Australia & New Zealand -- February/March 2012

In late winter 2012 I decided to take a longish trip to give myself a break from everything that had been happening in the previous 16 months. I spent three weeks in Australia and a week in New Zealand. Some of the trip I did solo and other parts with either my good friends Patrick and Toni or my awesome cousin Shannon.

• February 24 - YYZ
• February 26 - AKL
• February 27 - Melbourne
• February 28 - Ballarat
• February 29 - Port Campbell
• March 1 - Melbourne
• March 2 - Melbourne
• March 3 - Alice Springs
• March 4 - Stuart Highway
• March 5 - Middle of Nowhere
• March 6 - Yulara
• March 7 - Alice Springs
• March 8 - Airlie Beach
• March 9 - Luncheon Bay, Hook Island
• March 10 - Bait Reef
• March 11 - Airlie Beach
• March 12 - Sydney
• March 13 - Sydney
• March 14 - Sydney
• March 15 - Sydney
• March 16 - Christchurch
• March 17 - Greymouth
• March 18 - Wanaka
• March 19 - Te Anau
• March 20 - Doubtful Sound
• March 21 - Twizel
• March 22 - Akaroa
• March 23 - Christchurch

Well I'm on my way! I'm at the Toronto airport waiting for the first leg of my flight to Melbourne. It's really rainy/snowy/gross outside but that doesn't seem to be affecting the flights so I should get out on time. I left my house way too early this morning because I was worried about the weather so I have quite a long wait ahead of me. Better than rushing I suppose. I have my shiny new iPhone though and got a seat at my gate by a power outlet so I can charge it. Also the free airport WiFi lets me use Netflix, so I'm going to watch an episode or two of Futurama while I wait. Technology is awesome.

I'm really looking forward to meeting up with Mike during my five hour layover in San Francisco, it will be a nice break before the long flight across the Pacific.

This will be my longest trip ever (a whole month) and I have put less effort into planning it than any other trip I've been on. I'm not worried about the practicalities though. After doing a bunch of trips I've discovered that those things always work out fine. My bigger concern is my mental state. This will be my first real trip since Kim passed away and that is difficult already. I've done trips without her before, but since we started traveling together I stopped being able to imagine doing it any other way. It's disconcerting and sad to be embarking on such a journey without her. I can't get around that, but I'm confident that the trip will be good for me. It certainly isn't easy being in Toronto either so I might as well be someplace else for a while.

I see this trip as a sort of boundary in my life, much more so than Kim's actual death. Since she died I've been busy dealing with all sorts of annoying tasks related to wrapping up her estate and I've not thought at all about the future. Those tasks are mostly complete now, so when I return I will start dealing with "what comes next." I will be putting the house up for sale, looking for an apartment to rent downtown and moving as soon as possible. My goal will be to simplify my life and possessions to enable me to be flexible when I decide what I might want to do in the future. I certainly don't know what I'm going to do, but I don't want to be held back by anything when I figure it out. In the meantime I will try to remain active and pursue my interests of climbing, photography, travel, cooking, reading and most importantly, friends.

I'm at the Auckland airport now, waiting for my final, painful flight to Melbourne. It's been a really long time since I left Toronto and I'm very confused about whether I should want to be asleep right now or not.

My YYZ->SFO flight was interesting. First it was delayed over an hour because we had to go get the plane de-iced. I've never seen that before. After everyone is loaded the plane goes to a special place where a whole bunch of trucks spray it with antifreeze. Crazy times. Also, my seat was a middle seat in the first row behind first class. This meant I did not get my own seat-back entertainment unit and I didn't have very much room. To make up for it I rested my feet on the large centre console/armrest for the first class jerks in front of me. Finally, for some reason the plane had free wireless Internet! I knew that there was some investigation into that, but hadn't heard that it was actually deployed anywhere, let alone on an Air Canada flight. With my iPhone I was able to spend most of the flight chatting with Mike, Anthony, Patrick and Toni (via IM). I even tried a FaceTime video chat with Mike and it sort of worked but was really choppy (and probably rude to fellow passengers). It was so weird to be able to use the Internet on a plane.

In San Francisco I met Mike at the airport and he took me into San Mateo for supper at a place called Curry-Up-Now; a Mexican-Indian fusion restaurant. It was really really good, and much better than anything I could have had at the airport. After supper he brought me back to SFO and we had some coffee before I had to go through security for my flight. Mike gave me a really cool "Avengers" notebook from ILM and also some awesome chocolate from a company in San Francisco called TCHO. One of the bars was a single-source bar from Peru. Never had single-source Peruvian chocolate before and it was super fruity and really delicious.

My Air New Zealand flight to Auckland was huge, 3-4-3 configuration in economy and two floors in the plane with countless rows. It had a pretty decent (but a bit old-skool) seat-back entertainment system and the food was excellent. Dinner was served with basically unlimited wine and not just the standard red/white choice, but probably 12-15 different types of nice New Zealand vintages.

The people sitting next to me on the ANZ flight were cool. Both were approximately my age, one was a girl from Sydney and the other was a guy from Auckland. We spent the first four hours of the flight chatting about all sorts of things and I may try to meet up with Grace in Sydney when I'm there if I have time.

The flight was of course rather long, after my two new friends went to sleep I watched three movies (Tin Tin, In Time and The Iron Lady) because I'm terrible at sleeping on planes. Eventually we arrived in Auckland though. The airport is really nice and the laid back New Zealand vibe is already obvious. The status for my connecting flight to Melbourne is currently listed as "Relax" which is totally awesome. I picked up some duty-free wine for Patrick and Toni from the "Mount Difficulty" winery in New Zealand and now I'm just having a coffee and watching the sun rise over the airport.

Mike and I getting coffee at SFO before my flight

My ANZ plane for the SFO-AKL trip

The flight to Melbourne was uneventful, about four hours total. The only thing that happened was that I lost the contact information for Grace from Sydney so I guess I won't be seeing her. Melbourne airport was super busy and it took forever to get through customs. When I got out though Patrick was waiting for me with Kiera! It was such a nice sight after almost 30 hours of travel. We hopped in his car (Subaru Outback wagon), made a quick stop for frozen cokes at McDonald's and then drove to Patrick and Toni's house. Their house is great! Two big bedrooms and lots of common space and a garage and nice backyard. We had a snack and I had a shower and then we just relaxed for a while. We spent a lot of time playing with Kiera who is super adorable. Once I was settled we went for a quick swim at the local pool. Kiera is a really good swimmer despite being only two years old!

For supper, Patrick and Toni's friends Pru and Owen came over with their daughter and we had a lamb roast done on the BBQ. The food was delicious and Pru and Owen were great to chat with but after we finished eating I started fading fast. We managed to play with the kids outside for a bit and go for a short walk before I collapsed into bed and went to sleep. I just woke up now.

Kiera playing with the iPad just after I arrived

Yesterday Patrick, Toni and Kiera took me into the CBD of Melbourne to do some fun touristy things. First thought we resolved some practical matters and picked up an Australian SIM card for my phone (Telstra) and a pass for me to use with the public transit system. I'm super happy I decided to get an unlocked iPhone, it's already come in handy and it's great to be able to have a cheap local phone number when traveling. The transit system here in Melbourne seems great too, lots of trams (like streetcars) everywhere which are all very easy to use.

For our first activity we went to the National Gallery of Victoria International which is the main art gallery in Melbourne. In Australia it appears to be common for such galleries to have free admission which seems like a fantastic idea to me. We wandered about for a while until Kiera got restless and then we paused for a bit of a snack. I wasn't sure how it would be doing things with a small child, but Patrick and Toni are doing a great job with Kiera. I know some people are reluctant to bring their child into new and unusual situations, but Patrick and Toni seem happy to drag her anywhere. More importantly they expect her to behave and it seems to be working. Of course we have to move slower but other than that having Kiera along does not seem to affect anything we want to do. She's such a great kid (obviously because of her amazing parents)!

After the gallery, we walked around downtown through all of the back alleys in the city centre where there is a lot of spectacular and dense street art (graffiti). Some of it was quite amazing and we had a good time exploring and taking pictures. I probably could have spent a few days looking at it all but my time was limited so we moved on to a trendy pedestrian street to get some lunch. The food was good, but my stomach was still a bit confused from jetlag and I could only eat a little. After lunch we headed out to a huge park where Kiera could play and the rest of us could explore. There was a cool botanical garden and I was able to see some weird birds.

We had to abandon the park when it started raining so we caught a tram over to a trendy shopping street that reminded me a lot of San Francisco. We wandered in and out of shops until supper time looking for nothing in particular. For supper we headed to the Little Creatures Dining Hall, which is one of many craft brew pubs in Australia. The beer was great and for dinner I had an awesome wood-fired pizza. After supper we found a nice cafe for coffee and dessert before heading back to the house where I once again collapsed into bed.

Today we got up in good time so that we could pack up and head out on a three day road trip to see some of the area around Melbourne. The first stop is Ballarat which has a big wildlife park and one of Patrick's favourite attractions, Sovereign Hill. Sovereign Hill is similar to some of the pioneer villages we have in Ontario (like Fanshawe or Black Creek) in that it is a reconstruction of a town from back in the day (gold rush days in this case). The difference though is the scale. Sovereign Hill is huge and practically has its own economy.

We started at the wildlife park to introduce me to some of the vast array of indigenous animals. We saw snakes, lizards, alligators, kangaroos, koalas, tasmanian devils, emus and many others. Kiera had a great time. For me the highlight was seeing the red kangaroos which are huge and covered in rippling muscle. They were super intimidating.

After the park, Toni and Patrick dropped me off at the Gold Museum while they went shopping. The gold rush is a large part of the history of the whole province and it was neat to learn about it. However I feel like the museum glossed over the more unpleasant aspects of such a time. There's no way the town went from a scattering of tents to a thriving and establish community without some difficulties.

For supper we headed into downtown Ballarat where I had my first proper Australian (meat) pie. It was very tasty and a nice compliment to the Coopers Beer. We wandered around a bit after and found a cafe for coffee and dessert. Cafes are very friendly to kids in Australia and will normally make a free "babychino" for kids when their parents order something. It's just steamed milk with a bit of cocoa but kids love it. Kiera is always excited to get one and it's another example of how easy she is to do things with. I didn't think we'd be able to have a relaxing chat in a coffee shop with a toddler around but she gets her babychino and she sits and behaves and tries to act like the grown-ups. It's adorable.

I'm writing now in our hotel room in Ballarat. We got a great last minute deal on a place right near Sovereign Hill. There's a big king bed for Patrick, Toni and Kiera and a single bed for me. Also the bathroom is super fancy and there's a nice TV and kitchenette. The funny thing though is that there is also a big can of heavy duty bug spray in the closet. The sort of stuff that will kill the bug on contact. I guess when everything is poisonous you don't want to mess around!

Heading to the museum

Looking at the street art

Street art

Street art

Street art

Street art

Street art

Street art

Street art

Street art

Street art

Street art (Banksy?)

