Tag: backpacking

Chile (Julian) Feb 2015

Chile Highlights:
    We started in the capital city of Santiago, by far the most modern city we visited. A interesting city but not one of our favorites, you have to try a hot dog from one of the street vendors. The port of Valparaiso just outside Santiago was really cool, had a great hippy vibe. Kind of a San Francisco feel. From here we traveled up the coast of Chile and visited some cool small towns along the Pacific ocean. The city of San Pedro is in the Acadama desert (the driest in the world) and is a cool tiny star gazing town. Actually it is considered one of the best places in the world to look at the stars!! We didn’t visit any wine regions in Chile due to time constraints but heard they were really nice. 
 
We did not visit anything around Patagonia in South Argentina or Chile because it was so far but heard it was a amazing place.

Vietnam Cave Hiking

 

(Sadie’s post from backpacking with her brothers through southeast asia for two months) Vietnam cave hike. Tu Lan Cave System in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. This 12 hour hike traverses over and through two mountains. Part of the hike includes swimming through pitch black caves in ice cold water on a freezing day, fully clothed. Needless to say, I ended up with pneumonia by the end of the trip and when we got back to Thailand I spent a week in the hospital.

Arrived in Bangkok

(Sadie’s post from backpacking with her brothers through southeast asia for two months) First beer in Thailand! We made it to Bangkok, let the fun begin! We were told later that that particular beer has formaldehyde in it. We landed in Thailand the night before and had to walk through a protest to get to our room, because the taxi driver refused to drive through the protest. We stopped for this first beer after exploring Bangkok the first morning there.

Cheers Austalia!

February 28, 2011

The time has come to depart this beautiful country! We are packed up and ready to head to the airport first thing in the morning. Bondi Beach turned out to be ok after all. Not my favorite place, but ok none the less, with an amazing beach and famous walk along the rocky coast, which covers three other beaches.

Yesterday we took the bus into Sydney for the day. We explored the “Opera House” and the “Harbor Bridge”. The “Opera House” is amazing and very impressive. I read that the Architect that designed it got the idea from an orange. He was eating an orange and playing with the peels when he got the idea for it. If you take all the sail looking pieces of the Opera House and put them together, they form a sphere.

Today we had a lazy last day and tonight the older kids are taking the bus into Sydney to go to “Kings Crossing”. I guess it is a popular place for the young people to go out at night.

We have met so many travelers that have traveled to so many places; places I have never even heard of! It seems it doesn’t cost that much more to go to numerous countries than to just one. One young German couple was traveling around the world and it only cost them $200 more to go around the world than to go to New Zealand and back home. We made connections in both New Zealand and Australia and have friends should we ever want to come back.

We have done an amazing job of getting along with each other and leaving with positive feelings about group travel. We have planned meals, shopped together for them and then prepared them together “every single day”, oh, and worked on clean up together too! No complaints! The longer we’re together, the sillier we get. These days we’re laughing over just about anything! We’ve had numerous discussions about everything under the sun. We’ve gotten very relaxed and comfortable with traveling and moving from bed to bed.

Our statistics:

*We took nine flights

*Flew 50 hours

*Traveled for 86 days

*Slept in 37 beds

*Drove 10,000 Kilometers “on the wrong side of the road!”

“Cheers” Australia!

Gold Coast Australia/Barbeque Kangaroo Meat

February 20, 2011

We’re chilling at “Gold Coast” at “Surfers Paradise” beach! Gold Coast is a coastal town just south of Brisbane with crystal clear water and beautiful wide white sandy beaches. It also has enormous high rises all along the beach; so high and so many that by late afternoon, the beach is completely shaded. It’s quite a site! I will definitely post pics of it! It is a vacation destination for Australian’s with money and I think that’s how it got its name. This is our first experience of actually “swimming” in the ocean in Australia. You can only swim inside the flagged areas that are patrolled by lifeguards, and the flagged areas are very small and scattered. The ocean has strong tides that seem to change frequently throughout the day and a swimmer can easily be swept out to sea. The life guards are diligent about using their megaphones and keeping swimmers within the flags.

