Updated on December 25, 2009
Warning! Kangaroos Crossing
To each country its funny road signs. In California, we have the “surfers crossing” and “illegal immigrants crossing” signs.
In Australia they have this kangaroo sign. We’ve seen a bunch of them dead in the aide of the road. That’s sad!
Posted on December 16, 2009
11 Days in New Zealand
Sebastien and I spent 11 days in New Zealand. We flew from Sydney to Auckland on an airbus with Emirates. It was one of them most enjoyable and relaxing flights I have ever experienced! They even give you a warm towel to wash your hands when you board.
December 2nd: Landed in Auckland and took the airbus to the downtown area. Stayed at an YHA backpacker with 25 other children aged 10-12 who were on school holiday. It was raining that day but we walked to the down town area and found a gem to eat at. The place is called, Queen’s Ferrry Hotel but it is not a hotel at all but a gem of a place to eat in Auckland. You have to go through a dark alley to get there but well worth it!
December 3rd: We hadn’t quite finalized our plans for what we were going to do in New Zealand so we decided to stay another night in the city and spend the day planning. We ended up moving to The Scenic. It was a very nice hotel with modern rooms and good location. Once we had settled in walked around down town Auckland and went up into the Sky Tower. You can bungy jump from the top of this tower. Here are some pictures which also captures how raining and dark it was that day.
This is not a picture of either one of us.
December 4rd: We rented a car through EZ Car Rental and began our trek through the north island of New Zealand. We knew we didn’t have enough time to hit both islands, we barely had enough time to hit one, so did a loop from the east coast, through the middle, and then back up the west coast.
Our first day was spent on the windy road through The Coromadel Peninsula. This area is beautiful and it would have been even more so if it wasn’t for the rain. We tried to hit the main highlights Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach but the rain only got worse as the day went on.
By luck we stayed at the Blue Water Motel on Main Road in Tairua. I recommend this place because it was clean, reasonably priced, and it has free wi fi. The owner Paul is a delightful brit who was very welcoming. That evening it rained all night. Paul said that it was some of the hardest rain he had ever heard.
December 5th: We woke-up and Paul told us that the roads out south were closed because of the flooding but he thought they would be open later in the day. We were planning on going south and heading towards Rotorua. We leisurly got ready and headed south to see for ourselves how bad it was. Here are the pictures.
These kids were just passing the time and making the most of the flood.
After about two hours we decided to take a detour road through the mountains and then cut south towards Rotorua. Not a great road for someone who gets carsick easily because of how windy it is but all in all the road conditions in New Zealand are very well maintained.
It continued to rain throughout the day. We ended up driving all day and ended up in Rotorua. This place is known for its geothermal areas and the Maori culture.  When we got there the rain let up a little and we explored the geothermal areas. These little pits of steam produce a very nasty smell.
That evening we stayed in an motel that was not so clean or comfortable. Don’t recall the name.
December 6th: The sun started to shine on our third day in N.Z. and it was a welcoming site. Sebastien researched and planned this days adventure. We started the day making a stop at the blue and green lakes. These are not far from Rotorua.
This is a picture of the blue lake. The green lake was not as stunning.
These were not far from Rotorua and they were beautiful. After this we headed towards Lake Taupo. Again, it was a long day of driving but seeing N.Z. could never get old. My favorite views where when we passed sheep farms and there were hundreds of sheep scattered along the beautiful green hills. Every time we passed them I cooed.
The plan for that evening was to get to a place close to Waitomo Caves. We ended up staying at a nice, though I think over priced, place right on the main road that heads towards the caves.
December 7th: One of the “touristy” things that I wanted to do was to visit Waitomo Caves. We bought a two cave pass and visited the glow worms and then went to the Ruakuri cave.
If I were to do it again, I would have just gone to see the Ruakuri Caves because you get to see glow worms inside that cave as well. The Glow worm cave is much smaller but a unique part of that cave is that during part of the cave you take a boat. The Ruakuri Cave is very large. It took about 2 1/2 hours and had a variety of unique rooms with different formations in it.
