Alice and Uluru: The Red Center

Alice Springs is pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. So, being in the middle of nowhere Australia, it's pretty expensive to get to--as we discovered. The morning we flew back to Melbourne from Tassie we caught an overnight bus from Melbourne to Adelaide (for pretty cheap). We had been hoping to do our travels through the outback via relocation deals, as there were several sites offering relocation camper vans, but unfortunately we missed the one for the dates we need from Adelaide to Alice Springs, someone snagged it before we could check the internet during our day in Melbourne, so we had to go with Plan B instead. And Plan B was $500 worth of bus tickets on Greyhound for the 18-hour trip to Alice Springs. Ouch. 

So the morning we arrived in Adelaide we had about 12 hours to kill at the bus terminal before we caught our subsequent overnight bus to Alice Springs. The bus depot was actually pretty okay--we found a spot on the end with some benches near a power outlet so we could watch movies on our computer, and since Adelaide is a major city we could get internet with our Pocket WiFi to sort out some more travel things. They also had a free shower at the bus depot which I once again took advantage of so I wouldn't have to go 48 hours without a shower. I have a 6th sense for places with showers apparently.

So we waited around the bus depot all day before boarding our Greyhound coach that night, which wasn't very crowded which meant I could lay down flat across two empty seats. We missed most of the scenery that night since it was dark, though at our 4 a.m. stop in Coober Peedy (which we had hoped to explore for a day on our own--most of the town--being in the middle of a desert--is underground) I couldn't help but take note of how WARM it was outside for the middle of the night in the desert. 

We finally arrived in Alice Springs around 1 p.m. that afternoon and checked into our hostel. It was HOT. Really, really hot. Our walk to the grocery store, about 10 minutes down the street, was a sweaty, sweltering affair. We had been dreaming about the warm weather while we were shivering in our car in Cradle Mountain but this was just ridiculously HOT. Luckily our room at the hostel had air conditioning, which meant we at least got a decent night's sleep. Well, except for the snorer who of course occupied our room as well because apparently it's impossible for John and I to stay in a dorm room in Australia without one. It's like a plague. But the guy chose the top bunk above mine so both nights whenever he started to snore I would shake the bed a bit to jar him so we would stop. If I don't sleep, YOU don't sleep dude. But yes, two days in Alice Springs to plan the rest of our Oz travels was much needed--and we scored some relocation deals to get us to Darwin and Broome! Success!

But after two days of doing nothing and trying to stay cool, we picked up our Mini Camper and headed into the Tanami Desert toward Uluru! This was our first experience driving in the Outback and indeed, there really is nothing. Just dirt, and shrubs and road and cloudless blue sky. Our first stop was an area called Kings Canyon, located about 3 hours north of Uluru, and still just as remote. The walk there was around the rim of the canyon, which we began early in the day as the first part was a rather steep ascent up to the top of the rim. Luckily we had some wind to cool us down. 

As we walked around the rim you definitely got the feel like you were stepping back in time. But it was still beautiful in it's remote, rugged, red and really really dusty way.

Down in the canyon there was a patch of lush green vegetation labeled the "Garden of Eden" supported by the run off from any rain that eventually pools at the bottom. 

However we also passed by some rocks closer to the top that supported the notion that hundreds of millions of years ago there was a large inland lake in the area. Ripples in the rock that occur through water movement were preserved and evident.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Kings Canyon Rim walk, finishing in great time which allowed us to do one of the other shorter walks in the area along a dried up riverbed. It led to a nice little viewpoint but the highlight for John was when we encountered a rather large lizard along the path known as a Goanna.

That night we camped at a free campsite at a roadhouse about 80 Km away from Uluru. It was a great place to stop as they petrol and a small general store, and the campsite even had toilets and showers. The nights in Alice Springs were surprisingly cool given the immense heat during the day, but with no clouds in the sky and being relatively early in the wet season, the heat escapes rapidly as the sun goes down--making sleeping in a car that much more comfortable for us! The next day it was an early start to the heart of the Red Centre--Uluru. 

Our venture to Alice Springs and into the Northern Territory in general very much introduced or exposed us to Aboriginals and the culture--which had been quite lacking on the East Coast. Part of the reason why I wanted to venture into the outback was to gain deeper insight and understanding into the culture. Our first morning at Uluru we went along the ranger-guided walk around one section of the rock and we introduced to some aspects of this culture. We knew the issues that existed just based on conversations with Australians and reading, but the ranger, who lived in the park within an indigenous community and worked in youth education, provided even greater insight. 

