I love it. Watching this brings it all back. Enjoy!
Tuesday 31 July 2007
Milford Sound
Billed as one of the world's greatest scenic areas.
Well it was good, but loads of low clouds meant I didn't get to see it in its full glory. The Mitre Peak is the most photographed icon in the sound - it towers nearly 1,700 metres high - but half of it was hidden by clouds today. Boo.
It's a long way to go - about 4 hours coach journey each way - for a cold boat ride on a dreary fjord. (Capt Cook misnamed it a sound (created by a river) when in fact it's a fjord (created by glaciers)).
Having said that, I'm glad I went and tried to appreciate it. It was on my list of definite things to do in NZ after all. At least our weather was better than yesterday - it was torrential rain. Plus the road to Milford has been closed due to avalanche and only just re-opened so I was lucky in that respect.
I attach some of the better photos, I took loads but most didn't come out very well as the contrast between the bright white clouds and the dark wet mountains was too much for my camera to take!
Well it was good, but loads of low clouds meant I didn't get to see it in its full glory. The Mitre Peak is the most photographed icon in the sound - it towers nearly 1,700 metres high - but half of it was hidden by clouds today. Boo.
It's a long way to go - about 4 hours coach journey each way - for a cold boat ride on a dreary fjord. (Capt Cook misnamed it a sound (created by a river) when in fact it's a fjord (created by glaciers)).
Having said that, I'm glad I went and tried to appreciate it. It was on my list of definite things to do in NZ after all. At least our weather was better than yesterday - it was torrential rain. Plus the road to Milford has been closed due to avalanche and only just re-opened so I was lucky in that respect.
I attach some of the better photos, I took loads but most didn't come out very well as the contrast between the bright white clouds and the dark wet mountains was too much for my camera to take!
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| Milford Sound |
Monday 30 July 2007
Extreme: NZ's highest bungy at 134m
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| Nevis Highwire |
Oh yeah, I took it on and conquered my fears... just! It was sooo scary. I felt fine for the most part even when I was in the chair having my leg harness attached I was not too nervous. But inching out towards the edge of the platform and looking down 134m to the Nevis River made me suddenly very scared. It makes no sense to jump of into mid-air.
I mustered up the courage to jump at the end of the countdown and the jump was even scarier. It's really high so there's plenty of time to pick up speed and it felt like a very, very fast fall - the fall takes 8.5 seconds and you get to just 20m above the river!
The fall was such a rush. I screamed all the way down out of pure excitement & fear, screaming until my lungs were empty!
Sorry there are no photos of my actual jump, the guy I asked to be my photographer took a really good movie clip of the jump instead, but at 75Mb it's too big to email you guys. If anyone (Dan Haley?) knows how to upload a movie onto Picasa using an internet cafe that won't allow me to download software, then I'm all ears.
I'm feeling very extreme today.
Sunday 29 July 2007
Wanaka - Queenstown
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| Wanaka - Queenstown |
It was a shame to leave the beautiful town and lake of Wanaka, but the open road was calling me and my van!
I decided to take the shorter but much more scenic route to Queenstown along the mountain road via Cardrona. It was truly stunning and the views along the valley after I had passed the ski fields were awesome (see photos). Luckily the weather was fine as a sign at the start of the road said "snow chains must be carried", so the road can get pretty hairy.
Before I got to Queenstown I stopped for coffee at an old gold mining town called Arrowtown, which was very quaint and pretty, surrounded by looming mountains on all sides. For those of you that have been to Clarens in the South African Drakensburg mountains (probably only me & Sam of those reading this!) it reminded me of there, but Clarens was nicer.
I also drove the 45 kms from Queenstown to Glenorchy - another beautiful scenic route. A kiwi friend at Shell (Bella) told me to go here and it was excellent advice. This is Lord of the Rings country apparently. The road winds along the edge of Lake Wakatipu, which itself is surrounded by snowy peaks. Lovely.
Saturday 28 July 2007
Fox Glacier to Wanaka
I left Fox bright & early ready for a big day on the road not knowing exactly where I was going to end up. Once again the driving was so picturesque, if I don't drive off the side of road looking at scenery before I leave NZ I will be surprised!
About 60 kms south of Fox I stopped at a salmon farm & cafe. It is in the middle of nowhere but was perfect. The place was empty, had a huge roaring fire and served the best eggs benedict with smoked salmon (instead of ham), made from its own fresh fish. The views over the fish farm were impressive too (see photos), and the cafe was on stilts built above the farm. Very cool.
I stopped at a great look out over Knights Point. Then I drove through Mt Aspiring Scenic Region with more breath-taking views. (I need new words for 'views' and 'scenery' cos I'm getting fed of repeating them!) Along the way I stopped to look at Thunder Creek Falls, Fantail Falls and Blue Pools - all with lovely short walks and nature at its best (see photos).
