Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Nothing better than a day of bartering in the markets..
When Birmy haggled for Rolex watches and bartered from 800,000 Vietnamese Dong down to 200,000 (10 dollars), Carley managed to pay more after feeling bad for the Vietnamese vendors as she was paying less than a dollar for jewelry. Hopefully by the end of our 2 months in Asia she will learn a couple tricks.
Just your average intersection in Ho Chi Minh City...
You must watch this clip...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azxQx1tX-0o
There are no cross walks, there are no street lights- you just have to blindly cross at your own risk. The only advice you are given is to just walk into moving traffic and the bikes will avoid you, and even though its 20 lanes of bikes going all different directions...they do.
Stevie Ray- this is where you should have been playing Frogger
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Chao ong from Vietnam!
We made it to Vietnam in one piece after 3 flights yesterday! We arrived to the cleanest and friendliest airport we have been to yet! We have a day in Ho Chi Minh City, and then are flying to Hanoi later tonight to begin our bike trip. We just had a breakfast cooked specially for us by the family we are staying with, and are now ready for our day out! Vietnam does not allow you to get on facebook via computer, so it will be hard to contact some of you- so bcnoodles it is! We are gearing up for our bike trip- first stop today will be the shoe store for Birmy. Hopefully he will make it through in one piece since he plans to start the trek of Nam without sneakers and with massive blisters!...Welp that is all for now!! Hope all is well!!
New Zealand!
After coming to an end of our two weeks spent road tripping throughout the South Island we have absorbed two major ideas from New Zealand; the concept of time, and slowing down. A lot of what New Zealand can teach its spectators is the story of time; and how time has affected these islands differently from the rest of the world, to make it a truly unique place to visit. New Zealand has stood the test of time in the sense that it really has not been altered much by anything even though you sense a very ancient feel from the infinite mountain regions, lakes, and green lands. If 2000 people lived on the South Island we couldn’t begin to explain to you where they reside, we have driven south to north and west to east, and have passed through towns with only a few families. Some of these towns may appear to be stuck in time, as they operate through one co-op, a gas station, and bar where the decorations are from the settlers 100s of years ago. In terms of slowing down, you could interpret this literally because driving here is like competing in the Dayota 500 if it were located on the jagged cliffs, where one wrong turn could give you splash landing in the Tasman Sea. However, if you are a visitor to New Zealand you are forced to slow down just so you can begin to absorb the beauty of the land whether it be the sun that increases the contrast along the mountain ranges, or the golden color that is created along the mountains from avalanches, and mud slides. We have also realized to really appreciate the efforts of the local people in this country. There is no 711 down the street to grab late night food or a Gatorade, instead there are hours between little towns where you can find your bare essentials, and local goods to help you lead a peaceful and happy life. New Zealanders also just truly understand today’s environmental concerns and preserving the glory of nature’s creations.
After putting 100s of kilometers on our new Rav 4; we have driven from Queenstown to Christchurch, and what feels like everything in between. One amazing thing about this place is also that you can find yourself starting your day in a torrential down pour, to admiring a glacier, to visiting a rainforest, to driving through dry mountain ranges to enjoy a warm sunset with blue skies on the beach. We have admired all types of landscapes on the island and our adventure began in Queenstown for a couple of days until we moved out to Fiordland National Park. After enjoying Milford Sound, we heard from a friendly English couple that Doubtful Sound was an absolute must, and right they were.
Within 5 minutes of leaving the dock it was evident we were in for a special day, with the scenery getting better every minute. Fiordland National Park is one of the most famous parks in the world, however many believe it is much better to visit in the rain. Thankfully, because it rains well over 200 days a year, and it did not rain the previous day in Milford, we were banking on a nice rainy day, and that is what we got. After a 50 minute boat ride, and our first taste of 100s of waterfalls, beautiful mountains that were covered in any shade of green you can think of and endless amounts of untouched land, we made it to our first destination, and were prepared to start the second leg of the trip- our bus ride. Doug and Carley hopped on to the bus, and were ready to take the trip to Doubtful Sound to get our 3 hour cruise under way, but our driver Chris insisted on showing us the local turbine power plant. We drove down a tunnel 6 inches bigger than the size of the bus, only to look at turbines for 30 minutes to realize we were all nauseous from claustrophobia. This was dragged out for what felt like forever, until the wanna-be engineers felt they truly understood every ounce of the structure. For those less inclined to have a technical lesson on vacation, the bus was luckily open for those that enjoyed relaxing in a tunnel 100s of feet under ground and water. We made our way out of the tunnel boarded a large catamaran, and were the only boat headed out to the very large sound for the rest of the day. Since this Sound is only accessible by boat, and then car, we were completely on our own with Mother Nature for the afternoon. The rain increased the number and intensity of the waterfalls, and created a mist that again reminded us of Jurassic Park. We peacefully and very silently cruised through canals covered in thick trees and jagged coasts, until we reached the Tasman Sea. At this point the captain turned off the engines, asked everyone to be still; and we stood in absolute silence looking into this magical place for a couple of minutes. This Sound touches you with all from water, plants, the wide spectrum of soil all to large seals and different wildlife. Without a “doubt”, this should be one of your first stops in New Zealand.
We departed at 9 pm for Wanaka, and finally arrived at 12 45 after a ridiculously windy ride, and all we wanted to do was sleep. Too bad because we were locked out of our hotel, and after an hour of trying to find any open establishment we were ready to turn around until we found the only place in the area that was open, a resort in the suburbs of Wanaka. After a nice sleep there, we were off to Westland and to see the Glacier Country. The ride was somewhat less mountainous than those before because we were driving along the western coast up about mid way to Franz Josef glacier. We had out first experience with the Tasman Sea at a beach that looked a little different than those we saw along the coast of Victoria on the Great Ocean Road. It was a rainy day with fierce winds, and the tides of this beach could turn boys into men. Even though the weather was rough, some rock farming was in order, we walked the beach and progressed towards Fox Glacier, stopped into an old bar stuck in the 1800s, then made it to Franz Josef Glacier. At this point, it was pouring sheets of rain, which is apparently entirely normal for “glacier country” and we were checked into our room. We got in, and the room had 3 triple beds and was obviously decorated by Marsha Brady. So we sat, and enjoyed the ambiance of what looked liked Fes’s room from That 70s Show for the afternoon.
In Franz Josef there are very few dining options, or much of anything. It is a cute little mountain town, with tourist traps, 2 bars, a few hotels and restaurants, and Speights. We obviously liked this place, and would recommend the restaurant to everyone as we did have our dinner, breakfast and then lunch there. After a light dinner consisting of garlic bread, obscene servings of local meat, “chips”, and vegetables, we called it a night. The next day was spent exploring the glacier; we did three walks though the National Park, and then headed up towards the glacier. This walk was unlike anything we had ever seen, it was just a massive rockland, many waterfalls, with a monstrous glacier right in front of you which you could hike up into, which was awesome! This was definitely one of the favorite walks we had done thus far in our trip.