Aboriginals have been living in Australia for at least 50,000 years--possibly more. The culture that they have created and passed down has been surviving for an insanely long time and it's a fascinating and humbling way of looking at the world. Each tribe is different and there were so many--they each have their own language, their own land, their own stories of creation ("dreaming" stories). Australia is big, and for a huge chunk of it there is pretty much nothing--but for them it's everything. Aboriginal culture is centered around the land, their land, and their ancestors who created it and passed down the knowledge of how to live in it. They made up stories and songs that were passed down through generations, teaching each other how to live in this vast and remote continent. How to find water, how to find food, how to make use and meaning of the world around you. Walking along the path the ranger pointed out several trees and shrubs that were used for food and other purposes, while to most of us it just looked like useless vegetation--but they learned how to make use of it--medicinal, practical, for food, or otherwise. 

We came to a cave in which there was aboriginal art painted on the rock. For them their artwork is just as important and the areas in which they paint are just as sacred. It's their scripture, their bible. There are stories about how the land was formed and what it means. They have special ceremonies in which they initiate the boys into the tribe and impart them with important knowledge about their ancestors, though it's a learning process that continues throughout their whole lives  with the elders being the wisest and having the most knowledge of sacred aboriginal law and stories. It's a culture that promotes responsibility, for everyone in the tribe has responsibilities that are theirs to look after and they all have people they must care for. Its's a culture about respecting your past and respecting the land in which you live.

Now thrust that into modern day 21st century Australia. It doesn't quite fit, does it. From the beginning of European settlement, Aboriginals have been systematically disadvantaged and their culture demoted and muddled and much has been lost, mostly now relegated to dot paintings, didgerdioos, and the commonplace usage of the pejorative "Abbos".  When English settlers starting pushing Aboriginals off their land and establishing cattle stations, many Aboriginals entered a life of indentured labor, performing extremely harsh manual labor in exchange for some clothing and food--no pay. This persisted up until the 60s and 70s when Aboriginals began to demand for more rights, but even up until then the government was performing studies to prove that aboriginals were not homo sapiens sapiens, but a branch off and hence a different (and ultimately inferior) race. 

The historical tribe of the area around Uluru is the Anangu people. They do not climb the rock--only rarely have important men in the group made the climb. But to try and close it to visitors would just piss everyone off and they are afraid it would decrease tourism to the region so they keep it open during certain times of the year and simply ask people not to climb. But, of course they do--up to 1,000 people a day during school holidays the ranger told us. One of his main jobs is to keep the park clean and free of rubbish. And always, after school holidays, part of his job is to climb the rock and clean up all the toilet paper from the top that people leave behind, among other rubbish.

It's rather despicable, isn't it? This is not just a rock to them, for them it's sacred, it's their scripture. To them it's the same as someone climbing the top of Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican and taking a piss off the top--and leaving their toilet paper there. Yet the current general attitude towards Aboriginals and their culture seems to be an intentional choice of disrespect. This dismissal has poisoned the culture within as well. 

Modern day interferences like iPhones and television and other issues like alcohol and substance abuse have had a devastating effect on the continuation of culture. For aboriginals, you are only given the important knowledge when you are deemed capable of receiving it and taking on that responsibility, and it's only passed down in person from those who still retain those stories. That number of people continues to dwindle and even the ranger spoke of a fear that as the oldest generation dies,  the current one, with all their modern day struggles, will never receive that important knowledge and the culture will eventually die off. 

It was an enlightening, if not entirely uplifting walk, but it was still fascinating to learn a little bit about these stories and these people who nowadays tend to stick to themselves in their remote, nomadic communities. After all, they still learn their native and regional languages first and many of them don't speak English very well. After their treatment at the hands of the European settlers and even the Australian government up to modern day--you can't really blame them for sticking to themselves. 

After our morning interpretive walk, John and I headed off to the other rock formation in the park while, just as spectacular, doesn't get as much publicity--Kata Tjuta or "many heads." Also called the Olgas. It was a series of 36 dome-shaped rocks jutting out across the plain and the Valley of the Winds walk is considered one of the best in the park. 

