We were very excited this morning as we get to go to Puzzling World, we had high expectation of this place mainly down to Casey. It definitely lived up to expectations and with a bargain bacon butty meant we also didn't go hungry. Puzzling World has rooms inside full of illusions and holograms and outside was a giant maze. One of the rooms was full of faces which gave the illusion that they were following you around the room, it was a pretty neat trick which used three dimension concave faces. Another impressive room was tilted a 15° which really screwed with your mind as they had a pool table that was titled in such a way it seemed impossible that the balls could roll up the table and a chair that appeared to slide up rather than down. The final room worth a mention used perspective to create an illusion that one person was a giant and the other was tiny if they were viewed from the window outside the room.
I remember looking at my watch and I didn't have a lot of time for the maze, this was my favourite part of Puzzling World so I just had to complete it. I saw it as a challenge as only I seemed to and I did eventually managed to find all the towers of the maze but it would have been a lot easier had I not decided to start with a specific tower. I then joined Ollie and some of the others to quickly eat my bacon sandwich before rejoining the bus, and no I wasn't the last person out of the maze!!
Out next stop off was the Kawarau bridge where two girls on our bus where down the 41 metre bungy, it allowed us a glimpse of what we were letting ourselves in for and this was only 1/3 of the height of the Nevis. Before anyone jumped we watch a video called “The Secrets of Bungy” we got this for free but I would not pay for it! It showed clips of how AJ Hackett liked Bungy and want to take his friends to different location and jump off, mainly bridges and then how he wanted to make it 100% safe so that anyone could do it...etc etc etc. Although we got to see a lot of clips of people Bungying which started to get us pumped but we still had about a day till our jump.
We then went to the bridge to watch and cheer the two girls and although they were both pretty nervous and verbally so in both cases they did both in the end manage to summon up the courage to throw themselves of the bridge and they both seemed to really enjoy it.
We had a short journey to Queenstown where we would be having a Kiwi Experience party later . I decide I would go over to the YHA to use the internet as I bought a package with them back in Christchurch and was just updated my Facebook status to refer to the bungy I would be doing tomorrow when Tom Bonsall (he was Chris Allsopp's housemate) messages me asking where I was, I responded Queenstown and he asked which hostel..... it turned out we were staying the same Base hostel in Queenstown so I said I would go find him and have a drink later.
Later after getting a meal, we met up with Tom had a good chat about our travels so far over a few drinks. We ended up continuing drinking with the Kiwi Experience people before going over to the World Bar, where they served cocktails in teapots! Tom met us there a bit later and we had a few more teapots and got back pretty late and we would be throwing ourselves off a platform tomorrow.
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Good old British... New Zealand Weather - Wanaka, New Zealand
Guess what folks... it's raining again, we are just glad for the half day hike we managed to do on Franz Joesph yesterday. Our schedule today had us stop of at “the most photographed area in New Zealand” Lake Matheson but because of the driving rain only one crazy Norwegian guy decided to jog there and back and all he said was he couldn't see very much.
The weather then began to improve as we started to move out of the west coast and we managed to stop off for a picnic lunch followed by a short walk to a river. We then continued on the bus to Haast, an Austrian who named a whole heap of things after himself including a pass, a bridge, a town, a beach, plus many others. After passing through the town of Haast we stopped off to view a couple of waterfalls which were a short walk from the bus and then walked over the Haast bridge.
On arrival in Wanaka we were told there was a BBQ that we could get for $6 so we just chilled out with the Norwegian guys until then and had a few beers with the rest of the guys who also decided to get the BBQ.
The weather then began to improve as we started to move out of the west coast and we managed to stop off for a picnic lunch followed by a short walk to a river. We then continued on the bus to Haast, an Austrian who named a whole heap of things after himself including a pass, a bridge, a town, a beach, plus many others. After passing through the town of Haast we stopped off to view a couple of waterfalls which were a short walk from the bus and then walked over the Haast bridge.
On arrival in Wanaka we were told there was a BBQ that we could get for $6 so we just chilled out with the Norwegian guys until then and had a few beers with the rest of the guys who also decided to get the BBQ.
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
New Zealand Is Just A Bigger Better Version Of Wales - Franz Joseph, New Zealand
A wake up call of The Saved By The Bell Theme Tune was a decent way to start the day, one of the girls in our room had this as one of her funky alarms along with a room tune that was created that night. The rain appeared to have stopped but we still weren't sure the glacier trip was going to go ahead because of the swollen river making crossing it difficult.
As soon as we were set to leave it chucked it down and we got soaked just walking to the Glacier Centre. After half an hour of continuous rain we were convinced we would have a lazy day but as yet we were told they were waiting to see if we could go on the trip. Then a little bit later we were told the trip was on, to our delight, we proceeded to get suited and booted before heading to the bus taking us the 6km to the base.
We walked down a path which had a few water hazards, surprisingly. It led us to a large stony area where the glacier used to be before it retreated over the years. It then took quite a while to walk to the base of the glacier over stony ground and wading through a couple of small but quite powerful rivers. The glacier was just stunning and so large right up close. We put our crampons on and were split up into three groups for different paces but in all honesty it was just to get smaller groups climbing up. Our leader/guide then came down from the point he was on the glacier, as some of the team were still working at cutting a route down because all the rain over the last few days had destroyed the old path. Climbing up the first part of the glacier was pretty steep and hard going but once this was over it wasn't too steep and the steps cut out were generally easy to climb given the crampons grip was amazing. The views of the glacier and surrounding waterfalls were stunning all the way up . We stopped of at a little ice cave on the way up to take photos, get a bit of lunch and allow the team to finish completion of our route down. We also saw quite a few of though pesky Kia, Chris Allsopp I'm sure can tell you all about them. My favourite part of the whole walk was a decent into an ice crevasse we pretty much climbed down a rope to get into it, this lead us down and was a new path that the team cut and even our guide seemed pretty happy with it.
After a dip in the hot tub straight after the walk we sat around playing a few card games with our roomates here and from “The Poo Pub” and had an earlier night.
As soon as we were set to leave it chucked it down and we got soaked just walking to the Glacier Centre. After half an hour of continuous rain we were convinced we would have a lazy day but as yet we were told they were waiting to see if we could go on the trip. Then a little bit later we were told the trip was on, to our delight, we proceeded to get suited and booted before heading to the bus taking us the 6km to the base.
We walked down a path which had a few water hazards, surprisingly. It led us to a large stony area where the glacier used to be before it retreated over the years. It then took quite a while to walk to the base of the glacier over stony ground and wading through a couple of small but quite powerful rivers. The glacier was just stunning and so large right up close. We put our crampons on and were split up into three groups for different paces but in all honesty it was just to get smaller groups climbing up. Our leader/guide then came down from the point he was on the glacier, as some of the team were still working at cutting a route down because all the rain over the last few days had destroyed the old path. Climbing up the first part of the glacier was pretty steep and hard going but once this was over it wasn't too steep and the steps cut out were generally easy to climb given the crampons grip was amazing. The views of the glacier and surrounding waterfalls were stunning all the way up . We stopped of at a little ice cave on the way up to take photos, get a bit of lunch and allow the team to finish completion of our route down. We also saw quite a few of though pesky Kia, Chris Allsopp I'm sure can tell you all about them. My favourite part of the whole walk was a decent into an ice crevasse we pretty much climbed down a rope to get into it, this lead us down and was a new path that the team cut and even our guide seemed pretty happy with it.