Our original plan was to just pass through and take a look, but since Eliot and Julian wanted to go to a theme park close by, we decided to hang out for a few nights and make the most of our time. We ended up with a two bedroom condo on the beach with the most magnificent views and ocean breezes. We slept with the sliders open and listened to the Pacific all night. Nick got us up at 5:00am to watch the sun rise and that was beautiful as usual! The further south we get, the higher the cost of beds. Hostels at this point are $30 a bed, so $150 for the five of us, and we got this place for $150 a night. It was first quoted at $190 but I was able to bargain them down to $150 if we took it for two nights. That was the third time I’ve been able to bargain and get a room for a lesser amount.

The three nights before getting here, we stayed in Brisbane. Brisbane is the capitol and the third most populated city in Australia. It is along the coast and about 8 hours north of Sydney. It turned out to be a great city to walk and explore. I found the most beautiful tropical gardens near the hostel and spent a few hours walking it one afternoon and counted at least 30 water dragons. At first, I was a bit nervous to walk past one, as the first one I spotted was about three feet long and sunning itself in the middle of the sidewalk. I got my courage up and walked past, practicing what I knew about deep breathing and blending in with my surroundings and he never flinched. After that, it got easier to walk past them. While I was there, I met an amazing woman named “Moss” that had 10 month old twin girls with her. It turned out that she had a doula and had natural childbirth. I loved listening to her story! The next day Eliot and the kids went to the gardens with one purpose in mind…………to let Eliot catch a water dragon! Much to my dismay, they went and yes, he caught one!

While traveling in Australia I became friends with a Birth Advocate/Author, Sarah Buckley on facebook and discovered she lived in Brisbane. I contacted her when I got here and she invited me to pizza night with the family and I accepted. I took a bus to the hospital her husband works at, here in Brisbane, and rode home with him, and she brought me back at the end of the night. It was fabulous! Sarah Buckley is a trained GP/family physician with qualifications in GP-obstetrics and family planning. Her work critiques current practices in pregnancy, birth, and parenting from the widest possible perspectives, including scientific, anthropological, cross-cultural, psychological, and personal. She is the author of: “Gentle Birth Gentle Mothering”. What a treat for me to be able to hang out with her!

Tonight we will barbeque kangaroo meat! Sounds morbid, I know, but it’s one of the “must do’s” on the kids list so we’re doing it! A cool thing about Australia is that they have public “barbecue’s” everywhere and they’re very simple to operate. They have a large flat stainless steel surface and you simply push a button to get it hot. Here though, it’s called “Barbie” to everyone! So, we’re having a Barbie tonight!

Australian Outback

February 8, 2011

We’ve been in the “outback” for three days! What an adventure it was getting here! I’ll regress a little……On Saturday, while driving home from hiking the rain forest, Nick and Julian said they would really love to go to the outback. That wasn’t on the agenda at all. We got back to town and started talking to people about exactly where and what was the outback. Turned out, no one really knew. All we got was, “it’s way out west and there’s nothing there”.

We got the map out and picked a place 12 hours out and decided to head out early the next morning. On the way, about 2 hours into the trip we stopped at a bakery for a cup of coffee and the owner told us we better get bread if we wanted it because he was the only supplier for the outback and he had been out of power since Cyclone Yasi. He also sort of “smirked” when we told him where we were going. He seemed to think it was entertaining. We got bread (solid soft white like Eliot likes it!) and headed west. Nick got to get behind the wheel and boy did he love it! We drove for hours, like six, and only saw about three other cars and a few big trucks. We passed through little towns with a population of 60. These towns would be about two hours away from each other, and about the time we thought we were there, we were back out of town. We crossed the Great Dividing Range early in the day. The landscape was hilly at times and very rocky. The first thing of interest we saw were the huge termite, or ant mounds that we’ve all seen on National Geographic. They were everywhere! We saw lots of cattle and it was all a “no fence” zone. We stopped numerous times throughout the day because cattle were meandering across the road. They were so cute! Sometimes they would get to the other side, stop, turn around, and just stare at us. We saw calves too! We hit flat plains that stretched as far as the eye could see. In certain zones, you would have to drive your car through a car wash on the side of the road, to wash away any “seeds” that might be stuck from the previous zone, so as not to spread them. We saw beautiful parrots that were eating road kill. They were large, white, and pink on the chest and under the wings. We drove for six hours and then hit a “road closed” sign. Checked at the local police station, which was inside of a small house, and he said it was closed due to flooding; we were in the monsoon season! Got out the trusty old map again; boy was that hard for Julian and Nick! They wanted to keep going deeper and deeper into the outback. We discovered we needed to back track about two hours to the closest road big enough to take us south until we could head west again. Did the drive, got to the road heading west again and hit another “road closed” sign……… We talked to a local and she explained about the rainy season and how the roads flooded regularly. We told her what we were looking for and she told us the best place to go that was not flooded and would give us the experience we wanted. Still keeping our spirits up and knowing that it’s all ok, we drove further east and found a room for the night at Charters Towers.

