April 22, 2006
Hello,
I just want to start off by mentioning that there is a large update (for the week of April 3) can be found below and an update on Thursday April 14th can be found directly below this update. With that out of the way I will start to catch you up on what I have been doing for the past week and half.
My last update ended with my return to Sydney on Monday April 10th. Tuesday was a normal day at University and I attended classes and tried to get things together and ready for my next departure. Wednesday I attended my class as well, while my family arrived in Sydney and showed themselves around to places they had not yet seen. This was my sister’s first, and only, time to see most of Sydney. On Wednesday night I joined my family at their hotel and we celebrated Passover Sedar together. It was a change from the usual, but very nice nonetheless. Though I do have to say, I really miss my Grandmother’s cooking. On Thursday I attended my last two classes for ten days and then meet my family at the Sydney Harbor Bridge. My whole family and I successfully climbed the Harbor Bridge and had an amazing time (pictures and some details can be found in the update below). After the Bridge Climb I brought my family to campus and my we had a barbeque (or barbie) on the roof of the apartment building in which most of my American friends live in. A bunch of my American friends, who had not left for break yet, came buy and we had a very nice time.
Seven days of non stop traveling started on Friday afternoon. My family spent the morning enjoying Bondi Beach while I packed for the week. In the afternoon we all left the city and went to the airport to catch our flight to Christchurch, New Zealand. With our luck the flight was delayed three hours, after we had arrived two and half hours early. Needless to say we all became quite familiar with the Sydney Airport International Terminal. When we finally got on our plane it was a three hour flight that got us to Christchurch at 3:00 AM local time (New Zealand is two hours ahead of Sydney time). We were all driven to our B & B in downtown Christchurch and enjoyed a few hours of sleep. The B & B we stayed in was very nice and the owners were very welcoming and kind.
Saturday started with a quick breakfast and a quick look at part of Christchurch. Then at noon we were picked up and taken on a ninety minute drive to a place call Akaroa. The drive was absolutely beautiful and our first glimpse at the New Zealand countryside; and plenty of sheep. Once in Akaroa the whole family suited up in wetsuits (a common activity on this trip), and got on a boat to go swimming with the rarest and smallest dolphin in the world; the Hectors or New Zealand Dolphin. Usually the boat stays within Akaroa Harbor and spots dolphins, however because it was getting close to winter we had to drive out into the open ocean to see some dolphins. The landscape, especially along with the beautiful Pacific Ocean, was a real treat in and of itself. In addition we were able to spot several dolphins and got into the water to swim with them. Personally, two dolphins swam very close to me (you are instructed not to touch them, as you may scratch their delicate skin). The real treat was floating, safely, in the Pacific Ocean viewing the beautiful coastline, all while large waves roll over you. Seeing the dolphins was great from the boat, but we were in the water it was almost impossible to spot them among all the waves. After about an hour out on the water the boat headed back into the Harbor and took a hot shower. After making the drive back to our B & B in Christchurch we all went to dinner at a Greek restaurant that is owned by the same couple the runs the B & B we were staying in. The husband, Gustaf, is Greek and he runs a Greek restaurant with his family. It was a great dinner and a fun time, as there was plenty of dancing and music.
Sunday started early as the family all headed to the airport at 8:00 AM to catch our flight to Queenstown. Unfortunately our luck with flights had not changed. Due to fog at the Christchurch Airport our plane had been sent back to Auckland. Therefore our flight was cancelled; just as the fog lifted. We rushed to be put on another flight and after an interesting fifteen minutes we go very lucky and all five of us were put on the next flight to Queenstown at 11:10 AM. The flight to Queenstown only took an hour, but the approach into Queenstown was both unusual and beautiful as we came very close to the mountains the surround the town and landed on a plateau outside the city. After taking a taxi to our accommodations the whole family sat down and while looking through endless brochures discussed what to do with our free afternoon. Mostly because of the enthusiasm of my father it was decided that my father, brother, sister and I would go bungy jumping; and my mother would come watch. We took a bus to the Kawarauo Bridge, which was the first place that bungy jumping, as we know it, happened. It is the original bungy jump and is a suspension bridge that is located 143 feet (43 meters) above a river. This unique location allows for the jumpers to be ‘dunked’ into the water as part of their jump. My father went first, without hesitation, and touched water. Then my sister and my brother, both going straight off and touching water. I was last, and was not too keen on the whole touching water part, though the guy at the top said he couldn’t guarantee me not touching (something about my weight, I don’t know). So I jumped off, with a beautiful dive if I may say so myself, and ended up being dunked the most in the water. I went in up to my chest and then bounced back more than halfway back up to the bridge. It was an amazing experience and I am happy I did it. Now that I have done it, I feel like I could keep on doing it too. Though there are some pictures from the afternoon at the bridge below, the one picture of me jumping and the video of all of our jumps could not be put online. So if you desire to see it, you will have to wait. Well I have to say that bungy jumping was pretty much the highlight of Sunday and the rest of the dinner consisted of dinner and sleeping.
