Jordan and I went to the Australia Zoo, Home of the Croc Hunter, yesterday. This is the zoo started by Steve and Terri Irwin. Steve's picture and voice are everywhere. It made me a little sad. Terri still does the croc show there sometimes and Bindi was hanging around the day we were there.
We started off the morning by feeding the elephants. That was really fun and definitely an interesting experience. Their trunks are much wetter than I thought. We saw the croc show after that. They started off by showing us a bunch of birds and elephants and then had a really big crocodile named Mossman come out. They did the tail walk a couple of times and the guy fed him some more stuff on the land. It was pretty cool, though not as spectacular as I'd hoped. Apparently Terri can make the crocs to death rolls and stuff. I can't imagine how cool it would have been to see Steve do it!
After the crocs we wandered around the zoo. Saw lots of alligators and crocodiles, as well as a Tasmanian devil, red fox, camels, more elephants, and otters. We watched the otters get fed. They were super cute and funny. We also watched the play time between the tiger cubs and their handlers. That was really cool and the tigers were so cute. We kind of bypassed the roos and koalas this time around, since we've been to the koala sanctuary twice. They are still really cool though and Jordan and I would like to have them as pets.
I leave to go back to the US on Monday! I can't believe it! I'm headed to the market this morning to do a little more present shopping and then we're going to see a movie with Becca and Beth. My last couple days are going to fly by!
I've got tons more pictures to post, so keep a lookout for those. There'll be 3 new albums: the rest of the pictures from Cairns, take two of the koala sanctuary with my mom and sister, and pictures from Australia Zoo.
It looks like my blog posting will be winding down now. I may do a final post after this. We'll see. I really hope you all enjoyed reading. I know writing was quite beneficial to locking all of this into my memory.
Nicole
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef
My mom and sister got into Brisbane on Tuesday last week. Their visit so far has been kind of a whirlwind adventure because Ashley has a lot of school work and Jordan and I are both finishing up classes. We went to Cairns on Thursday and got back this Tuesday. So far, that's pretty much all we've done with them. This weekend we'll be going to Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, the Australia Zoo, perhaps the Koala Sanctuary, and a few other things around Brisbane.
We spent our first full day in Cairns settling in and getting our reef trip set up. The following day we headed out really early to do three dives on the reef. The weather conditions were not ideal, so we only got to dive in one spot, but it was spectacular, nonetheless! I saw a blue-spotted sting ray, a starfish, lots of Nemos!, a loggerhead sea turtle, and lots and lots of amazing fish and coral! I'm working on posting the pictures right now. A lot of them turned out really well. I'm quite pleased with the quality of the camera we rented. The next couple days in Cairns were spent driving around North Queensland a little bit and seeing some of cool stuff around there. We went around some of the rain forest areas and a few cool markets and a coffee plantation. We also made it down to Josephine Falls where there is a natural water slide. The slide was really fun, but the water was quite cold. Not as cold as the water at Springbrook, though.
Overall, we had a really good time in Cairns and the diving made the trip more than worth it! The reef pictures are up now and the others will follow shortly. More about the coming weekend after Mom and Ashley are headed back to the states.
On a side note, I leave here on November 3rd. It's coming so fast and I'm trying to figure out what happened to my time here in Australia!
Thanks for reading. I'll see all of you quite soon!
Nicole
We spent our first full day in Cairns settling in and getting our reef trip set up. The following day we headed out really early to do three dives on the reef. The weather conditions were not ideal, so we only got to dive in one spot, but it was spectacular, nonetheless! I saw a blue-spotted sting ray, a starfish, lots of Nemos!, a loggerhead sea turtle, and lots and lots of amazing fish and coral! I'm working on posting the pictures right now. A lot of them turned out really well. I'm quite pleased with the quality of the camera we rented. The next couple days in Cairns were spent driving around North Queensland a little bit and seeing some of cool stuff around there. We went around some of the rain forest areas and a few cool markets and a coffee plantation. We also made it down to Josephine Falls where there is a natural water slide. The slide was really fun, but the water was quite cold. Not as cold as the water at Springbrook, though.
Overall, we had a really good time in Cairns and the diving made the trip more than worth it! The reef pictures are up now and the others will follow shortly. More about the coming weekend after Mom and Ashley are headed back to the states.
On a side note, I leave here on November 3rd. It's coming so fast and I'm trying to figure out what happened to my time here in Australia!
Thanks for reading. I'll see all of you quite soon!
Nicole
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
New Zealand- Day 7: Monday, October 6th
We got about 7:30 in the morning to go fill the car with gas and return it to the rental place. After filling up the car Jordan took me back to the hotel. You should read his blog for his side of the story from that point. I went back to sleep when I got back to the hotel and slept until about 10:30. I got up and showered and went downstairs to the restaurant for some breakfast. Jordan finally got back to the hotel around 11:30 or so. After he showered and relaxed a little bit we headed out into Christchurch to see the city.
The main area of the city is Cathedral Square. After walking around there a little bit we headed over to the Arts Centre to see some of the Maori art. By this time we were both getting a little hungry, so we decided to try to find a place selling pies. These are a NZ favorite. It’s pretty much just a really light, flaky pastry with some kind of savory filling. Neither of us had had one yet, so we were interested in trying them. The guide book said to try a place called ‘Copenhagen Bakery’ which was just up the street. They’ve won several awards for the pies they sell. By the time we got there they had sold out a lot of the pies. We both had a steak pie since that was the majority of what they had left. They were really great. There’s a NZ couple that has started up pie shops in a couple of the ski resorts in Colorado and they are supposed to open one at Copper (where we ski most weekends) this ski season. After having the pies here we are really excited for this to open at Copper. Pies seem like really good ski food to me because you can eat them quickly and they are really tasty and filling.
After our pie adventure we headed back to the hotel to hang out for a bit. We made plans to meet up with Leslie and Brittany later that day for dinner. I wrote a couple of blog posts for the week and uploaded the first day’s worth of pictures.
At 6:15 we headed back to Cathedral Square to meet Leslie and Brittany. This time around we noticed a large purple sculpture that looked strikingly like a sperm. In fact, upon closer inspection and reading the blurb about it next to the sculpture we discovered that it was, in fact, a giant sperm. There were people coming out of it (some kind of metaphor about life). According to Leslie and Brittany there had been little kids playing on it all afternoon. We had a good laugh about it and wondered what these parents were telling their kids this was- perhaps a sea creature?
We headed off toward the Arts Centre to get dinner at a placed called Dux De Lux. The food was pretty tasty, but they were out of the first two things Jordan tried to order, which I think he was a little disappointed about. After dinner and some good conversation we headed back to the hotel to show Leslie and Brittany our spiffy room. We had drinks in the bar downstairs and called it a night after that.
We had to be up at 3:30 this morning for our 6:15 flight back to Brisbane.
So, that’s the end of our adventures in New Zealand. I’m kind of sad to go. The entire trip was just incredible and I already want to come back. You could easily spend a couple of months just traveling around the two islands. Next time I come I’ll definitely be checking out the North Island. If it’s even half as spectacular as the South Island it will be worth it. We were discussing at dinner the pros and cons between coming to Australia vs. coming to New Zealand. All I can say is that this trip has probably been one of the top things I’ve done on my study abroad and I am so glad I got the chance to come! Australia has been really cool, but I think after going to Cairns and diving in a couple of weeks I won’t need to come back for any reason. So, if you decide to make a trip to New Zealand, let me know. We can give you some great pointers for where to go!
I’ve got a lot of work to do between getting back and when my mom and sister come next week. I’m not looking forward to the work, but I’m really excited to see them and show them around Brissy. This is probably my last post for a couple of weeks (until we get back from Cairns). I hope you all enjoyed reading about our trip. Have fun looking at the pictures when they’re all loaded. There are almost 500 of them. Oh, and when you look at the pictures, make sure you click on the actual album and start from the top. When you go straight to the site it shows the last pictures uploaded first, so everything will be backwards. It might be easiest to read a post and then look at the pictures from that day. I think that’s pretty much it. Hope everyone is doing well!
Nicole
The main area of the city is Cathedral Square. After walking around there a little bit we headed over to the Arts Centre to see some of the Maori art. By this time we were both getting a little hungry, so we decided to try to find a place selling pies. These are a NZ favorite. It’s pretty much just a really light, flaky pastry with some kind of savory filling. Neither of us had had one yet, so we were interested in trying them. The guide book said to try a place called ‘Copenhagen Bakery’ which was just up the street. They’ve won several awards for the pies they sell. By the time we got there they had sold out a lot of the pies. We both had a steak pie since that was the majority of what they had left. They were really great. There’s a NZ couple that has started up pie shops in a couple of the ski resorts in Colorado and they are supposed to open one at Copper (where we ski most weekends) this ski season. After having the pies here we are really excited for this to open at Copper. Pies seem like really good ski food to me because you can eat them quickly and they are really tasty and filling.