It was between Fantail Falls and Blue Pools that I had a hairy moment on the road. A car went past me on the other side and threw up a rock at my windscreen. It hit high on the driver's side and felt to me like a bullet and sounded like a bomb! The boulder almost went clean through the windscreen - it would have given me a nice side parting!! - glass shards covered my fleece and jeans. Needless to say I kept calm and in control, slowly pulled the car over to the side of the road, got out to survey the damage, then peed my pants.
Now I'm in Wanaka (the town beside the lake of the same name). I'm hanging here for the afternoon to do internet things and laundry. It's a nice town, very pretty and much livelier than Fox village was. This is a small ski resort, so lots of holiday makers. Tomorrow I head to Queenstown to get extreme!
About 60 kms south of Fox I stopped at a salmon farm & cafe. It is in the middle of nowhere but was perfect. The place was empty, had a huge roaring fire and served the best eggs benedict with smoked salmon (instead of ham), made from its own fresh fish. The views over the fish farm were impressive too (see photos), and the cafe was on stilts built above the farm. Very cool.
I stopped at a great look out over Knights Point. Then I drove through Mt Aspiring Scenic Region with more breath-taking views. (I need new words for 'views' and 'scenery' cos I'm getting fed of repeating them!) Along the way I stopped to look at Thunder Creek Falls, Fantail Falls and Blue Pools - all with lovely short walks and nature at its best (see photos).
It was between Fantail Falls and Blue Pools that I had a hairy moment on the road. A car went past me on the other side and threw up a rock at my windscreen. It hit high on the driver's side and felt to me like a bullet and sounded like a bomb! The boulder almost went clean through the windscreen - it would have given me a nice side parting!! - glass shards covered my fleece and jeans. Needless to say I kept calm and in control, slowly pulled the car over to the side of the road, got out to survey the damage, then peed my pants.
Now I'm in Wanaka (the town beside the lake of the same name). I'm hanging here for the afternoon to do internet things and laundry. It's a nice town, very pretty and much livelier than Fox village was. This is a small ski resort, so lots of holiday makers. Tomorrow I head to Queenstown to get extreme!
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| Fox - Wanaka |
Friday 27 July 2007
NZ road trip so far
3 days in and the going is gggrr-eat! Me and the camper van are getting on famously. It's fairly basic in the back but I have a lamp and a heater, so when I plug it in at camp sites I can make the place feel homely! The whole back section of the van turns into a queen-size bed at night and I have duvets, covers & pillows for 3 people, so it's very comfy. Quite the passion wagon! But enough about the van, sorry I'm quite excited by it.
New Zealand is beautiful! The 1st leg of my journey was due West from Christchurch over the Southern Alps via Arthur's Pass. I was surprised how quickly you get to the mountains once you leave Christchurch. They are covered in snow and looked beautiful in the sunshine. I took loads of photos (some I even stopped driving to take!). That night I stayed in Greymouth, the highlight of which was the Highway 6 south out of there the next morning!
Next day I went to the glaciers - Franz Joseph & Fox. Via a cool reflecting lake - Ianthe Lake - and the wooded and lush Wantaroa scenic area. It is really fun driving through windy mountain roads and roads cut through lush rainforest. I stopped at Franz Joseph hoping to heli-hike on the glacier, but rain stopped play, so I drove another 20 kms to Fox.
On the way into Fox Glacier village I turned off to see Lake Matheson, which is a hidden gem. I thought Ianthe was beautifully reflective, but this lake was a picture postcard view in ever direction! It's one of the most photographed lakes in NZ because the reflected backdrop is Mt Cook (Australasia's highest peak) and Mt Tasman. I took enough photos to fill an album! Plus the 60 minute walk around the lake was through rain forest and was cool in its own right. It's weird having rain forest in NZ when it's so cold and the mountains are right next door. It's definitely wet enough for it - Fox Glacier gets 200 rain days a year (probably not impressive for those in England reading this under the threat of flood!).
Today I spent the day hiking the Fox Glacier. My group of 10 consisted of 6 Germans, so it was a riot as you'd imagine! However it was amazing scenery as you'd expect. Photos don't do justice to the blue & green colours in the ice. Fox Glacier is 13 kms long and is one of the few glaciers in the world actually growing - slowly. It was a tough day in the crampons, we were on the ice for over 4 hours, and the walk from the car park to the ice took about 90 minutes on the way up a rain forest track including 500 steps and 60 mins on the way down. Tired legs, but a great day - I'm happy here in NZ. Australia has it's beauty spots, but I love the grand scenery of NZ more. I think I'm more a mountainous peaks man than a bush guy...
New Zealand is beautiful! The 1st leg of my journey was due West from Christchurch over the Southern Alps via Arthur's Pass. I was surprised how quickly you get to the mountains once you leave Christchurch. They are covered in snow and looked beautiful in the sunshine. I took loads of photos (some I even stopped driving to take!). That night I stayed in Greymouth, the highlight of which was the Highway 6 south out of there the next morning!