After a dip in the hot tub straight after the walk we sat around playing a few card games with our roomates here and from “The Poo Pub” and had an earlier night.
Monday, 27 April 2009
When it rains... we pour! Franz Joseph, New Zealand
As you can guess by the title the weather wasn't too kind to us today. We started on our journey down to Franz Joseph although our hopes of climbing the glacier were dashed as the full day trip was cancelled for the next day as there has been a lot of rainfall over the last few days but we still had a chance to possibly do a half day hike.
We were dropped at the Glacier Centre in the pouring rain for a brief talk about the half day hike we would possibly be on the next day. We were shown a video of the glacier on a nice sunny day, don't think that is going to happen. After that had finished a women told us there was a 90% chance that even the half day hike would be called off, we were very disappointed at these odds and as it is one of the best activities you can do in New Zealand, we need a lot of luck.
As it was raining we couldn't really do much but our driver told us to walk to the bridge as the river was meant to be at the highest level people had seen it. As the rain seemed to have stopped after we got sorted in the hostel we headed there immediately although it chucked it down after a couple of minutes. The river was very high and powerful, we learnt later that the bridge was only temporary and was just replacing the last one that got swept away.
In the evening we headed to the bar called Monsoon with a slogan “When it rains... we pour” close to our hostel as it was Kerry the kites' Birthday. I played a game of killer pool where I finished 4th just missing out on the prizes. We had a good night getting to know some more of the people on our bus.
We were dropped at the Glacier Centre in the pouring rain for a brief talk about the half day hike we would possibly be on the next day. We were shown a video of the glacier on a nice sunny day, don't think that is going to happen. After that had finished a women told us there was a 90% chance that even the half day hike would be called off, we were very disappointed at these odds and as it is one of the best activities you can do in New Zealand, we need a lot of luck.
As it was raining we couldn't really do much but our driver told us to walk to the bridge as the river was meant to be at the highest level people had seen it. As the rain seemed to have stopped after we got sorted in the hostel we headed there immediately although it chucked it down after a couple of minutes. The river was very high and powerful, we learnt later that the bridge was only temporary and was just replacing the last one that got swept away.
In the evening we headed to the bar called Monsoon with a slogan “When it rains... we pour” close to our hostel as it was Kerry the kites' Birthday. I played a game of killer pool where I finished 4th just missing out on the prizes. We had a good night getting to know some more of the people on our bus.
Sunday, 26 April 2009
The Poo Pub, Lake Mahinapua
Today we headed down to a place called Lake Mahinapua to a hostel/bar known as 'The Poo Pub' down to the fact not many people can't pronoun Mahinapua correctly. The oldest landlord in New Zealand , Les aged 84 would be our host and we heard he was a quite a character.
There were quite a few interesting stopping points on route the first, a walking track lead us to a seal colony (yes, there do seem to be quite a few seal colonies in New Zealand) it was a pretty easy going walk taking us along the cliffs where we would meet the coach at the other side. There were plenty of seals and we took this opportunity to take some more pictures as it wasn't raining yet. Our next stop off was to look at a cove which we were told not to swim in, not that we ever would cause it would be freezing cold. This was a short walk and we could see right away why you wouldn't want to swim here the tide was very strong and a guy got soaked by the tide due to his curious nature. Another stop off was at the Pancake Rocks so named because the rocks have been eroded away over the years to resemble stacked Pancakes. Watching the sea crashing against the rocks it looked pretty deadly.
Tonight was an organised fancy dress party that was arranged by KiwiExperience, giving us a good chance to make fools out of ourselves. We were informed the theme was based on the first letter of you first name which actually wasn't a bad idea I thought, Ollie thought differently as I listed all the options that initial came to mind and all he could think of was otter or ostrich. It would prove O isn't the best for figuring out what to dress as. We stopped off at a place called Greymouth to purchase items for our fancy dress with a cheap Poundland type store and a stored called Warehouse that was a little bit like Macro selling a wide range of products. I had a few different ideas but I really want to incorporate the hat I bought in Australia thus going as “Billy the Kid” was the option I finally chose although I was nearly tempted into buying a Buzz Lightyear mask and top for $20 in the end I decided that if I didn't win a prize it wasn't really worth it. Ollie struggled for ideas and we both had a think about what he could be and eventually he came to the decision of an Olympic champion, yes this is the best he could do with limited time.
When we reached the Poo pub it started to rain pretty hard and it seems like this might be set in for the rest of day so we didn't leave the hostel to go visit the lake which was about 1 km away.
The evening itself started with Les cooking us a steak, and venison stew which we had along with some pasta, salad, potato and a bread roll, it was a good feed. After we got into our costumes and headed over to the bar for the drinking to begin. The range and quality of costume were pretty good considering we had an hour and a half to find and buy the costume and no-one was going to spend a lot of money doing it, the notable ones were our room mates Dave and Brad who were a dog and a bat, Jimmy the jellyfish who won 1st prize, and Tucky who went as Tinkerbell. Everyone had a good night and we finally were kicked out at about 1am, probably wise given we had to be up at about 9am the next morning.
There were quite a few interesting stopping points on route the first, a walking track lead us to a seal colony (yes, there do seem to be quite a few seal colonies in New Zealand) it was a pretty easy going walk taking us along the cliffs where we would meet the coach at the other side. There were plenty of seals and we took this opportunity to take some more pictures as it wasn't raining yet. Our next stop off was to look at a cove which we were told not to swim in, not that we ever would cause it would be freezing cold. This was a short walk and we could see right away why you wouldn't want to swim here the tide was very strong and a guy got soaked by the tide due to his curious nature. Another stop off was at the Pancake Rocks so named because the rocks have been eroded away over the years to resemble stacked Pancakes. Watching the sea crashing against the rocks it looked pretty deadly.
Tonight was an organised fancy dress party that was arranged by KiwiExperience, giving us a good chance to make fools out of ourselves. We were informed the theme was based on the first letter of you first name which actually wasn't a bad idea I thought, Ollie thought differently as I listed all the options that initial came to mind and all he could think of was otter or ostrich. It would prove O isn't the best for figuring out what to dress as. We stopped off at a place called Greymouth to purchase items for our fancy dress with a cheap Poundland type store and a stored called Warehouse that was a little bit like Macro selling a wide range of products. I had a few different ideas but I really want to incorporate the hat I bought in Australia thus going as “Billy the Kid” was the option I finally chose although I was nearly tempted into buying a Buzz Lightyear mask and top for $20 in the end I decided that if I didn't win a prize it wasn't really worth it. Ollie struggled for ideas and we both had a think about what he could be and eventually he came to the decision of an Olympic champion, yes this is the best he could do with limited time.
