Australian Animals are the Coolest

When we landed I asked Caz, “What’s the first thing you want to do in Australia?” and before I finished the question she karate kicked me in the face and screamed, “SEE KANGAROOOOOOOOS!!!” So on Boxing Day, Uncle Tony took us to see some crazy Aussie animals.

	The Healesville Sanctuary, which focuses on breeding and release programs for endangered species, is located 65 kms from Melbourne. In an effort to create a natural environment for Australian bush animals, it boasts large enclosures filled with native flora. The Tasmanian Devil viewing area only has one Devil because, unless they’re mating or ferociously dining on a communal carcass, they like to be alone. The authentic setting makes the animals comfortable and the experience for people more genuine and personal, allowing guys like Uncle Tony to reach over a fence and stroke the neck of an emu. If you haven’t seen an emu, they’re five-foot tall birds with oily feathers, massive beaks, and crazy looking talons. Tony didn’t care, and the bird loved it. She got so into her massage that she sat down, almost fell over, and pooped everywhere. We also saw goannas (huge lizards), dingoes (“A dingo ate my baby!”), three of the most venomous snakes on earth (freakin Australia), platypussesesesses (no one can agree on a plural form of this super cute misfit), koalas (also wicked cute), echidnas (spiky, egg-laying mammal thing), wombats (super sleepy), and a “Birds of Prey” show featuring hawks, owls, and cockatoos that was surprisingly good. We even saw a boomerang show, where I purchased a left-handed boomerang. It comes back to me every now and then. The one let down was the kangaroo area. Kangaroos are most active during dawn and dusk because of the cooler temperatures. We arrived at 2:00 pm on a hot day, so the kangas were all taking a nap. A few of the bigger ones bounced around for a bit, but mostly they just sat there. We later realized the best time to see some action is during the scheduled “Keeper Talks”, when the keeper gives a short spiel about each animal and throws them some scooby snacks to wake em up.
All in all, it was a great way to see Australian wildlife and learn about some of the quirkiest animals in the world. Like did you know that platypuses have poisonous spurs on their feet that they can jab predators with? No, you didn’t. Thanks to the Healesville Sanctuary, you’ll never die trying to hug a platypus. You’re welcome.

Go to the Rooftop Cinema because we said so

Caz and I got heaps of tips and recommendations for our trip to Melbourne. It's great that everyone has something you "have to see," but when twenty people give you tips about where to eat or the best bar in a city, it quickly becomes white noise. That’s why it was so refreshing when everyone we talked to about Melbourne gave us the same tip for a great night out - the Rooftop Cinema.
	Situated on Swanston Street, this kitschy gem resides on the 6th floor rooftop of one of the many buildings that create the CBD skyline. Home to a lively happy hour crowd of both professionals and hipsters, we found ourselves transported to Brooklyn for the afternoon as we reclined on astroturf lawns with a cold beer amidst the skyscrapers of Melbourne. For anyone not interested in seeing a movie, either because you don’t like the selection (they only screen one film each night) or it’s sold out (tickets go fast), the bar is open and happenin' most of the afternoon. It closes for an hour at 7 pm to allow the staff to transform the hip beer garden into a romantic outdoor movie theater with incredibly chic and comfortable lawn chairs. Doors reopen at 8pm for the 9 o'clock screenings so arrive early for the best seats. The bar re-opens for pre-movie cocktails but the prices are dear ($9 beers and $10 cocktails), so maybe just enjoy the hot chocolate and coffees like we did (they're only $3). Once the sun goes down it gets wicked cold, so bring a blanket. If you forget, don't worry - they rent em for $5. Caz and I lucked into seeing Inception which is friggin awesome regardless, but when viewed on a rooftop set against the skyline as the sun sets on a clear summer night – fuhgeddaboudit. One of the pitfalls of traveling the way we do (staying in one place long enough to get jobs and really plug into the area) is that sometimes we get lax about venturing out and doing touristy things.
That’s why I’m stoked that we’ve already checked the rooftop cinema off our list. It was an amazing first experience in Melbourne, and will stick out in our minds as one of the best things we’ve done on our trip. P.S. It’s also an awesome place to take a date. Tickets cost $20, but chicks dig it.

