Beaches and Brawls (well, almost)

Today was another day to go off exploring the area.  I decided to to Port Noarlunga, a beach town just south of where I'm staying.  I walked up to the bus stop and was surprised by the huge crowd of people waiting around -- apparently they were all waiting for the bus to the city for the Adelaide Crows football match.  They looked like some diehard fans -- the football games are supposed to be really fun here!  I waited around for about 20 minutes before my bus showed up, which was running late.  I hopped on, and we started to pull out of the lot.  As the bus was pulling out onto the road, the driver suddenly slammed on the brakes, and everyone went flying forward.  Unfortunately, so did the older foreign lady sitting in front of me -- she shrieked as she fell forward, and it didn't sound good.  The thug in the back of the bus wasn't too happy either...he started spouting off some expletive-laced tirades at the top of his voice, calling out the driver and shouting about the late bus and his troubles with his bipolar girlfriend.  Ouch.  he even threatened to kick in the face of the old man who helped the lady!  The woman seemed more shaken than anything, but we had to wait around for an ambulance to come get her.  The thug was not happy, and he let us all know it.  After about a half hour, another bus showed up -- the woman was able to go odd with an ambulance, and the thug was threatened with a phone call to the "coppers."

After this incident, I finally made it down to Noarlunga.  As I started to head to the transfer bus, I saw some pretty weird people (both weird looking and weird smelling) and was starting to second-guess my choice of destination.  I got on the next bus, which took me down the road towards the sea.  I got off at a local bakery, and then started searching for the beach.  As soon as I saw it, I knew that I picked the right place to spend the day.  It was wicked nice looking!  There was a long jetty that a bunch of people were fishing off of, high red cliffs, and turquiose-blue water.  I walked to the end of the jetty and then explored the cliffs a bit.  The sun was shining down through the clouds -- "God-clouds," we've always called them, and they definitely looked like it.  Walking along the beach was the perfect way to take in the beauty of the area and relax after a crazy week Down Under.

Looking out from the jetty

Walking along the beach

Tonight seems to be shaping up as a mock-American night.  I had some Campbells soup and Kraft grilled cheese, but both were made in Australia and tasted just different enough to notice.  Then I put on AFV -- Australia's Funniest Home Videos.  It's definitely different than America's Funniest Home Videos; the commentary isn't quite as good but some of the videos are really funny.  I saw a commercial for an all new episode of The Biggest Loser, too -- the only problem is that it aired in the US two years ago.  It's funny how Australian culture is so similar to American, and yet so different.

After spending today on the beach, I'll be off for the hills tomorrow to go to Cleland Wildlife Park, home of the "Koala Experience!"