Australia & New Zealand 2011

Returning to Epping to see my family before my inevitable flight home was a welcome experience. We had a bountiful bbq with meat & potato salad that lasted us for about 1 week. I headed into central Sydney for one last time; among the highlights was another brew session with Rich and his mates and watching a couple of busking Aboriginals in traditional dress playing didgeridoos (yidaki in some of the native languages) down by the water-front.

Aussie Family BBQ

The next day I went out to West Head with my cousin Sarah & her husband Philip. We had a delicious lunch down at Cottage Point and went for a drive to the promontory of the headland to take in the spectacular views.

Ancient Aboriginal carving

View from West Head peninsula

The next day I was due to head home so I bade a fond farewell to my family & endured the long-haul flight home. I whiled away the time by watching various blockbuster films, playing chess & zuma and eating, but crucially not sleeping. I arrived home to the welcome of my parents & friendly local customs & immigration official and later went for a meal at my local pub with some mates. It was a surreal experience which made me feel like I'd been away for a couple of days rather than months as the normality of home life sunk in. But as my friend JV was due to head out to Malaysia the following day, I tagged him out and he, me in. And so begins the next adventure in international travel. JV, over to you my friend...

I said goodbye to the family & boarded the Indian Pacific bound for Adelaide. The rail journey lasted the full length of a day & was a very social occasion. I sat next to a friendly Philippino lady who owned some property in the mining town of Broken Hill & later became acquainted with some jovial siblings from outer Sydney who were on a family trip & bound for Perth and destined to travel across the seemingly extra-terrestrial landscape of the Nullarbor Plain. The lounge carriage was a superb addition to the train (especially with the free tea & coffee!). It was here that I met a Californian lady involved in the wine industry & a friendly Swiss guy called Andrei, whom I later visited the Aboriginal culture centre (Tandanya) with. We stopped for about 1 hour in Broken Hill which allowed for time to see the town briefly. It was typical mining town which had a 'frontier' character. From then on the SA countryside was stark & visible from the train in the morning sunlight; salt flats & out-back bushland dotted with emus and eastern grey kangaroos were delightful sights. The train pulled into Adelaide early in the afternoon on a Sunday & the place was dead quiet, definitely not indicative of things to come!

Broken Hill

SA Outback

I was booked into the hostel by the incredibly good humoured & fun Krista who was the sister of the Swiss owner. The first evening myself and some of the other hostel guests drank some cheap wine and played a few games of cards. The following evening Krista took some of us for a drive around Adelaide in the evening to appreciate the city by night from a nearby hillside. After this we headed to the Grace Emily pub for an extremely entertaining night of fun, drink and live music with genres ranging from punk & metal to soul & Breton folk. The day after Adrei & I checked out the Tandanya Centre, an Aboriginal culture centre with an excellent display of art & a superb live didgeridoo demonstration. Following this we went to the Museum of SA where they had, amongst many other great exhibits, a comprehensive collection of Aboriginal artefacts which included hunting boomerangs. In the evening some of us sat down to watch the Bollywood film 'The Damned Rain' in the hostel. The beauty of it was that the producer was in the room with us!

Adelaide University

The following afternoon Krista drove us into the Adelaide Hills for a hike; there took-in some epic scenery & were also lucky enough to see several koalas up close in the eucalyptus trees. Unfortunately I temporarily lost the group due to my tardy photographing. I later spotted them on the top of a hill on the opposite side of the valley to me. I got their attention after much shouting & we subsequently figured out how to rendez-vous again; it played out like a bizairre western film.

Adelaide Hills

Koala

The next day I said goodbye to my friendly hostel-mates and the lovely Krista before boarding a flight from Adelaide airport back to Sydney.

After a pleasant couple of flights from Queenstown back to Sydney I rested back in Epping at my cousins' house for a couple of days. Early one morning Helen & I met with her colleague Gronja, a colourful Irish lady & field biologist; I was assisting with their efforts to monitor the black rat population at Middle Head just north of Sydney. It was a fun morning climbing through the bush, clipping & releasing a fair few rats from their traps, & some unfortunate possums.

Brush-tailed possum

Later that day I explored the beautiful campus of Sydney University which composed of many buildings which emulated the architecture typical of the more established academic institutions in the UK. The on-campus museum held some very old & interesting artefacts, one of which was an Egyptian mummy, several millenia old.

