I had a great weekend after a long half week of work ;-). Monday was Australia Day which is very similar to our 4th of July. I got the day off and we went to a BBQ at the Sevenhill Hotel (1km from work, awesome food), drank beers, watched cricket, rocked to music, and hung out getting bit up by mosquitoes and later there were fireworks (on TV, not local though, too dry).
So last week was a pretty good start, started Wednesday. Found out I have a lot more responsibility than expected since the 2 new guys, Bill and I, ( and hopefully 2 more soon) will be the whole cellar crew since the 2 permanent staff have left (Jack a couple weeks ago after loosing his wife, and Pud on friday). Pud helped train us a little but now that he's gone it's all on Liz our winemaker to show us the Sevenhill Cellars way to make wine at the ground level. Most of last week was bottling, which it was so nice to have a capable bottling line running at a pace we could all handle. I even learned a little about operating the line. We bottled a lot of Alter wine (it was really gross sweet and dry white sherry) all of wednesday. And on thursday and friday we bottled some decent shiraz for a client. then on friday we took a couple hours off and had a going away party for Pud, saw how nice everyone at work was, a lot a really friendly/happy/caring people... looks like a great place to work. We had a few beers out front of the tasting room (or as they say here "Cellar Door") which is directly in front of a huge old stone church. Like i said there were beers, a few bottles of wine and delicious sausage rolls (that Liz made), I even had a nice chat with Brother John May.
Later Friday I met up with my roommates down at the Clare Hotel (FYI it seems that most of the Pubs/Bars in small towns here are called Hotels, I think they're historic hotels that are now restaurant/pubs yet they usually have cheap rooms upstairs, dorm like with a shared bathroom down the hall). Met quite a few new people... all of which i can't remember their names, sorry guys if you read this! :) but i'm sure i'll see them many more times, this town isn't that big. had a little bite to eat and a few drinks (included what was called a snakebite: 1/2 hard cider, 1/2 beer and a spash of raspberry syrup i think... really refreshing) then we walked up the road to "the other bar", The Bentley. Where there was a DJ (that i thought was good, and a little cute (beer goggles?)) and playstation karaoke... and met more people, mostly girls. All very friendly but thought i was scottish for some reason??? And Pud the guy from the winery was one of the bartenders. the rest is kind of a blurr, but we were responsible and took a cab home... mostly because i guess the cops here set up road blocks all the time and they will breathalyze everyone (0.05 limit), especially during holiday weekends like this one... and we did go by the cops checking people.
Took Saturday easy, did laundry, watch a little austalia open tennis, rested
Sunday we took a road trip to a little town named Blanchtown to spend the night with one of Carmen's good friend who is the host at a camp ground (what they call a "caravan park") it was kind of a tight fit in the car. it was Carman, Sally and Me, 2 cases of beer, a cooler (they call it an "Esky"...just the namebrand), an overnight bag & pillow for each of us and 3 huge "swags" (that filled the trunk (they call the truck the "boot", hood is the "bonnet")...) Whats a swag you ask? its basically an all-in-one roll up "sleeping bag, mattress pad and waterproof canvas cover" i think the cover can be used like a tent if you need, but they're huge. they said its the aussie way and made me sleep in it... and i had a great nights rest!!!!
Monday (jan 26) was Australia day and I already told you a little about that... spent the morning driving back from Blanchtown, iced coffees in hand. rested for a couple hours then headed down to the pub for the afternoon fun. we first stopped at a store and picked up some aussie gear... tshirts, bandanas, hats, temp tattoos. lots of crazy fun, everyone dresses up my favorite was the people wearing the flag like a cape and lots of white zinc sunblock for face paint (they got me bad, covered nearly my entire face, sorry no pics) but i did look funny, i wore an australia rugby jersey, australia wrist sweat bands, australia trucker cap, board shorts and flipflops, a lot of people commented i looked more australia than most of the people there. Even saw a lot of people from work. It was a blast!
Today was a scorcher and its only suppose to get worse. one of the vineyard guys said it was about 120 according to his thermometer out on the roads. and the hot weather isn't here yet! i guess there 2 weeks of this forecasted. I think i might melt! and usually i'm in a nice cool cellar but this one is kind of an open cellar so its just as warm inside as out... at least its totally undercover.
i think i'm getting a cramp...need more water i guess. hahaha
goodnight!!!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Greetings From the Clare Wine Valley!!!
Well I made it. After a mere 2200 kms ( 1376 miles) in less than a week I made it to Clare, my home for the next few months and I'll be working at a winery just down the road, Sevenhill Cellars... I actually start tomorrow. Big day!
So here is my best recollection of my past few days…
Jan 14
So my road trip started where I last left you last, in Sydney. The day before I spent most of the day in the hostel doing laundry and packing, all the time finishing (or trying to) my box of goon wine... first mistake! Ha.
