Great Barrier Reef

The Australia leg of our trip started with a fair amount of traveling on to the Cairn's airport, and ending in Port Douglas. New Zealand's weather was great, but relatively cold compared to Port Douglas which is all the way at the top of Australia. Our resort was large with big pools throughout, as it was not recommended to swim in the ocean due to "ocean stingers." The beach was the famous four mile beach which stretched for, four miles. However, this is not even a big deal since almost Australia's entire coast is a beach. The rest of the day was very chilled out, enjoyed some drinks by the pool and some necessary relaxing. We we're able to meet up with some friends from Park Ridge for a little pizza dinner and went to sleep early in anticipation for a long day on the reef.

The next day began with a quick grab from the bakery and a shuttle to the marina. There we got on a medium size cruise liner with about 50-75 travelers and about 10 staff members. The night before at Dinner, we were warned that the water was rough, but I brushed off the talk. I had been on the ocean numerous times and was not someone who would ever get sick from such a mundane thing. When on the boat, the warnings came again. "The ocean was extremely rough, and it will take an hour and a half to get out to sea." The message kept coming, and the staff endorsed the purchase of sea-sick pills. We declined.

We set out to sea, as Kevin and I decided to ride all the way on top where it was most rocky. I was surprised to find the most intense movement of a boat I'd ever been on, as you couldn't stand without holding on to a rail. People we're crawling around, and the back of the boat was filled with people throwing up. Those scuba diving (a group Kevin and I were in), were asked to come to the inside cabin area. This was an area where you were specifically not suppose to be if either sick or wet. The instructor went through the various instructions a person needs to know before scuba diving, and we felt relatively prepared. However, through his monologue a sudden heat hit my body as the rocking of the boat started to get to me. I quickly stood and grabbed some water, but this was not enough. I looked at the staff member behind the counter and said, "is it to late to get one of those pills." He smiled and said that we only had about 15 minutes till our destination, not enough time to even feel better. I agreed and felt slightly better.

I walked towards the end of the boat and started talking with one of the female workers. We laughed and I made fun of all the people that were sick. As I walked back into the cabin area I suddenly felt worse than ever and threw up, but was able to hold it in my mouth. A worker quickly shook his hands, "No! Not in here," and motioned me outside. Luckily, I held it in a let it out in a bag. The girl took it from me laughing and through it off the back, "and you were the one a second ago making fun of everyone for throwing up!" Yes, I was that guy. After that I felt much better. We got the laughs out and continued on. Suddenly, the feeling came over me again and as I held it in and ran with a worker to the back deck I let lose uncontrollably, on the Worker. After letting it go, a "oh my god I am so sorry," came out quickly behind the mess I had just let ago on his shirt. I had thrown up on one of the workers. Priceless.

The day continued on relatively uneventful as we scuba dove and snorkeled in three areas of the outer reef. The coral was amazing, as was the diving. We were able to rent an underwater camera and got some great photos. The reef was amazing, especially looking off the back of the boat and seeing it from outside the water. It is Earth's only living element which is visible from space. The fish were also beautiful and interesting and it was a great day on the water, besides the worker who's life may have been altered forever, or maybe just his career path.

That night we ate dinner at "Nautilus", an outdoor seafood restaurant that was in the rain forest. As you walk down the street of Port Douglas, you come to some forest that has a path of about 75 yards leading you to the restaurant. It was extremely unique, and only was the way it was because it was the first part of the town, and the rest of Port Douglas was built around it. Originally it was not a eatery, but over time it developed into one. The food was excellent and we were surprised to find through conversation that Bill Clinton had actually ate there twice. We were equally amused to find that the last time Clinton was there was the week of September 11th, 2001, and at the time of the bombings he was in a bar which in Australia's time was 1am. I wonder where Hilary was? The next morning it was another early flight and off to Hamilton Island.

Christchurch and Car Rentals

Christchurch is in the northern part of the south island of New Zealand. It is a larger city that Queenstown, but still has a mountain range as a backdrop in the distance. Its also a city with a gondola which takes you from the ground up to the top of a mountain, but not nearly as cool as the one in Queenstown. We rented a car in Christchurch, which besides for the driving on the other side of the road and Kevin's continuing to hit the windshield wiper when trying to hit the turn signal, driving was a relatively easy task. In Christchurch we also stayed at a Bed and Breakfast, which was another change of pace. At first I was a little nervous about this endeavor, but it ended up being the highlight of the Christchurch "experience."

Christchurch is the oldest town in New Zealand, so instead of staying in a high rise hotel, its much better to get a homely feel like we did. The cathedral is the symbol for the town, and makes up the epicenter of Christchurch. We even did the staircase walk to the top, all 134 steps. Our B&B was near the center of town, and they cooked some very delicious breakfast and served wine each day, both major pluses. I told Kevin that if there was ever a time where someone asked for a recommendation on how to do New Zealand right, staying at the Orari B&B in Christchurch would be near the top. After getting the car, checking in, and getting our barrings in the town, we did some driving and discovering and topped the night off with a church service, some $10 steaks, and a few dollars in machines at the Casino. Quite an eventful mix for a Sunday night in Christchurch.

On Monday we drove to Akaroa, a small French colony about an hour South. It was a very cool drive, filled with small roads passing farms, animals, mountains, the ocean, beautiful landscapes and grass which went for miles. The town of Akaroka had a French feel to it, right on the water. We were able to grab some pastries from a local bakery and walk around the town and harbor. In the most "New Zealand" moment of our trip, as we winded up a two lane road on a mountain, we were greeted by about 100 cattle in the road. The day was highlighted by our quest to find a random Castle which looked very cool in one of the travel guides. After leaving the gondola, we asked for directions from about four different people and argued about where it could be. Finally after a drive up a spirally mountainside we find our destination. An interesting castle turned restaurant. The night was relatively uneventful with dinner at an Italian restaurant, and drinks with a crazy Australian and crazy New Zealander at a hole-in-the-wall bar.

