After a 24-hour journey that began around 9:30AM on the 29th (Sydney time) I have arrived back home in Waltham on the same day! I can say that I've never actually been HAPPY that my bags didn't make it home with me. They missed the flight from Vancouver to Montreal (as I almost did) and so it will be shipping to my house tomorrow morning. It was nice not to have to wait for it to come around the conveyer after spending an entire day traveling.
It's great to be home and it's great to be back to Summer! I head back to work tomorrow and I'm even going to a Red Sox game tomorrow evening! I must be insane.
So as much as things will go back to normal I hope things will never be the same. I will certainly look back on my two weeks on the other side of the world in the Land of the Southern Cross with great joy for the rest of my life. It was an unbelieveable experience and I thank my family, friends, everyone at Life Teen and all those who I don't even know who have been praying for me and have been part of the journey with me through this blog. I again look forward to talking to you in person and sharing my stories and I look forward to Madrid, Spain in 2011!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
The 24-Hour Journey Home Begins
Wow, free internet access at the airport?! Unheard of! Anyways, I'm sitting here waiting for boarding to my Air Canada flight. First I'm off to Vancouver then Montreal and then finally to Boston. Time to go!
Day 14 - The Lakes Way and My Return to Sydney
So when the hostel you try to call doesn't go through because the number is disconnected, should you be concerned? I should've been. After driving EIGHT straight hours from Brisbane, I arrived in Forster to realize that the YHA hostel there was no longer in existence. This place wasn't like a normal city at home where a hotel has 24-hour reception and stuff like that, and I surely wasn't going to drive any more, so that left me with only one choice: to sleep in the car. I broke out all my warm clothes and my foil blanket given to us by World Youth Day and went to sleep. I had to start the car and pump the heat a couple of times during the night but I made it though.
I got up early enough to catch sunrise at Cape Hawke in Booti Booti National Park and then moved down the Lakes Way to the largest tree in New South Wales which you can see below.
It's past 2AM here and so I really need to go to sleep so that I can catch my flight tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see all of you from home again! I hope that this blog has made you part of the pilgrimage that I have made and I hope to talk to you about it in person when I arrive home! I will be home Tuesday evening, July 29th!
Sunrise
Elizabeth Beach
A very big eucalyptus tree
I got up early enough to catch sunrise at Cape Hawke in Booti Booti National Park and then moved down the Lakes Way to the largest tree in New South Wales which you can see below.
It's past 2AM here and so I really need to go to sleep so that I can catch my flight tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see all of you from home again! I hope that this blog has made you part of the pilgrimage that I have made and I hope to talk to you about it in person when I arrive home! I will be home Tuesday evening, July 29th!
Sunrise
Elizabeth Beach
A very big eucalyptus tree
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Day 13 - Brisbane and the Journey Back South
So I can't spend long on this post as I am running out of time again! I went to Mass here in Brisbane this morning and I will begin my journey back to Sydney. Here is some of what I have seen today. Hopefully I can update again soon!
The Cathedral of St. Stephen with the Shirne of Blessed Mary MacKillop next to it
The boardwalk through the mangroves of the Brisbane River
I walked past this place the night before. Crazy.
The Baptism Font
The Virgin Mary
Another view of the cathedral
Blessed Mary MacKillop, Australia's first and only blessed
The Cathedral of St. Stephen with the Shirne of Blessed Mary MacKillop next to it
The boardwalk through the mangroves of the Brisbane River
Boats parked in the river
I walked past this place the night before. Crazy.
The Baptism Font
The Crucified Jesus above the alter
The Virgin Mary
Another view of the cathedral
Blessed Mary MacKillop, Australia's first and only blessedDay 12 - Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Burleigh Heads
I awoke in Byron Bay to something amazing...the SUN! So I continued my journey north through a region called the Gold Coast. My first stop was at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary where I finally got my wish to hold a koala. The one I held actually was an older one (I wouldn't have been able to tell you that.) And they have some serious claws. Mine was getting a little antsy and almost clawed my face off. I still love them though. In another part of the park there is a large kangaroo area which was probably the most popular spot in the park since you can feed and pet the kangaroos here. It was pretty awesome. Speaking of kangaroos, did you know there is such thing as a tree kangaroo? I didn't, until I saw one. Very interesting. Who knew?!
