Sink and Swim

I just finished the first day of my scuba diving class and it was unbelievable! The morning was all easy classroom work, but I was terrified I was going to fail the swim test in the afternoon. Us Nelson girls aren't known for our buoyancy. I had to lap the dive pool 6 times, but when he told us that we could do it any style I knew I would be alright. Backstroke is one of the few swimming methods I can manage to flail out. That was all fine and good, but after we finished (I was about a lap and a half behind everyone else) the instructor told us about the second half of the test- treading water for 10 minutes. I never tried for more than 5 minutes and I am pretty sure the last swimming lesson I ever took (Maroon at the High Prairie Pool) only required two minutes. They distracted us by asking us to talk about why we were here so that helped but that last minute was killer. I am really glad I didn't know about that part before I started otherwise I would have totally psyched myself out. Once the swim test was over, the fun began.

We did a bit of familiarization with just mask and snorkel and then got to put on the full gear with buoyancy vest and weight belt and tank and everything else. Just shallow water stuff today and then tomorrow we upgrade to the deep end. After the swim test, this will be easy peasy- and the attractive instructors don't hurt either! :P

-A.

Tropical Paradise

As soon as I got off the plane, I was glad I had decided to come to Cairns. A balmy 27 degrees with a light breeze, it is a lovely change from the creeping autumn that is hitting Sydney. As usual I didn't book a room ahead of time, but stopped at a hostel recommended by my airport shuttle driver. $20 later and I have a four-person dorm room with a view of the ocean and only one roommate. I will sleep here for 3 days while I do the land-based parts of my scuba diving course (classroom and pool stuff) and then on Monday I am off to the outer reef for a couple days to do some serious diving. This time last year I was in Sudbury doing a geology workshop, and now I am diving the Great Barrier Reef- it's funny where you end up sometimes, isn't it? Now to ditch the socks and go for a swim!

-A.

Sydney on a Shoestring

For my last day in Sydney, I decided to pull out all the stops, especially since I managed to sell my car and actually have some cash now. First I took the train downtown then grabbed a connecting bus down to Bondi beach. After a yummy lunch at the shore, I headed back into town and climbed the stairs to the top of the Pylon Lookout on the harbour bridge. You can also do a bridge climb to the top of the steel arch, but the price difference was $9.50 versus $210 for an extra 30m of height. Not a tough call there. To finish off the day I took a ferry out of Circular Quay to Manley on the north-west end of the harbour. The sunset on the opera house with the thumbnail moon overhead was pretty damn sweet and probably my favourite in Sydney. I don't understand folks who spend gobs of money on city tours. For $17 I got a transit pass that covered any train, bus, or ferry in Sydney and had a blast doing it. Including my bridge lookout and lunch, I spent a grand total of $36.50 to see a big chunk of the city- I have a feeling that a day tour would cost a teensy bit more than that.

I think I was able to enjoy myself so much today because I finally have a bit of my life organized for once. Tomorrow I am off to Cairns for a week where I will take a course to get my open water scuba diving certification. I figured, where better to learn to dive than the Great Barrier Reef, hey? The 27 degree weather will be a nice touch as well as autumn is creeping into the southern states and it would be nice to reclaim some of my tan- it disappeared over the last month during all the rain in New Zealand. Next Friday I fly into Melbourne for the weekend to finish off my trip, then on Monday June 8th, I return to the Great White North. Thanks to the beauty of time zones, I will leave Melbourne and arrive in Los Angeles at exactly the same time (10:50)- talk about a short cut! Then it's a mere 3 hour layover until I get on a Westjet direct to good old Edmonton. I don't know what I'm going to do when there are beavers on the nickels again. I haven't been in Canada since November 1, 2008; maybe I'll get culture shock. I'm sure a double-double and a honey crueller from Timmy's will fix me right up though.

-A.

BIg City Puddle-Jumping

Sydney kind of threw me off when I first got here- I think it was the shock of staying in a town of 2000 people to a city of 4 million. A bit of a jump to say the least, but this little burg is growing on me. It seems everyone is good looking and purposeful. And friendly in that 'strangers talking at a bus stop' sort of way. It is less laid back than Perth and more self-important than Melbourne but as the rock star of Australian cities, I guess that would be inevitable.

I made my second venture downtown today and discovered at least 4 people wearing Mountain Equipment Co-op backpacks as I got off the train. In my travels I have found this to be as much of an indicator of a Canadian as if they wearing a Team Canada hockey jersey. I have quite the collection of MEC gear, including my backpack, a shirt and a fleece jacket and many Australians who have been to Canada will spot my nationality before I have even spoken. Accompanied by the Travel Alberta tourism ad I saw in the theater the other day before Star Trek started, I felt the slight pangs of homesickness.

The rain isn't helping either. I swear its stalking me across the southern hemisphere. I haven't had more than one rain-free day in a row since I left Stewart Island in New Zealand in the last week of April. For a drought-stricken continent there has been an awful lot of flooding along the east coast in the past couple weeks. I request at least 5 days of sunshine before I leave to repair the damage done by New Zealand to my tan, dammit! Is that too much to ask?

-A.

Return of the Budgie Smugglers

I hit the streets of Sydney today to finally give the city a good look-about. There is a great transit system that can get you just about anywhere. I had a bit of a late start and only got downtown at around 2pm so I didn't get to wander as much as I had planned, but I figure I will be here a few days so there will be plenty of time to catch the rest. Sydney is about the same population as Toronto, but with a whole lot more character. And walking downtown, I have never felt quite so uncool. It's not that I was wearing dirty or ugly clothes, but everyone around me looked so stylish that my t-shirt and capri pants may as well have been a potato sack.

