April 18th-19th
Rarotonga, At Sea
Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands, was a nice change from five straight sea days. I got off the ship with the two new musicians who just joined last Sydney, Josh and Eric. We left the ship looking for a good place to grab lunch, and after asking some locals and finding out that there’s no where to get authentic local food, we ended up at some tourist place (Trader Jack’s I believe) where I had a very local, extremely authentic, completely untouched by the western world…Cheeseburger. But hey, it was delicious, absolutely perfect for that place and time, and I was stuck singing Jimmy Buffet for the rest of the day.
We left that place to find a beach that the waitress told us was about 30 minutes back towards the ship, which we did eventually find 60 minutes later. It was a nice walk through the island though, you get a completely different vibe and you feel like you’re somewhere different. We came across a cove with a vacant beach and tried to force as much enjoyment into the 15 minutes I’d allotted the group before I figured we needed to start walking back to the ship. I immediately jumped in the water and just tried floating around for a while. This was going wonderfully till a small fish, enticed by a small mole on my side, actually bit me and invoked a paranoia that encouraged me to get out of the water as soon as possible…stupid fish. And it’s not that it hurt, but being startled by a fish just meant that I couldn’t possibly continue enjoying floating in the water. We were out of time though, so we packed up our things and began walking back and eventually returned to the ship without further incidents.
The sea day that followed was uneventful. I just continue fighting whatever decided to make it’s home in my sinus cavity. Thanks for reading!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sea Days
April 14th-17th
Sea Days
I’m about 2 weeks late writing out this one...but there really wasn’t much going on. We crossed the international date line on the 16th, meaning we had two 16th’s in a row, which was interesting. This was accompanied by a few too many Groundhog’s Day jokes, of which I enjoyed telling people about where that movie was filmed. Otherwise the only other news is that I’d been sick for these sea days. I’ve been fighting something for a while, but it wasn’t till now that it really took hold. The 14th I had absolutely no voice and was extremely congested. I ended up going to the ship’s doctor, something I’ve never done, and was given a nebulizer (I think) for my voice and some antibiotics. My voice came back slightly on the 15th, but even two weeks later I’m still noticing certain weaknesses in my voice.
So the five sea days passed and I fought whatever disease was waging war inside my sinuses. Tomorrow we’ll be stopping at our first island, Rarotonga.
Sea Days
I’m about 2 weeks late writing out this one...but there really wasn’t much going on. We crossed the international date line on the 16th, meaning we had two 16th’s in a row, which was interesting. This was accompanied by a few too many Groundhog’s Day jokes, of which I enjoyed telling people about where that movie was filmed. Otherwise the only other news is that I’d been sick for these sea days. I’ve been fighting something for a while, but it wasn’t till now that it really took hold. The 14th I had absolutely no voice and was extremely congested. I ended up going to the ship’s doctor, something I’ve never done, and was given a nebulizer (I think) for my voice and some antibiotics. My voice came back slightly on the 15th, but even two weeks later I’m still noticing certain weaknesses in my voice.
So the five sea days passed and I fought whatever disease was waging war inside my sinuses. Tomorrow we’ll be stopping at our first island, Rarotonga.
Sydney
April 13
Sydney
Turnaround day and I’m fighting a decent cold that my roommate happened to give me. I’ve actually been fighting it for a while now, but after a perpetual sore throat my ailment has decided to shift focus to a lovely sinus infection and is starting to take my voice as well. Regardless, I helped my roommate move out this morning and got a new guy, Eric, from Portland. I left the ship for a quick phone call home, quick because I forgot to charge my computer, and then grabbed lunch off the ship. The big plan for today was to meet up with my Sydney friend, Belinda, and sign her onto the ship, something I’d organized a few days ago. So I tried to grab a quick lunch at a café, but after it took 45 minutes for them to serve me my sandwich I came to the conclusion “quick” and “café” are not always synonymous. Also, I was lucky enough to have a bird share the fully digested half of it’s lunch with me all over my arm while I waited for mine…yay. Anyway, I took it all with good humor, ate my lunch quickly, and met my friend at the ship about 5 minutes behind schedule.
I signed Belinda on with no difficulties and gave her a tour. She used to be a spa girl so we spent a lot of time looking around the spa, along with all the other crew areas that brought back a number of memories for her. It was funny to see her walking through the ship and her reactions to things I’ve been taking for granted but that she’d forgotten about since she left ships. She bought me a chocolate bunny as a thank you, I eventually walked her off the ship and we said farewell for the last time this cruise. It’s been nice being able to meet up with her though, and as I’ve said, probably my favorite part of working on ships.
I then tried to get the local tax refunded on my didgeridoo, something customs is supposed to do in Australia. So I found the customs desk, brought my receipt, and was instantly turned away because of my crew status. They’re afraid that crew members will take advantage of this policy, getting refunds at each port, which could easily be remedied with a stamp or hole punch to the receipt, but that’s the policy and it lost me a potential $70, no fun.
Back on the ship I took over as the MD for band rehearsal and the replacement MD did just as he said he would: simply played without saying a word (which is for the better cause I think he’s totally clueless anyway). The shows went fine and I spent most of the day and night thinking about schedules and watching the new band that signed on (because we hadn’t yet clarified what exactly I’d be doing).
And I guess that’s about all. We’ve now left Sydney and Australia for the final time, we’re heading for the Cook islands and French Polynesia, and then Hawaii. I’ll be directing the band from today till when I depart the ship and I’m really excited for the opportunity. Thanks for reading!
Sydney
Turnaround day and I’m fighting a decent cold that my roommate happened to give me. I’ve actually been fighting it for a while now, but after a perpetual sore throat my ailment has decided to shift focus to a lovely sinus infection and is starting to take my voice as well. Regardless, I helped my roommate move out this morning and got a new guy, Eric, from Portland. I left the ship for a quick phone call home, quick because I forgot to charge my computer, and then grabbed lunch off the ship. The big plan for today was to meet up with my Sydney friend, Belinda, and sign her onto the ship, something I’d organized a few days ago. So I tried to grab a quick lunch at a café, but after it took 45 minutes for them to serve me my sandwich I came to the conclusion “quick” and “café” are not always synonymous. Also, I was lucky enough to have a bird share the fully digested half of it’s lunch with me all over my arm while I waited for mine…yay. Anyway, I took it all with good humor, ate my lunch quickly, and met my friend at the ship about 5 minutes behind schedule.
I signed Belinda on with no difficulties and gave her a tour. She used to be a spa girl so we spent a lot of time looking around the spa, along with all the other crew areas that brought back a number of memories for her. It was funny to see her walking through the ship and her reactions to things I’ve been taking for granted but that she’d forgotten about since she left ships. She bought me a chocolate bunny as a thank you, I eventually walked her off the ship and we said farewell for the last time this cruise. It’s been nice being able to meet up with her though, and as I’ve said, probably my favorite part of working on ships.
I then tried to get the local tax refunded on my didgeridoo, something customs is supposed to do in Australia. So I found the customs desk, brought my receipt, and was instantly turned away because of my crew status. They’re afraid that crew members will take advantage of this policy, getting refunds at each port, which could easily be remedied with a stamp or hole punch to the receipt, but that’s the policy and it lost me a potential $70, no fun.
Back on the ship I took over as the MD for band rehearsal and the replacement MD did just as he said he would: simply played without saying a word (which is for the better cause I think he’s totally clueless anyway). The shows went fine and I spent most of the day and night thinking about schedules and watching the new band that signed on (because we hadn’t yet clarified what exactly I’d be doing).
And I guess that’s about all. We’ve now left Sydney and Australia for the final time, we’re heading for the Cook islands and French Polynesia, and then Hawaii. I’ll be directing the band from today till when I depart the ship and I’m really excited for the opportunity. Thanks for reading!
At Sea
April 10-12
At sea
The 10th was supposed to be a stop at Isle of Pines, another beach island, but due to high winds and our need to tender, the port was cancelled and we simply left for Sydney. The remaining two sea days were as usual.
I’ll take this time, however, to fill you in on the situation on the ship. The Musical Director (MD) signs off on the 13th and needs to be replaced. The original plan was to have the Pianist fill in, but after a few weeks of doing the assistant MD work, the pianist opted out leaving one cruise to find a solution to the problem. I was asked about the opportunity and expressed interest, which was passed on to the head office in Miami. The new drummer who just came on the ship this cruise actually has years of MD experience but considers himself retired from the position…this info was also passed to the Miami. The verdict is that the drummer was supposed to become MD regardless of his preference and I was to assist. However, in speaking with the current MD and the replacement, it was turning out that I was going to end up doing all the work, which originally sounded great, till I found out that I wasn’t getting any extra money or privileges. Regardless, I did the training and learned what the job entails, even acted as MD for the first couple days of the next cruise (April 13th and 14th), meaning I scheduled all the bands, ran rehearsals, dealt with emails and notifications, everything. But seeing as I was doing everything without being MD and had no authority to back me up while the MD was being left in the dark, we decided the situation just couldn’t persist in such a way. I sent out a strongly worded email to the office about my demands to do the job properly and my concerns about my treatment and how this effects all the music on the ship. Long story short, we worked it out where I’ll be the AMD, file timecards (busy work) and direct the band, things that the actual MD doesn’t need to do. Meanwhile, the actual MD gets hit with all the heavy office work I’d been doing – I’m just going to have to bring him up to speed with everything I’d already done (6 full days of schedules by day 2) and teach the experienced band leader how the system works…right. Am I getting more money now...not quite. Due to the previous guy backing out last minute and having been paid for almost nothing, the office is reluctant to hand out any more money. What I do get though is the experience of directing the band, free internet access because of my timecard work, and two stellar reviews from the replacement MD and the cruise director, my division head. This should mean I get employed as an MD on another ship, or at least as an AMD, which either way, is a step in the right direction. So that’s the deal, I will be leading the band and I’ll be introduced as the musical director, but I won’t actually have the responsibility and busy work just yet.
That’s the abridged version though, this has been a situation almost 2 weeks in the making. Email me with questions if you have them, otherwise thanks for reading and stay tuned as I make the crossing! Thanks
At sea
The 10th was supposed to be a stop at Isle of Pines, another beach island, but due to high winds and our need to tender, the port was cancelled and we simply left for Sydney. The remaining two sea days were as usual.
I’ll take this time, however, to fill you in on the situation on the ship. The Musical Director (MD) signs off on the 13th and needs to be replaced. The original plan was to have the Pianist fill in, but after a few weeks of doing the assistant MD work, the pianist opted out leaving one cruise to find a solution to the problem. I was asked about the opportunity and expressed interest, which was passed on to the head office in Miami. The new drummer who just came on the ship this cruise actually has years of MD experience but considers himself retired from the position…this info was also passed to the Miami. The verdict is that the drummer was supposed to become MD regardless of his preference and I was to assist. However, in speaking with the current MD and the replacement, it was turning out that I was going to end up doing all the work, which originally sounded great, till I found out that I wasn’t getting any extra money or privileges. Regardless, I did the training and learned what the job entails, even acted as MD for the first couple days of the next cruise (April 13th and 14th), meaning I scheduled all the bands, ran rehearsals, dealt with emails and notifications, everything. But seeing as I was doing everything without being MD and had no authority to back me up while the MD was being left in the dark, we decided the situation just couldn’t persist in such a way. I sent out a strongly worded email to the office about my demands to do the job properly and my concerns about my treatment and how this effects all the music on the ship. Long story short, we worked it out where I’ll be the AMD, file timecards (busy work) and direct the band, things that the actual MD doesn’t need to do. Meanwhile, the actual MD gets hit with all the heavy office work I’d been doing – I’m just going to have to bring him up to speed with everything I’d already done (6 full days of schedules by day 2) and teach the experienced band leader how the system works…right. Am I getting more money now...not quite. Due to the previous guy backing out last minute and having been paid for almost nothing, the office is reluctant to hand out any more money. What I do get though is the experience of directing the band, free internet access because of my timecard work, and two stellar reviews from the replacement MD and the cruise director, my division head. This should mean I get employed as an MD on another ship, or at least as an AMD, which either way, is a step in the right direction. So that’s the deal, I will be leading the band and I’ll be introduced as the musical director, but I won’t actually have the responsibility and busy work just yet.
That’s the abridged version though, this has been a situation almost 2 weeks in the making. Email me with questions if you have them, otherwise thanks for reading and stay tuned as I make the crossing! Thanks
Port Villa, Vanuatu
April 9
Port Vila, Vanuatu.
After having such a great time yesterday, I wasn’t sure that today was going to compare, but when a ton of people tell me to go to the “waterfalls” and that it’s worth it, I start to get my hopes up.
I got off the ship after rehearsal with Alex (the same guy who I went with yesterday), and a couple other friends knowing that this would make the cab ride cheaper. We walked through the stalls set up in the pier and were greeted at the gate by about a dozen different drivers all trying to give us the best price. I actually don’t think I’ve ever seen such a group of drivers being so aggressive. We ended up going with the guy who said $3 each, by far the best deal, even if he started hustling us….which he did.
The first problem was that one of my friends in our group of five backed out last minute, after we’d already negotiated a price, not making the driver very happy. We said we’d pay $15 anyways (3x5), and after waiting for the driver to do some basic math and figure out we were being honest, we left. That’s when he said it’s $3 one way, or $15 there, $15 back…but that was still a deal so we were ok and continued on through the city to the waterfalls. When we got at the waterfalls, we expected the driver to wait for us, which is the norm in places such as these, but this also was going to cost us. We didn’t want to pay the fee, which angered the dude. We were then swore at, verbally assaulted, what have you, it was almost surreal that this was actually happening. My friends in the front seats decided to go with an extra $20 for waiting, I wanted to find a different cab, but being outvoted and knowing I would still have the ride for about $10, it wasn’t too bad. So we left and entered the park.
After the $20 admittance fee (one of the first places I’ve been to that charged a fee) we started wandering the trails along a large number of small, unimpressive waterfalls, all having an unusually blue tint. A ways deeper into the jungle it got more impressive as you found yourself looking out over huge ravines. And then at the end all the recommendations proved themselves true as you came to the base of a 200+ foot waterfall, the largest I’ve ever had the chance to swim in (yes, swim in). So we spent a good 40 minutes just checking out the different waterfalls and pools that were caused by this massive falling wall of water, again being able to pretend that none of the other tourists were around. I wanted to take some pictures, but as you know, the camera didn’t quite make it through yesterday, so I’m stuck having to take pics from friends. But we eventually all left and went back to the cab who returned us to the ship with no further hassle, and as we were out of time for the day, that’s all I have to write, thanks!
Port Vila, Vanuatu.
After having such a great time yesterday, I wasn’t sure that today was going to compare, but when a ton of people tell me to go to the “waterfalls” and that it’s worth it, I start to get my hopes up.
I got off the ship after rehearsal with Alex (the same guy who I went with yesterday), and a couple other friends knowing that this would make the cab ride cheaper. We walked through the stalls set up in the pier and were greeted at the gate by about a dozen different drivers all trying to give us the best price. I actually don’t think I’ve ever seen such a group of drivers being so aggressive. We ended up going with the guy who said $3 each, by far the best deal, even if he started hustling us….which he did.
The first problem was that one of my friends in our group of five backed out last minute, after we’d already negotiated a price, not making the driver very happy. We said we’d pay $15 anyways (3x5), and after waiting for the driver to do some basic math and figure out we were being honest, we left. That’s when he said it’s $3 one way, or $15 there, $15 back…but that was still a deal so we were ok and continued on through the city to the waterfalls. When we got at the waterfalls, we expected the driver to wait for us, which is the norm in places such as these, but this also was going to cost us. We didn’t want to pay the fee, which angered the dude. We were then swore at, verbally assaulted, what have you, it was almost surreal that this was actually happening. My friends in the front seats decided to go with an extra $20 for waiting, I wanted to find a different cab, but being outvoted and knowing I would still have the ride for about $10, it wasn’t too bad. So we left and entered the park.
After the $20 admittance fee (one of the first places I’ve been to that charged a fee) we started wandering the trails along a large number of small, unimpressive waterfalls, all having an unusually blue tint. A ways deeper into the jungle it got more impressive as you found yourself looking out over huge ravines. And then at the end all the recommendations proved themselves true as you came to the base of a 200+ foot waterfall, the largest I’ve ever had the chance to swim in (yes, swim in). So we spent a good 40 minutes just checking out the different waterfalls and pools that were caused by this massive falling wall of water, again being able to pretend that none of the other tourists were around. I wanted to take some pictures, but as you know, the camera didn’t quite make it through yesterday, so I’m stuck having to take pics from friends. But we eventually all left and went back to the cab who returned us to the ship with no further hassle, and as we were out of time for the day, that’s all I have to write, thanks!
At Sea/Luganville
April 7-8
At sea, Luganville
The sea day was nothing to write home about…so I won’t
Luganville, a major city in Vanuatu (though you wouldn’t guess it), turned out to be one of my favorite days on ships. After asking around I found that the place to go was the “Blue Hole”, a cove in a water system that comprised of amazingly blue water. And I don’t mean blue like the Caribbean, I mean as in the water looked to be dyed blue. I think if you drank enough of this water you’d likely urinate blue (if it didn’t kill you first). I have no idea why the water was as blue as it was, certainly some sort of mineral, but it made for a gorgeous area and a great place to swim!
But before I get there, let me start out with transportation. I ended up getting off the ship with a couple friends and we were greeted by some cab drivers at the gangway. We told them we wanted to see the Blue Hole, were directed to a guy and we worked out the price, $40 AU round trip and he’d wait for us (much better than their original offers). After we’d agreed on the price our driver showed us his car…or should I say pickup truck. There was one, maybe two seats in front and theoretically unlimited seating in the back (if you saw some of the local people in these trucks you’d know what I mean). But the point is, this wasn’t your usual taxi as they never are in ports like this. So me and the other guy jumped in the back while the girl of the group sat up front. We then made a 40 minute drive deep into the island though palm tree fields and down dirt roads, all in away that made you really feel like you weren’t apart of a cruise ship, you felt as if it was a safari, and mind you I was standing in the back grabbing on to some rail that ran up and behind the cab. An many pot holes and dirt roads later we arrived at tourist central in the middle of a forest.
It took some time to bypass the old white tourists that made this place feel like it was less special than it was, but as soon as we got around them and to the main swimming hole, you were suddenly in another world. The water was a bright blue, slightly chilly, and surrounded by huge, gorgeous trees. The best part however was just a short swim away to the other side of the swimming hole where about a dozen local teens were climbing in the trees and swinging off a huge rope swing. Here was the magic.
I swam over and was instantly greeted by all the locals and the few younger tourists brave enough to make the swim over. Looking up you saw a huge rope swing hanging off this large branch that stretched far over the water. This single branch was purpose built by the Vanuatu God(s) for a rope swing, that’s how perfect it was. The first half stretched out parallel to the water, about 20 feet up. That lower half came to a ledge where the upper portion continued out off, shooting at a 45 degree angle into the air, ending just far enough away and just high enough for a rope swing. A younger local sat at the top of this branch swinging the swing back after each attempt to swing out of this tree.
The locals would walk the branch with unbelievable ease, get to the swing with out hesitation, and beautifully execute every maneuver during their flight. Then there was me… The carefully approached the tree climbing along side this root system that lead up from the water, stepped onto the branch and found it amazingly slippery. I quickly abandoned any hopes of walking the branch and opted for the straddling technique, though not very flattering, much less likely to kill me. Slowly I made my way out and stood at the ledge of the branch where the local guy swung the rope to me. There was another kid one step further towards the ledge watching and helping and a third one relaxing hanging onto the ascending limb telling me not to jump and to simply relax. Well, I tried the relaxing thing as best I could, stepped off the branch, swung 20 feet down and pretended my body was a skipping stone as my grip failed me directly at the bottom of my decent. Fail… I tried again, climbed the tree, straddled the branch, was told to relax, and again, Fail. Third time, was the same outcome. My friend at this point had already managed a successful swing, and me not willing to leave the Blue Hole until I succeeded took his advice for my next swing. Apparently my problem was that I was holding onto the swing in a half pull-up position, where as he figured if I swung down with my arms fully extended I’d have better luck. And believe it or not, the next four swings were all blazingly successful, each consisting of at least one full swing, and even with some culminating with my attempt at back flip dismount, which can only lead to me falling head first into the center of the lake with the most awful form imaginable. And that, my friends, was the rope swing.
