[rabble] Steph's Travels Newsletter

[Strange Blue Sky]

So I realize it's been far too long to start doing newsletters, and my
only excuse is that I attempted it, and realized that it didn't work, but
failed to address the issues. I still haven't addressed the issues but
instead I've decided to do it the old fashoined way with a simple email.

This is part 1 & 2 combined to make one VERY very long email, so I'm
apologizing in advance. Please forgive for the length; I'm just trying to
squeeze in 6 months worth of travel in a few pages. I hope I'll do more
newsletters in the future, when I get on the road again. I won't have to
try to fit so much in that way.

If you don't want to get these emails, just hit reply and I'll take your
name off the list, no questions asked!

Take care,
Steph


----- Part 1: New Zealand Stop-over -----
I love intercontinental flights! No matter what class of seating I've got,
I feel like it's a wonderfully comfortable ride. The free booze with a
meal, the pillows and the friendly service -- why can't every flight be
this nice? If the bus were like this, I wouldn't mind it so much.
The flight from LA to Auckland was the longest night I've ever been
through. At some point after the meal, I fell asleep (it was after
midnight in Edmonton) and woke up what would have been about 9am. Of
course, everything outside my tiny window looked exactly the same.
My first impressions were that Auckland was amazing. Palm trees and
flowers line the streets; the sun was warm and bright, people (Greg and I
included) were breakfasting on the cafe patios or jogging along the
waterfront. Greg's house is tucked away in the Eastern Bays (Kohimarama)
so it's a very residential area... for some reason it reminded me of
California.

We visited the closest island, Rangitoto; a 600 year old volcano - the
most recently active one in the area. It.s covered in lush green plant
life, but on the climb to the top we often passed patches of lava rock
where the vegetation has yet to grow in. It seemed odd that these patches
would exist; they.re a bit like a clearing in the woods, except instead of
grasses, there.s nothing but a pile of black rocks. I found this to be a
bit odd, considering the age of the island, but the information apparently
it was typical: A patch of rock would go through all the stages of plant
growth, from lichen to trees, and that these islands of vegetation would
eventually reach other such islands to cover Rangitoto entirely.
The plant life seemed to me to be extraordinarily exotic, but at the same
time they weren't all that different. The Kidney Fern Glen walk we took on
the way back was a treat as it passed through some very tropical, very
humid landscape. But the trees lining the walk to the summit were only
different in that their shape, their leaves and bark were unfamiliar. They
were still trees, held the form of trees, even if I couldn.t name them.
The view from the summit was spectacular; I especially enjoyed the colour
of the water . the blue of the South Pacific.
As we were boarding the Ferry, I noticed a couple ahead of us pointing in
the water and turned to take a look. I caught a glimpse of a creature in
the water below us. After watching it swim through the water a while, Greg
identified it as a penguin! I couldn.t believe it! This little creature
swimming by himself in the water (I have no idea whether it was warm or
cold, but the days have been fairly warm for .winter.), poking his head
out now and then was actually a little blue penguin! What a treat for my
second day in New Zealand!

Greg and I managed to do a couple touristy things, one of which was visit
the Sky Tower. It may not be as tall as the CN tower (I think the
observation deck is about 180m up) but the view is certainly a lot better.
We arrived with just enough time to witness a wonderful sunset. You might
think that evening isn't the best viewing time for something like this,
but I think it's great. We arrived during the day, and left when it was
night. We got to see the lights all over the city coming on, and with the
heat of day rapidly dissipating, the views over the water were actually
quite clear.

The next highlight was my ski trip to Ruhapehu (the North Island's
biggest, highest, bestest active volcanic mountain) to ski Whakapapa
(pronounced FUK'-a-pa-pa) with Greg's flatmate, Julie, and couple of other
cyclist friends. I wish I could put into words that incredible experience.
I wish I had spectacular photos to share that could capture the feeling of
being on top of the world. I wish there was some way I could share it all,
but I can't. It was just too good to capture; something is inevitably lost
in the translation. Of course, I tried anyway, but it's just too long to
put in here. Go read:
http://www.strangebluesky.com

After the ski weekend, I left on a quick jaunt around the North Island
with a hop-on/hop-off tour company. There was something incredible or
breathtaking at each stop. In the first four days, we hadn't travelled too
far on the map, but all the places we stayed and the sights we saw were so
unique, we could have been transported to entirely different islands.

