Day 12
Today was take it easy day. We’re leaving tomorrow, and just wanted some down time. We ate breakfast at home. I made an omelette. Then we went and saw Brent’s work area at his downtown office. We ate at a place called the Beach House and we shared a prawn pizza, BLT with avocado, and calamari. The calamari was huge, like chicken strips. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was all good though. After that, we went shopping, I got a few more souvenirs for people back home, and then rented a movie, and went home and packed. Then I just relaxed for a few hours, and watched TV. There was an interesting Beethoven documentary. Went to bed early.
Day 13
Flew back, pretty lagged and bored the whole day. Watched a couple of good movies on the plane. Window seat was kind of a bitch b/c every time i had to pee with my tiny bladder, i had to wake up the aisle guy. Most interesting thing...watching the sun rise in Brisbane, set on the flight, rise in LA, and set when we landed in Omaha, all over the course of about 20 hours!!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Day Eleven - Death Hike, River Fire
Day 11
Woke up with a bit of a hangover and tried to cure it with some greasy McDonald’s and a huge water bottle. Didn’t really work, but it would be gone soon enough. We drove a bit to the Glass House Mountains and readied ourselves for a “hike”. We soon found out that it was pretty much climbing. Mostly vertical walls at parts, you’d have to find holds and climb up. Looking down not recommended. I was genuinely frightened for the first time in a long time. But, it was challenging and definitely rewarding with the view at the top. We stopped there, ate a snack, took some pictures, and enjoyed nature’s beauty. The climb down was very scary and slow, but not as difficult as it looked. I’ve found the cure for a hangover. Death defying climbs up mountains at a pretty good pace. We had a barbecue planned at 3 with some of Brent and Kristin’s neighbors, so we headed back and got ready for that. We met poolside at their apartment at a gathering place and we met Janet, Brooke, Allison, Carl, and Kevin. It was Allison’s birthday, and we had quite the spread so an informal gathering. Lamb kebabs, pasta salad, crackers, bread, hummus, salad, and pavlova for dessert. It was fabulous. Washed it down with my favorite new Aussie beer, Touhy’s New, and got ready to go to the yearly celebration, River Fire. We all walke a mile or so and set up chairs and blankets near the river front to watch fireworks and jets fly overhead. It was really cool, we drank a few beers, and met a couple girls next to us and had a good time. We arranged to meet at the bar later and have drinks. Tom and I met up with Hannah and Kat at the Ice Bar, and we hung out for an hour or so. It was nice. Tom called it our Aussie Independence, as it was really the first time we went out without Brent and/or Kristin. The girls had to go to a friend’s going away party, but wanted us to meet them again after. Tom and I went home, had a couple beers, and, probably due to the full day and climbing, both of us passed out.
Woke up with a bit of a hangover and tried to cure it with some greasy McDonald’s and a huge water bottle. Didn’t really work, but it would be gone soon enough. We drove a bit to the Glass House Mountains and readied ourselves for a “hike”. We soon found out that it was pretty much climbing. Mostly vertical walls at parts, you’d have to find holds and climb up. Looking down not recommended. I was genuinely frightened for the first time in a long time. But, it was challenging and definitely rewarding with the view at the top. We stopped there, ate a snack, took some pictures, and enjoyed nature’s beauty. The climb down was very scary and slow, but not as difficult as it looked. I’ve found the cure for a hangover. Death defying climbs up mountains at a pretty good pace. We had a barbecue planned at 3 with some of Brent and Kristin’s neighbors, so we headed back and got ready for that. We met poolside at their apartment at a gathering place and we met Janet, Brooke, Allison, Carl, and Kevin. It was Allison’s birthday, and we had quite the spread so an informal gathering. Lamb kebabs, pasta salad, crackers, bread, hummus, salad, and pavlova for dessert. It was fabulous. Washed it down with my favorite new Aussie beer, Touhy’s New, and got ready to go to the yearly celebration, River Fire. We all walke a mile or so and set up chairs and blankets near the river front to watch fireworks and jets fly overhead. It was really cool, we drank a few beers, and met a couple girls next to us and had a good time. We arranged to meet at the bar later and have drinks. Tom and I met up with Hannah and Kat at the Ice Bar, and we hung out for an hour or so. It was nice. Tom called it our Aussie Independence, as it was really the first time we went out without Brent and/or Kristin. The girls had to go to a friend’s going away party, but wanted us to meet them again after. Tom and I went home, had a couple beers, and, probably due to the full day and climbing, both of us passed out.
