A Sunburnt Country

Help a Sloth

2011-12-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

This holiday season if you are looking for a way to give back, please consider donating to Aviarios Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica. The sanctuary is home to over 150 sloths, that need our help. By donating money, you are providing medical care, food, enclosures and towards the education program. http://www.razoo.com/story/Slothsanctuary

My Sloths make Animal Planet

2011-12-12T12:04:00.000-08:00

Tune in to Animal Planet on December 17th to see my sloths at Aviarios!

My Photo picked for Australian Geographic!

2011-11-25T08:52:00.000-08:00

A photo of Shark Bay World Heritage site I took in Western Australia, made it into the award winning magazine, Australian Geographic! Take a look!

http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/view-image.htm?index=0&gid=10356

Superior Hiking Trail: a 9 day walk in the woods

2011-09-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

Bear Lake on our last morning

This is what it is all about
The dirty and more fit version of Jessy

View from one of our camp sites. Here's my little tent.
Jessy in Minnesota
The group, 12 teenage campers and three staff
Wolf prints, we saw hundreds during the first portion of the trail.
Most of my view for 9 days was a bunch of backpacks, but I was lucky to see the birch trees!

This summer I worked at the camp I have been going to since I was 9 years old. I was teaching environmental ed there as I did in South Carolina. a day before their Counselors in Training were getting ready to go on a 9 day backpacking. Well, turns out their female counselor was sick before the trip and could not make it. They asked me to go, expecting the worst and I happily agreed to go, leaving them all in shock.

The only item for the hike I had brought along with me to the camp was my amazing water proof backpack! Everything else I had at home, so needless to say there was a lot of borrowing going on. I managed to get everything I needed, including biodegradable soap for when we did happen to find a body of water.

Superior Hiking Trail, also known as the SHT is one of the 10 best hikes in the world. Its rated the 5th best in the US. It goes from Deluth Minnesota to Canada along Lake Superior. It also goes through the Sawtooth Mountains. Its up and down, over massive rocks, through swamps, through mud, through birches and over bridges. Its great!

The first day we walked maybe a mile..I thought I was going to die! It was hot and I was tired of walking, believe me it crossed my mind if this was going to work out for me. We also managed to break a water pump that night, but luckily David (the trips director) ran out to buy a new one since we were still close to the road. We did hear wolves howling that night and in the morning.

The trail ended up being amazing, the sights were breath taking. Sure it was challenging, but this made it even more worth the while. The teenagers I got to know were each such great individuals! Especially the one who boiled my water for my coffee every morning.

For anyone wanting to try this hike, I would give yourself plenty of time to do it, I could have kept going after the 9 days! Make sure to bring a good bag, a water pump, and a camera!

The Highland Games in Savannah, Georgia

2011-09-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

My favorite places of the South....so far

2011-09-04T08:32:00.000-07:00

Chimney Rock State Park, North Carolina. Where they filmed Last of the Mohicans
Smokey Mountains National Park, Tennessee
New River, West Virgina
Historic City of Savannah, Georgia
Santee National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina
Keawa Island, South Carolina
Historic St. Augustine, Florida
Driftwood beach, Jekyll Island, Georgia
Charleston, South Carolina

Inspire!

2011-08-29T14:47:00.000-07:00

http://vimeo.com/27244727

Vote for me please!

2011-04-20T13:48:00.001-07:00

Hey friends,
I entered a contest to win $10,000 for traveling! I need as many votes as I can get and its going to be a challenge! Luckily I know I can count on all of you to vote for me once a day until the 26th. Maybe even spread the word? I will use this money to volunteer my time while abroad and use it wisely of course! Please help me out, it takes only seconds! Here's the link below!

www.http://readergetawaygiveaway.com/?id=848

You can vote from a different computer each time! Please let me continue traveling and volunteering! It means a lot!

Thanks everyone!
Jessy Zich

There is Nothing Like Winning $10,000 for OZ!

2011-03-11T12:53:00.000-08:00

Submit your OZ vacation photos and enter win $10,000 in travel money around Australia!

http://www.nothinglikeaustralia.com/nz/index.htm

Famous Sloths

2010-12-16T08:51:00.000-08:00

My sloth friends are becoming famous over night! Check out this video with Claire!

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/12/14/sloth.sanctuary.costa.rica/index.html?hpt=C2

Sloth Eating at Aviarios

2010-11-03T10:50:00.000-07:00

What to do with your day off?

2010-11-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

Downtown Cahuita
Found a humming bird nest at Aviarios
Don't we look good together!
Howler monkey baby hanging outside a tree next to our home
Mel and I crossing the border
with our guide and friend Chago looking for frogs at his house
I found a three legged frog.....you can thank Chaquita Banana for this
Downtown Cahuita
One of the best rides of my life on Alaska on the coast
Sloth resting in the mangroves, Panama
Dart Frog
Blue Jean Dart Frog
Bottle Nose Dolphin waving goodbye in Bocas
Dart frog in Panama
A house our guide Bobbie was watching in Bocas Del Toro, Panama

Before I left on my trip I did some research as to what there was to do on my days off at Aviarios. I had a pretty good idea, but some volunteers had a problem deciding on what they wanted to do. There is a lot to see and do, for every six days you work, you get a day off. Start planning it ASAP so that you have a buddy to go with you and its not too late.

I went to Bocas Del Toro Panama for the day, it was $145 for everything. We were picked up and taken across the border at Saxola. The crossing would be very easy to do alone and without a guide, however if you only have a day, you need to do the tour. Local buses down there will take longer and getting to Bocas alone will be over a day.

After crossing the scary "bridge" at Saxola our guide drove us in his truck to Bocas where we got on a water taxi to meet up with our guide of Bocas. The drive was nice and we got to see many Indigenous communities along the way. We did a dolphin tour, got to see dart frogs, mangroves, snorkeled around the mangroves, ate and saw a mangrove island filled with three toed sloths! Bocas Del Toro is also home to the Pygmy Three toed sloth, but is only found on Isla Escudo de Veraguas, the most remote island in the archipelago there. Visit http://www.willies-costarica-tours.com/ for more information.

We also did a horseback ride with Bridgettes trail rides located in Cahuita. for $50 you got a 3 hour ride, galloping on the beach and the jungle tour. We saw howlers and capuchins. The galloping was amazing, but if you have no experience with horses, please remember you can fall off and the last thing you want to do is break something in another country. Maybe keep it at a light trot or walk.

Here's a list of some of the activities to do on your day off or at 3pm when we are usually done feeding.

Visit the black sand beach 20 min. walk down the street
Horse back ride*
Day tour to Bocas Del Toro Panama*
Watch howler monkeys outside the volunteer house*
Visit Cahutia National Park* (Do not approach capuchin monkeys)
Visit a Bri Bri village
Take the bus to nearby towns
Take a canoe out at Aviarios, or better yet get Chago to take you out, just be sure to tip
Snorkel at Cahuita National Park

Daily Life of a Volunteer

2010-10-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

Kat doing the dishes
Alex and Frank working on the carrot cutter
Athena, the cutest three toed sloth in the world!
A pile of cuteness
Claire weighing Athena
Stephanie hanging around
This is one of the charts belonging to Chewbacca
Marcello the vet, Jamie and Chago
Sunshine and Sammy Hugging

Volunteering at Aviarios has of course been very rewarding, and I think I can speak for all of the volunteers when I say the work is not hard. I was actually shocked that by 2:30 you were done for the day, it is nice however because you can actually sit back and enjoy Costa Rica as well. Because we got off early, we also got up early, which meant we went to sleep early…..you get the picture I think. Here’s a look into the work you will do at Aviarios.

5:30am WAKE UP……Café con Leche anyone?

6:00am Repot to Sloths, start cleaning cages, changing towels if needed and checking for stools and if they ate their food from the night before. The cleaning is pretty simple, sloth poop is a lot like rabbit poop and they usually go to the ground to do it, so we are not the ones cleaning it. However if it rained the night before, you can bet there will be S#*t everywhere. Something about the noise on the tin roof makes them go bonkers!

7ish Dishes and sorting out leaves, washing leaves and then feeding out leaves. With most volunteer programs I have noticed how if one person does a task a few times, it quickly becomes “their task” and they are the ones expected to do it, or they just do it because, well they did it before. This kind of became my relationship with the plates, the hundred and some plates that needed to be washed after one meal a day. By the time Kat the other American came, we were both doing it together and we even had a system for it too, which made it go faster. If I was not doing the dishes, I was sorting out barro leaves. Sounds exciting, right? I had to pull dead leaves off and look for tiny snails which could be harmful to a sloth if digested. Then there’s the washing of the leaves and then the laying out of piles. We all end up helping out to fill the piles and then start taking them with us and passing them out. We hand feed the sloths sometimes to get them interested in the food, and we also have to regulate and make sure they are not stealing from their neighbors as they often are.

8ish Breakfast time, we help ourselves, make what we want, and there’s always coffee on the pot. Usually after this some of us go check our emails and update our facebook pictures with sloths! There’s WIFI at the center, just not at the volunteer house itself.

9:30am Baby Time and quite possibly the best part of the job, I mean who would not want to hold baby two and three toed sloths for an hour. We also walk with them in the nearby jungle the two toes really get into it and look up at the trees most of the time. You can also let them sniff plants as long as they do not try and eat them. My favorite has always been the three toed, but when it came to walking I actually preferred the two toed. They move around much more and look more amazed at their surroundings. They are also sometimes bitters and I wanted to walk the sloths that no one would usually take out. Luckily I never got bit, but I’m also pretty good at reading animal body language.

Ubu was one two toed that became one of my regular walkers in the three weeks I was there. He was paralyzed from the waist down and because he had been so scared probably from the fall that hurt him, that he often tried to bite, he also had a toy stuff animal he would cling to and would start biting this instead. It was good self control for a little sloth.

11:00am Carrot and Potato time, possibly the worst time. Not that it was even bad but if you had to pick your least favorite time, this would mot likely be it. Pealing potatoes and carrots, then cutting them and putting through the cutter. It could be quit a mess and left your hands pretty gross. I also became pretty skillful with the carrot cutter.

12:00am Lunch time, Selma would cook us up something really nice, usually pinto gallo “spotted rooster”, really its just beans and rice, and it’s the typical Tico meal. Some of us including Kat the other American and Becky the British research student, including myself got hooked on ice coffee, we even joked about how we open up a stand on the road and tell the gringos going to Cahuita it was Organic fair trade and try to sell the Folgers off.

2:00am After our two hour break of reading, internet, playing with the dog or in my case taking photos of leaf cutter ants, it was off to feed time. We layed all of the plates out and started putting potatoes and carrots on followed by dog food. We then handed out our plates and checked to make sure if they eat their leaves earlier. We hung around usually at this time, watching and enjoying the sloths, sometimes wild ones would hang around as well and come see us.

After this we would go into Cahuita, eat, visit the national park, visit the beach, use the internet or just hang out and read. We usually ate around 5 and were pretty much all in bed by 9. All in a days work!

Aviarios Sloth Sancturay Volunteers

2010-10-11T21:14:00.001-07:00

Goddess Athena
Dart Frog
Cosmo and I
Alex and a buddy

From Left to Right: Sunny, Jenny, Alex, Kat, Nancy and myself
Give me a kiss Jewel!
Ubu, this little two toed became my partner in crime. I was the only volunteer willing to put p with the biters and this little guy loved to bite. Luckily he has self control and restricted his biting to his teddy. Ubu came in with his back legs unable to move, hopefully maybe he will get better, there were other sloths who had come in with the same symptoms and they are now able to move their legs.
Upside down Stephanie...another one of those biters though I never had a problem.
Dominque....my first experience with intestinal worms!
Cosmo....the sweetest sloth that ever lived! He gets along with all of the youngsters so we call him Mr. Mom. He also hates to be left alone, so getting him to go to the bathroom gave me a run for my money, he always came off the "poop poll" looking for me and crying. Note: baby sloth cries are by far the sadist cries you will ever hear!

Destination Sloth Heaven!
On the way down to San Jose (Chepe), I was getting second thoughts. Here I was on yet another trip, as if I was in desperate need of a vacation after having spent 7 months out of the country traveling and finding little furry and feathery critters to squeeze and kiss. Yes sometimes I feel like Elmyra Duff from Tiny Toon Adventures, always giving hugs to those little animals until their eyes are popping out!

Once I got to my hotel, I was restless and could not wait for the next day! I happened to be in the van going down there with 3 other volunteers, one of which was a Clair. She had left her job, her friends and her life back in Virgina to go live near the sanctuary and volunteer every single day. She said the first time she came there, she new nothing about sloths. She was on a cruise ship that came by the sanctuary and after that it just stuck in her head. I see myself becoming a Claire one day, or a Robin. Robin was another volunteer who had left her job and life as an interior decorator in New York to volunteer in Africa for 15 months with Primates! She also discovered her talent with art and now has been raising money for her primates by selling her animal portraits. http://www.peacefulportraits.com/

All of the volunteers in the end were inspirational, they came from all walks of life and all came to Costa Rica for one reason...can you guess why? There were two Canadians, Sunny and Mel, two other Americans named Robin and Kat, two British named Jen and Maggie and Frank and Alex who now reside in Switzerland, though Alex is an Aussie. There were a few others who I only spent a few days with as well.

There were also the locals who worked there, I gained some practice in my Spanish talking to them. Can you believe it, for once people came to me asking to translate! My favorite was Chago, a local Tico who had worked for Aviarios for 18 years. Before that like many people in this part of Costa Rica, he worked for Chiqueta Banana, probably out there in that pesticide infested plantation collecting the blue bags of bananas and looking out for those deadly spiders.

He was an excellent guide, he took us looking for poison dart frogs one day. I started spotting them with him and yealing out "verde" and "rojo"! Before you know it I was jumping in the bushes collecting them and Chago was cracking up at me, probably thought I was some loca Chica! We happened to stumble upon a three legged green dart frog that day, I could not believe my eyes. Sure I have read about the effects of pesticides and herbicides on amphibians, but never would I think to find one of the worlds most lovely frogs being effected by it. I asked Chago if he drank from the Rio Estrella, the river right next door. He said he did not, but either way the plantations on the river were being sprayed with these chemicals, and they would some how end up on his property and in his drinking water. I not only started to feel horrible for the wildlife, but for the locals that worked and lived near the plantations. These people were subjecting themselves to this horrible stuff, so that we could have our perfect bananas back home and all around the world. As we walked home a helicopter came down across the river on the banana plantation and started spraying, you could actually see the crop dusting. I kept thinking, so much for eco tourism in Costa Rica, things have got to change!

Here's a BBC video of Sloths and David Attenborough, towards the end of it I realized he was at Aviarios on the dock sitting and also eating at the cafe! Other celebs have visited, including Steve Iriwn and Johnny Depps hair dresser from The Pirates. The hair dresser actually sent them a signed pic of J. Depp as well as a piece from his wig, they ended up naming a sloth Johnny Depp.

Sloth Crazy

2010-09-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

Whats not to love!
Sloth from the Goonies?

Sloths are so cute, they get more women then God!

Sloth Music Video

Funnest sloth Video

Sloths are everywhere, ever since that amazing video was made of Avairos showing just how cute these critters truly are they have appeared all over the media from CNN to the Huffington Post!

And here's another interesting site about sloths a friend sent me.
http://www.whatthefuckisasloth.com/

New Chapter

2010-08-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

Sloths taking over my room for the last 5 years!

My new and very tiny traveling computer! Behind the computers is yet another sloth!

It has been 5 months since I arrived from my 7 month long trip, yet it still feels like yesterday. Of course adjusting back home was not as easy as I thought it would be. I was still in a relaxed mood, as anyone would be after coming off an Australian beach. Also feeling like I was on the top of the world and now coming back to reality. The thought of now applying for jobs and getting a career was not that appealing to me. I also had come to terms with my dads illness of MS that since I had left, had gotten even worse for him, but luckily both my sister and I are still here to help him get around every day. Just one more reminder in my life, why it is so important that people do what they want today and don't wait for tomorrow!! Live your life to the fullest and live the life you have imagined!

I have decided to return to OZ in September of 2011 with a work visa, this way I can stay for a year then visit Southeast Asia afterwards. After this I have made a promise to friends and family that I will come back to the states and get a job with my degree, though I hardly believe this will be the end of my traveling, I just really would like to get some experience, even if its just for a couple of years! Then go back to living out of a bag and seeing where my feet take me!

For the rest of the year I am working as a nanny still in the North Shore and plan on either working from June to August, in an Alaskan camp as a Environmental Educator, or working for Turtle Inc. in South Padre Island, Texas.

A couple of months ago I came across the cutest sloth video and looked up where it had been filmed. It turns out that in Cahuita, Costa Rica, there lies the one and only sloth refuge in Central America. I knew this was something I would want to do and because I would be in between jobs, and had lots of miles left, this was my chance!

