Melbourne, AUS - Go Doggies!!!

Wrapping up a week in lovely Melbourne before I head off to Thailand. Its been really nice to spend more than a few days in one place, relax, and just enjoy the city. Went to Hamer Hall in the Vic Arts Center to see the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and choir perform Verdi's Requiem, one of my favorite choral works. I sung that it college and it took me back, way back, like 5 years ago:)

I also attended an Australian Football League, or "footy," game at the Telstra dome. Footy is like a cross between rugby and soccer, really fast paced and high scoring. So basically, the opposite of American football. Footy is insanely popular here; nine of the sixteen teams in the league are based in Melbourne. The game I went to was SO much fun! I went by myself but ended up sitting next to two girls who were rabid Bulldog fans and who insisted on buying me beers and teaching me all the Doggie songs and cheers. At halftime there was a fan contest to dance around and we won and were featured on the jumbo TV in the stadium! One of the girls received a prize of free cable for a year or something. The game was awesome as well - the Dogs were down during the first quarter, rallied in Q2 and Q3, and then obliterated the St. Kilda Saints in Q4. The girls tried to make me promise to come back the next week since I seemed to be good luck for the team. Tempting...

Alice Springs, Aus - Easter in The Outback

It’s strange to feel that you’ve come home to a place you’ve never been before. I had this overwhelming sensation the first night of a ten day outback safari. We were camping in the Flinders Ranges just north of Adelaide and I snuck away from the Toyota Land Cruiser and the rest of the group to photograph the pink sunset coupled with the brilliant rock formations and rising moon. Suddenly it just all felt so right, like I had come home. Every night we slept in swags under the stars. I slept better on the trip than I have in hostels, despite the spiders and snakes and other critters that live the desert. I have become an expert at identifying the pointers and the Southern Cross.





Unfortunately we had such a bright moon for most of the trip that it was hard to see the stars in their full glory, but at least the full moon meant we didn’t have to use head torches in the night to find a good bush to pee behind! Even in the rugged conditions the food was great. One night we did burritos, only instead of beef or chicken the meat was skippy (kangaroo). In the Flinder Ranges we looked at aboriginal cave paintings, layers of which date back 50,000 years! From the Flinders we headed north to the aboriginal community of Iga-Warta, where we listened to creation stories around the campfire and had our faces painted with ochre. We headed up along the route of the Old Ghan Railway, even stopping to collect some of the abandoned wood sleepers to use as firewood. While we traveled along mostly unsealed roads and might go hours without seeing other cars, there would be occasional signs of other humans in the form of burned-out cars by the side of the road or other random things such as the larger-than-life sculptures just north of Manree.



This was the start of a long internal debate; do deserts attract eccentric people or do deserts make people just a little bit different?

Speaking of different, what do you think of my new headgear?




We crossed the dingo fence, which keeps dingos out of sheep country and at over 3000 miles is the world’s longest fence. The night we camped near William Creek happened to be the Equinox and we watched the sun set over one horizon, only to turn around to the opposite horizon and watch the full moon rise minutes later.




From William Creek (pop. 5) we headed west to Coober Pedy, an … odd place where the majority of the residents live underground due to the extreme heat. Coober Pedy is an opal mining town, but is well known for both the opals and its lawlessness. With so many mining shafts there are a lot of places for people to disappear. We took a tour of an underground home but I had to bail out halfway through because I felt too claustrophobic - you try being in a small underground room with 40 people, the lights out, and no airshaft! I had been really excited to see the place, but a few hours was enough and I couldn’t wait to leave.

From Coober Pedy we headed north through the Moon Plain and the Painted Desert. The Painted Desert was my favorite place of the whole trip. The brilliant colors of this area are incredible, and watching the sunset and the following sunrise here was amazing.

As we jostled along the dirt roads, I was continually amazed at how much wildlife there is in the seemingly inhospitable desert. We saw wild brumbies (mustangs), camels, lizards, spiders, and heard some howling dingos. Did you know Australia has the second-largest population of wild camels in the world?

