I'm a Bartender in the Outback

Greetings from Glen Helen Resort, 135km west of Alice Springs, NT!

I’m employed again! While I certainly have not missed the whole “working” thing, it is nice knowing that every day that passes is now adding to my rapidly dwindling bank account, instead of subtracting from it. I’ve worked a few shifts so far, and am slowly (emphasis on slowly) getting the hang of it. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve worked with a cash register, and the whole waitressing/bartending/working in a hotel thing is entirely brand new. Yup, that’s right, I’m a waitress/bartender at an outback pub. I wonder what I would have thought if someone had told me that a year ago…

So here’s the website for the place that I work at:

http://www.glenhelen.com.au/

It’s a small, family-run place. It’s currently the off-season, so there are only like 9 staff members here, which includes the two owners and their son – so we’re quite a small bunch! Their main season is North American summer, which is when it’s a bit cooler here, and also all of the European tourists come for their summer holidays. From what I’ve seen so far, the resort’s main source of business comes from local Alice Springs people going for weekend getaways, tour busses passing through, the local Aboriginal people needing snacks/gas and European self-drivers. From what Shelagh, one of the owners, told me, Australia’s red center is very strongly marketed in Western European countries, and it’s also very popular for Western European tourists to rent cars and drive themselves around here. I’ve heard a lot of French so far. One day I’ll work up the courage to try speaking it.  So far all I’ve said is “au revoir” to someone.

This is my first time out of New South Wales, which is exciting for me. I’m in an entirely different part of the country now, about a 3 hour airplane ride away from Sydney. If you look at a map of Australia, Alice Springs is the town that’s essentially right smack in the middle.  When you zoom out, you’ll see vast arrays of nothing stretching for hundreds of miles. The next closest town is Darwin, which is over 900 miles north of Alice Springs. The Northern Territory is kind of like Australia’s wild west. Sparsely inhabited, untamed desert with it’s own local rules and laws. Apparently it’s not even technically an Australian state. It operates like one, but it’s name still has the “Territory” in it because it’s still exactly that – a territory.

As I’ve already touched on, the job is basically working in the Homestead, which is where the bar, common room, reception area, souvenir shop, and formal restaurant are located. So pretty much wherever there’s a person waiting, that’s where you go. I’ve checked in a few people so far at the reception desk. It doesn’t seem too hard, I just have to get used to their systems. I’ve tackled some waitressing too. I’m a bit shit at it still (I forgot to take the menus away the other night from a giant table) but it’s certainly not rocket science, and I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it and get a bit better. I hate it when people ask me questions about the menu though. I’m like, dude I have no friggin idea. Just pick something. You’re in the middle of the damn outback, just be happy that there even IS a restaurant to feed you dinner.  Bartending has been the scariest so far. I’m not exactly an alcohol connoisseur, so I feel a bit lost sometimes back there. I’ve made a couple of mixed drinks so far, but it’s mostly beer that we sell. Lucky for me the tap is currently broken, so I don’t have to worry about whether or not people mean give me a beer from the tap or from the bottle. All we got is bottles - bottles that I can’t open. Most are twist tops, but I tried on my first day to twist, and I sliced my hand up. So now I use a bottle opener for everything, I don’t care if the cap says in big, block print “Twist Me.” Heck, I think I even bled yesterday when using the stupid bottle opener!

There’s also the less glamorous cleaning aspect. We have to sweep and mop, plus wash dishes. They don’t have a dishwasher here, so all dishes need to get washed by hand. Good times! All of the glasses and silverware also need to get polished by hand after each wash, since the water here has a lot of calcium in it, so there are always water marks left after being washed. There’s also no bus boy, so we clear and clean up tables as well. We also have to make sure that the bar is always stocked too. Plus we pump gas! Yes, I am also now a gas pumper at a remote outback petrol station! Pretty cool stuff I think. It’s a long day, being on your feet non-stop. I bought some new black flats for here, only to find out once I got up here that I can just wear my damn sneakers. The uniform is basically the Glen Helen button down shirt, and then I wear jean shorts and socks and sneakers. Pretty comfy, which helps make the day less painful. Those sneakers are gonna get worn out though.

So where am I living then, you ask? Great question! The staff members are housed in what is basically a block of mobile homes. I really like the room though, I got attached to it very quickly and made it my own. It’s the first time I’ve been in one place and not living out of a bag since I left Enmore in early November. This will also be the last time I have a “home” in Australia. Once I leave here, it’ll be 4 and 1/2 months of living like a nomad again. Here’s a picture of my room:

It’s certainly not glamorous. It’s an old mobile home. But it’s all MINE. Yes, my own room! This is the first time since I left home back in June that I have my OWN room. In Enmore there was always the scary chance that they could move someone else in to the empty bed at any moment.. But my mobile home is all MINE! Plus I have my own ensuite bathroom and my own mini-fridge. It’s like a backpackers dream come true! The bed isn’t too bad either. I jazzed it up with 2 duvets, 2 pillows, and of course my Mets blanket and Marbles. I also added a Winnie the Pooh fleece blanket that I found in the laundry room cupboard as my rug. My fridge is always stocked with coke, and I even have an air conditioner! I really am quite happy with my little space. We’ve become good friends. It is dirty and buggy and all that, but I don’t care. I have my own room. With an AC. And a mini-fridge. The bugs can come hang out every once in a while if they want to, I’m ok with that.

