Lydia and I have been out and about these past couple of weeks, enjoying the Australian summer and the Melbourne night-life. We’ve been trying to take full advantage of the warmer weather and the longer days, so we’ve been attending a number of outdoor concerts and movies. In the past two weeks, we’ve seen the following:
Movies:
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” at Hoyts in Melbourne Central. Hoyts has large theatres in the Melbourne Central mall/station, perfect for catching the big-ticket flix. I found the movie to be very similar to the Lord of The Rings trilogy – a bit boring. Lydia loved it.
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” at Kino cinema in the city. Kino has a number of smaller theatres and is closer to our apartment (15 minute walk across the park into the city). Wine is available for purchase for a more intimate atmosphere – it’s Lydia’s favourite cinema. I enjoyed the movie (even though it is a “coming of age” story), and Lydia gave it a favourable review, although I don’t think she enjoyed it as much as me.
Moonlight Cinema
"This is 40” and “Django Unchained” at Moonlight Cinema. Nearly every night in the summer, Moonlight Cinema is held in the Royal Botanical gardens where they show a mix of new and old releases at sunset. It’s a really cool venue, although we’ve found that we have to arrive quite early for the new releases, or risk having to sit behind a tree or way in the back. You’re allowed to bring in your own food and beverages, which helps pass the time waiting for the sun to set. It’s a surreal experience to watch the sun set behind the Melbourne skyline and the giant grey-headed Flying Foxes fly overhead. Lydia loved “This is 40,” whereas I found it entertaining, but not as compelling as some other Apatow films. “Djang Unchained” was awesome (classic Tarantino), although we both agreed it was a bit long.
Concerts:
Flying =w= on the Sidney Myer Stage
Me rocking next to the Ghost of Weezer present
Weezer (indisputably one of the best bands of all time) at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was our first show at Sidney Myer, my 8th time seeing Weezer perform and Lydia’s 3rd. It was actually the same “Memories” tour we had seen two years ago in Chicago, as they took a break touring before coming to Australia. The same as all of those before it, the show was incredible, and we had a blast. The premise of the show is the band plays one to two songs from each album, starting with their most recent and working backwards to their second album. The band then takes a break, returns to the stage, and plays their first (and debatably best) album from start to finish.
Sleigh Bells at Billboard The Venue in the city. This was the first time either Lydia or I have seen them live, as well as the first time either of us had been to The Billboard. The venue is a non-descript doorway off of Russell Street in the city. Upon entry, you head down to the basement where you’re met with a small, creatively-lit bar, with a small stage up front. The venue is standing-only (perfect for a band like Sleigh Bells), with the stage at one end, roughly the same width of the building. Lydia and I managed to be in the third row from the stage, which was awesome. The show was (appropriately) loud and they band played pretty much every song off their two albums. We really enjoyed ourselves and wished that the show could’ve been longer.
Sleigh Bells at The Billboard
We still have a few concerts and movies queued up in the upcoming weeks:
As it is capturing headlines worldwide, you may be familiar
with the fact that Australia is experiencing record-breaking heat waves, and
rampant bush fires in nearly all six states.
As a result, Lydia and I have donned our fire-retardant attire and
forged ahead in our lives as usual (kidding).
While we’ve definitely had some hot days, Melbourne’s weather is fickle
as ever, including one recent swing of one day reaching a high of 41C (105F)
one day, with the following day reaching no higher than 21C (68F). For the most part, we’re pretty isolated from
the bush fires in greater Melbourne, and it would seem that most of Victoria
has been spared this year (thus far).
The same can’t be said for our island neighbour to the south of
Tasmania, and rural parts of New South Wales to the north, both of which have
experienced some devastating bush fires.