We left this small mountain town behind us, and headed up the west coast of the island to Punakaki. This three hour drive was along the amazing Tasman coast with incredible impressive views along the way. There were a few coastal towns along the way that were initially established to support the gold mining, that we stopped into, but it was mainly the sunset in Punakaki we were after! We approached the “town”, which was not a town, just more coastal land with a single lane highway running through it. The place we stayed in was a little cabin, right along the beach, nestled in forest to protect you from the highway. It was an incredibly peaceful area, and a great place to stay to get a feel for the coastal life in New Zealand. It was time for sunset, so we grabbed some of our stocked up duty free champagne then headed to the beach to toast to this amazing place! We got there early, and stayed about a half hour late because the sunset was so unbelievable. The jetties, beach, and surrounding cow pastures were the only thing aside from the ocean in site, and it was a new feeling to relax when you knew there was nothing around you. Since there was only one bar, and a resort within an hour of the cabin; we decided we needed to weasel into the resort for a nice dinner to follow the sunset. After Carley got turned down, probably because she had not showered in 3 days, and lied about staying in the resort; her Dad came to her rescue and secured a table along the waterfront.
The following day consisted of a walk through the Pancake Rocks, another picturesque setting; and a nice day on the beach. We sadly said goodbye to the west coast and headed towards our last stop, Christchurch. This drive is INCREDIBLE. The only way to describe it is that you absolutely must do it in your lifetime, or hire someone to do it if windy roads, and steep cliffs aren’t your thing. We were basically driving west to east through Arthurs Pass National Park. Even though the drive took nearly 5 hours, not a minute went by when we were not in awe; again. This is clearly a recurring theme for the South Island. We stopped to take pictures nearly 100 times, and each time it got better and better. There were literally two “towns” along the way, each with minor co-ops, adorable b & b’s, a bar, and a restaurant. The town of Arthurs Pass was a stop along the way, where we had some coffee and a beer, in an old restaurant that has not changed since the settlers initially started the town. The walls were covered in black and white photos with pictures from the Oregon Trail, all centered around the focal point of the place; an old pool table. We drove 30 minutes further down the road, and were dumbstruck by the mountain range a head of us. We once again, pulled over, and relaxed there for an hour. In that time no more than 3 cars passed this stop off, and we were in absolute silence, unless we were talking about how crazy this place was. Skiers and snowboarders- we can only imagine this area in the wintertime. We watched another sunset, further down the road; just the 3 of us, with 3 cold beers Birmy randomly had in his backpack and took in what we thought would be our last sunset in a surreal surrounding.
We got to Christchurch, and were immediately disengaged because we came from such peaceful isolation and were now thrown into a city-with no meadows, mountains, and waterfalls. After a 30 minute walk through the city center the next morning, we decided another country adventure was in order. We hopped in the Rav 4, headed out further to a little knob along the coast Akaroa. This was the best decision we could have made to capitalize on Birmy’s last time behind the wheel. We parked the car got out, and walked through the town stopping for gelato, smoothies, and browsing in little shops, and plopped ourselves down at a table, literally over the water on the beach. We did not end up moving for 6 hours, after a few bottles of wine, our last sunset together, we decided to have dinner before heading back to Christchurch. Our final dinner may have been the best; we all had the exact same meal an aged fillet with seafood chowder, and drove back to the city. We said our goodbyes in the morning, and were all very sad our time in New Zealand was over. One, because Carley’s Dad was headed back home, and two because we were back to reality- of backpacks, hostels, public transportation, and showering with shoes. Reality hit hard right when our free internet gave out in the lobby of our hotel. This ruined our plan of using the hotel’s amenities all day. Unfortunately, we had no plans for accommodation that night, and no internet, so we had to rely on a native to point us in the right direction. The cab was here, we hopped in and asked him to take us to hostel. Reality realllly hit when we were dropped off at the local jailhouse, which we had already posted about.
No offense to its fans, or Kiwis, but Christchurch is a concrete, steel jungle-and unless it is the airport, we would never suggest coming back here unless you make the journey out to Akaroa. However, we are finishing up this post now feeling incredibly lucky and sad, because news had just hit about 3 major earthquakes hitting the center of the town- leaving incredible destruction and 65+ deaths. An earthquake already devastated the city in September, and after 6 months of hard work and restoration to clean the city up it; it is awful to imagine the effects of another. All in all, New Zealand will be missed; its natural beauty and positive peaceful vibes are something that everyone should witness at one point in their life.
After putting 100s of kilometers on our new Rav 4; we have driven from Queenstown to Christchurch, and what feels like everything in between. One amazing thing about this place is also that you can find yourself starting your day in a torrential down pour, to admiring a glacier, to visiting a rainforest, to driving through dry mountain ranges to enjoy a warm sunset with blue skies on the beach. We have admired all types of landscapes on the island and our adventure began in Queenstown for a couple of days until we moved out to Fiordland National Park. After enjoying Milford Sound, we heard from a friendly English couple that Doubtful Sound was an absolute must, and right they were.
Within 5 minutes of leaving the dock it was evident we were in for a special day, with the scenery getting better every minute. Fiordland National Park is one of the most famous parks in the world, however many believe it is much better to visit in the rain. Thankfully, because it rains well over 200 days a year, and it did not rain the previous day in Milford, we were banking on a nice rainy day, and that is what we got. After a 50 minute boat ride, and our first taste of 100s of waterfalls, beautiful mountains that were covered in any shade of green you can think of and endless amounts of untouched land, we made it to our first destination, and were prepared to start the second leg of the trip- our bus ride. Doug and Carley hopped on to the bus, and were ready to take the trip to Doubtful Sound to get our 3 hour cruise under way, but our driver Chris insisted on showing us the local turbine power plant. We drove down a tunnel 6 inches bigger than the size of the bus, only to look at turbines for 30 minutes to realize we were all nauseous from claustrophobia. This was dragged out for what felt like forever, until the wanna-be engineers felt they truly understood every ounce of the structure. For those less inclined to have a technical lesson on vacation, the bus was luckily open for those that enjoyed relaxing in a tunnel 100s of feet under ground and water. We made our way out of the tunnel boarded a large catamaran, and were the only boat headed out to the very large sound for the rest of the day. Since this Sound is only accessible by boat, and then car, we were completely on our own with Mother Nature for the afternoon. The rain increased the number and intensity of the waterfalls, and created a mist that again reminded us of Jurassic Park. We peacefully and very silently cruised through canals covered in thick trees and jagged coasts, until we reached the Tasman Sea. At this point the captain turned off the engines, asked everyone to be still; and we stood in absolute silence looking into this magical place for a couple of minutes. This Sound touches you with all from water, plants, the wide spectrum of soil all to large seals and different wildlife. Without a “doubt”, this should be one of your first stops in New Zealand.
We departed at 9 pm for Wanaka, and finally arrived at 12 45 after a ridiculously windy ride, and all we wanted to do was sleep. Too bad because we were locked out of our hotel, and after an hour of trying to find any open establishment we were ready to turn around until we found the only place in the area that was open, a resort in the suburbs of Wanaka. After a nice sleep there, we were off to Westland and to see the Glacier Country. The ride was somewhat less mountainous than those before because we were driving along the western coast up about mid way to Franz Josef glacier. We had out first experience with the Tasman Sea at a beach that looked a little different than those we saw along the coast of Victoria on the Great Ocean Road. It was a rainy day with fierce winds, and the tides of this beach could turn boys into men. Even though the weather was rough, some rock farming was in order, we walked the beach and progressed towards Fox Glacier, stopped into an old bar stuck in the 1800s, then made it to Franz Josef Glacier. At this point, it was pouring sheets of rain, which is apparently entirely normal for “glacier country” and we were checked into our room. We got in, and the room had 3 triple beds and was obviously decorated by Marsha Brady. So we sat, and enjoyed the ambiance of what looked liked Fes’s room from That 70s Show for the afternoon.
