Broughin It

Rainboat

Hyper Baby Bro

Oh Boy! The South Island, the North Island’s crazy kid brother who is clearly A.D.H.D, needs adderall and has a serious adrenaline addiction. The South Island can’t stay still for a minute; every time you think he has calmed down he’s like;

Queenstown, Paraglider

A.D.H.D

“Dude, let’s jump out of a plane! No? I know, I know Bungee JUMP! What? Why not, ok, ok Canyon Swing, bro it’s epic you jump off a cliff, right, and you’re like totally attached to a cable and you fall right but like when you’re about to hit the bottom it swings you out at like 80 miles an hour, it’s full-on bro, what do you mean no? Ok then let’s go for a snowboard? A jetboat ride? Whitewater rafting? Whitewater surfing? Parasailing? Paragliding? Stunt Plane ride, we could totally fly upside down mannnn!”

Lake Nelson

Visual Beauty Overload

Yep that’s Southie in a nut shell a full on adrenaline soaked adventure park with mouth dropping mountainous landscapes that keep you glued to the window of your bus or car. Essentially my entire time spent in the South Island of New Zealand involved me suction-cupped to the window of the bus going, whoa! Ohhhh, Ahhhh, no way, what the…. Wow, is that a, dude a Glacier! SNOW!

Franz Joseph Glacier, up close

Laid Back North to Crazy South

We arrived on the South Island via ferry ride from Wellington, the weather was crap and I stayed indoors for the ride over but I am sure it was lovely (in fact the ferry back to the North Island from the South we had perfect weather and the scenery was stunning). The first few days we spent on the South Island were spent in Nelson and a few other little laid back beachy towns on the West Coast, absolutely my type of place, small and quaint kind of artsy and lovely black sand beaches. As we made our way down to the middle of the South Island the landscape drew more and more dramatic. We hit Southern Alps; these mountains although not immensely tall are amazingly jagged and rocky, think Rocky Mountains in Appalachian sizes. I went Glacier hiking up Franz Joseph Glacier, got to pretend I was an explorer with my crampons on hunched over in ice tunnels and squeezed into crevices.

Lake Wanaka

Only the Milky Blues

Down from the middle we hit the Alpine lakes areas, beautiful glacier fed lakes, rivers and streams a hue of blue only found here, a milky light blue, beautiful. Lake Wanaka a small lake side town in the summer transformed into a ski resort town in the winter, awesome cafes and restaurants across from the water, fires roaring and mulled wines and ciders available to warm up even the coldest of snow bunnies. On from Wanaka and we hit Queenstown.

Queenstown, by the Lake at Dusk

Intense

Ahhh Queeny, the “adventure capital of the world” This is where the South Island’s reputation lives. Heavy party scene, lots of going out at night and waking up the next morning shrugging off the hangover with a canyon swing, bungee jump, or sky dive then coming back all pumped on adrenaline and eating monstrous burgers and pizzas at places like Fergburger where everyone will tell you is home to the best burger in all of N.Z, although to their credit Devil Burger in Queenstown and Burger Fuel all over the North Island are just as amazing, just a bit smaller. Also let’s not forget Fat Badger’s Pizza which is the best pizza I have had all trip, nice and thin, cheesy, New York styling pizzas. Queenstown was a blur of fun and excitement, good times with friends, good food and great drinks, hairy raising activities and Frisbee Golf.

Yellow-Eyed Penguin

Relax

I also got down to the very bottom of the South Island to Invercargill, one of the World’s Southern Most Cities. On the way to Invercargill we got to see many of New Zealand’s rare sea life; Fur Seals, Sea Lions and Yellow-Eyed Penguins; the third largest penguin in the world. On the South Island, but further north on the West Coast I took a whale watching trip, on which I saw two Sperm Whales and two types of Albatross, which are huge sea going birds that only come into land to mate and then spend the rest of their lives at sea.

