This week a big storm came along the coast of NSW. There were gale force winds coming from a SE direction which make for some intense swells! Since Coogee is a fairly protected bay, the swells were manageable and some surfers were making it out. But in less protected beaches like Bronte it was completely unmanageable. I went for a run down to Bronte to check it out and the entire bay was nothing but foam!
I did get the camera down to snap a few shots of Coogee:
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Two and three wheeled flyin'
The CBD of Sydney is a fairly congested place. Riding a bike through it is nearly always an adventure. But the other weekend Sydney hosted the major Australian marathon event and very nearly shut down the entire CBD for its route! I started fantasizing about getting up early that morning and flying around the empty streets on my bike before the marathon started, until I received an email calling out for volunteers.
Apparently the 'wheelies' (men in wheelchairs) who were participating in the marathon needed escorts, and cyclists are the best suited for this role. But the email warned that the wheelies average almost 30 km/hr for the event and reach speeds of up to 50 km/hr, so it's not for the faint-of-heart. I responded without hesitation and found myself escorting the fastest marathon wheelie on the planet: Kurt Fearnley (his 3 paralympic gold medals back up this claim).
Kurt needed the assistance of two cyclists: one out front looking for potholes, and another nearer him relaying the information. This is because he's got his head down, pounding out a 28 km/hr pace with his arms. I have to say that I feel that I'm a fairly fit cyclist, but keeping up with Kurt for the duration of the marathon was taxing. And I have the advantage of leverage and gears! Clearly, Kurt is an amazing athlete.
Flying across the Harbour Bridge at 60 km/hr and through the empty streets of Sydney, while escorting a world class athlete, is definitely going down as one of my favorite experiences in Australia. I wish I had photos to share, but obviously taking pictures while keeping up with Kurt is quite impossible. However, since Kurt is such a renowned athlete and he set a new record for the Sydney marathon, there are plenty of photos and even videos floating around where you can spot a Cougs jersey flying by.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
How?
Had to share this one!
Also, it turns out Lance Armstrong is coming down under! And just in time for my birthday...
http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/news--and--media/latestnewsreleases/lancearmstrongconfirmed
Also, it turns out Lance Armstrong is coming down under! And just in time for my birthday...
http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/news--and--media/latestnewsreleases/lancearmstrongconfirmed
Friday, September 4, 2009
Lots of green and blue
This last weekend a friend of Kat's and mine, Chris, visited from Wellington. We did a quick tour of Sydney and then Chris and I set off for a few days in the Blue Mountains.
We hiked out to Mt Solitary, which is really a butte in the huge valley outside of Katoomba. The views from the top were stunning, and we made it there right at sunset. Unfortunately we didn't cover a lot of ground the first day since it took some time to travel from Sydney to the trailhead. So the second day was a bit of a long hike traversing the entire length of Mt Solitary and then across the valley floor back to Katoomba.
We managed a successful bushwack that cut off quite a bit of distance for us, but the vegetation was very thick and we both received a fair share of scratches - but thankfully no leeches!
We overnighted the second night at a fantastic hostel in Katoomba, the Flying Fox, and had a good sampling of as many Aussie beers the local pub had to offer. The next morning we went for a nice day hike around Wentworth Falls and found a number of spectacular waterfalls.
The season is definitely changing here as I saw plenty of flowers throughout the hikes! I even found a pine tree that produces flowers and another pine tree that had pea pods.
We hiked out to Mt Solitary, which is really a butte in the huge valley outside of Katoomba. The views from the top were stunning, and we made it there right at sunset. Unfortunately we didn't cover a lot of ground the first day since it took some time to travel from Sydney to the trailhead. So the second day was a bit of a long hike traversing the entire length of Mt Solitary and then across the valley floor back to Katoomba.
We managed a successful bushwack that cut off quite a bit of distance for us, but the vegetation was very thick and we both received a fair share of scratches - but thankfully no leeches!
We overnighted the second night at a fantastic hostel in Katoomba, the Flying Fox, and had a good sampling of as many Aussie beers the local pub had to offer. The next morning we went for a nice day hike around Wentworth Falls and found a number of spectacular waterfalls.
The season is definitely changing here as I saw plenty of flowers throughout the hikes! I even found a pine tree that produces flowers and another pine tree that had pea pods.
Monday, August 24, 2009
South of Sydney
I've been trying to get Kat to write a post for some time... but you might notice that it's not working! So in the mean time I thought I'd put up a few pictures from this last weekend.
This last weekend, a friend of mine went out of town and was kind enough to let me borrow his car for the duration of his ski trip. It offered Kat and I the rare ability to easily travel around Sydney but it offered me the great opportunity to drive a 6-speed French-built right-hand-drive car. It was a blast!
At first we did the very boring but but necessary shopping trips to the grocery store and Ikea. But yesterday it was decided that we must utilize the opportunity to see things we normally wouldn't get to since we're limited to public and bicycle transportatio. We drove south.
South of Sydney the land opens up. First you drive through Royal National Park, the second oldest national park in the world. We drove straight through but noted the turn off for Garie Beach for out return drive. South of RNP are a series of coastal towns all the way to Wollongong. In one such town was holding its monthly market. We stopped in and found lots of brick-a-brack and fresh foods for sale. It was a very lively market and the backdrop of the Tasman Sea was very refreshing.
Back on the road we made a pit stop at the Scarborough Hotel. We had read that the Scarborough was 'the best pub in Australia' and I wanted to check that statement. So many restaurants and hotels make that kind of claim so it's easy to cast them off, but then again, sometimes it's true.