Sydney University

Having been spurred on by an incredible amount of energy (the source of which was a mystery to me) I went for a 2hr run around a portion of Lake Wakatipu which yielded stunning views of the mountains surrounding Queenstown & their reflections in the lake itself. Later in the evening my friend and fellow Brit Jonny & I chucked a rugby ball around down by the lake. In the background a bagpipe player & his band were performing in full Scottish garb, with the lake and the mountain backdrop we might as well have been in the Highlands.

Lake Wakatipu

The second full day in Queenstown had a full-on theme: a 5km high sky-dive. It was my first jump so I was in a tandem with my cool Kiwi instructor Marcus. I geared up with my fellow jumpers and we boarded the light aircraft that was to take us to 5000m above ground. The views during ascent were stunning; the lake below surrounded by a crown of mountains. As we broke through the cloud I got kick of adrenaline and the reality of dropping out of a serviceable aircraft became apparent. A few of the other divers, instructors & camera operators went out before me & the plane made a slight but sudden upward rise each time a set of people dropped out. Then it was my turn: The jump light went from red to green and we went. The first 10 seconds were intense as the full acceleration of gravity made itself known, but after that we'd reached terminal velocity (~120mph) & the sensation was more like that of flying with an extremely fast wind from below. As we breached the cloud on the way down we were treated to breathtaking views of the lake & S. Alps and following this 5 minutes of free fall were brought to a close by the release of the square parachute and the sound of rushing air was broken by silence. Henceforth we glided gracefully down to earth which was followed by a cup of tea (it was free, what can I say). But don't just read this, save up some money and do it yourself! It truly is an epic experience.

Queenstown from Ben Lomond

The next day was less extreme but still fairly active. My Bavarian friend Fabian and I hiked to and from the summit of Ben Lomond, a mountain about 2000m above sea-level, the foot of which was just by Queenstown CBD. We were greeted by stunning views atop the summit that were reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings films and en-route we joined up with some friendly fellow hikers; Helen from Estonia, Sara from Taiwan & Serene from Southern China. In the evening we headed out for a couple of drinks and sampled some Speights (S. Island beer).

Ben Lomond slopes

Lake Wakatipu atop Ben Lomond

The following morning Jonny & I had a profound talk about God over a Subway sandwich and then went back to the hostel to watch a film:The Shawshank Redemption. And what a film it is. My Thai room mate & I, Paul, then headed down to the harbour front later that day to explore. After that we grabbed a delicious Thai takeaway & discussed earthquake resistance in buildings and Japanese history with a Japanese civil engineer and his wife back in the hostel dining room.

On my last morning in Queenstown I bid farewell to Jonny, Fabian and Paul & boarded a flight to Wellington after a truly splendid set of eventful days.

I joined a coach to Franz Josef & after a short journey arrived in the town. After sorting my accommodation I headed to a nearby lake for a few hours kayaking, it was incredibly tranquil, especially along the creeks at the lake-edge. The following day I joined a hike out on the Franz Josef glacier itself (which was named as such by an Austrian explorer because it reminded him of his Archduke's beard, fair enough). Our guide was a Kiwi called Jonno & as with most Kiwis, he had a decent & down-to-earth sense of humour. I asked him if he liked living in the seasonal town of Franz Josef. His reply was "It's great, but you can't even fart in a shop without the rest of the village knowing. The gossip is terrible, eh bro?" - good laughs! The views from near the top of the glacier were great & walking through the ice crevices was like walking on Hoth. In the evening some of us hikers had a few drinks, played some cards & shot the breeze for a while in the hostel bar.

Kayaking

Franz Josef Glacier

The following day the coach took us through some epic mountain scenery to Wanaka where some of us were to spend the night. Upon arrival a group of us cooked up a massive & hearty bowl of spaghetti bolognese. The next day we set off for Queenstown & headed in via the world's first bungy jump. I'm not ashamed to say I merely spectated! That evening upon arrival we learned of the terrible earthquake in Christchurch. Thoughts were with those who had suffered in that.

World's 1st Bungy Jump

Queenstown

Rich & I drove into central Wellington from Korokoro and briefly checked out the art gallery before parting ways for our separate journeys. I boarded the ferry bound for Picton whilst Rich headed for Wellington Airport in the Nissan.