That evening we drove to Raglan, a surf town about 3 hours south of Auckland. We found this amazing brand new two bedroom cottage with an brand new kitchen and flat screen t.v. Most of these finds are in the Holiday parks and seem to becoming a bigger thing now in N.Z. and Australia. We stayed in the Kopua Holiday Park right on the water and close to town. Sebastien would say that they were the best cabins ever.
After settling in, I did some laundry and then walked to the beach (approx. 1 mile) along the river and soft muddy sand that felt like it was melting under my feet. That evening we walked to the store and picked up food to make in our modern kitchen amenities.
December 8th: With little debate we decided to stay another night in our adorable cabin in Raglan. I was itching to surf and rented a board and wetsuit. We checked out a few surf spots and I ended up paddling out at one of the beach breaks. However, I spent 20 minutes trying to get out because it was really blown out and messy. There was one other guy out there and we both weren’t catching much. After about 45 minutes I turned around and noticed that I had drifted quite a ways down the beach. I recalled a picture that I had seen the day before of this wave in Raglan that had a killer whale surfing in it. I rarely get scared in the water about big fish but with that image, crappy waves, and unfamiliar surroundings I decided to head in.
Seb encouraged me to go out again at a reef break a little farther down. So I wrapped myself in a towel and we drove to the fun left break. I stayed out there about 2 hours, though I caught only 2 waves, it was great to get back into the water! It was only the 2nd time I had surfed on our “surfing” trip.
That evening we cooked dinner and enjoyed our last night in our comfortable cabin. After one month of traveling I am starting to miss a few things and knowing where I am sleeping every night is one of them.
Decmeber 9th: We said good-bye to our Raglan cabin and headed to view the bridal veil waterfall. This is a magnificent waterfall that really does look like a briadal veil.
We started our way back to Auckland and choose to drive through the beech lands which are the “la jolla” towns of Auckland. That evening we stayed at a comfort inn in the city because Sebastien had to eat at Queens Fairy Hotel.
December 10th: We said good-bye to our rental car and headed to a hotel/motel near the airport which was not very impressive. It was called Oakwood Manor.
December 11th: Flew on Air New Zealand to Melbourne. Good bye New Zealand we will be back.
Updated on December 16, 2009
Braving The Red Alert In The Grampians
Today was a hot day in the Grampians. I mean, it was a really HOT day. It was 41 Celsius degrees, which is 104 degrees Fahrenheit!
A bit of heat is certainly not gonna stop us. We are here for 2 days so we might as well enjoy it. We filled 2 bottles of water and we left Tim’s Place to go to our first stop: the MacKenzie Falls. Tina wasn’t really feeling it. It was so hot she thought it wasn’t a really smart thing to do to go hiking in the middle of a National Park. We did anyways. After a 1 km walk, we got to the bottom of the MacKenzie Falls. It’s nice but nothing very exciting. After seeing the beautiful Bridal Veil Falls in New Zealand, this one was kind of a joke. Anyways.
We went back to the car and decided to go to Hollow Mountains. We had to drive in the bush for maybe 50 km until we got to the bottom of the mountain.
It was burning hot out! There was no one to be seen around us. We decided to hike all the way up; a 2.2 km hike/climb up the mountain.
I was really surprised they let people do this. It was very steep and you had many occasions to die out there. A few times, I was thinking to myself “if you slip, you die”.
At times, it seemed we were more rock climbing than we were hiking… We stopped many times to rest and drink water.
When we finally reached the top, we never found what we came for. The brochure showed some kind of cave thing but we couldn’t find it. I was pissed but still glad we took this hike.
On the way back, we took this dirt road for 35 km to the village. We didn’t see one car. All we saw was a few ostriches and a couple dead kangaroos on the side of the road (ew, gross!).