They feed us breakfast lunch and dinner, but it’s sort of like eat this or go hungry. Breakfast is put out from 7 am – 9:30 am, lunch for us is always at noon, and dinner is always at 6. I tend to sleep through breakfast (I’ve been working late shifts this week), nibble on lunch since I don’t much care for their lunch meats, and then by 4 pm I’m starving and wolf down whatever is put in front of me at 6. I am desperate for snacks though. I’ve already begged my mother and aunt to ship over cookies and crackers and sweets. I can’t get to town because I have no car, and the snacks at the homestead are all expensive and in small bags. I like being able to snack. I anxiously await the arrival of my snack boxes. The local water here is filled with calcium and kind of has a sulfur-y stink to it. The guests have to either suck it up and drink it or buy bottled water. We are able to use collected rain water instead. It’s a tad yellow, which is a bit disconcerting at first, but it tastes pretty good.

Now the place is called the Glen Helen Resort, and while resort might be a stretch, it is a pretty nice place. The formal dining room is quite nice, and we are required to anally set it up. The hotel rooms are simple, although quite nice considering the remoteness, and they have a little swimming pool that’s kept nicely as well. There are also campsites and a backpacker bunkhouse. The homestead has a giant flat screen tv, and there’s also a piano, books, and games. Here’s the backyard of the place:

And here is the actual Glen Helen gorge, which is a 10-minute walk from the homestead:

You can swim in both, although I haven’t done so yet. Too much other stuff to do! While I’m up here, I have to plan and book both my New Zealand part 2 trip and my entire backpacking around Australia journey. I want to get those things done first, and then once that’s all settled I’ll spend my free time outside, enjoying the surroundings.

I’ve got no mobile phone reception here, but I do have the internet! Apparently it’s satellite-based, so I’ve been told it can be a tad slow. So far I have no complaints about it.

In terms of the heat, it’s really not so bad. Anyone out there who has ever been to (or lived) in Arizona during the summer months would feel right at home here. It’s hot, but it’s a dry heat. There’s no humidity, which is nice, since everything dries quickly. I never go to sleep with wet hair anymore – just go for a 5 minute walk outside and it’s bone dry again.

This past week has also been my first real experience with the Aboriginal people of Australia. You don’t really see many in Sydney, but the Northern Territory has a large population. When we first got to Alice Springs and stopped at the supermarket, we weren’t out of the car for 30 seconds before someone tried to sell us native artwork and then proceeded to beg for money when the answer was no, not interested. It’s a tough situation that they have here. “White” Australians seem to be divided into those who understand the plight of the indigenous people, who had foreigners come in and take over their world, trying to destroy their culture and force them into accepting lifestyles that made no sense to them, and those who think the Aboriginals are lazy drunks who refuse to embrace the educational system and play active, positive roles in white society. Alcohol certainly has done horrors to the population, similar to the story you see in the U.S. with the Native Americans. There are very strict alcohol laws in the Northern Territory for everyone, which are primarily aimed at curtailing Aboriginal access to alcohol. Drinking is a particularly bad problem in the rural communities, so there are actually laws in place as to which Aboriginal people can buy alcohol at pubs. If anyone other than an Aboriginal person walks in the door and asks for a beer, they get it; just as long as they have the money for it and appear to be at least in the neighborhood of being 18 years of age. If an Aboriginal walks in and asks for a beer, you have to check ID. If they are from Alice Springs (135 km from here) or Darwin, then you can serve them. If not, then no matter how old they are, the answer is no. Apparently these laws were put into place by representatives of the Aboriginal communities, so the laws are kind of self-imposed. Not that drinking isn’t a problem in Alice as well, but apparently it’s much more pronounced of a social issue outside of the town. I’m sure as I travel Australia I’ll learn more about the good side of the Aboriginal story. I got some bits and pieces from our tour guide in the Blue Mountains, who was just absolutely enamored with them. It’ll be fun to learn more about their beliefs and ways of life and how they used to do things before they got taken over. But while I’m up here I’ll have a front row seat to the opposite side. It’s sad really. They come in to the store and many times they just look a bit lost. You can see sometimes that the concept of money doesn’t really make sense to them, just by the way they haphazardly grab items and then hand me the $50 note like it’s some sort of alien object that they just need to pass on so they can take home the massive amounts of soda and ice cream. Then once I give them the change, they often are back 5 minutes later, buying more junk until all of the money is gone. It’s been an interesting anthropological experience for me thus far.

So that’s my updated story! Hopefully I’ll settle in more over the next week or so and will have the job down pat soon.

Hope you East Coasters are enjoying winter – it’s 106 degrees and sunny here J

A Fortnight in Glebe

As sad I was to leave New Zealand behind for now, this was a pretty nice “welcome back!” view that I got form the airplane:

I landed back in Sydney not 100% sure how long I’d be staying. My new job wanted me up there towards the end of January, but I didn’t have an exact date when I got back. The plan was to just stay in Sydney until it was time to go up to the outback though. I had toyed with a couple of ideas for what to do with myself during the approximately 2 weeks I’d have in between my plans. I was initially hoping that I’d be able to squeeze some farm work in, just for the experience. I had a recommendation for a great working hostel (a hostel in sort of a not so exciting area whose main function is to house and hook up backpackers with local farm work in the area) a few hours north of Melbourne, but in the end I realized that it would be cramming too much in. I also thought of calling up one of my employment agencies to see if I could get some work for the 2^nd week in Sydney. In the end I canned that idea as well, not out of laziness but because my to-do list was just super long. Plus I wanted to see the friends I have here, since this will be the last time in my itinerary that I’m in Sydney for anything resembling an extended period of time.  My stops down the road will be more popping back into town in between travel legs then actually spending any time here. So I booked 2 weeks in at the same quiet hostel in Glebe that I stayed at before I went to New Zealand, and that was that.

