Holes, Hills and Hamster Balls: The Great Ocean Roadtrip Part 3!

photo by: rkimpeljr

by Alex in Australia, In Transit

Have you ever been pushed down a hill in a giant hamster ball? No?

Have you ever wanted to? Don't lie, yes you have.

Then I would like you introduce you to the most childishly awesome extreme sport in the world: Zorbing.

Zorbing is what you get when you ask a room full of 8 year old boys to design a sport for you. You get driven up to the top of a steep hill with a bumpy 'track' carved into it, strapped into a giant inflatable ball, and given a rather sturdy kick by the operator. While there are a handful of companies in Australia who do this, there's only one who operate in Victoria - and wouldn't you know, they just so happened to be on our way back home!

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Wisdom before Beauty: Thoughts from a Zoo

by Tasha in Wisdom before Beauty

“Because the history of evolution is that life escapes all barriers. Life breaks free. Life expands to new territories. Painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But life finds a way.” 

                                                                           - Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park 

Changes

by Tasha in Pre-trip

So, we had an apartment...

The Great Ocean Roadtrip! Part Deux

Still not 12 of them!

by Alex in Australia, In Transit

As much as I love setting out on a road trip at the crack of dawn, sooner or later the early start catches up with you. And if, like Tash, you only managed to get about 3 hours of sleep the night before, "sooner" can come pretty quickly. We walked back into the carpark of the 12 Apostles, Tash's eyelids started drooping, her words slowly transforming into low mumbles, and suddenly standing upright seemed a lot more optional than most of us would consider it. This posed a bit of a problem, because it was supposed to be Tash's turn to drive. Of course, being the loving, caring, dedicated husband that I am, I offered to take over driving duties for a few hours so she could nap in the passenger's seat. Tash was completely okay with that. At least I assume she was. When a question is answered with a quiet snore and an inaudible mumble, you sort of have to read between the lines.

At first, everything was great. The sun was shining, I was wide awake, and there's nothing more adorable than hearing a sleeping person try to sing along with music they can only half-consciously hear. We made great time heading away from the Apostles, passing through small, dot-on-the-map towns without any kind of trouble. I was appreciating the chance to spend some time thinking, even with the music turned down so Tash could sleep. Everything was brilliant...awesome even. Unfortunately, it couldn't last.

The Great Ocean Roadtrip!

by Tasha in Australia, In Transit

Here's the thing about Tash and I - we love to road trip. Adore it. Absolutely and without qualification. There's no better freedom than to load up on snacks, blast some classic rock and cruise off into the sunrise at 100km/hour.

Unfortunately (with a relatively last-minute exception), we're not likely to have the opportunity to road trip, once we leave for Asia. We're aiming to do as little flying as possible as it is both environmentally unsustainable and expensive as hell.

Define Irony

by Tasha in Pre-trip, Epigrams and Interludes

Irony... it's a funny thing

You find yourself in a comfortable, stable life. After years of struggle you are ahead of the game, you have some debt, but also a little savings, full time jobs, a stable marriage and finally a decent apartment. Life is...or at least should be...good!

The days wear on, life becomes a merry-go-round of work, home, work, home. Your fun job becomes a chore, your cosy apartment - suffocating. Everything you once loved about your life now feels like it's holding you back.

Yeah, irony's a real hoot.