Weekend's Exploits...
Aug. 25th, 2003 03:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
trinityvixenWell, Thursday was the double showing, The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded, so I went into this weekend with a stupid-happy grin on my face despite the fact I didn't end up getting to go to Tassy with Amy. The ticket was too expensive for just a weekend's worth of trip. Then I double-checked e-mail and decided 'hey, why not go with that trip that was going to the Grampians?' My self was surprisingly agreeable on this matter and off I packed. As with last weekend, I got all of three hours of sleep before I had to meet the group way too fucking early on Saturday morning. This time, however, was due to my being social--I actually hung out with the Mouth (who's not soooo annoying these days, mostly if you spend most of the time just being amused at how just laughable some of her constant chatter is) and some Butler people I don't usually hang with.
But yeah, wow, was it a wet one in Victoria this weekend. I was soaked through both days, but I had a really good time despite the squishing socks and soaked underwear. I met Louisa, who, it turns out, is in my film class. AND she was sitting behind me at The Matrix showing. I realized this when we chatted about both going to see it and she said she'd gone with a guy friend of hers who hadn't seen it before. I vaguely recalled hearing the person behind me talking to someone and using the words "i'm sure you'll like it" regarding The Matrix Reloaded. We verified this fact by a discussion about Hugo Weaving in which she mentioned he was a kiwi, which was also what the person behind me was saying. Life's full of funny coincedences! Also ran into Victoria (er, Vicky so as not to confuse her with the state) who's in Bio of Aussie Flora and Fauna. She actually spotted some prickly pear on the way home, too, which made me jealous (we're supposed to be looking out for it--it's a foreign invader here that we studed as an example of what kinds of plants can survive dry Australia). Also met Susan, a really nice, chattable girl, Louis (who, when I introduced myself said "I thought you said your name was Dayle, and I was like, 'that's a guy's name!'" right before I told him that was my name) who was a hoot and a half. It was good to hang out shamelessly with Americans. Aaron and Ari from Butler were there, and they're pretty cool--especially when Aaron kept making fun of the girls from the Butler program who would never have survived this trip--some of whom had given me that impression, too.
Oh, and the trip? Fantastic! Save for not getting to see so far because of low clouds and fog, I would almost say hiking the Grampians is more fun in the rain (provided you're somewhat prepared and resigned to being fairly wet most of the time). When it rains, waterfalls just explode with water, washing out some of the paths across the large rocky areas you need to cross to get to the peaks ('peaks' = steep hills as this is Australia not the Rockies or Appalachia). When there's water everywhere, you have to climb, clamber, jump, and just dash for it. It's soooo much fun. Like rock-climbing without the verticality. I had one scary jump, but Aaron was reaching out to people to help, which was nice of him. Fell once or twice the second day, no big.
What I regret most is missing the wildlife that tends to stay in hiding on wetter days. We saw a kangaroo or two, but the most interesting things were these clear bugs that were crawling around the second day. They were about three inches long, all carrying some egg-like thing in their mouths, had yellow heads. No idea what they were, but I'm going to look it up...er, maybe. Other than that, the most exotic wildlife were the leeches.
Yes, you heard me, leeches. The first day of our trip, I felt this prickly scratch on my ankle, and I figured it was a plant scratch (got plenty of those, let me tell you). When we got to a clearing, I still felt a bit like little things were occasionally pricking. I bent to roll up my pant leg, figuring I'd gotten a bramble stuck there, and I saw blood spotted on my pants. When I rolled up the pants, a little black wormy-thing was stuck to my sock with a pointier narrow end waving about trying to get back to my leg. I guessed leech at the same time as I was trying to remember if Australia had leeches. I kept it away by pulling my sock out and trying to shove it off with a leaf, but man it had a grip on that sock. Will came over and plucked it off, which I hadn't done because A) didn't want to squish it (it's harmless, really, so I didn't want it dead and B) didn't want it to suck onto my finger--which is what it did to Will, who jerked around until it came off. Hope the little guy was okay! By the second day, I came across a shallow rain-pool full of little wriggling, swimming, swinging (they look like they're swinging because they bend in half and move) leeches. I guess they do have them here. Woo, dangerous. Heh, if that's the worst of my Aussie animal experiences, I consider myself lucky.