Last Days

Dusky Dolphin, Kaikora

I have since left the South Island for a little East Coast, North Island laid back relaxment. I am in Gisborne a city famous for being “the first city in the World to see the Sunrise” of which I have yet to see, maybe tomorrow. I will be here until the 7th of September when I will catch a bus to Auckland and the next day fly back home to good ole Virginia Beach, Virginia thus ending my 13.5 months of living and traveling on the other side of the World, I am sure there will be a post summing up the experience as a whole, which I am sure I will have plenty of time to write while stuck in airports. See y’all soon thanks for reading.

Tongarirro Alpine Crossing

Color Me Impressed

Green rolling hills, rocky shorelines, cities that amble up and down extinct volcanoes, beautiful sandy beaches, steaming gushing geysers, active volcanic craters, snow-covered mountain tops, expansive farm land, bush covered landscapes, forests filled with massive trees, grazing  cows and of course the ever stereotypical millions upon millions of sheep munching on grassy goodness. This is New Zealand and it is breath-taking, no, awe-inspiring, scratch that picturesque, no wait, jaw-dropping, hmm let’s go with it spectacular, but that won’t do either. New Zealand is well its New Zealand, unrivaled, unique and well we need to coin a new word that can better relay the impressiveness that is N.Z.

Sheep, lots of them. I mean it isssss New Zealand.

Love at first sight

I have only been here for two weeks and I have only seen the North Island of New Zealand (N.Zed, as her admirers call her.) I am in fact at the time of writing this little amorous love post about New Zealand I am on the ferry that crosses the Cook Straight from the North Island heading to the South. To start a whole new love affair with the scenic beauty that this country has to offer, the mind and comfort zone expanding experiences she has to entice you into doing something you may have thought previously beyond your ability. N.Z seems to be an immersion of experience rather than a vacation or holiday; it is the extreme sport capital of the world. Some may come in the summer to slip into a bikini or pair of trunks and laze on the beautiful beaches, but the majority of people come to New Zealand to don a helmet or some other piece of safety gear and hurl themselves from something, be it a tower, bridge, cliff, or airplane. New Zealand is here to freak you out.

Admiring Lake Taupo

Never a dull moment

I have done so many things in the last two weeks, packed so many trips, excursions, and adventures into so short an amount of time that my mind is spinning as to what and how I will do and fill my time with the last four weeks I have to explore this amazing piece of Earth. I have been sandboarding (again), caving which involved repelling 120 ft, a zip-line in complete darkness, tubing (floating down a river in an inner tube within the cave) in the dark while looking at the glow worms hanging from their sticky perch on the cave ceiling, I have endured an eight-hour walk/hike/clamber up the Tongarirro Alpine Crossing during which we had to wear crampons on our boots and carry an ice axe, to round it all off I just finished (yesterday) a white water rafting trip down class 3/4/5 rapids. During all these activities I could not keep my eyes from wondering all around taking in the absolute definition of scenic beauty surrounding me at every turn.

Acending into the Mountains

More to come

I could go into greater detail and I intend to in the  near future, however I wanted  to get a post up while it was still fresh in my mind, I am sure all of you are wondering what I have been doing and where I have been. I have met some amazing friends on this trip and am currently traveling with a big group sharing life altering experiences and enjoying this great Kiwi Nation together. I will keep roaming this inspiring land, looking out bus windows and shooting photos of everything I can. It is absolutely impossible not to enjoy this land, even if all you did was take a walk down a road, or drive in a car staring out the window, hell just flying into any airport in New Zealand will BLOW-YOUR-MIND!

Feel free to leave comments or questions and to see more photos visit Eyecaptures on Flickr

A Farewell to Oz

Never have I travelled to and through a country in which I felt more at home than Australia. I chose to move to Australia to spend a year living in a country other than the one in which I was born. I felt compelled towards Oz because of the stories I heard in my travels, shows on television and the allure of the red dirt and the outback lifestyle. To sum up an entire year within a blog post would be quite a feat in which I am really not prepared to do here, however this post is more of a thank you and good-bye to a country that welcomed me in with open arms. Gracious, kind and warm-hearted are the Aussies they come off with a tough exterior at times but underneath are people who also quick to call me a mate.

