Lake Tekapo and the Church of the Good Shepherd. Sort of looks like something out of Middle Earth.
Friday, January 21, 2005
Going to Arthur's Pass
I can't get enough of the mountains. Ha ha! Last week I headed to Mt Cook, or Aoraki "Cloud-Piercer" from Christchurch (or ChCh, apparently). It is the highest mountain in Australasia at 3755 meters. I'm not sure what defines "Australasia", but whatever. I went on a couple of day hikes to see the magnificent glacier valley and views of the ice-laden peaks. On the first day there wasn't anyone else on the four-hour hike except loads of sheep. From Mt Cook, I went to Queentown, which has been dubbed the "adrenaline capital of New Zealand" because I think the first commercial bungee-jump started there. They also offer skydiving, jetboating, rock climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, parasailing, and whitewater rafting. I took a daytrip (13 hours) to Milford Sound, a fiord that has been dubbed the "eighth wonder of the world" like hundreds of other places. It was drizzling and raining, but the waterfalls were quite impressive. But I couldn't join the hordes of tourists leaping from one side of the boat to the other side, to take pictures of the same looking waterfalls. Oh, what a spoil-sport. Anyways, it was then that I decided I wasn't going to do all the "must-do" tourist trips (traps). Back in Queenstown, I went on a couple of long day hikes. The second day I hiked to the top of Ben Lomond Peak, which is right over Queenstown. It was windy and hailing on top, but the 360 degree view was worth it. From Lake Wakatipu, it was about 4700 vertical feet to the top. I hiked along the ridge all alone. I thought I might get blown off in my billowing jacket. The past few days I've been at Fox Glacier for a couple nights and Franz Josef Glacier (last night). These places are on the west coast, where they get all the rain. Interestingly, this place has a rainforest that comes right up to the glacier. Who would have thought that could happen? I learned that these glaciers are actually growing, because of increased precipitation due to global warming. Yeah, pretty wierd. Right now I am in Greymouth, waiting for a bus to go to Arthur's Pass. It's on the cross-island highway between Greymouth and ChCh on the South Island. There are supposed to be some great hikes and vistas there. I think I'll be there for a few days.
So New Zealand has been pretty amazing so far. It has incredible views (if you've see the Lord of the Ring movies, then you know what I mean). It's really clean around here. There is hardly any litter to speak of on the road side. People are much more environmentally-friendly here than they are in Australia. In the South Island, there aren't really a lot of people here. There isn't a lot of traffic, aside from the tourists. My first impression is that the Maori culture does not suffer discrimination nearly as much as the Aboriginal culture in Australia. It's really an interesting relationship here. I was watch tv and there was a news program on that was entirely in Maori. Anyways, this is quite an interesting country. The weather is much colder and wetter than Australia, but the sights are well worth the visit.
So New Zealand has been pretty amazing so far. It has incredible views (if you've see the Lord of the Ring movies, then you know what I mean). It's really clean around here. There is hardly any litter to speak of on the road side. People are much more environmentally-friendly here than they are in Australia. In the South Island, there aren't really a lot of people here. There isn't a lot of traffic, aside from the tourists. My first impression is that the Maori culture does not suffer discrimination nearly as much as the Aboriginal culture in Australia. It's really an interesting relationship here. I was watch tv and there was a news program on that was entirely in Maori. Anyways, this is quite an interesting country. The weather is much colder and wetter than Australia, but the sights are well worth the visit.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
A stuffed moa. This is the huge bird that was hunted to extinction by the Maori before the European settlers arrived. Scientist think these things didn't have many predators and just walked up to people, curious about them. The Maori came to New Zealand only about 500 years ago and found it to be plentiful of food. It wasn't until their abundant food source ran out that they had to compete with other tribes, and started a war-culture.
It's cold in New Zealand!
After three nights here in Christchurch, I'm headed to the mountains. Christchurch is a very "English"-looking city. It has that sort of reputation. There is a tram and a pretty stream (they call it a river) and stone buildings. Some of the telephone booths are red. There is a large botanical garden next to the city center, and the city center is Cathedral Square. There are a lot of "buskers" there during the day. "Buskers" is a term I've learned in Australia for street performers and the like that do things for money. They actually carry a license to busk.
The temperature here is colder than in Australia, but the latitudes are in the 40's which is sort of like Canada. The first day I got here was the coldest I've been since leaving San Diego, but today warmed up. I checked out the Canterbury Museum (Canterbury is the name of this province of which Christchurch is the capital) and the Christchurch Art Gallery. You know, there was a flightless bird here called the moa, which was like a really tall emu. It was killed to extinction about 500 years ago by the Maori. Interestingly, they have found no evidence of warfare here in New Zealand until the moas were extinct, suggesting communities lived in
relative peace until overpopulation lead to the extinction of a main food source, and people had to compete for limited resources. It also dispells the myth that "primative" cultures lived in "harmony with nature". What a load of crap. Given enough time, every culture would overpopulate and cause environmental catastrophes.
The Art Gallery had a lot of normal paintings as well as more modern art pieces. There were some really dark pieces that looked like they came out of a head shop or tatoo parlor.
In Christchurch, I could have purchased some beater cars for less than $2000. I saw one 1988 Toyota Corona (Corolla in the States) for $850, presumably running. Some of these are wagons that come with camping and cooking gear.
