Australia

2008-07-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

Skydiving

2008-07-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

Day 26 to 28: The Whitsunday Islands

2008-06-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

Day 23 to 25: Harvey Bay – Airlie Beach

2008-06-23T22:41:00.000-07:00

Day 20 to 22: Fraser Island

2008-06-23T03:17:00.001-07:00

Thursday afternoon I left Noosa to head toward Harvey Bay, the gateway to Fraser Island. Friday morning, I began my 3 day 2 night tour on Fraser Island.

Fraser Island is regarded as the highlight of their trip by many people I met along the way and it certainly does not disappoint. Despite some nasty bug bites, I had an amazing time on this island filled by unbelievably beautiful beaches, lakes, sandblows, rain forests, and dangerous animals. Personally I think its remarkable that a whole rain forest can grow on nothing but sand, although if you dig deep enough, the sand becomes black like soil.

Friday morning was a little foggy. However, the fog cleared up almost immediately and the sky was beautiful when we arrived at Lake McKenzie. The water at the lake is stunning. The color ranges from a deeper blue from the reflection of the vegetation to a greenish blue from the reflection of the sand. The sand is the whitest sand I have ever seen and looks amazing next to the lake. We swam in the lake and had some lazy time on the sand. In the afternoon, we walked through the rainforest and watched the sunset by the beach.

On Saturday, we drove on the never ending beach – literally on the sand with waves occasionally coming up to our tires. I flew in a small jet with four other people to see the Fraser Island and its surroundings from above. Then we went to see the Maheno Shipwreck and Indian Head and took some awesome pictures. We had lunch at the Champagne Pools, which are bubbling ocean rock pools by the ocean. The pools look like infinity pools next to the ocean and are pretty amazing. However, the water was too cold to swim in. In the afternoon, we went to Eli Creek and walked in the freshwater creek.

On our third and last day, we visited the emerald-green Lake Wabby, where we saw a few black sharks! The lake is right next to a huge desert-like sandblow. After lunch, we went to Lake Birrabeen, which is somewhat similar to McKenzie. We also witnessed a helicopter rescue as one of the motorbikes had an accident near the lake.

Pictures:

1) Marina at Harvey Bay

2) On the ferry to Fraser Island

3) Arriving at Fraser

4 to 7) Lake McKenzie – the water is absolutely stunning!

8) We saw a giant lizard on the ground when we were heading back from McKenzie

9) The vegetation on Fraser grows out of nothing but sand

10) Mushrooms we saw on our hike through the rain forest

11 to 12) Rain forest in the middle of the island

13) Weird looking tree near Central Station

14) Sunset at the dock

15 to 17) I flew in a jet to take a bird’s view of the island from above

18 to 23) The amazing view of the ocean, the beach, the forest, the sandblow, and numerous lakes of the island from the jet

24) This pictures shows how amazing it is to drive on the beach

25) 4 wheel drives like this are required because of the sand on the island

26) Shipwreck from the air

27 to 30) Shipwreck

31) Rock formation on the island

32) View of the ocean while we drove on the beach

33) Clams that live on the beach – I ate 5

34, 35) View from Indian Head

36) On top of the world

37 to 42) The amazing Champagne Pools

43 to 44) The beach around Champagne Pools

45 to 46) Sandblows in the middle of the island

47) The emerald-green Lake Wabby

48) Black sharks!

49) More of Wabby

50 to 51) Jumping into the sandblow

52) Lake Birrabeen

53) Jumping at Lake Birrabeen

54) Leaving Fraser

55) Sunset

Day 17 to 19: Noosa

2008-06-23T00:06:00.000-07:00

Noosa is a pretty amazing town. It is a bit more spread out and commercialized compared to Byron Bay, but it is also more glamorous and has got really nice restaurants and cafes. I went to this pizza place called Zachary’s on the street by the main beach and the food is one of the best I have had so far in Australia.

The hostel I stayed at, Noosa Backpackers, was also the bomb!! The rooms are modern and the people are extremely nice. I met this really cool Canadian guy that is traveling from the north to south. He did the Fraser Island and the Whitsundays already and gave me some excellent suggestions on tour bookings. We did a hike in the Noosa National Park and watched the sunset by the beach.

