(Click on photos to enlarge)
9/16/2001
Anxious waiting
Amidst the Trade Center Attacks, it will be interesting how Chantelle and I will be perceived in foreign lands. At least I am a Canadian, everyone loves Canadians... Still waiting for my Australian Visa to go through, and with all the mail slowdowns after the Terrorist attacks, still don't have my ticket yet.
Lots of things left to be done, there is a lot of planning that goes into these trips. Malaria Pills, Visa's, Youth Hostel Cards, etc...
Two more weeks and I'll be on my way!
posted by Mark Kadlec
9/26/2001
Change of plans
The second leg of my journey was supposed to be Indonesia, well, who would have thought a civil war would break out there? I just watched the news and it looks as if the Muslims are rioting there in protest to the USA attacks on Afghanistan. I saw them burning an effigy that looked a little too much like me, so I have extended my stay in Thailand and spend only 3 days in Bali. At least it will give me a chance to see Malaysia and Singapore.
I am flying for two straight days, Salt Lake City to LA to Seoul to Bankok, its insane. I am planning to stay in Bankok for a couple of days, and then venture south towards the islands of Koh Sumai, Koh Pha Ngan, and Koh Toa.
I have a fake wallet ready, I even went so far as to put fake money in the wallet, just in case the famous Bankok pickpockets are feeling saucy.
Can't wait to eat the Thai food, next time I write I will be in the heart of Thailand!
10/2/2001
Bankok, Thailand
I've finally arrived in Bankok after nearly 24 hours in the air. When we got through customs, a little man started pestering us to check out all the hotel deals, we finally blew him off after 1/2 hour of him following us around the terminal.
We got downtown by 1am last night and found a hotel (dive) for $10/night, our budget will be small in this country! We plan to check out some temples today and stay a couple of days before heading south to the Thai islands.
Bankok is very hot and muggy, and has some customs I need to get used to. I cannot cross my ankles or cross my legs when sitting, it will take a while to get used to this.
Off to visit the temples!
posted by Mark Kadlec 4:32 PM
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Chantelle in a Tuk-Tuk.
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10/4/2001
Ayuthaya, Thailand
What an experience Thailand has been so far! Yesterday was spent checking out the "wats", or temples around the city of Bankok, they were pretty spectacular.
Bankok is the filthiest, most polluted city I have ever been in. You can barely breath downtown because of the pollution, half the people wear cloths over their mouths. The driving is also ridiculous. Chantelle and I used the "Tuk-tuks" to get around town. A tuk-tuk is a bonafide motorcycle with 3 wheels - our drivers were insane. After a ride in opposite traffic, sidewalks and back alleys, they rarely dropped us off at the right destination, it was usually a jewelry shop where pushy salespeople tried to sell us 2 carat diamonds for $10USD.
The open air markets are a great experience. Everywhere you walk there is delicious fruits and Dim Sum being sold. Even the 7-11s sell Dim Sum!
We ate a wicked Thai dinner last night, and this morning boarded a train to Ayuthaya, the former capitol of Thailand, home of many spectacular ruins. The train ride was a eye opening experience, I saw people living in home made shacks, no toilets, sleeping in their own waste. This was mixed with rice fields and thick jungles. Today I will rent a bike and tour the ruins, and tonight plan to eat on a floating restaurant, a boat floating around the city.
Tomorrow we take a train back to Bankok, then a night bus to the Island of Koh Tao.
Sawat Dii!
posted by Mark Kadlec 12:33 AM
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Chantelle in front of a temple ruin.
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Biking around Ayuthaya.
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10/8/2001
Koh Tao, Thailand
Whew, I have been on the island of Koh Tao for a couple of days now and so much has happened!
Chantelle and I took a night bus from Bankok to Chumpong a couple of days ago, it was interesting. We booked the "VIP" bus, it didn't have a toilet, and the leg room was non-existent. We took a high speed boat to get to Koh Tao, and got into the island in the morning. This is a paradise, I can't begin to describe it. Chantelle and I have a hut right on the water, and began snorkelling to an island called "Shark Island". Well, we ran into a Black tipped shark, a good one measuring 6 feet, and quite large. He wasn't afraid of me, I slowly turned, stuck my fins in front of him, and he turned and I swam away. Whew!
The next day Chantelle and I decided to get our Advanced Open Water diving certification, since we want to dive a deeper wreck in Australia, and they require advanced certification. In the Advanced course, we get to do a night dive (tonight), a deep dive, and some specialty dives in some cool locations. Today on one of our dives, I swam into a school of Barracuda, it was freaky since there were about 20 of them measuring 4 feet each, I got away quickly! Tonight's night dive apparently has a lot of sharks, Sting Rays, and Porcupine fish, it should be amazing!
I can't believe how cheap everything is, the Thai food averages about $5/meal, our only real expense is the Scuba Diving which is fairly cheap here as well.
None of the locals speak English, and all the tourist here are from France, Germany, or England. The island has no flush toilets, no power except from 18:00-22:00 (its mainly on to fill the dive tanks!), and is not touristy. The main drink on the island is a sliced coconut that you drink with a straw ($0.50).
Tomorrow, Chantelle and I want to do a couple of fun dives since we will be complete with our certification, then we want to go to Koh Samui, a larger more touristy island. After that, we will go to Koh Pi Pi, the island from the movie "The Beach", although I hear that Leonardo DiCaprio and his movie friends trashed the place when they filmed the movie.
I want to spend a couple more days here in this paradise, but Chantelle wants to leave after tomorrow since she wants to see more of Malaysia. We'll see who wins out... :)
Sawat Dii!
posted by Mark Kadlec 1:37 AM
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On the Dive boat in Koh Tao.
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View from our Koh Tao hut.
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Me in front our hut.
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Off to dive in Koh Tao.
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10/10/2001
Ko Phang Nang, Thailand
Back on Koh Tao, Chantelle and I decided to hire a couple of locals to take us to do a couple of cool dives. They first took us out to sea near an underwater Pinnacle, apparently their were some underwater caverns. It was the coolest dive of my life, you are swimming through underwater tunnels no larger than 2X2 feet! My tank actually got stuck a couple of times, it was incredible. We talked to some cool Aussies on our boat about Koh Samui, the island we were going to next. They told us that it was very touristy, that we were better off going to the island of Ko Phang Nang, a smaller less touristy island - so we altered our plans. Back on shore I decided to mail some postcards, and went to the post office to get some stamps. I started licking the stamps and the workers were staring at me in horror! I couldn't figure out why, and then they pushed a wet sponge to me and insisted I use it. I later found out that the stamps had a picture of the President of Thailand on them, and licking his picture was a huge insult to the Thai people - I seem to be making friends everywhere I go.
That night, we stayed in a little hut right on the ocean, all by ourselves for 400 baht ($10USD). Someday this will be very touristy, but for now, I am going to enjoy it!
The next morning, we were scheduled to take a high speed powerboat over to Ko Phang Nang. My first question was: How many backpackpackers can you fit on a 25 ft speedboat? Ans: About 20 more than you thought possible. It was ridiculous - there were people hanging off the side, on the roof, even sitting right in front of the driver! The window of the craft had a huge bullet hole - no doubt a result of the midnight opium runs. Chantelle and I got lucky to have seats, but the girl next to me had to stand and a British guy's stinky feet were right in her face. To make matters worse for her, he was drunk and kept spilling his water on her, she was about to throw up any minute.
