En route to Orpheus Island (Feb. 3 - Feb. 4)
Toward the end of traveling through New Zealand I decided I needed to slow down, do something more substantial, find a purpose, a goal that all of this traveling achieved. I thought that as soon as I graduated in December that I wouldn't want to work for a long time. I guess a long time was only a month. I began searching online for volunteer opportunities, specifically positions at marine research stations. I applied to be a volunteer research assistant at about 4 or 5 places. I finally got a positive response while in the Blue Mountains with my mom. Orpheus Island Research Station said that I could do maintenance volunteer work at the station for 2 weeks - not exactly what I had in mind, but I was ready to accept anything at that point. The deal was that I would work for about 4 hours per day in exchange for a bed (I had to supply my own food). I also had to find my own transportation to Taylor's Beach by 9AM Monday, where someone from the research station would meet me to take me to the island.
Taylor's Beach is remote, about 4 hours south of Cairns by car. I arrived in Cairns on a Sunday morning. I had about 3 hours to get from the airport to the Greyhound bus stop, where I would catch a bus to Ingham - the closest town to Taylor's Beach - and stay the night there. Stores in Australia close early. Especially on Sundays, if they are open at all. I decided to use my 3 hour layover to buy 2 weeks worth of groceries (after a lot of encouraging by my dad; and he was right as usual), just in case no grocery stores weren't open in Ingham when I arrived. It was hot in Cairns. And I had a huge backpack - not something I wanted to drag around the town or through a grocery store. I first went to the bus stop and luckily a girl was camped out, working on her computer with lots of bags. She agreed to watch all of my stuff, which was such a relief. I practically ran to the grocery store, got 2 huge bags of food, and speed walked back. Back at the bus stop all of my bags were there, and I still had about 30 minutes to spare (and to stop sweating before I got on the bus).
The bus ride was uneventful. And much longer than necessary. Bus drivers in both New Zealand and Australia love stopping frequently, and at least one of those stops is a 30 - 40 minute break. Maybe a break of that length is necessary on an 8 hour bus ride, but not a 4 hour one. Especially when there are bathrooms on the bus, not to mention I can easily hold it for 4 hours.
I stepped off the bus into a completely dead town. Ingham's streets were empty and the stores were dark. I quickly realized I had no idea where the hotel I had booked was in relation to the bus stop. I started walking up and down the sidewalks aimlessly until I saw a sign for a taxi company, which I immediately called. The cab driver picked me up about 15 minutes later and was such a nice old man. I told him that I was going to volunteer on an island for 2 weeks and had bought some groceries, but still needed perishables, like eggs, cheese, and milk. Did he have any idea where I could go? Of course he did! And he took me there for free, waited until I got what I needed, and then took me to my hotel.
I love reaching a destination. It's such a relief and usually quite amazing how well things work out. Around 8AM the next morning, I took (a really expensive) cab to Taylor's Beach and almost immediately boarded the boat to Orpheus.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Quick Update: 26 March 2008
I’m currently sitting in my parents’ living room in Kuala Lumpur (KL). Yesterday we returned from Langkawi (an island on the west coast of Malaysia) and before that I was in Borneo for 18 days volunteering at a marine research institute. I’ll be in KL for about 2 weeks – filing my taxes, getting Visas for Cambodia and India, doing laundry, helping my parents pack up the house because they’re moving to the awesome ole USA (Tulsa, Oklahoma) on 5 April, and updating this blog – more Australia and lots of Malaysia.
Dance Parties in Brisbane
Brisbane (Jan. 31 - Feb. 3)
Albert totally had a crush on my mom. We arrived in Brisbane Wednesday evening and took an airport shuttle to a small bed and breakfast. We walked into the entry way, searched for someone to check us in, and were eventually greeted by Albert - a man in his mid-sixties with a thick Australian accent and a warm smile who seemed to know everything about everything (or at least he fed us some very believable bullshit). We checked-in, all the while chatting with Albert. We told him what we'd been doing while in Australia, asked what there was to do in Brisbane, and my mom got the all too common compliment - at least for me - that we looked like sisters. How nice. Either I look 50 or she looks 24. Well, maybe we look somewhere in between, and actually its really not that bad. I hope I look as good as she does when I'm her age.
