Farewell Australia - July 2014

Our departure from Australia was a bit more sudden than we were expecting.  We had been talking for months about what we wanted to do, and what would happen if Oz offered Ryan a full-time contract.  We weren't sure we were ready to commit to another 2 or 3 years in Australia and the process of applying for permanent residence, but Ryan also loved his job and didn't really want to have to look for another one.  So, when the time eventually came and the offer was made, we were surprised for there to be a third option: take a summer position in Canada before ending employment with Oz.  That sounded perfect (though in retrospect it was a terrible decision...) so we took the offer and began the process of moving back to Canada.

Ediacaran fossils at the South Australian Museum.  They're what we were supposed to see in the Flinders Ranges had we made it past Slippery Dip.  They were in the museum the whole time, but it took us until the very last weeks to visit.

Packing in and of itself was quite the adventure, not to mention selling everything on Gumtree.  We were paying per kilo, so we had to assess which things were cheaper to replace than to ship, and which things we really wanted to take home with us, regardless of price.  After arriving in Australia with two bags each, we left with two bags each, plus 12 boxes.  

We also couldn't leave without throwing a killer party on June 21.  We invited everyone we knew, cooked a ton of food, and spent our life savings on a delicious gluten-free cake.  The best part was sharing what was left of our awesome wine collection (there were some seriously nice ones left), and our hard liquor.  The wine was gone surprisingly early (even though there were at least 13 bottles left), so the mixed drinks got kind of interesting after that.  Another great part of the party was the list we came up with of "Weird and Wonderful Australian Nuances" so we would never forget some of the odd parts of living down under:

-they say "ice block" instead of popsicle
-in New Zealand they call a cooler a "chilli bin"
-their shopping cart wheels go in every direction, making them much harder to push straight
-everything is smaller (sink, fridge, stove, etc.)
-people wear shoes in the house
-"fortnight" can also be said as "Monday week" (or whatever day you're talking about)
-babysitters aren't part of the main culture
-they print pictures on their toilet paper (we preferred the ones with coloured bubble pictures)
-gas=propane, car gas=petrol
-crikey, reckon, rubbish, no worries mate, trolley, lollie, heaps good
-thongs means flip flops
-the words bull, ball, and bowl all sound the same when an Aussie says them
-we never understood their phone number format.  Sometimes it would be 6 digits, but the spacing was different every time, and if two numbers in a row were the same they would say "double six" instead of "six six"
-good nic=good condition
-suss=suspicious/sketchy
-the smell of the flowers and the gum trees was amazing
-"no dramas"
-"take away" instead of "take out" for fast food
-"car park" instead of "parking lot"
-"move house" instead of just "move"
-Textas=Sharpie marker
-math class is "maths"
-autumn, not "fall"
-the telephone poles are made of cement, not wood
-"bring a plate" instead of "potluck"
-all of their power outlets have on/off switches
-sauce=ketchup
-pastie=meat pie

So after the hangover had passed and all of the boxes were packed, and we made one final trip to Henley Beach, Ryan officially flew to British Columbia to start his job on July 1, 2014.  Fittingly, on Canada Day.

Last visit to Henley Beach.  Where it all began.

Of course that meant I was left behind for an extra week, until July 11, to tie up all of the loose ends.  We hired a professional cleaner to clean the house (so we didn't get screwed like the last time we moved), but we STILL got scammed out of money because I accidentally had an extra rent payment go through that they refused to give back to me.  I also spilled water on my laptop the day before our insurance ended, so luckily I managed to get the money to buy a new one.

And while all of this was going down I got to stay with my lovely friends Janah and Luke.  Thank goodness I was around friends, because it was pretty hard to leave the amazing city we called home for almost three and a half years.

Those years changed our life like we couldn't have imagined.  The adventures were unmatched, and our friends and co-workers helped shape who we are now as adults.  As I write this, just over two years later, Ryan's parents are about to go back for a visit so we're feeling extremely nostalgic.  I'm missing the koala I used to pass in a tree on my walk to Greenhill Family Chiropractic, being woken up by parrots, sun drying tomatoes in the actual sun, and spending a lovely day at our favourite wineries in McLaren Vale.  But I also don't regret moving back.  Now we're back to living close to our family and friends, we got married in our favourite town, and we have an adorable puppy.  Everything happens as it should, and we will always remember those years in Australia with a fond smile and a twinkle.

Last view of Adelaide.

First view of Toronto.  Welcome home.