Day Ten - Australia Zoo, Sunshine Coast AUS
Day 10
Very, very sore today. Rock climbing kicked my ass. But no time to sit around, we have been filling our days thus far with great stuff to do, and today was no exception. We headed North today and went to the Australia zoo. This was where Steve Irwin worked and his family still does. There is evidence of this all over the zoo. It was a really cool experience. They have Crocs, Roos, Wombats, and of course, Koalas. They have a few areas where you can go right into a whole field a kangaroos and pet them and feed them and whatever, that was my favorite part. We also got to hold a koala and get a photo with it. After the zoo, we headed to the Sunshine Coast and set up a tent at a campsite right by the oceanside. We walked around and looked for somewhere to eat. Somehow along they way, we met Abbey, a 22 year old California girl, and she joined us for dinner. We went to a little bar and grill and it was dead. No one there. The two bartenders were super hot and friendly. The menu looked good, so we stayed and ordered. I had a strip steak and potatoes and vegetables. While we waited, we decided to play pool. It was very strange. The table, balls, and sticks were all miniature. It was very difficult. Abbey and I lost to Brent and Tom, and we sat and ate our meal. By the end of it, the place was packed, and everyone was beautiful. After that, we went and bought some wine, and went back to the campsite. Abbey provided a little fun to the conversaion and we all sat around, talked, and caught a good buzz. Then we crashed under the stars.
Very, very sore today. Rock climbing kicked my ass. But no time to sit around, we have been filling our days thus far with great stuff to do, and today was no exception. We headed North today and went to the Australia zoo. This was where Steve Irwin worked and his family still does. There is evidence of this all over the zoo. It was a really cool experience. They have Crocs, Roos, Wombats, and of course, Koalas. They have a few areas where you can go right into a whole field a kangaroos and pet them and feed them and whatever, that was my favorite part. We also got to hold a koala and get a photo with it. After the zoo, we headed to the Sunshine Coast and set up a tent at a campsite right by the oceanside. We walked around and looked for somewhere to eat. Somehow along they way, we met Abbey, a 22 year old California girl, and she joined us for dinner. We went to a little bar and grill and it was dead. No one there. The two bartenders were super hot and friendly. The menu looked good, so we stayed and ordered. I had a strip steak and potatoes and vegetables. While we waited, we decided to play pool. It was very strange. The table, balls, and sticks were all miniature. It was very difficult. Abbey and I lost to Brent and Tom, and we sat and ate our meal. By the end of it, the place was packed, and everyone was beautiful. After that, we went and bought some wine, and went back to the campsite. Abbey provided a little fun to the conversaion and we all sat around, talked, and caught a good buzz. Then we crashed under the stars.
Day Nine - Gold Coast AUS, climbing
Day 9
Woke up and made breakfast at the house pretty early and got ready to make the hour drive to the Gold Coast and the beach for the afternoon. Got to a cool little area, not too busy, and Brent and I rented a couple of surfboards. Tom and Kristin set up a little beach tent, and we all relaxed a bit and read, played some beach football, and got some sun. Brent and I hit the waves, my second time ever. They were about 3-6 footers, and I did pretty well. Got up several times and rode a few waves all the way in. I was happy with my effort, and got a little exercise with new muscles in the process. Brent had a bit of a harder time, as he had chosen a 7 foot board, and I had a 8 ½ foot board. We did that for a couple hours, played some more football and set out to get some food. We walked throug the shopping area, which was a cool little place, kinda reminded me of Fort Lauderdale beach area, and chose a “nothing over 10 dollar” place, and it was actually really good. I had a crumbed snapper with chips and calamari. After that we headed back into Brisbane and met up with some of Brent’s church and climbing friends at Kangaroo Point, a large rock wall located on the riverfront. They have it lit up at night, and it’s pretty popular with many people. We set up our ropes and Tom and I tried our first climbs ever. It was very difficult. I tried twice and didn’t even get half way up. I’ve never used so many new muscles at once before I don’t think. It was a really fun experience, though, and I’m probably gonna try and do some climbing back home, if there is anywhere to go. I think UNO has a decent one. After that, sun, and surfing, we were beat, and promptly went home and to bed.
