Day 3. After spending another comfy night in our little campervan we woke up to a brisk morning, perfect for an 11km hike around Freyicent National Park. The hike took us through the forest, which had large red block like rocks displaced throughout. We then headed to Wineglass Bay a very popular but secluded beach in Tasmania where we had beautiful views of the calm bay. The trail continued through to another forest section leading to Hazards Beach, a second beach on the other side of Wineglass Bay with rougher water. Along the way we enjoyed the views and loved seeing the wild wallabies bounce through the bush. After the hike we made our way inland to Mount Field National Park, a park known for its incredible diversity. The atlas we were using to get around highlighted the town of Ross as a great spot to stop for a break and it didn't let us down! Ross is a quaint town off one of the main highways with cute bakeries, antique shops and an old gas station lining main street. We visited one great bakery where Andrew bought a special beef pie (very popular in Australia), however this one was wasn't the traditional pie shape, but was shaped in a triangle with the top squeezed together in a hand shape. The baker explained that this was the traditional way miners wives use to bake them, one side was filled with savoury meat and the other with a sweet pie mix. The pie was shaped with the top formed this way in order for the miners to hold it with their dirty hands, eat it and then when done they could just the throw away the top bit. In addition to the bakery, we also visited an interesting tourist information centre with a large exhibit on wool production. Once we had poked around there we headed to Ross's last attraction the historic bridge which is the third oldest bridge built by convicts and still used in Australia. Two of the convict labourers were stonemasons who were later credited for their intricate designs and carvings alongside the bridge. It took the majority of the day to get to Mount Field National Park so we re-stocked our food supplies along the way in the town nearest to the park. Once we had arrived we realized the park office was closed so we decided we would head up the mountain to a parking lot set next to the Tall Trees walk where we ended up staying for the night. The road up the mountain had lots of warning signs regarding not driving in the evening (had no other choice really) and to be cautious of icy conditions. ICE? But we are sleeping in a unheated camper van! Although it was a Saturday night we were the only ones up there; a tad chilling as it was very windy, dark and we were surrounded by monstrous trees. We decided we would do the tall trees walk in the dark with our headlamps. It was a short 1 km walk with informative signs posted throughout explaining the tall tree ecosystem and their incredible size. The signs explained that the swamp gums, eucalyptus regnans, are the largest flowering tree in the world and have been growing before 1642. After our walk we made some food, drank some Tasmanian wine and hunkered in for the night listening to the howling wind. We woke up to a think fog around the van, we decided that we would continue up the mountain road where we would start a long days hike to see some of the parks diversity. Up and up we drove eventually leaving the fog below us, which lead to amazing views of the surrounding area. The park is hugely diverse, at the bottom there are massive tress surrounded by very lush damp rainforest. As the winding road continued up we could already see a huge difference in the plant life and moisture content. Mount Field is unique in that plant diversity increases as you increase in altitude which is usually not the case in other mountain ecosystems. The hike was incredible. It traversed up on to a mountainous plateau and across several different eco systems. At one point we lost the track but a little bit if route finding got us back on track. The walk ended up taking a bit longer than we expected and we found ourselves returning to the camp near sunset. We had't planned on where we would be sleeping next so we thought we would just drive out of the national park towards the next nearest town and camp near the town for the night. Day 5 - Although the park was beautiful it was quite cold to sleep high in the mountains so we drove down to the closet town and free camped for the evening in a back street. In the morning we drove to Bonorong Wildlife Park where we had a lovely time making new kangaroo friends and finally meeting a Tasmanian Devil! After the wildlife park we continued making our way to Hobart but stopped off at the Cadbury Chocolate factory where we enjoyed a heavenly delicious hot chocolate, loaded up on reduced priced goodies and learned about Cadburys processing history. Unfortunately we didn't get to go on a tour through the factory which you used to be able to go on. Big changes to come now that Kraft owns Cadbury. Last we heard they were planning on changing their chocloate composition to 50% rubber. Our last stop before returning the van was a drive through Hobart and up to Mount Wellington. From the top we were surprised to see the smoke from a nearby forest fire. The view from the top was fantastic! Tasmania is a really beautiful place with immense diversity and variety. We had an amazing time and definitely felt 5 days wan't enough to even scratch the surface. We'll have to return again to enjoy more of the scenery, hikes and National Parks. It is very different to mainland Australia and we highly recommend it!