After dropping our bags in our room, we found Albert and asked where we could get some food and a beer. He suggested a few bars only a block away. The first bar said no flip-flops. As those are the only shoes (besides running and hiking shoes) that I brought, we couldn't go there. The next bar had a tacky Hollywood theme, but allowed flip-flops and had a decent menu and beer, so we went in and had an absolutely awesome dinner of bruschetta, cheese bread, and Guinness. I love hanging out with my mom - sitting, laughing, sharing beers and stories for hours makes me remember just how much we have in common, that we know almost everything about one another, that we've shared countless different experiences, and that she really is one of my best friends I have and will ever have. Needless to say, we had fun.
The next morning we grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel: toast and juice - although I typically prefer something more substantial like eggs and toast, or oatmeal with nuts, fruit, and whole milk, or now that I'm in Asia a bowl of noodles and a steamed bun filled with black bean paste (yes, I know that sounds gross, but it's amazing). We ran into Albert one final time and like always he talked our ears off - in a good way - and then gave us the Kangaroo Jack DVD, a movie that he claims is one of the funniest he's ever seen. My mom and I spent the afternoon at the Koala Sanctuary and then went to the Hilton where my dad had already checked-in. To pass the time before my dad came back from work, we surveyed our new luxurious accommodation, hooked up the computer to the radio so we could listen to some music, then started doing a combination of yoga and pilates, which quickly turned into a dance party - a no pants dance party (at least me); Barnard boys aren't you proud?!
My dad had to work again on Friday, so my mom and I went to see the Andy Warhol exhibit at the local modern art museum. Quick aside: did you know his real name is Andy Warhola? When we told my dad that we planned to go see the art exhibit, he said, "Oh Andy Warhola? I was growing up I was good friends with his nephew, Jamie Warhola!" Ha, yeah right. We didn't believe him until we got to the museum, where one of the first things we read was Andy's real last name. Anyway, after the museum my mom and I walked along the river that runs through Brisbane, and then met my dad back at the hotel and he and I went for a run before dinner. We planned on going to a local brewery for dinner. And my dad new exactly where it was...it only took a couple laps around the city to find it. Dinner was good, but the best part was stopping at the 7-11 after dinner to buy a Cherry Ripe (cherry flavored coconut covered in dark chocolate)- my dad's favorite. Of course dinner and dessert were followed by another dance party in our hotel room, and this time my dad got to participate!
The three of us spent Saturday at the Australia Zoo - home of Steve Irwin. The zoo was beautiful; the enclosures were huge and natural. It rained most of the morning, but we quickly dried in the intense Australia sun. That evening we drove up to the Sunshine Coast and walked along the water. Before leaving, we needed to rinse the sand off our feet and stopped at one of those fountains that, without warning, sporadically sprays water from different locations on the ground. Tons of kids were running all over the place having a blast. I walked over to what I thought was the edge of the fountain and waited for one to shoot water into the air. But I wasn't at the edge, and luckily neither was my mom - she got a full blast of water to the butt and blocked me completely. Thanks, mom. My dad and I had quite a good laugh at her expense.
The following morning my mom and dad returned to Kuala Lumpur and I flew to Cairns, beginning my next adventure: volunteering on Orpheus Island.
Albert totally had a crush on my mom. We arrived in Brisbane Wednesday evening and took an airport shuttle to a small bed and breakfast. We walked into the entry way, searched for someone to check us in, and were eventually greeted by Albert - a man in his mid-sixties with a thick Australian accent and a warm smile who seemed to know everything about everything (or at least he fed us some very believable bullshit). We checked-in, all the while chatting with Albert. We told him what we'd been doing while in Australia, asked what there was to do in Brisbane, and my mom got the all too common compliment - at least for me - that we looked like sisters. How nice. Either I look 50 or she looks 24. Well, maybe we look somewhere in between, and actually its really not that bad. I hope I look as good as she does when I'm her age.
After dropping our bags in our room, we found Albert and asked where we could get some food and a beer. He suggested a few bars only a block away. The first bar said no flip-flops. As those are the only shoes (besides running and hiking shoes) that I brought, we couldn't go there. The next bar had a tacky Hollywood theme, but allowed flip-flops and had a decent menu and beer, so we went in and had an absolutely awesome dinner of bruschetta, cheese bread, and Guinness. I love hanging out with my mom - sitting, laughing, sharing beers and stories for hours makes me remember just how much we have in common, that we know almost everything about one another, that we've shared countless different experiences, and that she really is one of my best friends I have and will ever have. Needless to say, we had fun.
