Monday, 29 October 2012
Sunday, 28 October 2012
Toast Without Butter.....
Ok, so as I mentioned earlier, Adelaide gets a bad wrap....
The usual response from 'those types' in the other states, when you say you're from Adelaide is
"I'm sorry"
It's an old joke, but a good one....
But to be honest, Adelaide is a great city. We have a great history, full of culture and initiative, and some beautiful landscape's to boot. Now I'm never going to say Adelaide is prettier, bigger or better than anywhere else, because well, I've seen some amazing things in my short time and there is a lot we can do to improve things.
But today I have done a little research, and made a list of things we, as South Australians, can and should be proud of. So without further ado.......
The usual response from 'those types' in the other states, when you say you're from Adelaide is
"I'm sorry"
It's an old joke, but a good one....
But to be honest, Adelaide is a great city. We have a great history, full of culture and initiative, and some beautiful landscape's to boot. Now I'm never going to say Adelaide is prettier, bigger or better than anywhere else, because well, I've seen some amazing things in my short time and there is a lot we can do to improve things.
But today I have done a little research, and made a list of things we, as South Australians, can and should be proud of. So without further ado.......
I'll start with my personal favourite, Women's Equality.
We became the first state in Australia, and second place in the world (after those darn kiwis in 1893) to give women the right to vote in 1894. 8 years later, women were granted suffrage in the whole of Australia.
People.
Dame Roma Mitchell
Dame Roma Mitchell was born in Adelaide and was the first Australian woman to be a judge, a Queen's Counsel, a chancellor of an Australian university and the Governor of an Australian state.
Natasha Stott Despoja
Youngest leader of a political party in Australia.
Penny Wong
First openly lesbian member of an Australian cabinet.
Don Dunstan
Won't list everything, but he was instrumental in removing the death penalty in the state, decriminalising homosexuality, and removing the White Australia Policy. He helped Aboriginal Australians gain land recognition and helped reinvigorate the arts and culture of the city. He was way ahead of his time both federally and at state level.
William Bragg Snr & Jnr.
Only father and son to win the Nobel Prize, and old Bill Junior was the youngest ever recipient of the prize.
Howard Florey.
Nobel Prize winner and developer of penicillin. His and his colleagues discovery has saved an estimated 6 million lives in Australia....No big deal....
Non Political Stuff!!
Not Convicts!
We are the only Australian capital not founded by convicts but free men. (Even if some of them were previously convicts but had served there sentence or were granted released. Don't tell the others)
Aboriginal History.
We have Australia's (and the worlds) largest collection of Aboriginal artefact's and culture in the South Australian Museum.
We have some of the oldest known recordings of human existence in the world (hand paintings in Arkaroola Caves in the Flinders Ranges can date back to around 40,000 to 50,000 years)
Archaeological Significance.
Naracoorte Caves is a Unesco World Heritage Site, down by the Limestone Coast. It is significant due to its 26 caves filled with Australia's ancient mega-fauna. It's fascinating seeing where some of our beloved cute creatures descended from. Not only that these things are flipping huge!
White Kangaroos!
We have Australia's only known colony of white kangaroos in Australia (Border Town)
The Wine State
Up until last year, (damn NSW) South Australia was the largest producer of wine in the country, and thanks to brands such as Jacobs Creek, Wolf Blass and Penfolds, gave Australia the great reputation we have around the world today. You can thank us later Eastern States......
The Festival State.
We have the second largest fringe festival in the world outside of the famous Edinburgh Fringe, and we have the biggest Schutzenfest in the world outside Germany (third overall)
Natural Beauty.
Kangaroo Island is a relatively undiscovered gem internationally, but is one of the most amazing places in the country. The Flinders Ranges are stunning, and with enough history to make Jesus sit down for a coffee.
Largest & Longests
Apart from the ones listed above, Adelaide has, summarised....
The worlds longest guided bus way in the O-Bahn.
The worlds largest and oldest glasshouse in a botanic gardens.
The Largest vintage car rally in the southern hemisphere (Bay to Birdwood)
The largest collection of vintage cars in Australia (National Motor Museum)
The largest collection of 18th century Australian art on display. (National Art Gallery)
Australia's only purpose built soccer stadium (Hindmarsh)
The largest fresh produce market in the southern hemisphere (Central Market)
And the most restaurants per capita than any other Australian city.