Next we traveled north to Oodnadatta, home of the famous Pink Roadhouse. They were actually looking for help…tempting… That afternoon, amazingly, it began to rain! Nothing too hard, but a steady rain the lasted long enough to clear the dust from the air and cool us off as we swam and drank beer in the Dalhousie Hot Springs. I've learned Tooheys is the Coors Light of Australia. Drinking anything else in the desert would just be wrong.




The following day we crossed the border from South Australia into the Northern Territory and visited the geographical center of Australia. About as interesting as it sounds. Apparently nearby there were some dead camel carcasses that were missing their heads, but we only heard about these after we left. Australia definitely has their brand of rednecks. We headed west and made it to the famous Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) for the sunset. We stayed in the area the next day and hiked through the nearby Olga Mountains in Kata Tjuta. We watched the sunset over Ulura again, only this time from a popular viewing spot loaded with other tour buses and complete with helicopters flying overhead. It was pretty funny and I was really relieved that I had seen so much more of the outback than just that very touristy area.

The following morning we did the 9 km base walk around Uluru. There is a climb you can do to the top but because Uluru is such a sacred aboriginal site climbing on the rock is highly discouraged. There are even features on Uluru that hold such spiritual significance that photographing these areas is prohibited. I think it’s fantastic that such a place can be touristy and still respectful of traditional ways, especially in a country that has such a sad and disturbing past in regards to the aboriginals. From Uluru we went to Kings Canyon, yet another gorgeous place with brilliant red rock formations. Pictures, at least mine, don’t do these places justice. We spent our last night dancing around the campfire in the West MacDonnel National Park.
Then it was a quick stop in the Glen Halen Gorge and back to civilization in Alice Springs. Coming back to civilization felt weird. In the desert I had become used to being dirty and wearing the same clothes every day. Relative to the open outback expanses, Alice Springs (not a big city) seemed crowded.



As with all things, it was the people who made this trip great. You bond pretty quickly with people when you are forced together in the middle of the outback, deprived of showers and toilets, and crammed together in the back of a Land Cruiser singing your heart out to 80’s pop songs...

Great Ocean Road, AUS - The Australian PCH

Its been a while since my last update - thanks for all the emails! I am still alive, just having a lot of fun. After I left Newcastle I jumped on a three-day bus tour from Sydney to Melbourne, passing from New South Wales into Victoria. We made a quick stop in the capital city of Canberra where I learned that the kangaroo and the emu are Australia's mascots because they are two animals that can only move forward, never backward. I witnessed the House of Representatives in action at the Parliament House. I couldn't decide if all the yelling, cheering and booing was comical or really frightening. Did some hiking in Kosciuszko National Park and visited a beautiful beach in Wilson's Promontory NP, or The Prom as they call it here. The water was cold but crystal clear and irrestible.
Melbourne was a bit crazy due to the Grand Prix that was in town (LOTS of drunk English, I mean car enthusiasts). I was only there two days but I enjoyed the cafes and tree-lined streets. I did not enjoy the drunk guy in my dorm room who peed on the floor and all over another girl's stuff... The tour of the famed Melbourne Cricket Ground was interesting. Basically the tour guide would say something and all the English people around me would laugh at whatever fantastic cricket pun he made. Oh, cricket.
From Melbourne I hit the road again for a three-day trek east to Adelaide. We took the famed Great Ocean Road, a coastal route that reminds me a lot of the best parts of PCH back home. Millions of years of erosion have created fantastic rock formations such as the famous Twelve Apostles (although only seven or eight still stand). Our tour group stayed in the lovely coastal villages of Apollo Bay, Port Fairy, and Robe. This southern coast of Victoria and South Australia is dotted with small towns, lighthouses, and hundreds of shipwrecks. Basically, everything a girl with a good imagination needs! I would have loved to stay in this picturesque area much longer. (How many places have I said that about?) In the Tower Hill Reserve I saw wild koalas and emus roaming around. I fell a little bit in love with the koalas - very chill, cool animals. Near our hostel the second night I saw several wallabees bouncing around near the beach. The wildlife here is so distinct and fascinating.
For most of our trip the weather was around 40 C (104 F). It felt like hard work just standing and staring at the beautiful coastline. Adelaide was experiencing its longest heat wave in history. Luckily it cooled off by the time I got there.