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Between hitting the beach, surfing and work we've been pretty busy down here in Newcastle. But that doesn't mean we haven't snuck in a few other activities to really soak in the summer while it lasts! For Andrew's birthday we took the ferry over to Stockton, which is just north of Newcastle across the harbour. Stockton has a different feel than Newcastle. Its quite a bit more quiet and the beaches are more secluded, plus we were able to camp next to the beach! Basically we were getting tired of crossing the road to get to the beach so we just set up our tent next to it! One morning we woke up to some guy shouting, "Cordial!" While it was annoying it did get us out of bed and we watched the Hill to Harbour Marathon come past our balcony. We did feel a bit lazy sitting on the balcony drinking coffee while all these fit runners past below. I'm guessing they would have traded with us if they had the option. We woke one morning to our roommate shouting, "Dolphins, dolphins, the dolphins are so close!" It seems like we are consistently woken up by shouting. At any rate we ran down to the beach with a couple of boogie boards and quickly swam out to where the dolphins would pass by us. The swell was relatively small so we were able to get past the break without being dumped. We got pretty close to the dolphins at one point and our roommate even grabbed a couple of snaps of us. It was an amazing way to start the day!
Our last day in India was a bit surreal. We were really excited to be heading to Australia but we were also a bit sad because the traveling portion of our trip was nearing its end. That’s right we’re going to be integrating back into society…whether we want to or not! In addition to seeing the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge we got to visit with one of Andrew’s friends, Graham, who he worked with back in Edmonton. It was a short but sweet visit where we all got to catch up on what each other’s years had been like. Andrew also got caught up on some of the gossip he missed over the last year! Christmas arrived faster than 35 centimeters of snow in Canada for us and we were off to spend Christmas Eve with Amy’s Dad and his family out at their rural home. They were really welcoming and they helped us to come to terms with BBQing, swimming and playing badminton outside as Christmas activities. Luckily they had a fireplace for Santa to enter the house, it wasn’t burning but it was ready to receive him! After a really nice time opening gifts and a delicious Christmas morning brunch at Amy’s Dad’s place we zipped off to Sid’s parents’ house for Christmas lunch! We were so used to eating vegetarian food in India that our bodies had to perform super-human feats of digestion to keep up to the barrage of Christmas deliciousness! With our bellies full to our throats we jumped in the car and headed down the coast to Amy's Pop's house where Amy's mom had prepared us a lovely Christmas dinner. We don't know how we did it but we managed to stuff three huge meals plus dessert into our guts. We were both so happy to be spending the holidays with close friends and their families. We got to experience what Christmas is all about in Australia and loved each minute of it! Thank you to all the families who opened their hearts and homes to us, we really appreciated all your lovely gestures! The next 10 days were spent at Amy's Caravan in Ulladulla. It's a caravan park right next to the beach but also has a swimming pool, bouncing pillow, and activities center. Courtney's good friend Amy E (old roommate from second year Uni) and her boyfriend Stefan came down to spend the holidays with us as well. We all had a great time enjoying the beach, going for runs, partying, and making the most delicious BBQs! One day we went on an excursion to Pebbly beach, known for having wild kangaroos stroll with you down the beach. Unfortunately we didn't see any kangaroos but we did enjoy the beautiful beach and ultra friendly birds! After we went and had fish and chips in Batemans Bay! One evening Pop invited us all out to fish, he's a seasoned fisherman and wanted to show us what the South Coast had to offer. Below was the cheering section! The fishing trip was successful with the group catching 3 small fish that Pop and chris ate the next day for lunch! Pop however asked that we never join him again due to all the line snags, loud disturbances, and flash lights turning on and off! Next time he only took the boys! Another night the 6 of us went to the local RSL club to participate in their weekly meat draw and pokies (poker machines, which are in almost every bar in Australia). We didn't win but had a delicious dinner and good fun playing around. The second week we returned and won 2 meat trays! SCORE! On a different day Stefan drove his car down down Monkey road, which ended up being 20km of unpaved bumpiness ending at Pigeon House Mountain. After our stomachs settled we hiked up a nice, well beaten trail then climbed insanely steep ladders where we reached the top for some views of the area. It being overcast allowed us to hike without keeling over with heat exhaustion, however the view wasn't too speculator. Amy and Sid drove to Sydney to spend New Years in the city, while we stayed and enjoyed the night in Ulladulla! In the evening we walked to the town and and watched fireworks from a patio bar. After the 9:00pm show we headed to the local fair where we rode bumper cars, ate pizza, and enjoyed some cotton candy then returned to the bar. It was a great time! The next morning we woke up and were feeling not half bad so we decided to head out to an animal park. We had an amazing time petting and feeding the Australian animals! On another adventure Sid, Andrew, Chris (Amy's Mom), and I walked along 5 different beaches to the lighthouse. The walk was very nice with some great views of pelicans. The last few nights were spent playing with the neighbour's 5 boys! Each night we would have an incredibly fun soccer game usually resulting in the girls (better known as The Bashers) winning! We flew with Etihad Airways from Johannesburg to Abu Dhabi. It