February 22, 23 & 24, 2009
Spent Sunday morning having a final breakfast on the ship while taking in the world famous views of Sydney Harbour - the Sydney Harbour Bridge directly in front of me (and nearly over top of me!) and the Opera House on the other side of me. Beautiful. After picking up our last car rental in Sydney, we high-tailed it over to the famous Bondi Beach for a final walk in the waves before leaving Sydney. Description of Bondi Beach (aka speedo city – My eyes! My eyes! Ahhh!) : a ¾ mile cove-like area of pristine yellow sand beach; rock cliffs and houses were precariously perched on two sides of the cove much like Monaco or Greece. The beach area was peppered with a significant number of bronzed and beautiful bodies (kind of like Bay Watch on steroids!) as well as the quintessential surfer dudes in wet suits with boards tucked under their arms and blue bubble jellyfish washed up on the beach (which, btw, make popping sounds like bubble wrap when you step on them!). There were small groupings of families with picnic baskets on blankets and hand-holding couples leaving side-by-side footprints along the waters edge. Piercing giggles from wave jumping kids of all ages were regularly heard over the rhythmic roar of the tides washing ashore. This particular morning, they were also having some kind of lifeguard competitions going on – it was great fun visually absorbing humanity’s interaction and delight in nature’s gift of golden sun, golden sand and golden moments.
After getting our feet (and pants!) sufficiently soaked in salt water, we began our trek down the eastern coast of AUS to Lilli Pilli. Along the way we saw enough tropical beauty of Australia to impress us forever with this country. Lush green eucalyptus forest followed us on one side and pristine rocky coastline on the other. FACTOID: The bulk of the population of Australia is found all along the coast – most of the country in the centre is uninhabitable desert. And let me expose a lie – the globe we all learned geography on as kids is lying to you. Though depicted as a small island in the South Pacific, AUS is actually similar in land mass to the US!
K- continuing on with the journey .... red parrots, palm trees and kangaroo road kill were in abundance! 30+ degrees of sunshine, sounds of the kookaburro and other unique birds made it seem like we were visiting a Caribbean island rather than a country in the South Pacific. One of our photo op stops this day included watching some very brave (read insane:) individuals run off a beautiful sea cliff and soar like albatross over the ocean below. Yep – gotta say, if we had a little more time on our hands, John and I would very likely have joined this bunch of free spirits – hang gliding over spectacular views is on the “list” for both of us as well ... one day soon for sure!
Our final stop for the day was in Lilli Pilli to connect with the “father of restorative justice” in Australia. “Shrimps on the barby”, great wine, inspiring conversation and peaceful sleeps at the summer house on the ocean he and his wife were retreating at capped an exquisite day for us in the land of OZ. We had a grand time with them. Oh, and FYI, found out Nicole Kidman owned a house on the ocean about one mile from where we were staying! She just recently sold it, but I just want to confirm – the woman has EXCELLENT taste in real estate beauty :)
Monday found us cruising through the capital of Australia, Canberra, for a speaking engagement and further bridge building for restorative justice internationally. Interesting scenery change as we moved further inland. The creep of the desert influence dominated the landscape in this part of the country. We left the tropics of the coast to hit the intense heat, brown grass, parched landscape and sparse vegetation of desert climate. Canberra (pronounced Canbra) is indeed a government town – embassies, monuments and modern parliament buildings are pivotal to the architecture. It’s kinda interesting from an engineers perspective (this is John’s influence in this blog:) The city centre is where you find the parliament buildings and then all main roads radiate from the city centre in the perfect alignment of a star formation – it is an “engineered” city – planned down to the smallest detail by an engineer in early 1900’s. Best way to get a sense of what I’m saying – google a city map of Canberra – you’ll get the picture from that! We ended the day going on a wild “roo” hunt in areas where the locals promised we could find roo’s in abundance at dusk. Ya – they lied! Closest thing we found to a real kangaroo was a perfect roo skeleton on the side of the road – John took a picture – I stayed in the car;) All was not lost though, our hunt took us to some of the high spots on the outskirts of the city and we were treated to some spectacular “bird’s eye” views of the city at dusk. Mmmmmm.
Tuesday we drove another 3 hours back to Sydney to catch our 28 hr plane ride back to the great white north. I’m writing this final blog on the plane before checking out and trying to kill a few hours off this 15 hr leg of travel in dream land.
Final thoughts on the past 3 weeks:
1. NZ and AUS are both breathtakingly beautiful lands
2. The generosity, warmth, and easy-going nature of the people over here was an unexpected treasure we discovered in abundance
3. I like 30 degree weather in February
4. Possum socks can double quite nicely as mittens in a drafty plane (makes typing a challenge though:)
5. I will not wait another 25 years to return to this wonderful part of the world ... it’s only a plane ride away people!
Gidday and Kia Ora my friends. I trust you enjoyed your imaginary voyage with me. Definitely one of my top 5 adventures from my travelling history. It was fun taking you all along with me as well! I only have one last thing left to say to y’all ... when are you going to book your own ticket to the land down under hmm? Carpe Diem everyone!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
The scarier side of OZ!