In Adelaide I met up with some local girls who I had met in Fiji back in January. It was wonderful to see familiar faces and catch up. The best part of traveling has been making great friends with people from all over the world. I seem to get along really well with Australians in particular. In general they have very practical, straightforward attitudes. Also, anytime they can take the piss out of you they will! My english is becoming a strange mix of American, British, and Australian english. Phrases that I used to laugh at I now use on a regular basis: "Mate" and "How you going?" and "That was full-on" and "She's a spot-on old bird." Actually no, I still laugh at that last one. People laugh at me for saying "totally" a lot.

Well, mates, so far this trip has been totally full-on.

Newcastle, AUS - No worries, mate

G'day mates. Made the jump from little Australia, I mean NZ, to Australia proper (ha! its kind of like the Canada/US thing). My plane from Christchurch to Sydney was delayed several hours, but I ended up hanging out in the airport with an English guy who I met in Fiji whose plane was also delayed. Its amazing how many familiar faces I keep bumping into throughout my trek. Sydney is beautiful, but I was a little ovewhelmed after spending the previous few weeks in the sparsely populated landscapes of New Zealand. The Sydney Opera house is spectacular - I've never been so moved by a building. I realized it encapsulates so many things that I love: engineering, opera, theater, and water. Pictures don't capture the beauty of the building. To escape the crowds I headed inland to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, an area named for the landscape's blueish tinge created by a fine mist emitted by the eucalyptus trees. I only planned on staying two nights there but really enjoyed it so I stayed almost a week! Spent several days hiking and visited the nearby Janolan Caves. These limestone caves are incredible. In some of the larger caves they hold music concerts. Unfortunately, there were no concerts while I was there. Fortunately, the day after I went to the caves I met Lester, a park ranger/Didjeridu player. Lester is in a Didjeridu band that has the occasional concert in the caves(http://www.didjeridudingo.com). When I met him Lester didn't happen to have his Didjeridu in his car, but he did have his Kawasaki 900 exhaust manifold pipes that he played instead. I caught it on video, shown below, but it doesn't seem to be posting well.



Left Katoomba and took the train to Newcastle to visit Jim, Jo-Jo the Enforcer's college roommate. Staying with Jim felt like a holiday from my holiday. After about two months on the road I needed a few days to crash and do very little besides watch TV, lie on the beach, and catch up on laundry. I lived it up by having my own room, not locking my stuff up every time I left the room, and not having to wear flip-flops in the shower. An added bonus was that Jim has a spectacular apartment right on the beach. Luckily I didn't get stung by any bluebottle jellyfish, many of which were washed up on the beach, while swimming. (Its strange going from NZ, where nothing will harm you, to AUS, where it seems everything is out to get you.) We went wine tasting in the Hunter Valley, an area known for its Shiraz production. Jim was an incredible host and, most importantly, makes a killer guacamole.

I feel recharged and ready for the road...does the outback have roads?

Christchurch, NZ - Dear Universe...

