February 17-23
I am almost embarrassed to be writing this today as it's March 13th! I've had a few action packed weeks, and thus, haven't written. However, I have jotted everything down in my journal to help me keep track of everything.... so here it goes! My sail boat was called "Spank Me"--there were 14 of us, a few Canadian boys, some Brazilians who I became friends with, a few Germans and Americans.
Our first stop was Whitehaven beach, which is the beach that is on ALL the postcards. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a cloudy day, so my pics aren't as clear and beautiful. This beach is totally unspoiled and is considered to be one of the top 10 beaches in the world, located in the Great Barrier Marine Park.
My first day also consisted of an intro scuba dive, which to be totally honest I was a little disappointed with. On the second day I debated whether I should do another dive and as the other peeps were coming back on the boat from their dive, not too many people were raving about it.... which helped me with my decision. I went snorkeling instead and it was unreal! One of the crew members told me that the most you will ever see is within the first 5-10 meters of the water, so I was actually really happy with my decision! The third day we did a few more snorkel stops, each time putting on our stinger/wet suits, as there are so many dangerous creatures in these waters. The ones to be most worried about is of course sharks and jelly fish! Did you know that Australia has 8 out of the 10 deadliest animals on the planet?
Monday, February 22, 2010
Kangaroo Island
February 15-16
Day 1
Again, got picked up very early and believe it or not this tour had 12 of us ... all girls! 8 happened to be from Germany, 1 French, 2 Austrians and myself. Drove to Penneshaw where we had to hop on a boat to get to KI. Our tour guide, Brendan, announced that we all had to speak English to each other, but that didn't seem to apply to most of the German girls, as they all spoke German to each other, which kind of sucks when you don't understand what they are chatting about.
We drove to Pennington Bay, a beautiful beach, where we played some gay get-to-know-u-games... I felt like I was in grade school. We then headed to the Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Distillery, where we learned about all the benefits of eucalyptus and eucalyptus oil. There was also a little joey (baby kangaroo)... who was injured there and being nursed by the staff there... he was sitting in this little wicker basket all bundled up... he for sure thought he was in his pouch. Too cute!
After that we went to the "remarkable rocks" where we saw these rock formations... got some great pics! Brendan has started calling us "his angels" and we call him "charlie" ... LOL
Next stop, Admirals arch where we spotted some seals, and then drove to Flinders Chase National Park--where I saw koalas, kangaroos, wallaby's and tons of birds in their natural habitat. Since this island is totally protected, these animals really don't have any threats, they are disease free, etc.
I learned today that the word "kangaroo" dates back to when the European people came over to Australia. They asked the Aboriginals the name of the animal "pointing to the kangaroo."... They replied, "gangaroo"-- meaning, "we don't understand you." The Europeans heard "kangaroo" and thus named the animal the KANGAROO. I know, useless information, but I actually thought it was kind of interesting.
Back at our accommodations, another group joined us, and one of the guys was from my Groovy Grape tour--a face I recognized! So I hung out with Abigail (from France), Bastien, and this other guy named Mick from LA. Mick was hilarious. Two of the German girls asked him what the name was for an apron.... as they pointed to it.... he called it a "sphincter"...I could not stop laughing as they repeated the word.
Day 2
Seal Bay: got to learn about sea lions, and was able to get really close to them on the beach... so cool.
Highlight of the day: SAND BOARDING!!!!!
First thought, "WOW".... seeing all the sand dunes, this pristine white sand and hills to climb!! Getting up the dunes was a total workout. We first went down on a double board which was a ton of fun.... having to climb the dune again, not so much fun. The steps you take climbing up these dunes is like stepping into fresh snow, your feet just sink into the sand.
I did work up the guts to try the single sand boarding, even though I was scared shitless. The longer I waited, the worse my anxiety got.... so I just had to do it. All I have to say, is MAJOR SPEED, MAJOR WIPEOUT. But so amazing. Even though the sand burned my leg as I took my first wipe!