Woke up and made breakfast at the house pretty early and got ready to make the hour drive to the Gold Coast and the beach for the afternoon. Got to a cool little area, not too busy, and Brent and I rented a couple of surfboards. Tom and Kristin set up a little beach tent, and we all relaxed a bit and read, played some beach football, and got some sun. Brent and I hit the waves, my second time ever. They were about 3-6 footers, and I did pretty well. Got up several times and rode a few waves all the way in. I was happy with my effort, and got a little exercise with new muscles in the process. Brent had a bit of a harder time, as he had chosen a 7 foot board, and I had a 8 ½ foot board. We did that for a couple hours, played some more football and set out to get some food. We walked throug the shopping area, which was a cool little place, kinda reminded me of Fort Lauderdale beach area, and chose a “nothing over 10 dollar” place, and it was actually really good. I had a crumbed snapper with chips and calamari. After that we headed back into Brisbane and met up with some of Brent’s church and climbing friends at Kangaroo Point, a large rock wall located on the riverfront. They have it lit up at night, and it’s pretty popular with many people. We set up our ropes and Tom and I tried our first climbs ever. It was very difficult. I tried twice and didn’t even get half way up. I’ve never used so many new muscles at once before I don’t think. It was a really fun experience, though, and I’m probably gonna try and do some climbing back home, if there is anywhere to go. I think UNO has a decent one. After that, sun, and surfing, we were beat, and promptly went home and to bed.
Day Eight - Flight Back to Brisbane
Day 8
I didn’t make it past 9. We started watching Spiderman 3, and I passed the f@#! Out about 15 minutes into it. Holiday Inn was cool though. It was the gateway back to civilization. Comfortable beds, lots of space, Futurama, Family Guy, AFV, and a hot shower, with, more importantly, a warm place to change after the shower. But it was an early morning. We woke up about 405am, got all our shit in order and got a cab to the airport. Christchurch is a beautiful little city, one stretch of one the main roads is bordered by a park, lined with willow trees and tulips. Stunning. Saw two tansvestite prostitutes out in full form on the way, but other than that, the scenery was beautiful, good way to say goodbye to New Zealand. Got a little flak at the airport for claiming my DUIs on the landing page, but it was pretty easy. The guy was nice, but they have to question everybody with any sort of conviction. They were also filming a COPS-type show at customs/quarantine, but they were in a different area when we were there. I planned on getting a few hours sleep on the plane, but after about one, I was awakened by the flight attendants laughing hysterically at what must have been the funniest thing in the world. Oh well, I struck up a conversation with one who kinda looked like my 6th grade girlfriend, and told them I’d rather wake up to laughing than an annoying alarm clock or something.
