Ahhh finally I get a breather to update my blog.... I picked Garret up from the airport in Christchurch about 2.5 weeks ago and I don't think we have stopped for a moment since.... we have been having so much fun together it has made my trip even more unbelievable...
After two days of chilling out in Christchurch together, we started our journey.... our first stop was Kaikoura.... Kaikoura is about a three hour drive north of Christchurch along the east coast of the south Island. There we had an unreal experience... we got to swim with a pod of over 200 wild dolphins... My parents gave me a NZ tour as a Christmas gift and I chose to swim with dolphins... Thanks Mom and Dad!! Garret and I were very fortunate to get in on a cancellation list.. (some people booked their trip over three months ago). We started with a half hour boat trip to find the dolphin pod. The skipper pulled right up and we all jumped in. The dolphins were very curious they came right up to you and the more entertaining to the dolphins you were the more the dolphins stuck around to check you out. You weren't allowed to touch the dolphins because they are wild but you could definitely interact with them. You had to swim in circles, make dolphin noises, flip your flippers around and the dolphins would play with you, they came as close as a foot away. (Jess, Good thing we used to practice being dolphins in the pool, it really paid off) The first time the dolphin pod stayed with us for over 30 mins... Garret being the ham he is was able to keep one dolphins attention for over a minute.
In Kaikoura we also visited a seal colony. The seals came right up to the land and you got to get real close to them... You weren't really supposed to get closer than 10 meters but we were very curious and went a little closer than that... take a look at the pics are we really petting the seals?
After our beautiful experience in Kaikoura we continued north to Picton and just east of Picton we did a two day hike on the Queen Charolette track, another incredibly beautiful experience!! We started in Endevour Inlet, camped at Resolution Bay then the next day hiked over to Ship Cove. Ship cove is a historic site, apparently were Captain Cook first landed in New Zealand. We then hiked back out to Endevour Inlet and up a massive hill back to the car, very long day but worth it.
We then headed to Nelson, cute town... got some great Thai Food for lunch and carried on up to the Able Tasman track. We did a three day sea kayaking/camping trip along the coastal waters of the Able Tasman. Exceptionally beautiful area and we lucked out with the weather. Beautiful sunshine for three days. The pictures don't do the area justice. We saw a ton of seals along the way including 6 week old seal pups... very cute. One seal was flip flopping a fish from his nose to his tail and we got so close I thought I was going to get a fish in the face... There were also a lot of beautiful sea birds totally unique looking ones. Garret was on a penguin hunt but unfortunately the only penguin we saw was one that had been half eaten and floating. (As of today, his quest for penguins still continues)
From the Able Tasman we continued our adventures up to Paynes Ford in the Golden bay area to do some rock climbing. Garret brought all the gear and luckily I had my basic climbing gear so together we were able to get out on the rock. Paynes Ford was a great place for us to start, shorter sport climbing routes and really fun. I found it challenging because the grades here are really hard compared to at home... but we managed to get on climbs that challenged both us. It rained one of the days so we made it our rest day and headed up to the top of Golden bay to an area that is supposed to be one of the most spiritual places in New Zealand (at least that is what a hippie park ranger told me a few weeks ago). The place was called Wharariki beach. On the way home we stopped at the Mussel Inn for a pint, a local microbrewery oasis with huge mussels and great live music... so we stayed for a few more than one pint and had a great night!!
From Paynes Ford we carried on Southwest to the west Coast and made our way to an incredible rock climbing area along the West Coast named Charleston. We were blessed with a two day window of beautiful sunshine and climbed 18-35 meter sea cliffs. The seals were about 10 feet away from the belay station and the waves crashed on shore intensifying the surrounding energy. On one climb, which was at my limit for the day, Garret yelled out from the top, "hey Jame look dolphins", I took my eyes and attention off the rock for a few moments to enjoy the site of dolphins breaching in the ocean. Ok so I enjoyed the view only slightly at that moment, mostly I was freaking out at that moment but when I finally got to the top of the climb they were still there so I got to thoroughly enjoy the experience more while standing on solid ground.
From Charleston we headed south to Greymouth... someone described Greymouth exactly like the name sounds and well that is exactly what we found, a grey dreary town with not much going on... so we continued on into Aurthur's Pass. There it was our intention to climb the highest mountain in Aurthur's Pass, Mount Rolleston (2285meters). Well the weather wasn't cooperating too well so we ended up with a late 10 am start and Garret made it to the Low peak of 2215 metes and I made it to the saddle just below that. The rock was very loose, it felt like glass breaking underneath you with each step, very scary!! We made it down and headed back to the West Coast while enjoying an incredibly illuminating red sunset on the drive back.
the next day we drove along the Westcoast with intentions to stop at Franz Josef and Fox glacier and do some exploring and sightseeing but as it does on the West coast of New Zealand it was pouring rain, I mean torrential continual downpour. So instead we found these spa glacial hot pools and did the tourist thing for an evening to warm up.