Next day, bright and early, back on the road. Today we were driving on the hottest, flattest land I have ever seen. We stopped sometimes to stretch our legs and the blast of heat when we opened the doors was unbelievable! We couldn’t even open the windows while driving because the heat through the car was too much. We liked it though! It was the Australian Outback! About the time Eliot was feeling like he just couldn’t take the car anymore we decided that on such a long flat desolate road, he could take over the wheel. He drove for about 30 minutes and did a very good job. On the road(s) in the outback, most only have one lane and about four feet of gravel on either side. The roads were designed for cattle “trains” to go through. A cattle train is an 18 wheeler pulling two or three trailers with cattle behind them. It is proper courtesy to pull over and stop when you see one approaching. We saw cattle trains but never another car so we didn’t have to figure out what to do in that instance. As evening approached, we got to see our first actual kangaroo! We saw two or three of them, along with wallabies, dingoes, and lots of beautiful birds including cockatoos! Before leaving the beach, between the rain forest hikes and the boat trip, we did get to see a crocodile, green possums, and a variety of bearded dragon species.

We made it to the town of “Longreach” by afternoon and found a room for the night. Longreach is bigger than any other town we have come across in the last few days but still very small. I can’t really use the word “quaint” to describe any of these towns because they aren’t quaint, but old and homey. The owner of the Longreach motel we are at is a great, friendly Australian. He joined us for part of the meal last night and gave us a thirty minute lecture on Australia. There is a large Barbeque area by the pool and that’s where we are cooking our meals. We decided to stay again tonight while waiting to hear back from farms that we want to work at. In the tree across the street, there are hundreds of white parrots living in it and I can hear them chattering all day! This morning we got up at 6:00 to hike to the river in hopes of seeing kangaroos, but didn’t see any. Damian, from the motel, says in the winter there are literally millions of them here. Most of the locals drive four wheel drives with cattle bars on the front, because in the winter you are very likely to hit a kangaroo on the road at night and with a regular car, the radiator and front of it will be taken out by the hit.

We have farm work lined up for the next few weeks. We’re ready to work and live with some real Australians!

Rainforest and Wallibies (and Cyclone)

February 4, 2011

We survived Cyclone Yasi and are back on track! We ended up being awakened at 6:45am and told to pack up and leave asap as the beachfront was being evacuated. It was kind of tough deciding what to do next; evacuation center or time share high rise for $220 night. We ended up at the time share because we heard the evacuation centers were filling up, and we were told that they had aluminum roofs vs the cement and steel construction of the time share. Safety was definitely the first priority, and also the thought of a very crowded place, sleeping on the hard floor, eating ‘who knows what’, vs a very nice, clean, comfy 2 bedroom time share with three balconies to keep an eye on the storm and an ocean view (it was two blocks away so wasn’t evacuated). We stocked up on food, cooked what we could before losing power (which never happened!), got comfy and lived in luxury for 24 hours! At times during the storm we would go out onto a balcony and the last time, the wind was so strong that we had to duck down and hang on for dear life! There were Magnolia Trees across the street with hundreds of the giant bats swarming around and screeching. I don’t know if that was their normal behavior or if they were confused due to the storm. Very cool to observe! The kids got pics and videos of them. Next morning we decided to rent a car, pack it up with all of our stuff and go driving to the Daintree Rain Forest.

