Austrailia - New Zealand

Laptop :(

2009-10-27T00:26:00.000+13:00

Well for some reason I desided to patch my laptop while on the road. that was a bad idea! I lost access to my operating system!

I will not be able to post any pictures until I get it working somewhat!

Christchurch

2009-10-10T01:04:00.000+13:00

Springtime in New Zealand really is when the population jumps. I think there are probably about 5 million new lambs here, bringing the total to 55 million that’s 15 lambs to every 1 human on the 3 islands.

Christchurch is the 2nd largest city in NZ with 400 000 people and has the 3rd largest inner city park in the world at 165 hectares! I wandered the streets looking at the old churches and then wandered the museum and botanical garden. They have quite a few flowers already blooming and a massive daffodil park with over 400 000 blooms. It would be quite the show when they are in bloom.

Today I took a Lord of the Rings tour to Edoras. The site is up in the mountains and on private land; there is only one Tour Company that has the rights to take you up there. It started out as a cold and rainy day but once we got up there the sun came out and the clouds went away. Standing on top of the knoll and just looking out at the snow covered mountains, the crystal clear rivers it just seems to be a truly magical place.

One more day in New Zealand and then back to Auz. I don’t really want to leave as I really like it here and will defiantly be coming back!

Queenstown

2009-10-02T11:48:00.002+13:00

20090924SW7667
Originally uploaded by s webster
Ok so it’s colder the further south I go, it got down to -1 the first night. Anyway it’s been great down here; the town reminds me a lot of a very small Banff. The first day I went up the Gondola to have a look at the town they also have a luge that you can ride while you are up there. I thought it would be good fun but when I got to the top they closed it, as it was too windy. So I went for a short 1 hour hike and took some photos, there is a 5 hour walk that takes you to some old ghost towns though without any cold weather cloths I decided against it. I came back down to town it was around supper time so I headed back to the hostel to dump my bag, well I had some old Americans in my room that liked to talk, talk they did for 4 hours eventually I got away and headed to the burger shop called Fergburger. Everyone kept talking about this place. The burger was ok I didn’t think it was all that special I think my bun was even burnt!

The next day I relaxed and wandered the town. Saturday I was up with the birds as my tour to Milford Sound left at 7am. We stopped at a few places along the way to take some pictures of the fiord as we got higher up the mountains, you could see where the avalanches had covered the road. It has been closed 25 days this winter due to snow; normally it’s only about 10. At the highest point you go thru a tunnel that was carved out thru the mountain by hand and took several years to complete. We arrived at Milford around 1pm. At which point we boarded our ship for the cruse. The ship took us out into the fiord all the way to the ocean stopping at the 2 permanent waterfalls with the largest being over 50 stories tall even though it is dwarfed by the mountains. It is a really picturesque spot well worth the visit. We also got to see some New Zealand fur seals sunning themselves on the rocks; they are really small about the size of a standard dog. The After our cruse we hopped back on the bus for the long haul back to Queenstown (I slept most of the way). I went back to Fergberger and got me a Lamb burger it was actually really good much better than the one I had the other day. I did get fries with it I think there was about half a kg of them almost too much with the burger that is the size of a plate.

Sunday I got to spend the afternoon with Mike Langford, a world renowned landscape photographer. We drove up to Paradise, about an hour north of Queenstown and spent some time talking about exposure, framing and also taking pictures. The spot we went to was where they filmed numerous movies: Lord of the Rings, Wolverine: Origins, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian & numerous commercials. You can really see why they pick this spot over and over again. It was a great afternoon and my pictures now should have some of Mike’s touch in them.

Monday was a day of relaxing and then onto the bus for a 7 hour trip to Christchurch thru some great country.

Top of New Zealand

2009-09-21T16:24:00.001+12:00

I finally got out of the hostel after another week of sitting around getting better. I hopped on a bus and headed north to Paihia. It’s a small little resort town 4 hours north of Auckland. Included in my bus ride was a ride on a high speed boat to the “Hole in the Rock”, sadly there was no wind and no waves so it was just a ride out to the island. After the ride I went in search of some supper and found some fish & chips. The fish was Dory; I was not all that impressed!

The next morning I went on a tour up to cape Reinga. We left at 7:10am from the hostel (I’m sure I was still asleep). The guide (spike) was a school teacher as well as the guide, he also likes to talk allot. The first stop of the morning was to see the Kauri trees. These tress are native to New Zealand and quite large, they also get very old (4000 years). We then stopped at a bakery for our morning tea. Then it was on to the sand dunes to do some sand boarding. We climbed up the steepest one we could find and launched ourselves down. It is allot like tobogganing but without the cold and clothes. It is much easier to climb up the dune without snow boots and ski pants, though you do wend up with sand everywhere! No one even got hurt; our driver did tell us how he managed to break 2 ribs 8 months ago on the same dune though.

We then made our way to the very top of New Zealand – Cape Reinga. As we got there the clouds started to roll in so we got a little wet. After looking out to both the Tasman and Pacific oceans we headed down to 90 mile beach. The beach is a registered highway and used to be the only way up to the top of the island. While on the beach we stopped to pick pipi’s (shell fish). I’m not sure why but some people like to eat snot! After collecting a bucket full we headed back down the coast stopping at a store where they harvest ancient Kauri trees from the swamps and turn them into overpriced furniture and objects. They have a massive staircase which was carved out of the centre of one of these trees. We then got back into the bus and headed back to Paihia stopping to pickup our fish & chips. I don’t know what kind of fish but it was really good. Cheap too only $6.00 well worth it!

Today it’s been raining on and off. I went for a walk down the beach and around town. Tomorrow it’s back to Auckland then off to Queenstown. I wonder what I will find for supper tonight.

Auckland – It’s fricken cold

2009-09-11T19:35:00.004+12:00

It was a bit warmer in the day time but still cold compared to where I came from. I wandered over to the museum to see the Maori exhibit. They did a short 20min show and explained why they do the different things that they did in the show they also did the “Haka” their warrior dance, which they performed before heading off into battle. After the show I wandered the 3 levels of the museum it is quite large with each level containing different aspects of New Zealand’s history. Once out of the museum I wandered the winter gardens in which they have two green houses full of flowers from all over the world. “Yes” I did take lots of pictures.

The next day I headed down to the Victoria Park Market. After being to a market in every single place I’ve been I guess I was spoilt as it was rather small and was just full of Asian shops selling cheep souvenirs. I got me an ice cream cone and then sat in the park for a while. I headed back to the hostel for lunch then of to Mt. Eden. Mt. Eden is an old volcano that you can climb to the top of and see the city which goes on and on. Auckland is spread out as far as the eye can see in all directions though they do have green space that you can see as well which ads nicely to the city.
I did not feel like cooking so I went in search of some food. I came across a burger shop called “Burger fuel”! Wow they have good burgers. I’ve been back 2 more times since I got the first one. The next day I did the Harbour cruse and then took a ferry across to a suburb called Devonport. They have a chocolate shop and supposedly some good fish & chips but both of the fish and chip shops were closed. I did not do to badly at the chocolate shop only spending $50.00.