Today we drove from the Westcoast inland to Wanaka, where we hope the weather cooperates with us so we can enjoy more rock and mountain climbing.
Hope you all have a beautiful day...
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
The day I killed a rabbit and a Fish
So after spending a couple of semi-lonely days in Wanaka hiking and one day rock climbing I was looking for another adventure... so I decided to call my Aussie friends in Queenstown to see what they were up to... sure enough Dan had organized a trip for the three of them to sea kayak into a hut stay the night and come back the next day... Seeing how i enjoyed Dan's last trip I decided to sign up for another one. They accepted my company with open arms.
Well because I was in Wanaka which is over an hour away from Queenstown I needed to wake up in the 4's for our 630 am start in Queenstown. ( I don't like waking up in the 4's for anything but I did it anyway). On my drive over to Queenstown who knew I'd be playing "Frogger" with all the rabbits on the road, they were everywhere I couldn't believe it . Now I know you are not supposed to swerve to avoid adding to the road kill but I couldn't help it, I had never killed anything on the road and didn't want to start. There were two rabbits at once both going in different directions, there was no where for me to swerve... I think at least one of them survived but I know by the bump and the thud I hit one of them. I wasn't too sure what to do, cry... say 10 hail mary's or wish the rabbit a happy trip to heaven... all I do remember doing is apologizing profusely to the poor rabbit on the road...
I got to Queesnstown confused my sin to my friends and instead of sympathy and a hug, I got a "congratulations Jamie those things are pests here, next time don't swerve hit 'em all" So much for the hail mary's
So we drove on to Lake Manuopori, we picked up our kayaks and paddled on beautiful Lake Manuopouri, stopped for lunch, cursed the sand flies that ate us alive, went for a hike/mountain climb (One of Dan's short side walks) saw the most beautiful views of the lake and surrounding area then carried on and paddled to the hut.
We found the hut and we stayed there, the sand flies were insane.. (worse than the bugs in the NWT in the summer) so we drank and ate... because we were in kayaks we could carry alcohol and all the hut goodies imaginable. We had brie cheese, chocolate, wine and beer.
Somewhere around 9pm we set a few challenges up. See Dan brought a fishing rod and was talking about catching a fish... he talked about it so much that none of us including him thought it could happen... and around 9pm the girls were getting cold and needed a fire... so the challenge was the boys were to go fishing and the girls were to make a fire. We didn't think they were going to catch a fish and they didn't think we could start a fire.... The challenge was on....
Little did they know I own a wood stove at home.. and Garret has taught me over the years how to build a fire properly... So Roweena and I had our fire going in no time laughing that we would win the challenge....
Not too long after the boys walked in carrying a 5lb trout from the lake.... none of us could believe it... we took a lot of trophy shots and then had a group decision to release the fish (75% release and 25% eat the fish) I was the 25%.... we all walked down to the lake for the trial release but the fish wasn't going anywhere except on our breakfast plates the next morning....
the only problem was the fish wasn't totally dead... he still had fight in him, so sadly because I was voted the avid animal killer of the day (I can't believe it) and because I have done it before for fish that Garret has caught... I was the one that had to bash the fish on the head with a stick... I was very apologetic and was only ok at my job... Roweena gave it a go as well, but I think she tapped the fish on the head more than anything....
so I killed a rabbit and a fish that day, we ate the fish and not the rabbit... ( I think I need something profound here but I am lost for words....)
The next am we paddled back against the wind so in river boats I would classify it like class 2 rapids upstream and just as cold as home.... but I had a smile on my face the whole time... not really but I tried to....
We finished with an awvo session on the patio in Te anu.... I stayed in Te anu and the rest of the crew carried on back to Queenstown...
Teanu is the gateway to the Milford Sound... Fiordland National Park... a very beautiful part of New Zealand... probably the most beautiful I have seen here, mountains everywhere, looks alot like the Duffey Lake Road but even more stunning ( I know its hard to believe)... and yes my camera is broken so I don't have pics, but I hope to get some from friends...
I spent a couple days doing some day hikes in the Fiordland area... I am now in Queenston hanging out for a couple days.... Queenstown is a very busy place... reminds me of Whistler.... very touristy.... but this is the area where people come to do all the adventure skydives and bungee jumps... I haven't attempted this yet... but you never know, maybe one day....
Last night I met up with an old friend from my very early Whistler days... Micheal Glock, and I got to meet his girlfriend Lisa... we had a few beers and dinner and got to reminisce and catch up...
I am heading back to Christchurch tomorrow to pick up Garret from the airport, we plan to head north from there and down along the West coast of the South Island... so I'll be on to more adventures with him up there, probably get some rock climbing and more hiking in...
