Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Crazy Weekend!
So this past weekend I took a trip with the UNSW Waterski and Wakeboard club up to Cliftonville Lodge which is about an hour North of Sydney. The plan was to leave from Sydney at 8am on Saturday and be on the river all weekend. So I of course overslept and forgot to pack flip flops (thongs in australia) but that's not important. Barely made it to McDonalds where we were meeting but I did thankfully otherwise I wouldn't be writing about it haha.
I jumped in the car with the president of the club so obviously we were the first ones there and I got to help take the first boat out. I wasn't too sure what to expect (which seems to be the case a lot of the time here) but once we got both boats out onto the river we all signed up and took turns taking runs. We also set up a trampoline by the water which was fun. I honestly think I was the only water skier since most people went wake boarding. It was such a great time though. Water was a little cold but we had two beautiful days and I got some good runs in. The second time I went I attempted to wakeboard for the first time. Five or six failed attempts later I was pretty frustrated but I wanted to get my runs in so I decided to postpone getting up on a wakeboard until over the summer.
Once it got a little bit colder and we were done for the day we went up to our cabins that we were staying in which were actually pretty nice. Cody and I were given the task of trying to set up this really old inflatable hot tub, and actually found an email from the club to the manufacturer saying that the hot tub was shocking people. So we kind of gave up on that haha. I go the the University of New South Wales but the University of Sydney waterski club was also there, and we knew one of the guys that was there so we ended up staying in a cabin with him. Had a huge cookout to end the night and enjoyed getting to know a few Australians and a bunch of other nationalities too. France, Norway, Netherlands, Singapore (wherever that is, not really helping the ignorant American stereotype) to name a few. Got a bunch of compliments on how good the chicken Cody and I grilled was too.
The next day we woke up around 9 and cleaned up the cabins, had a light breakfast and headed back down to the river for another awesome day. For the first time ever I tried to drop a ski and slalom which was so cool but I fell both times. Went a little bit farther the second time. I'm really pumped to get out onto the lake this summer. Once we got all our runs in we packed up the boats and headed back to Sydney. It's always pretty amazing to drive across the Sydney harbor bridge. Got back and went to the movies to see the Avengers for an overall awesome weekend.
I jumped in the car with the president of the club so obviously we were the first ones there and I got to help take the first boat out. I wasn't too sure what to expect (which seems to be the case a lot of the time here) but once we got both boats out onto the river we all signed up and took turns taking runs. We also set up a trampoline by the water which was fun. I honestly think I was the only water skier since most people went wake boarding. It was such a great time though. Water was a little cold but we had two beautiful days and I got some good runs in. The second time I went I attempted to wakeboard for the first time. Five or six failed attempts later I was pretty frustrated but I wanted to get my runs in so I decided to postpone getting up on a wakeboard until over the summer.
Once it got a little bit colder and we were done for the day we went up to our cabins that we were staying in which were actually pretty nice. Cody and I were given the task of trying to set up this really old inflatable hot tub, and actually found an email from the club to the manufacturer saying that the hot tub was shocking people. So we kind of gave up on that haha. I go the the University of New South Wales but the University of Sydney waterski club was also there, and we knew one of the guys that was there so we ended up staying in a cabin with him. Had a huge cookout to end the night and enjoyed getting to know a few Australians and a bunch of other nationalities too. France, Norway, Netherlands, Singapore (wherever that is, not really helping the ignorant American stereotype) to name a few. Got a bunch of compliments on how good the chicken Cody and I grilled was too.
The next day we woke up around 9 and cleaned up the cabins, had a light breakfast and headed back down to the river for another awesome day. For the first time ever I tried to drop a ski and slalom which was so cool but I fell both times. Went a little bit farther the second time. I'm really pumped to get out onto the lake this summer. Once we got all our runs in we packed up the boats and headed back to Sydney. It's always pretty amazing to drive across the Sydney harbor bridge. Got back and went to the movies to see the Avengers for an overall awesome weekend.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Time flies...
I have been so busy since I last posted. It's hard to believe that I'm over halfway done with my time here. I stand by the fact that this country is amazing, and there's no way that I won't be back here at some point in my life. The more I explore the more I keep wishing there was some way I could stay here forever.
I still haven't posted about my Fall Break with IES (it's Fall in Australia), so check back in a few days and hopefully I'll have that entire trip posted about, it's gonna be a long one.
Highlights from the last few weeks let's see...
Well classes are going pretty well. I might as well touch on that. They grade a lot harder here than they do back home, but I'm doing well as far as I know. I've got a few essays due next week, and I'm actually looking forward to a little bit of stress and structure for the next couple weeks. Yesterday in my Vertebrate Zoology class a Zoologist from the Taronga Zoo in Sydney brought in a few different animals, which was an awesome change from normal lab (which is still way more interesting than anything I've ever taken at Ithaca). The best animal was an Echidna named Brian, and it looked like a cross between a porcupine and a platypus and it was so awesome.
Last Wednesday was Anzac Day, which is basically Australian Memorial Day, to remember all the troops that died fighting in World War I and all the other wars Australia has fought in since. We had a bunch of people over to our building and had a cookout in the backyard. It was a pretty good time. This weekend we're actually having a cookout for Cinco de Mayo so we seem to have an endless amount of reasons to grill which is great.
This past Sunday I went wine tasting in the Hunter Valley, which is about two hours North of Sydney. I'll put a few pictures up on facebook soon, but it was a lot of fun. I went with a group of about 10 people from the states, and a few Frenchies and a Brazilian kid too. We stopped at a chocolate shop to try some fudge (it's just as good here as it is in America) and chocolate, then stopped off at a vineyard that makes this wine called Tin Soldier which we tried a few of. I liked white wines more than red, but it was interesting trying different types of wines that were actually pretty nice. We also stopped at a cheese shop called The Smelly Cheese Shop, which had more kinds of cheese than I've ever seen before. I ended up buying a cow feta cheese with sundried tomatoes and garlic, so good. Then we went next door to another winery and tried some really really nice wines.