In Franz Josef there are very few dining options, or much of anything. It is a cute little mountain town, with tourist traps, 2 bars, a few hotels and restaurants, and Speights. We obviously liked this place, and would recommend the restaurant to everyone as we did have our dinner, breakfast and then lunch there. After a light dinner consisting of garlic bread, obscene servings of local meat, “chips”, and vegetables, we called it a night. The next day was spent exploring the glacier; we did three walks though the National Park, and then headed up towards the glacier. This walk was unlike anything we had ever seen, it was just a massive rockland, many waterfalls, with a monstrous glacier right in front of you which you could hike up into, which was awesome! This was definitely one of the favorite walks we had done thus far in our trip.
We left this small mountain town behind us, and headed up the west coast of the island to Punakaki. This three hour drive was along the amazing Tasman coast with incredible impressive views along the way. There were a few coastal towns along the way that were initially established to support the gold mining, that we stopped into, but it was mainly the sunset in Punakaki we were after! We approached the “town”, which was not a town, just more coastal land with a single lane highway running through it. The place we stayed in was a little cabin, right along the beach, nestled in forest to protect you from the highway. It was an incredibly peaceful area, and a great place to stay to get a feel for the coastal life in New Zealand. It was time for sunset, so we grabbed some of our stocked up duty free champagne then headed to the beach to toast to this amazing place! We got there early, and stayed about a half hour late because the sunset was so unbelievable. The jetties, beach, and surrounding cow pastures were the only thing aside from the ocean in site, and it was a new feeling to relax when you knew there was nothing around you. Since there was only one bar, and a resort within an hour of the cabin; we decided we needed to weasel into the resort for a nice dinner to follow the sunset. After Carley got turned down, probably because she had not showered in 3 days, and lied about staying in the resort; her Dad came to her rescue and secured a table along the waterfront.
The following day consisted of a walk through the Pancake Rocks, another picturesque setting; and a nice day on the beach. We sadly said goodbye to the west coast and headed towards our last stop, Christchurch. This drive is INCREDIBLE. The only way to describe it is that you absolutely must do it in your lifetime, or hire someone to do it if windy roads, and steep cliffs aren’t your thing. We were basically driving west to east through Arthurs Pass National Park. Even though the drive took nearly 5 hours, not a minute went by when we were not in awe; again. This is clearly a recurring theme for the South Island. We stopped to take pictures nearly 100 times, and each time it got better and better. There were literally two “towns” along the way, each with minor co-ops, adorable b & b’s, a bar, and a restaurant. The town of Arthurs Pass was a stop along the way, where we had some coffee and a beer, in an old restaurant that has not changed since the settlers initially started the town. The walls were covered in black and white photos with pictures from the Oregon Trail, all centered around the focal point of the place; an old pool table. We drove 30 minutes further down the road, and were dumbstruck by the mountain range a head of us. We once again, pulled over, and relaxed there for an hour. In that time no more than 3 cars passed this stop off, and we were in absolute silence, unless we were talking about how crazy this place was. Skiers and snowboarders- we can only imagine this area in the wintertime. We watched another sunset, further down the road; just the 3 of us, with 3 cold beers Birmy randomly had in his backpack and took in what we thought would be our last sunset in a surreal surrounding.
We got to Christchurch, and were immediately disengaged because we came from such peaceful isolation and were now thrown into a city-with no meadows, mountains, and waterfalls. After a 30 minute walk through the city center the next morning, we decided another country adventure was in order. We hopped in the Rav 4, headed out further to a little knob along the coast Akaroa. This was the best decision we could have made to capitalize on Birmy’s last time behind the wheel. We parked the car got out, and walked through the town stopping for gelato, smoothies, and browsing in little shops, and plopped ourselves down at a table, literally over the water on the beach. We did not end up moving for 6 hours, after a few bottles of wine, our last sunset together, we decided to have dinner before heading back to Christchurch. Our final dinner may have been the best; we all had the exact same meal an aged fillet with seafood chowder, and drove back to the city. We said our goodbyes in the morning, and were all very sad our time in New Zealand was over. One, because Carley’s Dad was headed back home, and two because we were back to reality- of backpacks, hostels, public transportation, and showering with shoes. Reality hit hard right when our free internet gave out in the lobby of our hotel. This ruined our plan of using the hotel’s amenities all day. Unfortunately, we had no plans for accommodation that night, and no internet, so we had to rely on a native to point us in the right direction. The cab was here, we hopped in and asked him to take us to hostel. Reality realllly hit when we were dropped off at the local jailhouse, which we had already posted about.
No offense to its fans, or Kiwis, but Christchurch is a concrete, steel jungle-and unless it is the airport, we would never suggest coming back here unless you make the journey out to Akaroa. However, we are finishing up this post now feeling incredibly lucky and sad, because news had just hit about 3 major earthquakes hitting the center of the town- leaving incredible destruction and 65+ deaths. An earthquake already devastated the city in September, and after 6 months of hard work and restoration to clean the city up it; it is awful to imagine the effects of another. All in all, New Zealand will be missed; its natural beauty and positive peaceful vibes are something that everyone should witness at one point in their life.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Urgent Update:
As we sit here in jail it is kind of hard to reflect on the beauty of New Zealand that we have witnessed over the past two weeks...because we are in jail. We are literally in a jail turned hostel that was built in 1874. After a whole 5 dollar restoration, the modern amenities include a skittles machine, book exchange, telephone booth, jail-house manikins, and the original furniture from the jail; including the bed, linens, and original doors. We were escorted to our room "cell" 3, where they unlocked the 100 pound steel door equipped with a dead bolt, so we could see our 8 by 4 by 9 foot room with a 10 inch by 10 inch window, all white washed for our comfort. Even though this sounds like an insane asylum, this is a widely popular hostel for sickos and people who decides it's a good idea to travel to this part of Christchurch, which is far to similar to East Baltimore. We were hungry and decided it was time for lunch so we strolled past the local tire "tyre" shop, Dig a Ta too, the local cafe for rock eaters which has the inside of Happy Wok, buts sell fish and chips and burgers. We walked into the recommended spot for lunch, which was a smoke infested bar, ordered our fish and chips, paid, and within 3 minutes-we canceled our order, took our money back, and slowly strolled out with a smile on our face. Thank god. There was one girl working that had to have been named Urcella, who flipped the switch to fire up the grill and flash fryer that couldn't have been legally allowed to cook on since the 60's. We were outta there. We passed the local Afghan Kebab Shop, a coffee shop without coffee, 14 engine shops, and too many half Chinese restaurants that only served Mexican food. Finally, as we were dying of hunger, we saw Subway, and figured that had to be somewhat normal since the knock off 711 owner told us they make great subs... We got to Subway, which smelt like the inside of an animal shelter, just in time for the fresh roast beef and salami, which were both green. Veggie subs were ordered, we would skip dinner, and we were back at jail for some more planning for our next week in Australia.
