NZ- Piha

It's been two weeks and due to lack of Internet and a surplus of adventures, I've had no time to update. At some point, I'll go back to update (hopefully) but since its almost midnight I decided to just start with today. :) 

Ok, so maybe a brief summary. Last Sunday, my friend Jamie flew into Auckland and met up with me in Hawkes Bay. We toured the area, drove to Taupo with several friends, and went skiing. Jamie and I then took a bus to Wellington where we toured then caught a ferry to Picton to begin our four day, 70+km trek through the Marlborough Sounds on the Queen Charlotte Track. It was incredible. Yesterday, we flew from Wellington to Auckland where we met up with Jamie's friend, Camilla. We stayed up late talking but finally went to sleep.

This morning, Jamie and I slept in and had a leisurely morning as we got ready for the day. Camilla was so gracious to leave us her car and walked to work. This meant we could go see a place called Piha, a black sand beach about an hour outside the city. Having some experience now, I was very comfortable driving her manual car on the opposite side of the road. But it was sooooo nice to have someone help read me the directions!! 

Since we don't have constant Internet on our phones, we've figured out a good system of finding directions while we have wifi, take a screen shot, and voila...directions. Easy as. (New zealanders stick "as" onto everything...the most common being "sweet as" :) )

Piha was absolutely beautiful. The day was overcast and misty, but it added quite a contrast to the black sand and volcanic rock. We spent a few hours walking along the beach, exploring a section that was only available during low tide, and taking plenty of pictures. New Zealand is just so picturesque, and yet the pictures will never capture its true beauty.

Obligatory jumping pic. Don't worry Auntie, I've been taking plenty. They're just on my fancy camera so you'll see them once I can upload them to a computer. :)

After exploring, we were both cold, a little wet, and very hungry so we set off to find the Piha Cafe that had been recommended. As I pulled over to ask someone, he pointed to a shack and said that was the only cafe, if you could call it that, in Piha. I was a bit doubtful, but he seemed to know what he was talking about so we got out and decided to give it a go. I ordered a burger (it wasn't very good) and Jamie a quesadilla (which was realllly messy...but tasted much better). After driving back home, we learned that there really is a proper cafe! Certainly not the shack we went to. Apparently some locals aren't always the best source. :)

When Camilla came home from work, we spent the evening chatting and making a really delicious dinner of quinoa, spinach, feta, nuts, and roasted pumpkin (a staple veggie here) and Kumara (in US terms...sweet potato). Yum. 

I am currently in bed, ready to be lulled to sleep by the gentle patter of rain. 

Good night.

Brisbane- calm before the storm

The past few days have returned to "normal" except in a new house!!! Well it's actually a very old house, but new for the Wetherstons.

A new house means new places to run and new views, but it also means no Internet for a couple weeks. So my new hangout has been a coffee shop called "The Coffee Club." It's literally a 5 minute walk from their house. The past few afternoons I've spent a few hours updating the blog and working on lesson plans (this trip has been productive as well!!) The people who work here totally know who I am now. :)

Besides working, I've also gone for a run:

Rugby field

Took the kids to a park, "splashed" in puddles aka. Clover:

Saw a baby gecko:

Worked out with my personal trainer and played scrabble a few nights. South Africa took the lead, America came second (almost first the second round), and Australia followed third. Scrabble ended up being very entertaining the first night, due to a few blonde moments of course. Today I ate passion fruit ...the actual fruit...for the first time! Very yum.

Tomorrow starts the second half of my Oceania Adventures as I fly to New Zealand for a month. Here comes skiing, road trips, and some incredible scenery!!! :)

Cairns- figs and gillies

Friday morning proved to be crisp, clear, and sunny. 

I walked from "my house" to the Whittons for a delicious breakfast and coffee. After relaxing and chatting, Jo took me into town (and by town, I mean one street of shops...toto, this isn't LA! :) ). It was fun to walk around and see the old cinema which still had wooden benches as seats, an antique gas pump which only charged a few cents per liter (unfortunately it doesn't work anymore), and a few shops which sold your typical necessities alongside a few locals' merchandise (local beef, fruit, or crafty items).