They also have another bigger volcano island here called Rangitoto Island which erupted only 600 years ago. The locals used to come here for a holiday and had even built a pool beside the ocean that would fill with the tide. I walked to the top with another Winnipegger that I met on the ferry, I sat had some lunch then wandered down to the lava caves. The caves weren’t all that big though you could see the stone and feel the difference between it and normal stone.

After getting back to the hostel I went and had a Greed pizza from Hells’ pizza it was a double Hawaiian topped pizza that was really good. That night was not a great night though as I woke up with a fever and a sore throat. I took some Tylenol and the fever broke, so I did get some sleep, but I still have a sore throat, so I’ve been just hanging out in the Hostel hoping it will go away soon so I can at least go and see some more of the country before I need to get back to Auz.

Diving & Adventures in Travel

2009-09-06T22:19:00.000+12:00

I got picked up at 8:00 by the bus and was taken to the boat. We left the docks at 9:00 and headed out to meet the bigger boat that stays out on the reef. After a short 2hour journey where a few people contributed food to the fishes, we docked with ‘Kangaroo Explorer’ this is where we would be living for the next 3 days. After our briefing with the captain we got assigned cabins and headed down to the galley for lunch. Then we grabbed our gear and got in the water for our first dive. We would only be going down to approx 10m. We got out and the boat took us to another spot on the reef where we would be spending the night. We also did our second dive of the day after the afternoon snack.

We had fish and chips for supper followed by a relaxing evening. The next morning we were up at 5:30 and in the water by 6am. Even being so early it was warm and the water temp was a nice 25°C, on this dive we went down with a camera man who filmed us. We also followed a turtle and saw a shark. We got out had breakfast and got back in the water at 9am.

After getting out it seemed like it was afternoon even though it was only 10. We all got to relax the afternoon away until our next dive at 4. Then after a supper of roast beef and Yorkshire puddings we got ready for our first night dive. Even though its dark there is still allot of light down there as you can see the moon as well as the spot lights on the boat. When shining your light you need to be careful that you don’t kill too many fish as you can direct the big ones right to the little fishies. After this dive we were all tired so we filled out our log books and went to bed as tomorrow morning we were going to do a deep dive at 30m.

Up again before the crack of dawn we got ready and into the water. Down to one of the deeper spots on the reef we went. At the bottom our instructor pulled out a tomato it was green/grey as red is gone at that depth. We cracked an egg and saw that the pressure kept the shape of it for a few seconds until the big fish got it as it has found it likes eggs. He also took an empty water bottle and half filled it with air when we got back up to the top the bottle was very cold and under lots of pressure.

We did one more dive that day before heading back to Cairns. It was a long weekend and everyone was very tired. That night we went out and partied.

Monday morning I left for Port Douglas. Port Douglas is a little town approx 1.5 hours north of Cairns. It has a nice beach as well as restraints. Here I relaxed for the next week going to the beach every day and having an ice cream cone. I had to try all the flavours.
Now on Wednesday I had to head back into Cairns as I had decided to head across to New Zealand. Since I had nothing to do I decided it would be a good idea to rent a scooter and take a little local tour of cairns. Was I wrong!

I got the scooter and headed out first stop the Crystal Cascades. It’s a nice waterfall flowing into separate pools where everyone goes for a swim. It was a little cool especially after swimming in the ocean for over a week. After I dried off I headed out to the Hydro Dam I was the only one there and got some nice pictures of the sun heading out between the hills. As I left I noticed something was not quite right when I took the corners. It seemed to want to wander stopping I felt the back tire. Dam! It was losing air and I was nowhere near anyone. (Strike 1) Off I got and managed to push it up the hill and then down back to the suburb of Lake Placid. I went to a few houses and found someone with a compressor to get some air in it. Well as soon as there was air in you could hear it leaking out. Great! Well I guess I’m walking back into the city. After about 30min or so a guy stops to see if I need any help I tell him that I’m walking back downtown as I have a flat. He says that I might not want to do that as it is a 20min drive and it’s already getting dark it would probably take me 2-3 hours to walk it. He lives just around the corner and suggests I leave it there and get the company to come get it. So I head back to his house and we look up the phone # for the company as I didn’t have it with me nor was it on the bike or any info I got. The Owner answers and sends out a tow truck for me since I was to have the scooter till the next morning he gives me another one. So I run about the town to get some supper it was 8pm by this time. I was going to head back out and see the last look out I didn’t make it to in the morning but it was raining so I read my book returned the scooter. I get charged for the flat as well as the towing fee (strike 2) tho he does cut it in half so my 3 hour ride cost me $145.00

Well we get on the plane and sit there waiting for some paper work we wait and wait. It was getting hotter in the cabin. Finally the engines start up and we get a bit of air. Then the captain comes on and says there is a fault and we will have to wait a bit till it is fixed. We wait and wait about an hour now. Up the engines start and nope something still not right so we all get off the plane. After a while we get the ok to board again we get on and push off nope something still wrong so we go back to the gate and get out. Ok they think it’s fixed so we all board again. By now it is approx 35°C in the cabin. We get told that there is only one aircon running and once we get up to cruising altitude it should start to cool off. Ok so we push off again and start to taxi. Back on comes the captain and says nope the problem is back we have to head back to the gate. So off we get for the 3rd time. (Strike 3) After a few minutes there’s an announcement that we can come and get a free meal voucher. A whole $6.00 which won’t even cover a meal! So we hang around for a bit and then we are told we need to go and claim our luggage as they are pulling that plane. So we go and get our luggage and head to check in again.

I’m not worried as there’s still lots of time to catch my connecting flight to Auckland I just don’t get to sit around the Brisbane airport for 4 hours. I meet some other folks that are traveling to Auckland and we all head to the check in together. As we are waiting in line there is a call for everyone heading to Auckland to come up to the service desk. She tells us we are going on the next flight and will make it to our connecting flight. 5 min into getting us booked in we are told nope we are now going to head to Melbourne for the night and head over on the flight in the morning as we will not make it in time. (Strike 4) so we get checked in a run off around to get on the plane as they are waiting for us to get on. We get to Brisbane sit for 20 min and then catch the Melbourne flight. In Melbourne we are told we get to stay in the Hilton across the street. My first room to myself in over 7 months! Whoooooo!!!! (Though I did lose my room in Auckland as I had already booked it and could not cancel it) it was nice to have my own TV and king size bed. Having to walk to the hotel was not nice it was only 10°C out! Even though I only got to have 5 hours sleep! In the morning we caught the flight it actually left and we arrived in New Zealand at 5pm I caught the shuttle bus to downtown and walked to the hostel it’s a little cool out but not too bad. I find out that they had candled my room and the beds in the dorm were full (strike 5) lucky they had a 2 share available so I did have a place to stay.