When we reached the Poo pub it started to rain pretty hard and it seems like this might be set in for the rest of day so we didn't leave the hostel to go visit the lake which was about 1 km away.
The evening itself started with Les cooking us a steak, and venison stew which we had along with some pasta, salad, potato and a bread roll, it was a good feed. After we got into our costumes and headed over to the bar for the drinking to begin. The range and quality of costume were pretty good considering we had an hour and a half to find and buy the costume and no-one was going to spend a lot of money doing it, the notable ones were our room mates Dave and Brad who were a dog and a bat, Jimmy the jellyfish who won 1st prize, and Tucky who went as Tinkerbell. Everyone had a good night and we finally were kicked out at about 1am, probably wise given we had to be up at about 9am the next morning.
Saturday, 25 April 2009
There's Little Here To Tickle The Imagination - Westport, New Zealand
Another journey with Kiwi Experience. Beginning our trip down towards Queenstown along the east coast heading to a little known town of Westport. The lonely planet entry for Westport includes the sentence “there's little here to tickle the imagination” not great as we don't want to spend money on activities we can do anywhere, C'est la vie. On route we stopped off for an hour walk around a lake which was pretty cool and the forecast rain held off until later so we could enjoy the walk and stone skimming. After a couple more stops to pick a few people up and drop a few people off at the activities of horse riding, jet boating and quad biking we reached Westport. The lonely planet was unfortunately right and it really isn't the great of towns add to this that it was Anzac day thus most of the shops were closed didn't help. To further help it's case it began to rain so we headed back to the shelter of our hostel via the supermarket.
Friday, 24 April 2009
Journey to the centre of New Zealand - Nelson, New Zealand
I turn over after hearing Ollie make a move, still pretty tired and look at the clock 12:15!!! Oops didn't quite mean to sleep that long that is what you get when you haven't had a proper sleep for a while I suppose. As you can probably tell we didn't get out of the hostel till about 1.
We sorted out our travel got some lunch then headed to the Botanical gardens, yes we do like Botanical gardens you might have noticed by now! And no not because it is free, it is because we like the flowers and stuff. It wasn't so much of a Botanical garden to me it was more like a large park with a rose garden. After the warmer temperatures of Australia hiding that it was actually autumn the park was very autumnal, with its trees having orange,brown,golden leaves and seeing them scattered about the ground, it made me feel like I was in England. There were also many ducks which were slightly overweight probably due to the amount of tourists. It was funny watching them struggle to swim up the river Avon.
We followed the river Avon to the memorial bridge and to a shop where Ollie's dreams of the perfect Kit-Kat Chunky were dashed as the Caramel variety didn't live up to his high expectations, maybe one day he will find the perfect bar. We then walked around town for a little while before heading back to the hostel.
We sorted out our travel got some lunch then headed to the Botanical gardens, yes we do like Botanical gardens you might have noticed by now! And no not because it is free, it is because we like the flowers and stuff. It wasn't so much of a Botanical garden to me it was more like a large park with a rose garden. After the warmer temperatures of Australia hiding that it was actually autumn the park was very autumnal, with its trees having orange,brown,golden leaves and seeing them scattered about the ground, it made me feel like I was in England. There were also many ducks which were slightly overweight probably due to the amount of tourists. It was funny watching them struggle to swim up the river Avon.
We followed the river Avon to the memorial bridge and to a shop where Ollie's dreams of the perfect Kit-Kat Chunky were dashed as the Caramel variety didn't live up to his high expectations, maybe one day he will find the perfect bar. We then walked around town for a little while before heading back to the hostel.
Thursday, 23 April 2009
Signed and Sealed!
What have we gotten ourselves into was the thought at about 6:30am having to get up early wasn't too fun. This was the start of our top-dog bus pass with Kiwi Experience. Our driver, Damo turned up roughly on time, it turned out we were the first pick up luckily before all the chaos at the next stop with several people getting turned away. I was a little concerned about the rest of our trip given that we are tight on time but Damo seemed to think it would be alright, not too convinced at yet!
Anyway a bit of information for all you guys is that Kaikoura in Maori means to eat crayfish. I'm sharing this with you all because I have either heard or read about it far too much. Kaikoura wasn't too far about 4 hours on the bus with a stop off. While on the bus we were told about whale watching and dolphin swimming were popular and we could book trips but we decided we would do a walk to a seal colony and loop back round over the cliffs as that was free! And we would also be coming back through Kaikoura.
On arrival we were taken to our hostel for the night “the lazy shag” (yes it's a bird). We dumped our packs and headed towards the seal colony and of course food. It was quite a walk along the coast further than we thought anyway. When we got there we saw one seal!!! I thought it was meant to be a colony. Oh well we got within 10 metres of it and got a few good photos. I then proceeded along some rocks leading around the shore and found another seal that seemed to be waving at me, well just before Ollie came over and then it just turned away and started cleaning itself. After we continued our walk which looped back round to the town over the cliffs which gave spectacular views of the mountain range, check the photos.... Yes I know what you are thinking they probably aren't uploaded yet but this takes time people be patient . It also gave great views of the Tasman sea and luckily quite a few seals out on a rock not too far from the shore but far enough to avoid people. The walk took a little while to complete but it gave us a great taste of what New Zealand has to offer and we both like it!!
Anyway a bit of information for all you guys is that Kaikoura in Maori means to eat crayfish. I'm sharing this with you all because I have either heard or read about it far too much. Kaikoura wasn't too far about 4 hours on the bus with a stop off. While on the bus we were told about whale watching and dolphin swimming were popular and we could book trips but we decided we would do a walk to a seal colony and loop back round over the cliffs as that was free! And we would also be coming back through Kaikoura.
On arrival we were taken to our hostel for the night “the lazy shag” (yes it's a bird). We dumped our packs and headed towards the seal colony and of course food. It was quite a walk along the coast further than we thought anyway. When we got there we saw one seal!!! I thought it was meant to be a colony. Oh well we got within 10 metres of it and got a few good photos. I then proceeded along some rocks leading around the shore and found another seal that seemed to be waving at me, well just before Ollie came over and then it just turned away and started cleaning itself. After we continued our walk which looped back round to the town over the cliffs which gave spectacular views of the mountain range, check the photos.... Yes I know what you are thinking they probably aren't uploaded yet but this takes time people be patient . It also gave great views of the Tasman sea and luckily quite a few seals out on a rock not too far from the shore but far enough to avoid people. The walk took a little while to complete but it gave us a great taste of what New Zealand has to offer and we both like it!!
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Happy Birthday to Me!!! (A self-centred title)
I will start blog entry by thanking people for their Birthday messages and anyone that didn't give me one is in for big trouble. I believe this is the first time I have spent my birthday outside the UK, I believe that I flew back to England on my birthday once. It was a pretty awesome day we couldn't have asked for much better weather another really sunny day which was pretty lucky cause we had decided the night before that we would go to the Christchurch Gondola (cable car) and mountain bike a route which would take us back to the bottom.
