I expected a lot from Cairns - I had heard so much about it, and it has not quite lived up to the hype.
I arrived late last night and caught the shuttle from the airport to the hostel. Cute place, but there wasn't too many people around, so it was an early night for me. I did manage to make a couple of friends before going to bed, and work out some loose plans, so we'll see where that goes.
This morning, Anna and I (as well as a British couple) had breakfast together, before Anna and I set out for the 'city'. The 'city' is really only about 5 blocks of cafes, souvenir shops, and tour booking places. We walked along the beach to get there, and even though I had been warned it was not a typical beach, I was still stunned! It was gross! More like mudflats than anything else. And then it started to rain on us. After that, it started to pour. So thats how we found ourselves currently located in this tour booking/internet place ^_^
We are hoping to hire a camper van for the next couple of days and head up to the rainforest, and then make it back here early next week for some diving.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
I loveeee Sydney!
Last night was the Mobsters and Mafia Swing Ball, so everyone dressed up and was looking fantastic!
Heres a picture of Catherina and I before we hit the town:
It was a pretty early night, with the dance ending at midnight. There was supposed to be an afterparty, but that didn't start until 2am, so Alicja and I skipped it and made it to bed at a reasonable hour.
Today, my other friend, Alicja, took me on a personalized walking tour of Sydney. We started in the suburb of Glebe, where she lives, because there was the Glebe Market Festival on today:
We walked past Central Station, through Chinatown, and all the way to Darling Harbour, where we had a very nutricious lunch:
Of course we walked along the Harbour Bridge:
We continued to the Opera House, where we proceeded to lindy bomb the place! Yay!
And more jump shots followed:
A fantastic tour!
And tonight will be more dancing!
Last night was the Mobsters and Mafia Swing Ball, so everyone dressed up and was looking fantastic!
Heres a picture of Catherina and I before we hit the town:
It was a pretty early night, with the dance ending at midnight. There was supposed to be an afterparty, but that didn't start until 2am, so Alicja and I skipped it and made it to bed at a reasonable hour.
Today, my other friend, Alicja, took me on a personalized walking tour of Sydney. We started in the suburb of Glebe, where she lives, because there was the Glebe Market Festival on today:
We walked past Central Station, through Chinatown, and all the way to Darling Harbour, where we had a very nutricious lunch:
Of course we walked along the Harbour Bridge:
We continued to the Opera House, where we proceeded to lindy bomb the place! Yay!
And more jump shots followed:
A fantastic tour!
And tonight will be more dancing!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
And I am now in Sydney!
Just checking in quickly before Catherina, Leehui, and I head out to grab some lunch. It was a super late night last night, and Catherina and I didn't get to bed until 530am, so we are all moving a little bit slow today.
The dance was fantastic though. Lots of good leads, and decent music - although it was more bluesy and slow swing, but I did get in a bal dance or 2.
Just checking in quickly before Catherina, Leehui, and I head out to grab some lunch. It was a super late night last night, and Catherina and I didn't get to bed until 530am, so we are all moving a little bit slow today.
The dance was fantastic though. Lots of good leads, and decent music - although it was more bluesy and slow swing, but I did get in a bal dance or 2.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Internet two days in a row - CRAZY!
Last night I hung around the hostel for a bit and watched a movie (Remember the Titans), and then walked over to the pub, which was only 4 blocks away. I had a bunch of good dances, but it ended pretty early at 11pm, so I didn't get in as much dancing as I would have liked!
I am staying again with Chrissy, and Alicja is as well, so we all piled up into the car, and headed to Melinda's house for a cup of tea ^_^ We didn't make it to bed until 1230 or 1am.
Today is my last day here in Christchurch, and it was a beautiful one at that! Alicja and I walked from Chrissy house into downtown this morning, and ti was about an hour walk. We wandered about, and eventually found a Thai place to grab some lunch to take with us. A couple of minutes later, and we found ourselves in the pretty botanic gardens, lounging in the grass, eating our yummy take-away. I think we napped for a while in the sunshine, because when I woke up, there was a whole group of circus people practicing in our patch of grass!
What good entertainment! There were several jugglers, and plenty of people doing press handstands, back tucks and handsprings, etc. It was good fun. Alicja and I hung out there for a couple of hours before heading to the internet cafe (so that I could check my flight time for tomorrow, and she could play on facebook!)