Trams in Melbourne

Happy Patrick

Fountain in the park

Kiera and Patrick

Kiera in the botanical gardens

The whole family

Kiera sneaking up on mommy

Kiera in the rain

Sample beers at Little Creatures

Sausage, feta, corn pizza at Little Creatures

Baby turtle at the wildlife park

Alligator

Same alligator watching Kiera; it would track her as she moved as long as no adults were near her

Lizard thing

Great big snake

Salt water crocodile

Crusty Kangaroo

You're doing it wrong!

Using the helpful camera port

Misc Marsupial

Big Red Kangaroo!

Calm Koala

Tasmanian devil

Wandering around Ballarat

Ballarat sunset

Babychino, delicious and messy

This morning we got up early and made ourselves a nice breakfast at the hotel. Patrick and I went out to the "Hot Bread Shop," an Australian institution, to get a fresh loaf of bread so we could have toast with jam and fruit. We set off the fire alarm a few times with the toaster, but otherwise breakfast was delicious. We packed up, checked out of the hotel and then headed to Sovereign Hill to explore the huge re-creation of an old gold mining town from the 1800s.

Sovereign Hill is a complete town with bars, restaurants, a blacksmith, candy shop, bakeries, a print shop, a general store and more. As much as possible, all the products used in each shop are made right in the town at one of the other shops and you can buy almost anything they make. I particularly enjoyed the tin smith and woodworking shops where they had huge steam powered machines to do the cutting and drilling. The food (particularly the pies) was also very delicious.

Late afternoon we left Sovereign Hill to head to the town of Port Campbell which is on the southern coast near one end of the Great Ocean Road. The drive was fun for me because the country-side was very different from what I'm used too. We saw lots of weird birds and a couple kangaroos. We tried to stop in at the Red Duck brewery on our way down but it was closed so we had to wait until Port Campbell for supper. Fortunately the place we went for supper served Red Duck beer so we didn't miss out. I had a kangaroo steak for my meal; it was delicious but tasted like a normal beef steak so it was less exciting than expected.

Our accommodation for tonight is at a hostel here in Port Campbell. We were able to get a room for the four of us that's clean and nice, but nothing special. After supper we all went back to the hostel and then Patrick and I went out for a walk on our own. We stopped back at the restaurant for another beer and took a walk down by the beach and the pier. There were a bunch of fishermen with a huge pile of fish they'd caught so it was pretty neat. Patrick and I also had a nice chat about Kim and everything that's been going on.

Old-timey bowling alley

Kiera watching the bowling

Misc tools at a shop

Store front

Toni dipping a candle (in 'authentically' coloured wax)

Me up on a tower overlooking the region

Patrick and Toni and Kiera on the tower overlooking Sovereign Hill

Old mining cart

Rock crushers

Steam engine

Gold pouring demonstration

Red coats in front of the candy store

Fresh made candy (raspberry lollies)

Type cabinets at the print shop (these were all full and there were a dozen more)

Lemon-lime and Bitters, delicious!

Steam engine powered chisel making the centre drum for a new wheel

Totally random peacock watching everything in the woodshop

Toni and Kiera taking a horse and buggy ride

Toni and I panning for gold

Toni and Kiera panning for gold

Kangaroo steak and Red Duck Pale Ale for supper in Port Campbell

After breakfast this morning we started out on the Great Ocean Road. The GOR is a stretch of highway hugging the southern coast of Victoria from Peterborough to Torquay. It's absolutely packed with scenic look-outs, beaches, cliffs, pretty coastal towns and hiking trails. Part of it even loops back inland and goes through a small temperate rainforest area.

Our first stop was "The Grotto," a sinkhole in a cliff that floods with the tides. It was pretty cool. We continued on eastward towards Melbourne, stopping every few kilometres to see another sight. The whole coastline is magnificent and you could spend weeks exploring it all. I think my favourite stop was some random less popular spot where we did a longish walk that ended up at a huge deserted sandy beach. The water was too rough for swimming, but it was a beautiful sunny day and there was lots to explore on the beach including a cave in some high cliffs on one side. It also had a fresh water lagoon and some cool tumbleweeds. We stayed there quite a while (long enough to get sunburned because we left the sunscreen in the car). Kiera slept the whole time in a harness strapped to Patrick's back.

The biggest attraction on the GOR is probably "The Twelve Apostles" which are a collection of tall limestone pillars jutting out of the ocean in a cluster. We spent a good amount of time looking at those but there were lots of people so it was a bit annoying. As we were leaving Toni and I decided on a whim to take a helicopter ride over the rocks to get a better view. It was expensive of course, but totally worth it. Neither of us had ever been on a helicopter before and it was really fun! We got some great pictures too.

Next we followed the highway inland to the temperate rainforest part and ended up making the drive an adventure by diverting onto an old logging road (narrow and very rough) to find a hiking trail listed in my Lonely Planet. The road was crazy twisty and the rain made it slick so it was lots of fun. Patrick's AWD Subaru station wagon handled it like a champ despite its low-profile tires. The hike was a 3km descent into a valley in the forest to see a lovely little waterfall. It was raining gently so the atmosphere was super murky under the canopy of trees and giant ferns. Really really cool. Unfortunately we did not bring the Kiera-carrier on the hike for some reason. That was fine for the trip in, but she was not quite equipped to handle the uphill portion on the way out. I took turns with Patrick carrying her so we got a nice workout. Kiera seems to have really warmed up to me which is really neat. She's such a great kid.

After the hike we had a snack and then continued on the logging road. It got even more twisty and narrow and we started seeing more wildlife too. There were colourful birds everywhere like rainbow lorikeets and crimson rosellas. We also saw three wallabies (and almost ran over one of them when it jumped in front of the car). Eventually we got to Apollo Bay back on the coast where we stopped for fresh fish and chips with potato cakes on the side. I had the barramundi which was pretty good.

After supper we continued driving back to Melbourne with a couple short stops here and there. On arriving at Patrick and Toni's house we quickly unloaded the car and then went to bed.

This morning I sorted out some practical matters like laundry and what I'll be doing in Sydney when I get there. This afternoon Patrick and I had a great time today running around Melbourne with Kiera. We went to markets and shopping centres and just generally wandered about. The Queen Victoria market was great: we had amazing spicy lamb bureks and craft beers for lunch. We also snacked on cheese, chocolate brioche and fresh mango. I was able to pick up some local wine to bring back for my mom and I also got some sunglasses and a hat to better protect myself in the Outback.

In the late afternoon we made our way down to St. Kilda to meet up with Toni to wander around the shops and beaches. It's a really great area and I had some yummy vanilla slice from a bakery. We also picked up a couple beers from a specialty beer store to have with dinner.

For dinner Patrick and Toni made a pork roast in the crock pot with apple sauce made from the apples from their apple tree. It was really good! For dessert I raided their fridge and ate some yummy passion fruit-mango yogurt. Then we went through all of our photos to share them with each other before going to bed. It was a great final day in Melbourne. Tomorrow I say goodbye to Patrick, Toni and Kiera and fly out to Alice Springs.

Beers and burek

Source of the beers and the wine I got for my mom

Meats and cheeses at the QV

Sourdough we used for sandwiches

So many prawns

So many mangos

Veggies

Melons

Kiera being silly

Creepy, Coney Island-style amusement park near the beach

Awesome beer store

Patrick playing in the sand on the beach, intense!

Kiera and I on the beach at St. Kilda

This morning we got up early so that Patrick could give me a ride to the airport to catch my 9:25am flight to Alice Springs. At the airport Patrick and Kiera were even able to come through security and wait with me at my gate until boarding. I guess they don't worry too much about security for domestic flights in Australia. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, but Patrick will be in Sydney for work when I get there so at least I'll see him again before returning to Canada.

The flight was easy, I watched a movie and was even fed pretty decently. My hostel picked me up at the airport and the ride into Alice Springs was interesting. Lots of barbed wire and security fences everywhere, which was reminiscent of Belfast. I assume it's related to the Aboriginal population, but I don't really know. I can already feel how the town has a much heavier atmosphere than anywhere I've been so far.

My hostel is nice: friendly, clean, small, and it has a great kitchen. It also has free Internet, breakfast and luggage storage. I can't really ask for more. After getting settled I wandered into town for lunch, ending up in the food court at the mall for a sandwich. The mall reminds me of malls you see in more isolated communities in the north of Ontario, perhaps like the mall in Thunder Bay.

After lunch I wandered around the town (not very big) just to see what there was to see. I have to get up early tomorrow morning for my trip into the Outback so I'm not really trying to do anything in particular today. The main thing I noticed is the large number of Aboriginal people hanging about everywhere. It's a bit unnerving because they aren't doing anything and there are so many. I didn't have any problems, but I found myself being overly conscious of my surroundings all the time.

For supper I decided I needed some fresh produce so I went to Woolworth's to get some veggies to make into salad back at the hostel. While I was shopping Patrick texted to tell me that tonight there will be an AFL (Australian Rules Football) game in Alice Springs, one of only two they get a year. AFL is a really big deal in Australia, particularly in and around Melbourne. Some of the stadiums can (and regularly do) hold 100,000 people. Patrick is a huge fan (and he works for them too) so he was very insistent that I try to go. I went to the tourist information centre and they were able to sell me a ticket! Tonight I will be seeing an AFL game in Alice Springs! Totally unexpected and so very cool, I'm really looking forward to it. I also picked up a bunch of postcards at the info centre to send to all the people back home. I'll be writing those next before I make supper.

One last note about Alice Springs so far. It's really green. There is a lot of vegetation and the Todd River has lots of water in it. I looked it up and the Todd River is supposed to only be a "river." That is to say it is almost always a dry creek bed only. So I think I'm here at a pretty special time.

Kiera watching the planes and enjoying a babychino before my flight

I flew Quantas to Alice Springs, there were a lot of Quantas planes at the domestic terminal

Tons of healthy green vegetation in Alice Springs

The mighty Todd River

A cool gum tree

Last night after supper I walked over to the local community centre to watch the AFL game. They had a big field outside with a few bleachers but most people just sat on the grass around the edge. Given that the games in Melbourne attract up to 100,000 fans this was an awesomely intimate venue. Basically this game was the equivalent of a couple MLB or NHL teams showing up in a small town and playing a game. And the town is isolated enough that the only people in attendance were locals (although it seemed like all the locals were there so it was moderately busy).

The game was between the Adelaide Crows and the Brisbane Lions. It was lots of fun to watch, very fast and rough and hugely athletic. I can't pretend to actually understand all the rules but it was cool to watch nonetheless. I only stayed for the first half as I needed to get up at 4:45am this morning. Also, it was dark and I was a bit worried about the walk back to the hostel so I wanted to get away in good time. I had no problems and was soon in bed.