Hamilton Island and The Great Barrier Reef - June 7-11, 2014

When you think "Australia" one of the must-see attractions is, of course, the reef.  Ryan and I assumed that at some point we would meet a visitor there, so we never actually planned our own trip there until right before we moved away.  Of course that meant the season wasn't great, leading to probably our worst (and one of our most expensive) trips.  We chose to go to Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays because we thought it was the closest place we could find to snorkel from shore.  Boy were we mistaken!  

We should have known that leaving for the airport at 4am was a bad start, but the views on the way there were so beautiful that we temporarily forgot our exhaustion.

Unfortunately, by the time we landed the weather started to come in, but we had an awesome apartment to stay in with a great view and some interesting visitors.  We booked our trip out to the reef for the next day, did some exploring and grocery shopping, and had a delicious dinner at a Thai restaurant.  Hamilton Island isn't very big, so the exploring didn't take long!

Hearty breakfast before heading out on the boat.

As you can see, the weather was pretty nasty!  We got on a huge boat headed to "Reef World", and rightly chose to sit outside in the "wet seats" because they were at least in the fresh air.  I had been taking ginger tablets for a few hours before hand, and surprisingly, despite the 2m waves and the 2 hour trip, I was only minorly nauseous even though many people were throwing up inside.

When we arrived at Reef World (a permanent dock at the reef with a canteen and change rooms) we got our gear and got ready to go.  One lucky part of the day was our turtle sighting from the underwater observatory, but we never saw him after that.

The reef itself was neat, but not nearly as vibrant as we were expecting it to be (I think these pictures have enhanced the colours).  The water was murky and there weren't very many fish, but the giant purple clams were super cool.  It was also amazing to imagine how massive the reef really is.  Even the part we saw was bigger than anything I had seen before, and it stretches hundreds of kilometers.  Of course we were in an especially high-traffic area, so I'm sure many parts are way more incredible than what we saw.

My seasickness started to get the better of me after 45 minutes, so we got out and unfortunately I didn't recover enough to go back in.  It was also really cold, so it would have taken some extra coaxing!  We had a meagre lunch (I couldn't eat much) and tried to warm up and de-nauseate before getting back on the boat.

By the time we left the weather had gotten much worse, which unfortunately meant a rougher and longer ride home.  We didn't go on the upper deck this time, but instead stood at the back "out of the rain" hanging onto the railing.  The waves threw us around A LOT, so I tried to look on the horizon with focus of steel while Ryan held on to me and tried to stay standing.  The crew did their best to bring around ice cubes for people to suck on, which actually helped, but even many of the crew was throwing up.  I can't even imagine what it would have been like inside the cabin!  I just kept chewing on raw ginger, sucking on ice chips, and focusing hard.  Then, finally, we arrived at the dock after what felt like days later!

Needless to say it took me about 24 hours to feel better again, so dinner and the next day weren't very eventful.  Since it was raining anyway we just stuck around our apartment, played games, and relaxed.  Technically we could snorkel right off of our beach, but that clearly wasn't going to happen!

On the 10th, the day we were due to leave, we checked out and went to the airport, but our plane couldn't land on the island due to the weather.  For hours we waited there watching planes try to get close only to turn around again.  One or two managed to land, but not ours.  Eventually they cancelled everything and told us we were "stuck" on the island for an extra day, all expenses paid!  They booked us into a different hotel, gave us a meal voucher, and told us to come back the next day.

It's funny, because that bonus day was actually our best day of the whole trip!  I had gotten over my seasickness (which actually came back when we played mini-putt in a lake...) and we just made the most of it.

There was a mini-putt course we had wanted to try, and when we went to check it out they told us we could play for free because it was flooded.  They weren't kidding!  Beautiful course though, and a ton of fun to play with your ball underwater.

Then we went and sat by the pool for a few hours drinking cocktails.  It wasn't at all warm and sunny, but that actually made it fun in its own way.  We got a little tipsy, talked about our hopes and dreams, reminisced about our time in Australia, and killed time before dinner.

The next day the weather cleared up and we were able to fly home without any further complications.  It wasn't exactly the reef trip we were expecting, but we certainly have a lot of stories to tell!

NZ - Dec. 14-15, 2013 - Thermal Wonderland, Hobbiton, Mini Golf, Last Day

As our incredible New Zealand trip came to a close, we still had a few pretty major things to see before our departure.  As usual, we were up at 6:30am for one last dip in the hot pools, packed up like a well-oiled machine, and we were out of the site by 8:45.  Just down the street was our first stop for the day: Thermal Wonderland.

