Best of the Great Barrier Reef

As a part of my Best of Australia recommendations, these are my opinions on the Great Barrier Reef. When you go to Australia, you have to go to the reef. That's all there is to it. I took 7 days for my drive up the coast, but you can do quicker if you fly. There is a lot to see between Sydney and the Whitsundays if you decide to drive. Byron Bay is a cool surf town and the scenery is much different than Sydney or Melbourne. I didn't spend any time in Brisbane, but I'm sure there are things to see.

You'll have to balance between time and budget on how you want to get there. You can find one way flights to Hamilton Island from $100 up depending on the season. You'll want to book a sailing trip from Airlie Beach. I took a boat called Summertime and spent 3 days there. It was the best vacation of my life.  There are all kinds of different boat trip packages, styles and formats.  Do a little research on Google and find one that works for you.  If you're into diving or want to be, get your license before you go.  But even if you can't do that, a lot of the boats will let you do introductory dives without one.

If you love the reef as much as me and have even more time to see it, I would also suggest adding Cairns to your itinerary. It's further out of the way from the bigger cities and is only mildly different in sightseeing options, but any excuse to go diving and sailing is worth it for me. #1 is the Whitsundays, #2 is Cairns as far as priorities. If you can do either, you'll have an amazing time.

Best of Melbourne

12 Apostles during my helicopter tour

As a part of my Best of Australia recommendations, I'll take you through my recommended things to do, places to see and restaurants to visit in Melbourne, Australia's second biggest city and cultural hub. If you're touring the whole country, 3 days is a good amount of time to spend in the city.

One full day should be spent traveling The Great Ocean Road out to the 12 Apostles and back as I did during my trip last year. You'll need to rent a car and leave early in the morning. You're likely to see wild koalas and some of the most breathtaking land formations along the coastline that you will ever see in your life. After the Great Barrier Reef, this is the next best natural attraction that I saw in Australia. If you have enough time you can turn this into a 1.5 day trip instead of driving there and back in one day. You're going to do at least 4 hours of driving each way, maybe more if you want to extend it.

For your other two days you can walk through the city and make sure to save some energy for the awesome nightlife. There are a lot of good musicians and acts trying to make it in Melbourne - get a local publication or ask around to see a good show.

I got some further advice from Nat, an Aussie friend is an expert on Melbourne:

They should check out an AFL game in Melbourne for sure. It's the home of the AFL... The fans are so much more out there than Sydney. The MCG or Eithad stadium would be the best place to see a decent game.

Take a trip down to Phillip Island to see the fairy penguins parade across the beach at dusk. It's an afternoon/ early evening event about 90 odd min out of the city... You can either drive there or get a tour group to take you...

If you come in spring (Oct-Nov) they should go to the races.... If they are here on Melbourne Cup day they should go for sure, it's always the first Tues in November and they will have to buy tickets online before the day.

Walk the city to see Flinders St Station, Fed Sqaure, Bourke St. mall, Sandridge Bridge, and the Yarra River. Always lots of graffiti, street art and crazy people to look at!

If they are girls and like shopping send them to Chapel St... always a good place for lunch, ppl watching and shopping.

If they want to see a more funky grungy side of the city send them to Brunswick for dinner (thai or vegi) and lots of little old Aussie pubs. There is a lot if live music in Brunswick also.

Lastly, the Melbourne Crown Casino at Southbank and Eureka Skydeck viewing platform of the city.

Best of Sydney

As a part of my Best of Australia recommendations, I'll take you through my recommended things to do, places to see and restaurants to visit in Sydney, Australia's biggest city.

Sights

• Opera House – you can walk around it (free) or take a tour (~$80)
• Harbour Bridge – I don’t recommend the bridge climb ($175+). You can climb the pylon for $10, that is a must do.
• Customs House – in Circular Quay… just walk in the lobby to see a small scale model of the city under the glass floor. Only takes 5 minutes and is pretty cool. It gives you a good perspective of the city
• Bondi to Coogee coastal walk – 6 km paved path. My favorite thing to do in the city
• Ferry from Circular Quay to Manly Beach - $12 round trip, awesome views of harbor and back of Opera House
• Botanical Garden – free. Find the trees where all of the bats sleep.
• Hyde Park – free. Middle of the city. Have a picnic or walk around late at night. Check for food, art and music festivals that sometimes come here.
• World of Wildlife or Taronga Zoo – both are cool… WoW has only Aussie animals and is more accessible. You can touch some of the animals. Taronga is massive and you get there on a quick ferry ride. It takes hours to see everything and includes animals from all over. Best zoo I’ve ever been to.
• Bondi Beach – relax in the sun and take some surfing lessons (~$75+) if you have time

Other options if you have time

• Featherdale Wildlife Preserve
• Blue Mountains tour
• Sydney Tower
• Manly to Spit coastal walk
• Chinatown
• Restaurants
• Din Tai Fung (dumplings)
• Madang (Korean)
• Mamak (Malay)
• Pancakes on the Rocks
• Longrain (Thai)

Nightlife

• Opera Bar – awesome location just next to the Opera House. Full view of the bridge as well.
• Sky Bar (top of the casino) – great view of the Sydney skyline at night
• Ivy – upper crust club where everyone dresses to the nines, there are lines to get in, cover charges and high priced drinks. Very popular but if that’s not your scene, stay away
• Surry Hills – my neighborhood to go out. There are lots of bars within walking distance: Clock Hotel, Flinders Street Bar, White Horse, Beresford, Crown
• King’s Cross – crazy nightlife area. Just look for the massive Time Square-esque Coca-Cola sign. If it’s 10 pm or 5 am, there’s always something going on here. Think Bourbon Street meets the big city. I always had a good time going there. Best bars: Goldfish, Sugar Mill, World Bar, Hugo’s, Piano Room
• Coogee Bay Hotel – this place gets a lot of bad press because it used to be a pretty rough place. It was my local pub and it is really big. There is a beer garden, dance club, and sports bar all located within the bar. It’s a great place to relax and get some pub food during the day as well.

