Cassidy
Cassidy Bassett Joined: September 20th 2009
Logged in: April 5th 2011
Logged in: April 5th 2011
Travel Blog Posts
I have a fairly good idea now, of how expansive and desolate Australia actually is. If anyone ever says something like "Well it's a big country" again, I will agree and say that yes, I know from experience. From hour after hour of orange dirt and pale shrubbery rolling past my window. From being able to see the flattest earth go all the way to the horizon in all directions, with nothing to break up the scenic monotony except a 2-foot tree every now and then; 2 feet being tall by Nullarbor Plain standards. That being said, life on the Indian Pacific is not bad. There's a lot of reading and chatting and snacking and napping. It's all very relaxed. Taking a train is a very different venture from taking a plane ride. It's a much ... read more
9/26 I have spent the last two days in the most amazing city! Melbourne is buzzing- it's hip, relaxed, sophisticated, fashion-forward, eco-conscious. It really is everything that I have heard it described as. I spent my first day eating fruit and shopping hundreds of stalls at the Queen Victoria Market before getting myself a flat white (latte minus foam, very 'down under') and reading the paper. I know, hard life right? I later met up with my wonderful friends Marc and Mandy, who showed me amazing amounts of hospitality. They took me to my first drive-thru bottle shop (ZOMG!) and we spent the evening chatting over Melbourne Bitters*, tea, and mass quantities of toast and nutella. This morning they took me to the beach at St. Kilda, where we ate pastries from the tiny cake shop ... read more
9/19 If I ever questioned whether coming home was the right thing or not, now I have no doubt in my mind that it was. I have had the most wonderful, memorable summer, full of long coffee chats, strenuous mountain hiking, delicious foods, and lots of old friends. It seemed to just whiz by, I can't believe its travellin' time again! I was definitely taken off-guard by how quickly September 18th came around, and I'm afraid that the rush will not be slowing anytime soon. My tentative itinerary is Syndey to Perth in under 2 weeks, which is quite an undertaking- a 2700 mile undertaking to be exact! Currently I am enjoying the calm before the storm though; hanging out by the pool at Aunt Kel's, waiting for my toenails to dry (hot pink of course!) ... read more
I can’t believe the last time I blogged it was Halloween. Time flies, my friends! Can you believe I’ve been in NZ for about two months now!!?! I am currently on the Interislander to the South Island, which is apparently notorious for being quite a rowdy little boat ride. It’s like 4 hours long as well, which I was completely unprepared for. Hence the blogging. Also note- I should be writing my UW entrance essay right now. But I’m not. I have no good reason other than that I can’t decide on a format... or content… which I fully recognize is just an excuse. So, back to the travel blogging…. After I left Thames I went to Tauranga for a night, which I was kind of unimpressed with. There was lots of cement and warehouse-type buildings ... read more
Frankie and I
I love Halloween. I was a little worried because the kiwis don't really celebrate Halloween but was actually very pleased with how the day went. I carved pumpkins with my Scottish roomie, Kat, who had NEVER done that before! The pumpkins in NZ in the spring are very small and white, not like pumpkins much at all, but they made pretty good Jack-O-Lanterns. After dinner Kat and I dressed up and went to the late night ((double feature!!!! Picture show! In the back row---f* the back row!!)) showing of Rocky Horror, complete with stage performance, encore Time Warp, and lots of men in lingerie. We went out for drinks afterwards and started talking with a couple of locals. One of the men, an old NZ farmer, was talking to me about politics and congratulated me on ... read more
So I was very skeptical of Thames at first, I'm not gonna lie (actually "skeptical" is a little soft, I HATED Thames at first haha). However, things have picked up quite a bit! I got here a few days ago, and am committed to two weeks of work here. The work is really not bad- it's cleaning and making beds and such, which I'm actually quite good at if I do say so myself. I know it's a dumb thing to be good at, but it's nice to do something well, even if it is just making beds and washing dishes and vaccuuming. I was super bummed about being stuck here for Halloween, and THEN I found out that the local musical theatre company is putting on Rocky Horror on Halloween night! When you buy your ... read more
So much to say... WWOOFing was definitely an experience. It was the most labor-intensive week!! Sorting nuts was one thing, but raking them off the ground was so hard! Fortunately there was a lot of good food to make up for our sore arms and aching backs and the weather was pretty cooperative. After work yesterday we had a party, which was a lot of fun, but I am certainly paying for it today. Still. At 7:30 at night. UGGGGGHHHHH. Im trying to think food-settling thoughts. Despite my ridiculous hangover, today has actually been a very good and productive day. I got up super early so I could get a ride into town, went online for a little bit and got my bus ticket to Hamilton, finished my book, and went over to the Landing Cafe ... read more
Let’s see…. Where did I leave off? Janelle and I spent two nights at that awesome hostel in Waitomo. On Saturday we walked the Waitomo Walkway. But don’t let the name mislead you- there is no “walkway” involved. It had been pouring the night before, and the trail was not much of one. It was the muddiest thing, and the path was hard to follow as some parts were under huge puddles of water and other parts were through cow pasture. It was beautiful, and totally worth it ((see pics on the fbook page)) but by the time we were done I couldn’t see my shoes at all, they were so covered with mud. That night we made a point to go get a hot, filling meal, since we had pretty much been living off spaghetti ... read more
It has been a very eventful last couple of days! Sunday night I had a change of plans, and instead of going straight to Wellington like I thought, I decided to grab a ride with two of my new homies (one of whom owns a van) to the region North of Auckland. We were planning on leaving Monday night but neither Will or Janelle could break their reservation at our hostel, Bamber House, so we couldn’t leave until Tuesday morning. Monday night was miserable- there wasn’t enough room in Bamber House for me to stay, so I ended up at a less-friendly hostel down the road. The actual hostel was fine, there were a few familiar faces, but I was miserable. I walked there with my backpack on in the pouring rain thinking of how much ... read more
Auckland
September 23rd So after 6 months of planning, a crapton of saving, and a ridiculously long flight, I am finally here in New Zealand! Yay! The flight was actually not half as bad as I expected (margaritas are my savior). There was very little turbulence and I was sitting next to the sweetest couple in the world- they looked like they were both in their seventies or so, and Ken was taking Arnie(?) to New Zealand for a week because he’d never been off of the North American continent. After the flight Arnie told me “Well, next time Ken’ll just have to upgrade all 3 of us to first class! Teehee.“ Awwwwwwwww. Customs went smoothly, they didn’t even ask to see my bank statement or proof of medical insurance!! My hostel on Mt. Eden is cute ... read more
