Monday, October 16, 2006
THE JOURNEY - FULL CIRCLE
Feeling global. This month we'll have been in New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Tokyo and the United States. But we're also feeling global in the circular sense as we have completed 'the journey,' the full circle. The circle began in the islands of Thailand at the small luxury hotel of The Aleenta and ended at The Peninsula, one of Bangkok's most elegant resorts, with the accomodations in between just as memorable, but not always as comfortable. The circle began as we exchanged our currency for the color-coded, different-sized foreign currencies and ended as we exchanged back to the green, homogeneous U.S. dollar. The circle began with infinite curiosity and ended with irreplaceable experiences.We've read The Bangkok Post, The China Daily, The Sydney Morning Herald and Wellington's Dominion Post - just to name a few. We've learned about and witnessed the indigenous cultures and traditions both of the past and of today. Specifically, we've seen and co-existed with Australia's oppressed Aborginies and New Zealand's proud, and more respected, Maoris.
We lived for 2 weeks in Nong Khai, a rural city that despite all its dignity, cannot escape poverty. We taught English to Thai children there, children who live under tin roofs with no electricity, little nourishment and dismal opportunities for advancement. Yet, their smiles were contagious and their faith strong. The best, but saddest, way to describe it is that they just don't know any better.
We learned about gemology and astrology - about sapphires, opals and jade, and about the Southern Cross constellation and the different skies of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. We tasted fresh water lakes that flowed into salt water seas. In New Zealand, Amanda spotted the birth of a baby cow and we pulled over for a half-hour and watched as momma cow nursed her calf and the baby cow struggled to stand for the first time, umbilical cord still attached.
This was one of our many experiences with Mother Nature's animal kingdom. We saw too many animal species to name, but amongst the highlights were feeding a giraffe, watching penguins return to their burroughs from their day at sea and sitting in on humpback whales breaching in the open water with their baby calves trying to mimic. Other unforgettable animal experiences include walking out of dinner to the sight of a massive kangaroo, going to the Shanghai Aquarium with Tracey and Raj, viewing the feeding of the nocturnal Kiwis and watching a Koala and its baby feed and play in the Eucalyptus trees. Flying foxes, magpies, meerkats, rhinos, lions, sheep, llamas, horses, elephants - the list goes on and on.
We got dirt cheap massages and tasted fine wine. We've become quasi-winos and hope to continue that trend. We took our first helicopter ride to Fox Glacier as well as took salt, pepper, butter and sugar from restaurants to have in our campervan. We drove thousands of miles on the other side of the road and learned all about diesel engines, natural gas, LNG and 240 vault batteries and the components and functions of each. At 29 and 26 years old, we picked up some fake student ID's, which saved us a lot of Baht, Ozzie dollars and NZ dollars.
We sat on the beaches of Thailand and Australia, and drove the surreal coast lines of New Zealand. I surfed for the first time in Byron Bay, Ricky Williams' sabbatical locale. We discovered how while Americans and other Western cultures strive to be tan, the Asian culture strive to be white. They carry umbrellas and buy whitening creams for their skin.
Finally, we are grateful to have taken part of this journey with our parents - in China with the Herling's and Australia with the Shapiro's. Being with family outside of the comforts and stresses of home provided us an amazing experience to spend time with our Miami Mom & Dad and Maryland Mom & Dad. The Bund Hotel, Beijing Planetarium, Imperial Palace, Ayers Rock, Great Barrier Reef and Sydney Opera House are now permanent memories.
In regards to us, we confirmed our love and respect for one another as each day wasn't necessarily honeymoon-esque. And we now know that as a married couple, we can do some great things.
There's no doubt we missed some stuff here, but we'll be home Tuesday. Call us.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
LAST DAY, NZ
After nearly 3 weeks of successful truckin', the now inevitable happened. We were coming out of a small retail strip center when I turned the corner too quickly and the back right of our campervan brushed against the back left of an innocently parked car. I was absolutely livid at myself. Mindful everyday that there were only 3 days left until we return the car, 2 days left, last day, it came as it always does, unexpected and quick. Although it was minimal contact, it left some dents on our campervan and took off some paint from the parked car. Luckily though, the rest of the story turned out to be like our travels; a fantasy.
The parked car belonged to the guy who was working the counter at the auto store located right in front of his now damaged car. The damage wasn't that bad, but it was still damage. A broken tail light and some paint chipping. The kid could not have been nicer. We talked civilly and he made a call to see how much the light would cost to replace. He was so apologetic that the accident happened and that he'd have to ask me for money even though it was all my fault. While we settled on the price, $100NZ, the other two guys from the store were helping Amanda get some of the paint off with one of their products that they sell. I didn't even have a $100 in my wallet and had to go to the ATM to get his money.
