June 7, 2010 at 10:16 pm
2 dry days in the last 21? The last time I experienced weather like this was in Northern California during an El Niño winter that turned resevoirs into oceans and deserts into glaciers. The storms here are just as windy, violent and fierce. Last week we had a tornado in nearby Maroubra. It’s crazy insane and insane crazy!
So I joined two soccer teams: an indoor league at lunch during the week and an outdoor league on Sundays. I’ve been playing weekly in the indoor league although I’m just a sub. Luckily, they’ve needed me for over a month- so long may it last.
Honestly, I’ve been completely sucked into the hype surrounding the World Cup. The US has a tough road ahead of them, but if the Conferderations Cup is any indication, the US is finally a real competitor. I can’t wait for the games to begin.
We finally signed up for ADSL2+ internet. Can you say BT TV downloads, anybody? Steam was released for Mac so I picked up Portal, Half Life 2 and Torchlight, three fantastic games that were- until less than a month ago- Windows only. I’m very excited, although most of my gaming these days is on the iPhone during my morning and evening commutes. I recommend Real Racing, X2 Soccer 2010 and Zenonia all the way. Also, check out HLRB and Hearts- both were made by two of my friends back in California.
So there you have it. Hopefully next month I will have a bit more to write about.
May 7, 2010 at 9:45 am
Note: I have redesigned my website. In case you are reading this elsewhere, these entries are synced from http://mswebby.com. I have added a Flickr syncing feature to the website, which means that photos will no longer be embedded in these posts. If you would like to see photos, check out the website.
Hayley and I were both sick of traveling, so we have stayed around Sydney for the last month. Just after our Sydney to Melbourne road trip, we moved into a new apartment. It is located pretty close to our old apartment, but down the steep hill that leads to the harbour. We have a nice, albeit small, harbor view from our kitchen table and every morning I walk to the ferry wharf to start my commute. The ferry ride rounds a point and opens up into a stunning view of the Harbour bridge and Opera House. I think it is safe to say that this is the best commute that I’ll ever have.
Living at the base of the north shore has its benefits; however, without a car we are at the mercy of public transport. Unfortunately, these options are not nearly as numerous as those on the top of the hill. Ferries depart every half hour to every hour, depending on the time of day. To help get around, I purchased a road bike on eBay Australia. Funnily enough, I arrived at the seller’s apartment to pick up the bike and they were from Chicago! After two years in Bondi, they had decided to move back to the States and were selling off their goods on eBay. It is a very nice bike, almost brand new, and I saved $400 off the sticker price.
Hayley and I boarded the train a few weeks ago for the AFL game at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Unfortunately, my directions took us to ANZ Stadium, which is in the opposite direction. Pretty stupid. Luckily, the Richmond Bulldogs from the National Rugby League were playing that night and we scored free tickets at the gate. NRL, which is a “league” version of the game, has different rules and a more structured feel. I would rather watch AFL, I think.
The next weekend, we attended a show at the Opera House featuring the Australian Chamber Orchestra. The music was fantastic- if there is a resonant frequency in music for bringing tears to the eyes, they know it and use it well. Lucky for me, the operatic singing was a silly distraction from the actual music, so I didn’t shed a tear.
Hayley and I decided to snap some night shots of the city. Please visit my website or my Flickr page to see them.
April 2, 2010 at 10:45 pm
The past few weeks have been incredibly busy. I’ve worked more hours and driven more kilometers than any other month in my life. I finally have some time to kick back and relax- and write a blog entry. This specific article is about our road trip to Melbourne. You may have seen the pictures already on my Flickr page since I uploaded them when we got back from our trip.
Hayley and I rented a car in downtown Sydney and drove it 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to Melbourne. If you look at the Google Map, it doesn’t actually look like we went that far. That just shows how insanely large this country is.
On our first day, we drove the south Sydney coast- known by the New South Wales’ tourist department as the “Grand Pacific Drive.” The modern Sea Cliff Bridge is hard to miss since you drive right over it. Not knowing the area, we pulled off at the local beach and unsuccessfully tried to find a scenic point to take a picture. The consolation prize was a lizard the size of an iguana.
After stopping in a few other small towns, we drove through the dense eucalyptus forests out to Pebbly Beach, which is known for its beach dwelling kangaroos. The kangaroos were lounging on the north end of the beach when we arrived. Tamed by the constant human interaction from beach-goers, we walked right up to them and said hello. The male put the moves on Hayley, showing her his nasty roo teeth. It reminded Hayley of our monkey encounter six years ago in South Africa, which you can read about here. Hayley backed away slowly, saying “mike… Mike… MIIIIKE!!!” while I laughed and took pictures. Best husband ever, I am.
