Back by popular demand...Our tales from Sydney

Due to the high volume of requests made to update the blog, ok well maybe just Steven, we are here to fill you in on our goings on for the past 10 days. Pure laziness was the culprit for our absence lately, no lack of internet access, no lack of stories to tell, just a plain desire to not do anything except be lazy and take a vacation from vacation.

We'll do our best to recap our wonderful time with the hard working parents, Joel and Frances, of one Lucas Elbag (almost 2yrs) and let you in on, not necessarily in chronological order, some of the fun we've been getting into.

As you saw from the panorama pictures we wasted no time working on the mac as Evan was really excited to see how his pics turned out. Our first few days in Sydney were very relaxed with trips down to Manly beach or to the mall with Joel and Lucas as our main activities. We have already posted about the walk from Manly to Spit which was a nature highlight of our stay.

We made a few observations in the mall such as the slight variation of store names such as...

Hungry Jacks = Burger King (same logo, E wants a T-shirt)

Bed Bath and Table = BB&B

Wheel and Barrel= Crate and Barrel

The Big W= Wal Mart

Target = Target (m was really happy about that)

We really enjoyed not having a fixed schedule and after a few minutes with Lucas why would you ever want to leave? From morning skype calls to. "Mimi" (his grandma, Evan's aunt Sharon) to learning new words daily "cuz" "kiwi", and counting to 20...us 13, him 14, us 15, him 18, us 16, him 18, us 17, him 18, us 19, him 20, yaaaay!...he really likes 18, we were never bored and when nap time rolled around after lunch everybody was game for a semi.

One of the adventures from the week+ included a drive to the Blue Mtns to see the views and the Three Sisters. We were tempted to walk the 'giant staircase' but after 90 of the required 800 stairs we were satisfied in cutting off the journey and heading to lunch. The mountains are so named because of the bluish appearance from the abundance of eucalyptus trees. Here are the Three Sisters:



That evening we were dropped off at the Sydney Football Stadium for a Rugby Union Super 14 match between the NSW Waratahs and the Wellington Hurricanes, a name we found a bit perplexing as hurricanes are actually known as cyclones down here. Rugby Union is one of the two types of rugby played here along with Rugby League, union is more traditional with scrums and the like, while league is styled a bit more like 'gridiron' with 6 downs to score or else you're punting away.

We found the match to move along very quickly, 40 minute (mostly) running clock per half. The whole game was over in about 2hrs, and luckily for the home supporters the Waratahs came out on top 20-3. Unlike cricket where we had an entire day to nail down the rules and nuances, we left this match with as many questions as answers about things like the scrum and the kicking back and forth to start play. All in all it was a really great time and we think you'll like the pictures when we get them up. Also, for those of you who have never seen a rugby ball, I am proud to say that the Gilbert name is forever linked to the sport as Rawlings, Wilson and Spalding are at home.



Apparently when he's not busy at Quality Mill, AG is successfully running a side business in Sydney. Joel can attest to their quality. In reality, it's run by a chinese guy who never changed the name from the old owner.



That's all for now, Michelle has fallen asleep and we have a busy day tomorrow. We hit the happy hour pretty hard tonight and watched some exciting cricket action as India were 4/56 after 12 overs chasing 317 put up by the Aussies led by Ricky Ponting's superb 126 total. I couldn't resist. We will post more tomorrow and finish up this recap and maybe even touch on our surfing exploits, key word 'our'.

Over and out.

Happy Phil Valentines Day from Sydney, NSW

happy phil valentines day. We had a nice dinner together to celebrate and Frances received a picnic set that wll be getting a lot of use. I gave Michelle a chocolate Cadbury egg that she picked out and i paid for (with her money :). She went to a cricket match for me, i am still owing her!

Today we hiked a trail linking Manly, named after the behavior not an Englishman, to the Spit. Joel and Lucas were leading the way until it became off road and had to head home. We traveled through a lot of bush and had great weather and superb lookout points.

Departing from Manly Cove we walked around North Harbour and made our way into the national park "bush" where we took these looking back at Manly and around to Port Jackson






As we made our way to the other side of the peninsula we could get some new views of Middle Harbour and downtown. Across the way you can view Chinamans Beach, yep Chinamans Beach.



We were nearly to our destination when we reached Sandy Bay and Clondarf.