This was followed by the next extreme event, high diving. We achieved the “high” half of high diving by climbing the most amazing tree I’ve ever seen. This tree seemed to be a collage of roots making a mock-ladder all the way up the trunk. The elegance of the vines winding everywhere around this tree seemed nothing short of mystical. Anyway, my friend and I climbed the tree, caught our breath, and then stared down at what must have been a 40 foot jump. Directly below us sat our spectators, maybe not the most intelligent positioning, but I guess it only added to the event. As a side note, the “Blue Hole” is called a hole because it gets considerably deep immediately after entering the water, so there was no fear of hitting the bottom with even a jump of this height. My friend jumped with not problems and signaled for me to come down. I took a deep breath, pushed off the slippery limb I was standing on, and again with everything but grace, made my way into the water and landed slightly sideways. I came up from under the water to cheers from the locals and the other cruise ship people, yet another part of the camaraderie this location created within each of us.
We were starting to run out of time and I realized that I hadn’t yet taken pictures so I swam back to where I’d left my backpack, grabbed my waterproof camera and jumped back in the water to take some pics of the blue water and trees. But as soon as I jumped in the water and turned my camera on I discovered a problem…the display screen wasn’t displaying anything! I couldn’t figure out why, and instead of fighting with it while I treaded water, I swam back to the trees for a closer look. I found that the camera did appear to be turning on and even seemed to take pictures and video, but still wasn’t showing anything in the display. Eventually, and unfortunately right when I wanted video of myself, it stopped taking pictures all together and even fell asleep to never be awaken again. More on that later.
Disappointed by the water damage to my waterproof camera, I finished up with the locals and we all returned to the taxi who was waiting to take us back to the ship. We all hopped into the back of the truck this time and had a nice ride home reflecting on what we’d just done and how great the day turned out. Oh, and all the while waving at every one we passed, who always initiated the waving because three white tourists standing in a truck bed isn’t a daily site for them. But you couldn’t ask for a friendlier people, despite the fact the area is so third world-ish.
We returned to the ship and with some time to spare picked up a local drink at a pub, enjoyed our last few minutes of Luganville. Back on the ship I did a diagnoses of the camera of which I’m giving a DOA (Dead on arrival). Opening the battery case I found water, opening the USB port I found water, and just looking at the display screen showed water had gotten under the screen. I’ve been letting it dry out but it still doesn’t want to turn on and may never be revived again. Good news however is that I have the warranty, meaning I get a new camera from best buy when I get home…bad news is that home is a month away. Well, at least I still have my iPhone for some pics. But that’s the day – certainly in my top 5 of all my days on ships. The experience was just so perfect and to be able to hang with the locals and feel so welcomed made today what I always imagine traveling should be – about the people and what they do. Thanks for reading and thanks to all my new friends in Vanuatu!
At sea, Luganville
The sea day was nothing to write home about…so I won’t
Luganville, a major city in Vanuatu (though you wouldn’t guess it), turned out to be one of my favorite days on ships. After asking around I found that the place to go was the “Blue Hole”, a cove in a water system that comprised of amazingly blue water. And I don’t mean blue like the Caribbean, I mean as in the water looked to be dyed blue. I think if you drank enough of this water you’d likely urinate blue (if it didn’t kill you first). I have no idea why the water was as blue as it was, certainly some sort of mineral, but it made for a gorgeous area and a great place to swim!
But before I get there, let me start out with transportation. I ended up getting off the ship with a couple friends and we were greeted by some cab drivers at the gangway. We told them we wanted to see the Blue Hole, were directed to a guy and we worked out the price, $40 AU round trip and he’d wait for us (much better than their original offers). After we’d agreed on the price our driver showed us his car…or should I say pickup truck. There was one, maybe two seats in front and theoretically unlimited seating in the back (if you saw some of the local people in these trucks you’d know what I mean). But the point is, this wasn’t your usual taxi as they never are in ports like this. So me and the other guy jumped in the back while the girl of the group sat up front. We then made a 40 minute drive deep into the island though palm tree fields and down dirt roads, all in away that made you really feel like you weren’t apart of a cruise ship, you felt as if it was a safari, and mind you I was standing in the back grabbing on to some rail that ran up and behind the cab. An many pot holes and dirt roads later we arrived at tourist central in the middle of a forest.
It took some time to bypass the old white tourists that made this place feel like it was less special than it was, but as soon as we got around them and to the main swimming hole, you were suddenly in another world. The water was a bright blue, slightly chilly, and surrounded by huge, gorgeous trees. The best part however was just a short swim away to the other side of the swimming hole where about a dozen local teens were climbing in the trees and swinging off a huge rope swing. Here was the magic.
I swam over and was instantly greeted by all the locals and the few younger tourists brave enough to make the swim over. Looking up you saw a huge rope swing hanging off this large branch that stretched far over the water. This single branch was purpose built by the Vanuatu God(s) for a rope swing, that’s how perfect it was. The first half stretched out parallel to the water, about 20 feet up. That lower half came to a ledge where the upper portion continued out off, shooting at a 45 degree angle into the air, ending just far enough away and just high enough for a rope swing. A younger local sat at the top of this branch swinging the swing back after each attempt to swing out of this tree.
The locals would walk the branch with unbelievable ease, get to the swing with out hesitation, and beautifully execute every maneuver during their flight. Then there was me… The carefully approached the tree climbing along side this root system that lead up from the water, stepped onto the branch and found it amazingly slippery. I quickly abandoned any hopes of walking the branch and opted for the straddling technique, though not very flattering, much less likely to kill me. Slowly I made my way out and stood at the ledge of the branch where the local guy swung the rope to me. There was another kid one step further towards the ledge watching and helping and a third one relaxing hanging onto the ascending limb telling me not to jump and to simply relax. Well, I tried the relaxing thing as best I could, stepped off the branch, swung 20 feet down and pretended my body was a skipping stone as my grip failed me directly at the bottom of my decent. Fail… I tried again, climbed the tree, straddled the branch, was told to relax, and again, Fail. Third time, was the same outcome. My friend at this point had already managed a successful swing, and me not willing to leave the Blue Hole until I succeeded took his advice for my next swing. Apparently my problem was that I was holding onto the swing in a half pull-up position, where as he figured if I swung down with my arms fully extended I’d have better luck. And believe it or not, the next four swings were all blazingly successful, each consisting of at least one full swing, and even with some culminating with my attempt at back flip dismount, which can only lead to me falling head first into the center of the lake with the most awful form imaginable. And that, my friends, was the rope swing.
This was followed by the next extreme event, high diving. We achieved the “high” half of high diving by climbing the most amazing tree I’ve ever seen. This tree seemed to be a collage of roots making a mock-ladder all the way up the trunk. The elegance of the vines winding everywhere around this tree seemed nothing short of mystical. Anyway, my friend and I climbed the tree, caught our breath, and then stared down at what must have been a 40 foot jump. Directly below us sat our spectators, maybe not the most intelligent positioning, but I guess it only added to the event. As a side note, the “Blue Hole” is called a hole because it gets considerably deep immediately after entering the water, so there was no fear of hitting the bottom with even a jump of this height. My friend jumped with not problems and signaled for me to come down. I took a deep breath, pushed off the slippery limb I was standing on, and again with everything but grace, made my way into the water and landed slightly sideways. I came up from under the water to cheers from the locals and the other cruise ship people, yet another part of the camaraderie this location created within each of us.
We were starting to run out of time and I realized that I hadn’t yet taken pictures so I swam back to where I’d left my backpack, grabbed my waterproof camera and jumped back in the water to take some pics of the blue water and trees. But as soon as I jumped in the water and turned my camera on I discovered a problem…the display screen wasn’t displaying anything! I couldn’t figure out why, and instead of fighting with it while I treaded water, I swam back to the trees for a closer look. I found that the camera did appear to be turning on and even seemed to take pictures and video, but still wasn’t showing anything in the display. Eventually, and unfortunately right when I wanted video of myself, it stopped taking pictures all together and even fell asleep to never be awaken again. More on that later.
Disappointed by the water damage to my waterproof camera, I finished up with the locals and we all returned to the taxi who was waiting to take us back to the ship. We all hopped into the back of the truck this time and had a nice ride home reflecting on what we’d just done and how great the day turned out. Oh, and all the while waving at every one we passed, who always initiated the waving because three white tourists standing in a truck bed isn’t a daily site for them. But you couldn’t ask for a friendlier people, despite the fact the area is so third world-ish.
We returned to the ship and with some time to spare picked up a local drink at a pub, enjoyed our last few minutes of Luganville. Back on the ship I did a diagnoses of the camera of which I’m giving a DOA (Dead on arrival). Opening the battery case I found water, opening the USB port I found water, and just looking at the display screen showed water had gotten under the screen. I’ve been letting it dry out but it still doesn’t want to turn on and may never be revived again. Good news however is that I have the warranty, meaning I get a new camera from best buy when I get home…bad news is that home is a month away. Well, at least I still have my iPhone for some pics. But that’s the day – certainly in my top 5 of all my days on ships. The experience was just so perfect and to be able to hang with the locals and feel so welcomed made today what I always imagine traveling should be – about the people and what they do. Thanks for reading and thanks to all my new friends in Vanuatu!
Mystery Island
April 6
Mystery Island
Mystery Island is a tiny little island pretty much designed for cruise ships. I tendered ashore with Terry and we set off to do some exploring and swimming at this tiny little place.
The island was gorgeous though, absolutely picture perfect and just what you might imagine the south Pacific to be. There wasn’t much on the island aside for a few stands that get set up specifically for ship tourists. Terry and I walked around the entire island, stopping at a couple places to swim, just a nice lazy sort of day. The highlight, however, was when we came across the Caribbean band from the ship who were sitting down at the water cracking open coconuts on the rocks and eating them (talk about a stereotype). Well that’s just the sort of thing that I was interested in doing, so I went with one of the guys, helped him bring back some coconuts after he climbed a tree and knocked them down, and went to the beach for some fresh coconut water. They showed me how to crack it the proper way (of which takes almost no skill) and I was soon enjoying my local drink. It was just another of those classic/authentic moments that I really like having that made everything perfect right then.
This was followed by another beach stop. Terry hung around for a bit but I wanted to stay and hang on that beach as long as possible and enjoy the area. There’s not much you can really say about sitting on a beach to make it sound interesting, but the one thing that was really cool was that as soon as Terry left and I laid quiet for a few minutes, a dozen little crabs emerged from the sand thinking no one else was around. It was almost Zen-like watching these crabs go to work on their little holes. They’d continuously go in and out of the holes, and with each exit, throw as much sand as their legs could hold out and away from their humble abodes. Then, a large wave would come, which they’d see immediately, and at lightning speed they’d run back to their hole, the wave would go over, and they’d pop back out and start throwing sand all over again. This made me contemplate the origin of the word “crabby”, to which I figured if my home was basically washed away every couple minutes, I wouldn’t be in such a great mood either. This stupid conclusion humored me and I continued watching. I eventually changed position and stood over a gigantic hole where I’d seen the Daddy of all sand crabs going in and out of. After another couple minutes of waiting, the small crabs decided to reemerge, but Poppa Crab who I was so eager to see up close, would do nothing more than pop his head out of his hole and immediately duck back in after seeing a large figure positioned directly overtop of him. I figure that’s the reason he got so big…caution.
Anyway, enough about the crabs. I made my way back to the ship thoroughly amused, hopped on the tender and said good bye to Mystery Island. All in all it was a nice relaxing day, one where you didn’t have a choice but to just sit down and enjoy just being where you were. Thanks for reading!
Mystery Island
Mystery Island is a tiny little island pretty much designed for cruise ships. I tendered ashore with Terry and we set off to do some exploring and swimming at this tiny little place.
The island was gorgeous though, absolutely picture perfect and just what you might imagine the south Pacific to be. There wasn’t much on the island aside for a few stands that get set up specifically for ship tourists. Terry and I walked around the entire island, stopping at a couple places to swim, just a nice lazy sort of day. The highlight, however, was when we came across the Caribbean band from the ship who were sitting down at the water cracking open coconuts on the rocks and eating them (talk about a stereotype). Well that’s just the sort of thing that I was interested in doing, so I went with one of the guys, helped him bring back some coconuts after he climbed a tree and knocked them down, and went to the beach for some fresh coconut water. They showed me how to crack it the proper way (of which takes almost no skill) and I was soon enjoying my local drink. It was just another of those classic/authentic moments that I really like having that made everything perfect right then.
This was followed by another beach stop. Terry hung around for a bit but I wanted to stay and hang on that beach as long as possible and enjoy the area. There’s not much you can really say about sitting on a beach to make it sound interesting, but the one thing that was really cool was that as soon as Terry left and I laid quiet for a few minutes, a dozen little crabs emerged from the sand thinking no one else was around. It was almost Zen-like watching these crabs go to work on their little holes. They’d continuously go in and out of the holes, and with each exit, throw as much sand as their legs could hold out and away from their humble abodes. Then, a large wave would come, which they’d see immediately, and at lightning speed they’d run back to their hole, the wave would go over, and they’d pop back out and start throwing sand all over again. This made me contemplate the origin of the word “crabby”, to which I figured if my home was basically washed away every couple minutes, I wouldn’t be in such a great mood either. This stupid conclusion humored me and I continued watching. I eventually changed position and stood over a gigantic hole where I’d seen the Daddy of all sand crabs going in and out of. After another couple minutes of waiting, the small crabs decided to reemerge, but Poppa Crab who I was so eager to see up close, would do nothing more than pop his head out of his hole and immediately duck back in after seeing a large figure positioned directly overtop of him. I figure that’s the reason he got so big…caution.
Anyway, enough about the crabs. I made my way back to the ship thoroughly amused, hopped on the tender and said good bye to Mystery Island. All in all it was a nice relaxing day, one where you didn’t have a choice but to just sit down and enjoy just being where you were. Thanks for reading!
Noumea
April 5
Noumea
Today we were in Noumea, New Caledonia. I got off the ship with Tina (yeah, the same person who got me lost on the mountain) and we went walking (after our original plan to bike failed) through the city hoping to eventually find a beach. We started out by going to some lookout, which was fine, then began walking through the back roads of the city in the direction of water, or so we thought, and maybe an hour later we found it. Today was fairly windy, thus bringing out all the wind surfers and kite boarders. Windsurfing has been on my to-do list for too long so I figured I’d look into it.
We walked down the beach that seemed to be wind-surfer-central and came across a hut that was renting out the boards and sails. To clarify, windsurfing is basically a surfboard with a sail attached in the center to use the wind for propulsion. I’ve seen wind surfers forever and never had a decent opportunity to try it – I was excited that today might just be that day. I approached the hut and asked about renting a board, to which they looked at me with a dumbfounded look. Problem was that New Caledonia is a French speaking island, yeah, go figure, and no one at the shop spoke fluent English. I tried talking with one guy who knew a little English and all I really got out of him was that the winds are too high for a beginner. Not that that would have stopped me, but the fact I couldn’t quite get any instruction if I spent the next hour floundering with a sail over my head did offer enough reason to further postpone my goal. We moved on.
The next stop was a beach where we could actually swim, as opposed to the windsurfing only area. The water was a little cool but nice, and there was a dock that stretched out into the water from which I tried (unsuccessfully) doing front flips off of. Next to this beach was another small cove overrun by Kite-boarders. Kite Boarding is where you strap a board to your feet and hold on to a big kite which then pulls you through and out of the water, a pretty cool thing to do (and also on my list). So we spent some time swimming at our beach watching the kite boarders getting pulled 30 feet out of the water by kites over at their beach, pretty cool actually. We checked them out for a bit, and not sure about how long it would take to walk back, we turned and left.
We ran across a few people from the ship as we were walking back, leading us to believe we weren’t too far from the pier, little did we know they took a bus to that beach. Anyway, we kept walking, around one cove and over another hill and past another beach, always thinking we were going to see the ship as soon as we turned the corner. This went on for over an hour, all of which bringing us closer to the last shuttle time, yet another nail biter walking through a foreign area with little knowledge of how long it would actually take to return. But hey, at least we weren’t running down anymore mountains.
But we did made it back on time, got to see a good deal of the city and do some swimming. Another successful day in my book…Thanks!
Noumea
Today we were in Noumea, New Caledonia. I got off the ship with Tina (yeah, the same person who got me lost on the mountain) and we went walking (after our original plan to bike failed) through the city hoping to eventually find a beach. We started out by going to some lookout, which was fine, then began walking through the back roads of the city in the direction of water, or so we thought, and maybe an hour later we found it. Today was fairly windy, thus bringing out all the wind surfers and kite boarders. Windsurfing has been on my to-do list for too long so I figured I’d look into it.
We walked down the beach that seemed to be wind-surfer-central and came across a hut that was renting out the boards and sails. To clarify, windsurfing is basically a surfboard with a sail attached in the center to use the wind for propulsion. I’ve seen wind surfers forever and never had a decent opportunity to try it – I was excited that today might just be that day. I approached the hut and asked about renting a board, to which they looked at me with a dumbfounded look. Problem was that New Caledonia is a French speaking island, yeah, go figure, and no one at the shop spoke fluent English. I tried talking with one guy who knew a little English and all I really got out of him was that the winds are too high for a beginner. Not that that would have stopped me, but the fact I couldn’t quite get any instruction if I spent the next hour floundering with a sail over my head did offer enough reason to further postpone my goal. We moved on.
The next stop was a beach where we could actually swim, as opposed to the windsurfing only area. The water was a little cool but nice, and there was a dock that stretched out into the water from which I tried (unsuccessfully) doing front flips off of. Next to this beach was another small cove overrun by Kite-boarders. Kite Boarding is where you strap a board to your feet and hold on to a big kite which then pulls you through and out of the water, a pretty cool thing to do (and also on my list). So we spent some time swimming at our beach watching the kite boarders getting pulled 30 feet out of the water by kites over at their beach, pretty cool actually. We checked them out for a bit, and not sure about how long it would take to walk back, we turned and left.
We ran across a few people from the ship as we were walking back, leading us to believe we weren’t too far from the pier, little did we know they took a bus to that beach. Anyway, we kept walking, around one cove and over another hill and past another beach, always thinking we were going to see the ship as soon as we turned the corner. This went on for over an hour, all of which bringing us closer to the last shuttle time, yet another nail biter walking through a foreign area with little knowledge of how long it would actually take to return. But hey, at least we weren’t running down anymore mountains.
But we did made it back on time, got to see a good deal of the city and do some swimming. Another successful day in my book…Thanks!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Sydney/Sea Days
April 2-4
Sydney/At sea/At sea
After a night out at sea we were back in Sydney and I was ready to get back to the didge shop. I’d rounded up my friends the previous night and made plans for our excursion to the store 2 blocks from the ship. Involved was my friend Moody from Virginia (a sound engineer on the ship), and Marie from France (a dancer accompanied by her boyfriend). We hung out at the store for a while and to get straight to the point, I sold Moody my old didge, Marie bought a $350 AU didge, and I bought a $500 AU didge, the best one in the store.
Ok, Ok, settle down for just a second. I actually got it at 10% off, so $450, and will get another $70 back in taxes when I go to customs, bringing it down to $380. And convert that to US dollars and you’re looking at about $250, almost nothing when compared to the many saxes, flutes, clarinet, keyboards, what have you, that I’ve had to buy over the years. And this was not only an instrument but is a piece of the culture, made and painted by an Aborigine (Kym Willis), and an amazing sounding horn. I’m gonna be famous when I come home, just you wait and see!
After that big excitement, I left the shop with both my old didge and the new didge along with my backpack to use my computer again at the nearest free internet signal. This was followed by a quest to find a new pair of headphones and ear plugs and a stop at the Apple store. It wasn’t till about then that it hit me it was 3 something and I hadn’t eaten all day (the didge store just took all my food worries), where in I stopped at a crummy sushi place, got a cheap lunch assortment, and made my way back to the ship, still carrying 20 pounds of eucalyptus wood over my shoulder.
Nothing too exciting back at the ship, we just received our new group of passengers and left Sydney for New Caledonia.
The next two sea days are nothing worth mentioning. I’ve been practicing my didge, but only for 15 minutes out of fear for cracking it (like I did to my first one by playing it too much). Thanks for reading and keep checking back!