Monday started early, as usual. We all were picked up at 8:00 AM by Dart River Tours and drove 45 minutes along the coast of Lake Wakitipu, the large lake which Queenstown is located on, up to a small town called Glenorchy, which is located at the mouth of the Dart River. After getting suited up in wetsuits, again, we got into what are called jet boats with our group and zoomed up the Dart River for 45 minutes. A jet boat can be described as pretty much the perfect boat. When it is moving it only needs six inches of water drive and can move at great speeds. While the scenery was enough to make the boat trip worth it, the main part of jet boating is when the driver spins the boat around quickly while it is going a top speeds. It was a lot of fun and definitely a different experience. After the jet boat ride we were dropped off on the shore of the Dart River and we started the second part of our day; funyaking. After we all pitched in and inflated our own funyaks, basically an inflatable canoe, we broke into small groups and started back down the Dart River. It was my mother and father in one boat and my brother, sister and I in another. We had caught a unique day to go on the Dart River, as heavy rains the night before had increased the flow of the river from a typical 50 cubic meters per second to approximately 325 cubic meters per second. Thus not only was the river flowing faster but also at a significantly higher level. This allowed us to go down side streams that would normally be impassable. After an hour or so of funyaking we stopped and had a quick lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent leisurely floating downstream and enjoying the view. Several scenes from the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed where we floated by and the scenery was amazing. Eventually we were picked up on the side of the river and driven back to Queenstown after we cleaned up and changed. Once back in Queenstown I still had a lot of energy and so I mobilized the family and we walked over the Queenstown Gondola. The Gondola is a short ride up to the top of a small mountain that is basically in the ‘middle’ of Queenstown. From the top of the mountain the views of the valley and of Queenstown were amazing. On top of the view there was also a ‘luge’ course on the top of the mountain. What is meant by ‘luge’ is a small plastic seat with handle bars that sort of control speed and direction as you go down the track. The track starts higher than the gondola station and ends slightly below the station, so it is not down the whole mountain. The whole family rode the luge twice, one scenic ride and one fast ride, but of course my brother and I raced on both rides. I do not mean to gloat, because I already did plenty of that over the past week, but I easily defeated my brother in both races. After our two luge runs we all head back down the gondola and into town for dinner.
Tuesday, if you haven’t already picked up the pattern, started early at 8:00 AM as well all got up and packed while we waited for our rental car to come. The small SUV we were supposed to get for the five of us and our luggage turned into a twelve person, diesel van. The thing was a behemoth, but it could have been worse, at least with the van we each had our own row of seats! We used the van to drive to the west coast of New Zealand, about three hours drive, to a village port called Milford Sound. The drive took approximately five hours, as well stopped on several occasions to take in the scenery or see some extra attractions. The ride was an amazing drive through a great and changing countryside. We finally arrived in Milford Sound, which is not really even a village really. It basically is just a small motel and information center and a building/dock that houses the boat tour companies. We were going out on an overnight boat tour of Milford Sound. Milford Sound is one of twelve fiords in New Zealand. A fiord is a narrow inlet or arm of the sea bordered by steep cliffs that was formed by moving glaciers during an Ice Age. Normally they are found in places like Norway, but there are twelve found along the west coast of New Zealand and they are absolutely amazing. We boarded our boat, along with sixty other people, and set out on a 45 minute cruise of the sound before we set anchor for the night in Harrison’s Cove; the only place in the sound that is fit for anchoring, as it is the only sheltered place and the only place shallow enough to drop an anchor successfully. Typically in Milford Sound the water is approximately 250 meters (750 feet) deep, with about a 40 foot layer of fresh water on top of the salt water below, with cliffs coming straight out of the water and going straight up 200 to 800 meters (600 to 2,400 feet). After anchoring for the night we were able to go out and kayak for an hour or so. After returning from kayaking my mother was the first of us to jump in the water, it was 12 C (56 F). But when my brother and I got back we both jumped in twice and agreed with our mother; the temperature was both breath taking and heart stopping, but a great experience. The rest of the night consisted of dinner, a slideshow (for the parents) and cards/chess.
