.: Memoirs of a Fergason :.

No School Like the Old School

2006-12-21T19:31:00.000+13:00

I've decided to retire "fergsdownunder" since we are in fact, no longer Fergs Down Under. Don't despair! I'm going back to my roots and resurrecting my original blog. It doesn't have a catchy, easy to remember name like "fergsdownunder" but tough noogies. I like it and it stays. So really this party ain't breakin' up, it's just moving down the block. What are you waiting for? An invitation?

You are cordially invited to the grand re-opening of my blog:
Deep Thoughts By Fergie

* ladotyk.blogspot.com *

Baby It's Cold Outside

2006-11-30T18:24:00.000+13:00

Falling about me as I write this is not the first snow storm of the season, but the first storm we’ve experienced in our new home. Last night I attended a book signing by Christopher Kimball (founder of Cooks Illustrated) in Highlands Ranch and by the time I left, my car and the streets were covered in thick snow. I crept along the freeway at 30 mph and did my best to keep from sliding off the road, as so many others already had. At one point I saw hazy flashing blue lights in the distance, then slowly crawled passed two cops surveying a car that had gone belly up. I cannot tell you how glad I am that we bought our Subaru Outback with AWD. It was a nervous ride with sometimes near white-out conditions, but I arrived safely home and happy to have faced my fears of icy roads without incident. The only drama was when I nearly blew through an intersection because I couldn’t stop on a downhill slope, but luckily no one was around.

This morning there was 6.5” of snow and by the time I got home from work it was 10”. An arctic front is headed our way, so once the snow stops we’ll have temps near 0 degF (-18 degC). Brrrr! I haven’t been that cold since…, well, since the last time I lived in Colorado. There’s a kind of restrained excitement in the office as people quietly discuss how much snow may be falling in the mountains, and how soon they’ll be able to hit the slopes. It’s interesting to overhear conversations about weekend adventures: skiing to backcountry huts for an overnight trip; having to do a self arrest after falling on a dangerous slope. Very different from the conversations in LA which mainly revolve around trips to Vegas, something I never quite understood. If only I hadn’t waited too long to get the cheap ski passes!

Once at home I snuggled into comfy clothes and delighted in the winter wonderland that is our new yard. Ten inches of fresh powder made the world seem magical. I let the dogs out and we ran around like kids at Christmas. It was especially funny to watch the dogs since they were practically swimming through the chest high drifts. Molly pranced and buried her nose in the snow, Spencer did his “trot in place” dance, and I frolicked with glee. The snow here is so powdery and dry that it falls through your fingers like fine sand, and blows away with the slightest puff. When you compact it into a ball it feels like Styrofoam. We have lots of fun throwing snowballs for the dogs and watch them try to retrieve them!

Here are some photos I took over the last two days:

Working Stiff

2006-11-25T17:21:00.000+13:00

It’s been a long time since my last post but much has happened over the last month. Most importantly, we officially closed on our house! There was a wee bit’o’drama that I won’t go into here, suffice it to say that all’s well that ends well and this ended well indeed. We are absolutely loving the house, the yard, the view, the two decks, and everything in between. I love that I can’t physically throw a tennis ball from one end of the yard to the other for the dogs (though I got a new gym membership). I love that my furniture suddenly looks classier than it did at the homestead back in LA. I love that I have a basement and that I can actually park in my garage. I love that I can see the glow from the Red Rocks Amphitheater from my bedroom window. It’s quite windy here on the edge of the foothills; so much so that the walls bow from the pressure and our welcome mat keeps flying away, but it’s kind of fun. We haven’t had any snow since we moved in but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

In other news, I have once again joined the ranks of the employed. I accepted a contract position to work at Lockheed Martin on the CEV program in the structures group. Steve works just down the hall from me so we are able to carpool and eat lunch together (yes I know, how cute). We are located at Lockheed’s South Park facility, which entertains me to no end. “Goin’ down to South Park…” My first day was Monday and like starting any new job, I’ve been bored. Everyone else is frantically running around trying to finish charts and models, telling me to entertain myself until after the Thanksgiving holiday when they’ll have time to get me caught up. I took their advice and did just that, entertaining myself by modeling my desk, monitor and mug. Not too shabby, eh?

Everyone please have a safe Thanksgiving this year and let’s remember the lessons of the wise Alton Brown:
Brine, don’t baste your turkey

Alice in Halloween-Land

2006-11-24T09:11:00.000+13:00

It worked out perfectly that while we were in LA picking up our worldly possessions to move to our new house, there should be a fantastic Halloween party at our old house. Glad to see the party pad is still kickin' (thanks Nick!). Several of us banded together for an Alice in Wonderland theme. I was assigned the Caterpillar as it was considered the most difficult costume (thanks Nick). I had to dedicate an entire checked bag on the plane to my costume!

It was a great party and everyone was on board for the festivities. We had a card guard, Tweedle-Dum, the white rabbit, Alice, the Queen of Hearts, Mad Hatter, March Hare, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Caterpillar. There was also an assortment of baseball players, Tinkerbell, and Ron Burgundy (among others) thrown into the mix. Thanks to everyone for a great time.

And since you've been such a great audience, here's my encore: a picture of our new friend Demo, the one-eyed chihuahua!

I Need a Vacation

2006-10-22T18:17:00.000+13:00

(karen)

Ok, I know we just got back from the trip of a lifetime and we haven't yet earned any income to replace what we spent during the last year, but I've already found our next dream vacation destination! It turns out REI offers adventure trips to exotic places all over the world, like hiking the Inca Trail or biking across Croatia. The trip that caught my eye, however, is the 19-day Everest Classic, a trek through Nepal that begins in Kathmandu and journeys to the Mt. Everst base camp at 18,190 ft. elevation. It's rated at the highest level of difficulty of the trips that they offer and is insanely expensive, but apart from that it sounds perfect. Just listen to this typical day from the itinerary:

"Day 6 Leaving Namche Bazaar, our trek steps off the standard Base Camp trail for the next two days. We ascend up past the Syangboche airstrip (12,200) and down into the small hidden valley of Khumjung. Khumjung has the most important school and the only hospital in the Khumbu region … both were built by Sir Edmund Hillary. Crossing the valley we ascend through a rhododendron forest, traversing the beautiful southern slope of Khumbila, the holy mountain of the Sherpas. We should reach Moung La pass (12, 992’) and our camp in mid-afternoon. The setting is absolutely spectacular with the distinctive peak of Ama Dablam looming in the near background. Watch for impeyan pheasants, tahr mountain goats and possibly musk deer when walking through the forests. Trekking: 6 hours; Elevation: loss 400’, gain 2,100’.

I know that's got you jazzed up to hit the trail. Any takers out there who would care to tag along? Eh? Eh? Just go here to get the details. If you are feeling especially feisty, check out the other REI Adventure packages.

What's This? What's This? There's White Things in the Air!

2006-10-18T17:53:00.000+13:00

(karen)
My dreams have come true at last! The first snow of the season fell today and I've been insanely giddy towards all who cross my path. It began as that delicious change-of-seasons snow with wet, gargantuan flakes. It wasn't quite freezing during the day so despite the blizzardy appearance everything melted when it hit the ground. Later in the afternoon and into the evening, however, as the temperature dropped, the snow got much more powdery and began sticking. Shown below is a photo diary of my blissful day. It doesn't get much better than this.

Toys!

2006-10-13T11:40:00.000+13:00

(karen)
Neither of us has worked since last December so we should really refrain from making any unnecessary purchases. For the most part we have been well behaved. But then to alleviate boredom this afternoon we decided to stroll around REI's flagship store in Denver! I know y'all are shaking your heads and saying, "Fergs! Don't you know you can never go into REI without dropping a load of cash?" Yes, I confess it's true. But if you've never been to the Denver REI it is a treat. It occupies a historic 1901 tramway building, which has towering brick walls and exposed wood beams. Among the many "rides" in this Disneyland-of-outdoor-stores is a mountainous 45' climbing wall, a cold chamber to test winter gear, an indoor stream to play with water filters, a rocky course around the outside for testing mountain bikes, and to top it off, it sits on the banks of the Platte River so you can take a kayak to the water for a quick run! It's an awesome store.

When we walked into the store this afternoon we immediately spotted the glittering wall of snowshoes. Never mind that it's 70 degrees outside, gimme gimme! After talking to the salesman we decided on a pair that had been last year's darling, but was now heavily discounted in favor of the new models. Out we walked with his'n'hers Atlas snow shoes, into the heat of the day, leaving us to pine wistfully for traces of an Arctic blast on the horizon. I guess we'll have to buy some mountain bikes to tide us over until the snowy weather cometh, eh?

Weather Updates on the Tens

2006-10-10T05:29:00.000+13:00

(karen)
It's been interesting to live the life of the unemployed. At first I gleefully scoured corporate websites, searching for job opening and sending off my resume with glowing cover letters. But as the weeks pass with no word, ennui set in. You do a bit of soul searching and start to question whether the career path you've chosen is still your best option. This is a rare opportunity to truly evaluate my future and make changes as I see fit. Should I make an about face and train at a culinary academy? Should I volunteer with a worthwile organization and make a difference? Could I really give up all my schooling and experience to start new somewhere else? In my case, at this point, no. I love aerospace and I feel I have a lot more to learn about this exciting industry. So until I start to feel some reciprocal love from potential employers I'll keep on entertaining myself during the long hours of the day. Doing crosswords, training for a triathlon, preparing elaborate meals, shopping for new house furniture. It's all good. But hey, at least I haven't yet started injecting daytime tv into the veins to make myself comfortably numb.

Enough with the "my so called life", on to current events. Our house passed inspection with flying colors so we are one step closer to becoming legitimate Colorado residents. We are due back in LA at the end of the month to say hi to the folks out there and pick up our belongings, which have been languishing in storage since the first of the year. And we get our puppies back after 10 months of separation! This is all so exciting. To top it off, the first snow of the year is due to fall this evening (1-3") and I feel like a freakin' kid on Christmas Eve. Right now a steady cold drizzle is falling on the Front Range and I keep checking outside to see if those drops have fluffed into flakes yet. I promise to post winter wonderland photos tomorrow provided that mother nature cooperates. Looks like tonight I'll be making some hot chocolate with marshmallows.
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Addendum
I woke up this morning to a grey sky and dry ground. My heart is breaking.

Mi Casa es Su Casa

2006-09-29T09:23:00.000+12:00

(karen)

I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it! We made an offer on a house, and it was accepted! At last, after nine months of travelling and uncertainty we will once again be home owners. (With any luck we'll even be employed homeowners.) Steve and I have been house hunting ever since we arrived in Denver. We've spent many long nights at the computer, searching through suburban subdivisions and setting up spreadsheets to determine what we can/cannot afford. We've done virtual tours of countless homes and had fun making catty comments about the god-awful decorating styles. What we wanted was a big yard for the dogs, but a nice house for ourselves, and we didn't want to be too far from Lockheed Martin. The problem was that nice, new houses have virtually no yards and are way too huge (think Highlands Ranch). But just when all signs seemed to point to (shudder) compromise, we found "the one"! It's a lovely home in south-west Lakewood with magnificent views of the front range. It sits on .38 acres which is more than enough for our kids, Molly and Spencer. Plus it has a gas stove, so I'm set in the kitchen. What more do you need? Here are some photos of our lovely new home.

This is the view from the front. Nice curb appeal, eh? I'm so excited to have my very own porch. I'll sit out there in the late summer afternoons, whittling and yelling at kids to stay off the lawn.

Here's the view of the house from the back yard. I know it looks humongous, but that's because the unfinished basement is a walk-out. It's really not as cavernous as it seems.

We have a great deck off the family room that looks right into all the neighbor's yards. This way we can keep tabs on them while we are BBQ'ing.

I saved the best for last. Isn't this view fantastic? This is what we'll get to see from the master bedroom. I can't wait for winter to come and see the hills decked out in a mantle of snow. (In case you were wondering, yes, that is a matching playhouse.)

Sorry there are no pictures of the inside, but I think it would be prudent to wait until we move in. I don't want to get off on the wrong foot with the current owners. So there you have it! Now everyone, please come visit. Especially you Aussies, I'm dying to show you to some real mountains.
:)

Autumn in the Rockies

2006-09-22T03:52:00.000+12:00

(karen)
Steve and I have been getting a bit of cabin fever lately as we sit around waiting for the phone to ring with jobs for us on the other end of the line. We needed to get out of the house, and fast! With summer waning, we knew that we had dwindling opportunities to play in the mountains before snow comes. After perusing our many options we decided to first hike Devil's Causeway near Steamboat Springs, then head down toward Breckenridge to climb a trio of +14,000 ft peaks.

Devil's Causeway is an interesting piece of geology where the remnants of an old volcanic area have been weathered, and now what remains is a thin ribbon of rock that has a thousand foot drop on either side. We started in the high country and followed a steady, steep trail to the top of the Causeway which was nearly 12,000 ft. Notice how the trees are stunted from the altitude.

At the top we had fantastic views of the surrounding Table Top Wilderness area, and the valley below that we had climbed from. It was disturbing to see hundreds of dead trees which were killed by the ruthless bark beetles, however the golden colors of autumn were brilliant against the green forest.

At the narrowest section the Devil's Causeway is only three feet across. You stand at the top and look down a thousand feet on either side. Luckily it wasn't windy because this would have been far more treacherous. As it was I tried to look straight ahead until I got past the tricky part! Only when I was on the other side did I look down.

The rest of the trail was lovely and smooth. As I mentioned, this was the Table Top Wilderness so once we climbed to the top of the Causeway it was flat as could be. Toward the end the trail very gentlty sloped down, taking us past beautiful scenes of weathered rock and golden brush.

We were completely by ourselves until near the end where we encountered anglers in the stream. We also saw hunters in their bright orange vests, probably out hunting elk. I was so thankful Steve decided to wear his orange shirt today. I was in no mood to be mistaken for an animal and shot.

On the way back from the Devil's Causeway we stopped our car to take photos of the beautiful quivering Aspen in their golden glory. I didn't know that the colors changed so early, but I guess up here it's hastened by the altitude and colder weather. We felt very lucky to see the trees at their peak, especially against the dark, stormy skies.

Speaking of dark and stormy skies, our plan was to drive over to the Mosquito Ranges to camp at the base of a trio of 14'ers so we could get an early start in the morning. We reached the campsite near dusk and just as we set up our tent the skies opened up into a furious thunderstorm. Steve was worried about getting struck by lightening, and we nearly decided to leave. The storm passed quickly though, the rumbles of thunder growing further in the distance. In it's wake we found the ground covered with icy sleet. Things grew calm so we ate dinner and went to sleep. Just after midnight the wind picked up and began flapping the fly of our tent. Not only was it too noisy to sleep, but a couple of gusts were so strong that they nearly snapped the poles. Inside we watched as the walls leaned over and came close to collapse. We spent a sleepless night listening for the gusts coming off the mountains and then shooting our sleeping bag-wrapped legs into the air to keep the walls supported. Every hour or so we had to unzip the tent and reach outside to restake the fly since the wind kept ripping the pegs out of the ground. The campground was at 12,000 ft. and is the highest maintained campground in the country. Because of the altitude, everytime I sat up to fix the pegs or even rolled over I could feel my heart pounding for the next few minutes. Sounds weak, eh? You try it! What a wretched night.

In the morning we we worried about how much snow had fallen on the peak due to the storm yesterday. The wind had also not let up. We decided to not push our luck and just hike until it became too slick on the trail. But just as we were eating breakfast another dark cloud descended and fresh snow began to fall. Screw this! We give up! Lesson learned, mid-September is too late to start climbing 14ers. In face of snow and fierce wind, we turned tail and head back down the mountain to Dever where the skies we sunny and the day was warm. Despite having to turn back it was still a great trip and we are already looking forward to getting some snow shoe for the winter months!

Good News, Kids!

2006-09-03T17:17:00.000+12:00

(karen)

As many of you know, Steve and I have been waiting, pacing, and chewing our fingernails in dreaded anticipation of NASA's announcement to award the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) contract. Click here for more information about this historic project that will be our next vehicle to the moon. We spent hours late at night scouring chat rooms for rumors of who would be victorious: the Northrop/Boeing team, or Lockheed Martin team? Steve even had a job offer in hand for Lockheed that was contingent upon contract win. Which brings us to Thursday, where we sat in front of our computer and watched the streaming NASA channel which, after an agonizing 15 minute overview of the project and explanation of their decision process, finally proclaimed the joyful news: Dewey...I mean, Lockheed wins!

This is NASA's official logo for the CEV project, now dubbed Orion. I think it's pretty snazzy.

So Steve has a job offer, a fantastic turn of events, however yours truly is still waiting for that special phone call where an HR rep whispers in my ear, "We'd love for you to come in for an interview..." Apparently within hours of the announcement the Lockheed Martin offices were flooded with resumes from people all over the country wanting to join the winning team. Doesn't it count that my resume has been in the system for weeks already? Apparently not. Next week will be crucial to see if my qualifications warrant a second look from the hiring managers. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

In other news, to celebrate the Lockheed win we decided to buy a new car! We intended to buy a used Outback, but there was such a deal with the 2006 models that it ended up making sense to buy one new. The fantastic sales rep at the Flatirons dealership even negotiated for us a lower price than we asked for. How's that for customer service?

This is going to be our official winter and mountain car since it is AWD, handles great in the snow, and has extra 7" ground clearance. I can't quote for you all the under the hood trivia like my buddy Russell, but since every third car in Colorado is a Subaru Outback, we can't be too far off the mark.

One last bit of news! My sister convinced me to join a cooking contest, so I entered two original recipes to the Mise En Place cooking school. For the entree I made Chorizo Apricot Sauce with Kale and Couscous, and for an appetizer I made Sweet Potato Purses with Romesco Sauce. Part of me wants to be chosen for the next round of competition because there are cool prizes, but part of me hopes I don't get it so I don't have to be judged by strangers. Anyway, I'll let you know if either Christine or I, or both, get chosen for the next round.

That's pretty much it for now. I have no idea if anyone still bothers to check this blog since we're not technically "fergs down under" anymore, but I figured we'd keep it going until we get jobs and a house and truly settle down from our trip. For now though we'll keep on living out of a suitcase and mooching free rent off my mother. Ciao, kids.

The Long and Winding Road

2006-08-24T10:12:00.000+12:00

(steve)

We finally made it all the way out to Denver. Along the way, we had some interesting events spice up the trip. First up: car issues. For the past five years we have been proud owners of a 2001 Toyota Prius. Just the 6th buyer from predominately "green" Boulder, we felt pretty cutting edge. In fact, our purchase has helped convert a number of family and friends over the years to the hyrid lifestyle. Well, the ride back to my parents house from Yosemite saw the first real car trouble Prius-style.

As we were heading down the hill away from the park, just about every single warning light possible illuminated, including the dreaded red triangle of doom (perhaps best appreciated by other Prius owners). I did the only thing you can do in that situation. Pull over and turn off the car. After a brief call for roadside help, where I learned the wait would be at least an hour, I turned the car back on to see what would happen. Result, the warnings were all gone. With that, we cruised down the hill pretty slow, irritating all those behind us, until we felt good enough to go full speed. A call to the local Toyota dealer brought news that this kind of thing happens from time to time. We decided to try driving for a while to see what happens. Skipping ahead, the lights came on again later in the week in Los Angeles.
A few days later the Toyota dealer relieved me of $750 to fix the problem. And to boot, the air conditioning stopped working. Diagnosis: $900 to replace the condenser. Ouch. So much for all the fuel savings. The drive down the San Joaquin valley was a little tense, with me staring at the instrument panel the whole way. Even a stopover in Stockton (to visit the Karen's grandparents) did little to ease my tension.

