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.