Cairns

2009-08-20T23:55:00.002+12:00

After spending the night in the airport, I arrived in Cairns at 8:00am. Since check in was not until 1:30 I wandered down to the dive shop to see when I could go. They actually go out every day of the year so I got myself booked in for Friday. I will be doing a 3 day/2 night trip staying on the boat at night.

After getting booked in I wandered downtown Cairns. Wow there really isn’t anything to this place! People come here just to dive or take a trip to the rain forest up north.

Since I didn't feel like cooking I went out and got me a lamb Gyro from a nice little Greek restaurant. Ended up sitting there for 2 hours they just wouldn't let me leave it felt really weird since every place at home is get you in and out as fast as possible.

I’ll let you know how the diving went when I get back.

I have found a nice little gelateria that makes their own. I had Caramel mud and Macadamia nut.

Ice cream and Crocs

2009-08-20T23:31:00.000+12:00

I spent the last week or so eating ice cream and sitting by the pool reading. I just don’t want to know what I spent on ice cream since it was mostly $4.25 a day. I did manage to get burnt, so my chest is nice and pink.

My last day in Darwin I went to Crocodylus Park. Here they farm salt water crocs for their hides they also do conservation programs and accept problem crocs. This is how they get most of their big male crocs, sadly they didn’t have any croc ice cream!

After seeing more than enough crocs I headed back into Darwin and off to get my free meal at the local pub. It wasn’t the best for free I wasn’t’ complaining. I got me an ice cream for dessert as walking in 25 degree heat at 8:00pm is just too hot. I then watched some TV and got the shuttle to the airport at 10pm for my 5am flight.

Darwin

2009-08-12T00:17:00.001+12:00

Salt Water Crocs
Originally uploaded by s webster

Darwin is a nice little city (150k) in the tropics; it’s also the fastest growing city in Australia. The weather is 35 and sunny every day. The first week here was interesting I fed fish; tho it was windy and the water cloudy so I could not see the bottom. I ate fish, both barramundi and jewfish. I rented a mountain bike with a girl form the states and got a sore ass from the uncomfortable seats they put on bikes.

Every Thursday and Sunday they run markets at the beach here called Mindle. There is food, music and lots of “crap” that you can buy. These markets bring in roughly 15mil to the community every year so you can see they are vital to the city. Here I tried some Crocodile from the Road kill Cafe, no it doesn’t taste like chicken it is lizardy! I also found a great little ice cream stand that make their ice cream here. For $4.50 you get about ½ a litre in a waffle cone. So far I’ve had Mango, Macadamia nut, boysenberry, passion fruit & lime swirl. I think there are a few more flavours to try yet.

Right now I sit by the pool every day and go for a swim ( since you don’t really want to swim in the ocean here as they have crocs). On Sunday I went and saw the famous jumping crocodiles! We got on a river boat and headed down the river. Even before we got on the boat you could see them. They say there are approx 70,000 in the alidade river. Oh these are salt water crocs so they are massive, 6 meters long and weigh over a ton! They can also jump! One of our guides put some pork on a fishing line and held it over the side of the boat. The croc comes into the water right up to the side of the boat and jumps straight up to get at the meat. One things’ for sure you don’t want to hang over the side of the boat for any reason.

I have issues with things called Katharine!

2009-08-05T01:29:00.001+12:00

Staircase to the Moon
Originally uploaded by s webster

The past few weeks have flown by. From the sheep station in the outback we headed to a mining town just on the border of Karijini national park. We stopped for the night then headed into the park. Tho for some reason we took the back road so 80kms of unpaved un-graded road. Everything was covered in red dust after that. We ended up getting the last camp site. The ground was soo hard I could not get my tent pegs in. The problem with that is without the tent pegs my tent will not stand; luckily I managed to get them in a little tho if you blew on them they would fall over. After setting up camp I went for a hike in Dell’s Gorge here there are 2 swimming pools one at either end of the gorge and roughly 2kms apart. It was a nice little walk.

The next morning we packed up and headed north to Port Headland where I ended up on my own! My so called travel buddy decided she could not travel with anyone so I got left in a caravan park. In a town with 10,000 people.

So I woke up the next morning somewhat relaxed and not really sure what to do. I talked with the guy that was next to me as he was having car problems. He was on his 2nd car since Perth and just got the top end rebuilt. They offered me a lift to Broom as they were going there! So I had a ride. I quickly packed up my stuff and dropped my tent. I thought I would lose the $35.00 I had already paid for the night but they were nice enough to refund it for me. Things were looking up. I sent the girl that I had been traveling with a txt telling her I got a ride and I was leaving. Well a while later I got a call from her telling me she had somehow found a job on a cattle farm 400kms south and wasn’t going any further for a year. Really nice of her! Did I tell you her name? No well you can guess.. It was Katherine.

So we left Port Headland and headed to Eighty Mile Beach. Here we stopped for the nigh and watched the sun go to the other side of the world! At the park they were doing burgers for $4.00 so I got one they were pretty good. We were up and on the road by about 9am the next morning we got into Broom around 2pm. Setup camp and then wandered into town. It’s a nice little place with 15000 permanent residents though over holidays it grows to over 50k. With it currently being school holidays it was completely packed.

Broom

Broom is a nice little pearling town with lots of restaurants and a really nice ice cream shop. (I only visited once a day)
That night the markets were running and the Stair case to the Moon was on. This happens once a month when the moon is full and the tide is out the mudflats look like stairs going up to the moon. (See pic) I think I had some doughnuts and ice cream for supper. I didn’t like the look of most of the food.

The next day we went to Cable beach, this is the famous beach that people watch the sunset and take camel rides on. We went swimming and sat on the beach for the day. That evening we went just out of town to a field to look at the stars. The astronomy man had 10 different telescopes he just gotten a 16” the day before so we could really look at some galaxies. He explained the southern sky pointing out the individual stars he really knew his stuff.

