beauty of bowen

One of my favorite memories from this trip will be the lazy day we spent wandering around our slow town of Bowen on Sunday. Nothing was open so we had to find our own entertainment. There were three things on our to-do list as tourists: Check out the Mullers Lagoon, walk the boardwalk from Horseshoe Bay to Rose Bay, and look for stingrays and turtles on the pier.

Our first stop was Muller's Lagoon. We were a bit disappointed that the upkeep of this city-centre park wasn't up to par with that of the Sydney Botanical Gardens, but it was a nice day to walk around the lagoon and spot a couple of their over 100 birds that visit the park.

We never found the start of the boardwalk, at Horseshoe Bay before we started bouldering our way around the coastline. It was a memorable and fantastic time negotiating our way around the huge rocks. Occasionally we saw a sea creature scitter across the rock and we found an entire dead cow, but most of the time we bounced from rock to rock. Somewhere around the beds and turns we found a coconut. Storey broke it open and we got to eat fresh coconut on the beach! I think I'll remember that as one of the best memories in Australia!

After beach combing for awhile, we stopped back at our beach on Rose Bay and sat for a long time on the rocks there watching the waves come and go, a couple sea turtles surface for air and dive back down, and a crab clinging to the rocks while the tide washed over it.

After all the rock scrambling, we went to find the pier. We walked in a lot of wind to the end and saw plenty of two meter waves, but no turtles and no stingrays. There were some peculiar birds on the sand and we watched a couple of kite surfers finish their day on the waves.

It was a pretty great day spent together until later when I woke up with the worst sunburn I can remember on my back. The sun is pretty intense in Australia and the water probably amplified the problem; even on my SPF 45 coated back! A bottle of ice on the neck cooled me off quite a bit and helped me get some sleep. It felt a little better by morning and we determined it would be best to stay out of the sun all day!

the north tip of the roadtrip

We took a relatively short drive up to Airlie Beach on our next day of driving. We were ready to stop somewhere and figure out where we should take our trips out to the Reef. A friend of mine was staying in Airlie and so we wandered into the town, booked a trip for Storey and then promptly left to find a place to put down the tent for a couple nights before his trip took off.

The little town we found to spend some time in was Bowen; home of the big mango. This beach town is normally distinguished with many beautiful beaches, but due to recent storms and a levy breaking in a river, the water was silty and had damaged a few establishments close to the water. We seem to miss the rain wherever we go, so everyone has some weather to talk about and we nod our heads and are grateful that God has blessed us with beautiful sunny beach days.

We found Bowen to be a sleepy little town with genuine hospitality an little to do after 6pm (even the grocer). I suppose in that way, it was a nice place to spend a couple of days after being on the road so long!

While we adjusted to our new surroundings by doing about 12 laps around the town in our little Toyota, we found the "best view in town" on the top of a hill with a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. We also found Rose Bay Caravan Park where we plopped the tent down at a discount because it was the owners 50th birthday and her maiden name matched Storey's last name.

On yet another loop around Bowen, we found a beautiful sunset. We pulled over and watched it for awhile. We also realized that this town sported "Storey Street." However, this was the only street in town to be missing its' street sign; a true disappointment!

another driving day

We spent another day driving up the Australian Coast. We were hoping that the A1, Bruce Highway Motorway would be a little like the Pacific Highway 1 in the States. Unfortunately, we infrequently were able to take in the coastline as we drove through eucalyptus trees and kept a line of hills or mountains between us and the coast. We did take a couple of 25-40 kilometer detours to check out the coastline, or find information on an area.

While Storey took a rest break in Sarina, I went in and talked to the two nice women who worked in the information station there. They were very kind and one had never seen snow before. Coming from Antarctica, that seemed ridiculous, but it gave her something to accomplish yet in life! Sarina prides itself in the sugar industry and since I worked in that industry in Chicago, I found this and the surrounding cities quite nostalgic. I rattled off quite a few sugar facts to Storey as we cruised through hundreds of kilometers of sugarcane country!

We also cruised through Rockhampton. The city's claim to fame is the beef and cattle industry, but it also boasts the Tropic of Capricorn; that little invisible line that wraps around the bottom half of the world indicating we are in the tropics. Hello, humid sunshine!

For our evening of camping, we found Cape Hillsborough National Park on the coast and called it a day. We had our rainforest, we had our beach, and we even found that we had kangaroos. Since we'd only seen a dead one on the side of the road, we were thrilled that kangaroos were hopping through the campground and on the beach as well. For the second night in a row, we found a fantastic place to camp.