It was this walk that John and I did in the morning, and indeed in was very scenic in that "wow Australia is a really big desert and really old" kind of way. It was a three hour walk including some rough areas and there was a group of French kids in front of us, most of whom were wearing flip-flops or sandals, the girls had on dressed, and none of them were carrying water. I'm surprised they even made it as this was 85-90* weather with almost no shade. John and I were prepared with our hiking boots and camelbacks. 

After the Olgas it was time to head back to Uluru to make the base walk around the rock. We waited until the hottest part of the day because the walk was entirely flat, but it was still a good 3 1/2 hours to circumnavigate the whole thing. We thought it would be easy and physically speaking, it was. However, psychologically, walking three and a half hours in the red center sun was quite another battle. It's cloudless, hot, and unrelenting. There were only a few patches of shade around the whole thing, so whenever we encountered any it was like a god send. I can't imagine what it would have been like for the Aboriginals to traverse such a harsh and unforgiving land. The desperation for shade, rest, and water makes you much less inclined to take such basic pleasures for granted. But we made it, sore legs and slightly sunburnt, but satisfied that we were able to explore Uluru to the fullest. And it rally was an interesting rock. As you turned a corner each new facade presented a landscape and view entirely unique. The way the color and shape changed as you walked around really made the trip worth it.  

So, after walking around the red center for a distance of about 25 km over a period of two days, we were ready to take a break, and so were our shoes that were now covered in the red sand of the Tanami Desert. 

We headed to a nice lookout point to watch the sun go down over Uluru and it really was a spectacular sight. 

We drove back along the desert highway to our free roadhouse camping for the night, being careful not to hit the many kangaroos and cows that like to hangout along the highway at night. It was a beautiful evening and as we were sleeping in a small car transformed into a camper, we were able to enjoy the cooling temperatures and thousands of stars that spread across the outback sky. 

The theme of the trip was the phrase that John kept repeating the whole time, "Now THIS is what Australia is supposed to look like!"

Tasmania: Four Seasons in Five Days

So Tasmania wasn't off to the greatest start, though thankfully the worst of my stomach pains were over. We arrived at the airport, gathered our bags, and then tried to figure out where our rental car company was located. We used a smaller, cheaper company than the ones located at the airport like Hertz, Avis, and Thrifty, so we had to ask an attendant where to find them. I told John that I should just get their number from the information desk and give them a call, but he, for whatever reason, insisted we walk there ourselves. So we gathered our stuff and made the 20 minute walk, with our packs, and my stomach issues, along the highway with cars whizzing past us, to the rental depot. Not a happy camper at this point. When we arrive the lady said they had been expecting a call from us as they usually collect people at the airport. (THANKS, John). Anywho, we get our little car, load it up, and head into Launceston to get groceries for the next couple of days. As we won't have a cooker or anything since we intend to sleep in the car to save money, it's PBJ sandwiches, fruit, and muesli bars for the next several days (and would subsequently be the case for the next 5 weeks). 

We do, however, make a nice stopover in town at a place called Cataract Gorge. It was a beautiful sunny, warm day so we made use of the sunshine and went for a little walk around the place. 

We had planned to do a tour of the wineries in the area, but there was no way I could possibly imbibe alcohol at that point and John wasn't feeling up to it either so we gave it a miss. 

Our first stop that night was along at the east coast at a place called the Bay of Fires. It was a beautiful coastal area, with really interesting orange-colored rocks dotting the coastline (which is where I assume the name comes from). 

There was a little campsite there right next to the beach with some shade and a toilet. We went for a nice walk along the beach, at this point my stomach feeling much better, and enjoyed the setting sun with a nice juicy orange--the first real food I had had in about 2 days and the vitamin C was much needed. Now, in preparation for the fact that I knew we would be "roughing it" around Australia, I went out and bought a cheap solar shower, as that was the one thing I could not give up while on the road. Not showering for days is just . .  gross. That night was the first test run and it actually worked pretty well. I didn't leave it in the sun quite long enough for the water to get nice and warm, but it did the job and I was able to get to sleep that night (in the back seat of the car) feeling nice and clean. 

Our first morning in Tassie we awoke to a beautiful sunrise on the beach and my stomach finally feeling back to normal!