So, Have a beautiful day, send me updates on what you are are up to... I love hearing about what people are doing... please keep in touch!! Big Hug Jamie
Well because I was in Wanaka which is over an hour away from Queenstown I needed to wake up in the 4's for our 630 am start in Queenstown. ( I don't like waking up in the 4's for anything but I did it anyway). On my drive over to Queenstown who knew I'd be playing "Frogger" with all the rabbits on the road, they were everywhere I couldn't believe it . Now I know you are not supposed to swerve to avoid adding to the road kill but I couldn't help it, I had never killed anything on the road and didn't want to start. There were two rabbits at once both going in different directions, there was no where for me to swerve... I think at least one of them survived but I know by the bump and the thud I hit one of them. I wasn't too sure what to do, cry... say 10 hail mary's or wish the rabbit a happy trip to heaven... all I do remember doing is apologizing profusely to the poor rabbit on the road...
I got to Queesnstown confused my sin to my friends and instead of sympathy and a hug, I got a "congratulations Jamie those things are pests here, next time don't swerve hit 'em all" So much for the hail mary's
So we drove on to Lake Manuopori, we picked up our kayaks and paddled on beautiful Lake Manuopouri, stopped for lunch, cursed the sand flies that ate us alive, went for a hike/mountain climb (One of Dan's short side walks) saw the most beautiful views of the lake and surrounding area then carried on and paddled to the hut.
We found the hut and we stayed there, the sand flies were insane.. (worse than the bugs in the NWT in the summer) so we drank and ate... because we were in kayaks we could carry alcohol and all the hut goodies imaginable. We had brie cheese, chocolate, wine and beer.
Somewhere around 9pm we set a few challenges up. See Dan brought a fishing rod and was talking about catching a fish... he talked about it so much that none of us including him thought it could happen... and around 9pm the girls were getting cold and needed a fire... so the challenge was the boys were to go fishing and the girls were to make a fire. We didn't think they were going to catch a fish and they didn't think we could start a fire.... The challenge was on....
Little did they know I own a wood stove at home.. and Garret has taught me over the years how to build a fire properly... So Roweena and I had our fire going in no time laughing that we would win the challenge....
Not too long after the boys walked in carrying a 5lb trout from the lake.... none of us could believe it... we took a lot of trophy shots and then had a group decision to release the fish (75% release and 25% eat the fish) I was the 25%.... we all walked down to the lake for the trial release but the fish wasn't going anywhere except on our breakfast plates the next morning....
the only problem was the fish wasn't totally dead... he still had fight in him, so sadly because I was voted the avid animal killer of the day (I can't believe it) and because I have done it before for fish that Garret has caught... I was the one that had to bash the fish on the head with a stick... I was very apologetic and was only ok at my job... Roweena gave it a go as well, but I think she tapped the fish on the head more than anything....
so I killed a rabbit and a fish that day, we ate the fish and not the rabbit... ( I think I need something profound here but I am lost for words....)
The next am we paddled back against the wind so in river boats I would classify it like class 2 rapids upstream and just as cold as home.... but I had a smile on my face the whole time... not really but I tried to....
We finished with an awvo session on the patio in Te anu.... I stayed in Te anu and the rest of the crew carried on back to Queenstown...
Teanu is the gateway to the Milford Sound... Fiordland National Park... a very beautiful part of New Zealand... probably the most beautiful I have seen here, mountains everywhere, looks alot like the Duffey Lake Road but even more stunning ( I know its hard to believe)... and yes my camera is broken so I don't have pics, but I hope to get some from friends...
I spent a couple days doing some day hikes in the Fiordland area... I am now in Queenston hanging out for a couple days.... Queenstown is a very busy place... reminds me of Whistler.... very touristy.... but this is the area where people come to do all the adventure skydives and bungee jumps... I haven't attempted this yet... but you never know, maybe one day....
Last night I met up with an old friend from my very early Whistler days... Micheal Glock, and I got to meet his girlfriend Lisa... we had a few beers and dinner and got to reminisce and catch up...
I am heading back to Christchurch tomorrow to pick up Garret from the airport, we plan to head north from there and down along the West coast of the South Island... so I'll be on to more adventures with him up there, probably get some rock climbing and more hiking in...
So, Have a beautiful day, send me updates on what you are are up to... I love hearing about what people are doing... please keep in touch!! Big Hug Jamie
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
New Zealand
Around mid-January I finished up the first part of my Australian trip... In the last couple of days I hung out with my friend Brian we went to Bondi Beach for the afternoon walked the beach path and drank smoothies. I also had a few great days of surfing, one night right after a storm I had a wicked night surfing, I think I caught my best wave of the trip, or at least it felt that way... however, little did I know that if you surf after a storm you can get sick from everything that washes into the ocean from the streets... so a couple days later in the middle of the summer I got a sinus infection that consumed me... and well it lasted well over a week which carried over into my New Zealand trip... I have never had troubles flying before but this time I thought my head was going to pop off when we were landing...
