New Zealand: The South Island

On my departure from sunny Brisbane last week I headed for New Zealand for a week of exploring before beginning the long trip back to the US. I have had a great week in New Zealand, but knowing I can’t go back to Brisbane at the end of my travels I think I am finally ready to come home and am looking forward to stepping onto that plane in a few hours. I’ll share with you some of my adventures from the past week:

Christchurch

Christchurch Cathedral

I flew into Auckland late on Tuesday evening and hoped on a plane to the south island the next morning. My first stop was Christchurch, the garden city. The centre of Christchurch is a beautiful cathedral, the Christchurch Cathedral. I spent some time visiting the cathedral and then watching some entertaining street performers in the main town square outside the cathedral.

Cathedral Window

Botanical Gardens.

This part of the city forms one end of the cultural precinct and I spent the rest of my day exploring the rest. There are a bunch of neat old buildings filled with different museums and craft centres. These places were interesting to browse through, however my favourite places to visit were the banks of the river and the botanical gardens. The river has gondoliers that will take you for a ride down the river and since it is spring time in New Zealand there were many beautiful flowers throughout the botanical gardens. I would have loved to have more time to explore the city but the next morning it was on to my next destination.

Gondaliers

Tranz Scenic Railway

Southern Alps

Thursday morning I hopped on the Tranz Scenic Railway which travels from Christchurch to Greymouth across the Southern Alps. Turns out I picked the right day to do this journey as it was the 20th birthday of the trip and as such we got extra perks, like birthday cake. I was even interviewed for the local new station, so who knows maybe Im famous throughout New Zealand now.

The trip began by travelling through the Canterbury Planes which are mostly farmland. Lots and lots of sheep, but pretty non-the less. After making it through the planes, the real scenery began as we entered the Alps. The glacial rivers and snow-covered mountains were beautiful making it an enjoyable trip across the middle of New Zealand.

Glacial Rivers

Greymouth

The train arrived into Greymouth which is probably best known as the entrance to the west coast of the south island. It is a fairly small town; however, a lot of people stop here on their way around the island so it is slowly growing with things to do. I opted to spend my afternoon in Greymouth visiting Dragon Cave to try black water rafting. This is something I had been wanting to do in New Zealand after reading about a place on the North Island in an airline magazine so I was excited to find a place to do it in the South.

Caving!

The term rafting is a bit misleading as for the most part you are walking or swimming through the cave and it is only for part of it that you are floating down the river in the cave, but it was fun none-the-less. After receiving our gear (wetsuits, thermal shirts, gum boots, helmets and lights) we drove about 10 minutes to the cave. From here we had a 20 minute walk to the cave which was quite toasty in all our gear (on of the few times I can say I was hot in New Zealand!). Once we made it to the cave we began our descent into the dark. There was a river running into the entrance of the cave so the initial part of the trip involved climbing over rocks and wading through the river as we made our way down.

After a bit we made it to a pool of water that was deep enough to swim across and we got our first chance to swim in the cave. It was cold! After our short swim we stopped for an afternoon tea of sorts: candy bars and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate hit the spot after the cold swim. We turned off our lights while we had this snack and got our first glimpse of the glow worms living in the cave are quite pretty creatures, although not when you look at them up close.

Jumping off a Waterfall

After our snack we continued down the cave and had a chance to jump off a waterfall into the pool of water below it. The waterfall wasn’t super high but it was still a fun jump and beat the other option taken by some – using a ladder. Not long after the jump we made it to the final part of our venture down into the cave, the tubing. After hopping on our tubes we got to float down a segment of the cave in the dark while watching the glow worms. At times there were so many it was like the night sky.

Innertube Time!

After floating down the cave it was time to head back up to the entrance. I opted to take a different route through a small tunnel along the side. At times it got a bit tricky weaving through the narrow passage and navigating the sometimes deep pools of water you needed to climb through. At the end there was a small hole (called the rebirth) the squeeze your way through. We of course all made it and exited the cave.

Small Spaces!