After that we went to another winery (I wish I remembered all the names, but the thing is that most of the wineries in the Hunter Valley are so small that they don't produce enough to export, so most of the wines can only be bought directly from the wineries. And no, I never tried yellowtail haha). I found out that I like sweet wines and white wines. Verdhelo was my favorite wine I tried I think. After the last winery we went to The Hunter Valley Brewery and tried a couple really nice beers that they brewed. It was cool to be able to sample all the different kinds that I never would have tried on my own.
Check back soon for my Break posts!
Monday, April 16, 2012
The most extreme weekend ever.
Friday:
So I had known I was going skydiving for a couple weeks now. But it wasn't until the morning of March 30th that I actually realized what I was about to do. The cool thing about Australia is that you're usually so busy doing other stuff, that you don't have time to dwell on what's happening in the future. Which is nice if you have a test or something. But when I woke up at 5:30am to catch the bus that took us downtown to catch the other bus that drove us to Wollongong, I actually started to think about it. To be honest, I wasn't too nervous, but when the five other friends you're going with are freaking out like six year olds who just discovered coffee, well it can get into your head.
After the two hour bus ride from downtown Sydney to the skydiving place in Wollongong, we got off the bus and went inside this little shack where you have to hand in all your paperwork and sign up for the day. I figured that we'd take a hour long class or briefing or something before we jumped. Instead we jumped into our harnesses, met the instructors who would be strapped to our backs, and jumped into another van to head to the airport. The cool part was that as we were doing this, other jumpers were parachuting into the field right outside the building, so we had a brief glimpse of what we were in for.
We had worked out that I was gonna be the last one to jump on the way to the airport, so when we got there I was the first one to get in the plane. Now I was starting to get excited. Before it seemed surreal, but now I was actually getting in the plane. I sat facing the back of the plane with everyone except the pilot and my instructor in front of me. Next thing I know we're taking off and climbing fast. After about ten minutes I look down and assume that we're pretty close to where we're going to jump, 14,000 feet off the ground. I of course then look at the altimeter and think that I'm reading it wrong, but I'm not. 3,000 feet and climbing. This is going to be interesting.
So then the moment is here. The red light turns yellow. Yellow light turns green. Door opens and Chris falls out of the plane. Then Cody. Then Adam. Catherine. Michelle. Now it's my turn. Surprisingly, watching my friends fall out of a plane in front of me hadn't freaked me out. I move closer to the door. I look down. Yup.
I'm a little ashamed to say I closed my eyes for the first two seconds. I curl like a banana like I was taught and keep my hands in tight. Then the guy strapped to my back (or am I strapped to his front...) taps me on the shoulder and I open my eyes and throw my arms out. After the initial jump, I wasn't scared, but the adrenaline from the wind coming at you that fast is just insane. You can't really focus on anything other than the world around you. Then it's over. Parachute opens and as I take the reins and fly through a cloud I really am able to take in my surroundings. Ocean on my right, beach on my left. If you ever see me back home, ask about the video I got from skydiving. That's the only way I can really show how awesome it was.
Saturday: I honestly forget what happened, I'm pretty sure I was productive and that in itself is pretty extreme for being in Australia.
Sunday: Wake up at 4am to catch the 4:30am bus to central station. Run down the the bus stop. Realize that I incorrectly deciphered daylight savings in Australia and it's actually 3:30am. Damnit.
And so began one of the longest days I've had in Australia. The plan was to go canyoning in the Blue Mountains, which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Sydney, but with no bus, we were forced to catch a 5:45am train. Which was actually a cool experience since I hadn't yet.
When we got to the Blue Mountains, the train took us to the small town, where we met up with our guides for the day, who outfitted us with all the gear that we needed for the day. The last time I was in the Blue Mountains, everything was pretty dry and cliff-like, so I figured that "canyoning" mean rock climbing and belaying. Well technically it's called "abseiling" in Australia, it just means the same thing as belaying. We started abseiling down a small 3 meter cliff, then worked our way up to 30 meters, which is about 100 ft. which is pretty tall. Somehow I ended up attempting to lead the group back from the bottom of the cliff to the top where the instructors were. It was fun but I was wondering what we were going to do for the rest of the day.
After lunch we hiked down into a canyon (starting to make sense now) and pulled off our packs. At the beginning of the day when we were given our gear, the first thing we were given was a wetsuit. I was starting to understand why we'd need it. As we followed our instructor into the icy stream that flowed through the canyon we spent the next hour jumping into natural pools of water and climbing through the stream. It was so awesome. The best part was this one 15 foot jump that I must have climbed back and done about 6 times while we were waiting to abseil the canyon.
When it was my turn, I clipped in and did my best to look graceful as I tumbled down the rock face, mostly because I was getting pounded with ice water the whole time. In retrospect it was pretty cool but it was not fun at the time. It was still cool though. I pushed off about 10 ft from the pool at the bottom and jumped in. I had done it. It was a pretty impressive waterfall too, about 100 ft. tall. As we were getting out of our wetsuits to hike back out of the canyon, we heard a huge clap of thunder overhead and the skies absolutely opened up and rained harder than I've ever seen before. We hiked back out of the canyon through the pouring rain and quarter sized hail (which hit me in the face and actually hurt a lot) and jumped back in the van to have a beer and enjoy the train ride back to Sydney where we'd get some sleep after a ridiculous weekend.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
A really delayed update.