G’day mate.
Back in the parking lot, people were feeding the some wild birds bread and bananas. We saw Rainbow Lorikeets, King Parrots and Crimson Rosellas, all of which are common parrots in the region.
Hayley loves their little blue heads.
We spent the night in Bateman’s Bay and in the morning we visited an animal rescue facility called Birdland. They care for all sorts of Australian animals, including wombats, wallabies, kangaroos and koalas. I tried to feed a few, but it didn’t go so well. First, the beady eyed emu ran towards me and tried to eat me instead.
Jerk.
Next a cockatoo tried to eat my finger along with the seeds. Finally, the ostrich tried to take the entire bag of from my hand, spilling the remaining bits all over the ground.
We drove out to the quaint town of Central Tilba and hiked up to the lookout point- the views were stunning.
Most of the lower New South Wales and Victoria coastline is farmland.
We arrived in Eden and checked into the Heritage House. The motel room was very nice and spacious, which is exactly what you need after spending an entire day crammed into a Toyota Yaris. Eden is a small fishing town on the coast and we ate fresh fish and chips from the local wharf.
The following day we went wine tasting at the Wyanga Park Winery. The owner runs the bar and is a clever fellow with a dangerously crude sense of humor. For us, that meant good company. We talked, drank and had an excellent time. We purchased a bottle of delicious Riesling for the road. We also inquired into the quality of a local restaurant called Miriam’s. “Of course it is good,” he said. “My daughter owns it!” Yes, Lakes Entrance is that small.
Behind the bar.
Following the advice of Mr. Wyanga himself, we drove out to Raymond Island to see wild koalas. Raymond Island has a population of 500 people who share the island with over 250 koalas. Arriving on a weekday, the island was empty and we had the trails to ourselves. We saw around 20 koalas in their natural habitat. It was seriously the coolest thing I’ve seen since leaving South Africa.
I love these furry little marsupials.
We drove into Melbourne, dropped off our stuff at the hotel and hopped on a bus to the Botanic Gardens. We walked around the park and had tea and scones in the café.
Not a bad spot for a picnic.
We made our way through a few other parks (Australia loves its parks) and walked through the CBD. We both thought that the city felt like a cross between London and San Francisco. It has hip restaurants on every corner, trollies that run on all the main streets and old London-esque buildings.
Hayley (in real life) and Tyler (on the Internet) both referred to this as the Willy Wonka river.
On our final leg of the trip, we drove the “Great Ocean Road” from Melbourne to Port Campbell. The road is exactly what the name implies, a long and winding ocean road that provides some of the best views in the world. We saw many amazing things from dense forests jutting out of cliffs above the water to wild koalas in the Otway reserve. Despite the build up from post cards, tourist magazines and friends who have seen them, the massive “Twelve Apostles” were very impressive.
The Twelve Apostles, although there aren’t really twelve.
We checked into the Parkview Motel & Suites, and were upgraded from a motel room to a two story town house, literally. The owner was very welcoming and the unit was perfect; I cannot praise Parkview enough. If you ever drive the Great Ocean Road, do yourself the favor. The suite was just like staying in a very nice house, only better.
We ate dinner at a nice restaurant in town and I had a delicious Prickly Moses Stout, a local brew, with my meal. It was very delicious. The following day we drove back to Melbourne and checked in to our hotel, nothing too exciting.
On our final day, we met our college friend and fellow expat Desiree in downtown Melbourne to catch up. We ate at a very nice café on the river and discussed this and that. We said our goodbyes, burned some time at the local mall and drove to the airport to catch our flight back to Sydney.
Pretty sweet trip.
March 3, 2010 at 7:42 am
I’ve been to two Mardi Gras festivals outside the U.S., one was accidental and another was a spontaneous excursion, albeit a failure.
2007
We drove into downtown Ensenada, Mexico to buy our friend Dutch a Mexican surfboard. I don’t remember the exact details, but without warning the entire city closed down and swarms of locals began parading down the street. I have absolutely no idea where they were going. We somehow found our way out of the city after spending hours waiting it out in a Papas n Beer.
2010
Hayley and I boarded a public bus that was shuttling at least thirty drunk high school kids over the Harbour Bridge to the Mardi Gras parade. People crowded around the street, standing on crates, propping themselves on windowsills or climbing trees and lamp posts to get a view. We didn’t have crates and there were no trees or lamp posts left. After a half hour we tried to escape the crowds, but we got stuck for twenty minutes in a human traffic jam. It was very claustrophobic.
