Little Miss Muffet's January in Oz

January has been a quiet and busy month for Jaime and I. We are in between visitors and had most of the city to ourselves for the first half of the month due to January continuing to be a holiday month for the Aussies. Most stores and restaurants had signs that read "We will re-open 2nd Feb." This month long holiday seems to be the way to go...hint hint America, more holidays! ;)

Jaime was back to work mid-month, so one day I was out running some errands and wandering around town. I had this constant tickle down my right arm. I am forever shedding hair so I just thought it was a fallen hair stuck on my arm. I never saw it but each time I had the tickle I figured I brushed away a hair.  At the end of the day, I got on the tram home and then my shopping buddy appeared.  Somehow I had a teeny tiny little spider, smaller than an ant, hanging with me all day and again, somehow, he was just chillin on his silky thread, hanging off my shirt!? Luckily, this was no Huntsman spider (as seen in Sydney) so I just said hello and gently disconnected him from, well, me, and placed him on the tram window, now free to see the world. I attribute this event to the adventurous spirit of the little spider who chose me as his gateway to freedom and to the fact that due to our choice of lack of furniture in our temporary apartment my dresser/bureau is actually my suitcase sitting on the floor beneath the window in our bedroom.  As non-distressing as this situation was, I now thoroughly shake and then practically beat every piece of clothing I take out of my dresser. You just can't be too careful. :) 

Our first trip for the month was a tour to Wilson’s Promontory. We had a scoopon for a full day tour and booked it for an early Sunday morning. We drove about 2 hours south of Melbourne where we went on a three-hour (!) hike up the mountain. Once at the top, we took pictures of the views of the Bass Strait and enjoyed a mountain top lunch. We’ve been having so much rain lately that the walking path was very overgrown and we came down with leg and arm scratches that I like to call “roughin it”.  We then visited squeaky beach…it really squeaks!

Views from the top.

Jaime's cicada lunch

Old tree

 The cicadas were really loud and all over the place. During our 3 hour hike I had plenty of time to tell Jaime stories, one of which was about cicadas. I was in my sophomore year of high school in Nashville, TN. That year, as we approached summer, the big news everyone was talking about was "The cicadas are coming! The cicadas are coming!" I learned that cicadas live in the ground and every say 6 years they come up to breed and then I think they die and then the eggs hatch and the little 'wingless nymphs' burrow into the ground to live on tree sap and grow wings so that someday they can await their opportunity to come above ground and wreak havoc, etc. So this was the year of the cicadas. We were new to Nashville and cicada season so we weren't sure what to expect. But when they came, they came! There were millions and they were loud and clumsy. If you accidentally had your window open in your car when you stopped at a red light cicadas would dive bomb into your lap and you literally had to scoop them up and toss them back out the window. (Caitlin S. remembers this, we had some cicada car attacks together).  Once they came I realized that the once thought dramatic warning of "The cicadas are coming!" was actually appropriate.

The next few weeks were quiet, Jaime was busy at work and I was busy...ya know...doing stuff. We try to keep up with the happenings around the world and especially in the US. I called mumster one day and she had just started watching Obama give his address. So Jaime tried to find it online. At first we could only get the live feed for sound with no picture, so it was quite funny to see us sitting around his computer listening intently. It was like Obama fireside chats. I thought ah, this was what it was like back in the day...simplicity. Then we got live video too...errrrt...back into the present and future. Here in Australia you reminded often of the conveniences we have in the US. They have really similar technology, etc, but they are still just a little behind. For example, there is only one cable network for most of Victoria and all they play are re-runs of american tv or you pay extra for American movie channels, its pretty weak, and the free-to-air channels are not included because they refuse to share a satellite with the network. So, we have a cable box hooked up to our tv, and then we have a long black cord that connects to the tv and runs all the way from our sitting room into the bedroom to the only free-to-air outlet we have in the apartment. When guests come over we have to unplug the cord so they can shut their door. Another example is a credit card surcharge for everything! If you book a plane ticket online you might pay up to a 7% fee for each passenger if you use a credit card. These are mild examples, but you get the picture.
I am also a little out of touch with new music in the US. If anyone has any good recommendations send them my way!

