Australia - North End

After Fraser, we went on a sailing cruise of the Whitsunday Islands. Unfortunately, it was pouring for the first two days so we didn't get to see much although we did manage to see a whale and get some nice snorkelling in on the Great Barrier Reef. We continued up the coast with a stopover on Magnetic Island, which had lots of wildlife and a series of WWII forts as the island was the first line of defense against the Japanese. Our final bus stop on the east coast was Cairns. Although we had planned to do more snorkelling/diving on the Reef, after spending way too much the day before on our monopolized flight to Darwin (and the Kakadu/Litchfield tours), we decided to go to the free botanical gardens and also hung out with the last remnants of the Fraser crew.

Although we were supposed to go to Kakadu first, our itineraries got switched around because many of their guides were out with the flu. Thus, we spent our first day exploring Litchfield NP. Exploring isn’t really the right word considering we were just bussed from one exhibit to the next. The first was a series of termite mounds made by a variety of species of termites. The most picturesque of the bunch were the Cathedral termites (see if you can spot Ganesh in the pic). Incredibly, the mounds are both water- and fire-proof! We also saw a bunch of Wooly Butt trees, a type of eucalyptus that are noteworthy because their bark only extends about half-way down and then vanishes. The bulk of the day was spent going to four different waterfalls, three of which we were allowed to swim. The final water locale was the most fun as there were a series of pools, some of which we could jump into off the rocks. Jason had a pretty nasty fall on the slippery rocks and for a few minutes we feared he might have broken his elbow. Thankfully our fears were not realized. On the way back, our tour guide suddenly stopped the van, ran into the bush, and caught a famous type of lizard (can’t recall the name) and induced it to flare out the sides of its neck. Our final stop of the day was to see some long-necked turtles and feed some huge Barramundis, who are hermaphroditic and transform from males to females at a certain age. Due to this unique characteristic, they are legally not allowed to be caught until they have turned into females (to ensure they’ve had a chance to lay eggs).

Early the next morning we left for Kakadu NP. The trip got off to a bit of a rocky start as one of the passengers, an Aussie named Kat, was about 20 minutes late because she’d been out partying the night before. By the end of the trip, she had developed quite the complex over her tardiness, and Priti made sure to get her contact information for future reference. The rest of us: Paul, a vegetarian Aussie male (a rarity) from the violent town of Woolongong, who’d witnessed a shooting the night before; Charlie, an 18-year-old Brit who’d seen more of the world than most people twice his age; Frank and Micheal (or Hakeem since he wore an Olajuwon jersey the whole trip), Germans in Australia for a family wedding; Felix, a German medical student doing a rotation in Darwin, and his friend Andreas; and the inimitable Cam, our Aussie tour guide and a true survivalist. Interestingly, from what we saw, the Germans in Darwin outnumbered every other group. Overall, it was a great group and everyone was more than willing to pull their own weight. Whereas most of the group, upon introducing themselves, said they wanted to have fun and see wildlife, Jason said “no offense folks, but I want to see a croc mauling.” Cam rightfully declared it should be Kat given our delay on her behalf. (Hey, Priti needs some clientele!)

The tour started with a crocodile cruise but our first of many wildlife experiences was a tragic one, as a wallaby came running along side of our vehicle, then unsuccessfully tried to jump through the gap between the truck and the trailer. It was Cam’s first killing of the year and the rest of us were not quite sure whether he was joking when he said we’d be having it for dinner. While sitting in the front seat, Jason discovered a few interesting parallels with Cam, since they had the same brand of sandals (Chaco) and MP3 players (Toshiba). The latter brought back fond but bitter memories for Jason, as his had been dead since running out of juice on Fraser Island (due to a manufacturing glitch, the normal route of recharging via the laptop does not work if the battery is completely dead). During the croc cruise, we saw about a dozen “salties” (a good example of the Aussie lexicon of taking the first syllable and adding “ies” to it, “sunnies” being another personal favorite since Jason had to buy another pair after breaking his on the Whitsundays trip). They would dangle raw meat over the water to get them to “jump”. One of the crocs was over 100 years old and he was a massive beast. They had to be careful not to dangle the meat when multiple crocs were in the vicinity as they are cannibals and might end up killing each other, like they do in Woolongong. We also got to hold this non-poisonous (a rarity) diamond python, which promptly wrapped itself around Jason’s neck (right after Priti held it, coincidence?). After the croc cruise, we had a pretty long drive, as Kakadu is gargantuan, a total area larger than Switzerland. After stopping for lunch, we set up camp at Maguk, and then hiked to this spot that had lots of pools, most of which were at least 10 meters deep. While the rest of the group kept going to more pools, we hung back and Jason, ever such the rebel and in defiance of Cam’s explicit instructions, jumped off the rocks into the pools. Jason had again brought his mask so we took turns trying to skindive to the bottom of the various pools, all at least 10 meters deep; only Charlie made it. One of the pools was almost like a cave, as we accessed it by swimming down a couple meters underneath one of the rocks.

That night, all of us learned firsthand that Cam had previously been employed as a chef. He cooked us some buffalo sausages and we both got to try some kangaroo for the first time. It’s apparently one of the healthiest red meats and it tasted somewhat like beef but lighter. Cam shared some of his memorable experiences as a tour guide and also told us how Kakadu was completely different during the wet season (Nov-Mar), as much of the park becomes completely submerged due to interminable rains, thereby giving crocodiles much greater range throughout the park. After dinner, we had a good time discussing, among other things, the Futbol history between Germany and Italy (who defeated Germany yet again in the 2006 World Cup semis, viva Italia!), and the best scenes from The Simpsons movie (the swap between the faithful and the bar patrons), while Andreas kept count of everyone’s beer consumption. We managed not to drink all of it the first night as we were in for an early morning and long day.

