Evidence

Surfing lesson south of Ballina, in Australia. Really tiny waves, but that makes it easy for us rookies to stand up.

Flying foxes near Port Macquarie. Don't let the name fool ya, they are bats, with three foot wingspans and hanging, squawking, and swooping by the thousands in a nosiy din. But don't worry, they eat fruit. Most of the time...

And the requisite glory shot, me and the Sydney opera house and harbour bridge.

Critters you don't see every day

I saw a wombat two days ago. It was like a cross between a bear, a pig, a koala, and a gorilla. And it was built like a red brick shit house. Solid. Like you wouldn't want to smack one in the face with a shovel, for fear he might take the shovel from your hands and eat it pointy end first, before he proceeded to lay the hurt on you. At least you wouldn't want to do all that unless you were a 16 year old boy, who, trying to impress the out of town hitch-hiker, barreled out of the moving pick-up and chased the beast down the dirt road, before wisely turning and jumping back into the safety of the truck. Ah, the things you see when you leave the beaten path behind...

Speaking of the beaten path behind, I made good on Mt. Koziusko, the highest mountain in Australia. So it goes on the list along with Cuba, Mexico, and the Bahamas, as well as 18 of the 50 states I have high pointed.

Now, south... Melbourne?

Meat pies

Date Line: Yesterday.

I still haven't seen a kangaroo, but that hasn't stopped me from eating one. I was trolling the supermarket looking to snag supper when, at the meat counter, the kangaroo steak seemed to be the most economical source of animal protein. Eh, when in OZ, do as the Aussie's, right? So I got a steak with the intent of bbq-ing it, but what passes for a grill at my hostel is no more than a big greasy griddle, hardly a proper barbeque. So I just pan fried the thing, with a bit o' garlic and salt, it wasn't bad. Pretty good actually, although I reckon the Nebraska beef market is in no danger from this particular sector. A tad gamey, like it wasn't dressed properly, although I think that is the natural flavor. Still, with enough garlic and salt, downright decent, especially when the leftovers go into a curry.

Come to think of it, I haven't seen a crocodile yet either, but I ate a crocodile meat pie also. I asked the gal behind the counter if they actually tasted good or if it was a tourist gimmick. She didn't know, hadn't had one. But it was tasty, and as you may imagine, a bit like chicken.

Date Line: Today.

I have seen 3 kangaroos, but still no crocodile. Did see dolphins, koalas, and several thousand flying fox bats. No bat meat pie on the menu in the immediate future however.

Date Line: Tommorrow.

Sydney. I hope.

OZ

So I was sitting on a bench in Auckland waiting for a bus to take me to the beach. It was raining. And windy. And cold. And right then and there I decided to go to Australia. So I went and booked myself on the next flight out, and 15 hours later I was on my way.

Since landing in Brisbane, I hopped the first train south and skipped the city all together, tired of Auckland as I was. Three rides later and I was in Bryon Bay. Now this is a strange little place, a beatiful beachside town with good beaches, good surf, and good weather. And the highest concentration of beatiful people I've ever seen in my life. Seriously, 9 out of every 10 people I pass on the street or beach could be models in magazines or on tv. Creepy.

Now I have spent most of my life, and especially these last 5 months, in places where folks are strong and rugged and capable, occasionally handsome, but seldom beatiful. To be surrounded by this freakshow is unnerving, and naturally my first instinct was to flee, head down the road or into the bush. But I checked my instict and decided to see what happens in such a novel setting. Purely for the sake of exploration, or course.

Now my results, preliminary as they are: beatiful seems to be expensive, or at least living amongst the beatiful is. Everything from food or activites to accomodation is aq bit pricey. Also, the beatiful don't seem to do much else besides being beatiful. I've gone surfing, hiking, and taken a digeridoo lesson, as well as the requisite laying on the beach, and there seems to be an inverse relationship between activity and the number of glamorus people.

Anyway, I've about had it with this scene and all its' scenery, I reckon tommorrow I'll head south and find a small town I can camp outside the city limits and look at beatiful scenery (which only gets better the more you associate with it) as opposed to glamorus people (which tend to do the opposite).

learning experiance

It doesn't look good, the odds of my finding an Australia bound ship, at least any time in the next month. Not so much for lack of trying, more for the prevelence of cyclones of the coast of Australia. Turns out most folks won't be headed in that direction for about another month, at which time I might have fair luck getting passage. Mean time, most yachties are bound for New Caldonia, Fiji, Vanatu, and a host of other Pacific islands. Which would be fine, if in my haste I didn't already have a visa for Australia and a ticket home from Sydney. And mail waiting for me in Adelaide. I could fly to Australia and then get work on a boat in the Whitsundays, an island group off the coast, or I could crew on local racing yachts, or I could work the dive boats off the east coast, or if I had my competent crew cert I could be a janitor on a super yacht that leaves for Dubai in 3 days. You get the idea, lots of opportunities, none that seem to fit the narrow parameters I set for myself. But it has been a learning experiance, walking the docks, talking to yacht brokers, bartenders, and sailors in yacht clubs, coffee shops, bars, marine supply stores, map and chart shops, and while hitch hiking around. And it ain't over yet, just because the odds are long doesn't mean the game is over. I still have a chance if I can find a foreign registered ship sailing in the next few days that will take on another hand. So back to the water front. And even if it doesn't pan out this time around, I am better equipped with knowledge the next time I try and hitch hike 'cross the water.

ramblin' from place to place

Whew, wow. Sorry it has been a bit since posting my whereabouts and whatabouts; internet access has been few and far between in the small towns, sandy beaches,and forest hide aways I have been frequenting of late. That and I dropped my digital camera in the ocean and had no pics to put up for awhile. The only reason I do now is that the friends I was sea kayaking with were kind enought to offer theirs.But I'm getting ahead of myself.

At last report, I was headed north up the west coast of the south island. I wandered my way into Motueka and then to Kaiteriteri where I met up with 4 friends from the Ice. We rented sea kayaks and went out for 3 days in Abel Tasman National Park. And Holy Crap, was it amazing! Just like the magazines andtravel brochures, with sandy beaches and jade green water. We say manta raysand seals and birds of all sorts I had never known, and still don't know the names of.We camped on the beaches and boiled mussels and drank wine from a box and enjoyed life on a slightly less harsh continent.

Since finishing that paddle, I headed east to Picton and then crossed the CookStrait on the ferry. In Wellington went to the huge Te Papa museum before heading north to Tongerirero National Park. Despite cold winds and clouds it was beatiful crossing the active volcanic fields that were the film setting forMordor in Lord of the Rings movies. I would have liked to climb Mt. Doom, but low lyingclouds prevented a summit attempt. Frodo I am not. After that headed north and found myselfin Waipoua forest searching rain forest jungles for the largest and oldest Kauri trees on the planet. At 50-60 feet in circumfrence and 150 or more feettall, they are an amazing site. I've always been a sucker for cool trees, like theoldest in Bristlecone Pine Forest, California, tallest in Redwoods, or biggestround down here. Anyway, now I am in Aukland searching for a northbound boatthat needs crew, cook, or company. Looking to parlay one of those for passage acrossthe Tasman Sea to Australia. Failing that I'll just buy a ticket. But dang, wouldn't it be cool to hitchhike across the oceans?