Figured I'd blog while I had the chance - a quiet night on the road and good internet access.
I left Wellington today - for good. Wow! It feels like yesterday I was moving into my flat, and now today I've moved out. I knew that this whole living abroad thing would go by quickly, but it's still hard not to marvel at the passing of time and the turning of a chapter in my life experience. I do have one regret this evening - that I managed to let myself get run down and caught a nasty head cold on the weekend and thus, was not able to do one last ride in Welly before I left. Well, I did get out on the bike on Saturday, but I cut that ride short because I was not feeling well at all - the following day I was full-on sick. My friend Jess took Tuesday off work so we could spend some time together before I left - isn't that so cool???! If I had been well, even though it was a cold day it was a ride-able one and we would have gone for one last boot around the bays. Instead we hung out on Cuba St and had awesome Malaysian dumpling soup (made me feel heaps better!) at Aunt Mena's and then walked around that area, Courtenay Place, etc.
I picked up a rental car today which I managed to get as a relocation - meaning they need it moved back somewhere (in this case, Auckland) and you get a free rental, paying only for the petrol. I didn't get my packing done quickly enough, nor my bike broken down, so I was still sorting things out this morning. I had tried breaking the bike down last night but couldn't manage to get the pedals off - I even got a kiwi mate to try to help me and he couldn't do it. Thing is, my 8 mm allan key is just a wee one. I think I need one with a longer handle so that I can get better leverage. When you pedal your pedals tighten up you see. So they were on there pretty good. As a result I had to make a trip to the bike shop to get them to take them off for me - which added an extra task to my morning. In the end I left after 2 PM. Not ideal. Luckily I had no big schedule. I drove up the west side of the north island and when I stopped in a town called Paraparaumu, decided to hit up the i-site for thoughts on where I might stop tonight, as I was clearly not going to make it as far north as I'd originally thought. The lady there was awesome and gave me a few suggestions and tips on things to check out if I have time. So I've stopped in a little ski town called Ohakune. It's pretty much winter here - they are gearing up for ski season (yes, it's cold - it's been blisteringly cold in Welly the past week!). The nearby ski hill: Mt. Ruapehu seems to be the main attraction and source of revenue here. You can take a shuttle to do the Tongariro crossing from here as well, but I'm not sure it's as popular a spot to stop in for that as some of the others. So, since it's still early and no skiing yet, it's very quiet here and I've got a whole dorm to myself at the backpackers. The only others staying here are a family doing a kayak trip on the Wanganui River tomorrow.
I'm looking forward to heading north into warmer weather - and hopefully warm enough to head to the beach. I'm even looking forward to exploring some more of Auckland! I have two weeks left in NZ! Hard to believe!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
My Dichotomy
I find I'm always split - travel, the bike. Sometimes the two go hand-in-hand very nicely. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes it's ok to hire a crappy old rental bike when I'm travelin' just to shake the cobwebs off the ol' legs. Sometimes it's just not good enough and I am desperate for my own two wheels. Sometimes I see other cyclists when I'm traveling without her and I long to join them. And then there is the back and forth, loss and gain of fitness every time I'm away from riding while I'm out exploring. It really can be a dichotomy for me.
Traveling with the bike is mostly challenging. It's great that it can be done, but it's costly, and tedious. I'm wanting to travel some more right now and I would love to be able to ship my bike home, but it's far, far, far too cost prohibitive. So I'm looking into storing her. I think I've found the place, but man! It's been a bit of a mission (to quote all the Brits I've met - I seem to have latched onto their expressions as much as the Kiwi's). I wish traveling with the bike were easier. Even when I store her I know I'm going to have moments wishing I could go put her back together and get out on the road.