I think every American and perhaps the rest of the world have this embedded misconception that Australia is this barren, foreboding waste-land, filled with creatures which will either kill you in an instant or swallow you whole never to be seen again by a living soul, except perhaps a random pinky finger bone laying in the desert. This is the image I think people have of Aussieland, let me set the scene; Your flying into Sydney and you look down on a vast empty red landscape barren in all direction except for a giant red rock and the Sydney Opera House, which in this illusion are situated about 5 miles from each other, in between is a river teeming with giant oversized Hollywood-esque crocodiles, waiting to snap you up and devour you in a tenth of a second. You see the runway now, and it looks like a fury carpet of spiders just waiting to suck the life-force from your body and strip your flesh to the bone, but it’s not all horrible scary creatures you see a mob of Kangaroo hopping by (yes they are called a mob, bloody Roos), Your jet banks over the inviting beaches of the coastline just as a great white shark three times more immense and frightening than jaws jumps out of the ocean thrashing through the air towards your plane, with that ever threatening box jelly fish stuck in between each of its teeth. Oh and don’t forget the Koala bear….. riding the great white’s back­- flipping you off.

I can tell you of the 12 months and 1 day I spent roaming around Australia I saw maybe 1 deadly snake and a handful of deadly spiders, none which gave me the time of day, nor did I them. I saw lots of the fury, fuzzy and cute variety of deadly animals, few know that when pissed off a 6-8ft kangaroo can sit back on its tail and rip you open from throat to belly button with the massive and sharp claws it has on its feet, or that a Koala in a pissed off mood can be a feisty and ferocious little bastard. It is a not a scary  and deadly country, only if you are a moron or doing something incredibly dumb will you find yourself in  life threatening predicament. I never once found myself stuck in a position when I thought my life might have been in danger. And if I had I am sure there would have been a Aussie there to help me out of the hairy spot I was in, tell me it was no worries ask for nothing in return and ride away on their kangaroo (wait I am supposed to be correcting stereotypes, sorry.) I did honestly though find myself in a spot or two of bother, that I did need some sort of assistance with and there truly was a true blue Aussie ready to sort me out and get me rolling on the right track. I can’t speak more highly of these people.

I have been away from Oz now for about 10 days and feel like I am missing home, I feel as though I am an adopted Aussie and truly miss my adopted homeland, You couldn’t pay me enough money to stay away from the place. I never once with the exception of some crappy little railway towns on the train over saw a city or town that I wouldn’t want to start a life in. I met so many great people; made so many good friends that I feel truly blessed to have been able to call Australia home for a year. I look forward to coming back and visiting again, visiting as someone who has lived there is always better I feel, because you have that sense of nostalgia of good times had and get to relive those memories.

*Warning if you have not lived in or spent time in Australia you may not get this last paragraph*

G’day Cobber. When I get back to Straya, we’ll hit the Bottle’O grab a slab a piss, sus out a spot to gas-bag. Hop in your Holden, maybe your Ute cruise down to the beach, kick around the footie, and maybe catch a test match. If we need a feed we could hit the Wollies, Hungry Jacks, Macca’s doesn’t matter to me a feed is a feed, aye. We could fire up the BBQ throw some sausages, onions; eggs on the hot plate have a feast. Listen to some Cold Chisel or Powder Finger. After which I might cop a kip, although reckon we could head down to the pub, have a pot, a pint, or a schooner of Draught, XXXX, Boags, maybe a cider. Eat some wedges, chips, could have a pie. Don’t have a winge, I’m not taking the piss. I’ll come back one day, blood oath. Cheers Mate!

Huge thank you to everyone in Australia that has ever considered me a friend, because you all mean a hell of a lot to me and I had a great time!

*This post contains no photos, as my hard drive with all my photos has failed. Please read regardless, I will make it up to you when I can.*

Purple, green, graffiti covered, artfully painted, the classic red and white pattern, kombis, all VW Buses; “hippies” of every kind, 18-year-old girls who look fresh out of Haight-Ashbury circa 1968, dread-heads, Rastafarians, flower power grandma’s and grandpa’s who created a place for peace, love and understanding and never left. Byron Bay. A place for people seeking a positive and laid back vibe, a place where you can, if you’re tuned in enough feel the essence of true bliss. It is the Epicenter of Chill, the Mecca of Mindfulness. Whether drawn by the great surf and beautiful beaches, the sense of community and activism, the arts and music scene or the just passing through Byron Bay is hot spot for backpackers and holiday seekers. It is a place I saved for last; simply because I knew once I got there I would never want to leave.

