Yes, I'm updating already - really, I just don't want to forget details about my wine trip and if I wait too long I know that it's going to happen.
So, Saturday morning we wake up at 730 am to take a shower and walk to where we are to be picked up for the wine tour. We make it out there worried we're going to be late because the bus is supposed to pick us up at 8:55. It doesn't actually get there until 9:25, so that should tell you what kind of trip it was to be. We went on the tour with the Scuba Club (Steph is a member) and it ended up being all older people on the trip. I think the next youngest person after us was 26 and after that the ages just kept going up.
So what wines did I taste and what did I learn? Well, I had a bunch of different white wines - chardonnay, some champagne, a dessert wine and other such things. I also had a rose, a bunch of different red wines, some sparkling red, and port. So what did I take away from all this? That I'm really not a big fan of wine. I would much prefer a food or beer tasting. I sampled all the cheeses, marinated figs, olives and I had an interesting lunch as well. Most of the samplings were kind of rushed and you didn't get a lot of personal attention, but at the third one, Two Silos Winery, we went to one of the scuba ladies knew the owner so he gave us our own sampling session in the cellar area. I learned heaps of interesting things but the one that stands out most in my mind is that all the wines that we know - like champagne and port - are going to have to go by different names soon unless they are produced in the country from where the name originates. So champagne will soon only be allowed to be called champagne if it is made in the Champagne region in France. Otherwise, anything else that looks, tastes, or feels the same will have to go by a different name. We also had lunch at Two Silos - the menu was not very extensive and so I was forced out of my food comfort zone and I had to eat something that I would normally not eat. Here is the menu...which one do you think I picked?
SPICY ASIAN CHICKEN & COCONUT CURRY FLAVOURED WITH
PEANUTS & LEMONGRASS AND SERVED WITH STEAMED
JASMINE RICE
CORIANDER, GARLIC & LEMON MARINATED FISH FILLETS,
HAND CUT POTATO CHIPS WITH GARLIC AIOLI AND A SALAD
OF CAPSICUM, FETTA & OLIVE SALAD
SPINACH & RICOTTA CHEESE CROQUETTES WITH A SPICY
CAULIFLOWER PUREE & MINTED YOGHURT
PARMESAN & HERB CRUSTED VEAL WITH A TARRAGON &
ARTICHOKE REMOULADE, SERVED WITH WARM SALAD OF
POTATO, PANCETTA & ROCKET
MALAYSIAN FLAVOURED SAUSAGES , SWEET POTATO MASH
AND A ROASTED CAPSICUM RELISH
If you guessed veal, then you are correct! It tasted okay - I would still prefer a steak. I tried some of Caitlin's fish - it was pretty good too. I really didn't end up drinking a lot of wine at all on the tour - I'm sure other people would have enjoyed it more, but I still had a good time - it was a gorgeous day outside aside from some intense winds and we got to see some really pretty scenery (we were down in the Kiama region!)
We make it back to the train station a little after 5 and catch a 5:22 train into Sydney. We take little mini naps on the train, grab some Hungry Jacks (their version of Burger King) for dinner, and then get on a train to Olympic Park Station, where the ANZ Stadium and therefore the footy game are. Just as the name suggests, the Stadium was used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2000 Olympics. We were in a place of great history!
Although we had missed the first half and none of us understood Australian Rules Football (it's like every sport in existence combined except for the use of any sorts of sticks), we still had a great time. The tickets cost us $3 through our dorm so a lot of people from I-House were there. We attempted to learn a few of the rules just by watching, but really we decided it's an whatever happens happens and go with it type of game. It's not rugby so don't confuse it with that! Rugby is way more elegant, in my unbiased opinion. ;) The game was between the Sydney Swans and the West Coast Eagles and the Swans were up for the majority of the game (they play four quarters of 30 minutes each) up until the last ten minutes of the last quarter and that's when things got intense. You could feel that the stadium was charged with tension, even though it wasn't full! The Swans ended up being down by 3 with about five minutes left and the Eagles had possession of the ball, until the Eagles slip up a pass and a Swan picks it up and kicks it through two of the posts to score 6 points, putting the game at 104-101 (this is what I remember the score being, but somehow it was actually 106-101...so I guess the Swans scored twice more after that big goal). The crowd erupted after that goal and then all the Swans had to do was retain possession. It was a ton of fun and could only have been made better if we had dressed up in the Swans color. I'll admit it was a bit weird cheering against the Eagles because they are in fact my team at AU! We get on a train back to Wollongong and arrive back home around 1 am. Basically, it was a very fun and very packed day!
Sunday morning we woke up and went down to breakfast around 11 am. I got my hashbrowns and sweet chili sauce fix and we were all sitting at the tables outside, when Caitlin and I realized that it was decently warm, the sun was shining brightly, and there were no clouds in the sky. Basically, an absolutely beautiful day for going to the beach. However, our goal had been to have Sunday be a very productive day because I have papers due and Caitlin had an exam today (monday) that she had to study for. So, what do we decide to do? Be productive at the beach of course! Because I can't exactly bring my computer to the beach, I decide to bring my readings for the week. I get about 1/3 of the reading done and actually spent most of the time at the beach staring at the ocean, napping in the sun, or playing in the water! That's right, playing in the water. Although we are now entering winter down under, the water was decently warm! To give you an idea, it was warmer than the Atlantic will be in the middle of summer. It started out with Caitlin and I just standing in the water up to about our mid-calves looking for shells, and I kept wanting to look further out and I decided, what the hell, I can't go to the beach and not go in the water. So, we brave the imagined cold and head in and had a great time playing in the waves. My love for the Pacific is renewed once more.
Because I didn't really get a lot done yesterday, I made it my goal to get all my work done today...that hasn't really happened though. Instead I spent some time catching up with friends from home, finishing up my reading, and chatting with friends here. Oh well. I have at least started my essay - the word count is currently at 504/1500 words. Hm...I'm going to have to work more on this. Haha, but it's Australia so it's all good!
I'm working on a project for everyone who reads this blog - Aussie slang! I'm currently compiling a list and I'll have it up sometime soon with translations!
18 May 2009
15 May 2009
Update! (Kinda detailed, beware!)
As I have been informed, it has been a full 10 days or so since I last updated! How silly of me. Anyway, it's been pretty quiet around here - just the usual life. It's been a bit chillier down here, but it's usually still gorgeous and sunny. The other day at uni I was a little sleepy in between my classes so I took a nap on one of the lawns around a pond that we have. It must have been hilarious for anyone walking by (luckily I picked a lawn that does not have a lot of people traffic) to see a girl curled up sleeping for a good 45 minutes or so. Better than sleeping in class though, eh?
Like I said, last week I went to see Ratatat with my friend Rachel (Jeez dad, not that kind of friend!). They have hardly any vocals in their songs - it's pretty much all music. They had a screen up and they were putting up strange, distorted images. It was just as fascinating as the music. There were three cover bands and two of them were really cool too. The first was decent singing but you could tell they were more of an amateur band. The second felt to me to be more like a jam session - very little vocals and just the band standing up their playing the drums/guitars. The third band was not to my liking - the lead singer was this small asian girl who was SCREAMING and it was absolutely ridiculous lyrics about killing people and just generally not happy enough for me. But it was fun nonetheless and I'm glad I've gone to see at least one concert while I'm here, even if the main act was American.