Three hours passed while we sipped our wonderful leftover Riesling from Chard Farm in order to hold onto the beauty of this country. It was somewhat different than enjoying it at the vineyard since now we were sipping from jail stripped coffee cups, while watching many characters including but not limited to; The Hells Angels, Granpa Joe wearing high white socks with Tevas, wanna be Lance who biked through the lobby and halls, all come through the Jailhouse Accommodation. Currently we are sitting watching a 40 year old Mexican man watch Kill Bill, while the girl behind us is watching BET videos on her lap top, on loud. Since there is nothing edible for dinner in the area, and our bike trip is in 7 days, we decided this would be a good time to start fasting. Also, if you are an employee here you wear a name tag saying "In Mate: (insert name)", and an orange shirt saying "I did my time", which are also for sale in the lobby if anyone wants one. So, we have done our time, now get us the hell out of Christchurch. (our update about the rest of our amazing trip throughout NZ will be posted once Inmate Peter agrees to give us more INTERNET) Godspeed Mates, and sorry for any bad writing or typos- we are writing from a desktop computer used during the early 80s!
Three hours passed while we sipped our wonderful leftover Riesling from Chard Farm in order to hold onto the beauty of this country. It was somewhat different than enjoying it at the vineyard since now we were sipping from jail stripped coffee cups, while watching many characters including but not limited to; The Hells Angels, Granpa Joe wearing high white socks with Tevas, wanna be Lance who biked through the lobby and halls, all come through the Jailhouse Accommodation. Currently we are sitting watching a 40 year old Mexican man watch Kill Bill, while the girl behind us is watching BET videos on her lap top, on loud. Since there is nothing edible for dinner in the area, and our bike trip is in 7 days, we decided this would be a good time to start fasting. Also, if you are an employee here you wear a name tag saying "In Mate: (insert name)", and an orange shirt saying "I did my time", which are also for sale in the lobby if anyone wants one. So, we have done our time, now get us the hell out of Christchurch. (our update about the rest of our amazing trip throughout NZ will be posted once Inmate Peter agrees to give us more INTERNET) Godspeed Mates, and sorry for any bad writing or typos- we are writing from a desktop computer used during the early 80s!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Milford Sound
Te Anu in English must mean feeding frenzy. There are three restaurants in Te Anu, a minor connector city between civilization (Queenstown) and an unnecessary 4 hour loop that links you to the world famous Fiordland National Park. The Remarkables mountain range was too “remarkable” to cut out an alcove to connect Queenstown to Fiordland for a whole 60 km, instead Te Anu is the true connecting point. This city consists of 6 motels, 1 hotel, 3 restaurants, 1 pie shop, and a souvenir shop. The restaurants are The Moose, The Fat Duck, and a family restaurant; not to mention the restaurant in our hotel named Distinction, that after our cardboard breakfast we decided would not be worth dinner. Since the three of us already felt like moose/and or fat ducks we decided the family restaurant was the way to go. Even though Birmy robbed the pie shop for some meat pies in the early AM, we managed to work up an appetite while sitting and taking in the ambiance of the Milford Sound. We boarded our monster truck bus with a sun roof, for a Real Journeys adventure, and we were prepared to have a “real” journey to Milford Sound. We pounded the insignificant dirt roads in a bus the size of Te Anu, until we reached a field where the driver told Carley she could pee in a field. She declined. We progressed to Mirror Lake, which acted as a giant reflective pool for the mountain range in the back.
We made it through countless scenic look outs on our way to the gorgeous Milford Sound! Van Gogh had to have painted the scenes out of this park because there was such a unique combination of colors and scenery. Between the rivers, the waterfalls, the mountains and glaciers we saw a landscape that was special to this region. Even from our 18 wheeler hydraulic bus you could see through feet of water down to the white rocks through the crystal clear water. This is a nice change from the Jersey Shore/ OCMD. But really, as we were driving through what was carved from many glaciers over thousands of years it was evident that this was definitely one of nature’s purest wonders, where the natural balance remains completely untouched by civilization. It is truly unbelievable to fathom New Zealand’s foresight to forever preserve such an extensive ecosystem. As we made it to the “fiord”, we boarded our boat and were ready for our nature cruise. The meat pie sausage roll and muffin didn’t fill Birmy up so he whipped out our three free tickets for our picnic lunches. Our lunches even included a juice box which made Birmy really happy. We headed out into the sound, which apparently is called a Fiord in New Zealand, and we made our way to the Tasman Sea. Cruising through Jurrasic Park, and Land Before Time, we respectfully absorbed our surroundings. Even though there were no dinosaurs, there were grandparents who aggressively fought us for the best pictures at the bow of the boat. Once the grandparents couldn’t handle the minor tidal wave caused by the 360 foot waterfall that our “captain” decided it was good to basically head straight on to the waterfall, we were left to ourselves. There was a whole boat to photograph, so naturally, a German comrade, demanded (not asked), “ go away” to Birmy. We interpreted this as up yours, but really, leave; and Birmy quickly removed himself from the situation. The sheer magnificence and glory of this foundation was framed in rock, water, plants and the freshest air. It was definitely an experience to remember, and left us feeling very appreciative for what we had just witnessed. We are looking forward to a similar experience tomorrow on the Doubtful Sound.
We made it through countless scenic look outs on our way to the gorgeous Milford Sound! Van Gogh had to have painted the scenes out of this park because there was such a unique combination of colors and scenery. Between the rivers, the waterfalls, the mountains and glaciers we saw a landscape that was special to this region. Even from our 18 wheeler hydraulic bus you could see through feet of water down to the white rocks through the crystal clear water. This is a nice change from the Jersey Shore/ OCMD. But really, as we were driving through what was carved from many glaciers over thousands of years it was evident that this was definitely one of nature’s purest wonders, where the natural balance remains completely untouched by civilization. It is truly unbelievable to fathom New Zealand’s foresight to forever preserve such an extensive ecosystem. As we made it to the “fiord”, we boarded our boat and were ready for our nature cruise. The meat pie sausage roll and muffin didn’t fill Birmy up so he whipped out our three free tickets for our picnic lunches. Our lunches even included a juice box which made Birmy really happy. We headed out into the sound, which apparently is called a Fiord in New Zealand, and we made our way to the Tasman Sea. Cruising through Jurrasic Park, and Land Before Time, we respectfully absorbed our surroundings. Even though there were no dinosaurs, there were grandparents who aggressively fought us for the best pictures at the bow of the boat. Once the grandparents couldn’t handle the minor tidal wave caused by the 360 foot waterfall that our “captain” decided it was good to basically head straight on to the waterfall, we were left to ourselves. There was a whole boat to photograph, so naturally, a German comrade, demanded (not asked), “ go away” to Birmy. We interpreted this as up yours, but really, leave; and Birmy quickly removed himself from the situation. The sheer magnificence and glory of this foundation was framed in rock, water, plants and the freshest air. It was definitely an experience to remember, and left us feeling very appreciative for what we had just witnessed. We are looking forward to a similar experience tomorrow on the Doubtful Sound.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
First Bit of New Zealand!