We packed up and headed out to our first walk of the trip in Freycinet National Park called Wineglass Bay. We arrived quite early and so had much of the track to ourselves which was nice, as we passed a lot of people on the return trip to the car park. It was a rather steep and rocky trail at places, but it gave nice views out over the bay. 

And since I was feeling better, we even went all the way down to the beach.

After that we headed another two hours south to the major town of Hobart for the afternoon. We didn't spend too much time in the city, which was just a frustrating maze of one-way streets. Once we finally made our way to the information center, we were ready to get out! We headed up the highway to a famous museum called MONA or the Museum of Old and New Art. We had heard it was a must-see attraction in the Hobart area so we decided to give it a try. It was . . . interesting. And indeed, it had an eclectic mix of historic, old, and modern art. One piece was just a real person sitting on a couch staring at a computer screen holding an iPhone. It was kinda weird just staring at this person cause they were being very still so at first you couldn't tell if they were real or not, and after you ascertained they were real you kinda had to fight the urge to ask them, "What in the world are you doing? Do you actually get paid to sit here all day and do nothing?" But I resisted. They had some ancient Egyptian mummies there, which was really cool. But they also had a piece of "art" that was made up of industrial materials and simulated a human intestine. Each day there were "feeding times" and "pooping times", and yes the smell was horrible. I don't know where in the world people get these crazy ideas, but after the pooping machine we decided we had had enough modern art for the day and headed to another complex on the property where you could taste their locally made beer and wine. We decided on just the beer, which is called "MooBrew", and it was actually quite good. 

After that it was time to head South on Highway 1 all the way to the end to a little summer escape town called Cockle Creek. It came recommended to us by our friends Chris and Thirza. It was a bit of a rainy, cloudy night on the drive down and part of the road was unsealed so we were a bit nervous, but we just took our time and got there right around sundown when the clouds were starting to clear. It was a much cooler night than the former, and my second cold shower did nothing to improve that, but hey--I was going bush! Our campsite that night was surrounded by little pademelons keeping us company so that was kind of cool. We were up with the sun the following morning and started on our 2nd major walk in Tasmania to South Cape Bay. It wasn't a particularly hard walk, mostly through some forest, open grassland, and coastal vegetation, but it took about 3 hours return just because of the distance. The views once we reached the coast, however, were quite beautiful and luckily the weather held out on us. 

Our next stop on the journey was at another small national park about 40 kilometers outside Hobart called Mt. Field. This would turn out to be my favorite national park that we visited on the island. When we arrived in the early afternoon it was sunny with a light breeze, perfect jeans and t-shirt weather, and we enjoyed the short walks the area had to offer. One led to an area of towering Eucalyptus gums called the "Tall Trees" walk and another led to some really nice waterfalls. 

We had reserved a proper campsite in this national park for the night since it was cheap and a good way to re-charge our phone and computers. We also decided, since there were free gas barbecues, to use the opportunity to make some real food for dinner. Burgers and grilled asparagus--and it was the most delicious meal I had had in days, and really, the first real food I had eaten since our Thai dinner on our last night in New Zealand. I don't know how vegetarians can do it--sometimes you just need a nice hunk of meat. 

Besides enjoying a yummy dinner, a hot shower, electricity, and laundry--we were also able to enjoy some more glow worms! This national park had one of the few other areas in the Southern Hemisphere where glow worms occur. After dark we walked along the path to the glow worm grotto where you could see them (well their excrement) glowing blue in the darkness. On our way back to our car (where we were still sleeping) we saw an Eastern Spotted Quoll scurrying across the visitor information area. It was one native Australian animal that we hadn't seen in the wild yet--so that was kinda cool. 

Mt. Field lightened our sprits and we fell asleep clean, comfortable, and satiated!

Then the next day it rained. And rained. And then kinda took a break then rained again. And kept raining. 

Our plan was to drive through Franklin Gordon Wild Rivers National Park and do the various walks along the way, but we ended up just driving right through to a town called Queenstown that kinda remind you of Queenstown in NZ in the way that you had to wind your way down this huge hill in order to get to the town but was actually NOTHING like Queenstown, NZ in the fact that all the hills were laid bare by a clearly evident past of rampant mining practices. We stopped briefly to get some food and chips and salsa as a little bonus to ourselves and head onward to our prospective campsite for the night. 