The flight over from Sydney, Australia to Christchurch, New Zealand was about 3 hours.... Christchurch is the main city on the South Island of New Zealand... I stayed at a very nice Hostel called Dorset Lodge, for about six days. Christchurch is a beautiful city, reminds me a lot of Victoria, B.C. with the older buildings and lush greenery... but again its a city so I wasn't too happy hanging around... I stayed for six days because I wanted to buy a van... Apparently that's what backpackers do here, they buy a van, travel in it for 2-3 months and then sell it... so I thought that is what I'll do... as most of us know cars are not my expertise but I wanted to show my Independence and buy a van... so with only 1 hour long consultation with my father and multiple short consultations with my boyfriend, a mechanical check and alot of bargaining I bought a 1992 light blue Nissan Serena decked out with all the camping gear and a bed in the boot!
Started my trip by driving from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo, only 3.5 hours.... Lake Tekapo is a beautiful glacial lake and within an hours hike there is an observatory with incredibly huge telescopes... I got to see Venus and the moon through the telescope, very cool... I met a 70 year old man on the hike down from the observatory and he recommended I check out Mtn. Cook National Park and hike the Muller hut hike so the next day that's what I did... I climbed up the 4.5 hour climb, 1000meter staircase to get to the Muller Hut overlooking Mtn. Cook.... Mtn. Cook is New Zealand's tallest mountain and stunningly beautiful!! Stayed at the hut and met some great people...
One of the guys staying at the Muller hut was an Aussie dude named Dan, he is living in a near by town and told me he had a couple of aussie friends visiting for a couple of weeks and he organized this 4 day hike the next day, with jet boat rides at the begining and end of the hike. I thought cool I could be up for that so I kind of invited myself along and oddly enough he didn't seem to mind. So the next day they came to pick me up and the four of us started this four day hike through the Young Valley out of Makoroa river... The first jet boat ride was short, but it got us across the river, then we started our 20km hike to the Young Hut... alot longer than we all thought but made it there after 7 hours of hiking.... the next day was the pass day, up over Gillespie Pass, extremely steep 2 hour straight up climb, and very long descent to the next hut, Siberia Hut into the Wilkin Valley... It was a ten hour day but with many stops to chat, take pictures and whatever other reason we found to stop... the next day was supposed to be a rest day, but I don't remember resting much.. we did a little day trip up to Lake Crucible which is a glacial lake, about 7 hour return trip to Siberia Hut.... and finally out last day, was a quick 2.5 hour hike out of the Wilkin valley a super cool Jet boat ride back to Makarora... The jet boat even pulled 360's in the river... it was unbelievable trip, in total I think we trekked 45kms over 4 days, we all got along great and had a few good laughs... we ended our trip with an "awvo" (aussie word for afternoon) session at the bar... a couple of drinks and some "dirty" or greasy food... All in all (Jess, you know how we grade our tour guides) Dan gets an A plus in tour guiding, he organized a great trip for his friends, the jet boat rides (with the 360's) topped it off....
Well I am in Wanaka now... going to hang out for a few days and recover... Wanaka is a small town haven't seen too much yet but it kind of reminds me of Squamish... So we'll see what it has to offer... I am able to download pics from my trip so far but I think my camera just broke or something so I am not too sure if I'll have pics for the next blog but I'll do my best... Hope you are all well... Big Hug Jamie
The flight over from Sydney, Australia to Christchurch, New Zealand was about 3 hours.... Christchurch is the main city on the South Island of New Zealand... I stayed at a very nice Hostel called Dorset Lodge, for about six days. Christchurch is a beautiful city, reminds me a lot of Victoria, B.C. with the older buildings and lush greenery... but again its a city so I wasn't too happy hanging around... I stayed for six days because I wanted to buy a van... Apparently that's what backpackers do here, they buy a van, travel in it for 2-3 months and then sell it... so I thought that is what I'll do... as most of us know cars are not my expertise but I wanted to show my Independence and buy a van... so with only 1 hour long consultation with my father and multiple short consultations with my boyfriend, a mechanical check and alot of bargaining I bought a 1992 light blue Nissan Serena decked out with all the camping gear and a bed in the boot!
Started my trip by driving from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo, only 3.5 hours.... Lake Tekapo is a beautiful glacial lake and within an hours hike there is an observatory with incredibly huge telescopes... I got to see Venus and the moon through the telescope, very cool... I met a 70 year old man on the hike down from the observatory and he recommended I check out Mtn. Cook National Park and hike the Muller hut hike so the next day that's what I did... I climbed up the 4.5 hour climb, 1000meter staircase to get to the Muller Hut overlooking Mtn. Cook.... Mtn. Cook is New Zealand's tallest mountain and stunningly beautiful!! Stayed at the hut and met some great people...