I was picked up early this morning (after a nice free breakfast at the hostel) by my tour company. I'm doing a three day bus-based camping trip in the Outback with Adventure Tours. We sleep under the stars in "swags" which are large canvas sacks with a bit of padding. You put your sleeping bag inside and are relatively protected from the outside world. They roll up nicely for storage too. The trip will take our little group to see Kings Canyon, Uluru (Ayers Rock), and Kata Tjuta. There will be a lot of driving (over 1000km) as things are really far apart out here. Our group is 14 people plus the driver which is a good size. The bus isn't quite full so we have room to spread out and relax. Everyone seems nice so far, but we're all still a bit sleepy. The driver/guide is a 25 year old German girl named Mel who grew up in Spain and she's super friendly and fun. It's going to be a good tour.

Right now we're driving on the Stuart Highway towards Kings Canyon. We just had our first stop at a random camel farm. It was pretty tourist-trap style but it was also the only place to stop so it's not like there are a lot of choices. I chose not to take a camel ride and instead just wandered around, stretched my legs and took a few pictures. Mel explained that last week Alice Springs and the whole area got as much rain as it normally does in a whole year. This means that in addition to the red dirt everywhere there are lots of green shrubs and grasses. It also means that it's a bit cooler than it normally would be (the rain cools things off). So it's going to be around 30 degrees for our trip instead of 35. We're likely to see more animals than usual, all drawn out to the temporary rivers and vegetation.

Sunset at the football field waiting for the game to start, the fence is right by the boundary of the field and it is easy to get a spot right on the fence

Pile up with some sort of emotions from the blue players

Kick that ball!

Catch that ball!

Kick the ball again!

They can jump crazy high (this was not their peak)

Kangaroos at the camel farm

Random signs on a shed

A camel

Driveway into the camel farm, lots of red dirt, but also lots of green

A river we drove over, normally has no water in it

Yesterday was very full and awesome. We stopped at several road houses along the way to Kings Canyon, one of which even had mobile phone service. We also saw dingoes and thorny devils as we drove (small spikey lizards which like to sit on the warm highway). Eventually we made it to the campground near Kings Canyon where we made lunch and sat by the pool. I had no idea there would be any chance for swimming on this trip (who puts a pool in the middle of the desert?) so I did not have my bathing suit, but it was still fun. Lunch was just sandwiches and salad. Since our tour guide is on her own we all are expected to pitch in and help. She selects a few people before each meal to deal with cooking and cleaning and it seems to work really well. Everyone in the group is friendly and eager to participate and there don't seem to be any whiners or slackers. They're all young-ish and generally backpackers. Of all the people I am in Australia for the least amount of time (three weeks). There are two high-school girls from Quebec, as well as people from France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Ireland and Japan. There are no Americans which everyone in the group agreed was a good thing.

After lunch we drove into Kings Canyon park and proceeded to complete the "ridge walk" which is a 6km hike around the top of the canyon with a short detour into the centre to see the "Garden of Eden." This is a permanent waterhole in a sheltered section of the canyon which is surrounded by lots of cool plants and trees. Because of all the recent rain the waterways were all brimming and there was plant life everywhere. We had to avoid puddles in some places which surprised Mel quite a bit. The hike was totally amazing and worth all the effort and time it took to get to such a remote spot. Also, it was only 29 degrees; Mel said that sometimes it can be 40 degrees and then they have to cancel part of the hike because it would kill people.

We drove to our campsite after the hike, way down a windy road deep in the campground. It was much better equipped than I expected. It had hot showers, a shelter for cooking with a permanent gas stove and even a bit of electricity for lights and a fridge for perishable food. I was on supper duty with a few others and we made spaghetti with lots of meat and veggies in the sauce. It turned out great as food always does when you're camping. After supper we cleaned up, chatted and looked at the stars. They were huge and very bright; we could see the Milky Way and lots of constellations.

I slept alright in my swag, it was neat waking up in the middle of the night to see all the stars. My only problem was that halfway through the night a large ant joined me in my sleeping bag and proceeded to bite me a few times before I could catch it. Of course I was terrified it was something worse, but when I didn't immediately die in excruciating pain I figured it must be harmless. We were woken early in the morning by the sound of dingoes howling and fighting with each other which was pretty neat. Breakfast was toast and cereal and then we quickly packed up and headed out. We're driving four hours now to get to Uluru and so far on the way we've seen dingoes, wild camels and a couple wild horses (called Brumbies).

Our bus at a road house

Emus at the roadhouse

Thorny devil

Thorny devil

Landscape

The hill we climbed at the start of the Kings Canyon ridge walk

Halfway up the hill

Rocks and trees and shrubs

Cool flower

Old dead tree

Mel leading the way

Rocks

A friendly goanna (monitor lizard)

View of the canyon

Unexpected water

Trees

Evidence of the ancient seas that used to cover this part of Australia

Trees and rocks

Shadows and rocks

Rock piles

View of the canyon

Goofy fake climbing the canyon photo

Garden of Eden

Garden of Eden

More unexpected water

Looking down on the Garden of Eden

Gum tree

The canyon

Our group (less two people who opted to skip the ridge walk)

Waterfall in the canyon

Heading back down to the entrance

Cool rocks

Our campsite

Dingo

Four of the approximately two million wild camels in the Outback

After four hours of driving and a few brief stops we arrived at our campsite near Uluru yesterday. It was even better equipped than the one near Kings Canyon, with a huge set of fancy showers and bathrooms plus a general store. It was quite clear that a great number of people camp there over the course of a year and last night was no exception with tons of tour buses all crammed side by side. It was still a good atmosphere though.

We had lunch at the site and then headed out to Uluru. First we went to the cultural centre and museum which explained the history and significance of the site to the local Aboriginal peoples. It was pretty interesting and placed a lot of emphasis on encouraging people to be respectful (don't take stuff, don't take pictures of sacred sites, etc.). After the museum Mel took us on a short walk to some of the more significant sites on and near the rock and told us parts of the Aboriginal stories about the sites. Then she left us to do the 10km walk around the whole rock on our own (I suspect she went and took a nap). The walk itself is relatively new, and I believe is meant to replace the alternate activity of climbing to the top. Climbing Uluru is considered very disrespectful to the Aboriginal population and can actually be rather dangerous too. It is still allowed but the access to the climb is often closed due to wind conditions (it was closed yesterday). It seems like the climb will one day be closed permanently, but the Australian government is moving very slowly on that front.

The walk was very flat and easy on well maintained trails. There wasn't a lot of shelter from the sun, but it was still relatively cool (28 degrees) so it wasn't too bad. For a while we all walked in a big group taking pictures and admiring the rock (which was spectacular) but after a while we ended up spreading out into smaller groups. I had a great time chatting with a girl named Suzie from Northern Ireland and an older woman from Germany named Pascale. We also enjoyed the company of Javier and Francesco (from Spain and Italy respectively) for most of the time although they peeled off on their own for a chunk in the middle. I ended up chatting a bit about Kim with Suzie and Pascale which went a lot better than I expected. These were the first new people I'd ever talked to about the subject and I'm glad that it's happened as I think it will be easier next time I have to do it.

After the walk we headed to a nearby lookout point to watch the sunset illuminate Uluru. The colours in the rock change a great deal as the sun goes down and it was really cool to watch. Back at camp we had Aussie BBQ for supper including steak, kangaroo steak, camel sausages and grilled vegetables. For dessert we had a sweet muesli/yogurt/fruit/cookie/custard mash thing with sparklers (it was Javier's birthday). In the evening I got out my playing cards and a bunch of us played for a while. Javier and Francesco had a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label which they shared with me on the condition that I didn't draw attention as they didn't want to share it with more people (it's apparently $200/bottle). Before bed we saw some more cool wildlife: jumping kangaroo mice. They were very cute and ran all over trying to find scraps of food from supper.

This morning we got up at 4:50am in order to have enough time to eat and head out to another lookout point to see the sunrise over Kata Tjuta and Uluru. I slept much better in my swag last night than the night before, I didn't wake up at all. The only problem was that a light was left on in the bus overnight so the battery was dead in the morning! Apparently this happens a lot and Mel just told us all to get out and help push start the bus. This went a lot better than I thought it would and we had the bus running in no time. I think she may have let the battery die on purpose just to give us some physical activity to wake us up in the early morning.

The sunrise was really cool, it came up behind Uluru and illuminated the rocks of Kata Tjuta behind us. We didn't linger though, as we wanted to get to the Kata Tjuta hike ahead of all the other tour buses. It's a really good hike, but the trails are popular and can get busy. We succeeded in getting there first so we had the trail to ourselves which meant we got to see some Euros (also called Wallaroos, a small type of kangaroo). Kata Tjuta is about the same age as Uluru, but is much more varied as it is a group of really big formations rather than just one gargantuan rock. We finished the hike around 10:30am and then returned to camp to pack up and eat lunch.

Before leaving the area we dropped Javier and Francesco off at the airport in Yulara where they caught a direct flight to Sydney. I would have done the same if I didn't have my big bag waiting for me back in Alice Springs. Since our tour was not full I could have actually brought it with me, but I didn't know that soon enough to change my flight plans. Tonight we're going out as a group in Alice Springs though, so that will be fun. We're going to Annie's Place which is a bar that Shannon frequented during her time in Alice. It's cool that I'll get a chance to follow up on her recommendation.

We're just pulling out to start our long drive back to Alice Springs now. It's a bit sad without Javier and Francesco, but overall the trip has been great so everyone is still in a good mood. Tomorrow I fly to Brisbane on the first leg of my trip to Airlie Beach.

Quick stop at our only turn on the way to Uluru

Long straight road to Uluru

Too close to Uluru now to get all of it in, the dark markings are where water pours down the rock when it rains

Old Aboriginal rock paintings

Close up of a run-off point

Cave in the side of the rock

Tree and Uluru

Walking around the base

Walking around the base

Waterhole in sheltered section

Tree and Uluru

Uluru

Done the walk, heading back to the bus

Our group, just before sunset

Uluru and I

Sun starting to set

The moon was visible too

The sunset behind us with Kata Tjuta in the distance

Sun is a little lower now

More sunset with Kata Tjuta

Sun is a little lower now

Sun is a little lower now

More sunset with Kata Tjuta

Sun is now down

Kangaroo mice

Kata Tjuta before sunrise

Uluru before sunrise

Sun coming up

Sun coming up

Sun coming up

Sun coming up

Kata Tjuta close up after sunrise

Starting the Kata Tjuta hike

Sun is all the way up now

Rocks in the morning sun

Still lots of water here too

Euros/Wallaroos in the distance

Cool gum tree

Small river over the rocks

Deep in the middle of Kata Tjuta

One last group photo

View at the end of the hike

Although long, the drive back to Alice Springs was fun. We played games in the bus with everyone and lots of people (including me) took turns choosing and playing music on the bus speakers through our various music devices. That person also got to sit up front which gave great views of the countryside. In Erldunda we had to pick up some extra passengers so we stopped there for a good break and I got some really nice espresso. We saw a lot of thorny devils on the road again and there were a lot of huge trucks out that would shake the bus quite a bit as they passed. We also saw more camels and a huge herd of wild horses.

We had one short sight-seeing stop along the way at a lookout for Mt. Conner which looks a lot like Uluru from a distance. Also at the lookout, but in the other direction, was a massive salt lake. Generally the lake is dry, but again due to the rain it actually had water in it when we were there. I think that surprised Mel the most of all the crazy things we'd seen.