Judy the owner of the refuge was glad to hear I had a background with all types of furry and feathery creatures. She also liked the fact that I consider myself an excellent cage cleaner, with years of experience of poop cleaning! She seems to be an interesting person, for one she signs her name, “Slothfully, Judy” and she had never planned on opening the refuge. After buying the property years ago, someone brought her an orphaned sloth named Buttercup. She could not find anyone to care for the sloth so she took it upon herself and before you know it, all sloths were being brought to her. Buttercup is still there and is the mascot for the refuge. With the lose of habitat, these creatures and all creatures for that matter, are having a hard time finding a home that is not disturbed by the presence of humans.

I will be headed down to San Jose, jump on a bus the next morning and arrive in Cahuita, where I will spend 3 weeks caring for injured and orphaned sloths!! What could be better, did I mention I start work at 6 am? I will also have 3 days off and the refuge is located close to the Panama border so I plan on spending a day in Bocas Del Toro and in Cahuita National Park.

A lot of people have asked me why sloths? Well its pretty simple....I move like a sloth in the morning. About 5 years ago I was reading about them in a National Geographic and then they just stuck in my head as one of my new favorite animals. On my first visit to Costa Rica with my ex, I insisted on everything sloth, from wall hangings to magnets. I even got to see a few in the wild, it was an exciting moment for me! I find them interesting, they are slow, yet great swimmers, they are very adorable and evolved from a massive ancestor, the ground sloth! What’s not to like!

I plan on blogging while I am there, I even purchased my new mini computer for the trip! So please stayed tuned!

Video on The Refuge

Cutest Sloth Video!

Home again home again

2010-06-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

Lina and I

Sisters
Surprise party group
E-Town buddies
Carrie and Suzanna
the mess of my office

Home with my Chipolte burrito
Landing in America

Leaving Australia was sad, I was anxious to see my family but the trip had gone by so quick. I still could not believe I had finally seen Australia, a place only on a map years ago and a place I would day dream about before and after. I flew back to Auckland and jumped on the airbus to downtown at my hostel of choice, Base Hostel. It was the first place I had stayed on this trip and would be the last. Being there was strange, I could not help but think about the first time arrived, how nervous I was, meeting Nadine there and so may other people. Six months before I was ready for the trip but I had no experience traveling alone. Even in Chicago I would never go see a movie alone let alone travel half across the world. Returning to Auckland I felt different, like a new person, nothing made me nervous, I was also stuck in the laid back Aussie mood.

I had lost a bracelet that belonged to my mom in my hostel room 3 months prior to returning. It had killed me, I missed it so much so I figured I would ask house keeping about it. They basically laughed in my face telling me there was no way it was still there but they would check any way. Turns out it was my lucky day!!

I spent the next day there walking down the main street shopping, I also walked to the museum on the last day and spent hours there. on the way back I was walking past a young rugby group, they all turned in my direction and started practicing the Haka. The Haka refers to traditional Maori dances. Probably the most popular dance and the one I witnessed is the Maori War Dance, Its played out before every All Black Rugby game today. This is a video of one of my favorite commercials depicting the dance.

I was the only person watching and was so happy I had stayed! I had missed a Maori dance at the museum so this ended up working out just fine and even more because it was free!

I also for the first time in my life ate at Burger King twice in one day. I did not want to buy food since I was only there for a few days, so as embarrassing as it was, the woman at the contare laughed at me on my second visit. I tried to explain to her that I had no food and I never do this in America! I’m pretty sure she was thinking...."sure you lying fat American”.

On my flight home I could not help but notice a large group of some what familiar looking Americans. Not familiar as in I knew them but as in I know a midwesterner when I see one. They stood in front of me in line and since I had been on a social high for 6 months I started chatting to them. Turns out they were from Wisconsin! I went 6 months seeing as many Americans as I can count on one hand so how did this happen on my way back. They told me they saw New Zealand and Australia in 25 days....I question how much of that they really saw off of the bus.

As I walked through the security a man asked about my two small didgeridoos I had purchased in the Sydney Airport. He told me they were weapons and my quick response was “they are not, they are musical devices, well once I give them to the kids they will be weapons”. Long story short, I had them taken away and the nice people at airport told me how to get them back on the plane...I had them put in a hold on the plane and needless to say they have now become weapons to a 6 and 4 year old. I actually practiced on them a day ago and, I’m not that bad.

On the flight home I was lucky enough to be given a $200 exit seat for free! As soon as we landed in Los Angeles I felt the stress of America. The line there was huge and the Americans trying to board it were freaking out. Except the couple next to me who I also started getting social with to avoid the others, guess where they were from? You guessed it, Australia!

Finally we started landing in Chicago, it was a beatiful day and I could not stop looking out the window. The woman next to me probably thought I had never been on a plane so I explained to her why I was starring at Lake Michagain.

My sister picked me up and I threw on my Cubra hat and said G’Day!

Her response after 6 months of not seeing her one and old sister was.....”Your tanner and skinner”.

She has since been trying to fatten me up!

That Saturday she threw a surprise party for me, it was a happy ending to the best 6 months of my life!!!

Broome

2010-06-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

Aboriginal Flag
Pearl diving
By the Boab tree

I waited in Coral Bay until 11:30 pm when our Greyhound showed up that would take me north along the coast to the pearl diving town of Broome. There were other backpackers on the bus as well as Aboriginals which I was secretly very excited about. After hanging out with Wayne and learning more about their ancient ways my ideal about them I had before I came here was confirmed. Like the Natives in America they have been abused and robbed of their country. People have thoughts about them but no real ideal what it is like to walk in their shoes. They are a beautiful people and the more I learn about their culture the more I love them! There dreamtime was here long before Europeans washed up on shore and will be here long after. It broke my heart along the bus ride as I saw some of the poverty they live in, and I just wanted to reach out somehow.

Along the bus ride at night which by the way I did not sleep a wink, I herd the bus driver constantly trying to avoid roos and in the middle of the night, and cringed at the noise of a roo jumping into my side of the bus. 14 hours later we made it to Broome. The ride had also given me a lot of time to reflect on my trip of the last 7 months and look back into everything I had done and the changes that had occurred. When I walked into the Broome YHA I saw sitting there a group of my friends from Coral Bay, I was never alone in the days to come. I ended up only walking around Broome and hanging out there at the pool. I did not do the famous Broom camel rides, something about being dragged along on a large animal with other tourists and probably screaming babies was not appealing to me. I will save it for Egypt one day.

The heat was intense and on one of my walks into the downtown one day I almost fainted, a friend of mine that day actually did. In the town there was a large park with boab trees (my favorite Aus tree) and about 10 Aboriginals sitting around it with some dogs. They were there all day and I considered going over and sitting with them on a few occasions. What would I say though, “hi I’m a Yank who really likes indigenous people and will you be my friend?” Instead I just tried to imagine what it would be like living in Broome, too hot to even move, I think I would be under that tree along with them.

Broome is the place for pearls, it was Pearl harvesting that first started this town. If you like pearls, this is probably one of the cheapest places to get them. I don’t care for pearls, I can’t even tell the difference from a real one and plastic one, but I still went to a few of these posh and out of place stores.

When my time was over in Broome a few days later I packed the bag and actually for the first time and probably last time ever walked to the airport in Broome. Along the way I saw kookaburras or maybe kingfishers, it was a nice goodbye.

I flew from Broome to Perth, Perth to sydney and Sydney to Auckland.

Karijini National Park

2010-05-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

Bare eyed cockatoo
Before we left Karijini and two weeks left of my trip

Sunset at our camp
I was walking and looking down on a rock when I discovered, AFRICA!
The Serpent lake, now can anyone explain the strange light in my picture?
Joanna the Goanna
when I saw this I could help but think, the dingo looks like it is about to eat my baby!
gum and termite
G'Day mate, How ya going?
One of my favorites, this was on the way into one of the gorges

The group walking through the gorge
me on the way to Karijini
After enjoying the reef it was time to hop in the bus and go to one of Australia’s finest National Parks, Karijini. Luckily the group that had come from the south on St Patty’s day was going with me. They were very friendly and mostly Irish. Having met so many people on the trip, I started forgetting names and basically learned all of their names by the end of the trip or when they added me on facebook. I felt bad since they all knew me, but for most of them they were on the beginning of their very long trips. We drove out across an endless sunburnt country with very little in between besides some overpriced road houses. We saw the mining town of Tom Price, with bare eyed cockatoos causing chaos. I got yelled at for hand feeding them but know one knew my experience with cockatoos in petstores. They were worried about me getting bit, but I tried to explain to them that this was nothing compared to handfeeing newborn cockatoos that literally want to rip work finders off!

We stocked up on food there which was pretty cheap. Mining in WA is huge and there is big money to be made there, and some people will be flown out to work from their homes every couple of weeks. Next to pearling and now tourism, its the only business in WA. We had beautiful storms come down and our drives were lots of fun. I found myself in the middle of nowhere listening to them play “Sweet Home Chicago”, and “Born in the USA”. Its funny how you realize you can relate to these songs when you are somewhere else. We stayed in huge platform tents surrounded by gum trees and termite mounds. It made me think of what Africa would look like on a safari. The sunsets and rises were so pretty, and we go to experience some of the small storms the park is known for. The first night we had a cook out, and the next morning we had to wake up bright and early to walk through the gorges. We took our sandals off for some of it and had to swim across parts if we did not want to climb. I chose to swim, and ended up having to help some of the girls from Taiwan across who could not swim. We also went to the lake that aboriginals believe their Serpent God came from. It is a very sacred pool that you are allowed to swim in as along as you do not jump in and scream, as that is disrespect towards the spirits there. Some people outside of our group showed little respect for these rules. While we were there we saw a Goanna digging for food, fruit bats and signs warning us that we are in dingo territory.

The trip was great, the heat was of course bad but it still was a remarkable place! The group was lovely and I continued to hang out with them after Coral Bay and in Broome.

A Whale of a time

2010-05-19T19:25:00.001-07:00

This puffer was very shy of me
big clam!
one massive sting ray

blue star fish
manta

can you spot me in the middle
cutie
blue chromis

blue spotted sting ray
Green Turtle

My Whale, so beautiful!!

Gentle Giants of the sea

One reason for coming out to the West Coast, was he chance to see a whale shark. I was the first person of the season signed up and I would go out on the first whale shark tour in Coral Bay. I also had hoped to get my Open Water Diving Certificate done in Exmouth, I had the physical done in Perth. No one ended up signing up for it so it was canceled. on March 24th I was going to finally swim with a shark!

I remember the first time I saw a picture of one in one of my zoo magazines. In college I wrote a research paper on one for a Oceanography class. When I was on the boat there were about 10 people which was perfect because only 10 are allowed in the water at once by law. We did a few snorkels while everyone on the boat waited for the call from the spotter planes saying they had a spotting. The spotter planes would go up for 4 hours searching non stop, a week before they had found a blue whale. I had herd stories of spotter planes seeing tiger sharks and mistaking them for whale sharks, needless to say some angry tourists came out of the water.

Well to make a long story short my first day out we did not see a whale shark, I was sad! We had already gone over what to do if we see one, thanks to the small plastic toy shark used as a model. We snorkeled and had a good time but no shark. So I had already paid and was given one last chance to do it that week or in the next 3 years. I extended my stay until Friday giving me 4 more days in Coral Bay. During this time I laid on the beach...snorkeled and yeah that was it...really hard.

One day I went to visit Exmouth, not to much there but I was tempted to do my whale shark swim there. There is a US Navy base though and I got to see the outside of it. The town was established in 1964 to support the nearby United States Navel Communication Station Harold E. Holt. The station itself provides very low frequency radio transmissions to US Navy and Royal Australian Navy ships.

As well as driving past this place we also stopped at Turquoise Bay. A friend and I went snorkeling on one of the prettiest beaches. We had to be careful where we swam though because there are rip currents there that will take you off to see, as long as you stay away from that area though you are fine though the water is strong. I saw tomatoes clowns in an anemone but the snorkeling was not as good as I had seen before. Then we came across a green sea turtle eating sea grass. It did not mind us one bit hile we watched it, it actually came to breath in between us and we both looked at each other and could not believe what we were seeing. Although I usually will not touch wild animals this one was really not bothered by us, and pretty much did not even realize we were there, he was too busy eating, so we touched his dirty shell. First time for everything on this trip. Finally we left and found ourselves surrounded by large fish, they made a circle around us for about 5 minutes, and must have been checking us out. Before we knew it the sea turtle had found us and I swam beside him for about 10 minutes. He would slow down to wait for me and I stopped to let him go have a breather, then he turned around and came back to me as if he was saying “alright lets keep going”. Finally he was going out further and I let him go but he looked like he was confused why I was not coming with. After this the waves pushed me up to the shore, and I had one of the best experiences with an animal ever! We drove past roos and wild emus on the way out.

A few days later was my second and final chance to see a whale shark. I tried to not think about it much and when we went out snorkeling I was just appreciating the moment and was not going to get angry if the shark showed up or not. Well the second group was larger which meant that we would have two groups put in the water. Basically one group would be suited and ready to go, hang on the back of the boat with the guide and photographer. The photographer would go first and find the whale, then our guide would tell us to jump in and swim to the direction of the whale. once in you skim the water for the face of the whale shark, then swim towards it and move to the side to let it go past. once past the petrel fins you swim along side of it at least 3 meters from the body and 4 from the tail. One hit of the fin could break bones. When the guides tug you or you see them stop, its over and you wait to get picked up, then team 2 is in the water.

Before the whale shark was found, we did a lot of snorkeling. I found a massive turtle and swam with this one too. I saw my first nudibranch that was grey and black, a white eel, and watched a pretty black tip reef shark swim around (I always am the one to spot the sharks it seems). The snorkeling that day was great and I was pretty happy, I probably could have gone home happy. We came in for another large lunch and cruised around. We saw many turtles including the rare loggerhead. I herd the radio come in and the boat started picking up speed, thats when I realized the spotter planes may have spotted our shark. A woman was on board with us who was the main whale shark officer in WA, she was on board to make sure things were going by the rule book. We had been talking earlier about captive whale sharks and how I had petitioned to get “Sammy” out of the Dubai Atlantis, he had been released months before. She gave me a look as the boat started and a thumbs up, I shouted!! Everyone was happy and especially us who had already been on the first trip!

It was a 30 minute boat ride out to where the shark was. According to the pilot they were about to come down and call it quits when they spotted it, we were very lucky! When we got there we all hung off the back of the boat and spotted a manta ray first then our photographer jumped in before I knew it I was high on adrenaline and skimming the water for the shark, then I saw it. Its massive head came towards me and I remember saying “wow” in the water and choking on some water. It had tiny fish around the bottom of it, probably on for a free ride. I waited for its fins to pass and as it did I started to swim next to it. I noticed that my whole group was just floating around and I think they were all in shock, some never even got out of the way, so he dove down. We got picked up and the next group went when the shark resurfaced. Now this group had a lot of overweight people so pretty much no one could get to the shark in time and came back on the boat very worn out. They were going to be allowed to go again because they did not see it which my group was pretty upset about. They went again and when they got back in people were throwing up and so worn out. I mean come on you need to be in shape to swim with a shark people!

We got our next turn and this time had a shorter swim with the shark, but longer then the one before. Everyone tried to say together which was dumb because all you will get is kicked in the face and see bumbles. So I went to the opposite side of the shark and was the only one there. We got back in and on our third swim I basically was the only person in the water who could keep up with both the shark and photographer. The guide could not reach me to tell me to stop swimming, even the young German boys were way behind. So I used all my leg strength to keep up with the shark and before you know it I was swimming into group number 2....oopps. Finally we were told to stop and we waited in the open water, lots of jelly fish swam around us. I have to say waiting there was the scariest part, a shark could pop up at any moment, there are tiger sharks and great whites there too. We were picked up and people were so worn out, but I could go again! I asked one of the guides how I swam in the second group, I was still a little confused and just the rush alone cluttered my brain. She told me and said luckily the second group had less then 10 people, other wise they would had to have waited for me to stop swimming which may never have happened! When it was all over we got are great pics and everyone left happy! Especially me! Thanks to the Niles West Swim team I broke the record that day for longest swim with the shark! One more check off my bucket list!!

This story had a happy ending but today there is nothing happy about what is happening to our worlds oceans and sharks. It is estimated that in 40 years our fish stocks will vanish and shark finning is on the rise. Whale sharks are being killed for their meat and fins, please if you are ever somewhere where Tofu fish is offered, DO NOT eat it, its whale shark. Please visit www.Seashepherd.org to learn more and support these groups that are trying to stop this mindless killing!

