Koala Capitol of the World- Gunnedah, NSW

I have just had one of the best weekends since I've been here! I spent the last 4 days of my life in a town called Gunnedah...3 of us Americans went home with one of my friends and spent time with her and her family at their house. It felt SO nice to be in a home again!

We hopped on the train and rode it for 4 and a half hours before arriving. ALL you could see from the train window was flat plains with cows and sheep and red barns. Thaaaaaaat's it. I think this picture depicts my thoughts very well for that moment. I think the exact phrase that was going through my head was, "WHAT am I getting myself into?!"

We got to Gunnedah and Caz picked us up from the train stop and took us on a "tour" of the city which literally took 5 minutes, MAX. So to burn more time she took us up a hill to this lookout that reminded me a lot of a place I go to with my friends in Scottsdale. It was beautiful even though there wasn't much to see! Ha ha
Then we got to her house and it was such a wonderful feeling! She made up beds for the 3 of us complete with new blankets and Australian candy on each one. I then sat on a couch (and watched TV) for the first time in months and it was GLORIOUS!
After Caz's parents came home from work they made us a homemade dinner...delicious! I know they're not mine, but it was really nice to be in a family setting again with a mom and dad. Caz and her parents planned out homemade meals for EVERY meal all weekend. We were so grateful! In this photo its me and Aubrey on the left and Caz and Samantha on the right.
One hilarious thing about being at the Cone household was the fact that they had a THIRTY POUND cat. This picture doesn't even do him justice. He was huuuuuuuuuuuuge!
Here's a photo of Main Street in Gunnedah. Literally the stores you're seeing are their 1 dentist, their 1 doctor, their 1 haircut parlor, their 1 pharmacy, etc.... TINY.

We found this sign and took loads of pictures with it. We spent the whole day searching for random koala's all around town. Windows down, heads out, cameras ready.

The Americans experiencing the koala capitol! Me, Sam and Aubrey.

This is the visitor information center. I went a little crazy buying souvenirs here for everyone back home.

That night for dinner we were taken to Terry's pizza! Oh....my......gosh..... it was the most delicious pizza I have EVER eaten (or maybe it just seems like that since I haven't HAD pizza since February), but regardless we loved it! Great "family" bonding time!

The next morning we went to a craft show in town. I bought handmade soap and way too many Australian pride mementos. Oh, here's another picture of their massive cat, "Fuzz." It was a serious workout every time you had to pick him up.

Random Koala we found!

The next day, we all went to a wildlife reserve park. Here's me petting a baby koala bear! So, so, so precious! Did you know that koalas sleep 19-20 hours per day? What a life.

Here's a baby kangaroo I befriended! Although it doesn't look like that since he has his paws up in fighting position! Ha ha.

Mommy and Daddy roos!

The place we were at had a special area for refuge animals. When koalas, wallabies, kangaroos and everything are hurt in the wild they can be brought here for help.

After walking around the park, Caz's parents set up a barbecue for all of us! Every type of meat you can imagine was there. Here's Caz's dad grillin' up a storm.

We took turns taking pictures with all of the food. DELICIOUS!

Us girls at the park!

Every few meters there were these koala crossing signs along the high way! I thought it was the coolest thing ever. All types of Aussie wildlife were along side the road. Kangaroos truly jumped right along side our car.

Representing USA.

That night, we went to Caz's friend's house for dinner. They made us a huge homemade feast and were overjoyed to have Americans in their home. We were celebs. Here's one of the wild horses we played with while we were there.

That night we played the "pokies." Basically slot machines that ate a LOT of our money at the Gunnedah Country Club. Guess how much membership is to their country club....TEN BUCKS A MONTH. Ten dollars. That's it. And it was just as nice as any other CC.

Gunnedah's ONE street sign which had half of the city's resources listed. Oh yeah- and they only have 1 street light in their whole town.

And after that we experienced all the nightlife that this small town had to give us! But due to my sense of self pride, I can't post any of those pictures online...but here's a taste!

Don't judge me.

Anyway, overall it was a wonderful weekend! My homesickness is completely gone, which is an awesome feeling. I'm now back home at TEDs and enjoying the curry once more...NOT. I have a lot of school work to do this week, but it should fly by in a breeze! I love you all dearly back in the USA!

--LP--