When we got to town, it seemed it had been deserted. Finally we saw one car and another. After getting some well-deserved ice cream, we went back to Tim’s Place. I talked to Claudia, the manager, who told me there had been warnings on tv and on the radio, alerting people to stay in because it was too hot and dangerous, and there was a risk of fires. I told this to Tina and she gave me that look which says so much… In this case, it said “of course it was stupid and dangerous to be hiking out there by this heat”. Meh! I’m glad we did it. It didn’t seem dangerous or stupid at the time. Maybe Aussies are just wooses 😉Posted on December 15, 2009
We spotted a bunch of wallabies having dinner
These guys were hanging out in our backyard at Grampians National Park.
You could see some of the moms having their babies in their pouches. Pretty cool 🙂
Posted on December 14, 2009
The 12 Apostles On The Great Ocean Road
Today we departed from Melbourne and drove along the Great Ocean Road. I’m sure Tina will blog about it soon but I just wanted to write a quick post from my iPhone to try the new WordPress app. I know, I’m kind of a geek. Anyways.
So the Great Ocean Road is this strip of road along the ocean that goes for a couple hundred kilometers and it’s absolutely beautiful. The water is as blue as you would want the water to be. The road is very winy (spelling?) but I think it adds to the charm of the place.
We made a quick stop in the forrest and saw a bunch of koalas in the trees. It was our first encounter with koalas – we can check this off the list 😉
A little later we saw a wallaby. He was hanging out on the side of the road and at first we weren’t sure what it was so we turned around and stopped right next to him. He was just having a snack, eating fresh grass from the side of the road. He didn’t seem to mind us until I said “wow, it’s a kangaroo!” and bounced away. Tina pointed out it was a wallaby, which was later confirmed after talking with new friends. For info, wallabies are smaller and darker than the “basic” kangaroos.
We stopped at the 12 apostles, which I guess is the main touristy thing on the Great Ocean Road (see image below). That was pretty nice to see these big rocks stick up from the ocean. A bit trippy too.
It was getting late so we looked for a place to stay in Port Campbell. After talking to a man whom we couldn’t understand, we found this amazing place called Port Campbell Guesthouse. I thought it was a backpacker and I was a little skeptical but after checking the room for myself, I was really reassured that this place was really nice and inexpensive.
Tonight we had dinner at a shitty place in town. Worst burger ever! A labrador that was sitting next to us enjoyed it more than I did so I gave him all my burger and got something else to eat.
We then returned to the guesthouse where Mark (the owner), his girlfriend and a guest were having dinner. Mark invited us to join them and served us some wine. We talked about everything and nothing. It felt really good to socialize for a bit. It really felt like we were among friends and Tina and I really enjoyed that moment because we don’t get to experience this much these days.
After a couple bottles of wine, Mark left and we went to bed, which is where I am typing this from. Isn’t technology amazing?
We have new adventures ahead of us tomorrow…
Updated on December 8, 2009
4 Days in Sydney
We spent 4 days in Sydney. We stayed in Potts Point which was within walking distance (approximately 3.5 kilometers) to the downtown Sydney harbor. It appeared to be filled with different backpacker accommodations. It also had a McDonald’s which provided free wireless.
Sebastien found a short term studio apartment rental called Azure Apartments. I give the place half a star. This is due to the visible mold on the walls and the cockroaches that came out at night. It was gross! Though it was right across from Woolworth (N.Z. and Australia’s grocery store chain) and had all the kitchen necessities like a toaster, microwave, t.v., pots, pans, etc., and a T.V. and D.V.D player. I would never go back though!
Day 1: The day we arrived we walked through the area with the most o’s in its name, Wooloomooloo, and over to see the famous Opera House. It was pretty amazing to see such a symbolic land mark. We must have taken 50 pictures of the Opera House and the bridge that day.
