Video: Sydney

I finally got a chance to fly down to Sydney and do some sight seeing. Although I was only there for the day I got a chance to see all of the things on my list: Darling Harbour, Sydney Opera House, Bondi Beach and Harbour Bridge. We also got a chance to see Sydney from the top of the city! Check out my video after the jump!

Video: Moreton Island

Justin, Brydne and I took a day trip to Moreton Island, one of the largest sand dune islands in the world! We got a chance to drive around the north half of the island. During our time there we saw tea tree creeks running from the centre of the island and into the ocean. They looked like something created by BP, but it was all natural oil and quite good for your skin apparently.

We also spent some time snorkelling around shipwrecks on the island; it was an amazing experience swimming with all the fish! Check out my video after the jump to see everything we did!

Video: Mountains to Mangroves

What do most people do after a 13hr flight from LA to Brisbane?

Most would want to relax and probably stretch their legs. Unfortunately that wasn’t an option for a friend of Justin. We picked her up from the airport then drove up a mountain, nothing like trading a seat on a plane for a seat in a rental car!

Byron Bay

Today we rented a car and took a short drive down the coast to the most eastern point on the Australian mainland. Hit the jump to read more!

Gold Coast 600

Well almost a month after the race I’m finally posting pictures and some video from the Armor All Gold Coast 600 that took place in Surfers Paradise on Oct 23-24th. Hit the jump to read all about it!

Video: Noosa National Park

I’ve finally put together a video from our day at Noosa National Park. Three of us had cameras that day so there was a lot to go through. Hit the jump to watch it!

Spring Break

Here is another first for me, spring break in September. Yes, for those of you who didn’t know it’s spring here!  What would spring break be without a weekend road trip with your friends? Four of us rented a car and drove up north for a weekend in Noosa Heads. Click the link below for more!

Reptiles!

A reptile wrangler stopped by the village today and gave everyone a chance to see some snakes, frogs, lizards and a croc!

Hit the jump below for pics and a video!

-Cory

Stadium Drift

There were a few weekends this past winter that I could hear the faint roar of engines bouncing off of rev limiters and the scream of shredding tires. At first I thought maybe the sound was coming from a movie playing in one of my roommate’s rooms. Fortunately, I was wrong.

Australian Shooting Academy

As you can see in the picture above, Lindsay and I went shootin’. Tucked inside the upper level of a mall in Surfers, someone allowed me to fire a gun… scary huh?

Hit the jump to read more!

Currumbin Surf Club

After a long day of touring and zip lining at the sanctuary, we decided to walk down to the beach to have dinner on the ocean.  A classmate recommended we try the local surf club, he promised me it had an amazing view. He wasn’t lying, thanks Jeff!

Hit the jump below to read more!

Green Challenge at CWS

During our day at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Lindsay and I took part in the "Green Challenge". The challenge is a series of zip lines, cable climbs and rope swings that take you through the rainforest canopy in the sanctuary. Hit the jump below to see some pictures and a short video!

- Cory

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

Last week Lindsay and I made a trip down to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary to see what it had to offer. I haven’t been to a zoo since the 3^rd grade so I didn’t really have any expectations for the day, but it turned out to be an amazing experience.

Snapper Rocks

Today we took a trip a half-hour south of Southport to Snapper Rocks. The break at the point happens to be the most popular surf spot in Australia. We were there only for the afternoon but I got a chance to walk around and take some pictures at the beach. Check out the album and video after the jump!

- Cory

Canada Day Down Unda

Canada Day in Australia! Click below to read the story and see the pictures!

- Cory

The Small Things

What do I miss the most from home? Click below to find out!

- Cory

I know, it's been a while...

Hey all,

The last month has been a bit busy for me and the guys. Mid terms are over now, and we've started on some papers and projects. Since i've been studying my life away I haven't had a chance to do anything interesting, therefore haven't added anything to the blog.

I didn't do anything worth taking pictures of this month so I hope you've enjoyed the picture of my text books. I've had the chance to get to know them quite well over the last few weeks!

Hang in there, winter break is quickly approaching and I've got some travel ideas!

Stay tuned!

Cory

School is out for easter this week so Justin and I decided to take a last minute journey up to Brisbane. Our orignal reason to go was to have a couple of beers but ended up doing some exploring as well. We took a train up the coast, which took us an hour and only cost us $3. Once we arrived at the Roma street station we wandered around looking at everything and anything. We crossed the river 3 times and saw everything from a $15 basket of fries to a bottle opener made from a real Kangaroo paw! We took a late train home from South Brisbane and stopped in Helensvale before heading home. Click here to see the pics!

Cory

Team Island Tall Ships Pics!

Click here to see pics from our adventure!

Team Island Tall Ships

Last weekend I got an early birthday surprise from my family and friends, a party cruise! Pics will be up in the next couple of days, but for now enjoy a quick video!




Cory

Pics from Surfers

Click the link below to view my album from the beach!



Surfers Paradise 2010

Surfers Paradise

Took my camera to the beach this morning, enjoy!

Cory

So I found a Spider in my room....