It's difficult to claim that the Scarborough is definitively the best pub in Oz until I can perform a larger sampling (which I'm certainly striving for), but it would be hard to believe many exist of significantly higher quality. Walking in it is like any other Aussie bar: you order your beer and food at the counter and go to find a seat. But when you turn around to find a table you find that the bar extends down a flight of stairs to a backyard filled with tables and benches. Kat and I spent an hour sitting on a bench high over the ocean watching migratory whales pass. Maybe there's a bar in the outback where kangaroos serve your beer, but if not, I find it hard to believe there's many finer places to sit back with a cold one.
On the way back we pulled into Garie Beach. It's a great stretch of sand with tree covered headlands surrounding it. There were few people on the beach with most of them either surfers or fishermen. Garie Beach was a great place to relax, and we did so until the sun went behind the hills and it was time to drive back north.
This last weekend, a friend of mine went out of town and was kind enough to let me borrow his car for the duration of his ski trip. It offered Kat and I the rare ability to easily travel around Sydney but it offered me the great opportunity to drive a 6-speed French-built right-hand-drive car. It was a blast!
At first we did the very boring but but necessary shopping trips to the grocery store and Ikea. But yesterday it was decided that we must utilize the opportunity to see things we normally wouldn't get to since we're limited to public and bicycle transportatio. We drove south.
South of Sydney the land opens up. First you drive through Royal National Park, the second oldest national park in the world. We drove straight through but noted the turn off for Garie Beach for out return drive. South of RNP are a series of coastal towns all the way to Wollongong. In one such town was holding its monthly market. We stopped in and found lots of brick-a-brack and fresh foods for sale. It was a very lively market and the backdrop of the Tasman Sea was very refreshing.
Back on the road we made a pit stop at the Scarborough Hotel. We had read that the Scarborough was 'the best pub in Australia' and I wanted to check that statement. So many restaurants and hotels make that kind of claim so it's easy to cast them off, but then again, sometimes it's true.
It's difficult to claim that the Scarborough is definitively the best pub in Oz until I can perform a larger sampling (which I'm certainly striving for), but it would be hard to believe many exist of significantly higher quality. Walking in it is like any other Aussie bar: you order your beer and food at the counter and go to find a seat. But when you turn around to find a table you find that the bar extends down a flight of stairs to a backyard filled with tables and benches. Kat and I spent an hour sitting on a bench high over the ocean watching migratory whales pass. Maybe there's a bar in the outback where kangaroos serve your beer, but if not, I find it hard to believe there's many finer places to sit back with a cold one.
On the way back we pulled into Garie Beach. It's a great stretch of sand with tree covered headlands surrounding it. There were few people on the beach with most of them either surfers or fishermen. Garie Beach was a great place to relax, and we did so until the sun went behind the hills and it was time to drive back north.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Better Late than Never!
So....I'm a little behind in blogging. But let me tell you about Canberra:
The last couple of weeks I've been in Canberra for work. Canberra is the capital city of Australia so it houses Parliament and all the other government offices that are necessary to run a country. I'm always interested in government so being surrounded by it and it's workers, and I promise there's no avoiding political discussions here, has been interesting. I'd also like the quickly add that anything you hear from Senator Fielding, especially relating to climate change, should be quickly disregarded. I have a tip from an extremely good source that the man is an absolute nincompoop.
There's only a few hundred thousand residents in Canberra and most of them are either white collar public servants, students, or support workers (hotels, restaurants, etc). This makes Canberra have a feeling of affluence. Also, since the entire city is planned, it has a very clean and extremely roomy feel to it. Roads are wide and lots are quite large. The cycling in Canberra is EXCELLENT! In fact, the rural areas surrounding Canberra are very good for cycling as well. I went for a nice ride last weekend and saw kangaroos and wallabies!
But the best aspect for this mid sized city is the availability of cultural institutions. What other city in the world with only a few hundred thousand residents houses national museums, national libraries, national galleries, or an impressive war memorial? Kat and I took the time to visit them all and they were very impressive.
One of my favorite things about Australia, and so far Canberra has been the best place for it, are the birds. There huge flocks of sulfer-crested cockatoos and gallahs here, and I've also seen black cockatoos, swamp hens, black swans, native ducks, cormorants, and more than half a dozen varieties of lorikeets, rozellas, and parrots. These colorful birds seem so out of place here in Canberra where there's sometimes frost in the morning, but the cockatoos are still there every morning, rolling in the frosty grass.
You may have heard negative things about Canberra so you may be wondering why I'm so positive about it, but it's because it really is a nice place. Many people will snub their noses at Canberra in favor of Sydney and it's beaches and harbor, but in my opinion Sydney is sometimes overrated while Canberra is even further underrated. Perhaps if you visit Australia you may not take the time to make it out to Canberra, but let it be known that this is a nice city indeed!
I don't have pictures of Canberra online yet, but here's some pictures from my last trip into the Blue Mountains. It was a great trip with spectacular waterfalls and I even spotted a dingo!
The last couple of weeks I've been in Canberra for work. Canberra is the capital city of Australia so it houses Parliament and all the other government offices that are necessary to run a country. I'm always interested in government so being surrounded by it and it's workers, and I promise there's no avoiding political discussions here, has been interesting. I'd also like the quickly add that anything you hear from Senator Fielding, especially relating to climate change, should be quickly disregarded. I have a tip from an extremely good source that the man is an absolute nincompoop.
There's only a few hundred thousand residents in Canberra and most of them are either white collar public servants, students, or support workers (hotels, restaurants, etc). This makes Canberra have a feeling of affluence. Also, since the entire city is planned, it has a very clean and extremely roomy feel to it. Roads are wide and lots are quite large. The cycling in Canberra is EXCELLENT! In fact, the rural areas surrounding Canberra are very good for cycling as well. I went for a nice ride last weekend and saw kangaroos and wallabies!