Over the next few days I was looking for a ride to Darwin as my new friends weren’t sure what they were doing yet. Once they knew they invited me along. We were going to head into Derby (a small town) but also the western end of the Gibb river road. Here we rented a 4x4 and drove into the national park that is on the road. (You can only access this road with a 4 wheel drive) In the park there is a gorge with a waterfall and small pools that you can swim in. On our way into the park we had stopped for a bathroom break. One of us was standing around flicking a switch on the front of the truck. We had both wondered what it did. Well as we were ready to go I got in and tried to start it up. Nothing, no lights any dingy. Everything was dead! We had 2 people stop to see if we needed help we tried jumper cables and that did nothing. Eventually the one guy asked if anyone was playing with the switch on the front. He clicked it and said try it now. Well apparently it is an isolator switch that completely kills everything. The lady at the rental place didn’t tell us at all about it, we could have been in big trouble.

Did I mention there was a river crossing we had to do? Well we had to stop and drive thru a few times to take some pictures.

The next day we explored a tunnel where an aboriginal outlaw sent some time. I did not find any rock paintings but our feet did get wet as in some places the water was up to our knees.

After returning the 4x4 we had to spend one more night in Derby as it was getting late. Over the next 2 days we would travel to Kununurra, the last city in Western Australia before the Northern Territory (also one of the places where they filmed “Australia”) and only stopping to change 1 flat tire. Here two of us took a Scenic flight over the Bungle Bungles. (Australians sure love their rocks) it was a 2.5h flight south of the city we crossed a lake and some low level mountains. As well as 2 diamond mines. The one produces 1/3 of the world’s diamonds and has the largest private air strip in the southern hemisphere. I wasn’t really impressed with the rocks or the flight. (I fell asleep) though I did get some great pictures.

We left for Darwin the next morning and traveled the first day without incident. Tho that night they were talking about where they should list the car for sale. We got up and packed the next morning and left. About 5 minutes down the road the car loses all power. We pull over and the car doesn’t start. Great! We are in the middle of nowhere with a dead car. I volunteer to sit on the side of the road while they go back up the road 40min to call for the tow truck. Eventually they return and we wait another 3 hours for the tow truck. I did manage to get some good pictures of an Eagle while I was waiting. (I also got sunburnt even though I was sitting in the shade). Eventually he shows up 45min after they said he would be there. We get the car loaded and eventually leave as we had to wait for one guy as he had gone back into town to phone and see where the towie was. Into town we go. Can you guess the name of the town? Yep that’s right it’s Katherine! So I get my stuff and we call a taxi I head to a caravan park and my friends to a hotel. I setup my camp and get some fish and chips for dinner (or tea depending on what country you’re from) it was a local fish call Barramundi. It’s quite nice. The following day I find out that my friends are just going to head back to Sydney so I need to find my way up to Darwin. Great now I’m stuck in Katherine. Did I mention I really don’t like things called Katherine now! I was going to hop on the bus up though luckily I met some folks that were headed up and they offered me a lift. I spent a week in Katherine tho as I could not get into the hostel till after Saturday. I spent my days swimming in the pool, reading and wandering the big town (12,000 people). I also spent an afternoon in the Hot springs which was a nice 32C and some people called it cold!

So my Western Australia adventure ends and I find out I don’t like things called Katherine!

** I would have posted this sooner though internet reception was not the greatest out there in the sparsely populated North West.

From Perth to Exmouth

2009-07-08T01:39:00.000+12:00

We left Perth first thing Monday morning heading north to Kalberri. It was a nice sunny day we arrived about 5pm and setup camp. Took me a little bit to sort out my new tent as it was not a dome tent. We got setup and cooked supper, ate then went to sleep. The next morning dawned cloudy; we decided it was going to rain. We quickly packed up camp as we were finishing the first drops started. Then the rain and wind came. It was good that we got packed up as soon as we did. In the car we went heading north for Monkey Mia to see the dolphins. Here they (the dolphins) come right up to the shore and have done for the past 30 years.

We were up and on the beach by 7:15 walking to the jetty the dolphins follow you along the beach. Up to the jetty they then follow the ranger back and forth as she walks the length of people all lined up to see them. After a while they come out with buckets of fish to feed them they select people to give the fish to the dolphins.

We were going to stay and see the dugongs but talking with a tour guide they had all left for warmer waters already. As there was a storm coming it was suggested we leave the next day as it would most likely close off the road. So we headed north and made it as far as Carnarvon. A backwards town that you really don’t want to stop in if it can be avoided. We found some fresh fish at fish store in the harbour. That night in the crapiest caravan park we had supper. The place hadn’t been updated since at least the 60ies when it was built.

We packed and left at about 7:30am just to get away. We made it to Coral bay one of the first stops to see the Ningaloo reef. We got the last camping spot in the little resort town. (With no shade) we headed off the too beach to do some snorkelling. I got my camera out and took some pictures of the fishies. Since we had no shade we picked up and moved again this time to Exmouth. Here is one of the few places in the world that you get to see and swim with the biggest fish in the world the Whale Shark. We booked into our room and then headed to the tour desk and booked our tour based on a recommendation from an English couple that we had met in Coral bay. $328.00aud later we were booked for Wednesday morning. Wanting to camp in the national park we attempted to go the next day. When we got there it was full and the ranger told us that when she arrived at work at 8am there were 20 cars lined up to get in. So no camping here for us instead we got a day pass and went to check out the beaches. We did some snorkelling and I took some pictures of more fish. These ones like to follow me. I think it was the yellow strap on my camera case they liked.

The next few days it could not decide what it was doing as it would rain and then be sunny and nice. I sat around a read my book. Tuesday we headed back into the park and I walked the Mandau Mandau gorge. It was a nice little hour walk. Then back to town to rest up for tomorrow when we would go out and see the sharks.

It dawned a cold day and stayed cold all day, it always seemed like it was 7am all day long. We eventually got picked up in the bus (it was running 15min late) and headed out to the boat on the way we saw a dingo standing over a kangaroo on the side of the road. Arriving at the beach we waded out to the zodiac the water was really warm and nice even though it was cold out. Getting on the boat the captain came around and handed out fins and wetsuits. I looked at him to see if he was crazy as the water was as warm as a bath tub. I was the only one that did not wear a wet suit. The first stop was to jump in and do some snorkelling on the reef. Here I got pictures of a sting ray and a parrot fish. We got called back to the boat for morning tea. As we were waiting for the call from the spotter plane we went to the outer side of the reef and watched the humpback whales jump out of the water. As we were watching them we got a call that the sharks had been spotted and off we raced to the spot. On the way we were divided into to separate groups as there can only be 10 people in the water with the shark at one time. I was in the second group. The first group got ready and in they went. We lined up at the back of the boat waiting for our turn the boat lines up with the shark heading towards the back of the boat. GO Go Go and we all jumped in looking forward you see this enormous thing heading right for you then it turned around and headed back the way it came. You have to swim to keep up with it. Normally they don’t move all that fast but this one was flying. Out of the water we get and everyone is talking and looking at the pictures from the 3 cameras that were in the water. It was great! We move a bit and get back into the water for another go. This time he was swimming underneath me. So I jut could make out his shape below before he dove. Out we get and back in group one goes. This time he dives and doesn’t come back up so we head off for another one that was spotted further along the reef. This one is just gliding along the top of the water. This time I took some video as we were in the water much longer with it this time. We got out and group 1 got back in the water after which we all got out and had some lunch. This time the plane had spotted some spinner dolphins. So off we raced to see them these dolphins swim in pods and jump out of the water spinning. It is a great sight to see.

