October 31, 2010 at 11:06 am
Hayley and I spent four days in paradise in early October. We flew out to Hamilton Island which lies in between mainland Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. It was featured in the Best Job in the World competition.
Aside from traveling to a fantastic destination, we were lucky in many other ways. While heavy rain was predicted for Friday through Monday, we had nothing but sunshine. We discovered while boarding the aircraft that our package included Virgin Blue premium economy tickets, which gave us a full row to ourselves, priority check-in, free entertainment and free premium snacks and drinks. I mentioned Hayley’s birthday to the Reef View hotel staff and they upgraded our standard garden room to an ocean-view suite overlooking the islands.
We spent our first day hiking around the island. We walked over the hill to the other side of the island and relaxed on a secluded beach in Coral Bay. We waded out into the water which was nice and warm, and marveled at its clarity.
On our second day, we explored the resort side of the island. At low tide, we walked way out on Catseye Beach, avoiding stingrays and large tropical fish. We swam in the resort pool near Sails restaurant and stand-up paddle boarded at dusk.
We spent our final full day snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef. We saw human-sized clams, hundreds of tropical fish and beautiful iridescent coral. At low tide, we swam side by side with a sea turtle in three feet of water.
This tops the list as our best tropical vacation. Our Maui honeymoon was fantastic, as was staying in the South African sub-tropics, but this was a step above those in terms of accommodation and relaxation. I unplugged from the busy monotony of daily routine, disconnected from the internet, and just enjoyed the unadulterated tropical feel of paradise.
Here are some pictures from our journey.
The view from our hotel room.
Hayley, enjoying paradise.
The resort beach.
Hardy Reef, home to “heart” reef.
Wine and chips on our patio.
Check out the rest in my Hamilton Island Flickr Set.
August 26, 2010 at 7:38 pm
I ventured into hobbit country last week. While the Shire was a bit out of reach, we saw the locations mentioned here. Of course I didn’t realize this at the time because I was in New Zealand to ski, not chase hobbits and orcs.
I flew into Queenstown with a few friends from work. We picked up a little Ford sedan at the airport and drove over the mountain pass into Wanaka where we stayed for the week. The quaint mountain town lies next to a small beach on Lake Wanaka; the rest of the lake’s shoreline is totally uninhabited as far as I could tell. I heard a rumor before our trip that sheep outnumber people in New Zealand 10 to 1. After visiting I think that ratio should be 20 to 1.
Lake Wanaka at dusk.
We skied at Cardrona on our first day. Cardrona is an intermediate resort with a small vertical drop and a few fun off-piste runs. By midday, we were taking less than ten minutes to gun it from top to bottom. New Zealand is having one of it’s worst winters (i.e. least amount of snow) in ten years, so the off-piste terrain was limited at first. Luckily, it snowed on the second and third nights of the trip and we were able to enjoy some fresh powder. Rich, Leigh, Gary and myself met up with two friends from Sydney, Alex and Brendan, on our second Cardrona day. We had a full day of great runs, taking choice lines through the Arcadia chutes and bowls.
Untracked backcountry terrain… so very tempting.
We were fortunate to ski Cardrona during the 2010 Burton Snowboarding Open. We stopped by the half pipe during a qualifying round and tried to spot professional snowboarder, Shaun White. Unfortunately, it was not to be. The other professionals made up for his absence, dropping into this massive half pipe and looking stylish for the camera:
A Burton team rider launching way out of the pipe.
On the other three days we skied at Treble Cone (TC), my favorite of the two resorts. We were lucky to ski it with some fresh snow on our first day despite weather forecasts for rain. The expert mountain, Saddle Basin, was closed due to avalanche warnings, but we still had fun launching ourselves off cat tracks into fresh powder on the main run. We came back to TC two days later and the powder had melted and refrozen, rendering most off-piste unskiable. Of course, we skied the off-piste anyway! I even demoed a pair of brand new K2 all-mountain skis for the occasion. By afternoon the snow had softened up and we were able to ski decent snow all over the full mountain.
Dropping into garbage at Treble Cone with my K2 demo skis.