The Casino Royale Ball was a lot of fun as well and was generally just a great night to hang out with my friends. Me and my friend Steph didn't have anything to wear so we went to the mall about an hour and a half before we had to be on a bus to go to the ball. Luckily, we find something Bond-ish at the first store we go to (she's dressed in this sleek short dress as a Bond girl, while I go for the Money Penny look (is that her name???) in a secretary-esque dress) and manage to get ready and make it to uni, although we had to catch a later bus. Even though I was the first one to get ready, you try having three girls get ready in the span of 35 minutes! Not going to happen. Anyway, the food they served us there was soooo good! I had a really good steak (although the portion ended up being too small) and I realized that (this is going to come as a surprise to a lot) that I eat my steak rarer than most people do!!! Everyone else at my table said they preferred it cooked all the way through, while I've moved more towards a medium rare deliciousness. My roommate was eating salmon (half the table got steak, the other half salmon) and because she knows that I'm determined to try fish while I'm here, she told me it tasted pretty good and that I should try it. Another unbelievable moment, I liked it! Another time recently she had me try some fish and I liked that too...I don't know what is happening to me! Anyway, dessert was creme brulee, of which I ate two of and then it was time to do some gambling! Not real gambling of course, but we got a $1000 voucher. Caitlin and I played the entire night at Carribean Stud Poker, which was a lot of fun but you basically have a 50/50 shot of winning - no real skill involved. Luckily, we got to be good friends with the dealer (he was GORGEOUS!) and he would slip us more chips whenever we would get low. When the ball was over, Steph and I got a ride back to our dorm with the head RA's of our dorm - we went to McDonald's and then had a fun time just chatting with them and watching the West Wing. Even though it was the West Wing and probably not filmed anywhere near DC, it made me miss it! And all the politics and just being in the know - this makes me confident that I've definitely chosen the right major and it is for sure something that I love.
Steph's birthday was that Saturday, so we went on a trip to the Jenolan Caves. In retrospect, even though we decided the caves were really cool, it ended up being an 8 hour round trip bus ride!! We did sleep for most of it, but it still sucked being cooped up for most of the day. Ok, so the caves are considered to be the oldest known caves in the world and even though we only got to go on one cave tour, I think there are something like 4 or 5 different caverns that you can visit. I've been to caves like this before, but I don't have any memory of it (besides pictures) so I'm glad that I can say I've been to one that I actually remember. I was continually amazed during the tour - it makes you feel very young and insignificant. The stalagtites and stalagmites grow very slowly - I think it's about 1 cm per 100 years and some of those formations were huge! There are pictures up so make sure you go check! In one cave, the tour guide turned off all the lights and although you could tell there was a little bit of light coming from way up, it was pretty much pitch black. The tour guide told us that if you ever get stuck in this situation, where you can't see anything, it's important to occupy your other senses to prevent yourself from going crazy. I thought of one thing you could do to occupy them all, but I don't know how appropriate it is to say here :D It was a little unnerving for me, just because I was the one closest to a stairwell and who knows what could have jumped out, grabbed me and taken me away into the deep bowels of the earth?! Regardless, it was intriguing to think about these caves and how many of them must exist around the world that we don't know about and the intricacies within the earth. I mean, can you just imagine discovering one of these places? You crawl into this tiny hole and then it opens up into a huge area with gorgeous formations glittering in what little light there is? Beautiful. One day maybe I'll gather the courage to go spleunking and feel for myself what it is like.
After our 4 hour bus ride back, we order some pizza (dinner at i-House was already over) and figure out what to do with our night. We decide to go to our usual haunt, Glasshouse, so Steph can dance her pants off (not literally!!!). We had a fun night out and then returned around 3 am so we could celebrate the exact moment of Steph's birth (what it would have been in the US). Overall, we all had a great time and Steph joined the league of old people - that is anyone who is 21.
Nothing too exciting has happened since then. Like I started the post out saying, it's just life as usual. Uni two days a week and hanging out with my friends. I still have those three papers to write, but after I finish those, it's pretty much going to be smooth sailing for the rest of the semester. I just planned a trip to Canberra and Caitlin and I are going to be going to Sydney next weekend we think, to do all the touristy things. Unfortunately, the trip to the outback might not be to see Uluru seeing as flights to anywhere close to there are about AUD700 round trip. Instead, we think that we might just go on a camping trip in the wilderness. I think that during the reading week that we have (it's a week off before exams start) I might try to get down to Tasmania, but we'll see if that actually happens or not. It's supposed to be very very cold down there in the winter and we know how I feel about the cold.
Coming up in the next week is a Wine tour and an AFL game, then writing two of my papers and doing research for the third (I say that now though...). I think I might try to go to the beach on Monday, just to sit by it and read. I think I've decided that I'm probably going to miss the Pacific Ocean the most about Australia, especially when I go home to the Atlantic. That and how relaxed I am over here - we were talking about it earlier, about how different in a sense we are. My personality hasn't changed, I'm still the wonderful Lisa you all know and love, but I have so few things to worry about here that I'm hardly ever stressed out. It's a great feeling. Hopefully I'll bring the 'no worries' attitude back to the States so that I can feel better about life. But with graduating in a year, we'll see how that actually goes...
Like I said, last week I went to see Ratatat with my friend Rachel (Jeez dad, not that kind of friend!). They have hardly any vocals in their songs - it's pretty much all music. They had a screen up and they were putting up strange, distorted images. It was just as fascinating as the music. There were three cover bands and two of them were really cool too. The first was decent singing but you could tell they were more of an amateur band. The second felt to me to be more like a jam session - very little vocals and just the band standing up their playing the drums/guitars. The third band was not to my liking - the lead singer was this small asian girl who was SCREAMING and it was absolutely ridiculous lyrics about killing people and just generally not happy enough for me. But it was fun nonetheless and I'm glad I've gone to see at least one concert while I'm here, even if the main act was American.
The Casino Royale Ball was a lot of fun as well and was generally just a great night to hang out with my friends. Me and my friend Steph didn't have anything to wear so we went to the mall about an hour and a half before we had to be on a bus to go to the ball. Luckily, we find something Bond-ish at the first store we go to (she's dressed in this sleek short dress as a Bond girl, while I go for the Money Penny look (is that her name???) in a secretary-esque dress) and manage to get ready and make it to uni, although we had to catch a later bus. Even though I was the first one to get ready, you try having three girls get ready in the span of 35 minutes! Not going to happen. Anyway, the food they served us there was soooo good! I had a really good steak (although the portion ended up being too small) and I realized that (this is going to come as a surprise to a lot) that I eat my steak rarer than most people do!!! Everyone else at my table said they preferred it cooked all the way through, while I've moved more towards a medium rare deliciousness. My roommate was eating salmon (half the table got steak, the other half salmon) and because she knows that I'm determined to try fish while I'm here, she told me it tasted pretty good and that I should try it. Another unbelievable moment, I liked it! Another time recently she had me try some fish and I liked that too...I don't know what is happening to me! Anyway, dessert was creme brulee, of which I ate two of and then it was time to do some gambling! Not real gambling of course, but we got a $1000 voucher. Caitlin and I played the entire night at Carribean Stud Poker, which was a lot of fun but you basically have a 50/50 shot of winning - no real skill involved. Luckily, we got to be good friends with the dealer (he was GORGEOUS!) and he would slip us more chips whenever we would get low. When the ball was over, Steph and I got a ride back to our dorm with the head RA's of our dorm - we went to McDonald's and then had a fun time just chatting with them and watching the West Wing. Even though it was the West Wing and probably not filmed anywhere near DC, it made me miss it! And all the politics and just being in the know - this makes me confident that I've definitely chosen the right major and it is for sure something that I love.
Steph's birthday was that Saturday, so we went on a trip to the Jenolan Caves. In retrospect, even though we decided the caves were really cool, it ended up being an 8 hour round trip bus ride!! We did sleep for most of it, but it still sucked being cooped up for most of the day. Ok, so the caves are considered to be the oldest known caves in the world and even though we only got to go on one cave tour, I think there are something like 4 or 5 different caverns that you can visit. I've been to caves like this before, but I don't have any memory of it (besides pictures) so I'm glad that I can say I've been to one that I actually remember. I was continually amazed during the tour - it makes you feel very young and insignificant. The stalagtites and stalagmites grow very slowly - I think it's about 1 cm per 100 years and some of those formations were huge! There are pictures up so make sure you go check! In one cave, the tour guide turned off all the lights and although you could tell there was a little bit of light coming from way up, it was pretty much pitch black. The tour guide told us that if you ever get stuck in this situation, where you can't see anything, it's important to occupy your other senses to prevent yourself from going crazy. I thought of one thing you could do to occupy them all, but I don't know how appropriate it is to say here :D It was a little unnerving for me, just because I was the one closest to a stairwell and who knows what could have jumped out, grabbed me and taken me away into the deep bowels of the earth?! Regardless, it was intriguing to think about these caves and how many of them must exist around the world that we don't know about and the intricacies within the earth. I mean, can you just imagine discovering one of these places? You crawl into this tiny hole and then it opens up into a huge area with gorgeous formations glittering in what little light there is? Beautiful. One day maybe I'll gather the courage to go spleunking and feel for myself what it is like.
