Last night was our last night in Byron so we all went out to dinner at a nice place and got dressed up (or at least as dressed as backpackers get). The place was pretty decent, I took pictures of the food so I can get them uploaded later. I had Waygu Steak which wasn't quite as good as I expected, but still pretty darn good, especially since it's been a while since I've had red meat. In any event, prior to dinner, the uni paid for us to have lunch at a place called Earth and Sea Pizza. I split a Cruel Sea pizza with someone else which had prawns, mussels, clams, and black olives on it. It was actually pretty good. The others got a regular style pizza, a vegetarian pizza, and another one with feta cheese on it though I can't remember what else.
We left Byron Bay today and went to Brisbane where everyone said there goodbyes and caught flights (except for me). I'm in Brisbane for today and then off on a 32 hour train ride to Cairns tomorrow so I'll likely be out of touch for a while unless they have internet on the train (and an outlet) but I'm not getting my hopes up. Was able to get on the internet here via a backpacker travel place. Probably just going to walk around the city and take in the sites today. Might rent a bike as I hear there is some great biking in Brisbane.
There's quite a bit of construction going on in Brisbane, but everything is cheaper than Byron, except for the accomodation, but granted this place is considerably nicer than the last. No ants, no cockroaches, no giant rats. Not that that bothered me a whole lot about the other place, but its still nice to have a cleaner place.
Anyways thats all I got for now. Will post again when I get to Cairns hopefully.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Minyon Falls and Rocky Creek Dam
This picture is upstream of the main waterfall of Minyon Falls, which is a 100 meter drop.
This is a picture of the stream at Minyon falls.
This is a picture of a Noisy Minor bird that we saw at Rocky Creek Dam during the barbecue.
This is a picture of us all standing in the river upstream of Minyon Falls
This is a picture of Minyon Falls (as you may have guessed)
Today we got to visit Rocky Creek Dam and Minyon Falls (as mentioned in the title). When European settlers first arrived they planted a lot of foreign plants to make the place feel more like home and to help conquer the harsh flora in the area. In the area where the falls and dam are in they have been weeding out the foreign plants and replacing them with indigenous ones. As we went through the trails Noah pointed out various species of plants and what not including one that has tiny little spines all over and feels like fire upon contact with it. Other than that we had a barbecue lunch in which I had Kangaroo. Tastes pretty good. It's a red meat kind of similar to beef. Would definitely have more. I posted some pictures of the area as I'm at the uni right now and have somewhat decent bandwidth though there is a cap on total amount of data transfer I can do.
Winding down to the end of the class now and looking at things I'll be doing in Sydney and the like. I'll probably be seeing Transformers on the largest movie screen in the world.
From the imax site:
The IMAX Theatre Sydney in Darling Harbour is home to the world's largest cinema screen at 29.42m high by 35.73m wide (96.52ft high by 117.22ft wide) – covering an area of more than 1,015 square metres (10,925.37 square feet). They just don't come any bigger!
...Up to eight storeys high, they are ten times larger than a tradtional cinema screen and fills the whole field of human vision.
The pancake breakfast today was quite good with whip cream and mixed berry topping (straw, ras, and blue I think)
CORRECTION: I previously sited my ostrich encounter in Currumbin, it was an emu I was later corrected. They had both there I just mistook one for the other.
Additionally, when we visited Protester Falls, there was a tree that had fallen down going over the creek sometime ago. I of coursed traversed the log rather than the bridge. After making it across, Noah said he'd been daring students for years to cross the log but that no one ever had.
In any event, thats all I got for now, will post more later....
Monday, June 22, 2009
I feel like a million bucks!
Well, maybe $30, more on that later.
So today we woke up at 7:30 and went to Lismore (where the Southern Cross University campus is located). We woke up early so that we could partake in a pancake breakfast as part of the orientation for the new students as they are just starting their spring semester. (Universities are called uni's here and semesters are called mesties) In any event, turns out the pancake breakfast is on Wednesday, so they gave us some breakfast vouchers and we ate at the plaza, I had quiche and green tea which was pretty good.