We also all rolled down the dunes... we were literally covered from head to toe in sand. My last attempt at the sand boarding I took a huge wipe and totally got the wind knocked right out of me--but looking back, totally worth it. I also went down on the double board by myself--on my stomach and that was great. I didn't think I'd see a thing from the sand, but I kept my head up, and it was good.
Brendan took us to this amazing beach afterwards to try and wash off all the sand we had on us, but honestly, it took a few days of showering to be able to say that I officially got all the sand off me. I kept finding it. LOL
For lunch today and yesterday I tried kangaroo meat.... the first day it was a kangaroo sausage... and I didn't really like it all that much. I think mostly because I couldn't stomach thinking that I was eating a poor kangaroo. The second day I tried a little piece of k-steak, which tasted so much better, but I still felt bad. Off to Arlie beach tomorrow.
Day 1
Again, got picked up very early and believe it or not this tour had 12 of us ... all girls! 8 happened to be from Germany, 1 French, 2 Austrians and myself. Drove to Penneshaw where we had to hop on a boat to get to KI. Our tour guide, Brendan, announced that we all had to speak English to each other, but that didn't seem to apply to most of the German girls, as they all spoke German to each other, which kind of sucks when you don't understand what they are chatting about.
We drove to Pennington Bay, a beautiful beach, where we played some gay get-to-know-u-games... I felt like I was in grade school. We then headed to the Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Distillery, where we learned about all the benefits of eucalyptus and eucalyptus oil. There was also a little joey (baby kangaroo)... who was injured there and being nursed by the staff there... he was sitting in this little wicker basket all bundled up... he for sure thought he was in his pouch. Too cute!
After that we went to the "remarkable rocks" where we saw these rock formations... got some great pics! Brendan has started calling us "his angels" and we call him "charlie" ... LOL
Next stop, Admirals arch where we spotted some seals, and then drove to Flinders Chase National Park--where I saw koalas, kangaroos, wallaby's and tons of birds in their natural habitat. Since this island is totally protected, these animals really don't have any threats, they are disease free, etc.
I learned today that the word "kangaroo" dates back to when the European people came over to Australia. They asked the Aboriginals the name of the animal "pointing to the kangaroo."... They replied, "gangaroo"-- meaning, "we don't understand you." The Europeans heard "kangaroo" and thus named the animal the KANGAROO. I know, useless information, but I actually thought it was kind of interesting.
Back at our accommodations, another group joined us, and one of the guys was from my Groovy Grape tour--a face I recognized! So I hung out with Abigail (from France), Bastien, and this other guy named Mick from LA. Mick was hilarious. Two of the German girls asked him what the name was for an apron.... as they pointed to it.... he called it a "sphincter"...I could not stop laughing as they repeated the word.
Day 2
Seal Bay: got to learn about sea lions, and was able to get really close to them on the beach... so cool.
Highlight of the day: SAND BOARDING!!!!!
First thought, "WOW".... seeing all the sand dunes, this pristine white sand and hills to climb!! Getting up the dunes was a total workout. We first went down on a double board which was a ton of fun.... having to climb the dune again, not so much fun. The steps you take climbing up these dunes is like stepping into fresh snow, your feet just sink into the sand.
I did work up the guts to try the single sand boarding, even though I was scared shitless. The longer I waited, the worse my anxiety got.... so I just had to do it. All I have to say, is MAJOR SPEED, MAJOR WIPEOUT. But so amazing. Even though the sand burned my leg as I took my first wipe!
We also all rolled down the dunes... we were literally covered from head to toe in sand. My last attempt at the sand boarding I took a huge wipe and totally got the wind knocked right out of me--but looking back, totally worth it. I also went down on the double board by myself--on my stomach and that was great. I didn't think I'd see a thing from the sand, but I kept my head up, and it was good.
Brendan took us to this amazing beach afterwards to try and wash off all the sand we had on us, but honestly, it took a few days of showering to be able to say that I officially got all the sand off me. I kept finding it. LOL
For lunch today and yesterday I tried kangaroo meat.... the first day it was a kangaroo sausage... and I didn't really like it all that much. I think mostly because I couldn't stomach thinking that I was eating a poor kangaroo. The second day I tried a little piece of k-steak, which tasted so much better, but I still felt bad. Off to Arlie beach tomorrow.
