Abel Tasmin Park wipes the floor with the Caribbean

And the craziness continues...

We rolled into Taupo at about 4:00 in the afternoon and checked into the hostel. We were told that night that all the activities planned for that night and for the next day would be cancelled due to the weather. I was still holding out hope for the 7:00am skydive I had signed up for, but that didn’t stop be from going out with a few girls from our bus and enjoying a very silly, very random evening out.





Dutifully, the next morning, I dragged my exhausted, slightly hungover self out of bed at 6:30 am with full intentions of doing the skydive despite the protests of my body. It was cancelled due to dodgy weather, so I crawled back into bed. Probably for the best given the state of my head (it really was pounding). Needless to say, I was very disappointed to have to leave Taupo without being able to do either a skydive of the legendary Tongariro Crossing walk though the mountains. The weather was just miserable, and I didn’t have enough days in the timeline of my trip to buy any more time there hoping for the weather to clear. We left the city bright and early that morning to head down further south to the beautiful River Valley- home to one of the few class 5 white water rapids in the country. But first we were to stop for a walk in Tongariro National Park (hey, at least I’d get to see the mountain I was supposed to be climbing). About 30 min into our trip, the sky cleared up and was a perfect dome of deep blue. Figures. Well, I couldn’t be too mad, the big walk was already cancelled for that day so c’est la vie, at least we could do the little one. And the perfect blue skies made for excellent viewing of the huge volcano (Mt. Doom in Lord of the Rings). The landscape on that volcano is wild. It really looks like a lunar surface. I couldn’t get a good shot when we were closer to it, but here’s what it looked like when we were able to stop for some pictures:



Onward to River Valley. I was psyched to do some white water rafting, I mean after all the rain we had, the river was bound to be raging. At least the rain would work to our advantage this time! We got into the river valley in late afternoon and stayed in a cute/rustic lodge in the bottom of the valley. The place was spectacular…even in the mist and rain you could still tell how amazing it was. Then we heard some news that was almost too fabulous for words. Seemed all the rain we’d had hit everywhere BUT river valley. So the much-hyped river was very low and was a class 3 instead of a class 5. Wow, what luck. After much vacillation between rafting and horseback riding, I decided to go ahead with the rafting, because even though we had to take out small rafts instead of the big ones, they told us it was just as much fun. Liars. I think we spent 80% of the time waiting for all the little boats to come down each set of rapids, and 19% of the time actually rafting. I spent 1% of the time getting flipped over onto some rocks and getting swept down the river (which I have to say was the most exciting part of the day). Actually, that’s not quite true, they did guide us down a pretty fun waterfall where the boats went totally vertical. Sadly, I ended up not buying the pictures even though they were hilarious because they mail them to you in 2-3 weeks instead of just giving them to you right there. I have no idea where I’ll be in 2-3 weeks!

After River Valley, we headed down to Wellington, the capital of NZ. But first, for some strange reason, we stopped at a shearing shed where old ladies shear rabbits to make their angora scarves and sweaters and the like. We got to watch a rabbit being sheared, which was rather disturbing, but I'm including this photo because the sheer (ha) size of this rabbit is simply mind-boggling.



After staring at huge white rabbits for a good 20 min, we got back on the bus and made our way down south. Wellington is really cool, but I was only able to spend one night there due to my frenetic pace. I went out in Wellington, and even though it was a rather quiet night, I didn’t sleep at all due to anxiety about the following morning’s ferry crossing. On the bus the night before, the driver had told us about 15 times that although our names were on the list for the ferry crossing form the north to the south island, we had to pay for the tickets the night before by 7:30. I went to pay for mine, then got sidetracked and totally forgot about it until about 10:00 that night. I can only blame my complete absentmindness on the fact that I can’t hold a thought right now for more than about 5 seconds before it evaporates into thin air. I have the attention span of a 1-week old puppy. I’m hoping this is just a temporary condition due to too much stimulation and too little processing time.