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| Christchur |
Next day I went to the glaciers - Franz Joseph & Fox. Via a cool reflecting lake - Ianthe Lake - and the wooded and lush Wantaroa scenic area. It is really fun driving through windy mountain roads and roads cut through lush rainforest. I stopped at Franz Joseph hoping to heli-hike on the glacier, but rain stopped play, so I drove another 20 kms to Fox.
On the way into Fox Glacier village I turned off to see Lake Matheson, which is a hidden gem. I thought Ianthe was beautifully reflective, but this lake was a picture postcard view in ever direction! It's one of the most photographed lakes in NZ because the reflected backdrop is Mt Cook (Australasia's highest peak) and Mt Tasman. I took enough photos to fill an album! Plus the 60 minute walk around the lake was through rain forest and was cool in its own right. It's weird having rain forest in NZ when it's so cold and the mountains are right next door. It's definitely wet enough for it - Fox Glacier gets 200 rain days a year (probably not impressive for those in England reading this under the threat of flood!).
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| Greymouth - Fox Glacier village |
Today I spent the day hiking the Fox Glacier. My group of 10 consisted of 6 Germans, so it was a riot as you'd imagine! However it was amazing scenery as you'd expect. Photos don't do justice to the blue & green colours in the ice. Fox Glacier is 13 kms long and is one of the few glaciers in the world actually growing - slowly. It was a tough day in the crampons, we were on the ice for over 4 hours, and the walk from the car park to the ice took about 90 minutes on the way up a rain forest track including 500 steps and 60 mins on the way down. Tired legs, but a great day - I'm happy here in NZ. Australia has it's beauty spots, but I love the grand scenery of NZ more. I think I'm more a mountainous peaks man than a bush guy...
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| Fox Glacier hiking |
Tuesday 24 July 2007
New country-New Zealand-New mobile: +642102563353
I arrived Tuesday lunch time into Christchurch, it's chilly here! Luckily I've been hauling thermal vests, hats, scarf & gloves around SA and Oz for this very moment.
I'm picking up the camper van tomorrow - a day early as I couldn't wait to get on the road. Am so excited about driving where I want when I want. Will get some photos of the mean machine on my blog ASAP. They are all painted with wacky & artistic designs, can't wait to see mine.
I'll miss all my friends in Sydney and the fun times we had in the many pubs & clubs of Sydney, but I'm looking forward to discovering a beautiful new place. The snow peaked Southern Alps looks amazing from the airplane this afternoon.
Next blog entry from out on the road...
I'm picking up the camper van tomorrow - a day early as I couldn't wait to get on the road. Am so excited about driving where I want when I want. Will get some photos of the mean machine on my blog ASAP. They are all painted with wacky & artistic designs, can't wait to see mine.
I'll miss all my friends in Sydney and the fun times we had in the many pubs & clubs of Sydney, but I'm looking forward to discovering a beautiful new place. The snow peaked Southern Alps looks amazing from the airplane this afternoon.
Next blog entry from out on the road...
Wednesday 18 July 2007
Reader feedback
Jon has come back from talking to some of my regular blog readers at Palm's wedding and reported that I need to "sex it up"! Apparently my factual and informative style, although fascinating and insightful, needs to be more exciting.
Well I'll do my very best for my loyal readers out there.
Well I'll do my very best for my loyal readers out there.
Friday 13 July 2007
Sydney Diary
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| Sunrise at Sydney Airport |
GOOD BYE SYDNEY. I've had an excellent 2 weeks here and I know everyone says it's great here, but I really do think it's a beautiful city. Especially seeing it from on top of the Sydney Tower and also the views from the ferry to Manly are well worth it. I've been shocked at how many people I've known that I've bumped into and been drinking with, it's been by far the most social place I've visited. Sydney was one of the highlights I looked forward to when I planned this trip and it didn't disappoint. No one should come all the way to Australia without seeing Sydney.
Day 14: bit of an admin day as I need to do laundry and get packed up ready for my early flight to Christchurch tomorrow. I'm treating Jon & Alison to dinner out tonight to say thanks for having me to stay in their flat for 2 weeks. I've been spoilt rotten here and will definitely miss living with them when I'm back out on the road alone in New Zealand.
Day 13: Somehow I managed to get out of the flat before midday to meet Tracey & Maddy at the Aroma festival at The Rocks in town. It was a festival of coffee and chocolate with lots of stalls and live music. It was pretty cool, but the busy crowds and the loud music were not doing my hangover any favours! We ate lunch, had a coffee and went to the Lindt cafe for more chocolate. No wonder I felt so sick later that day. Maddy & I were feeling rougher than Tracey and she got pretty tired of us moaning and grumbling the whole time! Having said that I'm glad I was there and it was sad to say goodbye to my cousin. It's been brilliant seeing her in Sydney, if a little strange as I've hardly ever in my life seen Tracey more then 10 miles away from Scunthorpe!!
