In the meantime I've been....

searching out coffee cafes through Perth Coffeescape, like La Vespa. and getting some delicious chocolate tarts instead of coffee.

skyping with the family members that miss me most.

walking from Canning Bridge (the last train stop before the city) into South Perth. on one of those rare cloudy days in Perth.

with the bike path along the freeway to guide me.

while walking along the Swan River.

which eventually took me to Atomic Espresso for some banana bread and hot chocolate.

and ended in that great view of the CBD on the Swan that was always my favorite in my Perth calendar last year...maybe I'll make my own calendar for 2011?

and discovering my new Freo obsession, Kakula's sister, of which I don't have any pics of yet. With a kind of 'Penzey's meets the Home Economist' vibe, this place is great. Fresh pesto, olives, cheeses galore, bags of exotic nuts, spices and seeds everywhere, and San Pelligrino drinks. Yes please.

Life in the world's most isolated capitol city

There are no weekend trips to [insert big city here] when you study abroad in Perth. The nearest city with a population over 1 million is Adelaide, a short 2,700 km away. So, you explore Perth. And you explore Fremantle. And when you've had enough of that for the week you day dream of taking weekend trips to exotic locations like Sydney and Bali. And then reality hits, and you realize that weekend trips aren't going to revolve around major cities and tourist destinations. Instead, you'll be driving eight hours in a bus all day to go check out the Pinnacles and some sand dunes on the coast of the Indian Ocean. And you'll realize just how remote Western Australia is, and how the overwhelming majority of people live in Perth, leaving the rest of the state pretty remote. And you'll finally realize that studying abroad isn't always about the exotic travels you go on, but exploring the area you're actually studying abroad in. After all, I'm about to reach the t-minus 2 months mark...

So with all of this said, I got out of Perth on Friday and played tourist with a girl from my Marine Biology class. She wanted to head up to Nambung National Park to check out the Pinnacles for a paper she's writing, and I decided to tag along after having a week of frustration/realization of where exactly I'm living right now.

We played tourist for the day and caught a day trip up the coast that was advertised as a day trip to the Pinnacles, but actually included two other side trips: Caversham Wildlife Park and a stop in Lancelin for the sand dunes. Here is a map, so you have an idea of where everything is in relation to Perth.

Our first stop was at Caversham, where we took a very quick 30 minute tour. We stopped in and saw the quintessential Aussie animals: koalas, kangas, and a wombat. No real information about the animals, just a chance to stop in and feed them and get our photos of them. It was a quick stop, and definitely the most touristy thing we did that day. But a great chance to finally see more of the Aussie animals.

someone knows he's adorable

no worries, mate

marsupial pouches in action (!)

After our stop at the wildlife park, we got on the bus and drove about two hours up to Cervantes, just outside of the Nambung National Park, for a picnic lunch. From there, we drove into the National Park, got off the bus, and took a walk through the Pinnacles.

The Pinnacles are basically limestone outcroppings no taller than four meters, and are everywhere. I was expecting to see maybe a hundred of them, but they cover a pretty sizeable area. We were able to walk between them and check them out. In some of them you could see calcified tree trunks, and others were just really random shapes.

jaws?

After walking through the Pinnacles for about an hour, we got back on the bus and drove for another two hours (!) to Lancelin. Before we could tackle the sand dunes in our tour bus, we had to make a pit stop at the beach to let the tires deflate to about half their pressure. We walked down to the beach, and I realized it was the first time since I've been here that I've been cold on a beach.

fall is here

With slightly deflated tires, we headed into the sand dunes for a little off-roading experience. It was quite an exciting time on the bus and many shrieks of excitement could be heard as we drove up and down the sand dunes.

the hill we drove, and later sand surfed down

After driving around and scoping out the scene, the driver pulled out the wood boards we were to sand surf down the sand dune on. It was a pretty steep hill and was about a two second thrill ride down. It was basically like sledding, more or less. But in shorts, on a sand dune, next to the Indian Ocean. Ok so maybe not like sledding.

But the views from the sand dunes on a clear Friday afternoon were great, and we were heading out right at sunset.

late afternoon on the dunes

We stopped at a roadhouse to refill the tires (and grab some Toblerone, of course) before driving another two hours back to Perth. Everyone else got dropped off at hotels, but we still had the train ride back to campus. Tourist time over....until the zoo the next day!

The next we headed to the Perth Zoo, a much more local attraction, and one that has been on my list of things to do for some time now. It's a really nice zoo, very well laid out and we were able to see all the attractions within a comfortable four hours.