After trustingly leaving the scene to go to the ATM, we pulled into an auto repair shop conveniently located across the street. Amanda ran back to pay the guy his money while I engaged in conversation with even nicer people, auto repair people nonetheless. Interrupting their lunch, the husband and wife came out of the office still chewing and we explained our situation - that we were returning the car tomorrow, we have a $5,000 deposit and we were desperate to try and get this fixed in the next couple of hours. Although they couldn't help us, they sympathized with us like we were their own children and the guy made a call to his car-repair friend Dave who works from home and lives less than a mile away. Dave agreed to see us on such short notice, but made no promises obviously.
When we arrived at Dave's house, just minutes away, he greeted us like an old friend, listened to our predicament and seemed instantly determined to help us. He had a look at the damage, discussed the possible scenarios with us and together we decided he should get started right away. Not until we gave him the keys did he say it would cost us about $280NZ. I told him I'll happily pay him $300NZ if he could get it done right and timely. He needed 3 hours initially so we packed a backpack and had a walk around town.
Things still weren't exactly clear - will he do a good job, will we be able to stay in the campervan that night or will he need it overnight, what are we going to do for 3 hours. But again like a fantasy, the small suburb of Christchurch, Woolston, provided us with some unforgettable memories. We got pizza at Big Pizza, the only pizza joint in town besides Dominoes. I got a quick hair cut to pass the time. The haircut lady, who was hanging out with her Mom at the store, not only offered us her salon chairs to sleep in, but also if we needed to, she'd drive us wherever and whenever we needed. Then when we left, she gave Amanda some body lotion and wished us luck. After that, we went to the local saloon, had a beer and watched TV in the bar's lounge area on really comfy sofas. When it was time, we walked the half-hour back to Dave's house to see how he was going (here it's 'how you going' not 'how you doing').
Magic. The dents were gone and the paint job was nearly done. Dave just had to apply the clear to seal it. He said he would be another few minutes, but that if we're at his house, we're like family so just make ourselves at home. I mean....
We were able to take the car that night (so that we had somewhere to sleep), but had to come back to Dave's in the morning so that he could do some last minute touches. We obviously obliged and were back at Dave's at 10am, having to return the car at noon. He finished up his work, we chatted with him and his wife, exchanged emails and were on our way. Only after a "God Bless" from them of course. The real test would be Kea Campers inspection.
No worries mate! Despite the detailed inspection by Kea, we received our full deposit back with no questions asked. Simply an unbelievable 18 or so hours, that with time, seem even more unbelievable especially considering the damge would likely of cost us at least half our deposit.
We are now 'vacationing' on the beaches of Australia for another night or two before heading to Thailand for another night or two and then back to the U.S. on October 17th. Looking forward to seeing and catching up with everyone.
The parked car belonged to the guy who was working the counter at the auto store located right in front of his now damaged car. The damage wasn't that bad, but it was still damage. A broken tail light and some paint chipping. The kid could not have been nicer. We talked civilly and he made a call to see how much the light would cost to replace. He was so apologetic that the accident happened and that he'd have to ask me for money even though it was all my fault. While we settled on the price, $100NZ, the other two guys from the store were helping Amanda get some of the paint off with one of their products that they sell. I didn't even have a $100 in my wallet and had to go to the ATM to get his money.
After trustingly leaving the scene to go to the ATM, we pulled into an auto repair shop conveniently located across the street. Amanda ran back to pay the guy his money while I engaged in conversation with even nicer people, auto repair people nonetheless. Interrupting their lunch, the husband and wife came out of the office still chewing and we explained our situation - that we were returning the car tomorrow, we have a $5,000 deposit and we were desperate to try and get this fixed in the next couple of hours. Although they couldn't help us, they sympathized with us like we were their own children and the guy made a call to his car-repair friend Dave who works from home and lives less than a mile away. Dave agreed to see us on such short notice, but made no promises obviously.
When we arrived at Dave's house, just minutes away, he greeted us like an old friend, listened to our predicament and seemed instantly determined to help us. He had a look at the damage, discussed the possible scenarios with us and together we decided he should get started right away. Not until we gave him the keys did he say it would cost us about $280NZ. I told him I'll happily pay him $300NZ if he could get it done right and timely. He needed 3 hours initially so we packed a backpack and had a walk around town.
Things still weren't exactly clear - will he do a good job, will we be able to stay in the campervan that night or will he need it overnight, what are we going to do for 3 hours. But again like a fantasy, the small suburb of Christchurch, Woolston, provided us with some unforgettable memories. We got pizza at Big Pizza, the only pizza joint in town besides Dominoes. I got a quick hair cut to pass the time. The haircut lady, who was hanging out with her Mom at the store, not only offered us her salon chairs to sleep in, but also if we needed to, she'd drive us wherever and whenever we needed. Then when we left, she gave Amanda some body lotion and wished us luck. After that, we went to the local saloon, had a beer and watched TV in the bar's lounge area on really comfy sofas. When it was time, we walked the half-hour back to Dave's house to see how he was going (here it's 'how you going' not 'how you doing').