The Daintree Rainforest is a World Heritage Site and this area contains the highest number of plant and animal species that are rare, or threatened with extinction, anywhere in the world. It is said to be the first place for plants to flower and is the oldest rain forest in the world. World Heritage Sites are actual “places” that are endangered and protected by the United Nations. The road getting there was a bit of a mess but the drive was beautiful. Australia is much more scenic than I expected. We got there, took a ferry over the Daintree River, and drove along the windy beach road that goes through the Rain Forest. It is also home to the endangered “Cassowary” and there are 86 of them that live there. The Cassowary is the largest land animal in Australia and is actually a bird. We were the only people we saw that day in the forest. We found a place to hike. The trails were covered with debris from the storm. It was our first “outback” sort of experience and we weren’t sure what to expect! Because of all the talk of poisonous insects, snakes, and so on, we were feeling rather daring. It was very damp, due to being a “Rainforest” and the weather conditions from the Cyclone. We heard birds of every nature and insects. We had numerous “panic” moments when someone would be covered with hundreds of funny looking ants and doing the “ant dance” while knocking them off. There was a vine that was very thin and covered with spiky thorns that both Sadie and I got trapped in and of course we panicked to the point where you would have thought we were being strangled! Lol! With each panic moment we would all end up laughing to the point of tears!

On the way back to Cairns from the Rain Forest we saw Wallabies all along the fields off the road! Wallabies are like small kangaroos and live in Australia. We called them kangaroos because they look just like them and were 3-4 feet tall! We saw so many of them! For Australia it seems as common to see Wallabies as to see Deer in the country in the north in America. That was a real treat! So, Wallabies and giant bats are the two most unusual animals we have seen so far! More to come, I am sure!

We got back to town and checked back in to the hostel. We’ll be here for the next 3 or 4 nights and then we will head south. We’re ready for a real “out back experience”!

Great Barrier Reef

February 1, 2011

Today we went on a boat to the Great Barrier Reef. It was an all day excursion. We took the introductory scuba diving class and were able to scuba dive. We also did hours of snorkeling. It was beautiful and basically looked the same as any other reef I have ever snorkeled on. The crew was entertaining, the buffet lunch was nice, and the wine and cheese and crackers at the end were delightful!

There is a category four cyclone (same as our “hurricane”) expected to make land fall tomorrow! We have been advised to pack everything up before we go to bed tonight as if we were leaving in the morning. We are directly across the street from the beach and may need to be evacuated. Julian thinks we should consider renting our car if we get evacuated and just driving north, out of range of the storm. We’ll have one or our regular “meetings” (lol!) in the morning and decide what to do. It’s interesting being on the “tourist” end of a storm coming. We’re just loving life and relaxing while the residents are in a little bit of a panic about being flooded and having their roofs blown off!

So far, we haven’t seen any dangerous or scary insects or animals in Australia. Before coming here, everyone in New Zealand said things like “why would you want to go there? There are insects everywhere and some that can kill you and it’s so noisy with all their sounds!”. The gigantic bats, which are called “flying squirrels” are the only thing out of the ordinary at this point. It seems that there may be some competitive spirit between the New Zealanders and Australians and whose country is best. The Australians joke about the wimpy country of New Zealand! I think New Zealand is a pristine, peaceful, beautiful country and I do hope to go back some day.

90 Mile Beach/Farming/Sand Boarding

January 28, 2011

Two more days and we’re headed to Australia! At this point, it just feels like “life”, and not traveling. I guess we’re used to being on the road and it feels very natural and normal.

We worked the last four days on a farm. The farmers, Peter and Suze, had contacted me through a website I was signed up on; helpex.com. They have farmed for 30 years (relocated here from Germany) and rely on farm workers from around the world that are traveling through and looking for work, to help them run the place. It’s a good deal for them and for the traveler. They feed you all your meals and give you a bed to sleep in and you help out with the farm work. But more than that, you’re forming relationships and life time memories. I feel like they’re the “relatives” and I sense they feel the same way. They rented a hydrolic log splitter the day before we arrived. We all worked together on and off for 2-3 hours at a stretch for two days, getting fire wood for the winter split. This wood will sit for two years and then be ready for the fire. We also tagged along on four wheelers for the herding of the livestock, to move then around different paddocks. They have Border Collies to do the job, and it’s great fun to watch. I rode on the back of Peter’s bike to help the dogs move the bulls and man (!) I just about feared for my life! The quick turns, stopping, pealing out, I think he forgot that I was on the back. They gave Eliot little jobs that required the four wheelers because they knew he loved riding on them and felt he was very responsible. Yesterday the kids stabilized fencing in a back paddock and Suze and I did felting. She has a workshop in the loft of the garage and creates the most beautiful felted pieces. Her goal was to teach me all she could and help me create what I wanted. I love her! We also learned a lot about farm animals and their behaviors. Suze is a teacher at heart and loves sharing/teaching about what she knows.