The main difference between resorts in the States and New Zealand is accessibility. While access roads to resorts in States are generally well maintained, the roads in New Zealand are usually a narrow strip of mud and ice that winds up hairpin switchbacks, sending careless drivers over cliffs to their doom. We were lucky to have decent weather during our trip because our little Ford 2WD would not have fared well in snow. Honestly, even a 4WD SUV would be sketchy on those roads.
One of the dryer sections on the access road to TC.
We spent one afternoon in Queenstown doing touristy things like riding the Skyline gondola and street luge course. The luge was pretty intense, actually:
That’s me on the street luge.
A lively town, at least compared to Wanaka, Queenstown is surrounded by stunning views of jagged mountain tops and the calm, blue water of Lake Wakatipu. We walked around the harbor, ate fish and chips in an Irish pub and explored the rest of the town, leaving just after sunset.
Queenstown from the Skyline gondola viewpoint.
While we didn’t see any kiwis, we spotted two kea at Treble Cone. Kea, the threatened mountain parrots of New Zealand, have narrow roman beaks and are covered with an abundance of olive green feathers.
My new favorite parrot, a New Zealand kea.
Can’t wait to go back again. For more pictures, click: here. Also check out my separate portfolio account on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/weberwithoneb.
September 6, 2009 at 12:57 am
We arrived in Sydney on Wednesday night at 10 PM. The cab driver charged us nine dollars (Australian $, from now on) to drive one kilometer to the Ibis Airport Hotel where we showered in an alien looking dome bathroom and slept for the night.
We’re staying in Kings Cross, which is the official party area of Sydney. We are within walking distance of public transportation and have all the conveniences nearby that one could ask for, including restaurants right next door and across the street.
Aside from the odd shopping mall here and there, yesterday was our first full day exploring the city. First, we hopped on a CityRail train to Circular Quay, the main tourist public transportation hub in Sydney. The doors of the train open to one of the most stunning views in the world, a panorama including the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge, with hundreds of ferries and sail boats cruising up and down the harbor.
Hayley posing in front of the Sydney Harbor Bridge
We walked around Circular Quay to the Opera House. It was pretty cool to see it in person; as it is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. We took our share of photos at every possible angle, and walked around the building as far as was permitted. Directly opposite the Opera House is the Harbor Bridge, which is equally as spectacular. This is where they shoot off the New Years Eve fireworks.
The Sydney Opera House doing its best to look like a spaceship.
The Sydney Opera House from a commuter ferry.
After soaking in the view, we walked up the nearby steps to the Royal Botanical Gardens. The park combines the large grass parks similar to London, with the climate of San Diego.
Beautiful flowers await you in the botanical gardens.
The gardens are also home to some of the coolest birds that I’ve ever seen. Many different types of parrots are as common as pigeons in the United States. Bats hang from the trees! It’s pretty amazing, not what you’d expect from the surroundings.
A parrot in the park.
Ever seen a bat at noon? How about one looking directly at you?!?
Look closely and you’ll see over a hundred bats in this tree.
We walked back to Circular Quay and rode out to Watson’s Bay on a ferry. This trip is the most breathtaking commute you could imagine, with sail boats everywhere and beautiful homes packed into the surrounding coastline.
One of the marinas in Sydney Harbor.
A docked boat on the beach at Watson’s Bay.
After four quick stops we were in a park overlooking beautiful Watson’s Bay filled with marinas and crystal clear water. We walked up to the open ocean, only a short five minute walk from the bay and watched the waves crash against the huge stone cliffs, then we walked down to the gelato shop for tasty refreshments. The ride back was equally as breathtaking the second time around.
The cliffs opposite Watson’s Bay, and the ocean crashing into them.
Watson’s Bay and the Sydney Harbor. On the left are the cliffs overlooking the ocean.
After a quick dinner, we boarded the CityRail down to Ryan’s Bar to watch the South Africa vs. Australia rugby game. We picked Ryan’s after receiving an annonymous tip that it was the South African rugby safe-house. At the door we were each given a copy of Sabona magazine, “The mag for Southern Africans living in Oz.” We purchased some drinks, sat down with a group of South Africans and watched the match. Despite the outcome of the game (SA lost), the night was a blast.