Coral Bay

2010-05-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

Sting ray near my feet
Coral Bay and the Ningaloo Reef
The Amazing Ningaloo Reef
Sting Ray in Coral Bay
Spinnerfex Termite mound
A Capricorn at the Tropic of Capricorn
my feet on lots of shells
Tour bus on the shells
Shell Beach
Wedge Tail Eagles..Australia's largest
Emu in downtown Denham

I said my goodbyes to Wayne in Denham, he warned me that my bus driver was a bit wild. That’s the thing I love about WA, everyone knows everyone! Right away I was greeted by all the other travelers on the bus. This bus was very full compared to my last, and much more crazy! At one point we got out to take a pic of the Tropic of Capricorn sign and I walked off into the bush to se the washroom, when I was walking back every single one of them flashed a car driving past. We saw two Wedge Tail Eagles sitting as we drove out of Shark Bay, they are Australia’s largest eagles. Lots of Termite mounds, smaller then the ones found in the Kimberly’s but still huge by American Standards. We stopped at a few road houses and finally made it to Coral Bay. Coral Bay is a small town which pretty much only consists of a dive shop, whale shark tours, kayaking, snorkeling tours, hostel, hotel and camper ground. What makes this place so unique is not the fact that it has to create its own water from the ocean and its self sufficient with energy but its beach is walking distance to the worlds largest fringing reef. It is a World Heritage Site and contains some of the worlds most unique species, my favorite of course being that of the whale shark which comes down with the warm waters from April to July in search of Plankton. It also has humpback that pass through, sharks of all kinds, manta rays year round, and is a breeding ground for loggerhead sea turtles. Needless to say it was going to be another highlight in my already amazing trip!

When we got there I checked into the Ningaloo club and went into my room which by the way had AC which is a huge thing for me since I had been living in 110 degrees weather with one tiny fan in Monkey town. Of course though the dreaded American girl was in my room, there was still no escaping her. She left in a few days though and we were all very thankful. I saw a lot of people there who had moved on Monkey Mia, and now I also had this very wild and friendly group I had just traveled up with.

We went to the beach that day just in time to check it out, sting rays were all over the ground and the water was very clear. I started asking around about the whale sharks and whether or not they were being spotted because it was still early for them. It seemed that one day they would pop out and then not be around for days, it was like this for the two weeks I was there. One slight change in water temp and they will come around, they happened to stay in Exmouth for the warm water. I found this out and met a couple from Chicago who did the swim there and jumped in 7 times, they had a really good time. It’s funny how people from your hometown talk the same as you and we actually met each other while standing outside watching a fight. Then we joked about how the only Chicagoans are the only people standing outside watching a fight.

For the days leading up to my Karijini National Park trip, I snorkeled. I got a free pair and held on to them, the first day I took a glass bottom boat out and snorkeled from it, it was part of my tour. I was of course the only person to have spotted a big reef shark and this time actually got scared and started swimming away, then I was mad at myself for doing that. I saw a bug moray eel hanging out right near the shore, lots of colorful fish, some of which I owned at one point or another. One of my favorite was convict blenny catfish babies, I had an older one and had read on the little information they have on this species but I saw them all over the reef in groups of hundreds. I spent a morning walking out to a shark nursery, I saw about 4 sharks but was told that you can usually see more then that. Along the way back I found lots of trash so naturally I picked it up and returned with a handful of litter that would have ended up in the ocean. Every day was amazing, I got to know a lot of interesting and fun people and every day spent time among one of the worlds finest reefs. One more reminder to me just how important our oceans are, it was a whole other world down there, and one we know very little of.

Monkey Mia

2010-04-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

Wayne looking like Jack Johnson
Jenny, Wayne and I
Stone fish
ummm sort of working
Jenny and I
Going to work in the morning
Mangroves
Wayne teaching me a thing or two
Nicky and Finn
Camel on te beach
sea turtle off the jetty
Mangroves
Hi can I help you?
handing the fish, head first!
Leopard shark!
Dolphin Sunset
Wayno and I
My girls
In the morning we woke up and got our bags together. Two of the people in the group would just stop at Monkey Mia for a few hours and head on to Coral Bay, but the other American and I would stay longer. As soon as we got there one of the dolphin shows was going on. We went up to watch as the ranger talked about the dolphins and they swam around their legs. The dolphins here come freely from the wild, if they want to leave they can go whenever. They are all females and bring their calves along with. After awhile the volunteers came out and I saw my future job, they picked people from the crowd to come over and take a fish from the bucket to feed the dolphins.

Afterwards I walked over to the rangers and introduced myself telling them I was here to volunteer. Luckily the bush fire had stopped anyone from coming through to MM and I was able to start volunteering the next day. I would start at 7:30 and just watch, then in the afternoon I would have an introduction. The rest of the day I spent watching the dolphins off the beach, checking in to my hostel room and meeting new people. The hostel room was very hot, and there were a few days there were it was almost unbearable to sleep, especially during the day if you wanted to take a nap. I walked around the resort, there was the hostel, the hotel, and caravan park. It’s not a big resort but it is all that is there, one grocery store as well, so luckily I did my shopping in Denham which was still pretty pricy.

I met some of the volunteers named Jenny, Mariam, Sarah and Caz who was looking for work there. I played beach volleyball with a bunch of other backpackers and went swimming. A massive stingray came right next to me, and a turtle went by as well. It was a long day but I was just loving it so much I did not want it to end. Everyone invited me to a full moon party that night, and I decided to go even though I knew I had to be up at 6:30am. After dinner a bunch of us hung out and then walked over to the party which was at the far end of the resort between the sand dunes. I started meeting people who worked there and of course they loved the fact that I was from Chicago. I can’t tell you how many times I had to say I was from “Chicagooo” just because they loved my accent.

It was getting pretty late and thats when I met Wayne. I remember thinking he looked like an African American so maybe he was traveling but once we started talking he explained to me that his mom was Aboriginal and his dad was Dutch. We got to know each other and he told me a lot about his people. Then he started speaking his other language and walking out to the water, I looked closer to see one of the dolphins coming over to him with her calf. It was magical, so naturally I ran out into the water with him. That night more dolphins came cruising by the shore in the moonlit sky. He went to get his didgeridoo and guitar with Capes the man who had done the tour the day before. He played it for me at the car and at the fire. At about 3 that morning I was beginning to think it was my time to go so I headed back to the hostel room which was boiling hot!

That morning I woke up and met some of the volunteers, everything went smoothly with the dolphins. I met long term volunteers Piettro and Simonetta from Italy, They have been coming here for 20 years now, they live such a good life! I learned how to weigh the fish and distribute then in buckets. I also had to note all the dolphins that came in, what time, and if their are any obvious marks like shark bites. I also got to make the announcements for the showings of documentaries they play on dolphins, this became my job for the week for some reason. We also had a introduction on everything I had already pretty much learned that first day. We also had a new volunteer show up that day, his name was Defmond from Japan.

Defmond, Jenny from Sweden, Mariam from Germany, myself and the two Italianos would be the volunteers for the rest of the week. Every morning we managed to get up before everyone else. We regulated the way people acted towards the dolphins in the water. Their is a no touch policy and Jenny would rush out before 7:30 to make sure no one got in the water with them at the dolphin interaction area. Usually during our work Defomond and Miriam made up the frozen fish and Jenny and I were taking notes and radioing the rangers. We became a group which expanded over time with Caz our older friend who had left everything in Sydney to come and work out in Monkey Mia. There was also Paul, he was your typical outback man from the Northern Territory who worked 6 months out of the year in the mines. For the two weeks I was there it seemed like we were one big happy family. Wayne would come visit me and we would have big cook outs with fish people caught. I even ate tuna raw on the beach once, and it gave more of a feeling to living here and eating from the land as well.

Once I was on the beach, Mike who owns the rental kayaks there asked if I wanted to see a shark. I jumped in his rescue boat and we boated out to the second marker. This is where fisherman are suppose to throw out their scraps so sharks do not come right to shore. The marker however is not far from shore and tiger sharks are frequently seen here. We only saw one smaller shark but it was enough for me. Laying out on the beach became my hobby. My room was too hot to nap in so after work I went out there and laid out until about 5. Sometimes turtles and dolphins swam by and I would jump right in with them and swim beside them, it was magical.

On a few occasions Wayne came and rescued me and took me walkabout. We visited the red cliffs, and mangroves. On our first date as I like to call it he took me to shark infested waters, well it was more of a nursery with small sharks and shovel nose stingrays, everything coming right up to our feet. Wayne is a ranger in Francois Peron, and was a former dolphin ranger. He taught me a lot about the bush and Aboriginal culture. He is a talented singer and would take me to the bar when he did a show with his didgeridoo. I learned how to throw a boomerang, though I suck at it, we went camping during the week in a swag under the stars and I even got to see the waters light up with phosphresiance once again! Wayne is also a Johnny Cash fan so we did a lot of singing and he would bring the guitar over to the hostel, all of us would sit around and start singing, I don’t think we ever knew all the words to a song though. I was surprised at how he actually would go to places with me like when we cleaned up garbage off the road on Clean Up Australia day, both of us were about to pass out so we made it over to the beach and walked back. He also came to a Dieksha event the Italians were throwing, it is some Indian lifestyle that has to do with energy and passing it on.

The friends I made here were great, I was so blessed to have met such people that made my stay here for two weeks amazing! I should also mention that having friends who parents own the boat tours is also a plus. My friend Quien invited me on the Shotover one morning, I got to see dugongs, sea snakes, dolphins, sharks, and even a leopard shark. It was a nice way to spend a morning in this beautiful country. I wish I could be here when the large herds of dugong pass though, that must really be amazing! On my last day here Wayne went to drop me off at the hostel in Denham I had stayed at once before. We were both sad but I knew that one really large fish waited for me in Coral Bay, and even though I wanted to stay longer, I was running out of time in Australia. Saying goodbye to Shark Bay was one of the saddest departures, not only because of Wayne but because of everyone, my friends and all of the animals there. The dolphins I had come to know by their marked dorsal fins. I know I will come back to this red country, I will never forget the time I spent there.

Here's a video of Wayne on the Didge

Shark Bay "Gutharrguda"

2010-04-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

Cape peron

emus walking
emu track

Shark Bay World Heritage Site that was discovered in 1616 by Europeans and became the second group of Europeans to have visited Australia. Today there are fewer then 1,000 people covering a coastline of 1,500 kilometers. The zoological importance of the area is outstanding. There are 10,000 dugongs which makes up 10% of the worlds population. Many bottlenose dolphins, 26 threatened Australian mammal species like the Bilby, over 230 species of birds, and 150 species of reptile. Of course there is a reason for the name Shark Bay, and the area had well over 323 fish species. Common sharks you will usually see here are tigers, lemon, nervous, and leopards. One of the reasons for so much biodiversity is the large seagrass meadows which cover 4000km of the bay, its the largest seagrass bank in the world! This gives home, food and a breeding ground to many species of animals.

On our second day in Denham we woke up early and walked out of the hostel to wait for our pick up. We were going with one of the guides from Ocean Park an educational area that has all types of fish and sea life there including deadly yet stunning sea snakes which guides handle with care. Our guide was named Eddie and looked like he could be Steve Irwin's son in his khaki outfit. He was very knowledgeable with all things having to do with the oceans. We first got in his landrover with Candy and I in the front and drove to Ocean Park. We got to see all the fish there and even baby sea turtles. He also fed some of the sharks in front of us, talk about a frenzy! We Then we headed to Francois Peron National Park to part take in snorkeling. We got our gear on and then we were warned about stonefish....shuffle your feet always! As soon as we started in the water every one looking for stonefish our guide said well don’t worry too much about the fish here this is not too bad an area, as he said this Diane in our group pointed to a rock looking fish next to her leg and said “then what’s that”. It was a stonefish right near us and we all got out of the water quick. Our guide picked the fish up and brought it over to show all of us on the beach. Now the fish cannot harm you if it is handled from below...but of course I would never suggest anyone to do this. We got a good look at what had to be the world most ugliest fish. He put it back in the water away from us and we got in and went out for my fist snorkel in Australia.

Right away I was the first to see a young black tip reef shark, I got so excited and started yelling for everyone to come see. Then I saw my first wild sea turtle but it went by so fast. We also got to see a lion fish hiding out and a few sting rays which would later on become an everyday sight in Shark Bay. We got out and had lunch on the beach. We then drove to Cape Peron which is stunning. The red and white sand meet here and though it is not safe for swimming because of rifts, there is an abundance of sea life such as massive rays which you can se from the beach. To get there we had to walk over some rocks in the water, our guide Candy thought she may have been stung by a jellyfish tentacle and started freaking out a bit when the Ocean Park guide Eddie told her that an Irukandji jellyfish had been caught in Monkey Mia a week before. Of course she was fine and it was most likely that a tentacle had fallen off and got her, but she just over reacted and was fine afterwards. See Below about the deadly jelly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irukandji_jellyfish

So while she was taken back to the van three of us went to look off one of the cliffs and thats when I spotted a pod of dolphins right on the coast. Now I had seen some documentaries on the dolphins on the West coast of Australia known for their fishing method of pushing the fish up the coast and stunning them. These were some of those dolphins. So naturally as I usually do when I see wildlife, I ran towards them. Only running towards them meant throwing my stuff behind on a bush and running down the red sand. Now normally that would be alright but red sand at 2pm in Australia is well over 100 degrees which I found out when it was too late and no turning back. I almost started crying and I raced down and headed straight for the water to cool my feet off. The German boy Lars in our group must have thought I was the most crazy American he had ever met, but he followed anyways. Once on the beach I ran alongside the dolphins taking lots of pictures, if the water had not been so dangerous I would have jumped right in. It was amazing, I could not help but think here I was on a beach with dolphins and hardly anyone around besides this crazy German kid. We headed back and DIane the older woman in our group had come down to get us, she had a mother instinct to her and had yelled at me earlier for almost jumping off a cliff to get my Koobra hat when it blew off. Lars and her braved it and went up the red sand, but her sandals actually melted off! I decided to brave it with jellies and stonefish and go up along the rocky side. It took a bit longer and my camera was in great danger but I made it.

We drove out to a look out point not far away and saw eagle rays, sharks, turtles dolphins, even a sea snake. All while standing still in the same spot, it was like Heaven for me. We even saw a eagle ray jump out of the water which is a rare sight. After this we drove back to Denham and took showers before we would go on an Aboriginal Tour in Monkey Mia that night. On the way there, Wes played some Aboriginal music for us. One song I really liked was called Dreamtime by a local musician who I would later get to know pretty well.

We got to Monkey Mia and met with a group of people. then Darren Capeswell “Capes” our tour guide showed up. He had a Didgeridoo in one hand and a conch in the other. He asked some people to hold it for him and started asking people where they were from while referring to them as brother or sister. We walked out along a trail and the moon was out, it was magical. I could hear Capes whistling and then I herd a bird whistling back, this guy was so in-tuned with nature. Capes is half Aboriginal and half Malaysian. He is one of the few people who provide Aboriginal Cultural tours in Australia. We were told to greet the red the and by putting it in our hand and introducing ourselves. He talked a lot about country which is where you are from and the importance of sharing this with others when you meet them, I thought it made lots of sense. He showed us tracks such as, kangaroo, snakes and one I had not known...echidnae. We made it to the fire and a sheltered area known to Aboriginals as a mia mia. We sat and he told us stories of thorny devils, and sea turtles. He started cooking a fish over the fire for all of us and gave us some type of nut that can be cracked and eaten. All of this you would call bush tucker in Aus. He started playing the didgeridoo and put everyone into a good state of mind. It was a large group and he preferred to have less people but we all still enjoyed it. To me it was the best way you could greet Shark Bay. Already I could feel that this place was very special. I had 5 days in Monkey Mia unless my diving lessons in Exmouth fell through, I was already hoping they would.

Here's the Planet Earth video on the dolphins of WA

Here's a video of what you do for fun in WA, one of the guys petting the tiger shark is my friend Waynes good buddy and also a driver/tour guide for easy rider.

Denham and Kalbarri

2010-04-13T12:48:00.000-07:00

Rescued Joey at the hostel in Denham
Stromatolites of Shark Bay
Bush Fire after Billabong Road House
Natures Window
Roos escaping the heat
Our group
Prints in the sand...very common

Baby Joey at the petting zoo
Emu
Relaxed Dingo
Feeding Emus
Wes feeding red roos
pennicles

Alright so I have been really really bad at updating this, but ya know how it gets when you spend every day on a beach, surrounded by animals and really cute Aussie guys...ok still no excuse but it’s the only one I have. Oh yes and the internet on the Western coast of Australia is incredibly slow and expensive.

So I left Perth after two days, I was ready for beaches and the outback. I was picked up in front of the YHA by the jump on jump off bus called easyrider. The guides Wes and Candy greeted me, the tour was small only two other females. One was an American as well. To make a long story short she had to of been one of the worst people I had ever met in my life, and could possibly explain why Americans are not really liked worldwide. She ended up staying everywhere I was as well and it was like a never ending nightmare. besides her the other people were great in the group. We first stopped at the Pennicles, very strange rock formations outside of Perth. It was over 100 degrees outside so we did not stay long.