Even for first thing in the morning, the place was PACKED because everyone wanted to see the Lady Knox geyser eruption.  We grabbed our front row seats by 9:30am and eagerly awaited the 10:15am eruption with hundreds of other people.  They had added some soap to the water so we could see the bubbling beginning of the eruption easier, then for about 30 seconds it shot 15m into the air.  It was tough to see through all of the steam, but the geologists among us loved it.  Me, meh, I could take it or leave it!

We spent the rest of the sweltering hot morning wandering around the rest of Thermal Wonderland.  Again, lots of neat things for the geologists, and lots of really different colours that you don't usually see anywhere else.

This picture doesn't capture how highlighter green that "water" really was.

The coolest part of the whole park was Champagne Pools.  It was beautiful, and surprisingly deep.  The steam was even a different colour!

Photo credit: Ryan P

Photo credit: Ryan P

The FUNNIEST thing happened in the parking lot as we were leaving.  The whole trip we had been seeing these Wicked camper vans everywhere, and Ryan R thought it would be great to get a picture of him posing with one with a Jackie Chan guy on it.  So he did...but as he was posing the girl who was renting the van showed up and got into the trunk.  Ryan had no idea she was there!  We all had a really good laugh over it, and we did get a fantastic picture.

Photo credit: Kat

We had one last picnic lunch in Kuirau Park (in the centre of Rotorura), then we packed up and did the 1 hour drive to Hobbiton.  We JUST made it at 4pm before they closed, and managed to get on the 4:20pm tour.  As luck would have it, we were all alone!  We got on a gigantic bus, and had a private tour of the beautiful grounds.

Our guide was a young guy named Taylor who actually played one of the baby hobbits in the movie.  He was really great, but despite his best efforts he couldn't keep the chinese tour group behind us from getting in our way.  He also showed us the last living sheep from the movie, which was really rare to see (though easy to spot, because it has a black head).  I was amazed how cool Hobbiton was, because I didn't really care about any of the movies.  I couldn't get over how beautiful and adorable the gardens were, and how they thought through every detail to make it look completely believable. 

Photo credit:Kat

Photo credit:Kat

Photo credit: Kat

Photo credit: Ryan P

Photo credit: Ryan R

Photo credit: Ryan R

Photo credit: Ryan R

The grand finale of the tour was an ale or ginger beer (for the driver...me) at the tavern.  They had really done a good job of it, especially because the inside wasn't in the movie so they just made it special for the tourists.  I really loved all of the notices they had up on the walls.  Ryan R especially loved the bathrooms and was super curious if the woman's bathroom was the same as the men's :)

Photo credit: Ryan R

And with that, our last day came to a close as we headed to Opal Hotsprings for one last night in our tents.  We cooked an easy dinner of soup and salad, drank more delicious wine, and Kat and Ryan brought out their Scotch as we played some final board games until 1am.  Turns out, Scotch, even when mixed with water, does NOT sit well with me!  Thank goodness it was our last night there, because that was way more drunk than I had been the entire trip.  

The next morning we were all a little tired, so we had a slow start and didn't get everything packed up until 11am.  Luckily it was a sunny morning so everything dried, and we cleaned off our tents as best we could for our international flights.

Back near the airport we had passed a super awesome pirate and dinosaur mini-putt, and since Ryan and I can never resist a good mini-putt that's how we killed some time before Kat and Ryan's flight.  (On our layover back to Australia Ryan and I went back there to play the dinosaur round, that's how fun it was!)

Photo credit: Ryan R

Photo credit: Ryan R

Our goodbyes weren't that sad since we were going to see Kat and Ryan again at New Years back in Canada, so we dropped them off to continue their trip on the South Island, and then we headed back to our original hotel to get all of our stuff organized.

Probably the saddest goodbye was to our trusty treasure chest that held our food the entire vacation.  Way more fun than a regular bin!

It was a bit complicated, because we ended up leaving all of our camping stuff at the hotel, flying to Canada, then coming back to the same hotel to pick it all up on our layover before heading back to Australia.  We killed more time by going to see the second Hobbit movie in theatres and wandering around the mall before a delicious dinner and a good night sleep.

We had a really awesome trip back to Canada for Christmas.  This time we mostly just saw our families, and then headed up to Sauble Beach for the annual New Years cottage party with the U of W geology crowd.  I did forget never to pull over onto the shoulder in the winter in Canada, so I managed to get the rental car stuck and had to have Jeremy pull me out of the ditch.  Ryan and I also picked parsnips under two feet of snow at my parent's house.  We had tons of fun in the snow since it was such a novelty for us again.