The nice thing about Stray Travel, and about our driver, James, was that
he would put an extra effort into making sure everybody had something to
do (not all the time, but he was full of suggestions, and open to stopping
anywhere someone was interested). The afternoon of that first day, he
brought us to a winery where they grew mostly fruit to make very tasty
liqueurs of all kinds - kiwi, feijoa, boysenberry, black cherry,
strawberry. as well as fruit wines (but they were sold out of the
kiwifruit wine) and some hard liquor (including a very nice lemon gin,
which I ended up buying for Julie). After consuming a small amount of all
these very nice drinks, we headed to the water where the tide was out far
enough for the group of us (along with dozens already there) to crowd into
pools dug out of the sand at Hot Water Beach. Eventually the tide came in,
the cold water spilled into the hot pools, easily tearing down the small
sand walls we had built up. From the beach we drove back into Hahei, and
up to the beginning of the walk to Cathedral Cove. The beach, the masses
of rock sticking out from the water, the cave we walked through, the trees
on the way. it was all so incredible.  We made the walk from the cove back
into Hahei where we were staying the night at a backpacker lodge in a
campground
That night, James cooked up a barbeque of Chicken breast, sausage, potato
& fish patties, and a colourful tossed salad. It seemed like we were the
only ones around for miles; the night was dark and cold and the stars were
magnificent.

The next morning we departed for Raglan, driving back through the winding
roads we'd seen the previous day. We arrived early in the afternoon, and
while some tried their hand at surfing, the rest of us discovered what
Raglan had to offer. The place we stayed was reminiscent of summer camp,
and indeed, there would be groups of children learning to surf for weeks
at a time in the summer, but at the moment the staff, composed of other
backpackers, and our group were the only occupants. Not only was the
accommodation set up (lodges in rows like a motel, built up the side of
the mountain, buried in the trees and connected by stone paths and steps)
just like camp, so were the zipline (called a Flying Fox here), the ropes
course, the games in the main hall... I wondered for a while, where were
all the adults? We were treated by an excellent Mexican dinner by the
local chef, another backpacker who'd stopped along his travels at this
enchanted place.

Our third morning out took us first to Waitomo to see some incredible
caves (some of our group went tubing through them) and then on to Rotorua.
This city of about 80 000 was originally a Maori settlement on the edge of
a lake. Throughout the town, sulphuric mud and geothermal pools break
through the surface of the earth, spewing hot steam and an awful sulphur
smell. This was actually an advantage to the Maori living here, as they
developed a method of cooking food in the hot pools unique to the area,
and hot baths/spas were everywhere.  This was our cultural night to spend
time with a Maori family and ask any questions.  We were served Hangi (the
traditional food, now cooked in something resembling a kiln) and learned
about some weapons and games the maori children play (we were very very
awful at these!). The guys learned a Huka (a kind a battle chant), and we
became a guinea pig audience for a play/presentation.

>From Rotorua, we travelled to Taupo, stopping for a short dip in a hot
water river (reminiscent of the hot springs along the Alaska Highway).
The river went over some rocks and gathered in a pool where we swam/waded,
beers in hand.  The hostel in Taupo put our group together in one large
dorm room that comprised the upper floor of the building.  The door opened
to a stairwell that led to a spacious room with vaulted ceilings, six
bunks and more floor space than most of us had seen for weeks.  Taupo was
large enough to have a nightlife, and many backpackers headed to the pub
after the pool tournament in the hostel bar.

The next morning, we waved goodbye to a few travellers who decided to hop
off the bus and spend an extra day in Taupo waiting for the return shuttle
to Auckland. The rest of us headed past the three volcanoes (the middle
one was Mount Doom) to the resort at the bottom of Mt. Ruapehu.  The
relaxing sunny day was spent on a warm rock with a book, since skiing
again (heartbreakingly) wouldn't work into my time frame. The evening at
the beautiful Skotel lodge (highest in New Zealand at over 1100m above sea
level) was a quiet and calm one, and we all turned in early for the night.

Beyond the National Park, we cruised toward Wellington with a few breaks
for views of the ever-changing New Zealand countryside.  We were treated
to another spectacular display of Mt Taganaki, 160km away on the south
western corner of the North Island. In Wellington, we settled in at the
hostel, wandered around for a few hours, and met up at the Embassy Theatre
for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A couple of beers and a couple of
bars later, those of us still out said our farewells to the people
continuing to the South Island. The remaining group decided to do some
sight seeing together the following morning, climbing Mount Victoria to
find the location some scenes from Lord Of The Rings were filmed. We
pretended to be hobbits running away from the Black Riders It didn't take
a big stretch of the imagination -- the size of the trees forced people
only a few metres away to appear as small as a Halfling.
I walked around the botanical gardens at the top of the cable car with a
travel companion from our bus, but we took too long finding our
destination to visit the planetarium before closing. We called it an early
night after a late supper and changed hostels in the morning. From there,
we visited the National Museum, Te Papa. Okay, actually we visited a small
portion of the museum over the course of several hours until information
overload forced us back to browse the shops of Cuba St. The exhibits were
fantastic, and I regret not having more time in Wellington to see the
rest. Early the next morning, I was on a plane to Aukland as the sun was
rising.