Accommodation

• I only stayed at the Circular Quay Marriott, so I can’t offer any other specific recommendations. Staying in the CBD (central business district) is going to be more expensive, but you won’t have to take as many taxis or buses to see the sights. There are a couple of hotels that overlook Hyde Park that looked good, but again, you’re going to pay more for those.
• Staying near the coast is nice as well, but accommodation can be hit or miss. Some places are geared toward backpackers and won’t be as nice. They also can be too close to pubs which can cause noise at night. There are some really nice places with access to and views of the water. If you want, just check with me before you book and I can give you a more specific opinion.

Best of Australia

Over my time in Sydney I have had multiple friends send me questions on the best things to do in Australia. I didn’t get to see the entire country, but did get to sight-see along most of the east coast. I played tour guide when both friends and family come to visit me during my time in Sydney in addition to my own explorations.

One of the frequent questions I received was about trip duration. On a two week vacation, do you have time to visit both New Zealand and Australia, or Fiji and Australia? My answer is absolutely not. I did not get a chance to go to NZ, but from friends that have been there I know that you need at least a week, if not more, in NZ. So assuming you’re going to focus the entire trip in Oz, here is what I would recommend.

First of all, there’s no way to see the entire country in two weeks. Let me put it in perspective. There are far fewer tourist centers in Australia compared to the US, but imagine trying to see NYC, DC, Miami, New Orleans, LA, San Francisco and Chicago in two weeks. Yes, you could probably do it, but you’re not going to get the full experience.

The three must-sees in Australia are Melbourne, Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef. They’re all on the east coast, so let’s narrow your trip down to that section. You’ll probably fly into Sydney, so we’ll start there.

If you’re not used to international travel, especially flights over 10 hours, you’re going to be majorly jet lagged when you land. You’ll fly out of LAX in the evening and land at SYD in the morning, totally missing one day. Keep that in mind as you plan your flights. I found that the best way to beat jet lag is to sleep as much as possible on the plane (with the help of Ambien if available) and do a lot of walking/sightseeing on the first day. If you sleep during the day after you land, you’re only prolonging your pain. Fight through it and you’ll be better for it.

I’ve broken each area down by how many days I would spend there. Click each link for more detailed information. Note that I only accounted for 12 days – if you’re truly doing a 2 week vacation you will need some buffer time to book flights or spend extra time seeing things you like. Click on each for details.

• Sydney – 5 days
• Melbourne – 3 days
• Great Barrier Reef – 4+ days

From Paradise to THIS?

After my last week of surfing and record heat, I came back to Atlanta to snow.  SNOW.  I have a tan, my best attempt at a beard and haven't had a haircut since June. It makes me a little hard to recognize and I'm definitely not the same person. A few days before I left I got together with some friends in Surry Hills and had a little going away party. It's such a bittersweet feeling to leave a place I have grown to love. I am going to have a tough time living anywhere that isn't near waves and sand. I joined a daily email list called Aquabumps that I read every day. The guy that runs the site gives a daily surf report for Bondi and has some amazing photography skills. He shoots a lot of sunsets and wave shots, which I have been a fan of long before I went to Australia (if you've seen the painting above my bed, you'll understand).

I am truly going to miss everyone and everything in my second home. I've made lifelong friends - some that will always live in Australia, some that are from the US, and some that are from random corners of the world.  I'll be back someday, hopefully soon.

On the upside... I'm home for a week and get to see my friends and then I'm off to the OC to continue working on this project that has taken me all over!

Last Week in Oz

Over the past few weeks I’ve been working a lot, so not much has been going on. We had a birthday/goodbye dinner for Carolien at Opera Bar that also served as my brother’s farewell. It had been the most continuous time we spent together in the past 10 years… it wasn’t always smooth but we both had a great time.

As soon as I got back to work I had to hit the ground running as we went live with SAP at the client site. Nothing too exciting happened and I stayed really busy. After 3 weeks of long hours and weekend work, we finished the project and everything is running smoothly. We scheduled my return to the US a week after go-live just in case there were any problems. Since there weren’t, I really had nothing left to do except a few clean up items every day. That being the case, I skipped out of work early every afternoon and hit the surf.

Krista and I said our goodbyes early... she had planned a two week trip to western Australia and left a week before me. We made tentative plans to have a surf vacation somewhere in the world... Hawaii, Bali, California... it was all very vague and pie in the sky.  One of our last days together was Australia's version of Independence Day - Australia Day.  We found a party on the rocks next to Tamarama that was amazing.  Every outcrop and spot of sand had people dancing, laughing and drinking.  Someone brought a generator and set up a DJ booth.  It was one of the coolest parties I've ever been to.

I rented a car during the week so that I didn’t waste too much time on buses getting from work to home and home to the beach. I had lived the past 10 months without a car and I forgot how nice it was to be able to get places quickly. It was a week of record heat in Sydney, with 6 days in a row over 95 degrees. One day it got up to 105 but I didn’t really notice when I was in the water. If you tried to walk across the sand your feet burned.

I went down to Maroubra one afternoon and saw a pretty scary incident. I was surfing in the chest deep whitewash (I’m still not up to the green waves yet) and I saw a few people crowded around someone laying down at the edge of the rip. I got out of the water because they were talking with animated motions and pointing out to the water.

I got out and started scanning the waves and a woman with a surfboard came up to me. “Do you see anyone out there? I pulled that guy in (pointing to the one laying down) and I swear I saw another one.”

Over the next few minutes the lifeguards towed two jet skis across the sand and put them in the water. I went back out and continued surfing for a little while, still keeping my eye on the action 50 yards away. A few life rafts came and then two helicopters joined the search. The lifeguards eventually waved all of the surfers in so they could search the entire beach. As I left a news crew showed up but they never found the guy’s body.

I advise everyone that goes to beaches in Australia or anywhere else with big waves to understand rip currents and how they work and how to swim out of them.

Summertime - Day III

Curious Priscilla joins our dive

See Days I and II for the other parts of the sailing trip.

Our first dive when we woke up in the morning was in the same exact spot as the night dive from the day before, but it couldn't have been more different. We were swarmed with all kinds of fish. Flo picked up a few pieces of dead hard coral and started clicking them together. The next thing I know, this massive - I mean MASSIVE fish cruises into the middle of our group.  His name is Priscilla - yes his name.  Supposedly there used to be a pair of these Humphead wrasse, Elvis (male) and Priscilla (female).  When Elvis died, Priscilla switched sexes.

