Hugo, Porvoo, Finland

karla Posted Feb 21, 2009, 10:00 am	Im so glad my mom found me a host in Australia. Im already on my way there, I cant wait to arrive!!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Mar 2, 2009, 10:47 pm	Hey mom! I've finally arrived in Australia. Thankfully I had Iago to talk to while I was there... and there are a couple other toyvoyagers here currently with me. Sara says tomorrow two of them will be moving onto other hosts (one in Japan and one in Mexico - crazy yes?)... well Sara says she got put to a couple jobs in Bathurst so in the next week or so they'll be out searching for some wild kangaroos to see if I can spot them... :-) Well I'll write a proper update with some photos soon! I've been resting a lot since I got down here! Write again soon! <3
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Mar 5, 2009, 7:36 am	Hi! It's been really boring around here lately.. Sara hasn't been able to get out as much as she would have liked to so we've been sitting at home with her... well, nothing much interesting has been going on but today Sara tried kangaroo for the first time. So she thought this was note worthy... we all smelled it and it actually smelled really yummy! It looked just like a steak and Sara says it actually just tastes just like beef, but very very lean, almost no fat at all.. yummy! Not much there but sometimes I wish we could try new things too - so here was Sara's dinner (or part of it anyways) from the other day. I promise more interesting things ahead in the days to come! Write again soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Mar 5, 2009, 7:53 am	Today we were taking a small road trip. No where exciting but Sara took this as an opportunity to show us what the Central West is full of... which sadly isn't all that interesting, but hopefully you'll find it a bit more interesting... it's very dry and brown here. There's been barely any rain, so now that it's Autumn, we're hoping for a bit more rain... *fingers crossed* first stop we went to a small town called Blayney which has a population of only 3,000 people... Here I am at the top of the highest point in Blayney, Church Hill... you can see the whole town from here... ...and here's the rest of the view around Church Hill from where we're standing... Coming down from Church Hill we went down the main street to our next destination... here I am on the main street which is called Adelaide Street... We're back on the road again... I'll update more soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Mar 5, 2009, 8:27 am	Next stop was the Blayney Wind Farm and Carcoar Dam which is just outside of Blayney and Carcoar... here I am in front of the wind turbines... Sara also decided to show you Carcoar Dam... if you click that link you can see what Carcoar Dam used to look like. Since the Central West has been in a drought for so long the water level is much much lower than at the moment... here I am in front of what is left of the dam... Kind of puts it into perspective how much of a drought Australia is in, especially inland from the coastlines... here's a closer image of the water level. You see that line on the hill just below the trees? That's where the water used to be... can you imagine THAT much water evaporating? Scary isn't it? ...and here are a couple more photos of the wind mills that run the wind farm... Write again soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Mar 5, 2009, 8:46 am	Next stop was Carcoar which is one of the many tiny towns between Blayney and Cowra, so we decided to get a few photos. Carcoar has a population of around 400 people... so very small, here I am on the main street... ...there's sadly not much to see here but Sara took us down to the little river that runs through the town. Sara says her and her husband Daniel used to drive here from Blayney to here to have picnic's once in a while. :-) Isn't it pretty? Back on the road... we're almost there! Another 40 minutes or so... write again soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Mar 5, 2009, 9:20 am	Last stop, we're finally there! We've arrived in Cowra which is a town about half the size of Orange, with around 13,000 people. There's not too much to see here... Sara and her husband had to do a few mystery shops. So we just waited, after all the jobs were done we all went down to the Lachlan River... we saw a LOT of bird life while we were there... here I am in front of the river... Walking down to the river there were a lot of aboriginal paintings on the underside of the road (which passed over the river)... here are some of the paintings... Can you guess what some of the animals are? Well, there are dolphins, echidna, turtles, fish, dugong, kookaburra, and snakes. How interesting is all that? Isn't it pretty? You can't tell but there are HUNDREDS of Long-billed Corella's... they're making heaps of noise but they're fun to watch. Sara took a short video of them in the tree... you can watch the video here. It's short and you can also hear the noises they make... they were crazy... here are a few snap shots of them as well... ...and we even got to see a bunch of Australian Wood Ducks... After spending an hour or so at the river we decided to head home. It had already been a long day and it was only 230pm. Crazy! Well back home we go... write again soon! Miss you mom I hope you enjoyed my day out!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Mar 19, 2009, 1:36 pm	Today we took a trip to Bathurst... and something Sara does always when she goes to Bathurst is she goes and sees if she can spot any kangaroos. They're commonly just outside of the town on a road going towards Blayney. They're in a farmers paddock which is now slowly being turned into a more residential area sadly. So now they're being pushed farther and farther out of the town... this time we actually did spot some kangaroos... can you see him behind me? Here's a close up of that same guy: I know! He's really really small but Sara couldn't get much closer... when she tried not only did that guy hop off... but all the others as well. Sara didn't even notice those guys, they blend in so well to the dry grass don't they? We were kind of rushed in Bathurst today so we didn't see as much as Sara would have liked to show us... but there's another stop in the mean time... write again soon! :-)