We ended up spending a week in LA visiting with friends, with brief stop by to look at our belongings in storage (had to pick up the interview clothes). The week was lots of fun with a couple of unexpected reunions as well as getting to see the Yosemite crowd again. Nick was gracious enough to let us crash in our former residence. I must admit it was a trifle strange to sleep in our old room and wake to see Nick's furniture. Another great treat was our visit time with young Addison Ickler (and her parents, I guess). To her credit, Addie demanded to see us before the big trip, to the tune of a premature birthday. Eight months later she is a handful, but really an extremely well behaved baby. We look forward to finding her on our doorstep in the future.

Our final day in LA was filled with an impromptu visit to San Diego to visit my brother and sister-in-law. While in Fiji, I received an unexpected message imforming us that we were going to be Aunt Karen and Uncle Steve. The good news made the week more exciting. Since they live outside New York City, we had to make the time to see them as soon as possible. Just for fun, we took the Icklers to give them a first hand view of just what taking care of a baby entails. Angela was all for it, but Russ took a more cautious approach. Based on their response, I bet they'll make great parents.

What would a drive from LA to Colorado be without a visit to Las Vegas? Well, for us that meant a stop in nearby Henderson to visit the Karen's other grandparents. Here's where the lack of air conditioning becomes important. Our transit of the desert outside of Vegas was made at a balmy 110 deg (F) outside temperature. Imagine the windows down, whipping a really warm breeze into the car. It felt like someone was breathing on us for about 4 hours straight. We peeled ourselves out of the car and didn't leave the air conditioned house for the rest of the day.

The next day, we departed at 9 am with the mercury all ready at 100 deg (F). Once on the highway, the road almost immediately climbed, and the temperature dropped to a more tolerable 90. We spent the day driving through southern Utah and even did a little car dancing when we crossed into Colorado. At 5 pm we decided to stop in Grand Junction and call some local friends. Despite having no notice, Joe and Kelly invited us over to their new place and absolutely refused to let us go on. We spent the evening talking over beer and a great pizza. We had a great time and can't wait to return the favor on their next Denver visit. Given our newfound love of wine tasting, I'm sure we'll be back to Grand Junction soon too.

The next morning we drove the final few hours across the Rockies to Denver. The temp never got above 75 deg and the view was beautiful, reminding us exactly why we wanted to come back (we also learned that the Prius protests driving over 10,000 ft altitude). Our arrival begins the next phase in our adventure, where we have to return to reality, find jobs, find a new house, and carry on with our lives. Based on our last couple of weeks, it's going to be a fun ride.

Reunion on the Summit of Half Dome

2006-08-01T17:49:00.000+12:00

(karen)
We like to think that we're active people. However, many thought we were taking matters to extremes when we agreed to join our friends in Yosemite to hike to the top of Half Dome, just a couple of days after returning from our epic adventure. Really though, what better way to recover from jet lag than a grueling 12-hour hike? All told there were 14 in our group staying in the nice but incredibly crowded Curry Village in Yosemite Valley. One couple was staying in tent #669, if that tells you anything about the size of this small city. We started early in the morning after a meager night's sleep to ensure that we would summit before the atmospherically unstable afternoon hours, and so that we might be back to our cabins before dark.

Anyone residing in California knows it's been hotter than blazes recently (no kidding, cows have been dropping like desiccated flies) and although temperatures have cooled somewhat we still found the mercury rising uncomfortable early. Steve and I each had two liters of water but it wasn't nearly enough. It wasn't miserable though, and at least the sky was clear of clouds that could bring an afternoon thunderstorm.

It was a cheery hike since it was a big reunion for many in our group. Our members came from as far as Los Angeles, Palo Alto, England, and Down Under. We spent much of the time catching up on recent adventures and making plans for the future. And with every step our rocky summit loomed closer. Finally the trail changed from a steady but mild uphill grade through pine forest to a very steep, rocky path that left me gasping for breath. We had just climbed the final knob of granite before facing the dreaded cables to the summit of Half Dome.

The park service has installed a set of cables and evenly spaced wood planks to assist climbers on their way to the summit. The rock here is so steep and so slick that it would be impossible to attempt going solo. We'd seen literally hundreds of people throughout the day so it was no surprise when we faced a queue at the cables. It was frustrating, though, because the combination of less agile hikers and people scared out of their wits made the ascent painfully slow. And I do mean literally painful because as you cling to the cables, your feet are bent back to match the extreme angle of the granite face, stretching your calves to their limits. Finally several of us gathered our nerve and swung to the outside of the cables, enabling us to bypass the static crush of people in the center. By being on the outside you weren't able to use the wood planks, but we hung on tight and got to the summit at least 20 minutes faster than those we'd left behind.

At around 1:45, 7 hours after departing, we all reached the top of the 8,400 ft dome. The view from the top was spectacular and we drank it in as we ate our lunch in the bright sunshine. There was many a peanut butter and jelly sandwich consumed on the mountain that day.

After lunch we explored the vast granite top. The most thrilling part was to go to the edge and look over into Yosemite Valley, a straight drop 5,000 ft. below. It's humbling to imagine these mountains filled with glaciers, slowly carving out the landscape we know today. Then again, it might have been easier to look down if there was a river of ice within reach!

As much as we wanted to stay we knew that our hike was only half over so we began the descent of the cables. I found the way down to be a bit trickier and scarier than the way up, but regardless I again went to the outside to get down faster. When the rest of the group was reunited we began our trip back to the valley floor.

It was a fairly smooth trip back, but unfortunately some people developed sore knees and took a long time making their way. I preventatively used an Ace bandage knee brace and that seemed to keep my bum knee in check. The duct tape on my heels kept blister at bay as well! One treat on the way back was taking an alternate route for the last couple of miles by following the Mist Trail. This took us past both Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls which were both gushing water despite being late in the season.

Sunday morning found many feeling as though they "had been beaten", and a couple others feeling a bit sick. Steve and I were certainly sore but not too worse for wear. We departed our friends with promises to reunite in LA, then drove over to Tuolumne Meadows for a few hours. We spent a lovely time in this less crowded area just soaking up the beauty. After all our travels I can truly say that there are few places on earth prettier than the alpine meadows of the high Sierras. There's a reason John Muir fell in love with these mountains, and I thank him and others for their work to preserve them.

Paradise Found

2006-07-28T09:59:00.001+12:00

(steve)

Almost on a whim I decided to look into a little side trip to Fiji while doing planning for the rest of our Australia time. The more I looked, the better it seemed. After some deliberation, we booked a stay at the wonderful Garden Island Resort along with an overnight stay in Nadi before and after. All giddy and excited, we carried on with our Australia travels.

What would a trip to the airport be without some kind of drama? To prevent riff-raff from permanently staying on the islands, Fiji requires proof of an outbound airline ticket prior to letting you board the inbound flight. Written proof. Guess who didn't print out the itinerary two months ahead of time? Luckily for me, we arrived 2 hours before the flight, giving me just enough time to run around the airport twice, make two hasty phone calls to the airline (where I'm afraid I wasn't the most patient or well-mannered customer). With fifteen minutes to spare I managed to get a faxed copy of our tickets and we boarded the plane. Karen watched my dwindling sanity, it must have been fun for her.

This is the best medicine for a stressful morning. Upon arrival, the stress simply melted away in the tropical sun. We got a ride to our Nadi hostel and prepared for our entry to paradise. The next morning we boarded a 16 seat plane for the hour ride to Taveuni, the Garden Island of Fiji. The morning bright and we got a fantastic view of the surrounding island landscape. Once over the water, we saw a series of intriguing reef systems in turquoise waters.

We were met a van after the plane came to a stop at the local airport (really just a closed off stretch of asphalt). The van took us on a 30 minute drive along the coast road that circles the island. It turns out to be the only paved section of road on the island. Our check-in at the resort ended with the entire staff coming out to sing us a welcome song in Fijian and give us shell necklaces. Let's say this right now, Fijians are the most friendly people we have ever met. We'll repeat this again later.

We stayed for 5 nights at the resort. During the day, we loaded ourselves in a boat to visit the reefs. That's right, more diving. We dove eight times, and every single one was a treat. We thought that Whitsunday was a really good time. The Rainbow reef system was far better. With average visibility of about 80 feet, it was impossible to miss the huge abundance of coral and fish life. Following the lead of divemaster Hiram and boat operator Nia, we saw heaps of every local fish species. Every day at lunch we spent an hour looking through the fish books to id what we saw. Hiram provided an interesting experience when he reached into a hole and pulled out a banded sea snake. That's right, he grabbed a really poisonous creature and held it out for us to touch. Most of us held back respectfully, except for Karen, who it turns out didn't know how dangerous it really was. Her comment, "it didn't seem to like being held." (Karen found another snake swimming around the next day, but didn't touch it this time.) Another special treat was the discovery of a blue ribbon eel in a coral nook. These cute little guys are electric blue in color, except for their heads which are yellow. A little further down the reef was a teeny juvenile which is black in color. We also saw a few white tip reef sharks, some Moray eels hiding in the coral (I saw one swimming along the reef too), and a number of Spanish dancers. The very last dive we did was notable for the number of cast members from Finding Nemo found all together in one spot. Gil, Nemo, Dory, and Flo frolicked around a patch of coral that looked remarkably like the movie intro.

Our time above water was spent enjoying the sites and sounds of Taveuni. We walked around taking in Somosomo village and the local high school boys playing rugby after school. The ever present palm trees swayed, and no one seemed to be particularly in a hurry to get anywhere. Everywhere we went, the people smiled, waved, and said "bula" (hello) to us tourists. During a brief rainstorm, we visited the local play area known as the Waterslide, where children slide down the smooth rocks of a creek to small plunge pools.

There were also a couple of tours we took to visit Boumo National Park. While there, we indulged in our last waterfall swim with new diving buddy Gaby. After our hike, we spent a short time with the local villagers where the kids were anxious to test out their English skills, and everyone was smiling and willing for photos.

We were also privileged to be able to visit Duivosovoso village close to the resort for a tour and look into typical Fijian island life. While there we were shown how to many ways there are to use coconut palms. They make baskets, mats, and help insulate a fire, they also made clever tongs to pick up hot objects. We watched as they showed us how to prepare coconut and make a lolo (earth oven) to cook dalo (taro root), cassava, and a mixture of dalo leaves. We also learned how to make the traditional Fijian drink kava. Kava is a ceremonial drink prepared when there are visitors, but also to enjoy in the evening with family and friends. The drink itself comes from the roots of the kava plant, powdered and filtered with water. It kind of tastes like muddy water to me, but every Fijian adult loves the stuff. "It's like wine to us." The fact that it contains an antiseptic, an anesthetic, and a barbituate have nothing to do with it. Kava is an interesting characteristic, and it was definitely widespread.

Our time in Fiji went by very quickly, but we were left with a host of wonderful memories and heap of great photos. We highly recommend to anyone to give Fiji a shot if you like the laid back homey feel. Thanks to all the wonderful staff at the Garden Island Resort for making us feel like part of the family.

Viva Bris-Vegas

2006-07-28T09:59:00.000+12:00

(karen)
As anyone who has ever been to Australia can tell you, Aussies are mighty proud of their local spirit, Bundaberg Rum. I'm no fan of rum but I couldn't resist going on the ever popular Bundaberg Rum Distillery tour, especially since the neighboring sugar refineries were going full throttle but weren't offering tours until a week after we left. Let me tell you, after also being denied a tour of the milk factory I was ready to rain down fire if the Rum plant was closed. Lucky for the good people of Bundaberg it wasn't.

This was a great way to spend an afternoon after too many days of hiking around in the wilderness. Rum is made from fermented molasses, the byproduct from refining sugar. I loved the huge sunken vat of molasses that was as wide as a basketball court and 15 feet deep. I'm sure you can imagine the smell. We then got to see the fermentation tanks, the distilling area, and the large white oak barrels that are used to age the rum for three years before being bottled. At the end of the tour everyone got two drinks to try at the Bundy Bar. We tasted a little but gave our leftover drink coupons to a group of very excited backpackers.

Our next stop down the coast was to famous Fraser Island, however due to a combination of poor planning and bad luck we were unable to explore the island like it deserved. It has miles of gorgeous beaches on the eastern coast, a historic shipwreck stranded in the surf, and some amazing crystal clear lakes. Most people explore this sand island on multi-day 4WD tours but we had only our feet and one afternoon so our options were limited. The best I can offer you is a haunted face I found in some driftwood on the beach.

Finally we arrived in Brisbane, our last stop on the great Australian tour. I wish we could have had more energy to see the sights of this beautiful city but Steve and I were starting to get mentally drained from all the traveling. It was so refreshing to be able to reunite with some folks we've met previously on our holiday, including Tam from our Hiking New Zealand trip and Doug and Denise whom we got to know on the Milford Track. Just for fun we did take a day trip down to Surfers Paradise on the Gold Cost. This is an area sometimes referred to as Bris-Vegas and it seems to be more loved by visitors than it is by the locals. Yes it's a bit tacky, yes it's overrun with high-rise hotels, but the sun was shining and the water was clean and it felt wonderful to stroll on the squeaky sands.

Steve surprised me with a trip to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary where for a fee I got to cuddle my very own drugged out koala! He was very sweet and sleepy, and after hearing other people's stories I'm very glad he didn't pee on me.

We planned on going into town for a fancy dinner to celebrate our last night in Australia, but changed our minds and decided a home cooked meal with Tam would be a better way to cap off the trip. It was a delicious dinner of wilted spinach with a butter-walnut sauce, roasted pumpkin soup, fresh pasta, pan seared salmon, and crepes in a caramel apple sauce for dessert. The only mishap was a broken blender base that came detached and sent pumpkin soup all over the kitchen. Ah, too much fun.

Stay tuned for our next post about one of the most perfect places on this green earth, Fiji!

Silica Sand with a Side of Platypus

2006-07-28T07:20:00.000+12:00

(steve)

We're back in the States, using fast internet, so let's fill in the details of the previous two weeks.

The previous post said all we need to about Magnetic Island. Moving on, Airlie Beach was our next stop. During the previous week, the sky had been overcast but we never really got wet. As we turned off the Bruce Highway towards Airlie Beach we were met by a torrential downpour that didn't relent. Sitting in the car outside our hostel, we hoped this wouldn't end up being a repeat of our Bay of Islands stay in New Zealand.

Airlie Beach is the mainland jumping off point for the Whitsunday Islands, a collection of fabulous resort hotels and popular spot for sail cruises. For us, we arrived seeking a little fun in the sun and just possibly another reef visit. Since the sun was hiding, at least we could see to the reef (we'll be wet anyways). After perusing the options, we decided to go on two different ocean tours to try and wait out the weather.

The first day was a sea tour of Whitsunday Island itself. We jumped in the boat bright and early after watching the pick-up bus go right past us (they came back to get us after I called the office). The cruise began with threatening clouds overhead and a small swell. After an hour we reached our first tour stop, Whitehaven Beach.

Whitehaven Beach is the most beautiful beach we've ever been too. The sand is nearly pure silicon and was bright white despite the lack of glaring sunlight when we visited. We climbed a lookout to get a better overall view and we amply rewarded. The tide was going out and the colors were unreal. From the lookout we even spied about a dozen stingray in the shallows. There were a few diehard sun worshipers lying out in bikinis, but the brief drizzle spells and fleeting bursts of sunshine kept us from shedding clothing. We would love to return to this spot on a clear day.

The second stop for the day was in Mantaray Bay for some snorkeling. Donning wetsuits, we spent at least an hour floating and looking at the fish and coral. The amazing part is the color and variety of coral was actually better during the snorkel than our dive day in Cairns. Once again, we saw more fish than could identify. Here is a short list: bicolored parrotfish, shepard parrotfish, angelfish, yellow-tailed fusiliers, butterfly fish, and a big Maori wrasse. We continued to be awed by the giant clams with their fluorescent colors.

The next day was our second dive day on the reef. We boarded a different boat (with about 200 other people) for the two hour journey out to Reefworld. Once there, four of us peeled off to go on a smaller boat for a dive. We did two different dives during the afternoon. Both were nice drift dives along a coral encrusted wall with lots of nooks and holes to look in. The visibility wasn't that great (30 ft = CA standard vis) but the fish and coral was more impressive than Cairns. Most importantly for me, we ran into a turtle and a Moray eel, both firsts for us underwater. Reefworld was also home to an impressive giant grouper they call George (~200 kg) and a large Maori wrasse called Wally (loves to be petted by snorkelers). Maybe this is only a small taste of what the reef has to offer, but it was really great to finally get the chance.

Reluctantly leaving the beach, we headed over to Eungella (pronounced Yun-gulla) National Park, home of the wily platypus. Now, we've looked for these guys on two different occasions, both unsuccessfully. This is our last hope of finding one in the wild. Eungella is at the top of a set of hills running along the coast. We drove up and over the steep hill to find the river running through the park. In the river is supposedly the largest concentration of platypus on the mainland of Australia. Let's hope the guidebook is right.

The guidebook was right. Upon reaching the viewing platforms it took us all of about 5 minutes to spot our first platypus. We spent the rest of the afternoon watching them frolic around in the still water, and set up our tent in a nearby campground for the night. Sitting next to the camp trail was a huge python. Karen got all brave and picked the head up. The python didn't struggle too much since he was pretty dead.

Unfortunately for us, the platypus didn't sit still very well, making them difficult to photograph. You kind of get the idea above. For scale, they are about 12 in long from bill to tail. Still, it was cool to finally see them in action, nosing around the creek bottom looking for food, and just motoring around on the surface.

Other interesting events/sites were the outrageous fog I had to drive through to get us back from dinner (our last meat pie in Australia) and we hiked up to two waterfalls in Hatton Gorge. At times during the fog drive, I couldn't see anything but the reflective markers in the center of the road right in front of me. I never got out of second gear with a max speed of about 20 kmph.

Fergs Down Under, Reader's Digest Version

2006-07-19T20:26:00.000+12:00

(karen)

I write to you from a crappy computer in Fiji, but the important part of that statement is that we're in Fiji! We won't be able to upload any photos or write our typical Discovery Channel style posts until we get home, so in brief here are the highlights from the last couple of weeks:

Magnetic Island
This is an island in Queensland just off the coast from Townsville. We read that it was a fascinating place to hike and see wildlife, but we were a little let down by the overall experience. The best part, however, was having our first legitimate wild koala sighting! We also tried to blaze a trail through some dense bush and learned the true meaning of BIG Aussie Spiders. It gives me the heebie-jeebies just remembering it.

Whitsunday Islands
Too bad the Sunshine State has been dealing us a heavy dose of rain and cloudy skies, but at least these parted briefly to give us fantastic views of Whitehaven Beach. Now I've only seen a little bit of this big world but I can tell you that Whitehaven is the most glorious beach on this planet. Photographic evidence to come...

Steve couldn't stay out of the water so we booked another dive trip that was somewhat murkier than our first, but was more than compensated for by the abundance of fish and corals. Seeing a turtle, moray eel, and a breeching humpback whale are memories to savor for a lifetime.

Eungella
We head inland to see the cutest little monotremes ever, the platypus! We battled our way through thick fog and past pythons (dead) to watch these critters motor around in the calm water, diving for bugs.

