Chiba, Japan - 28th September 2008
By: kiskis
Hello! My name is Chiro. I am a small (chiisai) white (shiroi) girl bear.
I am really excited to be a toy voyager!!
My mom loves to travel and so do I. But sadly, it is so expensive for a human to travel and she has 6 cats (yes, she's crazy about cats! She's looking for fosterparents for 6th one, though.) at home so she can't travel as much as she wants to. So I've decided to travel alone and show her the world through my travel log.
I want to show her historical places, museums, gardens, zoos and your favorite places like houses, cafes/restaurants/bars/pubs, shops and such. Basically, almost everywhere!
As this is going to be my first time to travel alone, I am a bit nervous. I would be grateful if you could tell me your story before I sleep.
If you are interested in hosting me, let me know!
Well, it is already my time to sleep. I have to go by now. See you!
This is a picture of me with my friend, Momo. My mom's first cat. She's beautiful, isn't she? I hope I will be that beautiful when I grow up. I know I am a bear, though....
My Travel List
sararingham (Australia) visiting
gingermuggins (Australia)
babyamy (Germany)
em_hoefler (Canada)
RockVixen07 (USA)
dimi (Brazil)
snoopy (Finland)
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Posted Sep 28, 2008, 2:50 pm Last edited Feb 25, 2009, 2:49 am by kiskis
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Chiba, Japan - 30th September 2008
By: kiskis
It is raining here in Chiba. I don't like rain that much:/
Well, my mom and I were looking for hosts and I got an invitation from Australia! It is exciting! My mom and I have never been to Southern Hemisphere. I have heard that Australia has some unique animals and I am interested in them so much!
It is fall here in Japan so it is spring in Australia? I am a bit confused.... What should I pack?
This is 6th cat my mom keeps, Shiro-Kuro kun. My dad found him with 2 other new born kittens in a box by the gate of his elementary school on the Field Day. His students took 2 kittens but Shiro-Kuro kun couldn't find a family. But he needed help so my dad took him in. They are feeding him every 3 hours. They look a bit sleepy, tired and happy at the same time.
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Posted Sep 29, 2008, 4:20 pm Last edited Oct 1, 2008, 6:58 am by kiskis
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Chiba, Japan - 2nd October 2008
By: kiskis
Hello! How are you?
Today, I went to the movie to see Iron Man. How late movies come to Japan!!! My mom and dad have seen it once in Korea in June but they wanted to see it again because it was so good and I hadn't seen it yet. Sadly, my mom forgot to bring her camera and cellphone, we don't have any pictures. She really should start not forgetting to bring them to anywhere!!! Anyway, I loved the movie! It was so exciting!
By the way, do you remember Shiro-Kuro kun? The 6th kitten my mom keeps? Well, he finally opened his eyes!!!! I'm so happy to see him growing up!
It is the picture of my mom feeding Shiro-Kuro.
This is a picture of 5th kitten, Sakura.
She was found in the gutter a month ago. She is supposed to be 2 months old now. She is hyper and sweet. She loves to play with me but she is sweet enough not to kill me
Well, other cats are so picture shy. I might be update with their pictures someday when I get back to my mom!!!
Oh, I am going to miss my cat friends so much while I'm traveling. But I am so excited to meet new friends!!! (Mom, don't forget to take pictures of my friends while I am away!)
I'm going to update when I get to Australia!
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Posted Oct 1, 2008, 4:17 pm
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Orange, New South Wales, Australia - 7th October 2008
By: sararingham
Hey mom! I've arrived in Australia... wasn't that long of a journey thankfully! I'll update again with some photos later tonight! Miss you!
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Posted Oct 7, 2008, 6:43 am
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Orange, New South Wales, Australia - 7th October 2008
By: sararingham
Well today was my first day in Australia. Oh well, half a day anyways. Since Tuesday's Sara and her family don't do much I just helped Sara do the laundry... and there sure was a lot of it, especially since she did it last only 5-6 days ago... pretty crazy...
We had to wait a while to have enough washing to put on the line other than that we'd be going back and forth outside quite a bit and it would be quite exhausting so we waited patiently and then we were able to help Sara put some of the clothes on the line... not much since well, we're so small... but we helped what we could... :-)
...and then we came back inside to find another pile of clothes for Sara told fold. You see Sara doesn't really like doing the laundry all that much... sometimes it gets a bit over the top when you have to put everything on the line and then take it all back off the line and fold it... pretty crazy... can you see me?
...and then finally we got to meet up with the other toyvoyagers that are staying with Sara at the moment. There's quite a few but some of them will be moving on pretty soon onto other hosts...
From left to right it's Bellatrix, Bally, Jonas, Luv Leon, myself, Manner, Fred Lion, Lollipop and Tiah Tigris.
Oh, and I also got to meet an Australian resident today as well, although he doesn't speak english he was very pretty...