We stopped at a petting zoo and got to have more encounters with Aussie animals. I got my first bite from a hungry roo. For $5 you could play with the dingos there but it was 110 out and they thought it was too hot for the dingos to interact which of course I agree with. That night we stayed in Kalbarri and woke up early to go canoeing. We drove out in a big military type truck with a bunch of other people in the area. Having more experience then any one else with canoes, I sat in the back steering the whole way. The river was pretty dry in some areas though which required getting out and pushing it down stream. Towards the end of the trip we got out to have a huge breakfast, and across the river was a massive flock of rare black cockatoos.

Kalbarri is not just a town but also a gateway to the Kalbarri National Park which we visited the next morning. We left early to try and avoid the heat. It got to be well over 100 degrees there and pretty unbearable. We still walked for about an hour in the park and admired the rock formations. We made another stop at a place called natures window, a large rock formation that looks like a window. It took 15 minutes to get to it and I was ready to pass out from the heat and flies. I went back to the van as quick as I could because I knew I would collapse soon. I ended up surviving and we started our drive north to Shark Bay World Heritage Site.

This was going to be the highlight of my trip, I was going to be volunteering with the dolphins, I had 5 days planned in Monkey Mia and was arriving earlier then planned. On the way there we stopped at the Billabong Road House. Now one thing I love about the Outback is that when people say there is nothing there they mean it, road houses are marked on maps giving drivers the heads up of where to stop for fuel and food. Some places are so remote in the center that you can’t even find a road house.

Along the way Wes our driver gave us the 411 of deadly animals, most of which I already did my research on. I happen to be one of these people that are often bit by animals and bugs so I did my research at the Sydney Museum before I headed to the Outback. One animal I did not realize was very common on the west coast was the Stonefish. See link below
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonefish_stings_in_Australia

Now the stonefish is the most deadliest fish in the WORLD. Their dorsal spines stick into you when stepped on and inject venom, now the venom will not kill you but the pain will. The spines go straight through shoes. You would be amazed at how many ignorant travelers I came across that had no clue what a stonefish was and they were walking right in stonefish territory. I had a feeling that they could survive out of water when tides went down and I later found out I was correct on that one. They hang out near and on rocks so when the tide goes down if they are stuck out of the water they can survive for 24 hours. I remember once walking to shark nursery near and along rocks in one of the most common stonefish areas and came across a couple. I asked if they had been looking out for the fish and they gave me a troubled look. A little advice for people traveling not only in Australia but anywhere, know the dangers, the threats and be aware. People you are no longer in Europe, things down under have the potential to kill you, sharks, snakes, rifts, storms, funnel webbed spiders, even a kangaroo, it’s your life so be smart about it! Alright enough complaining about the 70% of dumb tourists I have come across

So we drive north to Shark Bay and listened to our driver, sang along with the drivers in their good choice in music and then spotted some storm clouds. Wes explained that these clouds were being formed from a fire. Bush fires produce so much heat and smoke that rain clouds form above them but the rain is not enough to put them out always. As we got closer we could see, it was a massive bush fire taking over. The colors were purple and blue from the tea tree oil. He let us get out and take pictures, but we noticed the speed at which is was traveling to the rod and got in and left. A half hour later it had reached the road and closed it down for days, which meant anyone going north was stopped, so thankfully we got through. A Western Exposure tour bus we had come across was not so lucky and lost days in their trip.

We made it to Overlander Road House which is where you turn into Shark Bay. Our first stop was the Stromatolites of Hamlin Pool. No one else in the group had any idea about this stop but I had seen a Discovery Channel program on how the earth was created and remember the stromatolites well. I even remember saying to myself I want to see that one day, and hey I did!
Well without getting into it too much since that is what wikipedia is for, they are rocks that were here before the time of dinosaurs. They actually grow and they are what brought oxygen into our planet. See link for the full story http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stromatolites
It was amazing seeing one of the oldest things on this planet, living fossils in a way. This is just one of the reasons Shark Bay is so special. We left and made it to Denham, a small town and the most western town in all of Australia. We had a little apartment to ourselves and went out for dinner the first night. We ate at the local bar known to the locals as the "old bar". This is only because there is a newer bar in town now. This was my first time here at the most western bar in Aus. but as chance would have it, it would not be my last. For $12 I had a chicken curry and two beers, not bad! I hung out for a bit and met the Indian chef and some other locals. By 10pm though I was going to pas out and walked back the the hostel along the the ocean.

Perth

2010-02-24T01:34:00.000-08:00

Queens Garden

Peter Pan statue like the one in London!

Butterflys at the Western Aus. Museum

Alirght so I had little to write about Perth, I spent two days here and went up to Monkey Mia early which turned out working out a lot better for me. I was going to stay with a couchsurfer but she was not getting my messages and thought I was blowing her off so even after she realized I was not I still planned on leaving early. I did however visit the Western Australia Museum and really liked the Stolen Generation display they had. Now after making so many Aboriginal friends out here the history and stories seem to upset me more. Most people know just how bad Aboriginals had it in America when Europeans came over, and even up until very recently. It was not until this year that a formal apology was given to the people for so many years of abuse. I thought I would add in here Kevin Rudds speech of apology. I perosonally don't think sorry will cut it, not after reading about the children taken from parents, and the "breeding out the black" that went on. It is worth the read though and it is something I believe people should know about when visiting this country.

Here is the full text of Australia's apology to the stolen generations, to be read by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in parliament at 9am today.

"Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

We reflect on their past mistreatment.

We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.

For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.

We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.

A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.

A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.

A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.

A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.

A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia."

Brisbane

2010-02-23T01:07:00.000-08:00

Vicky, me and Surfer Dave Rostivich at the Sea Shepherd Event in Brisbane

Ady Gill, Vicky and I at the Sea Shepherd event in Brisbane

Save the Whales!

Tassie

The show

Great show

My first red kangaroo, she was lovely and had a joey

what are you doing?

RIP Steve Irwin

Lazy Koalas

Tassies fighting

water dragon on a croc

The Irwin family

playing with my CS ferret Slinky

I spent 5 days in Brisbane, probably more then I needed. I caught the train from the bus station to my couchsurfer Carl's apartment. His sister Tracey greeted me there and we ended up talking for a long time. Carl lives with his brother Mark and sister Tracy. They are all from Omaru New Zealand which I had visited and spent a night to their surprise. They also have an over sized ferret named slinky who I loved!

I knew on my first day I had to visit Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo! I had waited my whole life for this, and have been a fan since the first time I saw him on tv. I woke up early and planned on spending the day at the zoo. The zoo is in the Glass Mountains, about an hour from Carls house. Once at the zoo a big picture of Steve greeted me. The zoo was pricey, $55 but well worth it, and probably one of the best if not the best zoo I have ever been to. I walked through the croc enclosures and could remember seeing it on his show, lots of things reminded me of watching the show for years. The moseys (mosquito's) were really bad though so I had to keep moving to avoid the bugs. Most of the animals at the zoo are native which is great I think, I can see lions and all that back home at the zoos. I spent some time watching the Tasmanian devils running around and fighting one another. Saw my first Dingos, they were being pretty lazy but I later saw the keepers walking them, the roos altered me to this. There was also a show in the Cocosseum which was purchased by Animal Planet for his shows. The show was great, macaws and cockatoos flying around plus a croc feeding! All over the zoo where pictures of Steve and memorabilia, it was sad and hard to believe that such a man with such a passion for life could be gone. I pretty much saw everything, I even got to touch a koala! I kept my eyes open for Terri Irwin who was there that day according to the woman in the gift shop. The gift shop had Steve dolls, Bindi dolls and I have to tell you I did purchase a Steve Irwin magnet! I also got a Sea Shepherd shirt, Steve and Terri have always been working with the group to end the whale killings. I left the zoo happy and would love to go back some day, I would highly recommend it to anyone.

On Friday I walked around Brisbane and the Botanic Gardens, honestly not that impressive. I ended up buying the last of the Twilight books to end my obsession. That night I had been invited to a Sea Shepherd Event at the Hilton. I had met volunteers in Byron Bay and bought a ticket to the event. I was worried about what to wear seeing as I have very little in my bag. I ended up going with new shirt and felt pretty under dressed though the volunteers there had the same thing on. After awhile I did not even care, I mean really I was there for the whales not to impress the social society of Brisbane. One of the volunteers from Byron was there and gave me a drink. Ady Gill was a speaker there, he is a entrepreneur in the US and purchased the million dollar boat for sea shepherd's that the Japanese sank. I met Ady and told him how sorry I was about his boat. They also had a pro surfer there, David Rostovich and I got to meet him too, he spent time on one of the boats as well. They had a live and silent auction. The paintings of whales were great! Terri Irwin donated a dress that went for $700 and her kids made a painting that was auctioned as well. It was great clapping and cheering on everyone! I later met the organizer of the party, we talked a lot about animal rights issues. I also got to meet one of the staff at the Australia Zoo, he looked just like Steve, he said he was not his brother though. I asked him about getting a job at the zoo and it looks like I would have to start out as a volunteer and work my way up. I think I would have a good chance though and I have his card. After the party I went back to Carl's and hung out with everyone.

Carl took me to a bowling birthday party, not like the American style though, it was on grass out side and you have to throw a ball and get it closer to the red one. It was pretty boring, no wounder its an old peoples sport. I just socialized the whole time. We ended up going out that night. Tracy dressed me up and did my make up, it ended up being a very late night but lots of fun. Tracy loved telling everyone I was her American. I also met a really handsome Aussie and ended up going on a date with him the next day. Hes a 27 year old electrician from Brisbane, from a big family. Great guy, too bad I met him on my last days.

I flew out the next day to Perth tired tired tired, and the first thing I did was rest!

Byron Bay

2010-02-18T17:29:00.001-08:00

Surfers

Storm coming in

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree!

One wicked spider

Byron Bay

Kookaburras in front of Chris's house

Ibis

Dolphins playing around the surfers

Byron Bay, the surfers paradise of Australia. When I got off here, I almost died of heat stroke! My couchsurfer Chris was not picking up and I waited for awhile. He finally came to my rescue and brought me to his place. Now this was a different situation, I knew he had a one room studio and I had to share it with him. He also had his girlfriend there and two friends in a van outside, a little more cramped then I was use to. I had for the most part always had my own room when couchsurfing but it was not all that bad and it was an interesting experience. He was really close to the main strip but still had a forest in front of his place. The flying foxes made noise all night and the kookaburras would wake me up. We sat and watched the opening of the winter games, Chris is really into snowboarding and has now got me hooked on watching it. I walked around a bit the first day and ran into Stephanie at the Peter Pans travel office where I got free Internet. We made plans to go to the beach the next day.

The beach was fun, we talked for along time and were given food and drinks from the guys next to us. Some people on the beach were topless or wearing thongs...I mean like old men, we could not stop laughing. The water was also pretty nice and I became pretty good at jellyfish spotting. The blue bottle jellies sting badly but will not kill you. It was a fun day and not to mention it was Valentines day so we decided to meet up for drinks later to be anti V-Day together.

I also wanted to walk up to the lighthouse one day, I woke up early to do the walk. The weather started to get bad though, at the end of the beach was Cape Byron, I walked out there to watch the surfers and right away spotted a big pod of bottle nose dolphins. They looked like they were fishing but kept going up to the sea kayaks and surfers. Some of the surfers just sat on their boards watching. I had to of been there for almost an hour, but I knew it was going to start pouring rain. I headed back along the beach and someone just started chatting with me when the rain came down like cats and dogs, I was drenched and ran off the beach for cover. I took my time getting back to the house since at this point it did not matter how wet I was. Even the galahs trying to hide in their feathers from the rain. I got back to Chris's place changed and met Stephanie for lunch at Legends Pizza...not as great as Chicago Pizza of course! We walked around to the shops and I got my first bikini in years...sad I know but i feel so left out here without one, everyone has them. Chris took me to the rails bar for a drink that night, it seemed like a pretty local spot. Chris loves Byron, he never wants to leave, we talked about his travels and the time he spent working on Harley Davidson's for years. Byron is a very cool place, I can see why some people never leave. Lots of old hippies with dreadlocks and surfers around this town I guess that my best way to describe it.

Porth Macquarie and Coffs Harbor

2010-02-18T17:00:00.000-08:00

Cath and Evan

Don't ask...

Cath's office..Ross from Friends

King Parrot!

Goanna

King Parrot

Cath has a lot of baby heads and now put them around the house and garden, she said she is going to send me one! I have no idea what race I will get though!

Chris my host in Port Macquarie

These guys are found all over

Jelly on the beach

I saved this water dragon from the pool!

The beach walk

This kid was going to get his butt kicked!

Koala yummy!

roos on the golf course

Left Newcastle after a good night of hanging out with Nick and Christy. We went out for Indian again and watched Sienfield that night. On the way to Port Macquarie I was looking out the window over a bridge and saw a dolphin in the water, I was pretty sure I was the only person on the bus to have seen it. I also saw a kangaroo and my first dead one as well. When I made it to Port Macquarie my couchsurfer Chris came to pick me up with his son Aron. On the way I saw koala crossing signs and got so excited! His house was really great, in front of a rainforest and only 5 minutes from the beach. Which I later found out was a nude beach. He has done a lot of traveling in Southeast Asia and has lots of little decorations from there and pictures all over. He right away took me to the Port Macquarie koala hospital. Now Chris has had over 200 couchsurfers stay with him in the past so imagine how many times he has been to the koala hospital. These koalas come from all over, they are hit by cars, attacked by dogs and get diseases often. I even got to see my first wild koala outside of the hospital. We then went on search for more wild koalas in his neighborhood and sure enough there they were. Right on peoples lawns cuddled in the trees. He took me to the golf coarse that had kangaroos all lounging around and sometimes has koalas. We also saw pelicans off of the wharf and he showed me the lighthouse and the beaches to visit.

I managed to walk along the coast for a few hours the next day. I realized I forgot to put sun block on and got pretty red. I got to see my first goanna on a tree and walked on to a beach which I figured out quickly was a nudest beach. I made it all the way into town and Chris picked me up. He was such a lovely host and made really good meals for me every night. I walked out into the small rainforest behind his house one night and saw a small wild possum but not much else. The spiders on his property are huge, their webs even bigger! I had a good time at his place, we talked a lot about his travels in Southeast Asia and he gave me some good advice.

I made it to Coffs Harbor around 5pm. I was waiting at the greyhound station next to a girl who started chatting with me. Turns out we were both waiting for couchsurfers to pick us up. Her name was Stephanie and she was from Canada. We ended up seeing each other again in Byron Bay and hung out and are both in Brisbane now about to hang out again. Funny how things work out.

My couchsurfer Evan picked me up, him and his wife Cath live 30 min. out of town in a small town called Dairyville. He told me Cath was in Sydney for the night with her mom but I would meet her the next day. Evan and Cath have 4 daughters and are very interesting people. Their house was like a tree house, Evan built it himself, hes very crafty. Cath is a local lawyer. Right away their two pitbulls greeted me when they came flying off of the veranda. the house has all kinds of interesting things everywhere, it's fun to just walk around and look at all of the random items. My favorite by far was a small plastic baby dinosaur, it is from the TV show The Dinosaurs that we grew up watching on TGIF. They had no ideal what it was but it made for good pictures one night. Evan put me to work pealing mangoes, he dries them out in his machine and they are a good snack later. He did the cooking, he loves to cook and his food was to die for, and not just because I eat backpacker food every night!

The next day he went to work and I hung around the house a bit then went to the national park down the road. On the Veranda were beautiful king parrots, I gave them some seed from my hand and they ate it up. When I went on my walk I was at the river when I looked up and saw a massive goanna walking, you should have seen my expression! It was like Jurassic park to me! Without thinking I jumped into the river with my clothes one and waded across. He must have seen me coming because he darted up a tree and was looking down at me but I still got the shots I wanted. I walked back through the river trying not to fall in and destroy my camera. The rest of the time I walked it was quiet, hardly anyone around. I sat for awhile in the forest and it was peaceful, I never just sit by a river and take it all in, we always have to be doing something. I met Cath that night and she was really friendly, we had another good dinner and she got me hooked on shandys (beer and sprite). She also started telling me how she was related to Sir Issac Newton, I stopped her right there and told her how my grandmother claimed I was related to him as well. It was a funny moment, but I have to question if we really are related to him or not, most of our somewhat famous relatives we have proof of but not this. Evan however told me how his great uncle was Sir. Arthur Evans, having minored in archaeology I knew right away who this was. He had discovered the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete.

I spent my last day walking around Coffs Harbor, the botanic gardens were nice. I was able to read my Twilight book that I have been hooked on. I met Cath back at her office and we drove back for my last night with them. We went outside to look for the local platypus but it was too dark to see, I had walked past it the day before in the National Park without even knowing. Cath had a leech on her as well something I had been warned about but thank God had not gotten one. You get them just by walking through grass here. They looked up my house on google earth to see were I live, it was strange being in Australia a world a way and there was my house on Harvard. Evan also told me the story about how he lost his leg in a hitch hiking accident on the west coast. The subject was brought up when he asked about my mom. It happened I think almost 30 years ago and he gets around so good, he goes on with his life and I admire that. Evan woke up early to drive me to the bus stop, it was sad to say goodbye they are such sweet people and I am so glad to have met them!