Great Ocean Road
February 12-14
Jeeze, again, I feel so far behind in blogging.... I have several hours to kill before I hop on a bus so I thought I'd try to catch myself up. When I'm this far behind though, I may keep things short, at least so I can write down the most important highlights, and then possibly come back and add more details later.
I was picked up nice and early (6 am)... and boarded the Groovy Grape bus. The tour driver, Amber is fantastic, and is so knowledgeable about the surrounding areas. There were about 17-18 of us on this trip and I wasn't quite sure what to expect, and to be totally honest, was a bit surprised by the type of travel I was doing, but okay with it. For example, our meals... we stopped at a park for lunch, got out the plates, cutting boards, food, and all pitched in to cut things up to make ourselves wraps. I'm okay with embracing all these experiences because if it was always restaurant food, I think I'd get sick of that!
So we headed out of Melbourne and did Victoria's famous tourist drive and got to see some spectacular lookouts along the way.
We stopped in Torquay, close to Bell's beach, which is the Surfing capital of the world... this town is also home to Quiksilver and RipCurl, the surfing shops, and I was finally able to buy myself a few more Roxy flipflops for half price! Woo hoo.... gotta love a discount, as Australia is very expensive.
So this drive is amazing... I would say the highlight of today was definitely seeing the "12 Apostles." These apostles are famous rock formations in the water.... and there are only 8 remaining, as the water hitting them has caused 4 of them to fall. I ended up doing a helicopter tour of the area, and I'm really glad I chose to live in the moment and cough up $70 to do it.... well, well, worth it!
I think my most embarrassing part of my day, was asking this Russian lady on the trip to take my picture. I went to pose... and as I posed I fully farted. I was an unexpected slip and I was SO embarrassed. She right away heard it and was like, "it's okay, it happens to all of us!" Lord, that was a first for me. LOL
Day 2
Woke up really early and got to see the 12 Apostles one last time. Drove to a ton of lookouts today--London Bridge, through the "wheat" area of the country. Today I saw Wallaby's hopping across the road.... similar to the way we see skunks and raccoons, here, we see Kangaroo's and Wallaby's (which are smaller versions of Kangaroos).
Also got to go to the Aboriginal Cultural Center, where we learned about the Indigenous people of this area. The spot where we went to tonight to see the sunset was phenomenal and I ended up spending most of my time with Clare and Heather from Scotland. My only problem with them is that I could not understand them most of the time. I always thought they were speaking another language because they're accents were so heavy. I felt like a total moron half the time, as I had to keep saying "pardon" and they were always repeating themselves... but we got a good laugh out of it.
Day 3
Today we did a 3 hour hike of The Pinacle (the area) in the Granpians National Park... what a frickin' great hike! Got my heart beating today, that's for sure!
After that, we got to see MacKenzie falls, had lunch, and then a long drive to Adelaide. Overall, a great tour. Amber, the tour guide, may actually meet me in Thailand for a few weeks!
Jeeze, again, I feel so far behind in blogging.... I have several hours to kill before I hop on a bus so I thought I'd try to catch myself up. When I'm this far behind though, I may keep things short, at least so I can write down the most important highlights, and then possibly come back and add more details later.
I was picked up nice and early (6 am)... and boarded the Groovy Grape bus. The tour driver, Amber is fantastic, and is so knowledgeable about the surrounding areas. There were about 17-18 of us on this trip and I wasn't quite sure what to expect, and to be totally honest, was a bit surprised by the type of travel I was doing, but okay with it. For example, our meals... we stopped at a park for lunch, got out the plates, cutting boards, food, and all pitched in to cut things up to make ourselves wraps. I'm okay with embracing all these experiences because if it was always restaurant food, I think I'd get sick of that!
So we headed out of Melbourne and did Victoria's famous tourist drive and got to see some spectacular lookouts along the way.
We stopped in Torquay, close to Bell's beach, which is the Surfing capital of the world... this town is also home to Quiksilver and RipCurl, the surfing shops, and I was finally able to buy myself a few more Roxy flipflops for half price! Woo hoo.... gotta love a discount, as Australia is very expensive.