Christmas Down Under

Spending Christmas alone is something that every long-term traveler has to accept. All the special days – birthdays, graduations, and the biggies like Christmas – aren’t spent eating your grandmother’s pie with your cousin Brad as your Dad sleeps in front of the TV. Nope. We travelers spend these holidays in a hostel common room drinking a bottle of €2 wine with SvÜrgen, the Viking dude in the bunk above you. And I’m here to say there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s awesome actually - everyone should spend at least one holiday with a Viking. So as a weathered traveler, it was strange yet awesome for me to head to Melbourne this Christmas to spend the holidays with my Uncle Tony, Aunt Angela, and cousins Mick and Pat. I was finally spending time with the fam. And traveling. Living the dream… Let’s just say it was sweet. We’ve never spent Christmas in such a different place. Instead of two-feet of snow (what up NY) we had 41 C heat (that’s 106 F America). Instead of deep-fried turkey (what up Tennessee) we had jumbo shrimp, salmon, and a lobster like shellfish called a Moreton Bay Bug. Needless to say, the food was amazing, but the craziest part was that CAZ ATE SEAFOOD. It was an Aussie Christmas miracle. The weather is different, the food is fresh, and the summer is just getting started. Honestly, I couldn’t think of a cooler way to end the holiday season than with the start of summer. And I’m pretty sure that all the reindeers down here have red-noses. You know…sunburn. Hey O.

We're back!

When we stopped updating the blog seven months ago, I never thought restarting it would take a freaking New Year’s resolution. I can’t believe we put off posting for that long.

But I’m writing to let everyone know that the blog is back. And it’s gonna be sweet.

We’ve just arrived in Melbourne, Australia for the second leg of what is hopefully turning into a world tour, and we’re picking up the posts from here to keep everyone updated on where we are in the present. But we’ve still got heaps of stories to tell from New Zealand so don’t be thrown off when we pepper in backdated posts from time to time.

Also, the blog is evolving to include more topics than just our quirky little trip, so we’ll be featuring guest bloggers, travel book and website reviews, video blogs of destinations and events, and a growing interactive role for you – the reader. We want you to send us recommendations of where to go, what to see, what to do – anything that you’ve done or hope to do on your travels. Guess what? We’ll probably do it. We’re here for a while and are looking for the best trip possible. That means taking advice, tips, and even ridiculous suggestions from anyone and everyone.

Pushpin Pilgrim is going to grow as our trip unfolds. We started 2010 in Fiji and we’re starting 2011 in Australia, so who knows where it’ll end? The answer could be up to you.

Thanks for reading, guys.

Sincerely super duper sorry about the lull in posts,
Shawn and Caz (that’s Carolyn’s new nickname...don’t worry it’ll grow on you.)

Hurunui Campsite

There isn’t much between Kaikoura and Christchurch except for a few stretches of seal covered beach. It’s nice, but we had a tough time finding a campsite. Luckily, our handy dandy atlas had a tent icon at Hurunui River Mouth, just south of Cheviot, so we headed to where the river meets the sea. The lovely bomb shelter-esque bathrooms and deserted camp sites were intimidating at first, but the sign that said “This camp is run on the honesty of campers” and the sunny weather decided it for us. We stayed and it was the best idea ever. Turns out the camping fee was only $4 per site – not per person, like most campsites in NZ – and the creepy bathroom had a mirror, two nice sinks, and full-on flush toilets…simple pleasures these days. There were even a few apple trees with apples still on em, not that we ever want to eat apples again. After night two, we went on a sweet barefoot hike along the river. The mud squishing through our toes was disgusting at first, but then we noticed thousands of bubbles coming from under the water and curiosity had us excitedly digging in the mud to find the source. We never could figure out what was creating the bubbles - maybe oysters or geothermal activity - but in hindsight we’re glad our digging didn’t lead to a geyser exploding in our face. Even though a few other campers came the second night and the mud ended up smelling pretty bad, we’ll remember Hurunui River as our own private getaway. We enjoyed a full moon, cooked some good dinner, and got some much needed quiet time on New Zealand’s beautiful East Coast. Two thumbs up.