Just finished up NZ with a grueling yet very rewarding 10 day safari with an organization called "Hiking NZ." (I really recommend this company if anyone is interested in a NZ holiday.) Six of us and a guide hiked locations in the south island from Queenstown to Christchurch. We hit the must-see destinations such as Fiordland National Park, the Catlins, Mt Cook, and kayaking in Milford Sound. Also did a lot of neat side trip such as visiting a hatching ground of the extremely rare yellow-eyed penguin and walking through a petrified forest. The hiking was intense but actually my biggest fear was cooking for the group! We all pitched in for meals and rotated cooking and cleaning. I didn't want to be the person who burned the only food available as we camped deep in the bush! It all went well though. The great thing about hiking all day is that any food tastes good. Despite being shower and toilet deprived the group got along really well. There were two crazy French (redundant?) guys who quickly wormed their way into my heart by carrying 2 liter boxes of wine in their already-ridiculously heavy packs on some of our overnight trips. Our last night we slept in a park hut and while we were asleep they decorated the hut with balloons (which we packed out of course.) One night we slept in a sheep paddock and in the middle of the night as I stumbled out of my tent to find the outhouse I heard a noise to my left. I looked over and saw dozens of yellow sheep eyes reflected in my headlamp, floating in dark. That image will stay with me for a while!

In Mount Cook we stayed at a mountaineering hut where I met Baz, a 50ish grizzly biker dude from Australia. Clad in tie-dye thermals Baz explained to me the wisdom of sending poems out to the universe. (My guide later asked me, "I didn't want to sound stupid, but did he actually post them?") Apparently for several years Baz offered poems to the universe and finally the universe replied. One dark and stormy night at a mountaineering hut in Nepal the door burst open and a lone woman walked into the hut. Baz and she have been together for the past ten years. I had the pleasure of reading one of his poems and despite being printed on blue paper adorned with rainbows, the poem was quite good.

Some general observations:
-Don't order Mexican food in NZ.
-Try to avoid traveling when the $NZ is at a 23-year-high to the $US
-Try not to have a violent reaction if someone mentions the word "facebook" again
-Black sheep really do exist (and I thought Jeff was one of a kind!)
-If you eat enough Muesli bars they start to taste good
-NZ has more helicopters per capita than any other country. They are used for such things deer hunting, tourism, and the two airlift rescues that I personally witnessed. Watching someone have a severe allergic reaction and struggle to breathe while hours from help is a scary thing. So is someone handing you an EpiPen and saying "You know how to use this, right?"
-In response to reader comments, to the best of my knowledge I do not have a genetic mutation that prevents me from tanning. Being pasty is cool, gosh darn it.

Now if you'll excuse me I need to go finish my letter to the universe.

Franz Josef, NZ - Sweet As

Made the switch from the north island to the south island, which means less people, heaps of sheep, and even more spectacular scenery. Stopped briefly in Nelson and then headed over to Abel Tasman National Park, a stunning area of coastline famous for the brilliant blue waters and golden beaches. I opted to sail to a drop-off point and hike back home. The Kiwi I sailed with had a truly amazing story; two years ago he and one his best mates flew to CA and bought and fixed up a 35' sailboat. Then they spent five months sailing it from Long Beach to New Zealand with numerous stops in fabulous south pacific islands. My new hero....someday, someday. Plus, he had really wonderful things to say about the people he met in California which is always nice to hear.
Hiked back along the Abel Tasman trail with a retired Air Force pilot from Washinton. He was in New Zealand visiting his son who is abroad at uni here (and whose major is American Studies...hmmmm) Actually haven't met too many Americans here. Loads of Germans though.

Headed south to the town of Greymouth, mainly because I couldn't get to where I really wanted to go in one day on the bus. Hitching here is really common and people have hilarious stories (like getting picked up by a flamboyant ex-ballet dancer and going antiquing all day) but it just seems risky for me on my own. Greymouth is an old gold-mining town, currently a fishing hub, and well...grey. However, I ended up having one of the more interesting experiences of my trip talking to a commercial fisherman who looked well over sixty but turned out to be only forty-five. A few of us from the hostel ended up back on his fishing boat drinking beer after the bars closed.
Wow.I now know why the expression "mouth like a sailor" exists. Sidenote: I would never want to be on that boat with waves pounding over the side. What an incredibly dangerous, crappy job.