On our way home we were lucky to make it out of Canada because there was a huge snowstorm that closed the airport right after we left.  When we arrived in Australia after a horribly delayed flight we were exhausted and completely forgot to declare all of our camping stuff that we had picked up in New Zealand.  We got a really serious talking to by the security people, but luckily we got through without a fine.  Stupid mistake, since we're always really honest about what we declare, but at least they thoroughly cleaned our tent for us!

Well, those were some pretty epic posts that took me OVER TWO YEARS to finally write, but I'm so glad I did.  It was really fun to relive everything, and dream of our next adventure.

NZ - Dec. 13, 2013 - Zip Lining in Rotorua, Hell's Gate Mud Pools, Mud Bubbles

I think our theme today is jazz hands and mud...

Still sporting sunburns we plastered ourselves in healing coconut oil shortly after our 6:30am wakeup and our early morning dip in the thermal pools.  On the road by 8:45am to make sure we got to our zip lining tour on time!  Turns out we were super early, but we were very eager and excited.

Our 3 hour adventure started at 10am.  We filled out paperwork, got weighed, and suited up.  We had two hilarious guides, Shane and Richard, looking after our group of 10 people.  We got into the van and started to get to know each other, and Shane blurted out that he hunts pigs.  I don't know what came over me, but I burst out laughing because I had no idea that hunting pigs was a real thing.  Unfortunately for me, I paid for my little outburst for the rest of the trip by getting picked on.  Whoops!

Photo credit: Ryan R

Photo credit: Ryan R

When we arrived at the site we had a short walk through a beautiful virgin forest (one of the last in New Zealand, so it's also a conservation site) and then headed up for our first practice zipline.  It was short and low, but exciting since it was my first time ever doing it.  As we went on, each one got higher and longer, culminating in the longest one which was 220m.  They explained to us that when we got to the end we had to catch this rope stopper thing, but when I got to the end I managed to forget completely, even though the guide yelled at me to do it, and so I ended up reversing all the way back to the middle of the zipline!  Which of course meant that the guide had to pull me in on the longest of all the routes.  Another whoops!

Photo credit: Ryan R

The next one after that was very steep and we had to be careful to avoid a tree.

On the last one they told us we could try to flip upside down while we were going.  Kat and I managed to do it, but Ryan R got tangled and somehow got his leg stuck in his arm, and Ryan P looked more like a limp starfish when he tried.  Then we walked over a bridge and got to pose by hanging off the side a bit.  Super hard to keep your balance!

Overall it was a really fantastic trip with tons of highlights.  Highly recommended, and it was totally safe.  Well, as safe as flying through trees on a rope can be.

For lunch we thought we'd check out Sulphur Point.  I don't know why we though that was a good idea...as you might expect it was a smelly place that was kind of sketchy and full of seagulls.  The rest of the park was beautiful though in Rotorua.

Photo credit: Ryan R

Our first stop after lunch was to try and watch people zorbing (a notoriously NZ thing), but unfortunately there was no one to watch.  Our group was on the fence about actually doing it, but in the end we chickened out.

Next, and most notably, we went to Hell's Gate Mud Pools.  Unfortunately, this was one of the most memorable parts of the trip.  For $75/each we got to sit in brown water for 20 minutes with a bucket of mud.  Wasn't quite what we were expecting, but we made the most of it.

Photo credit: Ryan R

Photo credit: Ryan R('s camera...)

Everything was going fine until we showered off and Kat messed up a contact lens.  We were sitting in the sulphur pools and she started to get really sore eyes, like when you cut an onion or get chlorine from a pool in them.  Except, MUCH worse.  Naturally she took out her contacts and we all decided to leave.  While we were changing it started happening to Ryan R as well, so I went to reception and they gave us some eye drops.  Her only advice to us was to get out of the area as quickly as possible because it was the sulphur in the air burning their eyes.  Not even thinking, I ALSO took out my contacts and that's when we realized that was the problem to begin with, so of course I died too.  While all three of us were crying like babies and couldn't open our eyes, Ryan P had to drive us all out of there.  What a gong show!

Kat and Ryan soon got better, but they had about 20 minutes on me, so by the time we reached our next destination, the mud bubbles, I still couldn't see but they were fine.  The mud pools were another free gem.  And also really supernatural...why was there bubbling mud??  So neat.  We were all really impressed how much free thermal stuff there was to do and see.

Photo credit: Ryan R

20 minutes later we were back at our campsite and got to cooking an epic taco salad for dinner.  We half-heartedly had another soak in the thermal pools, but really we just needed to clean off even more mud and re-apply the coconut oil to our burns.  We were definitely early to bed that night, and everyone had sore eyes from crying so much.  What a day!