Even though you read our somewhat detached post about a big night out with our fellow hostel mates, Queenstown is an absolute must visit for everyone! All ages of people come to New Zealand to soak up all the awesome energy that makes this miniature city one of the coolest in the world. Everything in this country embodies quality, every meal we have had, every place we have stayed has been nicer than the next. When our plane hit down in the single gate airport of Queenstown, we knew it would be different from the last two cities we were in for many reasons; thankfully everything was cheaper, and the US dollar was a lot stronger here. We met up with Carley’s Dad Sunday morning and strolled around Queenstown on what you could call a food/drink crawl making sure every restaurant’s calamari and cappuccino was up to par. They were. We stumbled upon what soon became on of our favorite spots in this town, Eichardt’s Hotel. We made ourselves at home at a table that was calling our names. It had to have been one of the most picturesque and nicest dinner tables we had ever sat at (it was actually rated in England’s top ten places to dine for a sunset). We enjoyed calamari, some New Zealand wine, salmon and other tapas at a window, overlooking the sunset, sitting directly across the street from the main waterfront. Birmy has is first glass of port- and it was a mutual decision that it was a good idea to call it an early night.
After meeting some locals, we were pointed in right direction of where to watch the Superbowl. Birmy obviously got there early to secure seats closest to the TV and bar, to make sure he was comfortable enough to sit through a football game that did not involve the Ravens. 10 games of pool, a lucky streak for Carley, and many Bloody Marys later the Packers won, and Birmy was ready to start his day knowing the Steelers lost. 4 o’clock on Monday our time we were headed to the gondola to overlook Queenstown. The Allens were rubbing off on Birmy because he now had no interest in doing anything too adventurous; the gondola was enough for today; it was definitely time for some more Riesling at Eichardt’s.
After a nice morning run around Lake Wakatipu, the three of us began day 3.We were going to head out of Queenstown towards Cromwell to hit the wineries. If wine tasting is of any interest to you, New Zealand is a must to visit; and Amisfield Winery is a definite must for lunch. To our surprise, all of the wineries were smaller stone buildings all nestled into the mountains. We tasted some whites, and sat down for what was probably the freshest food we had ever had. We all shared caprese salad, salmon, cheddar, sausage and Birmy’s first taste of an award winning beetroot salad. In a complete daze of the quality of food we had just shared, we moved on to the second stop, Chard Farm. If you can imagine a gravel road that wraps around the steepest edges of the grand canyon, without a shoulder or rail, with distracting aqua water calling your name 1000s of feet down, that was what we were trucking along in a nice new Rav 4 to reach some of the area’s best Reisling and Pinot Gris. It was well worth it, and was absolutely indescribably beautiful. The farm dated back to the gold rush and, that lovely little road we crawled in on was the oldest trade road crossing Cental Otago. We tasted their complete range of whites, and soaked in the farm surrounded by nothing but steep mountains and greens. We progressed down winery row to Gibbston Valley where we indulged in more cheese and wine thanks to Birmy’s good driving. Everything in New Zealand and this side of the world, closes promptly, and they sacrifice nothing at the expense of work. Unless you are a restaurant or bar, come 5 o’clock, you’re closed. With that being said, we headed home with some tasty loot and decided where to head to dinner. Ballarat Trading Company is another absolute must visit in Queenstown. It’s a relaxed restaurant with amazing antique décor, with some great tunes. 1000s of calories later, Birm and Carley hit the town and Doug taxi’ed back a whole two minutes to the hotel, where we reconvened later so Carley could judge the Who Can Snore Louder competition hosted at the Heartland Hotel. Unfortunately (very fortunately), due to sleep enhancers she was unable to make the final call.
Day 4, one for the ages. A road trip to Glenochy. If you actually enjoy trilogies, and Lord of the Rings was your thing, OR if you just love the incredible country side of New Zealand, this drive should definitely be on your itinerary. This is one of the top drives to do in the world, and we were soon to discover why. Birmy got behind the wheel again and was ready for whatever the road had to offer him today. This was supposed to be a 45 minute ride, but it turned into over 2 hours due to all of the scenic look outs. It was a silent, and peaceful afternoon, as we only saw 3 people on our entire journey out. The “outdoorsmen” of the trip, “glassed” the coast, which apparently means looking through binoculars, while Carley admired the beauty while getting eaten alive by every bug born in New Zealand. The entire drive was along Lake Wakatipu, through the mountains, valleys, and meadows. If I wrote like Mark Twain, instead of Shell Silverstein mixed with Chelsea Lately, maybe I would be able to explain how gorgeous the views were. Any array of blue, green, and yellow was uncovered in the panorama of the afternoon. The lake was completely still, there was a gentle breeze, and we just cruised the countryside until we reached Glenochy.
We reached the town, but were unaware of it. No more than 100 people could have lived here, and it was the only sign of civilization for hours. It was unbelievable to think that a town really exists in such extreme landscape, with such little infrastructure, with hardly anything around. We went to the only restaurant in I guess you could call the area, and had the best sandwich and cookie ever. This cookie was handmade with 8 sticks of butter, a tub of icing, tea spoon of oatmeal, and a Rav 4 full of sugar. However, since it was “oatmeal”, or two oatmeal cookies glued together by icing, we decided it was healthy enough to eat; so we all treated ourselves to one (two}. We embraced Glenochy for all it had to offer, we took naps in the grass, relaxed on the beach, and enjoyed some local wine. After more relaxation, tranquility and silence than Doug had had in years; we needed to get back to “reality” in Queenstown.
Day 5, our last half day in Queenstown, before we were off to the small town of Te Anu, another miniature city bordering the Fiordland National Park, and famous Milford and Doubtful Sounds, we ended our time with a adventure- The Original Shotover Jet Ride. Even though our waiter told us that some Japanese man stuck his head out the side of the boat, and eventually was decapitated while taking a picture, Birmy convinced Carley to do the boat ride. It was an awesome experience! We boarded the jet boat, and went 70 km/hr through the Shotover Canyons. Coming nearly inches of boulders, while getting jerked around at what felt like lightening speed, we enjoyed the views of the river and the thrill of the ride; all well dressed in an outfit that looked like we were Russian Spies, or the flying monkeys from the wizard of oz. This too is a definite must in Queenstown, thank you Kendra! And we were off to Te Anu, to spend a relaxing night on the lake, before our day long tour of the Milford Sound!
After meeting some locals, we were pointed in right direction of where to watch the Superbowl. Birmy obviously got there early to secure seats closest to the TV and bar, to make sure he was comfortable enough to sit through a football game that did not involve the Ravens. 10 games of pool, a lucky streak for Carley, and many Bloody Marys later the Packers won, and Birmy was ready to start his day knowing the Steelers lost. 4 o’clock on Monday our time we were headed to the gondola to overlook Queenstown. The Allens were rubbing off on Birmy because he now had no interest in doing anything too adventurous; the gondola was enough for today; it was definitely time for some more Riesling at Eichardt’s.