On our second dive I set a new personal depth record at 27 meters.  We dropped down a bunch of reef faces which felt like cliffs as you looked over the edge.  I had bought a few disposable underwater cameras for the trip but most of the pictures didn't come out well.  The one you see here was taken by Flo with a professional underwater camera.  As you get deeper bright colors fade out (I won't bore you with the science) and all you are left with is blue and green.  Professional units have a white balance setting that will color correct shots taken at different depths.  The next time I go diving I'm going to get one.  I have wasted over $100 on disposable cameras over the past few years and I'm guessing a good one will run about $500.

Great pic minus the finger

As we wrapped up the afternoon a bunch of us went snorkeling one last time and I got a highlight of the trip.  A Hawksbill turtle glided past me so I started to follow it.  The others weren't close so I waved them to come over.  We followed him for about 10 minutes and he didn't mind a bit.  I dove underneath him and really wanted to grab onto his shell for a ride (though I didn't).  I got one of the guys to take a picture of me but he put his finger partly over the lens.  I would've taken another one had I known before they were developed - another reason to get a real camera.  The turtle finally turned out to sea and we let him go.  We got back in the boat and headed back to Airlie Beach for one more night at Magnum's.

The entire group all met out for drinks with the crew later that night.  I had done five total dives so they gave me a t-shirt and DVD with all of the pics from the weekend.  I really hit it off with Kat (something about the British accent gets me - even Minnie Driver from Good Will Hunting).  We said our goodbyes to everyone and caught the ferry back to Hamilton Island in the morning.  It dropped us off right at the airport and we were back to Sydney.

Summertime passengers and crew back on shore

All in all, this was absolutely the best vacation I've taken as an adult.  From the drive and the surfing up the coast to Surfers Paradise to Hamilton Island and everything that we did on the boat, I really encourage everyone to #1 go to Australia and #2 book at LEAST a sailing trip on the Great Barrier Reef, if not the entire trip that Brian and I completed. Now it's back to the real world where I have 3 weeks of work left before I say goodbye to everyone and go home.

Summertime - Day II

See Days I and III for the other parts of the sailing trip.

After breakfast the next morning the crew unloaded the kayaks from the roof of the boat and we got to paddle around the shallows of Hook Island.  Our main focus was in a mangrove forest because that’s where the juvenile sharks feed.  Brian and I quietly paddled through the trees and roots along with the rest of the group.  After a while we saw 3 or 4 black tipped reef sharks, maybe 3 feet in length, darting in and out of the shallows.  We also saw a sea turtle a little further out but we didn’t get too close.

We went back to the boat and coasted around the edge of Hook Island to our first dive spot.  I went diving once in Cairns back in April, but the last time before that was in 2004.  I had some difficulty with the provided masks that time, so I brought my own on this trip.  I recommend that you bring your own if you snorkel and/or scuba dive.  It's an extra thing to pack but it can prevent a ruined dive if your mask won't stop leaking.

There were only a few certified divers which was nice because it wasn't too crowded.  The water was crystal clear and the colors in the reef were indescribable.  I have never seen so many fish - you will just have to see it for yourself.  My only regret is that I didn't see any sharks or turtles (while diving).  We ended up doing two dives and though I was nervous at first, I started to get comfortable in the water.  One thing about diving - the faster and deeper you breathe, the faster you use your air.  You can extend your dive by up to 15 minutes or more just by taking calm, measured breaths.  Certification classes teach you to not hold your breath because of the damage it can do to your lungs when changing depth.  Also, the dive depth also determines the dive time.  So our first dive only lasted about half an hour because I was the first one to run low on air.  The second dive lasted 7 minutes longer, with dives the next day going even longer.

Brian and a few others interested in diving were allowed to go down in an 'Intro to Diving' type course.  The crew gave them the basic instructions and they went down to depths that were safe even if you shot straight back up to the top.  Brian had difficulty the first time, but after some one on one instruction he got it down and had a blast.  In between dives we could jump off the boat and go swimming or just lay on the deck to rest and catch some sun.

We docked near Hayman Island and after dinner Flo convinced me to go on a night dive.  Everyone else was relaxing on the boat after dinner and we started gearing up.  Some of the procedures are different since it's pitch black in the water and the only light came from our two flashlights.  We tied glow sticks to our tanks and took the outboard boat to a spot fairly close to shore.  Going into the water was so different compared to day dives.  When you go under water it is always quiet - all you have to hear is your own breathing and the bubbles from your regulator.  When the water is pitch black it takes on a whole new level of silence.

I never thought about it before, but I guess that fish retreat to the coral during the night to sleep.  Every now and then we would see a head peek out from the reef or catch a glimpse of a tail fin at the edge of the flashlight beam, but for the most part the ocean was empty.  Flo went to a spot he frequented where a big grouper or cod (I don't remember) hunted at night.  If you shined your flashlight on a small fish the big guy was supposed to dart in and eat it.  Unfortunately we couldn't find him so the dive was mostly disappointing when it came to wildlife.  We did see a crab and a big lobster, but that was it.  I still enjoyed seeing the reef in a different way.

When I got back to the boat it looked like one of the other boats anchored about a quarter mile away from us.  You could tell it was one of the party boats that I mentioned in the last post but I don't remember its name.  We ended up sitting up on the deck and looking at the stars - I have never seen so many, even in the Kentucky countryside.  Cap'n Pete pointed out some of the constellations, including the Southern Cross (also, Orion is upside down below the equator).  There was no way to take a picture without some serious hardware, so you'll just have to believe that I saw the entire Milky Way across the sky.  I found this picture online which gives you an idea, but imagine that it stretches from east to west, all of the way across the sky above you.

Sleeping was pretty easy that night from all of the activity during the day.  We had one more day to get a few more dives in before it was time to go home.

Summertime

Airlie Beach was way smaller than Cairns and looked to be in existence solely as a launch off point for tourists to get to the reef. A friend in Sydney told me about a trip they took a few months before from Airlie. They stayed on a sailboat for a few days and had a great time. I planned this whole trip around doing something similar. I found a website that displays all of the boats, trip lengths and prices.

