Monday, December 21, 2009
Great Ocean Road
Saturday, December 12, 2009
South Island
As I said, the weather was just about perfect to hike a glacier that day, and with the sunlight beaming down, you could really see the bright blue aqua colored ice that makes up the insides of the glacier. How could I see the inside of the glacier when we were hiking on top of it you ask? We maneuvered through extremely tight crevases and cracks in the glacier that it really gave you an appreciation for the size and beauty of it. There were also pools of melted ice that form the bright blue pools of water that look fake they are so clear and blue. It was really an awesome experience to be on top of a glacier like we were.
From Milford Sound we made the drive to Queenstown, which looks really close on the map, is actually a long drive because the highways don't go in the most direct route. Upon arriving back in Queenstown the first thing we did was make our reservations to go Bungy Jumping. The site which we did our jump is the famous Kawarau Bridge and is the first commercial bungy location in the world. From the edge of the bridge you are 43 meters above the Shotover River. The waters here again are an amazing color of blue (sense a pattern?) Depending on how you jump...from falling straight off the platform like a rock, to leaping outwards dictates if you will get dunked in the river of not. The more straight down you go the more wet you'll get, probably from your head down to your waist. I wanted to get a good jump and show good form so I didn't fall straight down, but I also wanted to get at least a little wet, so I was slightly dissapointed when I came up completel dry. The guys in the raft below who picked me up said that I came within inches of the water though. The free fall was only a few seconds before the slack in the rope caught, and then you bounch around like a dummy a few times before geing brought into the raft. Even though the experience itself isn't long, it was definitely worth it.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Perth, North Island of New Zealand
Next on the list was a quick stop in Melbourne (just the airport) during a layover to pick up some camping equipment from Jonathan's parents to use while in New Zealand. The flight gave me more appreciation of how vast Australia really is, as it was a 4 hour flight over essentially nothing, then from Melbourne to Auckland, New Zealand was about another 4 hours, so it was a LONG day of traveling. Once in Auckland we met up with a friend of Jonathon's from the States named Mark. He's taking a 2 week vacation to tour around New Zealand with us for a little bit. Jon and I getting along great and everything, but it has been nice to have another person around.
We didn't spend much time in Auckland (part of it was actually catching up on some sleep too) before renting a car and starting the drive to different spots throughout the country. First we started out and drove around the Coromandel Penninsula which is just east of Auckland. It was a cloudy and extremely windy day, but some of the views of the mountians and water from the penninsula were still incredible. From there we continued further south towards Rotorua. We could smell the city of Rotorua from about 30 miles away as it reaks of dirty rotten eggs. It is a geothermal hotspot, and all around the city are heaps of geysers, boiling mud pools, hot springs, volcanoes, etc. The smell from these was overwhelming at times, but it was really fun to go around to the different parks and see all the activity created by the earth. The colors of some of these pools were remarkable too. One pool looked like a bright yellow highlighter which was caused by the high sulfur content. There were also bright blues, reds, and greens. We also went to a Maori night show which included some history of their culture, a performance of warriors, singing, dancing, and an AMAZING meal. This happened to be the Friday after Thanksgiving here, so it was probably still Thursday back home so it counted as our Thanksgiving meal. It included pork, stuffed chicken, potatoes, gravy, different salads, fresh seafood, and great desserts, so it actually did feel like a Thanksgiving meal. The end of the night show concluded with a geyser erupting at night which was lit up by lights, and looked really cool.
After leaving the smell of Rotorua and washing all our clothes and showering numerous times to try and rid ourselves of the smell...just kidding,it wasn't that bad, but we headed to the Waitomo Caves next to have an underground adventure. Wai means water, and tomo means hole in the Maori culture, which creates the name waterhole for the caves. We actually stopped at a different type of watering hole after our rafting too. The experience of climbing through the caves in a wetsuit and going from water to rocks repeatedly in pitch black dark where you can't see 6 inches in front of your face was extremely extreme. The only thing illuminating our patch was the lights on our helmets, which weren't used all the time, and the thousands and thousands of glow worms in the caves. It was quite a sight to see all of them dot the ceilings of these caves in a bright green light that looks like strands of christmas lights. In order to get into the cave alone we had to climb down a ladder that was sandwhiched between rocks with the hole no bigger than 18 inches across, I had to go down at an odd angle just to fit. There were also several other places along the trek through the cave where I thought I was going to get stuck. Many of these locations were appropriately named by the guides too. I'll leave the imagination to you, but there was ankle breaking alley, concussion rock, the bermuda triangle, constipation hole, and my personal favorite where we had to crawl through head first with our head lamps turned off was the re-birth canal. That was very tube like in shape about shoulder width wide, and I have no idea how long it was because I could not see A THING without my light on. The water was a warm 12 degrees C, or approximately 55 degrees F, but you didn't feel cold with the adrenaline working our way through these caves that involved climbing, squeezing, crawling, swimming, tubing, did I mention squeezing through small spaces?!? The only bummer with this trip was that we couldn't bring cameras down in the cave because of the affect the flash has on the glow worms.
