New Zealand adventure sports are X-Treme!
New Zealand Internet access is X-Pensive!
$0.68 per minute. $0.10 per MB if you use over 50 MB within 24 hours!
SAY WHAT!?!?
I guess it’s that whole supply and demand thing. Everyone here just spends so much time outdoors hanging upside down or floating on a kite or kayaking down a river, that there is so little demand for Internet access. That in turn drives the prices up. Not that that’s a bad thing persay, but some of us have blogs to maintain! Sheesh. Get with the program kiwis!
Fine! I’m outside now. Ya happy!?
Authored by: Digital Knowmadd on January 5, 2009.
Filed under: New Zealand,Oceania,Travel | No Comments »
We just touched down in Queenstown, New Zealand…
…and if the view from 30,000 feet is any indication, this place is gonna be amazing! It’s sort of a cross between Lake Tahoe, Mendocino, and Heaven. Or so I hear.
Giant mountains with snow capped peaks meet up with a beautiful blue lake at the base.
The sky is clear. The air is crisp and fresh, and the people are as friendly as can be.
There are giant sequoias…
…and regular giants…
…all within an earshot from our hotel.
I’m not leaving. You can’t make me!
Authored by: Digital Knowmadd on January 4, 2009.
Filed under: New Zealand,Oceania,Travel | No Comments »
One of the must-do activities that everyone suggests while in Sydney, is the Bondi to Bronte walk. Bondi & Bronte are two beaches along the east coast of Sydney. The weather forecast predicted rain, but there’s a reason they are called “predictions” cuz they are never right! So we forged on down the coastline…
…starting at Bondi…
…where your life is hand delivered in a yellow truck. “Please sign here for your package.”
If you’ve ever walked down West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz, CA, this walk is somewhat similar. But with very dissimilar erosion.
I could be mistaken, but I believe this is sandstone or something similar.
Around one of the turns I looked back over my shoulder, and saw this sight…
…now while it’s a nice looking coastline, there was something else going on here that felt much more special. It was a scene very similar to the very scene that inspired this entire trip for me back in April of 2007. I was driving with the sun roof open down the west coast of America on Highway 1. Headed from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. Cliff side homes on the left, and the giant Pacific Ocean as far as the eye could see on the right. “This world is huge! And I need to see the rest of it.” I thought to myself.
Seeing this view here in Australia, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean gave me a real feeling of satisfaction. Setting out to do something huge, and accomplishing it. This one scene brought everything around full circle. Pure happiness! 🙂
Ya know what else makes me happy?
Words with 8 vowels in them, and all of them Oh’s.
Like this area of Sydney called Wooloomooloo!
That’s an Oh overdose folks!
After walking the Wooloomooloo wharf, we went to watch where woodchucks chuck. At the botanical gardens. Does it get any more picturesque than this?
This is THE spot to watch the fireworks show from next New Years Eve.
2009 is gonna be a good year!
Authored by: Digital Knowmadd on January 3, 2009.
Filed under: Australia,Oceania,Travel | No Comments »
Upon closer inspection, I can assure you that it’s true. Human beings DO rule!
Today we walked across the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and climbed to the top of one of the pilons (don’t worry, it’s legal).
For a birds eye view of the bridge…
…the Opera House…
…and downtown Sydney…
The bridge is yet another testament to human innovation.
Some remarkable feats of engineering for the time.
Authored by: Digital Knowmadd on January 2, 2009.
Filed under: Australia,Oceania,Travel | No Comments »
Hung Over Down Under. Hey that would make a good movie title for Crocodile Dundee 7! Maybe not. I dunno, I can’t think straight. I need to get a little fresh air to clear the mind.
I walked back down to the bridge that I was standing under last night, to see how it looked in the sun light. Still impressive!
And across the way, is the one, the only, Sydney Opera House!
That’s one sexy building! And speaking of sexy…
… who wants some ice cream??
Seriously though, the Opera House is amazing in photos, and even more amazing up close in person.
The structural engineering is just baffling!
I can only imagine how many sheets of blueprint paper they must have gone through in designing this one.
And they didn’t even have modern computers to help them out back then.
They did it the old fashioned way. Human beings rule!!
Authored by: Digital Knowmadd on January 1, 2009.
Filed under: Australia,Oceania,Travel | No Comments »