Back in Alice Springs I showered at the hostel and repacked my bags. I also spent a long time chatting with random people. One guy was driving across all the rougher parts of Australia in a 4WD vehicle and was trying to figure out how to get up north where there had recently been lots of flooding. Like all trucks here, his was set up to be able to cross fairly deep water (exhaust and air intake well above the wheel level). The problem was that in the flooded areas, if you do get stuck, then the crocodiles come to get you. I also chatted briefly with a guy from Etobicoke and a couple others. Eventually we all left together to go into town to various bars. I got to Annie's Place with no problems and enjoyed drinks and a nice dinner with my tour-mates.

On the advice of multiple independent people I took a taxi back to my hostel at the end of the night. Apparently the Aboriginal situation in Alice Springs is worse than I though. I had been treating the town like any other city: I would keep my wits about me, but otherwise not worry too much. I was told I was incorrect though. Many of the Aboriginals here were banished from other Aboriginal communities for various offences and so they aren't the best people. Back at the hostel I reconnected with the people I started the evening out with and they were told the same things by other independent sources. So I guess there must be something to it. I don't know what to think.

This morning I slept in, had a slow breakfast, packed my bags and then just relaxed in the nice courtyard of my hostel. At breakfast a crazy bird landed on my table and took food right out of my bowl! It was not at all scared of people and you had to actively guard your food from it. It wouldn't fly off if you tried to shoo it, it just hopped aside and chirped while waiting for you to let your guard down. It did this to everyone eating breakfast until the owner came out and scooped it up. He took it to the far back end of the courtyard and put it over a fence, but it was soon back and bothering other people. Crazy bird. The airport shuttle is coming to pick me up in a few minutes and then I'm off to Brisbane (via Sydney).

We saw dozens of thorny devils on the road

Mt. Conner

The salt lake (with and island in the middle)

Lots of grass and shrubs near the salt lake

Salt lake

Tree with Mt. Conner in the background

Wild horses

Wild horses

Wild horses

Crazy bird

My trip to Brisbane was long but fairly uneventful. Six other people from the Outback tour shared my flight to Sydney so we all hung out at the airport before it left. Our plane was painted with cool Aboriginal style designs which had everyone taking out their cameras on the tarmac to take pictures. I watched "The Descendants" on the way to Sydney which was sad but also quite good. The layover in Sydney was very short and soon I was on a rather old plane bound for Brisbane. It only had a couple CRT TVs mounted on the ceiling in the aisle and the seats were very clearly old and tired. The flight was just over an hour long so it wasn't a big deal since the plane arrived in one piece.

In Brisbane I got the AirTrain into the city and walked the three blocks to my hostel. I'm just staying at the main YHA which is big and impersonal, but it's also clean and has lots of good facilities like laundry, WiFi and a great little cafe. I'm not going out tonight as I need to do laundry and I only arrived at 8:00pm. I grabbed a bit of food and a beer from the cafe and now I'm going to read a bit before finishing my laundry and going to sleep. I fly for Airlie Beach tomorrow morning so I'll have to come back and see Brisbane another time.

Awesome plane for my Alice Springs-Sydney flight

Tasty beer from the hostel cafe

This morning I got up, had a leisurely breakfast at the hostel cafe and then headed back to the airport to catch my flight to Airlie Beach. While waiting for my flight I learned that Sydney had been flooded pretty badly overnight by a huge thunderstorm. If I had stayed there last night (which was an option I originally explored) I would have been stuck. As it was my flight was delayed over an hour, but since I had no schedule today it didn't really matter.

I was given an exit row seat for the flight which was very nice. Also, my row-mates were two aging Australian heavy metal band members. For one of them it was his first flight in over 30 years and he was a bit nervous. Both were hilariously random. They drank a lot of beer and hassled the flight attendants in an endless but good-natured way. Like something out of Madmen, but with leather wearing dirtbags instead of well-groomed men in suits. The flight itself was fast and easy and Proserpine airport (the airport serving Airlie Beach) was super small and isolated. I think the whole place shuts down completely between flights.

It was a 45 minute shuttle ride to get to Airlie Beach and the driver chatted the whole time about the countryside and history of the area. I'm pretty sure a lot of it was made up but it was amusing nonetheless (saltwater crocodiles can be big, but there has never been a confirmed measurement of one over 7 metres long and he claimed there was a 7.5 metre croc in the area).

I got settled at my hostel and chatted a bit with one of my roommates. He had just arrived from New York but had somehow lost his phone in Sydney. Of course it had all of his important travel information on it so he was pretty screwed. He proceeded to whine and complain for a long time and then decided that he would return to New York tomorrow and try the trip again in a month (he works for an airline and so he flies for free). He was definitely a downer so I left him at the hostel and went out to explore Airlie Beach. I found the booking office I had used to book my boat trip to the Great Barrier Reef and had a nice chat with the owner. Then I headed to the actual offices for the boat to check in and receive the tiny reusable bag which was the only bag I was allowed to bring on the boat for the three day trip.

I returned to the hostel and figured out the stuff I absolutely needed to bring and jammed it all in the bag. As I was packing I heard a terrible racket out on the balcony so I went and discovered a huge cockatoo just hanging around. He wasn't scared of me at all and was really cool looking. After packing I went out again to get some supper and explore some more. The area is really lovely, but the town itself is super touristy and so it didn't do much for me. I got a beer and some takeout pizza and headed to the beach to eat. I saw a couple of huge fruit bats in the palm trees and some more cockatoos. I also had some mango ice cream for dessert and bought some food for breakfast in the morning.

I'm really looking forward to the boat trip tomorrow and to meeting new people. I'm feeling a bit lonely here as I know that I would enjoy Airlie Beach if I were with Kim. On my own I really don't like it. The boat trip is three days and two nights out on the ocean. We start with the Whitsunday Islands and then do some snorkelling and scuba diving in the "fringing reef" near the shore of one of the islands. Then we head out to the real Great Barrier Reef and do diving and snorkelling there before returning to Airlie Beach. The trip includes introductory scuba training (not certification though) so I'll get to dive even though I've never done it before. The weather here has been rainy and super humid so far, but it's supposed to be nicer over the next couple days. I can't wait to see the blue water in the sun.

Cockatoo on my hostel balcony

Walkway in Airlie Beach at sunset

Trees and harbour

Another cockatoo

Last night at the hostel was OK, but I think I'll avoid eight-share rooms in the future. Too many people! six-share or less for me unless circumstances prevent it. Also the hostel wasn't very nice: lots of ants, not super clean, and I almost tripped over two rats fighting outside on my way out. It seems like most of the hostels in Airlie Beach kind of suck since they don't need to try very hard to get people here.

Anyway the hostel did the job and I was up and out early this morning to board Kiana, the boat I'd be living on for the next two nights. Kiana is a big sailboat that with a bit of squeezing and a few makeshift beds can sleep all thirteen passengers and three crew. The crew include the skipper Stu, the dive-master Ryan and our cook Ela who is from Vancouver. Before leaving dock we also got to meet the owner who gave us a friendly chat about the boat and its rules. Also he just wanted to wish us well; he was a very nice man.

We soon headed out to the Whitsunday Islands under motor power as the winds were bad for sailing. On the way we were shown around the boat and told how things work. There are two bathrooms and several bedrooms/sleeping nooks. I get a double bed to myself, but it is in the main common area and is a converted bench with cushions so it is not very private. However it does get better ventilation than any other spot and since it's super hot and humid I think it will be just fine. It's clear why we were only allowed to bring a tiny bag of stuff along. First there isn't much room and second you don't really need a lot. Just a bathing suit a couple shirts really. One other thing the boat has is a special fridge with beer, wine, pop and chocolate. We can drink as much water/coffee/tea as we want but for special things we need to pay. For those items, you mark down on a piece of paper every time you take one and they make a tally and bill you at the end. It's super convenient.

After the tour of the boat we sat down with dive-master Ryan to fill out the scuba diving paperwork. For the beginner divers he also gave a thorough lesson about the gear and hand-signals and how it all works. It was a ton of information but when we dive it will be in small groups with him closely supervising so it should be OK. By the time everything was done we had arrived at the islands and moored the boat in a sheltered bay to have some lunch. Ela brought out really tasty salads and sandwiches which were also presented very well. This trip is a lot different than the Outback tour. As passengers we don't have to do anything but eat, sleep and enjoy. It's hard to not want to help out!

After lunch we moved on to Whitehaven Beach, accessing the island in a small motor boat which is normally attached to the back of Kiana. We landed on shore and proceeded to do a short hike through the woods to get to the beach. The idea behind the walk was to see wildlife but it's such a busy area that all we saw was a huge, terrifying, harmless spider. At the beach we had to put on "stinger suits" before going in for a swim. They are full body wet suits with hoods and the point is to reduce the risk of death by jellyfish. They don't cover your feet or hands or face so you are still exposed, but you have to take risks sometimes. It's not like there are jellyfish swarming all over, but they are around sometimes and it is impossible to tell in advance. There are two types of bad ones in the area: the box jellyfish which is big and visible and the Irukandji jellyfish which is tiny and transparent. Both are pretty deadly so we just hope not to run into any.

The beach itself is as beautiful as you'd expect for being considered one of the best beaches in the world. The sand is 98% pure silica which makes it super white and soft and fine. It also stretches for miles and the water is very blue and warm. This was my first time ever swimming in the ocean and I can't imagine a better place to do it! After swimming with everyone for a while I got out of the water to walk and explore the beach (I kept my stinger suit on though to protect me from the sun). At the edge of the water I saw crabs, tropical fish and the occasional sting ray. I took lots of pictures, but also spent a bunch of time just sitting and enjoying the view.

Late in the afternoon Ela came to get us in the motor boat. Back at the ship there were fancy snacks waiting for us and I enjoyed them with a couple beers from the beer fridge. There were chips and salsa, cheese, crackers, sausages, fruits and veggies, all artfully arranged on platters. Fancy! As we ate, the boat went up to the north end of Hook Island and moored in Luncheon Bay where we're spending the night. It's a really pretty spot with great views of the island and the open ocean. We relaxed a while and then had a supper of lamb roasted in a beer keg along with potatoes and veggies. For the rest of the evening we chatted about the day and watched the fish attracted by the lights of the boat. Everyone is going to bed now so I'm going to pack it in for the night too.