After leaving the caves we began the drive to Wellington, which is the capital of New Zealand which is where we're at right now, and we'll only be here for a day or so before taking the ferry accross to the South Island to explore there too. It was a very scenic drive through that part of the North Island, and I'm really looking forward to the scenery of the South Island. We have already seen tons of sheep which seem to populate every grassland or empty space.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Thailand
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Kuala Lumpur/Cambodia
Cambodia was in some ways much different then I expected, and in some ways it was sadly what I thought it would be. Suprisingly they use United States currency, and of all the countries we've been to I would say they spoke the best English too..probably including Australia ;) One of the first things that hit you was how it is a country that is struggling to obtain its identity after several years of terror and war. You could still see the pain on the faces of a lot of the people caused by the Khmer Rouge. This was very evident in the number of people on the streets that were missing arms and legs, and asking for money. It was so sad to see the destruction caused by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, as they killed nearly 2 million Cambodians with most of the deaths coming in the form of starvation and disease. At the time that was approximately a quarter of the entire population. The people missing limbs that we encountered most likely lost them due to disease or even land mines that are still around the countryside, and we probably saw close to 10 people in one afternoon while eating lunch and walking through part of town. The majority of the streets were just dirt roads with enormous pot holes that made riding down them in taxi's, buses, or tuk tuks extremely uncomfortable.
Aside from all that seeing the temples at Angkor Wat was a great experience. We were only in Cambodia for a few days to see them, and bought our day ticket the evening before so we could get in for free to watch the sunset from the top of one of the temples. Apparently everyone else had the same idea as it was packed with people. We got to bed early that night as the next day we left at 5 AM to watch the sunrise over the main temple, Angkor Wat. That was really a great experience to see that, and its also the first time in a while that I remember being up for a sunrise! Throughout the rest of the day we were wandering around and exploring other temples. Also while in Cambodia an ATM acted up on me and I never recieved the $200 that I took out, yet it was charged to my account. I've already contacted the bank about it...too bad it wasn't First National Bank of Michigan since I feel I might have some more leverage there. But if anyone wants to send me a check to help fund the rest of my trip I wouldn't be opposed! The next morning we had to get up early AGAIN to catch our bus from Seim Reap to Bangkok which was a whole nother adventure.
The bus drove around to all the different guesthouses that had people that booked tickets to pick them up. Keep in mind the roads I mentioned earlier are extremely bumpy, and narrow with street vendors, motorbikes, people, stray dogs, etc. The bus was about 2/3 rds full by the time we got to the station where there happened to be about 12 more people waiting to get on. There was room for at most 8 more. So the driver stacked all the luggage to the roof just behind the back row of seats, as well as to the roof in the very front seat next to the door. This didnt take care of all the luggage though, so there were bags laying down the entire isle, and stacked up in front of the door. A couple people had to catch the next bus, and they even brought a lawn chair on the bus because we were still over loaded by one person. They elected to just sit on the floor though as it was easier. We stopped twice along the way to the border to use the restroom once (which cost money) and to eat lunch at a restaurant the second time. I'm sure the driver gets paid by that restaurant to bring a bus load full of people, as our bus was the only people that were there. Once we got to the border around 1 we switched buses and got on another one which drove us about 2 kilometers to the border. From there we had to go through Cambodia customs, and then walk about 1 more kilometer to the Thailand border and go through Thailands customs. After that we were taken to get on our 3rd bus which was more of an excursion van...which again was overloaded with people and luggage, and the ride from the border to Bangkok was about 3 and a half hours. So we got into the city at about 5:30 after bordering the first bus at 7:30 AM. Needless to say it was a long day of traveling that always consisted of an overcrowded vehicle. We're now in Bangkok and have been here for a few days and are next heading south to Phucket and some islands of the west coast of Thailand. I'm running out of time on the internet so will post pictures of this portion of the trip soon.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Singapore
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Bali
Tomorrow will be our last day in Bali before heading north to Singapore. We’ll actually be crossing back into the northern hemisphere again, so my first time in several weeks, even if only a stones throw away from the equator. The Bali portion of our trip came at a good time since we were running around seeing so much in Australia it was refreshing to just kick back, soak up the sun and relax on the beach. After the surf session tomorrow it will be our third time that we’ve gone out to do it. Once you get a handle on the fundamentals of surfing it is a great feeling to catch a good wave and just ride it. We met a guy name Yanto one of our first days here, and let me tell you he is living the dream. He’s got a little “bar” right on the beach which basically consist of a couple big coolers, some lawn chairs, and an umbrella. He also has a bunch of surfboards to rent out and so we go to him to both grab some Bintangs (the Indonesian beer) and rent a board for a couple of hours. We went surfing late in the afternoon our second time and stayed on the beach to watch one of the most perfect sunsets.
