I haven’t seen the sun since I did the crossing on Saturday. New Zealand is currently getting pounded with rain to the point where Didi told me to come to Bali for her birthday and I googled flights to see if I could escape for a week. Problem is they’re really expensive and it’s raining in Bali too.

After Turangi, I spent a night in Waitomo. There is nothing in Waitomo other than the caves. In fact, I think there are more businesses that run cave tours than there are of anything else in the town.

While walking to the hostel from the bus stop, I noticed a general store. The sign said, “Beer, wine, groceries, souvenirs, cafe.” I needed a new pair of headphones, so after I checked into the hostel I asked the receptionist if they might have them there. She said, “Yea, they might.” So, I walked the mile or so back to the store, in the rain. On the way, I decided I’d buy a steak and actually have a nice meal for dinner. I hadn’t even walked through the doors yet and I knew they didn’t have headphones. When I actually entered the store, they had a single shelf of souvenirs and a bookcase of non-perishable foods.

My steak dinner turned into a can of soup and a bag of chips. The nearest actual grocery store was 5-miles away. Back to the hostel, in the rain, I went.

Over the course of the next 20 hrs or so, I used 7 gigs of data streaming Wrestlemania, a couple of movies and the Sox opener. If you ever get to New Zealand and want to see the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, do a day trip from Rotorua or Auckland. You don’t need to see what Waitomo has to offer above ground.

The morning after I got to Waitomo, I had my tour of the 3 main caves. First up was the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. There was no photography allowed in this cave system, but we took a short walk through the caves. When we reached the Cathedral area of the cave, the guide asked if anyone wanted to sing. At this point, I was a bit annoyed with Waitomo and humans in general, so I thought to myself, “I would love to sing, if you’d all just go away.” They stayed and I didn’t sing. This same situation would repeat itself on the 3rd tour.

The best part of the glowworm caves tour was the 10 minute boat ride on the river in total darkness besides the light from the worms.

The next tour was the Ruakuri Cave. This cave also had glowworms, but we were allowed to take pictures this time.

Hard not to be disappointed in the glowworms when postcards look like this…..

But the glowworms actually look like this….(probably want to click on those pictures, hahaha).

I don’t know how to take pictures in the dark or maybe I need a better camera.

Turns out the postcard pictures are a 30 minute exposure. It was still cool, but not what I was expecting.

There was a French couple on the tour with their 2 little girls and they were smart enough to let them wear light up shoes to a place where we want total darkness. They did not help my annoyance with people for the day.

We explored more of the cave formations and saw some scallop fossils.

Before the last tour, I had some time to kill so I went on a 30 minute bushwalk near the carpark.

The 3rd cave tour was the Aranui Cave. The cave ceilings were pretty high, but the cave wasn’t very deep so it was a pretty short tour.

The group split up at one point and while we were waiting for the rest of the group, one of the guides was off by himself and started singing, “You are my sunshine.” I need more sunshine in my life. I miss that song. I miss bedtime.

After the last tour, I went back to the hostel and had a little over an hour to kill until I had to catch my bus to New Plymouth. I ended up waiting at the bus stop for an hour and 15 minutes because my bus was late.

I spent 2 nights in New Plymouth and it poured pretty much the whole time. Today I took a 7 hr bus ride to Wellington, where it is still raining, yayyyyyy!!! The rain is finally supposed to stop tomorrow, so hopefully I can actually go do some exploring. I’m only here 2 nights and then I take the ferry over to the South Island.

The South Island is completely different from the North Island, mostly due to the Southern Alps that run pretty much down the middle of the island. Many people say it is much more beautiful than the North Island.

I hope it wasn’t too painfully obvious that I wasn’t really interested in writing this post. I think the weather has had me in a bit of a funk the last 4 or 5 days. I’m workin on it though!

Here are some animals that were at my hostel in Waitomo, because who doesn’t like animals?

I got my ass kicked by a mountain yesterday! Not just any old mountain though. This was Mt. Nguaruhoe, better known as Mt. Doom from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It’s also an active volcano!!

Mt. Nguaruhoe aka Mt. Doom aka my nemesis.

Tongariro National Park is the oldest National Park in New Zealand. The 19.4 km (12 mile) Tongariro Alpine Crossing hike is the best one-day hike in New Zealand and widely considered one of the top 10 one-day hikes in the world. Along with Mt. Nguaruhoe being used as Mt. Doom, other parts of the National Park were used as Mordor and parts of Middle Earth in the Lord of the Rings movies.

It begins

There are 3 active volcanoes within the immediate area of the crossing. The first and largest is Mt. Ruapehu.

