Lone Pine was founded in 1927 and is the world's largest and oldest Koala sanctuary. It's also one of the few sanctuaries in the world that allow you to hold a Koala for a fee. Koalas, kangaroos, lizards, and wombats, count me in!
JoinedSeptember 29, 2023
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Back in December, Mercy Corps put us in touch with Rick Steves and he invited myself and Brian Shrader from another Seattle Rally team, Baatar Hero, to do an interview with him about the 2010 Mongol Rally we participated in. Needless to say, we were super stoked to meet him and visit the studio!
After spending a couple of fabulous days in beautiful, relaxing, laid-back Amed, we showed up in Kuta and were immediately shell-shocked. We could only describe it as a sort of LA meets South Beach Australian surf party. It was NOT what we were hoping for.
Today's adventure was snorkeling at the shipwreck of the USS Liberty, about 20 minutes north of Amed. The fish were spectacular, the shipwreck was nothing short of amazing and we had a great experience swimming with a school of thousands of fish.
We've now developed a new recreational love here in Bali: scootering! It's such a fantastic and cheap way to get out, see the island, and have a blast! We also enjoyed our own little mini version of the Discovery Channel by snorkeling in the fantastic reef just off the shore of our bungalow.
Today we packed up and left the Ubud Villa to venture to Amed, a sleepy little town on Bali's east coast that has beautiful ocean views, fabulous seafood, and a very young, hip population. We love it and already think we'll be here a while.
Tuesday afternoon I left Seattle for a 5-week trip to Australia and New Zealand. I’m flying out with an Australian...
On my last day in Bali I got up early and sat by the pool with the intention of writing something extraordinary to sum up the trip. I had no idea where to start. This trip has exceeded my expectations in just about every possible way and I will always remember it as my first real off-continent travel adventure. Cheers to Bali!
A great day spent touring some of the villages surrounding Amed, meeting the locals, and passing out surprises to little kids. Joya even got to try some spicy fish and we all stumbled into an accidental village celebration of some sort. A fantastic day!
An amazing trip to a temple with 1000 stairs where we met a priest who presented us with a special blessing and told us of his visit to the States and to Seattle. After leaving we found locals at every corner pointing us the way back home. Things like this just don't happen by accident do they?
Armed with scooters, we toured the island, took a bunch of photos, and enjoyed cooling off by riding around during the hottest part of the day. And we also discovered that we're sharing our beach bungalow with a cute little bathroom snake!
Today Jo taught me the fine art of bartering and negotiation during a long day of shopping and sightseeing. Afterwards we enjoyed a hilarious stroll through the Monkey Forest and considered it a success as none of the nasty little creatures managed to hitch a ride home with us. We finished up the day with a birthday celebration for Joya!