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Mar 19, 2009, 2:02 pm	Right near the kangaroos actually is a famous Australian race track... Mount Panorama.. which holds the famous race each October called the Bathurst 1000 this race means all of the Central West (where we are living currently) is flooded with people for a weekend and Australia shuts down because on Sunday everyone is watching the races. Sara told us there was a couple times she went out when she lived in Blayney (population 3000) there was like no one out.. it was literally like a ghost town... well now's our time to take a little part in something very famously Australian... :-) Here I am in front of the Mount Panorama gate... you can see in the background the sign on the side of the mountain (which is the close up in the picture above)... Here's the starting gate... although we started from the other side so there are no pictures of us there sadly... ...and here's some pictures of us going around the track... ...at the top of the mountain Sara took a very quick photo to show the view from the top of the mountain (which is right above that white sign that says Mount Panorama)... After we took a ride on the track we got out of the car and visited a now famous statue of Peter Brock who won the panorama races a record 9 wins before he died in a car crash in 2006, very soon after Steve Irwin died actually! Here we are in front of his statue... ...here's a better photo of it... ...we also learned a bit more about the race track. They have some huge signs along the side of the gate (which I'm standing in front of in one of the first pictures)... Sara couldn't get a good photo so she'll just write out what it says: Shortly you will be on Mount Panorama. A 60kph scenic drive offering spectacular views of Bathurst and surrounding country side. The last true public road racing circuit left in Australia. Twice each year it is of special significance to the motor car and bike racing enthusiasts rising almost 200 metres and falling through a succession of bends, it has heart-in-mouth appeal to drivers and spectators alike. With motor racing in Bathurst as early as 1911, the Vale Circuit for motor cycles was opened in 1931 and when abandoned, a scenic road albeit a race circuit, was constructed to the Bald Hills, now Mount Panorama. The home of the toughest and most famous car race in the Southern Hemisphere, the Toohey's 1000, it is a unique test of man and machine with every driver striving to do the perfect lap. This has changed somewhat from the first Australian long distance classic, the 500 miler at Phillip Island in the early sixties, shifting Bathurst in 1963. The Bathurst City Council, Australian Racing Drivers Club, ATN Chanel 7 and sponsors alike have been involved in this phenomenon of excitement, spectacle and human drama, Australia's greatest motor race the Toohey's 1000. Since 1938 the Easter Australian Grand Prix for motor cycles has been held here. To every Australian motor cycle enthusiast Bathurst has the most magic of all, even though in 1989 the Grand Prix went to Phillip Island and in 1991 to Eastern Creek. It's amazing how much I learned today about Bathurst and the most famous part of Bathurst... this last weekend we actually watched a race at Mount Panorama, it was some kind of 12-hour race... how crazy is that... can you picture going around that thing for 12 hours. I think I'd go crazy! Well I'll update again soon! Miss you mom! <3
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Mar 30, 2009, 5:07 am	Today we decided to do a bit of the touristy stuff in Orange since we've seen the surrounding areas it's now time to explore the town we've lived in for the last few weeks. We packed up the car and took a short drive. The first stop wasn't too far from where Sara lives, it's Banjo Patterson's birth place. Which wasn't where we are but very close to where we are standing... here I am on the bust that looks like Banjo... If you don't know, Banjo Patterson is a very famous Australian and he's even on the $10.00 note down here. He's famous for writing the poem Waltzing Matilda... if you've never heard it here it is: Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong, Under the shade of a coolibah tree, And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled "You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me" Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda "You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me" And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled, "You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me". Down came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong, Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee, And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag, "You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me". Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda "You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me" And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag, "You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me". Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred, Up rode the troopers, one, two, three, "Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?" "You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me". Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda "You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me" "Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?", "You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me". Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong, "You'll never take me alive", said he, And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong, "You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me". Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda "You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me" And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong, "You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me." "Oh, You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me." Right near the Banjo Patterson bust is the remains of the old Templers Mill... here's the rubble... can you see us on it?... How about now? ...here we are! Sadly people use the rubble as a bit of a garbage pile sometimes... really sad actually... but here's a bit of information about the historic templers mill... In 1828, the land between Orange and Suma Park was granted to emancipist Simeon Lord as part compensation for the land he had surrendered to Governor Macquarie in 1811 in Sydney. It was probably Lord's son, Thomas, who built and supervised the district's first flour mill on the property, which retained the Aboriginal name Narrambla. It is possible that the grinding stone was first operated by convicts but in 1840, when the mill was acquired by John Arthur Templer, these were replaced by horse works. In 1848, Templer installed a 12 horsepower steam engine and boiler, and the mill's chimney probably dated from this time. Farmers brought grain for grinding at one shilling a bushel. It was in Templer's homestead among the trees by the creek that his great nephew, Andrew Barton Paterson, was born on the 17th of February 1864. Banjo Paterson as he became known, is one of Australia's best known and most popular poets. Templer's Mill operated until about 1870. The boiler was later