Absailing in the Blue Mountains

Hey Folks, sorry for being so slack on the blog. I've been pretty busy these days.....ha! Just kidding. I have actually managed to make my way up to Byron Bay, which is a real famous surf town on the East coast of Oz (about 12 hours up from Sydney).

The weather here has been fabulous. Pretty much the high 20's everyday, with maybe a couple of bumps up into the 30 range. Can't complain really I guess (sorry, had to rub it in a bit!). After slacking off in Sydney for a week, I hooked up with this really cool brother sister combo from England (Greg and Pia) and started making my way north. Hanging out with them made me miss my sister and bro (hey Greg and Tara!). Made my way to the Blue Mountains, which is this giant mountain/canyon range about 4 or 5 hours north of Sydney. They say that the range is the size of Holland. Pretty cool spot. When we were there, Greg and Pia suckered me into their brother-sister rivalvry and actually talked me into going absailing and canyoning. What is canyoning you ask??? It is when they take you walking through these canyons and through crazy little waterfalls and water holes. Twas pretty cool. I have to say though, that the absailing part may very well be the most frightening thing that I have done to date. Yes, it was scarier than the bungy jump. After doing a few small test runs in the morning, they basically sent us over a 100 foot waterfall and got us to absail down it while water was pounding in our face. Some scary shit I tell you! I have to say that I was truly frightened on that first step off when they get you to sit back in your harness, hanging over this water fall and seeing the canyon floor below you about 100 feet down. It is safe to say that it will be the last time that I ever try that again. I had falling nightmares for 3 days. Ha.

Afterwards we heading through Hunter Valley, which is a big wine region here. You would probably recognize Wyndham Estates wines??? They make one of my favorite reds, Bin 555. Twas a nice area. Too avoid those pricey hostels costs, we would just pull over in a park, wait for it to get dark, and then throw up some tents.

By the way, I would like to wish Mom and Happy Birthday!!!!! She is celebrating the big 43 again. Pretty crazy, considering that her youngest son is almost 30! Ha!

And oh yeah, Dad wanted me to say hi to a certain gal over at the NBAHA. Apparently you are considering a trip through Europe. I know the name of a handsome tour guide that you could bring around. He's pretty cheap too.....just pay for his food and booze. He even comes with his own little tent, 'The Little Tent that Could'. ; )

Also, it is good to here that my bro-in-law Thor is holding up ok after that nasty surgery. That looked like quite the incision. That's crazy that the doctor said that you are the first 36 year old that has ever signed up for a voluntary circumcision.

Anyway, here are some pics from the absailing. Unfotunately I didn't get to bring my camera into the canyons with the waterfalls, but you do get an idea of the height from some of the test runs. Hope that you are all enjoying all that snow.....I will think about you when I'm out surfing this afternoon. Ha. : p

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8ab2nqp.2j3bezr9&x=1&y=wu5ua6

Sydney, Australia

Hey Folks,

Sorry for the lack of posting. As has somehow become my routine, I took it pretty easy when I rolled into Australia. Spent about a week in a hostel room that could possibly be one of the messiest ones that I've stayed in since returning to the 'first world'. Hostel was called Sydney Downtown Backpackers in something Cross. The dorm room had people who basically lived at the hostel for the past 4 months, and the room hadn't actually been cleaned since they moved in. It is amazing how comfortable I am in that environment though. Reminded me of living in residence at school.

Anyway, I did manage to get out and see some sights in Sydney. It is a pretty spectacular city. It also doesn't hurt that it has a couple amazing beaches. Got to hit Bondi beach for a couple of days and also managed to make it to Manley beach, which I think had an even cooler vibe to it. Both of them are huge beaches that get absolutely jammed on the weekends. The weather here in Oz has been amazing since I got here. Have had a couple of days in the low 30's, but generally, it has been in the high 20's with a nice little breeze. Water is a little colder than I expected, but I guess it is good for cooling off.

