23 April: I met my friend James at the train station in downtown Melbourne. It was great to see him because we hadn't seen each other since 2001. Before we even went back to his place, we met up with some of his friends, Dave and Stacey for dinner at the Vegie Bar on Brunswick St. I had a tasty burrito and a beer. Dinner was followed by some gelato that we got across the street.
24 April: Walked around in the center of the city again. Didn't really even see a whole lot. The weather was pretty crumby. Later that evening, James and I went to a couple parties at friends' places. This was the latest I had stayed up in a very long time.
25 April: Recovered from staying up too late. Later James' sister Georgie and I went to walk around the local Saturday flea market. I didn't buy anything because I already have enough stuff. It was ANSAC Day also. Which is kind of like Memorial Day for the States, so nothing was open.
Later that evening, we had dinner with Liz' (James' mother) sister, Angela and her husband Charles. We had steaks which were very tasty. This was the first actual steak I had eaten since between Christmas and New Year's of 2006. After dinner, James and I headed out again to another house party. That was fun, and we stayed up even later. I don't know that last time I stayed up until 4:00. It was actually kind of fun.
26 April: We didn't do anything. The weather was blah and there wasn't much going on so we just hund out at the house.
27 April: I went for a run for the first time since I was Te Anau. That was kind of refreshing. After my run I went into the city and checked out the Melbourne museum. They had the largest selection of bugs I think I have ever seen in my life. The only place that my have had more is the Museum of Natural History in New York City.
On my way back to the train station, I heard some jazz playing in Federation Square, so I headed over to see what was going on. The Melbourne Jazz Festival was going on, so I stood and watched Hoodangers play for about an hour.
Once I arrived back at James' place, they were getting ready to have Marie and her boyfriend (both coworkers of Liz) over for dinner. We had a lamb roast that was delicious also.
28 April: I went to the Queen Victoria Market this day to wonder around. It's pretty much a big flea market only instead of used things, they're new things. I ended up buying a new wallet. I have been looking for a wallet exactly like my old one for several months now and couldn't find anything. Then, out of the blue, there it was! Exactly like my old wallet.
I walked around a bit after that and walked to the Shrine of Remembrance. The Shrine is to honor all the fallen soldiers of Australia over the years. While walking back from the Shrine, I walked along the Botanic Gardens. I didn't go in, but they were still nice looking. I stopped at Federation Square again to watch FLAP! play for a bit before heading back to the house.
29 April: I went to the Center of Contemporary Photography with Georgie. It was really nice and it's nice to see the work of other people. It just reminds you how many, better photographers there are out there. Perhaps they're not better, they're just different.
After checking out the CCP, I went to the National Gallery of Victoria, International. Here I looked at some really old Egyptian and Oceanic artifacts. The more I see artifacts from Papua New Guinea, and the tribes in that area, the more I want to go there. We'll see what happens:)
30 April: I had a little bit of a head cold so I stayed in the whole day. I did go for a run later in the afternoon which felt really good believe it or not. Later, James and I had $4 pizza at some restaurant with Dave, Stacey and some other people he knows.
1 May: I won't be doing a whole lot today either. Just resting and recovering. I feel better than yesterday, but still not 100%. I fly to Sydney tomorrow to meet with another friend that I worked with more than 10 years ago at Camp Michigania. That will be pretty fun. She said she may have some work lined up for me, so I'm going to see what it's all about.
I decided to fly to Sydney instead of take the bus. It just doesn't make that much sense to me to pay AUS$77 to sit on a bus for 13hrs when I paid AUS$82 to sit in a plane for an hour and twenty mins. Does that make sense to you?
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
23 April 09
17 April: I didn't do a whole lot. I walked over to Baldwin St. which is supposed to be the steepest street in the world. Boy was it steep. I'm sure there are streets in San Fransisco that are pretty close to Baldwin St, but it must have that extra little steepness or something.