On my second day in Noosa, I went to see the Australian Zoo, or Steve Irwin’s crocodile park. I saw not only loads of crocs, but also some other really interesting animals that are unique to Australia – wombats, dingos, koalas, kangaroos, venomous snakes, etc. I cooked some kangaroo steak for dinner and it was really nice. The meat is really lean and gamy and tastes a lot like beef.

I also met this really cool German guy that stayed in my room. We went surfing the day before I left and I was able to catch a few more waves this time. I think by the end of the day, I was able to stand up pretty well when there is a good wave. I would love to stay for longer but I had to leave Noosa for my Fraser Island trip on Thursday.

Pictures:

1 to 3) The beach at Noosa, the waves were pretty good for surfing

4) Sunset captured near the entrance of the National Park

5) Steve Irwin, the crocodile guy, and family

6) Giant Turtle that weighs more than a person

7) The famous Agro, short for aggressive fellow, but he was sleeping the whole time I was there

8 to 10) Croc show

11) Wombat – cutest animal in Australia

12, 13) Snakes

14) I don’t know what this is called, but it walks funny

15 to 16) Kangaroos

17 to 18) Feeding kangaroos. The feed was only 50 cents per bag

19 to 22) Koalas - they got to be the laziest animal on the planet – they sleep for 20 hours a day and eat for the other 4

23 to 24) Birds

25) Elephant from Southeast Asia

26 to 27) More birds

28 to 29) Bird show right before we left the zoo

Day 16: Brisbane

2008-06-22T23:54:00.001-07:00

The brochure said there is not much to do in Brisbane so I only stayed there for the night and left at 6am the next morning. However, if I had more time, I would visit the XXXX brewery, which is an Australian beer that tastes really nice.

I met the two British guys, Luke and Paul, who I hung out with at Surf Camp and in Byron Bay, at the bus stop while I was waiting for the bus from Surfers to Brisbane. They went out in Brisbane until 4am in the morning and missed the bus to Noosa. But I keep running into them, first on the street in Harvey Bay, and then at Lake McKenzie on Fraser Island.

Pictures:

1 to 2) We did a short hike on the way from Brisbane to Noosa. These are pictures of volcanic mountains we saw at the top of our hike. The slope we hiked on was pretty steep, and I thought it would be perfect for snowboarding.

Day 14 to 15: Surfers Paradise

2008-06-22T23:34:00.000-07:00

Surfers is the center of Gold Coast, which is basically 40 kilometers of golden beaches and condos and other commercial developments by the coast. The beach is really nice and literally just keeps going and going. I did not actually surf, as boards are not for free at the hostel reception like in Byron Bay.

I had amazing food at this very laid back bar/restaurant called Surfers Bar by the coast. For AU$12, I got a plate full of lamb chops and fries. It is extremely cheap by Australian standard, especially when the Pacific Ocean is only on the side. I also missed club run, which is basically a night out to 4 or 5 different clubs. The two British girls that did go said it was amazing.

Pictures:

1 to 4) The beach at Surfers

5) to 6) Commercial developments along the coast. The tall elliptical one is called Q1, which is supposed to be the tallest apartment in the world. The observation deck is open to the public, but I only heard about this from the two British girls on the bus out of Surfers

7 to 10) Canals – Surfers not only has the ocean, but also loads of canals in the city. As a result, waterfront properties are not restricted only to those along the coast.

11) Hostel I stayed at. It looks nice from the outside, but rooms themselves are quite dingy

12 to 13) View of the city by one of the canals.

14) Interesting apartment building

Day 12 to 13: Byron Bay

2008-06-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

Byron Bay is the coolest town that I have seen so far in Australia. Everything including shops, restaurants, cafes, and bars are all on the same street, which leads to the beach. Cheeky Monkeys is a fantastic bar/restaurant, where I got a fat piece of porterhouse steak for 5 bucks with the hostel discount. Jugs of beer are 7 bucks before 9pm.

I surfed in the afternoon the day I arrived and headed over to this crazy town called Nimbin the next day on the oldest bus in Australia. The guy that drove the bus is the hippiest hippy and gave us an hour long lecture on how to become a hippy before we departed. The town Nimbin is pretty amazing itself with the strangest people selling stuff on the street.

