Updates according to Nick

reprints from Nick's facebook:Day 7!!!
Work out day. Sara, Dad and I hiked a total of 12 miles up and down Mt. Keira. It was GORGEOUS! It was a very rainforest type environment with odd but beautiful plants and birds. The view from the top was one of the most astounding things I have ever seen! I also made friends with three leeches, two of which I found attached to my ankle about half way up the mountain. As I pulled them off, Sara and Dad searched to see if they had made friends as well but had no such luck. My dad was very jealous of my leech battling experience. We did, however, get lost on the way back down and ended up following the street all the way back to the hostel. Though, that did give us a great opportunity to scope out and admire the Southern Cross as well as the rest of the Australian night sky. After we returned home, it was straight to the showers and then SLEEP!!! We were all very sore the next day.

Day 8
A day at the beach! Despite our sore legs, we ventured out to explore the salty ocean. More shells were collected, but the highlight of this was submerging ourselves in the water as we crashed around in the waves. Well, at least Sara and I did. It was a lot of fun. We also had shakes…but they aren’t like the US shakes at all….they’re much less thick and have a slightly different taste…very odd.

Day 9
Adventure to Sydney! Sara, Dad and I hopped a train to Sydney to explore the mall and the beach. It was a much more touristy area. We again got a lot of exercise from walking long distances (Sara wouldn’t let us take the bus). Dad's pedometer measured ten miles! So… I’m really tired. This will be a short post also because we will be back to Sydney. I have to send thanks to anyone who’s lent or given me a book lately, because I’ve been doing a lot of reading in my free time. I’ve had a lot of inspirational characters to keep me company. Good stuff! Thanks!