Tasmanian Devil

and everything from frogs to little penguins

and orangutans

The next day was ANZAC day, Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It's kind of the like Memorial Day, but with specific rememberance to the battle at Gallipoli. There are two dawn services in the Perth area, one at King's Park in Perth and the other at the war memorial in Freo. Both are very popular events, and are staples of the ANZAC day celebrations. But celebrations is too positive a connotation-the ceremony at King's Park in Perth was somber. And quiet. The ceremony began with a bugle call, which signaled everybody to face the war memorial and be quiet. Groups of people brought up wreaths and placed them around the base of the war memorial. When this finished, another bugle sounded. This started the moment of silence, which was broken by a third bugle call. And so ends the formal cermeony. But most everyone stayed for the rest of it, which was just a speech by....someone I don't remeber (it was a dawn service, and I did have to leave campus at 4:30 AM!). So after about an hour an a half in total of standing and watching the ceremony, the sun was just about to come up.

dawn service at King's Park

Normally, King's Park isn't open this early and so it was a great chance to catch a sunrise over the skyline of Perth. King's Park is known for having one of the best vantage points on the city, and it's true. I had never been before, but was amazed at how beautiful the morning was at the park.

sun rise over Perth CBD

I had plans of wandering around the park for the rest of the day, but when it's 6:30 AM and you've been up for almost 3 hours, walking around a botanical garden just doesn't seem appealing anymore. Thank god I'll be spending my weekends in Perth for the rest of the semester and will have plenty of time to check it out another day...

Not even salmonella can ruin New Zealand

It's just that amazing. Pictures don't begin to do it justice, and though I tried (over 1200 times) to capture it, I never quite managed to get everything. But here are some of the best pics from the trip.
The trip started late Thursday night with an overnight flight to Sydney and then to Christchurch. I left Perth feeling a little under the weather, thinking worst case scenario I had the flu, but nothing to put any major hitches in the trip. But.....things just got worse, and long story short I ended up seeing Christchurch through the 24 hour clinic and found out I had Salmonella. So I ended up spending the first couple of days of the trip at the hostel, resting up and trying to stay hydrated.
My friend that I was travelling with for the rest of the trip arrived late Saturday night/early Sunday morning and we caught a bus down to Queenstown the next morning. I was on some prescription meds that day that made the bus ride tolerable, and it actually turned out to be a really nice break from feeling so sick all the time. The bus was quiet, and the scenery was plentiful. My first real taste of New Zealand, and the first signs that this trip could only get better.

New Zealand countryside on a damp fall day

We didn't have the greatest weather for the drive down to Queenstown, but it was actually a really nice change of pace. Perth for the last two months (how has it been that long??) has been sunny and hot. Every single day. I didn't realize how much I missed clouds, and changes in the weather, until I had a true rainy day.

The first quintessential New Zealand scene we saw was the rolling hills and farmland with sheep and dairy cows. They also farm deer here. It's a strange country.

heaps of sheep

Our first major stop en route to Queenstown was Lake Tekapo. We had 45 minutes here to grab some lunch and take in the views, and because lunch was not on my itinerary quite yet, I had 45 minutes of just sitting by the lake.

Lake Tekapo

It's hard to tell from the photos, but the water in some of these lakes is a dusty blue color. It's gorgeous, and just one of those things that photos can't capture.

Another four hours on the bus got us to Queenstown. A couple hours after Lake Tekapo we started to get into the mountains and before we knew it, they were everywhere. Queenstown is pretty small, less than 30,000 people, and although it's really touristy it is the most amazing town. Ever. It sits right on the lake (Lake Wakatipu) and is surrounded by mountains on all sides.

views I could get used to

The hostel we stayed at (Bumbles) was amazing. Really great staff, and even better accommodation. We stayed in the bunk room (read cheap) and had mountain views...even from our beds. And seeing as how I was still a little bed bound that first night in Queenstown, I really enjoyed having some great views to take in while resting up.

Monday was our first full day in Queenstown. My stomach was showing signs of improvement and so I decided to test it at a local cafe with some raisin toast.

The rest of the day I spent trying to make up a new itinerary. I had initially planned on hiking the Routeburn track Tuesday through Thursday, but the whole not eating for a few days thing kind of ruined that. A huge bummer, and one I kind of knew was going to happen as soon as I found out I was sick. But luckily for me, we have a resident expert in the family who immediately gave me some great suggestions on what else to do in New Zealand (thanks Kate!). I decided I would spend the next few days in Te Anau, which is right on the edge of the Fiordland National Park and right on the Kepler Track, another one of the Great Walks.

The rest of Monday was spent wandering around town and just relaxing on the beach, and reading my book.

dare I say better than the beaches in Perth?

Tuesday morning I set off for the Milford Sound. Although it's not that far away on the map, the mountains make the drive much longer, but much more scenic as well. We drove about 5 hours to get out to the Milford Sound, and drove through Te Anau on the way through. Once again, it was a relaxing bus ride with some awesome views of the countryside.

After passing through Te Anau we entered the Fiordland National Park. We were able to pull over a couple of times for a quick photo shoot.

After about another hour and a half of driving we got to the Sound and boarded the boat that was to take us on a 2 hour tour of the Milford Sound and out to the Tasman Sea. The Milford Sound is another one of those New Zealand beauties that just can't be captured on film. The mountains are so high (most of them three times taller than the Empire State Building!) that it almost gets lost on you. I wouldn't say you get used to how gorgeous everything is, but it's just hard to put everything in perspective.

