Goodbye to Australia

Well, I didn't get to go on my tour (not enough people) so I pretty much relaxed and hung out on the roof-top padio on Tuesday. Yesterday was packed. I headed to Saint Kilda beach for a couple hours, then headed downtown to meet up with Brook, who lived accross from us in cluster. He was on an exchange to UVic and is now working on his phD in Melbourne. It was really good to get a visit in and catch up on a ton of things going on in everybodies lives. We just went and hung out at the Botanical Gardens. He was trying to convince me that Australia is really not as dangerous as I have in my mind. Ok, seriously - very deadly spiders and snakes, sharks, all kinds of evil things. Anyways, then back to the hostel to get ready for the Lion King. Wow, what a show. The costumes were amazing, and I still love the songs from that movie. My favourites were Rafiki, the three hyenas and Timon and Pumba. They were awesome. The animals in the first scene, wow - especially the elephants and giraffes. It was great. Then I headed back to a pub to meet a bunch of people from the hostel. A bunch of us all left Melbourne today, so it was kinda a goodbye for everybody. I only got one drink in while everyone was still there, then it was down to just Mike, Anne and I, but still that was good. Back at the hostel, Mike, Tristan and I stayed up watching tv and chatting, nice to have found a group to be with, and sad to leave them. Ah well, whenever I go to the UK I will have so many people to stay with. Anyways, today was a very early morning and then off to the airport. I am now in Christchurch, kinda reorganizing, reacquainting myself with NZ and getting the next leg of my trip organized. Off to Hanmer Springs tomorrow, should be good! PS, it's cold in New Zealand!

A Great Games

OK, other then the tv coverage, it was pretty awesome to be at a major games. Two nights ago I went out with two other Canadians from T.O. (Julia and Dave). Julia and I both had on our Athens jackets, you would not believe how many times we got asked if we were athletes, and for autographs. Funny. It was an awesome night out, so much fun. Then yesterday I watched the men's cycling road race. Canada came in 4th which was great. It was 32 degrees here yesterday, I felt very bad for the guys competing - too hot. But it was fun to watch, saw two good crashes, luckly no big injuries. Then last night I went down to one of the parks with a bunch of Welsh people to watch the closing ceremonies on a big screen. It was really good. Especially the fireworks all along the river and from the tops of the buildings. It was great. It was a really good day. Dame Edna (the comedian) was in the closing ceremonies and was taking shots and the American's. It was pretty funny. About them trying to figure out why they weren't invited to the games. Anyways, today is a pretty slow day, tomorrow I am off on a tour and Wednesday I get to see the Lion King! Yeah, should be good.

A Silver Medal

So I have to say last night was a really exciting night. I walked down to the Melbourne Cricket Grounds all dressed in red and white. I found my seat - 6 rows up from the medal presentation site. I had a very nice Aussie family sitting beside me and members of the Scottish National Sport Council on my other side. Hammer was up first and Jim was second to throw after the Aussie. He threw 73m on his first throw good enough for first place after the first round. Unfortunately the Aussie threw 77m on his second attempt to take over first. Jim maintained second. It took until the 5th round for any changes when the South African threw better then Jim to take over second place. So it came down to the final throw for Jim where he threw 74 and a bit m - enough for the silver. It was so exciting! I was shaking. Ok, so that was a pretty exciting time, but lots of other good stuff happened. In the women's 800m for disabled athletes, Chantel Petit-Claire won gold, which meant that I finally got to hear O Canada and sing (I know, poor people around me). Actually one of the ladies from Scotland sang too. She said O Canada is her favourite national anthem. So that was good. Angela white placed second in the women's 100m hurdles - very cool. The Kenyan's placed 1,2,3 in the steeple chase. It was good. All together we got to see M hammer, W 800m EAD, W Long Jump, W 5000m, W 800m (with Maria Mutola), M Pole Vault, M 3000m Steeple chase, M 4x100 heats, M 4x400 heats. I think that's it. So it was awesome. Really cool to get to be there. So in the middle of all this, the hammer medal ceremony was on. I took a ton of pictures (unfortunately no card reader at Canada House). So I will put those up soon. After he got the medal, I got a big hug. It was great. So proud of him. Anyways, he was wisked away to the media, and I watched the rest of the events for the evening. It was a great night. Jim - we are all so proud of you and can't wait for Beijing!

