Blogs from Oceania - page 7428

meesh and i recently took three days in the woods....away from civilization. we needed it. we hiked part way up the copland valley which is surrounded by the huge mountain ranges on either side. the 'welcome flat hut' near where we camped is known for its thermal pools....we thought a good place to go and relax for a couple days. we packed our bags and tramped for 17km's up the valley. the trail was rocky and slippery in parts, but followed a wild foggy blue river for most of the way with views of snow capped and craggy mountains. when meesh and i walk we don't talk much....it's sort of a silent amble along hesitating at most of the beautiful things we see. it's really nice. we arrived at the end of our tramp early and ... read more

I decide to walk to the beach somewhere south of Bronte. This took me through Centennial Park, a very large expanse of green. On the other side I got lost in suburban streets. A woman stopped and asked for a sticker. A guy I asked for directions gave me a ride through Randwick and left me with a distant view of the ocean. This was pleasant downhill and led me to Coogee Beach. Spruiking was desultory. Then a guy has his Sunday newspaper opened and I see an article with two obviously new flag designs!!! I noted the page to check it later. I'm shuffling around and discover that today is the Iron man and woman grand final, right here. I thought of ambush marketing and made a valiant effort but know in my heart it ... read more

Despite all the advice that i was given to avoid Canberra like the plague, I'd decided that Oz's Capital city deserved at least a look in for a day - boy, was a day enough!!! I hate to admit it, but most people were right about city - there really isn't a lot to see or do here. Unlike Adelaide, which is a large city with a small country town feel, Canberra is just plain small!!! I got into the city in the early hours of the morning, had a few problems checking into my Hostel, which is becoming a regular thing as i arrive before most people have had a chance to check out, so started the day a little later than i had planned. In spite of this, i still had enough time to ... read more

A quiet week of not doing very much as usual, but this weekend shoudl be a good one not only is it due to be my last shift at La Cita we are also off to see the 'Magic Numbers' tonight which we have had booked now for a while now. Colin and myself went down to the lovely Gordan's Bay today prior to drink preperation for the gig. We have been wanting to go snorkiling there for a while as we had heard it was pretty good. We went down there with the glorious sunshine illuminating the stunning blue cove. We hopped into the sea setting up a little base camp of towels and bags on the rocks to the right of the bay picture and proceeded to make our way into the sea.... Now ... read more

We hit the westcoast next and headed north to some of the South Island's main tourist attractions, the Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers. Both were stunning and induced lots of talk using words not heard (and never expected to be heard) since GCSE Geography such as "terminal and lateral morraine"!! We were able to get up close and personal to the glacier faces and watch enormous chunks of ice fall into the rivers below which landed with a big echoing boom! After the glaciers, and plenty more geography talk, we continued our drive further up the westcoast. The drive was beautiful and again we found ourselves stopping to take photos far too ofter. We stayed overnight at a couple of campsites next to inland lakes and visited the stunning Hokitika Gorge. Every morning we had to ... read more