And the weather that day (and for the rest of the trip for that matter) was amazing! It rains over 200 days a year at the Sound and has some of the roughest waters in the world. And yet when I was there it was a perfectly sunny day with glassy water (ok so maybe I do like having sunny weather all the time...).

nothing better

The bus dropped me off in Te Anau on it's way back to Queenstown that evening. I stayed in Te Anau Tuesday and Wednesday night, and most of the Thursday.

Tuesday night also marked the first time of the trip that I ate like a normal person-potato and lentil soup from the Italian restaurant in town. Things were getting better and better-not feeling nearly so sick, eating food (aka getting my energy back) and finally exploring all that New Zealand has to offer.

Te Anau is an even smaller town than Queenstown and is also great. It's touristy and developed in the sense that there are tons of hotels, hostels, and places to stay but there isn't much else in town. You don't come to Te Anau to go shopping and hit up the spa for the afternoon. You go there specifically for the scenery and the activities available in the Fiordland National Park. I was talking to one of the women who owns one of the shops in town and she said something that really stuck out to me-that everyone who lives there loves the Fiordland National Park and where they are in the world. It is not a pretentious town by any means, and one that seems to realize not only how lucky and unique it is, but that is just part of something so much bigger.

I had some time Tuesday afternoon to wander around Te Anau and explore the town before heading back to the hostel. The main part of town is three blocks long and and another couple of blocks along the lake.

Te Anau

Wednesday morning I woke up early and headed back into town to catch the water taxi across Lake Te Anau to Brod Bay. From here I would start my day hike up to the Luxmore Huts on the Kepler Track. But I had some time before the water taxi left and I was able to get this little gem.

look familiar Smigiel family?

I was the only one of the water taxi out to Brod Bay and the driver was able to point out different areas around Te Anau on the way out there as well as give me some useful info about what the track would be like for the day.

The track started in the Beech forest, and the ascent began right away. The forest was eerily quiet-there used to be a lot more birds in the New Zealand forests than there are now, and it is surprising how quiet the area is.

The Beech trees are exactly like what the Ents look like in Lord of the Rings, and I was reminded of those parts of the movie the whole day.

If only I had an Ent to carry me through the forest and up to the top...

After two and half hours of a steady climb, I made it to the top! And the reward was worth every minute of the hike up.

1400 meters up and in a different world

It was about another 30 minute walk to get to the Luxmore huts where I had lunch, and it was a great opportunity to grab some photos of the surrounding mountains and views of Te Anau from above. The forest ended so suddenly, and as soon as I was out of it nothing stood in the way of the views.

I stopped to have lunch (which was still crackers and bananas) before hiking a little farther on the trail almost up to Mt. Luxmore. I didn't have time to get quite that far, but made it up a little higher. I could see even more mountains from up here, as well as grab a great view of the Luxmore Huts.

Luxmore Huts

The hike back down was much faster and much less painful, at least at the time. But the next morning I paid for the half run down the mountain-my knees, my hips, my back, everything hurt. So I decided to take a quiet walk along the lake in the morning and head over to the bird exhibit where they have some of the local birds on display.

morning walk along Lake Te Anau

It was pretty overcast that morning and felt like the perfect day for a good movie. Lucky for me, the water taxi driver had recommended I go see Shadowland, the local doco made about the Fiordland National Park. One of the helicopter pilots of the area who lives in Te Anau strapped a camera onto his helicopter for the last five years and then collaborated with filmmakers to piece together the footage and add music to it. No words, just images for 30 minutes-the good and bad weather of the area, and in all the different seasons. It was a great film, but even better to walk out of the movie theatre and be in New Zealand, where they filmed everything.

Later that day I headed back to Queenstown where I met up with Marybeth in the hostel. We got a celebratory dinner-my stomach finally better and her completion of the Routeburn.

I woke up early Friday morning and headed to a French cafe for breakfast and just stayed in and around town while Marybeth went bungy jumping. I headed over to the Queenstown Gardens for a nice afternoon walk and some reading time.

signs of autumn everywhere

We met back up in Queenstown in the afternoon for another celebratory meal, this time a Fergburger. After finishing off that piece of heaven, we took the gondola up to the top of the mountain to take in some last minute views of the area before heading back to Christchurch the next morning.

Queenstown from above

The next morning we got back on the bus and took another eight hours to get back to Queenstown. We made the same pit stops as the bus ride down to Queenstown, and this time lunch was on my itinerary at Lake Tekapo-Tim Tams anyone?

The weather was also a lot nicer on this drive and we were able to spot some of the distant mountains that were previously hidden in clouds. Right before stopping at Lake Tekapo we passed another lake with Mt. Cook in the background.

We spent our last morning in Christchurch at a cafe writing postcards and just letting the whole week sink in before heading back to Perth. It was bittersweet leaving New Zealand-I didn't exactly have the week I planned on having, and yet I still had my "trip of a lifetime." Before going to New Zealand I thought it was my one chance to get out there and visit. Now I'm counting down the days until I can (afford to) go back.