We drove back to the house, picked up the kids and began a last minute, whirlwind tour before I had to leave for the airport. We started at a lake where we saw a red belly black snake (extremely deadly) sunning.

We also visited a massive curtain fig tree. It's really, really beautiful and has an interesting trait. The Curtain Fig Tree is part of the strangler fig species Ficus virens (I know you were dying to know that!) but the interesting part is that the fig tree starts by growing on a different tree and tries to grow roots in the ground. Once this is completed, the fig tree will grow vigorously, finally killing the host tree. In this particular case, the host tree began leaning on another tree and as the fig tree grew around that one too it left a curtain of aerial roots. This particular fig tree is one of the largest in North Queensland. I took several pictures with my fancy camera but since I don't have a computer at present, I'll show an example from the Internet.

We rushed back home, grabbed a meat pie for lunch:

Then I said my goodbyes and set off for Cairns Airport. The route I took was no ordinary route. It is called the Gillies Range and consists of 263 corners, and 800 meters elevation change in only 19km of road. In other words, you are constantly turning the steering wheel while breaking into yet another turn. It was quite the experience!! The views were incredible...when I dared to glance away from the windy road...but I started getting really nervous when I glanced at my fuel gauge and realized I was nearing on empty! There certainly weren't any gas stations along the Gillies road so I took advantage of my neutral gear and hoped that my little manual had really good gas mileage so as to make it to the bottom. 

My sweet Hyundai made it just fine and I had the pleasure of experiencing a fuel station in a different country. First off, you don't pay at the beginning. That was an odd feeling. Then I was surprised at how little fuel my car took. I had no idea as to how many liters it might require so 30 seconds later when my pump stopped and I was only at $50 (I had driven a LOT), I figured it had stopped prematurely so I put in more fuel only to have it stop right away! I knew I definitely had enough to get to Cairns so I paid for my fuel, opened the wrong door to get back into my car, laughed, entered through the right door and sure enough my tank was full! I probably shouldn't be so surprised, but for some reason, knowing that fuel prices are so much more expensive, I expected to pay twice as much. A pleasant surprise. :)

The rest of the afternoon went smoothly. When I arrived in Cairns, I put $2 more into the tank (the guy at the register thought that was funny and called me a "big spender"), returned to my car, found my flight, arrived safely in Brisbane, and took the train to a different station since the Wetherstons had moved while I was away. A slight hiccup came when I took the first train one station too far. Had to hop on a train going back to central, then took the correct train to my new station. 

The new house is amazing!! It's an old Queenslander which has been raised to become two stories. The bottom floor is new, but was built to match the upstairs. My favorite room is a sun room in which windows surround the room and can be opened during the day to let in fresh air while still being sheltered by a roof. Perfect for reading. 

After receiving the grand tour, it was fun to catch up with Liz and Lyle before crashing for the night.

Cairns- scenic route

Thursday morning was my last morning with the Ottosens. After breakfast, I said my goodbyes and began my trek to Malanda. Once again, I had printed out directions and was able to make it out of Cairns in the right direction, but once again, I went too far after somehow missing a very important turn. Fortunately, there was another route I had seen on my map but this meant I was going to be driving an hour longer and wouldn't make it on time to meet up with the family before they left for a lake. Fortunately again, I never got frustrated and was happy to drive the longest way possible to Malanda. I think it helps that driving on the left side and encountering roundabouts is still a novelty and I was able to see more of Australia. It became quite overcast and misty as I drove, but I learned that is normal in those parts. What I could see was gorgeous. Vast green fields, palm trees, and lush tropical forests lined the country road.

When I arrived in Malanda, I texted Jo (Joanna..who I'd be staying with) just to let her know I was close. She immediately called me and said she was running late and could meet me in town. There wasn't room to drive with her but it was so nice to follow someone and not have to question whether I was going the right way. 

The event at the lake was a birthday party for her son. Several boys ranging 9 to 17 had come armed with nerf guns. The only problem was the weather. It had been sunny for weeks but of course today was the rainy day providing wet picnic tables and bbq's. 