What have I been doing the past couple of weeks then? Jeez, I don’t know what filled up all the hours, but they sure got filled up quickly. First I had to pick up my bags of course, which was a project. Here’s all of them on the bus:

I went through all of my things, separating them into items to be shipped home, items to be taken to the outback, and items to be put into storage in Sydney. I shipped 2 boxes and 2 poster tubes home. I figured out how to roll over my retirement account from the wrong account that the employment agency shoved my funds into back to the correct account that I set up back in July. I finalized the date that I’m coming home. I had my original mobile phone fixed, so I no longer am using something that looks like it’s from 2001. I finally bought a backpacker backpack! His name is Stewart, after Stewart Island, which is where I had the realization that I would need to own a backpacker backpack. My poor suitcase has aged about 10 years in 6 months. I don’t want to kill it any more then it’s already been killed, so I went with what all the cool kids are doing and bought a giant 70-liter backpack. Here is a picture of me with my new bff Stewart!

Let’s see, what else… I bought a mosquito face net since apparently the flies in the outback are quite intense. I bought a raincoat and some plug adaptors that were sorely needed. I got a flashlight and extra toiletries and finally had my watch repaired and did heaps of laundry. I caught up on my journal and uploaded a bazillion pictures to facebook from my New Zealand trip, and worked on the blog. I’m sure I’m forgetting stuff, but I’m also sure you’re already bored with this. It hasn’t been the most exciting 2 weeks, but it’s been productive.

I also did some fun stuff. I met my friend Julie from Jillaroo school twice for dinner in Glebe, where we checked out the local Mexican restaurants. They aren’t too bad, but they aren’t anywhere near the quality of what you can get at home. Australia needs more Mexicans. Cheryl and I went to Bondi Beach one day, to actually go to the beach. Never been there in summer before! We got tanning oil and everything, although the experience wasn’t what I’d hoped. It was windy and the sand stung horribly. I went in the water for a bit, but the waves and undertow are way too rough for my tastes. After I got knocked down and lightly bruised my butt in the process, I called it a day for the swimming. We did take a classic photo though, us at Bondi Beach, in Australian flag shorts, holding up a Bondi Beach towel. It’s pretty epic!:

Went for manicures & pedicures after, and then I helped make dumplings for dinner. Look: Behold, a photo of me making dough and using a rolling pin!

I can’t even remember the last time I touched a rolling pin. We hung out on the balcony afterwards, enjoying these lovely Long Island Iced Teas that we both like that are found at exactly one liquor store in all of Sydney. When I went to pick them up though, the liquor man informed me that they are being discontinued since they have become too expensive to produce. I bought 2 packs of them, one of which still remains, but after they are gone we shall never be able to drink them again. Sad.

I met up with her another day as well, with a grand plan of going to Sydney’s giant fish market, then over to Ashfield (sort of like Sydney’s version of Flushing – the Asian neighborhood that the tourists don’t really go to) for dumplings, then over to Cheryl’s Oz tag game, and then out for one last night in King’s Cross. We ended up going to only Ashfield. Poor Cheryl got a wicked case of food poisoning, from a work dinner to make matters worse. She started to feel worse as the day went on, so instead of partying in King’s Cross we spent the early part of the evening in the emergency room instead. Not too bad time wise though, we were there for about 3 hours. I felt absolutely awful for her. I’ve never had food poisoning like that, and I hope I never do. They gave her some medication to help, but essentially those sorts of things you just need to ride out. Yuck. Had a late dinner of tim tams and – wait for it – PEACH SNAPPLE – back at her place. There is ONE place in Sydney where you can buy 16 oz glass bottles of Snapple, but it’s imported, so you pay the price for it. Each bottle is $5. So it’s not something to drink every day, but every time I come back to Sydney in between travel legs I might just treat myself to one. Mmmmm…

I was so busy running around that I only got to gymnastics once in 2 weeks! I attempted to go twice, but the one gym was closed. It’s happened once before. They are a small, family run place, so while it’s great because I get lots of attention and instruction and it’s pretty inexpensive, every once in a while they do seem to randomly close on a whim. I did get to see my favorite Australian cat though on the way back, Mr. Bojangles!

I usually caught him on my way home from the gym Thursday nights when I lived in Enmore. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the cat during daylight hours before! A neighbor who was outside taking out the trash told me the cat’s real name: Maximus. I don’t like it. I liked the real name of the Hippo Lodge cat better (Her name was Moss – I had called her Snickers), but Mr. Bojangles is a MUCH better name than Maximus. I might put a note in his house’s mailbox to let his owners know.

Managed to get to my other gym this past Friday night though, which was interesting. I haven’t been to the gym since before New Zealand, so we’re talking a little over 7 weeks since I last attempted to bend myself. The stuff I can do that required technique was still there, albeit a tad rusty. I had to throw things sometimes a half dozen times or so before they came back. But my split is still there, and my back & shoulder flexibility, while a bit tighter than what it was, isn’t too bad at all considering the length of time I’ve gone without stretching and how ancient I am. I did notice a difference on bars though. Things that I did with ease 2 months ago were a bit of a struggle. I’ve definitely lost some of that body strength I acquired while I was living in Enmore and going to the gym a lot. That stinks for now, but I’m not too worried. One day when I’m settled like a real person again and can go to the gym consistently, I’ll get it all back. For now I just wanted to have my body go through the motions and stretch out a bit, so that it doesn’t forget everything it’s learned.