After a nice morning run around Lake Wakatipu, the three of us began day 3.We were going to head out of Queenstown towards Cromwell to hit the wineries. If wine tasting is of any interest to you, New Zealand is a must to visit; and Amisfield Winery is a definite must for lunch. To our surprise, all of the wineries were smaller stone buildings all nestled into the mountains. We tasted some whites, and sat down for what was probably the freshest food we had ever had. We all shared caprese salad, salmon, cheddar, sausage and Birmy’s first taste of an award winning beetroot salad. In a complete daze of the quality of food we had just shared, we moved on to the second stop, Chard Farm. If you can imagine a gravel road that wraps around the steepest edges of the grand canyon, without a shoulder or rail, with distracting aqua water calling your name 1000s of feet down, that was what we were trucking along in a nice new Rav 4 to reach some of the area’s best Reisling and Pinot Gris. It was well worth it, and was absolutely indescribably beautiful. The farm dated back to the gold rush and, that lovely little road we crawled in on was the oldest trade road crossing Cental Otago. We tasted their complete range of whites, and soaked in the farm surrounded by nothing but steep mountains and greens. We progressed down winery row to Gibbston Valley where we indulged in more cheese and wine thanks to Birmy’s good driving. Everything in New Zealand and this side of the world, closes promptly, and they sacrifice nothing at the expense of work. Unless you are a restaurant or bar, come 5 o’clock, you’re closed. With that being said, we headed home with some tasty loot and decided where to head to dinner. Ballarat Trading Company is another absolute must visit in Queenstown. It’s a relaxed restaurant with amazing antique décor, with some great tunes. 1000s of calories later, Birm and Carley hit the town and Doug taxi’ed back a whole two minutes to the hotel, where we reconvened later so Carley could judge the Who Can Snore Louder competition hosted at the Heartland Hotel. Unfortunately (very fortunately), due to sleep enhancers she was unable to make the final call.
Day 4, one for the ages. A road trip to Glenochy. If you actually enjoy trilogies, and Lord of the Rings was your thing, OR if you just love the incredible country side of New Zealand, this drive should definitely be on your itinerary. This is one of the top drives to do in the world, and we were soon to discover why. Birmy got behind the wheel again and was ready for whatever the road had to offer him today. This was supposed to be a 45 minute ride, but it turned into over 2 hours due to all of the scenic look outs. It was a silent, and peaceful afternoon, as we only saw 3 people on our entire journey out. The “outdoorsmen” of the trip, “glassed” the coast, which apparently means looking through binoculars, while Carley admired the beauty while getting eaten alive by every bug born in New Zealand. The entire drive was along Lake Wakatipu, through the mountains, valleys, and meadows. If I wrote like Mark Twain, instead of Shell Silverstein mixed with Chelsea Lately, maybe I would be able to explain how gorgeous the views were. Any array of blue, green, and yellow was uncovered in the panorama of the afternoon. The lake was completely still, there was a gentle breeze, and we just cruised the countryside until we reached Glenochy.
We reached the town, but were unaware of it. No more than 100 people could have lived here, and it was the only sign of civilization for hours. It was unbelievable to think that a town really exists in such extreme landscape, with such little infrastructure, with hardly anything around. We went to the only restaurant in I guess you could call the area, and had the best sandwich and cookie ever. This cookie was handmade with 8 sticks of butter, a tub of icing, tea spoon of oatmeal, and a Rav 4 full of sugar. However, since it was “oatmeal”, or two oatmeal cookies glued together by icing, we decided it was healthy enough to eat; so we all treated ourselves to one (two}. We embraced Glenochy for all it had to offer, we took naps in the grass, relaxed on the beach, and enjoyed some local wine. After more relaxation, tranquility and silence than Doug had had in years; we needed to get back to “reality” in Queenstown.
Day 5, our last half day in Queenstown, before we were off to the small town of Te Anu, another miniature city bordering the Fiordland National Park, and famous Milford and Doubtful Sounds, we ended our time with a adventure- The Original Shotover Jet Ride. Even though our waiter told us that some Japanese man stuck his head out the side of the boat, and eventually was decapitated while taking a picture, Birmy convinced Carley to do the boat ride. It was an awesome experience! We boarded the jet boat, and went 70 km/hr through the Shotover Canyons. Coming nearly inches of boulders, while getting jerked around at what felt like lightening speed, we enjoyed the views of the river and the thrill of the ride; all well dressed in an outfit that looked like we were Russian Spies, or the flying monkeys from the wizard of oz. This too is a definite must in Queenstown, thank you Kendra! And we were off to Te Anu, to spend a relaxing night on the lake, before our day long tour of the Milford Sound!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Blind Leading the Blind
Queenstown, a town home to only 15,000 people, houses 140 bars, infinite hotels, and one hostel that is the size, and as nice as the White House. Nomads Travelers Hostel, equipped with a sauna, pool tables, stainless steel kitchen, and a cinema was jam packed with travelers ready to make moves. With that being said, every Monday evening calls for a Blind Leading the Bind Bar Crawl, throughout Queenstown! After finishing some Tapas and Mojitos with Doug at our favorite spot on the water, we headed to the crawl. At our first stop, the free drink was a shot of grenadine, fructose, corn syrup, melted fruit role ups which had the consistency of the inside of gushers. After taking that, we strolled on over to bar number two where we took the equivalent of a shot of absinthe mixed with baby formula. If that wasn’t enough to make you gag we met our first friend of the night who was the alleged VP of Freight Transportation for Australia, an enthused economist, and a faster talker than Wagnus/ and or Pascal. After a detailed walk through of Australia’s current economic state, a brief run through of their demographics, and his future predictions for what we still think is one of the best places in the world, (and watching some limbo) we were ready to move on. We strapped on our blind fold, got in the conga line and progressed to bar three. We walked up stairs only to find Tony Hawk Pro Skaters and their protégés showing off on a HALF PIPE. We were approached by lets call him Joe Trucker, only to hear about his last joint venture, were he lost almost half a million and his brother lost even more. He definitely started feeling bad for us because he knew this was about as fun for us as detention, that he then felt obligated to buy us both Jack and Cokes. We re-entered the conga line where Carley met a new friend by the name of English Chris. He was an enthusiastic 26 year old who had a knack for showing off his dance skills.
Thankfully, we made it to Chicos, bar four. As it was still fairly early in the night Chicos was similar to a 6th school dance, girls on one side, guys on the other, and bunch of characters in the middle. The female equivalent of Kid Rock, Chloe Kardasian, an extra from Dropkick Murphy’s and Waldo were all enjoying Usher’s Great Hits, other teen bop 6 tunes, best of Hillary Duff, and RHCP. Unfortunately again, we still didn’t have our dancing shoes on, so Joe Trucker made his way to Birmy, and English Chris found Carley. Joe was telling us he was too self conscious to dance, thinking we were the same, meanwhile we just weren’t looking to grind to Creed. The 48 Jack and Cokes hit Joe and he approached Kid Rock. Sadly for the spectators, they were interrupted by the Blind Leading the Blind’s weekly dance off. The 3 participants were Joe Jonas, Ned Flanders, and the winner of amateur night at Southern Exposure. One song wasn’t enough, so they brought the contestants back for more. Round two, “Chloe” (no coincidence Center St. girls), Joe, and Ned got serious, and no one was backing down for a free bungee jumping trip. Song 2 started, Chloe and Ned’s shirt went flying , and everybody was acting as if they just been electrocuted. Once Ned took his pants off, Chloe started doing everything from donkey kicks, hot dog rolls, somersaults, the worm, high knees, and what looked like a 5 year old attempting a cart wheel across the stage. Carley spit out her drink, and we both got the biggest ab work out either of us had had in the last two weeks. Finally the Jonas brother started pulling out Micael Jackson moves, and ripped his cardigan in half. This 2 minutes in itself was worth a trip across the world. We tried to catch our breaths, but were interrupted when English Chris came over and tried to dance with Carley. Flinging her around the room like a skip it, she politely backed away, and we both started watching Joe do a dance he could have only learned from a kangaroo, or frog…if they could snap. Birmy was on the side watching all of this take place, and was delighted to say yes when Chris asked Carley to dance, knowing what it would be like. Michael Jackson won the dance off and we were off to last stop World Bar.