We also went to an area named Balmoral, it was very peaceful compared to the buzz around Manly and the Spit.

Panorama Pic's

Here are all the panorama's we have put together now that we're at Joel and Frances' house and have the all powerful Mac at our disposal. I will also be inserting these with the proper postings, but here you can see them all, enjoy!

Fiji: On the way to the hill fort



Fiji: At the hill fort, with Lemeki!



New Zealand: Napier- Marine Parade



New Zealand: Abel Tasman Coastal Track



New Zealand: Abel Tasman- Apple Tree Bay



New Zealand: Franz Josef Glacier



New Zealand: Queenstown

Pics from the MCG

Here are some shots from the match...we hope you enjoy! More to come soon of all sorts of places we've been so far.

Nighttime from the upper level



Daytime from the upper level



Final overs from the lower level, India bringing home the win

Melbourne: Perfect for a weekend

We've been here since Friday and have made many postings that probably have led you to believe that there is little to do in Melbourne except watch cricket and eat disgusting foods. Not true at all, so here's a recap of our time here.

On arrival into the airport on Friday, the weather was a little iffy - cold and drizzly. But by the time we made it to our hostel smack dab in the middle of downtown, the clouds had cleared and the temps rose. We spent the day exploring Swanston Street (lots of cheap food and cute shops) and the alleys off of the main drag (hidden bars and a real belgian waffle kiosk!). We walked down to the Royal Botanical Gardens and spent the afternoon enjoying the peace and quiet and found a good grassy knoll where we took a nap. The hustle and bustle of the big city is a big change from the relaxed pace of New Zealand where the biggest city we were in probably only had 50,000 people.

On Saturday we explored Fitzroy neighborhood (very eclectic and artsy with lots of cafes) and went to a small local artists market filled with handmade jewelry, paintings, clothing, etc.

That evening we went to the Rooftop Cinema a few blocks from our hostel. We read about the cinema in the NY Times and had it on our must do list. They play a different movie every night and have comfy lawn chairs available and blankets for hire. The ground is artificial grass and there is a bar on the roof as well. On the back of every chair is the menu of drinks and food that you can order by texting the bar with your seat number (just have to open a tab at the bar before the show starts). The cinema was the highlight of the weekend (well, at least for M because cricket was probably E's fav if you couldn't tell already). We saw Casablanca for our first time ever and loved it. We were so blown away by the cinema that we have a plan to bring one to Indy during the summer months.





Sunday was obviously spent at the cricket match, and here we are on Monday enjoying the beautiful weather in a nearby park. We fly to Sydney tonight and are so excited to see Joel (E's cousin) and his fam!

Warning: Consumption of Vegemite hazardous to health

This morning for breakfast we had some toast, and just like every other morning there were 3 choices of spread: peanut butter, jelly and vegemite. Well, as you can imagine we have stuck with the pb and j so be on the safe side, but this morning we decided to spice things up a bit. Michelle remembered Lydia saying it wasn't good alone, but a little bit's ok on toast, so that was good enough for us to give it a try.

Well let me tell you reader, it is ABSOLUTELY FREAKIN DISGUSTING. I can't begin to tell you how bad it is, it is like something that tasted awful to begin with then left out to spoil for a month!

The name, Vegemite, does not inspire confidence, but you see so many people spreading it on their toast, that it can't be that bad, right. YUCK, oh god, it took two pieces of toast with pb and j as well as a glass of milk to get the taste out of my mouth and I still have terrible thoughts about it almost 3hrs later.

For the record, M also tried it, a tiny bit that got on her finger and she thought it was disgusting and quickly washed her mouth out with juice.

So for those of you reading this that like it, to each their own, but to everyone else who may come in contact with vegemite in the future...
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

Final live blog from the MCG with results

10:00 5-160 from 44 overs (I need to confirm # of overs). India wins! It was an exciting day of cricket with solid bowling and occasional brillance from the batsmen from both sides. As you can see from the result, India only had 5 men retired before reaching 160, compared to Aussie who went all out before their alloted # of overs, big factor in the outcome. I must say I really enjoyed this game, and I would love to see a 5 day test match, as crazy as that sounds!

Michelle-I was glad I held out and did not want to go to the lower level as it proved to be smelly and rambunctious. It smelled a lot like a fraternity house and 10mins was enough down there. It was a long day and I don't need to see another full day of cricket in my life, but I will go to a twenty20 (20 overs per side, about 3hrs long).