Sydney/At sea/At sea
After a night out at sea we were back in Sydney and I was ready to get back to the didge shop. I’d rounded up my friends the previous night and made plans for our excursion to the store 2 blocks from the ship. Involved was my friend Moody from Virginia (a sound engineer on the ship), and Marie from France (a dancer accompanied by her boyfriend). We hung out at the store for a while and to get straight to the point, I sold Moody my old didge, Marie bought a $350 AU didge, and I bought a $500 AU didge, the best one in the store.
Ok, Ok, settle down for just a second. I actually got it at 10% off, so $450, and will get another $70 back in taxes when I go to customs, bringing it down to $380. And convert that to US dollars and you’re looking at about $250, almost nothing when compared to the many saxes, flutes, clarinet, keyboards, what have you, that I’ve had to buy over the years. And this was not only an instrument but is a piece of the culture, made and painted by an Aborigine (Kym Willis), and an amazing sounding horn. I’m gonna be famous when I come home, just you wait and see!
After that big excitement, I left the shop with both my old didge and the new didge along with my backpack to use my computer again at the nearest free internet signal. This was followed by a quest to find a new pair of headphones and ear plugs and a stop at the Apple store. It wasn’t till about then that it hit me it was 3 something and I hadn’t eaten all day (the didge store just took all my food worries), where in I stopped at a crummy sushi place, got a cheap lunch assortment, and made my way back to the ship, still carrying 20 pounds of eucalyptus wood over my shoulder.
Nothing too exciting back at the ship, we just received our new group of passengers and left Sydney for New Caledonia.
The next two sea days are nothing worth mentioning. I’ve been practicing my didge, but only for 15 minutes out of fear for cracking it (like I did to my first one by playing it too much). Thanks for reading and keep checking back!
Sydney
March 31-April 1
Sydney
This visit to Sydney was slightly different than the usual. Instead of docking for the day, exchanging passengers and leaving again, we had two overnight charters. This meant the passengers from our last cruise left the ship, a company sent rented out the ship for the evening and then left in the morning. Luckily for the crew, the first charter didn’t want to leave the port (as opposed to sailing to nowhere), giving the crew another overnight in Sydney, always a welcomed event.
I had big plans for Sydney on the 31st. First there was the matter of getting my hair cut, where in a friend showed me a place where you get a decent hair cut in record time and for $12 AU, or about $8 – just my style. It was just as promised, I chopped off my now overgrown mop, and am now sporting my more streamlined look.
This was followed by a trip to get money exchanged. I believe that I put this in the post last time I was in Sydney, but my goal for this Sydney was to win back the money I lost in the casino last time I was in town. To do this I was going to play roulette, bet either red or black, and double my bet every time I lost (not an entirely original idea, but mathematically much more in my favor). The trick is going in with enough money that you can double your bet multiple times, thus increasing your odds. So I changed over a decent amount of money, more than I’d like to admit to my family, and went to meet my destiny (and take some revenge for the $50 the casino owed me).
I met up with Terry, the original bad influence who took me to the Casino, and we made our way over. I sat down at one of the rapid roulette tables, put my money in the machine, and began implementing my strategy. Well, let’s put it this way…I had my revenge. I left the table with $300 more in chips than I started with, enough to compensate the prior loss and then some. 300 was the magic number for me so I stopped, cashed in my chips, and have now retired from casinos (till a better strategy hits me).
I returned to the ship at that point to play my first set of the evening, a 40 minute big band set to a room full of people who couldn’t have cared less. This was followed by hanging out in my room till the next set, a repeat of the first. It wasn’t till the end of the second set that the night could begin.
I got off the ship and met some friends at the Opera Bar, named after the famous Opera House and located on the pier just beneath it. We hung out there for a little while listening to a local duo before heading out for the infamous “World Bar”, a place one of my friends swore was guaranteed to be a good time. My group of 5 grabbed two cabs and made our way to the red light district – aptly named “Potts Point” (I wish I was kidding).
My friend described the area as a very tame Red Light district, “one you could bring your Grandma to” he told me (no wild ideas grandma!). And though it was packed with adult entertainment, it was surprisingly clean and inviting, not scummy at all. Anyways, the cabby dropped us off somewhere in the area where we then found our way to the World Bar to see what was in store.
After the guy at the gate checked our ID’s we were let into a packed club spread out over three levels (actually the top level was closed, but three sounds more impressive). Now I’m not a big club guy, nor do I go bar hopping, but you could tell this was the happening place, especially for a Tuesday night. But again, I’m not big into clubbing, and managed to have a couple drinks, talk to a couple of Swedish girls, and spend the rest of my time worrying about the escalating risk of permanent hearing loss…sorry, I kind of need my ears. It was a good vibe though so I enjoyed myself, but we left within an hour in search of a better scene.
This is where the night got weird. It started with us all getting in two cabs again, and telling our driver to take us to a bar back down town. I should have been tipped off that things were going to go downhill when I saw my cabby wearing a white hardhat with “kick me” written all over it in sharpie marker. He was an interesting guy though, older German dude from what I could gather, who I think was more interested in finding a party for himself than for us. He took us where we requested, only to find that it was past admittance hours, wherein he suggested we go to a bar of his choosing, another $10 back to where we came from at Potts Point. His bar was empty, and with the group still not satisfied, he took us somewhere else, and yet another dive. My friends in the cab with me had him talked into not charging us for the cab rides by means of buying him drinks at whatever bar he finds us. However, after three failed attempts, two of my friends (the more responsible ones) decided they had had enough and broke off from the group, and staring at either going with my responsible friends or the crazy ones with the head-geared-cabby we named George, I took the more conservative route and left the cabby.
From here we split, My friends and I found some food from one of the many joints set up along the street, ran into another group of Swedish girls (go figure), and caught a cab back to the ship, returning us at about 4 am. I concluded the night in a buddy’s room playing Mario cart for Wii, maybe not the most exciting ending, but a far better result than ending up who knows where with a crack-pot cabby with two guys that couldn’t see straight.
The next day was completely off so I left the ship when I managed to wake up (around 1:30) and tried to get some internet time in. I only had till 5 when we were scheduled to leave with the next charter so I was kind of pressed for time. My other goal for the day was to find a decent Didgeridoo shop to check out seeing as my interest had sparked the interest of two friends of mine, both of whom I’d love to see playing the didge. I figured I’d ask the aborigine playing didge on the pier where I could find a shop, a good idea, and he directed me back towards the ship to a small souvenir shop with a good deal of didges in the window. Sydney is packed with souvenir shops, all o which have didgeridoos in the windows and this place looked no different, but when a guy in a loin cloth and body paint tells you to check something out, you do it.
I walked in the shop, grabbed a few didges, was fairly surprised at the quality, and spent the next 90 minutes talking to the retailer about his horns. Let me also add that the owner was quite impressed with my playing and almost fell over when I told him I’d been playing for just over 2 weeks. But I was running out of time and told the guy I’d be back the next day with some friends to check out the didges again. I left, hopped on the ship and waited for the second charter to finish so I could get back to the didge store.
And that’s it for the day…keep reading for the continuation of this nail biter (yeah, maybe not quite, but thanks for hanging in there).
Sydney
This visit to Sydney was slightly different than the usual. Instead of docking for the day, exchanging passengers and leaving again, we had two overnight charters. This meant the passengers from our last cruise left the ship, a company sent rented out the ship for the evening and then left in the morning. Luckily for the crew, the first charter didn’t want to leave the port (as opposed to sailing to nowhere), giving the crew another overnight in Sydney, always a welcomed event.
I had big plans for Sydney on the 31st. First there was the matter of getting my hair cut, where in a friend showed me a place where you get a decent hair cut in record time and for $12 AU, or about $8 – just my style. It was just as promised, I chopped off my now overgrown mop, and am now sporting my more streamlined look.
This was followed by a trip to get money exchanged. I believe that I put this in the post last time I was in Sydney, but my goal for this Sydney was to win back the money I lost in the casino last time I was in town. To do this I was going to play roulette, bet either red or black, and double my bet every time I lost (not an entirely original idea, but mathematically much more in my favor). The trick is going in with enough money that you can double your bet multiple times, thus increasing your odds. So I changed over a decent amount of money, more than I’d like to admit to my family, and went to meet my destiny (and take some revenge for the $50 the casino owed me).
I met up with Terry, the original bad influence who took me to the Casino, and we made our way over. I sat down at one of the rapid roulette tables, put my money in the machine, and began implementing my strategy. Well, let’s put it this way…I had my revenge. I left the table with $300 more in chips than I started with, enough to compensate the prior loss and then some. 300 was the magic number for me so I stopped, cashed in my chips, and have now retired from casinos (till a better strategy hits me).
I returned to the ship at that point to play my first set of the evening, a 40 minute big band set to a room full of people who couldn’t have cared less. This was followed by hanging out in my room till the next set, a repeat of the first. It wasn’t till the end of the second set that the night could begin.
I got off the ship and met some friends at the Opera Bar, named after the famous Opera House and located on the pier just beneath it. We hung out there for a little while listening to a local duo before heading out for the infamous “World Bar”, a place one of my friends swore was guaranteed to be a good time. My group of 5 grabbed two cabs and made our way to the red light district – aptly named “Potts Point” (I wish I was kidding).
My friend described the area as a very tame Red Light district, “one you could bring your Grandma to” he told me (no wild ideas grandma!). And though it was packed with adult entertainment, it was surprisingly clean and inviting, not scummy at all. Anyways, the cabby dropped us off somewhere in the area where we then found our way to the World Bar to see what was in store.
After the guy at the gate checked our ID’s we were let into a packed club spread out over three levels (actually the top level was closed, but three sounds more impressive). Now I’m not a big club guy, nor do I go bar hopping, but you could tell this was the happening place, especially for a Tuesday night. But again, I’m not big into clubbing, and managed to have a couple drinks, talk to a couple of Swedish girls, and spend the rest of my time worrying about the escalating risk of permanent hearing loss…sorry, I kind of need my ears. It was a good vibe though so I enjoyed myself, but we left within an hour in search of a better scene.
This is where the night got weird. It started with us all getting in two cabs again, and telling our driver to take us to a bar back down town. I should have been tipped off that things were going to go downhill when I saw my cabby wearing a white hardhat with “kick me” written all over it in sharpie marker. He was an interesting guy though, older German dude from what I could gather, who I think was more interested in finding a party for himself than for us. He took us where we requested, only to find that it was past admittance hours, wherein he suggested we go to a bar of his choosing, another $10 back to where we came from at Potts Point. His bar was empty, and with the group still not satisfied, he took us somewhere else, and yet another dive. My friends in the cab with me had him talked into not charging us for the cab rides by means of buying him drinks at whatever bar he finds us. However, after three failed attempts, two of my friends (the more responsible ones) decided they had had enough and broke off from the group, and staring at either going with my responsible friends or the crazy ones with the head-geared-cabby we named George, I took the more conservative route and left the cabby.
From here we split, My friends and I found some food from one of the many joints set up along the street, ran into another group of Swedish girls (go figure), and caught a cab back to the ship, returning us at about 4 am. I concluded the night in a buddy’s room playing Mario cart for Wii, maybe not the most exciting ending, but a far better result than ending up who knows where with a crack-pot cabby with two guys that couldn’t see straight.
The next day was completely off so I left the ship when I managed to wake up (around 1:30) and tried to get some internet time in. I only had till 5 when we were scheduled to leave with the next charter so I was kind of pressed for time. My other goal for the day was to find a decent Didgeridoo shop to check out seeing as my interest had sparked the interest of two friends of mine, both of whom I’d love to see playing the didge. I figured I’d ask the aborigine playing didge on the pier where I could find a shop, a good idea, and he directed me back towards the ship to a small souvenir shop with a good deal of didges in the window. Sydney is packed with souvenir shops, all o which have didgeridoos in the windows and this place looked no different, but when a guy in a loin cloth and body paint tells you to check something out, you do it.
I walked in the shop, grabbed a few didges, was fairly surprised at the quality, and spent the next 90 minutes talking to the retailer about his horns. Let me also add that the owner was quite impressed with my playing and almost fell over when I told him I’d been playing for just over 2 weeks. But I was running out of time and told the guy I’d be back the next day with some friends to check out the didges again. I left, hopped on the ship and waited for the second charter to finish so I could get back to the didge store.
And that’s it for the day…keep reading for the continuation of this nail biter (yeah, maybe not quite, but thanks for hanging in there).
Wellington
March 28
Wellington
Today was my last visit to Wellington and the last time I’d be in New Zealand during this contract. The plan was to meet up with my friend again, Lex, and just hang out for a while with him and one of the dancers from the ship (Lindsey) who also knows him. We met up around 12:30 and headed straight for lunch seeing as Lindsey and I hadn’t eaten yet.
Lunch was good, Lindsey and I spit two dishes, one was a breakfast platter, the other a burger. One of the things I’ve been most impressed by in this part of the world is the quality of their burgers. Considering burgers are more of an American stereotype, New Zealand and Australia have mastered the art of make burgers. Also, with this being our last day in NZ, Lindsey and I wanted to spend what was left of our Australian money. The meal with drinks cost 57.50NZ, we had 56NZ…and they gave us a 1.50 discount – nice. But enough talking about lunch…
Next we headed towards Lex’s neighborhood where he said they were having a block party, something I didn’t want to miss. When we got to this park area the sidewalks had a bunch of stands set up selling crafts, a few people cooking up sausages, and a stage set in the middle where one guy was beat-boxing (vocal percussion) and another was looping tracks and freestyle rapping over them. I’m not the biggest fan of rap and really never listen to it when given a choice, but what this guy was doing was absolutely amazing. Freestyle rapping means that they make up lyrics right there on the spot, something that I have actually tried doing many years ago. And this guy was improvising rhymes, stories, messages, and really just a long political poem to the rhythm of the other guy beat-boxing. Meanwhile, I’m sitting on the hill in front of the stage watching all the hippies dance, which was pretty humorous in itself. But it was a really nice time being able to go to a local festival and feel what the vibe of the city is all about, something you can’t really get on a tour. After hanging around there for a bit we realized we were running short on time, said our goodbyes to Lex, and began walking back to the shuttle drop off point.
It was a really nice day though, even though not as exciting as getting lost on a mountain, days like today are some of my favorites cause you get to actually feel like you live in the city for a second instead of treating it as a museum exhibition where all you try to do is see everything possible. Just being able to go to a great place for lunch and a block party with a friend is the perfect day, so a big thanks to Lex for hosting us and I hope to see him sometime soon in Chicago! Thanks for reading!
Wellington
Today was my last visit to Wellington and the last time I’d be in New Zealand during this contract. The plan was to meet up with my friend again, Lex, and just hang out for a while with him and one of the dancers from the ship (Lindsey) who also knows him. We met up around 12:30 and headed straight for lunch seeing as Lindsey and I hadn’t eaten yet.
Lunch was good, Lindsey and I spit two dishes, one was a breakfast platter, the other a burger. One of the things I’ve been most impressed by in this part of the world is the quality of their burgers. Considering burgers are more of an American stereotype, New Zealand and Australia have mastered the art of make burgers. Also, with this being our last day in NZ, Lindsey and I wanted to spend what was left of our Australian money. The meal with drinks cost 57.50NZ, we had 56NZ…and they gave us a 1.50 discount – nice. But enough talking about lunch…
Next we headed towards Lex’s neighborhood where he said they were having a block party, something I didn’t want to miss. When we got to this park area the sidewalks had a bunch of stands set up selling crafts, a few people cooking up sausages, and a stage set in the middle where one guy was beat-boxing (vocal percussion) and another was looping tracks and freestyle rapping over them. I’m not the biggest fan of rap and really never listen to it when given a choice, but what this guy was doing was absolutely amazing. Freestyle rapping means that they make up lyrics right there on the spot, something that I have actually tried doing many years ago. And this guy was improvising rhymes, stories, messages, and really just a long political poem to the rhythm of the other guy beat-boxing. Meanwhile, I’m sitting on the hill in front of the stage watching all the hippies dance, which was pretty humorous in itself. But it was a really nice time being able to go to a local festival and feel what the vibe of the city is all about, something you can’t really get on a tour. After hanging around there for a bit we realized we were running short on time, said our goodbyes to Lex, and began walking back to the shuttle drop off point.
It was a really nice day though, even though not as exciting as getting lost on a mountain, days like today are some of my favorites cause you get to actually feel like you live in the city for a second instead of treating it as a museum exhibition where all you try to do is see everything possible. Just being able to go to a great place for lunch and a block party with a friend is the perfect day, so a big thanks to Lex for hosting us and I hope to see him sometime soon in Chicago! Thanks for reading!
Christchurch
March 27
Christchurch
Today was my last visit to Christchurch and I’ve known what I’ve wanted to do for weeks now…more mountain climbing. And after our rehearsal at 11 that’s exactly what I did, got off the ship and headed for the highest point I could find. I managed to bring a friend along, Tina, who was supposed to go skydiving (as was I had it not been for my rehearsal) but had the trip cancelled due to high winds. I knew Tina was into fairly extreme hiking so I was happy to bring her along.
Be got into the city at 2:00 (long rehearsal) and needed to be back on board at 5, meaning I wanted to be at the shuttle around 4:30 just to be safe, 4:40 at the latest. We immediately set off through the city to find the trail that took us up the mountain, found it, and began our trek.
The first part was nice, it was a fairly rigorous climb, but we had a marked trail and a good idea as to where we were going. The first stop when we got to the top was at the Gondola, situated at one of the peaks overlooking both our port city of Lyttleton and the main city of Christchurch. We spent some time looking around there before heading off to the highest peak, the next one over from where we were.
The trail around this point was taking us in a different direction, and being the extreme hikers that we are, made our own way through the grasses and rocks till we reached the top, which we soon found to be easily accessible by road. At this point it was 3:30, we had taken all of our pictures and I was planning our route back, one that we would have to accomplish in the next hour. I wasn’t too worried because going down is always faster, so Tina and I kept pushing on in the original direction hoping to find another path down the mountain, and having spotted some resemblance of a trail much further below, we figured that we’d fight our way down to it and then follow that down to the city – wrong idea.
Anyway, we saw the path below us, found the best place to jump a fence and began making our own way down the side of the mountain to the trail. Our own way was fairly simple till the slope increased and the friendly vegetation turned to a species of thorn bush ten times more deadly than anything I’ve seen in Chicago. Undeterred we pushed (carefully) our way through, slowly approaching the trail we figured we could reach. It got ugly when, with time running out, we’d made it too far down to turn around and go back but were faced with a series of 10-15 foot drops all covered with this hideous thorn bush. But as I said, we couldn’t turn back, and with some debate over the least masochistic route through the brush we pushed forward down the rocks, through brush taller than me, and over the thorns of death.
Well, we made it, not without our fair share of scratches and cuts, but we made it! It was now approaching 4:00 and I was starting to get worried, and unsure about whether or not the trail we were on would take us to the city, we started running with the slope. The trail, however (as I later figured out), was part of the 2 km crater rim hiking trail, and we were running towards the wrong side of those 2 km. We figured out our error relatively quickly, but at this point it was 4:00, we’re in the middle of some mountain, not positive exactly how to get down, and at T-minus 30 minutes till our shuttle left. Time to get moving.
From this point on we ran, or moved as fast as our already tired legs could carry us, and followed this gorgeous trail through the forests and under the rock structures, allowing no time to stop and admire anything that we were running past. Furthermore, the trail was narrow, rocky, and anything but straight, allowing ample opportunity to twist an ankle, trip, or just flat out fall into the brush, but we didn’t have time to heed these dangers and ran relentlessly toward the only path we knew would take us back to the city.
After 35 minutes of semi-constant running through the winding, rocky trails, running at barely controllable speeds during the decent, and continuing the run through the paved city streets which offered no escape from the constant slope we’d been fighting, we did in fact return to the shuttle drop off point, boarded, and were back on the ship with 10 minutes to spare.
35 minutes might not seem that far, but when you’re stuck in thorn bushes on top of a mountain unsure of the route back to the city, the distance looks unfathomable. I was slightly nervous that we weren’t going to make it, one of the few times during these contracts that I’ve been legitimately worried about returning, and the added danger of a sprained ankle wasn’t in our favor. But we made it, it was as much excitement as I was willing to handle, and my legs have hurt for three days since the run.