Well I really have not been keeping up with this at all.
So let's see, what's happened since Melbourne? St. Patrick's Day was two weeks ago. I've never really cared that much about it, but let's just say it's one of my new favorite holidays. Hung out with a lot of people during the day and then went downtown at night. It ended up being a really great day. Let's just leave it at that.
Last weekend I went to the famous Sydney Opera House and saw the Magic Flute by Mozart. It's hard to get into Opera's that are in English but it was an awesome experience and pretty fun to go see. I also never get sick of the harbor so it's always fun to go down there. The next day was our surf lesson that the program I can here with set up, so we took a ferry over the Manly Beach to learn how to surf. Worth mentioning that as we were taking the ferry over, a plane wrote "Marry me Jane?" in the sky, then wrote "she said yes!" haha which was cool.
When we got over to Manly the waves were pretty small so we weren't sure how good it would be but it turns out that it was perfect for learning. I was obviously a natural, just kidding I stood up a few times but it was definitely harder than I thought it was going to be. I had a lot of fun though.
Classes are going pretty well. Actually had work due last week and this week. Then on Saturday mid-semester break starts and I'm going to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef for five days. It's going to be pretty awesome.
So let's see, what's happened since Melbourne? St. Patrick's Day was two weeks ago. I've never really cared that much about it, but let's just say it's one of my new favorite holidays. Hung out with a lot of people during the day and then went downtown at night. It ended up being a really great day. Let's just leave it at that.
Last weekend I went to the famous Sydney Opera House and saw the Magic Flute by Mozart. It's hard to get into Opera's that are in English but it was an awesome experience and pretty fun to go see. I also never get sick of the harbor so it's always fun to go down there. The next day was our surf lesson that the program I can here with set up, so we took a ferry over the Manly Beach to learn how to surf. Worth mentioning that as we were taking the ferry over, a plane wrote "Marry me Jane?" in the sky, then wrote "she said yes!" haha which was cool.
When we got over to Manly the waves were pretty small so we weren't sure how good it would be but it turns out that it was perfect for learning. I was obviously a natural, just kidding I stood up a few times but it was definitely harder than I thought it was going to be. I had a lot of fun though.
Classes are going pretty well. Actually had work due last week and this week. Then on Saturday mid-semester break starts and I'm going to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef for five days. It's going to be pretty awesome.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
An appropriate recount of my road trip to Melbourne: Part 3
Well things are better in trilogies I suppose, even if they are three weeks late.
So I woke up the second morning of our trip on my own while it was still dark out. I had one of those "where the heck am I" waking up moments, only to have all the memories of the past two days flood back. It was a pretty awesome feeling. Unfortunately, Adam's alarm clock went off not two minutes later from the roof (forgot to mention that the inside of the car is so much more spacious and comfortable to sleep in than the roof) and we decided to get on our way. Driving down the Great Ocean Road with the sun rising was pretty amazing. Incidentally I slept a lot on the ride back, about four hours I was told which deemed me the nickname "sleeping beauty" for the rest of the trip.
Once we reached the end of the Great Ocean Road on our way back towards Melbourne, we stopped at a beach to look for a shower, which we all desperately needed. Luckily almost all the busy beaches I've seen have showers and we found one. Nothing wakes you up like a freezing cold shower. Now that we had gotten off the main road, we decided to use the GPS to get us to and through Melbourne and also the rest of the way home. The only problem being that when we went to turn on the GPS, it showed a computer error. Luckily we had an atlas and two Eagle Scouts (always fun to run into another) in our van so we made it back with only a few wrong turns.
The reason that we ended up going to Melbourne this chosen weekend was because a large group of girls that we knew from Coogee (suburb of Sydney I live in, not sure if I mentioned it) were going to Melbourne this weekend for the free music festival that was taking place downtown. This incidentally lead to a large amount of traffic downtown. After driving around Melbourne for about twenty minutes and realizing that our van was too tall to fit into any parking garage, we drove around looking for a parking spot. The only thing I can compare this to is trying to park in downtown Rochester without a parking garage while Jazz Fest, East End Fest, and Party in the Park are all going on simultaneously. After driving around unsuccessfully for about half an hour more, we were all about at wit's end. Then, almost miraculously, we came to the end of a line of cars and found the most perfect spot I have ever seen. It was only about a half mile away from where the festival was happening, and was right at the end of a row so we didn't have to parallel park that giant purple van.
After walking to the festival, which was pretty cool actually we decided to look for the girls. They were staying in a hostile downtown and had been there for a few days, but were coming to hang out at the festival too. The location couldn't have been cooler. It was right on a river that ran right through the heart of the city and took up a pretty decent amount of space. It ended up being more of a giant carnival with a few music acts every couple hours, lots of rides and food with some professional water-ski jumping on the river (see album). After meeting up with the girls, we decided to walk around the city for a bit and get some dinner. If anyone is ever in Australia, I would absolutely advise going to Melbourne, it's an amazing city. We actually decided to check out the hostile the girls were staying in since they kept relaying horror stories from the past two days they had spent there (i.e. stuck in elevator for half an hour with irish guys) and I won't go into detail but I'm basically scared to stay in any hostile ever now.
