Settling into Aussie life (pt 1)

So, two days into Syndey life, how are things going ? Well, I've now got a mobile and an address, so on the off chance people need to post things to me or call me, the details are :

Ben Turner TCP#9796AUS
C/O Travellers Contact Point
Level 7, Dymocks building
428 George Street
SYDNEY
NSW 2000

+61 (0)4 1236 2488

Life on Bondi is beautiful - shame I've been running around like a headless chicken in the center of town ! Once I've got some form of income sorted out, I'll be able to enjoy the beach life a bit more. Except I'll be working then. Damn.

End of the Kiwi Experience

My final few days in NZ took me into the scenic Milford Sound region, through Teanu, Invercargill and Dunedin, and finally into Christchurch. Not a lot of gossip here, other than a nervous but exciting weekend of rugby. At the end of the whole Stray bus tour of NZ I now feel very drained and up for a change of lifestyle and pace - and what better place to do that than Sydney, where I now type things entry !

Very strange to change country again - not really got used to the fact yet ! Met a stray bus friend in the hostel and went down to Bondi beach for lunch and beer - but with the wind and darkness it felt more like Brighton than Bondi. Maybe in the bright sun tomorrow it will feel more like the other side of the globe :)

Time to job hunt and settle back for a bit... anyone know of any IT jobs in Sydney right now ?!

Queenie

After drinking and partying in Wanaka, I moved onto Queenstown - home of bungee ! I signed myself up to the "Thrillogy" package of 3 bungee jumps - the Kawarau bridge, home of the original bungee jump - the Nevis, a 134m bungee jump with 8 seconds freefall - and the ledge, a body harness jump, allowing you to do a runup and jump in your own style ! Pictures have been uploaded - use embedded links to jump straight into each jump.

One more day in Queenstown to go, then just a few more stops before I fly out of Christchurch and onto Oz.

Singing for my supper (well... beer)

Good rugby games from En-ger-lund and the All blacks led to a good nights drinking in Barrytown. So the next day we napped off hangovers on the way down towards Franz-Joseph, where we arrived in good time to sign up for the glacier walking trip, a recommended highlight of the whole NZ experience.

After my hard days trekking, we moved on through the small township of Haast, and carried on the next day past the famous bra fence near Hasst and into Wanaka where I have stopped over to explore the famous puzzleworld (where I got myself a rubix cube to play with) and to take five. As a result, the photos are all up to date and tell a far more interesting story than this post - go look !

Only story worth telling is of my singing vistory last night. Having met up with some old friends I last saw in Auckland, we went out for a drink at "shooters". A karaoke night began shortly after our arrival, which seemed to attract as much interest as paint drying. We were reliably informed that every song sung earns a free smirnoff ice. So I signed up for a couple of songs, and proceeded to "turbo shandy" my drinks all night. Given the minimal interest and business generated by the karaoke, I was suprised enough to get the free booze - I became even more suprised at the end of the night when one of the other singers won $50 bar tab. I was even MORE suprised to discover this was a second place prize, and that I had won the $100 bar tab ! Having already stocked up with larger jugs during happy hour, most of the tab is still untouched, which promises a good nights drinking tonight !

Southward bound

Finsihed off the snowboarding with a few jumps (no spins yet) and no new injuries. Woohoo. I then headed down to Wellington for Halloween and a big hostel party, and then the next morning onto the ferry to the South Island.

No real newsworthy happenings as of yet - went through Abel-Tasman national park, did a spot more sea kyacking, and am now currently in Barrytown, a village of 15 houses and a hostel with a bar - essential for watching the England and All Black rugby games tonight !