Day 12: what a day - a rugby extraveganza followed by pubs, casino and night clubs. Jon took me to Penrith to watch him play rugby for the Northern Suburbs 4th grade club. It wasn't too impressive - the Penrith area or their rugby team - as Jon's team won about 75-5 ("about" cos I lost count and the score board didn't work). On the plus side the Penrith team are called the Emus, so I tried one of their legendary "emu burgers". It was tasty, but not sure what type of meat it was!
When we got back to Jon's flat it was about time to head down to his club's bar - a fancy joint called "Cabana" - to watch the Bledisloe Cup & Tri-Nations decider on their 10 foot by 10 foot screen projected onto the side of the building. After watching Australia lose we headed into town to the pubs. Jon & I met up with good friends of his called Celia and Jonathan. In a bizarre coincidence I used to work with Celia at Smith & Williamson in London! Now she works with Alison in Sydney and they have become good friends. Small world.
I met up with my cousin Tracey and her friend Maddy, and we headed over to the casino where we met Tony. We arrived just in time to watch the Socceroos lose to Japan on penalties in the Asian Cup - seeing the aussies lose twice in a night was terrible (ha ha!). I was up at one stage on the black jack tables, but ended up giving them $200 before we decided it was time to go and catch up with Tony's girlfreind's sister's birthday party in Kings Cross.
A big day and a bigger night. It's been loads of fun meeting so many people I know here, & new freinds too, and having such big nights out. I'll miss the social side of Sydney for sure.
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| Rugby |
Day 11: Didn't do much with my day but went out for a curry with Jon & Alison and Tony & jen in Crow's Nest in the evening. ordered a prawn madras which was about 6 times hotter then I wanted it to be! Lovely evening, lovely people.
Day 10: Another big tourist day today. I met up with my friend Kim (who I met on the Great Ocean Road) to get the ferry to Manly. (see how I introduced a female character to add some sexual intrigue to my story!). It was a cracking day weather-wise, another fresh but bright, bright day. We went for a long walk along Manly Beach in the sun, had a sandwich for lunch then walked to Cabbage Bay and Shelly Beach where the biggest waves were attracting a lot of surfers. It was a really nice area and mercifully it's winter so the place wasn't over-run with English backpackers! The ferry trip along the Harbour was beautiful and I got some great shots (see below).
In the evening I went to Coogee Beach for dinner with Shelley (old Shell friend), her boyfriend Josh and her friend Holly. They took me to the local RSL which is like a cross between northern working mens clubs and the Royal Legion - full of old fellas drinking cheap beer! But the restaurant is what we were there for and it was delicious seafood. After that we all went back to Shelley's for sex, sex & more sex. (I hope this is more of the kind of thing you guys were after!!)
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| Manly trip |
Day 9: Jon & Alison arrived home this morning and woke me at 8am, quite unsociable! Great to see them and to get the lowdown on the Palmers' wedding and his brother Tim's wedding. Today was also another good tourism day as I went to the Sydney Tower to do the Skywalk, which is 270 metres up - the highest place to see Sydney from unless you're flying. After the magic and satisfaction of scaling the Bridge yesterday I wasn't expecting too much from the Tower. But the views were soooo much better. Being the highest thing in the city, we had 360 degree uninterrupted views for 85 kms in every direction! The bridge was good and I still recommend it, but you must do this too! It's much cheaper and the views are much better, if you get an awesome day like I had. See some of the views below, and see me in my sexy jumpsuit. I was up there with a middle aged gay couple and during the group photo one of them standing next to me got a bit too friendly when our guide asked us the sqeeze together for a photo!
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| Skywalk, Sydney Tower |
Day 7: a very lazy day after the big weekend. Nothing to report.
Day 6: I don't even want to talk about it. The combined effect of the past 2 nights is taking its toll. I managed to make it over to Double Bay for a pub Sunday lunch again with Alex and her mates - she really stretched out the birthday celebrations to the max! Mikey Taylor and his better half Rachel also popped in for a quick drink, great to catch up with him. We arranged to meet up again properly later in my stay. After 2 small beers I was wiped out so went home.
Day 5: oh what a hang over! I managed to get to Paddy's Market (near chinatown) before lunch but walked around in a daze feeling very distant. It was a very touristy market with lots of cheap souvenir stalls. I bumped into Shrek & Donkey and then Sponge Bob Squarepants, that just added to the surreal feel of the day! I had to go back to bed in the afternoon, then by 8pm I met up with Alex and the girls again for her joint birthday party in Surrey Hills, followed by a late club in Kings Cross. Another big night. I'm having lots of fun though, it's great to be out with people I know for a change rather than other backpackers I've just met.
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| Sydney day 5 |
Day 4: had another lazy morning and then headed into the city again, this time having a closer look at the Sydney Harbour Bridge, an area near the harbour called The Rocks, and a wander around chinatown and the George St retail district. In the evening I went to Alex Wallace's 30th birthday drinks at the Opera House bar. It was a mini-Shell reunion! For those that know them, I was drinking with Alex Wallace (obviously), Shelley (and her sister Ang & their friend Holly), Tammy, Fern & Lisa Byrch, plus Cindy Tink is turning up in town tomorrow for the next drinks. It wasn't such an unlucky Friday 13th for me - I was drinking with 7 lovely ladies!!