Brent picked us up from the airport and we went back to his place, unpacked a bit, showered, and went shopping. We grabbed a bite to eat at a Portugese place called Nando’s and then relaxed at home for a bit. Brent had set up a reservation for lawn bowling later in the day, and we headed off for that about 245pm. For $5, from 3-5pm, we played lawn bowling. Super fun. It seems to be a traditional game, but has caught on with the younger crowd as well. Our club was right by the riverfront, it was great. We bought a couple “jugs” of beer and learned the game. The lanes are on a large lawn that is cut just like a putting green on a golf course. You first roll the jack and center it to the middle of the lane. You then take six balls and see who can roll them closest to the jack. The balls are weighted on one side, so they curve with the roll, making it more interesting. Scoring is exactly like shuffleboard as far as the closeness to the jack. It was a good time. A bit more refreshing than regular bowling, being outside and all. Brent was the only one that played before, and he and Kristin won the first game. Then, the “Amiricans” took over. Tom and I won the last two games to go home victorious. We saw the weirdest thing when we were about done bowling. Outside in the street, an older woman had a pet dog on a leash, and a pet SHEEP, not on a leash. They crossed the street and the sheep was kinda disobeying its owner, we’ll call her Mary, and it ran off a bit, with the cutest little jumping, kicking gait. Seriously, a pet sheep? Brisbane has at least 2 million people. It’s a big city. A pet sheep.
After lawn bowling we went to get something to eat. Brent and Kristin have wanted to try a steak house called Breakfast Creek. It was unique for sure. You order cafeteria style, you can pick your steak out of the window like a butcher shop, and all the seating is basically outdoors with awnings and coverings and canopies all over. I got a Wagyu striploin with “a 7+ marbling”. Wagyu is supposedly some of the best beef you can buy anywhere. It was fantastic. Buttery, melt in your mouth awesome. I paired it up with a unique glass of shiraz, which beyond the berries and plums, had mint and eucalyptus undertones as well. It was a great, satisfying meal. Kristin hd to go home and work on a project after that, so Brent, Tom, and I went and had a couple pints at the Ice bar, a nice little establishment near his apartment. It was refreshing to kick back a little and have some bonding conversation. A lot of bars here are very concerned with serving very cold beer. Ice bar is one of them. Several of the handles had a thermometer on them to tell you how cold they were, and they had a Glycol system which was set up to have the metal pipe that has the handles on it, frozen over at all times. It was pretty cool. After the bar, we walked home and went to bed. Looking forward to the Gold Coast and the beach tomorrow.
I didn’t make it past 9. We started watching Spiderman 3, and I passed the f@#! Out about 15 minutes into it. Holiday Inn was cool though. It was the gateway back to civilization. Comfortable beds, lots of space, Futurama, Family Guy, AFV, and a hot shower, with, more importantly, a warm place to change after the shower. But it was an early morning. We woke up about 405am, got all our shit in order and got a cab to the airport. Christchurch is a beautiful little city, one stretch of one the main roads is bordered by a park, lined with willow trees and tulips. Stunning. Saw two tansvestite prostitutes out in full form on the way, but other than that, the scenery was beautiful, good way to say goodbye to New Zealand. Got a little flak at the airport for claiming my DUIs on the landing page, but it was pretty easy. The guy was nice, but they have to question everybody with any sort of conviction. They were also filming a COPS-type show at customs/quarantine, but they were in a different area when we were there. I planned on getting a few hours sleep on the plane, but after about one, I was awakened by the flight attendants laughing hysterically at what must have been the funniest thing in the world. Oh well, I struck up a conversation with one who kinda looked like my 6th grade girlfriend, and told them I’d rather wake up to laughing than an annoying alarm clock or something.
Brent picked us up from the airport and we went back to his place, unpacked a bit, showered, and went shopping. We grabbed a bite to eat at a Portugese place called Nando’s and then relaxed at home for a bit. Brent had set up a reservation for lawn bowling later in the day, and we headed off for that about 245pm. For $5, from 3-5pm, we played lawn bowling. Super fun. It seems to be a traditional game, but has caught on with the younger crowd as well. Our club was right by the riverfront, it was great. We bought a couple “jugs” of beer and learned the game. The lanes are on a large lawn that is cut just like a putting green on a golf course. You first roll the jack and center it to the middle of the lane. You then take six balls and see who can roll them closest to the jack. The balls are weighted on one side, so they curve with the roll, making it more interesting. Scoring is exactly like shuffleboard as far as the closeness to the jack. It was a good time. A bit more refreshing than regular bowling, being outside and all. Brent was the only one that played before, and he and Kristin won the first game. Then, the “Amiricans” took over. Tom and I won the last two games to go home victorious. We saw the weirdest thing when we were about done bowling. Outside in the street, an older woman had a pet dog on a leash, and a pet SHEEP, not on a leash. They crossed the street and the sheep was kinda disobeying its owner, we’ll call her Mary, and it ran off a bit, with the cutest little jumping, kicking gait. Seriously, a pet sheep? Brisbane has at least 2 million people. It’s a big city. A pet sheep.