Beaches!
We have Australia's closest and most accessible beach (Glenelg, also a wicked palindrome)
And Finally........
Adelaide has been voted most livable city in the country three years in a row.
Ok so we`re not perfect by any means, but we do have a rich history to be proud of.
So hopefully next time instead of bagging out the place you live and encouraging the ignorance, stand up and be proud for what we have done!
Sunday, 21 October 2012
Bon Débarras Vous Tabarnak!!
So, it seems I have the uncanny ability to leave this blog neglected until I have too much stuff to recall!
So right now I am in the amazing Quebec City in the amazing French province of Quebec!! Quebec City is one of the places I wanted to visit in Canada the most, so I have been excitedly looking forward to it for ages!
Quebec City is 400 years old and is the oldest fortified city in North America. If that's not impressive enough, the entire old town is listed as a world heritage site. Apart from being amazingly beautiful, this city and province is full of culture, history and politics that would make even Belgium say "Holy shit balls"
We have been couch surfing with an amazing French Canadian and her two flat mates, and they have gone well above the call of duty of hosting. We arrived on her birthday, yet her dinner party was more about spoiling the two Aussie guests. We had some wicked fondue style French cuisine, followed by some beers in town in some trendy micro brewery pubs. To top the night off, we went to a wicked late night take away store and had amazing Quebec poutine! Poutine originated in Quebec, and I have been waiting to come here to try it. I was not disappointed!
I could write an entire post just on our time here, but I will save that for a few quiet beers one day.
So last I checked we were in Banff. On our last day Liam and I hired a car and ventured north to see Lake Louise and the Columbia Icefield. The Lake was amazing, but unfortunately for us, despite a beautiful day, by the time we made it to the icefield, the weather turned and the haze was so thick we could barely see the first glacier! Gutted!
The next day we bussed it to Calgary, where we stayed with one of Liams friends from Victoria. We stayed at her parents house, and they were great. Sophie drove us around and introduced us to her friends. I can't say we saw too much of Calgary, but the host was wicked and we had a good time.
Next I managed to convince Liam to break up the potential 2000 km bus ride to Thunder Bay, and stop after 12 hours in Winnipeg in Manitoba. Now I am going to mention how hard it was to convince Liam to stop here. He had heard from people that Saskatchewan and Manitoba were shit and wastes of time, so we shouldn't even bother stopping there, even though we had a bus that cost us nothing extra, and we had free accommodation while couch surfing. Being from Adelaide, we get this a lot. Australians from other states tell people how shit and boring it is despite never actually going there, or doing any research. Because of this, I felt compelled to see what Winnipeg had to offer.
Our host was lovely, but just wanted to show off her Aussie couch surfers to her friends at the pubs and clubs. Couch surfing is a double edged sword. The fact strangers are letting us in their homes and staying for free is amazing. At the same time though, we came here to try and learn about the place and its culture, and you can't do that sitting in a pub spending all your money on piss for 3 days. Even the most boring of cities have more to offer than pubs.
So anyway, we did manage to get out and about for a few days, and what I did see I found interesting. it definitely wont be up there with the prettiest cities i've been to, but it has its own story which is worth telling.
After Winnipeg we bussed to Thunder Bay in Ontario to check out Lake Superior. Thunder Bay itself is a hovel, and the hostel was a dogs breakfast, but I did see my first great lake, so that is a plus. Most of the 2 days spent there was in Mcdonalds eating there $2 big macs, as the weather was rubbish and the town is basically just a township for people to base themselves for the mines.
Next stop was Elliot Lake for a day to see Liams grandmother. She was very lovely and cooked us a nice meal for tea. Elliot Lake is a beautiful little town that has been through some hard times, and it was great to see the colours of the leaves changed for fall.
Next stop was Ottawa, which will be my new home until after new year. We only spent 2 days before heading off again, but our host was amazing and the town is beautiful.
Montreal was next, but due to time constraints, could only spend two nights (One kaleidoscopey) there before venturing off.