Anyway, I got the ferry tickets without incident the following morning; all my stressing out was for naught. I spent the entire 3-hour ferry ride asleep in a lovely recliner. I heard there were some nice views outside though. We made it into Nelson, the first city in our south island adventure, at around noon. From there is was madness trying to sort everyone onto busses, but we all got seats and sat in them all the way to a little winery where we stopped for lunch. We then went swimming in a freezing swimming hole, and considering there was no AC n the bus that day, the icy water felt like heaven.

We checked into our hostel in the afternoon and some of us took a sunset walk to the “Center of NZ” which is, actually, the exact center point of NZ. It’s a lovely little spot on a hill overlooking the mountains, and we started taking some silly photos to commemorate the occasion. Now, in all fairness, when I got the idea to do a handstand, it was not meant to be this, uh, well…



Sorry if I offended any delicate sensibilities! (Not that I expect my readers to have any of those...)

This morning was a 7 am pickup for either a coastal walk in Abel Tasmin National Park, or a kayak trip for double the price. I so wanted to do the kayaking, but I really had to draw the line with my money so I opted for the 4 hour walk instead. Abel Tasmin is a gorgeous set islands and is one of the country’s most popular parks. The rainforest and shorelines are so pristinely beautiful, I was shocked that the colors I was seeing in the water actually existed in nature. The sand is very gold in color and creates emerald and turquoise lagoons that make the Caribbean look like a joke. I know the kayaking would have been spectacular, but the walk was not half bad, and at the end, I got to swim here:



So I’m now sitting in a hostel with no working internet and am nodding off after every other sentence I write. All the little kids (my fellow bus-mates) are outside drinking and laughing and I’m too tired to move. I did want to go out tonight and check out this cute town, but I’m beginning to think better of it. It would be lovely to get more than 5 hours of sleep tonight… Dare to dream.

New Zealand, on crack

Can’t. Think. Too. Tired.

But, I’m gonna try to get it together for this post so I can try to stay somewhat on top of this trip before it gets away from me!

So the last few days have been an absolute whirlwind, and because I’m in a rush to get to the south island, I have to push myself even harder to get though the entire north island as fast as humanly possible.

Two days ago, I was forced to make a very difficult decision. We were on our way to a hot water beach, at which you can dig your own holes in the sand and naturally hot water promptly fills the hole (thereby turning it into your very own hot tub). That sounded pretty unique, but then our driver gave us the other option to go sea kayaking out to a range of sculptural volcanic islands in the middle of a beautiful marine reserve. This really put my decision-making abilities to the test…I mean, should I do one awesome thing, or the other awesome thing? I really had a hard time, but ultimately opted for the kayaking. I figured I could use some exercise and the beach we were kayaking to was apparently just obscenely beautiful. I definitely made the right choice. For one, sea kayaking is way different than regular kayaking. It’s two per boat and it is serious physical labor (which I do appreciate). The waves, especially the ones crashing around the islands, were quite unruly, and I had adrenaline spikes every time the little boat went crashing down over the waves. Secondly, the scenery was just breathtaking, especially when we made our way over to Cathedral Cove (called that because the rock formations on the beach arch up into a huge cathedral like shape). The water was blue green and clear to the bottom (in the calm sections).





When we reached the beach, our guide then served up mochachinos on a blanket on the sand (it is a mystery to me how he made these little slices of heaven, but they were just delicious). After that, we kayaked back to another shore and had a dinner at the hostel with all the other lazies who chose instead to soak in the hot water beach. We spent a quiet night at the hostel in Whitianga, a popular vacation spot for people from Auckland, and I went out to a bar to have a drink before calling it a night. We struck up a lively conversation with some locals who were very entertaining and surprisingly well informed about American politics (more informed than I was…I haven’t been paying all that much attention these days). Gotta love impromptu intellectual conversations in random bars….I knew I certainly was happy to talk about something other than where I’m from and where I’m traveling, etc.