Thanks to everyone who read this entire thread, I know you didn't follow along because it's nearly 4am monday morning now! Take care and good night

Evan G.

Live blogging from the MCG part 9

9:45- 5-137 after 41 overs. It's offical, after 90 overs, and 7hrs 30mins Michelle has uttered the words we've all been waiting for...'I'm getting tired of cricket'. I owe her big time for this one, that was a heck of a feat staying in the game for all that time. Thanks Michelle, I don't know how you did it!!

5-145, only 15 more for the victory.

Live blogging from the MCG part 8

9:30- 5-122 from 37.2 overs. "For the safety and comfort of all patrons the Mexican Wave is banned in the stadium. Those found trying to start the wave face immediate expulsion.". This was just seen on the jumbotron. We kid you not.

Well, Aussie kept India in check for quite a while, but it appears the partnership of Rohit and Dhoni have caught their stride and are slowly picking apart the aussie bowlers. Another 2 runs and we're up to 129. India need 30 runs from 72 balls to take the match.

"India India" is replacing "Aussie Aussie Aussie oi oi oi" as the chant of the moment.

Live blogging from the MCG part 7

8:30- 3-96 for 25 overs. Both teams are on a similar pace, however India has only had 3 guys retired so far compared to double at this point for Aussie, so the smart $ is still on India. Tendulkar is still up, 44 runs so far. Just so you know he hasn't been the only one batting, the 2 batsman rotate depending on the direction of the bowler.

Update 8:34: Tendulkar is out! A hard hit ball to Lee who makes a great diving grab to put him out after 44 for 54(number of balls faced).

Live blogging from the MCG part 6

7:17. India 1-51 after 10 overs. You have to like India's chances at this point, however this is cricket, so you never know what might happen (whatever that's supposed to mean). One of the Indian batsmen is named Sachin Tendulkar and he is one of the all time greats, and batting like it, 24 runs to this point and a number of 4's (hitting the ball to the boundary). The sun is on its way down, so we should get some good night shots coming up in the next hour.

update #5

Hello there from Michelle. So, you've probably skimmed through the last couple of posts (because I doubt you have actually read them) and have thought to yourself that cricket is the most confusing and boring game ever. You are right. :) No really, it's not that bad. But we've been here for over 3 hours and have only seen Australia up to bat. So, that means we have probably another 3+ hours here. I would be more intrigued if the guys sprinted back and forth for their runs. It's definitely just a light jog. Hopefully India will be more aggressive.

5:22pm update - pop fly from newbie.
5:25pm update - pop fly from newest newbie...inning is over. Aus has 159 runs. Now it's time to see what India will bring.

Live blogging from the MCG part 4

5:12- 8 for 151 after 40.5 overs. We held out 3 hours to start drinking because aussie cash is limited but now we are ready to rock and roll. Hussey is still going strong 58 runs so far. Since he has been batting 3 of his partners have been retired, he is the Aussies only hope today. Speed bowlers are back and to give you a baseball comparison they run from behind where 2nd base would be to bowl, versus the spinners who would probably start about 10ft behind the mound.

Live blogging from the MCG part 3

4:42- 6 for 123 after 34 overs. Aussie is being carried right now by M. Hussey who has 39 runs so far, far and away tops for his squad. Spin bowlers have been out for a while, slow speeds but a lot of juice on the ball, defensive batting seems to be the best way to play the game against these bowlers. Hussey is now up to 42 runs scored. 3.64 run rate. Breaking update, 46 for Hussey after a solid 4.

We've been enjoying the wave, they get it going with... 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ohhhhhhhhh!

6 for 137 and Hussey makes 50 on the day!, run rate climbing to 3.81 and the crowd is getting into it.

Live blogging from the MCG part 2

4:00- Harbajan Singh, Indian bowler extraordinaire makes his first appearance of the day. He is greeted with a chorus of boos, and Michelle notes that his length of run up is much shorter than the other bowlers. Given his speed of 87kph (avg 135 for others) I am guessing he was spin bowling, the first we've seen of that technique. No runs given up in his over, and no batsmen retired.