Did I mention the really annoying new roommates I got in the hostel room? Ya, a couple from some eastern European country that talked and talked and talked... and in a language that if you asked me to guess I couldn't tell you... maybe Slovak or Russian... but they were drinking all night in the room and getting louder and gigglier (is that a word?) till like 12 when they headed out, probably to a disco or something but I was glad, my ear plugs couldn't keep out her high pitch voice... anyways... lets just say I was very excited to pick up the car in the morning and was ready to get a move on it out of Sydney.
So it being Wednesday night the restaurant up the road, The Shark Bar, was having its $2 steaks again and I couldn't resist. It was great and a hell of a deal! A decent little 8 oz steak and fries… plus beers only $4 too. Finished off the night in the lounge trying to give away the rest of my wine but no one wanted any… ending up having to leave about a ¼ of it… I hope it found a good home.
Jan 15
I awoke not feeling so good (that’s it! No more goon wine! Haha I don’t care how much of deal it is!) 4 liters for less then 15 dollars is just asking for trouble considering you can get a very decent bottle (normal bottle size is ¾ of a liters) is $15. So I started my long trek to the car dealer, it was just a short train ride south to the suburbs of Sydney… I was a little uncomfortable carrying so much cash on me, I kind of stuck out with a backpack the size of an 8th grader on my back. But I made it safe but quite sweaty. The dealer, Murray, was great! Got me a glass of water and we started on the paperwork and with in 30 minutes I was on the road. The car ran great, almost out of gas I headed for a gas station, always an adventure in foreign lands…so many unknowns, which side is my gas tank, do I pump or do they, do I pay before or after… luckily it all went smoothly, tank on the passenger side, you pump yourself and pay after. Gas or as they call it petrol (gas is for LPG gas cars) costs around $1.10 per liter… seems like a deal but that over $4 per gallon. Only thing was when I was walking back from paying I noticed a puddle of liquid under my car, further investigation showed it was coming from the overflow on the coolant tank… I was hoping it really was just over filled and was truly overflowing… the cooling system being so important with the conditions and long drive I had ahead, it worried me. But so far so good… checked it and still full and had a few times when the temp gauge climbed up going up hills but it returned to normal on the declines.
Hooked up my new little travel companion, my Garmin GPS, tuned in a great radio station triple J, (the radio is actually really great here, lots of new stuff) and headed south along the Princes Hwy… and I would remain on the Princes Hwy virtually my entire trip. It took a while to get used to driving on the right hand side of the car and left side of the road but after a few days I’m adjusted. I found it most hard to keep the car centered in the lane… I kept drifting to the left because I think it felt more natural to have my body over there, it was nice that there was the little rumble strip along the fog line so if I did drift a little too far I got a reminder. The worst are all the darn roundabouts… tricky at first but I’m a pro now. And every time I am turning out of an intersection I have to say in my head “short left, far right” so I don’t turn into oncoming traffic. Still haven’t tried to parallel park… cos I think my head would explode.
Now that I think about it… I feel like I got drugged or have been asleep for like 50 years… I mean it’s all so different and confusing yet it all feels familiar, I can make sense of everything but something just isn’t right… I can communicate with everyone but it’s just not English. I can drive alright but it’s all backwards. Even the money isn’t right… the smallest coin they have is about the size of a penny but is worth $2 and there’s a 50 cent piece about the size of those old JFK 50 cent pieces. And don’t get me started on the bills… it’s like I have a rainbow in my wallet. Its kind of funny thinking about it…anyways on with the quest!
The drive was amazing… the hwy goes along the coast with plenty of little lookouts and signs for interesting things, even made a few stops to dip my toes in the ocean. Notably Mt. Keira lookout which was a little out of the way but a great view for miles, Sublime Point Lookout which really was a sublime lookout of the coast line and a stop at Jervis Bay for a little beach combing along its white sand beach. The road passed through many small “surf” villages with beautiful beaches. My first day ended in the little fishing village of Narooma. Checked into the Lynch Hotel, they call it a pub room… as you can guess it’s just a room above the pub. After a shower I headed downstairs for the pub and had a great night with a few locals, getting a real taste of local life here.
Jan 16
Next morning I was up early and headed for a nearby beach and caught a couple surfers “hanging 10” hahaha Since I was approaching the border of the state I bought my car in I had to get it registered before I left… something the dealer made sound super easy but without internet or addresses to their DMVs I was lost. Tried calling my Mom to help but I think I just confused her with what I was trying to do. But what luck I found out there was a RTA (their dmv, Roads and Traffic Authority) in Narooma! Too bad it was closed. Headed for the next closest one… luckily it was open and the registration went relatively easy… accidentally got the wrong change back so it only cost like half as much as it should have… (Was thinking either karma was going to bite me for this or it was a little repayment for my troubles) All that work took me the better part of the day. Made it to a little fishing village called Eden where I stopped for a little bite to eat… as suggested by my guide books, I got fish and chips with the fish being flake. According to the books flake is actually a local shark in the area… Good!!! Take that sharky! It was delicious! Walked the wharf, very windy and snapped a few pics and was back on the road. Along the way I noticed a few of the rest stops had rainforest walks listed under the signs… so I decided to stop at one… randomly the one I stopped at was called the McKenzie River Rainforest walk, how weird. At this point I left the state of New South Wales and entered Victoria! Yay! Moving along. More beautiful driving and ended up in Orbost for the night… in another pub room. No drinking tonight, wanted to get up early and get further along since I missed out on half a days drive the day before. But did have a dinner of schnitzel… a classic aussie meal... it was basically a chicken fried steak with brown gravy on top… very good!