used for many years at Heap's Brewery in Moulder Street, Orange. The remains of the mill, considered dangerous and beyond repair, were demolished in 1971. Last stop we got to see the memorial to Banjo which is right next to the road... here we are in front of the memorial... The Australian Poet Andrew Barton Paterson "Banjo" Was born 17th February 1864 at the Narrambla Homestead which stood 8 chains North East of this memorial. Erected 1947. "And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended and at night the wondrous glory of the everlasting stars." -Clancy of the Overflow On the way back to the car we got a view of the surrounding areas of the birth place... this is a lot of what the areas around Orange looks like. As you can tell, we really are in a bad drought with how brown the grass is... we haven't had a good rainfall in months! That's our visit to the famous poets birth place... now it's time to move onto the next big tourist trap in Orange... this is a bit longer of a car ride... write again soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Mar 30, 2009, 5:41 am	Next stop was around a 20 minute drive from where we were and technically on the outskirts of Orange... but knowing what it was that would be understandable. Not something you'd expect to see in the middle of the rural area of New South Wales... but an extinct volcano! Seriously, how crazy is that? It's the highest point West of the Blue Mountains which is on the outskirts of Sydney, around a 2.5 hour drive from where we are now... it's the famous Mount Canobolas... here I am at the top of the mountain... The top photo you can the city of Orange in the distance... looks so tiny from up here... here I am on the compass at the apex point of the volcano... this is where you stand and it shows the direction to look to see the different cities and towns in the region... on a clear day you can see hundreds of kilometers. Here's the panoramic view around the top of the mountain from one side to the other... as you can see it has a lot of radio and TV towers. Honestly it's a huge eye sore... oh well! There are lots of hikes and bush walks all around the apex point of the mountain... we got to learn a bit about the mountain while we were here. If you see in this image you can see there are lots of "vents" where there were smaller less active volcanoes surrounding the main volcano... here's a bit of information about Mount Canobolas... Mount Canobolas volcanic complex is listed in the Commonwealth Heritage Register for it's unique geological composition and location. These factors have resulted in a distinctive vegetation pattern, containing rare and unique species, which in turn contain habitats for a number of equally unique animals. Within a 30 kilometer radius of Mount Canobolas, approximately 30 vents are known to have erupted. These eruptions commenced about 50 million years ago and halted approximately 10-15 million years ago. The Mount Canobolas vents erupted over that entire period, while others within the 30 kilometer radius were active for shorter periods. The basalt capping has largely weathered away producing fertile soils as far away as West Wyalong. Which is 222 kilometers away from Orange or just under a 3 hour drive West of Orange. After we had a bit longer at the top of the volcano and a few more photos we started to head down the mountain. Half way down, we stopped and got a picture of the mountain and a better view of Orange from above. The small mountain next to the main apex of Mount Canobolas is called Little Canobolas, it's a 2km walk from the top of the mountain... Well, we're not quite done yet... we have one more place to visit before we've seen all the main touristy areas of rural New South Wales (this area anyway)... write again soon with more photos of our next stop!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Mar 30, 2009, 6:54 am	Next and last stop today is Lake Canobolas which is really the only water source in the region beyond Carcoar Dam which you saw a few weeks ago. Which is almost non existant. Thankfully there's more to this lake, although it is a man made lake... here I am in front of the lake... isn't it pretty on such a sunny bright day like today? There were a LOT of ducks right near where we were standing... sadly we didn't have any bread to feed them... Sara says how she loves to feed the ducks and always feels a bit bad when they approach her and she doesn't have anything to give them... All of us toyvoyagers decided to sit in one of the gum trees near the beach and relax for a little bit... We sadly didn't stay very long since it was already almost 6pm! Would you believe it? Well one last look at the lake and it's time to head home... Well that was a huge day for us, we got to see a lot of interesting things... but we've seen a lot of rural and regional New South Wales. I'll be leaving to my next host soon! Write again soon! Miss you mom!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 8, 2009, 9:59 am	...wait what? ...why are we waking up at such an ungodly hour? We've just started to adjust to having the clocks put back an hour... and now were getting up at 5am, being packed into the car to go somewhere? why? Well at least we can sleep... In the mean time we had to get some petrol, here we all are, awake and at the petrol station... time to move on, we're already 20 minutes off schedule... Write again soon... at our next destination...
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 8, 2009, 10:04 am	Next stop is Wellington... it's a small town of around 4,500 inhabitants. Since it was still very early we decided to just pass by instead of getting what we had to do done here... so moving on through... here are some photos driving through the town... As you can see it's a pretty small town... as we were coming out of the town we actually saw a train it wasn't long before the train was way behind us... ah well it was cool while it lasted... moving onto the much larger town ahead... write soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 8, 2009, 10:10 am	Next stop was the much larger town of Dubbo. Dubbo is closer to the outskirts of the real "outback". There's a lot more red dirt, and you've got a very large zoo called the Western Plains Zoo which is has a huge breeding program for African animals since the weather is very similar here to African weather patterns. It gets *very* hot during the Summer... here are some photos driving through Dubbo... ...Sadly we weren't able to spend much time in Dubbo, we still had so much to do outside of Dubbo... and we had a few more hours of driving. Sara apologizes that we didn't do anything really interesting today... but we got to see a lot of the area she lives in... it's very beautiful but so very dry... we're on the road again, it's time to get to our next destination...