Later that evening I thought I took a tour of the Speight's Brewery. It's a nice brewery in the middle of the city. It's a little bit different than the Anheuser-Busch Brewery in St. Louis that I took back in 2005. It's pretty big, but not huge. Not to mention, the beer is much better than anything I think I have tried from Anheuser-Busch.
18 April: Amelie, a German girl I met earlier in my travels, took Cecilia and I to the Moeraki Boulders on our way to Mt. Cook. Moeraki Boulders are these strange boulders on the beach near the town of Moeraki. They are large and spherical. Some look like dinosaur eggs and have cracks all over them. They're pretty neat looking.
Amelie wasn't going the whole way to Mt. Cook so she dropped us off at the junction. Before she drove off, the most unexpected group of people picked us up, a Thai family in an RV on a family holiday. The closest I could get to pronouncing their names were Cha'ong and Ursá. I didn't catch the name of the son and daughter. They were really pleasant to ride with and we even got to stop and take some pictures.
Once we arrived at Mt. Cook village, I took off for the Mueller Hut. The hut was full, but the night was supposed to be good, so I camped outside the hut. It was quite the hike to the hut, about four hours strait up. It would have been pretty easy, but I had my whole backpack on which weighed about 25kg. I met a group of young people at the top. Debbie and Hugo were the two most talkative. It was great, they showed lots of interest in Alaska, so, we talked a lot about Alaska.
19 April: I woke up to a most spectacular sunrise. I couldn't have asked for much more, no wind, not too cold, a few clouds, serenity. It was something else.
About half way down the mountain, I ran into David, an English raised immigrant whose family ended up in San Fransisco area. We talked the rest of the way down the mountain and split when I told him I was doing to Hooker Valley Track. An hour and a half later, I arrived at the terminus of the glacier and stopped for a break. I had run into a family from the States who were visiting their son who was studying at university in Wellington. We chatted for a while and I continued.
Once I got back to the village, I had a quick lunch and had to get out of there. The second car that passed, stopped to pick me up. Marco from Switzerland picked me up. He said I was his first hitch hiker with his broken English. He said that he was going to Lake Tekapo and then Christchurch the next day. So, I got a lift to Lake Tekapo. The hostel where I wanted to stay was booked full. I could have gone to other places, but instead I decided that it was a quiet enough place to sleep on the beach. I didn't set up my ten or anything. I just slept under the stars in my sleeping bag. It was kind of nice.
20 April: Marco said he would drive me to Christchurch the day before because he was headed that way also. I met up with him and off we went. Less than three hours later, arrived in the city and we split.
Chirstchurch seemed like an all right place. It was clean, there were touristy things to do in the center of town, but other than that, it didn't seem like there was a lot happening. I stayed one night and decided to go to the little town of Akaroa out on the Banks Peninsula.
21 April: I took a shuttle bus out to Akaroa. It is a little town situated on an inlet. It's pretty touristy and it's claim to fame is that you can swim with dolphins. I didn't, but I did walk around a little instead. I met my Swiss friend Anett out there also. Because there wasn't a whole lot to do out there, I left the next morning.
22 April: I took off on foot about 8:00am. I walked about three or four kms. and got a ride for an older gentleman named John. Originally English, John has lived in New Zealand for the last 32 years. Although soft spoken, and at time difficult to hear over the noise of the car, we had a great conversation for the whole duration of the hour and a half trip from near Akaroa all the way to Christchurch. We talked mostly about the differences in New Zealand and English accents and the linguists behind how, what and why the English language has changed so much between all the different major English speaking countries in the world. It was nice to have an intriguing conversation with him. John was on the way to a Home Depot kind of store to pick up some plumbing supplies as his trade is a plumber. He just let me off at the warehouse parking lot and I was on my way. The last bit of dialogue was nice, “Thank you so much for the ride John. It was a pleasure riding with you”.
“The pleasure is mine, it was nice having some company for the ride”, he replied.
Once I returned to Christchurch, I didn't do a whole lot. I went to the museum and botanic gardens the day before, so I just walked around a bit more the second day I was there.