One of the guys staying at the Muller hut was an Aussie dude named Dan, he is living in a near by town and told me he had a couple of aussie friends visiting for a couple of weeks and he organized this 4 day hike the next day, with jet boat rides at the begining and end of the hike. I thought cool I could be up for that so I kind of invited myself along and oddly enough he didn't seem to mind. So the next day they came to pick me up and the four of us started this four day hike through the Young Valley out of Makoroa river... The first jet boat ride was short, but it got us across the river, then we started our 20km hike to the Young Hut... alot longer than we all thought but made it there after 7 hours of hiking.... the next day was the pass day, up over Gillespie Pass, extremely steep 2 hour straight up climb, and very long descent to the next hut, Siberia Hut into the Wilkin Valley... It was a ten hour day but with many stops to chat, take pictures and whatever other reason we found to stop... the next day was supposed to be a rest day, but I don't remember resting much.. we did a little day trip up to Lake Crucible which is a glacial lake, about 7 hour return trip to Siberia Hut.... and finally out last day, was a quick 2.5 hour hike out of the Wilkin valley a super cool Jet boat ride back to Makarora... The jet boat even pulled 360's in the river... it was unbelievable trip, in total I think we trekked 45kms over 4 days, we all got along great and had a few good laughs... we ended our trip with an "awvo" (aussie word for afternoon) session at the bar... a couple of drinks and some "dirty" or greasy food... All in all (Jess, you know how we grade our tour guides) Dan gets an A plus in tour guiding, he organized a great trip for his friends, the jet boat rides (with the 360's) topped it off....
Well I am in Wanaka now... going to hang out for a few days and recover... Wanaka is a small town haven't seen too much yet but it kind of reminds me of Squamish... So we'll see what it has to offer... I am able to download pics from my trip so far but I think my camera just broke or something so I am not too sure if I'll have pics for the next blog but I'll do my best... Hope you are all well... Big Hug Jamie
Thursday, January 8, 2009
New Castle to Mona Vale (Northern Beaches of Sydney)
Well its almost been a month since my last blog and so much has happened since then that its hard for me to decide where to start and to remember everything....
Again every day has just been getting better and better and sometimes I can't believe I am having this much fun or that I deserve to have this much fun.... I must admit there are moments that are off, but not too many, mostly I am purely enjoying where I am at....
This part of my trip started in New Castle where I got picked up by my friend Georgia. Georgia is an old friend from Whistler, we haven't seen each other in 5 years and it was like not even a day had passed, because we started gabbing right away and didn't stop for another 2 hours when we hit the surf....
We talked so much that I wasn't paying much attention to what I was doing with the key to the car just before we went for a surf... it was Georgia's only key to her car, for some reason unknown to us, she gave me the key to bury in the bushes, and both of us at the time thought that was the safest option for the key... so somewhere amongst all the chatting, I ducked off to the side and buried her only car key....
we had a great surf!! We were in Anna Bay on one mile beach, we caught wave after wave and well if I do say so myself, Georgia was quite impressed with my surfing ability.... the waves again small, but alot of fun!!
After the surf we walked back to where I buried the key in the sand, I looked around and around... I looked at Georgia and said "don't worry I'll find it, I know exactly where I hid it... I marked the spot with a stick and a yellow leaf".... I went back to looking in the sand... time passed and she continued to remind me it was her only key to her vehicle (the other one she lost in the surf a few years back).... I kept looking and started to use my new found Byron Bay energy tactics. We are going to find the key I told her... and sure enough, 45 minutes later with the help of two cute lifeguards, two kids, a rake, shovel and a sifter we found the key... From then on I was not allowed to touch the key.
After our beautiful weekend in Anna Bay we drove down the coast to where Georgia lives in Mona Vale. Mona Vale is on the northern beaches of Sydney about 30 kms from downtown Sydney. It is beautiful here, she lives in a two bedroom apartment and her backyard is the beach, a surfing beach I should say.
Christmas Eve was spent in classic northern beach style, at the local bar "Newport Arms". Apparently the locals spend every public holiday "eve" at the Newport Arms. So needless to say that is where we spent New Years eve. Both nights were great, a few beers and only a stumble home.
Backtracking a bit, "Christmas day in Oz", my first warm Christmas... we woke early, (as early as possible having a few beers in us the night before), went for a sobering surf and then lunch at Georgia's Mum's house. We had Christmas lunch and stuffed ourselves the way Christmas should be, but here I stuffed myself with Prawns, Salmon, turkey, ham, yummy vegetables and the best cheesecake ever!! Georgia' Mum has a secret family recipe for cheesecake and well lets just say its a good thing surfing burns so many calories...