Groggily, we awoke at the crack of dawn to break camp and hit the most famous spots in Kakadu. First was Twin Falls, which, due to a German tourist being eaten by a croc a few years ago, was off limits to swimmers and thus only accessible by a five-minute boat ride (that cost $12.50). As nice as the Twin Falls were, it was pretty disappointing that we weren’t able to swim, particularly since we’d just hiked for an hour in 40 (104 C) degrees coupled with extreme humidity. At some point during the day, we crossed the yellow river, where the water was so deep that the engine (that had a snorkel) was submerged and the water began seeping in through the back of the van. After another hour or so on a road that reminded us both of Fraser (i.e., BUMPY), we arrived at Jim Jim Falls. Like many of the names in Kakadu, it was a malapropism due to the White Man’s inability or unwillingness to understand the Aboriginal language (I suppose with names like Kunbarllanjnja and Malabanjbanjdju, it’s somewhat understandable). Unfortunately, Jim Jim Falls were anything but, as only a trickle was left after nearly a full dry season. Nonetheless, the 300 meter cliff face was a marvel to behold and at least we got to swim. The waters directly beneath the “Falls” were freezing so we opted to hang out in the warmer pools (but not the luke warm one, which Cam revealed a bit too much of himself when he exclaimed “it’s like swimming in piss”). After playing Classic Catch for awhile, by diving into the water off this tiny sand island, Cam orchestrated a game akin to dodgeball, where those in the water took turns flinging a small football at those in the sand. Sadly for Cam, or more appropriately his offspring, the game ended with him taking a ball from Jason directly in the groin. Jason couldn’t stop laughing and fortunately Cam wasn’t seriously injured and was a good sport.

That evening, after another scrumptious meal of lamb chops, teriyaki vegetables, and baked potatoes, Cam brought out his didgeridoo and gave us all a brief lesson in playing. We all gave decent efforts, but, sans circular breathing, which takes months to learn, the playing comes in spurts. After bringing over a few women from the neighboring camp, Cam proceeded to lead us on a nighttime nature hike. With about a dozen in tow, there was virtually no chance of spotting anything noteworthy, so we ended up laying down in a field and gazing at the stars while engaging in some random conversations, such as the future of humanity and the nature of the space/time continuum. What’s cool about stargazing in Australia is that the stars are completely different and so is the Milky Way itself, which is much splotchier in appearance relative to the mostly uniform band of haze we see in the northern hemisphere.

Another early morning for the crew on our final day in Kakadu brought us to a series of rock art paintings. Incredibly, carbon dating has revealed that one of the Aboriginal tribes had been creating paintings for 57,000 years, making them the oldest civilization on earth. Tragically, their tribe died out in 1969, as the youngest members left the tribe to pursue a western lifestyle. Cam expertly relayed many stories behind the paintings, including the formation of crocodiles, the Aboriginal version of the boogeyman, and the spirits that were believed to have painted themselves. Doubt them at your own risk. Throughout the final day, everyone had their expectations met as we saw tons of wildlife. In the morning we saw a couple of salties in the wild, although our prompting for them to fight went unheeded. Next we saw a pack of wild horses (cue Mick) consisting of one stallion, four(!) mares, and two youngsters. At one of the rock art sites, we saw some wallaroos, which are similar to wallabies. Other wildlife we spotted included buffaloes, cockatoos, egrits, flying black kites, and a white-chested sea eagle. The ultimate wildlife experience occurred on our way out of the park, as Cam antagonized a freshie with his didgeridoo into charging our 4x4. Jason got out and took pictures and managed not to get mauled in the process (imagine the irony). As we drove back into Darwin, the sun was visible through the trees, a fiery red ball that reminded us of a famous Magritte painting in the Chicago Art Institute.

Our final day in Australia was pretty uneventful, although we had a few instances of good luck, as a used book store owner paid us cash for our guidebook and the hostel receptionist gave us free shuttle passes after being entertained by the fact that we had saved exactly enough cash (or so we thought) for the tickets. And, Jason finally found an electronics store that could recharge his Gigabeat. Although we had enjoyed our trip thus far, we both realized that the true adventure was about to begin.

Reflecting on our time in Australia, there are a few things that stand out for those of you who are planning to go there. First, it’s BIG (like the mighty Banyan tree). We were there for a month and only traveled up the east coast and Darwin, and we felt rushed almost the entire time. It’s deceptively large because it’s an island and there’s nothing but a big rock in the middle, but make no mistake. It didn’t help that we traversed the entire coast via Greyhound, a la Edlavi circa 1999. Second, they like to drink. They really, really, really like to drink. And we'll leave it at that. Third, they are the southern hemisphere’s America, brash, arrogant and not too concerned with what the rest of the world thinks of them. Finally, it’s very expensive. Five years ago, the Aussie dollar was worth $.55; today it’s worth $.83, so everything has increased in price by about 50% for Americans in that time frame. The activities we engaged in were certainly fun but were very expensive. It’s a good thing we got Australia out of the way first because otherwise we would’ve probably had to miss out on some of them due to insufficient funds.