We then went to class and talked about indigenous tourism which was fairly interesting. Then we got kind of side tracked and started talking about Noah's (Noah being our instructor) house as he has a house made of rammed earth and a composting toilet and solar power and other such eco friendly appliances. Though seemingly hardcore, he doesn't hesitate to indulge in things like having a computer or a fridge and the like. He also has a farm in which he raises animals and stuff for food and recreation.
Additionally, we got grades back today for our two papers. Due to some technical difficulties, I only received one of my grades and I got a Distinction on it which is the second highest you can get I guess so thats good. The class transfers as pass/fail so I'm not too worried.
After class we went to the pizza luncheon for the new students. Which had some decent bbq meat pizza and some decent veggie pizza. Afterwards the girls decided they all wanted to go back to campus and sleep. I decided I wanted to stay and participate in more orientation activities and meet some new students. So they went back and at that time the students were in a lecture about culture shock in the like as they were catering international students mostly today. So I went to the on campus koala hospital as they have wild koalas on campus (which I found one) and they treat them for diseases like conjunctivitis and others that I can't spell. If they can't treat it they send them up to Steve Irwin's hospital. I got a whole tour of the rather small facility but it was very informative and I was grateful for the tour. I then went back and participated in a soccer match. We did a warm up game and then a competitive game. I sustained one injury as I got a little competitive for the ball while on defense and a guy named Dallas (who is from Queensland and is of Fiji heritage.... how does one make Fiji and adjective? ) and I trapped the ball as he was going with it and his knee went into my thigh. I have a bit of a limp at the moment and I anticipate a good bruise but nothing to worry about. All in all pretty fun. At the end of the game 3 people were awarded prizes, myself being one of them. So this was where I got my $30 + a pen and pad of paper + sticky notes all neatly packaged in a Chinese food take away box (as it is not take out here). SO after the game I was going to go back to my stuff and hang out there for a bit ( I left my stuff locked with a person I knew that worked here) but decided to go hang out with the people I played soccer with. Hung out in one of their dorms for a little bit then we all met up again and went to dinner. I should be meeting them again on Wednesday for breakfast.
I then got a ride back from one of the drivers at the uni and had a fun talk with him. I can't recall his name at the moment but I want to say Mike. He was a student there and about to finish his last year of school so that he can become a teacher. After getting back I more or less dropped my stuff off and went out with everyone else to dinner. I just got a milkshake (which was really just incredibly finely chopped ice (Blendtech anyone?) and milk and chocolate syrup, not bad but not the same) as they didn't have any drinks at dinner at the uni, just sausages (or hot dogs as they call them back home) and really got veggie patties. After that I came back here and decided to post on here, take a shower and go to bed. Tomorrow we're going to Rocky Creek Dam and Minyon falls so that should be exciting minus the bruise I'll have on my leg.
If someone could do me a favor and look up what happens when you check disposable cameras on a plane (as I presume the one I bought for skydiving has film) and post it as a comment that'd be great.
Current Song
ZZ Top - Sleeping Bag
PS
Sorry again for calling so early
So today we woke up at 7:30 and went to Lismore (where the Southern Cross University campus is located). We woke up early so that we could partake in a pancake breakfast as part of the orientation for the new students as they are just starting their spring semester. (Universities are called uni's here and semesters are called mesties) In any event, turns out the pancake breakfast is on Wednesday, so they gave us some breakfast vouchers and we ate at the plaza, I had quiche and green tea which was pretty good.
We then went to class and talked about indigenous tourism which was fairly interesting. Then we got kind of side tracked and started talking about Noah's (Noah being our instructor) house as he has a house made of rammed earth and a composting toilet and solar power and other such eco friendly appliances. Though seemingly hardcore, he doesn't hesitate to indulge in things like having a computer or a fridge and the like. He also has a farm in which he raises animals and stuff for food and recreation.