In the evening, I met up with Anett for sushi. That was fun because it was her first time eating sushi. After we parted ways, I met up with Ziv, as he was back in Christchurch. We had a couple of beers at a pub with a couple people from where he was staying.
23 April: I walked around a bit more just to look around. Not a whole lot happening on this day though. I was just waiting to get on my plane to Melbourne.
Later that evening I thought I took a tour of the Speight's Brewery. It's a nice brewery in the middle of the city. It's a little bit different than the Anheuser-Busch Brewery in St. Louis that I took back in 2005. It's pretty big, but not huge. Not to mention, the beer is much better than anything I think I have tried from Anheuser-Busch.
18 April: Amelie, a German girl I met earlier in my travels, took Cecilia and I to the Moeraki Boulders on our way to Mt. Cook. Moeraki Boulders are these strange boulders on the beach near the town of Moeraki. They are large and spherical. Some look like dinosaur eggs and have cracks all over them. They're pretty neat looking.
Amelie wasn't going the whole way to Mt. Cook so she dropped us off at the junction. Before she drove off, the most unexpected group of people picked us up, a Thai family in an RV on a family holiday. The closest I could get to pronouncing their names were Cha'ong and Ursá. I didn't catch the name of the son and daughter. They were really pleasant to ride with and we even got to stop and take some pictures.
Once we arrived at Mt. Cook village, I took off for the Mueller Hut. The hut was full, but the night was supposed to be good, so I camped outside the hut. It was quite the hike to the hut, about four hours strait up. It would have been pretty easy, but I had my whole backpack on which weighed about 25kg. I met a group of young people at the top. Debbie and Hugo were the two most talkative. It was great, they showed lots of interest in Alaska, so, we talked a lot about Alaska.
19 April: I woke up to a most spectacular sunrise. I couldn't have asked for much more, no wind, not too cold, a few clouds, serenity. It was something else.
About half way down the mountain, I ran into David, an English raised immigrant whose family ended up in San Fransisco area. We talked the rest of the way down the mountain and split when I told him I was doing to Hooker Valley Track. An hour and a half later, I arrived at the terminus of the glacier and stopped for a break. I had run into a family from the States who were visiting their son who was studying at university in Wellington. We chatted for a while and I continued.
Once I got back to the village, I had a quick lunch and had to get out of there. The second car that passed, stopped to pick me up. Marco from Switzerland picked me up. He said I was his first hitch hiker with his broken English. He said that he was going to Lake Tekapo and then Christchurch the next day. So, I got a lift to Lake Tekapo. The hostel where I wanted to stay was booked full. I could have gone to other places, but instead I decided that it was a quiet enough place to sleep on the beach. I didn't set up my ten or anything. I just slept under the stars in my sleeping bag. It was kind of nice.
20 April: Marco said he would drive me to Christchurch the day before because he was headed that way also. I met up with him and off we went. Less than three hours later, arrived in the city and we split.
Chirstchurch seemed like an all right place. It was clean, there were touristy things to do in the center of town, but other than that, it didn't seem like there was a lot happening. I stayed one night and decided to go to the little town of Akaroa out on the Banks Peninsula.
21 April: I took a shuttle bus out to Akaroa. It is a little town situated on an inlet. It's pretty touristy and it's claim to fame is that you can swim with dolphins. I didn't, but I did walk around a little instead. I met my Swiss friend Anett out there also. Because there wasn't a whole lot to do out there, I left the next morning.
22 April: I took off on foot about 8:00am. I walked about three or four kms. and got a ride for an older gentleman named John. Originally English, John has lived in New Zealand for the last 32 years. Although soft spoken, and at time difficult to hear over the noise of the car, we had a great conversation for the whole duration of the hour and a half trip from near Akaroa all the way to Christchurch. We talked mostly about the differences in New Zealand and English accents and the linguists behind how, what and why the English language has changed so much between all the different major English speaking countries in the world. It was nice to have an intriguing conversation with him. John was on the way to a Home Depot kind of store to pick up some plumbing supplies as his trade is a plumber. He just let me off at the warehouse parking lot and I was on my way. The last bit of dialogue was nice, “Thank you so much for the ride John. It was a pleasure riding with you”.