So there’s my extreme hiking experience, not recommended for the faint of heart, but one that (so long as you make the deadline) is totally worth every step. Thanks for reading!
Christchurch
Today was my last visit to Christchurch and I’ve known what I’ve wanted to do for weeks now…more mountain climbing. And after our rehearsal at 11 that’s exactly what I did, got off the ship and headed for the highest point I could find. I managed to bring a friend along, Tina, who was supposed to go skydiving (as was I had it not been for my rehearsal) but had the trip cancelled due to high winds. I knew Tina was into fairly extreme hiking so I was happy to bring her along.
Be got into the city at 2:00 (long rehearsal) and needed to be back on board at 5, meaning I wanted to be at the shuttle around 4:30 just to be safe, 4:40 at the latest. We immediately set off through the city to find the trail that took us up the mountain, found it, and began our trek.
The first part was nice, it was a fairly rigorous climb, but we had a marked trail and a good idea as to where we were going. The first stop when we got to the top was at the Gondola, situated at one of the peaks overlooking both our port city of Lyttleton and the main city of Christchurch. We spent some time looking around there before heading off to the highest peak, the next one over from where we were.
The trail around this point was taking us in a different direction, and being the extreme hikers that we are, made our own way through the grasses and rocks till we reached the top, which we soon found to be easily accessible by road. At this point it was 3:30, we had taken all of our pictures and I was planning our route back, one that we would have to accomplish in the next hour. I wasn’t too worried because going down is always faster, so Tina and I kept pushing on in the original direction hoping to find another path down the mountain, and having spotted some resemblance of a trail much further below, we figured that we’d fight our way down to it and then follow that down to the city – wrong idea.
Anyway, we saw the path below us, found the best place to jump a fence and began making our own way down the side of the mountain to the trail. Our own way was fairly simple till the slope increased and the friendly vegetation turned to a species of thorn bush ten times more deadly than anything I’ve seen in Chicago. Undeterred we pushed (carefully) our way through, slowly approaching the trail we figured we could reach. It got ugly when, with time running out, we’d made it too far down to turn around and go back but were faced with a series of 10-15 foot drops all covered with this hideous thorn bush. But as I said, we couldn’t turn back, and with some debate over the least masochistic route through the brush we pushed forward down the rocks, through brush taller than me, and over the thorns of death.
Well, we made it, not without our fair share of scratches and cuts, but we made it! It was now approaching 4:00 and I was starting to get worried, and unsure about whether or not the trail we were on would take us to the city, we started running with the slope. The trail, however (as I later figured out), was part of the 2 km crater rim hiking trail, and we were running towards the wrong side of those 2 km. We figured out our error relatively quickly, but at this point it was 4:00, we’re in the middle of some mountain, not positive exactly how to get down, and at T-minus 30 minutes till our shuttle left. Time to get moving.
From this point on we ran, or moved as fast as our already tired legs could carry us, and followed this gorgeous trail through the forests and under the rock structures, allowing no time to stop and admire anything that we were running past. Furthermore, the trail was narrow, rocky, and anything but straight, allowing ample opportunity to twist an ankle, trip, or just flat out fall into the brush, but we didn’t have time to heed these dangers and ran relentlessly toward the only path we knew would take us back to the city.
After 35 minutes of semi-constant running through the winding, rocky trails, running at barely controllable speeds during the decent, and continuing the run through the paved city streets which offered no escape from the constant slope we’d been fighting, we did in fact return to the shuttle drop off point, boarded, and were back on the ship with 10 minutes to spare.
35 minutes might not seem that far, but when you’re stuck in thorn bushes on top of a mountain unsure of the route back to the city, the distance looks unfathomable. I was slightly nervous that we weren’t going to make it, one of the few times during these contracts that I’ve been legitimately worried about returning, and the added danger of a sprained ankle wasn’t in our favor. But we made it, it was as much excitement as I was willing to handle, and my legs have hurt for three days since the run.
So there’s my extreme hiking experience, not recommended for the faint of heart, but one that (so long as you make the deadline) is totally worth every step. Thanks for reading!
At Sea/Dunedin
March 23-26
At sea x3/Dunedin
We had three sea days to our next port in New Zealand, meaning not much to write about. About the only exciting thing I remember is that the captain was inviting crew up to the bridge as we sailed through the New Zealand sounds, so I went up with my friends, examined the bridge, and got to see the ship navigate the sounds. And yes, Dad, I took a lot of pictures for you.
I was in Dunedin on the 26th with the plan being to do one thing…Paintballing. For those of you who don’t know what paintball is, it’s a game where you shoot paintballs at each other at 300 feet per second, causing the paintballs to break on contact with people and denote when you’ve been hit. It can be a little painful at times, but that aside, is a great rush and tons of fun.
Paintballing today was split into two teams of 9, where we were each thrown into this large pine forest and instructed as to what games or missions we played, usually involving some form of capture the flag. The area was absolutely immense and loaded up with bunkers and wood barricades and a fake helicopter, all fun stuff to jump behind and shoot people. We played one game the simulated Saving Private Ryan and that opening scene at Normandy where the soldiers jump out of the boats and onto the beach, directly into enemy fire. For us, this was simulated by the opposing team situated at the top of the hill while we waited in a wooden box for a large panel to open and let us out. I was one of the unlucky ones this time as I got picked off by the barrage of paintballs in the first seconds of play. It was still really exciting and gives you so much respect for what those soldiers did.
We played for about 90 minutes before the bus returned to pick us up. My team ended up winning, I didn’t suffer any bad paintball wounds, and it was just an all around great time. I’m also proud to say I shot more people than shot me, so that I’ll chalk that up to a win in my book. Anyway, we picked up the bus, returned to the port city, I tried to find a café somewhere with no luck, and headed back to the ship. And that’s about it, Seeya!
At sea x3/Dunedin
We had three sea days to our next port in New Zealand, meaning not much to write about. About the only exciting thing I remember is that the captain was inviting crew up to the bridge as we sailed through the New Zealand sounds, so I went up with my friends, examined the bridge, and got to see the ship navigate the sounds. And yes, Dad, I took a lot of pictures for you.
I was in Dunedin on the 26th with the plan being to do one thing…Paintballing. For those of you who don’t know what paintball is, it’s a game where you shoot paintballs at each other at 300 feet per second, causing the paintballs to break on contact with people and denote when you’ve been hit. It can be a little painful at times, but that aside, is a great rush and tons of fun.
Paintballing today was split into two teams of 9, where we were each thrown into this large pine forest and instructed as to what games or missions we played, usually involving some form of capture the flag. The area was absolutely immense and loaded up with bunkers and wood barricades and a fake helicopter, all fun stuff to jump behind and shoot people. We played one game the simulated Saving Private Ryan and that opening scene at Normandy where the soldiers jump out of the boats and onto the beach, directly into enemy fire. For us, this was simulated by the opposing team situated at the top of the hill while we waited in a wooden box for a large panel to open and let us out. I was one of the unlucky ones this time as I got picked off by the barrage of paintballs in the first seconds of play. It was still really exciting and gives you so much respect for what those soldiers did.
We played for about 90 minutes before the bus returned to pick us up. My team ended up winning, I didn’t suffer any bad paintball wounds, and it was just an all around great time. I’m also proud to say I shot more people than shot me, so that I’ll chalk that up to a win in my book. Anyway, we picked up the bus, returned to the port city, I tried to find a café somewhere with no luck, and headed back to the ship. And that’s about it, Seeya!
Hobart, Tasmania
March 22
Hobart, Tasmania
Today was another day off the ship with the fotogs, but instead of looking for exotic animals, the plan for today was to rent a car and go driving well outside the city for a much more scenic look at south Tasmania.
I’d originally gotten off the ship with Terry and was instructed to meet at some shop around 12 to pick up my ride. I walked around the city for the morning, got a cappuccino, and then waited at the shop for 20 minutes waiting for my group to pick me up. After 20 minutes of bewilderment, I decided to start walking hoping to run into them driving through the city somewhere, and by pure coincidence, I made the right turn at just the right time and found them within 5 minutes of searching. Apparently the fotog who gave me the instructions completely forgot where and when he told me to meet him. No harm done though, and 6 of us squeezed into a car meant for 5 and we started the excursion.
I was kind of hoping to drive and actually was almost needed to rent the car seeing as I have a license from an English speaking country, but the honors instead went to the Canadian who had slightly more experience driving on the left side of the road. That was probably for the best.
After getting turned around by a confusing highway system, we eventually made it onto the right road and drove over an hour to our destinations. The first of these points was tessellated cove, or something like that, which is a long slab of rock separated by straight lines into a remarkable grid, all naturally occurring. Something about the salt water breaks the stone in long straight lines, resulting in an interesting picture of square and rectangular stones perfectly aligned.
That was followed by the “blow hole”, an inlet from the ocean that flows through a cave and opens up to a large hole in the ground, one that focuses the waves and causes large splashes to shoot up over the hole. It wasn’t exactly as exciting as I’d hoped, but it was still good for a few pics and much better than sitting in my cabin. We then did some hiking around the area, jumped a few fences, walked along some gorgeous cliffs, and just enjoyed this part of the world. It was a really nice time, and seeing as we had our own car, it was extremely laid back as we didn’t have a schedule. Everyone was having a great time. This was followed by a lunch from a lunch stand where I got a smoked salmon sandwich, one that was surprisingly delicious, even more so considering I don’t necessarily like fish.
This was followed by one more quick stop to Devil’s Kitchen, where we quickly snapped some pictures of the cliffs and rock formations only to run back to the car and speed our way back to the city. The driving was great though and is always, as I believe, one of the best ways to just get a feel for the area. My favorite part of the drive though wasn’t the scenery or the freedom, but the signs. Where we have deer crossing signs with sketches of deer, they show sketches of kangaroos and Tasmanian Devils...neither of which were seen, but just the possibility of seeing them was enough for me. The drive back went fine, my Canadian friend adapted to the roads very well, and soon we were back in Hobart dropping off the car.
Back in town I joined my friends for a drink, hung out for a bit, and eventually walked back to the ship. We had a later than usual departure time and the night off, meaning I had a little more time than usual to see stuff, time that I felt was well used. I’d say my first and only visit to Tasmania has been a great one! Thanks for reading!
Hobart, Tasmania
Today was another day off the ship with the fotogs, but instead of looking for exotic animals, the plan for today was to rent a car and go driving well outside the city for a much more scenic look at south Tasmania.
I’d originally gotten off the ship with Terry and was instructed to meet at some shop around 12 to pick up my ride. I walked around the city for the morning, got a cappuccino, and then waited at the shop for 20 minutes waiting for my group to pick me up. After 20 minutes of bewilderment, I decided to start walking hoping to run into them driving through the city somewhere, and by pure coincidence, I made the right turn at just the right time and found them within 5 minutes of searching. Apparently the fotog who gave me the instructions completely forgot where and when he told me to meet him. No harm done though, and 6 of us squeezed into a car meant for 5 and we started the excursion.
I was kind of hoping to drive and actually was almost needed to rent the car seeing as I have a license from an English speaking country, but the honors instead went to the Canadian who had slightly more experience driving on the left side of the road. That was probably for the best.
After getting turned around by a confusing highway system, we eventually made it onto the right road and drove over an hour to our destinations. The first of these points was tessellated cove, or something like that, which is a long slab of rock separated by straight lines into a remarkable grid, all naturally occurring. Something about the salt water breaks the stone in long straight lines, resulting in an interesting picture of square and rectangular stones perfectly aligned.
That was followed by the “blow hole”, an inlet from the ocean that flows through a cave and opens up to a large hole in the ground, one that focuses the waves and causes large splashes to shoot up over the hole. It wasn’t exactly as exciting as I’d hoped, but it was still good for a few pics and much better than sitting in my cabin. We then did some hiking around the area, jumped a few fences, walked along some gorgeous cliffs, and just enjoyed this part of the world. It was a really nice time, and seeing as we had our own car, it was extremely laid back as we didn’t have a schedule. Everyone was having a great time. This was followed by a lunch from a lunch stand where I got a smoked salmon sandwich, one that was surprisingly delicious, even more so considering I don’t necessarily like fish.
This was followed by one more quick stop to Devil’s Kitchen, where we quickly snapped some pictures of the cliffs and rock formations only to run back to the car and speed our way back to the city. The driving was great though and is always, as I believe, one of the best ways to just get a feel for the area. My favorite part of the drive though wasn’t the scenery or the freedom, but the signs. Where we have deer crossing signs with sketches of deer, they show sketches of kangaroos and Tasmanian Devils...neither of which were seen, but just the possibility of seeing them was enough for me. The drive back went fine, my Canadian friend adapted to the roads very well, and soon we were back in Hobart dropping off the car.
Back in town I joined my friends for a drink, hung out for a bit, and eventually walked back to the ship. We had a later than usual departure time and the night off, meaning I had a little more time than usual to see stuff, time that I felt was well used. I’d say my first and only visit to Tasmania has been a great one! Thanks for reading!
Burnie, Tasmania
March 21
Burnie, Tasmania
I was excited for today because it was to be m first time in Tasmania, one of those areas you don’t really think about all that much back in the states. The plan was to get off the ship with the fotogs (photographers) to go walk along a river looking for a duck-billed platypus!
After a shuttle ride to the visitors center, we hunted down a cab which would take us the 4km out of the city and into the woods where the river lay, a river renown for platypus. The river itself was beautiful, and being with the fotogs, I knew I was going to get some good pictures. Our timing for the trip, however, was wrong, meaning our chances were next to nothing and the results reflected that. But regardless of not seeing a platypus, the hike provided beautiful scenery and the inherit fun in looking for a platypus made the trip well worth it. I did see a gigantic crayfish, but that’s not really the same thing.
The cab met us back at the road where we were returned to the ship. Not exactly the longest or most exciting day off the ship, but fun nonetheless. Thanks!
Burnie, Tasmania
I was excited for today because it was to be m first time in Tasmania, one of those areas you don’t really think about all that much back in the states. The plan was to get off the ship with the fotogs (photographers) to go walk along a river looking for a duck-billed platypus!
After a shuttle ride to the visitors center, we hunted down a cab which would take us the 4km out of the city and into the woods where the river lay, a river renown for platypus. The river itself was beautiful, and being with the fotogs, I knew I was going to get some good pictures. Our timing for the trip, however, was wrong, meaning our chances were next to nothing and the results reflected that. But regardless of not seeing a platypus, the hike provided beautiful scenery and the inherit fun in looking for a platypus made the trip well worth it. I did see a gigantic crayfish, but that’s not really the same thing.
The cab met us back at the road where we were returned to the ship. Not exactly the longest or most exciting day off the ship, but fun nonetheless. Thanks!
At Sea/Melbourne
March 19-20
At Sea/Melbourne
So I’m a week late writing this, I remember nothing from the sea day, so we’ll skip that. Melbourne was nice though, so I’ll give you that story…
I’ve actually been looking forward to Melbourne for quite some time because I have a friend from Chicago land who is studying abroad there. My friend, Steph, is one of my students’ sister, and we’ve been talking back and forth since before I left about meeting in Melbourne. Today was meant to be the big day where months of talks were meant to culminate into some epic meeting…and I overslept our meeting time.
We’d been emailing back and forth pretty recently and I recommended meeting at the ship at 9 am, that she’d take me to her 11:00 class, and then we’d figure out something from there. Well, my alarm didn’t go off, my roommate’s alarm didn’t go, and I finally came to my senses at 10:50, way later than I’d expected. So I wake up freaking out (sort of) that I totally just messed up the plan and got on my computer as soon as possible to check for any emails about what’s going on. Luckily, Steph had sent me an email that morning informing me that she was feeling ill and wasn’t going to be at the ship to meet me, and that if I wanted to meet up somewhere I should take the tram into the city and meet her at the university. This made me feel better knowing that she wasn’t outside the ship all morning waiting for me and I quickly got my things together and left the ship.
In the process of figuring out the situation I did make one air headed mistake…I left my ear buds (headphones) on the chair where I was working on my computer. It didn’t take me long to figure out that I’d left them and I was back within 10 minutes to pick them up, however, they’d already been stolen. This didn’t exactly lighten my day seeing as these headphones cost me about $100, but on the bright side, I’ve had them for almost 2 years and the left sheathing was cracked above the ear, meaning the wire was exposed and offered a really uncomfortable scratching sensation. This sensation was then only heightened by the scotch tape I’d applied to remedy the situation. So really, I did need new earphones, I just didn’t want to expedite the process via the present situation. But oh well, I took a deep breath and made a point to step off the ship with a smile, I wanted to have a good day :)
I figured out my way into the city and found my way onto the right set of trams to drop me off at the front door of Steph’s dorm. And after finding a payphone for a phone call (because reception was of no help), we were soon up in her room getting ready to head out to the beach.
We met up with a couple of Steph’s friends on the beach and everyone just hung out tanning. I wasn’t exactly in the mood to lay in the sun when there’s a whole unexplored city behind me, so I left for lunch (fish and chips), checked back for a minute, and then left the group to catch a tram back into the downtown area.
Now starting to run low on time, I picked the one area of the city that was closest and most interesting, leading me into a nice museum/art gallery, a wonderful walk over some bridges and through Federation Square, a artsy downtown area known as “Melbourne’s meeting place”. I had a great time just walking around taking in the sites for what they were, and slowly made my way back to the tram that would eventually take me back to the ship.
The tram back to the ship was an experience in itself. Seeing as I was running low on time, I took the latest tram possible for my all aboard time, which was anything but an original idea. When the tram had finally gotten to my stop (10 minutes late) I had to literally push my way into the car, and turned facing the doors, my nose might well have been pressed against the windows…that’s how packed this tram was with people all trying to get back to the ship. It dropped us off right at the all aboard time, and after a good run down the pier to try to get on the ship in time to not get in trouble, me and a number of friends made a successful return.
The city itself has been one of my favorites. It feels similar to Chicago, is a little less busy, a little more green (more trees), and has some wonderful architecture. I would have loved more time in the city and hope to return sometime for a longer stay. Thanks for reading!
At Sea/Melbourne
So I’m a week late writing this, I remember nothing from the sea day, so we’ll skip that. Melbourne was nice though, so I’ll give you that story…
I’ve actually been looking forward to Melbourne for quite some time because I have a friend from Chicago land who is studying abroad there. My friend, Steph, is one of my students’ sister, and we’ve been talking back and forth since before I left about meeting in Melbourne. Today was meant to be the big day where months of talks were meant to culminate into some epic meeting…and I overslept our meeting time.
We’d been emailing back and forth pretty recently and I recommended meeting at the ship at 9 am, that she’d take me to her 11:00 class, and then we’d figure out something from there. Well, my alarm didn’t go off, my roommate’s alarm didn’t go, and I finally came to my senses at 10:50, way later than I’d expected. So I wake up freaking out (sort of) that I totally just messed up the plan and got on my computer as soon as possible to check for any emails about what’s going on. Luckily, Steph had sent me an email that morning informing me that she was feeling ill and wasn’t going to be at the ship to meet me, and that if I wanted to meet up somewhere I should take the tram into the city and meet her at the university. This made me feel better knowing that she wasn’t outside the ship all morning waiting for me and I quickly got my things together and left the ship.
In the process of figuring out the situation I did make one air headed mistake…I left my ear buds (headphones) on the chair where I was working on my computer. It didn’t take me long to figure out that I’d left them and I was back within 10 minutes to pick them up, however, they’d already been stolen. This didn’t exactly lighten my day seeing as these headphones cost me about $100, but on the bright side, I’ve had them for almost 2 years and the left sheathing was cracked above the ear, meaning the wire was exposed and offered a really uncomfortable scratching sensation. This sensation was then only heightened by the scotch tape I’d applied to remedy the situation. So really, I did need new earphones, I just didn’t want to expedite the process via the present situation. But oh well, I took a deep breath and made a point to step off the ship with a smile, I wanted to have a good day :)
I figured out my way into the city and found my way onto the right set of trams to drop me off at the front door of Steph’s dorm. And after finding a payphone for a phone call (because reception was of no help), we were soon up in her room getting ready to head out to the beach.
We met up with a couple of Steph’s friends on the beach and everyone just hung out tanning. I wasn’t exactly in the mood to lay in the sun when there’s a whole unexplored city behind me, so I left for lunch (fish and chips), checked back for a minute, and then left the group to catch a tram back into the downtown area.