The next day, we drove to Rotorua, the geothermal center of NZ. The place is literally a hotbed…steam rises from the ground and the whole are smells of sulphur. It’s also built along a fault line so the entire town is prone to many geological disturbances. Why people choose to set up cities in such dangerous areas is beyond me, but I guess they bring in tons of money from tourism so maybe it’s worth it. When we arrived, some people opted to go Zorbing that afternoon. Zorbing is a New Zealand invention where they place you inside of a huge inflated plastic ball, fill it with warm water, and push it down a hill. You are in this ball with 2 other people, and it is basically a 10 second shit-show. You pay $50 for 10 seconds of crashing and tumbling every which way, and you come out completely discombobulated. It certainly seemed like something I’d be interested in, but I really needed to watch my money so I passed on the Zorbing and went with a few girls on my bus to a spa down the street form our hostel. Because the area is so geothermically active, there are many natural hot/alkaline pools that are supposed to be very good for your skin. I don’t really know what good it it did for my dried out, abused skin, but it was cold and rainy out and it sure was nice soaking in a sulfur hot tub for 20 minutes (even though I did smell like eggs for the rest of the day).

After the spa, we made our way to an authentic Maori dinner/performance. By authentic, I mean a tourist trap that was almost laughable in its cheesiness. I kind of knew it would be like that, but I was looking forward to a home cooked, traditional Maori meal. Who knew the Maoris liked stuffing, turkey, and cranberry sauce?? I mean really, who needs food when you can just gorge yourself on all that authenticity.

After the show, we all went out to the local bar and stayed out will way too late. It was my first night out in a solid week (a virtual crime when you’re on a tour like this). We had to be on the bus the next morning at 8am and that was enormously painful. I think I slept for about 3 hours, but I was kind of getting used to it by that point. We stopped at a geothermal reserve and through puffy, tired eyes, took a look at a huge erupting geyser and boiling mud pools. $20 to anyone who can pronounce the Maori name for the area:



After that, we got back on the bus and made our way to Witomo, famous for it’s cave systems and glow worms. The term “glow worms” is kind of a euphemism. The worms are actually maggots, and the glow is their excrement with which they attract their prey. We got all suited up in thermal wetsuits, and just getting them on would have been enough entertainment for me. It was like trying to put on a wet slug; people were jumping around and squirming and the whole thing took about a half hour to get though. Thermal wetsuits + shorts on top + dorky rubber hiking shoes = SEXY.





After suiting up, we all had to practice jumping off a waterfall backwards into an inner tube. Very funny, and very cold. We made our way into the cave and had to hike part of the way through gushing water and narrow passageways. It was freezing cold down there, but definitely very exciting. Eventually, we made our way to the part of the cave we came to see. We jumped off a waterfall into the labyrinth, and floating down a black river on our inner tubes, we looked up at the roof of the cave to see what looked like millions of stars and galaxies above us. Incredible. The glow maggots each give off one strong point of green light, so that the whole cave top is illuminated by what look like tons of star constellations. I’ve never seen anything like it; I was in awe. The worms decorate the cave all the way though the tunnels and we just floated though silently, star watching. It really was worth every penny. By the time we came out, we were all sufficiently cold and tired, but they gave us some soup afterwards and all in all, it was one of the better activities I’ve done since I came here.

After that, I was spent beyond recognition. We made our way back to the hostel, I cooked myself up some vegetables, thrilled to be eating healthy food for once (until I found that I had sautéed a piece of plastic in with my meal. I pretty much lost my appetite after that). Then I began the arduous task of checking 3 days worth of emails and tried my best to respond to them within an hour of internet time. I was not wholly successful. I cannot believe how expensive it is to get online here…just one of many things I did not factor into my budget.

So this morning, we got to sleep in till about 9am, which is truly a luxury at this point. We are now headed down south to Taupo to do some adventure activities. I signed up for the skydive, but the weather looks like it will prohibit any sort of fun. I’m very disappointed with the weather pattern we’ve been experiencing here. 4 days of straight rain can get anyone down, especially since the Tongariro crossing walk in Taupo will probably be cancelled (the walk is ranked as one of the top ten best walks in the world). The day-long walk is along a mountain range and at the end of it, you can see Mt. Doom used in the Lord of the Rings (actually, the whole walk is 4 days long and I’d do the whole thing it if I had the time to spare). If they do end up canceling the walk, I’m going to skip Taupo all together to try and make my way down south as quickly as possible. I have so little time here so I have to make sacrifices. More reason to come back I guess.

