Published at February 15, 2008
in general.
I intended to do this many months ago. It was July 23rd, 2007 and I was walking around Brisbane looking for something to do when I passed a movie theatre called Dendy Cinemas, that reminded me of the Princess Cinema in Waterloo, Ontario. One of the movies showing that evening was an Australian film titled Lucky Miles, a film about Iraqi and Cambodian refugees who are dropped on a remote section of Western Australia by an Indonesian fishing boat and told that a bus just over the sand dune would take them to Perth. The eclectic group of men each have a different reason for coming to Australia. There is no bus, not even a road, over the sand dune, and the movie unfolds in a comedic tragedy as the men wander the Australian Outback avoiding capture and seeking their salvations. The movie depicts visually the Australia most people envision when they hear the countries name in saturated blues, browns and greens. The film is visually stunning to say the least.
I mention this today because it is the opening night film at the OzFilm Australian Film Weekend in Toronto, that is running February 22-24 at the Royal Ontario Museum’s Signy and Cléophée Eaton Theatre. I had saved the flyer from the Dandy in Brisbane with the intention of writing about the film as soon as I had finished documenting my travels, but as things go sometimes, the flyer got swept under the bed.
Published at February 12, 2008
in general.
One of the hot topics during the recent election in Australia was reconciliation and the on going request for a formal apology to the Aboriginal people for the Stolen Generations and the atrocities they suffered. The previous government, under the rule of John Howard for the past 11 years, refused to say ‘sorry’, and instead side stepped the issues with half apologies and denials that it was the current generations responsibility to take the first steps to right the wrongs of the past.
This morning Kevin Rudd said the simple — but very powerful — word ‘sorry’. No one believes that todays admission will magically fix the problems that are suffered by the Aboriginal people, but it is at least a public action to let Australia, and perhaps the world, know that Australians made mistakes and they understand that. Sorry is the start, not the end, of the process to unite Australia. Only with a base of understanding can the current conditions suffered in Australia have a hope of being improved.
Published at February 12, 2008
in general.
The road from Wellington to Taupo is a unique drive compared to other areas in New Zealand. While New Zealand is known for it’s lush and rolling terrain, this area of New Zealand, contained within Tongariro National Park, turns into plateau desert with volcanic peaks dotting the landscape. The most famous volcano in this area, thanks to the trilogy Lord of the Rings is Mt. Mgauruhoe that stood in for Mt. Doom. The low cloud and overcast day provided the perfect degree of shrouding to the volcano and ensured it retained it’s spooky mystique.
We pulled into Taupo and located a Holiday Park a little bit outside the city centre and decided to stay for two days, as we had been on the go for a few days. Funny that Taupo is the place we decide to set up camp for an extended stay. A mate of mine from Canada went to teachers college in New Zealand and ended up teaching for two years in Taupo, and I was able to meet up with him before his departure back to Canada. He gave us few ideas of what to do with our day in Taupo on the cheap. After a nice home cooked meal we ended up calling it a relatively early night.
We took our time waking up and getting ready in the morning as it was nice to just relax. We’d decide to leave the car parked for the first time on the trip and head out for a hike. Not far from our cabin was the start of a leisurely hike along a river that ran past a hot spring and a popular waterfall. It was a relaxing walk along the river, with a gravel path that ebbed and flowed with the movements of the bank. We were the only ones on the path until we reached the waterfall, which in actuality is a narrowed section of river (a shallow gorge) that turns into rapids with a 2m drop at the end. I guess technically it is a waterfall, but it wasn’t what I was expected when I heard ‘waterfall’. A tourist centre and parking lot lies on the other side of a bridge at the waterfall and was quite busy. We managed to acquire the only picnic bench and sat down for a lovely meal of cheese, breads, dips, vegetables and fruit. This is how lunch should always be.
We had to backtrack to return to our cabin and took the opportunity to explore a few paths that branched off from the main path. One path led us to the point in the river where the gorge began and the rapids stood up, a perfect spot for Karate Kid photos. When we returned to the beginning of the trail we took off our sandals and tested out the hot spring, that was surprisingly hot (I think, I haven’t had that much experience with hot springs).
A lovely day in Taupo ended with a light rain and another relaxing evening in. Our plan for tomorrow was to make a stop in Rotorua, the thermal hub of New Zealand, then push on to Auckland. The journey was nearing it’s end.
Published at February 5, 2008
in general.
With people to meet in Auckland, and a need to stay on the open road, we only spent a night and half a day in Wellington. On the surface Wellington is a wonderful town, and has a very similar feel to Toronto. We spent the night of our arrival walking the streets and taking in the hustle and bustle of a city set to party. I had a kebab that was average and left me dreaming of the beauties I gorged on in Wollongong only a few weeks earlier.
The next morning we awoke and walked up the street to pick up our new vehicle that would carry us for the remainder of our trip. We had a plan to grab a hip breakfast on Castro street then make our way down to the National Museum, Te Papa, for a few hours before departing town and making our way north. In the morning Internet session I learned that a good Canadian mate had proposed to his girlfriend in Wollongong before their departure back to Canada. Even more surprising she said yes! To celebrate the occasion, and in honour of their new adventure teaching in the UK, I enjoyed a pint with my breakfast at a wonderful Irish Pub we found on aforementioned Castro Street.
The Museum was a great facility with an assortment of interesting cultural exhibits and hands on activities, feeling like they merged a science centre with a museum. One of the more interesting pieces was an ancient Chinese Seismograph. The device, some 1800-2000 years old, is a large bronze vase with dragon head sculptures adorning it’s mid-line, each holding a metal ball in it’s mouth. Below each dragon was a toad with mouth open and looking up. A pendulum inside the vase would swing in the direction of an occurring earthquake, hitting a lever that would cause the ball to drop from the dragons mouth, into the toads mouth, indicating the direction of the earthquake. I am impressed by the style and art put into such a practical invention. A similar device could be created without the dragons and toads, but the Chinese choose to add them.