The Australia pics are finally up, sorry for the delay. Also, for those of you that have been dying to comment but didn't want to register, the settings have been changed to allow readers to post anonymously. Hint hint. And for those of you keeping track, not only the Cubs but the Diamondbacks also made the playoffs. Go Cubbies!

Australia - Fraser Island

The next stop was Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world, for a self-guided 4x4 three day tour. Thankfully, our group was both diverse and incredibly cool. Dave Murphy (Murph) an Irish laddy who’s on his own world tour and had just spent three months picking fruit in Bundaberg; Murph was traveling with Tom, a British zoologist who’s been traveling for five years and reckons he’ll be doing it for five more and Jordan, a 19-year-old Canadian who reminded everyone of a cartoon character but no one could say for sure exactly which one; Sandra, a German who’s living in Brisbane with her boyfriend Sam, a native Aussie and big fan of Spiderbait; the lovely Italians Alessandra and Marina, who, through a mistranslation of the zen notion of keeping one's mind clear, had the word thoughtless tatooed on her forearm; and Vince from Paris, a mechanical engineer and huge fan of Shakti and Magma.

Over the course of the three days, a rivalry developed with the other group that left from the same tour outfit: Team B. It began the night before, when Sandra was awoken in her hostel room by three German women and the two Italians. The Italians were being considerate but the Germans were very rude and woke her up on multiple occasions throughout the night. At 3 am, after Sandra finally asked them to keep it down, they became nasty and even started talking about her in German, assuming incorrectly that she would not understand what was being said about her. Thus, she was quite relieved to learn that they were not in the same group.

The next morning, after packing all of our gear, we were off to the island. Since Tom and Jordan had been to Fraser before, it was like having our own tour guide, a huge bonus considering the ridiculous prices of the guided tours. Our first stop was the stunning Lake Birrabeen, with a white sand beach and turquoise water that we had all to ourselves. After frolicking around for awhile, we headed to Lake Wabby, an emerald green lake which was surrounded by these massive sand dunes. Tom and Jason climbed the steep dune and while Tom did somersaults down the dune into the lake, Jason, fearful of breaking his neck, rolled down sideways. After Lake Wabby, we returned to see a dingo, a type of wild dog, hanging around our vehicle. Thankfully it was alone so we didn’t have to worry about it becoming aggressive, as they do when in packs. Then we made our way to our first camp site. The evening was absolutely wonderful and we enjoyed an incredible moonrise while listening to good tunes and retelling our crazy adventures. All in all a great day. Jason also got to do a bit of driving and had good fun watching in the rearview mirror as the rest of the group got bounced during each bump.

The following morning we headed further up the coast past a shipwreck on the beach. The tide was in so the waves came splashing up through it. Next was Indian Head, which is a series of cliffs overlooking some more beautiful coastline. Supposedly sharks can be seen down below but none of us saw any. We weren’t supposed to take the 4x4 all the way to it but we did anyways since our “tourguides” had done it before. Upon spotting Team B’s 4x4 parked far away, we devilishly unlocked their front wheels, thereby relegating their vehicle to two-wheel drive. And then the fun began. We were hoping we’d get to see them digging themselves out as we drove by but no such luck. We proceeded to the Champagne Pools, which were a set of rocks that gave some protection from the surf and more importantly the sharks, as this was the only area of the ocean we were allowed to go into. Basically, we hung on for dear life to these spongy rocks as massive waves crashed into them, and then over them and us like the bubbly.

We headed off to another lake, where we ran once again into Team B. We saw that they had locked their wheels, but we unlocked them again just for good measure. We also unlocked ours to see if they would be dumb enough to change ours without looking at the settings. When we ran into them at the lake, our wry grins gave us away so they surmised that we were the culprits. We had a good laugh but they didn’t seem too amused. They made a joke about leaving our stuff on the beach and then left almost immediately. When we returned to our vehicle, we decided to eat since we weren’t going to make our campsite before dark (another no-no was driving after sunset…oops). After getting our stuff out, we realized that some of our food was missing. And, worse yet, some of our alcohol had been nicked as well. Those bastards!!! It’s one thing to have a laugh but their response was to engage in outright theft?! Murph was frantic and was ready to track them down but we weren’t absolutely sure the stuff was missing or buried. Several in the group had purchased alcohol that day at “island” prices ($4/can). They also took our last loaf of bread so we’d have to purchase more the next day. On the way to our campsite (in the dark), Tom took us down a crazy path and since we were in the far back we got bounced around like jumping beans. He also managed to get stuck and so we had to dig ourselves out. It took about 15 minutes but we had a good laugh…something Team B apparently was incapable of. During the nighttime festivities, Murph and Jason set to plotting Team A’s revenge. We settled on tracking down their families and murdering their fathers, since Australia’s Father’s Day was just around the corner. Teach ‘em a lesson they’d never forget! We pitched it to the group but they opted for something a tad less extreme. Reluctantly, Murph and Jason conceded. Shortly thereafter we realized our hammer was missing. One annoying thing about the Fraser tour companies is that they charge ridiculous prices for any missing equipment; thus it was decided we would liberate Team B's $15 hammer.