After watching them for a bit we spot some Manta rays. We tried to get in the water with them but as we were too close to the reef it was not safe. So we head back to shore. What a day!

Tomorrow we pack up and head to bullera station which is a sheep station in the outback where we will stay for a few days to relax before moving on north.

Whale Sharks

2009-07-02T01:43:00.002+12:00

20090701SW8087
Originally uploaded by s webster

The past week has been interesting.. We left Perth and headed north. Stopping along the way in a few different places.. I've seen Dolphins Manta rays, Whales, Sharks and even the biggest fish in the world the Whale shark.

These I swam with today!

I'm fit to Dive according to this piece of paper or I don't like the weather lady

2009-06-19T00:53:00.001+12:00

Well after searching for a week I got a ride. We were to be leaving on the 16 well 2 days ago but the girl I will be traveling with is going to work 1 more week so I'm still stuck here. Tho there is a upside I will be going diving this weekend as long as the weather holds out.

I had to go and get a dive medical done. Basically pay the office $75.00 and the Dr. writes me a letter saying I'm fit to dive. and $75.00 was the cheapest I found one was $150.00.

today I had gone into a dive shop here and was talking to the guy he said that right now it doesn't look good as it is suppose storm this weekend so I'll let you know how it goes.

Death of my Archos

2009-06-13T00:46:00.000+12:00

ugg my Archos (Personal Media Player) has died. it's been working great up until now and then nothing. So now I am left without a mp3/video player for the rest of the trip as I will have to send this back to get fixed.

Fremantle

2009-06-08T01:04:00.002+12:00

Over the next few days I saw the sights of Fremantle. I went and did the Prison tour night tour as well as the Tunnel tour which takes you underneath the prison the prisoners dug the tunnels out for fresh water. You climb down a long latter onto a walk way and then into some boats to see the extent of the tunnels which actually go outside the prison walls. The water is crystal clear and you could drink it tho they did have a diesel spill a few years ago that polluted the water they did get a team in to clean it up tho there are still some pockets that get stirred up. The guys that were down before my group managed to tip the boat over and fell it so you could really smell the diesel. You can see some of the pictures on my flicker site.

They also have a market here though nowhere near as extensive as the one in Melbourne. Only one little section is fresh fruit and vegetables the rest is food vendors and trinkets.
Perth is a nice city though there is absolutely nothing to do here they have one park Kings park and a few museums. Getting into the city was a short 20 minute train ride. I walked up to the park as the cbd (central business district) is well below it.

I took a trip out to Rottnest Island it’s a short ferry ride from Fremantle cost’s apporx. $52.00 the island is approx 24kms around. People come here to see the Quokka’s they look like big rats hence the name of the island. People come here to relax, surf, snorkel and see the sights. At one point it was a prison, farm land and even a salt mine as there are 3 salt lakes that dry up once a year.

To Perth

2009-06-06T00:31:00.000+12:00

20090525SW4847
Originally uploaded by s webster

We left Esperance the day of the storm it was nice in the morning but around three o’clock it turned miserable the rain was coming down sideways and it got cold. We headed into Albany a nice little city on the coast. We stayed here for 2 days then continued along the coast line.

Our first stop was in Denmark, here is the home of the world’s largest barometer it was built in the Netherlands and transported here when the builder immigrated to Australia. After this we continued on and saw the elephant rocks, as well as the tingle trees. It looked like it was going to rain (again) as we got to the camp site we found it had a cabin that you could use just a basic thing with 4 walls and a stove. I was unable to get a good fire going for very long as all the wood was damp and would not catch.

After leaving the cabin we continued west into Pemberton to see the Gloucester tree. This tree is 61 meters tall. You can actually climb to the top, they put pegs in it in the forties to use it as a watchtower before that it use to take the forester 6 hours to climb to the top. Before seeing the tree we pulled out our food to make lunch well wouldn't you know the wildlife decided they would like our lunch as well. They (the parrots) were everywhere. Even landing on my shoulder while I was eating.

There is also a 10km hike that you are able to do thru the park. We then went to the southern point and saw the light house as well as the point where the southern ocean meets the Indian Ocean.

The next day I went and saw the Lake cave one of several caves in the area. As you descend the 600 stairs you realize you’re going to have to climb back up them! They show you a few different formations and run a little light show then its back up to the top.

We continued on towards Perth I wanted to see the underwater observatory at the end of a 3km long jetty but it was closed for renovations till 2010. There are a lot of shops and wineries around Margret River the area is quite peaceful. Everyone comes here to relax and get away from the city.

The next day we arrived in Fremantle. Fremantle was the first settlement on the west coast and is also the first port of call for any ships coming from Europe or South Africa. I booked into the hostel for a week then had a shower and washed my cloths. It was nice to have a shower again. Then I went in search of some food. Down in fishing boat harbour there are handful of fish and chip shops tho they are more upscale than the normal little shops. I checked out all of them and settled upon one and had garlic prawns.

Jazz festival - long post

2009-06-03T00:46:00.003+12:00

20090501SW6830
Originally uploaded by s webster

Back in Melbourne I found out the Melbourne International Jazz festival was on. It had started on Monday so I had missed most of it but was able to take in a few shows! Meanwhile I finally got an email from the girl I had met in Halls gap who was heading to Perth. So I had to figure out how to get to Adelaide. I found a person wanting to leave when I did though they wanted to get there via the great ocean road. But working it out I decided that it would still be cheaper and the fact that it had rain the previous week maybe mother nature would be with me this time. So we went and purchased some supplies at the market.

I didn’t have a sleeping bag which I would need on the trip to Perth. So off I went to purchase one. Great more things to buy and carry around with me... Ok what is with these auzies.. $1200.00 for a sleeping bag I finally found one for $120.00 tho I’m sure I could have gotten one allot cheaper somewhere else but that was the cheapest in downtown Melbourne.