Jan 17
More beautiful driving, twisting and turning along the coast or winding up the hills. Well it was all good till I got to Melbourne, which my trusty garmin failed me, it only wanted to take me on the toll road that required a Epass prepaid thingy which I didn’t have and no booths to be seen… so I decided to just go around, plus it would give me a chance to see the town… too bad it was about 3 and rush hour traffic was pretty bad. I think it was only suppose to take me 15 minutes to get through town… it took me over an hour, grrrr.
Quickly arrived in Geelong where I left the Princes Hwy for my much anticipated detour, The Great Ocean Road!!! It was an awesome drive, curving right along the coast line, heaps of turnouts and lookouts for photo ops, and best of all the temperature was cool… very refreshing. Stopped at a famous surfer spot, Bells Beach and watch some great surfers for a while then headed along to Lorne to find a bed for the night, ended up in a youth hostel (always fun) checked in, walked the main drag looking for dinner, found a little burger place and headed, burger in hand, for the beach to enjoyed the twilight and sounds of waves crashing. But my peace was kind of disturbed by the local wildlife… although beautiful, they were loud, huge white cockatoos and other colorful parrots flying around squawking at each other.
Jan 18
Next morning had a little trouble getting out of the parking lot of the hostel… it was a grassy downhill and with the morning dew I couldn’t get any traction, thought I was going to have to call a tow truck or something, I was slipping farther forward toward doom! But luckily a car that was parked to the side left and I was able to make my escape over the sidewalk and off the curb… stopped at the pier before I left town and watched a few local fisherman and enjoyed the clam morning. I meant to get up early to watch the sun rise but was really sleepy at 6 and slept in, and found out it was for the better, the rest of my trip was all about timing, and mine was perfect. Driving along there were signs for a important light house coming up but when I looked for it on the Garmin it didn’t show up… when I got closer I found out why… there’s a big hole in the map! Luckily there was only one road…and what I found made my day, and the timing was perfect. Half way to the lighthouse I noticed a few cars pulled off the side of the road in the forested area I was travelling through… and noticed a small woodland critter scurrying along side the road, NO WAY!!! A freaking koala! I quick hopped out and took a few pictures. I then noticed there were koalas in about every other tree, all balled up on the branches sleeping. Too cute. Made it to the lighthouse but it cost money to see so I decided not to, I’ve seen some awesome lighthouses back home…koalas are way better. So back to the Great Ocean Road I went. And what do you know, not 30 minutes down the road another woodland critter in the road, this koala was just chilling in the middle of my lane… I pulled up slowly, he wasn’t going to budge, maybe a little old grumpy one. I pulled around so that it was directly outside my door and stopped. I thought about reaching out and petting but imagined him jumping up and going straight for my neck… AHHH!!! Seriously too cute. And not much further down the road more natural wonders to behold! There were lots of limestone rock formations, notably the Twelve Apostles, Gibson Steps (hand carved into the cliff), The Arch and the Crags…also stoped at something called the Granites but it was just a few big boulders on the beach. Not as cool as the pillars of limestone carved by eons of water and wind (maybe they were really big and you could only see a tiny bit above ground). Wish I could have spent more time in this area… very picturesque. Finally came to the end of the Great Ocean Road and hopped back onto Princes Hwy. Soon crossed into the state of South Australia… my home for the next few months. Starting to get a little warmer. Still close to coast but not the same drive.
That night I ended up in a little town called Robe… not sure the history but I was hoping that everyone would be wearing a robe. Stayed at the Lakeside Manor a hostel in a really old mansion made of limestone with ceilings that seemed over 20 feet tall. And another great timing moment was I had just enough time to check in then head for the beach to watch the sunset… it was beautiful (I even got a time-lapse of it) had a little local pizza then hit the hay. Actually had a great nights rest.
Jan 19
Final day of driving!!! Continued along the coast for most of the AM, but the temperature outside kept getting warmer and warmer… the worst to come. I put my trust into my Garmin GPS to bypass Adelaide hoping it would save some time, it took me on a winding adventure through many tiny towns in the bushlands east of Adelaide… I couldn’t even tell you the route. But at one point the heat got too much and I finally rolled up my windows and popped on the a/c… and it worked great!!! 2 hours later I arrived in the Clare Valley, my new home! Met up with Liz my new winemaker boss at Sevenhill Cellars, got a little tour, shook a few hands then headed off to a pub in Clare to meet my new roommates Carmen and Jarrad. Had a few schooners (small beers here, pints are bigger) did a little grocery shopping then headed back to there place where we made some pasta for Tea (aka dinner) and watch the Australia open (tennis) on TV till bed time… chatting all along about my travels and getting to know each other better.