Bush fires aren’t uncommon in Australia during the summer
months, as the vegetation dries out quickly in the dry heat and winds, and
eucalypt oil in much of the fallen foliage serves as an abundant fuel source. Even in the relatively temperate and moist
Dandenong mountains just east of Melbourne, bush fire has had it’s both
devastating and necessary effect, as recently as 2009. In fact, much of the native Australian flora
is dependent upon semi-regular bush fire, whether to clear out old growth to
make room for new, or in the case of a few Australian plants, as a necessity
for reproduction. Take for example the
Acorn Banksia, which requires fire for its seeds to disperse.
Prior to European settlement, many Aboriginals would
intentionally light bush fires, both as a means of hunting as well as to
protect from too much dried fuel from accumulating.
And while bush fires can have devastating impacts to many
homes and croplands, many times these fires are left unaltered in the rural
outback. Take for instance this image
taken by NASA, known colloquially as “Black Marble.”
Without knowledge of Australian urbanisation and geographic
landscape, one might think that Western Australia is full of bustling
metropolises, on the magnitude of Tokyo or New York City. Even NASA had to take a second look at their
photographs, which were taken in April and October 2012. As it turns out, those patches of light are
in fact unchecked bush fires in the Australian uninhabited expanse.
It’s pretty incredible to imagine the exact scale of those
fires (although as this article reports, they may appear larger than they
actually were due to the photographic techniques NASA used to assemble its
images), but even more incredible is the fact that these fires would be burning
without anyone really knowing.
As is
becoming standard for this blog, this post is about three weeks late. But we seppos embrace the mantra, “Better
late than never.”
Lydia and I
adventured over to New Zealand’s South Island three weeks ago for a two week
adventure exploring the scenery and culture.
We were fortunate enough to be joined by our fellow American friends
Kat, who flew in all the way from Salt Lake City (via Sydney), and Jim who flew
in from Melbourne. We were excited to be
joined by Kat and Jim so we could all celebrate Thanksgiving together.
We spent a
bit of time organising a tentative itinerary before arriving in Christchurch,
although we intentionally avoided booking too many things in advance to keep our
options open. Here's a rough map of our route and the sites we saw (this was what we used to plan). Note that we only spent time on the South Island, so the North Island destinations will have to be on another trip. View New Zealand in a larger map We met up with Kat at the
airport late on the 17th, where Morgan, an old friend from my days
back at Roswell High School (and later UGA) and her husband Evan picked us up
to spend the night at their place. Evan
and Morgan just recently moved to Christchurch from Atlanta to pursue their
dream of living in New Zealand. We caught
up on each others’ lives, with a few nostalgic stories thrown in for good
measure (one in particular regarding 9th grade geometry), before
heading to bed
The next day (day one) we met up
with Jim, picked up our Jucy camper van which was to home for the next two
weeks, and headed straight to the Adrenaline Forest with Morgan and Evan
leading the way. We figured the best
first adventure was to zip line and swing through the New Zealand forest, after
sitting on a flight for four hours and before jumping the van to sit some more.
After
finishing the highest ropes course, we hopped in the van and drove up to Hamner
springs to soak in the natural hotsprings, before driving up to Kaikoura to
spend the night. After a bit of some
off-roading and a couple of detours, we found our way to the free “Meatworks”
campground along the beach. We all slept
soundly that first night out of exhaustion, and awoke on day two to stunning views of the
beach.
We ate breakfast and then went
for a hike around Kaikoura, along the cliffs and beaches. Along the way, we found wild seals relaxing
on the beach, and I found that I’m apparently allergic to grass in Kaikoura.
We piled
back into the van and made our way north to the Marlborough region for some
wine tours. We ended up rolling in just
in time to stop by two wineries, where we enjoyed a few tastings of New Zealand
wine. Lydia and I really liked the
whites and bought a few bottles for our trip.
We ended up camping at Cable Bay just outside of Nelson. We found a really nice camp ground just yards
from the bay, with stunning views of the surrounding cliffs and water:
The next day (day three) we took off towards Nelson, where we picked up a map of local breweries and brewpubs. We scooted around town (with a designated driver!) to four breweries enjoying the New Zealand brews- I was excited and geeking out as a lot of hop varieties are grown in the region due to the ideal growing conditions.