We left Adelaide on Monday morning heading north then down the Eyre Peninsula the first night we camped just outside of Whyalla beside a Military training ground. There were even some permanent campers there. The wind was howling so we sat inside the car before bed. What was that squeaking noise? Humm. Oh look mice! So I decide I was going to sleep with the food in my tent and not leave it in the car for them to fest on. The next morning I find they had already gotten into my bread. Just one end though so the rest was ok. They did manage to have a party in the car that night I was told chasing one and other also feasting on the cheese that was still there. So off to the store we went in search of a box with a lid for the food.

We drove till Port Lincoln and decided to stay in town at the caravan park. We setup camp and then walked back into town to have some fresh fish. I had some locally farmed tuna it was great.

We drove to Coodlie the next day. And decided to stay in the yha here as the clouds looked nasty. We were right it poured. So much so that the rain came in the hostel I’m sure I would have been completely water logged in the tent.

We made some good distance the next day entering the Nullabor (treeless plain) tho I’m not sure why they call it that as there were trees all the way thru it. we stopped in Fowlers bay and got to see 2 seals playing with some dogs that went for a swim. Got some good pictures of them as well as the sand dunes.
That night we camped in a parking area beside the highway. It was fairly quiet tho sometime in the morning a semi decided to park somewhere close to the tent and woke me up. And then probably 2 hours later it was time for him to leave.

Sometime around 8 I woke up, ate then headed off again. Stopping at the Head of Bight to try and see some whales at their winter home. From here there are no islands till the Antarctica. It wasn’t the nicest day and it looked like rain. Looking out into the ocean there was just lots of water the waves were crashing against the shore. I stood there for about 45minutes just staring out into the water hoping to see something though nothing appeared. The rain was starting. Walking back up the boardwalk I looked out once more. What was that? Looking thru my camera I could see these 2 enormous shapes coming closer. Whales they be! I looked around I was the only person standing there. Back down the boardwalk I went to the closest spot taking picture after picture. They came right up to the shore and were heading up the coast. Just lounging on the surface blowing water out their spout. I stood and watched them for another hour or so taking about 300 pictures. It was great to see

As it was already 12:30 we decided to just have lunch where we were. After eating we headed out again. Stopping once or twice to take some pictures of the cost line. We made good time today crossing the SA/WA border you aren’t allowed to bring any fruit or vegetables across because of fruit fly’s tho we had used up all our fresh stuff the night before. The last stop of the day we pulled into Eucula. This was an old telegraph station town but in the 50ies someone had the bright idea of introducing rabbits to Australia where they grew rampant as they had no natural enemies here and such ate all the vegetation around the shore and town. Eventually the wind moved enough sand that covered the town completely so they packed up and moved 5kms inland.

Dusk was just settling in and we were the last ones here so we decided to setup camp and stay the night. There was cloud cover so it was quite warm. The warmest night camping so far. You would think sleeping on sand would be comfortable but not really. I woke up fairly earlier 7am and could not sleep any more. It might have had something to do with the curawong yelling right outside my tent! The sun was shining. The first time since we left Adelaide! We broke camp and drove back into town, filled up the car $1.54/l (0.20c a litre cheaper than the other town) and started out on the last leg of the treeless plain. Here there was not much to see just vast open space like the prairie land back home. We did come across a few eagles feasting on their kill beside the road.

We camped 100km outside of Norseman as there weren’t many other spots to stop after the town. After setting up camp and cooking diner, I looked behind me and the sky was bright red as the sun was just setting. It had been a really nice day.

We headed into Norseman the next morning stopping to fuel up and then on to Kagoolie-Boulder where we stayed at the YHA. It was nice to finally have a shower again. We decided upon staying 2 nights so we could rest up and see the town. It seems like everyone here lives here while they work in the mines. I was feeling really tired so I slept and read my book. That night I walked to the store and bought a steak and a salad. It will be nice I thought to have some fresh stuff again after being on the road for the past week.

It was suppose to rain but it was nice while we stayed inside. We both still weren’t feeling well so we stayed another day though we did go out and see the Super Pit (gold mine). It will be 3.6kms long and I don’t remember how deep it will be when it’s completed in 2017.

We headed back down to the coast to Esperance to see Cape le Grand. Here they have white sandy beaches that squeaky when you walk on them. Tho of course the first big storm of the season is coming. We got to the camp site at Lucky Bay in Cape le Grand. It was already dark so I had to setup my tent by flash light which is always fun. Here they have an actual kitchen with running water and a cook top.

We met some other travellers 2 from Germany, a Scottish guy, 3 from Canada and 2 from Perth who are moving to Melbourne. It got really warm as it clouded over and ended up being a really nice night. Having woken up again at 7. The birds just won’t leave me alone to sleep I went off to have a shower. HOLY cow! It was so cold I turned blue some solar power hot water heater that is! We had packed up the car as it was really windy and knew it was suppose to rain. Tho after talking to a ranger the storm is not supposed to hit for another day. So we may just end up spending another night here as it is really nice. Even with the clouds. Well it’s time to go off in search of some geocaches!

Great Ocean Road part 2..

2009-05-03T21:52:00.001+12:00

20090424SW6649
Originally uploaded by s webster

Rain Rain Rain & more rain. I know we are in a rain forest but this is crazy. It has been raining for the past 4 days and not light rain either stuff that is blowing sideways.

Ok I’ve now driven the Great Ocean road 4 times. After leaving Lorne we headed to Apollo bay. The hostel there is excellent. It was built in 2005 has 2 kitchens, one on top of the other as well as 2 lounges with a fire place in the bottom lounge with the chimney going up thru to the top one. There are floor to ceiling windows all thou out the building. This lets the sun in when it is shining. (All of 1 hour while we were there).

The first day we got there we sat back and relaxed. I wandered down to the beach and walked along the pier. At the end there were two families fishing tho they didn’t seem to catch anything while I was there someone had lost their boots in the ocean and they floated by. I took some pictures and wandered back into town as the rain started and it was getting close to supper. Tho I did stop at an Ice cream shop to get some fresh Honey Malt + Honey Comb ice cream in a waffle cone. This shop makes the ice cream on site and has won awards for it. It was great! I went back to the hostel to see what the guys wanted to do for supper as well as find out if there was room for us. They were going to have some pasta so I decided to head out and find the fish and chip shop. I got me a Blue Grander and chips all for $7.50 it was much better than the place that I had found in Sydney.

The next day I drove the guys back to Lorne (1.25 hours) so they could apply for jobs. Once that was done we drove back to Apollo bay (1.25 hours) stopped for some ice cream and headed out to see the 12 Apostles (1.6 hours). It actually stopped raining for about 30 min while we were there tho the wind was howling covering me in salt water. We got some good pictures then headed out to find what else we could see before the sun completely set. We found the bay of Martyrs here a ship had crashed on the rocks and 50 sailors had drifted into a cavern that night the cavern glowed purple from the phosphors.

