My first three weeks in Australia have gone by in an immense blur. I arrived in Sydney, and was picked up at the airport by Sim, who then drove me up to Newcastle, where I was lucky enough to stay at his brother's house for a few days before I could move on to campus. My first day in Newcastle I was able to enjoy a few wonderful swims in the ocean and experience some of the sites of the town.
Moving into Evatt House the next day was very exciting, I unpacked my bags, which, after living out of a car, was more thrilling than can be put into words. Most of the other students hadn't moved in yet, so it was pretty much me, a few Americans and all the Resident Advisers (RAs). I quickly came to realise that the RAs at Evatt, were going to be very different from those in Helmcken (my first year dorm). The RAs had organized a punch bowl for that night, which was made up of Goon (5L box wine) and a variety of juices. We enjoyed this punch bowl in the CAT room (the common room for Evatt Collage) where we played some games, including beer pong, King's Cup, and many others. The CAT room is rather impressive, with a large projector screen, sound system, ping pong table, pool table, fooze ball table and couches. A set up for some very good times.
Then on Sunday O-Week began...
All the first years and the rest of the internationals (who are 99.9% American) moved in and we had a BBQ and a getting-to-know-you evening. The week was jam packed full of events. We had a inter-collegiate day, where we played sports-day games, and then later went out on buses to Customs (a bar in Newcastle). We had a scavenger hunt with our block (aka building) and were forced to walk around Newcastle dressed in embarrassing costumes and take pictures doing some pretty funny things, including jumping off the pier and swimming in some of the dirtiest water ever (it compares to the marina water down at the Point).
For a more detailed and explicit version of O-Week please refer to my note posted on Facebook.
Classes began on Monday, and I was very excited by the fact that my 12 hours of class per week would be scheduled during Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, leaving me with a long 4 day weekend every week. The classes here are really not that different from at home, which was good to learn!
This past weekend, me and some of my fellow exchange students went on a surf trip up to Seal Rocks. It was unbelievably beautiful up there, and the beaches were surprisingly un-crowded, which made it even better. I worked on finessing my surfing skills, while most others had their first experiences on a surf board. We spent most of the day on Saturday surfing, and although we were exhausted that night, that didn't stop us from breaking some sort of record of number of pitchers consumed before diner. I am also happy to announce that my fellow Evatt friend, Cole, won Surf Camp Idol, which was rather exciting.
Now its back to another week of school, and unfortunately I had to make a trip to the doctor today due to an incessant cough. I guess I should have learned by now that my Mother is always right, and lack of sleep is correlated with getting sick!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Duneiden - Lake Tekapo - Christchurch - Auckland
We arrived in Dunieden and there was some sort of fair going on in the center of town. We walked around for awhile and decided that we wanted to go see a movie later. First we hit up the grocer store and then went out to the park for a snack and a nap. We went to see The Pursuit of Happyness, which was very cute and then snuck into a campsite.
Unfortunately this entry includes a lot of driving time, however we also got to spend some time on some beautiful beaches. We arrived in a town that we thought we would stay in, but it wasn't very pretty and there was nothing going on, so we decided to continue on our drive and go to Lake Tekapo which is known for its very blue water.
True to its reputation, the lake was very pretty, and it was surrounded by snow capped mountains. We only got to spend half a day there though, because we needed to make tracks up to Christchurch. The drive was really nice, for quite a ways out of Tekapo the highway was lined with wild flowers of all different colours. We also made a stop at Shag Point, where we saw some Penguins. They were very cute, but looked pretty funny as they waddled around.
I liked Christchurch a lot more than I thought I would. I imagined as another big city like Auckland or Wellington, but it has a lot of character to it! We had some really good Greek food for diner, then bought some cookies and made a night of it back at the hostel. We stayed in the micro-camper for one last night, and although t was fun, I can't say I'm going to miss living out of a car all that much.
Now I am back in Auckland and am getting ready to fly to Australia today! I'm looking forward to staying in one place for awhile, and am interested to see what school is going to be like down here. I was sad to say bye to Ashley and have felt a little lost without her and AWE 610 (our car). It has been an amazing month, and I would highly recommend New Zealand for any traveller!