I should sort of come up with closing running commentary on Australia. What a cool country. I spent most of my time (four weeks) in Queensland which I found had awesome and diverse environments. It is sort of redneck, as my friend Paul (from Melbourne) described, but it's friendly like country-folk are. Sydney was pretty and fun for the New Year. Melbourne had a totally different feel. It did not seem as big and dark. Sydney was very culturally diverse (no Aboriginies, though), but Melbourne was far more diverse and integrated. I couldn't believe all the different foods you could buy in the food courts. In the States, I tend to see the major food franchises: McDonald's, Subways, Taco Bell (they don't have Taco Bell in Oz!), Burger King(Hungry Jack here), Wendy's, a pizza joint, and Chinese takeaway. Here, I've mostly noticed a million different Asian food places including Indian food, Malaysian, Thai, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. It's that specific. And who's eating there? Not Asians, although there some. Mostly, it's Caucasians there. A lot of people just eat a sushi handroll for lunch. Well, that's what I noticed about Melbourne.
A lot of folks love their "footie" which is Aussie-rules Football. Paul showed me a tape of a game from back in '96. These guys play on a field that is elliptical with a length of over 150 yards. They don't wear any padding. They play with a ball that is larger than a football. They can run with the ball, but every 10 yards they have to bounce it off the ground. They can kick the ball or "hit it" (like an underhand serve in volleyball), but they can't pass it like in American Football. They play four quarters, each of which are 30 minutes long. It's a fast, fast game like soccer. Folks have loyalty to home teams, which are not as commercialzed as they are in the States. The big meal at a footie game is a pint of beer with a meat pie. This is like the meat pot pies in the States, except you can actually hold it and the stuff doesn't necessarily go running down your arm like a pot of hot oil.
Oh back on to food, what do people eat late at night returning from a bar? Oh, Sigdaddy's crew in Biloxi will probably pipe up with Taco Bell, right? No Taco Bell out here. Instead they have a lot of non-franchised "pizza & kebab" places. Great food. Kebabs in the states are meat on sticks. Here, as well as in Europa, they're Gyros. They have chicken, beef, and lamb. The difference between Australia and Europa is that they'll add cheese on top and the bread is thinner, not like the thick bread in the States. And another thing, I've always referred to the pita bread wrap as "falafel". Here they call falafel something that looks like a dark brown hush puppy. It's a mixture of chick peas, parsley, and garlic. I've had loads of meals of kebabs, fish & chips, and Asian food in Australia, so that's what I've ended up talking about: food. Okay, more about food. Vegemite is a dark brown (chocolate colored) salty spread that you have to use spariingly. It's a good source of vitamin B, so people say you should spread it thinly on some toast the morning after a night out. It's salty but good. My last thought for the night: Bundaberg & Cola on tap. What a lovely concoction of mollasses and caramel. I could drink it as a soft drink, except I would be persistently drunk.
The temperature here is colder than in Australia, but the latitudes are in the 40's which is sort of like Canada. The first day I got here was the coldest I've been since leaving San Diego, but today warmed up. I checked out the Canterbury Museum (Canterbury is the name of this province of which Christchurch is the capital) and the Christchurch Art Gallery. You know, there was a flightless bird here called the moa, which was like a really tall emu. It was killed to extinction about 500 years ago by the Maori. Interestingly, they have found no evidence of warfare here in New Zealand until the moas were extinct, suggesting communities lived in
relative peace until overpopulation lead to the extinction of a main food source, and people had to compete for limited resources. It also dispells the myth that "primative" cultures lived in "harmony with nature". What a load of crap. Given enough time, every culture would overpopulate and cause environmental catastrophes.
The Art Gallery had a lot of normal paintings as well as more modern art pieces. There were some really dark pieces that looked like they came out of a head shop or tatoo parlor.
In Christchurch, I could have purchased some beater cars for less than $2000. I saw one 1988 Toyota Corona (Corolla in the States) for $850, presumably running. Some of these are wagons that come with camping and cooking gear.
I should sort of come up with closing running commentary on Australia. What a cool country. I spent most of my time (four weeks) in Queensland which I found had awesome and diverse environments. It is sort of redneck, as my friend Paul (from Melbourne) described, but it's friendly like country-folk are. Sydney was pretty and fun for the New Year. Melbourne had a totally different feel. It did not seem as big and dark. Sydney was very culturally diverse (no Aboriginies, though), but Melbourne was far more diverse and integrated. I couldn't believe all the different foods you could buy in the food courts. In the States, I tend to see the major food franchises: McDonald's, Subways, Taco Bell (they don't have Taco Bell in Oz!), Burger King(Hungry Jack here), Wendy's, a pizza joint, and Chinese takeaway. Here, I've mostly noticed a million different Asian food places including Indian food, Malaysian, Thai, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. It's that specific. And who's eating there? Not Asians, although there some. Mostly, it's Caucasians there. A lot of people just eat a sushi handroll for lunch. Well, that's what I noticed about Melbourne.
A lot of folks love their "footie" which is Aussie-rules Football. Paul showed me a tape of a game from back in '96. These guys play on a field that is elliptical with a length of over 150 yards. They don't wear any padding. They play with a ball that is larger than a football. They can run with the ball, but every 10 yards they have to bounce it off the ground. They can kick the ball or "hit it" (like an underhand serve in volleyball), but they can't pass it like in American Football. They play four quarters, each of which are 30 minutes long. It's a fast, fast game like soccer. Folks have loyalty to home teams, which are not as commercialzed as they are in the States. The big meal at a footie game is a pint of beer with a meat pie. This is like the meat pot pies in the States, except you can actually hold it and the stuff doesn't necessarily go running down your arm like a pot of hot oil.