After our pie adventure we headed back to the hotel to hang out for a bit. We made plans to meet up with Leslie and Brittany later that day for dinner. I wrote a couple of blog posts for the week and uploaded the first day’s worth of pictures.
At 6:15 we headed back to Cathedral Square to meet Leslie and Brittany. This time around we noticed a large purple sculpture that looked strikingly like a sperm. In fact, upon closer inspection and reading the blurb about it next to the sculpture we discovered that it was, in fact, a giant sperm. There were people coming out of it (some kind of metaphor about life). According to Leslie and Brittany there had been little kids playing on it all afternoon. We had a good laugh about it and wondered what these parents were telling their kids this was- perhaps a sea creature?
We headed off toward the Arts Centre to get dinner at a placed called Dux De Lux. The food was pretty tasty, but they were out of the first two things Jordan tried to order, which I think he was a little disappointed about. After dinner and some good conversation we headed back to the hotel to show Leslie and Brittany our spiffy room. We had drinks in the bar downstairs and called it a night after that.
We had to be up at 3:30 this morning for our 6:15 flight back to Brisbane.
So, that’s the end of our adventures in New Zealand. I’m kind of sad to go. The entire trip was just incredible and I already want to come back. You could easily spend a couple of months just traveling around the two islands. Next time I come I’ll definitely be checking out the North Island. If it’s even half as spectacular as the South Island it will be worth it. We were discussing at dinner the pros and cons between coming to Australia vs. coming to New Zealand. All I can say is that this trip has probably been one of the top things I’ve done on my study abroad and I am so glad I got the chance to come! Australia has been really cool, but I think after going to Cairns and diving in a couple of weeks I won’t need to come back for any reason. So, if you decide to make a trip to New Zealand, let me know. We can give you some great pointers for where to go!
I’ve got a lot of work to do between getting back and when my mom and sister come next week. I’m not looking forward to the work, but I’m really excited to see them and show them around Brissy. This is probably my last post for a couple of weeks (until we get back from Cairns). I hope you all enjoyed reading about our trip. Have fun looking at the pictures when they’re all loaded. There are almost 500 of them. Oh, and when you look at the pictures, make sure you click on the actual album and start from the top. When you go straight to the site it shows the last pictures uploaded first, so everything will be backwards. It might be easiest to read a post and then look at the pictures from that day. I think that’s pretty much it. Hope everyone is doing well!
Nicole
New Zealand- Day 6: Sunday, October 5th
We got up a little later today and headed over to the Vudu Café, which I had read about in our travel book. I had eggs benedict with smoked salmon and capers and Jordan had a croissant with a sweet filling and almonds. Both were very good and the café lived up to its good reviews. After breakfast we walked around the town a little more and then leisurely made our way back towards Omarama where we were planning on spending the night.
On our way out of town we stopped at several wineries and a cheesery for tastings. We had a couple of Pinot Gris and Rieslings that were very good (this coming from someone who doesn’t like wine). The cheesery had some really good stuff, including a few cheeses made with local sheep and goat milk. Once out of the wine country we came upon a juice/fruit stand. I had a brilliant thought so we stopped in for a minute. I talked to the lady operating the juicer and sure enough she said she could make me fresh apple juice made only with Granny Smith apples! Now to many of you this is no big deal, so I’ll give you the story behind it. I’ve never really liked apple juice. It’s too sweet and I don’t like the flavor. When I was 10, my mom took me to Paris and they had Granny Smith apple juice there. I loved it. I haven’t been able to find it since that trip, though I often look. The juice was amazing and tasted just like eating the apple. Plus it had an appealing bright green color. Just one more reason to love NZ.
We got into Omarama around 4, but there was very little there. Literally a few hotels, a gas station, and a restaurant or two. We decided to press on and get to Christchurch instead of waiting until the morning. On the way to Christchurch we got to see Mt. Cook at sunset and Lake Tekapo. The lake is supposed to have this brilliant turquoise hue, but it was a little hard to see because of the light. I’m a little disappointed about that, but the lake was still gorgeous with the mountains around it and the sun setting.
Around 11 we drove into Christchurch and hastily booked a room at the hotel we were going to be staying at the following night. The hotel was very cool and modern. The room was very small and windowless, but one of the walls was a giant mirror, which helped open it up a bit. There was a very nice LCD TV and a control panel where you could control all the lights and alarm clock. I think the alarm clock was probably the coolest part. 5 minutes before it is set to go off an artificial sunlight above the bed starts to glow and gets increasingly brighter. When the alarm goes off the TV also comes on and is automatically tuned to the hotel’s ‘wake’ channel, which is beautiful scenery from around NZ and some soft music. Though small, the entire space was very modern and comfortable and is probably the best sleep I’ve had since coming to Australia.
Since we hadn’t eaten dinner yet, we grabbed some food at a fast food place and took advantage of the free wireless at the hotel (the only free spot we’ve found anywhere). After that it was time for bed so we could be ready to go for our final day in Christchurch.
On our way out of town we stopped at several wineries and a cheesery for tastings. We had a couple of Pinot Gris and Rieslings that were very good (this coming from someone who doesn’t like wine). The cheesery had some really good stuff, including a few cheeses made with local sheep and goat milk. Once out of the wine country we came upon a juice/fruit stand. I had a brilliant thought so we stopped in for a minute. I talked to the lady operating the juicer and sure enough she said she could make me fresh apple juice made only with Granny Smith apples! Now to many of you this is no big deal, so I’ll give you the story behind it. I’ve never really liked apple juice. It’s too sweet and I don’t like the flavor. When I was 10, my mom took me to Paris and they had Granny Smith apple juice there. I loved it. I haven’t been able to find it since that trip, though I often look. The juice was amazing and tasted just like eating the apple. Plus it had an appealing bright green color. Just one more reason to love NZ.
We got into Omarama around 4, but there was very little there. Literally a few hotels, a gas station, and a restaurant or two. We decided to press on and get to Christchurch instead of waiting until the morning. On the way to Christchurch we got to see Mt. Cook at sunset and Lake Tekapo. The lake is supposed to have this brilliant turquoise hue, but it was a little hard to see because of the light. I’m a little disappointed about that, but the lake was still gorgeous with the mountains around it and the sun setting.
Around 11 we drove into Christchurch and hastily booked a room at the hotel we were going to be staying at the following night. The hotel was very cool and modern. The room was very small and windowless, but one of the walls was a giant mirror, which helped open it up a bit. There was a very nice LCD TV and a control panel where you could control all the lights and alarm clock. I think the alarm clock was probably the coolest part. 5 minutes before it is set to go off an artificial sunlight above the bed starts to glow and gets increasingly brighter. When the alarm goes off the TV also comes on and is automatically tuned to the hotel’s ‘wake’ channel, which is beautiful scenery from around NZ and some soft music. Though small, the entire space was very modern and comfortable and is probably the best sleep I’ve had since coming to Australia.
Since we hadn’t eaten dinner yet, we grabbed some food at a fast food place and took advantage of the free wireless at the hotel (the only free spot we’ve found anywhere). After that it was time for bed so we could be ready to go for our final day in Christchurch.
New Zealand- Day 5: Saturday, October 4th
We woke up early again this morning to make the 3-hour drive to Milford Sound. It was pretty rainy, but that turned out to be a very good thing (more on that later).
About an hour into our drive we were behind a camper van that started to slow down and then moved to the other side of the road. It turned out there were a bunch of sheep being moved across the road. I’m no stranger to finding a herd of animals blocking a road (I am from Texas after all), but it was definitely interesting to see so many sheep all packed together.
The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful, but very beautiful. Because of the rain, there were waterfalls everywhere. As we got closer to Milford we had to go through a very narrow tunnel. On the other side we drove into a valley where we could see literally thousands of waterfalls coming down the mountain sides.
We got to the Sound right around 1, just in time for our cruise. The boat was a little small, especially compared to some of the others in the harbor, but there were fewer people, which was nice. The cruise was pretty spectacular. It’s kind of hard to describe just because it was so big! The mountains tower around the water and you just feel totally encompassed by your surroundings. Towards the end of the cruise we got a chance to see some NZ fur seals hanging out on the rocks. Our captain got super close to the rocks so we got to see them up close. Jordan really loved Milford and I think it was his favorite part of the trip.