The scary moment of the 2 weeks: My cat is special. He’s a bit of a nutcase, which I already knew, but now he’s medically special too. Apparently he was born with genetically defective kidneys. They are larger than they are supposed to be. He started acting really strangely, so my parents took him into the vet, which is how we found out about it. He had to stay for a few days and got IV medication, which my poor mother has to continue at home. So now we have to keep an eye out on this, and might need to take him back to the vet down the road for further treatments to keep his kidney function in check. He should be OK, and he can live for many more years – I mean, he’s already almost 5 and he’s had funny kidneys since he was born – with his condition, but in the end I imagine he won’t be setting any records in the kitty lifespan department. Hopefully he will have many more long years ahead of him though, filled with wailing for no reason and giving me dirty looks, but it’s certainly scary to find out that your pet has genetically defective organs. But he’s a little trooper, so I have faith that he’ll be around attacking me and then having my parents yell at ME for starting it for many more years to come. I may enjoy the company of Mr. Bojangles, and I certainly did meet many lovely cats in New Zealand, but this is the only one that matters:

Lastly, as you may have noticed me mention, I have an end date! Yes, there is an end date to all of this madness. I will be arriving at 8:10 pm on Friday, August 17^th on Flight VS009 from Heathrow.

Are we confused yet? Do we know where Heathrow is? You live under a rock if you don’t, it’s one of the world’s most well known (and busiest) airports. London, baby, London!!!!!

I’m going home the long way, flying over Asia and Europe instead of over the Pacific Ocean and the U.S. Why, you may ask? Good question. Well, I put in a bid for tickets to the Olympics like a bazillion years ago, and I got tickets to 2 of the 3 gymnastics prelim sessions. Now I wasn’t going to fly to London, watch 4 hours of gymnastics, pay a zillion pounds per night for accommodation, and then fly home. But my Australia trip started creeping up towards the end-July mark (I originally thought I’d be home by the end of June), and then I happened to meet a wonderful friend – who also likes gymnastics – who happens to live in London, and said I could stay at her place. So then the gears started churning in my head. My plan had been to leave Australia at the end of July and be home in time to watch the Games on TV. But MAYBE, I could leave Australia the same date, just fly home via London instead, and just hop off the plane and check out the Olympics? Brilliant! And if I’m going to be in the U.K. then anyone who knows me knows that I simply MUST go to Paris as well, so in the end I just stuck on a 3-week stopover in Europe. I figure I might as well do it now. Once I’m home I will need to find work immediately and then I plan to live like a gremlin, emerging only when someone pays me to do something. So there will be no vacations for a while, especially no long ones to Europe. So I figure, might as well take advantage of a perhaps once in a lifetime opportunity to go to the Olympics and visit my beloved France as well. Who knows when I’ll have the funds/time off to get back there again? Might be a couple of years. So wooo hoo for USA Gymnastics and for raw, non-pasteurized cheese! I’m a comin’!!!! It’ll be good mentally too I think. It’ll be sort of emotional leaving Australia behind, but this way instead of going straight back to reality, I have one last fun stop before I head back and need to find a job. The Olympics!!!! I’m going to get to see Olympic gymnastics in person! And even though I’ll still have to watch the finals on TV, I’ll get to be IN London, right where all the action is happening. Plus I’ll get to hang out with Suzy again, and she can meet Stewart. Suzy was the one who helped me realize that Stewart needed to be purchased.

So that’s what’s new in my life. Today I took the ferry over to Manly and walked around, then had my last quickie dumpling session with Cheryl. Tomorrow I’m moving to the outback! The ACTUAL outback, as in the place in the world that the horrible chain steakhouse is based on. I’m excited and nervous as well. Moving to a new place in the world where I have no friends, plus I have to learn a new job. I hope it’ll be fun, and I really hope that I can save up some money. Now that Europe’s been thrown into the mix, I have to be a bit more cautious about funds.

No mobile phone service for me until I’m back in Sydney. Based on what I understand I will have internet though. Gosh I hope that’s accurate. Not so much because I’m a princess who can’t live without it, but I need to keep my blogs coming – plus I need to plan my backpacking journey around Australia, my New Zealand the Sequel trip, and this freshly tacked-on sojourn in Europe.

Wish me luck in the outback! Just checked the weather in Alice Springs, which is where I’m flying into. It was 42 degrees Celsius  today – that’s about 107 F for us Americanos. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice J

Christmas, New Year's & the Final Stretch

“Once upon a time somebody ran - 
Somebody ran away saying as fast as I can
 - I got to
go - 
I got to go - Once upon a time we fell apart - 
You're holding in your 
hands 
the two halves of my heart - Once upon a time 
we weren't right - 

All we ever seemed to do is fight - 
On and on -  
And on and on and on - Once 
upon a time on the same side
 - Once upon a time on the same side in the same game

 - Why'd you have to go
 - Have to go and throw it all in my face - I could've been a
 princess, you'd be a king
 - Could have had a castle and wore a ring - 
But no
 - You 
let me go - 
I could've been a princess, you'd be a king
 - Could have had a castle and wore 
a ring
 - But no
 - You let me go - You stole my star
 - La la la la la
la
 - You stole my star
 - La la la la la la - 'Cause you really hurt me