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 8, 2009, 10:17 am	...to get to our next destination we had to pretty much drive all the way back into Orange... to a small town called Molong... this town is *tiny* it has a small population of only 2,000 - it's one of those towns where if your not looking you're already through it... but we got a few photos whilst we were driving through... ...it wasn't long and we were back to a very farmy landscape... it never felt like it was going to end... ...but it did end... but only for a short time... write again soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 8, 2009, 10:24 am	...an hour outside of Molong... was an even smaller town, Sara hadn't ever driven through this area of the Central West... but it was a very small town called Cudal... it only has a population of just under 400 people... crazy crazy small... ...just outside of Cudal was this horrendous smell and a lot of smoke... we were all wondering what was up. We knew it had been very hot lately with very little rain (even for Autumn)... and then we saw it... ...at some point in the day there must have been a large grass fire on this persons property. It was still smoking, and it was all gone... everything... the smell was pretty intense... makes you wonder what it was like during the Black Saturday Victorian bush fires this year... that smell would have been horrible to deal with!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 8, 2009, 10:31 am	Last stop for today, and it was only 2pm... can you believe we've made this much of a mark on the map today in just a few hours? Well, you can be assured we are tired as hell!... here's the last stop for the day... a small town called Canowindra a population of only 1,500 but it no doubt looks a lot smaller than Molong, which has like 500 more people... crazy huh? Sara and Daniel have only been here once before... and they went to the Age of Fishes Museum... there's a lot of information and fossils there about the ancient fishes that were found in Canowindra... very interesting. You can read about it in Toothy Walrus's blog if you want to. :-) Here we are in front of it... Sadly we were all too tired, so we got a few photos of us and the main street and then headed home... it had been very long day for everyone... especially the people... :-P Well sorry there wasn't too much to see or do today... there's more to come... apparently we're going somewhere awesome on Saturday... you'll see when it happens... write again soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 12, 2009, 8:37 am	Today we went on another road trip to Abercrombie Caves... Sara enjoys going to caves, but this time she was able to take the toyvoyagers along... sadly she wasn't allowed to really take photos of the toyvoyagers within the caves. So Sara took a photo of us on the road to Abercrombie Caves... here I am, it's very full of eucalyptus trees isn't it? Very pretty... ...and we're finally here... feels like we've been on the road forever! Very quickly once we got through the entrance we saw a whole bunch of animal crossing signs, these are the main ones though, so kangaroo and wombat crossing... I wonder if we'll see anything... it's a very twisty road, we've got to be very careful, it's a very dangerous road... Thankfully we got down safely and got our tickets to do a tour in one of the caves called the 'bush rangers cave'... you can read about that cave and the history of the ribbon gang right here. The ribbon gang hid out in the caves for about 10 days before being captured and eventually hanged (because of horse theft and murder)... it's a very interesting read about the cave... but we came out of the office and saw this strange sign... there must be a lot of kangaroos in this area... Sadly we didn't see any kangaroos at all - there was a lot of people camping, Sara thinks they might have scared the kangaroos into the bush having so many people around... oh well, we did see lots of ducks and cockatoos though... Now we're just waiting in line to get into the caves... we're just waiting for the tour guide... quick! It's starting to rain really hard on us... thankfully for us only the people got wet, we were all in Sara's bag so we didn't get lost... Finally we're in the caves... here are some pictures Sara took within the main self-guided tour archway cave... we had to walk through this cave to get to the bush rangers cave... This is the exit of the archway self-guided tour cave... and just around the corner is the main cave we're getting the tour through... but something interesting is this is what is called the "grand arch" it's the largest grand arch in the Southern Hemisphere... even more interesting is we are 500m under the ground right now... how often are you that far under the ground, and can still see sunlight? Pretty crazy right? Well onto the bush rangers cave... Now we're finally in the bush rangers cave... there are a lot of very small passage ways and there was an area in the caves where there was quite a number of bats... here's the "bat chamber"... See how on the left side of the photo the rock is very dark? Well, that's where the bats are most often... so there's a lot of... bat poo there... we actually had one fly quite low near Sara's head... but weird enough out of the 50 people around Sara she was the only one that seemed to notice it... crazy huh? Moving on there's a few more things to see in here... Then we had to make our way back through the main cave we went through initially and then went back to the car... quickly after the tour we didn't take too many photos. Sara was just trying to stay as dry as possible (or keep her camera as dry as possible) as it was pouring down rain at that point... time to head home... Something interesting on the way home... we saw an echidna... it was on the side of the road in the long grass... sadly Sara couldn't stop and get photos since it was a very narrow road and it was wet out... so sadly no photos of him... Sara wanted photos quite badly since she'd never seen a wild echidna before. :-) Well, write again soon... tomorrow is Easter down here! :-)
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 12, 2009, 8:44 am	I just wanted to wish you a very happy Easter Sunday from all of us down here in Australia! :-) Miss you mom! Write again soon! :-)
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 13, 2009, 8:42 am	Today is our last day in Orange... sadly it wasn't a very nice day outside although I quite enjoyed it while I was here... we drew our names on a really foggy window... ...and then we sat and watched it rain... it doesn't look very nice but it's nice and warm inside... not too hot - not too cold... I quite enjoy this weather... :-) It seems that Winter has come to Orange finally! Write again when I arrive in Sydney! Miss you mom! :-)
becka_kate Posted Apr 16, 2009, 8:19 am	Just a short note to let you know that I've arrived safely at my new destination and I'm looking forward to my stay here. It looks like I might be able to achieve some of my missions - my host is enjoying some well earned holidays at the moment and a trip to Taronga Zoo has been mentioned.... (and on the way we'll pass by the Opera House!) Yay! Will keep you posted!
becka_kate Posted Apr 23, 2009, 1:04 pm	Well, nothing much has been happening around here this week because it has been raining and raining and raining. We all know that we should be grateful for the rain because Australia has been experiencing a very severe drought for the last few years, but ENOUGH already!!! Looking at the weather forecast we're hopeful it will be a nice day to go to the zoo. I'm so excited - to think that Iago and I might get to cross off not one, but two missions tomorrow! I hope I can sleep tonight!! In preparation for our excursion, we made some cookies called Rock Cakes to take with us (food being expensive at the zoo!) Hopefully there'll be some left to take to zoo with us as Greedywas also hovering during the cooking process.....
