the bush and begin our adventure.

However, we got lost trying to find the area we wanted to go to. 2 hours later we found it. We had a couple of minor speed bump:

1. It was raining. 2. It was dark. 3. We didn't really have enough gas in the car to get us BACK to Canberra. 4. There was no path. 5. It was very very dark 6. Of the three cellphones in possession: two were out of battery and one was dropped in a puddle and water logged.

Did that stop us from hiking? Obviously not. Again, probably not one of my better decisions, but at the time it didn't seem so stupid but more adventurous. We all pilled out of the car and held flashlights. No path, we just started walking up and down these hills, holding flashlights, on no path, in the rain. Soon, like an hour or 2 later, we realized we had no real idea which way the rocks where we were looking for (or which direction the car was), so instead we instead decided to set up camp. Also we decided having a tent is not "roughing" it enough. We brought, instead, two tarps. One tarp we tied to the trees and the other we put on the ground. After making our nice shelter (bear grills would be so proud) we started a fire, in the rain. Luckily, all those years of girl scouting really paid off, and i definitely help set it up. Also because i am my mothers child, i brought toilet paper camping with me,because leaves are not my forte, if you get my drift. WELL that toilet paper we a hugeeee help in starting the fire since the majority of the wood we found was wet. The fire was definitely a moral booster and we started to get dry and happy. Food was the next big step. We had a metal pot and bought sausages and beans. We made sausage and beans. It was the best sausage and beans of my life. Not only were we ALL starving, but making your own food over a fire you built is extremely rewarding. So tasting it after all the hard work was definitely pleasing. Really, not to brag but it was REALLY good. Believe it or not, that took a while and by the time dinner was over everyone was pretty pooped. We all cuddled together for warmth under our tarp and not before long we realized it was the morning. When we did wake up we surveyed our area... now remember we had not seen this other than with the light of our flashlights. First we realized it POURED through out the night. We pretty much all slept in puddles. You can see that under the picture website. Next, and most importantly, we made another fire, more difficult this time with absolutely soaking wood, but thanks to some flammable bug spray we got it up and going , and ate a breakfast of champions (muffins wrapped in aluminum foil and thrown in the fire so they were all warm). The boys were at a total disadvantage, because UNLIKE me they packed their change of clothes directly into their backpack. As my mother's child, i packed my change of clothes in plastic bags, so when it rained and soaked through my back pack, my clothes stayed dry. i was the only one with warm clothes. After getting warm and eating we hiked up the biggest hill we could see and toby climbed a tree to survey our area. We realized we were um, 20 minutes not even from the car. which was funny, because it took us at least two hours to get there, so we must have just been hiking in circles in the dark. Then we packed up the site, hiked a little more and made our way back to Canberra. then made our way back to Wollongong. pretty fun little weekend i must say!

This weekend coming up I'll be heading to the blue mountains, so make sure you check back next week too!laterrrr mates! :)

love to the united states and back -nikki

HERE is a link to the picture website! : http://picasaweb.google.com.au/NBollerman

The camping pictures won't go up for another hour (from the time I immediately posted this) until I get back to my room