Marlborough Sound

During the ferry ride between New Zealand's main islands I was able to take in some spectacular views of the N. Island coastline, the somewhat mysterious Malborough Sound upon entry to S. Island and the teal blue water which separates the two main land masses. Once I'd arrived in the port town of Picton I checked into my hostel; which dished out free chocolate pudding every evening! Shame I was there for only one night. Over dinner I chatted to a pleasant retired British couple who gave me some tips on travelling about the S. Island; the husband was a meteorologist who once worked alongside Michael Fish at the Met Office. His wife Mary was once a radiographer.

Picton Marina

The following day I boarded the coach from Picton to Christchurch, a journey which takes one through some majestic scenery, reminiscent of Rohan from the LOTR films. I sat next to a builder originally from Aldershot, who was now involved in construction in Dunedin. At one point during the journey there was a reservoir which seemed to contain purple water, I'm not sure if this was due to chemical treatment or a tint on the coach windows, but it was bizarre. Further along in the journey the East coast of S. Island revealed dark grey beaches next to clear azure water. From the beach the land rose quickly and was full of trees peppered with rocky outcrops. Upon arrival in Christchurch I was struck by how 'English' the city's quality was; probably helped by some of the architecture and gently meandering river lined with willow trees at its bank. I checked into my Japanese run hostel which certainly had a 'Japanese' feel to it. The rooms smelt like Andrew Chinery's air fresheners, delightful.

Hills near Blenheim

The next day I awoke early to board the Tranz Alpine Express to Greymouth. The railway wound itself through the majestic mountains forming the Northern part of the Southern Alps & over wide shingle beds and grey-water rivers. During the journey I sat next to a very interesting French couple. The husband (Jean-Claude) was a civil engineer who had worked for extensive periods on projects in the French Caribbean and S. America. Upon our arrival in Greymouth the guard announced that it was once a thriving town built on the riches of gold mining and it definitely had a frontier feel to it. I later joined my tour bus which took us to Lake Mahinapua where we had lodgings next to the village pub. The lodgings & pub were run by a gruff but good-humoured old man who cooked us some delicious venison stew. In the evening we all gathered in the pub for a fancy dress party, the theme being anything which began with the same letter as the 1st one in our name. I went as an Australian but was outclassed by a guy called Dom who went as a human sized domino. Later that night some of us headed down to the lake to see some glow worms; they looked uncannily like someone had just installed lots of green LEDs all under the bushes! I went back to my bunk room which I shared with three cool Danish guys who educated me in some excellent contemporary music from their country.

Rich & I caught the train from Korokoro (Petone station) into Wellington CBD & were greeted by the grand station building which houses Wellington Central. Rich explored the city a pied & as it was my 2nd time here I kayaked around the harbour for a couple of hours. Following this I went to Te Papa, which is pretty much a museum of New Zealand itself & translates from Maori roughly to 'Our Place'. It has to be said that this museum is excellent & extremely comprehensive. It has displays that cover all aspects of NZ's history, both socially and naturally and is a must see place for anyone wanting to learn more about the country, especially the Maori heritage. The replica Maori meeting house was a highlight for me; a very atmospheric place. A strange turn of events must have led me to this point in life as when I returned to pick my pack up from the cloak room the clerk seemed strangely familiar. The strangeness was amplified when we started talking about football (again, my England shirt was the ice-breaker) & it came up in conversation that he once worked as a bar-tender/waiter in a Bristol pub that I used to frequent for a time... small world eh?

Limestone hills

Otaki Beach

That evening Rich & I went to a Malaysian restaurant in Petone with Richard & Sharron; we had a top notch meal & good laughs all round. Later on we all went for a drive to the top of Mnt. Victoria which offered spectacular 360 views of Wellington & before heading back to base we took a cruise past Newline studios & WETA workshop to take a peek at Pete Jackson's empire.

Petone

On the drive South from National Park Rich & I encountered some staggering 'limestone karst' scenery dotted with sheep. Some of which were being transported on the back of quadbikes by farmers. Sheep manure was also on sale for a mere NZ$5 per bag... bargain. We stopped for lunch in a sea-side village named Otaki where there was a vast beach consisting of grey sand, dunes and a load of drift-wood. Once we'd arrived in the Wellington suburb of Korokoro we met with some friends of Rich's; Sharron & Richard, who had very kindly agreed to put us up for a few days. They cooked us a tasty meal which involved NZ venison sausages and a crisp NZ white wine.