We finished the afternoon (and tour) by picking up a growler of a local stout and four liters of apple juice, then headed down to the beach to enjoy the sunny weather. We then drove up to meet up with one of Jim's friends that he met sailing two years prior, who lived on the edge of an apple and cherry orchard. We had fun meeting some authentic Kiwis and watching the sun set over Abel Tasman national park.
On day four of our trip, we got an early start for the long drive down to the West Coast, where we stopped at Punakaiki (pancake rocks) which, while still beautiful, we found a little anti-climactic. We hopped back in the van, and scooted on down to Greymouth, where we parked the van in a holiday park, and walked to the Montieth's brewery, where we had dinner followed by a brewery tour and tastings. There we met Kym and Dale, both seasonal Alaskan dog sled mushers who were on vacation in New Zealand. Kym coincidentally was moving to Utah when she returned to the States, so Kat and she exchanged contact details.
On day five, which was Thanksgiving Day, we headed down to Fox Glacier so we could be up early for our glacier hike the following day. We went on a short hike around Lake Matheson, then parked the van and enjoyed some pre-dinner drinks with our campervan neighbors, all from France. After listening to music and having a good time, the four of us went into town for a Thanksgiving feast at an American-style restaurant. While the food wasn't anything to write home about, we had a great time sharing stories and honoring Thanksgiving traditions together.
On day six, we woke up early and met up at the Fox Glacier lodge where we got fitted with crampons (Lyds and I brought our hiking boots), then bussed up to the glacier. We chose to do the half-day hike because we wanted to maximize our time on the glacier and see the most we could. The experience was absolutely incredible! The glacier was beautiful and we really enjoyed learning about the geographic nature. Contrary to conventional wisdom regarding global warming and melting glacier, glaciers have been growing and receding for millions of years, and no more or less so over the past couple of thousands of years. The glacier itself is constantly changing and moving; the guides have to make new paths nearly every day. As a result, no two hikes are exactly the same, and new caves, crevices, and channels are forming and devolving every day.
The next day (day seven) we made the long drive down to Queenstown where we were to spend the next day seeing the city and partaking in the adventure sports that it's known for. Jim opted to do the Nevis Bungy jump (Kat joined him for moral support, but opted not to do the plummet- I don't blame her) and Lydia and I booked in a hang-gliding tour. The tour picked us up from the holiday park, where we jumped in the van with other hang gliders and paragliders, where we were promptly met by a young Chinese woman, who in broken English told us with a wide smile that she had, "broken leg doing this sport, okay?" Lydia and I exchanged a silent glance, spare for the sound of an anxious gulp. Was this woman telling us she had just broken her leg hang gliding? If so, why is she in the van and not in an ambulance? She seemed pretty happy, so maybe she had broken her leg in the past parasailing? But then why would she be doing it again? After a few minutes of concerted introspection, the van stopped and one of the instructors popped his head in, asking which person had broken their leg, and confirming that she was okay to paraglide, while inadvertently quelling Lydia's and my fears by confirming that the woman hadn't actually broken her leg doing the sport. We geared up excitedly, not sure what quite to expect, and received instruction from our tandem pilots. As I've sky dived before, I was expecting something similar, but wasn't really sure if it'd be fast, loud, or windy. As it turns out, it was none of those, and may perhaps have been the most peaceful and relaxing thing I've ever had the opportunity to do. It's literally like you're flying, but not quickly or turbulently like in an airplane. It's almost dead-silent, and we only were moving at about 25 miles per hour, and the scenery just lazily drifts by. Probably the most exciting (and my favorite part) was the landing. My pilot took me on a bit of a ride where we got to do some stalls and hard banks, but we landed like a feather.
