Howdy

I’m writing again (two entries in two weeks - pretty impressive, if I may say so myself!) to tell you about a trip to Wellington, New Zealand.

About a year ago I applied for a working holiday visa for New Zealand which had to be activated before the 20^th of September 2008. I was initially planning to go from Cairns sometime in the middle of September, but because we are currently living in Mundubbera, Qld, only about 500 kms from a direct flight from Brisbane Airport, and because of school holidays in September here in OZ, I was able to get a flight for basically half the price going over on the 1^st to the 7^th of August.

The day before I was flying out Bart and I drove to Caboolture, Qld which is about half an hour’s drive from Brisbane Airport. There we stayed the night at relatives of Bonnie & Rudy, long time friends of Bart, who are also staying at the farm in Mundubbera.

In Wellington I was fortunate enough to be put up for my entire stay by my mate Andy, though at the time he was in Europe getting married. Very rude not to be home when I come to visit but thank you very much, Andy & Magda, for your hospitality and congratulations on tying the knot. While my generous hosts were away Louise, a good friend of theirs, was staying in their flat and looking after the place. She was very helpful and even took me to the airport very early in the morning of a work day when I was flying back. It was great getting to know you, Louise. You are a top Kiwi lass.

Wellington did not fail to live up to its reputation (Windy Wellington!) and apart from two nice days the weather was rather dismal with rain and cold gales. Despite the weather I could not pass up the chance to explore the place. It is a fairly small city and everything is pretty much within walking distance, though being so hilly, it is hard exercise for the calf muscles. I have not yet been to Los Angeles but I imagine that when it comes to being hilly, Wellington must be near the top of the scales and the Botanic Garden is definitely the steepest of the kind that I have ever visited.

After a couple of days of climbing the streets I decided to go on a couple of tours and give my tired legs a bit of rest. The best one of those was a tour of some of the sites where The Lord of the Rings was filmed. Helm’s Deep, Isengard and Rivendell were some of the filming sites I visited. Pretty cool experience that motivates one to watch the movies again. Another one of my favourite attractions was Karori Sanctuary. It is a massive park with a lot of more or less endangered bird species and I spotted quite a few impressive birdies through my binoculars.

On my return to OZ Bart picked me up at the airport  and we are now back at the farm in Mundubbera working happily ever after.

The End

XXX

Howdy ya’ll

So, I guess it is time for an update on my most recent whereabouts.

On Friday the 30^th of May Bart and I packed up our humble residence at Pickworth Orchards in Tatura, Victoria, said our goodbyes and headed off north in two cars. Well, actually we did not head off north straight away as our first stop was at Bart’s mum’s gaff in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. We spent 5 days there unloading stuff for storage, cleaning cars and gear, setting up the panel van and then repacking again. Bart spent a considerable amount of time fitting out his old panel van with a bed and a tailor-made mattress to fit and it turned out great. Sandra, Bart’s mum, is an absolute wizard with a sowing machine and in no time at all she had made all the curtains for the back of the van. So now we were ready to take off with a mobile home complete with bed, curtains, microwave oven, kettle etc. (Check out the photos of “The Bart Mobile”). Sandra lives in a big new house (a real house – not a farm hut) and she is not only a wizard with a sowing machine but also a rather excellent cook. We were served home cooked meals and lots of them. Pure luxury for someone used to outdoor showers and toilets and a public kitchen where cleanliness has long ceased to exist! Anyhow, the time had come to hit the road and say our goodbyes to Sandra and Bart’s sister, Bronwyn, who had come up from Melbourne for a couple of days to see us off. Thank you so much, Sandra, for your hospitality and help.

After a short visit at Bart’s pa’s gaff in Castlemaine, Victoria we were on the road in two cars and with a couple of walkie-talkies for communication. We had a smooth drive that day and at night we decided to park the cars on a side road near a public convenience and camp for the night in Narrandera, NSW. That turned out to be a place to remember! In the middle of the night, whilst sound asleep in the back of the panel van, we were rudely awoken by what sounded like someone banging their fists on the roof of the van. We both instantly started screaming our heads off and by the time we got out of the van there was no sign of the culprits. Don’t know who got the worst fright, them or us, but we must have made some noise since we ended up with sore throats for a couple of days. Next day we noticed footprints on the bonnet and on the roof of the van. Some joker had apparently stomped on us.

Towards the end of the second day’s drive Pilgrem, my car, had a little hiccup. 40 kms from Coonabarabran, NSW in a very hilly area the engine light came on. Was a bit of a fright as I have had that happen before and when it did the car lost all power. No major dramas, though. Turned out Pilgrem just needed a transmission service. Considering the incident the night before we had decided to try and stay at caravan parks the rest of the way. Coonabarabran Caravan Park was not one of the more memorable ones.

The third day took us as far as Grafton, NSW. Beautiful and mild place not far from the coast. Nice caravan park.

The following morning we were headed for The Gold Coast and my first entry into Queensland. Unfortunately we hit The Gold Coast on the Saturday of a long weekend and furthermore also the weekend of a local music festival. Traffic was choc-a-block. Absolute bumper to bumper. We had hoped to stay at Burleigh Heads Caravan Park, but not a chance. Another uneasy night in the back of the van in a public car park. Need I say The Gold Coast doesn’t sleep on a long weekend?

Sunday the 8^th of June we arrived in Mundubbera, Qld where we had planned to stop and look for work. On the way there we made a detour to Noosa, Qld but did not stay long as it was as full of people as The Gold Coast was.

We have now spent one and a half months here in Mundubbera working on a farm just outside of town. The money is not great, the work is at times very hard and there is not much happening here so we are contemplating taking off again soon. At the moment we are picking mandarins, slaving our butts off to make wages. The trees have a lot of thorns and have not been pruned properly and as a result of that we look like self-mutilators. Scratched to buggery. But at least we sleep well at night.

Enough from me for now. Hope you are all well and enjoying life.

XXX
Stine  

Hello everyone

I have been in Sydney for just over a week now and I"m loving it. People here are so laid back and the atmosphere is very relaxed.

At the moment I"m busy "doing the touristy thing". Been on a day trip to The Blue Mountains,  been on a harbour cruise, done The Manly Scenic Walkway, seen The Opera House and etc.

Even though I"ve been out and about every day there is still soooooo much I want to see and do before I leave. I"m especially looking forward to conquering Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is a must to climb this beauty. Expecting the view to be absolutely stunning. When the weather improves (hopefully tomorrow) I"ll also pay a visit to Sydney Tower.

Besides all this sightseeing I"ve also caught up with Scott, an old friend I used to live with in London years ago. He lives out in the suburbs of Sydney and has taken me out on a couple of occasions to see how the locals live.

Looking forward to catching up with more people I"ve met in London.

XXX

Hi

After more than 30 hrs on trains, plains and busses and sooooo much time vasted in airport lounges Ive finally arrived in TaiPei in Taiwan.

Departing from Europe youre not allowed to bring any cosmetics (cosmetics also includes deodorants of any kind) and tooth paste in your hand luggage, so by now Im well overdue for a shit, shave and shower.

TaiPei is a very polluted city and I hope I shall live to see tomorrow as the only window in my room for tonight is facing the street and it does not really close properly. The stench of exhaust fumes is really strong in here and a headache is inevitable.