Free Food Shelf

In many of the hostels, particularly the bigger ones, there is this thing called 'free food shelf'. People who no longer want or need their food leave it on these shelves so as to not waste it as others may make use of them. Often times, there's very little there, but every now and then, you get a hostel where tons of people stay and leave really good stuff behind. The hostel in Blue Mountains was one of them. In the 2 days that I was there, I saw nearly full bags of rice, cereal, flour, bread; milk, butter, sauces; unopenned bag of chips & cashews, can of peas & carrots, and bottle of orange juice. I didn't pick up the concept of free food until New Zealand, when I saw Alan and Mike checking them out and picking stuff out of them. It now dawned on me how much money I could've saved by scrounging as much food off of these free food shelves. I've also figured out that the best way to get quality free food is to notice the days and time that the not-free food shelves are cleaned out. Things not labelled to date are tossed out or put on the free food shelf. Be the first one there when all that food is first put out for the public.

Blue Mountains

I stayed in the Blue Mountains YHA in Katoomba for 3 nights so that I can do some hiking in the area. I hiked around Katoomba one day, and around Blackheath the second. In Katoomba, I started at one end of the Federal Pass and walked along it and up the Furber Steps. Then I went across the Prince Henry Cliff Walk to Echo Point for a closer view of the Three Sisters. Man, I thought New Zealand was touristy, but that was nothing compared to here. Tourists were everywhere. If you are worried about travelling alone around here, you shouldn't, 'cuz you're never really alone. Fortunately there weren't too many people on the Federal Pass since there was a steep decent in ascent out. I spent about 4 hrs walking this day. In Blackheath I did the Grand Canyon walk - lots of lush rainforest and waterfalls. Absolutely beautiful walk. I thought the Blue Mountains had more of a variety in scenery than the typical day hike in New Zealand. I enjoyed it a lot. Also, somehow I managed to end up hiking along with some German speaking dudes Mike, Florian, and Martin. I enjoyed the solitude of walking alone yesterday, so some company was a nice change. Plus, I wouldn't want to be walking alone in some parts of the Grand Canyon track.

Boxing Day

The Australians, like the British, enjoy another day off on the 26th. Someone told me once loooong time ago what this holiday was for, but unlike some people, my brain doesn't seem to be able to hold useless information. These days tho, my brain doesn't hold much at all I think. I do exercise my brain occasionally though through reading lots of books (currently on Stupid White Men by Micheal Moore) and playing Scrabble (I've won all games so far except when I played with a French guy). Btw, apologies for any misspelled word on my website. I can't be bothered to spell check anything when I already have to spend lots of time just putting this site together. Feel free to send me corrections or suggestions for changes.

Anyhow, today I met Richard. He's the guy I found on Lonely Planet's Thorntree looking for a travel partner around OZ. He's from around Sydney, just quit his job, and was looking to travel a bit around his country. He was going to buy a 4WD and since we had the similar plans in mind, we thought we'd give it a go. So today, we met up for the first time. He picked me up in Manly and drove me to a place where we luckily caught the start of the yacht race. Then off to Bondi beach for lunch, and a drive around to a view point and then back to Manly. I think we'll get along fine.

Christmas Australian Style

Christmas just isn't Christmas when it's not cold or snowing outside. That is... until you put on your Santa hats and sit on a beach next to a Christmas tree. I kid you not - a group of Welsh folks brough a Christmas tree onto the beach. Classic. Going to the beach on Christmas is obviously the thing to do here. Many locals and tourists alike flocked to the beach today, enjoying the sun and a few drinks. The only thing missing I think was someone blasting Christmas music on stereo. In the evening, my friends and I made Christmas dinner.

Life on Manly Beach

I could really get into the life of living on the beach. The days would be all about swimming, running on the beach, playing volleyball, or just plain relaxing. Plenty of huge bars nearby for those who prefer that atmosphere. Tess and I got into the routine of doing some sort of exercise each day - usually swimming at the nice Olympic size seawater pool on the beach, and running on the beach on cooler days. It was really nice to be active on a regular basis for a change. Hopefully I can keep up the swimming or running, and maybe hiking, while I travel around OZ.