After lawn bowling we went to get something to eat. Brent and Kristin have wanted to try a steak house called Breakfast Creek. It was unique for sure. You order cafeteria style, you can pick your steak out of the window like a butcher shop, and all the seating is basically outdoors with awnings and coverings and canopies all over. I got a Wagyu striploin with “a 7+ marbling”. Wagyu is supposedly some of the best beef you can buy anywhere. It was fantastic. Buttery, melt in your mouth awesome. I paired it up with a unique glass of shiraz, which beyond the berries and plums, had mint and eucalyptus undertones as well. It was a great, satisfying meal. Kristin hd to go home and work on a project after that, so Brent, Tom, and I went and had a couple pints at the Ice bar, a nice little establishment near his apartment. It was refreshing to kick back a little and have some bonding conversation. A lot of bars here are very concerned with serving very cold beer. Ice bar is one of them. Several of the handles had a thermometer on them to tell you how cold they were, and they had a Glycol system which was set up to have the metal pipe that has the handles on it, frozen over at all times. It was pretty cool. After the bar, we walked home and went to bed. Looking forward to the Gold Coast and the beach tomorrow.
Day Seven - Christchurch drive
Day 7
Got up, showered, and going about 8am, and just wanted to bomb out to Christchurch. We stopped for breakfast and a couple places to take pictures, but made really good time to CC. One place we stopped, Lake Tekapo, had the most awesome, blue/green water, it looked fake. But awesome. We returned the van to the company in CC, and took a cab into the town centre to get a hotel room for the night. We tried to get hotel SO again, but it was full, so we went across the street to the Holiday Inn. I think the desk girl liked us, so we got a good price on a great sized room with a great view of the city from the 8th floor. It’s a bit more US here…. There are KFCs, McD’s, and I saw a Pizza Hut as well! Oh well, Christ church is a really cool little city, and as we were back with plenty of time, decided to walk around the city a bit. Very cool vibe, got some great pics, found a camera store and bought a polarizer, and found a really cool, hidden square in between alleys. There were about 6 restaurants back in this little cove, and we picked the coolest little place called Fat Joe’s, I think. Anyway, it was kinda Americanized, but cooler. It was a blues bar, but the coolest thrown together furniture, dimly lit, comfortable ambiance. We had a couple of burgers and beers and went back to the Holiday Inn. And here I am. Loved my NZ experience, would definitely consider visiting again. Not looking forward to getting up at 4am, but it shouldn’t be too bad considering it’s 820pm now, and I prolly won’t make it past 9. Peace out for now.
Got up, showered, and going about 8am, and just wanted to bomb out to Christchurch. We stopped for breakfast and a couple places to take pictures, but made really good time to CC. One place we stopped, Lake Tekapo, had the most awesome, blue/green water, it looked fake. But awesome. We returned the van to the company in CC, and took a cab into the town centre to get a hotel room for the night. We tried to get hotel SO again, but it was full, so we went across the street to the Holiday Inn. I think the desk girl liked us, so we got a good price on a great sized room with a great view of the city from the 8th floor. It’s a bit more US here…. There are KFCs, McD’s, and I saw a Pizza Hut as well! Oh well, Christ church is a really cool little city, and as we were back with plenty of time, decided to walk around the city a bit. Very cool vibe, got some great pics, found a camera store and bought a polarizer, and found a really cool, hidden square in between alleys. There were about 6 restaurants back in this little cove, and we picked the coolest little place called Fat Joe’s, I think. Anyway, it was kinda Americanized, but cooler. It was a blues bar, but the coolest thrown together furniture, dimly lit, comfortable ambiance. We had a couple of burgers and beers and went back to the Holiday Inn. And here I am. Loved my NZ experience, would definitely consider visiting again. Not looking forward to getting up at 4am, but it shouldn’t be too bad considering it’s 820pm now, and I prolly won’t make it past 9. Peace out for now.