The Te Papa Museum is located on Wellington harbour. Next door to the museum sat one of the greatest buildings I had ever seen — a Mac’s Brewery Bar. The beer I had grown to love in New Zealand, partly from it’s advertising, and mostly from it’s taste, was born in the very building. We entered the building to admire their micro-brewery and so a travel companion could purchase a shirt for her boyfriend for Christmas. I have heaps of photos of their packaging and advertisements that I may role into a separate post. They have fantastic marketing, and I’d love for a brewery in Toronto to adopt their style.
With our time in Wellington coming to an end we found our way out of town and onto the open road. North we traveled, onward to Taupo and the thermal activity centre of New Zealand.
Published at February 1, 2008
in general.
After spending the night in Christchurch and enjoying some more time at a cool little collection of bars behind our accommodations we headed out for Picton. We had planned on taking a bus but there were no seats left. After a minute of looking online we found the only rental car left in town, a Daihatsu Sirion, the smallest car one can make with 4 doors. We had little choice, and the price ended being extremely right — about $19 total, as it was a relocation back to their Picton location. We piled into the clown car and headed north for Picton.
I wish we had had more time on the South Island, as the drive to Picton was beautiful. The coast on this side of the island is completely different than the west coast. The weather was overcast most of the day as we weaved along cliff hugging roads, through one lane tunnels, and past colonies of sea lions before pushing through the best wine country New Zealand has on offer. We pulled into Picton and dropped off the car, making our way to the ferry that would transport us across Cooks Strait and into Wellington, the capital of New Zealand.
I was told that the ferry ride was littered with beautiful views, and it was, but having been to Milford Sound prior it just didn’t stack up. It also looked an awful lot like the scenery viewed on any ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island. I think the best way to maximize the scenery options is to take the ferry across strait before hitting up Milford Sound. It was a sunset cruise, but sadly the sun was obscured by the overcast sky. We cruised into Wellington harbour just past 9pm to begin the last stage of our journey — Auckland or bust.
Published at February 1, 2008
in general.
The weather continued to be dreary as we made our way south-east across New Zealand from Greymouth to Christchurch via Arthur’s Pass. Arthur’s Pass is one of the more spectacular and grueling drives on a main through-way in New Zealand, and we fell victim to it’s diabolical nature. As we chugged up the never ending incline our vehicle started to move a little slower, and we were holding up traffic, so being the good people we are, we pulled into a lookout. We decided to get out and put the lookout to use, and as we exited the vehicle we smelt the most horrific smell. Great, someone near us is burning coolant — suckers. As we tried to find out who’s car was emitting this smell we noticed the hood of our vehicle was steaming something awful. On closer examination it was discovered that we were the suckers burning coolant. We popped the hood to discover our coolant was actually boiling! Now that’s impressive. We decided to eat our lunch in the drizzle and wait for the van to cool down before deciding what to do. We picked a rather nice spot for our first breakdown as it had a spectacular view.
The van had free road side assistance, but that requires a working mobile phone to be able to call. It was only another 10 minutes to the town of Arthur’s Pass, so we decided I’d drive the rest of the way, then we could call for assistance from there. For future reference it is a great idea to always have some water in your car, because in a pinch water is a great substitute for coolant.
We rang the equivalent of CAA in New Zealand and they were sending a truck up from the other side of the pass, and it would take 2h or so for them to arrive. Not to worry, as we all had some books to read, and the restaurant in town had a lovely couch area for us to chill. I walked around outside a bit and made friends with the mountain parrot, which was fairly easy as they are entirely aware of what humans can do for them — food. Not to worry, I didn’t feed it.
In time the truck arrived and the mechanic checked out our van. I’m told this is an extremely common problem with our Previa, as the engine is located under the cockpit and gets no fresh air. 6 times out of 10 they have to load them onto the back of the truck, but luckily ours had no trip ending damage. The mechanic filled it up with water then let us know we could take our time as he was on overtime, and didn’t have to be home until 7pm. The plan was for him to follow us down the pass in case we had any more problems. On the upward inclines I’d drop the automatic into 2nd and go nice and slow. We hit only one dramatic incline, and as soon as we started up it so did the temperature gage. I made it 3/4 of the way up before pulling over and cranking the heat to cool the engine. As soon as I stopped the gage dropped. After a minute I pressed on and made it over the peak, and from there it was clear sailing to Christchurch.
Through all the drama, and by drama I mean relaxing because we knew there was nothing we could have done differently, and we didn’t have anywhere we really had to be, it did not escape our gaze that when we started heading out of the pass the skies were clearing. We hadn’t seen the sun in a few days and it was nice. The land opened up into rolling pastures and farm land. It was quite stunning even after all we had seen — and were still going to see.
I intended to do this many months ago. It was July 23rd, 2007 and I was walking around Brisbane looking for something to do when I passed a movie theatre called Dendy Cinemas, that reminded me of the Princess Cinema in Waterloo, Ontario. One of the movies showing that evening was an Australian film titled Lucky Miles, a film about Iraqi and Cambodian refugees who are dropped on a remote section of Western Australia by an Indonesian fishing boat and told that a bus just over the sand dune would take them to Perth. The eclectic group of men each have a different reason for coming to Australia. There is no bus, not even a road, over the sand dune, and the movie unfolds in a comedic tragedy as the men wander the Australian Outback avoiding capture and seeking their salvations. The movie depicts visually the Australia most people envision when they hear the countries name in saturated blues, browns and greens. The film is visually stunning to say the least.
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