The animals here in Oz are crazy. Everything here is just so extreme. I got used to camping in NZ where there is absolutely nothing there to harm you. Here, it is a whole different story. As most of you know, I am not a real big fan of spiders. Thankfully I haven't had any traumatic experiences yet, but I have been hearing tons of horrific stories. There are also tons of lizards and snakes here, that you just kind of find in random places. On my 2nd night here, I decided to take a walk through the botanical gardens here and to go check out downtown. My little peaceful walk quickly became pretty eventful when I kept seeing these birds swooping down across the path in front of me. After hearing some strange noises, I finally realized that those little flocks of birds were actually hoards of giant bats that were scattered everywhere. The little walk then turned into me ducking and dodging my way through the trees trying to make it out of the park. Turned out to be an eventful outing. I went back the next day and got pics of the bats sleeping in the trees.

Anyway, I have since been camping up the coast and the 'Little Tent That Could' has been holding up quite nicely. It looks good in there with all those 'dome' tents.

I'll be sure to try to keep things up to date better. Here are some pics from Sydney.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8ab2nqp.5y5q7eo5&x=1&y=-dfr2o5

Australia

That's right baby. I have finally landed in Australia. Have been waiting a long time to get to this country. Today looks like it is pretty decent outside, so will probably head to Bondi Beach to take in the....ah....scenery.

Well after recovering from the shock of how expensive it is here in NZ, I must say that the scenery is pretty damn spectacular. It is amazing how diverse the scenery is considering how small these islands are. Giant snow capped mountains, amazing rivers, turquoise lakes, massive fiords, and awesome sunsets. Pretty impressive spot. If you're looking to take a nice vacation, I highly recommend dropping by this country. Super easy to travel as well. It seems that the best way to travel it is to either rent a campervan and tour the camp sites, or you can just rent a car pretty cheaply.

I have managed to do a spectacular job of seeing this country quite cheaply. Have managed to talk my way into rides everywhere which is cool. The best part though, is that when I haven't been camping, I've been meeting locals and staying with them. It is amazing how friendly the people are here.....kind of reminds me of the east coast back home. Also helps me learn tons about the culture here.

Mom, you will be happy to know that I met a family from Vancouver and they were nice enough to take me under their wing for a few days. They were travelling in a big ass campervan around NZ with their friends from Auckland. They made room for me and even fed me properly for a few days. Ha. I also got to meet up with an old friend from TD, Lynda. Her and Matt were nice enough to put me up for a few days, lend me their guide book, drive me to the airport, and feed me like a king. I would exactly say that I have been roughing it. Ha. I even got to do a family bike ride.

My little tent has been holding up quite well. Actually survived a couple of rainfalls which isn't too shabby for a $30 tent. I am now calling it 'The Little Tent That Could'. Its still a little bit of a bitch to set up though, given that it only has tie ropes instead of those fancy little clips that those 'dome' tents have.

I still am having to adjust to the whole 'other side of the road' thing here. It is kind of funny, because since they drive on the left side, then people actually tend to pass that way on busy sidewalks too. I keep having these ackward moments of bumping into people because I always kind head to the right when in doubt.

I got to check out the Glaciers here which were pretty damn cool. Have never actually seen one before, despite being from Canada. Check the pics.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8ab2nqp.b2yoh9ud&x=1&y=-5roej7

Queenstown, NZ

Queenstown is pretty much the hub for activities on the south island. It is a real touristy town with a kind of ski village vibe (it actually has a gondola that takes you up the mountain). Great restaurants and bars, stellar scenery, and access to pretty much any extreme sport you can think of. Unfortunately it is pretty pricey, so I had to limit myself to just the bungy jump.

One really cool thing that this city has is called the Luge. You can take the gondola up to the top of the hill and then jump on these little carts and ride down a concrete track. It was hilarious. Kind of like go karts except without the engines. These things could cruise too. Despite several warnings from the staff at the top of the hill, our nice little ride quickly turned into full contact caos. You can check the pics as one of the guys got dumped off and ended up losing a little skin off his elbow....and hand....and hip.

Criket
I also got to watch my first ever Criket match. I know, sounds pretty boring, but you know me, I love my sports. I went to watch a day match between NZ and Sri Lanka. A day match takes about 8 hours, but a test match (where they are wearing all white uniforms) is the long one that takes 5 days. Criket is played in a circular field and the batters are aloud to hit the ball in any direction. You get 4 points for hitting it to the fence, 6 points for hitting it over, and otherwise, just one point for each base the batters get to. The great part is, is that the batter doesn't have to run if he thinks that he may be thrown out, so he can stay up there for a while. Only thing is, is that a team is limited in how many pitches it gets (day match is 6 pitches per over, 50 overs per team). I'm surprised at how into I got. NZ actually ended up winning the game on the last ball of the game.