Brisbane
We cooled our heels and hung out with some folks we've met during our travels who reside in Brissie. Tam, who we met back in New Zealand, was so kind to let us stay with her for a few days before our flight to Fiji. To thank her I taught her to cook.

Fiji
This is the final leg of our trip, where tomorrow we are flying to one of the smaller islands for four sunny days of all inclusive meals and scuba diving. We'll be sure to share the stories when we return to the states. Thanks to everyone for your comments on the blog. It's so nice to have little messages waiting for us. Take care and we'll see you all very soon!

Trials and Tribulations

2006-07-09T18:11:00.000+12:00

(karen)

After our outstanding trip to the outer Great Barrier Reef we headed further north to Cape Tribulation, so named because Captain James Cook badly damaged his ship the Endeavour on a shallow reef while exploring the region. We, however, decided to embark on this voyage with a rental car. Far North Queensland feels like an entirely different country to what we have seen so far. Apart from the endless seas of sugarcane and banana plantations there are massive hills covered with lush rainforest. There are still crocodiles and nasty snakes and spiders, but fortunately we didn't encounter anything of the sort during our hikes. What I found most interesting about the forest are the giant strangler fig trees. These start as small seeds dropped into the canopy by birds or the wind, and they send out vine-like roots that slowly encompass the tree. After years the roots fuse together and make the most spectacular formations imaginable. The forest was littered with trees in various stages of being consumed by the strangler figs.

Also interesting, but mostly annoying, are the "wait-a-while" vines that grow from a type of climbing palm. They have fishhook type barbs along the vine that grab a hold of your clothes and hence you have to "wait a while" to get untangled. One ferocious vine got a death hold on Steve's sock and turned it into a mess of elastic loops. And since we're talking about plants, I fell in love with the gorgeous fan palms. They are like enormous umbrellas that reach into the canopy, and they make a beautiful noise when the wind rustles them.

After touring Cape Tribulation we drove south to the Atherton Tablelands. One thing that quickly became apparent was the hurricane damage caused by Cyclone Larry a few months ago. Not only did the cyclone damage banana crops (resulting in $10/kilo prices), but the fierce winds tore up everything from road signs to the upper rainforest canopy. Lucky for the rainforest such cyclones are part of the natural regenerative process, like fire is in other areas. (Not so lucky for my banana bread.) There are a couple of crater lakes on the tablelands that were formed by volcanoes long ago, and plenty of beautiful waterfalls. We enjoyed walking the trails in the area but the weather turned rainy, so no swimming or camping. Sunshine state indeed!

The next stop on our itinerary is the Whitsunday Coast where we plan to cruise the numerous islands and maybe do a bit more diving. After that we only have about a week left in Australia before we go to Fiji, and then come back to the States on July 26th. All of a sudden the end is near and we can't believe it's almost time to go home. Wait, we don't have a home anymore. Oh crap, does this mean we have to start looking for jobs?!? Nooooo.............

Was that a Shark?

2006-07-09T17:42:00.000+12:00

(steve)

The Great Barrier Reef has been calling to me for a number of years now. Ever since I received my scuba certification, I've thought about swimming with the fish through crystal clear turqoise water among the coral. Just picture me in a tropical fish tank to get the idea. Arriving here in Cairns, the airplane banked over the water on approach and there it was. Just that little glimpse was enough to get me excited.

Once settled into the Cairns hostel, we went right out to figure out exactly which boat trip would be perfect for us. We ended up finding a host of choices. Lucky for us, the weather cooperated perfectly, with a nice, calm day prediction to boot. In fact, we were told that the day we wanted to go had the best forecast for the last few months. Imagine me not being able to sit still right about now. We booked a ride on the Silversonic with three dives scheduled for the day.

To balance out my enthusiasm, Karen's stomach began it's normal churning the closer it got to riding in a boat on the ocean. She was cautiously excited, but insisted on stopping for a package of dramamine. I threw in a package of ginger cookies and some ginger beer for good measure.

The bus picked us up at 6:45 am for our ride to the marina. We snaked all over town finding bleary-eyed people for the next 30 minutes. Once loaded, we made our way to the boat in the neighboring town of Port Douglas. The Silversonic is the newest boat in the area, with a 50 passenger capacity in the catamaran style (most stable = Karen's favorite). On board with us were about 40 other folks. To our surprise, only 10 others were certified divers, the rest being snorkelers or introductory divers. An introductory dive is a great way to try out scuba without having to go through the full course. You get to blow bubbles with the gear in shallow water near the boat, but get to go deeper than snorkels let you.

The weather prediction ended up being spot on, to Karen's delite. There was little wind and no real waves as we pulled out to head for the reef. For us, the dive master came around and said, the rule for today is be ready to hit the water when the boat stops. We nodded, but didn't fully understand until we saw the absolute chaos that was 30 people trying to put on unfamiliar gear in a small space. We hit the water quickly (I was first in line if you can believe it).

Under the surface we entered another world. I can only describe the feeling of diving as close to flying (with only the sound of your breathing) among wildlife. It truly is being on water safari. You glide over or among the coral with the fish practically bouncing off your mask. Our first location was called Wreck Reef after the small shipwreck found in the area. We saw an impressive array of small tropical fish as we wound our way through the hard coral. There were too many different species to count, each with lots of color. After 40 minutes of swimming it became hard to remember just what exactly we had seen. Memorable sightings were a whitetip reef shark, oriental sweetlips, clownfish (We found Nemo! We also saw some Moorish Idol, Gil), and a blue spotted lagoon ray.

Next up was a short move to the next reef system called Nursery Bommie. This location had a shallow water (~40-60 ft) spire that was seemingly surrounded by schools of baby fish. This in turn attracts some of the larger hunting-type fish. As we spiraled around the spire, we noticed a nurse shark nestled in a nook, a lion fish (with all the spines) looking for a meal, and a small school of barracuda. The rest of the water was loaded with little fish in big schools. It was neat to watch them all change direction together to keep as close as possible. There was also a large patch of staghorn coral with lots of fish zipping around amongst the spines.

The third spot was a shallow ribbon reef drift dive. Drift diving is the ultimate lazy experience, as you simply go down and let the current do all the work. We descended along a coral laced wall and let the water push us along. For the next 30 minutes we just let the fish and coral come to us. The parade of color and life was amazing. Even with the aid of a fish id book, we couldn't agree on the number of different fish and corals we had witnessed.

As an interesting diversion, Karen and I rented an underwater digital camera for the trip. We compiled more than 40 pictures and about a dozen short movies. We have them on CD and plan on uploading as soon as we find a connection that isn't as slow as molasses.

Our day of diving was lots of fun and worth the wait. The hard part will be resisting going out on every other boat as we head down the coast.

Swimming with the Freshies

2006-06-30T20:20:00.000+12:00

(steve)

One interesting aspect of life in the Northern Territory is the relationship with water. The land is perpetually hot, with the sun beating down and humidity often above 70%. Since there are a nice coast line and a host of rivers, lakes, and billabongs, it seems like it would be nice and easy to head down to for a dip to remedy the boiling heat. Such is life that here in the Top End, there are two major deterents for jumping blindly into the nearest water hole, crocodiles and box jellyfish.

The box jelly inhabits the coastal ocean during most of the year, necessitating a safety suit or a large net to keep the buggers out. Affectionately known as "stingers," these nasty guys can deliver fatal stings to adults. That rules out the ocean for us. How about those rivers and billabongs? Let's talk croc now (although saltwater crocs live in the ocean too). There are two types of croc around these parts, saltwater and freshwater. Salties are the stuff of horror movies, growing to be over 15 ft long and attacking boats. Freshies are considered harmless since smaller and only eat fish. The rules of thumb for swimming are: 1. If you see a croc sign, don't go in. 2. If you don't, be scared out of your mind and go in at your own risk. With these rules in mind, let's journey into the waterholes around the Top End.

Nitmiluk National Park is the home of the Katherine River as it winds its way gently through a series of 13 gorges before heading to the coast. As an added bonus, an additional waterfall is found within the park borders.

After pushing through a horde of 12-15 year old American tour groups, we made our way to look at Edith Falls. The plunge pool is a popular swimming spot with crystal clear water and a nice 50 ft fall. Rule 1 was not in effect, but there was a notice for freshies in the area. Although tempted to enter, we walked around above the fall and were rewarded with a wonderful pool that was almost guaranteed to be croc-free (as they would have to climb the waterfall to reach it). The pool was great, with its own recirculating current that brought you back to the waterfall.

Our next stop was at the Katherine Gorge portion of the park. Here we were introduced into Aussie style camping. The thing to do here is get a beefy trailer behind your 4WD and tackle the outback. Some of the trailers were pretty interesting, folding out to reveal all kinds of canvas construction not thought possible. Usually these contraptions were accompanied by bbq apparatus of some sort. We felt left out with our rental sedan.

Our main activity while in Katherine Gorge was river kayaking. We were assured there were only freshies in the river, so it was ok to go. After no instruction or safety talk, we were let lose on the river. Our only instructions: portage over the rapids (both ways), and keep life jackets on at all times. Fair enough. We began by heading upstream. Eventually we reached the end of the first gorge denoted by the first rapid section. These are modest rapids (2 rating) with a span of about 20 ft or so. We jump out of the boat and begin the portage process. It takes 30 minutes of tugging with the 3 ft of bowline provided to get the boat into the second gorge, including some interesting moments walking more or less straight up three successive rapids. We accomplished this once more before entering the third gorge an hour later. With our victory came a nice lunch spot.

On the ride back things got a little more interesting. Looking around meekly, we didn't see any reason not to ride the boat down the rapids and save ourselves the effort. So begins the life of crime. The first rapids were successfully negotiated with a smirk. Buoyed by our success, we shot through the first set of rapids into the next canyon. At the third set, we decided to play conservative and walk the boat around an ominous looking rock. Spying a nice walking path, we lifted the boat and proceeded to walk. Apparently this set of alarms everywhere, as rangers descended on us and demanded we place the boat in the water immediately. It seems, given the choice, it was more dangerous for us to carry the boat on land than walk downstream through rapids towing a boat. To show our displeasure (as you can tell, I'm still angry about this one), we jumped in and rode the boat through the last rapids in full ranger view. Final kayaking note, didn't see a single croc. Other tidbit is Karen found a Black Whip Snake rushing between her boots during a walk, about 50 ft from the car. Yeah, it's poisonous.

Our tour of popular swimming locations took us to Litchfield National Park, also home of the magnetic termites. These clever little guys build large, but thin, mounds to obtain the most stable temperature. Typically the mounds fall along nearly north/south orientation to catch the most sun. Curiously, the ability to do this clever bit of engineering is genetic with failure resulting in loss of the entire colony (has Boeing tried this approach yet?). Since there are no native Aussie grazing animals, termite mounds fit the bill. They dot the countryside in the way that cows do in a lot of other countries. The cathedral mounds are pretty impressive too. The tallest can be over 15 ft high. Along the way, we stopped at a couple of nice swimming spots where we just had to cool off.

Finally, we decided to stop at a croc farm on the way back to Darwin to see just what these harmless freshies looked like. Take a look at the photo! Some were about 10 ft long, and all of them had those enormous teeth. We swam in rivers that had these guys present! Yikes.

With no real mishaps, we prepare to move on to the last stage of our adventure in Oz. Off to the reef and islands before heading home. While we loved our life for the past 6 months, it will be good to get home.

Kakadoodle-Du

2006-06-30T19:02:00.000+12:00

(karen)
We're soaking up the sweet sunshine at last now that we've arrive at Australia's Top End in the Northern Territory. We flew from chilly Melbourne to sweltering Darwin, swapping long underwear and jackets for shorts and tank tops. Ah, this is my kind of winter! This is the Australian version of New Yorkers riding out the cold weather on a beach in Florida, crocs, snakes and all.

Darwin is not a huge city despite being the capitol of the Northern Territory. We found little to do in the way of tourist diversions but did enjoy an hour feeding fish at a protected cove. For only $8 (ouch) you can toss slices of white bread into the water and watch the ensuing feeding frenzy. We actually did have a fun time, but not as much fun as the kids on field trip who were beside themselves with glee.

The real allure of the Top End is the magnificent national parks that showcase the unique ecology of this region. The highlight was Kakadu, the first stop on our itinerary. Aboriginal people have inhabited this area for over 40,000 years. That is a length of time that I can't even begin to grasp. Both man and environment have grown and evolved together through many of mother Earth's changes, from the time of mega-fauna marsupials, to ice ages when the ocean levels were much lower, and at last to modern day Australia. In recent times a complex floodplain ecosystem has developed based on the monsoon wet and dry seasons. The Aboriginal people live in balance with their homeland, knowing when are the proper times to hunt certain animals, as well as lighting fires in the early dry season to "clean up" the floodplains. The plants here have come to depend on the seasonal fires; each year over 50% of the land is burned. This encourages new growth, makes hunting easier, and prevents large scale bush fires in the late dry season when the grasses are over dry and lightning storms take over.

We are visiting the area in the early dry season, the season of bush fires, when the humidity is lower and the temperatures are more comfortable. The dry season is a very popular time to visit because not only has the massive flooding abated but this is when migratory birds flock to the billabongs to get fat on grasses and fish. If you remember the news from a few months ago, there was a late season cyclone (hurricane) that caused massive flooding in the region. When I say massive I mean the water depth on the floodplain was about 9 meters (~27 feet)! While that is normal for the Top End, it meant that many of the billabong trails that are usually open by now were still closed. It was a little frustrating to not explore as much as we would have liked, but still we found plenty to see.

Kakadu is a World Heritage Site both for both ecological and cultural factors, a very rare distinction. There are over 5,000 rock art sites but only three are available for tourists to view. Most of the sites are within the Aboriginal owned territory called Arnhem. The paintings we are allowed to see are considered children's stories, ones that people ignorant of the culture are unlikley to misinterpret. I was blown away by the beauty of these paintings compared to the ones we saw down south at the Grampions. There are paintings on top of paintings that for thousands of years have recorded significant events and the fruits of hunting efforts, ensuring that the land will be prosperous for years to come.

We had a fantastic ranger guide us through some of the Aboriginal legends about such things as Lightning Man and the origin of Ginga, the saltwater crocodile. He also explained about the complexities of the societies like skin-names, and the laws that govern the roles within the clan.

We stayed at the rock art site of Ubirr to watch the sunset over the floodplain from a lookout on top of the sandstone escarpment. From up high we had breathtaking views of the vast floodplain surrounded by savannah and patches of monsoon rainforest. Small termite mounds dotted the landscape and wallabies darted around in the cool air of the evening. The thick smoke of the bush fires caused the sun to glow a brilliant magenta as it sank to the horizon.

One of the highlights of our trip was taking a guided dawn cruise down the Yellow Water River. As the sun rose the wetland animals came to life. Wading birds walked through the shallow waters looking for small fish, like the magnificent jabiru stork. We saw all kinds of other birds including whistling ducks, ibis, night herons, and the magestic white breasted sea eagle. Not to be outdone by the birds we also saw plenty of saltwater crocs casually resting at the surface like bumpy logs. At the end of our cruise we even spotted a large croc sunning himself on the bank, eyes closed and mouth open to regulate his temperature.

For our final evening in the park we decided to camp at the stunning Gunlom Falls. It was a bumpy 37km dirt road in to the falls that left everything in our car covered in a fine layer of red powder, but it was worth it once we got to take a dip in the refreshing plunge pool.

We took a small hike to the top of the falls where there were more rock pool to swim in. The water was clear and warm and it felt like a little slice of outback heaven. I guess when the oceans and billabongs are crawling with crocs, these plunge pools are the best safe swimming around! I'd highly recommend a trip to Kakadu if you find yourself in Australia some day.

Munching Through Melbourne

2006-06-20T19:07:00.000+12:00

(steve)

Here we are in Melbourne, the city of food and art according to Lonely Planet. We arrived in town to eat, and eat well. Melbourne is a port city on southern coast where the Yarra River meets the sea. With nearby gold strikes in the mid 1800's, Melbourne became an overnight sensation filled with immigrants from China, Greece, and Italy. The blending of these different cultures resulted in a widely diverse city. All three cultures contribute to create a sophisticated feel to the city, from the architecture and fashion to the cuisine. Certainly, Melbourne deliberately moved at a slower pace compared with Sydney. It was fun to stroll through the secluded pedestrian lanes and sit in small cafes.

Luckily for us, Chinese, Greek, and Italian cultures bring along some of our favorite cuisine. Our gastronomic stay in Melbourne was filled with a wide range of tasty treats from a variety of locations. Two notable spot were Stalactites (Greek) and Cafe Segovia (Modern Aussie) that particularly pleased. We also visited Max Brenners to sample their range of fine melted chocolate concoctions to round out the gluttony.

The centerpiece of our visit was definitely the Good Food and Wine Festival. Held in the Melbourne Convention Centre, the event brought together a wide range of food products to sample. Karen had read about the event while we were in Sydney, causing us to rearrange the schedule specifically to fit it in. Some examples of the products include everything from gourmet yoghurt to olive oils and also a wine and beer tasting area. To our surprise, a friend of ours from Brisbane (Tam, from the West Coast Wilderness team in New Zealand) was going to be in the city at the same time and wanted to meet us there. Armed with our wine glasses, the three of us roamed the floor for an afternoon and had a great time. During the show, a series of celebrity chefs gave demonstrations in one corner of the event centre. They broadcast the demo on a big screen accompanied by glib comments. One other surprise came when we stumbled across the New Zealand Wine display. Inside were two wineries that we had visited previously. We chatted about the visit with the Kiwis and they were all impressed we would remember. It was also interesting to sample their wine again and note differences from our first impressions. The festival was fun, and we hope to attend more of them at home now too.

The very next morning we walked down to Queen Victoria Market to join the Foodie Tour. Queen Victoria Market is the largest open air marked in the southern hemisphere. The market filled about 7 hectares, complete with over 30 butchers, a huge deli section, cafes, produce halls, and merchandise of all shapes and sizes. If you were looking for something, chances are it was there. Our tour of the market focused on the food aspects. We started with the meat hall, where the butchers catered to specific portions of the populace (Greek, Italian, etc.). Along the way we were instructed on the differences between male and female pork, specialty vs. volume butchers, and a load of other little tidbits that often go unappreciated with a stroll along the booths. Our journey through the deli section included a number of sample stops to stuff our faces. The booth owners/operators were usually really nice and answered all manner of questions. It must be so nice to have that huge repository of experience to tap into at will. We decided that the market was about the coolest shopping experience we've ever had, and that it's too bad we don't have anything quite like it back home.

Would You Be My Prom Date?

2006-06-20T18:36:00.000+12:00

(karen)
We capped off our outdoor adventures on the chilly south-east coast of Australia with a jaunt down to the lovely Wilson's Promontory, known locally as "the Prom". This is one of Australia's oldest national parks thanks to a handful of early naturalists who fought to preserve this lovely Victorian penninsula from commercial development.

We had a long drive in from Geelong, just west of Melbourne on the Great Ocean Road, so our first day was cut a bit short. Couple our late arrival with a winter sunset around 5:00 and we had little daylight to play with, but at least the local critters start getting active at dusk. The first thing we noticed as we pulled into the park is that there are beautiful yet perpetually moody storm couds that blanket the penninsula. Fortunately the dramatic clouds allowed for some breathtaking crepuscular rays.

