Wow, so...did I mention the fact that I am TERRIBLE at keeping up with this blog?! I don't really even have an excuse other than the fact that I've been traveling and without too much access to a computer/Internet. Unlike some of my more dedicated family members, whose posts seem to come rather rapidly and with no shortage of heart-gripping moments, I am quite average when it comes to updates. However, I'm back on the horse and ready to ride towards what will hopefully prove to be an informative and somewhat interesting update! I also traveled to Tonga, that post is coming soon!
Right, so...do you all remember the two weary travelers that came knocking at my door during their visit to Dunedin? These stunning examples of Rotary Scholars, Caresse and Kyle, were wonderful guests and told me that they had at least a moderate amount of fun while they were here. Naturally I demanded a return of circumstances and made my way across the ditch, aka Tasman Sea, to spend some time with these mates in "Australia's playground"...Queensland! For those of you who were able to check my facebook status updates during my time leading up to my eventual Kiwi departure, you may have noticed that I had quite the experience. Friends, I was supposed to fly out of Christchurch on June 15 and would hopefully get to Australia after a short three hour, same-day flight. Ha! For some reason, a ridiculous volcano in Chile decided to give me the finger and caused quite a lot of disturbance for those of us trying to get on planes and the likes. Now, you may think that the ash simply drifted west to interfere with my travel plans but you would be wrong in this assumption. In fact, to make things even more frustrating this ash had actually traveled around THE ENTIRE GLOBE to become my latest inanimate foe. Yes, it was determined and pretty successful. After causing the cancellation of my first flight to Australia it then proceeded to eradicate any chance of lift off for my second flight! I may seem pretty bitter and you may be thinking that EVERYONE was affected in the same manner as myself...not quite. While Qantas/Jet Star and Pacific Blue were cancelling flights, Air New Zealand was still flying and subsequently leaving all of us budget travelers with shaky hands and voices. After my 2nd cancellation, I decided to rebook with Air New Zealand and things were all systems go! All I had to was hunker down in Christchurch for a few days and I would meet my friends in Brisbane just in time to get on a train with them to go to the Gold Coast! I was able to enjoy my time in Christchurch thanks to some friends and also took the chance to snap a few shots of the earthquake-affected heart of New Zealand.
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Some of the devastation  |
The whole experience in Christchurch was rather sobering and really brought my travel frustrations to a grinding halt as I realized that those around me were dealing with lost family members, friends, homes, and safety. I was immediately faced with all the emotions of Christchurch and they gripped me pretty hard, shaking me into a better perspective and attitude about my own situation. While I was grateful that I would soon be out of Christchurch and in Australia, I made a promise to remember the lesson of keeping things in perspective. I was even tested on this whole idea of self-renewal when I arrived at the airport for my Air New Zealand flight and was told that I had been bumped because the plane was too heavy and they were kicking off all the budget travelers. :) Did I learn my lesson? Well, not quite. I was unbelievably let down and heartbroken...it seemed as if Australia wasn't prepared to deal with me and was doing everything it could, including the enlistment of a volcano in Chile to further its diabolical scheme to keep me from sullying its sun-drenched soil. ARGH! I may or may not have shed a pouty tear or two, but soon decided to make one last attempt after three miserable failures. Thankfully, I was able to book a flight with Air New Zealand that would fly into the Gold Coast and I could just meet Caresse and Kyle there. Things worked out and I finally got on a plane...words cannot express the sigh of relief as I made my way to the departure gate and then to my seat on the plane. I am pretty sure the lady in front of me thought I had a breathing problem.
Like I said, I met up with my fellow scholars in the Gold Coast and we let the good times roll in some pretty big ways. Of course we did our fair share of beach coma-ing and were grateful for the warmth that we were unable to find in New Zealand's winter season. The Gold Coast is just a fantastically interesting place and I was awe struck by the number of sky-scraping resorts. We also sampled a bit of the night life in the Gold Cost and despite previous plans to attend a salaciously named nightclub, Sin City, we opted for the slightly more tame, questionably more respectable Beer Garden. After doing some great creeping people watching, we headed home at a decent hour and just relaxed in our place, discussing what Brisbane would hold for us over the next few days.
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| A view from our apartment |
I don't think I've ever experienced anything like the time I spent in Brisbane. Aside from being a stunningly gorgeous, clean, and well-planned city, Brisbane has a host of different entertaining options for weary travelers. Thanks to Kyle's generosity, coupled with the tolerance and generosity of his flatmates, Caresse and I were able to stay free of charge. This was especially important and it should be noted that Brisbane was just listed as Australia's most expensive city. Kyle was an excellent host and was able to make us feel right at home in Brisbane. We were all over the town taking in the sights and in no time we felt like we had been living their ourselves! We were greeted with a staggering cityscape from our favorite mode of water-based public transportation, the City Cat! Rawr! While in Brisbane, were were able to hit up a Koala Sanctuary where we got to mingle with koalas, kangaroos, a platypus, and some of the most venomous snakes in the world! Don't threaten me with a good time! I am still undecided on a favorite from the sanctuary, but I really identified with the kangaroos and I think I made for a good fit into the gang!
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Koalas sleep 19 hours a day; this was work   |
After parting ways with our new found zoo-friends, we needed to figure out what we were going to do with the rest of our time in Brisbane. Luckily, options were aplenty. We were able to check out the Winter Festival and it reminded me of my time in Strasbourg and the Christmas Market! There were vendors selling gluhwein (hot wine with fruit), wood-fired pizzas, bratwurst, and fresh donut (of which I had plenty, no worries). Aside from the hilarity of having a winter festival in warm, sunny weather, Brisbane tops off the experience with an outdoor ice-skating rink. While we were not up for trying it ourselves, Caresse, Kyle and I were very ready to watch those who decided to brave the slightly slushy ice. We were privy to some pretty spectacular falls, leaving the victim drenched as a result of the melting piece of irony.
Another memorable part of our experience saw us meeting the family members of fellow scholars. Morgan, one of Kyle's flatmates and a fellow Rotary scholar, welcomed his parents into the flat and I was instantly reminded of my roots! It was so good to hear the southern accent and meet some truly great southern folks as Morgan's family is from Jackson, Mississippi! We had a great time getting to know them and I must confess that it made me quite eager to see my own family. Any work on winning the lottery to pay for a ticket over here, Mom? Amie, another New Zealand scholar, brought her family over and we had an equally enjoyable experience with her bunch of Canadians! We chatted about travel and life over drinks and I was reminded just how much I value meeting wonderful people. Traveling is great when you have people to share it with and I was so grateful for this part of my Australian excursion. After spending some great time in Brisbane, we were also able to help out with Rotary sausage sizzle to help Kyle's club raise some money for their community endeavors and we were once again met with wonderfully generous and kind people, these were familiar faces though as we were in our element...amongst Rotarian friends!
Our time in Brisbane was nearing its end...or so we though. Caresse and I were both victims of ash-caused, cancelled flights. Thought Caresse got out just two days later, I imposed on Kyle and his flatmates for another 3 days. By this time, I had already fallen in love with Brisbane and I was on holiday so this round of cancellations wasn't not nearly as dramatic :) I did finally make it back to New Zealand but it would be just a short day and some change before I would have to brave my new found flight anxiety because I was Tonga bound on July 1! Make sure to check back so you can hear all about what it was like to be in a pacific paradise and all the crazy experiences that made for another incredible experience. See you soon!