Boxing Day was again spent with a surf and then Georgia's family. She had a champagne breakfast at her house in her backyard... we ended the day with a quick boxing day shop to check out all the sales...
The next day we got "Shipwreaked at Shark Island" This was my Christmas gift from Georgia... Tons of DJ's, a ton of people and a lot of dancing on a private Island in the Sydney Harbour... the venue was incredible.
We had dinner with a good friend Brian Naylor one night and also an attempted day of snorkeling at a local beach, but it was a bit too windy. I have also been able to catch up with an old ski patroller friend, James Dequino, who now lives around the corner from Georgia and another old friend from Whistler, Karl, along with his wife and beautiful new baby Harrison.
New Years day before the "Arms" Georgia set up with a friend of hers to go sailing, beautiful day on the boat, except for the few moments when Georgia and I thought we were going to tip over... neither of us know much about sailing and the skipper assured us we were fine, who knows if we were or not but we lived to tell the tale, so I am sure the skipper was right and we weren't in any danger, or maybe not.
After New Years Georgia and I started our year off with a road trip. We went down the south coast for a couple of nights hoping to get some more surfing in. The first day there wasn't any surf to be found so we went for a hiked up Pigeon House mountain and paid a visit to Pebbly beach. Pebbly beach has wild kangaroos that are very comfortable with people getting close to them, so close we could pet them. The next day we had a fun morning in Narooma surfing and a lovely little walk along the water. We made our way back to Mona Vale in time for a show the next night, Donovan Frankenreiter.
Good thing Georgia went back to work this week so I can rest, well outside of the times I have gone surfing...
Hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas filled with happy holiday magic and wishing everyone a new year filled with love...
Again every day has just been getting better and better and sometimes I can't believe I am having this much fun or that I deserve to have this much fun.... I must admit there are moments that are off, but not too many, mostly I am purely enjoying where I am at....
This part of my trip started in New Castle where I got picked up by my friend Georgia. Georgia is an old friend from Whistler, we haven't seen each other in 5 years and it was like not even a day had passed, because we started gabbing right away and didn't stop for another 2 hours when we hit the surf....
We talked so much that I wasn't paying much attention to what I was doing with the key to the car just before we went for a surf... it was Georgia's only key to her car, for some reason unknown to us, she gave me the key to bury in the bushes, and both of us at the time thought that was the safest option for the key... so somewhere amongst all the chatting, I ducked off to the side and buried her only car key....
we had a great surf!! We were in Anna Bay on one mile beach, we caught wave after wave and well if I do say so myself, Georgia was quite impressed with my surfing ability.... the waves again small, but alot of fun!!
After the surf we walked back to where I buried the key in the sand, I looked around and around... I looked at Georgia and said "don't worry I'll find it, I know exactly where I hid it... I marked the spot with a stick and a yellow leaf".... I went back to looking in the sand... time passed and she continued to remind me it was her only key to her vehicle (the other one she lost in the surf a few years back).... I kept looking and started to use my new found Byron Bay energy tactics. We are going to find the key I told her... and sure enough, 45 minutes later with the help of two cute lifeguards, two kids, a rake, shovel and a sifter we found the key... From then on I was not allowed to touch the key.
After our beautiful weekend in Anna Bay we drove down the coast to where Georgia lives in Mona Vale. Mona Vale is on the northern beaches of Sydney about 30 kms from downtown Sydney. It is beautiful here, she lives in a two bedroom apartment and her backyard is the beach, a surfing beach I should say.
Christmas Eve was spent in classic northern beach style, at the local bar "Newport Arms". Apparently the locals spend every public holiday "eve" at the Newport Arms. So needless to say that is where we spent New Years eve. Both nights were great, a few beers and only a stumble home.
Backtracking a bit, "Christmas day in Oz", my first warm Christmas... we woke early, (as early as possible having a few beers in us the night before), went for a sobering surf and then lunch at Georgia's Mum's house. We had Christmas lunch and stuffed ourselves the way Christmas should be, but here I stuffed myself with Prawns, Salmon, turkey, ham, yummy vegetables and the best cheesecake ever!! Georgia' Mum has a secret family recipe for cheesecake and well lets just say its a good thing surfing burns so many calories...
Boxing Day was again spent with a surf and then Georgia's family. She had a champagne breakfast at her house in her backyard... we ended the day with a quick boxing day shop to check out all the sales...
The next day we got "Shipwreaked at Shark Island" This was my Christmas gift from Georgia... Tons of DJ's, a ton of people and a lot of dancing on a private Island in the Sydney Harbour... the venue was incredible.