Before getting to the farm, we went to the northern most point of New Zealand and I think we really felt like we were in the most beautiful place in the world. It was the picture we’ve seen on so many postcards that don’t seem real. The Tasman Sea and the South Pacific meet at the tip and it looks like a giant whirlpool. Just before the tip, along “90 mile beach”, there are giant sand dunes, they stand out in the distance looking like white mountains. We rented boogie boards and went “sand boarding”! It was such a hike getting to the top of the dunes, and what a scene! I felt like I was in the desert in Egypt. So, then you get on your board and ride down the dune. It was very scary for me! I did it twice and that was enough to satisfy my curiosity. We got the boys doing it on tape and Julian wiped out at the bottom; it was hilarious to observe! Lol! We also swam, at a different beach close by, and the water is/was so amazing. The South Pacific is such a beautiful shade of blue, it’s very clear, the white water in the surf is snowy white and clean looking, and of course, it’s very cold! That was a good day.

I met a man from the states traveling by motorcycle. He said he has worked very hard and long all his life, had a minor heart attack recently, and decided it was time to make his health and life a top priority and travel to parts of the world he had always wanted to see.

What an adventure it was when we left the northern peninsula. We needed to get to the car ferry by 8:00 because that’s when the last ferry runs. We took our time at first, and when we realized we had an hour to go we buckled down and focused on getting there. It was the windiest road through the mountains and we just couldn’t imagine any rivers or lakes up so high and saw no signs. If we missed the ferry, it would add three hours to the trip and we did not want to have to find this farm after dark. We finally came around a corner, saw the ferry, and pulled right on with six minutes to spare! It was exhilarating! Lol! I reminded the kids about always having faith and how everything always works out.

So, we’re on the road again. Today we have a four hour drive to Auckland. I am so grateful to Julian for doing all the driving. Eliot has “shot gun” today, so he’s up front with Julian. I love watching the chemistry between the two of them. Julian loves talking about history with Eliot and teaches him so much. Eliot loves the attention; it’s a symbiotic relationship.

We stopped in a little town along the road and Sadie and Julian grocery shopped while I took Eliot in to a Physiotherapist. He pulled a muscle in his back and it was painful. The next time I blog will be from Australia. We’re all excited about meeting up with Nick there!

Cape Regina, New Zealand

January 23, 1011

On the road again! We’re headed to the northern most point of the north island, to Cape Regina. We have a hostel reserved for tonight and tomorrow we go to a farm to work until Friday, then we go to Auckland and get ready to fly out to Australia. This is the final leg of our time in New Zealand.

We have been rained in for the last two days! It was a bit of a disappointment since we were at a good beach for enjoying water sports and had plans. The cruise that Sadie and Julian went on was exciting. It was warm and clear for the afternoon and early night and the storm blew in in the night. They did snorkeling, fishing, shooting sports and night time kayaking. They connected all the kayaks together and layed back and identified constellations in the southern hemisphere. They saw the Southern Cross and I guess the little dipper faces the opposite direction here. They were pumped up when they got back; filled up with the energy of other young adults enjoying life. Hey, water drains in the opposite direction here too!

I love meeting travelers in the hostels. A few days ago I met a nice young couple from England who are doing a world tour. They saved their money, quit their jobs, and wanted to travel a year before they get married and have a family. It’s really very possible for anyone to do this if they set their sights on it. An older couple I met at the last hostel were from Holland. Five years ago they went on a three month walk along a trail that begins in Holland and ends in Spain. They borrowed a trained donkey from a friend and used it to carry their supplies. She said there were times when they were cold, wet and hungry but could still find the beauty in life and were happy to be where they were. The husband has always had the attitude that they will never put off what they want to do. If they have a dream, or idea, they will make plans to do it now. They were inspiring. They were a reminder to me about my own philosophy about life and living every moment to the fullest.

Eliot is such a cool person! I think people are surprised, and entertained by him. We see travelers with small children and we see young adults but not very many people his age. He is very observant and aware of his surroundings. When someone needs something at the hostels, Eliot is very often able to tell them just where to find it, eg, the free food basket and what’s in it! I got a chocolate sample at the candy store yesterday and the woman behind the counter told me my son kept her company on her lunch hour at the outside bench. He takes the laptop and sits on the sidewalk, or bench if it’s available, outside the global gossip store and gets on the internet. He seems to enjoy meeting travelers and sharing stories.