After dinner we walked back to our van and decided that we were too tired to actually go out, but wanted to check out the Crown Casino downtown. The best part about walking to the casino was that it was right along the water, and there were tons of street performers and musicians that lined the walk since it was a Sunday night and the festival was going on (Sunday nights are always big party nights in Australia, still not sure why). The casino was cool enough, I lost $20 playing blackjack and that will probably be my casino limit for a while, but the experience was cool. The lobby for the hotel was incredible though, never been in a hotel that nice before. Not to mention the yellow lamborghini or silver miata out front. Around 10:30pm we decided to get back on the road since we needed to find a place to sleep and get a start back to Sydney. It fell on me to do this part of the drive, which didn't bother me, but let's just saying that trying to get out of Melbourne in the dark without a GPS was... stressful. Oh and I was driving on the left side of the road. But we made it out alive, and I drove until about 1:30 in the morning when I found a car park in the middle of the forrest, which creeped everyone else out (seeing as how AJ is still convinced there's dinosaurs in Australia. I am a little too), but I was so tired I hardly cared. Didn't hit any wallabies on the drive either!
Woke up pretty early the next day and got to ride shotgun since I had the role of navigator. Did make a few wrong turns, but Australian roads have about as little signage as possible, which makes navigating slightly more confusing that I would have liked. We stopped about two hours outside of Sydney to eat lunch and toast to our epic road trip, one which I will remember for a long time.
So I woke up the second morning of our trip on my own while it was still dark out. I had one of those "where the heck am I" waking up moments, only to have all the memories of the past two days flood back. It was a pretty awesome feeling. Unfortunately, Adam's alarm clock went off not two minutes later from the roof (forgot to mention that the inside of the car is so much more spacious and comfortable to sleep in than the roof) and we decided to get on our way. Driving down the Great Ocean Road with the sun rising was pretty amazing. Incidentally I slept a lot on the ride back, about four hours I was told which deemed me the nickname "sleeping beauty" for the rest of the trip.
Once we reached the end of the Great Ocean Road on our way back towards Melbourne, we stopped at a beach to look for a shower, which we all desperately needed. Luckily almost all the busy beaches I've seen have showers and we found one. Nothing wakes you up like a freezing cold shower. Now that we had gotten off the main road, we decided to use the GPS to get us to and through Melbourne and also the rest of the way home. The only problem being that when we went to turn on the GPS, it showed a computer error. Luckily we had an atlas and two Eagle Scouts (always fun to run into another) in our van so we made it back with only a few wrong turns.
The reason that we ended up going to Melbourne this chosen weekend was because a large group of girls that we knew from Coogee (suburb of Sydney I live in, not sure if I mentioned it) were going to Melbourne this weekend for the free music festival that was taking place downtown. This incidentally lead to a large amount of traffic downtown. After driving around Melbourne for about twenty minutes and realizing that our van was too tall to fit into any parking garage, we drove around looking for a parking spot. The only thing I can compare this to is trying to park in downtown Rochester without a parking garage while Jazz Fest, East End Fest, and Party in the Park are all going on simultaneously. After driving around unsuccessfully for about half an hour more, we were all about at wit's end. Then, almost miraculously, we came to the end of a line of cars and found the most perfect spot I have ever seen. It was only about a half mile away from where the festival was happening, and was right at the end of a row so we didn't have to parallel park that giant purple van.
After walking to the festival, which was pretty cool actually we decided to look for the girls. They were staying in a hostile downtown and had been there for a few days, but were coming to hang out at the festival too. The location couldn't have been cooler. It was right on a river that ran right through the heart of the city and took up a pretty decent amount of space. It ended up being more of a giant carnival with a few music acts every couple hours, lots of rides and food with some professional water-ski jumping on the river (see album). After meeting up with the girls, we decided to walk around the city for a bit and get some dinner. If anyone is ever in Australia, I would absolutely advise going to Melbourne, it's an amazing city. We actually decided to check out the hostile the girls were staying in since they kept relaying horror stories from the past two days they had spent there (i.e. stuck in elevator for half an hour with irish guys) and I won't go into detail but I'm basically scared to stay in any hostile ever now.
After dinner we walked back to our van and decided that we were too tired to actually go out, but wanted to check out the Crown Casino downtown. The best part about walking to the casino was that it was right along the water, and there were tons of street performers and musicians that lined the walk since it was a Sunday night and the festival was going on (Sunday nights are always big party nights in Australia, still not sure why). The casino was cool enough, I lost $20 playing blackjack and that will probably be my casino limit for a while, but the experience was cool. The lobby for the hotel was incredible though, never been in a hotel that nice before. Not to mention the yellow lamborghini or silver miata out front. Around 10:30pm we decided to get back on the road since we needed to find a place to sleep and get a start back to Sydney. It fell on me to do this part of the drive, which didn't bother me, but let's just saying that trying to get out of Melbourne in the dark without a GPS was... stressful. Oh and I was driving on the left side of the road. But we made it out alive, and I drove until about 1:30 in the morning when I found a car park in the middle of the forrest, which creeped everyone else out (seeing as how AJ is still convinced there's dinosaurs in Australia. I am a little too), but I was so tired I hardly cared. Didn't hit any wallabies on the drive either!
Woke up pretty early the next day and got to ride shotgun since I had the role of navigator. Did make a few wrong turns, but Australian roads have about as little signage as possible, which makes navigating slightly more confusing that I would have liked. We stopped about two hours outside of Sydney to eat lunch and toast to our epic road trip, one which I will remember for a long time.
Friday, March 16, 2012
An appropriate recount of my road trip to Melbourne: Part 2
Oh right, the Great Ocean Road.
Feel free to look through my Photos! on facebook. Most of the pictures are from the Great Ocean road but I did take a few in Melbourne. They don't really do the trip justice.
So I had the job of driving through Melbourne, and after we got out of the city we drove for another hour until we got to this town called Geelong and from there we got on the Great Ocean Road. If you look at it on a map, you can see that for the most part the road runs right along the coast for almost the entire way, with about 10 miles of road running inland (everything is in kilometers and liters here, but I still haven't gotten used to using them yet). It's a pretty unbelievable drive, and if anyone is everyone in Australia I would absolutely recommend it. Since it's such a touristy spot there's actually signs along the way that say "Drive on the left side of the road in Australia". I was actually in the backseat for the entire length of the Great Ocean Road, mostly because the roads were so curvy and basically run right next to cliffs the whole way and that makes me super anxious. Yeah laugh it up.