I had searched online for free campsites in Tasmania and had planned to stay at one that was a bit rough, right off the highway near a river and no facilities whatsoever. However, as we drove around the area where the site was meant to be located and saw that the river was starting to flood from the torrential rain we decided to give our bush camp the axe and headed closer to Cradle Mountain--our destination for our last full day in Tassie. We headed up and up in elevation as we approached the park and the temperature dropped noticeably. We unfortunately found no free rest stops on the side of the road and were forced to stay the night at the overpriced holiday park just outside the entrance. It was $29 for an unpowered site usually, but c'mon we were sleeping in a freaking car. So when I went in I tried to tell the lady that it was just me by myself and so she said initially that the site would just cost $20, but I guess another guy saw me get out of the car with John in the driver's seat so he leaned over and whispered quietly to the girl that it was actually $29. Jerk. I was about to make stink considering we had been driving all day in the rain and were SLEEPING IN A CAR, and that I did not want to pay $30 for what was ultimately a glorified parking spot but I had no choice. But, I held my tongue like a good girl and paid the stupid $30 for the night. 

The only upside to this was that they had hot showers. Now, when you go in the bathrooms there is a sign asking you to keep your showers to 5 minutes. HA. I just paid $30 to sleep in a CAR and the place was empty and it was freaking cold, so you best bet I took my freaking time in the hottest shower I could muster--both that night AND the next morning when John and I woke up to see it was SNOWING outside. We slept in a car in freezing temperatures all night long and now it was snowing. 

But, we had made it this far and Cradle Mountain was the most popular National Park in Tasmania so we were determined to give it a go. We dressed in as many warm layers as our limited wardrobe would allow and headed to the visitors center to get the scoop on what was happening that day. The crazy thing is, despite the weather, there were actually a fair few people venturing out that day. We caught the park bus down to the main walk in the park--a circuit around Dove Lake that is supposed to provide excellent views of Cradle Mountain--on days when it's NOT snowing and the clouds aren't almost completely obscuring everything that is. We attempted the walk anyway, but after about 10 minutes of sleety snow and strong wind blowing it into my face I decided this was not fun and so we turned around. 

There were other, shorter walks to enjoy in the park though--so we ventured onto those instead. It was still snowing, but there wasn't the strong wind coming off the lake so it made it seem much more pleasant and quaint--though I was still really cold. Exhibit A:

We even ventured up to a chalet called the Waldheim Chalet that was built in the national park by some Austrian guy named Gustav Weindorfer and his wife in the early 1900s because they liked the park so much, and lived there until they died. They also promoted visitation to the area and also encourage the establishment of the park as well. It was actually kinda cool, but the only bath/shower facility was a bathtub fed by existing rainwater which meant it was unreliable and very cold--so I definitely would NOT have wanted to live there--especially in the winter. 

But yes, we braved the cold and snow for a good chunk of the day before finally returning back to our warm car and descending down to more comfortable altitudes. By that evening, as we prepped for one last night of sleeping in our little car, the clouds were gone and the sun was out. 

It stayed that way all through the next morning and day as we headed back to Launceston and the airport. We were meant to drop off our rental car around 10:00, but were asked to bring it back clean--both inside and out. As you can imagine, eating and sleeping in a car for 5 days does not leave it in the cleanest state so we needed to find a carwash and vacuum. I suggested calling the rental company and asking them where the nearest place to them was, but John vetoed that idea and wanted to find one in downtown Launceston instead. So I'm making my way into the city along roads with very poor signage when I finally pull up to an intersection with a sign pointing towards city center. So I get into the turn lane, which apparently has it's own separate light from the lanes going straight. Their light turns green and I start to inch forward before John tells me our light is still red. I stop and look up to my immediate left to see the poorly placed traffic light right next to me still shining it's big red circle. So I look around to assess the situation and BAM!!! All of a sudden we are rear ended, HARD, by a giant ass Toyota Land Cruiser WITH Roo bars and she just absolutely smashes the back of our car--shattering the windshield and throwing John and I into a mini panic mode. 

