mike's travel blog

Beachcomber Island

2008-05-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

Why aren't you here?

Manly

2008-04-21T23:20:00.000-07:00

Last stop on my OZ tour and probably the last post of this trip as I
am not sure I will have phone/internet in Fiji. I am flying out first
thing in the morning.

I have only seen Manly during the day on a previous trip and was very
impressed. This time I stayed 2 nights and still have to say this
probably would be my place of choice to live in the Southern Hemisphere.

Overall the trip has brought so many new impressions and experiences
that it will take some time to digest. I am glad I have 2 weeks of
beach vacation at the end to get some time to reflect before going
home and facing reality again. Job search will be high on the agenda I
guess, even though continuing the travels in the states is tempting as
well.

Thanks for sharing this trip with me - it was nice to see all the
public and private responses during my travels - it certainly made me
feel more connected with home and less lonely.

Hope to see you all in the next few weeks. I have taken about 3000
pictures and will prepare a short slide show to be shown at a party at
my home sometime in the later part of May.

Brisbane

2008-04-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

This little guy wanted to cuddle a bit :-) Picture taken at Lone
Pine Koala Sanctuary just south of Brisbane.

Thursday was a major driving day. I made just over 1100 km from Cairns
to Rockhampton.

Friday I drove to Noosa, about 100km north of Brisbane where I spent
the night in the Sheraton. From all the resorts I visited Noosa seems
the most exlusive and beautiful. After a solid 2 months in backpackers
and hostels it felt nice to sleep in a good bed again. I wish I had
more time there.

Tonight I will be in Byron Bay and the last 2 nights I booked into a
backpacker in Manly before heading over to Fiji.

Cape Tribulation

2008-04-17T08:08:00.000-07:00

The Daintree area is largely rainforest. There are some nice walks to
enjoy the diversity. One hectar here can have more tree species than
all of Europe or North America.

I also visited Daintree village for lunch, Hatley's croq farm and
Barron Falls.

The 2 major stops on the drive back to Sydney will be Brisbane and
Byron Bay.

Whitsundays

2008-04-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a fantastic 4 day 3 night sailing excursion of
the Whitsunday islands and the Barrier Reef (Fri thru Mon). The 25
meter Maxi was nice and fast and made for a great ride.

The boat spent one night out at the reef and we got a lot of
snorkeling and diving in. I had PADI fax my registration so I could do
a dive as well.

The size of the reef and its diversity is incredible. We unfortunately
had to wear stinger suits as the jelly fish are still around. The
weather has been great and the waves on the reef were small which
allowed great visibility. It just cleared up a week ago after
Queensland had a rough wet season this summer.

I managed to drive to Mission Beach last night and spend the morning
there before driving to Cairns for lunch.

I will spent the next 2 days north of here at Port Douglas/Daintree/
Cape Tribulation.

Airlie Beach

2008-04-09T18:12:00.000-07:00

Whitsunday Bay is truly beautiful with a tropical feel to it. The
picture doesn't capture the real scenery but you can see the Islands
in the background. Weather is excellent, sunny and 30C. And supposed
to stay this nice the next week.

I am on stand-by (deep last minute discount) for a 4 day sail on a
Alan Bond built Super Maxi leaving Friday that also goes beyond the
Whitsundays to the Barrier Reef.

This will make the end of the trip a bit stressful if I want to get
Cairns and Daintree in, but well worth it. Will skip Sydney completely
it seems on this trip.

Mackay

2008-04-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

Not much new today - just a long drive up to Mackay, which allows me
to make it early to Airlie Beach for my sailing trip of the Whitsundays.

Thought I show off my jumping abilities and monkey impersonation in
the meantime. Still having a good time down under. Picture taken
yesterday at picturesque Lake McKinzie and its super clear water.

Fraser Island

2008-04-07T18:26:00.000-07:00

Just got back from an awesome 3 day self drive 4x4 camping adventure
trip to Fraser Island. Weather was in general good with a few showers
inbetween. We had a little storm Saturday night which made it
difficult to keep the tents in place - one tent blew away.

I did the trip with 13 other fun people in 2 Land Cruisers organized
by the backpacker where I stayed. Last day was a highlight spending
the day at Lake McKinzie, after we had to drive there through an exit
one-way as access was blocked by a tree.

There are only few access roads on the island. Driving is done on the
beach outside the 2 hour high tide windows - see tire tracks in the
picture.

Got to Hervey Bay Friday and did the trip Saturday through Monday.

Will drive to the Whitsundays next for a 3 day sailing cruise. Expect
a couple days to get there.

Surfers Paradise

2008-04-03T18:05:00.000-07:00

This place is even more build out than I expected. You think you are
already there when you hit the first high rises, but those start
several beaches down, even though the area seems to be really one
large beach.

Surfers Paradise is party central, even the backpacker is fully
licensed and offers club crawls.

I just spent a few hours at the beach as I will have plenty of beach
time in Fiji. Just thought this place was a nice stop over on my way
to Hervey Bay and Frasier Island.