But the best aspect for this mid sized city is the availability of cultural institutions. What other city in the world with only a few hundred thousand residents houses national museums, national libraries, national galleries, or an impressive war memorial? Kat and I took the time to visit them all and they were very impressive.
One of my favorite things about Australia, and so far Canberra has been the best place for it, are the birds. There huge flocks of sulfer-crested cockatoos and gallahs here, and I've also seen black cockatoos, swamp hens, black swans, native ducks, cormorants, and more than half a dozen varieties of lorikeets, rozellas, and parrots. These colorful birds seem so out of place here in Canberra where there's sometimes frost in the morning, but the cockatoos are still there every morning, rolling in the frosty grass.
You may have heard negative things about Canberra so you may be wondering why I'm so positive about it, but it's because it really is a nice place. Many people will snub their noses at Canberra in favor of Sydney and it's beaches and harbor, but in my opinion Sydney is sometimes overrated while Canberra is even further underrated. Perhaps if you visit Australia you may not take the time to make it out to Canberra, but let it be known that this is a nice city indeed!
I don't have pictures of Canberra online yet, but here's some pictures from my last trip into the Blue Mountains. It was a great trip with spectacular waterfalls and I even spotted a dingo!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Attempt at the Blue Gums
I'm used to an 'attempt' being that I couldn't climb high enough due to weather or some other unforeseeable obstacle. This was my first abort due to not being able to descend low enough.
This last weekend I tried to walk out to a grove or very large eucalypts known as the Blue Gum Forest. It's an incredible scenic area that's only a 2 hour train ride from Sydney. I checked the weather before I left but the weatherman failed me miserably - when I arrived in Blackheath I was greeted with torrential rain.
Not being one to walk away from the wet I made my way down the canyon and was greeted by a very spectacular waterfall: Bridal Veil Falls. It was amazing to see the water gushing over the cliff top but seeing it as the base was truly epic. The water was smashing down with so much force as the bottom that is was creating extremely heavy winds and blowing water sideways. Trees that were 50 meters from the base were being blown sideways!
But this is where my problems began. I had to cross the river near the base and managed to do so but not without getting fairly wet. I continued on until I came to the first of 4 river crossing my map showed and decided I could go no further without taking serious (and stupid) risk. So I found a nicely hidden campsite to wait until the morning. The weather never did improve and while the water level did subside a bit I decided it was still too dangerous to consider crossing and made my way back to Blackheath to head home.
But the best thing about failures is that they almost always teach you a lot more than when you succeed. First, I learned that a homemade tuna-can stove works really well and it doesn't matter if it gets wet. Second, I learned that one should be very cautious around rivers in Australia. What if I was on the other side of that river before the rain started coming down? I'd be stuck for sure. Since the trees here are almost entirely Eucalypts, there's not the option of a tree bridge. So always remember to bring extra food and your ten essentials!
This last weekend I tried to walk out to a grove or very large eucalypts known as the Blue Gum Forest. It's an incredible scenic area that's only a 2 hour train ride from Sydney. I checked the weather before I left but the weatherman failed me miserably - when I arrived in Blackheath I was greeted with torrential rain.
Not being one to walk away from the wet I made my way down the canyon and was greeted by a very spectacular waterfall: Bridal Veil Falls. It was amazing to see the water gushing over the cliff top but seeing it as the base was truly epic. The water was smashing down with so much force as the bottom that is was creating extremely heavy winds and blowing water sideways. Trees that were 50 meters from the base were being blown sideways!
But this is where my problems began. I had to cross the river near the base and managed to do so but not without getting fairly wet. I continued on until I came to the first of 4 river crossing my map showed and decided I could go no further without taking serious (and stupid) risk. So I found a nicely hidden campsite to wait until the morning. The weather never did improve and while the water level did subside a bit I decided it was still too dangerous to consider crossing and made my way back to Blackheath to head home.
But the best thing about failures is that they almost always teach you a lot more than when you succeed. First, I learned that a homemade tuna-can stove works really well and it doesn't matter if it gets wet. Second, I learned that one should be very cautious around rivers in Australia. What if I was on the other side of that river before the rain started coming down? I'd be stuck for sure. Since the trees here are almost entirely Eucalypts, there's not the option of a tree bridge. So always remember to bring extra food and your ten essentials!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Kristin and Mike visit - and so can you!
Kristin and Mike came to Australia for vacation for the past week and a half or so. They were lucky enough to make it up to Cairns, but they also spent some time with Kat and I here in Sydney and out in the Blue Mountains. We had an awesome time and it was great to show someone around Sydney and to share some pie eating experiences.
The first weekend we went around Sydney and saw the best sites. The ladies did a lot of catching up which left plenty of time for Mike and I to bond over the ancient sport of beer pong.
This last weekend we took an overnight trip out in the Blue Mountains. We started in Katoomba after we enjoyed a delicious mushroom-ginger-soy-rice pie (sounds weird, but was maybe my favorite pie to date). We hiked out to what's called the Ruined Castle and enjoyed wonderful Eucalyptus forests and superb views as you can see in the photos. The cockatoos teased us the entire time by staying within earshot but out of sight in the treetops. Luckily a gorgeous sulfur-crested landed in our backyard the day we got back :)
We also took an entire day to visit the Taronga Zoo. It's the major zoo here in Sydney and I really have to say my favorite tourist attraction in this city. I didn't include many photos because I want people to get a chance to see the zoo for themselves, but the ferry ride to the zoo and the zoo itself has about the best views of Sydney around. And on top of that the variety of animals is very impressive. I highly recommend the bird show, but I'll stop there because I feel as if I'd be spoiling the ending of movie by saying more.
But overall a fantastic couple of weeks. I'd like to give a big thanks for Kristin and Mike for visiting us! It was great to have you both!!!