We made it to the Ko Pang Nang dock, where Chantelle were literally assaulted by a flood of people wanting us to stay at their huts. I guess it is off season? We found a place (right on the beach again), and decided to rent a motor scooter and check out a waterfall located in the jungle.
We started out okay, but soon the road became very steep and treacherous. We were "off roading" on the edge of cliffs on a dirt road in the middle of a pure jungle - I was pretty nervous. We finally found the waterfalls, it was a dissappointment, they were just small rapids. The rapids formed deep pools in the rock though, and we both jumped in and it was quite refreshing in the 35 celsius heat. On the way back, we crashed the bike going down a hill - Chantelle got some good scrapes and the bike is pretty banged up. We made it back to civilization in one piece though.
We ate a delicious Thai meal on the way back, I must mention the strange meal customs here. First, sometimes the person owning the restaurant will sit down with you to take your order. After you order, they will first prepare your drinks from scratch (squeeze fresh lemons, oranges, papayas, etc..) and bring them out one at a time. They will then set out to prepare one of your meals, bring it out to the table, then go back and start to cook the next meal. They look at you funny if you begin eating before the second meal comes out....wierd. The food is some of the best I have ever tasted though, you must try the Pad Thai when you are here!
Tomorrow, off to Krabi!
posted by Mark Kadlec 1:33 AM
10/11/2001
Krabi, Thailand
Chantelle and I left for Krabi this morning, the ferry to the mainland was quite nice, but then the bus adventures began. We got on a bus to Surat Thani, and a German backpacker got thrown off the bus for arguing about having to stand. A Greek guy argued the whole way, but Karma has a way with catching up with people. We transferred to a truck that would take us to the pier, and the Greek guy had to ride the back bumper, while his friend ended up on the roof!
The bus from Surat Thani to Krabi was nice, and we had a dugout canoe take us to our beach on Railai, home to some of the best limestone rock climbing in the world. The cliffs jut out right off the beach! We met a cool girl from the Netherlands, we are all going out tonight, the beach scene is pretty wild.
I signed up for a bouldering competition tomorrow, we'll see if I can still climb. The holds seem very close, the Thai climbers average 5' tall, but they are a very friendly bunch. The competition is being held right on the beach, after the comp you can just jump in the ocean.
Krabi is also famous for being the film location for the Bond movie "The man with the Golden Gun". The island where the final scene is shot is right around the corner. Phi Phi island is also around Krabi, that is where they filmed the movie "The Beach".
posted by Mark Kadlec 4:12 AM
10/13/2001
Penang, Malaysia
I've experienced a lot since Krabi, we crossed into Malaysia last night. Back in Krabi, we booked a "hut" on the beach, what a nightmare! The place had bed bugs, was the worst place we ever stayed in (worse than the Latin quarter in Paris), and was right next to a nightclub that was playing music till 3am, this was the worst $5 we ever spent. The next day, we booked in a nicer hut, it was $10/night, but worth every penny. Unfortunately, I was so tired, I fell asleep and missed my bouldering competition. That night we went to one nightclub and it was built right next to a dump. All you could smell was urine, excriment, and vomit, it was disgusting. We left and went to the nightclub that kept us up all night the previous day, this time we had more fun since we were drinking and not trying to sleep. The bartender was hilarious, if you ordered a Mai-Tai for example, he would go drain some fresh coconut juice, squeeze some fresh oranges, and chop some pinapple. 20 minutes later you would get your delicious drink. It was a good night until I came down with Tai fever, I couldn't sleep, had hot flashes, and was very weak for yesterday's 8 hour bus ride to Penang.
We travelled to Malaysia yesterday, what a trip. When you cross the border, you are alarmed at the security, "Death to anyone distributing drugs" was a common sign. Our driver was chatting on a cell phone the whole trip and stopped to pick up a shipment of "rice" on the way, I can only imaging what he was smuggling in.
Malaysia is so different from Thailand. As soon as you cross the border, you feel like you have entered an industrial country from a Third world country. The religion is predominently Musslim, so Chantelle and I are dressing different to cover our shoulders and knees - difficult when the temperatures are nearly 35C!
I really like Penang, it has 2 main foods - excellent Chinese and excellent Indian, you can't go wrong. We stayed in China town last night, and were awoken at 6am by blaring Musslim prayers from the Mosque next door, this is a strange place. This morning we decided to submit our laundry down the road, and as I was crossing the road, a motorbike crashed into me. I was all right, but the driver, a 50 year old Indian, was pretty shaken up. The wierd part was, the reason I wasn't looking was because he hit me driving on the wrong side of the road!
Today I am almost over my Thai fever, I think we will relax and try to go to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow to catch a flight to Bali (we don't want to go all the way back to Bankok).
posted by Mark Kadlec 7:44 PM
10/16/2001
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Before leaving Penang, Chantelle and I ate at a great Indian restaurant and there was a sign on the wall saying "No spitting food" and a picture of a guy puking. I tried to get a picture but Chantelle thought the proprieters would get offended and pulled me out before I took the picture. You'll have to take my word for it.
I had a fun time in Penang, but wanted to catch a Super VIP bus to see Kuala Lumpur. There are three classes of buses in Malaysia, Normal (Sauna Death trap with no leg room - chance you may be riding on the roof), VIP (Sub zero temperature, no leg room, and no toilet), and Super VIP (Meat Locker, leg room, and washroom). The 3 hour journey took 7 hours since the bus driver kept stopping everywhere to drop people off in the middle of the highway, food stands, friends houses, etc...
We finally got to KL yesterday evening, this is by far my favourite city so far. On a scale, Bankok being 0 and Paris a 10, this would rank a solid 8. Chantelle and I settled into the Backpacker Inn in the heart of China Town, reasonable rates and the food is outstanding. Last night we checked out the Central Market, one of the largest outdoor markets I have ever seen. If you make eye contact with anyone, they will immediatly rush over and try to sell you their junk. I got grabbed twice, the second time nearly in a headlock as I tried to walk away from a salesman.
This morning Chantelle and I booked flights to Bali - we did not want to bus to Bankok to catch our original flight. We gave ourselves a couple of days here in KL though - we both want to explore a little more. Today we rode the state-of-the-art subway system to the Petrolla Towers, the tallest buildings in the world. They are connected by a massive walkway, the same walkway Sean Connery slid down in the movie "Entrapment". (The movie is worth seeing just for Catherine Zeta Jones alone).
We also rode up the Kuala Lumpur Tower, the fourth largest tower in the world. Toronto's CN Tower is still #1! Tonight I hope to check out the burgeoning KL nightlife, then off to Bali...
posted by Mark Kadlec 3:32 AM
10/18/2001
Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia
Kuala Lumpur was a really great city, I would consider coming back in the future. I saw my first Bin Laden T-shirt, kind of wierd to see him hailed as a hero. I took a stroll to get some Indian Roti (delicious flat bread), and saw two jewelry stores, usually not worth mentioning. Worth mentioning was the fact that one of the stores had a guy lazily stretched out in a chair with an assault rifle across his legs, the other store (obviously not paying as much for security), had a similar bloke with only a normal rifle. Crime doesn't pay in Kuala Lumpur.
Chantelle got food poisoning, it was inevitable that one of us would get "Bali Belly" in SE Asia, I'm just surprised it took this long.
I booked a flight to Bali, and arrived here a couple of days ago. We decided to stay at the famous surf spot Kuta Beach, it is very touristy, but the beach is incredible. Their are not many families here, just a bunch of wild young Aussies and Brits. Oh yeah, did I mention the beaches were topless?