We made it up to Ubud on the island of Bali earlier today to go to the Monkey Forest Sanctuary which is some paths through part of the forest that are populated with monkeys. Jonathon and I were both surprised at the number of monkeys that were there and how they were just roaming about around all the visitors. It wasn’t like a zoo or anything, they were in the wild, and just highly concentrated in this area. The highlight of the monkeys (although probably not for the victim) was when one jumped on a girls back causing her to drop her camera. Within seconds another monkey came from behind and scooped it up and took off running. About an hour later we saw one of the guides and the same girl trying to entice the monkey that took it with bananas as he was still holding onto her camera. I’m not sure if they were successful or not, but it was quite comical, and the monkey was trying to see what he needed to do to eat it like it was some type of food.
A perfect example of how truly small the world is happened after our first attempt at surfing was over. We got back to Yanto’s bar to return the boards and got some beers to try and rinse the saltwater taste out of our mouths, the sand out of our ears, remove the seaweed that was wrapped around us, etc. This of course was caused by all the wipeouts…again it was my first time. There was a couple at Yanto’s bar as well which we stuck up a conversation with. They just had thier wedding here in Bali and were staying for the honeymoon. Come to find out that they are both from Melbourne and Jonathon actually went to primary school with the lady. They were only 1 year apart and didn’t know each other, but knew a lot of the same people. It would be the equivalent of me vacationing somewhere in the Caribbean and just happening to bump into someone on the beach that I went to elementary or middle school with.
We’ve met some really cool and interesting people so far in our travels, and might end up meeting up with a few of them as our trips will overlap by a week or so in New Zealand. One thing that I’ve found interesting, and kind of exciting is that when asked by different Indonesian people where I’m from and I reply America, they mention that I’m only the 2nd or 3rd American they’ve ever met. I know Indonesia isn’t particularly close to the US, but it was still something very different for me to be this far removed from my home and be reminded of it by others. I have more pictures to post related to this story but it takes about 5 minutes per picture to upload, and I'm running out of time online, so I'll add some more soon!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
On Friday 10/16 we lathered up in sunscreen, apparently not enough for me, and headed east on the Ocean Free sailboat to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef. It couldn’t have been a better day for it as the air temperature was right around 90, water temperature about 75, not a cloud in the sky, and not a breath of wind. That was also a problem since we took a SAILBOAT out there. It took about 2 hours to arrive and return to the reef since we had no wind power to use, but it wasn’t a problem since we still had plenty of time to snorkel, and a lot of the other passengers were around our age so we struck up some conversations and made some friends.
The dive spot was located just off Green Island which is absolutely gorgeous with all the colors of the water right around it. I ended up buying a post cord with an aerial view of the area we snorkeled just because I couldn’t capture the beauty with my camera. After the morning session they fed us a delicious lunch on the boat and took us to the island in shifts to spend some time on the beach there. Jonathon and I made sure to catch the first ride back to the boat so we could have quite a bit more time in the water before heading back to Cairns. As we were about to get in the water again we were greeted by 2 sharks and a couple of other large fish that were swimming around the boat. Feeling invincible like we are we slipped into the water quietly to swim with these animals. In the mean time our captain begins throwing pieces of left over lunch meet in the water real close to us (I was hit in the head once) and tells us to keep our hands and arms tucked in close to our body. I think you can imagine why, and I didn’t want to temp the sharks to think that my fingers were nice little pieces of meat that they can have for a dessert, so I obeyed without questioning. It was such a cool experience to be in the water with 3 sharks (a 3rd came up later when they were eating) in the wild like that and watch them eat and swim. The crew was extremely fun and you can tell they love poking fun at specific nationalities when they get a chance…Canadians, and Italians were on the receiving end most of the day.