Now starting to run low on time, I picked the one area of the city that was closest and most interesting, leading me into a nice museum/art gallery, a wonderful walk over some bridges and through Federation Square, a artsy downtown area known as “Melbourne’s meeting place”. I had a great time just walking around taking in the sites for what they were, and slowly made my way back to the tram that would eventually take me back to the ship.
The tram back to the ship was an experience in itself. Seeing as I was running low on time, I took the latest tram possible for my all aboard time, which was anything but an original idea. When the tram had finally gotten to my stop (10 minutes late) I had to literally push my way into the car, and turned facing the doors, my nose might well have been pressed against the windows…that’s how packed this tram was with people all trying to get back to the ship. It dropped us off right at the all aboard time, and after a good run down the pier to try to get on the ship in time to not get in trouble, me and a number of friends made a successful return.
The city itself has been one of my favorites. It feels similar to Chicago, is a little less busy, a little more green (more trees), and has some wonderful architecture. I would have loved more time in the city and hope to return sometime for a longer stay. Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
At Sea/Adelaide
March 17-18
At sea/Adelaide
The sea day was as usual, just with a St. Patrick’s day thrown in, meaning little more than a big party with a lot of free drinks. I stayed in my room and practiced my didge. And that’s about it for the 17th.
Adelaide was the next port of call, and I got off the ship after my rehearsal, hopping on a shuttle around 12:30. The port time was cut short by the 40 minute shuttle ride into the city, leaving Terry and I a couple hours before we needed to be back on a shuttle back to the ship. We stopped for lunch where I got this amazing beef burger, complete with gourmet bread, a huge chunk of beef, bacon, eggs, caramelized onions, and who knows what else, but for $15 it was one of the best burgers I’ve had.
My burger stop was followed by a stop to listen to one of the street performers, an aboriginal-looking man, dressed in a red loin cloth, covered in white paint, playing didgeridoo! So after my quick didge fix and already having annoyed Terry with didgeridoo talk for the past week, we moved on.
Then we did some shopping for the usual necessities (chips, cheese, wine…) and headed back to get on the shuttle. Oh, I did buy another hat, similar to the first, but this one is black sea grass and was only $5, so I couldn’t pass it up for that price. The shuttle bus back took us the scenic route while our driver acted out his dreams of being a tour guide. It was actually a nice ride back though, I learned a few things about the area, and the beach we drove along was beautiful.
This brings me to now, sitting on the ship typing this. Tonight we’re playing Terry’s show, so that should be fine, and that’ll be about it for today. Thanks for reading and I’m going back to some more didge practicing!
At sea/Adelaide
The sea day was as usual, just with a St. Patrick’s day thrown in, meaning little more than a big party with a lot of free drinks. I stayed in my room and practiced my didge. And that’s about it for the 17th.
Adelaide was the next port of call, and I got off the ship after my rehearsal, hopping on a shuttle around 12:30. The port time was cut short by the 40 minute shuttle ride into the city, leaving Terry and I a couple hours before we needed to be back on a shuttle back to the ship. We stopped for lunch where I got this amazing beef burger, complete with gourmet bread, a huge chunk of beef, bacon, eggs, caramelized onions, and who knows what else, but for $15 it was one of the best burgers I’ve had.
My burger stop was followed by a stop to listen to one of the street performers, an aboriginal-looking man, dressed in a red loin cloth, covered in white paint, playing didgeridoo! So after my quick didge fix and already having annoyed Terry with didgeridoo talk for the past week, we moved on.
Then we did some shopping for the usual necessities (chips, cheese, wine…) and headed back to get on the shuttle. Oh, I did buy another hat, similar to the first, but this one is black sea grass and was only $5, so I couldn’t pass it up for that price. The shuttle bus back took us the scenic route while our driver acted out his dreams of being a tour guide. It was actually a nice ride back though, I learned a few things about the area, and the beach we drove along was beautiful.
This brings me to now, sitting on the ship typing this. Tonight we’re playing Terry’s show, so that should be fine, and that’ll be about it for today. Thanks for reading and I’m going back to some more didge practicing!
At Sea
March 16
At Sea
Usually I’d combine this with tomorrow’s post, but I’m on a roll right now with writing these and don’t feel like stopping. Nothing big today, a sea day and a night off, meaning I get to entertain myself all day. However, I ran into a problem today, my didge is cracked!!!!! I picked it up this morning to show my roommate that I found the best place for my embouchure, and when I played it I could feel a leak blowing onto my hands and thinning out the sound. I guess this is what happens when you buy a didge with 15 minutes of time available to check them out. I went online looking for remedies, of which I found a recommendation to play the didge no more than 15 minutes a day for the first week, 30 mins a day for the second, just to allow the wood time to get accustomed to being played. Maybe my 3 hours a day over stressed the wood a little…oops. Anyways, I took some gaff tape and taped up the crack, making sure to seal off any leaks, and then took string and tied up the top of the didge. Though I didn’t read it anywhere, I figured that binding the crack would not only keep it from growing, but would help the didge vibrate better, which after 45 minutes of wrapping and tying string, I have a didge that not only looks cooler than before, but probably even plays better. So, problem solved, at least for the time being, and I’ll be going back to my 3 hour a day practicing without further worries for that crack.
The rest of the night is off for me, which is nice. I’m writing this on the 16th just to get it done and don’t expect anything exciting for tonight. So thanks for reading, send up a prayer for my didge, and I’ll talk to you later!
At Sea
Usually I’d combine this with tomorrow’s post, but I’m on a roll right now with writing these and don’t feel like stopping. Nothing big today, a sea day and a night off, meaning I get to entertain myself all day. However, I ran into a problem today, my didge is cracked!!!!! I picked it up this morning to show my roommate that I found the best place for my embouchure, and when I played it I could feel a leak blowing onto my hands and thinning out the sound. I guess this is what happens when you buy a didge with 15 minutes of time available to check them out. I went online looking for remedies, of which I found a recommendation to play the didge no more than 15 minutes a day for the first week, 30 mins a day for the second, just to allow the wood time to get accustomed to being played. Maybe my 3 hours a day over stressed the wood a little…oops. Anyways, I took some gaff tape and taped up the crack, making sure to seal off any leaks, and then took string and tied up the top of the didge. Though I didn’t read it anywhere, I figured that binding the crack would not only keep it from growing, but would help the didge vibrate better, which after 45 minutes of wrapping and tying string, I have a didge that not only looks cooler than before, but probably even plays better. So, problem solved, at least for the time being, and I’ll be going back to my 3 hour a day practicing without further worries for that crack.
The rest of the night is off for me, which is nice. I’m writing this on the 16th just to get it done and don’t expect anything exciting for tonight. So thanks for reading, send up a prayer for my didge, and I’ll talk to you later!
Albany
March 15
Albany
Albany is another lovely little town with a main street for shopping and not much else. I walked into town alone and quickly found some friends in the small downtown area who were going to head to the beach after lunch, something that sounded just fine to me (despite yesterday’s waters being cold). Having already eaten myself, I did some exploring which led me to someone dancing in a gigantic chipmunk-like costume, a Dixieland band playing really poor Dixie music (not that I think the Chipmunk minded), and not much more. I met up with my group some time later, we took a cab to the nearest beach, found out that the water was too cold and the cool sea wind wasn’t helping the situation, and opted to play Frisbee in the grass instead. My group then split up to get back to the ship in time for their shift, a problem I didn’t have to deal with, and I hung out eating a muffin outside a café (all of which are totally useless details).
I made the walk back to the ship along a boardwalk that stretched from the beach, along the water front, to very near to our pier, a walk that would take about an hour to complete. It was gorgeous though, the sun was shining, I had nowhere to hurry to, and I just enjoyed the fresh air and scenery.
Back on the ship I had the night off, which means one thing, more didgeridoo practicing. I think I’ll try to popularize the didge in Chicago, which would be awesome…just so long as I can get my playing chops together before I get back to the states. Maybe I’ll even make up some crazy story about being stranded with aboriginal bush people for a few months where I was taught how to play didgeridoo while going on a spiritual journey through the bush. Yeah, that’ll sound good, but you’ll know the truth – thanks for reading!
Albany
Albany is another lovely little town with a main street for shopping and not much else. I walked into town alone and quickly found some friends in the small downtown area who were going to head to the beach after lunch, something that sounded just fine to me (despite yesterday’s waters being cold). Having already eaten myself, I did some exploring which led me to someone dancing in a gigantic chipmunk-like costume, a Dixieland band playing really poor Dixie music (not that I think the Chipmunk minded), and not much more. I met up with my group some time later, we took a cab to the nearest beach, found out that the water was too cold and the cool sea wind wasn’t helping the situation, and opted to play Frisbee in the grass instead. My group then split up to get back to the ship in time for their shift, a problem I didn’t have to deal with, and I hung out eating a muffin outside a café (all of which are totally useless details).
I made the walk back to the ship along a boardwalk that stretched from the beach, along the water front, to very near to our pier, a walk that would take about an hour to complete. It was gorgeous though, the sun was shining, I had nowhere to hurry to, and I just enjoyed the fresh air and scenery.
Back on the ship I had the night off, which means one thing, more didgeridoo practicing. I think I’ll try to popularize the didge in Chicago, which would be awesome…just so long as I can get my playing chops together before I get back to the states. Maybe I’ll even make up some crazy story about being stranded with aboriginal bush people for a few months where I was taught how to play didgeridoo while going on a spiritual journey through the bush. Yeah, that’ll sound good, but you’ll know the truth – thanks for reading!
Bunbury
March 14
Bunbury
I think that’s how you spell the cit I was in today. Regardless, it was a nice Australian town where I spent the day at a Seafarer’s Center (free internet!!), got Thai food with Terry, and walked to the beach to go swimming in the Indian ocean before it was too late. The beach was nice but the water was much colder than I’d been expecting, but it didn’t matter, I was determined to swim in the Indian ocean while I had the chance, and did. I had some nice waves to play around with, did some body surfing (that’s where instead of you standing on a surf board, you pretend you are the surfboard, and came back in before hypothermia set in. Ok, maybe it wasn’t that bad, but that was really the highlight of my day, and there’s not that much more to write about.
Back on the ship I practiced my didge again for hours on end and continued my new found obsession. We had a show that night where the guest bought drinks for the band, always a welcomed gesture, and that’s about it. Thanks!
Bunbury
I think that’s how you spell the cit I was in today. Regardless, it was a nice Australian town where I spent the day at a Seafarer’s Center (free internet!!), got Thai food with Terry, and walked to the beach to go swimming in the Indian ocean before it was too late. The beach was nice but the water was much colder than I’d been expecting, but it didn’t matter, I was determined to swim in the Indian ocean while I had the chance, and did. I had some nice waves to play around with, did some body surfing (that’s where instead of you standing on a surf board, you pretend you are the surfboard, and came back in before hypothermia set in. Ok, maybe it wasn’t that bad, but that was really the highlight of my day, and there’s not that much more to write about.
Back on the ship I practiced my didge again for hours on end and continued my new found obsession. We had a show that night where the guest bought drinks for the band, always a welcomed gesture, and that’s about it. Thanks!
Perth
March 13
Perth
Technically, I guess I was in Fremantle, the port just outside of Perth, but we’ll title this Perth just the same. Anyways, I’ve been excited for this port for quite a long time now because I have a friend who lives in the area. Shannon, a friend from the first 4 months aboard the Navigator, and I have been talking back and forth somewhat frequently about my visit into Perth, but in usual fashion, we waited till the last minute to try to actually plan something. She’s an army girl so I was hoping for something extreme, preferably gun related. Unfortunately, all those plans fell through and I ended up leaving the ship that morning not having a clue what I’d be doing that day.
We were meant to meet up at the terminal at 9:30 the morning and I got off the ship right around that time to go look for her. I got outside, didn’t see her, and began to wait. I waited for 25 minutes, confused both because she wasn’t there and I hadn’t received an email back from her that morning. At that point I decided to run back on the ship to look up her phone number online – something I should have written down when she first sent it to me. The ship, however, shuts down the internet at embarkation ports, so I ran on to find out I couldn’t get online…foiled. So I grabbed some change from my room and ran back off the ship desperately looking for her, still nothing. Determined to figure out where she was, I left the terminal and started to walk into the city where I hoped to find an internet café, of which I had no idea whether or not there would be one. After a lot of walking and a few directions, I found what I was looking for, went online for 30 seconds, ran outside to the first pay phone and made the phone call, which by this point, she was at the pier…all for nothing. So that confusing beginning of my day was over at about 10:30 when we met back on the ship and walked back into the city of Fremantle, a lovely little town with a good deal of shopping. We ended up walking back to the internet place to look up possibilities for what to do that day, none of which worked out. I think Australians just don’t like to work on Fridays, because between paint balling, laser tag, go carts, and anything else we could think of, every phone call came back negative.
We left the internet café with no plans, and having nothing better to do, walked into the large didgeridoo store immediately to our right. For those of you who don’t know, a didgeridoo is an aboriginal instrument native to Australia, goes back 40,000 years, and is little more than a termite-hollowed wooden pole with a beeswax mouthpiece you blow into. The sound is unmistakable and I’m fairly confident you’d recognize it if you heard it. The store gives a free lesson to anyone who walks in, so upon meeting the owner, he took us aside and showed us how to get a sound out of a didge. Matt (my brother) actually has a crummy didge at home that works enough for us to get a sound out of, so I went into this lesson with some prior experience. And after a little instruction from both employees, I was actually doing surprising well with the didges and impressing my new friends at the store. I explained that I work on the ship and play sax, at which point they asked me to bring my sax in to jam before I left the port. So with that and me hyped up about the didgeridoos, Shannon and I left to pick up my horn and go for a quick drive through town.
The drive was nice and I got to see the residential areas of the city. We also stopped on the river where I could see Perth in the distance. The drive wasn’t anything too exciting, but I always like hopping in a car and going more places than I’d otherwise be able to walking.
We returned to Didgeridoo Breath (the store) at 3:30, 30 minutes before I had to get back on the ship. In those 30 minutes I had a couple quick jams which are probably going to be put up on youtube, tried out 10 other didges, and bought one to take home with me! Yep, I bought a didge, a real one from Australia, and though I’m not totally sure how I’ll get it home, I’m really excited that I have a new instrument to learn.
I barely made it back to the ship on time, showed all my friends the new toy, and the rest of the day went as usual. I probably played the didge a couple more hours that day when I had time, really enjoying the new challenge. Can’t wait to play it for you!
Perth
Technically, I guess I was in Fremantle, the port just outside of Perth, but we’ll title this Perth just the same. Anyways, I’ve been excited for this port for quite a long time now because I have a friend who lives in the area. Shannon, a friend from the first 4 months aboard the Navigator, and I have been talking back and forth somewhat frequently about my visit into Perth, but in usual fashion, we waited till the last minute to try to actually plan something. She’s an army girl so I was hoping for something extreme, preferably gun related. Unfortunately, all those plans fell through and I ended up leaving the ship that morning not having a clue what I’d be doing that day.
We were meant to meet up at the terminal at 9:30 the morning and I got off the ship right around that time to go look for her. I got outside, didn’t see her, and began to wait. I waited for 25 minutes, confused both because she wasn’t there and I hadn’t received an email back from her that morning. At that point I decided to run back on the ship to look up her phone number online – something I should have written down when she first sent it to me. The ship, however, shuts down the internet at embarkation ports, so I ran on to find out I couldn’t get online…foiled. So I grabbed some change from my room and ran back off the ship desperately looking for her, still nothing. Determined to figure out where she was, I left the terminal and started to walk into the city where I hoped to find an internet café, of which I had no idea whether or not there would be one. After a lot of walking and a few directions, I found what I was looking for, went online for 30 seconds, ran outside to the first pay phone and made the phone call, which by this point, she was at the pier…all for nothing. So that confusing beginning of my day was over at about 10:30 when we met back on the ship and walked back into the city of Fremantle, a lovely little town with a good deal of shopping. We ended up walking back to the internet place to look up possibilities for what to do that day, none of which worked out. I think Australians just don’t like to work on Fridays, because between paint balling, laser tag, go carts, and anything else we could think of, every phone call came back negative.
We left the internet café with no plans, and having nothing better to do, walked into the large didgeridoo store immediately to our right. For those of you who don’t know, a didgeridoo is an aboriginal instrument native to Australia, goes back 40,000 years, and is little more than a termite-hollowed wooden pole with a beeswax mouthpiece you blow into. The sound is unmistakable and I’m fairly confident you’d recognize it if you heard it. The store gives a free lesson to anyone who walks in, so upon meeting the owner, he took us aside and showed us how to get a sound out of a didge. Matt (my brother) actually has a crummy didge at home that works enough for us to get a sound out of, so I went into this lesson with some prior experience. And after a little instruction from both employees, I was actually doing surprising well with the didges and impressing my new friends at the store. I explained that I work on the ship and play sax, at which point they asked me to bring my sax in to jam before I left the port. So with that and me hyped up about the didgeridoos, Shannon and I left to pick up my horn and go for a quick drive through town.
The drive was nice and I got to see the residential areas of the city. We also stopped on the river where I could see Perth in the distance. The drive wasn’t anything too exciting, but I always like hopping in a car and going more places than I’d otherwise be able to walking.
We returned to Didgeridoo Breath (the store) at 3:30, 30 minutes before I had to get back on the ship. In those 30 minutes I had a couple quick jams which are probably going to be put up on youtube, tried out 10 other didges, and bought one to take home with me! Yep, I bought a didge, a real one from Australia, and though I’m not totally sure how I’ll get it home, I’m really excited that I have a new instrument to learn.
I barely made it back to the ship on time, showed all my friends the new toy, and the rest of the day went as usual. I probably played the didge a couple more hours that day when I had time, really enjoying the new challenge. Can’t wait to play it for you!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
At Sea/Exmouth/At Sea
March 10-12
At Sea, Exmouth, At Sea
Not much to write here, the sea days were nothing out of the ordinary, and our day in Exmouth was rather uneventful as well. Exmouth, a port I was hoping to either scuba dive at or at least go swimming, was taken up by a three hour rehearsal for Supremes show. After a boat drill in the morning and our rehearsal at 11:15, it wasn’t 2:15 till I was actually able to do anything, but with us tendering and a crew all aboard time at 3:15, it wasn’t even possible to get off the ship and return in that amount of time. Unfortunately I was therefore only able to see Exmouth from a distance. Instead, I decided to go up to the sun deck with a book and get my fair share of sun for the day. Well, apparently my fair share equals about 45 minutes, as that’s how long I was able to stay up there reading before I just couldn’t take the heat any more. It was nice and all, but I haven’t sweat like that for a long time.
The second sea day, the day I’m actually writing this, is like I said, the usual. The show tonight though is a circus family, or something along those lines. It’s a nice show, but it’s a mother and father with a 10 and 12 year old, both of who are in the show. The 12 year old boy actually does his own juggling act mid way through, which is certainly impressive, but kind of sad at the same time when you think about what a normal 12 year old should be doing. I kind of wonder what he thinks about growing up in the way that he is and what kind of relationship he has with his family. I think it’s an interesting situation, something to think about at least.
Anyways, I have to get back on stage for the second show, tomorrow is Perth and the end of the first half of this circumnavigation of Australia. Seeya!
At Sea, Exmouth, At Sea
Not much to write here, the sea days were nothing out of the ordinary, and our day in Exmouth was rather uneventful as well. Exmouth, a port I was hoping to either scuba dive at or at least go swimming, was taken up by a three hour rehearsal for Supremes show. After a boat drill in the morning and our rehearsal at 11:15, it wasn’t 2:15 till I was actually able to do anything, but with us tendering and a crew all aboard time at 3:15, it wasn’t even possible to get off the ship and return in that amount of time. Unfortunately I was therefore only able to see Exmouth from a distance. Instead, I decided to go up to the sun deck with a book and get my fair share of sun for the day. Well, apparently my fair share equals about 45 minutes, as that’s how long I was able to stay up there reading before I just couldn’t take the heat any more. It was nice and all, but I haven’t sweat like that for a long time.
The second sea day, the day I’m actually writing this, is like I said, the usual. The show tonight though is a circus family, or something along those lines. It’s a nice show, but it’s a mother and father with a 10 and 12 year old, both of who are in the show. The 12 year old boy actually does his own juggling act mid way through, which is certainly impressive, but kind of sad at the same time when you think about what a normal 12 year old should be doing. I kind of wonder what he thinks about growing up in the way that he is and what kind of relationship he has with his family. I think it’s an interesting situation, something to think about at least.