Inside the cabin of Kiana

Leaving Airlie Beach

On the water heading to the islands

Stu taking us to the island on the motor boat (me in the back right)

Landed on Whitsunday Island

Ryan at our landing point

Me at the landing point

Our whole group at the landing point

Coming at the beach from above

Cool boat in the bay

More beach and water

Lots of trees

Me

Our group

Down on the beach now

Walking along the beach

Sand writing by Ryan

Beach

Beach and rocks

Beach and rocks

Swimming in our stinger suits

Cool rocks

The beach is really huge

Some coral in the sand

So much beach

Cool trees

Beach and rocks

Beach and rocks

Me on the boat in Luncheon Bay

Me on the boat in Luncheon Bay

Sunset in Luncheon Bay

I slept great last night! It was so calm and quiet with the boat rocking ever so slightly. I can't remember a time I've slept better. We were up bright and early this morning so that we could do lots of snorkelling and diving. We had a light breakfast of fruit and toast and then headed to an isolated and empty beach on Hook Island to do our training. All around the islands here is something called "fringing reef" which is just small bits of coral reef. It was a great place to do a first dive and some snorkelling. Ryan did a dive with the certified divers just to confirm their competence and then he left them while doing short training dives with the beginner divers. He took us out in groups of three leaving the rest of us to snorkel and explore the reefs around the island.

I had never snorkelled before but I'm a pretty good swimmer so I didn't have any problems. We were in our stinger suits again of course, and we were quickly reminded of why we had them. Within 30 seconds of my first attempt at snorkelling three of us saw a jellyfish very close to where we were! It turned out to be a moon jellyfish which is totally harmless but after all the warnings and precautions we were totally freaked out. Eventually we relaxed and got into the snorkelling groove. We saw tons of coral, tropical fish and even a sting ray. It was really amazing and that wasn't even the real Great Barrier Reef!

My intro diving lesson went well. We learned how to gear up and then knelt down in shallow water to get a feel for breathing with the regulator. We also practiced how to recover from losing our regulator and how to clear our mask of water. It was a bit freaky but I didn't have any problems. Once we finished with the lesson Ryan took us on a short guided dive of the fringing reef in the area. It was a totally different experience from snorkelling even though it was the exact same area. It was so much more immersive; instead of being above the fish and coral we were actually among them. Intellectually it seems like a small difference but when I was there it was just amazing.

After everyone was finished with their lessons and snorkelling we returned to the boat for snacks and a nice break while we made our way out to the Great Barrier Reef. We're staying in a section called "Bait Reef" which forms a sort of harbour, sheltered on three sides by reef. We're actually mooring within the reef overnight! It took about two and half hours to get out here and we had a few dolphins follow us for about fifteen minutes as we travelled. It was awesome! When we arrived the certified divers immediately went down for a dive while everyone else went out snorkelling. Stu took us out in the motor boat and dropped us in a spot where the tides and current in the ocean would naturally draw us over the reef and back to the boat. It made it so that we didn't have to work too hard and could just enjoy the amazing sights below. The reef out here is huge! From above it seems to go forever in all directions (including down) and the coral and fish are beautiful. There is so much diversity and colour. At one point a very large fish followed me for 20 minutes and kept surprising me every time I turned around. It would have been hilarious if it was just a little bit smaller (ie. if I couldn't see its teeth when it opened its mouth). After we finished it was time for lunch and a bit of relaxation in the sun.

In the afternoon Ryan took the beginner divers out for a dive on the reef in groups of three. This dive was more serious than the intro dive at the island as we went down twelve metres (instead of just two). We used the boat's mooring line to help guide ourselves down to the final depth. We went very slowly but I still had lots of problems equalizing the pressure in my ears. I don't think I know how to do that properly. Things got better and we headed out into the reef. It was amazing like the fringing reef, but at a much much larger scale. Endless coral and fish and other things. However I spent a lot of the dive worrying and slightly panicky. It's weird being deep under water for thirty minutes and I was really worried I'd lose the regulator and not be able to recover it. Also the air out of the tanks was rather dry so I spent the second half of the dive trying not to cough (which would cause me to spit out the regulator). Still, despite all the fear it was amazing. There was a sea turtle at one point which allowed us to follow it around for a while. When it got tired of us it paddled it's arms just slightly faster and was gone in an instant. It was very majestic and a keen reminder of how ill-adapted humans are for its environment. Near the end of the dive I started to get a bit tired which increased the panic level. This became even more intense as we started to move back to the surface. As we got closer the urge to just swim straight up got more intense but Ryan forced us to go slowly and take short breaks every couple metres. I held on and when we surfaced Stu came and picked us up in the motor boat. Back at the ship I got a beer and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. The certified divers did two more dives and some other people went out snorkelling again but I had had enough for the day.

We had more snacks in the afternoon and then for supper we had spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread and apple stuffed crepes for dessert. It was delicious and satisfying after a long day in the water. After supper we chatted, watched the fish around the boat and also viewed a slide show of all the pictures Ryan had taken so far with his underwater camera. At the end of the trip we can buy a CD with all the pictures for $35 which is really cheap given that there will be over 200 of them by the time the trip is done. I would have paid a lot more than that just for the underwater ones let alone all the others! The only unfortunate part is that Ryan is not allowed to take the camera out when he is diving with beginner divers so there is only one picture of me underwater and that is when we were practicing at the beginning of the day.

Later in the evening we discovered an injured sea-bird of some sort on the boat. It was small and its injury was not obvious but it had trouble flying for long and just sat around on the boat despite all the people. We had to move it to a safer spot (in the motor boat) so we didn't accidentally step on it. It's time to turn in for the night now, hopefully the bird is better in the morning.

Sunrise in Luncheon Bay

First sight of the day, a jellyfish!

Sting ray

Coral in the fringing reef

Thing in the fringing reef

Coral in the fringing reef

Coral in the fringing reef

Coral and fish in the fringing reef

Coral in the fringing reef

Starfish in the fringing reef

Coral and fish in the fringing reef

Coral in the fringing reef

Me during my dive lesson, EVERYTHING IS OK!

Me after my dive lesson

Under sail on the way out to the Great Barrier Reef

Me reading on the way out to the reef

Dolphins!!

Moored at Bait Reef, this is definitely the fish that followed me around while snorkelling

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Big fish frightening the little fish

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Stu picking up some divers

Motor boat tied up behind the ship at sunset

As the tide went out, parts of the reef poked above the water line

Sunset

Sunset

Sunset

Bird friend

I slept well again last night and once again we were up early for more diving and snorkelling. The certified divers went out for a couple more dives while everyone else snorkelled. This time we went to the other side of Bait Reef since the current was going the other direction. Unfortunately the current was much stronger today and it didn't line up exactly with the ship so we had to work quite a bit to stay on track and not be swept out to sea. The reef was still cool but not as enjoyable as yesterday since it was a lot more work. After all that swimming we had some snacks and then got underway to return to Airlie Beach.

The winds were very favourable on the return trip so Stu put up all three sails and really got us going. The angle of the ship seemed to vary between 30 and 40 degrees from vertical so we had to be careful moving about. The speed and thrill was great fun, right up until the moment my stomach decided it wasn't and voided itself into the ocean repeatedly. This continued much longer than I thought possible but when it finished I was able to curl up into a ball until we made it back to the Whitsunday Islands. The motion of the boat was different under sail and the seas were rough so I wasn't the only person who had difficulties. I was the first though!

Once we reached the islands we stopped in a sheltered area for lunch. I soon returned to normal and was able to eat a little before started our return to Airlie Beach. This part wasn't as rough so I had no further issues and was able to really enjoy the sailing. Back at Airlie Beach we settled up our tabs and then went our separate ways. There was some attempt to arrange an evening meet-up but a lot of people were leaving town right away and others were not very enthusiastic so it didn't work out. The group was alright overall but not nearly as awesome as the group for my Outback trip. I think the problem was that only three of us were singles and everyone else was either in couples or groups of three. This arrangement did not promote a lot of group bonding. Despite this, the boat trip was fantastic and I saw so many amazing things.

I'm back at the same hostel now, I even received the same room. My roommates don't appear to be interested in chatting so I'm going to head out and get some supper.

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Under sail on the way back to Airlie Beach! (not pictured, me vomiting)

Back among the Whitsunday Islands

Back among the Whitsunday Islands

Kiana back at dock

Last night after supper I started having difficulties with motion sickness again, but this time because I was not moving. It was so weird. I decided it was best to just relax and so I joined some other people in the hostel common room to watch the epic movie "Australia" with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It is almost three hours long so it was a good way to force myself to relax a while. The movie wasn't that good, but given that I am in Australia it had some extra meaning that made it tolerable. After the movie I went to bed and had a pretty decent sleep.

This morning I had a leisurely breakfast and chatted a bit with Elke, one of the people from the boat trip who I just discovered was staying at the same hostel. I took a quick walk down to the beach to kill some time and eventually the airport shuttle picked me up and brought me back to the tiny little airport. Two quick flights (stopping in Brisbane) and I was in Sydney. I grabbed the airport train and soon was at the main train station downtown. I'm staying at a cool new YHA that's attached to the train station so it was super easy to get checked in and settled. Patrick has arranged to work from the Sydney office of his company this week so he is staying at the YHA too. He'll work during the day and we'll hang out in the evenings.

Soon after I arrived Patrick met me at the hostel and we went out for the evening. We had supper at a great Thai restaurant called "Chat Thai" and then we wandered around the city for a few hours just chatting and seeing the sights. It's great to be back with Patrick and I'm really looking forward to spending the next few days with him before I leave for New Zealand. It's too bad Toni and Kiera can't join us here.

Beautiful scenery in Airlie Beach

Dinner in Sydney

Cook at Chat Thai

Chinatown gates

Hilarious street warnings painted during the Sydney Olympics for stupid foreigners who forget which side of the road cars drive on

Huge palm trees

Me on the dock at the marina

Random cool fountain

Today was great! I got up early to meet a tour bus I had booked in Melbourne which took me up through the Blue Mountains to the Jenolan caves (a few hours west of Sydney). Normally I would have used public transit for this, but there are no such options that take you to the caves so I either had to go on a crappy tour or rent a car. The price of the tour wasn't a lot more than a car and it was a lot easier so I went with the tour. The driver was friendly and there weren't many people on the tour so it wasn't too bad. I was the only person doing the "adventure option" at the caves, everyone else opted for the simple guided walk through the easier bits.

The first stop along the way to the caves was at the major lookout point for "The Three Sisters" which is a rock formation in the Blue Mountains. There's a unique vertical train you take to go down into the valley nearby where you can learn about some mining history and then take a cable car back out. It was super touristy and totally overrun with buses of old people on day trips. There were some good views, but I was glad when we left.

As we approached the caves the road narrowed down to almost a single lane and twisted its way through beautiful mountain passes. The bus was a full sized coach so it would have been disasterous if we encountered any vehicle going in the opposite direction. Fortunately this didn't happen, but the drive was still very exciting.

At the caves I split off from our group and joined some other people who were also doing the "adventure caving." We suited up in overalls and helmets with lamps and then were driven up to the top of a nearby hill. At the hill we abseiled down into a cavern that held the entrance to the cave. The cave was full of narrow passages and tiny holes which we had to wriggle through on our bellies. The guides explained a lot about the history of the caves and their discovery. They are the oldest known open caves in the world (340 million years) and were first explored by Europeans in the mid 1800s. There's lots of old graffiti and garbage from that time which was pretty cool to see. At one point in our journey we all turned off our lamps and the darkness was beyond anything I've experienced before. There were lots of huge, amazing stalactites everywhere and we even got to see an underground river which was running quite high due to all the recent storms that caused the flooding in Sydney. One of the guides does scuba diving in the river to try to find deeper parts of the cave which is pretty hardcore. After my experience at the reef I don't think I could handle cave diving. Eventually we came out of the cave at the bottom near where the tour buses were parked. I wasn't able to bring my camera through the caves but the guides brought one so I have a few decent pictures.