We had 2 more days in the Cairns area before flying to Darwin after that so we explored some beaches in the area and just relaxed by the pool and ocean. Cairns was a really fun city but its essentially on a lagoon and there is no beach there. It’s a shame since it’s the main destination for the reef and in Northern Queensland, but they did have a huge pool right in the main park of the city right across the street from where we were staying.
In my opinion when you picture the countryside of Australia the Northern Territory around Darwin fits the bill. We rented a car again to drive to Litchfield National Park, and see the Katherine Gorge. On the drive out that first morning to Litchfield we had to stop at the Adelaide River to do a crocodile jumping cruise. Any gator or croc that you’ve seen in the states would be a light snack for these creatures. The cruise consisted of a two deck boat, and one of the crew members dangling a piece of meat from a stick over the water. The crocs swim up to it and jump to try and get it. Seeing them open their jaws like that and the power of them was incredible. After the tour was over we continued onto Litchfield where we were both pleasantly surprised by the number of water holes and waterfalls to swim in. They were swimming pools of the wild that brought along probably the most refreshing dip I’ve had, not only because of the purity of the water and that we could have the waterfall rain down on us, but remember we’re in the Northern Territory…so it is HOT. I also quickly understood why people where the hats with the bug screen around their face because the flies up there were terrible. That was another reason that made the water feel so good, because you could escape the bugs for a little bit.
It was a great 2 weeks in Australia filled with a wide variety of things. We were cold and wet in Sydney while walking around the Olympic park and during the Australia vs. Netherlands soccer match, hot and stuffy in the Northern Territory while hiking the Katherine Gorge and Litchfield, saw numerous wateralls, and potentially deadly animals. We met some nice people from all around the world that we might be able to meet up with again in the New Zealand portion of our trip, saw one of the natural wonders of the world, and for me I got to learn some Aussie slang and expressions that I’m hoping to bring back to the states with me. Some of my favorites are how everything is abbreviated, when you hear me say sunnies I’m talking about sun glasses, and if I’m going to buy the next round of drinks, “I’ll shout for the next.” I’m excited to move onto our next leg of the trip in SE Asia and also to return to Australia in December when we’re done with SE Asia and New Zealand.
A potential major setback almost happened in the Darwin Airport. As we went to check into our flight for Bali we were told they couldn’t let us board the plane since we didn’t yet have a departing flight from Indonesia. Apparently Indonesia has very strict immigration and customs laws so we would have been sent back to Australia on the first flight out of there if they found out we didn’t have a departing flight booked. Luckily we got to the airport early enough that we booked a flight with the same airline to go to Singapore as our next stop, mainly because it was only a $50 flight, and that is the central location for all of SE Asia so it will be easy to head off in a better planned route from there when we can sit down and figure out some of the details.
I’m going to head to the beach now, so my next post will be about Bali, which if our first 2 days are any indication of what the remaining 4 are going to be like it should make for a good read if I haven’t put you to sleep already. More pictures to follow. Cheers!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
More of Sydney and start of the Great Barrier Reef
We ended up booking a snorkeling trip to the Great Barrier Reef on a Sailboat for this Friday. We are also going to spend a full day or more in the Daintree National Forest, some time on the Palm Cove Beach, and Port Douglas Beach (Google pictures there and you might be jealous!!!) After a couple more days on the Great Barrier Reef we're going to be flying to Darwin, Australia to spend a few days around the Australian wildlife before heading into Indonesia and spending about a month in SE Asia.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
San Diego/Bakersfield
It was a very scenic train ride up the coast from San Diego to Los Angeles, and I made sure to get a seat on the west side of the train to look out over the Pacific Ocean which was visable for more then half of the train ride. From Los Angeles I got on a bus, for the rest of the trip to Bakersfield where some of my best friends from college now live. Mark Howson, and Dave "Toaster" Healey picked me up from the bus stop. The next day the three of us drove up to Sequioa National Park and drove through the park, and hiked around a little bit to look at the GIGANTIC trees. It was a cold and cloudy day, so the pictures didn't always turn out the best, but it was amazing to see these trees that are thousands of years old...pictures don't do the size of the trees justice anyway. Tomorrow morning (10/1/09) I'll be leaving by train again to head to San Francisco where our flight leaves for Australia on Sunday, October 4th.