We were eager to stretch our legs after being stuck inside the car for so long. (After the compact scenic beauty of New Zealand we are still trying to readjust our sense of scale; Australia is about the same size as the continental USA.) We started with the Lilly Pilly Gully Nature Walk, mostly because of our choices I thought it had the coolest name. The walk took us through some surprisingly diverse ecosystems, from heath scrub to paper bark eucalyptus and sheaoak forest, and even temperate rainforest within the gully. The skies were unstable and it poured rain on us but at least we were prepared with long underwear, boots, fleece jackets, rain jackets, gloves, and wolly hats. Honestly, who knew it would be so frigid down under? Certainly not what I was expecting.

We started on another hike through wombat territory, however despite signs of burrows, scat, and deep scratches in the hillside we didn't see any animals. It was getting dark so we got back in the the car and drove out to a grassy field often frequented by wombats, emus, and kangaroos. The light rain and dark clouds coaxed the animals out and we were delighted to find them grazing across the field. It was too dark to take photos so you'll just have to be content with a couple of the posted warning signs we encountered.

The next day we came back to the park and walked out to an area called Millers Landing. We found ourselves on a small, private beach at low tide, lined with mangroves and muddy flats. After a bit of exploration we came across fresh kangaroos tracks in the sand, but I was most impressed with the emu footprints in a muddy patch. The mud perfectly preserved the pebbly texture of its foot and a large claw at the end of each toe, like some kind of modern day dinosaur.

Later in the day we drove on to the Tidal River area and went on a hike to Squeaky Beach, so named for the white silica sand that squeaks when you walk across it. It was too wet from the constant rain to do much squeaking, but I brought back a sample in a film canister to share with my science-buff mom. The beach itself was dramatic with the storm frenzied waves and the black clouds. We watched as thin sheets of rain moved quickly across the surface of the sea, until suddenly the wind whipped up and it passed over our heads, then momentary sunshine as it continued on across the surrounding hillsides.

We were surprised to find the beach littered not with shells but with giant cuttlefish backbones. There were literally hundreds across the sand, most small, but some reaching from my elbow to fingertips. I would love to see the size of the actual cuttlefish that these come from.

Again we found no large marsupials while hiking but we did encounter numerous birds including galahs, magpies, the elusive (for us) black cockatoo, rainbow lorekeet, and flocks of noisy, cheeky crimson rosellas. These birds are like kea, the New Zealand parrot, in that they are very intelligent and have completely taken over the visitor center. We snapped this photo as he was inspecting out our car tires, probably looking for a tasty rubber snack.

The Prom was good to us and I wish that we could have gotten the chance to look around in better weather because we could easily spend a week backpacking into some of the more remote areas of the park. I suppose that will just have to wait for our next trip.

Fire and Water

2006-06-15T18:41:00.000+12:00

(steve)

Fresh from our fleecing on Kangaroo Island, we embarked on a long drive stretch to get to the Melbourne area. Our route took us through a large expanse of farmland, complete with rolling hills and lots of cows. There are two attractions along the way to keep us entertained. First up, Grampians National Park.

We rolled into Hall's Gap after about 7 hours worth of drive and ferry time. We were good and ready to get out of the car. Especially for me, the last hour of drive was a little nervous, since it was completely dark at this point and there are loads of kangaroos that like to hang out right next to the road after sunset. As you drive around the countryside the freeways are littered with carcases of the poor beasties, making a roo strike all too real a danger.

The Grampians lie in a park about 150 km west of Melbourne, making them a popular weekend spot for locals escaping the city. To complicate matters for us, our arrival coincided with a public holiday, the Queen's b-day. After not having to deal much with crowds during the winter, there were a lot of cars and folks about the place. Luckily, we found a room in one of the local hostels. The next day was spent touring the park. This park tour was different from others in that the surrouding forest was recently burned in a fire (last January). It was very interesting to see the trees in recovery mode. For eucalpyts, the first step is to shoot out a load of leaves from the trunk of the tree itself. This made the forest look like a collection of stumps covered with moss. Much like sequoias, fire is necessary for the trees to complete the reproduction cycle, with the heat releasing new seeds. At the same time, the forest floor begins to recover with a new carpet of ferns that spring up. Overall, the forest doesn't look like it suffered too much damage. Compare this to the result of a fire around southern CA. The Grampians is also home to a number of Aboringinal rock art sites. We visited two of them for your viewing pleasure.

The second attraction was the Great Ocean Road. This is a 300 km stretch of highway that runs along the coast from Warrnambool to Geelong known for gorgeous scenery and dramatic landscape. We began the drive with a stop at the beach in Warnambool, where we heard a pair of southern right whales had arrived to give birth. The town is fascinated with these creatures, building a viewing platform for easy access. We joined a host of locals and watched as the two rolled just outside the breakers, coming up for air every couple of minutes. Nature at work. With a warm fuzzy, we headed out on the road.

The Great Ocean road runs along coastline carved from sandstone at a rate of 2 cm per year. This rapid erosion leaves lots of arches, caves, and pillars standing (temporarily) in the surf. Combined with turquoise water, the scene was beautiful to behold. We lingered at colorfully named spots like Bay of Martyrs and the Twelve Apostles. This coast is also infamous for shipwrecks, hence the reverential names. Unfortunately for us, rain showers lingered with us for the day too. The drive was longer than we expected, but worth the effort.

Attack of the Killer Drop Bears

2006-06-15T01:05:00.000+12:00

(karen)
We were lured by glossy advertisements promising copious native flora and fauna into booking a trip to Kangaroo Island, just off the coast of South Australia. Honestly, they had us thinking that we'd be picking echidnas out of out hair and shaking platypus out of our boots. Who could resist such a temptation? So off to the YHA travel agent to make a booking, where we realized that a return trip on the ferry with our car would cost $300. You can imagine our sticker shock that a podunk 45 minute ferry ride would cost $300, when we paid less than that for a three hour trip between islands in New Zealand. Apparently there's a little thing called "capitalism", which holds that any business without competition can charge whatever they damn well feel like.

We departed Cape Jervis early in the morning and arrived without incident on Kangaroo Island. Immediately we hopped on the dusty backroads and started exploring. Most of the central and eastern regions of the island have been converted to farmland, so we spotted a multitude of sheep and cows but as of yet no marsupials. Our first stop was at Clifford's Honey Farm where (get this) there resides the last pure strain of Ligurian bees on the planet. Incredible, I know. For a mere $2 each we got to watch an educational video on the honey gathering process and observe an active hive through plexiglass windows. The samples of their gum tree honey in the gift shop were pretty tasty though, as was the honey icecream.

As we made our way toward the western edge of the island there was less farmland and more native bush. We rubbed our hands greedily, let the wildlife onslaught ensue! In the Flinders Chase National Park we spotted a few roos hopping around the roadsides, but the echidna mating trains we were promised were MIA. Our trip to the platypus pools yielded nothing but one or two ripples across the dark waters (no doubt fish related). Shaking out my boots yeilded similarly poor results. The absolute highlight of the trip, however, was our visit to the Koala (aka drop bear) Sanctuary. In a span of only 600 meters we counted 23 koalas snuggled tightly into adorable little koala balls, high in the eucalptus canopy.**

Just as we were about to leave one of the koalas picked up his head, looked around, and gave a big sleeeepy yawn. How amazing to have seen one awake, we exclaimed! But then our sleepy koala stood up on his branch and proceeded to walk over to the tree trunk and climb his way down to the ground. At the base of the tree he glanced around and then took off in a bow-legged hopping run, kind of like a rabbit. You'd never guess it but those suckers can really move when they're inclined! He passed right in front of me and for a split second I panicked that he'd try to climb my leg like a gum tree. Lucky for me he kept running until he found a tree he liked. He bounded up a few feet, dug in his sharp black claws, and perched there for a minute assessing his situation. Apparently this tree was inadequate, so he jumped back to the ground. He did this several times, running to a new tree, climbing a couple of feet and looking around, then jumping down to try the next one. We were surprised that when he finally found "the one" it was a large pine tree! He climbed into the upper branches and immediately we started to hear a low, menacing growl. After a quick search we saw that there was already a well established koala who wasn't keen to share with this feisty newcomer. The growling continued until it became clear that that was the limit of the energy he was willing to expend during this invasion. The forest grew quiet and the two koalas hunkered down for a 22 hour nap.

In conclusion, despite our koala encounter, Kangaroo Island was interesting to visit but not worth the exorbitant price tag. For a more pristine environment with truly abundant wildlife viewing we would highly recommend visiting Wilson's Promontory in Victoria. More on that next time, stay tuned!

**The fact that there are in total 27,000 koalas on a small corner of the island points to larger issues of population mismanagement, though the Parks Service are attempting to rectify the situation through sterilization and and relocation. It should be noted that the animals are not native, they were introduced during the last century.

Shiraz a Good Time

2006-06-14T23:29:00.000+12:00

(steve)

Fresh off of our outback encounter, we headed south to Adelaide. Lucky for us, the journey to Adelaide from the Flinders Ranges runs smack through the Clare and Barossa valleys. These valleys are in the heart of the Aussie wine country. The mainstay of Aussie wine is shiraz (or syrah if you're from North America), but they are known for Riesling. Since our New Zealand wine tasting was mainly Chardonnay, we were looking forward to rounding out our palates a bit.

The first stop was the Clare Valley. With 30+ cellars to try, we had more than enough wine at our fingertips. Although, since it was about noon and we still had to drive to the city I had to taste in moderation. First up was the Seven Hills Winery, home of a group of Jesuit monks. We walked into a chateau on a picturesque hillside to be met by a cat demanding to be let inside (it was about 55 F outside). After we opened the door, he screeched a welcome and walked in. Inside was the best wine I've tasted that was made by monks. The shiraz was smooth and fruity, just like we like it. Outside, the landscape was a bit dreary, with vines holding on to their yellowing leaves, and in some cases late harvest grapes. We are officially in full blown winter down here. We stopped about 4 times in the valley, long enough to take up the rest of the afternoon. The most eventful tasting came at the Mintaro winery where the winemaker watched us and paced the length of the bar the entire time. It made for a really creepy experience. We were the only two in the room with him (midweek in winter) and he was obviously uncomfortable with human contact. He kept muttering to himself, and when asked a question, returned a stunted answer along with a grim glare. It's too bad, because his wine was good, with creative labels. We tasted and got the heck out of there.

Once we got to Adelaide we decided we had to go back and sample from the Barossa valley this time. Barossa is the flagship valley, with the most long established vines and reputation. Once there, we began at the Morgan Street winery with a nice cheese platter and a table overlooking the barren vines in the sun. It was nice to sit and enjoy for an hour. We toured the valley for the rest of the afternoon, with three notable stops, the Peter Lehman winery and a restaurant called 1918. While all the Barossa wine tasted better than most Aussie wine, Peter Lehman was at the top of our heap. He made some stuff we fell in love with. Unfortunately for us, the labels sold for a whopping $45 and $90 per bottle. Given our travel lifestyle for the next six weeks, we couldn't justify the price to have the bottle sit through uncounted hours in the trunk of the rental car. Fortunately, they are beginning to export to the States this year. The name 1918 comes from the birth year of the cottage-style building housing the restaurant. The food was outstanding, where we shared fried gnocchi and a kangaroo steak. We've seen roo on the menu before, but this time had to try it. Karen's comment was, "Australia is the only nation that eats it's coat of arms." And it was delicious. Our final stop for the day was the Sturt Burge winery where our usual shiraz fix was supplemented by a very nice port. Labeled the "Age Unknown", this liqueur was the result of finding an old barrel in a warehouse of a recently purchased competitor. No one seemed to know exactly when the mixture was concocted. So, they added some new stuff to balance the taste and voila, really good mystery port. It was probably the best port we've ever had. The folks at the winery were obviously sad though, as they could never reproduce the result. Oh well, at least we can buy a bottle and remember.

The rest of our time in Adelaide was a bit of a blur. The city itself was nice, with clean streets and well laid out. It was easy to walk around the see. The people were very relaxed compared with Sydneysiders, except for one notable trio. At a curry restaurant one night, a trio of locals berated the hostess for placing them at a table they felt was too small for three. To add to the insult, the server brought all the food at once, including the starters (it was really slow that night so the chef didn't have as much to do). They were the most whiny people we've seen on the trip so far. When they sent back the starters, I thought they were going to receive a few "extras" in their food for the trouble.

Our other fun city activities were visiting the Adelaide market, known as the biggest in Australia, and the JamFactory, an art school specializing in blown glass. The market was very tasty with the highlight coming from a fresh yoghurt stand, yummy. The JamFactory had a viewing platform where we watched, spellbound, as a team of three completed an interesting piece that included welding what looked like silver to the glass between trips to the oven. It was neat to see how they come up with the interesting shapes and color blends. All in all Adelaide was a nice town to visit with the main focus being wine, and boy was it good.

The Outback Beckons

2006-06-06T19:02:00.000+12:00

(karen)
We've hit the open road and I've got to say that it feels fantastic to travelling again. We had a great stint in Sydney, but when the outback beckons one must heed the call. After consulting with some of our local Aussie friends we had a last minute change of itineray and decided to forgo the nation's capital and take the dusty red highway across New South Wales towards the Flinders Ranges in South Australia.

The landscape was everything I dreamed it would be. The red earth was so rich and vibrant against the deep blue skies, and graceful eucalyptus trees abundantly dotted the horizon. I was so excited by the beauty of this desert that I was constantly yelling to Steve "Stop! I need to take a photo RIGHT NOW!" The cars out here are few and far between so we weren't at any risk of getting rear ended with our manic screeching to stop on the shoulder. I fell in love with the desolate train crossing in the photo above, made even more dramatic by the rain showers on the horizon.

It's a bit disconcerting to stand looking out over the endless sea of the scorched red outback and huddle in your coat against the chilly winter air, but such is life in the desert. Also disconcerting are the frequent signs at every dip in the road warning of possible flooding, with depth indicators up to two meters. We had sunny skies during our journey but I imagine in the wet season the flash floods must be biblical in proportion.

Our ultimate outback destination were the beautiful Flinders Ranges, about four hours north of Adelaide. We stayed just outside the National Park in a small caravan resort in Rawnsley Park, which looked very similar to the front range in Colorado. The grass trees shown below are a particularly beautiful feature of the landscape.

We were truly amazed at the abundance of wildlife in this region. Just walking around in the evening we came across dozens of kangaroos grazing and jumping about. Their legs are so powerful that we saw one group jump clear over a four foot high fence without blinking an eye. We spotted the small grey kangaroos, the larger red kangaroos, and we were very luckly to find the endangered yellow footed rock wallaby inside the park. Another treat was seeing herds of wild emu. They were unafraid of us so we actually were able to see them quite close, and at one point we actually had to shoo them off the road!

Don't tell the car rental company but we ditched the paved roads to explored the dirt roads of the park. The landscapes we encountered were more beautiful than I ever imagined we'd find in this remote area.

One the way back to our camp we came across several ruined stone buildings from old abandoned settlements in the area. The sun was setting which made a glorious backdrop for the house. It was a perfect sunset and a great end to a memorable outback experience.

Farewell to Sydney

2006-06-06T18:51:00.000+12:00

(steve)

The last few days of our time in Syndey have arrived. The last day at the university dawned with little fanfare. Since I was working by myself, my departure was not very ceremonious. I simply turned off the computer, shut off the light, and walked out. Karen's cohorts decided we just had to go get some beer at the Belgian Beer Cafe to celebrate our last night. The evening was filled with Belgian beer and a thorough discussion of the upcoming itinerary. Iain, Jason, and Kasia were good fun and fine examples of locals befriending the tourists.

Flash Slideshow

For our last full day in Sydney, Karen and I decided to head out to Bondi Beach to take in the local surfing scene. The day was a bit overcast and chilly, but the water still looked glorious. Bondi itself was dotted with surfers sitting awaiting the arrival of the next perfect set. It was easy to imagine the beach crowded with the thousands of people on the average weekend during the summer. We wandered along the shore for a while, past the ocean front saltwater home of the Sydney Icebergs (local cold-water swim club), down through the series of coves that make up the shoreline. There were loads of surfers at every break, and they all looked pretty cold when they emerged.

We had a good time in Sydney. It was amazing how fast the time went. We feel like we know a bit about the pulse of the city and its inhabitants.

How the Rangers Live

2006-05-29T19:23:00.000+12:00

(steve)
As the Sydney stay winds down Karen and I have been trying to make sure we savor any last tidbits from the city. Last weekend was highlighted with three main events. First up on Thursday was a trip down to the Sydney Opera House to take in a concert performed by the Sydney Symphony. The concert was called Gelmetti's Shock of the New III Rhythm and Ritual, showcasing a troupe of Taiko drummers, a choir (called Cantillation), and an awesome didgeridoo player. The concert was fun and it was neat to get a look inside the Opera House for an event.

Friday evening was our fifth wedding anniversary. To celebrate we walked to a great restaurant called Oscillate Wildly in Newtown. Once seated, we indulged in a delicious three course feast with a great bottle of wine. The best part was the dessert where Karen tucked into a brioche and I had a carmelized apple. Umm, dessert good. We left the restaurant warm and happy after our three hour visit.

Flash Slideshow

Saturday saw us pay a weekend visit to our ranger buddies Chris and Kathleen and their doggies Digger and Shadow. They live in the Sydney suburb of Westleigh, directly on the edge of the Berowra Valley Regional Park managed by Kathleen. Let's just say their house was amazing. The views from the back of the house over the park were stupendous. It was easy to understand the stories of interesting animal encounters we had heard before arriving. Not to outdone by Chris, Kathleen took us on a tour of her park, including a fun 4WD romp through some of the back-country service roads. Things got serious as we heard the sound of dirt bikes, a no-no inside the park. Unfortunately, we never found the trespassers to give chase. I was imagining a wild escape attempt followed by Chris leaping from the truck to apprehend the bandits. Oh well. We ended up staying the night where we were treated to the traditional Aussie BBQ of lamb and sausages. We spent the night telling stories, looking at photos, and playing with the dogs. The doggie time was a treat for us since it's been five months since we've seen our mutts.

The following morning Karen and I awoke, with dogs curled on the bed with us, to look out through the picture windows over the park again. The view never got old. Since it was Sunday, we were slow to get moving and ended up getting a taste of classic Aussie movies. We started with the first 20 minutes of "Muriel's Wedding," and watched "The Dish" straight through. For all you Aerospace weenies out there, "The Dish" is a great compliment to "Apollo 13" and "The Right Stuff" as it details the story of Australia's part in communicating with the Apollo 11 crew for the first moon landing. Pretty funny, and a true story. We wrapped up the weekend with a short walk through the park, always interesting in the company of rangers. Chris and Kathleen were incredibly nice to allow two tourists (especially Americans) to invade their house. We really appreciate them spending so much time with us to make sure we had a true Aussie experience, it was truly above and beyond what we expected. We can't wait to return the favor when they visit us in the future. Isn't it nice to have friends from around the world?

The Parcel Cometh

2006-05-26T14:48:00.000+12:00

(karen)
Before we left home we put together a box of goodies for our stint in Sydney. This included things like clean clothes to wear while working at the University, sneakers for pick-up ultimate games, guide books for Sydney and the East Coast, and a laptop computer for Steve to do research. We had Steve's parents send the box a month before we were due to arrive to ensure that there was plenty of time for our junk to take the big overseas voyage.