Byron Bay is a place I had dreamed of for years, as a kid I grew up idealizing the surfers of the late 60’s primarily Nat Young, an Australian pioneer and legend, who spent many years surfing, and hanging out around Byron. When I stepped off the bus the very first sight I saw was a man walking an alpaca across the street, and why not it’s Byron. A place where all the electrical boxes painted with murals, as are most of the walls, they have a drum circle at sunset at the main beach regularly. People walk around with a blessed out smile on their faces (of course they could be stoned).  It’s a special place, it truly is. All too often when one has a preconceived notion of a place especially a romanticized one, it never lives up to the hype the mind has created, however Byron was everything I wanted and more. The only gripe I can come up with is that the town of Byron has become too commercial, too many boutique clothing stores, unnecessary eateries and trinket shops. If it was stripped down back to its roots it would truly be great.

Byron draws the hippie kids, the crowds who think differently, the ones who let their hair grow long, who ended up dreading them and who occasionally dabble in mind altering substances, Byron also draws the crowd who have always wished they could. I stayed at a place called The Arts Factory, it’s legendary for show staying longer than you intended to. A sign over the check in counter reads “You can check out but you can never leave” and it’s true in more sense than one. A typical conversation with a new acquaintance goes “So how long have you been here”, “Oh man I was only gonna stay a week, I’ve been here 7 months now.” I personally was there for 11 days; I could have stayed my whole life. Byron has a weird way of getting into your skin, I already had the laid back surfer thing going for me, but I watched many of the European kids change quickly over the 11 days I was there, this guy a German, let’s call him Herman went from being a clean-cut straight looking kid to a hipped out surfer with a beard, a braid in his hair and a lip piercing all before I left.

What made Byron truly special for me were the friends I made and the waves I rode.  My first day there I made friends with a special little dread headed girl originally from the U.K. Later that same day we made friends with a pair of musicians who were twins. We all hung out around Byron for the following 8 days. I was able to attend an underground community event to raise awareness for a greater sense of community in the Byron area called the Byron Movement, that was a crazy evening hanging out in a lodge in the middle of a field out in the sticks listening to local music and some lectures on community stuff and sitting around fires listening to drumming and meeting very interesting folks. Unfortunately due to having way to much fun hanging with friends driving around and seeing the country side and getting into mini adventures I did not get to surf all day every day like I had originally planned. However when I did get into the water it was absolutely magical. I rented a board and spring suit (short wetsuit) and walked the beach to “The Pass” the very first wave I paddled for and caught, it was a brilliant right-handed wave that peeled for what seemed like forever. That first surf was glorious considering it had been 2 months since I had last been in the water. The following surf was even more mind-blowing as the first wave I stood up on I looked down and saw a baby dolphin surfing the wave in my shadow. I instantly forgot I was surfing a proceeded to fall off my board in a face plant. The last surf session I had I was turning to catch a wave the was peaking nicely right in front of me when a pod of 4 dolphin in formation leaped out of the wave right in front me causing me to forget about my initial intentions of catching the wave and I got bowled over by the peak, but that’s ok it was a majestic sight to see.

I could quite easily go on forever about my time in Byron, but this post is getting a bit lengthy and with no pictures to look at you must be getting bored by now. I was right about Byron, I did not want to leave and if I ever win the lottery and become financially independent I will move to Byron and spend the rest of blissful life, surfing and becoming part of a community that I gave great respect and admiration for. Byron Bay is not just a town, it is a way of life, we should all be so lucky.