So this drive is amazing... I would say the highlight of today was definitely seeing the "12 Apostles." These apostles are famous rock formations in the water.... and there are only 8 remaining, as the water hitting them has caused 4 of them to fall. I ended up doing a helicopter tour of the area, and I'm really glad I chose to live in the moment and cough up $70 to do it.... well, well, worth it!
I think my most embarrassing part of my day, was asking this Russian lady on the trip to take my picture. I went to pose... and as I posed I fully farted. I was an unexpected slip and I was SO embarrassed. She right away heard it and was like, "it's okay, it happens to all of us!" Lord, that was a first for me. LOL
Day 2
Woke up really early and got to see the 12 Apostles one last time. Drove to a ton of lookouts today--London Bridge, through the "wheat" area of the country. Today I saw Wallaby's hopping across the road.... similar to the way we see skunks and raccoons, here, we see Kangaroo's and Wallaby's (which are smaller versions of Kangaroos).
Also got to go to the Aboriginal Cultural Center, where we learned about the Indigenous people of this area. The spot where we went to tonight to see the sunset was phenomenal and I ended up spending most of my time with Clare and Heather from Scotland. My only problem with them is that I could not understand them most of the time. I always thought they were speaking another language because they're accents were so heavy. I felt like a total moron half the time, as I had to keep saying "pardon" and they were always repeating themselves... but we got a good laugh out of it.
Day 3
Today we did a 3 hour hike of The Pinacle (the area) in the Granpians National Park... what a frickin' great hike! Got my heart beating today, that's for sure!
After that, we got to see MacKenzie falls, had lunch, and then a long drive to Adelaide. Overall, a great tour. Amber, the tour guide, may actually meet me in Thailand for a few weeks!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Finally Living My Dream, On My Own!
Feb 9th-11th
Melbourne, St. Kilda
Well, as I mentioned before, I am officially on my own and my nerves got the better of me. I'm in Melbourne and arrived at my hostel, which is a total backpackers joint. I felt a bit awkward at first, especially when I walked into my 8 bed mixed dorm room. I was dead tired and crawled onto my top bunk to go to bed super early when Heidi from Finland walked in, introduced herself and started chatting with me.
That night, she invited me to go with her to look for penguins by the pier and I had to take the opportunity! So we walked down to the beach where we met up with her 2 other Finnish friends and hung out. The boardwalk is beautiful and we were able to spot some beautiful baby penguins!
The next day, we hung out at the beach but the weather, yet again, turned on me and was not that great to be lying on a beach. Later that evening, Vivian, a Contiki friend came to pick me up for dinner. I will have to write more about my "shady" story waiting for Vivian when I get a chance. We got to know one another better over a great meal, and exchanged lots of teaching stories, especially the differences between Canada and Australia. Later on I met up with the girls and went to enjoy some live music in a local pub, which is part of the St. Kilda festival going on right now.
Today, Sarah, another Contiki friend came to pick me up and gave me a fabulous tour of the city! I was able to go into the Melbourne Aquarium, the Casino, St. Paul's Cathedral, some art galleries, hop on the City Tram, and each lunch in Chinatown. Again, Sarah and I roomed together in Queenstown for a few nights but didn't hang out too much, so spending the whole day with her today was great. Hopefully, she will be living her dream next year by travelling the world, and Toronto will be one of her stops!
Just finished packing up my bag and showering, as I am up early tomorrow--leaving to go on my 3 day, 2 night Great Ocean Road tour.
Melbourne, St. Kilda
Well, as I mentioned before, I am officially on my own and my nerves got the better of me. I'm in Melbourne and arrived at my hostel, which is a total backpackers joint. I felt a bit awkward at first, especially when I walked into my 8 bed mixed dorm room. I was dead tired and crawled onto my top bunk to go to bed super early when Heidi from Finland walked in, introduced herself and started chatting with me.
That night, she invited me to go with her to look for penguins by the pier and I had to take the opportunity! So we walked down to the beach where we met up with her 2 other Finnish friends and hung out. The boardwalk is beautiful and we were able to spot some beautiful baby penguins!