Traveling with the bike is mostly challenging. It's great that it can be done, but it's costly, and tedious. I'm wanting to travel some more right now and I would love to be able to ship my bike home, but it's far, far, far too cost prohibitive. So I'm looking into storing her. I think I've found the place, but man! It's been a bit of a mission (to quote all the Brits I've met - I seem to have latched onto their expressions as much as the Kiwi's). I wish traveling with the bike were easier. Even when I store her I know I'm going to have moments wishing I could go put her back together and get out on the road.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Sydney
After being out in the wilderness, for all intents and purposes, for the week prior, landing in Sydney was a culture shock for sure. It's a very big and busy city and I wasn't so sure on the first day how I was going to feel about it since my senses were a bit overwhelmed. I was pleasantly surprised tho, that Sydney is a really great city!! I thoroughly enjoyed it! I arrived late in the evening and my friend, Narelle, whom I'd met on the south island in NZ picked me up at the airport - she lives in Sydney. She drove me around a bit and gave me a quick orientation of the city and then I stayed over at her flat that night and she cooked a nice Aussie BBQ for me. It was really great to sleep in a warm flat on a comfy bed after a week on the cold ground! Although, I have to say, I'm now keen to camp when I travel - just need a little bit more equipment and a warmer sleeping bag! It's such a cheap and easy way to travel!!
The next morning in Sydney Narelle and I drove out to famous Bondi Beach and had brunch on a cafe patio. It was a grey, rainy day, but it was still warmer than NZ!! This is a big surf beach which is apparently always very crowded with lots of chic looking, buff people - it was quite empty when we were there. I did see a lot of surfers tho. In the afternoon Narelle dropped me downtown at the backpackers I was staying at for the remainder of my trip and I got myself organized and settled. The next day the weather improved significantly and I spent the entire day walking the city - down to Circular Quay and The Rocks, around the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, the Botanic Gardens, and back into the city again. I was fairly tired when I got back to the backpackers around 5 PM, but after eating something I ventured out again to Darling Harbour where I visited the aquarium. I really enjoyed that - I got to see all kinds of sharks and crocodiles and their newest addition - a sea mammal called a dugong.
The following day I set off on the ferry from Circular Quay to a suburb called Manly, situated across the bay in north Sydney. I met up with my friends, Elly and Ness, and we spent the day at the surf beach. It was the hottest day I've experience since last summer in Canada - 27 degrees!! And the first time, other than to enjoy the hot pools in NZ, that I've actually gotten into my togs (bathing suit). Later that afternoon I returned to Sydney to meet up with Narelle and set off for dinner and a concert at the Hordern Pavillion. It was really cool to go to a show in a foreign country and the venue was awesome - not to mention the show itself!
My final day in Sydney I went back to Manly to visit with Elly and Ness again and hang out at the beach one more time before heading back to chilly NZ. Brrrrr. I really liked Manly - if I were to live in Sydney that's where I'd like to be. It was a quaint little place with a laid back beach culture. I flew back to Welly that evening and now I'm making preparations to pack up all of my things and leave here for good in a few short days. I can't believe it's winding down to my last weeks now. Whoa!! And I'm not so sure I'm really ready to come back to reality...
Here are some photos from the trip.
Koala at Cape Otway
Sunset on Johanna Beach
The Grampians National Park
Sydney Opera House from the ferry
The next morning in Sydney Narelle and I drove out to famous Bondi Beach and had brunch on a cafe patio. It was a grey, rainy day, but it was still warmer than NZ!! This is a big surf beach which is apparently always very crowded with lots of chic looking, buff people - it was quite empty when we were there. I did see a lot of surfers tho. In the afternoon Narelle dropped me downtown at the backpackers I was staying at for the remainder of my trip and I got myself organized and settled. The next day the weather improved significantly and I spent the entire day walking the city - down to Circular Quay and The Rocks, around the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, the Botanic Gardens, and back into the city again. I was fairly tired when I got back to the backpackers around 5 PM, but after eating something I ventured out again to Darling Harbour where I visited the aquarium. I really enjoyed that - I got to see all kinds of sharks and crocodiles and their newest addition - a sea mammal called a dugong.