And now its time to get going again! Back to Chrissy's house!
Last night I hung around the hostel for a bit and watched a movie (Remember the Titans), and then walked over to the pub, which was only 4 blocks away. I had a bunch of good dances, but it ended pretty early at 11pm, so I didn't get in as much dancing as I would have liked!
I am staying again with Chrissy, and Alicja is as well, so we all piled up into the car, and headed to Melinda's house for a cup of tea ^_^ We didn't make it to bed until 1230 or 1am.
Today is my last day here in Christchurch, and it was a beautiful one at that! Alicja and I walked from Chrissy house into downtown this morning, and ti was about an hour walk. We wandered about, and eventually found a Thai place to grab some lunch to take with us. A couple of minutes later, and we found ourselves in the pretty botanic gardens, lounging in the grass, eating our yummy take-away. I think we napped for a while in the sunshine, because when I woke up, there was a whole group of circus people practicing in our patch of grass!
What good entertainment! There were several jugglers, and plenty of people doing press handstands, back tucks and handsprings, etc. It was good fun. Alicja and I hung out there for a couple of hours before heading to the internet cafe (so that I could check my flight time for tomorrow, and she could play on facebook!)
And now its time to get going again! Back to Chrissy's house!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Yesterday (Tuesday) morning we awoke to some beautiful views in Lake Tekapo. After packing up the car and checking out of our hotel room, we had a late brunch at the little frendly cafe in town (though there wasn't many places to choose from - the population of Lake Tekapo is tiny!). Afterwards, we went for a walk/climb/adventure around a portion of the lake. Gorgeous weather, crystal blue lake, mountains and forests in the background - I really couldn't ask for more!
Eventually, we got back into the car and started making our way north to Christchurch. We stopped a bunch of times along the way - to get out and stretch, to take pictures, and even once to watch some random blokes hit some golfballs way out into the middle of nowhere. Fan-tastic!
After a 4 hour drive from Lake Tekapo, Dave and I arrived back in Christchuch yesterday evening. We hung about in the city for a while, just wandering around, not really accomplishing much except for walking around in circles. We did manage to find a nice little brew/pub, where we tried a local beer. After enjoying the free wireless internet, and a live band, we wandered around some more. Dave had been craving sushi, so it was Japanese for dinner ^_^ I had some yummy chicken katsu, and he ate some raw fish (blech), and an hour or so later, we ended up in the YHA in the city centre.
Eventually, we got back into the car and started making our way north to Christchurch. We stopped a bunch of times along the way - to get out and stretch, to take pictures, and even once to watch some random blokes hit some golfballs way out into the middle of nowhere. Fan-tastic!
After a 4 hour drive from Lake Tekapo, Dave and I arrived back in Christchuch yesterday evening. We hung about in the city for a while, just wandering around, not really accomplishing much except for walking around in circles. We did manage to find a nice little brew/pub, where we tried a local beer. After enjoying the free wireless internet, and a live band, we wandered around some more. Dave had been craving sushi, so it was Japanese for dinner ^_^ I had some yummy chicken katsu, and he ate some raw fish (blech), and an hour or so later, we ended up in the YHA in the city centre.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Saturday
We checked out at 10am, ans began our drive out to Queenstown. Turned out to be a much longer drive than I expected, but it was totally worth it! Mountains and streams and forests along the entire way, so we definitely had a good drive. We stopped along the way to admire the scenery in numerous places, such as Bruce Bay, and along the lakes. After arriving in Queenstown, we checked into our accommodation, and went to walk around downtown.
Not too much going on, but I did manage to find an ATM, and Dave got a new cassette for his video recorder. I wanted to find an optometrist, because I tore one of my contact lenses Thursday night, but the one place was closed for the weekend, so no luck for me. Bah. We picked up some dinner at the grocery store, and headed back to the hostel to cook it.
Not too much going on, but I did manage to find an ATM, and Dave got a new cassette for his video recorder. I wanted to find an optometrist, because I tore one of my contact lenses Thursday night, but the one place was closed for the weekend, so no luck for me. Bah. We picked up some dinner at the grocery store, and headed back to the hostel to cook it.
Friday
We booked a tour to do a glacier hike!