“The pleasure is mine, it was nice having some company for the ride”, he replied.
Once I returned to Christchurch, I didn't do a whole lot. I went to the museum and botanic gardens the day before, so I just walked around a bit more the second day I was there.
In the evening, I met up with Anett for sushi. That was fun because it was her first time eating sushi. After we parted ways, I met up with Ziv, as he was back in Christchurch. We had a couple of beers at a pub with a couple people from where he was staying.
23 April: I walked around a bit more just to look around. Not a whole lot happening on this day though. I was just waiting to get on my plane to Melbourne.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
17 April
27 March: We were still in Nelson so I decided to go for a run up to the Grandpian Viewpoint. What a view. From the top of this big hill, you could see the whole bay and Nelson below. Fantastic!
28 March: We took the bus from Nelson to Punakaiki. Talk about a wonder! This little gem is in the middle of nowhere on the coast of the Tasman Sea. People typically stop there to see what are called the Pancake Rocks. These are rock formations that the sea crashes against. When the tide comes in right, water sprays everywhere. What people don't often see in Punakaiki is the forest. Walking through the forest makes you wonder where you are. It looks like something strait out of Lord of the Rings. It's a rain forest in between the sea and mountains.
29 March: Took the bus to Fox Glacier. Met a Canadian, Kevin, who take 10 times as many pictures as I do. He was a great guy.
30 March: Kevin and I woke up early to catch a sunrise over Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman reflecting off Lake Matheson. Later, Kevin was going skydiving, so I thought I would go too. What a rush!!! Jumping off bridges in Ecuador, jumping out of planes in New Zealand, what won't I do?
31 March: Kevin and I hiked up Mt. Fox which proved to be more demanding than either of us had anticipated. No problems though. We toughed it out for amazing views of the mountains and glaciers to our left and the sea to our right. That evening Andrea, a German girl she met, Kevin and I went to the beach, 22km from Fox Glacier, and took spectacular evening shots of the beach and this amazing lagoon. I've never seen water so still it was breathtaking. The bug, however, were not.
1 April: Andrea and I boarded the bus for Wanaka. The driver talked about every species of cow in New Zealand and the different grasses each of them eat. Wanaka is another little New Zealand gem. The first evening I walked up Mt.. Iron (549m) which gave nice views of the area. Then I went to Puzzling World which for anyone who has been to the Mystery Spot knows what this is about. It's just a bunch of wacky optical illusions and a big walk through puzzle. That evening Andrea and I went to the Paradiso, a cinema that has couches instead of seats. Half way through they shut the movie down for an intermission. When you get up for refreshments, they have fresh baked cookies waiting in the lobby.
2 April: I walked along the lake 6km to get to the Roy's Peak trail head. Then I headed up the side of this mountain 6km. From the summit of Roy's Peak (1578m) were awe inspiring views of Mt. Aspiring, Lake Wanaka and the surrounding area. Then I ran down the a ridge they call the Skyline Track 10km. I ended up a ways behind the city so I hitched a ride back to town with a man they call “Croc”. He said he was a hunter and had just finished some guided hunting trip. It was kind of funny, he still had blood on his hands. How creepy is that?
3 April: Didn't do a whole lot. I just ran along the lake.
4 April: Didn't do anything, just relaxed.
5 April: I ran up Mt. Iron. Then met this Israeli, Johnny, who further inspired me to go to Africa. Andrea, Johnny and I went to BBQ some local church was throwing down in the park. That was actually really nice.
6 April: Bussed to Queenstown. Now is supposed to be the city on the South Island for adreneline junkies. You can do anything there, jet boating, sky diving, bungi jumping, hang gliding, whatever suits you. The weather wasn't that great so we just walked around a bit. We met up with Urs, a Swiss guy I met in Auckland. We ate Mexican and then went to a cafe called Patagonia. It was great! Not to mention, they had FREE WIRELESS!!! This is nearly unheard of in New Zealand! Then we went out for drinks at a couple places. We met up with Anett who was also in town and a Swedish girl who I met in Wanaka, Mikaela.