So the forecast for the weekend said the weather in Melbourne was supposed to be sunny every single day, but when we got through Melbourne all we had were cloudy skies, and while the drive was still awesome, it wasn't as nice as we were all hoping it was going to be. The road passes through some pretty cool towns along the way, but for the most part its just scenic coast and beaches, with a lot of scenic lookouts to stop at along the way. One of my favorite parts of the drive was that even when we weren't directly on the coast, the land around us was absolutely amazing. Mostly farms to be honest but nothing like the flat expanses we have back home.
Our goal was to make it as far down the road as London Bridge, which is this really cool rock structure that looks like a bridge and used to be connected to the mainland, but according to Adam (one of the guys I traveled with) it fell a few years ago and actually stranded a few people out on it, so now it's not connected. Around 4pm we stopped to get gas at the information area for the Twelve Apostles, which are these really amazing rock structures that used to be connected to the mainland millions of years ago, but now just stand straight out of the water. The clouds had been moving all day and miraculously with our five minute drive down to the actual site of the Apostles, the clouds parted completely and we were able to take the view in as the sun was setting. I wish it was easier to describe emotions and feelings in blog form, and the pictures don't do the area we were in justice, but it was absolutely amazing.
Since we wanted to see London Bridge before the sun fully set, we got back in the car and drove about half an hour down the road to stop at the London Bridge site. All the rock structures are pretty similar, but each one is as cool as the last. Most of the viewing areas are a couple hundred feet off the ground, but another area that we went to called Loch and Gorge was the site of a shipwreck in the 1800s I think. We couldn't see the wreck from above the water, but the coolest part was that there were actually stairs that led down to the beach, hence the pictures in my album that are mostly dark ones of us on the beach. We actually think we found an aboriginal carving in one of the rocks but we're not completely sure (aboriginal are native Australians, basically native Americans but prosecuted worse than they were in the U.S.). Since we didn't want to attempt to drive the van down the road at night, we decided to camp out in the parking lot and get up early to drive the road as the sun rose. So we cooked some dinner (we basically survived on sausages, chips and beer the entire weekend) and hung out for a bit, then decided to take a walk down one of the trails that led to a different lookout we hadn't seen yet. One of the best ideas of the entire trip. Since we basically weren't near any major population it was so dark out that for the first part of the night the stars were amazing, and as the moon rose we were able to see everything without flashlights. I can't begin to describe how cool it was to just stand there and take everything in. We were at this rock structure called razorback, and we all kind of just had really great "I can't believe we're actually in Australia" moments, which seem to happen pretty often here. Then we headed back to the van for a few hours of sleep all looking forward to the drive, albeit the few hours of sleep we were about to get.
Feel free to look through my Photos! on facebook. Most of the pictures are from the Great Ocean road but I did take a few in Melbourne. They don't really do the trip justice.
So I had the job of driving through Melbourne, and after we got out of the city we drove for another hour until we got to this town called Geelong and from there we got on the Great Ocean Road. If you look at it on a map, you can see that for the most part the road runs right along the coast for almost the entire way, with about 10 miles of road running inland (everything is in kilometers and liters here, but I still haven't gotten used to using them yet). It's a pretty unbelievable drive, and if anyone is everyone in Australia I would absolutely recommend it. Since it's such a touristy spot there's actually signs along the way that say "Drive on the left side of the road in Australia". I was actually in the backseat for the entire length of the Great Ocean Road, mostly because the roads were so curvy and basically run right next to cliffs the whole way and that makes me super anxious. Yeah laugh it up.
So the forecast for the weekend said the weather in Melbourne was supposed to be sunny every single day, but when we got through Melbourne all we had were cloudy skies, and while the drive was still awesome, it wasn't as nice as we were all hoping it was going to be. The road passes through some pretty cool towns along the way, but for the most part its just scenic coast and beaches, with a lot of scenic lookouts to stop at along the way. One of my favorite parts of the drive was that even when we weren't directly on the coast, the land around us was absolutely amazing. Mostly farms to be honest but nothing like the flat expanses we have back home.
Our goal was to make it as far down the road as London Bridge, which is this really cool rock structure that looks like a bridge and used to be connected to the mainland, but according to Adam (one of the guys I traveled with) it fell a few years ago and actually stranded a few people out on it, so now it's not connected. Around 4pm we stopped to get gas at the information area for the Twelve Apostles, which are these really amazing rock structures that used to be connected to the mainland millions of years ago, but now just stand straight out of the water. The clouds had been moving all day and miraculously with our five minute drive down to the actual site of the Apostles, the clouds parted completely and we were able to take the view in as the sun was setting. I wish it was easier to describe emotions and feelings in blog form, and the pictures don't do the area we were in justice, but it was absolutely amazing.