And now...the stars of the January blog...

The best part of January was our weekend trip to Queenscliff. An hour south of Melbourne is a seaside resort town (I know, they are all seaside resort towns here in Oz) at the entrance of Port Philip Bay. We had a scoopon for a dolphin swim that I had purchased when we first moved here.  The dolphin day sounded awesome, swimming with dolphins, fur seals, and snorkeling in a small reef. Jaime mentioned that swimming with fur seals was a little sketchy considering that sharks eat seals. As excited as I was, I was actually really really nervous about the sharks. I figured that they do this twice a day, everyday, there must be no concern for sharks, right? Early in the am we got moving right away getting into our 5mm wetsuits (even in summer, the water was freezing) and fitting ourselves in flippers. We were lucky because our tour group was unusually small that day which made it intimate and fun. The boat was equipped with a  hammock type thing that attached to the side so you could sit over the water while we were boating. We learned that there are approximately 100 resident dolphins that live in the bay, they haven’t proven it yet, but scientist think they may actually be their “own” species of dolphin (not sure why).  The dolphins basically predict how the day is going to go. As we headed out to our snorkeling site, we were radioed that the dolphins were in a certain area and were especially playful. So we changed our route and headed to the dolphins. We were told that dolphins sense emotion and to be sure to look them in the eye if they come by and show that them that you are excited. When the dolphins were spotted, we threw on our snorkels and jumped in the water on the back or side of the boat. We held onto ropes in the water and our guides told us which way to look to see them. We saw a few swim by and check us out under the water which was really cool. I was all ready to wriggle with excitement but they didn’t come close enough. Instead they loved hanging at the bow of the boat. When we got out of the water for the next group to get in we moved for a little while so the dolphins could ride the waves, they loved it! This was as close as I have ever been to wild dolphins and it was awesome!!!

Our next stop was the Chinahut, where we jumped in the water, free swim, with the resident fur seals. I was so excited I forgot to ask about the sharks, but luckily Jaime asked our guide. Apparently there are only about 60 fur seals in the bay. They are described as the rejects of the population, due to their lack of qualifications for breeding. Because there are only 60 fur seals in the bay and 100s just around the corner in the ocean, they figure that the sharks don’t waste their time coming into the bay to feast. I was going to jump in that water with my new friends regardless, put me in a wetsuit and I am a happy fish, but I was really really relieved I didn’t have to think about the sharks. The fur seals were great, we weren’t allowed to touch them but we were allowed to be right next to them and some would even goof around with you if started swimming and doing tricks.

Jaime looking suave

Me, trying to look wetsuit suave

Hut where the fur seals live

Don't let them fall on your head!

Jaime snorkeling with his new friend

After the fur seals, we made our way to a little cove where we were to snorkel with the fish. I enjoy everything, but Jaime and I both agreed this reef was a little lacking compared to some we have seen so we swam ahead saw a few really cool fish and then climbed back into the boat to dry off on the hammock. While with the seals, one of our guides had gathered some sand crab and while we were in the water with the fish they had cooked them up onboard. So as Jaime and I laid out on the hammock, we were thrown fresh and delicious sand crabs to nibble on. What a life!  On the way back to port our guides showed us a few tricks and this is me attempting to ride the waves like a dolphin. (I’m telling ya, I hate cold water, but put me in a wetsuit and I am a fish!). We drank hot tea and ate snacks on the way back and waved to all the large ships that went by. (Isn't it funny how when youre out on the water, its so natural to wave to the people on the passing ships), and jumped off the top of the boat as the grand finale. The company is currently having a promotion for 50% a second dolphin swim trip. But we had such a perfect day with great weather, playful dolphins and seals, that our guides actually told us not to come back!

Sand crabs

What a day!

Passing container ship...it was massive! We waved to this one too. 

I love dolphin life!