Stuff is very cheap here, you could easily get by on $5 - $10/day. The vendors or "hackers" as they are called here, are ridiculous. I was sitting in a quiet, dimly lit restaurant eating dinner, and was approached by hackers selling newspapers no less than 5 times. When I walk down the street I am constantly whistled at, and everyone greets me with smiles, now I know what Elle MacPherson feels like.
We booked a Scuba Diving trip which I went on this morning, Chantelle and I chartered a boat to a nearby island. This was an adventure! In order to save some cash, Chantelle and I went with a local operation, the brother of a travel agent near our losman (cheap hotel). I knew we should have payed the extra money when we arrived at the pier. Our motley crew consisted of Chantelle, me, our Indonesian captain (who did not speak english), a 16 year old Indonesian helper (who did not speak english), and our chain-smoking guide (who spoke very little english). When I asked about his diving experience, he coolly told me that he likes to spear fish for his dinner.
We started out to sea in our 20 foot boat, and soon a storm came in and brought 10 foot waves with it. I felt like I was in the movie "The Perfect Storm", and Chantelle and I seriously discussed putting on our BCDs (Buoyancy Control Devices). The 16 year old boy had to lie on the front of the boat to navigate the captain through the big waves. After an hour, the storm finally diminished and the captain cut the motor. I asked what was going on, and our guide said the crew was going to pray! They floated out some insence, mumbled some prayers, and we were off again. Once again I wished I had paid the extra couple of bucks for a real outfit.
We got to the dive site and had an incredible dive in gorgeous coral, at one point I lost track of depth and found I was 35 meters under. I also saw my first aggressive moray eel, he didn't like me getting too close and started chomping a warning. Between dives our guide mentioned one of his clients was killed diving with him last year. Apparently they were smoking pot and his client panicked and quickly surfaced from 20 meters rupturing his lungs. Why he told us this I will never know. I asked if he died in the area we were about to dive in and he said "he died in the hospital". Indonesian humour?
Our second dive was a really cool drift dive along the coral, I barely kicked a fin in 45 minutes, saw a 10 foot sting ray, truly outstanding diving! Overall, the Bali diving experience was worth every penny.
Tomorrow I am going to go surfing on the great surf here at Kuta beach. The fact that Aussies come here to surf is a testiment to the quality.
Unfortunately, I have to leave here for Australia tomorrow, I will really miss SE Asia, I wish I had more time...
posted by Mark Kadlec 4:53 AM
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Typical shower in Bali.
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10/21/2001
Kuta Beach - Part II
Last night Chantelle and I checked out the Bali nightlife. We had some Arak, a liquor made in Indonesia from steam from coconut juice, but it tasted like rubbing alcohol. Two drinks however, and we were dancing to Britney Spears. N*Sync came on and 2 Arak drinks were not enough, so we left for The Sari Club, a happening joint in the heart of the Bali Strip. We danced till the wee hours and had a great time.
This afternoon I decided to try my hand at surfing the great Bali waves. I spent 3 hours flopping around, but in the end the tide went out and I retired having gotten up only a handful of times. The surfing was great fun though, I hope to do more in Australia.
Tonight I depart for Australia and say goodbye to SE Asia. I will miss the fresh fruits and juices, the dirt cheap prices, and the delicious food. I will not miss being harrassed by the hackers, squat toilets, lack of garbages, lack of napkins, and insane driving.
Off to Aussieland!
posted by Mark Kadlec 2:12 AM
10/25/2001
Cairns, Australia
I am finally in Aussieland! The journey from Bali was pretty uneventful, I found it interesting that they now charge you a $10 USD service fee for leaving Indonesia, and they only accept cash.
I checked into the local Backpacker here, (hostels in Australia are called 'Backpackers'), and arranged for some Scuba on the Great Barrier Reef.
Cairns is a small town on the coast of NorthEast Australia, and is the last hub for backpackers throughout Australia. As you can guess, it is teeming with Backpackers. Free with my hostel, is a coupon for free grub at a local pub. I went to check it out, only to find all the backpackers drinking. They like to party in Oz and I can't blame them, their beer is quite good.
The next day I boarded a boat and took a 3 day diving trip to the Great Barrier Reef. It was amazing, I saw many Sharks, Stingrays, Moray Eels, Barracuda, and Sea Turtles. The boat was really fun too, I met a lot of divers from around the world, and had a great time. The Divemasters on board were Kiwis, and convinced us to dive a wreck in Northern New Zealand, I will be broke by the end of this trip.
Tonight, Chantelle and I are going to party at a local hotspot with some of our new dive buddies. Tomorrow hope to hike some of the rainforest before grabbing a bus to Townsville. We are going to dive the Yongala, supposedly the greatest wreck dive in the world. Should be awesome!
posted by Mark Kadlec 1:23 AM
10/27/2001
Townsville, Australia
I arrived in Townsville this afternoon, ready to dive the famous Yongala wreck tomorrow. Townsville is a fine little town, much more authentically "Aussie" than tourist ridden Cairns. I've bought a bottle of Vegemite today, really fine stuff, I wish they had some in North America. Fish and Chips is very popular here, and the Aussies like to put egg on everything. They have excellent beer - all of which is called Bitter, but it is not bitter - very pecular.
Australia is incredibly spacious, the streets are bare - it feels like you've stepped back into the 50's. Everyone greets you with a smile, and the favourite saying here is "No worries mate!". I've started saying it too, getting very laid back, just like everyone else.
Chantelle and I got some pictures developed, if you would like to see them, check out our site at http://geocities.datacellar.net/MarkChantelle
Next stop will be Airlie Beach, port to the WhitSundays.
Gday!
posted by Mark Kadlec 3:57 AM
10/28/2001
Townsville - Part II
I dove the S.S. Yongala wreck yesterday, it was amazing. This 100m long cruise liner sank in 30m of water in 1911, killing all 120 passengers. It was discovered in 1953 by a survey team, and is now regarded as the best wreck dive in the world. Since it is on a sandy bottom, and is the only source of coral around, it is teeming with marine life.
I did two dives, and as I swam along side of it, I saw the biggest Moray Eel I have ever seen, it's jaws were 6 inches across! I also saw 2 Sea Snakes, a giant Turtle, 3 huge Barracuda, and an 8 foot long Grouper. I could touch the Grouper, it was much bigger than I was, and had large teeth - luckily he wasn't feeling aggressive. You could even see bones inside the wreck from the passengers killed.
On the ascent, Chantelle and I had to do a decompression stop - and I proposed to her. I had it planned out, I brought a writing slate down with me and wrote my proposal, kind of catching her by surprise. BTW, she said yes.
Today we are off to Airlie Beach and hope to stay at least one night on one of the WhitSunday Islands.
posted by Mark Kadlec 3:12 PM
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Taken right after the proposal.
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10/29/2001
Airley Beach, Australia
I am in Airley Beach (pronounced Ar-lee) now, a very picturesque place. It looks like a place I could retire to, but when I walk along the main strip, it is all 20-30 year old Backpackers!
Chantelle and I booked a 2 night, 3 day sail around the WhitSunday islands, 30 backpackpackers diving, snorkelling, and partying on the boat for 3 days - should be a blast. Apparently, you can sleep right on the deck - the WhitSundays have 320 sunny days a year! The weather here is quite hot right now, the low at night only dips down to 22C.