After a good night’s sleep the boats engine woke us up at 7:00 AM for breakfast. We soon took up anchor and started to cruise out of Milford Sound for the Tasman Sea. The Tasman Sea had been to rough the night before to go out into, but it had calmed down overnight and was beautifully calm as the sun rose. After going a few kilometers out into the Sea we turned around and headed back up Milford Sound toward the dock. On the way we saw unbelievable landscape, two rainbows and a waterfall that is three times as high as Niagra Falls. It was an amazing boat trip and after it ended we all jumped back into the van and doubled back across the countryside and continued passed Queenstown and onto Dunedin on the east coast. After eight hours of driving, with a few stops for sheep or views, we arrived in Dunedin. Normally Dunedin is a college town (approx. 100,000 pop and a University population of 30,000) it is home to the most prestigious schools in New Zealand. However, it being Easter break not many students were in town. We stayed at a very nice B & B that was an historic house which had just been renovated. The owners were very friendly and were great. After catching our breath we headed out for dinner and then a walk around the center octagon, finally going back to the B & B to sleep.
Thursday started at 8:30 AM as we had a very nice breakfast at the B & B. We all packed up, as we had a busy day of driving before heading to the airport. We had a taxi drive us to Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world, with a height of 47.22 meters, a length of 161.2 meters, an average gradient of 1 in 3.41 and the steepest gradient of 1 in 2.86. The whole family successfully walked up and down the street and were rewarded with certificates of their feat. Next we were dropped off at the top of the Botanical Gardens and slowly made our way through them and then through Otago University until we arrived back at our B & B. Once back we jumped right back in the van and drove on a scenic road out onto a peninsula to the east of Dunedin. The views from the drive were spectacular, but the ultimate goal was to go to see penguins. We took a guided tour of a penguin preserve that is located on the ocean side of the Dunedin Harbor. The preserve is home to some twenty-one pairs of Yellow Eyed Penguins; one of the rarest penguins with numbers of only 4,000 left. The Yellow Eyed Penguin is only about a foot and half tall, but very cute. However, they are highly unsocial and thus there were a series of trenches and lookout boxes for us to use so that they did not know we were there. At first it was a concern that we would not see any penguins, as they do not return to land until dusk, and it was only 3:30 PM. But we got very lucky and ended up seeing seven penguins and one very closely. We saw the penguin they call Robbie as he started to climb up a steep hill side to his nest. Now unfortunately my camera battery died on my while we were there and so I do not have many good pictures of the penguins. My brother, sister and mother do, but I won’t be in possession of those for some weeks. So I have posted my best picture(s) below, but there are better ones coming. After watching penguins for about an hour (and see some sheep very up close) we drove back to Dunedin and had a very nice dinner on the Harbor. This was promptly followed by a trip to the airport, where we finally took a flight without any troubles. We landed in Auckland around 10:30 PM and were driven to our hotel, where we all relaxed and went to sleep.
Friday morning we all woke up to have one last meal together. My brother, sister and I had to leave for the airport at 10:00 AM. My brother and my sister flew through Fiji to New York, while I flew directly back to Sydney. I said my good byes to my parents and then to my siblings and was again on my own down under. I returned safely back to St. John’s Friday afternoon and spent the rest of the day cleaning, unpacking, resting and catching up on things. My parents and my siblings all had good flights back the US and made it home safely. I know they all enjoyed there time in Australia and New Zealand, as I enjoyed spending it with them.
I do not have many plans for this week, mostly just hoping to get some work and research done while it is quite so that I don’t have so much work to do later. That and rest. Australia’s (and New Zealand’s) equivalent of Memorial Day, July 4th and Veteran’s Day all rolled into one is this Tuesday and is called ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Allied Corps) Day. It is a huge day and I hope to experience it, along with all its parades and ceremonies. In light of the day I do not have class until Wednesday, thought plenty of work to do.
I hope to try and travel somewhere this weekend if I can find the time to plan it and am feeling up to it. Other than that I am still trying to find the time to plan the rest of my trips during the semester, as well as, my trip to Asia at the end of the semester. Since this has been so long and it is getting late here, I am going to say goodbye and write about other things in a later update.
As always I hope that this finds everyone well and in good health. Please feel free to e-mail me, I still love getting e-mails. It is great to be kept up to date and to hear from all of you.
Below are pictures from the last week, I know there are a lot, but this is a small amount of the great pictures I took (over 700 in one week! Thank goodness for digital cameras!).
My love to you all,
Jon
Sarah and I on the Kawarauo Bridge before our jump
The Kawarauo Bridge (notice bungy platform in the middle)
Ben with Lake Wikitipu and the mountains behind him, on the way to jet boat/funyak.
Lake Wikitipu and mountains
Some beautiful fiord.
A rainbow shot in Milford Sound.
A shot of the moutain outside the tunnel on the road to Milford Sound.