World Bar, was where we spent the other night, (we will talk about that in a later post), but tonight was different with our motley crew since they serve “tea pots” filled with liquor and liquid nerds. We had our last shot of the night which was just as bad as the last 4, watched a couple of our people do some moves under a strobe light, and bid our new friends farewell. We made it back to the hotel, and were ready for a full day of wine tasting, Birmy’s first experience driving on the opposite side of the road, and a beautiful morning run around the lake.
Queenstown has been incredible! We will update the details shortly, however last night’s remains far too vivid to ignore.
MUCH LOVE! BC
Thankfully, we made it to Chicos, bar four. As it was still fairly early in the night Chicos was similar to a 6th school dance, girls on one side, guys on the other, and bunch of characters in the middle. The female equivalent of Kid Rock, Chloe Kardasian, an extra from Dropkick Murphy’s and Waldo were all enjoying Usher’s Great Hits, other teen bop 6 tunes, best of Hillary Duff, and RHCP. Unfortunately again, we still didn’t have our dancing shoes on, so Joe Trucker made his way to Birmy, and English Chris found Carley. Joe was telling us he was too self conscious to dance, thinking we were the same, meanwhile we just weren’t looking to grind to Creed. The 48 Jack and Cokes hit Joe and he approached Kid Rock. Sadly for the spectators, they were interrupted by the Blind Leading the Blind’s weekly dance off. The 3 participants were Joe Jonas, Ned Flanders, and the winner of amateur night at Southern Exposure. One song wasn’t enough, so they brought the contestants back for more. Round two, “Chloe” (no coincidence Center St. girls), Joe, and Ned got serious, and no one was backing down for a free bungee jumping trip. Song 2 started, Chloe and Ned’s shirt went flying , and everybody was acting as if they just been electrocuted. Once Ned took his pants off, Chloe started doing everything from donkey kicks, hot dog rolls, somersaults, the worm, high knees, and what looked like a 5 year old attempting a cart wheel across the stage. Carley spit out her drink, and we both got the biggest ab work out either of us had had in the last two weeks. Finally the Jonas brother started pulling out Micael Jackson moves, and ripped his cardigan in half. This 2 minutes in itself was worth a trip across the world. We tried to catch our breaths, but were interrupted when English Chris came over and tried to dance with Carley. Flinging her around the room like a skip it, she politely backed away, and we both started watching Joe do a dance he could have only learned from a kangaroo, or frog…if they could snap. Birmy was on the side watching all of this take place, and was delighted to say yes when Chris asked Carley to dance, knowing what it would be like. Michael Jackson won the dance off and we were off to last stop World Bar.
World Bar, was where we spent the other night, (we will talk about that in a later post), but tonight was different with our motley crew since they serve “tea pots” filled with liquor and liquid nerds. We had our last shot of the night which was just as bad as the last 4, watched a couple of our people do some moves under a strobe light, and bid our new friends farewell. We made it back to the hotel, and were ready for a full day of wine tasting, Birmy’s first experience driving on the opposite side of the road, and a beautiful morning run around the lake.
Queenstown has been incredible! We will update the details shortly, however last night’s remains far too vivid to ignore.
MUCH LOVE! BC
Sunday, February 6, 2011
G'DAY!
First things first we were getting very sad that our time in Melbourne was dwindling down, we had really acclimated ourselves with the area, made some friends at our hostel, and figured out the areas of the city we liked best. One thing about Australia though, there is a very bad 4 letter word here that many young backpack travelers need to learn the hard way. Similar to a frat, you don’t truly understand the meaning of the word until you reaaally do, and this word is GOON. Goon is the Australia version of Franzia, just cheaper, more plentiful, and filled ingredients to give you the worst possible hangover. Things were great in the world, free Goon was flowing at our hostels wine and cheese party, we were meeting more people, some awesome some not so awesome. We started picking up our Goon intake when Birmy picked up our own personal box, and the drinking progressed as our fellow Patriot decided to discuss Obama’s Health Care. No thanks. Goon plus healthcare was the worst scenario you can get yourself into in a foreign city filled with liberal hippies. We went out and celebrated the birthday of a fellow traveler at a club, made a long trek home to the Mansion and fell fast asleep.
6 am were up feeling fly, looking forward to our 2 day excursion of the Great Ocean Road. Obviously Birmy is running late and realized half way into a walk to meet the group that he had left every important charger he owned in the room. He ran back, and now we were hopelessly running though the streets of Melbourne passing attractive young professionals on their way to work. We also were passed by a couple on the move in a similar situation, equipped with hiking boots, floppy hats, bug nets, and fanny packs. Then all of a sudden, there it was. The extra long double wide peace van that was probably used to follow the Beatles tour in the 60s. This lovely piece of machinery would be our home for the next 2 days. Clearly we were the last 2 people on the bus, and there were only 2 seats left out of 21, in the very back row in a sea of Asians and what we thought was a full 10 person from Shanghi. Then another thing happened, the Goon struck again, and we were both instantly turned into the 2 biggest Goons in the back of the bus. This toxin left us green, shaking, ill, sweaty, nauseous and very uncomfortable for the upcoming 3 hour adventure in Happy Wok.
We were so caught up in Melbourne that we literally forgot to eat for the last 28 hours. Luckily, breakfast was included with our tour. After the first three hours of driving 300 miles an hour through the deserted fields of Australia, on roads similar to Lombard St., with speed bumps the size of the grand canyon with no slowing down, we occasionally (or frequently) would hit speed bumps going 200 km/hr just so that our rally car of a van could catch some air. This was also a bad combination with Goon, but really provided a unique opportunity to meet our neighbors in the back of the bus. Back to breakfast, which at this point Birmy was ready to eat his shoe, and Carley was already chewing on the Le- Le’s green tea leaves. Le-Le had enough green tea leaves to start a garden. The van pulled into the first sign of civilization, where there was an outhouse and picnic table to accommodate our tour. Fortunately, our tour guide provided a healthy and hearty breakfast. This consisted of one chocolate chip cookie “biscuit”, and tea that was poured from a Birmy’s third grade Clifford the Red Dog thermos, into Little Tikes cups. Le-Le did not appreciate having to drink someone elses tea, instead she just pulled out another handful of leaves to make her own.