The cruise was an hour and a half long, so we grabbed a couple sandwiches afterwards and started to make our way back to Queenstown. On the way we stopped to take some pictures and visit a couple of pretty cool sites. The first is called The Chasm. It is kind of like a waterfall in a cave, but the water rushes out of a riverbed and through the rocks. It was pretty cool to see. I took a video of it because it was very loud, but the sound and images just don’t compare. Hopefully, I can get the video up on Flickr. I’m not sure if it will work on there or not. When we walked back to the car park from The Chasm there were a bunch of NZ birds called Keas hanging around. They are super curious about everything and pretty funny to watch. As a family who was watching them got into their car one of the kea birds hopped onto their side view mirror and started looking through the window at them. It was kind of hilarious.
Our next stop on the drive back was to an area called the Mirror Lakes. These lakes are so still that they reflect the mountains behind them almost perfectly. This was pretty cool to see and I think the pictures turned out really well.
On our drive back we had stopped a couple of time to see if I could get one of the baby lambs to let me pet it, but they were all really scared and I couldn’t get close to any of them. We came across a farm-animal petting zoo type thing after our many failed attempts, so we stopped there to see if they would let me pet the lambs. They were closed for a private function, so we drove around the back where we could see some animals. In a small fenced in area there were two baby lambs, a miniature horse, and a goat. One of the lambs got up and came close enough to let me pet him- he even licked my hand. I’ve decided that if it was possible I would totally bring one back to the US. Lambs are way cool. Anyway, I tried to entice him back with an apple after he wandered away, but the horse wasn’t having any of that so I gave him the whole thing instead. I think it’s safe to say we made that horse very happy.
The rest of the drive back was pretty uneventful. More nice scenery and such. We grabbed some fish and chips for dinner and called it a night after that.
About an hour into our drive we were behind a camper van that started to slow down and then moved to the other side of the road. It turned out there were a bunch of sheep being moved across the road. I’m no stranger to finding a herd of animals blocking a road (I am from Texas after all), but it was definitely interesting to see so many sheep all packed together.
The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful, but very beautiful. Because of the rain, there were waterfalls everywhere. As we got closer to Milford we had to go through a very narrow tunnel. On the other side we drove into a valley where we could see literally thousands of waterfalls coming down the mountain sides.
We got to the Sound right around 1, just in time for our cruise. The boat was a little small, especially compared to some of the others in the harbor, but there were fewer people, which was nice. The cruise was pretty spectacular. It’s kind of hard to describe just because it was so big! The mountains tower around the water and you just feel totally encompassed by your surroundings. Towards the end of the cruise we got a chance to see some NZ fur seals hanging out on the rocks. Our captain got super close to the rocks so we got to see them up close. Jordan really loved Milford and I think it was his favorite part of the trip.
The cruise was an hour and a half long, so we grabbed a couple sandwiches afterwards and started to make our way back to Queenstown. On the way we stopped to take some pictures and visit a couple of pretty cool sites. The first is called The Chasm. It is kind of like a waterfall in a cave, but the water rushes out of a riverbed and through the rocks. It was pretty cool to see. I took a video of it because it was very loud, but the sound and images just don’t compare. Hopefully, I can get the video up on Flickr. I’m not sure if it will work on there or not. When we walked back to the car park from The Chasm there were a bunch of NZ birds called Keas hanging around. They are super curious about everything and pretty funny to watch. As a family who was watching them got into their car one of the kea birds hopped onto their side view mirror and started looking through the window at them. It was kind of hilarious.
Our next stop on the drive back was to an area called the Mirror Lakes. These lakes are so still that they reflect the mountains behind them almost perfectly. This was pretty cool to see and I think the pictures turned out really well.
On our drive back we had stopped a couple of time to see if I could get one of the baby lambs to let me pet it, but they were all really scared and I couldn’t get close to any of them. We came across a farm-animal petting zoo type thing after our many failed attempts, so we stopped there to see if they would let me pet the lambs. They were closed for a private function, so we drove around the back where we could see some animals. In a small fenced in area there were two baby lambs, a miniature horse, and a goat. One of the lambs got up and came close enough to let me pet him- he even licked my hand. I’ve decided that if it was possible I would totally bring one back to the US. Lambs are way cool. Anyway, I tried to entice him back with an apple after he wandered away, but the horse wasn’t having any of that so I gave him the whole thing instead. I think it’s safe to say we made that horse very happy.
The rest of the drive back was pretty uneventful. More nice scenery and such. We grabbed some fish and chips for dinner and called it a night after that.
New Zealand- Day 4: Friday, October 3rd
Jordan and I got up around 9:30 this morning and, after checking out of the hotel, headed off to Queenstown. After getting in around 11 we headed over to AJ Hackett Bungy to show them our 2 for 1 voucher. We got everything settled with them and spent an hour or so walking around the town. Queenstown is full of tourists, but isn’t tourist-y feeling. It’s a very nice little town and pretty easy to walk around.
We filled up on some Thai food and then went off to ride the gondola and luge. The gondola went up a very steep mountain where there were, not surprisingly, a few brave sheep. The views from the top of the gondola were awesome. We then found the luge track and had a fun time riding little carts down a twisty track.
After the luge and gondola, we headed over to our hotel, about 10 minutes from town. We checked in and got all of our stuff from the car. Then it was time to head back to town for the 20-minute shuttle ride to the Kawarau Bridge. This bridge is over a beautiful gorge, about 43 metres above the river. We checked in and got weighed and then headed out onto the bridge to do our jump. By this point I was getting pretty nervous, but there was no turning back. Jordan and I got strapped into the harnesses and had our ankles wrapped with towels and various cords. We were doing a tandem jump, so they told us where to hold onto each other and then we were ready to go. Within a minute we were leaping off the platform toward the river below. It was a truly incredible experience and I would have done it again in a heartbeat if it weren’t so darn expensive. We got a free t-shirt after the jump and I bought a couple of photos since there was no one to take pictures with my camera.
When we got back to town it was past 5, so we walked around town to check out all the restaurants and see what sounded good. We ended up eating at a restaurant I had read about in a couple of brochures. When we got there we discovered that the first 7 tables seated before 7 pm got 50% off, which was an exciting discovery. The meal at threesixty was amazing! We started off with fresh baked bread with garlic butter, served with three different spreads- sundried tomato, garlic hummus, and pumpkin-cream cheese. This was followed by local rabbit ravioli with an orange sauce. The second course was a pressed pork belly with bok choy and an asian style sauce. After the pork, we had a white miso risotto with artichokes and wild mushrooms. Dessert was a mango crème brulee with black sesame seed ice cream and fresh berries. I also had a pineapple pomegranate sour with my dinner (lemon and raspberry vodkas, fresh pineapple, pomegranate molasses, and fresh lemon juice). Everything was fabulous and was a great end to an incredible day.
We filled up on some Thai food and then went off to ride the gondola and luge. The gondola went up a very steep mountain where there were, not surprisingly, a few brave sheep. The views from the top of the gondola were awesome. We then found the luge track and had a fun time riding little carts down a twisty track.
After the luge and gondola, we headed over to our hotel, about 10 minutes from town. We checked in and got all of our stuff from the car. Then it was time to head back to town for the 20-minute shuttle ride to the Kawarau Bridge. This bridge is over a beautiful gorge, about 43 metres above the river. We checked in and got weighed and then headed out onto the bridge to do our jump. By this point I was getting pretty nervous, but there was no turning back. Jordan and I got strapped into the harnesses and had our ankles wrapped with towels and various cords. We were doing a tandem jump, so they told us where to hold onto each other and then we were ready to go. Within a minute we were leaping off the platform toward the river below. It was a truly incredible experience and I would have done it again in a heartbeat if it weren’t so darn expensive. We got a free t-shirt after the jump and I bought a couple of photos since there was no one to take pictures with my camera.
When we got back to town it was past 5, so we walked around town to check out all the restaurants and see what sounded good. We ended up eating at a restaurant I had read about in a couple of brochures. When we got there we discovered that the first 7 tables seated before 7 pm got 50% off, which was an exciting discovery. The meal at threesixty was amazing! We started off with fresh baked bread with garlic butter, served with three different spreads- sundried tomato, garlic hummus, and pumpkin-cream cheese. This was followed by local rabbit ravioli with an orange sauce. The second course was a pressed pork belly with bok choy and an asian style sauce. After the pork, we had a white miso risotto with artichokes and wild mushrooms. Dessert was a mango crème brulee with black sesame seed ice cream and fresh berries. I also had a pineapple pomegranate sour with my dinner (lemon and raspberry vodkas, fresh pineapple, pomegranate molasses, and fresh lemon juice). Everything was fabulous and was a great end to an incredible day.