Click on the Koala to see more pictures:
The first weekend we went around Sydney and saw the best sites. The ladies did a lot of catching up which left plenty of time for Mike and I to bond over the ancient sport of beer pong.
This last weekend we took an overnight trip out in the Blue Mountains. We started in Katoomba after we enjoyed a delicious mushroom-ginger-soy-rice pie (sounds weird, but was maybe my favorite pie to date). We hiked out to what's called the Ruined Castle and enjoyed wonderful Eucalyptus forests and superb views as you can see in the photos. The cockatoos teased us the entire time by staying within earshot but out of sight in the treetops. Luckily a gorgeous sulfur-crested landed in our backyard the day we got back :)
We also took an entire day to visit the Taronga Zoo. It's the major zoo here in Sydney and I really have to say my favorite tourist attraction in this city. I didn't include many photos because I want people to get a chance to see the zoo for themselves, but the ferry ride to the zoo and the zoo itself has about the best views of Sydney around. And on top of that the variety of animals is very impressive. I highly recommend the bird show, but I'll stop there because I feel as if I'd be spoiling the ending of movie by saying more.
But overall a fantastic couple of weeks. I'd like to give a big thanks for Kristin and Mike for visiting us! It was great to have you both!!!
Click on the Koala to see more pictures:
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| Mike and Kristin Visit Us! |
Monday, May 11, 2009
She Said Yes!!!
I'm very excited to say that Kat and I are engaged! I proposed to Kat right here in Sydney on Observatory Hill overlooking Sydney Harbour. I was pretty hopeful that she would say yes but that didn't stop me from being nervous. But I'm very happy that she said yes and that she likes the ring! Kat's dad, Fred, made me promise not to get married in Australia. But I definitely agree with him and we plan to have our ceremony when we get back home. We want all our friends and family to be able to come to our wedding!
We've both been incredibly excited about being engaged but everything else is going quite well here in Sydney. Kat and doing very well in school (as always) and I've started working with an environmental company doing environmental auditing. So far it's been a great job and I really enjoy opportunity to be doing work for the environment.
As some of you know, Kat and I managed to get evicted from our last house. We're still not exactly sure how it happened but I think it's easiest to just say that our house-mate was a bit strange and doesn't know how to deal with people very well. But as luck would have it we found a much nicer house with three great kiwi guys that's closer to school for Kat and closer to work for me! Plus the guys have a foosball table and there's a pond in the backyard that we've already populated with goldfish. We've yet to name them but I'm leaning towards Tim and Tam. Feel free to give suggestions.
This last weekend we were very happy to have Kristin and Mike stay with us. We all had a really great time hanging out together and it was fun to have friends from back home to see. Plus I had an excuse to show them all the great beers and meat pies that Sydney has to offer! But they left for Cairns today and should be enjoying some great sights right about now.
So Kat and I are both very happy and having a great time in Sydney. But now we have even more incentive to get back to Seattle and have a WEDDING!!!
We've both been incredibly excited about being engaged but everything else is going quite well here in Sydney. Kat and doing very well in school (as always) and I've started working with an environmental company doing environmental auditing. So far it's been a great job and I really enjoy opportunity to be doing work for the environment.
As some of you know, Kat and I managed to get evicted from our last house. We're still not exactly sure how it happened but I think it's easiest to just say that our house-mate was a bit strange and doesn't know how to deal with people very well. But as luck would have it we found a much nicer house with three great kiwi guys that's closer to school for Kat and closer to work for me! Plus the guys have a foosball table and there's a pond in the backyard that we've already populated with goldfish. We've yet to name them but I'm leaning towards Tim and Tam. Feel free to give suggestions.
This last weekend we were very happy to have Kristin and Mike stay with us. We all had a really great time hanging out together and it was fun to have friends from back home to see. Plus I had an excuse to show them all the great beers and meat pies that Sydney has to offer! But they left for Cairns today and should be enjoying some great sights right about now.
So Kat and I are both very happy and having a great time in Sydney. But now we have even more incentive to get back to Seattle and have a WEDDING!!!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Crikey! It's Easter Break!!!
For this last week Kat, Elyse, and I took off for a road trip up the coast. After making a huge Easter brunch for ourselves, we headed to Byron Bay for their world famous blues festival. We got to listen to the likes of the Drive By Truckers, Blues Travelers, and James Hunter, among many others. We barely caught a glimpse of John Butler but since he's such a hit in Oz his stage was flooded and we found ourselves out in the pasture straining to see and hear his show. But he plays around here a lot so we're just going to go see him again sometime!
After the blues fest we went north to Brisbane and visited Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. In the US we mostly know Steve Irwin as the crazy Crocodile Hunter on TV but here in Australia also known as a great conservationist and the zoo that he created helps keep up his legacy of conservationism. But it also makes for one amazing experience! The zoo has Koalas, Wombats, Emus, Kangaroos, Echidnas, and all sorts of snakes, lizards, crocodiles and birds of Australia. And unlike most zoos I've been to these animals are active and some are interactive. We actually were able pet Koalas and Wombats and got to feed Kangaroos and Wallabys right out of our hands!!! I can honestly say that this likely the most fun zoo that I've ever been to - and since I love zoos that's saying a lot!
Following a brief stop in the hippie town of Nimbin we headed back down to Byron Bay again for some post-festival relaxation. Byron has an amazing beach that stretches out of sight on the horizon and the town itself is full of shops and great food stalls. It's the quintessential beach vacation town which is what makes it so likable. It also helps that the weather was perfect :)
I apologize that the photos are so heavy with zoo pictures but there's two good reasons: first, I like animals; second, my battery ran out and I wasn't able to charge it up again!