Just before leaving Rotorua in the morning I had a go on the Zorb run. This was an extremely fun & slightly insane experience; definitely worth the NZ$45.00 fee. We drove on via Taupo and followed the road around the lake, at which point we stopped for lunch by the water's edge, only to be treated to a vast and stunning view of the lake and the islands populating its waters.

Lake Taupo

Lake Rotoaira

By mid-afternoon we had reached Whakapapa (an area famous for being the site of Mordor and environs in the LOTR films) and went for a hike through the heathland & forests near Mnt. Ngauruhoe (Mnt. Doom in LOTR) & encountered a large waterfall. After the hike we checked into our hostel in the quite village of National Park. The hostel was pretty nice and had a rustic feel to it although there was hardly anyone there. It later became apparent that the tranquility was due the off-peak tourist season & the owner explained that things would get busy again during the winter for ski-season. Later in the evening we explored the village on foot & saw what looked like a kiwi bird foraging for food before putting our feet up in the local pub. We each had a handle of Speight's Old Dark 5 Malt Ale. A great beer that would have to be up there with London Pride, Doombar and T.E.A.

Tongariro National Park

Mnt. Ngauruhoe/Mnt. Doom

I arrived at the hostel in the Auckland suburb of Eden & was checked in by the easy-going Fijian owner called Vinnie. Later on Rich made it up to the hostel & we began plans for a journey across the North Island.

In the morning we headed into Auckland CBD & initially took a lift to the top of Sky Tower with some epic 360 views across the whole of Auckland and beyond. It soon hit home that the city was built upon at least 4 large volcanoes which were clearly visible from the observation deck. Following this Rich and I had some lunch before picking up our hire-car. A white Nissan Sunny saloon which drove reasonably well and was an absolute babe magnet, or not, but it was at least slightly magnetic. That evening I was able to meet up with Vanessa again in a holiday area just outside Auckland called Mission Bay, which had some stunning beach views & a very decent ice-cream parlour. Amid the many flavours I tried the maple and walnut ice-cream & I have to say it even tasted better than the stuff I've had in Woolacombe. Sorry to say such outrageous things lads.

Auckland University

Auckland

Mission Bay

The next morning Rich & I drove from Auckland to Hamilton where we explored the town's world themed gardens. The gardens were split into themed areas representing China, England, India, Italy, Japan, Polynesia & USA. It was a very tranquil spot in which to stop for lunch. Another highlight of the gardens were the luxurious toilets: self flushing and in a private booth with dimmed lights & gentle classical music (!). We drove onwards from Hamilton to Rotorua & checked into the hostel before exploring the thermal springs in Kairau Park. The place was awash with a sulphurous smell, steaming pools of near boiling water & pits of boiling mud; it was a prehistoric-like spectacle. In the evening we headed to the Pig & Whistle pub (which was quite appropriately an old police station) for a delicious dinner of fush & chups and an inevitable beer. The fish was that of tarakihi, a species local to NZ waters & incredibly fresh and flavoursome. In an attempt to walk off the monumental portions we ate Rich & I went down to the edge of lake Rotorua & I explored a replica Maori village called Ohinemutu which was partially heated by channeling the geothermal heat from the nearby springs, some of which were breaking up through the pavement in the village square.

Maori gardens

Rotorua hotsprings

Boiling mud pool

I arrived at my hostel late at night so didn't really get much of a view of Wellington upon first arrival. The next morning I awoke to see Wellington from my dorm window in glorious sunshine. Spurred on by this I headed down to the kitchen to make some breakfast. During which I had a debate regarding the superiority of Marmite over Vegemite with two fellow friendly Brits: Adam and Vanessa. The conclusion was that Marmite has a better taste but Vegemite (in my opinion) has a better texture. Annnnywey [in the voice of Frank Skinner]... After they headed off for a bike ride I went out to explore Wellington on foot & amongst other things admired the beautiful waterfront. After lunch I headed into the viewing gallery of the New Zealand House of Representatives (the NZ equivalent of the House of Commons) and sat in on a debate on unemployment in Auckland. Sadly no sign of the PM John Key though or indeed the visiting Aussie PM, Julie Gillard. Later that night I went back to the hostel & played poker with a couple of my German room mates, as there was a lack of poker chips, we bought a pack of variety biscuits & used those to augment our supply. The rich tea was worth a mere 5 but the mighty bourbon, a massive 100.

