Way OUTBACK....not out back

Another beautiful sunset in the heart of the Outback


Stranded in the Outback and wishing we never had to leave. Every single person had to help push and pull to get us out. I need to put up a picture of the huge back-loader stuck in the sand and immovable. I was praying NOT to leave, when we were supposed to be praying for the opposite. Not until the huge windstorm and massive amounts of sand being swallowed in the middle of the night did I agree that maybe it was time to leave


Tony surveying the great outdoors. You have to worry about that guy! He literally NEVER changed his outfit once the entire time out there. Granted I didn't spell like roses but at least I had one extra shirt and shorts. He is my hero...anyone that can smell THAT bad and not care is my hero

We're having FUN here

The Crosscut Saw that we climbed on the first 3-day backpacking trip


Going to the Sydney Opera house to watch Pirates of Penzance. Despite my nap before the show, I STILL fell asleep during the last 1/2 of the show. It was so good though and fun to go to the Opera house. Now the place we ate for dinner before wasn't nothing to write home about.


Speaking of dinner...fancy Thanksgiving dinner at a campsite? The food was actually so good (as you can tell from my and Amy's faces) and it was nice to celebrate when we were so far away. Still regretting my clothing and hair choices though.


The pies and icecream we had for dessert at our Thanksgiving feast. Under normal circumstances I would have said that the pies were NASTY but that day they were the most delicious pies I have ever tasted. It might as well have been Chocolate Souffle at CPK for how good it tasted then.

In the land of Oz

Thank you Australia for helping out the helpless American tourists

The Mod-Squad, who wanted to be hard-core but couln't quite cut it. Nice try guys! You're not hard core unless you live hard-core

Team Clamy and its faithful followers.


Half the group Mountain biking...at at least carrying our bikes over one of the river crossings. Mountain biking was insanely fun...and scary....and Awesome.


Don't forget to check under your car before you leave because an innocent penguin might be walking underneath. I can't lie, this was the lamest day and place we went to the entire time in Australia. I would be more than happy to never see a penguin again

And the fun never ends

First days in Australia...rain rain rain! Katie, Robert, Kristi, Emma, Shelly, Kristine, and Kelsey cooking dinner


Ha ha ha. Brittni and Zach blowing faces on the bus window


Austrlian idea of dressing up for the big horse race vs....


American idea of dressing up for the same race


Beautiful Janni. No particular point of this picture other than the fact that I LOVE Janni!

A Loate relationship with Food!

The only brand name we could trust in Aussieland. Too bad the food was absolutely nasty and super low-quality but it didnt matter. If it said Black & Gold on it, than it was golden. Just like the sign says, "it's value you can trust." That is about the only thing you can trust. I have to admit, they did make a mean tub-o-icecream, peanut butter, and pancake mix. That's about the only items I remember loving.


Look familiar? Down under they get a little confused and call Burger King "Hungry Jacks!" The only difference is that you can get icecream cones for 49 cents! what a steal of a deal.


Do NOT be fooled. MILO doesn't even remotely resemble hot chocolate! I loved how we used to drink so much of it during school because we just wanted to get up and have a break, but we absolutely loathed the stuff. The Hills, on the other hand, loved MILO and drank it like it was going out of style.


Can i just say again how much I DESPISE Muesli. When we got to Austalia they said that Muesli was just like granola. Ummmm....I THINK NOT! Granola=delectable; muesli=gagging reflex. I had a hard 4 months for breakfast, to say the very least


Just when you think that things couldn't get worse in terms of nasty "cereal" items (like Muesli), Weetabix rears its ugly head. This stuff is NASTY! The little wheat pieces swell to 110 times their normal size and become incredibly soggy. I am still amazed that Amy could eat this stuff....and love it so much that she requested it at the grocery store. I never thought I was a picky eater until I went to Australia.

A good example of just how many flies there were in Australia. At one point, I counted 100+ on Kristi's white "Dunkley Rocks!" tshirt. Now you see why we needed the fly nets.


Everybody peacefully swimming in the billabong, never expecting the mud fight/attack that would be occuring shortly. Leave it up to Clamy to come up with some excitement.


Gee, Kristi, is your rainsuit bright enough? I actually own the exact same one so I can't really talk. We do happen to own kiddie rain jackets as well, but unfortunately the kiddie pants were too small...and the boots were made for kids! How rude.


At Grampians just climbing like we own the place! This is Jen and Katie at the end of the line...literally


Kalli and Mariah, the "little sisters". Oh how we love our little Hill Family. Amy and I loved being the big sisters.

We are Random...to say the least

Yes, you are right!...that is Professor Brian Hill and his lovely wife, Karen. The only problem is can you tell which one is the wife and which is Dr. Hill? In case you're wondering, Brian and Karen decided to cross-dress for Halloween as eachother. Brian was the prettiest girl I have ever seen and Karen was the scariest man I have ever seen. I will never forget my shock when they got to the Bears house to get on the bus. Ohhh...and Brian's girly voice. If BYU only knew the things that went on in Australia...




Speaking of BYU...so cool




Warrior Princess Big Raindrop and Warrior Princess Billabong. Wait, Amy, what was your name again?


Emma, our chief watching over the tribe while we wait for the other vehicles to get out-stuck of the sand. We had competitions in the sand. Amy and I won the wheelbarrel race! I wish I remembered all the names. All I know is that I controlled the Rain, hence my name Big Raindrop...and Krisit was Many Fly because the flies loved her even more than they loved everybody else. Man, serioulsy the best trip




Jen, Ashley, Mackenzie, Shelly-Ann, and Megan at King's Canyon.




Yes! That is a real koala bear in nature. We finally got to see one on the 2 week trip. Good thing because koala bear's are my favorite animals...at least i THINK they are