New Zealand- Day 3: Thursday, October 2nd
We woke up around 5:45 in the morning so we could leave for Wanaka by 6:15. Leslie was leaving us around 10 to head back to Christchurch, so we had to be up kind of early to make the 3 and a half hour drive. We had about a quarter tank of gas, so decided we could make it to the Fox Glacier before getting more. Unfortunately, none of the gas stations were open and we couldn’t get our cards to work at any of the 24-hour ones. This meant we had about 160 km before getting to Haast and we were getting very low on gas. The last quarter of the trip was quite stressful as the gas needle continued to dip below the empty line. We were running on the last wisps of fumes when we came upon a gas station. I paid NZ$96 to fill up a 45 litre tank. Completely ridiculous.
The rest of the drive to Wanaka was quite enjoyable (after I was done being totally stressed out) and about halfway through we drove across a bridge which went over an area called the Gates of Haast. It was absolutely gorgeous. One of the best spots we’ve seen so far. It was just a really strong river rushing over some really cool rocks. The pictures look pretty good.
We made it to Wanaka just as Leslie's bus was pulling into the station. After dropping her off, Jordan and I found a little café called Ritual where we had pasta salad before walking around town. After that we headed over to the Puzzling World where there is a 1.5 km, two-story maze. It took us about 45 minutes to make our way to each corner of the maze and then back to the start. It was much harder than I thought it was going to be.
After the Puzzling World we checked into our hotel and I took a long nap. Jordan went off and explored the town a little bit more. When I got up we went ahead and booked our bungy jumping for the following day and the Milford Sound cruise for the day after that. Later, we drove around and got some take-away from a gourmet pizza place. The pizza was quite good. After dinner we headed over to the pool (nicely heated) and hot tub. We called it a night after that.
The rest of the drive to Wanaka was quite enjoyable (after I was done being totally stressed out) and about halfway through we drove across a bridge which went over an area called the Gates of Haast. It was absolutely gorgeous. One of the best spots we’ve seen so far. It was just a really strong river rushing over some really cool rocks. The pictures look pretty good.
We made it to Wanaka just as Leslie's bus was pulling into the station. After dropping her off, Jordan and I found a little café called Ritual where we had pasta salad before walking around town. After that we headed over to the Puzzling World where there is a 1.5 km, two-story maze. It took us about 45 minutes to make our way to each corner of the maze and then back to the start. It was much harder than I thought it was going to be.
After the Puzzling World we checked into our hotel and I took a long nap. Jordan went off and explored the town a little bit more. When I got up we went ahead and booked our bungy jumping for the following day and the Milford Sound cruise for the day after that. Later, we drove around and got some take-away from a gourmet pizza place. The pizza was quite good. After dinner we headed over to the pool (nicely heated) and hot tub. We called it a night after that.
New Zealand- Day 2: Wednesday, October 1st
We had a really hard time waking up this morning, but finally got up at 10. We had breakfast in the hotel as we had bought some cereal bars the previous day and were given milk at the hotel when we checked in. After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and headed into town. Hokitika is famous for the jade that they produce there. They find it in certain areas of the town and it is made into jewelry and other unique items. We looked around one the main jade stores a little bit and then wandered around to a couple other artsy boutiques. After looking around Hoki in the daylight we made our way toward the Franz Josef glacier. The drive was incredible. Once again, the scenery was awesome. Most of my pictures are of the scenery from our drives. I hope you enjoy them because they can’t come close to portraying how gorgeous this country really is.
We got into Franz Josef around 2:30 and checked into our hotel. It was a nice little spot in the town and the views from the hotel were great. After checking in we went to look around and find some information on hikes to see the glacier. We got in a little too late to do a guided hike onto the glacier because it was a rainy morning. We did get to do a couple of different hikes and got fairly close to the glacier, though. It was breathtaking. Completely magnificent and indescribable. Seeing the glacier and its surroundings was kind of a religious experience for me. Once again, pictures won’t do it justice. Do yourself a favor and get to NZ at some point in your life. After the glacier, we headed back to town and Jordan and I did some ice climbing at an indoor ice climbing wall. It is the only one in this country and is the 3rd largest of only 13 in the world. The ice climbing was great fun, but very tiring and it was interesting to try. After ice climbing we had a good dinner and then went hot-tubbing for a little bit.
That was pretty much it for the day. So far everything has been pretty amazing.
We got into Franz Josef around 2:30 and checked into our hotel. It was a nice little spot in the town and the views from the hotel were great. After checking in we went to look around and find some information on hikes to see the glacier. We got in a little too late to do a guided hike onto the glacier because it was a rainy morning. We did get to do a couple of different hikes and got fairly close to the glacier, though. It was breathtaking. Completely magnificent and indescribable. Seeing the glacier and its surroundings was kind of a religious experience for me. Once again, pictures won’t do it justice. Do yourself a favor and get to NZ at some point in your life. After the glacier, we headed back to town and Jordan and I did some ice climbing at an indoor ice climbing wall. It is the only one in this country and is the 3rd largest of only 13 in the world. The ice climbing was great fun, but very tiring and it was interesting to try. After ice climbing we had a good dinner and then went hot-tubbing for a little bit.
That was pretty much it for the day. So far everything has been pretty amazing.
New Zealand- Day 1: Tuesday, September 30th
I got up at 4: 45 this morning and we got a cab to the airport at 5:15. After checking in we had a couple hours to kill. I got a meatball sub at Subway, which was odd at 6:00 am, but enjoyable. The flight left about 15 minutes late and got us into Christchurch, New Zealand around 2:15. The lady at customs asked a lot of questions and wanted to know why we were spending a night in Hokitika. She did not seem satisfied with our answer, which was that it was on our way to the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers. Oh well.
After exiting the airport, we headed to the rental car place to pick up our car. It took an hour for them to get us ready to go. The lady we were dealing with was not very friendly and was quite rude. Overall, it was a very frustrating process and, to top it off, the car is quite a piece. No power locks or windows. The stereo will only play on the speaker on the driver’s side in front. However, it does get good gas mileage- its only redeeming quality.
Leslie, Jordan, and I finally started our journey a little after 4 and drove into Christchurch to find some food before hitting the road. We stopped at a cute little café called ‘blax’ to get sandwiches. The Kiwis there were very friendly and immediately pegged us as Americans. They were our first good impression of the people of New Zealand and it was great. I had a bagel with lox there. Very tasty. After the café we found a grocery store to load up on snacks for the drive. Let me first say that the exchange rate in NZ is quite favorable, about .67 US cents to one NZ dollar. The grocery store had incredibly low prices! With the exchange rate factored in they were even better. Definitely cheaper than Brisbane.
Once on the highway heading toward Hokitika, NZ lived up to its name and gave us many, many sheep to look at. They are all over the place here! It’s a sight for sure. The drive was pretty long, but the scenery was beautiful and reminded me a little bit of Colorado at parts.
We got into Hoki around 9:30 pm and stopped off to check out the Glow-Worm Dell. It’s just a rock wall at the end of a path, but there are all these larvae that light up. It was a bit reminiscent of my childhood, many summers spent catching lightning bugs. It’s quite chilly here though. Certainly not like summer in Austin. We made it to the hotel after taking a couple wrong turns and got settled into our room. We asked the guy who checked us in to point us in the direction of dinner. Hoki is a pretty small town and there wasn’t really anything open. We stumbled upon a bar called the Red Lion Tavern. They were open late because the bar was switching owners the next day and they were having a little closing party. We were welcomed in with open arms. A very friendly man in his 70s or 80s bought us all a drink and the owner made us a big bowl of chips (fries) and brought us some bread with butter. There wasn’t really much else in the kitchen because of the owner-switching stuff. Their hospitality was great and we had a fun evening chatting with the locals. Before departing, we were coerced into singing our national anthem. It was great fun. After the bar we headed back to the hotel to get some much-needed sleep.
*Pictures from Day 1 are posted and the rest are on the way*
After exiting the airport, we headed to the rental car place to pick up our car. It took an hour for them to get us ready to go. The lady we were dealing with was not very friendly and was quite rude. Overall, it was a very frustrating process and, to top it off, the car is quite a piece. No power locks or windows. The stereo will only play on the speaker on the driver’s side in front. However, it does get good gas mileage- its only redeeming quality.
Leslie, Jordan, and I finally started our journey a little after 4 and drove into Christchurch to find some food before hitting the road. We stopped at a cute little café called ‘blax’ to get sandwiches. The Kiwis there were very friendly and immediately pegged us as Americans. They were our first good impression of the people of New Zealand and it was great. I had a bagel with lox there. Very tasty. After the café we found a grocery store to load up on snacks for the drive. Let me first say that the exchange rate in NZ is quite favorable, about .67 US cents to one NZ dollar. The grocery store had incredibly low prices! With the exchange rate factored in they were even better. Definitely cheaper than Brisbane.