No word from the Carrie about arriving today, so I'm just going to have to be on call. Yay for the Carrie arriving. Oops, it's getting late. I'm off to the bar to meet Amy and catch up with her about her weekend in Tassy (yes, mother, I'm going to the bar in the middle of the day right before class). Then it's classes and the Carrie in that order. Whee!!!
But yeah, wow, was it a wet one in Victoria this weekend. I was soaked through both days, but I had a really good time despite the squishing socks and soaked underwear. I met Louisa, who, it turns out, is in my film class. AND she was sitting behind me at The Matrix showing. I realized this when we chatted about both going to see it and she said she'd gone with a guy friend of hers who hadn't seen it before. I vaguely recalled hearing the person behind me talking to someone and using the words "i'm sure you'll like it" regarding The Matrix Reloaded. We verified this fact by a discussion about Hugo Weaving in which she mentioned he was a kiwi, which was also what the person behind me was saying. Life's full of funny coincedences! Also ran into Victoria (er, Vicky so as not to confuse her with the state) who's in Bio of Aussie Flora and Fauna. She actually spotted some prickly pear on the way home, too, which made me jealous (we're supposed to be looking out for it--it's a foreign invader here that we studed as an example of what kinds of plants can survive dry Australia). Also met Susan, a really nice, chattable girl, Louis (who, when I introduced myself said "I thought you said your name was Dayle, and I was like, 'that's a guy's name!'" right before I told him that was my name) who was a hoot and a half. It was good to hang out shamelessly with Americans. Aaron and Ari from Butler were there, and they're pretty cool--especially when Aaron kept making fun of the girls from the Butler program who would never have survived this trip--some of whom had given me that impression, too.
Oh, and the trip? Fantastic! Save for not getting to see so far because of low clouds and fog, I would almost say hiking the Grampians is more fun in the rain (provided you're somewhat prepared and resigned to being fairly wet most of the time). When it rains, waterfalls just explode with water, washing out some of the paths across the large rocky areas you need to cross to get to the peaks ('peaks' = steep hills as this is Australia not the Rockies or Appalachia). When there's water everywhere, you have to climb, clamber, jump, and just dash for it. It's soooo much fun. Like rock-climbing without the verticality. I had one scary jump, but Aaron was reaching out to people to help, which was nice of him. Fell once or twice the second day, no big.
What I regret most is missing the wildlife that tends to stay in hiding on wetter days. We saw a kangaroo or two, but the most interesting things were these clear bugs that were crawling around the second day. They were about three inches long, all carrying some egg-like thing in their mouths, had yellow heads. No idea what they were, but I'm going to look it up...er, maybe. Other than that, the most exotic wildlife were the leeches.
Yes, you heard me, leeches. The first day of our trip, I felt this prickly scratch on my ankle, and I figured it was a plant scratch (got plenty of those, let me tell you). When we got to a clearing, I still felt a bit like little things were occasionally pricking. I bent to roll up my pant leg, figuring I'd gotten a bramble stuck there, and I saw blood spotted on my pants. When I rolled up the pants, a little black wormy-thing was stuck to my sock with a pointier narrow end waving about trying to get back to my leg. I guessed leech at the same time as I was trying to remember if Australia had leeches. I kept it away by pulling my sock out and trying to shove it off with a leaf, but man it had a grip on that sock. Will came over and plucked it off, which I hadn't done because A) didn't want to squish it (it's harmless, really, so I didn't want it dead and B) didn't want it to suck onto my finger--which is what it did to Will, who jerked around until it came off. Hope the little guy was okay! By the second day, I came across a shallow rain-pool full of little wriggling, swimming, swinging (they look like they're swinging because they bend in half and move) leeches. I guess they do have them here. Woo, dangerous. Heh, if that's the worst of my Aussie animal experiences, I consider myself lucky.
No word from the Carrie about arriving today, so I'm just going to have to be on call. Yay for the Carrie arriving. Oops, it's getting late. I'm off to the bar to meet Amy and catch up with her about her weekend in Tassy (yes, mother, I'm going to the bar in the middle of the day right before class). Then it's classes and the Carrie in that order. Whee!!!