The next day, we hung out at the beach but the weather, yet again, turned on me and was not that great to be lying on a beach. Later that evening, Vivian, a Contiki friend came to pick me up for dinner. I will have to write more about my "shady" story waiting for Vivian when I get a chance. We got to know one another better over a great meal, and exchanged lots of teaching stories, especially the differences between Canada and Australia. Later on I met up with the girls and went to enjoy some live music in a local pub, which is part of the St. Kilda festival going on right now.
Today, Sarah, another Contiki friend came to pick me up and gave me a fabulous tour of the city! I was able to go into the Melbourne Aquarium, the Casino, St. Paul's Cathedral, some art galleries, hop on the City Tram, and each lunch in Chinatown. Again, Sarah and I roomed together in Queenstown for a few nights but didn't hang out too much, so spending the whole day with her today was great. Hopefully, she will be living her dream next year by travelling the world, and Toronto will be one of her stops!
Just finished packing up my bag and showering, as I am up early tomorrow--leaving to go on my 3 day, 2 night Great Ocean Road tour.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Sydney, Australia
Friday, Feb 5-9th
Well, from one country to the next... I finally made it to Australia. I actually applied to go to teacher's college in Aussie, and was accepted into all the universities, but my dad got sick at the time, and I simply felt too guilty leaving him home alone. So I declined my studies abroad, and promised myself that one day I would make it to Aussie.
Peter and Craig from our Contiki tour offered to 'host' Marci and I while we stayed in their city which was amazing! The only not-so-amazing part was that it rained literally from the time we arrived to the time that I left. :(
The first day Craig picked us up at the airport and took us right away to the Sydney Olympic Park where I was able to see the various stadiums and structures from the 2000 Sydney Olympics. We then took a ferry to the centre of the city where I saw the famous Sydney Bridge and the Opera House! For some reason the Opera house excited me so much... every time I think of Sydney, that is the structure that comes to mind. At this point it was POURING.
We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed off to the Sydney zoo. This was by far the highlight of my day, where I was able to take a picture with a Koala and a Kangaroo! Woo hoo.... I actually have a list of 'must do's' while I am travelling and the pic with the Koala was one of them. Check.
That evening we ate at Darling Harbour and then up to the 17th floor (of a hotel) for some drinks with Craig and Peter's workmates. What a great view of the city at night!
The next day was pouring again so didn't really do too much besides try to get into the Opera house but the guided tours were just too expensive. We made dinner at home and watched movies. It was great to just chill!
Sunday... guess what? Rain again. LOL. We went to Bondi beach, and man, would I have been sunning my buns had the weather been nice. The beach is amazing, but of course, the weather put a little damper on things. That night, Joe came over (Contiki guy we met)...and everyone went out for Thai food. I had a splitting headache, so I stayed in.
Monday--Alfred met us at the train station to take us to the Blue Mountains, another 'tourist' attraction where there is a legend of these 3 sisters who got turned into massive rocks, and everyone goes for the magnificent view. Once we got there, our view was fog--so we did not actually get to see the 3 sisters. However, we took a 2 1/2 hour hike down the 3 Sisters Trail.... in the rain forest pretty much, and by the end of our time, we were soaked but what a fantastic day. And some really great pics too! With all the waterfalls and density of of the forest, the 3 of us at some point all got bitten by leeches, Yikes!
When we got back back to Sydney, the 5 of us grabbed a quick bite to eat at Darling Harbour and then were off to the IMAX to see Avatar. This IMAX is the biggest screen in the world, so I was VERY excited to see it again. I don't think I've ever had that much fun in a movie theatre before, all of us taking pictures with our 3-D glasses on. LOL.
Just as we were leaving the theatre, we happened to literally run into Jakob, another Contiki guy from Germany actually...he was so pleasantly surprised to see us, and in some serious shock too! It was quite entertaining.