Day 2: On our second day in Aurstralia we went to the famous Bondi Beach. The transit system in Australia is wonderful. It was easy and convenient to figure out and use the bus, train, and ferry system. To get from Potts point to Bondi we just hoped on the train heading to Bondi Station and then took a bus (which you could pick up at the Bondi station) down to the beach. It was a little confusing to know which bus to take to the beach (because there were two) but there are so many people are in the same boat that its not a big deal.
Finally, after almost a month of traveling in Australia we got some surf. We rented a 7’2 fun shaped board from a place at the north edge of the beach. It was about $30 dollars to rent the board and a wetsuit (for Sebastien) for about 3 hours. Sebastien was called out first but with in 20 minutes of being out there he was told by the life savers (a.k.a. lifeguards) to go back in and head to the area for hard surfboards. There are lots of people who ride soft top surfboards in Australia. So many that they have a little area for them. Or maybe they can surf with anyone in the swim zone.
About 100 meters south there was the “real” surfers area. Sebastien went back out there for and hour as I watched all the entertaining people around me. There are all kinds of people from everywhere that come to Bondi beach every day. I even saw Life Saver Mr. H. On our flight to Sydney we watched a clip of him and how he is known as the “bad ass” life saver of the bondi patrol team. After Sebastien surfed I went out and had a nice session amongst the diverse crowd. It was great to be in the water.
Day 3: The following day we headed to Manly Beach which is suppose to be “THE” surf spot of the Sydney area. We had to catch a ferry over to the beach and while in route the weather changed from sunny skies to gray, wind, and rain. Not ideal for a beach/surf day. On the ferry we were able to take a few more amazing photos of the Opera House and bridge as well as see the rugged coast line and the multimillion dollar houses.
Day 4: The last day in Sydney the weather remained windy and rainy. We spent a good chunk of time at the McDonlald’s with its free wi-fi. We did take a nice walk around Potts Point and ended up walking through the Friendship garden by the Opera House. As we walked towards the Operal House we saw a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in port. It looked enormous in the slim harbor. We ended up watching the cruise ship depart from the harbor and waited till it was dark to take a few more pictures of the Opera House at night.
Posted on December 3, 2009
Hervey Bay and Fraser Island
Sebastien and I finally did a touristy thing and took a day tour to Fraser Island. After Byron Bay we took an 11 hour bus trip up to Hervey Bay. We stayed with a wonderful and loving family whom we meet through helpx. We helped Catherine and Peter (parents) with various things around their home for about a week in exchange for accommodations in their beautiful home and food.
One of the days we were there we took a day tour to Fraser Island. Fraser Island is the largest sand island and it has a wide range of different landscapes. Including a beautiful rain forest with huge trees, some bigger than 4 meters round.
We took a fairy ride over from River Heads to the island and meet up with our one day Fraser Island Explorer tour. We ended up being the last two called (because we had signed up the night before on-line) and they only had one seat left in the back of the bus and the co-polite seat. I chose to sit in front because I get car sick easily but we ended us switching mid day because the ride was so uncomfortable in the front.
Since the whole island is made out of sand the roads are as well. The sand was very soft (due to a lack of rain) which caused the ride to be extreemly bumpy. There were a few young children riding in the back and they were bouncing everywhere throughout the trip. The driver, Shawn, was a true Aussie making jokes and giving me a hard time about not telling him ahead of time about the bumps.
About 45 minutes into the ride we stopped behind 4 other vehicles because a bus got stuck in the sand. It was pretty crazy to watch how these Aussies pull each other out of sand pot holes. They attached a bungy rope around the back of the bus and pull them out backwards.  But one bus was still not enough because then our bus had to get involved and pull both of the buses out.  It was wild. Luckily, we got them all out and then Shawn went around the buses by driving off the road and into the forest.  At one point I think we were only on three wheels.
Once we made it through the forest we were on the 75 mile beach. Which acted as the islands highway with speed postings. It was crazy driving down this beach for several reasons. Not only was the road incredibly bumpy because of the soft sand but there was also an incoming tide which just made Shawn drive about 45 mph jerking the bus back and forth away from the incoming tide and soft sand. I would have surely hurled if I was sitting in the back of the bus.