Last Days at Rocky Creek

2010-02-03T18:00:00.000-08:00

Wally Walaroo

Holly coming to say goodbye

Green Tree Frog

roos at sunset

the female that came over to me with her joey

Holly holding my hand

cutie

Sister love

the wild baby joey up close

As my time here winds down at Rocky Creek I have begun to think of what a special place this is. I am so greatful to have spent three weeks here among native Australian animals both inside and outside the house.

Last night was the perfect going away present for me. I walked up to the roo run right when it started to get dark. I walked right into a mob of 15 or so wild roos. One started jumping over to me, I realized it was a female so figured it was not going to try to harm me. She jumped over and came to me and sniffed around. I felt like Diane Fossey with the gorrillas remembering not to move and scare her off. She must have been with Sandra as a baby and probably even thought I was Sandra. I walked away when she left and before I knew it another female jumped to me this one had a baby in her pouch. She did the same as the previous roo had but I got to see her baby up close. The joey was a little smaller then twiggy the orphaned eastern grey I nursed three times a day. She was so lovely, and I kept on complementing her on this. Even if both had been raised by humans they were now clearly wild kangaroos in a wild mob and it was a clear reminder of what the future would be for the young roos I cared for everyday here at the refuge. The hard work that Sandra and Jeremy put into this place would pay off once these animals were free to roam.

I have realized while staying here that Both Sandra and Jeremy are very lucky. They may not have an amazing house or brand new things, but none of this matters. They have 200 acres with wild animals. They can spend everyday watching these animals and enjoying their life without the hassel of the city. Sometimes it's the quality of life that is more important. They have wanted to adopt me and would love for me to stay longer, but I am really looking forward to seeing the rest of this sunburnt country!

They both took me out for a going away breakfast, they are both so giving. I am so happy to have met two really good people who care for this planet as I do. My only wish is that they continue to do good, and these animals grow strong and are released back in the wild. I also wish that the Australian government would realize what it is doing to its environment here and change for the better.

Here is a link to their website

http://helpx.net/host_url.asp?url=www.rockycreekwildlife.info/rcwr

Refuge pics

2010-02-01T15:52:00.000-08:00

Twiggy the piggy

The itsy bitsy spider

A Galah that was hit by a car

Possie the sweetest possum

Wombat whole under the house

Give me a kiss

Storm coming in

Orrie my roomate

What you talkin about?

Life at the refuge

2010-01-30T16:51:00.001-08:00

Lulu following meWally

Momma with joey

Roos behind the house

My time here at Rocky Creek is winding down. It's hard to believe I have almost been here for three weeks. The other night I spooked a mob of 20 kangaroos, I felt bad since they all went jumping away from me. Two stayed behind, I am pretty sure Sandra had taken care of them at one point.
The last three days we have had lots of rain, and we lost power one night. The rain here is much needed though, afterall most parts of Aaustralia lack water and it's a hudge issue. The drinking water comes from the rain water and is not filtered, which means it has taken some getting use to. Even washing dishes is a little different because you do not want to use so much water so you use the same water to wash everything. I see most people do it this way in New Zealand and Australia, I'm just not use to it.
The last two Fridays I have also gone to bible study here with Sandra and Jeremy. Now I can't say I have been saved, this was more to do with meeting new people and having a good experience. I was one of the youngest people there but really liked talking to everyone and hearing what they had to say. Having never been raised with any religion I still have a curiosity. They were so sweet to me and prayed for me before we left.
I still enjoy everyday here and love everyday I spend with the animals, I have my favorites of course!

Google map of where I am in Gungal NSW

http://maps.google.com.au/places/au/gungal?hl=en&gl=au

Rocky Creek Pictures

2010-01-26T17:34:00.000-08:00

Jacqui and her mom

Twigster

girls being girls

Country road take me home!

Wild male Eastern Grey

Lulu in action

A game of patty cake

Rocky Creek Wildlife Refuge

2010-01-25T20:46:00.000-08:00

Orri the baby

Rosey the rosella

One of the girls

Sandra and Jeremy feeding

Wally

Jacqui the wombat

Twiggy the piggy

Wally the wallaroo

The Mob

Lulu the red neck wallaby

Drivig to Sandy Hollow we passed a kangaroo xing sign, and I knew I was in for a treat! When I got off the bus at Sandy Hollow, I realized there were only two buildings around, a hotel and gas station. I went to call Sandra who owns and runs Rocky Creek but did not get reception. I went into the hotel and asked to use their phone. No one picked up and then I started to think about the movie I had seen the night before. For about 2 minutes there I started to freak out in my head about how I was probably going to be killed here in the middle of nowhere. I walked outside the hotel and herd a woman yell my name from the gas station, it was Sandra she had been there the whole time, and I was saved!

I had seen Sandra’s profile on the helper exchange about a year ago, it encouraged me to sign up for the website and write to her and ask about volunteering. Helper exchange is the same thing as woofing. You go to a farm, animal refuge or even a Buddhist retreat and work a bit every day in return for free room and board. Lot’s of backpackers do it as a way to stay neutral with their budget. I knew I did not have to do it, though it would help financially, but wanted the experience of working on a sheep farm or somewhere with wildlife. This was perfect for me, and ever since Sandra and her husbands Jeremy and I have kept in touch via facebook.

Rocky Creek Wildlife Refuge is located in the small farming town of Gungal on 200 acres of pristine Australian bush. There are a number of animals here, wombats, kangaroos, 3 dogs, 2 cats, 7 rabbits, 2 possoms, 2 donkeys and 2 horses. All have pretty much been rescued. Of all of these there are 5 animals that I bottle feed daily; Twiggy the baby grey kangaroo, Nickers the baby red neck wallaby, Orrie the baby wombat, Bobby (Wally) the wallaroo, and Jacqui the larger wombat. There is also a mammoth size wombat living under the house named scruffy. Among those domestics and rescued animals there are of course wild animals all around. There are snakes though I have not seen any and Sandra and Jeremy have seen very few snakes. A week before I was here though they saw in front of the house a Eastern Brown snake, the 2nd most deadliest land snake in the world. Needless to say my face is looking towards the ground where ever I walk, the chances of even coming across a snake is slim but because I sent my boots home, I only have sandals which leaves little protection on my feet and legs. There are also small lizards commonly seen and I have seen the tracks of a Goanna but still have not seen one yet though I am dying to! Sandra found a nest of baby Goannas in a termite mound in front of the house. There are also a number of birds, such as cockatoos, rosellas, grass parakeets, and Kookaburras. The kookaburra have a crazy laughing sound, they are just great to listen to throughout the day here.

All the rescued animals brought here are usually orphans such as kangaroos and wombats whos mothers had been hit by a car and some caring person checked the mothers pouch for a baby. The horses and donkeys were adopted, as were the dogs and cats.

Above all my favorite part of the day is around 6pm- 8pm. This is when I go to feed Wally the wallaroo his bottle and hangout with the other 3 juvenile kangaroos in the roo run, a very large fenced area. Usually lulu a now wild red neck wallaby find me and follows me the whole time trying to catch up to me. I see the wild kangaroos every day here, grazing in the field. Sometimes they watch me and stick around but always with caution, other times something spooks them and like a herd of deer they take off, over and under fences. They are brilliant to watch jumping away and so graceful, well until they hit the fence which they sometimes do.

This property was purchased about 10 years ago and they have had people like me coming over to help for 7 years now. Jeremy fixes computers and Sandra was at one point a teacher, she even taught In Botswana for 3 years but now is going to school to become a vet nurse and the spends time working here with her wildlife which is a full time job in itself.

So here is a little of what I do each day, somewhat in this order. On days when it is not 110 degrees out I get some random jobs done around the refuge, but most days from around 12-6pm, I don’t leave the house! Can you blame me?

7am: wake up…Coffee, feed cats, eat, internet time

8am: Make 3 bottles for Twiggy, Orri, and Nickers. Feed babies while watching the news and give them new clean pouches.

9am: Start the laundry, feed rabbits, get bottle ready for Jacqui the wombat and go down to feed her. If it is nice out I take her for a short walk and we sit while she eats grass and leave once I start getting bit by ants.

10am: Vacuum floor, mop floor, do dishes, clean bottles, hang laundry, check horse and donkey water, bring babies outside while I clean, tell puppy to stop licking my legs.

12pm-2pm: If it’s hot, stay in and read, watch a movie, if it is nice find something to do. Start giving babies their next bottle, new pouches, and more laundry.

3pm-5pm: Still more time to myself, ahhh I love down time!

6pm: make Jacqui her bottle, go give it to her, give Wally his bottle (he makes a clucking sound at me and I make it back to him as his mom would), usually bring my camera and watch the wild kangaroos hanging around.

9pm: we have a late dinner and right before bed I give the three babies one more bottle.

So it’s not a lot of work, but when it’s hot you just don’t want to do much. There always is something here to get done though when the weather is good.

Every day here is so beautiful and I enjoy the company both human and nonhuman. I have had a lot of time to consider my future when I get home and catch up with people through emails. I also went to bible study lest week which is unlike me but they were having it here at the house. Jim the youngest person there invited me to an overnight BBQ the other day, it felt like I was the new girl in this small town and now was the center of attention. I turned him down though since I barely knew him and did not want to stay all night. So here I am in the middle of nowhere for 3 weeks but getting a real feel of what it’s like to live in rural Australia. Happy Australia Day by the way!

http://rockycreekwildlife.info/rcwr/

Newcastle

2010-01-21T19:40:00.000-08:00

I departed Sydney at 7am on the greyhound bus. I was headed north along the coast to Newcastle. When I arrived I went to call my couchsrfer who agreed to pick me up at the stop. By accident I called the wrong couchsurfer; the man over the phone was having a hard time finding me. When we put two and two together we figured it all out and realized I had called the wrong couch surfer. I then called Nick my real couch surfer for the night. He picked me up and brought me to his place where I met his girlfriend Crissy. It was a really good just talking to them; I realized there was not much to do in Newcastle itself. We chatted and looked at his travel photos from Southeast Asia, giving me more ideas of places I want to visit. I walked around downtown for a bit but it was raining, so I came back to the house. Along the way I was stopped by two older gentlemen sitting at a bar, they encouraged me to sit and have a drink with them. I tried to say no but then I said ah what the hell; I never do anything like this, why not. It was very interesting speaking to them, one was a Greek immigrant 40 years ago, and he was impressed with the few Greek phrases I knew. My mom always had us speak Greek to the Greek waiters when we were young. The other man was a true blue Aussie, and I could not understand a word he said half of the time. I had my free drink and walked around the corner to Nicks home. We went out for Thai, which was cheap and good, the way it should be! I really loved talking with both of them. Afterwards we watched a scary Aussie movie called Wolf Creek. They cold not understand why I wanted to see it so badly; after all it is loosely based on actual events taken place in NSW years ago. Needless to say the movie left me scared shitless to go out into the Outback in my own car, good thing I got a tour bus. It actually scary the numbers of people that have gone missing in the outback, lots have been backpackers. You have got to be pretty dumb though to drive out to some of these remote areas alone and in beaters. The next day I left to my next destination, Rocky Creek Wildlife Refuge…my home for 3 weeks, I will see Nick again for a few nights after this experience.

The Blue Mountains

2010-01-19T22:41:00.001-08:00

G'Day mate!

Emma and Suzan

The Three Sisters

So I went to catch my train down the street to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. I missed it by 3 minutes. I waited for the next one and the ride up which was lovely for some of the way, and took about 2 hours. I had booked two nights as the YHA since I had herd great things about it. I had to walk a bit to find it and it was soooo hot, finally I found it and could see why it was rated so highly. It was huge, clean and I got my own room off of the main one. I went to my room and was right away greeted by two Dutch girls named Emma and Suzan. After spending 4 days hardly talking to anyone, it was a relief to finally find nice people. They invited me to go do a hike with them to a waterfall. I had some lunch and out the door we were. It was blazing hot but we stopped a few time, the walk to the Three Sisters was not far at all and just down the main road. I saw lots of cockatoos and rosellas along the way. Three sisters were really pretty but the waterfall was not so great. There were so many tourists around and so much trash, not what I was use to in NZ. I really got on well with the two Dutch girls, they were very down to earth and we ended up hanging out later that night. The next day I woke up at 7 and was ready to do a 3 ½ hour hike around the three sisters. A cable car or a pull car would take me back up from the bottom. I had to walk down 900 stairs to get to the bottom. It was cool and foggy out which was good since I was trying my best to avoid the heat. I ended up being the only person on the trail which was cool because I had been slightly annoyed with tourists lately. Before descending down the giant’s staircase I could hear all the noises of the bush bounce up from below. It was so loud, louder then the rainforests I have been in, well besides the ones with howler monkeys. You could see the white flocks of cockatoos; I closed my eyes for a bit just to take it all in. The stairway was not bad at all, in fact the hike was really easy I think, it took me 1 ½ hours to finish and by the end the sun was already coming out and I was ready to go back. Did I mention I wore my outback crocodile Dundee hat, oh yeah that’s right! Later at the hostel I just tried to escape the heat, and then walked to the local antique store. It was so cool, for years my parents dragged me to them and I hated it but I really like them now. Maybe it’s a sign that I am getting old and more like my parents….oh no! I loved looking at everything, and bought a wooden kiwi from NZ and a ceramic platypus. Now in my room was a lady in her 60’s she was kind enough to drive me to the train in the morning so I did not have to walk up the hill, she was leaving anyways. She also invited me to her place 5 hours south. I went back to Sydney and while walking around in the business district was stopped by a man just starring at me, I thought he was crazy but then realized I knew him. His name was James and a week before we had a few drinks together with a few other guys from my hostel in Paihia. I remember he said he lived there but did not think he would be there when I was…small world. The next day I met up with Emma and Suzan again. We went to a $5 buffet (definitely becoming my parents) and went out to my hostel bar. It ended up being a pretty fun and late night. I had to be up at 5:30 to make the train north to Newcastle. I actually got up like it was nothing. I was sad to say bye to Emma and Suzan but we are planning on meeting up on the west coast. Oh yes I have had a slight change of plans since NZ. I decided on only going as far as Brisbane on the east coast then flying to Perth and going north to Broome. The west is supposed to be well worth seeing and less touristy. The diving there is also suppose to be better then the GBR because much of that reef is now bleach and dead, I have already paid for my diving lessons in Exmouth and whale shark swimming there as well. I also got a volunteer job with the dolphins of Monkey Mia for about a week as long as all goes as planned. Much to look forward too!

The Land Down Under

2010-01-19T21:08:00.000-08:00

Sitting at the park

A Koala yummy

St. James Park

Cockatoos in love

Me at Bondi Beach

The Opera House

Kukaburra sits in the old gum tree

my inspiration

The amazing Flying Fox

Who's balloon?

Myself at the Opera House

More flying foxes!

Sydney Opera House from the Gardens

I left Auckland early that morning while the nightlife was still going on. The plane ride on Air New Zealand was by far the best ride I have ever been on, good food, movies to pick from, and clean. I swore that when I flew down to Australia I would play the song by Working Men, Land Down under, and ya know what, I did!

My dream of Australia goes back to my childhood, before I even knew New Zealand existed. As a kid it’s no surprise I spent a lot of time studying maps and globes. I had an old Atlas and marked off a town in Australia that I would one day move to. The name was Waga waga and the only reason I chose this was because I liked the name. I loved everything Australian, the wildlife, The Croc Hunter, the indigenous culture and of course the lovely Aussie movie stars like Hugh Jackman. I also love the fact that pretty much anything here could potently kill you. I was always convinced I would meet a man of the outback and end up living here, now after seeing some parts of OZ, I am pretty sure it’s just too bloody hot and if I were to live anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere it would be NZ…more my type of climate.

I landed and phoned my hostel to pick me up, got a new sim card to make calls here. The hostel was called Original Backpackers in Kings Cross the Red light district of Sydney. I had been told it was good but during my 4 days there, I can honestly say it was one of the dirtiest hostels. When I first walked in the room there was throw up all over, the girl working there picked up some of the pasta from it and said “what’s this”. I never took my flip flops, jandels, thongs or whatever they are ,off! I kept my stuff as far away from the crime scene and even once it was clean I still found it all very dirty. I asked to move rooms but none were available. The hostel was in a good location, not far from the Opera house and Botanic Gardens. I first went to get food and then I walked to Opera House. It was nice but not as I had built it up in the last 15 years. It was not as white as I had pictured it, maybe only from a distance. I sat and looked at it for a bit and walked back through the Botanic Gardens. On my way through I knew I herd a familiar sound, sure enough there was a flock of sulpher crested cockatoos in a tree, later I saw at least 20 of them in the park. As the week went by I spent lots of time picking some of cockatoos up and well pretty much became the crazy bird lady of the park. I also stumbled upon thousands of flying fox bats, which along with the cockatoos are my favorite attraction in the city. The flying fox are so fun to watch; they fight, hang, glide and make lots of my noise as well as bat guano. Around 6pm they start flying out along with the birds, it is a sight not to be missed in the city, and I came out a few nights to watch them. It reminded me a lot of Gotham City; I could just see the bat signal in the sky!