Anyways, I have to get back on stage for the second show, tomorrow is Perth and the end of the first half of this circumnavigation of Australia. Seeya!
Broome
March 9
Broome
We were in Broome today, a small town in northwestern Australia…small and freaking hot! After some rehearsal scheduling confusion, I ended up getting off the ship with Aaron to help him get video footage of one of the tours – Highlights of Broome. Aaron was the guy who got me on that rafting trip for free and again needed someone to go with today. The deal was simply that I carry around a large tripod for his video camera, not such a bad gig in exchange for a tour of the city and surrounding area. So we set out around 2:45, me with the tripod playing camera man, and heading into the scorching hot Australian afternoon.
The first thing I learned was that this area sees extremely large tidal movements. On a single day, the tides can change the depth from just over 10 meters to less than 1 meter! That’s over 30 feet of tidal movement a couple times a day, something I never would have thought possible.
Our first stop on our amply air-conditioned bus was at a lighthouse and the point of the peninsula the city was built on. It was a beautiful area with some nice rock structures and a great view of world famous Cable Beach. There was also a replica dinosaur footprint that was found way out at sea, one that is only revealed at the most extreme low tides. It was probably way more interesting in person, but for the sake of telling a better story, we’ll pretend the dinosaur swam out there and left his foot print especially for my air-conditioned bus load of old people.
The next stop was at Cable Beach, a beach that is certainly in my top three of all time awesome beaches. This was the largest white sand beach I’ve ever seen! Not only did it stretch as far as you could see, but from the tide being fairly low when we arrived, the beach was unbelievably wide. It literally took minutes to get from the grass to the water, all the while walking over pristine white sand. And…this beach had tons of tiny little crabs that had this wonderful compulsion to make tiny little sand balls. And I don’t mean a couple, I mean this was the goal of every crab’s life, and they made as many tiny sand balls as their tiny crab arms would allow. The entire beach (which I think I’ve explained already as huge) was overrun, not sprinkled, not dusted, not even covered, but overrun with tiny sand balls the size of peas, all made by tiny little crabs you couldn’t see unless you really looked down amongst the sand balls. Anyway, the water was warm when I put my hand in it (Indian Ocean – sweet), the scenery was perfect, and I had to return to the bus…
Next was a stop in the city. The town itself was tiny, really nothing more than a small outpost where people sell local pearls and other jewelry. Aaron and I broke off from the group thinking we’d get back to the ship sooner for other plans (my 6:00 rehearsal), took some videos of the city, and hopped on a shuttle back to the ship.
And that’s about it for the day. Seeya
Broome
We were in Broome today, a small town in northwestern Australia…small and freaking hot! After some rehearsal scheduling confusion, I ended up getting off the ship with Aaron to help him get video footage of one of the tours – Highlights of Broome. Aaron was the guy who got me on that rafting trip for free and again needed someone to go with today. The deal was simply that I carry around a large tripod for his video camera, not such a bad gig in exchange for a tour of the city and surrounding area. So we set out around 2:45, me with the tripod playing camera man, and heading into the scorching hot Australian afternoon.
The first thing I learned was that this area sees extremely large tidal movements. On a single day, the tides can change the depth from just over 10 meters to less than 1 meter! That’s over 30 feet of tidal movement a couple times a day, something I never would have thought possible.
Our first stop on our amply air-conditioned bus was at a lighthouse and the point of the peninsula the city was built on. It was a beautiful area with some nice rock structures and a great view of world famous Cable Beach. There was also a replica dinosaur footprint that was found way out at sea, one that is only revealed at the most extreme low tides. It was probably way more interesting in person, but for the sake of telling a better story, we’ll pretend the dinosaur swam out there and left his foot print especially for my air-conditioned bus load of old people.
The next stop was at Cable Beach, a beach that is certainly in my top three of all time awesome beaches. This was the largest white sand beach I’ve ever seen! Not only did it stretch as far as you could see, but from the tide being fairly low when we arrived, the beach was unbelievably wide. It literally took minutes to get from the grass to the water, all the while walking over pristine white sand. And…this beach had tons of tiny little crabs that had this wonderful compulsion to make tiny little sand balls. And I don’t mean a couple, I mean this was the goal of every crab’s life, and they made as many tiny sand balls as their tiny crab arms would allow. The entire beach (which I think I’ve explained already as huge) was overrun, not sprinkled, not dusted, not even covered, but overrun with tiny sand balls the size of peas, all made by tiny little crabs you couldn’t see unless you really looked down amongst the sand balls. Anyway, the water was warm when I put my hand in it (Indian Ocean – sweet), the scenery was perfect, and I had to return to the bus…
Next was a stop in the city. The town itself was tiny, really nothing more than a small outpost where people sell local pearls and other jewelry. Aaron and I broke off from the group thinking we’d get back to the ship sooner for other plans (my 6:00 rehearsal), took some videos of the city, and hopped on a shuttle back to the ship.
And that’s about it for the day. Seeya
At Sea
March 7-8
At Sea
Nothing too exciting these past couple days, just sea days. We did have two decent entertainers though, a pianist who had some nice charts, and a singer that did a lot of old jazz standards. They both had nice shows to play, so that’s always a welcome change from the usual brainless charts we’re given.
The singer, Gregg, was really happy with my sax playing and couldn’t say enough about my tone and my solo in general. I was feeling pretty good about all that, till I kind of started to figure out that he was complimenting me just slightly too aggressively, meaning he didn’t just like my playing, but liked me…yeah – wasn’t feeling so good any more. He ended up going to our big band set that night and sang a few tunes with us, which was cool, till he again started complimenting me a little too much and looking over a little too often. Luckily, he left the ship the next day, so after a night of fighting off awkward advances, I can now sleep better knowing he’s no longer in this country. (Who remembers the December 5th story from back in 2007? I don’t know how these situations seem to find me…don’t jump to any conclusions – ha)
And I’ll just leave it at that – thanks!
At Sea
Nothing too exciting these past couple days, just sea days. We did have two decent entertainers though, a pianist who had some nice charts, and a singer that did a lot of old jazz standards. They both had nice shows to play, so that’s always a welcome change from the usual brainless charts we’re given.
The singer, Gregg, was really happy with my sax playing and couldn’t say enough about my tone and my solo in general. I was feeling pretty good about all that, till I kind of started to figure out that he was complimenting me just slightly too aggressively, meaning he didn’t just like my playing, but liked me…yeah – wasn’t feeling so good any more. He ended up going to our big band set that night and sang a few tunes with us, which was cool, till he again started complimenting me a little too much and looking over a little too often. Luckily, he left the ship the next day, so after a night of fighting off awkward advances, I can now sleep better knowing he’s no longer in this country. (Who remembers the December 5th story from back in 2007? I don’t know how these situations seem to find me…don’t jump to any conclusions – ha)
And I’ll just leave it at that – thanks!
Darwin
March 6
Darwin
First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! Yeah, technically it’s on the 5th, but when I called home today it was the 5th there, so it’s going in this blog entry.
I was in Darwin today, a city known for its crocodiles (among other things I’m sure). There really aren’t many beaches in this area because of the salt-water crocs roaming the shores. I didn’t have too much in mind today, and after an 11:00 rehearsal, I didn’t have a ton of time. I was hoping to meet up with another local via Couch Surfing but was unable to elicit a response from anyone, so instead I got of the ship with Terry (who was doing his show tonight) and we just started walking through the city.
The shuttle dropped us off near the main pedestrian area, or The Mall, where the majority of the shopping was located. We walked through there for a bit, walked a good deal past it, figured out we hadn’t had lunch yet, and turned around to find something. We ran into some guys in the band who are notorious for getting off the ship at each port and finding fish and chips (by chips, they mean fries), and after a quick stop to talk, they pointed us in the direction of a fish and ships place that they decided was in the top 3 of all time fish and chips they’ve ever had. Now even me, not being a fan of fish, couldn’t pass up a recommendation like that, so we found the fish and chips place, a small outdoor place, aptly named “Chips & Fish” (those Australians are a creative bunch).
So we went up to the counter and ordered our lunch. The recommended fish that our friends spoke so highly of was barramundi, apparently some freshwater fish native to that area and not really anywhere else. Anyways, it was just as good as promised, and me not being a fish fan, ate absolutely everything on my plate. We also ordered ginger beer, a non-alcoholic beverage that tastes strongly of…ginger. It was pretty good I guess, carbonated ginger drink, but another one of those things you don’t really see in the states. But all in all, it was a successful lunch!
We left, Terry headed back to the ship, and I tried to walk down to the water. I made it to the shore only to find everything fenced off due to the crocodiles, which was kind of a drag seeing as I had my bathing suit on and it was 100 degrees outside. After a quick stroll through the park, I returned to the Mall to get internet access, made the “Happy Birthday” phone call home, and then meandered my way back to the ship.
I guess it wasn’t as exciting as 4 paragraphs might necessitate, but whatever, there’s my day. Darwin was nice, hot, had great fish and chips, and beach use was subject to crocodile attacks. And there you have it – Darwin Australia – Seeya!
Darwin
First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! Yeah, technically it’s on the 5th, but when I called home today it was the 5th there, so it’s going in this blog entry.
I was in Darwin today, a city known for its crocodiles (among other things I’m sure). There really aren’t many beaches in this area because of the salt-water crocs roaming the shores. I didn’t have too much in mind today, and after an 11:00 rehearsal, I didn’t have a ton of time. I was hoping to meet up with another local via Couch Surfing but was unable to elicit a response from anyone, so instead I got of the ship with Terry (who was doing his show tonight) and we just started walking through the city.
The shuttle dropped us off near the main pedestrian area, or The Mall, where the majority of the shopping was located. We walked through there for a bit, walked a good deal past it, figured out we hadn’t had lunch yet, and turned around to find something. We ran into some guys in the band who are notorious for getting off the ship at each port and finding fish and chips (by chips, they mean fries), and after a quick stop to talk, they pointed us in the direction of a fish and ships place that they decided was in the top 3 of all time fish and chips they’ve ever had. Now even me, not being a fan of fish, couldn’t pass up a recommendation like that, so we found the fish and chips place, a small outdoor place, aptly named “Chips & Fish” (those Australians are a creative bunch).
So we went up to the counter and ordered our lunch. The recommended fish that our friends spoke so highly of was barramundi, apparently some freshwater fish native to that area and not really anywhere else. Anyways, it was just as good as promised, and me not being a fish fan, ate absolutely everything on my plate. We also ordered ginger beer, a non-alcoholic beverage that tastes strongly of…ginger. It was pretty good I guess, carbonated ginger drink, but another one of those things you don’t really see in the states. But all in all, it was a successful lunch!
We left, Terry headed back to the ship, and I tried to walk down to the water. I made it to the shore only to find everything fenced off due to the crocodiles, which was kind of a drag seeing as I had my bathing suit on and it was 100 degrees outside. After a quick stroll through the park, I returned to the Mall to get internet access, made the “Happy Birthday” phone call home, and then meandered my way back to the ship.
I guess it wasn’t as exciting as 4 paragraphs might necessitate, but whatever, there’s my day. Darwin was nice, hot, had great fish and chips, and beach use was subject to crocodile attacks. And there you have it – Darwin Australia – Seeya!
At Sea
March 4-5
At Sea
Both days were spent at sea, and both offered fairly light work days. Really, most of the day was spent online or trying to amuse myself other ways. I’m working on reformatting my website though, which is about as much excitement as I’ve had these past two days. However, the 5th was met with some of the nicest seas I’ve seen. The water literally looked smooth, completely without texture. I’ve seen computerized oceans that look more real than what I saw on the 5th. This was followed by seeing a sunset, something I really don’t see enough of on ships. The 5th is also Mom’s Birthday, but I’ll include that in with the 6th seeing as the 6th where I am is much closer to the 5th back at home. Thanks!
At Sea
Both days were spent at sea, and both offered fairly light work days. Really, most of the day was spent online or trying to amuse myself other ways. I’m working on reformatting my website though, which is about as much excitement as I’ve had these past two days. However, the 5th was met with some of the nicest seas I’ve seen. The water literally looked smooth, completely without texture. I’ve seen computerized oceans that look more real than what I saw on the 5th. This was followed by seeing a sunset, something I really don’t see enough of on ships. The 5th is also Mom’s Birthday, but I’ll include that in with the 6th seeing as the 6th where I am is much closer to the 5th back at home. Thanks!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
March 3rd
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Today was an exciting day for a number of reasons. First, it was a new country that I’ve never been to, always a good thing. Second, when you look up the city on Wikipedia it has been deemed the “least livable capital city in the world”, and boasts and murder rate 3 times that of Moscow and 20-something times that of London – wow. Third, I had decided to meet up with some locals I’ve never met before! Before you get too upset by what seems to be poor decision making, let me explain how this all worked out…
Thanks to the rafting trip with Aaron, he let me know about a website named couchsurfing.com, one in which the members host travelers by letting them sleep on their couch or meeting for lunch and showing them the city. The premise is that travelers help out other travelers, and when you aren’t somewhere in the world you put up your couch, though there is no obligation to do so. Anyways, I registered on the site, instantly looked up Port Moresby, and contacted one of the two people I saw listed. After a few emails back and forth we’d worked out a meeting time and place.
I’m sure you’re asking “how can you trust the people”, and there’s really no sure fire way of being totally sure what’s going to happen, but from looking at my hosts profile and our conversations, I had a decent feeling everything would be fine. Also, she was to meet me at the pier with one of her friends, and had I not liked the look of her or her friend I’d have turned around right there and gone back to the ship – so don’t get too worried about me, I’m doing my best to minimize risk :)
So I get out to the pier at noon and find my host, Musy and her friend Shannon (a large Australian guy) waiting for me at the pier. Musy approached smiling, introduced herself and Shannon, and feeling pretty confident in the situation I hopped in the back of their Nissan and we set off for lunch. I was planning on bringing a friend with me just for the sake of not being alone, but due to a late rehearsal for a production show, I couldn’t find anyone to go with, so I just went myself.
Anyways, Musy is from Malaysia, studied law in the UK, and now works in Port Moresby. Shannon was from Brisbane and also had a job that had him working in the city. We talked during lunch about the city and their lives there, along with what I do on the ship. Both Musy and Shannon were extremely friendly and were great to talk with, I couldn’t have had two nicer hosts. We finished up lunch, they picked up my bill (thanks!) and we went out for a driving tour of the city.
It was really quite a place and did justice to what’s written on the always trustworthy Wikipedia (ha). The roads of the city weren’t in the best shape, the residential communities looked like they were straight out of one of those “help the children” commercials, and there were dogs everywhere. There was an entire residential area of metal siding huts up on stilts out in the water, just waiting for a large storm to come by and knock them down. It was really amazing to drive through the area and see how unfortunate it was, especially considering that I’m sure I didn’t even see the worst of it.
This “least livable city” is also plagued by gangs, or what they call Rascals. Shannon said his business was held at gun point on New Years by four Rascals, certainly not something you hear about all the time in the states. The ship had been warned against traveling alone through the city for just that reason, and there was even a BBQ thrown for the crew to try to keep us on the ship. But it’s because of the desperation and low employment that these Rascals exist. Meanwhile, housing costs are extremely expensive. A house around the city would rent for over $2000 per week…yeah, per week. Considering you can get a decent place in Chicago for half that per month, this was really amazing to hear.
My hosts had to return to work though and I was soon dropped off at the pier, more than excited about the day I’d just spent. I thanked my new friends as much as possible, tried offering some money for lunch (which was promptly refused), and headed back to the ship with a huge smile.
I then ran into some friends on the ship (the dancers) and I joined up with their group to head out again into the city, this time for a walking tour, We didn’t get very far, everyone was a little nervous about doing too much exploring, and first the girls returned to the ship, followed by me and two other dancers 30 minutes later. It was funny walking through the city with the dancers though because with the temperature being as hot as it was (must have been 100+), they had their shirts off. Well, nothing sticks out more than three white guys walking around, two with their shirts off. But the locals were all very nice and welcoming, they’d wave or even come up and shake our hands, and though I was initially concerned that they were looking to sell something, it seemed as if they were legitimately welcoming us, which was nice. Also, walking through their having everyone looking and waving kind of makes you feel like a movie star, so that was fun.
And now I’m back on the ship writing this blog while I wait to go watch the production show tonight. I’m looking forward to up coming ports when I try to do this again with other hosts, and I’d be more than happy if they turn out to be half as great as Musy and Shannon. One more big public thanks to them as I wish them all the best in their jobs and life in Port Moresby. I’ll be looking forward to more such adventures and as always, thanks for reading!
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Today was an exciting day for a number of reasons. First, it was a new country that I’ve never been to, always a good thing. Second, when you look up the city on Wikipedia it has been deemed the “least livable capital city in the world”, and boasts and murder rate 3 times that of Moscow and 20-something times that of London – wow. Third, I had decided to meet up with some locals I’ve never met before! Before you get too upset by what seems to be poor decision making, let me explain how this all worked out…
Thanks to the rafting trip with Aaron, he let me know about a website named couchsurfing.com, one in which the members host travelers by letting them sleep on their couch or meeting for lunch and showing them the city. The premise is that travelers help out other travelers, and when you aren’t somewhere in the world you put up your couch, though there is no obligation to do so. Anyways, I registered on the site, instantly looked up Port Moresby, and contacted one of the two people I saw listed. After a few emails back and forth we’d worked out a meeting time and place.
I’m sure you’re asking “how can you trust the people”, and there’s really no sure fire way of being totally sure what’s going to happen, but from looking at my hosts profile and our conversations, I had a decent feeling everything would be fine. Also, she was to meet me at the pier with one of her friends, and had I not liked the look of her or her friend I’d have turned around right there and gone back to the ship – so don’t get too worried about me, I’m doing my best to minimize risk :)
So I get out to the pier at noon and find my host, Musy and her friend Shannon (a large Australian guy) waiting for me at the pier. Musy approached smiling, introduced herself and Shannon, and feeling pretty confident in the situation I hopped in the back of their Nissan and we set off for lunch. I was planning on bringing a friend with me just for the sake of not being alone, but due to a late rehearsal for a production show, I couldn’t find anyone to go with, so I just went myself.
Anyways, Musy is from Malaysia, studied law in the UK, and now works in Port Moresby. Shannon was from Brisbane and also had a job that had him working in the city. We talked during lunch about the city and their lives there, along with what I do on the ship. Both Musy and Shannon were extremely friendly and were great to talk with, I couldn’t have had two nicer hosts. We finished up lunch, they picked up my bill (thanks!) and we went out for a driving tour of the city.
It was really quite a place and did justice to what’s written on the always trustworthy Wikipedia (ha). The roads of the city weren’t in the best shape, the residential communities looked like they were straight out of one of those “help the children” commercials, and there were dogs everywhere. There was an entire residential area of metal siding huts up on stilts out in the water, just waiting for a large storm to come by and knock them down. It was really amazing to drive through the area and see how unfortunate it was, especially considering that I’m sure I didn’t even see the worst of it.
This “least livable city” is also plagued by gangs, or what they call Rascals. Shannon said his business was held at gun point on New Years by four Rascals, certainly not something you hear about all the time in the states. The ship had been warned against traveling alone through the city for just that reason, and there was even a BBQ thrown for the crew to try to keep us on the ship. But it’s because of the desperation and low employment that these Rascals exist. Meanwhile, housing costs are extremely expensive. A house around the city would rent for over $2000 per week…yeah, per week. Considering you can get a decent place in Chicago for half that per month, this was really amazing to hear.
My hosts had to return to work though and I was soon dropped off at the pier, more than excited about the day I’d just spent. I thanked my new friends as much as possible, tried offering some money for lunch (which was promptly refused), and headed back to the ship with a huge smile.
I then ran into some friends on the ship (the dancers) and I joined up with their group to head out again into the city, this time for a walking tour, We didn’t get very far, everyone was a little nervous about doing too much exploring, and first the girls returned to the ship, followed by me and two other dancers 30 minutes later. It was funny walking through the city with the dancers though because with the temperature being as hot as it was (must have been 100+), they had their shirts off. Well, nothing sticks out more than three white guys walking around, two with their shirts off. But the locals were all very nice and welcoming, they’d wave or even come up and shake our hands, and though I was initially concerned that they were looking to sell something, it seemed as if they were legitimately welcoming us, which was nice. Also, walking through their having everyone looking and waving kind of makes you feel like a movie star, so that was fun.