Twas 16 "sleeps" before Christmas...Part 3-Sydney

We arrived in Sydney, took a crazy cab from the airport to our B&B located in the Rocks District. The Rocks is one of Sydney’s oldest neighborhoods and is within walking distance of the Opera House, harbor bridge, and Circular Quay. (The well-known icons of Sydney).  Our B&B was an old Victorian house that was quite cozy and included a delicious cooked breakfast in the am.  Mum and dad were up early and thoroughly enjoyed themselves making friends at breakfast each morning. The first night we ate in a bustling authentic German restaurant with good food, goulash and all, and good a stein of beer. On our way back to our B&B we passed Oprah’s good-bye party!  We saw a busy place, beautifully lit and decorated, with tons of security and mum was right…the next day we saw on the news it was Oprah. We should have tried to join them!  Sydney weather is iconic of Australia, sunny, then raining, then chilly, then sunny all day. We checked out the Opera House and rode the bus to all the major sights including Bondi Beach, a cute little beach town just outside of the Sydney CBD. They have a man-made lap pool facility coolly built right on the beach. A beautiful place to get some exercise, but you can’t use it unless you are part of the club. You are only granted membership to the appropriately named Bondi Icebergs once you have swum in the pool every Sunday for four years…all seasons, all weather, it has to be every Sunday. I wonder when those people go on holiday. No weekend trips for 4 years! That takes dedication.

 

Harbor Bridge and Oprah banners

Bondi Iceberg pool

It rained on and off all day and after dinner we headed back to our B&B. Jaime and I were sitting in bed talking when all of a sudden his eyes drifted past my head and got really big and he stopped talking mid-sentence. (Why is everyone always stopping mid-sentence!). We do that joke sometimes where you look past the other person really scared that something is behind them so I thought he was joking. I giggled and calmly said “what?” and then he started to slowly move back off the bed and said “Ok…now that is big!” and I screamed “what! What!” and jumped off the bed. Jaime told me not to look but of course I was curious and when I looked around the back of the bed-post, at first, all I saw was a large hairy leg. On the bed post, right behind my head just a few seconds earlier, was the BIGGEST spider we have ever seen. And I mean huge and furry and scary!

And going back to one of my earlier blogs, Australia and specifically Sydney has tons of spiders that are dreadfully poisonous and we have no idea what this spider is. But he looks big, he looks scary, and therefore to me, dangerous! I calmly went to my parents room next door and asked my dad to call the owner with the downstairs phone. I explained why and dad went downstairs to call and mum, who has been saving me from animals my whole life came in to check it out with my dad’s shoe in hand. Mum always taught me that it was bad luck to kill a spider and although it was what we wanted to do, I was pretty sure that it was too big to be successfully squashed by a shoe and would likely get away and then I would have to check out of my room. So I found a glass and Jaime and mum discussed strategy. I sat on the bureau with my feet nowhere near the ground, not knowing that this was actually a “jumping” spider. It started to move and mum quickly moved the bed while Jaime captured the spider in the glass.  We slid a piece of paper over the top and took it downstairs to await our host. When we got downstairs dad was still trying to call the owner but was having trouble getting an outside line on the old-school phone. I joked that we all would have been poisoned by now! When the owner finally got there he took a look at the spider and told us it was a Huntsman spider, they live in the garden and may come inside due to all the rain to dry off. Not sure how he got into our corner second story room but he looked pretty dry to me.  He said they were mostly harmless, not sure what mostly meant, and while he was telling us this he took the paper off the top of the glass and was just holding the wide-open jumping spider cage, in movement with his arms as he spoke like it was nothing! The phone rang and he excused himself for a minute just after he set the still wide-open glass down on the shelf next to us. I quickly slid the piece of paper back over the top, not taking any chances of a sudden escape.  He took the huntsman back out into the garden and we all went to bed a little paranoid. The huntsman is in the “mildly dangerous” category and essentially a bite would be very painful but by no means lethal, which is good compared to the many other deadly spiders I feared this one could have been. Looking back now, he could have a. jumped right on my head b. jumped in bed with us or c. crawled around on us while we were sleeping! Ugh! We were lucky he wasn’t hiding.