We pull over to the side of the road, shaken and minorly freaking out, and the lady does the same and gets out and immediately apologizes saying she thought we were going to move with the green light. We exchange all the necessary details and I call the rental car company to let them know so we don't roll up and surprise them with a smashed car and make our way back to the depot. We arrive, still a bit shaken, and go through all the paperwork for a vehicle accident report. Luckily, we had paid the excess reduction insurance so our bond on the car was only $100. The lady said the other woman's insurance company should cover the cost since it was her fault, but that the $100 is the only amount that would have to come out of our pocket. The lady was actually really nice and says a least we weren't hurt, we could drive the car still, and that it happened at the end of our vacation.  Which is true, but I still tell John later that from now on we are ASKING for directions rather than wandering through city streets. 

So, I started our Tasmanian adventure with food poisoning and ended it by getting rear ended and in a span of 5 days experienced all 4 seasons. It did not exactly live up to my expectations. We had a few nice excursions but still, we were ready to go. It was time to head to the Outback!

Hopefully the Last Time We Have to Go to Melboune

It was an early arrival in Melbourne that morning. Our lack of love for the city was reflected at the border entry when they too were hesitant to let us back in. I have never had problems crossing a border before, so obviously Australia would be the first to be a pain in the butt.Ok, it wasn't actually that bad. Apparently lots of working holiday makers go to NZ and then come back on another visa and try to work illegally and they were just making sure we weren't doing that. We had our onward tickets to Bali in November to prove we were leaving and assured them we did NOT want to stay in Australia any longer than planned. So they let us through. Yay. 

We dropped off our bags at a luggage storage kiosk and hopped on the bus back into the city. It was an overcast, grey day, naturally, and we had no feelings of nostalgia flood us as we made our way out of Southern Cross station onto the streets of Melbourne. It was actually a decisive notion we shared that we missed absolutely nothing about Melbourne (well, excluding our friends.) That morning it was all running errands, taking care of finances, mailing home our absentee ballots (for Obama of course), and getting much needed (cheap!) hair cuts. We stopped at the usual cheap baguette sandwich shop to see that their prices had indeed increased again. No more $3 sandwich--now they are $4.50. Lame. Anyways, we had a light meal before meeting up with our friend Lewis at the Ludlow Formation for a quick, free, and I must admit, delicious coffee and some catching up before heading on. Our main reason for spending the day was to meet up with our old New Zealand ski field friends Pete and Natalie, who had recently moved to Melbourne for their working holiday. Luckily they were getting on with the city much better than we did. It was great to see them, catch up, and offered us the opportunity to skip out of the CBD and hang out at their place in the suburbs for the afternoon. Natalie went out and bought lots of yummy snacks and ingredients to make pizzas for us that night. However, starting that early afternoon I was getting a queasy feeling in my stomach. I eventually took a nap hoping to make it better but just woke up feeling much worse. I was able to down one piece of pizza but that was about all I was going to be able to eat for the next 48 hours. The stomach pains and waves of nausea persisted for the rest of the afternoon and evening, rendering me a pretty useless, unsociable guest. I had hoped it wasn't appendicitis or something, and thank god it wasn't--just a good ole' bout of food poisoning. Thanks, Australia. 

Though it may not be all their fault. I had a meatball sub at the Subway in Wellington airport the night before and so I suspect the culprit was the improperly stored fake meat product that eventually ended up in my stomach. They will be getting a strongly worded letter.

Anywho, by around 9 o'clock in the evening after I had tried a soothing hot shower and laying down some more, I finally upchucked the entire contents of my stomach into a bucket. Not a nice visual, I know, but it pretty much sums up my feelings toward Melbourne. I felt better afterward and hoped that was the end of it. . . of course it wasn't. By around 10:00 p.m. we said our goodbyes and took the tram back to Southern Cross Station to catch the return bus to the airport where we would spend the night. It should come as no surprise that, obviously, the Melbourne airport is far inferior to Wellington as a place to crash. There were no comfy benches to speak of, no showers, heaps of construction, and the prayer room on the ground floor where I had hoped we could crash was right next to the moving walkway where a loudspeaker was very loudly and repeatedly giving directions in both English and Chinese on how to properly board the walkway. . . .over and over again. Apparently they don't turn that obnoxious stuff off at night. So we walked around, me in sheer agony with having to carry my pack on my back while fighting the constant urge to vomit. We eventually just found a quiet-ish spot on the floor near other poor travelers where we parked it for the night and attempted to get some shut eye. Sleep did not come easily, as you can imagine, and in the morning it was time to once again make the painful trek down to the check-in area where I thought I would literally pass out from the pain--or just throw up right there all over the floor. Luckily, I at least made it through check-in, security, and getting to the gate before I bolted to the nearest bathroom to empty whatever else was left in my poor food poison-riddled stomach. Never again. From that point on I have been extremely wary of any meat products I don't cook myself. 