Oh back on to food, what do people eat late at night returning from a bar? Oh, Sigdaddy's crew in Biloxi will probably pipe up with Taco Bell, right? No Taco Bell out here. Instead they have a lot of non-franchised "pizza & kebab" places. Great food. Kebabs in the states are meat on sticks. Here, as well as in Europa, they're Gyros. They have chicken, beef, and lamb. The difference between Australia and Europa is that they'll add cheese on top and the bread is thinner, not like the thick bread in the States. And another thing, I've always referred to the pita bread wrap as "falafel". Here they call falafel something that looks like a dark brown hush puppy. It's a mixture of chick peas, parsley, and garlic. I've had loads of meals of kebabs, fish & chips, and Asian food in Australia, so that's what I've ended up talking about: food. Okay, more about food. Vegemite is a dark brown (chocolate colored) salty spread that you have to use spariingly. It's a good source of vitamin B, so people say you should spread it thinly on some toast the morning after a night out. It's salty but good. My last thought for the night: Bundaberg & Cola on tap. What a lovely concoction of mollasses and caramel. I could drink it as a soft drink, except I would be persistently drunk.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Leaving for New Zealand.
Last week I went down to Cronulla, which is a small suburb 25mi south of Sydney. This is where Fineberg had spent his 10 month fellowship in Australia two years ago. It's a cool beach community that has a strong surfing heritage. I got to meet up with Fineberg again and actually had a conversation I could follow. His friend Mattie, invited me to stay with him and his girlfriend Allie. These guys were great people.
From Cronulla, I took the overnight bus to Melbourne. This one was only 12-hours long. Well, during my 18-hour bus ride from Brisbane to Sydney, I was freezing on the bus. This time, the air-conditioning was broken. Awwwwwesome. It was a sauna. Outside, it was freezing. I was soaked and ten pounds lighter when I arrived in Melbourne.
Melbourne is Australia's second largest city, but it has an eclectic atmosphere with good architecture, food, and culture. I spent a lot of time wandering the streets. The Deaflympics was going on so there were a lot of people signing. That was pretty cool.
In Melbourne, I stayed with Paul and Ceri, a couple Kev and I met when an overnight ferry failed to show up on one of the Greek Islands. We travelled together to Istanbul and spent a lot of time together. These guys were fantastic. They put me up in their home and fed me and took me out on the town, visiting some of the sights in the area.
We went to Williamstown and took a ferry to St. Kilda, both bayside communities around Melbourne. At St. Kilda, we watched a Deaflympics women's volleyball match between the Australians and the Americans. The Australians did well, but not well enough. Um...I think the teams were mismatched, in skill and in the weight class... Paul and Ceri also took me on the Great Ocean Road, one of the great drives in the world. It hugs along the southern coastline where the ocean has been eating away at the Victorian coast. This leaves beautiful arches and towers in the surf.
I'm headed New Zealand in a few hours. It has been awesome being in Oz.
Thanks to everyone I've met here. See ya in New Zealand!
From Cronulla, I took the overnight bus to Melbourne. This one was only 12-hours long. Well, during my 18-hour bus ride from Brisbane to Sydney, I was freezing on the bus. This time, the air-conditioning was broken. Awwwwwesome. It was a sauna. Outside, it was freezing. I was soaked and ten pounds lighter when I arrived in Melbourne.
Melbourne is Australia's second largest city, but it has an eclectic atmosphere with good architecture, food, and culture. I spent a lot of time wandering the streets. The Deaflympics was going on so there were a lot of people signing. That was pretty cool.
In Melbourne, I stayed with Paul and Ceri, a couple Kev and I met when an overnight ferry failed to show up on one of the Greek Islands. We travelled together to Istanbul and spent a lot of time together. These guys were fantastic. They put me up in their home and fed me and took me out on the town, visiting some of the sights in the area.
We went to Williamstown and took a ferry to St. Kilda, both bayside communities around Melbourne. At St. Kilda, we watched a Deaflympics women's volleyball match between the Australians and the Americans. The Australians did well, but not well enough. Um...I think the teams were mismatched, in skill and in the weight class... Paul and Ceri also took me on the Great Ocean Road, one of the great drives in the world. It hugs along the southern coastline where the ocean has been eating away at the Victorian coast. This leaves beautiful arches and towers in the surf.
I'm headed New Zealand in a few hours. It has been awesome being in Oz.
Thanks to everyone I've met here. See ya in New Zealand!
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Monday, January 03, 2005
Happy New Year from Sydney!
This place is awesome. To be honest, a lot of backpackers I have met on the road didn't really like Sydney and didn't have a problem telling me to only spend a couple days here. Well, I planned on four nights, and it's the fifth night already, and I'm still here. Yes, it's that cool. I'm staying in the central area, which is next to Chinatown and the skyscrapers of the business district. I'm about a twenty minute walk from the Opera House. This town is pretty; the city is clean (I don't know where they hide the homeless people for the holidays); and the city parks are safe.