The next day was another wet one, but we took the ferry to the much loved manly beach where we walked the beach, checked off another location for a rip curl store, and grabbed some lunch. That night we met up with some friends of friends that recently moved to Sydney from Florida. Sharon and I had been in touch through one of our mutual friends and had been emailing and this was our first meeting. We had a great dinner with them and learned that Sharon had a visit from a huntsman spider the same day as our little rendezvous. Her spider was just hanging out on the wall in her apartment. She freaked as well and got a fellow resident in the building to come over and take it away. They are so big and scary! We had a great last night in Sydney with great atmosphere, great food, and even better company!

Upon our return to Melbourne, we had a few days left to relax and enjoy my parents. We wandered around Melbourne, fought our way through the fish market to get our ingredients for our Christmas Cioppino, and checked out a few museums. We took an afternoon tour to a moonlight sanctuary where we were up close and personal with Australian wildlife. Mum held a snake and draped it over her shoulders while dad and I touched it standing as far away as possible.  Dad fed tons of little wallabys that loved and crowded around him. And mum got bitten by an emu. It was very entertaining.  The tour then took us to the penguin parade, my favorite spot, where we saw all the little penguins make their way home after a day of fishing at sea. They were quite rambunctious and chatty this night, which made it even more fun. My parents just loved it! And we learned that you are not allowed to take pictures of the penguins because with too many flashes the penguins get spooked and throw-up a belly full of fish and once one throws-up I guess all of them start throwing up. Quite a sight and then the babies don’t get to eat. We followed the little guys all the way up the boardwalk and I loved seeing the joy and amazement on parents’ faces.

The last day of their trip we just relaxed. Dad and I did some P90x workouts and went to the basketball court where he gave me some much needed pointers! Dad was a great basketball player and is a really great teacher, I still panicked every time he ran towards me when I had the ball, but we practiced for awhile until I beat him in P-I-G. And then, as family (of boys) tradition when the girls win, we play again, so that we each win. J It was a really great day! When we got home I helped mum make the cioppino (Italian 5 fish stew-white fish, shrimp/prawns, clams, mussels, anchovies) for our early Christmas dinner. When I say helped, basically I did all the easy stuff, like put everything in the pot. Mum had the hard job of “washing all the animals”.  The mussels threw us off because when we took them out of the fridge they were all open and so we thought they had died! I felt so bad that they might have suffocated in the plastic bag in the fridge. So we kept one that was still closed and threw the rest away and sent dad to the store to get more mussels. (By now dad knew his way around pretty good, he usually woke up in the am and took a stroll, got a coffee, and made friends all around the neighborhood).  Mum washed the lone mussel and set him aside. A few minutes later, we saw him open up on the counter and when we picked him up, he closed up again.  We looked at each other and realized that they were alive! They were probably just trying to breathe in the bag. We fished the bag out of the garbage and sure enough they were all closed up. So weird. Mum had to put them in the boiling water, I couldn’t do it, I figured they had been through enough trauma. Once we were done, we took a walk down to the night market where my parents saw the carpets for communities stall that I volunteer for and all the activity and crafts at the market. We got a delicious espresso martini, mum doesn’t usually drink alcohol, but she enjoys a small one every once in awhile.  Once Jaime got home from work, we had wine and our fish stew and gave thanks and celebrated and early Christmas in Australia with my wonderful parents. That night we sat around and soaked each other up as it will be eight months before we see each other again. Mum and I did our nightly chat, which I love so much, but since it was the last night we ended up staying up pretty late. When we realized it was 2 am and we were wide-awake, we looked at each other and simultaneously said “espresso martini!” We were wired.

