Lazy seals

Yesterday we went to visit the local seal colonies in Kaikoura.  I was expecting to see woofing, fish catching, shuffling, swimming, etc. but all we got was a bunch of lazy seals!  No ambition, no drive, all napping all the time…  Gosh!

NZ sighting: The rare & elusive “Land Orca”

The 5 pound Lobster

Holy shellfish.  Right before we left the islands in Indonesia, Greg, Randall, and I decided to finish with a bang and ordered this 5 pound lobster at the local seafood restaurant on Gili Trawangan.  Definitely the biggest one I’ve ever seen (in person). It was plenty to feed 3.

Mmmmm…. Delicious.

New Zealand culture shock

I am experiencing some culture shock here in New Zealand.  I am simply not used to people everywhere speaking English.  I have to talk to people now, ALL THE TIME.  No more wordless transactions at the grocery store, no more constant offensive conversations in public with Greg – because everyone can understand us now.  No more random shouts at us of “Hello Thank you You’re Welcome!”.

And driving a car for the first time in 10 months, on the left.  If I had a dollar for everytime I turned on the windshield wipers or drove into the ditch on the side of the road…

36 Hours in Sydney

You know on the New York Times how they always have that Travel column called “36 Hours in” (fill in the blank).  Well, we had 36 hours in Sydney and we actually used this as a reference (and good old Brendan)!

It has really been great to be in a country where the people *sort of* speak English and there are nice toilets everywhere!  Damn, I love a good sit down toilet.

I do have to say though that I have really been blown away by the seafood.  Which is pretty amazing considering I have been hanging out on islands having 5 pound lobsters and fresh snapper and coral trout.  Francie and I went to the Sydney Fish Market which, I am sad to say, kicks Seattle’s Pike Place Market’s ass.  We had a lot of shashmi and oysters and other things that live in the sea.

Here are some pics from the Sydney Fish Market.

We also took Brendan’s suggestion and rode a ferry around park of the Harbor.  Here are some of those pictures.

We went to the aquarium which was a little disappointing but they did have a platypus. 

This octopus doesn’t want you to touch his toy.

The Jellies…

Finally we had a wonderful meal on Bondi beach at Ravesi’s.  Great great ravioli.

Got to run and catch the plane to New Zealand.

Life lessons in the Kuala Lumpur Airport

I am writing this from the Kuala Lumpur Airport (in Malaysia).  Yes, we are supposed to be in New Zealand right now.  But sometimes things happen when you’re travelling…

Some things we’ve learned in the last 48 hours:

• Kuala Lumpur Internation Airport is very nice indeed, with many food selections and inexpensive internet terminals,
• The Pan Pacific Hotel is a fabulous place to stay, and is conveniently connected to the terminal, AND
• If you book connecting flights on different airlines, and the first flight gets delayed, causing you to miss your connections, and your plane tickets are non-refundable, you are up a crik withouts yer paddlez!

Yes, that is what happened to us.  Our flight on AirAsia from Bali to KL was delayed 6 hours, so we missed our connection on Jetstar Airlines to Sydney.  Fortunately though, we were able to call Air New Zealand before our flight was scheduled to leave Sydney and change to a different date, although we had to pay a fare difference and change fee.

So, you know how when you buy a plane ticket, there is always an option for an extra charge to buy “insurance” that you never really think you need?  Now I know that it is for cases like this!  Otherwise, a carrier such as AirAsia claims no responsibility for connecting, non-refundable flights you might miss according to their fineprint.  All is not lost though, as Greg and I both have Travel Insurance through World Nomads and can recoup some of the costs through them (fingers crossed).

I have to say though, this situation, however frustrating, made me realize how lucky we’ve been in general this year with air travel.  This is the first flight delay we’ve had of more than an hour and the only time we’ve missed a connection, out of the countless airplanes we’ve been on these past 10 months.

So… 48 hours and two new plane tickets later, we’re waiting to check-in for our flight to Sydney.  Just a small bump on the road. 🙂

On our way to ‘Zealand

In an hour we leave Bali for ‘Zealand, with a 12 hour layover in Sydney within which we will get to have breakfast with Jill & Scott from Seattle. Exciting! More familiar faces from home. So… we probably won’t be able to post again for a few days, till we get settled in kiwi-land.

until then,
-g & f

Climbing Gunung Rinjani

September 30th – October 2nd 2007, Greg, Randall, and I climbed up the Rim, down the crater, then up the opposite Rim of the active volcano Rinjani in Lombok, Indonesia. The last eruption was 2004!