After the blues fest we went north to Brisbane and visited Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. In the US we mostly know Steve Irwin as the crazy Crocodile Hunter on TV but here in Australia also known as a great conservationist and the zoo that he created helps keep up his legacy of conservationism. But it also makes for one amazing experience! The zoo has Koalas, Wombats, Emus, Kangaroos, Echidnas, and all sorts of snakes, lizards, crocodiles and birds of Australia. And unlike most zoos I've been to these animals are active and some are interactive. We actually were able pet Koalas and Wombats and got to feed Kangaroos and Wallabys right out of our hands!!! I can honestly say that this likely the most fun zoo that I've ever been to - and since I love zoos that's saying a lot!
Following a brief stop in the hippie town of Nimbin we headed back down to Byron Bay again for some post-festival relaxation. Byron has an amazing beach that stretches out of sight on the horizon and the town itself is full of shops and great food stalls. It's the quintessential beach vacation town which is what makes it so likable. It also helps that the weather was perfect :)
I apologize that the photos are so heavy with zoo pictures but there's two good reasons: first, I like animals; second, my battery ran out and I wasn't able to charge it up again!
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| Easter Break |
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Catching Up, Part 3: The Blue Mountains
My last embark took me well out of Sydney into the Blue Mountains. I took a train to Katoomba with only part of a plan. After talking with a local outdoor equipment shop I found a new plan: the six-foot track (or 6^T as it is sometimes shortened to). It is typically a three day excursion that follows a historic horse track to the Jenoleon Caves. But there was one catch: I needed to be back in Sydney for some dinner plans. If I wanted to do the track I would have to make it to the Jenoleon Caves by 3:45pm the next day to catch the last bus back to Katoomba. But after being in the city for weeks I was desperate to punish my legs a bit and give it a go.
The trail starts near Katoomba and descends through a gap in the cliffs down to Nelly's Glen. At this point the vegetation is incredibly lush and thick, watered by the many waterfalls coming down the cliffs. As I walked further the trail changed to pastoral pastureland, dry forests, lush river valleys, and sparse and dry hilltops. This was a great way to see the varied landscape of the blue mountains and the many great Eucalypts and animals that live among them.
The animals I encountered were just as varied as the landscape. Since I was alone I made little noise which allowed me to catch a glimpse of the more shore animals. I saw Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Wallabies, a Trap-Door Spider, a Red-Bellied Black Snake, a giant bee nest, Lace Monitors, hordes of other lizards, Galah Cockatoos, many Lorikeets, Sulfur Crested Cockatoos, Kookaburras, a strange green leech (not attached to me, thankfully), and many other birds and insects that I can't begin to identify (or photograph for that matter!). If you've never heard a Kookaburra click here to hear one!
After I turned out the lights the forest really came to life. The kangaroos I had disturbed when I came to camp returned for water, opossums and/or gliders started rustling through the trees, and kookaburras bantered back and forth. Falling asleep to the thumping hops of roo's in the brush and the amazing calls of the kookaburras made me instantly recognize: "god damn you're in Australia Jeremiah!"
I made it to the Jenoleon Caves with time to spare and sore but satisfied legs. I had finally made it to the outback, seen more animals than I had hoped for, and made it back to Sydney in time for some fantastic Thai food. The pictures here can speak far better for what I've seen!
The trail starts near Katoomba and descends through a gap in the cliffs down to Nelly's Glen. At this point the vegetation is incredibly lush and thick, watered by the many waterfalls coming down the cliffs. As I walked further the trail changed to pastoral pastureland, dry forests, lush river valleys, and sparse and dry hilltops. This was a great way to see the varied landscape of the blue mountains and the many great Eucalypts and animals that live among them.
The animals I encountered were just as varied as the landscape. Since I was alone I made little noise which allowed me to catch a glimpse of the more shore animals. I saw Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Wallabies, a Trap-Door Spider, a Red-Bellied Black Snake, a giant bee nest, Lace Monitors, hordes of other lizards, Galah Cockatoos, many Lorikeets, Sulfur Crested Cockatoos, Kookaburras, a strange green leech (not attached to me, thankfully), and many other birds and insects that I can't begin to identify (or photograph for that matter!). If you've never heard a Kookaburra click here to hear one!
After I turned out the lights the forest really came to life. The kangaroos I had disturbed when I came to camp returned for water, opossums and/or gliders started rustling through the trees, and kookaburras bantered back and forth. Falling asleep to the thumping hops of roo's in the brush and the amazing calls of the kookaburras made me instantly recognize: "god damn you're in Australia Jeremiah!"
I made it to the Jenoleon Caves with time to spare and sore but satisfied legs. I had finally made it to the outback, seen more animals than I had hoped for, and made it back to Sydney in time for some fantastic Thai food. The pictures here can speak far better for what I've seen!
Catching Up, Part 2: Royal National Park
Last weekend Elyse, Kathleen, and myself decided to get out of Sydney for the day and see some of Australia’s flaura and fauna. Directly south of Sydney lies a beautiful and easily accessible park called the Royal National Park. Some people walk the length of it in two days, overnighting at the midpoint. We decided just to go for the day so we took a train to a station across the road from the park and headed onto the trail.
The park was absolutely gorgeous! As we walked through a dense Eucalypt forest we had intermittent views of the sea cliffs on the Tasmanian Sea. As always in Australia, there was a huge variety of singing and colorful birds seemingly everywhere. After about 3 hours of walking we finally made it to the clearing above the beach. We had hoped to see kangaroos here but midday proved too hot for them. Kangaroos don’t have many sweat glands so during the day they rest in cooler spots. The best time to spot them are at dusk and dawn (just like deer in the US).
Our trail ended at a squeaky clean beach. And I mean squeaky in the literal sense: when you walk on the sand it squeaks! The beach has a few remnant huts leftover from the ‘depression,’ according to the signs along the path. I’m not sure what this means so I’ll have to research it further. We relaxed and enjoyed the beach and the sun before further exploring along the coast.