After setting up the tent on the spot right next to the beach, we walked around to explore our park. We found the kangaroos feeding on scraps left by the park staff, and then we took a walk on the beach to enjoy the sunset and water. We had entered "stinger" country which is the northeastern shore of the Coral Sea from November to May. The box jellyfish can give you a sting you won't forget. The smaller Irukandji can issue a death sting and is as small as a fingernail. Both will land you in the hospital for three days while the body detoxifies! That said, we stayed out of the water, but enjoyed the broad beach and the unique-to-us shells and beach life at dusk.

The next morning we took another daylight walk on the sand and saw our kangaroos making themselves at home near the surf as well. I've never put kangaroos and beaches together, but that's how they roll in these parts.

hit the road

We had a nice morning walk on the Pelegian Beach and waded through atrocious amounts of sea foam as the tide peaked and then ebbed back towards some far away shore. It didn't take much to realize that Storey and I spend most of our time walking the beach with our head toward the sand, looking for any peculiar color or shape in the sea shells!

Excited to get on the road, we left the beach and headed north; just a little too quickly. We were pulled over going 110kph in a 100 zone. Apparently the Australian police can pull you over for no reason at all and make you blow an alcohol test at 9:45am. We got a warning, a little heads up that they don't really ticket foreigners anyway, and then we were merrily on our way.

Our next stop was Bundaberg for some information and maps. Bundaberg is where they make my favorite Ginger Beer (like Gingerale; just stronger). I picked some up of course and we happily went on our way from the town with a few more maps and a couple of places to explore.

Determined not to sleep in the car again, we looked for a place to camp quite early. We had eyed out Emu Point as a stopping place, but after seeing the campground there, we continued a few kilometers north and ended up at Kinka Beach and a fantasitc campground resort. They had a pool, ocean and lake access, a huge jumping pillow (pictured) and the cleanest, nicest bathrooms I've seen at a camp; complete with background music! This place made a long day of traveling entirely worth it!

brisbane and then some

After two sunfilled days in Syndey, Storey and I continued our Australian adventure up to Brisbane. We picked up $79 tickets one-way up there and were thrilled when they didn't charge us for any extra luggage. It turns out that on discount airlines, and most domestic Australia flights, they use their commercial airline to cart cargo around the country, thus limiting personal bags. But, we passed and after some question, found our car rental and finally got on the road.

We made very little progress our first day, but used it to get our feet on the ground and our car supplied with food and such for our 12 day roadtrip. As dusk approached and we hadn't found a place to camp, we saw an amazing number of bats fly over our motorway. It looked a touch like a horror movie, but we were capivated by their silouettes against the sunset.

We ended up on Peregian Beach, just south of Noosa Heads. Camps were closed when we rolled in and though the beach was absolutely stunning, as well as the stars that we hadn't seen in awhile, we ended up sleeping in our little Toyota Yaris.

re-exploring sydney

Our first two days in Australia were in Sydney. Being my second time in the city, it was extra fun to have Storey along this year. It's amazing how many things other people see that I would have missed otherwise.

One of Storey's friends, Dallas, from the WAIS Divide field camp where he was working for 5 weeks in Antarctica, was also in Sydney for the two days we were in town. We met up with him for dinner and then also spent a full day on a walking tour of the city with him.

Our self-guided tour took us downtown. Storey and I had explored some of the amazing architecture in the buildings (the Queen Victoria Building, mostly) and revisited them briefly. We walked through Hyde Park and then the Botanical Gardens where dozens of bats hung from the trees!

We saw cockatoos all over the gardens and watched their funny characteristics come out when a few crumbs of granola bar were offered to them.

Of course, we saw the opera house and noted that the sails are actually completely covered in small white tiles. We laid back and enjoyed the view of the Opera House for awhile before continuing on sore feet to walk across the Sydney Bridge. Storey swung the three of us a view from the top of one of the pylons for free, so we were able to see a great 360 degree view of the city from above!

The bridge is an amazing feature and we took plenty of pictures. My favorite was this of the sun behind the structure! We also saw the shadow of the bridge against the water!

a day outside

Storey and I had a lovely time in Auckland. After a rainy indoor weekend where our Friday and Saturday night cheap entertainment was going to the grocers for shish kebabs on the grill and watching a movie while we listened to the pitter-patter for raindrops on the roof, we were anxious to get outside on a semi-cloudy Sunday.