7 April: Andrea and I hiked up Bob's Peak instead of taking the gondola. It was a little rainy, but still nice. We met an Israeli staying in our room, Ziv, who turned out to be someone I will remember for year to come. Ziv, Mikaela, Andrea and I went to Ferg Burger. Ziv got “The Big Al”. It was the biggest burger I've ever seen in my life. He ate it faster than I eat.
8 April: Didn't do a whole lot. Just got ready for hiking!
9 April: Andrea, Mikaela, Ziv and I started the Routeburn. It's a New Zealand great walk. A great walk it is! Absolutely stunning! Through forest and over apline. There was snow on the peak around us. It was 32km over three days. I would have run it if I had done it before to take all me pictures.
10 April: Taking picture of the ocean from Conical hill in the middle of the mountains.
11 April: Mikaela and I walked out earlier than Ziv and Andrea because I had a Milford Sound cruise to catch. I was supposed to get on a bus, but because Mikaela was hitching, I decided to hitch with her. We got a ride from a couple coming from Dunedin for the weekend, Richard and his girlfriend whose name I don't remember. We made a stop at this river to take a look before we headed to the Sound. So much water! Before we arrived at the sound we had to stop at a tunnel. I saw a Kea standing in the rain. The Kea is a bird. It's it only alpine parrot in the world. It is also endangered. Milford Sound was great, but I would have been better if it wasn't pouring rain! I took the bus to Te Anau after that. Mikaela was able to hitch a ride back with the same couple we got a ride in from.
12 April: Mikaela and I wanted to do something so we hitched out to Rainbow Reach on the Kepler Track with an older couple traveling from Melbourne. We walked to the Moturua Hut and back to
Te Anau along the river.
13 April: I ran from town to Bond Bay and back. That was the longest run I have done in years. As Forrest Gump would say, “I just felt like running.” I ran for a hour, forty minutes.
14 April: Cecilia, a girl from New York, Mikaela, Ziv and I drove to the Catlins. We headed south along the coast through Invercargill and had lunch. We stopped at Waipapa Point, Slope Point, which is the furthest south point of the South Island of New Zealand, and Curio Bay on our way to New Haven on Surat Bay where we stayed the night.
15 April: I woke up to take sunrise pictures along the coast. I was so excited I almost ran into a sea lion. After that, I was a little more cautious and decided I would just take pictures of them and not try to trample them. The beach I was walking on was long and open. I saw about 14 sea lions along the way. Then was drove to Cathedral Caves, Matai Falls, Purakaunui Falls and Nuggett Point. Boy how I love to ocean. That night I slept in my tent.
16 April: I woke up early again to walked along the beach. This time, when I reached the end, I saw one yellow-eyed penguin. We drove north toward Dunedin, but not the whole way. I Cecilia and I got out at Milton and hitched a ride to Dunedin with a local farmer, Jim. He talked about fishing, farming, everything. When we arrived, I just walked around Dunedin and got some things done.
To all who haven't ever traveled for a long period of time, I have had some interesting things run through my head. For those who have, perhaps you can relate. The biggest thing is a disconnection from reality. I haven''t quite achieved this yet, nor am I trying to disconnect from reality. But I have met some people who have been traveling for long periods of time. It's interesting to hear some of their ideas and ideals. The longer you are away from the things and the people you are most familiar with, slowly become obsolete and you begin a new way of life. The disconnection comes when you have been away for so long that you can no longer coupe or understand people around you who have close friends and routines and a certain number of material things I like to call toys! You know, the fun stuff, a bike, a skis, things like that.
It's a completely different way of life, a life based almost solely on survival. It's the life of a nomad. I haven't reached the point where I must work to live, but their are those who have. You work for a bit and move on to the next place. Then, you work for a bit to get to the place after that. When you stay a place you never really settle and you wonder what your next move should be. Objects in motion, tend to stay in motion, object at still, tend to stay still. It works with the vagabond also. You always feel like you need to be moving. You ask yourself, "where next?"
