Road Trip: Australia

Australia is an expensive country. Ask any Australian and they will tell you so. Ask me, and I will show you my quickly emptying bank account. Other than seeing my friend Deanna (click here to read about our time with her family), our plans were pretty vague. We wanted to see Australia, but in 8 days, and that is beyond impossible. So we rented a Scooby-Dooesquel camper van and made our way up the coast. First, let me say that driving a manual camper van, on the left, is not even close to a fun adventure. It is stressful and uncomfortable and miserable in general. This is made worse by a (well-meaning) husband who is actually proficient at driving stick on the left but hates doing so, and ends up being a 'co-pilot' driver constantly criticizing and 'helping' me drive better. For nearly 1000km. Talk about misery.

Let's move onto the nice things, as there is always good with the bad (and it cant all be good!). With the help of a few recommendation and websites, we ended up visiting several wonderful and gorgeous towns on our first real road trip day. We started at Terrigal for a beautiful beach view and a delicious lunch. Next we moved on to The Entrance to see the swarm of pelicans and cute little boardwalk - and an American candy place where I bought s'more supplies!

The beach at Terrigal - just stunning!

Pelicans at The Entrance. We missed the pelican feeding time, but it was cool to see them so close.

Then onwards, through Gateshead to Newcastle (that doesn't have a castle) to walk the boardwalk at sunset. Artfully dodging the sea-spray, we made it to the end to watch the clouds turn pink then golden then navy blue. We took tons of pictures because it was so beautiful! We walked back to the van to drive to our final destination for that day: Port Stephens.

  
Port Stephens:

A beautiful lake area with fun run/walking trails and a cute little town in Lemon Tree passage. We stayed here two nights and did nothing of significance other than watch a whole bunch of seagulls and pelicans wait for the scraps of guys skinning their fish catches. We explored the area, enjoying cooking out of the back of our van, and met some of our 'neighbors' in the caravan park.

 

Another 400kms or so and we got the chance to stop at Port Macquarie, a cute little town that was in the middle of hosting a half-ironman! We stopped in a lakeside cafe to eat and admire the view, while my mind took me back to my half-ironman. It was a beautiful place and we picked up groceries before moving on to our next destination: Southwest Rocks.

Southwest Rocks:

We had a nice surprise when we first arrived at our campsite - kangaroos! They were everywhere! One even had a joey in her pocket! I nestled down in the camper to take undercover pictures as they ate grass next to us. This would become a regular establishment each day as the kangaroos loved eating the grass in the campsite. We had another relaxed few days - time in the pool, walks on the beach, nice meals, and then finally on the day we left, a visit to the historical sights. 

 

Southwest rocks had the ruins of an old prison that had once held, well, prisoners, that were supposed to build a breakwater for the boats that were arriving from Sydney or Brisbane. The job was dangerous and many people died, and in the end, the project was never finished. Later, during WWII, political prisoners were held here as they might be spies. Since then, the prison has been mostly abandoned. We didn't go in as we didn't have the time, but it was interesting to read about it and see it in person.

Prison ruins at Southwest Rocks

Next up was the lighthouse, the highest lighthouse is Australia. It was quite a little hike up and brilliant white. Now it is automated, but it used to be controlled by a head and two assistant lighthouse workers. Their three families lived in near-isolation by the lighthouse as there was no school or market nearby. The sight from the lighthouse platform was breathtaking and really showed the incredible landscape of Australia. 

We then headed back down the coast - destination: Hunter's Valley.

Hunter's Valley: With all the windy roads, we arrived here about 5pm, just after all the winery's and breweries closed (darn!). We made friends with our neighbors - Germans! - who were traveling with their adorable 6 month old boy. I got to jump on a big jumping pillow and we had a delicious Thai meal. Then it was up and at 'em, nice and early.

Original destination: blue mountains. Real destination: airport!

With wifi being so limited, I had decided to check the Internet on the way to our next destination.  The campsite we had been in was unable to make their internet work, but another of their branches had the same, free internet. We took a small detour off the highway expecting to check emails, Facebook, etc. What I discovered was that our flight was leaving a day earlier than I expected! We had had to re-book this leg of the trip, but I didn't realize the new flight was a day earlier! This meant we had to get back to Sydney, ASAP!

A fire in the forest on our drive back.

This is not on the way to the airport - I'm too happy!

 With me in the driver's seat, we pushed the little van to the speed limit as it shook in anger and raced toward the return center. We still missed several turns and had a very frustrating drive before we arrived 20 minutes after the rental return had finished. Luckily, the gates were open and we could put the keys in a drop box and head out, a short taxi ride and we were at the airport. Phew, crisis averted. Stressed and unhappy, we checked in and made our way into the airport. At least we didn't miss our flight! Now it was out of the comfortable and known Australia and on to the great big unknown: Cambodia!

Old Friends and New Adventures

Nine years ago, I was lucky enough to be a camp counselor at the incredible Gold Arrow Camp (wadda wadda wadda wa, my favorite camp, wadda wadda wadda wa, no other camp, wadda wadda wadda wa, will ever beeeeeee, EEEEEEE!). As my first co-counselor, I was assigned a girl camp-named Emerald and real-named Deanna (my camp-name was Rosy). We hadn't gotten to know each other during the week initiation, or bonded in any way, but within days our our first session we were inseparable. We both had boyfriends and so stayed out of the camp drama. We were down-to-earth, reasonable, and I found her so easy to talk to. The next two camp sessions we were separated while we begged -BEGGED- to be together again. The last session our wish was granted and we had a blast. We dressed as crazy aliens for dancing (blue hair and all!) and did every activity we could. Young and carefree, we lived it up! Then camp ended and we didn't see each other for nine more years.