Last night I stayed at an animal sanctuary, they take care of baby Koalas and Wallabies there. Our host Greg is a 6'6", 280 lb former Aussie rules football player with 10 teeth left. Quite a character - one of the nicest guys I've met.
My boat boards in a couple of hours so I've got to get ready. Bon Voyage!
posted by Mark Kadlec 5:40 PM
Hervey Bay, Australia
I just arrived here in Hervey Bay (Pronounced HAR-vey), from the killer night bus. Chantelle and I were so tired from our 3 day sailing trip, we couldn't wait to get on the bus last night for our 13 hour trip here.
When we arrived at the bus terminal, we waited for the bus and it wasn't showing up. After being and hour and a half late, the bus pulls up steaming and leaking fluid. The whole front end of this new bus was bashed in and blood stained the entire front end, there was even pieces of flesh hanging from the grill. The driver nonchalantly jumped out and said, "Sorry we're a bit late - had an accidental run in with a Kangaroo. Don't know if you want to get on because frankly I don't think we'll make it.". He also had two dogs that hopped out and started eating the raw flesh, since I had just finished eating a kabob I started feeling a little queazy. With no other options, I boarded anyways, only to find the interior comparable to a meat locker. Once on board, the driver got on the microphone announcing that with the accident, the air conditioning was permanently on for the duration of our journey. I also had a stiff and painful neck due to a miscalculated dive off of the top of the boat the day earlier, so needless to say the 13 hour journey was unpleasant. To make matters worse, I think the driver was trying to make up time and was driving like a maniac.
We just had our briefing, tomorrow 8 of us are driving a 4X4 onto Frasier island and it should be a blast. Because of Dingo problems, our host recommended we go to the bathroom with a buddy and our backs together. Should be interesting.
posted by Mark Kadlec 11:53 PM
11/1/2001
Whitsunday Islands, Australia
I am back from my sail around the Whitsunday islands, what an adventure!
28 other young party-seekers boarded the sailboat "Tamarook" for a 3 day trip of sailing, diving, snorkelling, and partying. The first night was a nightmare, the sleeping quarters had no ventilation, and it was at least 40C and humid in the lower deck. I grabbed my sleepsheet and tried to sleep on the fiberglass roof of the Captains Cabin, and the cold winds made for a sleepless night. The second day we went Scuba diving and the visibility was horrible, I could only see about 3m. I did find a cool underwater cave though. That night everyone thought of partying through the night to avoid the killer sleep cabin. Everyone started drinking and one of the Dutch girls took her top off (and later reportedly took her bottom off - I missed that moment). My friend Nigel slept on the dinner table, while another buddy Mike slept under the dinner table, and I braved the sauna/sleeping bunk. It was pretty classic. The next day we were dropped off on a 5*20m sand island in the middle of the ocean, it was really wild. I got about 5 hours of sleep in the two nights, but it was definitely an experience. I am completely tired and now I am getting on a 13 hour nightbus to Hervey Bay - punishment for the wicked. Before we get on the bus I am going to enjoy the full moon party at Airley Beach, the streets are closed, its already starting so I better go.
Tomorrow 8 of us are renting a 4X4 land rover and cruising Frasier Island for 3 days, the largest sand island in the world.
posted by Mark Kadlec 1:02 AM
11/5/2001
Frasier Island, Australia
I am back and alive from the 3 day trip to Frasier. Our group consisted of a British couple, an Irishman, and 3 American college guys studying a semester in Sydney. On our first day, we got our 4X4 stuck twice, but somehow managed to get it out of the quicksand type dunes. After setting up camp, one of the college guys, Mike, and I decided to climb one of the huge dunes and slide down. On the way, Mike almost stepped on a big brown snake which was later identified as a Taipan, the worlds most deadliest snake. After 20 minutes we finally managed to reach the peak of the grand sand monolith. With a loud scream I barrelled towards the edge and just ran/rolled/bounced the 100m to the bottom. What a rush!
The next day we ended up camping right on the beach which was wild. The Irish guy, Ross, got up in the middle of the night to go relieve himself and was face to face with a dingo. I think he relieved himself a little early - too bad I slept through that sight.
The last day was interesting, we hit the largest freshwater lake on the island, Lake Mackenzie. When you are in the water it really looks like you are in a swimming pool, the water is so clean and pure it is safe to drink. While Chantelle and I were lying on the beach, a photographer approached us and asked if we would like to pose for a calendar. Thinking this would take 5 minutes we agreed, but instead the shoot lasted almost an hour. We will be in the 2003 Hervey Bay calendar - should be hilarious, the poses were completely cheesy.
Today Chantelle and I are going to split up and meet in Sydney, I hope to spend more time in Brisbane and Byron Bay, she will do more of Noosa and Surfer's Paradise.
posted by Mark Kadlec 3:42 PM
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On top of one of the Frasier Dunes.
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Our group in the Champagne Pools.
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Freshwater Lake Macenzie on Frasier island.
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11/6/2001
Brisbane, Australia
Chantelle and I split up in Hervey Bay, I went to Noosa, a popular backpacker destination. Noosa is part "rich" beach resort with Polo and Eagle Outfitter stores, and part backpacker/hiker heaven. The beaches are nice and the most visited park in all of Australia is there. I didn't get a chance to see any Koala's in the wild and the surf was down, so I headed back to my hostel. By sheer coincidence, I ran into Chantelle at my hostel, the Koala. We ended up going out to the Koala's Pub that night, they were having a male genitalia/sex trivia contest - it was pretty wierd. The next morning, I ran into some other backpackpackers and we headed off to Brisbane. So far there is an English couple, two girls from Scotland, a Japanese guy who barely speaks English, and myself, the North American representative. They are a cool group, we decided to stay at the Backpacker's City Hostel, a very nice place. Tomorrow they are off to the Koala sanctuary, a place where you can hug the Koalas and watch Kangaroos. I opted for skydiving, I've always wanted to try it, and there is a skydive outfitter nearby. I hope the weather cooperates.
Tonight our hostel is having a Karioke BBQ, the Japanese guy in our group has been excited all day. It will take a lot of beer to get me in front of the microphone though.
posted by Mark Kadlec 11:04 PM
11/8/2001
Brisbane - Part II
Last night we piled into the Fiddler's Elbow, the pub that is part of our hostel. It was a Karioke barby and the beer was flowing real good. Before I knew it I was singing Karioke to "Staying Alive" and "New York, New York" - I only partly remember it but my bunkmates have been reminding me all day. The clincher was when Ken, our Japanese friend who barely speaks English, grabbed the microphone and Kariokied to "Obla Di Obla Da". The crowd rushed the floor and debauchery and mayhem insued.
The next day, after the clouds cleared, I did the best thing to cure my hangover, went skydiving. I got into a little Cessna plane (it was just me, my dive instructor, and the pilot cramped into this thing) and we started climbing to 12000 feet. I was pretty excited as we ascended, it was a pretty smooth ride...until they opened the door. Then I got nervous, I was actually going to jump out of the plane! I had to swallow hard before gathering the courage to actually jump out, and then, for the first 3 seconds I was spinning and somersaulting (I always assumed you would fall gracefully). After stabilizing, it was a scary 25 second freefall before the chute was pulled. The first thing you notice is how quiet everything is - it is extremely loud when you are freefalling. As I was slowly falling I was a little scared because you are really high, but at the same time it was the best view of the world I have ever seen. For about 5 minutes I could see miles in every direction. The landing is completely soft, we landed in a field of cows, it was cool to see them run away from us. This was the best money ($110US) I have ever spent.