So, so far so good. The tour definitely improved, as people are getting on and off the bus all the time so we get new people at almost every stop. The first leg had a bunch of children on board, but this leg has some people I can hang with so that makes it all a lot better.

More mediocre beaches…

Yesterday our tour started off with a boat ride around the Bay of Islands in Pahia, NZ. The bay is extremely calm and beautiful, with islands jutting up everywhere spotting the water all the way to the horizon. However, the weather yesterday was not all that cooperative, so it probably wasn’t worth going on the tour. The problem was that we were on an “adventure” boat, which means that it moves extremely fast and goes airborne when it hits waves. That might have been fun had there been any waves. Even though the bay was rather still, the cold wind was no joke. I barely saw the islands as we zoomed by, as my entire face was buried in the windbreaker they gave us to wear. I would have probably have been better off tossing $60 into the sea and going back to sleep.

Once again, even though I was beyond the point of exhaustion, I had trouble getting any good sleep because the bar was raging at full throttle till 2am. I’m growing somewhat accustomed to the sound of a thumping base, but I swear, NY is quieter. The next day, we set off bright and early (I’ve seen more sunrises in the past 2 weeks than I have in my entire life) and headed to the northern-most tip of the island. The weather looked iffy, but it turned into a beautiful day later, so for that I was very thankful. Beautiful beaches just are not the same when the sky is totally overcast.

It was an action-packed day, and a lot of fun. We stopped at a pretty harbor for breakfast.



We then drove for three hours to the top of NZ (Cape Reinga) to view the spot where two oceans meet. That was a very cool sight. Waves from the east crash into waves from the west, and they break over one another in the middle of the sea. From that point, there were amazing panoramic views of a stunningly beautiful beach and the pastures that lead into it. I took some shots and stitched them together in photoshop so you can get an idea of what if looked like up there.





After that, we had lunch at another beautiful beach, and from there headed off to go sand-surfing. I had never seen -sand surfing before, but basically, you hike up a huge sand dune (ow, calves) and body board down the dune. It was really fun, and you can go VERY fast, which scared the crap out of me. When people went up for the third run, I instead grabbed my camera (partly cause the light was really cool, and partly cause even the thought of hiking up the dune again sapped my remaining energy. This is what it looks like. Apparently this is the last season they will allow sand surfing on the group tours, as it is classified as a dangerous activity. Glad I got to do it!




Following the sand surfing, the driver steered the bus onto 90 mile beach, one of the longest straight stretches of beach in the world. The busses are built for some serious off-roading, but there were times when I was pretty sure we’d tip over. Driving along that beach was truly an experience…it’s totally deserted and extremely flat, which makes for a surreal landscape. He stopped the bus and we all got out and stooped into the water to collect fresh oysters which we all ate…raw. I can’t say they were delicious, but they sure were…fresh.





A few more stops and we were back safe and sound at our hostel. I was feeling a little frustrated about the tour, not because it’s not a good tour, but because it’s not the random adventure or independent traveling that I’d been craving. Everything is set out for you, and there’s not a lot of opportunity to stray form the beaten path and do your own thing. I took a walk to check out the sunset over the bay, and got to talking with an older isreali guy who owns a hostel up the road (I swear, the Jews can just sniff one another out). We had a long chat, and he offered to show me the hostel. I came with him, and felt even more annoyed with myself after getting a taste of what I could have been doing. The hostel was so cool. Just a log cabin, in the woods, really, with about 10 backpackers staying in it at any one time. The people there were so nice and so laid-back and interesting (pretty much the opposite of the kind of people on this tour), and some girls even cooked me dinner. All of those travelers were just kind of bumming around, going from place to place with people they met along the way. Now that's how I should have done NZ. However, I only have a month here (actually only 3 weeks left) so it is what it is. Next time I’ll do it right. But what I will do on this trip is make an effort to stay at smaller, less commercial hostels where you can have potentially more interesting encounters (and a much better chance at a good night’s sleep).