Now we are in Quebec City, and I will be here for a week before going back to Montreal for another 3 or 4 days, and then back to Ottawa where Mandy is coming back to visit for 10 days!
This will be an interesting test to see how compatible we are together and whether Victoria was a holiday romance, or the start of something serious.....
Time will tell, but I think things will work out fine.
Tonight Liam and I went our seperate ways. He is heading off to Halifax, and I am staying in Quebec for a few more days. Should be interesting traveling alone again. I'm going to enjoy my space for a few days at least!!
Anyway, best get to bed, few more days in this wicked city, then start making my way down to Ottawa again!
Bon nuit!
So right now I am in the amazing Quebec City in the amazing French province of Quebec!! Quebec City is one of the places I wanted to visit in Canada the most, so I have been excitedly looking forward to it for ages!
Quebec City is 400 years old and is the oldest fortified city in North America. If that's not impressive enough, the entire old town is listed as a world heritage site. Apart from being amazingly beautiful, this city and province is full of culture, history and politics that would make even Belgium say "Holy shit balls"
We have been couch surfing with an amazing French Canadian and her two flat mates, and they have gone well above the call of duty of hosting. We arrived on her birthday, yet her dinner party was more about spoiling the two Aussie guests. We had some wicked fondue style French cuisine, followed by some beers in town in some trendy micro brewery pubs. To top the night off, we went to a wicked late night take away store and had amazing Quebec poutine! Poutine originated in Quebec, and I have been waiting to come here to try it. I was not disappointed!
I could write an entire post just on our time here, but I will save that for a few quiet beers one day.
So last I checked we were in Banff. On our last day Liam and I hired a car and ventured north to see Lake Louise and the Columbia Icefield. The Lake was amazing, but unfortunately for us, despite a beautiful day, by the time we made it to the icefield, the weather turned and the haze was so thick we could barely see the first glacier! Gutted!
The next day we bussed it to Calgary, where we stayed with one of Liams friends from Victoria. We stayed at her parents house, and they were great. Sophie drove us around and introduced us to her friends. I can't say we saw too much of Calgary, but the host was wicked and we had a good time.
Next I managed to convince Liam to break up the potential 2000 km bus ride to Thunder Bay, and stop after 12 hours in Winnipeg in Manitoba. Now I am going to mention how hard it was to convince Liam to stop here. He had heard from people that Saskatchewan and Manitoba were shit and wastes of time, so we shouldn't even bother stopping there, even though we had a bus that cost us nothing extra, and we had free accommodation while couch surfing. Being from Adelaide, we get this a lot. Australians from other states tell people how shit and boring it is despite never actually going there, or doing any research. Because of this, I felt compelled to see what Winnipeg had to offer.
Our host was lovely, but just wanted to show off her Aussie couch surfers to her friends at the pubs and clubs. Couch surfing is a double edged sword. The fact strangers are letting us in their homes and staying for free is amazing. At the same time though, we came here to try and learn about the place and its culture, and you can't do that sitting in a pub spending all your money on piss for 3 days. Even the most boring of cities have more to offer than pubs.
So anyway, we did manage to get out and about for a few days, and what I did see I found interesting. it definitely wont be up there with the prettiest cities i've been to, but it has its own story which is worth telling.
After Winnipeg we bussed to Thunder Bay in Ontario to check out Lake Superior. Thunder Bay itself is a hovel, and the hostel was a dogs breakfast, but I did see my first great lake, so that is a plus. Most of the 2 days spent there was in Mcdonalds eating there $2 big macs, as the weather was rubbish and the town is basically just a township for people to base themselves for the mines.
Next stop was Elliot Lake for a day to see Liams grandmother. She was very lovely and cooked us a nice meal for tea. Elliot Lake is a beautiful little town that has been through some hard times, and it was great to see the colours of the leaves changed for fall.
Next stop was Ottawa, which will be my new home until after new year. We only spent 2 days before heading off again, but our host was amazing and the town is beautiful.
Montreal was next, but due to time constraints, could only spend two nights (One kaleidoscopey) there before venturing off.
Now we are in Quebec City, and I will be here for a week before going back to Montreal for another 3 or 4 days, and then back to Ottawa where Mandy is coming back to visit for 10 days!