We had dinner with a good friend Brian Naylor one night and also an attempted day of snorkeling at a local beach, but it was a bit too windy. I have also been able to catch up with an old ski patroller friend, James Dequino, who now lives around the corner from Georgia and another old friend from Whistler, Karl, along with his wife and beautiful new baby Harrison.
New Years day before the "Arms" Georgia set up with a friend of hers to go sailing, beautiful day on the boat, except for the few moments when Georgia and I thought we were going to tip over... neither of us know much about sailing and the skipper assured us we were fine, who knows if we were or not but we lived to tell the tale, so I am sure the skipper was right and we weren't in any danger, or maybe not.
After New Years Georgia and I started our year off with a road trip. We went down the south coast for a couple of nights hoping to get some more surfing in. The first day there wasn't any surf to be found so we went for a hiked up Pigeon House mountain and paid a visit to Pebbly beach. Pebbly beach has wild kangaroos that are very comfortable with people getting close to them, so close we could pet them. The next day we had a fun morning in Narooma surfing and a lovely little walk along the water. We made our way back to Mona Vale in time for a show the next night, Donovan Frankenreiter.
Good thing Georgia went back to work this week so I can rest, well outside of the times I have gone surfing...
Hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas filled with happy holiday magic and wishing everyone a new year filled with love...
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Port Macquarie
So I am currently in Port Macquarie, NSW. My friend and I are making our way down the east coast of Australia. I haven't been surfing due to a chest cold so I decided to go to the hospital..... but it wasn't a people hospital it was a Koala Hospital....
It was totally cute and set up the same way any human hospital is set up....
It had a patient list on a board as you entered the Hospital, althought this patient list was public information... I guess there is no privacy act with Koalas.... It had an emergency room, which was a bit slower paced that I am used, or maybe I just caught in a down moment.....
They had an ICU inside, but unfortunately only medical staff and family were permitted in the ICU, so even though I am a human nurse I didn't qualify....
They had a medical ward, with hospital beds, the beds looked a bit different then I am used to but lined up in the same.... they even had a long term care wing, where the Koalas have been released back to the wild but unfortunately didn't make it on their own...
The kitchen staff were great serving up eucalyptus plants for meals... and the paitents looked like they were enjoying their stay at the hospital...
From Port Macquarie I am heading south to New Castle where I meet my friend Georgia and then down to Sydney for awhile....
Hope you all are having a beautiful day, heard it was cold at home, hope everyone is staying warm, Love Jamie XXX
It was totally cute and set up the same way any human hospital is set up....
It had a patient list on a board as you entered the Hospital, althought this patient list was public information... I guess there is no privacy act with Koalas.... It had an emergency room, which was a bit slower paced that I am used, or maybe I just caught in a down moment.....
They had an ICU inside, but unfortunately only medical staff and family were permitted in the ICU, so even though I am a human nurse I didn't qualify....
They had a medical ward, with hospital beds, the beds looked a bit different then I am used to but lined up in the same.... they even had a long term care wing, where the Koalas have been released back to the wild but unfortunately didn't make it on their own...
The kitchen staff were great serving up eucalyptus plants for meals... and the paitents looked like they were enjoying their stay at the hospital...
From Port Macquarie I am heading south to New Castle where I meet my friend Georgia and then down to Sydney for awhile....
Hope you all are having a beautiful day, heard it was cold at home, hope everyone is staying warm, Love Jamie XXX
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Byron Bay, Yamba and Bellingen
Finally after 3 weeks, my friend and I were able to pull ourselves away from Byron Bay and its crazy energy.... We had our final dinner at an Italian restaurant and I loved every minute of it...
but I can't believe I forgot to tell you the best part of my trip to Byron Bay... my dream of swimming with dolphins finally came true.... repeatedly..... each morning when I went out for a surf the dolphins would come close, you'd see the birds fly in the air and feed off the fish the dolphins were feeding off of and then you'd see the dolphins breech right close to you.... the closest I got was about 5 feet... it wasn't what I imagined, hanging onto the fin swimming joyfully as they jump and play with you but it was still beautiful and I was always excited to see them....
After leaving Byron my tent mate and I decided to continue on together by Greyhound to Yamba.... Yamba is a really cool little surf town, we stayed at the best hostel ever!! totally brand new, it even had rain heads in the showers... pure luxary.... the surfing was fun, a bit small but clean.... apparently Yamba can go off and is home to Mr. Billabong.... we drove past his 18 million dollar vacation home still in construction.... we also had a fun afternoon of rock jumping into these fresh water swimming holes and touring around to see what beaches in Yamba have to offer.....
After Yamba we continued on to Bellingen, another quaint town... this time a bit more in land... it was very lush... so a nice change of scenery.... at the hostel we could pitch our tent and create our home. Over our 2 day stay there I had a lazy float down the river on an inner tube, a beautiful relaxing wander around town... and an awesome 3 hour hike through the rainforest in Dorrigo National Park.