As the tide went down it revealed a large flat rocky area known as the figure-eight pools. In the stone there are a number of perfectly round holes and two that are connected resembling a figure eight. Inside are the usual assortment of tide pool critters like small fish, crabs, seaweed, snails, etc. We were even lucky enough to come across a large rockfish that had somehow been stranded in a very shallow pool! Kat decided to save it but I warned her that the fins likely had venomous spines. So Kat borrowed Elyse’s swimsuit from her bag and managed to wrap the fish up and then dump it into the sea without being stung!
The route back took us on a lower path that went through palm and fern tree groves known as the Burning Palms. We spotted a lyrebird although we thought it was a feral female peacock at the time. But the great sight of the day was a Red-Bellied Black Snake that was around 1.5 m long! We didn’t know what kind of snake it was right then so we all kept a respectable distance. I think giving all creatures in Australia a respectable distance is wise until we’re more familiar with the dangerous ones! I later read that the Red-Bellied’s venom is on the scale somewhere above a rattlesnake but just below a King Cobra. Yikes!
Luckily on the way back we just caught the beginning of what turned out to be a dramatic thunder and lightening storm. It was raining so hard that walking the 200 m from the train station to the bus stop got all of us absolutely soaked!
The park was absolutely gorgeous! As we walked through a dense Eucalypt forest we had intermittent views of the sea cliffs on the Tasmanian Sea. As always in Australia, there was a huge variety of singing and colorful birds seemingly everywhere. After about 3 hours of walking we finally made it to the clearing above the beach. We had hoped to see kangaroos here but midday proved too hot for them. Kangaroos don’t have many sweat glands so during the day they rest in cooler spots. The best time to spot them are at dusk and dawn (just like deer in the US).
Our trail ended at a squeaky clean beach. And I mean squeaky in the literal sense: when you walk on the sand it squeaks! The beach has a few remnant huts leftover from the ‘depression,’ according to the signs along the path. I’m not sure what this means so I’ll have to research it further. We relaxed and enjoyed the beach and the sun before further exploring along the coast.
As the tide went down it revealed a large flat rocky area known as the figure-eight pools. In the stone there are a number of perfectly round holes and two that are connected resembling a figure eight. Inside are the usual assortment of tide pool critters like small fish, crabs, seaweed, snails, etc. We were even lucky enough to come across a large rockfish that had somehow been stranded in a very shallow pool! Kat decided to save it but I warned her that the fins likely had venomous spines. So Kat borrowed Elyse’s swimsuit from her bag and managed to wrap the fish up and then dump it into the sea without being stung!
The route back took us on a lower path that went through palm and fern tree groves known as the Burning Palms. We spotted a lyrebird although we thought it was a feral female peacock at the time. But the great sight of the day was a Red-Bellied Black Snake that was around 1.5 m long! We didn’t know what kind of snake it was right then so we all kept a respectable distance. I think giving all creatures in Australia a respectable distance is wise until we’re more familiar with the dangerous ones! I later read that the Red-Bellied’s venom is on the scale somewhere above a rattlesnake but just below a King Cobra. Yikes!
Luckily on the way back we just caught the beginning of what turned out to be a dramatic thunder and lightening storm. It was raining so hard that walking the 200 m from the train station to the bus stop got all of us absolutely soaked!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Catching Up, Part 1: Sydney
Sydney is a gorgeous city with a lot of character. The neighborhood we're in right now, Newtown, has more than it's fair share of character, as any Sydneysider will attest. There are activities of every kind and enough space that the background will always be picturesque.
There are SO many beaches here that many are completely overlooked. It's simply amazing to me that any beach as beautiful as the ones here could be overlooked, but it's true. And that's not to say that Sydneysiders don't go to the beach, they are in fact the most beach-going people I've ever seen. It's no wonder that Australia consistently does so well in swimming at the Olympics.
So in our first weeks here Kat and I spent a LOT of time looking for a place to live. We spent little time sight-seeing but we did manage to make it to Bondi Beach. Many Aussies have told me that Bondi is the tourist beach and it's too overcrowded. Only an Australian could be so lucky to say something like that. While there were a lot of people there, I found it to be a very enjoyable beach that had a great show-off feel that only a beach can provide.
We also managed to get down to the harbor to see the famous opera house and the Sydney harbor bridge. They both really live up to the hype, but no necessarily for the reasons that I thought they would. I thought they would be amazing as standalone sights but it's the entirety of the area that makes it a superb sight. The opera house is seated on a small peninsula a short walk from the CBD (central business district) and is attached to the Royal Botanical Gardens. When you walk around the opera house you are not only overwhelmed by the architecture, but also by the views of the harbor bridge, the tall CBD buildings, the botanical gardens, the passing sailboats, and of course flocks of Cockatoos.
That's all I'll say for now because there's a lot to say about Sydney and I'll be here for another year! Hopefully the pictures will help fill in the gaps. Click here to go straight to the online album.
There are SO many beaches here that many are completely overlooked. It's simply amazing to me that any beach as beautiful as the ones here could be overlooked, but it's true. And that's not to say that Sydneysiders don't go to the beach, they are in fact the most beach-going people I've ever seen. It's no wonder that Australia consistently does so well in swimming at the Olympics.
So in our first weeks here Kat and I spent a LOT of time looking for a place to live. We spent little time sight-seeing but we did manage to make it to Bondi Beach. Many Aussies have told me that Bondi is the tourist beach and it's too overcrowded. Only an Australian could be so lucky to say something like that. While there were a lot of people there, I found it to be a very enjoyable beach that had a great show-off feel that only a beach can provide.
