The Beginnings

First off, please ignore any typos as some Kiwis bought me a beer as my first beverage after my tramp. A very nice group, I was given two invitations to stay with them in both Wellington and the Blue Mountains, and their wives were quite motherly about my travelling alone and all.

So, shall I brief you all on the last few days? Here goes....



Aside from the minor flight delays along the way, it took over an hour and a half to get through customs. I seriously thought I was going to get denied access. We stood in a line for about fifty minutes to get our passports checked and declare anything we may have brought into the country with us. After this point, I was sent to pick up my backpack from the luggage carousel (I'm surprised it didn't explode with all it contains), and was then directed to to yet another check point. Here, I had to specify exactly what items on the list that I had in my possession (they scare you by saying that you'll get a $200 minimum fine if you don't declare something and are found out--but it's working for them, it looks like). Here I declared some energy bars (concerns were the egg and butter they contained), dried fruit, and my hiking boots. I was next, sent off to another check station where my boots were closely examined, and the woman there rummaged through some other things to ensure I had nothing that wasn't declared. Finally, I headed over to an X-Ray machine and pushed my luggage through. It was here that I met Ellie, a girl about my age, who came from Pasedina to do a 12 day cycling tour of the South Island. By this time, I had pretty much lost my car reservation for the day, and was told to return today. This foiled my plans in two ways: (1) no car, lots of luggage--crap! (2) no car, no camping park, now I have to find a hostel.



Ellie was quite a God-send as we intially planned to share a cab, but then hopped on the bus to head to Downtown. From here, we both hopped off, and I checked out a couple of hostels, both of which were full. My third attempt proved successful, and I think that with this being the first hostel where I've stayed, others may have a difficult time living up to my expectations--especially Aussie hostels. Anyhow, I headed out for dinner with Ellie after walking about two miles through town that afternoon, and had some fried Brie with some other finger appeteizers, which proved to be more than sufficient for dinner. Later on, we strolled on over to Victoria Square and caught a show that was part of the Buskers Festival (a week long gathering of entertainers from stand-up comics, to jugglers and acrobats). Upon returning to my room, a woman, Rebecca, who lives outside of Christchurch, told me abuot her travels abroad and was kind enuogh to offer up a ride to pick up my car. What sucks the most about this night is that I accidentally deleted ALL of the awesome photos that I got, from the food, to the walk in the park, to the show. Dangit!

The hostel I stayed at (Charlie B's for anybody who might visit CHC) was wonderful! I was really impressed. Anyhow, the next morning, I went off, got my car, and headed out to Akaroa for my tramp. The first night we stayed in a very nice "hut". It had a kitchen with dishes, knives, etc. , bathroom, and was just very accomodating, along with the other huts on the track....made me wish I'd taken the 4 day option rather than the 2 day. The tramp was amazing, and the various geographical ecosystems encountered along the way were all very impressive. The track, which is the first of multiple privately owned tracks, run by landowners who let hikers utilize their property for the hike, was a total of 35K, roughly 21 miles and had two ascents of 699 m and 600 m on the first and last portions, respectively. Anyhow, I have to say that I was NOT at all prepared for that tramp. It was not going up hill that bothered me so much (although it was very exhausting), but it was going downhill for which my sad little knees were not prepared. I was ready to lay on the ground and just roll the last 3 K down, when I resolved that I would simply walk it backwards. Yes, I imagine I was quite the silly sight, and even the sheep were staring blankly at me. But it was worth it. At the end of the track, I met a man who was parking his car to start the tramp. Originally from CA, but married to a Kiwi himself, he and his hiking companions bought me a beer (which resulted in me thinking I lost my keys--they were in my pocket), and they all gave me some suggestions, so now I DO have to revise my itinerary. I'm just grateful that I didn't lose my keys, especially after I lost my night guard somewhere along the track. I love you, Brian.

*Tentative* Itinerary

So a lot of you have been asking my itinerary so that you can track my travels and get an idea of what I'll be doing. If you know me, then you know that during my day and a half time's worth of flying that I'll be changing my entire itinerary for the dozenth time. Nonetheless, in a futile attempt to appease everybody, here is what *today's* plans are:

1/31/09
Arrive in Christchurch and pick up car (~4pm)
Walk around Lincoln (I am totally copying Mr. Cribb's itinerary)

2/1&2
Banks Peninsula Hike in Akaroa

2/3
Visit Pigeon Bay, Birdlings Flat, Lyttleon Harbour on return to Christchurch
Botanical Gardens, Canterbury Museum, Art Museum,

2/4
Head down to Dunedin, then to Moerki and Catlins to see penguins

2/5-9
Hang around Te Anau area and try to get a spot on the Milford Track (may requires some begging). Otherwise, I will resort to some alternative options such as group kayaking tours through the sounds or the an alternative Track

2/9
Drive from Haast to Arthurs Pass (perhaps stopping in Queenstown for a jet boat ride) to hike Avalanche Peak. Stay here overnight

2/10
Waipara Valley and Kaikora for the seal colony here. Relax or Roam for the day

2/11
2 hour commute to Lewis Pass for a hike
Reefton for Ice Cream
Graymouth for Dinner (again, I'm copying somebody else's itinerary here!)
Sunset drive up to Punakaiki (pancake rocks)