We looked around a bit wanted to go down to a lower view point but it was closed. I managed to slip on some wet mud and land on my ass. I kept my camera up tho one whole side of me was covered in mud. At least I wasn’t wet as well. I just stood in the wind and let it dry me out it had stopped raining for 5 minutes. The sun set and it got dark so we headed back to Apollo bay (1.5 hours) this bit of road is extremely twisty. With 25km/h U turns most of the times you can only get up to 35km/h and the trees over hang the road where they drop the leaves. So it becomes extremely slippery when it’s been raining.
The next day it was storming again. The wind was howling and the rain coming down so we decided to stay in and relax. We did end up going out to pick up a pizza around 7pm tho it had calmed down a bit by then.

Monday started out nice as we checked out at 10am (we didn’t move all that quick in the morning and we always sat and had tea before leaving) off we went to the Otway Fly Tree walk. Of course it wouldn’t stay dry today so it rained. The Otway tree top walk is a steel structure that lets you walk up at the top of the trees and look down on the forest floor. Let just say I had an interesting time up there. Tho somehow I did manage to climb all the way up to the top of the look out. After our walk we headed on to Port Fairy we stopped in Warrembole to see the whales but we were too early to see them they don’t show up till sometime in May. We got to the hostel made supper and watched Red dwarf. I tried to have a shower the next morning but all there was for water was cold and Ice. So my hair got washed and I didn’t. We headed for Ballerat to see the Gold.

We arrived at the hostel around 4:00pm and checked in. Humm this is quite a small hostel with only 4 rooms and we were the only ones there. We headed out to see the gold museum. They closed at 5:00pm so we didn’t go in. Instead we went shopping to get supper and the guys needed to get some stuff for the new jobs they were starting on Thursday. We went to wallmart! I bought some pens as the one I had with me died. We then proceeded to the supermarket to buy things for supper, after which we went back and cooked up some food. We ended the night by watching some more Red Dwarf!

The next day I drove the guys to the train station as they were headed back to lorne to start their jobs. I then went and spent the day at Soveren hill. This is where there was an uprising during the gold rush and 22 people were killed in 15 minutes. The town is nice and you can walk in a gold mine. I watched the blacksmith pour a gold bar... it was only worth $120,000.00 but for some reason he wouldn’t let me take it home! I don’t know why. I was really disappointed with the sound and light show that they did at night. For the $45.00 I paid you would think they would have live actors as well. I would not recommend it to anyone. Yet they have people going to it every night and some nights they run it twice.

I returned to Melbourne the next day stopping at Australia’s only Castle. They wanted $20 to walk around it so I just took some pictures from the outside. Thus ends my Great Ocean Road Trip or does it. Stay tuned to next weeks’ adventure.

Great Ocean Road

2009-04-24T01:54:00.001+12:00

20090423SW6537
Originally uploaded by s webster

After returning to Melbourne from the Grampians national park I found my two friends from Dublin. I had been planning on driving the great ocean road by myself but decided they should come with me. So we rented a car and headed out Monday morning.

First stop was Phillip Island, home of the penguins and Grand Prix race track. We got to the island and purchased our 3 park pass getting us into see the penguins, koalas & Churchill Island. Then we proceed to find our hostel. It was a nice little place seemed to be built out of an old house. It had everything pool, lounge, bar, Free Breakfast. Though only one problem it shut down at 8:30pm so basically we had to go to bed early. Our first stop of the night was to see the penguins. They are little the biggest being 1 foot high. The night before they had 450 come into shore at 6:15 our night only 250 came in and it wasn't until about 6:30 that they started to show up. We sat on the beach and watched them come out of the water and run up the hill. They would run back and forth into and out of the water until they were sure it was safe. We weren't allowed to take any pictures so I have none to show you!

The next day we went and walked Churchill Island it was a great little place. We ended up walking around the entire island. After which we went and saw the Koalas though they were all asleep.

Day 3 we stopped at the grand prix track to have a look around we just missed the walking tour so I got a shirt took a few pictures and we carried on to the chocolate factory for our free samples. They even had a few penguins made entirely out of chocolate. We got our samples and bought some more it was really good.

We continued on our travels to meet the ferry this would cut out 4 hours of driving. We got the car on and went up to make our lunch of cheese and a baguette it was quite good. Went to the top and took some more pictures though we did not see any dolphins as they do on occasion.
We continued along the road to Lorne stopping at a lighthouse in Aireys inlet to watch the sunset.

Day 4 we awoke to the Cockatoos; they are very loud and as you can see come right up to you to see what you’re going to feed them. Or possibly they will take from your hands as you try and eat!

Following breakfast we set out to the information centre to find out about the local walks in the Great Otway National Park. We got one that would take us about 3 hours to do. It was up the mountain to Erskine falls. Here the trees are huge and the ferns stand well over 15 feet high everything is green and it's a little cool walking along the path. We criss crossed the river so many times sometimes jumping others walking across fallen logs or even just stones. We found another track that would lead us back to town. This one there was not a sole to be seen as the bridge was out closing down the track. Though we did find a way across it. This trail had 2 separate waterfalls the last being the phantom falls here we found a wild apple tree with some fruit still on it.

It was a nice little journey totaling over 30kms we got back at around 7:30pm. We made some pasta for dinner and I sat down to download and catalog my pictures for the past 2 days. I didn't take all that many only 330. I will need to press that trigger button some more!

Back in Civilization (it’s really just a place to spend $$)-Rant

2009-04-17T19:25:00.001+12:00

20090416SW6275
Originally uploaded by s webster

Well I’m back in Melbourne for a couple of days. The last few days in Halls Gap were great! I met some people from New Zealand who just happened to Geo-cache. I hadn’t thought of doing that while I was there and glad I met them. They got me hooked again. If you don’t know what Geo-caching is, the simplest answer is using multi-billion dollar satellites to find Tupperware hidden in the woods.

You download coordinates onto your gps then treck around looking for the “cache” There was even one hidden by another Manitobian. He did make me work for that one – Thru the bush, no trails except for the paths the kangaroos made and with some rock climbing to boot. It was a great way to end my stay there.

Now that I’m back in town I’ve got internet and lots of food close at hand. I’ve traded my 4 books in for 2 new ones and wandered the shops some more. Oh I found Wall-Mart it’s called “the Big W” here.

$3.00 Slurpee - Prices for new books as well as electronics and video games are insane. A book that would cost me $10.00cad at home is $20.00aud here. Video games are even worse. One that would cost $50-60cad is anywhere from $99-110. DVD’s are in the same boat as well $20.00cad they are $30aud $40.00aud for blue-ray. Did I mention that it’s $15.00 to see a movie in the theater?