Note the start of a beard coming on

Brian and I stayed at a hostel called Magnum’s, the most popular hostel in Airlie Beach. It cost $20 and was set up differently than other hostels. There was a central restaurant with the bar, pool tables and travel offices clustered together. Our room was in a two story building with 2 rooms on each floor. There were 5 bunk beds per room, but plenty of room. We didn't really try to hang out with anyone in the room since we had to be up early the next morning.

When I started picking which boat we would take, I found that each had a specific reputation. Some are party boats for young people, others are for couples. Some are more focused around diving, others do the bare minimum. In general, cheaper trip lead to backpackers and young travelers joining you on the boat. I definitely wanted to do some diving and spend two days or more on the trip, so that narrowed down my options. I ended up choosing a boat called Summertime – it had snorkeling, diving and kayaking over 3 days.  It cost $515 per person and included a free dive (special offer at that time).

We got to the boat early on Thursday morning with 11 other people... an Australian couple and their Aussie and British friends, two other British couples, a Canadian couple and a solo guy from Poland. I was hoping for some young and single types, but it’s really the luck of the draw I guess. Everyone was really friendly and we got to know each other when the boat took off. Summertime was manned with three crew – Flo (short for Florian, the German dive master), Trish (Irish cook/second dive master), and Cap’n Pete (Kiwi boat captain).

View from a lookout just above Whitehaven Beach - amazing.

Our first stop was to Whitsunday Island and Whitehaven Beach, a place that is always on top 10 lists of the best beaches in the world. The sand is 98% silica and is so pure that NASA used it to make the lens for the Hubble Telescope. When I walked along the water’s edge, my feet sunk in almost like mud. The weather was a little overcast for the first few hours, but Brian and I made the most of it by slinging some Frisbee and kicking a soccer ball.

We put on stinger suits and got in the water to find a few sting rays swimming in the water. They swam away pretty quickly unless you went really slowly (and we made sure to stay out of the way of the stinger). We took a hike to the highest point in the island that overlooked the beach. It was one of the most picturesque places I have ever seen. Small islands dotted the blue water and the tide created swirls of white sand. The currents and tides made every day’s beach look different.

That afternoon we did some more sailing (although there was almost no wind which means we used the motor). A storm rolled in that evening which made it rough once we anchored. I had been popping sea sickness tablets since the day before, so I luckily didn’t get sick. The crew warned that they could make you dehydrated and drowsy, but it was worth the risk.  My bunk was near the bathrooms and it sounded like one of the other passengers wasn’t so lucky. I did wake up a few times during the night from the boat rocking back and forth.

See Days II and III for the other parts of the sailing trip.

Surfers Paradise to Hamilton Island

Despite the name, Surfers Paradise doesn’t have waves like Byron. It’s very glitzy and done up compared to the laid back atmosphere at the bay an hour south of the state line. It reminded me of a combination between Miami and Las Vegas. All of the high rise condos, flashing billboards, restaurants and clubs were located on one main strip through the city. Brian and I booked another hostel called Islander. It was only $32 per person, but it was a bit dirtier than Aquarius. It looked like an old hotel from the 60s that had been converted. We met up with Krista’s brother and had dinner at a teppanyaki restaurant and then just crashed – we were so tired from the day.

The next morning we got up early and drove to Brisbane to catch our flight to Hamilton Island. We didn’t time it exactly right and were in a bit of a rush so I skipped filling up the tank (which ended up costing about $100, about $40 more than it would’ve cost at the pump). The car rental agent also found a scuff on the front bumper. I didn’t do a proper inspection when I got the car – NOTE TO EVERYONE: INSPECT YOUR RENTAL CAR BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE LOT – and I definitely did not hit anything while I was driving. It either happened while I was parked or was already there. Either way, I had to shell out almost $400 which was more than the rental in the first place. What a rip.

So we flew from Brisbane to Hamilton Island for only $50 each, the flight lasting about an hour and a half. It was resorts, condos and residences. It had a thick upper class feel... very manufactured and too perfect. I’m glad we weren’t staying there. We walked around the island in the sweltering heat for a few hours, taking pictures of the great views. We could have flown directly to Airlie Beach, but Brian and I landed on Hamilton Island for one purpose – to hold a koala. Holding koalas is illegal in New South Wales but legal in Queensland. I had petted a koala a few times and got close up to a wild one but I really, really wanted to cradle one in my arms like a little fuzzy baby. There was a wildlife sanctuary on the island that let you hold one of the animals for $20. Once we checked that off, we took the ferry ($45 each way) to Airlie Beach – the backpacker party spot and launching point for all of the sailing trips through the reef. Ours was on a boat called Summertime.

Driving Up the Coast

I had planned for weeks to rent a car to drive up the eastern coast. It cost about $300 for a rental car, so I thought it would be a good idea to find people to ride with us. I created a little flier and posted it in a few of the popular hostels. It said "Need a ride to Byron Bay/Surfer's Paradise/Brisbane?" along with my contact info and a few other details on the dates.  By the next day I already received 10 calls or texts, all from females. Why there were no males interested, I have no idea. If you ever get lonely in Sydney, just rent a car for the weekend and start posting fliers in hostels – you’ll make friends really quickly.

The first people to call me were Germans Melanie and Britta, who needed to get to Brisbane on the same day that we were flying to Hamilton Island. Brian and I went to meet them for a quick drink to make sure we got along (and they wanted to be sure we weren't weirdos). They agreed to pay $75 each which covered about half of the cost of the car excluding gas.  It was a deal for them since bus trips up the coast are really expensive.

We left Sydney early on Monday morning and headed north. We passed through Port Macquarie for lunch and made it to our goal of Byron Bay after about 12 hours. Byron is less than 500 miles from Sydney but there are not true interstates in between. We went through a lot of towns and two lane highways along the way. It was kind of nice because we got to see more scenery which included a random water tank with ‘Kentucky’ painted on the side and some wild kangaroos.