Instead of participating in a high priced wine tour, which probably weren't even that fun, we decided to do our own and drive through the Waipara wine Country. The wine store in Queenstown had recommended that we see the Pegasus Bay winery, so we decided that would be a good spot for lunch. Our trip ended up lasting all day, as we ended up making our way to several different wineries. Only one, the most "renown", made us pay, so it ended up being a relatively cheap endeavor. We were actually most disappointed by Pegasus Bay, and ended up eating at a different winery who even gave us a free tour of the facility. It became sort of a running theme that we wanted to try grapes that were being grown in the local fields. We even came close to sneaking in and stealing them. Eventually a very nice lady went out and grabbed us some Pinot Noir grapes. Best grapes ever.

We capped off Christchurch with some descent, which I say being very kind, Mexican food, and headed off the next morning verrry early (about 4 am) to Brisbane and immediately on to Cairns.

The Journey Begins: Sydney to Auckland to Queenstown

I worked most of the day Monday and Tuesday leading up to my midterm and departure for break, and barely slept in studying for a Finance midterm which I took Wednesday morning. After the test, I took a little nap, and then got to organizing a few things for my journey. My journey was going to be with a family friend, Kevin, and we had on our docket to visit parts of New Zealand, portions of Northeast Australia and to end in Sydney, from where I was going on another journey to Melbourne. You know, as if I hadn’t seen enough or spent enough money by that point. I’ve decided the easiest way to document my journey would be to divide the posts into the individual destinations, which is what I will do. I ran by the bar on campus, had a few drinks, and went to bed fairly early as I needed to catch an early morning train.

Equipped with a couple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a big bag of necessary items, and a backpack, I departed from campus at 10:00am on Thursday April 10^th. I basically ran the uphill 15 minute walk to the train, as fast as you can run while dragging luggage, because as usual I was a little behind and had to catch the train to Sydney. I found a companion at the train station, a kid I had met a few times and was also going to New Zealand. Only a few minutes later I switched over to the Sydney train and arrived at the airport around 3:00pm. After munching on my sandwiches I purchased some duty free alcohol, a $24 bottle of rum which I later found at the liquor store for $57. The flight from Sydney to Auckland was easy compared to the long journey from Chicago to Sydney, and I had the wonderful in-flight entertainment of “Mr. Woodcock.”

Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand, houses a third of the overall population and is in the North Island. When I arrived at the airport I realized that I didn’t remember which hotel I was suppose to meet Kevin at, as he flew direct from Los Angeles to Auckland. I went to find a shuttle outside and asked the man if he knew of the Hilton or Hyatt, and he said he could take me to either. Laughing I said that I was hoping there was only one of the two downtown but unfortunately there was both. He ended up being a nice guy and took me to the Hilton, where on the way I realized it could have even been the Westin. Ironically, after using the phone at a Kevin-less Hilton, I found him stationed at the Westin. Both hotels were beautiful and positioned in the harbor on a real up and coming part of Auckland. The America’s Cup sailing competition had been there year’s prior and forced revitalization in the area. The Hilton was part of a larger complex which was made to look like a giant ship on the water. The Westin, where we were staying, was also on the water and less than a year old. Our room overlooked the water and the city. I arrived late, around 11pm because of the two hour time change, but was able to drag a jetlagged Kevin out of bed to explore Auckland a bit. It was kind of a small version of Sydney, and surprisingly a very cool place.

We headed out early again the following morning as our trek would then head to Queenstown, a town at the lower end of the South Island of New Zealand. Queenstown is about as far south as you can go in the world, besides a location in South America and obviously Antarctica. Upon arrival we were greeted with beautiful mountain ranges and a town with a perfect setting on a lake. We stayed about five minutes outside of town, and could either walk or take a free shuttle. After settling in we headed into town, took a look around and ate at a restaurant called Ferberger upon recommendation from a friend who had been there previously. It’s a “gourmet burger” and they have a few locations throughout New Zealand. From there we went on the gondola, which transported us from the bottom of the mountain to the top, in small containers. It was an amazing view all the way to the top, as the weather was fairly mild in the mid 60’s, a good temperature for that time of year, and a beautiful day. At the top, we took a look around and decided on paragliding. Basically, you jump off of the mountain as opposed to riding the gondola back down. It was a fun time, as you are in the air for about ten minutes, and eventually spin for about a minute as you make your final descent. From there we hung around town and had some dinner back at the resort.

The next morning we woke up early to head back to the airport and take a six-seater plane! It was by far the smallest plane I’d ever been on, but ended up being a very easy and scenic flight. This was opposed to the eight hour round trip bus ride we could have taken. Our destination was Milford Sound, a fjord which is caused by the movement of glaciers from sea to mountains. It was extremely beautiful, and with the cruise through the fjord, and the plane ride over the mountains, the views were breathtaking. The best part may have been that we got back to Queenstown before the bus even arrived at Milford Sound, and it was cheaper to fly. We later found out the catch is that the plane only flies about once every few days because of random weather conditions so if it hadn’t had been a beautiful day we would have not been able to go. We hung around Queenstown the rest of the afternoon and visited a very cool wine store. It was called “Wine Tastes”, and throughout the store they had bottles of wine and they gave you a credit card which you could put into any of the bottles and get a taste. So, it was our own little wine tour. From there we had some amazing lamb, which was the first time I had ate lamb and since New Zealand is the best place to get lamb, it was reallllly good. The next morning we headed an hour north to Christchurch.