After spending some more time there I figured with it being early afternoon that it was time to move up the coast to the beach to enjoy the returning sun. I went to the town of Burleigh Heads and lounged out on Burleigh Beach for a few hours. Now I've never been to California, but I figure this place is what you would expect to see at a California beach. Surfers and bodyboarders, young and old, all donning wetsuits dominated the area. You could almost sense that surfer culture surrounding you. Anyways it was great to finally get some sun again and get my feet wet and lay back on the beach for a while.
From there I was off to my final destination, Brisbane, Australia's third largest city. I arrived later in the evening and headed to a Belgian Beer Cafe in the center of town and watched some rugby on the TV. It was Australia taking on New Zealand, so basically everyone in the city was watching it. After that I just headed back to my place which was about a 20-minute walk away and called it a night.
A tree kangaroo...I kid you not.
Mission accomplished. Holding one of those irresistable koalas.
You can actually feed and pet the roos here. Sweet!
This one has a joey
Those tree kangaroos eating
After spending some more time there I figured with it being early afternoon that it was time to move up the coast to the beach to enjoy the returning sun. I went to the town of Burleigh Heads and lounged out on Burleigh Beach for a few hours. Now I've never been to California, but I figure this place is what you would expect to see at a California beach. Surfers and bodyboarders, young and old, all donning wetsuits dominated the area. You could almost sense that surfer culture surrounding you. Anyways it was great to finally get some sun again and get my feet wet and lay back on the beach for a while.
From there I was off to my final destination, Brisbane, Australia's third largest city. I arrived later in the evening and headed to a Belgian Beer Cafe in the center of town and watched some rugby on the TV. It was Australia taking on New Zealand, so basically everyone in the city was watching it. After that I just headed back to my place which was about a 20-minute walk away and called it a night.
A tree kangaroo...I kid you not.
A view of the city of Surfers Paradise from Burleigh Beach
Surfers galore at this beach
Mission accomplished. Holding one of those irresistable koalas.
A wombat. I'm pretty sure I've seen a few of these guys on the side of the road.
You can actually feed and pet the roos here. Sweet!
This one has a joey
Those tree kangaroos eatingDay 11 - Byron Bay
Well it rained ALL day today. Somewhat unfortunate has it really left me with nothing to do in a town that I'm sure is really nice when it's not pouing every five minutes. After trying to fight the rain to walk around and possibly make it to a nearby lighthouse, I finally was soaked enough to call it quits and head back to the Main Beach Backpackers where I was staying. I took a nap in the afternoon. During the evening I headed to a nice restaurant called The Balcony and then decided to make some friends at a boisterous place named Cheeky Monkeys. I met folks from the Netherlands, England, Ireland and of course from different parts of Australia. I had a great time and it was just what I needed after quite a lonely, crappy, rainy day. I have only one picture to show for it! That's how nasty it was. Enjoy!
You can see the lighthouse I PLANNED on walking to
You can see the lighthouse I PLANNED on walking to
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Day 10 - Port Macquarie, South West Rocks and Dorrigo
Hey everyone! I have about a half hour to tell you all about yesterday so here we go! I stayed in Port Macquarie as I mentioned in my last post. I got up bright and early per usual and realized that it was still raining. I wondered how this would effect my plans for the day. I headed to the breakwater near the beach in the center of town. You are actually allowed to paint the rocks that line the water apparently because every single rock was painted that was nearest to the road, some even out several feet. Some look like they were professionally done. It was cool to see all the things that were commemorated: anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, trips, deaths and even beer.
I grabbed some breakfast and wondered what would be the best way to spend this day because of the gloomy weather when suddenly it hit me: it's raining, why not head to a rainforest!? That makes sense right? So I did. After pitstopping in the town of South West Rocks, I headed inland to Dorrigo National Park and spent most of the day there walking through the rainforest. It was pretty cool given the time of year. The canopy did a great job of keeping me relatively dry during most of my walk but by the time I had about 2km left to go before getting back to the rainforest center, the skies really opened up and not even all the cover I had could keep me from getting really wet. Again it was nice to be alone. There was barely anyone there outside of a group of schoolkids who were doing the short circuit, not the long one I was doing.