This will be an interesting test to see how compatible we are together and whether Victoria was a holiday romance, or the start of something serious.....
Time will tell, but I think things will work out fine.
Tonight Liam and I went our seperate ways. He is heading off to Halifax, and I am staying in Quebec for a few more days. Should be interesting traveling alone again. I'm going to enjoy my space for a few days at least!!
Anyway, best get to bed, few more days in this wicked city, then start making my way down to Ottawa again!
Bon nuit!
Saturday, 29 September 2012
Moving Forward!
So we are in Banff, in the Rocky Mountains!
I had heard that Banff is the S.T.D capital of Canada and that it's full of Aussies. For this reason, I have had no urgent desire to visit, besides the fact I don't fancy snowboarding and its not the season yet.
There are a million Aussies here, that's true. And yes they are all the young, ignorant, obnoxious ones that give all of us a terrible terrible rep. I wont tell all the examples I've seen already, but if you can imagine the 'Aussie Aussie Aussie' flag wearing bogans then you have a pretty good idea of the hostels here.
Apart from the Aussies and the busyness of the place, it's absolutely BEAUTIFUL!
So last time I was here, we were in Whitehorse. We had a great time there, and the people were amazing and friendly, but it was time to move on! Liam and I bought our Greyhound 'Discovery Passes' which is valid for 30 days. Its actually the last month Greyhound are offering these passes so we are quite lucky.
I was really really against getting this pass at first, but I soon realised that I have a small window of time before it gets way too cold to move around. The weather is changing fast here. The last few days it has been mid 20's and sunny. On tuesday it will be minus 11. What the fuck weather indeed.
So anyway, the job driving trucks down south fell through, as the chick decided that we should pay for fuel to drive HER trucks to Vancouver. So after politely declining, we bought our bus tickets.
We decided to head to Alberta, first stop being Edmonton, which is 28 hours away on the bus (yes this place is ridiculously big)
We had organized some couch surfing with this cool chick in an awesome apartment in a good area of town, and got shown around by another couch surfer the next day.
Edmonton is spread out like Adelaide, but the downtown is dirty, drug riddled, and not much fun to look at or be in. Cross the river though and things change. For a small population (1 million abouts) it has a great university and therefore attracts lots of intelligent young people. Also because of the oil sands, these guys are only paying around 110 a litre for petrol! Lucky ducks!
We only stayed two nights, then got on the bus again (only 6 hours this time) to Jasper, which is in the Rocky Mountains. WOW. I knew I would enjoy the Rockies, but this blew me away. The only problem is that unlike Banff, which is a lot bigger and busier and therefore has public transport to a lot of the hikes and trails here, Jasper is more remote and can be very difficult to explore without a car.
Lucky for us, on our first morning, we decided to save some money and walk the 7km to town. On the way down the hill, an Argentinian bloke and two Germans pulled over next to us and offered us a ride. Hitch hiking is pretty common here, so of course we said yes.
Rod, the Argentinian, dropped us all off in town and we said our good byes and headed to the post office to send postcards. Rod went in as well and we started talking again and he offered to take us around with him to Maligne Canyon, as he was already heading there. Well the canyon turned into a few more lakes, and before long we were making plans for the next day too. In total, he drove us around with him for 2 days. If it wasn't for Rod, we would not have been able to see half the things we did, and barely any of the trails and hikes we walked. He really made our trip. We made his too he said so it worked out well and it's so refreshing to meet people as funny and nice as him.
Although we only knew Rod for a few days, we spent a lot of time together and I could probably write a small book on his funny quotes and quirks. While walking a trail, we began talking about bears and cougars and other dangerous Canadian animals. Two minutes later, Rod (who was walking in front) started running at full pace past us screaming in his Argentinian accent "There is..........something!"
I looked up and saw something black running at full pace towards us and started running myself. I looked back and what did I see??? A black dog and a cyclist owner coming around the corner! We felt like right dicks, but our apprehension was warranted as 15 minutes later, we walked right towards a black bear and her two cubs! We waited a while and went around, slowly so the mamma didn't see us as a threat. Interestingly, as soon as the bears saw us, the two cubs ran straight up the nearest tree as fast as they could. It was amazing to watch...
