Thursday, July 19, 2007

A Sad Farewell...

Well, I'm writing this last post from the airport in Sydney. Our flight boards in about 20 minutes and before you know it we will back home in sunny Southern California. Nothing too eventful happened in the last couple days, we just explored the city and took it easy. Our skydive got canceled because of wind, so our 5th and final try at it failed as well, Megan and I think its a sign.

Well we should be making our way to the gate so I shall leave you with one last farewell from down under, say see you soon, and g'day...

Monday, July 16, 2007

Back in Oz

First and foremost I want to thank the faithful few who still are reading this blog, I know it has been a long and windy trip, and I have fallen behind a few times, but it was always my intention to keep this here site as up-to-date as I possibly could. The adventure is almost at an end, we fly out this Friday, the 20th. I dont know if its felt as fast to you all as it has to us, but fear not, we have a few more adventures coming up!!! Tomorrow morning, at about 9am, I will be waving to you all from 14000 ft (A little goodbye gift I treated myself too)!!!

Just to recap, the last two days in New Zealand, in Christchurch, were calm, uneventful, recovery days that were sorely needed by all of us! We had to say goodbye to three girls we met at the beginning of the trip, it was a sad night, but thats the way it goes in traveling. On the 12th the three of us had flights, but Megan and I had a later flight then Laura did, so we went to the airport with Laura, dropped off our bags, and headed to the the Antarctic Center. The highlight was the simulated antarctic storm, which wasn't that bad, I mean I was wearing shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt, but I guess it was cold for others (Megan was wrapped up like a Christmas present). Thats about all we did in Christchurch, like I said, it was a nice relaxing couple of days.

I shall post at least once more before returning home... so don't give up on me yet!

Sunday, July 8, 2007

The Southern Island

As my last post ended... first stop in this next leg of the journey was Nelson. Nelson is not a very big place, but it is the gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park and is surrounded by various wineries, so we naturally spent a few days here. On the new bus we randomly met up with someone we met in Australia while we were on Kangaroo Island, it was a good surprise! So the first full day we were there we decided to do a 4 and a half hour hike through the park, which was beautiful, and a 2 and a half hour kayak back to Nelson. It was quite cold and Megan looked like she was going to ball up into the fetal position at any point and rock back and forth until she either warmed up or passed out. The next day Kerry, our friend from Roo Island, rented a car to go wine tasting and took Megan, Laura, Sam, and Chris with her (I woke up with a headache and figured drinking a lot of wine would most likely be counterproductive). One of the nights the Nelson basketball team won their league championship and we happened to go to the same club they did to celebrate. So that night I got to shake hands with the starting lineup, hug the MVP and say congratulations, and kiss the trophy for good luck!

We left Nelson and headed to Westport with Sam and Chris, Kerry stayed to drink more vino. The weather wasn't very nice in Westport so we were not able to do all to much., Sam and I wanted to go quad-biking, but that didn't happen. We may have lost friends we made on our first bus, but we picked two new ones up pretty quickly... the joys of traveling.

From Westport we headed to Lake Mahinapua to a little hostel attached to a pub in between the lake and the sea on the west coast. The pub is owned by an 84 year old man named Les, who has the distinction of being the oldest pub owner in all of New Zealand. At the pub, the Kiwi bus has a party, since the Kiwi bus is the only visitors to Les' establishment. The party is themed, and the them of ours was a "P"-Party, we all had to be dressed up as something that started with the letter "P". Laura dressed up as Pink (and bore a remarkable resemblence), Megan was a Post-It (she covered her jean skirt with psot-its, wore a yellow t-shirt, and let everybody write notes on her), and I was a putting green (I didn't win the competition, but I got honorable mention and a free jug of beer, so I couldn't be any happier).

From the lake we made our way to the Franz Josef glacier, which is the fastest moving glacier in the world. We had a free day there too so we did a full day glacier hike which covered about 9kms up, down, and around in all directions. It was amazing up on the ice! Its considered a wet/warm glacier because it is nestled in amongst the rain forest, so the contrast between the blue ice and the greenery in the back ground made for an amazing day.

We left Franz Josef and headed to Wanaka, which is a small, quiet town with a population of around 6000 people. It's a ski town in winter and a great fishing spot in the summer (I was told). Plus it is only about an hours drive from Queenstown so many people stay here to avoid the crowds. Though it is usually a quiet place not know for its nightlife, we got in on the Fourth of July, and even though we were traveling with about 10 Brits, we managed to find a club having a 4th party and joined into the festivities!

We are now in Queenstown, one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been in in my life. I know I might throw that around a lot, but in the case here, I mean it! Its a ski village with little shops and cafes with a backdrop of snow-covered mountains and beautiful blue lakes. This would be enough to get me to move here for a year or two, but what puts the icing on the cake is the nightlife. At four in the morning it might as well be a Saturday afternoon in a Texan Walmart. Megan and Laura are on the slopes today and I figured it would be a prefect day to catch up with this here blog.