I spent another day wandering around Auckland in the rain, then packed up
and left the next morning  -- also in the rain.  And here I am above
Sydney, looking out over the sprawl of city, the late afternoon sun
lighting up the water, giving a dusty orange glow to the buildings. It's
showing me what I've waited so long to experience; I can't wait to get
down there and begin my Australian adventure!


----- Part 2: Australia East Coast -----
Sydney: a beautiful city, everything I imagined and more than I possibly
could have pictured.  How do you create an image in your mind of something
you.ve never experienced?  Beaches and rocks and ocean and people with
this crazy accent and city that just keeps going. It was almost like any
other city I.ve ever seen, but so much was different.
Like any place where the differences are subtle, I felt so overwhelmed. I
had begun to become used to the palm trees and driving on the left and the
way streets would wind through the city, curving over hills and around the
waterfronts. Here, though, I felt dazed from the flight and the
anticipation. It was like I had been holding my breath for a year and
could finally exhale. And it felt like I kept exhaling for weeks!

The subtleties began to wear off over time, but little things like light
switches where on is down, shops with overhangs and signs, butchers and
newsagents and take-away fish shops conspired to make me feel out of
place, just when I was beginning to feel settled in. In the first few
weeks, I travelled with Helen to the Australian Reptile Park, visited
Manly Beach (but the water was still much too cold to swim), spent a
Friday night out with Helen and her friends in the city -- which
inevitably led to a Saturday morning in the city. Staying on the Northern
Beaches, I was somewhat removed from the hustle and bustle that
characterises Sydney city, and life was more relaxed: laid back in the sun
on the beach or sipping a coffee on a patio outside a cafe. I visited a
friend living on an island just north of the beaches, in Pittwater region
looking over the water into dense eucalyptus National Park. I was amazed
to find such natural beauty in a city, that my friend's drive to work was
on a windy road through the forest and over the hills that defined the
shape of the waterfront. It was a coastline I had never before
experienced, that I couldn't picture looking at the strange lines on a
map. I still sometimes find it overwhelming trying to understand how the
trees grow right up to the edge of the water, how the land seems to grow
out of the water.
I spent about six weeks in and around Syndey's north before meeting Ben
and Brendan, acquaintances of Helen's through too many degrees to make
sense (Brendan is Helen's boyfriend's flatmate's sister's ex-boyfriend;
Ben is his friend.  See? I told you!). Ben had just quit his job so after
spending an incredibly fun weekend in Manly snorkelling, staying up all
night talking, and walking halfway around the Middle Head (the middle
bunch of rocks between Manly and Sydney), we met up two days later in the
city, forked out too much money to see the city from Sydney tower, decided
that we'd much rather hang out in the mountains and were out of town by
7pm that night -- after 6 hours of stops for food, clothes, equipment,
etc, etc, etc.  We spent the night in a pub/hotel and visited Jenolan
Caves the next morning for an "adventure" tour in the caves, with only two
tour guides and ourselves on the expedition. Equipped with helmets and
lights, battery packs and suited in coveralls, we were ready for abseiling
(belaying) and crawling in the dark over dusty rocks. The highlight was
our own personal tour guides; Ben started asking questions and the guides
were not only very knowledgeable and excited about what they did and our
interest in it, they were also able to articulate clear answers to
everything we asked and tell great stories about the history of the caves.
It only cost us $50 for two hours but I would have paid more. We just
began squeezing ourselves into the small crawling holes and really getting
into it when suddenly the caves opened up, a set of stairs before us
carved into the rocks and the guides told us it was over. Of course, we
went back for more, two weeks later, on a longer 6-hour tour very
different from this short excursion. There were 10 people and 4 guides,
the caves were very different and I think both of us agree that
the first, personalized tour stands out as the more enjoyable of the two.
Having spent so long describing the experience, I'm sure you also realize
this was one of the highlights of my trip so far!
After the caving, we spent another day or two visiting lookouts and
walking tracks at various parts of the National Park. A full day of
walking through bush and fern-filled valley and around a cliff to the
bottom of a waterfall and finally to the top of the waterfall on a track
that was designated "expert walkers only" was another highlight. Nights of
learning to play Eucher and teaching other card games, rain sending us
back to Ben's place only an hour's drive from the mountains (in Sydney's
Western suburbs).
The next day we headed back, with more people, for a weekend camping trip
in a different spot, first in a clearing near a dam (where too many flies
congregated in the heat of day, tirelessly assailing the same spot) then
in a camping area next to a creek. Again, rain sent us packing and on our
way home early Sunday morning, but the drive through the rolling hills and
stubby peaks covered in mist and wispy cloud was a beautiful sight to end
the trip. By Wednesday, Ben, Brendan and I were at the beach again,
deciding to head back to the beauty of the mountains for a third time.
More camping, drinking, card-playing, walking through different parts of
the mountains, playing guitar on an outcropping all night, enjoying the
night sky (I finally discovered how to look at Orion (the only
constellation shared between northern and southern hemispheres) in the
proper orientation - it was upside down!!), visiting the Three Sisters at
6am just after sunrise, abandoning the touristy built-up areas for a
supposed two-hour walk that was cut short less than halfway to our goal
after 2.5 hours and the decision after a few days to head to down the
South Coast, all of us venturing into new territory.