We also managed to get down to the harbor to see the famous opera house and the Sydney harbor bridge. They both really live up to the hype, but no necessarily for the reasons that I thought they would. I thought they would be amazing as standalone sights but it's the entirety of the area that makes it a superb sight. The opera house is seated on a small peninsula a short walk from the CBD (central business district) and is attached to the Royal Botanical Gardens. When you walk around the opera house you are not only overwhelmed by the architecture, but also by the views of the harbor bridge, the tall CBD buildings, the botanical gardens, the passing sailboats, and of course flocks of Cockatoos.
That's all I'll say for now because there's a lot to say about Sydney and I'll be here for another year! Hopefully the pictures will help fill in the gaps. Click here to go straight to the online album.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Doom and Gloom!
Kat and I are finally in Sydney, but between here and Auckland we had a fantastic sidetrip to Mout Ngauruhoe which is otherwise known as MOUNT DOOM!!!!
It's a one way hike that you can hire a ride back to your car. The hike takes you across the Tongariro Crossing and as a side trip you can summit none other than mount doom (from the Lord of the Rings movies). We had an excellent time and despite less than perfect weather actually got some superb views. The gloom part was that it was raining and snowing at the top of the mountain, but really that just added a feeling of accomplishment for reaching the top! There are a lot of volcanic activities in the area as you'll see in the pictures.
So far we're having an excellent time in Sydney and we haven't even explored much yet. I've been keeping my head down applying for jobs and looking for a place to live. Within the next few days hopefully we can do some exploring and I can put up some pictures of Sydney.
It's a one way hike that you can hire a ride back to your car. The hike takes you across the Tongariro Crossing and as a side trip you can summit none other than mount doom (from the Lord of the Rings movies). We had an excellent time and despite less than perfect weather actually got some superb views. The gloom part was that it was raining and snowing at the top of the mountain, but really that just added a feeling of accomplishment for reaching the top! There are a lot of volcanic activities in the area as you'll see in the pictures.
So far we're having an excellent time in Sydney and we haven't even explored much yet. I've been keeping my head down applying for jobs and looking for a place to live. Within the next few days hopefully we can do some exploring and I can put up some pictures of Sydney.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Abel Tasman Photos
I put more pictures online. It was such a gorgeous place - these photos really don't do it justice!!!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Tramping the Abel Tasman
Right off the bat in New Zealand we took off for the Abel Tasman National Park with Elizabeth and her friend Chris. Kiwis (New Zealanders) have an entirely different vocabulary and outlook on hiking (tramping), camping, and experiencing the outdoors. I really have to say that they have a wonderful system and it makes the outdoors more accessible for more people. The Abel Tasman track (trail) is called a Great Walk. A Great Walk is one of a few of the more popular tracks in New Zealand and it means that it has a very good infrastructure. The trails are extremely well marked, there are huts and camp sites all along the track, and there is either fresh and/or drinking water at every hut and campsite.
Details aside, everything about the Abel Tasman track was beautiful. The flora and fauna are so different from what Kat and I are used to, but with a similar geography and climate to the northwest. Around every corner was an exiting new plant or bird. Also around every corner was a new golden beach with turquoise water!
We had an excellent time with Chris and Elizabeth on our four days on the track. Unfortunately for Elizabeth, she had a surfing accident the week prior and dislocated her left shoulder. Not wanting to cancel the trip, the rest of us volunteered to carry her gear for her!
We overnighted in the very cute town of Nelson on the way home and spent an entire day wine tasting in the Marlborough region on the South Island. This region is especially known for it's whites. We sampled, and of course purchased, some excellent wines. Our exchange rate made this an excellent value! Kat and I are extremely disappointed that we won't be able to share any of the Kiwi wines with people back in the States! But I have to recommend that the next time you're going for a white try a New Zealand label. I'll try to do some research on what is being shipped back to the US.
Lush hills, golden beaches, and torquoise waters
Lots of walking on the nice sand
Elizaperson was a trooper! Four days of tramping in a sling!
Tidal crossing. Kiwi men normally wear shorts this short so they didn't have to roll theirs up like I did.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Some pictures in Wellington
Kat, Elizabeth, and I took a long walk today through the charming town of Wellington. Enjoy!
Happy in Charming Wellington
Kat and I arrived into Wellington, New Zealand last night. Elizabeth was waiting for us at the airport, and it was so good to see her again!!! We arrived into Wellington on a very good day for two reasons: it's Waitangi Day and it's also the Sevens tournement of rugby. After showering 30 hours of grunge off at Elizabeths superb pad we walked to downtown and were greeted by a city full of Kiwis that were dressed in outlandish costumes that all seemed to have refreshed themselves with no less than two gallons of beer each (or seven and a half liters, as they'd say). Even though we were exhausted and jet-lagged it was impossible not to get into the fray and enjoy ourselves. Kiwi's really know how to have a good time!
Our travels getting here were pretty hairy and there were lots of close calls and miracles that happened to ourselves and our luggage. But everything made it in the end! We flew from Seattle to LA (LAX sucks. It really sucks!), then to Papeete, Tahiti, then to Auckland, NZ, and then on the Wellington, NZ. From the Papeete airport we could see the island of Mo'orea that we had planned on visiting. It definitely gave us some motivation to get some kind of reparation from Orbitz for missing our entire Tahiti vacation.
Lastly, and far most important, Kat and I owe a lot of thanks to many folks back home for helping us out! There's no way we could have done this without the help of all our friends and family back home. We really appreciate it everyone! Thank you so much!
A few facts: it is roughly 8,000 miles to fly from Seattle to Wellington. We left Feb 4th at 3pm and arrived into Wellington on Feb 6th at 7pm local time. An entire day is missing for me! I will never have a Feb 5th, 2009 in my life. Good thing I don't keep a journal. Anyways, that makes for about 31 hours of travel time.