We leave for Christchurch in the morning, will be there for two nights and head to Sydney on the 12th for the final leg of this adventure. I will see you all soon and make you sit through thousands of pictures!!!

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

The Rest of the North Island

So it has been too long since my last post, I know, I know, but we have been doing so much that I haven't had enough time to tie my shoes, let alone go on the internet.

I left you in Taupo as I recall, which were two uneventful days due to weather, but the nights were a different story... but we won't get into that. All I'll say is that the Holy Cow never saw it come'n!

From Taupo we drove to River Valley, which is a little, secluded lodge in the middle of no where. There I played a round of golf at their little pitch and putt that made the Los Feliz course look like Pebble Beach. Megan and Laura rode horses along the river, I was going to, but it had been a while since I cursed the golf gods, I thought it was time to rekindle our old relationship. I came in third, but I came within half a meter of hitting a sheep, which I thought was way more satisfying.

From River Valley we headed to Wellington, the capital city of the Kiwis. We stayed here for two nights, though the first was filled with mixed emotions, half the bus we had become mates with over the past week and a half were leaving the next morning. We stayed out way to late, drank way to much, and parted ways only fitting for the traveling companions. We explored the city the next day... after sleeping in and taking aspirin of course.

Wellington was our last stop in the North Island and the second morning we were on the ferry to start our South Island expedition!

First stop: Nelson...

Friday, June 22, 2007

Auckland to Taupo

I promised a run down of Auckland, and I do not want to disappoint, so:
1) The city is small, but is big enough to know its a city. Megan and I walked it a few times and again with Laura and we still managed to find new areas to explore.
2) The food is good (nothing like the italian place in Hobart, but then again, not to many places can measure up to that). We found a good Ramen place and a cafe that can fry up some pretty mean bananas.
3) The amount of people out on the weekends exceeds anything I have ever seen before! When I got up at 4 am to pick Laura up at the airport there were more people out then there was at 10 pm the night before! It really was quite a site.

So the hop-on-hop-off bus tour we are on is insane! We have the option to do so many things and partake in so many activities its nuts!

From Auckland we headed to Mercury Bay where we got to dig our own thermal hot pools on the beach. The water was so hot that it turned the bum of an English girl on our trip the color of a ripe tomato (though I cant laugh too hard because my calfs an back were about the same color).

We were then shipped to Rotorua where we got to go ZORBING!!!!!!!!!!! So for those of you who did not google it as I asked, basically what zorbing is a smaller beach ball filled with hot water and people inside a bigger beach ball. The smaller ball is held in the middle of the bigger one with strings. To get into it you have to take a running dive head first straight into the middle of the small ball. You are then zipped up and told to run at one side of the ball (which faces down the hill). You proceed to roll down the hill, boucing around the ball, giggling like a little school girl! The three of us were in one... and Laura got the bright idea to try and stand up and run... which simply ended in her landing straight on my gut as I was trying not to swallow water... but it was totally worth it!!! That night we got to do a whole Mauri culture dinner and a show type thing which I do have to say was one of the most interesting things I have ever seen. We got to learn about the culture and eat lots and lots of food. I would not trade this day for anything!

From Rotorua we headed to Waitomo where we got to go Black Water Rafting. We repelled 50 meters down into a cave, took a zipline even further in, jumped into freezing water, and climbed up two waterfalls to get out. I have never in my life done something so amazing (I do not want to sound redundent, but I'm still at a lose for words)! That was this morning and I still havent recovered.

We are now in Taupo. We got in around 4 this afternoon so we havent done anything yet, but I think we are staying here for 2 days, so I'm sure there will be something!!!

Hope all is well! Cheers!

(Pictures and USB ports are hard to come by... sorry!!!)

Monday, June 18, 2007

Kiwi Itinerary

This will again, sorry to say, be a short post. The bus that will take us south picks us up in 6 minutes, but I wanted to let you all know some of the activities we have planned (and by planned I mean picked up pamphlets and said, "Oh, that looks fun!"):

1) Black Water Rafting
2) Zorbing (Google it!)
3) Glowworm Caves
4) Tongariro Crossing [17 KM hike (oneway) to the top of Mount Doom]
5) Skydiving (?)
6) Jet Boating
7) Canyon Swinging
8) Peddling for change on the streets

Hopefully the next hostel has internet access so we can add some Auckland pictures and I can discribe the city a little more. Until then...

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

New Zealand!!!

We made it to New Zealand!!! We are currently in Auckland and plan to head up to the north to play around for a little while... well until Laura arrives and we get to start our move to the south. We have alot of exploring to do and will report back as soon as we find something interesting to report on. We just wanted to let ya'll know that we made it here safe and sound! Over and out...

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

The Great Ocean Road

Ok, well since Uncle Skip doesn't appriciate the brilliance that is my writting... I will simply list the places Megan and I saw on our Great Ocean Road adventures:


Our Car:











Flagstaff Hill










Cheeseworld!!!