I woke up pretty early must have been the excitement of having to open all those presents. The real reason was we wanted a full day in Christchurch and after Ollie got up he gave me a present which was some AAA batteries which I've been meaning to get since I bought some small speakers for my ipod in Thailand. Now we can play some banging tunes!! After making some lunch to take with us we went to catch the bus which took us to the Gondola. We then took the Gondola to the top of the hill giving us awesome views over Christchurch and surrounding areas. After a few minutes to look around we followed the walking path towards the road where a guy who seemed pretty excited by a car that went over the edge of the cliff the other day met us with the bikes. After he left we were on our way winding down the roads cool as anything little did we know what was just round the corner, quite a large and long incline!! It wasn't too bad to start with but as it continued it got harder and a little steeper until we reached Castle Rock, I briefly stopped once on the way up to check Ollie was still behind me and on reaching the top both of us needed a moment to recover, our recovery was aided by the sight of the road going down hill again. We continued our ride after a quick exploration of Castle Rock to an off road track where a quick pit stop for a sandwich had to happen. Going down the track it rapidly occurred to me that the front brake didn't really work and the back wasn't in the best of conditions, it was going to be fun trying to stop! I let the bike free wheel for a couple of seconds and tried the brakes it took quite some time to slow down therefore most the way down hill I pressed the brakes as hard as possible. At the bottom of the track and now back on the road both of our hands hurt from braking this we decided definitely wasn't as bad as the cyclists we saw going up the hill, that is plain crazy! I then decided to extend our route slightly to do a bit more cycling on the flat which followed a stream (Ollie said as it was my birthday I had to make all of the decisions, he was just using this as an excuse to be indecisive). I believe the slight extension to our route was well worth it as we got to do some good cycling on the flat before getting to a long road which lead us straight back to the Gondola but not before another last incline which this time was too much for me as I knew the last stretch to the Gondola was very steep I took a short break before the final ascent.
In the evening we went out to a place called Dux du Lux for dinner. It specialised in seafood and had it own brewed beer. As the food and beer were good and we were lazy we ended up staying there to drink a few more beers instead of heading to town.
I woke up pretty early must have been the excitement of having to open all those presents. The real reason was we wanted a full day in Christchurch and after Ollie got up he gave me a present which was some AAA batteries which I've been meaning to get since I bought some small speakers for my ipod in Thailand. Now we can play some banging tunes!! After making some lunch to take with us we went to catch the bus which took us to the Gondola. We then took the Gondola to the top of the hill giving us awesome views over Christchurch and surrounding areas. After a few minutes to look around we followed the walking path towards the road where a guy who seemed pretty excited by a car that went over the edge of the cliff the other day met us with the bikes. After he left we were on our way winding down the roads cool as anything little did we know what was just round the corner, quite a large and long incline!! It wasn't too bad to start with but as it continued it got harder and a little steeper until we reached Castle Rock, I briefly stopped once on the way up to check Ollie was still behind me and on reaching the top both of us needed a moment to recover, our recovery was aided by the sight of the road going down hill again. We continued our ride after a quick exploration of Castle Rock to an off road track where a quick pit stop for a sandwich had to happen. Going down the track it rapidly occurred to me that the front brake didn't really work and the back wasn't in the best of conditions, it was going to be fun trying to stop! I let the bike free wheel for a couple of seconds and tried the brakes it took quite some time to slow down therefore most the way down hill I pressed the brakes as hard as possible. At the bottom of the track and now back on the road both of our hands hurt from braking this we decided definitely wasn't as bad as the cyclists we saw going up the hill, that is plain crazy! I then decided to extend our route slightly to do a bit more cycling on the flat which followed a stream (Ollie said as it was my birthday I had to make all of the decisions, he was just using this as an excuse to be indecisive). I believe the slight extension to our route was well worth it as we got to do some good cycling on the flat before getting to a long road which lead us straight back to the Gondola but not before another last incline which this time was too much for me as I knew the last stretch to the Gondola was very steep I took a short break before the final ascent.
In the evening we went out to a place called Dux du Lux for dinner. It specialised in seafood and had it own brewed beer. As the food and beer were good and we were lazy we ended up staying there to drink a few more beers instead of heading to town.
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Untitled (can't think of anything too good at the moment)
Today we decided we would visit the art gallery and arts centre before lunch and the museum afterwards all of which were pretty close to our hostel (although everything in Christchurch is close to our hostel).
The art gallery had some funky multicoloured stairs with a seal balancing a unicycle on top of a chair. A spot Ollie chose for a beard update photo although photos don't even begin to do it justice now! The gallery was pretty cool a good mix of modern and old. My favourite exhibition was called White on White which was a modern art display, one particular piece was a model of a ghost which had a white sheet over a lever controlled by I believe a servo which gave it some jerky movements.
A slight change of plans meant we had an early lunch (we were both pretty hungry by that point) where we resorted to our favourite beans on toast. Afterwards we headed to the Arts Centre where we sat and watch part of the jazz festival on our first day. The Arts Centre was a bunch of craft/art boutiques but I probably made the best value for money purchase of the whole trip, a gob stopper. This was purchased from a fudge shop were Ollie was tempted in to parting with a little money for quite a bit of fudge, his response was “I like fudge”. He also bought a gob stopper but unlike me could actually fit it in his mouth comfortably and it didn't take him about 2 hours to finish (by the way the cost of the gob stopper was $1.20 making it 1 cent per minute). Before we went to the museum we sat outside the fudge shop and then the gardens. Still my gob stopper was so large I had to take it out occasionally as my jaw began to ache.
The museum another favourite attraction of our tour so far was pretty good and more importantly free. We learnt a little about the Maori, New Zealand and Christchurch. We had about an hour and a half to go round which we just about managed to do with me finishing my gob stopper only a little while before that.
The art gallery had some funky multicoloured stairs with a seal balancing a unicycle on top of a chair. A spot Ollie chose for a beard update photo although photos don't even begin to do it justice now! The gallery was pretty cool a good mix of modern and old. My favourite exhibition was called White on White which was a modern art display, one particular piece was a model of a ghost which had a white sheet over a lever controlled by I believe a servo which gave it some jerky movements.
A slight change of plans meant we had an early lunch (we were both pretty hungry by that point) where we resorted to our favourite beans on toast. Afterwards we headed to the Arts Centre where we sat and watch part of the jazz festival on our first day. The Arts Centre was a bunch of craft/art boutiques but I probably made the best value for money purchase of the whole trip, a gob stopper. This was purchased from a fudge shop were Ollie was tempted in to parting with a little money for quite a bit of fudge, his response was “I like fudge”. He also bought a gob stopper but unlike me could actually fit it in his mouth comfortably and it didn't take him about 2 hours to finish (by the way the cost of the gob stopper was $1.20 making it 1 cent per minute). Before we went to the museum we sat outside the fudge shop and then the gardens. Still my gob stopper was so large I had to take it out occasionally as my jaw began to ache.
