ps.. on the bus ride to alice.. there were families of aboriginies...they spoke to each other alot .. the language very musical and beautiful.. they look you straight in the eyes and dont turn away... very cool people.. they got off the bus in the middle of nowhere and had someone waiting for them.. they drove down a dirt road... some got off at roadhouse at walked somewhere... it was desert area.. red dirt , scrub brush...
got off bus in alice.. started walking wrong way to hostel.. annie's... but got there... alice is pretty.. hot too.... hostel laid back, a pool, some kind of hockey played under the lights across the street... high school kids... kitchen not well supplied but free peanut butter and jelly sandwiches offered for breakfast and coffee,, instant.. we took advantage.. an irish girl behind counter,, girl from holland getting married soon to one of the tour guides and living in alice.. music throughout.. loud but quiet after 11...restaurant and bar attached.. 5$meals offered.. lots of internet spots..nice japanese gir who said her mom would put us up in japan but we never got her address.. ha.. some english, scotch , american mom and daughter.. french, belgian couple...
we opted for a campout tour of uliru, thinking this would be the best way to see the red center and experience australia since we couldnt see it all.. it was for monday, tuesday and back on wednesday.. we spotted a much older couple standing around, hoping they would be in our group.. .. make us not the oldest.. hahahaha...
next morning.. sunday we went into town.. music played by an aboriginal band on town green.. rocking out. very good too.... too hot here for us... putzed around.... town.. kind of touristy.. aboriginals , except for that band, not doing much except sitting in cool places or walking around.. pretty sad...
monday morning.. all to meet at 5'30... grab free pnut butter sand.. get on bus for tour.. our guide a guy names mark.. good guide.. the american mary and mom martha, ron and joan the older couple.. him 80 .. joan.. 75.. he had climbed rainier.. tetons and more.. and wanted to climb up ayers.. they only let you go if the wind is not blowing.. it usually is on top... we walked up a canyon.. it was hot.. kings canyon... ron left us in the dust... going like a house a fire.. and joan his smoking wife did alright too.. she looked like an older gene tierney.. she a retired teacher in private.. fast walker .. but the fastest were the fastest.. damn... there were about 6 of them... one guy spoke no english, quiet.. one a hoot.. i called him kangaroo man cause he hopped around.. he seemed to always be warming up for something, running, hopping.. exercises.. anywhere anytime.. there were about 6 young brit kids, funny as hell.. some finished university, others on holiday... mark played a good assortment of music.. loud... he made us sandwiches for our trek up that canyon.. for lunch.. and for supper camel meat and bean stew.. 2 of us veggie.. he held the camel.. ha fb said good.. a little gamey.. or as he called it.. chili con camel.. wash own dishes..
we started up the hill.. hot.. .. it was a called heart attack hill.. steps like monadnock..to the top of a ridge then a walk around the blazing hot rim.. 80 yr old ron was right up there with the leaders... not us or me i should say.. but at end ron ran out of steam.. he got sort of sick.. luckily we had oranges. we gave him some and he got his engine started again... had my gatorade and downhill was lookin good..
got to campsite.. pitch black.. whats going on.. mark says.. need people to search for firewood.. put our headlights on and off we go into the bush .. pitch black so only can see what headlights show.. not much... listened for voices of the leaders... dragged dead, dry trees back to site.. get the swags out.. sleeping bags.. mark has everyone help.. lay them in circle around fire.. this is a chilly night.. in forties... lots of stars.. big milky way and southern cross.. milky way looked 3 dimensional.. time for bed.. i didnt sleep well.. but whats new.. cold.. at 6 am mark yells time to get going.. did we join the army.. made fire.. mark serves yogurt , wheatabix, bread and apricot in can.. pnut butter sand..of course and a favorite of all.. nutella... clean up, roll up swags.. get things put away.. get on bus, driving to uliru..lots of driving on this trip.. glad we went on tour and left driving to them...
forgot..... on the way to this canyon we stopped at a place that gave camel rides.. and there was a dingo there, kangaroos and emus.. a few took rides.. camels galloped.. saw some wild ones later.. if you can bring them in alive you get 1000 bucks... tons of wild camels in australia... the sunset bright bright orangey red.. big sky..
Saturday, August 30, 2008
off to strangeland... fb will return with the rest of stewart..
friday.. july 25, 2008
we hear yvonne puttering around early.. same routine, bathrooom, shower , now preparing breakfast.. she made an omelet, toast and grilled tomato halves.. forgot how much i like tomatoes with eggs... yvonne actually seemed lighter after we told her we had to leave due to fb's bad back... fb will explain the dramatic role he pulled off... boy he fooled me... a real pro this guy... we think that yvonne was feeling guilty about not being around to host the woofers from afar.. and about the amount of work stewie dealt us.. in her defense she was busy helping her daughter move... dont blame her... we really didnt need anyone to be there...they dont get many woofers in quorn as they are off the beaten track.. who knows what suckers they will get to do this job next..
yvonne drove us to the bus. stewie seemed abit sheepish.. the street was desolate my friends...except for the lone guy with long hair sitting on a curb reading..another girl came by.. they knew each other so he spoke.. and he did give us some help.. told us to go to travel agent for questions about train to darwin... the bus driver on this ride to strangeland was nice and friendly.. one older lady talking loud in the back of bus.. other older people with walkers that have been piled in a heap in the front of bus by driver, brian. a younger guy with a walker that we picked up right in front of his home and a bleach blonde lady dressed in pink from head to toe.. that we had to go back after as brian forgot her..how could he forget a lady in pink... he was in good spirits about it.. the people go in on fridays for shopping and dr. appts.. etc.. we bumped into one of the people that we met at the barbeque.. that story you dont know yet.. this lady said.. come back to australia.. we'll take care of you and laughed.. she and her hubby going on a holiday for 2 weeks fishing and then to south america...
port augusta or strangeland was kind of depressing.. to put it mildly.. wouldnt want to stay there long, not even overnight.. so we went to travel agaent and got bus ticket to alice springs. overnight... had all day on our hands so we went to the library for quite a while.. art gallery... loud teens at library .. finally at 6 .. library closing time we went back to bus station.. pretty dreary.. a man looking like jesus. long hair.. i thought a bum sort of.. but he bought his own food, not cheap,,, had a ticket... and when we got to alice he was heading to darwin next... maybe a bus pass... nice rucksack.. old style... and he looked like he had a crown of thorns around his head... back to station.. woman working there made us beans and eggs.. good cowboy grub.. wondered why we would go to ayers rock.. only a big red rock she said... maybe she was a philosopher... it is a very spiritual rock for the aboriginals... she had no interest in much travel.. lived in port augusta all her life.. lots of aboriginals walking around .. none have jobs.. very hot.. maoris seem to mix into their towns, work, and have businesses...
slept for awhile on bus..the usual gas and potty stops at roadhouses..coffee for driver... no loud music on this bus.. driver also served as mail deliverer... stopped at rural roadside places and put mail in these tall white boxes..then locked them... he braked a few times.. assume for kangaroos.. it was pitch black...
we hear yvonne puttering around early.. same routine, bathrooom, shower , now preparing breakfast.. she made an omelet, toast and grilled tomato halves.. forgot how much i like tomatoes with eggs... yvonne actually seemed lighter after we told her we had to leave due to fb's bad back... fb will explain the dramatic role he pulled off... boy he fooled me... a real pro this guy... we think that yvonne was feeling guilty about not being around to host the woofers from afar.. and about the amount of work stewie dealt us.. in her defense she was busy helping her daughter move... dont blame her... we really didnt need anyone to be there...they dont get many woofers in quorn as they are off the beaten track.. who knows what suckers they will get to do this job next..