Since we wanted to see London Bridge before the sun fully set, we got back in the car and drove about half an hour down the road to stop at the London Bridge site. All the rock structures are pretty similar, but each one is as cool as the last. Most of the viewing areas are a couple hundred feet off the ground, but another area that we went to called Loch and Gorge was the site of a shipwreck in the 1800s I think. We couldn't see the wreck from above the water, but the coolest part was that there were actually stairs that led down to the beach, hence the pictures in my album that are mostly dark ones of us on the beach. We actually think we found an aboriginal carving in one of the rocks but we're not completely sure (aboriginal are native Australians, basically native Americans but prosecuted worse than they were in the U.S.). Since we didn't want to attempt to drive the van down the road at night, we decided to camp out in the parking lot and get up early to drive the road as the sun rose. So we cooked some dinner (we basically survived on sausages, chips and beer the entire weekend) and hung out for a bit, then decided to take a walk down one of the trails that led to a different lookout we hadn't seen yet. One of the best ideas of the entire trip. Since we basically weren't near any major population it was so dark out that for the first part of the night the stars were amazing, and as the moon rose we were able to see everything without flashlights. I can't begin to describe how cool it was to just stand there and take everything in. We were at this rock structure called razorback, and we all kind of just had really great "I can't believe we're actually in Australia" moments, which seem to happen pretty often here. Then we headed back to the van for a few hours of sleep all looking forward to the drive, albeit the few hours of sleep we were about to get.
Monday, March 12, 2012
An appropriate recount of my road trip to Melbourne: Part 1
Well that really was one unbelievable weekend. My first all-bro road trip, I got to see Melbourne (which is an amazing city, I wish we could have spent more time there) and there aren't really words to describe how incredible the Great Ocean Road is. I put pictures up on facebook but they don't really capture just how incredible everything was.
First off, I'm so glad we drove. We were initially debating whether or not to just fly, but decided to rent a campervan, which turned out to be the giant purple and green van that is too tall to make it into parking garages. But regardless we started driving out of Sydney around 1pm on Friday. And yes, when it was my turn to drive I did start on the right side of the road. Took some getting used to, but it was weirder that the wheel is on the right side of the car than anything else.
Friday night we drove about two miles back into the woods in this national park and found a random spot to sleep for the night, which actually worked out pretty well. We had our first wild wombat sighting, along with a decent number of wallabies and kangaroos. The van has a fridge and gas grill inside it, so we basically survived the weekend on sausages, chips and tim tam's. Which I will be attempting to bring home in excess. Found out that the "penthouse" on top of the van, while supposedly is meant to house two people, does not have enough room for two dudes.
Saturday morning we woke up around eight and got on our way. After driving for about eight hours on Friday we were about an hour and a half outside of Melbourne, but our destination for the day was the Great Ocean Road and that runs along the south eastern coast of Australia, about an hour outside of Melbourne. We rented a GPS from the car rental company, and when it was my turn to drive through the city we still only took one wrong turn, so it was definitely nice to have. Just driving through Melbourne displays how nice of a city it is.
More to come...
First off, I'm so glad we drove. We were initially debating whether or not to just fly, but decided to rent a campervan, which turned out to be the giant purple and green van that is too tall to make it into parking garages. But regardless we started driving out of Sydney around 1pm on Friday. And yes, when it was my turn to drive I did start on the right side of the road. Took some getting used to, but it was weirder that the wheel is on the right side of the car than anything else.
Friday night we drove about two miles back into the woods in this national park and found a random spot to sleep for the night, which actually worked out pretty well. We had our first wild wombat sighting, along with a decent number of wallabies and kangaroos. The van has a fridge and gas grill inside it, so we basically survived the weekend on sausages, chips and tim tam's. Which I will be attempting to bring home in excess. Found out that the "penthouse" on top of the van, while supposedly is meant to house two people, does not have enough room for two dudes.
Saturday morning we woke up around eight and got on our way. After driving for about eight hours on Friday we were about an hour and a half outside of Melbourne, but our destination for the day was the Great Ocean Road and that runs along the south eastern coast of Australia, about an hour outside of Melbourne. We rented a GPS from the car rental company, and when it was my turn to drive through the city we still only took one wrong turn, so it was definitely nice to have. Just driving through Melbourne displays how nice of a city it is.
More to come...
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Well I guess I haven't been doing a very good job of keeping up with this have I? Things have been pretty crazy here, and when I haven't been on campus (which is a half hour walk away), I've been down in the city or on the beach. For the most part.
Last weekend was pretty fun. I honestly don't remember what happened on Friday, but Saturday was Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras down in Sydney so we went down to see the parade. The weather wasn't great but the parade was pretty interesting. And gay. But fun for the most part. The night ended up being a pretty decent adventure anyways so I was happy with it.
Sunday was an amazing day at the beach, but the waves were absolutely huge, and I made the mistake of venturing out onto some rocks to try and get splashed by waves, and long story short saw a giant wave coming, was sitting down and attempted to hang on to the rocks and ended up getting dragged about ten meters across the rocks. Not so fun. Got pretty cut up but I'll survive. Near death experience in a foreign country, check.
On Monday I signed up for skydiving! No word on the details yet but the plan is to go at the end of March with some friends from the states. Still haven't met too many Aussies but I'm working on it. I joined Bio club and they had a cookout and I was the least nerdy person there. Might have just caught the science crowd on a bad day but I definitely miss my Ithaca friends.
This weekend I'm going to Melbourne with some buddies. We rented a campervan and are driving down for the weekend and road tripping up the Great Ocean Road. Finally getting to do an all-bro road trip. I'm pretty pumped. Though we are gonna look like such tourists. Check out the video tour of the van if you don't believe me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmPDG7nX4rE&feature=player_embedded
If anyone is interested in sending me mail or anything my address is
Brian Hayes
1/32 Arcadia St.
Coogee, NSW 2034
Australia
I feel like I'm actually getting settled in now, which is nice. Though it feels impossible to try and do any work since I live in such an awesome area. Already talking to professors and looking into research opportunities here for grad school. The wildlife here is amazing. Too early to say I don't want to come home, but I'm really getting used to this.
Last weekend was pretty fun. I honestly don't remember what happened on Friday, but Saturday was Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras down in Sydney so we went down to see the parade. The weather wasn't great but the parade was pretty interesting. And gay. But fun for the most part. The night ended up being a pretty decent adventure anyways so I was happy with it.