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| Sydney day 4 |
Day 3: eventually found the right bus to the city. Glorious sunny day wandering around the Opera House (it's very beautiful, but should it be a new wonder of the world??), took in Circular Quay. In the evening cousin Tracey & her mate Maddie came over for dinner, great to catch up with Trac. (Be prepared for a lot of views of the Opera House in these pictures, I quite liked it).
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| Opera House |
Day 2: lazy day nothing much to report. Woke late, went to supermarket, did laundry, introduced myself to the cats - Max & Purdy.
Day 1: arrived finally after a 12 hour bus journey from Melbourne. The guy sitting next to me sniffed the whole way, luckily my iPod drowned him out most the way. Except for the last 90 minutes when the battery ran out. I was about ready to elbow him in the wind pipe ninja sty-lee. Top man Tony (Big Jon's buddy) picked me up from the bus station and took me to Jon & Alison's flat where I am now staying in comfort.
Wednesday 11 July 2007
Melbourne, Victoria
I've just spent a week in Melbourne - 4 days in the city and 3 days in St. Kilda, 15 minutes south by tram. I really enjoyed my time in there. Melbourne is the Australian centre for sports and arguably for the arts too, although Sydney is trying to the art crown off them. Melbourne is home to: the Aussie grand prix, the Aussie Open tennis, the Melbourne Cup horse race, Aussie Rules football, the MCG for cricket & Aussie Rules, the Telstra Dome for Aussie Rules, the spiritual home of the Socceroos fan base due to the huge Greek population in Melbourne (2nd largest population in the world to Greece), and probably more I don't know about.
I did quite a lot of cultural things, which was a good way to spend a few hours indoors when it was raining! I visited the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) and its visiting collection of Guggenheim works from 1940s to now. They had some interesting art from people like Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichenstein and Jeff Koons. The NGV was also showing an exhibition on Sneakers and how they have evolved and reflected changing society over the past few decades, really interesting and loads of classic trainers that take you back, like the Reebok Pump!
More culture came my way at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), which contained a "Pixar: 20 years of Animation" exhibit. Maybe not as high brow as the gallery, but more fun. Apart from all the kids who were there on school holidays to scream at me! I also went to the Melbourne Museum which was good value, it contained exhibits on Aboriginal people, mammals, bugs, dinosaurs, the human body, the rainforest, a famous Aussie race horse called Pharlap, and much more.
Apart from culture, Melbourne has a european-feeling coffee culture with coffee shops all over the place and lanes dotted all about with outdoor tables to chill out at. It also has a load of top bars, I spent one night in Fitzroy on Brunswick St which is chock-a-blok with pubs & restaurants. If I was staying for longer (and had people to drink with) I would have spent more time there. St. Kilda was also cool, there are some dodgy pubs full of backpackers and tramps, but also plenty of nice places with good atmospheres. I found a really good hostel too in the Lonely Planet, called Olembia if you are ever in St. Kilda. It was much cheaper than the city hostel and quite small, so quiet, and clean and friendly.
One thing that slightly put me off the city bars was the old man who decided to have a pee in the corner of the pub next to the table I was sitting at with a couple of people from the Great Ocean Road tour. We left soon after that.
I would like to thanks Amanda for showing me around and inviting me out for drinks with her brother & sister one night. Meeting Amanda was a strange story - the chef and his wife at the place where I stayed on Fraser Island were really friendly and our group got talking to them about travel stories. On hearing I was going to Melbourne soon, the chef's wife, Aileen gave me her daughter's number in Melbourne and said I should give her a call when I got there. By chance her daughter, Amanda, worked at the Telstra Dome where I was headed to watch Aussie Rules, so I gave her a call and we met up to say hi at half-time. The next day Amanda and the others took me to Brighton Beach to see the famous huts, we had a coffee, then met up later to watch Australia beat South Africa in the Tri-Nations. We also played some pool - myself and her brother Chris tried to beat a couple of Croatians to win the table for the 4 of us to play. After being soundly whipped twice in a row, the Croatians felt sorry for us and let us have the table anyway!!
All in all I enjoyed Melbourne and am looking forward to seeing how it compares to Sydney - there is a big rivalry between locals from the 2 cities.
I did quite a lot of cultural things, which was a good way to spend a few hours indoors when it was raining! I visited the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) and its visiting collection of Guggenheim works from 1940s to now. They had some interesting art from people like Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichenstein and Jeff Koons. The NGV was also showing an exhibition on Sneakers and how they have evolved and reflected changing society over the past few decades, really interesting and loads of classic trainers that take you back, like the Reebok Pump!