February 20, 2009
If this is Friday it must be .... Melbourne, AUS. Spent the last official port of call for Australia seeing the scarier part of AUS. Many of you have been asking about the fires and floods you have been hearing about in the news. We have been completely unaffected by them on this trip. Most of the time they were burning while we were in NZ. We were periodically unsure if the ship was going to stop in Melbourne over the last two weeks, however in the end, the decision was to go. Spoke with some locals today to get the down low on what was really happening. Here’s the word on the street from the people who live here:
The fires stopped just on the outskirts of the city of Melbourne – scorched some of the suburban areas, but did not enter in too far. To date, 210 precious souls have lost their lives. My first question was – Wasn’t there any warning? Why weren’t areas evacuated? Here’s how one local explained the tragedy to me. There are fires every year around this area – most people are prepared for them and the standard operations are to stay on your property to assist in protecting your land – usually it’s never a problem. This year was different. Extreme heat (46 degrees Celsius), drought that carried on for months, extreme high winds all contributed to create the “perfect firestorm” of the century. Flames rose as high as a church steeple and travelled at about 60km’s per hour devouring everything in their path. The carnage was complete in about 1-2 hours on one day. Some horrific stories of people trying to outrun the flames in their car and being engulfed by them. People and homes had no warning as this storm rose up and ravaged everything very suddenly and mercilessly. There was no hope of escape. As of today, fires are still burning in outlying areas, but are contained. Donations for relief efforts can be found everywhere, even on our ship. Melbourne is known as a “garden city”. What we found today as we walked around were acres of brown grass, green leaves on live trees turning brown and crumbling off, the only vegetation growing anywhere in the ground were cacti, palm trees and dessert foliage. There is no smell of smoke in the air, but it is evident that this area has been under extreme drought conditions for a while. On the up side, the spirit of the Aussies is alive and strong. They are a pioneering and positive nation. They will get through this difficult time with typical Aussie optimism and fortitude. One person told me today, Melbourne will once again return to being the beautiful “garden city” it so proudly professes to be. Even brighter and more alive than it was before this terrible season of loss. When there is great adversity all around, the Aussie spirit digs in and moves forward. Impressive.
As for the rest of the city of Melbourne, it is an interesting mix of the old and new. Mixed in amongst the beautiful buildings from the 1800’s are some rather unique, modern art architecture in the form of skyscrapers, statues, and facades on buildings. A very eclectic look for a downtown – the jury is still out on whether I like it or not. It’s definitely unique. We spent the afternoon walking along the boardwalk that follows the river running through the city (kind of like the Rideau Canal in Ottawa). We ended up in front of the Melbourne Aquarium and decided to have a look inside. Yep ... this definitely exposed us to more of the scarier sides of AUS! While our previous trips to conservation areas showed us the cute and cuddly critters of NZ and AUS, this place delighted in going into great detail with in-your-face visuals of water pythons, bird-eating spiders, scorpions, poison arrow frogs, hissing cockroaches the size of a man’s palm, man-o-war jellyfish, deadly sting rays and, of course, SHARKS of a zillion varieties! Remember I told you in my first blog that 12 of the world’s deadliest creatures call AUS their home – ya – well, we saw most of them today in this aquarium of all places! Not gonna lie, I’m not a fan of all things ugly and deadly, however, I did find myself intrigued to see these creepy , crawly things so closely (and more importantly, behind several inches of very thick glass!). I’m always excited to learn something new – and my quota was filled today!
Hopped on a city tram that gave a free “tour” on the history of Melbourne. Gotta say, one of the things both John and I appreciate about NZ and AUS is the huge amount of free beauty they offer tourists and locals. Most of what we have seen over the last few weeks would likely have been barricaded and had some sort of fee or tax attached to it if you wanted to view it in Canada. Museums, local transportation, historic sites, all naturally occurring phenomena are free for the viewing by anyone and everyone who wants to take the time to indulge both here in AUS and NZ. It’s that spirit of generosity and hospitality that speaks the loudest for both of these countries. They bend over backwards to make you feel welcome. Very heartening – we could all learn something from that. It leaves a wonderful impression.
One more day at sea and then we are back in Sydney on Sunday morning. Meeting a couple of exceptional individuals in Restorative Justice and giving a presentation at the Australian Institute of Criminology before heading home on Tuesday. More on that in coming days!