Once on the highway heading toward Hokitika, NZ lived up to its name and gave us many, many sheep to look at. They are all over the place here! It’s a sight for sure. The drive was pretty long, but the scenery was beautiful and reminded me a little bit of Colorado at parts.
We got into Hoki around 9:30 pm and stopped off to check out the Glow-Worm Dell. It’s just a rock wall at the end of a path, but there are all these larvae that light up. It was a bit reminiscent of my childhood, many summers spent catching lightning bugs. It’s quite chilly here though. Certainly not like summer in Austin. We made it to the hotel after taking a couple wrong turns and got settled into our room. We asked the guy who checked us in to point us in the direction of dinner. Hoki is a pretty small town and there wasn’t really anything open. We stumbled upon a bar called the Red Lion Tavern. They were open late because the bar was switching owners the next day and they were having a little closing party. We were welcomed in with open arms. A very friendly man in his 70s or 80s bought us all a drink and the owner made us a big bowl of chips (fries) and brought us some bread with butter. There wasn’t really much else in the kitchen because of the owner-switching stuff. Their hospitality was great and we had a fun evening chatting with the locals. Before departing, we were coerced into singing our national anthem. It was great fun. After the bar we headed back to the hotel to get some much-needed sleep.
*Pictures from Day 1 are posted and the rest are on the way*
Monday, September 22, 2008
Springbrook National Park
This weekend ended up being pretty great! We were going to go to the Glasshouse Mountains, but the trail we wanted to do was closed due to rock falls. Instead, we decided to go to Springbrook National Park, about 2 hours from Brisbane. We rented a car and Jordan did a beautiful job with the driving (for the most part). There was one incidence of driving on the right side of the road (when we should have been on the left), but that was short-lived and there was no traffic around. Anyway, we saw some wild wallabies before starting our trek through the rain forest. The park was up in this tiny rural town. It's the kind of place that would be really fun to vacation in. The track we wanted to go on was closed due to landslides, so we decided to do the Twin Falls Circuit and then go find this swimming hole. The waterfall you see us standing by in the picture is part of the Twin Falls. We started our hike around 11 and were immediately in the heart of some pretty awesome forest. There were waterfalls and creeks all over the place and we narrowly missed stepping on lizards on more than one occassion. I don't have too much to say about the hiking. It was absolutely gorgeous and Becca, Beth, Jordan, and I all had a great time. After going around the Twin Falls Circuit, we went in search of this pool. We had all intended on swimming, so we brought swim suits and towels. Unfortunately, the water was absolutely freezing, like stop-your-heart cold. Of course, Beth talked me into swimming with her anyway. We had an enjoyable time jumping off the rocks into the pool. And, yes, we did check to see if it was deep enough before doing this. Even though it was freezing, we had a fun time and there were a bunch of people there watching us act like crazy people. These two little girls were inspired by us and got in too. They were pretty brave kids. So, we finally decided we'd had enough of the frigid waters and got out to dry off and change. I noticed a black spot on my foot that was kind of shiny. Sure enough, it was a leech (which they warn about in the trail guide). Jordan picked it off of me, but not before it left a little spot of blood on my foot. I'm not quite sure why having a leech attached to my foot makes me feel adventurous, but it does. The walk back up from the pool was tough. It was in a very deep canyon and there were a lot of stairs. I'm obviously not working out here at all. I think we hiked about 15 kilometers over the course of the day. The entire day was just a blast and we're hoping to go to the Glasshouse Mountains the weekend after spring break. Speaking of which, we leave for New Zealand in just one week! I'm really looking forward to it!That's pretty much it for the weekend. I've got a paper that I have to finish before we leave next Tuesday, so I'll be doing that this week. More blog posting upon our return from the South Island of New Zealand!
Nicole
P.S. Pictures from the hiking trip are up on Flickr.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
In Bruges and New Camera Skills
My friend Beth and her friend Chris came over for dinner last night and we sat around and talked for a bit before going to see In Bruges. During the course of the conversation, Beth asked about our living situation next year and after a bit of a discussion it was decided that she would live with us when we get back to DU. I am really excited about this because it means that I don't have to find someone random when I get back to school and I know I'll really like who I'm living with. As much as I'm loving Australia, I'm also really excited to get back to Denver and my life there. Anyway, we went to see In Bruges last night (I dragged Jordan along). It was really good! I was quite impressed. It's a little bit hard to describe because it was both funny and very sad. The humor for the most part was very politically incorrect, but nonetheless, quite funny. Jordan liked the movie too. Shocking. All in all, it was a really great night and I had a lot of fun.
When we got back I called my dad to chat and let him know that we had found a 3rd roommate and we ended up getting around to talking about my New Zealand trip in a couple of weeks. He was trying to explain to me how to configure my camera so that there would be higher pixel definition so when I blow the pictures up they won't look funny. As he's explaining this I'm fiddling with my camera, which I know very little about (obviously), and discovered that my camera has all these setting that I didn't know about! It has a mode for fireworks and a panorama assist mode. Both of those would have been quite helpful in the recent past. In any case, I'm really happy I figured it out before I take off for spring break.
Next weekend Jordan, Chris, Beth, and I are going to the Glasshouse Mountains to do some hiking. The mountains are old volcanic formations and have a link to the mainland aboriginal people. It should be a good time and I'm sure there will be lots of pictures.
After next weekend we have just one more week before spring break in New Zealand! I'm getting really excited about this trip! It's going to be such a good time and I'm certain it will produce many fabulous photos. The week after we get back from New Zealand my mom and sister will be here and we're going up to Cairns to do some diving. After about a month of not doing too much, it's looking like the rest of my time here is going to be pretty packed with adventures!
Also, Beth and her sister Becca are going to be taking a trip to Fiji in November. I'm hoping to join them, provided I still have any money. Anyone wishing to donate for this cause should shoot me an email. :)
Love and miss you all!
Nicole
When we got back I called my dad to chat and let him know that we had found a 3rd roommate and we ended up getting around to talking about my New Zealand trip in a couple of weeks. He was trying to explain to me how to configure my camera so that there would be higher pixel definition so when I blow the pictures up they won't look funny. As he's explaining this I'm fiddling with my camera, which I know very little about (obviously), and discovered that my camera has all these setting that I didn't know about! It has a mode for fireworks and a panorama assist mode. Both of those would have been quite helpful in the recent past. In any case, I'm really happy I figured it out before I take off for spring break.
Next weekend Jordan, Chris, Beth, and I are going to the Glasshouse Mountains to do some hiking. The mountains are old volcanic formations and have a link to the mainland aboriginal people. It should be a good time and I'm sure there will be lots of pictures.
After next weekend we have just one more week before spring break in New Zealand! I'm getting really excited about this trip! It's going to be such a good time and I'm certain it will produce many fabulous photos. The week after we get back from New Zealand my mom and sister will be here and we're going up to Cairns to do some diving. After about a month of not doing too much, it's looking like the rest of my time here is going to be pretty packed with adventures!
Also, Beth and her sister Becca are going to be taking a trip to Fiji in November. I'm hoping to join them, provided I still have any money. Anyone wishing to donate for this cause should shoot me an email. :)
Love and miss you all!
Nicole
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
So, while in Sydney on the harbour bridge, I took a panorama of pictures with my camera. Unfortunately, I have no software on my computer to link them together and actually create a panorama. The other day Jordan figured out that he has the software to do that! I now have two panoramas of the Sydney harbour and opera house. I'm having trouble posting them on Flickr, so if you don't see them on there, that's why.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Mt. Coot-tha and Riverfire
It's been a little while since I've posted, but school has been keeping me fairly busy lately. I have a test and a paper due next week and two more papers due by the end of September. This month is going to be fairly intense for school work. The good news is that once all of this is over I get to go to New Zealand!
Last weekend, Jordan and I went up to Mt. Coot-tha to walk around the botanical gardens there. There's also a lookout over the city, but we didn't want to wait an hour for another bus, so that didn't happen. The gardens were nice, nothing super exciting though. Pictures are posted on Flickr.
This weekend was great! The Brisbane Riverfestival is going on right now and every year they put on a huge fireworks show called Riverfire. We went down to the market in West End and then over to Cole's in the morning to do our weekly grocery shopping and then headed over the South Bank. We set up a spot on the steps overlooking the river and settled in to wait. There were a decent number of people waiting for the fireworks by the time we arrived around 1 pm, but it wasn't overly crowded. Becca and Beth joined us shortly after we arrived and were followed by Leslie, Dani (on spring break from Tasmania), Brittany (on spring break from New Zealand), and two of Dani's friends. More friends and acquaintances from the apartments showed up as the day went on. We played cards and chatted. Got a little bit of a tan while hanging out in my swimsuit. We were all getting pretty anxious for the show to start around 5 or so. They had some Air Force planes do a fly-over a little after 5 to get things started before the 7 pm fireworks. By about 6:30 it was impossible to move anywhere on the banks of the river. I think pretty much every person in Brisbane turned out to see the show.