It started pretty early - 815, but it really took a while for everyone to get all their gear together and get on the bus. It was a short ride out to the glacier, and then a longggggg hike up! Tons of amazing pictures along the way, and was absolutely gorgeous the entire time! We climbing through some caves and some narrow passageways... but everyone made it out safely. As soon as we made it back to the hostel, we jumped into the hot tub for a soak of our tired muscles!
It started pretty early - 815, but it really took a while for everyone to get all their gear together and get on the bus. It was a short ride out to the glacier, and then a longggggg hike up! Tons of amazing pictures along the way, and was absolutely gorgeous the entire time! We climbing through some caves and some narrow passageways... but everyone made it out safely. As soon as we made it back to the hostel, we jumped into the hot tub for a soak of our tired muscles!
Thursday Dave and I drove out to the Franz Josef glacier. We stopped at a bunch of places along we way, because every place was more beautiful than the last. We crossed Arthur's Pass, where we did a short hike, and climbed some rocks up to the base of a waterfall, and then we continued along our way. Eventually, we reached the glacier, so we checked into our room at the Glow Worm Resort.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
We are now in Rotorua, New Zealand!
Dancing this past weekend was absolutely fantastic - I met so many great people, and had tons of awesome dances, and I even learned a bit at the classes. The dance camp was at this little out of the way place in the middle of nowhere - when you opened the front door of the main building, the sheep baa'ed at you! ^_^ Made me crack up every time I heard it.
I hooked up with some other dancers who were doing some traveling, so the five of us have been exploring the north island. We were in Hamilton on Monday afternoon and yesterday morning, where we went to see the Hamilton Gardens. A little while south of there is Waitomo, which is a huge tourist attraction because of the glow worm caves. We did a caving tour Tuesday morning, where we had to suit up in wetsuits and explore about 1km of caves (which took us about 3 hours!). It was really cool (and cold!) because we got to do some swimming, some climbing, some crawling, and in the middle of it, we stopped at the "Hard Rock Cafe" where they fed us some hot lemonade and chocolate fish (a marshmallow candy bar coated in chocolate in the shape of a fish!)
Oren and Kitty had to leave Rotorua this morning to go back to Auckland to catch their flight, but Alicja, Dave and I hung around a while. Alicja had already spent two weeks touring around the south island, but Dave and I haven't, so it was here where we decided to part ways.
Our original goal was for Dave and I to hire a car and drive all the way down to Wellington, stopping to do the Tongariro Crossing. But then we found our that no one would rent out a car to us (because it would have been a one way rental). And then to top it off, we found out the the crossing was closed! And would be closed for the next coupla days! Oh noes!
Well, there went that idea, so instead we hopped on a plane within an hour and a half and were on our way to Christchurch! We arrived in Christchurch about 5pm, and hung around in the city for a bit until we went dancing! Yay for swing dancing in Christchurch! The scene here is pretty good, and the people are really nice. Chrissy hosted us for the night after the dance, and when we got back to her place, we were super tired, so we crashed almost right away!
Dancing this past weekend was absolutely fantastic - I met so many great people, and had tons of awesome dances, and I even learned a bit at the classes. The dance camp was at this little out of the way place in the middle of nowhere - when you opened the front door of the main building, the sheep baa'ed at you! ^_^ Made me crack up every time I heard it.
I hooked up with some other dancers who were doing some traveling, so the five of us have been exploring the north island. We were in Hamilton on Monday afternoon and yesterday morning, where we went to see the Hamilton Gardens. A little while south of there is Waitomo, which is a huge tourist attraction because of the glow worm caves. We did a caving tour Tuesday morning, where we had to suit up in wetsuits and explore about 1km of caves (which took us about 3 hours!). It was really cool (and cold!) because we got to do some swimming, some climbing, some crawling, and in the middle of it, we stopped at the "Hard Rock Cafe" where they fed us some hot lemonade and chocolate fish (a marshmallow candy bar coated in chocolate in the shape of a fish!)
Oren and Kitty had to leave Rotorua this morning to go back to Auckland to catch their flight, but Alicja, Dave and I hung around a while. Alicja had already spent two weeks touring around the south island, but Dave and I haven't, so it was here where we decided to part ways.
Our original goal was for Dave and I to hire a car and drive all the way down to Wellington, stopping to do the Tongariro Crossing. But then we found our that no one would rent out a car to us (because it would have been a one way rental). And then to top it off, we found out the the crossing was closed! And would be closed for the next coupla days! Oh noes!