The museum another favourite attraction of our tour so far was pretty good and more importantly free. We learnt a little about the Maori, New Zealand and Christchurch. We had about an hour and a half to go round which we just about managed to do with me finishing my gob stopper only a little while before that.
Monday, 20 April 2009
Lazy Day
I turn over after hearing Ollie make a move, still pretty tired and look at the clock 12:15!!! Oops didn't quite mean to sleep that long that is what you get when you haven't had a proper sleep for a while I suppose. As you can probably tell we didn't get out of the hostel till about 1.
We sorted out our travel got some lunch then headed to the Botanical gardens, yes we do like Botanical gardens you might have noticed by now! And no not because it is free, it is because we like the flowers and stuff. It wasn't so much of a Botanical garden to me it was more like a large park with a rose garden. After the warmer temperatures of Australia hiding that it was actually autumn the park was very autumnal, with its trees having orange,brown,golden leaves and seeing them scattered about the ground, it made me feel like I was in England. There were also many ducks which were slightly overweight probably due to the amount of tourists. It was funny watching them struggle to swim up the river Avon.
We followed the river Avon to the memorial bridge and to a shop where Ollie's dreams of the perfect Kit-Kat Chunky were dashed as the Caramel variety didn't live up to his high expectations, maybe one day he will find the perfect bar. We then walked around town for a little while before heading back to the hostel.
We sorted out our travel got some lunch then headed to the Botanical gardens, yes we do like Botanical gardens you might have noticed by now! And no not because it is free, it is because we like the flowers and stuff. It wasn't so much of a Botanical garden to me it was more like a large park with a rose garden. After the warmer temperatures of Australia hiding that it was actually autumn the park was very autumnal, with its trees having orange,brown,golden leaves and seeing them scattered about the ground, it made me feel like I was in England. There were also many ducks which were slightly overweight probably due to the amount of tourists. It was funny watching them struggle to swim up the river Avon.
We followed the river Avon to the memorial bridge and to a shop where Ollie's dreams of the perfect Kit-Kat Chunky were dashed as the Caramel variety didn't live up to his high expectations, maybe one day he will find the perfect bar. We then walked around town for a little while before heading back to the hostel.
Sunday, 19 April 2009
Flight of the Kiwi
A very early start to our day means that we are up at 5am!!! Having only got to bed about midnight in combination with the limited sleep on the plane meant for a very tiring day. We have seen so many early mornings in Sydney but this one was surprisingly wet probably to get us used to the weather in New Zealand.
A few hours later we were flying over the Tasman Sea on our way to New Zealand... When we heard the captain announce that we had reached New Zealand it surprised us that we got to Christchurch so swiftly having previously flown great distances over land.
When we finally figured out where the bus stop was (it wasn't very obviously just a bit of paper stuck to a lamp post) we were on our way to the youth hostel which was on Worcester St. When we reached our hostel we were surprised by the architecture, it was very much like an English country town much like Worcester and Stratford in my opinion.
Oh yeah.. it was noticeable colder here more like England already.
After dumping our bags we looked out the window to see the Arts Centre opposite was housing the last day of the Jazz festival, we were both glad of this as it meant we didn't have to walk very far and could enjoy some time relaxing listening to music, which was pretty good. We also got a couple of local beers and some fancy cheese and bread.
After monging out on the grass watching the jazz we headed into town for a brief look around before getting something to eat at a place called Mum's (yer.. you can probably make a your mum's joke) which was a Japanese/Korean restaurant and we had a pretty good meal before heading back and trying to stay awake till a reasonable time so that we didn't wake up at a stupid time in the morning.
A few hours later we were flying over the Tasman Sea on our way to New Zealand... When we heard the captain announce that we had reached New Zealand it surprised us that we got to Christchurch so swiftly having previously flown great distances over land.
When we finally figured out where the bus stop was (it wasn't very obviously just a bit of paper stuck to a lamp post) we were on our way to the youth hostel which was on Worcester St. When we reached our hostel we were surprised by the architecture, it was very much like an English country town much like Worcester and Stratford in my opinion.
Oh yeah.. it was noticeable colder here more like England already.
After dumping our bags we looked out the window to see the Arts Centre opposite was housing the last day of the Jazz festival, we were both glad of this as it meant we didn't have to walk very far and could enjoy some time relaxing listening to music, which was pretty good. We also got a couple of local beers and some fancy cheese and bread.
After monging out on the grass watching the jazz we headed into town for a brief look around before getting something to eat at a place called Mum's (yer.. you can probably make a your mum's joke) which was a Japanese/Korean restaurant and we had a pretty good meal before heading back and trying to stay awake till a reasonable time so that we didn't wake up at a stupid time in the morning.
Saturday, 18 April 2009
Last day in Australia
We arrive in Sydney at 7am. Sleeping on a train after two days surfing was a bad idea. At least I managed to get some sleep... Ben did not. It's too early to check in at the hostel so we crash out in some comfy chairs until we can check in.
Once we check in we head to Paddy's market hoping to find some cheap souvenirs. I loaded up with boomerangs but decided it wasn't practical to carry a didgeridoo around with me for the rest of the trip.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Surry Hills Festival which happened to be on. We watched some Capoeira and quite a few bands of varying quality (some really good, one in particular quite awful). As the festival closed up we headed to Bugerlicious for dinner then head back to the hostel for sleep. We have to be up very early.
You know what the funniest thing about Australia is? It's the little differences. I mean, they got the same shit over here that we got there, but it's just, here it's a little different. For example you can walk into a movie theater and buy a beer. And I don't mean just, like, in no paper cup. I'm talking about a glass of beer (well at least in the one we went to). And, you know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in Australia? A quarter pounder with cheese despite having the metric system here, and not knowing what a quarter pounder is. I don't know what they call a whopper because I didn't go to Burger King because they are called Hungry Jacks. (Surely someone got that one right?)
And now I hand blogging duties back over to Ben for New Zealand!
Once we check in we head to Paddy's market hoping to find some cheap souvenirs. I loaded up with boomerangs but decided it wasn't practical to carry a didgeridoo around with me for the rest of the trip.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Surry Hills Festival which happened to be on. We watched some Capoeira and quite a few bands of varying quality (some really good, one in particular quite awful). As the festival closed up we headed to Bugerlicious for dinner then head back to the hostel for sleep. We have to be up very early.
You know what the funniest thing about Australia is? It's the little differences. I mean, they got the same shit over here that we got there, but it's just, here it's a little different. For example you can walk into a movie theater and buy a beer. And I don't mean just, like, in no paper cup. I'm talking about a glass of beer (well at least in the one we went to). And, you know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in Australia? A quarter pounder with cheese despite having the metric system here, and not knowing what a quarter pounder is. I don't know what they call a whopper because I didn't go to Burger King because they are called Hungry Jacks. (Surely someone got that one right?)