Sydney - The Arrival

I had a easy 3.5 hr flight from Christchurch. Upon arrival, I think I was the first one through immigration, and then skated through customs. Ben, Chris, and Tess was already there to pick me up in Ben's "Beast" and to take me to our home over the next week or so in Manly. We all stayed in Manly Guesthouse a block from the beach. I shared a room with Ben, his visiting brother Sam, and an Aussie guy. The room was a disaster area. A complete guy's room with shit thrown around everywhere, and floor and sink dirty as hell. I tried my best not to touch too many things. The common area was not the best either. I pretty much washed all dishes before using it. I was quite fortunate to have a bed though, as I did not bother booking anywhere in advance. Plus, it was nice just to be near friends during the holidays.

Flight Info: NZ183 DPT 1600 ARR 1730

New Zealand - Highlights

I enjoyed New Zealand very much. It was nice to be in such a beautiful country full of greenery and stunning scenary, with clean hostels, and friendly people. My stay here wasn't without difficulties, though. I found everything here to be quite expensive and I often had to be very careful of my spending. Also, it had rained more than I liked, preventing me from partaking in some activities that I wanted to do. NZ's similarity to the US also made my travels less exciting and often had me looking forward to my travels in China and Japan.

I found myself very home sick for the first time since I left home while in New Zealand. There was a time when the weather kept me indoors for several days, and I lacked good company to enjoy the time with. It was also Thanksgiving back home to boot, and I had spent just about every Thanksgiving for the last few years at home with my brothers. Fortunately, things got better right away with my arrival in Wellington where I was welcomed by my friend, Mike, that I made while in Africa. I also met 2 other very special guys - Alan & Mikael - while in the South Island. Many people I met while in NZ came and went very fast, but I was fortunate to be able to spend about 2 weeks with them near the end. I enjoyed my time in NZ much more after meeting them.

The highlights of New Zealand would be most of South Island - Glacier hike, Milford Sound, and Mt. Cook. Some of the best sceneries in New Zealand are also on the longer "Great" (3-4 day) walks and I hope to come back and do some of those some day. Another highlight of New Zealand, ofcourse, is the whole Lord of the Rings experience. Just as many others have, I've become a fan of the trilogy. It was great to see some of the film locations, the stars in the movies, the LOTR themes in Wellington, and The Return of the King.

Christchurch

Alan left the following day after we arrived, and Mike left the day after (but not before we got to see The Return of the King. I was quite bummed after they had left, as I was on my own again and I had enjoyed their company a lot. This is also the end of my journey in New Zealand. From here I fly onto Sydney where friends I made while in Africa await. Something new to look forward to again.

Mt. Cook

After we got out of Dunedin, I took over the 5 hr drive to Mt.Cook. Lucky for me, most of the road was sealed and straight. So straight, and so few traffic, that I at times went as fast as 160km/h. It was even better because I didn't really have to worry about a speeding ticket. Even if I got one, I would leave the country in a few days so I would not pay it. Don't worry - I'm a very safe driver though.

There were many mountains and clear blue lakes once we started getting near Mt.Cook. We passed through many small towns on the way, with cheap ice cream, and arrived in Glentanner with a few hours to spare in the evening. From there, we had a great view of Mt.Cook. We couldn't have asked for a better weather either.

The next morning, we got up early to do the 3 hr walk in Hooker Valley for a closer view of Mt.Cook. Then we were on our way to Christchurch.

Southern Scenic Route to Dunedin

Mike picked us up in his rental car in Te Anau and we hit for the road down the Southern Scenic Route. One of the first things we saw was a herd of sheep - many, many, many sheep - in the road. I've seen postcards of it, and I've been wanting to see it all along.

We had a few stops along the way to Invercargill - McCracken's rest, Monkey Island, etc. There wasn't much to see or do in Invercargill so we did our grocery shopping and had lunch there. We were on our way to the Catlins from there, when we got a flat tire!! Lucky for me I was with two boys so all I had to do was watch and make sure they didn't get hit by cars that came by (there was no place to pull over). Fortunately for them it wasn't dark and raining - tho it was very windy and cold.