Well, I’m headed back to Auckland for the night and then to Mercury bay tomorrow. All I know about Mercury bay is that it’s gorgeous, and that’s enough for me.

Auckland, the ugliest city in NZ

That is what I’ve heard, and if that’s true, I’m pretty excited for the rest of my NZ trip. I arrived here two nights ago and am already beat down and exhausted. That does not bode well for me lasting through a month at this pace!

So, back to the beginning. When I tried to book my Auckland hostel, I realized that everything was practically booked solid. I was faced with the rather unpleasant situation of having to stay in a mixed dorm (read, girls and boys). That meant two things. 1) Smelly socks and 2) chances of a death-by-snoring was imminent…for me anyway (or for the boy I would have to kill). I arrived in my room to find four 20-22 year old boys sitting around on the floor drinking beer. Of course I was the only girl in the room. We’ll creatively call boy number 1 “Brazil” (cause he was, in fact, Brazilian. What he lacked in English skills, he more than made up for in sheer bulk (he was on the…um, heavy side). We’ll call the second one “Frenchie." I shouldn’t have to tell you why, and his English was even worse than Brazil’s. The other two were also Brazilian, and collectively, they could say "hello, it is my birthday." You can imagine how the initial introductions went; the whole affair took about 20 minutes to get through.

Well, I wanted to go out (it was 2 hours earlier for me, as I was on Australia time) and these guys were going to the hostel bar next door so I figured I’d roll in with them and hopefully find some English speakers to chat with. The night officially kicked off with me challenging two British plumbers to a pool game (which I promptly lost). After that, the guys I came in with were headed to the harbor and I really wanted to see that area while I was in Auckland. At that point, they were nice enough (even though trying to talk with them gave me a massive headache) and I figured, oh why not, I could always go back to the hostel bar and wander about if I didn’t like the harbor. Out motley crew arrived at a pretty fun irish pub, but I was beginning to grow bored of their company (and of the lascivious stares of Frenchie), and wanted to leave to go somewhere else. But--oh no! Frenchie decided he wanted to stay at the pub and left me with Brazil. Great. When there were two of them, I didn’t feel bad about ditching them, but now there was only one so I was stuck. I figured it would be prudent at that point to go back to the hostel and call it a night, but luckily, when we returned, we met a group of Swedes who spoke lovely English and were quite entertaining, and figured out immediately that I was a damsel in distress. So I went back out with them, and Brazil sullenly went back to the hostel. We all went back to the irish pub and it was so much more fun having a group of people to hang out with rather than one lone random (which is effectively what I was, so I guess I shouldn’t be knockin' em). But then, who wandered over to the table? A very drunk and very solo Frenchie (who had opted to stay at the bar earlier in the night). Oh man, was he wasted. The following ridiculousness ensued:

Frenchie (insert VERY heavy pepé le peu accent): Why you not talking to me?
Me (very slowly): It’s hard to understand you and my voice hurts form having to keep repeating myself above the music.
Frenchie: Eh?
Me: (repeat above sentence)
Frenchie: Eh?
(and around and around)
Frenchie: But I want you. I WANT YOU. You understand?
Me: (Praising the lord for my good fortune) Yes, I understand. I don’t want you. Sorry.
Frencie: Why not?
Me: (Looking for the fastest, least vocal-chord splitting way out) Cause I can’t understand you.
Frenchie: But, we can, eh, maybe understand each other in another way!
Me: (Entire table wet from me spitting out my drink upon hearing such poetry).