Here's a GoPro video of Lydia's flight:
And Mine (apparently my pilot had his GoPro set to a lower resolution):
After returning to the camp site a couple of hours before Jim and Kat, Lydia and I moved the van, then grabbed lunch at the famous Ferg Burger in downtown Queenstown. We poked around the city, I swung by an internet cafe for some quick emails, then we ended up meeting up with Kat and Jim on the way back to the van. We found a new (less expensive) camp ground still walking distance from town. Coincidentally enough, our campground neighbors were the same French friends we had met at Fox glacier. After exchanging contact details to meet up later in the evening (they went into town for dinner), we started the evening playing some drinking games in the van (it's probably been six years since I'd last played circle of death), then headed out for an evening on the town. We ended up meeting up with the two guys from the four-person french crew, after which point the rounds of jager, chartreuse, and mixed drink shots turned an evening out in Queenstown into an evening out in Athens, GA (my college town). Long story short, it was a fun, albeit late night, and we found ourselves not rising particularly early the next morning.
On day eight, we got moving around noon and made the long drive down to Milford Sound. Perhaps offering the most impressive views of the entire trip (which is saying a lot, because all views in the South Island are impressive). We rolled in around 5pm after navigating the mountain passes, and a mudslide clean-up area, in a persistent drizzle. We headed to the near-abandoned cruise port where we befriended on of the cruise booking staff who kindly set us up for a cruise the next day, gave us the lay of the land, and informed us that whether we liked it or not, we'd be spending the night in Milford Sound, since they shut down the one road in and out out of fear of mudslides. Apparently the mud slide from a few weeks earlier had stranded our cruise attendant friend in Milford sound for nearly two weeks. She reassured us that mud slides are only a risk when it rains a lot, at which point we collectively looked outside at the more-than-just-a-drizzle rain, and all shifted uncomfortably. We headed into the "town" where there was one bar/lodge, and we enjoyed a hot dinner, a few beers, and a couple games of pool and foosball (both of which, Jim cleaned up). We tucked in for the night, safe from the rain and persistent biting flies in the parking lot outside as the rain continued to fall, and each silently reflecting upon our newly found knowledge on the causes of mud slides.
We awoke on day nine early to catch our 9am cruise out on the sound. We all boarded and shortly thereafter, lost Kat somewhere on board. Figuring she had just gone to the bathroom, Lydia, Jim, and I took full advantage of the continental breakfast on the lower deck, growing concerned after about 15 minutes about Kat. We poked around the ship looking for her, only to find her on the top deck taking in the sites, where she had been all along. We fought the cold and the wet and took in the sight and immense beauty of the sound. We saw wild seals, epic water falls, and mountains looming in the distance.
The cruise was well worth the price of admission, and just the right amount of time. We hopped back in the van and went the direction from whence we came, a six hour drive back through Queenstown and all the way out to Lake Tekapo. As an aside, some advice for any about to embark on a caravan trip around the south island- if you go to Lake Tekapo (and you should - it's incredible), do not stay at the Lake Tekapo holiday park. At a hefty rate of $80/night, we suspected that perhaps the proprietor had fallen upon difficult financial times, particularly given the sub-par standard of the amenities. Our suspicions were confirmed (almost comedically) when we went to go shower, only to find that in order to enjoy the luxury of 10 minutes of hot water, one must deposit a two-dollar coin in the coin-operated water heaters. Rip-offs aside, the lake was beautiful, offering stunning views of the Mount Cook, the tallest mountain in New Zealand.
On day ten, we finished the remaining drive back up to Christchurch, where we said our saddened goodbyes to Jim and Kat (Kat had to fly out early the next day). We dropped them off at the Antarctic Museum so Kat could hold a penguin, then Lydia and I hurredly gathered provisions in town, then promptly drove two more hours to Arthur's Pass for some overnight camping. Lydia found what looked like a suitable trail from the Lonely Planet New Zealand guide that Kat and generously left with us. Arriving at the trail head just after seven, with no knowledge of the terrain or an absolute understanding of the distance required to hike, we departed and scrambled up the trail as quickly as we could, trying to beat the sunset. The trail itself was not particularly inspiring- about an hour and a half of scree-laded series of switchbacks, but the top was incredible. We found ourselves at a seasonally-abandoned ski resort, with a deserted public park lodge (complete with electric lighting). Lydia brightly offered a The Shining reference, to which I was not particularly enthralled (read: it was creepy). We found the flattest site we could to set up the tent (which we later found was apparently not flat enough), and promptly headed into the shelter to cook dinner and watch the light wane, protected from the strong mountain gusts. Dinner consisted of a couple of cans of soup and a cold sausage, which hit the spot. While eating, we could hear the Kea's circling and land on the roof, trying to work out how to get in so they too could join the feast.