...he's called an Eastern Rosella, they're not as common as Galah's and Cockatoos in the area... but you still do see them from time to time... I couldn't get too close as I didn't want to scare it away... isn't it pretty though?
Write again soon mom! <3
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Posted Oct 7, 2008, 11:02 am
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Blayney, New South Wales, Australia - 10th October 2008
By: sararingham
Today we went to Blayney (population 3,000), it's around a 30 minute drive between Bathurst and Orange, if you think of a triangle it's the bottom right hand corner, Orange is the bottom left, and Bathurst is the top point... nothing really in the middle of it but small little towns like Millthorpe (population 600). It's a very small town, although it has 3,000 people it still is quite small... it seems a lot smaller than that...
Anyways, Sara and Daniel dropped their car off at the mechanic to get the pink slip done (checking the car over so it can be registered for 2009) and took a long walk around town. All the toyvoyagers got to stay in Sara's backpack but sadly we couldn't come out too much besides peeking out of the bag every now and then. First stop we got to go to Sara's father in law's house for a while since it would be a while...
I got to learn a little bit about these houses... they seem kind of old by the look of them, and you can only see three in the photo, but there is four of them and they're all identical... or used to be... they're part of the Historical Heritage Trust of New South Wales. They're called the Marsden Cottages they were built at the same time in the late 1860's for the servants that worked for some rich family that lived around half a kilometre away, they were the Marsden family. The pink colored house is the one Sara used to live in and it's the most original of all of the houses... even though it had a bit built onto it, the doors are the same, so they're a bit run down but it's all original. The pink one is also the one that is the least run down, as they all have cracks in them because of being worn down but they're kind of interesting, and a lot larger than they look from the outside... with a really strange floor plan...
Well after spending a bit of time at the house we decided it was time to move on, we walked down the street a little ways and got to the Blayney High School, Sara's always found Australia strange for the fact that they have an agriculture class that they can take. So on the school grounds they have sheep, cows, and chickens... pretty crazy isn't it? Kind of cool though too I think... :-)
Moving on down the street we got to see these two churches, they're quite old as well, the first was built in 1861, and is all original, the second.... Sara's not really sure about it but it looks kind of cool...
Oh, and here's the main street of Blayney. Blayney was pretty busy for how small the town is, there were a LOT of tourists in town for the Bathurst races being held this weekend so we couldn't really come out of the bag for the fear of getting lost since there are so many of us... but I promise there will be more photos of me to come... :-)
That's literally all of Blayney, there's not much to it - it's pretty boring when you're around it at all times. Very small, and caused Sara a lot of problems from such a dramatic change from Seattle (huge city) to Blayney (tiny tiny town)... it drove her nuts lol... but everything is good now, it's nice to see some of the smaller towns within Australia isn't it? Write again soon mom!
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Posted Oct 12, 2008, 3:56 pm
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Orange, NSW, Australia - 18th October 2008
By: sararingham
It was a very sunny and warm day. Sara made an impulse decision to take us down the street to Banjo Patterson's birthplace... which isn't too far of a drive from where she lives. Banjo Patterson is famous for his poem/song Waltzing Matilda which is famous all around Australia... here I am with the statue in memory of him...
Waltzing Matilda
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
"Who'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 got the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he stowed 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 stowed that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".
Down came the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred,
Up came the troopers, one, two, three,
"Who'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"
"Who's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?",
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".
Up got the swagman and jumped into the billabong,
"You'll never catch me alive", said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me?"
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me?"
...there was lots and lots of birds around and making a bit of noise so we took notice... oh, it was just a little magpie... one of Australia's most common birds, and quite known for swooping you during the Spring months (now) to protect their babies...
Onto the way to the Templers Mill ruins, we stopped to have a photo with the landscapes of the area... this is what it looks like around here... but... usually more brown because of the drought, recently we got a lot of rain so it's a bit more green around here. Quite a lot more beautiful than normal. :-)
After we all got our photos taken at the statue we moved onto the Templer's Mill, which was right near where Banjo Patterson was born. His house is no longer there, so this is what stands (or not so much anymore) to mark his birthplace. Here we are on the wreckage of the old mill...
...can you see us now that were farther away? It shows you how big the ruins are of the old mill... crazy how big it is isn't it?
...then we got to learn a little bit about the old Templers Mill...
You can now see a photo of what the Templers Mill used to look like... now if you can't read what the sign says this is what it reads:
In 1828, the land between Orange and Suma Park was granted to emancipist Simeon Lord as part compensation for land he had surrendered to Governor Macquarie in 1911 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 horseworks. In 1948, 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 nefew, Andrew Barton Paterson, was born on 17 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.
Walking a bit farther up the hill (more walking, just keep walking) we got to the memorial on the side of the road for Banjo... here we are in front of it:
Since it's not easy to read here's what it says:
The Australian Poet, Andrew Barton Paterson (Banjo)
Was born 17th of 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 wonderous glory of the everlasting stars."