“So where do you think you’re going today” and my heart sank, no conversation that starts out with that phrase has ever ended well for anyone. I don’t care who udders the phrase, the police, random security guards, mechanic, the wife, the girlfriend or in this instance the ticket agent for Jetstar (Suckstar) Airlines. “Brisbane……..I hope” was all I could squeak out. Like that really bad SNL skit with I believe David Spade, the lady just made that dreadful your doomed sound, you know the sound when a person sucks air through their teeth that combined with the your F’ed shaking of the head and I knew I was royally screwed………. Again, by an Australian Airline.

Yea, nope, once again the travel gods have seen fit to throw off my well laid out and planned trip, seemed easy enough catch a flight to Brisbane at 2:30 get in by 3:30 catch a flight to New Zealand at 6:30, “Done and Dusted” to use an Aussie Phrase. What has happened? Well I am currently sitting in Sydney Airport waiting, still, for a flight to Brisbane at 9:00pm, get into Brizy by 10pm. When’s that flight to Auckland you may be asking me through your computer screen and here is the depressing answer, 3:30pm TOMORROW, TO-FRIGGEN-MORROW! The bastards at Jetstar have screwed me out of an entire day of New Zealand, someone will pay, I have already paid enough. I want someone’s head on a stick, making me miss a new country, new sights, sounds, photos, people to meet, and awesomeness to be achieved. The other fan-flippin-tabulous part of this is that as of today my Visa for Australia is up. So here is hoping that tomorrow when I go to leave this glorious continent / country of Australia they will be understanding and kind and not mean and make me pay a fine.

All that being said, it just goes to show that you must go with the flow; you can only get but so upset. Being angry doesn’t get you to your intended destination, patience, understanding and sticking it out does. I’ll get there eventually and I’ll have a fun “Oh well you know what happened to me story” hell it’s already made its way up on the blog and the saga isn’t even over yet, I still have to get to Brisbane, catch a bus to a hostel, sleep off the residual angst and annoyance of being waylaid and catch another bus to the airport and then a flight to Auckland. Oh joy.

Black and White Beauty

Sun N Rain

Tasmania in my mind will forever be the Land of Sunny Rain. I must say although I was only in Tasmania for all of 4 days, 2 of those being half days, I never seen a place of such splendid natural beauty. I was quickly enchanted by Tasmania’s rolling hills and seaside cliffs, by its harbors, bays and of course by Mount Wellington shrouded in fog. Tassie as it is affectionately called by the locals is not a place of inbred backwoods convicts that some Australians would have you believe. It is an island of living a laid back existence with nature playing a major part of your daily activity, be it hiking, biking, climbing, sailing or just going for a stroll they know how to get out and enjoy the pure Tasmanian air. My two full days were jammed packed with touring the Island seeing it’s foundation of convict labor and infamous prison, Port Arthur and driving up the East Coast to view a Bay known as Wineglass Bay, tasting local wines and homemade Strawberry Ice cream.

Rainy Day Doorway

Rain

At some point everyday it did rain while I was staying in Hobart, most of the time in the morning and in the evening however there were brief periods during mid day when the sun would be shining its glorious warming rays down upon the cold harbor side city of Hobart while simultaneously from origins unknown there would be a constant mist of chilly wintry rain. I would look skyward to see a gorgeous deep blue sky with no clouds for miles; of course I would be running for cover from the rain. While walking around the harbor I noticed a brilliant full rainbow emerge over town. One of the truly amazing aspects of Hobart is that Mount Wellington looms over the city like a great protector or looming threat depending on its mood. When I first arrived I could see Wellington as it was engulfed in fog and rain. You could scarcely believe it was there, there was just a dark ominous shadow of a mountain shrouded in the fog. It wasn’t until morning brought a cold clear winter’s day that I saw Mt Wellington for the first time shining in all its glory in the early morning light.

Lot of Water in Tasmania

Sun

Tasmania is in its full glorious beauty in the early morning winter’s light, the sun is low in the sky for the majority of the morning and the soft amber hues and dark shadows compliment the landscape. Every hill and tree, every stream and river bathed in golden light. I was typically on tours, on a bus being driven around and wouldn’t have had it any other way, looking out the window as the landscapes gently rolled on past my sleepy early morning eyes.