Mt. Ruapehu

At 2,797m (9,177 ft) Mt. Ruapehu is the largest volcano in New Zealand and the highest point on the North Island. The volcano last erupted in 2006 and then again in September of 2007. In May of last year, hikers were warned to stay out of a 2 km perimeter around the mountain, due to elevated risk of eruption. In recorded history, major eruptions have occured about every 50 years. In winter, it is the main ski mountain on the North Island. What appears to be snow in the picture are actually glaciers.

The smallest of the 3 volcanoes is Mt. Tongariro, standing 1,978 m (6,490 ft).

Mt. Tongariro in the background.

Mt. Tongariro last erupted on November 21, 2012. An eruption on August 6, 2012 at the Te Mãri Craters (part of Tongariro) sent blocks as big as 3 feet 3 inches up to 1.2 miles away from the vent. An ash cloud 3.8 miles high travelled 160 miles in 4 hours. In just 39 minutes after eruption, the cloud had expanded to 16 miles long and 9.3 miles wide.

That just leaves me and Frodo’s enemy, Mt. Ngauruhoe. Mt. Doom stands 2,291 meters tall (7,516 ft) and last erupted in 1975. In the 20th century, the volcano erupted 45 times.

So, I started my hike just after 7 am. All the information I read said to bring plenty of food, water, rain gear, warm weather clothes and all the first aid and safety stuff you may need on a hike, as well as a map and compass. I took everything out of my backpack that wasn’t on the list, but was still carrying an extra 25 lbs on my back. I would have been fine with 3 liters of water, a sandwich, a couple protein bars and my camera in my day pack, but I followed instructions like a good boy.

At the 6km mark, I reached the base of Mt. Ngauruhoe. 7,516 feet up at a 45° slope. Why did I tell everyone I was going to climb Mt. Doom? Oh, well, I had no choice now. Our shuttle bus driver had told us not to climb without a helmet because rocks get dislodged by other climbers and sometimes people get hit in the head by the rocks hurtling down the mountain. I didn’t have a helmet. Most people didn’t have helmets. I only had to dodge one softball sized rock and it only would have hit me in the back of the leg.

Another kid at my hostel had done the crossing also, but started later than me. I passed him as I was just about down the mountain and he was just heading up. When he got back he told me that on his way down, a guy had fallen and had to be helicoptered off the mountain.

I left my pack at the bottom of the mountain, because there was no way I was making it up with it on. Much of the slope we climbed was composed of scree, which is volcanic rubble. Thankfully, there was one narrow strip of pretty solid rock going up a decent portion of the mountain because the scree was essentially like climbing a rocky, sand dune. It took just over an hour and a half to get to the top, but I made it!!!

Reppin the champs and bringing the Gronk fiesta to the summit of Mt. Doom!

Going down the mountain was way more fun. It only took about 40 minutes to get down thanks to the scree. I fell on my ass a few times, but I basically jumped, slid, and “skied” my way down.

I left a piece of myself on that mountain yesterday. I’m pretty sure it was my quads. 😂. I had kind of hoped that someone would have stolen my pack or at least lightened my load, but everything was right where I had left it, tucked behind a rock about 10 meters up the summit track. When I got to the bottom, I was greeted by this sign reminding me how far I still had to go.

😭😔😲😢😴😖🤔😥

I celebrated my successful climb with about 20 minutes of Disney hits before realizing it was gonna take something with a little more energy than “The Circle of Life” to get me through the rest of the hike. The next couple hours of my walk were spent with a Spotify playlist called “Air Punch” and it was amazing.

The next part of the walk was a nice flat stroll to the South Crater, where Mt. Doom continued to linger over me as though I had not just conquered it.

The leisurely stroll didn’t last long as it was time to ascend 1,886 meters (6,187 ft) to the Red Crater, which is part of Mt. Tongariro. This was a struggle. My legs were gone and my pack felt like it was full of bricks. At one point, I literally looked at my bracelet and thought, “Come on, Bear. Get me through this.” Kylah was my trainer for the Falmouth Road Race last year. She got me to about the half mile point before she gave up, but man did she push me hard for that half mile!! Love you, Peanut!! 😚

The Red Crater

I got to the top and had a great view overlooking the Red Crater, but just up another small climb was an even better view. The Emerald Lakes!!

From there, we descended down to the Blue Lake and then around and down the back side of Mt. Tongariro. It was easy sledding at this point. A nice gradual descent to the carpark. Hold on, what do you mean it’s still 10 km from the Blue Lake to the carpark? Ok, so a nice gradual 3 hour descent. Then came the stairs. I hate stairs!!! Give me paths, rocks, boulders……anything but stairs. Why are stairs such a nightmare when hiking?