The next morning we grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel: toast and juice - although I typically prefer something more substantial like eggs and toast, or oatmeal with nuts, fruit, and whole milk, or now that I'm in Asia a bowl of noodles and a steamed bun filled with black bean paste (yes, I know that sounds gross, but it's amazing). We ran into Albert one final time and like always he talked our ears off - in a good way - and then gave us the Kangaroo Jack DVD, a movie that he claims is one of the funniest he's ever seen. My mom and I spent the afternoon at the Koala Sanctuary and then went to the Hilton where my dad had already checked-in. To pass the time before my dad came back from work, we surveyed our new luxurious accommodation, hooked up the computer to the radio so we could listen to some music, then started doing a combination of yoga and pilates, which quickly turned into a dance party - a no pants dance party (at least me); Barnard boys aren't you proud?!My dad had to work again on Friday, so my mom and I went to see the Andy Warhol exhibit at the local modern art museum. Quick aside: did you know his real name is Andy Warhola? When we told my dad that we planned to go see the art exhibit, he said, "Oh Andy Warhola? I was growing up I was good friends with his nephew, Jamie Warhola!" Ha, yeah right. We didn't believe him until we got to the museum, where one of the first things we read was Andy's real last name. Anyway, after the museum my mom and I walked along the river that runs through Brisbane, and then met my dad back at the hotel and he and I went for a run before dinner. We planned on going to a local brewery for dinner. And my dad new exactly where it was...it only took a couple laps around the city to find it. Dinner was good, but the best part was stopping at the 7-11 after dinner to buy a Cherry Ripe (cherry flavored coconut covered in dark chocolate)- my dad's favorite. Of course dinner and dessert were followed by another dance party in our hotel room, and this time my dad got to participate!
The three of us spent Saturday at the Australia Zoo - home of Steve Irwin. The zoo was beautiful; the enclosures were huge and natural. It rained most of the morning, but we quickly dried in the intense Australia sun. That evening we drove up to the Sunshine Coast and walked along the water. Before leaving, we needed to rinse the sand off our feet and stopped at one of those fountains that, without warning, sporadically sprays water from different locations on the ground. Tons of kids were running all over the place having a blast. I walked over to what I thought was the edge of the fountain and waited for one to shoot water into the air. But I wasn't at the edge, and luckily neither was my mom - she got a full blast of water to the butt and blocked me completely. Thanks, mom. My dad and I had quite a good laugh at her expense.The following morning my mom and dad returned to Kuala Lumpur and I flew to Cairns, beginning my next adventure: volunteering on Orpheus Island.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Travellin' With Me Mum
Sydney and the Blue Mountains (Jan. 24 - Jan. 31)
Got off the plane. Walked through customs, down to baggage claim. And there was my mom. Really, I couldn't have started my trip to Australia off any better.
My mom had already been to Sydney with my dad, they're world travellers now, so I had my own personal tour guide. We checked into our hotel, where we had our own room AND our own bathroom - a complete luxury after staying in so many hostels - and then headed into Sydney. It's become a habit that the first day I spend in a city I have to walk all over the downtown until I can navigate without a map and in the process always make a point to find the botanic gardens. And that's what we did; we walked straight to the gardens. My mom knew exactly where to find the Flying Foxes - huge fruit bats. There were hundreds of them, all hanging upside down from tree branches with their leathery wings wrapped tightly around their bodies like cocoons. Then an ibis or cockatoo would land on a branch and disturb a few bats, sending them into a screeching, frantic fury as they searched for a new perch. Australian has so many amazing birds (yesyes, I know bats aren't birds), birds that you would only ever expect to see in a cage in someone's living room. But here, there are flocks of sulfur-crested cockatoos (and damn are they loud), vibrantly colored lorikeets (small but again really loud), ibises, and so many more. I never used to be very interested in birds, usually because it takes so much effort and patience to see them, but here they're impossible to ignore.