The fireworks started just past 7 and were sychronized to music playing from a radio station. There were 3 barges in the river as well as fireworks being shot off from 3 bridges and a few of the buildings downtown. It was hard to know where to look after it started because there were fireworks everywhere! This was the best fireworks show I've ever seen and I had such an awesome time yesterday. My camera didn't do so well at taking pictures of the fireworks, but I tried anyway. Pictures from the day are posted on Flickr.
I probably won't have much to post over the next month or so. It's likely I'll just have tons of studying to do and not many opportunities to get out and do stuff. Hope you all enjoy the pictures!
Also, keep New Orleans in your thoughts. One of my best friends is being evacuated from Tulane. Hopefully they're wrong about Gustav being worse than Katrina!
That's all for now. Love and miss you all!
Nicole
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Fun Times in Sydney
We got back from Sydney yesterday. It was a lot of fun to visit, but I don't think I'd want to live there. Definitely more of the 'big city' feel.
We got up at 4:30 for our 7 am flight and got into the city in Sydney around 9:30 on Thursday morning. The view from the plane was just awesome! After checking into our hotel we walked around the city a little bit and had lunch in the park. After lunch we headed over to Darling Harbour and walked around there for a bit. We then walked over to the Sydney Fish Market and got a lemon tart from this pastry place on the way. It was pretty fabulous. The Fish Market was pretty awesome too. All kinds of fish and all of it looked just amazing. After the fish market it started raining so we ran back toward the harbour to try and get out of it. The rest of the evening was pretty drizzly. Got a piece of pizza down the street from our hotel and then some chicken skewers with honey mustard aioli at a tapas place. After that we went to another restaurant that we had noticed and had a tomato tart with filo dough, cherry tomatoes, caramelized onions, basil, and goat cheese. Great stuff. Good ending to a very long day.
Day 2 started off with breakfast and then walking over to Sydney Harbour, the bridge, and the opera house. Jordan had a cold and wasn't feeling too great, so we walked around there for a bit and then came back to the hotel to nap. Dinner ended up being kind of a bust that night. We couldn't really find anything that was what we wanted or that wasn't totally booked. Went back to the hotel again and ordered some Thai food. After waiting over an hour we called to find out that they didn't even have any orders open. By this time it was almost midnight and I was ready to crash so Jordan got some sandwiches from a place down the street. We watched the opening ceremony for the Olympics, which was pretty cool.
Day 3 made the whole trip totally worth it for me. After breakfast we went to the markets in the Chinatown area and then walked back toward Darling Harbour to visit the Sydney Aquarium. The aquarium was pretty cool and we got to see some seals and fish and what not. After the aquarium we went back to the fish market to have lunch. I got some tuna sashimi and fried calamari. Both the best I've ever had. Totally fresh. After lunch we walked over to the Harbour Bridge and found some more markets set up. They were pretty cool and had some neat stuff. Then we went up to the pylon on the bridge so we could see the harbour better. The view of the opera house was equivalent to what you would see on a post card. Just awesome stuff. Seeing that in person was the highlight of the trip for me. After the bridge we went down to the rocks for more views of the harbour and opera house. After all of this it was getting close to time to head over to our hotel. We decided to stay at one close to the airport so we could get up later so we got some stuff at the grocery store for dinner and breakfast and then headed to the hotel.
So, that was pretty much it for Sydney. I definitely enjoyed the trip and really loved seeing the opera house. We got some really good photos too. Those are already posted so take a look when you get a chance. Next big thing we have planned is New Zealand at the end of next month, but I'm thinking we might check out Ekka soon. It's a carnival/festival thing they do here every year. Apparently it's sort of a big deal and we have this Wednesday off of school for it.
On another note, I'm happy to say that my microwaveable cake turned out quite well and I'm very happy to have that recipe available to me.
Hope all is well with everyone and that you all enjoy the pictures!
Love,
Nicole
P.S. Go Team USA!!!
We got up at 4:30 for our 7 am flight and got into the city in Sydney around 9:30 on Thursday morning. The view from the plane was just awesome! After checking into our hotel we walked around the city a little bit and had lunch in the park. After lunch we headed over to Darling Harbour and walked around there for a bit. We then walked over to the Sydney Fish Market and got a lemon tart from this pastry place on the way. It was pretty fabulous. The Fish Market was pretty awesome too. All kinds of fish and all of it looked just amazing. After the fish market it started raining so we ran back toward the harbour to try and get out of it. The rest of the evening was pretty drizzly. Got a piece of pizza down the street from our hotel and then some chicken skewers with honey mustard aioli at a tapas place. After that we went to another restaurant that we had noticed and had a tomato tart with filo dough, cherry tomatoes, caramelized onions, basil, and goat cheese. Great stuff. Good ending to a very long day.
Day 2 started off with breakfast and then walking over to Sydney Harbour, the bridge, and the opera house. Jordan had a cold and wasn't feeling too great, so we walked around there for a bit and then came back to the hotel to nap. Dinner ended up being kind of a bust that night. We couldn't really find anything that was what we wanted or that wasn't totally booked. Went back to the hotel again and ordered some Thai food. After waiting over an hour we called to find out that they didn't even have any orders open. By this time it was almost midnight and I was ready to crash so Jordan got some sandwiches from a place down the street. We watched the opening ceremony for the Olympics, which was pretty cool.
Day 3 made the whole trip totally worth it for me. After breakfast we went to the markets in the Chinatown area and then walked back toward Darling Harbour to visit the Sydney Aquarium. The aquarium was pretty cool and we got to see some seals and fish and what not. After the aquarium we went back to the fish market to have lunch. I got some tuna sashimi and fried calamari. Both the best I've ever had. Totally fresh. After lunch we walked over to the Harbour Bridge and found some more markets set up. They were pretty cool and had some neat stuff. Then we went up to the pylon on the bridge so we could see the harbour better. The view of the opera house was equivalent to what you would see on a post card. Just awesome stuff. Seeing that in person was the highlight of the trip for me. After the bridge we went down to the rocks for more views of the harbour and opera house. After all of this it was getting close to time to head over to our hotel. We decided to stay at one close to the airport so we could get up later so we got some stuff at the grocery store for dinner and breakfast and then headed to the hotel.
So, that was pretty much it for Sydney. I definitely enjoyed the trip and really loved seeing the opera house. We got some really good photos too. Those are already posted so take a look when you get a chance. Next big thing we have planned is New Zealand at the end of next month, but I'm thinking we might check out Ekka soon. It's a carnival/festival thing they do here every year. Apparently it's sort of a big deal and we have this Wednesday off of school for it.
On another note, I'm happy to say that my microwaveable cake turned out quite well and I'm very happy to have that recipe available to me.
Hope all is well with everyone and that you all enjoy the pictures!
Love,
Nicole
P.S. Go Team USA!!!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Sydney, Chocolate Cake, and HARRY POTTER 6
Firstly, Jordan and I are heading to Sydney in the morning around 7. Pretty excited for this trip. I believe we're going to see a symphony at the opera house and there will be plenty of pictures when I get back.
In other, unrelated news... my kitchen does not have an oven. For those of you who know me well, I very much enjoy the whole cooking/baking thing. It has been quite upsetting not being able to make cookies or any other baked good. Thanks to Tara, who brought me to StumbleUpon, which brought me to Tastespotting, I now have an answer to this problem. Microwavable chocolate cake! That's the link for anyone who's interested. Not that any of you are ever without an oven, but this takes all of 5 minutes to prep and cook. Pretty sweet. I'm very excited to try it out tonight.
Also, Tara (she seems to be all over this post) informed me that the HP6 trailer has come out. Thank you, Tara, for bringing such an important thing to my attention. She asked me to post this on my blog, as she feels that such information is vital to my readers, apparently. I happen to agree with her. So... Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince!
That would be all. More when we get back from Sydney!
Nicole
In other, unrelated news... my kitchen does not have an oven. For those of you who know me well, I very much enjoy the whole cooking/baking thing. It has been quite upsetting not being able to make cookies or any other baked good. Thanks to Tara, who brought me to StumbleUpon, which brought me to Tastespotting, I now have an answer to this problem. Microwavable chocolate cake! That's the link for anyone who's interested. Not that any of you are ever without an oven, but this takes all of 5 minutes to prep and cook. Pretty sweet. I'm very excited to try it out tonight.
Also, Tara (she seems to be all over this post) informed me that the HP6 trailer has come out. Thank you, Tara, for bringing such an important thing to my attention. She asked me to post this on my blog, as she feels that such information is vital to my readers, apparently. I happen to agree with her. So... Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince!