Awww it feels good to be settled in and not have to travel for a little while. Too bad it involves having to work in this freaking heat… temps are right around 100 degrees but it’s a dry heat so it’s bearable. Well that’s all for now, I hope you all enjoy and sorry for the long post but internet wasn’t so easy to find or when I did find it they wanted something like 5 dollars for 30 minutes… and it took me most of the afternoon to write this…
Take Care and keep in touch!!!
So here is my best recollection of my past few days…
Jan 14
So my road trip started where I last left you last, in Sydney. The day before I spent most of the day in the hostel doing laundry and packing, all the time finishing (or trying to) my box of goon wine... first mistake! Ha.
Did I mention the really annoying new roommates I got in the hostel room? Ya, a couple from some eastern European country that talked and talked and talked... and in a language that if you asked me to guess I couldn't tell you... maybe Slovak or Russian... but they were drinking all night in the room and getting louder and gigglier (is that a word?) till like 12 when they headed out, probably to a disco or something but I was glad, my ear plugs couldn't keep out her high pitch voice... anyways... lets just say I was very excited to pick up the car in the morning and was ready to get a move on it out of Sydney.
So it being Wednesday night the restaurant up the road, The Shark Bar, was having its $2 steaks again and I couldn't resist. It was great and a hell of a deal! A decent little 8 oz steak and fries… plus beers only $4 too. Finished off the night in the lounge trying to give away the rest of my wine but no one wanted any… ending up having to leave about a ¼ of it… I hope it found a good home.
Jan 15
I awoke not feeling so good (that’s it! No more goon wine! Haha I don’t care how much of deal it is!) 4 liters for less then 15 dollars is just asking for trouble considering you can get a very decent bottle (normal bottle size is ¾ of a liters) is $15. So I started my long trek to the car dealer, it was just a short train ride south to the suburbs of Sydney… I was a little uncomfortable carrying so much cash on me, I kind of stuck out with a backpack the size of an 8th grader on my back. But I made it safe but quite sweaty. The dealer, Murray, was great! Got me a glass of water and we started on the paperwork and with in 30 minutes I was on the road. The car ran great, almost out of gas I headed for a gas station, always an adventure in foreign lands…so many unknowns, which side is my gas tank, do I pump or do they, do I pay before or after… luckily it all went smoothly, tank on the passenger side, you pump yourself and pay after. Gas or as they call it petrol (gas is for LPG gas cars) costs around $1.10 per liter… seems like a deal but that over $4 per gallon. Only thing was when I was walking back from paying I noticed a puddle of liquid under my car, further investigation showed it was coming from the overflow on the coolant tank… I was hoping it really was just over filled and was truly overflowing… the cooling system being so important with the conditions and long drive I had ahead, it worried me. But so far so good… checked it and still full and had a few times when the temp gauge climbed up going up hills but it returned to normal on the declines.
Hooked up my new little travel companion, my Garmin GPS, tuned in a great radio station triple J, (the radio is actually really great here, lots of new stuff) and headed south along the Princes Hwy… and I would remain on the Princes Hwy virtually my entire trip. It took a while to get used to driving on the right hand side of the car and left side of the road but after a few days I’m adjusted. I found it most hard to keep the car centered in the lane… I kept drifting to the left because I think it felt more natural to have my body over there, it was nice that there was the little rumble strip along the fog line so if I did drift a little too far I got a reminder. The worst are all the darn roundabouts… tricky at first but I’m a pro now. And every time I am turning out of an intersection I have to say in my head “short left, far right” so I don’t turn into oncoming traffic. Still haven’t tried to parallel park… cos I think my head would explode.
Now that I think about it… I feel like I got drugged or have been asleep for like 50 years… I mean it’s all so different and confusing yet it all feels familiar, I can make sense of everything but something just isn’t right… I can communicate with everyone but it’s just not English. I can drive alright but it’s all backwards. Even the money isn’t right… the smallest coin they have is about the size of a penny but is worth $2 and there’s a 50 cent piece about the size of those old JFK 50 cent pieces. And don’t get me started on the bills… it’s like I have a rainbow in my wallet. Its kind of funny thinking about it…anyways on with the quest!
The drive was amazing… the hwy goes along the coast with plenty of little lookouts and signs for interesting things, even made a few stops to dip my toes in the ocean. Notably Mt. Keira lookout which was a little out of the way but a great view for miles, Sublime Point Lookout which really was a sublime lookout of the coast line and a stop at Jervis Bay for a little beach combing along its white sand beach. The road passed through many small “surf” villages with beautiful beaches. My first day ended in the little fishing village of Narooma. Checked into the Lynch Hotel, they call it a pub room… as you can guess it’s just a room above the pub. After a shower I headed downstairs for the pub and had a great night with a few locals, getting a real taste of local life here.
