Christchurch

The first post on New Zealand isn't going to be the most cheerful one. We spent one day in Auckland, trying to figure out  an interesting itinerary before we flew to Christchurch on the South Island, where we picked up a rental car. We found an extremely interesting deal and are paying only 10 NZD, about 7 euro, a day for this new vehicle! But this post isn't about the car.

I am sure you still remember that terrible earthquake, or rather aftershock, in February 2011 that destroyed half of the city and killed 185 people. In Sydney, we had met a guy from Christchurch who told us about that terrible day and the days after and he suggested we'd take a stroll through the city, just to get an idea of how bad it had been and how bad it still is. So we took his advice but despite his lively stories, we hadn't imagined the endless ruins and devastation in the centre. It was quite shocking, to be honest, even more because it's a almost a year and half ago now, so imagine the sight the day after the shock. Even though we saw plenty of houses being renovated, most of the affected buildings were just being demolished and we returned to the car, covered in dust. It was eerie to walk around in the mostly deserted streets, seeing that half of the cathedral had gone, the library was no longer and once cosy shopping streets were closed to the public.

According to the guy in Sydney (who told us all about Christchurch in the jacuzzi on top of the Swissotel), many people have left the city since because they're fed up with the earth quakes or because they've lost their business and are trying to make it elsewhere in New Zealand now. To us, the city seemed quite lively (that is, in the part where the buildings are still erect) and cosy and we were very impressed by the Re:START area, where businesses have found new homes in colorful shipping containers.

New Zealand

Guess where we are now??

After almost 8 weeks in the Land Down Under, we flew from Sydney to the other side of the Tasman Sea and landed in Auckland, a week ago now.

I felt really sad about leaving Australia, I could have stayed so much longer in this wonderful part of the world and as I hinted a couple of times before, I definitely want to come back because there are still too many smooth pages in my guide book! When looking back, it's as if there was just nothing annoying or complicated in Australia, weather was amazing, people so sweet and relaxed, places we stayed were beautiful, campings spotless and so on. So when New Zealand was calling, I almost didn't feel excited, how awful is that`:-)

But here we are now and I don't know how often I'll be using the words 'amazing, impressive, beautiful, lovely, mountain, lake, green, sheep, Frodo...' because it's all of that, all the time! Well, maybe not the hobbit (yet). So keep coming back, soon more pictures!

Sydney

Sydney, liked it but didn't love it. I don't know if it was the cold and windy weather or rather the fact that we had spent so much time outdoors that made it hard for me to adapt to the rhythm of Australia's biggest city.

The first two nights, we couch surfed at the house of a lovely Turkish couple who had moved here six months earlier. We spent the third night in a five star hotel, part two of the goodbye present Benoit had received from his ex-colleagues and the last night we slept in a horrible ten bed dorm in the red light district. All very different experiences:-)

One of the first monuments we saw when entering Sydney by ferry was the Harbour Bridge. It's gigantic! Second thing we saw was the Opera House and compared to that monster of a bridge, it seemed rather small. We were almost disappointed and I almost feel guilty writing this because the Opera House is still very big and special and absolutely unique in the world. It's just that we saw that bridge first...does that make sense? Anyway, on Saturday night we went to see a dance show in the Opera (to make up for thinking it was small) that was very, very cool! It's called Correrio Agwa, It Boys and it's 11 Brazilian guys dancing hip hop and samba on different kinds of music, even classical. If you ever have the chance of seeing them, don't miss it, especially the ladies!

We went to Australia's most famous beach, Bondi. I guess that's only interesting when it's really sunny and hot? 

What was more interesting was the fact that the two yearly (modern art) Biennale was on during the four days we spent in Sydney. There were a lot of free exhibitions and the main one was on Cockatoo Island, a former prison island and shipyard only ten minutes away from the city center. Usually you pay to visit this place but this weekend, entrance was free and we got to see some very interesting and some very uninteresting art works as well.

New South Wales

Last days in Australia! How time flies! We were driving again, from Brisbane to Sydney, but instead of following the Pacific Highway, we took the Waterfall Way, a scenic drive throughout New South Wales. The region reminded me a lot of the area I lived in, in Ireland almost six years ago now. Again...how time flies.

We discovered a different, rural and incredibly quiet part of Australia. If it had only been a couple of degrees warmer, I would have felt as peaceful as the environment.

Bye Bye East Coast

Here are some last pictures of our camping trip along the East Coast of Australia. Our initial plan was to drive from Brisbane up to tropical Cairns in the north and then fly or drive back to Sydney. But time and money (have I already mentioned how extremely EXPENSIVE Australia is??) forced us to take it slower and we went as far north as the sleepy towns of Agnes Water and 1770. 

We would have loved to see the Great Barrier Reef but traveling is all about making choices and we comforted ourselves with the idea that 1) we had already seen great coral reefs in the Philippines and 2) we would come back one day as grey nomads on an extremely decadent sailing ship.

So for now, we decided to enjoy the beauty of the coast. We found a lovely but very basic (check out our shower) camp site in Agnes Water and stayed there for 3 nights. Besides going to the beach, reading (me), playing video games (Benoit) and having barbecues, we didn't do much.

One of the best things in Australia, is the fact that there are public barbecues almost everywhere. In the town of 1770 (yes, that's what it's called) with about 100 inhabitants, we counted no less than 8 barbecues, all with beach view! They're all working on gas so no need to bring wood or charcoal and someone must be paid to look after them because they're always spotless.

Could this be the same in New Zealand, please?

Hervey Bay and the Humpbacks

One of the most spectacular things we've done during this travel so far, is the whale watching tour from Hervey Bay. There's a big population of whales returning to Hervey Bay each year and we seemed to be in the right place at the right time!

The same person who told us how to go to Fraser Island by ourselves, also informed us about the Pacific Whale Foundation, a non-profit research foundation that uses the money of its trips for their research and education about whales. They are also much cheaper than the dozen other companies in Hervey Bay, so we saw no reason not to book with them.

At this time of year, the whales are especially playful as they are not migrating or mating, so they take a particular interest in boats and what is happening on that boat. It took a while before two male, teenage Humpbacks (the type of whale found in Hervey Bay) started circling our boat, lifting their heads out of the water to look at us and splashing back into the ocean. Everyone on that boat was super excited and the more noise we made, the closer they came. It was really special, truly the best show I've seen in my life even though it may have lasted only 20 minutes!