The following day I set off on the ferry from Circular Quay to a suburb called Manly, situated across the bay in north Sydney. I met up with my friends, Elly and Ness, and we spent the day at the surf beach. It was the hottest day I've experience since last summer in Canada - 27 degrees!! And the first time, other than to enjoy the hot pools in NZ, that I've actually gotten into my togs (bathing suit). Later that afternoon I returned to Sydney to meet up with Narelle and set off for dinner and a concert at the Hordern Pavillion. It was really cool to go to a show in a foreign country and the venue was awesome - not to mention the show itself!
My final day in Sydney I went back to Manly to visit with Elly and Ness again and hang out at the beach one more time before heading back to chilly NZ. Brrrrr. I really liked Manly - if I were to live in Sydney that's where I'd like to be. It was a quaint little place with a laid back beach culture. I flew back to Welly that evening and now I'm making preparations to pack up all of my things and leave here for good in a few short days. I can't believe it's winding down to my last weeks now. Whoa!! And I'm not so sure I'm really ready to come back to reality...
Here are some photos from the trip.
Koala at Cape Otway
Sunset on Johanna Beach
The Grampians National Park
Sydney Opera House from the ferry
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
OZ - Victoria and South Australia
Greetings from OZ!!
I left Wellington and flew direct to Melbourne over a week ago now. Spent 2 days in one of the former national capitals (frankly I'm not sure how many capital cities this country has had, but it's been at least three now). What a great city! Highlights from my perspective were the Queen Victoria Market, St. Kilda, and just hanging out with some great friends! I was fortunate enough to meet up with, now a long time friend (met back in October and been reconnecting whenever we can ever since), Elly, and her friend Vanessa. The two of them flew over from Christchurch the previous day. Another newbie to the group of people I've met while traveling, Dan, also flew in the day I did, and then we met two cool peeps at the backpackers, Tom and Dark Cloud and the group of us got on so well we hung out both evenings in the courtyard. Tom brought his guitar and he and Dan entertained the rest of us one night, while Elly and Ness got out the gin they'd bought at duty free. haha. I'll leave the story at that!
Original plans dictated that Elly, Ness, Dan, and I were to do the Great Ocean Road trip together. In true form, Elly's plans changed, and so Dan and I went ahead with the trip ourselves. Which was cool as he'd just come back from Tasmania with a tent and since we had such a heck of a time getting a rental car for a decent price we decided to camp and save some coin. Yes, first off, the rental car situation was a surprise - who knew so many folks rent cars on the Easter weekend (which, btw, when you are traveling you wouldn't know is coming up since you never keep track of holidays - hard enough to remember which day of the week it is!!). Secondly, I know what you're thinking - I camped!! I can count on one hand the number of times I've camped in my lifetime. Doesn't help to have grown up under the Marriott umbrella. We weren't really adequately prepared for everything, but I got myself a cheap sleeping bag (which in hindsight I should have spent some money on - wasn't warm enough) and we made do.
So off we went on the Great Ocean Road - final destination Adelaide the following Sunday. Everything in between would be a decision made on the fly. Best way to travel! We took two days to drive the road. It was really beautiful, even though the weather didn't fully cooperate with us - misty and rainy the first day. We visited the lighthouse at Cape Otway, which is nestled in the Otway National Park and near here we were so very fortunate to see koalas in the wild!!!! A whole bunch of them! I was so excited!!! Luckily the rain cleared up that first night and we had stopped at a famous surf beach called Johanna Beach near dusk and decided to camp there which was one of the coolest things we did on the trip. The only facilities there were national park-style outhouses. We had sandwiches for dinner and used my Swiss Army knife to cut things. Next day we finished up the Great Ocean Road and headed inland.