Kaikoura

Kaikoura means "eat crayfish" in Maori, and while we hear the local giant crayfish are a must-have delicacy, we spent all of our time in Kaikoura looking at seals. THERE ARE SO MANY SEALS IN KAIKOURA! Today's post is dedicated to my 2 year-old nephew Colt. He's one of our most faithful readers, and he likes seals. Enjoy buddy.
Peek-a-boo Mr. Seal!	Seals love to swim, just like you.
Can you count how many seals there are?	Seals love naptime, and so should you!
Baby seals are called pups.	This is an adorable little seal pup that made Shawn scream like a girl and run away because he swears it was a big, angry mommy seal.
This seal is on a rock.	This seal is on the grass, and Shawn has a new mullet haircut. Silly seal! Silly Shawn!
This is my new friend.
We shared a moment.
Then I had to go!
For even MORE seal photos (and some really awesome seaweed pics too), check out the full album. There's a sweet photo album here, but it looks like your device doesn't support Flash. No worries! Simply view the web album on Picasa.

Blasting Blenheim

Care and I were so excited to see some new scenery after what felt like an eternity in the Nelson/Marlborough Region, so we just drove as far as we could before sunset. That got us to Blenheim, a small town in the heart of New Zealand wine country. We freedom camped just south of town, near a mountain bike track. The parking lot was fine, but it didn’t have any facilities, meaning every morning we had to wake up and speed to town so we didn’t pee our pants. We make every effort to be responsible freedom campers because we want to diffuse the negative stereotypes that locals have about budget travelers. A lot of Kiwis hate freedom campers because there’s always one disrespectful vagabond that litters and poops in the bushes, ruining things for everyone else. There was one small surprise about sleeping among the Blenheim vineyards…hearing constant gunshots. That’s right – constant gunshots. At one point, we thought we were being attacked by canons. It put living in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn to shame. Apparently there’s a large NZ Air Force base just west of town, and they like to practice…you know in case freaking New Zealand gets invaded. After listening to how much the Royal NZ Air Force practices, I pity any country dumb enough to attack the Kiwis. A highlight of Blenheim was the Sunday morning farmers’ market. A charming old man from a local olive orchard, Tussock, took the time to explain several types of olives they grow, and let us taste the difference in the oils. We were impressed, so we bought a really tasty bottle of garlic-infused olive oil. People keep asking if we think New Zealand is “backwards” or “twenty years behind”, and we’ve always been confused by the question. I mean, things are slower here, but that’s mostly due to the smaller population (4 million), not the lack of any technology or convenience. Sure, free internet is a little tougher to find, central heating doesn’t exist, and don’t even get Carolyn started on how crappy the laundry dryers are here. But other than that, it’s sweet as. Anyhoo… The farmers’ market was one of the only times where saw what people mean about going back in time. The farmers’ markets here are held by…real farmers. It’s not like the pockets of “rural consciousness” that pop up in Union Square or abandoned K-Mart parking lots on a Saturday morning in the States. These people head to the horse grounds in town and sell their produce. Little kids run around getting their faces painted and listening to the “Story Time Lady”. It’s not a pretense at capturing the lost agrarian utopia. It’s just farmers. At a market. Same thing goes for the endless number of fruit stands and “fresh eggs” signs you see on every road and motorway in New Zealand. The simplicity and functionality made me feel transported in time. The only question is, with the frenzied rate that people in the States seem to be going “back” to organic produce and grass-fed animals, is New Zealand a land frozen in the distant past, or a country light years ahead in the future? I know, mind blower, right? You’re welcome.