yvonne drove us to the bus. stewie seemed abit sheepish.. the street was desolate my friends...except for the lone guy with long hair sitting on a curb reading..another girl came by.. they knew each other so he spoke.. and he did give us some help.. told us to go to travel agent for questions about train to darwin... the bus driver on this ride to strangeland was nice and friendly.. one older lady talking loud in the back of bus.. other older people with walkers that have been piled in a heap in the front of bus by driver, brian. a younger guy with a walker that we picked up right in front of his home and a bleach blonde lady dressed in pink from head to toe.. that we had to go back after as brian forgot her..how could he forget a lady in pink... he was in good spirits about it.. the people go in on fridays for shopping and dr. appts.. etc.. we bumped into one of the people that we met at the barbeque.. that story you dont know yet.. this lady said.. come back to australia.. we'll take care of you and laughed.. she and her hubby going on a holiday for 2 weeks fishing and then to south america...
port augusta or strangeland was kind of depressing.. to put it mildly.. wouldnt want to stay there long, not even overnight.. so we went to travel agaent and got bus ticket to alice springs. overnight... had all day on our hands so we went to the library for quite a while.. art gallery... loud teens at library .. finally at 6 .. library closing time we went back to bus station.. pretty dreary.. a man looking like jesus. long hair.. i thought a bum sort of.. but he bought his own food, not cheap,,, had a ticket... and when we got to alice he was heading to darwin next... maybe a bus pass... nice rucksack.. old style... and he looked like he had a crown of thorns around his head... back to station.. woman working there made us beans and eggs.. good cowboy grub.. wondered why we would go to ayers rock.. only a big red rock she said... maybe she was a philosopher... it is a very spiritual rock for the aboriginals... she had no interest in much travel.. lived in port augusta all her life.. lots of aboriginals walking around .. none have jobs.. very hot.. maoris seem to mix into their towns, work, and have businesses...
slept for awhile on bus..the usual gas and potty stops at roadhouses..coffee for driver... no loud music on this bus.. driver also served as mail deliverer... stopped at rural roadside places and put mail in these tall white boxes..then locked them... he braked a few times.. assume for kangaroos.. it was pitch black...
Friday, August 29, 2008
goin to the farm... fb here... July 22nd
We woke up ready and raring to hit the farm and do our bit of wwoofing. We found out that pistachios grow on trees and felt confident that we could bluff our way through the rest.
We had organic muffins and coffee, an auspicious start for Australia, where our best meal had been a Subway tuna sandwich, and headed over the the Festival Center in Adelaide where Stewart and Yvonne would pick us up. Stewart had told us what kind of car he had but neither of us knew what the make of model looked like so we sat on a wall watching parrots fly just above our heads and hoped we looked like two people waiting to get back to nature.
A small pickup flashed it's lights, pulled in and Stewart jumped out. He grabbed our packs, threw them in the back and we got in the two rear seats.
Both Stewart and Yvonne had been nurses. Stewart was in the Army and Yvonne had worked in hospitals. They had recently retired and moved back to Quorn, Yvonne's home town moving into an old trainmaster's house at the end of a rail line. Yvonne continued nursing for awhile and Stewart decided pistachios were the answer to his retirement dream.
After heading out through North Adelaide and into the Baroosa Wine District Stewart stopped talking long enough for us to ask a few questions. Our first - have you ever been to the States - was answered with "No, I've never had the slightest desire to see the U.S." We let that pass and let him keep talking.
The next conversation was between Stewart and Yvonne. She said they had some friends they'd like us to meet - a bohemian couple who are building a beautiful two story house out of native wood and stone. Stewart informed all of us that it wasn't a "2 story house" that there is no such thing, that it's really a house with 2 floors. Now we started to form some opionions. Everyone in the world calls it a 2 stories but if Stewart says no, it must be so.
This would be the first of many Stewartisms. We also found out that there is too much education in the world, that far too many people go to college and that no one learns a trade anymore. On our way through some small towns looking for a place for lunch, Yvonne hesitated at suggesting to stop at a small cafe so Stewart said too bad, you had your change we're going to the local bistro. Evidently it would have been too great a hardship for him to turn around or stop and park and walk 50 yards back. We felt like we were getting to know the man.
On arriving at their house, Yvonne got ready to go to an art class in Port Augusta and wouldn't be back for four hours. That left us alone with Stewart. He gave us a quick tour of the yard and gardens and showed us the pistachio grove. Our job for the next seven days would be weeding around the trees. He likes people to commit to seven days because it's too disruptive if they stay for any less than that. A week was beginning to look like a long time.
It was time to go inside and for Stewart to take his nap. Like every home or hostel we had seen in Australia there was no central heat so Stew loaded up the wood stove. Finally something I felt I could discuss with a certain knowledge. I made the mistake of calling it a wood stove. Like a 2 story house there is no such thing as a wood stove, Stewart has a "wood burner" and he has his own way of starting it, a process he referred to as "one of my many inventions" one that like his others would make life much easier for people if only they would follow his advice.
It was up to Stewart to make supper for all of us before his nap he pulled out a loaf of bread and a can of spaghetti. It hardly seemed the type of meal to serve at an organic farm but if we got through it quickly Stewart would be napping all that much sooner.
Our highlight of the day was walking out the door and heading to town - it's been in a number of movies and is actually a really nice little outpost on the flat plains just at the foothills of the Flinders Ranges - more on the town, Stewart and our farming to continue later.
We had organic muffins and coffee, an auspicious start for Australia, where our best meal had been a Subway tuna sandwich, and headed over the the Festival Center in Adelaide where Stewart and Yvonne would pick us up. Stewart had told us what kind of car he had but neither of us knew what the make of model looked like so we sat on a wall watching parrots fly just above our heads and hoped we looked like two people waiting to get back to nature.
A small pickup flashed it's lights, pulled in and Stewart jumped out. He grabbed our packs, threw them in the back and we got in the two rear seats.
Both Stewart and Yvonne had been nurses. Stewart was in the Army and Yvonne had worked in hospitals. They had recently retired and moved back to Quorn, Yvonne's home town moving into an old trainmaster's house at the end of a rail line. Yvonne continued nursing for awhile and Stewart decided pistachios were the answer to his retirement dream.
After heading out through North Adelaide and into the Baroosa Wine District Stewart stopped talking long enough for us to ask a few questions. Our first - have you ever been to the States - was answered with "No, I've never had the slightest desire to see the U.S." We let that pass and let him keep talking.
The next conversation was between Stewart and Yvonne. She said they had some friends they'd like us to meet - a bohemian couple who are building a beautiful two story house out of native wood and stone. Stewart informed all of us that it wasn't a "2 story house" that there is no such thing, that it's really a house with 2 floors. Now we started to form some opionions. Everyone in the world calls it a 2 stories but if Stewart says no, it must be so.
This would be the first of many Stewartisms. We also found out that there is too much education in the world, that far too many people go to college and that no one learns a trade anymore. On our way through some small towns looking for a place for lunch, Yvonne hesitated at suggesting to stop at a small cafe so Stewart said too bad, you had your change we're going to the local bistro. Evidently it would have been too great a hardship for him to turn around or stop and park and walk 50 yards back. We felt like we were getting to know the man.