was a great flight with delicious food and complimentary drinks! Once we landed we had to wait for our visas to get processed and book a hotel. Once everything was sorted we swung our packs onto our backs and headed for the door; as the doors opened we were hit with a wall of desert heat! Abu Dhabi is so hot! We jumped in a cab and headed for our hotel. We had decided to give ourselves a bit of luxury while in the UAE after 8 months of backpacking. Our hotel was super nice, especially compared to some of the places we’ve stayed in. It included a real bed and mattress, clean sheets, towels, TV, rain shower, complimentary slippers (which Andrew wore around town) and fast free in room wifi YAY!!!! It was really late and we hadn't eaten dinner so we ordered room service at 2 AM! In the morning we headed out to sight see; we planned to walk around then head to the beach. The concierge offered to book us a cab but we told him we wanted to walk around the city. He gave us a strange look and we quickly found out why. No one walks in Abu Dhabi, it is more or less impossible. It’s so hot, humid and sunny that walking is very difficult. We being budget travelers decided we would still try, and found it to be quite a challenge. We would walk only in the shade even if it meant walking directly beside a tall construction barrier that cast a shadow about 2 feet wide! Overall we were very impressed with how pristine a city Abu Dhabi is! Every building is unique, but they all have one thing in common; they are all new! After sweating our butts off we headed to the beach for a cool dip in the water. We were so excited to finally be somewhere where we could swim. We quickly changed out of our sweaty clothes and ran to the water. The beach front was nice and clean; however, the water was as warm as the air and had some enormous jellyfish floating in it! We had a good laugh and decided we would head back to the central market to meet up with our close friend Jacquie. Jacquie recently moved to Abu Dhabi to teach at a very prestigious school where the kids are descendants from the royal families. We were so happy to see her; we miss home so spending time with her made us feel a little bit closer to family and friends in Canada. She then showed us the proper way to tour the city…by taxi! We drove to the Emirates Palace, which you'll remember from the movie Sex and the City 2; which is an amazingly beautiful hotel with rooms starting at around $500 per night. They wouldn’t let us go inside as we were in beachwear (actually Andrew's shorts were a little too revealing by exposing his knees) but we got to see the courtyard and fountains, which were stunning! Later in the evening we enjoyed some food at a family restaurant with two sections: one for family and one for men. The first booth they sat us in was in the family section and we all had to sit on the same side. Once another booth opened we asked to switch. After dinner Jacquie took us for a drink at one of the “hidden” bars called Harvesters. We were told drinking is frowned upon/possibly illegal in the UAE but because the city is so international they have bars attached to all major hotels. The only difference is the bars are in the basement and somewhat hidden. When we went through the door into Harvesters the door man gave us a weird look. We then realized why. Harvesters houses the local prostitution scene. Most of the people in the bar were on “dates” with Thai "women". We enjoyed watching the customers/client interactions and over hearing some haggling for prices. Aside from this we had a great time dancing to the live band! The next day we got to see Jacs apartment, then we traveled to Dubai to see the Burj Khalifa or better known as the world's tallest phallic symbol. When you first see the building it seems as though it is as big as some of the surrounding ones because it is so far away. But when we got closer there was no doubting how big this monstrosity actually is! Our cab dropped us off in front of the mall; which has everything inside including an aquarium, skating rink, and every boutique store imaginable. Outside the valet sign read this "Normal, VIP and VVIP." I asked what each meant and was told VIP is for wealthy people and VVIP was for Very Very wealthy people. In a matter of minutes we saw a Rolls Royce, a Lamborghini and a Ferrari. Once we toured the outside of the Burj (because poor people aren't allowed inside...I'm not kidding) and mall we had to part ways with Jacs as she had a party to attend and we had to get back to Abu Dhabi to catch our flight to the mother land, India! It was sad saying goodbye but we had an excellent visit and will hopefully get to swing back through for another night at Harvesters on our way back to Canada, whenever that shall be! We arrived in Coffee Bay at the end of our 5 day hike on the Wild Coast Trail. Coffee Bay is a small town located right on the Indian Ocean. We rocked up to the Coffee Shack, a good sized backpackers where we planned to camp for the next 3 days. The atmosphere at Coffee Shack was great and we met a lot of people that told us that the place is addictive and that we would end up staying longer than we planned. They were right. We planned to stay 3 days and ended up staying 6. In that time we enjoyed some great parties, some high stakes card games and of course the waves! The first or second night we were in Coffee Bay our hostel had a full moon party and to kick-off the night we headed up to the bluffs overlooking the Indian Ocean to have oysters and drinks! And it was free, all of it! Jeffrey's BayAfter our 6 days at the Coffee Shack we had to move on before we moved in so we headed further south down the coast to Jeffrey's Bay. J-Bay is a famous little surfers town known for the supertubes, a large clean wave that forms a tube perfect for surf competitions. J-Bay is also a good place for us beginners to improve our skills. We stayed in a great backpackers (Island Vibe) in an awesome private cabin with an amazing view! and yes we stayed longer than planned... again :) The photo sequence below shows Andrew tackling a wave that was a bit too big for his long board experience!
