Hey guys, wanted to update you on my New Zealand trip.
I'm sure most of you have heard about the huge earthquake that hit Christchurch, New Zealand yesterday afternoon. It really hit the city hard and I am one lucky guy because I was booked to go to Christchurch the day after the earthquake hit rather than the day of. The hostel that I was supposed to stay in a day later has been completely destroyed and so I feel incredibly lucky that I wasn't in it.
Today I received news from my travel agent saying that the airport in Christchurch is now open and that the tour that I was scheduled to go on is still starting tomorrow morning because we should be completely safe. For that reason, I have decided that I am still going on the tour tomorrow. I will only be in Christchurch for about 6 hours until the tour leaves to a place called Franz Josef Glacier. I should be safe for my whole trip which will last about 8 days.
Anyway I'm positive I will be safe so no one worry :)
Matt
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Lots of Good News :)
Hey everyone! I have lots of good news in this post :) First, I finally went skydiving! I've already tried to go twice since I've been here but both times the weather wasn't good enough to jump...Obviously when it comes to jumping out of a plane better safe than sorry! But I finally jumped a few days ago (when it was forecast to rain!) The weather turned out to be perfect and I got to jump over the beach! I have an great video of the jump but it's way too big to post on my blog. I'll try to figure out how to post it online somewhere and send it to everyone. I'm so glad I finally did it!
I'll attach pictures on the bottom of this post of the jump. Disclaimer: I think it's impossible to jump out of a plane and look good doing it haha ;)The pictures and the video are hilarious. Can't wait to show you guys.
The next good news is that I'm going to New Zealand in 5 days! I decided that I can't come all the way to the other side of the world and not travel outside of Australia so I'm going to New Zealand for 9 days! I'm going on a tour bus with other 18-35 year olds. I can't wait. I'll update my blog with pictures when I get home on March 3rd...or I guess March 2nd in the US :)
Also, my family comes in just a few weeks! I can't wait until they get here, it's going to be so much fun. We're going to be in Sydney for the first four days and then we're going to fly up to Brisbane for an additional four days. I haven't been to Brisbane before so I'm really excited to go.
I only have one month to go in Australia so damnit I'm going to make the most of it :)
Matt
I'll attach pictures on the bottom of this post of the jump. Disclaimer: I think it's impossible to jump out of a plane and look good doing it haha ;)The pictures and the video are hilarious. Can't wait to show you guys.
The next good news is that I'm going to New Zealand in 5 days! I decided that I can't come all the way to the other side of the world and not travel outside of Australia so I'm going to New Zealand for 9 days! I'm going on a tour bus with other 18-35 year olds. I can't wait. I'll update my blog with pictures when I get home on March 3rd...or I guess March 2nd in the US :)
Also, my family comes in just a few weeks! I can't wait until they get here, it's going to be so much fun. We're going to be in Sydney for the first four days and then we're going to fly up to Brisbane for an additional four days. I haven't been to Brisbane before so I'm really excited to go.
I only have one month to go in Australia so damnit I'm going to make the most of it :)
Matt
Monday, January 17, 2011
Another Update!
Hey everyone! Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years! I’ve done a ton of cool stuff recently and I wanted to give an update.
I had a really great Christmas at the beach here in Sydney. I went to a place called Palm Beach with probably about 20-25 other people from the hostel. We had a BBQ and just hung out on the beach all day. It was really difficult to be away from the family on Christmas so I’m glad I did something fun.
The very next day I left on a trip to Perth and then I went to Melbourne! It was a pretty short trip but it was definitely worth it… I went with a friend from my hostel and we stayed in both cities for about 3 days each.
The average temperature in Perth was about 105 degrees, so I got a slight tan for the first time in maybe ever haha….very hot but a nice place with incredible beaches. We took a ferry to an island called Rottnest Island, which was a definite highlight for me. The island felt like we were in Fiji or something…clear water and white sand. Apparently Rottnest Island literally means Rat’s Nest Island in Dutch because when Dutch explorers first discovered the island, they saw these huge animals that looked like rats and so they avoided it…turns out those “gigantic rats” were mini kangaroos called Quokkas! My friend and I were feeding them leaves and berries and they’re super friendly.