We drove for awhile and found Rock the Park. An Auckland radio station was putting on a live concert event that we stumbled onto. We had a pretty good time listening to music and people-watching.

Then we found an ugly beach with lots of crazy critters to look at. There was a park there where we had some snacks for lunch and Storey coached me on frisbee throwing. I remember laughing a lot. It's an amazing feeling to run around in green grass after leaving The Ice!

Auckland was a great break from the Antarctic life and a nice transition into the rest of our travels. Kirrin and Jeremy were so kind to allow us the use of their car in addition to offering us a place to stay! They will be in The States in August, if anyone wants to host a couple of Kiwis while they see my part of the world (Seattle, Vegas, Chicago, Memphis, New York).

sad joy

I have an odd sort of joy this Sunday morning in New Zealand; two weeks from returning to Washington State. It's a sad sort of joy; sad for those of us who are left living and so full of joy for the one who has slipped through his tangible body and entered a much more amazing and beautiful world.

My Great Uncle Laurie passed away today in Washington. A little over a year ago he had major heart surgery and last June he celebrated his 80th birthday. Yesterday, he suffered a major stoke and began to walk the road to unimaginable joy with his Savior and God.

Though I never spent as much time around him as my grandmothers, this witty elder of the family I know was the closest thing I ever had to a grandfather. After my grandma in Washington died, I began writing he and Aunt Joyce a few snail-mail letters and enjoy reading about their lives in return.

Uncle Laurie was witty and loved to tease a bit. I remember being slightly scared of his humorous prodding when I was 6, or so. Regardless, it was always special to be able to go to their house for coffee and cookies. He was thoughtful and wise. He was an excellent second father figure to my dad's family after their dad died and an ever faithful servant of Christ on this earth.

He loved to build things. I collect spoons because I have spoon racks that he made. He built his own home; complete with singing doorbell, and, upon my last visit to his home, even a singing toilet paper roll. Working with wood was his special hobby.

He was a bit of an adventurer; whether in his own back yard, or traveling the world. Perhaps that is why I am in New Zealand typing this; a week off the continent of Antarctica. God's Creation from the Cascade Mountains to the Southern Alps, Puget Sound to the Tasman Sea, is an amazing place to experience his grace towards us.

Looking back on our family history, I appreciate his powerful testimony in our lives. I've been more indirectly touched through my dad than directly affected by his life and know what a special part of many people's lives he has been. Because of his important role in the livelihood of our family, I see him as a great example of how to live out the lives of the faith of our biblical fathers.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality... -- Romans 12:9-13... --

red, white, and black

I have been adjusting into my life in Auckland. I picked up Storey from the airport on Wednesday morning. I had had a stressful drive down there in Kirrin's car on the opposite side of the car and road than I'm used to. It takes awhile to adjust to that again, and driving a manual, and trying to read directions by myself the whole way there! Storey and I nearly missed out connection there, but I found him just before he went to find a bus out of the city. He was an excellent navigator on the way back! We even found a park to stretch out legs at on the way back!

Yesterday we went to Brown Bay Beach to put some color back in our skin after 5 months in Antarctica. I used sunscreen and still, somehow, ended up a brilliant shade of red at the end of the day.

There were plenty of birds around and we joked about watching them as they flew over so we could dodge the bird poop. Unfortunately, my new sandal didn't fair so well. I went to put on my shoe and found a nice white splotch in the middle of it.

To top off the colorful day, I got home and took off my new black sandals to find that since they had gotten wet, they turned my feet black; and it doesn't wash off.

Besides the quirky colors that marked the day, I had a lovely time enjoying the warm water and sunshine at the beach! I like vacation!

christchurch to auckland

CHC-AKL: Qantas Flight 2762, Seat 1C, 23Feb.

The first portion of my trip is complete. I flew from Christchurch to Auckland this morning in business class for the short flight. This is the first time my platinum status with American Airlines turned into Sapphire status with Qantas Airlines and afforded me a much more comfortable seat in Business class!

My friends, Jeremy and Kirrin came to pick me up at the airport as planned, and, on the way home they brought me to Starbucks for an afternoon coffee, we enjoyed a wonderful meal out this evening. They were married in December while I was on The Ice. While they have a new life together, their interaction remains the same; comfortable with themselves, and life around them. I'm already glad that I came to see them again!

It feels good to settle in with friends for awhile!