On arriving at their house, Yvonne got ready to go to an art class in Port Augusta and wouldn't be back for four hours. That left us alone with Stewart. He gave us a quick tour of the yard and gardens and showed us the pistachio grove. Our job for the next seven days would be weeding around the trees. He likes people to commit to seven days because it's too disruptive if they stay for any less than that. A week was beginning to look like a long time.
It was time to go inside and for Stewart to take his nap. Like every home or hostel we had seen in Australia there was no central heat so Stew loaded up the wood stove. Finally something I felt I could discuss with a certain knowledge. I made the mistake of calling it a wood stove. Like a 2 story house there is no such thing as a wood stove, Stewart has a "wood burner" and he has his own way of starting it, a process he referred to as "one of my many inventions" one that like his others would make life much easier for people if only they would follow his advice.
It was up to Stewart to make supper for all of us before his nap he pulled out a loaf of bread and a can of spaghetti. It hardly seemed the type of meal to serve at an organic farm but if we got through it quickly Stewart would be napping all that much sooner.
Our highlight of the day was walking out the door and heading to town - it's been in a number of movies and is actually a really nice little outpost on the flat plains just at the foothills of the Flinders Ranges - more on the town, Stewart and our farming to continue later.
adelaide... monday. july 21
before i go into the day.. when we first got to adelaide.. it was sunday morning.. early.. we got toa street that we thought looked cool... old hotels,, until we saw the debris from sat. nights activities.. while having coffee at macs... the only place open.,. walked along .. cops say to us.. dont even think of getting a place on this street.. it hit us.. oh.. yeah .. right.. ended up at that hotel .... few streets over... walk. walk to get coffee,, book store, breakfast... split a spinach and potato wrap.. health food store.. went to museum and gallery.. awesome.. aboriginal art in both.. tea .. japanese fried noodles in a real japanese looking rest. and he was japanese.. took pic.. had a conveyer belt.. in red light district.. but not scary as it was a work day and late afternoon.. streets crowded.. workers.. lots of asians here.. univ. of adelaide nice.. nice architecture in town.. smaller than melbourne.. melbourne with its overcrowded streets.. hard to even walk down them... picked up our toothpaste, powder etc at a woolworths.. has a food store in the downstairs and all else upstairs.. alot of little walkways in malls that have yet more stores.. cafeteria like places.. 50;s,,wide streets.. really enjoyed museum and gallery.. called stewart the pistachio man... tues... 9 in morning... museum had south pacific section. masks, sailboat, pontoon... with rope sail.. house, new guinea.. weapons, shields, spear, art.. vanessa bell duncan grants wife.. australian art and aboriginal on thin wood.. bark paintings.morris, fabric.. stainglass..... back at hotel after baked pots at woolworths.. and some raw cashews.. get to watch burn notice.. and a mystery.. hooray
july 19.. up and out. ready for adelaide and sun..20th
like i said up at 5.. got bread and coffee.. and brie.. sushi throughout day.. went to bus station.. 2 tkts for night bus to adelaide.. 50 bucks each.. thanks god... no room ahead but we had all day.. in at 8;30...before the bus ride to adelaide we had time to check out melbourne.. good day.. locked bags at bus station.. took train to st. kilda area.. recommended to us by a young girl crossing the street.. really... looked like provincetown.. streets hippie ish..cool, cafes, bakeries.. looked like an old seaside town .. carnival, permanent..fixture...rides looked like something from 50's.. now its a richer place.. boats.. melbourne has fine suburbs.. went by schools with kids in uniforms playing sports.. green greass, well kept,, fla. keyish.. small homes.. walked .. went to casino lost 5 bucks.. no luck here either.... back to federation square where church is.. big tiv ouytside, watching games.. back to gallery museum.. they were dancing in tea section.. a girl giving charleston lessons for all... we joined in.. fun...then off to the moving image gallery ,, movies etc.. they were showing the 1933 goldiggers on big big screen.. it was wonderful...joan blondell starred in it.. and we rested fb's big dawgs and my littler ones... grabbed some noodles at bus station.. get on bus.. driver playing music.. they stopped twice for coffee, etc.....hard tosleep. call the truckstops roadhouses.. not much inbetween.. dark but we could see landscape.. pulled into smaller city.. adelaide... found hotel.. .. emailed pistachio guy.. he will pick us up at a given spot...... sometime.. oh.. tues.. we are told
july 18... heading to australia
up at 3'30.. packed night before, checked weight of bags.. tore off dirty linens .. out the door.. by 4.. pick due 4'15.. nice lady driver.. she worked all night as a shuttle driver to airport.. her parner worked all day.. getting on flight easy but they send u to another line to pay 25 bucks for departure.. should be in aussie about 9..2 hr. diff from nz.. have tobuy food on plane .. brought biscuits nd bouth tea... will call pistachio guy today.. from quorn..getting close to outback.. and flinders nat's park.. got shuttle from airport to southern cross station.. raining.. we walked .. 30 min.. got to a blue bldg. near victoria market.. holey moley is that big.... city bustling..lots of people lots of suchi places .. good and pretty cheap.. the roll ups... back to the blue bldg.. got in.. smelled of lysol.. very strong to cover worse odors.. next to loud bar... i knew we were in trouble when i smelled that lysol.. girl running it was nice.. dipsy.. from nj in her defense.. she did ask if we wanted to see room.. advice to anyone.. always look... no place available in melbourne.. late tired...desperate... like the place dad and i had in berkeley.. when we escaped in middle of night..shoulda done that here.. but no car and no other place... the warnings about aussie hostel were not heeded by us.. we were spoiled.. a bad stay there.. walked around 8 or more hours to stay out of that place.. went to a great museum and an aboriginal gallery with aust. art.. visited cathedral.. listened to evensong.. very wary.. held off as long as possible.. creepy place, slept with clothes as covers.. then the loud music started.. up at 5 out at 6 .. market open ..coffee... gettin out of town sundown brown.....
thurs.. july 17...
computer work today.. look for place in melbourne.. talked to matt and dave tomorrow... went tomuseum and gllery.. museum with old things like natural history plce.. old costumes ...jewelry, stuffed birds, animals albatross, cars.. bicycles.. gallery had mostly paintings.. lots of kids ... new zealand painting mostly.. bed early up by 3/30... ugh
wed.. july 16.. christchurch
drive into christchurch.. got shuttle ride from juicy.. rid of car.. good...and at the shuttle a girl from new hartford.. lived on steele road... student in tasmania.. lots of those...walked around city,.. ended up watching last few innings of all star game.. on the sidewalk outside of a sports bar.. with a big who like baseball.. knew alot.. not players.. big square .. guy playing flute.. selling clothes and food.. nice town... very scottish
we're off to see the penguins
july 15.heading to oamaru and the yelloweyed penguins.... and parially yellow heads.. on way stopped at mariaki.. to see big stone balls.. with yellowish streaks.. running thru them.. about 4 ft. wide and 4 ft high.. it is said they are spiritual for maoris.. said they did not fall from sky or sound on sea floor.. instead they were underground and erosion exposed them.. there was one half sticking out of of the sandy hill next to beach.. out of the cliff and rolled down to the beach...we had heard that oamaru was worth a top, so we did... stopped at info center there and saw a movie about the towns early days, gold rush time.. city had port.. not trees so buildings made with abundant limestone.. beautiful big hotels, museums, banks with greek styling.. wide street so goods brought in from shipping got delivered down middle of street and turn around.. city got rich then railroads came in and took away alot of shipping business...