After the caving we got back on the bus and returned to Sydney. I think some of the other people were quite jealous of my experience (they just did a walk through some easy paths and then had to wait for me to finish). I would definitely come back here and do some of the longer, more intense caving trips. I didn't have any problems with being way underground and I'd love to do more.

Back in Sydney Patrick and I went to a pub for supper and beer and then took a long walk around the ferry docks, the Opera House and across the Harbour Bridge. We then took a ferry back across the bay before returning to the hostel. It was amazing seeing everything all lit up. On the way back to the hostel we passed through Hyde Park where we encountered possums (which are not at all afraid of people) and huge fruit bats.

The Three Sisters

Noisy cockatoos

Hills and valleys around The Three Sisters

Approaching the bus entrance to the Jenolan Caves with a cool sediment filled river in the foreground

Squeezing through a hole in the caves

Tight, wriggly tunnel in the caves

The adventure caving team

Caves near the entrance

Tight access road for the caves

Blue Mountains near the caves

Rolling countryside on the return to Sydney

Harbour Bridge at night

Opera House at night

Harbour at night

Harbour Bridge at night

Walkway across the Harbour Bridge

Opera House at night

Harbour Bridge at night

Opera House at night

In Hyde Park

Patrick and the Possum

Mr. Possum

I had a great time exploring the city today. I took a bus down to Circular Quay and then climbed the stairs to the top of one of the Harbour Bridge pylons to see some great views of the city and harbour. There was also a mini-museum about the history of the bridge which was pretty cool (it's huge and was built in the 1920s). After the bridge I headed to "The Rocks" which is a trendy, historic area of Sydney and which was a great place to enjoy lunch. I had an amazing steak pie from a cafe and just sat in the sun reading for a while.

In the afternoon I slowly made my way through the immense botanical gardens eventually ending up at a great lookout point with a view of both the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. After relaxing there for a while I headed back into the city (passing several large, terrifying and harmless spiders along the way). I spent a few hours in the free and amazing Art Museum of New South Wales. It had a great variety of exhibits including some fantastic Aboriginal art. One of the special exhibits was done exclusively by Australian secondary school students and it was mind-blowingly good.

Before leaving the museum I got a coffee and some cake in the cafe which I enjoyed on the rooftop patio. While I was eating a crazy-colourful bird landed on the back of my chair and tried to steal my food. It was probably the most amazing bird I've ever seen and it was almost touching me as it tried to get my food.

Like many museums in Australia the gallery was free for general admission, however a touring Picasso exhibition was also there and was not free. I skipped it here not because of the cost, but because I've been to the Picasso museum in France before and I noticed that the next stop for this tour is going to be in Toronto at the AGO! So I didn't waste time on something that I could do at home.

After the museum I wandered past a huge cathedral and then into Hyde Park where I met up with Patrick. We jumped on a train and then a ferry to go out to Manly Beach where we grabbed a bus out to North Head which is right at the entrance of the gigantic Sydney Harbour. There was a short walking trail which afforded us amazing views of the whole harbour and surrounding area in one direction and the huge, open expanse of the Tasman Sea in the other. For supper we went back into Manly Beach and met up with Mark, one of Patrick's co-workers. We ate at Moo Burger, a fantastic gourmet burger shop. I had my first real "Australian" burger with all the fixings (beet root, fried egg and pineapple). To drink I had an amazing IPA from a Tasmanian Brewery called Moo Brew. After supper we wandered along the beach, hit up a German-style bier garden for another drink and then got some ice cream before catching a ferry back to Sydney and returning to the hostel for the night. Mark was really nice and the three of us had a great evening.

Sydney Harbour

Opera House and ferry

Harbour Bridge

People on the Harbour Bridge Walk, I would have loved to do this but did not have enough time

Sydney

Lots of ferries in the harbour

Opera House up close

Sydney

Botanical Gardens

Botanical Gardens

Botanical Gardens

Crazy bird in the Botanical Gardens

Terrifying spider

Lots of cool trees in the Botanical Gardens

Opera House and Harbour Bridge

Opera House and Harbour Bridge

Awesome bird at the cafe

Awesome bird at the cafe

Cathedral

Cathedral

On our ferry to Manly Beach the harbour was full of personal boats including these ultra-small sail boats

Sail boats in the harbour

North Head from the ferry

On North Head, facing the Tasman Sea

On North Head, facing Sydney and the sunset

Awesome clouds

Burger and a beer

This morning Patrick and I got up early to go for a swim at Coogee beach which is near where Patrick and Toni lived when they first came to Australia. In addition to the standard beach there is also a "pool" which the tide fills in every day. It normally provides a nice place to swim without worrying about waves or sea creatures and it's easy for the city to maintain since the ocean does all the work. Unfortunately today the tide had filled it with blue bottle jellyfish in addition to water. These are not deadly but they give a nasty sting so we chose not to swim in the pool. Instead we went to the real beach (which seemed to be free of jellyfish) and enjoyed a swim in the ocean there.

For breakfast we went to a local cafe where I had french toast with fruit and "real Canadian maple syrup." It was delicious, but I've never been given so little maple syrup at a restaurant before. I had to be very conservative in my application of it to my french toast.

After breakfast Patrick went to work and I set out on the coastal trail to Bondi Beach. The distance along the trail was about 6km and I took my time to enjoy the scenery and beaches along the way. It was neat seeing people surfing or otherwise enjoying a beautiful sunny day. Bondi Beach was huge and very popular. I had some lunch at a cafe in Bondi before catching a bus to take me back downtown where I wandered about the Queen Victoria Building and some other shopping spots. Then I returned to the hostel to do laundry so that I won't have to worry about that in New Zealand.

For dinner Patrick and I met up with Patrick's friend Tamara. We went to a trendy area called Newport which has hundreds of restaurants (we ended up at a really nice Thai place). We had a good time chatting and enjoying many dishes of delicious food. After dinner Tamara headed home and Patrick and I wandered back towards the hostel. We stopped for coffee and chatted for about an hour and now we're just getting ready for bed. I have to be up and gone pretty early tomorrow morning to catch my flight to Christchurch.

The fake pool at Coogee, with one man braving the blue bottles

Breakfast!

Coogee Beach

Coogee Beach from up on the coastal trail

Small boats I passed on the trail

Little inlet

Rocks and waves

The trail passed a huge cemetery which overlooks the ocean

Cool rocks

Cool rocks

Bondi Beach

The flight to Christchurch was super easy. Clearing customs was a bit more exciting. They decided to open up my bags to search for bad things (they're really careful about invasive plant and animal species). I didn't have anything but they washed and sterilized my trail running shoes which had a very tiny amount of Outback dirt still on them.

Eventually I escaped with my possessions and was greeted at the airport by my cousin Shannon's beaming smile. It's great to see her and in particular I appreciated being able to follow her into town while I reacquaint myself with driving on the other side of the road and using a manual transmission vehicle. Before leaving the airport I picked up a local SIM card (Vodaphone) and then we made our way to my hostel (Shannon led in her super awesome camper van). My car is a little, silver, five-speed, four-door Yaris hatchback and it's lots of fun to drive. It doesn't really have any power or anything, but it's small and slightly nimble and I enjoy driving manual transmission vehicles. Shannon's van is a big lumbering people carrier that's had its back seats ripped out and replaced with a bed and storage shelves and cupboards. She has a little gas stove for cooking and the whole thing is nicely decorated. It's amazing and I can already see how perfect it is for living here.

We made it to my hostel with no real difficulties. I'm renting a GPS with the car so I gave it to Shannon and she led the way. There was a bit of traffic due to construction which I assume is for repairing damage done by the earthquakes. The hostel is nice and clean but I only stayed long enough to check in and dump off my stuff. While checking in I noticed that I lost my new SIM card somewhere between the airport and the hostel so I'll have to get a new one tomorrow.

After getting settled, I got in Shannon's van and she drove down to Hagley Park where we went on a nice walk with her dog Jane. Jane is still just a puppy (six months or so) but she is very well behaved and goes with Shannon everywhere. She's a totally awesome dog and we had lots of fun with her in the park. The weather was great (sunny and 20 degrees) for walking about. Later we wandered over to a pub for dinner (fresh fish and chips) and beers. I had Akaroa Cod for my fish selection in honour of Shannon's current home town. We ate on the patio so Jane was allowed to sit with us while we ate. We ended up having a long and amusing conversation with three very drunk Kiwis who were drawn in by the dog.

When we got tired of drunken shenanigans we left the pub and went to a cafe for coffee before returning to the hostel to discuss my plans for tomorrow and the rest of my trip. So far the coffee and food has been amazing here!

Christchurch was really interesting to walk in. A lot of areas are still completely shut down and fenced off due to the massive earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. There is still so much visible damage and the emptiness of the downtown core is haunting. I did not bring my camera on our walk so I don't have any pictures but I think it would be a bit strange to take photos of the destruction. Shannon says they've cleaned up a lot since she arrived but it still seems like they have a long way to go. One neat thing I saw was that they've set up a temporary shopping area using brightly painted converted shipping containers. It's really funky and awesome and they'll probably keep it around even after the city is restored.

Tonight Shannon is sleeping with Jane in her camper van on some side street and we'll meet up in the morning for breakfast before I leave the city.

Sign in CBD of Christchurch, taken with my phone

We had a very full day today! I got up this morning, checked out of the hostel and packed up the car. I found my SIM card underneath the passenger seat so I was able to activate my phone with no problems. Then I met up with Shannon and we got breakfast at an amazing cafe near my hostel. All the food was fresh and local and delicious. After breakfast I was supposed to head out alone to the west coast but Shannon decided at the last minute to join me. So she and Jane followed in her van and we took the Lewis Pass through the Southern Alps to get to the west coast of the island. The GPS worked great (although there was only one road so I might have made it without it).

The drive was beautiful with bright sunny weather and the most amazing scenery. We stopped in Springs Junction along the way for lunch and to stretch our legs. I had an L&P (Lemon and Paeroa) which is a lemon flavoured pop unique to New Zealand. It was pretty good, I'll definitely have to have more before I leave. We played fetch with Jane for a while, but the sand flies started biting so we got back in our vehicles and continued our journey. The roads were quite twisty and narrow with lots of steep sections that gave Shannon's van a bit of difficulty. It was a fun drive! When we reached the west coast we stopped for coffee at the Yellow House Cafe which was this lovely little spot with an amazing back patio.

Outside of Westport we made a quick stop at a scenic lookout over the Tasman Sea with views of a seal colony. Then we continued south to Greymouth, passing through Paparoa National Park. The drive through this area is considered one of the ten best coastal drives in the world and it did not disappoint. We had amazing weather and the sun slowly set as we drove. We stopped many times for pictures and to take quick walks on the many beaches with Jane.