On the way back down, we stopped once again at the shipwreck because Jason had the idea to get everyone to pose like the Dali composition of naked women in the form of a skull. As the pictures will attest, the effect clearly isn’t the same when the women are clothed! (The tour company gave us a camera and requested we take creative shots and the best one would get a prize. Sadly we had dropped ours in the water the first day so it was likely a futile effort regardless.) Our final destination was Lake McKenzie, which is supposedly the most beautiful but I thought it was basically the same as Birrabeen but with bigger crowds. After providing action shots for some photographer while playing keep the ball out of the water (akin to hacky sack), we decided to take another crack at the photo contest by following Tom’s suggestion to make it appear as if we were midgets buried in the sand. Then we completely buried Sam, laughing the entire time. Soon after we departed, we realized we’d left our $25 shovel behind…doh! Unfortunately, we could not just turnaround so we had to take a ½ hour detour to retrieve it, only to find it stuck under another 4x4’s rear wheel! After a good team effort of rocking the vehicle, we managed to retrieve it. However, this delay meant that we would be hard-pressed to see the final sight on our itinerary, an invisible creek so named because from the vantage point the water was so clear as to appear non-existent. Vince did his best to make sure we made up the time, much to the shagrin of Sam and Sandra, who are currently seeing chiropractors to get themselves realigned (haha). We decided to skip the creek but ended up arriving with plenty of time to spare (thanks to our fearless Frenchman).

The return ferry was somewhat sad since we’d had such a blast on the island. Back at the hostel, we unloaded the vans and started putting our equipment in order. We turned in all of our equipment (sans hammer) and discussed how to get Team B to reimburse us for our stolen provisions because it didn’t appear likely we’d be able to get their hammer. However, while Team B was turning in other equipment, Jason managed to swoop in and nab their hammer while their entire group was fewer than five meters away. Great Scot! After surreptitiously disclosing his feat to the team, it was time for Sandra to have her revenge on the Germans. She accosted them and said, in German, “so are you going to repay us for the things you stole.” Oh, snap! This just goes to show that you should never hurl insults at people in another language until you are sure they don’t speak it. It turns out the Germans were behind the entire heist plan but yet were the most adamantly opposed to taking responsibility for their actions. Ultimately, after following through on our promise to inform the tour company if they remained obstinate in their refusal to make good, they agreed to buy us a round of drinks at the pub. At about the same time, the tour company informed them that their hammer was missing. Watching them get into a tizzy and then scrounging up the $15 was priceless, and I’m still not sure how we managed to contain our emotions in our moment of triumph. Sex on the Beach, purchased on their tab, never tasted so good and we can only hope that one of us run into one of them before we leave Australia so we can let them know what happened to their hammer.

Postscript: Tom was happy to report that he did in fact run into some of Team B so we can rest assured that they all found out about their hammer. WOOOHOOOOO!!!!

Australia (part 1)

Hi folks,

Before we share our Aussie experience, we must first take a few moments to reflect on the glory of our beloved laptop. So here goes:



Ode On a Second-hand Laptop

Oh glorious lappy, so transportable and light
Your black exterior darker than night.
Versatility your virtue, reliability your strength
A whopping eight gig hard drive, yet just twelve inches in length.

We thank you, thank you, for all that you do
Just one month into our trip, we feared we'd lost you
But lo and behold, our fears were unfounded.
And now our appreciation for you has compounded.

So carry on, thou little black box of wonder
And never let us be torn asunder.
Without your processing power, we'd be up against a wall.
And remember, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty"---that is all

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming. The adventure in the Land Down Under started in Melbourne, where we were greeted with the familiar faces of friends, Rebecca Hill and her family, Simon, Romany, and Inez. Melbourne is a unique, cosmopolitan city that looks much larger on the map than it really is. We explored much of it by foot, including the massive Victoria Market, where vendors were selling everything from fresh foods to fake watches. Jason ended up buying this hokey black leather belt with Australian imprints.

Later that day, we went to a footy (i.e., Australian Football) match. The AFL match was a lot of fun, though the crowd was much tamer than we were expecting. Perhaps it was because the beer they served (Victoria Bitter) was dreadful. AF is sort of like hockey on grass with bits of rugby, soccer, and even basketball thrown in. And of course reckless abandon amongst the padless players. The stadium was nearly filled to capacity because it was the 1st place team in town, the Geelong Cats vs. the North Melbourne Kangaroos (actually both are based in the Melbourne vicinity). The Cats were clearly the better team and won the match 118-91, although at one point the Roos had closed to within two points. To let you know how exciting of a match it was, Priti actually paid attention to the entire game rather than peoplewatch (as she does at every baseball game Jason has dragged her to). The frontrunner for the AFL MVP scored five goals, yet the fans didn’t appear too appreciative; perhaps he’s Australia’s A-Rod.

Our Ausssie tour continued with a drive to Philip Island, a wildlife haven. We went to the Koala Sanctuary where upon treetop boardwalks we found ourselves face to face with a mother koala and her joey (baby). Although koalas sleep for 16-20 hours per day, we were lucky enough to see (and capture on video) the joey come out of her mother's pouch and cling to her belly as she climbed down one tree, took a sniff of some koala droppings, and then proceeded to climb another tree. This amazing experience was followed by sightings of kangaroos in the woods or "scrubs" as the Aussies call them. Hippity-hop they went, stopping occasionally to stare at us. Moving along to another area of Philip Island, we sat along a boardwalk, watched the sunset over hills and the ocean, and then saw hundreds of Little Penguins (creativity isn't one of the Aussies' strengths), swim out of the ocean onto the beach and waddle to their nests. They emerged out of the ocean in groups of six to ten, and some of the groups kept going back in to the water, and it took them multiple attempts to muster enough courage to waddle all the way up the beach to their nests. The set up allowed us to get within arms reach of the penguins. They made a squeaky, gurgling sound as each individual stood guard of its nest. Unfortunately, we couldn't take any pics because this area was protected and the flashes would scare them.