4:08- 5 for 87, after 23.1 overs. I'm not sure if it should read 87 from 5, but here the scoreboard says 5-87 so that's what we'll use. Fielding restrictions are lifted after 22 overs, now the "outfield" has 4 fielders vs. only 2 previously.

Live blogging from the MCG part 1

Greetings from the MCG, home of cricket in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. We will be blogging today from the Aus. vs India one day international.

Recap thus far- first up for Aussie- Gilchrist 0 runs after 3 balls out on LBW (leg before wicket). Next out was Hayden after a respectable 25 from 21.

2:50 or so: Aussie is 2 for 47 after 6.2overs and our first chants of "bowla's a wanka"

3:00- Aussie superstar Ricky Pointing out with a paltry 9 runs, he averages 45, and is over 10,000 for his career.

3:25- Aussie is struggling so far going 4 for 65 after 13.2 overs. Quick explanation....65 runs, 4 men out (of 11) and 13 series of 6 balls that are in play.

3:39- 4 for 71. Each side has 50 overs, and we are on 16.1, so Aussie needs to work on their run rate, 4.4 if they want to have a chance.

the ground is hard

When you're trying to sleep in the airport. Somehow, Michelle is succeeding despite waking up every 45mins or so to say 'its cold'. We leave Christchurch at 6am and its 1:15am now, only 3hrs until we can check in! NZ has been terrific as you have all been able to see by our accounts of just how much fun there is to be had down here.

We should be in to Melbourne around 9,no plans for friday, probably walk around and go grocery shopping. I don't think we've been out for dinner yet (rarely going beyond pb&j for lunch) and there's no reason to start with the AUD at an 11yr high against the greenback. We will be with Joel, Frances and Lucas starting Monday so were very excited for that too!

Golf note...we've been seeing these golf balls shaped like rugby balls all over the country, but dismissed it as a funny souvenir, hey we play rugby so well make a golf ball that looks like a rugby ball to put on you mantle...nope!

I was wrong, its called golf cross and its a real thing here and I'm kicking myself for not checking it out earlier. I did pick up 2balls, a tee and instructions, so dad,bill,steven,j.read, todd, cliff,marshall,ryan,reeder, and anyone else you are in for a special treat next time we tee it up. Google it, I don't know if there's an official site or not...if anyone finds some good info leave a comment.

Time to curl now myself...

Cheaters Never Win...the Super Bowl in 2008

We left for the Milford Sound cruise at 8:30am on Monday and randomly had internet access around noon. We were able to check the score of the game -- 7-3 Pats after the first quarter. We lost internet soon after that and were assuming the worst until this morning. We started talking to a couple at breakfast when the guy mentioned the "best Super Bowl ever." What happened??? He caught everything but the last 35 seconds at the local pub right before our boat departed, so he couldn't confirm a Giants win. When we docked, Evan ran up to the first Americans he saw and quizzed them about the game. Giants won! Or, more importantly, Patriots lost! It's strange to be so elated for a team to lose, but when it goes your way, it makes you really happy. Just wanted to share our happiness with everyone (especially true fans -- Joel and Perry). To all you Patriots fans (Ranger, D'Avella, Steve McBride), see the title of the post, suckers!

Milford Sound

The day had finally arrived, the big trip to Milford Sound, something we have been planning and looking forward to since the moment we decided to make this trip a reality. Our original plan was to go overnight on Tuesday and return Wednesday, however, due to New Zealand Day on Wed. the trip was booked and we had to reschedule for Monday to Tuesday. Our coach and driver/guide, Skip, picked us up from our hostel that morning and we were off on the 5+hr drive. As the crow flies our destination was not 100km away, yet given the topography our route takes us a bit out of the way.

Driving along Lake Wakatipu to start and then through rolling hills and across smallish mountains of the northern Southland (love that), we pulled into our first main stop, Te Anau. This town is located at the south end of a lake of the same name and is the main jumping off point for most Fiordland activities. Our first pie of the trip, steak and cheese, pretty good actually, some socks because our feet were freezing and we were off towards our destination.

As you can see from these pictures, there are plenty of sights along the way, however with the sun where it was in the sky the pictures did not all turn out as we may have liked. Not a problem, as we would gladly trade sunny skies and beautiful weather for pictures that wouldn't be perfect anyway. One of the first stops was the Monkey River in the Hollyford Valley where we filled our nalgene with cool mountain water.