The roads in Catlins weren't sealed, so we had some windy, gravelly roads. We were already running pretty late in the day, so we didn't make too many stops. We only stopped at Nugget Point. Then we arrived in Dunedin, pretty late & tired. Tonight, Mike cooked the meal. While it was really cool to be travelling with 2 guys who can cook, it was a bit embarassing that I couldn't cook.

The next morning, we spent a few hours walking around Dunedin before heading towards Mt.Cook. We saw Otago University, Knox Church, Octagon, and the Railway Station.

Te Anu

Te Anau was a bit of a chill time. We played cards on the 1st night when Mike was around. The next day, I had a bit of a lie in. Alan and I still managed to squeeze in a 6 hr hike though. 1 hr walk to the Control Gates on the Lakeside Walk, 1-1.5 hr walk to Broad Bay, and another 1-1.5 hr walk up to the Limestone Bluffs towards Mt.Luxmore. Keeping pace with Alan was a bit of a challenge which was fine on the way up, and we practically ran coming down. But I doubly paid for all that pushing the last 2 hrs of the walk - I was in such pain. Luckily, all we did that night was watch the Count of Monte Cristo in the TV lounge.

Milford Sound

My InterCity bus pass didn't cover a ride to Milford, so I managed to catch a ride with couple of Dutch guys, Matt & Stephen, while Alan caught a ride with some English folks. On the way, we ran into a herd of cows which were in the road running toward us. We also got a speeding ticket.... Going 122km/h on 100 (max for the country. A $100 fine for that!! I don't think Matt is going to pay it tho.

Once in Milford, I checked in the Milford Sound Lodge. The only lodge in the area, with extortionate prices. We would call that a monopoly in the States. It had a roomy lounge tho, and scrabble, so Alan and I had a rematch there. As we were playing, Mikael showed up! Turns out he's slightly changed plans so he will be in Milford with us for the night, and in Te Anau for a night. He will kayak while Alan and I do the lazy thing - a boat cruise.

I woke up on the day of our boat cruise and it was pissing rain. I was so annoyed of all the rain in NZ that I thought about rearranging all of my future travels to avoid any rainy season that I might hit. At the moment, I'm due in Japan for the June rain. I'm not sure how I can do that without cutting China short. I'll have to see how I like China first.

The rain died by the time we got on our boat - Friendship. We even got a little bit of blue sky for a few minutes to get some nice photos, and then the clouds rolled back in with occasional rain. The boat ride was about 2.5 hrs from the wharf to Milford Sound on Tasman Sea. The rain made for greater waterfalls, and the cloud cover gave the mountains protruding from the water a misty look, so it turned out to be beautiful despite the weather.

Queenstown

Queenstown is similar to Wanaka, in that it is near a lake, but it is much bigger and touristy. There is a Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonald's, and a Hard Rock Cafe here. Our original plan was to do a half day hike in the area, but I think I caught a cold or something so I had to send Alan up on his own. The rest of the time in Queenstown was spent mostly walking around town.

I used to like the independence of travelling alone, but I think I enjoy travelling more when I have the right company. I felt more comfortable since travelling with Alan (and Mike when he was there). The best part is, that Alan cooks!!! And he cooks good on a very cheap budget.

Wanaka

Again, the three of us had a long bus ride down south. Fortunately, the bus driver stopped occasionally for photo and break. Mike was off to Queenstown to do some jet boating and the Routeburn Track. Alan and I said good-bye to him and made plans to meet up with him again in Te Anau to share a car to Christchurch.

Wanaka was a lovely town by a lake with views of snow capped mountain ranges. Most of the time was spent lazing around, but we actually took to a hike up Mt.Roy one morning with another couple. It was a steep climb up, but when we were just near the top, after about 2.5 hrs of hiking, the sky was covered with clouds and we couldn't get much of a view. We decided to turn around, only to have the sky clear up as we got a good way down. We got some nice views from where we were, but imagine how annoyed we all were. And we were so close to the top....