More culture came my way at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), which contained a "Pixar: 20 years of Animation" exhibit. Maybe not as high brow as the gallery, but more fun. Apart from all the kids who were there on school holidays to scream at me! I also went to the Melbourne Museum which was good value, it contained exhibits on Aboriginal people, mammals, bugs, dinosaurs, the human body, the rainforest, a famous Aussie race horse called Pharlap, and much more.
Apart from culture, Melbourne has a european-feeling coffee culture with coffee shops all over the place and lanes dotted all about with outdoor tables to chill out at. It also has a load of top bars, I spent one night in Fitzroy on Brunswick St which is chock-a-blok with pubs & restaurants. If I was staying for longer (and had people to drink with) I would have spent more time there. St. Kilda was also cool, there are some dodgy pubs full of backpackers and tramps, but also plenty of nice places with good atmospheres. I found a really good hostel too in the Lonely Planet, called Olembia if you are ever in St. Kilda. It was much cheaper than the city hostel and quite small, so quiet, and clean and friendly.
One thing that slightly put me off the city bars was the old man who decided to have a pee in the corner of the pub next to the table I was sitting at with a couple of people from the Great Ocean Road tour. We left soon after that.
I would like to thanks Amanda for showing me around and inviting me out for drinks with her brother & sister one night. Meeting Amanda was a strange story - the chef and his wife at the place where I stayed on Fraser Island were really friendly and our group got talking to them about travel stories. On hearing I was going to Melbourne soon, the chef's wife, Aileen gave me her daughter's number in Melbourne and said I should give her a call when I got there. By chance her daughter, Amanda, worked at the Telstra Dome where I was headed to watch Aussie Rules, so I gave her a call and we met up to say hi at half-time. The next day Amanda and the others took me to Brighton Beach to see the famous huts, we had a coffee, then met up later to watch Australia beat South Africa in the Tri-Nations. We also played some pool - myself and her brother Chris tried to beat a couple of Croatians to win the table for the 4 of us to play. After being soundly whipped twice in a row, the Croatians felt sorry for us and let us have the table anyway!!
All in all I enjoyed Melbourne and am looking forward to seeing how it compares to Sydney - there is a big rivalry between locals from the 2 cities.
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| Melbourne, Victoria |
Sunday 8 July 2007
Essendon Bombers vs Geelong Cats
My first live game of AFL (Aussie Rules football) at the Telstra Dome, was a cracking night out. A local derby, with Geelong topping the ladder and Essendon on a good run themselves. 52,000 people packed a sold out stadium. I had a great seat just 8 rows back from the turf.
The omens for Essendon weren't good though as Geelong have won 4 of the last 5 matches between the two, and Geelong have been winning games by over 50 points recently. But Essendon were boosted by the return of a star player after cancer treatment, and another legend was celebrating his 250th game, so it was party time for the home fans (of which I had become one as I bought a Bombers scarf!).
The first 2 quarters were a tight affair, but during the 2nd quarter Essendon lost their star in his 250th game to a pulled hamstring, then the defence man lost his head and gave away a stupid goal. That was a turning point and Geelong gradually got the upper hand and then ran away with it in the last quarter to win by 50 points. A thrashing. I was not Essendon's new lucky mascot!
It was good fun, a brilliant atmosphere with friendly rivalry amongst the Bomber & Cats fans I was sitting with.
The omens for Essendon weren't good though as Geelong have won 4 of the last 5 matches between the two, and Geelong have been winning games by over 50 points recently. But Essendon were boosted by the return of a star player after cancer treatment, and another legend was celebrating his 250th game, so it was party time for the home fans (of which I had become one as I bought a Bombers scarf!).
The first 2 quarters were a tight affair, but during the 2nd quarter Essendon lost their star in his 250th game to a pulled hamstring, then the defence man lost his head and gave away a stupid goal. That was a turning point and Geelong gradually got the upper hand and then ran away with it in the last quarter to win by 50 points. A thrashing. I was not Essendon's new lucky mascot!
It was good fun, a brilliant atmosphere with friendly rivalry amongst the Bomber & Cats fans I was sitting with.
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| AFL |
Friday 6 July 2007
No way Bells is bigger than Waimea, bro
I visited the beautiful Great Ocean Road (GOR) yesterday, made famous by things like the 12 Apostles, Bells Beach, London Bridge etc.
After heading out to Geelong and turning South, the GOR starts around about a place called Torquay. This town is often celebrated for being the home of Australia's 3 big surf brands: Rip Curl, Billabong & Quicksilver. But in fact the very humble beginnings of these companies was a little surf shack in the village of Anglesea up the coast from Torquay (see photos).
Of course this area attracted surfers due to the massive swell at Bells Beach. Ever since watching the movie Point Break at uni I have wanted to visit Bells Beach and see the massive surf for myself - up to 8 metres high I am told. It was up to about 0.75 metres the day I was there, and to add to that disappointment I learn that the beach used in Point Break was not actually the real Bells, plus the 50-year storm that Bodhi (Patrick Swazye) keeps banging on about is mythical as well. All lies!