becka_kate Posted Apr 25, 2009, 4:07 am	Hi Guess what - I completed not one, but two missions. First of all, let me tell you about the day. We woke up to sunshine and a good weather report, so it seemed like a great day to go to the zoo. We got organised and drove to the local train station, bought our day tripper tickets for the train and ferry and made our way into the city via a slow all stations train. We got off at Circular Quay station which is also the main terminal for the ferry system and got to the jetty just as the ferry was loading. What perfect timing! (Never before has happened says my host) The ferry trip is brilliant. We got to see the Harbour Bridge and watched people doing the Bridge Climb. Did you know that you can climb to the very top of the bridge? It's a very popular thing to do here. (Sorry for the missing eye - I had a better pic and then accidentally deleted it instead of this one!) As we turned to head out the zoo we passed by the Opera House. My host's said that even though I my mission said 'visit' the Opera House, this is much better as the inside is really very dull and boring to look at. It's all concrete and blah unless you're in the concert hall. I really enjoyed the ferry trip. It's a great way to sightsee around Sydney Harbour (especially if you sit in the open at the back of the ferry!) This is Fort Denison, otherwise known as "Pinchgut" because was used in the early days of settlement as a place of punishment and confinement for the convict population (in otherwords convicts used to starve and get a 'pinched gut'). During the mid 19th century, around the time of the Crimean War, a fort was built on the island to protect Sydney Harbour from a Russian Invasion.
becka_kate Posted Apr 25, 2009, 4:51 am	Soon we arrived at the zoo, but were disappointed to find that the Zoo Safari wasn't running This is a sky gondola that carries you from the ferry to the entrance - the zoo being built into the side of a hill. So, we had to catch the shuttle bus to the top instead. Our first priority was to see the Australian animals so that Iagoand I could complete another of our missions: Meet a kangaroo or koala face to face. It was very exciting (and you'll soon see why!) The kangaroos wallabies and emus are kept in an enclosure called the walkabout where you can really get close to them (there are no fences between you and them!) First we saw the emu. Do you know why out of all the Australian animals there are they chose an emu and a kangaroo to put on the Australian coat of arms? Because they're the only animals that can't move backwards! We thought we were doing pretty well with getting this close to the kangaroos for our photos, and then this happened - One hopped across the path right next to me! WOW! Now, that's face to face! And then he even turned around to 'pose' for my photo. How lucky was I! I even got to meet a Tasmanian Devil (and you don't want to get this close without a plate of glass in the way!). They're the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world! Our next stop was to see the Koalas. Most of them were asleep, slowly processing the energy they get from eating eucalyptus leaves, which are really hard to digest. (there are more koala and other upclose zoo photos here on bec's flickrpage if interested) Having seen all the Australian animals (well, we did see the wombat and platypus as well, but they were in the nocturnal house and too hard to photograph, the dingo was hiding and the echidnas had disappeared!) we moved on to the reptile house. By the way... check out the view from the zoo! Isn't it great? Just in case you ever wondered... I met some of my distant relatives, the Green and Golden Bell Frog, found in Homebush Bay, right near the 2000 Olympic site and a threatened species due to pollution thanks to nearby factories. We left the reptiles and my fellow amphibians behind and moved back outside and onto the giraffes. One of the best things about Taronga Zoo (other than the view) is just how close you are to the animals! Oh, some other Australian natives... the Pelican. I decided to stay far, far away from those huge snapping bills, I don't think they'd say 'no thanks' to a meal of frog! This is interesting. Its the Roar and Snore Campsite - you can stay overnight at the zoo. Feeling a little bit tired (and worried about the darkening clouds) we decided it was time to head on home. What a great day!
olgamaus Posted Jun 4, 2009, 9:39 am	Hello, I arrived in Remscheid today. I am not the only new ToyVoyager here, Manner and Sportie also came here from Australia today. Bye for now Hugo
olgamaus Posted Jun 4, 2009, 1:22 pm	Hi Mummy, no sooner had I arrived here, I'm off again. Katja took me, Manner and Sportie with her to show zu her workplace. Katja's sister Ina is also working in this law firm. She told me that she'd travel to the Netherlands for a few days, just after work. She told me about beaches and having a beer in the beachside cafe ... I decided immediately to go with her. We'll be back on Sunday evening because Ina's son has to go back to school on Monday. You'll hear from me soon. Bye Hugo
olgamaus Posted Jun 12, 2009, 9:28 pm	Hi Mummy, I went with Katja's sister Ina to the Netherlands. We went to a small town called Cadzand-Bad, situated at the seaside in the South of the Netherlands, close to the border to Belgium. This statue is called "the lock keeper". Hey, there are more fuffy friends! We went to the beach than. I couldn't wait to see it! I helped Ina's son and her husband to build a sandcastle. I know that the tide will come in soon and destroy our castle ... Bye Hugo
olgamaus Posted Jun 12, 2009, 9:37 pm	Hi Mummy, today we to Sluis to do some shopping. Sluis also is a nice small town, but not situated at the seaside. It is a few kilometres upcountry. A typical Dutch windmill! I found this pump somehow interesting ... This motorbike has the perfect size for me We'll soon travel back home, what a pity! I would like to stay here a bit longer. Bye Hugo