We'd decided to do something different and head up to the Grampians National Park. This is a mountainous region in the middle of Victoria. It's really beautiful. Here we stayed at a holiday park (camping park) with several hundred other families and the like - Easter weekend in full swing. At least we had facilities. There were kangaroos EVERYWHERE there - they are even bold enough to come into the campground and bum food off people and scrounge through the bins!! Unfortunately I was always so awestruck when I saw them that I kept forgetting to take photos and I have none! We almost hit some on the road at dusk - which is a common hazard up there. We stayed there two nights since we figured we'd do at least one mid-length hike (about 3 hours) and several smaller ones, as well as do some activities through the cultural centre there. We did do a few hikes - one we drove a ways to where we saw some Aboriginal rock painting and several others to beautiful lookouts. But the longer hike took a back seat to lounging on a patio since we were pretty tired due to lack of sleep... at night the temperatures dipped below 10 degrees even though it was very warm during the day. We learned how to play the didgeridoo (well I did - Dan already knew how) and throw boomerangs which was fun, but a little anticlimactic, as our 'guide' was fairly unenthusiastic.
Upon leaving the Grampians we headed up further north toward Mildura - and wine country. I saw the Lindemans winery from the road on the drive in to Mildura. We'd originally planned a route through a desert, but our plans got chucked when we got to the road only to find out it was a 4x4 only road - common in rural OZ. So we had to turn back to the highway, adding a fair bit of time to our trip. We eventually made our way there and found that Mildura, while a bit sleepy, is a nice little place on the Murray River - the largest river in Australia apparently. We stayed at another holiday park here for one night and went into town to a microbrewery and hung out on the beach at the river where our campground was situated. The temps dropped again that night and I just couldn't cope. The previous two nights Dan had given me his warmer sleeping bag, but that night since we were told it was going to be warmer overnight I decided to give it back to him. Middle of the night I ended up sleeping in the car! You gotta do what you gotta do.
Next day we had a long drive into South Australia and on to Adelaide. The temperature was getting progressively warmer. We saw heaps of dead roos on the highway. From what I've been told it's a bad area for that. Saw more wineries as we approached Adelaide - I saw Wolf Blass here. Memories of my wine-drinking days. I do miss the wine! We were quite short on time when we arrived in Adelaide - I had to be at the airport around 3 PM. As a result I saw very little of the town (beaches looked nice from the air tho). Even though it was Easter Sunday, you could tell (and I've been told by a few people now) that Adelaide is a very sleepy town. Not much going on at all and quite a small city. Big suburbs, but small city. So I dropped Dan in backpacker central to find himself a place to stay and headed off to drop the rental at the airport and hop my flight to Sydney. Which is where you'll find me tonight updating you. But I'll have to fill you in on Sydney in a new post in a couple of days perhaps.
I left Wellington and flew direct to Melbourne over a week ago now. Spent 2 days in one of the former national capitals (frankly I'm not sure how many capital cities this country has had, but it's been at least three now). What a great city! Highlights from my perspective were the Queen Victoria Market, St. Kilda, and just hanging out with some great friends! I was fortunate enough to meet up with, now a long time friend (met back in October and been reconnecting whenever we can ever since), Elly, and her friend Vanessa. The two of them flew over from Christchurch the previous day. Another newbie to the group of people I've met while traveling, Dan, also flew in the day I did, and then we met two cool peeps at the backpackers, Tom and Dark Cloud and the group of us got on so well we hung out both evenings in the courtyard. Tom brought his guitar and he and Dan entertained the rest of us one night, while Elly and Ness got out the gin they'd bought at duty free. haha. I'll leave the story at that!
Original plans dictated that Elly, Ness, Dan, and I were to do the Great Ocean Road trip together. In true form, Elly's plans changed, and so Dan and I went ahead with the trip ourselves. Which was cool as he'd just come back from Tasmania with a tent and since we had such a heck of a time getting a rental car for a decent price we decided to camp and save some coin. Yes, first off, the rental car situation was a surprise - who knew so many folks rent cars on the Easter weekend (which, btw, when you are traveling you wouldn't know is coming up since you never keep track of holidays - hard enough to remember which day of the week it is!!). Secondly, I know what you're thinking - I camped!! I can count on one hand the number of times I've camped in my lifetime. Doesn't help to have grown up under the Marriott umbrella. We weren't really adequately prepared for everything, but I got myself a cheap sleeping bag (which in hindsight I should have spent some money on - wasn't warm enough) and we made do.