After my time at the rainforest I had a choice to make. I could either head straight for Byron Bay or I could take the "Waterfalls Way" would would take me further west. It was like 3:30PM and my decision to continue west, well, it wasn't a good one. I did get to see Ebor Falls but by the time I got to the road to see Wollomombi Falls, it was getting pretty dark and it was a dirt road with cows crossing it. So I said no way. Especially since I was realizing now that I had a fairly serious gas situation on my hands. I was under a quarter of a tank and I was some 70+ km from the closest town. So I had to CONTINUE west, just for the purpose of filling up, knowing that I would have to backtrack to go east. Basically, I went 140km or so out of my way. That's pretty bad but I guess if that's the biggest mistake I make then that's not too too bad. But what did kill was the fast that I paid over $100 for gas!!!! Geez, I won't feel so bad when I fill up and it totals $60-$70.
Oh the fun didn't end there though. The road to get back to the northeast to the town of Grafton which is right off the Pacific Highway was CRAZY. It was all twists and turns and switchbacks. My car HATES me after that drive, that's for sure. When I arrived in Grafton, they said I was pretty lucky not to see a kangaroo on the road. I'd say so too, I saw signs saying that there were kangaroos and possibly cattle crossing over unfenced areas! ARE YOU KIDDING?! If I had hit one of those it would've been really bad news. Anyways, I made to Grafton unscathed and was forced to stay there last night.
Right now I am in Byron Bay, having left Grafton early this morning. It is STILL raining, very hard at times. Sometimes it looks like the sun could break out, and then it pours again. I have to figure out what to do on yet another rainy day. I hear that we should finally get good weather back tomorrow. I hope so! I'll be staying in Byron Bay tonight and I'll let you know how today goes!
I grabbed some breakfast and wondered what would be the best way to spend this day because of the gloomy weather when suddenly it hit me: it's raining, why not head to a rainforest!? That makes sense right? So I did. After pitstopping in the town of South West Rocks, I headed inland to Dorrigo National Park and spent most of the day there walking through the rainforest. It was pretty cool given the time of year. The canopy did a great job of keeping me relatively dry during most of my walk but by the time I had about 2km left to go before getting back to the rainforest center, the skies really opened up and not even all the cover I had could keep me from getting really wet. Again it was nice to be alone. There was barely anyone there outside of a group of schoolkids who were doing the short circuit, not the long one I was doing.
After my time at the rainforest I had a choice to make. I could either head straight for Byron Bay or I could take the "Waterfalls Way" would would take me further west. It was like 3:30PM and my decision to continue west, well, it wasn't a good one. I did get to see Ebor Falls but by the time I got to the road to see Wollomombi Falls, it was getting pretty dark and it was a dirt road with cows crossing it. So I said no way. Especially since I was realizing now that I had a fairly serious gas situation on my hands. I was under a quarter of a tank and I was some 70+ km from the closest town. So I had to CONTINUE west, just for the purpose of filling up, knowing that I would have to backtrack to go east. Basically, I went 140km or so out of my way. That's pretty bad but I guess if that's the biggest mistake I make then that's not too too bad. But what did kill was the fast that I paid over $100 for gas!!!! Geez, I won't feel so bad when I fill up and it totals $60-$70.
Oh the fun didn't end there though. The road to get back to the northeast to the town of Grafton which is right off the Pacific Highway was CRAZY. It was all twists and turns and switchbacks. My car HATES me after that drive, that's for sure. When I arrived in Grafton, they said I was pretty lucky not to see a kangaroo on the road. I'd say so too, I saw signs saying that there were kangaroos and possibly cattle crossing over unfenced areas! ARE YOU KIDDING?! If I had hit one of those it would've been really bad news. Anyways, I made to Grafton unscathed and was forced to stay there last night.