So after some more hikes and mountain climbing, Liam and I headed for the bus to Banff and here we are!
Banff is only around four hours from Jasper. (Un) fortunately, there is a world heritage listed ice field between the two towns, and because of this, the greyhound doesn't go directly. So instead of a hour ride, we had a 15 hour bus trip back to Edmonton, south to Calgary, then west to Banff.
We are planning to hire a car on monday and head towards the ice fields and check out Lake Louise on the way. Can't wait!
That's as far as I can tell the story for now. I'll try and pop back when we get the chance!
Adios!
I had heard that Banff is the S.T.D capital of Canada and that it's full of Aussies. For this reason, I have had no urgent desire to visit, besides the fact I don't fancy snowboarding and its not the season yet.
There are a million Aussies here, that's true. And yes they are all the young, ignorant, obnoxious ones that give all of us a terrible terrible rep. I wont tell all the examples I've seen already, but if you can imagine the 'Aussie Aussie Aussie' flag wearing bogans then you have a pretty good idea of the hostels here.
Apart from the Aussies and the busyness of the place, it's absolutely BEAUTIFUL!
So last time I was here, we were in Whitehorse. We had a great time there, and the people were amazing and friendly, but it was time to move on! Liam and I bought our Greyhound 'Discovery Passes' which is valid for 30 days. Its actually the last month Greyhound are offering these passes so we are quite lucky.
I was really really against getting this pass at first, but I soon realised that I have a small window of time before it gets way too cold to move around. The weather is changing fast here. The last few days it has been mid 20's and sunny. On tuesday it will be minus 11. What the fuck weather indeed.
So anyway, the job driving trucks down south fell through, as the chick decided that we should pay for fuel to drive HER trucks to Vancouver. So after politely declining, we bought our bus tickets.
We decided to head to Alberta, first stop being Edmonton, which is 28 hours away on the bus (yes this place is ridiculously big)
We had organized some couch surfing with this cool chick in an awesome apartment in a good area of town, and got shown around by another couch surfer the next day.
Edmonton is spread out like Adelaide, but the downtown is dirty, drug riddled, and not much fun to look at or be in. Cross the river though and things change. For a small population (1 million abouts) it has a great university and therefore attracts lots of intelligent young people. Also because of the oil sands, these guys are only paying around 110 a litre for petrol! Lucky ducks!
We only stayed two nights, then got on the bus again (only 6 hours this time) to Jasper, which is in the Rocky Mountains. WOW. I knew I would enjoy the Rockies, but this blew me away. The only problem is that unlike Banff, which is a lot bigger and busier and therefore has public transport to a lot of the hikes and trails here, Jasper is more remote and can be very difficult to explore without a car.
Lucky for us, on our first morning, we decided to save some money and walk the 7km to town. On the way down the hill, an Argentinian bloke and two Germans pulled over next to us and offered us a ride. Hitch hiking is pretty common here, so of course we said yes.
Rod, the Argentinian, dropped us all off in town and we said our good byes and headed to the post office to send postcards. Rod went in as well and we started talking again and he offered to take us around with him to Maligne Canyon, as he was already heading there. Well the canyon turned into a few more lakes, and before long we were making plans for the next day too. In total, he drove us around with him for 2 days. If it wasn't for Rod, we would not have been able to see half the things we did, and barely any of the trails and hikes we walked. He really made our trip. We made his too he said so it worked out well and it's so refreshing to meet people as funny and nice as him.
Although we only knew Rod for a few days, we spent a lot of time together and I could probably write a small book on his funny quotes and quirks. While walking a trail, we began talking about bears and cougars and other dangerous Canadian animals. Two minutes later, Rod (who was walking in front) started running at full pace past us screaming in his Argentinian accent "There is..........something!"
I looked up and saw something black running at full pace towards us and started running myself. I looked back and what did I see??? A black dog and a cyclist owner coming around the corner! We felt like right dicks, but our apprehension was warranted as 15 minutes later, we walked right towards a black bear and her two cubs! We waited a while and went around, slowly so the mamma didn't see us as a threat. Interestingly, as soon as the bears saw us, the two cubs ran straight up the nearest tree as fast as they could. It was amazing to watch...