In, Looking Out

Rap Sheet

On the historical side of Tasmania lies the not so hidden away fact that it started as an inescapable island prison for the convicts sent over to serve out their terms from England but mainly to help cheaply establish a new timber producing colony. Port Arthur serves as the bastion of criminal reformation in Tasmania. A prison on an island within an Island established as a prison. The thing is though Port Arthur is a be truly beautiful place, nestled along a bay on a sloping piece of land the meets the sea, there stands sandstone buildings dating to the 1830’s, the massive prison, the hospital on the hill and the huge cathedral make for a pleasant area for a prison apparently. The manicured grounds with gardens which were used to grow produce for the prisoners and staff.

Blue Sky Beauty

Tasty Sights

I also took a trip up the East Coast one day to climb a pass between two not very tall mountains in the Hazards range to look down upon a wondrous view of Wineglass Bay. A bay that  is shaped like the lip of a wineglass but more poignantly named because it was where they herded whales for mass killings and turning the once sapphire blue waters blood-red or the color of say a nice Merlot. On the way back from this eye-opening scenic tour up the coast we stopped at Kate’s Berry Farm which produces some lovely jams and preserves also houses the absolute hands down best in the world strawberry ice cream that has ever passed over these very lucky taste buds. I had two cones. I had to it was the only time I would have to enjoy it so I had to make the most of it. Or at least that is the justification I gave myself.

Special Place

Good Bye for Now Land of Sunny Rain, I long to go back there and I just left, I did not give Tassie the time it deserved. An Island the size of Ireland with a population of 500,000 or about the population of Virginia Beach, where I hail from deserves more than just 4 days. The splendid natural sights, the interesting and open history of the places begs to be enjoyed for at least 2 weeks. Next time I will do it right, get a camper van cruise around camping, hiking and seeing the Mountainous interiors and extreme coastlines of the West Coast. There is so much to Tasmania these eyes have not yet beheld but long to take in.

Town Hall circa 1864

Tassie? Why Not?

Tasmania, always wanted to come here while I was in Australia. I had decided to leave it for another trip to Australia because I felt I would not have enough time to devote to Tasmania, which is why I had originally decided to venture into the Red Center of Oz to check out Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the famous red deserts. But as stated in the very first Broughinit post and to paraphrase a famous quote “Travelers plan and the Travel Gods laugh.”

Cozy Fire Place

Australia’s West Virginia?

As I write I am sitting in Hobart at the awesome Tassie Backpackers @ The Brunswick hotel, sitting in a wicker chair in front of a crackling fire sipping on a Fat Yak, one of my favorite Aussie Brews. I have only been in Hobart for 3.5 hours and it is cold; so cold in fact tomorrow might bring snow, it is windy as all get out and dark one might say dreary but I think that has a negative connotation to it, this is Dreary in a good way, very wintery feel to it. The wind nips at your ears and nose but the scenery is beautiful. I honestly would say Tassie ranks up there with one of the most dynamically gorgeous landscapes I have ever laid eyes on. Honestly with weather like this it would have to be beautiful or it would fall in to the category of Hell on Earth. So far with the limited experience I have I would say that Tasmania bears a remarkably close resemblance to Seattle and an unfair reputation for being similar in attitude and cultural to say…… West Virginia. I know the former to be fact the later….only time will tell.

Kings Pier Marina

Freshly Freezing my Ass Off

It is funny because as I sit by the fire in the lobby and people trudge in from the blustery cold outside many scrunch up their faces to establish they are in fact freezing or many like myself become awash in a look when they walk in that denotes this room to be sanctuary from an otherwise ridiculously cold predicament in which they found themselves completely unprepared. The locals at and behind the bar just look at them without sympathy and state it to be “Fresh Out”. Fresh is an understatement, mate.

The Way to End a Day

Making the most out of it!

While I only have 2 full days here I am planning to make the most of it with two tours booked one to the infamous Port Author which although it sounds like it is unparallelled in natural splendor is also famous for a huge mass murder which only happened a few decades ago. I am also going to go up to Wineglass Bay which is also renowned for its lovely picturesque landscapes. I am highly looking forward to both day trips out and about in Tasmania. I also look forward to sharing regular blog posts and photos again.