Right now I am in Byron Bay, having left Grafton early this morning. It is STILL raining, very hard at times. Sometimes it looks like the sun could break out, and then it pours again. I have to figure out what to do on yet another rainy day. I hear that we should finally get good weather back tomorrow. I hope so! I'll be staying in Byron Bay tonight and I'll let you know how today goes!
Vines hanging down over the trail path
Not bad for not having someone to take it! This is me behind Crystal Shower Falls
Tristania Falls
Upper Ebor Falls
Lower Ebor Falls
A view of Port Macquarie
I think Nehemiah wants to surf
South West Rocks
A view from a lookout heading up to Dorrigo National Park
I guess it was a PERFECT day for a trip to the rainforest!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Day 9 - Hunter Valley
Hey everyone. I've arrived in Port Macquarie and am staying at Port Macquarie Backpackers (yes, I'm back to sharing rooms it seems). It's funny. The Internet is free here on one computer but that computer doesn't allow access to Facebook or really anything that I'd like to use (like say Remote Desktop) and I can't upload pictures because the computer is under lock and key! SO for now let me just tell you what I did today.
I got up nice and early and gave you my previous post talking about the Taronga Zoo, then I headed into the valley. The area has like 100 vineyards (according to the first one I went to) and I went to like 5 of them and mixed in a choclate company and the BlueTongue Brewery. The wines were amazing (I bought a couple bottles, but I wanted to buy one from every place I went). I even tried some red sparkling wines which were quite good and different. The people were pretty awesome too, very conversational. These are small time operations. For most of them, they only sell their wines at their cellar door. It was a great day and it just felt great driving through the vineyards. It's exactly like I'd expected it would be, and it was just one winery after another. Crazy.
Next thing I knew it was 5PM and needless to say I was didn't think it was going to take THAT long to get around to these wineries. So I headed straight north to my next stop, Port Macquarie. It was a few hour drive and not very scenic (and not very light too since I was traveling after sundown). I saw my first rain since being here. It rained pretty hard in spots. I managed to use the correct stick on the steering wheel to operate my wipers. Upon arrival here, I headed down to an Irish pub to grab a late bite to eat and enjoy a couple of brews. Turns out a group from Switzerland that was here for WYD is also in town. I definately didn't expect to see anyone else heading up this way. The bartenders were quite amused by them and we all had some laughs with them trying to understand what the Swiss were saying.
All in all a great day. As for me, I'm going to get some sleep. The plan is to wake up tomorrow morning EARLY and head out to possibly see some dolphins going up the town's river and check out the beaches before taking the scenic route up to Byron Bay.
Here are the pictures!
The Pepper Tree Winery
BlueTongue Brewery...They brew an interesting Ginger Beer
Piggs Peake, my last stop on the day
A view of the vineyard of the Mount View Estate
A great view of the Hunter Valley from a mountain lookout
Ivanhoe Wines with the Chambourcin grape rows in the foreground
I got up nice and early and gave you my previous post talking about the Taronga Zoo, then I headed into the valley. The area has like 100 vineyards (according to the first one I went to) and I went to like 5 of them and mixed in a choclate company and the BlueTongue Brewery. The wines were amazing (I bought a couple bottles, but I wanted to buy one from every place I went). I even tried some red sparkling wines which were quite good and different. The people were pretty awesome too, very conversational. These are small time operations. For most of them, they only sell their wines at their cellar door. It was a great day and it just felt great driving through the vineyards. It's exactly like I'd expected it would be, and it was just one winery after another. Crazy.
Next thing I knew it was 5PM and needless to say I was didn't think it was going to take THAT long to get around to these wineries. So I headed straight north to my next stop, Port Macquarie. It was a few hour drive and not very scenic (and not very light too since I was traveling after sundown). I saw my first rain since being here. It rained pretty hard in spots. I managed to use the correct stick on the steering wheel to operate my wipers. Upon arrival here, I headed down to an Irish pub to grab a late bite to eat and enjoy a couple of brews. Turns out a group from Switzerland that was here for WYD is also in town. I definately didn't expect to see anyone else heading up this way. The bartenders were quite amused by them and we all had some laughs with them trying to understand what the Swiss were saying.