Jan 16
Next morning I was up early and headed for a nearby beach and caught a couple surfers “hanging 10” hahaha Since I was approaching the border of the state I bought my car in I had to get it registered before I left… something the dealer made sound super easy but without internet or addresses to their DMVs I was lost. Tried calling my Mom to help but I think I just confused her with what I was trying to do. But what luck I found out there was a RTA (their dmv, Roads and Traffic Authority) in Narooma! Too bad it was closed. Headed for the next closest one… luckily it was open and the registration went relatively easy… accidentally got the wrong change back so it only cost like half as much as it should have… (Was thinking either karma was going to bite me for this or it was a little repayment for my troubles) All that work took me the better part of the day. Made it to a little fishing village called Eden where I stopped for a little bite to eat… as suggested by my guide books, I got fish and chips with the fish being flake. According to the books flake is actually a local shark in the area… Good!!! Take that sharky! It was delicious! Walked the wharf, very windy and snapped a few pics and was back on the road. Along the way I noticed a few of the rest stops had rainforest walks listed under the signs… so I decided to stop at one… randomly the one I stopped at was called the McKenzie River Rainforest walk, how weird. At this point I left the state of New South Wales and entered Victoria! Yay! Moving along. More beautiful driving and ended up in Orbost for the night… in another pub room. No drinking tonight, wanted to get up early and get further along since I missed out on half a days drive the day before. But did have a dinner of schnitzel… a classic aussie meal... it was basically a chicken fried steak with brown gravy on top… very good!
Jan 17
More beautiful driving, twisting and turning along the coast or winding up the hills. Well it was all good till I got to Melbourne, which my trusty garmin failed me, it only wanted to take me on the toll road that required a Epass prepaid thingy which I didn’t have and no booths to be seen… so I decided to just go around, plus it would give me a chance to see the town… too bad it was about 3 and rush hour traffic was pretty bad. I think it was only suppose to take me 15 minutes to get through town… it took me over an hour, grrrr.
Quickly arrived in Geelong where I left the Princes Hwy for my much anticipated detour, The Great Ocean Road!!! It was an awesome drive, curving right along the coast line, heaps of turnouts and lookouts for photo ops, and best of all the temperature was cool… very refreshing. Stopped at a famous surfer spot, Bells Beach and watch some great surfers for a while then headed along to Lorne to find a bed for the night, ended up in a youth hostel (always fun) checked in, walked the main drag looking for dinner, found a little burger place and headed, burger in hand, for the beach to enjoyed the twilight and sounds of waves crashing. But my peace was kind of disturbed by the local wildlife… although beautiful, they were loud, huge white cockatoos and other colorful parrots flying around squawking at each other.
Jan 18
Next morning had a little trouble getting out of the parking lot of the hostel… it was a grassy downhill and with the morning dew I couldn’t get any traction, thought I was going to have to call a tow truck or something, I was slipping farther forward toward doom! But luckily a car that was parked to the side left and I was able to make my escape over the sidewalk and off the curb… stopped at the pier before I left town and watched a few local fisherman and enjoyed the clam morning. I meant to get up early to watch the sun rise but was really sleepy at 6 and slept in, and found out it was for the better, the rest of my trip was all about timing, and mine was perfect. Driving along there were signs for a important light house coming up but when I looked for it on the Garmin it didn’t show up… when I got closer I found out why… there’s a big hole in the map! Luckily there was only one road…and what I found made my day, and the timing was perfect. Half way to the lighthouse I noticed a few cars pulled off the side of the road in the forested area I was travelling through… and noticed a small woodland critter scurrying along side the road, NO WAY!!! A freaking koala! I quick hopped out and took a few pictures. I then noticed there were koalas in about every other tree, all balled up on the branches sleeping. Too cute. Made it to the lighthouse but it cost money to see so I decided not to, I’ve seen some awesome lighthouses back home…koalas are way better. So back to the Great Ocean Road I went. And what do you know, not 30 minutes down the road another woodland critter in the road, this koala was just chilling in the middle of my lane… I pulled up slowly, he wasn’t going to budge, maybe a little old grumpy one. I pulled around so that it was directly outside my door and stopped. I thought about reaching out and petting but imagined him jumping up and going straight for my neck… AHHH!!! Seriously too cute. And not much further down the road more natural wonders to behold! There were lots of limestone rock formations, notably the Twelve Apostles, Gibson Steps (hand carved into the cliff), The Arch and the Crags…also stoped at something called the Granites but it was just a few big boulders on the beach. Not as cool as the pillars of limestone carved by eons of water and wind (maybe they were really big and you could only see a tiny bit above ground). Wish I could have spent more time in this area… very picturesque. Finally came to the end of the Great Ocean Road and hopped back onto Princes Hwy. Soon crossed into the state of South Australia… my home for the next few months. Starting to get a little warmer. Still close to coast but not the same drive.