Sunday was an amazing day at the beach, but the waves were absolutely huge, and I made the mistake of venturing out onto some rocks to try and get splashed by waves, and long story short saw a giant wave coming, was sitting down and attempted to hang on to the rocks and ended up getting dragged about ten meters across the rocks. Not so fun. Got pretty cut up but I'll survive. Near death experience in a foreign country, check.
On Monday I signed up for skydiving! No word on the details yet but the plan is to go at the end of March with some friends from the states. Still haven't met too many Aussies but I'm working on it. I joined Bio club and they had a cookout and I was the least nerdy person there. Might have just caught the science crowd on a bad day but I definitely miss my Ithaca friends.
This weekend I'm going to Melbourne with some buddies. We rented a campervan and are driving down for the weekend and road tripping up the Great Ocean Road. Finally getting to do an all-bro road trip. I'm pretty pumped. Though we are gonna look like such tourists. Check out the video tour of the van if you don't believe me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmPDG7nX4rE&feature=player_embedded
If anyone is interested in sending me mail or anything my address is
Brian Hayes
1/32 Arcadia St.
Coogee, NSW 2034
Australia
I feel like I'm actually getting settled in now, which is nice. Though it feels impossible to try and do any work since I live in such an awesome area. Already talking to professors and looking into research opportunities here for grad school. The wildlife here is amazing. Too early to say I don't want to come home, but I'm really getting used to this.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
An update from the future.
Well that was definitely one ridiculous week.
I wish I had more time to post this week, but I barely had any time to myself. This is really the first time I've sat down and actually attempted to write about anything. So some highlights:
-This University is massive, and has so much money. The whole week before classes they have O-week (orientation week) and all the clubs have tents set up around campus, so I joined Bio club, wakeboard and waterski club, and surf club. Hopefully it'll keep me busy through the semester.
-There are pretty much insane parties every week hosted by UNSW; next week they're bringing in 7 tons of sand and putting a beach volleyball court INSIDE one of the buildings. Yup.
-Regardless of the fact that you can't get into clubs downtown with sneakers since everyone hates Americans, the harbor is amazing to go to at night and walk around.
-Went to the Blue Mountains on Saturday, which was cool but a little touristy for my taste. I was hoping not to be a person that put all my pictures on facebook but now that I have a camera I suppose I might as well.
-I'm probably going to end up looking for a job here since everything is so expensive. It would be nice to have a little extra cash. Australians must love going to America since they'd all be super rich there.
-Having tax included in prices is pretty nice, but when minimum wage is $16 an hour and everything is almost double the price here, there isn't much to be optimistic about.
-I'm still getting used to not using pennies.
I refuse to spend $400 going to the gym here. I'm going to have to be so motivated. Also I've apparently already planned out my 21st birthday. Sounds like its going to be such a long day, ending with going straight from the airport to jazzfest. So there's that.
I still feel like I'm on vacation, but classes started today so that might change pretty soon. We'll see, I don't think I'll be totally comfortable until I get completely settled, that being said I still hate banks. Oh well.
I wish I had more time to post this week, but I barely had any time to myself. This is really the first time I've sat down and actually attempted to write about anything. So some highlights:
-This University is massive, and has so much money. The whole week before classes they have O-week (orientation week) and all the clubs have tents set up around campus, so I joined Bio club, wakeboard and waterski club, and surf club. Hopefully it'll keep me busy through the semester.
-There are pretty much insane parties every week hosted by UNSW; next week they're bringing in 7 tons of sand and putting a beach volleyball court INSIDE one of the buildings. Yup.
-Regardless of the fact that you can't get into clubs downtown with sneakers since everyone hates Americans, the harbor is amazing to go to at night and walk around.
-Went to the Blue Mountains on Saturday, which was cool but a little touristy for my taste. I was hoping not to be a person that put all my pictures on facebook but now that I have a camera I suppose I might as well.
-I'm probably going to end up looking for a job here since everything is so expensive. It would be nice to have a little extra cash. Australians must love going to America since they'd all be super rich there.
-Having tax included in prices is pretty nice, but when minimum wage is $16 an hour and everything is almost double the price here, there isn't much to be optimistic about.
-I'm still getting used to not using pennies.
I refuse to spend $400 going to the gym here. I'm going to have to be so motivated. Also I've apparently already planned out my 21st birthday. Sounds like its going to be such a long day, ending with going straight from the airport to jazzfest. So there's that.
I still feel like I'm on vacation, but classes started today so that might change pretty soon. We'll see, I don't think I'll be totally comfortable until I get completely settled, that being said I still hate banks. Oh well.
Monday, February 20, 2012
I'm running out of adjectives to describe this country.
This place is absolutely incredible.
Forget the fact that this is the first time since I've gotten here that I've really been able to sit down and even think. I honestly still can't believe I'm here. The program I'm here with had so much stuff set up for us this weekend. We took a cruise of the harbor the first night we got here with kids from University of Sydney and Macquarie.
Forget the fact that this is the first time since I've gotten here that I've really been able to sit down and even think. I honestly still can't believe I'm here. The program I'm here with had so much stuff set up for us this weekend. We took a cruise of the harbor the first night we got here with kids from University of Sydney and Macquarie.
The next day we took a bus into downtown Sydney and met up for our programs orientation. Then we had lunch in Darling Harbor and took a speedboat tour of the entire bay which was absolutely ridiculous. It was one of those twenty person speedboats that stop on a dime and do spins in the water. Needless to say we got absolutely soaked. It might take me a while to get used to salt water but I loved every second of it.