Additionally, we got grades back today for our two papers. Due to some technical difficulties, I only received one of my grades and I got a Distinction on it which is the second highest you can get I guess so thats good. The class transfers as pass/fail so I'm not too worried.
After class we went to the pizza luncheon for the new students. Which had some decent bbq meat pizza and some decent veggie pizza. Afterwards the girls decided they all wanted to go back to campus and sleep. I decided I wanted to stay and participate in more orientation activities and meet some new students. So they went back and at that time the students were in a lecture about culture shock in the like as they were catering international students mostly today. So I went to the on campus koala hospital as they have wild koalas on campus (which I found one) and they treat them for diseases like conjunctivitis and others that I can't spell. If they can't treat it they send them up to Steve Irwin's hospital. I got a whole tour of the rather small facility but it was very informative and I was grateful for the tour. I then went back and participated in a soccer match. We did a warm up game and then a competitive game. I sustained one injury as I got a little competitive for the ball while on defense and a guy named Dallas (who is from Queensland and is of Fiji heritage.... how does one make Fiji and adjective? ) and I trapped the ball as he was going with it and his knee went into my thigh. I have a bit of a limp at the moment and I anticipate a good bruise but nothing to worry about. All in all pretty fun. At the end of the game 3 people were awarded prizes, myself being one of them. So this was where I got my $30 + a pen and pad of paper + sticky notes all neatly packaged in a Chinese food take away box (as it is not take out here). SO after the game I was going to go back to my stuff and hang out there for a bit ( I left my stuff locked with a person I knew that worked here) but decided to go hang out with the people I played soccer with. Hung out in one of their dorms for a little bit then we all met up again and went to dinner. I should be meeting them again on Wednesday for breakfast.
I then got a ride back from one of the drivers at the uni and had a fun talk with him. I can't recall his name at the moment but I want to say Mike. He was a student there and about to finish his last year of school so that he can become a teacher. After getting back I more or less dropped my stuff off and went out with everyone else to dinner. I just got a milkshake (which was really just incredibly finely chopped ice (Blendtech anyone?) and milk and chocolate syrup, not bad but not the same) as they didn't have any drinks at dinner at the uni, just sausages (or hot dogs as they call them back home) and really got veggie patties. After that I came back here and decided to post on here, take a shower and go to bed. Tomorrow we're going to Rocky Creek Dam and Minyon falls so that should be exciting minus the bruise I'll have on my leg.
If someone could do me a favor and look up what happens when you check disposable cameras on a plane (as I presume the one I bought for skydiving has film) and post it as a comment that'd be great.
Current Song
ZZ Top - Sleeping Bag
PS
Sorry again for calling so early
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Random Musings
First off, it's the same day here as back home right now so I can legitimately say Happy Father's Day Dad. Also, happy birthday Sivan.
So today was pretty uneventful. Got to sleep in which was nice and my shoes are dry for a change. Didn't really do too much today. I booked some hostels so that I have a place to stay up until July 5th and took care of some financial stuff. I'm going to clean my room and go to bed early as we are getting picked up at 7:30 tomorrow to go to Lismore. They are going to involve us in some of the orientation week activities for the new students at Southern Cross so that we can get more of an exposure to the Australian way of life as in the hostels, especially in Byron, its mostly all people visiting Australia. Tomorrow we're supposed to participate in soccer. I anticipate crushing defeat if they do locals vs. us.
In any event, I figured I'd post some random observations about Australia, though some of them may be location specific as I haven't traveled too much yet.
Every outlet has its own power switch located at the outlet. There are light switches as well, but for your plugin appliances, you can leave them plugged in and turn off the outlet so that you aren't wasting power. This seems like a pretty easy way to save money and I'm surprised that they aren't more common in the states (I haven't personally seen it ever).