That night I ended up in a little town called Robe… not sure the history but I was hoping that everyone would be wearing a robe. Stayed at the Lakeside Manor a hostel in a really old mansion made of limestone with ceilings that seemed over 20 feet tall. And another great timing moment was I had just enough time to check in then head for the beach to watch the sunset… it was beautiful (I even got a time-lapse of it) had a little local pizza then hit the hay. Actually had a great nights rest.
Jan 19
Final day of driving!!! Continued along the coast for most of the AM, but the temperature outside kept getting warmer and warmer… the worst to come. I put my trust into my Garmin GPS to bypass Adelaide hoping it would save some time, it took me on a winding adventure through many tiny towns in the bushlands east of Adelaide… I couldn’t even tell you the route. But at one point the heat got too much and I finally rolled up my windows and popped on the a/c… and it worked great!!! 2 hours later I arrived in the Clare Valley, my new home! Met up with Liz my new winemaker boss at Sevenhill Cellars, got a little tour, shook a few hands then headed off to a pub in Clare to meet my new roommates Carmen and Jarrad. Had a few schooners (small beers here, pints are bigger) did a little grocery shopping then headed back to there place where we made some pasta for Tea (aka dinner) and watch the Australia open (tennis) on TV till bed time… chatting all along about my travels and getting to know each other better.
Awww it feels good to be settled in and not have to travel for a little while. Too bad it involves having to work in this freaking heat… temps are right around 100 degrees but it’s a dry heat so it’s bearable. Well that’s all for now, I hope you all enjoy and sorry for the long post but internet wasn’t so easy to find or when I did find it they wanted something like 5 dollars for 30 minutes… and it took me most of the afternoon to write this…
Take Care and keep in touch!!!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
ouch! i think i found the hole in the ozone.
so i spent the morning and afternoon at the Taronga Zoo here in sydney. it was great and even though most of it was in trees or under cover i still found a way to get a total sunburn! (sorry mom) i hope my face doesn't peel off tomorrow! but the zoo was great (not as good as the zoo in aukland or dublin but still great. i took a ton of pics and will have to post then if i get a chance. it was quiet the trip getting there.... i tried to take it easy on my damaged feet so i had to figure out how to use the bus system... i swear they don't speak english here! its terrible, its like they mumble in an english like language. they fare for the bus was $1.90.... but what i heard was dolla nanana mate... and they wanted exact change so i handed him 5 bux and smiled, and i got a dirly look back. i think i might be lucky that i'm in the asian part of town because everyone here speaks a broken english i CAN understand or at least i don't feel bad asking what they said like 5 times. so i took a 5 minute bus ride to the ferry terminal, then took the ferry straight to the zoo... which had an awesome view, the ferrys leave right by the sydney opera house and pass right by the big harbour bridge... very scenic, well worth the fee. then once i got to the zoo i had to take a tram/gondola thingy to the top of the hill the zoo was on.... it was nice, you basically walked the zoo all down hill till you got back to the water front and took the ferry back to town.
anywho went and got a box of goon for tonight.... aka 4 liters for 11 bux.... dangerous!!!! well tomorrows my last day for a while in sydeny, very exciting, only spent twice as long as expected but i'm ready to get on the road.... next stop....umm ? will be headed south along the coast line till i end up in adelaide on my way to clare for my job. yay!!!! work, i actually am very excited.
anywho went and got a box of goon for tonight.... aka 4 liters for 11 bux.... dangerous!!!! well tomorrows my last day for a while in sydeny, very exciting, only spent twice as long as expected but i'm ready to get on the road.... next stop....umm ? will be headed south along the coast line till i end up in adelaide on my way to clare for my job. yay!!!! work, i actually am very excited.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
I got a car!
So after checking out a few dealers i finally found a car. its a little old but they place i got it from deals with us backpacker exclusively and really gives you a good deal. The car comes with a year guaranty on the powertrain (engine, tranny, etc) also 6 months of registration was included (which i think is worth $500) and a bunch of camping gear is included (tent,sleepingbag,mats, cooler with cups and utensils). all for a reasonable $2999 which is only about 2000 US dollars. and when i go to leave Australia and i can't sell it they will buy it back for 40% minus any damages so thats night to have in case i have a problem selling and have to fly back.
The car is a 1992 Ford Falcon EB sedan with only 201,000 kms and in great shape. plus before i can pick it up tomorrow or the next day they are doing a full service on it and inspecting everything. so its in tip top shape, ready for me to hit the road all included in the price. unlike my car in NZ that felt like it was going to die every other day. here is a pic of a similar one. i think its the same thing as an escort over in the states but its got the steering wheel on the other side.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Stupid Shoes!!