About 30 miles down Shawn stopped in front of two small planes. The two pilots boarded and gave their speech about an additional tourist experience in which you would be taken up in a plane to tour the island and then met back up with the bus.  I didn’t think twice about this but several people got up and took advantage of the offer. I then looked back and Sebastien was nodding that he was ready to go. I think he was sick of riding in the back of the bus.
The plane was a 12 seater puddle jumper which took off and landed on the beach. It was a 20 minute flight around the island which included a low fly over the ocean. It was a cool experience but for me it was just fun to spontaneously do something that was so extravagant.
After the flight we joined the rest of the group and the rest of the day we visited creeks, saw a rusty ship wreck, took a walk through the forest, had some lunch, and swam in Lake McKenzie. Lake McKenzie is one of the cleanest lake in the world. The water was a light turquoise to a deep blue. It was a lovely day.
Besides the Fraser Island day we went kanagroo hunting every evening. On several occasions we found the adorable creaters hanging out near the house. It was the first time we had ever seen kanagroos in the wild. Watching them hop around was really cool. Catherine and Peter also cooked kanagroo the last night we were there and we had a lovely dinner with them. We enjoyed our time with them and thier adorable boys.
Posted on November 27, 2009
Spiders and Spirituality
On November 17th, we traveled by bus to the town of Mullumbumby. We were going to stay with Claudia and Raman who we connected with through helpx. Their house was up in the mountains about 15 minutes from town. They own about 25 acers of beautiful land. Claudia is an art and sandtray therapist and Raman is a meditating soul who had lived in India in and out of ashrams with spiritual teachers for about 15 years.
Our accomidations were very rustic. A little cabin out in the wilderness. Our room was closed in and the kitchen was outside sheltered by a roof. It was a big adjustment! After we set our bags down we had the pleasure of chatting with Raman a little more. He told us a little about a spiritual teacher who was in town and a little about why Byron area was on the spiritual circuit. He was very easy to talk to and funny.
Within an hour of being at thier house the temperature went up to 39 degrees C. Luckily Raman and Claudia were going out to meet up with friends and they dropped us off down by the beach in Brunswick.
The beach had a rock jetty and though the wind was strong it looked like it probably got a great wave when the conditions were right. Raman said that about a week ago the surfers had to come in because there was a big shark spotted there.
That evening I cautiously made dinner with spiders visual everywhere. I tried to make Sebastien’s favorite “easy” recipe. It was ok. We eat with Raman and Claudia and they told us more about their land and there experiences. Claudia and I had the same views of therapeutic services and it was invigorating to talk with them about these things. She had also found out about Sebastien’s birthday and had bought us some beer.
That evening we returned to our cabin and scanned our room for creepy crawly’s. After crawling into our bed which was on the ground and had a net around it, Sebastien saw an enormous spider on the wall opposite us. I was suprisingly not suprised nor scared but Seba had a different reaction. He went and got Raman to get the spider out of the room. Raman did so without fear and giggled at us.
I did not sleep well that night but woke up ready to spend more time with our new friends. Raman had to work so we helped Claudia weed the garden and then tarp a slanted area in front of their house. This was a little challenging but we did it and now have tarping experience.
Through our day of work we realized that we had to return to Byron on Thursday. We felt bad because we had told Claudia that we would have been there at least 5 days to help. One of the things that Claudia was interested in was getting a website up for her practice. So we assured her that before we left Sebastien would do that for her.
That evening we had dinner in Claudia’s house and had lovely conversation with just her. The next day Sebastien did a patient job at getting her a working website and taught her how to change and add things. That afternoon Raman took us back to Byron Bay.
We will never forget the Mullum.
Updated on November 22, 2009
The Best Place to Stay in Byron Bay
In her last blog post, Tina briefly mentioned that we stayed at First Sun in Byron Bay. I thought this place needed to be highlighted because it is truly a nice and inexpensive place.