So after some more hikes and mountain climbing, Liam and I headed for the bus to Banff and here we are!
Banff is only around four hours from Jasper. (Un) fortunately, there is a world heritage listed ice field between the two towns, and because of this, the greyhound doesn't go directly. So instead of a hour ride, we had a 15 hour bus trip back to Edmonton, south to Calgary, then west to Banff.
We are planning to hire a car on monday and head towards the ice fields and check out Lake Louise on the way. Can't wait!
That's as far as I can tell the story for now. I'll try and pop back when we get the chance!
Adios!
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Did You Miss Me??
So bit of an absence I must say. Apologies all 'round.
Well the last few months has been steady. I have been basically just working and trying to avoid massive benders in town. On my days off I have been enjoying summer by going down to some local lakes in the area and chilling out with some beers, tunes and some good mates.
But the time came when it was time to leave and I haven't looked back. Sure I miss Victoria a lot, especially my friends, but the city was getting me down in the end. Drunks, crack heads, police sieges outside our apartment and ambulances and cop sirens blaring multiple times a day got the better of me and now it's time for something a bit smaller and slower.
So now we're in Whitehorse in the Yukon!!
After lots of farewell drinks in Vic, followed by The Great Canadian Beer Festival the next day, we headed to Van on the ferry on wednesday.
We stayed at he Samesun in down town Van and tried to keep our heads down a bit to save money. We met the couple that we ride shared with on the wednesday and organized to leave on friday at midday. Not having done this before, part of us feared that they wouldn't rock up and we would be boned. Luckily for us the did and we started on our 31 hour road trip up the west coast of this massive massive country.
The ride was great, we stopped once in a while so we didn't stiffen up, and the drive went pretty quickly. We were very lucky on the way up as when we headed closer and closer to the border, we saw more and more wildlife. By the end we had seen a few Caribou, a few different herds of massive buffalo, a black bear and her two cubs, and the Northern Lights!
Words can't really describe how excited I was with all this. I felt like a kid who just let off his first firecracker.
Seeing all those things easily made being stuck in the back seat of a compact car totally worth it!
About 6 hours from Whitehorse we stopped at some hot springs and relaxed our muscles for an hour or so before heading off again. The hot springs have a lot of sulphur, and as a result, the whole place stinks of eggs. Now I understand what Rotorua in NZ smells like. Also I have discovered that hot springs attracts lots and lots of old fat people in bathing suits meant for people half their age. Luckily the springs were stinky, otherwise everyone would have smelled my vomit coming up every now and then......
So upon arrival in Whitehorse we headed to a camp site as all the accommodation in town was booked out. Apparently once a fortnight there is a plane full of Germans who fly from Frankfurt and come directly to Whitehorse. As a result we had to sleep in the cold. Luckily Liam and I bought cheap 15 dollar Walmart tents in Van.
The only issue we had with the campsite was that we had to leave our bags and valuables in the tent if we wanted to go for a venture. We decided to stay at the campsite with the fire for most of the time until we could get a hostel booked for monday.
When we finally moved into the hostel, we decided to catch up with a girl at a local bar, who Liam met on couch surfing. It was quiet at first, but eventually we were introduced to some of her mates and we ended up having a wicked night! One of her friends Matt, drove me out to some look outs of town where we saw a wicked Northern Lights display! This one was 3 times as intense as when we saw them while driving up, so Liam was quite jealous when I told him. Matt is First nations as well, so he was telling me about his ancestry and the connection his people have with the lights and the area. Tres cool.
We are meeting up with everyone again on thursday and getting our drink on at a local pub that is selling $2.50 pints, and $11 jugs. We are planning on doing some hiking at Hidden Lake in the morning, followed by a brewery tour for pre drinks, then heading to the pub after that. Should be an epic farewell for us as we have to get our tickets and leave on the bus friday morning.
We were actually offered a small job from a chick at the bar the other night. She owns a small company and needs to get 15 vans driven down to Vancouver, then some from Van to Edmonton. She would have us drive the cars down, fuel paid for, and no time limit to get them there, effectively giving us free travel!! It would mean A LOT of driving, but it will allow us to take our time and see some of the sights we missed on the way up, plus save us $230 for the bus from Whitehorse to Edmonton.