I spent New Year's Eve in the Botanical Gardens, at Macquarie's Point, picnicking with the Swedish girls from Fraser Island. You had to get there early to save a spot to watch the fireworks and bridge display at midnight. We were there for 13 hours. It was really fun, actually. The weather was perfect: not too hot or sunny. There were tons of boats in the harbor, anchored for the day to watch the fireworks. As the day progressed, it got more and more crowded. It was sort of like a hippy concert. Some folks were playing guitar and singing. Some folks started doing "the wave". Some Irish guys behind us were drunk and sang their sad Irish ballads. I was going to go to Cronulla to party hardy with Fineberg, but never made it. It was worth it, though, to see the fireworks and stuff over the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The next day I met up with Fineberg at Luna Park, which is a Coney Island nightmare amusement park on the north side of the harbor, next to the bridge. There was a 12-hour dance party (rave?) going on there and he was getting down with his old mates from his nine-month fellowship here a couple years ago. Tickets were kind of steep, but it was worth it. Once you entered, you weren't allowed to exit and re-enter so there were a lot of people (passed out?) on the floors against the walls when I got there. I watched the first sunset of the new year turn the city skyline into a bright orange. It was as if the city was on fire and the regalers danced on oblivious to the awesome sight. There were lots of glowsticks being sold, and the main dance floor was a huge dark room with laser lights. It reminded me of that Frankie Goes to Hollywood video for "Relax". Anyone remember that one? I almost expected blood to come out of the sprinkler system (like in Blade). Anyways, it was good fun, and Fineberg is doing well.
Actually, the past few days, since he's arrived, he has been trying to get us tickets to go to Phuket, Thailand, to help with the disaster there. But, alas, it is not meant to be. The soonest we can go is the 6th, and he has to return to Hawaii the 10th. Plus, he was told by some of the folks that they really weren't interested in acute care providers; mostly they wanted infectious disease and public health specialists, and, oh yeah, I'm sure lots of money. It's tough finding places that want volunteer doctors. It astounds me.
The past couple of days I have met up with the Fraser Island friends at Manly and Bondi beaches. Both are pretty famous places here in Sydney (that I had not heard of prior to coming). The water, unlike the protected waters inside the Great Barrier Reef, is cold like San Diego (68 F today). Well, I guess that's considered average to warm in San Diego. Anyways, the waves were nice, and the views of sun-bathers even, um, nicer?
I'm headed to Melbourne on a 12-hour night bus in a couple days.
Did I mention there are humongous bats that fly through the skies at night?
It's totally wild.
I spent New Year's Eve in the Botanical Gardens, at Macquarie's Point, picnicking with the Swedish girls from Fraser Island. You had to get there early to save a spot to watch the fireworks and bridge display at midnight. We were there for 13 hours. It was really fun, actually. The weather was perfect: not too hot or sunny. There were tons of boats in the harbor, anchored for the day to watch the fireworks. As the day progressed, it got more and more crowded. It was sort of like a hippy concert. Some folks were playing guitar and singing. Some folks started doing "the wave". Some Irish guys behind us were drunk and sang their sad Irish ballads. I was going to go to Cronulla to party hardy with Fineberg, but never made it. It was worth it, though, to see the fireworks and stuff over the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The next day I met up with Fineberg at Luna Park, which is a Coney Island nightmare amusement park on the north side of the harbor, next to the bridge. There was a 12-hour dance party (rave?) going on there and he was getting down with his old mates from his nine-month fellowship here a couple years ago. Tickets were kind of steep, but it was worth it. Once you entered, you weren't allowed to exit and re-enter so there were a lot of people (passed out?) on the floors against the walls when I got there. I watched the first sunset of the new year turn the city skyline into a bright orange. It was as if the city was on fire and the regalers danced on oblivious to the awesome sight. There were lots of glowsticks being sold, and the main dance floor was a huge dark room with laser lights. It reminded me of that Frankie Goes to Hollywood video for "Relax". Anyone remember that one? I almost expected blood to come out of the sprinkler system (like in Blade). Anyways, it was good fun, and Fineberg is doing well.
Actually, the past few days, since he's arrived, he has been trying to get us tickets to go to Phuket, Thailand, to help with the disaster there. But, alas, it is not meant to be. The soonest we can go is the 6th, and he has to return to Hawaii the 10th. Plus, he was told by some of the folks that they really weren't interested in acute care providers; mostly they wanted infectious disease and public health specialists, and, oh yeah, I'm sure lots of money. It's tough finding places that want volunteer doctors. It astounds me.
The past couple of days I have met up with the Fraser Island friends at Manly and Bondi beaches. Both are pretty famous places here in Sydney (that I had not heard of prior to coming). The water, unlike the protected waters inside the Great Barrier Reef, is cold like San Diego (68 F today). Well, I guess that's considered average to warm in San Diego. Anyways, the waves were nice, and the views of sun-bathers even, um, nicer?
I'm headed to Melbourne on a 12-hour night bus in a couple days.
Did I mention there are humongous bats that fly through the skies at night?
It's totally wild.
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Why doesn't Sydney look like it does in The Matrix?