Before finding out about First Sun, Tina and I walked all around town in search of a cheap and clean place to stay. As usual, the “backpackers” (hostels) were the cheapest, but in all honesty, I hate those places because they are usually dirty and noisy and offer very little privacy.
We stopped by and inquired about prices at about 10 different places. Prices ranged from $76/night for a hostel to over $300/night in a dirty-ass motel on the beach. What a rip off!
We had 2 places on our shortlist: a $120/night cabin that included everything (TV, microwave, air conditionning, private bathroom, etc…), and a backpacker at about $80/night. Secretly, the $120/night cabin was my preferred choice, even though it was a little outcentered.
On our walk back to town, we still hadn’t decided on a place to stay at. That’s when we walked in front of First Sun, a campground that offered lodges and cabins pretty much on the beach. Tina said that we shouldn’t bother asking about prices because this place looked too nice and the location was just perfect, literally 100 yards from downtown Byron Bay, with a view on Main Beach and the Wreck.
I told Tina that “you never know”, and that we could get lucky. So we walked in and asked about those private little lodges. She told us the price was $85/night. That was completely in our budget. The young woman at the front desk was very friendly and told us to walk around and check out the place for ourselves.
So we took a short walk on the property and we really liked the place right away. It was very clean and quiet. The little lodges didn’t include much: a bed, a TV, and a fridge. We would have to share the bathroom and kitchen corner with other people renting the lodges, but for that price, we could make the sacrifice.
We went back to the reception and booked a room for 4 nights. To my surprise, they even offered 2 hours of free internet every day. She needn’t say more to have me hooked on this place 😉
We stayed at First Sun for 4 nights then we briefly went to Mullumbimby (the Mullum as I call it) for 2 nights and we went back to First Sun for 2 more nights.
At $85/night, you certainly won’t find a better deal in Byron Bay. First Sun also rents out cabins with your own bathroom and full kitchen for $160/night I think, not a bad deal if you go there with another couple.
They also seemed to be building small lodges like the one we had but with a private bathroom. I don’t know how much there are going to go for but I wouldn’t mind paying an extra $20/night for having the luxury of my own toilet.
Posted on November 20, 2009
Byron Bay and Beyond
After Clare’s house we were dropped off at First Sun which is a camp/cabin/lodge area right on the beach in Byron Bay. We had booked 4 nights and were hoping for beautiful weather and surf. Unfortunately, none of the five days we spent in our little lodge on the beach included good waves. However, we kept busy!
On Saturday, we walked 5 miles up to the lighthouse which is the most easterly point of Australia. We walked up a zillion stairs and through steep inclines. Close to the top there was this glider ramp right off the cliff. There we meet Pete, a professional glider who just happen to be up near the lighthouse passed us a flyer for gliding.
For a treat we had a delicious ice cream at the lighthouse and then walked down the other side of the mountain and stopped a Wategos beach, which is a beautiful beach that would have amazing surf if there was any sort of swell.
After our walk we made some food on our barbie. Australians do a few things very well. They have really nice parks for children everywhere which include these barbie’s which are basically big hot plates. We cooked up some potatoes and veggies and Sebastien had some chicken. We also went and got a few tallies from the liquor store. Yes. Tallies. Mainly because they were cheap. A six pack of beer cost between $16-24. Crazy. I think we will stick to wine which you can find for about $14.
The next day we didn’t do much but walk around Byron Bay and relaxed. Our butts were sore from the previous days hike. We did secure another helpx spot which started on November 17th. Sebastien’s birthday. We were a little skeptical because it looked a little rustic. We just figured we would test our tolerance.
On November 16th, we contacted Pete to go hang gliding. It was going to be Sebastien’s birthday present. Pete picked us up and we headed to Lennox glider port. Sebastien looked so cute in his little wasp outfit. He went up for about 20 minutes and got some great pictures.
Happy Birthday Seba!