Unfortunately this entry includes a lot of driving time, however we also got to spend some time on some beautiful beaches. We arrived in a town that we thought we would stay in, but it wasn't very pretty and there was nothing going on, so we decided to continue on our drive and go to Lake Tekapo which is known for its very blue water.
True to its reputation, the lake was very pretty, and it was surrounded by snow capped mountains. We only got to spend half a day there though, because we needed to make tracks up to Christchurch. The drive was really nice, for quite a ways out of Tekapo the highway was lined with wild flowers of all different colours. We also made a stop at Shag Point, where we saw some Penguins. They were very cute, but looked pretty funny as they waddled around.
I liked Christchurch a lot more than I thought I would. I imagined as another big city like Auckland or Wellington, but it has a lot of character to it! We had some really good Greek food for diner, then bought some cookies and made a night of it back at the hostel. We stayed in the micro-camper for one last night, and although t was fun, I can't say I'm going to miss living out of a car all that much.
Now I am back in Auckland and am getting ready to fly to Australia today! I'm looking forward to staying in one place for awhile, and am interested to see what school is going to be like down here. I was sad to say bye to Ashley and have felt a little lost without her and AWE 610 (our car). It has been an amazing month, and I would highly recommend New Zealand for any traveller!
Queenstown & Alexandra
After river sledging we continued on to Queenstown. Pulling into town, I was reminded a bit of Whistler, with the wood cabins and funky shops and restaurants. There are two lakes in Queenstown and its surrounded by mountains, needless to say it is very beautiful. We grabbed a Ferg Burger for diner, which was absolutely delicious, but we were a bit shocked to see that this little restaurant sold t-shirts for 45 bucks a pop. We camped out of town that night at a DOC campsite that was really pretty and right on the lake, however it started raining which made Ashley and I very sad.
It was still raining the next morning, so we went into town and booked ourselves into a hostel and enjoyed a day of lounging and watching some of the worst movies I have ever seen. Ashley went down to the lobby to make a call to Nacho, a guy she met in Mexico when she was 15 and by random chance he stopped by our hostel with his friends who needed to use the Internet. Small world! We made plans to go visit them in Alexandra the next day and then went out and purchased a 3 litre box of wine for $20. Back at the backpackers we had a few drinks with our new roomies who were Irish, Scottish and Dutch. We played some games, which included drink while you think (and I fully confirmed that I am unbelievable horrible at that game) and of course king's cup. We hit up a few bars, but spent most of our time at Globe bar, where they were having a crazy hat contest, and of course Ashley was right in there!
We woke up the next day and enjoyed another Ferg Burger, and went for one of our typical naps in the park. I don't quite know why, but people tend to stare at us, as we lie there with our mattresses, blankets and pillows and enjoy a bit of a snooze on the grass. I guess this must be a weird thing to do, because we definitely get a lot of pointing smiling people looking at us!
We headed out to Alexandra, and met up with Nacho and his 4 other Mexican friends at their backpackers, which is just out of town. The cooked us a yummy meal of home-made potato soup, fish and veggies, plus a homemade salsa. For dessert, we had ice cream and lots of it. Because there are 5 of them and they all like different flavours, we had lots of ice cream to chose from. My personal favorite was the cookies and cream, sooo yummy! We went out that night and experienced some of the local flavour on Karaoke night. My personal favorite was the guy wearing short short rugby shorts, who sang almost every song, and left the bar later with a towel wrapped around his waist.
The next morning we went back to Queenstown, and not surprisingly, had another Ferg Burger. I really don't think I can describe how delicious they really are. We had planned on going to Milford Sound, which is suppose to me magnificent, however it was raining, and forcasted to rain the next day, and it was going to be a 9 hour drive there and back. Although I may regret it, we made the decision to head out to the east coast to Duneiden, and stopped off for one more night in Alexandra before we left.