Wish Him Luck

So it's the big day today. Jim competes tonight at 6:30. I am so excited to get to be there. It's been interesting to be experiencing a games in another country. I have to say I'm not all that impresses overall. People are helpful, but it doesn't seem to be ok to be supporting another country, let alone trying to find out how your country is doing. All you see on tv is Aussie this and Aussie that. If an Aussie gets silver, they often don't tell you who actually won. I must also say I like that Aussie national anthem, but seriously I have only heard two others the entire time, Scotland and Kenya. It's crazy. Jana Pitman (an Aussie) won yesterday and I have seen her race 5 times and the playing of the Aussie anthem 3 times. It's nuts. Ah well, hopefully I get to hear O Canada tomight. Yesterday was a good day. I went to see netball (Aus vs. Singapore and NZ vs. Malawi). It was interesting, although I had some issues with some of the rules. Ah well. Also, Rosaro Joseph, Mel's cousin, won silver in the mountain biking. Anyways, off to St. Kilda, cross your fingers for Jim.

Welcome to the Commonwealth Games

So, it's pretty exciting being in town for a major sporting event. Melbourne is definately alive. I arrived yesterday after a very interesting trip to the airport. Brad picked me up at their house with two hours till my flight left. After dealing with very heavy traffic on the Northern beaches, we arrived at the airport 20 minutes before my flight left. After very quick goodbyes, I ran into the airport and, who knew it could be done, I made it onto the plane. It was quite a bit of running, but I made it. Anyways, today I headed down to Canada House for a little while, got a stash of Maple Leaf Tatoos and some extra flags and then I went and met Jim at Federation Square. I never thought I'd say it, but it was actually difficult finding Jim in the crowd. So many people! We took a walk towards the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (a very impressive sight). We happened to be on the bridge towards it when the morning session let out, well that was a mistake. Try walking against traffic when 105, 000 people are letting out of one building. It was an entire Lethbridge walking by us. We got accross and sat down on some grass while people just kept coming. It was good to catch up. He seems to be doing really well and just starting to get excited about competing on Friday. On our walk, we walked by the training field for throwers. The Australian champion in hammer throw was practicing (the main competition). Anyways, pretty excited to see Jim compete on Friday. I am ready with my flag and clothes and now little flags for my hair and tattoos galore. Anyways, a relaxed night here is in the plans. Who knows for tomorrow.

In Australia

OK, so very behind. On Thursday I flew into Sydney, where I have been staying with my cousin Brad, his wife Eve, and there three boys, Will, Gus and Ewen. It has been wonderful, although I definately forgot what it was like living with little boys. Anyways, quick summary, they live in a part of Sydney called Manly which is absolutely beautiful. I have spent some time at the beach. Will is learning to surf, so that's been interesting. Poor Gus isn't able to go to the beach though. He stepped on an oyster last week which cut part of a tendon in his foot. So he had surgery to repair it and isn't allowed to do much right now (including walking), which is pretty tough on a three year old. On Saturday, Eve, Brad and I went out to dinner in the city. We had a wonderful Thai dinner, I had all kinds of new things, (crab, duck, baramundi). It was excellent. Yesterday, Eve and I took the boys to the Sydney aquarium which was great, especially the shark tank. Very cool. Today I am heading into the city. Tomorrow evening, I leave for Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games, pretty excited, anyways, talk to you all soon

Mission Complete

Ok, so I can now go home from NZ extremely happy. Two days ago was a busy day. Mel, Jen, Steph and I went for a walking tour of Dunedin, but we kinda got sidetracked at the local farmers market. There was so much good stuff there. Mel and I picked up some veggies and such, but more importantly maybe the best cheese I have ever had. I had never heard of this kind before, but it was amazing. Then Steph and I headed back to her house for our big afternoon out. At 3, Stephanie, Joe and I met at the info center to be picked up for our 'wildlife tour'. After quite a bus ride out to the Otago Penninsula, we stopped at the only land-based albatrosse breeding colony. Now I must say I was skeptical, but holy smokes those were big birds. One flew right over top of us and wow, it's wings were so big. Anyways, after spending (in my opinion) too long watching those birds, we headed out the penguin colony. We had to walk through a sheep paddock first which was pretty funny. Steph was trying to get her 'perfect NZ picture' but sheep aren't very friendly. So there was a lot of Steph trying to sneak up on a sheep. Anyways, our first stop was a fur seal colony. There were approximately 150 fur seals all over the rocks. They were very cute. Most of them were pups waiting for their mom's to bring back food. They were playing all over the rocks, so it was fun. A couple took pretty big tumbles. Anyways, we then went one bay over to see the star attraction. We were walking down this pth and Sean (our guide) made us stop, there were yellow eyed penguins coming up the path. I was so excited. No question that these were penguins. Anyways, after watching them for a bit, we went down to the beach. There was 15 sea lions down on the beach (wow do they smell). We had to be careful cause sea lions will chase you. Steph was pretty nervous about this, Joe on the other hand, was quite happy trying to get close to them. Then, out of the water emerged what I came to see. Three penguins started to waddle up the beach. I was so stoked. So we went into the viewing area (you can't get very close to them). It was really cool to watch them waddle up towards the hills. I really can't put it into words. Those of you who know me pretty well know how much this means to me. I mean really it was the #1 attraction to see in NZ. Anyways, I can't really describe it. So after watching the penguins and having to take a detour around a sleeping sea lion, we returned to the bus to head back to Dunedin. That night we went out, although Steph, Joe and I didn't last long. Then yesterday I walked up to see the 'world's steepest street'. Which was actually shockingly steep. I had good run down it. Then Mel and I got on the bus for our last time together. We got into Christchurch around 8. We are staying with Mel's aunt and uncle here. It was so nice to be in a real bed last night. Today has been pretty low key. We went to the Christchurch Art Gallery which I quite enjoyed, Mel not so much. Then Mel went to visit her Nana, so I headed to a local art market near the gallery. Who knows what tomorrow will bring (hopefully some warmer weather). Anyways, talk to you all soon. Pictures when I find a faster computer.