Marci and I have decided to split up, and embark on our own journeys separately. We both want to see different things in Australia, and it would be impossible to see both what I want to see and what she wants to see in the span of a month. So tonight was our last night together. I was feeling quite anxious today, as travelling on my own is totally out of my comfort zone. But I've always said that I need to push myself out of my comfort zone in order to learn and grow as an individual. So I hope this does it! Let's see how long I last. LOL.
Well, from one country to the next... I finally made it to Australia. I actually applied to go to teacher's college in Aussie, and was accepted into all the universities, but my dad got sick at the time, and I simply felt too guilty leaving him home alone. So I declined my studies abroad, and promised myself that one day I would make it to Aussie.
Peter and Craig from our Contiki tour offered to 'host' Marci and I while we stayed in their city which was amazing! The only not-so-amazing part was that it rained literally from the time we arrived to the time that I left. :(
The first day Craig picked us up at the airport and took us right away to the Sydney Olympic Park where I was able to see the various stadiums and structures from the 2000 Sydney Olympics. We then took a ferry to the centre of the city where I saw the famous Sydney Bridge and the Opera House! For some reason the Opera house excited me so much... every time I think of Sydney, that is the structure that comes to mind. At this point it was POURING.
We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed off to the Sydney zoo. This was by far the highlight of my day, where I was able to take a picture with a Koala and a Kangaroo! Woo hoo.... I actually have a list of 'must do's' while I am travelling and the pic with the Koala was one of them. Check.
That evening we ate at Darling Harbour and then up to the 17th floor (of a hotel) for some drinks with Craig and Peter's workmates. What a great view of the city at night!
The next day was pouring again so didn't really do too much besides try to get into the Opera house but the guided tours were just too expensive. We made dinner at home and watched movies. It was great to just chill!
Sunday... guess what? Rain again. LOL. We went to Bondi beach, and man, would I have been sunning my buns had the weather been nice. The beach is amazing, but of course, the weather put a little damper on things. That night, Joe came over (Contiki guy we met)...and everyone went out for Thai food. I had a splitting headache, so I stayed in.
Monday--Alfred met us at the train station to take us to the Blue Mountains, another 'tourist' attraction where there is a legend of these 3 sisters who got turned into massive rocks, and everyone goes for the magnificent view. Once we got there, our view was fog--so we did not actually get to see the 3 sisters. However, we took a 2 1/2 hour hike down the 3 Sisters Trail.... in the rain forest pretty much, and by the end of our time, we were soaked but what a fantastic day. And some really great pics too! With all the waterfalls and density of of the forest, the 3 of us at some point all got bitten by leeches, Yikes!
When we got back back to Sydney, the 5 of us grabbed a quick bite to eat at Darling Harbour and then were off to the IMAX to see Avatar. This IMAX is the biggest screen in the world, so I was VERY excited to see it again. I don't think I've ever had that much fun in a movie theatre before, all of us taking pictures with our 3-D glasses on. LOL.
Just as we were leaving the theatre, we happened to literally run into Jakob, another Contiki guy from Germany actually...he was so pleasantly surprised to see us, and in some serious shock too! It was quite entertaining.
Marci and I have decided to split up, and embark on our own journeys separately. We both want to see different things in Australia, and it would be impossible to see both what I want to see and what she wants to see in the span of a month. So tonight was our last night together. I was feeling quite anxious today, as travelling on my own is totally out of my comfort zone. But I've always said that I need to push myself out of my comfort zone in order to learn and grow as an individual. So I hope this does it! Let's see how long I last. LOL.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Day 15: Back to Christchurch
Today we headed through the MacKenzie country, home to the sheep industry. A long trip back today, but I would say the highlights of these long bus journeys was definitely the scenery, but in very close second the songs that Barnaby and Brendon played along the way! For example, one day we pulled over for a photo op, and the spot where we stopped -- there was a film made there. Before we were able to get off the bus, they pressed 'play' and the song "the hills are alive, with the sound of music..." As the song played, the two of them ran out of the bus and into the open field, frolicking and skipping toward each other. It was too funny. Today Barnaby also gave some "song dedication" time for people to come up ... dedicate a song to someone else, explanations not necessary. There were some pretty damn funny songs played.
