Travel Blog Posts
exploring sydney
Published: March 3rd 2006Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney » Darlinghurst
March 2nd 2006
greetings from australia. michelle and i spent 2 day on beautiful bondi beach where surfers are almost as numerous as the grains of sand. they're good too....and very intimidating. i spent my time on bondi walking up and down the beach, swimming in the surf, and body boarding. the coast is dotted with beaches between unbelievable formations of sandstone that has been skillfully carved by wind, rain, and waves. from bondi we headed to the northern beaches and are spending our last few nights in manly. we are staying with family friends of mine....though they have gone and left the house to us. we spent yesterday exploring sydney's inner city and getting prepared for MARDI GRAS which just so happens to be this weekend. sweet as mate :o) mardi gras is basically a huge gay pride ... read more
February 26th 2006
so, i'm truncating the entries for my last few days in new zealand.... dunedin: south of christchurch by about 3 hours. my recovery day from stewart island included a speights ale house tour and a cadbury chocolate factory tour. i don't like beer, but i decided i had to try the variety as a tasting was included in the tour. this i will label as 'michelle's part of the day' because she LOVES beer. she was all smiles the entire hour....she even smiled as we entered the stinky hopps (we don't know if there's 1 or 2 p's in hops) room. the biggest grins though were while trying her hand at pouring beer from an actual bar tap. by the time the tasting was over we'd had about 3 glasses of beer between us....feeling rather 'happy' ... read more
days 9 and 10
Published: February 23rd 2006Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Southland » Stewart IslandFebruary 23rd 2006
day 9: freshwater landing to north arm 12km today i again woke to rain and was walking late. a slow start and slow going most of the way. i walked up and down many small hills and through streams before the real hard work began. i made two ascents, steep, muddy, blah blah, and longer than usual. today the north west circuit met the raikura (the new zealand great walk) track. a funny thing....not two steps after the trails met i was walking on boardwalks. i walked continuously on them for 4km until the hut. after about 100km of mud, rock, root and more mud it felt awkward. tomorrow is my last day of walking and should be pretty cruisey. day 10: north arm to halfmoon bay 12km a cruisey day all around and pretty boring. ... read more
days 7 and 8
Published: February 23rd 2006Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Southland » Stewart IslandFebruary 23rd 2006
day 7: hellfire pass to mason bay 15km today was perhaps the best day on the track and the most demanding thusfar as well. i rose as the sun was rising over ruggedy flats, a huge valley in the middle of the island. an orange sky gave way to bright white light in minutes. as the sun climbed in the sky i made ready for a long day. i climbed a mountain and followed its ridge. there are no switchbacks on this trail....so straight up and steep it was. i walked along the sub alpine track surrounded by short trees with thick tough leaves and lots of moss. in most places i could look out onto the island's sharp ridges and soft saddles drenched in green. then onto the ever expanding waters to rocky and sand ... read more
days 5 and 6
Published: February 23rd 2006Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Southland » Stewart IslandFebruary 23rd 2006
day 5: long harry to east ruggedy 9.5km i climbed steadily again this morning to a quick descent and another steep climb....and again and again, though the second two felt more gentle. i spent much of my day on the coast. i crossed a rocky coastline beneath a huge cliff face. wave pummelled the rocks and as they crashed the ocean's smell had more strength. though the day was cloudy they were high and i could still see the south island's fiordland. i felt like a little kid rock hopping on a day too cold for swimming. i departed the coast and made a quick ascent to a lookout near the top of a mountain. i quickly perched myself on the tallest rock outcropping and sat to take in the view. rom there i could see ... read more
days 3 and 4
Published: February 23rd 2006Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Southland » Stewart IslandFebruary 23rd 2006
i've decided to amend my entries....they're too long. day 3: christmas village to yankee river 12km i woke today to rain coming sideways because of the wind. the rain though had subsided by the time i was walking. the sun's reflection off the ocean was blinding and beautiful all the same. the trail brought me through more mud and roots though i expected a reprieve....wrong. if what the track description writers mean by 'the track is generally dry underfoot' is 'the track is thick with mud that you must slog through all day long' then they're right. heh. i caught glimpses of tall rimu trees studding the forest, but not much else. lucky beach was rocky and rugged coastline i followed for a short time. the rest of the day was easy, but muddy. :o) this ... read more
stewart island
Published: February 23rd 2006Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Southland » Stewart IslandFebruary 23rd 2006
day 2: port william to christmas village hut 18km i had a nearly sleepless night last night....anticipation and mischievous visitors. a silly possum woke the entire bunk last night. it somehow made it inside the hut and was scurrying around. i was delerious with sleep, but still managed to find my walking pole as defense. heh. i can see now how ridiculous i must have looked crouched on my bunk pointing a walking pole at a clearly confuse possum. a woman more brave than me cornered and chased it out with her headlamp. this morning i woke before the sunrise to prepare for my longest day. my eyes were droopy, but the air wasn't cold so no shock climbing out of my bag. the air wasn't cold i discovered because of the thick cloud cover and ... read more
a magical place
Published: February 22nd 2006Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Southland » Stewart IslandFebruary 23rd 2006
so here goes. i've just finished 10 days on the trail in the most magical soul-full (i made that word up just now) place in the entire world. a note on pictures before i start. i busted my camera on day 3, but fortunately i had a backup disposable....that means you'll have to visit me to see the photos i took. hah. day 1: oban bay to port william hut 12km today is the beginning of my journey on the north west circuit. a 10 day tramp wrought with mud and thick bush and spectacular skies. i am brushing antarctica....or as close to it s i will ever be. i am on my own, my company the words in my head. i am ready to be this way, to mlet my mind wander and wonder as ... read more
stewart island
Published: February 12th 2006Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Southland » Stewart IslandFebruary 13th 2006
'a ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are meant for.' i've forgotten who said this....someone wise i'm sure. i'm off. see you all soon.... read more
kepler track paradise
Published: February 11th 2006Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Fiordland National Park » Te AnauFebruary 6th 2006
i've just finished my first multi-day solo tramp in new zealand!! the kepler track is a new zealand great walk (which basically means they take really good care of the track because lots of people walk it) that starts and ends in te anu. i decided the easiest way to do this is to write my daily journal entries from while i was out....here goes. day 1: te anu control gates to luxmore hut- 13.8km this morning i woke early to birdsong outside my tent, crisp cold still air and a grey high ceiling of cloud. i made final preparations for my first tramp: checking and double checking stove, matches, tent, longies....the stuff you do. the air was so cold my fingers and toes felt like they might never warm up. i drank my coffee alone ... read more
Tot: 0.085s; Tpl: 0.002s; cc: 14; qc: 88; dbt: 0.0616s; 1; s:notus w:www (50.28.60.10); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.7mb