Today we took a ride down to Bondi Beach and watched surfers tear up the waist-high waves. The sand in Bondi is like nothing I’ve ever seen, very fine and soft. Easy to sleep on.
Now we’re back in our apartment and I’ve finally finished uploading all our pictures from South Africa. If you’re bored or would like to view them, please click the Pictures link if you are reading this on my website, or go to my Flickr page at http://flickr.com/mswebersd.
Thanks for reading.
August 31, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Stuart picked us up at Joburg International last Friday and we ate lunch with his family. Afterward, we passed the afternoon watching Doogie Howser’s independent film, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.” If you like corny and inappropriate comedies, go and download it now.
On Saturday, I attended Warwic’s bachelor party (while Hayley went to Robyn’s bachelorette), which was held at his groomsman’s house. The backyard was built for parties with a huge outdoor patio overlooking a pool and braaii (BBQ) area. We talked, ate and drank while Warwic was forced to wear a Borat bathing suit.
We relaxed most of Sunday and Monday, walking around malls and eating with friends. On Tuesday through Friday, we stayed at a B&B called Amritz in Boshoek which is two hours outside of Johannesburg, near Sun City and the Pilansberg National Park. We had trouble finding the place due to road construction, but after finally arriving we couldn’t have been more pleased with our accommodation. Staying on an African farm was a unique experience, although the lodge had all the comforts of home and was very chill. The hospitality of the owners made staying there one of the highlights of our South Africa trip.
Wednesday, we drove through the Pilansberg National Park and spotted a cheetah! It was relaxing under a tree, watching a few zebra in the distance. We also spotted many rhino, and at the watering holes we saw groups of hippopotami sunbathing together. We ate lunch at the park café and watched warthogs, vervet monkeys and exotic birds relax at a nearby watering hole.
The next day we visited Sun City. We walked around, had lunch overlooking the lake and jumped on trampolines. Included in our admission were two free coupons for sixty Rand, fifty of which I played on one hand of blackjack. I was dealt a four, then luckily a seven came up next. The dealer showed a ten so I doubled down- always double down on eleven, baby. It paid off as the dealer flipped over a face card on my eleven! I picked up the chips and cashed out for 150 Rand.
Unfortunately, our luck ran out while driving back from Sun City. Our car bottomed out on an unfinished dirt road, cracking the protective plastic cover under the car. After dealing with the ridiculous, unnecessary bureaucracy of car insurance companies and local police stations, we finally registered our claim. Unfortunately, we will not be able to get the car fixed before we leave, but luckily we have friends that are helping us out. I suppose we were lucky that the damage was localized to protective shield, but we feel badly about damaging a car that isn’t ours.
We drove from Boshoek to Kyalami on Friday for Robyn and Warwic’s wedding. We stayed at another nice B&B called the Blue Gum Lodge. Our room was enormous, comparable to a princess suite in a Las Vegas hotel. Being a B&B, homemade breakfast was included. It was a steal at $100 per night.
The wedding was held at Her Majesty’s, a beautiful rural venue that has a true African bush feel. The ceremony site was a rustic looking chapel overlooking acres of golden grass fields. The wedding was definitely one of the most beautiful that I’ve attended. The food and cake were delicious. There was an open bar for drinks, and everybody I talked to was open and welcoming. We danced until midnight in good company then drove the short way back to our B&B.
After eating a hearty breakfast the next morning, we drove back to Joburg and ran a few errands before meeting up with the wedding party for the after wedding brunch. We ate at an elegant Greek restaurant and chatted with friends. After a few hours, we said our goodbyes.
I started writing this entry last night while watching Da Vinci Code. Unfortunately, the movie was much worse than the book. I switched the channel to the Bourne Ultimatum- what a relief! Today we saw District 9 and ate crépes and waffles at Milky Lane. Tomorrow we fly to Sydney.
Continued down under…
August 13, 2009 at 8:50 am
Three waking hours and a sleeping pill later, we arrived at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. For two days we relaxed, met up with friends and got used to driving on the opposite side of the street. We shopped for groceries, setup temporary cell phones and set off the house alarm, sending ADT security out for a visit. On the third day, we packed the car and departed for Kruger National Park.
