Videos and Information Relevant to travel

I went to Western Australia, with my friends Bill and Marcia, that I met in Bali. I had a great time touring around with them. There is too much to write here, so visit my page on my mum's website to read more. Thanks again Bill and Marcia! When we arrived and checked in at our resort, the lady gave us a package that had been waiting for our arrival. Of course, it was Marly, the teddy bear that would be accompanying us on our Western Australian adventure. There was much to-do getting Marly out of his confinement from the five day trip across Australia from Melbourne to Perth! And a thirsty little devil he was! A whole bottle of Coca-Cola right off the bat!! Our first day trip was to drive south to Margaret River. It seemed to be the general consensus with the Australians we talked to that we had to visit Margaret River for its many well-known wineries. Lunches are packed and Marly is ready to go! On the way to Margaret River, we stopped in Busselton, the home of the longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere. Our guidebooks said the jetty was closed in early 2009 for repairs but would be open again soon. The jetty was begun in 1853 and continually added to for a total length of nearly two kilometers until it was closed to shipping in 1972. A small train was used to haul goods, particularly lumber, in and out from the ships to the shore. A cyclone in the late 1970s destroyed a small branch of the pier which ran from about midpoint into shore and did tremendous damage to the main pier. They have since tried to rebuild it as a tourist attraction boasting an underwater observatory in addition to a train ride. Our next day was to Pinjarra and Dwellingup, inland from Mandurah. We found the Pinjarra Visitor Center and wandered around inside for a bit. We went to the "historical park." It turned out to be a lovely large park that the Murray River ran through. And over the Murray River was a long pedestrian suspension bridge. The river was home to more ducks and other water fowl. From here we traveled up in elevation to Dwellingup which is known for its Jarrah forests. Jarrah is of the eucalyptus family of trees and is highly prized for its hardness and termite resistance. When Jarrah is seasoned, Jarrah wood is so hard that conventional wood-working tools cannot be used. Jarrah was exported to England where it was cut into blocks and used as foundation under asphalt roadbeds. We visited the Forest Heritage Center where they have a renowned working school of fine wood training. The building complex is shaped in the form of a big leaf. The two little leaves are the visitor center, the main school the large leaf. They had many lovely items from jewelry boxes to furniture made from jarrah wood on display. We had a lot more adventures. Too many to put here.

I went on a quick trip to Parramatta, with Marlene. Parramatta is a suburb in Sydney, Australia. We got there late and I got to have breakfast in bed the next day. Then we went for a walk along the Parramatta river. You can get the Rivercat and go along the river to Sydney. You come into Circular Quay under the Harbour bridge. We went to the market at Parklea. It is the biggest undercover market in Australia. We visited Sydney Olympic park, where the Sydney 2000 Olympics were held. We had a look at the cauldron that was used in the opening and closing ceremony. It is now a water feature. Also the stadium where the opening and closing ceremony was held. We visited Bondi beach as well. It was a whirlwind trip but I had fun.

I went to Toronto for Christmas and the New Year. I was so looking forward to see a real Canadian winter and a white Christmas, but I had no luck! But I had a lot of fun in Toronto. I went to the CN Tower, which is the highest tower in Canada. It used to be the highest tower in the world, but not anymore. Nevertheless, I loved my ride in a super fast elevator, which took me to the top of the world! I even asked nice people to lift me so I could take a picture of myself at the top of the world! I had so much fun at the CN tower. I rode a moose, which is a beloved animal in Toronto, since they don't have many bears. I met many nice people at the CN Tower, including a little boy Daniel from Toronto who was visiting CN Tower with his aunt and uncle. People are incredibly nice in Canada and everyone was happy to hold me. Even the very strict security guard in the CN Tower wanted to hold me and take a picture with me. Then I got to lie on the glass floor in the CN Tower and I could see the ground far below, and I wasn't scared at all! Toronto is so huge when you look out the window in the CN tower! It's built in a funny way, too: all tall buildings are in the middle of Toronto along the Yonge street, and in Downtown along the lake, like an upside down letter T. And short building are all around. Then I went to the Royal Ontario Museum. It's the most famous museum in Toronto, and it looks like a crystal, and a very big one! Look how tiny I am on the picture. I liked the museum so much! They have lots of stuffed animals and birds, which looked just like me, although I didn't see any bears. But most of all I liked the skeletons of dinosaurs - they were so huge! One day, I even took a trip to Niagara Falls, which is a 1,5 hours drive from Toronto. The weather was a bit gloomy and foggy, but I did my best to pose for the pictures. I really liked the falls - there are 2 of them, one is Canadian, and the other is American. I actually saw the USA across the Niagara River! The Americans invited me to cross the bridge and come to the USA, but I didn't have a passport on me, and you can't cross the bridge without a passport. So I decided to go to the Wax Museum in the Canadian Niagara Falls instead. They have wax figures of the famous people and even bears. I took a picture with Elvis Presley and a bear, we kinda look like brothers! After the museum, I went to play Galaxy Golf in Niagara Falls, which is almost like a real golf, but they have funny alien figures around. My favourite was a scary orange alien Octopus, I wouldn't want to meet him for real! I wanted to stay in Toronto longer and wait for snow, but it was time to catch my flight back to Australia. I had a great time in Toronto thanks to Svetlana.

Marly the globetrotting teddy bear, now has his own song.

3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage... all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ....into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films..... = a trip of a lifetime. move, eat, learn Rick Mereki : Director, producer, additional camera and editing Tim White : DOP, producer, primary editing, sound Andrew Lees : Actor, mover, groover All Music composed and performed by Kelsey James Music Recorded and mixed by Jake Phillips Colour Grade : Edel Rafferty and Roslyn Di sisto Online Edit : Peter Mirecki Assistance in titles and production design : Lee Gingold, Jason Milden, Rohan Newman Big Ups to Michelle, Kiri, Renee, Hana, Andre, Ross, Bernie & Julie for your patience and support and awesomeness..... Huge Thanks to : Marco, Juliana and Julio at GAP Argentina and Peru Ariana Cardenas, Toni Figuera and cooltra scooters in Barcelona, Abete Zanetti Glass blowing school, Murano, Venice Annabel, Rosario and Carolina (Pitu) in France Juane and Andrea from the Princeca Insolenta hostel in Chile And .... a very special thanks to Adam, Brendan, Simon, Crissy and all at STA travel without whom this would not have been possible and we would all still be stuck in Argentina.