It was still raining the next morning, so we went into town and booked ourselves into a hostel and enjoyed a day of lounging and watching some of the worst movies I have ever seen. Ashley went down to the lobby to make a call to Nacho, a guy she met in Mexico when she was 15 and by random chance he stopped by our hostel with his friends who needed to use the Internet. Small world! We made plans to go visit them in Alexandra the next day and then went out and purchased a 3 litre box of wine for $20. Back at the backpackers we had a few drinks with our new roomies who were Irish, Scottish and Dutch. We played some games, which included drink while you think (and I fully confirmed that I am unbelievable horrible at that game) and of course king's cup. We hit up a few bars, but spent most of our time at Globe bar, where they were having a crazy hat contest, and of course Ashley was right in there!
We woke up the next day and enjoyed another Ferg Burger, and went for one of our typical naps in the park. I don't quite know why, but people tend to stare at us, as we lie there with our mattresses, blankets and pillows and enjoy a bit of a snooze on the grass. I guess this must be a weird thing to do, because we definitely get a lot of pointing smiling people looking at us!
We headed out to Alexandra, and met up with Nacho and his 4 other Mexican friends at their backpackers, which is just out of town. The cooked us a yummy meal of home-made potato soup, fish and veggies, plus a homemade salsa. For dessert, we had ice cream and lots of it. Because there are 5 of them and they all like different flavours, we had lots of ice cream to chose from. My personal favorite was the cookies and cream, sooo yummy! We went out that night and experienced some of the local flavour on Karaoke night. My personal favorite was the guy wearing short short rugby shorts, who sang almost every song, and left the bar later with a towel wrapped around his waist.
The next morning we went back to Queenstown, and not surprisingly, had another Ferg Burger. I really don't think I can describe how delicious they really are. We had planned on going to Milford Sound, which is suppose to me magnificent, however it was raining, and forcasted to rain the next day, and it was going to be a 9 hour drive there and back. Although I may regret it, we made the decision to head out to the east coast to Duneiden, and stopped off for one more night in Alexandra before we left.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Wanaka
We somewhat enjoyed our epically long drive from Greymouth to Wanaka, although the weather was very dreary and we were feeling the painful aftermath of the previous night. We drove by Franz Joseph, on of the two glaciers, but felt un-inclined to leave the warm car for a rainy walk. So we continued down the windy road, and stopped in the wonderful town of Haas, which holds 3 buildings, a gas station and a few houses. We had a disturbingly expensive lunch, that left our tummies in a very sore state, and continued on our drive down to Wanaka.
By the time we arrived in Wanaka and found a place to park, the weather was taking a turn for the better, so we were able to enjoy our diner alongside the sunset. We were waken the next morning be someone banging on our window. Groggily I woke up to be told by a man that there WAS NO FREE CAMPING IN WANAKA. So we drove ourselves over to the nearest campsite and went back to sleep. After doing some laundry, we wandered around the town and made plans to go River Sledging the next day.
River Sledging is like white water rafting, but you are on your own sled. We geared up in wet suits and helmets and headed down to the river with about 7 other people. We had a bit of a lesson and then we were off. It was very fun, and would have been funny to watch. They attempted to keep us all in a row, which on our first trip wasn't overly successful. Our second time around was much more fun. We ripped down the river through the rapids doing pirouette turns and barrel rolls. Ashley attempted the cowboy style down one set of rapids, but quickly got a sled in the face, which she wasn't too happy about. We did a bit of cliff jumping, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and I ended the day by turning around on my board, lying on my back and soaking up some sun!
By the time we arrived in Wanaka and found a place to park, the weather was taking a turn for the better, so we were able to enjoy our diner alongside the sunset. We were waken the next morning be someone banging on our window. Groggily I woke up to be told by a man that there WAS NO FREE CAMPING IN WANAKA. So we drove ourselves over to the nearest campsite and went back to sleep. After doing some laundry, we wandered around the town and made plans to go River Sledging the next day.
River Sledging is like white water rafting, but you are on your own sled. We geared up in wet suits and helmets and headed down to the river with about 7 other people. We had a bit of a lesson and then we were off. It was very fun, and would have been funny to watch. They attempted to keep us all in a row, which on our first trip wasn't overly successful. Our second time around was much more fun. We ripped down the river through the rapids doing pirouette turns and barrel rolls. Ashley attempted the cowboy style down one set of rapids, but quickly got a sled in the face, which she wasn't too happy about. We did a bit of cliff jumping, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and I ended the day by turning around on my board, lying on my back and soaking up some sun!
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