I've always been a HUGE fan of Australia ever since I was a little kid and picked up a book about Australia. I even did a show-and-tell in school and brought pictures of platypus, echidnas, kookaburras, and wombats. During my postsecondary education I took a year sabbatical to go live there and adventure around the country on a motorcycle from 1992 to 1993. It was the best year of my young adulthood, second only to my Peace Corps experience in how it influenced the person I have become.