Coincidentally, Krista had already planned a trip up that way with her brother and flew into Gold Coast a few days ahead of us. She drove down to spend the next few days surfing with us instead of playing golf with her brother. We stayed at a popular hostel in Byron Bay called Aquarius. It was only $38 per night and was within walking distance to the bars. I read a lot of reviews that spoke poorly of it, saying there were bed bugs (sometimes a huge problem with backpacker hostels), but we had no issues.

The waves at Byron Bay

Byron Bay is famous around the world for its world class waves. It’s a cool, relaxed beach town that is centered on one thing – surfing. When we rented our boards from a corner shop, the cashier told us that Jack Johnson had stopped in a few weeks before (he owns a house in Byron). On a side note, I learned that Johnson almost became a pro surfer before he was injured while surfing Hawaii’s famous Pipeline wave. He lost a few teeth and had to get stitches, then switched to music.

The nightlife in Byron Bay reminded me or Cairns. The city was laid out in a less touristy way (if that even makes sense), with all of the bars and restaurants concentrated in a 3 or 4 block area. We didn’t stay out too late because we wanted to be fresh and ready to surf in the morning.

We took some steps down a hill to the beach to find it fairly empty compared to Sydney. The entire beach stretched for about 2 miles with the best surf on the south end at ‘The Pass’. We hopped on our boards and were immediately slammed with the strongest rip current I have ever experienced. Within 5 minutes I was about 50 meters out in the water behind the break, which is great. But the current also pulled me 200 meters down the beach where no good waves were breaking. I lost sight of Krista, but she was after bigger waves anyway. I tried to paddle against the rip and even hopped off my board, letting it drag behind me as I swam – no luck. I finally gave up and paddled back to shore. From that point on I stayed in the relatively shallow water and only caught the small waves. Even then, the current was so strong that you could barely walk against it.

After we were exhausted from fighting the waves, we drove up to a lighthouse and lookout nearby that claimed to be the easterly most point in the country. Next we packed up the car and drove to Surfer’s Paradise.

Happy Ending to the Deportation Saga

As soon as I got home from my near deportation, I emailed my company (a bit ticked off) about the incident.  I was sure someone had screwed up my visa but it turns out they have sent plenty of consultants to Australia on the 977 visa with no problems.  No one knows why I was singled out this time.  We scheduled a conference call for the next day to discuss my options.  It basically came down to this:

1. Work remotely from the US - possible, but not ideal.  The whole reason I was in Sydney was because they wanted someone on site to run the project.  That would also prevent me from my NYE and beach vacation plans right after New Years (more on that in a future post).
2. Train a replacement over the next few weeks - also possible, but probably wouldn't happen.  There wasn't anyone available locally and it would take too long to get someone up to speed.  We are at a critical point in the project and it would put the project at risk.  I also would like to see the project through, so I didn't want to do this.
3. Get a different visa - this was my favorite option because it would allow me to keep my travel plans back home as well as coming back into the country.  However, after a lot of online research on Australia's immigration website and a few conversations with people on long term visas, it would take too long, cost too much and be more hassle than it was worth since I am leaving relatively soon.
4. Stay in Australia through Christmas and stay until the end of the project - not desirable, but the easiest way to go.  I didn't want to stay through Christmas for obvious reasons, but we were all drawing to this conclusion.

I finally accepted this fact and said, "Now I'm just going to have to tell my mom that I can't come home for Christmas."

Ok, so I played it up a little.  There was a collective "Awwwwwwwwwwww" on the other end of the phone as our deployment, travel and legal representatives (all female, all mothers) showed their sympathy.  They told me they would get back to me with I was expecting some kind of compen$ation.  I was pretty down because I had been looking forward to some time at home as well as my family's traditional trip to Kentucky to visit family and friends.  And let's not forget about my puppy love.  About a half hour later, I got a phone call from our deployment manager that went something like this:

"So, Jay, we talked to Tom and Trish (*husband and wife team that own/run my company*).  They would like to fly your parents to Sydney for Christmas."
"Uh...... WHAT?"
"Since your brother is coming out for New Years, maybe you can move his flight up and you can all be there together.  Do you think your family would go for that?"
"Let me think.  YES.  I don't know what to say... thank you!"

I need to find a Santa hat ASAP...

How cool is that?  Did I mention that I love working for BackOffice Associates?  Even before this saga, I have been lucky to have the opportunity to travel and grow professionally among such a great group of people.  I've learned a lot in the past few years and owe them a lot already.  I'm really glad I went with a small company out of grad school instead of one of the big consulting firms, because something like this never would've happened at Accenture or Deloitte.

We worked out most of the details and my parents will be here from December 21st-27th.  My brother is going to fly in with them and leave, as originally planned, on January 12th.  I depleted all of my Marriott points to put my parents up in the Circular Quay Marriott overlooking the opera house which is where I stayed during my first two weeks in the city.  It's not that close to my apartment, but I figured it was the best spot for such a short time.  Now I'm figuring out all of the places I want to show them.  I've already played tour guide a few times, so I think we will have enough to do.  And of course, we'll spend Christmas Day on the beach.  This will probably be the most memorable (and unexpected) Christmas of my life.  I can't wait!

Crowded House Concert and Flugtag

Earlier this week I got an invitation from Steph to go see Crowded House in concert.  Crowded House, now what did they sing again?  "Hey now, heeeeeey now, don't dream it's oooover!" I got on YouTube to hear some of their other songs which were vaguely familiar at best. I still thought it would be a good time, so I accepted.

The concert was at Hordern Pavilion and was one of the more interesting places I have gone to see a concert. The venue was tucked into the 'Entertainment Quarter' of Fox Studios, near Centennial Park. As we entered Hordern, it reminded me of a circus tent with bleacher seating on three sides and a stage at the other. The entire middle of the venue was just flat concrete for standing room only tickets, which is what we had. The crowd was a bit older on average, as expected since they were most popular in the mid to late 80's.

Crowded House is an Aussie/New Zealand band (depending who you ask) and have a big following. Everyone around us knew most of the songs and were singing along, except for the annoying couple beside us that were either texting or talking during the ENTIRE show. The set was pretty long and included 5 or 6 songs in the encore, totaling about two hours. I must admit, by the end I was definitely ready to go.