I'm really keen to do it as I think it would be an amazing opportunity, but Liam is being very stubborn about it and refuses to do it as he thinks we're wasting our time back tracking where we have already driven. I'm trying to be more positive than that, but he is dead set on buying a monthly bus ticket and heading to Alberta.
Liam and I have been disagreeing a lot recently. I guess its natural when you travel with someone but I didn't expect it this early into our trip. I think I made some serious miss judgements about Liam when we planned this trip. Being a massive stoner, I presumed he would be really relaxed and laid back about things and take it easy like I try to do. Turns out, just like a few of my other stoner friends, they are actually stress heads who use weed to calm down.
As a result, we're always at loggerheads. He tends to stress about everything and needs everything booked and organised in advance and gets shitty that I don't have the same urgency as he does. I like to go slow and keep my options open all the time. Everything he does is done in a rush. Eating, drinking, walking, hiking, its all about being finished and having it done and ticked off. I am the exact opposite so its been frustrating for both of us I think.
Also, I was under the assumption that he had no time limit and was keen to take his time across the country. As it tuns out, he has organized to be in Kansas by End of October. So his plan for us is to buy a monthly bus pass, stay in cities for 1 or 2 days tops, then cross it off the list and move on. I want to take my time, spend as long as I need in a city or town till its time to move on, even do some wwoofing for a week or two somewhere to keep the funds strong and ease our way over to the east coast in due time.
It's a shame because these are very different ways to travel around and we can't do both. I really like the guy, but I don't see us travelling together well. I can see us going our separate ways sooner rather than later.
Apart from that though, everything is going great! It feels so good to be on the road again. I'm loving meeting people again, sharing stories and experiences and giving and getting advice. I'm loving the randomness and adventure. I have seen some amazing things already, and it can only get better.
Compared to NZ, my mind is in a much better place to appreciate and enjoy everything that's going on. I'm in a good place now, and I'm not going to let anything change that....
Anyway, it's been a very long catch up post. I know I can harp on a lot about how great life is and all this weird hippy stuff, but well, that's my mental state right now. I'm happy and positive and thinking about the present and looking forward to the experiences ahead.
Also my plans have changed quite a lot since my last post and now, if things go well, I will probably be home in February to travel Oz for a good chunk of time
Its all good!
Well the last few months has been steady. I have been basically just working and trying to avoid massive benders in town. On my days off I have been enjoying summer by going down to some local lakes in the area and chilling out with some beers, tunes and some good mates.
But the time came when it was time to leave and I haven't looked back. Sure I miss Victoria a lot, especially my friends, but the city was getting me down in the end. Drunks, crack heads, police sieges outside our apartment and ambulances and cop sirens blaring multiple times a day got the better of me and now it's time for something a bit smaller and slower.
So now we're in Whitehorse in the Yukon!!
After lots of farewell drinks in Vic, followed by The Great Canadian Beer Festival the next day, we headed to Van on the ferry on wednesday.
We stayed at he Samesun in down town Van and tried to keep our heads down a bit to save money. We met the couple that we ride shared with on the wednesday and organized to leave on friday at midday. Not having done this before, part of us feared that they wouldn't rock up and we would be boned. Luckily for us the did and we started on our 31 hour road trip up the west coast of this massive massive country.
The ride was great, we stopped once in a while so we didn't stiffen up, and the drive went pretty quickly. We were very lucky on the way up as when we headed closer and closer to the border, we saw more and more wildlife. By the end we had seen a few Caribou, a few different herds of massive buffalo, a black bear and her two cubs, and the Northern Lights!
Words can't really describe how excited I was with all this. I felt like a kid who just let off his first firecracker.
Seeing all those things easily made being stuck in the back seat of a compact car totally worth it!
About 6 hours from Whitehorse we stopped at some hot springs and relaxed our muscles for an hour or so before heading off again. The hot springs have a lot of sulphur, and as a result, the whole place stinks of eggs. Now I understand what Rotorua in NZ smells like. Also I have discovered that hot springs attracts lots and lots of old fat people in bathing suits meant for people half their age. Luckily the springs were stinky, otherwise everyone would have smelled my vomit coming up every now and then......