Magic. The dents were gone and the paint job was nearly done. Dave just had to apply the clear to seal it. He said he would be another few minutes, but that if we're at his house, we're like family so just make ourselves at home. I mean....
We were able to take the car that night (so that we had somewhere to sleep), but had to come back to Dave's in the morning so that he could do some last minute touches. We obviously obliged and were back at Dave's at 10am, having to return the car at noon. He finished up his work, we chatted with him and his wife, exchanged emails and were on our way. Only after a "God Bless" from them of course. The real test would be Kea Campers inspection.
No worries mate! Despite the detailed inspection by Kea, we received our full deposit back with no questions asked. Simply an unbelievable 18 or so hours, that with time, seem even more unbelievable especially considering the damge would likely of cost us at least half our deposit.
We are now 'vacationing' on the beaches of Australia for another night or two before heading to Thailand for another night or two and then back to the U.S. on October 17th. Looking forward to seeing and catching up with everyone.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
South Island, New Zealand
After a 3 hour cruise, they call it a ferry, we arrived in the South Island and hopped in our campervan that was parked a few decks below to drive ourselves off the ship. To go from the North Island to the South Island, you actually head East to West as Wellington, at the bottom of the North Island, is further North than the port city of the South Island. And as Daylight Savings time was October 1st here, we are now 17 hours ahead of most of you.
As we made our way into town looking for a BP gas station (we only go to BP's b/c if we spend over $250NZ on diesel we get a free NZ picture book), we were stopped by a friendly woman police officer who kindly asked us to drive FASTER. Apparently, we were going too slow and holding up traffic. I just wish the officer would of called our Moms to tell them that we were driving too slow - i'm sure that would of made them quite happy. In our defense, it's a challenge everyday driving on the roads of New Zealand. Besides the stunning scenery and the ridicously windy and uphill roads with little to no guard rails, there are one-way bridges everywhere, as common as stop signs back home. It's a shame that NZ couldn't of used a little more cement to make the bridges two lanes b/c first you have to identify that it is indeed a one-way bridge (after it appears out of nowhere upon a blind turn up or down a mountain), then you have to determine if it is your turn to cross or the cars waiting on the other side. Thus far, we have driven about 3,000KM (~ 2,000 miles) and have been lucky to avoid the horror stories that we hear on local radio about car troubles. No worries as we have easy roads from here on out and sadly only 4 nights left in our little self proclaimed house-car.
Anyway, we spent our first night in the small town of Blenheim (population 600), which is the gateway to the Marlborough Region, South Island's most recognized wine country. We spent the next day bike riding thru the serene landscapes and vineyards and visiting 6 or 7 different wineries before heading off to the 'thriving' city of Nelson (pop. 1,800). In Nelson, we sort of became locals as we went to dinner and the movies, shopped and ate at their Saturday market and even went to the local car mechanic to try and get our DVD player fixed, but he couldn't fix it (we've sinced got it fixed). From Nelson, we continued West to Abel Tasman National Park, where we stayed at Old MacDonald Farm, a 100-acre park with power sites, cabins, etc. as well as sheep, cows, llamas and some other weird animals. The 100 acres, at the foot of the National Park, is actually for sale for $7MM NZ. In my opinion, those 100 acres could be had for about $2MM US if anyone is looking for some land banking opportunities. We had some rain the next day so we had just a short hike in the Park before we headed Southwest to Westport (pop. 800), where we had a quick stopover for the night. The next morning we saw some seals in the wild hanging out in their colony and then continued South, down the West Coast, for hours of awesome Coastline driving before reaching Glacier Country, home to the famous Franz and Fox Glacier.
We signed up for the half-day glacier hike, but then after much deliberation and due diligence, which included trying on the boots we'd wear for 4 hours on the ice as well as driving to the glacier to see what we'd be hiking, we made the decision not to do the hike because it simply would not have cooperated with Amanda's foot condition. However, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because instead, we both took our first helicopter ride ever (inspired by Worm & Michelle's Alaska trip) and helicoptered up to the Fox Glacier, de-boarded the heli and got to walk around the mountain and glacier before taking the smooth heli ride back to ground level. While we were both a bit apprehensive at first, it turned out to definitely be one of our best experiences on the trip.
From Glacier Country, we headed inland a bit to the ski town of Wanaka (pop 2,100), which is a quaint little town similar to Aspen. There, we checked out a movie at the local movie theater, which is one of the town's main attractions refitted from being the former Town Hall. More important though, they show their movies in traditional New Zealand style, meaning there is an intermission in the middle, where we pre-ordered our dinner and had 10-20 minutes to 'regroup,' which is a concept that I fancy given my attention span.