And now I hand blogging duties back over to Ben for New Zealand!
Friday, 17 April 2009
If everybody had an ocean
We'd enjoyed surfing. This is why this morning we got up early and checked out and went surfing again in the morning. I was still rather sore from the day before which didn't help my performance. After surfing for a couple of hours we sneak back into the hostel to have a shower then head back into town to have a quick explore before we have to get back on a bus to take us to Casino to catch an overnight train to Sydney.
Whilst exploring Surfers Paradise something happens which I didn't expect, Ben finally purchased a hat! Well I say purchased... at first the card transaction didn't go through but the guy serving him didn't seem to realise and Ben left with a free hat. The guilt soon consumed him and he rushed back to tell them of their error. This earned him an extra AUS$10 off.
Then back on the bus and train back to Sydney.
Whilst exploring Surfers Paradise something happens which I didn't expect, Ben finally purchased a hat! Well I say purchased... at first the card transaction didn't go through but the guy serving him didn't seem to realise and Ben left with a free hat. The guilt soon consumed him and he rushed back to tell them of their error. This earned him an extra AUS$10 off.
Then back on the bus and train back to Sydney.
Thursday, 16 April 2009
Lets go surfing now, everybody's learning how
We decided today we'd go surfing so we signed up for a lesson. We were informed that early in the morning we'd be starting out (well 2pm) and that some honeys would be coming along, which I found a bit strange. The guide told us he'd be loading up the woody with boards inside and that when we head out we'd be singing a song. It went 'Come on baby wait and see / Yes I'm going to take you surfing with me / Come along baby wait and see / Yes I'm gonna take you surfing with me'. He informed us that everybody is learning how to surf and that at Huntington and Malibu they're shooting the pier and at Rincon they're walking the nose. This didn't really mean anything to me but hey ho. Apparently surfing is constantly gaining in popularity and people are doing it from Hawaii down to the shores of Peru (I really hope someone got that).
Anyway Ben was too good for my liking managing to stand up and ride a wave on his second attempt. We both had a lot of fun and were informed we could get cheap board rental at the place we'd done the lesson if we wanted to do anymore surfing at any point. Surfing is also rather tiring and I feared I'd be very sore in the morning.
Anyway Ben was too good for my liking managing to stand up and ride a wave on his second attempt. We both had a lot of fun and were informed we could get cheap board rental at the place we'd done the lesson if we wanted to do anymore surfing at any point. Surfing is also rather tiring and I feared I'd be very sore in the morning.
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Some stupid country thinks I owe them money
Despite the fact we had checked out of the hostel and had nowhere to shower and would have to get a coach to Surfers Paradise later we decided to make the most of the fact it was actually sunny and have a beach day.
The waves were powerful. They knocked you off your feet and threw you around. It was good fun and with the weather looking better for the next few days we decide surfing will be on the cards in Surfers Paradise.
We arrive in Surfers Paradise quite late and crash out.
The waves were powerful. They knocked you off your feet and threw you around. It was good fun and with the weather looking better for the next few days we decide surfing will be on the cards in Surfers Paradise.
We arrive in Surfers Paradise quite late and crash out.
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
I'm coming EARL!
The weather forecast for today was really bad. Heavy rain with thunder and lightning. When we get up the weather isn't too bad so we go for a walk up to the lighthouse and the most easterly point on the Australian mainland whilst prepared for some bad weather to hit at some point.
The walk involves a trek through a little bit of rain forest which is really humid and this stupid beard just collects sweat. From the lighthouse we can see black sky on the horizon and we head back expecting that weather to hit us soon. We get lucky and only the edge hits us so we only have to contend with a little rain.
The evening is spent drinking some beers. Wisely we decide not to go out properly as we have to check out at 10am.
The walk involves a trek through a little bit of rain forest which is really humid and this stupid beard just collects sweat. From the lighthouse we can see black sky on the horizon and we head back expecting that weather to hit us soon. We get lucky and only the edge hits us so we only have to contend with a little rain.
The evening is spent drinking some beers. Wisely we decide not to go out properly as we have to check out at 10am.
Monday, 13 April 2009
I can't get a straight answer out of this crazy hemisphere
Today it rained... then it stopped for long enough to nip into town... we got an ice cream.... then it rained... hard... for ages...
Sunday, 12 April 2009
The Danish are coming
Some more fun travel today. An early train from Brisbane before getting off at Casino and getting on the bus to Byron Bay. Although by recent standards this was quite a short journey... only 5 hours! It was quite nice to arrive somewhere in the early afternoon rather than absurdly early or late.
After checking in at the hostel we explore Byron Bay. It's quite busy when we arrive as there is a big blues festival going on (tickets are a bit expensive for us). Byron Bay itself has a cool hippy / surfer vibe. A multitude of surf shops and shops where you can have your chakra realigned.
We walk along the beach and the sea is littered with surfers despite the rubbish weather. On the way back from the beach we stumble upon a group of people who are having a BBQ and giving away free food. Free food? Deal! Although whilst waiting in the queue we wait to see what the catch is. Turns out they are Christians (I'd forgotten it was Easter Sunday) and were just giving out food to be groovy.
The evening is spent getting drunk in the hostel with a group of Danish who seem to have taken over the hostel (a group of about 20). We toddle along to a club... I enjoy the tunes more than Ben.
After checking in at the hostel we explore Byron Bay. It's quite busy when we arrive as there is a big blues festival going on (tickets are a bit expensive for us). Byron Bay itself has a cool hippy / surfer vibe. A multitude of surf shops and shops where you can have your chakra realigned.
We walk along the beach and the sea is littered with surfers despite the rubbish weather. On the way back from the beach we stumble upon a group of people who are having a BBQ and giving away free food. Free food? Deal! Although whilst waiting in the queue we wait to see what the catch is. Turns out they are Christians (I'd forgotten it was Easter Sunday) and were just giving out food to be groovy.
The evening is spent getting drunk in the hostel with a group of Danish who seem to have taken over the hostel (a group of about 20). We toddle along to a club... I enjoy the tunes more than Ben.
Saturday, 11 April 2009
Your signs broken. We are already in Australia!
Today we explored Brisbane. We headed to the Suncorp Stadium to see if any sport was on today. It turned out there was nothing on and it proceeded to absolutely chuck it down. We headed back to the hostel to get some lunch and wait for the rain to pass.
In the afternoon we headed along the south bank which is quite a nice place with free gas BBQs, places to sit, exhibition centres and even an inner city beach. Our walk takes us across the river and through the botanical gardens and then back into the city centre. We explored the shops, hunting for souvenirs and Ben continued his search for the ideal hat which I'm becoming more and more certain he'll never find and will leave Australia empty handed.
In the evening the weather was rather rubbish again so we headed to the cinema and saw 'Mary and Max' which was a very charming claymation film. I'm not sure if it's going to get a cinema release in the UK but I recommend it if it turns up. We had an early start tomorrow so we were sensible for once and went to bed at a reasonable hour.
