WOW

In Iolilo with Siohban and Ryan. It is so amazing here. There family are very lovable. Every one is so friendly here. I AM A CELEBRITY!!! The children stop and point and occasionally their jaw drops at the sight of a white man. We were at a huge mall all day and I didnt see any foriegners!!

No!!!! NOT AGAIN!!!

So... I looked at the date on my computer. April 27th. Um... I was ment to leave Brisbane at 2pm on April 27. I did it again - I missed my second flight.

I must have been going mad cause I (surely) couldnt miss the second flight!!!
My heart stopped and I cursed a few profanities!

I went and checked my phone - April 27 too....

I then checked the TV .. April 26! - my computer and phone are still set to NZ time - two hours ahead of Brisbane time of 22:23!!!! Im still good!!!! Wooo hooo

I nearly died

An extra few days

So since I missed my flight to Manila I hung out with some peeps. It was ANZAC day and everything was closed so we went for a picnic (or a pucnuc as an ozy would say if hassling my accent).

It was a nice sunny day and I got heaps of sun - but yet - no sun burn?

I couldnt believe the size of the spiders and birds - everything seems to be huge over here - survival of the fittest I guess!

Anyway went to the Botanic Gardens with Kat, Jay (I meet when he came to chch), Victoria, and Helzi (who i meet last time I was over).

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What costs $469 - being a tosser

Well guess what...

Chris and I are sleeping in the same room right, and last night he woke to me cursing... f**k f**k f**k f**k f**k f**k f**k.

The next day he asked me and I remembered that I had woken and thought that I had missed my flight - ha.

So today while packing for my flight in the morning, I rang Qantas to confirm my flight and check which terminal I was leaving from. The lady said that my flight was this morning and I didn't turn up!!! WHAT THE?!!!! I MISSED MY FLIGHT TO MANILA! - And my subconscious knew it too!!!

CRAP!

So $469 and 4 bourbons later I am booked to leave on the 27th - they had to "upgrade my entire ticket to London" - does that mean I fly business class?. I will miss the wedding in the Philippines... oh shit! Ryan, Siobhan and the family are expecting me in Manila - 5 hours ago!

So mad rush... didn't have their phone numbers!!!! Check email...

The subject of the email is "SHIT!!!" and the first line "JEZ WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU" - they waited from about 5pm to 11pm at the airport probably panicing that I had got bused in customs or something!!! Oh shit I am sorry!

So they are organising my internal connecting flights and the likes - what a shitter.

I think I figured out what happened. When I got to Brisbane we sorted out the plan for the week... I would have said that I leave on the 24th April and someone would have said "Oh is that ANZAC day?" - from then on I thought I was leaving on ANZAC day, which is the next day!!!

Bugger - lesson learnt.

The golden boy does it again.

So, continuing my sporting tour of Austraila - I had to get to a game of League! So being in Brisbane there was a home game for the Brisbane Broncos vrs the Penrith Panthers at SunCorp Stadium.

A couple days eariler we were just deciding whether or not we should go the the League, concidering we had just been to the AFL the night before. Next thing you know, Stinky is on the phone (thats one of Chris' friends - he doesn't really stink) - he had 3 Members passes to the Broncos at SunCorp - if we wanted to go!

ARE YOU KIDDING!! Twice in as many weeks! Members tickets! (This has to be that "Wealth and Bounty" possibilty getting filled!) WOW.

It was incredible - we entered the "Members Lounge" and took our seats infront of some players girlfriends and families! The seats were perfect right in the middle, with a view of everything! And being ANZAC day on Tuesday all the players lined up infront of us with the cheerleaders to the side, while the bugle called the Last Post! (That happened at the AFL too last night but we couldnt really see it!)

The game was really good - you could even hear the "THUD" and "TWAK" when the players got tackled. The Broncos won 30-6, thus ending my streak of being a bad luck charm for the sides I was "Barracking" for!

