Heaven

After my incredible travel misadventure yesterday, I was in for a nice, easy day. Today was great. It was a little cool here in Christchurch (about 54F), but sunny and nice.

I ran into several ice friends in my travels around town, and had some nice visits. Some are just leaving the ice, some are getting ready to go back down, and some are in the middle of travelling.

I rapped with some friends for a while down at Bailie's, a downtown Christchurch pub. Our schedules didn't match for dinner, so I decided to get a bite on my own, and head back to the hotel.

Right across the street from my hotel is the Christchurch Arts Centre, a really cool old stone college campus from the 19th century that has been converted to art galleries and other artsy venues. Really cool. http://www.artscentre.org.nz/

The Dux de Lux is a trendy restaurant situated among the Art Centre's buildings. I hadn't had dinner there this trip (though it is an ice veteran favorite spot), so I decided to grab some chow.

I ordered the Yellow Thai Curry, and picked a spot out on the patio. I kept my jacket on, and I probably wouldn't have sat out there if it weren't for the outdoor radiant heaters.

The curry was stupifying. It consisted of fish, rock lobster, shrimp, and the most outrageous mussels, in a spicy yellow curry broth. It was literally some of the best seafood I've ever had, and it was only about the equivalent of $US15. Yikes.

I rented ("hired") a car today, and I'm headed out for the west coast of the south island tomorrow.

I'm still conflicted with the urge to go pick up Conan (my corgi, in Montana), and the need to soak up as much sun as I can before heading back to the states at the beginning of winter.

Life is good.

Bad Karma?

I wrapped up my two-week blitz of Australia, arriving back in Christchurch today. Since the last post, I've been to the Sunshine Coast, the Glass House Mountains, Brisbane again, Sydney again, and some more touristy stuff around Sydney (Manly beach, the Blue Mountains).

I've had a very lucky, easy time of it so far. At least until this morning, that is.

My luck was to take a turn for the worse today. I was booked on JetStar airlines for my flight back to New Zealand. I knew from my trip out that arriving early is a very good idea with them-- long lines. I got up early, took a shower, packed up my stuff and headed across the street to the train station with plenty of time. I got a ticket, got on the train-- no problems yet.

Got to the airport with time to spare. Read my book for a while, then got in line to check in. It took me over half an hour to get up to the check-in kiosk. I gave the woman my passport and itinerary, which she checked over carefully. She asked to see my ticket back out of New Zealand. What?! I hadn't even booked my trip from NZ to the states yet-- my travel plans were still open. That's not unusual-- all we have to do as USAP participants in name the date we'd like to fly home, and they issue us tickets. I wasn't sure how long I would be travelling, so I left my exit tickets open. Well, it turns out you can't fly into NZ without a hard copy of your exit ticket. I had no idea-- nobody had ever mentioned that to me.

I ran over to a pay phone and called the USAP travel agent in Christchurch. They put me on hold for what seemed like forever, then told me I'd have to pay hundreds of dollars over my travel allowance to travel anytime in the next couple of weeks. I knew that couldn't be right, so I had them explore my options while I tried to get my ticket extended-- it was pretty clear that I wouldn't find a solution to this problem in the next hour before my flight took off.

I called the airline. They told me I would have to talk to the staff at the airport to beg to have my flight extended. I went back and waited in line again. When I got up to the front, they suggested that I talk to their customer service folks at another desk. I went over there, and (thankfully) didn't have to wait in line there. I was now completely sure I had missed my flight, and was throwing myself on their mercy. They said that pretty much the only thing I had hopes of doing was to purchase a refundable ticket from NZ to somewhere else, so I could legally leave Australia for NZ. I went over to the Quantas ticket desk and told the man that i would like the cheapest one-way ticket from Christchurch to anywhere (knowing that I would cash it in as soon as I landed). He sold me an $800 one way fare from Christchurch back to Sydney. I raced back over to the check-in kiosk, waited in a short line, then talked to the agent. She said I couldn't do that, since I didn't have a visa to go back into Australia! Argh! (Of course, I had no intention of actually using the ticket.)

