Sep 2009

Well, its begun. It really is amazing to have a trip like this that has stops and starts and ultimately a continuation, albeit in what feels like a whole new experience. I left Melbourne and travelled via Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Phuket, Thailand. The trip itself was unremarkable, with a five hour layover in KL and an arrival in Phuket around 1 pm after leaving Melbourne at midnight.

With New Zealand and my time with Jess occupying most of the summer months I really had little to know idea about Thailand and have henceforth mainly winged it since I got here which has its merits and its disadvantages. The first disadvantage was that I went from Phuket airport to Patong for two nights. In Patong you witness a scene that probably plays out in various spots around southeast asia. Touristy hotels, streets packed with dirty bars, prostitutes outnumbering regular Thai women....if Dante were alive, Patong would probably fall somewhere in his 8th ring of Hell. My Thai friends back home advised me against going here, but it is an easy spot to immerse yourself into traveling around the islands. I spent two relatively quiet nights in Patong before heading about 10 kilometers south to the beach town of Kata. Much nicer, more upscale tourism, but ultimately everywhere on Phuket gave me the overwhelming feeling that I did not belong there. Sex tourists, European families, and honeymooners vacation on Phuket. Backpackers do not, and while I got in some nice beach days and rented a motorbike for an adventurous driving day around the island, the five nights on Phuket were not really ideal.

I say that because from Phuket I took a ferry 40 kilometers to Koh Phi Phi island (said Koh Pee - Pee). To be honest I did not hear great things about Phi Phi either. As you have about two dozen options when it comes to islands in southern Thailand you can more or less pick your poison. Partiers head some places, nomads go elsewhere, families, reggae stoners, divers, rock climbers, --- each island has its own specific attraction and over all vibe. Phi Phi is kind of a mixed bag of options.....you have the beach parties that go till dawn, you have diving, and there were quite a few family type areas also. The island is very small, and easily walked in a few hours. No cars and only one town add to the feeling that you are away from things. I came for two nights and ended up staying a week.

I thus missed the opportunity to go into the Gulf of Thailand to Ko Phang Yang the infamous full moon party island and the nearby chiller island of Koh Tao. But my feeling on Phi Phi was that I had everything I needed and my desire to relax and not move every day simply meant that I was going to sacrifice a few islands. Phi Phi is a special place, but its that much more special in my opinion in the off season. We are presently in the height of Thailand's rainy season which runs from June to October with the rain increasing toward the end. Lots of people questioned why I was coming this time of year, and before arriving I adopted the fatalistic attitude of just hoping for the best and expecting the worst.

Now that I'm here you realize that the monsoons you expect are really non-existent. Of my twelve days in the islands we had 3 non-beachable days, and by that I mean occassional rain all day and or clouds all day as well. All other days I saw the sun and most of them were downright beach days. It is true that the sky is clouded this time of year and even our clearest days had some clouds drifting in and out and a generally overcast sky was the norm. The sun was out but you do not get those picture postcard crystal clear days which make the tropical bays shine turquoise. If the very good but not great weather was the downside, the upside is no crowds and prices 1/3 of what they are in high season. I found Phi Phi busy, and could tell that in high season what seemed busy now would pale in comparison to what happens in December when everyone comes here. The parties were a little less rampant with most everyone on the island spreading out early in the night before converging on one or two beach bars for the midnight - 4 am final hours. Isrealis were the most predominant nationality which was unexpected.

And lastly, I stayed extra long because I chose to do my scuba diving certification course on Phi Phi. As I mentioned earlier, the dive operators on Koh Tao issue more certifications than anywhere in the world. Seemingly most backpackers and tourists go there to learn how to scuba. The Phi Phi people sold me on the idea that their operations allow you to see more and almost everyone I talked to confirmed this. I wont get into the specifics of the four day course, but can say that it was a worthwhile experience. I am not as naturally comfortable in water as I am hiking in the mountains, I struggle with swimming and still can't dive into a pool! Scuba really has nothing to do with swimming or surface diving, its much more about learning safety skills under water and then just controlling your breathing and staying calm but alert. My instructor was a 40 something ex-pat from California and was great throughout the process. After my first day of training at about 15 feet underwater my ear was really messed up and I had trouble sleeping as the pressure really got to me. I was forced to take a day off before I went out for my first dives. You need to complete a fifty question test, four dives, reach 18 meters (55 approx feet), and perform about twenty skills to get certified. In the end it was'nt all that difficult. I really enjoyed diving and hope to continue building it as a hobby.