A lot of us were staying in different hotels, so the plan was to meet later out for dinner. I often wonder what it is about people that make you connect with some, and not others. It's funny how in 15 days you are able to form really great connections with people, but I also wonder which one of those connections will last, and which won't. It was definitely harder to say bye to some people, more than others.
I am truly amazed by how many people on this tour have opened up their homes to us and offered for us to stay with them. That being said, I would in a heart beat have the peeps I connected with stay with me, if they ever come to visit my neck of the woods.
Craig and Peter are going to be hosting us when we get to Sydney and Alfred has also said when we arrive is Aussie, to give him a ring. I hope I'll be able to see Lauren and Gemma before leaving Oz. It's amazing to know that when I get back home I will be able to say I have friends in all different areas of the world. My true life long friends are of course, back home, and connecting with others is amazing, but it also makes me appreciate my amazing relationships that await me when I get back.
Today: Thursday, February 4th, 2010
We are staying in this funky artsy hotel called "Hotel So"... the room is about the size of my bathroom and reminds me of a life size Barbie room, very contemporary with a lot of pink: pink ceiling, pink phone, funky "hana barbara" type bathroom.
Just lounged, worked out and caught up with my emails and talking to family and friends at home.
Met with my new "contiki friend" Kendra for dinner. We went to a restaurant that Brendon recommended and it was fabulous. The entrees were served on these stones that were 400 degrees and the meat actually cooked on the stone before you could eat it, which was a first "stone" meal I've experienced before.
A few things thoughts and things I've learned about myself in New Zealand:
1. I need to start caring less about what others think... and live in the moment.
2. This trip is about me, so I really need to make me happy, so I don't go home with
any regrets. This is hard for me, as I am a people pleaser and I always seem to put others first before myself, so I need to work on this one.
3. Why do we judge one another so quickly?
4. New Zealanders are such a genuine group of people!
5. It's okay to question myself every once and a while.
Well, New Zealand has been amazing.... I am off to Australia tomorrow! I'm hoping the weather is going to be HOT, HOT, HOT!
A lot of us were staying in different hotels, so the plan was to meet later out for dinner. I often wonder what it is about people that make you connect with some, and not others. It's funny how in 15 days you are able to form really great connections with people, but I also wonder which one of those connections will last, and which won't. It was definitely harder to say bye to some people, more than others.
I am truly amazed by how many people on this tour have opened up their homes to us and offered for us to stay with them. That being said, I would in a heart beat have the peeps I connected with stay with me, if they ever come to visit my neck of the woods.
Craig and Peter are going to be hosting us when we get to Sydney and Alfred has also said when we arrive is Aussie, to give him a ring. I hope I'll be able to see Lauren and Gemma before leaving Oz. It's amazing to know that when I get back home I will be able to say I have friends in all different areas of the world. My true life long friends are of course, back home, and connecting with others is amazing, but it also makes me appreciate my amazing relationships that await me when I get back.
Today: Thursday, February 4th, 2010
We are staying in this funky artsy hotel called "Hotel So"... the room is about the size of my bathroom and reminds me of a life size Barbie room, very contemporary with a lot of pink: pink ceiling, pink phone, funky "hana barbara" type bathroom.
Just lounged, worked out and caught up with my emails and talking to family and friends at home.
Met with my new "contiki friend" Kendra for dinner. We went to a restaurant that Brendon recommended and it was fabulous. The entrees were served on these stones that were 400 degrees and the meat actually cooked on the stone before you could eat it, which was a first "stone" meal I've experienced before.
A few things thoughts and things I've learned about myself in New Zealand:
1. I need to start caring less about what others think... and live in the moment.
2. This trip is about me, so I really need to make me happy, so I don't go home with
any regrets. This is hard for me, as I am a people pleaser and I always seem to put others first before myself, so I need to work on this one.
3. Why do we judge one another so quickly?
4. New Zealanders are such a genuine group of people!
5. It's okay to question myself every once and a while.
Well, New Zealand has been amazing.... I am off to Australia tomorrow! I'm hoping the weather is going to be HOT, HOT, HOT!