So I think my shoes have it out to kill me. My feet are so sore and have a few blisters... maybe I shouldn’t have walked around for a couple hours with my both my packs (about 50+ lbs).
So both my flights went well, short delay in Medford (which sucked because they new terminal is opening soon and all the facilities were closed, planned on a couple beers but no bar) and right on time in san fran. While at the san fran airport I got myself a wonderful breadbowl of clam chowder and a couple beers. Delicious!
Since my flight left at night I saw an amazing sunrise as we approached Sydney.... awesome views of some tiny island cities and I think some reefs. But it was really cloudy so didn’t see as much as I hoped. Customs was a nightmare when I got to Sydney... lines were freaking longer than you could believe... and stupid me declared my camera and gear so I had to go through the duty line only to find out that if its older than a year old it doesn't matter... I could have just hoped in the short x-ray line and been out. plus it didn't help that a airport "helper" told me to head straight for the blokes in blue shirts...so I did only to find out that he meant keep in line headed for them so after waiting like 30 minutes I had to go to the back of the line and wait all over again...so it was a double hit. But it could have been worse, I say a few people getting searched because the little beagle sniffing dogs smelled something… one lady had a huge buncg of bananas, and she was freaking out because I think you get a huge fine if you say you don’t have anything and they find it.
Walked around the airport trying to figure out what to do next, really should have booked a place before I left just so I knew were to head. I found the train and headed to central station in the middle of town and began my search for accommodations... only to find out that it’s a school holiday and everyone comes to Sydney. I spent hours looking for a hostel that had a room, ended up having to take a single room which costs double of a shared room. But it was maybe for the best because I was so freaking tired later that it was night to have no roommates being loud. The hostel is called The Maze and it’s so true, all the hallways are so confusing, not sure if on purpose or if it always been. Looks like a really old hotel. My roommates are pretty cool, there is an irish guy that I can’t understand and 2 dutch guys (or Swedish, can’t remember).
It’s been relatively mild weather, hot to me, but now its better. I was sweating like a pig when I first got here and was walking around with my pack on.
I was only planning on being in Sydney for a couple days, buying a car and driving to Clare but I’m kind of stuck... I was wrong about how to transfer money here so basically I’m taking like $500 a day out of the ATM until I have enough to get the car. A couple more days and I should have enough.
So far I’ve been to all the sights I wanted to, been walking non-stop for the past few days and like I said my feet are killing me, I think I have to just not walk around today and see if that helps, its like I bruised my bottom of my feet or something. Oh well. I've wondered around the different docks and got some great pictures of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. I also went to a really cool wildlife park, it’s in the city so it’s kind of small but it had everything! Even got up close to a koala beer. And one had a little baby on its back.....too cute.
Went to the Aquarium, it was ok, didn't help that I was hungover from the night before drinking boxed wine (4liters for $10) with some of the hostel guests. They called it goon, someone said because when you're done you can blow up the bag and use it as a pillow, and goon is the aboriginal word for pillow, not sure if that’s true. I call it gross! But the funny thing is they take it out of the box and it’s just a bag, and sometimes drink it straight from the bag pouring out the spout over head. And when it’s empty they blow it up and jump on it to pop it… and usually sprays a little all over anyone near. We bought a couple boxes the other night and out front the hostel one of the aussies I was with throw it down to bust open the cardboard box only to accidentally pop the bag inside and the wine went all over the sidewalk, he tried to save it by pouring overhead but it mostly just covered him… his response was… ”I thought the bags were indestructible” Went out to a club on Friday night with about 1/2 of the hostel guests and had a great time...from what I remember, ya I know, I drank too much. Mixing the goon and pints of toohey new maybe is a bad idea.
I spent most of yesterday wondering the Royal botanical gardens...which was huge (bad idea with the state of my feet, hahaha) but I had a lot of fun exploring, there even was a tropical plant house with tons of carnivorous plants and orchids. I ended up walking right up to the Sydney opera house. Now I’m a little sunburn but since it’s been overcast and I was walking under trees it’s not too bad.
I hope everyone is doing well and its not too cold back home.
I miss ya'll!
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Goodbye USA....OZ here i come!
Well its really starting to sink in...I leave in 2 days for australia and will be there for just under 5 months!!! Been real busy the past few days trying to getting everything in order and starting to pack.
I spent new years up near seattle with my bff Megan and her husband dan... they were in the process of packing up everything and are currently on the road moving to Colorado Springs where Dan will be recruiting for the Navy. I also Had a chance to see Julie while I was up there and her bouncing baby girl... who was born just a day after we went out to dinner for my birthday last time I was up in seattle visiting...born nov 8. she's so beautiful, can't wait to see what she looks like when i get back... with juile's genes i'm sure she'll be starting to form sentences.
So as part of getting ready i really need to post a ton of pictures from the past few months that I never got around to.
