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

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...

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

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

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

The Sunshine Coast

Well I made it to the Sunshine Coast!! It is Surfing time now. I stopped in Noosa Heads for 3 nights, determined to find a surf board and start surfing. I did my best to look around and find a surfboard but was out of luck. So I walked everywhere my first day, through the national park, along the water, I saw all the surf breaks I could find and just enjoyed the beauty of the national park. Seeing how I wasn't able to buy the board I was looking for I decided to borrow a surfboard from the hostel, the waves were small but alot of fun, and probably just right for my level.

I talked to my friend Georgia in Sydney and she hooked me up with a good friend of hers and a friend that I hadn'd seen in years, going back to the begining of my Whistler days. His name is Ray and he lives just south of Noosa in Mooloolaba, so I carried on down the coast got set up in a great social hostle and found Ray. Ray and I had a fun afternoon of catching up and surfboard shopping and thanks to Ray I found my surfboard. Its a beach beat board, locally made 7'4, mini mal surf board from Mooloolaba. I was very happy with my purchase when I was able to catch a few rides on it the next day. I spent 3 nights at the Mooloolaba Backpackers and made a few new friends, we all went surfing together each morning and had a blast.

Last night I travelled a bit farther down the coast and am now on the Gold Coast, I'll be here for a couple nights and then off to Byron Bay... This mornings waves were a bit chaotic but I had fun anyway.... I don't have any pictures of me with my new surfboard yet but stay tuned Ihope to soon....

Have a great day!! Jamie

Slient Night

Silent Night is a 60 foot yacht with beautiful sails and a really fun crew. I spent two nights and two days on this beautiful boat sailing around the Whitsunday Islands just off the coast of Airle Beach. It was spectacular, there were 12 passangers aboard this ship and 2 crew. I learned a bit about sailing, helped raise the sails and enjoyed lounging on the deck of this boat. We went snorkeling and saw very coulourfulcoral beneath the sea and a lot of little fishies.... I had a really fun night last night just hanging out on the boat, listening to the guitar and watching the sunset. Yesterday, we went to this beach that was beauitful, the whitest sand I have ever seen, it was called Whitehaven beach, the sand was like cake pastry flour and the water was crystal clear blue. We were able to swim but needed to wear our stinger suits, they are a very thin wet suit. Right now its jelly fish season so the risk of getting stung is present and if you do you might get really sick, so as precaution you were thes very sexy suits (not really)....

I will attach pictures soon, just not a computer that I am able to....
I am off to Noosa, hope to get some surfing in real soon....

Hope everyone is well, keep emailing me your updates, I love reading them....
Have a beautiful day!! Jamie