My run of good luck continued on my Australian tour. My friend Britt was living in Bondi Beach so I again had a couch to sleep on. It was my last weekend in Australia and Britt was determined to show me a good time. We ended up in Kings Cross both nights and took in the sights of the night. It was a great way to wrap up my time in the country as I look forward to my next adventure.
Foggy
Shawn and I went for a fruitless surf where we didn’t manage to get up on one wave. We went back to try and stream the Canucks game and saw I had tons of missed messages from Drea saying they had left Byron without me. I gave them a call and said it was cool and I would catch the bus down but they turned around and drove over an hour to come back and get me. Shawn and I had a quick beer so I could endure the wrath that was about to be thrust upon me. The girls arrived back in Byron and Shawn and I gave each other a big hug. It sucks that I didn’t get to spend more time with him but that is life on the road. I was met with some glares that could have killed and I jumped right into the penalty box in the back of the van. Needless to say it wasn’t the smoothest way to start the road trip. We drove down to Southwest Rocks and arrived at night due to the detour caused by me. We had a few beers at a pub and I felt I was making my way out of the doghouse. We decided to sleep on the side of the road and I assumed the fetal position in the front seat and went to bed.
The next day we drove down to Seal Rocks where we were met with a torrential downpour. The campground was half under water but they took the price down a little for us so we parked the van and took out the cards. It was a pretty amazing place even though it was raining so hard and it reminded me a lot of my new years in NZ. The next day we pushed through the flooding streets to make it into Sydney. I said goodbye to Drea and Anne and wandered to grab a bus out to Bondi Beach. Driving down the coast was a pretty amazing way to see the country; I just hope if you try to do it that you get a few rays of sun. Thanks girls for driving and I will see you back home!
Foggy
Lauren and I got up and drove down to Byron Bay. We went right up to the lighthouse which is the most Eastern part of Australia. Lauren was just supposed to stay for the day but I ended up convincing her to stay another night down there. We had to do a quick dress shop and then it was onto the hostel. I have said it before on here but there is nothing like seeing a face from home on your travels. Shawn Hetherington and I had been trying to track each other down in Australia for a while and then a day before my trip down to Byron he messaged me saying he worked in a hostel there.
Shawn and I gave each other a big hug and then got on the drinking for the night. Lauren, Shawn and I ended up at this insane bar called Cheeky Monkeys and anyone that has been to Byron before will know what I am talking about. The place was packed and instead of a flat dance floor it had grand stands. We of course went right to the top and took it all in. Shawn was in fine form ripping it up on the top, I did not know how he was going to work at 7 the next morning. (Shawn wanted to kill everyone in his path the next day) Next stop was table top dancing before we had our fill of being off the ground. I don’t know how there are not broken ankles or skulls every night in that place.
We spent the next day chilling at the beach until a nice rain storm chased us away. Despite my efforts Lauren had to go as she had a bunch of high school kids to teach the next day. Lauren took in this strange Canadian boy and showed me an amazing time on the coast. The laughs started the minute we got in the car and never stopped. I didn’t have to convince her on how awesome Canada was as she had already done a couple of seasons at Lake Louise it’s just getting her up again to a better mountain next time. Thanks Lauren for everything you were a blast, and look forward to seeing you in the Northern Hemisphere!
Foggy
I got off the train from the Sunshine Coast and Lauren was there to pick me up. I had met Lauren at the races up in Brisbane and she had invited me down to stay at her place. We stopped in at a few beaches before driving out to Burleigh National Park. It was an awesome hike through the bush up to an amazing lookout down the coast. We refreshed ourselves afterwards with some drinks at a surf club. That night she gave me a tour of the pubs in Surfers Paradise and it turns out there are quite a few.
The next day we got up and drove up to Tamborine. It was this little craft town and we went on this glow-worm cave tour. We were unimpressed 1 minute into the tour when we found out the cave was man-made. We then went and checked out Tamborine National Park. It was a great 2.4km loop walk that took you to this amazing waterfall. We snuck down closer to the edge to take in a closer look. For some reason Lauren trusted me with her car for the drive back and I put my right hand drive skills into action. That night we went out to a hair fashion show with Lauren’s friend Brook and witnessed some strange styles. Never a dull moment so far on this tour of Oz.