2 nights in Sydney, 2 dinners on roofs, and lots of wine and beer. The first night we ate at a rooftop restaurant and both ordered beers and salads. I don't think we ate that much that day, so the alcohol was quite effective. We laughed so much, mostly making fun of Alex. The next day we took a ferry to Manly Beach. We hiked along the coastline and up along the cliffs. The views were spectacular. We also hiked under countless spider webs, each with at least 2 spiders no smaller than my hand. I tried to walk with my head down and ignore their looming presence. But after awhile I decided I wanted no surprises and that I would prefer to see the spider drop on my head, so I walked with my face up to the sky. That night we got Chinese take-away and a bottle of pinot noir and sat on the roof of our hotel.
26 January. Australia Day. We spent the morning and afternoon walking through crowds of people around the Sydney Harbor. We watched the chaotic parade of boats, saw one really good band and one not so awesome guy singing, had an amazing lunch of some Turkish fried chicken, spinach thing, and then took a 2 hour train ride to Katoomba.
Katoomba was such a nice change from Sydney: calm, quiet, quaint, natural. We stayed in a house turned hostel - I think one of the nicest I've ever stayed in. We spent two full days in Katoomba. 1) A full day of walking. We walked to Echo Point and checked out the Three Sisters, a rock formation composed of 3 separate spires that are coincidentally named Liz, Megan, and Alex. We walked along the ridgeline of the mountains for hundreds of kilometers. We walked to a couple different waterfalls. And we walked through the town of Leura, where we took our afternoon tea. Afternoon tea is such a wonderful concept. I'm always hungry around 3 or 4. Plus, it's not really like a meal, but a dessert snack. Obviously you can't just drink tea, you have to eat some cake, too. 2) Horses! We went for a 2 hour horse back ride through the Megalong Valley. My horse was named Vicki and she was awesome. My mom's, I can't remember his name, was stubborn and hated to gallop. The funniest part though was listening to my mom try to make him run. In a high-pitched, not at all commanding voice she would coax, "Up, up, up, up," as they bounced along the trail at a slow trot. Finally our guide gave my mom a tree branch as additional encouragement for her horse, and that got him galloping.
We returned to Sydney for one more night and one more day. Next city: Brisbane with my dad, a mini Podowski reunion.
Got off the plane. Walked through customs, down to baggage claim. And there was my mom. Really, I couldn't have started my trip to Australia off any better.My mom had already been to Sydney with my dad, they're world travellers now, so I had my own personal tour guide. We checked into our hotel, where we had our own room AND our own bathroom - a complete luxury after staying in so many hostels - and then headed into Sydney. It's become a habit that the first day I spend in a city I have to walk all over the downtown until I can navigate without a map and in the process always make a point to find the botanic gardens. And that's what we did; we walked straight to the gardens. My mom knew exactly where to find the Flying Foxes - huge fruit bats. There were hundreds of them, all hanging upside down from tree branches with their leathery wings wrapped tightly around their bodies like cocoons. Then an ibis or cockatoo would land on a branch and disturb a few bats, sending them into a screeching, frantic fury as they searched for a new perch. Australian has so many amazing birds (yesyes, I know bats aren't birds), birds that you would only ever expect to see in a cage in someone's living room. But here, there are flocks of sulfur-crested cockatoos (and damn are they loud), vibrantly colored lorikeets (small but again really loud), ibises, and so many more. I never used to be very interested in birds, usually because it takes so much effort and patience to see them, but here they're impossible to ignore.
2 nights in Sydney, 2 dinners on roofs, and lots of wine and beer. The first night we ate at a rooftop restaurant and both ordered beers and salads. I don't think we ate that much that day, so the alcohol was quite effective. We laughed so much, mostly making fun of Alex. The next day we took a ferry to Manly Beach. We hiked along the coastline and up along the cliffs. The views were spectacular. We also hiked under countless spider webs, each with at least 2 spiders no smaller than my hand. I tried to walk with my head down and ignore their looming presence. But after awhile I decided I wanted no surprises and that I would prefer to see the spider drop on my head, so I walked with my face up to the sky. That night we got Chinese take-away and a bottle of pinot noir and sat on the roof of our hotel.