The Most Beautiful Place

So a little catching up to do. On Tuesday, Mel and I left Queenstown with Nick from T.O. We all rented a car together for a ouple of days. It was really nice to be traveling in a car rather then a bus. Anyways, we headed down to Te Anau where we were going to stay for the night. We got there a lot earlier then expected, so we decided to head to Milford Sound right away. We got in the car (with Nick's unfortunate driving) and headed to the Sound. On the way we had to go throught the most amazing tunnel. It was literally blown straight through the mountain. It was only one lane so we had to wait for our turn, but it was so cool. It was just rock inside, like not lined or re-inforced or anything. Crazy. Anyways, when we got to Milford Sound it was pissing with rain, unfortunately, but we got on our cruise anyways. It's hard to describe how beautiful this place was. The fiords are amazing. Plus because it was raining, there were waterfalls everywhere. So impressive. Our cruise lasted for two hours. At the middle, we were at the mouth of the sound, leading out to the Tasman Sea. The waves were quite large. It seems that no matter what I am always traveling with somebody who gets motion sick. Normally Robin, but apparently Mel doesn't do so well either. I felt really bad for her. Ah well. Anyways, the cruise was amazing, even if the rain was pouring down. It let up for awhile part way through the trip, so that was good. I wish I could describe it better, the pictures don't even do it justice. Too bad. It was a pretty amazing day. Ok, on to Wednesday, we changed plans a bit and headed down to Dunedin. There was a bit of a battle between Mel and Nick about who would drive and somehow I ended up being the one to drive. Fine with me. It was quite an experience. I maneuvered my way around without crashing which was pretty good. Just joking. I was actually pretty good (much better then Nick). Anyways, when we got to Dunedin, we went to Stephanie's place (a girl we met at the Abel Tasman). She is going to Otago University on exchange from Queens. She lives with 5 others. Another Canadian girl, 2 Americans, a girl from Hong Kong and a guy from Argentina. It's a pretty fun house and being there really makes me miss school, especially my girls. Anyways, once we got to Dunedin, we said good bye to Nick who was headed to the Catlins. We just hungout for the first night, got introduced to a ton of people. Then yesterday, Mel and I went exploring through Dunedin's shopping area, which was ok. Of course I found a jacket that I just love at Canterbury (don't worry mom, I didn't buy it, maybe on the way home). Then we met Steph at the Cadburry chocolate factory for a tour. I must say, the tour lacked something, maybe it was the Oompa-Loopas, not sure. But the smell of chocolate was pretty amazing. I was kinda revolted by the amount of chocolate that was there, but ah well, I will continue to be a chocolate eater. Last night we all got dressed up and headed out for a night on the town. It was a lot of fun to be back in a university town, but again, really made me miss school. Today has been kinda lazy. Tomorrow is my big day to go see penguins on the Otago Peninsula (I am pretty stoked) One more week before I head to Australia, which will be nice as the weather really sucks here. Cheers!

She's Crazy

So today was another day of adrenaline. Mel did the biggest bungi jump in the world today. It was crazy. It's called the Nevis and is 134m. You free fall for 8 seconds. I went out into the jump pod with her and everybody else who was jumping, god those people are crazy. Mel was one of the last to go cause they jump from heaviest to lightest. She was so funny. Shear terror on her face. When the guy was trying to get her to stand up from the chair where they harness you in, she grabbed onto him in a big hug and wouldn't let go for a minute. Then when she got to the edge, she screamed at him not to push her, he was actually just holding on her, but you know. Anyways, she was successful and did the jump. I had tears from laughing and some fear for her. When she got back to the top, she was just out of control, definately a lot of adrenaline. It was pretty cool. Thank god I kept my feet on the ground though, definately not wanting to jump off anything again. Anyways, pretty laid back evening planned, and we head out for the Milford Sound tomorrow. Should be good.