 - Oh you really hurt me - 
'Cause you really hurt me
 - Oh you really hurt me
 - 'Cause
 you really hurt me
 - Oh you really hurt me
 - 'Cause you really hurt me - 
You really
 hurt me”

Day 24 Continued – Travel Up North – So I left you all last sitting at the airport in Queenstown, waiting to head up north for Christmas. A whole week of not running around the country being a tourist! I was pretty pumped. The flight was good, I was very excited to finally get on Air New Zealand, as I’m sure I’ve already mentioned. They even had All Blacks (their rugby team that won the world cup) themed snacks on board, which was pretty awesome. So where was I headed exactly? My friend Steen, who I met at surf camp, happened to be kind of moving to New Zealand when I was traveling around there, so I somehow luckily fell into getting invited to crash someone else’s family Christmas J. So he picked me up at the airport, and then we drove up north maybe like an hour and 45 minutes to where his family lives. I was falling asleep in the car, so I bought one of those silly energy drinks about halfway through the ride, which resulted in me being wide awake until about 5 am. Let that be a life lesson to you all. Don’t ever drink red bull type things in the evening if you plan on actually going to sleep any time in the next 8 hours. Yikes. Not my smartest move ever.

Day 25 – Merry Christmas! – While it’s certainly strange that Christmastime is….um… summer in this part of the world, it’s kind of fun. It was a nice warm day, as opposed to the usual which is me shaking when I am forced to go outside to get into the car to go out to eat. We took his Grandmother’s dog for a walk in the morning, which was sort of a major life event for me, since it was the first time I ever added a SMALL dog to the list of dog breeds that I wouldn’t mind owning one day. She was a King Charles Spaniel, and SO freakin adorable. Like heart-melting adorable. I very much enjoyed having that dog around all day. We went for a ride around the area at one point during the day, and then also went to the beach. Yes, the beach. I went to the beach on Christmas day. Did any of YOU out there do that??? Ha! I didn’t go all the way in the water (too lazy to put on a bathing suit), but I went in as far as I could. The water wasn’t too bad actually, much nicer than the frigid waters of the South Island where I had just come from. Spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out on the porch, then had dinner, which was super yummy AND did NOT consist of instant noodles. The rumors must be true then, real people actually DO eat things other than instant noodles! It’s fascinating. I was mesmerized by all the fruits and vegetables and meats and other non-noodle things. Good stuff. Desert was yummy as well, and then when the family opened up all of their gifts, “Santa” was nice enough to get me a couple of things as well. That was very sweet and much appreciated. Santa found me, even all the way in Ruakaka, New Zealand. He must be a smart guy. Once it got dark a bunch of us headed to the beach with some wine and had a little bonfire for a bit. That was pretty cool. Never actually had a fire on the beach before. All in all, a very nice Christmas. Sure beat the heck out of my alternate plan, which either would have been a Christmas Day Chicken McNuggets Value Meal, or perhaps if I was feeling social, a crap Christmas dinner with whoever else had nowhere real to go at one of the local hostels. I liked my plan better. I got to play with a puppy and open presents. Woo hoo!

Day 26 – Boxing Day – For us, the 26^th is just the day after Christmas, but in a lot of the world, Boxing Day is a holiday as well, which was kind of cool for me. My first Boxing Day! It was a lovely day again, and although we did some errands and stuff, my mind was back in Queens for a lot of the day. Why? Think New Yorkers, what happened last December 26^th? It snowed. A lot. I tried to get to work. So very hard.  I waited an hour and a half for the Q28, only to have the 7 train stop at Citi Field and then go no further. I walked home 5 miles. In 3 feet of snow. On an empty, growling stomach. That was Boxing Day last year. Boxing Day this year was spent partially in the jungle. I wore a summer dress. The sun was out. HA I say to the snow that tried to deflate my spirits last year, I have emerged victorious! You may have near destroyed me last year, but this year you will not! I will dance around in my flip flops on the bright green grass, singing songs of your defeat! OK, that’s the end of my rant at the weather, I promise. Last December 26^th was just a really super rotten day. A snow day that shall live in infamy. The day I walked home from Citi Field in the snow.

I don’t remember exactly what the heck I did with myself all day, but at one point Steen went to go check out his new house/apartment/flat whatever you want to call it, so I went along for the ride. Now I knew that in coming to New Zealand I’d get to be in Middle Earth, which I was really excited about. I got to walk through Mordor to Mount Doom, drove by film crews filming the Hobbit, and every 10 minutes the bus driver seemed to be pointing out another location that appeared in Lord of the Rings. But I most certainly did NOT expect to be submerged in Lost. Yes that’s right, not only did I find myself plopped right in the middle of Frodo’s world, I also ended up in what looked like the infamous Island. The new residence wasn’t too far off the main street, but it was up a long gravel road that sort of terminated in the jungle. It was an amazing little summer cottage, complete with a 60s style caravan painted in crazy bright colors, hitched permanently to the end of the porch. There was a path through the jungle behind the caravan that led up to a cliff overlooking the ocean. Totally like being in Lost. It was awesome! Very rustic though. Despite being not too far from a regular road with paved streets and everything, this was a rustic little hippie hut. Rustic, as in no indoor shower. Outdoor shower instead, with hot water heated by a gas bottle. And the long drop. More commonly known to us Americanos as an outhouse. Yes, that’s right. An outhouse. The kind of toilet that separates the men from the boys, the prissy squealy girls from the chicks who just roll with the punches. You haven’t lived until you’ve had to use an outhouse in the jungle. You simply have not lived! But I was pretty excited about getting to hang out at the place for a few days. I only wished I had not left my Lost DVDs back in Sydney!