olgamaus Posted Jun 12, 2009, 9:41 pm	Hi Mummy, today it was the first day without rain for a week. So we hurried outside when Katja finished her work. This is the city hall of Remscheid. It was built in 1906, was destroyed then in World War II and rebuilt afterwards in a more modern style. The tower is 48 m high. These large forceps are marking the entrance of the shopping street. Remscheid is famous for it's tool producing industry for centuries. We are on our way back home now. Bye Hugo
olgamaus Posted Jun 12, 2009, 10:06 pm	Hi Mummy, in the afternoon we decided to take a walk to Muengsten Bridge, which is the highest railway bridge of Germany. To get there we had to walk through the town, than through a forrest and than downhill, also through a forrest. Here we are still in a housing area, but it is already looking more rural hiere. I like it here, it's looking great here with horses on pasture land. Here you can see allotment gardens. Have a look at this beautiful foxglove. We rested for a while on a bench. Katja told us that Muengsten Bridge is overspanning the valley of river Wupper connecting the citiesof  Remscheid and Solingen. It is 465 m long and 107 m high. It was finished in 1897. We reached river Wupper first. A leisure park is built underneath the bridge. On weekends you can see hundreds of peple here, relaxing in the sun. The sun came out sometimes, so we were relaxing also. We went home by bus. On our way to our home we saw these pretty old houses. Bye Hugo
olgamaus Posted Jun 14, 2009, 8:47 am	Hi Mummy, in the late afternoon we took a walk to the municipal park. We had to walk for only a few minutes to reach a really pretty little park, the one in front of the police station. I saw lavender here. We went to the municipal park than. Here you can see a pond with ducks and turtles. Katja told me that the turtles former pets, abandoned here by people who did not want to take care for  them any longer. I'm sure that also frogs are living here. This memorial is dedicated to the dead of several earlier wars before World War I. From here you have a great overview across some outskirts of Remscheid and those of the neighbour city Wuppertal. Katja told me that they have the worldwide only Schwebebahn (Suspended Monorail) there, I hope we'll go there one day. We went to the house of Katja's sister-in-law than to have a talk. Sportie, Penny-Bo and me were playing in the garden in the meantime. Can you spot us? I met Bertie, the friendly Entlebucher Mountain Dog. We had delicious strawberries here - yummy! Bye Hugo
olgamaus Posted Jun 17, 2009, 6:03 pm	Hi Mummy, Katja showed me arount the town when we went home in her lunch break. Here you can see the main entrance of the shopping mall, in the background there is the tower of the city hall. On our way home we have to walk through an alley with linden trees on both sides of the street. This photo is taken close to my current home. After work in the evening we had to walk to the local court to drop a letter regarding a lawsuit with a deadline today into the court's mailbox. This mailbox will be closed at midnight. Each letter which will be dropped into the mail box will arrive at the court on the due date. This is the old building of the local court, not so pretty at the moment with the scaffolding around it. This is the visitor's entrance with the access control. This is the mailbox. Our letter is safe in the mailbox now. What a pity that the court is already closed. I would have loved to take a look inside. Bye Hugo
olgamaus Posted Jul 3, 2009, 2:15 pm	Hi Mummy, we took a walk in the afternoon, although it is really hot and humid. I like it - a bit like home  We went to the district Hasten, which is one of the oldest districts of the municipal area. You can find many pretty old houses here. I even found a pond here. I wanted to hop into it for a little bit cooling but Katja did not let me. She said my next host would not like to receive a foul-smelling frog. Here you can see the German Tool Museum. This Patrician house is also a museum, a museum of local history. It was built in the late 1700s. We were on our way back home on the following picture. We had to walk uphilll almost for hours (at least it seemed so to me). Bye for today Hugo
olgamaus Posted Jul 26, 2009, 10:25 am	Hi Mummy, we have baked bread today. It was really easy. All you need is 750 g wheat flour about 400 ml warm water 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt 1 1/2 packages dry yeast 1 tablespoon of olive oil Baking: 35 - 40 minutes, 220°C First we mixed flour and yeast, than we added the other ingredients and kneaded the dough for about 5 minutes. The dough was covered than with a cloth. It had to rise for about 30 minutes. We shaped two loafs of bread. The loafs of bread had to rise once more for half an hour under a cloth. Than we brushed them with a mixture of water and olive oil. We put rosemary on one loaf of bread. They were ready for the oven than. The breads had to bake for 35 minutes. Finished! Our selfmade bread was really delicious! Bye Hugo
olgamaus Posted Aug 6, 2009, 9:14 pm	Hi Mummy, when Katja returned home from her work place at 18:30 p.m. She called her friend Erika and asked her  if she also wanted to take a walk. Yes, a short walk was ok for Erika. So they decided to meet on the Werkzeugtrasse (Route of Tools). I have been here before, but never in such great weather. Here are patterns of wrenches stamped into the tarmac. We met Erika than and left the Werkzeugtrasse to walk downhill into Morsbachtal (Morsbach Valley). I saw this great sign of an advertising and signaging company. This green guy seemed to smile at me We reached the valley than and crossed the road here. We walked on the other side of the creek than, which already belongs to Wuppertal. We left the valley here and walked back uphill to get home. From here we had to walk uphill for more than 40 minutes, but we ersted in a beer garden. So the "short walk" turned into a walk about two hours long and another hour sitting in the beer garden. Bye Hugo