Anyway, I started talking to a kid from Auckland and we walked at a pretty good pace for the last 6km and reached the carpark at 3:45. So the 12 mile hike and the summit climb combined took just over 8 1/2 hours.

Look how much fun I had!! I survived though!

I boarded the 4 o’clock shuttle back to the hostel and my legs hurt the rest of the night, not soreness but actual pain. I woke up sore today, but felt surprisingly good.

Today has been a rest day and my next stop is Waitomo to visit the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. Until next time!!!

This is my walking to the bus in the rain at 2:45 am face.

Kia ora!! That means hello in Maori. Well, actually it’s pretty much the New Zealand version of Aloha, so it means a few things.

My first full day in Rotorua I went to Whakarewarewa, The Living Maori Village. Whaka has been home to the Tuhourangi-Ngati Wahiao people for centuries. The village lies in a thermal valley and the people there use the various thermal pools for everything from bathing to cooking.

Parekohuru is the cooking pool. In it they cook corn, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, shellfish, etc…The deeper the water is, the hotter, so food cooks faster the further you lower it. Frozen corn takes about 12 minutes, while the vegetables and shellfish take anywhere from 1-5 minutes depending on what it is. They are unsure of how deep the pool is, but scientist have lowered a rod as far as 50 ft, at which point the temperature was 285° C (545° F).

They also have underground cooking pits where steam and hot rocks are used to cook meats. Meals cooked in this way are called hangi. I tried a piece of corn cooked in Parekohuru and it was delicious!!

I took a short tour around the village and then went to see the Pohutu and Prince of Wales Feather geysers. The Pohutu geyser can reach heights up to 100 feet. The other geyser is much smaller and used as an indicator. Once it reaches 7 or 8 feet, the Pohutu geyser will begin to erupt. The geysers go off over 15 times a day and at one point in time, erupted continuously for 250 days straight before resuming their normal cycles. It was a rainy day, which created more steam from the thermal pools, which meant it wasn’t the best day to view the geysers.

Next I went to a 30 minute Maori cultural performance. It included a welcome chant, an action song, a love song, some traditional stick games and a haka, which warriors used to try and intimidate the enemy before battle.

After the performance, I went on a nature walk to the hot lake behind the village.

During the walk, it started to rain really hard and even though I had my rain jacket, the rest of me was soaked. I decided it was time to head back to the hostel and avoid the rain the rest of the day.

The next day, I hopped on a shuttle to the Waimangu Volcanic Valley. The Waimangu Geothermal System, created by the eruption of Mt. Tarawera on June 10, 1886, is the youngest geothermal system in the world and the only one wholly created as the direct result of a volcanic eruption.

The walk through the valley was about 2 hours long. Along the way, I saw Frying Pan Lake. The lake was formed after the western basin of Echo Crater erupted on April 1, 1917. It covers 38,000 square meters, making it the world’s largest hot spring. Average lake temperature is about 55°C (131°F).

The highlight of the walk was Inferno Crater Lake. It was so peaceful and an incredible blue color. The lake’s water levels rise and fall over a 38 day cycle. Temperatures range from about 90°F to 176°F with the water being the hottest when the lake is in it’s overflow phase. Inferno Crater is the largest geyser-like feature in the world, however, the geyser cannot be seen because it is at the bottom of the lake.  When full, the lake is roughly 90 ft deep. The lake activity is closely monitored because it is an important indicator of the volcanic activity in the area.

I saw some other interesting things along the walk like small geysers, terraces, soil layering and the view of Lake Rotomahana with Tarawera Volcano looming behind it. The volcano is currently dormant, but has erupted 5 times over the last 18,000 years with the last time being in 1886.

Mt. Tarawera jutting up into the clouds.

I also saw a family of wild pigs!!! Some black swans too, but I’ve already seen plenty of those.

In the gift shop, I found the perfect present for the OFB (Original Freaky Bitches), Jess and James, and the only reason I didn’t buy them is I was afraid of James getting drunk one night and running around the house in them, hahahaha. Serious concern though.

Made with real possum fur!!

I’m sitting on a bus to Turangi as I write this. Tomorrow morning, way too flippin’ early, I’ll take a shuttle to the start of the Tongariro Crossing, which is considered the best one day hike in New Zealand. It’s about 12 miles long and takes anywhere from 6-8 hours. However, I will be walking right past Mt. Ngauruhoe, better known to the nerd community as Mt. Doom from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. If you know me at all, you know I’m not going to just walk on by. I’ve checked with authorities and the volcanic danger level is currently low, so I’m going to climb that bad boy!!

No story, just pictures and a few captions. Enjoy nerds!!!

Welcome to The Shire!

“You’re late.” “A wizard is never late, nor is he ever early. He arrives precisely when he meant to.” This is where that scene went down.