26 January. Australia Day. We spent the morning and afternoon walking through crowds of people around the Sydney Harbor. We watched the chaotic parade of boats, saw one really good band and one not so awesome guy singing, had an amazing lunch of some Turkish fried chicken, spinach thing, and then took a 2 hour train ride to Katoomba.
Katoomba was such a nice change from Sydney: calm, quiet, quaint, natural. We stayed in a house turned hostel - I think one of the nicest I've ever stayed in. We spent two full days in Katoomba. 1) A full day of walking. We walked to Echo Point and checked out the Three Sisters, a rock formation composed of 3 separate spires that are coincidentally named Liz, Megan, and Alex. We walked along the ridgeline of the mountains for hundreds of kilometers. We walked to a couple different waterfalls. And we walked through the town of Leura, where we took our afternoon tea. Afternoon tea is such a wonderful concept. I'm always hungry around 3 or 4. Plus, it's not really like a meal, but a dessert snack. Obviously you can't just drink tea, you have to eat some cake, too. 2) Horses! We went for a 2 hour horse back ride through the Megalong Valley. My horse was named Vicki and she was awesome. My mom's, I can't remember his name, was stubborn and hated to gallop. The funniest part though was listening to my mom try to make him run. In a high-pitched, not at all commanding voice she would coax, "Up, up, up, up," as they bounced along the trail at a slow trot. Finally our guide gave my mom a tree branch as additional encouragement for her horse, and that got him galloping.We returned to Sydney for one more night and one more day. Next city: Brisbane with my dad, a mini Podowski reunion.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
No Worries
Good God I finally finished New Zealand. And I've only been in Australia for a couple weeks!
I will become a more diligent blogger. I promise. Tomorrow. Or maybe in a week.
I will become a more diligent blogger. I promise. Tomorrow. Or maybe in a week.
Life with Justin
Rotorua and the Bay of Islands (Jan. 12 - Jan. 24)
Justin Herman. My international friend and lover. We met at the airport in Auckland on 12 January. I came up from Christchurch and he came over from Tasmania. Together we're unstoppable.
Our first destination was Rotorua to see the thermal springs and Maori culture. Not one of my favorite destinations. It's a town where you need a car. Most of the good sights are about 20km out of town and we were cheap. We are cheap. We needed places within walking distance. So one day was spent hiking through a national park full of Redwoods. Even with our typically flawless navigational skills we managed to get lost. I know, you're surprised. So were we. Another day was spent at the "Living Thermal Village" - the original location of Maori tourism. We went on a pretty informative tour and got to see how the Maori people utilize the hot springs - they use the boiling water to cook all kinds of food (eggs, corn, meat) and also collect the hot, overflowing water in communal bathtubs. The water is supposed to be amazing for your skin and sinuses. Full of sulfur and minerals. It smells delicious, too.
Enough of Rotorua. The Bay of Islands is where we spent the majority of our time. And that trip was mostly about the people we met. I have to start with Justin though:
Justin: He likes to talk. He talks about anything to anyone. But it works well, because I can listen. We both have a common love for pasta salads, and I think we had some variation of pasta salad every night for dinner. Once we made a pizza. But the oven didn't work. We microwaved it - it was edible, but didn't come anywhere close to it's full potential. He's an amazing dancer, and when I dance with him I coincidentally look good too. Some might even say we look like professionals. If I ever had to spend a celibate life with a male (because we all know Des is the love of my life), it would be Justin. Hands down.
Manuela: 21 and from Switzerland. Absolutely a beautiful person and sincerely considerate. Probably one of the nicest people I have met travelling. She is an awesome foosball player; she kicked Justin's ass repeatedly. I didn't even try. She danced with us nightly and relaxed during the day with us in the hostel. AND she gave me her National Geographic once she was finished. After that I was in love!
Allie: Beautiful, articulate, and interesting. And from the US. I'm glad Justin took an immediate interest in her, because then, by default, I started talking to her as well. We stayed in the same hostel for 3 nights and she was perfect just to chill out with - it was nice to have someone that wanted to go to a calm bar to relax and listen to live music.
Hester: From Denmark and travelling through New Zealand then later Australia. The first night she arrived at our hostel she came out with Justin and me. That night sealed our friendship. The following day we grocery shopped and cooked dinner together (Justin had already left to return home to the US) and the next morning we woke up and cooked an awesome breakfast of eggs and bacon before I hitch hiked with my new friend, Roland, to Whangarei.
