I know that the last blog was supposed to be my last one, however I unexpectedly ran into internet. We met up with Sean last Monday, hung around Nadi until Wed when we flew to Savusavu, which is located on the other large island of Fiji Vanua Livu. The flight was a lot of fun. Michelle, Sean, and I were the only people on the flight and it was in a tiny propeller plane (probably about16 seats total inside.) The views were simply spectacular as we passed over heaps of reefs, tropical water, and beautiful clouds forming over the rainforest covered mountains. We spent the night in Savusavu and saw some local hotsprings which the people of Savusavu use to cook their food sometimes. The next morning was an early one and we caught the ferry to Taveuni. Taveuni is often called the “garden isle of Fiji”. It is filled with dense tropical rainforest, surrounded by crystal clear reefs. The island is very small, about 40 km long I think so we took a cab north to Matei, where we were trying to get a place to stay. We ended up at this place called Bibi’s hideaway and we hit the jackpot! Jim Bibi, who was been running the hideaway for over 20 years was one of the most interesting people I have met in Fiji. The laid back Fijian lifestyle showed and when asked why he had never been out of Fiji he said “why would I ever want to leave when I live in paradise?” Another major plus of Bibi’s was the vast amount of fresh fruit on his property and we were allowed to pick/eat as much as we wanted!!! Pineapples, mangos, oranges, papayas, passionfruit!!, bananas, and coconuts were picked daily and the time between picking the fruit and eating it for breakfast was only a couple of minutes. The pineapple there was the sweetest I have ever tasted and I finally got to pick passionfruit! Friday was spent on the beach with some of the fresh fruit we had picked, another very stressful day in Fiji. Every place I have visited has gotten more and more laid back. I thought Australia was, then I met Kiwis, and now Fijians take it to another extreme. Adjusting to finals and homework when I go back to Santa Barbara is going to be tough. On Saturday we went diving on the rainbow reef and I had one of my best dives ever. We went diving with this guy named Tyrone Valentine who has logged an incredible 14,000 dives!! We did the “wall dive” which was diving along the outer edge of the reef. The vis was excellent and the soft coral was unbelievable. We also went diving thorugh a few coral caves and it was soooo cooolll!!! I felt like an underwater Indiana Jones. In between dives we pulled onto a beach on Vauna Livu for some lunch and it happened to be my friend Brian’s place that his family owns with some other families. I was going to meet up with his dad, Brad, but he left for the states right when I got back from my Yasawa trip. What a small world, the beach that we randomly stop at for an hour lunch happens to be the one that belongs to my friend. Crazy. The second dive was once again awesome and that finished my diving abroad. I have logged 14 dives since I left the states and it has been totally worth the money. However, I can’t wait to get back to the kelp forests of Santa Barbara! I still can’t decide if I like cold or warm water diving better. After diving we hopped on a bus south to Lavena to do the famous coastal walk. We got their right around dinner time and were welcomed into the village after for some Kava. All of the people were really nice and I even ended up helping one of the girls with pronunciations in Spanish. She has a Spanish 1 book and I was explaining to her about accents, double l’s, etc. Even though I am no where near qualified to teach anyone Spanish it was still fun to help with the tiny bit that I still know. Seeing the village was a textbook example of the effects of globalization. First of all the entire island of Taveni has no power station, all houses are run on generators which are usually shut off around 10 pm. In this village, and most of the others I have seen the houses are made of wood and tin yet some of them have satellite TV, computers, and DVD players!! Seeing globalization first hand supported everything that I learned in my global studies class at SB. The next morning we did the coastal walk and it was a great last adventure abroad. The hike followed white sandy beaches, coconut palms, and passed by a couple of villages. It ended at a huge waterfall which we swam around for a while. We hiked back and left Matei the next day. It was another memorable flight to Nadi and now I am less than 24 hours until I am home!! I can’t wait to see everyone soon. Thanks for reading.
Steven
Monday, December 22, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Fiji
Fiji
Michelle and I arrived in Nadi and we were greeted by about 40 employees of all of the stores. Everyone was lined up to say “Bula!” (which means hello in Fijian). Between getting our baggage and getting to the shuttle to pick us up 3 separate people came up to us, introduced themselves, asked what our names were and checked to see if we needed help with anything. We arrived at our hostel and met up with Ashley and went to bed early. The next morning we were off on our “awesome adventure” cruise!!
During our cruise we island hopped around the Yasawas, which are a string of islands above the main island of Viti Levu. It was a beautiful ride to our first island through coral cays and deserted islands. We even passed the island where “Castaway” was filmed with Tom Hanks! Our first 2 nights were spent at the Coral View resort on the island of Tavewa. Most of the places we stayed had “resort” in their name but they weren’t what you think. They seem to put “resort” in the name of every accommodation in the Yasawas and they weren’t the 5 star hotel resorts you have in mind. Our room was a grass hut with walls and a shower! It was so cool!! As we departed the Yasawa flier we boarded a tiny boat to go to Tavewa. As we approached the island about 10 of the employees we lined up on the beach with 2 guitars singing welcoming music, followed by a very enthusiastic BULA!. We disembarked from our boat and every single staff member introduced themselves, shook our hands, and asked what our names were. I was amazed how nice everyone was and how genuinely interested people seemed to be in you. They weren’t just doing their job they actually wanted to get to know you. Coral view was filled with hammocks hung between two coconut trees. Tropical fruits grew wild all around the island and I took advantage of the mango tree right near my room. Ashley, Michelle and I hiked to the highest point on the small island and watched the sunset over the tropical south pacific. The water colors were so rich with lights blues and turquoises it almost looked unreal. We returned for dinner, which was situated right next to the high tide line. No shoes were allowed because the entire floor was sand. After dinner the Fijian’s performed music and dance for us. Then they called people up and taught us some of their moves. We had a blast. After a few cocktails we retired to our grass huts and went to bed. The next day we went on our first dive in Fiji and it was a SHARK DIVE! They brought us our away from the island and we descended down the anchor line. Then we got to a site where a rope had been attached to the bottom of the seafloor. All the divers held on while the dive master poured heaps of dead fish about 10 ft away from the rope. Then the sharks started to come. First the baby sharks, then the bigger ones, and finally a huge 4m lemon shark! It was really cool because all of the little fish that were munching on the dead fish would sense when a big shark would come and they would all scatter right before it came. Seeing the sharks feed and swallow entire fish hole while they were 10 ft away was so amazing!! After the sharks one of the guys also hand fed a moray eel! Moray eels can be aggressive and have been known to bite divers fingers off, straight through the bone. However, they said that they had been feeding it for a long time and it was “tamed”: We returned to coral view and our first storm of the tropics set in and continued the next day. We were told to expect the rain because it is almost Summer here which means the rainy season. However for our whole cruise that was the only day of rain!
The next day we transferred to the Wanna Taki cruise boat for the night which was located right off the coast of the island of Naviti. We were lucky because the night we were on the boat was the one night of the year both sets of crew members were on board because they were celebrating their Christmas/new Years party. This led to a very lively night with lots of Fijians. After dinner we had a hermit crab race where we all chose a crab, then the crabs were placed in a box in the center of a circle, the box was then lifted and the crabs would race to the edge. Ashley’s was named John Hall and I named mine Obama. After the race we played some card games with our fellow travelers. Since it was a special occasion the crew members began preparing Kava, which is the special drink of Fiji. Kava is made from the root of a pepper plant and it has a calming effect on the body and eventually leads to drowsiness and supposedly wonderful sleep. One of the people I talked to said it is used in weddings, celebrations, and other special events, and many Fijian’s drink it on a regular basis. The active ingredient in Kava, Kavalactones, accumulate in the body so that if you drink it on a regular basis you need to drink less to get the desired effects. I had heard all about Kava before I came to Fiji so I asked one of the crew members if I could try some. They welcomed me with many smiles and insisted I take a seat with them. The Kava is mixed in a large bowl, then one person dispenses it in half a coconut shell t everyone else. Before you drink it you clap once, say “BULA!” then drink it all. After you have finished you then clap three times. It tasted like muddy water and after a couple I got the first sensation of a numb tongue. I talked to a lot of the crew and it was really interesting hearing their life stories and perspectives on life. I asked one of them where his favorite place was in Fiji and he replied “wherever I happen to be at that time, that place is my favorite.” That statement really captured the mentality of the Fijian’s I have met. They are some of the happiest, laid back, and genuine people I have ever met. The next day I woke up after having a great night sleep (another effect of the Kava) and one of the crew members took us on a small boat to a deserted island where no one else was. They had started to build a resort there but abandon the project so the whole area was overgrown with vines and rainforest. It looked like the Lost World when they return to find the old dinosaur amusement park overgrown with plants. Ashley, Michelle, and two other people that came with us stayed at the beach while I started to explore the dense rainforest. I followed a heavily overgrown road through the jungle. It was so cool to literally be the only ones on an island in the middle of nowhere!! We spent a couple of hours on the island snorkeling and found a cave made of volcanic rock that overlooked the entire ocean. After the island we returned to the boat and had some fun taking pictures while we jumped off the side of it.
The next morning we transferred to my favorite place; Waya Lailai Ecohaven Resort. We were once again welcomed on the beach with guitars and music then brought our stuff up to our room, which had an excellent view of coconut trees, the ocean, and the giant mountain behind us. The next day we did two dives. The first one was a drift dive along the edge of the reef. We saw some amazing Gorgonians and green corals. The second dive was at a different reef and we saw a stonefish (which can kill you) and a huge Moray eel. The best part was…..I pet it!! The guide said that they had been training it for a couple of months but I must admit I was a bit nervous when my hand was going towards a creature that could literally snap my finger off. It felt exactly how I imagined: slimy. Before we pet the eel the guide fed it some fish and was petting it for quite some time before we had a go at it. Other highlights from the dive include white tip reef sharks and playing with clownfish in the sea anemones. After the dives we did a hike up to the top of the mountain where we watched the sunset. Our guide was super cool and was actually born on the island. As we walked up the mountain he would stop and talk about certain plants. He showed us one called the creeper vine which Fijians use to help clot blood and lower blood pressure. We also passed a mango tree which had been planted by our guides mother. (He was at least 60, so the tree was fairly old) It was really cool to here the history of the land from people who have been living there for so many generations. We also passed by this giant boulder about the size of two SUVs called wobbling rock. Out guide told us to climb on top of it and after we realized how it got its name. We fell asleep very fast after our long day of activities. Another cool thing about all the places we stayed was they were next to actual villages where Fijians have lived for many generations. There was no wall between their village and our accommodation, which made us fell like we were getting a more authentic experience. The next morning I attended church in the village next to us. After the missionaries brought Christianity to the Fijian island s in the 18th century most of the country is protestant. Sunday is a big deal in Fiji and no one does any work. Many people attend service three times: once in the morning, once in the afternoon, then once in the evening. I was invited to church by our guide from the walk and I sat next to him for the duration of the service. When you walk in everyone leaves their shoes at the door. Women sit on the left, men on the right. On the altar is the pastor and then chief of the village sits to his left in a giant chair. The entire thing was in Fijian but I was able to follow along in the songbook. It was a very memorable experience. After church I got my first massage and it was excellent. For 40 dollars I got an hour massage, what a deal!! From the massage table I could see the waves crashing, coconut palms moving in the wind, and ocean breeze all around me. I finished off the day with some hammock time and a bit of a snorkel. During the night we saw the villagers perform the Fire Dance! They twirled batons of fire and one guy even spat it out of his mouth. We also saw more Fijian dancing followed by a giant circle where the whole crowd danced. The next morning was spent lounging in the ocean (which was at least in the 80’s) We transferred to our final destination: Bounty Island. Bounty was a coral cay island (the other two were volcanic) so it was similar to Heron. There was a pool right on the beach and very yummy food. As we were taking advantage of happy hour it was hard to believe that it was December. I was laying in a lounge chair watching the moon come up over the ocean while it was 80 degrees outside, drinking Fiji Bitter, and what song was playing in the background…….White Christmas. It was so bizarre. I don’t think the tropics and Christmas will ever fit together in my mind. They listen to all of the classics we listen to back home but the only “white” they have in their Christmas is the sandy beaches. The next day was one of my laziest (hard to believe I know), and the majority of it was spent under a grass hut finishing my book combined with dips in the ocean to cool off. We had so much fun the last 7 days and I can’t believe how fast it went!! We are in Nadi right now and met up with Sean. Ashley is leaving tomorrow and then its Michelle, Sean, and I for the next week until I come home on Dec 23!! We have exactly decided what we are doing yet but I think we are going to Savusavu to do some more diving and relaxing. Internet is very hard to get here so this will be my last blog entry. You guys will just have to hear about my last week in Fiji when I get home in a week! I hope you have enjoyed it and I can’t wait to see all of you soon!
Michelle and I arrived in Nadi and we were greeted by about 40 employees of all of the stores. Everyone was lined up to say “Bula!” (which means hello in Fijian). Between getting our baggage and getting to the shuttle to pick us up 3 separate people came up to us, introduced themselves, asked what our names were and checked to see if we needed help with anything. We arrived at our hostel and met up with Ashley and went to bed early. The next morning we were off on our “awesome adventure” cruise!!
During our cruise we island hopped around the Yasawas, which are a string of islands above the main island of Viti Levu. It was a beautiful ride to our first island through coral cays and deserted islands. We even passed the island where “Castaway” was filmed with Tom Hanks! Our first 2 nights were spent at the Coral View resort on the island of Tavewa. Most of the places we stayed had “resort” in their name but they weren’t what you think. They seem to put “resort” in the name of every accommodation in the Yasawas and they weren’t the 5 star hotel resorts you have in mind. Our room was a grass hut with walls and a shower! It was so cool!! As we departed the Yasawa flier we boarded a tiny boat to go to Tavewa. As we approached the island about 10 of the employees we lined up on the beach with 2 guitars singing welcoming music, followed by a very enthusiastic BULA!. We disembarked from our boat and every single staff member introduced themselves, shook our hands, and asked what our names were. I was amazed how nice everyone was and how genuinely interested people seemed to be in you. They weren’t just doing their job they actually wanted to get to know you. Coral view was filled with hammocks hung between two coconut trees. Tropical fruits grew wild all around the island and I took advantage of the mango tree right near my room. Ashley, Michelle and I hiked to the highest point on the small island and watched the sunset over the tropical south pacific. The water colors were so rich with lights blues and turquoises it almost looked unreal. We returned for dinner, which was situated right next to the high tide line. No shoes were allowed because the entire floor was sand. After dinner the Fijian’s performed music and dance for us. Then they called people up and taught us some of their moves. We had a blast. After a few cocktails we retired to our grass huts and went to bed. The next day we went on our first dive in Fiji and it was a SHARK DIVE! They brought us our away from the island and we descended down the anchor line. Then we got to a site where a rope had been attached to the bottom of the seafloor. All the divers held on while the dive master poured heaps of dead fish about 10 ft away from the rope. Then the sharks started to come. First the baby sharks, then the bigger ones, and finally a huge 4m lemon shark! It was really cool because all of the little fish that were munching on the dead fish would sense when a big shark would come and they would all scatter right before it came. Seeing the sharks feed and swallow entire fish hole while they were 10 ft away was so amazing!! After the sharks one of the guys also hand fed a moray eel! Moray eels can be aggressive and have been known to bite divers fingers off, straight through the bone. However, they said that they had been feeding it for a long time and it was “tamed”: We returned to coral view and our first storm of the tropics set in and continued the next day. We were told to expect the rain because it is almost Summer here which means the rainy season. However for our whole cruise that was the only day of rain!
The next day we transferred to the Wanna Taki cruise boat for the night which was located right off the coast of the island of Naviti. We were lucky because the night we were on the boat was the one night of the year both sets of crew members were on board because they were celebrating their Christmas/new Years party. This led to a very lively night with lots of Fijians. After dinner we had a hermit crab race where we all chose a crab, then the crabs were placed in a box in the center of a circle, the box was then lifted and the crabs would race to the edge. Ashley’s was named John Hall and I named mine Obama. After the race we played some card games with our fellow travelers. Since it was a special occasion the crew members began preparing Kava, which is the special drink of Fiji. Kava is made from the root of a pepper plant and it has a calming effect on the body and eventually leads to drowsiness and supposedly wonderful sleep. One of the people I talked to said it is used in weddings, celebrations, and other special events, and many Fijian’s drink it on a regular basis. The active ingredient in Kava, Kavalactones, accumulate in the body so that if you drink it on a regular basis you need to drink less to get the desired effects. I had heard all about Kava before I came to Fiji so I asked one of the crew members if I could try some. They welcomed me with many smiles and insisted I take a seat with them. The Kava is mixed in a large bowl, then one person dispenses it in half a coconut shell t everyone else. Before you drink it you clap once, say “BULA!” then drink it all. After you have finished you then clap three times. It tasted like muddy water and after a couple I got the first sensation of a numb tongue. I talked to a lot of the crew and it was really interesting hearing their life stories and perspectives on life. I asked one of them where his favorite place was in Fiji and he replied “wherever I happen to be at that time, that place is my favorite.” That statement really captured the mentality of the Fijian’s I have met. They are some of the happiest, laid back, and genuine people I have ever met. The next day I woke up after having a great night sleep (another effect of the Kava) and one of the crew members took us on a small boat to a deserted island where no one else was. They had started to build a resort there but abandon the project so the whole area was overgrown with vines and rainforest. It looked like the Lost World when they return to find the old dinosaur amusement park overgrown with plants. Ashley, Michelle, and two other people that came with us stayed at the beach while I started to explore the dense rainforest. I followed a heavily overgrown road through the jungle. It was so cool to literally be the only ones on an island in the middle of nowhere!! We spent a couple of hours on the island snorkeling and found a cave made of volcanic rock that overlooked the entire ocean. After the island we returned to the boat and had some fun taking pictures while we jumped off the side of it.
The next morning we transferred to my favorite place; Waya Lailai Ecohaven Resort. We were once again welcomed on the beach with guitars and music then brought our stuff up to our room, which had an excellent view of coconut trees, the ocean, and the giant mountain behind us. The next day we did two dives. The first one was a drift dive along the edge of the reef. We saw some amazing Gorgonians and green corals. The second dive was at a different reef and we saw a stonefish (which can kill you) and a huge Moray eel. The best part was…..I pet it!! The guide said that they had been training it for a couple of months but I must admit I was a bit nervous when my hand was going towards a creature that could literally snap my finger off. It felt exactly how I imagined: slimy. Before we pet the eel the guide fed it some fish and was petting it for quite some time before we had a go at it. Other highlights from the dive include white tip reef sharks and playing with clownfish in the sea anemones. After the dives we did a hike up to the top of the mountain where we watched the sunset. Our guide was super cool and was actually born on the island. As we walked up the mountain he would stop and talk about certain plants. He showed us one called the creeper vine which Fijians use to help clot blood and lower blood pressure. We also passed a mango tree which had been planted by our guides mother. (He was at least 60, so the tree was fairly old) It was really cool to here the history of the land from people who have been living there for so many generations. We also passed by this giant boulder about the size of two SUVs called wobbling rock. Out guide told us to climb on top of it and after we realized how it got its name. We fell asleep very fast after our long day of activities. Another cool thing about all the places we stayed was they were next to actual villages where Fijians have lived for many generations. There was no wall between their village and our accommodation, which made us fell like we were getting a more authentic experience. The next morning I attended church in the village next to us. After the missionaries brought Christianity to the Fijian island s in the 18th century most of the country is protestant. Sunday is a big deal in Fiji and no one does any work. Many people attend service three times: once in the morning, once in the afternoon, then once in the evening. I was invited to church by our guide from the walk and I sat next to him for the duration of the service. When you walk in everyone leaves their shoes at the door. Women sit on the left, men on the right. On the altar is the pastor and then chief of the village sits to his left in a giant chair. The entire thing was in Fijian but I was able to follow along in the songbook. It was a very memorable experience. After church I got my first massage and it was excellent. For 40 dollars I got an hour massage, what a deal!! From the massage table I could see the waves crashing, coconut palms moving in the wind, and ocean breeze all around me. I finished off the day with some hammock time and a bit of a snorkel. During the night we saw the villagers perform the Fire Dance! They twirled batons of fire and one guy even spat it out of his mouth. We also saw more Fijian dancing followed by a giant circle where the whole crowd danced. The next morning was spent lounging in the ocean (which was at least in the 80’s) We transferred to our final destination: Bounty Island. Bounty was a coral cay island (the other two were volcanic) so it was similar to Heron. There was a pool right on the beach and very yummy food. As we were taking advantage of happy hour it was hard to believe that it was December. I was laying in a lounge chair watching the moon come up over the ocean while it was 80 degrees outside, drinking Fiji Bitter, and what song was playing in the background…….White Christmas. It was so bizarre. I don’t think the tropics and Christmas will ever fit together in my mind. They listen to all of the classics we listen to back home but the only “white” they have in their Christmas is the sandy beaches. The next day was one of my laziest (hard to believe I know), and the majority of it was spent under a grass hut finishing my book combined with dips in the ocean to cool off. We had so much fun the last 7 days and I can’t believe how fast it went!! We are in Nadi right now and met up with Sean. Ashley is leaving tomorrow and then its Michelle, Sean, and I for the next week until I come home on Dec 23!! We have exactly decided what we are doing yet but I think we are going to Savusavu to do some more diving and relaxing. Internet is very hard to get here so this will be my last blog entry. You guys will just have to hear about my last week in Fiji when I get home in a week! I hope you have enjoyed it and I can’t wait to see all of you soon!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
NZ Adventures Continued
New Zealand Adventures Continued
After sea kayaking in Milford sound we headed up to the top of the pass where we spent the evening. This is when we encountered the dreaded Keas of New Zealand……Keas seem really cool when you hear someone describe them, and we thought they were too at the beginning of the trip. Keas are mountain parrots which usually feed on berries, worms, and occasionally meat that is already dead. (Or that’s what we were told) They can get rather large (maybe a little smaller than the crows from home) We woke up the next morning to the sound of claws racing up and down the top of the campervan. Not only that one of the Keas was trying to get in through the sun roof with its beak, which we had left cracked for the night. There must have been at least 8 Keas on our car. If you have ever seen Jurassic park when the raptors make that sound with their claws as they walk across metal, that’s what the Keas sounded like. We got out of their as quickly as possible and when we pulled over down the road, one of the Keas had chewed thorugh a wire connecting something at the top of the van!! We pulled into Lake Tekapo and read a guidebook about Keas. Apparently they had been “implicated” (using the exact words of the book) in the death of sheep and have been known to pick the weaker or sick sheep off in packs and eat them! We felt lucky to have survived the night.
The plan after Queenstown was head up to Christchuch, spend the night there, then the next day drive to the top of the south island to catch the 5:45 am ferry ride. However, our RV (Priscilla or Prissy for short) had other plans…….We made it about 200 km north of Queenstown and stopped at beautiful lake Tekapo with wild Lupin surrounding the waters edge and snow capped mountains of Mt. Cook reflecting in the turquoise water. As we started up the hill out of the Tekapo basin Prissy’s RPM’s started to go crazy even in neutral. We pulled over and called our car company appollo. Luckily we decided to get full coverage insurance before the trip so we had zero liability if anything were to happen. Well we got towed back into Tekapo and the mechanic determined after an hour of work that he didn’t know what was wrong and that we had to stay for the night. This is when people started to stress out because we were scheduled to take the 5:45 am ferry on December 1 which left us around 36 hours to get to the ferry which is about 10 hours from where we were stuck. This might not seem like a problem but at the time we had no idea how long we were going to be stuck and if it wasn’t fixed by 8 pm the next day there would be no way to make the ferry. There were two reasons why we had to make this ferry. First of all, it cost over $500 for everyone and we chose the cheaper ticket (which is non-refundable), Secondly, Kelley and Lauren had a flight out of Auckland to Fiji on Dec 4 and all of the driving was timed to get them there right before their flight. As you can guess, it was a restless night in the campervan however we tried to not think about it and watched Superbad while drinking some Tui (definitely one of the better beers in NZ, Tui is the north island beer, where as Speights, another good one is “the pride of the south.”)
So the next morning around 10 am we got the final decision…..the campervan was not going to be fixed and they were sending a new one down from Christchurch for us which would be in Tekapo by 3pm. So besides the 10 hour straight car ride, we had made it! The new campervan (which we named Lady Madonna) was ten times nicer than Prissy with tile on the floor (instead of old plastic) and suede upholstery! We did a quick drive through of Christchurch, which looked pretty cool from the car at least and continued north towards Picton. We now believed that we were actually going to make the Ferry. Then we realized that we forgot to fill up on gas in Christchurch. This might not seem like a big deal either however unlike in the states the vast majority of gas stations close around 8pm and 24hr ones are extremely rare. We realized the gas situation and on the gas we had left we would fall 60 km short of Picton. The road in this area was definitely the worst we had driven, not only that it was night, we were literally in the middle of no where, no cell reception, fog was rising off the pavement, and at one point Sean had to swerve to avoid a boulder that had fallen into the road, which happened to be at the edge of a cliff with ocean on the other side. So things weren’t looking too good for us. Our last hope was this small town called Kaikora, which looked pretty small on the map, but we all hoped that there would be one gas station still open (it was about 11:00 pm at this point). As we pulled into town we saw a station in the distance that looked like it was still open, and luckily for us IT WAS!! We had about 30 km left in Lady Madonna at this point so we all gave a huge sigh of relief as we pulled up to the station. Crisis number two of the last 48 hours averted. We felt very accomplished as we boarded the ferry the next morning….we had actually made it!
We pulled to the side of the road in Wellington to allow the drivers to rest (at this point they had driven 11 hours straight.) However, we were still on schedule, next stop: Lake Taupo. We stayed at our last RV park that night and I made avocado, cheese, tomatoe, and chicken sandwiches for everyone (which were much better than the PB and J’s we had all been having the last two weeks. I got some rest because the next day I was going to do something I have always wanted to do, but lacked the guts to do it……SKYDIVING!!!!!! Sean, Kelley, and Lauren arrived in Auckland 3 days before me (while I was in Daintree) and they all went Skydiving at Lake Taupo, if they could do I why couldn’t I? Since they already did it I was the only one actually diving, but everyone was there for moral support/taking pictures for me. My instructor and I were completely attached (which is why its called tandem skydiving) so I was just along for the ride As the plane climbed higher into the sky I looked out the window knowing that the only way down was to jump. I was the first one to jump so I sat right next to the window that opens where you jump from. The adrenaline was pumping and my tandem instructor strapped me in. We were at 10,000 ft and still climbing. Then I heard the door open and the deafening sound of wind was all you could hear. The green light was on which meant it was time to go. He scooted me to the door where I sat and my legs dangled outside of the plane at 12,000 ft. He scooted me closer and closer to the edge until……….. we jumped and we were off at 200 km/hr straight towards the earth! It was like nothing I have every experienced. I did not get the roller coaster feeling in my stomach at all and everything around me seemed so peaceful. Once we reached terminal velocity it was almost relaxing in a weird way. The jump offered the best view of Taupo you can get and after 40 seconds of freefall the shoot was pulled. My guy let me steer the chute for a while until we came in for our landing where the rest of the crew was waiting on the ground cheering me on. Now that I have done it I can say that it is WAY scarier to think about doing it than to actually do it. You honestly have no time to think about it, before you know it your at cruising altitude and since your attached, you gotta go. They don’t sit and wait until your ready, you go whenever your guy jumps. The scariest part was imagining it the night before. I think about the jump at least 5 times a day now and I can’t wait to do it again.
After skydiving we spent the rest of the day at Taupo and made our way back towards Auckland. Our last night in the campervan L. We brought Kelley and Lauren to the airport the next day and they are in Fiji right now. Chris, Sean, Michelle, and I returned to Auckland. The next day Chris and I explored the city and during the night took advantage of some of the Auckalnd night life. Then the next morning Michelle and I were off to Waitomo caves! We drove Chris and Sean about 200 km south of Auckland and then they began their crazy adventure of hitchhiking down to Wellington. Apparently hitch hiking is really easy in NZ and I am excited to hear about their adventures. Michelle and I continue south for Black water Rafting! Blackwater rafting is basically trekking through a cave down waterfalls with a giant rubber tube while you dodge stalagmites and stalagmites and enjoy the massive amounts of glow worms on the roof of the cave. It was spectacular. I felt like Indiana Jones as paddled my way though the dark, frigid waters. After they feed you warm bagels and hot tomato soup which was exactly what I needed. Black water rafting was definitely one of the highlights of my entire travels.
The next day Michelle and I headed to a native bird sanctuary where I finally saw a real Kiwi!!! It was one of the most awkward/cute animals I have ever seen. They walk really funny with long beaks and fluffy feathers. We got to watch a feeding too. Unfortunately Kiwis are highly endangered due to introduced predators. Since they are flightless they have no defenses against invasive species like rats, or weasels which eat their eggs and babies. There are 5 species of Kiwi left and mini-reserves are being set up on some of NZ’s many islands so hopefully future generations will be able to enjoy them. I felt very privileged to see such a rare and interesting creature. Michelle and I also swung by Rotarua to see the thermal pools which were a lot like the one from Yellowstone, although there was a slightly different sulfur smell to them. Tomorrow I am off to Fiji for 15 days where I will be doing a Cruise for 7 days with Michelle and Ashley, then meeting up with Sean when I get back. NZ was even better than expected and I can't wait to come back.
After sea kayaking in Milford sound we headed up to the top of the pass where we spent the evening. This is when we encountered the dreaded Keas of New Zealand……Keas seem really cool when you hear someone describe them, and we thought they were too at the beginning of the trip. Keas are mountain parrots which usually feed on berries, worms, and occasionally meat that is already dead. (Or that’s what we were told) They can get rather large (maybe a little smaller than the crows from home) We woke up the next morning to the sound of claws racing up and down the top of the campervan. Not only that one of the Keas was trying to get in through the sun roof with its beak, which we had left cracked for the night. There must have been at least 8 Keas on our car. If you have ever seen Jurassic park when the raptors make that sound with their claws as they walk across metal, that’s what the Keas sounded like. We got out of their as quickly as possible and when we pulled over down the road, one of the Keas had chewed thorugh a wire connecting something at the top of the van!! We pulled into Lake Tekapo and read a guidebook about Keas. Apparently they had been “implicated” (using the exact words of the book) in the death of sheep and have been known to pick the weaker or sick sheep off in packs and eat them! We felt lucky to have survived the night.
The plan after Queenstown was head up to Christchuch, spend the night there, then the next day drive to the top of the south island to catch the 5:45 am ferry ride. However, our RV (Priscilla or Prissy for short) had other plans…….We made it about 200 km north of Queenstown and stopped at beautiful lake Tekapo with wild Lupin surrounding the waters edge and snow capped mountains of Mt. Cook reflecting in the turquoise water. As we started up the hill out of the Tekapo basin Prissy’s RPM’s started to go crazy even in neutral. We pulled over and called our car company appollo. Luckily we decided to get full coverage insurance before the trip so we had zero liability if anything were to happen. Well we got towed back into Tekapo and the mechanic determined after an hour of work that he didn’t know what was wrong and that we had to stay for the night. This is when people started to stress out because we were scheduled to take the 5:45 am ferry on December 1 which left us around 36 hours to get to the ferry which is about 10 hours from where we were stuck. This might not seem like a problem but at the time we had no idea how long we were going to be stuck and if it wasn’t fixed by 8 pm the next day there would be no way to make the ferry. There were two reasons why we had to make this ferry. First of all, it cost over $500 for everyone and we chose the cheaper ticket (which is non-refundable), Secondly, Kelley and Lauren had a flight out of Auckland to Fiji on Dec 4 and all of the driving was timed to get them there right before their flight. As you can guess, it was a restless night in the campervan however we tried to not think about it and watched Superbad while drinking some Tui (definitely one of the better beers in NZ, Tui is the north island beer, where as Speights, another good one is “the pride of the south.”)
So the next morning around 10 am we got the final decision…..the campervan was not going to be fixed and they were sending a new one down from Christchurch for us which would be in Tekapo by 3pm. So besides the 10 hour straight car ride, we had made it! The new campervan (which we named Lady Madonna) was ten times nicer than Prissy with tile on the floor (instead of old plastic) and suede upholstery! We did a quick drive through of Christchurch, which looked pretty cool from the car at least and continued north towards Picton. We now believed that we were actually going to make the Ferry. Then we realized that we forgot to fill up on gas in Christchurch. This might not seem like a big deal either however unlike in the states the vast majority of gas stations close around 8pm and 24hr ones are extremely rare. We realized the gas situation and on the gas we had left we would fall 60 km short of Picton. The road in this area was definitely the worst we had driven, not only that it was night, we were literally in the middle of no where, no cell reception, fog was rising off the pavement, and at one point Sean had to swerve to avoid a boulder that had fallen into the road, which happened to be at the edge of a cliff with ocean on the other side. So things weren’t looking too good for us. Our last hope was this small town called Kaikora, which looked pretty small on the map, but we all hoped that there would be one gas station still open (it was about 11:00 pm at this point). As we pulled into town we saw a station in the distance that looked like it was still open, and luckily for us IT WAS!! We had about 30 km left in Lady Madonna at this point so we all gave a huge sigh of relief as we pulled up to the station. Crisis number two of the last 48 hours averted. We felt very accomplished as we boarded the ferry the next morning….we had actually made it!
We pulled to the side of the road in Wellington to allow the drivers to rest (at this point they had driven 11 hours straight.) However, we were still on schedule, next stop: Lake Taupo. We stayed at our last RV park that night and I made avocado, cheese, tomatoe, and chicken sandwiches for everyone (which were much better than the PB and J’s we had all been having the last two weeks. I got some rest because the next day I was going to do something I have always wanted to do, but lacked the guts to do it……SKYDIVING!!!!!! Sean, Kelley, and Lauren arrived in Auckland 3 days before me (while I was in Daintree) and they all went Skydiving at Lake Taupo, if they could do I why couldn’t I? Since they already did it I was the only one actually diving, but everyone was there for moral support/taking pictures for me. My instructor and I were completely attached (which is why its called tandem skydiving) so I was just along for the ride As the plane climbed higher into the sky I looked out the window knowing that the only way down was to jump. I was the first one to jump so I sat right next to the window that opens where you jump from. The adrenaline was pumping and my tandem instructor strapped me in. We were at 10,000 ft and still climbing. Then I heard the door open and the deafening sound of wind was all you could hear. The green light was on which meant it was time to go. He scooted me to the door where I sat and my legs dangled outside of the plane at 12,000 ft. He scooted me closer and closer to the edge until……….. we jumped and we were off at 200 km/hr straight towards the earth! It was like nothing I have every experienced. I did not get the roller coaster feeling in my stomach at all and everything around me seemed so peaceful. Once we reached terminal velocity it was almost relaxing in a weird way. The jump offered the best view of Taupo you can get and after 40 seconds of freefall the shoot was pulled. My guy let me steer the chute for a while until we came in for our landing where the rest of the crew was waiting on the ground cheering me on. Now that I have done it I can say that it is WAY scarier to think about doing it than to actually do it. You honestly have no time to think about it, before you know it your at cruising altitude and since your attached, you gotta go. They don’t sit and wait until your ready, you go whenever your guy jumps. The scariest part was imagining it the night before. I think about the jump at least 5 times a day now and I can’t wait to do it again.
After skydiving we spent the rest of the day at Taupo and made our way back towards Auckland. Our last night in the campervan L. We brought Kelley and Lauren to the airport the next day and they are in Fiji right now. Chris, Sean, Michelle, and I returned to Auckland. The next day Chris and I explored the city and during the night took advantage of some of the Auckalnd night life. Then the next morning Michelle and I were off to Waitomo caves! We drove Chris and Sean about 200 km south of Auckland and then they began their crazy adventure of hitchhiking down to Wellington. Apparently hitch hiking is really easy in NZ and I am excited to hear about their adventures. Michelle and I continue south for Black water Rafting! Blackwater rafting is basically trekking through a cave down waterfalls with a giant rubber tube while you dodge stalagmites and stalagmites and enjoy the massive amounts of glow worms on the roof of the cave. It was spectacular. I felt like Indiana Jones as paddled my way though the dark, frigid waters. After they feed you warm bagels and hot tomato soup which was exactly what I needed. Black water rafting was definitely one of the highlights of my entire travels.
The next day Michelle and I headed to a native bird sanctuary where I finally saw a real Kiwi!!! It was one of the most awkward/cute animals I have ever seen. They walk really funny with long beaks and fluffy feathers. We got to watch a feeding too. Unfortunately Kiwis are highly endangered due to introduced predators. Since they are flightless they have no defenses against invasive species like rats, or weasels which eat their eggs and babies. There are 5 species of Kiwi left and mini-reserves are being set up on some of NZ’s many islands so hopefully future generations will be able to enjoy them. I felt very privileged to see such a rare and interesting creature. Michelle and I also swung by Rotarua to see the thermal pools which were a lot like the one from Yellowstone, although there was a slightly different sulfur smell to them. Tomorrow I am off to Fiji for 15 days where I will be doing a Cruise for 7 days with Michelle and Ashley, then meeting up with Sean when I get back. NZ was even better than expected and I can't wait to come back.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
End of OZ and NZ
Now that I don’t have good internet access unfortunately there will be no more cool videos or pics L. I will just have to show you guys all of them when I get back to the states on December 23
Last dinner with Kim:
Sean and I took Kim out to a steak place on wed where you grill your own steak and then there is trivia after. 5 of Kim’s friends came a long with a couple people from my program. It was a nice last night and we had a blast. Wed night is trivia night in all of Brisbane and we has been one time before. This time I think we got 3rd to last, which was better than last time.
End of the program banquet:
We had a semi-formal dinner with all of our tutors, profs, and people who worked with the program at the faculty club at UQ. It was so much fun. John Hall had everyone send in their top 10 pics of the trip and he created a “lecture” out of them telling jokes about each slide. Our two bus drivers from the trip, Mick (from straddie 2) and Peter (straddie 1 and saddlers) also came. Our group really connected with them and it was the frist time they had ever been formally been invited to the dinner. John gave his final speech which brought tears to about half the class. Then it was time for a massive prom-style photo shoot with everyone before the dinner was over. The class did one final count off then we all circled up and sang Waltzing Madilda. Then we all headed into the city for our last night together in Brisbane L. But……….JOHN HALL CAME OUT WITH US!! We went to this place called Irish Murphy’s in the CBD and did karaoke!! John started off with the song “down under” and other people followed with some Hotel California and some other classic hits. The highlight of the night was definitely the duet John and I did of AC/DC’s Back in Black. Some people started trickling away around 11:30 and we said our goodbyes. A lot of us stayed until we got kicked out around 2 when the bar was closing. We got some Kebabs in town and headed home around 3. I had packed before the dinner because I was flying out to Cairns at 7 am (4 hours from when the night ended). So I got back to the house with about 45 minutes before the taxi came to pick me up. I hopped on the plane with Teri, Michelle, Sara, and Sara’s sister and we were off to tropical far north Queensland! What a 24 hours!
Cairns/Daintree:
I arrived in Cairns around 10 am exhausted from the previous night. As I stepped off the plane I collided with a wall of humidity and heat. I had arrived in the tropics. We checked into our hostel which had a pool, tiki torches, and a huge outdoor movie screen that showed movies every night! We headed into town and hung out at the lagoon for a while. The lagoon is one of the main hangouts of Cairns and is situated right next to the harbor. Basically it is a giant swimming pool with sand on the bottom. It was early to bed to prepare for our great barrier reef trip in the morning!
We got picked up around 7 and loaded into the boat in the harbor. We were off for a 2 day/1 night, 6 SCUBA dive live aboard trip to the outer Great Barrier Reef. The water was like bathwater. We didn’t even need wetsuits!! However, we had to wear these really smelly stinger suits because it is box jelly fish breeding season. Box-jellyfish are one of the most poisonous organisms in the world, will kill you within 5 minutes of being stung, and can be as small as your thumbnail. But don’t worry, they hang out on the coast, not the outer reef. The coral was beautiful and a lot healthier than the coral at heron. There were also a lot more reef fish, and tons of nemos!! Clownfish live in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship with anemones. (meaning they both benefit in a positive way, clownfish get shelter, and the anemone is cleaned by the clownfish.). The fish are extremely territorial and will defend their anemone, especially when they have babies. For example, I am a lot bigger than a tiny clownfish and when I tried to poke at one it nipped at my finger. On one of our dives when swam through a huge canyon with green algae along the walls. I was amazed at how much it looked like fern canyon up in Northern California, but it was underwater! We also got to go on a night dive! At night there were a lot more prawns out, and we saw some fish sleeping. You can poke them and they won’t wake up. The parrotfish actually secretes a giant bubble of slimy ooze which surrounds it at night and protects it from predation. The food on the boat was excellent and we all returned to the mainland very satisfied with our trip.
The next morning we hired a car and we were off to the tropical rainforest! The drive was one of the prettiest ones I have ever been on. Most of the time it was right on the edge where the ocean meets the land and the views were simply spectacular. We first stopped at Mossman rainforest and did a little hiking around. It looked very similar to lamington, just a lot hotter and more humid. We continued driving and checked into our hostel, “the crocodylus.” This was the coolest hostel I have ever been to by far. It was very isolated with its own power source and sat right in the middle of Daintree National Rainforest. All of the sleeping areas were in tents still exposed to the outside. It was as close you could get to camping in the forest with out actually pitching a tent. There was also a pool and a nice dining area with great food. After we moved in we grabbed some gelati and headed to the river where we found a rope which we swung on into the river. You have to be VERY careful what rivers you swim in at Daintree because it is in the middle of salt water croc country. We verified that the river we were going to was safe, and there were other people swimming in it before us. Every couple years a tourist gets eaten by a croc, however alcohol is almost always involved and many times they are caught swimming right in front of signs that say “DANGER CROCODILES.” At around 2 pm we were booked to see salt water crocs first hand! We loaded onto a boat and headed up the Daintree river in search of the worlds largest reptile. It was literally like the jungle cruise at Disneyland but it was all real. The guide told us that the largest one ever caught was over 30 FEET LONG!!! Our croc was a bit smaller and stood at about 12 ft on the bank and watched it for about 20 minutes. It is a completely different experience seeing a wild crocodile compared to seeing one in a zoo and it was quite a rush. We returned to our hostel after the cruise and prepared for long night ahead. No one could sleep the entire night because of all of the jungle noises from insects, possums, and other creatures of the night. I woke up the next day exhausted, but so glad that I had experienced a true night in the jungle. We returned to Cairns and flew back into Brisbane the next day. Michelle and I spent the night at one of our tutors houses (Dana) and the next morning we were off to New Zealand!!
www.daintreerainforest.com/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairns,_Queensland
Start of New Zealand:
Michelle and I checked into our hostel in Auckland and met up with the rest of our group (Chris, Sean, Kelley, and Lauren). The next day we picked up our campervan which would be our home for the next 2 weeks. Turns out, it was more of an RV and was 25 ft long! Since it is stick Sean and Chris were the only ones that can drive it. We departed Auckland around 12 and headed south. I have never seen so much green landscape in my life!! Many of the hills looked similar to the drive down to SB in the spring right when the grasses sprout after the rain, except 10 times greener and more mountainous. We saw mt. Doom from Lord of the Rings too. Most of the movies were filmed in the North Island. As we were headed south we started smelling sulfur and eventually we figured out it was coming from the battery. We looked at it to find that it had swollen like a balloon. In the RV there are two batteries, the one that swelled controls the fridge, shower, etc, and the one for the car is completely separate. Luckily the swollen one was the one involved with the fridge. We quickly unplugged it and ended up staying our first night in New Zealand in the parking lot of a supermarket. We got no liablilty insurance from the campervan place so we brought it to the shop and we were on the road by 12. We arrived in Wellington (at the very southern tip of New Zealand) to wait for our ferry to the south island which left at 1:45 am. Our group explored the city for a while and checked out the parliament buildings (Wellington is the capital of New Zealand). It sits right on the bay and looks very similar to San Francisco. The world cup rugby game between New Zealand and Australia was on and we all watched it in a bar. Finally we arrived in the south island around 5 am, parked the camper van and slept until 11. Then we continued our beautiful drive through huge canyons, snow capped mountains, and emerald-green rivers winding through the valleys. The RV (which we named Priscilla from ‘Priscilla queen of the dessert’, an Australian classic comedy about 3 transvestites traveling across the outback in a huge RV) rolled up to Greymouth where we took some showers, made some pasta, and checked out the icy cold ocean.
Continued Travels:
So we arrived in Franz Josef in the middle of a huge rainstorm and we slept off the night hoping we could still hike on the glacier…..however the rainstorm only intensified during the night. We woke up and it was still pouring. (Apparently Franz Josef gets rainstorms half of the year). However we still hiked up to the face of it and got to see it so that was cool. The river going up to the glacier was like the ones you see on the news during huge storms. It looked like it was going to take out most of the bridges we crossed. However, our 27 ft RV persisted through the storm. We parked the RV and walked up to the glacier and the entire hike was through the cool temperate rainforest. The ground was covered with ferns, the middle of the forest covered with Antarctic beech trees like the ones from Lamington, and the rest was dominated by huge tree ferns. Every valley has huge waterfalls falling hundreds of feet into the lush green below. It felt like a pterodactyl would come swooping down from the tops of the mountains at any minute. We arrived at the glacier and we amazed at how big it actually was. We were at the bottom of the valley and during the last ice age we would have been thousands of meters under ice!! Huge chunks of glacier flowed through the river and we could hear the loud booms of them as they tumbled down the mountain. We continued our journey south and also visited Fox glacier. It was a little cloudier then so we couldn’t see it as well. When you are driving on the south island have been one-way bridges, and every time we would have to wait to give the right of way to the cars coming towards us. Therefore, as we were waiting we would get the Indiana Jones theme song ready and then we blasted it as we triumphantly crossed the raging river. We also had the Jurassic park theme song which we would play as we drove through the lush fern forests. Some other musical highlights from this trip include Freebird, Wild Horses, You Cant Always Get What You Want (both rolling stones), Young Turks (Rod Stewart), Don’t stop believing (Journey of course), and On the Road again (Willie Nelson). Our road trip continued south and we camped out at a beautiful beach on the Tasman sea. We spent the night in Queenstown and enjoyed many of the emerald lakes as we made our way into town.
www.glaciercountry.co.nz/
Milford Sound
The road to Milford is one of New Zealand’s most spectacular. We traveled through green valleys covered in wild Lupin, moss, and giant beech trees. Many of the rivers are from glacier melt and the water was a crystal clear turquoise color like nothing I had ever seen. The drive up to Homer pass was very steep and for a while we weren’t sure if the campervan was going to make it. However after frequent stops to let the car cool we summated and traveled through a kilometer long tunnel that went straight through the mountain and shot us out into the Milford valley. When we arrived at the sound it was literally breathtaking. Sheer cliffs shot straight from the icy water to heights of 3000+ feet. The entire valley was carved by massive glaciers during the last ice age (Similar to Yosemite and the Sierras). The sheer cliffs continue straight into the water for over 2000+ feet. So what we saw was only about 2/3 of the actually height of the cliffs. We parked the campervan for the night and the next morning we went kayaking in the sound!!! A boat brought us 12 km out and we kayaked all the way back in. We were lucky enough to see the yellow crested penguins (the 2nd rarest penguin in the world), as well as the native fur seals. It was so cool to see penguins in their natural habitat and it served as a quick reminder that it was in our best interest not to capsize. We also traveled right up to two waterfalls that stood at over 150 meters!! I had never seen landscape like it and it felt like we were on another planet. Check out the links since I cannot upload my pics. We stayed another night in Queenstown and tomorrow we are headed to Christchurch.
www.fiordland.org.nz/Explore-Fiordland/Places-to-visit/Milford-Sound.asp
Last dinner with Kim:
Sean and I took Kim out to a steak place on wed where you grill your own steak and then there is trivia after. 5 of Kim’s friends came a long with a couple people from my program. It was a nice last night and we had a blast. Wed night is trivia night in all of Brisbane and we has been one time before. This time I think we got 3rd to last, which was better than last time.
End of the program banquet:
We had a semi-formal dinner with all of our tutors, profs, and people who worked with the program at the faculty club at UQ. It was so much fun. John Hall had everyone send in their top 10 pics of the trip and he created a “lecture” out of them telling jokes about each slide. Our two bus drivers from the trip, Mick (from straddie 2) and Peter (straddie 1 and saddlers) also came. Our group really connected with them and it was the frist time they had ever been formally been invited to the dinner. John gave his final speech which brought tears to about half the class. Then it was time for a massive prom-style photo shoot with everyone before the dinner was over. The class did one final count off then we all circled up and sang Waltzing Madilda. Then we all headed into the city for our last night together in Brisbane L. But……….JOHN HALL CAME OUT WITH US!! We went to this place called Irish Murphy’s in the CBD and did karaoke!! John started off with the song “down under” and other people followed with some Hotel California and some other classic hits. The highlight of the night was definitely the duet John and I did of AC/DC’s Back in Black. Some people started trickling away around 11:30 and we said our goodbyes. A lot of us stayed until we got kicked out around 2 when the bar was closing. We got some Kebabs in town and headed home around 3. I had packed before the dinner because I was flying out to Cairns at 7 am (4 hours from when the night ended). So I got back to the house with about 45 minutes before the taxi came to pick me up. I hopped on the plane with Teri, Michelle, Sara, and Sara’s sister and we were off to tropical far north Queensland! What a 24 hours!
Cairns/Daintree:
I arrived in Cairns around 10 am exhausted from the previous night. As I stepped off the plane I collided with a wall of humidity and heat. I had arrived in the tropics. We checked into our hostel which had a pool, tiki torches, and a huge outdoor movie screen that showed movies every night! We headed into town and hung out at the lagoon for a while. The lagoon is one of the main hangouts of Cairns and is situated right next to the harbor. Basically it is a giant swimming pool with sand on the bottom. It was early to bed to prepare for our great barrier reef trip in the morning!
We got picked up around 7 and loaded into the boat in the harbor. We were off for a 2 day/1 night, 6 SCUBA dive live aboard trip to the outer Great Barrier Reef. The water was like bathwater. We didn’t even need wetsuits!! However, we had to wear these really smelly stinger suits because it is box jelly fish breeding season. Box-jellyfish are one of the most poisonous organisms in the world, will kill you within 5 minutes of being stung, and can be as small as your thumbnail. But don’t worry, they hang out on the coast, not the outer reef. The coral was beautiful and a lot healthier than the coral at heron. There were also a lot more reef fish, and tons of nemos!! Clownfish live in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship with anemones. (meaning they both benefit in a positive way, clownfish get shelter, and the anemone is cleaned by the clownfish.). The fish are extremely territorial and will defend their anemone, especially when they have babies. For example, I am a lot bigger than a tiny clownfish and when I tried to poke at one it nipped at my finger. On one of our dives when swam through a huge canyon with green algae along the walls. I was amazed at how much it looked like fern canyon up in Northern California, but it was underwater! We also got to go on a night dive! At night there were a lot more prawns out, and we saw some fish sleeping. You can poke them and they won’t wake up. The parrotfish actually secretes a giant bubble of slimy ooze which surrounds it at night and protects it from predation. The food on the boat was excellent and we all returned to the mainland very satisfied with our trip.
The next morning we hired a car and we were off to the tropical rainforest! The drive was one of the prettiest ones I have ever been on. Most of the time it was right on the edge where the ocean meets the land and the views were simply spectacular. We first stopped at Mossman rainforest and did a little hiking around. It looked very similar to lamington, just a lot hotter and more humid. We continued driving and checked into our hostel, “the crocodylus.” This was the coolest hostel I have ever been to by far. It was very isolated with its own power source and sat right in the middle of Daintree National Rainforest. All of the sleeping areas were in tents still exposed to the outside. It was as close you could get to camping in the forest with out actually pitching a tent. There was also a pool and a nice dining area with great food. After we moved in we grabbed some gelati and headed to the river where we found a rope which we swung on into the river. You have to be VERY careful what rivers you swim in at Daintree because it is in the middle of salt water croc country. We verified that the river we were going to was safe, and there were other people swimming in it before us. Every couple years a tourist gets eaten by a croc, however alcohol is almost always involved and many times they are caught swimming right in front of signs that say “DANGER CROCODILES.” At around 2 pm we were booked to see salt water crocs first hand! We loaded onto a boat and headed up the Daintree river in search of the worlds largest reptile. It was literally like the jungle cruise at Disneyland but it was all real. The guide told us that the largest one ever caught was over 30 FEET LONG!!! Our croc was a bit smaller and stood at about 12 ft on the bank and watched it for about 20 minutes. It is a completely different experience seeing a wild crocodile compared to seeing one in a zoo and it was quite a rush. We returned to our hostel after the cruise and prepared for long night ahead. No one could sleep the entire night because of all of the jungle noises from insects, possums, and other creatures of the night. I woke up the next day exhausted, but so glad that I had experienced a true night in the jungle. We returned to Cairns and flew back into Brisbane the next day. Michelle and I spent the night at one of our tutors houses (Dana) and the next morning we were off to New Zealand!!
www.daintreerainforest.com/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairns,_Queensland
Start of New Zealand:
Michelle and I checked into our hostel in Auckland and met up with the rest of our group (Chris, Sean, Kelley, and Lauren). The next day we picked up our campervan which would be our home for the next 2 weeks. Turns out, it was more of an RV and was 25 ft long! Since it is stick Sean and Chris were the only ones that can drive it. We departed Auckland around 12 and headed south. I have never seen so much green landscape in my life!! Many of the hills looked similar to the drive down to SB in the spring right when the grasses sprout after the rain, except 10 times greener and more mountainous. We saw mt. Doom from Lord of the Rings too. Most of the movies were filmed in the North Island. As we were headed south we started smelling sulfur and eventually we figured out it was coming from the battery. We looked at it to find that it had swollen like a balloon. In the RV there are two batteries, the one that swelled controls the fridge, shower, etc, and the one for the car is completely separate. Luckily the swollen one was the one involved with the fridge. We quickly unplugged it and ended up staying our first night in New Zealand in the parking lot of a supermarket. We got no liablilty insurance from the campervan place so we brought it to the shop and we were on the road by 12. We arrived in Wellington (at the very southern tip of New Zealand) to wait for our ferry to the south island which left at 1:45 am. Our group explored the city for a while and checked out the parliament buildings (Wellington is the capital of New Zealand). It sits right on the bay and looks very similar to San Francisco. The world cup rugby game between New Zealand and Australia was on and we all watched it in a bar. Finally we arrived in the south island around 5 am, parked the camper van and slept until 11. Then we continued our beautiful drive through huge canyons, snow capped mountains, and emerald-green rivers winding through the valleys. The RV (which we named Priscilla from ‘Priscilla queen of the dessert’, an Australian classic comedy about 3 transvestites traveling across the outback in a huge RV) rolled up to Greymouth where we took some showers, made some pasta, and checked out the icy cold ocean.
Continued Travels:
So we arrived in Franz Josef in the middle of a huge rainstorm and we slept off the night hoping we could still hike on the glacier…..however the rainstorm only intensified during the night. We woke up and it was still pouring. (Apparently Franz Josef gets rainstorms half of the year). However we still hiked up to the face of it and got to see it so that was cool. The river going up to the glacier was like the ones you see on the news during huge storms. It looked like it was going to take out most of the bridges we crossed. However, our 27 ft RV persisted through the storm. We parked the RV and walked up to the glacier and the entire hike was through the cool temperate rainforest. The ground was covered with ferns, the middle of the forest covered with Antarctic beech trees like the ones from Lamington, and the rest was dominated by huge tree ferns. Every valley has huge waterfalls falling hundreds of feet into the lush green below. It felt like a pterodactyl would come swooping down from the tops of the mountains at any minute. We arrived at the glacier and we amazed at how big it actually was. We were at the bottom of the valley and during the last ice age we would have been thousands of meters under ice!! Huge chunks of glacier flowed through the river and we could hear the loud booms of them as they tumbled down the mountain. We continued our journey south and also visited Fox glacier. It was a little cloudier then so we couldn’t see it as well. When you are driving on the south island have been one-way bridges, and every time we would have to wait to give the right of way to the cars coming towards us. Therefore, as we were waiting we would get the Indiana Jones theme song ready and then we blasted it as we triumphantly crossed the raging river. We also had the Jurassic park theme song which we would play as we drove through the lush fern forests. Some other musical highlights from this trip include Freebird, Wild Horses, You Cant Always Get What You Want (both rolling stones), Young Turks (Rod Stewart), Don’t stop believing (Journey of course), and On the Road again (Willie Nelson). Our road trip continued south and we camped out at a beautiful beach on the Tasman sea. We spent the night in Queenstown and enjoyed many of the emerald lakes as we made our way into town.
www.glaciercountry.co.nz/
Milford Sound
The road to Milford is one of New Zealand’s most spectacular. We traveled through green valleys covered in wild Lupin, moss, and giant beech trees. Many of the rivers are from glacier melt and the water was a crystal clear turquoise color like nothing I had ever seen. The drive up to Homer pass was very steep and for a while we weren’t sure if the campervan was going to make it. However after frequent stops to let the car cool we summated and traveled through a kilometer long tunnel that went straight through the mountain and shot us out into the Milford valley. When we arrived at the sound it was literally breathtaking. Sheer cliffs shot straight from the icy water to heights of 3000+ feet. The entire valley was carved by massive glaciers during the last ice age (Similar to Yosemite and the Sierras). The sheer cliffs continue straight into the water for over 2000+ feet. So what we saw was only about 2/3 of the actually height of the cliffs. We parked the campervan for the night and the next morning we went kayaking in the sound!!! A boat brought us 12 km out and we kayaked all the way back in. We were lucky enough to see the yellow crested penguins (the 2nd rarest penguin in the world), as well as the native fur seals. It was so cool to see penguins in their natural habitat and it served as a quick reminder that it was in our best interest not to capsize. We also traveled right up to two waterfalls that stood at over 150 meters!! I had never seen landscape like it and it felt like we were on another planet. Check out the links since I cannot upload my pics. We stayed another night in Queenstown and tomorrow we are headed to Christchurch.
www.fiordland.org.nz/Explore-Fiordland/Places-to-visit/Milford-Sound.asp
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Heron Island!!!
I have noticed that most of my blog entries begin with a description claiming that the place I went to was unbelievable, amazing, and like no place I have ever been. Well......Heron Island is no exception. We got on the bus Thurs at 1130 PM and drove the entire night to Gladstone. Once we arrived it was around 8:00 am Fri and we had to hang around for a couple hours while we waited for the 2 hour ferry ride. The approach to Heron was very exciting. In the distance we could see a tiny island and as we approached the water color began to change, the sun came out, and the humidity took over as we approached the tropic of capricorn. Everyone was in complete awe as we pulled into the harbor. We were literally in a tropical paradise. As we got onto the dock we could see to the bottom of the crystal clear water around us and we saw our first of many blacktip reef sharks swimming in the harbor!! We unloaded our stuff and headed for the research station. Half of Heron island is an extremely exclusive resort while the other half is a research station. It takes about 30 minutes to walk around if you go slowly and 60 minutes to snorkel around. The island is a coral cay and surrounded by reef. After lunch we went for our first snorkel with everyone and it was SOOO COOL!! I have NEVER seen so much in one snorkel. We turned the corner of the island into shark cove where I saw around 7 different sharks. We saw Black Tip, WHite tip, and lemon sharks. The largest one was about 6 ft long. At one point I was sitting in the middle while 3 lemon sharks were circling around me. WOW!!! The white tip and black tip's are relatively harmless but Ian warned us against cornering the lemon sharks. Watching them glide effortlessly through the water is unreal. We continued snorkeling into stingray bay and I lost count of how many rays I saw. At least 30+. The largest including the stinger was 6+ft. When they fly through the water they look like the birds of the sea. Then we saw our first green sea turtle! I pet it on the back and swam around for a bit. After about an hour we returned to a delicious dinner from Maggie, the awesome cook of the island. After dinner we went to look for turtles nesting. Heron is a major turtle nesting site and the season is just beginning. We explored the island and saw a large ominous object emerging from the sea. We all crouched down and became silent. The emergence of the turtles from the ocean is a very critical period of the nesting and they can become spooked very easily. We watched as the turtle slowly made its way up the beach and began digging its body pit to lay it's eggs. In the end the first turtle did not nest but we continued down the beach and spotted another one. This time it was laying its eggs!! It was JUST LIKE all of the nature shows I have watched about turtle nesting. When the turtles are actually laying their eggs they go into a trance and cannot be disturbed by anything. If a nuclear bomb went off in the distance they would finish laying their eggs. This is the time when you can use flashlights, and take pictures. Ian reached into the nest and pulled out a turtle egg and we got to hold it!! What an amazing first day on the island!! The next night we went for a night snorkel in the harbor. Some people were a bit nervous because a couple days ago a 15 ft. Tiger Shark was spotted cruising around the harbor. Those are the ones that will eat you. However, we decided not to let that scare us and we did one anyway. We were monitored very closely by a person in a canoe. All of us had underwater flashlights, and glowsticks attached to our snorkel so everyone could keep track of us. On the snorkel we saw heaps of cool fish, and a GIANT loggerhead turtle. It was 5-6 in length and had a neck the size of a watermelon. The first few days at Heron were "exploratory" which basically meant snorkel and have fun. On Monday we started our projects. My group looked at the possible physical factors that could cause the inner reef flat to be algal dominated while the outer reef flat is coral dominated. We used HOBOS to record temperature profiles of both regions and took pH samples over a couple of days. At the end of the week we all presented our findings in a group seminar. Even though we were doing a project in never really felt like work because the "work" would include walking out on the reef flat, or snorkeling out to get measurements. We went on a lot of boat snorkels all around the reef and went to the lagoon one day. I went on one dive through the resort on Tues and it was so cool!! It was my first dive in the tropics and the vis was like nothing I had ever seen. I saw heaps of clownfish, sharks, a turtle, and a ray. Mornings usually consisted of more turtle watching, or walks out on the reef flat. Afternoons usually involved some snorkeling or relaxing on the beach while evenings were spent stargazing.
Before Heron I met with Ove Hoegh-Guldberg who is currently the director of the Centre for Marine Studies and one of the worlds premier coral biologists. His lab works with climate change and coral reefs. I read a couple of his articles and talked to him about his research and grad school. He was really down to earth and extremely knowledgeable. He wanted to me to send him my CV and keep in touch for graduate school in a couple years!! I talked to a few people from his lab as well as grad students from the states and as of now I am planning on coming to UQ for grad school and hopefully working with Ove.
Another exciting event was watching the election results live at the resort with everyone. They let us get drinks from their bar while we watched it in one of their conference rooms. We all went crazy when Obama won!! We continued to celebrate by bringing boxed wine down to the beach and spending the afternoon playing in the water. However it was a bittersweet victory because of the passing of prop 8 :(. Not sure how that one happened.
Our 10 days at Heron went by way to fast and now we are in the final 3 days of our program :(. I am working on studying for a final and writing a paper and then after the Thurs it is all over. However, my adventures are not over yet........On Friday I leave for Tropical Queensland for Cairns where I will be exploring the rainforest, searching for salt water crocodiles, and diving on the reef!! Then it is back to Brisbane for a night followed by 18 days in New Zealand. 5 of my friends and I hired an RV and we are driving all around the country visiting the national parks. Then after New Zealand it's Fiji for 15 days, followed by my return to the states on Dec 23. I am not sure how much Internet access I will have after thurs but I should be able to get at least a couple blog entries in before I come home!
Me snorkeling
Butterfly fish
Turtle returning to sea
turtle returning to sea
sunrise at Heron
Heron :)
Green sea turtle
shovel nosed-ray (you can touch these ones because they don't have stingers)
Sting ray
black tiped reef shark
holdingturtle egg
turtle laying eggs
sunset over the harbour
giant eagle ray (5ft diameter) that swam right under me
coral and fishes
Heron island from the water
giant clam (fun to poke)
Coral and fishes
Getting ready for our first snorkel
Wes playing in a giant school of fish (the dark area of the water)
Our first look at the island
snorkel shot with turtle in the bottom of the pic
Kelli, Nicki and I on the boat ride over with island in the background
CLOWNFISH!!