Bagg End. Home of Bilbo Baggins!!

It’s time for Bilbo’s birthday party!!

Sam’s hobbit hole. P.S. Sean Astin is the man!!

Got myself a new home.

Relaxin at the new bachelor pad.

Just havin a beer at The Green Dragon Inn!! Specially brewed only for the Hobbiton movie set. No big deal.

I really didn’t think I would have so much fun at Hobbiton, but it was so cool!!

After frolicking around The Shire, we went back to Matamata, I grabbed my stuff and set out on my first hitchhiking journey.

The pained expression is the look of a man with 50 lbs strapped to his back, walking backwards and trying to take a selfie. It’s not easy!!

It took 3 separate rides to get the hour from Matamata to Rotorua, but thanks to Annie, Mark and Ingrid, I made it!! Annie even drove me around her town of Tauranga and showed me a few things before dropping me off on the back road to Rotorua. Each time I had to find a ride, it took less than 5 minutes for someone to pick me up.

Next up are the geothermal park of Rotorua and the Waimangu Volcanic Valley!

The sun sets on another adventure!

Kiwi birds, kiwi fruit, Kiwi people; they should just put a picture of a kiwi on the map and tell everyone that’s what New Zealand looks like. I started my new adventure in Auckland on the North end of the North Island. Auckland is not the capitol of NZ, even if it is the only place most people can name. The capitol is Wellington at the Southern tip of the North Island. I’ll be stopping there before hopping over to the South Island.

I only have about 2 weeks on each island, so as you’ll see, I won’t be in any one place very long. I spent only one full day in Auckland, but that was enough. I hate being in big cities on this trip. I’m here to see things I can’t see in the U.S., big buildings aren’t on that list.

While wandering around, I happened upon the Symonds Street Cemetary. We had passed it on the airport shuttle bus and I thought it looked like a really beautiful, quiet place in the middle of a bustling city. I wasn’t wrong. There were some walking tracks in and around the cemetary, so I actually spent about 45 minutes there.

The Auckland Arts Festival happened to be going on, so on my 2nd night I went to a show called “Horror” at the Civic Theatre. It wasn’t really what I expected, but I thought it was fantastic. There were no speaking lines, but the use of lighting, effects and even the actor/actress movements were captivating.

Adele was coming to town for the weekend, so accomodation was impossible to find and ridiculously expensive if you could find any. Peace out, Auckland. Go get ’em, Adele!!

I hopped on a bus to Paihia (Bay of Islands), which was going to be the base for my trip to Cape Reinga. Paihia is gorgeous, but it’s basically just a tourist spot. The whole town is hotels, motels, backpackers and beach bars. Water sports and ferry tours out to the islands dominate the list of things to do in town.

If all of my family and friends would like to move to Paihia, I’d be ok with buying a fishing boat and running charter tours for the rest of my life here. Take your time and think about it guys!!

When I checked into my hostel and went to my dorm room, I was greeted with an amazing surprise!!

A double bed!!!

After 2 months in twin sized bunk beds, you can’t possibly understand how happy I was to see a unoccupied double bed in my room!! Honestly, the only thing that could have made it better would have been a pile of cash to roll around in. I would have turned down sex that first night if it meant sharing that bed…..well, maybe not, but I would have thought about it.

Anyway, I left my bed (full of fear that I would return and some couple would have taken it), and headed for the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.

The treaty grounds are the site where New Zealand’s founding document was signed in 1840. When I got to the visitor centre, I found out it was $40 to get in and decided against spending the money.

The next day, I took a walk to Haruru Falls. The whole walk took about 5 hours and I’ve seen more picturesque waterfalls while standing drunk at a urinal, but I’ll take 5 hours of just me and my headphones any chance I can get.

On Sunday, I took a day trip to Cape Reinga, which is where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. Cape Reinga is at the Northern tip of New Zealand and it is the Maori belief that when they die, their spirits leave their body and travel across the land to Cape Reinga. The spirits descend the roots of an 800 year old pohutukawa tree, into the ocean, travel to Three Kings Islands, where they climb to the highest point, Ohaua, and look back to the mainland to bid their final farewell before returning to Hawaiiki-A-Nui, the land of their ancestors.

The 800 year old pohutukawa tree

After Cape Reinga, we headed down the road a little bit to the Te Paki Giant Sand Dunes for some sandboarding. I was disappointed when I found out we’d be going down the dunes on our stomachs instead of surfing down them. When I asked the tour guide, he insisted that I’d go to the hospital if I tried to surf down them. He obviously doesn’t know me very well. No sand dune is sending me to the hospital.