One boy came to the rescue when he suggested relocating to their house. They have a great yard and his mom has ten kids and is very flexible and hospitable! When she said it was ok, we hopped back into our cars and met up at the house. It was perfect. The adults had a nice warm kitchen to hangout in and the kids had a great time with their nerf gun wars. 

The drive to their house:

My coffee at the house!! Yummm:

Jo and I:

Not his birthday candles...haha:

After the party, we all drove to a crater. There are several dormant volcanoes in this area. 

Boys are the same no matter what country: they like to throw big rocks from high places. Since this was a fun activity, there were no more rocks at the crater so they found a few from the house and brought them along. When they threw them into the crater (filled with water) it sounded like a bomb had gone off!! Really fun. :)

I also realized I could do a panoramic shot vertically. It doesn't show up correctly here but if you tilt your head you'll see it:

From here we also stopped by Malanda Falls. We looked for Tree Kangaroos (a real animal! Look them up, they're kinda cute) but didn't see any. 

Driving around:

We also saw Milla Milla falls:

They were so beautiful! (I have more pics on my fancy camera but will add later)

I was also introduced to the Thermomix. It is seriously amazing! It can do and cook almost anything in impressive times and is made really well! You can't buy it in the states though because Vitamix is making it very difficult to do so. :)

Our snack which was prepared in minutes: organic, natural sugar, berries, and egg whites.

Rapadura:

Berries:

Egg whites:

So yum!!!!

That night, we dropped off a boy near Milla Milla and after dinner we sat down and got to know each other. Another great family! 

I actually slept in my own house that night because Jo's parents live a few doors down and had graciously said they could host me...even though they were out of town. I have been so spoiled this entire trip! 

Cairns- hi Nemo

Wednesday morning started early as I needed to be at the harbor by 7:30. Wilsy was kind enough to provide breakfast and drop me off. First, I rented an underwater camera which turned out to be the best idea ever! Then I found my boat with SeaStar tours. Another great find. The boat was smaller and there were about 35 people total, allowing for more personal interactions and a faster ride to our locations. After receiving coffee, our fins and snorkel gear, we set off for Michaelmas Cay (a small sand island in the reef). I spent most of the hour ride in the very front of the boat, enjoying the wind in my face and morning sun glistening on the ocean. We had a very culturally diverse crew. The driver was Australian but the rest were from England, New Zealand, Brazil, and even North Carolina! I chatted a little with him but mostly enjoyed the view.

When we reached the island, we suited up in wetsuits, fins, and mask/snorkels. I grabbed my camera, jumped in, and began swimming with fish and coral of every color and massive clams too. A couple of the crew gave tours so I followed one around to learn more about these fascinating creatures. I saw and felt a sea slug, learned about soft and hard coral, apparently Nemo has over 40 cousins (types of clownfish) so I saw a few cousins and one real one, and at one point our guide (from North Carolina) said he was going to swim down and put his arm in the clam which would cause it to close. He needed someone to volunteer to swim down and "pull him out". When no one volunteered he chose me and began his descent. I waited till the clam had closed around his arm and dove in. But as I dove a fin came off my foot! I tried to keep swimming down but with a buoyant wetsuit and only one fin I soon ran out of air and had to go up...without saving him. Note to self, don't join a rescue team. :) (in case you're worried, he swam back up just fine)

During the hour and a half, I swam and swam constantly taking pictures and enjoying the immense variety of the Reef. At one point I even saw a Sting Ray! It was really fun to watch as it rippled and swept over the sandy ocean floor.

We boarded the ship, had lunch, then headed to our second destination: Hastings Reef, part of the outer reef.

During this snorkel, I felt braver in exploring and diving more to get closer to the fish and coral. I have several photos and videos but probably won't be able to post them for awhile. The highlight came at the very end. Everyone had talked about how fun it is to see Sea Turtles. I hadn't really given it a second thought but then realized, when else would I get to swim with a sea turtle so I prayed and told God it would be fun to see a turtle. Chances weren't too high, but sure enough, at the end of my snorkel I turned around and swimming a couple feet below was a Sea Turtle!! I was ecstatic and kept following it around, occasionally diving down so I could swim beside it. (What a fun answered prayer!) It was so chill...totally like in Nemo. :)  Reluctantly, I swam back as they called us in. 

