Tasmania

Well, for those of you who wondered if I'd ever leave Fiji, I have. I flew out on Christmas Day and arrived many, many hours later in Hobart. So, in addition to having the earliest Christmas of the World, I was able to celebrate it with two groups of people in two countries yesterday. I saw midnight come and Christmas Eve slide into Christmas Day with Mike and Poo, the two that had been in New Town beach during my entire seven week stay in Fiji, and with whom I'd had my Thanksgiving dinner a month beforehand.

Because my flight left rather early on Christmas Day, I elected to drink the night away rather than try and sleep. I also figured that the six hour layover I had in Sydney would be plenty of time to rest. It wasn't, but I met several wonderful Aussies, who, upon learning that I'd just arrived in Australia, were determined that I should have my first beer in their country. And second, and third.... and so on and so forth. I am now at Phil and Judy's in Hobart and resting after my very long Christmas Day. I'm not too sure on my immediate plans but I'll sort them out along the way.