Anyway, he showed us the proper way to go down the hill and told everyone to take it slow and use our feet as brakes on the first run. I went first and made sure my feet were nowhere near the sand on the way down. Once everyone had gone, he took some of us over to the steeper slope. Before I went, he handed me the board he had and said, “This one is brand new. It’ll go faster.” I love being that guy. For some reason, it doesn’t take me long to earn that reputation on these tours either. I had a blast even though I wasn’t allowed to surf down, but after the 4th walk up the dune, my quads were jelly.

From the dunes, we traveled down 90 mile beach for about an hour before getting back on the road. The weather forecast had called for rain all day, but we got lucky and it held off until the ride back to Paihia.

My nights in Paihia were uneventful even though I was at a party hostel. I’m trying not to drink at all while I’m in New Zealand.

Another day, another sunrise.

I’m off to Matamata now, where I’ll do the Hobbiton tour tomorrow. Pretty sure that one is going to get it’s own post. After the tour, I’m going to try and hitch a ride to Rotorua to see the geothermal park. This is where I think the trip is going to get real cool. Should be something new and exciting everyday!!

HAKUNA MATAMATA!!!

If you’ve been paying attention, you may have noticed that 2 people and more recently a 3rd person have been featured pretty heavily in my adventures. This is a special blog post just for them……mostly because I didn’t say Didi’s name enough in the last two posts. 😉.

Didi, Me, Mark, Katja (left to right obviously)

A few people back home know this, most don’t, and I never told you guys, but the beginning of my trip was really hard. I was alone on the other side of the world, out of my comfort zone and completely overwhelmed. I woke up every single day looking at the bracelet that Kylah made me for my trip and I just wanted to go home and hug those kids.

To make things worse, about a week after I got to Sydney, my good friend, Rosey, lost his battle with cancer. I wanted to go home for the funeral. I was going to go home. Thankfully, a few people talked me out of it, because I don’t know that I would have come back.

Rosey’s real name is Charles Rose and I saw this sign in Melbourne the day before I tried to book my Great Ocean Road tour that ended up being full. He was with me in Melbourne and decided to take me to Tasmania instead.

Anyway, what does this have to do with you guys? Well, things got a little better in Melbourne, but I still wasn’t really enjoying most days. Then came Tasmania and Marcel and Marcel led me to you, because Marcel talks to so many girls 😂. Seriously, sooooo many.

Things changed. I looked forward to seeing you guys everyday and you forcing me to go to the bottle shop at noon, then splitting a bottle of wine, going to bed at 9 and leaving me sitting there with 6 beers left. Maybe some of it was because Tasmania was amazing, but some of that had to be due to the people I was with, right?

Tassy ended, but I knew we’d see each other again, even if you were too hungover in Melbourne. You talked me into the Outback tour and you brought me Mark. Nobody back home tell Dave, but it was a 6 day, whirlwind bromance. It’s not cheating if you’re in different countries, Dave!! Just kidding. Nobody can replace you, Brochacho! Love you, kid!!

The 3 of you are the closest thing I’ve had to my friends back home, except the part where you just start talking Dutch and forget the American Princess is there. We can sit and say nothing or talk about random shit. Tell our crazy stories to each other (ok, mostly my crazy stories, but you have 10 years to catch up), make fun of each other and then go to the bar and drink too much, but still know we have each other’s backs (even if we can’t all feel it 😂😉) and even if the anger is fueled by rum!!

When I say, “Je bent gezellig” (stop laughing Didi or I’ll tell everyone!! ), it’s because I know what it means, even if I can’t actually say it right. You’re comfy, cozy; you guys feel like home to me!! It’s my favorite Dutch word too, Katja, even if I only know 2, hahaha. Broekzakbier (pocket beer) is a tough one to beat.

So thanks for being awesome, judging me unconditionally and accepting my weirdness!!

A blog post all about you guys is so much better than any medal you could ever win, Katja, except maybe a Nobel Peace Prize. Seriously, everyone back home will be jealous of you guys now. It’s an honor to even be mentioned on my Facebook page, let alone a whole blog post. Just in case you still want that medal though…..

Stay awesome!! Enjoy the rest of your travels!!!! Don’t get raped or robbed!!

I’ll bring the shenanigans to Holland!!

*This isn’t meant to take away anything from the other great people I’ve met so far, Didi, Katja and Mark are just better than you. 😂😂😂😂 I’m kidding. I just spent so much more time with them. (Like 2 weeks)

Let’s start with the elephant in the room….cunt is not offensive in Australia, especially in the Northern Territory. It’s actually a compliment, so for the purposes of this blog post, get over it. Don’t believe me? Here’s a picture to prove it. Sound goodly?

This love note was left for Andy by a female tour guide while we were on a walk.