I'd still recommend seeing Crowded House live, even if you don't follow them. The band was very engaging with the audience, letting them finish popular lines for them (and most were very happy and able to join in). One of the best parts of the show was when the lead singer announced that a contest winner was going to come out on stage to sing a song. They had posted a 'backing track' on their website with the instructions to write lyrics and submit yourself singing them, with the winner performing them live. It must have been a pretty amazing experience for the girl that won. I've never seen that at a show before but would like to see other artists do the same.

Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I didn't get any pics or video :(

On to Sunday...

The highlight of the weekend was the Red Bull Flugtag. (FYI - Flugtag is German for Air Show) I attended the Red Bull Soap Box Derby last year in Atlanta... and somehow forgot to post about it. This is the original Red Bull event and has been held since 1991. I first heard about it a few years ago and have had this day marked on my calendar for months. The event bounces around to different cities throughout the year and had last been in Sydney in 2008. I got really lucky that I was here at the right time.

The basic idea of the Flugtag is this: you enter a design to Red Bull and they select the top 40 to be contestants.  There are 4 people per team and there are certain craft dimension and weight restrictions.  Three people push and one rides the creation off the pier and into the water.  Your team gets points for creativity, design, style and choreograph of the pre-flight dance.  Four judges rate each team out of 10 and you get an extra point for every meter the pilot gets from the edge of the pier.  The world record was set in Minnesota earlier this year at 63 meters (most didn't make it more than a couple though).

I met up with Steph, Mark and a few of Mark's friends for a day in the sun. Here's a video of The Flintstones team's routine and launch:


We walked around for a bit through the staging area and then found a seat in the grass really close to the ramp.  Here are a few of the pictures of the day:

Halloween weekend

Today is Halloween but we obviously went out hard last night instead.  I had a full weekend...

On Friday night Jaime invited me to a place called Shh Bar in Kings Cross.  Now we all know that I love Kings Cross, so the answer was obviously yes.  We went with one of his friends that I had never met, and no one really knew how to get there.  We had the address, which turned out to be around the corner from World Bar and Hugo's, in a dead end back alley that reminded me of my weekend in Melbourne last month.

We didn't see a real entrance and asked a few guys smoking beside a backdoor if this was Shh, and they said it wasn't.  We got to the end of the dead end and saw a few cooks dumping water out of a door to the right and a glowing keypad on a door to the left.  One of the girls with us walked up and punched in a code given to her by a friend and the door opened.  How random.  This article does a pretty good job of describing it.

It was a pretty small bar with a locked door in the back that connected it to Le Panic, a bar that fronted the main street next to World Bar.  Once inside we were greeted to everyone in costumes... except us.  Pretty awkward.  We made our way to the bar where the bartender hooked us up with a great drink without a name, so we called it "The Shush":

• Shot of vodka
• Shot of Midori Blue
• Shot of Malibu
• Two squeezed limes
• Sprite
• Splash of Grenadine
• Served over ice in a tall glass

Later in the night everyone was pushed out of the bar into Le Panic, where we spent the rest of the night.  It's definitely a place I will go back to, I just have to get that password.  I didn't stay out too late because I have gotten in the routine of playing soccer every Saturday morning.  I met up with the Russians and played for about an hour and a half and then rushed home - I wanted to get some beach time before our Halloween party.

I bought a wetsuit a few months ago and haven't had a chance to use it.  I went down to Gordon's Bay where Tim and I went snorkeling back in July.  The water was cold and there were more people out of the water than in it.  I took my waterproof Sanyo camera to try to get some shots, but it wasn't as waterproof as I thought.  I got one picture and then dove about 10 feet and it stopped working.  Oops.  I guess it wasn't THAT waterproof.  It's ok though, since I found it at a bar.

I didn't see all that much, which was disappointing.  There is supposedly big blue grouper live in the area, but they have eluded me so far.  I saw a bunch of Sydney Lifesavers walking along the rocks, easily recognizable by their yellow shirts and goofy looking hats.  They had a few boats in the bay that were driving around, so I thought they were doing training.  I went about my snorkeling and then got out after about an hour to give me enough time to get ready for the night.  As it turns out, I was wrong about the Lifesavers... very wrong.

I was browsing the Sydney Morning Herald online when a headline with Coogee in the name caught my eye: Shark warning: Coogee Beach closed.  So while I was snorkeling, the beach just on the other side of the bend had been closed for a shark sighting.  Now I really don't think that the shark picture is representative of the shark they saw, but still.  I guess I should keep my eyes open.

I rushed home and cleaned up and then went over to my friend Steph's house in Glebe.  She lives near a costume shop so I went there and picked up a top hat, bow tie, cane and mustache to complement my black slacks, white shirt and black coat.  Charlie Chaplin... easy costume and someone that has been in the news recently.  We went to a party at The Argyle, a bar in the middle of The Rocks that was hosted by a Canadian Ex-Pat club.

Australians as a whole don't celebrate Halloween, but these did to some degree.  They all seem to dress as someone scary, so more than 50% of the crowd was a vampire, devil, ghost or some other traditional Halloween character.  Most kids don't trick-or-treat and there were almost no decorations, except at the bar.  Steph went as a ballerina, Ben a cowboy, and Francisco a Mexican (see pic).  The bar was pretty full, but no where near the full capacity crowd at Park Tavern's Spiralween last year.

On Sunday Steph and I walked around Darling Harbor and had lunch at the Sydney Fish Market, which is a great place to go if you love seafood.  I also walked by a bunch of guys playing soccer at Wentworth Park and found out they play at 3:30 every week.  Now I have a Sunday game, though it's a bit of a trek for me to get there.

More Friends Rolling Through Town

Nick, one of my old UK college roommates, informed me that he and his girlfriend would be coming through Sydney a few weeks ago and they hoped I would be free to show them around.  Caroline, sister of my friend Laura, joined us from time to time throughout the week since she was looking for things to do while her sister was out of town.

Nick and I have known each other for 10 years - wow.  Around this time in 2000 we were stumbling through the dorm halls in Lexington.  We lived on the same floor our first year (Haggin Hall), the same building our second year (Blanding Tower), then moved out of the dorms halfway through that year to live in a house with some other friends in a 6 bedroom house near campus for the next year and a half.  I saw Nick a little over a year ago when I spent a week in DC for work.  He went to grad school there and met Camelia, who I met at dinner during my trip.