In the afternoon we headed along the south bank which is quite a nice place with free gas BBQs, places to sit, exhibition centres and even an inner city beach. Our walk takes us across the river and through the botanical gardens and then back into the city centre. We explored the shops, hunting for souvenirs and Ben continued his search for the ideal hat which I'm becoming more and more certain he'll never find and will leave Australia empty handed.
In the evening the weather was rather rubbish again so we headed to the cinema and saw 'Mary and Max' which was a very charming claymation film. I'm not sure if it's going to get a cinema release in the UK but I recommend it if it turns up. We had an early start tomorrow so we were sensible for once and went to bed at a reasonable hour.
Friday, 10 April 2009
CRIKEY!
Today we set off for Australia Zoo. The zoo run by Steve Irwin and his wife Terri before his death in 2006. We got up early and caught the train, however due to track work part of the journey had to be made by bus.
The zoo is slighty surreal with massive pictures of Steve Irwin everywhere and more utterances of the word 'Crikey' than I've ever seen. We start the day with the Alligators, Turtles and Galápagos Tortoises. Then we head to the Crocesum in anticipation of the Croc Show. As a special easter sunday treat the Croc show is being performed by Terri Irwin and Wes Mannion! The show starts with snakes and birds but then what everyone is waiting for... the Crocodile. Terri and Wes proceed to dangle bits of meat at the waters edge tempting the crocodile in and then making a speedy get away when it goes for the meat. This involves an amusing moment when Wes is trying to tempt the crocodile and as the crocodile attacks he utters "SHIT!... er... I mean crikey"... maybe you had to be there. We spend the rest of the day exploring the rest of the Zoo. We see Camels, Dingos, lots more Crocodiles, Kangaroos, Kolas, a Komodo Dragon, Elephants, Tigers, Red Pandas, Emus, a tasmanian devil (eventually... I started to suspect it was just an empty enclosure) and some other stuff.
It takes quite a while to get home as the train company has mucked up the replacement bus service (I've never felt more at home).
The zoo is slighty surreal with massive pictures of Steve Irwin everywhere and more utterances of the word 'Crikey' than I've ever seen. We start the day with the Alligators, Turtles and Galápagos Tortoises. Then we head to the Crocesum in anticipation of the Croc Show. As a special easter sunday treat the Croc show is being performed by Terri Irwin and Wes Mannion! The show starts with snakes and birds but then what everyone is waiting for... the Crocodile. Terri and Wes proceed to dangle bits of meat at the waters edge tempting the crocodile in and then making a speedy get away when it goes for the meat. This involves an amusing moment when Wes is trying to tempt the crocodile and as the crocodile attacks he utters "SHIT!... er... I mean crikey"... maybe you had to be there. We spend the rest of the day exploring the rest of the Zoo. We see Camels, Dingos, lots more Crocodiles, Kangaroos, Kolas, a Komodo Dragon, Elephants, Tigers, Red Pandas, Emus, a tasmanian devil (eventually... I started to suspect it was just an empty enclosure) and some other stuff.
It takes quite a while to get home as the train company has mucked up the replacement bus service (I've never felt more at home).
Thursday, 9 April 2009
What kind of a sick country would kick someone with a giant boot?
So we arrive in Brisbane quite early, we find a hostel. We then spend most of the day figuring out what we are going to do next. We had originally hoped to get further north to Cairns but with it being Easter the price of flights had gone up and were a lot more busy anyway. Instead we decide we'd be better off heading south to Byron Bay and Surfers Paradise.
We spend the rest of the day exploring Brisbane but we are both quite tired after two nights of trying to sleep on a train which didn't go so well and we need to make an early start tomorrow as we head to Australia Zoo!
We spend the rest of the day exploring Brisbane but we are both quite tired after two nights of trying to sleep on a train which didn't go so well and we need to make an early start tomorrow as we head to Australia Zoo!
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
Clever girl
So we arrive in Sydney around 7am. We got some sleep on the train but it was not a great nights sleep. At 7am not much is open so we end up waling around Sydney again from Darling Harbour to the Opera House (The big news of the day is that Hugh Jackman referred to it as the 'Opera Center' on his twitter. OUTRAGE!) and then through the botanical gardens.
We end up at the museum and have a look around. Another case of getting too excited for a 24 year old but dinosaurs are still awesome. We then eat far too much at a Pizza Hut buffet before we get back on a train... 15 hours to Brisbane... NICE!
We end up at the museum and have a look around. Another case of getting too excited for a 24 year old but dinosaurs are still awesome. We then eat far too much at a Pizza Hut buffet before we get back on a train... 15 hours to Brisbane... NICE!
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Laughing time is over!
So rather worse for wear myself and Ben check out at 10am. Not really in a state to do much so we try to recover in the hostel before heading to the train station for our trip to Brisbane (which involves two overnight trains and spending 7am until 4pm in Sydney waiting for the connection).
We head to the station a bit early and check our luggage in. A final walk around town reveals we've missed a chance to participate in an attempt to break the world record for most people dribbling basketballs at once. If only we'd known we'd have dragged ourselves down.
Then it's time for another long train journey. Hooray!
We head to the station a bit early and check our luggage in. A final walk around town reveals we've missed a chance to participate in an attempt to break the world record for most people dribbling basketballs at once. If only we'd known we'd have dragged ourselves down.
Then it's time for another long train journey. Hooray!
Monday, 6 April 2009
That's when good neighbours become good friends
Today was 'Neighbours' day. We had decided against the offical tour, instead we just headed to ramsey street ourselves. When we arrive a tour group is there and they are doing some filming on ramsey street.
*SPOILERS* Steve Bastoni (Steve Parker) was filming the classice 'leaving in a taxi cab' scene. We hear that apparently all the Parkers are leaving and that Bridget DIES! THE HORROR! *END OF SPOILERS*
Once the filming packs up we wander around the street. It is slightly weird standing outside the Kennedy's house, and Harold's house... and so forth.
We head back to the hostel before heading to the official Neighbours night. "Meet the Stars!" the poster loudly proclaims "Dr Karl Kennedy! Elle Robinson! Dan Fitzgerald!". It also states "Meet backpackers from all over the world!"... this statement, as expected, was false. "Meet backpackers from all over the UK & Ireland!" was more accurate.
The first part of the night had the stars come up and they go round and have their pictures taken with everyone. There was also a pub quiz going on at the same time and somehow our table ended up finishing second. Neither Pipa Black (Elle) or Brett Tucker (Dan) can resist a good high five from me as they leave. Then it was time to bust some moves to Alan Fletcher's (Dr K) band 'Waiting Room'. Good fun is had by all. Later I realise I haven't seen Ben for a little while and discover him outside as he's been chucked out for "being drunk". Ben is "too angry" to get any transport back to the hostel se we set off on a nice walk back. Check out at 10am! We really need to stop going out the night before checking out.