Melbourne reminded us of Chicago, with its second city complex and concerted efforts at self-promotion, lots of quality restaurants, quality museums, and obsessiveness over professional sports. Priti loved it. At night, we ventured to the trendy St. Kilda neighborhood to see some good old fashioned rock n' roll.

After four days there, we said goodbye to our hosts and went to Sydney where we stayed in the King's Cross neighborhood, renowned for its colorful clientele. Unfortuately, the rain followed us from NZ, but we still ventured out to explore the city. At the wharf, we listened to an Aboriginal with a painted face and body play the Didgeridoo on the wharf and we also witnessed a woman contort her body into a small plexiglass box. She literally could have kissed her own arse. We took the ferry to Manly beach and had good sunset views of the Opera House and the Sydney Bridge. The following day we finally splurged at Sushi Rio, taking whichever dishes we wanted from the conveyor belt as they passed by (sushi train). Following lunch, we went to the Chinese Garden, an oasis of tranquility within the mania that is Sydney. Interestingly, given our Melbourne/Chicago perceptions, Sydney reminded us of NYC - lots of beautiful, stylishly dressed people, cuisine from all over the world, and a night life that goes until the wee hours of the mornin'.

The road north led next to Byron Bay, which was recommended by many fellow travelers. Sadly, the weather once again was not very good so we couldn't do that much in Byron itself. One of the highlights was a day trip to Nimbin, Australia’s version of Amsterdam. The rest of the time in Byron was spent on the beach. We also came across this massive tree that was filled with hundreds of parrots, who must have been in mating season because they were all paired up and singing to the high heavens. Our next stop was Noosa, although since it had been completely under water from flooding the week before, our hostel room smelled like mildew. Not a fun experience sleeping that night but good things were just around the corner...

Australia is so massive that it's been a challenge to find time to update the blog, but there will be more updates coming very soon along with pics. Take care everyone!

Hey folks,

The South Island of NZ was amazing. First, the ferry ride itself was pretty magnificent as we coasted by dozens of inlets before arriving in Picton. The plan was to carry on to Abel Tasman NP but we didn’t really feel like driving so we just booked a room in Picton. The next day was beautiful and sunny so we hiked the Queen Charlotte Track, which had some spectacular views. Incredibly, we ended up hiking about 14 miles (~24 km). Our feet were killing us by the time we returned, but uckily we got to soak in the hot tub later that evening. The previous evening Jason chatted with an older male kiwi who’d been all around and had a crazy tale about Cairo, Egypt; after arriving in the middle of the evening, he (never got his name) and his wife got harassed by a cabbie who tried to scam them by taking them to a shady hotel. Having spotted something they recognized on the way, they had the driver drop them off at a different place, the entrance of which was down a dark alley. Upon arriving at the front door, they discovered it was locked. As they walked back, a “police officer” accosted them and demanded cigarettes or money. While trying to talk their way out of a confrontation, the man grabbed his wife’s breast. She screamed and then he shoved the scumbag and they fled down the alley, fully expecting to be shot in the back! That’s basically the end but it could easily have been much worse. Hopefully our time in Cairo isn't quite so harrowing.

Back to the trip, the next day we took a short jaunt to Renwick, which is in the heart of the Marlborough wine region. We "hired" (=rented) bikes for the day and went to about eight wineries. The region is apparently famous for their Sauvignon Blancs and most of the wines we tasted were whites and generally justified the high praise they’ve been receiving in recent years. We weren't even fans of Sauvignon Blancs but we are now. It was a perfect day for biking and the scenery was beautiful. Also, the staff didn’t pressure us to purchase anything, which was nice considering almost all of the tastings were free. Our favorite place was called The Villa, but sadly they don’t export any of their wines to the US. We joined up with a couple Brits, Ben and Graham, who were doing geological research in Kaikoura. Interestingly, during the course of our discussion, the absurdity of the official story of 9/11 came up. Apparently the British public is very skeptical and most are convinced that there was a cover up of some sort. If only the American public were that well-informed.

Unfortunatley, our plans were disrupted again by inclement weather. I think I forgot to mention but we had planned to visit Tongariro NP (home of Mt. Doom from Lord of the Rings) but it was closed. This time, we were going to take a helicopter ride up to Fox glacier to see ice caves and due some ice hiking. The weather was only getting worse so rather than try to wait it out we just left for Queenstown. What should have been a scenic drive down the west coast was anything but as it was pouring rain the entire drive and stuck around the first two days we were in Queenstown. There was a small respite when we stopped in Wanaka, another ski town. We stopped at the wacky world of puzzles that housed many illusion exhibits along with a giant maze.

Our first night in Queenstown we again hung out with the Nebraskans. We went and saw some Reggae music, which is the big thing there, so Jason was in his element. The following day, while it poured, we were finally able to find an internet café that had a good connection and were able to download all of our pictures. This was a huge relief as we were beginning to fear that we would never have sufficient time to download them. The weather cleared the following day so we took an insanely steep gondola ride and at the top rode these go-cart like contraptions called luges. They were propelled by gravity, meaning you could pick up some serious speed. There were many hair-pin curves so they were also designed not to flip over; rather, brake pads slowed them down if the rider lost control.