The wild coast is one of the last undeveloped areas in southern Africa so we decided to organize a hike from Port St. Johns to Coffee Bay to really take it all in. After reading up on the “trail” we learned that it was best to hike with a guide who knew the way (as it isn’t well marked), could arrange village accommodations, and assist with river crossings. Our guide's name was Lloyd, a Port St. Johns local fisherman who was extremely knowledgeable, entertaining, funny, and made us feel like his brother from another mother! Lloyd also taught us a few sayings in Xhosa (the click language), about the flora and fauna of the area and some of the villages' history. The trail began at Second Beach in Port St. Johns and winded around a small river and into a nature reserve. Throughout the five days the trail followed along the coast went through two nature reserves and into seven small rural villages. We got to hike through varying scenery of rolling green hills spotted with cows, goats, and sheep; lush forests, pristine white beaches, muddy mangroves, and small rural villages. Each night we slept in a villager’s rondaval/hut. The walls and floor were made from mud; the floor either had a piece of carpet, linoleum or was bare packed dirt. The huts had two small windows, a door split into two and a thatch straw roof. We slept on either straw or foam stuffed matrasses on the floor with clean bedding. When we arrived at each hut Lloyd would introduce us to our house mama, we then would sit down for welcome tea and bread. Each Mama used her own delicious recipe to make Xhosa bread, a very dense freshly baked bread. Each one was different but all so delicious and filling! One was made over a fire while another one was made in a plastic bag, the mama would place the dough in a plastic bag and place it in water and let the steam cook the bread inside the bag. We then would get to walk around in the village or relax in our private hut until dinner. We had dinner and breakfasts prepared by our house mamas. The food was so delicious and varied from beans, rice, pap (African porridge), fried chicken, freshly caught crayfish with garlic butter, potatoes, gravy, eggs and oatmeal! One night Lloyd took us to the local pool hall for a couple of beers and rounds of pool. We really enjoyed chatting with the locals and they enjoyed letting us win so we would have to keep playing with them! After spending time in the four villages we noticed a huge difference between the villages with and without electricity. The ones without had way more people outside interacting; people and children were all out chatting with one another, playing soccer, singing, or dancing. While we read we listened to a group of kids singing and dancing. After about 45 mins someone knocked on our door and the group leader asked if they could preform for us. They preformed 5 amazing songs each accompanied with a different dance. Enjoy the clip below! Each day varied in hiking length, scenery, and beauty. Most days we got to eat lunch while sitting on what felt like a private beach. The only other sun bathers were the cows or sheep! It was amazing playing in the waves, picking through shells, and enjoying the sun! There were several river crossing throughout the 5 days. We crossed usually in a small row boat operated by a local young male who normally was fishing in between customers. At one river Lloyd had said it could be deep but most times it is walkable. We had not planned not a deep river crossing so when we came to it and saw it was a large river getting deeper by the minute as high tide came in. Luckily Lloyd talked the local people into letting us pay to use a kayak that was sitting along the river's edge. The only problem was that Lloyd was going to have to swim the boat back. After watching Lloyd almost get swept away while testing the depth of the river, we all decided that renting the boat was our best option. Lloyd steadied the boat as I (Courtney) climbed in, the boat almost flipped from the strong current but good old Lloyd got us all across in two groups then had to return the boat and swim back to us. The whole time we had a small local audience! |
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