After our “breakfast”, we boarded the bus we got to know our neighbors with a friendly bus quiz. There were some awesome British girls, a terrible Canadian guy, some soft spoken lads, and one interesting man from Canada named Pascal. Pascal was a combination of Mr. Bean and the guy from Men and Black who turns into an alien. We also forgot to mention that we had the combination of Dennis the Menace and Mr. Myagi, Peter a little tot from China, in the back row with Birmy. The bus continued to fly down small roads, until we hit the Bay of Islands. This was our first great look of what was in store for the next 30 hours. If you look at our pictures, a lot of the scenery looks the same, but it was all breathtakingly beautiful and different when you were actually there. There was then a pit stop to see some wild life, where we then learned Koala’s are the most bazaar animals of all time, as they sleep 20 hours a day, and are born after 35 days the size of a nickel. So we saw some Koalas, emus, kangaroos, and wallabies. Our next stop was Bay of Martyrs; the most gorgeous and isolated beach that either of us had ever seen. We were the only people on this beach in an alcove surrounded by gorgeous cliffs, greens and miles of beaches. We spent the night in the small town of Port Cambpell, right past the 12 Apostles. It was great to have a 2 day tour because we really got a feel for this part of Australia, life in Port Cambpell, was simple, in a gorgeous setting, and really fun. After our group cooked and had amazing Australia BBQ fresh from the Barbie, we headed to the 12 Apostles for sunset. Our group had grabbed some wine, and we were ready to take in this unbelievable site for 2 hours around sunset, and were able to get a glimpse of penguins strolling onto the beach after nightfall after their day of fishing.
Day 2 began with a 7 am wake up call and we were off for a day of beach hopping along the coast. This was another day filled with incredible sites, great pictures, and awesome beaches- we hit Apollo Bay, watched surfers at Bells Beach, and went to Loch Ard Gorge. The day ended with the only bad part of the trip. A walk through a rainforest. The Great Ocean Road is a windy, but gorgeous road, which while in a peace van will leave you feeling like you just got off the local carnival cruise line that was rocked by 40 ft swells. Nauseous and farly tired a rainforest was not what we needed. Pascal, however was ready to go, leading the group with a fanny pack, floppy hat, high socks, zipper off cargo cut offs, and a smile that went from here to Canada. I wish we could actually explain this computer science professor in his all time glory. Neither of us could stop laughing as he admired trees, and ever tried to eat a couple plants. When the group was quietly admiring the silent beauty of the rain forest, we were uncontrollably, yet unnoticeably laughing in the back of the group. We finally made it back to our hostel after a 4 hour car ride through flashfloods. Went to sleep at midnight, and had to get up at 4 am for a 7 o’clock flight to New Zealand!
Queenstown is amazing! Doug is here and weather has been great! Another update to come soon! Hope all is well in the US!
CHEERS MATES!
6 am were up feeling fly, looking forward to our 2 day excursion of the Great Ocean Road. Obviously Birmy is running late and realized half way into a walk to meet the group that he had left every important charger he owned in the room. He ran back, and now we were hopelessly running though the streets of Melbourne passing attractive young professionals on their way to work. We also were passed by a couple on the move in a similar situation, equipped with hiking boots, floppy hats, bug nets, and fanny packs. Then all of a sudden, there it was. The extra long double wide peace van that was probably used to follow the Beatles tour in the 60s. This lovely piece of machinery would be our home for the next 2 days. Clearly we were the last 2 people on the bus, and there were only 2 seats left out of 21, in the very back row in a sea of Asians and what we thought was a full 10 person from Shanghi. Then another thing happened, the Goon struck again, and we were both instantly turned into the 2 biggest Goons in the back of the bus. This toxin left us green, shaking, ill, sweaty, nauseous and very uncomfortable for the upcoming 3 hour adventure in Happy Wok.
We were so caught up in Melbourne that we literally forgot to eat for the last 28 hours. Luckily, breakfast was included with our tour. After the first three hours of driving 300 miles an hour through the deserted fields of Australia, on roads similar to Lombard St., with speed bumps the size of the grand canyon with no slowing down, we occasionally (or frequently) would hit speed bumps going 200 km/hr just so that our rally car of a van could catch some air. This was also a bad combination with Goon, but really provided a unique opportunity to meet our neighbors in the back of the bus. Back to breakfast, which at this point Birmy was ready to eat his shoe, and Carley was already chewing on the Le- Le’s green tea leaves. Le-Le had enough green tea leaves to start a garden. The van pulled into the first sign of civilization, where there was an outhouse and picnic table to accommodate our tour. Fortunately, our tour guide provided a healthy and hearty breakfast. This consisted of one chocolate chip cookie “biscuit”, and tea that was poured from a Birmy’s third grade Clifford the Red Dog thermos, into Little Tikes cups. Le-Le did not appreciate having to drink someone elses tea, instead she just pulled out another handful of leaves to make her own.
After our “breakfast”, we boarded the bus we got to know our neighbors with a friendly bus quiz. There were some awesome British girls, a terrible Canadian guy, some soft spoken lads, and one interesting man from Canada named Pascal. Pascal was a combination of Mr. Bean and the guy from Men and Black who turns into an alien. We also forgot to mention that we had the combination of Dennis the Menace and Mr. Myagi, Peter a little tot from China, in the back row with Birmy. The bus continued to fly down small roads, until we hit the Bay of Islands. This was our first great look of what was in store for the next 30 hours. If you look at our pictures, a lot of the scenery looks the same, but it was all breathtakingly beautiful and different when you were actually there. There was then a pit stop to see some wild life, where we then learned Koala’s are the most bazaar animals of all time, as they sleep 20 hours a day, and are born after 35 days the size of a nickel. So we saw some Koalas, emus, kangaroos, and wallabies. Our next stop was Bay of Martyrs; the most gorgeous and isolated beach that either of us had ever seen. We were the only people on this beach in an alcove surrounded by gorgeous cliffs, greens and miles of beaches. We spent the night in the small town of Port Cambpell, right past the 12 Apostles. It was great to have a 2 day tour because we really got a feel for this part of Australia, life in Port Cambpell, was simple, in a gorgeous setting, and really fun. After our group cooked and had amazing Australia BBQ fresh from the Barbie, we headed to the 12 Apostles for sunset. Our group had grabbed some wine, and we were ready to take in this unbelievable site for 2 hours around sunset, and were able to get a glimpse of penguins strolling onto the beach after nightfall after their day of fishing.
Day 2 began with a 7 am wake up call and we were off for a day of beach hopping along the coast. This was another day filled with incredible sites, great pictures, and awesome beaches- we hit Apollo Bay, watched surfers at Bells Beach, and went to Loch Ard Gorge. The day ended with the only bad part of the trip. A walk through a rainforest. The Great Ocean Road is a windy, but gorgeous road, which while in a peace van will leave you feeling like you just got off the local carnival cruise line that was rocked by 40 ft swells. Nauseous and farly tired a rainforest was not what we needed. Pascal, however was ready to go, leading the group with a fanny pack, floppy hat, high socks, zipper off cargo cut offs, and a smile that went from here to Canada. I wish we could actually explain this computer science professor in his all time glory. Neither of us could stop laughing as he admired trees, and ever tried to eat a couple plants. When the group was quietly admiring the silent beauty of the rain forest, we were uncontrollably, yet unnoticeably laughing in the back of the group. We finally made it back to our hostel after a 4 hour car ride through flashfloods. Went to sleep at midnight, and had to get up at 4 am for a 7 o’clock flight to New Zealand!
Queenstown is amazing! Doug is here and weather has been great! Another update to come soon! Hope all is well in the US!
CHEERS MATES!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
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