Bay of Islands











Bay of Martyrs


The Grotto


London Bridge











The Arch



Blowhole


Thunder Cave

Lock Ard Gorge

Twelve Apostles









Otway Tree Top Walk (but it was closed when we got there)


Castle Cove


Port Arlington
Well... we have to get up in 7 hours (3am here) to make it to the airport on time to catch our plane to Auckland, so the next time I post it will be from another country!!!

Sunday, June 10, 2007

And she speaks....

Well we are nearing the end of our jounrey here in Australia (we leave for the land of Kiwis on Wednesday), so I thought I would jott down a few of my thoughts on each of the cities that we have been to. I figured you all have only been privy to Ben's point of view, so changing it up a bit would be nice. Anyways Im too lazy to post pictures, and you already get the gist of it from Ben...well here we go in 3...2...1...
Brisbane, Queensland:
Hostel:The first hostel we stayed in, Valley Veranda would have been very nice had it not been for a room mix up, and a sewagey shower. The next hostel, Palace Backpackers was amazing! It was right in the center of town and had a great staff.
The City: The city itself was nice, although it took time to grow on me.
Highlight: the Australian Zoo, they actually let me touch the animals.
Surfer's Paradise:
Hostel: The Islander, nice and we had our own bathroom and shower which is a big plus, great location.
The City: The city is one big tourist resort, very young and very hip. The beach was beautiful, with alot of beautiful people on it, the water on the this side of the Pacific is nicer.
Highlight: Leaving Surfer's for the Hinterlands. Tree top walking is fun, plus rainforests kick ass ( i know my vocab is off the highest quality).
Hobart, Tasmania:
Hostel: Hobart Hostel, great hostel, very small, felt like we were staying at a friend's place.
The City: I absolutely fell in love with the city, it was green and beautiful and never rained during the day, only at night. The only problem was that the city shut down once the sun fell, which was around 4:30...seriously...no one in the streets after 4:30...I think they have a problem with vampires.
Highlight: Our tour to Port Arthur which took us through parts of Tasmania that we otherwise would not have been able to see. Plus there were ruins...i like ruins...therefore i like Port Arthur. And our tour guide was amazing, very personable.
Adelaide, South Australia:
Hostel: Backpack Oz, I thought that Hobart Hostel was great, this one was even better. Everyone would come down to the commons room, which was like one big living room and watch TV or movies together. It had a very homely atmosphere, with alot of young interesting people from all over the world.
The City: The city was perfect, not too small yet not too big, and green! I like green. It rained on us alot, but it wasn't too bad. Adelaide Univeristy is beautiful, and so are the botanical gardens.
Highlight: Making friends and the hostel, and the Barossa Valley Winery Tour. Mom, Dad i got you a bottle of wine....all I have to do is not drink it...
Kangaroo Island, South Australia:
Hostel: Old Farm house converted into bedrooms, kitchen, and living room. Greatest thing ever!
The Island: The Island is absolutely beautiful, so much wild life and beautiful scenery. We got to see some amazing coastlines, crazy rock formations, the Australian Sea Lion, the New Zealand Fur Seal, the Little Penguin, wallabies, kangaroos, and tons of very pretty birds. We also got to go on hikes, explore caves, and just have an all-around good time.
The Highlighht: The whole trip was just one big highlight, but I think the best part was the people we got to experience this with. Our tour guide was so much fun, more like a friend, same with other people on our tour. Since we got to spend three days with them, they became more like friends rather then just people yet another tour. Oh yeah and the food was amazing.
The Great Ocean Road Trip:
Yes, we rented a car, we had some trouble getting out of the city, but once Ben started driving all was better. I never quite got the hang of driving on the other side of the road, and I continually turned on the windshield wipers rather the the turn signal.
Hostel: Nope for three days and two nights there was no hostel, just our car.
The City: We passed through lots of cities, Flagstaff Hill which was a recreation of an 1800s maritime village, tons of crazy rock formations, and beach side towns. Too many to list.
The Highlight: Actually making it to Melbourne in one piece, it was an adventure and quite a fun one too.
Melbourne, Victoria:
Hostel: Urban Central, its big, and new which is nice, but just mostly big.
The City: The city is crazy, it reminds me alot of New York. I'd like to catch a rugby or football match so we will see. We kind of just want to take the next couple of days to just relax since the next leg of our trip is going to be a busy one.


Well, that is it for now, sorry if it was a reiteration of what Ben has already said. We are happy and healthy and excited for the next country. Ok im running out of time...byes!

South Australia Pictures!

This is the University of Adelaide... I want to take some classes there!













Here are some pictures of the Botanical Gardens we got stuck in:













This was a weird "fountain-type" thing that warrented a picture... with my feet...













Here are some Barossa Valley and wine tasting pictures...


Vinecrest was the best winery we went too!










And in the Barossa Valley is the biggest rocking horse in the world:











And a picture of the valley itself:












And now... Kangaroo Island... the highlight of the trip so far:



On our way to the boat...

















On the boat...










On the island we saw a sea lion colonies, roos and wallabies, and some Remarkable Rocks: