Fraser Island

Well, I didn't get eaten by dingoes. The dingoes, however, did nearly get our dinner. There are hefty fines if you get caught feeding dingoes, or disturbing them in anyway. If they approach you, you are told to cross your arms in front of your chest and back away slowly. But what should you do if the dingo wants to take your dinner? Do you chase the dingo off, and risk a fine for disturbing her? Or do you let the dingo have your dinner, and risk a fine for feeding her? Fortunately, it didn't end up being a decision we had to make, but nevertheless, our training videos didn't cover this.

My trip was suppoed to leave from Hervey Bay on Saturday, but I arrive Thursday night to the surprise that my trip had been moved forward to Friday, as there were only three people booked on the Saturday trip and three on the Thursday trip so they combined them together. Unlike in Noosa, I was with a great group of people: an Austrian couple, Anni and Christian, two Polish sisters, Anna and Beata, and an English girl, Cassie.
We made our way to pick up our 11-person 4x4 jeep on Friday morning, and loaded up our food, tents, and the rest of our gear on the roof before heading off to the ferry over to Fraser. Christian and Anni did most of the driving, except for one brief period when they sillily let me drive. Did I mention that I don't really drive standard? And that everything is on the wrong side? And that the gears kept on slipping? Everyone was very patient... though holding on for dear life!
Fraser Island was beautiful, but I don't think we enjoyed it as much as the hype said we would. Mostly, because it was very windy, mostly overcast, and drizzled. So when we got to Lake McKenzie, the crystal clear blue water of the postcards was kind of a misty blue-gray, and rather cold. We were lucky with Indian Head, which was clear when we were there, as were the Champagne Pools, but we got rained out on the beach our first night, and had to use the jeep as a wind break. We made it to see everything on our itinerary, and had a little off-road adventure on the way to Lake Wabby, a fresh water lake that is slowly being eaten by a giant sand dune.

Fraser Island

Byron to Noosa

Byron Bay is the surf town to end all surf towns, pure and simple. It's basically one main street where every other storefront sells surfboards or surf clothes or the surf lifestyle. There are pretty much beaches on all sides. And since Byron revolves around surfing, I figured I should give it a go. And so I did. For three straight days I struggled into a damp wetsuit, a rashguard, and picked up my 7-foot long foam surfboard. I had a great time. And also, I suck at surfing. I think it is safe to say that I shouldn't give up my day job to devote my life to surfing, though maybe if I did I would eventually not suck quite so much. I can't get over, though, how absolutely fun it was, easily some of the best fun I've had so far. I can't really explain what it is that appeals to me--it's not just being outside on the beach, listening to the surf crash. Somehow it's trying to find that wave that's going to carry you and the thrill of it actually working, even if only briefly before you somersault backwards off your board and get a mouthful of saltwater.

The hostel I stayed in was, unfortunately, both gungy and sketchy, but I lucked with a group of Canadians in my room, one from S. Ont., and two from Prince Rupert. We ended up going out and, like all good backpackers, danced on the tables at Cheeky Monkeys--it's seems it's one of those "must do" kinda things.

From Byron I made my way up to the Gold Coast to spend the weekend with my cousin Rupert and his family. It was great to see them all, as well as to finally meet Shannon and Wil. I also had the treat of sleeping in a real bed in a room without half a dozen strangers snoring, and tossing about. Pure bliss!

Leaving the "Goldie" I took the bus up further to Noosa Heads, which, I will confess, is nothing special. The town is a very expensive seaside resort with a halfway pretty beach and lots of overpriced shops. I only really spent an afternoon there, as my main stop was in the Great Sandy National Park and the Gagaju Bush Camp, where I was signed up to do a "canoe safari" along the Noosa river. Overall it was nice, but I hesitate to use any stronger an adjective. Mostly, I think it was the people in the same group as me, a bunch of very loud Brits who were mostly rude and intolerant, and I had nothing in common with them. I think I was the only person in the group who'd ever actually been in a canoe before or who had any idea how to paddle, though it's not something I'd ever claim to be particularly good at. But still, I managed to keep my canoe of two whiny girls from Birmingham on course. It also b0thered me that the only "instruction" given to a bunch of people who'd never been in canoes before consisted of a 3 1/2 minute demonstration on how to paddle, then we were sent off by ourselves. One canoe full of girls was totally clueless, and while I tried to give them a few pointers, it should have been the camp that did that.

From there, northwards! Hervey Bay! Fraser Island!

Back to Oz

Flew back to Oz last Thursday at an ungodly hour of the morning. Well, the flight left at a reasonable hour, but I had to be at the airport for 7. Ugh.
Since I'd been in NZ, I hadn't had credit on my cellphone (rather, Jen's old cellphone that she loaned me for my trip), so first thing after I got through Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (I was disappointed they didn't scan me for swine flu!) I reloaded my credit. And no sooner had I done so than the phone rang; it was my mother. Since she can normally call me whenever she wants, it's been a little hard for her to have me out of reach by phone. So I spent my first hour back in Sydney sitting on a luggage cart talking to my mum. It's amazing what a difference cellphones make to travelling these days.

I spent the weekend with Jen, sleeping on her super comfy sofa, hanging out, and eating too much. Jen and her roommate, Lachy, had a work "do" (aka drinkfest) on the Friday, so I took it easy and started getting over my dislike of going to the movies by myself. I went to see The Proposal -- a typical rom-com, but a good way to spend a couple of hours in the afternoon.
I also, after much indecisiveness, booked my travels up the East Coast. The plan looks like this:
July 13-17, Byron Bay -- learn to surf
July 17-20, with Rupert, Shannon, & co
July 20-23, Noosa Heads, Canoe trip
July 23-24, Hervey Bay
July 25-27, Fraser Island, 4x4 trip
July 28-30, Airlie Beach
July 30-Aug 1, Whitsunday Islands, sailing aboard the British Defender
Aug 2-6, Mission Beach, sitting on the beach
Aug 6-7, Cairns
Aug 7-9, Scuba diving from a boat, Advanced PADI course
Aug 10, Cairns
Aug 11-13, Cape Tribulation, the Daintree
Aug 13-14, Port Douglas
Aug 14-18, Cairns
Aug 18, Fly backto Gold Coast
Aug 18-28, get back to Sydney
Aug 29, Canada!

North Island

Have fallen behind! I'll have to add a little more, but for the moment, here are pictures :)

New Zealand, North Island

South Island Pictures

New Zealand, the South Island

Queenstown to Wanaka, and beyond!

Queenstown is best compared to Banff. Seriously, only with no snow on the streets. The entire town seems to be made up of ski shops and bars. It is also the home of bungy jumping -- something which I have never had any desire to try. I'd rather go skydiving. Don't ask me why, but jumping out of a plane with a parachute makes more logical sense than jumping off a bridge with a piece of elastic tied to my legs. So instead, having a day to spend, I went on a horse trek in Glenorchy, about 40 minutes away from Qtn. Being the total nerd that I am, I did the Ride of the Rings, which goes around Paradise station to various locations from LOTR (and, more recently, Prince Caspian and Wolverine). Janet, whom I'd met in Te Anau, happened to be in Queenstown at the same time, and even at the staying at the same hostel, so we went for dinner the night we arrived (by different buses). She did go bungyjumping while I was trotting around, and loved it.

I left the morning the Winter Festival was starting in Queenstown, which I was sad to miss, but as I hadn't really planned ahead, there were no beds left to be had, so I hopped the bus to Wanaka with hopes of going skydiving. Unfortunately, the ceiling was about 1000ft, so they weren't going up at all. On the plus side, I saved a little money. Wanaka is supposed to be a really fun town, but I have to admit that I didn't really take advantage of it. Instead, having been upgraded to a 4-bed, bunk-free, ensuite room with cable which I had all to myself, I did my laundry (I'd run out of underwear), and bought a pair of wool socks. (Strangely, my packing for this trip seems to have fallen short only in the matter of socks.) Wanaka also has a fun little movie theatre which is a converted barn and all the seats are sofas and comfy chairs, so, on impulse, I went to see Wolverine (and a mostly naked Hugh Jackman!).