Peace from Melbourne,
Robin
Things I learned today:
1. Gentoo Penguins are “cheeky and feisty”- my kind of bird!
2. Mother sharks will eat their young ... hmm.
3. The human spirit is very resilient and wired to rise up out of ashes of tragedy – all around the world.
If this is Friday it must be .... Melbourne, AUS. Spent the last official port of call for Australia seeing the scarier part of AUS. Many of you have been asking about the fires and floods you have been hearing about in the news. We have been completely unaffected by them on this trip. Most of the time they were burning while we were in NZ. We were periodically unsure if the ship was going to stop in Melbourne over the last two weeks, however in the end, the decision was to go. Spoke with some locals today to get the down low on what was really happening. Here’s the word on the street from the people who live here:
The fires stopped just on the outskirts of the city of Melbourne – scorched some of the suburban areas, but did not enter in too far. To date, 210 precious souls have lost their lives. My first question was – Wasn’t there any warning? Why weren’t areas evacuated? Here’s how one local explained the tragedy to me. There are fires every year around this area – most people are prepared for them and the standard operations are to stay on your property to assist in protecting your land – usually it’s never a problem. This year was different. Extreme heat (46 degrees Celsius), drought that carried on for months, extreme high winds all contributed to create the “perfect firestorm” of the century. Flames rose as high as a church steeple and travelled at about 60km’s per hour devouring everything in their path. The carnage was complete in about 1-2 hours on one day. Some horrific stories of people trying to outrun the flames in their car and being engulfed by them. People and homes had no warning as this storm rose up and ravaged everything very suddenly and mercilessly. There was no hope of escape. As of today, fires are still burning in outlying areas, but are contained. Donations for relief efforts can be found everywhere, even on our ship. Melbourne is known as a “garden city”. What we found today as we walked around were acres of brown grass, green leaves on live trees turning brown and crumbling off, the only vegetation growing anywhere in the ground were cacti, palm trees and dessert foliage. There is no smell of smoke in the air, but it is evident that this area has been under extreme drought conditions for a while. On the up side, the spirit of the Aussies is alive and strong. They are a pioneering and positive nation. They will get through this difficult time with typical Aussie optimism and fortitude. One person told me today, Melbourne will once again return to being the beautiful “garden city” it so proudly professes to be. Even brighter and more alive than it was before this terrible season of loss. When there is great adversity all around, the Aussie spirit digs in and moves forward. Impressive.
As for the rest of the city of Melbourne, it is an interesting mix of the old and new. Mixed in amongst the beautiful buildings from the 1800’s are some rather unique, modern art architecture in the form of skyscrapers, statues, and facades on buildings. A very eclectic look for a downtown – the jury is still out on whether I like it or not. It’s definitely unique. We spent the afternoon walking along the boardwalk that follows the river running through the city (kind of like the Rideau Canal in Ottawa). We ended up in front of the Melbourne Aquarium and decided to have a look inside. Yep ... this definitely exposed us to more of the scarier sides of AUS! While our previous trips to conservation areas showed us the cute and cuddly critters of NZ and AUS, this place delighted in going into great detail with in-your-face visuals of water pythons, bird-eating spiders, scorpions, poison arrow frogs, hissing cockroaches the size of a man’s palm, man-o-war jellyfish, deadly sting rays and, of course, SHARKS of a zillion varieties! Remember I told you in my first blog that 12 of the world’s deadliest creatures call AUS their home – ya – well, we saw most of them today in this aquarium of all places! Not gonna lie, I’m not a fan of all things ugly and deadly, however, I did find myself intrigued to see these creepy , crawly things so closely (and more importantly, behind several inches of very thick glass!). I’m always excited to learn something new – and my quota was filled today!
Hopped on a city tram that gave a free “tour” on the history of Melbourne. Gotta say, one of the things both John and I appreciate about NZ and AUS is the huge amount of free beauty they offer tourists and locals. Most of what we have seen over the last few weeks would likely have been barricaded and had some sort of fee or tax attached to it if you wanted to view it in Canada. Museums, local transportation, historic sites, all naturally occurring phenomena are free for the viewing by anyone and everyone who wants to take the time to indulge both here in AUS and NZ. It’s that spirit of generosity and hospitality that speaks the loudest for both of these countries. They bend over backwards to make you feel welcome. Very heartening – we could all learn something from that. It leaves a wonderful impression.
One more day at sea and then we are back in Sydney on Sunday morning. Meeting a couple of exceptional individuals in Restorative Justice and giving a presentation at the Australian Institute of Criminology before heading home on Tuesday. More on that in coming days!
Peace from Melbourne,
Robin
Things I learned today:
1. Gentoo Penguins are “cheeky and feisty”- my kind of bird!
2. Mother sharks will eat their young ... hmm.
3. The human spirit is very resilient and wired to rise up out of ashes of tragedy – all around the world.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Don’t step in the Roo poo!
February 18, 2009
What do blow holes, hissing devils and steel cold leg irons have in common? That would be a day in my life in Tasmania, AUS. FACTOID: Did you know that Tasmania is actually just a state of Australia and not a separate country on its own? Ya ... me neither! Kinda like Newfoundland to Canada – it’s an island off the mainland but still part of Australia. I know some of you didn’t know that ... so sharing this factoid helps me feel not quite so Duh!
After three days at sea, we were eager to put our feet on terra firma again. By 8:00 am, we were well on our way from the car rental place in Hobart and headed to the south east peninsula of Port Arthur. This lovely landscape housed the second penal colony established in Australia (first was in Sydney – I know you were wondering:) Along the way, as always, we encountered some very cool sights and sounds. First stop was a very interesting rock shelf that was formed by the tides of the sea (called the Devil’s Kitchen). It literally looked like someone had taken a huge machete and sliced perfectly formed squares into a large flat area of rock that ran along the coast for a mile or so. As the water got in between the cracks, it caused some of the squares to round off their edges and raise slightly in the middle to take on the shape of rising bread dough in a pan. It’s kind of hard to find words to describe it – a picture would tell the tale in an instant – so I think I’ll include it on FB when I download later. Suffice it to say, it was a very cool, bizarre effect that was fun to rock hop over and observe. The impact that was made when an unrelenting force pounding down on an impervious fortress of rock year after year, century after century was undeniable and striking ... there’s a life metaphor in there somewhere!