Another ticket agent looked up my visa information in another program, and proved that I was legal to fictionally fly back into Sydney in about a week. Whew! I got my boarding pass, and raced across a huge expanse of airport to get to my gate. According to the time on my pass, I had three minutes to get to customs, fill out my declaration form, wait in line, clear customs, go through security, and get to the gate. I made it to the gate about one minute after the supposed cut-off time, to find that the plane hadn't even arrived yet, and was delayed about twenty minutes. I was home free!

The plane eventually showed up, and we boarded. The flight was completely full, but it looked like I had my little row all to myself! My luck was improving! Wait-- here comes a couple with a little baby. They sit right next to me. Another couple with a baby comes and sits down right across the aisle. Groan. Then I notice that the couple in the row in front of me has a little baby too. What are the odds of sitting with three screaming babies in a ten foot radius around me?

Luckily, the babies took turns with their blood-curdling, apoplectic screaming. Never two at once. The little girl next to me was a professional screamer, though. She screamed at the top of her lungs for at least a half hour straight, and nothing the parents were doing was working. I may be deaf for life in my left ear.

I survived the three hour flight okay (if you disregard the deafness part...). I hustled over to the Quantas counter to cash in my temporary ticket. Guess what? They didn't let me, because I didn't have a hard copy of my real exit ticket in my hand. Argh! I got with the folks at the CDC (USAP travel office), and got them working on getting me a real ticket back to the states (which they actually do through Denver, for some reason). When I get it, I can get my $800 back, minus about $A105 in fees.

I have to admit, it was my responsibility to know what my visa requirements were, and I didn't have the right information. In the end, it all worked out all right, except for the loss of a few bucks and a portion of my ability to hear, forever.

I can't help but wonder what it was that I did to bring this horrible string of luck upon myself. I can't imagine what it was... I didn't steal any hotel towels. I didn't double park. Not sure. I did engage in some questionable Indian food, though. A couple of days earlier, I had some Beef Vindaloo. Now, Hindus regard cows as holy, so there is no such thing as beef Indian food. I thought it odd at the time, but it looked good, and I was really hungry. I wished I had been more careful, in retrospect. Now I see the error of my ways. I undoubtedly angered Brahma, or Vishnu, or whichever Hindu god it is that is responsible for travellers. I was punished in the most heinous of ways-- I will never do it again! I have been smitten by the triple-screaming-baby demons, and I must repent.

Strailin'

I'm kind of a nut for accents-- I like to listen to folks and figure out where they're from. On the ice and in New Zealand, I watch the TVNZ news, just to listen to the reporters talk. I love it. I have said that I can't really tell the difference between the Ozzie accent and the Kiwi accent. Now that I've spent a good amount of time in Oz, I think I have it nailed.

The differences are pretty subtle, but I bet I can spot 'em now. The main difference is the way they say words with "I". I've asked Kiwis how they spot Ozzies, and they say Australians say Feesh and Cheeps, and most Kiwis claim that they say Fish and Chips. Ozzies claim that Kiwis say Fush and Chups. What I've observed is that given a word like "pit", Ozzies will sometimes pronounce it peet. Kiwis will sometimes pronounce it pit, and sometimes putt.

Words with an "E" are a giveaway, too. Directions in NZ are Right and Leafed. In Oz, they're Roit and Left. In my observation, an Australian will NEVER say leafed. And only a few Kiwis would say roit.

Here are some common Ozzie words, and the Kiwi equivalent (if applicable).

Beah: Favorite breakfast beverage. XXXX, VB, Toohey's. Beah is everywhere.

Bibey: Toynee person.

Bite: A small sheep. A water vehicle. (Kiwi: Boat)

Boy: Purchase.

Bye: A body of wodda.