On my way here I saw a few nice areas with plenty of activities if I
have time on my way down.

Will spent at least 3 days on Fraser and 4 days in the Whitsundays.
Heard they have a great deal on a multi day cruise on a 90ft Maxi.

Port Macquarie

2008-04-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

New month - new country.

Flew into Sydney this morning and drove up pacific highway to Port
Macquarie. Nice change in scenery.

My initial sadeness of leaving NZ changed quickly when I arrived to a
perfect 25 C and blue skies in Sydney.

I finished NZ driving from Wellington to New Plymouth / Mt Takanaki on
Monday. Incredible scenery from both mountain and the rugged coastline
with plenty of caves and holes in the rocks. Also some of the most
famous surf beaches are there. I continued the ride Tuesday, stopping
many times before getting to Auckland airport in the evening.

Port Macquarie got me now half way to Surfers Paradise, the Aussie
Cancun. I will either stay there tomorrow or in Brisbane.

I also bought a SIM card at the airport - you can reach me here the
next 3 weeks at +61-41-556-8307. Unlike NZ I expect full coverage
along the coast line.

Christchurch

2008-03-28T23:42:00.000-07:00

I spent the last 2 days in Christchurch. Got here Wednesday afternoon
which left time to explore Cathedral Square and the CBD.

Drove to the Port Hills Thursday morning, took the Gondola up and
hiked for 3 hours to Godley Head and back to the car park. Picture was
taken half way overlooking Governors Bay.

Spent the afternoon in Lyttelton and New Brighton beach.

Today I spent the morning in the Botanic Garden and drove to
Willowbank Wildlife Park in the afternoon, which features the largest
live Kiwi display in NZ. Kiwis are quite strange and fun to watch in
their more natural habitat.

Will drive to Blenheim tomorrow for some wine tasting in the
Marlborough region and plan to take the Picton ferry to Wellington
Sunday morning. Have to be back in Auckland Tuesday night to catch an
early morning flight to Sydney. Time in NZ is slowly coming to an end
- I will surely miss this place.

Kaikoura

2008-03-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

Made it to Kaikoura yesterday in beautiful weather and joined last
minute a whale watch tour in the afternoon.

Saw 5 sperm whales, about 100 dusky dolphins, bunch of albatross, seal
and cormorans. I took some excellent pictures of the encounters - just
not with my phone - enjoy a Kiwi picture instead :-)

Glad I made it here yesterday as the weather turned cloudy and cold
today. I will head down to Christchurch for a couple days.

Mt Cook

2008-03-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

Easy day today. Went to Puzzling World and its Maze on the way out of
Wanaka and spent the afternoon at Mt Cook (center in picture), the
largest mountain in NZ. Easy trail to the vista point.

Will spent the night in Geraldine on my way to Kaikoura for some whale
and dolphin watching. Had to switch the plan around to get the nice
weather in Kaikoura before finishing up the South Island in
Christchurch.

Fiordland

2008-03-23T22:57:00.000-07:00

Thursday I drove down to Te Anau. From there I took a Milford Sound
Cruise on Friday and a Doubtful Sound Cruise on Saturday ( picture
taken at Doubtful ).

Sunday I drove back to Wanaka to finally get the para gliding in. It
was great fun and the guide even let me steer the parachute in a
thermal climb.

I also stopped to watch the Wanaka Air show which takes place every 2
years and is the biggest one in NZ.

It is sad to leave this place. I will have to come back to do one of
the big tramping tracks - dusky, Milford or keppler.

Next to Abel Tasman this is truly the best place in NZ. I liked Wanaka
much over Queenstown, which is still nice - just too big and touristy.

I am tempted to come back here for a month after my Queensland and
Fiji time. Anybody in for some 5 to 10 day hard core tramps? It'll be
one of the most amazing things you will do. It is true bliss down here
at the 45th.

Happy Easter

2008-03-19T22:09:00.000-07:00

Wishing everyone a happy Easter holiday - hope you enjoy some
tranquility wherever you are.

Picture taken at Lake Matheson.

Wanaka

2008-03-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

Wanaka is good fun. Lots to do and beautiful scenery. Paragliding got
cancelled due to high winds - same issue I had in Alyeska a few years
back. Will try again Sunday or Monday on my way back from the Fiordland.

I went to Rob Roy glacier instead which is a nice steep climb. Can you
count the number of waterfalls in the background? I stayed for a few
hours and didn't want to turn around - too nice with very few people.
Also starting to feel in much better shape after all the hikes recently.

Yesterday was the drive from Fox to Wanaka - stopping at Lake Matheson
for some great water reflections of Mt Tasman and Mt Cook.

Tomorrow will be drive to Te Anau which will be the base for the next
3 days for the Fiordland trips to Milford and Doubtful Sounds. I will
stop in Queenstown on the way for a quick look. As with all stops on
the South Island I am trying to avoid the overly touristy areas.