Day 27 – Move In Day – Day 27 was spent doing the type of stuff that seems super boring when compared to sky diving and hang gliding and canyoning and glacier tramping and all that stuff, but sometimes one needs a break and the boring stuff is nice. Sort of a little taste of living like a regular human again. Went food shopping to stock up the new residence, and I bought a bunch of bottles of coke, knowing that for the first time in a month I could safely store them in a non-communal refrigerator, where some idiot might snag one. I bought myself a gallon of milk. Even some juice. Bought eggs and sausages and all sorts of food that are NOT instant noodles. It was quite exciting for me.  Helped buy some odds & ends for the house, like sponges and cleaner and whatnot. All very basic stuff, but seeing as I have lived like a backpacker since July, this was kind of fun. A little taste of the real world again. We started cleaning up the little house, which was quite a chore since no one had been there in quite a spell. I decided to tackle the long drop. Ever attempted to clean out an outhouse that hasn’t been used in ages? It’s kind of scary. There were some bugs in there who dfinitely were not please with the presence of a meddlesome human. But all in all it was a fun day. I don’t mind cleaning when I’m away from home, it’s just AT home that my incredible laziness seems to kick in…

Day 28-30 – Chillaxin! – I grouped these all together because none of these days were particular standouts, and although they were definitely enjoyable they all sort of blended together in my head. I uploaded my previous blog entry, which took ages since the internet was a bit spotty. I posted photos on facebook. Watched tons of movies. Did some stuff around town. Went for a few local walks (and got bitten up by the local bugs…) Caught up on my journal. Even actually…wait for it!... read a BOOK. Yes, an actual book. For the first time since I left home, I finally had the time to read a book. It was glorious. I also got to sleep a lot. Sleeping is my favorite activity in the world, and I had not had much of it since arriving in New Zealand. I was happy to finally not have to wake up at the crack of dawn every day to load my bag on the bus and zoom off to the next activity that would cost me $300 plus an additional $50 for pictures.

Day 31 – New Year’s Eve 2012 – The plans for New Years were sort of up in the air until the last minute, there was talk of a boat somewhere, talk of a bar, talk of a party, but in the end laziness won, and we just kind of stayed in. I bought myself some cider and some sort of malt liquor stuff that I decided must be had since the packaging was pink. Went up through the jungle to the top of the hill for midnight, which we rang in according to Vodafone time with champagne and sparklers and music blaring in the background. There were fireworks on the beach below, which while I’m sure didn’t compare to the spectacle that took place 2 hours later in Sydney, were kind of fun nevertheless. I called people at midnight, not really caring what time it was back in their time zone. I’m super glad that I got to spend my New Year’s Eve in New Zealand. We got to 2012 first!!!!

Day 32 – New Year’s Day – Another lazy day, which consisted of about 7 episodes of the Dollhouse (which confused the hell out of me), and me slowly (emphasis on the slowly) packing up my stuff to go back down south to Queenstown. I think we did go somewhere at some point. I do vaguely remember getting in the car and going somewhere. Four Square maybe? I can’t even remember anymore. Went to bed fairly early. Doing nothing makes you tired man!

Day 33 – Back to Queenstown – My flight back down to the bottom of New Zealand left at about 2 in the afternoon so I bid my friend and my week of slothness a fond adieu, and I was at my hostel in Queenstown by about 5. It was a snazzy little place, brand new, with 2 plugs at EACH bed. Seriously, that’s a big deal. Do you know how Darwinian it gets when you are sharing a room with 5 other people, and there are 2 plugs??? And EVERYONE has a phone, a computer, and an ipod, plus lots of stupid girls have hair dryers and straighteners too. You have to sometimes be ruthless to get your stuff charged. But not at Adventure Queenstown! Good for them. I give them an A+. I was going to get the famous Fergburger for dinner, but the line just to order was about 15 minutes, and then it would be an additional hour to actually have the burger in my hands. I ended up with Thai takeout on the hostel balcony instead. They cooked it up in 5 minutes, which was a much more acceptable wait time.

Day 34 – Mt.Cook – I got back on the Stray bus on the morning of my 34^th day in New Zealand. The new driver’s name was Rob. He was ok, but he wasn’t Whales, which meant that I didn’t care for him much. We drove over to Mt. Cook, which is New Zealand’s highest peak. We stayed in the little mountain village at the food of the mountain range, which was absolutely gorgeous. From the balcony of our hostel room, we had an amazing view of a glacier huddled on the side of a mountain. It really was quite sexy:

I went jet boating for my activity. The glacier is melting, and the meltwater started forming a lake back in the 1970s. When pieces of the glacier break off, it creates icebergs floating in the lake, which is pretty cool. Here’s the walk to the lake:

And here is our guide explaining some stuff to us from our little jetboat:

Those icebergs were pretty awesome. I’ve never been in a boat surrounded by icebergs before. I’ll never let go Jack, I’ll never let go! Sorry – couldn’t resist J

The tour included dinner and a glass of wine, which was quite nice. It also included a free 3D movie at the local Alpine Center, which is located in the village’s 5 star hotel. Oh man. I wish Stray could have hooked us up with that place instead. Not that Mt. Cook Backpackers was bad or anything… but it wasn’t quite a posh as the 5-star place J.