From Wanaka, it was most of a day on the bus to Franz Josef glacier, one of only about three temperate glaciers in the world. I didn't arrive until late afternoon, but booked myself on a day-long glacier hike for the following morning. The tour outfit provides all the gear you'll need, from rain jackets to boots to crampons. This is easily one of the highlights of my trip so far. Because it was a full day we got much farther up on the ice than the half-day hikes, and into the clean blue ice areas. We also lucked out in having a sunny day, so the temperature was really quite mild on the glacier: the guides were all wearing shorts. The glacier comes down the valley surrounded by waterfalls and temperate rainforest, with keas flying overhead. It was spectacular. I can't really over much more at this point -- you'll have to see the pictures (as soon as I can upload them).

From Franz, I took a gruelling 10 hour bus to Nelson, at the northern edge of the South Island. Nelson's a pretty town, though nothing too special. I spent two nights, and wandered around during my free day there. I had hoped to go to Abel Tasman Nat'l park, but I arrived too late to book it, and, quite frankly, it was good for my budget to have a cheaper day.

Kiwi-Land continues!

Well, shortly after my last post (the next day, as a matter of fact) Jeff and I went our separate ways once we reached Dunedin. I was fighting a cold, and not feeling my best, and he seemed to want to do what he wanted. So no hard feelings were felt, and we even went out to a pub that night and watched the All Blacks vs. France--in an Irish pub, of course. I'm starting to wonder why it is that Irish pubs are so universally popular and why, no matter where you are in the world, they all seem pretty identical: everything from the names, to the music, to the decor, to the Guinness paraphernalia. And never having been to Ireland, I can't compare them to the "original" but I imagine they're more of an idea, an imitation of what people think an Irish pub should be.

Any-hoo, back on topic: I stayed two nights in Dunedin, though the one full day I had there I spent most of the morning in bed, nursing my rotten cold. I felt bad for my roomies, as I was sniffling and blowing my nose all night. I promised them it wasn't swine flu, though, so they were fairly understanding :) I then went to the centre of Dunedin, the square that is called--wait for it--The Octagon. Because it is, in fact, octagonal (yes, I counted). The art gallery was free, so I went in for an hour or so, and I have to say, it was certainly worth the visit. On the main floor, they had a selection of 18th- and 19th- century European art and an exhibit of France Hodgkins, a 20th-century Kiwi artist. But the second floor had a selection of exhibits ranging from Russian icons to avant-garde Russian art to Iranian photography. It was a really neat selection, and small enough not to be overwhelming. Leaving the art gallery (and having had a cup of coffee--vital) I started walking towards Baldwin St., the "steepest street in the world." My map of the city didn't show it, just an arrow at the edge of the map saying, "This Way." So I started walking, and after nearly an hour I reached the edge of the map, and found another sign saying "Baldwin St., 1750m." As it was already 4 o'clock, I figured by the time I got there it would be nearly dark, so I turned around and went back. But as least I got a walk!

That was Sunday, so Monday I bought my bus pass and headed out to Te Anau, in Fiordland. But before my bus left in the afternoon, I did manage to squeeze in a visit and tour of the Cadbury's chocolate factory in Dunedin. Considering how expensive chocolate is here, and how good the prices were in the factory store, I was exceedingly restrained with my purchases -- and I still have most of it left! Shocking, I know. :)

Te Anau (rhymes with "Keanu") is a lovely little town on south end of Lake Te Anau, and the capital (if it can be termed such) of Fiordland, which includes most of the SW portion of the South Island. I took a cruise from Te Anau to Doubtful Sound, going by tender across Lake Manapouri, then by bus over the Wilmott pass, and down into Deep Cove and out into the Sound. According to the tourist postings, the Sound was named because Cap'n Cook was "doubtful" that if he sailed in he'd ever be able to sail out again. Not very original. The sea was calm enough that we were actually able to make it out the mouth of the sound, and we got to see NZ fur seals basking in the sun, and a couple of Buller's Mollymawks (the albatross's smaller cousin) chasing our boat in the hopes of scraps.

Also in Te Anau I met Janet, a firefighter from the 'Peg, who's travelling around NZ following the All Blacks. We had some great chats, and we both happened to be heading to Queenstown the next day and were staying in the same hostel there, too, so we ended up having wedges, pizza, and beer for dinner -- delish!