The bus driver also took us to the house of this friend of his. The guy is total wacko from New York, hated America, and decided to smoke his life out here in Nimbin, Australia. He has the weirdest botanic garden overlooking this lake that is drying up. The house itself is also wild, a bit run down, but has got all sort of interesting stuff in it, including broken religious figurines and stuffed animals humping each other in dust and spider webs.

I really wish I could have stayed in Byron for longer but I already booked my Gold Coast accommodation before I arrived and have to leave on Friday. Hopefully I will be able to find something similar up north.

Pictures:

1) Stack outside of the house of the hippy from NY

2) Cleared up sky

Day 10 to 11: Surf Camp

2008-06-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

We were on the bus all day and arrived at Surf Camp Tuesday night and had our free surf lesson on Wednesday. Weather cleared up a bit, although the waves were a little big for our first lesson. I was able to stand up a few times and had a blast surfing. My surfing pictures are on other guys’ cameras and I will upload them as soon as I get them myself :)

Pictures:

1) Surf camp – picture taken when we arrived and weather cleared up a bit the next day

Day 8 to 9: Sydney

2008-06-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

Weather has been crappy for the last few days and I decided to leave Sydney on Tuesday in order to catch the bus for Surf Camp. I took some pictures at Bondi Beach and the Royal Botanical Garden, but because of the weather, the pictures did not come out too well.

The Rocks area was kind of amazing. It is an older and more artistic neighborhood by the Harbor Bridge, with stunning views of the bridge. It also contrasts well against the skyscrapers nearby.

Pictures:

1) Destroyer outside of the National Maritime Museum

2, 3) Bondi Beach

4) City Hall, a block away from the Base

5, 6) The Rocks

7 to 11) The amazing Harbor Bridge

12, 13) Sydney Opera House

14, 15) Royal Botanic Garden

16 to 18) One of the best skylines of the world – Australia has amazing skyscrapers

19) Birds

20 to 26) Sydney Opera House at night

27, 28) Interior of the Opera House

Day 7: Blue Mountains National Park

2008-06-01T07:15:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I got up early again to take the 7:20am bus to Blue Mountains National Park. The vegetation and landscape were absolutely stunning. I took about 100 pictures. The hike in the morning was very scenic with beautiful trees, dramatic rock formations, and long waterfalls. The hike was over two hours, but did not seem that long at all.

In the afternoon, we drove to Katoomba and walked down the historic Furber Stairs to get a view of the Three Sisters rock formation. We then took the world’s steepest cable car back up the mountain to where our bus was. On the bus, I met this Polish language student, who took amazing photographs.

Pictures

1, 2) Kangaroos in the Blue Mountains

3) The fog the in the morning had an interesting effect on the scenery

4) Trees that resemble the tapestry in Canberra

5) OzExperience Bus

6) Beginning of our hike, the scenery is beautiful

7) These trees are not dead – they burned them down to give sunlight to smaller vegetation

8, 9) Vegetation

10, 11) Trees with white trunks

12) Open view from almost the top

13) Beautiful rock formations

14, 15) More open views

16, 17, 18) These mountains appear blue due to the refraction of light and this is how Blue Mountains got its name

19) More rocks

20) Waterfall

21, 22, 23) Scenery around the smaller waterfall near Eagle’s Nest

24, 25, 26) More trees

27) Me

28) The pond itself

29) The end of our first walk

30) Three Sisters rock formation

31) View adjacent to Three Sisters

32) Riding one of the sisters

Day 6: Arriving in Sydney

2008-06-01T03:50:00.000-07:00

I decided to take a day off after the 3-day Melbourne to Sydney trip. I got some sleep at the Y Hotel, went to the gym, got a haircut, and walked around the city after the errands.

Sydney is much more cosmopolitan than Melbourne. At the end of the day, I checked out of the Y into the base backpackers to join the people I met on the bus. The base is actually really nice, with a nice shower, a bar, and a full kitchen. When we checked in, we got some free drink tickets, which were nice.

At night, we walked around Darling Harbor and took some pictures of the restaurants and bars and etc in the area.