Day Six - Milford Sound...
Day 6
Woke up very early again and took off for Milford Sound. Hopefully this time for real. We made it! Got there and it was as beautiful as we’d heard and seen. Took about 2 hours of pictures on the banks of the lake/sea, and then decided to have brunch. Tom’s SLR crapped out on him, which sux. He just bought it like 2 months ago. I had a meat pie again, and a great tasting bowl of tomato soup. I’m still thinking about that soup. It was wonderful, and it was a bit chilly, prolly about 11 Celsius, so it hit the spot. After that we went to the boat docks and paid for a 2 hour boat tour. Getting out into the sound was great, I’m very glad we decided to do the tour as well. Great close-ups, and much more area covered than what you could see form the shore for sure. We got out into the Tasman Sea to go to the lighthouse that is usually on the tour, but the captain said the sea was too rough to go all the way. It was pretty crazy. I’ve never been on a boat in a body of water that big, and we were jumping 6-8 foot waves, at least. So we came back into the sound. The captain tried to look for a couple of spots where he had seen penguins nesting before, but we didn’t have the chance to see any that day. :( However, it was ok, b/c we did get to see seals AND dolphins! There were about 10-15 dolphin swimming around the boat as we drove. I got a few decent pictures, but that was an amazing experience I won’t soon forget. After the boat tour, we headed out and after a few hours of driving, made it to Queenstown at about sundown. I got some fish and chips from a small curbside stand, and Tom got some McDonald’s. The town was too busy for us to even find a spot to park, so Tom circled while I got mine, and I while he got his. We went to the edge of town and ate, and then took off to find a place to sleep. The fish was really good, and I got a fresh sea scallop for about $1.40 US, but it was so greasy! I got a headache and felt drowsy immediately after. We made it to a town called Cromwell, and set up the usual night of charging, dumping and wine.
Woke up very early again and took off for Milford Sound. Hopefully this time for real. We made it! Got there and it was as beautiful as we’d heard and seen. Took about 2 hours of pictures on the banks of the lake/sea, and then decided to have brunch. Tom’s SLR crapped out on him, which sux. He just bought it like 2 months ago. I had a meat pie again, and a great tasting bowl of tomato soup. I’m still thinking about that soup. It was wonderful, and it was a bit chilly, prolly about 11 Celsius, so it hit the spot. After that we went to the boat docks and paid for a 2 hour boat tour. Getting out into the sound was great, I’m very glad we decided to do the tour as well. Great close-ups, and much more area covered than what you could see form the shore for sure. We got out into the Tasman Sea to go to the lighthouse that is usually on the tour, but the captain said the sea was too rough to go all the way. It was pretty crazy. I’ve never been on a boat in a body of water that big, and we were jumping 6-8 foot waves, at least. So we came back into the sound. The captain tried to look for a couple of spots where he had seen penguins nesting before, but we didn’t have the chance to see any that day. :( However, it was ok, b/c we did get to see seals AND dolphins! There were about 10-15 dolphin swimming around the boat as we drove. I got a few decent pictures, but that was an amazing experience I won’t soon forget. After the boat tour, we headed out and after a few hours of driving, made it to Queenstown at about sundown. I got some fish and chips from a small curbside stand, and Tom got some McDonald’s. The town was too busy for us to even find a spot to park, so Tom circled while I got mine, and I while he got his. We went to the edge of town and ate, and then took off to find a place to sleep. The fish was really good, and I got a fresh sea scallop for about $1.40 US, but it was so greasy! I got a headache and felt drowsy immediately after. We made it to a town called Cromwell, and set up the usual night of charging, dumping and wine.
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