Today I also took a walk around Brissy (Aussie for Brisbane), and got a good feel for the city. I am amazed at the amount of transportation this city provides - it was eerie. They have a brand new New York scale subway system, newly errected bus stations everywhere, and roads and highways everywhere you walk. The only thing this city is missing is people. The subways are mostly empty, buses are completely empty, and traffic non-existent. Wierd.
Due to time constraints, I have to leave Brissy tomorrow, I wish I had another day to spend here.
posted by Mark Kadlec 2:36 AM
11/9/2001
Byron Bay, Australia
Before leaving Brissy, I checked out the Queensland Police museum, it was fun (and free). At the end there is a grissly murder scene where you get to play detective and try to solve the murder. Afterwards, I boarded the bus to Surfer's Paradise.
Surfer's Paradise reminds me of Vegas with it's high rise hotels and Casinos. Along with the foul weather, Surfer's did not impress me at all. I checked into my hostel, Trekkers, and the host Neil joked "Mark, we have you booked into an all girls room", he winked and added "Also, the shower screen is missing so there will be plenty to see". I laughed and went to check out my room, but Neil wasn't joking. I double checked the shower and sure enough - the entire door was missing - just a see-through plastic sheet. Australian men must be perverts - but I love them for it. For what seemed to be a guy's dream come true, I must admit all the girls were bimbos, and I was so tired from my hectic schedule in Brissy, I checked out early while they all went out on the town.
I went to the bus station the next day and ran into my Japanese friend Ken from back in Brisbane. He told me everyone was in Byron Bay, which was exactly where I was heading. Tonight we all plan to party and watch the Australia Vs. England rugby match (I am a huge fan). Byron Bay is amazing, there are no high rise buildings (due in part to a law passed by the city), and everyone is chilled out (due in part to the large quantities of weed). I get to spend two days here before I depart for Sydney, should be good.
11/12/2001
Coff's Harbour, Australia
Byron Bay was an amazing time, the first night I checked into the Aquarius Hostel, where I met the English couple I ran into back in Brisbane. We partied in the town and I got back to my hostel later that evening and I thought there was a fireworks display in the Hostel's foyer. Upon closer investigation, it was actually the electrical line bursting into flames, and our room was out of electricity. Needless to say, the next day I changed Hostels.
That afternoon I lazed by the beach, and met my new bunkmate Henrik, a French/Canadian from Quebec. He and I went to a cool pub that night to watch a live band and it was a really fun time. It was good to talk to a Canuck and hear his views of working in Australia.
I left the next day for Coff's Harbour, some of the people I met in Byron recommended it as a quiet, picturesque place. It has lived up to billing but I had a funny adventure when I got here. I decided to stay at The Barraccuda Hostel, and when I got into the courtesy van, a guy from the US thought I was his best friend. On the way over, he told me he funded his around the world trip by dealing drugs back in the States. Back at the hostel, he said he was looking for more connections here, and he looked pretty violent. I found out he was my bunkmate, so I snuck out the back way to go to another hostel. He saw me leaving and yelled after me, but I managed to lose the guy and check into a hostel across town. Tomorrow want to check out Jetty Beach and take Surfing lessons, and visit the Coff's Harbour museum (after reading the brochure, I have a morbid interest). I wish Chantelle were here, she is my dive buddy, and there is a fairly cheap dive that has lots of Grey Nurse Sharks and Manta Rays - darn! I am looking forward to seeing her tomorrow, its been a while since we've travelled together.
11/15/2001
Sydney, Australia
On my last day in Coff's harbour, I decided to take a surfing lesson (I needed one badly). I met my instructor Chris, and he imformed me that I was his only student and it would be a private lesson, and he would hit the waves with me as well. Bonus! The surfing was really fun and it was worthwhile taking the lesson. Surprisingly, afterwards, he asked if I wanted to go cruising around town looking at the good surf spots and he gave me a tour of Coff's after a couple of beers. Another example of laid back Australians.
That night I took a killer night bus (10 hours) to Sydney, where I was meeting Chantelle that morning. It was really good to see her after our week apart. We checked into the Funkhouse Backpackers, a funky place by name, and funkier place by nature. The hostel is on top of a Burger King (called Hungry Jack's in Australia for legal reasons) in the red light district of Sydney, a place called King's Cross. A couple of girls offered me sexual favours and I was flattered, until I found out they actually wanted money! Perverts.
On our first day, Chantelle and I visited the Botanical Gardens and then went to the Sydney Opera House. The Opera house is very cool and offers you a wicked view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Afterwards, we walked down to the Sydney Aquarium and checked that out - I would highly recommend it. We saw huge sharks, sea lions, and millions of wierd fish, all in their natural habitat. Totally awesome and worth the price of admission.
After booting around town it was getting late, and I was meeting my University friend Tracy and her brother for dinner. I haven't seen her in 7 years, but she looked exactly the same as I remember, it was good to see her. She also acted the same as I remember, keeping us laughing all night. We had some memorable events that night. After the bouncer saw me swigging liquour I had brought into the pub (yes, I am a cheap ass), we decided to leave for an Irish pub down the street. As we were standing in the doorway someone stepped into the doorway of the pub and grabbed Chantelle's butt in front of everyone and then turn around and ran! Some people have wierd ways of entertaining themselves. Just after we finish laughing about the whole incident, a band member grabbed Chantelle and asked if she wanted to play tambourine for a couple of songs. I think it was Chantelle's life dream to perform in front of the crowd (not!), and as she played tambourine, one band member stripped off her jacket and proceeded to paw through her purse. It was all in good fun, I think Chantelle still has all her money and a couple of admirers from the band.
I love Sydney so far, and I still have a few days left to explore.
posted by Mark Kadlec 2:06 PM
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Chantelle with Sydney as a backdrop.
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We are at Bondi Beach!
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Shark tank at Sydney aquarium.
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We are in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
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11/19/2001
Melbourne, Australia
Back in Sydney, after our night with Tracy and her brother, I just chilled out shopping during the day. Sydney is very upscale in the downtown area, out of my budget, so I just got my sandals fixed (I am wearing these puppies out). I caught a movie with Chantelle in the evening to prepare for our trek to the Blue Mountains the next day.
The next day was gorgeous and we got up late, so we decided to hit Bondi Beach instead. Bondi Beach is THE busiest beach I have ever seen. There are a 100 surfers catching waves, 1000 sunbathers, all on a beach not much longer than a football field. It is an interesting sight, definitely something to check out when you are here. That evening we partied hard at a great packed club with three floors, and ended up sleeping the next day away. We did manage to see the originally named "Australian Museum". Save your $4, it is not really worth it, we basically saw some exhibits on human evolution, but not much about the history of Australia.
Finally, on our final day in Sydney, we took the two hour train ride to the Blue mountains. Unfortunately, it was a cold, rainy, foggy day, you couldn't see further than 20 yards. So we sat in a cafe, bought my grandmother a birthday gift and card, and boarded the train back to Sydney. Oh yeah, then I lost the gift and card. Fun day. I think I'll be able to laugh about the whole thing in 40 years. Over all, we really liked Sydney, I wish I had another week to spend there.
Last night I took the night bus to Melbourne, it wasn't too bad except for the horrible movie called 'The Kid' with Bruce Willis. Riding 12 hours straight on a bus, one doesn't need to be tortured as well. Also, it is cold here! I need to buy an extra sweater and some jeans!