I also got a chance to go to Fremantle and it was great. I’m really really excited for Brooke; she’s going to love it.
Next stop was Melbourne. We had a bit less time in Melbourne than in Perth because our flight kept getting delayed but we still had a good time. Melbourne is like a smaller, more creative and artistic Sydney. It really reminds me of a European city like Barcelona because there are heaps of hidden alleyways with shops everywhere. It’s kind of like you have no idea what you’re going to find when you walk down the next street which I really liked. Melbourne is notorious for their “four seasons in one day” weather, but it was sunny the whole time I was there. We got very lucky with the weather.
Speaking of weather, it’s really sad what’s going on in Queensland at the moment. There is so much flooding that entire cities are under water. Victoria is currently being warned about severe flooding as well (where Melbourne is), so hopefully everything goes okay there. Where I live (in New South Wales), we’ve had quite a bit of rain in the last few months but not really any flooding. We’ve been very lucky.
Back to happier things….I got back from my trip on New Year’s Eve, slept a bit, and then went to a park with a perfect view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The fireworks were AMAZING. Apparently it cost the city of Sydney over 5 million dollars. You can watch some clips on Youtube of the fireworks, I’m really happy that I came back in time to see everything.
My family is coming to visit in March! I’m so excited; they’re going to love it. It’s been something like 27 years since my parents have been in Australia and my sister hasn’t been back since she was like 4 months old. The drinking age here is only 18 so my brother will love it as well :) It should be great!
Matt
I had a really great Christmas at the beach here in Sydney. I went to a place called Palm Beach with probably about 20-25 other people from the hostel. We had a BBQ and just hung out on the beach all day. It was really difficult to be away from the family on Christmas so I’m glad I did something fun.
The very next day I left on a trip to Perth and then I went to Melbourne! It was a pretty short trip but it was definitely worth it… I went with a friend from my hostel and we stayed in both cities for about 3 days each.
The average temperature in Perth was about 105 degrees, so I got a slight tan for the first time in maybe ever haha….very hot but a nice place with incredible beaches. We took a ferry to an island called Rottnest Island, which was a definite highlight for me. The island felt like we were in Fiji or something…clear water and white sand. Apparently Rottnest Island literally means Rat’s Nest Island in Dutch because when Dutch explorers first discovered the island, they saw these huge animals that looked like rats and so they avoided it…turns out those “gigantic rats” were mini kangaroos called Quokkas! My friend and I were feeding them leaves and berries and they’re super friendly.
I also got a chance to go to Fremantle and it was great. I’m really really excited for Brooke; she’s going to love it.
Next stop was Melbourne. We had a bit less time in Melbourne than in Perth because our flight kept getting delayed but we still had a good time. Melbourne is like a smaller, more creative and artistic Sydney. It really reminds me of a European city like Barcelona because there are heaps of hidden alleyways with shops everywhere. It’s kind of like you have no idea what you’re going to find when you walk down the next street which I really liked. Melbourne is notorious for their “four seasons in one day” weather, but it was sunny the whole time I was there. We got very lucky with the weather.
Speaking of weather, it’s really sad what’s going on in Queensland at the moment. There is so much flooding that entire cities are under water. Victoria is currently being warned about severe flooding as well (where Melbourne is), so hopefully everything goes okay there. Where I live (in New South Wales), we’ve had quite a bit of rain in the last few months but not really any flooding. We’ve been very lucky.
Back to happier things….I got back from my trip on New Year’s Eve, slept a bit, and then went to a park with a perfect view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The fireworks were AMAZING. Apparently it cost the city of Sydney over 5 million dollars. You can watch some clips on Youtube of the fireworks, I’m really happy that I came back in time to see everything.
My family is coming to visit in March! I’m so excited; they’re going to love it. It’s been something like 27 years since my parents have been in Australia and my sister hasn’t been back since she was like 4 months old. The drinking age here is only 18 so my brother will love it as well :) It should be great!
Matt
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)