Day 14: Lake Ohau
Feb 2, 2010
After leaving Milford Sound, we made our way to Lake Ohau. We travelled past Lake Te Anau and the Clutha River to Arrowtown. We then headed to the Southern Alps to our lodge at Lake Ohau where I was able to see Australasia's tallest peak, Mt. Cook.
Tonight we had dinner outside overlooking the lake, and Kendra and I decided to have a bottle of wine .... lol. My roomie was Carolina from Brazil and her free spirit made me feel like a million bucks, especially since we were getting ready for our Toga party. Trying to figure out those Togas with her was a riot, as she danced around the room to my iPod tunes.
Toga party was great.... not that I'm old, (lol)-- but watching young people in their early 20's get drunk is pretty funny. It brought me back to my younger university days and going out every weekend and partying hard. I'm glad that part of my life is over, and I was able to appreciate it tonight. Hard to believe that this was our last night.
After leaving Milford Sound, we made our way to Lake Ohau. We travelled past Lake Te Anau and the Clutha River to Arrowtown. We then headed to the Southern Alps to our lodge at Lake Ohau where I was able to see Australasia's tallest peak, Mt. Cook.
Tonight we had dinner outside overlooking the lake, and Kendra and I decided to have a bottle of wine .... lol. My roomie was Carolina from Brazil and her free spirit made me feel like a million bucks, especially since we were getting ready for our Toga party. Trying to figure out those Togas with her was a riot, as she danced around the room to my iPod tunes.
Toga party was great.... not that I'm old, (lol)-- but watching young people in their early 20's get drunk is pretty funny. It brought me back to my younger university days and going out every weekend and partying hard. I'm glad that part of my life is over, and I was able to appreciate it tonight. Hard to believe that this was our last night.
Day 13: Milford Sound
February 1, 2010
Well, although I complained several times about the long drives on the bus, today's drive up to Milford Sound was unreal. Apparently, this drive that we did today, was voted as the 2nd most beautiful drive in the world (National Geographic).... now you're going to say, well, what's the first... and that one is in Switzerland.
We travelled through Fiordland National Park, where we went through the Homer Tunnel... and coming out of that tunnel... all you heard was "ohh's and ahhhhh's." Our first views of the Milford Sound area were spectacular, and we were blessed to have been travelling on a beautiful sunny day too!
We boarded the Milford Wanderer for an overnight cruise taking in the beauty of the country. Once we got on the boat, we travelled for a bit, where we docked and then were able to choose from a small kayaking excursion or a trip on a smaller boat... I chose the second, and the driver didn't seem to like "contiki passengers" too much... so I found her to be quite rude, and the 'scenic tour' wasn't so scenic anymore.
The living quarters were crammed to say the least. I made sure to pop 2 gravol's and slept like a baby. This morning's highlights were the waterfalls, and seeing seals close up! I feel like I'm repeating myself over and over again by saying these view's are unreal, but I never pictured New Zealand to be this beautiful.
Well, although I complained several times about the long drives on the bus, today's drive up to Milford Sound was unreal. Apparently, this drive that we did today, was voted as the 2nd most beautiful drive in the world (National Geographic).... now you're going to say, well, what's the first... and that one is in Switzerland.
We travelled through Fiordland National Park, where we went through the Homer Tunnel... and coming out of that tunnel... all you heard was "ohh's and ahhhhh's." Our first views of the Milford Sound area were spectacular, and we were blessed to have been travelling on a beautiful sunny day too!
We boarded the Milford Wanderer for an overnight cruise taking in the beauty of the country. Once we got on the boat, we travelled for a bit, where we docked and then were able to choose from a small kayaking excursion or a trip on a smaller boat... I chose the second, and the driver didn't seem to like "contiki passengers" too much... so I found her to be quite rude, and the 'scenic tour' wasn't so scenic anymore.
The living quarters were crammed to say the least. I made sure to pop 2 gravol's and slept like a baby. This morning's highlights were the waterfalls, and seeing seals close up! I feel like I'm repeating myself over and over again by saying these view's are unreal, but I never pictured New Zealand to be this beautiful.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