In Greymouth I checked into my awesome, funky, African themed hostel (which I book three hours previous from Westport) and then headed into the town centre to see things and get some supper. We drove out to the town pier to see the ocean some more but it was not a particularly nice part of town. Greymouth seems a bit rough around the edges. There are lots of kids with nothing to do and there doesn't seem to be much in the way of jobs here. We didn't have any problems though and we had a great supper and some decent beers at Speight's Ale House. After supper we wandered around a bit and now I'm getting ready for bed. Shannon is again sleeping with Jane in her van on a side street and I'll see her in the morning.

Shannon, Jane and I about to leave Christchurch

First stop for pictures, glacier run-off stream, it floods the whole area in spring time

Local fishermen, they got down there by helicopter

Glacier melt water is SO BLUE

The road ahead

Shannon and Jane

Cool little lake nestled in the hills

Jane was such a good dog all day

My little Yaris with Shannon's van in the background

L&P!

Hills and river

On the coast near Westport

On the coast near Westport

Jane playing in the waves

Coffee in Westport

Seal on a rock

Lookout point at the seal colony

Rocks and ocean

Cool sign

Coastal views on the way to Greymouth

Jane making sure the ocean does not get away

Big waves

Coastal views on the way to Greymouth

Coastal views on the way to Greymouth

Coastal views on the way to Greymouth

Shannon and Jane

Road arrows

At the pancake rocks

At the pancake rocks

At the pancake rocks

At the pancake rocks

At the pancake rocks

Road and mountains

Pier and sunset in Greymouth

Beer at dinner

This morning I went and found Shannon (her van had been shuffled along by someone in authority overnight) and then we went to the only open cafe in town for breakfast. The food was good and afterwards we parted ways. Shannon needed to head back to Akaroa for work and I continued south. It was great having her show me around a bit, I definitely saw more than I would have on my own. I'll see her again before I leave New Zealand so it wasn't too sad saying goodbye this morning.

As I went south the road continued to wind through mountains, coast and rainforest and it was constantly stunning and amazing. It was a frequent challenge to pay attention to the road. I was really glad to have a manual transmission vehicle though, since the roads and hills and curves were rather exciting in places.

Eventually I reached Fox Glacier, the town which services people coming to see the glacier that shares its name. I had a delicious salad with seared lamb for lunch at a nice cafe. The owner's children were "helping" her that day and so I was served by a 7-year old and a 9-year old took my money and ran the cash register (all under close supervision).

After lunch I drove up the glacier itself and did the short hike to its base. There were danger signs everywhere! There are frequent rock slides and melt water from the glacier can be released quickly and wash the trail away in an instant. Nothing like that happened while I was there. The glacier itself was pretty amazing, although apparently it is nothing special as far as glaciers go. I've never seen a glacier before so it was cool to me. A little ways out of town there is a lookout point for the glacier that you get to by driving for a long time along a narrow unsealed road. This was great fun and the view at the end of the road was definitely worth the time.

Finished with the glacier, I continued along the coastal road stopping whenever it was safe and there was something cool to see. Quite often there were very cool views but it was completely unsafe to pull over and stop due to the narrowness of the road and the frequent blind corners. Eventually I turned inland towards Wanaka and immediately began passing through another mountain range. It was raining a lot at this point so the drive was extra exciting. The mountain road was in good condition but some of the corners were so tight and narrow and the hills were extremely steep. I had a great time just driving! As I passed out of the mountains the rain ended and I was able to make more frequent stops to take pictures of the amazing views. The final 50 kilometres to Wanaka took a long time because I just kept stopping. The views of the lakes surrounded by hills and mountains were so pretty.

In Wanaka I checked into my hostel. I have a three-share room in a little cottage that has a little kitchen, living room, bathroom and a second three-share room. It's nice and clean. After getting settled I went for a walk around town with no particular plan other than to get supper at some point. As I was walking I stumbled across a food truck that had a full wood-burning pizza oven in the back. It was obvious that I had to get my supper there and so I had a nice chat with the owners while they made me a delicious pizza. On my way back to the hostel I grabbed a local craft beer from a specialty beer store and now I'm in the common room enjoying a delicious supper.

Wanaka is a lovely little town. It is clearly a ski town so it's a bit quiet right now since it is summertime. I did a lot of driving today so I'm just going to take it easy tonight.

Blue melt water river

One lane bridge over same river

Cars entering on this side must yield to on the other side, there were bridges like this everywhere and sometimes they were so long you could not see the other end

Old bridge supports

At the entance to the valley carved by the Fox Glacier

There were little waterfalls all over the valley

More of the entrance to the valley

Super blue water while walking to the glacier

These cliffs were extremely tall

Glacier in the distance with awesome danger sign

Very obvious why this sign is here

Rocks and mountains and waterfalls and clouds

Runoff stream out of the mountains

Rocks and mountains and waterfalls and clouds

The base of the glacier

Another awesome danger sign

The glacier

Glacier detail using zoom lens

Walking back to the car

View from across the valley, the part of the glacier in the earlier photos was only the base, it goes way up into the mountains

Last coastal view before turning inland

Random lake

My little car with random lake

Different random lake

Cool clouds and hills

Awesome view that just appeared over a hill and almost made me forget I was driving

Lake Wanaka

Dinner!

This morning I got up early and went over to the DOC to get information about the Rob Roy glacier hike. Shannon strongly recommended I do this hike as it is much more interesting and engaging than the Fox or Franz Josef glaciers. The man at the DOC was very helpful and recommended that I wait a couple hours before going to give the cloud cover time to burn off. Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of time since I needed to get to Te Anau tonight in order to be able to join my Doubtful Sound boat trip tomorrow morning. So I spent a bit of time booking my hostel in Te Anau, but then I quickly got gas and headed off towards the hike. I took my time on the drive though, making many stops along the way to take pictures.

The Rob Roy Glacier hike is about three hours long and takes you up to a lookout point for the glacier. Part of the fun of the hike is the road you have to drive to get to it. It's 50 kilometres long and most of it is a very rough gravel road through some beautiful farmland nestled between snow-capped mountain ranges. Before entering the gravel section I found a nice place to stop by a lake and wander around for a while to give the clouds more time to clear. I read a bit and generally just enjoyed the views. I waited as long as I could and then gingerly made my way on to the gravel road.

I need to clarify something here. This road was not like gravel roads in Ontario. It was poorly maintained and the gravel was often made up of large pointy rocks rather than small smooth stones. The wheels on my Yaris were narrow and the tires did not seem very substantial. Also, there was no mobile phone service out there and on the whole drive I only saw one other car. I had to be very careful driving. Oh, one other thing. Towards the end of the road there are nine fords (ie. places where rivers run across the road and you just drive through them). Fortunately they were shallow today and I had no problems. But still, this was fairly intense driving. My little Yaris handled it like a champ! I'm not sure if an automatic transmission vehicle would have made it through all of the fords.

The farmland in the valley was lush and gorgeous and very well populated with sheep and cows. They even had a decent number of huge bulls which were kept separated from the main herds. I don't think I've ever seen a bull in real life since no one in Canada really uses them much. So I don't have a point of comparison, but the bulls were enormous!

It's too expensive to run fence for so much farmland so one thing farmers do is replace sections of the road with metal grating which cows can't walk over. This provided an additional obstacle in driving since the grating was not that easy on my poor little car. Despite this innovation, at one point I had to navigate a section of road which several hundred cows had decided to occupy. They did not get out of the way quickly, but it made for a great video.

Eventually I reached the end of the road, parked, and began the hike. It started out in a huge farmer's field with hundreds of sheep (and the corresponding poo). Then it split away from the field to follow a river which I eventually crossed on a slightly sketchy cable bridge. After that it began a long ascent into the hills which quickly showed me how poor my cardiovascular health is. I had to take a break and when I started up again I went much slower and did not have any more problems. The trail was a bit rough in places from fallen rock, but other than the constant uphill climbing it wasn't too bad. I started early enough in the day that I had it all to myself which was great. The views were outstanding and at the top I found a nice big rock to eat lunch on while I stared at the glacier. It was much nicer than the Fox Glacier even though you can't get nearly as close. It was definitely worth the long hike.

The hike back out was much easier and faster since it was downhill. I passed a lot of people so I felt lucky to have enjoyed it without the crowds (and by crowds I mean maybe 30 people tops). I drove back along the gravel road without incident and stopped in Wanaka for coffee and a snack.

From Wanaka it was a three hour drive to Te Anau. The scenery changed several times along the way so it was pretty amazing. However I was quite tired by the end and glad to arrive at my destination. In the middle, around Queenstown, the roads were very twisty and steep and exciting (big hairpin turns), but towards Te Anau the countryside flattened out and the roads became straight. For the first time I felt just a little bit bored while driving. This did not help my fatigue so I took lots of breaks and listened to music.

In Te Anau I checked into my hostel and relaxed a while before going out for supper. It's a really small town so it didn't take long to explore. It's a nice enough spot, but clearly a tourist town so it's nothing special. I passed dozens of buses between here and Queenstown, all full of day trippers visiting Milford Sound. On the recommendation of Rob I'm visiting Doubtful Sound instead to avoid the thousands of people who go see Milford every day. Given all the buses this seems like a very good idea.

Pretty plants

Amazing beautiful lake

Amazing beautiful lake

Amazing beautiful lake

Amazing beautiful lake

I stood for a while looking at this big rock thinking it would be great for bouldering and then noticed the subtle chalk marks from people who had already figured that out

On the gravel road

So many sheep

So many sheep

Random footbridge to a different hiking trail (not the one I took)

Amazing

At the start of the hike

At the start of the hike

Tiny footbridge over the river among the hills and valleys

On the bridge over the river

View from my first rest stop

A bit of the trail

Water rushing down the mountain

Rocks and trees and water

First glimpse of the glacier

Waterfall high up the mountain

The Rob Roy glacier

The Rob Roy glacier

Edge of the glacier and waterfalls

Back on the cable bridge on my way out

The cable bridge

The sun was fully out by the time I left and it looked amazing

Awesome sheep

World's most fortunate and oblivious sheep

One of the fords, look at the nasty rocks sticking out of it

So many warning signs

My awesome little car after crossing the last ford on the way out

Hills near Queenstown

Valley near Queenstown

Sunset in Te Anau

When I returned to my hostel last night I watched "Quantum of Solace" with some random people in the lounge before going to bed. The hostel was nice, but one of my roommates was super obnoxious. He kept going in and out of the room all night and every time he did he would turn on the light (and often leave it on when he left). I was going to say something to him in the morning, but then I failed at being considerate too. I woke up before my alarm went off and went to take a shower without thinking. When I got back my alarm was blaring, waking everyone up rather early in the morning. Whoops.