We stopped in at the blowhole at Kiama briefly, and so many small holiday
beach communities that were charging far too much to set up camp. We made
it to Bateman's Bay, partied for a night, but funds were running low and
began to head back to Sydney with a short delay for a walk in the
rainforest near Pebbly Beach. Before actually finding the walking track,
we stumbled upon the most fantastically inviting campsite so close to the
ocean that you could hear the waves breaking from inside the tent, filled
with the sweet-smelling cool fresh air of the rainforest. Kangaroos (or
maybe wallabies -- they were pretty small) lounged around on the grass and
birds serenaded us all day.  We stayed there three nights and finally went
back to Sydney. The effect of the previous couple of days away had quite
the effect, and we decided that instead of returning to the city to the
same old jobs, we'd travel north to Queensland for work. We left early
(4am) morning and arrived just across the border 13 hours later. We spent
a week in Coolangatta/Surfer's Paradise (Gold Coast) without luck, trying
nearby Brisbane (Queensland's capital) temp agencies. When we couldn't
find cheap accommodation or work we headed north again, stopping at Great
Keppel Island for a day of snorkelling and another day of rest, then drove
all the way to Townsville in one stint. A week in a backpacker's without
air conditioning in the middle summer (avg temp outside ~= 35, avg temp
inside ~= 45) made us more than eager to leave, heading for the cooler
rainforest to the North. After an unsuccessful attempt at fruit picking
(only because the place we'd have to stay was worse than Townsville) in
shit-hole town Tully brought us to Cairns for my birthday on another
sweltering day. Ben found work almost immediately in his trade, Brendan.s
presence was sparse, travelling around the area with some new friends he'd
made, and I sprained my ankle the day after we'd booked a dive package
(PADI certification and 2 day liveaboard on the Great Barrier Reef).

Brendan returned to Sydney, I stayed in bed, and Ben worked. Just after
New Year's we moved into a studio unit and signed a three month lease. I
looked for work but still being unable to walk properly, there wasn't much
I could do. We flew back to Sydney for a week visit, I swam in the ocean
again - impossible up in the tropics in summer because of the poisonous
marine life (crocodiles and several kinds of jellyfish). Sydney beaches
are AMAZING! Less than a week after returning to Cairns, I'd found a full
time job as an Electrical Drafter. The pay and the perks are sweet, but
I'd rather be travelling. My foot is still healing (3.5 months after the
sprain) so I guess I don't have much choice in staying put for a while. We
bought a '90 4x4 Mitsubishi Pajero after I was rear ended driving home
from work and Ben's car was written off. I'm looking forward to outfitting
it and taking it on roads we'd have been uncomfortable driving with a
Neon. I can walk now, so we're spending a bit of time sight-seeing around
here; last week we toured Barron Falls up in the rainforest - a bit built
up for tourists, but I couldn't complain because the boardwalks made it
accessible for me.

Once all this rain stops (oh yeah - Cyclone Larry hit just 65km south of
us, a Level 5 cyclone when it hit that diminished to level4 for the
majority of the onslaught. what an experience! I'm almost sorry I wasn't
in Innisfail, in the thick of it), I hope we'll go up to the tablelands to
do some camping and general outdoorsy things, and there's talk of heading
to a music festival for Easter weekend. I also hope to do my diving this
month, as long as I can pass the medical. By early May we should be ready
to go again, travelling the rest of the country in three months. Not
exactly the way I would have chosen to do it, but it was out of my hands
and I'm glad to have stayed here, in a place so different from what I'm
used to. I am serenaded by tropical birds every morning, fruit bats and
geckos each night. I can stand outside on a hot sunny day and suddenly be
soaked in a tropical rainstorm that hits so fast with so much rain that
the gutters become rivers in a matter of minutes (this is a daily
occurrence!). I pass palms and the exposed roots of figs every time I
leave my place, and the water in the ocean is sometimes warmer than the
air around me. There is so much life in the rainforest, along the beaches,
in the ocean -- all around me things are growing. It's a beautiful place
to hang out for a while.

Of course, this is merely a brief version of all the things we did, saw,
ate, felt, smelt... I am trying to encompass six months of travel into
only a few pages. I know I should have sent this newsletter out more
often, but I did manage to keep up the details on the website if you're
interested. Some photos have also been updated.
http://www.strangebluesky.com