We made it through the flight relatively unscathed and were ready to begin our tour of Tasmania!

(No pictures for this post, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want any more visuals anyway.)

Another New Zealand Vacation

After spending so much time in Australia, by the finishing point of our employment at Sea Temple we were ready for another NZ holiday! (We also had to leave the country in order to apply for visitor visas to re-enter as our Working Holiday visas were set to expire--but still--we were happy to go). So, to begin our 6-month period of unemployed traveling, we hopped on a plane across the Tasman!

We had beautiful weather upon arrive in Auckland, naturally, and made it through customs in a very speedy and efficient manner, which was fantastic since we were racing to catch a bus to Hawke's Bay. As soon we as got out of the airport we were going to hop in a taxi to take us to the bus station, and the taxi driver was nice enough to point out that a public bus would be arriving in about 10 minutes to take us to the same place, only he would be much cheaper. That, my friends, is why we love New Zealand. So we thanked him kindly and hopped out and made our way to the bus stop where, sure enough, 10 minutes later the bus came to bring us to the depot. 

We made the quite familiar 8-hour trip from Auckland to Napier via Lake Taupo and the road from hell--I just tried to fall asleep during that nauseating stretch of the journey--making it safely to Napier in the evening. 

Our friend Laura picked us up as she lives right down the road and we were pleasantly surprised to learn that both she and our friend Nichola were pregnant! Our normal visits to Hawke's Bay usually include a boozy themed-dinner party complete with at least 2 bottles of wine per person--though it was clear that obviously this time would have to be a little different! Laura had already prepared dinner for us, which was so kind as we were starved and had a nice early evening that first night. Laura's husband Dan has just recently become the new part-owner of the Mission restaurant (passed down from his father) so he was enjoying later nights with his newfound responsibilities, but it was great! We would soon find that life was moving right along in sunny Hawke's Bay. 

Though it wasn't as sunny as we would have hoped for the whole weekend, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. As Laura and Dan were both working, we spent the first full day running errands and buying some baby gifts for our impending parent friends! It was actually kinda fun to shop for baby clothes--they have some really cute stuff! We also got the girls a foot massage which we figured they would both need and enjoy and we bought the guys bottles of single-malt scotch--which we figured they would both need and enjoy as well. 

It was a relaxing evening that night as we prepared dinner for Laura when she arrived home and managed to catch Dan as he stopped home in between his shifts which was nice. The next day we headed out to visit good ole' Cardoness to see how things were moving along and arrived to find that indeed things have grown by leaps and bounds in the last 6 months! A new coffee machine, a cellar door manager, lots of guests, bikes going out, tours coming in, and baby twins to boot! Sarah's daughter, Kelly, had twins about 9 months ago and now works at the Cellar Door on the weekends to help out, so we were able to see her and the tots. She has both a boy and a girl--one of whom is a piece of work and the other of whom is a angel, I'll let you guess which gender was the easy one :) So we enjoyed an afternoon of catching up, making free espresso coffee, and baby sitting (I was pretty good, actually)--and of course had to leave with a nice bottle of wine (though they made a sticky this past year and I was dying to try it--unfortunately it was selling fast and they didn't have any in stock!) We decided on a Cabernet Merlot this time--a departure from our usual Chardonnay. We can't wait to go back again in April of 2014 when John's cousin gets married in NZ to see how things have grown even more! (And to see our friends with babies running around!) And no, that doesn't want to make us settle down and have kids. I'm happy to play with others and then give them back. :)

Sunday evening, instead of having a home-cooked theme dinner, we decided to enjoy the weekend by going out for a theme dinner instead. First, however, it was off to the Mission to enjoy the perks of beings friends with the owner. We had a nice cheeseboard and bottles of wine with our friends Laura, Dan, Nichola, and Carl out on the terrace. Started off with a nice glass of sparkling, before moving on to their top shelf Chardonnay and their reserve Pinot Noir. It was so great to see our friend Dan in this new role--all the waiters who served us obviously wanted to do a good job in front of their boss--while we just see him as our laid back, lovable friend Dan. But here he was in his nice suit ordering their best wines while we enjoyed each other's company--it was a slightly different feel to our previous gatherings as things have obviously changed so much since we left a year and a half ago, but the camaraderie is still the same and it's lovely. We headed out to enjoy a delicious Thai dinner that night at a local restaurant, where the boys brought out even more wine (and enjoyed it for themselves and their pregnant wives) so that part was still the same :) After dinner we were able to meet up with John's South African friend Glenn for a quick drink and catch-up at the new local swanky bar in Napier. We were also able to check out Laura's new place of business--a hip bistro/wine bar right in town. Things are indeed moving right along!