And now I’m back on the ship writing this blog while I wait to go watch the production show tonight. I’m looking forward to up coming ports when I try to do this again with other hosts, and I’d be more than happy if they turn out to be half as great as Musy and Shannon. One more big public thanks to them as I wish them all the best in their jobs and life in Port Moresby. I’ll be looking forward to more such adventures and as always, thanks for reading!
Cairns/At Sea
March 1-2
Cairns/At Sea
The ship tendered outside of Cairns on March 1st, the port in which my original plan was to try to get off the ship and go diving at the Great Barrier Reef. Well, after a few emails to dive companies and after finding out that we were both a tender ride and a bus ride outside of the city, the diving thing just didn’t look like it was going to work out. All the dive trips leave before 9am, which doesn’t do me any good when we don’t start the tendering process till 10:30. So I needed a new plan…
My search quickly came to an end when my friend Aaron told me he had an extra ticket to go on a rafting tour – lucky me! Aaron is a Broadcast Technician, meaning he often gets free tour tickets for him and a friend so that they can shoot video for the company. Today I was that friend.
It worked out where he didn’t even bring his video equipment and we simply loaded onto a bus like any other passenger heading out for an afternoon of rafting. There were about a dozen of us in total from the ship, kind of low for 2000 total passengers. Anyways, we drove up the mountain, were given the safety speech and an overview of the grade 3 river, helmets and life jackets were distributed and we set out.
My raft consisted of my friend and me, a couple from Addison IL, and another couple from California…the raft was promptly named “Team America”. Our guide was some Japanese dude with sketchy English, but he did a great job none the less. The river (Barron River) itself didn’t have any 7 meter water falls, but was much more technical than the NZ river, meaning more work navigating through the rocks, and as I see it, more dangerous. The entire trip lasted about 90 minutes traveling down a picture perfect river cradled in some valley running down the mountain. The water was the perfect temperature, meaning some of the time was spent off the raft swimming around till the next bunch of rapids approached, meanwhile we were assured that the salt-water Crocodiles never venture as far up the river as we were rafting…luckily that was true during this trip. I got some more photos from a photographer that traveled with the rafts, along with the picture Aaron took with his waterproof camera.
We landed the raft at a pub where we were given some drinks and potato wedges, which were great. We could also buy ice cream or drinks. The coolest thing about the outdoors pub, however, was this huge golden orb spider that had set a gigantic between the roof and a crossbeam. The web was the largest I’ve seen in the wild, and the spider was by far larger than anything I’ve ever seen roaming around. The best part was that the guy selling snacks said it was only average sized, as if it needed to get any bigger than the size of my hand. Anyways, I thought it was awesome, the women who saw him usually screamed.
We took the bus back to the ship, and not having any more time to get into Cairns, we just hopped on the tender. All in all, I’d have liked to see Cairns and would have loved to go diving, but would I trade that option for a free day of rafting, you betcha!
March 2nd was a sea day sailing to Papua New Guinea, and that’s all I have to say about that.
Cairns/At Sea
The ship tendered outside of Cairns on March 1st, the port in which my original plan was to try to get off the ship and go diving at the Great Barrier Reef. Well, after a few emails to dive companies and after finding out that we were both a tender ride and a bus ride outside of the city, the diving thing just didn’t look like it was going to work out. All the dive trips leave before 9am, which doesn’t do me any good when we don’t start the tendering process till 10:30. So I needed a new plan…
My search quickly came to an end when my friend Aaron told me he had an extra ticket to go on a rafting tour – lucky me! Aaron is a Broadcast Technician, meaning he often gets free tour tickets for him and a friend so that they can shoot video for the company. Today I was that friend.
It worked out where he didn’t even bring his video equipment and we simply loaded onto a bus like any other passenger heading out for an afternoon of rafting. There were about a dozen of us in total from the ship, kind of low for 2000 total passengers. Anyways, we drove up the mountain, were given the safety speech and an overview of the grade 3 river, helmets and life jackets were distributed and we set out.
My raft consisted of my friend and me, a couple from Addison IL, and another couple from California…the raft was promptly named “Team America”. Our guide was some Japanese dude with sketchy English, but he did a great job none the less. The river (Barron River) itself didn’t have any 7 meter water falls, but was much more technical than the NZ river, meaning more work navigating through the rocks, and as I see it, more dangerous. The entire trip lasted about 90 minutes traveling down a picture perfect river cradled in some valley running down the mountain. The water was the perfect temperature, meaning some of the time was spent off the raft swimming around till the next bunch of rapids approached, meanwhile we were assured that the salt-water Crocodiles never venture as far up the river as we were rafting…luckily that was true during this trip. I got some more photos from a photographer that traveled with the rafts, along with the picture Aaron took with his waterproof camera.
We landed the raft at a pub where we were given some drinks and potato wedges, which were great. We could also buy ice cream or drinks. The coolest thing about the outdoors pub, however, was this huge golden orb spider that had set a gigantic between the roof and a crossbeam. The web was the largest I’ve seen in the wild, and the spider was by far larger than anything I’ve ever seen roaming around. The best part was that the guy selling snacks said it was only average sized, as if it needed to get any bigger than the size of my hand. Anyways, I thought it was awesome, the women who saw him usually screamed.
We took the bus back to the ship, and not having any more time to get into Cairns, we just hopped on the tender. All in all, I’d have liked to see Cairns and would have loved to go diving, but would I trade that option for a free day of rafting, you betcha!
March 2nd was a sea day sailing to Papua New Guinea, and that’s all I have to say about that.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Hamilton Island
February 28
Hamilton Island
Today was a gorgeous day at a tropical island, exactly the kind of day you go on a cruise for. I got off the ship with Terry and ended up running into a youth staff friend (Keely) and the three of us set out for the recommended activity, rent a golf cart and drive around the island. So for $60 Australian (about $40 US) we split the “buggy” as they called them, and set off for whatever we could find. And being the responsible driver that I am, I was the chosen chauffeur as I took my group in whatever direction caught my ever changing fancy. Let me mention these are usual carts with the usual driver’s seat on the left, yet the law dictated that we drove on the left side of the road…so that was all good fun for me (and totally disorientating).
So we drove up and down hills, anywhere the roads could take us on the island resort. And really, that’s all the island was, a large resort that also held private estates. And the lack of power and un responsive brakes aside, we had an nice time driving in the 95+ degree weather.
Me, driving as frivolously as possible, once decided to make a turn down a little used road that caught my eye, taking us to a dead end that seemed to have a trail down to the water. Following the resemblance of a path, I got down to the shore (comprised of a large, black rocky formation). It was gorgeous and inaccessible any other way, always the sign of a good find. So after proper appreciation of the site I turned to head back, where suddenly, a gigantic lizard crosses my path. Now I don’t mean one of those tree lizards you see in Florida, but I mean a 4-foot long Godzilla lizard like I’ve never seen in the wild before. He must have been sun bathing on the rocks and I spooked him enough to send him back to his den, which I followed him to. Anyways, point is that I saw Godzilla and it was really cool. My friends, afraid of making the climb down, missed the Lizard King, but fear not, I did take pictures.
The next highlight was just a stop at the beach. My group walked on the beach or a while, which was actually really nice because believe it or not, I don’t get that many chances to just go to a beach and relax, I’m usually exploring some sort of city. But it was great just being able to take my shoes off and walk in the perfect water. I eventually did dive in, not wearing a bathing suit and thus sacrificing my future comfort in wet cotton shorts, but it was totally worth it.
We eventually headed out, dropped off the “buggy” and headed back to the tender for our return to the ship. It was a great day though, for not only could I amuse myself in a golf cart, but I got to go swimming at a lovely island beach. As always, thanks for reading!!
Hamilton Island
Today was a gorgeous day at a tropical island, exactly the kind of day you go on a cruise for. I got off the ship with Terry and ended up running into a youth staff friend (Keely) and the three of us set out for the recommended activity, rent a golf cart and drive around the island. So for $60 Australian (about $40 US) we split the “buggy” as they called them, and set off for whatever we could find. And being the responsible driver that I am, I was the chosen chauffeur as I took my group in whatever direction caught my ever changing fancy. Let me mention these are usual carts with the usual driver’s seat on the left, yet the law dictated that we drove on the left side of the road…so that was all good fun for me (and totally disorientating).
So we drove up and down hills, anywhere the roads could take us on the island resort. And really, that’s all the island was, a large resort that also held private estates. And the lack of power and un responsive brakes aside, we had an nice time driving in the 95+ degree weather.
Me, driving as frivolously as possible, once decided to make a turn down a little used road that caught my eye, taking us to a dead end that seemed to have a trail down to the water. Following the resemblance of a path, I got down to the shore (comprised of a large, black rocky formation). It was gorgeous and inaccessible any other way, always the sign of a good find. So after proper appreciation of the site I turned to head back, where suddenly, a gigantic lizard crosses my path. Now I don’t mean one of those tree lizards you see in Florida, but I mean a 4-foot long Godzilla lizard like I’ve never seen in the wild before. He must have been sun bathing on the rocks and I spooked him enough to send him back to his den, which I followed him to. Anyways, point is that I saw Godzilla and it was really cool. My friends, afraid of making the climb down, missed the Lizard King, but fear not, I did take pictures.
The next highlight was just a stop at the beach. My group walked on the beach or a while, which was actually really nice because believe it or not, I don’t get that many chances to just go to a beach and relax, I’m usually exploring some sort of city. But it was great just being able to take my shoes off and walk in the perfect water. I eventually did dive in, not wearing a bathing suit and thus sacrificing my future comfort in wet cotton shorts, but it was totally worth it.
We eventually headed out, dropped off the “buggy” and headed back to the tender for our return to the ship. It was a great day though, for not only could I amuse myself in a golf cart, but I got to go swimming at a lovely island beach. As always, thanks for reading!!
At Sea
February 27
At Sea
Nothing to say, just another sea day…though I did have some new reading material to hold my attention thanks to yesterday…ha
At Sea
Nothing to say, just another sea day…though I did have some new reading material to hold my attention thanks to yesterday…ha
At Sea/Brisbane
February 25-26
At Sea/Brisbane
*****Parental Guidance Recommended for following post*****
(I feel so official putting that there – ha. But seriously, younger readers, ask Mom or Dad first)
The sea day was nothing unusual, just hanging around the ship and a show at night. The next day in Brisbane, however, was a little more eventful.
First, we got our new guitarist on the 26th (we did last night’s show without a guitarist). And oddly enough, the new guitarist is not only from Chicago, but is actually an old friend who went to Roosevelt with me! His name is Austin, and though I didn’t play with him much in college, I certainly knew him well enough. Furthermore, he’s originally from Cary, so imagine that, two guys in the same band from practically the same city meeting up totally by chance in Australia. Anyways, he’ll be a great guitarist for the band and I’m excited to have him here.
Next, my day in Brisbane! I got off the ship as soon as I was released from boat drill and had some food, which after a 40 minute bus ride into the city, got me in at about 1:00. I got off the ship with two of the photographers, Janusz (who went rafting with me) and Matthew (a Welsh guy who I can barely understand). The first hour or so was spent walking down to the gardens and through the mangroves, until we crossed the river that the city is built around and continued walking. This eventually brought us to a beach, which was actually just a huge pool with sand brought in to imitate a beach, situated right next to the incredibly dirty river with perfect views of the city. Additionally, there were nice views of the beach goers, 3 out of 4 of which were female (my perfect beach). But seeing as neither my friends or I brought bathing suits, we just sat around for a while enjoying the favorable vantage point.
As we sat at the beach, two friends happened to wonder by and stopped to chat, informing us of an event going on a couple blocks away that we just couldn’t pass up – the Sexpo (and expo about, well, you know…). Janusz, for whatever reason, decided to stay behind while the rest of us made our way to the convention center for what we were sure would be a good time.
We arrived and after paying our $25 entrance fee (about $15 US), we were greeted at the door with a goody bag containing a few magazines, a video, and a couple other fliers all of a nature I’m sure you can guess. We walk in, get on the other side of the black wall, and are found looking a convention hall filled with odd toys, events, rides, services, and strippers. The place was very clean, let me make that much clear, and people weren’t running around topless or anything, but some tried to get as close to it as possible. Anyways, the best part of the story begins with the 2:45 performance on the main stage – a full on poll dance.
The girl performing did a very nice job, and I’ll leave all other details up to your imagination, but I do have pictures if anyone’s dying for more info. Her 10 minute dance was followed by an announcer who asked for volunteers for the next show – volunteering that would include hypnosis. And you know me, so I immediately went into the tent indicated to be prepped for the hypnosis thing, something I’ve yet to experience.
So there I am sitting in this tent with 16 other people listening to some Australian hypnotist talk to us about what’s going to happen and how he won’t make us do anything compromising in the next show, and that this precursor is to determine who can fall into the deepest hypnotic state (certainly preferable for any kind of public showing). I’m sitting on the floor, there are about 6 chairs behind me, and another decent number of people are standing towards the back. So he turns on some sound track that is blaring “relaxing” music out of a speaker way too close to me and I’m immediately bothered by it. He begins talking, telling us to relax, saying how our eyes are getting tired, our arms feel like led, and all the usual stereotypical hypnosis stuff, and all while swinging a watch from a chain – classic. Then, after a count down from ten, we were told to drop our heads and become totally relaxed, I played along. From this “relaxed” state with our head hanging down we were talked deeper into our relaxation and our trance, till the hypnotist felt confident in asking the group to perform simple activities, which is when the fun really starts.
It begins with him asking to put our arms out in front of us, tells us to pretend we’re a typewriter (which confused me because I didn’t know rather to pretend I was the actual machine or the person using it), and changes the music to sounds that resemble typing. He asks us to imagine as vividly as possible, I can tell the people next to me are getting into it, and I’m still not sure if I’m the machine or the user. But that ended and we went to the next pretend situation – we were now pianists. He plays “The Entertainer” and I pretend I’m playing along, but like actually playing along cause I know the notes. Anyways, that finishes a couple minutes later and I’ve totally messed up the first two role playing exercises (mind you, I did go into this trying my best to help him hypnotize me and am still trying, it’s just not going so well). Next I’m on a bicycle, another activity the girl sitting next to me took full advantage of. This was followed by driving in our dream car – I continued to imagine as best I could. Then he lost me again when he asked the group to milk a cow and started playing “Old McDonald” or some weird tune like that. Then we were to imagine the cow only had one “teat”, which lost me completely. I tried, but was just sitting there thinking this was stupid by that point. We continued on, he asked us to return back to the relaxed position with our heads dropped and the guy behind me slumps so far forward he’s actually leaning on me – jerk. Then we’re back to activities that I didn’t care to remember and eventually return to the relaxed phase again.
Now he says “if I tap you on the shoulder, I’m talking to you.” I figure this is it, he’s going to call me out for not buying any of his tricks, and lo and behold, he taps my shoulder. I start listening for further directions with my eyes closed…nothing happens. He taps me again with slightly more vigor and I look up to see him signaling me to stand. I approach him and find him staring at my eyes with way too much intensity when he asks me my name. “Mike” I say, maybe slightly to jovially. This is followed by him snapping his fingers and waving his hand in front of my face (a little too Jedi knight-ish) while saying “you have no name.” He gives it a moment and repeats the question, “what’s your name?” Again, I say “Mike,” totally unaffected. He thanks me, shakes my hand, and I leave while the remainder of the group sits there in some trance oblivious to the fact that I’ve left. And there ended my scientific study of Hypnosis.
I then found my friends, checked out a couple last minute things, picked up a last minute photo with the sexpo girls, and the group made its way back to the ship. And that’s it for my Brisbane experience, one I certainly won’t forget, and one where the pictures are going to be put in a file where they don’t show up unwanted on my screen saver. Thanks for reading!
At Sea/Brisbane
*****Parental Guidance Recommended for following post*****
(I feel so official putting that there – ha. But seriously, younger readers, ask Mom or Dad first)
The sea day was nothing unusual, just hanging around the ship and a show at night. The next day in Brisbane, however, was a little more eventful.
First, we got our new guitarist on the 26th (we did last night’s show without a guitarist). And oddly enough, the new guitarist is not only from Chicago, but is actually an old friend who went to Roosevelt with me! His name is Austin, and though I didn’t play with him much in college, I certainly knew him well enough. Furthermore, he’s originally from Cary, so imagine that, two guys in the same band from practically the same city meeting up totally by chance in Australia. Anyways, he’ll be a great guitarist for the band and I’m excited to have him here.
Next, my day in Brisbane! I got off the ship as soon as I was released from boat drill and had some food, which after a 40 minute bus ride into the city, got me in at about 1:00. I got off the ship with two of the photographers, Janusz (who went rafting with me) and Matthew (a Welsh guy who I can barely understand). The first hour or so was spent walking down to the gardens and through the mangroves, until we crossed the river that the city is built around and continued walking. This eventually brought us to a beach, which was actually just a huge pool with sand brought in to imitate a beach, situated right next to the incredibly dirty river with perfect views of the city. Additionally, there were nice views of the beach goers, 3 out of 4 of which were female (my perfect beach). But seeing as neither my friends or I brought bathing suits, we just sat around for a while enjoying the favorable vantage point.
As we sat at the beach, two friends happened to wonder by and stopped to chat, informing us of an event going on a couple blocks away that we just couldn’t pass up – the Sexpo (and expo about, well, you know…). Janusz, for whatever reason, decided to stay behind while the rest of us made our way to the convention center for what we were sure would be a good time.
We arrived and after paying our $25 entrance fee (about $15 US), we were greeted at the door with a goody bag containing a few magazines, a video, and a couple other fliers all of a nature I’m sure you can guess. We walk in, get on the other side of the black wall, and are found looking a convention hall filled with odd toys, events, rides, services, and strippers. The place was very clean, let me make that much clear, and people weren’t running around topless or anything, but some tried to get as close to it as possible. Anyways, the best part of the story begins with the 2:45 performance on the main stage – a full on poll dance.
The girl performing did a very nice job, and I’ll leave all other details up to your imagination, but I do have pictures if anyone’s dying for more info. Her 10 minute dance was followed by an announcer who asked for volunteers for the next show – volunteering that would include hypnosis. And you know me, so I immediately went into the tent indicated to be prepped for the hypnosis thing, something I’ve yet to experience.
So there I am sitting in this tent with 16 other people listening to some Australian hypnotist talk to us about what’s going to happen and how he won’t make us do anything compromising in the next show, and that this precursor is to determine who can fall into the deepest hypnotic state (certainly preferable for any kind of public showing). I’m sitting on the floor, there are about 6 chairs behind me, and another decent number of people are standing towards the back. So he turns on some sound track that is blaring “relaxing” music out of a speaker way too close to me and I’m immediately bothered by it. He begins talking, telling us to relax, saying how our eyes are getting tired, our arms feel like led, and all the usual stereotypical hypnosis stuff, and all while swinging a watch from a chain – classic. Then, after a count down from ten, we were told to drop our heads and become totally relaxed, I played along. From this “relaxed” state with our head hanging down we were talked deeper into our relaxation and our trance, till the hypnotist felt confident in asking the group to perform simple activities, which is when the fun really starts.
It begins with him asking to put our arms out in front of us, tells us to pretend we’re a typewriter (which confused me because I didn’t know rather to pretend I was the actual machine or the person using it), and changes the music to sounds that resemble typing. He asks us to imagine as vividly as possible, I can tell the people next to me are getting into it, and I’m still not sure if I’m the machine or the user. But that ended and we went to the next pretend situation – we were now pianists. He plays “The Entertainer” and I pretend I’m playing along, but like actually playing along cause I know the notes. Anyways, that finishes a couple minutes later and I’ve totally messed up the first two role playing exercises (mind you, I did go into this trying my best to help him hypnotize me and am still trying, it’s just not going so well). Next I’m on a bicycle, another activity the girl sitting next to me took full advantage of. This was followed by driving in our dream car – I continued to imagine as best I could. Then he lost me again when he asked the group to milk a cow and started playing “Old McDonald” or some weird tune like that. Then we were to imagine the cow only had one “teat”, which lost me completely. I tried, but was just sitting there thinking this was stupid by that point. We continued on, he asked us to return back to the relaxed position with our heads dropped and the guy behind me slumps so far forward he’s actually leaning on me – jerk. Then we’re back to activities that I didn’t care to remember and eventually return to the relaxed phase again.