After our 4 hour bus ride back, we order some pizza (dinner at i-House was already over) and figure out what to do with our night. We decide to go to our usual haunt, Glasshouse, so Steph can dance her pants off (not literally!!!). We had a fun night out and then returned around 3 am so we could celebrate the exact moment of Steph's birth (what it would have been in the US). Overall, we all had a great time and Steph joined the league of old people - that is anyone who is 21.
Nothing too exciting has happened since then. Like I started the post out saying, it's just life as usual. Uni two days a week and hanging out with my friends. I still have those three papers to write, but after I finish those, it's pretty much going to be smooth sailing for the rest of the semester. I just planned a trip to Canberra and Caitlin and I are going to be going to Sydney next weekend we think, to do all the touristy things. Unfortunately, the trip to the outback might not be to see Uluru seeing as flights to anywhere close to there are about AUD700 round trip. Instead, we think that we might just go on a camping trip in the wilderness. I think that during the reading week that we have (it's a week off before exams start) I might try to get down to Tasmania, but we'll see if that actually happens or not. It's supposed to be very very cold down there in the winter and we know how I feel about the cold.
Coming up in the next week is a Wine tour and an AFL game, then writing two of my papers and doing research for the third (I say that now though...). I think I might try to go to the beach on Monday, just to sit by it and read. I think I've decided that I'm probably going to miss the Pacific Ocean the most about Australia, especially when I go home to the Atlantic. That and how relaxed I am over here - we were talking about it earlier, about how different in a sense we are. My personality hasn't changed, I'm still the wonderful Lisa you all know and love, but I have so few things to worry about here that I'm hardly ever stressed out. It's a great feeling. Hopefully I'll bring the 'no worries' attitude back to the States so that I can feel better about life. But with graduating in a year, we'll see how that actually goes...
06 May 2009
Link to Pictures
I put up a few pictures from my Melbourne trip - try not to be too jealous!
Here is the link again: http://picasaweb.google.com/hohumdedum02/AbroadDownUnder?authkey=Gv1sRgCI6g_OWo5ZakXw&feat=directlink
I also put the link as "My Web Page." To access this, click on the "View My Complete Profile" in the navigation box to the right. It's listed under Contact.
And just because I'm here, I'll give a quick update. I finished my week of uni today - a full 8 hour week! Intense! :D I also got a grade back and received an A on my research and presentation of the Maori people and the Sooty Shearwater. If you ever want to learn about it, let me know. I have some exciting things coming up this weekend - tomorrow night I'm going to an electronica concert with a friend, Friday night we have a 'Casino Royale Ball' and Saturday we are visiting the Jenolan Caves. I have only 4 more weeks of uni (but 7.5 more weeks here - sweet!) and I have quite a few papers due in that time so I'm going to have to work on a bit of time management!
Here is the link again: http://picasaweb.google.com/hohumdedum02/AbroadDownUnder?authkey=Gv1sRgCI6g_OWo5ZakXw&feat=directlink
I also put the link as "My Web Page." To access this, click on the "View My Complete Profile" in the navigation box to the right. It's listed under Contact.
And just because I'm here, I'll give a quick update. I finished my week of uni today - a full 8 hour week! Intense! :D I also got a grade back and received an A on my research and presentation of the Maori people and the Sooty Shearwater. If you ever want to learn about it, let me know. I have some exciting things coming up this weekend - tomorrow night I'm going to an electronica concert with a friend, Friday night we have a 'Casino Royale Ball' and Saturday we are visiting the Jenolan Caves. I have only 4 more weeks of uni (but 7.5 more weeks here - sweet!) and I have quite a few papers due in that time so I'm going to have to work on a bit of time management!
Weekend Trip to Melbourne (Pronounced Mel-bun)
Me, my roommate Caitlin, and our friend Steph planned our Melbourne trip a month and a half ago or so and it finally snuck up on us! We had a packed weekend that was extremely relaxing and we saw some amazingly gorgeous scenery as well.
Our trip began Thursday night with our train to the Sydney Domestic Airport. It's weird to think about, but I've become used to flying because of my time over here and I think that I quite enjoy it. Except for my right ear, which doesn't like to pop and I have to wait for it to do it by itself. If I try to, I just sit there, blowing while holding my nose until my face turns red, without any success. But yeah, we arrive in Melbourne after a 1.25 hour flight and take a taxi to our hostel, Urban Central, which ended up being one of the best hostels any of us had stayed in. There was complimentary rice/pasta that you could make in the kitchen, it was just the three of us in a huge room, the security was good, everything was clean, and they had free breakfast in the morning too! We get situated in our room, plan out what we want to do the next day and head to bed.
On Friday, the plan had been to wake up at 9 to get breakfast and then make our way out into the city. Wellll, that did not happen. We woke up around noon. Despite our late start, we all agreed that it was really awesome to sleep in because generally we don't get to sleep in very much - if we miss breakfast at I-house, we miss the chance to make our lunch, so you actually end up missing both meals. After we freshen up, we walk into the main part of the city (only about ten minutes away from our hostel) and then catch a tram to the Shrine of Remembrance.
The Shrine of Remembrance is Victoria's (the state/province that Melbourne is in) memorial to their fallen heroes. It was very serious business. Like I've mentioned before, I know a lot of how Australia was affected by World War 1, which is probably why I considered it to be so serious and intense. Have I said that Australia suffered the highest casualty rate of any country in WW1? At the memorial, they have an eternal flame, some statues, a garden, and the Shrine itself. Inside are rows upon rows of medals bestowed upon Australia servicemen and there is also a crypt that has some flags and plaques. There was one really interesting room - the top is like a pyramid with the top cut off so the light can shine through, and directly below it is a plaque bearing the words: "Greater Love Hath No Man." Apparently, on the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month (Armistice Day, when WW1 basically ended) the sun is shining directly on the word "Love." Does that give you tingles? It did for me. Military industrial complex aside, I think the supreme sacrifice people give for their country is absolutely gorgeous and is no small thing to throw aside.
We got a cab from the Shrine of Remembrance to basically the other side of the city to see Dralion, the Cirque du Soleil show that was playing. We had really good seats - we were on the second level, so we didn't have to strain our necks to look up when they were doing aerial stunts and we were directly center stage. I don't have any pictures from the show itself because they don't allow you to take pictures, but man, it was a fantastic show. I had only seen some snippets of Cirque du Soleil on tv, but it doesn't compare anyway. Some of the things people can manage to do it just incredible - this one girl, she was like rubber. At one point, she was standing on one hand on a post and lifted her legs up behind her and was using her feet to move her head. Unbelievable. Some of the other main acts included people falling onto trampolines and then running up walls, a man juggling 6 balls at one time all the while doing crazy acrobats, people doing flips through hoops, a girl and a guy flying around holding onto each other but not supported by any wires except the ribbons they were flying around on (this part was supposed to emulate two lovers, but we did some research later and discovered that the pair was actually brother and sister! we felt a little grossed out), and then a bunch of girls standing on their tip toes on top of one another while the bottom girl was standing on a glass bulb. Seriously, I was amazed and awed and had a fantastic time. I haven't been to an animal circus in a long time, but I think that human circuses are probably way cooler - this way no animals are treated cruelly and you get to see the outer limits of what human bodies are capable of.
After the show we got some dinner at an italian restaurant and while the food was okay, the service was slightly lacking. They told us, when we came to Australia, to absolutely not tip because it the waiters and waitresses get paid enough that it's not expected. But when we were out, it sure seemed like it was expected! We asked someone about it here at I-house, and he said that if you're at a classier restaurant, you tip anywhere from 5 to 10%. Whoops. We definitely didn't tip but we felt it was slightly deserved because of the attitude we got. We returned to our hostel and although we originally had intentions of going out, we decided instead to go to sleep - we were going to have to get up very early for our Saturday trip.