That was my first thought of this city as we drove across the Sydney Harbor Bridge to the south side. Yesterday, I spent the day wandering around a Brisbane that was finally open for business after the Christmas holiday. It's a very nice clean city with tons of trees and parklands (as is Sydney, for that matter). I also visited the Queensland Museum in Brisbane, as Brisbane is the state capital. I finally saw the dreaded "Box Jellyfish" that is in the beachwaters this time of year. It's huge (about the size of your head, except with tentacles), and it's shaped like a box. Go figure. The most interesting thing I saw and read about was a "camel spider". Yes, this is the internet mail that has been going around for the past two years. The museum actually had a printed copy of the internet email and the photo with the American servicemen in the background. Verdict? Totally debunked. The photo is a play on perspective. The camel spider (which also lives in the States) only grows to the size of a child's palm and is in no way dangerous. Go tell your friends all about it. I also walked through the Art Gallery, which mostly had modern art pieces. It was sort of comical. They had video art pieces. One was called "60 second sculptures". It was an hour long video showing a person (head out of frame) doing stupid stuff and holding that pose for about a minute. I saw him go behind a chalkboard and grip eitherside of the chalkboard so that only his fingers were showing, and then he lifted his legs off the ground. He managed to hold that pose for about five seconds. Another one was where he took a chair and set it so that the legs were against the wall, and he pretended to sit in it, facing the floor, but he tried to support himself with his hands on the floor, of course, out of frame. That lasted about half a second. Art, I am not worthy!
Basically yesterday was an attempt to kill time before my 7pm bus to Sydney. The ride was 18.5 hours long. Can you say it with me? "Awwwwwwwwesome." It was freezing at night wherever it was we stopped. I was warned that the weather would get cooler as I went south; they weren't kidding. I was freezing on the bus all night long. I met a nice German girl (whose name I couldn't understand); we chatted about our travels along the way. I swear, I have met more people here just off the street than anywhere else. I only had a last minute reservation for a room tonight, and I was going to wing it for the rest of my time here in Sydney. My attempts at finding additional nightstay in Sydney were at places that were either too expensive or required an hour trainride. I didn't really worry about it, because you know, ya just gotta wing it. Plus, I knew my friend Fineberg would come through for me in the end.
Well, as it turns out, the place I'm staying at DOES hold rooms off the record, for people who want to stay longer, so I've got four nights in Sydney. So, no sleeping on park benches like I had planned. Who lives a charmed life?
As I left Queensland, I noticed that most Australians wear SHOES in New South Wales. All my observations of Australians prior will have to be directed towards Queenslanders. My apologies to any who were offended.
Happy New Year's everyone! We'll be celebrating it 16-19 hours ahead most of you in the States, two hours ahead of my relatives in Taiwan, and 10 hours ahead of you in the UK.
Basically yesterday was an attempt to kill time before my 7pm bus to Sydney. The ride was 18.5 hours long. Can you say it with me? "Awwwwwwwwesome." It was freezing at night wherever it was we stopped. I was warned that the weather would get cooler as I went south; they weren't kidding. I was freezing on the bus all night long. I met a nice German girl (whose name I couldn't understand); we chatted about our travels along the way. I swear, I have met more people here just off the street than anywhere else. I only had a last minute reservation for a room tonight, and I was going to wing it for the rest of my time here in Sydney. My attempts at finding additional nightstay in Sydney were at places that were either too expensive or required an hour trainride. I didn't really worry about it, because you know, ya just gotta wing it. Plus, I knew my friend Fineberg would come through for me in the end.
Well, as it turns out, the place I'm staying at DOES hold rooms off the record, for people who want to stay longer, so I've got four nights in Sydney. So, no sleeping on park benches like I had planned. Who lives a charmed life?
As I left Queensland, I noticed that most Australians wear SHOES in New South Wales. All my observations of Australians prior will have to be directed towards Queenslanders. My apologies to any who were offended.
Happy New Year's everyone! We'll be celebrating it 16-19 hours ahead most of you in the States, two hours ahead of my relatives in Taiwan, and 10 hours ahead of you in the UK.
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Hanging out with Koalas and Kangaroos in Brisbane
Hope you all had a great holidays! I have been completely unaffected by the tsunamis in the Indian Ocean. I'm currently in Brisbane, which will be my last stop in Queensland, before heading to New South Wales. I leave tomorrow.
Fraser Island was awesome. I met was grouped with some awesome folks at the hostel; in alphabetical order: Anna (Germany), Anne (Germany), Anna (Sweden), Johanna (Sweden), Dwayne (Canada), Grant (New Zealand), Malin (Sweden), and Vicki (UK). There was nine of us in a Toyota Landcruiser. It was a diesel model, with a air intake/exhaust off the right side of the windshield. The back had two rows of benches along the length of the vehicle like a troop transport vehicle. We did some awesome driving along the beach. It was tricky in some places, but our two drivers (I opted to stay in the back) kicked ass and got us through the soft stuff.
Fraser Island is covered with sand and jungles and has lots of small freshwater lakes; these lakes are amazing. The photos will blow you away when I get them uploaded (maybe next week...) We camped on the beach, swam in the surf (with the sharks), chased dingos (Fraser Island is the only place with purebreed wild dingos), ate like royalty, drank loads, and shared two tents. It was funny to go bodysurfing, keeping one eye for any sharks. One time we were driving along the beach, we had to stop to watch a shark feeding frenzy. There were a bunch of seagulls flocked over some baitfish, but in all the splashing, you could definitely see about 10 shark fins flopping around, going crazy. This was about 70 yards off the beach. It was awesome. Later in that day, we were bodysurfing at our campsite, we all jumped out when someone sighted a dorsal fin about 70 yards off. I didn't have my glasses, so I just took their words for it.