olgamaus Posted Sep 7, 2009, 5:56 pm	Hi Mummy, we took a long walk today in the neighbour city Solingen. We started our tour in Solingen-Unterburg, which is one of the oldest districts of Solingen. You can find many old houses here. I went with Katja, Erika and Baby Lican today. I met a relative here We walked along River Wupper the whole time. This thing was originally used at the nearby Sengbach-Talsperre (Sengbach-dam). This is a historic building, Balkhauser Kotten. A museum is situated here. We reached a hamlet called Balkhausen. It is a rather rural district. They have nice old timber-framed houses here. We walked through another forrest and met River Wupper again. After hours of walking (about 14 km) we reached Wipperkotten, a historical grindery which is still in use. It was open for visitors today. Visitors were allowed to take a knife with them, for the  grinder to grind it. Of course Katja brought her favourite knif with her. Wipperkotten was built as a grindery in the early 1600's and it is the last existing twin building of formerly 26 grinding sheds at the lower river Wupper. Two undershot waterwheels are spinning between the historical buildings. This building complex is under protection of historical monuments since 1955. Of course we had a look inside the buildings. This is the axis of one of the waterwheels. This is today's workplace of the grinder. The grinder is preparing the belt grinder machine ... We were allowed to sit on the grind machine to have a good overview at the grinder's work. Our knife is as sharp as a razor blade now -  thanks to the grinder What is he going to do with the hammer? Whow! It looks like fireworks! It was time to start back for home than. We saw canoes here, can you see them at the opposite riverbank? We had to walk uphill than to reach the city centre. We went home by bus and train than. Bye Hugo
olgamaus Posted Oct 13, 2009, 7:41 pm	Hi Mummy, I have an invitation to visit RikeH in North Germany. That's fantastic! Katja showed me where I will go. I'm already on my way to RikeH. I've said good-bye to all my friends here. Bye Hugo
RikeH Posted Oct 18, 2009, 11:09 am	Hi Mum, Yesterday I arrived at RikeH’s home. Dicker Kumpel and Mystery gave me a warm welcome. Today we made our first trip. We went to Hamburg – it is the second biggest city of Germany – and there was a big lake for me. You know, that I love water! It is called Alster. The trees have great colours here: Here is a photo with all of us: We relaxed in the sun. What a nice day for October. There were some ducks in the lake and a big statue outside. We found a nice palm tree – in the North of Germany – that is strange, isn’t it? Now a view to the town hall – and other nice buildings. Love Hugo
RikeH Posted Oct 24, 2009, 7:58 pm	Hi Mum! We watched a match of handball today. Here you see us on the way to the statium. On the way we saw this funny garden – full of garden gnomes. Next to the handball statium is the soccer stadium, where the famous HSV plays. This was the stadium we went into to see the match from the HSV against Zagreb Croatia. You see all of us on our seat. It was so interesting! We won!!! What a great evening! yours Hugo
RikeH Posted Oct 25, 2009, 12:29 pm	Hi Mum! The weather was nice and we decided to make a walk in the sunshine. Here I am on a small bridge. Water – should I jump??? Hm, it looks really cold – so I will stay on the bridge... A nice view over the fields. We found a very big tractor. At the end we went to the playground and had so much fun! yours Hugo
RikeH Posted Oct 27, 2009, 8:52 pm	Hello Mum! Today Cilly arrived. And it was just the right time, because we wanted to go with lanterns in the evening. First we said hello to Cilly. We had a big discussion, which lantern we wanted. The big moon? or the beautiful flowers? We all loved the sun, too. We didn’t know what to do, so we took all of them with us. Here you can see me – with a flash.... But this was really great – to see the lantern in the dark! We walked and we sang great songs – what a nice evening! yours Hugo
RikeH Posted Oct 28, 2009, 8:03 pm	Hello Mum! We visited Bad Oldesloe – a small town near to Sülfeld. RikeH went to school there – many years ago... There is a nice island.. ...and a beautiful river. I made some horseback-riding. Here is another part of the river – with troubled water. We had to wait for a receipt at the doctor’s. But it was not boring – you know, Toyvoyagers can talk and talk and talk.... The last think we saw, before we drove home was the town hall. Greetings Hugo
RikeH Posted Nov 2, 2009, 2:34 pm	Hi Mum! The weather was awful this week-end, so we decided to play billiards. First Dicker Kumpel and the billiards-hippo showed us, how to play. It looks easy, but it is very difficult. So we asked a lot of questions. Dicker Kumpel began. Then it was my turn. First I watched where the balls were. I tried it out – it was fun! After playing for a while we explored the room. It seems that a horse lived and worked here years ago. At the end I tried to call you – but we didn’t know your number. Love Hugo
RikeH Posted Nov 7, 2009, 8:54 pm	Hi Mum! Today we will have a party – it is RikeH’s birthday. First we looked at her gifts. Then we sang a wonderful song for her. These flowers are so beautiful! When we helped RikeH to prepare everything for the evening we heard the bell. Who can this be? Dicker Kumpel opened the door. Another Bunny!!! He was so happy and gave her a warm welcome. She is called Co Co Rabbit and is from the UK. He introduced her to us – and we talked a lot. Then we decorated the table – this is the way TVs would eat… And this is the way, humans like to do it. They don’t sit on the table – this is strange. We had fun behind the happy birthday sign. The last thing this morning was to prepare the dessert. It looks yummy, doesn’t it? But it was very cold in this place. In the afternoon RikeHs Mum Hummel invited all of us to have a delicious cake. It looks great – and tasted great! In the evening we had a great party and ate a lot. But first we had some Champagne. We went to the table and ate so much. I didn’t know, what to eat first. Here are the desserts – now we were allowed to eat it. Some more snacks... First we looked into the camera for the photo.... ...but after it – we ate everything!!! Well Mum, it was funny – I hope to be on a birthday party soon. Yours Hugo