The biggest disappointment and first real mistake I made was with the diving company I chose. There are probably three dozen companies on Phi Phi, all promising the same thing and offering a fixed rate for the course. I was talked into doing the course on Phi Phi by a laid back guy at one of the lesser known shops, and ultimately went with one of the larger shops whose exterior facade just seemed more professional. Turns out, the week of my course, our companies main dive boat broke. Of the dive sites around Phi Phi, the most famous one is called Bida Nok. The promise of seeing harmless black tip reef sharks and leapord sharks is why people dive at Phi Phi. Well my terrible choice cost me the opportunity of going to this site because the company's secondary boat was too weak to navigate the channel. I gave the owner a mouthful and demanded a reduced rate, I got a free t-shirt and the unfortunate obligation to write negative reviews to Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, and other online information sources panning the company I chose.

After the course and after seven nights of constant socializing I was ready to leave the islands. I bought a plane ticket to Bangkok via Phuket for about 70 bucks the day before the flight. Check my next post for general thoughts on Thailand, and I'll summarize Bangkok shortly.

I planned the first leg of my trip with very little preliminary research. Now its true that New Zealand was on my radar solely for the purpose of skiing in what I deem summer. But from there, my plans expanded and changed constantly, so that in the end, I spent over 70 days travelling through a country that met every one of my expectations and left me completely satisfied. I have the specs written somewhere but in the end I drove over 5,000 kilometers between nightly stays in over two dozen different towns. Would I do things differently, or advise others to do things differently? It all depends on what your circumstances are. As a solo traveller you are somewhat forced to stay in the backpackers and unless you want to sit on a tour bus for a month, the hired car is a necessity. If I had a travel partner, I think the campervan is the way to go as they are extremely functional. In terms of seasonal timing. I went in the heart of winter, which brought more rain in certain areas and limited various hiking opportunities in the far south. Apart from that, winter brought many advantages including the lack of crowds. I think, if I did not need the skiing to be the driving force of the trip, the country would be best viewed in fall - March to June, as your weather would be warmer, hiking would be available everywhere, and crowds would be lower than summer season.

I also was very happy with the length of my trip. I could have stayed longer, and I regret missing various places or rushing through others. However, New Zealand is ultimately a somewhat one dimensional place. As I have written before, you do not go to the country to see its museums or learn its history or eat its food. All of these things are pleasant enough as is the act of meeting and socializing with the locals, but in the end you stay in New Zealand for long periods of time because of an affinity for the outdoors and the uniquely compact nature of the country which allows you to skirt from oceans to mountains, from caves and gorges to temperate rainforests and volcanos all within a days drive of each other. If you want to live amongst these natural wonders, its not hard to get stuck in New Zealand forever. I was happy to spent ten weeks climbing, skiing, hiking, rafting, kayaking and generally experiencing the New Zealand outdoors. I think I ended up hiking over a hundred miles and skiing 14 days. At a different stage in life, I can see myself staying longer much longer, but for now I was content with what I saw and what I did.

So as I was originally planning this trip the need to stop in Australia loomed as a necessity. I was never keen on devoting a lot of time to the country largely because as its not really that great a place to backpack through as the distances between worthwhile stops is mind blowing. Australia has a total population roughly the size of the New York City metropolitan area scattered around a country the size of the US. This translates to a lot of sparsely populated areas. On seeing just how quickly the cities fade away into the outback, and in hearing testimonials from people who drove through the country its just amazing to think of how quiet Australia becomes once you leave the east coast.
Jess and I planned a 10 day trip that had us meeting in Sydney International Airport. We met bleary eyed at 8 am, her via New York and I via Christchurch, New Zealand. The goal was to see as much of Sydney in forty eight hours before we flew north to Cairns. Despite the lack of sleep, we both rallied and spent a full day out around the famous Sydney Harbor, Opera House, and even took a ferry to Manly Beach on the other side of the harbor. I found Sydney to be as I expected. Jess and I joked about how you always see clothing lines or businesses listing their offices as London, New York, Tokyo, and Sydney, and how it was cool to be in a city that is very much a world center. And that was how it felt. Large, but not overly Gothamesque, with upscale neighborhoods hugging a beautiful harbor and a downtown that felt a bit inundated with tourists and bit sedated due to lots of office buildings. At night we crawled to a recommended dinner spot, the travel day slowly taking its toll on us. I saw glimmers of Montreal and New York in Sydney's nightlife, definitely a cosmopolitan crowd.
The following day we took in the Aquarium and lounged around Darling Harbor, which seemed a bit over-developed to me. Jess deserves credit for lobbying for more time to spend in Sydney as I originally had planned to fly us to Cairns shortly after we arrived in Australia. I enjoyed the city, but as with all 48 hour glimpses of internationally recognized cities, I feel like I saw part of a preview to a movie. I could not possibly make any substantive conclusions on Sydney, but I can say that I enjoyed our time there and would definitely go back for longer.