Anyway, I checked out of the hostel bright and early and drove ten minutes to Manapouri. I parked in a long-term parking lot and walked down to the docks to meet my contact for my Doubtful Sound overnight boat trip. The boat can take up to 14 people but on this run it is only me and a couple from LA. It would have been nice if there were more people to meet and socialize with, but I guess with a smaller group we get each get more attention. The guy works for SpaceX, the private space flight company, which is really cool.

To get to Doubtful Sound you have to cross Lake Manapouri by ferry and then take a shuttle bus down a long gravel road to the harbour at the base of the sound. The ferry crossing was neat with lots of great scenery but it was so cold that I could not stay outside for the whole trip. I had to take breaks to warm up inside the boat. On the shuttle bus I met a nice couple (lady from Alberta and guy from New Zealand) and I chatted with them quite a bit as we made our way to the harbour. They are taking a different boat out from the harbour which is too bad since they seemed a lot more fun than the couple from LA that is sharing my boat.

Soon we were on the boat receiving a safety briefing while sipping champagne. The boat is larger than the one I took from Airlie Beach, with lots of private rooms and a huge common area. It's also a lot fancier with an extensive kitchen and even a BBQ. The crew is nice, they are a (very) young local couple who take turns with the various duties.

Like everything so far in New Zealand, Doubtful Sound is exhaustingly beautiful. It's so easy to just stand on the deck staring at everything and you don't even notice time passing. I can't imagine being out here everyday but that's what the crew does. For lunch we had some amazing pasta made with fish that they caught yesterday on the previous tour. Then we went into one of the many arms of the sound where we were able to get out in kayaks to explore. This was a great way to get up close to the towering cliffs and little waterfalls that surround everything. The water was very calm so paddling was beyond simple. I've never paddled on water that still before.

In this area of the New Zealand it rains pretty much all the time (more than half the days of the year have significant rainfall). So it was quite surprising that all day today the sky was perfectly clear with a brilliant bright sun. Unfortunately I was not expecting this at all and forgot my sunscreen on the mainland so I got a bit of a sunburn while kayaking. This also means that it was warm which was nice because I don't have very heavy clothing.

After kayaking we had a snack of homemade banana-chocolate chip muffins and then we set out for the mouth of the sound. Part way there we stopped while one of the crew went diving for rock lobster for dinner. While he did that the rest of us fished off the back of the boat. We caught several sea perch and cod while he was able to get six lobster including two massive ones. All he does is dive down to the bottom, find them, and put them into a bag. At one point while he was going for one a shark came right at him out of the gloom. It didn't attack or anything but it did give him a good scare. The water in the sound is interesting. At the bottom it is salt water from the ocean and on top is a layer of fresh water which runs off from the surrounding cliffs. The fresh water is stained brown with organic matter from the forest and so it's very dark and murky in the salt water layer.

At the mouth of the sound we took some time to enjoy the views and to check out the large fur seal colony. There were no penguins unfortunately as their season is mostly done and they've headed off to other parts of the world. Next we headed back into the sound and stopped at our mooring point for the night. Supper was pumpkin soup, lobster and fish with potatoes and salad. I also had a nice beer which I had brought with me from the mainland. All the food was delicious but I am not much for lobster. It is a bit too rich so I find it hard to eat very much. And we had a lot of lobster. The crew kept a couple alive in a cage which they sank down into the sound so that they could use them on a future trip if necessary. After dinner everyone was tired and went to bed early. I went out to the front of the boat to look at the stars. They are quite amazing tonight, better than any I've seen on my trip so far and possibly the best I've ever seen.

Sunrise in Te Anau

On the ferry crossing Lake Manapouri

On the ferry crossing Lake Manapouri

On the ferry crossing Lake Manapouri

On the ferry crossing Lake Manapouri

On the ferry crossing Lake Manapouri

On the ferry crossing Lake Manapouri

Brief stop we took on the shuttle bus to see a great view of Doubtful Sound

On Doubtful Sound

On Doubtful Sound

On Doubtful Sound

On Doubtful Sound

On Doubtful Sound

On Doubtful Sound, this is where we kayaked

Waterfall feeding the fresh water layer of the sound

On Doubtful Sound

Rock lobster right out of the sack

This guy was huge!

On Doubtful Sound

The water was a bit rougher at the mouth of the sound

Fur seal colony

Fur seal colony

Fur seal colony

Fur seal colony

Fur seal colony

Fur seal colony

Crashing waves

Heading back into the sound

Heading back into the sound

Sun starting to set

Lobster fishing hut

Sunset

This morning we got up for sunrise and had a nice breakfast of eggs and sausage and fruit while enjoying the scenery. Doubtful Sound is famous for its pod of bottlenose dolphins, a group which lives entirely in the sound and never leaves. We watched closely for them as we made our way back to the harbour. Unfortunately they did not make an appearance. It was chilly, but I spent the whole ride back on the deck in order experience the sound as much as possible. We were back in Manapouri (after riding the shuttle bus and ferry again) by noon. It was a fantastic experience, but it would have been better with a larger group.

I drove back to Te Anau for lunch which I purchased from a pie shop called "Miles Better Pies." It was recommended to me by a couple people and was totally amazing. After lunch I got gas and then started the long journey to Twizel, the last town before Mt. Cook. The drive was easy but long. The scenery continued to be amazing, this time featuring scrub covered mountains instead of forested ones. I stopped at a small winery outside Queenstown to pick up a bottle for my mom. They were nice, but seemed a bit confused that I just wanted to buy a bottle of wine without spending hours tasting every single type.

Twizel is a tiny little town but the hostel is nice enough and I had a good dinner at the local restaurant.

Sunrise on Doubtful Sound

Sunrise on Doubtful Sound

Sunrise on Doubtful Sound

Some plains between mountains somewhere on my drive to Twizel

Some plains between mountains somewhere on my drive to Twizel

Some plains between mountains somewhere on my drive to Twizel

The little car that could

This morning I got up early and drove to Mt. Cook despite the rain and clouds. The drive was pretty and so was the scenery around the peak, but the clouds obscured the top. I had a bit of time so I looked around the DOC/museum for a while and then headed out to do a couple hikes in the area, hoping that the clouds would clear as I walked. The first was just a short walk to a lookout point. It was a nice walk, but the weather did not clear. The second hike was longer, going through brush land and down into Hooker Valley. Unfortunately Mt. Cook remained hidden even though it got sunny and a lot of the clouds went away. I had a quick lunch in Mt. Cook village in a cafe with a nice view of the obscured Mt. Cook and then started the long drive to Akaroa.

This drive took me past several huge lakes which were very blue with rock flour from the glaciers and mountains. The one below Mt. Cook was particularly stunning. Lake Tekapo is another such lake which is famous for its colour, but the position of the sun was wrong when I got to it so it did not look as nice as the first lake.

Eventually I joining Highway 1 which was very straight and boring and full of slow drivers. It reminded me a lot of driving on Highway 7 in south-western Ontario (between KW and London). Nothing to see and everyone drives just a bit slower than you would like to go. I got fed up and mucked with my GPS until I got it to take me along back roads for the rest of the trip. Soon I was dodging potholes, sheep and tractors on super narrow farm roads. I could tell I was off the beaten path when there were no longer any helpful "tourist" signs or camper vans. Both of those things are everywhere in New Zealand. The area again reminded me of back in Ontario, but this time of random concessions in the rural areas. It was much more interesting than the main highway.

Akaroa is situated in the hollowed out crater of a huge ancient volcano and so it is surrounded by steep hills and ridges which you have to cross to get in or out. The drive was very pretty with typically narrow and twisty roads. I met up with Shannon at a lovely little restaurant at the top with an amazing view of the whole crater. It was great to see her again and to catch up on what we had each done in the last few days (my travels, and for her the fish+chips place in town had burned down). After dinner we drove to a small farm where there are a couple horses that Shannon helps care for. Shannon did her chores and then we headed into town to check out the cinema/cafe where she works.

Hannah (the cinema's owner) and her parents were having a meeting when we arrived, but they invited us to join them for drinks and we ended up chatting for a few hours. It was great connecting with local people. Also they absolutely loved Shannon and made it clear to me they were taking good care of her. They were awesome people and really made me feel at home.

When it got late I followed Shannon and Hannah up to Hannah's house (where Shannon often stays). I met "the boys" and we all chatted and watched Top Gear for a while. Then they set up the spare room for me and we all went to bed. Their house is really nice with a great view of the area and lots of space. Once again I was made to feel very welcome!

Driving towards Mt. Cook

Driving towards Mt. Cook

Walking in the area around Mt. Cook

Glaciers coming down off a mountain (but not Mt. Cook)

Walking in the area around Mt. Cook

Walking in the area around Mt. Cook

Glaciers coming down off a mountain (but not Mt. Cook)

Clouds/snow blowing on mountain tops (but not Mt. Cook)

Walking in the area around Mt. Cook

Cool foot bridge

The perpetually shy and lovely Mt. Cook

Driving away from Mt. Cook, so clear and yet so many clouds still around the peak in the far distance

Blue lake below Mt. Cook

Blue lake below Mt. Cook

Blue lake below Mt. Cook

View over the crater containing Akaroa from the restaurant where I had dinner with Shannon

This morning Shannon and I (and Jane) walked into town for breakfast and then we walked some more so Shannon could show me the sights. It's a really pretty spot, but due to the damage in Christchurch a lot more tourists are coming to Akaroa and so it can be a little crowded at times. A big cruise ship showed up in the harbour as we ate breakfast and unloaded hundreds of people.

Back at the house I packed up my things and we drove to the cinema for coffee and a snack before I had to leave to catch my flight in Christchurch. It was really really good to see Shannon and I'm so glad I made the extra effort to get to Akaroa last night.

To get to Christchurch I took a scenic route called the "Summit Road" which follows the ridge line and has some amazing views. It was somehow even narrower than most other roads I had driven on and so it made for one more exciting drive before leaving.

I didn't have any problems returning the rental car or checking in and now I'm flying to Auckland. In Auckland I'll get back on an enormous plane for the long flight to San Francisco. I hope to meet Mike again there but my stopover is pretty short so we'll see. From San Francisco it's back to Toronto and I should be landing by 8:30pm.

It's been a fantastic trip and I think I could have kept going longer if I reduced my pace a bit and regularly took a day or two where I didn't do anything. I didn't really feel homesick at any point but I think that is because home isn't a great place for me right now. Disregarding any of that, both countries were fantastic and I definitely have to return and see more. If I had to choose a favourite it would be New Zealand, the density of amazing things is just so high.

Harbour and beach in Akaroa

Harbour and beach in Akaroa

Pier in Akaroa

View of Akaroa from the Summit Road

My plane for my Christchurch-Auckland flight

I'm home! My mom and brother met me at the airport and drove me back to my house. It was so nice of them to do that because it meant I didn't have to think at all after my long flight. They're staying the night and so we were able to chat and stuff before going to bed. I gave mom the wine I got her and tomorrow we'll go out for a nice breakfast and get some groceries for me.

I definitely needed this trip. I was going a bit crazy in the house before I left but now I'm a lot calmer. I feel like I can now handle sorting out the details of selling the house and moving and just getting on with living.