Further on down the road, we made a quick stop to listen and view the spectacle known as the Tassie blow hole. For any of you who have ever seen these phenomena before, you’ll know that you hear them long before you see them. There is an eerie, low, hollow hissing sound that precedes a violent eruption of water each time the powerful waves are forced down a narrow corridor and out a tiny hole on the side of a rock wall. Kind of like the sound of whales spouting in the foggy ocean or geysers exploding from deep within the earth’s core. While I have seen blow holes before, this was a particularly beautiful one. When the tide was out I could clearly see into the rock cave where the blow hole was all the way out to the other side of the rock wall into the ocean – it was like looking out through a naturally formed rock window. Very picturesque. More stops along the way produced equally gorgeous landscapes/seascapes. Keep an eye on FB and I’ll post pics when I get back.
One of my “tens” for the day included a stop at an Australian conservation area which housed some native critters of AUS. Possums, wombats, and Kangaroos ... oh my! Lorikeets, Koala’s and my favourites ... Tasmanian Devils! Yep – they really do exist – and though they look nothing like the Bugs Bunny Cartoon version, they are as ornery, ugly, snarly, vicious and unmannered as the one portrayed by the cartoon Taz! Picture this ... they have short, course black fur with 2 white stripes or markings, they are the size of a 30 pound dog – all muscle, they have the face of a black bear/rodent, teeth of a cougar, legs and body of a hyena, tail of a small monkey. They don’t see well, smell well, hear well or hunt well (food of preference? Road kill). They fight and growl for their food, for their bed, for their space or even if you just make eye contact with them. Their bite is four times more powerful than an average dog – they can break bones in one chomp. They literally “wake up on the wrong side of the bed” every day of their lives! So why were they my favourites? I am impressed by their passion to remain miserable. They are so intensely focussed on being ugly it pulsates out of them. I give them credit for sustainability:) Side note – they do have a short lifespan – usually 4 years – I think it’s either because they are so programmed to kill each other or the stress of being so ornery takes its toll on them - I think there’s another life metaphor there:) OK – on the complete flip side of the ornery scale is the lovable Koala. FACTOID: In a 24 hour day, Koala’s sleep for 20 hours, eat for 4 hours and move for 15 minutes. They hang out in eucalyptus trees and literally flop over its branches to sleep. They have perfected the art of “chillaxing”. Their whole focus in life? Look cute and cuddly. Their life span? 20 years. Hmm ....
Final hi-light from this place was walking in amongst the roo’s. They actually let people into the Kangaroo area and you can hand feed them and pet them to your heart’s delight. Surprisingly, they are very tame (I figured these ones must have been raised in captivity). Roo’s come in all shapes and sizes – there are over 40 varieties alone in Australia. Greatest risk to me in this pen? Stepping on roo poo with open toed sandals:)
Final stop of the day was the Port Arthur penal colony. We could have spent the whole day here. Talk about a sad life ... this colony was established to deal with the overpopulated prisons in England. Back in the 1800’s, 300 convicts, 100 soldiers and 30 trades people were placed on a ship and banished to the island of Tasmania for crimes as horrendous as ... stealing a shawl, vagrancy, over-charging for surgeries, pick-pocketing, being a street urchin, etc. Sentences were either 7 years, 14 years or life. The youngest “convict” was a 9 year old boy – the majority were young men in their 20’s. The soldiers, who were suppose to help keep the peace, were in fact court marshalled military “outcasts” themselves. Quite the group to start a new civilization eh? Not exactly your typical pioneers! The first building they erected was a church – the second was a multi-cell prison house and a solitary confinement prison a short distance away. To their credit, they did indeed manage to get a functioning village up and running which eventually led to the current day population of about 500,000 Tasmanian citizens. Most everyone on the island can trace their roots back to one of those original convicts – and though for the longest time there was shame attached to that, they are now quite proud of their heritage. Dad ... you would have delighted in this place :) Made the Edmonton Detention Barracks look like Club Med! Thought about you several times:) (FYI my dad was the warden of Military DB back in the day but NEVER a convict:)
All in all, a jammed-packed day with sensory overload of nature, critters and history. Definitely a memory filled adventure!
Things I learned:
1. Australian parrots speak with an Australian accent
2. Leg irons leave bruises
3. I could live in Tasmania
What do blow holes, hissing devils and steel cold leg irons have in common? That would be a day in my life in Tasmania, AUS. FACTOID: Did you know that Tasmania is actually just a state of Australia and not a separate country on its own? Ya ... me neither! Kinda like Newfoundland to Canada – it’s an island off the mainland but still part of Australia. I know some of you didn’t know that ... so sharing this factoid helps me feel not quite so Duh!