Our lives moved on, connected by the thin string of Facebook. She married her boyfriend that she had had during camp (lovely Mark) and I met, then married, Paul. Life continued at its orderly march, and still, we were not what you'd call in-touch. I followed her life passively as she had one gorgeous baby and then another. Then I started planning this trip and asked her if we could visit her while we were there. She replied with an enthusiastic YES! Was I hesitant? Maybe a bit, as it had been nine years. But she was the kind of person that you could never forget, the kind of person you always hope you will stay friends with. So after one night in Sydney to see the opera house and walk across the Harbor Bridge, and then watch Gone Girl, we drove to meet her and her girls at the Reptile Park just a touch north of Sydney.

 

Two amazing, bright eyed little ladies waited with their even more gorgeous mother, and it was like it had been just a minute ago that we left camp. We got to watch an interesting animal show with her girls (a chameleon and a baby alligator!), right in front of us!

Her oldest one, Charlotte, held the tail of a boa constrictor (brave girl!) and then we all got pictures with a koala. The koala was so soft, and wanted nothing more than to be left alone and eat its delicious leaves.

 

 

 The girls enthusiastically showed us around the park, and we got to see some incredibly beautiful creatures. We fed kangaroos and gazed at crocodiles.

Taking a picture with the kangaroo!

I was lead into the spider house, and then the snake house and they loved all the scaly, scary animals and I loved them for it. Then Charlotte turned to me sweetly and asked, 'Can we have a sleepover tonight?' Who can say no to a face as angelic as this one?

We had a delicious, home-made dinner at their beautiful family home. With an incredible view and space for everyone, it was nice to have a little rest after so much traveling. Deanna was everything I had remember - sensible, honest, interesting, kind, and a lovely person all around. Mark, who I had never met but heard so much about, was everything Deanna had said he was and more. After the girls had baths and came down to say goodnight, we all stayed up chatting for a bit. I could have talked to them all night and all week if we had had the time. We talked about the girls and life after children and living in Australia. Then, at a sadly early hour, we were all yawning and exhausted. Paul mad I fell into a grateful heap in their comfy spare bed.

The next day I was woken bright and early by the sweetest little voices. I got to have breakfast with Charlotte, Emmaline (the little one), and Deanna while Paul got a few more winks. We had a pleasant, calm morning and I got the chance to catch up with Deanna a bit more and see their photo books (I am a sucker for cute pictures) and spend time with the girls. It was getting late in the day, so we took Charlotte to school and then spent just a bit more time with Deanna and Emmy at the Japanese gardens.

 

We got to see a little slice of normal, Australian life with a wonderful friend. Tea with coloring and then the gardens, and then an art gallery! Such a peaceful morning! We then said our drawn out goodbyes before Paul and I headed off on our road trip. Although it was a quick visit, it was my favorite part of Australia. I hope it isn't another 9 years until we get the chance to catch up (in person or otherwise), as good people like her and Mark and their beautiful daughters are hard to find. Their hospitality and kindness - even after so long without contact! - remind me why it's so important to make time for people you care about.

Tongariro Crossing, New Zealand

Upon researching New Zealand AND deciding where to stop, I added 2 nights in Tongariro National Park. Not only was it home to the filming location of Mount Doom (from LOTR), but it has what is labeled as the number one day hike in New Zealand, and one of the top ten day hikes in the world. Now that is a hike that demands to be completed! A slow hiker would take about seven hours to complete the hike, while a quick hiker could finish in a mere four and a half. After talking it over with Paul, he decided to sit this one out and let me go off on my adventure.

The morning of the hike I checked in with the front desk of my hotel to be sure the hike was open. In times of bad weather, and it was spring after all, the trail was 'closed' and shuttles would not drop off or pick up anyone. Luckily for me, the weather was forecasted to be sunny all day, so I was driven out to the start by 10am. I couldn't wait to get up there!

The first part of the hike was rolling hills, all with Mt. Doom looming overhead. I passed Soda Springs and met my first warning sign: Do not pass if there is inclement weather or you are unprepared!

 
I started up Devil's Staircase: steps, steps and more steps. It was, however, much easier than climbing up the trail in Wayanapichu (Peru) as the steps were regular sized and the trail wide.

I stopped often to enjoy the view and peer down at how far I had come. I crossed a beautiful crater that was half filled with snow, and then another scramble up, and suddenly, I was at the top! If you've ever summited a mountain, you know how the pure exhilaration feels of finally reaching the peak. I marveled at the bright reds and oranges in the mountains below and the view that seems never-ending from so high up. 

If the up was hard, the down was harder and much, much longer. I made some friends while I crossed a bit of snow, and we chatted as we slid/scrambled/fell down the other side of the summit.

 

I would have been miserable climbing up that side, as the hikers I saw took two steps forward and slid one step back. We had a perfect view of the emerald lakes (above right), currently covered in snow, on the way down before we crossed yet another crater and made our last little ascent up.

 Soon we were at the most exciting part of the hike: the active volcano! There were signs everywhere warning of the danger zone, what to do if a real eruption occurred, and not to dawdle in our walk. It wasn't until we turned a corner around the hill that I realized how incredibly close and REAL the volcano was. Billowing white smoke from the main vent and side vents, I could just see it actually erupting and covering the mountainside with flowing red-hot lava. We took a few pictures and continued our hike down, down, down through the forest and to our shuttles.

I know this is a lot of volcano pictures, but I just couldn't keep my eyes off of it. It was beautiful and a bit terrifying all at once. Would you walk this close to an active volcano?

Signs like this made me a bit nervous!

By the end my feet were aching and even though I had eaten tons on the hike I was incredibly hungry! I got delivered home to a hot shower, a soak in the hot tub, and a big steak dinner. It was definitely worth it to see so much in just one hike, and something to put on the bucket list!