Now he says “if I tap you on the shoulder, I’m talking to you.” I figure this is it, he’s going to call me out for not buying any of his tricks, and lo and behold, he taps my shoulder. I start listening for further directions with my eyes closed…nothing happens. He taps me again with slightly more vigor and I look up to see him signaling me to stand. I approach him and find him staring at my eyes with way too much intensity when he asks me my name. “Mike” I say, maybe slightly to jovially. This is followed by him snapping his fingers and waving his hand in front of my face (a little too Jedi knight-ish) while saying “you have no name.” He gives it a moment and repeats the question, “what’s your name?” Again, I say “Mike,” totally unaffected. He thanks me, shakes my hand, and I leave while the remainder of the group sits there in some trance oblivious to the fact that I’ve left. And there ended my scientific study of Hypnosis.
I then found my friends, checked out a couple last minute things, picked up a last minute photo with the sexpo girls, and the group made its way back to the ship. And that’s it for my Brisbane experience, one I certainly won’t forget, and one where the pictures are going to be put in a file where they don’t show up unwanted on my screen saver. Thanks for reading!
Sydney
February 24
Sydney
Another day back in Sydney and another day that I was able to meet up with my friend Belinda. This was the same friend who I met the first day that I flew into the city, and seeing as she lives there, I figure there’s no better guide to walk around with. I found her around 10:30 at the pier and we set out into the city. We did some meandering, the weather was perfect just to be out walking, and eventually made it to a harbor area where we could sit down for a bit and order smoothies. We left from there for a walk down to china town, found a cool little book store, and then returned to the pier. Belinda had a party to go to at the hotel where she worked and we separated just before 2:00. The highlight of the day, however, was that I finally found decent hat to wear. After searching for the past month for a cool fedora styled hat, I got one, so I guess that’s exciting – totally frivolous, but exciting none the less.
That excursion was followed by me finding my free internet area, making a phone call home, and eventually returning to the ship for departure. The rest of the day on the ship was pretty laid back. But today we leave for our circumnavigation of Australia, a 35 day trip that takes us around the entire continent, and one more thing to impress my friends with, ha. Anyways, stay tuned for more posts, thanks!
Sydney
Another day back in Sydney and another day that I was able to meet up with my friend Belinda. This was the same friend who I met the first day that I flew into the city, and seeing as she lives there, I figure there’s no better guide to walk around with. I found her around 10:30 at the pier and we set out into the city. We did some meandering, the weather was perfect just to be out walking, and eventually made it to a harbor area where we could sit down for a bit and order smoothies. We left from there for a walk down to china town, found a cool little book store, and then returned to the pier. Belinda had a party to go to at the hotel where she worked and we separated just before 2:00. The highlight of the day, however, was that I finally found decent hat to wear. After searching for the past month for a cool fedora styled hat, I got one, so I guess that’s exciting – totally frivolous, but exciting none the less.
That excursion was followed by me finding my free internet area, making a phone call home, and eventually returning to the ship for departure. The rest of the day on the ship was pretty laid back. But today we leave for our circumnavigation of Australia, a 35 day trip that takes us around the entire continent, and one more thing to impress my friends with, ha. Anyways, stay tuned for more posts, thanks!
At Sea
February 22-23
At Sea
We had our usual two days at sea as we traveled back to Sydney. There was that much that developed these two days and I spent most of my time with a book or my computer.
On the less normal side of things, one of the dancers was having a birthday and had a cross-dresser-themed party. I went up to check it out, but wearing my tux pants and a white undershirt, was slightly underdressed for the occasion. This was fixed by tying up my shirt around my chest, as I’m sure you can imagine, and instantly I fit right in...which is surely not a good thing. Anyways, I gave some people some great pictures, seriously stretched out my undershirt, and again compromised whatever integrity I have left.
The other development was that Gus, the guitarist, is leaving the ship. He had signed on with me, but after his numerous bouts with seasickness and some unfamiliarity with the gig itself, it had been decided it wasn’t maybe the right fit. Anyways, the actual point is that I lost my Spanish teacher! Gus was working with me a lot with Spanish and was always more than patient with me, which means I’m going to have to find a new Spanish friend. Well, regardless, I’m wishing him the best and hope he finds something that works out better for him the future. And that’s about it, Thanks!
At Sea
We had our usual two days at sea as we traveled back to Sydney. There was that much that developed these two days and I spent most of my time with a book or my computer.
On the less normal side of things, one of the dancers was having a birthday and had a cross-dresser-themed party. I went up to check it out, but wearing my tux pants and a white undershirt, was slightly underdressed for the occasion. This was fixed by tying up my shirt around my chest, as I’m sure you can imagine, and instantly I fit right in...which is surely not a good thing. Anyways, I gave some people some great pictures, seriously stretched out my undershirt, and again compromised whatever integrity I have left.
The other development was that Gus, the guitarist, is leaving the ship. He had signed on with me, but after his numerous bouts with seasickness and some unfamiliarity with the gig itself, it had been decided it wasn’t maybe the right fit. Anyways, the actual point is that I lost my Spanish teacher! Gus was working with me a lot with Spanish and was always more than patient with me, which means I’m going to have to find a new Spanish friend. Well, regardless, I’m wishing him the best and hope he finds something that works out better for him the future. And that’s about it, Thanks!
Bay of Islands
February 21
Bay of Islands
Today was much nicer than the previous rain in Auckland, but due to an afternoon rehearsal and an early crew all-aboard I had been allotted approximately 30 minutes in port after factoring the 30 minute tender ride to the pier. But it was my last day in Bay of Islands and my last time in New Zealand for about a month so I was determined to get off – that and I hadn’t had breakfast or lunch and really needed to eat something. I got off the ship with the trumpet player, who after seeing the pier location and realizing the little time we actually had, turned around and got right back on the tender. Me, on the other hand, started running into the small city where I stopped at the first bakery I could find and bought some large bread thing with cheese and tomatoes and peppers, which was delicious and totally worth the run over there. I ate my lunch quickly and then made the run back to the pier to catch the last possible tender without being late. It was a short time in port, but I’ll take what I can get.
There was a show that night and that’s about it for Bay of Islands. Thanks for reading!
Bay of Islands
Today was much nicer than the previous rain in Auckland, but due to an afternoon rehearsal and an early crew all-aboard I had been allotted approximately 30 minutes in port after factoring the 30 minute tender ride to the pier. But it was my last day in Bay of Islands and my last time in New Zealand for about a month so I was determined to get off – that and I hadn’t had breakfast or lunch and really needed to eat something. I got off the ship with the trumpet player, who after seeing the pier location and realizing the little time we actually had, turned around and got right back on the tender. Me, on the other hand, started running into the small city where I stopped at the first bakery I could find and bought some large bread thing with cheese and tomatoes and peppers, which was delicious and totally worth the run over there. I ate my lunch quickly and then made the run back to the pier to catch the last possible tender without being late. It was a short time in port, but I’ll take what I can get.
There was a show that night and that’s about it for Bay of Islands. Thanks for reading!
Auckland
February 20
Auckland
To remain consistent with my extreme lifestyle, today was meant to bring bungee jumping of a huge bridge in Auckland. However, due to rain, I opted for my other extreme activity…finding internet access. And after delaying my exit from the ship, running through the rain, and ordering a cappuccino, I was sitting in a café getting my much needed internet fix. This was then followed by an extreme trip to the grocery store, where I bought some extreme wine and cheese, and walked back to the ship in an extreme way. Yeah, maybe not, but I have to make up for not bungee jumping somehow.
Honestly, I can’t really remember much else from my last visit to Auckland. The rest of the day panned out as usual and my bungee jumping has been deferred till some later date – but you know you’ll be sure to hear about it when it happens. Seeya!
Auckland
To remain consistent with my extreme lifestyle, today was meant to bring bungee jumping of a huge bridge in Auckland. However, due to rain, I opted for my other extreme activity…finding internet access. And after delaying my exit from the ship, running through the rain, and ordering a cappuccino, I was sitting in a café getting my much needed internet fix. This was then followed by an extreme trip to the grocery store, where I bought some extreme wine and cheese, and walked back to the ship in an extreme way. Yeah, maybe not, but I have to make up for not bungee jumping somehow.
Honestly, I can’t really remember much else from my last visit to Auckland. The rest of the day panned out as usual and my bungee jumping has been deferred till some later date – but you know you’ll be sure to hear about it when it happens. Seeya!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Tauranga/Mount Monganue
February 19
Tauranga
Well, the tour worked out – I got to go rafting! But not without some difficulties…
I left it last night where I was just about to send the tour operator an email about final numbers, and that’s what I did as soon as I finished writing my blog. Without yet having found the other person on the ship who I was told was organizing the tour, I sent out an email 3 minutes before it was due letting the operator know to use whatever number the other crew member gave him, or if he hadn’t heard from the other crew member, that the number was 8 people (I figured that was a large enough number for him to work with us on the tour, despite me at the time knowing of 3 other people who were actually interested).
Anyways, I was lucky enough to have the internet on the ship fail last night, right when I really would have needed it working. This really complicated essential communications for a tour that was supposed to happen the next day. That aside, I did eventually find the other crew member who was said to be organizing the tour. When I talked to her that night I found out that she had no idea what the price was, pick up time, how to pay, and that she hadn’t checked her emails for a week, meaning she certainly hasn’t contacted the tour operator recently in regards to the rafting trip. I took some of her names from the list, made a few phone calls, and eventually sent out an email a midnight that night to the operator, much later than he’d asked for to get a final confirmation. That being done, I went to bed hoping that I’d get an email back in the morning saying the tour was still going to happen.
So that brings me to today, when I woke up early to check my email and find out whether or not this tour was actually going to happen. The internet was working again and I had gotten a reply from the operator, we were set up to leave that morning around 10:30-10:45...perfect. So next step – I called everyone on my list to confirm that the tour was going out that morning. I called the girl who was previously setting up the tour and she was still able to go, but after she called her contacts, she let me know all her people backed out, not good. I called the two friends of mine who I knew were ready to go, they paced their stuff and met me at the gangway. Meanwhile, the other names I had received weren’t returning my calls or pages, meaning the group that was supposed to contain 10 people had been diminished to just 3, not enough for a raft. So there I am, outside the gangway 15 minutes before the pick up time, standing there with my two friends trying to figure out how to get another few people on the tour. The girl who previously tried to organize the group did show up, but was of absolutely no use in filling out the group furthermore. So my friend Moody (he goes by his last name), started recruiting some more people while I checked the bus status and made sure everything was organized with the tour operator.
The bus was running late, thankfully, and that gave us some time to gather a few more people together. In the meantime, we were able to get a hold of a few people who were in rehearsal that had been interested in the trip, and told them to hustle down to the pier as soon as rehearsal let out. Also, there was a photographer who was interested, and due to the delays, was also able to run inside and get his stuff together when he was let off work early. By about 11:10 we had left the pier with a total group of 8, exactly the number I’d quoted the tour operator originally. I could finally relax and enjoy the tour.
We drove to the rafting company’s site where we were given gear, signed our waiver, and transported to the river. After a quick training we were off in two separate rafts, my raft in front. I was especially excited for the tour because this was going to be the first time I really got to test my camera’s underwater and shock-resistant abilities. So with a paddle in hand and my camera dangling by a lanyard from my life vest, we hit the first of three waterfalls.
The first two weren’t especially spectacular, I was almost even a bit disappointed. It was still nice to be out in a raft and doing something this cool, but we rode through those drops with little difficulty. The only problem was that the line I was grabbing onto somehow smashed my fingers, which gave me a lot of concern for the larger drop that was to come. We went through some more decent rapids before approaching the highlight of the trip, a 21 foot waterfall. This is the largest commercially rafted waterfall in the world, meaning I figured the bragging rights of having done it would be worth whatever it cost. Anyways, we set up for the fall, brace ourselves down inside the raft, and make the drop. When a raft with 7 people falls from 21 feet straight down, there’s a decent amount of downward momentum fighting floatation. The result: a fully submerged raft. Yeah, we went off the waterfall, went fully under the water, and then popped up sideways in the pool below (the group bought pictures, so I’ll try to post those online). That right there made up for any disappointment from the first two falls. We then watched the other raft make the plunge, where it surfaced with one less person…my friend Moody – so that was funny.
We continued on down the river. There were a few more rapids, one of which actually through the guide sitting on the back of the raft into the water. Because of how we went down the rapid, the back of the raft bounced up hard and threw him flying off of it, which he said hasn’t happened in years. Meanwhile, the rest of us still in the raft, go careening at full speed into a rock wall because our guide who gives the orders for forward or back is swimming behind us. The guide who went flying thought it was hilarious, the girl that almost got her head taken of by a rock ledge probably felt otherwise.
The last feature of the run was what the guides called river surfing. Usually, after the downward movement of water in a rapid, there is an upward bulge of water that you can position a raft on top of. Then, with two people in the front (me being one of them), you can dig the front of the raft into the water and get a ton of water in your face...which I’m sure is more fun than it actually sounds. Anyways, it was cool that the raft would sit on the proceeding bulge while I stared at the fast moving water right under me, which we have some good pictures of as well.
We finished the run, exited the raft, and were then transported back to the original building where it all began. After a change of clothes and us purchasing a CD of pictures taken by the professional photographer, we headed back home. We made a quick lunch stop at a convenience store, where I had a meatloaf sandwich with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, caramelized onions, and a large slice a really nice cheese. I wasn’t sure that I’d like it when I bought it but it ended up being absolutely delicious (yeah, a meatloaf sandwich, go figure).
Just cause I can’t help but mention it, we drove through a city on the way to and from the river named Te Puke. I’m sure it’s not pronounced as I would like it to be, but it was really amusing to me and my 5 year old sense of humor. From the Te Puke Car Repairs to the Old Te Puke Cemetery, it just never got old. Definitely a blog-worthy city! Maybe I should have gotten some Te Puke souvenirs…ok, I’ll stop.
Back at the ship I went through the pictures, rested for an hour, and then headed out again with Moody to climb the same mountain that I climbed last time in port. We jogged over to the base of the mountain, made the climb, and quickly came back down as we were running out of time for the day. But it was a great day off the ship and certainly one of the most physical of my ship excursions.
I went to the show that night and enjoyed a night off, nice! Thanks for reading and be sure to check for the pics!
Tauranga
Well, the tour worked out – I got to go rafting! But not without some difficulties…
I left it last night where I was just about to send the tour operator an email about final numbers, and that’s what I did as soon as I finished writing my blog. Without yet having found the other person on the ship who I was told was organizing the tour, I sent out an email 3 minutes before it was due letting the operator know to use whatever number the other crew member gave him, or if he hadn’t heard from the other crew member, that the number was 8 people (I figured that was a large enough number for him to work with us on the tour, despite me at the time knowing of 3 other people who were actually interested).
Anyways, I was lucky enough to have the internet on the ship fail last night, right when I really would have needed it working. This really complicated essential communications for a tour that was supposed to happen the next day. That aside, I did eventually find the other crew member who was said to be organizing the tour. When I talked to her that night I found out that she had no idea what the price was, pick up time, how to pay, and that she hadn’t checked her emails for a week, meaning she certainly hasn’t contacted the tour operator recently in regards to the rafting trip. I took some of her names from the list, made a few phone calls, and eventually sent out an email a midnight that night to the operator, much later than he’d asked for to get a final confirmation. That being done, I went to bed hoping that I’d get an email back in the morning saying the tour was still going to happen.
So that brings me to today, when I woke up early to check my email and find out whether or not this tour was actually going to happen. The internet was working again and I had gotten a reply from the operator, we were set up to leave that morning around 10:30-10:45...perfect. So next step – I called everyone on my list to confirm that the tour was going out that morning. I called the girl who was previously setting up the tour and she was still able to go, but after she called her contacts, she let me know all her people backed out, not good. I called the two friends of mine who I knew were ready to go, they paced their stuff and met me at the gangway. Meanwhile, the other names I had received weren’t returning my calls or pages, meaning the group that was supposed to contain 10 people had been diminished to just 3, not enough for a raft. So there I am, outside the gangway 15 minutes before the pick up time, standing there with my two friends trying to figure out how to get another few people on the tour. The girl who previously tried to organize the group did show up, but was of absolutely no use in filling out the group furthermore. So my friend Moody (he goes by his last name), started recruiting some more people while I checked the bus status and made sure everything was organized with the tour operator.
The bus was running late, thankfully, and that gave us some time to gather a few more people together. In the meantime, we were able to get a hold of a few people who were in rehearsal that had been interested in the trip, and told them to hustle down to the pier as soon as rehearsal let out. Also, there was a photographer who was interested, and due to the delays, was also able to run inside and get his stuff together when he was let off work early. By about 11:10 we had left the pier with a total group of 8, exactly the number I’d quoted the tour operator originally. I could finally relax and enjoy the tour.
We drove to the rafting company’s site where we were given gear, signed our waiver, and transported to the river. After a quick training we were off in two separate rafts, my raft in front. I was especially excited for the tour because this was going to be the first time I really got to test my camera’s underwater and shock-resistant abilities. So with a paddle in hand and my camera dangling by a lanyard from my life vest, we hit the first of three waterfalls.
The first two weren’t especially spectacular, I was almost even a bit disappointed. It was still nice to be out in a raft and doing something this cool, but we rode through those drops with little difficulty. The only problem was that the line I was grabbing onto somehow smashed my fingers, which gave me a lot of concern for the larger drop that was to come. We went through some more decent rapids before approaching the highlight of the trip, a 21 foot waterfall. This is the largest commercially rafted waterfall in the world, meaning I figured the bragging rights of having done it would be worth whatever it cost. Anyways, we set up for the fall, brace ourselves down inside the raft, and make the drop. When a raft with 7 people falls from 21 feet straight down, there’s a decent amount of downward momentum fighting floatation. The result: a fully submerged raft. Yeah, we went off the waterfall, went fully under the water, and then popped up sideways in the pool below (the group bought pictures, so I’ll try to post those online). That right there made up for any disappointment from the first two falls. We then watched the other raft make the plunge, where it surfaced with one less person…my friend Moody – so that was funny.
We continued on down the river. There were a few more rapids, one of which actually through the guide sitting on the back of the raft into the water. Because of how we went down the rapid, the back of the raft bounced up hard and threw him flying off of it, which he said hasn’t happened in years. Meanwhile, the rest of us still in the raft, go careening at full speed into a rock wall because our guide who gives the orders for forward or back is swimming behind us. The guide who went flying thought it was hilarious, the girl that almost got her head taken of by a rock ledge probably felt otherwise.
The last feature of the run was what the guides called river surfing. Usually, after the downward movement of water in a rapid, there is an upward bulge of water that you can position a raft on top of. Then, with two people in the front (me being one of them), you can dig the front of the raft into the water and get a ton of water in your face...which I’m sure is more fun than it actually sounds. Anyways, it was cool that the raft would sit on the proceeding bulge while I stared at the fast moving water right under me, which we have some good pictures of as well.
We finished the run, exited the raft, and were then transported back to the original building where it all began. After a change of clothes and us purchasing a CD of pictures taken by the professional photographer, we headed back home. We made a quick lunch stop at a convenience store, where I had a meatloaf sandwich with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, caramelized onions, and a large slice a really nice cheese. I wasn’t sure that I’d like it when I bought it but it ended up being absolutely delicious (yeah, a meatloaf sandwich, go figure).
Just cause I can’t help but mention it, we drove through a city on the way to and from the river named Te Puke. I’m sure it’s not pronounced as I would like it to be, but it was really amusing to me and my 5 year old sense of humor. From the Te Puke Car Repairs to the Old Te Puke Cemetery, it just never got old. Definitely a blog-worthy city! Maybe I should have gotten some Te Puke souvenirs…ok, I’ll stop.
Back at the ship I went through the pictures, rested for an hour, and then headed out again with Moody to climb the same mountain that I climbed last time in port. We jogged over to the base of the mountain, made the climb, and quickly came back down as we were running out of time for the day. But it was a great day off the ship and certainly one of the most physical of my ship excursions.
I went to the show that night and enjoyed a night off, nice! Thanks for reading and be sure to check for the pics!
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