We finished our dinner, retired to our tent, and settled in our sleeping bags. We spent the majority of the night sliding to the foot of the tent thanks to the 10-degree incline on which we had set the tent. Needless to say, it wasn't peaceful rest. The next morning (day eleven), our poor night of rest was offset by the stunning sunrise and clearing fog through the valley. We hiked back down the trail, whose descent turned out to be much more difficult than the ascent, saddled up in the van, and drove back into Christchurch. We found what was probably the nicest holiday park on our trip, if not in all of New Zealand, where we enjoyed the warm weather and lunch. We took a cab into the city (well actually about a kilometer outside of the city, due to some communication breakdown). It afforded us the opportunity to see greater Christchurch, before we headed into the city to see the earth quake damaged areas and find dinner. After about two hours of walking trying to find a suitable place to eat, we found a really cool container bar on the outskirts of town, where we relaxes and shared a pizza. We ended up walking all the way back to the holiday park (unknowingly passing Morgan and Evan's street along the way). We cozied up in the van, watched a movie, and went to bed.
On our last full day in New Zealand (day twelve), we took a drive over the Port Hills to Lyttelton, where we sought haven from the rain in a different modern container bar. We spent our afternoon sipping on coffee and beer there, before heading back in to Christchurch to have dinner with Evan and Morgan. We had a lot of fun sharing a pizza with them and swapping stories. Evan and Morgan were nice enough to let us stay our last night in their home, before flying out the next day.
Lydia and I rose late, filled the van up with fuel (finding a gas station around the airport was perhaps the most challenging task of the entire adventure), hopped on our flight and returned back to Melbourne.
It was an epic trip with great friends, and we had an absolute blast! We were sad that it came to an end, and time flew by, but we felt like we had made some lasting memories and made the most of our trip. A big thank you to our good friends Kat, Jim, Morgan, and Evan for making it a truly amazing seppo adventure!
We're back from our AMAZING trip to New Zealand's South Island with our friends Kat and Jim! And although we've thus far neglected our duties in posting photos/videos, Jim has not, and created the above trailer for our trip.
It was an awesome adventure, we had an amazing time zip lining through the Adrenalin Forest, soaking in natural hotsprings, sampling wine and beer, hiking, hang gliding, cruising, camping, and road-tripping.
I'm hoping to post videos and pictures shortly, but in the mean time, enjoy the video above!
For friends and family back home that won't have a chance to visit Lydia and myself here in Melbourne, here's an HDR timelapse video of some iconic sites in the city.
Landmarks included in the time lapse video include (in order):
Southbank - modern part of Melbourne where the casino is located. Lydia and I will occasionally go here for over-priced beer
Bourke Street sculpture art - An example of one of the many art installments located around Melbourne, this one is at the corner of Swanston and Bourke streets. I see these every time I walk/tram from my gym to work
Degraves Street - Lydia and I will occassionally go here for brunch, if we don't want to make the trip down to St. Kilda to our favorite hipster/organic brunch place
Fed Square - modern architecture located in the heart of Melbourne, where a number of temporary art exhibits and cultural events are held.