That would be all. More when we get back from Sydney!
Nicole
Monday, August 4, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Classes and More Adventures
So I finally have my class schedule finalized (I think). I switched out of the History class. It was going to be dull, dull, dull. So, now my schedule goes like this...
Monday: No Class
Tuesday: World Religions (10-1), Marine Bio (1-2)
Wednesday: Aboriginal Studies (10-1), Marine Bio (1-2), Globalization Tutorial (2-3), Globalization Lecture (4-6)
Thursday: Marine Bio (1-2)
Friday: No Class
World Religions is looking pretty interesting. My prof. seems a little nutty, but hopefully that will just make it all the more interesting. I haven't had my Aboriginal Studies class yet, but it's all about the Torres Strait Islander people of Australia. Hopefully, that will be good because I switched into that so I wouldn't have to take the History class. Marine Bio is pretty cool so far. Seems pretty laid back. Globalization seems to be picking up where my last International Business class left off, so I'm happy about that.
All of the classes here are based on very few assignments for the final grade. Most of my classes have a single essay and test and one small assignment to make up the entire 100%. It's a little nerve-wracking having something count for 45% of your final grade. Anyway, that's pretty much all I have regarding school right now.
Jordan and I booked plane tickets to Sydney in a couple of weeks. Definitely looking forward to that. And I paid some money on Flickr so I can have unlimited picture uploads (instead of just 100 MB), so I'll be able to post tons of pictures from that trip. We're also looking into dive trips on the Great Barrier Reef, but that probably won't happen until we get closer to spring break at the end of September.
That's all for now.
Nicole
Monday: No Class
Tuesday: World Religions (10-1), Marine Bio (1-2)
Wednesday: Aboriginal Studies (10-1), Marine Bio (1-2), Globalization Tutorial (2-3), Globalization Lecture (4-6)
Thursday: Marine Bio (1-2)
Friday: No Class
World Religions is looking pretty interesting. My prof. seems a little nutty, but hopefully that will just make it all the more interesting. I haven't had my Aboriginal Studies class yet, but it's all about the Torres Strait Islander people of Australia. Hopefully, that will be good because I switched into that so I wouldn't have to take the History class. Marine Bio is pretty cool so far. Seems pretty laid back. Globalization seems to be picking up where my last International Business class left off, so I'm happy about that.
All of the classes here are based on very few assignments for the final grade. Most of my classes have a single essay and test and one small assignment to make up the entire 100%. It's a little nerve-wracking having something count for 45% of your final grade. Anyway, that's pretty much all I have regarding school right now.
Jordan and I booked plane tickets to Sydney in a couple of weeks. Definitely looking forward to that. And I paid some money on Flickr so I can have unlimited picture uploads (instead of just 100 MB), so I'll be able to post tons of pictures from that trip. We're also looking into dive trips on the Great Barrier Reef, but that probably won't happen until we get closer to spring break at the end of September.
That's all for now.
Nicole
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Koalas and Kangaroos!
I woke up early today (as usual) and worked out, showered, and had breakfast. Talked to Jordan’s parents and then headed off to the library to check email for the first time in several days. It’s so odd not having internet access everywhere I go, 24/7. I’m adjusting. After a couple hours at the library (I never realized how long I can spend online) we had some lunch and went into town to catch the bus to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary! This place was small, but really awesome. There were koalas in open enclosures all over the place. They’re sleepy little creatures. Pretty content to just sit there and eat eucalyptus leaves and snooze. After snapping a few photos, we grabbed some food for the roos. They were so cool! I know people read everywhere that they can kill you and stuff, but these guys were small and very tame. We had a great time feeding and petting them. The enclosure they had for them was very big and we came across a mom and joey after walking around for a while. I managed to snap one picture of them before my camera died on me. Lesson learned: I need to charge it more often.
Anyway, after the kangaroos and wallabies, we went to hold a koala. They make you pay $15 to get a photo taken (even with your own camera), so I forked over some cash. It seemed pretty well worth it. I should be able to get the picture online so I don’t have to scan it onto the computer, but it may take me a day or two to get around to it. I’ll put it on Flickr as soon as I get it. Koalas have very soft, very dense fur and they are just as cute in person as they are in pictures. Such an awesome experience. After holding the koala we walked around the park some more. Came across an enclosure with all the new mothers and their babies. Unfortunately, my camera was dead, so I don’t have any pictures of them. I can assure you that these baby koalas were just about the cutest things ever. It’s the kind of cute that makes you say “I want one!” I bet they’re pretty easy to care for, actually, but I’m sure Denver is not a suitable environment for such an animal (not to mention that whole getting-through-customs thing). We also saw some crocodiles, wombats, echidnas, and various snakes, lizards, and birds. Walked around the gift shop for a bit while waiting for the bus. Resisted a strong urge to buy a very cute t-shirt for a little boy I babysit for (Alane, let the kiddos know I’m thinking about them).
Anyway, so that was basically the end of the weekend. It was a lot of fun, but I’m kind of looking forward to getting back into a routine with classes here. I start on Tuesday and have class from 10 to 2 (World Religions and Marine Biology). Wednesday is 9 to 6 with a couple breaks in between (International Business and Marine Bio plus a history of Nazi Germany class) and Thursday is just a one hour lecture from 1 to 2 for Marine Bio again. So, three days of class a week and lots of 4-day weekends to look forward to. Much more blogging to come and don’t forget to check out the new pictures!
Love,
Nicole
Noosa (the Sunshine Coast)
It’s been a pretty exciting weekend. We went to Noosa on the Sunshine Coast from Thursday to Saturday and the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary today (Sunday).
Noosa was just a small town on the coast. It seems to be one of those towns that people visit. Nobody really lives there. Anyway, we got in on Thursday afternoon and went to get some groceries for meals for the next day. We went up to Hastings Street after to get some dinner and walk around. We sat down in a pizza place called Zachary’s and got drinks and an appetizer. We were lured in by a drink on their menu called liquid cocaine. This was also the site of my very first legal drink. Pretty exciting stuff, people. I ordered a “Berry Sexy” which consisted of muddled raspberries and strawberries with mint, lime, raspberry infused vodka, and club soda. Not bad at all. There’s a picture of me enjoying said drink on Flickr. After Zachary’s we headed further down the street to a sidewalk restaurant. Can’t recall the name of it. Had another drink there- a Mr. Tea- and some fried calamari. My drink had green tea liqueur, peppermint tea, lime, mint, sugar. I know there was more in it, but can’t recall everything. This is not due to my level of sobriety, which, I assure you, was just fine. Got some gelato after dinner and headed back to the hotel.
Friday morning we ate breakfast and went for a run on the path along the beach. Jordan joined me, though not with any kind of enthusiasm. He was a trooper for someone who doesn’t like to run, though. After our run we packed some lunch and grabbed the bus to get to the National Park. Saw a koala in the eucalyptus tree right at the front of the park. Very cool. After staring at the koala for a little while Jordan and I headed off on one of the trails through the rainforest. The end of that trail spit us out on the coast line and we followed that trail back to the entrance to the park. The beaches were absolutely stunning- my pictures really can’t do it justice. There are pictures of Hell’s Gates on Flickr. This was an inlet on the path we were walking. Again, pictures really can’t do it justice. The cliffs were so steep and no guard rails in sight. It was really just indescribable. We headed back into town after our hike and had lunch and more gelato. This place (Mossimo’s) was fantastic. Grapefruit and mango sorbets. They both tasted exactly like the fruits, I even found a couple of seeds in the grapefruit. Went back to the hotel after that and hung out for a while. Leslie and Lauryn got back fairly soon after us. Made spaghetti for dinner and spent a pretty enjoyable evening just chatting. Watched School of Rock on TV after all of that and went to bed.
Jordan and I booked a tennis court down the street for 10 AM Saturday morning, so after breakfast we headed off to do that. Jordan was inspired after watching Wimbledon. I am not good at tennis. My right forearm hurts. This is probably not something I’ll be picking up. That was pretty much it for Saturday. We headed back to Brisbane right after tennis and got back around 6.
So, that was Noosa. Pretty cool trip.
Love,
Nicole
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Rainy Days and Fun Travels
We were supposed to go to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary today, but it was kind of rainy and cold. Not such a great time to hold koala bears and feed kangaroos. I'm hoping well be able to do this on Saturday or Sunday.
Jordan, Leslie, Lauryn, and I will be heading to Noosa, near the Sunshine Coast, tomorrow and staying Thursday and Friday night. More posts to come after what looks to be a pretty fun weekend.
Also, there's no turning back now... I just booked my spring break ticket to Christchurch, New Zealand. Should be a blast! :)
Nicole
Jordan, Leslie, Lauryn, and I will be heading to Noosa, near the Sunshine Coast, tomorrow and staying Thursday and Friday night. More posts to come after what looks to be a pretty fun weekend.