Day 4 started with Andy shining a flashlight in my face at 4:15 am. It was time to get up (I wish that was a joke). We made the short drive to King’s Canyon and went on a spectacular 3 hour, sunrise walk.

I have a tendency to climb things that maybe I’m not supposed to climb.

After the walk, we headed back to camp, ate lunch, packed up the bus and we were off to Uluru!!! Revenge was in the air this afternoon and Mark was about to become collateral damage in a war he didn’t start.

During the drive we stopped at Curtin Springs, where due to not stocking up enough in Coober Pedy, we were forced to spend $80 ($60 US) on a 24 pack of beer. We also stopped at a lookout for Mt. Connor and Lake Amadeus.

Outback roads are really exciting!!

Finally we arrived at Ayer’s Rock Resort campground where we would spend the next 2 nights!! We dropped the trailer and headed for Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. If you’d like to learn about Uluru (Ayer’s Rock), feel free to google it, because I feel it will just take away from my attempt to tell you about my experience.

As we entered the park, Andy played “Spirit Bird” by Xavier Rudd. The combination of the song and the sight of Uluru as we approached the rock, was as spiritual as anything I have ever experienced in my life. My eyes welled with tears and 2 other people admitted to openly crying. There really aren’t words to describe what I felt in that moment, but it was probably the most amazing experience of my life. “Spirit Bird” will forever bring me back to Uluru.

Having said that, everyone’s experience is different. I met a girl from Boston in Alice Springs who was going to Uluru and asked me how it was. When I saw her a couple days later, after she had been, I asked what she thought and she said, “It was great, but King’s Canyon was better.” I felt bad for her and wanted to tell her she had the wrong soundtrack.

My words will not do it justice and neither will my pictures, but if you do nothing else in life…..Go see Uluru!! Remember “Spirit Bird” and do not listen to it until you enter the park. You won’t regret it!!

We headed for a close up with the rock and then retreated to the Uluru sunset viewing area for a sunset dinner.

When the sun had set, we headed back and set up camp. I set up the tent I had borrowed from Steve for the trip, but I ended up deciding to bring my swag up to Ewing’s Lookout. Best decision ever!! 6 hours under the stars without another person around.

I woke up at 6 am to the sound of voices approaching my private suite. I rolled up my swag, dropped it back at camp and then headed back to the lookout for sunrise.

After sunrise and breakfast, we drove about 30 minutes to Kata-Tjuta for the 3 hour Valley of the Winds walk. I apparently needed some more alone time because I put in my headphones and set off at a much faster pace than the rest of the group. I sang pretty much the whole way. I felt much better by the end of the walk. I was having a great time with the group, but I guess I just needed some “me time” after nearly 2 months of constant contact with other people.

We headed back to camp and ate quickly because Mark, Mikael, Camilla and I were being rushed off to go skydive Uluru!!! Mikael and Camilla went first and Mark and I were driven to the landing zone to watch, then the roles were reversed. We took a 10 minute scenic flight, which turned into about 20 because we had to wait for other air traffic to clear the area. I just wanted out of the plane!!! Mark went first and I waved bye as he disappeared from the door, but I wasn’t far behind!

We flipped when we left the plane, so I ended up staring back up at the plane briefly as we fell to Earth. Our jump was from 12,000 feet, so we had a decent free fall though they never seem long enough. Once our chute deployed, the instructor adjusted a few straps and then let me steer for a little bit. Eventually we landed safe and sound next to Mark. I have yet to find something that matches the adrenaline of skydiving. I love it so much!!

We headed back and found an empty camp. Everyone was at the pool because it was almost 41° C (105° F), so we joined them there. After a couple hours, I begrudgingly went back to camp for sunset, dinner and drinks. The sunset was incredible!

That’s some Lion King shit right there.

That night I tried to sleep in the tent, but it was so hot that after 5 minutes, I dragged my swag outside where at least there was a breeze.

Last day of the tour!! Excited to get to Alice Springs, but sad that this amazing Outback journey was coming to an end. We woke up before the sun again, packed up camp and headed to Uluru for the 3 hour base walk.

After the walk, we set off on our final drive…..destination Alice Springs. It was about a 4 hour drive from Uluru, not including our lunch pit stop where we ate and then hand fed emus.

Finally we had made it to Alice Springs!!

We got settled at the hostel and then met Andy and most of the group at Uncle’s for dinner and drinks. After Uncle’s, all but a few of us went to The Rock Bar. It was dead when we walked in, but us Groovy Grapes were about to change that. Jugs of beer, $5 tequila shots and a DJ……the dance party was on!!!

Check out the starw microphone tucked behind Katja’s ear. I was dying.