found empire backpackers.. right next tomuseum.. old hotel ...looked like cowboy hotel in 1880's.. went straight to museum.. small nice painting by artists who went to a nearby boys school and made it in art world.. exhibition by a guy living there of the bldgs. in town during 70's 80's... then walked around.. vibrant town.. saw old lady who walked faster than her grandson... all the elders seemed happy.. smiling, laughing,,, aliens... lots of cafes, tea room, pub, movie theater.. operatic group... theater, badminton club, rowing club, vintage clothing.. good stuff .. costume making store, beads, chinese garden, japanese.. old section of town.. grain bldg.. radio station playing teresa brewer.. side by side... found myself singing with her.. ha.. a fellow dressed in kilt.. theater clothing i think.
headed up hill out of town but still in oamaru to see yellow eyed penguins. it was cold. windy,, met couple who knew alot about it.. saw 2 penguins come up the path right next to us.. fb had camer.. couldnt get it out of zipped super duper camping pocket.. ha... it was like high noon.. couldnt get the gun out and make the draw.... penguins win.. however we did get a shot as the little guys headed into bush for the evening... they swim 25 miles out to sea.. head back and get home about 4pm til dark. straggling in.. some in pairs.. if one it looks for his or her mate and waits...
back to room.. sark haird guy there too.. saw him at rocks and penguins.. introduced himself as michael.. hitching around nz... going to university soon... he was cooking authentic meal.. viggies in tomatoes or tomato sauce..garlic.. and his dropped eggs into it.. covered.. til you almost all cooked.. like a fried egg... then took pieces of italian bread and dipped it.. we had a bite.. poor fb... went for it like moth to flame and burnt his mouth.. he's one hot gramps..
found empire backpackers.. right next tomuseum.. old hotel ...looked like cowboy hotel in 1880's.. went straight to museum.. small nice painting by artists who went to a nearby boys school and made it in art world.. exhibition by a guy living there of the bldgs. in town during 70's 80's... then walked around.. vibrant town.. saw old lady who walked faster than her grandson... all the elders seemed happy.. smiling, laughing,,, aliens... lots of cafes, tea room, pub, movie theater.. operatic group... theater, badminton club, rowing club, vintage clothing.. good stuff .. costume making store, beads, chinese garden, japanese.. old section of town.. grain bldg.. radio station playing teresa brewer.. side by side... found myself singing with her.. ha.. a fellow dressed in kilt.. theater clothing i think.
headed up hill out of town but still in oamaru to see yellow eyed penguins. it was cold. windy,, met couple who knew alot about it.. saw 2 penguins come up the path right next to us.. fb had camer.. couldnt get it out of zipped super duper camping pocket.. ha... it was like high noon.. couldnt get the gun out and make the draw.... penguins win.. however we did get a shot as the little guys headed into bush for the evening... they swim 25 miles out to sea.. head back and get home about 4pm til dark. straggling in.. some in pairs.. if one it looks for his or her mate and waits...
back to room.. sark haird guy there too.. saw him at rocks and penguins.. introduced himself as michael.. hitching around nz... going to university soon... he was cooking authentic meal.. viggies in tomatoes or tomato sauce..garlic.. and his dropped eggs into it.. covered.. til you almost all cooked.. like a fried egg... then took pieces of italian bread and dipped it.. we had a bite.. poor fb... went for it like moth to flame and burnt his mouth.. he's one hot gramps..
tims nz birthday
just saw that dave has blog too...everyone here up earlier than other places.. surprised//.off and runing.. nice room .quiet.. leftover pasta for breakfast and coffee... checking bckpacker places in aussie.. and bus routes, train , trying to drive less...
rain rain waslked to city .. they have overhangs.. stopped at bakery.. best damn flat white coffee yet... ciobbati bread for tonite with veggies.. flat white.. kinda like a latte... we will celebrate tims bday tonite and have no pasta.. ha.. good bread is hard to find.. did find one raisin bread that is good with peanut butter and jelly... rah you need to make bread and send it to nz... went to the museum.. frances hodgkins a new zealander.. ended up in paris.. water colors.. ots of bots and mothers and children.. we liked her alot... went to college bookstore .. nice one.. like an old boston one... travel books cost 60bucks.. another artist colin mc cann.. liked him too... water and oil of the area.. kinda architectural...pale...went into an old gothic church and second hand store... it had a bad stink of unwashed clothes.. left... fb going downstairs to ask for free cadbury candy.. the factory is here.. and there is a big festival..... great railroad station... trains not used as much... like in the states... met a girl that just came from australia.. said expensive... to try relocation of vans.. we will..... drive them from one spot to another for cheap..sent outn alot of note to australia for woofing .. cant get into sydney now... pope.. so it will be melbourne..
rain rain waslked to city .. they have overhangs.. stopped at bakery.. best damn flat white coffee yet... ciobbati bread for tonite with veggies.. flat white.. kinda like a latte... we will celebrate tims bday tonite and have no pasta.. ha.. good bread is hard to find.. did find one raisin bread that is good with peanut butter and jelly... rah you need to make bread and send it to nz... went to the museum.. frances hodgkins a new zealander.. ended up in paris.. water colors.. ots of bots and mothers and children.. we liked her alot... went to college bookstore .. nice one.. like an old boston one... travel books cost 60bucks.. another artist colin mc cann.. liked him too... water and oil of the area.. kinda architectural...pale...went into an old gothic church and second hand store... it had a bad stink of unwashed clothes.. left... fb going downstairs to ask for free cadbury candy.. the factory is here.. and there is a big festival..... great railroad station... trains not used as much... like in the states... met a girl that just came from australia.. said expensive... to try relocation of vans.. we will..... drive them from one spot to another for cheap..sent outn alot of note to australia for woofing .. cant get into sydney now... pope.. so it will be melbourne..
done ee din... or dunedin and waikawa
7/13 another city, another chance to get lost.. not too bad, just got the finger from one girl... she got it back.. ha.. hope she doesnt find us... hey we're foreigners in this land .. did she care.. no... ha... found our scottish yha.. used to be a mansion owned by a rich man.. clean, nice friendly.. mey nice young girl from england.. she asked us to go to an ice hockey game... alas we didnt.. tomorrow we will check out this city of 115,000... a botanical garden, museum, gallery, old railroad station. and maybe a movie... lots of college kids, lots to do. pub scene.. the big rugby game between wellinton and south africa here yesterday.. so. africa won...
oh... stopped in a museum in waikawa.. on way here.. and a little church, st. mary's... one lady in museum.. it was full of history about this area.. everything but the kitchen sink in here.. pictures, household stuff, machinery.. old anything, even the lady... ha.. typewriters too... a little jail.. big enough for one... lady lived here all her life.. quite remote... also the local information center and open on sundays....best historical center i have ever seen... hand drawn maps and old photos and a diorama of stuff animals ... scottish influence in list of world war 2 dead, camerons and mackenzies... lady staffing theres great grandmother came from scotland.. named after captain catlin.. sea captain and original settler... originally a large fishing area... and a trailer that serves blue cod during the season... a very charming area.. felt like we were somewhere near roan inish... the movie... but no thatched roofs.. or bare butt babies..
went to curio bay.. very near here... looking for yellow eyed penguin.. rare.. and sign said petrified wood.. we saw the wood lying in the water.. not the penguins.. the road was dirt.. it went past a house that was having a church service and a tiny trailor.. overlooked green hills and dramatic cliffs and ocean.. not many people around.. could be wales or parts of remote ireland, england.. pretty barren and beautiful... litstened to ry cooder song from new album and early song from tina turner.. and some fats waller.. most of the time.. no stations..