Southern Cross Station - Located on the west side of the city, this is now the largest train station in Melbourne, where all interstate passenger lines lead. I pass this station on the way to work every day and our good friends immediately opposite
Sydney Meyer Amphitheater - outdoor amphitheater where a large number of concerts are held. Lydia and I will be seeing Weezer here in January
Docklands Ferris Wheel - Ferris wheel that was built a number of years ago in the real estate investment failure that is known as the Docklands. Almost as an omen, this ferris wheel opened nearly two years behind schedule, and promptly closed 40 days later due to structural defects. The Ferris Wheel has since been disassembled and reassembled, and is expected to return to service sometime in 2013.
Graffiti Art - Found all around Melbourne, primarily in back alleyways, it's a characteristic that really defines the city. It's most definitely a form of art (rather than tagging).
Fed Square (different angle) - View of Fed Square looking South, we often go to Beer Deluxe, a beer garden just out of the shot.
State Library of Victoria - Located at LaTrobe and Swanston, the State Library is an extensive traditional and electronic library open to the public. On sunny days, crowds can be found relaxing on the front lawn
Train tracks looking South West - not far from our apartment, these tracks run parallel to the Yarra River
Metro - View from the metro, the electric train system that runs both under and primarily over ground in Melbourne and the greater Melbourne suburbs.
Tram - View looking out the back of one of the omnipresent trams found all around greater Melbourne. Lydia and I often take a tram to and from work.
Flinders Street Station - the iconic station of Melbourne
Melbourne Central Mall/Station - view from within Melbourne Central station and shopping plaza, it is a paradigm of Melbourne architecture in that it preserves the facade and spirit of old architecture and integrates it with functional and modern space
Shopping Arcade - can't remember the name of this one, but it's one of several shopping arcades found within the CBD of Melbourne.
China Town (Little Collins Street) - The majority of Little Collins Street, which runs SW to NE, is known as China town. We'll often grab "dumprings" at one of the many dumpling bars off this street
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Deakin University - Deakin University, from where the photographer(s) hail, located in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne. We've never been here
Fitzroy Gardens (two shots) - the large park located adjacent to our apartment in East Melbourne, this is where Lydia and I go nearly every weekend to relax, hang our hammock, and watch the sunset.
Phillip Bay Boat Launch - This could be any one of many of the rusted boat launches on the coast of the relatively shallow Phillip Bay, but my bet is it's the one down in St. Kilda, not far from the Melbourne CBD. Lydia and I SCUBA dive under one of these further down Mornington Peninsula (Eastern peninsula)
St Kilda Pier - Large pier that juts out into the bay where many sail boats are moored
Docklands waterfront - about a five minute walk from my office, I'll occasionally eat lunch not far from where this shot was taken
Art Centre - the iconic (although dated) Melbourne Arts Centre located on South Bank, it's spire is lit at night and can be seen from most places around the city.
Fountain in the Royal Botanical Gardens - I've used this fountain in a number of photography outings, it's located in the Royal Botanical Gardens in South Melbourne
Melbourne Central (outside) - view of one of the creatively lit park bench outside Melbourne Central. There's a hotdog/burger place called "Lord of the Flies" just out of the shot where Lydia and I have frequented on a number of occasions
Flinders St Pedestrian Tunnel - Pedestrian tunnel modeled after Paris's Metro that runs under Flinders Street to Flinders Street Station
WWI Memorial Shrine - the WWI memorial shrine where there is an eternal rememberence flame, and that was architected so the sun hits the shrine directly on November 11th every year
Views from Eureka Tower - Views from the Eureka Tower (tallest building in Melbourne) where Lydia, my cousin Ian, and I went when Ian was in town
This is awesome- it's a public service ad in display, created by our neighbors to the west, the state of South Australia. It's both a work of art and a public service ad.
Although this ad was created by the Motor Accident Commission (MAC), the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) here in Victoria also puts on some pretty cool public safety ads. This billboard can be found around greater Melbourne:
Admittedly, as a roadside sign, it could actually cause more accidents than prevent them- on more than one occasion, I've caught myself trying to process the image than focus on the road. Don't look at it for more than a minute, or you may have an aneurism.