"Oh My God, I Can't Do This"

Ok, so yesterday was a pretty chill day, recovering from the night before. Yesterday afternoon Mel and I watched some rugby at the Queenstown Rugby Club. There was a tournament going on. It felt like a very New Zealand thing to do. It was quite amazing, with the Remarkables mountain range in the background and rugby in front of us, it was a pretty good afternoon. The highlight was definately the race for the beer though. Each team had to send a representative to race to the middle of the field for a couple cases of beer. When they were all ready to go, the announcer stated that the catch was they had to do it in their underwear. Apparently these boys have no shame (pretty much what you expect from rugby boys), they all striped down to their boxers and sprinted. It was pretty funny. It was also funny watching with Mel, who has a bit of a hard time with the 'violence' of rugby, she really couldn't handle the hits all the well; lots of 'oh my god' and 'oh, no, no'. Anyways, we went out again last night, which was quite a bit of fun. Quite impressed with the retraktable roof at Winnie's. Then today I got up for what may be the scariest thing I have ever done. Two nights ago I won a free Canyon Swing, so today I did it. Essentially, you are on a platform 140m over the shotover river. You jump off this platform and free fall for approximately 4.5 seconds, then arc into the "biggest swing in the world". All together you end up 109m below where you started and travel at speeds of up to 150 km/h. It was crazy. I started to have a panick as we got to the platform. By the time I was harnessed in and ready to go, I was white as a ghost and couldn't take my hands away from my face. There was a lot of "Oh my god I can't do this" and "I'm so scared". In the picture at the top, I look like I am going to vomit. When he said to step to the edge, I barely uncovered my eyes, steped to the edge and jumped. It was the scariest thing, but such an adrenaline rush. By the time I stopped swinging and they started to bring me back up, tears were streaming down my face, not so much out of fear, but pure shock. It was intense. Mel hadn't planned on doing it, but got talked into it. She was going to fall backwards, but couldn't do it, so jumped forwards just like me. She screamed the entire way, except for a second when she had to catch her breath. Some of the other people did pretty cool things. The best was Steve from the UK, they helped him up into a handstand and went; it was crazy. Wierd thing too, one of the guys working there, I thought I recognized him, couldn't figure out where from, then he introduced himself. Another person from Fernie. Crispen was at Fernie the same season I was, kinda strange, when I said something, he was like "I knew you looked familiar, but couldn't figure out why"... small world. Anyways, a pretty awesome event. Mel is going to do the Nevis tomorrow (the world's largest bungi jump). I have decided that my jumping days are over and will stay on solid ground to cheer her on. After we got back to town we headed for a Fergburger. Pretty amazing burger, may even beat Peter's, although I could have used a Peter's milkshake. So a pretty amazing day, not one that I want to repeat, but pretty amazing. Just want to say congrats to Jim, the new Canadian record holder in hammer throw. I am ready for the Commonwealth Games with my Canada flag!

Made it to Banff...I mean Queenstown

So yesterday morning we packed up our stuff and headed out to Puzzling World in Wanaka. We were slightly skeptical, but it was so much fun. It has four areas of like different optical illusions and such. One room is completely slanted, quite strange. It really played with your senses; I ran into the walls more than once. Another room had all these heads of famous people that would look like they were watching you no matter where you moved. I must say having Winston Churchill, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandella, Beethovan, Lincoln and Van Gogh all staring at you is slightly un-nerving. Then we were off on a mission. They have a big outdoor maze set up, with 4 coloured towers and bridges and everything, it was crazy. So Mel and I set off. We had a race. It took me 34 minutes to find all the towers and get out. It was frustrating cause you would get stuck in one area and just keep going around in circles. Anyways, after about 40 minutes, Mel only had one tower left, but got too frustrated and used an 'emergency exit'. Anyways, we then caught the bus to Queenstown. It may have been the worst bus ride ever. The bus driver wouldn't quit the commentary. I learned all about hydro electric damns and dredging lakes and gold panning and how all hydro electric damns in NZ are named after women. It was ridiculous and unfortunately my IPod batteries were dead. SO annoying! Anyways, we got to Queenstown and it is bloody cold. All the peaks have snow on them. It reminds me so much of Banff in September, October. Anyways, last night we went out to two bars with two of the girls from our room. Quite randomly I won a Canyon Swing at the first bar. Didn't even have to do anything. I liked that one cause they had an Alberta license plate on the wall. Made me miss Mona (Eric, you better be taking care of her). Then we went to the World Bar which was so fun. You could buy drinks that came in a tea pot. Strange, but fun. It was a good night. Ran into some people we met in Wanaka, so that was fun. Anyways, off to organize our adventures in Queenstown, cheers!