After three days at sea, we were eager to put our feet on terra firma again. By 8:00 am, we were well on our way from the car rental place in Hobart and headed to the south east peninsula of Port Arthur. This lovely landscape housed the second penal colony established in Australia (first was in Sydney – I know you were wondering:) Along the way, as always, we encountered some very cool sights and sounds. First stop was a very interesting rock shelf that was formed by the tides of the sea (called the Devil’s Kitchen). It literally looked like someone had taken a huge machete and sliced perfectly formed squares into a large flat area of rock that ran along the coast for a mile or so. As the water got in between the cracks, it caused some of the squares to round off their edges and raise slightly in the middle to take on the shape of rising bread dough in a pan. It’s kind of hard to find words to describe it – a picture would tell the tale in an instant – so I think I’ll include it on FB when I download later. Suffice it to say, it was a very cool, bizarre effect that was fun to rock hop over and observe. The impact that was made when an unrelenting force pounding down on an impervious fortress of rock year after year, century after century was undeniable and striking ... there’s a life metaphor in there somewhere!
Further on down the road, we made a quick stop to listen and view the spectacle known as the Tassie blow hole. For any of you who have ever seen these phenomena before, you’ll know that you hear them long before you see them. There is an eerie, low, hollow hissing sound that precedes a violent eruption of water each time the powerful waves are forced down a narrow corridor and out a tiny hole on the side of a rock wall. Kind of like the sound of whales spouting in the foggy ocean or geysers exploding from deep within the earth’s core. While I have seen blow holes before, this was a particularly beautiful one. When the tide was out I could clearly see into the rock cave where the blow hole was all the way out to the other side of the rock wall into the ocean – it was like looking out through a naturally formed rock window. Very picturesque. More stops along the way produced equally gorgeous landscapes/seascapes. Keep an eye on FB and I’ll post pics when I get back.
One of my “tens” for the day included a stop at an Australian conservation area which housed some native critters of AUS. Possums, wombats, and Kangaroos ... oh my! Lorikeets, Koala’s and my favourites ... Tasmanian Devils! Yep – they really do exist – and though they look nothing like the Bugs Bunny Cartoon version, they are as ornery, ugly, snarly, vicious and unmannered as the one portrayed by the cartoon Taz! Picture this ... they have short, course black fur with 2 white stripes or markings, they are the size of a 30 pound dog – all muscle, they have the face of a black bear/rodent, teeth of a cougar, legs and body of a hyena, tail of a small monkey. They don’t see well, smell well, hear well or hunt well (food of preference? Road kill). They fight and growl for their food, for their bed, for their space or even if you just make eye contact with them. Their bite is four times more powerful than an average dog – they can break bones in one chomp. They literally “wake up on the wrong side of the bed” every day of their lives! So why were they my favourites? I am impressed by their passion to remain miserable. They are so intensely focussed on being ugly it pulsates out of them. I give them credit for sustainability:) Side note – they do have a short lifespan – usually 4 years – I think it’s either because they are so programmed to kill each other or the stress of being so ornery takes its toll on them - I think there’s another life metaphor there:) OK – on the complete flip side of the ornery scale is the lovable Koala. FACTOID: In a 24 hour day, Koala’s sleep for 20 hours, eat for 4 hours and move for 15 minutes. They hang out in eucalyptus trees and literally flop over its branches to sleep. They have perfected the art of “chillaxing”. Their whole focus in life? Look cute and cuddly. Their life span? 20 years. Hmm ....
Final hi-light from this place was walking in amongst the roo’s. They actually let people into the Kangaroo area and you can hand feed them and pet them to your heart’s delight. Surprisingly, they are very tame (I figured these ones must have been raised in captivity). Roo’s come in all shapes and sizes – there are over 40 varieties alone in Australia. Greatest risk to me in this pen? Stepping on roo poo with open toed sandals:)
Final stop of the day was the Port Arthur penal colony. We could have spent the whole day here. Talk about a sad life ... this colony was established to deal with the overpopulated prisons in England. Back in the 1800’s, 300 convicts, 100 soldiers and 30 trades people were placed on a ship and banished to the island of Tasmania for crimes as horrendous as ... stealing a shawl, vagrancy, over-charging for surgeries, pick-pocketing, being a street urchin, etc. Sentences were either 7 years, 14 years or life. The youngest “convict” was a 9 year old boy – the majority were young men in their 20’s. The soldiers, who were suppose to help keep the peace, were in fact court marshalled military “outcasts” themselves. Quite the group to start a new civilization eh? Not exactly your typical pioneers! The first building they erected was a church – the second was a multi-cell prison house and a solitary confinement prison a short distance away. To their credit, they did indeed manage to get a functioning village up and running which eventually led to the current day population of about 500,000 Tasmanian citizens. Most everyone on the island can trace their roots back to one of those original convicts – and though for the longest time there was shame attached to that, they are now quite proud of their heritage. Dad ... you would have delighted in this place :) Made the Edmonton Detention Barracks look like Club Med! Thought about you several times:) (FYI my dad was the warden of Military DB back in the day but NEVER a convict:)
All in all, a jammed-packed day with sensory overload of nature, critters and history. Definitely a memory filled adventure!