The drive was mostly fine, aside from an accidental two hour detour through who knows where. We took a wrong turn after stopping for gas and ended up driving through a “Hi-Jacking Hot Spot” and Belfast, an ultra sketchy town somewhere north of Pretoria. With the help of Stuart’s GPS and by following some guy in a BMW, we were able to navigate ourselves back to a main highway.
We arrived at the Orpen Gate around 4:30 PM. There were two checkin points: one at the park entrance and one at the Satara campsite. We were informed at the first point that the final checkin time for Satara, the second checkin, was 5:30 PM. The confirmation email recommended two hours for driving from the gate to the camp. We had just under an hour. Damnit.
Driving on the main paved road through Kruger, we nearly ran over two snakes crossing the road. We saw plenty of baboons, buck and giraffe. We noticed a gathering of cars at one point. Two guys tried to point out the cheetah to us, but we just didn’t have the quality binoculars to see it or the time to wait. Unfortunately, we didn’t see another cheetah the whole trip. We arrived at 5:28 PM and Hayley ran straight to reception to check us in.
Our unit number was F150, situated in a circle of fifteen or so thatched huts all surrounding a flat area of dirt and tall thorny trees. The rest of the night we relaxed, ate dinner, unpacked and read. Gates open at 6 AM around Satara, so we set our alarm for 5:30 AM and had an early night.
Up at the crack of dawn, we brushed our teeth, ate a small breakfast, and drove into the bush. Our first encounter was with five or so grazing Buffalo, one of the animals that comprise the “Big 5″ most dangerous animals to hunt (now known as poaching). The others include elephant, lion, rhino and leopard. To see all five in one day is very rare, but we were already off to a good start.
We passed many different types of buck: water buck, impala, kudu, nyala. We also saw plenty of exotic birds, giraffe and zebra grazing near the side of the road. About an hour into the drive, we spotted a rhino, our next “Big 5″ sighting. We sat for a little while and watched, but he wasn’t doing anything exciting so we moved on.
Another hour later and we had our first elephant encounter. We spotted a family off to the left side of the dirt road, grazing under a few trees. They were absolutely enormous, the male was probably triple the mass of our VW Polo. We waited for a little while until one of the younger (although still enormous) elephants walked our way. We cut the engine to avoid any trouble, watched it move within thirty feet of us then head up the road a little ways. It stopped to eat the bushes on the side of the street and we wanted a better look, so we started inching closer. The elephant was using its tusk and foot to break thorny branches and scoop them into its mouth. It was an absolutely incredible sight. We were probably within ten feet of the elephant driving slowly past when it waved its trunk and ears aggressively at us, blowing air through its trunk. We stopped, let it do its thing, then slowly inched past it. I kicked the accelerator a little hard at the end and I think I spooked him a bit, but we pulled away safely so all was good.
Adrenaline fading, we drove another few kilometers before noticing a few cars parked on the side of the street, implying something good to be seen. We pulled up to one car, and they pointed out the pack of lions relaxing under a distant tree. We stopped and took some photos and video. Relaxing in the shade to avoid the hot sun is typical of lions, but also fairly boring to watch from a distance. We watched for fifteen minutes or so before heading back to camp for lunch.
Our sunset drive started with possibly the best sight of the entire trip. Driving slowly on the paved road, Hayley alerted me to slow down as a Hyena was running our way. I stopped the car, and it was running urgently towards something we couldn’t see, passing two feet in front of our bumper. We watched it run away then made our way around the bend, revealing the Hyena’s destination. A dead giraffe carcass lay sprawled out under a tree off to right of the road and vultures were circling above. We parked and watched as another Hyena dug into the beast, ripping skin and meat from the giraffe. A whole flock of ten or so vultures slowly inched their way closer to the kill, but the Hyena regularly snapped at them, a warning to keep their distance. We watched for a while then drove off, leaving the other cars that had collected on the road.