Wellington Harbour

Wellington Harbour

Fine dining

The next morning I caught a domestic flight up to Auckland to meet Rich.

As I flew into Hobart the weather was grey & raining, a refreshing contrast to the scorching hot of Sydney & Melbourne and kind of reminiscent of home. Early on during my time in Hobart I met up with Jo Laurenson & her family (a relative of Thornton's). They kindly invited me to share a roast chicken dinner with them & the following day I met up with them again for dinner at Mures, a great fish & chip restaurant by the harbour. During the day, a fellow Canadian traveller (Eric - a friendly fella from near Toronto) & I explored the base of Mnt. Wellington. The flora was much like that of a rainforest & because the area was left untouched, there were hundreds of fallen tress.

Derwent Estuary

Suburban Hobart

The following day I headed out on a bike ride to the Tasmanian Cadburys factory at Claremont with an Aussie cattle farmer from W.A. called Mark & his German girlfriend Isobelle. Mark was a fairly rugged fella with a fondness for Bundaberg rum & swearing but had a good heart. He also had some skills on a mountain bike, which were good fun to watch & learn from. Once at the chocolate factory we had a presentation on the production of various forms of the treat followed by many free samples :~D.

The next afternoon I headed for a 2 hour voyage on the Lady Nelson across the Derwent estuary with a friendly Dutch couple (Danny & Esther). The ship was a full-scale replica of one of the tall ships that was once under the command of Captain Matthew Flinders & used to frequent Hobart harbour back in the 1800s.

Sails of HMS Lady Nelson

The day after Jo kindly gave me a lift to the top of Mnt. Wellington with a bike, which I subsequently coasted down the mountain on with unreal views and epic speeds. Towards the bottom of the mountain the rear tyre picked up a few punctures but fortunately a fellow cyclist called Tom helped me repair the inner. Tom was a cool guy, it turned out he was originally from Adelaide & now taught science in a local Hobart school. Shortly after this I spotted a paddymelon; a tiny & fluffy version of a kangaroo. That evening I chatted to a German fella (Karlo) in my dorm who had just returned from a 6 day hike in SW Tassie. He told me the area he was in is so remote that there are no farms for tens of square miles and the only way to get extra food is to have it airdropped into a small clearing halfway along the track. Pretty hardcore hiking...

View of Hobart from Mnt. Wellington

For my last full day in Tassie, Karlo, his friend Florian & I went for a tour of the Cascade Brewery followed by free samples at the end. The beer here was pretty good so we bought a few 6-packs of stubbies & headed back to the hostel for drinks, spag-bol with wallaby & a few games of cards with Danny & Esther. This was a great way to end the time in Tassie.

The Cascade Brewery

I got up early the next morning to catch my flight to Wellington. During the transfer to Hobart airport I got chatting to a girl from Reading called Sarah. It transpired that she'd written for travel guide books and was now working as a radio editor in Sydney, a pretty cool career thus far, I thought!

Helen, Rich & I went for a hike along a 20 km stretch of NSW coast in the Royal National Park, just south of Sydney. It pays host to some stunning beaches, ocean scenery and tropical & heathland landscapes. After taking lunch by some river pools we spotted many monitor lizards, who look like they could do you some serious damage, but are actually quite docile.

Gary's Beach

Rock pools

Having reached the end of a hard days hike we caught the ferry back to the railway station which took us home for some justified beers.

Helen & Rich

Headland

I boarded the overnight train from Sydney to Melbourne & chatted to a retired carpenter called Jim who now helped to build houses for displaced Aboriginal people. He had led a very rich life including having run a hostel in Fiji for 15 years before coming to Australia. As he was a Scot by birth we toasted Robert Burns with some of his whiskey at the turn of mid-night before retiring to sleep.