Well, there went that idea, so instead we hopped on a plane within an hour and a half and were on our way to Christchurch! We arrived in Christchurch about 5pm, and hung around in the city for a bit until we went dancing! Yay for swing dancing in Christchurch! The scene here is pretty good, and the people are really nice. Chrissy hosted us for the night after the dance, and when we got back to her place, we were super tired, so we crashed almost right away!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
I made it to NZ!
I arrived yesterday afternoon, in the midst of nasty nasty weather. When we went to land, the plane circled for quite a while, and there was absolutely nothing visible through the windows - everuthing was white with rain clouds! But we made it safely to the ground, and once in, I took a shuttle bus straight to Melita's house, where I am staying. (I didn't know Melita until yesterday, but she is a fellow swing dancer, and is absolutely wonderful for hosting me for a couple nights!)
I didn't get to her place until about 4:30-5pm, and she arrived home from work about 10 minutes after I got there, so that was pretty well timed. We hung around for a bit, and then made a run to the grocery store, for some snacky things, and some dinner. That night, a couple of other dancers came over, and we all worked on cutting "jandals" and gum boots out of construction paper. (Its all decoration for the exchange this weekend). It was a pretty late night by the time we were all done, so afterwards, Melita and I just went to sleep.
This morning, she dropped me off in the city about 10 am, on her way to run some errands. I wandered about for a bit, and then caught a ferry acorss the harbour to the borough of Devonport. Very neat! I walked along the ocean, and climbed a couple of volcanoes (not active anymore!) and just had a good time all around.
Eventually, I met Melita for some dinner in the city. Yum: more pad thai! There were a bunch of other dancers there, so we all hung out for a bit, and then walked over to the class. This other girl, Michelle, taught a beginners lesson, and then Melita taught an intermediate lesson, which was pretty good. (Andrea: the lesson was getting into and out of a swing jam, so a lot of it I already knew, but I learned "throw the baby") =D
After the lessons, the demo troupe practiced for their presentation on Saturday, so that took quite a while. Finally, Melita and I made it home, and we winded down the down with a cup of hot jasmine tea, and an episode of SITC =D
Tomorrow is going to be another long day - we are heading out to the camp at about 10 am, so I probably won't have internet for a couple of days! But I will be dancing 24/7 so yay!
Sorry for no pictures. =( This compy doesn't have a memory card reader, but eventually, I will get some posted. In the meantime, this is a generic view of Auckland:
and this is one of the volcanoes I climbed today (called North Head - it used to be used for defence of the city):
I didn't get to her place until about 4:30-5pm, and she arrived home from work about 10 minutes after I got there, so that was pretty well timed. We hung around for a bit, and then made a run to the grocery store, for some snacky things, and some dinner. That night, a couple of other dancers came over, and we all worked on cutting "jandals" and gum boots out of construction paper. (Its all decoration for the exchange this weekend). It was a pretty late night by the time we were all done, so afterwards, Melita and I just went to sleep.
This morning, she dropped me off in the city about 10 am, on her way to run some errands. I wandered about for a bit, and then caught a ferry acorss the harbour to the borough of Devonport. Very neat! I walked along the ocean, and climbed a couple of volcanoes (not active anymore!) and just had a good time all around.
Eventually, I met Melita for some dinner in the city. Yum: more pad thai! There were a bunch of other dancers there, so we all hung out for a bit, and then walked over to the class. This other girl, Michelle, taught a beginners lesson, and then Melita taught an intermediate lesson, which was pretty good. (Andrea: the lesson was getting into and out of a swing jam, so a lot of it I already knew, but I learned "throw the baby") =D
After the lessons, the demo troupe practiced for their presentation on Saturday, so that took quite a while. Finally, Melita and I made it home, and we winded down the down with a cup of hot jasmine tea, and an episode of SITC =D
Tomorrow is going to be another long day - we are heading out to the camp at about 10 am, so I probably won't have internet for a couple of days! But I will be dancing 24/7 so yay!
Sorry for no pictures. =( This compy doesn't have a memory card reader, but eventually, I will get some posted. In the meantime, this is a generic view of Auckland:
and this is one of the volcanoes I climbed today (called North Head - it used to be used for defence of the city):
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