The last morning we woke up early so John could enjoy his birthday present I bought for him. The Aero Club in Hawke's Bay offers cheap trial flights on their little planes and the whole time we lived there John always talked about doing it but never did. After a weekend of "eh" weather we awoke to beautiful sunny skies and calm winds--perfect day for flying! I got some photos of the action and John brought his GoPro to get some film from the air:

After that it was time to bid adieu and head down to Wellington for the evening. We caught our bus and made it to the airport in the early evening. As a way to save money I had looked up airports that allow you to sleep in them, providing you have an early flight the next morning. As our flight out of Wellington was at 6:00 a.m. I'd say we had reasonable cause to stay the night. We had a quick Subway for dinner (which I would soon be regretting--more on that later) before claiming our spots on some nice leather lounges for the evening. Now, staying in Wellington airport was actually kinda nice. They had a free hot shower in the bathrooms and free WiFi. What more could you ask for? Despite not getting very much sleep as there was constant construction all night, we were ready to go the next morning to finish off our Oz adventure. First stop was back to the place where we were so happy to leave the first time--our old stomping ground of Melbourne. 

The Sunny Side of Life

As a whole, Port Douglas was a very different experience from that which we had in Melbourne. It almost felt like living in a different country since the scenery and lifestyle was such a huge departure. After 4 months of the tropical north we have deduced that we are not actually city people and much prefer the laid-back tropical lifestyle and endless days of sunshine. After a while you learn to wait, you learn to make the longer walk, you learn to relax more, you kinda start to care less about certain things. You start to become a lazy Australian (and you get a nice tan) :P 

All in all, while the politics of working at Sea Temple could be frustrating to downright maddening at times, the relationships we formed and the experiences we had were once again worth all the trouble. 

It's not everyday that you have the Great Barrier Reef as your backyard, after all. We were even fortunate to enjoy a few more trips out (one paid by Sea Temple!) to the reef and saw even more beautiful coral and marine life:

We even saw another shark!

In between our days of golf-playing, rum-making, reef-exploring, star-gazing, and beach-walking, and when we weren't busy at the Temple of Doom (as Sea Temple was often affectionately called) we even had time for a sunset cruise on a luxury catamaran with canapes and a nice bottle of wine (as a gift for John's birthday):

Rough life, I tell ya. 

Port Douglas introduced us to a much nicer aspect of Australia, with much nicer people, I might add. In contrast to previous experiences of frustrations with working and living around the same group of people, our Port Douglas/Sea Temple friends were a fantastic, funny, laid-back bunch. From our young Sydney friends with their milk crate furniture, jars of dead animals, self-grown pot plants, and a penchant for dumpster diving, to our Melbournian friend who snatched marine creatures from rivers and put them in his fish tank, to our French friend who lived in a tent (and loved it!), to our Korean friend with her tequila shots and crazy driving, to our friendly Buddhist Kiwi friend with an amazing sense of humor and wit, to our Dutch friends with whom once or twice we would sit, chat, and drink with until 5 in the morning, and to every bonfire beach party or night out at the Iron Bar (though John and I were still old fogies and didn't go out that much) we thoroughly enjoyed our time we spent with them. We had fun to the very end when, on our last day off together, John and I met up with some of them at the resort pool and had a few drinks, lounged around and swam until the front desk manager caught wind and had our manager friend Nathan ask us to leave :) 

I'll share with you just a few mementos of those exploits (as most of the time I didn't have my camera), it even includes some karaoke from our last night in good ole Port!

And I think we can leave it at that :)

Thanks for improving our outlook on Australia, Port Douglas! 

For now, it's off to Tassie and the Outback to explore the rest of Oz! But first--a quick NZ fix!