The thought of material possession makes you think differently about what you really need in life. Do you really need this thing? Can I live without that thing? Living out of a backpack isn't always easy, but it makes you wonder how many "things" one really needs. Even with a bag you will wonder what you can get rid of next to make it smaller, lighter. It's your life in a turtle shell.
28 March: We took the bus from Nelson to Punakaiki. Talk about a wonder! This little gem is in the middle of nowhere on the coast of the Tasman Sea. People typically stop there to see what are called the Pancake Rocks. These are rock formations that the sea crashes against. When the tide comes in right, water sprays everywhere. What people don't often see in Punakaiki is the forest. Walking through the forest makes you wonder where you are. It looks like something strait out of Lord of the Rings. It's a rain forest in between the sea and mountains.
29 March: Took the bus to Fox Glacier. Met a Canadian, Kevin, who take 10 times as many pictures as I do. He was a great guy.
30 March: Kevin and I woke up early to catch a sunrise over Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman reflecting off Lake Matheson. Later, Kevin was going skydiving, so I thought I would go too. What a rush!!! Jumping off bridges in Ecuador, jumping out of planes in New Zealand, what won't I do?
31 March: Kevin and I hiked up Mt. Fox which proved to be more demanding than either of us had anticipated. No problems though. We toughed it out for amazing views of the mountains and glaciers to our left and the sea to our right. That evening Andrea, a German girl she met, Kevin and I went to the beach, 22km from Fox Glacier, and took spectacular evening shots of the beach and this amazing lagoon. I've never seen water so still it was breathtaking. The bug, however, were not.
1 April: Andrea and I boarded the bus for Wanaka. The driver talked about every species of cow in New Zealand and the different grasses each of them eat. Wanaka is another little New Zealand gem. The first evening I walked up Mt.. Iron (549m) which gave nice views of the area. Then I went to Puzzling World which for anyone who has been to the Mystery Spot knows what this is about. It's just a bunch of wacky optical illusions and a big walk through puzzle. That evening Andrea and I went to the Paradiso, a cinema that has couches instead of seats. Half way through they shut the movie down for an intermission. When you get up for refreshments, they have fresh baked cookies waiting in the lobby.
2 April: I walked along the lake 6km to get to the Roy's Peak trail head. Then I headed up the side of this mountain 6km. From the summit of Roy's Peak (1578m) were awe inspiring views of Mt. Aspiring, Lake Wanaka and the surrounding area. Then I ran down the a ridge they call the Skyline Track 10km. I ended up a ways behind the city so I hitched a ride back to town with a man they call “Croc”. He said he was a hunter and had just finished some guided hunting trip. It was kind of funny, he still had blood on his hands. How creepy is that?
3 April: Didn't do a whole lot. I just ran along the lake.
4 April: Didn't do anything, just relaxed.
5 April: I ran up Mt. Iron. Then met this Israeli, Johnny, who further inspired me to go to Africa. Andrea, Johnny and I went to BBQ some local church was throwing down in the park. That was actually really nice.
6 April: Bussed to Queenstown. Now is supposed to be the city on the South Island for adreneline junkies. You can do anything there, jet boating, sky diving, bungi jumping, hang gliding, whatever suits you. The weather wasn't that great so we just walked around a bit. We met up with Urs, a Swiss guy I met in Auckland. We ate Mexican and then went to a cafe called Patagonia. It was great! Not to mention, they had FREE WIRELESS!!! This is nearly unheard of in New Zealand! Then we went out for drinks at a couple places. We met up with Anett who was also in town and a Swedish girl who I met in Wanaka, Mikaela.
7 April: Andrea and I hiked up Bob's Peak instead of taking the gondola. It was a little rainy, but still nice. We met an Israeli staying in our room, Ziv, who turned out to be someone I will remember for year to come. Ziv, Mikaela, Andrea and I went to Ferg Burger. Ziv got “The Big Al”. It was the biggest burger I've ever seen in my life. He ate it faster than I eat.