Cah: Automobile.

Cheese: Thanks or Thanks/Goodbye.

Cheesemite: Thanks/Goodbye, my friend.

Droive: How you operate your cah.

Dola: $

Goodonya: Good for you.

Goy: Not a girl, rather a lad or a mite.

High Ya Gine?: How are you? (Equivalent to "hayadoon?" the US. No answer expected).

High Ya Gine Mite?: How are you, my friend?

Hobba: Where you keep the sheeps in the bye.

Ite: More than seven (seeven in NZ).

Noice: Good. Often an exclamation-- NOICE!

Noin: One more than ite.

Noeries: You're welcome, no problem.

Oilin': A body of land surrounded by wodda.

Pint: The colored stuff you roll on your house. Picasso was a pinter.

Point: About 16 oz of beah.

Roid: What soofas do on the wives.

Sheep: A big bite. (Kiwi: Ship)

Sooffa: Goys that roid wives on their boads.

Straila: Huge oilin' in the South Pacific.

Strailin: What they speak there.

Theeweegigh: Here it is for you.

Toynee: Very small.

Wives: Bumps in the wodda. Sooffas roid them.

Wodda: H2O


Here's a typical conversation:

Customer: G'day.

Proprietor: Highyaginemite?

C: Doyin' a hunga!

P: What'll it be then?

C: I'll have a sausage roll.

P: Foive dolas then.

C: Heeyagigh.

P: Exact change! Noice! Goodonya! Cheese!

C: Noeries.

P: Heehagigh. Cheesemite!

C: Cheese. See ya lighta.

Bluehair Island

I spent the day on a one-day tour of Fraser Island, just offshore Hervey Bay, where I'm staying. Fraser Island is an incredible place-- basically a 100-mile long sand dune, with temperate rain forest, tropical rainforest, and other habitats mixed in. It has big freshwater lakes-- the biggest collection of dune-top lakes in the world. Saw some dolphins on the way down, and on the way back.

The tour was exactly the kind of bluehairs-on-the-big-bus tourist thing that I usually studiously avoid. This time, it was kind of a bonus day for me-- I only had the one day to check out the island, and the tour seemed like the best way to actually see something. The island is too big to hike around, and it is covered with rutty, soft sand roads, so a car is out of the question, barring renting a 4WD in addition to the little car I've already rented. I swallowed hard and joined the bluehairs. Actually there were quite a few young German tourists and other "traveler" types, so it won't be so bad if someone actually saw me with the grannies.

I was prepared to be underwhelmed. I mean, how cool can a big sand dune be? Very cool, as it turns out. The tropical rain forest was amazing. HUGE trees, with all sorts of clingy vines and strange, parasitic-looking plants. Australia is like the anti-New-Zealand. In NZ, there are no poisonous snakes or spiders, and you can bash through the brush anywhere you like. In Australia, the bush is trying to kill you. There are six of the top 30 most venomous snakes in the world, just on Fraser Island. There was even a sign that said there are a certain variety of pine cone that can wound or kill you. Evidently, Kauri Pines are so tall that a ten-pound pine cone might just bust your noggin if you are unlucky enough to be present when it sheds one. Yikes.

I hopped a plane and did a quick 15-minute flight over the island. Really cool. Another highlight was Lake McKenzie. I gorgeous, fresh-water pond with sugary white sand beaches all around. A dingo came out of the forest and cruised for munchies for a while. Fraser Island has the purest strains of dingoes in existence, due to its isolation from the mainland's dogs. I swam around a bit, and got back on the bus, dripping wet. On a one-day trip of a hundred mile island, we didn't stop anywhere for long. I'll definitely be back here some time.

I'm glad I did the one-day tour, but if I had it to do over again, I would plan on spending a week there. This whole trip has been kind of like that, though-- check out NSW and Queensland in two weeks, with the intention of gathering information for a future trip. In my experience, sometimes that is the best way to travel. Do a quick "blitz-trip", scouting for places to return to.