One thing that I have noticed about Austraila compared to NZ is that things are more ordered and civil. At the stadiums TelstraDome, Gabba, SunCorp, during the minutes silence for ANZAC, everyone - all 40,000 of them were silent - everyone. I couldn't imagine that happening in Jade!

Anyway I left my memory card in the computer - again. So the photos are off a phone. Notice in the photos, the members cards and the Broncos flag!

Click here to listen to the Bugle call the Last Post (200kb)

More AFL!!!

Because I had such a great time at the AFL in Melbourne, I decided that I had to do it again.

As luck should have it, Brisbane's only AFL team - the Brisbane Lions, were playing a home game at the Gabba!
So Chris, Joce, and I went to the Brisbane Lions vrs Richmond Tigers! Wow! It was soo fun even though I could barely keep my eyes open after that 4am-er the nite before!
We bought the tickets off the internet for $26 each. They were great, just behind the goal post and about 10 rows back!
The Tigers were at the bottom of the table and as the lady at Movie World said - if the Lions loose to the Tigers it will be tradgic. It was. They lost. 96 to 82.

Never the less, it was great fun.
I managed to "generate" myself for a night on the town and we hit a bar called "The Victory" (ironic eh?) where we meet up with Kat and Chris' brother Mark.
I got a RedBall and Vodka and a few of my favourite Vodka, Lime and Soda's into me and the night continued through to 2am. Just a point to note here Mum... the spirit drinks in Oz have half the alchol in them as the NZ counterparts - so don't freak out.

I think the night ended with me filling my mouth with a cup full of M&Ms - not a good look.

Check out more photos at ballofdirt.com

Surfers by day

Surfers Paradise is beautiful.

The view from Ben and Heidi's apartment shows that.
The beach was great - I really love beaches. The sand was golden and soft and the water was like a warm bath - though the waves were bigger than I have encountered in a bath! It was quite misleading cause you saw people standing in knee high water, but to get out to where they were you had to go through chest high water in little dips in the beach! The waves were HUGE - after they broke they were like a meter in foam! I almost lost my togs a few times (doesnt help that I removed the draw string - why did I do that? ) and when my googles came off and I got a mouth full of salty water that I knew it was time to get out.

The beach wasnt busy either! It was like Sumner beach on a quite day!

I love beaches.

After the beach we had lunch (mentioned in prevoius post) and then had a swim in the apartment pool (and warm salt water pool) and some more spa-ing.

Check out more photos at ballofdirt.com

Hotel Heidi

We got picked up from Movie World by friend from Christchurch - Ben Broad. He took Kat and I back to his appartment on the 9th floor of a hotel, where is girlfriend Heidi was waiting. It was great, we cracked open a bottle of wine and had a spa while the pork roast was cooking. After dinner on the balcony we went into town and got real boozed on the beach till 4am on Wild Turkey! Surfers Paradise is a small town - and the nite life was quite small town. There were only a few bars open and most of them had a cover charge (not like small towns) - I mean there is a Shooters over here and they were charging $5 just to get in - thats quite lame. So the bottle store and the beach was the best option by far - much more fun too!

The next day we went to the beach and sobered up. It was really interesting cause I was outside all day the day before at movie world, and was on the beach and didnt get sun burnt, the sun is nowhere as strong as NZ!!

For lunch we had a 1.5kg pot of muscles, a cone of chips and a Stela all for $12! Of cause we didnt have the Stela, wasn't quite up to it!!!!

Caught a bus and train back to Brisbane in time for the AFL! Woo hoo!

Click here to see more photos on ballofdirt.com

MOVIE WORLD!!

So Kat and I got to Movie World as it was opening!

Went on heaps of rides and the new one, Superman escape - which is a rollercoaster that goes from 0-100 in two seconds! Wow! I screamed heaps.

We went to the Shrek 4D movie, which was in 3D with those glasses and also moving seats and when Donkey sneezed on us we felt it cause we got sprayed with water and there the spiders on the floor were jets of air sprayed on our feet!