The Swedes celebrate Christmas on December 24, so we had two Christmases! We had party whistles and candy and fruit cake. It was great tooting away under the stars on the beach. It was a very cool vibe. Lake Mackenzie has powder white sand that goes into a aquamarine blue freshwater lake. The temperature is perfect. We had great fun swimming, slinging sand balls at each other, and racing and diving into the water. Lake Wabby is next to an enormous mini desert. It is about a mile of sandy desert that comes to a 45 degree slope which leads 70 meters down into the lake. It was fun racing down that hill and jumping into perfect water. And then, racing back up. (ouch, my thighs!) Indian Head was rock outcropping about 100 meters up. You could see giant manta rays and huge sharks patrolling the waters below. No swimming there. We had a blast for the three days and two nights on the island and all gathered back for lots of drinking the third night in Rainbow Beach. Dwayne and Vicki were kind enough to give my hungover-almost-puking-ass a ride to Brisbane the next day. Thanks, guys!
Brisbane has been mostly closed for the past couple of days. I guess Australians have the 25th to the 28th off. It has a nice lagoon at the site of Expo '88 where we hung out for most of the afternoon. Today I went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and played with koalas and kangaroos. It's a cool place where they have a huge grassy pen where lots of kangroos are lazying around or hopping away from annoying kids. They're tame, so you can come right up to them and pet them and feed them. They also have about 130 koalas so you can pet them too. Did you know...koalas sleep about 20 hours a day (which sort of makes them like ferrets). This is because they spend so much of their energy detoxifying the eucalyptus tree leaves they eat.
Tomorrow I am headed to...I don't know where. But I am going to meet up with Fineberg in Sydney for some partying and no sleep during New Years Eve. I don't have any accommodations booked, so we'll see if I can get lucky!
Fraser Island was awesome. I met was grouped with some awesome folks at the hostel; in alphabetical order: Anna (Germany), Anne (Germany), Anna (Sweden), Johanna (Sweden), Dwayne (Canada), Grant (New Zealand), Malin (Sweden), and Vicki (UK). There was nine of us in a Toyota Landcruiser. It was a diesel model, with a air intake/exhaust off the right side of the windshield. The back had two rows of benches along the length of the vehicle like a troop transport vehicle. We did some awesome driving along the beach. It was tricky in some places, but our two drivers (I opted to stay in the back) kicked ass and got us through the soft stuff.
Fraser Island is covered with sand and jungles and has lots of small freshwater lakes; these lakes are amazing. The photos will blow you away when I get them uploaded (maybe next week...) We camped on the beach, swam in the surf (with the sharks), chased dingos (Fraser Island is the only place with purebreed wild dingos), ate like royalty, drank loads, and shared two tents. It was funny to go bodysurfing, keeping one eye for any sharks. One time we were driving along the beach, we had to stop to watch a shark feeding frenzy. There were a bunch of seagulls flocked over some baitfish, but in all the splashing, you could definitely see about 10 shark fins flopping around, going crazy. This was about 70 yards off the beach. It was awesome. Later in that day, we were bodysurfing at our campsite, we all jumped out when someone sighted a dorsal fin about 70 yards off. I didn't have my glasses, so I just took their words for it.
The Swedes celebrate Christmas on December 24, so we had two Christmases! We had party whistles and candy and fruit cake. It was great tooting away under the stars on the beach. It was a very cool vibe. Lake Mackenzie has powder white sand that goes into a aquamarine blue freshwater lake. The temperature is perfect. We had great fun swimming, slinging sand balls at each other, and racing and diving into the water. Lake Wabby is next to an enormous mini desert. It is about a mile of sandy desert that comes to a 45 degree slope which leads 70 meters down into the lake. It was fun racing down that hill and jumping into perfect water. And then, racing back up. (ouch, my thighs!) Indian Head was rock outcropping about 100 meters up. You could see giant manta rays and huge sharks patrolling the waters below. No swimming there. We had a blast for the three days and two nights on the island and all gathered back for lots of drinking the third night in Rainbow Beach. Dwayne and Vicki were kind enough to give my hungover-almost-puking-ass a ride to Brisbane the next day. Thanks, guys!
Brisbane has been mostly closed for the past couple of days. I guess Australians have the 25th to the 28th off. It has a nice lagoon at the site of Expo '88 where we hung out for most of the afternoon. Today I went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and played with koalas and kangaroos. It's a cool place where they have a huge grassy pen where lots of kangroos are lazying around or hopping away from annoying kids. They're tame, so you can come right up to them and pet them and feed them. They also have about 130 koalas so you can pet them too. Did you know...koalas sleep about 20 hours a day (which sort of makes them like ferrets). This is because they spend so much of their energy detoxifying the eucalyptus tree leaves they eat.
Tomorrow I am headed to...I don't know where. But I am going to meet up with Fineberg in Sydney for some partying and no sleep during New Years Eve. I don't have any accommodations booked, so we'll see if I can get lucky!
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Sunny, Hot and Humid at Rainbow Beach
The Bundaberg distillery was awesome. I mean, it's really fascinating about how they make rum out mollasses, the by-product of refining sugar cane into sugar. There are sugar cane fields all over Queensland, the northeast state of Australia. In fact, I am told that Queensland used to provide 70% of the world's sugar.