Pictures

1) Night shot by Darling Harbor

2) Claire, Ruth, me, and Yos

3) Ship and submarine parked at the harbor

4) Restaurants and bars

5, 6) Posing at the foot bridge

Day 3 to 5: Melbourne – Sydney

2008-05-31T05:59:00.000-07:00

I got up to catch a 6:30am bus on Tuesday and it marked the beginning of my OzExperience trip. We have an awesome group and people are from all over the place. The two Danish girls never stopped singing on the bus and the Austrian guy tells some of the funniest stories.

One the first day, we went to Wilsons Promontory National Park and saw some wild animals – wombats, emus, and wallabies, which are just like kangaroos. We also did a hike and visited Squeaky Beach. The sand was unbelievably white and the sky amazingly blue. We got to our hostel at Lake Entrance at night, did some shopping for lunch for the next day, and watched a movie with the guys I was sharing a room with.

We went up close to the highest point in Australia on the second day and saw some snow, which was interesting. Apparently the snowboarding season starts in two weeks so unfortunately we will be missing that. The hike was a little disappointing as it was 3 miles of the same view of mountain ridges covered by snow.

On our third and last day of the trip, we went up to Canberra, Australia’s Washington DC. Most of us went to see the parliament, which was very interesting architecturally. However, we sat through an hour-long education from this boring old guy on Australia’s lack of history and had little time to do anything else The French dude and some others went to see the War Museum and from the pictures he took, it seemed like they had a much more exciting trip. They got to see aircrafts and weapons the Australians used in the First and Second World War.

In the evening of the third day we arrived in Sydney. I went to grab some Italian food with Adrian or the French dude. The French surely knows about food and wine. We had a nice dinner with a great view of Darling Harbor at night. The view was so good that I went back for some pictures the second day.

Pictures

1) Wonbtas, or whatever they are called, but they look like teddy bears to me.

2) Wallabies and they look like kangaroos to me

3, 4) Top of the hike, the beach is Squeaky Beach

5) Squeaky Beach

6) Sand that was supposed to squeak

7) I got a picture of the two older women on the tour. What a fantastic way to retire!

8, 9) More from Squeaky Beach

10) Me

11, 12) Emus, which kind of look like ostriches.

13) Oldest school in Australia

14) Amazing view near the highest point in Australia

15) Snow

16) Me at the top

17, 18) Native art in the Parliament in Canberra

19) Great Hall, the tapestry is a forest, which closely resembles the landscape I saw later in Blue Mountains in Sydney

20) Painting for the tapestry

21) Where the Senate meets and where our boring lecture took place, looks like the one in Hong Kong, because of the British influence I guess.

22) View from the Parliament

23) We did not have time to take a picture of the Parliament itself. This is the ornament at the top

24) Our bus and our group

Day 1 to 2: Melbourne

2008-05-31T05:52:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Melbourne on Sunday. Wei and Jeff were nice enough to drive me around and showed me the city. Melbourne is one of the most livable cities I have seen with great parks, nice people, and laid back atmosphere. It is also worth noting that Wei makes some of the best muffins in the world. Thanks for letting me stay!! It was very, very nice of you guys.

On Monday I toured the Central Business District of Melbourne, tried to get in the Ian Potter Center for some native art, but the museum was closed for the day. So instead I took the bus to St. Kilda Beach for some fresh seafood. The shark fillet was amazing, but the texture was somewhat tough for fish.

Later I went back to the city and walked along the river. The skyscrapers are more comparable to the ones in Asia as opposed to Europe and the US. Melbourne (and later I discovered that it is not just Melbourne, but Australia in general) has got some of the sleekest looking apartment buildings I have seen.

Pictures

1) Brighton East – Melbourne suburb, which reminds me of Boston, very beautiful in fall

2) The city

3) Ian Potter Center

4) Random Church in the city

5) St. Kilda Beach

6) Along the river

7) Close up of a bird by the river

8) Eureka (on the left) is my favorite skyscraper of Melbourne

Introduction

2008-05-29T17:22:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I arrived in Melbourne on Sunday, May 25th! I registered this page to document my month-long trip to Australia. It is my 5th day into the trip and I'm already having so much fun. I met a bunch of people who are from everywhere in the world. I will try to update with pictures frequently, but it is ridiculously difficult to find wireless in this country so we'll see how it goes. I will also put pictures on facebook if that's easier for you guys to see. And to guys on the trip with me: I have the originals in much larger size so if you guys want the pictures, text my Australian number 04.39.98.39.53.