All in all a great day. As for me, I'm going to get some sleep. The plan is to wake up tomorrow morning EARLY and head out to possibly see some dolphins going up the town's river and check out the beaches before taking the scenic route up to Byron Bay.
Here are the pictures!
The Pepper Tree Winery
BlueTongue Brewery...They brew an interesting Ginger Beer
Piggs Peake, my last stop on the day
A view of the vineyard of the Mount View Estate
The simple entrance to Mount View
A great view of the Hunter Valley from a mountain lookout
Ivanhoe Wines with the Chambourcin grape rows in the foreground
Sparkling wine and chocolate...Mmmmm
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Day 8 -Taronga Zoo
Alright guys, late update today (or early depending on how you want to look at it). There were no internet cafes open last night when I got into the town of Cessnock where I stayed last night at the Cessnock Hotel. It was the first time in a LONG time that I had an entire room to myself. I have to say it was quite nice.
Yesterday was mostly spent at the Taronga Zoo, north of Sydney in the town of Mosman. They had a really great variety of animals, many of which I was seeing for the first time in person. It was a very well-kept zoo. They had areas you could go into where you were right there with the animals, typically birds and 'roos. It was pretty awesome. You can see some of my favorite pictures below.
After spending several hours at the zoo I headed north on Route 1. Unfortunately I got on at the Falcon Street Gateway which doesn't have any cash booths to pay the toll, DOH! But no worries I called this morning and got that all taken care of. I took 1 north until I got to a "Tourist Route" that would take me here to the Hunter Valley and the town of Cessnock. This is wine country and the town has dozens of vineyards which I'll be checking out today. Anyways, the drive on the tourist road was awesome and it was certainly a welcome departure from just regular highway driving and being near the city.
So here I am today. It's coming up on 11AM and I'm about to make my way over to the vineyards. I don't know what kind of condition they are in at this time of year because it is quite cold. It got down to 32 last night for sure so we'll see. By the end of the day I hope to have made my way to Port Macquarie with a stop at the One Mile Beach in north of Newcastle and Cape Hawke via the Lakes Way. Don't know what any of that means? Check out Google Maps and you'll probably see what I am talking about. Vino awaits me!
Yesterday was mostly spent at the Taronga Zoo, north of Sydney in the town of Mosman. They had a really great variety of animals, many of which I was seeing for the first time in person. It was a very well-kept zoo. They had areas you could go into where you were right there with the animals, typically birds and 'roos. It was pretty awesome. You can see some of my favorite pictures below.
After spending several hours at the zoo I headed north on Route 1. Unfortunately I got on at the Falcon Street Gateway which doesn't have any cash booths to pay the toll, DOH! But no worries I called this morning and got that all taken care of. I took 1 north until I got to a "Tourist Route" that would take me here to the Hunter Valley and the town of Cessnock. This is wine country and the town has dozens of vineyards which I'll be checking out today. Anyways, the drive on the tourist road was awesome and it was certainly a welcome departure from just regular highway driving and being near the city.
So here I am today. It's coming up on 11AM and I'm about to make my way over to the vineyards. I don't know what kind of condition they are in at this time of year because it is quite cold. It got down to 32 last night for sure so we'll see. By the end of the day I hope to have made my way to Port Macquarie with a stop at the One Mile Beach in north of Newcastle and Cape Hawke via the Lakes Way. Don't know what any of that means? Check out Google Maps and you'll probably see what I am talking about. Vino awaits me!
It wouldn't be an Australian zoo without one of these guys
Komodo Dragon
Meerkats!