(Clancy Of The Overflow)
Banjo is even on the Australian $10. note, it was quite fun to get to know a bit more about the history of Australia. :-) Write again soon! There's a heap more interesting stuff to come!
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Posted Oct 20, 2008, 9:21 am
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Orange, NSW, Australia - 25th October 2008
By: sararingham
This weekend was a pretty boring weekend... but Sara decided on a whim that she was in a Halloween decoration mood... even though Australia doesn't have the normal orange Halloween pumpkins (well, they have the small ones sometimes but they're quite expensive since they're imported from America). Sara found a pumpkin that they've been storing for a baked dinner and decided that it looked like it wanted to be a jack-o-lantern. Sara carved and cut out the pumpkin and we all watched since there was a sharp knife involved... well, here I am with the finished product...
...after we all got our photos with the pumpkin, Sara turned out the lights and put a candle in the pumpkin... doesn't it look cool? It was quite fun! We also did a few other halloween decorations... you'll probably see those a bit later...
Write again soon mom! Sorry I've been so quiet... :-)
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Posted Oct 28, 2008, 4:35 am
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Mount Canobolas, NSW, Australia - 27th October 2008
By: sararingham
Well, today me and the toyvoyagers took a trip up to Mount Canobolas. It's quite warm out... ugh! Well, when we finally got up there it was VERY windy, we were all kept in a plastic bag so Sara was sure not to loose any of us in the car ride up or while we were there (except when photos were taken of course)... but I got to see a nice view of the town below...
...as you can see it was a beautiful blue sky day... not a cloud in sight, apparently it's supposed to rain... but for some reason Sara doubts it... she hopes so though because then it'll at least cool everything down a bit... here's the other side of the mountain. This is facing towards Blayney and the smaller towns that are around 30 minutes drive away... it's so dark because it was around 3pm when the photos were taken so the sun was in the wrong place.. whoops!...
...when Sara was actually taking photos the plastic bag flew away, thankfully it didn't have any toyvoyagers in it... it flew around 300 feet and then down a huge hill so Sara had to trudge down by herself to get the bag... but first she dropped all the toyvoyagers off in the car where they would be safe.... here's the apex point of the mountain...
...and here's a bit of information about the Canobolas mountain range that were standing on...
...because you can't read it because it's so small, Sara will type it out in case you want to learn a bit more about the mountain range...
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 kilometre 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 kilometre radius were active for shorter periods. The basalt capping has largely weathered away, producing fertile soils as far away as West Wyalong.
Well, it was getting kind of late so it was time to move on... Sara did another stop off half way down the mountain for another view of Orange along the side of the road... quite the same from what I've already seen, but so different as it's not all cloudy and freezing cold (even though Sara would kind of prefer that right now)...
....and across the road is the peak of the mountain we were standing on and Little Mount Canobolas (as it's called) is another peak near it that you can hike to... it's around a 1.3 kilometre hike from the peak of the mountain...
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Posted Oct 28, 2008, 5:13 am
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Lake Canobolas, NSW, Australia - 27th October 2008
By: sararingham
On the way home, we stopped off at Lake Canobolas to see the ducks and well... it was just a nice and pretty day out and the water was gorgeous... although it was tempting to go swimming we didn't... the ducks even looked like they were hot from all this dry heat...
...well, not much time to spend there it was time to head home... on the way home we saw a fire truck... Sara thinks they kind of look funny from the ones she's used to in America...
...it seems one of the firemen seemed to be looking at her taking a photo of them too while they were driving by... they probably think she's crazy! Oh well... :-)
...and you know how I said it was forecasted to rain? Well... it did, for a whole 5 minutes before heating up again actually warmer than it was most of the day, at 7pm even... ugh! But it did have a nice rainbow... :-)
Well, I'll write again soon! Miss you mom!
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Posted Oct 28, 2008, 5:14 am Last edited Oct 28, 2008, 5:15 am by sararingham
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Orange, NSW, Australia - 31st October 2008
By: sararingham
Today we all went to the dog park... it was VERY warm today, it was around 95' degrees in Sydney but they have the wind from the ocean when there is any... we are more inland and no rain so it was very very hot outside... we decided to take the dog to the dog park and just let her run like crazy... here I am at the dog park...
...as you can see the dog, and Sara's husband Daniel were getting quite the workout... I'm not in the photos because Sara was zoomed in quite a distance... in the first picture you see that huge hill? They were up there when the photos were taken... pretty crazy the distance her camera can zoom in...
...and here's a picture of her 6-month old beagle puppy called Anni... isn't she cute?
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Posted Nov 1, 2008, 3:05 pm Last edited Nov 1, 2008, 3:06 pm by sararingham
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