On the way back to the van we stopped at the hydroslide. After being briefed on the dangers (something tells me they wouldn’t let you do it in the US) we had a go. Our guide was a bit more conservative than the others, saying he would only let us go once as in his experience people are careful and do it correctly the first time and then keep doing it again and again until they hurt themselves. I had my try, and apparently did it correctly (which is indicated by the amount of water you get up your nose). It was a fun ride but I think once was more than enough for me as it wasn’t exactly a smooth trip.

Franz Josef Glacier

Franz Josef Glacier.

My UQ Friends: Trish, Tyler and Lincoln.

Friday morning I caught an early morning bus (my $1 NZ fare!) to Franz Josef glacier. On arrival at the glacier I met up with three friends from Brisbane: Tyler (one of my roommates), Trish and Lincoln. We joined up with Franz Josef Glacier guides to do a guided hike of the face of the glacier. After a 40 minute hike to the glacier we were split up into groups for our time on the glacier. We opted for the sure on your feet/adventurous group which Trish and I were a bit unsure about but ended up being the right decision. The build and maintain a track around the glacier through steps they cut into the ice. After strapping on our crampons we began our trek up the face of the glacier. I was quite surprised at the beginning of the trip by how dirty and rocky (you could hardly see any snow or ice) the face of the glacier was; however, as we made our way higher up the face we began to see some of the more beautiful parts. The highlight of the trip was squeezing ourselves through a newly formed crevasse. Inside this space the ice was a vibrant blue because it was newly exposed and much more like I had pictured a glacier to be like. We also got to see some caves that were being formed although none were quite big enough to walk through.

Crevasse.

Narrower Yet.

Tyler with the Axe.

Bus to Queenstown

I had expected my trip from Franz Josef to Queenstown to be one of the more boring days of my trip; however, the bus stopped a lot of views of the sights and to stretch our legs that I got to see a lot more than I expected. I have included some pictures from this trip:

Knight’s Point

Lake Wanaka.

Queenstown from the Highest Sealed Road in New Zealand.

Milford Sound

Te Anu.

On my first day in Queenstown I joined a tour to Milford Sound. Milford Sound is located about 61km from Queenstown; however, because the road must weave around mountains the journey is around 231km. The journey starts much like the trip from Christchurch to Greymouth: lots of farmland. Our first stop was in Te Anu: to pick up some passengers and to allow the driver a break so he meets driving regulations. I was quite happy to have this stop as there was a beautiful rainbow over the lake and I liked having a chance to see it.

Plains of Fiordland National Park.

Shortly after leaving Te Anu the real highlights of the trip began as we entered Fiordland National Park. (All of the water ways were misnamed as sounds when discovered which has been acknowledged by naming the park after fjords – although it is spelled wrong). The scenery from this park is right out of Lord of the Rings and reminded me a lot of the scenery in Tasmania. We had several stops on our way to Milford Sound and the journey itself was quite spectacular. It rained throughout much of the trip but this turned out to be an added bonus as the waterfalls were bigger and there were hundreds if not thousands of waterfalls that only appear during the rain – it was amazing!

Waterfalls.

Milford Sound.

Milford Sound itself was also quite beautiful as it too was covered in waterfalls. We lucked out and the rain stopped about halfway through the 2 hour boat trip around the sound. Some other highlights from the sound included seeing New Zealand Fur Seals, Dolphins and 3 rare crested penguins that are only found in New Zealand. It was our lucky day.

Milford Sound Waterfalls.

Rare Crested Penguins.

A more permanent, big waterfall.

The sun came out for most of our trip back so we got to see the scenery in the sun as well although we didn’t get to stop.

Queenstown

View of Queenstown from the Skyline Gondola.

Queenstown is a very beautiful town as it sits on Lake Wakatipu (the third largest lake in New Zealand) and is surrounded by mountains (including one range called the Remarkables). Queenstown is known for being an adventure town (lots of skydiving, bungee jumping and other extreme activities) but I opted for a more scenic experience with lots of tramping (hiking in this part of the world). I took the skyline gondola up one of the mountains behind Queenstown and spent some time doing some tramping on the mountain top. There were some great views from up there. Afterwards, I walked along the edge of the lake – not the whole way as it is about 50 miles long and there isn’t trail around the whole thing about most of the track near Queenstown.