When we told people we were going to Melbourne, a common comment was that we had to do the Great Ocean Road, so that's what our Saturday consisted of. We woke up at 7 am for breakfast and then got picked up at 8 am for our tour. The Great Ocean Road stretches I think around 250 km, but we ended up driving around for 600 km on the tour. It was inspired by the Great Pacific Road (I think that's the name) in California by an Australian who was working there. Technically, the Great Ocean Road is the longest war memorial in the World, because it was built in memory of all the fallen soldiers. What happened is that Australian who visited California came back and wanted to see the same thing built to go around Victoria's coast line, so he talked to the local government about it and said it would be a way to give returning soldiers jobs and the opportunity to be with their mates again. Really, I think that the dude just wanted the road so he was willing to swing it whatever way he needed to get it, but I'm not about to talk smack about a war memorial.
The tour takes us to Bells Beach, where most of the international surfing competitions are held in Australia and the beach name that was used in Point Break (it was actually filmed in Oregon or Wisconsin or something like that). We stopped at the memorial arch for the Road and checked out the beach right by it. The coast line is absolutely fantastic - there are cliffs and rocks that the water breaks against and I really think it's nature at it's finest (and potential deadliest). We visited this place that has a lot of wild koalas (it's illegal in Victoria for humans to handle koalas) and parrots - we got to feed the parrots and my guess is that people have been doing it for quite some time, because the parrots would just fly up onto your hands, shoulders, head, ears, etc. After lunch in Apollo Bay, a popular vacation destination for Victorians, we went for a walk in the rainforest at Mait's Rest. Now, when you think of rainforest, you think hot and sticky. No. Not here. It was actually colder in the rain forest than it was out of it. Apparently carnivorous snails live around where we were walking, but I couldn't find any, even after attempting to do an impromtu carnivorous snail mating call. After our trek in the rainforest, we went to the main attractions of the Great Ocean Road - the Twelve Apostles. The Twelve Apostles are rock formations that are out in the surf area of the ocean - it is postulated that they were once part of the land, but erosion from wind and water eventually separated everything. They were all quite magnificent to see. Then we visited a gorge known as the Loch Ard Gorge, after a ship that crashed right outside of it had only two survivors, whom seeked refuge in the gorge. The final stop on the tour was the site of the London Bridge. It has since fallen down (it collapsed in 1990), but Lee, our tour guide told us an interesting story:
A couple had just finished walking over the bridge to the other part of the rock formation when the bridge suddenly crashed down into the water below. Luckily, the group of school children that were behind them had yet to walk onto the bridge so they didn't plummet to their deaths. Now, the couple stuck over on the other side had no way of getting back to the main land and it was starting to get cold and dark. Someone had run down to the police station to see if they could call a helicopter in but they were all being used elsewhere except one, which was on a training exercise for flying in bad weather (did I mention it was stormy?) Well, the local news station decides it wants to cover the story of the London Bridge collapsing and instead of having the helicopter fly out to help the people, it went to pick up the local reporters first and then over to the people. But, the couple doesn't want anything to do with the news (you'll find out why later!), so the reporters get back in the helicopter but the couple isn't allowed in the helicopter because they're not insured! So they have to wait for a rescue helicopter and finally they get off and into the parking lot and they just take off! Turns out, the guy was taking a sick day/extended weekend from work and BIG SURPRISE HE WASN'T THERE WITH HIS WIFE!! He was there with his mistress!! Hahaha.
So we get back from the Great Ocean Road around 10 pm and our plan had, once more, been to go out (there was a bar in the bottom floor of our hostel!) but once we laid down on the floor, we were like, ehh, let's go to sleep. So, we plan our day for Sunday with a 8 am start.
We actually get up at 830 am. We eat breakfast, shower, check out (we leave our luggage in the hostel) and then catch a tram up to the Queen Victoria Market. Getting around Melbourne is actually really easy - there are trams that come every 5 or 10 minutes that go in any direction you could want and I think that they had a metro and bus system, but we never had to use them. The Queen Victoria Market is like the Eastern Markets on crack. There were so many stalls! After a row or two of them though, you realize that it's mostly all the same stuff - just different prices. We shopped around for some souvenirs and then caught a tram down to Federation Square, which had some crazy glass arts buildings and a big courtyard that people were just chilling in. From there we walked to the Eureka Skytower, which has the highest viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere and the only 'edge' experience. We rode an elevator up to the 88th floor and got a really cool view of the city - I was able to spot our hostel and the Queen Victoria Market and the Shrine. The city proper of Melbourne seemed just way smaller from up so high! The edge experience you basically go into a glass box and you are moved out from the building 3 meters. You can look straight down through the bottom to the street below - it didn't scare me or even make a little bit of adrenaline pump. I think that having jumped out of a plane at 15000 feet has made me a little impervious to lesser heights. We left the Sky Tower and then caught a tram to St.Kilda, which is right next to the beach and has a really eclectic community. We got some dinner, then walked around on the two main streets - Fitzroy and Acland. Fitzroy has a lot of restaurants, and Acland street is known for it's bakeries and nightlife. We got some tasty treats from the bakeries, took a few pictures and then headed back to the hostel to pick up our bags and make our way to the airport.
Overall, we decided that you could spend at least a week in Melbourne and not even on sightseeing - there were some really cool looking places in St.Kilda that we would have wanted to go check out if we had had some more time. We really had a great time there because everything just fell into place - the hostel was clean which left us feeling refreshed and ready for the day, Cirque du Soleil was awesome, the Great Ocean Road was an adventure, and moving around the city was very stress free. It was fun though, being in a city and not really knowing anything about it and just figuring things out as you go. I can't wait to do it again when we visit Canberra!
Our trip began Thursday night with our train to the Sydney Domestic Airport. It's weird to think about, but I've become used to flying because of my time over here and I think that I quite enjoy it. Except for my right ear, which doesn't like to pop and I have to wait for it to do it by itself. If I try to, I just sit there, blowing while holding my nose until my face turns red, without any success. But yeah, we arrive in Melbourne after a 1.25 hour flight and take a taxi to our hostel, Urban Central, which ended up being one of the best hostels any of us had stayed in. There was complimentary rice/pasta that you could make in the kitchen, it was just the three of us in a huge room, the security was good, everything was clean, and they had free breakfast in the morning too! We get situated in our room, plan out what we want to do the next day and head to bed.
On Friday, the plan had been to wake up at 9 to get breakfast and then make our way out into the city. Wellll, that did not happen. We woke up around noon. Despite our late start, we all agreed that it was really awesome to sleep in because generally we don't get to sleep in very much - if we miss breakfast at I-house, we miss the chance to make our lunch, so you actually end up missing both meals. After we freshen up, we walk into the main part of the city (only about ten minutes away from our hostel) and then catch a tram to the Shrine of Remembrance.
The Shrine of Remembrance is Victoria's (the state/province that Melbourne is in) memorial to their fallen heroes. It was very serious business. Like I've mentioned before, I know a lot of how Australia was affected by World War 1, which is probably why I considered it to be so serious and intense. Have I said that Australia suffered the highest casualty rate of any country in WW1? At the memorial, they have an eternal flame, some statues, a garden, and the Shrine itself. Inside are rows upon rows of medals bestowed upon Australia servicemen and there is also a crypt that has some flags and plaques. There was one really interesting room - the top is like a pyramid with the top cut off so the light can shine through, and directly below it is a plaque bearing the words: "Greater Love Hath No Man." Apparently, on the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month (Armistice Day, when WW1 basically ended) the sun is shining directly on the word "Love." Does that give you tingles? It did for me. Military industrial complex aside, I think the supreme sacrifice people give for their country is absolutely gorgeous and is no small thing to throw aside.
