Auckland, Christchurch, Nelson, New Zealand, Plans, and 2 more
Queenstown

The New Zealand Trip

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I’m sure not all of you are as excited about my New Zealand trip as I am, and definitely not to the point of seeing my itinerary – but I’m going to share it with you anyway.

Why?

Because you might have some New Zealand tips you’d like to share; you might have a trip of your own that you want ideas for; or because you’re a friend of mine and you want to see where I’ll be on a given day to make sure I’m still alive and well.

So, without further ado:

December 17th – 18th: Christchurch

Christchurch Square

We fly out of Sydney and spend two days in beautiful Christchurch. We’re booked in to stay at the Kiwi Basecamp, and I for one am liking the look of this place. Wireless internet, two fully equipped kitchens for eating on a budget, free bike use for traveling around town, free continental breakfast, an on site ‘cinema’, and a free daily shuttle to the supermarket for much needed supplies.

We’re looking at potentially doing the Adrenalin Forest course there, which looks absolutely amazing. A series of progressively harder, higher, and more challenging wire obstacles that test your resolve and your endurance? Sounds like the kind of random adventure I want to be a part of.

Our friends Dave and Jess have just recently completed their own Kiwi tour and didn’t have much to say about Christchurch, so if you have some ideas on what else is worth doing there, let me know.

December 19th-21st: Queenstown

Stunning Milford Sound

New Zealand’s adrenaline capital is what I’m most excited about seeing. We’ll be staying at the picturesque Deco Backpackers on the lake’s edge and I’ll be sure to make liberal use of the free wireless they provide. Let’s face it though, in Queenstown we’re not exactly planning to spend a great deal of time in our hostel.

While in Queenstown we’re going to cruise Milford Sound and get some pictures of the world renowned body of water. That’s not really much to get the heart racing, but we’re torn for our day two activity. Fallon has her heart set on doing the Zipline Ecotour but I’ve been harassed by my mate Deano to do the Shotover Canyon Swing. Their website has video and it looks absolutely insane. What would your pick be?

December 22nd-23rd: Franz Josef

We'll be hiking up this!

We take leave of exciting Queenstown to visit the geographically amazing Franz Josef Glacier. We’re checked into the Chateau Franz Josef, which will act as a comfortable (and hopefully warm) base of operations for our day long Franz Josef Glacier hike.

I’m also looking forward to getting in a soak in one of the hot pools in the area. Although with Sydney weather being as hot as it is, the hot soak doesn’t sound as nice now as it did when Fallon first suggested it.

December 24th: Nelson

Uninspiring Nelson, New Zealand. Prove me wrong!

Why Nelson? I’ll admit, it’s not really on anybody’s must see New Zealand sites. In truth, we’re there solely because it’s a good stop off point between Franz Josef and our next real destination, Rotarua.

We’re going to spend Christmas Eve in the sleepy little town and we’ll be ringing it in from the Paradiso. We had a hell of a time finding a hostel in Nelson that:

a). Would let us check out on Christmas Day
b). Was actually available for Christmas Eve

With all that said, I’m pretty happy with where we’ve ended up. Free evening soup, free breakfast, a 12m pool to cool off in after a long day on the bus, and the all important free wireless.

We’ll also be hitting up a Midnight Mass ceremony. Neither of us is particularly religious persay, but the Christmas services are beautiful and we both love a good carol.

December 25th-27th: Rotorua

Scenic, stinky Rotorua

We’ll spend a few hours of Christmas morning on the plane from Nelson to Rotorua, but we’ve got a pretty fantastic Christmas night planned. We’re looking at taking the gondola up to Mount Ngongotaha before settling in for what looks like a pretty scrumptious Christmas buffet. Our trip up also includes a free luge ride on their luge tracks, which’ll keep the adrenaline level of our trip up. It’s all organized through Skyline.

Word picture no longer necessary. Photo by mikeisflash

 

Boxing Day = Zorbing Day! Holy shit. I am so freaking excited to finally check zorbing off of my life’s to do list. Don’t know what zorbing is? For shame! Go look here. If you’re too lazy to click a link, here’s a word picture: You are inside a clear ball inside of another clear ball and you roll down a hill. It’s all sorts of awesome.

Later that day we’re going to get in touch with actual New Zealand heritage by paying a visit to Mitai Maori Village to see a haka performed, look at Maori traditional dress and weapons, and have a hungi!

Our final day in Rotorua sees us making the trek to Auckland via bus and the exciting Black Water Rafting tour through the Waitomo Caves. Tubing through a pitch black cave system over waterfalls and through rapids? Yeah, that is happening.