Day 35 – Rangitata – On the morning of Day 35 we drove to Rangitata, which is one of New Zealand’s best places to raft. Up until I almost drowned river surfing in Queenstown, I had been looking forward to rafting. Now all this talk of grade 5 rapids and boats flipping over was starting to scare the crap out of me. Rangitata isn’t a baby rafting trip. Rapids go from grade 1 through grade 7, with grade 6 and 7 being essentially unraftable. So grade 5 is pretty much as scary as you can get without putting your life in danger. Rangitata had 2 grade 5 sections, one 50 meters long with 2 separate 6 foot drops, and the second one just a long sh*t show of rapids, stretching for 350 meters. I prayed that the boat wouldn’t flip. The guide said that they don’t always flip, but it does happen often enough that every boat is taught what to do in case we were to find ourselves upside down.  My friend Suzy, who was at Rangitata a week before I went, flipped over when she went rafting. Yikes.

Here is us going through a baby rapid, maybe a grade 2. I am in the light blue helmet in the back, next to the guide, a spot which I thoroughly enjoyed. If things got scary, at least I was right next to the only person on the boat who knew what they were doing.

Here is our guide screaming at the top of his lungs, leading the charge into the first grade 5. I like this picture, it reminds me of scenes in war movies where the leader hoists his weapon into the air and yells at the top of his lungs, letting the troops know that it’s time to head off into battle:

This next one is my absolute favorite photo from rafting though, because you cannot see anyone in the photo at all, just all the paddles going every which way. And yet somehow, we were all actually in there, and the boat didn’t flip over. We emerged right side up, ironically only losing the guide, who cracked some girl’s paddle when he went flying out at the bottom. I also smashed my face into the woman sitting in front of me, but other than that we were all good:

After the scary rapids were all over, we got to float a bit, lazy river style. I liked that very much:

So in the end, I survived! Didn’t flip and didn’t fall out. Whew! It was fun though. The grade 5’s were super SUPER scary, but the 2’s and 3’s were just fun. I look forward to going rafting with my aunt in the Grand Canyon. She promised she would take me, and after reading this, I have NO doubt that she will follow through.

Day 36 – Kaikoura – Day 36 was essentially my last day of being a real tourist. This was the last stop on the bus tour before we basically just pressed full steam ahead back up to Auckland. Kaikoura was a spot I was very much looking forward to though. My first giant disappointment of the trip was when I didn’t get to swim with the dolphins up in the Bay of Islands, and Kaikoura was my 2^nd chance at it. Kaikoura is a hotbed for marine mammals, something to do with an underwater canyon and currents converging. Basically there are a bunch of different whale species, tons of dolphins, and fur seals hanging out all over the place.  As soon as we got to Kaikoura, I jumped off the bus to get ready for my seal snorkel. Threw the wetsuit on, then took a mini van to a boat, where we got in the water by a giant rock with dozens of them chilling out. We weren’t allowed to get too close to the rock or touch the seals, but as long as they wanted to come in the water and play it was all good. Here are some seals sitting on a rock:

And here is my new best friend, giving me a funny look under water:

He even waved at me!

It was a great time. I’ve never been anywhere before where swimming with wild seals was an option. It’s a very cool experience, although that water was quite nippy!  They gave us wetsuit hoods though to help combat the cold, which was interesting. Never been in a hood before. I wish I had gotten a picture of me in it, I looked like a little space alien. On the boat ride back to shore we even saw a penguin, who put on a bit of a show for us by dramatically scratching his belly, which was pretty cool.

Back at the hostel, which was a lovely little place called the Fish Tank lodge (it was themed! Fish themed! I LOVE themed stuff!!!!!!!), I ate Thai takeout for dinner again. I got lazy with the food preparation towards the end of the trip. It’s naughty though, buying dinner adds up if you do it every day. Plus if I was going to buy dinner, I really should have bought something non-noodle based. But that’s what happens when you budget travel. You get so used to noodles, that even when you have the option to eat something else, you still end up choosing old faithful.

Day 37 – Dolphins to Wellington – My alarm went off at 4:50 am. Let’s stop here for a moment, and just take a minute to process that. Yeah. 4:50 am. I rolled out of bed, grabbed my pre-packed bag, and hustled down to the dolphin swim center, where I arrived just as they opened the doors at 5:20 am. Not only is the best time to swim with the dolphins at the crack of dawn, but it was also the only time available that would suit the bus schedule, without me having to hop off the bus and stay an extra night, which wasn’t an option for my schedule. So up I was, in a wetsuit and leaping into the icy water at like 6:30 am. They had warned us that the boat ride might be a little rough. The Bay of Islands is a bay, not open water, so the boat ride is smooth. This is basically open ocean, so sea sickness becomes an issue. I did ok, although the small child sitting next to me puked into a bucket, which was fun. I didn’t feel great, but I think part of that was simply because I was exhausted. I could not fall asleep the night before, maybe from being excited. I was also seething mad at Vodafone, since I had to top up my mobile phone yet AGAIN the night before, after swearing on New Year’s Eve that I had given Vodafone their last dime from me. Regardless, I was painfully tired on the boat, but once you get into the water you do kind of wake up a bit.

We went swimming with Dusky dolphins, which are a southern hemisphere only species. They are also the most acrobatic of all dolphin species, which is amazing. These guys are constantly jumping and leaping and flipping. They did some complicated moves too. I saw a few back flips with full twists. They are quite talented, those Dusky dolphins! Here is a new friend I made:

And another friend as well!