RikeH Posted Nov 21, 2009, 8:13 pm	Hello Mum we went to Hamburg today, because the weather was lovely. We went to the port with the tube. We didn't see many big ships, but had  nice looks over the port. Can you see the church in the background – it is called Michel – and it is very famous here in Hamburg. Then we visited Bismarck – he was an important politician many years ago. From this place we could see the Michel again. It is a beautiful church. Another nice view over the port. It was such a sunny day! On our way back we had a nice snack in the train. And we went to a great restaurant and had delicious icecream. What a great day! Greetings Hugo
RikeH Posted Dec 6, 2009, 8:28 pm	Hello Mum, Today is St, Nicholas Day in Germany – maybe all over the world. We don't know that. It means that you have to clean your boots – and put them next to the door. Then they will be filled with delicious sweets. In the afternoon  we visited RikeH's mum – Hummel. She had a lot of Christmas things – so we could make a lot of photos. First with the Advent wreath. A friendly nutcracker. Beautiful things out of wood. Here you can see all of us with a very famous person – Rudolf the red-nose reindeer. He is living here – it is so exciting! Bye Hugo
RikeH Posted Dec 21, 2009, 11:43 am	Hi Mum! We had snow!!! I was so excited!!! Look, how beautiful it is outside. We went into the centre of Sülfeld to see the church and the rest in white. Back home we had some delicious cakes. What a nice week-end. Yours Hugo
RikeH Posted Dec 27, 2009, 6:35 pm	Merry Christmas Mum, On the 24th of December the people celebrate Christmas in Germany. In the North it is Santa Claus, who brings the gifts, in the south it is the Christ Child. Because we are in the North, normally we have Santa Claus – but this year it was different – just have a look. This is the Christmas Tree – I really love it! Under the Christmas Tree there were many Christmas Cards from all over the world. Another nice Christmas decoration! We all sat together and RikeH read the Nativity story for us. It is about Maria, Josef and their child Jesus. What a surprise – I were able to visit them – in a stable... Then the important time of the evening came. The gifts!!! Four Christmas people came – a Christmas Bear, Rudolph, the famous Rendeer, a big Snowman – and Santa Claus. Hm – Santa Claus??? It was a Santa Bunny. Maybe because Dicker Kumpel is living here? Well, I told a Christmas-poem and Santa Bunny gave me a present. I opened it – some sweets. I love Christmas. When we all got our gifts, we sat together and sang the wonderful German Christmas Songs. I especially loved ‘Kling Glöckchen.’ I hope that you had a nice Christmas time, although I didn’t celebrated it with you? Love Hugo
RikeH Posted Jan 14, 2010, 6:52 pm	Hi Mum, We have winter here in Germany now. I just thought about my last life mission. Yea - I will build a snowman. It was hard work for a little ToyVoyager like me. But look, he is great, isn’t he? And here – you can see me sitting on the top of a snowman! I am so proud! Snowy greetings Hugo
RikeH Posted Feb 15, 2010, 9:20 pm	Hello Mum, a new guest arrived – his name is Libbs and he is from Singapore.  We gave him a warm welcome – he is so small. Today we will have a great time – it is Carnival Monday. So I searched for a nice hat. RikeH offered  three different ones. I decided to take the red one. Then I watched the parade in the TV. The people in the parade threw sweets – called Kamelle... and I cought some. I had so many... I shared the sweets with my friends. What a wonderful day! Hugo
RikeH Posted Mar 10, 2010, 11:41 am	Hello Mum, today we started our trip to Amrum Island – a nice German Island in the North Sea. We drove some hours – unfortunately the winter came back yesterday, but we arrived safe on the Coast – and saw our Ferry – called Schleswig-Holstein. Here you see me inside  - with the typical greeting – Moin Moin. I went outside – the weather was sunny – but it was cold. We stopped at another Island, called Föhr. Some people left the Ferry, but we went on to Amrum. What a great trip. I will write more from Amrum soon. yours Hugo
RikeH Posted Mar 18, 2010, 10:18 am	Moin Moin, I want to show you some nice things in the flat we are living. Some beautiful mussels. A nice lighthouse. There are many lighthouses in this part of Germany. Two strange fishes. They are able to live outside the water. And here are two funny bunnies. They are sitting in an egg-sleigh and have fun all the day. In the evening I relaxed in front of the fireplace. Greetings Hugo
RikeH Posted Mar 22, 2010, 11:53 am	Hi Mum, Our last day On Amrum Island – we were all sitting together and talked a lot. Some of us will go to new hosts on Monday. I will go to Finland, Landroval to Japan, Twix will visit Wales and Kasper will stay in Germany, but visit another place. We sat a very long time – and had so much fun. It is great to be a ToyVoyager! Then I said Good-Bye to Dicker Kumpel – he has been such a nice host! I really liked it here with him and RikeH. But now I am off to Finland! Hugs Hugo
FosterCareHome FosterCareHome@web.de Posted Mar 26, 2010, 7:09 am	I have arrived in Porvoo which is a small town in southern Finland. I'm staying at the FosterCareHome untill my owner gets back online. I'll show you a photo soon! Edit: here's the photo! They have had a proper winter here - finally, says my host. They have had tons of snow but it's finally melting away as the spring is approaching.
FosterCareHome FosterCareHome@web.de Posted Apr 2, 2010, 9:19 am	Happy Easter! Iloista pääsiäistä!
FosterCareHome FosterCareHome@web.de Posted Jul 21, 2010, 12:35 am	I was taken on a field trip to the old town in Porvoo! It was really pretty and interesting
FosterCareHome FosterCareHome@web.de Posted Oct 30, 2010, 9:44 am	Happily horrible Halloween!
FosterCareHome FosterCareHome@web.de Posted Dec 26, 2010, 7:33 am	Iloista joulua! Buorrit Juovllat! Merry Christmas! Nollaig chridheil huibh! God jul! Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan! Fröhliche Weihnachten! Joyeux Noel! Q Ná merye i turuhalmeri! QISmaS DatIvjaj 'ej DIS chu' DatIvjaj!
FosterCareHome FosterCareHome@web.de Posted Feb 11, 2011, 11:00 am	Today I finally left back home! It'll be great to see mom again and tell her about my adventures!

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