We arrived into Milford Village, pop. 200 in the summer and 90 in the winter. On the boat, and anchors away, we were off cruising up, or is it down, or out, the fiord. A quick safety briefing as is customary for these sorts of adventures and we found ourselves up on the deck taking in the stunning scenery with our fellow passengers.



Because we chose to go for an overnight cruise we were lucky to see very few other people out on the water as it was nearly 5:00pm at this point, and the day cruises had long since headed home. A leisurely ride towards the Tasman sea took us past waterfalls, and rock faces that were nearly vertical as they climbed out of the water up towards the sky. It is hard to describe the beauty of this places, but I do hope that some of our pictures and videos will allow you to choose your own superlatives. Here's a picture of the "old people's" boat. They had their own cabins and bathrooms ensuite. We had a room with 4 bunks (but no bunkmates!) and bathrooms in the back of the boat. Other than that, they were pretty similar boats.



Once we had made it to the mouth of the fiord we dropped anchor and spent the next few hours kayaking around a beautiful bay and taking in the (insert superlative) dankness (reeder!) of our surroundings. It was clear early on that a handful of kayakers wanted to play bumper boats and we were having none of that, so we made our way to the waters edge and began to look for native wildlife.

All credit to Michelle for the spotting of the trip, a Fiordland Crested Penguin wandering around on the rocks. The penguin jumped from rock to rock, ducked behind a boulder, and when he reappeared he was on the other side of the boulder just looking like a happy little guy (or gal). A few more glances around and he was back in the water, swimming away. Since we were on our kayaks and didn't have our camera, here's a stock photo:



The penguins are only in Milford Sound for 2 weeks this time of year and they are molting, so they don't often just sit on the beach. They come back in June for 5 months and that's the main viewing time for them. So, we were very lucky to see the little guy (or gal).

After kayaking, Evan decided to go for a swim in the frigid water. It was around 60 degrees and he swam for about 15 minutes. Crazy boy! It was so cold that he couldn't even spit out a sentence to verbalize how cold it was.



Dinner was mushroom and capsicum soup (quite good, actually!), pork with apples and veggies and peach cobbler for dessert. After dinner we hung out on the deck and enjoyed the view and the millions of stars. Never have we seen so many stars. Can someone please check if we can see the same Orion constellation in the North and South hemispheres? Michelle is 100% positive that it is the same constellation, but our guide is 100% positive that there is no way you can see it in both hemispheres.





Evan woke up at 5:45am to film his own version of Sunrise Earth. Not a bad locale with the fiords and glaciers surrounding us. It's on the video camera, so you'll have to wait until we get home to view it, but here's a photo from the crack of dawn:



We took the bus back to Queenstown and arrived mid-afternoon. We're going to check out Queenstown's disc golf course this evening and then just relax tomorrow. NZ is winding down as we fly to Melbourne on Friday. That's all for now!

Queenstown, NZ

Fresh off of a 3hr internet bender Sunday morning we took the streets of Queenstown for some sightseeing and window shopping. The town itself, as you can see, is situated on the shores of Lake Wakatipu and stands as one of the prettiest locales we have ever been. We decided that the best way to take in the sights was from the gondola look out above the city. A $21 round trip ride on the gondola we decided was a bit over priced, so off we went, hiking straight up the hill (not literally) for the next hour. The views we were rewarded with once at the summit were second to none. Enjoy!



Lucky for us we ran into a couple we had met in Abel Tasman and they gave us their return ticket, so the ride down was a smooth 4 minute ride. Our evening involved a couple Tui beers in the park, reading our books, watching the sunset behind the mountains. Another wonderful day.



Additional notes: Michelle's legs are sore no longer and her ears are completely healed. Thanks to everyone who wished her well :)

Updates

We're in Queenstown taking it easy. Every activity is so expensive, so a couple of hours on the internet is a great deal. We'll probably go for a hike later, but Michelle's legs are still aching from the hardcore hiking we've done this week. Might just relax and eat Belgian waffles (we still need to test it to see if they are authentic belgian waffles). We've added some videos. Check out the posts from Rotorua, Wai-O-Tapu, Cape Kidnappers and Franz Josef. We're headed to Milford Sound tomorrow for an overnight. Will try to update more on Wednesday. Here's Evan petting a friendly Kiwi...