Things I learned:
1. Australian parrots speak with an Australian accent
2. Leg irons leave bruises
3. I could live in Tasmania
Monday, February 16, 2009
Have you ever been to sea Billy?
Feb. 15, 16 & 17, 2009
The past three days have been spent on the ship – traversing the Tasman sea from NZ to Australia. The first of the three days was spent on a scenic cruise day through the Fjordland National Park on the south-western corner of NZ’s south island. This area is known as one of NZ’s most majestic natural wonders. These fjords are lined with mountain peaks that rise sharply to heights of 6,000 to 7,000 feet. Fur seals lay out on rocky shelves and dolphins play in waters that reach depths of up to 2,000 feet. Cascading waterfalls form veils of mist against the dark rock and shiny green vegetation. This huge ship had about 100 feet of water on either side of it as it gingerly sailed its way through Dusky, Doubtful and Milford Fjords (also known as Sounds). Regrettably, this area also receives more rain than any other one place in New Zealand – and today was a day like many others – cool and cloudy with lots of rain. Most of the peaks were covered in fog, however, the up-close views from the ships decks still proved to be spectacular. People who have done Alaskan cruises would have found today to be vaguely familiar.
I managed to find a quiet spot and do a couple hours of work (yes this is a working vacation for me) – but don’t feel too badly for me ... the view from my office window was far better than any million dollar corner office - anywhere. No complaints from me!
Day two of this voyage found John taking advantage of the many activities on the ship (bridge, movies, reading, tourism lectures, cocktail tasting, work-out gym, pool side sun-tanning (I joined him with this one) and food, food and more food! I managed to get my brain in gear and finish off a few more work projects (starting to really like my ocean view office!). Day three ... pretty much more of the same, but toss in some Ballroom Dancing (bad ballroom dancing I might add – I blame the rocking of the ship!)
We are due to arrive in Tasmania tomorrow morning bright and early. Plan to rent a car and explore Hobart original penal colony (you know it’s got to be interesting when Australia, which was founded as a penal colony for Britain, had to form its own penal colony!). Who knows, we may even bump into a few kangaroos, koalas and Tasmanian devils!
See ya later mates!
The past three days have been spent on the ship – traversing the Tasman sea from NZ to Australia. The first of the three days was spent on a scenic cruise day through the Fjordland National Park on the south-western corner of NZ’s south island. This area is known as one of NZ’s most majestic natural wonders. These fjords are lined with mountain peaks that rise sharply to heights of 6,000 to 7,000 feet. Fur seals lay out on rocky shelves and dolphins play in waters that reach depths of up to 2,000 feet. Cascading waterfalls form veils of mist against the dark rock and shiny green vegetation. This huge ship had about 100 feet of water on either side of it as it gingerly sailed its way through Dusky, Doubtful and Milford Fjords (also known as Sounds). Regrettably, this area also receives more rain than any other one place in New Zealand – and today was a day like many others – cool and cloudy with lots of rain. Most of the peaks were covered in fog, however, the up-close views from the ships decks still proved to be spectacular. People who have done Alaskan cruises would have found today to be vaguely familiar.
I managed to find a quiet spot and do a couple hours of work (yes this is a working vacation for me) – but don’t feel too badly for me ... the view from my office window was far better than any million dollar corner office - anywhere. No complaints from me!
Day two of this voyage found John taking advantage of the many activities on the ship (bridge, movies, reading, tourism lectures, cocktail tasting, work-out gym, pool side sun-tanning (I joined him with this one) and food, food and more food! I managed to get my brain in gear and finish off a few more work projects (starting to really like my ocean view office!). Day three ... pretty much more of the same, but toss in some Ballroom Dancing (bad ballroom dancing I might add – I blame the rocking of the ship!)
We are due to arrive in Tasmania tomorrow morning bright and early. Plan to rent a car and explore Hobart original penal colony (you know it’s got to be interesting when Australia, which was founded as a penal colony for Britain, had to form its own penal colony!). Who knows, we may even bump into a few kangaroos, koalas and Tasmanian devils!
See ya later mates!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Hearts, crafts and chocolate!
Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009
Happy V-day all! Today was our last port of call on the south island of NZ, Dunedin (pronounced Dun- EEEE-din). Dunedin is a beautiful little Scottish influenced town. Most of the early settlers were stone masons from Scotland, hence the phenomenal stone architecture on many of the 200 year old original buildings (railway station, court house, jail, city hall, etc.) and the resounding echo’s of bagpipes playing in the streets. It was a perfect summer day in my opinion – the sun was out and the blue sky was dotted with fluffy white puffs of cloud. Temperature was a refreshing 20 degrees. We started our Valentine day with a tour of the original Cadbury Chocolate Factory – started here in NZ. Can you think of any better way to celebrate V-day than be surrounded by chocolate? Ya baby ... it was sweet! Our tour guide definitely made the experience very Willy Wonkaish. I think she enjoyed her job just a little too much as she devilishly tempted us with chocolate when we gave the correct answer to her questions. Her eyes never stopped twinkling and a slight smirk was ever present on her face. Though she encouraged questions from our group, she was quick to not reveal too much information about the secrets of Cadbury – apparently, this is a highly competitive industry! Our blind obedience to her sometimes “drill sergeant” directions enabled us to enjoy a 1000 foot chocolate waterfall, a step-by-step “how do they do that” DVD on the making of our favourite chocolate bars and enough free samples of miniature chocolate bars to satisfy our cravings from now until .... well ... at least tomorrow. Dawn, if you are reading this ... I know you are drooling girl!