discussion on radio about nz telly.. wanted public tv station didnt want to be bland like american tv.. maori telly doing well..
this hostel is very clean.. you bring yours to them when you leave.. they clean kitchen everyday.. scour.. wash floors, baths, i think they are checked regularly... nz hostels the best...
there are some albatrosses around but tours are expensive.. maybe one will swoop down on us tomorrow on our walk.. free..... kid working here is a cricket fan.. we talked sports.. says the ball goes about 90 miless and hour.. not as fast as JABA... YEAH MAN...
oh... stopped in a museum in waikawa.. on way here.. and a little church, st. mary's... one lady in museum.. it was full of history about this area.. everything but the kitchen sink in here.. pictures, household stuff, machinery.. old anything, even the lady... ha.. typewriters too... a little jail.. big enough for one... lady lived here all her life.. quite remote... also the local information center and open on sundays....best historical center i have ever seen... hand drawn maps and old photos and a diorama of stuff animals ... scottish influence in list of world war 2 dead, camerons and mackenzies... lady staffing theres great grandmother came from scotland.. named after captain catlin.. sea captain and original settler... originally a large fishing area... and a trailer that serves blue cod during the season... a very charming area.. felt like we were somewhere near roan inish... the movie... but no thatched roofs.. or bare butt babies..
went to curio bay.. very near here... looking for yellow eyed penguin.. rare.. and sign said petrified wood.. we saw the wood lying in the water.. not the penguins.. the road was dirt.. it went past a house that was having a church service and a tiny trailor.. overlooked green hills and dramatic cliffs and ocean.. not many people around.. could be wales or parts of remote ireland, england.. pretty barren and beautiful... litstened to ry cooder song from new album and early song from tina turner.. and some fats waller.. most of the time.. no stations..
discussion on radio about nz telly.. wanted public tv station didnt want to be bland like american tv.. maori telly doing well..
this hostel is very clean.. you bring yours to them when you leave.. they clean kitchen everyday.. scour.. wash floors, baths, i think they are checked regularly... nz hostels the best...
there are some albatrosses around but tours are expensive.. maybe one will swoop down on us tomorrow on our walk.. free..... kid working here is a cricket fan.. we talked sports.. says the ball goes about 90 miless and hour.. not as fast as JABA... YEAH MAN...
here we go again.. july 12... burt monroe
made a booboo... leaving teanau for scenic drive to the southland.. rolling green hills.. landscape goes from ireland, scotland to british walks.. more sheep.. they dot the green fields.. saw some extra big sheep. stopped in a town with a thrift shop.. joan introduced herself and her friend milly who helped her.. fb found 2 books.. running low.. one about whiskey galore... a monster in a lake that gets killed by a flying saucer.. whiskey galore was the first movie that mildred durham showed in her movie course at ncccc.. great one.... the town with this thrift shop.. tuatapere.. was unique.. older buildings.. run down but character .. it was the sausage center of n.z... but there were no stores open for sausage...
people start late in morning.. no earlier than 9 and that is early for them... it doesnt get light til then in the winter..
starting to feel a scottish influence .. invercargill the town we stopped in had some nice old scottish looking buildings.. the hostel we ended up in did too.. it was great looking but abit cool feeling.. uninviting.. people real quiet except for one girl making a puzzle... fb had to ask one kid not to do his was at 11 pm... kid ot happy.. but no laundry after 9 says sign... our room nearby.. kid stopped.. mean ole mister fairbs.. eh
we went to museum.. near nice city park.. saw movie of fastest indian..burt monroes, his car and motorcycle there.. tim... he lived in invercargill... next stop antartica.. and the documentary very close to the movie... said he was abit of a ladies man.. a workaholic and perfectionist.. wanted to race this car and wouldnt give up for anything.. very driven... invercargill kind of a big city.. seemed like more than 50,000.. it had lots of stores and seemed busy.. houses cute.. scottish.. small... museum .. kids.... had lots of fossils.. some paintings.. free.. only donation expected.. and HENRY THE LIZARD.. over 100 years old.. he just became a father again.. we saw the little chitlins.. he just had surgery for a tumor and ready to rock and roll... big fella... henry went for a long time without...having his second batch of kids.. but they changed his climate.. tried other methods and henry had his little lizards... congrats henry...
this drive to the southland is very peaceful.. called couple for wooffing but they only needed one person.. we couldnt choose....
people start late in morning.. no earlier than 9 and that is early for them... it doesnt get light til then in the winter..
starting to feel a scottish influence .. invercargill the town we stopped in had some nice old scottish looking buildings.. the hostel we ended up in did too.. it was great looking but abit cool feeling.. uninviting.. people real quiet except for one girl making a puzzle... fb had to ask one kid not to do his was at 11 pm... kid ot happy.. but no laundry after 9 says sign... our room nearby.. kid stopped.. mean ole mister fairbs.. eh
we went to museum.. near nice city park.. saw movie of fastest indian..burt monroes, his car and motorcycle there.. tim... he lived in invercargill... next stop antartica.. and the documentary very close to the movie... said he was abit of a ladies man.. a workaholic and perfectionist.. wanted to race this car and wouldnt give up for anything.. very driven... invercargill kind of a big city.. seemed like more than 50,000.. it had lots of stores and seemed busy.. houses cute.. scottish.. small... museum .. kids.... had lots of fossils.. some paintings.. free.. only donation expected.. and HENRY THE LIZARD.. over 100 years old.. he just became a father again.. we saw the little chitlins.. he just had surgery for a tumor and ready to rock and roll... big fella... henry went for a long time without...having his second batch of kids.. but they changed his climate.. tried other methods and henry had his little lizards... congrats henry...
this drive to the southland is very peaceful.. called couple for wooffing but they only needed one person.. we couldnt choose....
fri... july 11.. kepler track
went on kepler walk.. river, suspension bridge, little damp.. rain.. trees with moss hanging.. like in maine only more... bright green mossy areas.. beautiful when sun hit.. whitish bark trees, not birch.. looked like they belonged in some russian woods.. a wooden walkway out to a boggy area..back to town.. went to library .. free internet.. bunch of 11 /12 yr olds playing video games. .. quiet enough, silly giggling.. one had a mohawk .. dark hair .. red for mohawk part... had lunch.. fb his sausage roll and me a cheesy thingy.. actually toast rolled around a piece of cheese, unique to the southland..
talked to girls at desk abit.. manager just got back from sweden .. had a campervan and drove the czech republic..loved it.. said she loved the history of europe.. nz she said is pretty young, nature here but bldgs not old, cities not as gorgeous, architecturally... the other girl went to hamilton college via calif.. had this deep laugh .. the kind that when you hear it you know that she is trly laughing at your jokes.. i like that.. ha... she will be travelling around nz after her stint here.. back to cal.. back to nz.. maybe dunedin.. busy, young, college town.. we bid them far thee well.. lioke the signs when you leave a town.. teanau say farewell.. it was raining
talked to girls at desk abit.. manager just got back from sweden .. had a campervan and drove the czech republic..loved it.. said she loved the history of europe.. nz she said is pretty young, nature here but bldgs not old, cities not as gorgeous, architecturally... the other girl went to hamilton college via calif.. had this deep laugh .. the kind that when you hear it you know that she is trly laughing at your jokes.. i like that.. ha... she will be travelling around nz after her stint here.. back to cal.. back to nz.. maybe dunedin.. busy, young, college town.. we bid them far thee well.. lioke the signs when you leave a town.. teanau say farewell.. it was raining
thurs.. july 10.. sound of miford
got up early.. found out that the weather was iffy for next day or so... so we headed out to milford to catch 11;30 ferry... road .. black ice.. had to move slowly.. mountains all around.. snow capped, snow on ground, winding roads, flat road, forested.. we made it.. cold on deck of boat and windy.. but we perservered.. ha.. mountains shooting out of water, waterfalls, even roger clemens there, with another woman.. his lady worried about her pocketbook flying into the water.. rog said if it does.. "i will go in fter it",.. she darted to ladies room... i said to rog.. we'll hold you to that one... rog said he was kidding.. he laughed... sure rog...