We owned the dance floor until the lights went on! It was an incredible night to end an incredible tour!! The best stories stay with us though. If only you had access to my phone or journal.

HAPPY DAYS!!

I’m back in Sydney now and leave for New Zealand in the morning, so I guess for the next 33 days, I’m kickin’ it with Kiwis, not kangaroos!! It’s gonna get pretty hectic over the next couple months, but I’ll try to keep up on here as best I can. Thanks for reading, sorry this one was so long!!

6 days, 1,470 kilometers to cover…..hope that bus is comfortable!! We left Adelaide and drove to the Flinders Ranges where we went for about an hour walk through Alligator Gorge. They don’t even have alligators in Australia, so the name makes perfect sense. We also made a stop at Hancock’s Lookout, but most of our day was spent driving. We spent the night at a hostel in Quorn where we made dinner, had drinks and got to know each other a little.

On day 2 we were off to an early start, which would become a theme on this tour. Today we made our way to Coober Pedy. Along the way, we stopped at Woomera, the largest weapons testing range in the Western world. Apparently, the middle of nowhere in the Outback is a good place to practice blowing shit up.

When we got to Coober Pedy, we went on a tour of the original opal mine. We learned about the opal mining process and the history of mining in the area. There is no mining allowed in the “central business district” (I use that term lightly) of Coober Pedy anymore, only in the mining fields outside of town. There are also no mining companies in town. All mining operations are individual undertakings.

After the tour we had some time to explore Coober Pedy before dinner. It took about 10 minutes. There isn’t much to see. We visited the underground church and there was nobody around so I rang the church bell. I did leave a donation though, so I think I earned that privilege. Next we went to the bottle shop to stock up for our 3 days of camping.

It wasn’t enough!

After dinner, we went to Josephine’s Kangaroo Orphanage. We got to attempt to play didgeridoos. It’s not easy! We also got to meet a 6 month old joey named Ralph. He was adorable!

From there, we went to the underground bar for a couple drinks. Yes, we had just stocked up on alcohol, but you go to an underground bar when you have the chance!! A couple quick beers and then it was back to our underground hostel.

My own personal man cave!! The closest I have been to sleeping alone in 2 months.

Much of Coober Pedy is actually underground. When mining first began, the miners would dig into the side of a hill after creating the mine shafts. Because of a lack of lumber, they decided that the openings of the mine would make a good shelter. It was also a good escape from the heat and the flies!!! The tradition has lived on and most of the residents of Coober Pedy live in underground homes called “dugouts.”

Day 3 was our longest driving day, which was good because I only slept for about an hour and a half. It took some help from the Dutch to wake me up.

Believe it or not, I’m gonna miss them when they’re gone.

They think they are sooooo funny.

We made a quick stop at the border between South Australia and the Northern Territory and I stood in 2 different states and time zones at once. That pretty much makes me a time traveler.

Left foot in the NT an hour behind my right foot in SA.

We continued on to Kings Creek Station, which is where we would camp for the night. Once we arrived, Didi, Katja, Mark and I went for a 1 hour quad ride around the property, out past the campgrounds and to the airstrip!! It was a blast and no matter what Didi says, she ate my dust almost the whole way until she broke the rules and passed me at the very end. DO NOT TRUST, DIDI!! I can’t stress that enough and yes, I hope you are reading this. 😘.

After dinner, we started a campfire and our tour guide, Andy, introduced us to our swags. A swag is basically an oversized sleeping bag with a thin mattress inside. They would be our beds for the next 3 nights!! Finally it was time to sleep under the Outback stars. Andy called it “our million star hotel.” He wasn’t wrong.

Campfire, beers, and swags!

Our first stop on Day 2 of the 3 day tour to Adelaide was Thunder Point. The small island there is home to a colony of Little Penguins. When the tide is out, the island can be reached via a sandbar. This is bad news for the penguins. The colony was nearly eliminated by foxes until a local who used Italian Sheep Dogs to protect his chickens suggested trying them on the island to protect the penguins. His idea worked and now the dogs live on the island with the penguins and are cared for everyday by park rangers. The penguin colony is flourishing thanks to their guard dogs!!

After Thunder Point, we headed to Tower Hill Reserve. Tower Hill is an extinct volcano!!! We took a short walk to the very center of the 5 km wide crater and then headed down into the park for tea, biscuits and wildlife spotting. We saw a blue-tongued lizard, koalas and an emu!

He didn’t get my biscuit, but I got my picture!!

From there, we headed to Grampians National Park and visited the Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Halls Gap. We then took a short walk to Mushroom Rock, followed by a longer walk down to McKenzie Falls. You aren’t allowed to swim in the watering hole at the base of the falls so we headed alittle further down stream and took a dip in the water.