All the toilets have two flush modes, 1 for solid waste and the other for liquid. Yet another easy way to save money. (For anyone who was curious, I haven't noticed which way the toilets spin yet due to the way the variable flushing system works)
They make astounding use of the traffic circle. Everyone seems to be able to traverse them without too much confusion. Traffic flows much more smoothly. There are traffic lights, but in Byron there are none (at least in central Byron). I'm definitely a fan.
Alfa Romeo's are cool. 'nough said.
At least in Byron, most everyone is in decent physical shape.
There's a lot of public restrooms, many of which work on a key system.
In New Zealand the water fountains also had an alcohol based soap dispenser with them. (or at least that's what I thought it was)
English really is the predominant language. I was impressed at how many foreign people speak it. One of my room mates speaks a Germanic language, it might be sure, I think he's from Holland, but he might be from Germany. In any event, when I woke up today he was reading an English Dictionary (with conversions to what I presume was his native language) Dad said, that his professor once said you'd master a language if you can complete a crossword puzzle in that language. I think being able to learn a language in another language would demonstrate equal mastery of a language. Would be like me going to Italy and learning to speak Russian.
Anyways, this week we will also be going to Rocky Creek Dam, and I'm hoping Minion Falls (I think that's what they are called), but we'll see.
That's all I can think of but I might add to the post later...
So today was pretty uneventful. Got to sleep in which was nice and my shoes are dry for a change. Didn't really do too much today. I booked some hostels so that I have a place to stay up until July 5th and took care of some financial stuff. I'm going to clean my room and go to bed early as we are getting picked up at 7:30 tomorrow to go to Lismore. They are going to involve us in some of the orientation week activities for the new students at Southern Cross so that we can get more of an exposure to the Australian way of life as in the hostels, especially in Byron, its mostly all people visiting Australia. Tomorrow we're supposed to participate in soccer. I anticipate crushing defeat if they do locals vs. us.
In any event, I figured I'd post some random observations about Australia, though some of them may be location specific as I haven't traveled too much yet.
Every outlet has its own power switch located at the outlet. There are light switches as well, but for your plugin appliances, you can leave them plugged in and turn off the outlet so that you aren't wasting power. This seems like a pretty easy way to save money and I'm surprised that they aren't more common in the states (I haven't personally seen it ever).
All the toilets have two flush modes, 1 for solid waste and the other for liquid. Yet another easy way to save money. (For anyone who was curious, I haven't noticed which way the toilets spin yet due to the way the variable flushing system works)
They make astounding use of the traffic circle. Everyone seems to be able to traverse them without too much confusion. Traffic flows much more smoothly. There are traffic lights, but in Byron there are none (at least in central Byron). I'm definitely a fan.
Alfa Romeo's are cool. 'nough said.
At least in Byron, most everyone is in decent physical shape.
There's a lot of public restrooms, many of which work on a key system.
In New Zealand the water fountains also had an alcohol based soap dispenser with them. (or at least that's what I thought it was)
English really is the predominant language. I was impressed at how many foreign people speak it. One of my room mates speaks a Germanic language, it might be sure, I think he's from Holland, but he might be from Germany. In any event, when I woke up today he was reading an English Dictionary (with conversions to what I presume was his native language) Dad said, that his professor once said you'd master a language if you can complete a crossword puzzle in that language. I think being able to learn a language in another language would demonstrate equal mastery of a language. Would be like me going to Italy and learning to speak Russian.
Anyways, this week we will also be going to Rocky Creek Dam, and I'm hoping Minion Falls (I think that's what they are called), but we'll see.
That's all I can think of but I might add to the post later...