My goal for the day was to get a photo with Batman! Wow! Couldn't find him, but as we were leaving he was there getting photos taken, but there was a huge line of little kids and it didnt look like I would get one. So I snuck one from behind. The attendant spotted it and laughed at me and told me to get in the queue!

Click here to view heaps more images on ballofdirt.com

Hanging in Brisbane

So just cruised around today. Kat and Jos (thats Chris' girlfriend) picked me up and we went to Mt Coot-tha. Hung out the the (very) big mall in Indooroopilly - try pronouncing that?

Also met up with a guy named Jay who is one of Kat's friends

There are more photos on ballofdirt.com

Hello Brisbane!

Well I made it to Brisbane! Its HOT! Wooo hooo my tropical holiday has begun!

Left with Dylan on the train at 0730. I think that I am going to be strong after this adventure - my pack is bloody heavy at 20kgs - but no a problem thanks to my year of strength training at the gym - recommend for potential travelers!

Anyway said my goodbyes and ended up at the airport. The flight was fast and hers tip two for the day - get seats in the emergency exit row! The legs room is awesome - like double that of the other rows! (Just make sure that it isn't the row with no seats infront of it - that sucks cause you dont have a fold down tray and no under seat luggage storage) The only requirement is that you are fit and agree to help in an emergency! Sweet - will be rebooking all of my seats!

On the train from the airport to Brisbane City, I was talking to Kat who was going to meet me, when a guy tryed to grab my pack! I interrupted him and he apoligised say that he has one just like it! Sure you do buddy. The then got off at the next station with no luggage - what an arse!

So Kat meet me at the station and we just lay about on the grass outside the musuem for a few hours. Meet Chris Lysaght at another station at 530 and took us back to his place where lives with his brother Mark and his wife and kid. A very hospitable family - who also know my family (Mark and Liss, and Leon, and Mum and Dad) - Mark said that if it wasn't for Dad and the Charasmatic Catholic work he did for the South Canterbury region, he probably would be where he is today - working at the Brisbane Cathedral! So with his gratidute toward my family - I feel very welcome.

Heaps more photos at ballofdirt.com

Least we forget

Dylan and I went for a we tiki tour around central Melbourne.

We started at Federation Square which is the central square in the City. We spent a while looking for an All Blacks shirt for me (cause it really has to be done!) - They were all too small or too large so will try later.

The significance of the skyscraper is that last time Dylan and I were in Melbourne (3ish years ago) we were visiting Phil. His place was about 1k from the building site and I think they were only up to level 40 of the skelleton, so Phil, this photos are for you too.

We ended up at the shrine of rememerbance - which is a memorial for all the soldiers who lost their lives in the world wars. It was very sombre and touching.

Shrine is designed so that on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of every year, a ray of light shines over the word "Love" - we however were not there on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, so we just got simulation! Moving though.

Heaps more photos at ballofdirt.com

"You and I belong together"

Ha, like that title? Thats the start of the theme song for the Aussie soap "Home and Away"!

These photos were taken at the Palace on saturday night. The guy in green and the chick with the long hair are stars in Home and Away apparently. So we got our photo taken. The other people in the photos are of course me, Dylan, Lloyd, Ana, and Marnie.

Check out the rest of the photos at ballofdirt.com

Last day in Melbourne

On my last day in Melbourne Dylan had the day off work so we headed out to the Victoria Markets and general shopping.

Last time I was at the markets I bought a really nice woolen jacket, which, over last winter I managed to leave somewhere - has anyone seen it? Made of wool, black, waist length, zip up, warm and lined. It was my favourite.

So one of my missions was to replace it from the market. No luck unfortunatley. The markets we dissapointing with regard to range and quality of product. There was row upon row upon row upon row.... of the same crap - plastics toys, leather wallets, novelty tshirts, shoes... and it was literly the same product in each row!!!

The overall experience was fun thou - Dylan loved taking the piss about my lack of directional sense - it all looked the same and I didnt know which aisle next even though we had been going in a straight line!!!

We took a stroll through the meat and fish market - that was pretty cool - the steaks were mouth watering to look at and the butchers were very loud about the fact that theirs was a better deal!