From Wanaka, we headed to Queenstown, which is where we are now finishing up our third night before we head to Dunedin then Christchurch. The accepted and acknowledged Adventure Capital of the World, Queenstown is pure adrenaline. Here, you can skydive, bungy jump, canyon swing, paraglide and do many other crazy things that you just wouldn't imagine until you came here. We bungy jumped.
Fine, we watched bungy jumping, a lot of it, for hours literally, and more today. There are different jumps around town and we've checked them all out (from the viewing area). Tomorrow, at the famous AJ Hackett bridge site, the first commercial bungy jumping operation, there is nude bungy, down to your undies. We'll be checking that out as well before we hit the road. Queenstown has been fantastic. They are over 7,000 people here and stores stay open past 6pm. There is also a casino, where we played NZ-style bingo (for free) on Date Night (Wednesday) and both won. Amanda won $20 in cash and I won a $10 drink voucher.
Because our camera is officially broken and we're working off of disposables, i'm not sure there will be anymore pics posted, but feel free to send us pictures of you.
Lastly, New Zealand is one of three democracies NOT to have a written constitution. First to tell us who the other two are wins a present. Thanks for reading!
As we made our way into town looking for a BP gas station (we only go to BP's b/c if we spend over $250NZ on diesel we get a free NZ picture book), we were stopped by a friendly woman police officer who kindly asked us to drive FASTER. Apparently, we were going too slow and holding up traffic. I just wish the officer would of called our Moms to tell them that we were driving too slow - i'm sure that would of made them quite happy. In our defense, it's a challenge everyday driving on the roads of New Zealand. Besides the stunning scenery and the ridicously windy and uphill roads with little to no guard rails, there are one-way bridges everywhere, as common as stop signs back home. It's a shame that NZ couldn't of used a little more cement to make the bridges two lanes b/c first you have to identify that it is indeed a one-way bridge (after it appears out of nowhere upon a blind turn up or down a mountain), then you have to determine if it is your turn to cross or the cars waiting on the other side. Thus far, we have driven about 3,000KM (~ 2,000 miles) and have been lucky to avoid the horror stories that we hear on local radio about car troubles. No worries as we have easy roads from here on out and sadly only 4 nights left in our little self proclaimed house-car.
Anyway, we spent our first night in the small town of Blenheim (population 600), which is the gateway to the Marlborough Region, South Island's most recognized wine country. We spent the next day bike riding thru the serene landscapes and vineyards and visiting 6 or 7 different wineries before heading off to the 'thriving' city of Nelson (pop. 1,800). In Nelson, we sort of became locals as we went to dinner and the movies, shopped and ate at their Saturday market and even went to the local car mechanic to try and get our DVD player fixed, but he couldn't fix it (we've sinced got it fixed). From Nelson, we continued West to Abel Tasman National Park, where we stayed at Old MacDonald Farm, a 100-acre park with power sites, cabins, etc. as well as sheep, cows, llamas and some other weird animals. The 100 acres, at the foot of the National Park, is actually for sale for $7MM NZ. In my opinion, those 100 acres could be had for about $2MM US if anyone is looking for some land banking opportunities. We had some rain the next day so we had just a short hike in the Park before we headed Southwest to Westport (pop. 800), where we had a quick stopover for the night. The next morning we saw some seals in the wild hanging out in their colony and then continued South, down the West Coast, for hours of awesome Coastline driving before reaching Glacier Country, home to the famous Franz and Fox Glacier.
We signed up for the half-day glacier hike, but then after much deliberation and due diligence, which included trying on the boots we'd wear for 4 hours on the ice as well as driving to the glacier to see what we'd be hiking, we made the decision not to do the hike because it simply would not have cooperated with Amanda's foot condition. However, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because instead, we both took our first helicopter ride ever (inspired by Worm & Michelle's Alaska trip) and helicoptered up to the Fox Glacier, de-boarded the heli and got to walk around the mountain and glacier before taking the smooth heli ride back to ground level. While we were both a bit apprehensive at first, it turned out to definitely be one of our best experiences on the trip.
From Glacier Country, we headed inland a bit to the ski town of Wanaka (pop 2,100), which is a quaint little town similar to Aspen. There, we checked out a movie at the local movie theater, which is one of the town's main attractions refitted from being the former Town Hall. More important though, they show their movies in traditional New Zealand style, meaning there is an intermission in the middle, where we pre-ordered our dinner and had 10-20 minutes to 'regroup,' which is a concept that I fancy given my attention span.