And off we were again, I have to compliment Jess. Coming so far to see me, and then going even further with me....three hours of flying time followed by an hour drive in our rental car got us just north of the resort town of Port Douglas, on the far northeast coast of Australia. We were staying at a resort called Mai Tai, which I can compliment myself for finding. Its marketed as a Balinese themed retreat in the mountains outside of Port Douglas. The owners, Andre and Anthony, are a gay couple in their late 40s. Each day they had an amazing breakfast for us, plus we were always in the company of their two mountain dogs. Additionally, two of our four nights there, we were the only guests. The place only has four rooms and its very much secluded and decked out with outdoor showers and an asian themed room. Jess and I both loved it, and for me it was definitely a change from new zealand hostels.
Our time in the area alternated between lounging around Port Douglas and going on arranged day tours. We went on a supposed 'rainforest tour', but I soon realized just why I avoided the 'tours' in the first place during my time in New Zealand. Now its true, we both agreeded after the fact that we did learn a few things, and we did have a fun day altogether, but for the price, and taken as a whole the tour was a bit weak. Highlights for me were going sea kayaking where Jess saw a sea turtle. I did not have my glasses on so I thought it was a seal. We also went on a crocodile river boat, where after an hour of not seeing any crocodiles we saw a real one swimming very close by.
Our other planned day took us to the Great Barrier Reef. In short, the hype we had heard about snorkeling the reef lived up to expectations. We had a top ten day weatherwise with clear skies and low wind. I had never snorkeled before, so after the obligatory five minute freakout where I couldnt get my breathing down and Jess laughing at me, things went smoothly. We took a smaller tour that went further out on the reef and took us to three different sites. Just a great day.
The Port Douglas community kind of grows old. We certainly could have wasted a few more days there lying on the beach and doing another reef tour, but Jess wanted to see more of the country and I obviously had no problem putting a few miles on our rental car. So with that we spent one day travelling through the Atherton Tablelands. A rainforest-rolling farmland-desert area that constitutes the land about fifty miles inland from the coast. We had a great day on the road stopping at small towns, coffee shops, and waterfalls before arriving at our final destination, Mission Beach.
Mission Beach is more of a sleepy beach bum town compared to the ritzy vibe of Port Douglas. There is only one ATM and a few bars mixed in with some cafes. Its basically a very, very quiet beach town. We read that its a nice place to relax and it certainly was. We divided our time at Mission Beach between lying on the beach, something we actually had not made time to do up at Port Douglas and hiking, something Jess new I'd force her into, and something she, not being as keen on the outdoors as I, handled amazingly. To put our hike in perspective, I hiked roughly 100 miles in New Zealand and the most wildlife I saw fell in the birdlife category. I hiked for thirty minutes with Jess and we saw wallabies (small kangaroos), a three foot long Monitor Dragon, and last but certainly not least, a Cassowary. Now Cassowaries are indeed birds, but they are the size of a human and stand upright like an emu or ostrich and are aggressive and are known to attack humans with a talon on their foot. They are almost extinct and although sign postings all over Mission Beach warn drivers to be alert for the birds, sightings are rare. I'm breezing along the trail when I see a big freaking bird around the bend. Jess stayed behind me, and I more or less kept my distance and to my extreme displeasure failed to get a quality picture. Nevertheless, we saw one and it was a highlight.
Our final day was spent in Cairns city. A real sad place if you ask me. Its kind of got a Florida vibe with hotels lining the waterfront and some nice walkways near the water, but five blocks inland the city turns to vacant lots and low class establishments. In the end, we ate an amazing meal in Cairns and there is certainly enough to keep the passing traveller occupied for a day or so in the city, but we both were happy that we didn't base ourselves in the city. And with that our trip was over. We flew to Sydney and parted in the airport. Im happy Jess came and prompted me into spending a decent amount of time in Australia. I found the people extremely friendly and the country itself amazingly expansive.