Hiking the Abel Tasman National Park

Carolyn and I loved the kayaking portion of the Abel Tasman, and while we would have been happy to just hop on a water taxi back to town, we decided to explore the trail back on foot. We started Day 3 at Onetahuti where we dropped off our kayaks the night before. The hiking trail actually goes further north past Onetahuti (the entire thing is 52 km), but spending six or seven days in the wilderness seemed a little out of our league. We’re a bit lazy if you hadn’t noticed, and generally unprepared, so we skipped the most northern portion of the park and headed south. The trail hugs the same golden sand beaches and granite rock formations we had seen from the kayak, but it was fun to see it all from a different perspective. Right off the bat we plunged into rich forest environs filled with birdsong (thanks again to the Birdsong Trust). I whistled my face off to the fantails that filled the tree branches, and within a few minutes we had a pretty good crowd of birds hopping from tree to tree along with us. They are incredibly social birds, and will dance for anyone that seems interested. They also like to swoop right in front of your face. It's a jolting experience. A lot of the trail is nestled in the trees with frequent scenic lookouts, keeping you fairly cool as you wind your way up and down gradual (and some not so gradual) ascents of the granite cliffs. We took the occasional break for photo-ops and snacks, but for the most part the hike is extremely do-able. I wore hiking boots, but Care did the whole thing in Chacos. A unique feature of this particular Great Walk is the existence of four tidal crossings at Bark Bay, Torrent Bay, Onetahuti Bay, and Awaroa. The tide depth in the park can fluctuate by as much as 5.2 meters, meaning that at high tide, some of the trails are submerged. Low tide and high tide are generally 6 hours apart, so most of the crossings are only passable during a 4-hour window, 2 hours before and after low tide. Get a tidal chart from the Nelson or Motueka i-site and do some planning ahead of time, or else you’ll have to: Take the high tide trail (which can add several kms/hours to your trek) Swim. Not recommended. Wake up at 5 am because you have 6 hours of hiking ahead of you and the next low tide isn’t until 5 pm. Of course Care and I didn’t time our tidal crossings well, forcing us to take Option A at Bark Bay, and Option C at Torrent Bay. Don’t stress about the Onetahuti crossing – there’s just slightly less beach to walk on at high tide. In contrast, the Awaroa crossing further north is long. Don’t muck around with it. Time it right, or you’re going for Option B. As disgruntled as we were about our early start at Torrent Bay on Day 4, the stillness of the morning was pristine. The best part is when the track emerges from the tree line to expose amazing views of the park’s bays and islands. One of the most stunning views is from the peak atop Anchorage Bay, looking north at dawn. New Zealand is called “Aotearoa” in Maori which literally means “land of the long white cloud”, and Care and I have been lucky to see an almost non-stop parade of epic cloudy sunsets. The sun lights row upon row of clouds on fire each evening…probably every morning too but we catch wayyyy fewer of those. It’s always amazing, but the Abel Tasman was exceptional. We bought a tent just for this trip, and in retrospect, I wish we had bought a small cooker (cookers are not provided in the Abel Tasman DOC huts or campsites). Cereal, PB&J sandwiches, and cold pasta held us over for four days, but the first thing we did after the hike was inhale five pizzas at 623 Bar’s all-you-can-eat pizza night. Ignoring a few sandfly issues (don’t forget your DEET!), it’s easy to see why the Abel Tasman National Park is the most visited park in New Zealand. Whether it’s by land or sea, everyone can easily and affordably enjoy the pristine beauty of the natural surroundings. We definitely recommend the kayak/hike combo. It’s a sweet taste of both worlds.
There's a sweet photo album here, but it looks like your device doesn't support Flash. No worries! Simply view the web album on Picasa.