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Checking in so to speak
So yesterday was an interesting day. We went to Nimbin which is located in the rain forest. It is a one street town founded by hippies and populated by, you guessed it, hippies. 70's style hippies. There is a very large drug problem in the town comparable to Amsterdam (I'd imagine). It's very green and colorful, as always I have pictures I can upload later. We went through a museum and spoke with some locals which was interesting. We then went down into the valley where things got a bit tropical and we could see the cedars there that the locals initially set up camp to protect (and succeeded, this marked the first successful resistance to big logging companies). We hiked for a bit and reached Protester falls (named after the protesters I presume). A bunch of us decided to go for a swim underneath the waterfall as the locals used to do. (Leech infested waters are fun, none got on me though, so no need to worry Mom). Unfortnuately there was just so much moisture in the air there that most of the pictures are really fuzzy. I'll see what I can do about touching them up and post later. (When I get back and post all the pictures I'll send a bulk email and let everyone know they are up if they care to look)
Today, we went surfing which was fun. We were all able to stand up by the end. Had a few good wipe outs too. At the end we got to surf in some moderately heavy rain which yielded some nice waves. We waited for the waves to crash before we started riding them. After that we attempted to have a BBQ but were thwarted by more rain even though it was off an on. We then improvised and had grilled food indoors which was fun. Then we went to Lismore to see the Lantern Parade which was cool. I asked some locals about it afterwards as I walked into some shops and it is supposed to promote entertainment in Lismore because other than the Lantern Parade, Lismore doesn't off much else during the year. Still, it was a good parade, lots of fire and fireworks and some live theater. I went into a music store and talked to the owner for a while who was very nice an enthusiastic and we shared our opinions on artists and manufacturesrs and recording artists and the like. Never have I seen a small scale private music store with such a wide variety. We then came back to Lismore. We will not be climbing Mount Warning tomorrow as it is supposed to be rainy. As a result we have the day free which isn't too bad. Maybe I'll write my last assignment and finalize a few of my bookings at hostels.
Hard to believe it's the last week of class already...
Update:
I think I forgot to mention that the water we went swimming in was quite cold, on the order of 5 degrees C (41 degrees F for anyone to lazy to do the math, it actually works out exact which is nice). Also, as we got to the main waterfall, there was (as one might expect) a river that we followed with other smaller waterfalls. One of which I climbed which was fun.
Today, we went surfing which was fun. We were all able to stand up by the end. Had a few good wipe outs too. At the end we got to surf in some moderately heavy rain which yielded some nice waves. We waited for the waves to crash before we started riding them. After that we attempted to have a BBQ but were thwarted by more rain even though it was off an on. We then improvised and had grilled food indoors which was fun. Then we went to Lismore to see the Lantern Parade which was cool. I asked some locals about it afterwards as I walked into some shops and it is supposed to promote entertainment in Lismore because other than the Lantern Parade, Lismore doesn't off much else during the year. Still, it was a good parade, lots of fire and fireworks and some live theater. I went into a music store and talked to the owner for a while who was very nice an enthusiastic and we shared our opinions on artists and manufacturesrs and recording artists and the like. Never have I seen a small scale private music store with such a wide variety. We then came back to Lismore. We will not be climbing Mount Warning tomorrow as it is supposed to be rainy. As a result we have the day free which isn't too bad. Maybe I'll write my last assignment and finalize a few of my bookings at hostels.
Hard to believe it's the last week of class already...
Update:
I think I forgot to mention that the water we went swimming in was quite cold, on the order of 5 degrees C (41 degrees F for anyone to lazy to do the math, it actually works out exact which is nice). Also, as we got to the main waterfall, there was (as one might expect) a river that we followed with other smaller waterfalls. One of which I climbed which was fun.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Just another day
Today we had class early so that we could have some free time today. Unfortunately it was raining today. Luckily though, the rain cleared up and two guys I met at the hostel wanted to go to the lighthouse and I had wanted to go back. So we did. Unluckily it poured on us once we got there. Though before the rain started we got some cool pictures, though we did get soaked on the walk back. I'm working on the finishing touches of a paper now which is taking forever as I'm waiting for a site to load so I can do my works cited page. In any event we're going to Nimbin tomorrow which should be interesting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