We got a cab from the Shrine of Remembrance to basically the other side of the city to see Dralion, the Cirque du Soleil show that was playing. We had really good seats - we were on the second level, so we didn't have to strain our necks to look up when they were doing aerial stunts and we were directly center stage. I don't have any pictures from the show itself because they don't allow you to take pictures, but man, it was a fantastic show. I had only seen some snippets of Cirque du Soleil on tv, but it doesn't compare anyway. Some of the things people can manage to do it just incredible - this one girl, she was like rubber. At one point, she was standing on one hand on a post and lifted her legs up behind her and was using her feet to move her head. Unbelievable. Some of the other main acts included people falling onto trampolines and then running up walls, a man juggling 6 balls at one time all the while doing crazy acrobats, people doing flips through hoops, a girl and a guy flying around holding onto each other but not supported by any wires except the ribbons they were flying around on (this part was supposed to emulate two lovers, but we did some research later and discovered that the pair was actually brother and sister! we felt a little grossed out), and then a bunch of girls standing on their tip toes on top of one another while the bottom girl was standing on a glass bulb. Seriously, I was amazed and awed and had a fantastic time. I haven't been to an animal circus in a long time, but I think that human circuses are probably way cooler - this way no animals are treated cruelly and you get to see the outer limits of what human bodies are capable of.
After the show we got some dinner at an italian restaurant and while the food was okay, the service was slightly lacking. They told us, when we came to Australia, to absolutely not tip because it the waiters and waitresses get paid enough that it's not expected. But when we were out, it sure seemed like it was expected! We asked someone about it here at I-house, and he said that if you're at a classier restaurant, you tip anywhere from 5 to 10%. Whoops. We definitely didn't tip but we felt it was slightly deserved because of the attitude we got. We returned to our hostel and although we originally had intentions of going out, we decided instead to go to sleep - we were going to have to get up very early for our Saturday trip.
When we told people we were going to Melbourne, a common comment was that we had to do the Great Ocean Road, so that's what our Saturday consisted of. We woke up at 7 am for breakfast and then got picked up at 8 am for our tour. The Great Ocean Road stretches I think around 250 km, but we ended up driving around for 600 km on the tour. It was inspired by the Great Pacific Road (I think that's the name) in California by an Australian who was working there. Technically, the Great Ocean Road is the longest war memorial in the World, because it was built in memory of all the fallen soldiers. What happened is that Australian who visited California came back and wanted to see the same thing built to go around Victoria's coast line, so he talked to the local government about it and said it would be a way to give returning soldiers jobs and the opportunity to be with their mates again. Really, I think that the dude just wanted the road so he was willing to swing it whatever way he needed to get it, but I'm not about to talk smack about a war memorial.
The tour takes us to Bells Beach, where most of the international surfing competitions are held in Australia and the beach name that was used in Point Break (it was actually filmed in Oregon or Wisconsin or something like that). We stopped at the memorial arch for the Road and checked out the beach right by it. The coast line is absolutely fantastic - there are cliffs and rocks that the water breaks against and I really think it's nature at it's finest (and potential deadliest). We visited this place that has a lot of wild koalas (it's illegal in Victoria for humans to handle koalas) and parrots - we got to feed the parrots and my guess is that people have been doing it for quite some time, because the parrots would just fly up onto your hands, shoulders, head, ears, etc. After lunch in Apollo Bay, a popular vacation destination for Victorians, we went for a walk in the rainforest at Mait's Rest. Now, when you think of rainforest, you think hot and sticky. No. Not here. It was actually colder in the rain forest than it was out of it. Apparently carnivorous snails live around where we were walking, but I couldn't find any, even after attempting to do an impromtu carnivorous snail mating call. After our trek in the rainforest, we went to the main attractions of the Great Ocean Road - the Twelve Apostles. The Twelve Apostles are rock formations that are out in the surf area of the ocean - it is postulated that they were once part of the land, but erosion from wind and water eventually separated everything. They were all quite magnificent to see. Then we visited a gorge known as the Loch Ard Gorge, after a ship that crashed right outside of it had only two survivors, whom seeked refuge in the gorge. The final stop on the tour was the site of the London Bridge. It has since fallen down (it collapsed in 1990), but Lee, our tour guide told us an interesting story:
A couple had just finished walking over the bridge to the other part of the rock formation when the bridge suddenly crashed down into the water below. Luckily, the group of school children that were behind them had yet to walk onto the bridge so they didn't plummet to their deaths. Now, the couple stuck over on the other side had no way of getting back to the main land and it was starting to get cold and dark. Someone had run down to the police station to see if they could call a helicopter in but they were all being used elsewhere except one, which was on a training exercise for flying in bad weather (did I mention it was stormy?) Well, the local news station decides it wants to cover the story of the London Bridge collapsing and instead of having the helicopter fly out to help the people, it went to pick up the local reporters first and then over to the people. But, the couple doesn't want anything to do with the news (you'll find out why later!), so the reporters get back in the helicopter but the couple isn't allowed in the helicopter because they're not insured! So they have to wait for a rescue helicopter and finally they get off and into the parking lot and they just take off! Turns out, the guy was taking a sick day/extended weekend from work and BIG SURPRISE HE WASN'T THERE WITH HIS WIFE!! He was there with his mistress!! Hahaha.
So we get back from the Great Ocean Road around 10 pm and our plan had, once more, been to go out (there was a bar in the bottom floor of our hostel!) but once we laid down on the floor, we were like, ehh, let's go to sleep. So, we plan our day for Sunday with a 8 am start.
We actually get up at 830 am. We eat breakfast, shower, check out (we leave our luggage in the hostel) and then catch a tram up to the Queen Victoria Market. Getting around Melbourne is actually really easy - there are trams that come every 5 or 10 minutes that go in any direction you could want and I think that they had a metro and bus system, but we never had to use them. The Queen Victoria Market is like the Eastern Markets on crack. There were so many stalls! After a row or two of them though, you realize that it's mostly all the same stuff - just different prices. We shopped around for some souvenirs and then caught a tram down to Federation Square, which had some crazy glass arts buildings and a big courtyard that people were just chilling in. From there we walked to the Eureka Skytower, which has the highest viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere and the only 'edge' experience. We rode an elevator up to the 88th floor and got a really cool view of the city - I was able to spot our hostel and the Queen Victoria Market and the Shrine. The city proper of Melbourne seemed just way smaller from up so high! The edge experience you basically go into a glass box and you are moved out from the building 3 meters. You can look straight down through the bottom to the street below - it didn't scare me or even make a little bit of adrenaline pump. I think that having jumped out of a plane at 15000 feet has made me a little impervious to lesser heights. We left the Sky Tower and then caught a tram to St.Kilda, which is right next to the beach and has a really eclectic community. We got some dinner, then walked around on the two main streets - Fitzroy and Acland. Fitzroy has a lot of restaurants, and Acland street is known for it's bakeries and nightlife. We got some tasty treats from the bakeries, took a few pictures and then headed back to the hostel to pick up our bags and make our way to the airport.
Overall, we decided that you could spend at least a week in Melbourne and not even on sightseeing - there were some really cool looking places in St.Kilda that we would have wanted to go check out if we had had some more time. We really had a great time there because everything just fell into place - the hostel was clean which left us feeling refreshed and ready for the day, Cirque du Soleil was awesome, the Great Ocean Road was an adventure, and moving around the city was very stress free. It was fun though, being in a city and not really knowing anything about it and just figuring things out as you go. I can't wait to do it again when we visit Canberra!
04 May 2009
History Lesson and ANZAC Memorial Service
So this week begins Week 9 of uni and surprisingly enough, I'm actually going to have to start doing work! I have three papers due in the next month and a half or so, and while I'm not overly concerned about them, I haven't started doing research at all for them. So, I'm going to have to put off reading The Two Towers and Return of the King until I got a little more work done. I started The Fellowship of the Ring last Monday and was finished by Wednesday, but in that time period I didn't do much else except read and seeing as how I really need to start doing homework, I can't afford to start reading just quite yet. This does bring my "Books Read in Australia" toll up to 7 - the most leisure reading I think I've done in a semester ever. Anyway, reading is not what this post is about, so I'll get started with Australian stuff.
April 25 is called ANZAC Day here in Australia and I'm guessing New Zealand, although I don't know how big of a deal it is for them. I know a lot about ANZAC from my history class, so be prepared to read a little bit about Australia in World War 1.