Tramping Views.

Forrest.

Lake Wakatipu.

Lake Wakatipu.

Neat clouds at Sunset.

Shortly I begin the long trip back home. I will be flying to LA with Tyler and Trish and it will be good to have some company along the way although I plan to sleep as much of the flight as possible. I am looking forward to seeing you all but not the cold – it’s been 60 degrees for most of my time in New Zealand and I have been cold most of the time, needless to say I’m a bit scared for the 30 degree temperatures I’ve seen in the weather forecasts for Minnesota. Brrr!

Saying Goodbye to Australia

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I will miss about Australia and the things that I am excited to return to back home. I thought I would share some of those thoughts with you. Some of my lists may seem to contradict each other but that just shows the mixed feelings I’m having as I get ready to come back. Although it will be sad to leave Australia I can’t wait to see you all when I get home next week. Cheers!

Things I Will Miss About Australia

1. Friendly Australians.
2. Didgeridoos on the street corner.
3. The City Cat and Brisbane River.
4. Beaches.
5. The weather.
6. Fresh fruits and vegetables.
7. Australian birds.
8. Markets.
9. The landscape.
10. Australian animals: kangaroos, koalas, wombats, echidnas and penguins.
11. The focus on the environment.
12. Tim Tams.
13. Real fruit flavouring.
14. Aussie Rules Football.
15. Uni Impact.
16. Christ Community Church.
17. My roommates.
18. Sunsets and sunrises.
19. Coloured money.
20. Laid back lifestyle.
21. Aussie dancing.
22. My friends, both international and Australian.
23. The accent.
24. The lingo.
25. Flowering trees.
26. Cheap airlines.
27. Sausages and onions.
28. Public barbeques.
29. Relaxed school environment.
30. Eating lunch in the park.

Things I Am Looking Forward to About Home

1. Extended opening hours.
2. Air conditioning – not that it’ll be needed when I get home.
3. The weather.
4. Not being the one with the accent.
5. A white Christmas.
6. My mom’s cooking.
7. Friends and family.
8. My dog.
9. Cheaper prices.
10. Being able to wear a sweatshirt.
11. The education system.
12. Being in the same time zone, and the same day, as everyone.
13. Driving myself places.
14. Target.
15. Pizza.

My Final Australian Adventure

After finishing exams 2 weeks ago I left on a 12 day trip to some of the places I have wanted to visit in Australia but hadn’t yet gotten around to. It was a great trip and I got to see a lot of the Australian country side. My trip started in Perth, followed by a visit to Uluru (the rock in the middle of the country) and ended in Melbourne. Here are some highlights.

Perth

Visiting Perth marked my chance to venture off the east coast of Australia and to see the less populous west coast. I spent my first day exploring Perth. It is a small city that was easy to walk around and very modern. I really enjoyed my time in the city. After walking around the city a bit, I spent my day visiting the swan bells near the river (it was neat to hear them and watch people play them) and wandering around the nearby King’s Park.

Perth from Kings Park.

King’s Park was the highlight of my day. It is a very large park located on a hill overlooking the CBD of Perth. They have a botanical garden up there as well as lots of natural bush land with walking tracks. I did an absolutely beautiful hike along the edge of the hill overlooking the river and city. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

The Pinnacles

The Pinnacles are another one of the bizarre Australian natural sites located a couple of hours from Perth. I joined a tour to see them on Wednesday and they were pretty amazing in person. On the trip to the Pinnacles we stopped to look for Kangaroos and Koalas (a staple on any Australian trip), and at a very remote town that really only had a gas station (along with a 25 hr café).

The Pinnacles were quite amazing. They are located near the coast and are surrounded by large sand dunes. Scientists think they were formed over time through the compacting of sand around the root systems of plans growing on the dunes. A lightning strike caused a bush fire that burned off all the plant systems growing on the dunes exposing them to wind erosion. As the dunes moved the pinnacles were exposed leaving the structures that are seen today.