A lazy morning for this 'roo
Eating those yummy leaves
Not sure what this bird is but it was cool and made the sound of a Velociraptor talking
A BLACK swan...only in Australia
More kangaroos
I WILL hold one of these guys before I leave (or take one home)
Dingo ate my baby
Monday, July 21, 2008
Day 7 - Blue Mountains
So with World Youth Day 2008 over, I now go from a pilgrimage mode to more of a vacation mode. So I left the Central Sydney YHA today and picked up my car at Avis. At this point I'm really excited but REALLY nervous about driving. I go and put my stuff in the trunk and the first thing I do is go and almost get into the passenger seat. Talk about a bad omen. I was freaking out. I go to use my directional, and oh wait...that's on the right. So instead I sent my wipers going. For the most part I have gotten a hang of it by now but God forbid I have to like parallel park or do anything remotely skillful with this thing.
I headed about 100km west to the Blue Mountains. Lonely Planet says that they are called that because of something that is given off by the eucalyptus trees...interesting! You'll see what I'm talking about in one of the pictures below.
Before setting off to see the mountains themselves I went to lunch in the town center and had fish and chips. But it wasn't just any fish. It's one that I'm pretty sure I have never had before -- barramundi. It was pretty darn good. Very thick, almost like chicken meat, except it was fish.
While I was finishing up my meal I was looking out at the street and saw a California group that I had seen at least 3 or 4 times during World Youth Day. They saw me and yelled "BOSTON!" How do I keep running into these guys.
OK...so the Blue Mountains. I went to a place called Echo Point on the Blue Mountain range. It had unbelievable views which you can see below. It also had a Giant Staircase that runs from the top viewpoint down into the forested area. This staircase was great to go DOWN, but it was horrible to have to climb up. While down there I went on a 1km walk and didn't run into anyone on the way. It was pretty cool to get away from all the touristy atmosphere and spend some time in quiet. The forest was so dense there that you thought it was much later than it actually was because of the darkness. Up above the wind was truly howling. It's a wonder someone doesn't get blown off into the valley with the way the wind was blowing.
The thing that this area of the mountains is most known for is the Three Sisters. The name for the rock formation actually comes from an Aboriginal story where three sisters were basically turned into rocks to protect them from some nasty creatures but their father (who used a magical bone to do so) lost the bone and is still looking for it today.
After my long day at the Blue Mountains I headed back towards Sydney and decided to stay in Manly to the north of Sydney. This will allow me to go to the Taronga Zoo in the morning and then who knows what will happen then!?
I headed about 100km west to the Blue Mountains. Lonely Planet says that they are called that because of something that is given off by the eucalyptus trees...interesting! You'll see what I'm talking about in one of the pictures below.
Before setting off to see the mountains themselves I went to lunch in the town center and had fish and chips. But it wasn't just any fish. It's one that I'm pretty sure I have never had before -- barramundi. It was pretty darn good. Very thick, almost like chicken meat, except it was fish.
While I was finishing up my meal I was looking out at the street and saw a California group that I had seen at least 3 or 4 times during World Youth Day. They saw me and yelled "BOSTON!" How do I keep running into these guys.
OK...so the Blue Mountains. I went to a place called Echo Point on the Blue Mountain range. It had unbelievable views which you can see below. It also had a Giant Staircase that runs from the top viewpoint down into the forested area. This staircase was great to go DOWN, but it was horrible to have to climb up. While down there I went on a 1km walk and didn't run into anyone on the way. It was pretty cool to get away from all the touristy atmosphere and spend some time in quiet. The forest was so dense there that you thought it was much later than it actually was because of the darkness. Up above the wind was truly howling. It's a wonder someone doesn't get blown off into the valley with the way the wind was blowing.
The thing that this area of the mountains is most known for is the Three Sisters. The name for the rock formation actually comes from an Aboriginal story where three sisters were basically turned into rocks to protect them from some nasty creatures but their father (who used a magical bone to do so) lost the bone and is still looking for it today.
After my long day at the Blue Mountains I headed back towards Sydney and decided to stay in Manly to the north of Sydney. This will allow me to go to the Taronga Zoo in the morning and then who knows what will happen then!?
My Rental Hotness
A Truly GIANT Staircase
The 1K walk to Leura Forest
Three Sisters at Sundown. Notice the BLUE mist.
That's me...at Echo Point...Yeah
The Three Sisters
A Pretty Large Expanse
The Katoomba Cascades
The Katoomba Falls
Nehemiah Found a Large Friend
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