When we arrived in Sydney on April 12 we were mildly concerned that the box had not shown up yet. Don't worry, we told ourselves, it'll be here any day. So we waited. And waited. And waited. Steve managed to borrow a computer from one of the professors so he was able to stay busy, however all his research materials were on a CD in the box. So instead of doing new research he spent his time re-programming. We got a pool membership instead of playing ultimate. We bought new guide books.

And then just as we had given up all hope and were preparing to leave Sydney, the box magically appeared! Resurrected from customs purgatory nine and a half weeks after it was bid adieu at the Sacramento post office. It's a bittersweet reunion as we are more than happy to get our belongings back that we had given up for dead, but at the same time we have to figure out what to do with 25lb of stuff that will be little more than a burden for the next leg of our trip. Our original plan was to ship everything back when we were done using it in Sydney, but at this point I'm not giving the post office another cent.

But in the meantime we've joyfully welcomed the newcomers. Hello favourite pair of jeans! How're you going leather belt? We went to dinner last night decked out in our new found finery and felt like a million bucks. I can't explain how satisfying it is after five months to have a new outfit to wear. Simple pleasures, yes, but it brought a smile to our faces.

Family, Aussie-style

2006-05-23T16:52:00.000+12:00

(steve)

This past weekend I played the part of long-lost cousin from across the sea. Karen and I traveled north to the Sydney suburb of Pymble, where a host of relatives awaited. Ok, so it was only one family, but given the distance and expense, I had only met my Uncle Bruce and Aunt Loida one time when I was around 4 years old, and never met her children Logan, Drew, and Anitra. We entered the house (armed with triple chocolate chip cookies) to receive a warm welcome as the long-lost (second) cousins.

As a special treat, we were whisked off to a local park for the quintessential Aussie BBQ. Here we relaxed for the afternoon telling stories, comparing accents, watching cockatoos, chasing after Anitra's kids (Dion and Tyler were non-stop entertainment), and having a general good time. Along the way, we were introduced to BBQ, Aussie-style. Together with salads and lamb, Karen and I had a taste of kangaroo sausage (kanga-bangas). The grand finale was the brewing of Aussie billie tea, complete with Drew demonstrating the proper way to stir it.

A quick bout of rain chased us back to the house, where Drew casually asked if anyone wanted a ride on his bike. Karen enthusiastically raised her hand. After borrowing some gear (from Aunt Loida's biker get-up!), she was all leathered up and ready to go. I was nervous (motorcycle + rain + crazy Sydney drivers = accident) but everything turned out all right.

Meeting relatives and making new friends was one goal for this trip. I'm happy to say we met a great family that we look forward to seeing again soon. I just hope I can be as good a host.

This Little Piggy Went to Market

2006-05-23T11:55:00.000+12:00

(karen)
We're finding it hard to believe that we've been in Sydney for over five weeks already. Staying that long in one place is actually kind of a strange experience because you start existing in a state that is somewhere between being on vacation and living a normal life. We've tried hard to keep ourselves busy but at some point you run out of "things to do", in a tourist sense. Having exhausted the Art Gallery, the Opera House, the Aquarium, lately we've found joy in exploring some of the local markets.

Our first stop was for lunch at the famous Sydney Fish Market. This is a city landmark and the largest such market in the Southern Hemisphere. (Take that with a grain of salt. Nearly everything is advertised as being "the largest XXXX in the Southern Hemisphere" which, due to the small total land mass down south, just reinforces that there's not a lot of competition.) We missed the fish auction that happens early in the morning, but we still were able to walk around the massive complex and check out the exotic catch on display.

Every kind of crustacean imaginable! Countless oysters! Iridescent silvery beauties! Octopus! Fish as big as your sister! Fish scales were a'flying as we wandered the delectable labrinyth. The picture above was just one small section of the entire market. For lunch we bought some sashimi grade salmon and smoked eel which they cut into bite sized portions for us. It was a great deal, far cheaper than going to a sushi restaurant.

We were still a bit hungry so we ordered a small basket of whitebait to cap off our lunch. These look like chips, but don't be fooled...they have eyes. I was dying to try them since we never got the chance in New Zealand. On the whole not extraordinary, but worth a nibble at least once in your life!

Over the weekend we hit Paddy's Market in Haymarket, near Chinatown. This is an Australia icon that has been serving as a marketplace for over 150 years. Never have I seen such a plethora of cheap crap in my life. There are aisles upon aisles of vendors selling everything from underwear to wigs, caged birds to electronics. People flock here by the hundreds to find bargins on clothes and jewelry while the rest of us look for cheesy souveniers to get the folks back home (ye be warned!)

Later we stopped by the open air night market in Chinatown where we found more jewlery and clothes for sale (sorry, no photos). Even more intriguing were the many stalls selling dumplings, rolls, buns, and other dim sum style foods. I would love to have sampled these but I was too full from dinner earlier.

In all, visiting these markets has been a great opportunity to see the personality of this city and I'm glad to have had the opportunity.

Riding with Ranger Chris

2006-05-17T17:26:00.001+12:00

While on the Overland Track in Tasmania we had the great fortune of meeting a wonderful couple, Chris and Kathleen. Over the course of three evenings chatting with them we learned that they live in Sydney and both are senior rangers with the National Park Service. Chris graciously invited us on a tour of his parks when we were in town, and last weekend we took him up on his offer.

Chris is a senior ranger in charge of overseeing two parks just outside of Sydney, Garigal and Ku-ring-gai Chase. We hopped in his 4WD and went along as he did a patrol of the territory. First stop was to check on the water tank level (95% full) and to make sure that the local transient wasn't camping out illicitly in the bushes (he wasn't). Chris then took us on a short walk to an overlook where we saw his favorite tree growing from the side of a cliff face. It is truly a spectacular gum tree, spilling its roots around the cracks in the rocks

Another fascinating area was a wide expanse of tesselated rock where aboriginal carvings have been found in the shapes of animals, people, and possibly spiritual figures. Just beyond the carvings Chris took us to a hidden cave in the sandstone that was likely used by ancient people as a gathering place.

We stopped for tea at the ranger cabin in a lovely beach picnic area where we got to meet several members of his team. There were wallabies everywhere, as common as we'd see squirrels back home. We were even fortunate enough to see several kookaburras and a white faced heron.

The highlight of the trip was when we drove over to one of the most exclusive addresses in greater Sydney: Barrenjoey. At the tip of a delicate sandspit lies a small corner of the Ku-ring-gai Chase Park, containing the Barrenjoey Lighthouse. Since we were American VIPs, or at least we were jokingly introduced as such, we were allowed to accompany Chris inside the lighthouse and see the breathtaking view from the top. It was amazing to see surfers riding the waves of the Pacific on one side of the spit, and sailboats in calm sheltered water a couple hundred meters away.

Steve and I had a great day touring the parks and appreciated the opportunity to see these beautiful places so close to a major metropolitan area. Sydneysiders don't know how lucky they are to have gems such as these and the Blue Mountains in their backyard. We are looking forward to reuniting with Chris and Kathleen one more time before leaving Sydney to continue our travels in a couple of weeks.

Super 14 Smackdown

2006-05-17T16:42:00.000+12:00

(karen)

We finally fulfilled our dreams of going to see a rugby game, and we're not talking lame Aussie Rules. This is the Super 14. It was the last home game of the season for the Sydney Waratahs. Kind of funny isn't it, that a sport of such bloodlust would chose a dainty flower for their mascot? Anyway, the Waratahs were playing their arch rival Hurricanes from Wellington, New Zealand. All across the city people were drawn by the thousands to the bright lights of Sydney Stadium. You could feel the electricity in the air. We had our faces painted just outside before finding our seats down by the field. Go Tahs go!

Although our seats were not the greatest, most of the action stayed down at our end so we had nice views when they scored their trys (a try is like a touchdown for you Yanks).

I wasn't entirely sure what was happening, but that's about par when it comes to me and spectator sports. I cheered every time the players hurled their muscle bound bodies over the goal line, regardless of the team. My philosophy is that if you root for both sides you'll never go home upset. I'm not sure my fellow spectators would agree with me, however. I have a feeling most of them were pretty upset that their beloved Waratahs couldn't bring their game together at the end and wound up loosing to the visiting Hurricanes by 5 points.

At the end of the game there was an explosion of yellow and black as hundreds of ex-pat Kiwis in the crowd stood to cheer for the victorious Hurricanes. And I cheered too, with my Waratah face paint, because I love to go home happy. It was a great night.

Batman!

2006-05-17T16:29:00.000+12:00

(karen)
I've told you about the mighty bats of Sydney but I'm afraid many of you have failed to grasp the sheer size of these flying rodents. They are about the size of seagulls. There are hundreds of them that patrol the night skies, keeping our Aussie Gotham free from the seedy underbelly of the insect world. And I think they are just about the coolest kids on the block. After several failed attempts, I managed to get this shot of a bat friend as he was drinking from the pond at Darling Harbour.

(Too bad their eyes don't really glow like demons, that would be awesome)

Can Mountains Be Blue?

2006-05-08T15:58:00.000+12:00

(steve)

After three weeks in the city, we decided it was time for a long-weekend getaway. (We haven't gone to the Uni for five full days in a row yet, so why break the streak.) After soliciting ideas, we rented a car, dug out the camping gear, and headed east to the Blue Mountains. Now, keep in mind "mountain" is a relative term. With a soaring height of 3500 ft, we weren't in any danger of altitude sickness on this trip. The local mountains were recently described to us as "growing down." We didn't really know what that meant until we got there. Nevertheless, we played conservative and packed in the cold weather gear, even though the forecast was for sunny days. The plan was to camp both nights, with some day hikes thrown in for good measure.

The highway to Blue Mountain National Park spiraled up through rolling hills outside of Sydney. The landscape was dominated by eucalyptus (gum trees). Our first stop was 90 miles east in a town called Katoomba at Echo Point. This is the site of the Three Sisters rock formation. We gazed out over the Jamison Valley and found a beautiful vista reminiscent of the high country in Arizona. Looking around, there was definitely a blue tint to the surrounding hills and cliffs. The blue tint is caused by the release of a fine blue mist from the gum trees that ends up filling the valleys. As for "growing down," the area is best described as a series of valleys and canyons in the hills. There aren't any easily distinguished peaks to point at, but lots of shear 1000 ft cliffs to fall off of. You don't really notice you've gained elevation until you step up to the edge.

The next stops were at a series of overlooks (Evans Lookout, Govett's Leap, and Perry's Lookdown) for the Grose Valley, further up the road. We ended up spending the first night camping at Perry's Lookdown, right at the cliffs edge. The spot gave us a really nice sunset. That night, the temperature dropped significantly and we were glad of the warm gear foresight. The next day we hiked down about 2000 ft to the bottom of the Grose Valley to look at the Blue Gum Forest. Let's just say the boots felt a little small (and heavy) after sitting in the corner for the past month. The forest was lovely, filled with 100+ ft trees and lots of birds flitting between the branches. We ended up seeing a pair of lyre birds, more cockatoos, and loads of crimson rosellas (bright red parakeets) as well as other assorted small birds.

After camping the second night in the Megalong Valley (where it got even colder than the first night), we drove back to walk in the Grand Canyon arm of the Grose Valley. This canyon provided a different landscape to before, with a more tropical feel to the plants.

With our time almost at an end, we stopped in the villiage of Leura and treated ourselves to a nice lunch. While in town, we noticed another sign that fall is in full swing in the southern hemisphere, as the trees were showing lots of color.

While Sydney has been great, it was good to get outside and get dirty again.

Weekend Warriors

2006-05-02T12:30:00.000+12:00

(karen)
When we first showed up in Sydney we were shown a room in a house called Courtyard that seemed pleasant enough. It wasn't going to be available for a few weeks, so we instead moved into our current room in Campus House. Last thursday the Courtyard room became available and we agreed when they asked us if we'd still like to try it. So we packed up our meager belongings and made the switch to our new house up the street. Our Campus roommates were devasted to loose us, to be replaced with an unknown german couple. How can they be guaranteed that the new folks will bake banana bread for them? How?? At first glance our new quarters are working out okay. Pros: better kitchen, more cheerful atmosphere, tv in our room. Cons: One joint bathroom/shower for 8 people, there is a cafe on the other side of our wall that opens at the crack of dawn, and the light switch for the room is outside the door. Seriously, who designed this place? But we're settled in and getting to meet our new neighbors. Wouldn't you know, one is a french chef! This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

In other news, we indulged our impulsive side and met a friend from my work down at a pub for some live music. We got to meet his friends (one of them hilariously Tolfo-esque) and had a great time. It culminated with a drunken trip to McDonalds at 2:00 in the morning, where literally every person there was staggeringly intoxicated and overly friendly. I loved it. Our surrogate Tolfo then invited us to a house warming party in Glebe the following night, which we were informed was themed "Fictional Gay Characters, Pre 1990". We didn't have the time or resources to make costumes but other people had some great ideas, everything from Inspector Gadget to Mary Poppins to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He introduced us as the "randoms I met at a pub last night", and we were immediately welcomed. This is exactly what I wanted to get out of our stay in Sydney, to make new friends and live a quasi-normal life in a new place.

On Saturday we took the ferry across the harbor to visit the Taronga Zoo. Quite a few exhibits were closed, probably because they are renovating during the off season, but we still got to see a variety of critters. We were most interested in the native animals like koalas (aka drop bears), kangaroos, wombats, dingos, and platypus. Two we really wanted to see, the echidna and Tasmanian devil, were shy and chose not to grace us with their presence. A zoo highlight were several walk through areas for birds and passive animals like wallabies. It's not every day that you have to step aside to let an emu pass!

Our last excitement for the weekend was the Kings Cross Wine and Food Festival. I've been warned that Kings Cross after dark is a lurid maze of sex shops and prostitutes, but by day it is merely kinky bohemian, in a Castro District kind of way. We ended up paying a bit more than we were expecting but the food was delicious and the massive crowd was in good spirits (literally and figuratively). We sat in the sunshine, reading books, sipping wine, and nibbling on delectables ranging from Spanish chorizo to Thai spring rolls. It's making me very excited for the three day Wine and Food festival in Melbourne later next month. (Oh Christine, I wish you were here with me!)

Lest We Forget

2006-04-27T18:25:00.000+12:00

(steve)

Beware! Serious history lesson below. Proceed with caution.

April 25th was ANZAC day here in Australia. A day to remember and honour the past and present members of Australia's armed forces. The original ANZACs (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) were a combined force of Aussies and Kiwis put together to fight in World War I against the Ottomans. The force landed at Gallipoli along the portion of present day Turkey known as the Dardanelles. Unfortunately, the Turks were prepared and a seige resulted. After a brutal 8 months, the ANZACs were evacuated after losing over 8000 soldiers. Even though defeated, the ANZAC action was significant to Australia since the country had only had an independent federal government for 14 days prior to departure (previously directly ruled from the UK). Naturally, the Aussies took immense pride in their first serious entry into world politics. A good movie called Gallipoli (starring an '80s pre-nutjob Mel Gibson) tells the story beautifully, including a powerful Private Ryan-esqe ending.

Naturally, ANZAC day is a national holiday, so we took the day off. Our commemoration consisted of walking downtown to watch the ANZAC parade. The parade marchers were made up of representatives of active or retired military units with a liberal dose of local marching bands in between. We saw WWII, Korea, Vietnam, various UN missions, Afgan, and Gulf War I and II vets marching proudly together. Before the parade, organizers gave out Aussie flags to everyone along the route, and we were offered sprigs of rosemary by a nice man standing next to us. Upon inquiry, no one provided a satisfactory explanation for the rosemary, offering only "it's tradition." A quick internet search found that rosemary is traditionally known as a symbol of remembrance and, of direct significance to ANZACs, found to grow all over the Gallipoli peninsula. Two prominent parade members were riderless horses ("Lone Chargers") with boots reversed in stirrups to honor Boer War and WWI vets posthumously. Within the band ranks were a large number of bagpipes, and the boys from Homebush Boys High (still makes us laugh). We must have heard Waltzing Matilda played 10 times. The parade route ended at the ANZAC memorial in Hyde Park.

We watched the parade for more than 3 hours, and finally left when we couldn't feel our feet (yet before the marching was complete). There were other significant events, held nationwide, like wreath ceremonies and services. To cap off our ANZAC day commemoration we walked to a pub like all good Aussies to watch rugby and drink beer.

Wandering Around Sydney

2006-04-26T11:35:00.000+12:00

(steve)

We spent the weekend wandering around Syndey some more. Two of the best stops were the Sydney Aquarium and Hyde Park. At the Aquarium we got a chance to see one of the creatures we couldn't find in Tasmania, the wily platypus.

We both think that the platypus is about the cutest animal ever. Only about 12 inches long, they were great to watch swimming around the logs, stopping for a scratch every chance they got. They blow bubbles for fun too. Luckily, we'll get the chance to look for them again later in a National Park by Brisbane.

There were plenty of other interesting animals including the Saltwater crocs (Salties) and Leafy Sea Dragons (only found in Oz and New Zealand). There was also an introduction to the Great Barrier Reef with a huge tank of assorted colorful fish and corals. Looking at the display made me pretty excited to strap on the tanks and go for a swim.

After the Aquarium, we took a walk through Hyde Park. Hyde Park is the oldest municipal park in Sydney located just adjacent to the Botanical Gardens. The park is home to a really nice fountain and the ANZAC memorial. Inside the park, there was an exhibition of photos from the Sydney Herald highlighting significant events of the past 175 years of publication. There were some amazing photos, including some world famous pics, like the Munich Olympics hostage crisis.

During our visit, there happened to be a flock of lorikeets (zoom the photo, they're difficult to photo since they're small and don't sit still long) buzzing around the trees. They are beautifully colored birds that look like small parrots and are just as loud. They fly around the city all day, although most of the time you can hear them but not see them. Also in the park that day was an example of an Australian White Ibis. These water birds are very common in the parks, where they beg for food next to pigeons and gulls (curiously spending very little time in the water). The other noticable birds around town are the sulpur-crested cockatoos. We watched a flock of them tear apart a tree to eat the berries. It's much easier to tear off the entire limb than individual berries after all. They are pretty to look at, but boy are they obnoxious to listen to. They seem to fly around in the late afternoon (sometimes in flocks of 20-30). Sydney's bird life (and bats!) is pretty different than the standard bluejay, robin, sparrow assortment found in most US cities.

For the boys out there: I have to say that I have been decidedly disappointed by Aussie beer. So far I've tasted a lot of Budwieser-esqe grog (Boags, Cascade, Toohey's New, VB, etc.) that I'm not going to routinely pay $6/pint for. Not much in the way of micro-brew here either. I did find a Belgian bar serving nice imported beer, but $9/pint is also unacceptable. Luckily, we have a local bar (the world famous Glasgow Arms) that provides $2.5 pints for residents of our building, so I'm not completely on the wagon. I might just have to drink wine for the rest of the trip. New Zealand is winning this competition hands down.

Back in the Saddle Again

2006-04-24T18:42:00.000+12:00

(karen)
We've been in Sydney now for over two weeks, which is the longest we've been anywhere since leaving our old house in Los Angeles. In a way I'm finally fulfilling my dream of being a foreign exchange student (except for all the ways in which I'm obviously not). Travelling to Australia / New Zealand has not been very different at all from being at home in the USA. There are superficial differences like the accent and the wildlife, but apart from that it seems like we ex-colonial folk are all peas in a big pod. I wouldn't have minded being challenged culturally, to think outside the proverbial box, but we will save that for another trip. South America, perhaps? Thailand? In the meantime we are dutifully exploring our home away from home for the next six weeks, as well as finding our new routine for daily life in the city.