People trying to get a view of the jumbotron that is setup in central Darlinghurst. The street is in the center of the photo, and you can see all the people standing on crates to watch the parade.
February 28, 2010 at 9:30 pm
We’ve had a busy week with Hayley’s parents in town. In preparation for Andy and Jackie’s arrival, Hayley drew up a full itinerary for the week.
Beginning Friday at five sharp, I met Andy on Park Avenue in downtown Sydney. We quickly began our journey via public transport to meet Hayley and Jackie at Balmoral Beach on the north shore. Around the half way point we were nearly flattened by oncoming traffic while running to catch a bus. Luckily we made out alright and within 45 minutes, we were eating fish and chips and relaxing on middle-head peninsula.
The weekend was just as crammed. On Saturday we strolled through the Royal Botanic Gardens with Andy, Jackie, and their friends, and had tea and scones in the Rocks.
Then on Sunday morning Freddy and I surfed Bungan. Yes, I am a horrible person for ditching family, but who can resist a perfect left? Apologies to Andy and Jackie!
While Hayley and her parents explored the city and its surroundings, I worked a short three-day work week. On Thursday, we drove up to the Blue Mountains, an expansive region of cloud-clipping mountains and dense eucalyptus forest within the Great Dividing Range, or the continental divide, of Australia. As a UNESCO World Heritage site I was expecting to be impressed, and boy did it deliver. Our first stop was Echo Point, home to the Three Sisters rock formation.
The Three Sisters in all their glory, each over 900 meters in height.
For perspective, note the people in the bottom left corner. They are less than 25% of the way down the first Sister.
We walked around the park and feasted our eyes on the enormous eucalyptus forest that distantly bends with the curvature of the horizon. Down on the first Sister, we noticed a crowd of people collecting on a small walking bridge. Later in the day, we came back and walked down “The Great Stairway” to the first Sister. A journey in itself, the stairway hugs the cliff in scary fashion. I held the railings tight on our way back up, watching the cliff slowly erode from underneath the steel steps.
Hayley and I under the first entrance to The Great Stairway.
We walked back to Echo Point to have another look at the region. The Blue Mountains are surreal, easily one of the most amazing places that I have been. The forest and cliffs are massive, and to say I that was feeling insignificant would be an understatement.
Jackie and Hayley enjoying the view.
In the middle of the day, we checked into our room at the Chalet Blue Mountains. After resting for a bit, we got up again and drove a few kilometers to Govett’s Leap, which offered another sweeping expanse of plateaus, dramatic cliffs and valleys of eucalyptus forest. While Echo Point has the Three Sisters, Govett’s offers a waterfall that rivals the best in Hawaii.
The waterfall (to the right) sways with the wind, drenching the rocks and forest below.
Before sunset, we walked out to the Chalet’s garden and enjoyed a fine Shiraz (and what a steal it was) while watching the unique Australian bird life fly overhead.
The main hallway in the Chalet Blue Mountains.
For dinner, we drove into town and ate at Common Ground Café, a restaurant that could be easily mistaken for a commune. A folk band played music while we ate delicious, organic food. We later heard that the restaurant was owned and operated by The Exclusive Brethren. I seriously felt like we had stepped into a scene from a fantasy novel and I loved every minute of it.
The next day we ate a hearty breakfast at the B&B before checking out and driving out to Anvil Rock and Wind Eroded Cave, passing a hopping wallaby on our way. A short walk from the trailhead, Anvil Rock hangs over an enormous drop off:
Don’t jump! Those enormous trees aren’t as forgiving as they look.
About ten minutes in the opposite direction is Wind Eroded Cave, an enormous concave rock covered with small pockets and exposed rock layers. We climbed inside the so-called cave and took a few photos.
Hayley and I inside the rock.
Andy resting inside a smaller cave, which is inside the bigger cave.
On our way back to Sydney we stopped off at the Mt. Tomah Botanic Gardens. We walked around for an hour and saw many cool trees and plants, including the rare and ancient Wollemi Pine, which you can now buy for your garden. We also spotted some great birdlife, including this Eastern Spinebill:
Notice that the plant’s petals are perfectly shaped for the bird’s bill.
After the gardens, we drove back to Sydney and spent the next morning with Andy and Jackie before saying our goodbyes. We had a great time and it was sad to see them go, but we reminded ourselves that we will be seeing them again soon.
And so here we are, one week of work to go before we depart on our road trip to Melbourne. I will definitely write again when we return.
For more photos, feel free to peruse my flickr galleries, specifically the Blue Mountains Overnight Trip album.