We got Souvlaki - wasnt as good as Dimetries - infact as Dylan pointed out it isnt really comparable - this was Middle Eastern, Dimetries is Greek - anyway great feed!

We headed out to St Kilda to get a photo of the "Big Mouth" at Luna park - and had a stroll on the beach - not the sand however cause I didnt fancy a needle in the foot. (BTW - who navigated us to the beach, Dyl? He said "Ok, you navigate, but don't blame me if we pick up a hooker"! - its that part of town!)

Aw, fair dinkum ref!

I woke to a storm outside at 8am NZ, 6am local. Dylan I went to the supermarket where I stocked up on smoothy ingredients (I have rediscovered Lactose free milk) and another 2 dozen beer! When we got back Ana and Manee where snuggled up on the couch and Lloyd came down so I made my famous banana-french-vinella smoothy. The looks they gave me when they saw me putting in raw eggs was classic! And watching them drink it was even funnier! Of course you cant taste the eggs!

Btw - everyone calls Dylan "Pickle" - i mean "Peek-all" in aussie!

I decided that lazing around was a waste of a day so Dyl and I went to Bridge Street for some shopping. Knowing my past experience with "shopping frenzy", we clearly defined what we wanted to buy and were to be restrained from buying anything else. I needed some shoes as the (free hand-me-downs) I were not in the best condition.

I was very impressed with myself - I was tempted many times into buying stuff that I didnt want/couldn't even carry. I ended up paying $32.50 for a $150 pair of shoes - last pair, in my size, it was a sign! Stoked!

The highlight of the day by far was going the to the AFL - I have finally found a sport that I think I could really get addicted to. I might have even played it!

We went to the TelstraDome to watch the Sydney Swans vrs the Carlton Blues! It was incredible - 36,000 people in a covered stadium!

We had the best tickets that we could have hoped for - a lady was scelping her members tickets and we scooped them up for $10 each!!! The seats were 10 rows from the front and a quater up the field - it was just perfect. We even had a fanatical Carlton supporter behind us - we named him "Angry Man". My ears got a blasting and Dyl caught one to the back of the head! All things concidered, we decided that it would be best if we "barrack" for Carlton.
Check out the $10 Members ticket!!

I love it. I really do! It was fan-bloody-tastic - even if the beer was only mid-strength! But Angry Man said "Aw, fair dinkum ref" and various other quotes that had me in histerics!

Here is a video of the game! Listen to Angry Guy at the end (If it doesnt work you need to update your QuickTime I think)

Then my booze camera stopped working. I took about 50 photos and then it just stopped - not having much luck with it!

After the AFL we made a 500m dash in the lashing rain to Lloyd's work at a waterside restaurant. Absoultey saturated, we both had the steak and... my mouth waters thinking about it... it was the best steak that I have had in my life! - Mum it does beat your par-microwaved attempt at cooking steak!

After overstaying at the resturant we left around 1130 and walked into town to meet up with Ana and Manee. Had a few drinks and left for St Kilda and the Palace (pronounced by the locals in french style, rhyming with ballet!)

Well what a laugh. After a $20 taxi and a $12 entry fee, we were in this sad hicks-ville style pub that served us in plastic cups! I couldnt believe it. In disgust Dyl went for a nosy around... and found the rest... 5 or 6 more bars! All full with stunningly beautiful women! WOW!

There were a couple from the TV show "Home and Away" we got photos later! We however had blown our budgets for the day and could not afford the drinks they we selling... for example, we had some shots that cost $6 each - standard right? No. They were the size of a thimble - for real. I could not believe it!

But we stayed to 4am anyway. Some guys wanted me to do a Haka for them - I told them that it was culturally insensitive for ME to do a Haka in a sifty nightclub! Anyway the music was too loud and they wouldn't be able to hear my passion and fury ;-)!! I told them to go to an All Blacks game. I really should learn how to do a Haka properly.