From Wanaka, we headed to Queenstown, which is where we are now finishing up our third night before we head to Dunedin then Christchurch. The accepted and acknowledged Adventure Capital of the World, Queenstown is pure adrenaline. Here, you can skydive, bungy jump, canyon swing, paraglide and do many other crazy things that you just wouldn't imagine until you came here. We bungy jumped.
Fine, we watched bungy jumping, a lot of it, for hours literally, and more today. There are different jumps around town and we've checked them all out (from the viewing area). Tomorrow, at the famous AJ Hackett bridge site, the first commercial bungy jumping operation, there is nude bungy, down to your undies. We'll be checking that out as well before we hit the road. Queenstown has been fantastic. They are over 7,000 people here and stores stay open past 6pm. There is also a casino, where we played NZ-style bingo (for free) on Date Night (Wednesday) and both won. Amanda won $20 in cash and I won a $10 drink voucher.
Because our camera is officially broken and we're working off of disposables, i'm not sure there will be anymore pics posted, but feel free to send us pictures of you.
Lastly, New Zealand is one of three democracies NOT to have a written constitution. First to tell us who the other two are wins a present. Thanks for reading!
Friday, September 29, 2006
Kiwi Photos
We're headed down the West Coast of the South Island. Thanks for checking out our pictures below.
And we want to wish Aunt Sharon a speedy and easy recovery!
Click here for pics..
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
A crazy drive to Napier the "Art Deco" Capital
We headed East to a town called Napier from Rotorua. Our Lonely Planet guide compared the town to Miami Beach because of its art deco designs. How could we not stop by? Bradley was looking at the map and found what we thought was a great short cut through a national park on an "unsealed road." We had never heard of an unsealed road and decided it was a great idea - the drive was estimated to take about 5 hours. We hoped it would shorten the trip. So we filled up on gas (thank gd) and headed out. After an hour of driving we got to the "unsealed road" and discovered the definiton- a gravel road through STEEP mountains. It was not the type of road an RV should ever be on! It was probably the worst 5 hours we have ever experienced! Since we drive on the left here and the RV is so large we are constantly telling each other "LEFT" meaning we are about to crash into the left side of the road! So now we had unbelievably windy roads (which we held the horn the whole time around the turns for fear of another car coming) and no railings to save us from falling off the mountain. I have somehow developed a fear of heights on this trip so it was not fun. Halfway through the drive we ended up down the mountain and were amazed to find wild sheep, cows, and brombies (horses) wandering around ON THE ROADS. We had to wait for a while for a pack of cows to move out of the way! That was a nice break before heading up the next mountain. We also stopped about 3 hours into the drive and found a great hike. It led us to one of the highest peaks and we had great views of the lakes at the bottom of the mountains. So the shortcut did have SOME advantages. To finish off the crazy drive where we were both still tense being on gravel roads, a duck (we think it was a duck) decided to fly into the windshield making a huge thud and even leaving a few feathers on the side window. It was very shocking and pretty gross.
Finally we arrived to Napier around 8:30 pm, after dark. We figured we would go to dinner and then try to find a place to "free camp." That's when you just pull off and park instead of paying for power at a campsite. The advantages are it's free and the disadvantages are no heat or DVD. Since it was so late, it was silly to pay to stay somewhere. So after dinner we drove around and found a public car park (parking lot) and even asked a cop if it was safe and decided to stay there. It wasn't too cold so it was no big deal without the heat. When we woke up, we discovered we were right in front of a gorgeous beach! We also were in the car park of a really nice spa/gym that had showers. We loved the spot so much we stayed for 2 nights. We snuck into the spa for a shower the first day, but got caught the 2nd and had to pay $3. Our first day in Napier we decided it was time to try to start excercising again and had a nice jog along the beach. We then headed off to a few wineries and did some wine tasting and had a great lunch right on the vineyard. We also walked around the city of Napier. It was a great day. We also realized that it was nothing compared to Miami in the art deco world. There were really only a few neon signs and a few lit up fountains. The next day we went to Marine World. We saw a really neat dolphin and sea lion show and also took a picture holding a tiny penquin. After that we left Napier and headed to Wellington, New Zealand's capital.
We're in Wellington right now. We stayed at a campground right outside the city last night and cooked dinner and had a great bottle of wine from the winery. It was a blend of Gamay Noir. Today we're headed off to a few museums and tonight for "date night" we're going to see a concert, Mattafix, on Wellington's famous Cuba Street.
We're still loving the RV life. We've figured out all of the complicated stuff like emptying the toilet, filling up the water tank and checking the tire pressure. We love not living out of suitcases and driving our house around with us. We're headed to the South Island in a couple of days where the weather REALLY gets cold.
We were both thinking of our friends and family during the New Year. We hope everyone had a nice holiday!
That's all for now. And i'd like everyone to know that we officially have been Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Shapiro for 3 months last Sunday, the 24th!!!!!!