Spent a night in Hokatika, an area known for the massive quantities of greenstone (jade)in the hills. Not too much else there. Took the bus down to Franz Josef village and spent an entire day climbing/walking in crampons over the Franz Josef glacier. This is the only area in the world where glaciers descend directly into rain forests. So spectacular! I've never seen or done anything like it. My tramping group lucked out with the weather. The morning was beautiful and the sun even broke through a little bit at our highest point. It started raining on the way down, which was pretty miserable, but apparently it rains almost every day on the glacier so we were lucky to get the small window of good weather

I've been impressed with some travelers' budget abilities. I feel like I'm traveling pretty cheaply, but some people have really mastered the art. For example, this Engish guy I met hitches everywhere, cleans for a couple hours a day at the hostel to get free board, and eats off the "free" shelf in the hostel kitchens (basically the food leftovers from other travelers who have moved on). I couldn't do it, but there are a lot of people who can and do.

Wellington, NZ - No Hobbit Sightings Yet

I'll get the obvious out of the way and state that New Zealand is beautiful. Spent most of the last week doing outdoorsy things (I know, who have I become?) in Rotorua and Tongariro National Park.
Rotorua is one of the most thermally active areas in New Zealand and absolutely reeks of sulfur. The boiling, hissing, steaming mudpools are unlike anything I've seen before - pictures don't really do it justice. The smell was overpowing though, even strong enough to wake me up during the night. It can't be good to live there and breathe that air every day. Rotorua is also the center of Maori related tourism; wood carvings and jade jewelry are on display everywhere. I tried learning about the Maori culture but it was all so touristy and performance based. However, all the wood carvings really blew me away. I think one of my new life goals is to carve a canoe in the tradition of all of the early pacific island canoes I keep seeing in museums. I was relieved to leave the stench behind and breathe in the fresh air of Tongariro National Park, more famously known as home to Mordor's Mt. Doom. (OK, you knew there was going to be a LOTR reference in here somewhere. While I'm on the subject, I think the tourism industry here survives because of LOTR fans. Today I saw an ad for a tour to visit LOTR film locations and watch the tour guide re-enact the scenes using plastic dolls. no joke.) I completed the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, a spectacular if exhausting one day trek that encompased a mountain climb, a thermally active crater, and finally a descent into a beautiful forest. There were a few clouds to obscure the amazing views, but I lucked out as the days before and after I did the hike the weather was terrible. Glad for the travel day to Wellington to rest my tired legs.
Wellington turns out to be a beatiful harbor city that I absolutely adore. One of New Zealand's most famous authors, Katherine Mansfield, was born here and after reading her works its easy to romanticize the windy city. I will admit, for the first time in a month of traveling I was a little bummed to be living out of a backpack. I felt like the country bumpkin in my so-not-attractive adventure sandals and hiking pants, staring into shop windows at pretty girly clothes. Sigh. Oh well, life is choices. In the back of a cathedral here I stumbled upon an exhibit regarding the US Marines who were stationed near Wellington during WWII to either train or recover from injuries. I had no idea we had troops here. Traveling can be pretty humbling at times.
I've been getting around using the NZ Intercity public buses, which are clean and really convenient. All of the bus stations have showers and travel agents and lockers. These days it seems strange to be able to leave a large backpack in a public locker, which is sad because its so convenient.
I continue to meet terrific people and have interesting conversations. I was mesmorized by a Finish girl's stories about the northern lights in her homeland and the small semi-circle the sun makes near the horizon during the almost continually dark winters. A Belgian guy stated that his government actually pays him 400 Euros a month, up to one year, to travel and allow someone else the opportunity to take his job. Apparently in the Netherlands, according to a new Dutch friend, they are installing a system to track the kilometers each car travels and charge drivers a fee per kilometer. It seems like taxing gas more would be easier...?
Other tourists ask me about Los Angeles. I respond positively but I've realized its hard to describe your hometown because its normal to you. This was reinforced when a German girl became really excited when I told her that yes, in Los Angeles you really can get take-out food of any type. I guess its easy to take what you have for granted. Like guacamole...mmmmm....serious guacamole withdrawals....