20 Hours

After re-packing and saying goodbye to Stace (Phil was at work), I drove through Wellington in the dark from Phil and Stace's to Glens - which is close to the airport.

The drive was interesting, I took half a million wrong turns and ended up on the same streets going in different directions and in different lanes - would have been quite comical to watch if I wasnt so frustrated!

Glen was away so it was just me. I got up at 3:30am for my 6:15am flight. The whole flight was quite uneventful, except that my baggage was over weight (already!)!

I arrived at 8:15am local time - uptime 7 hours already. Meet Dylan in town (it is Easter so everyone is off work and nothing really is open) and caught the tram to his apartment.

Really nice place, quite close to town, 2 bedroom deal in a block of 8 units surrounding a courtyard. He shares the flat (plutonicly) with Ana - a curious 24 year old social worker whos cullernary skills extend to beef 2 minute noodles and "cooking icecream" - which as defined by Ana: "cooking refers to food preparation, so therefore preparing icecream to eat is cooking" - see, she can cook!

Dylan and Ana gets on well with the other residents - Marnie(19) and Lloyd(19) (plutonicly) live upstairs and are good value. They seem to be more flatmates that apartment-complex-mates. It seems that mixed sex flats are in vogue here. The other residents are friendly, the whole place has a livey vibe and is quite "Melrose Place"ish.

So anyway the sun was out and thankfully Dylan had prepared with 2 dozen Becks and being as thirsty as I was, we got stuck in some time between 11am and 3pm - 15 hours uptime. At somepoint Ana and Marnie quietly joined in. By 9pm - I had crashed. The tiredness, artifical jet-lag (the whole being up since 1am local time), and booze (I bought some Absolut Vodka duty free too) finally got me - 20 hours later, i was proud of that effort!

I slept well.

Me and the boys

I had Dinner with my Landmark friend Glen - he's a hotshot facilator who flys around the world doing stuff with people, he's got a doctorate in Bio something-or-other - he mentioned that he was working on a sustainable/renewable bio kitchen with some huge international corporations. I think its to help out the worlds food issues. - hope thats right Dr Glen.

Anyway we went to a really flash Japanese resturant and I dug into the most incrediable chicken! We also had a bottle of top shelf hot sake - very potent rice wine! And to top it off a rice wine sorbet - the whole experience was great!

I stayed the nite and in the morning dropped him off at the airport - just down the road from his place. He gave me his super fast car for the rest of my stay - I was very honored, and in true Glen style, with out a word of caution or warning (except about the flat spot in the accelerator), in complete trust he gave me his car!

So, with that opportunity to explore I went up the hill to the Wind Turbine. It was incredible, so huge with a pulsating "whoom" as each blade spun around! I was gutted cause I left my cameras memory card in the computer!

Phil had the day off and we had a quiet tour around the bays just chilling. We also went to the forest where Phil showed me the tree pictured! Its crazy cause it started life 1000 years ago as a seed, stuck high in another tree, over the years it sent shoots down and created its own trunk. Eventually the host tree died, leaving this monster of a tree. The picture really doesn't do it justice!

Phil and I then hit the dark beers for the rest of the afternoon/evening!

So that was my last few days, just me and the boys. Good fun.

See more photos at Ball of Dirt

Wellington - a city of Forests

Wellington suprised me with how much forest there is! It seems that there is more forest than there is city! I guess it appears like this because all of the houses are build on the side of a (very steep) hill that is naturally covered in forest.

Yesterday I went on a walk into the forest about 2 minutes walk from Phil and Stace's place. It was so peaceful and quite, with bird singing - a haven in the city. It was a good opportunity to test my new toys - a bloody cheap, bloody awesome digital camera and a tripod that I bought from Kathmandu for $20 - what a bargin. Anyway check out the waterfall - taked with a longer exposure as to get the smooth movements of the water - wow - smart camera.

Later in the day I had lunch with my step niece, Zoe - uncle will be fine Zoe. I spilt my coffee (actually the tripod leg did but im taking responsibility for it). We also went to a GREAT film festival movie set in the shanty towns of Africa - Tsotsi was the name. Highy recommended.