The rest of the GOR made up for things though. Despite hitting some violent rain storms, the scenery was beautiful and dramatic. Erosion features like the 12 Apostles and London Bridge were definitely worth seeing.
In 1990 London Bridge fell down, quite literally. You can imagine from the photos below how it used to be attached to the mainland, and tour guides drove buses to the end of it. Luckily no one was crossing at the time of the collapse, although a couple were stranded out on the newly water-surrounded pinnacle. In no time the TV news helicopters were in the air beaming footage of these 2 unfortunates around the country and the world. It really wasn't their lucky day. Turns out they were both married to other people and were having an affair. Plus the guy had pulled a sickie from work that day. I know that he lost his job, but what happened to the 2 families involved I don't know. But I don't really care anymore, it's all water under the bridge.
Boom boom!! I'm here all week.
After heading out to Geelong and turning South, the GOR starts around about a place called Torquay. This town is often celebrated for being the home of Australia's 3 big surf brands: Rip Curl, Billabong & Quicksilver. But in fact the very humble beginnings of these companies was a little surf shack in the village of Anglesea up the coast from Torquay (see photos).
Of course this area attracted surfers due to the massive swell at Bells Beach. Ever since watching the movie Point Break at uni I have wanted to visit Bells Beach and see the massive surf for myself - up to 8 metres high I am told. It was up to about 0.75 metres the day I was there, and to add to that disappointment I learn that the beach used in Point Break was not actually the real Bells, plus the 50-year storm that Bodhi (Patrick Swazye) keeps banging on about is mythical as well. All lies!
The rest of the GOR made up for things though. Despite hitting some violent rain storms, the scenery was beautiful and dramatic. Erosion features like the 12 Apostles and London Bridge were definitely worth seeing.
In 1990 London Bridge fell down, quite literally. You can imagine from the photos below how it used to be attached to the mainland, and tour guides drove buses to the end of it. Luckily no one was crossing at the time of the collapse, although a couple were stranded out on the newly water-surrounded pinnacle. In no time the TV news helicopters were in the air beaming footage of these 2 unfortunates around the country and the world. It really wasn't their lucky day. Turns out they were both married to other people and were having an affair. Plus the guy had pulled a sickie from work that day. I know that he lost his job, but what happened to the 2 families involved I don't know. But I don't really care anymore, it's all water under the bridge.
Boom boom!! I'm here all week.
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| Great Ocean Road |
Wednesday 4 July 2007
Here comes the bride!!
Dear Palm and Maz,
Have a wonderful wedding day. I hope the sun shines on you this weekend, and for the rest of your lives together. Aaahhhh!
Wish I was there, I really do. I'll be in Melbourne that day thinking of you guys, and all my friends at your wedding.
Have a great day
Have a wonderful wedding day. I hope the sun shines on you this weekend, and for the rest of your lives together. Aaahhhh!
Wish I was there, I really do. I'll be in Melbourne that day thinking of you guys, and all my friends at your wedding.
Have a great day
Tuesday 3 July 2007
Brisvegas
I don't know why the locals call Brisbane "Brisvegas", but apparently they do. It could be something to do with the speed the city is growing and rate at which skyscrapers are shooting into the sky. Did you know that Brisbane is the 2nd fastest growing city in the world, after Dubai?! And a local friend told me (she remains nameless in case it's all lies) that Brisbane has the Southern hemisphere's tallest building.
I was quite happy to be back in a city after so many weeks in the outback, on boats and in little backpacker towns. Brisbane is a very pretty city, it is a real mix of the old and new but it works well. The photos below try to show a bit of that contrast.
The North Bank reminds me of London's South Bank, and not just cos it is next to a river! This is where there are theatres and universities and some parkland with bars and restaurants scattered about. It was pretty cool and peaceful over there, apart from the Celtic celebration I bumped into with marching bagpipe bands! The city's Botanical Gardens and river walk were also very chilled places to hang out.
I only spent 2 nights in Brisbane so did a lot of walking around to try and make the most of it. The city has quite a cool street cafe vibe going on and a trendy riverside quay area, along the same lines as Sydney's Darling Harbour or Cape Town's V&A Waterfront, but not as big. Plus the weather was fantastic, which always helps.
I caught up with an old Shell friend who has just moved back to Brisbane and it was fun to go out for some drinks with a friendly face. Plus Juantia knew the best places to go and took me to a couple of cool bars near the Suncorp Stadium (we eventually found them after 2 hours walking through the red light district!!).
I was quite happy to be back in a city after so many weeks in the outback, on boats and in little backpacker towns. Brisbane is a very pretty city, it is a real mix of the old and new but it works well. The photos below try to show a bit of that contrast.
The North Bank reminds me of London's South Bank, and not just cos it is next to a river! This is where there are theatres and universities and some parkland with bars and restaurants scattered about. It was pretty cool and peaceful over there, apart from the Celtic celebration I bumped into with marching bagpipe bands! The city's Botanical Gardens and river walk were also very chilled places to hang out.