Thank god for the Swedes, they ushered me right out of there... and off to another bar, where I stayed till 4am. It was only 2 my time, so no worries right? Well, the next day was practically a wash. I did however, meet up with the swedes for lunch the next day and we went to the sky tower which is the tallest building in Auckland. I saw people base-jumping off the top and decided that I too, wanted to base jump. It was expensive, but the rush I got leaning over the edge and letting go was almost worth it. (You’re attached to a cable and you jump or dive off the edge…not exactly bungee jumping, but sort of like that). I got to go a second time for free, and because they didn’t stop me in midair the 2nd time for a photo, it was pretty much a free fall. I screamed all the way down. And the view from the top was really outstanding. So it wasn’t a total waste of a day…I didn't bother buying the pictures; I'll wait for skydiving to burn that cash.



So that night was a Saturday, and I wanted to go out so as not to waste my last night in Auckland, but my 27-year old body was not having it, so I tried to go to sleep at 11. That didn’t work out so well…the basement bar was hopping and was blasting music till 2am. It was a miserable experience trying to sleep in those conditions. I woke up the next morning, exhausted beyond belief, for a day trip to one of the islands, but ultimately didn’t feel like going alone, so I went back to the hostel to go back to sleep. On the way back, however, I met up with some other randoms I had talked to briefly the night before who were on their way to the beach. I convinced them instead, to come to the island with me, so we spend the day mountain biking around Waiheke (a beautiful island off the coast of Auckland). It was a VERY challenging ride…the island had the audacity to not be flat) and I am now totally and completely spent. Good thing they didn’t want to go kayaking after the ride, because I was dead set on doing it. Had I pushed myself to do it, it might have been the death of me. Pictured below is sexiness incarnate.




I had to be up at 6 am the next morning for the start of my New Zealand tour, so I was tucked in at 11 pm sharp. I had heard the unfortunate news the day before that the tour I booked for the entire month I'll be traveling in NZ is full of 18 year olds. Well, it was true. Apparently there was another tour company that caters to the slightly older, 25-35 age range, but I had NO IDEA. So I'm now in NZ in the far north in a hostel with kids who I think, still have baby teeth. They are now in the bar playing drinking games and I am so not in the mood. Who knows, later, there might even be a pimple-popping contest. Needless to say, I'm a bit perturbed that the entire bus is a decade younger than I am, but I guess I'll try to make the best of it.

Great Ocean Road, just OK

I have spent the last few days in total awe (and total exhaustaion). I signed up for a 3-day tour of the great ocean road, which is basically a long stretch of highway built along the magnificent southeast coast of Australia. The whirlwind tour started off in a national park called the Grampians. We were picked up at our locations at about 7:00 in the morning, and arrived at the park about 3 hours later. We went on a hike to a beautiful waterfall and leisurely strolled though the forest and made our way to various lookout points. The day ended with our arrival at our hostel for the evening (one bathroom for 18 women…sweet!!!) and me passing out at about 10:00. The next morning was when the action really picked up. We woke up at 5:30am for a 2-hour hike up to he top of a summit in the park. I had slept somewhat decently, so I was feeling good about getting a workout even at that ungodly hour. And a workout it was. The view from the top was breathtaking, even though the photographs really don’t do it justice.



We made our way down and hopped back on the bus to begin our 2-hour trek to the coast. It started off with the bay of islands, one of the coolest rock formations I’ve ever seen. When we passed it on the bus, there was audible oohing and aahing. From there, we slowly made our way down the coastline to view other interesting formations. The day was perfection incarnate, and the blues of the water were unlike any I’ve ever seen in nature. A few of us opted for the optional helicopter ride. It was all of 7 minutes long, but the $60 was well worth it. Here’s are a few shots from inside (I was told to sit up front and wasn’t about to complain!)





The water really is that blue, and if you’re standing on the coast, there’s a long line of dark royal blue that skirts along the horizon line making the sea look hyper-real. The driver wouldn’t stop the bus because we were pressed for time, but we passed some of the most beautiful lookout points I’ve ever seen in my life. I honestly would have been content had she pulled the bus over and left me there on the side of the road. The fact that we couldn’t stop and had to enjoy the views though tinted and grimy bus windows made me more than a little sick. I realized I’d have to do the drive again, but on my own next time.