The locals were saying the weekend rain/snow had resulted in the best conditions of the entire season so we figured it would be fun to give it a go. What a great decision as the snowboarding was awesome! We went to the Remarkables and despite some annoyances getting there, including getting our windshield chipped and realizing the snow tires provided by the rental agency were too small, we had a blast. In the morning we joined one of their beginner classes but there were too many people and it seemed a big waste of time. So, in the afternoon, Jason upgraded to get a lift pass. In just 2 ½ hours he had about 10 runs and was the last person off the mountain, mostly because he spent most of the time on his bum. We have a feeling we’ll be taking many more trips to Flag when we return to Arizona.

The next day we were set to leave Queenstown to head down to Milford Sound, one of the iconic tourist destinations of NZ. Before we left, we took a jet boat ride around one of the nearby lakes. The jet boat ride itself was pretty cool, we did a bunch of 360s and he drove so close to the shoreline that we're still not sure how we didn't wreck. We wish we’d have brought our camera because the reflection of the mountains off of the lake were stunning. It was also really cool to see two rivers meeting, as we could actually see where they met due to differences in the color of the waters. On of the rivers was just six inches deep. Jason had planned to go bungy jumping at Nevis, a whopping 134 meters. However, he was informed the night before that there is actually a larger bungy in South Africa; supposedly it’s 200 M! Considering bungying is all about facing his fears (i.e., ego), he decided to hold out for the biggest in the world. Apparently, NZ is working to reclaim the title of the highest bungy jump but have yet to begin building it.

We drove to Te Anu and stayed in an actual motel. It was a big relief considering for the past four days we’d been forced to leave our building just to use the bathroom. Milford Sound itself was pretty spectacular; we took 130 pictures in one day! (Many are redundant so our apologies). There was this one stopoff on the way called Mirror Pond which was the setting for about 15 of them. Because we hold the camera differently to get taller shots, Priti and I were taking mirror image shots of a mirror image…far out! Ironically, the wettest spot in NZ had not a cloud in the sky which allowed for some great pics but meant we didn't get to see the hundreds of waterfalls it is known for. Because the boat we were supposed to take was unavailable, they gave us free passes to the underwater exhibit, which was nice considering we were going to do it anyway. Thus, we were able to get underwater pictures without doing a photography dive. The divers had displayed this rope that was from 30 M deep and it had all these funky coral on it, very cool.

Our drive to Christchurh was looooong. We tried to break it up by stopping in Dunedin to see penguins but that was a whole side trip and so we just passed through. Our hostel was pretty crappy but it was centrally located so we decided to have a night on the town. The following morning, we groggily attempted to go swimming with Dolphins in Akaroa but once again the NZ weather gods were having none of it. Three meter high waves meant the boats weren't going out that day. Since we’d saved some money by losing out on the swim, we decided to splurge on dinner at Dux de Lux, which was right across the street from our hostel. Priti ordered a tasty dish of rata (some white fish), and Jason's salmon dish was divine. It was so tender it nearly fell through his fork (a la sting ray). We went to an Irish pub and drank some Guiness and danced some jigs before returning home on our last night in NZ.

New Zealand - North Island

Hi everyone! Our apologies for the long delay in posting from New Zealand. Internet connections here are not the quickest so downloading all of our pics has been a challenge. And frankly we've just been too busy! NZ is like one big adventure park for adults, coupled with some of most spectacular landscapes we've ever seen.

Our krazy kiwi adventure began almost immediately, during our bus ride from the airport into downtown Auckland. The driver was a gregarious old lecher and asked every female rider if she wanted to come home with him. He had a big gulp and we grew increasingly suspicious that he was inebriated. Over the course of our 1/2 hour bus ride, he managed to hit something (and just kept going, exclaiming “that wasn’t me was it, nah that wasn’t me”), forgot to drop a woman off at her stop, and took us to the wrong car rental agency. Fortunately, we managed to track it down without too much trouble. NZ has about 4 million people and 1.5 million of them live in Auckland. Since they get about 2 million visitors per year, they are extremely helpful to tourists, and on several occasions people have literally stopped their cars to see if we needed any assistance. In general, kiwis have got to be just about the nicest people on earth. We could probably live here except for the weather. It rained nearly every single day we were on the North Island, a pretty radical climate change from the AZ desert.

Driving on the left has been an adventure. Jason managed to get us nearly killed when he pulled into a roundabout right in front of an oncoming SUV. The hardest tasks to master were the turn signals (up=right) and keeping to the center. And of course the bloody roundabouts! Another bizarre rule of the road in NZ is that when two cars going in the opposite direction are turning onto the same road, the car turning right has the right-of-way, despite being further away from the road. The equivalent would be if a car turning right in America had to yield to cars turning left. We have made it a rule that we both drive at least once each day we use the car in order to keep our skills sharp. Even after getting comfortable with the driving, it is very easy to revert to old habits, particular early in the morning or late in the evening.