The next morning was really sad as I took my dad and mumster to the airport for their flight home. We said a teary good-bye to each other and to a really awesome trip! The worst part of having them leave was returning home to an empty house. I moped around the rest of the day and although I was sad they were gone, having my parents here left my apartment feeling warmer and more like “home” with a love only your parents can bestow.  They made it back home safe and sound, only mum’s bag stayed in Sydney for a few days. J And on opposite sides of the world my parents and I were still on the same wavelength, remembering fondly the awesome trip we had together. An Australian/New Zealand Griswold adventure that I loved every minute of sharing with my most wonderful parents and my new husband. A trip full of memories, laughs, and natural beauty that we will always treasure. There’s nothing better!

Check out all of our Australia/NZ photos here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2087931&id=1608184181&l=86ef69c009

Random video of friendly kangaroo and wallabys!

Twas 16 "sleeps" before Christmas...Part 2-Traveling NZ

We said good-bye to all of our new friends at the farm and hit the road for an easy 4-hour drive to Mt. Cook. My parents were great travelers, they sat in the backseat and told funny stories, ate some snacks, slept a little, read a little and giggled often.  On the way to Mt. Cook we began to see a few vista points of beautiful NZ. The Southern Alps were always beautifully set in the background and the country landscape was exquisite. When we got closer to the mountains we stopped at Lake Tekapo. A gorgeous blue lake surrounded by strong mountains. There was a little chapel right on the lake,  which mum took an illegal picture by accident. JThe air was fresh and crisp and the view was endless.

Driving NZ!

Running creek along the road 

Chapel looking out on Lake Tekapo

Lake Tekapo

As we headed more into the mountains and took the small road off the main road to Mt. Cook we came upon Lake Pukaki. Another magnificently blue lake formed directly from the glaciers. The water gets its perfect blue/turquoise color due to the glacier rock flour. The rock particles from the glacier get ground up as the glacier moves and the blue light is absorbed and then scattered amongst the particles, returning to the surface for us to see.

Lake Pukaki formed by the glaciers

Turquoise water

 Everything that surrounded us in NZ was this beautiful or more. The road to Aoraki, Mt. Cook was the only way in or out and led us right to this tiny, tiny little town. The road branched off to the right to go to the Tasman Valley, straight ahead was the towering Mt. Cook, and to the left were two roads that were lined with a mixture of housing or a hotel. There were three hotels in Aoraki, one of which was a hostel, one a hotel/backpacker budget accommodation, and the other was the main lodge. No one owns any housing in Aoraki, the only people who live there are the people that work in the area (hotels/restaurants, tour guides, mountain safety, etc). We stayed in a little chalet at the base of Mt. Cook, which was a monstrous tower of rock with a snowy peak so high that it was partially covered by the clouds.

Mt. Cook is the snowy mountain in the back with cloud covered peak

We learned of various stories of successful and unsuccessful mountain climbers that took on Mt. Cook. Sir Edmund Hillary is the hero of the area and there is an exhibit about his life. In the early days, a woman climbed Mt. Cook, first of her kind! There were stories of two men who got caught in an avalanche and were stranded for 13 1/2 days. They were rescued and lived but lost both of their legs. Years later, one of the men returned to fulfill his quest to conquer Mt. Cook and on his second excursion that year he made it to the top, prosthetics and all. Being in a small little village at the base of a conquered and conquering mountain really gives you more of a feel and appreciation for the danger and exhilaration of mountain climbing and the accomplishment that is felt when climbers reach the top. 

We settled into our little chalet and walked to the other hotel for a casual dinner. On the walk over the sky was clear except for the gathering clouds over Mt. Cook. An hour later, we had to run back as the rain started instantaneously on our walk home. That night was an amazing, yet not unordinary mountain storm, with howling wind, booming thunder and shattering rain.

The next day's early morning air was calm after the night's storm and we joined our glacier tour first thing in the am. We rode down to the Tasman Valley and passed by our first Lord of the Rings site! A large mountain face used as a backdrop for the battle of Minas Tirith. The weird thing is, that in NZ you always feel like you are in middle earth. We put on our life jackets and got in the boat on the glacier lake. We boated around huge glaciers that were formed millions of years ago. We got close enough to touch them and pull of some ice chunks that were the most delicious popsicles we’ve ever tasted. Pure, crystal clean ice water from millions of years ago. Ah, one with nature.