We hiked back up to the bus and headed to the park to go see the kangaroos. There were alot of them. The funniest thing happened when this guy walked by with his dog. The kangaroos were pretty spread out at this point and as the guy walked his dog across the park, one grouping after another would stand straight up and just stare at the dog. It was hilarious. Kangaroos apparently do not trust dogs.

Suspicious kangaroos.

Next we headed to the bottle shop (packy, liquor store) in town to get drinks for our Aussie BBQ. Kelly the Kiwi and I volunteered to man the barby. We cooked sausages, onions and I had my first go at cooking kangaroo, while the rest of the group prepared the other parts of the meal. Everyone really enjoyed the kangaroo, so my title of grill master lives on!! We talked, laughed and drank until about 11 and then headed off to bed.

On day 3 of the tour, we were up before the sun for a hike up to The Pinnacles. It was a 3 1/2 hour roundtrip hike and I had so much fun!! I was usually ahead of the group, so when I would have to stop and wait I’d go adventure off the path and climb all the different sandstone formations.

The views from the summit were spectacular and I got some really cool pictures!!

One of my favorite pictures of the whole trip so far.

When we got back to the bus, we went into town for lunch and then joined up with another group for the 6 hour ride to Adelaide.

My lunch dates.

The Pink Lake was the only thing to see on the entire drive to Adelaide. Literally, there was nothing else…..nothing.

There’s more to share about my time in Adelaide, but I leave in the morning for a 6 day Outback tour to Alice Springs. Didi and Katja (the Dutchies) from my Tasmania tour talked me into joining them for this trip because I wasn’t planning on going until June. I really love the freedom of just seeing where this trip takes me even if my next destination isn’t where I thought it would be.

I started a 3 day tour from Melbourne to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road and through the Grampians National Park. I never planned on going to Adelaide during my time here, but that is part of the beauty of this trip…..I don’t have many real plans and sometimes the wind blows me somewhere I wasn’t expecting.

We started our journey in Great Otway National Park, home of the Otway Black Snail. These snails are….

“Is this kid really talking about snails right now?”

“Yea, I am. Shutup and keep reading. It gets better.”

….extremely rare, carnivorous and can’t be found anywhere else in the world. They are only one of 4 types of carnivorous snails in the world and eat other snails, slugs, soft-shelled insect larvae and earthworms. That’s about as cool as a snail can get.

Our first stop in the park was Point Addis, which overlooks Bells Beach.

Bell’s Beach starts about mid picture and continues on to the right.

Bells Beach is home to the annual Rip Curl Pro, which began in 1970 and is the longest running pro surf competition in the world.

Our next stop was the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch. The memorial is dedicated to the men who returned from war and were tasked with building the road.

Next we drove through the town of Lorne, where every January they have a Pier to Pub swim race. About 4,000 people enter and swim the 1.2 km from the end of the pier to shore and then meet up at various pubs in town. Sounds like my kind of event!

We continued on to the Mt. Defiance Lookout and to the shipwreck site of the W.B. Godfrey.

At low tide, you can still see pieces of the ship that wrecked back in 1891.

Up next was our most exciting stop of the day!!! We went to Kennett River for some wildlife spotting. The weather was crappy, so there wasn’t much wildlife around, but I saw my first wild koala and even got to see it climb before it went back to sleep!!

He was pretty tuckered out after climbing down to say hi, so he decided to take a nap, but first…….

….a big yawn for the camera!!

The only other wildlife we spotted was a kookaburra.

We left Kennett River and headed to Apollo Bay for lunch. I ate my sandwich and then headed to Dooley’s ice cream shop because our tour guide, Eric, said they had vegemite ice cream and I had to try it. It was good, but only because it tasted like salted caramel and not like vegemite.

Next we did a short rainforest walk at Mait’s Rest where we walked among the giant Mountain Ash trees, the largest flowering plant in the world. We also kept our eyes peeled for those snails I told you about, but didn’t see any.

Next we made a short stop at Castle Cove and then headed for the main attraction of the day, The Twelve Apostles. Interestingly, there are 27 and you can only see 7 of them from the lookout. You can see them all if you take the helicopter tour.

From the Apostles we went to Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge, which coincidentally has fallen down. The span closest to the shoreline collapsed in 1990, leaving 2 people stranded on the outer span. They were rescued by helicopter a few hours later and the story made national news. The woman was happy to be interviewed, but the man wanted no part of it. Turns out the woman he was with wasn’t his wife. Ooops!!

You may have noticed that I have a special knack for doing coastal trips (at least on the mainland) on days with shitty weather. I’m hoping I can break that pattern when I eventually travel the Gold Coast and head out to The Great Barrier Reef.

Until next time….Cheers, mates!