Our next stop in a jam-packed day of activities included LOTS of local flavour. As luck would have it, Dunedin was celebrating a yearly one-day festival called “Thieves Alley”. This festival basically involved the blocking off of the centre of town and lining the connecting streets with entertainers, booths of local Kiwi artisans and flavourful aromas of NZ delicacies both sweet and savoury. Jewellery, metal works, knitting, glass art, paintings, photography, pottery, soaps, jams/jellies, wood crafts, plants, and flea market treasures covered every inch of the sidewalks for miles and a steady sea of people moved curiously between them. A real treat to engage in this NZ delight. After we had enough exposure to the crush of people and festivities, we headed down around the corner to a museum that told the story of the early settlers in Dunedin. Fascinating, pioneering, industrious spirit of those early Scots and later the Chinese (trying to earn some quick cash in the gold rush). Both were pivotal in the shaping of modern day Dunedin and their footprints can be found everywhere in the city. One of the most relaxing and refreshing visits we enjoyed was our last stop of our day. It was to a beautiful, peaceful, 3000 square meter Chinese garden tucked away just past the centre of town. Waterfalls, rocks, bridges, ponds, tropical greenery all added to the very Zen feeling of this mini oasis. A perfect respite before heading back to the ship.
Dunedin will be remembered as a colourful, small town full of life, rich history and bagpipes!
Things I learned today:
1. I now know how they get the caramel in the Caramilk bar ... but you know how it goes, I’d have to kill you if I told you the secret!
2. I’d suck at being a pioneer
3. Rock and roll takes on a new meaning when you’re on a ship
Happy V-day all! Today was our last port of call on the south island of NZ, Dunedin (pronounced Dun- EEEE-din). Dunedin is a beautiful little Scottish influenced town. Most of the early settlers were stone masons from Scotland, hence the phenomenal stone architecture on many of the 200 year old original buildings (railway station, court house, jail, city hall, etc.) and the resounding echo’s of bagpipes playing in the streets. It was a perfect summer day in my opinion – the sun was out and the blue sky was dotted with fluffy white puffs of cloud. Temperature was a refreshing 20 degrees. We started our Valentine day with a tour of the original Cadbury Chocolate Factory – started here in NZ. Can you think of any better way to celebrate V-day than be surrounded by chocolate? Ya baby ... it was sweet! Our tour guide definitely made the experience very Willy Wonkaish. I think she enjoyed her job just a little too much as she devilishly tempted us with chocolate when we gave the correct answer to her questions. Her eyes never stopped twinkling and a slight smirk was ever present on her face. Though she encouraged questions from our group, she was quick to not reveal too much information about the secrets of Cadbury – apparently, this is a highly competitive industry! Our blind obedience to her sometimes “drill sergeant” directions enabled us to enjoy a 1000 foot chocolate waterfall, a step-by-step “how do they do that” DVD on the making of our favourite chocolate bars and enough free samples of miniature chocolate bars to satisfy our cravings from now until .... well ... at least tomorrow. Dawn, if you are reading this ... I know you are drooling girl!
Our next stop in a jam-packed day of activities included LOTS of local flavour. As luck would have it, Dunedin was celebrating a yearly one-day festival called “Thieves Alley”. This festival basically involved the blocking off of the centre of town and lining the connecting streets with entertainers, booths of local Kiwi artisans and flavourful aromas of NZ delicacies both sweet and savoury. Jewellery, metal works, knitting, glass art, paintings, photography, pottery, soaps, jams/jellies, wood crafts, plants, and flea market treasures covered every inch of the sidewalks for miles and a steady sea of people moved curiously between them. A real treat to engage in this NZ delight. After we had enough exposure to the crush of people and festivities, we headed down around the corner to a museum that told the story of the early settlers in Dunedin. Fascinating, pioneering, industrious spirit of those early Scots and later the Chinese (trying to earn some quick cash in the gold rush). Both were pivotal in the shaping of modern day Dunedin and their footprints can be found everywhere in the city. One of the most relaxing and refreshing visits we enjoyed was our last stop of our day. It was to a beautiful, peaceful, 3000 square meter Chinese garden tucked away just past the centre of town. Waterfalls, rocks, bridges, ponds, tropical greenery all added to the very Zen feeling of this mini oasis. A perfect respite before heading back to the ship.
Dunedin will be remembered as a colourful, small town full of life, rich history and bagpipes!
Things I learned today:
1. I now know how they get the caramel in the Caramilk bar ... but you know how it goes, I’d have to kill you if I told you the secret!