4WD!

On the way back from the Pinnacles we stopped at one of the sand dunes for 4 wheel driving in the bus and sand boarding. The sand boarding was a bit more extreme than on Kangaroo Island and driving over the dunes in the bus was a lot of fun. Quite the adventure.

Rottnest Island

I spent two days of my Western Australia adventure visiting Rottnest Island located off the coast of Perth. I took a ferry from the Perth to the Island and got to see many of the coastal views on the Swan River. There were some very impressive homes along the shores and there were some pretty costal views where the home weren’t located.

Little Parakeet Bay.

Rottnest Island is absolutely beautiful. It is a Class A Reserve and as such cars are not allowed on the island. There is a bus that takes people around the island but I opted for the more popular method of transport: biking. I spent my first day on the island biking the loop around the island to see all the beaches and bays. There were some very beautiful beaches and this was my first chance to step foot in the Indian Ocean. My second day on the island I ventured over to my favourite beach (Little Parakeet Bay) and spent the day soaking up the sun, swimming and snorkelling. For most of the morning I had the beach to my self which was pretty neat!

Sunset on Rottnest Island

Freemantle and Cottesloe

Freemantle Market.

I stopped off in the suburb of Freemantle on my way back from Rottnest Island. Freemantle is a very chill place. I walked around the shore a bit, checking out the fishing docks and visiting the Freemantle Market. After dinner I enjoyed a street side didgeridoo player. He had generated quite the crowd and it was an enjoyable way to spend the evening.

Cottesloe Beach.

The next day I visited the suburb of Cottesloe on my way back to Perth. Cottesloe is known for its beach and so I spent the day on the beach. The beach was gorgeous, the waves were big and the weather was perfect. One of my best beach experiences in Australia.

The Red Centre

Kata Tjuta at Sunset.

I spent my next few days visiting the red centre of Australia: the famous Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) and less famous but equally spectacular Kata Tjuta. I spent my first afternoon visiting Kata Tjuta. This rock formation is composed of several rock domes that are clumped together. This group of rocks is a sacred aboriginal site that is used by initiated males. As a result of this, access is fairly limited to this site and only 2 of the gorges can be visited. Similarly only initiated males are able to know the cultural significance of the site so we were really only able to learn about the geology of the domes and not learn about why it is culturally significant.

Kata Tjuta up Close.

Uluru: The Rock

The second day I visited Uluru. I started the morning with a sunrise base walk around the rock. This was my favourite part of the visit because I got to see how the cultural stories are seen in the rock. Also the rock itself is very amazing up close because the structures are very diverse, the surfaces are amazing and the landscape around the rock is beautiful. I was very surprised by how green everything was and all the trees in the landscape – very unexpected to me.

Uluru Up Close at Mutitjuli Waterhole.

Close Up.

Site of our Breakfast Stop at Uluru.

Kantju Gorge, Uluru.

Both nights I watched a sunset – the first day over Kata Tjuta and the second night over Uluru. The rocks are supposed to turn bright ride at sunset but I (and most of the people around) had some what of a difficult time seeing this. Difficulties aside, the sunset over the outback was pretty spectacular making up for this.

Sunset over the Outback.

Melbourne

My last destination on my trip around Australia was Melbourne. I have been looking forward to this visit since before I arrived to Australia as there were a lot of places I wanted to see in the area and the city didn’t disappoint.

Melbourne

Melbourne is a great city that has the most culture of any city I’ve been to in Australia. The city reminds me a lot of an English city both in the way it is designed. The primary mode of public transport are trolleys including a free city circle tram that takes you around the main city sites. There is lots to do in Melbourne and I especially enjoyed Federation Square and the Botanical Gardens.

Melbourne Tram

Yarra River

Santa. Not the best picture but if you look closely you can see the fake snow over Santa’s head.