The tax on alcohol is steep here. They have oak barrels that hold 64,000 L of rum. This comes to about $5 million in booze. I am told that they have to pay 2/3 of that as tax to the government. Don't quote me on this, but it sort of explains why booze is expensive in stores. In bars, however, it's about the same as in the States. In the "bottle shops", liquor stores, the booze is about double the price you would expect to pay in the States, of course it's in Australian dollars, but it ends up being pretty close to double just the same.
Yeah, so the Bundaberg distillery was made extra nice since I got to have two free drinks of whatever I wanted. It was a nice walk back to the youth hostel...about 30 minutes away.
I also got to see the Loggerhead Turtles at Mon Repos. This is about 14 km from Bundaberg. I shared a taxi with two folks I met at the youth hostel across the street. The Loggerheads are a type of sea turtle that come up on the beach from November to March to lay their eggs. It is pretty amazing to see these turtles, about a meter across, crawl out, make a hole, lay eggs, and then bury them and crawl back into the sea. They take about 30 years to reach maturity to lay eggs, and they lay about 125 eggs every 2 weeks for about 2 months. They only lay eggs every 2-4 years. Out of 1000 eggs, only one turtle will reach maturity and return to Mon Repos. (I like factoids, can you tell?) So, it seems like a shame that the turtle, has to face about 50 people in the darkness, with their blinding flashlights and camera flashes after swimming 3000 km to return home to roost.
After Bundaberg, I went to Noosa (nice name), which is a pretty busy place on the Sunshine Coast. I was there the past couple of nights. There are supposed to be some nice restaurants there, and there is a inlet and sound where campers bring their trailers and boats to cruise around in the protected waterways. I hiked around in the Noosa National Park and saw some large monitors (lizards) and some brush turkeys. I had dinner both nights at a Malaysian Noodle house. I had some Laksa curry noodles; pretty good stuff. Wierd considering how I will probably pay 1/8th of what I paid in a few months for the same thing.
I just got to Rainbow Beach, and it's hot and humid. I heard that it might rain, but it doesn't look like it right now. I'll be here for one night, then I go with a group of folks to Fraser Island. We get to drive a 4wd around on this sand island. I read that there is more sand on Fraser Island than in the Sahara desert.(Who counts the grains of sand?) We'll be camping on Fraser for a couple nights, then we return back to Rainbow Beach.
Christmas on Fraser Island.
Merry Christmas everyone!
The tax on alcohol is steep here. They have oak barrels that hold 64,000 L of rum. This comes to about $5 million in booze. I am told that they have to pay 2/3 of that as tax to the government. Don't quote me on this, but it sort of explains why booze is expensive in stores. In bars, however, it's about the same as in the States. In the "bottle shops", liquor stores, the booze is about double the price you would expect to pay in the States, of course it's in Australian dollars, but it ends up being pretty close to double just the same.
Yeah, so the Bundaberg distillery was made extra nice since I got to have two free drinks of whatever I wanted. It was a nice walk back to the youth hostel...about 30 minutes away.
I also got to see the Loggerhead Turtles at Mon Repos. This is about 14 km from Bundaberg. I shared a taxi with two folks I met at the youth hostel across the street. The Loggerheads are a type of sea turtle that come up on the beach from November to March to lay their eggs. It is pretty amazing to see these turtles, about a meter across, crawl out, make a hole, lay eggs, and then bury them and crawl back into the sea. They take about 30 years to reach maturity to lay eggs, and they lay about 125 eggs every 2 weeks for about 2 months. They only lay eggs every 2-4 years. Out of 1000 eggs, only one turtle will reach maturity and return to Mon Repos. (I like factoids, can you tell?) So, it seems like a shame that the turtle, has to face about 50 people in the darkness, with their blinding flashlights and camera flashes after swimming 3000 km to return home to roost.
After Bundaberg, I went to Noosa (nice name), which is a pretty busy place on the Sunshine Coast. I was there the past couple of nights. There are supposed to be some nice restaurants there, and there is a inlet and sound where campers bring their trailers and boats to cruise around in the protected waterways. I hiked around in the Noosa National Park and saw some large monitors (lizards) and some brush turkeys. I had dinner both nights at a Malaysian Noodle house. I had some Laksa curry noodles; pretty good stuff. Wierd considering how I will probably pay 1/8th of what I paid in a few months for the same thing.
I just got to Rainbow Beach, and it's hot and humid. I heard that it might rain, but it doesn't look like it right now. I'll be here for one night, then I go with a group of folks to Fraser Island. We get to drive a 4wd around on this sand island. I read that there is more sand on Fraser Island than in the Sahara desert.(Who counts the grains of sand?) We'll be camping on Fraser for a couple nights, then we return back to Rainbow Beach.
Christmas on Fraser Island.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Friday, December 17, 2004
Stoney Creek Farmstay
I just spent the last four days at a farmstay in Eton, which is a small town outside of Mackay. Four days of no other travellers. Just me, four cattle dogs, 15 horses, 3 calves, and a great family. A farmstay is where city slickers pay countryfolk to live on their property and experience country life. Yeah, it sounds like a scam, but it was a great experience. Their ranch, Dunbarra, is very self sufficient. 700 acres in valley, with a waterfall and creek, and forests and grazing pastures, and solar power. The only utilities they pay is telephone. I got to ride horses and joined them in bringing in the horses and taking them out to graze (with a pickup truck and a cattle dog). Dude, I could be a cowboy. The cabin I lived in didn't have a waterheater so it meant cold showers, which wasn't bad especially when it got up to 104 F. No air conditioning.