ANZAC stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and back when men were needed in World War 1 the two countries for the most part were kept together. So because the British like to think themselves quite superior to everyone else, they sent the ANZAC forces to Egypt for additional training because they did not think that they had been sufficiently trained in their native countries. I suppose this is actually probably true, but I like to think of the British as pompous. The Aussies were chillin' in Egypt, generally being drunken, loud, promiscuous soldiers when finally they were called up for duty. Now, they were all under the impression they were going to the Western Front in France, except no, they were being sent to Gallipoli in Turkey. There is quite a bit of scandal surrounding the decision to attack Turkey - Churchill agreed to send men to fight in Gallipoli even though he was only sending about half of the soldiers that it was suggested was needed to win and further they sent ANZAC in using old tourist maps as their battle maps. I think the best explanation is a comment Lenin made which has been gathering some credence - the Gallipoli campaign was always meant to lose, so that way Russia would not have a gateway to the sea and therefore gain that waterway.
So now that you know some history, the Aussies landed on Gallipoli on the 25 of April. As it was explained to me by someone else, Gallipoli to the Australians is kind of like Normandy Beach to us. Basically, it's really a big deal. So, ANZAC day commemorates Australia's big entrance into war and the realization of her national identity as well as remembers those men who gave their lives for Empire. Wollongong celebrates this by having a 4:45 am MORNING SERVICE. That is right, I woke up at 4 am to go to their memorial service. There were about 10 or 12 of us from International House that ended up going to the service - all Australians except for a Canadian and me and my friend Rachel (we're both American, clearly). It was held down by their war memorial and just had some local military personnel, some talks, some songs (including the Australian National Anthem, which says Australia 5 times!), a bugle song (it wasn't Taps, but I still liked it) and that was pretty much it. It lasted around half an hour. There was to be a parade later on, but I went back to my dorm and fell asleep. Overall, I was a little let down but I think that had something to do with me expecting it to be something like Memorial Day back home. I don't know how it happened, but I think that I have more of an appreciation now of what American soldiers died for and I'm a little sad that I'm going to miss Memorial Day in good ol' West Grove.
Because this post is kind of long, I think I'm going to leave off for now and I'll write up about my trip to Melbourne (I went this past weekend) tomorrow. I'll also go ahead and make an effort to put up pictures from Melbourne, just because I'm making you wait to read about the trip.
April 25 is called ANZAC Day here in Australia and I'm guessing New Zealand, although I don't know how big of a deal it is for them. I know a lot about ANZAC from my history class, so be prepared to read a little bit about Australia in World War 1.
ANZAC stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and back when men were needed in World War 1 the two countries for the most part were kept together. So because the British like to think themselves quite superior to everyone else, they sent the ANZAC forces to Egypt for additional training because they did not think that they had been sufficiently trained in their native countries. I suppose this is actually probably true, but I like to think of the British as pompous. The Aussies were chillin' in Egypt, generally being drunken, loud, promiscuous soldiers when finally they were called up for duty. Now, they were all under the impression they were going to the Western Front in France, except no, they were being sent to Gallipoli in Turkey. There is quite a bit of scandal surrounding the decision to attack Turkey - Churchill agreed to send men to fight in Gallipoli even though he was only sending about half of the soldiers that it was suggested was needed to win and further they sent ANZAC in using old tourist maps as their battle maps. I think the best explanation is a comment Lenin made which has been gathering some credence - the Gallipoli campaign was always meant to lose, so that way Russia would not have a gateway to the sea and therefore gain that waterway.
So now that you know some history, the Aussies landed on Gallipoli on the 25 of April. As it was explained to me by someone else, Gallipoli to the Australians is kind of like Normandy Beach to us. Basically, it's really a big deal. So, ANZAC day commemorates Australia's big entrance into war and the realization of her national identity as well as remembers those men who gave their lives for Empire. Wollongong celebrates this by having a 4:45 am MORNING SERVICE. That is right, I woke up at 4 am to go to their memorial service. There were about 10 or 12 of us from International House that ended up going to the service - all Australians except for a Canadian and me and my friend Rachel (we're both American, clearly). It was held down by their war memorial and just had some local military personnel, some talks, some songs (including the Australian National Anthem, which says Australia 5 times!), a bugle song (it wasn't Taps, but I still liked it) and that was pretty much it. It lasted around half an hour. There was to be a parade later on, but I went back to my dorm and fell asleep. Overall, I was a little let down but I think that had something to do with me expecting it to be something like Memorial Day back home. I don't know how it happened, but I think that I have more of an appreciation now of what American soldiers died for and I'm a little sad that I'm going to miss Memorial Day in good ol' West Grove.
Because this post is kind of long, I think I'm going to leave off for now and I'll write up about my trip to Melbourne (I went this past weekend) tomorrow. I'll also go ahead and make an effort to put up pictures from Melbourne, just because I'm making you wait to read about the trip.
27 April 2009
New Zealand Lord of the Rings Trip!
Well, I have officially been to the most gorgeous place I’ve ever seen (yes, this beats Kiama). And that place is New Zealand! Not really one specific place, but all of it completely. Because there are so few people that live in New Zealand, as soon as you leave the cities you can really understand why Peter Jackson filmed Lord of the Rings there – it seemed to actually be Middle Earth.
We flew into Auckland, one of the major cities on the North Island. NZ doesn’t have states – instead it has regions, but apparently that doesn’t really make a difference until it comes to rugby. At a population of 1.4 million, Auckland has one third of the entire population of New Zealand. We didn’t spend any time in Auckland itself really – it was just where we picked up – a 6.8 meter long, 3.1 meter high, 3.2 meter wide – campervan that we affectionately named Gwahir, after the eagle that saves and carries Gandalf a few times in the novels/movies. We name our GPS system Galadriel, because she does the voiceovers at the beginning of the film and helps guide the fellowship along.
Ok, so, the Lord of the Rings sites that we visited: Weathertop (Port Waikato), Hobbiton (Mata Mata), Mt. Doom (Mt. Ruapehu), Mushrooms/Get Off the Road Scene, Dun Harrow, Isengard, Lothlorien, Rivendell, Unconscious Viggo (all of these were around Wellington, we visited them on our 8 hour day tour), and the Misty Mountains (Southern Alps). We also drove past the quarry where Helm’s Deep was built, visited the jewellery shop where The Ring was made and visited Weta Cave, a mini museum belonging to Weta, which is the special effects company Peter Jackson helped found. While some people out there might not find this fascinating, I loved thinking that I stood in the same place where 10 years or so before some awesomeness was being filmed. In a decent amount of places, I and my friend Brett acted out some of the scenes. On Mt. Doom, we have a mini slideshow of what happened in the film at the beginning of the Fellowship.
In addition to Lord of the Rings sites, we also saw some other really cool places. Lake Taupo, where I sky dived (more on that later!), was an absolutely amazing place. We had no idea it was such a cute little place with so much to do, or else we would have budgeted more time in there. Lake Taupo is the largest lake in the southern hemisphere and had some magnificent views – it was surrounded by mountains and forests and nature at its absolute finest. We spent a few days in Wellington, but one day was specifically for being in the city. We checked out Te Papa, the museum of New Zealand, did some shopping, and I took a tour of Parliament and walked around the Harbour for a bit. I loved Lake Tekapo too, where in the distance you can see where the Southern Alps. The lake is fed by glaciers and was really cold, but that didn’t stop me from walking around a bit in it. Only up to the middle of my calves though because it felt like in under a minute your feet would go numb.
So what exciting things did I do? Well, besides seeing all of the Lord of the Rings places, I also watched all three extended movie versions in New Zealand! I find there to be something poetic about it. Onto the real exciting things. I took a ferry ride from the North Island to the South Island and driving on and off the ferry was fun. Because Hobbiton was filmed on a sheep farm, we got a sheep shearing demonstration and I bottle fed a sheep. I ate at the Green Parrot, a restaurant in Wellington where Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) used to eat at all the time back during filming. And of course, I went sky diving!