Possums vs. Birds

The story of our third day in the Abel Tasman actually begins in the middle of the night. Scrounging and snuffling sounds outside the tent woke us up (and by “us” I mean Carolyn). “What’s that noise?” she whispers. “New Zealand doesn’t have any bears, right? RIGHT?” she pleads. “I don’t think so…” I mumble (in my sleep). Then we remembered what it does have...possums.
Not to be confused with the North American opossum (on the left), the New Zealand brushtail possum is less rat-like and more creepy, furry, lemur-like. Here’s some back-story to help explain the possums’ impact on New Zealand: When New Zealand split from Australia and other parts of ancient Gondwanaland, the small size of the North and South Islands couldn’t support large predators, leading to unique bird evolution. Without the fear of predation, many birds shed their ability to fly and developed thicker, solid bones and sturdy legs to carry them around the ground in search of food. The most extreme example is the moa, which stood at over two meters tall and was similar to large land birds in other parts of the world like ostriches and the “terror birds” of South America. Sadly, early Maori tribes hunted the moa to extinction around 1500 AD.
Another iconic New Zealand bird is the flightless kiwi. These birds have thick leg bones with marrow in them (in contrast to light hollow bones of other birds), and the tiny vestigial wings hidden at their sides are essentially useless. The pukeko is a good example of an in-between bird. While still technically capable of flight, its primary response to danger is to run on its speedy, sturdy legs. These bright blue birds are everywhere on the North Island, and when they get startled crossing the road, it’s hilarious to watch them try to run/fly away with their small wings and big, awkward, dangling feet. They can barely clear paddock fences. These bird populations lived in relative safety for millions of years, but the introduction of new predators like possums, stoats (weasels), and rats to the ancient New Zealand ecosystem has led to a rapid decline in native bird populations. The possum was first introduced to New Zealand by Europeans in the 1800’s to create a fur trading industry, and it bums me out that their greed and thoughtlessness is destroying the present diversity. Possums target the eggs and young of endangered birds like the kiwi and some penguin species, as well as eggs of the now endangered reptile, the tuatara. The response by the government has taken years, but now the verdict is clear - birds get to stay and possums must go.
At first it struck me as odd that possum-hunting is a patriotic duty for New Zealanders. It’s actually disturbing how many possum carcasses I see on the road. However, after our trek through the Abel Tasman National Park, I’m beginning to understand. The native animals are so disadvantaged by these new predators that they depend on a certain amount of human protection, enter the Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust. I looked into it, and there are approximately 30 million possums in New Zealand. That’s how many kiwis used to roam the forests, but now the kiwi population hovers in the low thousands. The fact that kiwis even still exist is only due to extensive efforts by the New Zealand government to establish island sanctuaries and breeding programs. Bottom line, possums are killing the rare and wonderful wildlife that can only be found in New Zealand. Ok, now back to our second night in the Abel Tasman Park. When we woke up the next morning, we found that the three tents next to us at the Onetahuti Bay campsite had holes chewed through the sides and any food hidden inside had been snacked on by a sneaky possum. The only reason Care and I escaped unscathed was because we didn’t want trash in our tent so we tied it up and left it outside. The possum tore a hole in that and dined on a banana peel, ignoring our tent and the precious food supply inside. We’re smart as. Later that morning we discovered that justice had been served – the body of a possum hung limp from a trap only a few feet from our tent. The Birdsong Trust sets hundreds of traps along the trail to protect birds that nest near the coast. It was sad to see an animal get killed for doing what nature dictates it to do – eat – but it’s also nice to see that the native bird populations stand a chance.
I hate that it’s necessary to hunt down and kill the possums because I think they are actually really awesome animals. It’s a sad state of affairs here; the only way to preserve the shrinking diversity is to slaughter innocent animals just trying to survive themselves. Anyone looking to support the preservation effort and be stylish too can buy “merinomink” or “ecopossum” garments, which are made from a super soft blend of sheep wool and possum fur. Proceeds often go toward groups like the Birdsong Trust, and these groups are making progress - there were 70 million possums during the 1980’s (more than twice the number that exist today). Some shops even sell novelty items like possum fur nipple warmers. Seriously guys, New Zealand is a weird place. So…sorry about the possum rant, but it’s an important topic to all Kiwis (both the birds and the humans). The next post will be about our 2-day hike back to Marahau. Promise.