Oh, and while we’re in Rotorua we’ll be staying at the enigmatically named Flashpackers. After spending most of our trip in dorms, it’ll be a nice change to have our own private room! An in house bar and cafe will give us a nice alternative to trekking around the city in search of new watering holes.

December 28th: Auckland

Layton in glasses. I'm the one who is about 10kgs heavier than I am now

We’ll be spending both nights in Auckland staying in the Verandahs Backpacker Lodge. We’ve got no grand plans for the final few days of our New Zealand tour. My friend Layton (a good buddy from New Zealand) lives in the area, so we might enlist him to help us see the sights as we prepare for Fiji, New Year’s, and the big goodbye that nobody likes to talk about.

But that, my friends, is for another entry.

In the interim, I’d love any New Zealand suggestions you might have for any of the above destinations. We’ve got some free time and a limited budget, so I’m certainly open to suggestions.

Countdowns, Plans

Top 10 Countries I Want to Visit: 2011 Edition

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I blatantly stole this idea from Brooke over at Brooke vs. the World, who has been at this travel blogging thing a helluva lot longer than me. I’m going to get a chance to meet her (as well as other members of Sydney’s Massive) this coming Thursday. Pretty excited to meet a few other fellow travelers and travel bloggers.

Anyway, with my travel cut back while Fallon and I save for our upcoming trip to New Zealand and Fiji, I’m left to idle day-dreaming about all of the fantastic places I’d like to go. And since Top 10’s seem to draw a lot of attention, I thought I’d combine the two and do a little writing in the process.

10 – Mongolia

Where four countries meet - Photo by Kit Seeborg

My good friend Byron – who you can read over at the imaginatively titled Byron’s Blog – spent summer vacation in 2009 sleeping under the stars and traveling by camel while Fallon and I were exploring Korea’s somewhat overhyped Jejudo island. The original plan had been for myself, two other mates, and Byron to do Mongolia together – but the lure of beaches and fruity drinks proved too strong for us young whipper-snappers.

But the lure of Mongolia is still there for me. As far as travel destinations go, it’s a little off the beaten track and thus far Byron is the only person I’ve met who has made the leap and spent a considerable amount of time. What fascinates me most about a potential trip to Mongolia is how little I know about the place. It’s this massive country, one that once conquered much of the known world, and we know so little about the history and the culture of the place.

I, for one, would love to experience it without too much prior bias.

9 – Turkey

Cleopatra Beach, Turkey - Photo by ozgurmulazimoglu

My friend Anthony, who hooked me up with my first Korean job, has been living and working as an ESL teacher in Turkey for a few years now and he constantly badgers me to step outside of my Korean comfort zone and take the gamble on Turkey.

I must admit, it’s a tempting prospect. The historical value of Istanbul alone is worth the trip, but this is another country that much of the world doesn’t pay a great deal of attention to unless it’s in the news for the wrong reasons. My friend has told me so many fantastic stories about the friendliness of the people, the beauty of the women, and the quality of their beaches. Fantastic snorkeling, ancient history, and a great night life? I’m there!

And since the rest of the world hasn’t quite caught onto Turkey yet, it’s still an affordable place to visit. Me? I think I’ll spend a year working there once I’m done in Korea and experience it in the way you only can as a resident of a country.

8 – Greece

The Temple of Zeus. Photo by Simon

Like many products of the New South Wales public education system, I had the importance of Greek history drummed into me from an early age. Right up alongside the might of the Egyptian empire, the Greek nation’s role in shaping the world was something we were educated on from the very first day of Year 7 history right until I put down the pen on my twelfth grade Ancient History exam.

My primary reasons for wanting to visit Greece would be to visit these places we learned so much about. I’d imagine I’d get a special buzz from standing near the Parthenon and realizing that this place has known human habitation for millennia. It’s one of the birthplaces of the arts, it’s got amazing beaches (and a weekend spent on Ibiza sounds like a blast), and…. food! Greek food is right up there alongside Italian and Mexican food for me, and eating it the way it was intended sounds like a recipe for me gaining a lot of weight.

7 – Romania

Peles Castle - Photo by daytona_k

Why Romania? It’s the home of Transylvania! As odd a reason as that might be, Romania is one of the few countries left in the world where you can see and experience Europe’s medieval history up close and personal. Not the tourist trap that some of its neighbors are. A lot of travel might be about visiting well known sites and finding the next party, but as somebody who loves photography and history, I think it would be fascinating to take a horse and buggy through farmland and snap photos of these ancient villages and stunning castles.