Sydney Central

The next morning I awoke to see rolling fields of wheat dotted with the occasional grey kangaroo. The train pulled into Melbourne Southern Cross around 07:00am. I booked into the hostel & took advantage of the free breakfast they had on offer and then headed out to explore Melbourne on foot. First of all I went into Victoria State Library; a fine old building with a vast domed-reading chamber. On the upper levels they held various exhibits, including some of the original maps and drawings of native flora, fauna & peoples made by the first explorers to come to Australia. The ace up their sleeve however was the original home-made armour of Ned Kelly; you could still see the dents made by the police marksmen's bullets. Inspired by this I went to visit the Old Gaol; the place where the infamous Mr. Kelly was hung. It was dead quiet and eerie there. Later that morning I met up with Esme (a friend from Pfizer) and her boyfriend Tom. We grabbed some lunch and then headed for a comprehensive tour of the MCG where both cricket and Aussie Rules Football are played. The tour was great as it included a walk around the pitch, into the members' box, the changing rooms, training facilities & the media booths (the BBC's was actually by far the nicest for some reason!). Then we went into the on-site museum which held, amongst many other articles, the first ball to be used in the ashes (about 130 years old). That evening I headed over to watch one of the Women's AUS Open semis in Fed Square. The crowd were cheering Kim Clijsters because of her marriage to Layton Hewitt; it would seem the Aussies have adopted her as their own. At the match I spoke to a Melbourne lady called Simone who had travelled to the UK several years ago for a working gap year & now lived and worked in the city as a dietitian. After a bit of Aussie-Pome banter & discussing the future of Australia's place in the Commonwealth with her I headed to a James Squire brewhouse for a decent pint & wrote some post-cards. Later on I met up with Tom again for another beer and we talked about his time travelling around S.E. Asia before he joined the Australian Army; many an interesting tale ranging from using rocket launchers to zip lining from bar to bar in Laos!

MCG

The following day I met up with Esme, her sister, Tom & their friends in Murrumbeena (a Melbourne suburb) for some Australia Day celebrations. In true Aussie style we had a bbq and watched some 1 Day cricket between Australia & England. I think this was the only match of the series we won! So fortunately I came out of that one unscathed, although being the only Brit there, it was a little hard to celebrate! We then headed out for a bit of 10-pin bowling prior to having some beers and a curry in the evening.

The day after Tom, Esme & I headed into the Dandenongs; some hills outside Melbourne. En-route we discovered an echidna foraging for food, it didn't even seem to realize we were there, a trait I now understand is common in marsupials & monotremes due to a lack of indigenous predators in Australia. That evening I headed back to the hostel for some down time which rapidly turned into a full on evening of beer and stand-up comedy. During the fun I met Guile the Breton, an awesome French guy who loved the fact I was wearing an England football shirt. This was quite refreshing after having been threatened to have it burned by an Irishman and then an Aussie (all in jest of course). To receive patriotic sympathy from a Frenchman was quite unprecedented but nice all the same.

For my last day there I hired a bike and explored Melbourne's parks, including the beautiful Domain with its sobering but inspiring Anzac Memorial Building & Albert Park, the site of the Melbourne Grand-Prix track. It took me about 45 minutes to cycle around it, a tad slower than your average F1 car I guess. So having returned the bike to the hire-shop I collected my kit and joined the overnight train back to Sydney.

Melbourne CBD

Albert Park

F1 Paddock

Anzac Memorial Plaza

Helen, James & I traveled up to the Blue Mountains for some hiking and canyoning for the weekend, our first port of call was James' house in Hazelbrook, Helen & I then drove up to Wentworth Falls; a walk that provides epic views over the Blue Mountain National Park along with the look up to the top of Wentworth Falls itself. We traveled off-piste a little and transcended down to the top of Vera Falls, the river was almost dry which meant you could walk right to the edge of the falls along the bed.

The Blue Mountains

Wentworth Falls

We camped over-night at Mt. Wilson and had a delicious vegetable risotto thanks to Helen's cooking on the camp-fire before retiring to our tents. The next morning after breakfast and a 1hr hike through the bush we descended into Bell Canyon. One particular interesting bit was the traversing of a fallen tree to get to the bottom of a waterfall; near this point the river reached swimming depth so after some lunch we inflated our lilos & wet-suited up to head downstream through caves and past high falls joining the river from other higher canyons. Eventually we came out into a huge gorge and made our way back through the bush to find the car. It was a shattering but awesome experience & after detaching several leeches from our feet & ankles we drove into the suburbs for some late night pizza.