I arrived in Brisbane on the 18th June, on a cold overcast day not what I expected for Oz. I was hoping to have a bed at a couch surfing friend but unfortunately that fell through so decided and the spur of the moment to do a domestic flight to Cairns. So I had pretty much spent a day and a half in an airport or on a plane. I was suffering major jet lag but looking forward to Oz too much to care. The airport runs a shuttle bus into town if you are in a group use a taxi [View Full Entry]

---

---

liebe freunde! dr. bergmann wird, wenn kein wunder geschieht, bald meiner vergangenheit angehoeren. daher habe ich beschlossen, euch eine kleine auswahl von bildern zur verfuegung stellen. so kriegt ihr hoffentlich einen kleinen eindruck von meinem leben in meinem van! habe damit die suedinsel bereist und wohl die meisten naechte darin verbracht! euer hannes [View Full Entry]

---

---

The snow gods have arrived and Queenstown is covered in snow. Down came the blizzards, mountains closed, cars gone off the roads and huge gail force winds. Perfect opportunity to make snowmen and have multiple snowball fights. Never have the neigbours come together before, and all in the pretence of friendly banter, right up until a snowballs start pelting away. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...... [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hallihallo! So, melden uns life und ausgeschlafen aus drw! a propos schlaf. nun ja, das ist so eine sache. jetlag maessig gehts uns nach wie vor gut, aber es ist jetzt 5 uhr 21 morgens hier und unsre muedigkeit haelt sich in grenzen... um 7h gehts auf zur 4 tagestour in den kakadu national park. start ist gleich eine crocodile spotting cruise - haltet uns die daumen, dass wir nicht gefressen werden! :-) haben uns uebringens fuer ein kleines nickerchen entschieden heute morgen, und aus dem wurde dann eine reisenmuetze voll schlaf, war also nix mit unserem guten vorsatz, uns gleich [View Full Entry]

---

---

So, I’ve been in New Zealand for a little more than a week, but it definitely feels like longer because orientation was one tourist spot after another. Arrived in Auckland very early, about 6 am, and spent the day in and around the city. Jane and Kate, the two ladies who run the Arcadia New Zealand Program, met us at the airport. They turned out to be quite wacky and entertaining. We walked around the city, ate lunch by the harbor, and saw some other spots around the bay. In the afternoon, we went to this Sea World type place where [View Full Entry]

---

---

Well... we flew into Sydney yesterday afternoon. Six plane rides down... I don't know how many to go! It's second nature now either way! I'm losing track of what all I've let you guys in on and what I haven't... looks like I just updated you guys on Kakadu National Park. So since then... we've had a free day, went to see Lucky Miles (a stupid movie) at a Deckchair Cinema (just what it says it is...) where their possums (no 'o') were walking around, which was probably the best part of the movie, and then got up at 4:00 in [View Full Entry]

---

---

We arrived at Airlie beach on (another) beautifully sunny day and literally gasped at our first view of the turquoise water and the green islands studded around the bay and out to the horizon. This was to be one of the highlights of our trip to Australia and the reality more than lived up to the expectation. We had chosen a two day one night sailing trip around the Whitsunday islands (named by the famous Captain Cook on that day in the year 1770) and our chosen vessel was called "Siska" a 26 metre long Maxi yacht built for racing in [View Full Entry]

---

---

I visited the Blue Mountains world heritage area in Katoomba on Saturday, July 5th. Having been told previously that Australia doesn't really have mountains, at least by Canadian standards, and that I wouldn't be much impressed with the area, they had been quite downplayed and I wasn't expecting much in terms of views. I think you get spoiled living in Vancouver, with the mountain views and proximity to ranges! So I thought it was going to be a fun hiking day, some cool shots, but nothing really spectacular. I was pleasantly wrong... Driving up to the area, there are no jutting [View Full Entry]

---

---

So this week has been a difficult one for me. The job search has been less than promising. I went for an interview for a position I really wanted and have not heard back from them yet...I am feeling pretty down. Each time I make a big life change I always hope that things will fall effortlessly into place so that I will have some sort of sign that I made the right decision...unfortunatly this is never the case and I generally struggle before comfort sets in. Rationally I know things will work out and that I will learn from this [View Full Entry]

---

---

Wow, am I ever pooped! Since it's the middle of winter in Sydney and 25 C is quite comfortable for us Canadians to strip down, we decided to go surfing. When we went to go and rent the boards, the guy was too stubborn to let us go without wetsuits, so we donned our protective neoprene and hit the surf. Now as beginners, you only get these massive, foam, banana boards. Inititally, I was a little embarassed hauling this monstrosity to the beach, but once out there on the swells, it all made sense. We attemped to ride for about 2 [View Full Entry]

---

---