Finally we arrived to Napier around 8:30 pm, after dark. We figured we would go to dinner and then try to find a place to "free camp." That's when you just pull off and park instead of paying for power at a campsite. The advantages are it's free and the disadvantages are no heat or DVD. Since it was so late, it was silly to pay to stay somewhere. So after dinner we drove around and found a public car park (parking lot) and even asked a cop if it was safe and decided to stay there. It wasn't too cold so it was no big deal without the heat. When we woke up, we discovered we were right in front of a gorgeous beach! We also were in the car park of a really nice spa/gym that had showers. We loved the spot so much we stayed for 2 nights. We snuck into the spa for a shower the first day, but got caught the 2nd and had to pay $3. Our first day in Napier we decided it was time to try to start excercising again and had a nice jog along the beach. We then headed off to a few wineries and did some wine tasting and had a great lunch right on the vineyard. We also walked around the city of Napier. It was a great day. We also realized that it was nothing compared to Miami in the art deco world. There were really only a few neon signs and a few lit up fountains. The next day we went to Marine World. We saw a really neat dolphin and sea lion show and also took a picture holding a tiny penquin. After that we left Napier and headed to Wellington, New Zealand's capital.
We're in Wellington right now. We stayed at a campground right outside the city last night and cooked dinner and had a great bottle of wine from the winery. It was a blend of Gamay Noir. Today we're headed off to a few museums and tonight for "date night" we're going to see a concert, Mattafix, on Wellington's famous Cuba Street.
We're still loving the RV life. We've figured out all of the complicated stuff like emptying the toilet, filling up the water tank and checking the tire pressure. We love not living out of suitcases and driving our house around with us. We're headed to the South Island in a couple of days where the weather REALLY gets cold.
We were both thinking of our friends and family during the New Year. We hope everyone had a nice holiday!
That's all for now. And i'd like everyone to know that we officially have been Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Shapiro for 3 months last Sunday, the 24th!!!!!!
Friday, September 22, 2006
Kia-Ora (Hello) from the library in Rotorua, NZ
A $2 coin gets us 30min on the Internet at this library (most libraries are free) so this may be quick.
We had a smooth ride, obviously on Qantas, 'over the ditch' to New Zealand and arrived in Auckland losing 2 hours on the Date Line. We are now 16 hours ahead of you and the first to see each new day. We got on a 45min shuttle to the city and checked into a cool hostel called Base. Auckland is your typical 'city,' similar to Sydney, Melbourne, NYC, etc. What is not similar is when you head South (or North) and get out of Auckland, which we did the next day.
After a quick brekky at Base, a Kea rep picked up up and brought us to their offices where we went thru their orientation, poor as it was, on how our caravan (winnebago) operates. We're slowly getting the hang of it, but when you have a microwave that runs on the 240 volt, a water source for your sink and shower, and a different source for the toilet, the fridge working on either the battery OR the 240 volt, which you need to charge if you're not driving for more than 12 hours and a set of switches in a breaker box using to power the DVD player, lights, etc - you can see how it can be daunting at first. In fact, I couldn't even pull out of our parking spot when we first left the office b/c the stick shift was so foreign to me and I kept rolling backwards. We still stall every now and then, but we're getting better. Much respect to the truck driving world b/c driving a rig sure ain't easy.
Once we got on State Highway 1 headed south to Waitomo, it was smooth ridin with absolutely stunning scenery. If you like to drive, even the tiniest bit, I can't imagine they are better roads to drive than in New Zealand with the rolling hills, forestry and wildlife, cows and sheep a plenty, and mammoth plots of land in a farm setting that go on for acres and acres. Here's a stat - there are 4 million people in ALL of New Zealand and over 35 million sheep. For reference, there are over 4 million people JUST IN South Florida alone (Dade, Broward and Palm Beach).
We got to our camper site just in time and plugged in (hooked up our power cord to their power source) so that we could use the electricity in the van (lights, DVD, water pump). We went to Publix (ok, Pak N' Save) and got some food earlier in the day so we have a proper kitchen now. Made cheeseburgers the first night at the camp's facilities and watched a little There's Something About Mary on DVD before going to sleep. Although we have the ability to cook and shower, etc all in our vehicle, we typically use the camp's facilities as they are more spacious and b/c we're paying for it anyway.
So the next day we woke up and went to the Waitomo Caves, a famous tourist attraction with gi-normous caves underground hundreds of feet. Amanda lasted a whole 90 seconds before she turned around and left the tour (we got our money back though). After the caves, we headed on, again, an unbelievably picturesque drive East thru the North Island where we kept finding ourselves saying to one another "Wow," "Whoa, did you see that??," "LOOK" - it was that kinda driving.