We hung around for a bit in the posh Parnell district in Auckland. We had some tasty fish n chips (Snapper, yum!) before contacting Zak, who I’d met online through Couchsurfing.com. He looked a bit like Ricky Gervais and his British accent made the resemblance more striking. His father was a rock manager and he said there are pictures in his family album of him sitting on David Bowie’s lap! He was extremely fun, cooked us a couple tasty meals and took us out clubbing all night at Spacebar. There was a contest for best costume and Zak, donning all-green shiny pants, dreads, fairy wings and wand, won 1^st prize—a bottle of absinthe. It was a great night and something we never would’ve experienced sans a local connection. In fact, we had such a good timehanging out with Zak that we ended up forgoing a trip to the Bay of Islands in the far north; instead we opted for a couple day trips to Piha (top picture), Bechtels Beach (pictured here), and Orewa, all of which were great.

Our next destination was Rotorua, which is the smelliest city we’ve ever been in due to the sulfur. It would be one thing if it was ubiquitous so that we could get used to the smell; however, the sulfur smell came in waves so that it was impossible to acclimate ourselves to the smell. Despite the odor we stayed for several days. We were hoping to go whitewater rafting on the Kaituna River, a class five famous for its seven meter fall. Unfortunately, it remained closed due to heavy rains. We ended up rafting the Rangataiki, which was not as extreme but was a longer trip and thus able to take up most of a day. There were a few scary moments but mostly it was just good fun. Tim, our guide, was quite the energetic fellow, and spent everyday doing some kind of activity. After rafting we spent a nice and relaxing evening at the Polynesian Spa, which had a bevy of mineral pools at various temperatures (in Celsius of course).

Another evening in Rotorua we went a Maori hangi. It was pretty interesting learning some of the history and what the facial tattoos symbolize. There are four birds: the owl, the bat, the parrot and of course the kiwi. Also, their dances were fascinating, particularly the warriors who’s facial expressions were terrifying (bulging eyes, tongues out). We also learned that the national symbol, the silver fern, was used by tribes who were traveling at night to guide each other. So the person leading would flip a silver fern over so the others would know where to follow, then the last person in the group would flip it back down so no one else would know they had been there. The following day we went zorbing—rolling down a hill in a big plastic ball…an activity that could have been invented only in NZ. We both went down together and they threw in some hot water so that we just laid on our backs after falling down about 3 seconds into the ride.

We also spent one evening hanging out with a German woman who was hanging out in NZ waiting to have her visa extended so she could return to Australia. She was dating an Indian guy back there. She was pretty interesting and we had a good time chatting, although we never even learned her name. That is a fairly common phenomenon among the traveler set; many interactions are so brief that trying to learn names is just a pain. However, when you end up hanging out with someone for awhile it’s unfortunate to not even know their name.

Our next step was Taupo, another nexus of adventure in the Kiwi landscape. On our way there we stopped at Wai-O-Tapu, which is essentially NZ’s answer to Yellowstone sans the wildlife. Geysers, mudpools, and wacky colorful rock formations dominated the landscape. The rust, lime green, and white moss that covered the trees also provided some surreal scenery. Jason's attention got sucked into this one area called The Devil’s Palette and he kept taking pictures as the mud formations changed shapes, some of which will likely end up on our walls.

We found our way to the Rainbow Backpackers Lodge in Taupo, Jason's favorite hostel thus far. The people were all very cool and the location was within walking distance to lots of stuff. The main reason for stopping in Taupo was so that Jason could go skydiving. They advertise as the cheapest place to do it, although the price quickly adds up as they talk you into jumping from a higher altitude and purchasing a DVD of the experience. Thus, I opted for the 15,000 ft jump with it’s minute plus freefall. My tandem diver JK was pretty cool and a former world champion freefaller. He explained that there was virtually no sponsorship for the sport, necessitating his becoming a tandem skydiver to make a living. But what a way to earn income! It all happened so fast that there are few words to describe the experience. AWESOME pretty much sums it up. The freefall portion is so radically different from any other experience I’ve had in my life that it took a good ten to fifteen seconds just to get my brain to begin processing the sensory input. Once I got my bearings, I began to truly enjoy it. Of course I had to ham it up a bit for the cameraman. I’m not sure if it was the Maori hangi or what, but afterwards I realized I had my tongue sticking out almost the entire freefall. Once JK opened the chute, we went from pure adrenaline to total peacefulness as we floated back to the landing spot.

Once on the ground, my entire body was literally buzzing from the adrenaline, and my fingers and feet were frozen due to the rush of blood to my internal organs. My right ear also was hurting from rapid pressure fluctuation. Another girl in my jump group had a panic attack on the way down, so she couldn’t even stand on her own. It was a bit annoying that I had to spend the next half hour or so listening to her reliving her terror, whereas for me there was very little fear, especially after JK told me on the way up that he’d jumped over 17,000 times. Before the jump I assumed I would do one jump and then be over it. Perhaps that might still be the case, but at this point I can’t wait to do another jump, probably in Namibia. Highly recommended. More pics are coming once we get around to sending them home.

The four Nebraskans

No, this isn’t some two-bit gunslinger tale but rather one of our experiences in Taupo. Back at the hostel after the skydive, we met Nan from Taiwan. He was studying economics and told us some interesting things about Taiwanese politics. Most entertaining was the fact that their president (or prime minister?) had staged an assassination attempt and blamed it on the opposition party.

Later in the evening, a young woman approaches and is clearly ready to party it up for the night. It turns out that Nikki and her two friends Micheal and Ashlee were native Nebraskans! Considering we’ve only met a few Americans thus far the chances of meeting three other Nebraskans in Taupo was astronomical. Nan got drunk so quickly off a few beers and was all over the dance floor, and managed to headbutt several of us over the course of the evening. It would've been annoying if it wasn't so damn entertaining. Ashlee and Nikki grew up in Grand Island but Ashlee is currently living in NZ on a work visa. She is also passionate about music and travel and seems to have found a new home down under. Nikki has plans to move to Taupo some time next year. We also met an an Irish bloke named Clark, who had some incredible stories to tell, including his best friend being killed by a mine in Northern Ireland.

