A Couple Adventures

So I decided to try skydiving near Nelson, which is the north part of the south island of New Zealand.  It was crazy!  Although I was strapped to a professional who operated the parachute and did all the work, it was still kind of weird in the beginning.  While I was posing in front of the camera on the wing of the plane, I was hanging off the ledge of the plane.  It almost felt like I'd jumped already!  When I did go, the free fall was sick...basically dropping straight down from 13,000 feet.  The best part for me was when the parachute opened and I was just floating down, watching the amazing view beneath me.  It's better than getting a view from anywhere else, including the top of a mountain because you're higher and you see the land approaching and getting bigger and more detailed.  It was amazing!

Here's another one.  I went to Abel Tasman National Park, one of the most visited in New Zealand, for a 6-hour hike.  The scenery was incredible, especially because the water was so blue!  However, it wasn't clear to me where I was going or whether I was going the right way.  It took me a while to figure that out.  When I did, I had to rush to my final destination where I was supposed to take a 5 pm boat to the bus pickup point.  The only problem was, I only saw a couple boats suited for 2 - 4 people.  The person who was operating one of them said he had no idea what my ticket was for.  It got past 5 and I still hadn't seen any boat come in.  Finally, I met this couple who figured out that the boat I was supposed to take had gone to a nearby beach because of a low tide.  So all I could do was try to get on the water taxi they were taking at 5:30, the last one.  If they didn't have room, I would have to camp out somewhere and stay the night.  Luckily, the water taxi did have an extra seat.  The person steering the boat had to call the bus company to make sure the bus wouldn't leave because I wouldn't get there in time for its departure.  I ended up making it.  It was a relief to say the least!

Impressions of New Zealand

My first impression of New Zealand is that it's really laid back and has a village feel.  I have about 13 days here so I'll only get to see so much but the sights I've already seen have been amazing.  I've also met 2 Maori girls (indigenous peoples of New Zealand) already.  One thing about this place is most of the attractions are near water.  In some places, the water is a beautiful blue color, making the sights that much more incredible.  I love it so far.

Here are some pics that show what I'm talking about:

Dolphin Watching

Kaikoura

Abel Tasman National Park

Seal Colony

Truman Track Walk

Pancake Rocks

Sydney Festival 2009

In my last week in Sydney, they started their annual festival.  It's basically consists of a series of concerts, shows, performances, etc. over about a month's time.  It doesn't seem to have much culture behind it but some parts of it were pretty good.

Here are some pics from the first night:

After the first night, they had a few nights in a row where they played a movie at Darling Harbour on an outside screen.  There was a live band playing different music to go with the movie.  I saw a German film called "Run Lola Run" and part of "Enter the Dragon."

Enter the Dragon

Christina (Germany) & Max (France)

Max (France), me, Nasrah (UK), Sabine (Germany), Jim (UK)

Here are some pics from Cockatoo Island, an extension of the festival I had a ticket for as a Christmas present from my family.

Afrirampo (best performance of the day)

In the crowd during an African tribute song

Psarandonis

James "Blood" Ulmer

I had mixed feelings about leaving Australia.  On the one hand, it's been an incredible experience that I don't want to end.  On the other hand, Sydney was getting old and it's time to move on.  There are other places in Australia I didn't get to see like the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, and Darwin, but I don't have the time or money right now for all that.  So, I'm ready to go and see what New Zealand has to offer.

Last Month in Sydney

As my time in Australia winds down, I'm feeling good because I'm ready to move on to something new.  At the same time, Sydney's still a good city and I've settled into the area.  It feels more like I'm about to take a second trip rather than moving on to the next part of the same trip.

Here are some pics:

This is an area called the Rocks and a weekly market I checked out one Saturday

Soccer in the Park

So Christmas doesn't seem to be a big thing over here.  I did see some trees in major malls but very little outside that.  It also seems to be a time to go out and get drunk rather than spend time with family.  Maybe that's because there's a lot of travelers here but that's the impression I got.  Anyway, I just ended up hanging out with a friend.

New Years was a big deal because Sydney's supposed to have the best fireworks.  I saw them from the Sydney Opera House and they were spectacular.  I'm not usually into fireworks but they did a great job with this one, especially at the Sydney Bridge.

New Years Eve Fireworks

Crazy Car Ride

So, while I was in Canterbury I had a car that I could use.  It is kind of awkward because I've never driven on the left side of the road before with the wheel on the right.  Anyway, that ended up being the easiest part of the experience.  The car had manual transmission and me being adventurous felt like giving it a try, even though I've never driven manual before.  I figured I could figure out since I'd seen people do it before.  Plus, I was only going to go around the block.  It was a wild ride.  There was a lot more to it than I thought.  I had trouble keeping the car on; I must have restarted it at least 10 times.  At one point, I got stuck at a light.  People were honking and yelling at me.  It took me a few minutes to get the car to move again.  So I stopped in a gas station, sat for a few minutes to regroup and then headed back for the apartment.

After that experience, I was shaking, filled with adrenaline.  I haven't driven the car since.  It was just too much for me.

More Pics

So, it's been a while since I've updated this blog.  I've been house-sitting in a suburban town called Canterbury, near Sydney.  It's kind of a relaxing town with not much going on.  The only times I see other people are at the supermarket or at the train station, which is right across the street.  It does kind of seem like a diverse neighborhood.  For the past month, I've been hanging out around the house more, watching TV, playing the Wii, but still going to the city for some events.  It's been more of an introspective month.

Here's some more pics:

Glebe Annual Street Fair

Red Carpet for the movie Australia

Some of my peeps

The Set Up

So I wrote a few weeks ago about an election party I attended at the University of Sydney for the US presidential election.  At that same event, I met a few people who work at the school, including a professor of Japanese studies from the US.  I got his business card and he invited me to have lunch at his house and stay over for a night.  I accepted and took his offer and went over to Glenfield (45 minutes west of Sydney).  It was a nice lunch and great to meet his wife and 2 children (4 and just under 2 years old).  The guest there was one of his students with his wife and daughter.  It was nice to have a different experience hanging out with families instead of mostly backpackers around my age.

It also turned out that the student and his family (Dallas, Helen, and daughter Isabel) were going away for most of December on vacation.  It would be easier for them if someone stayed in their house while they were gone.  They live 20 minutes west of Sydney and their house is right across the street from the train station.  So I just moved into their house yesterday and will stay there for a month.  I was very surprised that this just came together that way (seemed like I was pretty lucky).  I'll also get to drive their car, which opens up many opportunities for traveling.  It's a great set up.

Anyway, I stayed the night with the Stavros family (professor & family) and learned a little basic Japanese as well.  We also went to Royal National Park and fed some birds.  It was fun.