After our time on the glacier lake and a stop for lunch, we said good-bye to Mt. Cook and began our 3-hour drive to Queenstown, NZ. Queenstown was adorable! It is a rockin little town surrounded by water and mountains and known as the "Adventure capital of the world" as it is where bungee jumping began. (One of many adrenaline rushes you can find in Queenstown and its surrounds). We had a great little two-bed apartment with a great view from our balcony. We ate at the local pub, strolled through the streets lined with shops, restaurants, and cafes and had a few drinks outside on the harbor. 

 

We had an early morning tour, which was a “must-do” on our NZ trip. The little bus picked us up and we headed out of Queenstown south toward Te Anu.  Queenstown was a base camp for Lord of the Rings and had several landmarks that were easily recognizable. We really were in middle earth. We stopped at a little café where dad had his first traditional Aussie meat pie! He loved it! From here we headed to the west coast of South Island, Fiordland National Park with destination Milford Sound. Dad quickly made friends with our kiwi tour guides and had us all laughing the whole day. On the way our tour guide told us stories, fact and fiction, and told us about the huge fault line queenstown and most of the west coast sits on. It is expected to shift every 30 years and would be a vast destruction. They are 6 years past the 30-year mark and are prepared but hopeful the quake won’t happen.

In the park, we stopped several times to check out vista points, waterfalls, and creek beds where you could fill up your water bottles as the water had just fallen from the sky the day before.  Now the main thing with Fiordland and Milford Sound is that it is a tropical climate and always always rainy and wet. Sometimes just showers and sometimes thunderous and magnificent storms. But they day we went, it was perfect. Not a cloud in the sky the whole day. It was one of four days/year that was perfectly dry, which I attribute to the warmth and happiness of my parents! They brought the sun and beautiful weather the whole time they were here! Prior to our arrival in Milford Sound we stopped in the park for lunch. Our tour was called the BBQ Bus, so we set up some chairs along a creek bed and ate traditional kiwi BBQ with two kinds of mystery meat! 

Fiorland National Park

We continued to wind our way through the mountains and parkland (going very fast btw!) until we got to Homer Tunnel, the only link from the main road to the sound, built right through a mountain. This was a one-way tunnel that changed traffic direction every 15 minutes. When it was our turn to go we headed down 1270 meters at 1:10 gradient to the western portal and were spit out of the side of the mountain into a beautiful valley. We winded our way down the hairpin turns until we finally reached the dock for our boat tour of Milford Sound.

The beauty and power of Milford sound is truly indescribable. You stand on the deck of a ferry boat as you slowly make your way out into the calmness of the sound. You are surrounded by huge mountains and in front of you are the most beautiful rock formations that look like they just popped out of the water. You are a tiny little speck floating through a valley of whimsical giants. You are awed and suspended in a moment that seems like time has stood still.  These mountains had stories, they were alive and breathtaking. We passed a few waterfalls only flowing due to the hard rain the day before. We passed by the lion’s back which was two mountains with a hanging valley that resembled the body of a lion. And we were speechless the whole time. The only words spoken were my dad saying “This is the most beautiful place I have ever seen.” And he was right. Words and pictures don’t actually portray the true beauty and feeling of being there in person. You felt small, but full of life. You were surrounded by mountains, yet felt so free. You were awed, inspired, and appreciative of the natural beauty of this place, while gently gliding through the water.

Our second night in Queenstown was our last night in New Zealand and we were sad to leave. There is something special about New Zealand. Its beauty is joyful and fun and even after you have left this magical feeling stays with you and it returns every time I think about NZ.

Since Queenstown is situated in a large valley, so is the airport. We were on a normal size jet but on take-off we immediately began to turn and continued turning 360s until we were high enough to fly over the mountains. It was like going up a spiral staircase. We flew over snow peaked mountains and glaciers and made our way to Auckland, our only stop in North Island for our connection to Sydney, Australia.