After a quick stop at the Cadillac Cafe to have a lunch in a city called Putaruru, we contined on to Rotorua, where we are now and leaving tomorrow. Before checking in to our camper, we went to local video store and picked up Lord of The Rings, Part I - never had any interest in it really, but being that we are in New Zealand, it was something we both wanted to see. Last night we watched the first disc (90min). I don't have the attention to watch 3hrs straight, so tonight we'll probably watch the 2nd disc. As of now, seems like a lot of fuss and media attention as an 'epic' for a movie about a ring with powers.
Today, we checked out Hells Gate, which is about 100 acres of thermal activity. In fact, it is the largest active geothermal area in the world. There is steam and mud bubbles coming from the ground and awful sulfur smells everywhere, but it sure is a special experience. Better than the sites, though, is the mud bath that we took afterwards. Tonight is a Maori festival where we will be entertained and fed Maori traditions and food.
Will try and get pics out as soon as possible.
We had a smooth ride, obviously on Qantas, 'over the ditch' to New Zealand and arrived in Auckland losing 2 hours on the Date Line. We are now 16 hours ahead of you and the first to see each new day. We got on a 45min shuttle to the city and checked into a cool hostel called Base. Auckland is your typical 'city,' similar to Sydney, Melbourne, NYC, etc. What is not similar is when you head South (or North) and get out of Auckland, which we did the next day.
After a quick brekky at Base, a Kea rep picked up up and brought us to their offices where we went thru their orientation, poor as it was, on how our caravan (winnebago) operates. We're slowly getting the hang of it, but when you have a microwave that runs on the 240 volt, a water source for your sink and shower, and a different source for the toilet, the fridge working on either the battery OR the 240 volt, which you need to charge if you're not driving for more than 12 hours and a set of switches in a breaker box using to power the DVD player, lights, etc - you can see how it can be daunting at first. In fact, I couldn't even pull out of our parking spot when we first left the office b/c the stick shift was so foreign to me and I kept rolling backwards. We still stall every now and then, but we're getting better. Much respect to the truck driving world b/c driving a rig sure ain't easy.
Once we got on State Highway 1 headed south to Waitomo, it was smooth ridin with absolutely stunning scenery. If you like to drive, even the tiniest bit, I can't imagine they are better roads to drive than in New Zealand with the rolling hills, forestry and wildlife, cows and sheep a plenty, and mammoth plots of land in a farm setting that go on for acres and acres. Here's a stat - there are 4 million people in ALL of New Zealand and over 35 million sheep. For reference, there are over 4 million people JUST IN South Florida alone (Dade, Broward and Palm Beach).
We got to our camper site just in time and plugged in (hooked up our power cord to their power source) so that we could use the electricity in the van (lights, DVD, water pump). We went to Publix (ok, Pak N' Save) and got some food earlier in the day so we have a proper kitchen now. Made cheeseburgers the first night at the camp's facilities and watched a little There's Something About Mary on DVD before going to sleep. Although we have the ability to cook and shower, etc all in our vehicle, we typically use the camp's facilities as they are more spacious and b/c we're paying for it anyway.
So the next day we woke up and went to the Waitomo Caves, a famous tourist attraction with gi-normous caves underground hundreds of feet. Amanda lasted a whole 90 seconds before she turned around and left the tour (we got our money back though). After the caves, we headed on, again, an unbelievably picturesque drive East thru the North Island where we kept finding ourselves saying to one another "Wow," "Whoa, did you see that??," "LOOK" - it was that kinda driving.
After a quick stop at the Cadillac Cafe to have a lunch in a city called Putaruru, we contined on to Rotorua, where we are now and leaving tomorrow. Before checking in to our camper, we went to local video store and picked up Lord of The Rings, Part I - never had any interest in it really, but being that we are in New Zealand, it was something we both wanted to see. Last night we watched the first disc (90min). I don't have the attention to watch 3hrs straight, so tonight we'll probably watch the 2nd disc. As of now, seems like a lot of fuss and media attention as an 'epic' for a movie about a ring with powers.
Today, we checked out Hells Gate, which is about 100 acres of thermal activity. In fact, it is the largest active geothermal area in the world. There is steam and mud bubbles coming from the ground and awful sulfur smells everywhere, but it sure is a special experience. Better than the sites, though, is the mud bath that we took afterwards. Tonight is a Maori festival where we will be entertained and fed Maori traditions and food.
Will try and get pics out as soon as possible.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Thanks for looking after us Oz - We'll be Back
As we leave this afternoon for New Zealand to begin 3 weeks caravaning (winnebago-ing) around the North & South Island, we are excited, but saddened to leave Australia, although we'll be back for 3 nights in mid-October.