Though I would like to note that I could downgrade from the two layers of coats I was wearing in New Zealand. Summer is back! ...except it is the Australian equivalent of November. The highs are sitting around the 22 mark and the ocean is as warm as it gets all year, having spent the last few months toasting up in the summer sun. I went down to Cronulla beach and they were having some sort of lifesaving contest with boats and lifeguards and very small swim trunks. Whether it was the attractive scantily clad men on the beach or the sunshine, I realized that I missed Australia when I was away. I think that instead of going to Vanuatu when I sell my car, I may just take a cheap flight up to Queensland and see as much of this place while I can, since God knows when I will be back.

-A.

PS: If the title of this post is unclear to you, it is a synonym to Speedos, just a little more colourfully descriptive.

Leaving Kiwiland Part 2

As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by an international flight, it seems like I am nearing the end of my trip. I still have to figure out how exactly I am getting home, since my return flight leaves from Perth on July 31 and only goes as far as L.A. Wishful thinking at the time was that I would be working in Perth and would fly home just for a wedding and then head back to my job as an intrepid exploration geologist, scouring the deserts of Western Australia for the next big gold mine. I also figured I would save money by not buying a connection flight back to Canada, because I would be making gobs of it when I found a job. What a difference 9 months makes. I am hoping I can call up Qantas and they well let me both move my flight up and let me leave from Melbourne or Sydney, since I really don't feel like making the 4000km trip back to the west coast. As far as getting out of L.A., once I sell the car, I should be able to snag a westjet ticket and worst case scenario, there is always the 3 day greyhound trip. Yikes.

Hopefully some young traveler will be keen on my little recession-mobile and take it off my hands in the next week or two. I still have to replace the starter motor, but in a place as big of Syndey, I think I can probably find a used one for pretty cheap, and in the mean time, I still have an opera house to check out, among other things!

-A.

Leaving Kiwiland Part 1

As I rode the bus from Hamilton to Auckland ($12 websaver fare!), I was just finishing up a travel book by Paul Theroux about his journey from Cairo to Cape Town in Africa. It really suited my mood, since it feels like everything is kind of winding down and focusing toward my return to Canada. My time left in Australia will mostly consist of selling my car and doing some mop up stuff like filing Australian taxes and closing my bank account. I think the bulk of my random adventure is over and... crap, my flight is boarding. I'll finish this later!

-A.

Escape

It has been a very uneventful two weeks in Raglan, with only one day where it didn't rain, but on the bright side, I did not run out of money and have to move into a cardboard box for the duration. I have posted my car for sale online and already have a bite, so I am hoping that by this time next week I will be somewhat elevated from my current hobo state.

Another cool thing is that I have got to know a bit of proper New Zealand and not just the toursity stuff. I helped someone herd their cattle 10km down the road to a new paddock and visited the local basalt quarry and hung out in the local library which looks a heck of a lot like the High Prairie version, just with a few more Maori language children's books. Not terribly exotic, but time well spent, I think. See you in Sydney.

-A.

Hibernation in Raglan

I have been spending the last few days in a little surfing town west of Hamilton, camping at my uncle's friend's house. This is a good thing as I just checked my bank account and have about $200 left and no legal right to work in NZ. My flight leaves on the 15th so if I can just hold out until then, I should be alright. There I can sell my car and get my tax return done and all will be well. New Zealand has been wonderful, but as has been the theme on this trip, much more expensive than I had anticipated. I spent the last couple days on the couch as my immune system finally caught up with me and I had a good solid sick. I am on the mend now and I think if the rain stops, I will be bright eyed and bushy tailed once again.

-A.

Crumby Day

I am in Hamilton today, after a marathon trip to Cape Reigna. On Friday I stayed at a little place called to Turangi with the intention of heading to the hot springs and lovely geothermal awesomeness of Rotorua the next day. That evening I was making some grilled cheese sandwiches and like a good little chef, moved my pan off the hot burner when finished. I did not notice the toaster cord dangling over the other burner that I had moved the pan on to. Five minutes later there was a very large spark and a small jet of flame as the pan melted through the cord and made conact with the live electrical wire. The breaker tripped and we were thrown into darkness. Suffice to say that the toaster was toast and I was $50 poorer as a result. I was still a bit cranky in the morning so went for a quick drive south to check out the volcano they used as Mt. Doom in Lord of the Rings.

Half way there I realized I still had the key from the stupid hostel so I had to turn back and return it, since I wasn't sure if he would charge my credit card for the replacement. Arrrggggh. I was no longer in the mood for geothermal awesomeness and did what I usually do when I am not having a good time- drive a long ass distance. These are hard to come by in New Zealand, but the trip to the northern tip of the country did the trick, clocking out at adjust under 8 hours from my location at the time. I got there at 9:30pm and slept in the car, since it was actually warm enough to do so. Northern New Zealand rarely gets below 10 degrees in the coldest months so I was not so worried about freezing as in the South Island. After watching the sunrise over the lighthouse (very pretty) and checking out the cool whirlpools created where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean, I headed back. I got to Hamilton yesterday afternoon and had a relaxing evening at a cool hostel with nary a toaster in sight (I think it was in the cupboard somewhere). Stupid toasters.

-A.

PS: Pardon the puns- I just can't help myself