Before I left I wrote to a few people at the University of Sydney asking if I could help out in their labs for a few weeks while I was in town. The Australian Center for Field Robotic (ACFR) took pity on a wandering engineer and agreed to let me work with them on their picosatellite project. This is a really interesting project for the students to work on since it will be a full working satellite with all the fixins'. And they do mean pico: it has to fit within a 10cm cube and weigh less than a kilogram. For perspective, it's essentially the size of a coffee mug. I've been busy trying to relearn all the things I forgot during my University schooling 5 years ago, like how to read an electrical circuit diagram, calculating radiative heat transfer, remembering how the attitude determination and control subsytem works, etc. It's all so daunting. I've fallen into my old habits and started setting up a schedule and budget for the project. Curse you Boeing, you've turned me into a bureaucrat. If you are interested in learning a little more about the project go to the CASsat website.

We've been feeling a little lazy after four months of gluttony and little exercise so one of the first things we did in Sydney was get a membership at the Victoria Park Pool, right by the University. The water tastes funny and there are clumps of hair floating like portuguese man-o-war, but at least we're getting the blood flowing again. That's good because it justifies going out and eating all the wonderful food Sydney has to offer. We're making an effort to enjoy as many restaurants as we can in the time we have. So far we've had divine Chinese Noodles in China Town, fish'n'chips at Manly Beach, Thai food in Newtown, and a delightful Sunday brunch in Surry Hills. Pub-wise it's been pretty tame. All the people in the Sleeping with the Enemy housing program get cheap drinks at a place down the street called the Glasgow Arms, which has Budweiser-esque selection but at least it's good company. We've made friends with our housemates and are starting to get introduced to the crowd. Everyone seems to be from Ireland or towns in Northern England, which means they love their pints, are passionate about soccer, and at times are completely unintelligable. Pretty fun so far.

That's our life in general thus far. More anecdotes to follow in the coming weeks. Happy ANZAC Day, everyone!

Welcome to Sydney

2006-04-18T16:48:00.000+12:00

(steve)

After long last, we can relax and unpack the bags for more than a night. We have arrived in Sydney. After a crazy drive from the airport to our hostel (our insane driver sent us both looking desparately for non-existent seatbelts in the rickety van), we dropped our bags and looked at each other with a "now what" expression. Used to having a tight schedule with loads of preparation, we were faced with 6 weeks of undefined time. This was a trifle unsettling since we hadn't stayed for more than 4 days in one place since leaving.

First up, place to live. We ended up using a service called Sleeping with the Enemy that provides long-term hostel stays. We pay weekly for our own room and share kitchen and bath facilities with 6 others. The building is in a part of town called Ultimo, which is convenient to the city (~20 min walk) and the Uni (~20 min walk) as well as loads of pubs and restaurants.

After making contact with our University of Sydney counterparts, we found ourselves with places to sit and think (for me) and work on pico-satellite design (for Karen). With the essentials taken care of it was time to hit the town. Wouldn't you know it, two days after we arrived brought us to the Easter holidays, meaning we get a 4 day weekend (since everyone else was off, why not us too!). Might as well use them to get familiar with the city.

We toured around the city, visiting spots like Darling Harbour, Chinatown, the Botanical Gardens, the Rocks, the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, and Glebe. Within the Botanical Gardens we found an unexpected treat, a huge colony of grey-headed flying foxes (to us they were great big hairy bats!). They were hanging in all the treetops, chittering at each other. Every once in a while one would fly around, showing off just how big they really are. Don't want to meet up with one in a dark alley some night. The rest of the Garden was nice, showing good views of the surrounding harbour. We also visited a couple of weekend markets where we found some cheap clothes (Glebe) and a lot of touristy knick-knacks (the Rocks).

On the last day we took the ferry to the beach town of Manly. This is the north bay version of the famous Bondi beach, where we had to do a little body surfing and tan (locals call it sunbaking) with the rest of the crowd. The water was warmer than LA, colder than Florida, but nice and refreshing. Didn't see any evidence of nasty sharks either.

Now that Easter is past, we grudgingly head to the Uni to start our psuedo-work. Our Sydney stay is off to a good start and soon we'll know our way around just like locals.

Tassie Strikes Back

2006-04-16T16:59:00.000+12:00

(steve)

Tasmania has a reputation for beautiful wilderness, loads of wild life, and wacky weather (as well as a few jokes about locals reminiscent of those told about West Virginians). We found it all to be true (except the jokes). After surviving our travel day from hell, we found the city of Launceston to be charming. Coming from New Zealand, the eucalyptus forest was very different and reminded us a bit of southern California. The people were extremely friendly and we received plenty of helpful advice about our upcoming walk. For instance, we walked into the local weather service office and received a forecast from the local weatherman directly at his desk (more about weather later). Strangely, a walk through the city park led us to find an enclosure full of Japanese monkeys. The signage stated plainly, "these animals were found to be easy to care for and survive the climate of Tasmania." Ok.

After two days wandering, we hopped the bus to Cradle Mountain to start our final planned walk, the Overland Track. This walk is celebrated as one of the best in Australia. Located in the heart of a World Heritage Listed National Park, the track wound through a variety of forest climates with numerous mountain lakes and lots of wildlife. Highlights for us included meeting wallabies, wombats, paddymelons, currawongs, green rosellas, kookaburras, and a number of Aussies to play with. We did not get any glimpses of platypus, echidnas, or Tassie devils due to bad luck, and more importantly to the other major factor on this walk, the weather.

More about the weather: Our visit to the weatherman in Launceston provided our first hint of the uncontrollable beast that is Tassie weather. His prediction showed a series of cold fronts (direct from Antarctica) hitting the island throughout our entire scheduled walking time. With a small smile he said, "as long as you are below 800 metres elevation you should be ok." Later verficiation showed the entire track is above 800 metres with a max over 1200. We decided to go for it anyways and rely on our New Zealand training to bring us through.

The first two days ended being all right, with small rain showers late in the day when our serious walking was complete. The last four days were a different story. We ended up with a series of snow and rain storms that lasted throughout the day. We wore just about all of our clothing during those walks and managed to stay warm enough, but not really dry (remember Karen's jacket). The afternoons and evenings were filled with arriving in the huts to hang up sopping socks and coats. With the people and fire burning the temp reached a balmy 10 C (~50 F) inside. The huts were claustrophobic since most were built to house 20 uncomfortably and we walked with at least that many every day. There were plenty of camp sites and people carrying tents (including us), but no one seemed very keen on sleeping out in the snowstorm. Inside the hut, nothing ever got completely dry, so the next morning meant cold, wet socks to go inside cold, wet boots. By the end of the trip, we got used to seeing each others breath inside and never being truly warm. Due to the inclement weather, we didn't see much wildlife after the first two days (other than the occasional miserable looking wallaby or paddymelon in the rain/snow). In fact, we didn't get to see much in general since the clouds were low and we spent most of our walking time looking down to avoid falling on slippery roots/rocks or falling in bogs (not always successful). There weren't many photos either, since that required finger dexterity. Our conclusion on the bus to Hobart was that we are much tougher than before we started this adventure and all future walks will have to be compared to this one for weather difficulty.

Hobart made us feel much better. Funny enough, the weather cleared as soon as we got on the bus. We spent three wonderful days in Hobart and came away with a really good feeling. More wine and cheese tasting, a nice drive through the countryside, and a great night out with a local couple we met on the walk cure all. Tassie struck back, but we still loved it and would really like to go back for some more.

Ever have one of those days?

2006-04-16T16:56:00.000+12:00

(karen)
G'day kids. Just like to share with you what has probably been our most frustrating travel day ever. You know, one of those experiences that sucks at the time but in restrospect makes great blog fodder. It goes a little something like this:

1] Wake up at 4:30 and drive to the airport. Drop me off with all the luggage while Steve goes to the rental company to return the car. But of course the courtesy shuttle don't run this early in the morning so Steve has to run over 2km back to the airport

2] Get in the check-in line behind 100 Koreans on a tour group. Shuffle slowly toward the counter.

3] Get told at the counter that they don't offer plastic bags for our backpacks, but if we'd like, the store across the terminal will do it for $8 a bag. We go, they charge us $10 a bag.

4] Get on the plane, all is well. Get to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

5] As we approach Sydney, are told by the flight staff that local time is 9:30am. Which is really funny because according to our flight itinerary, we were supposed to land at 8:30am (thus allowing us plenty of time to catch our connection to Tasmania). We find out later that due to the Commonwealth games, which were held in Australia this year, they have postponed daylight savings time by a couple of weeks. Splendid.

6] We arrive at the gate and everyone gets up but no one gets off. Flight staff announces that due to a power outage in the Internation terminal they are unable to fully extend the gangway to the plane. Apparently there is a 6" gap.

7] Power comes back on, 6" gap is bridged and we disembark.

8] Power is off again and the Customs computers are down. Any hopes of catching our connecting flight are dwindling.

9] Customs computers back on; wait in line behind 100 Koreans on a tour group.

10] Baggage system is down. Wait an hour before getting our plastic wrapped bags. We have officially missed our connection.

11] Try to get the shuttle bus to the Domestic Terminal, are told that is costs $4.50 per person. You are #$%&@$* kidding me. Have to go back inside and get some money out to pay for the damned shuttle.

12] Nice people at the Virgin Blue counter are sympathetic to our plight and don't charge us to get on a new flight. Of course, we first have to wait seven hours, then fly to Melbourne, and then fly to Launceston, Tasmania.

13] Wait seven hours. Are told that the plane will be delayed at least half an hour. We have only 15 minutes between connections.

14] Are assured that it is actually the same flight from Sydney to Melbourne, then from Melbourne to Tasmania so no worries about missing another connection. But it's still delayed.

15] Flight finally leaves, and we arrive in Tasmania at 11:30pm (which feels like 2:30am since we're on Auckland time). My eyes feel like they have sand in them.

16] Nice lady from the hostel picks us up at the airport, 10 hours late, and drives us to our home for the next three nights. And we slept, oh, how we slept!

Northland in a Blur

2006-04-09T15:35:00.000+12:00

(steve)

Got to catch up, got to catch up... We've been on the go with little time to spend on the computer in the past two weeks. It seems our little April Fool's post was warmly received though.

Our last week in New Zealand was spent in a whirlwind tour of the Northland peninsula and a few days in Auckland. First stop: the resort town of Bay of Islands & Whaitangi. This is the area where the Maori and English settlers ended up signing the controversial Treaty of Whaitangi that provided the basis for modern relations between the groups. Now, the town serves as a popular holiday spot for weary Aucklanders. Our weather luck came to an end with our arrival in Northland. The remnants of a tropical depression set in and proceeded to douse us with continual rain for the duration. The most interesting part of this visit was the Treaty house, that detailed the history of Maori/English relations during the Treaty signing. The rain also drove us to do more local wine and chocolate tasting. We survived somehow...

The second stop was Cape Reinga and the Kauri coast. We drove up to the Cape Reinga lighthouse at the tip of the North Island. This spot is sacred in Maori legend as the place where dead souls depart. We were treated to our only bit of sunshine the entire drive here. The sea was spectacular. Pacific meets Tasman, creating lots of turbulent waves.

The ride back down the coast included a stop at the large sand dunes near ninety mile beach. We were treated to a free session of "micro-dermabrasion" by the gentle ocean breeze (~30 mph). I think I still have sand stuck a few places.

Continuing down the coast, we stopped to visit the largest Kauri tree in the country known as Tane Mahuta. Think giant sequoia (that there General Sherman tree for instance) for scale comparison. It was majestic to behold with loads of smaller plants growing along the limbs.

The final night on the drive, at a small town called Dargaville, was highlighted by a cute doggie named Jack that loved to retrieve rocks.

Our final days in New Zealand were spent in Auckland. It was nice to see the city with some life after our first visit coincided with New Years (i.e. public hangover recovery day). Shops were open, people were walking around, traffic on the streets. Much better than the seeming ghosttown we saw the first time. We went to some new places like Waiheke Island and the Sky Tower to round out our experience.

Our day at Waiheke Island was eventful. Short synopsis follows. Steve buys day passes for bus system after being told they work on the island. Uneventful ferry ride. Bus passes not valid on island. Decide to walk to town for lunch. Lunch on beautiful beach. Decide to walk to wineries for tasting. Walk 7 km to wineries. Find out tasting costs $15 for 3 wines. Snort outrageously. Walk 20 minutes to next winery. Tasting costs $20 for 3 wines. Laugh at poor girl. Ask if all Waiheke wineries try to discourage people from tasting. Response: yes. Walk 7 km back to town. Officially tab Waiheke Island, "Wine Scam." The day was salvaged by a tasty meal of fish n'chips and kebabs. Our last meal in New Zealand.

Tomorrow it's off to the airport for our trip to Tasmania. Three months have whipped by and we have seen a lot of good stuff. Final drive tally: over 2000 km. Final walking tally: over 450 km. It's safe to say we've gotten our monies worth and feel like we have a true appreciation for Kiwi culture and landscape. We loved every minute and would do it again.

Some Bad News

2006-04-01T18:09:00.000+12:00

(karen)
Well everyone, a bit of bad news. Steve and I have not been travelling well together lately and we need to take some time apart. The straw that broke the camel's back was in Auckland when somebody stole our daypack, including our camera with all our memories from the last three months. We had a big fight and decided that maybe we should go off on our own for a while. I'm going to be staying in New Zealand a bit longer and Steve managed to find a cheap flight to Fiji. I guess Australia will have to wait for another trip. In other news, everyone have a marvellous April Fools Day! Don't worry, we're still as happy as clams and are currently in Tasmania. When we get to Sydney we'll have more time to finish the remaining posts from New Zealand. Until then, happy journeys and if you happen to be working in S12, watch your back. Today is like Christmas for Russell!

Caves and Beaches Oh My!

2006-03-24T14:38:00.000+12:00

(steve)

Still reeking of sulfur, we drove out to Waitomo for our date with the Legendary Blackwater Rafting Company. These guys get paid to take folks through a variety of limestone caves in the area. When we got there we were faced with a choice of tours, the Black Abyss or the Black Labyrinth. I managed to convince Karen that we had to go on the 5 hour Abyss tour that included a rappel and zip line along with climbing out of the cave through a series of waterfalls. She was nervous, but willing to give it a go.

After getting all geared up in wetsuits, helmets, harnesses, etc. we drove to the cave and got down to it (photo in route from nice folks on tour with us). I ended up going first down the 100 ft rappel through a hole just large enough to fit a single person. Karen came down next and when I saw her smile I knew she was going to have a good day. Karen ended up ahead of me after that, making her first in line for the zip. The guide thought this was a good idea and sweetened the deal by stealing the battery for her headlamp. She was a trooper and I only heard one yelp as she swung out into pitch blackness. This cave was filled with glowworms and was magical to sit in. Imagine space mountain without the rollercoaster. After a quick drink of tea, we jumped down a 10 foot cliff into a subterranean river and floated the length of the cave on innertubes looking at glowworms. We had it explained that the glow was produced by the worms excreting to attract other insects as prey. Yeah worm shit! The finale of the tour involved climbing through 3 small waterfalls to the cave opening to sunlight. It was awesome and I'm only sorry that we couldn't take any photos to share. The rest of the day was mundane by comparison.

The next day we drove to the Coromandel Peninsula. Along the way we noticed that we had an extra day in our schedule thanks to our bad-ass walking. After looking through our books we found a nice 2 day walk that would suit us just fine. Bonus hiking! The walk was through a forest once populated with kauri trees, but sadly logged almost completely. Kauris are huge trees native to New Zealand and were used to make furniture. They now have a status here similar to the Sequoias in California (not too many left, and the most prominent have names). The trail to the hut was part of the logging road, and interesting descriptions of the effort it took to get the logs out were scattered along the way. The most common way to get logs out of the rugged hills was to create floods in the streams and wash the wood done. This technique involved building a series of dams and timing the release. It ended up working, but they damaged 20% of the logs in the process. We were able to see the remains of a dam near the hut we stayed at. There were also parts of a rail system used to move logs down a waterfall along the trail to look at. It was great to get another unexpected chance to walk in the forest, we'll miss it.

We also spent some time driving around the Peninsula to look at the great beaches. The area is a noted spot for Aucklanders to come on vacation since it's only 100 km away. We went to spots named Gemstone Beach, Cathedral Cove, and Hot Water Beach. Each was spectacular with turquoise water and lots of sand.

We threw in a little body surfing for good measure. We ended up being disappointed by Hot Water Beach in the end. This spot is known for the hot water that bubbles up through the sand during low tide. With a small hole in the ground, you get your very own jacuzzi free of charge. Unfortunately for us, the surf was big, leaving the thermal pools under a foot of water. It was very funny to see a lot of people standing together to warm their feet though.

It's hard to believe we only have one week left in New Zealand!

Phew, Who Farted?

2006-03-24T13:46:00.000+12:00

(karen)
One of the places I was really looking forward to visiting in New Zealand was the town of Rotorua. There is a lot of geothermal activity here which is punctuated by the everpresent stench of sulphur in the air. In a way it's like a mini Yellowstone but since much of the land is privately owned they have no qualms about charging you a fortune to visit the boiling pools of mud and acid. Our first stop was at Hell's Gate, just outside of town. It wasn't especially colorful but was extremely active. My favorite was the mud volcano, and a hot waterfall where Maori warriors used to heal their wounds and cleanse themselves of battle before returing home.

After Hell's Gate we drove to the Agrodome for the no holds barred, agricultural tourist experience of a lifetime! We were introduced to the sixteen different breeds of sheeps in New Zealand and then given a sheep shearing demonstration by our strapping young host.

Here I am with my new buddy. I offered to take a picture of Steve with the sheep, but he reminded me that he is allergic to every animal in the facility.

Other highlights of the show were watching little kids try to milk a cow, and getting to feed baby lambs with a milk bottle. Steve and I were both picked to go on stage but he sacrificed his spot so he could get a photo. I must never think of this moment when eating lamb in the future!

I was especially impressed with the sheep herding dogs they have trained since pups. They are very skilled and extremely intense. If I was stared down by one of these dogs I'd run like hell too! The best part was when they jumped up and did laps on the backs of the sheep.

To round off our time in Rotorua, we attended a traditional Maori concert and hangi (kind of like the equivalent of a luau). It was fascinating to see the recreations of the pre-European Maori village life, as well as to hear the folk songs and watch the intimidating haka. It had a touch of cheesy tourism, but I still enjoyed the experience.

Napier and Lake Waikeramoana

2006-03-24T13:32:00.000+12:00

(steve)

After leaving the river, we made our way down to Napier on the Pacific coast. This was to be another piece of our unplanned journey through the North Island. Napier is a little town known for its wine and lots of sun. The other interesting detail for Napier is the town is filled with architecture from the Art Deco style (the town was virtually destroyed by an earthquake and rebuilt with a common theme). The town is pretty sleepy overall, except that the loudest bar in town was right outside our window. (This fooled us into going out that first night to have fun and finding little open except that one bar.)