To start off with, I would absolutely sky dive again. We had perfect weather that day; there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. We decided to sky dive from 15000 feet so we pile into the plane and start flying up. Aside from the four of us, our four tandem divers, and four cameramen, there were two other divers going from 12000 feet and their two tandem divers. So 16 people in a tiny little plane. I think the craziest part of the entire experience was right before we dove out of the plane. We’re strapped to our dive masters (mine was a German named Albert) and they just pop your legs out of the plane so you’re dangling on the edge of the plane with absolutely nothing underneath you for miles except air. Then, we just slid off the edge of the plane and fell. I think that for the first few seconds, you don’t even realize that you’re plummeting towards the Earth – there definitely isn’t a sensation of falling, except for the wind blowing past your face. As we’re falling, the wind was blowing in my face so hard that my cheeks were flapping hardcore and spit was flying out of my mouth (probably into Albert’s – sorry dude!). Free-falling is definitely one of the wildest feelings ever – there’s absolutely nothing around you except the air. Once the parachute was pulled, we just drifted down and that’s when I really got the chance to look around me at the scenery. I was on top of the world! Everything looked so small. Albert and I ran in for the landing ( I don’t know why he had us run in, everyone else got to slide in) and it was over! One minute or so of free fall and I guess two or three minutes of just drifting. Regardless, it was definitely one of the best experiences of my life! I have 100 pictures that were taken of me during the free fall (some are very very funny) and a DVD of everyone jumping out. Find me when I get home and I’ll show you!
There were some things that I’m a little sad I didn’t get the chance to do. At Lake Tekapo, we were going to go on a horseback ride along a trail that took us around the lake, but we didn’t get a chance to. Two of my friends also bungee jumped, and while I know that it’s probably best for me to not risk hurting myself (my knees, I’m not worried about anything else), I still want to give it a try. I think I would also like to kayak along some of the rivers in NZ – it’s the beginning of autumn over there right now, so the foliage was beautiful and I think that a kayak trip down a river would give me a spectacular view of all the trees. We visited Mt.Cook, which is the highest peak in Australasia, but only got a glimpse of it and I think that hiking up it would be a lot of fun, albeit very cold. There are a lot of places in the South Island that we didn’t visit – there is a glacier which I wish we would have been able to fit in, Queenstown which has a lot of adrenaline filled things to do, and Dunedin where apparently is just a happenin’ place. There are also a few places in Wellington that I wish I would have been able to get a look at – the National Archives, a bunch of exhibits in Te Papa, and I would have liked to see a session of Parliament. I’ve decided that in order to do all these things, I’m just going to have to return to New Zealand one day.
Finally, after what seemed like forever to upload, I've selected for your viewing pleasure some New Zealand pictures! Follow this link and it'll take you to Google's picture website: http://picasaweb.google.com/hohumdedum02/AbroadDownUnder?authkey=Gv1sRgCI6g_OWo5ZakXw&feat=directlink
We flew into Auckland, one of the major cities on the North Island. NZ doesn’t have states – instead it has regions, but apparently that doesn’t really make a difference until it comes to rugby. At a population of 1.4 million, Auckland has one third of the entire population of New Zealand. We didn’t spend any time in Auckland itself really – it was just where we picked up – a 6.8 meter long, 3.1 meter high, 3.2 meter wide – campervan that we affectionately named Gwahir, after the eagle that saves and carries Gandalf a few times in the novels/movies. We name our GPS system Galadriel, because she does the voiceovers at the beginning of the film and helps guide the fellowship along.
Ok, so, the Lord of the Rings sites that we visited: Weathertop (Port Waikato), Hobbiton (Mata Mata), Mt. Doom (Mt. Ruapehu), Mushrooms/Get Off the Road Scene, Dun Harrow, Isengard, Lothlorien, Rivendell, Unconscious Viggo (all of these were around Wellington, we visited them on our 8 hour day tour), and the Misty Mountains (Southern Alps). We also drove past the quarry where Helm’s Deep was built, visited the jewellery shop where The Ring was made and visited Weta Cave, a mini museum belonging to Weta, which is the special effects company Peter Jackson helped found. While some people out there might not find this fascinating, I loved thinking that I stood in the same place where 10 years or so before some awesomeness was being filmed. In a decent amount of places, I and my friend Brett acted out some of the scenes. On Mt. Doom, we have a mini slideshow of what happened in the film at the beginning of the Fellowship.
In addition to Lord of the Rings sites, we also saw some other really cool places. Lake Taupo, where I sky dived (more on that later!), was an absolutely amazing place. We had no idea it was such a cute little place with so much to do, or else we would have budgeted more time in there. Lake Taupo is the largest lake in the southern hemisphere and had some magnificent views – it was surrounded by mountains and forests and nature at its absolute finest. We spent a few days in Wellington, but one day was specifically for being in the city. We checked out Te Papa, the museum of New Zealand, did some shopping, and I took a tour of Parliament and walked around the Harbour for a bit. I loved Lake Tekapo too, where in the distance you can see where the Southern Alps. The lake is fed by glaciers and was really cold, but that didn’t stop me from walking around a bit in it. Only up to the middle of my calves though because it felt like in under a minute your feet would go numb.
So what exciting things did I do? Well, besides seeing all of the Lord of the Rings places, I also watched all three extended movie versions in New Zealand! I find there to be something poetic about it. Onto the real exciting things. I took a ferry ride from the North Island to the South Island and driving on and off the ferry was fun. Because Hobbiton was filmed on a sheep farm, we got a sheep shearing demonstration and I bottle fed a sheep. I ate at the Green Parrot, a restaurant in Wellington where Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) used to eat at all the time back during filming. And of course, I went sky diving!
To start off with, I would absolutely sky dive again. We had perfect weather that day; there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. We decided to sky dive from 15000 feet so we pile into the plane and start flying up. Aside from the four of us, our four tandem divers, and four cameramen, there were two other divers going from 12000 feet and their two tandem divers. So 16 people in a tiny little plane. I think the craziest part of the entire experience was right before we dove out of the plane. We’re strapped to our dive masters (mine was a German named Albert) and they just pop your legs out of the plane so you’re dangling on the edge of the plane with absolutely nothing underneath you for miles except air. Then, we just slid off the edge of the plane and fell. I think that for the first few seconds, you don’t even realize that you’re plummeting towards the Earth – there definitely isn’t a sensation of falling, except for the wind blowing past your face. As we’re falling, the wind was blowing in my face so hard that my cheeks were flapping hardcore and spit was flying out of my mouth (probably into Albert’s – sorry dude!). Free-falling is definitely one of the wildest feelings ever – there’s absolutely nothing around you except the air. Once the parachute was pulled, we just drifted down and that’s when I really got the chance to look around me at the scenery. I was on top of the world! Everything looked so small. Albert and I ran in for the landing ( I don’t know why he had us run in, everyone else got to slide in) and it was over! One minute or so of free fall and I guess two or three minutes of just drifting. Regardless, it was definitely one of the best experiences of my life! I have 100 pictures that were taken of me during the free fall (some are very very funny) and a DVD of everyone jumping out. Find me when I get home and I’ll show you!
There were some things that I’m a little sad I didn’t get the chance to do. At Lake Tekapo, we were going to go on a horseback ride along a trail that took us around the lake, but we didn’t get a chance to. Two of my friends also bungee jumped, and while I know that it’s probably best for me to not risk hurting myself (my knees, I’m not worried about anything else), I still want to give it a try. I think I would also like to kayak along some of the rivers in NZ – it’s the beginning of autumn over there right now, so the foliage was beautiful and I think that a kayak trip down a river would give me a spectacular view of all the trees. We visited Mt.Cook, which is the highest peak in Australasia, but only got a glimpse of it and I think that hiking up it would be a lot of fun, albeit very cold. There are a lot of places in the South Island that we didn’t visit – there is a glacier which I wish we would have been able to fit in, Queenstown which has a lot of adrenaline filled things to do, and Dunedin where apparently is just a happenin’ place. There are also a few places in Wellington that I wish I would have been able to get a look at – the National Archives, a bunch of exhibits in Te Papa, and I would have liked to see a session of Parliament. I’ve decided that in order to do all these things, I’m just going to have to return to New Zealand one day.