We finished up strong traveling mostly by bus, a lot of bus, up the East Coast of Australia. After Hunter Valley, we were driven to Newcastle where we had a few hours of a layover until another bus took us to Port Macquarie, where we arrived late and spent the 'short' night, as we were up early to get on another bus that was to take us to Byron Bay. In Newcastle though, after checking out Kevin Spacey's "Beyond the Sea" flick where he brilliantly portrays Bobby Darin (neither of us knew who Bobby Darin was before the movie), we had our first semi-scary experience as a drunk man nearly accosted us by throwing his beer bottle at me for no apparent reason. When he went to pick it up stumbling, he says "What are you gonna do about it?" I said 'nothing' and we walked away. Amanda was scared, but I reassured her I would of crushed that guy as I'm a yellow belt in karate, but more importantly, he was completely hammered. We soon learned at dinner that this is not uncommon as Newcatle has a problem with there drunks. This put Amanda at ease, a little.
The bus from Newcastle to Port Macquarie was long and tiresome as we didn't arrive until after 1am and were picked up by a guy that looked like a scary Greg Popovitch. But "The Port," as it is known, is a nice sleepy town with a beautiful spot along the Pacific Ocean. We weren't there long, but it was nice nonetheless.
The fun began was we arrived in Byron Bay, whose Cape Byron represents the eastern most point of Australia. Turned off at first by some anti-American sentiments we overhearded, we settled in and had 3 great nights there, staying at the famous Art Factory Hostel. This place is the most unique accomodation we've ever been to as it is a hostel with regular dorms, but also tents, an old bus that sleeps a bunch of people, a movie theater, a restaurant, an enterntainment venue and a day spa. We stayed in the room dubbed "The Love Shack," which probably didn't look like you're imagining, but we had our room and bathroom - a luxury. Also at "The Arts," there are free classes like Yoga, Poi, etc. We went on a 45min bush tucker walk where this crazy (CRAZY) guy, cockadoo Paul, called that b/c he walks around with a cockadoo on his shoulder showed us all these things you can do with different trees - make string, get water, get gum, get soap, etc.
In Byron, I took my first surf lesson (of course I got up) while Amanda hung out at the beach and watched and filmed. It was fun and something I had to do while I was out here, but as of now, I think catching a wave on a boogie board is just as exhilirating. Another day we took the infamous Jim's Tours that took us to Nimbin, a hippy town about an hour west of Byron, where all 'hippy' things are basically overlooked and where there is the annual Mardi Grass and Aquarias Music Festival each year. The tour was fanstastic as there was about 25 of us on a Merry Prankster's bus, and the narrating guide had music choreographed for the whole trip. For example, as we drove thru the beautiful Australian landscape, we stopped briefly at a very small, conservative city, and as we went thru an intersection, he said something about the town being dull and then the song came on "Give me one reason to stay here and I'll turn right back around...."
As we were checking out of "The Arts," I learned from my new buddy Rod, the cleaning guy, that The Arts is where Ricky Williams stayed when he did his "running," as Rod called it, meaing when Ricky failed his 4th drug test a few years back and was reported to be living in Australia in a tent, it was at The Arts! He told me some great stories about Ricky - about no one knowing who he was for a few days, about him looking confused at the laundry machine and Rod asking if he needed help and Ricky saying "Thanks, I usually have a maid do this for me", about playing poker with Ricky and Ricky bending the aces (in fun), and about how Ricky put a homeless guy that he befriended up for 3 nights in the nicest room in the Day Spa at The Arts and the morning after the first night the homeless guy was walking around the facility when an employee interrogated him and he simply said "I'm checked in Mate."
After Byron, it was back on the bus for another 8-9 hours up to Hervey Bay stopping briefly in Brisbane to have a look. Hervey Bay is the main portal to Fraser Island, where we did a 2day/ 1 night tour, but not before we spent a day Whale Watching in Hervey, which is the Whale Watching Capital of Australia. Each year during this time, these mammoth humpback whales come North from Antartica, where they spend most of their time, up to the northern coast of Australia to mate, have their baby calfes, and ready the babies for the cold trip back to Antartica. We were so lucky to have been there during this time as a short boat ride gets you a first row seat to some unbelievable sights - whales breaching (jumping up outta the water), their calves trying to mimmick thier moms with a half-breach, the whales blowing huge amounts of air and water outta their blow holes, slapping their arms and tails (huge tails) hard against the water. It was all very VERY neat to witness.
The next day we boarded the ferry to go to neighboring Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. Once you get on the island, you can only get around via a big ass 4-wheel drive vehicle. Ours carried about 30 people. It was a lot of bumping and up and down, but the island offers some of the most beautiful natural lakes and sights including Lake Macquarie, where we exfoliated with the sand and hung out for about 2 hours. The tour was a lot of stop and go, see sights and get back on the bus, and it was expensive, but we couldn't come to Australia and not go to Fraser Island. It is such a special place.
Click here for pics