6 – South Africa

Giraffes at Kruger. Photo by Arno & Louise

For reasons unknown even to me, I’ve always had a fascination with South Africa. That fascination only grew after dating a South African girl in 2008 and spending time with her Afrikaner friends. There’s something enthralling about South Africa’s dark, bloody history. Whether it’s exploring Kruger National Park and seeing some of the world’s most recognizable animals or spending time at beautiful Cape Town; enjoying a traditional Braai or familiarizing yourself with the country’s rich history – there’s just so much about South Africa that captures the far reaching futility of the British Commonwealth.

With friends scattered around the country and a self confessed love of the South African accent, it’s definitely a must visit for me.

5 – Malaysia

The things you find.... - Photo by Adrian Moody

When I ask people where to find the best scuba diving in the world, they almost invariably tell me that it’s going to be found in Malaysia. While I’m still a novice in the world of scuba, I fell in love with it while exploring the Barrier Reef and I have grand plans to see as much of each country I visit’s underwater as I do its surface.

It’s not just Malaysia’s underwater beauty I’d be looking to explore though. Malaysian cuisine is amongst the best I’ve ever had, and this is very much a country with the kind of deep, hot jungle/rainforest that I’ve long dreamed about being able to visit. We Aussies don’t get to see a great deal of the jungle, although I did get a chance to explore a portion of it earlier this year in Kuranda.

4 – Brazil

Carnival. Photo by jACK TWO

A country where football is a religion and whose women are reputed to be the most beautiful in the world? Like this wasn’t going to make my list!

My ultimate goal is to be teaching in or near Brazil in 2014 so that I can be on hand for the festival of football that is the World Cup. And if I can’t manage that? There’s hundreds of miles of beautiful beaches; the depths of the Amazon; the action of the Carnival; amazing churrasco; and the not to be forgotten Brazilian culture.

A year wouldn’t be enough time to see it all. Maybe I need to marry a Brazilian?

3 – India

The Taj Mahal. Photo by Trey Ratcliffe

A few months ago I might not have even included India on my list, but following the travels of my friends Katie and Jessie as they travel across the subcontinent has captured my imagination and made a believer out of me. Hitting virtually every known and unknown stop along the way, the girls look like they’ve had the time of their lives. You can check out their travels at Dancing around the World.

In particular their visits to Goa and Darjeeling caught my eye, but there’s so much to see on the subcontinent. Maybe a year teaching there calls to me too?

2 – Thailand

Riding an elephant near Chiang Mai. Photo by Fallon Fehringer

When I first started dating Fallon in 2009, she’d just got back from a five week journey around Thailand and Cambodia. She came back telling stories of zipline tours and white sandy beaches and all night Full Moon parties. She came back and introduced me to fragrant Pad Thai and delicious Panang Curry. It’s been a love affair ever since. A fortnight doesn’t go by without Thai appearing on my menu.

It’s more than just the food though. This is a real tropical paradise with its own rich history and culture to boot. I’m looking at completing my CELTA in Thailand in 2012 and maybe someday teaching there, but at the very least I am determined to explore as much of it as I can. And eat my weight in delicious food.

1 – Italy

Photo by Simon

Food! A common theme with me. I adore good food almost as much as I adore the excitement of a new place. The rich creamy pastas, the traditional pizzas, the fantastic wines, gelato… I’m having a mouthgasm as I type!

There’s history and culture in spades. The Forum and the Coliseum in Rome, the famed leaning tower in Pisa, and the beautiful canal city of Venice. There’s art and music and shopping to be had in plenty. Checking out a football game here would be a pretty amazing experience too.

——

Basically, this list was a nightmare to come up with. I left off so many countries that I’d like to visit, and I’m sure there are a lot of secret places that I’ve never even contemplated visiting. Tony over at It’s Good Overseas has a special love of Yemen and just got back from a trip to Timor Leste that sounded incredible; my friend Brodie spent a year teaching in the Ukraine; and my friend Dave spent the better part of this year backpacking all over South America.

Life on the Road

Friends on the Road

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Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few who should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Baz Luhrmann – The Sunscreen Song

You always meet the coolest people right before they leave…

Dale Wallace

Good friends on the road

That second quote probably wasn’t first uttered by my one time friend Dale, but I’ll always remember him and the way he so philosophically said that at the leaving town party my house-mate at the time and I held. At the time it was just a nice thing to hear from a guy I’d come to consider a good friend, but over the years and having seen plenty of friends come and go, it holds special resonance for me now. If you’ve ever traveled you’ll know that friends truly do come and go, and it’s a rare few that last more than six months on your Facebook friends list.