Sebastian (Sebby, Bob): From Ireland and he's coming to meet me in Malaysia! I think just the mention of orangutans (or as Alex would say, "Orange Utans") in Borneo was incentive enough to persuade him to come. Mom and Dad, he's promised to, "get (you) pissed and force (you) to eat the most fantastic Irish stew on.. the.. planet." I'd like to be a part of the stew-eating and beer-drinking, too. Although Justin and I didn't spend much time with him, the three of us have been diligently sending one another random email updates.
Those are just a few of the people that we met. Pahia, the town in which we stayed in the Bay of Islands, is so small. I think everytime I walked down the street I saw someone I knew. It was nice feeling like a part of the town and not just an outsider passing through.
Justin Herman. My international friend and lover. We met at the airport in Auckland on 12 January. I came up from Christchurch and he came over from Tasmania. Together we're unstoppable.
Our first destination was Rotorua to see the thermal springs and Maori culture. Not one of my favorite destinations. It's a town where you need a car. Most of the good sights are about 20km out of town and we were cheap. We are cheap. We needed places within walking distance. So one day was spent hiking through a national park full of Redwoods. Even with our typically flawless navigational skills we managed to get lost. I know, you're surprised. So were we. Another day was spent at the "Living Thermal Village" - the original location of Maori tourism. We went on a pretty informative tour and got to see how the Maori people utilize the hot springs - they use the boiling water to cook all kinds of food (eggs, corn, meat) and also collect the hot, overflowing water in communal bathtubs. The water is supposed to be amazing for your skin and sinuses. Full of sulfur and minerals. It smells delicious, too.
Enough of Rotorua. The Bay of Islands is where we spent the majority of our time. And that trip was mostly about the people we met. I have to start with Justin though:
Justin: He likes to talk. He talks about anything to anyone. But it works well, because I can listen. We both have a common love for pasta salads, and I think we had some variation of pasta salad every night for dinner. Once we made a pizza. But the oven didn't work. We microwaved it - it was edible, but didn't come anywhere close to it's full potential. He's an amazing dancer, and when I dance with him I coincidentally look good too. Some might even say we look like professionals. If I ever had to spend a celibate life with a male (because we all know Des is the love of my life), it would be Justin. Hands down.
Manuela: 21 and from Switzerland. Absolutely a beautiful person and sincerely considerate. Probably one of the nicest people I have met travelling. She is an awesome foosball player; she kicked Justin's ass repeatedly. I didn't even try. She danced with us nightly and relaxed during the day with us in the hostel. AND she gave me her National Geographic once she was finished. After that I was in love!
Allie: Beautiful, articulate, and interesting. And from the US. I'm glad Justin took an immediate interest in her, because then, by default, I started talking to her as well. We stayed in the same hostel for 3 nights and she was perfect just to chill out with - it was nice to have someone that wanted to go to a calm bar to relax and listen to live music.
Hester: From Denmark and travelling through New Zealand then later Australia. The first night she arrived at our hostel she came out with Justin and me. That night sealed our friendship. The following day we grocery shopped and cooked dinner together (Justin had already left to return home to the US) and the next morning we woke up and cooked an awesome breakfast of eggs and bacon before I hitch hiked with my new friend, Roland, to Whangarei.
Sebastian (Sebby, Bob): From Ireland and he's coming to meet me in Malaysia! I think just the mention of orangutans (or as Alex would say, "Orange Utans") in Borneo was incentive enough to persuade him to come. Mom and Dad, he's promised to, "get (you) pissed and force (you) to eat the most fantastic Irish stew on.. the.. planet." I'd like to be a part of the stew-eating and beer-drinking, too. Although Justin and I didn't spend much time with him, the three of us have been diligently sending one another random email updates.
Those are just a few of the people that we met. Pahia, the town in which we stayed in the Bay of Islands, is so small. I think everytime I walked down the street I saw someone I knew. It was nice feeling like a part of the town and not just an outsider passing through.
My New Zealand Favorite
Te Anau and Milford Sound (Jan. 6 - Jan. 9)
The two hour drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound is almost entirely through a national park. No pastures. No sheep. No houses. No one. Just mountains and natural forest. Once in Milford Sound, the fiord is nothing short of spectacular.