warmer on ride back.. not problem with road.. some american girls stuck with flat tire and donut went flat too.. we stopped.. no one else did they said.. took their names, said we would contact doc or dept of conservation or as fb kept saying.. dept of conversation.. hahahha.... we didnt pass any doc trucks for help but when we stopped at the mirror lakes... images of snow capped mts in water.. gorgeous..we saw a nationwide truck, the girls rental company... told us they got help.. yay
back to teanau for more pasta and an abnoxious bunch of american kids , more than kids.. just got their mba's nd they were loud drinking , lots o wine and bragging about everything they did...hey rah.. one of them lived in jersey city.. hahahahah
warmer on ride back.. not problem with road.. some american girls stuck with flat tire and donut went flat too.. we stopped.. no one else did they said.. took their names, said we would contact doc or dept of conservation or as fb kept saying.. dept of conversation.. hahahha.... we didnt pass any doc trucks for help but when we stopped at the mirror lakes... images of snow capped mts in water.. gorgeous..we saw a nationwide truck, the girls rental company... told us they got help.. yay
back to teanau for more pasta and an abnoxious bunch of american kids , more than kids.. just got their mba's nd they were loud drinking , lots o wine and bragging about everything they did...hey rah.. one of them lived in jersey city.. hahahahah
heading to somewhere july 8
leaving franz joseph and hoping to find hostel in wanaka.. no way... its school holiday and a ski area and all the college kids have taken the rooms... so we keep driving.. stop in queenstown.. big spread out, not a favorite... seemed like a good part town for the skiers .. decided to keep driving to teanau, our intended choice , but thought it too far for one day.. hit some heavy fog as we got closer.. i mean thick.. couldnt see in front of us and we were the lead car.. ha...but found the little town where you can only drive 20 miles and hour through center... found hostel through help from people walking into a grocery store,,, checked in.. thats all folks...
onto franz joseph
july 8.... seems everyone was heading to franz joseph or the fox glacier... scenic ride... thought we would bump into german girl but didnt.. we stayed at a place called glow worm hostel... walked up to the glacier.. awesome... fb explained alot of glacier info to me... then took a side walk... to a lake , down a dirt path, loads of trees.. lots of kids working here.. its easy to get work visas and there is alot to do, alot to see.. and alot of kids their ages..
back to the ice... it is centuris old.. it was alot further into the basin spot where now there are rocks all over, replacing the snow..
in our room they had beautiful black and white photos of people walking on glaciers.. the women were in dresses, like they were going to church , men also.in the pictures it showed more of the crevasses.. like a painting with dark shadows, beautiful...
stopped a a cute gold mining town caled ross... looked like someone could tie their horse up to a cafe..had coffee.. too expensive.. gotta give it up baby.. lady warned us that the roads were a little black icy, so to be careful... thanks cafe lady.... we like your town...
back to the ice... it is centuris old.. it was alot further into the basin spot where now there are rocks all over, replacing the snow..
in our room they had beautiful black and white photos of people walking on glaciers.. the women were in dresses, like they were going to church , men also.in the pictures it showed more of the crevasses.. like a painting with dark shadows, beautiful...
stopped a a cute gold mining town caled ross... looked like someone could tie their horse up to a cafe..had coffee.. too expensive.. gotta give it up baby.. lady warned us that the roads were a little black icy, so to be careful... thanks cafe lady.... we like your town...
litttle retreat .. again.. not finished ..
ok .. the name of the retreat us te ne kau or tenekau....it was a cabinlike place with a fireplace, woods all around and a walk to the beach.. and on the way there were other smaller cabins ... very idyllic... of course, that changed at night when a bunch of loud teenagers in the room next to us decided to hang out in hall next to our door and jump on beds after... fb stuck his head out the door... thats all it takes... what clout.. eh....a girl working there made fresh muffins every morning and sold eggs that we could cook... good deal..
we went on a river walk .. short but nice.. thru some woods with stuff hanging off trees, little running brook... it lead to another walk along a gorge... ran into the german girl again on walk ,, she was heading to franz joseph... taking a mom and daughter that she had met at the cabin place...
saw the famous,, i think,, pancake rocks.. literally look like a stack of pancakes.. and the cafe cross the street sold syrup.. ha.. just joshin...
we saw a weka bird in punakaki,,, we thought it was a kiwi.. but kiwis are nocturnal and this was early morning.. i had put a bag down with cheese and bread, we were packing car... he started feasting on it... your breakfast weka not ours anymore...
we went on a river walk .. short but nice.. thru some woods with stuff hanging off trees, little running brook... it lead to another walk along a gorge... ran into the german girl again on walk ,, she was heading to franz joseph... taking a mom and daughter that she had met at the cabin place...
saw the famous,, i think,, pancake rocks.. literally look like a stack of pancakes.. and the cafe cross the street sold syrup.. ha.. just joshin...
we saw a weka bird in punakaki,,, we thought it was a kiwi.. but kiwis are nocturnal and this was early morning.. i had put a bag down with cheese and bread, we were packing car... he started feasting on it... your breakfast weka not ours anymore...
little retreat
hi all... sorry away for so long.. back to nz where we left off.. the less interesting days will be shorter entries...
found a little retreat in woods in a town called punakki... met a german girl who quit her job and decided to travel.. lived in ny for a couple months.. didnt like it.. too big for her.. she had a good job.. her parents told her she needed a psychiatrist for quitting a good job.. she is off to australia to the northwest to find work...
found a little retreat in woods in a town called punakki... met a german girl who quit her job and decided to travel.. lived in ny for a couple months.. didnt like it.. too big for her.. she had a good job.. her parents told her she needed a psychiatrist for quitting a good job.. she is off to australia to the northwest to find work...
Monday, August 4, 2008
toots here
i am not a hero... i just went past panic to the calm eye of the storm stage... yes, my friends, the night was sultry, the streets were crowded, festive,, we were not... we were on a mission.. to find a room,.. park benches.. none to be had.. train station not like grand central.. no place to hide... as fb said we did find the 2nd inn... or as i called it.. the second wind.... we needed it... it was right on the corner of... i give up street... beckoning us... the rest you know... one more thing.. fb at the airport... he ran up that escalator so fast that he looked like one of the warriors in crouching tiger... never hitting a moving stair.. he walked on air.... like mj.... he could have been one of my heroes on the bulls team...and folks he did make a dunk....we got on that plane...ps.. his hair..... it was plastered down from sweat like mo in the 3 stooges... and it was air conditioned in that airport... fb was not....
Toots And Fairbs Go To Japan August 1st
We're jumping way ahead here but it's been awhile and we thought you'd like to hear about something more current. We'll fill in the spaces later. If the punctuation is a little strange in parts it's because the keyboard reverts to Japanese on it's own accord seemingly whenever it wants.