It’s the fickle nature of this passion we share. The people you meet out on the road are fellow travelers. In some cases they’re out on a once in a lifetime junket after which home beckons. In other cases, you’ve met at just one of their many stops, and any friendship you enjoy is going to be fleeting. You would think that, knowing this, their eventual departures would be all the easier to deal with – but this isn’t true. I’ve made friends on the road who lasted no more than a few weeks. Those friendships ended with the same sadness as what I feel when I wave goodbye to friends of several years. In a lot of cases, it’s sadder than wishing a fond friend farewell. The childhood friend is always going to be there when you get back, but that cool couple you met on the beach in Cairns may never cross your path again.

Random fun at Mudfest 2009

I don’t mean for this to be off-putting to would be travelers. Anybody who has ever step foot out their front door can attest to just how fantastic these short term friends on the road can be. Like any good travel companion, these people we meet can turn a mediocre excursion into something completely unforgettable. Would I have enjoyed Mudfest in 2008 as much if it hadn’t been for a newly made Aussie friend and a pair of extra friendly girls from Seoul? Would Fallon and I’s time on the overnight boat on the Barrier Reef have been quite as much fun without our motley crew of Germans, Dutch, and a random guy from Hong Kong on his first excursion out of the country? Almost certainly not. Those new made friends on the road were Godsends.

Ask anybody about their trip abroad and they’ll be able to warmly tell you about some random they met or some interesting person they shared a cramped bus ride with. It’s just one of the many charms of life outside of your comfort zone. Without that reliable old friend beside you to keep you in your little bubble, you’ll find yourself striking up conversation with a stranger even if you’re a shy person by nature.

This was never truer than when I first went to South Korea. A small part of my motivation in heading over there was because I had become unhappy with the niche I’d dug for myself and the way I had let my existing friendships define who I was. In a lot of ways, despite five years having passed since we’d left high school, I clung to a lot of negative things about myself because I was still spending time with the guys I’d befriended in school. And I don’t mean this as a slight against them or their friendship. It wasn’t them keeping me the way I was, it was me allowing myself to settle for what I had been in high school because they accepted me that way.

I wanted to force myself out of my comfort zone and figure out which parts of me were keepers and which could be left behind in the time BK (before Korea).

Touching down in a country I knew hardly anything about and without a friend within hours of driving, I had to start from scratch. As I met people I began to figure out who it was I was and who it was I wanted to be.

“You hug like a dead person” a chesty Canadian by the name of Liz once told me. I took that on board, and now I’m pleased to say I give excellent hug. Three years on, I was lucky enough to watch the delayed stream as Liz married the love of her life in Las Vegas. The night before I’d called her on her hen’s night and chatted with a half dozen fantastic people I met in South Korea.

The aforementioned Canadian

Prior to Korea I hadn’t been the most outgoing of people, but having to make all of your friends on the road from scratch means it’s a necessary part of life. Nursing a drink at the bar I’d turn to a new face and I’d strike up conversation. And, since we’re all travelers and we’re all in the same boat, more often than not I’d get a friendly response. Sometimes the conversation was five minutes of awkward pleasantries before one of us made an excuse to leave, but I can’t begin to count how many good friends I made simply by taking a deep breath and just saying ‘hi’.

Cody - Wingman for one crazy night in Busan, 2008

I couldn’t begin to rattle off all of the friends I made in my two years in South Korea and its surrounds. Some of them, like an American by the name of Cody who kept us company on a wild night in Busan, never made it beyond a single night of being a friend. Others, like Liz and the many others with whom I stay in regular contact, are likely to be friends for life. But these last kind are few and far between.

A wise friend of mine once said that people come into your lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. She was consoling me over a recent break-up, but I’ve found that the adage applies to all relationships.

Two Korean girls I never saw again

Some of the people you meet in your travels are going to be there for a reason. They’ll be the drinking buddy in the seedy dive, the hiking companion in the steaming hot Vietnamese jungle, or the conversation on a lengthy trip by plane or train or bus.

Affectionately dubbed 'The Three Amigos' - Brad, Jamie, and I tore up Gwangju on a weekly basis for a few months in 2009

Others are there for a season. They’re your best friends for a few months or even a year. They’re by your side for a break-up or two, they tag along for a swathe of random adventures, and you’ll think you’re going to be the best of friends forever. But then one of you gets a girlfriend or one of you leaves the country and suddenly that friendship you had proves to have been one of circumstance rather than connection. And that’s not a bad thing. Some of the best friendships I’ve had have been the kind had when our friendship was about proximity and a shared case of being single. Like a summer romance (only without the kissing) they’re intense and a hell of a lot of fun, but then they’re over.