The rest of my days in the city I visited the Australian Museum; it had a whole display on dangerous animals in OZ which was good to study. The free Art Gallery, The Rocks, Walked the Sydney Harbor Bridge, all of the parks, the Toranga Zoo, The Sydney Aquarium, Bondi Beach and the Sydney Festival. I can pretty much say I saw it all. I found pretty much everywhere to be way too overcrowded. Bondi was overcrowded and to my suprise I was stopped by two Japanese men and they asked to take a picture with me (little do they know I am so not a Aaussie). The Zoo was alright but I could have lived without it and done something much cheaper instead. I did get the chance to see a Tawney Frogmouth and koalas..something I had been looking forward to. The aquarium was great; there were platypus and dugongs there as well! Most of the free stuff ended up being just as nice like the Sydney Festival.

When I first arrived to this hostel though I had not really met anyone and when I did they were leaving the next day. I think this is mostly because people staying there also were working there and were usually gone or had their own thing going on. When I switched to the Wake Up hostel in the city center, I met a lot of people and wished I had stayed their in the first place so I did not have to do everything like Bondi beach, and the zoo alone. I spent 4 days in Sydney then went to the Blue Mountains for two nights, then back to Sydney for 2 more nights, a well thoughtout plan and just the right amount of time to really see the city. Sydney is by far now my third favorite city next to Chicago of course, and Edinbourgh in Scotland.

My Country by Dorothea Mackellar

2010-01-18T00:52:00.000-08:00

The love of field and coppice
Of green and shaded lanes,
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins.
Strong love of grey-blue distance,
Brown streams and soft, dim skies
I know, but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of drought and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror
The wide brown land for me!
The stark white ring-barked forests,
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon,
Green tangle of the brushes
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops,
And ferns the warm dark soil.
Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When, sick at heart, around us
We see the cattle die
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady soaking rain.
Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the rainbow gold,
For flood and fire and famine
She pays us back threefold.
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze…
An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand
though Earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.

Paihia

2010-01-17T21:19:00.000-08:00

Bay of Islands

Tane Mahuta..Lord of the forest

Me driving the boat

Fishing

Sand boarding

90 Mile beach off of Cape Ragina

Downtown Paihia, I spent most of my time right here! Can you blame me!

My Birthday crowd

Alright, I have not been the best lately of keeping up with my blog but the internet is very expensive here so I really only update the blog when I get free internet use.

I have to back track to after Rotorua. I left Rotorua on my birthday the 28th. It was sad leaving Steve’s house and the kiwi encounter. I walked down the street to the Kiwi Paka Hostel to jump on the magic bus to Mt. Munganui. The ride was quick and I did not really talk to anyone. I figured this meant my birthday would be uneventful but I was still In NZ so I really did not care. When we arrived at the hostel in this touristy beach town I went to my room and was greeted by 4 girls that were staying there too. They were from Japan, Brazil, Israel, and Germany. We started all talking for awhile and when one of the girls mentioned birthdays, I told them it was mine. They were so sweet and gave me hugs; Fabiana from Brazil insisted I get a cake. I really did not think they would get me one since I hardly knew them. Shari from Israel and I went for a walk to the beach, on the way we got a little lost, then a little hungry and ended up at a burger king over eating. When we got back to the hostel kitchen the girls started singing Happy Birthday to me and got everyone to join in. They also gave me a chocolate cake and we took pictures. It was really sweet of them and made my day. We all ended up staying up late in our hostel room despite the fact I had to get up early, we talked about everything and I hope to meet up with Fabiana who works at the sky tower in Auckland once I am back there.
So the next morning I slammed down my coffee and made it to the bus at 8am. Next stop was going to be Auckland. Not because I wanted to but because I had to leave from there to Paihia and the Bay of Islands. I spent the rest of the day with Shari, we did some last minute shopping for stuff I may need in Australia since it would cost less in NZ.

I managed to get some sleep that night and woke up early ready for Paihia. It would be my home for almost a week and I was going to spend New Years there. Because it is a kiwi destination for New Years I was only able to get into the base hostel there which is also considered the big party hostel. On the way there I made friends with Toni from Malaysia. She works in Auckland now; we ended up spending a lot of time in Paihia together and really got on well. I made it to my Base Pipi Patch hostel and was about to walk in my room when a guy who was covered in the curtain that covered the sliding door asking his friend for his pants. He asked me if I was in room 22 and I gave him a yes with a long grin. He then informed me he was naked which did not surprise me. Once he was dressed I came in and met him, his name was Ryan from NZ. To make a long story short Army guy Ryan had a big crush on me and sleeping above his bed did not make matters any better. He tried and tried and by the last day he was there, I think he got the hint that I was just not that interested…at all. His friend Steve was very funny and was living at the hostel. On my first day I was resting and reading and Steve informed me that for the only girl in this room I was pretty boring. It was then I knew I was now going to be stuck in a room with 7 guys and all of who were going to be up partying every night….I could not wait! Well for the next few days I spent lots of time on the beach. I met new Dutch girls and an American as well, one of the few that I have met since traveling. Two Irish on my bus had convinced me to sign up for a Boat tour one night. It was called the Rock and this would not be until after New Years.

On the 31st. I took a day trip tour to Cape Regina, the most northern point of New Zealand. In Maori legend it is believed to be the spot where souls leave for the underworld, needless to say it hold a very special place in the Maori culture. It was a beautiful spot and you can see both the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean come together. We also got the chance to sand board on 90 mile beach and go into a Kauri forest. Kauri trees are massive and unique to the country; they were heavily logged at one point until the Queen herself signed for their protection. Once we made it back it was already time to eat and get ready for a night out in Paihia. It was a really fun night and we got to see the fireworks from the beach!

I got ready to do the Rock tour on the 2nd and showed up to the wharf with my big bag. Most people doing the tour had a van so they brought less. I was put in a small room with 4 other Germans. The night started with fishing. I caught a fish that was later used for bait; no one caught anything worth eating. We had a big BBQ! Then we all went kayaking at night in groups. The plankton in the water glow at night when disturbed, I guess it is one of the few places in the world where you can experience this! I kept swishing my hand around and watching them, amazing how animals and humans are so fascinated by glowing lights! After this we headed to bed. I maybe should have mentioned we had a Chinese family on board that drove us all crazy! The woman would not stop talking when you were suppose to keep it down and to make matters worse they sat up drinking all night and started throwing up everywhere. I guess they had taken a wine bottle and refused to pay for it. So the next day we had our breakfast and headed for a beach on Robinson Island. The island was discovered by Captain Cook and actually has kiwis living on it! I finally got in the water, and it was still too cold for me so I passed on snorkeling. I kayaked back to the boat when we were all done and all the while looking for Tom Cruise who was reportedly in the Bay of Islands. No luck though, after all of this our guides opened some sea urchins they had caught and let us all try the eggs. It was pretty gross, but I guess some people pay big money for them. I made it back to Paihia and spent the next two days just relaxing. Girls had finally moved into my room too! I was sad to leave Paihia not only for the beauty but I had made friends local and travelers in the week I was there.

On the way back to Auckland for a night. I got to visit Tane Mahuta the Lord of the forest, Lord of kauri trees. There was a wooden walkway built for the Queen when she came to visit, God forbid she walked on the ground. The tree is thousands of years old and truly the coolest tree I have ever seen. There are other very similar sized trees not far from that one but we did not have enough time to visit them all so I will just have to come back. The ride was alright, the girl next to me was a vet from Germany so we just talked about animals the whole way. In Auckland I chatted with some people in my room who had just started traveling, they are always the fun ones to talk to because they love the advice you give them and of course I love giving it. I had to be up at 3am to make my flight to Sydney. I was out cold and they were all very respectful of the fact I had to get rest. Good Bye New Zealand, you were good to me!

Christmas

2009-12-26T15:47:00.000-08:00

Walking in the bush with Flo, Tracey's dog. This is a big redwood
Looking down on Rotorua
Buggy friend

Lindsey and Emma
The night before Christmas here Steve and I went out to get some food to make dinner. Potatoes, steak, mushrooms and creamed corn. It was pretty damn good! We watched the movie the hangover, usually at home I would be watching A Christmas Story. Many people had invited me over for Christmas from the Kiwi Encounter, they were all very sweet but I just decided to stay around the house. The next morning I had to make it over to the Kiwi Encounter, since kiwis still have to eat. Steve made me a pretty good breakfast in the morning and Emma picked me up. I spent the day at work with her and John. She was nice enough to had made some dishes for us during tea time and I also received a few gifts from Emma and Clair.

Later that day Steve and I went to see Tracey his friend and her families BBQ. It was good meeting her family but we ended up staying pretty late because they did not eat until 11 pm. Needless to say Steve and I ate and ran since I had to be up early again for work.

The last day of work went well. In two weeks I had pretty much everything down and was moving fast around work. I was working with Lindsey and Emma the younger girls at work. I always have a good time with both of them. Lindsey cracks me up, we both have the same sense of humor. I said my good byes to the kiwis, even gave one a kiss. It was sad to think I may not see another one, there are three zoos in the US with them, but it would not be the same. After work we all went out for a drink and said our goodbyes. Working with the kiwis has been a highlight of my trip, I have so much more appreciation for conservation and the hard physical work that goes into it.

Today is my last day in Rotorua and tomorrow I am off to Mt. Maunganui then the north of New Zealand. It is hard to think that in a week I will be in Australia.

Working with Kiwi birds

2009-12-22T20:54:00.000-08:00

One of the Nocturnal houses
Rainbow Trout at Rainbow Springs
Tuatara
Some of the runs for the chicks, there is a predator proof fence going around with electric wires at the Kiwi Encounter. This is off limits to the public
Volunteering with kiwis
Billie is a big boy, and just came off his eggs
Volunteering at the kiwi encounter

Lindsey checking a chick
Billie and adult breeding male
Volunteering with a chick on my lap at the Kiwi encounter

Well I am already almost done with my stay here and I have neglected to write about the North Island Brown Kiwi and what it is I have been doing for the past two weeks. So here I go!

New Zealand is known for it's strange animals. The flightless birds, dinosaur like lizards and massive insects. Because it has been left so remote for so long birds were able to evolve here without the presence of really and predators. Sure some birds such as the Weka a flightless bird may have had a Kiwi egg or two but the island developed with no mammals on it besides seals living on the coasts and some species of bats.

Witi Ihimaera wrote:
"The tuatara, the ancient lizard with its third eye, was sentinel here, unblinking in the hot sun, watching and waiting to the east. The moa browsed in giant wingless herds across the southern island. Within the warm stomach of the rainforests, kiwi, weka and other birds foraged for huhu and similar succulent insects. The forests were loud with the clatter of tree bark, chatter of cicada and murmur of fish-laden streams. Sometimes the forest grew suddenly quiet and in wet bush could be heard the filigree of fairy laughter like sparkling glissando."

This was the New Zealand we would all have liked to have seen, before the Maori killed the moas off, before the the early settlers killed off the rest of the Huia. In our lifetime though we would not see these animals and New Zealand has made a great effort since to protect what species are left.

It was the same case for the kiwi. The flightless bird almost went extinct after Maori and settlers brought stouts, rats, dog, and cats to NZ. The bird that had every thing going for it at one point now had everything wrong going for it.

What makes the bird so special are a few of its characteristics that most birds lack. Here is a short list

Hair-like plumage
Vestigial wings
Marrow-filled bones
Heavy powerful feet and legs (yes they are good kickers, I have the scars to prove it)
Both ovaries are functional Large ear openings
Long Whiskers....yes just like a cat
Blood temperature of 37-38C
Large eggs/independent chicks.......you could have mistaken if for a dinosaur egg
Strong sense of smell
long lived

There are 7 different species of kiwi throughout both islands. I worked in the north island with the north island brown kiwi (my favorite). The are nocturnal and were also loved by the Maoris who made Kahu Kiwi Kloaks from dead birds. Only chiefs were allowed to eat them. They are a symbol of the country and New Zealanders did not want to have to change their nickname Kiwi once they believed the animal would go extinct. Needless to say it did not take long for everyone to jump on board to SAVE THE KIWI! The NZ bank funds a large amount of the projects to save them. Operation Nest Egg was set up to start breeding captive kiwis and release them in predator free zones. There are few zones scattered around the islands that are completely fenced off. Traps have caught whatever was left inside. These fences are not only pricey but time consuming. Some small off shore islands have also played a huge role in protecting species of birds. Once the predators were removed, the birds moved in. The islands are monitored by volunteers and the Department of Conservation (DOC). Peoples dogs here usually have to go through a course that teaches them to stay away from kiwi if they spend lots of time in the bush. As you can see it is a big deal here, lots of money, hours, volunteering, education, you name it goes into saving this unique bird. A very good example of what people should do with their endangered wildlife!

Upon coming here I knew this: I wanted to help out with the kiwi in any way I could, I wanted to learn as much as I could about them and I wanted to see one, even if it was just once. Well second day here I saw a kiwi at the Auckland zoo. A week later I came to the Rainbow Springs http://www.kiwiencounter.co.nz/ to see the kiwi. Not only did I see newly hatched chicks but I was able to see adults without a window blocking me. I asked about volunteering though I already had something set up in the Coramandel Peninsula. What ya know here I am.

Rainbow Springs is a great place to come see lots of native animals such as tuatara, and kea. It also has Kiwi Encounter, which is owned by a South Island Maori tribe and also is apart of Operation Nest Egg(ONE). It is the leading facility for ONE, and has a $1.4 million purpose built incubation and rearing facility. Eggs are collected by the DOC in the wild and brought here to hatch. There are also breeding pairs on site. The center has state-of-the-art equipment and technique and has achieved a 90 to 95 percent survival rate for the eggs.

So basically it was a lot to take in for the first few days, just learning all of their names was hard enough. Waiata, Swampfox, Wingnut, Alaska, Rosbell, Tika and the list goes on. Once I got the hang of it, it was a piece of cake...well sort of. I think there are well over 50 birds not including newly hatched chicks.

The people who work there are not only like minded people, but they are passionate about the kiwi as well as wildlife in general. They are all so intelligent and kind, I have had such a pleasure talking with all of them and exchanging stories or parasites to working with animals around the world.

Here is a list of pretty much what I do from day to day here in no particular order.

Make kiwi food....ox heart...veggies..fruit..cat food..all mixed up
retrieve food, and put it on a scale to see how much they have eaten
Find and count every single bird every single morning
clean food boxes (the food goes in to a box to keep bird out)
Clean water dishes
clean brooders (baby kiwi homes)
set up brooders
hold chicks and adults for staff to dose with medicine(I am actually good at this)
Bring newborns from Incubation room to brooder room (my favorite part, I usually tell the babies good luck as I drop them off)
Set up displays of food (did I mention that tourists watch me all day)
Clean...whatever I can
Water soil down for them to prob
get worms for birds.....yes I do not think I have to tell you this is my least favorite, I handled it pretty well though
Put food out
help weigh birds
wrote out names on dishes as well as food amount
dish out food, weigh everything

As you can see it is very diverse. I have gained so much knowledge during this time and so much more respect for people that work towards conservation. The kiwi is so soft and gentle besides kicking me a few times. It has been such an honor to work with such a creature! Though I do not get to see them out and about since they are nocturnal, I will miss them all the same!

If you are interested in the Kiwi Encounter follow this link, you can also sponsor a chick and even get to name it!

http://www.kiwiencounter.co.nz/

Living in Rotorua

2009-12-22T16:52:00.001-08:00

Glow Worms in Redwoods
Possums
Glow Worms
Anita, Tracy, Nina and Steve at Carols in the park
Carols in the park
The Kiwi tree set up by Kiwi Encounter
Tracey and Anita at the house
Rotorua Museum
Government Gardens Rotorua
Pohutukawa tree, also known as a NZ Christmas Tree
Looking towards the house across from the park
A Tree Weta on Steves porch
Back at Huka falls

I have been pretty bad about writing on here but will bring you all up to date as of now.
I made it from Taupo where I parted with Nadine to Rotorua my home for 2 1/2 weeks. I had previously been here and stayed with Steve and Anita through Couchsurfing. When I asked to stay with them during my time of volunteering they said it was no problem. I was dropped off down the street at the Kiwi Paka hostel and walked over to the house. I had to wait for Steve to come home so I read my book The Whale Rider. His home is across from Kuirau Park, which has tons of Hot pools all fenced off of course. Anita came home and let me in and it felt like I had never left. Their friends are very sweet and we have hung out since, visiting hot pools at night, going to Carols in the Park and I made them a very good dinner one night! They all want me to stay and it is very tempting, I love their company not to mention the area here.