These folks have built their own house from modest beginnings (read: tin shack). Now it's a beautiful home with wood and stone, but only after years for work. A couple of the days were absolutely perfect for riding: a breeze, overcast skies, and a little sprinkle of rain. As you crest a ridge with the wind blowing, seeing the green trees and grazing lands, it really is a perfect moment. Pick your theme song: City Slickers or Bonanza. It's awwwwesome. Watching the horses gallop away, being herded by the dog is great. Man, I could spend a month here working with the horses. But that's not to be.
I was going to go down to Rainbow Beach to go to Fraser Island today, but I didn't book a week ahead, so now I have a few days to spend between here and there. I'm headed to Rockhampton today. It's the beef capital of Queensland, or Australia. I'm going to see if I can get into a bar fight there. riiiiight. Actually, from there, I'm going to go to the Great Keppel Island and spend a couple days there. After that, I will probably go to Bundaberg, where they make an awesome rum. It's really sweet like sugar cane, which is a perfect drink for me. You're supposed to be able to see sea turtles hatch near there. Oh, and there's a rum factory tour you can take too. Hmm...
After that, I'll go to Rainbow Beach where I'll meet up with some random people and rent a 4wd to go to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. That'll be during Christmas. Woohoo!
Oh yeah, more on the Whitsundays...
I met some awesome people during our two days on the boat. I also saw a couple sea turtles. One was during the day dive, and one was during the night dive. It is a freaky thing to be swimming in a murky soup with 2 meters visibility, and have a huge sea turtle (a meter across) swim around you. The four of us that were diving, kept it in our lights, as it cruised around us. This is not the sort of thing I would have done with only one other person. It's like walking through an abandoned house in the middle of the night with a flashlight. Pretty exhilirating, but scary as heck.
I also ditched Bernie, the dude from the UK who, may I say, was FREAKING ME OUT. I'll leave it at that. But it's great to be travelling alone again. Rock on!
These folks have built their own house from modest beginnings (read: tin shack). Now it's a beautiful home with wood and stone, but only after years for work. A couple of the days were absolutely perfect for riding: a breeze, overcast skies, and a little sprinkle of rain. As you crest a ridge with the wind blowing, seeing the green trees and grazing lands, it really is a perfect moment. Pick your theme song: City Slickers or Bonanza. It's awwwwesome. Watching the horses gallop away, being herded by the dog is great. Man, I could spend a month here working with the horses. But that's not to be.
I was going to go down to Rainbow Beach to go to Fraser Island today, but I didn't book a week ahead, so now I have a few days to spend between here and there. I'm headed to Rockhampton today. It's the beef capital of Queensland, or Australia. I'm going to see if I can get into a bar fight there. riiiiight. Actually, from there, I'm going to go to the Great Keppel Island and spend a couple days there. After that, I will probably go to Bundaberg, where they make an awesome rum. It's really sweet like sugar cane, which is a perfect drink for me. You're supposed to be able to see sea turtles hatch near there. Oh, and there's a rum factory tour you can take too. Hmm...
After that, I'll go to Rainbow Beach where I'll meet up with some random people and rent a 4wd to go to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. That'll be during Christmas. Woohoo!
Oh yeah, more on the Whitsundays...
I met some awesome people during our two days on the boat. I also saw a couple sea turtles. One was during the day dive, and one was during the night dive. It is a freaky thing to be swimming in a murky soup with 2 meters visibility, and have a huge sea turtle (a meter across) swim around you. The four of us that were diving, kept it in our lights, as it cruised around us. This is not the sort of thing I would have done with only one other person. It's like walking through an abandoned house in the middle of the night with a flashlight. Pretty exhilirating, but scary as heck.
I also ditched Bernie, the dude from the UK who, may I say, was FREAKING ME OUT. I'll leave it at that. But it's great to be travelling alone again. Rock on!
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Back from the Whitsundays
I got back from the Whitsunday Islands this afternoon. It was amazing. There are about 74 islands off the coast of Airlie Beach. There are a lot of boats going out for 3days/2night trips everyday, some of them America's
Cup challengers converted to charter boats. I took a 74-foot schooner out with about 32 people. We mostly motor-sailed; the seas were choppy and the winds about 15-20 knots. They fed us like kings, and I got to dive three more times, including a night dive which was kind of like walking through the woods at night with a few of your friends when you were about five years old; it was pretty spooky. I slept on the deck both nights because it was stuffy in the berths below decks. The stars were amazing, and the breeze was good. I didn't have a blanket or anything, just my shirt and swimming trunks.
I think I'll be headed for Mackay tomorrow.
Cup challengers converted to charter boats. I took a 74-foot schooner out with about 32 people. We mostly motor-sailed; the seas were choppy and the winds about 15-20 knots. They fed us like kings, and I got to dive three more times, including a night dive which was kind of like walking through the woods at night with a few of your friends when you were about five years old; it was pretty spooky. I slept on the deck both nights because it was stuffy in the berths below decks. The stars were amazing, and the breeze was good. I didn't have a blanket or anything, just my shirt and swimming trunks.
I think I'll be headed for Mackay tomorrow.
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