Today, we need to check into a hostel and I need to get a birthday gift for my Grandmother's party tonight.
posted by Mark Kadlec 2:46 PM
11/22/2001
Melbourne - Part II
We ended up checking into "The Stork", a hotel in downtown Melbourne, in the early days it must have been used as a brothel in the early 1900s. That evening we attended my Grandmother's birthday party which was great, I saw my two aunts, uncle, my cousins, some for the first time. My aunt and uncle are really nice, they let us stay in Melbourne with them, and it is nice to get to know my cousins, Tamsen and Halley, its nice to know I have such cool relatives.
The next day my Aunt Leah and Uncle Doug decided to take all of us on a tour around Melbourne, and Doug turned out to be the perfect guide. He took us to the War Memorial, and then a stroll along the river in downtown Melbourne which is surprisingly beautiful for a big city. We went up the Rialto Tower, Hayley went with us and was excited to see all the sites (I think she also liked the fact that she was missing a day of school).
The next day we checked out the Melbourne museum and I must say this was much nice than the Australian Museum in Sydney. Definitely worth checking out. I also needed some shopping since my beach wardrobe wasn't cutting it here - it is still pretty chilly!
Today we hope to check out the old Melbourne "Gaol" (pronounced "Jail"), it held the infamous Ned Kelly and his gang. Then later hope to check out a fondu/disco in the late evening.
posted by Mark Kadlec 4:32 PM
11/25/2001
Christchurch, New Zealand
Back in Melbourne, Chantelle and I visited the old Melbourne Jail. It had the original armour Ned Kelley wore in his famous shootout with the cops and I was surprised to find out that Mick Jagger played Ned in a movie (must have been straight to video). The cells were surprisingly small, each prisoner had about a 10'X6' cell, I though my dorm room was small!
That evening Chantelle and I visited Club 383, an excellent club in the heart of Melbourne. It played Retro all night, and big surprise, they played American music all night.
In the morning, Chantelle and I walked around Fitzroy Park, you have to check out this park when you visit Melbourne. From what I understand, the English colonists were homesick for their native fauna so they shipped over various trees and plants from England. What you see now is simply amazing, Ferns, Maples, and Palm Trees all in the same park. We also strolled down Brunswick Avenue, an awesome street with a non-mainstream attitude. We even managed to find a syringe lying on the street.
We met with my Aunt and Uncle again, who took us up to St. Kilda, a very cool part of town. It is very eclectic, every shop is either a pub, cake shop, or cafe. Later that evening we had a farewell party with my family, and the next morning we left for Sydney.
In Sydney, I visited Kim and Nigel, friends of mine from my old Dallas days. They had just had their first baby and looked like they hadn't gotten very much sleep in the past week. We also got to see South Sydney which is very picturesque, and later Chantelle and I hit Circular Key. We sipped wine and beer right beside the Opera House and Harbour Bridge as the setting sun cast orange wisps overhead. Later we headed to "The Rocks", an area by the harbour where Australia was founded by the English, it still has most of its original restaurants and pubs. We ate some meat pies (I am addicted to this delicious food) and strolled the harbour by moonlight.
Today we got up and flew to Christchurch where I am now, back in Sydney the temperature was 30C, today in Christchurch it was 18C, what a change! Chantelle and I arranged to rent a Combi (Van with a bed in back), and drive around New Zealand for the next three weeks. New Zealand is a definite culture change, their accent is slightly different, and it is even less populated than Australia. There are pubs and restaurants everywhere, and the landscape is surrounded by huge beautiful snow covered mountains.
posted by Mark Kadlec 10:24 PM
11/28/2001
Queenstown, New Zealand
Chantelle and I ended up renting the combi and left Christchurch the next morning. On the way down New Zealand we saw spectacular mountain scapes, it reminded me of western Canada. Driving on the roads of New Zealand is pretty scary. First of all, everyone drives on the left side of the road, second of all, you are driving in the passenger side of the car. I keep turning on our windshield wipers when I try to turn left. With all these learning curves, it is not helping us driving on the edge of mountainous cliffs, but I think we'll manage.
That evening we arrived at Taikapo, took a breathtaking hike, and ended up spening the night. I would highly recommend renting a combi, we cooked a delicious steak dinner, and I had one of the best sleeps ever right next to gorgeous mountains. I have really fallen in love with NZ, it has awesome mountain ranges, ocean views, and almost no tourists.
The next day we were off to Mount Cook Reserve, a glacial park with New Zealand's highest mountain. It is 70% glacier throughout the year, and we decided to take a strenuous 2 hour hike to get a good look at it. The lookout was spectacular, the guide said the hike would be 1000 steps straight up, and on the way down Chantelle counted 1239 steps, so needless to say, it was a good hike. We proceeded to Queenstown where we arrived this afternoon. We plan on spending 2 1/2 days here, bungy jumping, skydiving, mountain biking, and body boarding down the canyons.
posted by Mark Kadlec 8:51 PM
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On a hike in Tekapo.
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In front of Mt. Cook.
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11/30/2001
Queenstown - Part II
This town is pure adrenaline, there are mountains everywhere and no shortage of things to do. Yesterday, Chantelle bungied the Nevis, the highest bungy in the world (153m), and said the 8 second free fall was a total rush. Basically you get in a cage and they transport you across a wire suspended between two cliffs and you stand on the ledge of a gondola, pee your pants, then jump.
I started my day with a hike up the mountain right next to Queenstown. On the way up, I psyched myself up to Paraglide down, so when I got to the top I paid my $80 and was introduced to my instructor, Shane. Paragliding is interesting, you start by running towards a 100m sheer cliff, and your instincts want you to stop but you have to keep running. About a meter from the edge the chute lifts, your feet become very light, and you soar over the cliff in one breathtaking swoop. The ride is much more comfortable than a skydive since you have kind of a port-a-seat to sit on. The controls of the chute are incredible, I particularily like the "wing-turns" where you are completely sideways, 100m in the air, and spinning around looking down. Pretty hairy stuff, but a complete rush.
Chantelle and I met at the bottom, ready for our skydive, but unfortunately it got cancelled due to cloudy weather. Chantelle felt bummed that she missed out on a good hike, so she went for a cool hike around one of the glacial lakes while I cooked up supper in our combi. After her hike, we took all our clothes off and jumped into one of the big green glacial lakes for the biggest rush of the day (the water felt colder than ice).
This morning Chantelle and I were picked up by Chris, our river surf guide, for a trip to the strongest river in New Zealand. This sport is insane, but complete fun. Basically, you put on a wetsuit, little flippers, helmet, and jump on a boogie board into the river. You then ride the rapids, waves, and swells 5km down the raging river. We loved it so much we did it twice. You pick up little tricks on the way down like barrel rolls, dives, and body surfing the static waves on the way down. I thought I was going to drown a few times, but loved every minute of it. Chantelle and I are really sore right now from all the kicking that is involved trying to stay alive in the rapids. We are supposed to go skydiving right now, but again our dive was cancelled due to inclement weather. We thought about mountain biking some of the extreme trails here, but I think we are both too tired and may have to pass.
Instead I think we will drive to Te Anau (Tee-ah-now) to do some hiking before sunset. The sunrise/sunset in New Zealand is amazing, the sun rises at 6am, and sets past 9pm giving you a long day of activities. Tomorrow we hope to sea kayak amongst some of the glacial mountains near Te Anau, then haul butt to Milford Sound.
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Chantelle bungy jumping.
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Sick angle.
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We survived the River Surfing!