(written 10 days ago) but edited and published today.

If you read the previous post it should be evident that I began my return to the road after a break in Wanaka with unplanned and unmotivated travels. Yes I was a under the weather and the weather itself was terrible, and yes, I did not really have any agenda, so while I actually turned a downer of a situation into an amazing time in Karamea, the week itself was ultimately lackluster.

On last Sunday I was in Karamea with six days left before my departure to Sydney. The forecast was for a severe storm to roll into the west coast and I knew Sunday into Monday would be a wash. The question this presented was whether to lay low in Karamea, play chess, listen to music, hang around with our in-house artist, and more or less bum away another day in the rain, or alternatively, travel 300 kilometers over Arthur's Pass which cuts through the Southern Alps and get to central Canterbury for a few more days of exploring in the Alps.

In a way, laying low in Karamea motivated me to get out of there. I had just about killed my head cold and although I knew the storm would limit the amazing views you get when driving over Arthur's Pass I figured a rainy day is better spent in the car then sitting around the lodge. So I drove about six hours on Sunday through torrential rain to get to Springfield which lies about 35 miles beyond the pass in the central part of the south island. This area is very strange. You would think that the foothills leading up to the Alps would be dotted with pleasent little mountain villages to cater to the Christchurch weekend warriors escaping to the mountains or for the backpackers who wanted to explore this regional section of the Alps. Instead this area of the country is amazingly de-void of any real town. Springfield has a pub, a few lodges, a cafe, a dinky grocery store and the last gas station for 100 kilometers. After Springfield its the mountains, and to the west you have to travel 30 kilometers to find any semblence of a town to get real provisions. In a word, its isolated.

I arrived late Sunday, went to bed and awoke to find two things out - 1. the mountains had just received about a foot of snow and, snow was forecast for Monday into Tuesday, and 2. I had to drive 30 kilometers to find the closest ski shop to hire out gear. So Monday I did a hike in the morning and get my ski gear and food provisions for a few days in the afternoon. I also met Gareth, a Sydney guy, who was spending the entire winter in New Zealand chasing powder. He was a great person to have around, as he would get up around 7 am, go online and read every mountain report, the weather forecast, wind conditions, road conditions, etc. He had already looped around the ski fields in August and had a good sense of where the best snow would be.

The plan at this point was to ski Tuesday and Wednesday and return my car to Christchurch and relax in the city Thursday and Friday before flying out Saturday, this was not quite what happened. We awoke Tuesday to find all of the local mountains 'on hold' due to wind and snow throughout the day. The same mountains were closed Monday due to blizzard conditions, so everyone was itching to get up and see how much snow was up there. Disappointment reigned supreme. Then Gareth mentioned to me that Broken River, one of the top ski fields in the area would be having night skiing and that he was going. I have not skied at night since around 1995. Its usually something I associate with amateurish or youthful crowds, as you never really have much skiable terrain lit and apart from the novelty of skiing at night, its inherenly better to ski, you know, when you can see what's around you.
With that said, I figured this would be an adventure, and boy was I right.

Broken River is a club field. Club fields in New Zealand are non-profit privately owned mountains that offer very few, if any of the amenities most of us would expect at a ski mountain. No chairlifts, no groomed runs, no employees, no lodge with a warm fire, no shuttle buses or nice big parking lots for your car. Club fields are for people who want to earn their turns. To get to the top of Broken River I had to park my car at the highway, hitchhike up with someone with a four wheel car, affix chains to their wheels about halfway up, take what is called an inclinator (which is basically a train track up a steep mountain with a box car being pulled up the track, often seen in European towns) from the car park to the ticket office, walk twenty minutes up the mountain from the ticket office to the first rope tow, and then go through the most humbling experience of the trip, which was learning how to use a nutcracker to grasp the rope tow and get up the freaking mountain. All of this was done at night, in a raging snow storm with about 50 other people. The nutcracker is what it sounds like. Its basically a clamp. You move your poles to one arm, grasp the moving rope with the other, and when moving with the rope you flick the clamp with your other arm over the rope so that you can clamp on the rope. This procedure most be completed in about 5 seconds before the rope goes through the first pulley as you need the nutcracker in place before the you get to the pulley to avoid crushing your hand. I would often fail to get the nutcracker in place in time and be forced to let go and rejoin the queue.