Finally, after what seemed like forever to upload, I've selected for your viewing pleasure some New Zealand pictures! Follow this link and it'll take you to Google's picture website: http://picasaweb.google.com/hohumdedum02/AbroadDownUnder?authkey=Gv1sRgCI6g_OWo5ZakXw&feat=directlink
09 April 2009
Halfway done with the semester?!
Apparently I'm halfway done with this semester. Unbelievable, completely. Next week is our mid-session/Easter break (not spring break, because it's fall down here, although all us Americans still refer to it as spring break) and then there are seven more weeks left and then finals! Although, we get a study week for finals and finals extend for a good two weeks I think. But after that comes June 30 and then I'll be heading home. It's strange to think about - it definitely doesn't feel like I've had six weeks of classes already, but I suppose that's because my schedule is just that awesome.
I'll go ahead and comment on my classes - my parents will be happy to know that I am doing all my work and it at least feels like I'm doing well. In my history class, I've had two assignments that were returned to me - I got A's on both of them. I've given two presentations so far (I mentioned the one for my history class I think - the other one was a presentation on the Maori (indigenous New Zealanders) harvest of the Sooty Shearwater (a bird that breeds in New Zealand). I didn't have any midterms this semester but when I return from break I'm going to have to start working on three papers - they're not due for a while (mid to end of May) but it's a lot easier to get big assignments done here because I don't spend so much time on doing homework. The reading load is just way less than back home. I think it's also because of the subjects I'm taking here - as an Arts student (basically, not an engineer like everyone else here) I don't have a lot of contact hours, so it leaves more time for me to just do things. For one of my assignments, I did legitimate research - it's actually probably the best piece of work I've written in a while.
Moving on, I haven't really been doing anything very exciting. All last week it was rainy and overcast so we couldn't go to the beach, not to mention it's getting colder and that is really tragic too. Of course, by colder I mean it's in the high 60s low 70s, but it's all relative. My dorm had a Harbour Cruise on Sydney's Darling Harbour, so that was really awesome. On the walk from the train station to where the boat was picking us up, we saw 10 brides. 10! It was neat though because we got to scrutinize all the dresses and decide which one we would or wouldn't wear. I didn't bring my camera that night, but luckily (I suppose) I left my purse on the boat that night and had to go back to Sydney to retrieve it so I took pictures of the harbour when I went back. I plan on spending a weekend in Sydney anyway though, so of course there will be more pictures. I also plan on spending a weekend/making trips to Canberra (the capital!), the outback, the Blue Mountains, and Melbourne (this trip is actually already planned - we're seeing cirque du soleil!). And of course, NEW ZEALAND!!!
I'm leaving tonight to go to sleep in the airport because our flight leaves at 7am tomorrow. If you aren't aware, Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand, so we're going and seeing a bunch of filming sites. It's going to be so epic!! We're traveling around the North Island and the South Island and visiting a few major cities in the process. We will be spending the most time in Wellington - We're doing an 8 hour tour of places where LotR was filmed. And yours truly will be driving a 6.5 meter long motor home! On the wrong side of the road! And it's a manual! To say the least, this is going to be quite an amazing adventure. I'll copy in our itinerary, so you'll be able to look at it and think: "Lisa is in the Misty Mountains - Dear Lord I wish I was her!" (btw, I'm not bungee jumping)I plan on taking lots and lots and lots of pictures - most likely, we'll be taking them doing LotR poses too, because that's the kind of people I'm going with. :D
Well, that's about it from me for now. I won't be posting next week as I won't have internet access, but I'm taking a notebook with me to NZ so I'll make sure that I take notes about the trip and put them up back on here.
Oh, and Happy Easter everyone!
Friday April 10
Arrive and get ready to head off around 4 pm
Go to Port Waikato
Drive to Mata Mata
Saturday April 11
Hobbiton Tour (9:50 am)
Drive to Lake Talpo
Sunday April 12
Sky Diving @ Talpo 10:30 am
Taurangi for the day
Monday April 13
Taihapi – bungee jumping
Drive to Wellington/Upper Hutt
Tuesday April 14
Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt exploration
Wednesday April 15
LotR day tour
Thursday April 16
Wellington for the day
Friday April 17
830 am ferry to Picton
Mt. Sunday
Nelson
Saturday April 18
Nelson
Drive to Christchurch
Sunday April 19
Jenn leaves – noon at Christchurch airport
Mt. Cook
Monday April 20
Mt. Cook/ Misty Mountains
Tuesday April 21
Arrive at airport at noon
I'll go ahead and comment on my classes - my parents will be happy to know that I am doing all my work and it at least feels like I'm doing well. In my history class, I've had two assignments that were returned to me - I got A's on both of them. I've given two presentations so far (I mentioned the one for my history class I think - the other one was a presentation on the Maori (indigenous New Zealanders) harvest of the Sooty Shearwater (a bird that breeds in New Zealand). I didn't have any midterms this semester but when I return from break I'm going to have to start working on three papers - they're not due for a while (mid to end of May) but it's a lot easier to get big assignments done here because I don't spend so much time on doing homework. The reading load is just way less than back home. I think it's also because of the subjects I'm taking here - as an Arts student (basically, not an engineer like everyone else here) I don't have a lot of contact hours, so it leaves more time for me to just do things. For one of my assignments, I did legitimate research - it's actually probably the best piece of work I've written in a while.
Moving on, I haven't really been doing anything very exciting. All last week it was rainy and overcast so we couldn't go to the beach, not to mention it's getting colder and that is really tragic too. Of course, by colder I mean it's in the high 60s low 70s, but it's all relative. My dorm had a Harbour Cruise on Sydney's Darling Harbour, so that was really awesome. On the walk from the train station to where the boat was picking us up, we saw 10 brides. 10! It was neat though because we got to scrutinize all the dresses and decide which one we would or wouldn't wear. I didn't bring my camera that night, but luckily (I suppose) I left my purse on the boat that night and had to go back to Sydney to retrieve it so I took pictures of the harbour when I went back. I plan on spending a weekend in Sydney anyway though, so of course there will be more pictures. I also plan on spending a weekend/making trips to Canberra (the capital!), the outback, the Blue Mountains, and Melbourne (this trip is actually already planned - we're seeing cirque du soleil!). And of course, NEW ZEALAND!!!
I'm leaving tonight to go to sleep in the airport because our flight leaves at 7am tomorrow. If you aren't aware, Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand, so we're going and seeing a bunch of filming sites. It's going to be so epic!! We're traveling around the North Island and the South Island and visiting a few major cities in the process. We will be spending the most time in Wellington - We're doing an 8 hour tour of places where LotR was filmed. And yours truly will be driving a 6.5 meter long motor home! On the wrong side of the road! And it's a manual! To say the least, this is going to be quite an amazing adventure. I'll copy in our itinerary, so you'll be able to look at it and think: "Lisa is in the Misty Mountains - Dear Lord I wish I was her!" (btw, I'm not bungee jumping)I plan on taking lots and lots and lots of pictures - most likely, we'll be taking them doing LotR poses too, because that's the kind of people I'm going with. :D
Well, that's about it from me for now. I won't be posting next week as I won't have internet access, but I'm taking a notebook with me to NZ so I'll make sure that I take notes about the trip and put them up back on here.
Oh, and Happy Easter everyone!
Friday April 10
Arrive and get ready to head off around 4 pm
Go to Port Waikato
Drive to Mata Mata
Saturday April 11
Hobbiton Tour (9:50 am)
Drive to Lake Talpo
Sunday April 12
Sky Diving @ Talpo 10:30 am
Taurangi for the day
Monday April 13
Taihapi – bungee jumping
Drive to Wellington/Upper Hutt
Tuesday April 14
Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt exploration
Wednesday April 15
LotR day tour
Thursday April 16
Wellington for the day
Friday April 17
830 am ferry to Picton
Mt. Sunday
Nelson
Saturday April 18
Nelson
Drive to Christchurch
Sunday April 19
Jenn leaves – noon at Christchurch airport
Mt. Cook
Monday April 20
Mt. Cook/ Misty Mountains
Tuesday April 21
Arrive at airport at noon
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