Fox Glacier

2008-03-17T21:35:00.000-07:00

Drove down from Greymouth early this morning and went on a day hike on
Fox Glacier. Unlike the Alaskan glaciers they don't seem too worried
about accidents and took the group into cravesses or had us hike on
some ridges. Lot's of fun and great pictures.

Tomorrow I will drive to Wanaka for some hang gliding and more hiking.

Golden Bay

2008-03-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

Thursday I drove up to Golden Bay staying the night north of
Collingwood in an Eco friendly backpacker. Found the most amazing
beach all the way on top called Wharariki Beach - all sand dunes and
every rock in the water has a hole making for beautiful pictures. Only
very few people here.

Friday I went to the north end of Abel Tasman to take a 19k hike to
Seperation Point for some close seal encounters - can't wait to share
the pictures. Most roads up here end up being dirt roads.

Saturday I stopped at the Te Waikoropupu springs - the clearest fresh
water springs in the world. Spending the remainder of the day back on
the beach mentioned above. Friday and Saturday night I stayed in Takaka.

Today I drove to Greymouth as stopping point to the Glaciers. Tomorrow
will be a full day at Fox glacier before heading south to Wanaka,
Queenstown and Milford Sound.

Time is getting a bit tight again and I will probably have to speed
things up again. So much to see - 6 weeks turns out to be way to
short. Need at least double the time.

Cell phone reception is not very good here - hence the large breaks in
blog updates.

Nelson

2008-03-12T23:33:00.000-07:00

Turns out a couple of my emails did not make it to the blog.

Saturday I drove from Coromandel via the Waitomo Caves, where they
have glow worms unique to this part of the world, to Rotura. Rotura
has several Maori Tribes and shows.

I went to Te Puia on Sunday where they also have mud pools and 2
geysers (picture taken just before a major eruption). Afterwards I
drove to Taupo via the Huka Falls and stayed the night in Turangi.

Monday I drove through the Tongariro National Park and stopped at Mt.
Ruapehu (Mordor in Lord of the Rings). Since it was cloudy and limited
visibility I drove on to Wellington.

Catching up with today I took a 14k hike from Tonga to Torrent Bay via
Bark Bay - all in Abel Tasman National Park. This was probably the
most amazing hike I have taken outside of Alaska. A water taxi dropped
me off and picked me up at the end of the day.

Tomorrow I will drive to Collingwood at Golden Bay for some
relaxation. Nelson is completely booked tomorrow and is becoming quite
crowded - it is a wonderful place though and I would have liked to
stay more than 2 nights.

Wellington

2008-03-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

I spent the night in Wellington and took the Interislander to Picton
this morning to start the 3 week trip of the South Island.

I am in Nelson now which will serve as base the next few days.
Planning some kayaking and hiking Abel Tasman National Park. Maybe
I'll get some wine tasting in as this is part of the Marlborough wine
region.

Picture shows Wellington from the ferry. I didn't spend much time in
Wellington but will try to take a day exploring on my way back.

Coromandal

2008-03-07T21:25:00.000-08:00

Hot water pools at Hot Water Beach on the Coromandal peninsula. Also
visited Cathedral cove and Cooks Beach. I fear I con only repeat
myself on how beautiful this place is.

Starting to run into mostly German tourists though - seems easier to
approach people in German first.

I missed to mention the 2 adventure sports tried so far - sand
boarding and boomnetting - both were good fun. Sand boarding is
surfing down a high sand dune at pretty good speed.

Will speed things up the next few days to make it to the south island
by the 12th.

Cape Reinga

2008-03-05T12:55:00.000-08:00

Today the weather is great. I am taking a tour of Cape Reinga - the
most northern point of New Zealand. The way back will be a bus ride in
the sand of ninety mile beach.

Bay of Islands

2008-03-04T13:59:00.000-08:00

Monday was a travel day. A beautiful drive up highway 1 to Pahia.
Unfortunately it is very rainy here.

I am currently on a day trip through the bay. We had to stop before
the hole in the rock due to a gale carrying 50kts winds.

Picture is taken from one of the islands. It is impossible to capture
the beauty of this place though.

Weiheke Island

2008-02-28T14:48:00.000-08:00

Beautiful nature walks on Weiheke Island a mere 30 minute ferry ride
from Auckland. Absolute solitude. What a bliss after hectic Chicago.

We won section in yesterday's race by over a minute and did probably
very high in fleet. Looking forward to the BMW regatta starting
tomorrow.

Auckland

2008-02-25T11:48:00.000-08:00

Made it to Auckland. Only 5 hours flight from Tahiti. My hotel ended
up being just 10 minutes from the Americas Cup harbor. Picture of
NZ41. Weather is great.

Moorea

2008-02-23T16:21:00.001-08:00

The Moorea stay has come to an end. Tahiti is a true paradise. Only 8
hours from L.A. and I found more amazing than Hawaii.

Now on to Auckland to sail on a J/124.

Le Mans 2006

2008-01-14T14:19:00.001-08:00

Pit Row - Le Mans 2006

"OK, I guess this entry has nothing to do with my current travels, but I had to post a test entry. More to come in the next weeks."