Our last night in Australia was spent in Cairns. Like a lot of Australian cities it's a jumping off point for tours and travel in the region. You wouldn't want to stay in Cairns very long and nobody does. It does have it's own ticky tacky beachfront charm though. The Esplanade, French for Strip, is lined with with restaurants, food courts, hostels advertising safaris and trips to the outback, Barrier Reef, rain forest, waterfalls, helicopter rides, even Uluru (Ayers Rock) which is a good 20 hour drive. They'll also get you the best deals on car and campervan rentals and set you up with van relocations for free. Don't expect miracles and don't expect to pay the lowest price advertised and you can stay busy for weeks.
Our hostel was a converted motel from the 50s, the Bellview. A lot of the hostels in Australia were originally motels and most are old mom and pops that have seen better days and offer little compared to hostels in New Zealand. The Bellview though was an exception. It's reception area was open right on the strip like a carnival barker's booth and you entered through an open air hallway into a courtyard with two stories of rooms surrounding a pool. There's a TV lounge, kitchen and common areas where people were playing cards, sitting around drinking wine and watching television. It all seemed like something from the past, like the hallway we walked down was a time portal and we were all enjoying a night out from decades ago.
Our room was upstairs and unlike many of the places we stayed came with a bathroom, coffee maker, fridge and TV. It was also the cleanest room we'd had for the last two weeks. An English mystery was just starting on the Australian Broadcasting public station so we made a quick trip to a nearby grocery store got our yogurt and headed back to the room.
The next morning - August 1st, we boarded the shuttle to return to the airport we arrived at the night before. Thankfully, we took an early shuttle. We thought our biggest problem would be getting our backpacks past the scales and coming in below the carry on limit. That means we wear extra clothes and pack all our pockets with the heavy stuff like books. We made that with no problem and thought we were home free, with time for something to eat, check email and relax before boarding.
While we were waiting for our tickets to be printed the woman behind the counter asked for proof of an outbound flight from Japan. We looked at each other, looked back at her and waited for it all to be a joke on her part. It wasn't - she was dead serious. I'd checked with the Japanese Consulate before leaving and was assured that there would be no problem, that with visas for both China and Russia anyone at Japanese immigration would know we weren't planning on hiding in the Japanese Alps and overstaying our sixty day limit. Lonely Planet said not to worry, nobody checks and nobody gets sent back to where they came from but the airline, JetStar, plays by the regulations and wouldn't let us board without proof that we would leave Japan and that they wouldn't be responsible for bringing us back to Australia.
We ran for the Internet cafe to see what we could arrange - maybe a cheap flight we could just kiss goodbye to get in but everything from Japan - Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand were about $900 - 1000. The only cheap flights were back to Australia and they were booked and too expensive to blow away.
We had to wait for a computer - they were filled with people with the same problem as us. Everyone thinking of where they wanted to go, how they could get there cheaply and get some kind of confirmation before the boarding call. We looked up the ferry from Osaka to Shanghai which was what we had planned on taking but hadn't booked because we didn't know how long we wanted to stay in Japan. Well, we knew now and tried booking passage for August 22nd. After entering all the information we got a message back that we would receive a confirmation within 24 hours and you know what that means - 23 hours maybe. We stopped there and ran downstairs to call and see if we could reserve over the phone and have them send an email right away. Our phone card, with plenty of time left mysteriously stopped working. Out came the Visa card for a call I don't want to know about and talking to a person, a low talker, was just as successful as booking on the Internet. We ran up the stairs again, our seond of what would be a zillion trips up and down to try something else. With nothing left to do we went back to JetStar and asked if we could get the flight moved to the next day. They said sure, no problem, no charge, it's done - they probably could do it in their sleep. I'd bet it's the first thing they learn in airline ticket school.
Up the stairs to the Internet one more time - something we could do in our sleep now - we decided to book the ferry so we'd have a confirmation by the next day when we'd try it all over again. They sent back a note right away saying that we were tentatively scheduled to depart on the 22nd for Shanghai. Was this enough? Could we beat the system that had left us exhausted, sweaty and stinking like we'd just got back from three day walk in the bush? All we had to do was print it off and go back downstairs. After reading this far you know what's next - there are no printers. By some strange twist of fate there was a girl next to us with an email address that would let us forward our unconfirmed ferry schedule to JetStar. Off it went and back down we went to the counter to see if it would work. The ticket woman was able to read it on her monitor and said yeah, this should work, all I have to do is call our main office, have them print it and then fax it to us. Ten minutes later she has it and says we're all set, we leave the same time tomorrow. At this point we can't go back to Cairns and wait another day. Can she please just make it all go away and put us back on our original flight? This doesn't look so easy but after a few minutes at the keyboard she prints our tickets and we go up to the depature lounge for what we hope will be our last trip on the stairs.
We make a beeline for the metal detectors, anything that will get us closer to the plane. We strip off our coats, backpacks and shoes and throw them on the conveyer belt wanting to pick them up and blend in with everyone else. I picked up my coats, my boots and wondered what happened to my backpack - it was on the ground by the x-ray machine. No surprise there, but it was only a pair of scissors that they saw and then decided to let go through. We made it. As I put my boots on a shadow came over my feet and a very tall man asked me to "step this way." I'd been selected for a random explosives check. I was frisked, wanded and had the backpacked re x-rayed and chemically checked for explosives and given the OK. I looked like crap, smelled worse, had changed reservations twice in an hour and had only carry on luggage; it all came with the territory.
We did make it on the plane and settled in for our 7 1/2 hour flight - it's a lot longer than you'd think. JetStar is the discount arm of Qantas and offers everything for a price - food, movies, drinks and anything that would help make the flight go by quicker. We settled on pretzels and juice - not a real time killer.
There was a highlight to the flight though. After a few hours the sun was setting and the clouds turned a dark grey black. They had piled up into strange shapes like dead trees with no branches or stalagmites resting in black pools of ice. It was eerie, like something from a science fiction movie or a William Blake engraving of the Inferno.
We landed and headed for immigration. Armed with our declaration forms and fax from the ferry company would we make it through? The answer was yes - no one asked us anything. We had our pictures taken, our index fingers printed, got a smile and a big welcome to Japan.
Off we headed to the information desk and ATM. Did I mention that our hotel reservation for the night had been cancelled that morning? That was something we found in our email as we bounced up and down the stairs in the Cairns airport like yoyos on big rubber bands.
The information desk had rooms available at the airport for $192 and some in Osaka for $175. Toots rose to the occasion, took over and said how do we get into Osaka? It's 10 pm, dark, no one speaks English and we found ourselves on the shuttle bus to the train station in town. This is what travel's all about right?
The bus stopped, we got off and looked around. A lot of good that did. We walked up one street and saw nothing and turned around. We walked through food stalls with thousands of people running by looking for bars, taxis and trying to get home. We saw our first hotel up ahead and walked into a lobby with more marble than a Donald Trump cathouse. They could have had fifty rooms available and I doubt they'd have given one to us in our state. They said they were full but gave us a map to other hotels - the Ritz Carlton and the Hilton among them. All the streets looked the same, it was 11:30 and getting desperate. All of a sudden Toots has a cape, super hero boots and enough energy to run with the bulls at Pamploma. One more street, another block and what looks suspiciously like a hotel lobby and even better a name over the door - "The Second Inn." I'd about given up, but Toots had that look in her eyes and there was no stopping her. No marble in the lobby, a block away from the Ritz and we have a room for about $75. We had no idea what it would be like, but this being Japan it was spotless, had a flat screen TV, Japanese Robes, two beds, slippers and toothbrushes. The Justice League just gained a new member.