Practical info: We arranged the trek through Lightning Fast internet cafe on Gili Trawangan in Lombok. We paid 725,000 Rs a piece and this included transport to and from Rinjani, all meals and equipment (except clothing), and porter and guide for 3 days and two nights. From talking to some other travellers on the trail, this appears to be a really good price.

Day 1: We started the trek in the town of Sembalun, which is actually the opposite of most treks – usually you start in Senaru. We did it backwards so that we could arrive in Senaru early enough on the 3rd day to get back to Gili Trawangan that evening. It took us about 5.5 brutal hours of steep climbing to get to the first camp, just below the crater rim. A couple hours in we passed some other hikers who told us how tired they were and informed us that we still had “a REALLY LONG way to go”. Thanks! I really wish they hadn’t said that.

We have a long ways to go:

Day 2: We could have woken up at 3am the next morning and climbed in the dark to the summit (the highest point on the crater rim) to watch the sun rise. That didn’t happen… instead Randall and I were woken up by our guides at 6am and we stumbled out of the tent and proceeded to hike for 1 hour on a very steep gravel trail in a delirious state to get to the crater rim. Greg stayed behind in the sleeping bag; what a smart man.

We were greeted by this troublemaker when we returned to camp. He stole part of my breakfast and a container of margarine! Just look at the evil gleam in his eyes:

This is a view of the crater, the lake, and the smaller cone on the morning of day 2:

You can see from this photo how steep the rim walls are. That is why my legs were severely sore (mostly from the downhill) for 3 full days after we finished the hike.

After eating breakfast under duress (i.e. threat of monkey invasion), we hiked down the crater to the lake and the nearby hot springs. We spent about 3 hours there hanging out. The hot springs were excellent and felt great. The only disappointing thing about the otherwise idyllic spot was the profusion of garbage all over the area, some of which appears to have been deposited there by travelers, not Indonesians. I think it’s really sad that people who should know better and who have every advantage of a thorough environmental education would choose to litter in a National park. Shame on you.

Here is the lakeside view, with Greg the explorer:

A shot of the hotsprings, from above:

Our lunch break was long enough for some of us to take naps:

Following our leisurely break was a brutal 3+ hour scaling of the opposite crater rim and then a 45 minute steep decent to get to camp.

Day 3: The hike from the second rim down to the town of Senaru (our endpoint), was through some totally different scenery and foliage than the way up, which was mostly grasslands. It was jungly, more lush and green, and more humid:

We saw some more Macaques (the trouble maker monkeys) and also a few of the rare Silvered Leaf monkeys (which are actually black) from a distance. The trail wasn’t quite as steep as the one on the opposite side. My legs were already so sore that I resorted to taking a Vicodin about halfway down. It served the double purpose of both taking away the pain and making me feel like a sparkling individual!

We arrived back in Senaru around 12:30 or so and were back on the beach at Gili Trawangan by 4pm.

The trek was amazing and beautiful, but the feature of it that stands out most in my mind at the moment (probably because today is the first day I haven’t been in pain) is what a physical beatdown it was. The trail was either very steep uphill or very steep downhill without much in between. It makes it all the more impressive that the guides and porters do this hike carrying about 60 pounds each, packed into baskets hung onto the ends of a larger bamboo stick, which they balance on their shoulder. Wow.

Another awesome hiking adventure. Hopefully we’ll have some more during our 10 days in New Zealand, starting Oct. 9th. 🙂

Randall-tastic

As you know our friend Randall has been travelling with us these last few weeks in Bangkok and then Indonesia.  Say hello to Randall!

Randall is an old friend of Greg’s and I didn’t know him too well before he came to meet up with us.  Since then I’ve gotten to know him and learned what an interesting guy he is (as well as a good travel companion).   One of the benefits of globe-trotting with Randall is that he is very sociable and does all the work of befriending locals and other travellers.  All Greg and I have to do to feel like we’re hanging out with a bunch of buddies is just show up at the bar!  Awesome.   He is also a trooper under duress.  Our recent beatdown trek at Mt. Rinjani could have ended in disaster if he had turned out to be a whiner or a big baby.

Another interesting fact that I’ve learned is that Randall has a special connection with monkeys, as you can see from these two photos:

And finally, here is a shot for the ladies:

Yay for Randall!

100 Pound Tuna

Some fishermen caught this huge yellowtail tuna north of the island today (Gili Trawangan).  Yum,  sushi.

They quickly sliced it up to sell to various bbq fish places around the island.