*SPOILERS* Steve Bastoni (Steve Parker) was filming the classice 'leaving in a taxi cab' scene. We hear that apparently all the Parkers are leaving and that Bridget DIES! THE HORROR! *END OF SPOILERS*
Once the filming packs up we wander around the street. It is slightly weird standing outside the Kennedy's house, and Harold's house... and so forth.
We head back to the hostel before heading to the official Neighbours night. "Meet the Stars!" the poster loudly proclaims "Dr Karl Kennedy! Elle Robinson! Dan Fitzgerald!". It also states "Meet backpackers from all over the world!"... this statement, as expected, was false. "Meet backpackers from all over the UK & Ireland!" was more accurate.
The first part of the night had the stars come up and they go round and have their pictures taken with everyone. There was also a pub quiz going on at the same time and somehow our table ended up finishing second. Neither Pipa Black (Elle) or Brett Tucker (Dan) can resist a good high five from me as they leave. Then it was time to bust some moves to Alan Fletcher's (Dr K) band 'Waiting Room'. Good fun is had by all. Later I realise I haven't seen Ben for a little while and discover him outside as he's been chucked out for "being drunk". Ben is "too angry" to get any transport back to the hostel se we set off on a nice walk back. Check out at 10am! We really need to stop going out the night before checking out.
Sunday, 5 April 2009
Only if something tickles me just right
So today we comedied it up the ying yang. We headed into the city early to expolre and head via the blackboard to see what is on later. A guy comes up to us and starts telling us about a sketch show called 'Comicide' he's in. He explains that they have reviewers in tonight so they are selling tickets for AUS$2 to try and make the room as full as possible. For AUS$2 we are in! Having only spent AUS$2 we decide we may as well see something else as well. So as we've seen a standup, some comedy theatre, with a sketch show to come we decide the obvious choice is to see a comedy band. 'The Axis of Awesome vs Bee' gits the bill so we sort out tickets and wander the streets of Melbourne.
'The Axis of Awesome vs Bee' turn out to be good fun and enjoyable with some very amusing songs. The sketch show we'd payed a pound for was also very good. There were some amazing sketches and very few duff ones which is all you can really hope for. On the way out of a guy comes up to us with a 2 for 1 offer for a sketch show he is in later and we think "half price? Go on then". This show was by some uni students and was good fun as well despite not having quite such a good amazing to duff ratio. So three shows for less than a fiver each on average... not bad.
'The Axis of Awesome vs Bee' turn out to be good fun and enjoyable with some very amusing songs. The sketch show we'd payed a pound for was also very good. There were some amazing sketches and very few duff ones which is all you can really hope for. On the way out of a guy comes up to us with a 2 for 1 offer for a sketch show he is in later and we think "half price? Go on then". This show was by some uni students and was good fun as well despite not having quite such a good amazing to duff ratio. So three shows for less than a fiver each on average... not bad.
Saturday, 4 April 2009
FOOTBALL!!
We'd decided that whilst we were in Melbourne we should go and watch something at the MCG. We'd also decided that whilst in Australia we should see some aussie rules football. These two aims were achieved through one plan to watch an AFL game at the MCG.
Collingwood v Melbourne was being played today and a ticket for the price of AUS$20 (about a tenner in proper money). Collingwood were at home so we supported them. Ben felt right at home as Collingwood play in black and white stripes and are nicknamed the magpies. The only difference between them and Newcastle is Collingwood won! Yeah I went there, take that Ben!
In the evening we decided to see another comedy act. They are called 'The List Operators'. The woman at the ticket counter says she has heard good things and she is going to see them when she gets a night off. I wonder if she says that about every act. However I've heard some good things too and they won some awards last year at the festival. It turns out they are very funny and as the more perceptive may have guessed their act revolves around lists, such as 'Countries it's okay to be racist about' which is based on audience participation. Amazingly nobody suggests the USA. Less amazingly France makes the list... twice.
Collingwood v Melbourne was being played today and a ticket for the price of AUS$20 (about a tenner in proper money). Collingwood were at home so we supported them. Ben felt right at home as Collingwood play in black and white stripes and are nicknamed the magpies. The only difference between them and Newcastle is Collingwood won! Yeah I went there, take that Ben!
In the evening we decided to see another comedy act. They are called 'The List Operators'. The woman at the ticket counter says she has heard good things and she is going to see them when she gets a night off. I wonder if she says that about every act. However I've heard some good things too and they won some awards last year at the festival. It turns out they are very funny and as the more perceptive may have guessed their act revolves around lists, such as 'Countries it's okay to be racist about' which is based on audience participation. Amazingly nobody suggests the USA. Less amazingly France makes the list... twice.
Friday, 3 April 2009
Excuse me sir. Do you like to laugh?
So today was the first day of our trip where we were rather unlucky with the weather. It rained. Hard. All day. Thunder and lighting and everything. This gave us a chance to do some washing though. The excitement!
However in the evening the rain cleared. Now the advantage of coming to Melbourne a week later is that the International Comedy Festival has just started. Huzzah! The shows are also cheaper in the first few days of the festival as they are 'Previews'. Double Huzzah!
We head into town and consult the big board which lists all the acts and informs people of what is sold out. There are a wide range of comedians here from international stars like Steve Coogan to local university students. Arj Barker (Flight of the Conchords) is sold out... hmm... still tickets for Rich Hall and Reginald D. Hunter who have both made me laugh on 'QI' and 'Have I Got News For You'. We end up going for Rich Hall who puts on a great show. The first half of the show is him doing straight standup, whilst the second half involves his country singer character Otis Lee Crenshaw. A good time is had and we head home.
However in the evening the rain cleared. Now the advantage of coming to Melbourne a week later is that the International Comedy Festival has just started. Huzzah! The shows are also cheaper in the first few days of the festival as they are 'Previews'. Double Huzzah!
We head into town and consult the big board which lists all the acts and informs people of what is sold out. There are a wide range of comedians here from international stars like Steve Coogan to local university students. Arj Barker (Flight of the Conchords) is sold out... hmm... still tickets for Rich Hall and Reginald D. Hunter who have both made me laugh on 'QI' and 'Have I Got News For You'. We end up going for Rich Hall who puts on a great show. The first half of the show is him doing straight standup, whilst the second half involves his country singer character Otis Lee Crenshaw. A good time is had and we head home.
Thursday, 2 April 2009
It's pretty big... I guess
As previously mentioned, getting around on public transport is slow. To get to Melbourne we had to catch a bus at 3:45am to Dubbo. We must then spend a night in Dubbo but arrive too late in the afternoon to do much (plus we've had barely any sleep). We wander around town. Go back to where we are staying and watch the SoccerRoos play Uzebekistan in a Fifa World Cup Qualifer (Australia win 2-0... Australian football pundits are more entertaining then English ones. They are less polite). Fall asleep. Up early for a 7am bus to Cootamundra and then a train to Melbourne. Find our hostel, find a student pub near the uni. Get some food and a few drinks whilst listening to a guy with a guitar playing some songs in the pub.
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