So upon arrival in Whitehorse we headed to a camp site as all the accommodation in town was booked out. Apparently once a fortnight there is a plane full of Germans who fly from Frankfurt and come directly to Whitehorse. As a result we had to sleep in the cold. Luckily Liam and I bought cheap 15 dollar Walmart tents in Van.
The only issue we had with the campsite was that we had to leave our bags and valuables in the tent if we wanted to go for a venture. We decided to stay at the campsite with the fire for most of the time until we could get a hostel booked for monday.
When we finally moved into the hostel, we decided to catch up with a girl at a local bar, who Liam met on couch surfing. It was quiet at first, but eventually we were introduced to some of her mates and we ended up having a wicked night! One of her friends Matt, drove me out to some look outs of town where we saw a wicked Northern Lights display! This one was 3 times as intense as when we saw them while driving up, so Liam was quite jealous when I told him. Matt is First nations as well, so he was telling me about his ancestry and the connection his people have with the lights and the area. Tres cool.
We are meeting up with everyone again on thursday and getting our drink on at a local pub that is selling $2.50 pints, and $11 jugs. We are planning on doing some hiking at Hidden Lake in the morning, followed by a brewery tour for pre drinks, then heading to the pub after that. Should be an epic farewell for us as we have to get our tickets and leave on the bus friday morning.
We were actually offered a small job from a chick at the bar the other night. She owns a small company and needs to get 15 vans driven down to Vancouver, then some from Van to Edmonton. She would have us drive the cars down, fuel paid for, and no time limit to get them there, effectively giving us free travel!! It would mean A LOT of driving, but it will allow us to take our time and see some of the sights we missed on the way up, plus save us $230 for the bus from Whitehorse to Edmonton.
I'm really keen to do it as I think it would be an amazing opportunity, but Liam is being very stubborn about it and refuses to do it as he thinks we're wasting our time back tracking where we have already driven. I'm trying to be more positive than that, but he is dead set on buying a monthly bus ticket and heading to Alberta.
Liam and I have been disagreeing a lot recently. I guess its natural when you travel with someone but I didn't expect it this early into our trip. I think I made some serious miss judgements about Liam when we planned this trip. Being a massive stoner, I presumed he would be really relaxed and laid back about things and take it easy like I try to do. Turns out, just like a few of my other stoner friends, they are actually stress heads who use weed to calm down.
As a result, we're always at loggerheads. He tends to stress about everything and needs everything booked and organised in advance and gets shitty that I don't have the same urgency as he does. I like to go slow and keep my options open all the time. Everything he does is done in a rush. Eating, drinking, walking, hiking, its all about being finished and having it done and ticked off. I am the exact opposite so its been frustrating for both of us I think.
Also, I was under the assumption that he had no time limit and was keen to take his time across the country. As it tuns out, he has organized to be in Kansas by End of October. So his plan for us is to buy a monthly bus pass, stay in cities for 1 or 2 days tops, then cross it off the list and move on. I want to take my time, spend as long as I need in a city or town till its time to move on, even do some wwoofing for a week or two somewhere to keep the funds strong and ease our way over to the east coast in due time.
It's a shame because these are very different ways to travel around and we can't do both. I really like the guy, but I don't see us travelling together well. I can see us going our separate ways sooner rather than later.
Apart from that though, everything is going great! It feels so good to be on the road again. I'm loving meeting people again, sharing stories and experiences and giving and getting advice. I'm loving the randomness and adventure. I have seen some amazing things already, and it can only get better.
Compared to NZ, my mind is in a much better place to appreciate and enjoy everything that's going on. I'm in a good place now, and I'm not going to let anything change that....
Anyway, it's been a very long catch up post. I know I can harp on a lot about how great life is and all this weird hippy stuff, but well, that's my mental state right now. I'm happy and positive and thinking about the present and looking forward to the experiences ahead.
Also my plans have changed quite a lot since my last post and now, if things go well, I will probably be home in February to travel Oz for a good chunk of time
Its all good!
Thursday, 28 June 2012
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