On our way to the main water hole, we saw an Ostrich running off in the distance. We saw several buck, giraffe and zebra before finding a huge lot of cars parked a few kilos up from the dead giraffe. Off in the distance we spotted (actually, were shown by another game viewer) our final “Big 5″ animal, the elusive Leopard. Relaxing on the limb of a tree, the Leopard seemed pretty mellow, enjoying the shade that the tree had to offer. Its tail hung limply off the branch and its head was propped neatly against a smaller branch. We drove forward to as many vantage points as possible and then made our way to the watering hole.
While the main watering hole offered stunning views of the landscape, there wasn’t really much to see. We saw many birds, including two fish eagles communicating to each other across the river. Occasionally they circled the area, looking for prey, but would always return to the limb of a tree and keep watch over the valley.
A dirt road curves around the main watering hole in Satara, and we took it hoping to see animals that we couldn’t spot from the main road. While we didn’t see anything at the main watering hole, just off the dirt road is another manmade watering hole, and at the time eight or so elephant were drinking and splashing each other around it. We were stunned by the site, and even more stunned when we realized that there was another elephant hidden in the bushes on the other side of the street, grazing on some nearby bushes. We sat next to another car for a while, watching and taking in the surroundings. After ten minutes, a few elephants by the manmade watering hole starting making deafening noises, calling towards our left. In response, we heard similar noises off in the distance. After another few minutes, a new group of elephants arrived and joined their friends by the watering hole.
After the elephants passed, the car in front of us (our scape goat) moved on. The nearby elephant was still there, but he seemed pretty occupied, so we followed the other car. The road dead ended in a small cul-de-sac, offering an incredible view of the fifteen or so elephant playing around the water hole. The large animals were drenching themselves, spraying water and drinking, while the babies played near a smaller manmade water hole off to the side. We watched for a while after the other car drove off. It was truly an amazing sight.
We decided to pull out of the cul-de-sac, which is when the trouble started. A new, large SUV pulled up next to the nearby elephant in the bush. Seeing the threat, the largest elephant by the watering hole started running toward them, stopping half way with his ears propped out and his feet set apart. The car backed up a little bit but didn’t move. We were stuck in the cul-de-sac watching this happen, worried about what would happen when the whole herd saw us. The dominant male elephant trumpeted to the young adult in the nearby bushes. Five minutes passed (or at least it felt like it) before the nearby elephant walked across the street to join the group. We were relieved. We took off and didn’t look back.
On our way back to camp, we saw Giraffe drinking from the main watering hole with their front legs spread apart to help them reach the water. We also saw another giraffe family, one of which was covered with tick birds. We had a braai (bbq) then went to bed.
The next day started slowly. We saw plenty of buck and zebra, but few big game. We spotted one elephant walking in the road and another near a creek bed. Before grabbing lunch, we drove by the main watering hole. To our surprise we found countless elephant drinking and playing around the small reservoir. They were discretely divided into three groups, and we witnessed one quarrel when a large elephant tried to join another group. The males from the group ran over and stood their ground, protecting the baby in their group. It ended pretty quickly though, with no real confrontation.
We also saw herds of impala and zebra drinking from the watering hole. Occasionally they would jump backward while drinking, spooked by something in the water. Soon afterward we saw a crocodile walk up the bank and relax in the sun.
After lunch we went back to the watering hole and saw that the dirt mound in the middle of the reservoir was moving! The hippo had been very still for the entire day or longer, probably enjoying the deepest area of the reservoir. It raised its head occasionally to breathe but would always lazily let it fall back down underwater. We saw a family of mongoose, watched the fish eagles, witnessed a beautiful orange African sunset, then drove back to camp for dinner and an early night.
The last day we didn’t see much wildlife on our way out. We followed the GPS home, which took us through a few small towns and then on main national routes. It was a much more relaxed and pleasant drive than the first. We stopped at Spur, a popular american food chain in South Africa. This one was the “Big Bear Spur”. Hayley snapped a picture of me in front of the sign, then we made our way back to Johannesburg.
We spent two days relaxing and visiting with friends, including a delicious dinner at Robyn and Warwic’s, before flying down to Cape Town. I will describe this in another post. Plans include wine tasting, visiting the southern cape, and riding the tram up to table mountain. Also I will document driving our craptastic rental car down some of the sketchiest roads in the world.