It's funny... I've had just about as many people visit me in the past 4 months in Sydney as I've had in 5 years of living in Atlanta. KY friends, I'm looking in your direction.  Just because you're busy getting married and having babies doesn't give you an excuse.

Camelia came over here to Canberra for a work conference and Nick tagged along to see Australia.  They allotted a few extra days to see Sydney and came to stay with me for a few days.  I spent the next few days showing them the sights - pretty much everything I did with Tim and Erin.  We did the Coogee to Bondi coastal walk, walked through the botanical garden and saw the bats (check out my video documenting them from a few months ago), went up to Manly Beach on the ferry and walked through Hyde Park.  I finished the day with one of my favorite restaurants in town, a Taiwanese dumpling restaurant called Din Tai Fung.  They hadn't fully acclimated to the Australia time zone, so I didn't get to show them the full night life of Sydney.  I was kind of bummed about that, but I'm not sure how much they would've enjoyed it.  Maybe if Nick had come by himself, hahaha...

All of that walking gave us all a bit too much sun, but the next day the weather turned worse to even it out.  I had talked to Nick over the previous few weeks about going to the Blue Mountains, and the weather provided a good opportunity since we couldn't take advantage of the beach. I took the day off work on Monday (my first day off since I came on the project in April) and booked a trip through Dal Myles for $175 per person.  It seemed somewhat expensive, but Tim and Erin gave it good reviews in July so I figured it would be worth it. My friends Nat and Jenna went on an Aboriginal walkabout tour that looked pretty cool, but it was booked solid on Monday.  I might do that one eventually but it would have to wait.

We set out on the tour on a rainy Monday and first stopped at Featherdale Wildlife Park. A lot of the animals there had been injured and rescued in the wild. I finally got to pet a koala, as we had breakfast in a private function room and one of the handlers came in and spoke with us.  I'm still on a mission to hold one, but will have to go outside of NSW because it is illegal here. There were also kangaroos, wallabies (see picture at left), emus, kookaburras, pretty much everything typically Australian.  We didn't get to explore the whole park, which I've heard is a lot of fun.  I'd still recommend Taronga Zoo and the World of Wildlife before this park based on my experiences, if only for the proximity to the city.  The one advantage is that you're walking amongst the animals most of the time and there is a much more limited amount of this at the other two venues.

From there we drove and drove and drove, out of the Sydney suburbs and into the rolling hills that lead to the Blue Mountains.  Our guide was almost constantly talking (some of it interesting), lulling Camelia and I to sleep.  Nick kept nudging her to wake up and enjoy the scenery... such a Nick thing to do.  The guide stopped the bus every now and then to view the scenery as we got into the Blue Mountains.  We pulled over at one point to see a troop of wild kangaroos.  Yes, a group of kangaroos is called a troop.  Now you know.  They weren't that impressive though - the rain was continuing to start and stop, creating a lot of mist that made it hard to see clearly.  The kangaroos were about a half mile off and weren't moving at all - they could've been dummies set up for our entertainment for all we knew.  We stopped for lunch at a golf course/country club and then made our way to the national park.

The Blue Mountains aren't so much of mountains as they are canyons.  You're driving along and you come up to these drop offs where you can see for miles.  The canyons are mostly filled with eucalyptus trees which emit a fragrant oil with a bluish hue (hence the name).  There are random outcrops that pop up here and there which give the appearance of mountains, but they are more like massive impressions in the earth.  At the start of the tour of the park, you take a cable car from one side of the ridge to the other, getting a good view of The Three Sisters, the most famous rock formations in the area (see picture at right).  My camera was pretty inadequate because of the contrast between the light sky and the dark terrain.  Add the mist to that and I didn't get very many good shots.  Nick had his heavy duty professional camera and tripod with him, so I'm looking forward to seeing those pictures soon on his website.

There are a few different stories of how the Aborigines explained the rock formation.  One says that three sisters were being pursued by three men from a different tribe so they were forbidden from marrying them.  A battle ensued, so a witchdoctor turned them into stone for protection.  He was later killed in battle and so they have remained in stone.

The other legend says that three sisters were in the area and stumbled upon a monster.  The witchdoctor turned them into stone temporarily to protect them from being killed.  The monster then turned on him, so he turned himself into a lyrebird but then lost his wand.  Now the lyrebird digs around at the ground, looking for his wand and the three sisters wait to be unfrozen.

Two tickets to that thing you love

The tour then takes you on a short hike through the ancient rain forest where people used to do mining in the 1800s. There was a horse and cart statue that they allowed you to get on and take pictures, so of course I took the opportunity to imitate the Old Spice Man.  Nick really didn't want to take this picture and I think Camelia was a bit embarrassed as the Japanese tourists walked by with confused looks on their faces.  Worth it.

We rode up what was supposedly the steepest rail in the world... it was pretty steep, I'll give it that, but not a lot different from the vernaculars I rode in Valparaiso.  These were proper rail cars and the Valpo versions were more like a gondola on rails.  The ride only lasted about a minute, so don't go there expecting this spectacular train ride.

The last thing we did was go to another lookout to have a glass of champagne.  There was a nice shot of Wentworth Falls, although I wish we were able to stay there longer.  There were trails that led down to the falls, but since we were on the tour and a timetable, we didn't have time.  I'd really like to go back there and properly explore the mountains on a full day hike when I have time... which will be never.  If you're going to do a trip to the Blue Mountains, this one was ok.  You get to see a lot, but not for very long.  I think all of the guided tours are probably like that, so it would be best to rent a car and explore at your own leisure.

When we got home, I took Nick and Camelia to meet up with Caroline and Laura since she was back in town.  We went to Darling Harbor to I'm Angus Steak House for the best kangaroo steak I've had in the city.  If you've ever wondered what country eats the most kangaroo meat, it's Russia.  Thank you, Blue Mountains Tour Guide.  Anyway, the meat is delicious and you should try it.

I had to return to work the next day, so I left Nick and Camelia to explore the city on their own. They made it up to the zoo and did some shopping on their last day before returning to the States. We had talked about having Thai all weekend, so I did some research and found a place called Longrain in Surry Hills. It was in an old warehouse and pretty trendy (i.e. expensive). I must say that it was the best Thai I've had in Sydney and I'm definitely going to go back.