We arrived at that night’s accommodation and it was a pretty comfortable place. Sunset over the fields was almost a joke it was so beautiful. I ate dinner quickly so I could walk around the tiny town and take pictures. That was the one night we actually had some time in which I could take a breath and walk around at my own pace. I was very thankful for the free hour.







We then left to watch sunset over the Twelve Apostles, probably the most famous of the rock formations along the road. There are actually only 8 of them, as a few have crumbled into the sea, but man, the 8 were working hard. To be honest, I think some of the other stops from earlier in the day would have boasted better sunset views, but this one wasn’t too shabby.



After sunset (which we were really lucky to have seen because the weather has been very unpredictable around here), we went back the hostel and sat around and drank and played cards. I was asleep bed by 11, but wine has the quite annoying tendency to put me to sleep for about 1 hour, then to keep me awake for the rest of the night. I really should have known better, because between the ill effects of the wine, an insufferable snorer, and a mosquito that bit my face not once but 6 times over the course of the night, I got about 2 hours of good sleep. When I woke up at 5:30 with a swollen eye (my eyelids are delicious to mosquitoes), other red splotches decorating the rest of my face, and dark circles under my eyes, I looked like a circus clown. I mean, I’m kinda learning to care less about my appearance anyway as it’s a hassle to wear makeup all the time and all my clothes are stained and worn-out already, but really, I could have down without the facial deformities, thank you.

We headed out of the hostel and once again, passed a sunrise scene over the fields that almost made my heart stop, but we were on a schedule and so I inwardly screamed at not being able to capture that moment. I think I actually wanted to kill the bus driver. Sunrise along the beach was almost as beautiful as sunset, but the clouds started rolling in threatening rain and cold temps. Although the clouds were an annoyance for better part of the morning, as the day wore on they broke up and actually made the views much more interesting.




The next stop along the way was a treetop walk in the train forest. There are huge steel walkways I don’t even know how many feet up in the air that are so high that they put you at eye-level with the rainforest canopy. There are only 2 of these structures int he world, and they are very cool, and very scary (considering the platforms are designed to move as you are walking on them).



We stopped for a half hour lunch at Apollo beach (named for the explorer who discovered it, but I’d like to think it’s because of the otherworldly quality of the landscape and sea). When we arrived at the beach, everyone ran to get lunch as we only had 30 minutes and some didn’t even get a chance to venture onto the beach, but the sun came out as we were ordering food, so I gave my order to a friend and ran outside to take some shots. I almost missed lunch entirely, but it would have been worth it. The dark clouds and the light coming in form the side for all of 5 minutes made the scene so spectacular that once again, the photos barely do it justice.




After that, we made our way to the actual great ocean road, which follows the coastline and you get views of the sapphire ocean all the way down. We stopped at a surf town to do some shopping and I was so irritated that the guide wouldn’t stop the bus at scenic overlooks so that we could have more time in a shopping center. Ouf of protest (and virtually out of money), I refrained from buying clothes, and had a muffin instead. After that, we stopped at a koala reserve to see the cuddly little things in the wild. I had never seen one up until that point and they are SO ADORABLE! They apparently aren’t very nice, but all I wanted to do was grab one off the tree and hug it. If it’s possible to die of an overdose of cuteness, I almost did. The leaves were blocking him, but AWWWW!



So that was the great ocean road. Sorry for the never-ending post, but I didn’t want to leave anything out. I cannot wait to do that road again someday on my own (although I’m glad I did the tour so I know what I want to see and where I want to be next time). I left out a lot of great pics of the ocean at mid-day, but alas, I can't post them all to this blog.

So now, it’s another few days in Melbourne before heading off to New Zealand for a month. I really like this city…definitely very different than Sydney in that it’s got a funkier, more laid-back vibe. The hostel I’m staying at is very posh as far as hostels go (the place I stayed in when I got here last week was a wreck… I got into the room after midnight and it looked like someone had placed dirty socks, cake, empty beer bottles, bags of chips, and shoes into a plastic bag, then exploded it all over the room). I couldn’t believe people, even backpackers, could stand such filth. I would have taken a picture and titled it “oh, the horror, part 2” but I was too tired to think and missed the moment.