We spent two relaxing days filled with shopping (that's right!), food, and wine. Our wine tasting was done from the saddle of a mountain bike with a company called "On Yer Bike Tours." Can you say drunken biking? We ended up traveling to 6 different wineries in the region, trying loads of red wine blends. The timing was also good since they were due to start the fall harvest the next day and the vines were all loaded with grapes. (Side effect: there would be a loud bang every two minutes from a gas-powered gun to scare off birds). After 4 hours of riding and drinking (not so much as a single fall, thank you), we came to the conclusion that we don't really like wine from Napier. Also of interest, we met a couple of guys from Hong Kong on the bikes. It turns out they were journalists from Esquire magazine (Hong Kong version of course) doing a story on wine tours in New Zealand. They graciously asked if we would mind riding through the vineyard so they could have a photo for the story. Ok, we're on holiday and might be in a magazine article. Not bad. It was also funny to watch them try and get photos of each other when they didn't handle the bikes very well.

Lake Waikeramoana is a short two hour drive north from Napier. This was to be the last of our backpacking trips in New Zealand. It was a little sad getting ready to go knowing that this would be our last one. We drove to the trailhead and stayed at a campground called the Big Bush Holiday Park (why does that always make me giggle). The next day we started the walk after deciding to try and do it in 3 days instead of the standard 4 (since days 2 and 3 were short, and we are now bad-ass). The first day was a big climb to the top of the bluff next to the lake with some great views.

The hut that night had a handful of other hikers there and we were surprised to learn they were all locals. This was the first time we were outnumbered by Kiwis. We were further surprised to learn the gas heater in the hut didn't work, and consequently woke up to see our breath inside. Oh well, we were warm enough in our bags. The reward was a great view of the lake with a morning mist that evaporated before our eyes.

The second day was our long day, with a stout 20 kilometre walk. We rolled into the hut around 5 pm and were pretty tired (but still bad-ass!). That night we were treated to the sound of Kiwis (the birds this time) screeching in the bush. We finished the walk and caught a water taxi the next day to get back to the car. All in all a good walk, though not as nice as others we've done before. So now we say goodbye to the forest and head north to visit beaches and cities.

Hordes of Tongariro

2006-03-10T17:15:00.000+13:00

(steve)

****We posted three rapid-fire blog entries so there's lots of new stuff!!****

Just finished the Tongariro Northern Circuit. 49 kilometres of volcanic landscape with loads of pumice and eerie lunar-style rock formations (seen recently as Mordor in Lord of the Rings). We swear we saw a couple of orcs at one point. This trip felt very different from all of the previous, since we spent almost no time immersed in the familiar beech forest. Instead, we got to experience a large dose of wind and with rain and hail mixed in for good measure (parts of all three days). This was the first time that I felt truly cold the entire trip so far. In fact, I hadn't worn my thermals, gloves, and fleece hat until this week. You know it's cold when you look at Karen and she has ice in her eyebrows (apparently I had ice in my hair).

The walk took us between a trio of volcanoes including Mt. Rupehu (Mt. Doom). Both huts we stayed in had great views from their front porches (when not completely buried in the clouds), making the afternoons easy to sit and contemplate your existence. The most spectacular part of the walk was the climb through the craters and lakes created by massive eruptions, complete with thermal vents (like those found in Yellowstone). The entire area is very geologically active with the last eruption occurring for Rupehu in 1997. The landscape was filled with bits of rock thrown about and lava flows to make the jagged formations we walked through. It was amazing.

The most annoying part of the trip was the last day, known as the Tongariro Crossing. This segment was billed as the "best day hike in New Zealand." Unfortunately for us that meant about 250 of our closest friends to share the trail with (mostly compacted in a 2 km stretch). The annoying part was that we were walking in the opposite direction, making inevitable stops at every switchback to let 10 more people go past. Funny enough, we looked so dirty (and cold) to scare some of the day-hikers into asking if we had turned back in defeat. Since some of them were walking in 60 km/hr winds (essentially through a cloud) in shorts, cotton sweatshirts, and tennis shoes, the question was justified. We even saw a couple carrying two infants in kid-backpacks!! Can you say kid-sicles?

Despite the weather and stares, the trip was enjoyable and ranks among our favorites during our time here (do we keep saying that?). It's hard to get over the other-world feeling of walking through a volcanic area.

Dueling Banjos on the Whanganui

2006-03-07T19:09:00.000+13:00

(*** Be sure to scroll down through the previous blog posts because we've finally attached some of our online photos. Click on any photo to access the online album ***)

(karen)
After many an evening spent talking to our fellow travellers in back country huts, we learned about a fun 3-day canoe trip down the Whanganui River. This is green, hilly country that seems completely untouched by the clear-cut farm land that dominates the region. In truth the whole area was farm land just after WWI, but it was found to be unprofitable and has since been abandoned back to the bush. It's nice to see that nature wasted no time in reforesting the area to it's original state.

It seems shocking that there is no easy way to head west to east through the middle of the North Island. To get to the Wade's Landing where we started the river trip, we had to drive 4.5 hours over mostly rural dirt roads. The kind of roads where the map shows a small town, and then you realize it must have been that dilapidated barn you passed 10 minutes ago. But we finally did find the landing and we spent the night in a small hut in the middle of a sheep paddock. Mom, you are finally going to get those sheep pictures I promised! (That's our white car next to the hut)

We packed our gear into 5 heavy-duty plastic barrels and strapped them into our Canadian-style canoe. Soon we were off on the river, me as the engine up front and Steve as the rudder in the back. The reason for this configuration is that I can't steer a canoe to save my life. There were several Class I rapids and a few Class II rapids on the river so it was important to have someone who could keep us straight. In a kayak it's not such a big deal, but to go down a rapid sideways in a canoe almost guarantees that you will capsize! Luckily Steve have his game face on and although we took on a bit of water in the larger waves we never tipped over...unlike several other folks on the river. Good on ya, mate!

As we unpacked our typical backpacker style ramen noodles and freeze dried veggies to make dinner, we looked around and noticed that most other people had packed all kinds of mouth watering treats for their meals. We then realized what everyone else already knew: it's a lot easier to carry food down a river in a canoe instead of on on your backs. We should have splurged a little I suppose, but oh well, it was nice to get to meet our fellow travelers and listen to stories from their own adventures.

[BTW, if anyone is intersted in seeing the Whanganui River and learning about some New Zealand history, there is a movie out called River Queen that was filmed where we did our canoe journey. I haven't seen it yet but I've heard it's worth a look]

The Windy City

2006-03-02T23:14:00.000+13:00

(steve)

****Photos are uploaded from the past few weeks that don't have written descriptions yet******

Continuing the city theme, we started our North Island leg in the city of Wellington. Arrival in the city came after a nice four hour jaunt up the east coast of the South Island to catch the ferry. The boat ride went smoothly even though the wind was crazy. Side effect: our car was completely covered with sea water that dried to become a nice layer of salt (consequently, a nice Wellington resident drew some large male genetalia on the back windshield and hilarity ensued).

Wellington is nicknamed the "Windy City" of New Zealand due to the often gale force winds blowing off the ocean. Our arrival was no exception. The next three days were spent walking with our heads down trying to lean forward. Despite the wind, Wellington is a really cool city. We ended up staying in a neat area called Courtney Place that was the center of the theatre district. Since it was close we attended to different small scale productions across the street. They were both definitely low budget and "starving actor" type plays. Given that New Zealand is British influenced we have found curry restaurants in most places, but Wellington had them in spades. Just about every other window. And let's just say that Karen and I really love the stuff!! We also went to the Te Papa museum (National museum), Botanical gardens, and a nice walk in a local forest.

The other side of the "Windy City" is that Wellington is the national capital (loads of hot air generated here). After a brief tour through the Parliament building, we were told that there would be a public session that afternoon. We decided to attend, since how often do you get to see government in action. We sat in the gallery facing the "government" side (where the Prime Minister and her folks sat), and the opposition was just below us. There is no other way to describe the action other than complete soap opera. The debate consisted of both sides trying to speak with the other side heckling and laughing at what they were saying. It was so bad that you couldn't even hear the rest of the statement from the speaker (with a microphone) through all of the extra noise. We left the session wondering how they ever accomplished anything during the day. (To be fair, one of the arguments was over putting in a round-about in an obscure town we had driven through last month, not exactly world-moving legislation.)

Our impression of Wellington was mostly good, with friendly people, good restaurants, and the most culture we've seen so far. There were points against since it was extremely hard to park anywhere (memories of home), and the town was very dog unfriendly. We have voted to make Wellington our favorite city on the North Island.

Hitch Hiker's Guide to Canterbury

2006-03-02T22:07:00.000+13:00

(karen)
After our love affair with Dunedin we headed further up the east coast to Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island. In a way, though, it was just another city and we weren't as enthralled as we had hoped. It's considered the most English city in New Zealand but to me it seemed the most American. Come to think of it, we didn't take a single picture during our time in the city. Maybe that's because almost all our pictures have been from the wild corners of New Zealand and we aren't used to photographing city life . . . or maybe it's just because we have over 900 photos so far and we're getting lazy. Who knows. Woe to those whom I ensnare in my slide show when I return!!!

Now I don't want to give Christchurch a bad rap, it was actually a nice city. We spent a great morning exploring the International Antarctic Center which included a five minute "Antarctic storm" in their wind chill chamber. I know it's pared down for tourists, but it was still 24 degF with about 50 mph winds. (Just your average winter day in Colorado, eh?) After that we headed to the Orana Wild Animal Reserve which is similar, but on a smaller scale, to the one in San Diego. It was worth it to finally see some kiwi birds. Steve also especially enjoyed the cheetah chase where they quickly drag a hefty rope the length of a football field and let the cats bound after it (with nice tasty flesh treats at the end).

We used Christchurch as a base for our next backpacking trip into the Southern Alps via Arthurs Pass. We took a train to the pass so we arrived at our destination without a vehicle. This was both a blessing and a curse. Due to a strong southerly storm (southerly = Antarctica) that was threatening snow, we chose a two day backpacking trip that would be less exposed in the alpine areas. The only problem was that the trail head was 20 minutes away from the town...and us without a car. So we did what any normal world travelers would do and stood on the side of the road with our thumbs out. I had a big innocent grin on my face that was supposed to imply, "Don't worry, I'm not a bad person! My husband and I are rocket scientists and we just need a quick ride down the road! Cheers mate!" The first car did not take the bait. Nor the second. I detached myself from my body and thought, "Yeah right, who would want to pick up not one, but two strangers with huge backpacks standing on the side of the road in the pouring rain??" After half an hour Steve went to the info center to inquire about the cost of a taxi, and lo and behold once by myself a very nice railroad worker stopped to give me a ride. When I asked, he even agreed to let Steve come along. We've agreed to be more forgiving to those we see on the side of the road in the future. At least in New Zealand, though. Doing that in the States would bee too creepy!

The two day hike we did, the Cass-Lagoon Saddle, was like a final fling in the Southern Alps before we head up to the North Island. This was classified as a more difficult hike than those we've done previously, mostly because parts of the route follow a river flood plain or are above tree line so the you have to follow markers instead of a nicely cut trail.

We enjoyed the solitude and the majestic beauty of the area as we climbed along rivers, through moss covered beech forest, and over the alpine Cass saddle to our first hut. Although it was designed to sleep 20 there was only one other person so it felt like our own private cabin in the mountains.

The second day was passed quite like the first, but we (I) had the added pleasure of squishing through deep mud at the Laggon Saddle. The mud here beat even what we encountered on Stewart Island; at one point (and of course before I put my gaiters on) I literally took a step down and ended up to my knees in a bog. I'm telling you, there was bog bits in my boots and my socks turned black. But what can you do but laugh? It was pretty funny. Through serendipity we ran into a couple of guys day hiking and they actually asked us if we needed a ride back to town, so we were spared having to stick our thumbs out again.

And that, my friends, is how we concluded our two month journey in the South Island. Many fond memories, may some kind wind blow us back this way!

Scotland in New Zealand?

2006-02-27T15:24:00.000+13:00

(steve)

It was nice to arrive in Dunedin after the mud and isolation of Stewart Island. Our rental car blazed through the miles between Invercargill and Dunedin in only a few hours. We diligently stopped at the tourist locations marked on our map, and were rewarded with some interesting stuff and a couple of duds.

Interesting: petrified forest. This was a forest covered in a volcanic eruption near the ocean. Lots of logs disguised as rocks. Some of them looked very well preserved. Bonus: yellow eyed penguins! Nestled among the rocks surrounding the forest were a few nests of rare yellow eyed penguins. They were so cool to see up close (about 20 feet). They are the most endangered penguin species out there.

Interesting: slope point. Southern-most point in South Island. Strong winds.

Not so interesting: Niagara Falls (of New Zealand). Our map suggested this feature would be something worth driving a few kms out of the way to see. Don't believe everything you read. This "fall" was a few rocks in a fairly slow moving stream. Not so amused walking back to the car.

Arriving in Dunedin was welcome. Civilisation return. Dunedin is the Scottish portion of New Zealand. Everyone here spoke with a variety of Scottish twist to the Kiwi accent. The city itself has a bit of European feel, with ornate architecture and sculptured gardens.

The town is also the home of the University of Otago, providing a young mind-set typical of college towns. We also had our first rugby experience as the Super 14 season started and the town went insane. I don't fully understand the rules, but it seems more entertaining than US "gridiron." The town was lots of fun and our favorite so far.

We also indulged in a few activities while here. They were albatross sighting (unsuccessful), yellow eyed penguin spotting, touring the Cadbury factory (Karen's smile didn't melt all day), toured Larnach castle, and basking in the town octagon.

Halfway Through NZ: A Perspective

2006-02-16T11:07:00.001+13:00

*** PHOTO UPDATE! Check out our new photos in the folders for Queenstown, Milford Track, and Te Anau and Doubtful Sound ***

(karen)
We realized on Valentine's Day that we've officially reached the halfway point of our time in New Zealand. So soon! To supplement my usual journalistic entries, I thought I'd share with you some of our thoughts, comments, and observations from being in New Zealand and living the backpacker lifestyle for 6 weeks.

* I've grown fond of having a daily cuppa English style tea, with milk and sugar. It's a great treat after being in the bush all day.
* Steve hasn't cut his hair since before Christmas and he's starting to look like a Beatle.
* You can still get blisters after 6 weeks of tramping.
* We've taken internet access for granted. Now we typically have to pay $6/hr on coin operated machines.
* I've never worn so much sunscreen in my life.
* It's really nice not to have to think about what to wear every day. The only question is, long sleeve or short?
* We are completely out of touch with music, television, movies, and world events. And it really doesn't seem to matter!
* The coolest weather forecast I've seen so far has been "Nice Spells". As in, most of the day will be crappy but you can expect pockets of niceness?
* Things we've come to value: hot showers, clean clothes, huts to sleep in on the trail, plastic backpack liners on rainy days, high quality tramping gear, dry boots, cheap internet, good books to pass the time, fresh fruits and veggies, ear plugs, toilet paper, mosquito nets, and good people to talk with over a cuppa tea and freeze dried dinners
* The river water here is so clean that you can drink from it without having to treat it. Instead of carrying 2 liters, at times we've just used a mug and scooped up water then we're thirsty
* New Zealanders (Kiwis) idolize Peter Jackson. King Kong is still big out here.
* People ask "How're you going?" instead of "How're you doing?"
* In a quick poll, 4/5 trampers prefer mosquitoes over sand flies
* %75 of all trampers SNORE
* Americans export a staggering amount of culture including movies, books, magazines, television, music, as well as many brand name items and of course fast food. (But why are there so many Subways and so few McDonalds?)
* The most common tourists here are from other members of the Commonwealth like Australia, Britain, and Canada, as well as many Germans, Swiss, and surprisingly, Israelis. There are only a few Americans floating around.
* There are no radio stations in rural New Zealand. Not one.
* Light switches click down to turn on
* Most toilets have two flush buttons, for #1 or for #2
* Many Kiwis have never traveled extensively in their own country, preferring to go abroad. In fact it can often be cheaper to fly to Australia than to fly between the North and South Islands.
* The lamb here tastes better
* Tree line (called bush line) happens at 3,000 ft. elevation
* Telephone poles are made out of concrete
* Folks down under really do eat vegemite and say "g'day!"
* Ourdoor gear is waaaay more expensive than in the States. I was looking for a waterproof jacket, and a Mountain Hardware brand jacket was $700!! Boots run about $400.
* Kiwis and Aussies think Americans are nuts for eating peanut butter with (gasp) jelly! And why do we call it jelly when it is clearly jam?
* They are obsessed with Hollywood tabloids
* Kiwis love to take the mickey out of Aussies in their midst, and how!

Kaka on my Mind

2006-02-16T11:07:00.000+13:00

(steve)

Just returned from the wild land that is Stewart Island. If you're unfamiliar, the island is the background for the film The Piano (Holly Hunter, about 1990?). If you've seen the movie than you know what I'm talking about. The island is considered the last frontier for New Zealand, the last place to find many endangered bird species in the wild. There is only one town, Oban, with a population of 350 dedicated to fishing and tourism. It looked similar to towns found along the coast of Northern CA.

Our adventure was to begin with a short 17 minute plane ride across to the island from Invercargill. It was a beautiful day. We arrived at the airport and checked in. Approximately 5 hours later we boarded the plane. That's right, a 5 hour wait for a 17 minute flight. It turns out the flight operated on visual flight rules and there was a pesky fog bank sitting on the road used as a landing strip on the island (they land on the beach sometimes too). The flight itself was uneventful even though the plane was a touch smaller than we were used to and bounced a lot.

Once landed, we were treated to amazing bird life over the next five days. First up, the kaka. This bird is the forest parrot (cousin to our previous friend, the kea), and just as loud. They spent most of the day swooping over the town screeching at each other (fortunately they don't destroy things for fun like their cousins). There were plenty of wood pigeons and tuis as well. In fact, there were so many birds that the noise was non-stop all day long into the evening. We've never heard anything like it before.

Our second day was spent on Ulva Island, a short water taxi ride away. This island is completely predator free, making it ideal for restoring native bird species. Our day was filled with sightings of rare Stewart Island robins, saddleback birds, kakas, wekas, wood pigeons, bell birds, and red-crested parakeets in the wild and often only a few feet away. It seemed strange to see parakeets this far south. It was inspiring to see how a little effort can make such a big difference with nature.

The next four days we were back out on the trail. We walked the Rakiura Track with an extra day to go day hike. It was here that we expected to be slogging through knee deep mud with rain pouring. Alas, it was not to be. With overall good weather and lots of planking (wooden steps) we didn't have to get too dirty or wet. Feeling somewhat cheated, we decided to make our day hike along a different trail reknowned for its mud. Karen was so happy to use her gaiters that she went tromping through the deepest mud the entire way (I didn't get any and consequently tip-toed through most of it unsuccessfully). Deepest part was mid-shin. It was a good walk with the reward of beautiful views.

After cleaning up and a nice Valentines dinner, we left Stewart Island (on the same small plane) with an appreciation for the way New Zealand looked, felt, and sounded when the first Europeans arrived.

By the way, take a look at the sidebar where we added a summary of the hikes we've done with mileage.

Greatest Walk in the World

2006-02-05T16:32:00.000+13:00

(karen)

We left the bustle of Queentown in our newly rented Nissan Primera and headed west toward the largest national park in New Zealand, Fiordland, where we were to begin our journey on what many consider to be the greatest walk in the world: the Milford Track. The track is so popular that the Department of Conservation (DOC) has strictly limited the number of walkers per day to 40, as well as requiring the track to be walked in one direction only. We opted to do the four day walk as independent trampers, but many people shell out $1,500 each for a guided walk in which they carry nothing but their clothes, and everything from gormet food to hot showers is provided on the way. I'm telling you, this is tramping like I've never seen it! Even for those of us carrying everything on our backs we were greeted with massive cabin-like huts, gas cookers, sinks, and even flush toilets.

