Easter Break

Well it’s been over 2 weeks since I last posted, sorry about the delay but for a few days I was actually busy and didn’t have time to write anything for the blog.

We had our big game against Olympic a week and half ago and played Peninsula Power last Saturday and were able to come away with victories in both games.

In our game against Olympic, the second place team, we won 7-3. It was a great game against a very good side. We went up 2-0 early, I scored the first, and then we missed a penalty kick around the 30^th minute that probably would have put the game away for good. However, the miss gave Olympic a glimmer of hope and they stole a goal before the half and continued pushing for the equalizer after the break, which they got early in the second half. Unfortunately for them we came roaring back, scoring 60 seconds later and securing 4 unanswered goals (I doubled my tally with the 6^th) before Olympic got a consolation 3^rd goal and Steffen completed his hat trick.

In the past round of games against Peninsula we weren’t at full strength, missing our starting goalie and one of our central midfielders. We started out playing well but after we bagged our first goal were unable to pull away like usual. The absence of our full strength side was beginning to show, even though their replacements both played admirably, and the rest of the team looked sluggish going into the break. After halftime we were still unable to find our form but kept Peninsula from finding the back of the net, which was enough to secure the 3 points. In the locker room after the game it felt more like a loss than a victory, and we all expect a better performance even though we were able to grind out 3 points away from home against a talented side. Highlights from the game can be found here.

Outside of soccer we made a trip down the coast to Lamington National Park to do some hiking. The park is south and west of Brisbane and driving there is a bit of an adventure because as you travel inland the roadways aren’t very well developed. There was only one road going up the mountain, but that road was one and a half lanes with numerous switchbacks and blind corners, so it is slow going once off the motorway. The hike we chose to go on was 10.5 kilometers and took us through very thick rain forest, down into a gorge between two mountains and along a river that had 6 or 7 waterfalls varying in height from 8 or 9 meters tall to 25 meters tall (Bucket list: Waterfalls, complete). I tried taking pictures but most didn’t turn out because it started pouring rain about 30 minutes into our 3 hour hike! At the conclusion of the hike we came across a wallaby, which while not a kangaroo or koala bear was still pretty cool.

We won’t have another game until May 7 so I’m hoping to do a little more traveling next week when everybody goes back to work after the Easter/ Anzac day holidays. I’ll be sure to have some good pictures to share then!

Hope all is well back home!

The Fruit Barn and a Goal Extravaganza

Although I have been in Australia 2 months, I am just beginning to discover some of the benefits of living in a tropical climate. In the past two weeks my roommates and I have been enjoying the overwhelming selection of fresh, in season fruit that we can find at local produce stores. Fresh watermelons (49 cents a kg), pineapples (2 for $5), pears, and any number of other fruits have become a staple of every meal, as well as a source of pride amongst the roommates for who can produce the best looking selection. I have been mowing down 2 pineapples a week, and the only problem with the fruit selection down here has been the insane price of bananas ($12 a kg) because the crop got wiped out in the floods. I love having such a great selection of fresh fruit readily available from fruit stands close by.

Although my love of food is well documented what I have been enjoying the turn of the seasons from summer to fall even more, (although there is hardly a difference) the weather has been absolutely perfect. The high everyday hovers in the low 80’s, making everyday activities much more enjoyable. The mornings and evenings are cool, a long sleeve t-shirt is enough to take in the sunrise or enjoy the great view we have of the southern stars from our back yard. I have been enjoying both of these frequently, especially a good jog at sunrise. It is a quick 10 minute drive out to the ocean to watch the sunrise, and because of the low tide there is a sand bar that runs from the shore out to a small island about 1 km out into the ocean (pictured above), what is really cool about this is the sand bar cuts a perfect trail through the water right out to the island. It was hard to motivate myself to get up early enough to take in the sunrise but the discovery of this run is making it so much easier. That, and I have recently been enjoying the benefits of iced coffee, the world seems so much brighter with a little coffee in my system.

However, everything else that takes up my time is made better by Wolves continued run of good form in the early stages of the league. We won our last two games against University of Queensland and Taringa 2-0 and 11-1 respectively. University gave us a very good game making it difficult for us to play by competing with us better than any team has so far. The Taringa game was different altogether, they actually scored the first goal, against the run of play, and they were ecstatic after scoring but we quickly responded and put the game out of reach, we really could have ended up scoring 20. Needless to say that result, combined with our other 4 victories, is turning a lot of heads. Our upcoming game against Olympic, one of the traditional powers in our league, is an absolutely massive fixture for us. We are looking forward to having a good week of training to take us into the game ready to go and continue our fine form.

Highlights from our last two games can be found at http://vimeo.com/21865245 (Taringa) and http://vimeo.com/21575932 (University), and I think that the game this weekend will be taped again so highlights should be available, and I’ll be checking in to see if the game can be found streamed live as well.

Hope all is well back home!