2/12
Kayak river @ Punakaiki to see more rocks
Drive to Nine Mile Beach
Stay in Charleston the night

2/13
Drive to Lyell Walk
Tramp the Six Mile Walkway
Head to Abel Tasman

2/14
I was advised to stay in this area (Abel Tasman) for a few days
I'll also try to fit in a walk up Franz Josef Glacier
I have up to 2/18 on the South Island and all of the above is completely tentative unless it's been scheduled ahead of time

2/19
Arrive via ferry in Wellington and head to Napier for wine country
Lake Taupo
Stay in Rotarua for the night

2/20
Waitakere Loop and Beach
See glow worms in caves (if I can find them)
Search for the Cowrey (sp) tree...still haven't found anybody who can tell me where exactly to find this.

2/21
Rangitoto Island Loop

2/22
A day to roam and relax or explore
Perhaps Haurkai Gulf or the Zoological Gardens
Return car today.

2/23-2/27
Surf tour. Yea!!!!

2/28
Depart for Sydney
Check into hostel (no, I did not reserve one, so this could be quite the experience--good or bad)
Roam Syd a bit
8pm show at the Sydney Opera House

3/1
Depending on what I can swing, today will either be the Blue Mountains to see the Three Sisters for the day, or will be spent at the zoo and aquarium. I'm also going to try to do a bridge climb here to save time for other things when I return.

3/2-14
13 Day Tour from Sydney to Alice Springs stopping at Melbourne, Adelaide, Ayer's Rock, and lots of other fun spots along the way. Too much detail to add it now, but here's the link: http://www.touristaustralia.com.au/online/tao.cgi?ct=tours&md=second&id=14&-Backpacker%20Tours-Sydney
I'll let ya know how it goes.

3/15-3/20
Still deliberating whether or not to go to Perth or stay in Alice Springs or head back down to Melbourne. I can only do one. Decisions, decisions!

3/20-3/25
Cairns Adventure tour as seen here: http://www.backpackertours.com.au/shop2/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/35_70_12/products_id/30

3/26
Take the bus or hitch a ride down to Airlie Beach

3/27-4/3
I opted for this tour, less Noosa Everglades (bc it's no longer offered) http://www.airliebeach.com/whitsunday-packages/backpacker-packages/backpacker-b5.php

4/3
Head down to Sydney either by bus or plane (I'm really pushing my luck here)

4/4
Explore some local beaches, such as Palm Beach, about two hours north of Sydney for the day after visiting the zoo or aquarium if possible. Possibly stay overnight here if I've seen the zoo and aquarium and done the Blue Mountains

4/5
Most likely a very busy free day, doing all sorts of things that I've discovered while I've been here. Maybe just go to the beach for some relaxation and lazing around on my last day.

4/6
Depart Sydney at 10 am and arrive in Cali at 7am. I'll be going through a time warp!

4/6-4/9
Unwind in LA or San Diego for a few days.
Depart on the 9th, and arrive home just before midnight. Whew! Is it over already????

Testing....Testing

We'll call this my trial post as I'm still in the [last minute] planning stages of my trip to the land of Oz (and NZ), but I thought that this would be a good place to start. You see, I am somewhat torn as to my exact route that I'll take to go over and under and through and past all of the wonderful places that these two countries have to offer. So I'm sitting here, drawing on my rather primitive looking map in pink, green, red, and blue as to what my options are, which will take the least time or allow me to see as much of a place as possible while I'm there, which will be most cost effective, when ferries, trains, and flights leave, their place of departure, and time and place of arrival. I come to a tough one--Tasmania. Oh, how I'd love to go to Tasmania! And yet, it's such an inconvenience. It would mean backtracking to Melbourne from Alice Springs, which would require a pretty penny--about the same by flight or rail, followed by an overnight ferry ride across the Bass Strait to Devonport, which is an additional $200. This does not include the day's activities, nor does it factor in transportation. So I think to myself, "Perhaps Tasmania would be a good place to learn how to drive. It's not too big, you really can't get lost as the only interstate is basically a giant circle, and I'm sure there'd be plenty of friendly faces along the way."



Naturally, the first thing I want to do is find how long it would take for me to drive to and from the various cities I'd like to visit and if it would all be worth my while, or if I should devise an alternative plan. It would really be senseless for me to hire (their word for rent) a car and not have ample time to visit all the places I want to see. It might be a better idea to simply use the rail system, or perhaps to allot more time than just one day for Tazzy. So I go to good old Google, click on maps, and then choose "directions" by car. As the starting location I typed in "Devonport Tasmania Australia" and as the destination, I simply typed "Hobart", assuming that it will just assume that I want to remain in Tasmania. I read the directions, and if this is how long it's going to take me to get there, I had certainly better think twice about going to Tasmania for just one day. I have a feeling that the most exhausting portions would be #53, 113, and 128. Go ahead, give it a look yourself. ;-) http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Devonport+TAS,+Australia&geocode=&dirflg=&daddr=Hobart&f=d&hl=en&sll=-41.175455,146.351294&sspn=0.049939,0.087547&ie=UTF8&z=3