On some other exciting news......I left a banana in my day pack and it rotted. Motivated me to spend and afternoon and do some 'housecleaning' in my packs. Twas pretty ugly in there. Apparently when spilt in your pack, those little chewable Vitamin C tablets can dissolve quite nicely even without water. Hard to believe that I have been living out of this bag for almost 8 months now. I don't know if you can tell from the pics, but I don't even bother rotating my 6 shirts anymore......I'll just wear the same one for 5 consecutive days. Getting time for some new socks though. I can no longer remove my shoes in enclosed spaces, or breathing becomes an issue.

I was chatting with some people the other day and they determined that I was suffering from travellers fatigue. Ha!!! I thought that you guys would like that one. Its actually pretty tough conjuring up that adventure feel day after day. I guess it IS possible afterall that too much wip cream can eventually spoil your strawberry shortcake. Did that make sense? Maybe that was just a little side note.

I think I'm hungry.

Anyway, here are some pics. Given that my new found technology worked so well with the bungy jump, I put on a video of the luge. Didn't require any tape this time, but it did make for some difficult handling once the speed started to pick up. Enjoy.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8ab2nqp.9oa9kg8t&x=1&y=-56frmr

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxF2mxUDmeM

Bungy Jump

Mom and Dad, I figured that you may be interested in what I spent some of the Christmas money that you sent me on (Ha!!). Well, I decided to start the New Years off in style this year. On New Year's day I woke up early and went and did my first bungy jump. Ha!!! It was the Nevis jump. At approx. 450 feet, it is the highest jump in New Zealand and the 3rd highest in the world. As most of you know, I'm not that fond of heights, so I kind of kept my plans quiet because I wasn't sure that I was going to pull it off.

The Nevis jump is the one where a gondola takes you out to a pod that is suspended over a river in a giant valley. Both the gondola and the pod have see through floors, so its fair to say that you are rather petrified well before you get anywhere near jumping. I was in the middle of the pack (the jump according to weight, heaviest first). When they call out your name, you then have to go sit in the chair next to the open edge where you jump from. After they get your feet strapped up, they then waddle you over and out on to the 1 foot by 1 foot ledge that you have to jump off of. It could possibly be one of the scariest things I've ever done (its awesome watching people's faces when they are strapped up in the chair knowing that they are the next to go).

Anyway, the greatest part about it all, is I talked the guy into letting me tape my camera to my hand. I video taped the whole thing. Ha!!!! Be sure to check the first link first though, so you can see the pictures of how it all works. The second link is the video.

WARNING: This video may contain abusive language (sorry Mom). I promised myself that I wasn't going to swear on this video, but when you watch it, I think that you'll understand why. Hope it works! Ha.

Happy New Year folks.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8ab2nqp.66re4eil&x=1&y=-m5k31a

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_LDtlL7X58

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year folks. Here's to wishing a happy and healthy one for 2007.

I decided to head back to Queenstown where all the action is. Stayed at the Bungi Backpackers again for a couple of days, but they were full for New Year's eve (apparently, some people are actually prepared and they book ahead for that night), so I ended up pitching my tent in the Rugby field in town. It turned out to be great though, as there ended up being over 100 tents down there. Got to watch some fire works down at the harbour front which was cool, and then headed to a bar with a bunch of friends from the hostel. Also got to meet up again with my German buddy who was my partner in the fishing massacre at the Bay of Islands.

We ate chicken burgers this time instead.

Anyway, here are some pics from Christmas in Dunedin, and some from New Year's in Queenstown.

As I said, hope you all have a happy and healthy New Years.

Ryan

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8ab2nqp.aor80qrx&x=1&y=vw7zy2

PS - Oh yeah, after being on the road for 7 months now, I finally bumped into somebody I know when I was here in Queenstown. Jordan Walsh. Went to school with him at Dal. Weren't real close, but he'll due. I was getting depressed about not having a 'bumping into an old friend' story (recall, in the first week in Costa Rica, I bumped into the guy who knew Simom and Heidi, and the girl who knew uncle Bob, but nothing since then). Anyway, he's gone now, so back to flying solo. Ha!