Fox Glacier Hike

Alan and I decided to go on a full day glacier hike here. The guided hike took us on an hour hike through the rainforest to the Fox Glacier. We were on the ice about 3-4 hrs. Our guide axe picked his way through to create a path for us, and we saw crevices, caves which we could walk through, etc. We had clamp ons on our borrowed boots, and a walking stick, to help us on our way through the slippery, and often narrow, paths. Although it turned out to be another cloudy day, it didn't rain, so I didn't get wet. Hiking the glaciers was definitely a neat experience. When I'm older and rich, though, I am going to do the heli-hike to get to the very top of it where it's supposedly more massive.

Alan, Mike, and I spent the evening playing scrabble. The French guy won. How embarassing is that??

Franz Josef Glacier

Mike and I both headed over to Franz Josef for today, but he went on a full day hike of the glacier. The weather was pretty crap, again, so I thought I'd wait a day or so to see if it got better. I met Alan, an Irish dude, in the morning, and we took for a hike up to a view point. We didn't realize the start of the hike was 6km out of town, so we already walked an hour before we started the 5 hr hike. It drizzled on us here and there in the morning, so I probably got just as wet as I would have been if I had done the glacier hike. But at least I didn't pay $100 for it. The hike had several water crossing, one where I had to take my shoe off to cross since I couldn't jump far enough. Most of it was pretty steep rock scrambling along slippery track, thanks to the rain. The view at the top, once there, was pretty awesome tho. The weather had cleared up by then too, and we had sunshine for rest of the day.

Later in the day, Mike, Alan, and I moved on to Fox Glacier, staying at Ivory Towers. We rented some bicycles and headed over to Lake Matheson to catch the sunset. Luck would have it, the clouds rolled in before we got there and we couldn't get a good reflection of Mt.Cook in the lake like we wanted. After all that I went through - a 6 hr hike earlier in the day, a 20 min bike ride which gave me a sore ass, and an 1.5 hr walk around the lake.... Oh well.

Punakaiki & the Pancake Rocks

I stopped for a night in Punakaiki so I can check out the pancake rocks and the blow hole, as well as do some short hikes. I met a French guy, Mikael, who I ended up hanging out with for the day. We did the Pororai River loop track, which was about a 3 hr walk along the river, through the forest, and across the river (i.e. in the water). The pancake rocks were pretty neat. The tide was low when I went so the blow hole didn't blow much. I couldn't be bothered to go back for the high tide later in the evening but I don't think I missed much. The weather today was fantastic tho!

Nelson

I spent one day in the Abel Tasman National Park on a half-kayak and half-walk day trip. I went with couple of Japanese guys in the hostel. Fortunately, I was in a boat with a trainee guide so he did most of the work while I relaxed and paddled every now and then for the sake of looking like I am doing something. Unfortunately, it was another cloudy day for me so it was not as pretty as the park could be. For anyone planning to travel to NZ, avoid the spring time and go in the summer!!!

Wellington - Home of the Lord of the Rings

Alright! This was what I was waiting for! I suffered through a week of rain, and no Tongariro Crossing, but I was in Wellington for the huge Lord of the Rings celebration this weekend. The world premiere of The Return of the King was here on 12/1, and although I didn't get an invite to it, there were enough LOTR festivities going on for me to enjoy it. The weather was absolutely fantastic for it too!!

The LOTR theme was everywhere, on banners in the street, in the shops, etc. I stayed with a friend I made while in Africa, Mike, and he took me to various film location sites too. One of the places I went to was Upper Hut, where scenes from Rivendell were filmed. Most of Saturday and Sunday were spent checking out the city of Wellington - harbor, Mt.Victoria, Te Papa museum, etc. I even went to see Viggo Moretenson's photo gallery at the Massey Museum.

On Monday, there was a parade of stars. It started at 3:30 from the Parliament building, and went down to the Embassy theatre. I staked out my spot by mid-day, hang out with a few other backpackers until the stars showed up. It was an awesome day. Tons of fans showed up from all around the world. Although I was not obsessed enough to camp out by the red carpet from the night before. I got some pretty good photos of the stars from where I was near the beginning of the parade.