We were told that in order to amuse the dolphins (who will swim away if they get bored with us), we should spin around in circles, dive down deep, and make crazy noises into the snorkel. I did the spinning thing at one point, and got into a competition with one. He swam in circles and I spun in the middle. Guess who won? I started getting nauseous and gave up, and then the dolphin got bored and left. I guess we didn’t bond as much as I though we had? It seemed like a special moment on my end…

We were given the chance of 3 swims, although I was very much done after the 2^nd swim, so I stayed on the boat when we moved to the 3^rd location. I was starting to not feel well, but I had a great time on the boat for the 3^rd swim anyway, taking pictures of them flipping around and stalking the boat:

We were done with the whole thing and back at the dolphin center by 8:50 am, where I then zoomed back to the hostel to get on the Stray bus and start the long journey back to Auckland. What a morning! We were in Kaikoura for less than 20 hours, but I sure as hell made the most of it! We drove up to Picton, where we then got on the 3 hour ferry ride to Wellington. I walked around Wellington for a bit, then collapsed in bed. Long day!

Day 38 – Wellington to Rotorua – There isn’t much to say about this day. I got McDonald’s breakfast, but they forgot to put cheese on my sausage McMuffin. We stopped on the drive to Rotorua at Tongarira National Park and Lake Taupo, so the drive was a bit of a trip down memory lane. We were on the bus from about 9 am until 5 pm, when I got off at the YHA in Rotorua. I had instant noodles and a spoonful of peanut butter for dinner. That’s pretty much it.

Day 39 – Rotorua to Auckland – I got up early and dragged myself in the rain to McDonalds, because I really wanted to have a sausage McMuffin done properly, with the cheese on it. They got it right in Rotorua. We then stopped around 10:30 am in Matamata, where I got a Subway breakfast sandwich. I was very naughty with the fast food breakfasts towards the end of the trip. Very naughty indeed.

We got to Auckland around 1:30, and I hopped off the Stay bus for the last time…until April. Yeah. Have I announced this yet on the blog? I can’t remember. Anyway, halfway through the north island, I decided I was going to come back. There is too much left I’d like to do, so I’m planning on another 2 weeks in April. Woo hoo! So that made saying goodbye to NZ a bit easier. It wasn’t really goodbye, more of a peace out, catch ya a bit later instead. Anyway, I finally took a walk around Auckland:

I also did some souvenir shopping, some outdoor gear shopping, and then took myself out to dinner for asian food, just as I did on my first night in Auckland. My hostel room only had one other girl in it, so I had a nice, quiet evening.

Day 40 – Sydney, I’m a comin’! – Woke up at 5 am, was at the airport at 6, and mixed it up this time, buying Burger King breakfast instead of McDonalds. Can you die from eating sausage egg & cheese muffins every morning for days on end? I hope not… Anyway, the flight left on time, and before we landed in Sydney we got an amazing overview of the city, flying right over the opera house and harbour bridge, plus we flew right over my old neighborhood. I caught my old K-mart and local park from the sky. So 2 weeks in Sydney now, and then…. Off to the Outback! And no, I don’t mean the steakhouse…

Final thoughts on New Zealand? Wow. It really is an amazing place, and it’s majestic beauty certainly is not overrated. I had an incredible time, and although it wasn’t all peaches and cream, there are only a handful of really sh*t times that come to mind. I mean, I certainly didn’t enjoy almost drowning in Queenstown, or almost destroying my computer getting caught in the rain in Paihia, but for the most part, it was really quite special, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it.

In the event you were wondering, this entry is flanked by the lyrics to 2 songs that I picked up in New Zealand, and then listened to over and over again. I spent a lot of time on the bus, so naturally I listened to a lot of music. These two songs ended up being my favorites, and will forever remind me of my (first) incredible journey through Middle Earth.

“This is not the end - This is not the beginning, - Just a voice like a riot - Rocking every revision - But you listen to the tone - And the violent rhythm - Though the words sound steady - Something empty's within 'em - We say Yeah! - With fists flying up in the air - Like we're holding onto something - That's invisible there, - 'Cause we're living at the mercy of - The pain and the fear - Until we dead it, Forget it, - Let it all disappear. - Waiting for the end to come - Wishing I had strength to stand - This is not what I had planned - It's out of my control....Flying at the speed of light - Thoughts were spinning in my head - So many things were left unsaid - It's hard to let you go... (Oh!) I know what it takes to move on, - I know how it feels to lie, - All I wanna do Is trade this life for something new - Holding on to what I haven't got - Sitting in an empty room - Trying to forget the past - This was never meant to last, - I wish it wasn't so...(Oh!) I know what it takes to move on, - I know how it feels to lie, - All I wanna do Is trade this life for something new - Holding on to what I haven't got - What was left when that fire was gone? - I thought it felt right but that right was wrong - All caught up in the eye of the storm - And trying to figure out what it's like moving on - And i don't even know what kind of things I've said - My mouth kept moving and my mind went dead - So, picking up the pieces, now where to begin? - The hardest part of ending Is starting again!! - All I wanna do Is trade this life for something new -Holding on to what i haven't got... - This is not the end - This is not the beginning, - Just a voice like a riot - Rocking every revision - But you listen to the tone - And the violet rhythm - Though the words sound steady - Something empty's within 'em - (Holding on to what i haven't got) - We say Yeah! - With fists flying up in the air - Like we're holding onto something - That's invisible there, - 'Cause we're living at the mercy of - The pain and the fear - Until we dead it, Forget it, - Let it all disappear - (Holding on to what i haven't got!)”