Speaking of venomous creatures, I was just victimized again. I was standing in line at my backpacker to stock up on Internet time, when I felt a bug land in my hair. I reached up to brush 'im out of there, and the little bugger stung me. A bee. I guess I'm glad it wasn't a Purple-Banded Death Adder. Traumatic, though. Almost as bad as the incident with the Ibis.

Tomorrow: The Glass House Mountains.

Cackle, Splash!

I'm staying at a very cool backpacker here in Hervey Bay. It's called the Colonial Inn YHA, near the boat harbor. It's like a tropical resort, but cheap. The only thing I have against the place is the cacaphony of tropical birds that goes off like at 4AM, and continues for most of the morning. Yikes. I'm used to the silence of the ice, or at least the monotonous droning of the air handler through my dorm air vent. I might get some earplugs before I hit the sack tonight. http://www.herveybaycoloniallodge.com.au/

I took a whale watching cruise today, and got to ogle some breaching Humpback Whales. I gather that this is kind of the end of the whale-watching season. Mostly mothers with baby whales, which aren't too curious about tourist boats. Earlier in the spring (August), teenager whales come up from Antarctica, and they get quite cheeky with the whale watching boats, sometimes "spy hopping" up out of the water to check out the folks on deck. http://www.spiritofherveybay.com/

The mom-baby teams did some breaching and splashing, but stayed away from the boat. Still, it was definitely worth the trip. I'm glad I did the half-day, though. Eight hours of whale splashing might get a little tiresome.

Tomorrow: hiking Fraser Island.

Note: Humpback picture linked from http://bss.sfsu.edu/holzman/courses/Spring%2005%20projects/HumpbackWhale.htm

Attack of the Ibis

Had a nice day yesterday. I had a leisurely breakfast at one of the many sidewalk cafes near my backpacker on the West End of Brisbane. Walked down to the Cultural Centre, and hopped a ferry up to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Got to see a lot of Koalas, lizards, birds and things-- even fed a kangaroo right out of my hand. Kind of a touristy thing to do, but I'm glad I did.

The whole South Bank of the Brisbane River near where I'm staying is a huge complex of libraries, museums, and other cultural buildings. There is a river walk full of sidewalk cafes, restaurants and shops, and there was kind of a craft fair going on. There is an incredible arbor, with bright pink flowers on it, that seems to go for miles along the river walk.

I stopped at one of the food stands and got a shrip and chicken roll and one of the incredible Aussie ginger beers. I turned my back on my lunch for a split second to get a napkin, and an ibis jumped up on my table and ate half my lunch in one bite. These ibises (ibi?) are big, creepy looking birds with odd, hooked beaks. They're about twice the size of a chicken and (now I know) evidently quite aggressive. Live and learn, I guess

Queensland

Well, I've been in the land of Oz (Australia) for four days now. I was really impressed with Sydney, but had the itch to get farther up the coast. I can always spend more time in Sydney on the way out.

So far I've feasted on Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indian food. I was walking about 10-20 miles a day, though, so I don't feel too much like a pig.


I hopped a train early Wednesday morning, and ended up in Brisbane fifteen hours later. This is one HUGE country! I covered about a fourth of the east coast in a twelve hour train ride, and a three hour connector bus from Casino to Brisbane. For some odd reason the trains don't make it all the way to Brisbane if they arrive at night. Go figure.

Where Sydney was a dream to visit, Brisbane is more of a nightmare. It's big and spread out, with a big winding river running through the middle of the city. Like most river cities, the streets run at crazy angles, and for some reason only about every fifth intersection has street names posted. I've been doing a lot of walking around, cussing the Brisbane public works department.

Tomorrow, I'm going to take a boat up the Brisbane River to a Koala sanctuary. The weather today has been perfect (about 80F and breezy), and I have my fingers crossed for more of the same.