We are slowly making our way south to Sydney where I am going to meet my friends and stay for Christmas.... I'll be sure to add more photos soon... Have a beautiful day!! Jamie
but I can't believe I forgot to tell you the best part of my trip to Byron Bay... my dream of swimming with dolphins finally came true.... repeatedly..... each morning when I went out for a surf the dolphins would come close, you'd see the birds fly in the air and feed off the fish the dolphins were feeding off of and then you'd see the dolphins breech right close to you.... the closest I got was about 5 feet... it wasn't what I imagined, hanging onto the fin swimming joyfully as they jump and play with you but it was still beautiful and I was always excited to see them....
After leaving Byron my tent mate and I decided to continue on together by Greyhound to Yamba.... Yamba is a really cool little surf town, we stayed at the best hostel ever!! totally brand new, it even had rain heads in the showers... pure luxary.... the surfing was fun, a bit small but clean.... apparently Yamba can go off and is home to Mr. Billabong.... we drove past his 18 million dollar vacation home still in construction.... we also had a fun afternoon of rock jumping into these fresh water swimming holes and touring around to see what beaches in Yamba have to offer.....
After Yamba we continued on to Bellingen, another quaint town... this time a bit more in land... it was very lush... so a nice change of scenery.... at the hostel we could pitch our tent and create our home. Over our 2 day stay there I had a lazy float down the river on an inner tube, a beautiful relaxing wander around town... and an awesome 3 hour hike through the rainforest in Dorrigo National Park.
We are slowly making our way south to Sydney where I am going to meet my friends and stay for Christmas.... I'll be sure to add more photos soon... Have a beautiful day!! Jamie
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Coolongatta to Byron Bay
I know its been a couple of weeks since I have entered a blog, but I went through a bit of a down phase in my travels.... My second day on the Gold Coast in Coolongatta I went out surfing. The wind changed direction and set up Rainbow Bay or Snapper Rocks beautifully... The waves were rolling in clean and small. I had a beautiful ride that took me quite far down the beach. I paddled out for more and pinched a nerve in my neck/shoulder. I got out of the surf and was quite bummed, but was optimistic that it would get better. So that afternoon I left the Gold Coast and carried on to Byron Bay in New South Wales on the North Coast.
Byron Bay is a small town with a lot tourists. It kind of reminds me of Whistler but with a surfing vibe to it instead of a skiing/mountain biking vibe. It is got a hippie flair with loads of healing/ massage centers. So I took full advantage of the massage, in hopes to help heal my shoulder so I could get out and surf again. With a bit of time, one of the massage therapists in town and the massage therapist from Canada I became friends with in the Hostel, my shoulder has almost healed and I can get out surfing again. The second part to my down phase in my travels was the weather, it poured rain for a few days. Thankfully these past few days the weather has turned for the better, the sun is shining once again and the surf has been a lot of fun. Its shoulder season here for surfing so the swell is small, but I am not complaining, I like the smaller waves.
Byron Bay night life includes going to the local pub for a few drinks to listen to a variety of live musicians. In fact every where you go in Byron someone is singing or playing the guitar or the drums... you can hang at the beach each day and listen to live music all around you. I absolutely love it....
I stayed in the Hostel for the first week in Byron but have now moved to the luxurious camping spot down the road. The kitchen area overlooks one of the surfing spots called the pass so each morning I can check out the surf while having my breakfast.
Hope you enjoy the pictures, sending lots of love... Jamie
Byron Bay is a small town with a lot tourists. It kind of reminds me of Whistler but with a surfing vibe to it instead of a skiing/mountain biking vibe. It is got a hippie flair with loads of healing/ massage centers. So I took full advantage of the massage, in hopes to help heal my shoulder so I could get out and surf again. With a bit of time, one of the massage therapists in town and the massage therapist from Canada I became friends with in the Hostel, my shoulder has almost healed and I can get out surfing again. The second part to my down phase in my travels was the weather, it poured rain for a few days. Thankfully these past few days the weather has turned for the better, the sun is shining once again and the surf has been a lot of fun. Its shoulder season here for surfing so the swell is small, but I am not complaining, I like the smaller waves.
Byron Bay night life includes going to the local pub for a few drinks to listen to a variety of live musicians. In fact every where you go in Byron someone is singing or playing the guitar or the drums... you can hang at the beach each day and listen to live music all around you. I absolutely love it....
I stayed in the Hostel for the first week in Byron but have now moved to the luxurious camping spot down the road. The kitchen area overlooks one of the surfing spots called the pass so each morning I can check out the surf while having my breakfast.
Hope you enjoy the pictures, sending lots of love... Jamie
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