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Paragliding over Queenstown.
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12/2/2001
Te Anau, New Zealand
Chantelle and I changed our plans slightly, we decided to drive all the way to Millford Sound first and catch Te Anau on the way back. The road to Millford sound is the most incredible drive I've ever done, it puts the Pacific Highway to shame. When you are not dodging the many sheep, you can see gigantic mountains on either side of you as you drive along glacial lakes with dense vegetation. They had to drill a tunnel through a huge mountain, and driving it is an experience. There are no lights, it is pretty narrow, and there is water pouring down on you for the entire time you are in the tunnel.
The next morning, we took a cruise along the Mitre Mountain fiord, emptying into the Tasman sea. We saw dolphins, penguins, seals, and the most amazing scenery ever. The area gets so much rainfall that there is 4 feet of fresh water sitting on top of the salt water! Exhausted, that night we drove back to Te Anau.
Te Anau is the "Gateway to the fiord", and has spectacular peaks. We decided to rent Sea kayaks and tour around Te Anau lake. Since the lakes were formed by Glaciers scraping around the mountains, these lakes get to be hundreds of meters deep and surrounded by sheer cliffs hundreds of meters high with waterfalls. It is humbling to kayak them. We went to a spot with a trail that took us to "Hidden Lakes", where we had lunch. There was no one on the lake, no one on the trail, and no one at Hidden Lakes. This is typical for New Zealand, sheer isolation, and I loved it.
Tomorrow we drive to Fox Glacier, Good on ya mate!
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On the way to Millford Sound.
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Chantelle in some Lupine.
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Cruising Millford Sound.
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12/5/2001
Greymouth, New Zealand
The drive to Fox Glacier was pretty scary, you weave along sheer cliffs in pouring rain, but we finally arrived in Fox in one piece. The rain was intense, so we checked in with our Glacier guide and were set to depart the next day. It rained all night, and in the morning more rain as we departed for the glacier.
Fox glacier is quite immense, it is 13km long and after hiking to the base, were instructed on the use of crampons to walk on the mass of ice. Our guide, Marius, said that he heard the forecast call for 250mm of rain that day and in his three years as a guide he had never heard of such a high rainfall. Previously, the most he ever heard of was 160mm!
By midday we were right on top of the glacier, with cold hard rain driving down on us. Marius called off our expedition, with the fear that the rivers would not allow us to get back safely. He needed backup guides to get our group out of the park in one piece, Chantelle and I were soaked. Chantelle got a couple of pictures, but when we looked at our camera it was so wet it failed to work and since we had most of our Te Anau pictures on the film, we were totally bummed. We did manage to see a IMAX type film afterwards that showed how the glacier looks like on a sunny day - very nice. A German lady started yelling at the ticket guy at the end of the film saying she felt totally gyped, more entertainment. After getting some of our guide money back and drying our clothes, we headed for Greymouth.
We stopped in the night at a small town on the way to sleep, and in the middle of the night, I had to move our Combi since the high winds threatened to send us over a cliff, and the rain and wind were so intense we had no chance of catching any sleep. We parked at a church, and Chantelle had a "we wanted to be protected by a higher power" speech ready if a priest happened to tell us to get lost. Ironically, I first wanted to park at a Jehova's Witness church, but Chantelle said she felt really creeped out...
This morning we visited the Monteith's brewery, home of a very fine New Zealand beer. For $2 they take you on a tour of the facility, complete with beer sampling at the end. I got a little tipsy at 10am, but it was also quite informative.
We then went to snag a shower at a nearby hostel, and the manager told us this month was the highest rainfall since 1891, good timing! By the way, did I mention it has been raining for more than 48 hours straight? I have never seen anything like it, it is a consistent hard rain that does not stop! We took our camera in to have the water damage looked at and I think the film is saved (whew!), but my crappy point and shoot camera is toast.
Today we are off to Pancake rock, an interesting rock formation that spews water like geysers, then up to Abel Tasman for some hard core tramping.
posted by Mark Kadlec 3:40 PM
12/8/2001
Nelson, New Zealand
After Fox Glacier, Chantelle and I drove up to Pancake Rocks, an interesting formation along the West Coast. The rocks look like a huge honeycomb jutting out of the sea, geologists still aren't sure exactly how they were formed. I donned a huge yellow rain poncho and looked like an enormous yellow monster, I think I scared a couple of tourists away.
In the evening we arrived at Marahau, a city near the entrance to Abel Tasman Park. Parking next to a herd of sheep, the night was filled with constant "Baa-Baa", but we awoke fresh for some major tramping. Chantelle and I booked a hut in the interior, and arranged for a water taxi to pick us up the next day. The tramp to the hut was long, we hiked for 6 hours straight over some beautiful seascapes, the weather even cooperated and it was mostly sunny for the day. The hut was also very nice, it held 24 people in four long bunks, you just had to watch that your neighbour didn't try to snuggle up to you. Luckily, the hut wasn't totally booked and I didn't have to spoon with anyone other than Chantelle (it was pretty cold and neither of us had sleeping bags).
The next day was starkly different. We awoke to pouring rain that didn't seem to let up, so instead of our planned 6 hour tramp, we opted to play cards in the hut, then depart to our water taxi pickup. The hike to the pickup point was listed as 2.5 hours from our hut, so we gave ourselves the full 2.5 hours to make it since we thought the rain would slow up the trail and we didn't want to miss our water taxi back. The hike took us only 1 1/2 hours, and when we arrived on the beach, it was still pouring rain and we were cold and soaked. We actually thought we could sit on a picnic table for the hour and talk, but if you have ever sat in cold pouring rain with your teeth chattering, talking is not very enjoyable. After about 10 minutes, we decided to search for refuge and after a while, we found a cave in one of the cliffs surrounding the beach. It was perfect, a nice cave to keep out of the rain while we scanned the beach for our pickup taxi. It finally arrived and I couldn't believe some of the passenger's expressions. The girl sitting next to us looked like she was hazed, completely out of it. The sea was rough so I suspect most of the passengers were suffering from sea sickness, but a few odd teeth chatters led me to believe some of the passengers were also suffering from hypothermia. We got a little warm wind once we were on shore, and it seemed to do the girl next to us some good, she started coming around.
Afterwards, we decided to stay in Marahau for the night, dry our clothes, and depart for Nelson the next day. We have just arrived in Nelson, once the biggest port in all of New Zealand, and plan to have NZ's famous fish and chips today. Tonight we are catching the ferry to Wellington on the north island, I will miss the South island and would highly recommend visiting this place.
Good on ya!
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Hiking the Abel Tasman trail.
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12/12/2001
Rotarua, New Zealand
Chantelle and I took a ferry from Picton (South Island) to Wellington (North Island), and arrived at 12:30am very sleepy. Luckily we found a spot on a hill overlooking the city and got some well needed rest.
The next morning we went exploring Wellington and started with the newly built Te Papa museum of New Zealand's history. First of all, the museum is free, and it was one of the best museums in the entire trip. We couldn't even finish touring it in a couple of hours, you could easily spend half a day there. Big thumbs up. We then decided to tour around Wellington and get some pictures developed. Wellington has the most cafes per capita in the entire world, and it is pretty obvious when you walk around. The city was my favourite in New Zealand so far, it completely reminded me of Seattle with less rain. That evening we caught the Harry Potter movie at the cinema and returned to our combi at midnight, parked in a seedy lot. Next to us was another combi with a scary lady's face pressed against the glass staring at us. Chantelle thought she was dead, but I think I saw her blink once. To make things creepier, there was a car parked across from us with two guy's in their 20s just sitting and staring at us. Needless to say, we booked out of there quick!