2. I’d suck at being a pioneer
3. Rock and roll takes on a new meaning when you’re on a ship
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Brrrr from Christchurch, NZ
February 13, 2009
Today is Friday the 13th in NZ – we crossed the dateline coming over here, so I am a day and several hours ahead of most of you. Kinda cool. Yesterday was a day at sea as we voyaged to Christchurch, NZ. Arrived here early this morning and took a shuttle into town. Rundown of Christchurch in 10 words:
Hopped a shuttle back to the ship for some hot-tubbing and chillaxing time – then a formal dinner with all the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood event followed by Broadway calibre entertainment to cap off the night. This floating resort is wearing me down!
Things I learned today:
Today is Friday the 13th in NZ – we crossed the dateline coming over here, so I am a day and several hours ahead of most of you. Kinda cool. Yesterday was a day at sea as we voyaged to Christchurch, NZ. Arrived here early this morning and took a shuttle into town. Rundown of Christchurch in 10 words:
- Cold (12 degrees!)
- Old
- British
- Historic
- Architectural
- Heritage
- No-nonsense
- Pioneering
- Anglican
- Pristine
Hopped a shuttle back to the ship for some hot-tubbing and chillaxing time – then a formal dinner with all the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood event followed by Broadway calibre entertainment to cap off the night. This floating resort is wearing me down!
Things I learned today:
- You can donate your ashes to Christchurch Cathedral for a mere $4000.00 CDN dollars – why they would want your ashes in the first place or why you would want to donate them to the church in the second place is still very much a mystery to me!
- There is no such thing as a red possum
- Starbucks, McDonalds and American news can be found around the world!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
All together now ... everyone say “Oooo” and “Ahhhhh”!
Tauranga (not Torangeau like I wrote while I was half asleep last night – sorry – just a little bit of my French side slipping out:) is a delightful port on the north east side of NZ. John and I looked at all the potential trips from this port when we woke up this morning and quickly discovered – we have done them all already! So we opted for the biggest attraction right outside our ship’s pier – Mount Maunganui. At 1000 feet above sea level, it holds great sacred significance for the Maori. We had the option to either “summit” this little mountain which would require a considerable level of physical exertion on our part or we could also just walk around the perimeter – which would still involve breaking a sweat, however, it would keep us up-close and personal with the waves, beach, rocks and nature in general. Originally thinking a hike up to the top would be a fun event, we stepped out of our air-conditioned ship to hit a wall of 30+ degrees WITH humidity and made an instant decision to walk the perimeter rather than melt in a vertical climb. Great option! This little 2 hr hike amazed us with spectacular views at every twist and turn along the path. Seriously – I’m talking take-your-breath-away, knock-your-socks-off, drop dead gorgeous, shock and awe beauty that is impossible to capture in words or pictures. The mountain is surrounded on 3 sides by emerald green water with white cap waves splashing up against rugged, ancient rock formations that are as unique as snowflakes. Add to that the most picturesque, twisted trees and lush green shrubbery that have intertwined amongst each other over the years in a futile attempt to survive the relentless and unforgiving winds blowing off the ocean. Toss in sections of brilliantly coloured river rocks that have been shaped in the methodical tumbling of the powerful waves and add in just a hint of the ever present smell of south pacific salt water breezes mixed with tropical vegetation and you’ve pretty much got perfection in nature. There are even sections around the mountain where all you can see for miles is pure white, unadulterated sand with waves rhythmically lapping on the beach and nary a human in sight. I spent the bulk of the hike getting John to “stop and get this shot” on film (er ... digital memory stick?). Definitely one of the most stunning hikes we have taken in recent memory. Oh ... did I mention that the up-close and personal part of the hike included walking barefoot in the water for as large a stretch as we could manage followed by rock hopping until we reached a well-worn path. Yep – the road less travelled has a far greater call on our spirits than anything touristy – we were well rewarded today!
A quick dip in one of the ship’s many swimming pools and a buffet lunch that would satisfy the desires, both physical and imaginary, of the most scrupulous eater, topped off an afternoon of delight in Tauranga. The food on this ship, oh my goodness, don’t get me started on the food. John and I have made a commitment to each to never use the elevators on this trip – it’s stairs or nothing. I think it is the only way I can attempt to fend off the inevitable weight gain that is notorious for cruises:) It’s a hazard I’m prepared to endure for the sake of the trip!
A quick dip in one of the ship’s many swimming pools and a buffet lunch that would satisfy the desires, both physical and imaginary, of the most scrupulous eater, topped off an afternoon of delight in Tauranga. The food on this ship, oh my goodness, don’t get me started on the food. John and I have made a commitment to each to never use the elevators on this trip – it’s stairs or nothing. I think it is the only way I can attempt to fend off the inevitable weight gain that is notorious for cruises:) It’s a hazard I’m prepared to endure for the sake of the trip!
Things I learned today:
- 16 flights of stairs are much easier to tolerate going down than going up
- UV rating in NZ is 13 today – does Canada ever even get close to that?
- God is a great artist :)
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