Well I guess the guy who picked us up from the airport was right, you will see a big spider in your bedroom at least once. This guy decided to make his web on the front of my wardrobe, so when I got up to grab something from my shelf I just about had a hand full of whatever type of spider this is.....

Cory

Griffith Uni

Here is an album of pictures I took this morning on campus, just thought I'd show everyone what a University looks like in Paradise!

Click the link below and enjoy!

Griffith Gold Coast

Cory

Roo Kebabs

Saw these last time I was out looking for steak, and couldn't resist trying them! They cooked and tasted just like beef kebabs but a bit more chewy...

Our Place!

Wanna see where I live?

Cory

Pics from Australia!

Here are some shots from my time down unda so far, click the link below!

Australia 2010

Cory

Pics from Dubai!

I've finally found a site (and some time) to post the pics from our trip to Dubai. Enjoy!



Click the link below to see them all!

Dubai 2010

Cory

Our Dubai trip in 5 minutes!

I've finally put together a short movie of what we did in Dubai.

The Beach!

Just thought I would share some photos from Surfers Paradise!

The Tallest!

Guy playin a Do in Surfers!

Back in Business!

This last week has been a crazy one! We landed on Saturday morning at 6:30 and got to our hotel at around 9. We lasted until about 2pm and slept till 8am the following day. No sense of jet lag after that! We had set up temporary accommodation for our first 3 nights, in hopes of finding an apartment with in the first few days of landing. Exactly 7 days and a ton of searching later I am typing this while I sit in my new home.

Our hotel had 2 other international students staying there as well, one Norwegian and an American. We all hit it off and traveled all over the gold coast searching for places to live, setting up bank accounts and our "mobile" phones. In our search we found some great "flats" but were in crappy locations, and found some flats in great locations with places that were pretty run down. It seemed if we wanted to find a place that was clean in a good location we would be spending well over $300 each per week. Turned out the best option for us was living on Campus in the University Village. We managed to get a 5 room suite so we could all live together. We moved in this morning and are getting all settled in.

Jon Jon and Nate arrived during the week and Justin landed this morning just before we moved in. We spend a good portion of this last week looking for places to live and setting up the before mentioned accounts so we are quite excited to finally have a place to call home and unpack after 2 weeks of living in hotels! Here is a shot of my new room:

Here is a teaser from Dubai, I'm hopping to host all of my pictures and videos in the next couple of days to share with you guys. Bare with me! I promise I'll make this interesting. Give me some feedback of what you'd like to see!

Cory

Second Morning in Dubai!

First Morning in Dubai....

UAE Dirhams

Surprise!!!

This past Saturday I had plans to go out for dinner with my Mom, sister, step-dad and girlfriend. Little did I know my sister invited my whole family! In total there were 15 of us sitting in the back of "Kit Kat2". Before I go any further I have to give some serious credit to Erin for organizing this, it takes weeks to get our family organized to meet up for Christmas every year let alone dinner on a random saturday night!

I can't thank everyone enough for taking the time to come have dinner, it was my first surprise of that type and I loved every minute of it. I'm also glad I had a chance to properly say my goodbyes to everyone, it's going to be strange not being present for our normal gatherings. I guess someone will have to point a laptop with skype at the party so I can join in at 3 am!

Saturday meant a lot to me since in the last month I have had to say "see you in a year" far too many times it seems. Saying that to my friends hasn't been easy, but saying it to my family has been the most difficult for sure. At our family Christmas party I had to say this to my extended family which was strange at the time because of how far away my trip was. It almost didn't seem true at the time, almost like I wasn't going away at all. In the last week this trip has become really really real to me. I can't really explain how I feel about this trip, I'm obviously excited, but also anxious. I would also say I am eager to meet new people and experience new things, but at the same time sad to miss my friends and family and what will go on with them. Saturday night turned out to be an amazing surprise, I'm lucky to have such a great family!

As I post this my official countdown to departure is at 7 days 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Almost there!

This week has been a real dose of reality. Jon Jon is on his way to Sydney this week to get some surfing in before we all meet up in February. Lou and I have our hotel booked in Dubai and are organizing some temporary accommodations for when we arrive at the Gold Coast.

I've also been packing things up for storage and realizing how strange it will be living out of a suitcase for the next year. I now have a plug converter for my battery chargers, and the apple adapters for my iphone and MacBook.

What really makes this whole adventure feel even more real was when I wrote my resignation letter for work this morning, it's strange how something so seemingly simple can have such a profound impact.

I am going to link this Blog in my facebook profile tonight, so if this is your first time seeing this page feel free to comment! I promise to keep it interesting once I'm on my way!

As I am writing this post I have exactly 17 days, 21 hours, and 53 minutes left in Canada. I'm sure it will feel like a lot less.

Packing take one

I've made the decision to travel with one bag next month and wanted to make sure I could fit everything I need in one bag. I'm 5lbs shy of the 50lb max so there is some extra room available if i need it. I managed to put everything I can think of without going over, my luck will make my clothes magically weigh more when I'm ready to pack for real.....

Aussie Money!

Figuring this stuff out...

I'm new to the blog business, hang tight while I learn how to make this interesting....