A little about Rotorua my new home.
It is located in the Bay of Plenty on the North Island. It has the largest population of Maori living here, which is one of the reasons there are so many cultural shows offered to the public. It is a top tourist destination and is also nicknamed Rotavegas. Above all it is known for it's geothermal activity here, and you can find lots of geysers and geothermal pools all over, even across the street from me. Sometimes I wake up and smell Sulfur in the bathroom, it is a pretty common smell here. There is also an impressive museum here, not actually whats inside of the museum rather the architecture of the building is stunning. It is one of the most photographed buildings in New Zealand, and only a 10 min. walk from where I am staying! Yes Steve and Anita have a great location, right near town, bus stops and the park! Although Rotorua is a great tourist destination, it is also a place known for crime. Though don't let this discourage you from visiting!

Besides working 5 days a week here which I will talk about later on, I have finally had time to rest and take it easy! I can't believe it won't be long until I leave here. I have been offered so many opportunities to visit people for Christmas here, and it has taken me by surprise. One girl I was volunteering with for a few hours, just invited me to her summer home on a lake here for the night. I told her I was not use to people always being so generous, I mean I would not say it is very American like for someone you barely know to just invite you over. It seems to be a common occurrence here, the people are so giving and friendly, Kiwis are some of the best people on earth if you ask me!

Napier

2009-12-15T17:48:00.000-08:00

Our Cake

Outside Wellington
We made it to Napier and had already said good bye to are friends from the Netherlands. Two more days together and soon Nadine and I would also have to part ways after 7 weeks of traveling around. She had learned so much English and it was always nice to have someone around. She always got me excited for things and taught me to take things as they go. We finally arrived in the coastal town of Napier known for it's fruit growing, earth quakes and art deco and made it to our nice hostel. The hostel was on the cheap side and was clean and nice. They even had a cat I met another traveler who lived in Central America and we swapped parasite stories. His dad not only had a bot fly but a tape worm as well! Nadine and I made plans to be really lazy the first day, we made a good dinner and bought a cake to celebrate our 7 weeks of traveling together. The next day we were lazy again and made it out of bed at 12. We did a little bit of shopping, I needed new Capri's as I have lost weight while traveling and nothing fits and it is going to be so hot in Australia so no point in wearing pants. We spent a lot of time on the beach reading and that was pretty much all we did in Napier. We did go out at night to see the lights on the water fountain and we could see a lot of the Southern Hemisphere stars! The next day on the bus Evalyn our friend from the Netherlands had met up with us again, she is also a horse rider so we have a lot in common. When we reached Taupo it was time to say good bye to Nadine, I almost cried (I always get sad saying bye to people), she gave me a post card and ended our trip. It was strange we both felt like we were starting a whole new trip. We stopped at Huka falls again as well, our driver was pretty good this time I thought. I made it to Rotorua and sad bye to Evalyn. I was dropped off at a hostel down the street from Steve's house. Anita his flatmate made it back first and we picked up where we left off. I fixed up my room a bit, which would be my home now for 2 1/2 weeks.

Farwell to the South

2009-12-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

Frenchie
Wellington

Outside Te Papa Museum
The Crossing
Inter Islander

We left Kaikoura on a bright and sunny day, destination Wellington. We went past seal colonies on the way there and you could see them doing handstands. We made it to the Inter Islander ferry to cross over to the north island. It was so sad for Nadine and I to say good bye, we had so many good memories of the south and we knew that we would soon be parting from one another as well later in the week. The crossing was nice and warm, I had my shoes off for most of it, the wind was hard after a while. We made it back to Wellington and found it hard to get a bus to the Te Papa museum. Nadine went over to some girl and asked for a ride, the girl agreed and had just met a good friend of hers that she had not seen in years. It was really random and I would never have done it back home but it seems to be the norm here. Or at least we think it is. So we waited outside Te Papa our couchsurfer Emma to get off of work. Emma is a great girl and so kind, but definitely a hippie. She came out in bare feet (very common in NZ) and welcomed us. Her friend Phebe met us too and she wanted to go get food and eat down at the beach. Great idea except we had our big bags with us and had to go into the supermarket with them which was strange, then walked to the beach. We sat ate and drank and it was pretty nice out. We then caught a taxi to her house up in the hills overlooking Wellington. Let me just say I think it is a great city, but if I had to walk up those hills everyday, I would never live there, it was insane for me! We got to her place and met 3 other people visiting, 2 couchsurfers from France who I liked a lot, as well as a friend from Germany. She also had three other flatmates there so it was kinda cramped and as much as I liked them all I was happy to go in a few days so I could have my own space. We spent two nights there, the first night we went out to a local bar which pretty much sucked for me as far as bars go. I don't even know what kind of music it was but when the girl started screaming in a devil voice I was ready to call it a night. The French and Nadine agreed with me, we had a few good laughs about it. I felt bad since Emma was just trying to show us a good time. The French Max and Aline are traveling by hitchhiking all over the country. They also do something called woofing where you work on a farm for example and get free room and board and the two of them are somewhat crafty and like some travelers have found a way to make things and sell them. They take old juice or milk cartons and turn them into wallets, and sell them for $5 each. You have to give it to them for the effort. We finally made it to the Weta Cave one day. The cave is not really a cave but a place for Peter Jackson fans come to visit some of the creations of the Weta workshop. Weta works on movies like LOTR, Kingo Kong and lots of others. The cave was not that great, but it was one of those things I would have regret not seeing. On the way back we had to make it up the damn hill they live on and got stuck in the rain! That night we sat up and watched Flight of the Concords which is a HBO series about two Kiwis. We got a bus for the city and made it there to catch our next Magic bus to Napier.

Kaikoura

2009-12-12T21:19:00.000-08:00

Hurt seal

Seal colony
Hurt seal

Albatross
Albatross
Sperm Whale

Old whale bones
The local library
We left Christchurch early in the morning, never even got to say goodbye to our couchsurfer Ross who had been so kind to us. MacDonalds was giving out free food and making the largest amount of eggs (free range) in history, it was nice getting a large free meal, being the poor backpacker I am I saved the food for later. We got on our bus up to Kaikoura which I knew was going to be a highlight of my NZ trip. Kaikoura is a sea side town once used as a whaling station. Today the only whaling being done is whale watching! The waters around Kaikoura are rich and attract all types of sea life including dusky dolphins, NZ fur seals and of course whales! Some whales migrate through such as Orcas, Right Whales, Blue Whales and several other species but Sperm whales stay all year long. They are bachelors that hang out in the area. I knew right away I wanted to see whales as my first activity! We had met up with 3 girls from the Netherlands that we had traveled with before. I always love meeting people from the Netherlands, they are my favorite travelers! We stayed in a hostel called the Adelphi Hostel, not great but it would do. We actually saw a mouse in the kitchen one night yeah kinda dirty but not by Bolivian standards. The weather was crap, they had even canceled some of the whale watching tours because the sea was so bad. We got lucky though and the next day our tour was the only one not canceled, I had been praying a lot you see. We also went as far as to book for another day just in case it was canceled. We had to take pills before the trip to make sure we did not get sea sick. Thank God for that because The sea was crazy, all of the older tourists on the boat were so sick. They never even came out to find the whales though so maybe this is why, fresh air is good. None of us got sick, in fact I thought it was pretty fun. When we stopped we came out to look for the whales that only come up for a bit only to descend back down the the dark depths of the ocean in search of food. We spotted our first one and I was thrilled, It was so large and almost graceful like in the water. There was another one not to far away. A few of the boats came up to watch it as well as planes. It soon went back down and we got a good look at its tail fin. Then we came across a bunch of Albatross that were being fed by the Albatross encounter boat which is another tour you can do there. After taking a million photos we were off to see another whale. First we spotted a seal swimming about and out of no where the whale appeared right in front of me! I actually screamed I was so shocked! It was my first experience with whales and hopefully not my last! They are amazing creatures and it was one more reminder of just how important they are to our world.

Well the weather was still pretty bad so we spent the rest of the day watching movies. We did go out to get food and ended up getting stuck in the rain at which point we asked a few local guys to drive us into town. We had to jump in the back of the truck, Nadine and Marleen on one another and I was sitting next to a small dog in a baby seat. The dog was named Blackie and I guess so was the owner, we could not stop laughing afterwards about the situation. The weather was still crappy the whole 4 days we were there. We had planned to swim with seals the next day but it was canceled and left us waiting around all day. Two Dutch girls, Leke and Evlyn came with me biking to see a seal colony. We came across a dying seal and it broke my heart, I spent the next day sitting with him for a bit. He had been hit by a boat and the DOC here would do nothing, I felt so bad and I could really tell that he liked me sitting with him. Evelyn and I decided to sign up for the next morning at 7am to try the seal swim again, hoping for good weather. So there we were ready to get our wet suits on then we drove out to the boat with the rest of our small group. We got in the boat and went out toward the seal colony we would visit. The waves were high and we saw seals along the way. Some people brought cameras with but I wanted to see everything with my own eyes and have the pictures in my mind. So often on my trip I find myself doing this, putting the camera away and using my eyes. We got in the very cold water which was the hardest part! I was so cold it almost became hard to breath at first and then seeing all of the fish in the water with my mask did not help. We made our way through some rocks to where the seals were sitting. We went by looking up at them and they gave us this look back, like what are you? We were not allowed to get up high because the males would see this as a threat. We also were not allowed to go on the rocks because the seals would kick our butts. Then the first seals came in to check us out, soon there were many swimming about and coming close, almost too close. They are such great swimmers and I am so happy to have had the chance to share the ocean with them! We got out and tried to get warm fast. I think I had seen a lot of seals because I would flip around in the water with them and get them interested in what I was doing. Later that day plans got canceled and I ended up walking to a seal colony again by myself with some music. I saw dogs herding sheep for the first time, the little puppy tried to join in but had no clue what he was doing and would not leave the sheep be. When we left the small touristy town it was bright and sunny. We had a long day ahead of us on the way to Wellington.

Christchurch

2009-11-29T15:01:00.000-08:00

Well we got picked up by Ross our new couchsurfer. He is so nice and his house is spotless! His house is not far from the city. The first day he drove us around to see the beach and up high on the mountains overlooking the city. We then were dropped off in town to go to the market which was nice, lots of stuff I wanted to buy. We got some food and walked some more. I am in the look out for pants, nothing seems to fit right anymore, all this walking I have lost some weight. The weather has not been great though so we have not done much here. I watched some movies last night and we burned our pics on a cd but thats about it. Kaikoura tomorrow to see whales!!

Lake Tekapo

2009-11-29T14:34:00.000-08:00

This pinecone was soooooo big!

Lake Tekapo

Lake Tekapo was nice, though I did very little here. The first day I read alot and we had a group BBQ which was ok. Nadine and I also went to the the southern stars here at night with a group from our hostel. The next day the weather was not so great but I went around walking anyways. The loopins (pretty flowers) are out for only a month, so we came at a great time. The water here is a very blue color from the glaciers long ago. I got to call home on Thanksgiving which was nice but I was hungry for Aunt Ceecees cooking all day. I got to know the people in the hostel a bit better, we had an American guy in our room from the mid wes who was a vegan. We left the enxt day for Christchurch but it was nice to just relax.

Milford..again, Caitlans and Omaru

2009-11-27T20:20:00.000-08:00

The coolest car I have ever seen

Yellow eye penguin crossing

Boulders

Sea Lion on the beach

penguin beach

Catlans

Beaches

Horse Kiss

This is what the wind there does to the trees

Out of Milford in Fiordland National Park

Me and Kea

Milford Sound

Rob in a kayak

Wish you were here

With Couchsurfer Glen

Fiordland Crested Penguins

Bottlenose dolphins in the sound

Glens flatmate Lily with one of her pet rats!

Well we woke up at 4 am and got out of the house and on the road for Milford at 5am. The ride there was pretty, it was a different route then before. We got to Milford and would you believe it it was sunny! It is rainy 300 days out of the year, so we got lucky. We drove through and wanted to make the 11:00 cruise his friend Rob works on. When we got there it was awesome! The boat was smaller but it was not as cramped. We saw more crested penguins only found in Milford, seals (which are pretty boring after you have seen so many) but after we made it out of the sound to the Tasman Sea and turned around we had bottle nose dolphins following our boat. It gives them a free ride! It is pretty rare to see them there, and even whales have been seen in the sound! I was so happy! We finished the cruise and went back a second time. Mind you this was all FREE! Nadine and I drank all of the hot chocolate there was on the boat as well. After the cruises we walked around and took pictures. We were going to look for a camp site but Glen could not find it, we also had plans to kayak out to a spot and camp the next day in the sound. We stopped by a pretty river and started to cook dinner on the side of the road. Glen forgot forks so luckily he had chop sticks in the car! We also had some unenvited guests, damn sand flies! I had to pick them out of my pasta and they were driving me crazy. After this we went to pick up his friend Rob who lives down the road where the staff have housing. There was no room in the car so we got on the top and sat in Glens kayak. This made for some good pictures! Rob said it was ok for us to stay at his place and he had an extra room there.

When we woke up the next morning it was raining cats and dogs! So plans changed and after a lot of thinking we decided to go south to the Catlin's on the Southern Scenic Highway. It was pretty the whole way there, but freaking cold!! We saw lots of beaches, animals and waterfalls! We decided to camp at the most southern point of NZ, the closest I have ever been to Antarctica. We made a really good dinner, or we were just really hungry. set up the tent but then decided to sleep under the stars outside. That was fine until I could no longer feel my toes and decided I did not want frost bite so I made my way into the tent. We woke up to rain and had to leave really early, not the best wake up call. We made a lot more stops the next day but I was feeling pretty sick, that aching feeling when you have the flu, I actually still have it kind of and not sure what it is all about. I felt so sick and the cold made it ten times worse. At one point I did not even want to get out of the car to see one of the really nice views, it was that bad. Hopefully this goes away soon! We also stopped at a hippie/ Gypsey caravan and I got a whale tail necklace made from bone...not whale bone of course! Also stopped at a house selling cocker spaniel puppies. The dog had 12 of them and you would have thought it was my birthday when the lasy brought them out in a blanket and laid them in front of me! It was a dream come true! =)

When we made it back to Dunedin that day we rented a movie called Out of the Blue. It was made a few years ago here in NZ. The movie is based on a true story about a man named David Grey who killed 13 people in 1990 on the Otago Peninsula not far at all from Glens home. It was where we had taken the monarch cruise to see the Albatross. The man had gone nuts and went killing all of his neighbors, and children too. It just goes to show that even in a nice and safe place like NZ, things still can happen. The next morning we had to say goodbye to Glen and Lily, they both had been so kind to us. We waited for the bus into town to catch our tour bus. When the bus did not show up, Nadine and I decided it was time to hitch hike. Now I know what your thinking that is so unsafe, well in NZ it is very popular. We had a woman about 60 years old or so who works as a nurse pick us up, she was sweet and she dropped us off at our stop.

We took the tour to these boulders in the water which were round and very strange. I have no idea how they were formed but it was strange and so pretty. I also got my first look at a dead seal on the beach =( not so nice. We got to visit the world steepest road in Dunedin and walk up it, it was not all that bad, but there were so many cats on the street! We made it to Omaru a very cute town known for its little blue penguin colony. The hostel here is great, they even have a cat. We met up with some other travelers and decided to walk to see the penguins and not pay the $20 fee to see them. We saw Yellow Eye penguins at one beach then walked to another area where they have the tours and waited outside near a pier for some penguins to cross. Otherwise you pay and go to a viewing area. The blue penguins started to come out of the water and it was great to see them but I was quickly put off by the way people were treating them. First off these animals are not here for the pleasure of tourists, they live here, come out of the water and need to make it back to their nests. Two girls we had been talking to and who were very sweet went down to the rocks and sat next to about 5 of them. I was very up set, I was telling them not to go down there but they did not hear me, they were way to close, they could have touched them if they wanted. They turned around and said "do you guys want to come down here" and I gave them that look like I am about to kill you and I think they got the hint and came up right away. If you bother these animals, they will not come back, they would leave their nests, their eggs, so you enjoy them from a distance! Then I was so angry and knew that my being there was only preventing them from crossing this street and getting to their nests. This tour is trying to help them they say but people leaving from the tour blind them with their car lights and the penguins were so scared to cross the street with the tourists driving away! I wanted to scream how are they protected! This is sick, they are being used like mickey mouse! Then on the way out of there one of the German girls agreed with me that this was wrong and she wanted to walk back with me. A woman drove up blinding a group of penguins with her head lights and got out and took pictures using a flash which of course blinds them and makes them stressed. So naturally I yelled at her to take off her flash, and she shrugged it off, then I threw a few more words in there for here. It was sick the way these animals were treated, and I have never seen anything about it. I have decided to write to the Department of Conservation here and let them know what I think as well as the tour company. I just don't understand why people cannot look at something with out taking a picture, touching or getting up close. Is that picture worth the life of a penguin? Ok done ranting, off to Lake Tekapo tomorrow.