I had to stay inside as we drove back because the waves were soaking the deck. The boat driver had teased me at one point (one of my blonde moments), was really friendly, and let me sit in the "cockpit" (not sure what they call them on boats) on the ride back so I could see how the boat was driven. He wouldn't let me drive it for some reason. :) 

I loved every minute of the Reef and even though the sections we saw are tame compared to other "untouched" locations, I can easily see why it is one of the natural wonders of the world. Such an amazing experience!!!!

When we reached Cairns, I walked around the city to find a thank you gift for my hosts then met them back at the harbor. Originally, I had planned on driving to Malanda (about 1.5 hours) that night. But being tired from the day and since it was getting dark, I decided to postpone till the next morning. 

Once again, this turned out to be best. You'll find out why in the next post. :)

After collecting me from the harbor, we picked Ole up from the airport and I was finally able to meet him. We ate out at Nandos then crossed the street to get delicious crepes for dessert! Mmmmmm. When we got home, we caught up on Wimbledon, news, and chatted a bit before crashing.

Cairns- sunset of gold

As indicated in the past post, nothing worked out as planned. But everything worked out wonderfully. Just proof that no matter what we plan, God has better plans and Tuesday was a clear example. I had originally planned to do the Reef trip this day (tuesday) and leave on Wednesday for Malanda. But I had procrastinated in booking a tour to the reef so when I looked to book on Monday (the day before), everything was full for Tuesday. Thus I had to change my plans and visit the reef on Wednesday. Good thing too!! Due to my hectic night and haste to get in the house, I had left a light on in the car...

Tuesday morning was a leisurely one. I was able to sleep in a little, have a restful breakfast while getting to know Wilsy, my host. I had come in contact with them through a friend of a friend so this was our first real chance to introduce ourselves. Wilsy (born in India),  her husband Ole (born in Denmark), and their three children had been missionaries in Papua New Guinea for New Tribes Missions. He is a pilot and had flown a small plane back and forth carting supplies and people. Recently they moved to Cairns so their kids might have a better high school education. She embodies hospitality and I felt so comfortable in their home and enjoyed our conversations. 

I had decided to drive up to Port Douglas for the day so after breakfast I gathered my things, said goodbye, and got into my car. But it wouldn't start. And that's when I saw the light (literally and figuratively) and realized my battery was dead. It was a really good thing I couldn't book a tour for Tuesday because I would've missed my tour! Instead, I had time to call roadside assistance, talk to Wilsy more while I waited, jump start my car, and still have plenty of time for my trip. 

The drive was a beautiful one. Slightly windy and occasionally I would get stuck behind a slow truck, but I was in no hurry and the views were of tropical trees and a rich blue ocean. 

I arrived at half past two with enough time to lay by the ocean for 20 minutes before joining a walking tour I had signed up for. 

I love walking tours because you get a lay of the land while hearing about the history of that place. I learned about the gold rush, the effects of cyclones, about certain plants (one is called Wait Awhile because the barbed leaves make you wait awhile if you ever get snagged), animals (two deadly jellyfish and crocs...fortunately both are not "in season" during winter), and the development of Port Douglas first as a city for gold miners, then as a port for exporting sugar cane, and now as a tourist destination. 

The sun was just about to set when we finished so I grabbed a cup of coffee and found a prime seat on the edge of small park. The sunset was breathtaking. A strip of clouds perfectly placed above a mountain enhanced the sunset as did a crew of men rowing their boat across the lake. I couldn't stop taking pictures with both cameras as the sunset kept changing and posing until the sun had disappeared completely. There were moments I just sat and prayed, praising God for His beautiful creation and for His goodness in allowing me to see it. What a happy, peaceful moment.

My spot:

As the sky darkened, I walked back to my car and drove home, occasionally enjoying the stars. I was greeted warmly with dinner and tea as I recounted my day. Heading to bed at a decent time, I was eager to get rest for my big day tomorrow!