So Im up there at the tow with a bunch of locals, and it takes me a few tries to get this nutcracker thing going. Meanwhile, the snow is amazing. Untouched, shin deep, and falling the whole time with only five dozen of us up there skiing on it. Yes, I needed to stick with people because nothings marked and you could ski right off a cliff if you don't know where your going, but it only added to the allure of the whole night. My beard was snow covered and frozen by 10 pm when they turned the tow off.

The next day we awake to find that all the snow hasdput the mountains on hold again....grrrrr. Your group had know expanded to myself, Gareth, and two brothers from Utah Ben and Shaun, both big time skiers. Finally at 11 we see that Craigeburn has opened for the day. Craigeburn has the reputation for being the toughest mountain in New Zealand - no beginner trails, and 3 rope tows that get you 1500 meters worth of vertical in a very quick time, with steep terrain everywhere. Now I had somewhat felt better with the nutcracker but had now realized that my ability to board a tow depended on the incline and speed of the tow. The day was great with the wind blowing the powder into gullies which allowed us to have fresh tracks each time down the mountain. Its true much of the mountain was closed for avalanche and wind issues, but the main front face was open and it had a ton of snow on it. Good day.

But still, I had only gotten two half-days really and wanted more considering the snow quality and the fact that I had nowhere to really be. Thus, with Gareth's insistence the four of us decided to head to Mt. Olympus on day three. Mt. Olympus is about an hour further from Springfield from Craigeburn and Broken River. Its access requires 20 miles of driving on an unpaved treacherous mountain road, followed by a chains only four wheel drive access road for two kilometers. Not only were we not sure about taking our rental cars on the 20 mile road, we had no way of getting to the top from the parking lot.....of course we knew we'd be able to hitchhike. The drive up was a lot of fun, we ended up with a crew of 5, and needed four cars as we were all heading in different directions at the end of the day, so we had a caravan of beat up, compact rental cars going back country driving at 7AM. The goal, Mt. Olympus, because it had remained closed for the prior three days due to the fact the final 2 kilometers to the base were snowed in. A bulldozer cleared the mountain road the night before and with chains in place we all got a ride up in various 4 wheel drive vehicles. I was not disappointed. When we finally got to the top of Mt. Olympus, we had the full mountain open, with about a foot of untouched snow waiting for us. Easily the best snow conditions of the 14 ski days I got. Of course, these club fields bring the experience factor along with the basic fun of skiing. In terms of actual skiing, I did only a fraction of what I would normally do on a day in Colorado or Vermont as the tow ropes do not give you long runs, and the use of the tow ropes makes for exhausting days that tire you out quicker. Less skiing, but the skiing you get is top notch.

After my day at Mt. Olympus I drove like a bandit to Christchurch to get my car returned 10 minutes before the rental car place was due to close for the day. From there I had the wonderful fortune of meeting Simon, a family friend, who had advised my parents that he and his wife would be happy to host me for my final 2 days in New Zealand. I was a bit worried, as I admittedly was coming off of three days of skiing and 10 weeks of backpacking, my appearance would to put it lightly, upset some people. Luckily, Simon and his wife were just wonderful in every way. Simon is an ex-pat from Connecticut and his wife Wendy is a native Kiwi. They met years ago due to a shared passion for rock climbing and skiing, so it goes without saying that they were more than understanding and down right appreciative of my efforts in the club fields the previous few days. They were just wonderful hosts and we talked a lot about outdoor climbing. So after arriving Thursday evening, I spent Friday relaxing in the quaint, Oxford Englandesque city of Christchurch before flying bright and early Saturday morning to Sydney to meet Jess.

Final thoughts on New Zealand to follow.