A different Cody. He and his wife Dez made many Korean adventures a lot better than they had any right to be

And the others, the rare ones, are the kind you make for a lifetime. You might not have many of these while you’re backpacking around, but settle in one spot for a while and you’ll likely pick up one or two people who are going to be friends for the rest of your life. Unlike the above, they might not ever be your best friend or even a near constant companion. But it’s them who come out of the woodwork when you’re feeling down and it’s them who offer to put you up on their coach whenever you breeze into their corner of the world.

Travel can be mighty lonely, and it’s these random characters we meet on the road that make it such a fascinating experience. If you’ve never traveled and you’re worried about going it alone – don’t be. You’ll meet more people than you’ll likely remember, and your life will be the richer for having taken the step to travel without the security blanket that is a familiar face. And if you’ve traveled before or are already traveling – you already know what I’m saying, but thanks for reading.

China, ESL Teaching, Life on the Road, South Korea

Dear Korea

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Korea is being very stubborn about accepting me back into its loving arms. I’ve shot off close to fifty applications to various hogwans (private schools) of late, and so far have yet to hear anything back. Maybe I’m being impatient, or maybe I’m applying too early for the notoriously disorganized hogwan owners, but it’s getting a tad frustrating.

James was a bundle of energy

So frustrating, in fact, that I’ve bitten the bullet and submitted an application to return to Korea through EPIK. For those not in the know, which I’d assume would be most of my readers, EPIK are the organization that handle the hiring of teachers for Korea’s public school system. I say bitten the bullet like working for a public school is a bad thing, but that’s far from the truth. While it does mean having to work regular 9-5 hours rather than the cushier 1-9pm hours that most private schools offer, it also means much longer holidays (four weeks compared to two weeks), having an employer you know will pay you on time, and having a co-teacher who can (ostensibly) help you control your class if they get a little unruly.

Fallon worked at a public school during her time in Korea and many of my friends still do. Why then, would I be against them? The simple fact is that their application process is ridiculously involved and there’s no guarantee you won’t be placed in a random locale you don’t want unless you apply on day one. Now I, fool that I am, have left it until over a month after applications opened to submit my application – so there’s every chance I’ll end up in a village somewhere out in the more backwater areas of Korea.

Twigim - Best drunk food in the world

Lately I’ve been giving a lot more thought to China. I was offered a role there working for Disney English last week, but turned it down after speaking with one of their employees. While she had great things to say about their classroom set up and the quality of the syllabus, she advised that if I wanted to have free time and to travel, they wouldn’t be the employer for me. Most private schools average around 20-30 work hours a week, but Disney English was asking for 40 while paying only marginally more than the average Chinese employer. It all sounded a little too much for a carefree traveler like myself, and so I turned the role down.

A week on and I’ve just come off another promising phone interview with a prospective Chinese recruiter. The main appeal of teaching in China is obvious – it’s China. The Great Wall, the Forbidden City, close to India and Mongolia etc. etc. There are countless thousands of travel stories just waiting to be written about my time there, and it’s a very tempting prospect. I was lucky enough to spend a week in the southern Chinese province of Hainan in 2008, and while it wasn’t ‘authentic China’ like you see on TV, I definitely came away with an appreciation of the country and its people. Getting a chance to live in China would be fantastic.

Dear China - These are not French Fries

The drawback? The pay. I’m looking at taking home only about $900 Australian a month, and while accommodation is included and the income isn’t taxed, I’d still be earning around $1000 less per month than I would be in South Korea. The cost of living is a little cheaper, it’s true, but that’s still going to make saving up for future adventures difficult. I’m reluctant to give up my drinking budget entirely, you see.

Still, the role would set me up well for future roles in other countries handled by the same recruiter. Their list just happens to include Thailand, which is where I want to study for my CELTA and one of the countries I must see before I give this traveling game up.

 

But for now I will continue to apply for Korea in earnest. In truth, applying in November for February jobs is applying too early. My last two Korean jobs have been a case of applying on the 1st of the month and being there before the end of the same month. As I said, they’re notoriously disorganized in the hogwan game. Ideally I’d like something tied down before I jet off to New Zealand and Fiji so I can plan for it – but at the end of the day, I’m just going to be more likely to touch down on January 15th and begin packing for a job I only applied for on the 14th. That’s just how they roll.

Before I go back to sending out applications and tracking down the documentation necessary to apply to have my degree replaced (long story involving a past Korean employer) – I’ll leave you with this cheerful little ditty. Just be warned: If claymation creeps you out, maybe stay away.