moving on

I've now booked the major part of my transport around NZ, starting Wednesday morning, and it's a little different to my initial plans.. I will be taking a specific route around the islands using the coach system, however I will first be taking the TranzAlpine train over the alps to Greymouth on the west coast, and then moving south and back up the east coast. I did seriously toy with the idea of buying a car and doing it all myself instead, and even met a guy who was happy to sell me his Ford Telstar for a grand, but I think I've made the right decision by bussing it around instead. Meet a lot more people that way, and if necessary cars are readily available for hire at around $35/day. I will probably be sharing the first part of my trip with a British girl from my dorm, who is doing the same tour.
So, what have I been upto the past couple of days? Friday, I awoke at 0530hr to go skiing on Mt Hutt only to find out that the ski fields were closed due to gale force winds.. Ugh.. I figured, I might as well make good use of my day so I took a 2-hour bus trip up the east coast to a small town called Kaikoura. It is a gorgeous little sea-side town, with a stony beach against the stunning backdrop of the snow-tipped southern alps. It was here I met a local family fishing for the tiny, seemingly transparent fish (maybe 1-2cm in length) called white bait, which are actually a NZ delicacy at around $100/lb. Whale watching is a big attraction in Kaikoura and I thought I'd better check it out.. The whale of the day was the Sperm whale, of which we saw four; we felt spoilt as it's never guaranteed that a single whale will even be sighted. They are such gorgeous creatures.. Not sure how the whale hunters do it.. (On that topic, half of the passengers on the boat were Japanese, and it was hilarious hearing our guide explaining how much everyone hates the Japanese for their whaling practises.. Particularly because none of them could understand English. Did you know that the Antarctic oceans are a whale sanctuary, however the whalers still come into these waters to poach them? And even the endangered Sei whales have been added to the Japanese's scientific research list this year!!!). On the way back on the boat, we happened to come across a small pod of around 6 Dusky dolphins who were dancing around.. Spectacular!
The next day, up again at 0530hr to have another crack at skiing, this time successfully. It was great being on a pair of skis again (I think the last time was when I was about 7). I decided (quite sensibly) to have a few lessons and now I am officially no longer a beginner.. I just have to keep up the practise. The fields were closed 2 hours early due to strong winds: at one point I was literally blown uphill on my skis! So much fun.. I want to try and get back up the mountains again on this trip, but I'm not sure if I'll get the chance.. Might have to settle for the Victorian alps when I get back.

Photos:
1. Mountains against the beach at Kaikoura
2. Looking good on Mt Hutt

Christ!!! Church!!!

Well, here I am! Christchurch, NZ. And what a lovely place it is! Arrived here yesterday afternoon and it's definitely not as cold as I had expected. I'm staying in the same brand hostel as in my Sydney stint and it's right in the heart of the city - Cathedral Square (named fittingly after its beautiful gothic centrepiece, Christchurch Cathedral). So far, I have checked out the Art Gallery, the Museum (with some great Maori history) and the serene Botannical Gardens, all within 5 minutes walk of the Square.
They say that Christchurch is Adelaide's sister city... I haven't seen much resemblance so far apart from the relative quietness of the town as compared to other cities. Most of this region's activities are outside of the CBD. From here, I am planning on skiing (beginner-style), hot-air ballooning, maybe some whale watching, and having a red-hot go at horse riding. All very expensive excursions, but hey, that's what I'm here for... As you can see from the top photo, a lot of the snow has melted from the peaks and apparently the slopes in Queenstown have turned to slush.. Mt. Hutt, however, has been getting some good snow and should remain open well into October - this is where I'll be heading.
I have been able to upload some photos now, so enjoy..

Photos:
1. Flying over the Southern Alps on the way to Christchurch
2. Looking down the Avon River
3. The 18m-high Metal Chalice sculpture in Cathedral Square, with Christchurch Cathedral in the background
4. An interesting sculpture adorns the river banks of the city's Botannic Gardens

a quick note..

Well, it's just before 0600hr and I'm waiting for my shuttle to whisk me away to the airport. Bondi was great. There were some great waves (if only I could surf...), however the hot chips were a tad on the expensive side ($6.20 for a little more than a handful!) I guess that's Bondi for you. Stayed up last night speaking with a guy in the communal kitchen area - A Danish and an Australian discussing the absurdity of a French law concerning drink driving, not sure how that one came about.. Did you know that if you crash your car in France after a big night out, you can sue the bar/pub that served you the alcohol? Sounds very much like an American law to me.
Then had a few games of Uno (thanks Laura!) and learned a cool card trick from Christian.
The weather looks quite nice in Christchurch today.
Well, my shuttle's here.. Post again soon..