Nick bought a 5.5 foot didgeridoo, so I expect him to be an expert the next time I see him.  It's surreal to think that we've seen each other twice in the past 6 years, but it's like we pick up where we left off each time.  I'm looking forward to the next time, for sure.

Melbourne Weekend - Part III

Note: See Part I and Part II of my trip for the other adventures of the weekend.

On Sunday morning we caught the last few teams sign in before they got on their bikes and took off on the 200 km (124 miles) race.  The first 25 km was from Melbourne to Geelong, followed by 11 circuits of the 15.9 km loop around the town.  We took the train to Geelong and made it just in time to see a part of the first lap.



We found a good spot on the second steep hill of the loop.  See the race profile here.  It was getting pretty warm so we found a spot in the shade.  There were a ton of people there because you can actually see them come by instead of just a blink when they hit the straight stretches.

It just so happened that we sat next to a sleeping kid with a t-shirt that said "Go Daddy".  This kid was knocked out, sleeping just under the shade on a steeply graded hill.  Nat recognized the cyclist on her shirt, who turned out to be Stuart O'Grady, one of the most famous cyclists from Australia.  That meant that the hot mom checking on the kid every few minutes with the diamond studded Coach watch (identified by Nat, I just knew it was blinging) and D&G shoes was a WAG.  They had a big group that went crazy every time the cyclists came by every 25 minutes or so.  I think some family from Cadel Evans were with them (he was the reigning world champion as well as 2007 and 2008 Tour de France runner up) because they were wearing the colors of the world champ.  I felt a little creepy taking this picture of the kid, but everyone around us was laughing at how oblivious she was, and the mom didn't seem to mind.  It was too funny to pass up.

We watched 6 or 7 laps from that location and then walked to a pub along the route because we knew the finish line would be crowded.  Every time the guys rode by, everyone rushed out of the bar to watch and then came back in to catch it on TV.  Evans was poised to repeat, but was beaten out in the end by Thor Hushovd (who was the defending champ of the race I saw in Ghent, Belgium, back in February).

After the train ride back to Melbourne, we took it easy after the full day out in the sun. Nat took me to Fitzroy, an artsy little suburb with good restaurants. We didn't make it to any bars on the list, so our goal of hitting them all in a weekend was a bit ambitious.  On Monday I had to fly home in the afternoon, so we did a little sightseeing around the Melbourne Botanical Garden before some shopping on Chapel Street.  I bought a cool Politix blazer and a pink button up shirt. That's right - I now own a pink shirt.

With the weekend over, it's back to work.  Melbourne was really cool and Nat was a great tour guide although she has only lived there for a few months.  Many people say they prefer Melbourne to Sydney because of the friendliness, culture, art, music, etc.  I see that argument, but I'm still voting for Sydney because of the beaches, if nothing else.  Regardless, I'll definitely try to make it back to Melbourne before my time here is up.

Melbourne Weekend - Part II

Note: See Part I and Part III of my trip for the beginning of the weekend.

On Saturday morning after my Vegemite, butter and toast breakfast, we got up early and drove out of Melbourne to the Great Ocean Road toward the Twelve Apostles. I have read up on Australia and even did a report on the country in middle school, but I don’t remember ever hearing about or seeing pictures of these amazing natural rock formations. Apparently until the 1920s the site was known as Sow and Piglets until it was renamed 'The Apostles' for tourism purposes. Somehow this turned into 'Twelve Apostles' even though there were only nine of them (now there are eight, as one was reclaimed by the ocean in 2005).
After seeing them, I would put it at #3 on my list of things to see in Australia after the Opera House and Great Barrier Reef. Scroll down for pictures, but back to the story for now.

Nat and I used my Lonely Planet guide to point out sights along the route that twists and turns along the Victoria coast. I'd love to come back and cycle at least a piece of the road - the twists and turns along the coastline would make for a very scenic and difficult ride. The only downside is that the roads are so curvy that it would be a bit dangerous, but definitely worth it.

At one point the guide suggested that we go to Cape Otway lighthouse, the oldest in Australia. We turned off the main road and were told in the description to keep our eyes above to spot the wild koalas hanging from the eucalyptus trees. A few miles down the road we stopped and saw this guy.



The lighthouse ended up being not worth seeing, but we stopped back by the koalas to get a few more shots, then it was on down the road.  We made it to the Gibson Steps in another few hours and took the short walk down them to the beach.

Just a little further down the road we saw the visitor's center for the Apostles, and a little further to a helipad.  We walked up to the short line ($95 for a loop of the Apostles, $145 for a bigger loop that includes the Apostles and London Bridge formation, and a few more even larger loops that were more expensive).  We quickly decided that a flight was worth it.



After the ~20 minute flight, we walked around and took a few more pictures before starting on the drive back to Melbourne. We didn't follow the coast on the way back to save time, so there wasn't much in the way of excitement on the back. Highways are highways.

We planned our night around the Deck of Secrets from Friday night, this time focusing on the highest concentration of bars. It was near Chinatown, so we walked through the streets until we found a restaurant for dinner. We met up with a few of Nat's friends and bar hopped to Lily Black's, Loop, Double Happiness, New Gold Mountain, Meyers Place which were all OK. A few we just peeked inside and then left before you think we were doing a true pub crawl.

The best bar by far was called The Carlton Hotel. When you walk in, there is a soft red lighting and a huge bar. A massive stuffed ostrich with a pearl necklace guards the door and multiple stuffed peacocks line the shelves. A mounted giraffe head was posted on one wall and a psychedelically painted rhino was on the other. I'm not sure if they were real/legal, but they added to the uniqueness of the bar. The crowd was very eclectic, with tattooed hipsters and trendy socialites alike. It had multiple rooms as well as an outdoor patio that looked out over the street. Not only that, we went up a few flights of stairs to their roof bar, called Palm, for a view of the city. It had more of a beachy theme, but provided a contrast for those looking for a different vibe.

Although we multiple places, we still turned in fairly early to rest up for the Cycling World Championship the next day.  Stay tuned.