I'm really only brushing over everything I've done because I feel like it's too much to even process right now. I still can't believe I'm here. I'm going to start a youtube page because my camera doesn't take great photos, but the videos are awesome. I'll put the link on here when I get around to it. Things are different and my back hurts, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world right now.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Well I made it.
I did it. Survived the flight, customs, the duty-free store in the airport, all that jazz. Got a ride to my apartment and am in the process of setting my room up. I have a roommate, and am supposed to have another apartment-mate but he hasn't shown yet. Apparently Australians don't like Americans very much. Understandable, but I still have to meet some for myself, that's just the rumor.
Probably won't get to buy sheets until tomorrow, which doesn't really bother me, I can sleep on a blanket. They have a bunch of stuff planned for us, which is really nice because hopefully I'll be able to see the city well on the first day here. More updates to come, I'm going to take a nap.
Probably won't get to buy sheets until tomorrow, which doesn't really bother me, I can sleep on a blanket. They have a bunch of stuff planned for us, which is really nice because hopefully I'll be able to see the city well on the first day here. More updates to come, I'm going to take a nap.
An update from the plane...
The plane ride is going much better than I expected it to. Probably because I was so tired from the entire day of getting across the U.S. that I slept for ten hours on the plane. Which is kind of awesome. Only got woken up once by a crying baby and I totally forgot to use the earplugs grammie and papa got me until right now. I might try and sleep more but I doubt that will come. I feel pretty good right now. Kind of foolish because I think I bought too much food at the airport because I didn’t know how much they’d feed us, and I can’t bring food into Australia so I’m stuffing my face with trail mix.
I actually have no idea how long I slept. But I know that it’s 2:52am in Sydney right now, and we’re supposed to get there around 7am I think so for a 14 and a half hour flight that’s not too shabby sleep wise. I’m sure it won’t be as easy coming back, seeing as how I’ll be flying during the day. I probably will end up pulling an all nighter my last night in Sydney but that’s four months from now so I’ll think about that when it comes.
When I was figuring out the seats on this leg of the flight, my friend McColl (who is a Bio major at IC too) told me to sit next to her, so I’m in seat 60H, the very last seat in the back corner of the plane. It’s kind of nice actually because there isn’t as much noise (except for the turbines which you get used to) and it’s only a two seat row. But McColl never showed. Which is a total bummer but I thought this might happen, she told me her flights only had like two 40 minute layovers which would definitely get you in trouble if there was the slightest problem. So I’ve got two seats to myself, which for sleeping I’m not complaining about, but it is a little lonely.
I don’t think I’ll have a problem with jetlag but you never know. I’ll be posting this when I get to Australia since there’s no internet (or outlets) on the plane. But for now, four hours to go.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Seven hours later...
Well this is it. They're finally starting to board the plane to Sydney. I actually sat next to a couple of Australians on the flight from San Fran to LA and didn't realize it until we touched down. I'm hearing a lot of accents already. Australian and New Zealand as it turns out.
So this is either my last update until I get internet figured out in my apartment in Sydney, or there'll be internet in the plane. Which would be cool. Not really sure how I'm still awake right now. Running on fumes is taking a whole new meaning.
Expected flight time: 14 hours 34 minutes.
So this is either my last update until I get internet figured out in my apartment in Sydney, or there'll be internet in the plane. Which would be cool. Not really sure how I'm still awake right now. Running on fumes is taking a whole new meaning.
Expected flight time: 14 hours 34 minutes.
San Francisco
Thoughts on the few minutes I spent in San Francisco.
1) wtf sunglass hut? Done anyone actually need a pair of sunglasses for $500? The cheapest pair I could find were $100. I'll stick with my $12 zumiez sunglasses thank you very much.
2) airport food is super expensive.
3) I should probably get used to spending money
4) There's a lot of asian people in this airport. which I guess makes sense since it sounds like everyone is going to Hong Kong besides me.
5) Every time I see someone my age I start wondering if they're going to Australia.
6) Everyone going to LA is wearing a suit. I feel underdressed
Oh and I think Barack is here. Just a rumor.
1) wtf sunglass hut? Done anyone actually need a pair of sunglasses for $500? The cheapest pair I could find were $100. I'll stick with my $12 zumiez sunglasses thank you very much.
2) airport food is super expensive.
3) I should probably get used to spending money
4) There's a lot of asian people in this airport. which I guess makes sense since it sounds like everyone is going to Hong Kong besides me.
5) Every time I see someone my age I start wondering if they're going to Australia.
6) Everyone going to LA is wearing a suit. I feel underdressed
Oh and I think Barack is here. Just a rumor.
Chicago
I’m not very good at traveling. Not because I don’t like flying or anything like that, but it seems like most people are solely focused on getting from one destination to the other, and I like to make friends.
I made it to Chicago though. Pretty much slept the whole flight, but when I did try to make conversation with the guy sitting next to me, his response was usually a grunt or a super reluctant, “uhhh, 10 to nine.” Oh well. O’Hare is bumpin. My problem is that wherever I go I always think I see people I know, so I’m constantly staring at people and then I just look super weird. I guess Chicago brings that out in people (yes Rae, I’m talking about you). Catching the flight to San Fran soon, then from there I go to LA and have a seven and a half hour layover. I might jog around the airport just for the exercise.
I hate not having a phone. Mostly because I don’t know what time it is and I’m going to be so behind on angry birds when I get back.
This is going to be a really boring blog.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
And still no sleep was found...
I think my brain has decided to switch to Australian time before I actually land there. It's now the second consecutive day that I haven't been able to sleep before 6am. So while it's 5:30am in this time zone, it's 9:30pm in Sydney.
But hey, if I keep this up, I won't have to worry about jet lag. I think.
22 days.
But hey, if I keep this up, I won't have to worry about jet lag. I think.
22 days.
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