Had an amazing time. The flora and fauna were amazing as well as all he new sounds and smells. to take a walk in the woods was to be in a movie, to hold my hand out with some bread in it reminded me of Dr. Doolittle, with all the wild birds it attracted. Australia is beautiful. the people were really friendly too. Their main saying is, "No worries mate!" They mean it. even close to Sydney, the people were laid back and friendly. The drawbacks were learning how to drive on the wrong side of the road, speed limit cameras(a ticket is sent ton you in the mail), and the price of most everything (example: a case of beer was $64, cigarettes $11 (good thing I gave them up), fish n chips $15, and a can of Coke $1.75)
The sights, sounds and activities definitely outweighed any drawbacks. My wife and I watched the fireworks on New years Eve from a flat overlooking Sydney Harbor, we climbed to the top of the Sydney Bridge, watched wallabies and lizards in the wild and fed Kukabaras and cockatoos. I surfed for the first time and almost cracked a rib
Other things to note: In and around Sydney, Australia conservation and recycling is taken seriously and solar power is utilized a lot. there are different brands and names of cars for example, the Holden is a major brand and the Fords, Nissans etc. have different names, the police were really nice and smiled kindly as they were administering a breathalyzer to me New Years day. The parks I went to were mostly free and all the beaches were free, but parking cost a bunch ($2/ hr)
We also went to New Zealand. Sommer and her cousin went horseback riding, kayaking and soaked in hot springs while her cousin's husband, Tim and I fished in sight of an active volcano for 6-12lb brown trout with a true New Zealand character for a guide. Tim caught three browns up to 6 lbs. and I fought a 7lb'er for 20 minutes before it broke off at the net. I now am hooked on fly fishing. We stayed at Lake Taupo which is a caldera. Spinning gear may be used in the lake 300m from shore but flyfishing is the only method allowed on shore and in the areas around the lake. the licence was $20 for the day and a fishing and hunting license was only $89 for the year. There is no distinction for non-residents yet. I enjoyed New Zealand the most as the woods were more refreshing and coniferous. there were also less biteys (snakes and spiders) as Aussies call them. I will never forget the trip and am glad to be back in the states. The trip really brought back my love of America and strengthened my desire to protect our moral ideals and traditions that America was founded on. It also instilled a greater desire to see more of our beautiful country. I met an Aussie friend there who had a chance to travel for 48 days across the U.S. and do a shoot for a Harley Davidson magazine over there. He told me all about places he had seen all over the U.S. and the great people he had met. I live in NY and have not seen Niagara Falls, I've been to Veagas over a dozen times yet have not seen the Grand Canyon. The next vacations or trips will be to see more of this great country. All in all I realized people are people no matter where I go and if I treat them right, they mostly do the same in return. Have a good one and glad I could share some of the trip with my friends here.
The sights, sounds and activities definitely outweighed any drawbacks. My wife and I watched the fireworks on New years Eve from a flat overlooking Sydney Harbor, we climbed to the top of the Sydney Bridge, watched wallabies and lizards in the wild and fed Kukabaras and cockatoos. I surfed for the first time and almost cracked a rib
Other things to note: In and around Sydney, Australia conservation and recycling is taken seriously and solar power is utilized a lot. there are different brands and names of cars for example, the Holden is a major brand and the Fords, Nissans etc. have different names, the police were really nice and smiled kindly as they were administering a breathalyzer to me New Years day. The parks I went to were mostly free and all the beaches were free, but parking cost a bunch ($2/ hr)We also went to New Zealand. Sommer and her cousin went horseback riding, kayaking and soaked in hot springs while her cousin's husband, Tim and I fished in sight of an active volcano for 6-12lb brown trout with a true New Zealand character for a guide. Tim caught three browns up to 6 lbs. and I fought a 7lb'er for 20 minutes before it broke off at the net. I now am hooked on fly fishing. We stayed at Lake Taupo which is a caldera. Spinning gear may be used in the lake 300m from shore but flyfishing is the only method allowed on shore and in the areas around the lake. the licence was $20 for the day and a fishing and hunting license was only $89 for the year. There is no distinction for non-residents yet. I enjoyed New Zealand the most as the woods were more refreshing and coniferous. there were also less biteys (snakes and spiders) as Aussies call them. I will never forget the trip and am glad to be back in the states. The trip really brought back my love of America and strengthened my desire to protect our moral ideals and traditions that America was founded on. It also instilled a greater desire to see more of our beautiful country. I met an Aussie friend there who had a chance to travel for 48 days across the U.S. and do a shoot for a Harley Davidson magazine over there. He told me all about places he had seen all over the U.S. and the great people he had met. I live in NY and have not seen Niagara Falls, I've been to Veagas over a dozen times yet have not seen the Grand Canyon. The next vacations or trips will be to see more of this great country. All in all I realized people are people no matter where I go and if I treat them right, they mostly do the same in return. Have a good one and glad I could share some of the trip with my friends here.