Starting with Katies birthday (Aug 31) just outside of portland in Hood River and surrounding area including a Sheryl Crow (james blunt opener) concert at edgefield and the various multnomah waterfalls. link to a slide show
I took a bunch of pictures of Franks Birds and Donkeys... they're so cute link to a slideshow
A cute picture of Sasha all cozy in her bed on one of these cold days
(click for slideshow of a couple pics)
This year i took a crack at making my own wine at home... harder than you think, i won't even go into how we hand destemmed and hand pressed it all... over 120 pounds of it. :-/// link to slideshow
Had a little bit of bad luck the last time I took a trip to the Redwoods... the truck my friend was driving got broken into and they stole not only his phone, his girlfriends purse with everything in it...but they took my Garmin GPS navigator!!! how dare they?!?!?!!! but i got a replacement, and hacked it and added australia maps to it so i can use it down under... which while be awesome since its about the size of the USA and they drive on the wrong side of the road... and i plan on a few road trips. Link to slideshow
I took an amazing picture of Applegate Red's Vineyards (I can't even count the number of times i've gone up and down those rows sampling grapes before harvest... sad :-(
As tradition, just after thanksgiving we headed up into the local BLM land to hunt ourselves a xmas tree....This year we returned to the same place that we got a tree as a couple years ago, just north of cave junction near onion mountain. very different this year...was very warm
link to a slideshow
Maybe its the cold or maybe its festivities we all take part in... but its a odd time of year... here's proof, these late night photos of our christmas tree.... or i'm just learning what all the different settings do and playing with my cameras link to slideshow
I know it doesn't compare (and i'm half ashamed after hearing what many of you have gone through this winter) but we had some decent snow and i shot a few pics... check out the one below, guess it wasn't cold enough to scare the hummingbirds off. link to slideshow
Oh the holidays... because of the terrible weather Claire and Brian were unable to finish they travellings to arizona to spend it with her parents to they rented a car in seattle where they were stranded and drove down to Grants Pass and spent it with us. had a blast. It was a great christmas... even if i was my mom's personal shopper for myself, Can't say i didn't get anything i didn't want. :) Link to slideshow
Stay tuned for my Ventures DOWN UNDER!!!!!! mates :-) i'm so excited!!!!! as always may more pics on my flickr page
I spent new years up near seattle with my bff Megan and her husband dan... they were in the process of packing up everything and are currently on the road moving to Colorado Springs where Dan will be recruiting for the Navy. I also Had a chance to see Julie while I was up there and her bouncing baby girl... who was born just a day after we went out to dinner for my birthday last time I was up in seattle visiting...born nov 8. she's so beautiful, can't wait to see what she looks like when i get back... with juile's genes i'm sure she'll be starting to form sentences.
So as part of getting ready i really need to post a ton of pictures from the past few months that I never got around to.
Starting with Katies birthday (Aug 31) just outside of portland in Hood River and surrounding area including a Sheryl Crow (james blunt opener) concert at edgefield and the various multnomah waterfalls. link to a slide show
I took a bunch of pictures of Franks Birds and Donkeys... they're so cute link to a slideshow
A cute picture of Sasha all cozy in her bed on one of these cold days
(click for slideshow of a couple pics)
This year i took a crack at making my own wine at home... harder than you think, i won't even go into how we hand destemmed and hand pressed it all... over 120 pounds of it. :-/// link to slideshow
Had a little bit of bad luck the last time I took a trip to the Redwoods... the truck my friend was driving got broken into and they stole not only his phone, his girlfriends purse with everything in it...but they took my Garmin GPS navigator!!! how dare they?!?!?!!! but i got a replacement, and hacked it and added australia maps to it so i can use it down under... which while be awesome since its about the size of the USA and they drive on the wrong side of the road... and i plan on a few road trips. Link to slideshow
I took an amazing picture of Applegate Red's Vineyards (I can't even count the number of times i've gone up and down those rows sampling grapes before harvest... sad :-(
As tradition, just after thanksgiving we headed up into the local BLM land to hunt ourselves a xmas tree....This year we returned to the same place that we got a tree as a couple years ago, just north of cave junction near onion mountain. very different this year...was very warm
link to a slideshow
Maybe its the cold or maybe its festivities we all take part in... but its a odd time of year... here's proof, these late night photos of our christmas tree.... or i'm just learning what all the different settings do and playing with my cameras link to slideshow
I know it doesn't compare (and i'm half ashamed after hearing what many of you have gone through this winter) but we had some decent snow and i shot a few pics... check out the one below, guess it wasn't cold enough to scare the hummingbirds off. link to slideshow
Oh the holidays... because of the terrible weather Claire and Brian were unable to finish they travellings to arizona to spend it with her parents to they rented a car in seattle where they were stranded and drove down to Grants Pass and spent it with us. had a blast. It was a great christmas... even if i was my mom's personal shopper for myself, Can't say i didn't get anything i didn't want. :) Link to slideshow
Stay tuned for my Ventures DOWN UNDER!!!!!! mates :-) i'm so excited!!!!! as always may more pics on my flickr page
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