The day I arrived in Te Anau, I met Sandra. Sandra is from Scotland and was travelling some of the South Island before heading north to Auckland for a friend's wedding. We were roommates in our hostel. The first night she shared her beer with me, and we discussed the many differences between the US and the UK on healthcare, public education, and employment. The next morning Sandra was driving down to Milford and invited me along. Of course I jumped at the chance. Sandra was awesome and the main reason I came to Te Anau was to see the fiords.
The day was not ideal. From the moment we got in the car until the moment we got out 2 hours later, it rained. We wanted to take a cruise through the fiord and out to the Tasman Sea. But the point of cruising through the fiord was to be able to see it. In the heavy fog and torrential rains, we couldn't see anything. Not even mountains a few hundred meters in front of us. We decided to wait out the weather and got lunch at the only cafe.
After an hour of waiting, the clouds seemed to be lifting and the rain lessening. We hoped for the best and bought tickets for a 2-hour boat ride. The boat was relatively empty. Maybe about 20 people total. 20 people on a boat that easily could hold at least 100. Not long after the boat left the dock, the rain stopped, the clouds slowly crept up the steep slopes of the mountains, and the waterfalls gushed. The landscape was spectacular. Fur seal colonies decorated outcrops of rocks, bottlenose dolphins swam at the bow of the boat, and the fiord was ceaselessly stunning.
Beyond the scenery, our boat companions were friendly and almost just as interesting. Sandflies are nasty. They are tiny tiny flies and you don't notice them until they're munching away on you legs, arms, back, shoulders....anywhere flesh is exposed. One man, from Alice Springs, hunted those sandflies mercilessly. It didn't matter where one landed. On the side of the boat - he'd scurry over and kill it. On his own body, the flies had no chance. Refuge couldn't even be found on other passengers' legs or backs - he'd smack a stranger if it resulted in a sandfly death. He was quite animated in this sandfly chase, and Sandra and I intently watched he and his victims (both sandflies and other passengers).
The two hour drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound is almost entirely through a national park. No pastures. No sheep. No houses. No one. Just mountains and natural forest. Once in Milford Sound, the fiord is nothing short of spectacular.
The day I arrived in Te Anau, I met Sandra. Sandra is from Scotland and was travelling some of the South Island before heading north to Auckland for a friend's wedding. We were roommates in our hostel. The first night she shared her beer with me, and we discussed the many differences between the US and the UK on healthcare, public education, and employment. The next morning Sandra was driving down to Milford and invited me along. Of course I jumped at the chance. Sandra was awesome and the main reason I came to Te Anau was to see the fiords.
The day was not ideal. From the moment we got in the car until the moment we got out 2 hours later, it rained. We wanted to take a cruise through the fiord and out to the Tasman Sea. But the point of cruising through the fiord was to be able to see it. In the heavy fog and torrential rains, we couldn't see anything. Not even mountains a few hundred meters in front of us. We decided to wait out the weather and got lunch at the only cafe.
After an hour of waiting, the clouds seemed to be lifting and the rain lessening. We hoped for the best and bought tickets for a 2-hour boat ride. The boat was relatively empty. Maybe about 20 people total. 20 people on a boat that easily could hold at least 100. Not long after the boat left the dock, the rain stopped, the clouds slowly crept up the steep slopes of the mountains, and the waterfalls gushed. The landscape was spectacular. Fur seal colonies decorated outcrops of rocks, bottlenose dolphins swam at the bow of the boat, and the fiord was ceaselessly stunning.
Beyond the scenery, our boat companions were friendly and almost just as interesting. Sandflies are nasty. They are tiny tiny flies and you don't notice them until they're munching away on you legs, arms, back, shoulders....anywhere flesh is exposed. One man, from Alice Springs, hunted those sandflies mercilessly. It didn't matter where one landed. On the side of the boat - he'd scurry over and kill it. On his own body, the flies had no chance. Refuge couldn't even be found on other passengers' legs or backs - he'd smack a stranger if it resulted in a sandfly death. He was quite animated in this sandfly chase, and Sandra and I intently watched he and his victims (both sandflies and other passengers).
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