Foggy
The four Canadians piled into the car and we took the 40 minute drive from Mooloolaba to Noosa National Park. It was a gorgeous 4000 hectares nature reserve right on the Sunshine Coast. We took one of the trails that took you by all the different beaches until getting to Hells Gate which gave you a view of Alexandria Beach. Sadly I didn’t have my perving binoculars out though because it is known as a nude beach. We doubled back and settled down at Tea Tree Bay which the girls were quick to point out also had some nice pairs on it. A lot of people were surfing but we just hopped in for a dip and then lounged in the sun. I really recommend anyone who is up the coast in Australia to head there and take in the walks through the park, and hopefully you will get luckier than us and actually see some wildlife besides bigger than life spiders.
Foggy
The horse races are a pretty big deal down in Australia with everyone putting on their best clothes and heading down to the track to hopefully make a buck or two. We woke up and my buddy Bazzo’s place and cooked a big breakfast to line our stomachs for the huge day we were about to have. (Beers and eggs are a fantastic combo FYI) We got all kitted up in our best attires and continued to our friend Matt’s place for the next pre drink venue. We got to the races just before noon and everyone was all dressed fancy and in a great mood. I tried following some instructions on the betting but my luck just didn’t seem to pan out; I might still have to keep my day job. We hit the town of Brisbane afterwards and showed the bar how to really dance. It was a long day by the end of it and surprised I lasted that long but I can’t wait until the next one.
Foggy
After the reunion of the family in Sydney we flew out early in the morning to Honiara the capital of the Soloman Islands. The small airport was a sign of things to come as you could see the infrastructure just was not there. The three boys took the first cab and we got an early taste of the hostilities on the island. Our driver pointed out all Chinese owned shops on the island and all the ones they burned during the last riot (we got the feeling they were not the favourite people on the island). We later learned that a lot the conflict came from the money being earned on the island was not staying there to re invest and was going overseas.
The next surprise was finding out the island we were on was Guadalcanal the scene of the biggest fighting between the Japanese and US during WWII. I am not the biggest history buff so I am not going to stand here and lie to you and say I knew that before watching The Pacific (which was in so many ways inferior to Band of Brothers). But since I had watched the series I had an idea of the significance of the tiny island in the South Pacific. We visited the US memorial which had views of the major battle fields and then drove out to see some old canons and planes left from the war. As for ranking other WWII sites I have visited this has to rank on the lower end but that is probably just my naivety on the happenings on the island. All I know is I was drenched in sweat in my tiny shorts and b-ball jersey and I couldn’t imagine running around in army fatigues.
Foggy
6 months rolled by pretty quickly in New Zealand. I landed right in the middle of the Rugby World Cup and the party kept going right up to the last night with the boys. I saw some amazing things in the country and met some pretty bad ass folk. The weather wasn’t always the best in the little town of Wellington but it kept you on your toes as you always seemed to bump into that one person you hoped to avoid. I leave New Zealand knowing I will be back as it truly felt like a second home. I want to thank everyone who made my stay in this South Pacific nation amazing and look forward to seeing you again.
My life has officially been reduced to the size of a backpack again as I set out on my next set of adventures. The best part about these adventures though is the gravy train is once again at the station, see you soon Mom and Pops!
Foggy
Work was so happy to see me leave they wrote me a song. Thanks a ton to Jono for taking the time!
Foggy
Abseiling ( from German: abseilen meaning “to rope down”), rappelling in American English,[1] is the controlled descent down a rock face using a rope; climbers use this technique when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection.
Mom you can stop reading here. We were sitting around a friend’s house when we decided it would be a good idea to tie a rope around a bench press machine put on a harness and abseil out of his fourth story window. The first two guys went down unscathed and then it was my time to slip on the harness. I got a quick crash course of how to do it and before I knew it I was on the ledge looking 40 feet down at my coach. The desent started alright and I was going down with some ease until I swung out from the building and my foot went through the first story window. I quickly got down and we hid all evidence of this urban abseil.
To the next time I do something stupid abroad!
Foggy
Foggy Travels 