Oh, the horror!

Yesterday, after my morning walk and a long nap, I figured it was time to brave the waves once again. This time, I would go at it alone, and I was sure I’d be fine... after all, I had handled myself with some measure of grace the last time. I lugged the huge surfboard to the beach and wasted no time paddling out to where the other surfers were stationed. On the way out, however, some unruly waves started giving me a serious thrashing. Ok, gulp, no worries, gulp. Ugh, that was a lot of saltwater. Cough. Gag. Then I saw it. A huge wave that was clearly going to break right on top of me. Now, an experienced surfer might have rolled under the board or dove under the wave. I on the other hand, grit my teeth and brilliantly tried to block the wave with my board. Take that, evil wave!! Well, down I went, the wave from hell tossing me this way and that. I came up for air only to be pummeled by yet another monster. Finally, I was able to get my bearings and assess the situation. Surf board? Check. Limbs intact? Check. Bikini top? Check. Bottom? Ugh… oh god. Oh GOD.

The wave had torn my bikini bottom clear off my body. I fished around on the floor of the ocean in some vain hope that I’d find something other than seaweed. It was not looking good. Wave after wave kept coming at me and there I was, the fear of drowning supplanted only by the mortification of coming back to shore with NOTHING ON. (There’s a show here called Bondi Rescue and I saw flashes of myself being pulled to shore sans bottom, on national television). After what seemed like an eternity, my panicked hand brushed against some fabric. It seemed to be near my ankle and I pulled it out of the water. At that moment, the heavens shone down upon me and I heard angels singing. There they were, in all their zebra-printed splendor. They had gotten snagged by the cord that attached my ankle to the board. It took me another 5 god-awful minutes to get them back on, as they were totally caught up in the cord and I wasn’t exactly standing on steady ground.

Well, I was only out in the waves for about 8 minutes, but I think that was 7 minutes too long. I dragged myself back in to shore and practically fell to my knees in gratitude for being spared the ultimate in humiliation. I did however, keep laughing at how awful/hilarious it would have been had the bottoms been lost at sea for good. Oh, yes. When in Australia, do as the Aussies do and wear some freakin board shorts.

5 am for photos...

The weather here has been very unpredictable, and every time I've had the energy to wake myself up at dawn to get my sunrise shots over Bondi, the sky would invariably be overcast and rain would be coming down in torrents. Well, I checked the weather report incessantly yesterday and made sure I was in bed by 10 so I could be up and at my location as the sun was rising. I got out at just the right time, though it took an hour to walk to the cliff top cemetery, so the light was a bit too bright. I guess 7:30 is just not early enough. Anyway, here are a select few of the 150+ shots I got. Finally, I got to use my treasured tripod! I'm so excited to be taking pictures again and to be inspired by my surroundings.










If I can get a nap in, the rest of today will be spent surfing (went out a few days ago with my friend who gave me the following instruction: Paddle out, turn around, wait for a wave, start paddling hard, stand up. She didn't tell me just how much sea water I'd be swallowing in the process, but I have to say, despite the beating I took (even my rib cage is sore), I'm kind of hooked.

Tonight will be another early night for me because the ferry ride to the island is actually going to happen tomorrow morning. I can't believe it's for real, that this perfect opportunity to take the kind of pictures I came here to take just fell into my lap. It's all weirdly serendipitous. I'm getting picked up at my door, and we will be heading off to this industrial waste land in the middle of the harbor to get early morning shots. Hopefully they will be much darker, moodier photos than the ones I have posted here. There will also be a person with us who knows the history of the island and all these cool secret spots, so I'm pretty psyched about the fact that there will be some knowledge behind the pictures I'll be taking. It is supposed to rain tomorrow which will either make the shots really cool or annoy the hell out of me. Stay tuned...