Also, there's no turning back now... I just booked my spring break ticket to Christchurch, New Zealand. Should be a blast! :)
Nicole
Monday, July 14, 2008
Life in Brisbane
Hi! It is now Monday evening and I have been in Brisbane for a full three days now. I’m going to try to do a recap of each day and then add a few comments on adjusting to life in a new country.
Day 1:
After the plane landed, we went through customs and picked up our luggage. There were little beagles all over with their handlers sniffing for fruit and other prohibited items. I met with the UQ arrival people just outside baggage claim and got a ride to my apartment complex.
The office was closed so I just went up to Jordan’s room to put down all of my bags. After everything was settled there, we went out for breakfast. Food is ridiculously expensive here. We finally found a little place and got breakfast sandwiches for about $5 each. After breakfast we just walked around the city a lot. Downtown is just across the bridge from our apartments, so it’s a pretty easy walk. The city is beautiful- lots of really interesting new plants and birds and a unique mix of architecture. After our walk we came back and just laid around for a while. I was pretty exhausted.
Later, we went to the library, which is just across the street, to use the internet. It’s about $70 a month for internet usage at the apartments, so we’ll be making a little trip to the library anytime we want to get online (free wi-fi there). We met up with Leslie and my new roommate Lauryn (also from DU) while we were there. More lying around at the apartment after the library. Australian commercials are weird! Some are pretty provocative, others are just plain odd.
It gets really dark very early here. Around 3 the sun starts to kind of go down and it just gets increasingly dark until about 6. So, it had been dark for a little while by the time we went to get dinner. We met up with Leslie and Lauryn at The Parklands, which is a stretch of restaurants, bars, and shops. It runs along the river and there’s a little man-made beach between all of the buildings and the sidewalk that runs by the river. The cheapest place we could find to eat was about $20 a plate, so that’s what we went with.
After dinner we came back to the apartments and hung out for a little while. I went to bed around 9, which I’ve been told is pretty good. Most everyone passed out by about 8 on the first night.
So, that’s about all for Day 1. My room is pretty small, but it’s nice that I don’t have to share it with anyone. Besides Lauryn, I have two other suitemates. Gavin is from England, but has lived in Brisbane for a while now and goes to Griffith U. and his girlfriend Chisa (not sure about spelling, sounds like Cheesuh) is from Tokyo and goes to UQ (University of Queensland) like me. They’re both pretty cool, but I don’t think they liked how loud we were being when we came back to the apartment after dinner.
Day 2:
Jordan’s window looks out onto the pool and gym area of the apartment, so after waking up around 7 I went outside to wake him up by throwing rocks on his window.
After breakfast we charged up my camera and got ready for the day. I took a few pictures and we did some more walking around. We brought our backpacks so we could go to the grocery store. The cheaper store is a little bit of a walk. I think next time we’ll bring a rolling suitcase. We got a lot of groceries though, which is a lot cheaper than eating out.
When we got back from grocery shopping we ate lunch and then went to take the bus over to UQ. The bus stop is just a couple blocks from the apartments and then it’s about a 10 minute bus ride to the Uni (as they like to call it here). The campus is just gorgeous. Lots of trees and buildings made out of sandstone. The law school seems to be the biggest building on campus, but I think it houses the arts building as well. The campus is just enormous. Turns out this school has 37,000 undergrad and 7,300 international students. If you’d like a comparison, DU is 5,000 undergrad. It’s a pretty big change for me. Classes should be interesting with that many students.
We took the City Cat ferry back to town. This ferry runs up and down the river that splits Brisbane in half. If you look at a map, you’ll see what I mean. The river runs in kind of an S-shape through the middle of the city.
When we got back to the apartments we had dinner and then it was another early night for me. Went to bed around 9:30 this time.
I keep getting messed up with the whole driving on the left side thing. I never really realized it at home, but when you are walking toward someone you always go right to move out of their way. Here, you are supposed to move to the left. I keep running into people. I’m sure they think I’m such an idiot. The escalators are also opposite. I think that’s pretty much it for Day 2.
Day 3:
Woke up around 7 again and left for orientation at UQ with James (one of Jordan’s suitemates) around 8. Orientation was pretty boring except for the speaker about Australian culture. He was pretty hilarious.
We broke for lunch around 1 pm. They served us hotdogs in white bread. No hotdog buns… Not really sure what’s up with that. Becca, Beth, Claire (All DU kids) and I were still hungry so we went to one of the cafes on campus and got milkshakes. The consistency of a milkshake here is like a melted one at home, or like chocolate milk. Kind of odd, tasted good though. After our snack, we headed back to the lecture hall for one more orientation thing. We met up with a couple other girls on our way over. One of whom is from Austin and goes to UT. She grew up with the Chapman brothers, who I went to high school with. Brian Chapman is dating one of my best friends’ cousins, who I also know well. Small world, indeed!
After orientation I came back to the apartments and got my phone line all set up. Jordan and I went over to the library to check email again and then went over to Big W (same thing as Wal-Mart) to look at camping stuff for when we make weekend trips to the beaches and islands.
So, now you’re all caught up. We had dinner and now I’m writing this post.
Other thoughts about Australia so far… Avocados are cheap. The bus drivers are super nice and friendly. Most Australians are also super nice. Accents are cool and it’s fun to hear little kids talk here. It’s about 50 to 60 degrees in the mornings and evening here (gets up to about 80 during the day) and everyone seems to think they’re going to die. We keep seeing all of these Australian people bundled up in winter coats and scarves. The lady on the ferry yesterday actually said to me, “It’s too cold out there to snow.” Anyway, apparently we would have a bunch of dead Australians if they visited Colorado in our winter. Oh, and it’s winter here, in case anyone was confused about that.
We’ll probably be going to the koala sanctuary on Wednesday as well as going on a weekend trip to the Sunshine Coast. Look forward to posts and pictures about that. I’ve also added pictures from this week to Flickr, so check that out.
E-mail is still a great way to keep in touch, but of you want to call me you need to dial 0011 61 7 30136850. The extension is 3103, but I’m not sure if you actually need that. My address here is:
310/7 Hope Street
South Brisbane 4101
QLD, Australia
Hope all is well with everyone.
Love,
Nicole
Friday, July 11, 2008
On My Way
So, I started my trip to Brisbane around 8:00 am Central Time on Thursday. It is now 11:00 am Central Time on Friday. Long trip, for sure. We have about four more hours on the plane until we touch down in Australia.
The trip has been fairly uneventful so far. The flight from Austin to LA was pretty good. I slept and read the entire time. It took me about half an hour to figure out which terminal to go to after I arrived in LA. The LA airport is kind of scary. Police with machine guns plus seeing two people get arrested does not equal calm nerves. In any case, my 12-hour layover was pretty uneventful and seemed much shorter than it actually was. I met a guy going to Griffith University for the semester. It was nice to find someone to talk to during that time. Two more DU students (Becca and Beth) arrived around 8 and we were able to get someone to switch seats on the plane so we could sit together.
The crowds for World Youth Day are still pretty crazy and there is a very big group on our flight. I’m assuming they’re connecting to Sydney once we land in Brisbane.
There was a problem with the plane once we had boarded, so it took an extra hour to get that worked out. The captain says we should still arrive in Brisbane on time. They served dinner about an hour into the flight. Not the best meal ever, but certainly not bad. I slept for about 6 or 7 hours off and on. According to my calculations (and by that I mean the clock I have set to Brisbane time on my computer) we should be landing in about 4 hours. Hopefully, they’ll be serving breakfast soon. I’m starting to get pretty hungry and I’m very glad I stayed awake for dinner.
We’ll see if I can get a picture up for this post. My camera was out of battery power (Jordan is almost certainly making fun of me for this). Becca took a few though and I’ll probably just steal one from her.
It’s really starting to hit me that I’m going to be in Australia when this plane lands! Lots of nerves and excitement all rolled together.
Not much else to report here. I just got finished watching a movie, so my computer is about out of battery life. Hopefully I’ll be able to fall back asleep for a little while. Hope all is well with everyone. More posts later this weekend.
Nicole
Update: I arrived in Brisbane safely and am getting all settled in.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Welcome!
Hello, all! This is the blog I'll be posting on during my time in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. I'm hoping to do one post every week accompanied by my favorite picture from that week. I'll set up photo albums on my Flickr account for every week as well. There is a link to the Flickr account on the left side of this page under the 'Pictures' heading. I hope you all enjoy reading about my adventures. Please feel free to leave comments on here or send me emails. I would love to keep in touch with all of you. My email is nicole.hand@du.edu.
Nicole
Nicole
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