8 April: Didn't do a whole lot. Just got ready for hiking!
9 April: Andrea, Mikaela, Ziv and I started the Routeburn. It's a New Zealand great walk. A great walk it is! Absolutely stunning! Through forest and over apline. There was snow on the peak around us. It was 32km over three days. I would have run it if I had done it before to take all me pictures.
10 April: Taking picture of the ocean from Conical hill in the middle of the mountains.
11 April: Mikaela and I walked out earlier than Ziv and Andrea because I had a Milford Sound cruise to catch. I was supposed to get on a bus, but because Mikaela was hitching, I decided to hitch with her. We got a ride from a couple coming from Dunedin for the weekend, Richard and his girlfriend whose name I don't remember. We made a stop at this river to take a look before we headed to the Sound. So much water! Before we arrived at the sound we had to stop at a tunnel. I saw a Kea standing in the rain. The Kea is a bird. It's it only alpine parrot in the world. It is also endangered. Milford Sound was great, but I would have been better if it wasn't pouring rain! I took the bus to Te Anau after that. Mikaela was able to hitch a ride back with the same couple we got a ride in from.
12 April: Mikaela and I wanted to do something so we hitched out to Rainbow Reach on the Kepler Track with an older couple traveling from Melbourne. We walked to the Moturua Hut and back to
Te Anau along the river.
13 April: I ran from town to Bond Bay and back. That was the longest run I have done in years. As Forrest Gump would say, “I just felt like running.” I ran for a hour, forty minutes.
14 April: Cecilia, a girl from New York, Mikaela, Ziv and I drove to the Catlins. We headed south along the coast through Invercargill and had lunch. We stopped at Waipapa Point, Slope Point, which is the furthest south point of the South Island of New Zealand, and Curio Bay on our way to New Haven on Surat Bay where we stayed the night.
15 April: I woke up to take sunrise pictures along the coast. I was so excited I almost ran into a sea lion. After that, I was a little more cautious and decided I would just take pictures of them and not try to trample them. The beach I was walking on was long and open. I saw about 14 sea lions along the way. Then was drove to Cathedral Caves, Matai Falls, Purakaunui Falls and Nuggett Point. Boy how I love to ocean. That night I slept in my tent.
16 April: I woke up early again to walked along the beach. This time, when I reached the end, I saw one yellow-eyed penguin. We drove north toward Dunedin, but not the whole way. I Cecilia and I got out at Milton and hitched a ride to Dunedin with a local farmer, Jim. He talked about fishing, farming, everything. When we arrived, I just walked around Dunedin and got some things done.
To all who haven't ever traveled for a long period of time, I have had some interesting things run through my head. For those who have, perhaps you can relate. The biggest thing is a disconnection from reality. I haven''t quite achieved this yet, nor am I trying to disconnect from reality. But I have met some people who have been traveling for long periods of time. It's interesting to hear some of their ideas and ideals. The longer you are away from the things and the people you are most familiar with, slowly become obsolete and you begin a new way of life. The disconnection comes when you have been away for so long that you can no longer coupe or understand people around you who have close friends and routines and a certain number of material things I like to call toys! You know, the fun stuff, a bike, a skis, things like that.
It's a completely different way of life, a life based almost solely on survival. It's the life of a nomad. I haven't reached the point where I must work to live, but their are those who have. You work for a bit and move on to the next place. Then, you work for a bit to get to the place after that. When you stay a place you never really settle and you wonder what your next move should be. Objects in motion, tend to stay in motion, object at still, tend to stay still. It works with the vagabond also. You always feel like you need to be moving. You ask yourself, "where next?"
The thought of material possession makes you think differently about what you really need in life. Do you really need this thing? Can I live without that thing? Living out of a backpack isn't always easy, but it makes you wonder how many "things" one really needs. Even with a bag you will wonder what you can get rid of next to make it smaller, lighter. It's your life in a turtle shell.
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