More photos here

Thunderbolts and Lightning, very very frightning me!

So I said "its pissing down outside" - "No its not, it just a little rain"

Its rained every day since I've been here - im not complaining cause it has also always cleared.

This morning we had a lightning storm. It was very cool, the whole sky would light up with the lightning through the clouds - just a little unnerving after watching War of the Worlds!

Went for Yum Char yesterday afternoon. Yum Char is Chinese food in small servings, like Spanish Tapas. We went to the first place and there must have been at least 80 to 100 people waiting to be seated so we went to another one - there was a queue of about 10 people and we only waited 30 minutes.

The food was great - little pork dumplings and spring rolls etc. But the best was a Mango pudding - just like instant pudding but with real (canned) mangos! Yum!

Headed off to Te Papa - that building has to be the biggest most roomiest building I've been in - its massive! Did you know the whole thing is on rubber Skellerup blocks - earthquake proofing!

Any how, no photos. Had a photographic free day - the stress of getting the perfect shot is just tooo much!

Out with Phil and Stace

Had heaps of fun today.

This morning we watched an episode of lost (on that hasnt screened in NZ yet) then we went into town where Phil went to work and Stace and I went to her fancy Gym. We pretended that I was looking at joining so I got a free session - woo hoo. After that Stace and I went home and cooked dinner, watched some TV and went back into town to meet Phil after work. It rained heaps.

Phil works in a fancy resturant/wine bar. When we got there we ordered some wine from the french waiter and he also brought out some breads and a platter of meat, cheese and fancy persons food - all compliments of the kitchen - nice Phil.

We then went to Matterhorn, which apparently is a legendary Wellington bar (where these photos are taken). We got into the Vodka, Lime and Soda and Phil and I knocked back a shot of Vicks Formula 44 (aka Yaggermister) - yuk. Made for a fun nite tho.

More photos here

First day in windy Wellington

"Oh, it has hardly rained here for ages" says Phil and Stace. I wake up in the morning to it blowing a gale with horizonal rain!!!

It cleard later and the sun came out so I ventured into the city. I walked up and down hills for 40 minutes and I came across this view - WOW! - click to enlarge it!


The wind was incredible - and it just kept going! And so many steep hills! I was to meet Stacy on Lamton Quey but I had managed to get myself onto the street above - literley! One block back was four storys above the previous street! And I couldn't find any way to get down! So I just followed some one behind a building into a carpark and ended up doing through a securiy door that was open and down 4 flights of stairs, past the staff room and out into a book shop, with staff staring at me as I entered! But hey, I was on lambton quey!

See more photos here

Hello Wellington!

Well i made it to Wellington!

After a beer and a teary (Terry) eyed goodbye I got on that plane and started my adventure!
The flight was quick and easy and I arrive with not jet lag to speak of.

Phil picked me up from the airport and we collected Stace from work on the way back to their little love nest. Lovely indeed.

All Official Documents Received!

Wow, in a sudden wave of Government efficiency, all my documents arrived, completed on the same day!

My UK Visa has arrived with a pretty sticker in it saying that I can work in the UK!
My drivers licence arrived and I also got my International Drivers Licence so watch M25 here I come!!!

I also opened my UK bank account which was an extra point of stress cause the forms we so bloody confusing and they wanted to take all my money!! - anyway drama over cause the people at Travex were really nice and it was really easy in the end - what a story it was telling myself!

Last Day at E2

Well, thats it. 3 year complete.

I loved working at e2 with my weekday family, and it was really sad to leave them. But thats all part of the game i guess.

Keep in touch kids and rock on like you do!

More photos here

Bus Trip!

Boy what a fun nite! Everyone dressed up in 70's and 80's, we piled on a bus and got boozed.
I lost my memory.... card from my digital camera so if you have any good ones please email them to me! My email address is the same as usual, my first name at great-scotts.org - dont want to put it here cause spammers will slam my email address!!!!

Anyway more photos as they come in!




More photos here