So off we went on the Great Ocean Road - final destination Adelaide the following Sunday. Everything in between would be a decision made on the fly. Best way to travel! We took two days to drive the road. It was really beautiful, even though the weather didn't fully cooperate with us - misty and rainy the first day. We visited the lighthouse at Cape Otway, which is nestled in the Otway National Park and near here we were so very fortunate to see koalas in the wild!!!! A whole bunch of them! I was so excited!!! Luckily the rain cleared up that first night and we had stopped at a famous surf beach called Johanna Beach near dusk and decided to camp there which was one of the coolest things we did on the trip. The only facilities there were national park-style outhouses. We had sandwiches for dinner and used my Swiss Army knife to cut things. Next day we finished up the Great Ocean Road and headed inland.
We'd decided to do something different and head up to the Grampians National Park. This is a mountainous region in the middle of Victoria. It's really beautiful. Here we stayed at a holiday park (camping park) with several hundred other families and the like - Easter weekend in full swing. At least we had facilities. There were kangaroos EVERYWHERE there - they are even bold enough to come into the campground and bum food off people and scrounge through the bins!! Unfortunately I was always so awestruck when I saw them that I kept forgetting to take photos and I have none! We almost hit some on the road at dusk - which is a common hazard up there. We stayed there two nights since we figured we'd do at least one mid-length hike (about 3 hours) and several smaller ones, as well as do some activities through the cultural centre there. We did do a few hikes - one we drove a ways to where we saw some Aboriginal rock painting and several others to beautiful lookouts. But the longer hike took a back seat to lounging on a patio since we were pretty tired due to lack of sleep... at night the temperatures dipped below 10 degrees even though it was very warm during the day. We learned how to play the didgeridoo (well I did - Dan already knew how) and throw boomerangs which was fun, but a little anticlimactic, as our 'guide' was fairly unenthusiastic.
Upon leaving the Grampians we headed up further north toward Mildura - and wine country. I saw the Lindemans winery from the road on the drive in to Mildura. We'd originally planned a route through a desert, but our plans got chucked when we got to the road only to find out it was a 4x4 only road - common in rural OZ. So we had to turn back to the highway, adding a fair bit of time to our trip. We eventually made our way there and found that Mildura, while a bit sleepy, is a nice little place on the Murray River - the largest river in Australia apparently. We stayed at another holiday park here for one night and went into town to a microbrewery and hung out on the beach at the river where our campground was situated. The temps dropped again that night and I just couldn't cope. The previous two nights Dan had given me his warmer sleeping bag, but that night since we were told it was going to be warmer overnight I decided to give it back to him. Middle of the night I ended up sleeping in the car! You gotta do what you gotta do.
Next day we had a long drive into South Australia and on to Adelaide. The temperature was getting progressively warmer. We saw heaps of dead roos on the highway. From what I've been told it's a bad area for that. Saw more wineries as we approached Adelaide - I saw Wolf Blass here. Memories of my wine-drinking days. I do miss the wine! We were quite short on time when we arrived in Adelaide - I had to be at the airport around 3 PM. As a result I saw very little of the town (beaches looked nice from the air tho). Even though it was Easter Sunday, you could tell (and I've been told by a few people now) that Adelaide is a very sleepy town. Not much going on at all and quite a small city. Big suburbs, but small city. So I dropped Dan in backpacker central to find himself a place to stay and headed off to drop the rental at the airport and hop my flight to Sydney. Which is where you'll find me tonight updating you. But I'll have to fill you in on Sydney in a new post in a couple of days perhaps.
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