While I was in Melbourne, Myers (the big Australian department store) had their Christmas Parade. It reminded me a bit of the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. The day of the parade it was about 30 degrees (90 Fahrenheit). Two things stuck out to me during the parade: the first was an announcement during the waiting period for the parade. An announcer came on welcoming people to the parade and reminding everyone to ‘protect themselves from the elements and put on sun cream which was available at the first aide centres’. After this they turned on Christmas music – the first song of which was Let it Snow! A bit ironic if you ask me. This strange situation was enhanced when Santa finally appeared at the end of the parade. He was accompanied by a cloud of snow it was a really strange thing to experience.

Great Ocean Road

One highlight I was especially looking forward to was the Great Ocean Road. It was built after an Australian road works official visited the Ocean Road along the California coast in California in the 1920s. He was so impressed by this coastal drive that he decided to build his own version of it in Australia.

The Great Ocean Road is divided into three parts: the surf coast, the green coast and the shipwreck coast. The surf coast was filled with beautiful surf beaches that border to the Southern Ocean. This included the beautiful Bells Beach which is world famous for its wave break. Most of the towns along the Great Ocean Road are on this part of the coast and they are all quintessential seaside towns.

After the surf coast the road moves inland to the segment known as the green coast. This area begins with forest and rainforest and ends with pastures and farmland. We stopped at a National Park and took a hike through the rainforest. This part of the rainforest is known for its carnivorous snails – the only of the kind in the world.

12 Apostles.

My favourite part of the coast was the shipwreck coast. This is the most famous part of the coast where the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge is located. The cliffs on the coastline were quite amazing, especially the contrast of the colours against the water. The only way to describe it is magnificent.

London Bridge

Phillip Island

The Nobbies on Phillip Island.

Another highlight of the Melbourne area was Phillip Island. The coast and island itself was beautiful but the real attraction is the Little Penguins that come to shore every night. These penguins are only about 30 cm tall and come on shore in groups of 20-30. The night I visited about 800 penguins came on shore and it was really fun to watch them waddling across the beach. It was quite amazing and one of my favourite Australian wildlife experiences.

Little Penguin. You couldn’t take pictures at the penguin parade but this one was at the Nobbies.

A Shy Penguin

I’m now back in Brisbane (and have been for the last few days). Tomorrow I leave the country and head to New Zealand for a week of exploring. It’s hard to believe I am on my journey home. I’m going to miss Australia.

Schools Out for Summer

As of 10:30 this morning (6:30 pm on Sunday night for all you in the midwest), I finished my semester of Uni here in Australia. It is so strange to be done as it feels like I was just getting here and starting to figure things out yesterday. Reaching the end of the semester is bitter sweet: it is always nice to finish with the school part of things but this also means my time in Australia is quickly coming to an end and that I will have to (and already have had to) start saying goodbye to all of my new friends.

This past week has been pretty busy preparing for exams and doing things with my Australian friends. On Wednesday I joined my friend Pippa for a trip to Kangaroo Point on the Brisbane River. We took over one of the barbecues and had the quintessential Australian meal of snags (better known as sausages ). We had hoped to watch the sun set over the city; however, it was a cloudy day. Despite this it was still really gorgeous up on kangaroo point and the transition of the city lights from daylight to night was beautiful. Evening is usually the best time to be outside because it is a lot cooler so that was also enjoyable.

Last night I went to another Aussie Barbecue for the end of the semester break-out party of Uni-Impact, the campus ministry I’ve been involved in.It was great to have another chance to hang out with people and just enjoy being outside. It was my first real experience with Australian flies — they were everywhere, and I’d have to say I could do without them. I would have to equate them to mosquitos in a Minnesota summer, although the bite seems to be a lot worse. The barbecue was a lot of fun but it was a bit sad saying goodbye to everyone at the end of the night.

I am leaving tonight for one last traveling adventure around Australia before I leave on November 20th. I will be visiting Perth, Uluru (the rock in the middle) and Melbourne. These are all some of the places I have been most looking forward to seeing so I can’t wait! I hope the next two weeks goes well for everyone! Cheers.