Our last night in Australia was spent in Cairns. Like a lot of Australian cities it's a jumping off point for tours and travel in the region. You wouldn't want to stay in Cairns very long and nobody does. It does have it's own ticky tacky beachfront charm though. The Esplanade, French for Strip, is lined with with restaurants, food courts, hostels advertising safaris and trips to the outback, Barrier Reef, rain forest, waterfalls, helicopter rides, even Uluru (Ayers Rock) which is a good 20 hour drive. They'll also get you the best deals on car and campervan rentals and set you up with van relocations for free. Don't expect miracles and don't expect to pay the lowest price advertised and you can stay busy for weeks.
Our hostel was a converted motel from the 50s, the Bellview. A lot of the hostels in Australia were originally motels and most are old mom and pops that have seen better days and offer little compared to hostels in New Zealand. The Bellview though was an exception. It's reception area was open right on the strip like a carnival barker's booth and you entered through an open air hallway into a courtyard with two stories of rooms surrounding a pool. There's a TV lounge, kitchen and common areas where people were playing cards, sitting around drinking wine and watching television. It all seemed like something from the past, like the hallway we walked down was a time portal and we were all enjoying a night out from decades ago.
Our room was upstairs and unlike many of the places we stayed came with a bathroom, coffee maker, fridge and TV. It was also the cleanest room we'd had for the last two weeks. An English mystery was just starting on the Australian Broadcasting public station so we made a quick trip to a nearby grocery store got our yogurt and headed back to the room.
The next morning - August 1st, we boarded the shuttle to return to the airport we arrived at the night before. Thankfully, we took an early shuttle. We thought our biggest problem would be getting our backpacks past the scales and coming in below the carry on limit. That means we wear extra clothes and pack all our pockets with the heavy stuff like books. We made that with no problem and thought we were home free, with time for something to eat, check email and relax before boarding.
While we were waiting for our tickets to be printed the woman behind the counter asked for proof of an outbound flight from Japan. We looked at each other, looked back at her and waited for it all to be a joke on her part. It wasn't - she was dead serious. I'd checked with the Japanese Consulate before leaving and was assured that there would be no problem, that with visas for both China and Russia anyone at Japanese immigration would know we weren't planning on hiding in the Japanese Alps and overstaying our sixty day limit. Lonely Planet said not to worry, nobody checks and nobody gets sent back to where they came from but the airline, JetStar, plays by the regulations and wouldn't let us board without proof that we would leave Japan and that they wouldn't be responsible for bringing us back to Australia.
We ran for the Internet cafe to see what we could arrange - maybe a cheap flight we could just kiss goodbye to get in but everything from Japan - Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand were about $900 - 1000. The only cheap flights were back to Australia and they were booked and too expensive to blow away.
We had to wait for a computer - they were filled with people with the same problem as us. Everyone thinking of where they wanted to go, how they could get there cheaply and get some kind of confirmation before the boarding call. We looked up the ferry from Osaka to Shanghai which was what we had planned on taking but hadn't booked because we didn't know how long we wanted to stay in Japan. Well, we knew now and tried booking passage for August 22nd. After entering all the information we got a message back that we would receive a confirmation within 24 hours and you know what that means - 23 hours maybe. We stopped there and ran downstairs to call and see if we could reserve over the phone and have them send an email right away. Our phone card, with plenty of time left mysteriously stopped working. Out came the Visa card for a call I don't want to know about and talking to a person, a low talker, was just as successful as booking on the Internet. We ran up the stairs again, our seond of what would be a zillion trips up and down to try something else. With nothing left to do we went back to JetStar and asked if we could get the flight moved to the next day. They said sure, no problem, no charge, it's done - they probably could do it in their sleep. I'd bet it's the first thing they learn in airline ticket school.
Up the stairs to the Internet one more time - something we could do in our sleep now - we decided to book the ferry so we'd have a confirmation by the next day when we'd try it all over again. They sent back a note right away saying that we were tentatively scheduled to depart on the 22nd for Shanghai. Was this enough? Could we beat the system that had left us exhausted, sweaty and stinking like we'd just got back from three day walk in the bush? All we had to do was print it off and go back downstairs. After reading this far you know what's next - there are no printers. By some strange twist of fate there was a girl next to us with an email address that would let us forward our unconfirmed ferry schedule to JetStar. Off it went and back down we went to the counter to see if it would work. The ticket woman was able to read it on her monitor and said yeah, this should work, all I have to do is call our main office, have them print it and then fax it to us. Ten minutes later she has it and says we're all set, we leave the same time tomorrow. At this point we can't go back to Cairns and wait another day. Can she please just make it all go away and put us back on our original flight? This doesn't look so easy but after a few minutes at the keyboard she prints our tickets and we go up to the depature lounge for what we hope will be our last trip on the stairs.
We make a beeline for the metal detectors, anything that will get us closer to the plane. We strip off our coats, backpacks and shoes and throw them on the conveyer belt wanting to pick them up and blend in with everyone else. I picked up my coats, my boots and wondered what happened to my backpack - it was on the ground by the x-ray machine. No surprise there, but it was only a pair of scissors that they saw and then decided to let go through. We made it. As I put my boots on a shadow came over my feet and a very tall man asked me to "step this way." I'd been selected for a random explosives check. I was frisked, wanded and had the backpacked re x-rayed and chemically checked for explosives and given the OK. I looked like crap, smelled worse, had changed reservations twice in an hour and had only carry on luggage; it all came with the territory.
We did make it on the plane and settled in for our 7 1/2 hour flight - it's a lot longer than you'd think. JetStar is the discount arm of Qantas and offers everything for a price - food, movies, drinks and anything that would help make the flight go by quicker. We settled on pretzels and juice - not a real time killer.
There was a highlight to the flight though. After a few hours the sun was setting and the clouds turned a dark grey black. They had piled up into strange shapes like dead trees with no branches or stalagmites resting in black pools of ice. It was eerie, like something from a science fiction movie or a William Blake engraving of the Inferno.
We landed and headed for immigration. Armed with our declaration forms and fax from the ferry company would we make it through? The answer was yes - no one asked us anything. We had our pictures taken, our index fingers printed, got a smile and a big welcome to Japan.
Off we headed to the information desk and ATM. Did I mention that our hotel reservation for the night had been cancelled that morning? That was something we found in our email as we bounced up and down the stairs in the Cairns airport like yoyos on big rubber bands.
The information desk had rooms available at the airport for $192 and some in Osaka for $175. Toots rose to the occasion, took over and said how do we get into Osaka? It's 10 pm, dark, no one speaks English and we found ourselves on the shuttle bus to the train station in town. This is what travel's all about right?
The bus stopped, we got off and looked around. A lot of good that did. We walked up one street and saw nothing and turned around. We walked through food stalls with thousands of people running by looking for bars, taxis and trying to get home. We saw our first hotel up ahead and walked into a lobby with more marble than a Donald Trump cathouse. They could have had fifty rooms available and I doubt they'd have given one to us in our state. They said they were full but gave us a map to other hotels - the Ritz Carlton and the Hilton among them. All the streets looked the same, it was 11:30 and getting desperate. All of a sudden Toots has a cape, super hero boots and enough energy to run with the bulls at Pamploma. One more street, another block and what looks suspiciously like a hotel lobby and even better a name over the door - "The Second Inn." I'd about given up, but Toots had that look in her eyes and there was no stopping her. No marble in the lobby, a block away from the Ritz and we have a room for about $75. We had no idea what it would be like, but this being Japan it was spotless, had a flat screen TV, Japanese Robes, two beds, slippers and toothbrushes. The Justice League just gained a new member.
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