We drove up to Taupo, listed in our book as a pretty cool place to check out. Once again we signed up for skydiving, and once again it got cancelled, this time due to heavy clouds. We checked out the town, including the "craters of the moon" walk, free, just outside the city. The walk meanders around huge craters formed by the underground steam and geysers, I was impressed. We also wanted to relax in the hot springs, but when we arrived it was really lame, they built a pool and fill it with the hot water from the springs. No thanks, I think I'll just jump in a hot tub next time I stay in a hotel and save money. Disappointed, Chantelle and I left for Rotarua.
As soon as you drive into Rotarua, you notice the stinky sulphur smell - I don't know how the locals stand it. I convinced Chantelle to join me in a "Hangi", a traditional Maori feast. For $35 a person, the guidebook wrote that you get shuttled to a Maori village, participate in the traditional Maori festivities, and then enjoy a meal prepared underground using hot coals. We departed on the bus, and I knew we were in trouble when the driver got on the mic and said "everyone in the aisle please pretend to paddle the canoe and shout as we are arriving near the village". Melvin, a 50 year old Chinese man, was appointed our "chief" and had to litterly rub noses with the other chiefs before the ceremony began. The performers must have consulted a Temp agency, because only half of the villagers were actually Maori! The village was completely fake, (half the stuff had stickers "Made in Taiwan"), and speakers everywhere reciting chants. We were then subjected to half an hour of traditional Maori performances in huts which involved guitars (native Maori instrument?), and a lot of cheesy singing and dancing. Afterwards, we finally got to enjoy a dinner which was actually quite good, and afterwards, more traditional Maori celebrations which involved singing traditional Maori songs like "You are my sunshine" and "Koombaya". I even spotted our Maori bus driver on guitar!
On the way back, we got to sing more traditional Maori songs like "She'll be coming round the mountain" and "Take me out to the ballgame" (I wish I was making this up). One guy even Kariokied "Yesterday" by the Beatles as we all squirmed. I think Chantelle is going to kill me for talking her into it...
This morning we checked out the Geological Wonderland, home of the biggest geyser in the area. If you could stand the smell, the geyser was actually worthwhile to see. Now, we are off to Auckland.
posted by Mark Kadlec
12/15/2001
Auckland, New Zealand
The North Island has finally taken a turn for the better. We headed up to Wharengai (pronounced Fahren-gay), and booked a dive trip to the Poor Knight's islands, dubbed by Jacques Cousteau as one of the ten best dive sites in the world. We had a couple of days to kill before the dive, so we headed up to Paihai on the coast for some adventure.
Paihai is a small town, and we walked through it in about 15 minutes. That night, we tried to check out the great nightlife, and the first place we hit was playing "Pink Cadillac" and there were about 20 retirees on the dancefloor. Needless to say, we ventured to a Cafe/Bar on the strip playing some Funk/House, and then crashed in a field next to a hotel (irony).
The next day we wanted to do some sea kayaking, but due to overcast weather, decided to mountain bike instead. Kiwis are funny people though, they didn't understand why we would want to take the mountain bikes off-road, and looked like we were mad when we asked where some nice hills were. "Why in the world would you look for hills?", was the response we got. After biking around, we found some cool hills, along with some wicked waterfalls. Noting this, when we returned the bikes, we drove back and showered in the river, and I did my laundry (campervan necessity).
Since Chantelle had never golfed, we decided to try some golf at one of the beautiful courses by the sea. There was no one on the course, it was unbelievable, we had a great time. Afterwards, we heard the Wharengai nightlife was really good on Saturday nights, and lo-and-behold, it was Saturday night!
Chantelle bought a bottle of liqueur for the one hour trip (it was my turn to drive), and had consumed more than half by the time we arrived at 9pm in Wharengai. The first thing we saw when we arrived was a club called the Red Iguana advertising a Foam party that night. Interestingly enough, we met two blokes on our Whitsundays cruise in Australia who had attended one of these Foam Parties, and one had an eye infection, the other a rash (from passing out in his foam soaked bathing suit). Luckily, they both warned us that anything we would wear would get ruined, so we took the hint. After chilling at another cool pub called Planet Earth B.C., we went to our campervan and changed into bathing suits and flip-flops (proper club attire?). As soon as we walked in, Chantelle was grabbed by two guys who threw her into the middle of the foam. Within 10 minutes of dancing, I was barefoot and soaked with soap suds. We took turns running and sliding through the dancefloor, on some of the slides, the bouncers opened the front doors and you could slide right into the street! There were two bad incidents though, one guy slammed head first into a concrete wall (ouch!), and another drunk guy missed the aisle and plowed into a girl who hit her head on the floor with a huge "thud!". They had to carry her out of the bar so I hope she's okay. Since you are completely covered with foam, you can barely see what's going on, half the time you don't know who you are dirty dancing with. There was one pervert who looked like Bill Gates that kept asking Chantelle to take her top off, and near the end of the evening everyone was staring at him since his "member" was fully errect, a hard thing to hide in swimming trunks. At the end of the evening, Chantelle and I were freaking out since we were cold, soaked in foam, and had no way of showering! I pleaded with the bouncer (I even asked him where the harbour was so I could jump in the ocean - I was dead serious), and I guess he felt sorry for us and got us a hotel room upstairs so we could shower. Talk about nice Kiwis!
Since we had our dive scheduled for 8am the next morning in Tutakaka, a half hour away, and since it was already 1:30am, we decided to drive and sleep at the Tutakaka harbour. The next morning we awoke tired, Chantelle was hung over, and the weather sucked. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our Poor Knight's trip. We decided to drive back to Wharengai and climb a mountain for a good view of the city. The hike up the mountain was refreshing and provided an awesome view of the city, and on the way, we saw the spectacular Wharengai Falls. On the way down, I stripped down and stood under a waterfall for the most refreshing shower of my life!
Today we drove back down to Auckland, we will hang here for a couple of days since tomorrow we have to return the combi, our home for the last three weeks.
posted by Mark Kadlec
12/17/2001
Epilogue
We drove to Auckland yesterday and turned in our home for the last 3 weeks, the combi. We got a ride to the Ponsonby district of Auckland, a very eclectic area, and cheap accomodations. For dinner, we hit a French restaurant where we had possibly the best meal of the trip. I had a sleepless night due to our room being right under the main staircase of the Backpacker, but at least I'm guaranteed a good sleep on the 12 hour plane ride tonight. I actually arrive 9 hours before I leave tonight, talk about travelling back in time! Before I leave I am going to feast on Meat Pies (which I have been living on the past 2 days), I just can't curb my addiction.
I will really miss this end of the world, I had great experiences in all the countries I visited. I especially liked the great exchange rate and culture in SE Asia, the great weather and people of Australia, and the beauty and outdoors of New Zealand. Here are some highlights:
Most expensive city: Sydney, Aus
Least expensive city: Bali, Indonesia
Worst travel experience: Bankok to Koh Tao
Worst city: Bankok, Thailand
Favourite city: Wellington, NZ
Worst street layout: Auckland, NZ
Favourite Meat Pie: Tie: Cajun Chicken or Thai Chicken
Most embarrasing moment: Attending the Maori Feast in Rotarua (See Dec 12)
Favourite country: I'll have to travel through them again to make a fair decision.
posted by Mark Kadlec