Our travels getting here were pretty hairy and there were lots of close calls and miracles that happened to ourselves and our luggage. But everything made it in the end! We flew from Seattle to LA (LAX sucks. It really sucks!), then to Papeete, Tahiti, then to Auckland, NZ, and then on the Wellington, NZ. From the Papeete airport we could see the island of Mo'orea that we had planned on visiting. It definitely gave us some motivation to get some kind of reparation from Orbitz for missing our entire Tahiti vacation.
Lastly, and far most important, Kat and I owe a lot of thanks to many folks back home for helping us out! There's no way we could have done this without the help of all our friends and family back home. We really appreciate it everyone! Thank you so much!
A few facts: it is roughly 8,000 miles to fly from Seattle to Wellington. We left Feb 4th at 3pm and arrived into Wellington on Feb 6th at 7pm local time. An entire day is missing for me! I will never have a Feb 5th, 2009 in my life. Good thing I don't keep a journal. Anyways, that makes for about 31 hours of travel time.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Visa status: approved!
We now have one!!!!!!!!! Yes I know we were supposed to fly out yesterday. But we were finally approved just today :)
Yeah for team Jer-Kat!!!! Now Jeremiah doesn't have to take illegal jobs on a tourist visa or have to swim from New Zealand to Australia.
Also, a big thank you to ALL the people that helped us out on this. Getting this visa was a huge effort and we had a lot of help. So THANK YOU!!!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Flying is such a pain!
Listen to this: today Kat and I were scheduled to fly from SEA to LAX and then onward to PPT. However, when I was writing down our itinerary I noticed that we were scheduled to arrive at LAX at 1440 while our LAX/PPT flight out had changed to 1300. What the hell! If either Orbitz or Air Tahiti Nui had informed us that they had changed the flight time then we could have done something about it, but since we only found out this morning we couldn't get on an earlier flight to make the LAX/PPT connection. And to frustrate us further, the next flight out with Air Tahiti is not until Thursday!
So, after hours and hours on the phone with Orbitz we finally had to accept the later departure. This means that we will have zero time in Tahiti and will have to go straight on to New Zealand. This has really taught us what happens when you go with an internet company like Orbitz and run into a problem. We had to go through three levels of managers before we could get someone who could even help us. The first person we talked to actually recommended that we get on the flight to LA!!! If we had listened to her we'd be stuck in LA until Thursday!!!
Now we're going to collapse into a sleep coma for a while. Sorry superbowl!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Lately...
Kat and I have been bumming around the state of Washington lately. We recently made a trip to my parents house in Oroville and then went down to see my Grandpa in Kennewick. We took the train from Seattle to Wenatchee and my dad picked us up from there. Taking the train is a nice way to travel! I highly recommend it. You get comfortable seats, a great view, and you can walk around as much as you want.
We also went on a great overnight trip in the Commonwealth Basin. We only made it halfway up Red Mt, but the views were great! I'm really going to miss the snow in Aussie so I'm glad I made it out there with some good friends.
Now we're getting packed to fly again. Only this time we're taking a LOT more luggage! I'm bringing my bike so I have the fun chore of boxing it up. To complicate the matter I took a ride around Lake Washington yesterday without fenders. There's a thick coat of Seattle grime covering EVERYTHING!
This is a view from my folks place in Oroville. The lake is still very much frozen over!
Chris took this shot on Red Mt. That's Kendall Peak on the left and Rainier in the distance. That day it was 50F in the sun but less than 25F in those lower clouds!
Family time! Me, Kat, John (dad), Smitty (grandpa), Jess (sis), Lorrie (mom)
Saturday, January 17, 2009
PICTURES!!! -- fixed
It took some time but I finally did it. Between Kat and I we had a total of 7,748 pictures and videos. I'm serious! But I waded through them and picked out what I hope is a good representation of what we saw during our three months of travelling. Please enjoy and if you're curious about something in particular I'm sure I have more pictures of it!
The links may not have been working for everyone before but I think they should be accessible by all now. Please let me know if the links below are still not working!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Fun in Fairbanks!
Jeremiah decided to come visit me and my family while I was up north, and we had some wonderful winterland adventures. Well, actually, the whole time he was up here the temperature hovered between a balmy -40 and -50 degrees F, so we really couldn't do much of anything. The thing is, Alaskans are used to operating in cold temperatures, but for most of the winter "cold" means about -25. When temperatures hit the negative 50s things tend to shut down in a big way- mostly because cars literally get frozen to the ground. So, we had a lot of great family bonding time (in a house with 1 bathroom and 6 people) and took some excellent cold weather p
ictures. Alaskan winters really are beautiful, when the air gets this cold everything become crystal clear and sharp, and if you can get above the ice fog (created when the air layers condense due to the cold weather and all the car and people exhaust gets trapped, creating an intensly dense fog in low laying areas) the views are stunning.We went for a short walk in Creamer's Field, a wildlife refuge right behind my house. At this time of year the wildlife consists of moose, foxes, hares, chickadees, and sled dogs. Sadly, we only saw the tracks of all of these animals, but it was fun to get out and enjoy the short-lived Alaskan sunshine.
As the weather got colder and stayed colder I monitored the progress of the ice growing on our hall window, and on my last day there it had almost consumed the whole glass. The temperature in our hallway hovered just below freezing, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised... :) My sisters and I made the mistake of storing beer in the hallway (Alaskan Amber of course!) and on the second day when I opened one the whole thing exploded, and almost all of the beers were frozen solid. Whoops.
We did see a moose from the roadside, and after driving up into the hills we were able to see a beautiful aurora. My family also celebrated a belated Thanksgiving because, except for my parents, none of us were together for the holiday. With some help from my sisters I created a Thanksgiving feast.
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