...and then there was one

It's the day before I fly out to Christchurch. I haven't done a lot over here, but that's ok; filling my days with activities didn't form part of my plans for Sydney.. I pretty much crashed out as soon as I arrived on Saturday night as I was still a bit hung over from the night before. Thanks to all who came out Friday, it meant a lot and it was great to see you all!
On Sunday there was a big Peace Dance Festival out at Sydney Park in the burbs. Dancing for 6 1/2 hours straight really takes it out of you! Good times. Dance, funk, techno, drum n bass, and RnB were some of the genres covered across the 5 big stages. And what event wouldn't be complete without a huge inflatable ball to cause havoc among young and old? Every man and his dog was there.. Literally. A bit of a hippy vibe.. There was massage, "save the trees" lobbyists, meditation yoga, and plenty of love to go around.. Did I mention dancing?
Sunday night, I had my first dinner alone in a restaurant on the Darling Harbour. Plenty more of those to come I'm sure.. Back down to the Harbour later on that night with a German girl from my hostel, Judith (pronounced Yoodit), and we spoke about her travels. She even milked cows and made cheese near Interlaken in the alps of Switzerland, what a life!
So many Germans here in this hostel at the moment (maybe 85%). A whole group came over on Friday on a working holiday. Most will be doing fruit picking, meat packing, or farming in rural areas of NSW and the rest of Australia; a couple even in Bega, the home town of my friend Chanel.
The Blue Mountains were on the agenda for Monday. After a 2 hour train trip (I love the Sydney trains!) we arrived and the views were breathtaking! So serene and peaceful too (apart from the hoards of Japanese tourists..). It was here I met 2 American girls, who are over here studying (bludging, more like it) on the Gold Coast for 6 months. They were a laugh!
Today I am going down to Bondi with two Swedish guys from my dorm, Calle and Christian, soaking up some sun (boy has the weather been perfect the past couple of days here) before getting up at about 5 tomorrow!
I'm just trying to upload some images, but I don't think it's going to work before my time runs out.. Oh well, maybe next time...
Looking forward to tomorrow!

Photos:
1. Every man and his dog (the fluffy toy, silly)
2. The Blue Mountains against an even bluer sky

The Plan (so far...)

So it's my last day of work today, and like most days in the last couple of weeks, I have absolutely nothing to do... So I thought I would post my first blog entry. Everyone has been wonderful here at Telstra, they've definitely nurtured my inner call-centre consultant, and shown me that there's so much more to satellite installations than installing satellites. I've met some great people here, who I'll miss and no doubt keep in touch with in the future. Sandy 2, you know what I'm talkin' 'bout :) But enough about work; definitely something I aim to do very little of for a while.
I'm pretty tired today, probably attributable to a lack of sleep, and (according to popular belief) my body winding down, ready for action on the NZ front. And ready for action I am! Haven't packed yet, but that's what Fridays are for.

The Plan (first few weeks):
16/9 1350hr CST - Flying: Adelaide -> Sydney
Sydney: Finding my bearings, a little more research, chilling out and soaking up some rays (or rain, as the case may be according to the forcast) on the lovely Darling Harbour before flying out 4 days later.

20/9 0850hr EST - Flying: Sydney -> Christchurch
Christchurch: Finding my bearings again (damn things keep getting away from me) before heading out to see what Adelaide's younger, blonde sister city has to offer. I'll probably be cruising to the snow fields within a few weeks of my arrival to make the most of the dwindling winter season.
From here I'll be heading south using the ever popular inter-city coach transport system, most likely down the East coast through Dunedin and onto the most southern city of Invercargill. From there, Stewart Island sounds the go where I will be able to fulfil my life-long fantasy of frolicking amid hundreds of kiwis (the flightless birds of course) with an approximate ratio of 100 kiwis per human on the island.
I'll be living up to my promise in the blog-blurb and visiting the South Cape (just so I can say I've seen it all!). Once I am satisfied with Stewart Island, the only direction to go from there is North, which, funnily enough, is the direction I am planning to take, but with a much less certain travel path.
Plans to participate in extreme activities to follow...

DISCLAIMER: Travel Times, Dates, and Routes provided in this blog are to be used as a guide only and are subject to change.

See you all Friday night @ the Ex

...more details as they come to hand...