Our final stop in the North Island was the capital city of Wellington, which is where the ferry departs for the South Island. Despite being fairly small, it has an amazing array of great restaurants and we ate some excellent Indian and Chinese food. We saw a great sunset but there but Tucson still has the title.

We're on the South Island now and will be leaving for Australia next Saturday. Hopefully we'll have another update soon. Take care folks!

And so it begins...

Bula from Fiji! Our impressions of this country are mostly positive but we decided to leave five days early. Although both the islands we visited were beautiful (there are 336 total), there were a few factors that made us want to move on. First, even before the trip began, we had discussed extending our stay in NZ so arriving early will hopefully give us enough time so that we can still have a full month in Australia (Oz). Mainly, we both felt that we’d experienced most of what Fiji had to offer. On Mana Island, we enrolled in an Open Water Diving course. On our very first dive, we swam with a white-tip reef shark! Then, on our third dive, we went to a famous spot called “The Supermarket” (you can find anything) and saw about a dozen more! These particular types of sharks are afraid of humans so there were no worries but at one point one was swimming right at me. Despite knowing there was no danger, seeing the shark eye-to-eye certainly got the ol’ ticker pumping.

In addition to sharks, we also saw some very cool coral. One in particular was quite fascinating; it looked like a little orange bare tree about the size of a volleyball, and there was an entire school of tiny bright blue fish living in it, going about their business as fish are wont to do. We also saw a sting ray, a manta ray (not sure though), an eel, needle fish, and, while on the boat, flying fish, which looked like skipping rocks flying through the air. We didn't take any underwater pics, but here is a sea snake with whom we just missed crossing paths.

Besides diving, we went snorkeling and also drank some kava, which is usually described as a ‘mild narcotic.’ We drank a fair amount but didn’t really feel anything, although if I recall, my dreams were pretty vivid. It has a very bitter taste, “like muddy water” as the saying goes.

We hung out with some cool guys on Mana: two Canadians (Kevin & Pete) and Steve, an ex-pat living in Christchurch. We walked around the island together and staged our very own crab race, as they were everywhere on the beach. The key is to make a circle, because they won’t go in the same direction. We’d gotten the idea from the hostel we were staying, which staged a crab race the night before. The one I purchased came in 2nd, oh well.

Then it was off to Wayaleilei Island in the Yasawa group. We took this massive boat and were flying along past several beautiful islands. Wayaleilei itself was the prettiest; beaches and forest at the base but with three huge volcanic rocks at the top. We spent the entire first day sleeping on a beach-front hammock. The food on this island was much better than on the Mana, and consisted of meat, fresh fruit, salads, and these tasteless potato-like roots. The next day was filled with rain, so we played cards with Anders from Sweden and Bob from NYC.

On our third day, we went kayaking and the plan was to meet a group on the other side where there was a sand dune connecting Wayaleilei to another island. As we approached an area of rough surf, we naively thought we would be able to handle the waves and get a cheap thrill to boot. We did okay on the first few but they kept coming until one dumped us. The water was pretty shallow but we picked the absolute worst spot to get dumped: right in front of a "young" set of sharp lava rocks. Both of us suffered a number of abrasions on our legs and feet and getting back on the kayak was a literal pain. We took a much wider path from that point on and had our destination within eyesight. Unfortunately, there was a headwind and the current was going the opposite direction. We soon realized no matter how hard we paddled, we made little to no progress. We made a beeline to the nearest beach and got to see one of the local villages. It’s amazing how much poverty there is when the resorts are more expensive than Hawaii. However, we were told that most of the money is sent to the mainland to build schools and houses for those in the direst need. Fijians work six days a week, for $3FJ/hour ($2 US). Yet, they appeared to be very happy. After walking about two kms through yet more lava rocks, we finally met up with the other group (who had wisely taken the motorized escort). The sand dune was great, with waist-deep waves hitting us from two directions. And thankfully, they remembered to bring our lunches, and even picked up our kayak and tied it to the boat for the return trip.

The following morning, we tried hiking to the top of the island. There was a guided sunrise hike, but it was at 5:30 am and we'd been told by Anders and Bob that it was a fairly easy track to follow. About half-way through the very steep hike, one of my (Jason's) tevas broke. Having seen pictures of the view from the top, I was initially determined to finish the hike. Well, lo and behold, sans guide we were unable to figure out how to get to the top. There was an extremely steep rock that I attempted to climb, but sans shoes my courage ran out before I could get to the top. There were still some great views, but at that point my mind was made up that our string of bad luck was telling us it was time to leave Fiji.

We made it back to the main island and that night I hung out with yet some more Canadians, including Matt, a very cool third generation Toronto fireman, and Jen, also from Toronto but has been teaching in London for the past five years. She’s been pretty much everywhere it seemed. She gave great advice for some of the places we’re going and even generously offered Priti some winter clothing since she had left the cold weather of NZ behind. Having repeatedly heard the phrase “I’ve never been colder in my life” about a dozen times from travelers who’d just come from NZ, I couldn’t refuse. And so we’re off to NZ, land of the kiwis.