Dunedin

2009-11-20T12:26:00.001-08:00

Blue Penguins on a egg

Hedgehog, they are not native here, but I still think they are cute

Glen feeding his sick yellow eye penguin

Hectors Dolphin

Erect Crested Penguin

Royal Albatross

Shag Colony

Mr. Leopard Seal

Sealion

The view from their home

Robert Burns, great Scottish writer

Train Station

Dunedin, the Edinburgh of the south. I would have to disagree, Edinburgh Scotland is much nicer. Not to say that the city here is bad, but the Scottish city is amazing! We walked around the city for awhile until our couchsurfer host Glen picked us up. Glen lives a little out of town with 3 other flat mates, but we only met Lily. He works with the worlds most endangered penguins, the yellow eye penguin. It was interesting learning about these creatures and all of the troubles they face in the world. Last year he said they lost 80% of the chicks, the parents could not get enough food for them. This could be just a bad year for fish, but if you ask me I think global changes and overfishing are doing a number to all seabirds. The next day we had sort of a lazy day which you need every now and then. When Glen got out of work he told us he would take us to a boat tour around the albatross colony and we would get to see wildlife. It was $45NZ well worth it! We first saw NZ sea lions, but then saw a leopard seal, a not so good looking one. I thought the only way of ever seeing one of these was if I went to Antarctica, but because of global changes not only ice burgs are floating up to NZ but so are leopard seals. They are in search of food and the problem is that when they get here, they prey on all of the penguins that in the past have hardly had predators besides the one sea lion that takes a liking to penguins. I was so happy I saw one, Glen said he had been seeing a lot here lately. Then we saw the nesting group for shag birds, and the royal albatross. These birds are so big, I think they have the longest wingspan in the world. They can fly for 6 years without stopping once! This is the only mainland colony in the world, so I was lucky to be staying 15 min. away from them by car. We saw more seals which are always a favorite of everyone but then saw a rare erect crested penguin laying on a rock. Glen was with us on the boat and said they wanted to get this little guy to the penguin hospital because they thought he was sick. The birds are from subantarctic islands and are never found this far north. We also saw small blue penguins which are common to NZ and the worlds smallest penguins. When we went out to sea I knew we had a chance to see dolphins, and sure enough I had picked the best spot on the boat because a group of 4 hectors dolphins came right up and were swimming along side of the boat! Nadine had never seen a dolphin so she was very happy, they were so beautiful! After the tour Glen took us up to his work and took care of a sick penguin, he had to feed it to make sure it was gaining weight. Next he took us on a tour of the reserve. It is a working farm that had penguins there so they started a eco tour company years ago which really helps with the conservation there. They are replanting native forests which once gave home to the penguins when they came out of the sea. They care for the penguins in every way they can. Visitors can stay in viewing boxes so to not disturb the penguins. I got to see blue penguins sitting on a egg, as well as lots of yellow eye penguins walking home from the sea. They call out to their mate to see if they need to rush home, the other penguin will take over the nest while the one goes back out to sea. It was all so great and we are so thankful to have stayed with glen. He takes amazing pictures I might add. After this I could not help but think how precious our oceans are, how rapidly they are changing whether we want to face it or not. If we don't act on it quick these species may be lost forever and believe me after seeing them up close I would have to say they are very much worth saving!

Queenstown, Te Anu and Milford Sound

2009-11-19T16:13:00.000-08:00

Te Anu

Alberto

Making a Kea friend

Waterfalls in Milford

Lazy NZ Fur Seals, once almost hunted for their gur to extinction

Alberto and I

My first yellow crested Penguin!

Myself in the Milford rain

Milford sound

Our boat for the cruise

Kea in the snow

NZ moss

bird in Te Anu

Te Anu

From Queenstown to Milford

On the way to Queenstown

We made it to Queenstown after a long day on the bus, 8 hours. Alberto and I walked around, and went and got a famous Fergburger for $10. They are huge burgers here and the place always has a line outside the door, even late at night! We ate it by the beach and he of course he had to tell me to stop feeding the ducks and seagulls which is always hard. We did not do any extreme sports while in town but had fun just walking around the gardens and water. We left to Te Anu the gateway town to Milford Sound. We stayed at Lakefront Backpackers and got our own kitchen, a very nice hostel. We first went on a cruise to Milford Sound. The ride was pretty and the driver was really boring, we both listened to music the whole time. On the way we learned about how avalanches are very common on the road to Milford, you could see the damage they do to the trees there. Teams go up and check daily to make sure the snow is not loose. We got out and Alberto and I had a snow fight, the Japanese tourists caught on and we were all throwing snow around. We also saw some more keas attacking a jeep. the water in the rivers there is so fresh you can drink it straight from the river, we filled our water bottels up. Milford is one of those top 10 places you need to see before you die, the cruise was nice but I wanted to spend more time there exploring. It started to rain on the cruise and some people never even came out of the boat, some were even sleeping....funny thing is that they will say they have been to Milford but I don't think that counts. We spotted fur seals, well I spotted them once again. We also saw two yellow crested penguins, my first wild penguins ever! Very rare, the birds are having a hard time with global warming, it is becoming harder and harder to find food. It was all very beautiful and the waterfalls were amazing. We came back to Te Anu and walked around, there are many good hikes there as well. We went to a wildlife center and saw some more native birds, even little parrots which are very rare to find. Once again we spent time on the beach, and Alberto felI asleep for awhile. I also got a stomach infection and had to go to the doctor, I got antibiotics and it was not so bad and pretty cheap. I was happy I was not dying =) Alberto was leaving the next day, we had spent 12 days together and it was very sad to say good bye but hopefully we will get to visit each other after this trip. He flies out today and visits Hong Kong for 5 days. We both were sad to leave one another but have happy memories and great inside jokes to last us for a long time. I waited for the bus at 5:30pm in Te Anu and sent some stuff home to make my bag a little smaller, I also sent the lens home that day and got a new one. I went to Queenstown only for the night, my bus left early for Dunedin. I am at a couchsurfers house now in Dunedin who works with the penguins here, he is taking us back to Milford to kayak and go camping near the penguins. It was so nice I have to see it again!

Franz Josef Glacier

2009-11-19T15:34:00.001-08:00

Lake Mathenson

Alberto

Glacier ice

Franz Josef

myself and the glacier

Ice

Franz Josef

On the way to Greymouth

Deer farm, they were brought here from Scotland and are a big problem with native plants. Years ago they started catching them and started to create farms for the demand of meat in China.

I did not have one of these pies....they are a big problem here as well, millions of them! They are from Australia and were brought here for the fur industry but have also taken over and kill native trees. Everyone here hates them, and you can understand why.

ahhhhhh Jade

Nadine and I at the pancake rocks

In Franz Josef I met up with Alberto which was nice but decided to go check out Franz Josef Glacier really quick with my tour group. Franz Josef is one of two glaciers here, the other is Fox and both are the most accessible glaciers in the world. To make a long story short our tour guide left us a the glacier and we had to walk back into town, about an hour walk. Not a big deal but I did not have my camera case with me, it was on the bus so if I fell my camera would be in bad shape. We saw our first Keas which are crazy parrots here that live up in the mountains. They are very strange and are interested in people. They often fly on cars here and rip them apart believe it or not. On the way back I tried to make a short cut that did not work and I ended up slipping on some moss on a rock, I came down on the rock just missing my head and saw my camera lens hit the rock. The cap went flying and I could not believe what had happened. I came back to the room and started crying I could not believe I had broken the lens and almost by bones. Alberto was there and tried to fix the camera since he is really good with that sort of stuff. It worked for a few days but I then had to send it back home and buy a cheap and not so good lens just to get by. I learned my lesson to stay on the path! We walked up to the glacier again one day and decided not to take a tour on the ice which costs over $100, I was happy just seeing it. It was breathtaking, so big and the closer you got to it the colder it got. There was a rainforest right below it, we saw some more kea birds and had a good walk back. Before we knew it, time went by quick and the next leg of the journey was Queenstown, extreme sports capital of the world. The ride there was pretty, but I could have stayed longer in Josef just hiking around the jungle.

Nelson......I love you

2009-11-19T15:10:00.001-08:00

At the end of our hike

A trap for rats and such that kill native birds, they are all over NZ, it's a war on Terrorism here

One of many waterfalls

Nice view of the Adele island home to seals and penguines

Torrent Bay, the start of the hike for Alberto and I

Dusky Dolphin from the boat....I spotted it of course!

Sail Boat in Abel Tasman

Split Apple Rock

Our Kayak on Apple beach in Abel

on the way to Abel Tasman

We made it to Nelson and once we got there we knew we would both wanted to stay longer. The beaches and sunshine, it was so pretty. Our Couch surfer Andrew came to pick us up right away when we were dropped off. Andrew is half Scottish and Maori. He has a large tattoo of New Zealand down his arm and for me was a really interesting person. He was once a cop but now works at a center for people with mental problems. He really values education and had a huge book collection. He told us we could stay a few days later and his house had amazing views. We stayed with him for 5 nights and spent 3 of the days in Abel Tasman about an hour away. The first day we went sea kayaking which started out fun and once the waves got a little crazy and we were freezing, we had both seen enough. We did make it to two beaches, one on the Adele island where I found a penguin nest. After the kayak trip we went back to Nelson freezing and wet! Abel Tasman was very pretty but I had drank enough salt water. The next day I woke up early to go back to Abel Tasman on a cruise then a 5 hour hike from Torrent Bay back to Marahua. On the cruise I spotted a dusky dolphin, and got a few photos! I also spotted a good looking guy sitting across from me who would be going on the same hike as me. We started talking and walking together from the beginning of the hike to the end, it took us 6 hours to do a 3 hour hike since we were going slow and talking the whole time. His name was Alberto from Spain and we both had a lot in common. The hike was great, waterfalls, ferns, the ocean, it was so pretty. After the hike we got back on the bus and made plans to meet up the next day at his hostel in Nelson. That night I watched Chris Rock with Andrew and ate ice cream, I did not get to spend as much time with him as I would like but the time we did spend together was good. I wanted to learn all I could about his culture. Alberto and I met up early the next day and walked around Nelson looking for the beach which we finally found. We spent the day there and enjoyed people watching and laying in the sand. The next day we made plans to get a coach back to Abel Tasman and visit the beaches there that we had to walk past before. We spent time in Abel Tasman and left around 5pm, we were both leaving the next day to Greymouth and decided to meet up there. It was sad to say good bye to Nelson, and Abel Tasman, it was so pretty there. We made our way to Greymouth which had little to do. He made me a good steak dinner, which I had not had for awhile since I had been living off of yucky backpacker food. We left from Greymouth to Franz Josef the next day hoping to spend a few days exploring the glacier.
On the drive from Nelson to Abel Tasman

Wellington

2009-11-19T14:54:00.000-08:00

Crossing the sound to the South Island

Little girls singing at the Strawberry fest in the city to raise money for a hospice

A Irish bar, one of the many

The fern world in front of the spotted library

Myself at Mount Victoria

Oh windy Wellington! We made it to the city after stopping for a good look out at Mount Victoria. The city is the gateway to the South Island and is known for being windy. Everyone said it is second next to Chicago but I would have to disagree. We spent 4 days here and it was enough. Nadine and I spent a whole day at Te Papa the best FREE museum I have ever been too. They had great displays of Maori culture, including Jade carvings! They also had lots of Marine mammals such as whale skeletons and the well known Humboldt squid. I had actually just seen something on Discovery about it before I came, it is the largest squid ever caught and was on display at the museum. We met a girl named Emma who worked in the gift store and we told her how we also couch surf but never herd back from anyone in Wellington. So naturally she gave us the Kiwi welcome and invited us over to her place saying she has couch surfers over all of the time. We did not go to her place but on our way back north will stay with her for two nights. Once again I am amazed at how nice people are here. We met two girls at the hostel and spent some time with them Kierra from Germany and Heather from Canada and went to a strawberry fest with them. We got ice cream and strawberries for $5NZ and got to watch the little girls sing their hearts out. We walked around the windy city a lot, and one day went to the Botanic Gardens which we both agreed was not that great. The city is a lot like San Fransisco or so I hear because it runs on cable cars and the whole city runs on clean energy. You could see the wind turbines from Mount Victoria. We stayed at Base hostel because we both bought a package deal making it cheaper, but otherwise I would not have stayed there. The base hostels are known to be party hostels and you can never get any sleep there with people waking up early for the ferry and going out late. We did go out our first night when we were invited by another American from California. I met a tour guide at the bar who worked for the Stray bus which I think is much better then the tour company I am with called Magic. Anyways I was telling a girl about the Gravity Tour company in Bolivia that stopped at La Senda Everyday when he herd us talking about Bolivia and started to say how she should go with the same company I was talking about because his cousin ran it. Small world because I had met his cousin several times in Bolivia! Wellington was nice but by the 2nd day I had seen enough, I needed beaches. It was windy there and I was ready to see Abel Tasman and Nelson. We got up early for the Interislander ferry to the south island. The view was amazing of course.

2009-11-18T00:43:00.000-08:00

Abel Tasman Sea Kayaking

One of the many

Statue of Maori's in Wellington

Mt. Doom, for all of you Lord of the Rigns dorks!

Lake Mathenson.......

Ok I promise to come on here soon and write, I have been soooo busy these past 2 weeks. Well I met a guy from Spain and have not had much time to sit and write. I am in Queenstown now so I thought I would throw some pics up for all of you, and stay tuned!

Freezing in Taupo

2009-10-30T17:31:00.000-07:00

A Weta in the cave, basically a very big grasshopper Craters of the moon

glow worms

Kellys little boy playing with clay....most NZ kids do not wear shoes!

Kelly and Nadine

Huka falls

Gyser across the street from Steves house

Waiting around

Walking into the cave

Nadine and I jumped on the bus out of Rotoura and on the way to Taupo a few days ago. On our last day in Rotoura we walked around the park and all around town. There where so many geysers in the park. We also got to meet Anita his roommate. I really liked her, she also spent a lot of time in Scotland , her dad plays the bag pipe and for a month she was in the military tattoo which is a big bag pipe band there. She was surprised I knew of it, but I told her how my mom and grandma always dragged me to the shows and forced me to wear a kilt. On the tour bus we stopped in Waitomo to see the glow worms. Pretty much all to do in this town is underground in the cave system. We herd the black water rafting was fun but pricey. So we spent the $100NZ on a 3 hour tour. We had to put wet suits on since it was sooooooo cold! We also got a tube and walked across a farm field to the cave entrance. Everyone had a hard time putting on the suits and boots. It was also hard to walk in, but we all managed. Once in the cave we walked a bit and also floated through We got to see thousands of glow worms! They were stunning! The glowing is used to attract their prey, then the worm comes down to eat. This is the larva stage in their short life, they later turn into a fly and last for about 4 days. The water was sooooo cold, even cold for a girl from Chicago. We also were told to watch out for the eels, New Zealand is known for them. Finally when all was done, we got out and got warm. Some people later on got off the bus to bungee, for a second I considered it but no thanks! It was invented here and most tourist here feel the need to do it. When we got dropped off at the hostel in Taupo Nadine and I called Kelly our next couch surfer to pick us up and he did. We went to his home and met his mom who was just visiting, she was sweet. Kelly is really into hunting boars, deers and goats. He also has 3 hunting dogs outside his house. He has 2 kids who we got to meet and they were very cute. He has another one on the way with his new fiance from Germany. Because he is a guard at a prison he works weird hours but we did get to spend some time with him. Taupo is known mostly for its very large Lake Taupo. People do all kinds of water sports on it, speed boats are a big thing here. There are also a large population of trout here, so lots of people fish here too. Kelly took us with his kids to Craters of the Moon, a large area with huge geysers. He had us sneak in the back way and save us $5. I think he refuses to have to pay to see it, since they just started charging and he thinks it's a waist of money. His kids were picking up things like moss and such to bring to school the next day. He also took us to a dam that is used as a way to run energy. Most of NZ is run on hydro power. He also had Me convinced that some flowers were edible, then started laughing as I was eating it and told me all the couch surfers fall for that trick. He did this more then once which was sad on my part. So once again we had a good experience couch surfing, got to see more and save money. Later on I sent time with his two kids looking up funny videos on youtube and introduced them to Chris Farely. Because it is so cold here we decided not to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing which is descrbed as New Zealand best one day trek. It is usually not this cold but apparently cold winds from the South Pole have been sweeping across and believe me it is cold. I also got a cell phone to make local calls and sometimes call home. It's prepaid and was about $100NZ. I can use it in Australia as well if I get a new sim card. We are doing a hike later today to Huka falls then on our way tomorrow to Wellington! Miss you all!