The first two days of the walk were through the Clinton Valley. This is a long, glacially carved valley with steep canyon walls and an impossibly green river down the center. For the most part we had spectacular sunny weather, which is rare in this region where they recieve over 350" of rain a year. The second day we did walk in a light rain that caused hundreds of thread-like waterfalls to spill down the canyon walls. The ranger told us that during heavy rains the river will swell very quickly and flood the trail up to a meter deep; I was only mildly relieved to escape that fate, since it could've been a lot of fun :)

We were introduced to the destructive power of the kea, the world's only subalpine parrot. We had seen these guys one our last backpacking trip but only from a distance. The keas in this area have learned how fun people can be and we were warned to keep all belongings either in the hut or hung up high lest they be torn to bits. Apparently they like to steal cameras and poke holes in your boots. They can undo zippers and Steve even caught a kea in the act of opening the door to our hut! Cheeky devils.

On day three the skies were shining bright again; we hiked out of the Clinton Valley and over an alpine pass where we had amazing views of the snow capped mountains in this region. Thus began the 3,000' descent into the next valley on our way to the Milford Sound. As we climbed down the mountain we were in the heart of the temperate rain forest and flanked by a river that cascaded spectacularly into turquoise-blue pools. It it truly one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Later that afternoon we dropped our packs and took a side trip to the Sutherland Falls which is the tallest permanent waterfall in New Zealand and the 6th tallest in the world. I wasn't expecting much but the sight of it took my breath away! We sat in the grass near the base and watched it, mezmorized, for over an hour. Looking back now I regret not standing beneath it to feel the power of the water falling so far. (Isn't that always easier to say when you are miles away from the freezing cold water?)

That evening after dark we walked back out on the trail a small ways to see the glow worms that live in the cliff sides in the forest. There were hundreds of tiny blue dots scattered all around that made you feel as though you were looking at stars. I'm sure the glow worm cave tours are more spectacular, but I thought it was more special to have this treasure all to ourselves in the wilderness.

The last day was long but flat as we continued to the end of the valley and ended up in beautiful Milford Sound. The sound (really a fiord because it was carved by glaciers) is a majestic and dramatic landscape that is surrounded by thin, sharp peaks and shear walls several thousand feet tall that look like the Cliffs of Insanity from the Princess Bride. It's a strange little nook that sees hundred of tourists every day but since most everyone comes for a day trip there are few ammenities. We decided to brave the sand flies and spend the night at the rustic lodge/hostel to soak up this wild area a little longer.

High on Queenstown

2006-02-05T16:31:00.000+13:00

(steve)

Welcome to Queenstown! We arrived in town on fumes after our long West Coast adventure. It would be perfect to have a nice 4 day rest to recover our strength for the next hike. Alas, it was not to be. Queenstown is the New Zealand capital of adrenalin pumping activity. The birthplace of the bungy is still very much in the fast lane, with a host of high octane events designed to increase blood flow to your head. Between the sky diving, parasailing, canyon swing, and various bungies there seemed to be people falling from the sky every few minutes, most of them about 20 years old. During our 4 days in town we managed to sample two of the low altitude activities, the mountain luge and river boarding. The luge was a small platform on wheels that went zipping down a track on the side of a mountain. It was really not as fast and scary as it may sound (as evidinced by the 10 year old racing next to me). Our trip down the river was a bit more hectic. Think rafting, without the raft. We strapped on helmets and jumped on body boards to tackle the white water. A few bumps later we were treated to a cliff jump, a tow behind a jet-ski, and a water slide across the river. All good fun. The rest of our time in Queenstown was spent swimming in the cold lake (a new tradition started in the rivers on the coast) and drinking beer with our friends from the previous trip who all stayed in the area too. After a few days of this we might need to get back on the trail for some rest.

West Coast Wilderness

2006-01-27T17:20:00.000+13:00

(karen)
A big shout out to our devoted fans! Cheers for all the comments you've left for us. Sorry for being incommunicado as of late, we just completed a fantastic 10-day guided trip down the west coast of the South Island with the Hiking New Zealand tour company. I'm convinced that the New Zealand west coast is one of the most spectacular pieces of land anywhere on Earth. You really can't miss. It's damn near impossible to look around and not find something that looks like a postcard. The yang to scenic yin has got to be the sandflies, however. They are slow, stupid, and terribly easy to kill, but what they lack in quality they make up for in quantity. My feet look like I've got chicken pox!

There were 8 of us on the tour, plus our kiwi guide Fiona. Our fellow travelers were Tam from Brisbane (AUS) and Simon from Perth (AUS), Priska from Switzerland, Ulf from Sweden, and Florian from Germany. We got along very well and had a great experience tramping through the bush. I've posted a few pictures here, but the bulk of the photos are on the flickr website in the West Coast Wilderness Folder.

Gordon's Pass Backpack
Our first overnight trip was in the Kahurangi National Park, which is actually the same park where the Heaphy track is loacted. We had a nice warm up hike to our campsite for the evening which was a natural overhanging rock shelter.

Before dinner we explored the surrounding area which has numerous deep sink holes from areas where the limestone caves that run throughout the region have collapsed. Overnight the weather turned cloudy and by morning a light rain was falling. We put on our rain gear and headed out for the summit of Gordon's Pyramid, above bushline. We hiked through the Tablelands which is a flat area of tussock surrounded by ridges, created by glaciers long ago. Once above bushline the rain worsened and the wind really began to howl along the ridges. I was happy to get off the ridges because I was nearly blown away at times! I was soaked through and through (as were most of our party) but somehow Steve managed to stay mostly dry. We stayed that evening in a cute little bach (holiday house) where we got to take turns in the best shower in New Zealand: an outdoor wood heated shower looking out on a picturesque river. I just wish I had more than a bandana to dry off with!

Inland Pack Track
We headed down the coast a bit for our next trip on the Inland Pack Track, which follows a path through river canyon areas. There was some concern if it was walkable due to the massive amounts of rain the day before, but luckily though the water level was higher than usual it was still safe. We squished our way through lots of mud at first, but soon found ourselves at the river. We followed the water downstream, crossing frequently. Most of the crossings were only up to the mid calf, but a few times we had to do buddy support crossings of four people with interlocked arms.

It seemed like we kept getting a little deeper with every crossing, but then we hit the grandaddy on (aptly named) Dilema Creek. The water was too deep to ford so Fiona taught us how to do a pack swim...which is pretty much exactly like it sounds. Everyone stripped down to the minimal amount of decent clothing and then one by one we walked out into the water, rolled onto our backs and kicked our way to the other side. Thank goodness for plastic garbage bags to keep my clothes and sleeping bag dry! It was a fantastic experience and I'm really glad to have done it. It took a long time for me to warm up after being in the river, but some hot chocolate and a long sit by the campfire worked their magic in the end.

Franz Joseph Glacier Walk
On day 5 we had a breif respite from backpacking and most of us took the optional guided glacier walk on the Franz Joseph Glacier. The Franz Joseph and Fox Galciers are unique because they descend into temperate rain forest near the ocean. This is because they receive vast amounts of snow fall and push through very narrow valleys which cause them to flow quickly. Unlike the glacier walk I've done in Alaska which was fairly flat and smooth, this glacier was filled with huge jagged ice formations into which the guides continually are cutting stair paths. Crampons were a must. If you squint your eyes it seems like you're climbing Mt. Everest!

That evening we had a traditonal hangi feast on the beach, which is similar to the Hawaiian luau. We built a fire in the sand and heated several large stones in the center. We put little packets of veggies, lamb and chicken in the center, covered it with wet towels and then again with sand. Two hours later we had a fantastic feast around the campfire. Sooo close to heaven.

Kayaking Okarito Lagoon
We spent another day exercising our top halves by kayaking through the Okarito lagoon which is famous for its variety of bird life.

Welcome Flat Backpack
Our final backpacking trip was two nights at the Welcome Flat Hut. We followed a glacial river through a glacially carved valley, surrounded by the ranges of the Southern Alps. It was breathtaking to be in temperate rainforests next to a baby-blue river, surrounded by snow capped peaks.

A perk of the Welcome Flat were the natural hot springs that had formed perfect soaking pools. It felt fantastic to sit in the hot water after a long day of hiking.

We were lucky to see the kea, or New Zealand mountain parrot, while at our hut. These beautiful birds are apparently some cheeky pranksters but we just watched them flair their green and orange wings as they swooped between the tree tops.

Queenstown
The trip is over now but many of us are still hanging out in Queenstown for a few days before we go our separate ways. Next trip is to the Milford Track so hopefully in another week we'll have a new batch of stories to share.

Heaps of Heaphy

2006-01-16T18:14:00.000+13:00

(steve)
We just got back from completing the Heaphy Track, an 84 km walk through the hills to the wild, Tasman sea on the west coast of the North Island. The trip took 5 days with 4 nights in the fabulous DOC hut system (seen in a previous photo). This time we left the sleeping pads and water filter behind to lighten the packs. The trip started off with a medium-long bus ride through the hills that included two creek fords (in the bus!) before dumping us out. Once there we found out that there wasn't any treated water. Oops. Oh well, all the locals drink the water and come out all right. We took the chance that the rain water supply at the huts was good enough (so far no nasty trips to the toilet).

The trail took us through a variety of climates from mountainous to tussock to tropical to coastal palms in a relatively short span. The first night we had our initiation with a local bird called a weka. About the size of a chicken, these crafty birds (generally non-flying) walk around and steal anything that they can, especially brightly colored objects common to most backpacks. We had a family of 5 that lived under the hut check out our stuff within the first 10 minutes of our arrival. That first night we heard the gentle screech of a Kiwi (the bird this time) at about 2 am. The hut warden said that it took him six months to actually see the bird, so we didn't have high hopes.

The next three days were spent walking through the bush (that still sounds dirty) looking out over spectacular views at the surrounding hills, headed towards the coast. The bedrock of the region is weathered limestone so we even found time to do some mini-cave explorations along the track. And what cave would be complete without cave wetas? One resource not lacking on the west coast of South Island is water. There are creeks, streams, and rivers everywhere (most were brown from the tannins in the leaves, but looked exactly like rivers of beer!). Funny thing about lots of creeks with no visible snow or lakes is that is comes from rain. Days 2 and 3 allowed us to field test our rain gear. Karen found out her jacket is water "resistant" as opposed to "proof." Makes all the difference after a 6 hour dousing. At least the huts are equiped with stoves to warm up and dry out. I got to make my first coal fire that night (with a little help from some camp fuel). Along the way we met a nice Swiss couple that ended up walking with us for almost the rest of the hike.

The most stunning part of the walk was the last day along the Tasman Sea. We left the hut (situated on a little hill overlooking the ocean) and continued along the beach the entire day. The Tasman Sea is absolutely amazing and very different from the ocean seen in previous photos, more grey and less inviting. The land was much more rugged (similar to the background in King Kong). The sound of the surf can be heard a half mile from shore. There were continual lines of large breakers that were mesmerizing. We finished the walk and took a little bus to Karamea to clean up. After 5 days the non-rain shower felt pretty good.

We spent the rest of the day in Karamea (population 650) resting. The biggest drama came when I left our nice new camera on the bus (really just a mini-van). After realizing this I frantically tried calling the bus company for the rest of the night. My only response came from the hotel desk manager who said, "it'll turn up." Not encouraging. Salvation came when the very same bus driver showed up the next morning to take us on the next leg. A short stop in the bus depot and I was saved. We were the only passengers on the bus that day. Moral of story: I'm not allowed to carry the camera any more.

In the end, the Heaphy was a much more "camping" type of hike that showed this country is full of great sites and plenty to see. We are continually amazed at the variety of scenery and can't wait to keep moving to see what is next.

(The full range of photos are on the flickr website in the Heaphy Track folder. Just click on one of the photos to access the website. Cheers!)

Abel Tasman National Park

2006-01-11T05:52:00.000+13:00

(karen)
Thank you everyone for your comments, we love getting to read them to see how you are doing. And for those concerned about my knee, it thankfully hasn't been a problem yet even after a 3-day backpacking trip in Abel Tasman National Park. Speaking of which, you all are in for a treat because we finally found an internet cafe that let us upload our pictures. I selected the highlights (because there are a few hundred so far!) and you can access them by clicking on the photo below. On the Flickr website you'll be able to see the folders I setup, which are called "Auckland", "To South Island", and "Abel Tasman".

The Abel Tasman park is a beautiful corner of the world that looks like it is straight out of the 100% Pure New Zealand advertising campaign. It's in an area called the Gold Coast that which seems almost tropical because of the large palm-like silver ferns, pure gold sand and turquoise waters. It's a popular kayak spot but we decided to do a back packing trip instead. The path is pretty flat and gentle as it follows along the beaches and through the bush. One of the most interesting parts about this hike was the tidal influence. In a couple of spots we had to walk during low tide as the path went through sandy, muddy tidal flats. It was really fascinating to just sit and watch the tide come in and watch it fill up an entire shallow lagoon. At night we stayed in cabins which sounds like a good idea, and it is, but oh my god do people snore down undah'.

We spent a day recovering and stocking back up for our next trip on the Heaphy Track, a 5-day hike in a similar area. I'm actually writting this entry at 6:00 am while waiting for the bus to come pick us up! Surprisingly the station wasn't busy, I guess the other hostel goers are still passed out from the previous evening.

(steve)

Hello everyone. Here's my two cents. Everything you've heard about New Zealand being filled with great people is true. Every landscape you saw in Lord of the Rings is not staged (entirely). We've been lucky to see and experience both in a short while. Between having strangers ask us how the holiday is going while shopping in the supermarket to seeing some of the coastline on our first tramp (in the pictures), we haven't been disappointed. More from me when we get back from the next hike (got to catch a bus!). Hope everyone is well.

South Island, Ho!

2006-01-06T08:43:00.000+13:00

(karen)
Sorry about the brevity of my last post. I realized I had a few seconds before my time ran out on the computer terminal and I barely managed to upload what I had written! So now, on with the rest of the story.

(Jan 2) In our second day in Aukland we decided to take a ferry over to the small volcanic island called Rangitoto. The volcano last erupted 600 years ago, and though it has since been reforested there are still sharp, black lava fields everywhere. We climbed to the summit and had a spectacular view of the Auckland harbor and surrounding areas. We even got to climb through an old lava tunnel!

(Jan 3) The next day we took a 12-hour train ride from Auckland to Wellington. We went straight through the heart of Hobbiton, and I think we might have seen glimpses of Weathertop and Rohan. No orcs yet. We stopped for lunch in Tongariro National Park which is near the base of Mt. Ruapeha, another very large volcano. This whole island is swarming with volcanos! You can see cinder cones dotting the landscape for miles. We arrived in Wellington that evening to gale force winds, gusting up to 160 km/hr. The receptionist at the hostel said that it was the strongest winds he'd seen in the two years he'd live here.

(Jan 4) Still heading for our destination to the South Island, we took a 3-hour ferry from Wellington across Cook Straight into Picton. We were amazed at how lovely the Queen Charlotte Sound is as we navigated through the maze of cliffs and forest to the harbour. Picton is a beautiful, quaint town that is nestled in the green hills overlooking the water. We haven't been able to upload our photos yet, but rest assured I took about 100 in the Sound.

(Jan 5) We spent the day kayaking in the Queen Charlotte Sound. We lucked out with good weather in the beginning and got to see some of the native bush up close, including colonies of spotted shags (that's a bird you dirty minded people). It rained in the evening, but as always with this country it blew through quickly and it was a pleasant, starry night. We keep trying to find the Southern Cross but it's so hard to tell.

Today we are heading over to the Nelson region to go tramping in Abel Tasman Park. I have a slight concern with my knee, which has inexplicably swelled in an area where I fell on it a month ago playing disc. We're keeping our eye on it to make sure it doesn't get any worse. Other than that we are having a lovely time and think New Zealand is one of the jewels of the world. Where else can you be surrounded by subtropical ferns, and see penguins swimming in the water?

It's summer!

2006-01-02T19:09:00.000+13:00

(karen)
Well kids, we made it to our destination with only minor drama at the airport. I won't go into it but let's just say that it's a little creepy to be sitting on a place at the gate when all the power has been shut off. It's dark. But before long we flew 5 hours to Honolulu, switched planes and continued for another 9 hours to Auckland, New Zealand. Did you know you can see sheep from the airplane? It's true. We made it through agricultural inspection without incidence despite the rigorous inspection for our tent behind closed doors. We spent most of the day wandering around the streets of downtown, which were eerily deserted due to the New Year's holiday. We spent some time exploring th Auckland Museum which is perched on an old caldera in a lovely park called the Auckland Domain, checking out the largegst collection of pacific islander artifacts in the world.

Last Day on Pacific Standard Time!

2005-12-30T16:43:00.000+13:00

(karen)
We've planned and packed for years now and we can plan and pack no more. Tomorrow we get on a plane and head off for our great adventure! For those curious, here is a photo of all the things we are bringing, spread out on the floor. Somehow we have to cram all this into a couple of backpacks.

The kids seem to be adjusting well to their new home at the Fergason Doggie Camp. Can you spot the imposter amongst the golden retrievers? (BTW the 9 week old puppies are insanely cute and I'm going to sneak one on the plane to cuddle)

Don't Molly and Spencer look happy?

Tomorrow we are heading to San Francisco to spend a rainy day in the city before we hop on the plane. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't get blood clots during flight.

Diamond Springs, CA

2005-12-27T15:22:00.000+13:00

(karen)
Sat, 12/24
Here's a quick update on the preamble to our trip: We made a final trip to Oxnard with a dual purpose to A) drop off the last tidbits from the house and B) retrieve our passports from the filing cabinet. How many engineers does it take....? Yeah, we know. Shut up. That evening (Christmas Eve) we joined Brian and Kara for a final night of dinner and games like we've been doing for over four years. Our final goodbyes before leaving LA.

Sun, 12/25
On Christmas morning we rolled up our sleeping bags, packed up the cars and headed with the dogs up north to Diamond Springs, about half way between Tahoe and Sacramento. The kids were very excited until they realized this wasn't a trip to the dog park (at which point they fell asleep). We hit a lot of rain around Stockton but still managed to make excellent time. Later that night we shared Christmas dinner with some of Steve's family and got to answer many more questions about our trip.

Mon, 12/26
Yay, Christmas! Well not really, but today we open presents since yesterday was in transit. We received many lovely things but what will be most fun on the trip is our brand new GPS receiver! Somehow we'll have to figure out how to upload our traveled route. Sweeeeet. So today we rest, tomorrow we shop at REI for last minute goodies. Buenos noches!

Fair Dinkum

2005-12-23T07:31:00.000+13:00

(karen)
We're at T minus 7 days and counting! Yesterday concluded about two weeks of solid merry-making and goodbyes as we prepare to leave our friends and home in LA. The scene at the Fergason household has been pretty much this:

While I was finishing up my last couple days of work this week, Steve went into overdrive to box up all the last minute crap that you don't even realize you have until you move. What a guy. He and Nick spent a day driving up to Oxnard to put everything in the storage facility until our return next August. I know it seems silly to take our stuff all the way to Oxnard, but at a savings of $80 a month I think you'd do the same.

In the meantime we're camping out in our sleeping bags in this big empty house for the next two nights and then it's off to Steve's parent's house near Placerville on Christmas Day. We'll spend a few days relaxing in gold country before we jump on the plane south. Tune in again...same bat time, same bat channel.