I only spent 2 nights in Brisbane so did a lot of walking around to try and make the most of it. The city has quite a cool street cafe vibe going on and a trendy riverside quay area, along the same lines as Sydney's Darling Harbour or Cape Town's V&A Waterfront, but not as big. Plus the weather was fantastic, which always helps.
I caught up with an old Shell friend who has just moved back to Brisbane and it was fun to go out for some drinks with a friendly face. Plus Juantia knew the best places to go and took me to a couple of cool bars near the Suncorp Stadium (we eventually found them after 2 hours walking through the red light district!!).
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| Brisvegas |
Sunday 1 July 2007
Move em on, head em up...
After Airlie Beach the Oz Experience bus took us to a cattle station an hour or so into the bush, over the Great Dividing Range (the world's 2nd longest mountain range). It was called Kroombit and we had dinner, bed & breakfast there as a stop over on the way to Rainbow Beach.
It was a compulsory stop over so I wasn't expecting too much from it, but in the end it turned out to be loads of fun and I felt like a proper cowboy (no Brokeback Mountain jokes from you guys!).
After dinner we all gathered around the fire and the farm owner, Alan, spoke to us about the farm & the local area. Then he gave us a lesson in cracking a whip. As you probably know the crack is caused by the tip of the whip reaching about 330 metres per second, i.e. breaking the sound barrier. This is as difficult to achieve as it sounds! I did managing to crack one out after about 20 minutes of trying, but it wasn't easy.
After that we had turns on the mechanical bull. This wasn't easy either, and it really hurts your groin area!! I managed about 8 seconds which wasn't too bad compared to the others.
After that we all gathered again around the camp fire to drink and play silly games. Like 'suck-blow' which involves passing a playing card around the circle using only your mouth. And another game where in pairs (boy & girl) you had to burst a balloon between your bodies and the twist was that you had to do it in a sexual position. Lots of bonding and getting to know each other...
In the morning a few of us went for a walk up to a lookout over the cattle station. After that we all gathered around the paddock to learn how to lasso cattle and also I tried clay pigeon shooting.
Again I excelled and showed by credentials as a skilled outdoors man! Shotgun shooting was loads of fun and I got joint top score of 4/5 hits. After being taught the lasso technique I managed to rope a stationary target at the 3rd attempt. After that we were put into the paddock with real animals - just goats and not big old bulls, to avoid us getting mauled - and I managed to rope a goat in 7 seconds!!
We were lucky because our bus driver for this leg of the trip, Trigger, has grown up with horses and spent the last 4 years in North America working as a bull-fighter & rodeo clown and also teaches horse behaviour, bit of a horse whisperer! This meant he was very skilled with a rope and had all the lasso tricks and he was amazing at cracking the whip - he had 2 whips spinning above his head cracking one after the other, he sounded like fireworks night!
It was a lot of fun. I think I'm ready now for the wicky-wicked wild wild west (as Will Smith once called it)!!!
It was a compulsory stop over so I wasn't expecting too much from it, but in the end it turned out to be loads of fun and I felt like a proper cowboy (no Brokeback Mountain jokes from you guys!).
After dinner we all gathered around the fire and the farm owner, Alan, spoke to us about the farm & the local area. Then he gave us a lesson in cracking a whip. As you probably know the crack is caused by the tip of the whip reaching about 330 metres per second, i.e. breaking the sound barrier. This is as difficult to achieve as it sounds! I did managing to crack one out after about 20 minutes of trying, but it wasn't easy.
After that we had turns on the mechanical bull. This wasn't easy either, and it really hurts your groin area!! I managed about 8 seconds which wasn't too bad compared to the others.
After that we all gathered again around the camp fire to drink and play silly games. Like 'suck-blow' which involves passing a playing card around the circle using only your mouth. And another game where in pairs (boy & girl) you had to burst a balloon between your bodies and the twist was that you had to do it in a sexual position. Lots of bonding and getting to know each other...
In the morning a few of us went for a walk up to a lookout over the cattle station. After that we all gathered around the paddock to learn how to lasso cattle and also I tried clay pigeon shooting.
Again I excelled and showed by credentials as a skilled outdoors man! Shotgun shooting was loads of fun and I got joint top score of 4/5 hits. After being taught the lasso technique I managed to rope a stationary target at the 3rd attempt. After that we were put into the paddock with real animals - just goats and not big old bulls, to avoid us getting mauled - and I managed to rope a goat in 7 seconds!!
We were lucky because our bus driver for this leg of the trip, Trigger, has grown up with horses and spent the last 4 years in North America working as a bull-fighter & rodeo clown and also teaches horse behaviour, bit of a horse whisperer! This meant he was very skilled with a rope and had all the lasso tricks and he was amazing at cracking the whip - he had 2 whips spinning above his head cracking one after the other, he sounded like fireworks night!
It was a lot of fun. I think I'm ready now for the wicky-wicked wild wild west (as Will Smith once called it)!!!
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| Cattle Station |
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