Close encounters of the lizard kind

This is a true story.

Jenny and I flew to Australia--half-way around the world--with no set place to live for the next 9 months. Of course, this was not how we meant it to be and it wasn't our fault. Honestly, the University threw us between a rock and a hard place, and well, I'll spare you the full story. But let me begin by saying that while sometimes it seems as if your being short-changed, there are those shining moments when it actually works out in your favor. Luckily for Jenny and I, this was one such occasion.

We did, however, arrive in Australia with temporary accommodation for about a week in a hostel called Keiraview in Wollongong. The hostel's location was prime--just a short walk from the beach and downtown area--but we didn't want to stay there a minute longer than necessary. We wanted a permanent home and we wanted it fast. But our timing was completely off--we showed up in Oz only a few days before orientation week began, so most students who were planning on living in private housing were already in town and settled. Plus, coming from the States, Jenny and I had very specific housing requirements (i.e. we needed a 2 bedroom, fully-furnished unit preferably close to the University that wasn't too expensive). Fortunately for us, there was exactly one such unit left in Wollongong and we made an appointment straightaway to see it. We were both elated and agreed that no matter what state the place was in, we would gladly take it. Anything to get us out of hostel living would be welcomed with open arms.

Well...let's just say Jenny and I weren't as desperate as we thought.

While on our way to the appointment, we had to walk down a decending walkway into the neighborhood. As we walked, we faced what seemed at the time (and actually still kind of does) to be an insurmountable obstacle--a pair of 8-in. long lizards.

The creatures were blocking our path to the property and we were both scared to death. We'd never seen anything remotely like them, and they didn't seem to have any plans of moving. Eventually, we noticed the realtor we arranged to meet getting out of her car and approaching the property. We had to make a run for it--we needed that apartment and no amount of lizards were going to ruin this opportunity for us.

So we ran. And the lizards ran. Fortunately for both parties the lizards ran the opposite way from us. We were safe (for now).

The property looked ominous at best. It was fully-gated, had no grass (only grey rocks for a yard), the front door's glass was smashed and the complex was located only a stone's throw from a swamp (the abode of plenty more scary lizards, I'm sure). The unit was just disgusting, musty, dirty, cringe-worthy, and not even worth the $270/week they were asking.

Of course there was no way in hell we were taking the place. We didn't know it yet, but something really unbelievable was going to happen to us. While we'd escaped the property from hell, we still didn't have a set place to live. And the lizards weren't done with us, yet.