Before Heron I met with Ove Hoegh-Guldberg who is currently the director of the Centre for Marine Studies and one of the worlds premier coral biologists. His lab works with climate change and coral reefs. I read a couple of his articles and talked to him about his research and grad school. He was really down to earth and extremely knowledgeable. He wanted to me to send him my CV and keep in touch for graduate school in a couple years!! I talked to a few people from his lab as well as grad students from the states and as of now I am planning on coming to UQ for grad school and hopefully working with Ove.
Another exciting event was watching the election results live at the resort with everyone. They let us get drinks from their bar while we watched it in one of their conference rooms. We all went crazy when Obama won!! We continued to celebrate by bringing boxed wine down to the beach and spending the afternoon playing in the water. However it was a bittersweet victory because of the passing of prop 8 :(. Not sure how that one happened.
Our 10 days at Heron went by way to fast and now we are in the final 3 days of our program :(. I am working on studying for a final and writing a paper and then after the Thurs it is all over. However, my adventures are not over yet........On Friday I leave for Tropical Queensland for Cairns where I will be exploring the rainforest, searching for salt water crocodiles, and diving on the reef!! Then it is back to Brisbane for a night followed by 18 days in New Zealand. 5 of my friends and I hired an RV and we are driving all around the country visiting the national parks. Then after New Zealand it's Fiji for 15 days, followed by my return to the states on Dec 23. I am not sure how much Internet access I will have after thurs but I should be able to get at least a couple blog entries in before I come home!
Green sea turtle
Me snorkeling
Butterfly fish
Turtle returning to sea
turtle returning to sea
sunrise at Heron
Heron :)
Green sea turtle
shovel nosed-ray (you can touch these ones because they don't have stingers)
Sting ray
black tiped reef shark
holdingturtle egg
turtle laying eggs
sunset over the harbour
giant eagle ray (5ft diameter) that swam right under me
coral and fishes
Heron island from the water
giant clam (fun to poke)
Coral and fishes
Getting ready for our first snorkel
Wes playing in a giant school of fish (the dark area of the water)
Our first look at the island
snorkel shot with turtle in the bottom of the pic
Kelli, Nicki and I on the boat ride over with island in the background
CLOWNFISH!!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Saddler's Springs
I just got back from another crazy adventure. This time in the semi-arid Western Queensland. We spent the week at Saddlers Springs with the amazing John Hall learning all about the ecology and lifestyle of the outback. It was a very long drive out west (about 11 hours). We left Brisbane around 7am and arrived in a town called Injune to pick up our 4W cars. Little did we know that we would come to know Injune very well........Eventually the road turned into dirt and the the bus could no longer take it. Everyone loaded into the 4W drives and we left the bus at one of the homesteads. We arrived at a camp with no electricity, drinking water provided by rainfall, open air cabins inhabited by bats, and a wonderful outhouse. There was literally NO ONE for at least 100 km in every direction. It was simply amazing. We spent the first night at the campfire and went to bed early, exhausted from the long trip. During the first full day we explored the area and learned about some of the ecology. We saw a huge goanna, which is a type of lizard that can grow up to 6 ft in length. We saw one that was about 3 ft climbing up a tree. There were also tons of wild roos and walabies...and.....we saw our first wild emu with baby chicks!! It was so much cooler to see them in their natural habitat free to roam rather than contained within a cage. After a day of exploring we set out traps to do a population study of yabbies. (Kind of like little crayfish) We spent the latter part of the afternoon exploring the nearby creek to document the various species present. While in the creek Nicki got a HUGE leech (around 7 inches), check out the pic below. Before dinner we ventured out on what we were told would be an "evening stroll." Turns out it was a 2 mile hike with no trail, directly up a steep mountain. We summited for sunset and watched the moon rise over the valley. After a long day in the field we returned to have a feast of authentic Aussie BBQ, complete with Kangaroo! It was the first time I tried Kangaroo and it was really good. Kangaroo is really hard to cook because it can easily be overdone, but it was perfectly tender. We also had sausages, steaks, corn on the cob, and potatoes. After the huge meal we hit the hay. I slept under the overhang of one of the cabins, which turned out to be a good life choice. During the night there was a huge thunderstorm and the people sleeping under the stars experienced a rude awakening. It was pouring, and stormy all night. The next day we woke up unaware of the adventure ahead. The bus was doing fine until we reached a steep, very muddy hill soaked from the night before. We got halfway up, and got completely stuck. Our bus driver Peter, (who was one of the coolest bus drivers ever, by the way) tried for more than an hour to get over the hill but we just couldn't do it. While Peter was trying to get out of the mud John taught us the lyrics to Waltzing Matilda, along with all of the words meanings. We retreated in defeat and took an alternate, much longer way out of the camp. We took a different road back to Injune to regroup and figure out what we were going to do. We stopped at the Injune roadhouse for some lunch and decided that we only had time for a certain lookout an hour a way. We went to the lookout with a beautiful view, then as another thunderstorm was moving in we found out that the pipe for the AC on the bus was punctured. The bus was in danger of overheating and we had to go back to Injune. We arrived around 4 oclock and we were extremely hot, as it was around 90 F outside and we had no AC. We went to the local community pool in Injune and John convinced them to let us into their kiddie pool. So some of us cooled off and played current tag in the tiny pool. Time passed and no one was sure exactly what we were doing. Finally we got the news from John, we weren't going to make it back to Saddlers that night. It takes 2 hours from Injune to Saddlers and we had to use the 4Wlers. But there were not enough 4Wlers to hold all of us so we would need to take multiple trips. Basically it would take around 6 hours for all of us to get back to saddlers, and then 6 hours tomorrow morning to get back. John pulled some strings and we ended up sleeping on the hardwood floor of the Injune Community Center. We returned to the Injune roadhouse and had dinner there. By now the entire town was talking about the 32 stranded Americans. The cooks at the roadhouse said it was the most exciting thing to happen in a long time and people would be talking about it for weeks to come. After dinner the cooks took a picture with all of us. During dinner I witnessed the most spectacular electrical storm I have ever seen. Hundreds of flashes were seen throughout the night. Later we returned to the community center and John told 2 scary ghost stories, followed by a comfortable sleep on the floor. We woke up at the crack of dawn the next day to get to our main destination:Canarvon Gorge. Canarvon has a beautiful river running through it, and has provided a refuge for many subtropical species of plants that could not normally exist in the arid environment. Upon arrival there were 10-15 roos, some with baby roos!! The river in Canarvon gorge exists as a result of an ocean that existed millions of years ago, and covered much of inner Australia. The ocean deposited hundreds of feet of sand, which was compacted into sandstone. The sandstone was deposited upon an impermeable layer of shale. The sandstone is very permeable to water. When it rains all of the water flows down, then hits the impermeable basalt. The water then flows out into the canyon forming the river. We hiked up the gorge and went to this place called the moss garden, which was a waterfall surrounded by ferns. At the end of the hike we witnessed the art gallery. The art gallery was an area with aboriginal artwork on the rocks, hundreds of years old. It was unreal to be looking at something so ancient, written by a lineage of aboriginals that no longer exists, forced into extinction by white settlers. We had a moment of silence and took it all in. Finally we hiked back and made the long trek back to saddlers. As we were approaching Brisbane we surprised Peter with Waltzing Matilda. Then, he requested that we sing the star spangled banner. This was followed by another Aussie song by John and Peter. Next we responded with proud to be an American. A battle ensued between patriotic songs and it made for a very enjoyable bus ride.
We all returned back to Brisbane, very content with the week we had just experienced. I am now back in Brisbane for the next week and a half then off to our final field trip to Heron!
leech on Nicki's foot
View from the top of the great divide on the way back to Brisbane.
Canarvon gorge
John hugging a cycad. A species that has lived for 450 million years, and happens to be the subject of his PHD thesis
Moss garden
Canarvon
Rock art
Where we spent much of wed
Huntsmen spider, harmless
Injune community center
Baby roo
roo with mom
Bus stuck in the mud. Note how deep the tires are
Becky playing in the kiddie pool at Injune
Thunderstorm
Thanking the cooks at Injune roadhouse
Saddlers base camp
I slept on the deck
On top of a giant termite mound with Sara and Lauren
Bats that lived everywhere
Final result of "evening stroll", we started at the bottom of the valley
The people that made the trip happen: Peter on the left, John on the right
leech on Nicki's foot
View from the top of the great divide on the way back to Brisbane.
Canarvon gorge
John hugging a cycad. A species that has lived for 450 million years, and happens to be the subject of his PHD thesis
Moss garden
Canarvon
Rock art
Where we spent much of wed
Huntsmen spider, harmless
Injune community center
Baby roo
roo with mom
Bus stuck in the mud. Note how deep the tires are
Becky playing in the kiddie pool at Injune
Thunderstorm
Thanking the cooks at Injune roadhouse
Saddlers base camp
I slept on the deck
On top of a giant termite mound with Sara and Lauren
Bats that lived everywhere
Final result of "evening stroll", we started at the bottom of the valley
The people that made the trip happen: Peter on the left, John on the right
Some of the guys stalking prey on the hike
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