So even though we as Canadians complain about the prices we pay when we see the US prices. It’s even worse off for the Aussies. My $3.00 Slurpee just doesn’t taste the same!

Halls Gap, Grampians National Park

2009-04-04T23:32:00.001+13:00

20090328SW2457
Originally uploaded by s webster

Well it’s been a while since I’ve last updated. I had to move out of Melbourne as the Grand Prix took over the city and all the hostel beds as well.

It’s quite nice up here extremely quiet until the birds start to yell around supper time. The first day I met my friend Tatiana from the UK. We dumped our stuff at the hostel and went looking for some trails. Ending up in town (250 permanent people live here and there are 6000 beds) we found the visitor information centre. We got a map and took off looking for a trail. Ok this is the second place that I have been in a national park and wonder where people in this country learned to cartography? We completely missed the start of the trail by 2.5kms, on the way back to town we managed to find it! Hidden beside a bridge, there are trail markers but they have been over grown by trees and are not visible at all. We did make it to the top and there is a great view.

Upon our return to town we decided to head out and find food, but wait it’s a small tourist town everything closes at 8:00pm. We managed to find one open restaurant and they were serving Kangaroo. It was great! It tastes a lot like Bison, very lean.
The days here have been sunny and hot. Hovering around 30+ each day. Tho the past 2 days it’s been cold around at around 20.
Halls gap is a great place to unwind walk among kangaroos and star gaze. The kangaroos’ even come right up to the door to eat the grass.

As Easter is just around the corner I will be staying here for the next week as a lot of hostels fill up over the holidays here.

Have a great week and Happy Easter!

Internet

2009-03-23T13:55:00.001+13:00

$50.00 for a week of internet ok this is getting a little ridiculous. I am thinking I should go and get me a wireless card it would be cheaper.

Ok I've modified my blog so you can now make comments.. Pictures are still on the way.

Zoo - Greek Festival

2009-03-21T13:54:00.000+13:00

I had to move as the place I was staying was full up for the weekend. I think I have too much stuff with me I was sopping wet by the time I had walked here. It was only about 2kms. I got my bed and went looking for some food. Boy I was hungry after a day wandering the zoo. I stumbled upon a Street festival I think it was Greek as there was an abundance of Greek food. Columbian? what were they doing at a Greek festival? needles to say their stall wasn't that busy.

I found me a gyro stand and got a lamb. The guy serving could not understand my name.. It was written on my food as Skype. There was a main stage s well as vender stalls and a smaller street strange and don't forget the handful of rides. On the smaller stage there was a DJ spinning some dance when I went by the first time. Walking back after eating my gyro it had gotten dark. I could see flames as I got closer. They were doing some kind of dancing with fire. not bad though I think they were a little nervous as they dropped the sticks a few times. I took some pictures and then wandering for a bit I could feel the day start to wear on I decided to pack it in and wander home.

Well off to the market have a great day!

Scott

Melbourne

2009-03-19T13:51:00.000+13:00

Melbourne is different! it seams it is more like Winnipeg with it's large mix of different cultures. The first day I wandered the CBD ( central business district) I found a good little book store where I managed to buy the Redwall series I'm currently reading for $5.00 each. I ended up on the river towards the end of the day as the rowing clubs were just starting to practice I got a bunch of pictures of them.

They have a few different markets here. One is called the Queen Victoria Market, you can get everything from fruits & meat to clothes and souvenirs. Walking thru the stalls you ca hear the vendors cry out " Come get your banana's lowest prices. We don't' care if we make any money we just want to make friends!" its quite large! I bought some apples

Day 2 I decided to go the beach. I put my sunscreen on then went and waited for the bus, and waited and waited. finally going inside to find out what was going on. Well the driver was sick and the bus had ended up being full. So the guy finally showed up after about 45minutes. The beach is different here. There's a long boardwalk along side of it and just a little sand area. I picked out a spot and laid down to read my book. From here you can see all the big cargo ships coming into port. As well as a few helicopters humm that one looks like a coast guard. After reading for about 3 hours or so I thought I should wander a bit. As I was putting my shoes on along comes a police officer telling us not to go into the water a shark has been spotted in the area. There were a few people out playing in the water. They continued on down the beach. I was following them on the board walk As they were getting people out of the water a group of people were gathering towards one section where I was headed, all looking out into the water. Looking to where some where pointing I looked out and could see a long dark shape with a find sticking out moving along the shore line. Well there it was my first wild shark sighting. I guess I'm not going swimming today. I attempted to get a picture but my battery was low and it looks like I didn't get one.

Blue Mountains

2009-03-16T13:49:00.000+13:00

Well after sitting on the beach for a week I headed up into the mountains. Blue Mountains in fact. They are called so for the blue haze that flows over them. Katoomba is the town right in the middle of the park, it's a nice little town spread out over the cliff tops. can you smell the fresh air?

The first day I went for a short 2 hour hike along the cliff tops looking out over the valley. all you can hear is the birds singing as you look out over it.

Day 2 started out with a hike to Ruined Castle a short 6 hour walk along the cliff tops and down a fire road. then walking down the side of a mountain on a old path from the earlier 1900's I still don't know how I managed that with 2 camera's hanging around my neck. you can see from the pictures how narrow the path is at times or how steep it is. upon making it to the bottom I realized "Great I'm going to have to get back up some how! the hike down the path was great you would think it would have been quiet except for all the birds. There are these birds called Bell birds that sound like bells going off constantly. though it was very peaceful. finding the top of Ruined castle you have great views from the middle of the valley. looking to the South east though you can see the numerous forest fires that are burning. Having looked around it was time to head back as it was starting to get dark at 3:00. picking up the pace I trekked back the 3kms in under 1.5 hours deciding instead of going back up where I came down I would continue on to the railway as it was only another 2 hour walk.

Well that was some walk. being hidden in the mountain shadow of the sun it was a little dark. but just around the bend and it lightened considerably. I saw something up ahead running that looked like a cat. Yet I was talking with a local and they don't have any big animals like we do back home. pulling out my camera to try and get a picture I spot it down in the bush. though it decided it didn't want it's picture taken! So over the landslide we go.. I think it needs to be a little better marked the path as at one point I could not find the marker I did managed to leave some blood behind on that rock climbing the hill. continuing on I make it back to flat land boy what a track up and down hill.. wait the last rail car has gone for the day I'm going to have to climb out of here. "Great" more stairs. Over 1000 of them in fact. Up Fubar stairs we go. with some great views of the valley on the way I can look back and see Ruined castle on the way up.

Boy was that a long trek 30km in total over 9.5hours of strait walking. Glad that's done time to find some food and another trek tomorrow I wonder where I will go?